By Blood and Craft [IC Thread]

[TooManySecrets]

BY BLOOD AND CRAFT

http://i.imgur.com/ZL8PaY8.png
CC Image courtesy of Andreas Praefcke on Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lorbeerkranz_Zypern_rem.jpg), modified by TooManySecrets

It has been several difficult weeks on the road. The autumn air is chilly and your instructor has ridden you hard. Gaius Horatius Scaeva, the agent who recruited you for the Academy, has not said a single unkind or cruel word this entire trip — in fact, he seems almost jolly — but he has set a grueling pace and you are happy for the horses that he has bought. Horatius seems to know every shortcut along the way and you've made good time on the Imperial roads. After all having met in the city of Falacrine (having arrived from wherever you made your home), you've had little time to chat with each other, conversation during the day being difficult over the sound of the horses and during the night you're mostly too tired.

Horatius himself is well-tanned with a handsome face, marred only by a nose broken far in the past and never set properly. He seems to be well-trained in the crafts from what you've seen of him. He's kept the horses healthy and rested despite the near-constant gallop, yet each night he keeps the fire burning seemingly effortlessly.

As the stone road crests a hill, you see the city. Saying simply "the city" is like saying that "a winter storm is a bit cold" or "an Imperial legion is some soldiers"; it's true while missing the magnitude of the thing. The city sprawls across the hills and plains, white walls shining in the noonday sun. A veritable flotilla of ships move gently in the wind to the city's many docks. Parks dot the city and huge buildings with marble columns stand out like beacons. Even from this distance, you can see groups of people — caravaners, travelers, wanderers — entering into and out of the city's enormous gates and across the Imperial roads.

Horatius stops his horse and uses one hand to make a sweeping gesture to take in the whole spectacle. "Behold, the heart of the Empire, the pride of the citizens, the greatest city the world has ever known. Behold, Porta Argenti." He turns to the group of you, a smile on his face. "A bit dramatic, I admit, but there's truth in it, too. No matter how many places I have seen, this city never loses its luster." He turns back to face the road and urges his horse forward at a decent pace and you follow. "It's been too long," he says aloud in a clear voice but almost to himself. "It's good to be back."


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

It doesn't take long to enter through the city gates after Horatius shows his papers and you enter the market district. For those of you raised in the country, there is almost an overwhelming number of people here and, even for those of you used to other cities, this close to as many people as you have ever seen in one place. Merchants, slaves, citizens, nobles, legionaries, freemen, guards, pilgrims, they all merge together in one mass of people. Merchants at carts hark their wares and children run around everywhere. There are so many bright colors — piles of oranges, green and blue silk, red hanging carpets, and a host of other things — it's almost blinding.

"This is the most direct route to the Imperial Academy," Horatius says over the sound of, well, everything. "But, as you can see, it can get a bit busy. Don't worry; you'll have plenty of time to see the sites in your free time."


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The Imperial Academy is one of the largest buildings that you've seen so far. It almost seems designed like a fortress, at least on the outside. Inside, there are wide corridors lined with rooms and, every so often, outdoor atriums. The decorations are simple but well-made iron fixtures forged in intricate patterns. It takes real subtlety to craft such things.

Slowly, the setting changes and you see more children your own age (as well as the occasional instructor). They're dressed in simple robes and have necklaces with various colors on them. Horatius leads you to what looks like the student dormitories before stopping in front of a door. "Well, here we are."

He opens the door and walks in, with the group following after. "This is the common room," he says. The space of the room is taken up by tables, wickers chairs, and wall shelves. There is wide shuttered window at the back wall, looking out onto the atrium. "It will be your responsibility to take care of it. There are no servants in the dormitory. This," he says opening up one of the doors on the side of the common room, "is one of your personal rooms." You can see inside a desk, chair, reclining couch, and bed. They seem sturdy but pedestrian.

Horatius backs up and starts walking to outside of the common room. "There will be other responsibilities, but you'll learn them in time. For now, choose your rooms, make yourselves comfortable, talk with each other, whatever you wish. Do not leave the dormitory, however. Supper will be in a few hours — you'll be able to tell by the bell — and you should be able to just follow the crowds. If you need me, for now, I'll be in the temporary rooms down there." He points down the corridor.

He stops briefly at the door, looks at you, and smiles. "Welcome to the Academy." And then he leaves.

There you are. First post. Do whatever comes naturally to your character. I broke this post up into sections so if you want to have your character react to any particular sight, feel free to do so.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana found herself thankful for all the afternoons she had spent running around outside with her siblings. Even with it, the ride was exhausting. She made a bit of an effort to kinda keep her horse near to Servius as they rode, keeping an eye on the boy who was visibly one of the youngest in the group and appeared quite frail. Granted, appearances could be deceiving; she had curiously checked out the forms of crafting available to the group shortly after they had met, and his was Earth after all, but still. She was a bit concerned for him.

She gave a low whistle when they reached the city. Her home was pretty bustling, but wow the place was huge! "Exhibeo," she whispered as they approached, waving a hand before her face, a simple crafting to reveal the flows of energy around her. They manifested in her mind's eye as colored auras about people, and amidst the bustling crowd of the huge city it was a pretty sight. She dismissed the crafting as they got closer though, looking around eagerly at all the sights and people.

"Wow," she said softly as they approached the imposing Academy, and she listened attentively as Horatius explained things. She picked a room basically at random to drop her stuff off in, part of her pleased at getting her own room (having previously shared one with her sisters), although the thought also brought a brief pang of homesickness. She dismissed it quickly though. Too much other stuff to think about!

"What do you guys want to do?" she asked the group she came in with, honestly at something of a loss and happy to implement her usual strategy of just attaching herself to someone more decisive and following their lead.

[Zelphas]

Gaius Aelius Gracchus was silent for most of the trip. All of the other pupils were students of different crafts, so he had nothing to learn from them where firecraft was concerned. Who knows where they'd end up on the popularity scale once they reached the Academy; he was polite and friendly when addressed, but never really initiated conversation. Instead, he observed the mannerisms and personalities of his fellows, deciding exactly how useful they would be to him later on.

Elana would be a good resource for information, he could already tell. Her outgoing nature and constant inquisitiveness annoyed him a little, but he indulged her, giving out bits of his life here and there at her promptings. He didn't really have that many secrets to tell...well, except one, and no one was going to find out that secret. No one.

Servius was a sour, Earthcrafting cripple. Gaius dismissed him immediately.

Tiberius was a nobleman, and that alone ensured Gaius' continued attention to him. He was confused by the Aircrafting boy's utter lack of dignity befitting his station, but Gaius saw it as a boon; if the boy didn't mind mingling with lower classes, Gaius would mingle, and perhaps when Tiberius acquired full nobleman status in adulthood he wouldn't forget an old Academy 'friend'.

Cornelia was smarter than Gaius was, which intrigued him; sometimes, however, she acted as though she was not as intelligent as she acted, so Gaius made a logical leap and added "watercrafting" to his list of subjects to research. It may not come to anything, but any chance at more intelligence was worth pursuing. Knowledge was power, and power was what Gaius wanted.

Lucius was almost lumped with Servius in Gaius' mind, but the boy was a watercrafter. Gaius remained polite to him throughout their journey, curious to see if his earlier hypothesis regarding Cornelia was correct.

---

Horatius' injunction not to leave the dormitory sours Gaius's excitement, which had been growing with anticipation to see the Academy's library ever since they arrived in Porta Argenti. He sighs, walking over to the room on the far left. "I'll take this one, unless someone else wants it," he says to the room, a smile coming easily to his face. He may be chafing with impatience on the inside, but they didn't need to know that.

[Arcran]

Servius shrugs his small pack off his shoulders, sighing as he does. His older brother, even with his significant Earthcrafting, had struggled under the weight of everything their parents had sent him with. Servius? Compared to his brother he was a beggar off the street dragged into the Academy. If he hadn't stolen a few books he'd only have the bare necessities. It didn't matter; if getting into the Academy wasn't enough to prove himself to his family then he'd just have to work harder. Eventually they'd have no choice but to accept him.

The sickly boy makes his way straight to the room on the right closest to the door, not bothering to speak with others and ignoring Elana's question. It wasn't like he had bothered to say much to them anyways. He sets his small sack down on the desk, unpacking his few meager belongings. He carefully pulls each of the books out, taking care to not bend any corners. The rest is simply dumped out and sorted through without any particular care. In less than a minute Servius had unpacked all that he had been given, a fact that brings a sour grin to his face. The boy grabs one of the books, History of Watercraft, and makes his way towards the common area. The boy finds a secluded corner, drawing some strength from the earth to drag a chair over. The boy sits soundly in it, whispers a few words then begins reading, splitting his focus between the book and tracking the movements of the others in the room, paying slightly more attention whenever two get close enough to be in talking distance, trying to get a little more feel for the others now that they're in a slightly more relaxed setting.

Of course, it wasn't like Servius cared about the others. In his mind, each was simply an obstacle in his path. He'd need to be better than all of them if he wanted to accomplish anything but, until training began, simply observing and learning would have to do.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Suit yourself" Tiberius replies to Gaius, before claiming the adjacent room. The boy seemd friendly, tough somewhat secretive, and less impulsive than most firecrafters: if he doesn't mind being bested at the craft, they could without doubt have an amicable relationship. At least, these are Tiberius' toughts: while it won't take much for him to slip into such mindset if that's what it takes to survive in the Academy, for now he has no reason to suspect ulterior motives behind everything.

Also, dust: the room seems like it hasn't been used for a while, at least at the eyes of someone used to having servitude clean every day. Tiberius tilts his head thinking on what to do, then reaches a simple conclusion: if it's his responsibility to keep the room clean, and they have a few hours to spend inside the dorm anyway, he might as well start right away. He drops his luggage on the bed, to keep the blankets still, and, after glancing at Elana, as an answer of sort to her question he stands on his room's door and starts murmuring words of power while gradually opening his arms: the air inside starts swirling, and in an instant the swirl turns to a room-wide whirlwind - that vanishes as rapidly as it formed as soon as Tiberius stops concentrating, a few seconds later.

"Dust, begone!" he cheerfully exclaims stepping inside...and immediatly has to suppress a coughing fit, as the dust that was simply swiped upwards starts falling again. Unwilling to let his showing off backfire on him, though, he stays inside and, trying to avoid audibly coughing as much as he can, he starts unpacking his things and piling various books he took from his estate's library on his desk - mostly on Aircrafting, but if one where to look some have titles like The Shivering Sickness: between myth and reality.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Seeing Tiberius crafting, Elana shifter closer for a better view, peering curiously into the room to see what he was doing. She kept her eyes peeled, ready to cast her detection spell if she needed it to notice the subtle working of the windcrafter.

So of course, when he summoned a flipping whirlwind into his room, her eyes bugged out in shock. "Woah," she gasped, and if the crafting had had some unexpected side effects, it certainly didn't diminish her astonishment, if she even noticed. Selina had never moved anywhere near that much air at once!

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The initial part of the journey was an education for Lucius. He learned more by watching his companions and their reaction to the arduous pace than he did from anything else. Servius wore the mantel of overshadowed child like armor; but where Lucius simply did not seek out the others, Servius seemed to push them away. By contrast, Tiberius was an obvious slummer ... those nobles who spent time with the lower-born for whatever reason. Gaius was as pensive and watchful as Lucius himself, although he felt like the boy was constantly weighing everyone he spoke with. Cornelia was a mystery thus far, but he knew enough to intuit she was a watercrafter. Elana was happy-go-lucky, and reminded him of Conella ... at least before Conella decided she could no longer hang around with her childhood friends ...

During the journey, he did not touch the craft. Instead, he kept quiet and to himself. The days did not lend themselves to a lot of chatting, and as a slave he had learned to rest when you could, so during the evenings he ate and slept. His tattoos were certainly an object of interest, but no one asked him about them, and he didn't volunteer anything.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

Upon arrival in the city, Lucius' eyes widened. He knew such monuments to prosperity existed, but he had never seen one. The sheer size of the place, the press of the people, the oppressive and overwhelming presence was almost more than the ten year old could stand. Instead of gawking about, he shut out the distractions as best he could and remained focused on the back of their guide, not opening up until they arrived at the Academy. This, too, was overly impressive, but its likeness to a fortress was somewhat more acceptable, more comfortable to Lucius. Having grown up near a keep, the Academy seemed more approachable, if that made any sense whatsoever. Besides, from what he understood, it was going to be his home for awhile ... best he get used to it quickly.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

Once Scaeva left, his instructions given, Lucius looked around the common room, letting the others initially jockey for rooms. Perhaps their selection would say something about them, about what they thought, but more than likely they would simply pick rooms based off of perceived amenities and next to those they felt more comfortable with. Tiberius and Gaius took rooms on the left, Servius took the one on the right, and Elana picked one in between. He picked one of the remaining rooms, walking in with a small sack that he had carried with him. Opening it up, it had a rough wool blanket, a small hide pouch, and one extra set of clothes. Tossing the sack next to the bed, he stood for a moment, soaking in the fact that he now had a bedroom. After a few moments, he walked over and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes for a moment, but not falling asleep. He could hear the others murmuring outside, but he felt no reason to rush back out - he wanted to enjoy this.

It felt good to have something that was his ... even if it was just for a little while.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Cool, hu? *cough* It took me two whole months just to figure out the basics, but it was time well spent." Tiberius says to Elana with a toothy grin, as he notices her astonishment. Having finished piling the books, he gets out that floating dust hell of a room with a last suffocated cough, and glances around: people staying in their room, and people reading. "Uhu...what a talkative bunch." he whispers to himself, but loud enough for the girl to hear. "So, uhm...your craft is Aether, right?" he asks her, trying to somehow start a conversation.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Uh-huh," Elana said, nodding. "Really cool. And yeah, it is, but my sister's an Aircrafter, and she's never done anything that...big before." She did note him coughing though. "You oka-oh," she said as she saw the dust starting to settle over the room again. "Here, wait, I have an idea. Can I craft on you? It's harmless, promise," she asked. If he agreed, she'd gesture in his direction and murmur, "Exactus," shrouding him briefly in an aura of purple energy.

"Try it now," she'd then say with a smile.

If he refused, she'd look a bit disappointed, but shrug and say, "Okay."

If Tiberius is willing, using Augment Crafting to add the Precise Extra to his Whirlwind power, which should, for example, allow him to funnel all of the dust down into a small pile rather than sending it flying all over the room.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Uhm...ok, I'm all yours." Tiberius appears dubious at first, but then, intrigued, lets Elana craft without resistance.

He goes briefly inside the room to place a couple of the heaviest books on the bed, then exits again and for the second time in a few minutes he invokes a whirlwind inside. "So, what exactly should...uh. Uh-hu."

A few seconds later, all the dust has been accumulated in a small pile in a corner, and it's Tiberius' turn to look at Elana in amazement.

