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Study Group (Willpower) - 11

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The final weekend. The last chance Ulos had to prepare for his first week of lessons. He knew that in the long term, perhaps the first week didn't matter very much. Didn't matter to Madavian, who's teachers would love him for his father no matter his efforts or lack thereof. They mattered for him, though. If he failed, he was simply a flit, some magically weak child who had made his way here through luck and shown up at the first requirement of skill.

He strode back into the Library he had left the night before.

Sunette was already there.

"Sunette. Magical Theory first?"

"Sure. Wait for Abraham?"

"Five minutes. Then we'll start."

They waited five minutes, looking over their books. Abraham had not turned up.

The two of them worked through the second chapter of the book, a short chapter describing the "Magical Forms."

...All magic must be shaped into a Form that allows it to manifest in the physical world. We will study Reinald's Theorems later in in this text, but Reinald's Third Theorem states that all magic must take a Form, and the Form itself is unchangeable. Or rather, a Form can change, but then it is no longer the same Form. It will have a different effect. Each Sigil does one thing, and one thing only. Sigils may be altered to alter their effect somehow, but there is no known grand unifying Theory. Runes are similar to Sigils, though Sigils exist only moment-to-moment, Runes exist in time. Lastly there exists Alchemy, which alters the Form of a particular piece of magic. It takes a mundane property, and uses a transformative ritual and a reagant to suspend that property within time and space, allowing it to be consumed by a human being. The Form is changed, rather than drawn from the Primordial Ether. Theoretical Alchemy tells us Alchemical Recipes need not take the form of something liquid or indeed something that effects human beings, but very few such Recipes have been discovered...

(Training Roll 1 (Lore: Magical Theory) - 5x5 Int. Gained + 4 Lore: Magical Theory (0/10 next level). Current Lore: Magical Theory is 6. Critical success! Sunette is impressed by your progess. Gain +10% to Relationship Roll.)

"Hm. Sunette, this makes sense. Alchemical Theory doesn't require magical input because it's simply shifting existing magic. I suspect Spirits do the same thing as magic, only they take a Form of their own choosing which allows them to manifest in the physical world."

"That's.. that doesn't sound quite right. Can't Spirits only manifest as a few different things?"

"Sure, but think about it. Spirits aren't all-powerful, and probably not all-knowing. They might only have the power or knowledge to manifest as a few different things. Maybe that's why the Binding failed yesterday..."

"I see."

Sunette flipped through the book, looking for something on Spirits.

"Spirits, Spirits, Reinald's Fifth Theorem... Well."

(Sunette Relationship roll - 96 + 10 = 106 vs 80 DC. Roll over 100! Critical success! Gain 2 Relationship steps. New Relationship Rank Friendly (Friendly Respect).)

Sunette looked at Ulos with new eyes. Before she had seen him as ambitious. Now she saw something else as well.

"You got that independently?"

"What do you mean, Sunette?"

"Reinald's Fifth Theorem. Basically, Spirits are Formless in the Ether but take Form in the physical world. They are limited either by power, knowledge or desire in taking those Forms, though Reinald hypothesises that it's knowledge. You haven't been reading ahead, have you?"

"I just got up, Sunette."

"Call me Su. It's just a hell of a conclusion to draw from that chapter."

"Well, it follows logically, right?"

"It does, yeah, but... don't worry about it, Ulos. Let's just study together more."

A few moments later, Abraham came in, clothes damp and water dripping from his hair.

Ulos looked at him, concerned.

"What happened?"

"Damn Narubites. Decided to get me with a bucket of water after I left the shower. Told me to go back to the Empire. Well, I'm not going anywhere."

They opened their History texts, looking through bits and pieces of history. Ulos learned a few bits and pieces, that the city itself had been ruled by a succession of Mayors for the last two hundred years since independence, though for the last hundred the Five Families had set all real policy decisions.

(Training Roll 1 (Lore: History) - 5x1 Int. Gained + 1 Lore: History (0/5 next level). Current Lore: History is 2.)

Abraham was in too foul a mood to learn much, though. Ulos tried to cheer him up, but the bigger boy just muttered about getting the Narubites back.

(Abraham Relationship roll - 57 vs 80 DC. Failure.)

