~As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.~
~The Raven~
~Edgar Allen Poe~

It had taken far longer than it should have. For some reason people seemed reluctant to even point the way to this Ravensheart Academy. Finally at last Arak stood before the outer gates of this seemingly infamous school of magic.
The first thing he noticed was this place was fused with magic, through and through. A great heartbeat of a living thing, this seeming building was alive, or at least linked to something alive.

The gryphon opened his mind and inner senses and gathered whatever information he could. Spells and wards layered upon one another, a dense shielding that ran from the front gates and through every brick and stone.

"Well, might as well get this over with." And Arak reached out an avian hand and touched the bars of the front gate. Along with his physical touch, Arak released a small surge of magical energy, the magical equivalent of ringing the doorbell as his magic triggered the outer layers of magical defense set upon the Academy.

If he was inside, there was little chance that the headmaster could miss such a knock at the door...

Arak looked the seeming human over with both eyes and other senses, a feathered brow rising slightly at the vast magical potential this man possessed. Finally a polite nod before the gryphon replied, "You must be the headmaster? My name is Arak Kryyn, MageKnight of the Sunari people. I wanted to ask you about a job."

Arak smiled and offered his hand to Briarius through the gate. "More specifically, for a few weeks now I've been considering teaching students in the fields of magic. Now seeing as there already seems to be a magical college, I thought I would come see if you could use another instructor?"

Arak moved in step beside the headmaster, glancing around as they entered the estate of the Academy. Another blink at the multitude layers of magical defenses stacked upon each other, the ones from the outside merely masking the ones within. This place was virtually a fortress!

Briarius' question brought the gryphon back to the present, the man's terse replies enough to focus Arak's thoughts.
"Let's see. I suppose for a start I can explain my species. I am a Sunari, a race of magical creatures originating from a universe other than this one that Rhydin resides. In my culture, there are two social classes: the commoners, and the Mageborne. Mageborne are exactly what that sounds like, we are magical at birth. Our bodies literally breathe magical energy, and without it, we die."

Arak paused a moment to gague the headmaster's reaction, and noticed something he hadn't before. When Briarius' turned his head to listen, the hair that had earlier concealed his ears fell away. Ah, so the headmaster wasn't human after all. Sometimes it was hard to tell on Rhydin exactly what species someone was. A mental headshake to banish those thoughts and Arak continues.
"Mageborne have a natural aptitude for virtually any form of magic. We learn extremely fast, and in some cases we can learn new types of magic simply by witnessing and observing. It is only the more complex magics, or those innate to a particular species, which require any great length of study."

"For some time now I've been simply wandering the universes, exploring and learning. I've been to Rhydin before, some ten years ago. This time, I'd like to leave something behind, so I thought I'd try my hand at teaching what I know."