The Soft-Hearted Maven

As the students filed in, The Academic arrived, wheeling a book cart. On one side, stacked high, were a number of small boxes. The purveyor’s whole name wasn’t legible, but from the classroom seats, the words “-Educational Picture Postcards and Assorted Souvenir Stationery” were boldly visible.” The other side of the cart had still more boxes, and something bottled and unforgettable gleamed inside. The Academic quickly folded those boxes closed, walked to a far side of the room, and closed them into a filing cabinet, before securing it with a rather nasty-looking correspondence lock.

“You’ll get that when you’re good and ready,” The Academic drawled, returning to the cart and lifting another box, “but the world’s finest pigments mean nothing at all without the proper…” and here they dropped the box thudding on the nearest bench: “paper!”

From the trim, tidy packaging, they produced a series of twee, doily-covered notebooks. Their pupil contracted at the garish sight, lips drawing back into a hiss. Suspiciously, they thumbed through the contents, relief diluting their disgust.

 

“Hm. Well. The paper is of the requested quality. That’s enough, I suppose.” The Academic passed a notebook to the nearest student, and gestured for that student to pass it down, in turn. Soon enough, each student was in possession of a notebook.

“Wretched and garish as they are, each of these are filled with fifty sheets of F.F. Gebrant’s Flame-Resilient Paper. These are professional-quality materials, and can safely accommodate three correspondence symbols at a time, as well as any English notes you might take alongside the symbols. The covers may be too precious by half, but you oughtn’t be. I can avail myself of a practically bottomless source, so use them up and ask for more as you require.”

“Let’s break them in with some fairly standard notes in English, shall we?” Chalk hit board, and the lecture began. "I want you to start thinking about what The Correspondence can do for you. Let us start with the two major skill sets: Crimson Engineer, and the Epistolant."
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