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

[darkenedmoon]

Yes. Exactly as she had expected.

"Your word, that you were a star where you were from? That is no proof, you could be lying!" Yotsuyu raised a hand to that. "Do not take that as I think you are--I am no fool, and one could not look like you do without a good deal of work of some sort. But perhaps a spell to confirm that you do speak truth is out of reach. So yes, you have to work again."

Not that she expected him for a single moment to see her point of view.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"I did it. They didn't see it with their own eyes, so they don't believe. Doesn't mean I'm not the best!"

If nothing else, Jecht could present a really strong self-esteem. And if maybe he felt he wasn't quite who he used to be, didn't he at least have a chance to build himself up again here?

[darkenedmoon]

It was that Jecht seemed to expect to be given things because of who he was. No one knew who he was, here! It was as if Yotsuyu swanned in and expected to be given perks, simply because she was a Rector in Garlemald's reckoning. No one knew that here--nor did she expect them to care.

There was the point that Yotsuyu really did not want to claim any of that, and that was where they differed.

"You should be overjoyed to be asked to prove it, then. And it should be simple to do so. Wherein lies the problem?"

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

Jecht talked a big game. The real question was how serious he was about any of it. She might be surprised to know the answer was, 'not at all'.

"Just because I'm gonna prove it and enjoy it doesn't mean I'm not the best till I do. Just means no one knows it!"

[darkenedmoon]

Yotsuyu was somewhat perceptive; perhaps it was the fact that Jecht did not seem to take much seriously--save perhaps his precious blitzball--was what raised her hackles. She snorted and shook her head.

"How do you think others perceive you, then? You know I think you are mostly a blowhard with some skill." Because so far, there's been a lot of talk out of him, and yet he's only on the secondary bala-inlota team, to her knowledge. So to her, it is still only so much talk.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Heh. They don't know me yet." He could be sanguine about that truth, anyway. His current position didn't say much of anything to anyone, just like she said. "They will."

[darkenedmoon]

"Well, I wish you luck in that endeavor, then." Yotsuyu wasn't entirely convinced that Jecht would be able to persuade them, despite his skill. Mostly because he had an almost overinflated sense of his own ability. Then again, it might work in his favor--even if she wasn't sure.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Well, thanks!"

Some portion of Jecht's egotism was a salesman's attitude. Act like the best and you influence the people around you. But the rest, well. He really had been the best, in his day, and it looked like his day had come again.

"Just for that I'll score a half-dozen goals for you!"