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

Orisa | Overwatch

[stillnewatthis]

The Airship There

The provided seating was... inadequate.

Oh well. It was not the first time. Moving to an open space where she could rest without blocking the way, Orisa turned three times in place before lowering her tauric body to the floor and folding up her legs.

"The ability of this vehicle to fly without the necessary technology is 'magic'," she said, trying the strange word out in her speech processor in the hopes that repetition would make it sensible. "But to imagine that I should be able to perform it... seems illogical. How is this possible?"

Thaumaturgy 101

Gripping the wand in her hand, Orisa copied the professor's motions with mathematical precision, intoning "Sense Magic," as she did. The repetition was flawless, but nothing happened. No shimmer, no sensation.

"I do not comprehend. Further viewing is required. Requesting assistance."

Bala-Inlota Practice

Analyzing tactics.

Graviton pulses disabled. Barrier shield disabled. Supercharger nonfunctional. Fortify offline. All internal deployments useless, in other words. Well, that left only one thing to do.

With a rush of air in its wake, Orisa raised the massive fusion driver that was her right arm. "Your defensive spells should be adequate to resist this without casualty," she said calmly, then launched a stream of particles downstream like a firehose, triple barrels engaged in flawless sequence.

As bullets glanced off of hastily-conjured wards and the physical line stumbled, Orisa casually lateraled the ball to her nearest teammate. "Go! I will protect you!"

The Airship There

[logdates]

When Peridot caught sight of Orisa, her interest was immediately piqued. Whatever she was looking at? It was a marvelous creation. The Gem scrambled over in time to hear Orisa speak, and that left her in wide-eyed awe.

"Wow, you're - impressive! What kind of beings made you?" she asked, looking up at Orisa without the slightest idea that she might sound wildly insensitive.

[stillnewatthis]

"My creator is Efi Oladele," Orisa responded, her quad-eyeshields tilting and narrowing so her eyes became like carat symbols. Even with her lacking a mouth, the good humor in her expression was unmistakable. "She heavily customized and modified an OR15 chassis and installed my personality within it. If and when I see her again, I shall convey your compliments to her!"

[logdates]

Peridot gave a light laugh, though - as it always tended to with her - it came out as more of a snicker. "This is amazing! Way better than all of this magic stuff."

She grinned. "So, Efi Oladele must be a member of a highly advanced and very intelligent civilization, right?"

[stillnewatthis]

Orisa took a moment to consider this.

"Human civilization has numerous flaws, but I consider it superior to omnic society. However, I have not directly experienced the latter, so my beliefs may simply be a data point derived from available knowledge and my interpretation."

[logdates]

For a moment, Peridot just stared at Orisa. That couldn't be right; had she misheard? Humans couldn't even begin to think about making something like the creation in front of her.

And then, after that moment of confused shock, she began to laugh once again. "Oh! That was a joke, wasn't it? I get it! Humans... Ha!"

[stillnewatthis]

"While I am capable of humor," Orisa said, still irrepressibly cheerful, "I was not employing it in this case. The OR15 line of omnic was designed by humans, and I was personally rebuilt and reprogrammed by Efi Oladele."

[logdates]

"Wait, you're serious? That's..." Impossible. That was the word that almost came out of her mouth, but... Okay. Maybe it was time she started giving humans a little more credit, after all. "...Heh. Pretty impressive."

Peridot tilted her head as she regarded Orisa. "You seem highly sentient... How autonomous are you, though?"

[stillnewatthis]

"My autonomy is equal to that of humans or other AIs considered 'full and complex' by classification standards." Which was a complicated answer to a question that Orisa felt was far more complicated than the words made it. "To put it another way, I have programming to follow, but may choose to override it."

[bloodseals]

"I think you have the technical part down, at least!" Al's voice comes from somewhere behind and above Orisa, his seat in the classroom being behind her own. He'd watched her perform the the spell from this spot, and was actually pretty confused at first when nothing happened.

But then he remembered what else was needed besides form and factors.

"I don't think it's something that's going to be helped by watching the professor again. I think the next part your missing is what comes from inside."

[stillnewatthis]

Orisa brought the wand around in front of her eyes to scrutinize it once more and confirm what she already knew.

"This device has no input function," she said. "I also do not believe it can be addressed through remote or wireless functions. If it is powered by internal body heat I must find a way to adapt my casing to externalize generator coolant..."

[bloodseals]

She's so.. earnest. It's clear that Orisa is Trying Very Hard to get it right. Al laughs a little, and steps around his desk around to where Orisa is.

"No, not like that. It's more like a feeling than technical parts like coolant. I think, at least." He reaches up to rub the back of his helmet, another sheepish laugh echoing through the armor. This was the part that was the newest to him too, alchemy didn't really require anything more mental than understanding the science behind it.

