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[occipitallobe]

"Alright."

Miranova looked at him, surprised.

"Alright?"

"Bring the tea out. I'll drink it."

She cackled, and for a moment Ulos saw every stereotype of the mage who ate bad children on her face.

"Sit down, lad. Let me set up a few wards and such against spirits and I'll be right with you."

She handed him a teacup, and unstoppered a vial containing a brown-grey liquid, thick and vile-looking. The leaves had mostly dissolved, it seemed. Miranova began etching sigils in the air, sigil after sigil after sigil flaring, runes beginning to glow in arrays around him. Ulos had not seen anything like it - he wasn't sure what effects most of it would have, but he was concerned when Miranova drank another vial, turned first blue, and then translucent.

"Need to be able to deflect the Ether if something goes wrong, Ulos. Plus if you explode it'll protect me."

She cackled again.

Ulos glared, not sure if she was genuine.

"Go on, drink it."

He shrugged. He had resolved himself to this. He drank. It tasted a little unpleasant, and far too sweet - Miranova evidently preferred her alchemy palatable.

Drank Ghost Lotus Tea. Rolled 61 vs DC 40 (below 40 is a failure). One-step success! Gained a few extra benefits.

It wasn't what Ulos had expected. He had thought it would be some mystical experience, where he once again entered the realm of the soul to investigate the flows of Ether.

No, it was a sharp, searing pain, like nothing he had experienced. His chest seized up, and he began to shake uncontrollably.

Miranova cocked her head.

"Pain, huh. That's unusual. Shouldn't hurt. Wonder if.."

Her hands moved incredibly quickly, and more sigils flared.

"No, not the Spirit. Hmmm..."

Ulos felt it. His magic, being torn from him. He felt it, like reliving every moment in his meditation before, but moreso. Like someone had hooked into his guts and was intent on tearing them out over and over again, ever as they regrew constantly. The hook couldn't be stopped, couldn't be reasoned with. It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt.

He was barely coherent, but he felt himself shift. No, not himself, but the guts the hook were in. He couldn't stop it tearing him apart, again and again, but he could wiggle a little. Nothing major, but enough to save a few shreds of himself being repeatedly torn out. He couldn't stop it, but he could save something.

It only took a few minutes, but the pain persisted. It died down, but the horrifying feeling remained to a degree. He had not been nearly as aware of what was happening before.. and he wasn't sure that was a plus.

Miranova looked at him sympathetically.

"Hasn't settled down yet? Usually these sorts of things settle down in a few days. Give it time. If it continues, come back to me. I'd love to study you."

Ulos has gained Trait: Ether Manipulation. Through the consumption of Ghost Lotus Tea he can lose a little less Ether to the Curse of Transferal, akin to a prisoner managing to move his manacles to be a little more comfortable. The curse is not weakened in the slightest, but there he is able to exploit the small amount of flexibility it does have. His Mana Pool increases by 25% while under the effects of the Curse of Transferal (currently increasing it from 20 to 25).

Ulos loses all the remainder of his Willpower for the next week in order to stave off the effects of the Ghost Lotus Tea's pain as it fades. Any locked-in Willpower Actions (his lessons with Edward and tutoring Madavian and Abraham) will suffer a significant malus to reflect this.

 

[occipitallobe]

You presently have 0 Willpower. 2 Willpower is locked behind your Locked Action, Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. 1 Willpower is locked behind Tutor Your Friends, giving Ulos a total of 2 Willpower per week. The pool regenerates after next turn.

Ulos will take 4 Actions, but one of these is locked in as Tutoring Sessions: Magical Theory. You cannot unlock this without abandoning the Tutoring Sessions entirely. As such, only 3 Actions will be taken from this list.

Temporary/One-Off Actions:

None for the moment.

Newly Unlocked Actions:

[ ] Study to Resist Mind Magic - You don't know anything about mind magic or illusions at all, but you figure you can probably find a way to learn to resist them some, surely? Then again, it's an elective. It might be more efficient to learn about this later... Gain a Training Roll associated with Lore: Illusions. With sufficient effort you can learn Skill: Perceive Illusion, and perhaps even Spell: Break Illusion. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls.

Offensive/Defensive Actions:

[ ] Scout out your Rivals - Pretty standard. Go spy on your enemies. Roll vs your Rival's roll to avoid being scouted. If you beat their Roll, gain +20 on all Actions against them (defensive or offensive) for the remainder of the week.

[ ] Launch an Assault! - You have Itching Powder now, you can do something terrible (ly amusing)! Make your enemies itch in class to humiliate them, douse their clothes in it to force them to miss valuable learning sessions, or even convince onlookers they have some sort of disease. Roll vs your Rival's roll to succeed. A regular success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action. A major success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action and their classes for that day. A critical success will cause both these effects and cause them to be humiliated, reducing all Relationships with anyone who observes this humiliation by one step.

