The two are really close. He loves her and looks up to her almost as a mother figure, Ferran can probably discern from the way she talks about her.

Most of his stories are about how she was always the one to loosen him up and help him escape from the drudgery of noble court. He fondly remembers the time she took him to the Theater in Waterdeep to see a play- doing the whole nine yards of disguising and... yeah, it's a little ridiculous but he keeps the ticket as a good luck charm. He won't show it to you, though. He's rather too embarrassed about admitting that to begin with.

The Red Wizards of Thay have been regarded in history as producing some of the most competent villains this world's ever seen. As Aunt Cas once put it, power itself is never the problem, but those who wield the wand are susceptible to its charms. That, and, well... they also teach branches of magic that a lot of other schools frown upon. But that's mostly because of a lack of division in church and state. Blackstaff Tower (the academy located at Waterdeep), is a perfect example of that. They refuse to even mention necromancy exists.