Test Drive Reloaded! #1

[magicademymods]

Test Drive #1



Welcome to Diatu (I Like Swords)

The Arrival Hall is all aflurry with activity! No one had expected so many Sundered to suddenly pop up, the staff find themselves desperately scrambling to keep up with the influx, and a bunch of new arrivals find themselves hanging out in the Hall lobby, waiting to be seen, sent home if possible, or counseled and prepared for student life if not. Rumors run like wildfire: some people believe they've been kidnapped by aliens, a worryingly persistent suggestion that this is a setup for a murder-tournament keeps circulating, and one or two nutcases insist that a dragon tinkered with the rules of magic and now they have to study at a magic school to survive. Pie stocks are grievously low, and thought Headmaster Birony herself appeared and began violating the rules of space and time to summon pies from the future, a second Headmaster Birony with an eyepatch, several war scars, and a wild hairdo appeared and promptly yelled at the first Headmaster for stealing her pies. A pie fight erupted. Pie stocks are even more grievously low now.

Still, here's your chance to talk to your fellow arrivals. Or aggressively attack the nearest target in an outrage (they set up a target dummy and labeled it VENT AGGRESSION HERE, and are trusting you guys on the honor system). Staff don't have time to talk, but they promise they'll get to you soon!

A Day In The Life

The sun is bright, the air is warm, a cool breeze blows across Anastara, clouds keep drifting directly through the island and engulfing people... it's summer on Ascelion, and the day is ripe for learning. Or as ripe as Diatu Magicademy ever can be -- though no one would trade the character and charm of the lively campus for some stodgy, regimented school more interested in forcing students into the mold than encouraging them to be their best, sometimes conditions in the Magicademy are a little inconvenient.

A toilet in Kedrigan Hall keeps clamping onto the butts of those who attempt to use it. Thus far, half a dozen students have been freed from its clutches by their friends, while reports of singed buttocks have increased twofold. (Yes, only twofold. Think about that for a minute.) Staff are on the lookout for a prankster rather than a commode, so as of yet the treacherous toilet has gone unpunished...

Not far away, a group of cleaning golems has occupied the promenade as part of an ongoing strike. As they possess only rudimentary intelligence, they believe this involves seizing objects from anyone who passes nearby and hurling them at a set of bowling pins. Meliandre Tomekin, Head of Groundskeeping, has set up shop across the Promenade; any student who wanders too close gets a big block of ice shoved into their hands, along with instructions to hold it still while she shows those reprobates what-for...

In the Great Hall proper, school clubs and activities have, as was inevitable, escalated competition for new students to yet another level which only isn't a war crime because it isn't part of a treaty yet: they've conscripted geese. Horrible geese, to be precise, who dispense flyers for various clubs with less subtlety than a nuclear holocaust. Some of them fight for dominance, others have teamed up to pin down innocent students and stuff leaflets down their throat, and one has a wand and is somehow casting Discovery spells?!

A Forgery!

"I tried a mass-Forging technique," the older student says, showing off the briefcase full of identical wands and a sign that says 'FOR $ALE CHEAP'. "Some of them are exactly what I intended, they self-correct runes, but the rest, well.. . I don't know, I can't tell, and I'm not really interested in finding out one by one, so... you buying?"

All sales final. No refunds. Caveat emptor. As for what the wands do, well... there's a reason he answered with an ellipsis when asked. On the other hand, maybe the effect isn't too terrible? Maybe it's even beneficial! Maybe the wand shoots out rainbows and muffins! Or maybe it just animates and strikes you vigorously about the head and shoulders...

Three Dragon War

Someone, we're not naming names, canons, or the color of eyes and the dragon to which they belong that forms said person's obsession, may or may not be indirectly responsible for the latest game craze sweeping Anastara: Three Dragon War, a collectible card game that features players as dragons, deploying spells, creatures, and Sundered against each other to destroy each and avoid the machinations of the Third Dragon. The awesome thing about the game is that the Third Dragon comes in all different forms: classic bundled-with-the-starter-pack Ire, super-rare Anastara Diatu, suspiciously-rare Cam Birony, ultra-common Large Eagull, and more. The concept of an outside force adding randomness to the battle and being manipulated in turn by cards means Three Dragon War is the hottest card game that's come along since the last card game that was the hottest that had come along came along.

Face-to-face, you find yourself in a duel over these cards and the magical images they summon. Can this untested deck come through if you believe in it? Or are statistics and probability actual things that actually happen? Dragon Battle! Jiao Long Fu!

There's One in Every Test Drive

Not every magical disaster is caused by some wayward student you don't know. Many of them are caused by you instead. To wit: you're on the spot in one of the magical labs, being called on to demonstrate a technique more advanced than others you've mastered so far. Failure is expected, and the wards should prevent any injury to others from a miscast spell. But will the sparks of your magic just sputter out and die? Or will you inadvertently mispronounce, misform, misshape, or miscalculate in a way that brings chaos to you and your lab partner?

(You could also manage to succeed in casting the spell, but that isn't very fun.)

