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]

It did do the job, at least, as the bullies were soon fleeing the scene. Louie sighed in relief before a concerning realization hit.

"Hendrik, do you take your sword to all your classes?"

A strange thought, that, but... Well, Louie was kind of glad that this situation had shown him he'd made a good choice by helping Hendrik when he'd been new. Now he had two new bodyguards, between the knight and Orisa, plus Webby.

[unswervingcompanion]

After the bullies took off and Hendrik heard the question, it confused him a little and there's confusion in his tone. But he turned around to look at Louie with a nod.

"Of course I do. I am almost never without it." And the knight wondered why this was a question.

After all, he'd had a sword of some type (even if a wooden one) since he was a boy.

[talkyourwayout]

"Noted," Louie commented, smiling a little as he folded his arms over his chest. If he just focused on the part where this troubling habit of Hendrik's kept him safe, then - well, then it was a lot less troubling.

"So, how've you been doing with the classes and everything?"

[unswervingcompanion]

Hendrik wondered what the smile meant, but wasn't going to ask. Surely the other was just relieved that no real trouble had happened here.

But at the question, he brightened a little and nodded, remembering once again how they met.

"They are going well. How have you fared with them?"

[talkyourwayout]

"Pretty well, I guess!" Louie said, a hint of genuine pride in his voice. "It's not so painful to pay attention in class here as it is back home, because this stuff actually is kind of interesting."

[unswervingcompanion]

"By that, I take it your former classes back home were boring? What were you studying back there?"

Hendrik can hear the pride, but he does wonder what kind of subjects could bore Louie. This magic stuff is harder on the knight, it just was never his thing.

[talkyourwayout]

"Oh, you know, normal stuff - reading and history and math," Louie explained. "It was all pretty boring, yeah. I mean, I don't mind the math usually, but having to do it is such a pain. Having to do anything is like that, really."

[unswervingcompanion]

"So it is things that you have to do that is boring?" He's really just trying to understand here, really.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie gave a small laugh. He knew it was a cultural difference, but there was still something amusing about this grown man not understanding so much - though his laugh was far from malicious.

"Well, sometimes. But I more meant that I like when I have a choice in if I do something or not."

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight understood not liking to do things that were boring, because that was studying for him. He'd much rather be out on the battlefield or practicing with his sword. But he also knew that studying required discipline and he'd had a lifetime of such a thing.

So Hendrik nodded. "Of course. But we are not always given a choice and must do what is right regardless of personal feelings." That includes himself for book learning.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie blinked a few times. "I don't know if we must. I mean, isn't that why we have free will?"