Basic Politics - Agaenos [Private]

[Aesha]

Classroom Two was not hard to find, just through the main lobby door and into the corridor beyond, and from there just a quick turn on the left. The door had been left wide open, giving Agaenos a view of both his classroom and his teacher.

The classroom itself looked like any other, and a big blackboard had been affixed to one wall for demonstrating particular points of the lessons. Various pieces of broken off white chalk had been left in the jutting out piece of wood below the board that served as a shelf of sorts.

A few desks had been arranged in the centre of the classroom, indiciating that on occasions each teacher took on more than one pupil as a time. The classroom was used for a varying amount of different subjects, which was reflected by the wide array of paintings and large pieces of infomation containing parchment that had been stuck to the four walls.

Rikkia was sitting behind the teachers desk, idly buffing up her perfect fingernails with a device that was basically a piece of shammy leather held taught over an extremely oval piece of ivory. Her long skirts were a rather daring violet colour, and made a soft swish noise as she moved, being made out of some unidentifiable gauzy material. A thin, simple gold chain hung around her neck to just above her breasts, which were... only just decently covered up. A mass off golden curls fell about her in a wayward fashion and her blue eyes focused on Agaenos as she saw him standing in the doorway. When she spoke, her voice had a throaty, purry quality to it.

"Serale... Agaenos? Do come in..."

[Agaenos Phidion]

It was good for the man to have bought the ink and parchments beforehand - who knew what long reams of notes he would have to swiftly write down in class this Brightening? At least, he still had the quill to accompany him this Brightening. With these trivial thoughts quickly shoved out of his mind, he stood within the classroom's doorframe...

Quite a utilitarian classroom, quite like any others, actually, and reminded him so much of his young Grammaticus and Schola life, all those Patterns ago when he attended the classes to learn how to read and write, gain some basic knowledge about the Empire, caculate maths using mental arithmetic... And the list went on... Such a large span of time since...

The only difference between his old Schola and this classroom, though, was slightly smaller, and definitely a lot less desks and chairs. Coming back to a classroom as an adult, undoubtedly, gave Agaenos a strange sense youth and familiarity.

"Oh... Good lord...?"

A sight of his teacher prompted the comment from his mind. At the very least, she was not the type which seemed utterly boring,, or far too intelligent (often times which normal students would have an absurdly hard time comprehending them) to anyone's own good. However, she was doing nothing more than perfecting her already-perfect fingernails. Her... Twin... Ecstacy-inciting orbs were only barely covered to an acceptable level. Violet long skirt made her lower garments, giving her a rather magnetating look. Great - so Agaenos would have to test his willpower in two different ways - trying not to fall asleep in lesson, and trying not to have ulterior motives - though with the possibility of the latter, the former would be, quite easily indeed, cancelled out...

"Serale... Agaenos? Do come in..." She purred - or really close to one, anyway. One had to wonder whether she really fancied him even upon the first glance.

Keeping a slightly jovial, but absolutely neutral in terms of his disposition to her, tone, he smiled and replied. "Serale," before finding a seat nearest to his teacher - not so that he could have a good peek at the part under her gold chain, but only to hear her teaching clearly.

Flirtarious-looking women tended to make the Corporal just a tiny tinge nervous...

[Aesha]

Rikkia gave a big grin as Agaenos sat himself down in one of the random desks that had been placed in the classroom for student use. She looked... at lot like that cat who had got the cream. She paused a moment, filing away at the little finger on her left hand, before plonking down the thin piece of wood on the desk, and holding up her hand to admire her... handiwork. Once she was quite finished with the task, she folded her arms neatly below her bodice and gave her new student a studying stare, as if weighing him up. What for, was anyone's guess.

"Well, then... Agaenos. You don't seem to have much to say for yourself, hmm?"

She laughed a little bit, in a tone that suggested she could see something amusing in the situation that Agaenos, clearly, could not. Uncertain as to whether she was going to get anything more than a brief 'Serale' out of her student before the lesson started made the teacher glance at him in curiousity all the more.

"I like to... get to know my students a little before I begin to teach. Just to make the ambiance... a more friendly one. Oh, I just can't get used to this desk, either. I prefer to be... closer to who I'm teaching."

