diatuooc | Test Drive Reloaded! #1

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Test Drive Reloaded! #1

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.)

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"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."

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."

Why did she feel like she was arse deep in alligators, and slowly sinking?

Probably because she was. Especially with Haage himself whispering in her head how he could help her through this. Shut up, she responded to him. Rosh knew his help wasn't help, after all.

Even if she wasn't sure Loki's help was help, either.

"Oh, aye, he's a threat. Only 'is own best interests at heart. Certain sure not anyone else's. Oh, he'd keep me alive if he needed, but only because it might hurt if he didn't."

Gulp. The idea of owing Loki a favor wasn't high on her list. She was still reeling a little with the fact that he hadn't turned her into a toad or a pile of ash because of her attempt to pie him. Still, her honesty seemed to amuse him. "An' I can't say I'm sure what I could do as a favor fer ye, to tell ye the truth."

"Perhaps it would be easier to simply collect at a later date then. That is, if you do want my help..." That was the thing about tricksters---they could be VERY helpful when their goals aligned with one's own goals.

For the moment, Loki thought that Rosh's own goals might align with his quite nicely.

"Do I want it? Nae very sure, if I'm honest. Do I think I need it? Aye, there's the rub. But remember, ye did offer!"

Deep inside, Rosh is very sure this is a bad idea--only echoed by Haagenti's mocking laughter in the back of her thoughts--but there was something, perhaps many somethings, to benefit (or eventually benefit) Loki in this. Knowledge. Potential power to use against others who threatened him.

And at least someone on his side here in this damn weird place. Though there were some perks for Rosh, too. Couldn't deny that. She had to give credit where it was due.

Maybe they'd be friends, too? It'd been a while since she'd had one of those. And if anyone could hold his own against a demon, she figured the God of Mischief was one such being...

"Clever baker." Said with a small chuckle. "I won't forget." The smile wasn't at least quite so wide or sharp anymore. "But I will need to look at your tattoos first. Possibly sketch them. Solomonic magic is older even than I am."

He would have much he needed to research.

"I realize that, but ye realize we're out in the middle of a campus full o' students? I'm not plannin' to disrobe in front of a bunch'a wee kiddies." Even if some of them weren't particularly 'wee'.

Haage's laughter still echoed in her mind--why the damn demon was still busting a gut was beyond her at the moment, but the fact that he was had her mind racing. He was amused because she was missing something. What was it?

"All right. Aye, I agree, I need yer help, an' I will let ye look at my tattoos as much as ye need--once I've a room, or ye've got a room, where we can have privacy, aye? And I...owe ye a favor, to be determined an' to the best of my ability. An' not invokin' Haaage to do it. We've got an agreement. Shake?" Roisin nodded, both to him and herself, and offered the god a hand.
There was probably still danger she hadn't thought of in this entire thing, but. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Good girl." Loki praised, smile both smug and proud as he reached out to shake her hand. It was so much more fun to work with clever people who used their brain.

She arched a brow at Loki, then--but then again, when you're a god, you kinda outdate most humans, she figured. So Rosh let it ride. She could take it as an insult, but he probably meant it differently than some people did.

And look at her, calling Haage a 'people'. "Must be losin' me mind," she grumbled to herself, taking her hand back and shoving it in her jeans pockets.

"So what're ye thinkin' of doin' here, besides makin' me a research subject?" Her tone was somewhat joking, but Rosh was genuinely curious.

"It depends on what they tell us, in some ways. You can be certain I'll be learning more about the magic here though. It's a whole world I'm unfamiliar with--can't let that happen." His own tone was amused. "As for you, I really will just start with studying your tattoos. From there, it will be finding out if this place even has resources on solomonic magic or if you and anyone from your world are our only resources." An eyebrow arched. "To reassure you, I am thinking of you more as a research assistant, rather than a research subject, currently."

A longer pause, hands going behind his back. "IF...if they are able to send us back, it would depend on a few things were I to return." Would there be anything worth returning to? Could he somehow go back, even simply a day or two? Make different choices? What about only going back an hour, a minute?

Could he have done something more effective against Thanos, when even the Hulk failed against the mad Titan?

"Might not have anything on Solomonic stuff, but ye c'n probably bet they've got demon fighting, question is, how they codify it. Everyone's got their ideas of demons. 'Least they did, back on Earth, right?"

Even Rosh's interest was somewhat piqued by the idea of magic. Oh, she'd known it existed, even if back on Earth she wanted nothing to do with it. There's a little bit of hope somewhere in the back of her mind, despite the Great President's mocking. Maybe, just maybe, I c'n be rid of 'im. Once an' fer all.

"That comment sounds like a story in an' of itself, but same deal. If it's rubbin' salt in a particular wound, ye ain't gotta tell me." She paused, then. "At least not 'til we can get a pint or two in us, tae ease the tellin'."

"I doubt I will get inebriated enough to share that particular tale. But it is a good plan." One hand came around and gestured to her as if asking 'well, what about you?'

Rosh snorted at that. "Aye, but ye know I'm young and stupid enough tae not poke fun at ye fer the tellin' too." She shrugged. He could tell her or he could not. Up to him.

"Kinda would like tae be alone again in my head, aye? If bein' here an' learnin' the magic here can fill in the gaps, or evict my unwillin' tenant and put him somewhere that ain't here?" She points at the middle of her forehead. "I'm game, I guess. Got my reservations, but I don't see a doorway home, yet."

"I would say young and foolhardy, but not stupid." Loki corrected. "You threw a pie at me and then scolded me as if I were a misbehaving child. That takes courage that the stupid often don't have."

"The pie mighta hurt your dignity, but not you. Empty threat, mostly, aye? An' well. Ye were endangerin' real kids. Ya kinda deserved it? God or not?"

And Rosh chuckled, ruefully. "Though at th' time I didna know ye were a god. Mighta changed my tune if I did, I admit." Though it was clear he'd been strong just from how he'd been flinging power around, and she still had chastised him.

"I suppose, I mean, I didn't know if ol' Haage woulda protected me, if I'd pissed ye off instead of entertained ye." But Rosh shrugged at that. She probably would've done it anyway. "Still, I was a teenager once..."

"Considering the things that have been thrown at me lately, a pie was quite the novelty." Which was why he'd been amused. Far better than random pieces of scrap metal, or a bottle, or bric-a-brac.

"Do we dare venture outside of the school grounds to see if the town has a tavern, while I hear this story of a teenaged Rosh?" That hint of mischief was back in blue-green eyes. Really, it had never left.

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Test Drive Reloaded! #1

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