"Is this it?" Diana's chauffeur had driven her, Petunia, and the elderly midwife quite a distance from the primary encampment, leaving Titanyana, Leno, and Cayzi behind. They had traveled across a street flanked on either side by buildings far more refined in nature than the shacks of the camp and to a relatively large building near the docks. 

She could make out the figures of Nekh disembarking from a few of the ships moored to the shoddy wooden platforms, many only strong enough to make landfall before collapsing onto the ground. Curiosity and a desire to ease their suffering compelled her to venture over, but that was not what needed to be focused on at the moment.

"Yes ma'am. The Scholar has set up his educational facility here." The building in front of them was of a more sophisticated design than she had been expecting, implementing design elements she would not have expected out of something constructed in a rush.

It was a trapezoidal building, the wider side of said trapezoid being upslope the thinner one while the roof slanted downward from the thin portion to the wide portion. Diana was able to see several rows of windows along the roof as they had parked slightly uphill of the structure, however she could not see through them. The Holifanians had evidently placed some sort of fabric just beneath them, though she did not know why.

"Shall we head inside?"

"If you would permit me a moment to recover." The elder shuffled out of the car, carefully positioning her feet on the ground before putting any weight on them. Even then she had to stable herself using the vehicle's handle and her cane. "These things are mighty handy for getting around, but my poor back can't handle the bumping and shaking."

"I apologize for that, ma'am. I tried to drive as carefully as possible but the roads are-"

"Oh don't take the griping of this old crone as criticism, young man!" She laughed, patting the chauffer on the arm. "I know you did your best. I can only imagine the state I'd be in if I walked all this way!"

"You know what, I'll let you gather your bearings and call you in when its time." Diana thought better of bringing them into what she assumed was a lecture hall. She didn't want to interrupt, and it might be a good idea to check up on the Scholar's progress without him knowing she was there. "Take it easy and catch your breath. I might be in there for a while."

Diana made her way down the slight slope and onto a landing beneath a small awning, what looked to be a token effort to provide a location to knock off any mud that might be on someone's shoes. In comparison to the rest of the building, the landing out front appeared to be of a shoddy construction. She couldn't be certain without consulting someone more knowledgeable, but it almost seemed like a temporary installation while they prepared the materials for paving. Regardless, she opened the door - slowly - minding the concentration of the current occupants being subjected to a lecture of some sort.

"-ive for all of you will be to start associating words - these scribbles I've written on the board here - with the sounds that I make as I speak." Diana recognized the voice, the Scholar, as well as the tapping and screeching of chalk on a blackboard. "Any questions?"

She shuffled in quietly, gesturing for her entourage to do the same. This was a valuable opportunity to see how he was doing without the pressure of direct oversight. Even if he was following a plan set out by Arc, she would be able to provide tips or corrections where Arc couldn't.

"You, go ahead." He gestured towards a young man off to the right somewhere. 

"I, um, I don't feel confident in my basic annunciations and memorization of the alphabet. Are you sure it's okay if we move on in spite of that?"

"Don't worry about it too much." Diana managed to find an empty spot on a bench near the back corner of the amphitheater-esque room, the layout being similar to the lecture halls in the Sanctum. "It would be impossible to learn this language in a day for even the most intelligent person. It took several years of work for me to reach my current proficiency, and even now I only consider myself to be a novice. I know I've harped on about this time and again, but you should remember that it took the average Terran at least five years after their first words to develop enough of an understanding of the language to engage with society meaningfully, and it takes another fifteen after that to master it. Even then, they still spend their lives adding words to their lexicon and developing or being exposed to new uses for words they already knew. If, knowing that, you still believe yourself behind the curve, I am more than happy to help."

"I - thank you, sir."

"It is my pleasure." He nodded his head before returning his attention to the blackboard. "Now, we will start our journey into the world of 'words'. I understand that our Holifanian friends here are already familiar with the concept, but for the benefit of the majority I will explain the fundamental concept. A 'word' is," Diana noted his decision to drop the Split translation for the word in question, "when spoken a collection of sounds, when written a collection of letters, that in a specific order represent something - be it an object or concept. When strung together in a way that makes sense, these 'words' become a 'sentence'."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"What was what?" The Scholar snapped towards the asker, struggling to suppress a grin.

"For a moment there you made a sound that I didn't understand."

"That was a word!" He translated it this time. "Moving forward I will be incorporating these into our lessons, and I expect you to memorize what they mean and how they are used."

"O-oh."

"Now moving on, there exist several categories and classifications of 'words', one of which you have already heard me use. This trick helps to distinguish when someone is referring to one thing - 'singular' - or when they are referring to multiple things - 'plural'. Did any of you happen to catch what that distinction is?"

Diana looked around the room, nobody seemed to have an answer.

"The mere addition of an 's' to the end of a 'word' is enough to change their scope. One 'word' is just that, a single 'word', no more. 'Words' on the other hand, can refer to any 'number' of them, from two to as many as one could possibly imagine. Much the same, a single 'sentence' is limited in what it can communicate, but a few 'sentences' may be able to describe complex concepts and information."

"Wait, um, didn't that, um, 'sentens' word end with an 's' already?"

