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

[SeekerofDreams]

Not all Water Spirits look much alike.

This is something you've known for as long as you've lived, the springs that would always ask you what kind of new things you'd been learning much larger than the little spirits that would come out during the rain and splash around in the puddles with you. In turn, they are much different from the boisterous river spirits, who leap out of the waves and scare fish away from people's nets.

So you have options. And, after a moment of thought, you decide to draw the kind of spirit that you're most familiar with, the calm ones that live alongside Fire Spirits and absolutely hate the idea of being clogged with ricebird feathers.

And, decision made, you get to work.

Just about all Water Spirits have fishtails. They use them to stir up waves and, when pulled into corporeality, to slap anyone they find offensive. You've never actually seen the last part in action, never created the opportunity, but that's what they tell you it's for, and you don't have much reason to disbelieve them.

Fins are another common feature. The spring spirits have larger, smoother fins than the other kinds that don't have legs instead, being basically webbed feet without the feet. These fins are more transparent than the rest of them, and you'd likely be able to see through them even if you dragged the spirit they're attached to into corporeality.

You add a few ridges to the fins on your drawing, and make them a bit thinner. It might not be particularly accurate to any one kind of Water Spirit, but you're supposed to make one that looks about average, and most spirits have ridged fins. To anyone who would know it's not completely accurate, you're sure it'd just look like a stylistic choice.

The heads, though... the heads of Water Spirits tend to resemble some kind of small, cute land animal for some reason. You decide on a vaguely canine appearance for this one even if its face ends up being much rounder than a vox's would be, and the ears are pointy, instead of just flopping over.

And as for the color... Water Spirits have fur that can be blue, green, or purple. Yes, they have fur, and not scales. You've had to explain this to far too many people over the years to not make this fact obvious in your drawing. It helps that the spirits in the hot springs have thicker fur than the other kinds.

You aren't sure how long you've been working- you aren't particularly good at drawing, and you need to make sure you get this right, when you're pretty sure Raspberry is going to be using this as a reference for as long as she possibly can- but it's clearly been some time, since Caramel's finished before you do.

Curious, you look at his piece of paper. Sound Spirits, it turns out, look like warmly-colored musical notes with chubby birdlike faces. It looks about right to you, if a bit simplified, but you'll leave judgement to people who can actually see that type of spirit.

Raspberry seems happy with you. "Thank you! Hold on a moment, Rye, I've got something I can pay you back with." She rustles through her desk for a moment, before pulling out a coin that shines almost blue. "It's an aqua coin! I was collecting coins for my last project, but I don't need them anymore, so..." So this is what Crescent silver looks like.


[ ] Take the aqua coin.

[ ] Don't take the aqua coin.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"Thank you." The coin almost seems to ripple when you take it, as if it were made of water compressed into a solid form. Except it can't be, because, well, that's ice, and you can't control ice. But this coin... it feels almost connected to your magic in some way.

Coins from the ancient civilizations are still accepted currency in almost all of Kovomaka, the main exceptions being settlements of ratfolk. But people don't spend them as often anymore, preferring to keep them around as offerings to the spirits, or exchanging them for bira. And with the sensation you feel having this coin in your paw.... you sort of understand why they make some kinds of spirits so powerful.

You go back to your own room soon after, watching out the window as the sun sets and casts the abandoned school grounds in shades of pink and orange. Adding in the greens of the grass, it's colored similarly to the building you're in, if more... subtle.

You wonder, for a moment, what you're supposed to do with the aqua coin, but end up deciding that your pocket is as good a place for it as any. At least until you can figure out something better.

This isn't exactly how you expected your second full day at the academy to go, but... it seems like, whatever's going on, it wasn't something that anyone could have anticipated.

---

As fun as yesterday was, you don't think you can go the rest of time until term doing nothing but talking to people. You're used to having lots of contact with people outside your family, but never the same people for all that long. And most of the people who would visit the springs were adults. You actually don't know that much about talking to those your own age.

So you should probably take a break from socializing for a bit. Actually, you were thinking you'd spend the next few days in the library. It might take a few days, but there's actually something you really want to look up...



[ ] Vanilla Nighthawk.

[ ] Different kinds of metal and how they interact with spirits.

[ ] Basic information on other planets.

[ ] Monsters native to Kovomaka.

[ ] Well-known family lines containing mostly wizards.

[ ] The history of Will-O-Wisp Academy.

[ ] The differences between various Realms on Kovomaka.

[ ] Ancient civilizations.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

It bears repeating that you've never seen so many books in one place as there are in the Will-O-Wisp Academy library. Admittedly there are no libraries in Green Tea Village, and only one store that sells books in any capacity, and that's where your family does most of their shopping. But you think that, even if you grew up in the capital, of this planet or any other, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more complete collection of knowledge.

And if you want to learn about a place... well, where better to learn than the place itself? You aren't wholly familiar with the sticker sorting system- among other things, it involve the use of highly-stylized images of spirits that you can't see- but locating books by title is fine.

You still don't know why Machinery Spirits are associated with history, but you assume it has something to do with the old civilization that the dwarves of Kido Monga keep repurposing technology from. It makes as much sense as anything else.

There are, of course, a number of books on the history of the school. You think you could read here until the start of term and never run out of material on that subject alone, but you think you'll get bored by then. There's so much here to learn, why would you spend all your time focusing on one thing?

