Faculty Meeting

"My dear employees, do you know why I have assembled you here today, on such short notice at that?" Le'garde opened the conversation with a question, twirling a lock of his hair as he leisurely awaited a response. Exchanging looks with each other, Kieran Durnoff spoke up, "No sir, we do not."

Le'garde nodded with a content smile on his face at the answer, chirping "Well then that's good, since it means my confidentiality measures are still working. I don't want a repeat of that  incident happening again, after all. But let's not digress: the reason I gathered you all here was to discuss the upcoming semesters, and our schedules for them. This end-of-year tournament will be slightly different from all others before it, thanks to our most recent arrivals."

Durnoff frowned as he lowered his clasped hands. "Why would the new students affect the annual tournament? This isn't the first Royal to enter the school and we are equally familiar with the Churches and Great Nobles. What has changed?"

"You don't need to know the exact reasons Le'garde rebutted him, a smile still playing on his lips. "Rather, you aren't qualified to know. If it bothers you that much, become a Sovereign and I'll personally fill you in. Regardless, the changes will  happen, and so I need you lot to get busy in the near future. The changes aren't too big, no need to worry about the workload, but it will require a fair bit of your time and effort to complete before the year's end. The Churches and Royal Family have already been informed and have no issues, so the bureaucracy is already taken care of."

Everyone fell silent as the let his words sink in. Something that made the inflexible Le'garde change his mind wouldn't be simple in the slightest, and he had previously mentioned that the current First Years were involved. Jace frowned as his mind wandered towards Sia and Altair, feeling a migraine start to throb behind his brows. 'Why does everything have to do with them?' he cursed internally. 'Raphaniel, did you sell your soul to a Devil or something while I wasn't looking? Your children are trouble magnets!'

Despite foreseeing a headache of trouble in the near future, Jace was no less determined to protect the two children. He had sworn an oath to protect them even if it cost him his life after all, and Jace Abernathy was no liar. 'Where are you now you bastard? Making me look after your children while you galivanted off the face of the earth...Or are you already dead in a ditch somewhere?'

Jace was seized by a moment of nostalgia as he remembered his old partner, whom he hadn't seen in years. He didn't know what became of the man after Altair was born, and he was half convinced the man had been killed afterwards. Meeting up with Raphaniel again allowed his hunters to lock onto him, and Jace doubted he was skilled enough to escape his pursuers again. After he massacred the last team, they would have sent stronger personnel. From what Jace had gathered, a Legendary was said to have been deployed.

"Mr Abernathy? Are you still with us or am I starting to bore you with my talking?"

Jace snapped out of his reverie to the realisation everyone was looking at him. Le'garde gazed at him with a lazy expression, but a glint of ferocity was visible in his eyes. Knowing he had slighted Le'garde by zoning out during his speech, Jace bowed his head and immediately issued a apology. "I am sorry Sir, I was just going over the logistics needed for the changes you mentioned" he lied through his teeth, praying the Headmaster dropped it. Seemingly answering him, Le'garde rapped the table and gently reprimanded him. "It's admirable to think ahead, but please stay focused on the present."

Jace was almost certain his lie had been seen through, but Le'garde was pacified by his submissive attitude. With Le'garde little couldn't be forgiven with enough bootlicking, even if Jace found it humiliating. Better than losing a limb though, since Le'garde merely used his laissez-faire attitude as a cover for his more...sadistic qualities. Having a few screws loose seemed to be a mandatory requirement for powerful Ascenders in the Dark Age, as none of the surviving Ascenders could be considered normal by any standard. 

"As I was saying, there will be a bigger focus on competitiveness between classmates rather than class versus class. The rewards will be adjusted accordingly, and I will be including a few new items to the list. Don't worry, they will be coming out of my own pocket so the school budget won't be touched. For that at least. Oh yes, the school's Dungeon has been cleared and will be ready for the students to enter in a month or two. Just figuring out a few details, you know how Dungeons are. Hmm, any questions?2

Le'garde looked around for hands, and paused on Lindt when he saw the Elf had raised his. A sigh of exasperation escaped his lips as he gestured at the man to speak. Clearing his throat, Lindt opened his mouth, "You mentioned a higher focus on combat, but my class has a very young student in it. I don't think he can keep up with the curriculum you proposed."

Jace perked up in interest, as he knew Lindt was talking about Altair. Le'garde put a finger to his chin as he seemed to ponder the issue before shrugging. "If the child is in Sky Cross then he is an Ascender, and should be able to handle the new course. Monsters are a dangerous race and doesn't care about your strength or weaknesses: they will maul you all the same. Learning early will help the child grow faster. But if you are really concerned, you have my permission to handle the child's education yourself. Are you satisfied with this arrangement?"

Lindt nodded, and silence occupied the room as no one had anything else to say. The meeting over, Le'garde stood up and leisurely walked out of the room. The other faulty began to get up one after the other and slowly trickle out of the room, not wanting to catch up to the Headmaster and draw his attention. Only Kieran Durnoff indifferently walked out the door first.

As he was prepared to leave, Jace felt someone pulling on the at of his jacket. Turning around, he saw Vera Quadreign looking at him, her expression serious. "Do you have a minute to talk?"