"How...how did you do that? I've never been able to control it that precisely!"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana gave a bright smile. "Yeah! We are mighty academ crafters! Fear our epic cleaning powers!" she cheered, laughing.

She got more serious as he asked how it worked, giving a little shrug. "It basically like, supplies most of the energy and effort needed to actually power the Crafting, instead of adding more power to it directly. So it frees your attention up to focus on control." Elana was breathing a little bit heavily in the aftermath; providing the energy for that powerful a Crafting, even for just a few seconds, was more effort than she was used to.

Now that I think of it, the other points of the Variable probably would have gone towards removing the Distracting Flaw, given that description. ::Shrug::

[Segrain]

Horses. She probably should had expected something like that. Sure, any neighbouring village could be easy reached on boat, but rare visitors from outside world preferred to travel in company of animals, and they were mentioned in grandfather's stories every so often. Of course, nobody ever tried to explain to Cornelia what "travelling by horse" is. It was one thing to see an animal in farmer's plough or dragging a merchant's cart; it was quite different to learn that people who do not have to carry a lot would just climb on top of their steed and sit there. Horatius, naturally, carried himself with dignity befitting of Empire's agent and made it look easy to do, but it took some time for young girl to learn to at least properly sit on horseback. To her only relief, she managed to achieve some understanding with her mount before they reached Falacrine and she had a chance to embarrass herself in front of future friends - and once the first sight of city was caught by her eyes, all problems were forgotten.

The rest of the trip Cornelia spent with wide open eyes. Everything from the company of other chosen children (who, apparently, were much more skilled riders...) to the simplest stone wall was new, was unknown, was a sight to behold. In her thoughts - and, when night stops happened to catch them next to some or other river, in quiet whispers - girl praised her god for his greatest gift to her. Smaller or slower mind would be already overwhelmed by having to deal with so much; she was just memorising new impressions, layer by layer, and sifted through them at the time of rest. Still, she always seemed tired, always kept to herself and after introducing herself did not join any conversations, quietly hiding under her simple cloak - riding through autumn chill at horse speed was not the most pleasant experience for a girl from one of the warmer corners of Empire.

Of course, no amount of new sights could prepare her to the most impressive of them. From the first look at Porta Argenti, Cornelia had no doubts that it indeed was the greatest city in the world - the very idea that something can be even bigger was simply unthinkable. Her entire home village could fit in... no, even her mind refused to compare small fishing village to even the tiniest part of... what she was seeing. It was still difficult to believe that so many people can live in one place. But at least it had one thing in common with her old home - Porta Argenti was, indeed, a port, even if size of ships in the harbour made her doubt her eyes once again. The city was enormous. It was magnificent. It was unbelievable. But she could live with it.

And if the trip through the City and its Academy made her doubt that again, Cornelia did not show it. She was just happy that the journey was finally over, and she wanted some quiet rest to think about everything that happened. Being asked to stay in small room (small compared to everything else in the city - some smaller village houses could probably fit in here...) was the most generous instruction, and Cornelia had no intention to disobey it. Letting everybody else to pick the rooms the way they seen fit (some of them already were throwing not the most pleasant gazes at each other, and if they do not want to be close to each other, it is only for the better), girl took her meagre belongings to room unclaimed by anybody else. And, one swift prayer later, emerged back to the common room.

One of the boys - it took even Cornelia's memory some time to recall that he is called Tiberius - and the only other girl in the group were talking at the open door to his room. It was probably impolite to just join the conversation, but once Cornelia had seen what was actually happening behind them, - and what, apparently, they were discussing, - she could only forget about manners and stare at aircraft at work in amazement.

[Zelphas]

Gaius listened with half an ear as Tiberius and Elana began to talk, busy with placing is meager belongings in his room and trying to plan for his time in the Academy. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as Tiberius summoned a whirlwind in his room, and he gave the duo his full attention from then on, while keeping a look of pleasant interest on his face.

Elana's power was impressive--granted, he hadn't spent much time reading up on Aethercraft, but it wasn't any crafting he had heard of before. Tiberius was a bit of a showoff, but Gaius could humor him if it meant getting good with a noble. "Impressive!" Gaius interjects with a slight grin. "I'm curious to see how your crafting would work in conjunction with mine, but unless someone wants to heat a drink I'm afraid most of my abilities work better for more...extreme environments," he finishes with false modesty. There will be enough time to prove his power later; better now not to look too arrogant.

[Arcran]

As Servius monitors the room with his Earthcrafting, he notices more and more people gathering in one of the other student's rooms. With a sigh Servius shuts History of Watercraft, holding it loosely in one hand as he makes his way across the room to the dormitory that the others seemed to gathering in. Somehow, despite paying some small degree of attention to the others, he had missed the giant burst of dust that had blasted out of the room, leaving him somewhat confused as to what exactly they were all gathered for.

At this point, Servius simply stands by the edge of the door, trying to listen in and figure out what everybody was gathering for, although he does briefly poke his head around the corner of the door, more to confirm with his eyes what his crafting had already told him than anything. Three people in the room, and one watching on in amazement.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Arch-enemies of dust and stains!" Tiberius follows up. Though wind would probably be useless against stains. Before he can reply to Elana's explanation, tough, Gaius emerges from his room and joins the conversation. "Well, it's not your fault that fire has mostly destructive uses. I'm sure the lessons here will pay off eventually, anyway, so don't worry." he replies, sincerely.

While turning to adress Gaius, he also notices the amazed Cornelia staring. Finally, people were starting to get out of the rooms.

Well, that was a toned down version of Tornado anyway. At full power it would have been more harmful than beneficial :smallbiggrin:

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana laughed again at Tiberius's addition, and looked around with a smile as the others joined them. "We'll come up with something to try," she said to Gaius. "My sister does Firecrafting. I mean, my other sister. She always keeps the house nice and cozy in wintertime. Sometimes if like, we just get home and it's really cold, I'll boost her so she can heat the place up faster. And sometimes she helps Mom and me cook. That's what I figured that particular boost out on in the first place. I make it easier for her to control how hot she makes something, and she can use it to get the food to just the right temperature and stuff." Elana was a big fan of mundane utility.

"It's kinda cool that we have all the Crafts between us. I wonder if that was like...intentional," she speculated idly.

[Zelphas]

Gaius' eyes flash at Tiberius' comment, something hot and angry showing behind them for a moment before disappearing beneath another smile. Paradoxically, the air around Gaius seems to grow suddenly colder for that moment, though the change in temperature is brief enough that it could be considered imagination to anyone who can't sense crafting. "Destructive crafting is definitely among the most... extravagant uses of fire," he says by way of agreement, shrugging. "Still, the pure energy involved in the creation and manipulation of fire lends itself to a plethora of uses, only the smallest fraction of them being destructive." He manages to catch himself before going into a full-blown rant, laughing lightly. "I'm sorry; the finer details of firecraft are a... passion of mine, I guess you could say."

"I'd guess so," Gaius resonds to Elana's statement. "We're all being placed in a dormitory with a conjoined common room, as well; I bet we're expected to work together."

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius layed there in silence for long moments, enjoying the sinful feel of his own bed. For the others, this was probably a basic luxury. For the son of two slaves, it was something he had never been allowed. Typically he slept on a mat on the floor, with straw if there was plenty left for the horses.

He could still hear the voices in one of the rooms, varying in pitch and volume a little, but still not enough to decipher what they were saying. Perhaps they were bonding ... maybe they were plotting against him ... or maybe they were simply talking.

No worries, he would find out soon enough.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius glances at Gaius with a raised eyebrow, unable to completely hide the confusion at that flood of words apparently contradicting his earlier statement. "But...you just said...bah, nevermind. I wasn't of course implying that Firecrafting is devoid of non-destructive uses...my father mostly used it to shed light and melt sealing wax when writing letters. My brother liked to challenge me with that fire blade of his, though."

Firecrafters. They should come with a label saying 'handle with care'.

After a mental sigh, he turns to Elana with a smile: "I bet they took the most promising in each craft and are going to train us into some super-elite squad." Though they have two watercrafter, so it probably isn't like that. "And, speaking of siblings...just how many sisters do you have?" he adds, tilting his head.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That would be cool," Elana said. "And two. Two sisters, that is. Two brothers also. What about you guys?" she asked, and though she was speaking to all of them, she cast a kinda questioning, encouraging look to Cornelia as she did, since the other girl had been pretty quiet during the whole discussion, and she didn't want her to feel excluded or anything.

[Zelphas]

"Only child here," Gaius responds. That I know of, at least, he thinks quietly to himself.

[Segrain]

"Oh?" - Cornelia shook her head, surprised by the question suddenly being directed at her. Discussion of various crafts went like everybody already knew or at least correctly guessed each other's talents, and girl was digging through her memories, trying to recall whether it was already mentioned on the way hither when she was more interested in sights around the road then in the companions. But by now it was time to at least start getting to know everyone better. - "Two brothers. Twins, a year older than I am..." - but she was saying somewhat more than was asked, and so interrupted herself, letting everybody else answer too.

With a soft smile on her lips, Cornelia sent a short nod to Elana, thanking her for the invitation to join. After the initial display of craft that got her attention, everyone just started talking quite fast, and the group was big... it will take some time to get used to this. And yet, compared to Academy, not even mentioning the city itself, even the six of them were small... it was still difficult to imagine. Better to start with something easier to comprehend, like their group - and so, after giving silent gratitude to the other girl, Cornelia's gaze jumped over boys, watching each of her new neighbours in order.

"Neighbours" was too unusual word to think. Hopefully it will change to "friends" soon enough.

[Arcran]

As the conversation in the room begins to move away from crafting and more towards mundane topics Servius quickly grows bored. With a few short steps he turns to leave, not particularly interested in the families of the others.

"Wish I was an only child," he mutters, flipping through the book to the page he had been and resuming his study of Watercrafting, head buried in the book but monitoring the earth enough to know if somebody approached.

[TooManySecrets]

Time goes by quickly, spent either in light conversation and discussion or in pursuing your own interests. It doesn't seem all too long before you hear a series of bells ring out through the dormitory. Dinner time. Finishing off whatever you are doing, you go outside into the corridors to see walking students. Some are in groups and some are by themselves, but they're all walking the same way and it's easy enough to follow them.

The dining room is easy to find and it's large, too. It comfortably sits about a hundred or so students. You know this because that's about how many appear to be here. There is another set of large doors directly opposite to the set you entered from. Long tables run in rows in the dining room, but one table at the very end is raised up. Adults — teachers, you hazard to guess — sit along one side of the table. From that vantage point they can see all the students, though most of the teachers are currently engaged in conversation with each other.

Gaius Horatius, you note, is conspicuously not at the teacher's table. In fact, you can't see him anywhere at all.

Most of the students are sitting in obvious groupings of six or so. There's no food out yet so, like the teachers, they're mostly talking to each other. While many still wear those simple robes you saw earlier, enough are in more normal clothing that you don't feel entirely out of place. Despite being some of the last students to enter, you're able to easily find a place to sit together as a group.

You don't have long to wait before something happens. A man walks through the door. His hair is white (a contrast to his dark skin) but other than that he is of indeterminate age. His toga is finely made and he wears a white-colored stole with a yellow border. As the teachers notice this man entering, they stand almost all as one. The other students are a bit slower to notice and stand and you follow suit. The man makes his way to the center of the teacher's table, has one look over the students, and then sits down. Everyone else follows suit.

As soon as the man sits down, the other set of doors opens up and about a dozen students come in carrying trays of food. They bring the trays first to the teachers (and the white-haired man first among them) before bringing them to the student's tables. The meal is simple but there is a good amount of it and it seems to be good quality. It's flounder with sides of quinces and cabbage leaves. There's garum for the flounder and vinegar for the cabbage and, to drink, there's water and goat's milk.

It will be nice to eat something that isn't trail rations or game meat, so you eat with gusto.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

As the meal goes on, some of the students start walking around to talk with others while some students leave the dining room entirely. Servius Vibius, there is one student of particular interest who is walking around — it's your brother, Manius Vibius. He hasn't appeared to have noticed you yet — thank the ancestors — but that happy state probably won't last for long.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Once the food had been delivered and Elana had gotten a few bites into her, she started looking curiously around the room. She was about to cast her Aethersense spell. Not really for any practical purposes, it was just something she liked doing sometimes when there were a lot of people around. She liked seeing all the colors. She stopped herself though, as she realized there might be rules against Crafting during meals or something. She didn't really have any evidence for it or reason to believe it might be the case, it just seemed like the sort of thing that was possible. She did pay attention to see if anyone else appeared to be doing little Crafts. With a hundred kids all in one place, she figured that if it was allowed, there'd probably be at least a few examples of it, as the young Crafters practiced their skills or showed off to their peers.

No less eager to better get to know her new...what? Group? Team? Class? Party? Let's go with party. Because everyone has fun at parties. Yeah, no less eager to better get to know her new party on a full stomach, Elana asked, "What kinda of Crafting would you guys want to learn here, if you can? I mean, besides the ones you already know. I kinda hope I get to learn some Water, so I can heal people and stuff. Ooh, and maybe some Wind! Flying would be so fun!"

Much as before, even though she posed the question to the party as a whole, her gaze and attention was slightly focused, looking between Servius and Lucius as she spoke, since they had kinda kept to themselves earlier. Elana logically knew, but still didn't quite get, on an intuitive level, that some people preferred to keep to themselves. She worried that it meant they felt excluded or something.

[Zelphas]

Gaius watched the other students as he ate, simply observing and trying to see the hierarchies of student life. He also paid attention to the bead necklaces everyone wore, trying to decipher what they meant. He didn't exactly ignore the people he came in with; he was simply more focused on gauging those he hadn't met yet.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm not sure yet," Gaius answered Elana, which was pretty much true. He knew he'd continue studying Firecrafting, but beyond that only Watercrafting sounded interesting, and only for its possible intellect-enhancement.

[Hyperbolic sine]

As soon as the food is served, Tiberius puts aside all the questions that crowded his mind -where Horatius was, whether the Dean was a pentacrafter, whether Dean was actually the right way to call the man, how will his days be from now on- and focuses his attention completely into devouring the food: after days spent eating trail rations, that seemed like a feast. Thus, he remains silent for the first part of the dinner, too occupied with eating.

Elana's mention of flight manages to draw his attention, though: with a self-satisfied gleam in his eyes, he swallows the current subject of his chewing and turns to the girl, grinning. "Indeed, it is. If you want to try, you just have to ask. And for what concerns your question...well, I didn't really think about it yet, I want to master Air first; then I suppose I'll go with something that complements my crafts. Probably." Really, that's something he should start thinking about, and soon.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Wait wait wait wait wait," Elana said, surprise and excitement and...possibly a bit of awe warring on her face after Tiberius had answered. "I need to be absolutely clear on this. Are you trying to tell me that you can I) fly and II) make other people fly? Because seriously if you can that is, just, the coolest thing ever!"