[ ] The Brickworks - Use your newfound tools and knowledge to carve up some sweet, sweet Slumbering Bricks. Litter the walkways with them, put them anywhere you tend to go as long as they can be reasonably hidden. Offers a chance for any confrontation to involve a Slumbering Brick that you and your friends can activate. Slumbering Bricks allow an automatic escape from almost any situation, or alternatively a free attack on your opponent. Will take a lot of time and effort. Roll against DC 20 vs Craft: Rune up to 8 times, or until you fail. The first eight successes (this Action may be taken multiple times - successes refers to number of successes on all Brickworks Actions) will offer you and your three friends up to one brick apiece if they do not already have one, which offers a 50% chance to withdraw from a hostile situation. Each success after that offers a +5% chance for any confrontation on campus to involve a Slumbering Brick, which will offer an automatic withdrawal from hostile situations, capping at a 95% chance. Willpower upgrade - By focusing hard on this task and working to discover the best ways to etch runes in clay and bricks, all Clay Rune DCs are reduced by 1.

Current Bricks:
Ulos, Madavian, Henrietta, Abraham

No bricks on campus.

Training Actions:

[ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have your textbooks. Next step is reading through them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls. -1 to all Training Rolls of this sort due current roommate penalty.

[ ] Relentlessly Practice Magical Combat - Use some of your little magic to practice your Spellweaving. Abraham will help you, using his progidious Magic Pool to help you deal with, avoid, and retreat from spells. Gain a Training Roll on the lower of Combat: Evasion and Combat: Retreat, as well as a Training Roll vs Channeling. This will help Abraham practice his own Magical Combat. Willpower Upgrade offers a second Training Roll for the applicable Combat Skill. Shooting at you with fireballs is not easy for Abraham, who will spend 1 Willpower undertaking this Action.

[ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: Magical Theory of Magic or Lore: Six-Fox Pact. 20% chance for Relationship improvement (DC 80). Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain two Training Rolls. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

[ ] Practice Spell (Write-In From Spellbook) - Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? is equal to a Spell's cost times 5. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it.

Diplomacy and Discovery Actions:

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

[ ] Madavian's Speed Dating Agency - With Madavian here to help you, you'll have an easier time of meeting new people. Gain two Diplomacy Rolls. Madavian's presence also offers one reroll, mitigating any unpleasant social consequences (reroll will be taken after both rolls, reroll will prioritize Critical Failures over regular Failures). Willpower upgrade - Spend 1 point to gain a third Diplomacy Roll.

[ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll. Spend 2 points to gain a third roll.

[ ] Study your Magic Pool - You need to learn to meditate, focus, and understand what is happening in the Ether, and in yourself when you draw from it. Gaining such inner understanding may shed light on your Curse's functionality. Gain a Training Roll for Skill: Arcane Meditation versus Willpower.

[ ] Suck Up To Inukar/Miranova - Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC 40 (Inukar) and DC 40 (Miranova) vs Cha and the teacher's class Lore skill. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step and future DC of this Action sharply.

Crafting, Gathering & Shopping Actions:

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

[ ] The Magical Map - You and Henrietta, working together on a magical map. As you have finished your research, you may begin construct the Magical Map. The Magical Map offers awareness of living creatures within the Dorms, and can track creatures with a name, as well as detecting illusory magics. This means you can reliably target empty (or full rooms), offering new and powerful options when engaging in an attack. It also offers perfect awareness of people coming towards your room. It will be made of stone, clay, or metal. Taking this option will open a Design Turn where you decide what materials to use, and how complex to make the map (or maps, if you choose to make several). Offers a Roll vs DC 70 to improve Relationship one step with Henrietta.

[ ] Go to the Marketplace - You have money to spend and items to sell. You need to spend some time gearing up, finding tutors, spells, artifacts, items, and more. Activates Shopping Mini-Turn with more Actions within it (including "Find a Buyer" for your items), allowing the buying and selling of items and services.

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

[ ] Family Money - Madavian would be happy to send away for money on your behalf (or spend some of his money on you and then replenish it later). However, he'd need a good reason to do so. Reason must be written in if no reason has come up in the thread. No Skill gains. Madavian rolls Cha vs DC (Variable) to gain a Variable number of Coins.

Locked Actions:

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

 

[occipitallobe]

So I spent some time dicking around in Inkarnate. I'm not a good mapper at all, but here are my (very average) best efforts.

Map of Vorstal

 

[occipitallobe]

The map, Ulos concluded, was going to be a lot of work.

Henrietta finished her work, as well. They'd gone over books, theories, and Henrietta had several useful texts on runes Ulos would never have thought to access. The benefits of family, he supposed.

The map itself had a few options, and they needed to come to an agreement on several of them. Henrietta, he had found, was willing to yield to his judgement, but made no bones about disagreeing when she thought it was wrong.

For this mini-turn, Ulos is preparing to make the Magical Map. He will roll on constructing it as soon as the mini-turn is done. Taking choices Henrietta likes yields a bonus modifier to the Relationship Roll associated with this Action, taking those she dislikes offers a penalty. Please note the DC for being able to construct the Map starts at 0.

