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

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis is exhausted. Between not sleeping, unexpectedly dozing off, and trying to appear 'normal' it's weighing down on him. This was taking more out of him than when he admitted summoning Leviathan took a lot out of him in Insomnia.

So he'd gone to the professors and found out that he was eligible to get his own space, away from the rest of the crowd. This was definitely preferable, so he'd move into a new place as soon as he could get a decent night's rest.

Due to the lack of sleep, the king turned a few wrong corners and came face to face with Kuja. And he didn't look happy.

[treno_nobleman]

And happy, he certainly was not, not after having turned a corner of his own and found himself staring down Garland's disapproving face for the third time that day. This time, it wasn't Garland, but another familiar face, one far more welcome than the cruelty of his creator. Kuja didn't exactly fancy himself running to Noctis, grateful to have someone else to look at, but it did lower his haunches.

Come to think of it, Noctis didn't look like he'd had the best of times lately himself. Kuja wondered if they might not have taken part in the same research somewhere along the way that month. It took a near physical effort, but he shook the irritation from his mind and nodded a greeting to the man. "You look as if you could drop at any moment."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king shifted his face away from the other's knowing blue-eyed gaze. And at least the Gods here were merciful enough not to show him Kuja instead of Ardyn. He'd already done that once when Prompto had been kidnapped and that hadn't gone well at all.

"Ya." Normally he might deny it or try and play it off, but this was taking its toll on him and he was more than sure that it showed. And he was one who could fall asleep easily and had done so plenty of times back home. But this was the opposite of all of that.

His head shook. "Didn't really think I'd run into anyone."

[treno_nobleman]

It surprised him that Noctis hadn't put up a fight about his answer, having half expected him to deny it though the truth was so plain. He would have tried to pretend otherwise himself, but he wasn't of a mind to invite questions. Not yet anyway.

"Would you prefer it if we did not?" It wasn't really a question. They were both not at their best and he knew his own moods could shift at the drop of a hat with the right or wrong wording. Still, he thought this might not be the worst time to be around a familiar face. He could have been raving mad.

[fatedsacrifice]

"Preferable to what I've seen." This came with a shrug. Really, he'd rather see Kuja any day over Ardyn. Noctis just felt so damn tired, and this was worse than any other tired that he had ever felt.

And then there was silence. He couldn't bring himself to ask about what the other was going through when he wasn't willing to divulge his own pain here. He'd even told Talcott in Hammerhead as much back home.

[treno_nobleman]

To that, he said nothing. What could he say? They would be blind to say nothing had been bothering them as drastically as it was, and yet neither of them was willing to lay those secrets at the other's feet. Familiar with Noctis as Kuja was, there were places he would not go with the man, and he had a feeling it was only mutual.

Just as well. They were doing no good for anything, and the longer he stared at the man, the more he thought Noctis was right. Even looking at a stranger was better than staring down Garland's ghost for the next however long he decided to hang around. He sighed abruptly and settled a hand on his hip, tail tip twitching. "Isn't the bell for lunch due soon? My appetite may be spoiled, and you look like yours may be as well, but I am not keen on enduring this longer than I must."

He needed to walk. He needed to do something. If not, he would sit and fume and it would help nothing.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis smiled but there was no humor in it. "Is this where you tell me to buzz off?" Sometimes it seemed like that was always eventually the case. Not that the king could blame Kuja.

They may have met in another world and their paths seemed to keep crossing. As a kid, Noctis would've declared it weird or creepy. But now he wondered.

Sure they had 3 classes together and maybe the other was just sick of looking at him. That might be it.

[treno_nobleman]

For several long moments, Kuja stared at Noctis, unsure of what to say. He wanted to be alone, but alone meant another run in with Garland. As much as he was not running from his creator and as much as he wanted not to have to explain the looks he sometimes gave thin air, Noctis seemed at least to understand.

Damn that research, but it was worth it to have his Trance back. His magic could be amplified if he so wished. If only he could use it against the images and voices that haunted him, his misery would be made all the sweeter, even if the man behind it was well and truly dead and gone, and he would just be throwing his frustrations against the wind.

Finally, his tail twitched and Kuja looked in the direction of the cafeteria, sighing faintly. He hadn't any real intention of getting anything to eat, but he needed to move. To do something. So he started in that direction, steps slow and sure. "I suppose not."

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis really wasn't sure what to make of the blatant stare that he found himself on the receiving end of. He was pretty sure that he was turning slightly red from it too, because his hand went up to his hair, just as it had done on the day he was called out for being older.

The king began to think that he should just accept this effect.

The words spoken had him standing there as the silver haired man began walking away. Wait..what? Kuja wasn't tired of looking at him or him being around?

