A Subject of Keenest Interest
Posted: November 30th, 2019, 4:46 am
Vanessa LaNore was trying desperately to temper her own excitement as she moved deeper into the tiled lecture halls. The click of her adventurer's boots did little to suppress her own rising feelings. She’d been called to offer a lecture on her latest findings regarding an ancient building that seemed to point to the precursor of the modern Fellsgard lighthouse.
The discovery had been located on a small island well off the coast, and would have remained an unassuming pile of windswept rocks if her investigation and cross-reference of tomes had not uncovered it’s probable purpose. The work to excavate the site had taken two months of heart crushing setbacks and useless fragments. In the end though, it had all been worth it.
As she neared her destination she was assailed by the vivid memory of the labor crew’s pickaxes opening a passageway that had begun a whirlwind of discoveries. The building, its upper portion collapsed rubble, had an extensive underground element, and the amount of potential artifacts and treasures was near uncountable.
She squashed down her excitement when she reached the door to her assigned lecture hall. She would do her best to entice and excite the rooms inhabitants, but many of the students found her topics terribly boring. They wanted grand and epic tales, or golden hordes kept by dragons, or even to simply remain safely in the walls of Fellsgard. It was rare that a student was interested in ancient artifacts and precursor sites that existed in some far off unknown.
She took one final breath to still herself and adopted her most practiced mask, the knowledgeable instructor. Then with a soft click she opened the door and strode into the room. The seats were packed and she smirked slightly. Ever since the academy had altered the lecture requirements more and more students were vying to attend the more obscure lectures. It counted as core credit, and often the lecturers were simply pleased to have an audience at all.
Vanessa came to rest behind a small desk before a large chalk writing wall. She placed down her leather-bound tome and examined the faces of the room. There was the usual mix of boredom, suppressed lust, curiosity, and legitimate interest.
“Good afternoon students and visitors. I am lecturer Vanessa LaNore. My field encompasses mythical, legendary, and fantastic creatures,” she let the words hang in the air for a moment, enjoying several looks of confusion blended with a smattering of excited faces. “As well as artifacts and precursor discoveries.” Some faces drooped, others brightened, but many simply returned to a neutral boredom.
“Today, we will be discussing a collection of documents, ledgers, manuscripts, and poems that I have begun to refer to as the Lighthouse Collection,” as her words hung in the air she removed and deftly unfolded a massive map. With quick practiced ease she clipped it to the board and collected the pointing stick. “This collection of works spans the entire continent, from the halls of Domrhask to the deep jungles of Ninraih." As she mentioned the places she indicated them on her map. "The documents are equally dispersed in age, from several ages past to just before the Age of Valor.” She looked out over the gather students to collect attention.
“The thing that binds them all is a distinct series of mentions, rumors, and secondary reference to what I, and others in my field, have come to believe are the precursor to the modern Fellsgard lighthouse technologies. So far we’ve investigated two sites. The first was an abject failure, containing nothing but dust and rubble. The second however,” she paused letting the drama and tension build. “Contained an extensive underground tunnel system. Inside these tunnels were damaged but still recoverable documents, books, drawings, and even journals that all pointed to the existence of a lighthouse with complex machinery that harnessed both mechanical and magical means."
There were several grumbles, excited whispers, and even a gasp of disbelief. No matter the general level of interest the mention of magic always attracted a vibrant array of responses. She hoped there were still some students intrigued by her findings. She had another hour to regale them with the initial results and imagery of the discovery before she revealed they had found directions to a third candidate island.
The discovery had been located on a small island well off the coast, and would have remained an unassuming pile of windswept rocks if her investigation and cross-reference of tomes had not uncovered it’s probable purpose. The work to excavate the site had taken two months of heart crushing setbacks and useless fragments. In the end though, it had all been worth it.
As she neared her destination she was assailed by the vivid memory of the labor crew’s pickaxes opening a passageway that had begun a whirlwind of discoveries. The building, its upper portion collapsed rubble, had an extensive underground element, and the amount of potential artifacts and treasures was near uncountable.
She squashed down her excitement when she reached the door to her assigned lecture hall. She would do her best to entice and excite the rooms inhabitants, but many of the students found her topics terribly boring. They wanted grand and epic tales, or golden hordes kept by dragons, or even to simply remain safely in the walls of Fellsgard. It was rare that a student was interested in ancient artifacts and precursor sites that existed in some far off unknown.
She took one final breath to still herself and adopted her most practiced mask, the knowledgeable instructor. Then with a soft click she opened the door and strode into the room. The seats were packed and she smirked slightly. Ever since the academy had altered the lecture requirements more and more students were vying to attend the more obscure lectures. It counted as core credit, and often the lecturers were simply pleased to have an audience at all.
Vanessa came to rest behind a small desk before a large chalk writing wall. She placed down her leather-bound tome and examined the faces of the room. There was the usual mix of boredom, suppressed lust, curiosity, and legitimate interest.
“Good afternoon students and visitors. I am lecturer Vanessa LaNore. My field encompasses mythical, legendary, and fantastic creatures,” she let the words hang in the air for a moment, enjoying several looks of confusion blended with a smattering of excited faces. “As well as artifacts and precursor discoveries.” Some faces drooped, others brightened, but many simply returned to a neutral boredom.
“Today, we will be discussing a collection of documents, ledgers, manuscripts, and poems that I have begun to refer to as the Lighthouse Collection,” as her words hung in the air she removed and deftly unfolded a massive map. With quick practiced ease she clipped it to the board and collected the pointing stick. “This collection of works spans the entire continent, from the halls of Domrhask to the deep jungles of Ninraih." As she mentioned the places she indicated them on her map. "The documents are equally dispersed in age, from several ages past to just before the Age of Valor.” She looked out over the gather students to collect attention.
“The thing that binds them all is a distinct series of mentions, rumors, and secondary reference to what I, and others in my field, have come to believe are the precursor to the modern Fellsgard lighthouse technologies. So far we’ve investigated two sites. The first was an abject failure, containing nothing but dust and rubble. The second however,” she paused letting the drama and tension build. “Contained an extensive underground tunnel system. Inside these tunnels were damaged but still recoverable documents, books, drawings, and even journals that all pointed to the existence of a lighthouse with complex machinery that harnessed both mechanical and magical means."
There were several grumbles, excited whispers, and even a gasp of disbelief. No matter the general level of interest the mention of magic always attracted a vibrant array of responses. She hoped there were still some students intrigued by her findings. She had another hour to regale them with the initial results and imagery of the discovery before she revealed they had found directions to a third candidate island.