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

bala-inlota parade

[pawper]

[In stark contrast, Lys loves crowds — the bigger the better. But sometimes the draw of live entertainment is stronger than the desire to feel surrounded, luring her in with wide eyes and the unwavering fascination of a hound tracking new scents. Magic was a private affair in her world, the hallmark of monsters — secret, forbidden. And nevermind the dapper-dressed capybara walking along at her side like it was the most casual thing in the world, brazen displays like these are a definite first for a peasant girl that will swear up and down as to her utter normalcy.

One such spectacle happens to be a group of Valhudor musicians showing off sleight-of-hand illusions and other whimsical examples of their Curriculum, voices raised in song as much to draw the attention of passerby as for the purposes of invocation.]

Wow! [And when the performers decide to include her in the show, stealing the capybara's tiny top hat from right under her nose during a shift in the tempo and tune, to then present it to the rest of their audience with a grandiose flourish:] Wow! That was incredible! Can you do it again?

[shiningkindness]

[The group is more than happy to oblige, though they require another volunteer for this. As they scan the crowd, they eventually settle on her, who takes a moment to realize that they're beckoning her onstage.

But when she does, she shrinks back a bit.]

O-Oh no, I-I couldn't...

[pawper]

[She turns to follow the gestures they're making, seeking out the person they've chosen to address, and offers a bright grin full of hopeful encouragement.]

Sure you could! I bet you'd be perfect for it. [Whatever "it" is — she doesn't know, nobody does except the musicians, but clearly it's gonna be great. The only thing that gives her pause is the hesitation to be read in the other girl's body language; she always does better with physical cues, and so casually steps up next to Fluttershy to lend support.] I'll even go with you. That'd be fine, right?

[This last is addressed to the performers, who find themselves swiftly charmed out of whatever misgivings they might have otherwise harbored — mostly by Arthur, the now-hatless capybara.]

[shiningkindness]

[Glancing at the other girl, she still seems a bit uncertain. But, swallowing her nerves, she nods.]

W-Well...o-okay...

[Accepting one of the performers' hand, she lets herself be pulled onstage.]

[pawper]

[The crowd cheers and applauds, happy to see the chosen volunteer agree to a show. While Arthur noses gently at Fluttershy's hand, pushing his head beneath it in an unspoken demand for pets, Lys follows after like she promised, climbing onstage more eagerly than gracefully. That she's not offered a helping hand of her own is hardly noticed, she's so excited to be here.]

Oof....so, what's next?

[shiningkindness]

[A bit surprised, she does relax more as she pets the capybara while the performers lead her to one side of the stage. Instructing her to stand facing the audience, they hold out a hand and motion for her to mimic them. When she does - the free hand that wasn't still petting Arthur - they gently curl her fingers into a fist and ask her to hold it up, just like that.

Then, as a choir starts singing behind her, the main performer crosses the stage to Lys, asking her stand on the opposite end of the stage, also facing the audience. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out what appears to be a coin, and a pen, and instructs her to write or draw something on the coin.]

[pawper]

[It's a lot to try and keep track of all at once; Lys doesn't even try, completely swept up in the grandiosity of it all. Making a quick gesture to keep Arthur from following (he was doing just fine right where he was!), she practically jogs across the stage when summoned. Though she accepts the pen and coin equally without question, her excitement noticeably fades when asked to write something; braiding letters into words and words into sentences was hard enough when allowed to concentrate in complete silence, alone.

Thankfully, she's been given an alternative. Uncapping the pen, Lys scrawls a quick sketch on the coin's shiny surface: a flower in full bloom, every petal accounted for.]

[shiningkindness]

[Once she was finished drawing on the coin, the main performer first took the pen from her, capping it and putting it away. Then he held up the coin for the audience to see, showing off the drawn flower on its surface.

Placing the coin back in Lys' hand, he curled her fingers over it, instructing her to hold it tight and keep her hand up, just as Fluttershy's hand was.

As he stepped away, a choir starts singing behind her as well. And after a moment, both of Lys' and Fluttershy's raised hands begin to glow.]

[pawper]

Huh? ...—Woah!

[Considering where they are and what they're doing, she really shouldn't be startled by sudden displays of magic — and yet she is, if only because the magic of this world was nothing like what existed back home. No less powerful, perhaps even more dangerous, but different. Because there's no pain when it touches her now, no reason to feel afraid or ashamed.

She looks at her glowing hand with perfect wonder, only the performer's instruction keeping it held aloft rather than brought close to her own face and marveled over. Slowly, almost reflexively, Lys turns her closed fist this way and that, showing the crowd how her grip on the coin is still tight.]

[shiningkindness]

[Fluttershy is asked to do the same, holding up her closed fist to show the audience that she has not opened it.

Then, as the choir's songs come to an end, the performer asks Fluttershy to uncurl her fist. As she does so, she reveals a familiar-looking coin in the middle of her palm.]

[pawper]

[The same instruction is relayed to Lys a moment later. Dutifully, she opens her hand, empty palm revealed to the audience.]

....The coin! The coin's gone!

[Stating the obvious? Lys? Perish the thought. But however redundant the commentary, it plays nicely into the theatrics of the whole affair; the crowd erupts into cheers and applause, clearly taken by the daring display of legerdemain.]

[shiningkindness]

[Taking the coin from Fluttershy, he presents it to the audience, whose applause grows as he shows the flower that decorated the metal surface. More applause as he gives a sweeping bow, then asks the girls to do the same. Hesitantly, Fluttershy gives a shy bow before being gently escorted off the stage.]

[pawper]

[Her bow is more enthusiastic, low and sweeping and accompanied by a broad grin — Arthur mimics the gesture the best he can by nodding graciously and bending a knee — but she's already forgotten it by the time she too leaves the stage, quickly outpacing her own escort as she makes a beeline for Fluttershy.]

Amazing! That was amazing, wasn't it?

[Oh no, the gangly stranger still wants to talk.]

Thanks so much for doing it with me. I had a lot of fun!

[shiningkindness]

[Though a bit surprised, she doesn't mind having a conversation, especially now that she's off the stage and people aren't watching her anymore.

Plus she's fascinated by the other girl's familiar, but anyway.]

Yes, that was pretty cool. But I should be thanking you for coming up with me. I don't know if I could've been up there on my own.

[pawper]

Eh? ...oh, right, I guess I did do that.

[She's already half-forgotten the specifics, scarcely noticing when Arthur comes trotting up behind her. Not because she doesn't care — this is Lys, who sometimes cared way too much about the smallest things — but simply because she's too excited to properly focus on anything that wasn't this moment, this new and interesting exchange.]

Well, it's no problem! I didn't mind at all. [And like it was the most natural thing in the world to do, she offers her hand for the other girl to shake.] I'm Lys, by the way!

[shiningkindness]

[In any case, the fact that she had helped her does relax Fluttershy a bit, and she accepts her hand for the handshake.]

I'm Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you.

[pawper]

Pleasure's all mine!

[A brief, earnest shake, then she releases the other girl's hand. Tactile as she was, the type to readily give and accept physical affection, good manners demanded restraint in certain things.]

I'll let you be on your way now — just wanted to introduce myself, and say thanks. But maybe I'll see you around later!

[shiningkindness]

[With a smile, she nods.]

Okay...see you around.