genessia | [Video]

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[When the feed starts, Ozpin can be seen sipping coffee at a table belonging to a cafe in the central city looking curious.]

Because I've seen several of our newer residents talk about the educational facilities in their worlds, I've decided to make a casual inquiry. Call it professional curiosity. I am curious as to how the schools in each of your respective worlds operate. As an educator myself, I know how vital these systems can be in shaping and guiding our next generations, and am always looking out for ideas or methods that could better improve the situations at my own school. So please, consider this an open dialogue for the subject.

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[What a convenient exposition opportunity for people from lesser-known settings!]

Young children of the Scarlet Dynasty are tutored at home in the basics such as calligraphy, arithmetic, and archery until their ninth year, and then sent to board at one of the Blessed Isle's primary schools. There they learn history, geography, and philosophy, as well as practicing in athletics, swordfighting, and archery. After that comes secondary school.

There are a number of lesser secondary schools suitable for Patricians, but only four dedicated to the Dragonblooded. [Or seven, to be more accurate, but only the incorrigibly delinquent are sent to the House of Ancient Stone or the Palace of the Tamed Storm, and Pasiap's Stair is more for culturally assimilating those Dragonblooded who immigrate from outside the Realm.]

The Cloister of Wisdom is a religious academy dedicated to the Immaculate Faith and martial arts. The monks there train their body and spirit in the ways of the Immaculate Dragons. [not unlike a shaolin monastery].

The Realm's top military academy is the House of Bells. Those who study there learn to lead on the battlefield and drill extensively in group maneuvers and combat training.

The Heptagram teaches occult lore and sorcery.

Students at the Spiral Academy learn finance and politics so they may join the Thousand Scales as magistrates and bureaucrats.

I trained at the House of Bells. [Not to mention graduated with top marks and went on to become the Realm's most renowned general in recent memory.]

Edited 2014-08-19 06:16 (UTC)

[He listens politely, sipping his coffee at times until she finishes. That's a lot of information and it takes him half a second to digest it all.]

If you don't mind my asking, what differentiates the Dragonblooded from others?

We are Exalted by the power of the Elemental Dragons in our blood.

The potential for Exaltation is passed down from parents to children, but the child of two Patricians may Exalt, or the child of two Dragonblooded may fail to do so. Exaltation always occurs between the ages of 10 and 20.

You'll have to excuse my ignorance, however, I'm still unsure as to what this "Exaltation" entails, and what - if anything - makes the Exalted stand out amongst the non-Exalted.

An Exaltation is like a third soul. It lets us wield Essence to do things impossible for mortals. By channeling our Essence we can enhance our skills beyond what mortal humans can hope to match and wield the power of the five elements.

[Behind her a mass of ethereal black thorns swirls into being as she invokes her Anima's iconic display, twisting and tangling through each other and lingering for a few seconds before fading away. Unlike her earlier display with Azula, there's no threat implied, only a demonstration to indulge Ozpin's curiosity.]

This is my Anima banner, the simplest and most direct display of Essence I can give. It is also by attuning my Essence to my armor and daiklave that I am able to use them. Otherwise both would be too heavy to function effectively. [The general turns the camera to give Ozpin a view of an ornate and massively oversized green sword, the material of which is unfamiliar to him]

Should we meet in person, you may try lifting Thorn and see for yourself.

Hmm... I cannot speak for the number of souls, however that does not sound unlike some of the Semblences that my own students posses. The only difference is in my world, all people possess the Aura needed to manifest such abilities. It is simply a matter of choosing to take up arms, or leading a simpler, more peaceful life.

[He takes a sip of coffee as he examines the blade, nodding in approval.]

That is indeed an impressive display, but I will take your word for it.

[She'd be surprised if it turned out Ozpin's students were really a match for the Dragonblooded, but the idea of a whole world of Essence-users is impressive regardless.]

In my world, the Dragonblooded do not have the option of a simple and peaceful life. Some serve as bureaucrats or merchants, but we all have the responsibility of protecting Creation and its mortal population.

[Those who do focus on politics and economics are no less supernaturally empowered for their specialties than the warriors. A large portion of her own Charms are focused more on leading troops than personal combat.]

I see. That must have been hard, to have that choice taken from you.

[In some ways these Dragonblooded shared a social standing with the Faunus but... in a rather inverse way at the same time.]

Some delinquents have difficulty accepting their responsibilities, but no, I've never minded. Even among those who most resent their duties, I've never heard of anyone who would rather be mortal than Exalted.

[Part of that was probably the influence of the Realm's state religion, which venerates the Dragonblooded as the divinely mandated masters and protectors of Creation. The rest was simply how powerless mortals inherently were in comparison to... well, pretty much everything. Even a mere local river-god could push around whole villages of mortals if no Dragonblooded were there to keep him in his place.]

If you think I lack freedom, you misunderstand. The responsibility that comes with power is one thing. Servitude is quite another.

[She'd actually accepted command of the Vermillion Legion specifically for the freedom it offered. It had been the only posting she could get at the time with no superior officer who could override her decisions.]

Yes, I'm well aware of the burden of responsibility, and the freedom allowed those wearing that badge. It is simply... foreign to me that this particular choice would be expected of some.

I do not mean to say you are subservient or superior to anything, really. I do not have nearly enough information to make that call. It is simply different, and I only have my own world to compare to. I meant no disrespect.

I did not take your words to be insulting.

It is not as though we are conscripted into military service. Merchants, bureaucrats, spies and all the rest naturally contribute to their Houses and the Realm as well. When I say a peaceful life is out of reach for the Dragonblooded, I speak of the inescapable realities of House politics just as much as the military enemies of the Realm.

[The Realm is a highly militaristic society, and every Dynast does learn to fight, but it's not like they all serve the army directly.]

Perhaps your world is very different. Are citizens not expected to contribute to the survival and prosperity of their home? Is this contribution not greater for those with the most power?

I see. That is indeed very intriguing.

[He takes a sip of his coffee, a look of combined frustration and hopelessness in his eyes for the briefest of moments.]

Yes, they are expected to contribute where they can. However, the choice - and thus requirements to make that choice - are in place to limit the numbers that do take up arms. Mankind is ultimately a fragile and fallible race standing against the innumerable darkness of the void. The Dust that Huntsmen and Huntresses use to unlock their auras and unleash power that allows them to stand against that darkness is finite as well.

Were the floodgates to open, and everyone were to take up arms, it may begin to turn the tide of our eternal stalemate, but it would quickly burn out, and we would be left powerless against the Grimm. That day may yet come... it is my job to make sure that it is not during the lifetimes of myself or my students, however.

[The general is silent for a few moments while she takes in Ozpin's words.]

If your goal is merely to delay the apocalypse for another generation or two, you have already lost.

But then, I sometimes think Creation is ultimately doomed myself. I only hope I am able to change that once I am Shogun. It is... perhaps not hopeless. Doing the impossible is, after all, the very purpose of the Exalted.

[You think Grimm are bad? Try being surrounded by an infinite plane of formless chaos full of Fair Folk while also having to deal with constant incursions from Cthulhoid monsters, omnicidal deathlords, and perpetually-reincarnating shining golden god-kings.]

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