The Academy's teacher of Politics delicately lifted herself out of the heavy oak teacher's chair and all but glided across the polished wooden floor in purple velvet slippers, only to come to a halt at the desk directly next to Agaenos. She sat down in the smaller chair, arranging her skirts in a rather prim manner.

"Now then... tell me a little about yourself. And why you want to become versed in the skill of politics."

She leaned forward a little, gold chain and blonde ringlets swinging slightly as she did so. She blinked her long eyelashes as her blue eyes met the brown ones that belonged to her student, waiting intently for a reply.

[Agaenos Phidion]

Sitting down upon one of the random desks in the room, a rather significant grin was plastered upon his teacher's face, who, still filing away upon her nails (which didn't really seem to herald the sign of a good teacher), he tilted his head in watchful curiosity and patience, before continuing looking at the somewhat languid teacher's gesture of her own adoration of her... Craft. He left it to any present insentient things within the room to guess why Rikkia stared at him with a weighing, considering look. "I hope she is only considering my... Talent and skills..." His mind mischevously thought. No, it could not be that...

"Well, then... Agaenos. You don't seem to have much to say for yourself, hmm?"

A small, enigmatic smile stretched across his lips, as he diplomatically answered that question.

"Well, I suppose you should never let your opponent know too much of your motives to counter-argue you?"

Her glance was all the more curious, which, although un-nerved the Corporal slightly, seemed to make this lesson not quite as boring as it might sound, after all...

... Oh, I just can't get used to this desk, either. I prefer to be... Closer to who I'm teaching."

"Good lord - that sounded as if she had ulterior motives..." His conscience cringed. Not that his teacher was uncouth in terms of appearence or behaviour (it just bordered on that, however...), of course, though he would really much rather like to find one which he felt the same for as well...

Maybe he was thinking far, far too much, implying things that probably were false. Though this might be useful for Politics... Who knew?

Gliding in velvet slippers with a somewhat refined grace, his smile only widened as she positioned himself right next to him. She probably did the same for all of her students, anyway, so, wittingly or no, he decided to just relax and ease all of those absurd, un-needed thoughts out of his head. His mind adamantly told himself to only start worrying of Rikkia started squeezing his thighs in the midst of teaching...

Blinking her long, seemingly-seductive eyelashes at him, her sea-blue eyes made contact with his own deeper brown, as though as if trying to electify him - though she was more like waiting for an answer to her previous question, "Now then... Tell me a little about yourself. And why you want to become versed in the skill of politics."

He had certainly prepared for this part.

"Well... I am a Corporal in the army, Rikkia, (he kept forgetting to address people politely by their surname preceeded by a "mister" or "miss" when he eased up) and so many people think swords and bows could solve problems." He made a deliberate hand gesture to show how much he disagreed. "That really is only one way, is it not? Diplomacy could work so much better a lot of the time, and I knew, since I have seen situations which I could have been diplomatic - if I knew how to be, of course. Besides, being a politian, arguing over your opponents, does earn you some extra Crowns too, right?" He grinned.

"Do you find that the same?"

[Aesha]

Rikkia rested an elbow on the small wooden student desk as Agaenos spoke, and cupped her chin in her hand, staring at the soldier intently with her clear blue eyes. A look of intense interest appeared on her face as Agaenos recited a little about himself and why he had wanted to learn politics, as she had instructed a moment earlier.

"A corporal, hmmm?" If anything, her rich tones sounded tinged with disappointment at that, slightly perturbed that Agaenos was not a higher rank. She blinked her long, dark eyelashes a couple of times as the man recounted why he had chosen to sign up for her class. Well, not for her specifically, but what she taught. Once his speech was over she gave a quick, sharp nod, that clashed with her usual flowing gestures, and arranged the few books she had brought to the smaller desk with her, making them line up perfectly in a small pile.

"Correct. Whilst violence is not the only answer, though, politics can... often lead to it." A small smile played around her lips again, once more finding something amusing that was some kind of inside or personal joke to her. "It all depends on exactly how good you are at the skill, Mr. Phidion."

Rikkia paused again, shifted in the unpadded wooden chair that was meant for students a little. She crossed her left leg over her right one, momentarily kicking up her skirts to reveal the bottom half of the slender legs beneath it, before rearranging the dress in a prim manner, picking at a couple of creases the maneoveur had made in the fabric.

