Dance Dance Reprobation

[magicademymods]

The Twilight Ball Arrival The Promenade has been transformed. Literally. With Modification. Ha ha. Cough. Crickets. Toad familiars eat the crickets. Circle of life. Animals bow before singing lions. You get the idea. Neither tree nor stone form the Promenade now. It is instead a long bridge over a shallow and brilliant pool, the gentle ripples of which catch the afternoon sun and scatter it into a million highlights that play over the Great Hall, the bridge, and those who walk down it. There is no formal receiving line, merely a gentle procession of people across the bridge at whatever speed feels comfortable, slowly making their way to the Great Hall. The Great Hall itself has been enchanted to be completely invisible while one is inside it, save for the outline of doors so people can actually find their way out through means other than smacking their noses into the invisible walls till they find a place with no resistance. Thus the twilight for which the ball is named will show all around the dancers, while they are protected from any errant breezes, faint hints of rain, or slime monsters that might otherwise threaten the festivity. Come in. Find your date and get comfortable. The fun is just beginning. Let the Revels Begin After Headmaster Birony welcomes everyone with a speech about she's going to get on her boat, go upriver, and kick that sonuvabitch Bison's ass so HORDT that the next Bison-wannabe is gonna feel it, the dance formally begins with a peppy number designed to get people out and moving. The orchestra here comprises some of the finest players available anywhere in the world, thanks to the whole Valhudor shtick and graduates of said house, and the music is infectious as it drifts through the slowly-darkening air. But as the dance progresses, they play something for everyone. Martial waltzes and slow dance ballroom numbers. Powerful tunes to lose yourself in, and gentle melodies that slip beneath conversation and encourage intimacy and closeness. Professors Trammel and King treat everyone to an exhibition of what an Earth resident might call 'swing dancing on amphetamines' and many students do call 'the closest I have ever come to death'. No pause for speeches, no announcements or interruptions -- just a steady stream of music, bringing dates and lovers together in dance, as the sun sets and casts the room into gentle and romantic twilight. Also a dolphin and a whale are swimming through the floor and they, too, are unmistakably dancing. If this is the weirdest thing you've seen all night, you need your eyes checked. "Food! One of the food tables has been discreetly slid against a wall, where it positively shudders under the weight of a massive buffet open to everyone. The food here tends towards the light, such as fish and vegetables, cucumber sandwiches and thin-sliced meats. Things that will give you energy without weighing you down, so you can keep dancing till the dawn comes. At one end of the table, an owl the size of a cupboard sits on a perch, serenely watching the varied drinks laid out for consumption. 'Spiking the punch' is so cliche that no one is going to pretend it won't happen or the students will behave on their honor, so here you get a chaperone. Even so, this whole area is a popular gathering spot for those between dances or partners, drawing steady attention throughout the night. Meanwhile, Elsewhere Shockingly, not everyone has found that loving feeling, asked out an attractive someone, and gone to the dance with romance on their minds. The rest of the campus, and of course Anastara itself, remain open as normal... and perhaps even less-minded than normal. The faculty, the familiars, the cleaning golems -- almost all attention is on the dance itself. If there's mischief to manage, now would be the perfect time... or just something else besides wallflowering and missing out. Wait, Wasn't There a Ghost Dragon and an Off-Brand Shoggoth? Professor King managed to find a way around the protoplasmic ooze's resistance to magic and splatted it (with no small amount of help from students and faculty!). The dragon disappeared into the caverns beneath the Magicademy. That certainly isn't ominous and won't inspire anyone to go down there, will it? Don't fall in the river down there. Please don't fall in the river.

Comments

[treno_nobleman]

Oh, sarcasm. How he hasn't missed that. Kuja could retort with a bit of banter of his own, but he isn't interested, and if this Sundered wants an argument, he'll have to look elsewhere. He'll only offer the boy a smile.

"Consider that those incidents summoned relatively small creatures which seemed to be native to this world, and yet more Sundered appear. Going by this world's rules, it stands to reason, does it not, that a far greater, far more focused spell has been used to bring other people from other worlds into this one?"

He paused to shake his head and looked out to the lake again, admiring the moonlight glinting off its surface. "We can play at being teachers' pets and winning favor and learning cheap tricks of magic all we like, and we may even gain mastery of it some day, or what of it they will allow us to learn, but I doubt that will be the answer we all seek. All we know of this world, as vast or small as it may be, resides here in this academy, but what of what lies outside of this place? If the magic pulling us from our lands is not being cast by one or more of the heads of this academy, then the one holding the wand is not here on the grounds at all."

[perfectenn]

His eyes narrow, amused. "So. You do pay attention in class?" Nope, sorry, not engaging does not excuse you from being the brunt of his humor. But skepticism aside, that’s one of the more sensible deductions Tenn has heard.

"I, too, would prefer the governing systems turn their attention to seizing the culprit. But do we know what the rulings are for rogue wizards, or what may be involved in such a hunt? Perhaps there's too much bureaucracy in the way for them to move forward in the matter." A distasteful frown. But knowing law is a required course for Ka students, he raises it for speculation nonetheless. "Either way, we students are hardly in a position to take up the task without an understanding of the magic and culture." Isn't that why they are here?

"You assume the wizard is on the earth below. That may be true. There should be too much scrutiny here for such spellworking to escape notice." And then the kaiju happened, and he's willing to bet that was some sort of summoning judging by the difficulty had in taking the beast down. "But recent events could suggest otherwise. I'm not going to rule out that there may be a Sundering practitioner here in the city. Perhaps they would find this place more advantageous as neutral territory."

And he does not like to think about that at all. Because if the Sundering user is far away, Tenn can hold to his theory of their travel here being a side effect of a greater spell. If the culprit is closer... that would bring up a great many concerns.

[treno_nobleman]

The snark isn't lost on him, and he does not appreciate being taunted while he offers a simple enough thought on how this all may have happened. It's enough that he has lost interest in the conversation entirely, and turns to leave. He isn't going to tolerate this mistreatment for an accidental encounter.

"I do. More than you, who knows nothing about me, may believe." He lifts his hand in a wave as he leaves, and that's all that he'll offer the boy. If he's going to find his way out of this world, it won't be because of what happens here tonight, and that's a shame, but he isn't going to let this ruin his mood.

"Oh, and good luck with... whatever you were doing. You may well need it. If you intend to think like a student for the rest of your time here, you may well need it, indeed."


(ooc: Probably best to end this thread. I didn't intend things to go south like they clearly had and if it's just gonna keep going this way, I'll have to end it anyway. Feeling a bit like I made a mistake here, tagging this character.)