"Then they wouldn't understand a word we say So we'll scratch it all down into the clay Half believing there will sometime come a day Someone gives a damn Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sand." The Mesopotamians, TMBG
University: Esther is a graduate student at UCP, working on her PhD and her dissertation on magical practices and warfare in ancient Mesopotamia. She's got a reputation as being a little weird about it, however. Maybe you're suffering through a class she's TAing?
Scholar: Esther is a budding academic with a real knack for ancient languages. Unfortunately, she's veering off into fringe theories and is in risk of burning her credibility permanently. But figuring out the -real- secrets is so much more fun!
Dead Mentor: Her former advisor, Dr. Helen Hanani, now dead, was an eccentric loony. Ah, tenure. She was also a more accomplished sorcerer. Maybe you knew her?
Magic: Esther is following her mentor's lead, and attempting to to uncover the magical-scientific secrets of the ancients.