When Kastadel turned to her, Reira frowned, relieved but suddenly concerned. This was the man she remembered as her teacher - but obviously, something was very wrong, if he had felt it necessary to wait until Corvus was out of earshot and out of the room before he could speak frankly with her. That meant things in the capital had gotten worse, not better, in the time she'd gone... and it also meant that the Alchemists had some position of power now, that they hadn't held before.<br/><br/>"What's happened while I was gone?" Reira asked softly, her eyes widening at the urgency in her teacher's eyes. "Why was I told that you were ill, and abed - and why does Corvus now come here, as if he holds the right to order me around?" Anger filled her voice then, anger and indignation at how he had spoken towards her. "I am the only student of the King's Archmage; the only people who have the right to order<em>me</em>around are you, and His Majesty."<br/><br/>About to ask more, she bit her lip, trying to calm herself. "What has happened? What's changed? Did you send me away knowing that things would become like this, when I could have been of some help to you?" Her voice shook with worry, and anger; she couldn't believe that Kastadel might not have had some inkling that things might become as bad as this - whatever had happened in her absence. He was trying to protect her again.<br/><br/>"What are those self-styled hack alchemists doing here?"