World's End Academy

Your flyer tells you a specific time and specific route that you simply must take to arrive, and after the first dual-colored rose launches one of its thorns into a passing wasp, you decide that it's only half arbitrary.

The route into the Vivomancy side of campus is interesting, for sure. For every gorgeous multicolored trellis that smells supernaturally good, there's a hidden algae pit that glows ominously and is apparently aware enough to set off your Heebie Jeebies. The route you follow seems to mostly stick to the former, a tour of spiral-patterned peaches and spicy-smelling trees growing thirty feet high only occasionally punctuated by a pit of something ugly and pragmatic.

Once you actually reach the picnic, you wonder if that's going to be the most interesting part of the day. The garden in which the picnic takes place is positively mundane compared to all the others that surround it. Then you wonder if that route was chosen intentionally as some kind of message. And then you wonder if being intensely boring is a deliberate affectation so as to maximize the space left for mind-games.

[Charisma Roll: Don't make an ass of yourself. 1d100+20 = 55 Breakpoints (High DC because snobbery): 50/80/110 you make an unremarkable level of ass out of yourself.]

The picnic is soooo boring. It took 30 minutes to cover the concept of "Hello", and another 30 after that to cover the concept of "Greetings" which is apparently distinct somehow. Constance herself is engaged so little in the proceedings that it takes a while to realize the small, vaguely cute human woman, who occasionally pipes up to correct somebody is supposed to be the host of the event.

Your posture gets corrected to something that seems maximally uncomfortable for sitting on a picnic blanket for two hours before the food comes out, and you get to "enjoy" the profoundly human sensation of realizing you have knees for the first time because they suddenly became a problem. You get your fidgeting corrected, your diction, your dress, and your -basic taste- in short, clipped comments that don't distract from everybody else getting the same.

[Intuition Roll: At least figure out what this is for. 1d100+30 = 91 Breakpoints 30/60/90/120]

Still, all that brainpower doesn't just evaporate after an hour spent complimenting a leaf that has yet to be made into some kind of beverage, and you eventually figure out the basics through what's not being said. Most of the commoners here want to figure out nobles, either because they plan on breaking into high society based on making connections or to be officially acknowledged for their eventual achievements. Most of the nobles here want to get used to interacting with commoners so that they don't screw up in the more egalitarian environment of the Academy.

At least four nobles express regret they didn't gatecrash the princess's party instead, and apparently the slight neck tension from your suppressed desire to nervously tug at your collar is enough to get you criticized again.

You try to plumb more into that and every other topic people tangentially bring up, but you're starting to get the feeling that 'Manners' mostly serve as a distraction to prevent any deep connection being made between what is being said and people's actions.

After another hour it becomes a chore to even keep your eyes open from how dull everything is when something much worse happens. Your vision goes briefly black, the feather-edged nothings of the picnic going silent as you feel yourself sink… into a vision.

It is not a long or exciting one. In fact, it's dead silent, nothing save the rustle of cloth and the drip of water in the background. You watch through the eyes of a girl you had seen in a few classes with hair like an annoyed porcupine. Constance looms down at your viewpoint, her petite body dissonantly menacing as you are brought low.

Amber eyes look at you without a hint of emotion, then she smiles, and a scream tears its way from your throat. Large lumpy cloth sacks arranged around you in a circle all burst in the same moment, as viscous red fluid creeps down the walls and pools in the center. Then it is done.

Coming back to reality is rough.. Very rough…

[Resilience Check: Keep from breaking down. 1d100+15 = 97 Breakpoints: 45/90. You are one lucky fireball y'know that?]

But you hold it together, sitting as stiffly as you ever have, a fake smile plastered onto your face as you do exactly and only what the people around you prompt.

Sparkling amber eyes look at you, then Constance smiles, and she gives the slightest of approving nods to your changed posture.

You maintain porcelain perfection as the chill down your spine redoubles.

[Vision added to the list: Constance's Crimes? - a student in the future, miserable, alone, and surrounded by 'sacks' that burst red.]
[Skill Progress: High Society Manners, Basic 1/3]
[Stress increased to 2/10]


[Choose eight actions. This is the second week where you can try out classes without penalty. After this trying to pick up classes will be increasingly difficult.]

Focus Classes, the Eight Schools of Magic [you MUST take at least one of these, and taking less than two eventually is ill-advised]

[ ] Introductory Illusions
Half magic and half art, illusions will teach you the tricky art of achieving your goals with magic that doesn't technically do anything unless somebody lets it. The discipline is neither easy nor predictable, but it is fun, and will get you started on the path to much more popular sub-disciplines such as Mirror magic and Shadow magic. Teacher: Professor Fritz [Archmage Hana guest lecture second week!]

