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

[thezekeinator]

"Oooh." Zeke rocked his weight onto one heel, rubbing a hand through his hair. "The thing is, in Alrest, we did't live on land like they have here. We make our homes on, or in, Titans. Giant creatures, bigger than this whole island easily, most of them. My home Titan was a cold one. Genbu had pretty poor circulation."

[perfectenn]

Of all the things he's heard since arriving, that is one of the few to render him speechless. (No, the Sundered are from all sorts of worlds; he should get used to this.) Tenn quickly corrects his gaping with a light cough.

"I see. D-" He's cut off when a sneeze finally overtakes him. Ugh. This is no way to start the school semester. "Excuse me. There was such a legend on my world, though we did live on continents over water."

[thezekeinator]

"Well, we've got it the other way around. Just recently had one of these 'continent' things passed to us by the Architect himself. Dashed big change I must say. And here I am missing it all!"

Poor guy. Wonder if magic could cure a cold?

[perfectenn]

"I'm missing things as well." Performing in his own musical, mostly. "It really was frustrating timing." Just when he's prepared to throw in a comment about the incompetency of the local wizardry, someone from the staff shows up with a peace offering warm towels. Tenn pulls one over his shoulders and around his neck; his voice is his first priority.

"Was there transportational magic on your world?"

[thezekeinator]

"We didn't have magic, chum," Zeke said with a wave of his hand. "Frankly I still find the idea a little ridiculous. We relied on ether to get stuff done like that."

[perfectenn]

Chum... there's a new one. Tenn is unsure whether this is a step up or down from brat. Any irritation is hidden while he dries his face and hair, continuing in an even tone.

"I presume this ether was what allowed you to live on and travel between Titans?" Pulling guesses from sci-fi novels, here.

[thezekeinator]

"It went a long way, yes. Though for travel we usually used Titan ships. Air or otherwise. There were so few ships that weren't built around them, I have to say it's jolly strange to have come here by one." That airship ride had been quite a riot, actually! Especially with the glass letting him see all sorts of things... that weren't Titans.

"A lot about this world is very strange, really. Going to take some getting used to. I'm guessing it's like yours?"

[perfectenn]

"Not at all. The presence of magic was highly debatable." The towel is having a funny effect on his hair, drying it almost instantly. Tenn holds it up and gives it a scrutinizing look. He could've used one of these back home.

"Most of our transportation was earth-bound. Our islands were, as well." The view coming to the academy was... certainly something. (And would've been much improved without the rain.)