The College of Jewels (Magical Academy Quest)

[Lexica]

[X] Plan Social Studies

[X] Talk to Ruby
[X] Explore the College (Random Encounter)

[X] Finius's History Class (Mandatory Choice)
[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class
[X] Class on the elements

[X] Tutoring with the TA
-[X] Countermagic
[X] The Library
-[X] Talk to Sammy

Another day another early morning. You think you're going to hate your room. The window seems to be positioned perfectly so that the instant the sun comes up, bam! Light directly on your eyeballs. Still, you're already up so you might as well get the day started. On the way to the showers you run into Ruby again, still wearing the same clothes she was wearing yesterday. Going by how she's rubbing her eyes and yawning, you think she would agree with you about the awful positioning of the window.

"G'morning s'phira," she mumbles at you as you match her pace and start to walk down the hall with her.

"Not a morning person?" You ask.

She nods tiredly. "Didn't get much proper sleep last night." She pauses for a yawn before continuing. "Diana was using my dreams to talk to me. Speaking of, she's coming to watch the tournament this Saturday. Dunno why, I doubt many people in our class know much magic yet, so it won't be very interesting. Oh, and for future reference your name is Sophia when I'm talking to her, in case that ever comes up."

"Talking to you in dreams?"

She scowls a bit and pokes her collar. "It's not just for show. It does a lot of things."

You search hastily for a topic to move on to. "So uh," you pause for a noticeable amount of time before you find a new topic. "How are your classes going? I saw you in the dimensional science class but uh..."

She gives you a bit of a look at the obvious change in subject, but doesn't comment on it. "Fine. I attended a spiritual studies class as well yesterday, but I think I'll focus on elemental instead for the rest of this semester. I should have listened to Viola about how difficult using countermagic on creatures of magic is. They're toooooo," she draws out the word, presumably searching for an explanation. "Too much? Too cohesive? I'm nowhere near good enough to effect them yet."

An interesting idea. You'll have to talk to the TA about that as well when you ask her about countermagic. "Who's Viola?" You ask absently as you consider what exactly would happen to say, an elemental, if they were hit by countermagic strong enough to effect them.

"Diana's personal bodyguard-slash-secretary-slash-stand-in-slash-whatever Diana wants her to be on a given day. She's the one who suggested I should study countermagic so I can be her stand-in if she's busy doing something for Diana. She was teaching me personally a lot, but apparently she doesn't have the time anymore. I think there's some big shake up going on behind the scenes in the city council from what I've heard her and Diana talking about."

A shake up in the city council? That could be a bit worrying. Hopefully you wouldn't be caught in any of the crossfire from that. No time to ask about it now that you've reached the showers though.

A bout of washing up later, and you're on the way to breakfast. Although somewhat unwillingly, today you've gotten up early enough to have the time to actually enjoy breakfast. You're a bit startled when someone sits down at your table across from you and sticks a hand in your face. You look up to see that red haired rich boy giving you a friendly smile.

You blink at him, glance down at his hand and then raise yours to shake it cautiously. He pumps it up and down with enthusiasm. Your hand kind of hurts now.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Henry. I do not tell you my last name because I feel that relying on the fame of another to become well known is rather a cheat. Regardless, I have made it my mission to get to know everyone at the college that I possibly can and introduce myself to all of them. If everyone knows your name, then you cannot help but be famous, yes?"

"I suppose that's true," you say.

He smiles broadly. "Indeed, indeed. Now. I have introduced myself, but that is only half of the equation, yes?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was a bit startled so I forgot. I'm Saphira."

"A pleasure to meet you Saphira. Regrettably, I do not have the time to carry on our conversation any longer if I wish for everyone in the college to know my name by the end of the week. But please, if you ever have need of anything, do not hesitate to call upon me. Everyone knowing your name is one thing, but I hope to one day be famous for great deeds rather than my sociable personality. Farewell for now. May every road lead to your destination."

With that, he bustles off to stick his hand in someone else's face. Huh. Interesting guy you suppose.

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​

Later, you have your dimensional science class with the TA. You sit down next to Ruby this time, giving her a nod which she returns. Now the TA is actually teaching the basics instead of just going over the schedule or giving demonstrations. Despite knowing all of this though, you still feel like you learned a lot after the class is over. You don't think anyone else in the class has realized it, but your TA is brilliant. You had thought you were talented, but seeing her glance over at you before starting to explain what should be the most basic of basic lessons on dimensional science and somehow directing your attention to facets of the fundamentals you had never even considered accept as axiomatic truths is astounding. It really makes you wonder at the depths of her ability that her understanding of the subject is so great.

Unfortunately, you can't spend all your time in her class, and it eventually ends with her reminding all of you that the history class taught by Finius is mandatory. You walk with Ruby down to the main auditorium trying to expound on why exactly the TA is brilliant. She doesn't really seem to get it, but she does ask you to explain some of the spells again when she realizes you can actually cast them. You're not sure she's interested in the spells themselves though. She seemed to be more keen on understanding the differences between why you and the TA explained them differently, down to individual words used. When you ask her about it, she explains that understanding those differences is a big part of countermagic. Before you can ask more however, Finius has appeared at the lectern.

It's strange, hearing about Finius, you expected him to stand out more. In person, he just looks like a guy in a really stuffy suit with a monocle. A slightly see through guy, but... It's strange. He doesn't even have much of a presence, and when he starts speaking his voice is just a monotone drone. In fact, a very familiar monotone drone. You haven't read it in a while but you are absolutely sure he's word for word quoting the opening of the chronicles of the founding of Diadem. You think back. What's coming next if he's quoting directly? Something like...'So the founders swore an oath, that so long as they believed in Diadem, there would be no treachery among them. Where other cities have fallen to petty infighting, Diadem will always stand in unity.' Annnd. Yep, exact quote. Your head slumps to your desk. This is going to be one waste of a class, you can tell already.

After the lecture, you head off to your elemental class, Ruby following along, you complaining in as quiet a voice as you can manage about the pointlessness of a professor just quoting a book all class. This time, Brand has you trying to manipulate the elements that are already there instead of creating them. You manage to make a pot of clay bulge up a bit, and then explode over half the class in a shower of dirt. That wouldn't be so bad normally, but about five seconds later another student made a bucket of water do the same thing, so now you were covered in what was basically mud. Still, your hair had yet to catch fire, unlike one girl at the front of the class, so you'll take your silver linings where you can get them. You also noticed Ruby occasionally glancing at other people's experimentation's and giggling a bit as she made their spells go awry. You're kind of glad you made friends with her just for that. Having your spells just randomly fail sometimes would have irritated you to no end.
​

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​

After the elemental class, you wave goodbye to Ruby, get a quick shower, then head off to see the TA for some extra tutoring. She actually seems a bit surprised when you ask her about countermagic.

"Countermagic? Definitely an interesting topic, I agree. I admit, I'm not the best at it. The high speed intuition and 'feeling' of spells is very much not my strong suit. Still, I can explain the theory at least, and when it comes to dimensional science I'm actually quite proficient at disrupting spells. You don't need to rely very much on intuition if your theoretical knowledge is good enough. What brings you to ask about it though?"

"Oh, I was talking to Ruby and it's her main focus of study. The idea fascinated me quite a bit."

"Hmm. I did see you sitting with her. I would be very careful around her if I were you. Whatever you might think, the Dragon of Wealth does not have disloyal servants."

The TA doesn't comment on the subject more than that, but you do sense that she's somewhat unhappy for the rest of the tutoring session. Regardless, you think you've learned some about countermagic. Though, if the TA isn't very proficient with such a large part of the subject you're not sure how much more she'll be able to help you with it. You don't doubt her brilliance, but she seems like she has a very full schedule- too full to keep ahead of you on a subject she barely studies. You're not sure how long it will be before you equal her skill at the subject, but when you do, you're going to have to find another teacher.