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius opened his eyes at the sound of the bells. He had been listened to the continued murmuring in the other room, but chose to stay put. It paid to take advantage of a moment to rest and relax, and focus on what lay ahead. No it was time to go forth and see what this Academy was all about. Rising, he joined the others in the common room, following them out into the hall. Scattered students were headed in one direction, so it made sense for the six of them to follow. Upon entering, Lucius glanced around, impressed by the size of the room. A little overwhelmed, he followed the others to a table where six spots remained, sitting where he could look at the head table without having to crane his neck.

Once seated, he waited patiently, hands in his lap, as he glanced around the room. He watched the other children chatting amongst themselves, as well as the teachers at the front. When the dark-skinned man with white hair arrived, the room quickly went silent, and everyone rose. Lucius joined them, standing as long as the others, before returning to his seat with the group. When the food came out, he paused for a moment, reaching up to touch the small charm on the leather cord around his neck, then slowly began to eat. He chewed deliberately, sipping the water periodically, knowing if he ate too quickly he might embarrass himself and get sick.

As he finished up, he watched the rest of the student body, drinking his water still while his gaze roamed. He paused when Elana spoke up, her bubbly question piercing his reverie. He didn't answer immediately, listening to the others first, but the way Elana was staring at him and Servius, he felt obliged to not be impolite. Fortunately, the conversation quickly changed directions.

"Flying? That sounds ... complicated. How fast can one go?" He was soft-spoken, green eyes peering out from tussled red hair.

[Hyperbolic sine]

" 'Course I can." Tiberius replies as if he just said the most normal thing in the world, though he is actually extremely pleased that someone is finally praising him: his father clearly didn't, and when he informed his brother Titus that he learned how to fly the answer was a haughty "I still can make a better sword"; he's probably going to pass as a showoff or a gloryhog by always jumping at opportunities like this, but it can't be helped.

He takes a deliberately slow sip of water, both to create a bit of suspense and to locate the owner of the unfamiliar voice that asked the last question, thinks for a bit and then answers: "Hmm...at full speed, faster than a horse for sure."

[Arcran]

Servius slinks into the dining hall behind his companions, doing his best to appear as a nobody which, when you're a sickly twig, isn't all that difficult. If he was a nobody people would ignore him and he could focus more on just training.

When the food arrives Servius tears into it with relish. While he hadn't received the majority of the real benefits of being a noble, quality food was always a pleasure he had been able to enjoy. The days on the trail had taxed his body and his palate, the trail food not providing nearly the standard the boy was used to.

For a short time Servius simply sits in silence, happy to eat without interruption. When Elana interjects with his question Servius considers answering, only to have the others quickly interject their own replies. Tiberius' claim is more than enough to interrupt Servius' train of thought; not only could he take himself to the sky, but he could bring others with him? Servius frowns at that; were the others that strong? That far ahead? All he was good at was making the earth move just enough to help him, not accomplishing great feats. Even what the boy had done in the dorms was far greater in scope than anything Servius was capable of. He'd need to work harder than he had at home if he wanted to keep up, it would seem. At least he'd have a real teacher here.

Of course, when Servius sees Manius he visibly slides down in his seat, trying to make himself as small at possible. At home, Manius had usually just ignored him, rarely making him the target of his ire. Usually, but the few times that that had not been the case had been more than enough to teach Servius his lesson. He'd beat him someday, but right now? Having his face be used as a floormop wasn't high on his to-do list.

"Whatever lets me beat him," he finally mutters in reply to Elana's question, more to himself than anybody else.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Wow, okay, yeah. As soon as we're aloud to go outside, I so want to try that!" Elana said excitedly. "I mean, if that's okay," she added, after thinking that sounded kinda pushy.

She tilted her head curiously at Servius's softly-spoken words. "Beat who?" she asked, not quite whispering, but keeping her voice low enough that it shouldn't easily be overheard by kids at other tables in the bustling dining hall.

[Segrain]

"Fly faster than a horse? How fast do horses fly?" - Cornelia glanced at Tiberius with puzzled expression on her face, but the question in her thoughts remained not asked. Elana - who, apparently, took it on herself to keep everyone involved in discussions and direct the conversations - already switched her attention to somebody else's words, and they sounded more important than bragging about crafts and abilities. Innocent wishes like healing (on which Cornelia could comment, but now was not the right time) and flying are one thing, but beating somebody? Was it truly the right thing to do with talents that they had and education that they were supposed to be receiving here? Girl frowned and, taking another sip of water to avoid being dragged into the conversation too soon, looked at the Servius, studying his reaction. Were they really going to discuss something like this on the first day in the Academy?

Of course, having a pleasant table talk was out of the question now. So the only enjoyable thing left was the first decent meal after the long travel, and Cornelia gave it proper appreciation. She was eating slowly, but certainly not due to any lack of enjoyment, and having at least the cup of water at her lips excused quiet girl from joining the conversation - at least until discussion will either return to more appropriate topics or go too far to be left without comments.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The conversation took a turn for the interesting when Servius began muttering under his breath and Elana took the comment and ran with it. He leaned back, listening to what was said.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Sure." Tiberius answers Elana with a smile. He then shifts his attention to Servius, whom apparently she managed to get to talk: quite the feat, at least judging from the short period he has been acquainted with the earthcrafter. Wonder whom he's talking about.

[Zelphas]

Gaius quietly continued eating, though his attention turned to the group. He saw Lucius doing the same, and smiled to himself. At least one other member of his team understood the value in gaining information rather than giving information.

[TooManySecrets]

Elana

You don't notice anyone using craft, though whether that's because it's not allowed or whether they are and you're just not noticing it or something else entirely is hard to tell. You could use your own craft to find out one way or the other but that might not be wise if there's a rule against crafting.

Servius

Unfortunately, your attempts to hide go about as poorly as they usually do around your brother. He glances over to you and, when he sees you, a big insincere smile fills his face.

Everyone

One of the students walks over to your table. He turns towards Servius and you can see a certain familial resemblance between them, but where Servius is small for his age this boy is well-muscled and fit. "Ah, brother, it's good to see you. I was worried that I would never see your face again. And what a tragedy that would be." He nods. "Oh yes. But, it looks like you made good time ... all things considered," he says meaningfully.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius considered saying something biting to the larger boy, but elected to keep quiet for now. While he was somewhat annoyed by this boy's general attitude, he didn't know anything about him ... or his brother Servius, for that matter. And to be honest, Servius hadn't given him any reason to defend him. Besides, sometime you need to fight your own battles.

Lucius sipped his water, watching Servius and his brother carefully ... how this turned out would be key to Lucius' perspective of both boys from here on out.

[Hyperbolic sine]

...he was definitely talking about him, wasn't he? Bet he's a firecrafter.

It didn't take a genius to figure out the true meaning behind Manius' words, nor what was the probable outcome. Still, Tiberius shoots an encouraging look towards Servius, in hope of the boy defying his expectations and standing up for himself.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana gave a cheery grin at Tiberius's agreement, before the approaching student drew her attention. Her face went from casual interest as the boy approached to welcoming friendliness at his first words to...a flat look of annoyed confusion as he continued talking. She didn't even need the passive enhancement of her aethercraft to perceive the insulting disdain in his words. She didn't say anything, because she had no idea what their relationship was like. She and her siblings teased each other all the time.

Granted, that didn't sound like teasing. It actually sounded like just the opposite of teasing, seemingly positive words made mean-spirited by tone and history. But who was she to judge another family's relationships?

But if that were so...the real question, to Elana's mind, was why the two brothers would be so at odds with each other?

[Zelphas]

Gaius kept his face carefully neutral as Servius' brother talked. On the one hand, Servius was just an Earthcrafter, and his brother seemed to be popular among the other students; on the other hand, if the group he came with were supposed to be his "team" of some sort, then he might get penalized for slighting his teammate. Therefore, he simply sat, waiting to see how Servius would take his brother's jibes.

[Arcran]

As Manius approaches, Servius slides further up in his chair, bringing him to his full, unimposing ten-year old height. He looked younger than that, with his long, gangly arms and almost unhealthily skinny frame. The glare coming from his eyes, on the other hand, was coming from anything but a ten-year old; even to an idiot the amount that Servius hates his brother would be abundantly clear.

Servius' eyes flick around the table as Manius speaks, trying to figure out what he could do. Running, of course, was out of the question; if the first thing he did here was flee from Manius he'd be branded a coward for the rest of his time here. There was no way he could hope to fight his brother; he had four years and probably at least eighty pounds on him without even taking his prodigious crafting into account. Still, at the same time, Manius probably couldn't fight him, right? In public, in a dining hall of all places? If he was careful he couldn't get picked off when the teachers weren't looking, right? It would be dumb to taunt Manius, but this could be the first time ever he could get away with it.

"Hello Manius," the sickly boy says, only the hint of a quiver in his voice. "All things considered?" he says, voice acting as if he didn't know what he was talking about. "I don't - Oh!" he says suddenly, as if the thought had just come to him. "Do you mean the fact that I didn't leave with my mouth still on mother's teat? It was a struggle getting all my things here without all the servants you seemed to have," Servius says, knowing how reckless he was being but hardly caring. "I managed alright though. I didn't know you cared, to be honest. It's nice."

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius raised his eyebrows in a bit of surprise, wondering what the relationship was exactly between these two. He was used to bullies, having survived them for almost all his life. But he rarely would engage one head-on, recklessly even. Maybe it was a calculated risk that his brother wouldn't react in public. Or maybe this was normal for their family. Or maybe Servius was actually of a higher station than his brother. Regardless, Lucius remained quiet for now - he was still uncertain of expectations, both for conduct here at the Academy and with regards to the five he had arrived with.

Once an action was taken, once you drew lines and picked sides, it was difficult to go back and change your mind. Calmly, he waited, but he remained prepared to move out of the way should this turn into something else.

[TooManySecrets]

Manius' smile, if anything, grows wider and he pats Servius on his shoulder. "Oh brother, it seems like the trip has left you rather irritable. I know that new experiences often leave idiots confused and angry, but I never took you for a fool. Perhaps we can have a discussion about your mental well-being later on. In private. I'd hate for your companions to think less of you after our little discussion."

"Speaking of which." Manius glances around at the others at the table. "Since my brother seems to have found a sharp tongue but lost his good manners in the process, I'll have to introduce myself. Manius Vibius and this is my little brother."" He pats Servius' shoulder again. "My favorite little brother."

He looks back at Servius and then leans on the table next to him. "But you misunderstand me brother. I wasn't commenting on your inability to find anybody willing to help you with your travels. Father had contacted me and told me you had been recruited. He had also told me a little bit about your instructor, Gaius Horatius Scaeva. Seems the agent isn't held in all that high a regard by his colleagues. I was worried that he was incompetent and that your association with him might bring dishonor to the family. And to you, of course. He seems to have brought you here safely, though not in the best of moods, so perhaps he isn't as bad as they say."

Manius leans away from the table and raises his head a little as he looks all around the dining room. "Brother, I can't say that I could recognize this Gaius Horatius by sight. Perhaps you could point him out to me?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

So, let's be clear here, Elana had a really good sense of people. She was naturally sensitive to the emotions of others. Most people she could read like a book. Even firecrafters, sometimes, although they were harder. That said, Elana also had her own beliefs and prejudices. To her, family was pretty much sacred. The idea of two siblings having the relationship that Servius and Manius actually had was...pretty much unthinkable. So when Manius put on that facade of compassion, Elana was all too happy to take it at face value. She got the sense that Servius was, perhaps, prone to this sort of irritability, that Manius was trying to get him to relax before he alienated himself from his new dorm-mates. That would have kinda fit with what they had seen of him so far. Hopefully he'd warm up eventually.

"Elana Pirea," she replied, again wearing a friendly smile, to Manius's introduction.

[Arcran]

"Only little brother," Servius can't help but mutters, not wanting there to be any confusion among where he stood in his brother's eyes.

As Manius mentions Horatius' ineptitude, Servius has a sinking feeling in his stomach. He could handle a lot of things, but if Servius was stuck with an inferior teacher on top of everything else? That wouldn't help his plan at all. He needed some edge here.

Each word by Manius cause's Servius face to blanch just a bit more, ending with his brother asking for where Horatius was. Sure, he could do that at home, but here? They shouldn't care, right? They were supposed to be as equal as students from all walks of life could be. It wasn't even like he'd been here long enough to actually earn enough seniority to really matter, right?

Servius makes a show of looking about, clearly trying to find somebody. "I'd love to," the boy states as he looks about, "but I don't think I see him here. Maybe he went back to his quarters?" the young boy says, one of his knees shaking profusely beneath the table.

We like to lie! [roll0]

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius observes with a puzzled expression the two brothers exchanging "pleasantries", unable to see through Manius' false kindness: it' not like he isn't used to attrition between siblings. Servius is his teammate and that alone would assure his support should things escalate, but for now Tiberius considers himself a neutral party and thus he sees no reason not to be on friendly terms with both of them; still, saying that the agent that picked him is an incompetent is like saying that all six of them are, and that's a bit irritating.

"Tiberius Horatius." he introduces himself with a polite smile. "But remember, not being held in high regards does not imply incompetence. Only unpopular opinions." he then adds with a hint of annoyance.

[TooManySecrets]

Manius inclines his head politely towards Elana, in acknowledgement. "Pleased to meet you, Pirea."

"I'd love to, but I don't think I see him here. Maybe he went back to his quarters?"

"Really?" Manius' smile disappears for a moment — he seems actually surprised — but it comes back in an instant. "Well, I'm sure he had something more important to attend to then watching over you, hmmm?"

"Tiberius Horatius. But remember, not being held in high regards does not imply incompetence. Only unpopular opinions."

Manius turns to Tiberius. "Well, Horatius, smoke doesn't always mean fire, either, but I'd like to ere on the side of caution. Now, I'd love to trade quips, but I have some work I must attend to. Good evening." Manius then leaves.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius sat quietly during the exchange, and it was over before the rest of them could respond. It was certainly interesting - Servius had indeed stood up for himself, almost to the point of being rude. It raised questions about what the real relationship was between the two of them - not-so-friendly rivalry, sibling domination, or simple jealousy?

Rather than take a side just yet, since Servius had done little to earn any sympathy for himself yet, Lucius continued to be silent. He could respect that the boy hadn't rolled over, but there was more to learn here. However, the comments in reference to their selection agent did make it clear none of them probably understood the politics or social dynamics here.

Just so y'all know, on weekends my post rate drops ... family time and all that. Hopefully that isn't too big of a deal? If so, just consider Lucius in watch and learn mode :smallbiggrin:

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Good to meet you too," Elana said as he left. Guy seemed a bit arrogant, honestly, but decent enough for all that, she figured. "That's lucky, your brother being here too," she said to Servius with a wistful smile, because Elana had absolutely no clue here, no she did not. But she knew that she would have felt a bit more comfortable with more familiar faces around.

