Post by Lord Harrab on Feb 27, 2014 3:28:42 GMT
Tick, Tock, Tick Tock tick-
The Old Clock in the Archmagi's Study dutiful marked the passage of time from evening into night, as it had done before Simon Fargate had achieved the position and would doubtless still do so once another Magi took over once he had moved on.
Staring up at the face of the dwarven contraption without really seeing it from his desk piled high with reports, letters form the New Empire, notes on his own experiments and the other detritus of a high management position, he was suddenly shocked by the unexpected voice in his ear.
"Gods above, Simon all that paperwork has dulled your senses over the years."
Another Human Magi, this one female, was standing in the shadow of the clock, arms folded and watching with an amused smirk, as their eyes met, she raised a hand slowly and pushed back the brim of her hat and steped into the light cast by the roaring fire. Simon relaxed.
"Sorceress." He said, standing with a smile on his face, "Its been a while. Might i ask how you got past my Wards?"
The Woman shrugged, "You could, but i won't tell you. Friendship is one thing, but some secrets are mine alone." She paused, threw her hat onto the back of a nearby armchair and allowed her long red hair to fall loose. "they are still there," she added casually, "so you don't have to worry about anyone barging in. I'm calling in my favour."
Simon whistled between his teeth, "You've been sat on that favour since our adventuring days. All right, what is it?"
The Sorceress leant forward across his desk, "You're getting an influx on Students this evening. I want the best of them."
"For experiments?"
Her glare almost nailed him to the wall, "Funny. No, i want an apprentice, its been long enough and i have much left to do. In exchange for balancing the books, as it were, you will train up and recommend one of this new batch to me upon their gaining their Licence. I will then take them as my Apprentice. Understood?"
Simon nodded weakly, "Fine, I'll keep an eye on them, but are you sure they can handle life as your student?"
Sorceress shrugged, "Maybe, Maybe not, that's why i want them to be trained up first, i don't care what Schools, just get me the best so they at least have a chance to survive."
Simon tapped his fingers on the desk top for a few seconds while he marshalled his thoughts, "It Could take years." He suggested dryly, "You're certain this is what you want for that favour?"
his old friend smiled, "Oh Simon you of all people should know," She snapped her fingers and the ticking of the clock resumed, "Time is never a factor."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Meanwhile, in the Hall of the Aspirants, the Master of Novices stood in the Supplicant's Courtyard and watched those destined to become Students gather up what belongs they had, say goodbye to family and those friends they had made that could not follow them, and formed up into a nervous and uncertain line behind him.
As the last shouldered their bag and took their place behind him, He looked up at the massive Obsidian doors with a shudder, carved with runes of power whose meaning had been lost to time, those gates only opened to let Students in and Magi out. In the ten or so years he had been Master, and the twenty years of Aspirant guidance before that, the numbers of New Magi coming out rarely matched that which were sent in.
He grasped his staff in both hands and stepped forward, the ritual was old hat by now, and tapped the mark about level with his head with the wooden rod. Two Runes, one on each door, lit up from within with a plae blue glow.
Who Comes to Cusp of Knowledge?
the voice spoke inside the heads of everyone Gifted without bothering to go through their ears. The Master Still Shuddered to hear it.
"Those Gifted, Those Cursed." He repiled.
Are Their Minds ready? Are their Minds Open?
"They know the Rite, they Know the Risk."
Then Let Them Come Forth.
The runes faded and with a groan like some great tree falling, the Gate opened, to reveal a line of Inqusitors, one for each student, shoulder to shoulder, in full plate and with blades drawn.
He had been careful to explain this part to the Students, and to his relief they acted as instructed, they each walked forward one at a time and knelt. The Inqusitors placed the blade on each youngling's shoulder, the edge of the Blade touching their neck.
"The Eye of Law sees you," Said the Inquisitor Captain, "and our blades know your sent. Know that the Evil shall be found and the Innocent avenged."
In one fluid motion, the inquisitors sheathed their blades and stepped aside, allowing the grop through to the chamber beyond. Then the Gate swung closed once more and the Runes glowed red.
The Aspirants had become Students.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Students now found themselves in a much smaller chamber with two side doors, one on either side, and a grand staircase towering away before them before branching off into two separate flights at a huge oil painting of the Empire Capital on the far wall. A woman in Black robes was stood halfway up these stairs, her arms folded and a look of utter boredom on her face.
As the door closed she descended the stairs gracefully and pulled a scroll from her belt and unfolded it her eyes panning over each face as if searching for something.
then, with a snap of her fingers that made several of them jump, the scroll burst into flames and turned to ash. The woman's face was still examining the faces before her.
"I am Isabella Montigue," she said suddenly, her voice sultry but tinged with annoyance, "Necormancy Instructor and the one tasked with welcoming you to the Silver Halls, like i don'y already have things to do this evening."
She nodded over their shoulders at the Inquisitors, who turned in unison and marched away down the corridor to their right, Isabella waited for the sound of their armour clanking to fade before speaking again.