Someone left a light purple beanbag chair nearby- you think everyone just gave up on color coordination after a while- so you pull it under the shelf and plop down, ready to learn as much as you possibly can.

---

In the year X0X0L, a wizard named Biscotti approached King Geattsua III with a proposal to open a school. Nobody knows where this man came from, or how old he is, but he professed a desire for the secrets of magic to become available to as many children as such a building could support, provided he had the funding.

Or so they say. The official transcripts of the conversation that led to Biscotti being gifted the land on which his school was built have never been released in any capacity. Whatever the reasons behind this man's first appearance, however, his request was granted, leading to the school opening its doors two years later.

During the time of construction, Biscotti scoured Kovomaka for people with which to fill his academy, both staff and student, with the assistance of Madeleine, a woman bearing the Starsign of Night who made her first appearance at the same time he did. He sought people out based on rumor alone, and came back with a number of teachers, as well as the first class of students.

This started the tradition of Biscotti, in years when not enough qualified students applied to fill the school to capacity, repeating his journey across Kovomaka to seek out new talent, a tradition that has been credited to the success of several wizards from various races and backgrounds.

Several older families of wizards, hearing that formalized magical education was becoming available, chose to send their children to the school, which was named Will-O-Wisp. These include the Nighthawk, Pintail, and Cheaptrick families.

---

Miss Madeleine's class of X0XE0, often credited with the end of the Valencia Beach disappearances and the recovery of Vanilla Nighthawk, is a good example of both the student variety to be found at Will-O-Wisp Academy, and their capabilities. It is not entirely known what ordeal they went through, or what their exact powers are, though these facts have never been disputed.

First of all, whatever occurred caused the students involved to go on a journey across Realms. While the events of that particular summer are not well-recorded, there are several reports placing members of that group in Oturan Village, the wilderness of the Realm of Darkness, and, in multiple cases, as guests at the Seabreeze Inn. The dwarves of Kido Monga have admitted to doing business with the class during that timeframe, but as all of their transactions are highly confidential, it is not likely that they will shedding any light on this mystery.

Second, there were three students who seemed to come out as leaders of the group. The first, Ganache Nighthawk, seemed to care for little than the fact that his sister had been recovered. The other two were a pair of twins who have since decided to seek a career in education.

Third, whatever occurred at that time caused one of their members, whose name shall be left out of this publication, to lose her magic. Something that had never occurred before, and, at the time of this writing, has not occurred since. Despite the loss of her powers, she seems to still enjoy a wizard's lifespan, graduated from the academy with full marks in all theoretical courses, and is known to occasionally have conversations with the Wind Spirits that once granted her strength. It is unknown why, despite the loss of her powers, she was still permitted to attend the school.

This class was the first one in ten years in which all of its members reached graduation, and the first one in total that took more than two years for one of its members to die- and the fate of Blueberry Lakeside is heavily disputed to this day, so for all anyone but her knows, it could still be a completely surviving class.

When the twins started teaching six years later, the student population of the academy was abnormally skewed towards voxes and felins...

---

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." You barely manage to avoid jumping up when Miss Ketchup comes across you, and that's mostly because your paws can't get any traction on the floor. "You've been reading here for the past few days."

You nod. "It's... really interesting, seeing how all this got started." How you can come here, and learn with everyone else, despite there being so many different races and magical talents involved. "I... haven't made it past the first half-century yet, though." There's just so much to read about.

The teacher-turned-librarian sighs and shakes her head. "The first few decades of this school were... eventful, to say the least. I didn't arrive until it was almost the end of the main problem, but we were dealing with the fallout for... actually, I don't know if things have fully recovered yet, at least among wizard families." She turns to leave. "Enjoy your reading."

...Well. That was strange.

---

Eventually, your interest in the history of the school begins to taper out... or, rather, Miss Ketchup was right about things becoming a lot less interesting after a while. Not much there but names and grade averages. And you aren't sure you need to know about those.

You notice, not for the first time, that a number of students are milling around the library, a number of them quietly discussing things instead of reading.

So... you could read about another subject, or you could go spend the afternoon talking to people.

Decisions, decisions...


[ ] You might as well talk to people.
-[ ] Sugar and Sorbet.
-[ ] Merlot, their vox friend, and Caramel.
-[ ] Chai and the purple mole creature from the bus.
-[ ] Raspberry and the felin that uses wind magic.
-[ ] ...What is Mokka doing here?

[ ] You came here to read. You should do more of that.
-[ ] About Vanilla Nighthawk.
-[ ] About old families of wizards.
-[ ] About the different planets in the solar system.
-[ ] Various locations on Kovomaka.
-[ ] Monsters that can be found on Kovomaka.
-[ ] Unexplained magical events in history.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

It's been a while since you've seen Mokka around. He seems to be Biscotti's assistant, so it makes sense- you assume the principal is busy with whatever caused the school to go into lockdown- but it's one of those things you didn't fully realize until now.

Mostly, you realize it because he is actually here now, standing around so stiffly you almost wonder if he's been deactivated, except that you can see his eye moving around. You wonder what he's looking at.

...Well, you're never going to know if you don't ask. "Um... hello?" How are you supposed to talk to robots? The subject has never come up before, you're going completely blind here. "Do you... need anything?"