Comments

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki just matched her glare for a moment, before giving a small laugh and a blink. "A pie being thrown at me is at least new. I will give you credit for that." Fortunately for her, he seemed amused. "As for the children, perhaps they should learn to stand further back."

[protectiveink]

"Absolutely, but I hope I dinnae look like their mothers either, any of them." Though she'd yelled at other students, too. Rosh shot a fierce, black-eyed glare at those children.

"Did ye hear him, ya lot of boobies? Starin' gape-mouthed at somethin' that could kill ye, or worse?"

"It's not a dragon," one of the assorted ragamuffins yelled back at the woman, and she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot in irritation, before shouting at them.

"OH AYE!" she shrieked. "An' yet ye'd be just as dead if he were! Or worse! An entire lot of morons, ye are! Praise Mother Mary this is a school an' ye might learn something!"

Clapping a hand to her face, she turned back to the god. "At least I dye my hair, an' no one can tell when I get grays. Lord knows that'll do it."

[whose_son_am_i]

Right, then she was old enough to have gray-hair. As if the matronly manner hadn't clued him in already. "If you'll be shouting at me next, I'll be leaving."

[protectiveink]

She was human, but she was only in her 20's. Luckily Rosh wasn't a telepath, either, so he was free and clear of being yelled at.

Or yelled at more. Rosh had kind of done it once, after all. "Nah, ye had yer tongue-lashing, ye're not due. Unlike those reprobates."

Meaning the giggling gaggle of youngsters. At least they were getting taken into hand by some of the other, older students of the Magicademy.

Not that anyone was particularly brave (or foolish!) enough to approach Roisin yet. Or maybe it was Loki himself?

[whose_son_am_i]

"Not that I should complain, but that is the mildest tongue-lashing I've ever received." One half of his mouth quirked up in a smile. "I hope you don't expect me to have learned my lesson."

[protectiveink]

Was this guy even serious? Rosh just kind of gave him a look, one dark brow quirked.

"Are ye serious? I must be losin' my touch, if that's true." Though his second retort had her snorting, which turned into an outright laugh.

"Oh gods, no, ye don't strike me as the type to ever learn yer lesson. Ye jus' gotta test the boundaries. But there's gotta be a few o' ye around just to set 'em fer the rest of us, aye?"

[whose_son_am_i]

Now he did smile, with a low amused laugh. "Wise then, as well as foolhardy." Loki might actually like this one. "I am Loki of Asgard."

[protectiveink]

"I c'n be taught, if that's what yer sayin'." Roisin wasn't sure. But her eyes did widen when he introduced himself.

"That Asgard? Norse Asgard? Oh, aye, then you, my lad, are one of the original boundary pushers, ye are." There were plenty of them in storied mythology, and it wasn't as if her father hadn't given her a decent background in that.

"All right, but that begs th'question...what're ye doin' here?" Shouldn't he be able to...avoid that sort of thing?

[whose_son_am_i]

"I am as surprised as you are by my presence in this world." Loki definitely liked this one. She would be fun! "And how shall I address you, miss?"

[protectiveink]

"Rosh," she replied. "Roisin Murphy, actually, but that works just fine." She shook her head. Wasn't every day you met a god, after all.

At least she wasn't attempting to 'sir' him. Then again, it was Loki. Rosh had the feeling he wouldn't appreciate being called 'sir'.

"I'd ask how ye ended up here, but I imagine ye might not want to say." Not with how angry he'd been just a few short minutes ago.

[whose_son_am_i]

"Rosh it shall be then." It was, in many ways, a sign of respect that he was calling her what she wanted to be called. Really how he was addressed would depend on who did the addressing. He was a Prince, and a God, after all. But considering how she'd yelled at him already, a 'sir' wouldn't have seemed right coming from her.

"You imagine right." Loki crossed his arms, but didn't look upset. "I've had a very bad couple of days before finding myself here."

[protectiveink]

"Dinnae want tae imagine what'd make ye have a bad day," she admitted. "I'm sure they're goin' tae want us to have some sorta orientation at some point, but before that d'ye want tae go fer a walk? Cool down, take in the sights?"

She was an adult, and if she felt a little weird about hanging around a throng of children, Rosh couldn't imagine how the Prince of Mischief had to feel. Still, his temper did seem to have eased, too.

[whose_son_am_i]

Fortunately for her, his amusement at her scolding had replaced his temper and most of his frustration. At least for the moment. "A walk, and learning just where we are, would be a good idea. And you can tell me how you came to be here as well."

[protectiveink]

Oh. Of course he'd ask her that. Rosh huffed out a sigh as she began to walk away from the Great Hall. Assuming she wasn't stopped, she'd just meander around the grounds--that was safer than going out to the city, she figured. For now, anyway.

"I dinna know. I live in the United States--'round Pittsburgh way, was fixin' to set up a pie shop there. One minute I'm futzin' about in me shop, an' I straighten up from sweepin' and find myself over there." Back in the Great Hall, according to her gesture.

And her prisoner wasn't offering anything. Then again, he wouldn't. It'd take bargaining. And always, he wanted out. Fat chance.

"Ye got any clue how you got here?" It couldn't be the same as her, right?