[Zelphas]

Gaius quietly watches Manius go, feeling like he missed something. Maybe it was just a siblings thing? He shrugs and returns to his food.

[Arcran]

Servius lets out a sigh as Manius leaves, doing his best to keep it to a small one. Servius looks at Elana with a strange expression, not quite understanding in what world having his brother here would be lucky. Was she making fun of him?

"Yeah. Lucky," he says bitterly, pushing some food around on his plate, his appetite gone, keeping his eyes locked tightly on the plate. Maybe things wouldn't be as good here as he thought they'd be.

[TooManySecrets]

Dinner doesn't go on for much longer. There's another series of bells and the remaining students and teachers get up to leave. The students who had brought out the food in the first place come out to clean up. Taking the hint, you get up as well and leave to return to your rooms.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

You are now back in your rooms, with the sky outside rapidly darkening. You have still not seen Gaius Horatius anywhere since first arriving at the Academy.

If the party wants to do any particular action, you can do that now. Otherwise, I'll just skip to the next morning.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana was considering just turning in for the night, but there was something nagging at her. She actually really kinda wanted to know what the rules were on crafting in the Academy, during meals and otherwise. She was sure it was something that would be explained to them...but not necessarily before breakfast tomorrow. "Hey guys, I'm going to go see if I can ask Instructor Horatius what the rules are for like...crafting and stuff here. Anyone want to come?" she offered, partly to be friendly...buuuut mostly because she kinda didn't want to go wandering the Academy halls alone at night, even if he was pretty much right down the hall. Made her apprehensive.

In other news, is Instructor an appropriate title for him? I wasn't sure if it would be Instructor or Professor or something else or if we're just supposed to use his name.

By the way, if everyone else would rather just skip ahead, Elana can just talk herself out of doing it tonight if she doesn't have company. Autophobic and all.

[Arcran]

"I will," Servius says simply, rolling off his bed and walking over. It wouldn't be a good idea to be roaming around at night, but Manius wouldn't expect him to leave his room, right? Plus he wanted to know how much he could get away with in the dining halls if he had to try to defend himself.

[Zelphas]

Gaius opens his mouth after Elana finishes speaking, pauses as Servius speaks up, and then decides to speak regardless. "I'll go with as well," he says, smiling. It would be good to know how much crafting was allowed, and where it was allowed; plus, this will give him a chance to see if Elana actually was any good at gathering information, and it would be better for her to have someone other than just an earthcrafter along with her if things went wrong.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius hadn't spoken while they sat in awkward silence after the meeting with Marius. Too soon, they found themselves back in their common room, sitting around wondering what to do next. Elana spoke up first, wanting to find their initial guide. If nothing, it seemed appropriate - they had been here long enough to wonder what the rules and expectations were, rights and responsibilities, limits, etc. With a small smile, he nodded to the older girl. "I have some questions, too."

Let's do this! :smallbiggrin:

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Excellent idea, count me in." Tiberius says, nodding approvingly. Not that having to break a rule would stop him, but if you know in advance you can prepare contingencies...or at least be more cautious.

"Do you have any idea where he could be? I didn't see him at all."

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius was quiet for a moment, but when nobody answered he said softly, "The temporary rooms." He pointed down the corridor he remembered their Instructor pointing.

Per the arrival post ...

[Segrain]

Cornelia was less certain that it is so necessary to bother busy and important agent with their little problems so soon. But what could provincial girl know about the proper traditions and customs of big city? Maybe it is what they are expected to do - at least, judging by everyone else's eagerness to go look for their Instructor, it looked like a definite possibility. But either way, everyone already decided to do it - and, whatever will happen, she could not leave her... neighbours to face it on their own.

"If this is what you all want to do..." - shrugged girl, looking down the corridor. - "I have to remind, though, that he did not specify where exactly is he going to be, or how long is he even going to be there. Are we going to just check one room after another?"

Who knows. Maybe it was considered politeness in cities.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Alright cool," Elana said, although Cornelia's words did raise some concern. She doubted too many people were in bed yet, but they might be studying, or practicing, or otherwise not want to be disturbed. "I mean, if it looks like we'd have to disturb a bunch of people, we can wait until tomorrow. But he said he'd be in the temp rooms, so they may not have a lot of occupants. If not, we can just knock until he answers. Or maybe someone will be in the commons room of that set of rooms who we can ask. Hmm...or...maybe this will work."

She turned to the doorway he had originally left from. "He was about there, yeah?" she asked, holding up both forefingers on either side of her face, just at the periphery of her vision, and then bringing them together in front of her face as she intoned the word, "Sequere!" If the others were paying attention, they'd notice her pupils start to glow with a soft purple light.

(The irony of using crafting to help find out if they were allowed to use crafting was not lost on her, but if crafting wasn't allowed in their dorm they had already shattered that rule with Tiberius' Whirlwind of Cleaning +1, so whatever).

If it worked, she'd confidently lead the group down the hall. Otherwise, she'd dismiss her crafting with a wave of her hand, shrug, and start down the hall anyway, but less confidently.

Semi-dynamic activation of Detect Crafting, specifically the Ranged Acute Detect and the Tracking. Since it's Acute, I believe she should be able to identify people based on the sense, and since she had been checking out everyone's crafts during the trip, she should be familiar with Horatius'..."aura" or whatever (and also familiar enough with those of the rest of the group to hopefully not get them confused). So the theory is this should let her track the lingering sense of his crafting straight to his door. Or, you know, to some other location that we may or may not get punished for poking around in. One of those two for sure!

The other eight points go to her usual Enhanced Awareness, and she'll Routine the Perception check to track for 18.

[Arcran]

Servius begins to speak before biting his tongue, thinking better of it. As long as people were touching the floor Servius should be able to identify whether or not they are Horatius. Of course, that specific trick was one that Servius had worked long and hard to perfect and, at this point, didn't particularly feel like sharing the specifics of. It nothing else it would be a good trick for later.

Whatever the group decides, Servius whispers a quick "Loquere terrae," tracking the movements of everybody around him and paying special attention for Horatius and, of course, Manius.

[TooManySecrets]

What I had written last time was:


With aethercraft detection, you can tell when somebody is using a craft, what element it is, and whether it's passive (i.e. enhanced attribute) or active without any sort of Expertise check. In order to interpret what you're seeing, you'll need Expertise. So, you can automatically tell that somebody is flaring fire and water and that both are active but you'd need a check to say what exactly they were doing with it.

I had actually forgotten about the tracking aspect of your power. So, Perception should be used for following a unique trail as well as seeing a trail at all while the various Expertise is used to interpret the results beyond element and active or passive. I think that's pretty much inline with what I wrote last time, but I just thought I'd mention it so that it's explicit.

The corridors are a confusing mess of overlapping trails, some of which are new and some of which are quite a bit old. It would probably have been easier tracking Gaius Horatius before a few dozen young crafters had traveled down the hall (though, that in a way, answers the question on whether passive crafting is allowed). As it is, even knowing the general direction of where Gaius Horatius went, it takes about fifteen minutes to confirm where he went.

Following Horatius's trail of fire, water, and aether down the corridor, you come to what you think is his room. The doors in this area are spaced closer together — individual rooms? — and you don't notice anybody else around. The trail goes up to the door and enters it but the trail also comes out of the door and continues down the corridor. You can't tell through your aethercrafting whether Gaius Horatius has returned to this room or not.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Sometimes the simplest solutions are best. Elana walked up to the door and knocked three times. "Instructor Horatius?" she called.

[TooManySecrets]

There's no response.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana looked to the others and shrugged. "I mean...I see his trail leaving the room, so he might be somewhere else. We could keep following it, or just head back and wait 'till tomorrow, I guess," she said.

[Zelphas]

"I'm up to keep following," Gaius replies, looking at the group. "Even if we don't end up finding him tonight, we can still find out more about where we're going to be staying for the next few years."

[TooManySecrets]

Servius Vibius, you can sense that there is nobody at all in the room. However, you believe that Gaius Horatius is further down the corridor, about 50 feet or so after the bend a few rooms down. He is currently walking towards the group.

[Arcran]

"Let's just stay here for another twelve, thirteen seconds," Servius says simply, looking around the group with a sly grin. He didn't plan to share how he knew that, but unless his earthcrafting was off Horatius should be arriving just about then. Maybe the others would easily figure out how he did it, but having a little fun wasn't against the rules, right?

If Horatius changes his course Servius will change his estimate accordingly.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That's...an awfully precise estimate," Elana said with a laugh, giving him a curious look. She actually didn't know what he was doing, since she was currently only sensing the latent energy of crafting capabilities around people, not the actual crafts in use.

[TooManySecrets]

Within several seconds, everybody can hear the footsteps of leather sandals coming from down the corridor. Gaius Horatius, coming around the bend, follows shortly afterwards.

He sees you and seems a bit surprised, but he smiles good-naturedly as he walks over. "Looking for me or are you all out for an evening stroll?"

[Zelphas]

Gaius fights back the urge to scoff as Servius makes his estimate. His skepticism evaporates as Horatius walks around the corner, and he looks at the Earthcrafter with new-found respect. "Looking for you," he answers with another quick smile. "though the stroll was nice too." He steps back slightly, letting Elana explain why they were there.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Yeah we were just wondering what the rules were for crafting while we're here. I wanted to use my aethersense to see all the auras when we were eating, but I wasn't sure if it was allowed or what. Um, also, I was kinda wondering if you knew when we were going to be allowed to go outside..."

[TooManySecrets]

Horatius shakes his head. "You've been here, what, a few hours and you're already starting to miss the outside world?"

"Don't worry. Exercise is an important part of learning so you'll be outside soon enough. The reason I wanted you to remain in the dormitory is because I didn't want you wandering around at night, getting lost in the Academy." He sweeps his hand to indicate the building. "There are a number of delicate or dangerous things going on here that you could accidentally interrupt. I don't think that the first impression you'll want to give everybody is that you're clumsy or a fool."

"As for crafting, the rules are much the same as you probably had at home. Nothing destructive or obstructive indoors. Nothing impolite when in the company of others. Anything you damage is your responsibility. Other Instructors might have additional rules, but I trust that some simple guidelines is sufficient." Gaius Horatius grows a bit more serious. "If you abuse that trust, well, then there might be some more rules."

He claps his hands together, the easy-going look back on his face. "Now, unless there is something else that you're burning away to ask, I think it might be best if you return to your rooms. Tomorrow will be a busy day — in more ways than one — so you might want to catch up on your sleep."

If that's it for everyone, I'll skip ahead to the next day.

[TooManySecrets]

Your questions having been answered, you head back to your rooms. Perhaps you go to bed right away or maybe you stay up reading or talking for a bit, but before long everybody is fast asleep.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/


I'll skip ahead to the next day.

http://i.imgur.com/JcDQP3w.gif

You awake from your rest with a start. There's a moment of confusion as your sleepy mind tries to remember why you're not in your usual room, but it passes quickly enough. You're in your new room, at the Academy. Of course. You remember now.

You lay back down, shifting your position, looking for a more comfortable place to rest. You try to go back to bed but, for whatever reason, that seems more difficult then usual. Maybe it's because you're not used to this bed yet. Your sleepy eyes adjust quickly to the semi-darkness, and the dim moonlight shining through the shuttered window makes it easier. Your eyes glance around the room. There is the reclining couch with the thin pillows, there is the wicker chair, there is your travel pack on the ground, there is your desk, there is ... there is ...

There is a man.

All attempts to fall asleep are instantly squashed as you come fully awake, your eyes opening wide. There is a man in your room! He's turned completely away from you, standing motionless next to your desk, staring at the corner. He's tall, dark-haired, and with a healthy build. He's wearing a formal toga with a darkly-colored border, but it's shabby like it's been dragged through mud and left to dry in the sun. He doesn't seem to notice you. In fact, as moments stretch painfully into seconds, he doesn't seem to have moved at all.

Put anything that your character does in a spoiler tag. If she does something that would (hopefully) attract the attention of the others, I'll narrate what happens.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Initially, Elana stayed very, very still.

Who was that? A teacher? An older student? A thief? She had...no idea, frankly. Part of her, the polite, friendly part, said she should ask who he was, what he was doing in her room.

The rest of her said he was a grown man and she was a fourteen year old girl and he absolutely should not be in her room at night. Not everyone in the kingdom was friendly. Elana and her siblings had learned that the hard way. Ancestors, he could have been another hit man!

Her siblings weren't here this time. She was alone. Her party were all nearby. If she could alert them, they might help her. Or they might all get killed trying. But Elana knew from experience that if it came down to it, a group of kids could beat an adult...if those kids had awesome elemental powers.

Treating him as friendly when he was really hostile could get her hurt. Maybe even killed.

Treating him as hostile when he was really friendly might maybe be a little embarrassing.

If she moved, spoke, or acted in any way, he would be aware that she was awake and respond accordingly. If she remained passive, he would do whatever he had come here to do without opposition.

So, her first move had better be a good one.

"PROTEGO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, as loud and shrill a shriek as she could make, letting out all her fear at the situation in a scream that was less warcry and more desperate call for help as she threw the covers off of her and scrambled for the door, hands raised at the ready to counter any incoming craftings.

Taking a Defend action and activating Dispel Crafting. If the man attempts any crafting, Elana reacts to Nullify it with an opposed check of 1d20+2 against the craft's power rank or the crafter's Will. If he attacks her, his attack check is opposed by a Heroic 1d20+6 (after Improved Defense). As a move action, she's attempting to get out of bed and out the door, or as close to that as she can with one move action/a potential enemy standing there quite possibly capable of stopping her. And yes, she will continue screaming at the top of her lungs because there's some strange man in her room seriously who does that!?

[TooManySecrets]

Your craft flows out of you and around you, waiting. The man, however, doesn't seem to be doing any sort of crafting. He does almost nothing, seeming to ignore your shouting except when he stiffens somewhat and raises his head. He slowly starts to turn.

You run. Sheets are spilled over the floor as you race to the door. You fumble with the latch, trying to get it open.

Everyone in the suite is startled awake by the shrill scream of Elan as she yells "PROTEGO!", muffled though it is by the intervening doors. There are more, less defined noises from her as she continues to shout. Something terrible has obviously happened.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana kept looking back and forth between the doorknob and the man with one hand trying to accomplish the normally-trivially-easy task of opening the blasted door while her heart was pounding and her body shaking and the other hand held out between her and the stranger with little crackles of purple energy sparking between the fingers as a sure sign of her continued readiness to attempt to counter any incoming crafts and she couldn't help but think that at this point if it were just a teacher or something they would have said something by now like told her to calm down or that it was alright or something and why wouldn't the stupid door open grab, turn, push, come on Elana it is not that hard.

