The College of Jewels (Magical Academy Quest)

[Lexica]

Those of you who looked at A City in Turmoil should recognize the setting here. I stopped updating that quest for a number of reasons, but mostly because I ended up not liking how I handled the story. I wanted to jump into this big conspiracy plot immediately, but in hindsight that was a poor choice. This new quest should end up giving you, the readers, an introduction to the characters and time to get invested in the setting and perhaps start picking sides before anything happens that will shake up the status quo. Now, on to the quest.

---

"Ahem."

The quiet noise somehow manages to echo and reverberate throughout the auditorium, silencing the small din of conversation that had filled it just a moment before. On the stage, the archmage of Jewels has appeared from thin air- there was no way anyone could have missed him walking in. His robes are so covered in exactingly cut gems that looking directly at him dazzles the eyes. You can only glance at him from the corner of your eye unless you want to go blind- from that angle at least he seems an imposing and vaguely menacing figure, but you're sure that's the intended effect. He begins his speech.

"In this college, there is only one thing that matters and that is your ability. I'm not saying this because I want to give anyone any particular hope of overcoming whatever pathetic background they've come from. You probably won't- the wealthier students have a thousand advantages over you, and I'll admit that I've occasionally been paid enough to look the other way when some brat throws a temper tantrum and begs mommy and daddy to have another student killed. Of course," and here you can hear pure amusement enter his voice, "I would caution you against throwing a tantrum that leads to you biting off more than you can chew."

From the corner of your eye you see one of his hands make a vague motion, before a wall of light appears in the air above him.

"But I digress. Ability is the only thing that will let you graduate from this college. I don't care if the Dragon of Wealth herself offers to open up the city's vaults for me. I don't care if the Chairman makes a motion to sanction me. Not a single one of the whole pathetic lot of you will ever graduate unless you can beat this."

The wall of light resolves into colors and shapes, displaying a huge number of milestones and criteria and a frankly dizzying array of small sections and subsections.

"This is the average graduate from Solemn Vale." The archmage's voice darkens for a moment. "You will be better than them. I will not be shown up by that simpleton they call an archmage. If any of you get to the end of your final year here without beating this, you will drop out for personal reasons entirely unrelated to the fact that I will have you tortured to death if you do not. That is all."

With that, he vanishes again, the wall of light remaining behind him.

How do you feel about this ultimatum?
[] Unconcerned. There's no question you'll be good enough.
[] Worried. You had heard the rumors about the college, but you hadn't expected it to be quite so... explicit.
[] Angry. It's always the same, corruption where ever you go in this damn city.
[] Write in.

How did you get into the college?
[] As a child of nobility, it would be unthinkable for the College to deny you enrollment- your parents would have been furious had they had the temerity.
[] You were sponsored by a powerful figure in the city of Diadem for your talent. There is the expectation that you will pay them back in services rendered in exchange for their backing.
[] Shockingly, you actually took and passed the entrance exam. You're not really anyone special beyond beating those staggering odds however.

---

Let Character Creation begin.

 

[Lexica]

Character Sheet

FIRST NAME: Saphira
LAST NAME: Baldeth
AGE: 18
APPEARANCE:

Spoiler

Contacts:

Spoiler

Ruby (): The Dragon of Wealth's 'pet' and probably the person you're the best friends with at the college. She specializes in countermagic.
Henry (): He introduced himself to you, along with the rest of the college, because he's seeking fame and he wants as many people to know his name as possible. You're friendly with him, but not yet friends per se. He is looking for great deeds to do.
Adam (): The student you fought in the Burning Earth's arena. A first year like you, he's studying spirits instead of dimensional science. Wears black robes.
Sammy (): The College's librarian. Also the ghost of perhaps the greatest conqueror to ever live who died attempting to conquer Diadem in the name of the Goddess of Conquest. You're on friendly enough terms that you think you're probably more than her acquaintance, but not yet quite her friend.
Dimensional Science TA (): You impressed her enough to get a scholarship and she's devoting quite a lot of her time to tutoring you. You're not really sure why she's so invested, but she has definitely seemed to take quite the shine to you.
Archmage (): Kind of a gigantic asshole, but one too powerful and casually murderous for you to do anything but carefully avoid him. Doesn't like Ruby at all. You're not sure whether or not he actually knows you exist, but you're okay with staying blissfully ignorant on that front.
Viola (): The Dragon of Wealth's 'assistant.' She is a woman in a black and gold dress uniform with a sheathed sword at her side and blonde hair cropped short. An aura of intense cold surrounds her. She sounds surprisingly nice considering all of this.

Traits:

Spoiler

Prodigy: Shockingly, you actually took and passed the entrance exam. You're not really anyone special beyond beating those staggering odds however. You impressed the Dimensional Science TA enough that you gained a scholarship.
Blessing of the Lady of War: Thanks to a good word put in on your behalf by Sammy, you won't kill in battle unless you choose to.
Methodology-Ver1.7: "The theory is sound. My adjustments have allowed me to bypass the Archmage's wards on the outer walls, though not without cost. I am unsure what can be improved however. Indeed, I do not think my spell work is at fault. Rather, the spell work of the Archmage is simply so exceptional that even though I am operating on what should be an entirely different paradigm, his spells still function. It felt as if magic itself turned against me for a moment, loathe as I am to personify the feeling." -The TA

You have grasped and incorporated the TA's theories on Dimensional Science fully into your spellwork. Conventional wards, countermagic, and dimensional intrusion will fail entirely against your Dimensional magic, though it seems that at least the Archmage's magic can work around this to some degree.

Skills:

Spoiler

Banked Skill Points:
Elemental: 0
Dimensional: 0
Countermagic: 0
Enchanting: 0
Spiritual: 0

---
General Magic (Rank 17) :
Speed Casting 1 (3): Spells no longer require a ritual and have a casting time equal to the numbers of points they cost in seconds.
-Superior Speed Casting (20): Additional components such as stabilization and previous ranks of spells no longer count towards casting time for spells.

Stabilization (5) Unstable spells lose that trait, and effects that would make a spell unstable are stepped down 1 level (I.E. Disruption -> Minor Disruption and Minor Disruption -> Nothing)

Multicasting 2 (6): Can maintain 2 extra spells at the same time.

Response 1 (3) You may wait for your opponent to make the first move and match their pace so that your spells complete at the same time. Requires Speed Casting 1.

Maximization 1 (15): You may push at the limits of your abilities. At the cost of making a spell unstable, you may greatly enhance one aspect of it.

---
Elemental Magic (Rank 1):
Novice Elemental Control (1): Can create painful but chaotic and small elemental effects.

