Test Drive #1

[magicademymods]

Test Drive #1



The Airship There

By carriage or coach, spellwagon or ship, perhaps even on the wings of magic, the Sundered heed the call to gather at the Tenzin High Dock of Vulbaria. On this, the appointed day, a great passenger airship sits in the dock, the seals of the six Houses fluttering from flagpoles along her length and her wooden planks atremble as if it is eager to be off. At last, the gangplank descends, and the Hand of Diatu opens her doors to the Sundered so they can take their first step on the path towards protection and salvation.

Inside, you may choose from long comfortable couches, broad circular tables surrounded by straight-backed, cushioned chairs, or viewing seats at the glass front of the ship. Sundered who need special accommodations are quickly provided for, ensuring everyone travels in comfort. Trays drift through the air periodically, offering snacks and drinks to the passengers.

This may be the first chance you've had to truly relax since being swept to this strange world. Certainly it is the first chance you've had to meet your fellow Sundered. As the airship lifts gracefully off from the High Dock, your journey to Diatu begins. Excited? Nervous? Simply angry? Or perhaps searching among the crowd here for a familiar face or some sign of hope?

Rain, Rain...

Welcome to Diatu Magicademy. It's raining.

Seriously raining. One of those downpours that feels like a curtain has dropped on you, that soaks to the bone within a second of stepping into it. Obviously, this won't do, and a civic-minded cluster of Purifeul students has taken it upon themselves to solve this problem. No sooner do you step through the gates then you practically run into a giant and complex runic diagram being drawn out with long staffs by several students, all of them speaking seeming nonsense about derivatives, limits, and equations. Magic! In action right before your eyes!

And yet, just as their mathemagics wind towards the center of the diagram and they all make their final stroke -- one student slashes his line off on a weird tangent, speaking an equation that sounds nothing at all like what his fellows utter. The spell completes... weirdly, as the students look in horror at each other. The temperature abruptly drops seventy degrees, and a cold wind begins to blow.

Welcome to Diatu Magicademy. Please get out of the blizzard before you freeze.

Thaumaturgy 101

After some fifteen minutes of grumbling from Professor Loshakle, followed by half an hour of theory and basics, the grouchy old man finally gets to drawing a magical symbol on the board. "This is straight out of Fundamental Principles of Wizarding," he says, writing Sense Magic next to the symbol. "As is everything you'll learn here. I'll emphasize yet again, you MUST know the name of the spell and the proper gestures. You can't simply wave your wand in any old pattern and say any old words. That isn't how it works," he says, glaring around the class as if daring someone to question him.

But he gives no one the opportunity, instead producing a wand and making the gesture to trace the symbol he'd drawn in midair. "Sense Magic," he intones, and the air and his wand both shimmer.

"Now. You all try." Just like that. What the Professor doesn't mention is that this spell can produce some very interesting results if the symbol is off, or the timing...

Bala-inlota Practice

Bala-inlota is the main interaction the Magicademies have with each other -- the sport of wizards! Two teams take the field, with the goal of heaving a ball through their opponent's hoop. The rules primarily revolve around not inflicting lethal injury, because bala-inlota is a free-for-all at best, where each team relies on both physical and magical might to win the day.

You kind of wish someone had told you this BEFORE you got hauled onto the field so the coach could see if you've got what it takes.

Now half a dozen players are charging down the field at your ragtag group of semi-willing recruits, while another half-dozen are preparing spells that you've been absolutely assured aren't as nasty as the ones deployed in actual play. On your side: the ball, your wits, your physical ability, and maybe three classes's worth of magical education.

On the upside, magic is pretty good at healing.

Comments

[king_of_egypt]

There seemed to be no consoling her but he would try again. " ... If you would just let me-" Interject. For a few minutes Atem couldn't get a word in edgewise. ".. but that's just the thing... I wasn't-". Nope. He was just going to have to let her have her say first.

When he finally got a chance he tried to further explain,"What I was trying to say is, you might not have cast your spell incorrectly had I not interrupted you. Furthermore, it was not my intention to create these stuffed creatures in the first place." There, but would it do any good. His fellow student seemed convinced that she alone should accept the blame.

[OOC: Also behold.... Sae you have invented Rainbow Kuriboh]

[speakstojeffy]

"It wasn't?"

She blinked still in her mind trying to sort out how all of this wasn't her fault.

"But I thought that..."

The Kuriboh on her head slid forward and she flailed to catch it in a hug before it hit the ground like a plushie might be hurt from the fall.

"I've never been very good at magic."

She sighed and buried her head in Kuriboh's rainbow fur.

"Even at home my spells always went wrong. I... I don't even know if I can fix your hair."