It's getting late now, but you think you'll go talk to the librarian, Sammy, before you head off to bed. You're too intrigued not to honestly. You enter the library, still holding a fair number of students even at this late hour, and again she appears in front of you saying, "Library Card," this time with her hand held out for it.

You give it to her. She gives it a cursory examination, nods, and begins to disappear. Before she can however, you say "Excuse me."

She re-solidifies slightly. "Yes?"

"Well, it's just my TA told me that you were an interesting person, and I'm kind of intrigued myself, so I wanted to ask about you."

The spirit nods it's head, the motion exaggerated by the immense and spiky helm it's wearing. "Well, that's fine. I'm not doing much else at the moment."

She beckons you to follow her, and you head to a small table in front of the main library desk. Amusingly, she moves as if she's sitting her massive armored form on one of the table's rickety chairs.

"I suppose the short explanation will do. Once upon a time I was the leader of a great army, the scourge of the continent. Then, I got the silly idea of trying to conquer Diadem into my head. And now, to be clear I made a very good showing of it. Killed a few city council members." She says this with a degree of pride in her voice.

"Anyway, long story short I was ambushed by the archmage when I was storming the college and killed, my spirit bound here forever, yadayadayada. Thing is, they were going for torturing me for all eternity, but my armor was a gift from the Goddess of Conquest for my victories, and she's annoyed that Diadem has never once been taken by an enemy force. So I'm kept safe by her divine power as a bit of a spiteful middle finger to the city council. I spent a couple decades fucking with everyone, but eventually you get bored of that, you know? So I figured I would just be the librarian. It's a way to pass the time."

The TA was right, Sammy was an interesting person. She might be a good source of information actually. Worth talking to if you needed to know something. You spend a little time reciprocating and giving your life story so far. There's not very much of it, but from what you can tell the spirit was fascinated. You get the impression not many people talk to her that often.

Now. Time to go sleep.

Tuesday 1 Complete

+1 point to Elemental Magic
+1 point to Dimensional Magic
+1 point to Countermagic
+Social Link- Sammy
+Option Unlocked- Ask Sammy Questions
+Option Unlocked- Talk to Henry
+Option Unlocked- Talk to Ruby about learning countermagic

Wednesday 1 Schedule:

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

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[] Dimensional Science TA's Class
[] Class on the elements
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Library
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
[] 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
-[] [] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)
​

 

[Lexica]

[X] Plan Gearing Up

[X] Tutoring with the TA
-[X] Dimensional Science
[X] Talk to Ruby
-[X] Learning countermagic
[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class
[X] Class on the elements
[X] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[X] Tutoring with the TA
-[X] Dimensional Science
[X] Practice

...You forgot to do something about that window. Yay. Getting up at the crack of dawn is so fun. Maybe the TA is up? She seems like a morning person. A shower later, you've got the information sheet she gave out when you signed up for dimensional science and have looked up where her room is. Faculty wing, second floor, first room on the left after you go up the stairs from the small courtyard....

Eventually, you make your way there and knock on her door. A moment later it opens, a crisp "Yes?" coming from the TA. Your train of thought is momentarily derailed by the fact that the TA is wearing pink pajamas rather than her normal somewhat bland black robes. You've also now learned that she apparently has strawberry blonde hair cut short. Really, she just looks entirely different without a hood and thick black robes covering most of her.

"Ah, that is, I was wondering if you had time to go over some of the later chapters in that book on planar control with me, but if you're busy then that's fine I really didn't mean to interrupt you before you had gotten dressed, sorry I'll just leave-" Stupid sunlight making you sleepy and giving you poor judgement. Yes, I will go knock on my TA's door at the crack of dawn, that's reasonable right? Idiot.

"Saphira."

"very sorry- ah, yes?"

"It's fine."

"Oh. Uh, okay."

"Come on in."

With no small amount of trepidation you walk into the TA's room as she holds the door open for you. It is entirely too pink and fluffy to fit the image she normally projects.

And then she pulls out her copy of the book from under her bed and starts in on common misconceptions of planar control without an ounce of awkwardness. So it's just you then. Good to know.

An hour later, the TA snaps her book shut.

"My apologies, but I have some work to attend to right now."

She pauses, then a calendar and a pen appear in her hands. She makes several marks, then continues "This time actually works well for me. If you desire more tutoring in the mornings, that would be ideal. I'll see you in class."

Nodding, you hastily exit the room as the TA stands up and begins digging through her dresser. Breakfast should be starting to get served right about now.

You spot Ruby eating alone after collecting your food and maneuver yourself across from her.

"Good morning," is your greeting. She just nods at you, her mouth full. You eat fast so that you finish at about the same time as her.

"So," you lead in, "I talked to the Dimensional Science TA about countermagic, but she's apparently not great at it. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for learning how to do it?"

Ruby frowns a bit at this. "Well, I could maybe help you with the basics..." She gets a thoughtful look on her face. "Or we could help each other, I suppose. A lot of getting better at countermagic is practice, as much of it as possible in as much variation as possible. Finding the heart of a spell needs to become instinctual."

You nod along, eager to learn how to get better at this apparently rare and poorly understood area of magic. Ruby seems to be warming to the idea as she talks.

"Yeah, I'm liking this idea. I've mostly been practicing in class by making all the other student's spells fizzle, and you could do that too, but we would be able to get even more practice if we took turns casting spells and counterspelling each other. Come on, let's find a side room or something so we can do that. I've been itching to get in more practice."

You agree, and the two of you spend a couple hours disrupting each other's spells. You also learn that Ruby apparently has the sense of humor of a three year old when she makes the water from a basic elemental spell backfire and soak you to the bone. You couldn't get her to stop giggling and making puns after that, so not much work was accomplished in the last half hour of practice, but still. You got something done.

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​

After drying yourself off and getting a change of clothes, you have Dimensional Science. You see the TA frowning just a tiny bit when you sit down next to Ruby and she starts snickering again for no apparent reason. Apparently she thought of another pun. You roll your eyes at her and settle down for another of the TA's lectures. Once again, you practically bask in her brilliance and are honestly a bit affronted at how bored most of the class looks. You take much joy from Ruby making half the class's spells spontaneously fizzle for no apparent reason when the TA has you break off into groups to practice. From the amusement you once catch playing across the TA's face when it happens to one of the students who had seemed the most bored by the lecture, apparently she does too.

Once again the class ends and you and Ruby head off to your Elemental class. You give Ruby a glare every time she so much as glances at anyone practicing with water, and you yourself very pointedly pick a candle for your own practice- before realizing that was a terrible idea after recalling the girl whose hair caught on fire and deciding to just mess around with air. Luckily for the first time a class manages to go by without you being effected by any significant accident. The half of the class furthest away from you however... Well, it's a good thing no one but you knows that that's Ruby's fault.

After that you and Ruby end up walking around and talking about her terrible sense of humor while you wait for the TA's schedule to once more be free so you can get some extra tutoring. After only a couple minutes of that though, the two of you walk by an interesting sight- two boys you vaguely recognize from the auditorium on the first day have crowed someone you definitely do recognize into a corner. It's the 'volunteer' the archmage singled out. His face goes even paler than it already was when he sees the two of you come around the corner. When the two crowding him in there notice this and turn around to see you, he quickly pushes past them and sprints down the corridor. He isn't followed. They just give each other a glance then walk away in the opposite direction. Ruby clearly looks unhappy at this.

"Do you think we should do something about that?" She asks. "I feel bad."