---
Dimensional Magic (Rank 25):
Planar Portal (1): Opens a small portal to nowhere somewhere you can see. Not yet usefully large.
- Planar Portal Size 1 (3): Opens a portal to nowhere about the size of a person, requires Planar Portal.
- Planar Portal Size 2 (5): Opens a portal to nowhere about the size of a double doorway, requires Planar Portal Size 1.
- Planar Creation 1 (3): You can now open a portal to Somewhere, and reopen that portal at a later date. The inside of the portal is still airless and lightless, requires Planar Portal.
--Planar Creation 2 (3): You can now open portals to as many Somewheres as you can remember, and reopen those portals at a later date. The inside of these portals is still airless and lightless, requires Planar Creation 1.
- Planar Control 1 (3): You can exert influence on places you have opened a portal to, decreasing or increasing temperature slightly, adding light, air, and featureless floors and walls, requires Planar Creation.
--Planar Control 2 (15): You can now use planar control to create small rudimentary structures or furniture, create light sources of varying though not extreme intensity, and noticeably effect temperature. Requires Planar Control 1, Planar Creation 2.
- Planar Teleport 1 (5): Inanimate objects not created or controlled by magic no larger than yourself can be moved directly into and out of Somewhere without a portal within a ten foot radius.
--Planar Teleport 2 (15) The range of Planar Teleport increases to sight range. Requires Planar Teleport 1.

Elemental Planar Portal 1 (5): You may create a tiny portal to an elemental plane, unleashing effects equal to the adept rank of Elemental Control. When Speed Cast, becomes incredibly unstable and dangerous to yourself.

---
Countermagic (Rank 3)
Redundancy (3): Double the difficulty of Dismissal on your spells.

Minor Disruption (1): Your opponent's spells become slightly unpredictable, or very much so if they would be already. Precise aim becomes impossible and catastrophic failure a real possibility.
-Disruption (5): Your opponent's spells become unpredictable. Aim beyond 'somewhere within 180 degrees of where I'm pointing' becomes impossible and catastrophic failure a real possibility, or almost guaranteed in the event of already unstable spells.

---
Enchanting (Rank 3)
Minor Enchantment (3): You may enchantment an object well suited to enchantment (such as a gem) to cast a spell you know once at a lower rank. (I.E. Apprentice Elemental Control -> Novice Elemental Control.) You may not enchant objects with spells you only have the first rank of.
-Persistent Enchantment (10) An enchantment will be able to activate a number of times or continue persistently for a certain amount of time based on the quality of it's vessel, the caster's total enchanting rank, and the time spent to make it. Requires Minor Enchantment.

Rechargeable Enchantments (5) Any mage with this skill can recharge enchantments made by other mages with this skill after they have been used.

Stored Items:

Spoiler

• Some medium sized boulders
• A large pile of ash
• A large amount of sand
• A very large amount of water
• Several books on dimensional science
• Random knick-knacks of little value
• A reasonable amount of money

Divine Fiats:

Spoiler

Once per week:
Warrior's Eye: A true warrior is never entirely outmatched. Reach for it, and victory will be yours. (When used, I'll tell the thread the single most important thing they could know about a given situation. Must be related to battle or conquest.)
Once per day:
Purity of intent: A true warrior needs no gestures or mumbled words to work her will. Let the world be changed in fierce moments. (Ignore the casting time on one spell and cast instantaneously.)

 

[Lexica]

Currently Available Skills:

Special: (All of these cost 100 points, but are considered to have a rank of N/A)

[] That Which Dwells: "My research has hit an irritating stumbling block. In the space between planes I have found a creature (many creatures?) that exists as a living warp in space. The implications of it's existence are fascinating, but studying it requires an irritatingly time consuming number of precautions. Will need to notify TA I am further increasing her hours. I can't be bothered dealing with idiot children while working on this." -Research notes of Dishevel Vino

Your deep insights into dimensional science have lead you to discover a living warp in space that exists between worlds. Though you as of yet have no control over it, opening a portal to it and allowing it to protrude into this reality is potentially a terrifying weapon as it will fracture and twist any space it enters into.

[] The Firmament: "Are all of you truly so blind? This world is rotting. I will be idle no longer. I will change the world myself if I must." -Glory

You can hear them. The echos of the words that shaped the world. In the spaces between everything they resound still, as perfect as they ever were. Too perfect to grasp in truth. Still, the echos of creation call to you, and even if you are unable to understand the simplest syllable they understand you. Gain a once a week Divine Fiat, allowing you to create any mundane items you wish so long as they do not exceed 1 meter cubed in volume and do not exceed the density of a cube of lead that size. This fiat ignores the normal limitations of Planar creation, allowing you to create perfect replications of mundane items.

[] Etherealness: "A mage who can be killed by a knife to the ribs is not worthy of the name." -The Archmage

If dimensional magic is all about stepping from one world to another, than why not stand in between? At will you can choose to stand between where you are and Nowhere, becoming intangible and immune to any attacks that do not pass dimensional boundaries. Any non-dimensional magic you cast will have no effect on the real world and though you will be able to use dimensional magic as normal, it will create vulnerabilities that could be used to attack you.

[] The Twisted Path: "I have walked a thousand roads. Unlike you, I never lost my way." -Colm of the Solemn Vale

With a bare handful of steps Somewhere or Nowhere you can cross vast distances in the real world, bypassing any physical obstruction. It is possible to guide others along your path and take them with you. Though physical barriers are no obstacle and your exit can be determined either though visualization or measures of distance, powerful magical barriers will prevent you from exiting into spaces protected by them. You cannot appear inside objects.


Generic:
[] Multicasting (2X): Can maintain X extra spells at the same time.

Superior Speed Casting (20): Additional components such as stabilization and previous ranks of spells no longer count towards casting time for spells.

Flawless Haste (50): A Spell's base casting time has a maximum of 10 seconds before adding on additional components such as stabilization.

Maximization 1 (15): You may push at the limits of your abilities. At the cost of making a spell unstable, you may greatly enhance one aspect of it.

Quickening 1 (25): At the cost of making a spell unstable, you may reduce it's casting time by up to 5 seconds, to a minimum of one second.

Careful Casting (10): When casting unstable spells or spells with wide areas of effect, you are far less likely to injure yourself or your allies.

Dimensional Science:
[] Planar Portal Size 3 (10): Opens a portal to nowhere 10 meters square, requires Planar Portal Size 2.
-[] Planar Portal Size 4 (25): Opens a portal to nowhere as large as a small building, requires Planar Portal Size 3.