[ ] Verity 101
Both opposite and identical to illusion, while illusion channels magic to create anything you want with no presence at all, Verity channels MORE magic to create things of magic itself. Most spells known to the ignorant such as lightning and fire can be found in Verity, and while a rare mage would want to specialize in it, a rarer one would ignore it entirely! Teacher: Simon Briarcatch [Archmage Ibert guest lecture third week.]

[ ] Starting Soulsight!
You are a piece of clay, yet to be formed, yet to be fired. Soulsight is the way to make yourself into the best you, you can possibly be both in body and in mind. There is nothing more to it and nothing less. [Teacher: Lawrence McOss]

[ ] Farsight for Incompetents.
Farsight class is proving to be unique, and you are learning something in it.
Teacher: Archmage Aya Bungin

[ ] Vivomancy
Life and magic both flow through all things, vivomancy allows one to harness both in the creation of the greater whole. Within this track, one shall learn how to manipulate the natural form, analyze and understand the natural world, and unleash the inherent qualities provided by nature. Teacher: Lance Ironfrog [Guest lecture date TBA]

[ ] Necromancy, which is just as good as vivomancy we promise
Negative influence is just as necessary as positive, and the magic of death has just as much of a home as that of life. We teach spells for preserving, healing, strangling, disintegrating, and so much more than just zombies. Note: We also don't teach how to make zombies, that's illegal.
Teacher: Hatti Bladestone [Archmage Gilder guest lecture week two]

[ ] The Fundamental Foundations of Refutation
Refutation is power, the power to deny the flow of magic through force of will. Undoing is usually easier than doing, and in a battle between two mages, the better refuter will most often win. In a survey, seven out of eight archmages say Refutation is the school they'd least want to be completely without (besides their specialty). Teacher: Gorg of the Gilded Hammer [Archmage Suzu of the Shortstaff guest lectures week four]

[ ] General Generation
Magic inherently runs parallel to the physical world. So we'll teach you how to hold it down and MAKE it intersect, permanently altering physical reality in the form of true creation! Well, okay, at entry level we'll mostly be having snowball fights, but you have to start somewhere. Teacher: Mr. Pfeffer [Archmage Thunderhoof has declined to guest lecture]


Minor Classes

[ ] Guidance for Magisters
To be a Magister is to engage with magic on a deeper level than anyone else, the fusion of instinct and understanding stretching spells beyond their normal limits. [Mandatory pick for this semester]

[ ] Magical Safety and You
Proper safety procedures for magical experimentation and testing. Part of the spell invention minor. [Taught by Steven Coridae]

[ ] Adult Magic Magic for Adult Magic that is Useful for Adulthood
A special early practical course teaching some very cheap and eclectic spells that are extremely useful for day-to-day life, along with a brief history of civilian magic use. Learn the coveted secrets of the spell World's End Elixir. [Taught by Archmage Hana. First semester only class.]

[ ] Principles of Magic
Learning your weave from your wave the truth of the highs and lows and the importance of rain filling the ocean. Part of the magic history minor. [Taught by Lawrence McOss]

[ ] Starter Self Defense
How to not get killed in your first fight and other critical skills. Testing out is allowed. Part of the combat-trained minor. [Taught by Regina Longears]

[ ] Algebra
Esoteric math knowledge with significant use in magic and research! This can lead to the advanced mundane science of calculus. [Taught by Corrine Fisher]

[ ] World Politics
Learn about the world, its politics, the important movers and shakers, and where you can and can not expect a warm welcome for certain spells and why.

[ ] World History
Learn about the PAST world, it's etc. etc.

[ ] Bestiary 101
Biology class with a focus on monsters, how they relate to magic, and how they may be survived.

[ ] Good Study Habits and You!
Learn how to learn. Read about how to read. Before jumping into scholarship, receive expert instruction on what it means to be a scholar. [Teacher: William Ferrier. First semester only class.]

(New)[ ] A History of Notable Mages
The history of mages and their impact upon the world around them from the ancient civilization to the modern day. Part of the magic history minor.[Taught by: Sir Danrick]

Social

[ ] Hangout with Beatriz
Beatriz has found a Kharian Approved Chaplaincy among the various shrines and temples in the market district and has invited you to check it out and hear a few of their stories.

[ ] Hangout with Ada
Ada is working on something and mentioned that she could use an extra hand.

(New)[ ] The Apprentice's Troupe
A shadowy paper tells you that the pre-eminent dramatists, which you're assuming means 'hammy performing arts aficionados', of the academy are looking for market district natives who can really wear a mask. You're not sure what that means. Looks like if nothing else, they have an entire theater in the market district they've made a deal for free reign of, and it's fairly popular.

(New)[ ] The Pyromancy Society
Apparently magic 'affinity' for fire is at least common enough for them to have their own club, as some extremely overeager students are inviting you to join their 'training squad' for fire specialists. Usually, they require demonstrated proficiency with three fire-based lesser magics at a minimum, but apparently, an archmage looking approvingly at you counts… excessively… and they don't expect trouble getting you up to speed.