You don't really have an answer. "Maybe. I'm not sure what we could really do to help though. He didn't seem exactly pleased to see you either."

She just shakes her head. The mood for the rest of your roam around the college is much more somber and downcast. Eventually however, you depart for the classroom the TA told you to meet her at. If there's one thing you can rely on, it's that at least. Maybe it's unhealthy, but learning things has always been your coping mechanism to ignore and forget about all the things wrong with the city you live in. It just seems like there's too much to be fixed, and no one interested in doing it.

You finish the day off with a few hours of solitary practice, honing your newly learned skills and trying to not think about anything but the spell work. You wonder if one day you'll ever be powerful enough that your voice will really matter in Diadem. You hope so.

Wednesday 1 Complete

+1 point to Elemental Magic
+3 point to Dimensional Magic
+1 point to Countermagic
+Social Link Upgrade- Ruby
+Option Unlocked- Track down the Archmage's 'volunteer' with Ruby
+Option Unlocked- Practice countermagic with Ruby
+Option Unlocked- Practice countermagic in class

Thursday 1 Schedule:

Morning (2 Choices)
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
[] The Library
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Books
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[] Dimensional Science TA's Class
-[] Practice Counterspelling Students
[] Class on the elements
-[] Practice Counterspelling Students
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Library
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Night (2 Choices)
[] Dimensional Science Practical Class (Mandatory)
-[] Practice Counterspelling Students
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Burning Earth's Arena
[] The Library
-[] [] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Available Points:
8 Dimensional Science
3 Elemental
2 Countermagic

Generic:
[] Multicasting (2X): Can maintain X 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.

Dimensional Science:
[] 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 Portal Size 2 (5): Opens a portal to nowhere about the size of a double doorway, requires Planar Portal Size 1.
[] 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 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.

[] 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.

Elemental:
[] 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.
-[] 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.

[] 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.

[] 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.




​

 

[Lexica]

[X] Plan TNE
-[X] Tutoring with the TA
--[X] Dimensional Science
-[X] Talk to Henry
-[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class
-[X] Tutoring with the TA
--[X] Dimensional Science
-[X] Class on the elements
-[X] Dimensional Science Practical Class (Mandatory)
-[X] The Library
--[X] Ask Sammy about something (Her coolest past battles)

[X] Plan TNE MAGIC
-[X] Get Planar Control 1, Planar Teleport 1 and Novice Elemental Control.


At this point you think you're just going to accept that you're getting up at dawn every morning, given you seem physically incapable of remembering to do something about that window. You guess you might as well go see the TA for some tutoring then. She did tell you this was a good time for her.

20 minutes later after a quick shower you're knocking on her door. Once again she opens it wearing pink pajamas. This is really harming your mental image of her as cool. Regardless, you spend the next hour going over your form on planar control and planar teleport. The teleport especially she was quick to correct and nitpick; apparently it's a very important foundation for a lot of similar spells, and if you can't do it right, you've got no hope for the others. At the end of the hour, you ask the TA a question before you leave.

"So, uh, I'm kind of embarrassed to be asking this now, but I figure it just gets worse the longer I wait. What exactly is your name? I'm sorry if I've forgotten, but I don't think you've ever told me."

The TA is looking down at her calendar and makes several marks on it before acknowledging your question.

"I haven't said."

"Oh, good, I was worried I had forgotten it somehow." You wait for her to fill in the obvious blank here, but things just fade to a somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"So..."

"I feel like names are more important than most people give them credit for. Not magically, but," The TA's hands make a sort of grasping motion as if to express an idea just out of her reach. "They are important. I have always thought so. I decided a long time ago that until I figured out why I wouldn't use mine. You should never use something you do not understand completely."

Kind of a strange idea, but you don't really want to offend her by commenting so you just nod like that's a perfectly reasonable thing to do and step out. There was something else you wanted to do this morning.

That Henry guy was interesting and you wanted to talk to him again. Luckily he shouldn't be too hard to find, he was probably in the dining hall shaking everyone's hand. And indeed, that's where he is. You wave to Ruby as you pass her on the way to intercept him as he goes from one person to another, skipping over people he has presumably introduced himself to already.

"Henry!" You call over to him.

He looks behind him to you and smiles broadly.

"A fine morning to you Saphira. I have made much progress in my goal of introducing myself to everyone in the college. Indeed, I believe word of my goal has spread beyond the people I have already introduced myself to. Clear proof that I am becoming quite famous, don't you agree?"

"That certainly sounds like fame to me." Possibly infamy, given you had earlier overheard someone mentioning that he ambushed them in the showers after they had deliberately avoided him in the dining hall.

"Now, what brings you to speak to me? Do you perhaps have need of me to perform some great and heroic deed for you?" He sounds eager at the prospect.

"Ah, no. I just wanted to get a chance to talk to you more. You seem like a very interesting person." He nods at this, looking slightly disappointed.

"Well, what is it you wish to speak of? I have time for a short conversation, as I believe I am slightly ahead of schedule on my introductions."

"Mostly I just wanted to know where you got the idea to do what you're doing right now. It seems like a strange idea, but then it does certainly seem to be working."

"Nowhere in particular if you must know. I was raised to always take the most direct and simplest route to your destination. So if I wish everyone to know my name, then the obvious solution is to introduce myself to everyone, and if I wish to become famous for great deeds then the obvious solution is to ask everyone I introduce myself to to tell me if they require aid. This makes sense, yes? No need to over-complicate such simple desires."

"It does," is your reply.

He nods at you respectfully. "I thank you for your interest. Now once more I must apologize for ending our conversation so abruptly, but I really must stay on schedule with my introductions. May every road lead to your destination."

With that he continues on. You get the feeling he's not one for long conversations, at least when he's got a goal he's working towards.

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You chat with Ruby amiably until it's time for your Dimensional Science class and the both of you head off for it. The TA gives a small announcement at the beginning of class that tonight's practical class will be focused on the basics of enchanting that would be required to have incorporated in the midterm group projects. From there, she jumps back to where she left off yesterday. You do notice she's speaking a bit faster than she usually does however, and she keeps the class sightly late. You wonder if having to teach enchanting during the practical class has messed with the rest of the schedule? Well, no problem for you given your private tutoring sessions, and Ruby wasn't here to learn Dimensional Science anyways, but the rest of the class would probably be effected.

You stay and ask the TA about it, waving Ruby on ahead to get lunch without you.

She sighs at your question. "You are correct of course. Orders from Dishevel that the archmage would probably be upset about if he found out. 'Don't bother going slow enough for the simpletons who will fail anyways' he says. Honestly. The man doesn't even do anything in this class except grade projects, but apparently that's too painful for him unless every project in a first year class is some independently researched masterpiece that also includes enchanting."

"He's got high standards then?"

"That's one way of putting it. Regardless, I'll fill in the gaps in the lecture for you so you aren't missing anything."

She actually does quite a bit more than that- she goes all the way up to material she says is from several lectures ahead, all things she apparently has to cut from the class due to lack of time.

Eventually you have to leave for your elemental class, the TA recommending several more books from the library to you as you go. You meet up with Ruby at the entrance. You want to complain to her about the Dimensional Science lecture problem, but that's probably better saved for when you're alone and no one might overhear you. Regardless, you get back to experimenting with controlling the elements. You achieve results much more consistently after your practice last night. That's nothing compared to a few students up front however. They're throwing around some really impressive effects. You suspect they ended up making an elemental pledge. They must have been worried about losing in the archmage's 'tournament' to do something like that. You notice it's mostly them that Ruby is paying attention to this class. She's focusing pretty hard actually. Occasionally one of their spells just fizzles and stops working, but it lacks a lot of the consistency of Ruby's normal disruptions.