Mokka is quick to respond. "I do not have any particular requirements." Well, that answers exactly zero questions. "However, I have been told that it might be a good idea for me to try and interact with the other students."

"...Other students?" If he was in the same class as Miss Ketchup and Professor Maplewood, shouldn't he have graduated by now? You can't tell how old they are just by looking at them, but if their graduation predates the school's paint job...

Again, however, you get your answer rather quickly. "While I have full qualifications in matters of the Machinery Spirits, my Starsign of Erd has gone neglected for quite some time. I felt that it would be in my best interests to try and remedy this. There is probably some situation where earth magic will be useful in the future." You think the biggest problem with talking to a robot is the inability to tell whether or not he's being sarcastic.

So he wants to interact with the other students? You can't imagine that would be easy, if everyone already knows him as a member of staff. Particularly when, up until now, he's been acting as one pretty exclusively.

"I... didn't know robots could have Starsigns," You say, because just about every time someone discusses robots, it involves hiring them on because it's the only real option for things that require machinery magic. It's just not a common magical talent.

"It is not common. The Starsign of Erd was the only one to ever manifest, and it mostly happened on robots built in Erd. Even then, it has never been nearly as important as the machinery magic."

You'd imagine not, especially when other users of said magic are nearly impossible to find. "So, once you're done with this, you'll be able to do things other robots can't?"

"...That could be nice. Particularly if I could show it to the owner of that curiosity shop, if they are still alive." Should that be worrying? You think you should be worried. "I am the judge of my own worth, and I say they had no idea what they were talking about." Yeah, this definitely raises questions.

Still, you're not going to ask just yet. "Do you... do a lot of reading here?" Seriously, how are you supposed to talk to a robot!? You know nothing of his life experiences, of any culture he might have... he doesn't even have recognizable body language.

But he still seems willing to go along with this, probably because he's supposed to talk to students and you're the only one who's tried. "I do not usually have the time. I am often busy with important tasks. Filing paperwork, fixing computers, reminding Mustard and Miss Madeleine of deadlines... I do not deliver coffee, though. The others are more than capable of filling their bodies with caffeine on their own time."

One of those things sounds a lot more important than the others, though it can't take up that much time if he can go do all of those other things.

But. You aren't sure where to take this conversation from here.

All things considered, you should have probably expected it.


[ ] Just keep going, everything's fine... Maybe ask some more questions?
-[ ] Just when did he originally go to school here?
-[ ] What does the start of term normally look like?
-[ ] Is he allowed to say anything about why the school is in lockdown, or are you just not meant to know?
-[ ] Does he have any way of acquiring a picture of a Machinery Spirit?

[ ] If he wants to talk to other students... maybe you should try and introduce him to some?
-[ ] Sugar and the felin that uses wind magic.
-[ ] Caramel and the vox that uses earth magic.
-[ ] Sorbet and Chai.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

You suppose that, if Mokka's instructions are to get to know the other students, you should probably give him some help with that. It's not necessarily that you don't trust him to interact with others, but more that he's clearly struggling, and would most likely appreciate the assistance.

The other students know him, first and foremost, as being a member of the staff. Whoever you choose to introduce him to, that will likely not change.

You don't really know a lot of these people. You never felt much of a need to, you're capable of holding a conversation with the group you eat your meals with, but it sort of leaves you woefully unprepared for this task.

But Caramel Highpitch is leaning against the wall that the library shares with the music room, talking to a black-furred vox that you clearly remember raising an earthen wall to defend herself. And while you haven't spent a great amount of time with Caramel, and don't even know the vox at all, you are more than a little worried they might cause structural damage to the academy.

And you don't want that. You sort of need the school to be standing in order to go to classes.

"Maybe we should go talk to those people over there," You suggest, waving your paw to direct the robot's attention to the two students. "I don't know them very well, but the vox can use earth magic, so at least that's something you have in common."

You never thought you'd be trying to figure out who, in a giant library, has the most commonalities with a robot, but you suppose that's just what your life is now, and you're going to have to get used to it.

You don't know what the two of them are talking about, because they stop as soon as you get close. "Oh, hey, Rye," Caramel greets you, more quickly than anyone's ever acknowledged your presence before. "You haven't met Nutmeg yet, have you? I mean, besides watching her biweekly fights with Bel?"

"Oh, very funny." Despite being one of the smaller students, she's got quite the death glare on her. "I tried getting him to go away, you know. More times than I can count. I still don't know what his problem is..." And then she quickly changes the subject, perking up as she does so. "Anyway, I'm Nutmeg Boulderfall. I'm sure it's nice to meet you. Caramel likes you, after all... then again, he also likes Bel..."

"It's... nice to meet you, too?" You think Nutmeg might have issues. "I'm Rye Seabreeze. So... I hear you use earth magic?"

She nods, ears flopping with the movement. "I like to think I'm rather good at it. Actually, Caramel was just asking me to-" And that's about when she registers Mokka's presence. "...Nevermind."

"What were you going to say?" The robot asks. "While I may not have been in the habit of using it, we both share the Starsign of Erd. It would be nice to know what I can expect from my furthered education."

For a moment, the only thing you can hear is flustered stammering from both Caramel and Nutmeg, who seem to be trying to avoid getting caught trying to break lockdown protocol. Or something. You aren't certain whether or not Mokka has the authority to assign detentions, but you suppose he could easily go talk to the ones who do.

