Akashic Arcana The Interview

[Katie]

@Machina Somnium

It had been a long time since Viktoriya had to consider that the faculty of the Academy needed an extra hand. And by such, the prestigious Arcadia Academy was looking for new staff members. The applications piled up in hundreds of forwarded CVs and job experience. Each came from all over the world, as lecturers, as well as mages who once taught at Arcadia, could find themselves finding any kind of work with much ease. This attracted many people from a variety of backgrounds, and Viktoriya, as the appointed Student Council President was to decide who to hire and who to discard.

"Isn't this beyond my station?" - Viktoriya asked to no one in particular as she sat in her office and sorted through names and looked over their CVs. She often underestimated the number of responsibilities rested upon the Student Council President. The actual principal of Arcadia doesn't even live on the island, yet he claims to be an observer in case the student elected government couldn't manage the school as well as Arcadia Prefecture. It comes as no surprise, as even the lowest graded mage on Arcadia is vastly more capable than most mages outside the Academy.

She had already had a few disappointing interviews with a couple of teachers who came from different Academies across the world. While they weren't terrible as instructors, they barely had the magical capabilities to keep up with the students and the rest of the carefully selected faculty staff.

Without further ado, Viktoriya sent word for the next candidate. It must feel humiliating for the previous teachers to be dismissed by a mage much younger than themselves, but it mattered little. Age had nothing to do with how talented you were, and if they had the audacity to complain, they were very much welcome to voice their concerns to her face.

"Grisha Medved... Nationality... Confederate? That's a surprise." She said astonished as her countrymen often wouldn't wander too far away from the motherland. On the Academy, the number of Confederate students numbered in the all-time low.

Once the doors opened up, Grisha was welcomed into Viktoriya's office. The atmosphere of the office was different. It was decorated like an old room where most of the decorations were made of wood and mahogany. She sat behind a sand-brown desk, expecting Grisha to take a seat in front of her.

"Grisha Medved. Welcome. I am Viktoriya Romanov I. If you will, please have a seat and let us begin the interview."

 

[Dreamless Realm]

The trip to the Arcadia Academy had been quite the adventure. Not in the sense that it had been full of twists or dangers, more like Grisha wasn't used to travelling outside of The Confederation. He was nervous and anxious about his interview.
Even if his siblings were of a relatively high status, and so was he, this was completely different. He was going to be interviewed by the princess herself, someone he felt a deep admiration towards. She was famous for her biomorphing abilities. His own were alright, good, excellent even!, but she was on a whole other level.

Waiting patiently for his turn patiently, making sure to control himself not to give away his nervousness. He wouldn't fiddle with the hems of his shirt or sleeves, or bite his nails, or look around constantly. Focused, that was how he was meant to keep himself. His mind should be clear so he didn't babble or spout any nonsense. During other job interviews he would protect his mind against controls or scans, but not this time. He didn't know if he would be read by princess Victoriya Romanov, but he really didn't have anything to hide.
His experience wasn't very extensive, he'd taught private classes about general magic and body morphing, small groups, everyone wanted to be there and so everyone behaved... generally. This would be different if he got the job, it would be a challenge, and he was certain that he could take it head on and succeed. At least he'd been telling himself so for the past weeks.

"Greetings, your Highness." He said as he entered the office. His voice neutral, meeting her gaze, and closing the door after him. With his abundant tattoos and piercings he was not the image of a usual teacher, but that didn't mean anything besides a peculiar sense of fashion.
The difference between the outside and the inside of the office was pretty obvious, the inside having another ambience, different decorative style that for Grisha's liking was a bit too antique. However that mattered very little, with a few steps he was besides the chair and taking a seat shortly afterwards. He was ready for the interview to begin.

 

[Katie]

Viktoriya offered Grisha a welcoming smile. The Princess stood up before he could sit down and offered a handshake as a formal term of greeting. Once the formalities were over with and they both sat down. Viktoriya was about to begin the interview.