Feel absolutely to free to write a plan and plan vote. The options and complexity of the whole thing got away on me. Bear in mind Ulos gets +20 to Clay Crafting, Henrietta gets somewhere between +15 and +20 for Metal, and somewhere between +10 and +15 for Stone (she has more connections re: equipment and can borrow stuff from home at need to a degree).

The Material:

[ ] Stone - Requires carving and time, but the map is of moderate resiliency. No DC modifier.

[ ] Clay - The least resilient, but also the easiest to make. Ulos is good at crafting clay to begin with. Lowers DC by 10, but the Map is far more breakable.

[ ] Metal - Requires etching metal. Henrietta has some experience in metal runecraft. Henrietta's preference. Increases DC by 20, but the Map is close to invincible.

Detection - the thread must take at least one of these options, but can take them all:

[ ] Life Detection - The Map detects life - only above a certain size, as to not be overwhelmed by grass, insects, animals, etc. It will pick up lifesigns in its designated area. +20 DC.

[ ] No Life Detection - Leave it out. Henrietta sees Life and Motion together as redundant and does not want to take both.

[ ] Motion Detection - The Map detects motion, though only above a certain size or velocity. Attacks, people, small animals. +20 DC.

[ ] No Motion Detection - Leave it out. Henrietta sees Life and Motion together as redundant and does not want to take both.

[ ] Illusion Detection - The Map detects illusions of any kind, though only detects the location of the spell, not the effect. Henrietta would like to add this. +30 DC.

[ ] No Illusion Detection - Leave it out.

Display Features:

[ ] Simple Light Display. Displays lights on the surface of the map. Does not display in 3D. -10 DC. Henrietta thinks this is a little beneath the both of you in terms of design appearance and does not want to take this option.

[ ] 3D Display. A display of lights that becomes a three-dimensional holographic display when detecting something above or below ground level. +10 DC

[ ] Name Features. A keyboard made of lights can store information on each detected entity. Resets when entities walk out of range. +5 DC.

[ ] Persistent name features. Once named, the Map will remember each detected entity forever (unless their life energy is disguised somehow). +15 DC Requires Life Detection, requires Name Features.

Area - (keep in mind the Map does need to be in the area it's detecting, you can't watch the Dorms from the Classrooms):

[ ] The Dorms - Simple, the Dorms in which you and others live. A useful, but limited area. -10 DC.

[ ] The Dorms & Surrounds - The Dorms, and some distance around them. Useful for keeping track of people within a few hundred metres of the Dorms.. -5 DC.

[ ] The Dorms, Surrounds, and Classrooms - Still limited, but can protect you in the classrooms you all current go to on a weekly basis. Henrietta's strong preference. +15 DC.

[ ] Dynamic Mapping - Will map out any area you carry it to and will maintain detection within a few hundred metres. Massively increases the flexibility and powers of the Map. +40 DC.

Etherial Closure:

[ ] Mana Bleed - Mana discharge rate is doubled, but runes that allow Bleed are far, far easier to carve. -10 DC. Henrietta finds the idea of magical bleed as part of the design repugnant, and does not want to take this option.

[ ] No Additional Work. No DC change.

[ ] Attempt Closure - Mana discharge rate is halved, but the Map is more difficult to carve. +20 DC.

 

[occipitallobe]

Dice Roll: 38 + 17 (Henrietta's Expertise and Tools) = 55 vs DC 85. Two-step failure. No DC reduction to future rolls.

The design had been a grueling time, and when it came time to actually make the map... their skills had failed them. Oh, each rune was easy enough to carve, but keeping them in unison, letting power flow from one to the other, ensuring it was all sufficiently well-constructed that the power didn't bleed out to nowhere... it had been much harder than they had thought.

A failure, there was no other way to describe it. Henrietta had described inscribing runes on metal as 'far more difficult', and Ulos saw why. Clay runes did not need to be etched so precisely with such powerful tools, and a mistake in clay was easy enough to rectify - just sketch another rune. It took little enough time.

Relationship roll - 35 + 20 (True Friend or no Friend) + 20 (Design Choices) = 75. Henrietta relationship improved one step!

That being said, it had been a very good day. One thing Ulos admitted to himself as Henrietta chatted to him about ether transfer and runic linking sequences was that while Madavian and Abraham were his friends, they were not his intellectual equals. Oh, Madavian could charm a caterpillar into becoming a butterfly and then charm the wings right off it, and Abraham was unusually focused and competent (from the little Ulos had seen) at combat and casting, but in terms of theory? He tutored them - he didn't discuss these things with them.

Henrietta on the other hand was probably smarter than him, Ulos admitted in a small moment of frustration. Ulos worked harder and longer than Henrietta did, there was no doubting it, but in terms of picking up the same concepts in the same time, she outdid him every time. She lacked his drive, Ulos admitted - several times they'd taken a break and she'd made tea, and she'd chatted about small things that had happened in her week, or talked about the new novel she was reading. Ulos felt an anxiety in his stomach rise up, all that wasting time when they could have been working. Despite knowing deep down he could still exceed her if he worked ha it grated to be the second-smartest person in the room.