You aren't sure, but you think Mokka might find this amusing.

"So, anyway, Mokka..." Caramel seems to be searching desperately for a way to change the subject. "There's something I've been wondering for a while. Are you able to draw things?"

There is, of course, no visible reaction from the robot. "I have never made the attempt, but if it works on similar principles to writing, I should be capable, though it would take me much longer than it would for anyone else." You suppose that, if he's attended classes before, he'd have to know how to write. If only for the sake of being able to take quizzes and stuff. "Why do you ask? We were on the subject of Nutmeg Boulderfall's magical proficiency."

You guess he wasn't going to get out of it that easily.



[ ] Cover for Caramel. Continue on with the subject of Raspberry and her project.

[ ] Stay silent. Caramel can figure his own way out of this.

[ ] Voice your suspicions. If only because you don't want Nutmeg to break the wall.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

"Actually, I'd been sort of wondering about that, too," You pitch in. While you're almost certain that Caramel was trying to break the rules, it won't help Mokka befriend your fellow students if he gets into trouble over it. "There's someone we know who wants to paint a picture of every kind of spirit together, but she can only see Beauty Spirits. And there aren't a lot of people who can see Machinery Spirits at all, so..." So asking the robot only makes sense.

You don't know if Raspberry would respond well to knowing her art was being used to keep one of her friends out of trouble, but maybe if she's distracted by getting the accurate reference material she needs... Or if she just never finds out. That could work, too.

For a moment, there is silence. You aren't sure if the robot believes you or not, even though what you said is entirely true. Or maybe he's decided it doesn't matter, compared to however Nutmeg has been asked to use her world-shaping magic while everyone is confined to the same area. Or maybe he's just messing with you.

He seems to buy it, though, if his eventual answer is anything to go by. "I do not believe I could create a drawing of sufficient detail. There would be too many curves required."

That's... genuinely disappointing. You're sure it would have made Raspberry more comfortable around him. Caramel appears to agree, dipping his head. "That's... too bad."

"However, if your friend would be all right using something that is not a drawing, I could provide her with a proper picture."

Nutmeg looks up in surprise, or maybe a bit of confusion. "Really? How?"

"There is a printer in the staff lounge. I will simply use my magical abilities to provide the initial picture, and let the machine do the rest. The printer spirit is agreeable enough that it likely won't even ask me for Alti silver." You aren't sure why he'd need an offering just to get the printer to do its job, but maybe it just likes its privacy.

Why that would extend to others not knowing what it looks like, though... spirits are weird.

"I think that would work," Caramel says, visibly relieved by the successful change of subject. "I mean, as long as it's accurate, I don't think Raspberry would care too much about how it was made... but the depiction has to be as average as you can possibly make it."

"That should be simple enough." With how Mokka talks mostly in a monotone, it's generally impossible to tell what he's thinking. "The one who needs this picture... is Raspberry Dazemirror, correct?"

You nod. "She already has pictures of a Water Spirit and a Sound Spirit. And I think she's figured out where to get one of a Light Spirit. So with this, she'll already be able to draw five of them." You haven't known her for very long, but you're happy for her.

"Then I will go acquire a picture." As he leaves, however, he turns back towards the three of you. "And I would not recommend using that wall to break into the music room. It is load-bearing, and both of your rooms are right above it." And then he actually does leave.

Caramel sinks to the floor. "I guess it's back to the drawing board, then." Nutmeg shakes her head.

"And here I was hoping to do something cool..."

"...Have you considered asking a teacher if someone could go get his lyre?" You suggest. "The worst they can do is say no..."

From the surprised looks both Caramel and Nutmeg are giving you, neither of them thought of that possibility.

...Honestly, you're sort of worried about them.

---

Your first week at the academy was... not what you expected.

From the whispers still circulating the cafeteria at mealtimes, it's really not what anyone expected. Apparently, the school has never been locked down outside of term before.

It's... sort of concerning, really. You don't think you're going to tell your family about this when you write to them.

But Biscotti shows up for dinner tonight, along with a man who has light, wavy hair. From where you're sitting, you can see Raspberry standing on her seat, constantly jumping to get a better look.

That is... not something you would have expected of her.



[ ] Go over to Raspberry. Is she okay?

[ ] Ask if anyone at your table recognizes the new person.

[ ] Just focus on enjoying your sandwiches.

[ ] Talk to the people at your table about something else.
-[ ] What Caramel tried to do earlier.
-[ ] Raspberry's project.
-[ ] Suggest that they talk to Mokka at some point.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

Inspiration was not simple.

Cider Rainbow knew this, lived it, had basically used it as his mantra during his school days. When it came to art, he'd had all the technical abilities in the world... and nothing he could do with them that satisfied him. Even his magic, crafted according to his ideal of beauty, took on the simple forms of rose petals because he simply couldn't envision the shape they were meant to take.

Eight hundred years later, and he still hadn't figured that part out. Perhaps roses had just become an integral part of his magic, dyed in such a spectrum of colors that his spellwork earned him just as many prizes as his art did.

But he wasn't satisfied with his magic... and it wasn't until he was into his eight-hundreds that he found a way to be satisfied with his art.

Her name was Souffle, and she was his adorable baby sister. His parents- who had always been more proud of him than he thought was justified, when he still couldn't create his perfect work of art- had asked him to try and paint a picture of her, which was, in hindsight, probably because they knew he'd be willing to do it for free.