No he couldn't read anything into this. He was just preferable to whoever else Kuja might be seeing besides him. That had to be it really.

The king wasn't sure he should follow, but he had noticed that the other didn't really hang around anyone either. But even if he understood it, maybe Noctis should try a different approach. And it would be one he'd learned from the boys back home.

However, it would wait until after this nightmare.

[treno_nobleman]

In truth, he wasn't sure what it was that he wanted, what would get him out of this torment, but it couldn't last forever. This was just the second day, and already he had let it get to him. How long had he spent plotting, biding his time against the man when Garland was still alive, and now he couldn't last more than a day without the old anger burning to life?

It was shameful to think, but it only made his blood boil that much more. The walk did him some good, though he was far too familiar with the grounds now to hope for any sort of real distraction. That was where Noctis came in. If he really wanted, he could think of it as a mutual benefit. The man was bothered by something, to be sure, though Kuja wasn't sure what. What he was sure of was that they weren't going to get past it standing there, staring at each other as if the answers were right in front of them somehow.

A few paces away, Kuja stopped and turned to look back, silently asking if Noctis was going to follow him. It wasn't necessary, and maybe the man had other ideas, but the offer was still there on the table, if he wanted it.

[fatedsacrifice]

That look was the sign he'd been waiting for, to see if his company was welcome or not. So with a nod, Noctis finally moved and caught up with Kuja. He wasn't trying to pry into the other's business and he wasn't trying to push for conversation. So the king decided that he'd speak if the other spoke, but other than that, he would remain quiet.

Maybe the other was going through something similar to what he was, and that was his only explanation. It didn't matter to him if they walked all night and said nothing. Silence was comfortable for him and was his usual mode. But from what he'd experienced of Kuja, the opposite couldn't be said. After all, the silver haired man had approached him to begin with. And that seemed like ages ago now.

So the king remained a silent companion, trying to shake off his own daemons and he would provide back up should anything or anyone confront them. He'd even listen if the other wanted to talk as well, but somehow he highly doubted conversation was desired. But it all had to start somewhere, with or without words.

[treno_nobleman]

Silence wasn't in his norm. Anyone who knew him for more than a few minutes could easily tell that. But now, he had little he wanted to say, little that he could say, and it ate at him as they crossed the lawn, heading toward the cafeteria. From here, he could smell the food coming from upwind, and it made his stomach knot.

In honesty, he hated the silence more than the sudden pit in his stomach. The sounds of students around them, less weighted down by ghosts from their pasts than the miserable pair he and Noctis made, were distant, too far away to stave off the awareness he held somewhere in the back of his mind of his own circumstances. That somewhere out there, Garland's image was waiting to catch him at a bad time, or catch him at all, and he would feel that old anger burning within him again, something he had hoped was gone.

But to know that anger was still there, to know he hadn't yet escaped it, for as little good as it had done him in a previous world, stung on a soul-deep level. At last, he could bear it no longer, and gusted an irritated sigh, tail lashing behind him.

"Of all the wretched happenings to befall us on a day like today, one would think the weather would cooperate and at least offer a dark cloud or two to compensate."

[fatedsacrifice]

For a guy who liked food, Noctis wasn't hungry. He just was glad for the walk and yes even the company. Having someone else around helped his mindset, as he was so used to travelling with at least three other people.

Once Kuja spoke though, the king turned his blue eyes to his companion and turned right back away before the threatening smile could fully appear on his face. All he said instead was "Ya, go figure." with a shrug. But it was still reassuring to hear the grumbling and he realized the smile was somewhat in his own tone too.

He didn't want to get stuck out in a sudden rain or hailstorm which had been going on as of late so he was glad for the weather. Obviously that wasn't the case with Kuja, which was okay too.

[treno_nobleman]

Irritatingly, Noctis had little to offer in the way of conversation, and that would have been a welcome distraction. The walls and air could suffice for a sounding board for his own voice when he wanted to say something, as he did at times, but now and then it was nice to know his words hadn't fallen on deaf ears, even if he didn't care whether or not anyone heard him.

It took a moment before he caught himself for what was truly happening, that the anger had come back on him even though Garland's ghost was nowhere to be seen for the moment. In his mind, that meant the man was winning, and his pride, still too tall after so long, couldn't suffer it. Eyes tilted to the skies above, almost the same shade of blue now that the day had deepened and begun its tilt toward night, and he forced a slower breath through his nose.

"But it always has been that way, hasn't it? No matter where we are in this universe, no matter what world we walk, the happiest days see rain and the saddest shade themselves in sun and clear skies. Ever the bitter irony."

[fatedsacrifice]

"It's rained..on sad days." Noctis observed quietly. It had been raining the day he died. But it didn't make him dislike rain. And even on sunny days here, the sun felt good.