[] Planar Creation 2 (3): You can now open portals to as many Somewheres as you can remember, and reopen those portals at a later date. The inside of these portals is still airless and lightless, requires Planar Creation 1.
-[] Planar Creation 3 (25): You can now open portals to a Somewhere that is identical to a location with which you are familiar and spend a great deal of time. Details which you do not know or cannot recall perfectly such as the inside of books cannot be copied. Requires Planar Creation 2.

[] Planar Control 2 (15): You can now use planar control to create small rudimentary structures or furniture, create light sources of varying though not extreme intensity, and noticeably effect temperature. Requires Planar Control 1, Planar Creation 2.

[] Planar Teleport 2 (15) The range of Planar Teleport increases to sight range. Requires Planar Teleport 1.
-[] Planar Teleport 3 (75) Planar Teleport can be used on yourself and willing allies, and now can be used on non-exceptional magical items. Requires Planar Teleport 2.

[] Elemental Planar Portal 2 (25): You may create a portal deeper in an elemental plane, unleashing effects equal to the Expert rank of Elemental Control. When Speed Cast, becomes incredibly unstable and dangerous to yourself. Even when cast normally, the effects are so extreme that without precautions it is likely to be fatal.

Elemental:
[] Apprentice Elemental Control (5): Can create potentially deadly manifestations of elements, and exert minor and slow control over the elements around you, requires Novice Elemental Control.
-[] Adept Elemental Control (10): Small Buildings could be endangered by your attacks, and you could, with a great deal of effort, use you control over the elements to create something on the level of a small building, requires Novice Elemental Control.
--[] Expert Elemental Control (50): Potentially the effects from magic of this level could be dangerous even to a small castle (Or create things on that scale). Without an equivalent rank in Elemental protection, magic of this level is very dangerous even to the wielder, requires Adept Elemental Control.

[] Elemental Protection (X): Can defend yourself against Elemental Spells of Equal or Lesser rank to the number of points spent on Elemental Protection.

[] Elemental Pledge (N/A): Pledge yourself to an element (Earth, Air, Water, Fire). You cannot cast spells of other elements or directly protect yourself from other elements. Up to Apprentice Elemental Control is free. Treat Elemental Protection from your Element and Elemental Control as though they were 3 times the rank they actually are.

Countermagic:
[] Minor Disruption (1): Your opponent's spells become slightly unpredictable, or very much so if they would be already. Precise aim becomes impossible and catastrophic failure a real possibility.
-[] Disruption (5): Your opponent's spells become unpredictable. Aim beyond 'somewhere within 180 degrees of where I'm pointing' becomes impossible and catastrophic failure a real possibility, or almost guaranteed in the event of already unstable spells.


[] Dismissal (X): Spells up to your rank in Dismissal not hardened against countermagic may be counterspelled completely.

[] Redundancy (3): Double the difficulty of Dismissal on your spells.

[] Dissipation Field (10): Create a 20 meter radius wherein spells are only considered their own rank for the purposes of Dismissal, rather than benefiting from the total point investment in the field of magic.

Spiritual:
[] Call Basic Elemental (5) Call up a spirit to act on your behalf. At this rank, the spirit is of one of the four basic elements and is considered to have Apprentice Elemental control and an equivalent rank in Elemental protection in the relevant element as well as an elemental pledge to it's relevant element. Will act according to it's nature. Fine control of it is impossible and it may turn on it's summoner if they get in it's way.

[] Eyes and Ears (15) You may share a spirit's senses and give it general commands at a distance.

[] Rapport 1 (25) Spirits you summon are unlikely to take actions that would directly cause you harm, and will potentially act slightly against their nature if ordered.

Enchanting:
[] Minor Enchantment (3) You may enchantment an object well suited to enchantment (such as a gem) to cast a spell you know once at a lower rank. (I.E. Apprentice Elemental Control -> Novice Elemental Control.) You may not enchant objects with spells you only have the first rank of.
-[] Persistent Enchantment (10) An enchantment will be able to activate a number of times or continue persistently for a certain amount of time based on the quality of it's vessel, the caster's total enchanting rank, and the time spent to make it. Requires Minor Enchantment.

[] Rechargeable Enchantments (5) Any mage with this skill can recharge enchantments made by other mages with this skill after they have been used.

[] Mutable Enchantment 1 (20) An enchantment created by you does not have to perfectly mimic the effects of the spell it copies. You can create variations along similar themes such as a wand that opens planar portals not to nowhere, but between two designated places on the same plane. At this rank, the change to the original spell cannot be very large, and will likely have heavy constraints placed upon it.

 

[Lexica]

The City Council​

The Chairman: No one has ever seen him. Or her. Or it. No one even knows for sure that the entity that either is referred to as or refers to itself as the Chairman exists. What can be said is that the Chairman's word is absolute, even to the other members of the city council. No one disobeys the Chairman, and if the Chairman wills that something be done it is done.

The Black Dragon of Wealth, Diana: Treasurer Most High of the City Council. An ancient black dragon, she's been around since long before Diadem was even an idea. It's said that her hoard contains so much wealth she could buy out half the kingdoms in the world, and she's known to have gone to incredible lengths to acquire unique treasures that interest her. Despite her age and the vast hoard of powerful artifacts she possesses, it's always been whispered even among the common people of Diadem that she's a terrible coward. Never seen in public without her bodyguard Viola. She exerts considerable influence on the markets and trade in Diadem and any exchange of goods carries a tax that goes directly to her hoard.

The Archmage of the College of Jewels: To the average citizen of Diadem he's essentially a nonentity. He does not effect public policy, and will rubber stamp any other council member's proposal so long as they leave him to run his college and study magic. To someone like Saphira, who seeks to learn magic, his writings and research are almost unavoidable. It's said in Diadem at least that he's possibly the greatest mage to have ever lived, and outside of Diadem, there's only one other person in the world who could be compared. Of course, the Archmage has banned all of his research from the city, so whether or not Colm of the Solemn Vale is truly his equal is beyond Saphira's knowledge. Though influence from the rest of the city council is impossible to avoid in it's entirety, he spends political capital and his own power like water to keep the college his own personal fiefdom.

Morgan Blackreach: Current head of the Blackreach family, which has been a part of Diadem since it's founding. He is old (decrepit, his detractors would say) now, and it is rumored that he may soon retire and cede his place on the city council to his eldest son Marcus Blackreach. In his younger years he was often absent from the city seeking out rumors of fallen Glory but eventually gave up his quest to find the once goddess, and is considered by the citizens of Diadem to be the ideal city council member. I.E. He really doesn't see the point in oppressing random peasants and mostly just carries on his business of being rich and powerful and staying that way. There was a cloud of rumors about what caused him to give up his quest for Glory seventy years ago when he returned to the city for good, most centered around the timing of his return, being just after the Listener's almost conquest of the city, but that's all ancient history now.