Move action to open the door and flee the room if possible.

Standard to once again Defend so she can counter as a Reaction, unless opening the door requires a standard action, in which case do that.

Either way, if she gets out of the room, she'll move off to the side to break line of sight.

Just to note, she hadn't actually crafted on him directly. Had he tried to craft something she'd have countercrafted as a Reaction, but the Protego was mainly just to gather the energy for countering, she doesn't actually unleash it until she sees an enemy crafting.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius had followed the others, but was very disappointed when they finally found their Instructor and they basically asked if they could do things they had obviously been already doing. Sighing internally, he simply stayed in the back and watched the others - at least he learned that Servius knew more about the people around him than he might have originally guessed. Probably a product of wanting to know where a hated older brother was. Once he got back to his room, he waved good night to the others and slipped into his bed - no one needed to convince him to get his sleep when he could.

_/ _/ _/ _/

At the scream, Lucius sat up straight in his bed, listening for a moment. When he realized it was Elana, he slipped from his bed and moved to her room, his mind casting out for who was nearby ...

Scanning nearby thoughts!

[Zelphas]

Gaius dreamed of fire. He had had this dream almost every night since the day before he left home; by this point, he was almost ready to roll his eyes as the dream began, with him slinking home to tell his "parents" he had been caught in a noble's library. Then he was caught up in the memories, the emotions, the shame, the hurt, the rage--and suddenly, everything was on fire, he was shouting, Quintus and his wife were screaming, they wouldn't stop screaming--

Elana's scream woke the thrashing Gaius, and for a moment his subconscious superimposed fire all around him. He acted instinctively, gasping out a word and a gesture, and suddenly the temperature around him plummeted. Frost formed on several surfaces around the scrawny boy, but Gaius himself felt no chill. "What... Elana?" he said, stumbling out of his room, sleepiness and fear causing him to keep his mantle of cold around himself. "What's happening?"

Activating Arctic Mantle: Extreme Cold Environment in a 120 ft radius circle centered on Gaius. He's young, so it's not currently selective... sorry. I'm not sure if this goes through walls or not, but if so, some other students may have a suddenly chilly night.

Moving out into the common room, toward's Elana's door.

[TooManySecrets]

The air in the common room instantly chills to an arctic freeze as Gaius Aelius's crafting takes hold.

Gaius and Lucius both rush to Elana's room. Elana almost crashes into them as she slams the door open and stumbles out. She seems terrified of something in the dark room behind her.

@Zelphas: I'm going to rule that it doesn't go through walls, but it can go through poorly insulated doors over time. Basically, just a round or two of delay.

@Starbin: Your Mind Reading power needs a specific target that you can perceive somehow. Adding the Area modifier would let you hear thoughts in a radius.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana held a hand out to keep from colliding with Lucius and Gaius, and they could see a crackling of purple energy flickering about her fingers as she did so. She almost went and hid behind them, but a tiny voice in her head reminded her that she was one of the oldest kids in the group, which gave her some responsibility to, if not protect them, at least not put them in harm's way for her own safety. "There's someone in there!" she said, her voice shrill from fear and a bit hoarse from screaming. She was trembling visibly, although at this point it was only half from panic, half from the terrible chill that was flowing off Gaius.

Not stating any new actions as yet since not everyone has posted, more just adding some details for what Gaius and Lucien see immediately as Elana comes through the door.

[Zelphas]

After Elana's speaks, Gaius hisses a quiet word, and the chill slowly begins to recede. It draws back over the scrawny boy and coalesces until he seems to hold a ball of pure cold between his hands.

Before he does anything with it, however, Gaius's brain starts to wake up, and he looks at Elana with a trace of doubt. "Someone in your room? I don't mean to doubt you, but are you sure it wasn't a bad dream?"

Switching out Arctic Mantle for Arctic Blast (Burst Area 1 Blast 2, Cold descriptor). Not doing anything with it yet.

[Arcran]

Servius starts out of bed, the dream of Manius tormenting him in the dining hall interrupted by an ear-splitting cry. The sickly boy falls to the floor, taking a few precious seconds to mutter the familiar "Loquere terrae," focusing his reach on Elana's room as he opens his door, stepping out into the common room in only his underwear, instantly regretting that choice as he hits the freezing cold.

"What's going on?" he asks, a clear note of panic in his voice.

[Segrain]

Sleeping at new place was not as easy as it sounded. Of course, technically they all spent every last night for weeks somewhere else than before - but those were just short periods of rest on the road. Here, they were supposed to stay for... however long it will take. It was not quite clear yet. Nothing was. A new place to call home, new rules to follow, new goals to pursue... new thoughts to think. And so Cornelia was thinking, again and again reviewing events of the day. And compared to everything that already happened, the next day was supposed to be busy... just how can it get more so? Of course, there is only one way to learn it.

She did not even notice when she fell asleep. Transition from thinking into dreaming always was a smooth one - awaking was different. Still, usually it did not involve somebody screaming behind the next door. Next door? Right. She was no longer at home, but in the Academy. Living more or less together with others. Therefore, the feminine voice could only have been... Elana. That did not sound like the right way to start new day, be it busy or not. Something terrible must have happened, and she probably needed help there... that thought launched Cornelia out of bed and on her feet before she even realised that.

Storming out into the common room, she was greeted by a wave of frost beyond the coldest winter's day. Girl, who only had time to throw on short tunic, shivered, but sudden indoors weather could wait - unless, of course, it was what made Elana scream. Luckily, she was already out of her room too, trying to explain something - and Cornelia left figuring out what exactly it was to the boys, focusing her own attention on the other girl instead. "Are you hurt? What happened?" - asked she, approaching already gathering group.

[Hyperbolic sine]

After weeks of resting on the road, Tiberius finally had something that could be called bed: letting all the weariness from the travel take hold, he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, to wake the following morning fully rested.

...or not.

Elana's scream abruptly wakes him up in the middle of the night, leaving him confused for those few seconds that his brain takes to boot.

Did...did someone try to assault her?

Tiberius hastily wears the first tunic he manages to get his hands on, then opens his door in an attempt to rush out of the room, but reflexively stops in his tracks as the sudden change of temperarure robs him of his breath; it does wake him up completely, though, and luckily Gaius stops freezing the room soon after.

"What's all this commotion? Is anyone hurt?" he asks worried approaching the group, as an ominous chill runs down his spine.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

As the others entered, a wave of freezing cold washed over him, chilling him to the bone. As soon as Gaius arrived, however, the temperature returned to normal, albeit it slowly. Lucius did not see anyone following Elana, but she seemed convinced that someone was in her room. Since there was a question about whether anything was there at all, he would normally 'listen' to her surface thoughts, just to know what she had seen; however, that seemed inappropriate at this time, so he simply stepped forward to support her, peering into the room.

"Can someone make light?" He glanced around at the others, questioning.

Copy - no mind scan, then.

[TooManySecrets]

The kids' voices produce little puffs of fog in the cold, before Gaius abruptly changes his craft.

Nothing comes out of Elana's room and anybody who looks in sees nothing discernible that would be out of place. Of course, the semi-darkness might by hiding something...

Your senses extend down into the cold stone of the Academy and reach out. You can feel other students in some of the nearby rooms stirring (the noise your group is raising having presumably awaken some of them). You can also feel someone running down the hall. It's Instructor Horatius, if you don't miss your guess. However, you don't feel anything in Elana's room. Whatever was in there — if there was anything in there at all — is either gone, not touching the ground, or is hiding its presence.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"There's someone in my room," Elana said again, not trembling nearly as badly now that the temperature was reasonable and the others were all around her. Safety in numbers. "And yes, I'm sure," she added to Gaius. "I didn't see him until I was fully awake, and I still saw him when I was running out of the room."

She was still eyeing the darkened room with her hand crackling with readied protective energy. She was still rightfully terrified, but part of her was angry as well. Fear told her to get out of there, get her friends out of there, as quickly and safely as she could. Anger told her that now that they were all together, they should confront the man, subdue him if they had to, force him to tell them what he was doing there.

It was Elana's first night at the academy. She hadn't had a single class yet. She was no Agent of the Empire; she was a fourteen-year-old. Fear won. "Guys, we shouldn't stay here. Let's just go tell Instructor Horatius, yeah? Maybe he'll be gone by the time we get back."

[Arcran]

"There's nobody there now," Servius says, turning to Elana with a look of confusion on his face. They could, of course, be standing off the floor but why would they do that? "It's empty."

When she mentions finding Horatius, Servius quickly shakes his head. "He's already on his way. We should stay put," Servius says, a scared smile on his face. He watches Elana's door intently, prepared to run if somebody did suddenly burst out of the door. He trusted his craft, but it never hurt to have a little extra caution.

[Zelphas]

Elana's statement had Gaius eyeing the room, backing away slightly and hefting his ball of cold. He stops again as Servius speaks up, uncertain. He was loath to believe an Earthcrafter on principle, but he had been right about Horatius before...

When Servius mentions Horatius' approach, Gaius sighs, speaking a quiet word. The ball of cold vanishes. "I think I might have chilled the air for about a hundred feet all around, so he might be coming because of that as well as Elana's scream. I'm not sure how well it goes through walls, though..." he mutters, a part of him scientifically curious about the extent of his power.

[TooManySecrets]

It seems like minutes, trying to keep a watchful eye on Elana's room and everywhere else, wondering whether you're about to be attacked by some unknown man, but in truth it's probably only seconds before you hear a loud knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, the door opens up quickly and Instructor Horatius walks in.

"It's nothing. Please. All students should go back to sleep," he says, half-turned to look at the students behind him. A number of them had come out of their suites but they slowly go back at the Instructor's command.

The Instructor closes the door behind him and turns to look at you all. He seems to pick up something because, after glancing at the rest of you, he focuses on Elana. "What has happened here?" The concern is obvious in his voice.

[Segrain]

Cornelia gave Elana a disappointed glance. First half of her question was ignored entirely - but as far as she could see, another girl did not look hurt, and she would probably say something in other case. And still, she was completely willing to just run away and let somebody else handle their problems? That was not what she expected from fellow students. Shaking her head in disbelief and tapping her left ear under messed up hair, Cornelia tried to see anything in Elana's unlit room. Whatever it was, it certainly scared her, but was it really terrifying enough for entire group?

Question was rendered moot. If the Instructor was coming - and after last evening there was no reason to doubt Servius's words - all that they had to do was waiting. Of course, even waiting did not necessary mean wasting time - and so, not expecting to see in the darkness much more than she already could, Cornelia turned to Elana again. "'Him'? Do you remember whom you had seen there? Or what he was doing? Or... anything at all?"

Of course, those questions turned equally moot - not by any answer, but by Horatius asking more or less the same. At least this way Elana would not have to answer twice.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Servius's words drew a breath of relief from Elana, but she wasn't quite willing to let her guard down completely. The tension finally left her, and the crackling energy faded around her fingers, when Horatius arrived. "There was a man in my room," she answered. "I didn't recognize him. Um. Tall. Dark hair. Uh, fit, I guess. He was wearing, um...uhhh...like, formal wear, kinda dark around the edges I guess, but it was all dirtied up and stuff." Elana was, after all, very observant and had a trained investigator for a father. She had a good memory for details. "Servius says he's gone now. I guess he spooked when I woke up and screamed, maybe?" She was shaking again, the aftereffects of the adrenaline. She didn't...really want to say this next bit but... "Or...he might still be in there. If he could get in and out undetected he could just as easily remain inside undetected, right?" She had every confidence in whatever craft Servius was using to detect people, but any crafting could be countered, and in a contest of opposing crafts between a child and an adult, betting on the adult is just good sense.

"He was standing in the corner. He was very still, until I started moving, then he started turning his head towards me slowly," Elana added at the other part of Cornelia's question.

[TooManySecrets]

Surprisingly, the Instructor seems to relax at Elana's telling. "Ah, I see." He walks over to Elana's room and looks inside, glancing around. He doesn't seem to take very long before turning and walking back to the group.

"I know that this might have been a startling experience for you all, but I can assure you that you are not in any danger. Whatever it might have seemed had happened, you are safe. Please," he says in a comforting tone to everyone, "try to go back to sleep. I know it might be difficult but you are going to have a tiring enough day tomorrow without adding lack of sleep."

Now he focuses on Elana. "Elana, if you would, please follow me. We need to have a talk in my room."

Instructor Gaius Horatius walks out of the room and Elana follows.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The Instructor leads you to his room. He opens the door and lets you in first. His room is similar to your own personal room, though obviously larger. His furniture is more luxurious but mostly the same. There are also a number of freestanding shelves (though empty) and a table with a chair on either side.

He closes the door, and then walks around you. "Please, sit," he says, gesturing to the table and chairs. Horatius himself sits down on one side. "Have some, if you'd like." He points to a bowl on the table. It's filled with some honey and nut candies.

"I know that you're probably confused," he starts. "You might even think that you're in trouble. Well, you're not in trouble and I hope to dispel some of that confusion."

The Instructor steeples his fingers as he leans back. "You're an aethercrafter but, I believe, you've never seen a spirit before, is that right? After tonight, you won't be able to say that."

"What you saw — if I don't miss my mark — was a spirit. I don't know how much you know about such things, but spirits are all around us at all times. We just don't see them. Sometimes however we do, even without calling up a specific craft. Uncalled spirits are a bit of a mystery. Nobody knows why they sometimes appear. They usually show themselves to young aethercrafters such as yourself who are just learning their craft, but they can appear to any aethercrafter at any time. One thing that I do know with certainty, however, is that they cannot hurt you. They cannot," he says with confident reassurance. "They might startle or disturb you. They might even scare or terrify you. But they cannot hurt you."

He relaxes a bit and lets his hands rest on his legs. "You probably have many questions. I know I did, when I was in your place. We'll discuss it in more detail in the future — I should really let you sleep — but, please, ask."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana looked pensive for a moment, part of her wanting to doubt the instructor's assessment, but no. She was astute enough to recognize the difference between a reasonable fear and paranoia. Horatius was an Agent of the Empire; if she was certain that the intruder was gone, she could trust that it was. When he asked her to follow him, she frowned slightly, because she did kinda think he was going to say it was just a bad dream and lecture her about waking everybody up. In her head, she was already preparing counter-arguments, lists of craftings she knew of that could deceive the senses allow for quick entry or escape. She knew what she had seen.

She followed the instructor for a step or two before halting and saying, "Um, one second," and turning back to the group. They hadn't had any clue what had happened. They could have stayed in their rooms, safe, unnoticed. But they had come out to protect her, every one of them. "Guys I...you didn't...it's..." she stammered before just stopping, taking a breath, and saying simply and sincerely, "Thank you," giving them a slight smile before going to follow after Horatius.