The class goes by quickly and you and Ruby get dinner. She's somewhat glum about her lack of success, but says that she thinks she'll have it down by the tournament. After dinner came what was supposedly the 'Dimensional Science Practical class' but what you really knew to basically be Enchanting 101. And indeed, that's what it seemed to be from the TA's opening words to the class.

"Enchanting is the practice of imbuing a spell into an object either to be cast continually or in response to certain stimuli. There are three important factors in any given enchantment. The first is the anchor for the spell- the object you choose. Precious metals and gems tend to most easily contain spells. The second is the trigger conditions. These must be set as the spell is cast over the object so that it is either cast continuously or in response to something. The third is the power source. This is especially important in enchantments where the spell is meant to be cast over and over without pause. An enchantment is powered by either a store of energy you yourself give it upon creation or it's environment. In this class we will mostly be exploring how the alternate physical states of different planes can be used to power enchantments..."

Really, it is very interesting stuff. And you suppose the fact that the lectures are being rushed so that all of this can be fit in isn't really your problem so you might as well just enjoy the new things you're learning. The rest of the class is more of the same. Lectures on the principles of enchanting and how they related to dimensional science. Next week you would actually be doing something practical.

After the class Ruby leaves you saying she wants to get some practice on higher level countermagic, and you head off to the library. You wanted to talk to Sammy again. Not only was she interesting, but you thought that you could learn a lot from her.

Once more, she appears before you when you enter and asks for your library card. She actually seems kind of surprised when you once again want to ask her about herself. Apparently most people stopped bothering after they satisfied their curiosity for the first time. She seems positively ecstatic about the idea of recounting her past battles.

"Coolest battles eh? Well, much as I'm sure you would love to hear about the epic duels between me and people like the council members I killed... If I have to pick one to start with then there's no question what it is. My first real battle, the first time I called and my Lady of War answered."

What follows is honestly not what you expected. But then, you supposed that even possibly the greatest conqueror the world had yet seen had to start somewhere. She had grown up in a city herself. 'Like Diadem, but less' apparently. There had been a lot of big gangs in that city, and to your surprise she hadn't been in any of them. She had grown up in that city feeling powerless, resent growing every day in her heart at the people who could trample over her in an instant if they wanted to. It didn't matter to her that they mostly didn't. If anything that made it worse. To be disregarded. Unimportant. The feeling burned inside her for years until one day it grew to be too much and she just snapped. She bashed a guard over the back of the head with a rock, took his sword and charged 'liked a lunatic' into the biggest gang meeting she knew about while yelling warcries that just popped into her head between one moment and the next. She didn't slow down until three days later when the haze faded and she had gone from assaulting a midlevel gang meeting to controlling half the city in a bloody revolution. From that point on she apparently never stopped.

The lesson, she says, is that sometimes if you want to get anywhere you have to do something crazy and stupid. She impressed the Goddess of Conquest that day, yes. She doubts she would have really gotten anywhere without her help. But that would never have happened if she hadn't had the strength inside her to act even knowing that logically there was no point. The world is not changed by 'reasonable' people doing 'reasonable' things.

You personally feel the fact that a Goddess was helping her along was the rather more important bit, but you're not going to argue. You head to bed thinking on her story.

Thursday 1 Complete

+1 point to Elemental Magic
+3 point to Dimensional Magic
+1 point to Enchanting
+Social Link Upgrade- Sammy
+Social Link Upgrade- Henry
+Option Unlocked- Ask Henry for help with something
+Option Unlocked- Ask Sammy about Gods and Goddesses

Friday 1 Schedule:

Morning (2 Choices)
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
-[] Ask Henry for help with something
[] The Library
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Ask Sammy about Gods and Goddesses
-[] Books
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[] Dimensional Science TA's Class
-[] Practice Counterspelling Students
[] Class on the elements
-[] Practice Counterspelling Students
[] Explore the College (Random Encounter)
[] Tutoring with the TA
-[] Dimensional Science
-[] Countermagic
[] The Library
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Ask Sammy about Gods and Goddesses
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
-[] Ask Henry for help with something
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] 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
-[] Ask Sammy about something (writein)
-[] Ask Sammy about Gods and Goddesses
-[] Books
[] Find a Club
-[] Writein topic
[] Talk to Ruby
-[] Learning countermagic
[] Talk to Henry
-[] Ask Henry for help with something
[] You and Ruby look for the archmage's 'volunteer'
[] Practice (May spend accumulated points)​

 

[Lexica]

[X] Plan Saphira's adventures

Morning (2 Choices)
[X] The Library
-[X] Books
--[X] On elementalism
[X] Talk to Ruby
-[X] Learning countermagic

Afternoon (3 Choices)
[X] Talk to Henry
-[X] Ask Henry for help with something
--[X] Helping the archmage's 'volunteer'
[X] Dimensional Science TA's Class
[X] Class on the elements

Night (2 Choices)
[X] Practice (May spend accumulated points)
[X] The Burning Earth's Arena

You nuzzle into your pillow, covered by your blanket. You're not entirely sure what time it is, but you are damn sure it isn't dawn. Frankly, that's good enough for you. The beds at the college are actually much nicer than your bed at home. Very soft and fluffy.

An indeterminate amount of time later, you convince yourself to finally get up. Looking out the window and estimating from the height of the sun.... You're not actually very good at this. Before noon. Probably. You yawn, still sleepy. You don't really want to put a super huge amount of effort into anything after getting up at a reasonable hour for the first time since coming to the college. You guess that means you'll work on Elemental magic. Heh.

You walk to the library, giving Sammy a friendly greeting which she returns when she asks for your library card. You grab the first reasonable looking book on Elemental magic you're allowed to take and just start reading. For all that it's a fairly theory light subsection of magic, there was a large body of practical advice to draw from.

Eventually however, you are interrupted by a poke to the back of the head. You jump and spin around, startled, to see Ruby standing behind you with a small stack of books in her hand. "Good morning," she says.

"Why did you poke me?" You grumble.

She just smirks slightly. "I enjoy watching you freak out."

"I didn't 'freak out,'" you protest, "I was just startled."

"Uh huh."

You scowl at her and change the subject. "What are you reading all those books about? Countermagic?"

She nods. "Like always. There's some higher level things than just the basic dismissal that I wanted to work on, but I'm not entirely sure how to do them so I need to do some research."

"Like what?"

"Urgh, don't make me give you a full explanation, we'll be here for hours."

"Hey, don't doubt me. I'm good at theory stuff I'll have you know."

"Fine, but don't ask any questions. And don't complain to me about my metaphors, because they're Viola's metaphors, and she's awful at metaphors."

You just nod, eager to hear about some new and rare magic.

"Okay, so imagine ambient magic as a bunch of loose threads. A spell is a tapestry or a blanket or some other finished product made of threads. Dismissal is like carefully picking apart the threads as they're weaved. But what if, for example, there were no threads there in the first place? Or at least a very small number of threads. Then suddenly magic becomes very difficult because you're relying almost entirely on your own personal stores of magic."

"But how does that-"

"I said no questions!"

"I'm just saying that that explanation doesn't exactly-"

"Nope. Not my metaphor, not my explanation, that's the best you're getting."

You sigh.

Eventually you manage to coax several more equally absurd metaphors out of her. The explanations just don't make sense when you consider how magic actually works. Finally, in frustration you decide to read through some of her stack of books. Those were better and lined up more with what you understand to be how magic actually works, but you still feel like you're just not getting something. Just as you're about to give up in frustration however, Ruby makes a small exclamation and runs off claiming that she 'needs to write this down.'

