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]

"Ah, so you equate not being 'genuine' with a falsehood." Loki responded, smile turning slightly sharp. "Then is something only one or the other?" He'd been called far worse than a liar in his time.

[wagerofloki]

The sharpness of his smile was met with a narrowing of her eyes. "Nothin's so black'n white. But to try'n say something that's not genuine's anything other'n a falsehood's wrong. A half truth's not the truth."

[whose_son_am_i]

"Something can be genuine and still be false however, and a half-truth is still a truth." Loki countered, amusement in blue-green eyes as her own narrowed at him. "So why do you claim I'm a liar?"

He was of course, but lies could be done in so many different ways.

[wagerofloki]

“That’s conflicting and you know it. Unless you got an example ready.”

The question made her shut up for a moment as she considered. She frowned a little and looked away from him and towards the horizon.

“You remind me’f someone I used t’know. He was real good with words’n gettin’ what he wanted.”

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki let out a low chuckle, smile turning slightly less sharp. "I've been called a liar many times. But what I was telling you about magic is the absolute truth." At least as he understood it.

[wagerofloki]

She lets the silence between them grow a little. She seemed to need the moment to wind herself down a bit, step away from the anger he so easily provoked.

"Bein' a liar doesn't gotta be a bad thing. Just depends how ya use it." She wasn't going to launch into this whole good and evil thing. That wasn't how the world worked.

"So, what, magic limited to your imagination, then? If it's just all manipulatin' energy."

[whose_son_am_i]

"It's also knowing how to manipulate the energy to get it to do what you want. Otherwise, yes." Loki was kind--he let her have that moment. "But here on this world, we'll be learning a whole new magic. So I can't say that the rules of it I'm used to will apply."

[wagerofloki]

"Rules you know sound lot easier'n going to fuckin' school." Not that his way requied any less work, but the idea of going to school was just not Val's jam.

"I'm Val, by the way."

[whose_son_am_i]

"Like most things, they might seem simple but are far more complex when studied fully." Not that he was thrilled about going to school either. But learning new magic? That....did have his attention and interest.

"Loki. Of Asgard."

[wagerofloki]

"Sure, but if I don't gotta open a textbook it's already gotta be a lot better'n this."

If he thought that his name and where he was from would pull some sort of reaction from her, well, he might find himself disappointed. There was no recognition on her face as he gave it to her.

"I guess that makes me of Night City, then." The style of speaking wasn't hers, but she could mimic him. "Loki's a cool name. Different. Sounds like somethin' a netrunner'd pick."

[whose_son_am_i]

That she showed no recognition at all was interesting to him. He'd have to learn more. "I'm unfamiliar with what a netrunner is. Enlighten me?" Loki suspected neither of them had come up to this high point looking for someone to talk to, but they'd already had their 'shared-space-while-silent' moment.

[wagerofloki]

She didn't mind talking. It kept her from thinking too much about all of this, which spared (delayed) the headache that was forming somewhere in the back of her head. She had to play it cool now, freak out about this all later.

In keeping with their conversation thus far, the confusion on her face was hard to miss. This was, again, something that was so basic to her.

"So kinda like how I can download stuff from computers or whatever with the jack on my hand, uh, people who're netrunners can jack into a system with a port like this one," she pulled her hair back and showed him two chip slots and a port, "and they can upload themselves into the net? It's, uh. From what I been told it's a lot like bein' in VR but instead'f bein' in a game you're in a real system."

She was making a lot of assumptions that he already knew a lot of things.

[whose_son_am_i]

Leaning closer as she pulled her hair back to study her ports. "VR meaning Virtual Reality, correct?" Loki wasn't unfamiliar with the concepts she talked of. "Then you're from a society that prizes 'technology' highly. How common are jacks and ports like your own?"

[wagerofloki]

She nodded to confirm that she meant virtual reality but didn't give a verbal confirmation.

"Um, just depends on the jobs you do'n the kinda money you got, but everyone's got at least a little'f somethin', usually. Some people'r still pure 'ganic but that's really unusual."

"So, for example, my ripper doc's got his workin' arm all cybered up'n then he's got a cyberhand that's got all his tools built-in. Makes his arm real steady when he's workin', 'n all his tools are just right there. Don't need any assistant."