[king_of_egypt]

"No," Breathing a sigh of relief when it seemed as if they could proceed with the conversation normally. "... that you played a larger role in the whole affair". Finishing the sentence for her in hopes of preventing another series of hasty apologies. When the Kuriboh succumbed to the force of gravity and rolled off her head, he couldn't help quirking one corner of his lips upward. Though the situation was embarrassing for the both of them, it was also in it's own way humorous. No one had truly been harmed in the process, that was the important thing. What she said next could have been taken in a variety of ways. Did she mean to infer that she'd been attending the academy for a while, or that magic very much existed in her own world? "I'm sure there is a steep learning curve for all of us here." Even though magic existed in Atem's world this was a different form than he was used to. He too felt as if he was starting from the ground up. Crossing his arms before him, he started to relax now that the initial chaos had subsided. The rainbows and the kuribohs would likely wane on their own. "My- hair?" Blinking a few times in confusion before catching his reflection off a nearby window. It was true, his unusual hair style was made even more so by the ridiculous array of colors. That's when he couldn't keep himself composed any longer, a chuckle escaping his lips. With a shake of his head he responded when he was able. "I wouldn't even attempt it." Not because of her lack of confidence in her abilities, but again this was just the first day of class and these spells weren't likely to last for long. Also he was finally becoming aware of the fact that many of their classmates were botching the spell all on their own. This was- normal, apparently. With more practice, they would be able to accomplish the desired results. "Well- here you're not the only one whose spells are not turning out according to plan." Hoping she could take some solace in that fact. "The name is Atem, by the way." Still feeling an odd sense of satisfaction about being able to introduce himself with his actual name. "If you like, we could practice today's spell together, perhaps we'll be able to determine what went wrong." Not realizing her notes would be only crayon scribbles but there you have it.

[speakstojeffy]

He was laughing? For a moment she felt like melting into the floor until she realized he was laughing at the situation not her. And their other classmates were having difficulties with it too. She wasn't a screwup! She still blushed though, it was difficult not to! As it turned out he had a very cute laugh.

"I'm Sae Sawanoguchi. I'm 16, attending Kitanohashi High School... no, wait it's Diatu Magicademy now since we all ended up here."

She held out her hand but still hugged the Kuriboh with the other.

"I'd love to practice magic with you. My friends and I always worked together on our spells in our Magic USer's Club. I... I think it makes things easier when you can support each other. Were you a member of a Magic User's Club back at your old school?"

[king_of_egypt]

No, he certainly wasn't laughing at her, but more about everything going on around them. This was actually a welcome change of pace to what he was more used to dealing with. For once his responsibilities were minimal, and while he was still concerned about his kingdom and what else they might have to face in this foreign land this lighthearted moment was appreciated. It was going to be strange adjusting to just being a student.

Sae was a nervous person by nature but charming in her own way. He recognized the gesture and reached out to shake her hand.

"Oh- no, I was never in a club such as that. So, there are actually schools out there who have that sort of club as an option?" Honestly, he shouldn't have been too surprised but, magic wasn't main stream enough in Domino to warrant such attention. " I do however understand the merit in combining your efforts with others. I never would have been able to accomplish much without the aide of my friends."

[speakstojeffy]

"Well, our club is a kind of small one... We only have five members."

Her downtrodden attitude shifts to defiance and sparkles as she makes a fist and holds it up in front of her.

"But, Takakura says that's alright! Not many people really understand magic and that is going to give us a edge when we take on the Bell. It will be a surprise and it won't know how to react to us."

Sounds like a good idea really. Five novice magic users taking on an entire alien invasion fleet when even the governments of the world couldn't stop it.

"At least that was the plan before I ended up here."

With a confused pout she cast a look around the classroom.

"I mean it's been fun meeting everyone and... and... you have all been so nice but I don't know where my friends are or how to get back to them. Are any of your friends here?"

[king_of_egypt]

"It's not the size of the club that matters, but the heart that goes into it." This really was reminding him of his friends from Domino. There was only five of them that supported each other on a regular basis, then it radiated out from that to include all the other duelists they met and encountered. Apparently Sae didn't need another pep talk as she rallied on her own. Then she said something that contradicted the opinion he had been forming about her world. So magic was still uncommon, just this small collection of students were invested in it. "What danger does this Bell pose to the populace?" ... and was it a literal bell? Those usually weren't aggressive in nature. Change those to a few skilled duelists and you might have a chance. Cough "Whatever magic pulled us here has stripped you away from a tenuous and critical moment." Then he bowed his head briefly sympathizing with her. "I would assume that if they are not here at the academy then they must still be in their own dimension... and as to my friends, I am not sure".

[speakstojeffy]

"Danger? Well..."

She paused and looked skyward in thought.

"Well, it hasn't really done anything since it landed in the ocean, but it's alien and when it first arrived it sent out a message that it was taking over. The military's of the world weren't able to do anything about it. Now it just sits there. Some times it sends out probes to look around, but it hasn't really done anything. It even obeys traffic signals and everyone seems content to try and ignore it. Takakura says that's not good enough! That the Earth is our world and we can't just let the Bell take it over."

She seemed to agree with that idea as she nodded after her story.

"It is difficult to be here without my friends but... maybe yours are here! I can help you look for them after class! That is..."

Sae pales and blushes as suddenly the rambles seem to have reappeared.

"That is... if you want the help. I'm not very good at finding people. Maybe there is a spell that could help... it might backfire... or we could just go room to room... that might take a while..."

Confidence restores as a stubborn determination takes hold.

"But, I will do what ever I can to help you. After all we are friends now!"