Siesta fretted as she walked to the infirmary. The last time she had tried to talk to the Lady Françoise about her missing pendant, she had been yelled at. Granted, the noble had seemed rather distracted at the moment, so it was likely a matter of bad timing. Still, Siesta was always nervous when it came to the nobility. If a Lord or Lady wanted to, say, beat one of the common folk, there wasn't much that said commoner could do about it. Of course, they would have to come up with a reason and there were limits to what they could do, but it was safe to say that a commoner's fate was typically in the hands of those that ruled them.

If it were any other piece of jewelry or item the maid would have written it off as a loss, but this was the pendant that her grandfather had given her before he died. He never went into much detail about his religion, but she knew that he would always clutch it tight and frown when he heard sermons of Founderism. When she had asked him about it, all he would say was "God loves us all, not just those with magic." His displeasure with the disparity between those with magic and those without was something that Siesta shared, and was likely the reason he had given it to her before he passed.

And so, when she had heard that the Lady Francois had passed out during the summoning ritual, she had volunteered to be one to check in on her. After all, if she was doing her duty taking her laundry and she happened to find her lost pendant among them, who would argue with her? The Lady had already remarked on her distaste for the item, and while she did seem a little high strung, Siesta doubted that the young noble was so needlessly cruel to try to claim it as her own.

However, the maid had this plan in mind under the assumption that the Lady would be alone and asleep, and upon opening the door to the infirmary, she found that this was not the case. She found that there was a man sitting beside the lady's bedside, a soldier by the look of it. He wore brass colored armor and white cloth and had an equally white cape draped over his back. Rather notable was the fact that his brown hair reached down to mid back, somewhat longer than most military men would consider fashionable.

The man turned to look as Siesta as she walked into the room, his posture straightening as he looked at her. Siesta stiffed an 'eep', as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. Now this his torso turned to her, she could see that the armor was somewhat more ornate than she thought. Not only that, the man had a sort of... bearing about him. A certainness of presence about him that she had only seen on those who were in charge. It was clear to Siesta that the man in front of her was a noble as well.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." She said. "I-I'm here to see to the lady's needs."

The man gave a small frown and tilted his head. When he responded, he did so in a language that the maid did not understand. Was that... Romalian? She thought in confusion. When it was clear that she did not understand what he had said, he spoke again, this time in a language that sounded somewhat closer to Tristainian, but still incomprehensible to her. He must be some kind of foreign dignitary, she thought.

Still, if he was, he should at least know the language of the country he was in. Siesta did not know what business he might have with the Lady, but considering the circumstances she was in no position to ask. Such as it was, she was left in a somewhat awkward position. She still had to do her job (and look for her pendant), but the man did not seem to understand why she was there. She would have thought that her uniform would give her purpose away, but perhaps servants were dressed differently where he was from? Considering how he did not seem to know Tristainian, this reinforced the idea that he was from some distant land.

The next minute or so was filled with awkward gestures and pantomimes, but the maid eventually got her point across. It was not as painful as she might have thought, as the man was surprisingly patient for a Lord, showing no frustration or irritation at her attempts to communicate. When all was said and done, he moved out of her way and she got to work. Another member of the staff had changed the Lady into a gown and her clothes were put into a small pile on nearby table. Siesta took a brief moment to search them and to her dismay found that her pendant was not there. She would have preferred to do a more thorough search, but with the Lord present, she did not want to look suspicious by rooting through the other woman's clothes, especially when she would not be able to explain herself. So she set about her other duties, changing the water in the basin, making changing the beds not in use, and so on.

When she had finished, she returned to the Lady Françoise's side and gave a small frown. She could still try asking her about it later, but that was not a conversation she was looking forward to. She gave a small start when she realized that the Lord was looking at her curiously. "Oh! I was, uh, just thinking that she needed another pillow!" she said and she turned to snatch another one from an adjacent bed. When she turned back she paused, both in uncertainty about having to move the Lady to put said pillow under her head, as well as in mild embarrassment that she had bothered to say such a thing to someone who could not understand her.

