You find your room

You follow the rest of the Transmutation students inside and find that it's also well furnished inside, with drapes over the windows and rugs lining the ground. Small effects in the grand scheme of things, but it didn't go overlooked to you and a few others that such detail and separate materials had been formed at once. You were no expert, but you imagined to go to such lengths was an extraordinary thing.

Despite the fantastical display and well established building, the rest of the evening seemed to go by rather dully. Grigor dished out room assignments and gave directions for which each student faithfully obeyed, even some of the more extravagant looking individuals that likely saw this as a step down from their usual abodes.

You, however, could not be more excited with your room. Having grown up in squalor and under the abusive hand of a man that did not care for you, a room that had been barely larger than a closet with little more than a blanket on the ground for which you could sleep on had been your room. Now, you stood in almost embarrassed amazement. You had a full sized bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a window to overlook the land, and still so much room to put other things or do something that required space.

"It would seem Lady Morgana's tales of your origin weren't exaggerated." the recently familiar voice of Grigor suddenly announced, causing you to jump into the room and spin on your heel in surprise.

Laughing, the man stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Pardon my intrusion, but Lady Morgana wished for me to have a conversation with you. She had made mention of finding a diamond in the rough while passing through a ramshackle village that hadn't even made it to the maps, but I don't think anyone was expecting that little display of yours at the opening ceremony." Grigor apologized, tapping a heel on the ground and forming a stool from the floor itself. "Please, take a seat, we have some things we must discuss."

Looking around, you went and grabbed the chair from the desk and pulled it over to face Grigor, but you couldn't help but notice the somewhat sour look on his face as you did so. "I-I'm sorry, should I not have-"

"Oh, no, pardon me. I just... well, like I said, Lady Morgana did not exaggerate when she regaled the rest of the instructors of your place of origin, but... in all honesty, none of us thought it were possible that such a wellspring of mana were to be so... unaware of their own potential." Grigor stated, one of his hands digging into a pocket in his tunic, his eyes locked on you the entire time.

Nodding slightly in understanding, you answer "I don't think anyone in my village ever came close to a magic user before. Even simple parlor tricks were rare among my people. Nobody ever knew what to look for I guess."

"True, very true, but still shocking. I've seen children with a fraction of your power unintentionally use magic, but you're absolutely untapped. I've got no manner of understanding how far your talents extend and in what direction. I mean, sure, you've got a natural inclination towards Transmutation, but which aspects we have no idea. As you'll come to learn, everything can be broken down into smaller, more exact elements. Be it magic or materials." Grigor replied, giving some insight. You weren't a genius, but you got that even with the already divided specializations of magic, they could be broken down into even more distinct focuses.

"I'm guessing you're here to figure that out now?" you inquired, leaning forward a bit in the chair, hearing it creak beneath you.

"Not now, no." Grigor saiid with a shake of his head, finally fishing something out of his pocket. It was a dark red jewel, somewhat similar to the rubies you had seen him with before, but it was more... brilliant somehow. Merely looking at it seemed to draw in your attention, prompting Grigor to curl his fingers around it, obstructing your view. "I see you've got an eye for my Philosopher's Stone."

Shaking the unusual compulsion from your head, you looked back to Grigor with confusion. "Philosopher's Stone?"

"A magical object, one of the most powerful in all of Transmutation. It makes the magic all that much easier, allowing one to essentially ignore certain limitations either placed upon themselves by their magic or the science that goes with our art, and go farther than usually capable. Had I used this during the creation of this building, I'd have been able to make it all on my own." Grigor explained, opening his hand up again and showing the stone once more. It drew your attention as it had before, but you weren't totally drawn into it.

"Why... are you showing me this?" you asked, forcing yourself to look to Grigor and not the stone.

"A test of sorts. Your natural draw towards it is proof that the magic in your body wants to make use of it. I don't have doubts about your talents, but you'll find that Transmuters, or at least the good ones, approach things more... scientifically than others. Magic is still a major part of who we are and what we do, but we explore what it is that our magic does to make things change... actually, that makes me think. Are you aware of alchemy?" Grigor asked in all seriousness, pocketing the Philosopher's Stone once more.

With a certain nod, you reply "It's, like, magic science. The sort of thing that makes coal into gold or water into wine."

"Sort of. Alchemy is far more science than magic. It seeks to change the properties of objects without magic. Transmutation, but far more complicated and less satisfying results for the work you put in. But as I said, good Transmuters take a scientific approach. You can create catalysts, things that will make your magic stronger with less effort. Now, with your wealth of mana, I doubt you'd truly need it, but I will ask if you want to take some additional lessons. I'd find you a tutor from one of the current classes who'd be willing to teach you alchemy. I'd be lying if I said it'd be easy or fun, but someone with your lack of experience may benefit greatly from this." Grigor explained. It was weird for him to ask you all this as well. You never got an education before, but you could imagine this was what it'd be like, truly conversing with others on how to best hone your skills. The only question was, would you really be able to make use of this, or would it be a waste of your time?