crystal.

[exequy]

FORM: Crystal.
SENDER: Kostos.
RECIPIENT: Everyone.
NOTES: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also threadjacking is rad, banter and bicker freely.

The worst country in Thedas—other than Tevinter—

[ A given. ]

—it is Orlais, right? We can all agree to that.

[ Look, he's bored. ]

Comments

[heirring]

[A small clearing of the throat.]

For practical studies.

[mereandrastianism]

Including a great deal of agriculture, as I understand it.

[degenere]

Yes, you had the right of it the first time, mademoiselle. A great deal of agriculture, for farmers to study.

[heirring]

Some might say the engineering of how best to improve upon agricultural practices a far more noble art than when applied to the sport of knocking down walls and so on.

[No, but.]

—The point being, my dear Lady, that the University at Markham may have different focuses, but is thoroughly accomplished.

[degenere]

Oh, thoroughly accomplished. If one is a farmer. Tell me, mademoiselle, have you ever knocked down a wall?

[heirring]

No. But that is hardly the point, Monsieur.

[degenere]

To the contrary, mademoiselle. It is precisely the point. How can you speak so ill of knocking down walls when you have never done it for yourself? You must first try it.

[heirring]

Then when you have an wall in need of collapsing, you are welcome to invite my participation.

However. That hardly detracts from the fact that the principles of mathematics and design used for the development of farming equipment is really so different from those utilized for any other engineering.

[degenere]

Not so.

[heirring]

Not— [J'excuse.] Please. Do go on. I would be delighted to hear your reasoning.

[degenere]

Well, I cannot speak overmuch of all principles and so on for all sorts of engineering. That would be quite ridiculous.

But the engineering of the equipment used for farming, its purpose is the inverse of what would be used for the destruction of, shall we say, a wall. Yes?

[heirring]

Are you suggesting you would be incapable of designing some piece of equipment capable of cutting a straight furrow in the ground?

[degenere]

No, that is not what I am suggesting. I of course could design a piece of equipment that would cut a straight furrow into the ground. What I am suggesting is that if a farmer's purpose is to create, then a designer of a siege engine would be to destroy. One undoes the other.

But the undoing needs to be undone by concepts similar. If you mend a piece of paper, you need those pieces that were first created by the destruction.

[heirring]

To tear a piece of paper, you first require the whole piece to rip.

[degenere]

You can tear a small tear. Not the page in half entire, but part of the way down.

[heirring]

Oh for—

I have found, being acquainted with one or two of its ranks, that the university of Markham is quite sound. Which I believe was the point of the dear Lady's inquiry.

[degenere]

Acquainted. In what way, precisely?

[heirring]

As in I have made their acquaintance and have in some cases retained some familiarity. In what other way is there?

[degenere]

Oh, there are many ways with which one might make an acquaintance. Familiarly, familiarly, casually, deeply, colleaguely, intimately, spitefully, resignedly, scholarly, epistolarily--with interest, with skepticism, with defeat, with intent--

I can continue.

[heirring]

Some time ago, I traveled to Markahm to attend a conference at Riftwatch's behalf and spent a number of evenings in lighthearted discussion with a handful of students from the college. You may call it colleaguely if you must.

You recall my friend Brown, of course. The one who sent along the pamphlets? He is one such acquaintance.

[degenere]

You cannot possibly consider Brown a colleague.

[heirring]

Indeed, a perfectly fit one. We have shared one or two bottles of a very decent wine and discussed theories of momentum preservation.

[degenere]

[He makes a noise of disgust.]

[mereandrastianism]

Which makes it a university, certainly, but perhaps not the sort one would think of as world-class.

[degenere]

Precisely so. But Markham does become very touchy when it is pointed out to them, so we must either keep very quiet, or become very loud about it, and choose no road in the middle.

Not that the mademoiselle is of Markham. Only that she seems to have developed an inexplicably fondness for the place, I cannot think of why.