However, the Lord understood and Siesta briefly blinked in surprise as he helpfully pulled the Lady into a half sitting position so that she could do as she intended. She placed the pillow down and he laid the other woman back down careful. He then paused, his eyes focusing on something. Following his gaze, Siesta found that he was looking at the Lady's left hand, which was closed into a tight fist. The Lord carefully pried it open, and both were surprised to see Siesta's pendant pressed into her palm.

The maid felt both relief and dismay at this. The first because she now knew for certain that she had not simply dropped it somewhere, and the second at the way they man reverently took it from the Lady's hand. Why would he be so amazed by it? It was just a piece of wood to him. It only held any meaning to Siesta herself. Still, with the way he was staring at it, it didn't look like he wanted to part with it any time soon.

But it was her grandfather's pendant. She had to try. "Umm, my Lord?" she asked nervously, the man's attention turning to her. "I-I don't mean to be rude, but that is mine." She said, pointing at the object in his hand.

He of course did not understand, and merely frowned slightly. Still, the maid continued on. "I mean, I know you can't really understand me, but that belong to my grandfather and... he gave to me when he died, and it would mean a lot to me is you gave it back, and..." she rambled on like this for a while, frequently gesturing in order to get her meaning across. While the Lord was just as patient as before, it seemed he was not able to understand her this time, as the subject was somewhat more complex. She became increasingly frustrated, particularly when his expression changed and she thought she had gotten through to him. He blinked and looked down at the cross he held, and then his fist closed around it, his head still cast down as if in thought.

Siesta felt tears well up behind her eyes, but she held them back. She simply did not know what to do. She could not just take it from him, and she could not make him understand. Eventually, in defeat, she stuttered out "I-I am sorry for b-bothering you." before she swiftly moved to the door. However, as her hand wrapped around the handle she felt a hand firmly grip her shoulder. She tensed and slowly turned around, finding that the man had stopped her, but she was uncertain as to why.

There was a moment's pause between the two of them before he gave her one of the warmest smiles she had ever seen. Siesta blushed at this, suddenly becoming rather acutely aware of the man's strong features. The Lord then took her hand and pressed the pendant into her palm, still smiling as he did so. She blinked in surprise, looking back between her hand and the Lord several times. "You... you're..." she said in disbelief before a happy smile of her own broke out on her face. "Th-thank you, my Lord!" The fact that the pendant was hers to begin with was lost to her at the moment, as she felt so happy that he was giving it to her even though he seemed to want it himself.

After a few more thanks, she left in infirmary in higher spirits than when she entered.

Jean Colbert moved out of the way of a rather happy looking maid as he made his way to the infirmary. He had been meaning to check on Louise much sooner, but he had been quickly sidetracked by other things soon after she had passed out. As the servants had carried her off, one of the junior teachers had run up to him in a panic, yelling about how half of the magical items in the academy had broken or stopped working.

At first the professor had thought that the man was exaggerating, but had found to his great alarm that it was not the case. In addition to the shattered Mage Lights in the courtyard, most small things around the academy imbued with magic (some books with preservation spells, some alviss, even some novelty baubles which did nothing but spin around and emit light in an amusing fashion) had all become inert. He had at first wondered if there had been some kind of disruptive event (Louise's particularly interesting summon came to mind), but he then learned to his even greater alarm that many of the more powerful enchantments throughout the academy had become weaker as well.

Even though it was all speculation at this point, the worst that should have happened if there was some kind of disruptive magical force (which was unheard of) was that the item would be disenchanted or there should have been a small fluctuation before it returned to normal. However, this didn't seem like a disruption so much as the magic was… drained. He had no idea where it could have gone or what had caused it, but such investigation would have to take place later. He had already informed headmaster Osmund of the situation and both agreed that getting all of the academy wards back to full strength took top priority. It would not do for someone to learn that the defenses were weakened, both for the sake of the students and for the many valuable items stored away within the central tower vault.

He pushed such thoughts aside as he opened the door to the infirmary, and was greeted with the sight of Louise still asleep in her bed with the man she summoned standing next to her. Now this was something that had been teasing at Jean's brain ever since the summoning. As far as he knew, there had never been a human familiar before, though something about that seemed wrong and tugged at his memory. Whatever the case, the man himself also stuck the professor as odd. The man was clearly a soldier, one of respectable rank judging by the way he carried himself, though his attire was not of any nation he recognized. The fact that he had spoken in Ancient Romalian was also of particular interest. Only scholars knew that dead language with any proficiency, so why a soldier could speak it was a mystery.

