April Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

April Event and Intro Log Plants Off The Path Green grass and radiant flower gardens bracket all the major walks on campus, and fragrant scents fill the air all around. Note the key words "major walks" there. Move off the common paths and onto 'shortcuts' or less frequented areas of the vast campus and things are quite different. Here, the plants grow just as experience with this chaotic and often dangerous school would lead you to expect. Broad-leafed stalks stretch upwards, petals unfolding to reveal long jets of fire instead of a sensible stamen. Bushes have large toothy mouths, and viciously swallow anyone who comes near (though they are still just bushes, and the victims end up on the their other side just a few scratches worse for wear). A tree grows quills instead of needles; another sprouts paper airplanes instead of leaves. An extremely aggressive pitcher-plant wanders the pathways, mugging students at knifepoint. It's a jungle out there. Bullies, Of Course Surely a Magicademy, with many students already adults and with such an emphasis on learning and control, wouldn't have those who used their magic for such petty ends as making others suffer? Uh-huh. A pack of bullies with more spell experience than wisdom has banded together to take delight in the suffering of others. They overtly pick on the small, the meek, and those with less magical skill; they torment the larger, the bold, and the powerful in secret. Worse, they are the clever sorts of bullies, who go out of their way not to get caught and not to do anything that can't be played off or explained away. Maybe you attracted their attention by looking weak enough to pick on. Or strong enough to need to be taken down a notch. Or weird enough that you were the Other and thus lesser. Or pretty/handsome enough that you needed to look less attractive so they would look more so. They are pretty good at justifying picking on anyone, really. Are they pestering you by magical tripping or property destruction? Playing keep-away with your class books? Better be careful how you respond; their fathers might hear about it. Wind At The Docks (aka The Prompt Where You Don't Get Mugged) The winds of spring bring something of a dark pastime to Anastara -- dockwatching. Aware that a sudden blast of air can rip across the island at a moment's notice, crowds gather at the docks with the air of those expecting spectacle. All too often, they are rewarded -- in the wake of a sudden wind, airships list violently, or bump into each other, or desperately pull sails and power up their flotation cores to avoid a worse collision. Curses fly through the air, and sometimes even spells. With luck, the audience might even see a pair of vessels engage in an all-out air duel, as two captains driven by pride or vengeance refuse to back down. Now, to their credit, the assembled people aren't heartless. If a ship truly looks to be in trouble, or if it's smashed to the ground or into a dock, the people of Anastara don't hesitate to help those on board to safety or ensure that they don't go down with their ship. But mostly it's watching the chaos. It IS quite a show... 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 Glyph designed to detect any influence of the magic on you. Painted on your arm, it will shine with a bright light when a Sundering effect attempts to influence you. They explain that they believe the Sundered are still subject to either the spell that brought them here or new ones, because they have detected remnants of Sundering magic in the wake of students who have mysteriously disappeared. They ask only that you report back when it lights up. Problem: when the Glyph erupts, either because of the Glyph itself or the spell it has detected... those who bear it find themselves no longer where they started. Perhaps they find themselves in a classroom late at night. Or the wrong dormitory. Or in the Great Hall in their nightshirt. Or for the utterly lowbrow amongst you, a restroom occupied by the wrong gender. Whatever the case: sorry. 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 some sort of regain this month!)

Comments

[mithrarin]

Plants Off the Path

Being the Sen-Mithrarin came with a certain sort of... tranquility, in the depths of nature like this. Dust didn't know why that was, but from the moment he'd woken up, he'd never had trouble with animals of any sort. Or, as it turned out, plants. He paced through the chaotic tangle of magical vegetation quietly, barely making the grass beneath his feet rustle. Out here felt more comfortable, for so many reasons. It wasn't crowded, wasn't busy. Wasn't full of strange people, 'humans', who he wasn't entirely acclimated to anyway. And off the beaten path, he could carry Ahrah in his hand as he was used to, without scaring anyone by holding a sword. All in all, this was nice.

At least, till the other sword, the sword hanging at his side, spoke up in a discordant feminine voice. Come on, Dust! Chop down some of this stuff! It's just gonna hurt someone anyway! Show it who's boss, clear a path!

"Furae!" Dust slapped his free hand to the hilt of the sword in remonstrance, but too late. The plants had heard, and taken it personally. Around him, several of the tall stalks and shrubs shivered as they seemed to lean in, and Dust had to put a foot back as he lowered himself into a combat-ready slight crouch, free hand up and across his body at neck height.

