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

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Yeah, Jecht was at least used to walking with a shorter woman. He'd been married back in the day, after all, and not to some hulk of a girl. "You really are big on tea, huh?"

[darkenedmoon]

Yes, and the fact that he'd both been married and sired a child somewhat boggled Yotsuyu's mind. Perhaps the woman had been sotted with blitzball, or his stardom, or something that Yotsuyu herself could not fathom.

"It is popular where I am from, and it has dozens of varieties. It is not just...hot leaf water." It made her sound a bit irritable, but...that wasn't untrue.

"Willowbark actually has painkilling properties, which is why I carry it with me. It is not simply something to drink casually, but medicine."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Huh, so it's like a potion?" That was the first analogy to leap to Jecht's mind. Braska had been pretty quick on the draw with healing magic, but every once in a while he and Auron had to rely on other resources.

[darkenedmoon]

"Where I am from, magic is not so common. So alchemy is not always the easiest thing to perform, so potions are also not common. It performs something similar, I suppose, but it will not heal you, just ease the pain." At least Yotsuyu had alchemy experience here to draw from, as well.

"Magical potions, ones that healed...well, Doma did not see those often. So we learned to make do." Oh, Yotsuyu might have had access, but your average peasant never saw such a thing.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Wonder what that falls under here. Modification, 'cuz you're changing the body?" Jecht rubbed at the back of his head, still uncomfortable with the terms. "I liked it better when it was simple. Spira didn't have a ton going for it, but it sure handled magic better."

[darkenedmoon]

"I can only imagine Eorzea did so...we did not have much to speak of in Doma." Yotsuyu shrugged at that. "And perhaps Modification. I am not certain what else would work, though I imagine if you knew what, precisely, went into them, you could Discover potions. It is one reason I am studying alchemy, truthfully."

She was not entirely certain it would work, but she certainly was planning to try. "So I take it that you were more used to magic, where you were from."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"In Spira, yeah. Comes with escorting a summoner around. Weirded me out when I first saw it, but I got real used to it real fast." There had been so many OTHER things he didn't understand that the weight of it just sort of... squeezed acceptance into him, swift and hard.

[darkenedmoon]

"A summoner?" She gave Jecht a somewhat startled look at that. "We had summoners on Hydaelyn...though they were more a product of Eorzea or the provinces..."

Yotsuyu shook her head a moment. "So were you a protector of sorts for your summoner? They did not have an egi companion?"

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Uh. That's -- no." Eegee? Sounds like something you wash a window with. "They summoned Aeons. Giant... kinda like monster things." Jecht stuck his hands over his head for scale.

[darkenedmoon]

Yotsuyu's brow furrowed at that. "They sound more like our eikons--primals. They are the same thing, with two names. The Empire calls them eikons, and outlaws them. The Eorzeans call them primals, and they do their very best to prevent them from being summoned, as they play merry havoc with the ambient aether."

Which was likely why the Empire also outlawed them, but if they eschewed magic, Yotsuyu was not entirely certain as to the why of it.

"They are also large, at least twice the height of a man, or so I have heard. So was Tsukuyomi." At that, she nodded--to herself, mostly.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Jecht nodded slightly. "Sounds about right, though summoning 'em wasn't a problem for us. Big old things, real strong. Bein' a summoner was a mark of honor in Spira."

[darkenedmoon]

"Garlemald has no magic of their own, those who live there cannot use aether. They recruit from their conquered provinces to do so. The Empire gives their recruits opportunity to advance...but true honor?" Yotsuyu shook her head. "I think not."

After all, had she not advanced in the Empire simply by the dubious virtue of her own hatred?

"Even then, the summoning of true primals is mostly enacted by the beast tribes...though I have done it. With help," she admitted, begrudgingly. Yotsuyu really had no thanks to give Asahi. The little worm was one of the architects of her destruction--she would have been content as the childish Tsuyu, though in a way, she felt like that was hiding...