The man turned to face the professor. It was hard to see, but he tensed slightly upon the sight of Jean before relaxing his body after a moment. Normally this would have been brushed off, but Jean knew that he had done so in response to his own subtle posture change when he had seen the soldier in the room.

He had not always been a teacher after all.

Jean held the man's gaze, as if trying to find answers through his eyes. No one else present at the summoning had thought anything of the summoned man, dismissing him as an oddity or more proof of Louise's ineptitude at magic. Well, except for the dragon that Tabitha had summoned, of all things. Jean had noticed that it had tried to hide behind the blue haired girl upon seeing the man, a rather comical sight considering the difference in size. If he did not know better, he would have said that the dragon was afraid of him, but that was preposterous. After a moment, he finally said "I'm sorry to intrude, but I am checking on the welfare of my student. I would also like to speak to you if that is alright."

The soldier gave a small frown and replied in Ancient Romalian "I am sorry, but I do not understand you."

So he does not know Tristainian at all, Jean thought to himself before replying in kind "It is most strange that you would choose such an old language to speak in considering your occupation. You are lucky that I am rather versed in the language myself as I spend much of my time researching. Tell me, why do you know it?"

"It is the language of my homeland." He replied simply. "I am afraid while I am well traveled, I am not familiar with this land or its tongue. It bears a passing resemblance to the language spoken by those of Gaul, but it is such a different dialect that I believe that I will have to spend some time acquainting myself with it."

Jean frowned at this and was about to ask him more before he realized his oversight. "Ah, do forgive me for being rude, I have not yet introduced myself." He gave a slight bow of his head. "I am Professor Jean Colbert of the Tristain Academy of Magic."

The man bowed his head in kind. "I am Tribune Georgius de Lydda, formally of the Praetorian Guard to the Emperor of Rome."

Jean could tell from the man's inflection that Tribune was not his first name, but rather his rank, although he had never heard of it before. "I am afraid that I am not familiar with that rank. As well, when you say Rome, do mean Romalia?"

Georgius blinked in surprise before giving a sigh. "That is indeed possible. It has been quite some time since I have been to that land, and it is likely that the name has changed since then."

Jen frowned at this. "To my knowledge Romalia has been named as such for the past 6 thousand years, ever since the Papacy was established."

"Then I am afraid that I do not know where I am." The man replied before he muttered. "Or it has been even longer than I thought."

Jean paused in confusion for a moment before shaking his head. Georgius was most likely from a group of people that had splintered off from Romalia sometime in the past, and had traveled a distance to forge their own nation, likely a great distance away. The only other option was that he was from the very distant past, but that was both ridiculous and did not add up. "I shall see that you get a look at some of our maps at some point to determine where your homeland is. In the meantime, I have some concerns. Namely the fact you are a soldier of a foreign nation. That could cause… complications if you are now in the service of Miss Françoise as you claim."

Georgius held up a placating hand. "It will not be an issue for a number of reasons, first and foremost that I am no long a part of the Roman military. I was…" he paused, an uncomfortable look crossing his face. "I must ask, in this… academy of magic, is it common that Heroic Spirits are summoned?"

"Heroic Spirit? What is that?" Jean asked. "There have never been any cases of a mage summoning a spirit as a familiar. Animals and magical beasts are the sort of creature which the summoning ritual brings forth. In fact, as far as I know you are the first human being to become one. Now, why do you ask?"

"It is nothing," he said quickly. "Suffice to say, I hold no allegiance to the Roman Empire." He turned to look at the sleeping girl and changed the subject. "Now, do you know how long till my master recovers?"

Jean stepped forward to stand next to the bed. "Not much longer I should thing. She is suffering from a minor case of Willpower Depletion. It is not uncommon among learning students who push themselves too hard."

Georgius did not look at him but said "I must say, I have never seen such a large institution for the practice of magic. Most practitioners that I have seen are solitary, or prefer a master-apprentice sort of relationship."

