- Location
- Rochester, NY
The College of Jewels (Magical Academy Quest)
- Thread starter Lexica
- Start date
- Original
- Location
- scrabbling
[X] Henry
I mostly want to see some of his skills and perspective.
I mostly want to see some of his skills and perspective.
PhDEevee
Mathematician and Questgiver
- Location
- Sydney
Yay! (Though I think it would have been better if Saphira had gone too.
)Rude. This guy is going to get aggressively befriended.
My theory - the archmage knows exactly what Henry's last name is and doesn't like him. Hence why he's set up a little win-win situation for himself - if Henry loses, he's gone. If Ruby loses, he gets to humiliate Diana.
(Rampant speculation I don't really believe) So, the Dimensional TA has a book on Dimensional intrusions, doesn't give her name, enjoys intellectual stimulation, and wears pink fluffy pajamas. Want to bet she's actually an eldritch horror?
Oh, and:
[X] Henry
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Well obviously. She's too normal looking to be anything else.
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Ruby
Henry
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
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.
[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.
Last edited:
- Location
- scrabbling
Well. Multicasting, Apprentice Ele., and Protection certainly won't do anything against Dismissal. So it comes down to mundane skills against Ruby's mundane skills and possibly her other magic, if Henry decides against Blackreach magic. Or he could brute force it and cast more spells than Ruby can Dismiss. That's ignoring if Ruby uses the damping field thingy, or if she herself has Multicasting. In that case I think Blackreach-less Henry is kind of boned.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ruby had been less than subtle lately, so he definitely expects powerful countermagic, and like everyone else he saw her pretty easily beat up someone charging her with a dagger the first day. He doesn't know what to expect beyond that, but he's sure that she has at least one more trick up her sleeve.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
To be clear, would using any summon magic violate Henry's code?
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Blackreach Summoning seems to imply a specific technique that his family has developed. Working off of school-taught principles would probably be allowed, as long as he didn't use any of his inherently superior knowledge to cheat.
Well, I think.
PhDEevee
Mathematician and Questgiver
- Location
- Sydney
Okay, so observations for putting together a plan:
- I'm inclined to go with not using Summoning. Henry's a person who went around the academy trying to make his own name known - let him try to stand on his own feet.
- Ruby is most likely a close range combatant, though I wouldn't put her past her to have a ranged ability in reserve. It's important to keep her at a distance.
- The arena's made of sand, good for obscuring vision and hiding things, but not great for making mud.
- Henry does not have speed casting, which means that his spells require a ritual and take a while. (I think)
- We don't know whether Ruby can speed cast.
- Ruby is unlikely to be able to Dismiss Apprentice Elemental Control until she puts Dissipation Field up (maybe?). She can, however, disrupt them.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Actually, that's wrong. She can dispel our spells without dispelling hers, which leaves her with more ranged options than we do. She has a superior fighting technique in close quarters as well, but that's where we beat her by cheating.
Because we have Elemental Protection (5), and Ninjas can't catch you if you're on fire.
PhDEevee
Mathematician and Questgiver
- Location
- Sydney
Yeah, I realised that after your previous post.
Henry can definitely set himself on fire, for instance, or stick rock on his skin or person. That said, I think it'd be better to keep her at a distance until Henry is prepped to do that, and trick her into that engagement. She's likely to be able to counter it if she's given enough warning.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The line gets very blurry and it would depend heavily on the kind of countermagic being used. Dismissal specifically would not work against magical fire after it's been cast, but Dissipation field would given a second or two. If the fire has a source of fuel besides magic even Dissipation field would not work however.
Henry only knows Blackreach summoning. He would probably be good at normal summoning if he studied it because of his knowledge, but he very intentionally distanced himself from it.
Whoops, forgot to give Henry speed casting. He definitely has that, so each control attempt is 5 seconds.
Edit:
Henry finds all summoning distasteful. It would take incredibly powerful countermagic to stop Blackreach Summoning, so unless she's secretly Viola in disguise there's probably nothing she can do to stop it.
Last edited:
- Location
- Rochester, NY
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
No, it's that he never practices the family summoning because he doesn't like it, so those are all the things that he can call.
Does Elemental Protection work off of intent? If we wanted a stick in our hands to burn but not our hands, would that work? What if we didn't want the stick to burn?
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yes, both of those things are possible. If you get much beyond the personal scale it becomes more difficult to use elemental protection however.
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It would be on the upper end of Apprentice. A breastplate specifically would be much too complicated to manage on the time scale of a fight, though a reasonably sized slab of rock to use as a shield would be very doable.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Would Ruby be able to dispell it and make it lose its shape? Or would she only be able to prevent us from trying to complete the spell?