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

[shiningkindness]

[She managed to catch herself, though she was still a bit unsteady on her feet. Even so, she held a hand out to help him up.]

M-Maybe...I think they just weren’t expecting so many new students at once.

[bearshermark]

That could be.

[He accepts her hand up and brushes snow off of his coat and pants]

They're going a bit far with the pranks, though. I hope it isn't always like this.

[shiningkindness]

[Once he’s up, she takes a step back to give him some room.]

Mm, I hope so too. Maybe when the novelty of new people wears off, they’ll let up a bit?

[bearshermark]

That would be nice.

[He gestured to her snowshoes] Do you need help with those?

[shiningkindness]

[She glanced down at that, brushing some hair from her face.]

O-Oh...um...th-that would be nice, thank you.

[Even just standing there didn't seem to help, as she somehow almost slipped again anyway, struggling to stay upright with a surprised cry.]

[bearshermark]

[He reached out for her arm to steady her, then glanced around for somewhere to- ah, there]

It might be best if you were sitting. There's a low stone wall over there that looks clear.

[He isn't sure if he should let go or not, but it makes sense to help her make it over so he doesn't]

[shiningkindness]

[She's more than grateful for the help, holding onto him as they slowly make their way over to the stone wall. She less walks and more slides over though, and sits down a bit harder than she plans to.

All the same, she sighs as soon as she's seated.]

Th-Thank you.

[bearshermark]

[He nods, then crouches in front of her to inspect the snowshoes. The straps give him an initial bit of difficulty, but he loosens and pulls them off before long.]

There. [He leans them up against the wall for easy collection later] Better?

[shiningkindness]

[She can't help a faint blush; she hadn't expected him to actually remove the snowshoes for her.]

M-Mm...yes, thank you.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven stands with a smile and brushes himself off again]

Of course. [He offers her a hand up without thinking]

I believe we'll be able to befriend them if we try, but as you say, perhaps they're yet uncomfortable with our presence at their school.

[shiningkindness]

[It seems rude to ignore his help, especially when he's been so nice to her so far, so she takes his hand as she gets to her feet again.]

Mm-hmm...We'll just have to do our best to show them that we don't mean any harm, and we're just trying to get home.

[Reaching down to gather the snowshoes, she manages a small smile.]

O-Oh...I'm sorry. You've been so nice to help me, and I don't even know your name. M-My name's Fluttershy.

[bearshermark]

[The social oversight finds him covering his face as it heats beneath his hands. He's acted so familiar with her, too.]

S-sorry. [Her manner reminds him of Gemma, and the needle that sticks in his heart at the thought of her sobers him. He drops his hands and sighs]

It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy. I'm Eleven. I mean, that's my name.

[shiningkindness]

[The name has her pausing for just a moment, but she smiles nonetheless.]

I-It's okay. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for all your help.

[bearshermark]

[He nods, then abruptly finds himself at a loss. A student with a spray of fire wanders uncomfortably close and gives him something else to focus on at least]

Well I was going to go look for my house, if you're all right..

[shiningkindness]

Mm...yes, I think I'm okay, thank you.

I should...probably find my house too.

[That would...probably be a good thing to do.]

[bearshermark]

[He settles somewhat, happy to have helped and almost completely forgetting that she'd bumped into him to begin with]

Which one are you in?

[shiningkindness]

Um...Eiather?

[She really hopes she's pronouncing that correctly.]

[bearshermark]

[Eleven brightens, breaking into a grin]

That's my house as well. What do you think of it?

[shiningkindness]

[She smiles.]

Oh really? That's great!

[It's nice meeting one of her housemates, and someone friendly at that.]

It seems nice, from what I saw of it. I didn't get a chance to really look, though.

[bearshermark]

[It really is nice. He's almost sure they'll be friends]

Do you have any gods you pray to?

[shiningkindness]

Um...not really. But um...back home, my friends and I use magic from another world, and the magic is something only we can use, and is strongest when we all come together.

[So it's kind of like being a priestess maybe? It's nothing like that.]

[bearshermark]

[That's okay- he latches on with all enthusiasm, eyes brightening]

You could use magic from another world? That's wonderful. I was worried my prayers wouldn't be heard from here.

[shiningkindness]

[She nods.]

Yes...though it...doesn't seem to be working now.

[Pulling at the chain around her neck, she shows the crystal geode that she wears.]

This is powered by the magic from the other world, and usually allows me to communicate with animals. But when I got here, it seemed to stop working.

[bearshermark]

[Eleven leans in to peer at it.]

Hm. I wonder why? This world is so full of magic. It's odd that ours are all locked away. But I guess it has something to do with the type of magic being used..

[He straightens with a shrug]

I wish I could talk to animals.

[shiningkindness]

[She nods.]

I guess so. And I guess it wouldn't be fair to other students who don't have magic if some of us knew how to use some already. Even if the magic we use in our own worlds is different.

[She lets the geode hang from her neck again.]

...Oh! Maybe we can find a spell in this world that will let us talk to animals.

[She sure does miss it.]