He resolved to work harder.

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

On Tuesday, he decided to work again on his magical meditation - to see what had happened since he had drunk the Ghost Lotus Tea.

Roll 1x5 = 5

+6 Arcane Meditation (0/10 next level) becomes +6 Arcane Meditation (5/10 next level)

Virtually no progress. He sat and meditated, and felt nothing. He wasn't sure why. But, it was what it was.

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

Lastly, he had resolved to try and make another friend. No help from Madavian, no leaning on his abilities to substitute learning for friendship. He would just go up to someone and talk to them.

Terrifying.

Roll 23 + 10 Cha + 11 Lore(Souls and Spirits) = 43 vs DC 80 (Narubite). Two-step failure! Minor relationship loss. Increased DC in future.

It wasn't long, but he managed to catch Lucy after class the next day. He took a deep breath, walked up, and spoke.

"Lucy."

"Oh, pink-haired boy's friend. How are you?"

She hadn't even remembered his name? Ulos decided to pretend he had forgot hers, and then realised he'd already said it.

"So, uh, I have a question."

She cocked her head at him.

"Yes?"

Her voice was a little cold, and she seemed to be peering down at him. After a moment, Ulos realised there were several people around - a few from Narubar. Laila was among them.

He felt his courage desert him. Was she being cold because she genuinely disliked him, or because there were so many Narubites around?

He wasn't sure, but decided not to push further.

"Actually, it doesn't matter. Never mind."

He hurried away.

 

[occipitallobe]

It had been, Ulos decided, a bad week all in all.

History had been a wash - he'd kept a little knowledge in his head, but nothing special. It had been difficult all week, the pain buzzing around his head. Honestly, dealing with Narubite marriage customs of all things had been a nightmare - only women were allowed to propose marriage, with Narubite courting largely being men giving gifts to women to encourage them to propose marriage - a woman proposing marriage was then to return all proposal gifts she had received to the man she had decided on.

It seemed more Vorstal than Narubar, if Ulos was to be honest. Like an auction, but if you chose the winner and they received all the wealth that had been bid. Pecuilar.

Sixty years ago a Senator had given enough wealth to a second Senator's daughter to buy a small fleet, and she had turned around and married a farmer's son.

Of course, customs weren't as malleable as all that, with the farmer's son being killed two months after their wedding. The Senator's daughter had proposed marriage to the Senator in question soon after. He wasn't quite sure what lesson the professor was trying to teach them here. The most obvious was that customs only had so much power, and that in front of real power law and custom tended to fall away. This made sense to Ulos, who's life had been dominated by the power of others. Flits had their own laws and customs for dealing with one another, but if a Lich-Paterfamilias wanted something, that was the law, not words on some paper.

Lore: Six-Fox Pact was +9 (6/10) now +10 (6/20)

Professor Junotrin spoke at the end of class.

"Exams. You have two more weeks of classes after this, and then the two-week exam period. Exams in my class are either oral, or a prepared essay. The oral exam tests your knowledge and ability to speak well on the topics you've been taught. The essay is more difficult, but rewards those with better research skills."

She smiled.

"Unlike other classes, there are no new options, no special classes for doing well in my class. I do, however, offer a small reward. I am a reasonably talented Alchemist."

She flicked her hand and a Concoction appeared in her hand, a tiny metal jug sealed with a cork.

Ulos swore it had just been up her sleeve previously.

"Heartsblood from a dying Narubite historian, crossed with... well, I shan't give away my recipe. But if you want a temporary knack for learning, drink this. Not learning, per se, I suppose. Memorization. For about two days you'll remember near everything you do, see, or read. I advise you don't waste your time when you drink it - if you lock yourself in your room studying for two days you can make a week or two worth of progress."

She smiled.

"Whichever of you impresses me the most will get this."

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

Lore Souls and Spirits now +12 (0/20 next level) to +12 Souls and Spirits (5/20 next level)

Miranova stared at him.

All lesson.

It had put him off so badly he couldn't concentrate. He barely managed to write down his notes.

At the end, she spoke.

"The exam. You all pass if you're not incredibly stupid, lore is meaningless for someone trying to properly go down this path. I have to set one, and if you fail it I'll be displeased."

She muttered something in a language Ulos didn't understand, and the room suddenly roared and swirled, and moved them elsewhere.

"Now this is something I've given some thought to."

An... illusion? No, that didn't seem right.

"I've hidden a Spirit somewhere on campus. Bound it tightly. Six clues in various challenges, each forming part of a question. If you ask the right question the Spirit will give you an answer. Bring that answer to me, and I'll reward you. Now, the challenges won't kill you or maim you, but don't expect to keep your eyebrows."

Miranova smiled sweetly, looking for all the world like a cherubic old woman.

"Lot of pain, though."

She grinned.

Action Unlocked - Six Parts to the Key

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

Spellweaving +7 (1/10 next level) to +8 (0/10 next level)

Spellweaving went fairly quickly.

