June Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

June Event and Intro Log Diatu and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Sundering Midterm Results It turns out that inadvertently summoning a horrible demon of immense and terrible power is still worth a passing grade: minus a lot of points for summoning the entirely wrong thing, but enough extra credit for successfully doing something so incredibly over-the-top to make up for it just a little. Meanwhile, something something power of running water, there's a demon imprisoned in the fountain, locked behind a massive magic circle of protection. Its flames neither evaporate the water nor are quenched by it, its lashing pointy tail stabs futilely at the stone in an attempt at petty vandalism, and otherwise it squats with otherworldly patience, claws drumming on its thighs. Till someone comes close, and then it calls out. "Come! It is in my power to grant a wish to those who ask! Speak your desire and I shall grant it!" Of course, the demon's ability to interpret wishes in an extremely jerkass manner is unparalleled by mortal malice. Still, this doesn't stop those students who think they're clever, can outwit a demon, have a background in legal jargon, or just want a turkey sandwich on rye bread with lettuce and mustard and-and they don’t want any zombie turkeys, they don’t want to turn into a turkey themselves, and they don’t want any other weird surprises. Needless to say, it has gone well for none of them -- but will you be the one to break the streak? As for the circle, it is specifically warded against meddling, so no freeing the demon (accidentally or otherwise). Those who try to touch it or cross through it are promptly hurled with pinpoint accuracy into a nearby pond that has been put there explicitly for this purpose. (Except for Minamimoto -- if HE messes with it, his pants rip themselves off his body, wrap around his head, and haul him away while shouting the multiplication tables incorrectly.) Potent Potables Students work hard, and they play hard. Around midterms, this often takes the form of picnics with unreserved and unrestricted access to not just copious amounts of barbecue and potato salad, but also alcohol. From fine wines to barrels of beer to Liverpunch Whiskey, all sorts of offerings pop up at the parties that occupy space along the Walk or outside the Towers and Keep. Anastara, you see, has no legal drinking age; like most of the Tenscore Kingdoms, children grow up with alcohol, and generally its consumption is seen as no major event and no special treat. And it simply hasn't occurred to anyone that other cultures on other worlds might not function the same. So enjoy a picnic, but also enjoy your free access to the wonders of intoxication. Physical Challenge (aka the Prompt Least Likely To Cause Suffering) Healthy body, healthy mind, the saying goes. Professors Trammel and Kith, adherents to this philosophy, have begun holding extracurricular exercise groups during the off hours. Students can learn proper weightlifting techniques for endurance as well as strength, jog around the campus in groups, play impromptu games that get the body moving, or even just practice slow stretches and what other worlds might call 'yoga'. Captain Lominia aggressively prowls the area, looking for people to scoop into bala-inlota exercises -- far more grueling and dangerous to succeed at if you don't want to be badgered onto the student team, but amazing workouts either way. And Headmaster Birony has set up a fairly extreme obstacle course straight out of a ninja challenge, overseen by Professor Porfsin from behind a cannon which magically flings beanbags at the participants. Those who make it through receive a pie from the Headmaster, who it turns out apparently can make a really darn tasty pie. 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, the researchers wish for you to engage in some sort of conflict, clash, or battle with your fellow Sundered. Spars with blunted weapons are the obvious choice, but games of strategy like go, shogi, or Fantastic Foils are also an option. A rousing debate will do as well -- anything that raises passion and energy. The team explains that they've found many of the Sundered who they interviewed have recently been through some sort of conflict or trouble on their world, and they wish to see if there's any magically-measurable aspect they share when challenged. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Except for the fountain. You can't swim in the fountain till they figure out how to banish the demon.

Comments

Re: Research on the Sundered

[puzzlers]

[ heh, he gets it, he really does, especially after meeting some of the people here, who are from all sorts of different worlds. ]

Back home we played a similar game, though it was really more than just that. [ he thinks of his duel monster cards fondly, despite all the conflict they had seen over the years. ] And that's generally how we solved all of our problems.

Some people obviously didn't care to do so, but most people surprisingly went along with it.

[mithrarin]

You -- solved your problems with a game?

[Dust doesn't know what to think. On the one hand, that seems naively simple, impossible to believe. Why wouldn't one side just use force to take what they want, regardless of the outcome? And yet... it's nice to imagine conflicts being resolved without war, or death, or untold suffering.]

[puzzlers]

[ and despite the fact that they solve almost all of their conflicts with cards there's still a lot of pain and suffering. not everybody does it. but the city of domino is a duelist haven, which is probably why they all fight their battles with cards. ]

Yeah. I'm sure it sounds kind of silly, but that's what we do in Domino. But that's not to say the entire world follows suit.

[mithrarin]

How did everyone get on board with it? Sounds like it would just take one guy with a sword to render it all moot.

[puzzlers]

We did have a police force, that would probably have stepped in had things gotten out of hand in that regard, but a lot of the card games we played involved... magic... so they were dangerous in their own right.

[mithrarin]

[Police force? That must be like a town guard or something, judging from the context.]

Magic would explain it, then. Seems like a strange thing to be magic, but I guess around here I don't have any right to say things like that.

[puzzlers]

In ancient times monsters were sealed into stone tablets and powerful priests would summon them to do battle. The creator of the game based duel monsters off of this, and I think a lot of the different cards, still tied to the past, kept their power... though it lay dormant until the right person came along. There’s certainly a lot more history to the game than one would think, but our fuels are very similar to the ones had over three thousand years ago, although the method for summoning the creatures is certainly different. [ he scratches his cheek and gives a laugh. ]

[mithrarin]

Wait. Monsters were sealed away, and then -- turned into card games? [Is that how it works out, in the end?] How did the creator manage to capture that power?

[puzzlers]

Not exactly. He made the game based on that, but I think in doing so the essence of the monsters managed to find the cards on their own. [ it'd kind of hard to explain, especially since not all of the cards have the same bond to their owners. ]

[mithrarin]

[Dust holds up his hands, all but begging Yugi to stop.]

Maybe I'll understand after a few years of lessons. Magic just doesn't make much sense at all to me...