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

[talkyourwayout]

Yeah, it is, huh? I've seen some weird things - I've been part of weird things - but this is one of the weirdest. I mean, I had never even seen people like you until today, for a start.

[puzzlers]

Me too. I can barely remember when things weren't crazy, though we did have a bit of a lull until recently. Before this, I mean. [ he gives a laugh. ] I think this honestly takes the cake. And you're telling me! Are there only ducks back on your home?

[talkyourwayout]

A lull? That's lucky. I guess Christmas was as quiet as I could have expected, back home, but... Now we're here, anyway. [He shakes his head.] It definitely takes the cake.

Well, no. There's ducks and dogs and pigs and mice and - well, most animals. But there's other kinds of animals, too, like you'd see at a zoo or park.

[puzzlers]

I know. I was just as surprised, honestly. But it's never for very long. I'm pretty sure Domino is a hot spot for the strange. [ he gives a sheepish laugh. ] And yeah, seems like nobody was safe from this spell gone wrong.

But you can all talk, right? Man, what I wouldn't give to see your world.

[talkyourwayout]

I get that: strange and dangerous stuff seems drawn to my family, no matter where we are. At least, it has been for the past few months. [He shrugs it off.]

And... I mean, it doesn't seem like we're all that different from people like you, aside from appearances. Or are you just a big fan of animals?

[puzzlers]

Right! I just don't get it, but I guess there's got to be some strange and dangerous singularity that hovers closely to wherever we all are or something. [ he shakes his head, giving a laugh though it's quick to taper. ]

No, you're right, but it's just kind of cool to see what kind of other places there are out there. [ he's just big into making friends. ]

[talkyourwayout]

Oh, you're into all that adventure stuff, then? I guess that's a good way to deal with weird stuff happening to you, though.

[His personal method is to try and avoid the weird stuff, and failing that, try to turn a profit from it. He's had... Mixed results.]

[puzzlers]

Kind of? I think I've just kind of accepted the fact that it's going to keep happening. I don't think I was originally thrilled to be constantly targeted, but it what it is. [ mixed results, well that's better than them being completely bad. at least he's trying to make the best of a 'bad' situation. ]

I guess we'll see how this goes. Which house are you in by the way?

[talkyourwayout]

[Louie smiles and nods. Maybe someday he'll get to the "acceptance of weird things" stage, himself. Despite his complaints, it would, at least, make his new life easier.]

I guess we will. I'm in Valhudor, so I get to learn about magic through music. [He shrugs, relaxed.] How about you?

[puzzlers]

Wow, that sounds pretty interesting. I'm in Aer et Calculum and magic is, well, I guess what you'd consider stereotypical magic. Waving wands around and saying spell names. I'm actually pretty excited to get to learn, since back home I would have never had a chance to do something like this. Might as well make the most of it, y'know.

[talkyourwayout]

Personally, I prefer adventures that get me out of school, if I have to take one, but... The magic does seem pretty cool. I can't imagine I'd ever be learning magic back home, either.