The lunch bell rang, and they left. They'd been up since six in the morning, and six hours of study felt like enough for the three.

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Start Studying (Theory of Souls and Spirits)(Willpower)

Still, Ulos wasn't done yet. He returned his room. Madavian was out doing who knew what, so he had the place to himself. He took out his copy of "Those From Beyond - The Spirits of the Primordial Ether", and prepared to study. That was the rest of his day.

...So the fundamental thing about Spirits isn't that they're unpredictable, it's that they are hard to identify. If all your friends were identical twins you might find them to be hard to tell apart, but you would still know each one as an individual person with their own wants, desires, hopes and dreams. So it is with a Spirit. One of the Spirits used to raise the Walls of Bastion Durran is named Durran, and was used by the Undying Clan of Durran for over eight hundred years, failing and remanifesting in the world. One might consider the Clan to have had something of an agreement with that Spirit, helping it reincarnate into the world in Forms that suit it more perfectly each time, becoming walls of sublime perfection. Durran did not fall in the Six Fox Uprising, though Clan Durran was later destroyed by the Prince of Bones. Bastion Durran has since been renamed Karranda, and is a border fort occupied by Narubar. The Walls are falling into disrepair though, and it is believed Durran is leaving the Walls. Without that personal knowledge of the Spirit, Bastion Durran will become a simple fort with walls rather than a defensive position that approaches conceptual perfection...

Yes, it made sense. Especially in light of what he had learned in Magical Theory.

(Training Roll 5 (Lore: Souls and Spirits) - 5x5 Int = 25 progress gained! Gained + 4 Lore: Souls and Spirits (5/10 next level). Current Lore: Souls and Spirits is 5.)

He continued writing, noting things down in his notebooks, writing in his precise, tiny cursive that allowed him to save so much space and paper. Hours passed without him noticing.

Madavian came in.

"Hey, Ulos. Coming to dinner?"

Ulos looked up.

"Mind bringing me something? I'm... busy."

Madavian smiled at him.

"Sure thing. Just remember me when I need someone to get me through my exams, ok?"

Ulos grunted.

Hours later, he continued to study.

The Primordial Ether is theorised to be the primordial precursor of all things. A Spirit is Ether given sentience, though perhaps not more than a dog or cat in most cases. It is given desire, as well. Some say a Spirit desires to take a certain Form. This is possible, but inaccurate. Spirits desire many things, and to take a certain sort of Form is among them. Sometimes they desire certain ends accomplished, or to embody certain concepts. The Knife Cat Spirit of Tien-Long took the form of a cat covered in knives, and eventually became a lion covered in knives for its Master, the Undying Bial-Achi. However, this only occurred after Bial-Achi managed to discern that it desired the destruction of wooden forks above all else. Not the reduction of the number of wooden forks, but rather their destruction. This too, Bial-Achi tested. Three prongs were necessary, two-pronged forks had no effect on the Spirit, and those of four prongs seemed merely to confuse it somewhat.

Bial-Achi recruited many of the lower classes in the city, and turned out thousands of wooden forks that he personally destroyed. The strength this gave to the Knife Cat Spirit allowed it to play a pivotal role in the Conquest of the Naruben Kingdom (the ancestor of modern-day Narubar). The conceptual strength it gave the Spirit allowed it to perpetually renew its strength and move while forks were being destroyed, making it functionally impervious to attack and dedicated to protecting Bial-Achi. While the Knife Cat Spirit faded quickly from reality once the forks ceased to be destroyed, this goes to show the fundamental power of a Spirit coming into reality. Spirits do not seem to have the same limitations human beings do on drawing from the Ether, being made of it themselves.

That made... no sense. Or did it? Spirits tended not to move, but perhaps because they were subject to a Binding. A Spirit that had not been Bound, presumably, had a wider variety of options open to it. If it were in the constant process of achieving its goals, it would continue moving. Yet the Spirit had faded once the forks had stopped being destroyed. Either because it had not wanted to stay, or it couldn't. Both made sense, but the Lich Bial-Achi had done Ulos a service. Spirits could be tested. Perhaps he would not have the strength to Bind one, but that did not restrict him entirely.

