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

[unswervingcompanion]

Being a knight and wanting to keep himself in shape was important to Hendrik. He planned to see if he could figure out how to play the game eventually and maybe play sometime, though it couldn't take away from his studies or keeping an eye on the Luminary.

But her description of a horse bird made him think of Obsidian, just with wings at first.

"A giant bird, that must be fascinating."

[darkenedmoon]

"Intimidating, I would say. They were taller than most males I knew, and certainly taller than I. Not that I attempted to ride any of them; they were fairly rare in Doma." But horses were also rare, there.

Really, she preferred riding in a ship--be it a seagoing vessel or an airship. Yotsuyu had always found animals unpredictable at best.

"I suppose asking if you had strange creatures on your world might be silly; you certainly would not think they were strange." She chuckled a little at that.

[unswervingcompanion]

"Taller?" Well Obsidian was taller than him, but to find an animal intimidating might take a little bit.

Hendrik pondered Yotsuyu's next comment. "There were many strange creatures back in my world, some more foul than others." Like for example, there was that Jormun in Sniflheim or that huge spider in Octagonia. "But I do understand your point of view."

It made him think though. "I would wish only for my horse Obsidian to show up here. But then I suppose he is safer where he is."

[darkenedmoon]

"Quite possibly, he is. I am sure there are those who ride here, but even going into town there is quite the press of people. Though if Obsidian is your warhorse, I am certain he is trained to be quite the solid beast." In more ways than one, though Yotsuyu would not have been attempting humor, here.

"Then our worlds parallel in that way, as well." She would never want to run into a morbol, for example, or a dhole or even an Ebisu catfish. The morbol was likely the worst, though.

"Taller," Yotsuyu agreed, raising an arm to its full height above her head. "And that was just the rounceys--the destriers trained for Roegadyn were even larger."

[unswervingcompanion]

"He is solid." There's obvious pride in that statement as well as a grin because he caught the humor. "But he is spoiled for a certain type of grass in a certain place. And even I could not hope to budge him when he grazed upon it. But I do hope to be able to race him back in his homeland, should I get the chance." After he went back with the Luminary and saved the world that is.

And after listening to Yotsuyu describe the birds that ran around and these destriers, well the knight had to admit that he was curious.

"These elements that you describe, I have to admit that I wish I could see them."

[darkenedmoon]

"I shall hope you make it back there to do so, someday." At the image of Hendrik attempting to coerce a large warhorse into moving, she can't help but chuckle a little bit.

She also nodded. "I do sort of wish I could see your world, as well. At least you could be there to show me around, if so. I could not do so, if you came to Hydaelyn."

For all her usual and casual arrogance, there was a bit of remorse in Yotsuyu's voice.

[unswervingcompanion]

"You would most certainly meet Obsidian and take a ride on him. And from there you could take a tour of Heliodor castle and meet His Majesty."

Hendrik is not revealing he was (still is) the General and has won one of the highest honors, which is to receive the Shield of Heliodor. That is an honor given to the mightiest of knights to wield it. But he does have it in his room and wears a golden miniature pendant of it tucked beneath his yellow shirt. And of course all of this would have to wait until the world is saved by the Luminary, but the knight won't get into that.

But he caught her meaning and didn't speak his internal thoughts on the matter. "If your world will not have you, then you would be most welcome in mine."

[darkenedmoon]

A rueful smile touched Yotsuyu's lips at that, and she ducked her head. It was such a strange feeling. It was true that Hendrik did not know everything she'd done--he had only vague intimations--but here he was, accepting her nonetheless.

"I would..like that. Very much. All of it. But with the way things ended on my world...I am not sure I could even come to yours."

Though considering they were in public, she did not want to mention the reason why. She was certain she'd told him, but there was such a flood of information they'd all been dealing with, it was an easy thing to forget.

[unswervingcompanion]

"If you can come here, I do not believe there is a law that would prevent you from going elsewhere." He wasn't going to mention the condition or anything. But it was just Hendrik's reasoning, whether it was valid or not. Besides, stranger things had happened to him that couldn't be any more explained than what had happened in Yotsuyu's particular case.

