Havel smiles a bit.
"That does sound pleasent. I used your family name for a reason, and that simply being- I know you exist. I'll be honest, I didn't even know what color of dragon you were- and I kept this delibratly obscured. I kept basucally everything open ended and as vague as possible, keeping the idea something they could project themseves unto so they could become whatever sort of dragon they desired. And for that, I do apologize. but something we found is that, without dragon blood, worship was more or less the only way to make this work."
he pauses, a moment.
"Normally, a shaman has to attempt to be like a spesific dragon, one they've met and revere. I cercumvented this by creating something rather nebulous and vauge, and attaching it to a name of a group of dragons. Had I known any others, that woudl've worked just as well. And while i do, again, apologize for making you and your family the object of high expectations, I don't exactly regret it for the results. I have worshippers in all sorts of colors and diversities. But... I did have to stop openly seeking those who may have wanted to join. The artifact elegy and I ended up cobbling together to help people with the progress... It did something weird, one day- it just made somone into a drake. He's... Not had a problem with this, and I see that as remarkably lucky, but I'm not willing to openly seek people, not if it's so flawed."
Havel sighs, and his flesh returns to it's normal prismatic colors.
"We also... Had to be rather quiet about our existance at first. I had angered the hunters greatly. I, with elegy's help, stole an artifact from them. This artifact, to some degree, seems to have merged into my flesh over time, changing the type of dragon I'm becoming. My breath can apply a plethora of effects, and shines in all colors of the rainbow, and my flesh can switch between the colors of a prismatic wall. There seems to be a lot more to the armor, as it's able to make the closest deciples fully into drsgons for a time, though it does lose it's magical properties for a while."
he doesn't stop talking for much longer then to simply take a breath.
"... And, when I did steal this from the hunters, it was less a stealthy affair, and more... Blantently ripping it away from them. It was going rather well, but... One of them had a sword unlike anything I had ever seen. It burned to the touch and cut deep as if my armor didn't even exist. Wherever it hit, it felt like posion."
Havel gestures to his stiff leg.
"A bit of it got lodged in my leg. We got it out a day later, but my leg is... Kinda ruined. And I can't move anything very quickly anymore. We've tried to purge it... Countless times, to no effect."
he pauses, an realizes he's been talking on and on, without giving Ryleh much time to speak.
"My apologies, I should give you time to talk."
If Ehos could have snorted, he would have. 'TYPICAL' flashed across his data pad. 'The right hand never knows what the left hand is doing, they say. Happens every time the civil and military authorities meet up. Turns into a pissing contest and the soldiers are left trying to sort out the details'Tyrrin frowns. "Hmm. Yes, it is very inefficient. But certainly worth keeping an eye on. My brother spent time serving in the military after our father died, so he would know better than I what is usual for them," she said primly. "As for the Chamberlain and his little terrors, I have never had any reason to suspect him of actual insubordination, but certainly he and my mother butt heads on a regular basis. He disagrees with a number of her policies, and isn't above using his children to help create an embarrassing situation that he could use to put pressure on her to do things his way. It is important that he not be given that opportunity."
A draconic growl escapes from Ghalen.
"Such petty behavior. I know the type. While we must be weary of their machinations, perhaps we can use their own methods against them?"
If Ehos could have snorted, he would have. 'TYPICAL' flashed across his data pad. 'The right hand never knows what the left hand is doing, they say. Happens every time the civil and military authorities meet up. Turns into a pissing contest and the soldiers are left trying to sort out the details'
Tyrrin frowns. "Hmm. Yes, it is very inefficient. But certainly worth keeping an eye on. My brother spent time serving in the military after our father died, so he would know better than I what is usual for them," she said primly. "As for the Chamberlain and his little terrors, I have never had any reason to suspect him of actual insubordination, but certainly he and my mother butt heads on a regular basis. He disagrees with a number of her policies, and isn't above using his children to help create an embarrassing situation that he could use to put pressure on her to do things his way. It is important that he not be given that opportunity."
"So simply bearing the brunt of their jabs will not be acceptable, as it would reflect poorly on the High Seer's choice of guests," Fei deduces with a concerned look.
A draconic growl escapes from Ghalen.
"Such petty behavior. I know the type. While we must be weary of their machinations, perhaps we can use their own methods against them?"
"We must not overstep - I would guess that some of that behavior would work to advantage (and reflect well on the High Seer), but if we go too far it will backfire..."
"The monastic life is much...less complicated," the young monk concludes with a shake of his head. "Regardless, we need to decide our course of action now before they come back in."
Havel smiles a bit.
"That does sound pleasent. I used your family name for a reason, and that simply being- I know you exist. I'll be honest, I didn't even know what color of dragon you were- and I kept this delibratly obscured. I kept basucally everything open ended and as vague as possible, keeping the idea something they could project themseves unto so they could become whatever sort of dragon they desired. And for that, I do apologize. but something we found is that, without dragon blood, worship was more or less the only way to make this work."
he pauses, a moment.
"Normally, a shaman has to attempt to be like a spesific dragon, one they've met and revere. I cercumvented this by creating something rather nebulous and vauge, and attaching it to a name of a group of dragons. Had I known any others, that woudl've worked just as well. And while i do, again, apologize for making you and your family the object of high expectations, I don't exactly regret it for the results. I have worshippers in all sorts of colors and diversities. But... I did have to stop openly seeking those who may have wanted to join. The artifact elegy and I ended up cobbling together to help people with the progress... It did something weird, one day- it just made somone into a drake. He's... Not had a problem with this, and I see that as remarkably lucky, but I'm not willing to openly seek people, not if it's so flawed."
Havel sighs, and his flesh returns to it's normal prismatic colors.