That had also been the first time he met her, because he had been busy trying to... he couldn't remember what it was he had been doing, but it had involved some of the ruins the twins had convinced their class to excavate, once upon a time.

They'd skipped class to do so, and ended up with a week's worth of detention for it, but they'd come back with a number of treasure and new friends. Cider still wasn't sure if it had been worth the trouble or not, but they'd made headlines once again, and by that point they'd all been more or less numb to danger.

They had to be, in order to survive.

And that might have been the feeling he was trying to capture. He didn't actually know, and he hadn't yet gotten the chance to go back and try again. He wasn't even sure he would, if he had no idea what he was even trying to do.

That had been a common problem for him. He had the ability to put anything he wanted to canvas or paper, he just couldn't see what he wanted to do with it, and so could never be fully satisfied. Even the things he deemed good enough to sell- that he had to sell, because he wasn't going to be able to make rent otherwise- just weren't good enough. Because he just couldn't see the point to it.

With Souffle, however... the realization was immediate. Meeting her for the first time, their mother passing her to him to hold... Cider knew, for once, exactly what he wanted to do.

And it was perfect. Not the technical perfection that those who hung his art in museums were used to, but something subtler, that stirred his heart in a way that nothing had before.

It was the first piece he made that he was ever truly happy with, and it was one that would never, ever appear in any sort of museum.

---

It got easier, after that. Cider stopped trying to force inspiration upon himself, decided to simply enjoy the world, and sometimes something happened that he could make use of. There were still paintings sold just to pay the bills, still those that failed to live up to his exacting standards, but he was occasionally creating something that he couldn't find any obvious fault with.

They weren't his most popular pieces. He didn't often employ incredibly advanced techniques, and the subject material wasn't always all that special. But they were his favorites, all the same, because they were the ones he felt he could call a success.

Souffle loved all of his pieces. "Ci-dah! Ci-dah!" She'd cheer when he visited "Mo' paint!" She couldn't see the spirits infused into them, but that was fine, the Rainbow family had never had any consistent source of magic. Unlike the Nighthawks, who he was sure were going to cover Kovomaka in users of dark magic eventually. Well... maybe not Vanilla. And almost definitely not Ganache. But they had cousins, so it was still a possibility.

And it wasn't just paintings he showed her, either. Sculptures, poetry... he took her to one of Arancia's concerts once, because she kept randomly sending out free tickets to former classmates and Chocolat had the musical appreciation ability of a brick. Possibly even less.

"So, this is your sister?" The woman asked, afterward, standing up so that Souffle couldn't pull on her long black ringlets. "You never told me about her."

Of course not. He'd barely spoken to her since they broke up. Not because he was mad or anything- he could tell now that they were going to crash and burn if they had stayed together, maybe even literally, he saw what she did to Kirche- but because he knew exactly how Ketchup would have chosen to interpret the situation... and, worse than her, the paparazzi. As annoying as it was to have a friend on the same wavelength as the press, it could certainly be useful when it came to judging people's reactions.

"Well, she's still pretty young," He said instead, because Arancia probably didn't need the reminder that her life past Will-O-Wisp was just one failed relationship after another. "We think she might be a wizard of some kind, but we can't tell yet." Her babbling to things everyone else couldn't see was either spirits or an imaginary friend, and Cider wasn't sure he wanted to know just yet.

"I see." His friend gained an evil grin, the kind he would have thought he'd be more likely to see on Mustard or Ganache. "Well, I'm sure we could find out. Souffle? Could you tell me when you see little floaty things hanging around?"

And Cider's sweet little sister looked up at the living orchestra to cheerfully chirp out, "Night!"

...Of course.

---

Ordinarily, Cider would have gone to Ganache for advice. He came from a family blessed by the Dark Spirits, was probably the most stereotypical user of dark magic the user of beauty magic had ever met that wasn't actually evil, and would probably have some idea how to keep Souffle from offending anything important.

Sadly, Ganache was not on the planet at the moment. He'd left a bit over a decade ago to look for something in the wider solar system, and they were lucky if he got into contact more than once a month.

But he did keep contact, and Candy had had a tag on him from the very beginning, and Candy's tags were probably the most reliable way of finding someone there was, so Cider wasn't too worried about him.

It just made things a bit awkward, because the other user of dark magic he knew that was his age was Vanilla. Ganache's sister. When Cider first met her, he'd had to help her brother knock her out because she was being a danger to herself and others, and he'd never had much of an opportunity to get to know her since.

But the sooner he could convince his parents that the stereotypes surrounding wizards who were able to talk to Dark Spirits were just that, the better, and Souffle deserved better.

She deserved the best he could give her, and if that meant taking her with him because their father had offended an Enigma before Cider had been born, then that was what he was going to do.

---

The second part, however, was pure spite. "I can't help but think there were better ways to go about this," The pink-haired woman stated, her eyes narrowed at Cider over the dinner menu.

Cider shrugged. "I mean, neither of us expect this to go anywhere, but the instant my parents see the headlines..." They didn't like the Dark Spirits? Fine. He'd just go out on a not-date with a Nighthawk while Chocolat babysat. See how they liked that.

(The answer, as it turned out, was 'not much.')

