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

[unswervingcompanion]

"Are." Hendrik answered for his part. But the rest of it had him looking questioningly at the man in front of him. It was a point of view that he hadn't considered and didn't really think on since he was so wrapped up in protecting the Luminary, trying to rescue Yotsuyu from her plight and keep an eye on the rest of his friends like Webby and Louie.

All of that was like having a full-time job and then some. But if this man didn't want to go home, then maybe they could figure out a way to make people stay that didn't want to leave. Allies could be found in the most unexpected of places.

"Then do you believe there is a way to prevent people from leaving should they not wish to go home?"

[treno_nobleman]

A good question, one he wished he had an answer to, and a glance at the researchers seemed to indicate they were just as clueless as he was. He had expected no better. They wouldn't be here right now if any of them knew what they were doing. Trapped by incompetence. Oh, how he loved it.

So much so that it was giving him a headache. Kuja lifted a hand and rubbed at a temple in an attempt to soothe the ache. "It is a guess, but a logical conclusion. If they brought us here once without knowing how, and we are not the only ones who fell victim to that magic, then it stands to reason that it could be done again even if a means was found to reverse all of this and we could be sent home."

But what did he want? He didn't know. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. For his own part, he had no promising horizon. Hendrik, he felt, likely did.

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight wasn't really pleased with this answer, through no fault of Kuja's. He had looked over at the researchers as well and made a definite line face at them. Well so much for hoping there was an easy end to this constant plague of an issue in his life.

He sighed. "Then if we are on our own, I suppose searching through places unfamiliar may yield clues as to how to best accomplish this."

Hendrik had to go home and protect the Luminary while he was here. But while he was here he would stop at nothing to ensure that Yotsuyu could stay and be safe. Or, if somehow a way was found for her to come with Eleven and himself, that could be a thing too.

[treno_nobleman]

All he had were conclusions based on nothing more than following the dots. He didn't like it any better than Hendrik did, but what more could be done? His thoughts on that would take him outside of the academy, but there was the concern that the magic within them now would overwhelm him and start to behave as negatively as they thought it might.

"I had a notion to venture beyond the academy and begin my search elsewhere. There is that foreboding warning they gave us all upon arrival that the magic in us from this world may cause harm if we don't learn to harness it, but I wonder to what extent would we be able to push those boundaries, if it will react so violently at all?"

[unswervingcompanion]

"Venture beyond the academy?" This had the knight's full attention. He hadn't formulated a definite plan yet, but it sounded like a good idea.

His blue-green eyes slid over to the researchers, wanting to ignore their presence but wondering if discussing all of this openly would get them both into trouble. So Hendrik was silent for several long moments, pondering this over and turning it over in his mind.

Would there be risks? Well certainly there would be. And maybe it be best to discuss this at another time away from their 'keepers'.

"I propose we have this conversation away from this place at another date." He would offer to team up with this man if their interests were aligned.

[treno_nobleman]

Kuja had stopped paying attention to the researchers some time ago. They knew enough to know he had his sights set elsewhere, but he didn't care. The truth would expose itself either way, and if he had to stir the pot a little to get it out, well then, he would.

But he was more than happy to indulge Hendrik and meet him in another place if the man insisted. He nodded pleasantly. "I would only be all too happy to join you in that. There are conversations that yet need to be had, and I would be truly surprised to find that they had not already been held before this."

[unswervingcompanion]

With a nod at Kuja's words, Hendrik stood. He wouldn't mention this to the Luminary, but he may say something to Yotsuyu. That had yet to be figured out but it could definitely come at a later date. Now wasn't the time to be discussing such a thing.

"Then when you are ready, send me a missive and I shall reply to it." If both of them could figure out this great riddle, then maybe they could help others with it. And if that's what they could accomplish, then everyone else might benefit. But the quest had yet to be started.

"I will look forward to hearing from you."

[treno_nobleman]

Their conversation was over, and though it had not been entirely pleasant, it had been necessary. The more that they discussed this among themselves, the better a chance he thought they had to get real answers. The researchers were trying to do their jobs, he was sure, but how long had this research been being carried out on them - him personally, others before him? - and still no answers to be found?

No, they weren't going to resolve this by asking each other who they were and what they had been through in their lives. They weren't going to resolve this by taking physical samples of the Sundered and studying them under a microscope. The magic had come from this world and brought the Sundered into it. The researchers were looking in the wrong place.

"And I, you." He stood as well and gave Hendrik a shallow bow. "Do you, by chance, know of a man named Atem?"

[unswervingcompanion]

He was silently surprised that this man had bowed to him when he had zero reasons to. But the knight would still take it as a friendly gesture none the less. But at hearing the unfamiliar name, the knight shook his head. "I am afraid that I have not. Is that person of importance to our conversation?"

Hendrik isn't asking this in any other manner other than curious. If this person had a connection to either their conversation or mayhap be important to further their common goal, then he was all for it. And just to make sure, the knight mentally recounted everyone that he had met thus far. Atem was a unique name and he was sure that he would remember someone by such a name.

[treno_nobleman]

No? Oh well. Kuja tilted his head, tail shifting lightly behind him. "He may be, he may not. I'll speak with him and see what he thinks about all of this, if you wouldn't mind. We had a rather pleasant conversation not long after I arrived."

About what to do with this place, what to do with themselves in this world. About many things.