"That's enough spellcasting. Next two weeks we'll be learning the basics of retreating from combat."

They were also taught, almost as an afterthought, thermal detection. Ulos wrote the details down, and managed to get the basics down.

"For an exam, well. Spellcasting. Avoiding illusory spells, as well. We won't be failing anyone, and it's doubtful you'll move up a class. If you do exceptionally well you could potentially look at magical combat, but to be honest, I doubt that will happen."

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

(4+1) * 4 = 20.

+28 Magical Theory (15/35 next level) to +29 Magical Theory (0/35 next level)

Edward just looked at him with frustration.

"Ulos, why are you this stupid this week? This is the worst performance I've seen out of you. Are you drunk? The exams are a simple written test, but right now I'm not sure if you'd even get that right!"

Ulos breathed in, and spoke. He hadn't told anyone else of the Ghost Lotus Tea, but... Edward had been chewed out by Inukar for being risky. He could understand... right.

After explaining, Edward's eyes were filled with... not quite sympathy, but something close to it.

Relationship bonus: Ghost Lotus Tea and Trait: Forging Onwards

Relationship upgraded: Edward Aster (Waste of Time) to Edward Aster (Temporary Confidante)

"Mm. Miranova had you drink that? You realise it could have killed you?"

"Well, she said it wouldn't."

Edward looked at him in open disbelief.

"I forget you're a Flit, sometimes, Ulos. You think an old monster like Miranova would care if she killed you? Oh, she'd try and avoid it as it'd be inconvenient, but..."

He shook his head.

"Miranova wouldn't kill me. She wouldn't kill your pink-haired friend. Looks ridiculous, by the way. But a Flit from the Empire? Nobody is following you up if you die. It'd be a black mark on her record, but nothing else. I looked her up last week after you talked to me. Did you know they suspected her of murdering a minor family member from Kerek in an expedition? Kerek sent out a team of hit mages after her to kill her legally while she was on an expedition. They never came back, but ten years afterwards they found them encased in lava. It never solidified, Ulos, despite being hundreds of metres underwater."

Edward was breathing a little hard now.

"Be careful. I appreciate your need to take risks, and I agree with them."

Ulos looked at him.

"I know, Edward. But what else can I do?"

Edward hummed under his breath.

"I need a second set of hands, well, a second set of eyes and a second brain for some experiments I'm running. You're not particularly smart, but at least you're conscientious. Good for reviewing proper work. Take Alchemy and Runecraft as your electives next term. Inukar won't be happy that I'm involving you, but I'm sure you can deal with the fallout. What do you say?"

[ ] Yes - Upgrade Edward's relationship from Edward Aster (Temporary Confidante) to Edward Aster (Laboratory Gofer). Will gain extra bonuses from Edward next term, however, you will damage your relationship with Inukar. You will lose 0-4 Actions per week (on average 2) to assist Edward. You will no longer be getting his Magical Theory tutoring, however, so you will have 7 Actions available per week.

[ ] No - Leave things as they standard. Edward's relationship will go from Edward Aster (Temporary Confidante) to Edward Aster (Minor Waste of Time)

 

[occipitallobe]

Were he someone else, Ulos thought, he would have thrown Edward's offer back in his face.

Since coming to Vorstallen he had become more aware of pride. Begging on the street for a few copper coins had not been beneath him a mere few years ago, and selling his soul off for gold had not been beneath him either. Madavian had his connections, Edward his brilliance, Abraham his magical power, and so on. Ulos knew he had very little. His magical talent that he could use was barely a flickering spark in a world of roaring flames, he was smart but not brilliant, and to make friends, well, he relied on his other friends.

Still.

He knew there were two things that defined him.

Firstly, his will. He hadn't even been able to read before getting the gold for his magic, and in two years he'd made it into a magical academy. No scholarship like others, but Ulos couldn't help but feel this was a function of time. Give him a proper education and an equal starting line and he would have had a scholarship for sure. But he had made it all the way here, from nothing. Some gold to pay a few tutors and an endless will to learn, that was all. It had brought him to one of the finest magical academies in the world. He doubted anyone else could say they had a tenth of the difficulty

Secondly, his lack of pride. Bow his head? Carry things and be a gopher? Why not. He'd fought for Abraham, in part because he'd seen his own lowly status in the other boy and hated it, but in truth Ulos found it easy to fade into the background or do as he was told. As long as it led somewhere, as long as it helped him move forward, as long as he didn't betray his friends, why not?

He smiled at Edward.

"I agree. I assume you'll be explaining things as you go along and ensuring I learn."

Edward snorted.

"Don't see how you'd be useful at all if I didn't. I'll tell Inukar. Trust me, while he'll be annoyed, if you keep it from him he'll just bear a grudge for years. Better to tear that bandage off and clean the wound out right away."

Ulos winced, but nodded.

"Thanks. Now, any advice for the rest of the term?"

