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

[holdyourhorns]

Spyro nods. "And it sounds like you've been here for a while."

Not that he has any way to tell when someone human is a native or fellow Sundered. But surely there are some well-mannered students around here. Well-mannered to dragons even.

"But yeah, seems like I'm meeting a lot of fellow... uh... fellows that are in Valhudor too."

[perfectenn]

The particular wording leads to a slight narrowing of his eyes. Judging by that answer, he's not used to mingling with humans. Perhaps that was for the best, seeing as the Tenscore Kingdom’s own dealings with dragons did not end favorably.

"A little over two months." Tenn answers. "The Sundered are spread throughout the Houses, but we do seem to have a higher ratio in Valhudor."

Speaking of which, it occurs to him that the induction into the House may not have been the warmest reception for a dragon. Keeping the concern out of his voice so he won’t sound condescending, Tenn asks, "Have you been shown where the class rooms and Spire dorms are? And the music practice rooms?"

[holdyourhorns]

"No, I didn't really get the full tour yet. But I do know that I'm supposed to be staying in one of the suites instead of the dorms."

For... fairly obvious reasons that-

"So I don't accidentally set something on fire that I shouldn't," Spyro explains, unashamedly.

[perfectenn]

Tenn only just manages to hold in a laugh. "I see. That may be for the best." A smirk prevails over his features at the lingering trails of smoke in the air. "Though there are many people who wouldn’t object to another accident like this one."

Having recovered from his catfight and eager to resume his duties, he steps forward. "I was on my way to practice. I can show you the Music Room, if you'd like. It's magically shielded, so you should be fine there. If not, there are rooms in Kedrigan Hall that would serve just as well."

[holdyourhorns]

The mutual amusement would be received in good fun rather than humiliation. Maybe the guy should let himself laugh more often. Case in point, the little dragon mirrors that smirk with his own sharp-toothed one over the implication that he should set flame to even more troublemakers.

And then when Tenn offers to lead him to the Music Room, Spyro nods his head. "Sounds good! Looks like making friends will be pretty easy for me around here too."

How bold of this dragon to assume that.

[perfectenn]

Tenn won’t argue with that. Helping students in distress is a good place to start. And to assist, Tenn makes a point of relaxing his posture and guiding Spyro through the halls with a casual air… and nonchalant glances to any gawking students. Yes, it’s a dragon. Do you see him worrying about it? No.

"For Fantastics, do you have a preference between singing or using an instrument?" It would be best to figure out the details of that before class starts.

[holdyourhorns]

"I've never tried singing before." Which may or may not be a good thing. "But I can lay down a mean electric guitar! It was pretty memorable for my last mentor because he also asked for me to please not crank it up to 11 ever again."

Which may or may not be a sign of legitimate hidden talent.

[perfectenn]

Tenn glances down in surprise. He would not have put those two together in his mind. But a world where dragons and electric guitars coexist is not a bad thought at all.

"You're the second Sundered I've met who played the electric guitar. According to her, the academy only has acoustic guitars. But it's not difficult to switch."

Once they reach the library, Tenn leads the way to a large and strangely silent room honeycombed with rows of booths. "All of these cubicles are soundproof." He highlights this feature with a smile. "Feel free to crank it up as much as you like. I assume they are also fireproof, but please don't put that to the test unsupervised. There are instruments for students to borrow until you can afford or conjure your own."