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

[talkyourwayout]

Plants off the Path
Of course Louie was taking shortcuts whenever he could - he did that in getting to class just as much as he did that in business. But now? He was regretting getting into that habit. He ran away from the quills a pine tree was shooting out in his direction...

...And right into the gaping, toothy maw of a bush. He rolled out on the other side, disgruntled and scratched up, and let out a scream of frustration that just might attract some attention.


Bullies, Of Course
Being a small, young and - though he'd still fight this one - cute duck had some serious drawbacks. One was being called cute, of course, and another was struggling to keep up with everyone who had longer legs than he did. But the worst, apparently, was how vulnerable and weak people could see him as.

That was how Louie had wound up the target of the bullying crew. He hated this. Webby or Dewey would be able to fight their way out. Huey, too, if he got angry enough. Louie could only talk his way out, and that hadn't worked. So he had his arms covering his face as best he could manage while the head of the group aimed their wand at him.

"Come on, guys, please!"


Research on the Sundered
Louie had done an excellent job of avoiding any of this research nonsense so far, but with Professor King becoming increasingly interested in running some separate experiments on a Sundered such as himself, he'd decided it was finally time to participate in something widespread. It just felt safer, but maybe it would still get the professor off his case. Maybe.

He was just heading into his dorm for the evening when, for whatever reason, his Glyph began to glow... And while he soon found himself in a dorm, it wasn't the Valhudor one he'd grown accustomed to.

"Sorry? I don't even know what just happened."


Wildcard
Anything else in mind? Or you can hit me up at dolewhip to plot. And as always, if you want to respond in [brackets] that's fine! I'll switch.

[shiningkindness]

Suddenly a passing shape sped through, catching the bully aiming his wand and knocking him down and into the other members of the group. The shape - a dorsal fin - circled around the bullies, cutting between them and continuing to knock them over.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy quickly headed over to Louie. "Are you all right?"

[talkyourwayout]

Louie watched with a mix of relief and awe as the fin made its way through the group. And when Fluttershy came to check on him, he absolutely didn't sniffle a little. Because only a baby would have been near tears, right?

"Y-Yeah. I am now," he said with a shaky smile... And then he realized why Fluttershy looked familiar. They'd met a few months back, and she'd thought he was cute... The idea that he was small and vulnerable would now only amp that up, he would bet, which was less than ideal.

In that moment, he barely cared, though. He was just lucky she'd come along, with... Whatever that had been.

[shiningkindness]

Honestly, the 'cute' thing was the furthest thing from her mind, because right now she was more concerned with whether or not he was okay.

"Are you sure? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

And if she noticed he was...not tearing up a bit, then she at least was nice enough not to say anything.

[talkyourwayout]

"No, they didn't," Louie admitted, sounding embarrassed. He'd just been scared, not injured, and he'd still been totally useless. So much for making a plan. He sighed and stood up. He was blushing faintly beneath his feathers, and eager to change the subject.

"What did you bring to stop them? Or was that some kind of spell?"

bullies

[woo_oo]

"Who wants to learn some trivia?"

Where did Webby even come from? But she was there, quite calmly, and now she was sitting on the shoulder of the bully that had taken aim at Louie. She's all smiles and sunshine as everyone stares in confusion - before she takes her own wand and gently jams it against the bully's neck.

"Blood that's spilled from a carotid artery spills much faster than a scratch on the arm! In fact, it would take you about.... I wanna say, two minutes at the most to die. Isn't that fascinating?"

In other words - step away from her friend-brother or suffer the consequences.

[talkyourwayout]

Oh no, this was really bad. He wasn't too worried about Webby getting hurt, honestly, but he was very worried about her taking things too far and getting into some serious trouble. Also, he didn't want to see someone bleed out. That would be disturbing, and even these creeps didn't deserve to die.

"Okay, Webby, no, you can get down now, oh my gosh stop!" the words kind of tumbled out of his mouth, and the bully with to the left of the one Webby was targeting laughed.

"Birds of a feather must really flock together! You scared she's gonna get hurt? Or are you gonna let her take the fall for you?"

"Shut up!" Louie snapped, trying - and failing - to find the strength (in any sense) to get to his feet. "Webby, seriously, please just stop!"

[woo_oo]

Webby easily ignored the insults - it took a lot more than that to ruffle her feathers - and instead look at Louie, eyebrows raised.

"Threats no good?" She asked casually - Louie was one of her main resources about 'normal behavior'. "Okay... You want me to just beat 'em up and let the teachers handle it?" Another pause as she contemplates. "I guess I could try that spell I learned, but it is kinda iffy..."

She's yet to remove the wand from the boy's jugular.

[talkyourwayout]

Of course she didn't understand what he was trying to say. Louie couldn't help feeling exhausted. Webby was great, and usually that outweighed how stressful knowing her was. But this was scary. She was going to make this situation so much worse, no matter what she pulled off, or didn't.

"Webby, you're not helping!"

He was concerned, and that was why the words came out with more bark than he'd intended. And were chosen horribly, at that. And the worst part? He didn't realize how rude he was being. Not yet, at least.

Plants

[holdyourhorns]

"Man you wouldn't believe how many times I've had to tangle with killer bushes and dragon-eating plants. Annoying right?"

Frustration or a cry for help? Because a valuable ally has now arrived to be of aid regardless. At least that's what Louie should hope the timely appearance of a dragon is. They wear the Valhoudor colors as a warm scarf instead of a robe.

"And don't get me started on when trees started commanding their own personal bee force."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie's initial reaction to the dragon was to flinch away, if only because the last time he'd come up against one it had not been friendly. But the colors on the scarf - quite familiar, as they matched Louie's own robes - and the relaxed but friendly tone caused the fear to trickle away.