"Two more weeks after this, than exams. Inukar has a magical ball he uses to generate questions for the first-years to avoid cheating, so I can't help you much there. To be honest, though, if you somehow fail or do badly you deserve to. Brush up on your Kilmartens Equations, though. You can usually apply them in enough questions to eke out a top mark as long as you know the rest of your basics."

Ulos shook his head. What Edward considered 'basics', he realised, nobody else in his class had even started on.

Edward dismissed him with as little tact as usual, and Ulos wandered back to the Parrot's Perch.

Madavian, Henrietta, and Abraham were all in their tiny room, playing cards. It was a stiflingly hot day, and inside was even worse. Madavian grinned when he saw him.

"Ulos! We haven't seen you since the Saint sunk Old Vorstal! Come in, sit down, do something fun for once in your life."

Ulos smiled. It had been an exhausting week, and the pain in his soul had not yet subsided. The constant ache that had kept him from sleeping well was slowly fading, but it'd be a few more days before he felt properly human again.

He sat down.

"How do we play?"

Abraham spoke, his massive frame letting out a quiet, timid voice.

"You get dealt in three cards. Goal is to get as many points as possible, but anyone with three of a kind can throw them down and force you to go backwards with the cards you have in your hand, so..."

Maybe relaxing one afternoon wouldn't be so bad. Ulos squeezed in between Madavian and Abraham, the three of them giving Henrietta half the room to herself. Propriety, apparently. A few rounds later Ulos elbowed Madavian hard.

"You keep looking at my cards!"

Madavian's grin just grew wider.

"Ulos, if you keep showing them to me, what am I supposed to do?"

"You're right next to me! I can't help but show them to you!"

Madavian's grin turned into a helpless chuckle, and his eyes flickered down to Ulos's hand again. He immediately caught another elbow to the stomach, and laughed even harder.

Ulos smiled despite himself. Despite everything, despite the enemies and humiliations and dangers of this term... he hadn't thought coming here would be so good.

 

[occipitallobe]

You presently have 0 Willpower. 2 Willpower is locked behind your Locked Action, Tutoring Session: Magical Theory. 1 Willpower is locked behind Tutor Your Friends, giving Ulos a total of 2 Willpower per week. The pool regenerates after this turn.

Ulos will take 4 Actions, but one of these is locked in as Tutoring Sessions: Magical Theory. You cannot unlock this without abandoning the Tutoring Sessions entirely. As such, only 3 Actions will be taken from this list.

Temporary/One-Off Actions:

None for the moment.

Newly Unlocked Actions:

[ ] Craft the Magical Map - The design is done, so it's time to get a'craftin'! DC 85. Currently Henrietta will be the primary crafter, adding +20 to the attempt to craft the map. Willpower Upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll.

[ ] Exam Prep (Subject) - Begin exam preparations! DC 20/40/80/100/1?? vs relevant skill. This only increases your exam results and has no associated Training Roll or other benefit.

[ ] Six Parts to the Key - Start searching for Miranova's hidden challenges. DC ???.

Offensive/Defensive Actions:

[ ] Scout out your Rivals - Pretty standard. Go spy on your enemies. Roll vs your Rival's roll to avoid being scouted. If you beat their Roll, gain +20 on all Actions against them (defensive or offensive) for the remainder of the week.

[ ] Launch an Assault! - You have Itching Powder now, you can do something terrible (ly amusing)! Make your enemies itch in class to humiliate them, douse their clothes in it to force them to miss valuable learning sessions, or even convince onlookers they have some sort of disease. Roll vs your Rival's roll to succeed. A regular success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action. A major success will cause an automatic failure on their next Action and their classes for that day. A critical success will cause both these effects and cause them to be humiliated, reducing all Relationships with anyone who observes this humiliation by one step.

[ ] The Brickworks - Use your newfound tools and knowledge to carve up some sweet, sweet Slumbering Bricks. Litter the walkways with them, put them anywhere you tend to go as long as they can be reasonably hidden. Offers a chance for any confrontation to involve a Slumbering Brick that you and your friends can activate. Slumbering Bricks allow an automatic escape from almost any situation, or alternatively a free attack on your opponent. Will take a lot of time and effort. Roll against DC 20 (-1 from former Willpower upgrades) vs Craft: Rune up to 8 times, or until you fail. The first eight successes (this Action may be taken multiple times - successes refers to number of successes on all Brickworks Actions) will offer you and your three friends up to one brick apiece if they do not already have one, which offers a 50% chance to withdraw from a hostile situation. Each success after that offers a +5% chance for any confrontation on campus to involve a Slumbering Brick, which will offer an automatic withdrawal from hostile situations, capping at a 95% chance. Willpower upgrade - By focusing hard on this task and working to discover the best ways to etch runes in clay and bricks, all Clay Rune DCs are reduced by 1.

Current Bricks:
Ulos, Madavian, Henrietta, Abraham

No bricks on campus.

Training Actions:

[ ] Start Studying (Write-In Subject) - You have your textbooks. Next step is reading through them. Sort of nerdy, but hey, aren't you here to learn? Gain a Training Roll associated with the subject you choose. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls. -1 to all Training Rolls of this sort due current roommate penalty.

