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master." She deposited her tomes forcefully into one of Fred's saddlebags, giving him a fiery glare and yanking his lead from the post.

Fred sat where he was and would not move.

"Come on then, ye damnable feline! We must be off."
"I am not a pet." he stated coldly.
"Is that right? Well what would you call yourself, then?"
"I was hoping I was your friend and traveling companion. Maybe even your personal guard."
"Well, unless you are the latter and my 'financial care' is your pay, what you are is a pet- just as far as any who see us is concerned."
Folken walking past gave the girl a wide berth and a puzzled glance as she apparently argued with a dumb beast. She drew closer to him and whispered harshly.
"And you are embarrassing me. Get off your great backside and follow."
"No. I am no longer your pet, nor your beast of burden. Find yourself another familiar to boss around."
Saure set her lip, standing straight. Tears twinkled in her eyes, but she refused to shed them.
"Fine. I didn't want to have to do this, you know."
She drew a great breath through her nostrils, placing a splayed hand to his forehead, and pushed downward.
"What are…" Fred began to protest, but then quickly realized that Saure was rapidly growing in size. He was frozen to the spot, and could only look up in bewilderment. Then he realized that it was not just Saure which grew, everything towered above him. The saddlebags soon got heavier and looser around him, and slid to the ground. Saure's fingers soon blocked his view.

"I learned this fauna spell last night. I didn't expect I'd have to use it so soon, but there you have it. You'll be easier to feed for now, at least." And with that, she picked up the cat - now at a normal cat's size- and set his body about her shoulders. She picked up the bags and draped them over

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her arm. Fred was too shocked to say anything, or even move.

The lead was now much too big for him, so Saure simply fastened the belts around her own waist. To hell with fashion. She sighed, setting off into the stream of human traffic. Fred hissed in her ear as a cart nearly ran them down.
"Damnit, girl! I can't stand being this size. Turn me back."
"Not till you learn to behave in public. Be quiet, I'm trying to think."

Fred coughed indignantly and sulked as best he could.

Saure wandered deeper into the juxt, finding herself on the steps of a great white alabaster and marble building. A flood of people streamed into this somewhat nondescript edifice. Saure caught the arm of another young woman making her way up the steps.

"Excuse me, but what is this place?" she inquired.
"The University of the Noranlands." the girl replied tonelessly with a quick glance in Saure's direction, and continued her trek up the stone steps.
Of course this did not satisfy her curiosity, so she entered the human herd and made the trek herself. She knew what universities were, but you and I know them to be something quite different. Man universities in Avarae (or, at least in the Noranlands) are not only places of learning, study, and research. They are places where one defines their life path. Yes, I'm sure you'll agree that universities here are used in the same way, but one chooses one's path on Earth, for the most part. In Nora, your path is decided for you.

The extent of this fact was as yet unknown to our protagonist. She merely assumed that one demonstrated their knowledge in a given subject and pleaded their case to a panel of judges- Parapheums, as they're known. Then, after they are deemed knowledgeable and appropriate for their preferred career, they are assigned the required licenses, degrees, and a badge- and sent on their merry way to seek