"We also... Had to be rather quiet about our existance at first. I had angered the hunters greatly. I, with elegy's help, stole an artifact from them. This artifact, to some degree, seems to have merged into my flesh over time, changing the type of dragon I'm becoming. My breath can apply a plethora of effects, and shines in all colors of the rainbow, and my flesh can switch between the colors of a prismatic wall. There seems to be a lot more to the armor, as it's able to make the closest deciples fully into drsgons for a time,...
Ryleh sighed. "Where to start? First of all, while I would never get in the way of your choice to become what you like, I must tell you, I don't approve. What you've done to yourself and the ones closest to you, who I imagine also went into this with their eyes open...fine. You have the right to be what you wish. But I feel that you have done a great disservice to your larger following. People who wish to change themselves in that way....it is more often due to a lack of confidence. They don't realize that they already have the things they are seeking. Dragons, of any color or type, are not a higher form of life. All sentient beings are equal. I will not interfere with your actions, but I could not in good conscience fail to make my feelings on the subject known to you."
"As for the rest of it, the Hunters are not what they once were. The few remnants that are left...well, I am not a child killer and that's all I have to say about that. But without parents or proper training...I am told that there was a great deal of attrition. And even more when the Shadowspeaker Clan remnant was dominated and began attacking their fellow Hunters. What few are left after the predations of the last fifty so years would be easier to overcome, certainly. But that armor....it was not theirs. They stole it. I remember seeing it once, as a child. It was some sort of religious regalia, but I don't know to what god it was dedicated. Seriflathenon kept it as a memento of an ally who had been lost. She did not speak of it more than that. The sword you speak of is interesting. It sounds to me like you might have run into a member of the Deathsting clan. They were never the most numerous to begin with, so it's surprising to hear of one now, but perhaps that was the very reason they survived. They might have escaped the Shadowspeakers' notice. But that is all a matter of academic interest, I suppose. You should consult the healers in the infirmary. They may be able to help with your affliction. It is worth considering at least. Unless you enjoy being subject to these physical limitations."
Havel shakes his head a bit.
"I got this wound from fighting... How many years ago, was it now... Hm. Anyway, as for why my followers do what they do... I memorize that. I make sure that I know why each and every person that comes does what they do. And I do my best to help them with their problems. And I did shut down any and all open recruitment the moment I noticed the method I used was slightly unstable."
Havel sighs.
"But, I know that we Probobly won't see eye to eye on what I do. And I suppose that's fine. You can't expect everyone to understand you, all you can really do is try, right? But, I do try and present the process as a form of strength. Not of perfection, but strength. For most, it's no doubt a way to get stronger, magically, and psycically. And while I have gotten a decent few who came to me with a lack of confidence, I tried to make sure I worked on that, as well. I didn't just assume that changing form would solve all their problems. That's not how it works."
he shivers.
"I deal with mazia. I know full well, that is not now it works. Mazia... He came to me because he wanted to be stronger. At first, I thought he was... Feeling unstable due to his size. No. No, he's... He's for lack of a better word, a power hungry lunatic. And for all my effort, the thing that ended up improving him, was Medli. She started dating him, and he's improved derastically."
he looks up at Ryleh, looking her in the eye.
"Regardless, you can expect me to take you up on your offer. I'm... Not as equipped to do this as I thought I was when I started. It was fine when I had ten, twenty, thirty, forty... But I've got a few hundred followers now. I can't manage to keep up with all of them at once, but I feel I have to try. I barely sleep, haven't had time to relax in years, and I haven't even had much time to progress my own meditations. Elegy has to often force me to take a break once my head starts pounding. She says it's due to stress. I don't know how stress could cause a headache, but I'm not one to disbelieve those close to me just because I don't get it. But I can't de-stress, because I'm too busy, so I get more headaches, and then I get irritable, and..."
Havel quietly presses a claw gently on his temple.
"Nngh."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"We must not overstep - I would guess that some of that behavior would work to advantage (and reflect well on the High Seer), but if we go too far it will backfire...""The monastic life is much...less complicated," the young monk concludes with a shake of his head. "Regardless, we need to decide our course of action now before they come back in."
"I agree, this could backfire. The trick is weaponizing the appropriate amount of truth to discredit them. Too little, and you're put on the defensive, too much, and it can destroy people like this to levels you never intended it to reach." he ponders this for a bit...then shakes his head.
"Problem here is that we've given them a lot to play with. Tyrrin brings a group of 'humans' as guests, and Ehos brings his Lycan girlfriend home to this festival, none of which are wrong in any way, mind you. This is compounded if the overall view of Avalon is poor here. They probably view these things as a target rich environment to exploit. There could also be other political problems or shifts going on here that are unrelated to them. Perhaps a better tactic would be to remain cool-headed and make them really work for whatever they will try to spin.""What say you, Ace?"
Havel shakes his head a bit.
"I got this wound from fighting... How many years ago, was it now... Hm. Anyway, as for why my followers do what they do... I memorize that. I make sure that I know why each and every person that comes does what they do. And I do my best to help them with their problems. And I did shut down any and all open recruitment the moment I noticed the method I used was slightly unstable."
Havel sighs.
"But, I know that we Probobly won't see eye to eye on what I do. And I suppose that's fine. You can't expect everyone to understand you, all you can really do is try, right? But, I do try and present the process as a form of strength. Not of perfection, but strength. For most, it's no doubt a way to get stronger, magically, and psycically. And while I have gotten a decent few who came to me with a lack of confidence, I tried to make sure I worked on that, as well. I didn't just assume that changing form would solve all their problems. That's not how it works."
he shivers.