You call after her that the dimensional science class is about to start, but she just flaps her hand at you and keeps running.

----------------------------​

The class... Happens. You weren't paying as much attention as you normally do, your brain still trying to work on whatever problem Ruby had figured out. You don't come to whatever sudden epiphany she had, but your brain does manage to work out a niggling inconsistency between planar portals and planar teleports that had been bugging you so your inattention wasn't entirely a waste.

When you get to the class on the elements afterwards, you're surprised to find Ruby already waiting for you outside the door. When you ask her why she ran off she just gets a smug smile and says 'you'll see.' And yes, you did in fact see. Everyone in the class, you included, was having trouble casting spells. It felt like there was a pressure, some kind of tangible force making everything more difficult. You could barely even get your elemental spells to work more than half the time, although a subtle check showed you could use your dimensional spells, albeit with difficulty. Despite this widespread effect, the students who had taken the elemental pledges appeared to be Ruby's real focus. None of them could manage a thing the entire class. You think Brand, the class's TA, figured out what was going on given the glances Ruby was getting from him but he didn't say anything. Although considering that his focus at least half the time seemed to be on her collar, you suspect he may have wanted to. You feel like you should probably find the time to talk to Ruby about that. She might not get in trouble, but considering you're her friend you don't really want to be in the potential firing line.

That would have to wait for later however, because right now you were focused on finding Henry. This time it was surprisingly difficult- it took you the better part of an hour when he wasn't at any of the well trafficked places you thought he would be. When you finally do find him, he's walking through a somewhat dark and dusty corner of the student's wing of the college.

"Henry, there you are," you say.

"And there you are Saphira! What a surprise to be meeting you in a place like this," is his reply.

"It took me a while to find you."

"I am not surprised! I intentionally took myself off the beaten path this day, so that I might find those who do not follow it."

Uh. Right. "Well, I've got an idea for one of those 'great deeds' you were talking about if you're interested."

"Oh? This is good to hear."

"You know that guy the archmage picked to be his 'volunteer' on the first day?"

"Yes, indeed I do. He is one of the ones I have been tracking to introduce myself to. He has proven quite adept at running off just when I find myself close to him."

You manage to just barely hold back a weary sigh.

"Well, I think he's in trouble. With the archmage singling him out like that I think a lot of the other people in our class are too, and things could go very badly for him soon."

"I see, yes. This makes sense. A fine idea. Now, how to go about it..."

Henry starts muttering ideas to himself and you slowly try to ease around the corner before he can drag you into whatever his plan is. You almost make it before...

"Ah, Saphira, I may have need of your help in this matter eventually. I shall let you know. Until then, may all roads lead to your destination."

Crap.
​

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

You want to go to the Burning Earth's arena, but you feel you should get some practice in beforehand...
​

---

We're going to jump out of taking it day by day a bit ahead of schedule actually. We'll handle the fight in the arena like I plan to handle the tournament and see how that goes ahead of time.

For now...

Tactics for a fight:
[] Responsive- Catch your opponents spells with portals and then retaliate with minor elemental magic.

[] Aggressive- Drops rocks on someone's head as an opening move, and continue on the offense if that fails.

[] Write-in.

+1 point to elemental magic
+1 bonus point to elemental magic from books
+1 point to countermagic
+1 point to dimensional science
+1 bonus point to dimensional science courtesy of @TotallyNotEvil
+ Social Link Upgrade- Henry

Point Totals

Elemental: 5
Dimensional: 5
Countermagic: 3
Enchanting: 1

Generic:
[] Multicasting (2X): Can maintain X 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.

[] 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)

Dimensional Science:
[] Planar Portal Size 2 (5): Opens a portal to nowhere about the size of a double doorway, requires Planar Portal Size 1.
-[] Planar Portal Size 3 (10): Opens a portal to nowhere 10 meters square, requires Planar Portal Size 2.

[] 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 (10): 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.

[] 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.
-[] 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.

(There's no write-up for enchantments buys because it's really not relevant at all and you can't afford anything. Feel free to spend it on something generic.)​

 

[Lexica]

[X][Tactics] Aggressive- Drops rocks on someone's head as an opening move, and continue on the offense if that fails.
[X][Magic] Elemental Planar Portal, Stabilization, Redundancy.

The Burning Earth's arena is not particularly impressive. It's just one of the courtyards filled up with well packed dirt. The Burning Earth itself is in the center of it's arena. It's doesn't have the figure of a person, it's more like a gorilla made of rock and rubble all glowing a faint red. Even from the edge of the arena, you can feel the heat and see the shimmer around it. Looking at it, you're suddenly unsure of your idea of trying to get practice for a fight in an arena built by something you're pretty sure would set you on fire if you stood next to it.

Still, you apparently weren't the only first year to have this somewhat dubious idea going by the small crowd already gathered on the edge of the arena. About ten people in total, including you.

A moment after you join the small crowd, there is a rumbling grinding sound from the Burning Earth that slowly becomes words.

"Two of you will do battle. Step into the arena."

The crowd shuffles as one, everyone uncertain if they want to go first. You shuffle a bit with them, but well, the TA did mention this to you instead of explicitly warning you away from it, so you doubt these fights are usually particularly dangerous. You step out with not quite confidence.

A rumble comes from the Burning Earth that you can't really interpret and you wait for someone else to step out to face you. After more shuffling, a boy steps out. He seems to have switched over to fairly standard black robes instead of whatever clothes he wore before the academy so it's a bit harder to make a guess at social status than it is with most of the other first years. Still, given that his face isn't ringing any bells in your head you don't think he's anyone particularly important.

The Burning Earth rumbles once more, the noises again forming themselves into words.

"Stand at opposite sides. Introduce yourselves."

You both move to opposite edges of the arena with purpose, the elemental moving to the side as well so that it was across from the crowd of students and equidistant from both you and the boy in robes.

You begin to speak. "I'm Sa-"

He interrupts you. "Saphira, I know. My name is Adam."

You're a bit surprised he knows who you are, and pause for a moment as you consider bringing it up. He must notice your hesitation, because he says "Surprised? You're a bit more well known than I think you realize, always hanging around that Ruby girl and the Dimensional Science TA. A lot of people are curious about who exactly you are."

Worrying as that idea might be, now you're just left wondering why he interrupted you so rudely if he knows both those facts and isn't sure what that means for your social status. Maybe he's just kind of an idiot? Regardless, you elect to not respond. Before he can say anything else, the Burning Earth rumbles at the both of you.

"Begin."

Three seconds until a portal opened above him. You hoped the rocks didn't actually kill him. You had picked smaller ones for a reason after all.

He smirks and raises his hands to the air in a dramatic gesture.

1

You don't recognize him from the Dimensional Science class or your elemental class. Knowing that, he could be either a student focusing on elemental magic and so in the main class for that, or a student in the spiritual studies program.

2

"Oh Spirits of wind and light, answer my call-"

That answered that question. He continues on with his chant, his eyes locked on you and watching you for any movement. Too bad he's not looking up.

3

The portal opens above him and a large pile of medium sized rocks fall down towards his head, before halting an inch before they would make contact. How-

"Victor." The word said in a voice of rumbling earth and grinding stone. Adam looks over at it, startled, before finally catching a glimpse of what's over his head and jumping back, much much too late.

This was kind of disappointing. You don't really think you've learned anything. The Burning Earth stomps it's way to the center of the arena, the pile of rocks sinking to the ground.

It turns what you presume to be something like its head to you, before speaking again.

"Sapphire one. Your tactic is effective against the slow. Take care that the quick do not overwhelm you." It pauses for a moment. "Take care that your attacks do not always come from the same direction."

