And well spoken he was, though direct. Luckily Mr. Johnson was more than acquainted with manners akin to his, receiving much worse from both the Guild's representatives and the universities, in differently flavors.
A was a clearly quick witted man who listened smartly to the words, and took no more than a moment to realize them as good new for the city. Appropriately, however, he did not smiles. How bobbed his head in a seated bow of sorts, giving an appropriate recognition of the tragedy, then spoke.
"That is very kind of you, Mister- " his eyes flicked to the paper he had mindlessly jotted Hadrian's name down on when he walked in, but did not recognize the name as being the new professor at the school, '- Aelius. She will dearly be missed by many, and I do believe I public ceremony is planned. I will ensure the date for the proceedings are sent in hand to the university to your suit, so that you do not miss it." Again, with flawless practice at his job he upheld a fluid and profession front as his hand raced without him looking across the page. "For now, what don't you take a seat while I go check if the Lord of Counsel is available. Something tells me she will want to speak with you herself, Mr. Aelius." He said, rising up, and gesturing toward a set of red velvet topped long benched, more akin to ornately carved pews bordering the walls, as he rose from his chair. He then disappeared into the other room, with a final look at Hadrian's clothing. He sure knew how to make a statement.
The room was comfortable, even when empty, still warm and well insulated from the air outside, whole still inviting in plenty of fresh hair. Truly a marvel of architecture, clearly pre valterrian. It was a good thing, too, because the handsome yet aging man was gone for some time, before emerging from a second set of doors, these ones smaller, not alone but with a gorgeous women in his wake.
She boldly stepped forward before him, and she was indeed a sight to be seen. Her clothes were not ceremonial of overly proper, instead a light summer dress freckled with modestly applied embroidery to give texture. Though the design was simple the fabric was divine, not ostentatious, but quality. And in short the same statement could be used to describe everything about this women. Her skin was aging, she was no young women, but she had the frame of one tucked modestly under a full, but not busty, exterior. She was a women, in her peak, not petite or learning, but experienced and confident.
Her aura revealed something else, however. She was changing, growing, much as Hadrian had seen with his own eyes during his return to those shores that Zeltiva was. She had partly been broken down, by loss, by sorrow, and partly build up by the same pain. There was a determination in her, a strong gust of wind along the backdrop of something simpler. Lavender purple, smell of fresh salty airs, and the radiance of a partially cloudy day on a Zeltivan mountain top. She was a normal Zeltivan women behind those experiences, behind everything, and Hadrian didn't need magic to abstract that from her. She was so much Zeltivan that her blood seemed to course with the land itself in her veins, and nobody seemed more worthy to stand upon a boat, and think upon the world the peers. She seemed Zeltivan so much that the building around them seemed an adornment to her, not the other way around.
She smiled, genuinely, "Professor, I had heard they had tucked you away in the University sometime upon arrival, I am pleased you found the time to come visit." Her eyes looked directly to his, and took not even a moment to terry on hid clothes, though she would not have disapproved.
Her face maintained her kindness, and without apology her gave a consoling look, which proved her statement true when she continues to say, "I understand you recently heard of Eth- Miss Farson. It really was a tragedy. She was an idol of mine, and we had many close discussions. We will all miss her dearly. I do hope you got the chance to know her intimately while you were studying here?" She asked, one hand still resting on the knob of the door she had not even opened herself before her assistant spoke out from behind her, barely a nudge of a word before the women corrected herself.
She was not embarrassed, and did not say so, though she did say suddenly in decorum she had earlier shunned, possibly on purpose. "Maria Satterthwite, Lord of Counsel. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Aelius. I understand you wanted to discuss perhaps helping Zeltiva, and I would love to hear more. If you have the time around your pupils would you mind coming in and sitting down? It's more comfortable." She smiled, though this one partial fake. A partial grimace through the paleness in her face.
If consented Maria would guide Hadrian off, though not to the office chamber where she usually met with people and received gifts, but to a more personal parlor, with flawlessly arranged furniture, not over bearing but not sparse, set elegantly float in a hearthed room wreathed in etchings along the wall and painted in natural tones which gave a calming sense to the room, and fit the Lord of Counsel perfectly. She sat first upon the soft green velvet seats of a settee.