July Event Log

[magicademymods]

July Event Log A Reading Rainbow Though the publication is ordinarily drier than dry toast Modified to be drier than dried toast, this quarter's issue of Thaumaturgy Today is all the rage around campus. The reason: a series of advances in motile spells! Easier and more powerful than those found in your standard book of spells (any grade), these spells achieve their power by specificity. One spell for lifting fruit, one for lifting laundry, one for lifting books, the list goes on. Though Professor Loshakle is deep at work writing a blistering reply criticizing every nuance of these spells, outside of his wrathful gaze the spells flourish as people practice them on everything they can. Copies of the issue are easy to get your hands on, if you want to give these new spells a whirl. On the other hand, your stuff or you yourself might fall victim to the spells of other students, whether by mistake or cruel jest. And woe betide those not human -- since no spell explains how to lift an anthropomorphic duck or a robot, for example, enterprising students are particularly eager to come up with one on their own, and there's only one way to test such things... It's Raw, You Donkey! There was an incident. Mistakes were made. Rice balls were detonated. Puddings were animated and sent on rampages. A cheesebread was found lodged in Makerion Keep, sunk to a depth of three feet in the walls. Whatever happened, and no one seems to have details... the Great Hall is closed and no food is being served. So... what're you going to eat? Several pop-up stands have emerged, as enterprising students try to cash in, but that costs money and who knows how the quality is. Headmaster Birony keeps showing up with pies, having made several savory ones that taste really good, actually, but can you really live on pie alone? (And do you really trust Headmaster Birony?) Some students have taken to the ultimate last resort: cooking. As it happens, the skills of the chef and of the aspiring mage are not exclusive in principle, but generally learning the one means little time to devote to the other. Faced with an oven or a grill, can you muster up the capability to make something edible? Or will you burn the water and turn bread back into grain, and thus have no choice but to avail yourself of pricey booth cooking or Cam-pies? Of course, the Great Hall will PROBABLY be open again soon, you might be able to last until then... The Defense Association In light of certain recent activities, like horrible monster attacks, Professors Trammel and Kith have teamed up to provide self-defense lessons to students who so desire. Purely optional, this extra class at the end of the school day promises study in shields, wards, basic attack spells, and mobility spells (because sometimes the best thing is to run like heck). Needless to say, these classes are quite the adventure! Students find themselves in dueling circles quite frequently, expected to carefully deflect each other's spells. Hopefully you've got the knack of it; the practice spells they have taught you don't cause any harm, but they sting like the dickens! Research on the Sundered Conflict. Conflict seems to be key. As near as the researchers can tell, all the Sundered lead lives that are simply not ordinary, and their experiments in conflict from last month produced results they didn't expect (as you all have learned) but that are most promising. Professor King herself has taken the lead on this experiment, and she warns anyone who volunteers that it is likely to be very dangerous, and they will be taking this very slow. They are, she explains, going to try to bridge the gap between you and the world you came from. A SMALL bridge, a proof of concept, no portal home and celebrations yet. But they hope it will work, and be the first step towards getting you back where you belong. If you agree, they get to work. Any student who undergoes this process immediately regains a power of their choice. It does not have to be on their application, and you do not have to provide proof during AC. It's here now. Only if you do not have a power to regain, you may regain an item instead. The price? For the next three days, you will be haunted by visions of your greatest enemy, your most hated foe, or the person you least wish to see in the world. Perhaps you hear their laughter in the darkness of your room at night. Perhaps you see a fellow student as them. Perhaps they are taunting you from just behind your shoulder... Whatever form it takes, for three days, you will be at their mercy. Or the mercy of your own mind's imagining them. Or perhaps a combination of the two. Who can say...?

Comments

Research

[holdyourhorns]

The small steps that approach are cautious, slowly tapping against the stone of a pathway and disturbing some grass once they get even closer. Following that is a golden glow shining against Sunset's face as it darts about on buzzing wings.

Though that last part would be difficult to pick up through closed ears. So something shoves at her shoulder to get her attention rather than doing the polite thing of speaking up.

[burningbrighter]

Cruel laughter fills her ears, and Sunset's so off balance that she stumbles from that, even sitting. She looks up, expecting to see cruel teal eyes and a scowling expression bearing down on her, but it's...a familiar dragon and not so familiar dragonfly.

"Spyro? What are you doing here? She'll see you!"

She pushes herself upright and looks up, flinching at a face in the shadows.

[holdyourhorns]

Said dragonfly buzzes something that would sound unintelligible to Sunset but apparently is perfectly understandable to Spyro.

"No Sparx, I don't know what she's talking about either," he replies to the magically glowing insect- whose name seems to follow along the same fiery theme as the toad familiar sometimes seen sitting on the dragon's head. But soon enough Spyro turns his attention back to the girl, with a look in his eye as if his nerves have also been getting worn down by the weirdness around them.