It looks towards Adam, who has picked himself up off the ground.

"Other. Your tactic was neither quick nor effective. If your attack is slow, always be moving. Never stand still in the confidence that you can anticipate or weather your opponent. The Lightning will always sunder the Oak. The River will always erode the Earth." The Burning Earth turns its head to you as it says this. You did just stand still while you waited for your spell to finish, didn't you? If your opponent's spell had been faster... It seemed like he was a bit of a joke now, but had his spell been the faster one, whose to say your positions might not be reversed right now? You didn't really have much in the way of defensive magic at the moment so that was out. You would just have to follow the Burning Earth's advice and try to always be moving while you cast.

Adam leaves in a bit of a huff after that and you just stand quietly on the edge of the crowd, watching the rest of the fights. No one approaches you. From watching, you think the only real threat to you would be one of the students who took a pledge. The Burning Earth specifically had the two students who took pledges in the crowd fight each other, and they're certainly leagues ahead of everyone else.

Afterwards, you walk off and go to bed.

+Combat Skill gained- Always be moving.
+Threat Assessment- Will recognize the students who fought in the arena if you fight them later.

When you wake up tomorrow, what is the first thing you want to do?

[] Talk to Ruby about the Dragon of Wealth coming to watch
[] Talk to Henry about how things are going with the archmage's volunteer
[] Try to figure out exactly how well known you currently are in the College and what people think about you.
[] Get something special to store Somewhere for the tournament (I.E. nets, ect)
[] Get in some last minute study and practice. (Gain 3 points in anything and get to practice. Skip directly to Tournament)
[] Write in

---

Sorry about the delay everyone. Had a bit of writer's block + wi-fi being nonfunctional for most of a day. Will update character sheet in a moment.

 

[Lexica]

[X] Talk to Ruby about the Dragon of Wealth coming to watch

You wake up early on Saturday. Not at dawn, because you want to be well rested for today, but early enough. The archmage has been frustratingly vague about the time table for this 'tournament' of his, and you know that if there's one thing you absolutely want to get done before it starts, it's talk to Ruby about the Dragon of Wealth coming to watch.

You try the dining hall first, but she's not there. While you're there you grab a few rolls to eat along the way for breakfast and head off to the showers, on the idea that they're a likely place for Ruby to be and you need to take one anyways. She's not there either. Hmmm. This could be problematic. You really need to find her, and you're not entirely sure where her room is. Well, if she's not in the dining hall and she's not in the showers, maybe she's not actually up yet?

A quick trip to what you're pretty sure is the section of hallway that her room is in later, you're debating knocking on random doors until she answers. Sure, you might get on some noble girl's bad side if you wake them up from their beauty sleep, but compared to the potential risk of not getting a chance to talk to Ruby about the Dragon of Wealth that seems kind of minor. Still, you hesitate. Another ten minutes, you decide.

Seven minutes later, Ruby walks around the corner of the hallway.

"Oh, Ruby, there you are-"

Is as far as you get before you suddenly feel as if someone pushed you into a pool of freezing water. You gasp at the sensation. You feel like you can hardly breathe. Behind Ruby a woman in a black and gold dress uniform with a sheathed sword at her side and blonde hair cropped short steps around the corner as well. She pauses and examines you for a moment as you struggle for breath. Ruby's expression is so frantic you're glad the woman can't possibly see it from directly behind her.

"Friend of yours Ruby?"

Her voice is... much warmer than you expected considering her military bearing and dress, as well as the fact that even as she says it her eyes never leave you. You can feel them examining and measuring you intensely before she seems to lose some interest and her eyes move to Ruby's back.

"Oh, uh, yes." Stop sounding so nervous please Ruby, it will make her suspicious.

There is a pause. Ruby doesn't continue and the woman just waits expectantly. You struggle for your breath.

"Uh, introductions, right. Ahem." Ruby clears her throat in what is possibly the most suspicious stalling maneuver you have ever seen.

"Viola, this is Sofia. Sofia, this is Viola."

Viola walks forward towards you, the sensation of intense cold increasing with every step until you just feel numb. She holds out her hand and gives you a warm, reassuring smile.

"No need to look so nervous. A pleasure to meet you Sofia."

You finally manage to get your breath back.

"A... Pleasure to meet you too," You manage to get out. You shake her hand. For the brief duration of the handshake you feel normal, but the instant she lets go, the numbness comes right back.

Viola seems to consider something for a moment after the handshake before speaking again in that kind voice that seems so out of place with everything else about her.

"Well, it was wonderful catching up with you Ruby, but I'll leave you to talk to your friend. I have some things that need to be seen to before Diana arrives. Remember, she wants to meet with you for lunch so make sure you aren't late. Oh, and stop acting so nervous! You'll give your friend entirely the wrong impression of me!" She finishes with a good natured smile and a small laugh. With a final nod to you and a parting wave to Ruby, she sets off along the corridor.

When the cold feeling finally leaves you, you breathe a long sigh of relief. You look up at Ruby and open your mouth to speak, but she just shoves a finger to her lips to indicate you to be quiet and drags you into her room. You sit down on her bed as she paces worriedly, not sure if you're supposed to be talking yet. Finally, Ruby speaks.

"Sorry about that. I didn't expect her to be here so early or I would have warned you." She groans and puts her head in her hands. "Uhg. I really should have. It's just like Diana to send her in hours before she ever even considers showing up herself. She's too much of a paranoiac to do anything else."

"So that was Diana's... assistant?" You ask.

Ruby nods.

"Well, it seems like it went well. What are we going to do about the dragon herself though?"

Ruby chews her lip for a moment. "Mainly? Try and avoid drawing attention to you. Viola will mention you, but probably only in passing, and with what she mentioned to me about the city council being in some kind of tizzy about something lately, I don't think she'll have a huge amount of attention to spare. I think a lot of the reason she's here is to discuss something important with the archmage and watching me in the tournament just gives her a pretense to be here. What we're going to need to do is make sure that our fights in the tournament are as far apart as possible. That should give us the best chance of Diana not hearing your name if those get announced and not seeing you be so good at magic for a first year even if they aren't."

"I could talk to the Dimensional Science TA about it," you say. "I don't know if she'll be able to directly effect that, but she might at least know who can."

"Good idea," Ruby says, "I need to get changed into something fancier before I meet Diana and that takes a while, so I probably won't see you until after lunch. You should go see the TA about that."

With that, she ushers you out of the room. You're left standing in the hallway. You need to go see the TA about the tournament schedule at some point, but before that, maybe there's something else you should do?

What do you do next?

[] Talk to the TA about the Tournament schedule
[] Talk to Henry about how things are going with the archmage's volunteer
[] Try to figure out exactly how well known you currently are in the College and what people think about you.
[] Get something special to store Somewhere for the tournament (I.E. nets, ect)
[] Get in some last minute study and practice. (Gain 2 points in anything and get to practice. Skip directly to Tournament)
[] Write in

 

[Lexica]

[X] Talk to the TA about the Tournament schedule

The TA... Where would she be at this time on a Saturday? You doubt she gets much time off, and she's probably involved in organizing the tournament somehow. You figure you might as well start with her room.

After knocking at her door, checking the dining hall, the lecture hall where she teaches the dimensional science class, and then going back to knock on her door again in case she came back, you're well and truly at a loss, and decide that you might as well get an early lunch. As such things go, the moment you stop looking for her you run into her in the hall on the way to the dining hall. She seems to be in a bit of a rush, carrying with her a large stack of books. She doesn't seem to see you, so you try to catch her attention.

"Ah, excuse me," you begin.

The TA startles slightly and pauses in her fast walk down the hallway to look around for a second before spotting you.

