[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Most people aren't capable of destroying a realm." Madame Belle pointed out. "Wether you like it or not, this creature must be held to a higher standard."

[Eskal]

"His name is 'Aiden'." Cormac said sternly.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Don't you take that tone with me, boy."

"And don't take that tone with my grandson!" Seroteth snapped.

"Everyone, please! All this arguing does nothing, the fact is, this THING is dangerous, and we need to terminate it!"

Astien recoiled an clutched his belly protectively, fearfully. "My son is not a 'thing'! And he hasn't done anything!"

"Hasn't done anything yet! Which is why we need-"

"Over my dead body!" Seroteth bellowed.

[Eskal]

Marius took out the stack of papers from the petition. "And you'll have the entire school to go through as well."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

The board members looked at the pages set before them, murmuring amongst themselves. "Professor Tymnas' popularity is not the matter at hand here." Madame Belle said. "While he is one of the more loved instructors, and he would be missed, the cruel truth is that all that we are doing here is to protect them. I can appreciate the effort that must have gone into getting these, but the students do not understand this situation, and thus their words on the matter are irrelevant."

[Eskal]

"I think you'd be surprised in how much they understand," Marius stated. "All I see is a fancied up version of what transpires in Havards Pass."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"If this were Havard's Pass, these children wouldn't even be alive right now! We are trying to protect them, but you are short-sighted fools focusing on one life against millions of others! We need to kill-"

"That would make you a hypocrite." Delas stated, not looking up from his book.

[Eskal]

"It does. Doesn't it?" Cormac smirked.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"Everyone, quiet!" Madame Belle ordered. "Do elaborate."

"One hundred and seventy five yers ago, there was an incident where a student was possessed in a conjuration ritual gone wrong. It was clear that the possessed student was a danger to everyone in the school, even the town nearby, but it was decided that the student would be allowed to live, and that another solution would be found. As was written by the head of the school at the time, 'we don't kill our own.'"

[Eskal]

Marius smiled. "Aiden is Astien's son and Asiten has worked here for quite a while so you would be killing your own by going through with your plans."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"That was in regards to one of our students. As instructors, we place our student's lives above ours."

"Another thing occurred, about ninety five years ago. A resident botched a summoning ritual, and as a result, actually wound up in a similar situation as Astien." Delas briefly looked up at the board, before returning to his findings. "He somehow managed to sort of... Impregnate himself with a spirit that didn't make it to the afterlife, though at the time it was assumed that it was some kind of hostile entity. The board an the instructors didn't know what to do, and were concerned for the students and the other residents. He wasn't killed, though. The academy issued a statement to all the other instructors and residents, 'do not give the being reason to be violent.' If that worked then, why shouldn't it work for this? That being was an unknown to you, but in this case, you know more about the being in question."

[Eskal]

Cormac nodded.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"That decision was made before-"

"The decision was made 'by the school'. The statement was made by the school, as though the school as its own being. There were more unknowns in thy situation then there are here, so if the school decides not to do the same thing here, then the school is a hypocrite."

[Eskal]

"Being seen as a hypocrite wouldn't look all that good to prospective students," Marius said. "If I heard a school did away with one of their most respected and most loved instructors, I would make it a point to attend elsewhere."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"This is a different matter! We are talking about a thing that could potentially destroy-"

"We're talking about 'the danger to the students' along with the appropriate measures to take for the situation. If the measures worked for a situation with more unknowns than this one, then why shouldn't it be the same here? Not to mention, the school really only has reason to be concerned with itself. Dead is dead. What does 'the potential scale of destruction' matter to the school?"

[Eskal]

"That is a good question," Cormac said. "Who are you to say what is or is not a threat? You're not world leaders. You're educators."

[FweepFwopFwoop]

"If something happens to the students, what will happen then?! The academy will be shut down, and then where can these children and these adults learn?! Everything will be lost, all of our knowledge, books, artifacts, and… and…"

"So what is it then? Ate you trying to protect your students? Or are you trying to stay open and keep your reputation as a bastion of knowledge?" Delas asked. The board members were silent.

[Eskal]

Marius smirked.

[FweepFwopFwoop]

The board members whispered among themselves. "This hearing will take a short recess while the members of the board discuss what has been said. Please exit the room."

Everyone did so, finding themselves in a waiting room/lounge down the hall. Seroteth was speaking with Siran, and Astien was sittin on the couch, cradling his belly and rubbing it tenderly as Aiden moved around.

[Eskal]

Marius sat beside Astien and put an arm around him as he kissed his head. Cormac slumped against the wall and sighed.