August Event Log

[magicademymods]

August Event Log Speed of Lightning, Roar of Thunder The latest rage in Diatu: portable lightning generators! These little spheres, compact enough to be held in the hand, can launch a miniature bolt of electricity out with flair and pizzazz and surprisingly nonlethal effects. Getting zapped is like getting bit by a horsefly, not much worse. Naturally, all sorts of sports and pastimes have grown up overnight. The new sports of Lightning Tag, Lightningball, and Zap Each Other With Lightning Till Someone Collapses Because We're Tough Guys Dammit routinely break out on campus, while people who think they're funny can't go ten seconds without bolting someone's posterior. So what's your role in this? Eager participant? Sportsman? Buttzapper? Or is your idea totally new and wild? And Break the Laws That They Should Fear A rash of thefts plagues Anastara and the Magicademy both. Nothing huge, nothing heavy -- little things, like food, jewelry, trinkets and knickknacks... because the perpetrators are rats. Large and obviously clever rats, who have somehow wormed their way through defensive enchantments and mundane security both with the fearsome tenacity of their species. Look around at just the right time, and you might spot a rat scrambling for the safety of the caverns, something clutched in its jaws. Maybe something of yours? The Cry Goes Up Both Far and Near Finals draw ever-closer, and right about now students start realizing that maybe they don't understand this or that; maybe they could do with some outside material; maybe a second viewpoint would come in handy. Thus this week brings the Diatu Book Exchange! Outside of the Great Hall, students of all sorts brings books they no longer need and exchange them for books they do. The Book Exchange goes past merely scholarly works, though; time has grown it to encompass books of all sorts, from genre fiction and unlikely stories about seemingly ordinary kids attending an engineering boarding school to comics to philosophical works and more. Come to trade, browse, or lust -- there's something here for everyone! Research on the SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) The research team has learned one important thing: Conflict is the key. The Codification of Sundering is the door. Somehow, of late, something has changed the nature of Sundering magic. They do not know why or how, but the very existence of the concept of Sundering magic now causes summoning anomalies that focus on other worlds, resulting in the transport of the Sundered here. This is, well, bad. The Codifications should not be slipping, not unless something has the power to completely overwhelm the entirety of human thought and will... To test theory more deeply, this month's Research has the Sundered locked in a room with another Sundered, a pair of chairs, and nothing else. The goal is to observe the warp and weft of magic around them with minimal interference from any other source save perhaps each other. So who did you get shut in with, and how long can you just sit and talk without going crazy?

Comments

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, duh! Do you know any Discovery magic? It might work better if we do the magic together - I'm thinking a cage?

[stillnewatthis]

I am much better at Modification magic. However, that can also be used to make a cage!

[talkyourwayout]

Sure, that works.

[He doesn't struggle too much with Modification magic - math was the only school subject he'd applied himself to back home, after all, which is why he was taking Modification in the first place. And it seems to make sense that Orisa, a robot, would do well with the formula-based magic.]

Did you have something specific in mind?

[stillnewatthis]

If we had a piece of metal, I could make it into a cage.

[No, Louie; Orisa herself would not work. No modifying the omnic!]

[talkyourwayout]

[He definitely thinks of Orisa at first, but dismisses the idea right away. Louie's an evil triplet, but he's not a total jerk.

Sort of.]

Is a paperclip too small? [He reaches into a pocket.] I have a couple of those.

[stillnewatthis]

Hmm. I can try to Modify them larger first. I don't know if I will succeed, but trying will not hurt!

[talkyourwayout]

[Hey, if she wants to put in the effort for something that may not work, she's welcome to.]

Alright.

[Louie tosses the paperclips in her direction.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Life is about putting effort into things that may not work, Louie!]

[Orisa catches the paperclips effortlessly, then sets them down and begins scribing a mathematical formula around them. This is not so difficult -- it is simple multiplication, and she is determined to succeed! As soon as she solves the equations, the paperclips balloon up so that they're each as long as her arm.]

[talkyourwayout]

[Not his life.

Louie is clearly impressed with how quickly Orisa gets the spell down, and he smiles a bit. She's definitely good for more than deliveries, and maybe he's been undervaluing her- No, no, stop that, he tells himself. That's a dangerous path to go down.]

Nice work. [He takes out his wand, but then he pauses.] You know, you probably don't even need me to help Modify them into a cage, if you're that good.

[stillnewatthis]

While that may be true, I have no guarantees, and would appreciate your assistance in any case.

[She is decent at Modification, but not immaculate by any means. Besides, Louie is her friend!]

[talkyourwayout]

[Ugh. It's probably more effort to talk his way out of something with her than to just try the spell. She'll be doing most of the work, probably.

That's what he's going to tell himself as he starts tracing a circle in the dirt.]

Alright, sure.

[stillnewatthis]

Thank you! [She sounds so happy to have his help, how can he possibly sulk about it? Orisa begins adding equations to the circle, trusting Louie to do the geometry while she does the advanced math.]

[talkyourwayout]

Don't mention it.

[He sighs a bit as he says that, but he also continues to do the geometry part of the magic - he's pretty good at most math subjects, and while geometry might be the one he's least invested in, he still does okay, generally.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa completes her equations, and between her efforts and Louie's, the paperclips pop into the shape of cages just like that.]

Excellent! We have done it!

[talkyourwayout]

[The thing Louie can't deny is that, as much as he hates putting in an effort, when he does - and that effort pays off - it feels nice. He's kind of swept up in that right now.]

Okay, so we should try chasing the rat into the cage, now!

[stillnewatthis]

I would be most suited for that. Can you hide or conceal it in such a way that the rat will mistake it for safety?

[talkyourwayout]

[Okay, he's starting to get kind of into this. Also, not having to run around? That works.]

Yeah, I think I have an idea for that.

[stillnewatthis]

Splendid! Then shall I move away and seek out the rat?

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

[He's just going to be here, gathering twigs and leaves before he works on Discovering some peanut butter.]

[stillnewatthis]

[All fired up, Orisa rears back onto her rear legs to paw at the air with her front, before turning in midair to thud back heavily onto the ground and take off at a run. You're in trouble, rat!]

[talkyourwayout]

[When and if she chases the rat back over, Louie is hiding in the bushes nearby - sort of, the top of his head is very much still visible, but he's only going to put in so much effort.

The cage has been made a proper trap, though. It's near-covered in branches and leaves, and there's a dollop of peanut butter inside.]

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa is not subtle at all. Soon enough, the sound of her galloping along and crashing through minor obstacles offers plenty of warning that a rat is incoming. Indeed, there it comes around a corner right now!]

[talkyourwayout]

[The rat seems terrified for its life, and it seems more interested in getting into the safety of the "brambles" that are the trap than the bait Louie set, but a win's a win, right? As the rat darts into the cage, Louie even shows some excitement to jump out and shut the trap.]

...Wow. That worked! Orisa, that was- That was pretty cool.

[stillnewatthis]

Hooray! [Orisa romps around in a circle, radiating delight.] Now I may retrieve my money from the rat! Thank you for your assistance, Louie. You are a good friend!

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, sure, yeah. I know. Don't mention it, Orisa.

[Like, ever again, please. This mild feeling of guilt is not what he signed up for.]