"Oh, Saphira. Always a pleasure."

"Why are you actually carrying all those books?" You wonder, momentarily distracted by the fact that she hasn't put such an obvious burden in a dimensional pocket.

"Ah, well. Most of them are at least slightly magical and could be contaminated by exposure to that kind of magic. One in particular would become useless if I exposed it to such a spell."

You nod, then begin to ask about the tournament, but before you can she interrupts you. "Actually, you aren't doing anything important right now, are you?"

You barely get out the "No-" before she's placed half of the stack of books into your hands. You glance at the cover of the one on top. 'Circumvention and Avoidance: The Theory of Dimensional Intrusion By Dishevel Vino.'

"Thank you for the help. Please follow me to my room so we can get these put down."

Not seeing any real point in arguing now that you're already holding half the books, you trail along behind her, trying your level best to not run into her back or anything else as you just barely peer over the top of the thick stack.

When you finally get there and pile the books on top of the bed, she turns to you and says, "Now, did you need anything? I'm afraid I don't have very much time for tutoring today, so..."

She trails off, looking at you expectantly.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could possibly influence the schedule of the tournament in some way so that Ruby and I are as far apart in the schedule as possible. I talked with her, and she thinks that that's my best bet to avoid the Dragon of Wealth's attention."

The TA nods along to your explanation.

"Yes, I see. While I don't exercise any official authority in that area, I am certain that there's something I can do to help you out. In the worst case I could possibly get you out of the tournament entirely, but that might get me in a bit of trouble, so we shall endeavor to avoid that if at all possible."

"Thank you. I really appreciate all the effort you've gone to to help me."

She nods again at that.

"Yes. Don't be overly worried about imposing on my good will however. I find our tutoring sessions far too intellectually stimulating for me to be upset about the lengths to which I have so far gone."

With that, she waves you away, citing her busy schedule. Before you fully exit however, she snaps her fingers and says, "Oh yes. Sammy was telling me how she enjoyed speaking with you when I was in the library. She rather likes telling stories apparently. She wanted to know if you were coming by again sometime soon."

You give a noncommittal answer as you leave. You enjoyed Sammy's stories too, but your schedule always seemed to be busy, so it was hard to say if you would have the time.

[] Go to the library and talk to Sammy.
[] Talk to Henry about how things are going with the archmage's volunteer.
[] Try to figure out exactly how well known you currently are in the College and what people think about you.
[] Get something special to store Somewhere for the tournament (I.E. nets, ect)
[] Get in some last minute study and practice. (Gain 1 point in anything and get to practice. Skip directly to Tournament)
[] Write in

---

Apologies about the long delay between updates. I've been pretty busy lately (and sick as well), but at least the break has given me an opportunity to figure out some future plot stuff and get some more planning done, so the quest will probably be much more coherent for it at least.

 

[Lexica]

[X] Go to the library and talk to Sammy.
-[X] Tips for your first 'real' fight (particularly winning without killing people).

In the end, you decide you will go talk to Sammy after all. You do get the impression that she's maybe kind of lonely, and besides, she probably could give you some good advice on how to fight in the tournament without killing someone, which you were a bit worried about.

The library is emptier than it usually is when you arrive. You're not sure it that's because of the tournament or just how things normally are on Saturdays however. Regardless, Sammy appears before you like she normally does just as you're entering the library proper.

"Saphira, nice to see you."

You raise an eyebrow. "Not going to ask for my library card?"

She shrugs. "Eh. Not feeling it today. It might be a good a good way to pass the time, but the librarian thing does wear on me after a while."

Her armored helm tilts up towards the skylight above the both of you, and you're not really sure how to respond. She's got a weird air about her today, as much as her suit of armor can convey an emotion. Whatever it is, it's definitely different then how she was feeling when you saw her before.

Finally, she speaks again, her helmet still tilted towards the skylight. "So. What are you doing here today?"

"Well, the Dimensional Science TA mentioned to me that you apparently enjoyed talking to me, and I wanted to ask for some advice about how to fight without killing someone in the tournament, so I thought it would be a good idea to stop by."

You wait, but Sammy doesn't reply. She's still looking up at the skylight, but you don't get impression that she's really looking at it.

"Sammy?"

You wait again, but there's still no response from her.

You reach out to poke her incorporeal form. "Sammy?" You try again.

She doesn't startle, but you still somehow feel as if her attention has rapidly shifted back to you from somewhere far away.

"Yes?" Her voice sounds as focused as ever, but still...

"Ah, I was asking you if you could give me some advice on how to fight in the tournament without killing my opponent. Because my primary method of attack is going to be dropping a bunch of rocks on their head."

"Oh. Sorry. I have been... somewhat distracted of late."

A pause, before she expands upon her statement.

"I received some news that should make me happy... And yet..."

Her helm finally tilts down to look at you once more and she makes a considering noise.

"On the topic of your problem though. If we had more time perhaps I could give you some training on that kind of thing, but with the tournament happening in a couple of hours the most I could do is-"

She cuts off abruptly, but before you can even open your mouth to question it she's speaking again. This time her tone is different. Almost smug.

"No. I have a better idea. Follow me."

Her ghostly form moves through the library at a rapid pace, you hurrying after and struggling to keep up. Eventually you reach some kind of supply room tucked away behind the intersection of a few shelves.

Her voice still carries that same almost-smugness, but it has some impatience to it as well now.

"Clear off the floor will you? And grab those candles."

You move to comply, but you're questioning her as you do it.

"Uh, what exactly are we doing?"

"You don't want to kill anyone even though you're going to be dropping rocks on people's heads. That's basically impossible. Even if I had time to train you and you had time to practice, someone in that equation could very easily get unlucky and then someone is dead. Not killing someone with a tactic like that would require- heh," she pauses to chuckle. "A miracle."

"You mean-"

She nods. "Exactly. Such things fall under the Goddess of Conquest's purview after all."

"I didn't know Gods and Goddesses really... did things like that."

"They don't, or at least they don't for just anyone. They do like to play favorites however. And if her favorite devotee is putting in a good word for you, the Lady of War will surely smile upon your battles."

"Just like that?"

Those words seem to finally slow Sammy down.

"Well. Urgh."

Her massive armored figure begins to pace back and forth in the small room. You're pretty sure if she were corporeal she would be tearing chunks out of the walls with all of those spikes. She makes to kick a wall, then curses loud and long when it just passes right through with no resistance.

Finally, she focuses on you again. There's an intensity to her voice that honestly kind of scares you.

"Listen. A God or Goddess intervening on your behalf carries a lot of implications I don't really care to explain right now. What you're asking for is fairly small in the grand scheme of things, but it's the kind of thing people take notice of, for good and ill. But I want to do something. So I'm offering this opportunity to you right now. Just know that I'm doing it in good faith, because I like you and I've got a good feeling about you. Make whatever of that you will."

[] Take Sammy's Offer
[] Don't

What do you do after?
[] Talk to Henry about how things are going with the archmage's volunteer.
[] Try to figure out exactly how well known you currently are in the College and what people think about you.
[] Get something special to store Somewhere for the tournament (I.E. nets, ect)
[] Get in some last minute study and practice.
[] Write in

 

[Lexica]

[X] Take Sammy's Offer
[X] Get something special to store Somewhere for the tournament (I.E. nets, etc)

In the end, you decide that you won't say no to having a Goddess on your side, regardless of whatever potential complications that might bring. You do have to say that you're kind of underwhelmed by the ritual Sammy walks you through however. She just had you kneel and say a prayer for victory in battle in front of some candles. You can't say you really feel any different, but she assured you that it would work. You want to stick around and ask some more questions after that, but Sammy just ushered you out of the library saying that she had 'things to do.' Despite the fact that you accepted her offer you're still a bit suspicious of her. What exactly did she mean by 'do something' anyways? You don't think you accidentally killing someone or not was really all that important in the grand scheme of things.