"I deal with mazia. I know full well, that is not now it works. Mazia... He came to me because he wanted to be stronger. At first, I thought he was... Feeling unstable due to his size. No. No, he's... He's for lack of a better word, a power hungry lunatic. And for all my effort, the thing that ended up improving him, was Medli. She started dating him, and he's improved derastically."
he looks up at Ryleh, looking her in the eye.
"Regardless, you can expect me to take you up on your offer. I'm... Not as equipped to do this as I thought I was when I started. It was fine when I had ten, twenty, thirty, forty... But I've got a few hundred followers now. I can't manage to keep up with all of them at once, but I feel I have to try. I barely sleep, haven't had time to relax in years, and I haven't even had much time to progress my own meditations. Elegy has to often force me to take a break once my head starts pounding. She says it's due to stress. I don't know how stress could cause a...
Ryleh gives him a look. "Years? Well, unless you obtained that armor when you were a veritable toddler, then it was after the Hunters were at...less than full strength. Somehow I doubt you've had it for more than oh....54 years. And you faced an adult so that means it can't have been more than ....44 years seems fair. Given your age, I doubt it's been more than ten years at an absolute maximum. Though it is possible if it was more than five years ago that the ones you met then later met their ends at the hands of the Shadowspeaker clan. And it is no wonder you have stress headaches. You must have been very busy indeed if you have been able to build such a large church in such a short time as it has been less than a year since my grandchildren decided to go public. Though I suppose you might have begun it some time earlier and only attached our family's name later on. It wouldn't be the first time that someone built a church to worship 'monsters'. A bit of an odd concept here as many of the students would be considered monsters in other settings, but here it has become so commonplace that they are viewed as totally normal."
She took another sip of tea. "I assure you that we are well equipped to deal with any sort of mental health conditions. Mazia will not be too much to handle." She looked sad again, but quickly deflected the subject. "We will be happy to enroll any and all of you here at the school, although there is an age cut-off. There is a university in the works, but it is not yet ready to accept students. Adult followers might be encouraged to find work in Kuros. I cannot help but feel that daily exposure to James must be enough to cure anyone of worshipping dragons," she added dryly. "And it would be easy for you to look in on them on the weekends if they are there. And you in particular...when you enroll, I expect you to sign up for Advanced History of Agartha as one of your classes. I insist."
"I agree, I don't think they can do too much to harm us long term, and if we push back to hard, we could really screw up things here, especially for our friends. So, we'll play hard to get, as it were. This isn't my first taste of courtly intrigue, just new to this particular flavor" the young man says with a grin.
Asha flips right side up and stops to consider the question. "No, I've never done it on purpose. It was always just something that happened because I was startled or scared. If I start to calm down too soon then I get caught partway through things. That's when I end up in the infirmary."
"Hmm, and how full you are is important, right? I could try helping you mediate, and maybe attempt to guide you through going intangible when you want, and not by accident."
"I agree, I don't think they can do too much to harm us long term, and if we push back to hard, we could really screw up things here, especially for our friends. So, we'll play hard to get, as it were. This isn't my first taste of courtly intrigue, just new to this particular flavor" the young man says with a grin.
nods
"Jaiye? What do you think?"
...Havel shakes his head a bit.
"I got this wound from fighting... How many years ago, was it now... Hm. Anyway, as for why my followers do what they do... I memorize that. I make sure that I know why each and every person that comes does what they do. And I do my best to help them with their problems. And I did shut down any and all open recruitment the moment I noticed the method I used was slightly unstable."
Havel sighs.
"But, I know that we Probobly won't see eye to eye on what I do. And I suppose that's fine. You can't expect everyone to understand you, all you can really do is try, right? But, I do try and present the process as a form of strength. Not of perfection, but strength. For most, it's no doubt a way to get stronger, magically, and psycically. And while I have gotten a decent few who came to me with a lack of confidence, I tried to make sure I worked on that, as well. I didn't just assume that changing form would solve all their problems. That's not how it works."
he shivers.
"I deal with mazia. I know full well, that is not now it works. Mazia... He came to me because he wanted to be stronger. At first, I thought he was... Feeling unstable due to his size. No. No, he's... He's for lack of a better word, a power hungry lunatic. And for all my effort, the thing that ended up improving him, was Medli. She started dating him, and he's improved derastically."
he looks up at Ryleh, looking her in the eye.
"Regardless, you can expect me to take you up on your offer. I'm... Not as equipped to do this as I thought I was when I started. It was fine when I had ten, twenty, thirty, forty... But I've got a few hundred followers now. I can't manage to keep up with all of them at once, but I feel I have to try. I barely sleep, haven't had time to relax in years, and I haven't even had much time to progress my own meditations. Elegy has to often force me to take a break once my head starts pounding. She says it's due to stress. I don't
"Oh, no, single digits. Below 5. I'll be honest, I only actually know so much. And all of that sounds wonderful. I Probobly really should take the history of agarthia class. It does seem like I'm missing a lot of context. Though, I really hope you know what you're getting into with mazia. And, I do apologize for how little I know, and how much I seem to have missed."
he bows, a tad bit."I hope to get to know you anyway."
"I agree, I don't think they can do too much to harm us long term, and if we push back to hard, we could really screw up things here, especially for our friends. So, we'll play hard to get, as it were. This isn't my first taste of courtly intrigue, just new to this particular flavor" the young man says with a grin.nods
"Jaiye? What do you think?"
Jaiye bit her lip nervously. "I knew coming here wasn't going to be easy. I've been getting etiquette lessons from Tyrrin to make sure that I don't screw up too bad, but I'm definitely going to need some help from the rest of you. I'm really trying not to cause an incident, but we're talking about a really long history of conflict here. There's pretty much bound to be some...awkwardness." Ehos squeezed her arm and she gave him an attempt at a smile. "I'm more used to the straightforward kind of fighting, and I'm good at that. But I will do my best to fight with manners this time. Even if I am at a disadvantage there."
