Vivian adjusted her glasses and carefully traced another line in her notebook, forming the delicate curves of an amplification rune. The common room buzzed with the usual afternoon chatter, but she'd found a corner table where she could work relatively undisturbed. Her collection of runic theory books formed a protective wall around her workspace.She was working on a theoretical modification to the standard light rune--adding a tertiary loop that might allow for color variation without requiring additional mana input. It was probably beyond sixth-year level work, but runes had always made more sense to her than people did."Hey, Eren, I heard you know our new teacher?"The voice drifted over from a nearby table where Kaelan had just sat down across from Eren. Vivian didn't look up from her work, but she couldn't help overhearing."What do you mean?" Eren's voice sounded cautious."My father's on the Academy Council," Kaelan said, lowering his voice with the satisfaction of someone about to deliver premium gossip. "He told me the battle mage sixth years are getting a new runicology professor this year."Vivian's hand paused mid-stroke. A new runicology professor? That was actually interesting. Professor Jade had been teaching the same material for decades without any real innovation."It's the Ghost."There was a long pause. Vivian glanced up to see Eren staring at Kaelan with an unreadable expression."The Ghost of Xerkes," Kaelan continued, clearly enjoying the reaction he was getting. "You know, the guy who--""I know who you mean," Eren said quietly."My father was at the meeting when they announced it. Apparently he applied for the position and they couldn't say no. I mean, who's going to turn down a four times Krozball champion?"Now Vivian did look up properly, her attention fully captured."The guy's what, Nineteen? Twenty?" (...)