Regardless, there was one thing you still wanted to do before the tournament- get some options besides just dropping rocks on people's heads. You have some vague ideas about maybe getting nets or some kind of irritating dust or power that will get in your opponent's eyes. Now, the problem was actually finding those things.

Nets were probably a bit much to be getting last minute like this. You have no idea where you would get any, and you aren't skilled enough at elemental magic to make some kind of approximation. Nor do you really know anyone who could do that well enough to ask. You don't really know how much time you have left-

As if on cue, the archmage's voice fills the corridors of the college.

"Attention. The tournament starts in an hour in the main courtyard. Anyone late will be expelled. Painfully."

Well, that gave you a time frame at least. You don't really trust the Archmage not to start early either, so you figure you have a maximum of 45 minutes to be on the safe side.

Hmm. What would be good additions? Maybe sand or dust? You could probably find that lying around from student's experiments with Earth Elemental magic. Speaking of, water would be a good idea too wouldn't it? With your elemental planar portal skills you could potentially fill a pocket dimension with a very large volume of water in the time remaining.

Nothing else you can get on such short notice immediately comes to mind, so you rush off to try and find some sand. Ten minutes later, you've managed to come across a classroom with a massive pile of ash in the center of it filled with scorch marks. Close enough you figure. Seconds later, it's tucked away inside a pocket dimension.

Hmmm. You don't really want to be seen filling a pocket dimension with water from an elemental planar portal in front of the rest of your class, so you should do that now too. You'll give it about a half hour before you head off to the main courtyard.

--------​

Thirty-five minutes later you're just entering the now rather crowded main courtyard. You don't see Ruby anywhere, but you're probably better off avoiding her for now anyways. You do see Henry, and next to him is standing the Archmage's 'volunteer' looking, if not exactly happy, at least much better than he did last time you saw him. So you suppose that that must have worked out to one degree or another. You also think you spot Adam from the day before in the arena. He spots you as well so you go for a respectful nod. He just scowls and looks away. Whatever.

In the center of the courtyard, the crowd is much thicker, and over their heads you can see what looks like some kind of notice board hung up. Pushing your way through the crowd, you get a look at it- it appears to be a list of fights for the tournament. Examining it, you see Ruby going first against... Henry. The last name is thoroughly scribbled out with black ink. You're pretty sure who that is, and it makes you worried. Henry seems like a nice guy and it's annoying that whatever his status is, it's apparently got him drawn into the Archmage's continuing grudge against Ruby. You meanwhile... Are going not dead last, but very close to it against someone whose name you don't recognize. Given the TA's hand in who you got placed against, you very much doubt that they're particularly noteworthy. So that was good for you at least.

Still, the fight between Ruby and Henry had you a bit worried. It was definitely going to go badly for at least one of them.
​

---

Given the choices you've made so far, your fight isn't going to be interesting to play at all. Therefore, you're going to be playing your choice of either

[] Henry

or

[] Ruby

for their fight against each other.​

 

[Lexica]

And in strange aeons even death may die, ect ect.

---

[X] Henry

Pride or Principle?

That was the thought that once more buzzed through the mind of Henry Blackreach, second in line to be heir to that infamous family. Pride or Principle?

Outside of his mind he stood poised and confident. Unshaken at the thought of fighting Ruby. The easy smile, the shining eyes, they were natural, expected. At what felt like a remove of miles and years he heard Alexander make some worried statement, scared that if Henry was defeated and expelled he would go back to being a social pariah. Henry said something in reply with all the assurance of time's steady march.

An interminable amount of time passes before suddenly he and the rest of the crowd are standing in another room entirely. His name is being called. Not his family name. His name, Henry. He walked forward easily, no hesitation showing anywhere in his posture or pace. He felt more than heard Ruby walking behind him. Felt nervousness and hesitation in every step. He could tell though, that it wasn't the nervousness that came with the possibility of defeat. No, he knew the nervousness in Ruby's steps well. It was a guilty hesitance that slowed her steps. The guilt of facing an opponent and knowing that the game was rigged from the start.

Pride or Principle?

Which was it? He knew that he would never win fairly. Not with magic any student might have learned. Not with power any student might have grasped for.

Stone transitioned to sand. Sunlight poured into the long hall from the exit. He walked.

Was it foolish pride that he wished to win on the strength of a power he had attained fairly, through his own effort?

He stepped out into a Colosseum. His pace didn't slow, but he waved to the crowd and smiled brilliantly like he had been expecting this from the beginning. He recognized it. Apparently the archmage had managed to have his little tournament happen in Diadem's central Colosseum. That was surprising. There must not have been any good fights lined up right now.

Was it a worthwhile principle to hold onto, not using his family's magic?

His eyes linger nowhere, but his mind scans the picture of the crowd they formed all the same. He found the familiar private seating areas of the wealthy and powerful. There was the archmage, glowing ostentatiously and obvious in any crowd. He recognized a lounging figure that he was fairly certain was the Dragon of Wealth's human form. Another figure was standing slightly behind her rather than sitting. The bodyguard, he guessed. Other figures, but the distance leaves him unable to speculate as to their identity. And there, in the top left corner of the lavish section of the stands. Sitting in the shadows, but you would always recognize that figure; your elder brother.

Your eyes have long moved passed him by the time you register his presence, so you avoid the embarrassment of jerking your gaze away.

You hear Ruby stop walking behind you and you finally turn to face her. She isn't looking at you at all, her eyes drawn to that lounging figure in the stands. It's interesting to watch how her expression changes as she looks up at he Dragon. From drawn and full of uncertainty to a surety that you suspect almost matches your own outward appearance. You have no doubt that hers is much more real.

-------------

Henry has Speed Casting, Multicasting 2 (So he can cast/maintain three spells at the same time), Apprentice Elemental Control, and Elemental Protection (5).

He also has Blackreach Summoner's Pact (N/A), which is a unique version of the normal Summoner's Pact under spiritual magic (Which, yes, I know you haven't seen yet). It allows him to summon a wide variety of things, although because of his personal distaste for it he is currently limited to this roster:

That Which Walks Among Many
A spiritual shapeshifter. It's outward appearance is always that of a common slime, but it can take on many of the spiritual qualities of anything within range. Henry is pretty sure that at least half of the stands are close enough. However it's ability to actually use those spiritual properties is limited heavily by it's own magical reserves and it stands the risk of disintegrating itself if it attempts to copy something too powerful.

Trained Unicorn
A Unicorn. Highly resistant to magic, and it's horn can break all but the strongest enchantments. Can heal even grievous wounds. Offensively, it can trample people and stab them with it's horn. Cannot understand complex commands.

Blackreach Guardian
A powerful construct created for and bonded to all potential Blackreach heirs at birth, it expresses it's power through great physical strength and speed. It appears as a slim androgynous armored figure with a sword and shield that hovers on intricately carved metal wings. Can summon itself if it's charge is in serious danger.

What do?
[] You won't use your family's power. You promised yourself that, and if you can't keep a promise made to yourself, what promises can you keep?
-[] Plan?

[] Maybe that promise was just stubborn pride after all. Faced with an opponent you are sure you can't beat otherwise, what's the point of accepting defeat?
-[] What do you Summon?
--[] Plan?

---

So, sorry for the gigantic delay everyone. Real life and school have a way of causing these things though. Despite that, I don't want to give up on this and I hope to once more return to a regular update schedule.