"Oh, no, single digits. Below 5. I'll be honest, I only actually know so much. And all of that sounds wonderful. I Probobly really should take the history of agarthia class. It does seem like I'm missing a lot of context. Though, I really hope you know what you're getting into with mazia. And, I do apologize for how little I know, and how much I seem to have missed."
he bows, a tad bit.
"I hope to get to know you anyway."
"No need to apologize for ignorance, young man. You are to be commended for admitting it and showing willingness to correct the fault. And you will certainly be getting to know me better. I teach Advanced History of Agartha. History of Agartha is a course for off-worlders, a way to get them up to speed on things that are taken for granted here, culturally speaking. The advanced course is for natives who wish to learn history as well as those off-worlders who wish to study the subject more in-depth. Also, in light of your ...special interests, I am going to request that I be assigned as your faculty advisor, should you have any troubles. I usually only work with the very troubled cases, but I think that you, as someone who is accustomed to leading others, will also be very much in need of someone to give advice to you."
She set her cup down. "Since you are here, would you like a tour of the school?"
Asha flips right side up and stops to consider the question. "No, I've never done it on purpose. It was always just something that happened because I was startled or scared. If I start to calm down too soon then I get caught partway through things. That's when I end up in the infirmary.""Hmm, and how full you are is important, right? I could try helping you mediate, and maybe attempt to guide you through going intangible when you want, and not by accident."
She nodded. "Yes, because it takes a lot of energy to change from solid to not. I have to eat a lot of food. And if I use up too much energy they have to put food right into my veins....except not in food form obviously. It's liquid then. It's not much fun. And then I still have to eat. That's just to get things stable. And yeah, if you think you can help me learn how to control it, that would be great! It would be a really useful talent to have if I could do it when I wanted...and not just keep falling though the floor. It really startles the music students when you fall into their practice space, let me tell you!"
Jaiye bit her lip nervously. "I knew coming here wasn't going to be easy. I've been getting etiquette lessons from Tyrrin to make sure that I don't screw up too bad, but I'm definitely going to need some help from the rest of you. I'm really trying not to cause an incident, but we're talking about a really long history of conflict here. There's pretty much bound to be some...awkwardness." Ehos squeezed her arm and she gave him an attempt at a smile. "I'm more used to the straightforward kind of fighting, and I'm good at that. But I will do my best to fight with manners this time. Even if I am at a disadvantage there."
He nods again.
"Alright then, no overt action will be taken. Ehos, Tyrrin, what kind of things have they done in the past? What things should we look for?"
"Oh, no, single digits. Below 5. I'll be honest, I only actually know so much. And all of that sounds wonderful. I Probobly really should take the history of agarthia class. It does seem like I'm missing a lot of context. Though, I really hope you know what you're getting into with mazia. And, I do apologize for how little I know, and how much I seem to have missed."
he bows, a tad bit.
"I hope to get to know you anyway.""No need to apologize for ignorance, young man. You are to be commended for admitting it and showing willingness to correct the fault. And you will certainly be getting to know me better. I teach Advanced History of Agartha. History of Agartha is a course for off-worlders, a way to get them up to speed on things that are taken for granted here, culturally speaking. The advanced course is for natives who wish to learn history as well as those off-worlders who wish to study the subject more in-depth. Also, in light of your ...special interests, I am going to request that I be assigned as your faculty advisor, should you have any troubles. I usually only work with the very troubled cases, but I think that you, as someone who is accustomed to leading others, will also be very much in need of someone to give advice to you."
She set her cup down. "Since you are here, would you like a tour of the school?"
"Everything you offered sounds wonderful. A tour, the class. Should I summon the rest of the group for the tour, or should I have them come separately? Oh, Uhm. A few things to note, about the potential new students. One of them is a drake, his name is Terrance. He... Acts a lot like a pet, by his own will. Really good at calming people down, and is often one of the things thst helps keep some of us stable mentally. Great listener. But like all of us that use the power we're using... Well, the draconic parts we gain can't be Polymorphed away or covered by illusions. So, he doesn't have hands to work with. He also rarely speaks. Again, by his own will. He's shown himself fully able to, but he rarely... Bothers. So, he might be an odd one, and... Oh, who am I kidding. All of them are gonna be kinda odd."
David's eyes glow blue from a divination spell, but even to his arcane sight many aspects of what we're happening were above what he was familiar with. He watches in mild awe at the power and finess displayed by his friend. When the ritual dies down he whistles a low note "is it done?"
"Uh, yeah. Hang on." She leaned back and called out, "Mel! Someone to see you! Dunno who it is. He's got some kind of blindfold on."
"Is this the dormitory of Melody Waverider?" Djalos asks stiffly, looking past Morrivan's shoulder. His thumb brushes the simple iron band around his wrist, and Morrivan almost feels like a light breeze flows through and past her into the room.
Mel puts things back in order as best she can, being careful not to damage anything, for me? Is he cute? she asks as she heads to the door.
I'm Mel, Ya got another universe for me to save? or is this more of like a social visit. she adds, checking out the visitor
"I doubt the current crisis is universe level, although it could potentially cause a regional or planetary level apocalypse," Djalos says drolly. "Do you believe you have the ability to contain an antimagical force technologically without tapping into magical energies?"
there's a loud sound of things plates and various silverware falling to the ground, as a kid gets smacked by a rather large wing.
"Sorrysorrysorry!"
the dragon rapidly aplogizes, stumbling back and knocking over a table. He helps and darts off to a corner, knocking over five more kids in the process, before he curls up and shivers, all sorts of not OK with what's going on. The symbol on his back glows rather brightly, a stark contrast to his cowering behavior.