Use me, Dust! Use me! You can't beat this scrub shrubs with Ahrah over there!

The sword in his hand flickered, runes shimmering with its syllables as it spoke in a calm, measured, male voice. Be careful, Dust. You are weaker here, and alone. Retreat may be the better open.

"Not much of one, Ahrah," Dust said, as the plants closed ranks about him. "Unless you can fly these days."

Bullies, Of Course

"Hey furry!" "Hey fuzzy-tail!" "Hey freak!"

The words followed him without hurting him. Why would he be embarrassed about who he was? If these people thought that his natural features were somehow strange, then they should look in a mirror and wonder how they get by with no fur, awkwardly shaped ears, no tail for balance...

But then a spell flicked his way, bringing him down to one knee painfully as it tripped one foot out from beneath him, and like that his calm expression turned to a frown.

The bullies didn't expect him to move quite so fast as he did. It took them a moment to register their new situation -- the blue-glowing Blade of Ahrah at the throat of the spellcaster bully, while the red-runed Furae, the Second Sword, pointed at the others.

"I could get to like having two swords," Dust said, voice low and dangerously carrying. He wouldn't actually hurt them, but they didn't know that -- and neither did anyone watching...

Plants Off the Path

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Hey!" a feminine voice piped up. "Bold of you to assume he's alone!"

Not that Isabel really minded her peaceful reading being interrupted. It was true that when she hadn't been bothering them, the plants had stayed quiescent, but she wasn't about to let them beat up on anyone.

"Don't mind me," she said casually to Dust as she approached the plant behind him, before she launched into song--probably something that sounded weird, but she sang it with gusto.

"I'm just a big dud, foolish from the start. I make a wrong move, and the world just falls apart--"

She lashed out with the bracelet on her wrist--it spooled out a line of force, neatly snicking off the nearest flower's head. She stomped the remnants down with one combat-booted foot, taking up a defensive stance, her back to his fluffy tail.

"Get off the island and swim back to shore!"

[mithrarin]

Shocked surprise practically radiated not just from Dust, but from his two swords as well. What.

Then a particularly nasty-looking shrub lunged for him and he forgot to be baffled, and instead proved that he was a terrible person to stand back-to-back with in a duel. Ahrah cut a huge sweep through the air as he darted forward, nearly clipping Isabel as he spun to cut it through another huge blow. The bush practically exploded as he stepped forward through it.

"Let's get back to the path!"

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Isabel, luckily, is perceptive enough to duck that sword-swing, and swat the bits of bush away as she, too, moved forwards. She nodded at Dust, and gestured towards the path. She didn't stop singing, but by her motions, he ought to be well aware she'd follow his lead.

She'd just switch up what she'd been doing with her bracelet--from force whip to wall. Isabel would just let those plants beat futilely against it as they made their escape.

"Now give me one good reason to stay here at all, when the fee is too big, our apartment's too small! Where's my lifesaver when I'm screaming danger?!!"

[mithrarin]

A ringing chime sounded over the song as Dust parried a tree branch with force that bordered on explosive. The Dust Storm wasn't working here, Ahrah had said something about the Sen-Mithrarin's strength being altered, but he still had his physical skill and strength to rely on. In a moment he'd half-vaulted, half-flipped to Isabel's other side in time to intercept a large shrubbery intent on violence, then whirled back around to cleave through a patch of large grass. There! A proper path up ahead!

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

She put on a burst of speed and sprinted for that path, though she kept looking over her shoulder. Isabel never had been the type to duck and run, even if it would've been the smarter thing to do.

Isabel knew that with her brain. Her heart was too caring to leave anyone behind. She beckoned to Dust, slowing her pace briefly to put up another wall to stifle the plants, arms out so the bracelet had room to work.

"I'm just a victim of unfortunate circumstance, and this was my choice! So, shit, well I'll be damned! And I've got to stop dwelling on what I could have had, all the times I could have, oh, I've just got to get off the island and swim back to shore!"

[mithrarin]

Dust didn't much like running either, but he had to acknowledge that a fight here served no purpose. These plants weren't going anywhere, after all, and all he could do was chop down a path. So he reached the safety of the groomed area around the walk, then turned back to check on his companion and make sure she made it safely in turn.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

Oh, she made it, even if Isabel hit the groomed area as if she were making a long-distance jump. Both feet planted, and she ducked her head, panting. But other than being basically out of breath, she was just fine.

Once she catches her breath, however, Dust might think she lost her damn mind, because she lets out a whoop before throwing her head back and brushing her hair back out of her face.