The first morning he'd been here, the king had gotten up early to observe the dawn, one he'd never gotten to see after his death. He'd said a prayer to the Six for his friends with his back to a Pine tree. But he never talked about it.

"But you can always change the way it normally goes, right?"

This was the king trying to get both of them to think of something else. He needed another focus because waiting for Ardyn to jump out at him wasn't cutting it.

[treno_nobleman]

Annoyed with no present target for his irritation, Kuja shook his head and glanced out over the lawn toward the forest. Maybe Garland was there, hiding, waiting. Wouldn't he like to go find out? Put an end to this finally? With his Trance back, he could certainly lay waste to a few good acres, but it wouldn't be worth his efforts, and this world didn't deserve his anger. Falling back on old habits now wouldn't help him.

His tail lashed once behind him, twitched, and was still. "Had I any control over this wretched weather, I might. But the magic either does not exist in this world or I have yet to learn it." But the weather mattered so little where his abilities were concerned on Gaia. With the Invincible, he had been near unstoppable, until Garland took back control of the ship.

With a small start, he realized he had changed course and started a step or two in the direction of the forest before he caught himself and halted his course. Had he really been about to...?

[fatedsacrifice]

"Maybe it's a class you should take." Noctis offered with a very hidden smile in his tone. Stormy weather would suit them both presently, but somehow the king got the feeling that it was moreover Kuja who would feel more at home in it than himself right about now.

The king had no idea where they were going, but he was following along, happy to focus on something else other than Ardyn. So for any distraction right now he was grateful. This was like wandering through any of the places he'd been on Eos, except back there they had a map and Ignis.

Looking at Kuja now, Noct's blue eyes just blinked in confusion. Did he need help?

[treno_nobleman]

Before he could consider classes, he had to get out of his own head long enough to even pick those classes. Without noticing it right off, his habits had turned him, willing him to take his frustrations and anger out on whatever he could, whatever was waiting for him in those woods. That he'd caught himself well before he turned to destruction and put a stop to it before anyone could be caught in its path was a small blessing, but a look back at Noctis said otherwise.

Shrugging it off with a shake of his hair, Kuja turned and continued on to the cafeteria, intent on some manner of food now whether or not he needed it. The focus, the destination, the goal was what mattered, not the nutrition. "Perhaps I will. There are only so many inappropriately sunny days one can tolerate, and when the weather will not cooperate, well... One must set the stage so that the scene fits the mood of the performance, or the audience will not know the full effect of the performance."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king had no idea what was going through the other's head. And it was probably just as well at this point. He followed when Kuja had turned to go back to the academy and wondered what the trip into the woods was all about. And then there was the look that he'd gotten, that was another point of thought, but he wasn't going to pursue it at all.

At hearing the part about the stage and performance though, Noctis turned his head away so his smile wasn't visible, but there was a laugh in his tone. "You sure take me back ten years." He remembered hearing snippets about stages and performances from the silver haired man as they'd fought back on that other world.

[treno_nobleman]

Ten years? Was that how long it had been since the man had last seen Kuja on the Spiritus's and Materia's battlefields? How strange a thing time was in these worlds.

"A decade is a long time to exist over a month or so for me. What must the flow of time look like between these worlds, I wonder? Is it always like this, or is it only for our worlds?"

He couldn't know, of course. Little help as he had in getting home from the natives of this world and their slippery grasp of the magics that had brought them into the world, he could only ever hope to come to their level of understanding of the same magics, if he could. Motivation had been low for him in that area as of late though, the more he came to realize he didn't want to return home anymore.

[fatedsacrifice]

Noctis remained quiet as Kuja mused. So much had happened to him since he last saw the silver haired man. Death had been a major event back home, but he wasn't going to get into that.

"I really don't know but I gotta say, I wonder why we're brought here." That was about the only thing he was saying, hoping it would throw the other off by giving him something else to talk about.

The king didn't mind the other talking at all because it was strangely comforting. But he didn't want to talk about time anymore.

[treno_nobleman]

Why were they brought here? He'd thought on that in private more and more since the study involving the truth crystals. Those conversations had been... particularly enlightening as uncomfortable as some of them had been. But it all led more or less to the same conclusion, one that seemed a truth in most, if not all, of their circumstances.

Kuja shook his head, averting his gaze. "The going theory for our displacement seems to be that each of we Sundered have seen a world crisis severe enough to merit removal from the situation, though mine had all but been resolved when I arrived." He shrugged lightly, as if it were nothing. As if he hadn't been the cause of said crisis. "To what end we were brought here, no one seems to know, only that the magic is still unpredictable, and more of us are brought here still. Somewhere in this world, the magic continues to work, erratically. Who casts the spell, we haven't discovered."