The knight noted the smile though he wondered the cause of it. Maybe she was thinking of what his world was like, and he'd definitely rather see her on his world than on hers. It wasn't something that he wanted to think about or dwell on either. But, it gave him thought as to doing research on whether or not animals from home worlds could show up here or not.

[darkenedmoon]

"Perhaps not. If there is no injunction upon it, I think I would like to see your world." Yotsuyu could hope, of course, that the magic that would send them home was not the type to simply return them to the place they had came from instantly. If they could, perhaps, choose where to go, she doubted she would mind going there.

"It sounds different enough from Hydaelyn, that there would be little in the way of bad memories, as well."

Which would come as quite the welcome reprieve, really. Not that there were many memories that reared their ugly heads in the commonplace, here.

[unswervingcompanion]

Her words gave him more encouragement to see if there was something like this in books. Or maybe he could at least ask the wizards who had been here a long time if there was something like that which could be done.

"I will research into it and see if such a path exists." And yes, he meant it. But then he thought back to an earlier conversation.

"You mentioned earlier that you would prefer the quiet in the library, correct? If that is so, then my research can start there."

[darkenedmoon]

"You may do what you like. I will not hold out hope." Mostly because so far, every time hope had been dangled before her, it had also been shattered brutally. After a while, it got difficult to hold on to.

"Yes, I did say that, and suddenly you want to go there? Oh, true, now you do have research," Yotsuyu said, gently teasing. Then again, the crowds beyond her hiding place were getting rowdy once again. Perhaps another new aspect of Bala-Inlota was coming to the fore, and they were reacting to it.

Yotsuyu was not interested whatsoever. "Very well, regardless, let us make haste." She did not want to get caught up in whatever ruckus was about to break loose!

[unswervingcompanion]

Inwardly Hendrik doubted he'd find anything either. But she was a friend in his eyes, and he would save her if he could, that was just who he was. So much had gone wrong in Yotsuyu's life in his eyes and this was a thing that he felt that he could do for her.

He recognized the teasing, but just sort of turned his head away because he wasn't sure what to say to that. But then his blue eyes noted the crowds and he wasn't about to let Yotsuyu get swept away into them or worse, injured.

"Agreed." But he waited for her because Hendrik was going to make sure that she was safe.

[darkenedmoon]

Or at least not accosted, one would hope. Anastara was a place where Yotsuyu did not feel in any particular danger, truth be told. Though perhaps this sort of rowdy gathering was the event that would change her mind.

...then again, with the serious knight accompanying her, probably not. He wasn't daunting to her of course, but he was her friend. So.

"It is more to the northwest, as I recall. Usually there are a pair of indigo banners flying as pennants from it, though they may have changed it because of the festival. We shall see, I suppose."

[unswervingcompanion]

Those were simple directions and Hendrik felt as if he could follow that. So he nodded and turned in the direction that Yotsuyu had indicated, still on the lookout for danger, even if it was from a misdirected reveler.

It was in his nature to protect, having grown up from a boy learning the code of the knight. And heavens help anyone that hurt the Luminary and now Yotsuyu. Hendrik knew that she could more than handle herself, and certainly wouldn't get in her way. That went for the Luminary as well, but the role of a protector was just so heavily built into who he was now that he knew practically nothing else.

"Then lead the way."

[darkenedmoon]

Thankfully, whatever had riled the crowd also had them distracted, so that the journey through the streets to the library itself was rather uneventful. Not that Yotsuyu was upset by such a thing.

Inside the library, the roar of the crowd was much diminished. There were a few bookish sorts skulking around, but even the staff seemed lessened. It seemed that Bala-Inlota had its devotees even amongst the learned of Anastara.

"Well, here we are, then. Was there a place you wanted to begin?"

[unswervingcompanion]

He was quiet as they walked, still keeping his eyes on the crowd. But once they arrived in the library, Hendrik looked. He was completely lost as to where to start.

