May Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

May Event and Intro Log DAWN OF THE FIRST DAY May I Have This Dance? Though Diatu Magicademy has its share of social events, few capture the attention of the student body quite like the Twilight Ball -- that magical once-a-year dance that crosses the change of day into night and is given over entirely to the dance itself. The focus is not on political visitors, rival schools, local government, or hitting up alumni for money; it is entirely about the pleasure that comes from accompanying a charming and attractive person onto the dance floor and cutting the proverbial rug. It is entirely possible the Twilight Ball is beloved because the general student body is aggressively amorous, but no one admits that out loud. With the dance on the horizon, the mission of the day becomes finding a partner -- or asking the prettiest or nicest or most tsundere to the ball before anyone else does. The Sundered are particularly popular by virtue of being new, so students may find themselves fending off invitations or even crowds of people interested in being seen on their arms. Even the younger Sundered have a few people in their age group who'd like to pretend they're just as adult as the older students. To avoid the mob, one strategy is to find someone else in dire straits and agree to be their date, thus giving both of you protection now and then. Another, stranger, vastly more unorthodox strategy is to actually ask someone out legitimately... if you've got the guts. (The third strategy is to go with Headmaster Birony, who has been occasionally heard to bemoan loudly and publicly that she has nobody, HINT HINT. But who could possibly be THAT desperate?) Love Is In The Water Love potions are absolutely, positively, one hundred percent forbidden, on the grounds they tread far too close to the supremely black Curriculum of Dictation. This ultimate and unforgiving ban is every bit as effective as Anastara's rules limiting the speed of carts in the street to a horse's walk. So, yes, there's love potion in the water. Someone spilled an entire bucket in the river. These things happen. Luckily, as diluted as it is, the potion doesn't reach the levels of obsessive compulsion that the worst of them can; a person drinking a unfortunate draught instead simply finds themselves attracted in a weird and sharp sort of way to the first person they lay their eyes on, for a period of about thirty minutes. Diatu Magicademy is an inclusive and progressive institution, and consequently these potions affect and can target all manner of beings, from ducks and wolf-shifters to robots and dragons. They are pretty convenient about failing to bring about really skeevy pairings, though, so don't worry about being Hot For Professor. Special Delivery (aka the Least Embarrassing Prompt, which is a sad state of affairs) A quick, easy, profitable way to make some money this time of year is by delivering messages, packages, parcels, and treats to students who've caught the eye of another. Whether anonymous or gloriously identified, small token of esteem or bristling bundles of roses and chocolates, the population of the Magicademy takes particular delight in letting others know their feelings. Not always positive feelings, either -- glitter-bomb rejections have only recently begun to diminish in popularity, being replaced by Pie-To-The-Face spells. An enterprising student who adds their own spin to this hallowed ceremony of delivery can make bank; singing and performance are popular ways to enhance a message among Valhudor students, and a recent trend finds quartets delivering acapella harmonies to the recipients of love notes. But simple note hauling can still be worth your while... so long as you don't find yourself delivering a creepy confession from a weirdo to one of your dear friends. What are the odds of that happening, though? Research On the Sundered With the arrival of the Sundered come those wizards engaged in research on their presence here, now set to investigate what brought them here and how to get them home. All newly-arrived Sundered students are asked to meet with representatives of the research team, to introduce themselves and relate what they will of their homes. In addition, the team requests samples of blood, hair, and skin -- carefully magically collected, and the researchers will sign in the presence of the Sundered a Glyphed contract that forbids them from using the samples for a purpose they know will be harmful. (They quite understand your reasons to be suspicious of this collection! And they will not compel anyone who refuses even given these conditions.) This month, however, the research team informs its applicants that there is no magic being performed. Instead, they ask you to participate in partnered interviews, in which two Sundered compare their worlds and ask each other questions while the researchers take notes. They explain that they wish to find commonalities and differences between worlds, in the hopes that this will help them identify a larger pattern in how the Sundered were brought here. How is this bad enough to merit earning a reward this month? As it happens, the researchers who sit with the pair have an Intimation Crystal, which shines red every time someone speaks to deceive in its presence. Lie or omit information or cover with half-truths and the interviewer will ask you to go back and try again -- and they encourage you to speak on everything you can. You might end up venturing into dark or unpleasant territory in these interviews... DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY Welp, This Happened A quiet weekend morning is abruptly quiet no longer. With a tumultuous shuddering and an eerie, whistling roar, the first tendril of a far mightier being surges out of a wall on campus, venturing into the cloud-shadowed outdoors for the first time in its existence in this plane. Then, like a cloak shrugged off, the outbuilding it emerged from rises up only to crash to the ground as the Sundered creature rises up to claim it glory. It is a nightmare, a horror. A terrible, indescribable thing as large as a small building —a shapeless agglutination of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriads of temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of light. For some inexplicable reason, it is colored in bands of purple, black, and gold, and several parts of it sprout white feathers. That's the bad news. The bad news is that this existential threat to reality does not go unnoticed, nor unchallenged. Mere moment after the Sundered creature makes it presence known, a cold wind begins to blow. The temperature abruptly drops thirty degrees, leaving those around in a clammy and miserable chill that feels like they've passed their whole body through one of the ghosts of Makerion Keep. This estimation is not too far wrong, for the pale off-white dragon that emerges from the clouds above is translucent and ethereal, save for the shining eyes of coldest blue that fix on the beast like pinpoints of fire. What a ghost dragon is doing here is anyone's guess, but when it opens its jaw to unleash a withering cone of necrotic energy at the Sundered creature, it demonstrates plainly that it will not brook this interloper on its domain. In other words, Diatu Magicademy is now home to a kaiju fight. That's the bad news. The BAD news is that both these creatures are, by their very nature, incredibly resistant to magic. So even as the professors spill out and split duties of getting students to safety and fending them off, the two beasts barely notice the arcane energy flashing through the air as they begin vigorously brawling. Thank goodness this is a weekend, or else you'd all have some serious trouble getting to class on time. Wonders Await? Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. But maybe you should deal with that mess first? We're just saying.