"Oh, uh, yeah. It's really annoying," he agreed. "Although the bee thing would be worse. Did that happen to you here?"

[holdyourhorns]

"I've had all those things happen to me before, but not here."

And he'd rather not jinx things if he can help it. If Spyro seems affected by the initial reaction he gets from this stranger, either he doesn't show it or is just chalking it up to the way he announced his presence.

"Nothing that a quick flame breath couldn't solve though."

[talkyourwayout]

"Not here, huh? That's better, I guess," Louie said. "And yeah, I bet that helps." He gave a little chuckle, there.

"My name's Louie, by the way." He pointed to Spyro's scarf. "It looks like we're in the same house. You new here?"

Bullies

[unswervingcompanion]

Hendrik absolutely detested bullies. And he even had to keep his old friend Jasper from killing all of the people in Cobblestone who had raised the Luminary. Luckily he'd been able to talk the other knight out of such a horrific fate to innocents.

He'd been walking the halls when he saw Louie with his face covered and that made him a not very happy knight.

His eyes went from Louie to his tormentors and a deep scowl showed on Hendrik's face. Without a second thought, he took out his sword and looked back at Louie.

"Stay behind me, I shall take care of this matter."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie gave a yelp - partial surprise and partial shock - when he saw someone new approach. But when he realized it was Hendrik... and that Hendrik was protecting him, more importantly, he was able to relax, though he stayed curled up on himself in Hendrik's shadow.

At least, for a moment. And then he realized that that was a sword Hendrik was holding.

"Um, look, I'm really grateful, trust me I am! But I think that... Might be overkill," he pointed out, gesturing towards Hendrik's weapon.

[unswervingcompanion]

It broke his heart to see Louie curled up but he couldn't show it. All Hendrik could do was keep him safe and as a knight, his word was his bond. He'd said he would take care of the matter and that was exactly what would happen here today.

As he gave the bullies the meanest look he could muster, he heard Louie talking behind him. Not turning around, he gave a slight shrug.

"I am not a wand master nor a master of wielding magic. So I shall take care of this matter in the only way that I know how and you shall never be bothered again."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie scrambled to his feet at last, and walked closer to Hendrik, though he stayed behind him. "We're learning magic, we all have wands!" he pointed out in a rush.

Fortunately, it looked like Louie's intervening may not be needed, as the bullies were starting to back down and away with a sword being brandished at them.

Research on the Sundered

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Luckily, the face he ran into (not literally, at least) was a familiar enough one.

"I don't either," Cliff admitted. "You just showed up, poof, out of thin air!"

From his spot on the floor, Rounder gave Louie a wave.

"But hey, if I say you came here, it's not like you're gonna get in trouble. You're in the Gekronus Maius dorm, by the way."

Probably because it was good to know he didn't end up someplace he'd end up in serious trouble in...

[talkyourwayout]

Louie blinked in surprise when he saw Cliff and Rounder, then smiled.

"Oh. Well, that's as normal as anything else that's happened in this place," Louie decided with a shrug. "I haven't been in any of the other dorms, so this is kind of cool, really. Sorry for dropping in unannounced, though."

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Eh, it's no big deal. And now you know where I live!" Cliff said cheerfully. "You traveling solo, or did Cash come too?"

He's actually sprawled on his bed, having been doing some light reading, but still in his robes, which are now somewhat rumpled. So much for the myth of Gekronus Maius wizards being anything but dapper and well-dressed. Then again, Cliff isn't a wizard...yet.

"I'm done for the day, so we could hang out if you wanted. Or go get dinner or something, I don't know." He shrugged, but he knew he wasn't exactly cool enough to think up something truly amazing to do.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie smiled and rolled his sleeve back, at which point the rat scampered out from beneath the bulky hoodie. "He doesn't really like to give me much space," he said, with a hint of fondness in his tone. He really was growing used to having a pet - or a familiar, whatever. Even the responsibility that came with this wasn't as bad as he'd thought it'd be.

"And sure. Getting some food sounds like a good idea," he agreed. Fortunately, Louie wasn't keen on doing anything much more exciting than that, anyway.

Bullies

[mithrarin]

Dust had a certain habit of interfering that came with his purpose, and his creation -- and the gifts to pull it off. In this case, that took the form of half-rolling, half-flipping into the middle of the ruckus. Before they had a chance to reach, Dust had the wicked spikes on the back of the Blade of Ahrah against the ringleader's throat, while Furae, the Second Sword, lay flat against the chest of another bully. He... didn't trust her not to cut, if he demonstrated more aggressively.

As they went very still, he regarded the duck from beneath his hat. Probably. Eye contact wasn't a thing here.

"Did they hurt you?"

[talkyourwayout]

"N-No!" Louie squeaked, equal parts confused, terrified, and relieved. He couldn't help but feel threatening these bullies with swords was going too far. As bad of a situation as he'd been in until the other student had shown up, he'd not been worried for his life.

"Really," he went on, his voice gaining some steadiness, "I think they get the idea." One of the bullies who wasn't being directly threatened nodded quickly in agreement.

[mithrarin]

Dust lowered both his weapons, though not terribly far. Cowards like this were very likely to perform any kind of sneak attack they could to get their vengeance.

"Good. Then I trust they'll behave better in the future."

[talkyourwayout]

The group stammered promises to do so that weren't entirely convincing, seeming to still be frozen in place. Louie groaned and dragged one hand over the side of his face.

"Why are you guys still here?" he snapped, which seemed to break their stupors as they started backing off. Louie sighed, shaking his head, before offering a weak smile up at Dust. "Bullies are dumb, aren't they? Uh... Thanks for stepping in."