Let The Games Begin

[magicademymods]

February Event and Intro Log Orientation Week/Magic Mayhem The campus of Diatu Magicademy stretches out before you, confused and chaotic and surging with energy. Where are you headed? To your dorm or suite, to get settled? Maybe you need some food now? Wherever you head off to as your first stop, you have to deal with the snow. Helpful or proud students are passing out various magical remedies to get you where you need to be -- umbrellas with a nasty tendency to dump snow directly onto other people nearby, an iron tube that projects fire but appears to have no off switch, snowshoes that keep you slightly too high off the snow and thus provide no friction for stopping... Familiar Follies Familiars do not harass or harm each other as a rule -- but that doesn't mean they have no pecking order, and the week of Orientation finds them all jockeying for status and position as suits them. This can take the form of pranks, displays, competitions, or simple physical assertiveness towards each other. The goal is simply to be seen as superior by the student body. New wizards especially may find themselves surprised at this behavior of their familiars... 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 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.) Furthermore, they request to perform a few spells on you for testing purposes. It is, quite regrettably, possible that if you consent to this testing, you will come away with a temporary side effect -- a slight change of hair color, traveling two steps for every one you take, one hand moving about a second behind the arm it should be attached to, or being ridden by a penguin. No need to worry, these changes won't last more than a day! Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

Comments

[bearshermark]

Um.

[He didn't know, but his fingers came up and curled over the middle of his chest. He's magically injured, but it was through an external force and not because his own power went out of control. Unless.. Mordegon's darkness corrupted him.

His heartbeat quickened]

I guess that's possible. ..Did something happen to you?

[stillnewatthis]

I am told it is the same thing. My power core is no longer capable of providing energy to my combat functions. Instead, it now can provide the energy necessary to perform magic.

[It seems incredible, but what about all of this does not? Orisa has accepted this as the best explanation -- after all, here she is in the Magicademy, right?]

[bearshermark]

[Power core. His eyes close, attempting to recall a piece of information he'd read in the Royal Library. Something about the ruins of Nhou Wat and the technology they used to possess- remnants that still wandered the world- but all he can remember for a certainty relates to the Magic Key and doors it had the power to unlock.

He can hazard a guess at what she means though, and it strikes a little close to home]

So you're saying that even though you've lost your combat abilities, that same power will allow you to perform magic. But then, do you think you'll ever recover your former power?

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa's eye-shields whirl a full circle, before narrowing down to slits -- emblematic of her processing, an external sign Efi programmed into her to make her more relatable to humans.]

If I do not need them, I will not miss them. That would be the ideal.

[bearshermark]

[He holds his hands up in surrender]

I understand. I apologize if I'm too curious.

[He lowers his hands slowly and tugs the nearest textbook closer to himself, worried he'd offended her without meaning to. His stomach churns. If only these things were simpler.]

..So, er- did you come here to try to study?

[stillnewatthis]

[Orisa's body language -- for all that she is so vastly physically different from a human -- is fairly easy to read. Her motions show no tension, her posture is open and easy, and her voice remains cheerful.]

I know very little about anything here, so I wished to update my database. I am not certain where to begin, though.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven's shoulders ease]

Well, do any of the subjects appeal to you? I was thinking of starting with Intimation myself. It's most like what I already know.

[stillnewatthis]

My assigned house requires me to study Modification. I am intrigued by the possibilities of applying advanced computation to a discipline that appears to be based on mathematics!

[bearshermark]

[His smile finds itself at odds with the crease of his brows]

That's a discipline I can scarcely fathom. I'm glad it isn't required for mine. But you said reading wasn't your strong suit? I could try to help.

[stillnewatthis]

Efi built me with wireless access to her mainframe, which compiled updates for me to download. I was not intended to process information through such... old-fashioned methods. I am capable of it, but it will require some adjustment.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven blinks, eyes glazing over a bit as he tries to decipher unfamiliar terms. His brain gives up at 'mainframe' though, so he focuses instead on the last bit]

You do sound very smart, so I'm sure you'll be able to. Are you a type of scholar?

[stillnewatthis]

Oh, not at all! I am a combat omnic.

[She just has an artificial intelligence, both complex and reasonably functional!]

[bearshermark]

[His head cocks, looking her over again. He can't claim to have not been curious, and now seems a good time as any to ask]

I've never met an omnic before. If you don't mind me asking, what are they?

[stillnewatthis]

The strict definition of 'omnic' is a robot created in an omnium, but since that is almost all robots, it generally means 'robot'.

[Because of course he understands what a robot is. Who wouldn't, after all?]

[bearshermark]

[While robots sort of exist in his world, this poor small-town boy that's fought a couple of them only knows they were mechanical monsters cobbled together by darker magics.

He's willing to give her a chance though]

Oh. I've never met one that could talk before.

[stillnewatthis]

Not all omnics are capable of speech, but most with advanced AIs are. Did you meet ones designed primarily for combat?

[Bastion models, for example, had minimal verbal capabilities.]

Of course I am an exception to that rule myself. I am intended as a protector but also to work with humans, so Efi felt I should be able to communicate with them.

[bearshermark]

[He nods, then perks up a bit]

A protector- like a bodyguard?

[stillnewatthis]

I should be capable of performing that service! But a protector in general terms. Numbani must be kept safe from those who would do it harm or cause it grief.

[bearshermark]

[His heartbeat slowed, but sounded more strongly in his ears. Could it be that this robot- maybe everyone here- is like him?]

Numbani? Is.. is that the name of your world?

[stillnewatthis]

My world is Earth. Numbani is a city there! A glorious city where humans and omnics live in peace and prosperity.

[bearshermark]

[He smiles]

Kind of like a knight, then. It sounds wonderful.

[stillnewatthis]

The Crusaders came from Germany, but nonetheless I thank you for the compliment! [Reinhardt is a model to her, one she aspires to be like, so this description of her makes her perk up in delight.] It is my hope to live up to such titles.

[bearshermark]

I'm sure you will.

[Eleven sits up a bit, accidentally disturbing his familiar. She gives him a look, then jumps down and trots off. Well enough really, as his legs are starting to feel stiff]

Did you want to try studying with me?

[stillnewatthis]

Certainly! I will learn how to study efficiently from observation! Please deploy your studying tactics and I will devote my learning processes to analyzing them.

[Probably too many words for a 'yes', but who can fault her enthusiasm!]

[bearshermark]

[Eleven colors a bit, but cracks open his book on Intimation]

I might not be the best example. I've never been to school before, but I like reading and learning.

[Granted it's not the most interesting introduction, but he's been forced to read drier texts before. The bit of self-consciousness doesn't help terribly much, but he does eventually make it a few pages in. Then it's time for a break]

It's giving me a brief history of the subject, a little on the gods and getting into the basic.. components of Intimation spells.