Magical (A Quest of Vacations, or Starsigns, or Something Else)

"Didn't you say something about exploring the school?" You ask. You'd hate for them to get distracted from the topic that they were meaning to cover just because you happened to wander over.

"Oh, yeah!" Pico straightens up, as if he's making an effort to try and look impressive. "Okay, so, you see this wall?" He taps the wall that surrounds the school, before wincing and massaging his knuckles. "There's no holes in it."

"One... would assume so, yes." Sorbet doesn't appear to be very impressed. "Was this supposed to be going anywhere?"

"Right. Anyway, this wall is high enough that it blocks the view from the second story of the building. And you only really get a good view of the outside from the fourth floor or higher."

Cocoa blinks. "...Have you been climbing roofs, or something?"

"...Not recently!" This isn't particularly reassuring. "Still, the main gate is the only way to leave the school grounds unless you're all set up with Pizza, so if anything happens, it's gonna be pretty crowded around here. Watch out for that. If you want to be able to hide from trouble, you're better off somewhere inside the school."

"Is that why the lockdown at the beginning of the year happened the way it did?" You find yourself asking.

"What lockdown?"

"...Right. Soon after Biscotti brought us to the school, the faculty twins said something happened that was beyond their control, and the students' movements were restricted," Sorbet explains, leaning against the supposedly perfect wall herself. "They never did tell us why it happened..."

"I could see if Uncle Kirche knows anything about it. He's real tight with a lot of the people who work here."

"You can?" Cocoa brightens up- literally, the faint glow provided by her Starsign suddenly intensifying, before fading back to the usual dull shimmer. "Good. If there's something dangerous at this school, it'll be important to know about it."

"Can't have been that dangerous, if the place stayed open." Pico shrugs off the implications of danger completely. "Uncle Kirche will be coming by to visit in seventeen rotations. I'll see if I can remember to ask about it." You still aren't sure how the planet's rotations correspond to the way the Starsigns of Night and Day trade off, though you're sure there'll be at least one day when you have to do class while facing away from the sun, but you suppose you can look it up later.

"If you do, we should meet here in twenty rotations," Sorbet decides. Pico and Cocoa nod.

You should probably look up how long a rotation is if you want to make it to the second meeting.

---

Today, it becomes possible to sign up for afternoon classes, though it will be several more days before they begin. There are several of them, in many different time-slots, but it's recommended that new students take one afternoon class, in order to get properly adjusted to more strenuous magical studies.

Most afternoon classes have some number of prerequisites, though said prerequisites can apparently be tested out of. Sadly, you don't have the magical background required to understand the material on the tests, so you're stuck with the most basic of classes.

Of these, the class that appeals to you the most is...



[ ] Magical History: Historians tend to be wizards, as it is wizards who live through history. The solar system's past could reveal important information about the present... (Known Classmates: Sugar, Raspberry.)

[ ] Spiritual Studies: Dealing with spirits is how most wizards on Kovomaka increase their power. If you know more about them, you can probably figure out how to entice some of them into making Offers. (Known Classmates: Paprika, Merlot, Pico.)

[ ] Magical Healing: There are many different kinds of magic that can be used to restore the health of others, from injury or other conditions. It's something that could be helpful to learn. (Known Classmates: Chai, Cocoa.)

[ ] Water Studies: Your particular talent is for water magic, and no matter what, you will be slowly learning more of it. But this could help you pick up the pace a little. (Known Classmates: Sorbet.)

[ ] ...Actually, you don't see much need to take an afternoon class.

"So, you signed up for Spiritual Studies?" You and Caramel are walking back to the student living areas now after some late-afternoon experimentation. The way sound travels through water is well-documented enough that you probably didn't need to take as long as you did, but the results were varied enough that you let time get away from you while messing about with your magic.

Honestly, the only one you'll have to worry much about getting results from is Paprika, and the magic granted by the Beast Spirits is esoteric enough to give her trouble working with just about anybody, so it's not your problem alone.

You nod. "I know Sir Mustard's probably going to get around to it eventually, but it's good to have multiple sources." If you get any conflicting information... well, you'll deal with that when the time comes. "Paprika's going to be there, too."

"Huh." He slips a hand in his pocket, the other still carrying his lyre. "I took Spiritual Studies last year. It went well up until the practicals." You glance at him quizzically. "There were a lot of users of fire and light magic there, and my skin burns really easily. Thankfully, the school covers all of my health expenses..."

You pause. "Is that... normally a problem for you?"

"Look, nobody ever told me that, in order to safely learn this stuff, I'd need to wear sunscreen. And you can't say it came implied, because the only other person who had the same problem had the Starsign of Night and was basically nocturnal." Caramel sounds surprisingly bitter about this. "You'll probably get more out of the class than I did, if only because you have one of the major elements."