Astrea: She is the one in charge of law and order in Diadem. It's said that she takes the letter of the law extremely seriously, and many common citizens of the city view her as something of a hero; she has been known to often publicly make examples of lawkeepers who break the law themselves or take liberties with the common citizens. It is even rumored that she regularly patrols the city herself in disguise, always with a pen and notebook in her hand, noting down violations and breaches of the law to be dealt with at a later date. Beyond being in charge of the lawkeepers, she is also the leader of the disciplinary committee of the city council, where she deals with the few occasions when nobles and even once every blue moon a council member over steps their bounds. In this role she answers only to the chairman and her verdict can only be countermanded by a direct pardon from him.

Wrath, fifth lord of the Abyss: An incredibly powerful demon, he is empowered by the Chairman to take total command of the city's forces and lead the city council in the event of a military assault on the city. A brash and confident personality, his willingness to take risks is tempered by an incredible tactical mind. It was his machinations that led to the Listener's defeat at the hands of the Archmage during her invasion, and his careful direction of the city's lawkeepers, hired mercenaries, and the rest of the council that prevented the city from being razed to the ground by her vast army even as she was killed. Permanently missing an arm after his brief engagement with the Listener during the battle.

The Pact: A whispered rumor to the common citizens of Diadem. Like most nasty rumors about the city, it also happens to be true. An otherworldly entity, little is known about it, even among the city council. What is known is that it answers to the Chairman, and devours all thought of rebellion before it can begin.

The Divine
​

Fallen Glory- The gods may meddle in mortal affairs. They may empower champions. They may scheme across eternity. They may never intervene directly with their own power. Glory broke this rule and sought to change the world herself. It is said that she looked upon the world one morning and could bare the suffering she saw no longer. The stories are unclear and muddled as to what she actually did, but what is known is that for her crime she was cast down. It is said that she wanders the world to this day, though any supposed 'sightings' have all proven to be false. Morgan Blackreach would know- He spent so much time searching.

War/Battle/Conquest/Strife- There used to be many gods of war. Many gods for the infinite variations of mortal conflict. Conquest was never one to share, and her dreams of domination encompass all creation. Indeed, though she is a god, she is often included with the demons and devils among many culture's methods of worship. Eventually stymied in the heavens, she turned her attention to the mortal world. Learning from the lesson of Glory she found a way to intervene in mortal affairs while skirting the edges of the rules. She found a mortal champion. One so compatible with her that she could be invested with enough divine power that she became less a mere blessed mortal and more a living avatar of a goddess. The Listener is what she was called, for she heard her Goddess and spoke in her voice. Before her defeat at Diadem, many feared that her rule would encircle the world.

The Divine- Less a god or goddess and more... An idea left behind after the creation of the world. Much as echoes of the words that shaped the world are left in the space between spaces, fragments (although calling them fragments would be a misnomer. Each is a complete Wonder in and of itself.) of divinity itself still exist, pure and absolute. A single fragment of the Divine holds immense and unquestioned power, but for a mortal, or even most beings that call themselves 'immortal' to wield one is to invite destruction upon themselves. The gift of imperfection is not one that should be given up lightly.​

 

[Lexica]

[X] Write-in - Grateful. The archmage, however cynically, has spelled out the obstacles you'll need to overcome in the college - even the less obvious ones.
[X] Shockingly, you actually took and passed the entrance exam. You're not really anyone special beyond beating those staggering odds however.

Honestly, you were glad of the Archmage's speech. It was the Diadem way after all- the powerful did whatever they wanted in plain view, and the weak couldn't do anything about it. You were sure the same was true everywhere else in the world, it was just that here in Diadem no one bothered lying and saying otherwise. Still, cynical civic pride was one thing, actually living it was another, and you were a bit worried about what exactly would happen when the fact that you were here on a genuine scholarship got out.

You had always been fascinated by the magical; that was what had compelled you to take the entrance exam in the first place, even when you hadn't ever heard of anyone actually being accepted and having their tuition paid based on merit without a patron. Honestly, you didn't think you were that special, but somehow you had managed to impress the proctor with the things you had found in books and practiced in your spare time.

Who was the Proctor for your exam?

[] Finius. The spirit had no name except that, but he was in charge of spiritual studies at the college and was rumored to be older than half of the city council, which was definitely an impressive feat. Certain cautious whispers had it that the only reason he didn't have a seat was because the Chairman himself had a personal grudge.

[] The Burning Earth. An immensely powerful elemental called up by the Archmage, it was his effort to improve the abilities of the students of Elemental magic. His reasoning had been that no one could teach elemental magic better than the elements themselves, and while the average student's abilities did greatly increase with it's presence, so did the average number of fatalities per semester. You suspect the Archmage considers this a win-win.

[] The Dimensional Science TA. She hadn't actually given her name, and the signature on the form approving your scholarship had been a stamp that said 'Dishevel Vino' which you knew to be the name of the head of the Dimensional Science Department. You weren't really sure she technically had the authority to authorize a scholarship like that, but no one seemed to have questioned it.

At the exit of the auditorium is a small booth with a woman in plain back robes and a hood that hid her eyes. On her robes is a small pin saying 'Dimensional Science TA'. She appears to have sealed the exit with some kind of magic going by the hand pressed to the wall next to it and the fact that the exit now appeared to be a perfect mirror of the inside of the auditorium. Some of the people nearest to the exit appear to be talking at her angrily, but she doesn't seem to be paying attention. A moment later a quiet voice in your ear and a paper in your hand makes you jump.

"Please fill out this form. It is our waiver that you hereby accept that any death or injury that may happen in the course of your studies is entirely your fault and not our responsibility. Once everyone has signed, you will be allowed to leave."

You glance down at the form.

[] Name
[] Gender

 

[Lexica]

[X] The Dimensional Science TA. She hadn't actually given her name, and the signature on the form approving your scholarship had been a stamp that said 'Dishevel Vino' which you knew to be the name of the head of the Dimensional Science Department. You weren't really sure she technically had the authority to authorize a scholarship like that, but no one seemed to have questioned it.
[X] Saphira
[X] Female

Honestly you're kind of surprised they bothered with the waiver. It probably had something to do with the fact that almost every other student in the auditorium had clothes that you were pretty sure cost more than your parents made in a year. Looking around you don't see many other people who are hesitant about the form. Heh. It's almost funny actually, seeing so many of the children of the supposedly rich and powerful meekly going along with a form that basically meant the archmage could murder them whenever he wanted to as long as it was in any way related to their studies.

