[ ha ... there's the condescending tone he expects out of fane. it was a great thirty seconds before that. varian is thirsty enough for #alchemy that he doesn't comment, though he does correct: ]

Oh, I'm, I'm not the first. I'm the only practicing alchemist in Corona as far as I know, but Corona isn't the biggest of the seven kingdoms. Actually, the ancient technology in Corona is a lot more impressive than anything the kingdom has managed in recent years, but I--I wanted to change that.

[ wanted, past tense, but varian doesn't extrapolate on that, taking out his own quill and ink from his (vast) pockets (of his starbuck's apron) ]

I wouldn't say no to learning about Source and Veil, though. It sounds fascinating. Um, can I?

[ he knows fane just said they could share, but, y'know, one of the two of them has to be polite ]