Vanilla was unimpressed. And conflicted. "I'd tell you not to get me involved in your family drama, but you were sort of pulled into mine..." He wondered if she remembered he'd been the one to knock her out. With flower petals. That tended to leave a nice bit of bruising on anyone's ego.

"That... was a long time ago." Sort of. It was a time only wizards could be alive from. But that was what happened, when you lived almost a hundred times as long as the magicless... well, aside from the dwarves, anyway, but they didn't count. He was still positive that they were all secret machinery mages. Or something. "And... we were probably going to be dragged into things either way." Biscotti had chosen so many of them to be his students, it was a temptation that would be impossible to resist.

She leaned back in her seat, looking like she could have done without the reminder. "I... suppose so. But I don't imagine Ganache would have made it any easier."

Actually, he'd been a surprisingly good leader, even if he never actually told anyone anything. "Honestly, Candy was more of a problem about it than he was." And given the consequences that she'd faced for it, he'd eventually had to accept that there wasn't any point in staying mad at her. Even if it had forced them into combat with an Equillekrew. Odds were they would have had to fight it either way.

They ended up talking a lot about Cider's school days, and less about Souffle's magic, but he still managed to get Kovomaka's second- or third-most-powerful wizard to agree to tutoring sessions, and that was the most important part of it.

---

Cider was not famous on Puffoon. The inner solar system as a whole was not entirely certain that the Magic Planet Kovomaka existed, and there was just about nobody who could talk to spirits. This made it, in a sense, the ideal vacation spot.

...Aside from everything being overpriced, that is. But he supposed he had been warned... "No, Souffle, we can't get you a bracelet."

"But it's pretty!" She insisted, and that much was true, to the point where there was a minor Beauty Spirit hanging around it, chattering with his fellow accessories.

"I know, we just don't have the money." He had a few projects that were all coming along well... but he'd left them on his home planet, because he didn't have the resources needed to properly prepare them for spaceflight.

Monster fighting was an option, but... he'd had enough of that for a lifetime. "Come on, we're meeting my friend Ganache for lunch. He's Vanilla's brother. You remember Vanilla, right?" He'd hope so, they'd known each other for about a year.

Souffle nodded. "Uh-huh! She's really pretty, and strong, too!" Which one of them was the beauty mage, again? Not that he disagreed on Vanilla's relative physical attractiveness, but Souffle was four. Was this sort of thing normal for four-year-olds?

Well. It didn't matter.

On the way out, they were stopped by a woman whose fashions were vaguely reminiscent of those of the Envoys of Love, if the Envoys of Love were entirely colorblind. "Excuse me, would the two of you happen to be magicians?"

That was this planet's word for wizards, right? "Why do you need to know?" He asked, already on his guard. Souffle looked at the two of them in confusion, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, call it simple curiosity." He didn't believe her.

Souffle, meanwhile, was confused. "What's a ma-jee-sheen?"

"Someone who can use magic," The woman replied. "...You aren't from this planet, are you?"

"Nuh-uh. We're from Ko-vo-ma-ka." Which probably didn't mean anything to the woman. The Magic Planet had been left to its own devices for so long just about nobody had heard of it, even in fairy tales. The fact that the ones who ventured into the inner solar system were the likes of Ganache probably didn't help with that.

But apparently it meant something to the woman, who looked at him with more scrutiny than ever before, before her lips twisted into an evil grin. "I see... Cider Rainbow, is it? From Madeleine's class of XOXEO? One of the children from Valencia Beach who battled the Enigmas?"

Cider wondered if, if the sun had gone dark, the Starsign of Night would have blazed bright upon this woman's body. Her actions certainly weren't all that different from an Enigma's. "How do you know about that?" Sure, only Mokka had an actual gag order, but between Vanilla's career, Candy's reputation, and everyone's trauma, nobody ever really mentioned it to anyone.

"Let's just say... a little locust told me." An insect mage? There weren't a lot of those around here, were there?

"Leave us alone!" Well, if the woman had been affiliated with the Enigmas, either they didn't care much about their allies or one of them hadn't gotten the message, because the Pooka that appeared from nothing over Souffle's head had no qualms about striking her down.

And then it turned against the two of them. Because of course it did.

Of course, it was also challenging a master of beauty magic right outside an accessory shop. Poor thing never stood a chance.

---

They returned to Kovomaka almost immediately after that, because this was the sort of thing that definitely needed a professional opinion. "She did what!?" And a calm head, but apparently that wasn't going to be Vanilla at the moment.

Cider should have dragged Ganache back with him, he realized that now. "I don't know what happened, really. I don't even think she meant to do it. It's just... one moment she was getting upset, and the next..." At least it had been the weakest kind of Enigma. He didn't fancy a round two with Equillekrew when it was just him.

"And the next, there was an Enigma in Puffoon's capital city. I don't think I have to explain why this is a bad thing." Of course not. Near-death experiences were not easily forgotten. "Have you taken her to Candy yet?"

He shook his head. "I haven't had the chance. And I don't know if she's old enough to not let people know Candy still has her magic even if the application's changed a bit. It's the sort of thing best kept secret, right?"

"Normally, I'd agree with you..." The leader of the Elite Mage Force sighed. "But your sister has just become a target for any and all Enigma sympathizers still extant. Here and in the wider Baklava system. Are you sure you should have left her at home?"

"Kale's watching her, it'll be fine."