"Right now the lot of you are more use to me as materials, and i have much work to do without holding your hands all day, so let me lay down the law. The Rules of this Academy are simple,
One, aggressive action against other students, staff, Instructor, or Inquisitors is forbidden.
Two, all experiments and component acquisitions must be in line with the Laws of the New Empire, any live test subjects must be either willing or a Criminal supplied by the academy, note that using spells to make them willing is also forbidden.
Three, obey the Inquisitors if they tell you to do anything, and don't try to cast spells on them, they wont' work and they will kill you for trying.
Four, Meals are in the dining hall in the mornings and evenings, you don't show up you go hungry, simple as that. Five, Your time from here on is your own, and you can spend it however you wish.
Six, We instructors can hold classes when we want, teach what we want and exclude who we want. You want to be taught, best stay on our good-side
Seven, Laboratories and experiment areas can only be used when booked in advance, don't think you can walk in and do what you want.
Eight, The Inquisitor Barracks and the world outside is now out of bounds.
Nine: The Inquisitors can go where they want, attempting to deny them access to any part of this Academy is forbidding and a good way to get them angry at you."
The Necromancer raised a hand and pointed at the where the stairway behind her branched to the left, "That way lies the rooms set aside for you, find one that's got your name on the door and get settled, the metal disc in the wall to the left on the inside activates a ward so you can have privacy, but don't be standing in the doorway when it activates or it'll kill you." Her hand went to the left, "Instructor offices are that way, you can probably leave a message for us there. That door," here she pointed to the corridor the inquisitors hand vanished down, "leads to the dining hall , kitchens and Inquisitor Barracks, the other to the labs, test areas, classrooms and the grounds. The library can be reached from any of those areas and has its own rules you can probably guess."
She turned her back to them and started to climb the stairs again, "if you have further questions ask them tomorrow. I will be holding a class tomorrow morning in Room three, if you want to learn another School find the instructor and bother them. Good evening to you."
VVVVVVVVVVVV
GM Notes. for now you may do intro post, talk with your fellow students and get set up in your rooms, once everyone has done that i will do a short event post jumping time forward to the next morning. the Time of day will be highlighted in Bold, the Room in italics, and players involved in the event will be obvious by use of character names Time will only advance when i change it, so don't worry about being left out of sync and just focus on what you are doing for that time slot. Although if everyone is sleeping at night I'll just jump to the next morning.
My event posts will also inform players if they have learnt anything from a period of study, but I'll also throw in some IC lecturing/spell practice players can respond to IC
Player posts should be headed with Character Name, the Time and Location adding in the destination if moving between rooms.
Example of player post:
Any questions can be asked in the OOC thread
The Old Clock in the Archmagi's Study dutiful marked the passage of time from evening into night, as it had done before Simon Fargate had achieved the position and would doubtless still do so once another Magi took over once he had moved on.
Staring up at the face of the dwarven contraption without really seeing it from his desk piled high with reports, letters form the New Empire, notes on his own experiments and the other detritus of a high management position, he was suddenly shocked by the unexpected voice in his ear.
"Gods above, Simon all that paperwork has dulled your senses over the years."
Another Human Magi, this one female, was standing in the shadow of the clock, arms folded and watching with an amused smirk, as their eyes met, she raised a hand slowly and pushed back the brim of her hat and steped into the light cast by the roaring fire. Simon relaxed.
"Sorceress." He said, standing with a smile on his face, "Its been a while. Might i ask how you got past my Wards?"
The Woman shrugged, "You could, but i won't tell you. Friendship is one thing, but some secrets are mine alone." She paused, threw her hat onto the back of a nearby armchair and allowed her long red hair to fall loose. "they are still there," she added casually, "so you don't have to worry about anyone barging in. I'm calling in my favour."
Simon whistled between his teeth, "You've been sat on that favour since our adventuring days. All right, what is it?"
The Sorceress leant forward across his desk, "You're getting an influx on Students this evening. I want the best of them."
"For experiments?"
Her glare almost nailed him to the wall, "Funny. No, i want an apprentice, its been long enough and i have much left to do. In exchange for balancing the books, as it were, you will train up and recommend one of this new batch to me upon their gaining their Licence. I will then take them as my Apprentice. Understood?"
Simon nodded weakly, "Fine, I'll keep an eye on them, but are you sure they can handle life as your student?"
Sorceress shrugged, "Maybe, Maybe not, that's why i want them to be trained up first, i don't care what Schools, just get me the best so they at least have a chance to survive."
Simon tapped his fingers on the desk top for a few seconds while he marshalled his thoughts, "It Could take years." He suggested dryly, "You're certain this is what you want for that favour?"
his old friend smiled, "Oh Simon you of all people should know," She snapped her fingers and the ticking of the clock resumed, "Time is never a factor."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Meanwhile, in the Hall of the Aspirants, the Master of Novices stood in the Supplicant's Courtyard and watched those destined to become Students gather up what belongs they had, say goodbye to family and those friends they had made that could not follow them, and formed up into a nervous and uncertain line behind him.
