Master Daniel was the Professor of Communications and made them work in absolute silence. He delivered his lectures in a stern, no-nonsense manner and then gave them reading to do in silence for the rest of his class. It seemed like teaching was an unfortunate aside to his position within the University.

"Brown-hairs do not have the ability to communicate over long distances, and often is is not worth the magical expense for a mage to cast spells to do so either. The postal system deals with most of the communications within the kingdom, but it is slow, insecure and troublesome," Daniel said from where he was pacing in the front of the lecture theatre. Kasper watched as his grey robes swished around his feet. Daniel didn't prowl, it was more like he was a spider, fast jerking movements that were somewhat disconcerting to the eye.

"Of course, this is inefficient for military communications in which a day or more's wait could be the difference between winning the battle or losing the war," he continued. "Brown-hairs developed another system, which is ingeniously clever."

Daniel paused he lectern where a box was covered by a cloth. He pulled it away to reveal a small cage. Inside it was a rather lean looking pigeon. It cooed at them.

"This is a carrier pigeon. It can deliver short messages across long distances. Each bird remembers its home roost, so a bird can be taken far from home and always be sure to return. This particular one's roost is a fort in the War Wastes that has since been lost. For its own protection, we have kept it here. Well, that and that Cook wanted to turn it into pie I suppose," Daniel explained, staring down at the bird unblinkingly.

"Of course, our friend here has his drawbacks. He cannot go somewhere that is not his roost, and an army can hardly carry enough birds to deliver messages to every person in Vinculum. Thus, mage messages are the most important tool you will learn - though they are so magically costly that you would do well to use them sparingly. They are not an economical way of sending frivolous love confessions or jokes. Save those for your pen and paper communications," Daniel finally turned away from the bird and seemed to fix one girl on the front row with an uncomfortably long stare.

"There are two ways that mages communicate. The first is through a Mage Quill, wherein a pair of quills are enchanted to produce the same message across distance. The magic put into the quills becomes lost to the mage while the quills are active, so they are only ideal for one or two communication roots. General Durante only has two active at any time, and has made it the regulation for his forces as well," Daniel's gaze slid to the next student like oil.

"The other is the use of a Phoenix. And that is what our friend here will become today," Daniel gestured to the pigeon. "Saved from the pot and into the fire, as it were."

Kasper shifted in his seat. He had never seen a phoenix before, though he'd heard of them. Magical birds that could travel and teleport long distances at the bidding of mages all while set aflame.

Daniel reached into the cage and grabbed the pigeon. His spindly fingers clutched its wings tightly. He did not seem to mind if he hurt it or not. He pulled it out and held it in front of him.

For a moment his eyes slid closed. Kasper could hear the breathing of the other students in the silence. They were all waiting. Daniel's mouth turned down briefly and then, wordlessly and without gesture, the creature burst into flames with a loud, pained squawk.