"I think it'll ever really be a big deal if I ever go to Cassia..." And why would you need to leave Kovomaka? "...But I guess it could help me get cheaper Offers than four aqua coins." You still only have one of them. Crescent silver isn't exactly easy to come by.

Caramel blinks. "That's... expensive. Did you do anything to offend that one?"

"No, I think he just didn't account for inflation." That's the charitable interpretation, anyway. "I've got one aqua coin already, but..." Your classmate looks as if he's thinking about something. "...What is it?"

"I... think I might know a way for you to get more Crescent silver. It's harder to come by than Harmonic gold, but... I think we could find it. I'd just need you to help me with something first. See, Bel and I agreed to go on an expedition in the basement tomorrow night, but I'm not sure if he'll actually show, and backup's sort of important, so..."


[ ] Accept Caramel's request.

[ ] Decline Caramel's request.
-[ ] Tell a faculty member about it.
-[ ] Leave it alone.

You pause to think about it. Being out of bed at night is something that could easily get you into trouble, yes, but nothing bad happened the last time you were out at night, and that was accompanying Nutmeg with an active Starsign. "...Sure. I'll go with you." You probably shouldn't be doing this just so you can accept an Offer from a spirit, but the more power you have, the better, right?

"All right. We'll be meeting in front of the music room. You remember where it is, right? It's right next to the library."

Yes. Of course you know that. You pass by it every day on your way to look things up so you can try and talk about the intersection of your powers and Paprika's without simply saying 'frogs swim.' Which is true, but not a particularly interesting thing to report.

"I know. Don't worry, I won't forget." You'd write it down, if all your spare pieces of paper weren't relegated to research. Or trying to figure out what to write back home, because you should probably write to your family at some point.

Caramel nods, satisfied with your answer. "Then I'll be waiting."

You're about fifty-percent certain he didn't actually mean to be that ominous. Though... you've got a day to go until it even matters.

...Well, aside from the fact that you'll be worrying the whole time. Maybe you should do something to relax...


[ ] Write to your family.
-[ ] Any particular subjects?

[ ] Battle a magic doll.

[ ] Ask Raspberry how her project's going.

For the sake of killing time, you decide to pay a visit to the meditation room. While you could have a conversation with the spirit in the pond, you'd think now would be the time to see if your powers have any sort of combat applications as they are now... or, alternatively, how many times you have to hit a doll before it falls over, although you seriously hope it doesn't come to that. Physical strength is really not your forte.

While piled up to the side, the six magic dolls are all labeled with their name and the element they are set to use. You take the time to separate them, read the labels, and sort through what you know about them.

Calamari is a basic, well-rounded doll that channels the power of the Starsign of Razen. The power of the Fire Planet burns brightly, creating blazing infernos that can swallow entire forests, but can be easily doused by water. For some reason, machinery magic also has an advantage over fire, although nobody can explain why.

Sardine is a swift, fragile doll that channels the power of the Machinery Spirits. Machinery, even that made of Alti silver, shorts out easily when exposed to electricity, and loses strength in darkness, but is rarely touched by fire, and those bearing the Starsign of Erd pose little threat to it, which why explain why it is the most common Double Talent.

Flounder is a physically powerful, if magically inefficient doll that channels the power of the Blade Spirits. The Blade Spirits gain their power from Camti gold, and can use it to cut through nearly anything, especially sound. However, it cannot cut through spirit-inflicted darkness, and those who follow the path of the blade tend to be easily tricked by those assisted by Beauty Spirits.

Mackerel is an immobile, sturdy doll that channels the power of the Poison Spirits. Poison can fell even the most beautiful of creatures, not discriminating between how things look as long as it can slowly drain their strength away. Particularly strong poisons can even corrode away the metal of blades and machinery, though it takes a wizard of incredible power. Despite this, it can be easily dissipated by any form of wind, or by a particularly strong force of water.

Skipjack is a physically frail doll filled to the brim with spiritual power that channels the power of the Light Spirits. The Light Spirits can deal immense damage to the powers of the Dark Spirits, with their only major weakness being to the Starsign of Night. They are by far the rarest type of spirit, though they make up for it with their blinding power.

Tang is an efficient, low-power doll that channels the power of the Beast Spirits. Beast Spirits fear Wood Spirits and the darkness of night, but can deal great amounts of damage to those who draw on the power of water, either from spirits or the Starsign of Cassia. Beast magic is a kind of magic that little is known about, as the practitioners of this type of magic value their secrecy in this power.

Seeing these dolls and what they can do, you decide that your opponent will be...


[ ] Calamari

[ ] Sardine

[ ] Flounder

[ ] Mackerel

[ ] Skipjack

[ ] Tang