She raised a slender, golden eyebrow as the last comment of the Corporal, apparently reading more into the sentence that Agaenos had meant. "Of course. There are... many way to make a few crowns in the field of politics if..." She broke the sentence off with a small, lighthearted laugh, and waved a beringed hand in the air to dismiss the train of thought and move on to another.

"However, of course, to understand the basics of the trade one has to start at the bottom. In todays lesson we will learn about the structure of the government or..." a small grimace crossed her features, "...at least the structure of it before the Rakrya came about."

Placing her small and slender hands in her purple-clad lap she stared at Agaenos again, this time in a rather excited manner, like a child faced with the prospect of candy. "So, tell me, who is at the very top of the chain?"

[Agaenos Phidion]

Idly brushing his the back of his hand with his thumb, he recounted why he wanted to take up the field of Politics - in fact, it came up as an entirely new prospect for him. All along, he had thought Politics to be the very cause of social discontent and civil disorder, as could be clearly seen in the Empire right after the seizure of power by the darned Rakrya. Inwardly, he sighed - why on Telath did this happen? 'Mad' Julos becoming the tyrant of the Empire, the sentinels patrolling Prime, and civil havoc upon the Capital Citadel... It was all rather ridiculous. Really, it was.

"A corporal, hmmm?" She rhetorically asked. He could detect the tinge of disappointment of Rikkia about his rank. Somehow, the idea that she fancied him crept up on his mind again - which he promptly shoved away. "No time for this, boy... No time for it..." His mind adamantly warned him off.

Finishing his tale as to why he wanted to choose Politics, he awaited his teacher's approval... Or disapproval. Thankfully, it was the former, as she gave a curt, sharp nod, that somehow, was very uncharacteristic of her, or from her previous actions which she demonstrated, anyway. That did not particularly perturb her student...

So, although he spoke true that violence would not necessarily be the only option, Politics could sometimes lead to it? Therefore... It could work both ways then, for good or for ill? "I... Did not know that..." He thought with a tinge of grimness. The thought of an endeavour to solve violence by political venture that could lead to the unwanted goal instead did not really entertain him. No, not at all. Although... There were still hope that diplomacy could solve violence... Though, somehow, the small smile managed to relieve him slightly... Even if it was enigmatic in its own sense. "Hmm..."

Paying no heed at all to her fixing her dress (at least, because his eyes were not staring that way), he could only raise one curious eyebrow and tilt his head slightly upon the small, undecipherable joke of his teacher. Many ways to make Crowns in the field of Politics if... If what? "I... Spoiling a joke by leaving the sentence hanging..." He sighed inwardly. Outwardly, he rolled his eyes upwards, in half-confusion, half-undeciphered-amusement. Whatever Rikkia meant... It must be something mischievous. He would have to see for himself sometime...

"However, of course, to understand the basics of the trade one has to start at the bottom." She stated.

Agaenos nodded. That was logical enough. Or, starting from the highest could work as well, he deemed... Although, for one that was untrained in the field of Politics, that might be wrong.

"In todays lesson we will learn about the structure of the government or..." Suddenly, a grimace crossed her feature, one that was thoroughly uncharacteristic of her. He stared with a feature of concern.

"... At least the structure of it before the Rakrya came about."

Inwardly, he fumed once more - he showed no outward signs of his swelling emotion. "The Rakyra... Darned power-hungry bunch of Necromancers..." In truth, they were not - but they were as bad as eldritch Necromancers who tried to disrupt order and unleash chaos wherever civilisation existed. Right, so maybe not as bad... But still bad enough, anyway. He quickly and fruitfully supressed the rising cloud of emotion within him. Now was not the time for this sort of thing.

"So, tell me, who is at the very top of the chain?"

That should be easy enough. Although, like all first questions, he left a tiny tinge of doubt whether he would answer wrongly.

"The Emperor... Or Empress?"

By the latter, he meant Empress Audrey de Lylles... And by the former, no particular person. He definitely did not regard Julos that highly...

[Aesha]

Rikkia gave Agaenos a slow grin that was too hard to read as her presented his answer to the politics teacher. He expresssion seemed to be that of, say, of impression, but the look in her eyes suggested that it was reminiscent of perhaps a favouite pet performing a trick for the first time. It was a little hard to tell whether she had managed to read between the lines of the three word answer and guess the Corporal's reference to Audrey, though being a politics teacher, no doubt it was something she had quite a lot of training in and it was almost a certainty that she had.