(New)[ ] The Order of the Unknown
A very pompous letter on completely normal parchment invites you to solve all the mysteries of the academy, the first of which appears to be 'What mysteries does the academy even have.' The return address is from the library district, but they promise they have members 'all over'. Despite the grandiosity, they kind of seem like a bunch of dorks whose actual hobbies at the moment appear to consist of dungeon delving and gossiping about powerful wizards. Though their letter is the most overall pleasant of the bunch.

(New)[ ] The Mage's Macaw
The student-run newspaper of the World's End Academy, currently they are looking for junior reporters. It is part way between a club and a job that promises access to various events and compensation for your time, but you'd be dedicating social time to pursuing people with goals in mind and at others' behest.

(New)[ ] Check out The Wild Forum
A coffee house that comes highly recommended by Professor Ferrier and a number of other students you have met in passing, and is known for a wide range of impromptu lectures.

[ ] Gathering at Night
As night falls over the academy the amount of gatherings barely decreases but also takes a turn in their character. Rambunctious parties, moonlit dances, and morbid meetings all can be found though most need some level of invitation or recommendation.
[Charisma DC 40]

[ ] Scour the Markets
Countless things pass through the academy's market stalls each and every day as merchants come and go… though at the moment you don't have any money you might be able to work something out and you never know who you might meet.

[ ]Ear to the ground
Everywhere you go there is a cacophony of voices so much so that most don't even consider they could be overheard. The markets are filled with spots where you can just stop and listen to the tide of civilization.
[Intuition Scaling]

[ ] Lesser spirits
Most solitary spirits are small feeble things below notice and lacking power, but you are sensitive enough to see them and interact with them and they tend to be desperate for interaction.
[Charisma DC 20]

[ ] Outsiders Looking in
Usually, extraplanar beings don't actually pay much attention to affairs of mortals except in the broadest of pictures. Luckily you are in an academy with a whole track dedicated to Warlocks, so more than a few are sure to be paying attention.
[Intuition DC 60]



Work
[ ] Look for general work
While the academy covers basic room and board, you are going to need money if you ever want to throw a party, get some exotic materials, or get a copy of a book made. You just have to go out there and find something you can do, right? [Steady amount of funds, will require an action each turn. Charisma DC 20/40/50/60/80]

[ ] Search for intermittent work
Though trying to fit doing something regularly when you don't even know how many of the nine days in the week you'll be free could be a bit hasty. Maybe finding something you can pick up as needed would work better?
[Income and availability of work will vary. Charisma DC 10/30/50/70]

[ ] Try out for a dungeon team
You might have to beg or borrow equipment and you can't bring much magically to the table but then again neither would most other first years, so you have a shot.
[Prowess DC Scaling]

Library

[ ] Books of common knowledge
The number of things you don't know about human society could fill stacks upon stacks of books, luckily those very same stacks of books exist somewhere in the library.
[Studiousness DC 20]
[ ] First-year cantrips (General)
The utmost basics when it comes to magic, (almost) everyone has to start somewhere
[Studiousness DC 30]
[ ] Browse the Shelves
Wander around the library for a while and see what books catch your interest, who knows what you might find and what inspiration might strike you.
[Studiousness scaling]

[ ] Work on a Skill
-Modern Geometry
-General Math
-Safe Casting (Minor)
-High Society Manners, Basic


Prophecy

[ ] A rider in black
Your vision of the black rider is hazy and indistinct leaving you almost nothing to go on. If you could just claw out one or two more details no matter how small would help narrow things down.
[Intuition DC?]
[ ] A four spired staff
The one clear defining feature you are certain of was the rider's staff, its design was unlike any you had seen before or since.
[Studiousness DC?]
[ ] A spell of ash
Your entire tribe was destroyed by a single spell, everyone from the weakest to the strongest, and even the homes built into the trees and pools were turned to ash in the span of a heartbeat. Try and find out what that spell was and if there is some way to counter it or at least how powerful someone would have to be to cast something like it.
[Studiousness DC?]

(New)[]Approach the victim.
You don't know their name but you could pick them out from a crowd. While you can't directly tell her she is in danger and be believed, if you are around maybe you can do something.
[Charisma DC?]

(New)[]Observe Constance Brinet.
Constance Brinet is one of the prim and proper queen bees of the academy, yet there is something that is just off about her...
[Intuition DC?]

(New)[]The Magic of Sacrifice
The amount you know of dark magic could fit on the back of a person's hand, but what you saw could not be mistaken for anything else. If you can identify the spell then you would know what you are dealing with.
[Studiousness DC?]