--

A spirit. She stared at the Instructor in disbelief for a couple moments, sufficient shock to distract her entirely from the offered candy, which was kinda saying something. She knew about spirits in the general sense. Her father interacted with them extensively. He'd even tried a couple times to "introduce" her to them, as he'd put it, though she'd never seen anything, even concentrating as hard as she could.

"...Oh," she finally said, with great eloquence and dignity. She felt kinda embarrassed, now, causing such a commotion over something so harmless. Sure, didn't know it was harmless but...still...

She kinda wished she did have a bunch of well-reasoned and clever questions. In some sense she did. There were definitely portions of her brain nagging at her to understand what she had seen. Had she been fresh, she likely would have run through a list of them.

As it was...the adrenaline was fading, and tiredness was weighing down on her. And if spirits were going to be part of the curriculum anyway... "I think, maybe, I want to just go back to sleep," she said, and a big yawn confirmed that hypothesis. "Just...um...is there any way I can tell, in the future? When it's a spirit? It seemed so...real." She had always imagined that spirits would be kinda translucent and glowy, and she really didn't want to be waking everyone up every other night because some spirit was trying to be friendly. Or play pranks.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Uhm. If you say so, Instructor. Goodnight everyone...I suppose." More confused than before, Tiberius decides that it's better to stop trying to figure out what happened, at least until when he'll be able to ask Elana in detail, and shaking his head returns to his room: after all, if Horatius says they are safe it's probably the truth.

"Don't worry, I'm just glad you're safe." he replies to the girl, returning her smile while weariness starts to take hold of him again, then returns to his room: closing the door behind him, he yawns and murmurs to himself "But really, talk about creepy.". After that, whether the fatigue he feels is from the aftereffects of adrenaline or still that from the travel, it doesn't take much for him to fall again into a deep slumber - this time, hopefully he'll manage to sleep until morning.

[TooManySecrets]

"As you learn about your craft, you'll be able to find ways to tell for certain. For now, however, there should be two ways. The first is the incongruity of the situation." Recognizing you might not know that word, he goes on. "What I mean is when it seems like the situation doesn't make sense or just fit together. Finding a man in your room is certainly worrying, but when you find one that doesn't seem to even acknowledge your presence and didn't need to open the shutters on the window or the door, well, then that's strange. It just doesn't fit. The second, which is more reliable, is seeing whether the person in question is crafting. You have your aethersight. A spirit cannot craft, neither actively nor passively. That doesn't mean that a person who isn't crafting is a spirit, obviously, but knowing whether they are or not can help you make up your mind."

The Instructor shrugs. "I really wish I could help you more, but learning the proper crafts will take time. Obviously, if no one else can see what you're seeing, it's probably a spirit but, unfortunately, uncalled spirits usually only appear to people who are alone."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana nodded slowly. She was still a little concerned - the attack on her and her siblings had rattled her more than she perhaps realized, and the idea of giving an actual hit man or something an opportunity to attack while she tried to confirm whether or not he was a spirit worried her. But honestly, the chance that an actual criminal could infiltrate the Academy was so trivial that she told herself she probably shouldn't worry about it. Really, looking at it from that standpoint, she was almost certainly the safest of her siblings from such an attack. She felt isolated and vulnerable because she was away from everyone she knew and everything she was familiar with, but logically, she was in a fortress filled with combat-trained and -training crafters.

And you're far from alone in any event, she told herself as she thought again of the others coming to her aid, the thought bringing a soft smile again to her face.

"Okay. Thank you, Instructor. Um. Sorry for...waking you," she added awkwardly. "I guess I'm going to go and...well, try to get some more sleep, anyway. Good night."

Unless Horatius had anything else to tell her, she'd head back to her room, although the whole way there she kinda doubted she'd actually manage to fall back asleep. Yeah, she wise tired, but still. She was jumpy enough that she didn't expect she'd actually manage it.

The reality was, she was dreaming again practically the second her head hit her pillow.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius went from being ignored by the others as events quickly developed to being dismissed out of hand by their Instructor, who took Elana aside. Frowning slightly, he peered around to see how the others would take this. On the one hand, he understood the man's desire to restore order and calm and get them to sleep. On the other, it wasn't a particularly good way to build trust and left at least one of the students feeling insignificant.

He considered checking things out, via his own abilities, but it was a bit early to be pushing those boundaries, perhaps. Best now he simply return to his room and try to sleep.

[Zelphas]

Gaius smiles and thanks Horatius for checking up on them, stepping back towards his room as Elana and the Instructor leave. Once they go, his smile drops to a scowl, and his eyes narrow, watching the door. I wonder why she got singled out... Gaius briefly considers following discreetly and listening in, but he was never very good at keeping hidden despite his small size. Mentally adding "ways of listening at a distance" to his checklist of things to research, Gaius returns to bed.

[Segrain]

Apparently, it did not take long for Horatius to figure out what had happened, but he did not find it necessary to share the truth with anyone other than Elana herself. He could be understood, of course. The middle of night was a time to sleep, not to read lectures - and he did not neglect to remind everyone about it. But while boys obeyed him quickly, Cornelia was not so fast. First she sent a reassuring smile back to Elana, not quite certain what the other girl was trying to say before following the Instructor outside. Then she remembered the weather anomaly - but anyone who could possibly explain it already went to sleep, and she was not quite certain whether it even was real or just a weird dream. And from dreams her thoughts returned back to whatever happened to Elana... no, Cornelia could not sleep yet. And while it was possible that Horatius found something dangerous and took Elana to spend the night away until something can be done about it, he would probably say something if that was the case - and so, instead of immediately returning to bed, she took a seat in common room, entering the usual state of thinking about what just happened.

The waiting did not take long anyway - Elana was back quite soon, and she did not look like she needed or wanted to talk to somebody. So, giving the other girl a short nod, Cornelia finally returned to her room and her sleep too.

[TooManySecrets]

"It was no trouble at all," he says. The Instructor gets up as you leave to politely guide you to the door, but stops you at the threshold.

"And Pirea," he says. His face is both serious and concerned. "An uncalled spirit is harmless, but that's not the same as saying that all spirits are harmless. Do not try to call up this spirit, at least not without my permission. Trying to contact the shadows of the ancestors without being properly prepared is dangerous, for body and mind to both you and anyone who might be nearby."

His warning delivered, he lets you go and closes his door after you.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

"Wake up!"

The command is a short bark, driving you out of your bed. The morning sun has not even dawned yet but that doesn't appear to have stopped Gaius Horatius Scaeva. "You either get up yourself or I do it!" If any student is tardy in getting up, Instructor Horatius makes good on his warning.

"Today," he says once you are all (nominally) awake, "I have woken your senion — your group — this time because there is more to do today than usual. In the future, I will not do so. Instead, it will be your responsibility. If you are late for the first bell, it is your fault."

He gestures at your clothes. "This day you will be made students in more than just name. You will be given a set of robes. Hopefully, you are observant enough to have seen the other students wearing their robes. You are required to wear these robes at all times, except during free-time, meals, while sleeping, or when specifically told otherwise."

The change in personality between Gaius Horatius the Traveling Companion and Gaius Horatius the Instructor is striking. It almost doesn't seem like the same person. The Instructor is certainly more ... commanding.

"After that, we will begin the first lessons. Some of you might already know some of the things that will be taught over the coming year. That's fine. I hope that you will help out your fellow students, as is appropriate. This first year is when we make sure that you are all on equal footing in your schooling. When you are finished, you will know all the basics that you need to know for your second year and beyond." He pauses meaningfully. "Or you will fail and leave the Academy. It's that simple."

The Instructor looks around, seemingly paying special attention to each of you. "Are there any questions?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana would swear she had literally just closed her eyes when the Instructor's voice rang out. She caught herself wondering why he had said she should go back to be at all if he was just going to wake her three seconds later. By the time coherent thought realized that Horatius meant it too, she was standing in the common room, softly bidding good morning to the others who were there or as they came out. She could admit it, after the hard travel pace (to say nothing for the...events of last night), she really wouldn't have minded sleeping in that morning. Just a little bit.

Well, nothing to be done for it. With one more big yawn and stretch, youth managed to chase sleepiness back to its hole and Elana listened attentively when Horatius gave them the run-down. She had no immediate questions and their understanding was apparently a prerequisite, not a question, so she remained silent.

[Zelphas]

Gaius leaped out of his bed at Horatius' shout, rolling into a corner and scrunching into a ball in panic. "I'm up, Qu--" he abruptly closes his mouth and straightens as he remembers where he is. Quintus wasn't there. He wasn't going to get cuffed for not being strong enough.

As Horatius explains the next year to them, Gaius catches himself scowling. He quickly smooths his face into neutrality (it's too early for him to wear his well-rehearsed smile). Great, first morning is just playing catch-up, he thinks to himself grumpily. It looks like I'll have to supplement my own education...

[Segrain]

Waking up in the same place for a second time did not make the experience any more pleasant. Of course, it probably had something to do with waking up twice in the same night; in fact, Cornelia certainly would not object to having some more time to sleep after that. But orders given in a voice like that are not to be disobeyed; the only thing that she could do was giving a praise to ancestral god for granting her a hearing good enough to hear Horatius even through her dream. About what was she even dreaming, anyway... no, that had to be left behind. Instructor was waiting, and she was not going to make him wait longer than it takes to get properly dressed.

Not that it did any good; Academy had its own understanding of what is proper for its students. But while what they were supposed to wear was obvious just from seeing other children, what they were supposed to know was another matter entirely. For whence she was, Cornelia had relatively not the worst education, but what was it compared to everyone else? She already had occasions to learn that something unexpected to her is obvious to them. And the answer to this question probably was one of those things too - and so, after thinking about it for a bit, she only shook her head. It will probably be explained soon anyway, and even if she does not know what she is supposed to know...

She was here to learn. Everything has to start somewhere.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

At the sound of the shout, Lucius rose quickly. Being woken up abruptly wasn't anything new to him, so he was up and dressed in his meager clothes swiftly. While long ago he had gotten over any petty fears of retribution from threats like those their instructor was tossing about, he thought it best not to be the first example.

Slipping out of his room, he joined his fellow students (his senion?) ... perhaps not the first, but not the last; and perhaps the most calm, given the circumstances. To Horatius' question, he simply watched passively. He had nothing pressing he needed answered, figuring everything would eventually be taught to them all.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Awakened by Horatiu's stern command, Tiberius ponders whether it's worth trying to sleep in...but the Instructor seems serious, so he reclutantly gets out of bed; there'll be plenty of time for that from tomorrow, when the only thing that matters will be arriving before the bell sounds and his speed will give him a little edge.

" 'Morning" he says suppressing a yawn and waving to the group - senion, it seems. He then listens to the rest of Horatius' speech in silence, still half-sleeping and thus staring at him with blank eyes without asking any further question.

Apologies for the delay, but on Wednesday I have lectures for the whole day and commuting takes a while.

[Arcran]

Servius awakes with the others, rolling out of bed much easier than he had earlier that night. After Elana had woken all of them up Servius had trouble getting back to sleep; after all, if somebody had managed to get into her room, how easy would it be for Manius to get in while he slept? That could only end badly for Servius.

He staggers out of his room, small hands rubbing and the corners of small eyes. He was dressed in the second pair of clothes he had been given. The idea of actual robes excites him perhaps a bit more than it should, if for no other reason than that it means he'll actually belong to the school. Servius gives a quick nod to his companions, quickly followed up by a shake of his head when Gaius asks if there are any questions.

[TooManySecrets]

"No questions? Then let's begin. Follow me."

The senion follows Instructor Horatius out of the suite. He takes you out of the dormitory and into another wing of the Academy. From what you can see of the rooms as you pass them by, they're all classrooms of various types with student writing tables and wooden chairs. This early in the morning, however, there is no one around but you and a few servants.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

"I'll see what I can do," the tailor says after Instructor Horatius introduces you all to her. She brings out a book and puts it down on a nearby table and writes some things down.

"Proper care of your clothes is your responsibility, students," Horatius says as the tailor continues to write. "You will take care of them and, if they rip or tear, you will repair them. I don't want to hear any of you say that that is women's work or servant's work. In the field, you will not have the luxury to be picky. I don't want to see you here again."

"Well, not for at least 3 months," the tailor says and then looks up. She shrugs. "Children. At this age, they're always outgrowing their clothes."

The tailor points at Cornelia Oria. "You first, honey."


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

One by one, you're lead into a little room off of the tailor's main work area. She, along with the help of some servants, measures and fits you for your robes. For some of you, the whole thing is a bit embarrassing (dressed down, as you are, to your undertunics) but for any of the noble children it's familiar ground.

In your undertunic, the tattoos on your arms and legs are readily visible. Neither the servants nor the tailor say anything to you, but they definitely notice. One of the servants whispers something to another and he laughs. The tailor, except for some initial surprise, says nothing and focuses on the fitting.
It takes a surprisingly long amount of time to get everyone fitted and in new clothes. The first bell rings long before you're finished. By the time everybody has their robes, the sun has fully risen.

With your old clothes in your hands, you awkwardly follow after Gaius Horatius as he leads you to an enclosed outdoor area. It's a gymnasium, of some sort. You can see marks on the ground outlining different areas. There are also racks holding training equipment — weights, practice weapons, battered armor — along one of the walls.

The morning Autumn air is cool but you're relatively comfortable in your robes.

"Put your personal clothes somewhere on the ground where they won't get messy and line up before me," the Instructor orders. You do so.

"It is my opinion — an opinion shared by most of the Instructors — that to train the mind you must train the body, and vice versa. So that is what we are going to do. When I say so, you will run laps around this gymnasium." He gestures in a sweeping half-turn around him at the walls. "You will continue to do so until I am happy or until you are unable to continue. I will be at the rear and you will all be in front of me. Tiberius Horatius will be at the front. Horatius," he says, looking at him, "when you are ready, you will set the pace."

Hyperbolic sine, you get to set the Athletics check that everyone will have to make. Do it before you roll. A lower DC will be easier to beat (obviously) but isn't likely to impress.

Everybody (including Hyperbolic sine) will roll against that DC. Roleplay your character as appropriate to your result. You're probably not going to fall down exhausted on one failed roll, though. You are allowed to make the roll as a routine check.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius followed Horatius and the others through the wing and to the tailor. He listened carefully, wondering if their robes would be subject to a high degree of wear and tear, given Horatius' warnings. When it was his turn to disrobe, he dropped his clothes without any anxiety, letting the tailor and his servants work.

At the servants pause, then snickering laughter, Lucius stared at them impassively. He didn't need his craft to read their thoughts, but it was disappointing to have servants snicker. After a moment, he returned to staring straight ahead, undisturbed by the servants.

_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/

At the track, Lucius was quiet as they prepared to run. It would be interesting to see what pace Tiberius would set. Of course, it didn't really matter - as long as they a) weren't caught by Horatius, and b) didn't quit. He joined the group as soon as the run started in earnest ...