"Very good, Corporal Phidion." It was there again, that slight accent on Agaenos' rank in the army, though the inflection did not seem to be one of disappointment this time around. "All things start with the Emperor, or Empress. Technically." She added the last word with a small roll of her eyes, giving away her feelings on the subject. She certainly didn't seem to hold back on sharing her opinions with Agaenos, even if she let them speak through gestures, and movements of her body rather than words themselves. It was obviously that Rikkia thoroughly enjoyed teaching - really teaching, not the flirting or seduction or whatever it was she had been doing earlier - and for now that side of her eased off a little as she delved gradually into the politics of the Empire.

"As you know, or at least, I rather hope you do, before the Rakrya and Julos the position of Emperor was a hereditary, handed down or sometimes, sidewards, possibly even diagonally, though the line known at the Aliares. The Emperor is also - technically..." there was that word again... "commander-in-chief of the imperial army. He also oversees the taxation in the empire. An interesting thing to note, that generally, a lot of people probably don't know about, is that every citizen has a right to seek an audience with the Emperor or Empress for the dispensation of justice. Ah, but here we are moving onto law, so... I will continue on, unless you have any other questions about the position of Emperor you would like to ask?"

[Agaenos Phidion]

OOC: Sorry about the late and short reply. I'm trying to catch up as much threads as humanly possible with my short alloted time to catch up as many threads as possible before flying back to HK... *sighs*

IC:

The slow grin which showed was only far too hard for him to imply - nonetheless, Rikkia did possess a rather... Unusual, so to say, personality which livened up lessons considerably. At least, bland teachers were no the order of the Brightening. Oh, no - he could still remember some of his own Schola teachers droning on and on and on for candlemarks on end. How he was so tempted to sleep at those times, and how the teachers had managed to hypnotise the entire class and sang his monotonous lullaby to waft everyone into the soft, beckoning realms of Kaimelea... Only to have him snap fiercely at the entire class. Those were bad experiences...

And the look. Somehow, it seemed to contain reminiscence... Of a joyful sort. Of what, he could not detect - but he was certain it was one of a pleasent memory. Having sat upright, his attention fell back to the full sway of the lesson once more - he was here to learn, to gain the knowledge of the Empire's politics, and try to make some money for himself.

"Very good, Corporal Phidion."

... That accent...

Though, no matter - she had seemed to finally drop all of the flirtatious aspects of her, and was in fact, teaching the lesson in a very serious yet cordial manner, a combination which was rare to achieve, yet the result was surprisingly pleasent. Listening to her explanation of the Emperor or Empress' role within the Empire and the Imperial Hierarchy, he nodded intermittently, to show his comprehension on the subject. Well, her traits had been slightly... Odd, but she was proving to be a very, very good teacher. Maybe she should receive a kind of salary rise...

The line known as the Aliares. He had heard of that, though he never really did thought much about the line, how it started, and any other aspects regarding the line - but merely its name, Aliares. He nodded, however, and understood he was the commander-in-chief of the army - even though, at the same time, he knew the duties of that was usually mostly handled by the Imperial Marshall, of which the current one was Will de Ryes, and one could seek him or her to dispense justice - though that had to be some kind of limitation, right?

Question time...

"I see..." He nodded, and delved into the questions gently, "I have heard of the line of Aliares, though never thought much about its aspects... Who belonged further up the line? As well as that, there had to be a kind of limitation to seek an audience with the Emperor, right? Otherwise, he would be flooded with people trying to seek an audience to him."

[Aesha]

Rikkia inclined her head slightly at the questions, acknowledging the fact that her student was actively seeking out as much learning as she could, something she appreciated. The politics teacher could not stand lazy students, those who signed up with visions of becoming the next provincial governor, say, then daydreaming half the way through the class. With Rikkia as a teacher though, it certainly must take some skill to not think of anything but teacher and classroom.

She leaned forward again, giving Agaenos almost an eyeful of her barely covered cleavage, though it was clear that this time is was not done on purpose, but in her enthusiasm to impart knowledge onto her student.