Except it wasn't. Because he'd known that fifth of the Will-O-Wisp graduates from previous classes couldn't necessarily be trusted. He'd known that, as beings of pure darkness, new Enigmas could come into existence at any time, and that they wouldn't necessarily be kinder than the last set. He knew that even members of his own class had been tempted, back then, even if they'd all eventually gone on to fight.

But it had never, ever occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, he couldn't trust Kale.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

You tear your gaze away from Raspberry. While you're sure that she'd be able to explain exactly what's going on- or, at least, who the new person is- she's giving you uncomfortable reminders of your cousins on a sugar rush. You'd... rather not approach that, all things considered.

"Do any of you know who that is?" You ask the people at your table instead, giving a pointed glance in the man's direction so they all know who you're talking about. "I mean, if he's here, he has to be on staff, right?" You can't imagine anyone else being allowed in, what with the school being on lockdown and all.

"I don't recognize him, but the school does have a lot of staff." Merlot glances around the room. "But everyone seems to either not recognize him, or..." Or they're similar to Raspberry. If a bit more subdued about it.

"It'd be a lot easier to figure out if we knew the people that recognized him..." Sorbet sighs. "Unless any of you know them?"

You nod. "That Envoy of Love over there is called Raspberry. She's friends with the Beauty Spirits." Spirits that are simple enough to gain assistance from, but fickle when it comes to matters of loyalty, to hear Uncle Almond talk about them. But again, you still don't know if he's a blade mage or just insane. You aren't sure how good his advice is.

Sugar reaches for more peanut butter to add to her sandwich. You aren't sure when the people who stock your table learned of her sweet tooth, let along why they're encouraging it, but she seems happy enough. "So maybe they're all beauty mages? That or it's something else and we're entirely off track..."

Technically, you could go ask Raspberry yourself. But when you look at her, she's vibrating in place, and that's not something you particularly want to deal with at the moment.

So you just shrug and pick up another fish sandwich.

---

As the meal winds down, Principal Biscotti stands up to make an announcement. This is probably something important, if it's coming from the man in charge of the school, so everyone pays attention.

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for being so patient and following lockdown procedure. As stated before, this will continue until the start of term, so that we can be sure there won't be any problems popping up during the school year. Your supervisors have told me you are all cooperating, and I would like to hope that this good behavior lasts."

He still hasn't said anything on whether what's going on is dangerous or not. Even if it's being dealt with at the moment, you're sure people are going to talk about that later. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, you have no idea.

"Secondly, I would like you to welcome our new librarian, Cider Rainbow. He has graciously agreed to take time off of his own projects to come back and help us organize our collection of knowledge, as due to circumstances beyond our control, Mrs. Sammich cannot return this year. Some of you might recognize him, but I would advise you to allow him time to settle in before peppering him with questions. To enforce this, Miss Ketchup will remain on duty in the library until classes start up again."

The new librarian's name isn't familiar to you at all. "Do... any of you know what he's talking about?" You think it might be a bit too late to go ask Raspberry, particularly as Caramel is trying to get her to calm down now.

"I... think he might be famous or something?" Chai ventures, while everyone else shakes their heads. "I don't know, the den doesn't really pay much attention to wizards."

Merlot gives him a skeptical glance. "They don't?"

He shakes his head. "Well... the magicless don't live as long as wizards do. I think the exact degree depends on their race, but salamanders only live for about sixty years. And compared to how long wizards stick around for... They always said that wizards should be considered separate, not part of the same world."

"You're a wizard, too, you know," Sugar points out, and the salamander flinches, just as the Starsign of Gren activates, and various students around the cafeteria gain a lime green glow to their skin. You aren't sure how long a year is on Gren, but when the light fades away again, you'll know a fifth of it has passed.

Chai more or less refuses to so much as look at himself until you're all leaving to go to bed.

That's probably a bad sign.

---

Principal Biscotti is there at breakfast again. Well... for a bit, at least. He talks quietly with Miss Ketchup and her brother for a bit, before leaving. You suppose he's more than capable of getting food elsewhere, but that begs the question of what he was doing here to begin with.

You suppose you could always go up and ask, but... You wouldn't want to poke into something you're not supposed to. Classes haven't even started yet, there's no reason to try and get yourself in trouble.

No, you're going to try and follow the rules... or, at least, not be caught obviously breaking them. So long as you're better at it than Caramel and Nutmeg, it should be fine.


[ ] Stay in the cafeteria and talk to people.
-[ ] Chai.
-[ ] Sugar, the felin who uses wind magic, and Lassi.
-[ ] Mokka and Nutmeg.

[ ] Go to the library in order to read about things.
-[ ] The other planets.
-[ ] Monsters native to Kovomaka.
-[ ] ...Are those old school papers?
-[ ] Different kinds of spirits.
-[ ] The cultures of various races on Kovomaka.
-[ ] Families of wizards.

[ ] You may as well go to the meditation room...
-[ ] And see if there's a spirit in the pond.
-[ ] And see just what it is that Raspberry's doing.
-[ ] And see if the magic dolls can't teach you to throw a punch without hurting yourself.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

You haven't been inside the meditation room since the lockdown started.

Honestly, you never really felt you had much reason to go inside, when the most interesting thing there was a group of magic dolls. You aren't sure how any of them were programmed, but a number of them were made with a mishmash of parts, implying that they were probably salvaged from somewhere.