Still, there were some exceptions. The most standout among them were the two in the fanciest clothes of course. The first, a boy with short red hair and clothes that you were pretty sure were made out of threads of precious metals going by how they glinted in the light had stood on top of a chair and torn his form to shreds then marched down to the TA's booth, the crowd of other complainers and angry voices having parted easily before him as he went confront her. The second, a girl in a high necked dress that you were pretty sure competed with the archmage's for gems per square inch and long black hair braided in such a complicated pattern that you suspect an entire team of servants would be required to get it done in under three hours. She was hovering on the edge of the same crowd looking surprisingly nervous for someone whose dress could almost certainly buy a significant percentage of a city that didn't have the sheer concentrated wealth of Diadem.

The question now was what you were going to do. Sign the form? It probably wouldn't matter either way. The archmage could murder you in broad daylight even if you didn't sign and the lawkeepers wouldn't so much as raise an eyebrow unless he made a particularly large mess. Your parents couldn't do anything about it, and neither could anyone else you knew. Well, maybe the Dimensional Science TA? But you weren't sure what a TA could do to stop the archmage of the whole college.

[] Sign
[] Don't Sign
-[] Talk to the TA to see if she'll let you leave without signing.

Interact with anyone?
[] The nervous girl in the dress
[] The confident boy confronting the TA
[] Don't.

---

If anyone of you want to find a picture for the main character, we can hold a vote on that next update as well. Also, I'm amused by the name you chose for reasons that may or may not soon become clear.

 

[Lexica]

[X] Sign
[X] Don't.

In the end, you don't see the point in refusing to sign the waiver. It would just be pointless to try to make an issue of it when the simple reality was that right now, no one who mattered cared if you lived or died. Someday you'll change that, but for the moment you just have to deal with it as best you can and not draw attention to yourself before you're ready to deal with it.

With that thought in mind, you put aside your momentary consideration of talking to the nervous looking rich girl. You might be able to get some advantage if you help her out with whatever problem she's having, but for all you know she could just be offended at the idea that she could ever possibly need help from someone of your relative social standing. So you sign the waiver and settle down to wait.

....

Whatever argument the red haired boy is having with the TA is clearly taking a long time.

....

Finally, after at least ten minutes the crowd around the TA's booth parts again. The boy looks unhappy as he walks out, but you do notice that he's now carrying a thick packet of paper instead of the simple waiver, and the crowd around him as he walks through clearly look envious of whatever concessions his status has gotten him. A few even look positively murderous as he sits down to carefully go through what he's been given, and once he's left the crowd the volume increases enough that even from your distance you can hear snippets of whining at the TA about them not getting whatever special treatment he's gotten.

The nervous looking girl is still standing on the edge of the crowd around the booth. You look on in some interest as her fidgeting progresses from simple awkward standing to a short step forward followed by awkwardly turning around as if that was what she meant to do in the first place, and now to crumpling the unsigned waiver up into a ball in her hands. You don't think she's actually aware she's doing it honestly. On closer inspection, you're not actually sure she's nervous exactly. More... intensely uncomfortable. The way she's standing and fidgeting, you don't actually think she's worn a dress like the one she's wearing before. The difference is clear when you look at the other rich girls in fancy dresses; they might be nervous, or angry, but their clothes never seem to be part of that. With the nervous girl, she has these twitches where her hands move to tug her dress one way or another. There's another odd twitch among the collection too, one that you can't quite place. Sometimes when she looks at her unsigned waiver one of her hands moves up to the high collar of the dress and tugs at it. The more you look at her actually, the more inconsistencies and weirdness you spot. Her posture is more of a slouch than anything proper, and looking closer, you're pretty sure you see a small scar under one of her eyes.

Before you can examine her more however, the TA has apparently lost all of her patience. She appears in front of the girl with no fanfare and holds out her hand expectantly. She shrinks back for a moment before leaning closer and saying something to the TA. At this point you're downright intrigued, so you idly sidle forward to try and hear whatever is going on. Given the sheer number of other people you see doing the same thing, you can at least be confident that you won't be singled out for doing it.

Even closer up you can barely hear the girl, she's speaking in almost a whisper.

"-so I can't sign it," you manage to get close enough to hear before she stops speaking.

The TA doesn't respond immediately, her head tilting as she considers whatever the girl said. After a moment, she replies.

"And if I got the archmage in here, would you be willing to tell him that?"

The girl swallows, but replies. "Yes."

You, along with the rest of the nosy crowd suddenly feel the urge to no longer be standing quite so close as the TA says "As you wish," and vanishes again.

The nervous girl is left standing in an increasingly widening circle.

A surprisingly short minute later, the TA appears again with the archmage next to her. This time, you're a bit more practiced at looking at him past the brilliance of the gems covering his robes. His facial expression is definitely irritated, and it only sours as his eyes fix on the girl. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but the archmage just waves a hand in her general direction. A gem near his wrist flares up to a blinding red glow before shattering into shards. He doesn't look surprised, but rather slightly disappointed. Then what little you can see of his expression brightens.

"You know," he begins in a positively cheery conversational tone, "I think that this just might be a teachable moment!"

You and, from what you can feel of the rest of the room's mood, are very much unnerved by how happy the archmage sounds at this prospect.

"You see, you've all just seen what happens in this college to people who matter. Why, they can do anything they want with no consequences! Isn't that just wonderful?" Behind the archmage, you see the Dimensional Science TA's eyes, now illuminated by the glow from the archmage, scanning the room worriedly. Finally, they settle on you. After a flick to the archmage's back, they meet yours and she mouths 'Don't Move'.

"Now, I wonder what the corollary of this rule is when applied to people who don't matter? I think an experiment is in order. Oh, I do so love to demonstrate the scientific process to young minds such as yours. Any volunteers?"

The archmage's voice is so filled with false cheer that it's taken on a slightly manic edge. Everyone in the room is trying their level best to blend into the rest of the crowd as much as possible.

What do you do?
[] Nothing
[] Volunteer
[] Something Else (Write-in)

Appearance Vote:

[] 1

Spoiler: a bit of a joke but it's not a bad image

Really, for a name like Saphira....I certainly don't think of blue or dragons, not at all.

