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

[puzzlers]

[ yugi latches onto fluttershy when the ground beneath them starts to move, but it's not long before he realizes that this has got to be her familiar. w- woah. he takes a hold of the dorsal fin and apologies quietly. ] So who's this? [ he gives the fin a pat and smiles down at the familiar. ]

[shiningkindness]

[She gives an understanding smile.]

This is Ballet. She's a Land Whale.

[Said whale gives a rumbling reply as she cruises through the earth, leaving it undisturbed around her as she glided through. With her partially above ground to keep the both of them on her back, Yugi might notice that she seems roughly the size of a car.]

[puzzlers]

Ballet? [ he looks down at the whale as it moves through the floor like it were nothing. he pats her dorsal fin and gives her a smile, though the whale probably cant see it. ] It's nice to meet you, Ballet. I've never seen something quite like a land whale before, but she's certainly something special.

[shiningkindness]

[The whale gives a rumbling sound in reply, and Fluttershy smiles.]

She really is. She actually found me when I first arrived in this world, and helped me get to the academy.

[puzzlers]

Really? It sounds like Ballet is an excellent companion and familiar. I should introduce you to my familiar, Peregrin. [ but that might have to wait until they're a safe distance away. ]

[shiningkindness]

[With a smile, she nodded.]

I'd love to meet him.

[But right now, they had to find somewhere safe.]

How...are you feeling? Did you want to go back to your dorm, or...?

[puzzlers]

[ he can show her as soon as they've put some space between them and the affected area. he should probably take a few minutes to himself besides. ]

I'm still feeling a little strange. Like, I feel fine, but... I guess it's just hard to explain. [ he gives a sheepish laugh. ] No, it's alright. I think I'm going to wait until much later to head back, but thank you.

[shiningkindness]

[She nods, and Ballet starts to slow down a bit as they get farther away from the smoke-filled hall.]

Would you like us to drop you off somewhere?

[puzzlers]

Near the front gate is fine, thank you. I might actually head into town and get something to... drink... [ he feels like he needs it at this point. ]

[shiningkindness]

[With another nod, she gently pats Ballet's fin, and the whale continues at a steady pace, only slowing to a stop once they reach the front gate. Then she lowers a bit more into the ground so it's easier for them to step off.]

Do you...maybe want some company?

[She's still a bit worried about him, and she doesn't want him to be alone, just in case something happened. But she also didn't want to push if he'd rather be alone.]

[puzzlers]

I wouldn't mind the company. Maybe it'll help me keep my mind off things. [ he gave a sheepish laugh and reached into his robe to pull out three dice. ] Would you like to explore the first ring? I've taken a look around a few times, but I'm sure there's always more to find.

[ he throws the dice down to reveal a phoenix, a snake, and fish... so peregrin takes the form of a snake head, a phoenix body, and a mermaid tail. ] Meet Peregrin. O- Oh, and I'm Yugi by the way. Thank you for lending me a hand back there.

[shiningkindness]

[With a smile, she nods.] Okay.

I haven't really, actually. I've kind of mostly stayed around the academy.

[She lights up at the sight of his familiar, watching as it transformed.] Oh wow...! That's incredible! Does he do that all the time?

[Then she smiles a bit sheepishly. That's right, introductions were a thing.]

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

[puzzlers]

Really? I've been going to the first ring pretty frequently. I should probably take a look around campus more, because I'm sure there's a lot to be found here too.

He does! The dice can reveal one of six sides and he always becomes some combination of what's revealed. Pretty neat, huh? [ peregrin gives fluttershy a smile, taking a few cautious steps forward to investigate. ] It's nice to meet you too, Fluttershy.

[shiningkindness]

That's amazing! [She holds out her hand to Peregrin, and if he lets her, she'll go ahead and pet him.]

What else can he turn into?

[puzzlers]

[ he'll let her pet him. ]

Just about anything, really! So the faces of each die are a Cat, a Rat, a Snake, a Fish, a Phoenix, and Three Question Marks. Whatever's rolled he'll turn into a combination of all of those. The Question Marks can be anything though, so skies the limit!

[shiningkindness]

[She is all too happy to pet him.]

Oh wow! That's so cool! Do you know if the question marks are only for animal forms, or can they really be for anything? And are they only real animals, or can it be mythological ones too?

[Sorry, she just gets really excited about animals.]

[puzzlers]

It can be regular or mythical creatures, because I managed to roll three questions marks once and he turned into a dragon!

[shiningkindness]

[Her face brightened, filled with excitement.]

That's incredible! The possibilities then really are endless.

[puzzlers]

Right! I should keep a book of all the different combinations. I should be able to draw them too. I'm not the, uh, best artist, but I've been practicing a lot.

[shiningkindness]

Oh, that's a good idea! If you do start drawing them, would you mind if I see them?

[Pretty please?]

[puzzlers]

Sure! I have no problems doing that. I could use somebody to tell me if they're good or not and how I can improve!

[shiningkindness]

[She claps her hands.]

Great! Oh, I have a friend, Sunset Shimmer, who's really good at art. I bet she could help too, if you've had a chance to meet her.

[puzzlers]

I do know her, actually. I met her my first day, but I could definitely reach out again and see if she wouldn't mind helping.

[shiningkindness]

Oh, you've met her? That's good! [It's nice when a friend knows another friend.] I'm sure she'd love to help out, especially with something like this. She's more familiar with creatures like dragons than I am.

[puzzlers]

I'll definitely have to bring it up to her, or if you see her before I do and you don't mind asking, then that'd be great too. You guys know each other from home?