[whose_son_am_i]

"One theory, though I'm not particularly fond of it. Nor would you be comforted by what it is." If this was Valhalla, then never mind the mortals--Asgard's own stories were wrong.

[protectiveink]

"Seems tae be a little lacking in party, if I'm followin' yer thoughts. An' the last thing I am is a Chooser of the Slain. I'm a baker." Though that's hardly the only thing she is. Not with the tattoos she's got, even if the lion's share is hidden under her button-down shirt.

Kind of explains why she flung a pie, though.

"I can't be dead, anyway." Not that she'd explain why, but Rosh knew. There were still whispers in the back of her mind--and those hadn't gone away since the ritual when she was eighteen. Not even in her dreams did they leave. So Rosh figured whatever had happened, they were probably not dead.

Probably.

[whose_son_am_i]

"A clever baker however." One corner of his mouth twitched into a smile. "And also a guardian, given the sigils you wear." Blue-green-eyes slant her way. "Punishment or voluntary?"

Loki would've had to be blind to not notice her tattoos. Which wasn't what was so interesting. Tattoos had a long tradition, ritual ones especially. Hers however... While he couldn't tell specifics, he could see the beginnings of some type of binding and containment. Was she keeping something out, or keeping something in?

[protectiveink]

Rosh frowned a little, then. "S'pose you could say I see further into a millpond than most, aye." Not that she wanted to admit it. She wanted, more than anything, to be normal.

Not that it was an option. She grunted at his next words. "Aye. Uh...'bout that. Little of column A, little of column B. Or so I've been told. Punishment isn't fer me, though. But what's inside me."

Rosh was absolutely positive that she didn't have the entire story, only fragments. It was like dismantling a bomb, cutting the wires while color blind. Only the mad would do it. Rosh? She didn't have a choice.

[whose_son_am_i]

"How much do you know?" And would she be willing to share? Was this a situation similar to Banner and his Hulk?

[protectiveink]

Really, she wasn't certain how much to divulge--but this was a magical school. She was going to have to talk to the headmaster (Headmistress?) about it at some point. Why not have a warm-up? Mischief wasn't Loki's only talent. Just the one everyone remembered.

"Enough ta get me in trouble, mostly. I can't always control Haage after he gets out, but everything I've got does kinda help me curtail that if I can help it. I plan ta do some studying to either return tha demon tae where he belongs, or keep him in me 'til I can't any more. But it's like I only have half tha pages in the book, ye ken?" Rosh wasn't that happy to share, but. She was kind of counting on it as insurance.

[whose_son_am_i]

"Ah, the best kind." But Loki was paying close attention. "And why not simply let the demon loose?" He did understand--a little knowledge, or lack thereof, was far more dangerous in Magic. Worse, when beings known as demons are involved.

[protectiveink]

That made Roisin frown at the god. "Well. Yer a god, me lettin' Haage loose probably wouldn't be much but a giggle to ye, but the poor humans he'd try to cozen into pacts? Not so lucky. An' that'd be on my conscience."

Not that Rosh tried to make herself out as any sort of hero. Not at all. She preferred to think of herself as simple. Hells, she introduced herself as a baker!

"I might not know why he's in me, but he is. An' if I c'n help it, in me he stays. 'Til I can banish him tae his proper place. Or, if I'm really arrogant, destroy 'im." Yeah right!

[whose_son_am_i]

"Then he is the bargain for souls kind? Or the conquering type?" Not that Loki was at all eager to meet this Haage. Not while the other was still unknown; he was more of a threat to Loki like that than he cared for.

"I do not recognize the particular sigils you bear. I recognize the weave of the spell, the pattern of the magic. If you want my help, I would have to study your tattoos more closely." And it was an if. Time to also see how clever this baker was.

[protectiveink]

"Both. Solomonic magic; he's a President of Hell, though I'm nae entirely certain he's a fallen angel. I don't know enough. I'm not a very devout Catholic, though that was the faith I was raised in." And Rosh isn't terribly happy that she doesn't know. That, at least, is clear. But she's got the feeling that those who taught her left those gaps on purpose. Question was, why?

But that was the easiest question. Rosh couldn't help but frown. Sure, Loki seemed like he wanted to help her. Like everything was on the up-and-up. But he was a trickster. Could never forget that. Respect them, indeed, but always take care. Like dealing with the Sidhe of her homeland. Expect them to pixie out of a deal, because if they could, they would.

"Why d'ye want tae know, though? Everyone wants somethin'. Even if ye are wantin' tae help me, fer naught but curiosity's sake...what's in it fer you? Besides the obvious, that I'd owe ye a great deal."

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki let her see the pleased smile. "I'd have been quite disappointed in you if you didn't look for that angle." Said with a wink too. Shifting to hold his arms behind him, he paced a bit. "At this moment, I want the knowledge--which will be easiest to gain by helping you. Currently this Haage is an unknown as far as I'm concerned, and is a threat." Not simply to the humans. If Solomonic magic was involved, it was older than him. Relatively unknown on Asgard too.

Turning to her again, he was still smiling. Which probably wasn't reassuring. "Not that I would object to you owing me a favor as well."