Unsure as to whether there was a world-traveling section or anything of the like, the knight lifted a gloved hand and ran it along a few of the spines. And he didn't need any of his newfound magical knowledge to know that a lot of these precious tomes were magical.

One that had spells of traveling caught his eye and Hendrik nodded at it before removing it from the shelf. "I shall start here."

And then with a nod at Yotsuyu, he opened the book to see what information it contained.

[darkenedmoon]

She nodded back at him, crossing her arms over her chest for a moment. Yotsuyu wasn't certain if she wanted to help, or let him entertain himself that way for now.

Though she probably ought to help, since it was honestly for her sake that he was looking at all. That had her moving further down the shelving he'd started at, slender fingers going over the spines of the tomes listed.

Her brow furrowed in thought, but she finally made a selection. "I suppose we ought to find a table or some such," she murmured. Pity she hadn't brought a chapbook to take notes in, though.

[unswervingcompanion]

Hendrik could find nothing that would help him in his cause, but he read some more and scanned a few more pages. With a small growl of disapproval, the knight continued to look at the book until he'd nearly gone through the entire thing.

It didn't matter to him how long this took, he was determined and anyone who knew him knew that once he had an idea in his head, it was best to let him run with it. The same thing went for his duty. Once he had something to do, he would see it done no matter what obstacle landed in his way. This was no different really.

So he pulled at least four books and nodded to her. "Finding a table to set these tomes down on would be helpful."

[darkenedmoon]

"Very well. Over here, then, I think." Yotsuyu strolled casually over to an empty table--not that there were not a good number of those. Most of the commotion was going on outside, after all, and only the most hardcore nonparticipants amongst the scholarly remained indoors.

And now, the two of them.

"This is compounded by the fact that I was no magic-user in my world," Yotsuyu complained. "It would be much easier if I knew what I might wish to look for."

[unswervingcompanion]

Setting the books down on the table, Hendrik pulled a chair out for Yotsuyu and then went back to the pile of books.

Sitting down, he grabbed one and looked over at her when she spoke.

"I confess to not knowing either, magic was never my strength as it isn't here. And I suppose there is the fact that we can see about requesting the aid of the wizards that brought us here if these books yield little information."

[darkenedmoon]

"Thank you." Unused as she was to having anyone be polite to her, Yotsuyu still took the chair he offered gratefully.

"There is that, and I had not thought of that, either. Though I do not claim to know Professor King at all well. I have avoided submitting myself for their research."

Something she was slowly realizing was more than a little foolish. She absolutely did not want to go back to Hydaelyn, truth be told. So why did she so ardently avoid allowing them to do research on her?

She could not say.

[unswervingcompanion]

Somehow Yotsuyu's words bothered him and the knight shook his head, looking up from his book.

"I can go speak with them." It was his way of protecting her and if he needed to go alone so that she would feel better and not feel as if being around them bothered her, then by all means that was exactly what he would do.

But she'd given Hendrik the name of a wizard and that was who he would seek out. If he could serve as her shield in this capacity in order to make sure that she was comfortable, that was what the mission was.

[darkenedmoon]

"No, no, it is not that bad. I simply have not wanted to...undertake that sort of research. Their methods are a bit discomfiting, because it would be all too easy to turn what they collected to darker ends. At least where I am from. Perhaps they are all altruists here, but you know how easy it is to gain my trust."

She liked Hendrik, did Yotsuyu, but she still wasn't entirely sure she trusted him. But that was true of...everyone she knew, here. Likely she would not voice it, but she also doubted that it might surprise him, if she said as much.

"Though if you wished to go with me, your company would be quite welcome." Even if she was not comfortable with it, there would always be things that Yotsuyu would not be happy delegating to another. This was one of them.

[unswervingcompanion]

He thought he could understand what she was saying here. And it was on the tip of Hendrik's tongue to reiterate his offer, but the smallest smile crept onto his face when Yotsuyu mentioned the thing about trust.

Listening to her go on, the knight couldn't help but nod. Really, that was all it would take to get his cooperation was to for her to simply ask for his presence and he'd be right there.

"Then I shall accompany you." And that pretty much settled it right there.