Alice noted the strange half-giant fellow give up the conversation and move off. She'd had a long day, and honestly hadn't really seen him there, [i]Well done, already annoying members of the cohort.[/i] She nibbled away at her plate of food. She had an appetite for half the table after the days of travel rations, but restrained herself while in conversation. Yaroslav continued the playful vibe “As for the brooding school of magic I am considering trying to get it officially recognised and opening my own Guild as Guild Master. I would invite you to join but it will probably be a rather dreadful place.” She somehow doubted the logistics of it, he just didn't seem the fastidious kind, let alone have the diplomatic clout to achieve his lofty aspiration to become master of brooding. The thought of a 'Master Brooder' alone curled the corners of her lips, and she listened intently to his next question. “Do I hear a Vrettonian accent? It has been awhile since I have travelled that way, are the arts still as antiquated as always?" "Your question alone shows you haven't been near Vrettonia for a very long time." She stated truthfully. She was not overly surprised that he had detected her heritage, but she was quite happy he had hardly acted on it. She thought back to her home in a small reverie. "Just after I was born those of magical talent in my homeland bound together and swapped their pointy hats and stale libraries for ball gowns and castles. It is a rarity to find a noble in the central courts who does not have arcane talent ever since the coup." She had been hardly a toddler when it happened, barely grasping at the idea of magic and instead choosing to focus on her studies of falling over into the mud and annoying her big brother or sister "Perhaps their new snooty ways is why you haven't heard of the change? Vrettonians and Andred hardly communicate well at the best of times, and I can hardly imagine a conversation between mages of the two countries now. One would be remarking on Von Feralis' planar theory while the other would spend the entire time scrutinising the interior decor." She didn't add that Vrettonian mages hardly suffered for their new position. If anything the whole Magocracy thing had improved the arcane arts there, thanks to the funding increase, easy access and construction of great centres of knowledge and artefacts. Even just the gathering of talented individuals in an area free of scrutiny had helped a great deal. She considered, without bias, that Vrettonia certainly held the magical power in the world. Even with such people as Princess Vanya over there and no doubt the Queen among others [@Lacks][@POOHEAD189]