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

[hotheadwarmheart]

Hey, I'll have you know that I've gotten pretty good at playing the tough guy when I want to.

[One skill his time in the Organization had given him, a rather impressive ability to project an intimidating presence when necessary. Of course, this worked best with those who didn't know him well.]

Anyway, looks like you got a free knife out of this whole mess at least, so you came off better than most.

[pause]

Come to think of it, I wonder what that plant actually did with all the stuff it stole off of people? I mean, it's gotta be someplace around here; that plant might be surprisingly mobile, but given what I've heard it's pretty much confined to this general area of the campus. Now that the plant is disarmed, think we oughtta try and find the stuff so we can return it?

[afterthemoon]

Maybe so, but your true colors will show themselves eventually.

[So he still wasn't wrong, anyone who knew Lea well enough knew he was a sap]

...

Did it actually steal anything? I find that hard to believe

[Yet another thing to add to the list of absurdities]

[hotheadwarmheart]

Well, I know there was one girl in my class who said a plant stole her Law textbook. And I've overheard a bunch of others talking in the cafeteria about having small stuff stolen by plants on the back paths; hair clips, bracelets, potion bottles, and things like that. Could be that some of them are just making excuses for lost homework and stuff, but I figured with that many people talking about it, there likely was something to it.

I was actually planning to look into it later on my own, but I figure since we're both here...

[He shrugs.]

[afterthemoon]

I guess we may as well look, then.

[They didn't have anything better to do...

There's a lull in the conversation, when Isa speaks up again.]

Lea, does this happen often?

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea nods, and they begin carefully searching the area. He looks up at Isa's question though.]

Hmm? Well, if you mean the whole 'crazed plants' thing specifically, then no; that's new. Weirdness in general though? Yeah that's pretty constant, for better or worse.

[afterthemoon]

That's... great.

[He hadn't even been here that long and he already sounded done with the mere concept of it.

It's not that their world lacked weirdness, of course, but Isa didn't have much experience with the more out there things it had to offer, having spent most of his time doing boring paperwork at the castle.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea chuckled.]

Welcome to my life. Even back home field work brought more than its fair share of weirdness; you missed out on a lot by staying cooped up in the castle.

[afterthemoon]

[There a pause... for a moment, it seems like Isa's gonna make some snarky comment.]

...Well, I guess I have a lot to see once we figure out a way to get home.

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea nodded.]

I gotta take you to Neverland sometime. You're gonna love flying.

[afterthemoon]

...

Yes, I'd like that.

[hotheadwarmheart]

And then there's Atlantica; Donald's magic can turn you into a merman there! And in the Pride Lands, it can turn you into an animal! And then there's...

[Lea went on to discuss every world that he'd been to or that had been described to him by Sora and his friends, soon forgetting all about searching for the lost objects in favor of regaling Isa with tales of everything he'd been missing as they walked along.]