A pause. "Made me feel better knowin' he had that when he implanted these chips in my head'n shit."

[whose_son_am_i]

"I can imagine it would make it better." Better for the doctor, and for her. "Then all of this" A hand gestured to the grounds below them. "will take some getting used to for you especially."

[wagerofloki]

She nodded. "It's real quiet here. Not many people." The air here was clean and she really liked that. It almost made up for the constant nervousness she felt by the quiet.

"What's Asgard like?"

[whose_son_am_i]

"Asgard...shines. Of the nine realms, it is the most beautiful." Loki brings one long leg up and wraps his arms around it while he speaks. "It floats surrounded by water that cascades into waterfalls off into the cosmos, and one can see all the stars of the nine realms in the sky. In the center, arching high in a fan-like series of columns lies the golden palace. Along a path that leads from the palace, out through the capital, the path connects to the Bifrost, in shimmering rainbow colors. The Bifrost itself stretches out into the surrounding lake towards the edge. It is rich shades of green and brown with forests and crags, deep blues and whites of the water, warm sunny days that are pleasantly cool without being cold."

Not that he felt the cold anyway. "Lots of open-space, even within the capital." He picked up that that might be important to her. As he spoke, it was also clear that he was fond of his home, while also having a wistful quality to his voice.

[wagerofloki]

She managed to keep her mouth shut for once as she listened to him. The whole place sounded like a dream, really. Somehow some part of her knew that no matter how hard she imagined she wouldn't be able to really capture its beauty. She'd never seen stars (choked out by the city lights), never seen waterfalls (but she did know the ocean), had never even heard of the Bifrost before.

"I can't imagine open space inside a city... Night City's real packed tight. Gotta be." She paused, frowning a little. "Bein' honest, can't begin to picture what you described. Asgard sounds like someplace out'f some pretend world." She believed him, but it was just so far out of her experience she struggled to comprehend it.

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki turned and leaned his head on his upright knee, blue-green eyes watching her for a moment. "Would you like to see it?" Entirely serious in his question.

[wagerofloki]

Her distrust flashed in her eyes as she sharply turned to look at him.

"How can you do that?" There's an involuntary move to cover the jack in her hand, as if she was afraid of a virus or something.

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki simply uncoiled one hand from around his knee and held it palm up. A small display of fireworks coalesced up from the upturned palm. "Like this." A pause, and an amused smile. "Relax. I won't hurt you. I have no reason to."

[wagerofloki]

Her brows raised and eyes actually widened some at the display. There was almost a child-like wonder on her face, but it lasted only a moment before she looked up to him and she remembered herself. She did her best to play it cool.

"Yeah, I'd like to see."

[whose_son_am_i]

Loki didn't laugh, but did give a slow blink at the child-like wonder. So, for all the hardness he sensed in her, she still held some innocence. Unlike him--he'd never be innocent again.

Shifting from his semi-curled up position, Loki moved to spread his hands out. It was harder here, his own magic much weaker than that of this world's own. But he could still do this. Taking a breath in and out, summoning his memories---before an illusion of Asgard formed in front of them. As if it were a film on a screen.

Asgard as it had been, and no longer was. And never would be again. Loki shut his yes, as he felt them begin to water. He would not show weakness or tears.

[wagerofloki]

For the first time, she actually turned towards him. She folded one leg up and rested it flat on the surface of the building, her other still hanging over the side, and she turned so she could better look at the illusion he conjured. She was too engrossed in the illusion to notice the way he closed his eyes.

She pointed to the palace, speaking in a small voice, filled with wonder. "This place reminds me of the pipe organ in a church that Padre sometimes let me stay in if the weather was bad." She gave the name of the church, not that it mattered, the Spanish rolling out of her mouth with well-practiced ease.

Her hand returned back to her lap as she looked at it. "Asgard looks really beautiful." She couldn't find anything else to say, too engrossed as she looked at the illusion and let her mind wander into what it would have been like to grow up and live there. How her life might have been different.

[whose_son_am_i]

He was listening, and opened his eyes again when the wetness had passed. Fortunately it passed quickly, and he dismissed the illusion. "....Thank you." Loki was kind of surprised to find he meant his words.

It had been a long day however, in a string of several long days recently. Several painfully long days.