diatuooc | Test Drive #1

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Echo is an ability, true but she has no control over the visions it gives her nor can 'turn off' the auto translation back on her star. Other than being slightly more attuned to the Mother Crystal, her magical skills are rather lacking. But it's alright, everyone has to start at the bottom in order to gain knowledge and Minfilia isn't afraid of a challenge.

It might be hard but when addressed by a fellow classmate, she returns his question with a look of confusion, mostly because of the spell and not on Lloyd. "It seems this time nothing did occur but mayhap I had unknowingly missed a movement? Are you also having troubles with this magic?"

It occurred a little belatedly to Lloyd that the last question was actually verbalized rather than kept in his own little headspace. As he scrambled to make himself look like he wasn't actually trying to copy Minfilia's actions, he found himself hoping that she didn't hear his loud thoughts. Which ended up being all for naught the moment she turned around to regard him, and he found himself sitting frozen in his seat. He swallowed heavily.

What should he do???

"--Nope, I-I didn't even try it, yet!" Which isn't a lie, he really hasn't. Mostly because he allowed his own concerns to take over his attention span, but that's neither here nor there. He wrings out the wand in his grasp, russet eyes flitting between Minfilia's face and her hair. He's hesitating again. "You know, just… thought I'd watch the others to it first. Wanted to make sure I got the motions right, hah…"

Lloyd could practically feel Dirk's fist connecting with his head as he spouted something or other about Dwarven Vow #11.

"The best thing to do is to try it out, even if there will be mistakes to come." It's like trial and error almost but with magic and not knowing what will happen if the spell goes wrong.

"Why not give it a try?" Her smile is just so honest looking and innocent. Surely nothing can go wrong with this mindset.

"Um…" It seemed like Minfilia's words were having an effect on Lloyd as his apprehension with the whole situation seemed to melt away. He can almost feel another of those Dwarven Vows (#16: You can do anything if you try) resonate in his mind, and he actually moves to grasp his wand, readying the spell.

But then he sees her neon green hair and those second thoughts returned full force.

"Y-yeah… Yeah, guess I'll try." There's another glance at her hair as he presses his lips together tightly. "It's seriously not gonna turn my hair purple or anything, is it?"

He keeps looking up and it makes Minfilia a bit concerned. Was there something hovering over her head?

"Hmm, I do not know what would happen if the spell backfired but-" She stops when her bangs begin to swish over an eye and that's when she sees the change. Her eyes widened at the bright color, taking hold of her hair and one would expect her to scream or exclaim rather loudly about how horrible this is. However, it never came. Instead, it gets a chuckle out of her.

"Well, I can see why you asked that particular question. But this seems much tamer than any other potential backfirings and more than likely fixable." Or it can go away in a bell or two.

Test Drive #1

aaaaa that is the first time i have heard her being addressed as such so it makes me happy X3

she's such an underappreciated character tbh it's sad ;__;

She isss ;;

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