"Well, the line is hard to trace due to various reasons. Of course, the line is known as the Aliares, but is invariably made up of the family of de Lylles. Mostly. The current Empress, desputedly, is Audrey, of course. She is the sister of Krysabelle, who..." Rikkia broke off, a slight, deep chuckle forming on her lips. "Ah... I think it might just be easier if I showed you the current standing of the family tree."

Without another word, she stood and walked back over to the teaching desk, explaining the Corporal's second question as she rummaged through the books and things for the scroll she sought.

"Well, firstly, many, many people are most likely not aware of that rule. Secondly, it would involved so much bureaucratic arrangement and paperwork that it might be even years before the audience came about... and of course, in the state of the empire lately, if one asked for an audience with the reigning monarch, well... just who exactly would you go to?"

Returning, Rikkia spread a large scroll out on the desk she had previously been sitting at, and knelt down beside it, looking at it for a moment before turning back to Agaenos.

"This is the de Lylles family tree. You can look at it as much as you want, though I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to answer some of the questions you may have about it."

[Agaenos Phidion]

OOC: Eek! Sorry about dragging it out for so long. It's back on track now!

IC:

Enthusiasm was definitely one thing which most of the professors in the Academies possessed. At least, he had a willing and dedicated teacher here imparting all that he desired to know - or at least, endeavouring her best to. Leaning forward, she was, perhaps unaware herself, accidentally giving Agaenos a chance of another sight of her barely-covered underwear, the type of which men should idealy not catch a glimpse of. He decided not to complain, and instead concentrate on the lesson. By now, he was already used to this rather paculiar trait of Rikkia. Deciding it was no good to begin allow his mind to wander away from the lesson, he concentrated on her words.

He followed her within his mind. Now, it became clear to him - even though the line was known as the Aliares, it was not entirely clear what the line consisted of, and many other blood mixed within as well, the most notable ones being that of the de Lylles. He had never known of Audey's siblings or families beyond the Empress herself, and now, at least, he knew one more - Krysabelle, most probably an Archduchess, he mused. In the end, Rikkia gave up her endeavour to explain verbally, and instead turned to the help of a large scroll. First, however, she answered his second question, which he listened intently upon. Well, if he had to choose between Julos or Audrey to seek an audience with, it would, undisputedly, had to be the Empress. He never knew whether that large question was rhetorical, although he assumed so - and simply nodded in agreement with Rikkia. That was true enough - with the state of the Empire currently was in, there was simply no telling of who would be the most appropriate to seek help from, or support. Not to mention the Feeble Pox, declination in the economy...

The Empire was still in a mess.

A large scroll spreaded across the table, he bagan to read through the family tree of the de Lylles. There, he saw Krysabelle, as well as Arabella, before his eyesight moved on, and saw other countless multitudes of names. Nodding to himself silently, he decided to take in only the closest relatives to Audrey, and abandon the decision to memorize the entire family tree - with so many names, familial relationships, it would no doubt become confusing very soon for him if he endeavoured. A point of interest emerged within his mind, something he knew back from his childhood.

"Ah, and I remember that the de Lylles also adopted many others, of all manners of races, into the family too," he turned his attention back at Rikkia, "Those lucky few are also granted a title of nobility, if I remember correctly.

No more questions from me for now." He stretched a confident smile, as his enthusiasm pushed himself to continue with the lesson.

[Aesha]

Rikkia smiled back and gave Agaenos a friendly pat on the hand as he declared he had no more questions on the subject of the Emperor and the royal line of the Empire. Despite her earlier behaviour the action seemed nothing more than a friendly one, and not suggestive in anyway, although the action led her to lean over toward the Corporal a little before she picked up the scroll that contained the Aliares family tree and deftly rolled it up with her slender hands. Her shoes clicked on the wooden floor of the room as she stood up and departed from the desk, to put the document back from where she had got it. Once it was back in it's place, she took the desk next to her student again.

"Well, the next thing down from the Emperor... or Empress, is the Imperial Court. Or at least, it would have been. I understand that this information is now, a little outdated, but... the Empire has been run under this system for the majority of its time of existance, and it's quite important to understand it. Later, we shall learn about the running of the Empire under the lead of the Rakryra."

She tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her left ear with a beringed finger before asking or telling Agaenos anything further, apparently considering how to go about explaining the now defunct system.

"Instead of me just telling you... let me ask you, Agaenos... what do you know about the Imperial Court? If anything."