"Grisha, of the Medved Family? It is rare for someone of your status to venture out of our own motherland. Tell me, why do you seek this position? If you remained in our nation, I am certain you can reach higher positions by just your pedigree and accomplishment as a biomorph mage." She said with a neutral voice, she kept a leveled gaze towards Grisha throughout the entire conversation.

If one was not born a humonculi, then their opportunities were great within the Confederacy. Grisha could easily seek a position within the army, and within a few years, he could be leading a battalion of humonculi soldiers while living his life as an aristocrat. It is what most people would do, and Emperor Alexei Romanov always valued his human officers. It is often strange how she herself was considered someone of such high position. A humonculi made of Alexei's own DNA and somehow succeeded in attaining a soul.

"That said, our Confederate students are at an all-time low. Bio Morph is still a rather cruel and painful form of magic that isn't taught outside our own nation. Do you have any credentials when it comes to teaching common magic and academics?"

 

[Dreamless Realm]

Listening to her majesty after their short introducement period, he waited until she was done speaking to answer her inquiries. Choosing his words carefully.

"I am aware, your highness, of what I could accomplish had I chosen to follow my sibling's path. Join the military, lead a batallion... But even though it is certainly an enticing idea, I want to try something different. Uncommon, leaving our nation to teach somewhere else. I find pride and satisfaction in sharing my knowledge and I am confident in my abilities regarding the area of magic."
Her fellow confederate answered, taking a pause before responding to the second part of the question. Or, the following question.

It was true that he could have simply followed after his siblings, but he'd taken a different route because he couldn't know where he might end up, and because while enjoyed fighting and serving his nation quite a bit, teaching wasn't far off.

"I have experience teaching small groups in particular classes, mostly as a reinforcement for their regular studies, in the field of magic. Common and advanced, as well as biomorphing. This has been happening for a few years, at times I'd be personally requested to teach certain spells, mostly regarding cloaking and the dark arts."

Grisha continued by naming a few known schools and academies where he'd been working, even though most of his time teaching it had been pretty freelance. Generally speaking. He knew the places he was naming had agreed to be of reference for him, and they were all listed in his curriculum along with a contact to check any necessary details and speak with his supervisors at the time. He wanted the job, he felt prepared and ready for it, and he was determined to get it.

 

[Katie]

Viktoriya kept a pleasing expression on her face as she listened to Grisha's case. While he seemed like a decent allrounder instructor, they would still need to put him a certain field of expertise to accommodate the need of the students. Cloaking and Dark Arts were usually employed by the Military, but not a thing that regular students should attempt to learn. She wondered what to do with him, and hoped that it wasn't because Grisha came from her own nation that she put extra effort into making this work.

"I understand Mr. Medved, it is clear to me that you are by far not a novice as a teacher. Though, I would need to specialize you in a field. Tell me what you think of this, and if you can confidently teach our students when you read through the course curriculum."

She opened a drawer under her desk, revealing a datapad meant for storing teaching information for this specific course. As she turned it on for Grisha and handed it over to the man, he could have a look at the curriculum.

Advanced Rune-Sequence and Theories on Magic
It was written on the datapad, and once explored, it basically split the course up into several segments that cover up to a whole year.

The study course involves in teaching students more advanced application of the wide-recognized modern magic, called Rune-Sequence. Essential, rune-sequence revolves around the idea of science, laws of nature, mixed with arcane scriptures to perform miracles of science. One had to be really precise and understand that each drawn line within the rune-circle could change the entire meaning and effect of the spell.

Spoiler: Complexity of Rune Magic

"This course requires you to teach them advanced rune-sequence magic, and ways to apply it in combat."

Viktoriya smiled as she demonstrated. She held out her index finger, and as she concentrated, a glowing red orb of mana appeared to levitate just above her nail. She started to draw a circle in the air, and the mana left a residue that remained in bright glowing scriptures. As she willed it, the mana rune circle disappeared.

"Necromancy, Divination, Transmutation, Evocation, Abjuration, Illusion, Conjuration and Enchantment. All of these skills are possible with the Rune-Sequence magic, and you would need to teach all of these schools within this class. At the same time, teach them about all theories behind the magic of our world. Is this something you can perform, Mr. Medved?"