[ ] Relentlessly Practice Magical Combat - Use some of your little magic to practice your Spellweaving. Abraham will help you, using his progidious Magic Pool to help you deal with, avoid, and retreat from spells. Gain a Training Roll on the lower of Combat: Evasion and Combat: Retreat, as well as a Training Roll vs Channeling. This will help Abraham practice his own Magical Combat. Willpower Upgrade offers a second Training Roll for the applicable Combat Skill. Shooting at you with fireballs is not easy for Abraham, who will spend 1 Willpower undertaking this Action.

[ ] Study Group - The Study Group needs to get going if you're going to dominate your subjects. Get your books, get your bag, and head on over to the Library to get the librarians to let you into a study room. Gain a Training Roll for Lore: Magical Theory of Magic or Lore: Six-Fox Pact. 20% chance for Relationship improvement (DC 80). Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain two Training Rolls. Can only be taken twice per Week max.

[ ] Study to Resist Mind Magic - You don't know anything about mind magic or illusions at all, but you figure you can probably find a way to learn to resist them some, surely? Then again, it's an elective. It might be more efficient to learn about this later... Gain a Training Roll associated with Lore: Illusions. With sufficient effort you can learn Skill: Perceive Illusion, and perhaps even Spell: Break Illusion. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain 2 Training Rolls.

[ ] Practice Spell (Write-In From Spellbook) - Time to practice a spell. Get better, cast faster, cast cheaper. Roll against DC (??? depends on Spell). Takes ??? Magic Pool, where ??? is equal to a Spell's cost times 5. Character gains an additional Training roll if they still have more mana after practicing. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain an additional two Training Rolls if you have enough mana for it.

Diplomacy and Discovery Actions:

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

[ ] Madavian's Speed Dating Agency - With Madavian here to help you, you'll have an easier time of meeting new people. Gain two Diplomacy Rolls. Madavian's presence also offers one reroll, mitigating any unpleasant social consequences (reroll will be taken after both rolls, reroll will prioritize Critical Failures over regular Failures). Willpower upgrade - Spend 1 point to gain a third Diplomacy Roll.

[ ] Go Exploring - It's a big campus, and you haven't seen the half of it. Who knows what you could find? Roll 1D100 vs ???. Success offers ???, failure offers ???. Willpower upgrade - spend 1 point to gain a second roll. Spend 2 points to gain a third roll.

[ ] Study your Magic Pool - You need to learn to meditate, focus, and understand what is happening in the Ether, and in yourself when you draw from it. Gaining such inner understanding may shed light on your Curse's functionality. Gain a Training Roll for Skill: Arcane Meditation versus Willpower.

[ ] Suck Up To Inukar/Miranova - Figure out what they like. Do the research. Then suck up. Not hard in theory. Roll against DC 40 (Inukar) and DC 40 (Miranova) vs Cha and the teacher's class Lore skill. Success increases teacher's Relationship by one step and future DC of this Action sharply.

Crafting, Gathering & Shopping Actions:

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

[ ] Go to the Marketplace - You have money to spend and items to sell. You need to spend some time gearing up, finding tutors, spells, artifacts, items, and more. Activates Shopping Mini-Turn with more Actions within it (including "Find a Buyer" for your items), allowing the buying and selling of items and services.

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

[ ] Family Money - Madavian would be happy to send away for money on your behalf (or spend some of his money on you and then replenish it later). However, he'd need a good reason to do so. Reason must be written in if no reason has come up in the thread. No Skill gains. Madavian rolls Cha vs DC (Variable) to gain a Variable number of Coins.

Locked Actions:

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

 

[occipitallobe]

Exams:

Each Exam offers a grade dependent on the class. Some are Pass/Fail (history, souls and spirits), some are curved (theory).

Your grade is 10 time the relevant skill plus Study Action Bonuses.

Each 20 DC of Exam Prep you take offers an additional 50% of your relevant Skill to your Exam Results. For Ulos, this will be +15 per Exam Prep if he has 30 Magical Theory. For a student with 10 Theory, it'll be +5.

However, Study only offers so much. Each time it adds 5x of your relevant Skill value, Study Actions double their DC per step (from 20 to 40, and then 40 to 80). So in practice studying a lot can only get you so far without the actual knowledge.

The median mark for each class this term will be approximately 150 (100 from the relevant, roughly 2 Study actions with 2.5 successes each). You can expect the top 10% of each class to be somewhere in the 350-400 vicinity. The absolute top of the class differs by each class, however - outliers exist and you will not necessarily know who they are.

Example:

Ulos takes the Magical Theory exam with 30 in his relevant Skill.

His base mark is 300. However, he rolled 100 on a Study Action, getting him 5 additional bonuses worthi 50% of his Skill each. So he gets another 5x15 = 90 making his final mark 390.

 

[occipitallobe]

It was, Ulos thought, not the best weekend.