"Really?" Jean asked with no small amount of interest, the scholarly part of him taking over. "There is no societal involvement in the teaching of magic? That would mean technique would likely be kept within lines of teaching, and that would vastly change the structure of society as a whole. Tell me, how is your government structured? Is there a royal line or does the noble family with the strongest techniques holds the position of power? Are there families dedicated to-"

The soldier held up a hand to forestall the professor's questions. "Perhaps another time. For now, if there is nothing else for you to do I would like to be alone with my thoughts for a while. This is all very new to me."

Jean mentally berated himself. Georgius had been suddenly taken away from his homeland and had no idea where he was or how to even speak the native language. He would at the very least need some time to adjust. "Of course, I apologize. I look forward to speaking with you later."

He made to leave when he was stopped by the other man. "Wait. If I may ask a question before you go?"

"Yes, of course, what is it?"

"What is the state of Christianity? Are men and women free to worship God and our savoir Jesus Christ?"

Jean tilted his head. "Again, I am not sure what you mean. Of course all are free to worship God, but I have not heard of this Christianity or Jesus Christ."

A mixture of emotions crossed Georgius's face, a combination of surprise, relief and… sadness? "Thank you." The man said. "That is all I need to know for now."

Georgius sat still in the chair by his master's bedside for sometime after the professor left, thinking about the situation he had found himself in. He had been summoned, fully and completely, to be mage's familiar of all things. He did not think he was just a pale copy sent from the Throne as usual, but than again, how could he tell? He had an ego, but such was also the case of those sent to participate in the Grail War, so it was possible that he was simply a better copy.

He looked down at his hand and flexed it, feeling the muscles and tendons clench and relax. There was one thing he was certain of though; he was alive. This was no mere construct body that would fade away if not given enough magic, but rather flesh and blood. To be honest, it made him somewhat uncomfortable. Resurrection was one of the greatest miracles Christ preformed, and it seemed that the same had been bestowed upon himself. By teenage girl, completely unintentionally if he understood the situation correctly. Either the art of magic had advanced far beyond what he thought possible, or…

There was something very special about this girl.

He looked at the sleeping form of his master, wondering just how he could address his martyrdom. It was clear that his legend was either not known in these parts or had been forgotten entirely. If the summoning of Heroic Spirits was in fact not something had happened in this land before, then they would probably not believe him if he told them of just how he left the employ of the Roman Empire. And perhaps accuse him of blasphemy, depending on how they viewed such things.

The soldier's frown deepened. The religion of the people of this Tristain was another thing that concerned him. God was known and worshiped, but there was no knowledge of Christ? Were these people like those originally chosen of God? Whatever the case, he would have to investigate further to see how closely it resembled his own Christianity (or Judaism if his guess was correct). If necessary, he would spread the word of Christ as he once had when he traveled the world.

As he thought about his travels, he remembered one of the more prominent ones, and the token he had received from it. He had been rather surprised to see that crucifix again, though it did explain why he specifically was summoned. What was more surprising was that dark haired servant's attachment to it. He did not understand what she had said, but she had a clear emotional connection with the item, and seemed rather distraught when she seemed to think she would not get it.

In truth, he wasn't entirely sure why he gave it to her. It was one of the few possessions he had that held any true value to him, and as he had only been summoned with his armor, that should make it all the more precious to him. But still, he couldn't help but feel that it would be better if she had it. It meant something to her, and would do more good in her hands rather than his own. It was a feeling he took on faith to be the right choice.

Also, it had been nice to see how happy it had made her. Besides, it was his to begin with, so he could give it to whom he chose. Although, if it was an heirloom of his master, she might see it differently. If he had just given away what she might consider a priceless artifact…

Georgius scratched the side of his head sheepishly. Maybe he should have thought it through a little more.

Before he could give the matter any more thought, his master stirred in her bed. "Fwwaaaa…" she muttered unintelligibly, slowly sitting up and blinking drowsily. Georgius had to admit that it was more than a little adorable. "Are you feeling well, master?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said as she turned toward him before giving a start of surprise. "Gah! Wha-!" She started before she stopped, memory coming back to her, and she slipped back into his native tongue. "Wait, you're the man I summoned. You're my… familiar."