(Training Roll 4 (Lore: Souls and Spirits) - 4x5 Int = 20 progress gained! Gained + 2 Lore: Souls and Spirits (5/10 next level). Current Lore: Souls and Spirits is 7.)

Madavian was already asleep, and cold beef and potatoes sat on the plate next him. Grimacing, Ulos gnawed at it. He was hungry, but he wished he'd eaten it earlier.

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Prepare for Class (Theory of Souls and Spirits) - 8

Ulos went and talked to people. He asked the upperclassmen what Souls and Spirits was like. They mostly ignored him.

One smiled. "Wait and see, firstie. You'll love it."

It didn't fill him with hope. He felt a little too shy to accost everyone walking around, and his books told him nothing. He went down to the building, the dark maze they had entered earlier, and saw nothing. Still dark. Still, at least he knew where he was, and where he was to go. That was something, though not a lot.

(Roll: Prepare for Class. Rolled 10. No gains.)

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Hang Out With A Friend (Madavian Junotrin) - 5

After scouting around for a few hours, he felt tired. He thought of studying, or reading, but found he didn't really want to. On returning to his room, Madavian was there.

"Hey Madavian. Want to hang out?"

Madavian looked at him, affecting suspiciousness.

"The Ulos I know would never choose to hang out or eat dinner if he had a chance to study. But yeah, sure."

The two sat down on their beds, luxuriating in the last truly free day they had. They lay there for awhile, Madavian chatting about all the pretty girls he'd met so far, and how Ulos was definitely going to end up with the prettiest one. Or the blue-haired girl who hated him. In fact, definitely the blue-haired girl. They'd get married and it'd be horrible.

(Relationship increased by 1 step).

"Madavian, you're a pretty good guy."

Madavian laughed.

"Yeah, I know."

"No, I mean... you helped me out when you didn't have to. Couple of times, actually. With that girl in the showers, meeting people... I mean, I'm not good with words and things, you know. I just wanted you to know that. If you ever need a hand in anything, just ask. I'll help you out, no problem."

Madavian went quiet for a bit.

"Hey, thanks Ulos. I know you're not great at saying these things, but it means a lot to me that you did, y'know. Don't worry, I got to help you out early. You'll be cursing this day three years down the track when I ask you to tutor me in Magical Theory for the eight hundredth time."

The two laughed, and went together to dinner.

Ulos smiled. Madavian was a good guy. Sure, he was always looking for opportunities, but not in the same way someone from the Empire might've. He wanted to make more money, do more things, but Madavian never seemed to feel the need to take things away from others to do so.

(Relationship Roll: 90 vs DC 80. Relationship increased by 1 step. One step away from Trusted Friend!)

Tomorrow, though... they went to sleep, Ulos worrying. What would happen tomorrow?

---

Next vote post will be on next week's Weekday Actions.

From now on, we'll play Weekdays and Weekend Turns.

On Weekday Turns, you get 4 Actions, 4 Class Training Rolls, and 2 Events.

Events are little "tests", things where Ulos gets a chance to show off what he has (or hasn't) got. Sometimes Events will be predetermined (like in-class tests), and sometimes they'll be random (classmates trying to prank you). They'll vary in Severity and Type, Severity being the difficulty and subsequent reward/punishments available, and Type being what sort of Skill or Stat is required to do well at the Event. Basically, they're my way of introducing random story elements to vary things so we don't only have interesting things happen on critical failure and critical success rolls, or if the quest decides to take weird risks.

Even very Severe events will have relatively minor impacts, though. No broken arms, no expulsions, even on the worst of the worst Critical Failures.

Class Training Rolls are locked. You'll get 1 per class you're Enrolled in.

The Thread will vote on the 4 Actions we get to take.

To make voting a little easier, I'm dividing Actions into three categories.

Firstly, Temporary Actions. Actions you might be able to only take this week, or for the next two weeks. Anything with a time limit goes here, to make sure the thread gets to see what's going on. If you don't take them, they'll disappear.

Secondly, Permanent Actions. Actions you can take whenever. They may only be able to be used once per week, or need you to expend Willpower, but they won't go away.

Thirdly, Locked Actions. Actions you would be able to take if you met some condition. Locked Actions cannot be taken, but give the thread an idea of what it might be able to unlock at a later date.

