Oh, yeah. In Reykjavík. They make all this big fuss about how it is free for anyone with magic to enroll and be trained because all mages are assets to their communities and the world. Mages from other countries, like Sweden or Norway, come there to study, too. The Academy really think they're hot shit.
[ That pride is joined by increasing bitterness, now - not something Qubit is likely to have heard even a tiny hint of from Reynir before, who is usually optimistic and cheerful, almost to a fault. But in this case, it's clear there's some bad feelings and a history. Fortunately for Qubit, he won't have to wonder for long, because Reynir explains. ]
So I went there for a summer course, after I'd been out into the Silent World. I learned some stuff, but then when I tried to enroll in the more advanced classes, they wouldn't let me. Not because I wasn't skilled enough, but because I wasn't immune, so I would never be allowed to get a job with the military or anything important, so it wasn't worth the bother to train me. They said I should stick to using magic to grow crops and help with livestock and farm stuff and that was all I was good for.
[ Okay, so they might not have put it in this exact words, but the meaning was still the same. ]
But mages are mages because the gods chose them. And I know I wasn't chosen to just - stay in my village. I can do more. I have done more. I'm not going to squander the gift I was given, just because some narrow-minded people told me no.
[ Reynir seems to realize, then, that he had gone on rather a rant, in response to a simple question, and gives a small, embarrassed smile. He apologies: ]
no subject
[ That pride is joined by increasing bitterness, now - not something Qubit is likely to have heard even a tiny hint of from Reynir before, who is usually optimistic and cheerful, almost to a fault. But in this case, it's clear there's some bad feelings and a history. Fortunately for Qubit, he won't have to wonder for long, because Reynir explains. ]
So I went there for a summer course, after I'd been out into the Silent World. I learned some stuff, but then when I tried to enroll in the more advanced classes, they wouldn't let me. Not because I wasn't skilled enough, but because I wasn't immune, so I would never be allowed to get a job with the military or anything important, so it wasn't worth the bother to train me. They said I should stick to using magic to grow crops and help with livestock and farm stuff and that was all I was good for.
[ Okay, so they might not have put it in this exact words, but the meaning was still the same. ]
But mages are mages because the gods chose them. And I know I wasn't chosen to just - stay in my village. I can do more. I have done more. I'm not going to squander the gift I was given, just because some narrow-minded people told me no.
[ Reynir seems to realize, then, that he had gone on rather a rant, in response to a simple question, and gives a small, embarrassed smile. He apologies: ]
Sorry. I guess I'm a bit touchy about it.