[] 2

Spoiler: a recognizable character

[] 3

Spoiler: take one

[] 4

Spoiler: simple

[] Other (Please include)

 

[Lexica]

[X] Nothing
[X] 4

The archmage waits for a moment before spinning on his heel with his arm out. When he stops, he's pointing at a boy with longer than average black hair wearing what at your guess is a vest and trousers made of silk. He looks around and behind him as if hoping the archmage is pointing at someone else. The archmage beckons him forwards.

"Come come! Help me demonstrate to the class will you?" The boy walks forward slowly with somewhat shaky steps. "Now now, none of that! No need to be shy young man." He moves at a still somewhat jerky but now faster pace to stand in front of the archmage. From what you can see of the archmage's expression he's trying for a friendly smile as he puts a hand on the boy's shoulder, but it comes out as more of a grimace.

"There we go! Now, class, a round of applause for my assistant here please."

The TA begins a perfunctory clap behind him and you and the rest of the students join in for about a second before letting the sound trail off and settle uneasily. The archmage waits a moment before flourishing the hand not on the boy's shoulder like a stage magician and produces some kind of crystal dagger.

"Now."

He leans in close to the student in front of him. His voice no longer even has the earlier false cheer- it's cold and deadly serious.

"Stab her to death with this or I'll kill you where you stand."

He takes one of the boy's hands and places the dagger in it, then steps back to the edge of the circle formed by the crowd near where you're standing. The TA follows his lead and manages to carefully place herself so that her body blocks you from the archmage's view. The boy has yet to do anything besides tremble. He's gone pale and sweaty and looks like he might faint. Honestly, you think that's probably his best option at this point. If you were him that's what you would go for; there was a chance the archmage might not bother killing him then.

The girl across from him looks a bit sick herself now. On the one hand, you're a little bit envious of the fact that she's apparently important enough that the archmage isn't going to kill her. On the other hand, you're feeling very glad that you aren't in her shoes right now.

Seconds tick by slowly. The girl opens her mouth as if to speak before closing it again. Finally, the archmage raises his hand again to point at the boy.

"Well? I'm waiting."

With a strangled yelp the boy charges forward. You admittedly aren't a particularly good judge of skill with a dagger, but you feel that waving it in front of you wildly is perhaps not perfect technique. And then in a moment he goes from a full speed charge to being on his back. The girl kicks the dagger out of his hand and send it spinning across the floor. You blink. Admittedly you aren't yet perfectly skilled at detecting the use of magic, but you're pretty damn sure there wasn't any involved with what she just did. You're honestly pretty impressed.

You still have the TA between you and the archmage, so you can't see his immediate reaction to this. You do see him walk out from the edge of the crowd to the still gently spinning crystal dagger. He bends down to pick it up and spends a moment examining it. As he turns to face the boy lying on the ground and the girl standing over him, the girl moves in front of the boy protectively.

"You know, you're really ruining my teachable moment here. Why didn't you just let him stab you?" The archmage sounds a bit exasperated, as if she's just being silly and obstinate.

"I didn't want him to die."

"Hmmm."

Suddenly, he snaps his fingers.

"Ah! Yes. Now, I think given that we've all learned a valuable lesson about the realities of life, we can finally move on to the rest of orientation." The archmage look around, all smiles and fake cheer once more.

On the plus side of this situation, you now know who all the idiots in the room are- they're the ones who look relieved by this statement.

"All we need to do for us to move on, is for you to sign the waiver. Easy, right?"

The girl's expression at this is hard to decipher, but it's definitely not a happy one.

"Well?" The archmage says in an expectant tone of voice.

"I can't."

"Sorry, what was that? My hearing isn't terribly good you see." The archmage gives a small laugh, and it's nasty and vindictive.

"I can't sign the form."

"Oh my," the archmage says, overacting and pretending to be shocked, "why ever would that be? Surely there is a good reason you've caused all of this trouble over such a simple form?"

"You know why. She said she spoke to you about this."

"Whoever could you be talking about?"

"You know." The girl's voice is practically a growl now.

"Listen. There's no need to get so upset. If you have a good reason, I'm sure you can share with the class." He waves his hand around the room, encompassing everyone focusing all of their attention on the conversation happening right now.

She slumps a bit, then grits her teeth and stands up straight. Through clenched teeth, she speaks.

"I can't sign the waiver because I don't own myself. Okay? Can we move on now? You've had your petty little show when you knew this the entire time."

"See, was that so hard? It's good to know you had a good reason for all of this. I'm glad we've worked this out."

The archmage turns away from her as she fumes quietly behind him. He has a look of extreme satisfaction on his face.

"See class, we've all learned some things today. First among them is that absolutely every one of you is somehow less important than the Dragon of Wealth's glorified pet. Second of all is that if you think you or your family are at all important, consider how upset she must be with me right now, and then consider how little I care. So if any of you little bastards think you can get any special treatment by threatening me with whatever you idiots think is power I will devote every bit of my time and attention I can spare from my work to making you personally suffer."

He pauses to let this sink in.

"On an unrelated note, it is likely that the college will soon be experiencing some budgetary problems related to forms that I have no doubt are currently being incinerated by dragonfire. To address this, we will be holding a tournament between students at the end of every week where the losers will be violently 'expelled' in order to cut down on our spending."

You can feel the scare quotes around that expelled.

"Now, if you will." He gestures at the TA, then disappears again.

After a short pause, she speaks.

"We will begin the tour..."

God, you had heard rumors about the college, but what have you gotten yourself into?

----------------------------​

Later, after the tour, the TA stops you before you leave for your dorm room like the rest of the students.

She gives a weary sigh before leaning back against a desk.

"Things aren't usually this bad; something's got the archmage in a real mood. Anyways, it's good to have you here. Keep your head down and things will be fine. The archmage will like your talent and for at least the first few months the skills you already have should guarantee you won't be kicked out at the end of the week."

"Do you have any questions about the college that I didn't cover on the tour, or anything I could help you with?"

Questions?
[] Writein

What are your magical skills?
You have 10 points to spend on skills and spells right now:

[] Novice Elemental Control (1): Can create painful but chaotic and small elemental effects.
-[] Apprentice Elemental Control (5): Can create potentially deadly manifestations of elements, and exert minor and slow control over the elements around you, requires Novice Elemental Control.
[] Multicasting (2X): Can maintain X extra spells at the same time.
[] Speed Casting 1 (3): Spells no longer require a ritual and have a casting time equal to the numbers of points they cost in seconds.
[] Planar Portal (1): Opens a small portal to nowhere somewhere you can see. Not yet usefully large.
-[] Planar Portal Size 1 (3): Opens a portal to nowhere about the size of a person, requires Planar Portal.
-[] Planar Creation 1 (3): You can now open a portal to Somewhere, and reopen that portal at a later date. The inside of the portal is still airless and lightless, requires Planar Portal.
--[] Planar Control 1 (3): You can exert influence on places you have opened a portal to, decreasing or increasing temperature slightly, adding light, air, and featureless floors and walls, requires Planar Creation.