"Oh, yeah, this isn't part of the normal repairs at all. This is what I was talking about before. I'm adding an extra containment field around the inside of the tank so you won't have a repeat of the same problem. It's easier to explain it once it's all done since this is really complex. And I'll have to show you how to turn it off as well since once it's operational, you'll need to switch it off any time you need to do maintenance on the tank. This part is really just a lot of electrical work. If it breaks, you probably won't be able to fix it yourself. That's why I said it would make the tank harder to repair. But you can ask me for help if you ever need it, and given time you can probably learn how to fix it yourself, too," he said, looking up from where he was threading wire through the grid.
"Ooooh. That makes more sense. I mean, I know circuits and stuff, but nothing too advance."
He works pretty competently, taking instructions well. Once he's done with the parts he needs to know how to repair, he helps out with what he can, handing over tools and holding things until Jeran is finished installing things.
"Do we need to test it?"
They appeared back in the school in a corridor that seemed to be pretty far from the normal sections. "You're welcome to help me move if you like, but there isn't really that much to pack. My dance bag. A couple of favorite outfits. That's pretty much it. Ephebe already got most of the sentimental stuff," she said with a grimace. "I think I still have an old photo frame. And that's about it. Come on. You can come see if you want. It's a pretty generic room now. It always was really. The house is like that. It's not all elaborate like the school is. It was here first, and it has a certain way that it likes to stay."
"I mean, I don't have anywhere else to be." He hooks his thumbs into his pockets as he follows along with her through the corridors. "That kinda sucks. You'd think you'd get first call since this is your reality. But, if you don't mind me getting philosophical, having stuff has always seemed less important to me than having experiences. I guess it comes with the territory. Kind of my job to give people stuff, and they don't tend to end up happy. Sometimes that's my fault, but that's neither here nor there." He chuckles as he pulls out the puzzle box during the walk, working on the last corner.
"Two magic buildings huh? What are the odds? I wonder if they ever talk."
David's eyes glow blue from a divination spell, but even to his arcane sight many aspects of what we're happening were above what he was familiar with. He watches in mild awe at the power and finess displayed by his friend. When the ritual dies down he whistles a low note "is it done?"
The cat touches the watch quickly to see if it was hot from the ritual, and finding it a touchable temperature, hands it to Dave after a quick magical analysis of his own, making sure everything has gone right.
"Yep. Looks like we're all set."He smiles as he hands it over to Dave, purring a little bit as he can't help but be proud at having completed it all.
Dave puts on the watch, smiling and watching it resize. He presses a button and returns to his fleshy form with a sigh "thanks man" he then turns to the shop owner and bows "many thanks"
Tybalt smiles and checks Dave's wrist out a bit. "It looks good on you. Happy birthday, Shiny." As Dave turns to talk to the shop keep, Tybalt starts to walk the circle, bending to gather the unexpended parts of the ceremony, crystals, the wand, etc, as well as Dave's robe that he picks up and pats to make sure there's no dust on it.
"It was a pleasure, Son. Happy to have been able to help you boys out." He smiles warmly and shakes Dave's hand. "And Happy Birthday! Always a good time. And with that in mind, I'll give you the watch at building cost." He smiles wryly and chuckles. "Still gotta run a business, of course."
"Everything you offered sounds wonderful. A tour, the class. Should I summon the rest of the group for the tour, or should I have them come separately? Oh, Uhm. A few things to note, about the potential new students. One of them is a drake, his name is Terrance. He... Acts a lot like a pet, by his own will. Really good at calming people down, and is often one of the things thst helps keep some of us stable mentally. Great listener. But like all of us that use the power we're using... Well, the draconic parts we gain can't be Polymorphed away or covered by illusions. So, he doesn't have hands to work with. He also rarely speaks. Again, by his own will. He's shown himself fully able to, but he rarely... Bothers. So, he might be an odd one, and... Oh, who am I kidding. All of them are gonna be kinda odd."
"Since you are in charge of the group, I thought it would be helpful to give you a tour first. That way you can explain to the others what they can expect here. But if you would rather wait until you can bring them all here and take a tour together, that is perfectly acceptable."
"As for Terrance, how old is he? If he is young enough for the elementary school, then there is not an issue. There is already at least one student with similar issues in that class, so there are already measures in place to help him do school work without having the use of hands. He would also not be the only student in that class who doesn't speak. There are several classes in that wing, of course, but with his special needs Terrance would definitely be assigned to the class that consists of students in need of extra help or special supervision. They are often very talented young people. But that is also often the trouble. He would fit in well there. However, if he is older and needs to go into the main school, then we would have to spend some time determining his abilities and interests in order to make a schedule and make plans with each individual teacher for how best to integrate him into the classes. We can give him a data pad with a psychic interface that should take care of most of the communication issues, and I'm sure making a case so he can wear it around his neck would be no trouble at all."
"And you don't need to worry about any of their appearances here. There will certainly be some...trouble. But it's not because of how your group looks. There is trouble for anyone. It seems to be what happens when you put a lot of young people in one space, especially when a large proportion of them are trying to work through some sort of trauma. More often than not if someone lashes out, it has less to do with the object of their rage than with their own personal struggles. However, should there be problems, you can always ask a teacher for assistance. The staff does their best to maintain order and make sure that everyone is free to learn in peace here."