Her tone as she said that last word seemed to carry uncertainty for some reason or another. "Yes." He replied. "I heard you call out for me and I answered. I am Tribune Georgius de Lydda, at your service, my master." Georgius mentally chided himself for using his title again. He really had no claim to it anymore, but old habits were hard break.

The young woman looked at him in confusion. "What kind of a name is Tribune? And where is Lydda?"

Case and point, the man thought to himself. "Tribune is my rank, not my name, though to be fair I do not hold it anymore. As for where Lydda is in relation to where we are, I cannot say. Now if you would be so kind as to introduce yourself as well?"

She drew herself up straight (which did not add much to her height) and said "I am Louise Françoise de la Vallière, and yes, I am your master!" she was somewhat loud, and there was a small measure of pride in her statement, but not much. After a moment though her confidence seemed to fade and she looked at him nervously. "Are, um, are you a noble?"

Georgius blinked in surprise at such an odd question. "Well, I was born into a noble family of the Roman Empire if that is what you are asking. Why?"

Louise now seemed very uncertain of herself. In fact, she seemed down right mortified. "Oh God, I summoned another noble…" she said to herself, looking down at the bed. "This could be a political nightmare. If mother learns of this-" she cut herself off and her face drained of color.

The man put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "I understand how it could be problematic for a noble of one house to be pledged to another, but I assure you that will not be a problem with me."

"Why wouldn't- wait, do you mean that you are a disgraced noble?" She asked.

Georgius hesitated for a moment before saying "That… is not inaccurate." He doubted that he would have still been considered part of the elite after his summary condemnation and execution, so the statement was correct. Again, the thought of how to broche the subject of his death crossed his mind.

Louise let of a sigh of relief. "Well, at least that's something I don't have to worry about. While you're not the dragon or manticore I wanted, having a magic wielding noble who is clearly a warrior is just as impressive as having a magical beast. In fact, it's even more so!" she said smugly. "And now I can rub it in Kirche's stupid face!"

He would have lightly chastised his mater for that last comment, but what she said before confused him. "Why would you think that I can wield magic? I am not proficient in those arts."

"What!?" she all but yelled. "What do you mean!? I thought you said that you were a noble!"

"And what does that have to do with magic?" he asked, honestly confused.

"All nobles have magic! That's how it works! That is one of the core tenants put forth by Brimir!"

Georgius's brow furrowed. "Really? Well, I don't know who this Brimir is, but magic is not required learning where I come from. Magic has nothing to do with social status back in Rome, though I imagine more would attempt to learn it if it did." He frowned at the thought of that. He knew that not all magic was evil, but he had seen far too many people drawn in by the lure of easy power only to be corrupted by it to not be wary of the force. He hoped that such was not the case in this land.

Louise's jaw fell open at this statement, and she looked at her familiar in total shock. It was almost as if the she couldn't even wrap her head around the concept at all. "Louise?" Georgius asked with some concern. "Are you alright?"

"So… really you're little better than a commoner." she said flatly, disappointment clear in her voice though again he did not know why.

"That is true, although it is nothing I am ashamed of, nor would I consider myself better than others if I did still have my status. All men are equal before God, after all."

This did little to improve his master's mood though. "I didn't summon anything special." She muttered darkly to herself, hugging her knees against her chest. "Just some soldier."

"I am what I am." Georgius said. After a moment's pause, he decided to take a gamble. "If you want some something special, it's worth noting that I was in fact executed for refusing to betray my God and your summoning has literally given me a second life."

She slowly turned her head towards him, her expression one of utter bafflement. Then it became a scowl. "That joke was in terrible taste and probably blasphemous too. Your sense of humor is utterly horrid."

Georgius hung his head. "So I have been told…" he said despondently.

A/N: I have to thank LordsFire for giving me such a large amount of information on how Christianity was structured back in the day of Saint George. It will be a big help down the line on determining how he will react to things and his view points.

On a somewhat related matter, I'm a little worried that the character will end up becoming preachy. Of course, he was a missionary and spreading the Word around Halkeginia is completely within his character, so that my just be something I'll have to live with.

Also, if you're wondering, he is misunderstanding what Louise meant when she said all nobles have magic. When he finds out what she actually meant, he will be less than pleased.