March Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

March Event and Intro Log Golem On The Loose The rain never stops. Water and mud track all over campus. Diligent cleaning golems stomp about, mopping and scrubbing and polishing and then going back to do it all over again, and again, and again... One of them seems to have had it. The renegade golem bursts into Kedrigan Hall -- interrupting classes and disrupting labwork to furiously seize students and scrub every last scrap of mud and dirt off of them. All the halls have been locked off with "Under Cleaning" signs, and anyone who enters them meets with the golem's wrath, as it violently plays a pre-recorded message about not interfering with groundskeeping and deploys a giant claw-like tool to grab the interloper and put them back on unforbidden ground. The professors, who are after all completely immune to the golem's attention by its very design, seem to think this is a good learning opportunity for students. Is it? Horrible Spell Doom? "Are you sure you're ready for the test on Advanced Gaseous Discovery?" one upperclassman asks the other. "Of course I'm sure," the second says confidently. Whipping out a wand from a holster on her belt, she sweeps her wand through the air gracefully, pronouncing several Osmarian sigils as she draws them. Probably. "See, that's a blue cloud--" Said blue cloud, which puffs into being as the last syllable left her lips, abruptly doubls in size. Then it doubles in size again. And again. The upperclassmen, who have been in Diatu for several years and know exactly what this sort of thing means, don't hesitate. Not even stopping to share a glance between them, they run like crazy, leaving the growing cloud behind just as classes let out and students begin to enter the halls. But... surely it doesn't have any weird and wacky side effects, right? The Bala-inlota Parade (aka The Non-Horrible Prompt) To celebrate the start of the Bala-inlota season, Anastara spares no expense. The great parade and associated festival stretches the whole weekend, and the whole city puts on their colors and turns out for the fun. Enterprising vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs ranging from small and crude figurines to magical constructs that shine field displays onto flat surfaces so you can watch the action up-close! (Good luck affording that, students.) Practically any sort of entertainment you could want appears on the streets and canals of Anastara, and food and drink flow freely. 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 team has developed a Sundering spell that they warn is crude and unpolished, because the Curriculum is so unpracticed. They hope it will connect to your home worlds and establish a magical link they can build off of to open further passages. No promises! And to those who do undergo this spellwork... it has a certain side effect of confusion, as brief images from your home world flicker across your vision for a few hours afterwards. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

A Special Note

If you thread out one or more scenes based on the confusion from "Research on the Sundered", respond to the comment on this post with a link to that thread. The results of this will be revealed next month! (It is, we're afraid, not a regain, lest your participation be based solely on that hope!)

Comments

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Ain't really cool, you know? All he does is fluff up and go 'who'.

[shiningkindness]

Well...have you tried asking him to do anything else?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

He does all the usual things. Fetchin' stuff and taking care of little things. But he doesn't zoom around through the ground while I ride him or anythin' like that!

[shiningkindness]

[Ballet gives a low sound that rumbles through the ground, and Fluttershy's frown deepens a bit.]

Well, maybe not. But I'm sure he does things that Ballet can't do either.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Fly, I guess, but he ain't much. [Jecht shrugs. Truth is he doesn't really mind having an owl as much as he pretends, but it conflicts with his cool image, so he's gotta put up a front.] 'Less your girl here can fly too!

[shiningkindness]

[She giggles softly.]

No, she can't fly. Honestly, she can't come up much out of the ground unless she's breaching.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Heh, bet she can jump so high no one could tell she wasn't flying! [Chuckling, Jecht pats the skin beneath his feet.] Hey, can she go into water, too?

[shiningkindness]

She can jump pretty high, but it can take a while. I'm...not actually sure if she can go into the water, though.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Well? Can ya?

[He isn't sure if Ballet will give an answer to him, he isn't her wizard or anything, and probably a lot less fun to have around than the girl here. But hey, not gonna pretend she ain't right here!]

[shiningkindness]

[Ballet gives a rumble in reply, but Fluttershy frowns a bit.]

I don't think she's really answering the question.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

I'll take your word for it. [What'd he know about land whales or anything?] Doesn't matter, though, I guess. She's plenty useful and helpful, water or not.

[shiningkindness]

[She nodded.]

Mm-hmm...she's definitely helped me out a lot.

Oh but that reminds me...thank you for your help too.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Aaaah, it was nothing. [Jecht puts a hand to his neck, jerking his head left, then right as if to work out the kinks.] Couldn't let you guys get picked on, right?

[shiningkindness]

S-Still, I really appreciate it.

M...My name's Fluttershy.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Balling one hand into a fist like a mark of triumph, he flashes her a smile.] The name's Jecht. Or if you're talking blitzball or bala-inlota, the Great Jecht!

[shiningkindness]

It's nice to meet you.

So you play bala-inlota? What's it like?

[She only has a vague understanding of the native sport.]

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

It's a mess. It's chaos. Stuff going every which way, there's almost no rules -- but it's a hell of lot of fun if you're not getting turned into a frog or something!

[shiningkindness]

O-Oh goodness...does that happen a lot?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Usually someone whips out a defensive spell or something. Funny thing is, it's almost like magic doesn't count sometimes. When both sides have it, it cancels out. That's why a guy like me, who's bad at magic but in better shape than most wizards've ever known in their life, can fit in there.

[shiningkindness]

[Thinking about that, she nods.]

I see...I guess that makes sense. If both teams have magic, each side can use counter spells on the other. So it help having something different to make up for it.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Exactly! Plus it's really hard to cast a spell if someone's gotcha in a choke hold. [Jecht curls one arm like he's got a neck in its crook, demonstratively.] Just you wait! This world's gonna know the Great Jecht is top of the game in no time!

[shiningkindness]

[She's just going to assume that he's not actually choking people.]

Mm...good luck, though.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Poor naive kid.]

You gotta come and check it out sometime. Right now I'm just second-string for school team, but my star's gonna shine brighter!

[shiningkindness]

[She nods.]

I'll have to see it sometime. [While she isn't much into sports herself, being friends with Rainbow Dash means she supported people who do play.] When's the next game?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Right now it's just school practice, those get held right before the weekend. Still working my way up. [And though he's impatient, he gets it, too. He's gotta pay his dues and earn his spot.] Upside, it ain't too crowded though.