As the last shouldered their bag and took their place behind him, He looked up at the massive Obsidian doors with a shudder, carved with runes of power whose meaning had been lost to time, those gates only opened to let Students in and Magi out. In the ten or so years he had been Master, and the twenty years of Aspirant guidance before that, the numbers of New Magi coming out rarely matched that which were sent in.
He grasped his staff in both hands and stepped forward, the ritual was old hat by now, and tapped the mark about level with his head with the wooden rod. Two Runes, one on each door, lit up from within with a plae blue glow.
Who Comes to Cusp of Knowledge?
the voice spoke inside the heads of everyone Gifted without bothering to go through their ears. The Master Still Shuddered to hear it.
"Those Gifted, Those Cursed." He repiled.
Are Their Minds ready? Are their Minds Open?
"They know the Rite, they Know the Risk."
Then Let Them Come Forth.
The runes faded and with a groan like some great tree falling, the Gate opened, to reveal a line of Inqusitors, one for each student, shoulder to shoulder, in full plate and with blades drawn.
He had been careful to explain this part to the Students, and to his relief they acted as instructed, they each walked forward one at a time and knelt. The Inqusitors placed the blade on each youngling's shoulder, the edge of the Blade touching their neck.
"The Eye of Law sees you," Said the Inquisitor Captain, "and our blades know your sent. Know that the Evil shall be found and the Innocent avenged."
In one fluid motion, the inquisitors sheathed their blades and stepped aside, allowing the grop through to the chamber beyond. Then the Gate swung closed once more and the Runes glowed red.
The Aspirants had become Students.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The Students now found themselves in a much smaller chamber with two side doors, one on either side, and a grand staircase towering away before them before branching off into two separate flights at a huge oil painting of the Empire Capital on the far wall. A woman in Black robes was stood halfway up these stairs, her arms folded and a look of utter boredom on her face.
As the door closed she descended the stairs gracefully and pulled a scroll from her belt and unfolded it her eyes panning over each face as if searching for something.
then, with a snap of her fingers that made several of them jump, the scroll burst into flames and turned to ash. The woman's face was still examining the faces before her.
"I am Isabella Montigue," she said suddenly, her voice sultry but tinged with annoyance, "Necormancy Instructor and the one tasked with welcoming you to the Silver Halls, like i don'y already have things to do this evening."
She nodded over their shoulders at the Inquisitors, who turned in unison and marched away down the corridor to their right, Isabella waited for the sound of their armour clanking to fade before speaking again.
"Right now the lot of you are more use to me as materials, and i have much work to do without holding your hands all day, so let me lay down the law. The Rules of this Academy are simple,
One, aggressive action against other students, staff, Instructor, or Inquisitors is forbidden.
Two, all experiments and component acquisitions must be in line with the Laws of the New Empire, any live test subjects must be either willing or a Criminal supplied by the academy, note that using spells to make them willing is also forbidden.
Three, obey the Inquisitors if they tell you to do anything, and don't try to cast spells on them, they wont' work and they will kill you for trying.
Four, Meals are in the dining hall in the mornings and evenings, you don't show up you go hungry, simple as that. Five, Your time from here on is your own, and you can spend it however you wish.
Six, We instructors can hold classes when we want, teach what we want and exclude who we want. You want to be taught, best stay on our good-side
Seven, Laboratories and experiment areas can only be used when booked in advance, don't think you can walk in and do what you want.
Eight, The Inquisitor Barracks and the world outside is now out of bounds.
Nine: The Inquisitors can go where they want, attempting to deny them access to any part of this Academy is forbidding and a good way to get them angry at you."
The Necromancer raised a hand and pointed at the where the stairway behind her branched to the left, "That way lies the rooms set aside for you, find one that's got your name on the door and get settled, the metal disc in the wall to the left on the inside activates a ward so you can have privacy, but don't be standing in the doorway when it activates or it'll kill you." Her hand went to the left, "Instructor offices are that way, you can probably leave a message for us there. That door," here she pointed to the corridor the inquisitors hand vanished down, "leads to the dining hall , kitchens and Inquisitor Barracks, the other to the labs, test areas, classrooms and the grounds. The library can be reached from any of those areas and has its own rules you can probably guess."
She turned her back to them and started to climb the stairs again, "if you have further questions ask them tomorrow. I will be holding a class tomorrow morning in Room three, if you want to learn another School find the instructor and bother them. Good evening to you."
VVVVVVVVVVVV
GM Notes. for now you may do intro post, talk with your fellow students and get set up in your rooms, once everyone has done that i will do a short event post jumping time forward to the next morning. the Time of day will be highlighted in Bold, the Room in italics, and players involved in the event will be obvious by use of character names Time will only advance when i change it, so don't worry about being left out of sync and just focus on what you are doing for that time slot. Although if everyone is sleeping at night I'll just jump to the next morning.
My event posts will also inform players if they have learnt anything from a period of study, but I'll also throw in some IC lecturing/spell practice players can respond to IC
Player posts should be headed with Character Name, the Time and Location adding in the destination if moving between rooms.
Example of player post:
Isabella Montigue
EVENING
Entrance hall, heading to Her Study
*insert IC stuff here*
EVENING
Entrance hall, heading to Her Study
*insert IC stuff here*