"It . . . doesn't quite, but I understand what you mean. 'Words' that end in 's' will have an additional 'es' attached. Here, let me give you an example." He started writing out the words on the board in great big strokes so that those in the back could see. "Let's take the word 'princess', that being the daughter of a king or queen. When referring to a single 'princess' it is spelled like this, whereas multiple 'princesses' mean this 'word' has to be used. Does that make sense?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I shall continue. Our goal for today is to bring your understanding of basic 'words' and 'grammar' to a level that would let you make a rudimentary self-introduction to another person."

- - - - -

Minutes passed like seconds as Diana watched the lecture, holding her tongue while taking mental notes on what could be improved and what the Scholar had missed. As much as she wanted perfection, she knew that the Scholar was just as foreign to teaching as she was. The only reason she had an edge was because of her familiarity with the language and experience with proper classes on the subject. That being said, it wasn't as if that experience applied perfectly to the current situation. 

Most of the people in the room had no conception of 'language', nor did they have a need for it. Communication could be facilitated without it - diminishing the need for any sort of structure, and the most important information could be conveyed with messages embedded in Split crystals - which eliminated the need for written records. They lacked a need for language, and yet could communicate nigh flawlessly. This opened avenues in some places and closed them in others.

The biggest source of difficulty would stem from a combination of this universal communication method with a lack of native speakers. One of the best ways to learn a language was to be put into a situation where functioning without it would be impossible, learning from the natives around you. Without the incentive and immersion, there was no pressing need to learn the language and you wouldn't practice it enough to develop a 'native' understanding. At the same time, the access to this universal translation could allow those learning to start learning at a higher level and grasp more difficult concepts without needing to intuit them from years of observation.

Either way, some form of edict pertaining to the use of English was in order. Perhaps government buildings and schools - when those facilities got built - would be English only zones. An accent of sorts would be an unavoidable result, though exposure to a variety of media should remedy that to some extent.

"So now, with all that out of the way, I would like for all of you to introduce yourselves to the rest of the room in English. It's alright if you mess up, I would never expect you to have this down immediately. The errors you make now are a chance for you and your peers to learn." Diana perked up a little bit more. This should prove interesting. "In the interest of neutrality, we will begin in the opposite direction that we introduced ourselves on the first day. That means you, in the back corner, will speak first."

Diana closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

"Don't be nervous! All you have to say is your name, position, and a brief description of your appearance. Even just the color of your eyes and hair will suffice."

She stood up and rolled her shoulders before coughing into her fist to clear her throat. If she couldn't derive some entertainment from the broken sentences of others, she would do so from their reaction to her. Diana was especially interested in the Scholar's reaction, from the way he acted it didn't seem like he noticed.

"Greetings to all of you, those who hail from the Sanctum, the Holifanian Theocracy, or the planet Nekh. My name, if I may be so humble as to present it, is Diana Helmsguard, soon to be Strauss. My hair is blonde, often describe by others as golden, and I prefer black clothing. My eyes, now a light silverish gray, were once blue. As for my role, I suppose it would be best described as 'Queen', or perhaps 'Empress'. I hope to establish a positive working relationship with all of you moving forward and would be more than happy to provide clarity in your endeavors to learn the English language."

Diana curtsied politely before opening her eyes to gauge the crowd's reaction. As expected, they didn't know enough English to parse any of that, so they were more confused than anything. The Scholar though -

"L-l-l-lady Diana!!!" He was flustered, hands wandering aimlessly in search of some miracle that might lessen his embarrassment. "I-I had no idea you would be coming this early! I am so sorry for the disrespect I have shown you."

Diana began to walk down the set of stairs on the side of the room as the Scholar repeatedly bowed. Some of those quicker on the uptake also took the opportunity to stand up and bow, many of the Nekh among that number.

"Don't worry about it, Scholar. I wanted to gauge your progress and technique anyways, and you could do so much better without knowing I was there." Diana looked back up into the crowd upon reaching the base of the lecture hall, finding the sight of so many attentive students focusing on her to be rather strange. "I think you did a wonderful job, though I do have some suggestions."

"O-oh?! Please, spare no detail!"

"Well, where do I start . . . I guess the content is the most promising area." Diana discretely gestured for him to take a seat, not that there was anything for him to sit on nearby. "While I understand the rush to get everyone into something more practical, such as a self introduction, I believe you may have skipped a few important steps along the way. First learning certain descriptive 'words', such as colors, flavors, sizes, and shapes, would be a much better way of developing their linguistic ability."

"I imagined as much, but I did not want to appear condescending."

"Why? Because Arc told you that babies and children learned that way?" The Scholar coyly nodded. "Do you think they learned that way because they were children? Or do you think that maybe children learn that way because it is the most efficient for them?"

"I, um, I suppose I thought it was the first . . ."

"Well, the fault isn't entirely your own. If I had to guess, Arc used examples of children's learning material as reference for you, stuff that appeared childish on the surface?"

"There was a lot of that, yes."

"Then all I can recommend is that you trim the fat. Anything that looks like it's there to keep a child engaged or because it's something they can relate to can be left out, but keep the basics. Does that make sense?"

"A lot of sense, actually."

"Good. I would like to consult you about something, can class wait a few minutes?"

"If it is that important . . . but I would really like to finish this exercise while the information is fresh in their minds."

"Then we shall make a compromise." Diana turned to address the class. "Each of you will make an introduction and I shall provide input and correction, however I shall only do so in English. You will have to gather clues from my tone and body language to figure out what I am trying to tell you. Those elements are often just as important as the words being spoken in deriving the meaning. This will serve as a unique learning experience for you, and a demonstration for the Scholar. Shall we begin?"