Most likely. You don't actually know a lot about magic dolls, other than that their creation is an incredibly complicated affair, and that they are more or less on the same level of intelligence as certain monster predators. That's all you'd ever needed to know, because nobody ever brought their dolls to the hot springs. At least, not while you were there.

But despite the lack of things which initially interested you in the meditation room, today you realized something.

The meditation room has a garden with a pond. And ponds mean Water Spirits.

You've sort of forgotten where the room is, but you make up for it by following other students. There's only three possible destinations for them, and you know where two of them are.

Of course, it also helps that those going to the meditation room are staying on the ground floor.

---

The place is more or less how you remember it. Wooden room, candles everywhere, students gathered in circles on beanbags and magic dolls lumped together in a pile. You're assuming those are going to make their way to a closet eventually. That's where those things are supposed to be kept, right?

Honestly, the only thing that really comes as a surprise to you is Raspberry leaning against one of the walls, as if she's trying to listen to something. But you don't want to get into any trouble at the moment, so you decide against approaching her. You already know what you want to do here.

It's only when you step out, under the sun, that you realize you haven't felt the sensation of actual grass beneath your paws since you first got here. It was always just tile, or wood, or carpet. Mostly carpet and tile. You haven't felt any sort of breeze, or stood under the blue sky, and while you were never particularly invested in going outside... it's sort of strange to think about.

You haven't spoken to any spirits since you got here, either. And that pricks at you harder than everything else has, just because you grew up surrounded by them.

At least, today, you can fix both these things.

A small cliff hangs over the pond, on top of which sits a single tree. It seems young, as though it's been replaced in the last century or so, with deep blue-green leaves that make you wonder if it's from this planet or not. You suppose it doesn't matter, not to people who can't talk to the Wood Spirits, and decide to leave it be for now.

You sit down on top of this cliff, above the clear pool of water below, and...



[ ] Look down into the water.

[ ] Introduce yourself to any spirits that might be there.

[ ] Drop the aqua coin into the water.

 

[SeekerofDreams]

It's comfortable here. Peaceful. Things will be less quiet, you're sure, once someone gets out the magic dolls for some kind of mock fight, but that's to be expected when dolls have only ever been built for combat.

"Good morning," You greet the pond, because it has never once hurt you to be polite, even if it also has yet to give you anything besides satisfied customers. And names don't have the same power over corporeal beings as they do for spirits, so there really is nothing stopping you... Well, okay, giving your full name might be seen as rubbing it in. "I'm Rye, and I came to this school to learn water magic."

There. You didn't ask whatever spirit might be there to show itself- even among Water Spirits, different spirits react in different ways to that- but you gave an opening for a voluntary appearance. If a spirit shows up, it does, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

But a spirit does show up. "I'm surprised," A cool voice speaks, even in tone and quiet enough to be mistaken for the splash of a pebble falling into the water. "Not many students ever come here. Fewer still that wish to discuss anything." His fur is a light blue, with a dark blue-green mane ringing his face. You can't figure out if he just appeared now, or if he'd been standing on top of the pond this whole time waiting for you to address him.

You shrug, because if you'd waited until the start of classes, you'd probably have been too busy with your schoolwork to come out and look for spirits.

Not that you know how much work you'll be assigned or anything, but that seems to be about right. "It just... felt like I should come here. The school's on lockdown, and this is... the closest I can get to where I come from." You wouldn't say you're homesick, exactly, just that everything's so new and unfamiliar that you need the chance to relax.

"Yes, that's what it usually ends up being. Not the lockdown part, but... people come here to relax, when everything becomes too much for them." The spirit leaps out of the pond, settling down on the cliff beside you, water endlessly streaming down his fur and back into the pond. "They don't notice. To the other students, sometimes this pond has a waterfall, and sometimes it does not. And they do not think about it. For them, that's just what it is."

You don't know if he's complaining or making an observation. "You've... been here a while, then?"

"Since this school was first founded." He taps on a tree root with his paw. "I remember when the tree before this one burned down, as a ploy by the Lightning Spirits. They never liked how I can redirect the path of their power, even though I have little power of my own."

"You don't?" Spirits are supposed to get more powerful the longer they exist, right? It might not be by any great amount, but eight hundred years is a long time to be gathering power.

He shakes his head. "I'm just a simple pond spirit. We don't have much power. And while I could supplement it with Crescent silver, nobody has ever seen fit to offer any. Four aqua coins, that is all I'd need."

You think you know what he's doing. This is an Offer. Sadly, you don't have the coins to accept it right now, but... "I'll keep that in mind."

Offers are important. Take a spirit up on one, and they will, without fail, tell you their name, enabling you to call upon them at any time. They generally don't make Offers lightly- you've never gotten one before- but maybe this spirit is just lonely.

Still... if you ever manage to get three more aqua coins, you should come back here.



[ ] Keep talking to the spirit.

[ ] Now might be the time to challenge the magic dolls.

[ ] Talk to other students.
-[ ] Raspberry's still listening to the wall. You wonder if you should be concerned.
-[ ] The spiky purple creature from the bus... you still don't know what his race is.
-[ ] Sorbet was the last one to challenge the magic dolls... you should talk to her about that.
-[ ] There's a couple of humans talking about... something, but you can't tell what it is.