You presently have 5 Willpower. Note that this pool will need to last you for both these weekdays and the weekend.


Temporary Actions:

[ ] Check on Abraham - Man, he seemed pretty angry at the last Group Study. What's happening with him? Probably worth checking out. Roll Cha vs DC (High) to learn what is happening with Abraham. Failure means he won't tell you. Success unlocks ???, but it'll probably let you help him out. Disappears if not taken before the end of this weekend. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a reroll if failed. Willpower must be spent regardless of whether original roll passes.

[ ] Learn about Laila - She really doesn't like you. It might help to learn more about her, especially while people don't know her well enough to tell her you're making enquiries. Roll Cha vs DC (Medium) to learn about Laila. Offers no Skill bonuses, but may help on future rolls versus her. Willpower upgrade - spent 1 point to gain a reroll if failed. Willpower must be spent regardless of whether original roll passes. If reroll is failed as well, your lack of subtlety in making your enquiries means word gets back to Laila. Disappears if not taken within two weeks.

Permanent Actions:

[ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have Textbook Chits now. You can go borrow the books and start hitting them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls.

[ ] Scout out the Library - Go figure out where the books that might help with your Curse are. I mean, they're almost certainly in the Restricted Sections, but if you can get a good idea of how the Library works and what sort of filing system it uses, you might be able to track down the knowledge a bit easier. No stat improvements. May gain a better idea of what books are helpful for your subjects, and which sorts of books might help with your curse. Gain +2 from prior failed roll to next roll. (DC: Very High)

[ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???.

[ ] Meet and Greet - Madavian might not be there to help you, but you can still meet people, right? Right? Offers 2 Diplomacy rolls for meeting people. No help from Madavian. (DC: Variable. Depends on who you meet) Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 3 Diplomacy Rolls.

[ ] Hang Out With A Friend (Write-in Friend) - It's good to spend time with people you know. Maybe take a break, and hang with one of your friends. Available options include Madavian Junotrin, Abraham Quincey and Sunette Kerek. Increase Relationship by one step. Roll against DC (Variable, depending on friendship level). On success, increase Relationship by another step.

[ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: History or Lore: Theory of Magic (50% chance each). Possibly gain a step in relationship with Sunotrin or Abraham (20% chance each). Cannot be taken while Trait: Banned Doppelganger is active. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a Training Roll in both subjects. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

[ ] Gather Mushrooms - Unlocked by your knowledge of the Secret Mushroom Colony. Self-explanatory. Roll against DC ??? using either Lore: Alchemy or Lore: Magical Plants. On success, gain ???.

[ ] Search for Ingredients - You don't know about a whole lot of Alchemical Ingredients, but you can go looking. Even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, you can scout out good places. Roll against DC ???. On success, find Ingredients. On critical success find a Location with Ingredients.

[ ] Map out the Dorms - Knowing who is where, asking your friends about who has which room and how to get to places quickly. Sort of creepy, but also might come in handy. No skill gains. Roll against DC 65, on success gain Item: Map of Dorms (Unfinished). +10 bonus to pranks and similar actions taken within the Dorms.

[ ] Relax, Chill Out - You've worked hard enough. Why not kick back, have a nap and look out the window at the other students and the trees? Recovers 1 Willpower point.

Locked Actions:

[ ] Tutor Madavian (Magical Theory) - Madavian needs tutoring. He's falling behind already! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Madavian) vs Lore: Magical Theory. Success increases Madavian's grasp on Magical Theory and Relationship by one step. Locked. Requires Madavian to ask, or you to offer.

[ ] Suck Up To Your Teacher (Write-In) - Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC ??? (depends on teacher) vs Cha. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step. Locked. Requires Ulos to know his teachers better.

[ ] Craft Alchemical Recipe (Write-In) - Time to get your Alchemy on! Get in there and make something useful! Roll against DC ??? (depends on Recipe). Success adds Recipe to Inventory. Locked. Requires at least 1 rank in Craft: Alchemy. Requires access to Alchemical Equipment.

[ ] Practice Spell (Write-In) - Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? depends on spell. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it. Locked. Requires a spell Ulos can practice.



Feel free to vote for as many options as you like. I strongly prefer people being able to vote for more options as it lessens strategic voting and allows people to vote their true preferences.