​

 

[Lexica]

[X] Schedule?
[X] Curfew?
[X] Extracurriculars?
[X] Books?

[X] Plan Speed Portal
-[X] Speed Casting 1
-[X] Planar Portal
--[X] Planar Portal Size
--[X] Planar Creation

You do, in fact, have questions.

"Okay. First of all then, what's the schedule going to be like for this semester? I know you told us to show up in the auditorium tomorrow morning to sign up for classes, but what's that going to look like?"

The TA's head tilts slightly like she's trying to remember something. "Ah, I don't have my schedule on me... I believe the classes on Dimensional Science I'm teaching will be around noon in the small lecture hall we went through before this one. That will be your main class every day, with larger practical classes once a week after dinner on Thursdays and occasional special classes at mystically significant times. The new moon is coming up next week actually I believe, so we'll have a midnight class then..."

She trails off as if thinking.

"Oh, and other classes I suppose. I believe Finius's class on history is mandatory this semester and that's Tuesdays, so you'll have that day after tomorrow right after your class with me. And I suppose if you really wanted to you could probably fit in another class two or three times a week on one of the other subjects taught by one of their TAs, but that might be a bit too much. There's a lot of practice time required outside of class to do well on these things."

"Okay, that's good to know," you say, then ask "What about a curfew or anything else like that?"

"No curfew per se, but the college gates close at sundown so if you went to leave or come back in after that you'll need a..." She pauses. "Non-official way of doing that. Also, don't be too loud late at night just on general principle. Some of the professors are a bit trigger happy with the noisy students."

"Also very good to know, not that I really expected anything different given how the rest of this day has gone."

The TA just sort of nods sadly in response.

"What about, ah, extracurriculars?"

"Ahah! I knew I forgot to mention something on the tour. Yes yes, this is relevant because of this tournament thing the archmage has come up with. The Burning Earth creates an arena in the central courtyard everyday after dinner once classes have started for students to practice fighting in. I actually have a theory that it derives some kind of power from such conflicts given how out of character such an action would normally be for even an elemental of its level of sophistication-"

She cuts herself off with a cough.

"Anyways. It doesn't normally get many takers, but I imagine that will change this semester. I'm told it often gives very practical advice for the fighters after each match. Of course, it's a bit dangerous, but I imagine the practice will be worthwhile for you at least once in a while."

"Anything else?" you ask.

"Hmmm. Not much you would be interested in I think. Still, first few hours of the semester yet. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Okay. One last thing then- what about books? That's where I learned all of what I know so far, and I know you took us through the library, but just about everything was chained to the shelves."

"Yes, we keep a close eye on the College's library. Don't worry, you'll be allowed to take anything a teacher has authorized you to, and if you ever want to do some reading ahead just ask me and I'll see about getting you the books you'll need."

"Okay then. Thank you! I'm honestly glad to just be having a normal conversation at this point without threats of horrible torture and death every other sentence."

"I think everyone at this college has had that feeling at one point or another." The TA shrugs, as if asking 'What are you going to do?' then finishes simply by saying, "You get used to it."

You say good night and turn to leave for your dorm room-

"Oh, and Saphira, please feel free to ask me for extra tutoring if you ever have time in your schedule. I'm eager to help someone of your talents learn."

With an assurance that you will, you finally leave for your room. You honestly don't even take it in. You just fall onto your bed and gratefully sink into sleep.

---

Okay, now into the meat of the quest. First things first, you need to plan out your first day of classes. Some things will be automatic, but otherwise you'll be picking what to do in each timeslot. Eventually we'll probably have some timeskips, but for at least the first two weeks, each day is going to have at least a short update with some days getting several updates if something particularly important happens. At the end of each day you'll gain points to spend on magic based on your choices. Also, you'll finally be learning some people's names, and thank god for that. I can only write nervous girl so many times without hating myself.

Note: Mandatory Choices count against the total number of choices for a time slot.

Morning (2 Choices)
[X] Picking classes (Mandatory Choice)
-[] Nervous Girl Encounter
-[] Rich boy Encounter
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class (Mandatory Choice)
[] Class on spirits
[] Class on the elements
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
[] The Library
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Night (2 Choices)
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
[] The Burning Earth's Arena
[] The Library
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

More options with what to do with your time will become available as you pick 'Explore the College' options and get to know various characters.

 

[Lexica]

[X] Plan 3DS

Morning:
[X] Picking classes (Mandatory Choice)
-[X] Nervous Girl Encounter
[X] Explore the College (Random Encounter)

Afternoon
[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class (Mandatory Choice)
[X] Class on the elements
[X] Tutoring with the TA

Night
[X] Tutoring with the TA
[X] The Library

The morning dawns bright and early. You roll over on your bed with a groan before remembering where exactly you are and startling to full wakefulness. You practically leap out of bed and get dressed; no way are you being late on the first day, you can't even imagine what the professors would do. Fifteen minutes later, you're once more outside the main auditorium. Looking in, you see the chairs and benches have been cleared to the sides of the large room to be replaced with a number of small booths. You linger a bit on the edge of the doorway, not many people are in there yet, and you're not really sure-

A throat clears behind you. You turn around, and there's nervous girl, or whatever her actual name is. Her clothes today are not nearly so fancy. They're still high quality, but the gem covered dress has been replaced with a black shirt and trousers and her hair is in a ponytail instead of complicated braids. And, now that she's no longer wearing clothes with such a high neck, you can see a very slim golden collar around it. The word 'Ruby' is engraved in curly letters on it. It's at this point that you realize you've probably been staring for a bit longer than is socially acceptable, and with an embarrassed cough step all the way through the entryway into the auditorium.

Both of you then simultaneously head off towards the dimensional science booth.

"So you're going to be studying dimensional science as well?" You ask immediately in an effort to avoid an awkward silence as you both walk practically in lock step.

"Not really."

"Oh? What are you studying then?"

"Magic."

You're a bit confused by that one, but if she doesn't want to elaborate.... A few seconds pass in silence before she apparently decides to relent.

"You must find be able to find magic's beating heart to be able to rip it out of it's chest."

"And that means?"

"I'm here so I can better learn how to rip apart spells and enchantments. Countermagic."

"I saw some books referencing it, but they all seemed to view it as impractical."

