bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
"A bit of everything, actually. We certainly have enough time on our hands to learn a wide variety of subjects," Beth said with levity, as she settled forward on her knees, since Noa seemed to have no intention of moving away. In fact, she had planted her haunches down and looked prepared to take a nap right where she was. She took the shift in the mage's position as an invitation to rest her head in the woman's lap, opening her mouth wide to let out a half-whine, half-yawn. Though many books stated that Mabari could take down men on horseback and crush their throats with their jaws, the way that Noa's tongue flopped out of her mouth made the hound look far from ferocious.
Beth would have chuckled at the sight if she wasn't so focused on explaining the library to their guest. She carefully watched him approach the shelf, feeling oddly possessive over the books for just a moment. He was an outsider, but she quickly realized he wasn't going to do anything to harm the books, unlike the often sticky and clumsy fingers of the youngest apprentices, who often left stains and scribbles in the margins. Furthermore, it wasn't as if they books themselves could do him any harm, either. They were just words and pictures, except when they landed in the hands of someone who could actually use them. She nodded, though he wasn't looking at her, "A lot of it's theory, but some of them do contain spells. But reading them doesn't usually result in instant abilities. You don't just recite a phrase and have fire at your hands. On top of innate capability, it takes concentration, and lots of practice to actually master a spell. Sometimes a day, sometimes even a year's worth..."
"I hope I'm not boring you," Beth added, feeling suddenly self-conscious again. It seemed like she had been prattling on a while, giving a lecture to one of the younger students. "What goes on inside these walls is admittedly a lot less exciting than people might have you think. It's mostly research and study. I'm sure the life of a young noble must be much more entertaining than this..." She then winced, once again realizing too late that the statement was probably foolish. It wasn't right for her to be so presumptuous. For all she knew, he could have been just as cooped up in his own lavish estate as she was kept in this Tower. "But I don't mean to assume anything about your experiences, my lord."