The Parrot's Perch was a terrible place to study, so he had gone to the library to study the exam material alone. He had tried tutoring Abraham and Madavian earlier, but the entire thing had been a disaster. He couldn't focus quite enough to teach properly - reading and internalising material was one thing, but dealing with constant questions and interruptions was quite another. In the end, they'd simply abandoned the session and the two had studied on their own.

Roll 32 + 29 Magical Theory = 61. 150% of Magical Bonus added to eventual exam score. Current Theory Exam Score = 29 * 11.5 = 334.

It had not been the worst session, but also not the best. It was difficult to say more than that. Ulos knew how the exam was likely to be structured - the advantages came not just from raw skill, but memorizing things likely to be tested to be able to get them down onto paper more quickly.

After half a day he decided to go talk to Inukar. He'd been inclined to leave it to Edward at first, but Inukar might take it even worse.

Roll 40 + 29 Magical Theory + 10 Cha = 79. One-step success. Relationship degradation stopped temporarily. Will begin to fall over time as Ulos starts to work with Edward next term.

He had needed to wait for nearly an hour to see Inukar. He was sure the man wasn't busy, just unhappy. Eventually, Inukar invited him into his office. It was cleaner than Ulos had seen it before, papers put away and blackboards meticulously wiped clean.

Inukar looked him up and down.

"What did you want to say, Ulos?"

"I... it doesn't have to be forever."

Of all the things Inukar had expected, it looked like that had not been one of them.

"What?"

"I'm working with Edward. I know you think what he's doing is unduly risky, or stupid. But he's brilliant and driven, and I'm only driven. I'm not as smart as you or Edward. I'm not as rich as my friends. I don't have great magical reserves. I know you think what I'm doing isn't wise, but I don't have so many good choices, Senior Mage."

Inukar frowned at that.

"You could be excellent, Ulos. You're comparing yourself to who may well one day be considered the greatest magical talent of his generation - at least the best in the school - and pushing yourself because you don't measure up? It's not the worst thing to not be exceptional. You don't need to push yourself ridiculously, to take risks. You can be safe and learn and grow that way. I know you're from the Empire, and I don't know how you got here, but if I had to assume it'd some necromancer's favour, right? Someone who sent you off to go get information and come back and help them become more powerful?"

Ulos almost snorted. Inukar really didn't grasp at all how the Empire worked.

"Still, you could do well enough here. You don't need to be astounding, just.. good. You have the talent and the drive, and, yes, the intelligence, to be a good student. Is it so bad to be in the top 10 or 5%, and not among the rarefied few who make a great name for themselves?"

Ulos thought of the pain from the Ghost Lotus Tea, thought of the memory of his flesh being sliced open, of searing agony as runes were carved into his bones.

"I'm sorry."

"Ulos."

"I'm... sorry. I can't explain, but I have to do this."

Inukar looked over at him.

"Ok. Just..."

The older man seemed to be struggling for words.

"If Edward gets too stupid, too dangerous, takes too many risks. Come and see me. I won't judge you, won't blame you for it."

Ulos's face took on a half-smile. It cost him nothing to promise, and... he didn't know exactly what Edward was doing. Why not promise? Too many risks seemed implausible to him, but if Edward truly did demand unreasonably dangerous tasks in return for tutelage, it cost him nothing to take the out.

"I will, Inukar. I mean, Mage Inukar."

Inukar smiled, but it was a wan sort of thing that didn't reach his eyes.

"You can go. I'm sorry, but I have a lot to do as I prepare for exams."

Ulos nodded, stood, and left.

- - - - -

Sunday he sought out the Key Miranova mentioned.

Roll 40. Found 1 Part of the Key (vs DC 10). Roll 20 above DC, roll for Part 2. Roll 37 vs DC 30. Found Locations 1 and 2 of the Key.

Roll to solve puzzles. Rolled 28. No puzzles solved yet.

The first part was incredibly simple, he realised. Miranova had hidden a message from a Spirit outside the classroom. It was really as simple as using the same technique to speak to a Spirit in class - he suspected it was somehow the same Spirit - and listening to it. It actually spoke fairly simply, and gave six short puzzles to solve, each of which led to a location. He wagered for a moment that might actually be the Spirit they were to give their answer to, it didn't seem unlike Miranova to frustrate her students by hiding the final goal in plain sight.

It made sense - each clue would lead to the other five in some way, and finding more made it easier to find more. One was a small series of what looked like iron half-hoops entrenched in the soil in some sort of mazelike procession, and the second was a seat sitting in the middle of nowhere, but was impossible to see until you got within two or three metres of it.

They weren't especially complicated, but the first one seemed to require some sort of meditation, seeing the flows of mana rather than simple knowledge. Ulos sat down, but the lingering effects of the Tea made it incredibly difficult to focus, and in the end he simply failed.

The weekend ended, finally. It wasn't until Monday that his relentless headache finally ceased for good, and he felt like himself again. Two weeks. Then the exam period, then two weeks of break.

He frowned at that. He'd need to find some way to occupy his time - he certainly wasn't going to waste it.