Comments

Welp...

[woo_oo]

"Lena!"

Webby is heading out into the field, but unlike her friend, she looks completely jazzed about this development.

"Isn't this amazing?!"

[outofyourshadow]

"Webby...!"

She knew Webby enjoyed this sort of thing, but this was a bit much. Grabbing the other girl's hand, she forced them both to stop.

"This is way too dangerous!"

[woo_oo]

Thankfully, Lena was one of the few people Webby would actually listen to - and if Lena thought something was dangerous...

"Really? But...?"

[outofyourshadow]

She was very glad for that, and glancing up at the monsters again she then tugged on Webby's hand, trying to lead her in the other direction.

"We need to get out of here!"

[woo_oo]

"R-Right!" She shook her head, trying to clear it - before bolting off, dragging Lena along. "We need to get as far away as possible, but they don't seem to be targeting anyone or anything in particular!"

[outofyourshadow]

She ran with Webby, though couldn't help glancing back at the monsters.

"I doubt they even notice we're here. We're just ants compared to them."

[woo_oo]

"Considering all the ants we walk over on the daily, that is both a relief and horrifying!"

She could stand to sound more horrified, though.

"How did such big things hide before today anyway?"

[outofyourshadow]

"I don't think they were hiding," Lena replied, but she could feel that the spell on her was starting to keep her from saying anything more.

[woo_oo]

"True, something that size would be hard to conceal, even with magic." She tries to figure it out as they run frantically.

"Maybe they were summoned, kind of like we were!"

[outofyourshadow]

"Maybe," she replies, somewhat distractedly. Not only was the spell preventing her from saying more, but one of them had to concentrate on finding a safe way to get the heck out.

[woo_oo]

"If we could just find out what summoned them, maybe we could - "

That thought was cut off by a particularly hard STOMP from the creatures, making the ground shake and Webby tumble forward.

"Whoa!"

[outofyourshadow]

Somehow she managed to keep her own balance, and caught Webby before she hit the ground.

"How are we supposed to do that?"

[woo_oo]

"Not entirely sure!" She was forced to admit while holding onto Lena's arms.

"But there's no way they came here on their own! Maybe they're...just like us!"

[outofyourshadow]

She kept a hold on Webby until the ground stopped shaking, then helped her regain her balance. All the while she bit her tongue, because as much as she wanted to confirm that Webby was right, she couldn't.

"That's kind of a problem, considering they don't know how to send us back."

And if they couldn't send them back, how could they do anything about these monsters?

[woo_oo]

Webby swallowed, then shook her head. "It's too dangerous to think about this up close. We'll plot later when we're safe. C'mon!"

Wow, she was starting to sound like Granny. She held onto Lena's hand and began running again, eyes steel with determination.

[outofyourshadow]

She hurried to keep up with Webby, even as she glanced back at the monsters still fighting it out. A familiar feeling of guilt was starting to wash over her, threatening to pull her under.

But just what the heck was she supposed to do?

[woo_oo]

Webby was determined not to stop until they were at a safe distance - wherever that was. But it was clear that between the two of them, Webby was faster, and Lena was dragging behind.

"Permission to do something that might possibly damage your street cred?"

[outofyourshadow]

She had a feeling what Webby was thinking.

"...you are not carrying me, Pink."

[woo_oo]

"You have to admit it's a very viable option right now!"

Especially with the ground shaking hard again.

[outofyourshadow]

Not if Webby carrying her slowed her down, but that wasn't something she wanted to voice right now. Especially as the ground shook and the monster was getting closer.

Thinking for a moment, she glanced around. Then suddenly, she let go of Webby's hand.

[woo_oo]

Webby stumbled, startled by their hands no longer connected. "Lena?!"

[outofyourshadow]

"It'll be easier if we split up for now!" she said, even as she kept running there was a bit of distance between them. "We'll head in different directions and meet up later."

[woo_oo]

"But..."

She swore loyalty and protection! But... she also swore that Lena would be able to make her own decisions, right? It hurts, yet...

"The SECOND you're in danger, you call my name! I don't care how far apart we are!"

[outofyourshadow]

She nodded. "You too," she replied. "Just call me if something happens. I'll come find you, I promise!"

She wanted to make sure Webby was safe, but she would definitely come running when she needed her.

[woo_oo]

"I trust you." It's said with a sad, but earnest smile. She doesn't want to let Lena out of her sight.

But part of growing up is knowing how to let go.

After another incredibly loud roar from the beasts, Webby ripped her face away from Lena's eyes, and ran, and ran, and ran.