"I dunno what's going on, but I guess a bunch of us keep seeing and hearing things."

[burningbrighter]

"No, you don't understand."

Her voice is unsettlingly quiet. "It's me. The she-demon I was before. She's back, and she wants me to turn back into that."

Oh, but I'm right here, darling~ It's so easy! Don't you remember how good it feels to hate?

She flinches. "All I remember is seeing the researchers, feeling weird, and then..."

[holdyourhorns]

The concept of demons is definitely something that Spyro doesn't have much experience with as far as he's aware. But he's vaguely familiar with it by now and makes a grimace. A different voice chuckles in only his own hearing and Spyro can easily picture the disdainful sneer alongside it.

Maybe you dragons should do the same thing.

"...Sounds like a long story. Is it something you want to talk about?" And then he sits. "Because I'm all ears, really."

[burningbrighter]

"More like you're all wings and horns," Sunset cracks. A tiny joke, the smallest sign that most of her is still there.

"Well...I've always been interested in magic. I was too interested, actually, and before I didn't really care what powerful spells would do to others."

And it was fun, wasn't it?

Sunset winced and pressed on. "I bullied the entire school, reigning as the queen, until a little pony princess from another world rallied the troops to take me down. She's one of my best friends now, but...in the heat of the fight, the magic turned me into something terrible. I was willing to do anything to wage an all-out war of the worlds and win it, including mind control...it was ugly. And that's what she wants me to do."

The laughter still rings in her ears. "Anything like that happen to you lately?"

[holdyourhorns]

"At home in the dragon worlds and beyond? I'm the hero that kicks the bad guy's butt, no questions asked...!" Spyro exclaims, purposely letting out pride and bluster rather than anything else.

His dragonfly partner is actually rather worried about Spyro, but they mirror the dragon's display by pounding a tiny leg into another in a 'fist' catching motion and buzzing what must be a 'Yeah!' in their bug language.

"Course, I've always had Sparx here by my side and I'm glad to have him back." But that's not really relating much to her worries, is it? Spyro pauses for a moment before continuing with something-

"As for anything that's happened since I've been here, there was that card game nonsense. But that situation wasn't something I think would be normal for me. You sure you're not being too hard on yourself?"

[burningbrighter]

"Just like my friends. Ever the heroes, saving the day with the magic of friendship."

She's been saving the day at their side for a while now, but with that chill over her shoulder, it's hard not to feel like a faker.

"That's what they'd say if they were here. But I miss them, I just..."

She sighs. "I have to be strong. What did you do when the bad guy just wouldn't go away?"

[holdyourhorns]

"Beat them up even harder?" Spyro tilts his head as says so, his tone unsure most likely because he can't imagine any other plan of action to take.

"Mostly because either they started up some more trouble again or the first round wasn't quite over just yet."

[burningbrighter]

"Great idea, but...how do you beat up a ghost?"

She takes a swing to demonstrate, her fist passing right through the invisible apparition.

[holdyourhorns]

Ohhh...

[Because apparently, he didn't pick up on the meaning and reason for that question until now.]

Hard to say, real ghosts aren't that common in my experience. I guess if you think you're not better than you think you are... well... what did you say was the worst thing you did for sure during that entire power trip?

[Because?]

Because I'm pretty sure I can think of someone who can top it.

[burningbrighter]

Um...

[ She bites her lip. ]

I tried to turn my rival into crater dust. ...Top that?

[holdyourhorns]

Hmn.

[Not too hard for him to recall something though.]

Try imagining yourself stealing 150 innocent dragon eggs just so that when they all hatch, you can sacrifice them for some stupid spell.

That was what the Sorceress wanted to do, according to her former apprentice.

[burningbrighter]

"...what?"

She'd still refused to hurt a dog, hadn't she? To hurt so many innocent young creatures...

"That's horrible! You stopped it, right?"

[holdyourhorns]

"Dragons protect their own! The elders were counting on me to rescue them all and that's what I did...!"

With pride and instinctive poise on the side, Spyro puffs out his chest and keeps his wings spread. After all, proud creatures tend to hold themselves in the most imposing manner they can, whether or not they're big enough for it yet.

Not even his personal specters can dampen that. Though Sparx cuts in with more buzzing speech, to which the dragon seems affronted by. "Of course not taking all the credit, Sparx...!"

[burningbrighter]

"That's pretty cool of you."

She's trying to be sincere here, but something in her voice is still pained. She flashes an uncertain smile.

"Sparx was brave too, right?"

[holdyourhorns]

"Oh I dunno..." he starts with a wry grin. And already there's a noise of protest from Sparx.

"I'm kidding, just kidding...!" Normal friendly banter between best friends, nothing out of the ordinary. "Some of the eggs were in places I couldn't get to but where he could. But even without that, Sparx protects me from harm."

And in this case, for the next three days, that apparently comes to include emotional harm.