"Everything you offered sounds wonderful. A tour, the class. Should I summon the rest of the group for the tour, or should I have them come separately? Oh, Uhm. A few things to note, about the potential new students. One of them is a drake, his name is Terrance. He... Acts a lot like a pet, by his own will. Really good at calming people down, and is often one of the things thst helps keep some of us stable mentally. Great listener. But like all of us that use the power we're using... Well, the draconic parts we gain can't be Polymorphed away or covered by illusions. So, he doesn't have hands to work with. He also rarely speaks. Again, by his own will. He's shown himself fully able to, but he rarely... Bothers. So, he might be an odd one, and... Oh, who am I kidding. All of them are gonna be kinda odd.""Since you are in charge of the group, I thought it would be helpful to give you a tour first. That way you can explain to the others what they can expect here. But if you would rather wait until you can bring them all here and take a tour together, that is perfectly acceptable."
"As for Terrance, how old is he? If he is young enough for the elementary school, then there is not an issue. There is already at least one student with similar issues in that class, so there are already measures in place to help him do school work without having the use of hands. He would also not be the only student in that class who doesn't speak. There are several classes in that wing, of course, but with his special needs Terrance would definitely be assigned to the class that consists of students in need of extra help or special supervision. They are often very talented young people. But that is also often the trouble. He would fit in well there. However, if he is older and needs to go into the main school, then we would have to spend some time determining his abilities and interests in order to make a schedule and make plans with each individual teacher for how best to integrate him...
"He's thirteen. And that does sound like a good idea, when you put it that way. Waiting until later for the groups to show up, I mean. As for Terrence, it's not that he has trouble speaking. It's that he usually doesn't. When he does, it's a rarity. And usually important. And he's... Uncannily good at cutting to the heart of things."
he sighs."I try to understand, but I can't seem to. He just seems to want to stay silent."
he pauses.
"... There's also the matter of zanthos and mazia. They're all odd, but I don't envision most of them being real trouble... But, zanthos... Zanthos drinks. Heavily. Beyond heavily. As in, when he doesn't, and gets really angry really easy. We've tried to get him to quit, he's even tried himself. It didn't go well. More concerning, his blood has so much alcohol in it it can catch fire. I'm relatively certain that means he should be dead several times over. And mazia... I really cannot warn you enough, mazia is a handful."
Havel pauses, again.
"Sorry, we should Probobly walk and talk, hunh?"
"Ooooh. That makes more sense. I mean, I know circuits and stuff, but nothing too advance."He works pretty competently, taking instructions well. Once he's done with the parts he needs to know how to repair, he helps out with what he can, handing over tools and holding things until Jeran is finished installing things.
"Do we need to test it?"
Jeran nods "Yes, absolutely. Always test to make sure things are working. The last thing you want is to find out they're not when you're in the middle of something important."
He starts turning things on to make sure that things are working, then turns them off again because there's a problem with the forcefield. He stops and adjusts some of the wiring and starts turning things on again. This time everything seems to be in order. "Heh. Case in point. That would have been inconvenient later on. Okay so here are the switches you need in order to turn the forcefield on and off. Just make sure it's off before you try to make repairs or you'll end up in the infirmary."
"And I think that's it. Looks like your tank is up and running and you shouldn't have any problems going forward with oozes breaking the filters."
They appeared back in the school in a corridor that seemed to be pretty far from the normal sections. "You're welcome to help me move if you like, but there isn't really that much to pack. My dance bag. A couple of favorite outfits. That's pretty much it. Ephebe already got most of the sentimental stuff," she said with a grimace. "I think I still have an old photo frame. And that's about it. Come on. You can come see if you want. It's a pretty generic room now. It always was really. The house is like that. It's not all elaborate like the school is. It was here first, and it has a certain way that it likes to stay.""I mean, I don't have anywhere else to be." He hooks his thumbs into his pockets as he follows along with her through the corridors. "That kinda sucks. You'd think you'd get first call since this is your reality. But, if you don't mind me getting philosophical, having stuff has always seemed less important to me than having experiences. I guess it comes with the territory. Kind of my job to give people stuff, and they don't tend to end up happy. Sometimes that's my fault, but that's neither here nor there." He chuckles as he pulls out the puzzle box during the walk, working on the last corner.
"Two magic buildings huh? What are the odds? I wonder if they ever talk."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have explained it badly. No, there's only one magic building, and yes it's definitely sentient. It started out as a small cottage that's been in Uncle Ryo's family for ages. And it expanded as necessary to accommodate extra family. It likes to keep the core part of the house the same though. Almost like a control room really. No, the school is just an extension of the house. Ryo wanted to open a school so it sort of grew one. And it keeps expanding as necessary. Only family and people we bring in as guests are allowed to go into the house part. I think if it wanted to hide it could actually go back to looking like a cottage on the outside, but everything in the school would still be on the inside. But that would freak people out, so it lets the school part look somewhat close to as big as it is, sort of. It's a very unique sort of building," she said leading the way down a corridor that hadn't been there before to a door that sort of appeared in the wall as they got closer to it."Come on in," she said, gesturing for him to follow. Inside the door was a pretty normal looking house. There was a large sunny kitchen, a cozy living room filled with beat-up furniture, and a stairway leading up. "My room is upstairs. Grandma's lair is the basement. She's often in the kitchen there unless she's working with students."
She led the way upstairs, still talking. "You make a good point about stuff, and it's my fault actually that Ephebe got most of my stuff. I basically stuck her here to take my place. In my defense I was dead, and had been through a lot of trauma, and it was totally messing with my sense of perspective. It never occurred to me that it doesn't work like that or that I would end up coming back. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard sometimes. Here's my room," she said, heading for the third door on the left. The room was a small bedroom. There was a twin bed with a colorful patchwork quilt on it, a mostly empty bookcase with one small holographic display on it that was cycling through images, a large wardrobe that was hanging open with not many clothes hanging inside, and a desk that was cluttered with various knickknacks in varying states of broken. There was one large window on the opposite side of the wall with ruffled white curtains tied back to each side of it, and a faded rug in a floral pattern on the floor. There wasn't a lot here that seemed to fit with Andromeda's personality.
