3rd Day of Winter, 516 A.V.
Professor Lucille Mabel Lockhart stared in surprise at Loken from where she sat behind a luxurious mahogany desk, elbows resting against the desk, a hand slowly lifting a small cup of hot tea towards her lips."Professor Lockhart, I presume?" He asked while looking the woman over. She was a dark haired women with soft brown skin that served as a contrast for jubilant, thoughtful eyes, and lips that formed into a pleasant smile. The Professor nodded her head as she ate from a small pastry in her other hand. "I am she. And who might you be?"
The Cultist ran his fingers through his hair to adjust any unkempt strands with a soft smirk on his lips as he stepped towards her; his journal tucked under his arm. "My name is Loken, and I am here to attend your political course." The Professor made an obvious gesture with the pastry in her other hand towards the empty seats in the lecture hall. Loken's brow quirked as the woman chuckled to herself. “You are impressively early, even by my standards. I love to start the day with a good debate, and spend the rest of the day debating with friends.” Loken's eyes glanced up to an exquisite timepiece on the wall that showed It was only ten chimes after the seventh bell.
Loken retrieved his journal from where it rested under his arm, removing a piece of parchment that he used as a book mark. It was his course schedule that he was given by the University. “Introduction to Political Enlightenment, taught by Professor Lockhart. Location: East Wing, lecture hall seven. Fifteen chimes after the seventh bell.” He read aloud in a matter of fact tone. "I believe that punctuality is a good virtue. With that said, I do hope to learn much from you."
The Professor ate the remainder of her sweet pastry, enjoying a breakfast that looked more like a confectionery party platter. "That is a hope we both share, Mr. Loken. We shall get started shortly, so make yourself at home." Loken turned on his heels, leaving the woman to her morning meal as he took a seat at one of the front desks. It was a long table able to sit three people, so obviously he took the middle seat to turn the whole thing into his own personal workstation.
His journal opened up to an empty page at the center of the desk, a vile of ink from retrieved from his backpack was placed perfectly at the upper right corner of the book as he held a quill in one hand. Once the timepiece on the wall hit the fifteenth chime, a sparse number of other students began to filter in to join Loken in the lecture hall, each talking amongst themselves; only enough students to barely fill a quarter of the empty seats.
The professor glanced around to her students as she stood up from her seat. She spoke with an air of confidences as she remained seated with her arms crossed. "The University wasn't kidding when they said they were limiting registration. None the less, lets get started." Loken dipped the tip of his quill into the ink, ready to write down important notes.
"The most basic concept of a government is that it can be categorized as a frame. These 'Frames of Government', are an abstract construction of reality. And the people within them can only ever see the frame, compelled to emulate what the frame looks like by believing it to be the only idea form of justice and civil liberty." Nearly inaudible scratches began to emanate from where the tip of his quill slid along the page of his journal. Writing down the professors words verbatim.
"Why would they believe that? Because the frame offers the 'mob' a stable way of life. There are many frames that can make up a city but, the pictures they hold can change at any moment by the the same people who live within them. Laws can be passed or removed to suit a leaders self interest, or positions of power can be changed in the blink of an eye; one example being the remove of the Lord of Council last season. This is why politics is both an art and a science. " His note taking was painstakingly slow, only managing to scribble down a a few words before having to set the quill back into the ink. By the time he returned it to the page, he had to quickly scrawl down what he believed she said to catch up.
"As you dive deeper into this course, you will learn how to craft the framework or alter them to suit your interests. You will come to understand each frame and walk between them as if critics in an art gallery."