"Okay, that was fun! Are you all right though?" Yeah, Isabel is just fine.

[mithrarin]

"I'm fine. That wasn't really all that much." Not compared to an army or a General, in any case. He might not be at his full strength here, but the challenges weren't either.

Wuss.

"Quiet, Furae."

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"Hey, who you calling a wuss, you hunk of tin?" Isabel couldn't help but take some umbrage at that. She didn't chicken out, damn it! "It's called a strategic retreat!"

Putting her hands on her hips, she glared at the Second Sword, before looking over at Dust and shrugging a little.

"I mean, my dad always said just 'cause you could fight something didn't mean you should, so..."

[mithrarin]

"If it was possible to beat them..." Dust, created for battle, had a different perspective. But even he could acknowledge that what really needed to happen -- keeping people safe -- wouldn't be accomplished by a battle in the weeds. He flipped Ahrah back into his accustomed reverse grip, still frowning.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

"With the right application of Forces magick...which I don't have here, by the way..." Isabel grumbled.

"I mean I suppose we could try to do the Weed Whacker thing, you with your swords and me with my bracelet, but that also begs the question once we get started, when do we end, right?"

She gave Dust a rather uncertain look, but at this point, she was willing to follow his lead. He probably was more experienced with fighting, or so she thought.

[mithrarin]

"Yeah. That's the point. This isn't some monster we can cut down. It's... aggressive weeds. We chop one down and it grows back. But they can't come after anybody."

What a heck of a place this campus was.

Bullies

[plusfivedex]

Kamala was angered when she saw the other student - another Sundered, she was willing to assume - being harassed, but that gave way to panic when he got all sword-happy. Kamala wanted these jerks to have their comeuppance, but she really thought that was a step too far.

She rushed toward Dust and nearly put a hand on his shoulder, before she realized that was probably a really bad move just then. "Hey, I get it. These guys are garbage, but they're not worth this."

[mithrarin]

"Not worth the effort of sparing?" If words could cut, the bullies would be bleeding. But as Dust turned his head just a little bit her way, the corner of his mouth twitched up in the faintest hint of an amused smile. He can only hope she'll see that signal and recognize that his threats were all posturing.

[plusfivedex]

It only took a second there for Kamala to get the message, loud and clear. She made a bit of a show of lifting both hands in the air, to indicate she was giving up.

"Hey, if I can't convince you, then I guess you gotta do what you gotta do," she said, only just managing to keep a straight face.

[mithrarin]

Oh good. She got the hint. "You're right about one thing. They aren't worth the effort of taking my time on."

The bully behind his sword waved frantically at Kamala, eyes bulging. Please do more to convince him!

[plusfivedex]

"I'm glad we agree on that much," Kamala said with a feigned sigh, shrugging helplessly at the panicking bully. Man, she hated to say it, but trolling these guys was kind of fun. "But don't let me stand in your way."

[mithrarin]

"Painless is better than they deserve, but--"

Dust brought Ahrah back, muscle tensing for a chop that was much slower in coming than it ought to be. The bully scrambled away with a shriek, falling over to scrabble on the ground before taking off down the path. The rest of his gang followed, scattering to the four winds.

[plusfivedex]

Once the bullies were finally gone, Kamala allowed herself to laugh. She stepped up beside Dust with a smile.

"That was impressive," she said. "You really got into it! I was sure I was going to blow it."

[mithrarin]

Dust smiled broadly as well. No eye contact, but he just doesn't do that as a rule. "They have no idea what small fry they are. Magic or not. As if they really think I'm somehow embarrassed or bothered by being who I am?"

[plusfivedex]

Kamala's giddy smile became something softer at those words.

"It's great that you're so comfortable. Sometimes, I think I'm still learning how to be."

[mithrarin]

"It was a long adventure. But when it comes to species... well, if you came to Falana, would it really bother you if people tried to tease you for not having a tail?" It was how she was born, right? Why would not having one bother her?

[plusfivedex]

Kamala had to smile at that point. She shrugged. "Probably not. I might feel a little out of place, though." And then, because she was - of course - curious, she asked, "What's Falana like?"

[mithrarin]

"It's a broad and beautiful land... ravaged by war, I'm sorry to say. I think I put an end to that, and I hope it's healing now. But that will be a long time in coming." Monsters still lurked around every corner, though hopefully fewer would emerge to take the place of those cut down. General Gaius's army probably was still causing trouble, though without their leader the Moonbloods could probably handle them.

"There are no humans there, I should add."