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Spira had fayth. Crystallize a soul in a statue, let it dream up an Aeon. Summoner prays at the temple, they get the fayth's blessing. Collect 'em all and it's off to Zanarkand to get the power to fight Sin."

So Yotsuyu being a summoner wasn't so fancy to him. Spira had some, it wasn't impossible.

[darkenedmoon]

"I was given an artifact," Yotsuyu said flatly. "A mirror, given to the Kojin beast tribe--they are turtle men. With only that, I could do nothing. However, my adopted brother made sure there was a wealth of aether crystals at the Garlean castrum--an outpost. And so it was no great task for me to invoke the mirror and the power within it, and become the goddess of the moon, divinity of night. Tsukuyomi. I had thought to triumph, of course. Reign above Doma as its acting viceroy, cold and uncaring as the moon..."

It was not as if Jecht hadn't seen fragments of that attitude in her. These days, Yotsuyu attempted to temper it, but some of it remained.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Me... I got turned into an Aeon myself." And worse, but yeah, skipping that part for now. "Turns out the only way anyone knew to beat Sin was have a summoner change a guardian into their own personal Aeon. Knew I wasn't getting home, then, so. Signed up for it."

[darkenedmoon]

Yotsuyu gave Jecht a long look at that. Somewhat skeptical. She felt as if there were something missing--but the kami knew she still held a wealth of secrets, and he certainly had as much right to do the same.

"Ah. I see," she said quietly. "So...you were a hero. As I was not."

A rueful smile curved her lips for a brief moment, but she shook her head and dismissed it. There was no pride in her now for what she had done.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Naw. Just... a fill-in. Just putting off the problem another couple of years." That was the big thing, wasn't it? That was what his kid had fixed. He was the hero.

[darkenedmoon]

"And yet, you did such a thing with full knowledge that you would lose...your home, your wife, your son? What else? Say you there is nothing heroic in that?"

Yotsuyu arched a brow as she stared up at him, lips thinning. "I think I should have some passing familiarity with heroes, Jecht."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"I'd already lost 'em. Didn't have anything else to lose. Don't make too big a deal out of me..." Jecht looked at her sidelong, a solemn smile on his face. "It's the boy you should be giving the credit. Trust me on this one."

[darkenedmoon]

"Should I ever meet him, I shall give him a great deal of credit. I simply do not think that you need go without." Yotsuyu snorted, then. "As you well know, I am aware that when you choose to do so, you make a great deal out of yourself. Without my help."

Which made her think that maybe he protested a bit too much, but she wasn't about to pry. If he chose to speak further on the why of it, so be it, but if not, that was acceptable, as well.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Yeah, exactly!" He snapped a finger, the sound surprisingly explosive given his calluses, to point at her. "If I was some hero I wouldn't be sitting on it! I'd be looking for my parade! Screaming fangirls and a rush for autographs!"

[darkenedmoon]

"Save that means absolutely nothing here, and both you and I know it. I doubt these wizards will go on hearsay." Yotsuyu did not, particularly. Though the Warrior of Light's reputation was more than well-known, and thus not precisely hearsay.

"Though it is not as if I do not understand. After all, arriving here has changed the way I deal with things, as well." It wasn't exactly a comfortable process, but she wouldn't change it for the world.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Hey, who cares if it means absolutely nothing! I'd still be asking for it!"

Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but not TOO much of one.

"'Course this place doesn't know blitzball at all..."

[darkenedmoon]

"I do believe that, out of you..." Yotsuyu muttered. Some things, she supposed, did not change. That or Jecht simply enjoyed feeding his ego.

"No, it has...bala-inlota. Why should they seek after the one familiar to you, when they have their own sport?" She supposed that there was always a choice, but the people of this world seemed enamored of the one they had.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Heh, wait till they see it. Then they'll realize what they've been missing!"

He WAS going to show it to them. Hey, they got all this magic and fancy ways of doing things, why not put it to some real good use and get a blitzball stadium?