"He's thirteen. And that does sound like a good idea, when you put it that way. Waiting until later for the groups to show up, I mean. As for Terrence, it's not that he has trouble speaking. It's that he usually doesn't. When he does, it's a rarity. And usually important. And he's... Uncannily good at cutting to the heart of things."
he sighs.
"I try to understand, but I can't seem to. He just seems to want to stay silent."
he pauses.
"... There's also the matter of zanthos and mazia. They're all odd, but I don't envision most of them being real trouble... But, zanthos... Zanthos drinks. Heavily. Beyond heavily. As in, when he doesn't, and gets really angry really easy. We've tried to get him to quit, he's even tried himself. It didn't go well. More concerning, his blood has so much alcohol in it it can catch fire. I'm relatively certain that means he should be dead several times over. And mazia... I really cannot warn you enough, mazia is a handful."
Havel pauses, again.
"Sorry, we should Probobly walk and talk, hunh?"
"Yes, that means that Terrance will be in the main school. As I said, we will find ways to work with him so he can participate like any student would. We can come up with some means either magical or technological to allow him to function, I am certain of it."
"As for Zanthos....the school building itself has a no alcohol policy, but we shall have to see. The first thing I think is to have them do a thorough scan in the infirmary to get an idea of his state of health and physical requirements. If his physiology truly requires alcohol in order to function, then I'm sure we can work something out.""But as you say, we can walk and talk," she said, smiling slightly as she led him inside the building. "I should warn you that the school tends to rearrange itself throughout the day, so things are not always where you remember them, but the cafeteria is almost always the first thing that you come to through the front doors. If you want to find something specific, touch the wall and think of what or who you are trying to find and arrows will light up to show you the way."
"He's thirteen. And that does sound like a good idea, when you put it that way. Waiting until later for the groups to show up, I mean. As for Terrence, it's not that he has trouble speaking. It's that he usually doesn't. When he does, it's a rarity. And usually important. And he's... Uncannily good at cutting to the heart of things."
he sighs.
"I try to understand, but I can't seem to. He just seems to want to stay silent."
he pauses.
"... There's also the matter of zanthos and mazia. They're all odd, but I don't envision most of them being real trouble... But, zanthos... Zanthos drinks. Heavily. Beyond heavily. As in, when he doesn't, and gets really angry really easy. We've tried to get him to quit, he's even tried himself. It didn't go well. More concerning, his blood has so much alcohol in it it can catch fire. I'm relatively certain that means he should be dead several times over. And mazia... I really cannot warn you enough, mazia is a handful."
Havel pauses, again.
"Sorry, we should Probobly walk and talk, hunh?""Yes, that means that Terrance will be in the main school. As I said, we will find ways to work with him so he can participate like any student would. We can come up with some means either magical or technological to allow him to function, I am certain of it."
"As for Zanthos....the school building itself has a no alcohol policy, but we shall have to see. The first thing I think is to have them do a thorough scan in the infirmary to get an idea of his state of health and physical requirements. If his physiology truly requires alcohol in order to function, then I'm sure we can work something out."
"But as you say, we can walk and talk," she said, smiling slightly as she led him inside the building. "I should warn you that the school tends to rearrange itself throughout the day, so things are not always where you remember them, but the cafeteria is almost always the first thing that you come to through the front doors. If you want to...
"Glad to hear. I certianly hope he doesn't require alcohol, but I'm not really sure. It's not a type of drsgon I had even heard of before him. A brine dragon. I think they're part elemental. That's... an intersting system." he says, idlt dragging a claw agaisnt the wall. "why so complex, though? I mean, the layout itself. It's simple to use, I think."
he glances around the school as they enter, baffling at the diversity in the cafeteria.
"Glad to hear. I certianly hope he doesn't require alcohol, but I'm not really sure. It's not a type of drsgon I had even heard of before him. A brine dragon. I think they're part elemental. That's... an intersting system." he says, idlt dragging a claw agaisnt the wall. "why so complex, though? I mean, the layout itself. It's simple to use, I think."
he glances around the school as they enter, baffling at the diversity in the cafeteria.
"The school tries to place things in the most convenient place, but with so many students that often means moving things around. The infirmary is especially mobile, although if you truly need it you will always find it close by. Hold on, I think we may need to pause the tour for a moment," she said, spotting a small blue dragon causing pandemonium in the cafeteria. "I need to check on that. Feel free to follow me if you like," she said heading into the cafeteria, students quickly getting out of her way as she swept across it to the corner to where Marcell was huddled.
She crouched down and gently placed a hand on Marcell's wing. "What is your name?" she asked calmly.
"Glad to hear. I certianly hope he doesn't require alcohol, but I'm not really sure. It's not a type of drsgon I had even heard of before him. A brine dragon. I think they're part elemental. That's... an intersting system." he says, idlt dragging a claw agaisnt the wall. "why so complex, though? I mean, the layout itself. It's simple to use, I think."
he glances around the school as they enter, baffling at the diversity in the cafeteria.
"The school tries to place things in the most convenient place, but with so many students that often means moving things around. The infirmary is especially mobile, although if you truly need it you will always find it close by. Hold on, I think we may need to pause the tour for a moment," she said, spotting a small blue dragon causing pandemonium in the cafeteria. "I need to check on that. Feel free to follow me if you like," she said heading into the cafeteria, students quickly getting out of her way as she swept across it to the corner to where Marcell was huddled.
She crouched down and gently placed a hand on Marvell's wing. "What is your name?" she asked calmly.
Havel stares a moment. Words failing him, at the dragon in the room. A dragon that wasn't one of his was a sight to behold... Normally. This one seemed... Odd. To say the least.