Watch the Markets:

As a market student district, it's very simple to keep an eye out for any bargains, thrown-out goods, or special deals.
[Free Action based on location, less impactful than Scour the Markets:]

[ ] Finding better job opportunities for later
[ ] Finding which bookseller has the best deals
[ ] Picking up a little extra cash as a gofer

The path to Soulsight is more eventful than the class. It's your first foray into the crafting quarter, and the streets of that part of the academy are a far cry from the bustle of wealth and food you've started to grow accustomed to in the markets. Instead, statues and scrap metal overflow the street corners, spilling from buildings with darkened windows and a constant internal roar. The roads themselves are kept clear by enormous juggernauts, three-wheeled stone monstrosities pounding the pavement as they drag in overflowing material which melts to slag as their internal flames climb higher. Between the black smoke billowing from the forges and machinery and the looming Dragonthorn Mountains, the place is cast into an almost perpetual gloom.

The class itself, meanwhile, is held at a small, one-story wooden building sitting precisely in the center of a neatly trimmed patch of grass. As minimalist a location as you've seen, in place of chairs you have cushions, in place of desks you have a low block of stone, and in place of a teacher, you have a small, boring man made of stone.

[Roll: Studiousness 1d100+13 = 113 Breakpoints: 60/80/100 CRIT. WHAT.]

Not that the subject itself is uninteresting, you catch up fairly quickly to the basic idea of the magic. The school of Soulsight is focused almost entirely upon the interwoven tasks of reading and altering the nature of your self both in the body and in the mind, making its spells capable of anything from uncovering repressed memories to turning yourself into solid gold without harm. It's just... hard.

Okay, really hard.

Self-reflection doesn't come naturally to you at the best of times, and most of your class time this week appears to be splitting off into pairs and having a series of 'no holds barred conversations' to get to know yourself by way of a partner prodding at you. The professor swears by the three-stage process of 'Discussion, Sensation, Meditation'; a means of isolating and targeting parts of yourself so your conscious mind actually CAN throw magic at them without scrambling your brain.

It's just that you kind of -can't- discuss anything that is actually real about yourself. Being a sentient fireball on a stealth mission, cursed with unbelievable prophecies of doom, is not one of the problems covered in the DSM.

Still, understanding the NOTION of how it works gives you a place to start, and while working to the best of your abilities on your own, you notice something. A little line inside you between the warm flames of your soul and a band of magic that lays atop it. You spend most of the class time that week meditating on it, something nice and obvious to focus on while you think about how Soulsight -feels-...

Until you hear a loud KACHUNK. While following the instructions to "manifest an avatar of your self-perception" you poke the line a bit too hard and it smudges.

And your soul goes KACHUNK.

You're pretty sure that's not a healthy soul noise.

[Magical Accident! Beneficial Type. Successfully using Soulsight while in an artifact-induced false identity has given Bree the ability to make a one-time change that would ordinarily require much more advanced magic.]

[ ] Option 1: Say Hello, Bree:
Splits your disguised self into an entity considered separate for magic purposes. Will make practicing spells incapable of accidentally giving you away and make you much harder to find out, along with letting you pick 1 to 2 new personality traits which will only apply while in your disguise. Although every risk that comes with making the personality you spend the most time in be a false one will be both present and magically amplified.

[ ] Option 2: Fusion Dance:
Shifts the primary nature of your magic disguise from Illusion to Soulsight [although both are currently at least part of it]. You will merge with your disguise ability, being unable to lose or relinquish it, and can transform both much faster and at will. However, without spending a lot of time in Soulsight classes, being part of a tricky school of magic might make you prone to glitches.

[ ] Option 3: Illusions are Second Nature Right?
The soul of a Monster is more magic than anything else, if you accept some of the magic that makes circulates through your ring into you, you can fix damage. Gain five of the twenty necessary points towards your next evolution, but are locked onto the trickster path for that evolution.


Sickness Check: Does Bree get sick this week?
[Flat DC 15: 1d100 = ...9. Oof.]

As you wake up on Corday a pounding, familiar pressure behind your eyes. Ugh, swamp fever again. You guess you shouldn't be too surprised, it hits you every season when you stress yourself out too much. Holding it together at the picnic might have been too much to ask. Back home you'd have to deal with a couple of weeks with low energy, smelling like rotten marsh gas, and burning bright blue. But examining your disguised form closely, it looks like you'll have to deal with... even lower energy, having a very vaguely blue tinge to your skin, feeling hot to the touch, and... still smelling pretty bad. Conspicuously bad.

You try to get some perfume from one of your roommates, and Ada gives you a spritz or two after only a moderately traumatic amount of ribbing. But it mostly just makes you smell like something foul that's being aggressively covered up.

[Swamp Fever: -1 Actions before overwork this week, -10 to charisma checks where you can be smelled, you visibly appear sick. Fever will last until shaken off with a successful resilience check, or up to 3 weeks.]