She nods.

"It's often viewed that way, yes. 'Finding magic's beating heart' is why countermagic is so difficult. Every spell is different, even the same spell cast again seconds later under very similar conditions probably won't be exactly the same. And that's not even getting into the things that can be done to make a spell resistant to countermagic. So if you wish to tear apart a spell, you must know it intimately in all it's variations."

"That sounds... Basically impossible."

"Well, I'm making it sound more difficult than it really is. It's about intuition- knowing magic intimately, feeling a spell and knowing it even if you haven't seen anything like it before in your entire life. Magic is magic, and if you know magic, you don't need to know the spells."

You nod along, the topic fascinating you. You'll have to ask the TA about it later, it definitely sounds like it might be something worth studying. Neither of you is speaking now, but you've managed to avoid an awkward silence for the rest of the walk to the dimensional science booth, you thoughtful, her; well, you assume she's not feeling awkward.

When you finally reach the booth, you see the TA isn't there yet. Once more you have to dig deep to avoid an uncomfortable silence as you both wait. This is honestly wearing on you a bit. You wish you had had the opportunity to grab a book from the library, they were always your go to choice to avoid these kinds of things. Regardless, you turn to face her and hold out your hand.

"I'm Saphira. Nice to meet you."

You're a bit startled by the despairing groan you get in response.

"Oh god, is it really? Please never say your name around me again."

"Uh..."

She points at her collar. "See here? My name's Ruby, and Diana will absolutely decide she wants a matching pair if she finds out your name. She loves that kind of thing. Uhg, just my luck."

"Diana?"

She makes a face.

"The Dragon of Wealth. She's not a fan of her title."

You both return to silence as you wait for the TA.

Ruby speaks up a moment later. "Still, nice to meet to you."

You nod. "And you. Countermagic sounds very interesting, it's definitely something I'll have to look into."

You would say more, but it's at that point that the TA appears in the chair at the booth with a stack of papers. A copy is held out to both of you.

"This is the schedule for Introduction to Dimensional Science. Please pay special attention to the 'important dates' section under which is listed the days where we are either not having class or will be having a class outside of the regular schedule. Further questions can be addressed in the first class."

She notes down your names on a sheet of paper then vanishes again, apparently having no time to stick around and chat.

With that, you're left to pick up the schedule for Finius's history class and the schedule for the smaller elemental class being taught by one of that department's TAs.

First years didn't really have much choice in terms of what classes they picked; it looked like this big auditorium filled with booths was mostly for the benefit of the students in later years. Exploring around the maze of booths though you did find what looked to be a section of student run clubs however. You don't really have time to talk to them right now though, you want to get breakfast and a shower so you're not a total mess. You note down the dates and times they meet for later to check them out.

---------------------------------------------------​

The first Dimensional Science Class is unremarkable given that it mostly consisted of the TA going over the expectations for the class and reading through all the dates extra carefully to make sure no one had any reasonable excuse for not knowing about a special class. Still, there were two interesting things- the first is that the midterm project would be done with partners and would involve some minor enchanting this year so there were going to be even more special classes than usual to make sure we had the very basics of enchanting down. The second was the demonstration of basic dimensional spells the TA did. The sheer ease with which she could fold space and open portals really gave you ideas.

You stay after the class to talk to the TA about them and end up staying for about an hour and a half as you discuss your ideas and why certain ones did or did not work. She ends up recommending some books on theory to you before you both run out of time. You run off to the elemental class and just barely make it on time. That class was apparently all interesting all the time. The TA there, Brand, is a man in vibrant red and green robes who spends about two seconds saying that the class would be held at the same time every day and you could always show up whenever before moving on to demonstrating basic elemental spells once and telling everyone to practice them while he went around and gave pointers. You end up with minor burns on your fingers, (You think the entire class does actually. You're lucky your hair didn't catch on fire. You like your hair.) but feel like you have a basic understanding of elemental magic now.
​

---------------------------------------------------​

After Brand passes out some bandages and ointment to the class, you head to the library. Along the way you catch a lot of the upperclassmen snickering at you. You're pretty sure getting your fingers burnt after your first bit of elemental magic is some kind of rite of passage. The library is definitely an interesting place what with all the books being chained to the shelves and the sightlines to the exit so absurdly long that it had to be intentional. They definitely don't want anyone sneaking off with the books. You look around for the librarian. The TA had said you should talk to them about getting those books she had recommended.

You halt your search when a mist appears in front of you before forming into a ghostly figure about three meters high in armor so spiky you're pretty sure running your hand along it would make you bleed out if it were physical. The voice is surprisingly high and feminine when it speaks.

"Library Card?"

"Ah, no. I'm a new student."

"Follow me."

You don't really feel like saying no to the giant ghostly tower of metal spikes.

"Name."

"Saphira."

"Current focus of study?"

"Dimensional Science."

"Unusual Authorizations?"

"Ah, my TA gave me this..."

You hold out a small scrap of paper with the signature 'Dishevel Vino' and a list of books on it.

The figure bends down to look at it.

"Well, this all seems to be in order. Have a nice day."

The figure hands you a card with your information and picture on it, and you nod back, not terribly sure what else to do.

You grab the books from where the figure directs you to them on the shelves and carefully place them Somewhere in a pocket dimension before heading off to get dinner. You eat fast, no time to talk to anyone or really enjoy the food; the TA had said you could go over some of the books with her but that she didn't have a lot of time so you would have to eat quickly. Two hours later, you really feel like you're on the edge of a breakthrough. The TA had left half an hour ago, but you had kept going. You really think that with just a bit of practice you'll be able to do something new. Before she left you asked her about the ghost in the library. Her reply had been interesting.

"Hah, I suppose she does look a bit intimidating doesn't she? Still, Sammy's just the librarian now. You should talk to her sometime, she has a lot of interesting stories."

Monday 1 Complete

+ 1 point to Elemental magic
+ 3 points to Dimensional Science
+ 1 point to Dimensional Science from library bonus
+ Social Link- Ruby
+ Option Unlocked- Talk to Ruby
+ Option Unlocked- Talk to Sammy
+ Option Unlocked- Tutoring with the TA- Countermagic


Tuesday 1 Schedule:

Morning (2 Choices)
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
[] The Library
-[] Talk to Sammy
-[] Books
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[X] Finius's History Class (Mandatory Choice)
[] Dimensional Science TA's Class
[] Class on the elements
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Library
-[] Talk to Sammy
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Night (2 Choices)
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Burning Earth's Arena
[] The Library
-[] Talk to Sammy
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)​