[stillnewatthis]

"A feeling?"

She quickly scanned through the portions of the magical textbook she had committed to internal storage.

"Focus. Willpower. Was putting care into replicating the gestures and intonation inadequate? I devoted a significant portion of processor power to calculating them to sufficient precision."

[bloodseals]

"That's half of it, from what I understand. The other half is what you put into it with your willpower." He plops down in a chair next to Orisa, watching her carefully.

"You could be technically perfect but if you dont have the other half of the spell then it probably wouldn't even cast wrong... It wouldn't activate at all."

[stillnewatthis]

"Willpower."

Did she have that function? Not named as such, but perhaps she did, if she took her determination to fulfill her functions as willpower. After all, her intelligence was necessary to enact those functions in a way beyond simple programming.

Very well. Orisa repeated the gesture, spoke the spell name, and this time focused her full capacity on the repeating iteration of achieving success.

The wand sparked dramatically. Her hand fell off.

"I do not believe that was the intended result."

[bloodseals]

"AH! OH NO, YOUR HAND!" Al is on his feet in an instant, rushing over to collect Orisa's hand and the wand that had been holding it. He's frantically looking from her hand to the place where it SHOULD be and back again. His face is as stiff as ever, but it's clearly evident that he's panicking the same way a kid would.

"What should we do?!"

INTENDED RESULT OR NOT, THAT IS NOT HIS CONCERN RIGHT NOW...

[stillnewatthis]

"If you would reattach my hand, I would be very grateful. It is difficult for me to do."

Demonstratively, Orisa lifted her right arm, which of course ended in a massive three-barreled fusion driver.

Bala-Inlota

[raavashing]

"Actually!" Wan called over, ball in hand as he ducked and wove between the few people that got close enough to throw themselves at him bodily but just weren't able to keep up with him. He moved toward Orisa instead of toward the hoop at the opposite end of the field, "Do you think you could use whatever that is you're doing to... you know, launch me at the hoop?"

He ducked a spell that managed to singe the ends of his hair and sent back a quick bolt of magic with a wave of one hand to knock the offender onto their back, "Would get me there a lot faster!"

[stillnewatthis]

Orisa's quad-split eyeshields widened dramatically as her head swiveled around to her teammate.

"My fusion driver is capable of lethal force. I am not certain I wish to aim it at an ally!"

[raavashing]

"Don't worry about me. I've had worse!" Wan says with all confidence while he slides under another would-be ball-snatcher. He has no idea what a fusion driver is, but he's withstood 'lethal force' before. A few times. Couldn't be any worse than what Vaatu threw at him, right? Right!

"Come on! Let's win this!" Of course, one ball through the hoop wouldn't 'win' the game, but it would get them on the scoreboard. Something Wan would have to learn later.

Still, he hurried over and used the back of Orisa's body to springboard onto her shoulder without asking permission and then crouched down, grinning brightly, "Just aim and fire and I'll do the rest."

[stillnewatthis]

Very well! Celestia reared back, forelegs pawing at the air. "I have studied Reinhardt's videos! Now attempting a charge!"

She hit the ground thunderously, though her frame absorbed the impact without transferring it to her new rider, then broke into a run forwards. "Defensive systems are compromised! Repel oncoming assailants!"

[raavashing]

Oh. This was... not what he expected. Wan clutched onto her shoulder so he wouldn't be tossed off by the sudden momentum forward. He'd been expecting her to fire another round of whatever that had been not charge forward to ram their opponents out of the way. But this worked too!

Riding her shoulder was a lot different than riding Mula's back or on a cloud. A little rougher all around, but he got the rhythm pretty quickly. And while she was busy ramming, he was waving a hand here and there to deflect spells cast with the few counterspells he'd learned already. They had seemed a good source of study for his first attempts and were proving very useful.

"Doing great! We're almost there!" he yelled down encouragement between castings. "That hoop is as good as ours!"

aigh autocorrect switched Orisa to Celestia!

[stillnewatthis]

Her fusion driver slowed her down, as it happened. Inconvenient at best in this situation! Orisa showed no shame in punching those who got close to her left side, sending them tumbling backwards. "Be certain to get that examined by the nurses!" she said cheerfully as she nearly ran one of her victims over.

[raavashing]

"It doesn't look broken!" Wan offered as well, though he winced hard at the fall the person took just to get out of the way. Then he mumbled to himself, "Well, not broken badly anyway. Hope the nurses can fix that like they say they can."

Distracted as he was by his worry for his opponent, he didn't see when they got close enough to the goal for him to make his move. So he was kind of just... sitting there, dillydallying for a moment.

[stillnewatthis]

"Now!" Orisa cried, swinging her fusion driver up and around as she spun. Compacted projectiles shot out every which way as she turned in place, laying down covering fire. Make your move!