Marcell yelps and whirls to face Rileh. He'd end up smacking her with a wing in the motion, if she didn't expect it, or have some sort of defense up.
"M-m-Marcell. I'm sorry I knocked those people over. These wings are a pain, and this body makes me nervous, and I can barely feel anything I touch, and these wings are a pain, and I think I already said that, and, and..."
he's shivering badly, both because he's still kinda afraid of dragons and having his worldview challanged by his own body, and because he thinks he's going to get in trouble.
Marcell yelps and whirls to face Rileh. He'd end up smacking her with a wing in the motion, if she didn't expect it, or have some sort of defense up.
"M-m-Marcell. I'm sorry I knocked those people over. These wings are a pain, and this body makes me nervous, and I can barely feel anything I touch, and these wings are a pain, and I think I already said that, and, and..."
he's shivering badly, both because he's still kinda afraid of dragons and having his worldview challanged by his own body, and because he thinks he's going to get in trouble.
Ryleh easily deflects the wing and listens to the clearly frightened explanation silently. "I take it that this is a recent change? This is not your usual form? It's alright. You're not in trouble. I am simply trying to assist you," she said in the same calm, quiet voice she had used to ask his name. "Here," she added, gently grabbing a wing and showing him how to fold it in close. "Like this. It will make it much easier to get around. Don't fight with your tail. It's there to help you balance.If you curl it around your feet you're only going to trip. Hatchlings always do that."
Alys spots the replica and, though she is not sure where he left the small tunnel, she darts after the illusion yipping and growling playfully.After Serrin had gotten back her book, she was planning on not playing with the foxes.
But then she saw Alys frustrated and confused at Keme disappearing down the hole, so she decided to mess with her.
She crafts a very life-like looking illusion of the former champion of Hope, which she has bound away from Alys, taunting her to chase him.
Keme waits in the entrance of the tunnel, watching Alys chase his double across the field. When she comes close to his hiding place, he darts out and nips her tail before dashing off again.
"Moooo-ooooommmmmm," Raelle complained, exasperated. "Please, let's just go before she thinks of any other ways to embarrass me," she pleaded.
He laughed. "My dad always said that embarrassing their children is part of a parent's job," he joked. "Alright then, we can go. See you later, firecracker," he said, patting Chara on the head. "Ignace," he added with a nod since she was less willing to deal with teasing.
Once safely in the hallway, Raelle breathed a sigh of relief and slipped her hand into Ardiente's. At least now there was only one family member here to embarrass her in front of her boyfriend. It was harder when they were outnumbered.
Ryleh easily deflects the wing and listens to the clearly frightened explanation silently. "I take it that this is a recent change? This is not your usual form? It's alright. You're not in trouble. I am simply trying to assist you," she said in the same calm, quiet voice she had used to ask his name. "Here," she added, gently grabbing a wing and showing him how to fold it in close. "Like this. It will make it much easier to get around. Don't fight with your tail. It's there to help you balance.If you curl it around your feet you're only going to trip. Hatchlings always do that."Marcell yelps and whirls to face Rileh. He'd end up smacking her with a wing in the motion, if she didn't expect it, or have some sort of defense up.
"M-m-Marcell. I'm sorry I knocked those people over. These wings are a pain, and this body makes me nervous, and I can barely feel anything I touch, and these wings are a pain, and I think I already said that, and, and..."
he's shivering badly, both because he's still kinda afraid of dragons and having his worldview challanged by his own body, and because he thinks he's going to get in trouble.
marcell does as he's told.
"I don't have a normal form, anymore. I end up in a new one every day. It's a pain."he moves around a bit, quickly finding things much easier.
marcell does as he's told.
"I don't have a normal form, anymore. I end up in a new one every day. It's a pain."
he moves around a bit, quickly finding things much easier.
"Hmm," Ryleh said, pulling a data pad out of her sleeve. "So this is a known problem? I assume you have a faculty advisor...ah, yes, I see. I'm putting in a call to Professor Zix to let him know to meet us at the SIM rooms. I think that's the best place to take you to give you a chance to learn how to move properly without knocking people over. Stay put for a moment. Havel, step closer please. You should see a proper demonstration of the SIM rooms anyhow."
A swarm of crystals comes out of her sleeves and forms a circle around the small group. "I presume no one has any objections to being teleported in this case?"
Havel holds up a finger, pauses, A moment, and drains all the cool colors from his scales/armor.
"All set."
marcell shakes his head.
"Go right ahead."
The crystals whir briefly and their surroundings change to a large room with several corridors lined with sliding doors leading off of it. "This is the entrance to the SIM rooms. These doors all lead to separate rooms. There will be a green light overhead if the room is open. There are some classes held inside the SIM rooms, specifically PE, but most of the time they are used for practice or entertainment. This way, please," she said, indicating the closest open room. "Ah, Professor Zix," she said with a nod as she saw him waiting outside the door. "Thank you for joining us. As you can see, Marcell was having some difficulties in the cafeteria. This form does not lend itself well to crowded spaces. I was going to get him inside a SIM so he can have some proper space to practice moving, not to mention enough space to properly demonstrate how to move in dragon form. Not that there is much time to learn. I believe he changes every day?"
|
Professor Zixoplautal nods and his voice is projected into their heads ::indeed. Other recorded forms incluse human, Halfling, Mer, anthropomorphic dog and psudodragon. This is the first example of an inheritly magical being as a possible form. I must add this to my notes. Marcell. Do you feel like your mind or magic is affected at all by your current form:: he waits for an answer before nodding and writing this down and turning to the shamen :: and who are you? New student or faculty?::
Marcell just blinks, and doesn't say anything.
"Neither, yet."
Havel states plainly, looking at zix rather intently, examining him.