[Hyperbolic sine]

At Horatius' mention of one's clothes being one's responsibility, Tiberius sligthly nods in approvement, then freezes as if something just occurred to him and assumes a worried expression: as soon as the adults finish speaking, he leans towards Elana - which seems his best bet since Cornelia is with the taylor and the others are boys - and whispers, in an almost pleading tone, "You...you do know how to sew, don't you?"


=======

"Yes, Instructor."

Tiberius takes a moment to warm his muscles, waits for everyone to be ready and then saying "Alright guys, let's go!" he starts running. Conscious that the others might not have much stamina and that he himself might have been a little over-reliant on crafts where speed was concerned, but still wanting the training to be actually effective, he sets for a pace that isn't pushing one's limits but nonetheless requires a meaningful effort.

It seems that his worries weren't needed, though, at least for himself: he could've upped the pace a bit since in the end he's much less fatigued than he had imagined - almost as fresh as he was at the start, even - but as they say hindsight's always 20/20. The others might not have been so happy of that anyway, so it was probably for the best this way...there'll be plenty of chances to impress Horatius on individual exercises.

19 is two degrees of success, but if that's not enough for "almost as fresh as at the start" let me know and I'll modify it with something more appropriate.

Also, I'm posting from my phone so forgive me if I some grammar horror or wrong word evaded my notice.

[Zelphas]

Gaius felt a little awkward about being fitted for robes, but he dealt with that the way he always did with strangers; by smiling and joking with the seamstress and the servants. It covered up his awkwardness well enough, though he still felt strange about disrobing in front of strangers.

---

Gaius's mood sours even more when Horatius explains their first training exercise, though he tries to keep it from showing on his face. Oh joy. We're going to learn about our crafting and how to be better students for the empire... by running around in circles.

Gaius's mental grumblings continued as the exercise began. I'm sure that this will be important somehow later. Maybe we'll have to impersonate a lunatic in order to fool some barbarians into letting us go.

By the end of the run, Gaius was gasping for breath. He finishes his lap a fair distance behind Tiberius and the front-runners, resisting the urge to sit down through sheer pigheadedness.

[Segrain]

As Horatius was explaining their simple responsibilities (did that even require any explanation?), Cornelia was not paying too much attention, still feeling somewhat sleepy after the night. And so something in Instructor's words sounded a bit confusing for her. Not quite certain whether she even heard him correctly, girl glanced at Elana, as if going to ask her something, but before she could, the tailor called her inside. And what happened there was maybe less embarrassing than she feared, but still awkward nonetheless, so by the time when everyone was done with it she had already forgot what she was going to say and only wished for entire affair to be over.

At least new clothes were quite good, even if somewhat unusual. And they are supposed to run in that? For Cornelia, it turned out to be less of a physical exercise and more of getting used to move in new garments. Afraid as she was of having to run together with probably more fit boys, she could easily match the generously given pace and kept just behind the Tiberius, following him almost step by step.
Routine check for total result of 15.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I mean...I've watched my mom do it once or twice? I'm sure we can figure it out," she responded to Tiberius with an optimistic grin.

"So um...I wanted to say sorry for waking you all up last night. It uh, turns out it was a spirit, apparently. I guess aethercrafters occasionally see them." She did sound a bit embarrassed about it. "But, so, good news is, we don't have to worry about people sneaking into our dorms while we sleep! I mean...probably. I guess."

When her turn to be fitted came around, she endured it with a steady stream of chatter with the tailor, obviously more concerned about having to stand relatively still for an extended period than any particular awkwardness.

--

Elana also wasn't particularly enamored of the idea of running. She firmly believed that when she became an Agent, all such challenges of gross physicality would be handled via flying above them. She set out at a steady jog, not making any competitive effort at speed but at least trying to keep up. Unfortunately she landed a step poorly and twisted her ankle some on the first lap, which slowed her down significantly as her steady jog was reduced to a sort of hopping limp. But already embarrassed for panicking last night over what was basically nothing (some children might not have considered "there was a ghost in my room" to be "nothing", but Elana was an aethercrafter and was going to act like one) she absolutely refused to look weak as well as panicky before her peers, so she steeled her will and forced herself to just tough through it. She trailed the group by a wide margin, but completed the run without complaint.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

As Tiberius raced off, Lucius kept up the best he could. He kept up with the larger boy for a bit, then quickly fell beyond the seemingly natural athlete. Cornelia and Servius were running right with him, while Gaius and Elana fell behind. However, the real test wasn't against any of the others, no matter what pace Tiberius set - it was against himself.

Focusing on one foot in front of the other, a steady staccato to the sound of his breath, he mouthed a ditty he had often hummed to himself, one he had heard his mother sing when he was very young.

The wilds, they stretch forever on; as far as the eye can see.
The trees, they wave, the birds they sing, pure as they can be.
Blue skies stretch on, green fields lay long, afar the sparkling sea.
And Gaia looks from 'top Godshome, with smiles she calls to me.

[Arcran]

Servius is silent as he is fitted for his clothes, the twiggy, sickly boy a little embarrassed to take his robes off. Of course, as a noble, it wasn't his first time; even if his parents didn't particularly like him they still had to ensure he looked the part of a noble at all times. Servius stands stock still, simply waiting to be able to put his clothes back on.



Servius sets his old clothes on the ground as a knot forms in the pit of his stomach. A runner was one of the many, many things Servius wasn't and, in all likelihood, never would be. Horatius, at the least, was able-bodied, meaning that Servius would be pushed to his limit to even keep up. Scared to fail, Servius reaches out to the earth, drawing on its strength to fix his broken form. He feels his strength rise, his stamina increase and, with a sigh, takes off after the boy...

Only to find himself keeping up with the pace. He was struggling, pushing himself and sweating more than was probably proper, but he was doing it. The faintest of smiles sneaks onto Servius' face, betraying his satisfaction.

[TooManySecrets]

You've run several laps before the Instructor calls a halt.

"All right, that's enough!" he shouts out. "Get your breath and line up."

You all line up in front of Instructor Horatius. He looks you over and his eyes linger on Elana Pirea and Gaius Aelius. Since those two were the slowest — and, in fact, failed to keep pace at all — it wouldn't be surprising if he punished them. However, the Instructor says nothing to them.

"Tiberius Horatius," he says, turning to face the student he's addressing, "would you say that was a good run? Was the pace you set something you were happy with?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

Before...

"A...spirit? Wow." Tiberius says, trying to decide whether it was cool or creepy, then setting for both. "Well, if someone dares to sneak into our rooms we'll have to teach them it's bad manners...the hard way." he then says with a grin, slowly hitting his left palm with his fist.


=======

Now

Was he? He definitely could have gone faster, but it's not like he hadn't to put some effort into the exercise: it's just that he did better than he'd expected...and it was to train stamina anyway, not speed, right? Well, he made a choice, and one must stand for his choices - even at the risk of facing the wrath of one's Instructor.

Having made up his mind, Tiberius returns Horatius' gaze and says "It was, Instructor: most of us kept up with it, while still having to put some effort." with convinction, then takes a deep breath and steels himself against an eventual rant.

[TooManySecrets]

"'Most of us'," he enunciates. "That's an interesting way of putting it. So you did notice that Pirea and Aelius had lagged behind? Because, from your actions, it almost seemed like you didn't notice it at all."

The Instructor looks at the two named students sternly before looking back at Tiberius Horatius. "I can only conclude that you were satisfied by Pirea's and Aelius's performance. Were you? Satisfied, that is?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius was expecting a rant: what he got were a couple of completely justifiable questions that nonetheless threw him completely off balance. "Well, no I didn't...I mean, yes, I did, but only after we stopped...and...uh...it's not really my call to be satisfied with them...I mean...uh...I don't really know what they did before coming here...and...uh...uhm...

As he speaks his tone progressively lowers, as does his gaze - by the end, he is murmuring while looking at Horatius' feet. Then, mustering that little courage that still lingers in him, he manages to look again into the Instructor eyes and sincerely ask, with a small but steady voice: "What...what did I do wrong? What should have I done?.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana was kinda expecting to get called out on her performance. Had been preparing herself for it pretty much since mid-way through lap two. She had lined up feeling quite sure she was ready to take whatever the Instructor dished out.

She didn't expect him to go after Tiberius like that. Sure, it had been a pretty hard pace - Elana doubted she could have kept up even without the bad luck of hurting her ankle - but that was beside the point. She saw one of her senion - she still liked party better - getting lectured and maybe even kinda bullied because of her failing, and that just didn't sit well with her, especially after Tiberius gave so flustered a response.

Had she thought about it, she probably would have thought that challenging their Instructor on the first day wasn't really that smart. Had she thought about it, she might have considered the idea that there was probably a useful lesson intended in here somewhere and that she should pay attention to it. Had she thought about it, she may even have figured that Tiberius might not even want any of the others to intercede on his behalf, when he didn't speak in his own defense.

But Elana didn't think about it. She just spoke. "That doesn't seem very fair, Instructor. You didn't give him any idea of what was expected, if he was supposed to- set a pace that he thought we could match or slow down for us or what. Or even give him a chance to see what the rest of us were capable of in the first place. You just told us to run until you said stop and for Tiberius to set the pace for a bunch of strangers! I mean...if you tell the windcrafter to set the pace without any further instruction, you shouldn't blame him for going fast. If you want the person who sets the pace to read your mind about what pace they should set, you should choose a watercrafter."

[TooManySecrets]

"That doesn't seem very fair, Instructor. You didn't give him any idea of what was expected, if he was supposed to-"

"Pirea," Horatius says, cutting her off in mid-sentence, "I am not a parent, indulging the whims of a favored child. Neither — during class time at least, which this is — am I your friend. I am your Instructor, so believe me when I say this," he pauses to take a noticeable breath, "if I hear you say anything about it 'not being fair' again, I will beat the words right out of you. Do I make myself clear?"

Instructor Horatius's words are spoken with no anger or heat, but they leave no doubt that he will do exactly what he says.

He holds up his arm to point out beyond the walls of the gymnasium to the city and lands beyond. "Out there, even as we speak, loyal subjects of the Empire are being murdered and brutalized. Not just by the savages on the edge of civilization, but by their fellow subjects. The victims cry out for help and, I am sad to say, do not always get it. Is that fair?" The Instructor says the word 'fair' almost with a sneer. "It is an unfair world, students, and you must get used to it or else you'll never be able to do something about it."

"I am not here to coddle you nor to burp you nor to change your small clothes. I am here to make you an agent — the hands and eyes of the Emperor (may the ancestors smile upon her) — so you might as well learn to act like one." The Instructor rounds upon Tiberius Horatius. "Horatius, what you did wrong was that you didn't use that thing you call a 'mind'. Yes, follow orders, but if that's all you can do — if you're incapable of doing nothing else but what you are specifically ordered to do — then you will be useless as an agent."

He glances up at the sun for a moment before looking back. "It will soon be time for breakfast. Horatius, I want you to lead everyone through three more laps. You may all then go to the dining hall for breakfast. After breakfast, return to your suite. Meanwhile, I will be going to see whether a class room has been prepared for us yet. I will meet you again at your rooms. Is that understood?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana's eyes flashed with anger at the interruption, and then widened in shock and fear at the threat. She wanted to retort, but she was bright enough to understand that to do so now, while she was angry, would likely get her dismissed as merely being petulant. She resolved to consider her argument and bring it up later if she still felt it worth mentioning after she had cooled down. Outwardly, she only responded with a curt nod before stretching out some in preparation for their next three laps.

[Zelphas]

Gaius watches the entire proceedings, an almost frighteningly neutral look masking his face. He only reacts to the situation once--when Horatius mentions beating Elana, Gaius flinches reflexively, curling in on himself from remembered beatings. Inwardly, the part of his mind that isn't holding his firecrafting abilities in check is racing, trying to weigh each and every one of Instructor Horatius's words.

He didn't use his mind, hmm? he thinks to himself, glancing between Tiberius and Instructor Horatius. What sort of test was this, then? Should he have slowed down for us, or egged us on when we lagged? "Understood, Instructor," Gaius replies almost tonelessly, crouching slightly in readiness for yet more laps.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The exchange between the instructor, Tiberius and Elana was ... interesting to say the least. It added a bit of context to their relationship, and more insight to their true purpose here. Lucius' eyes narrowed once, at the description of the threats, but otherwise he remained as impassively as Gaius. When directed to run three more laps, he nodded mutely, uncertain if the instructions were directed at all of them, or only Tiberius.

With their newly appointed 'leader,' he turned to follow. He wasn't sure what pace the boy would set, but Lucius planned on doing his best to keep up. Perhaps this time he would help any others, if they fell behind. Perhaps they would leave him if he didn't keep up. This was certainly an enlightening day ...

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius came to the Academy knowing that he'd have to train hard, but all considered he tought it was just a matter of expertise with the craft and thus he believed to already be at a good level: only after Horatius' words he realised just how long the road to become an agent still was, and how many things he still had to learn. He thought that he was being considerate enough of his companions with the pace he gave, but that was just lying to himself: he was to too concerned with managing to give a good impression to bother looking back at the very people he thought he was being considerate of. What he didn't think was that someone would say that he - who, of all people, became a skilled crafter despite his father's enforced forbiddance - should start thinking by himself instead of just following orders.

Long story short, with a couple of well placed and unobjectionable sentences Instructor Horatius mercilessly shattered most of Tiberius' beliefs, so much that at first the threat to Elana - and, indirectly, to all of them - didn't even register, and when it did he could think of nothing to counter with even if the thought of an adult beating a girl was horryfing: after all, the enemies of the Empire weren't going to go easy on you just by being female, so it was his own reasoning that was flawed and biased, wasn't it?

Even if can't help but to feel like a deflated ballon for now, wanting to believe that Horatius was behaving as he was for good reasons, and not out of simple cruelty and sadism, Tiberius tries to accept and rationalize what he was being told without using hate and anger as the way to cope with the humiliation. He murmurs a resigned "Yes, Instructor.", shoots an apologetic look to Elana whom got scolded for his mistake, and then starts running as soon as everyone is ready - this time, he sets for a much slower pace, and periodically looks back in order to notice if someone is lagging behind and thus slow down.

DC 10, routine check for 10. If possible, slowing down (and thus adjusting the DC) to accommodate the lower result.

[Segrain]

Cornelia listened to Instructor with a mix of interest and confusion. What was surprising to her was not his explanation of how unfair the words is and what was he going to do if anyone does not understand it - it is reaction of others that was confusing her. Just how did they grew up, being even older than she was, without ever understanding this? Did their parents never teach them anything other than how to make elements of this world do their bidding? Not everything in life was going to be easy. Some things could not be commanded. Sometimes you just have to take what you are given and make of it the best that you can do. Was that not the obvious truth of existence?

Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed Horatius's last question. Was it even directed on entire senion or only at the boy currently leading it? Just in case, Cornelia quietly nodded to Instructor and returned to her place just behind the Tiberius. Whichever pace he was going to set now, she was quite confident in her ability to keep up with that, although now she looked back almost as often as Tiberius himself did. It did not look like Elana got particularly hurt last time, but who knows what can happen, and Instructor is not going to be keeping an eye on them now...

...but if the night was any evidence, they can look after each other just fine.

[Arcran]

Servius watches the whole exchange, a small frown slowly crossing his face. It would seem that Horatius wasn't going to coddle them in any way shape or form, which, while it terrified Servius, also gave him hope. If he pushed them past where they should be able to go it could only make them stronger in the end, right? On the other hand, Horatius' comments about the world not being fair make Servius grin perhaps a bit more than he should. At least somebody else acknowledged that sometimes you just drew up a little short.

A curt "Understood Instructor," is all Servius states before joining in the last three laps with the others, pushing his earthcrafting to the limit to try to keep up.

[TooManySecrets]

The Instructor waits a moment after some of you answer and others don't. The moment begins to grow uncomfortable — some of you start to wonder whether you should something else — but the Instructor says only "Good" before he turns and walks away.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

You arrive late to breakfast, but none of you are particularly interested in shirking your required laps. Nobody comments on your coming in late. Perhaps they're too busy eating or perhaps they're used to students arriving after the start of a meal.

Breakfast itself is similar to last night: relatively simple but well-prepared. Water, milk, salted bread with honey, and boiled eggs with pine nut sauce.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

After breakfast, you return to your suite. You don't have long to wait before Instructor Horatius returns. "They have a room for us," he says, "Follow me."

You follow the Instructor to a nondescript classroom. There are student writing desks and a table for the Instructor at the head of the class. There is a large slate board on the wall near the Instructor's table and each of your desks has a small slate and chalk. You take your seats.

"To serve the Empire," the Instructor says once you are seated, "that is the duty of every loyal subject. For most people, it is simple enough: obey the law and do your job. You, however, have embarked upon a more difficult road. You must know the Empire, truly know it. You must know its history, know its offices, know its purpose."

The Instructor looks at Cornelia. "Oria, tell me, what are the offices of the Eternal Empire?"

Still trying to move things along, so if you wanted your character to do something during any of these periods (especially something that would contradict my exposition), we can just "go back in time" (as it were) and do it then.

Also, Segrain, the answer to the Instructor's questions are in the fluff already but you should decide how much your own character knows (especially off the top of their head).

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius finished his laps and put his clothes back on with the others, joining them in a silent breakfast. This time, he tried to pay more attention to the students around them, hopefully gleaning some more information about expectations they might be held accountable for. Upon finishing, they returned to their suites and were shortly joined by Horatius, who ordered them to follow.

In their new classroom, Lucius took a seat with the others, keeping his slate and chalk nearby. When the first question was asked, he turned to listen to Cornelia's answer, certain that he did not know what Horatius was looking for.

[Quellian-dyrae]

As Elana ran those last three laps, she struggled to resolve why she was so angry. She wasn't the sort to often get angry at all, but right now she was furious, and she wasn't entirely certain why.

Was it the threat? No. That had scared her, and surprised her, and made her uncomfortable, but she could identify those feelings. They weren't the anger. They weren't anywhere close to as strong as the anger. Which itself was kind of worrying, because she really, really didn't want to say or do something that would get her beaten.

How he had originally gone after Tiberius? That had to be getting closer. The thought definitely fed her fury, and her next few steps came quicker as a result despite a warning twinge in her ankle. But it wasn't at the root of it. She didn't understand what the point of that lesson was, why it had to be done that way, but she was bright enough and empathetic enough that she could understand that the Instructor had probably had a reason for it, whether or not she could understand it.

When he interrupted her? No. That was irritating sure, and kinda rude maybe, but heck, she was the youngest of five children. Getting interrupted was practically part of her daily routine. It hadn't bothered her in years.

Maybe the way he had interrupted her then, ignoring her point on account of what amounted to word choice, just dropped her in the box of a petulant child wanting to be coddled when it...it...

It struck her. It wasn't that. Because she had not been seeking ease, she had been seeking fairness. She truly believed that Tiberius didn't deserve that lecture. Maybe she was wrong, but she didn't know that, because the Instructor hadn't told her why it was necessary, hadn't explained the purpose of the lesson. He had just said that the world wasn't fair.

And everyone else had pretty much accepted that as an obvious truth.

And Elana couldn't bring herself to do that.

Oh, sure, it was true and obviously so. She could admit to that fact. But she couldn't, wouldn't, refused to accept it. That it was an unfair world didn't mean you stop looking for fairness, seeking fairness, demanding fairness. It didn't mean that it was right for hit men to go after children, for bereaved youths to be forbidden to practice their natural talents, for brothers to live in fear of their family, for free children to be treated like slaves, for parents to give up on their kids for not following in their footsteps, for people to be ridiculed for their beliefs. It didn't mean it was right that citizens were being murdered and brutalized, either by savages or their own people. And whether or not it was right for an Instructor to be harder on the student who had led the group than those who had fallen behind, the world being unfair was not what made it so.

It meant it happened, and it meant that someone should do something to stop it.

Somewhere during those three laps, Elana was able to recognize in her own heart the subtle shifts of feelings that she was so good at seeing in others. The anger did not fade, but changed to fiery passion and steely resolve. Elana couldn't do much, not now, not as she was. There were limits to the good that any one person could do, and those limits were tight indeed for a fourteen year old girl in her first day at the Academy.

But Elana resolved not to let the fact that it was an unfair world keep her from standing up for those who she felt needed it, from helping those who she felt deserved it. Maybe it would get her beaten. Maybe one day it would get her killed.

But as long as she was in it, Elana Pirea Cenca resolved to make this world just a little bit more fair.

--

Since she had word that non-harmful crafting was okay, Elana took the opportunity at breakfast to cast her detection spell and spend the meal enjoying the interplay of lights and colors of the various students' auras while she ate, an entertaining and soothing display that washed away any residual anger or fear from earlier, even though she had to eat quickly due to their late arrival.

She arrived to the classroom wearing her usual cheery smile and took a seat at or near the front of the class to listen to the day's lesson.

Just to be clear, Elana doesn't actually know the backstory of most/any of the others, referencing them should be taken more as a narrative conceit rather than a precise description of Elana's thought process.

[Zelphas]

Gaius is able to keep up with the new pace that Tiberius set, but he chafes at the slower speed all the same. Throughout the three laps, he grumbles internally about the pointlessness of running laps, the idiocy of purely physical exercise when crafting was at hand, the smug superiority of Horatius in telling them that "life isn't fair." Never once does he allow himself to consider that he may be to blame for falling behind. The problem isn't him; when they get to doing things that actually mattered, that actual needed intelligence, he'd be fine.

---

Gaius relaxes as they enter into a classroom. Finally, actual instruction! he thinks to himself, taking a seat.

Let's see... there's Arbitration, Guardians, Legions, Grain, Scrolls, Cursors, and... the one in charge of them all. He twitches slightly, irritated. What was that last one, again?

[Segrain]

The question caught her unprepared. Just being addressed by that name was already unusual enough, even if by now it became clear that this is how people do it in big cities where everyone is not related to everyone else and people are actually divided in huge genses first and only then in families. Yet another reminder how giant everything is in the Empire - just how can it even be managed? That thought actually returned her mind back to the route of asked question. "Offices are branches of the Imperial government...", - slowly started she, not quite certain why was something so simple even asked, - "...that... manage and control Empire within their respective duties...", - even to her, that did not quite sound like the correct answer. Was this supposed to be another lesson in interpreting orders, like the one recently given to Tiberius? Was Instructor's "are" supposed to be understood not literally? He already showed willingness to interrupt his pupils when they speak without permission, so if the literal answer was sufficient, he would probably stop her at that, but if he actually meant more...

Catching the flow of her own words and, to give Horatius no indication of her doubts, raising her voice again, Cornelia continued. "Of which there are seven. The first among them, the Master of Offices, is tasked with Empire as a whole...", - that definition never was quite clear to her, and she remembered her confusion over that name well enough to actually recall the name itself too. For the other six, even if the number was known, she had to dive into her memory - but, for what she has to thank the god again and will probably have to keep doing so every day in the Academy, her recollections of past were as clear as always. Raising her left hand and hiding in under the hair with a usual gesture, girl hurried to memories not too deep. "...and other six are: Office of Grain, tasked with f- with goods' supply", - no visit of its officials to seaside village went without the same old jokes about how fish are not a kind of grain and thus should be out of their jurisdiction, but Instructor would probably not appreciate any jokes on his lessons, - "Office of Legions and Office of Guardians, tasked with maintaining the army and protecting the Emperor", - growing up with two elder brothers, even a girl could never forget those two, - "Office of Scrolls, tasked with academies... like this is...", - that thought was brought not from any memories, but just from looking around in a search for a sign to correct answer. Being in a classroom was an obvious reminder about existence of teachers, but to recall the remaining branches she had to look deeper. Taking a short pause to regain her breath, Cornelia sifted through her memory once again. Now she had seen a small part of it herself, but her grandfather, who knew much more, always liked to remind how great the Empire is - so great that to stay one and whole, it has to maintain... - "Office of... Cursors... tasked with communication...", - but the real greatness is not in the size, but in deeds accomplished; and the great deed of the state is installing law and order on its lands, - "...and the... Office of Arbitration. Tasked with the laws of the Empire."

If Instructor had not stopped her yet, it was probably what he wanted to hear. Or, at least, so Cornelia hoped; it was difficult to understand what they were supposed to do, and Horatius gave no explanations beyond "use your mind". Is that not what everyone, by definition, uses in any kind of school? What else is there to do? For now, she could only stay silent and pray that her answer, if somewhat slow, is what was expected.

For Eidetic Memory and high Intellect, the question is probably trivial, though not necessary in an instant.
It is less trivial to understand whether English "What are <X>s" is supposed to mean "Define '<X>'" or "List all <X>s". I honestly read it as the former at first, but Gaius's thoughts seem to imply the latter.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius kept silent during breakfast, musing over Horatius' "lesson" and trying to come to terms with it: goal accomplished by the end of the meal, as he had to come to terms with much worse things in the past. This time he was caught completely off-guard, but next time he'll just accept it as a part of his training and try again and again, until he'll be doing it right.

So, once finished eating, with a filled stomach and a newfound peace of mind he heads first to the room and then to the classroom, taking a seat in the second row. When Horatius' asks the first question to Cornelia he mentally sighs with relief as, while he did recall the Offices functions, he did not remember most of their offical names: aside from the Offices of Legions and Guardians, he usually referred to them with nicknames (Office of Offices being the most used). All of the names the girl says trigger some variation of an "Ah, yes, that" reaction from his memory, anyway, so on that front he should be relatively prepared should Horatius ask something to him: just in case, he diverts half of his attention to mentally skim through and revise what he knows of Imperial history.

[Arcran]

Servius, unsurprisingly, doesn't speak much during breakfast although, if his team members paid him any notice they might see his eyes rapidly darting about the hall, either in fear or as if he was searching for something. Other than that odd quirk, the boy simply eats, doing his best to get his strength back after that run.



Servius takes a seat in the second row of desks, back completely strait as he sits almost completely still. His hand was already on the chalk, as if he planned to take notes. His hand doesn't move much as Cornelia speaks, save to quickly scribble down "Guardians". Still, he gives Cornelia a curt nod and look of grudging respect as she finishes speaking, obviously impressed that she, at least at the moment, had known more about the positions than he had.

However, as the girl speaks Servius spends far more of his time watching the Instructor's face, trying to get some kind of read on it. The physical exercise had obviously been an opportunity to teach them something through punishment; why should this be any different?

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Lucius wrote down some notes on the offices, wondering if that was what the Instructor was looking for. Based on his admonishing for them to know the Empire thoroughly, it seemed more information about each of the office was better - if he had been asked to answer, he probably would not have known even the simply list, let alone what they were responsible for.

He waited to see if Horatius was satisfied with the answer, or wanted more.

[TooManySecrets]

The Instructor waits for Cornelia to finish. "Correct," he says. "Those are the seven Offices but it was not always like that. To understand the Offices, and to understand your duty, you must go back to the beginning of the Eternal Empire."

The Instructor then starts to speak, telling you of the history of the early Empire, pausing only to take a breath or to write a name or date on the slate board.


The Eternal Empire was founded thousands of years ago. According to tradition, it was founded exactly 2746 years ago — a fact you are all familiar with as this is anno 2746. The official calender of the Eternal Empire started with its own foundation. Indeed, Founding Day is still one of the largest celebrations of the year.

Legend holds that humanity came to these lands from far away, perhaps from far across the treacherous seas. ("Though," the Instructor editorializes, "how much of that is true and how much is legend is still debated among academics") Porta Argenti was the first of the great cities founded by humanity, but in those early days it was barely more than a collection of wooden docks and ramshackle houses. Before the Eternal Empire, there were many kings and tyrants. They ruled their petty kingdoms with an iron fist but their authority and influence rarely extended further than the ruling city and the surrounding villages. Porta Argenti's king was Tarquinius Marcius. Tarquinius had many children and one of them was Lucius Pertinax Marcius.

In those days, many still believed in gods (The Instructor explains the term: "Supposedly great and powerful spirits believed to exist by primitives and savages but, unlike the ancestors, never actually seen") and the people of Porta Argenti believed that Tarquinius was granted his rulership by these beings and, thus, his right to rule was beyond question. One night, however, Pertinax had a strange dream. In this dream, he saw the line of his ancestors calling out to him and they showed him a mound on the plains surrounding the city. Pertinax was so intrigued by this dream that he went to this mound in the dead of night. He found the mound, just as he dreamed, and when he dug it up, he discovered a skeleton and upon the skeleton a necklace that had been owned by Tarquinius's brother, Quintius, the last king. As Pertinax grasped the necklace, the spirits of the ancestors descended out of the night sky glowing brightly. They told Pertinax that Tarquinius had slain his own brother to take the throne and that Pertinax must reveal this treachery to the people.

Even primitive people know that the crime of fratricide is an unnatural crime. When Pertinax exposed his father's murder, Tarquinius was rightfully executed and Pertinax was given the throne. On the night after, Pertinax had another dream. In this dream, his ancestors showed him a vision of humanity united in common cause. This, the ancestors told him, was Pertinax's purpose and that, though he would die long before it was accomplished, he was the only one who could begin this great enterprise.

Pertinax took Porta Argenti's army and taught them to fight together, to fight as a legion. It was these legions that led Pertinax to his many victories over the surrounding kingoms. Pertinax was not only a good commander but a wise ruler, as well. He allowed the lands he conquered to continue to rule themselves, as long as they agreed to follow his laws and pay obedience to him. Many kingdoms, in fact, willingly bowed down to him. This was the start of the Eternal Empire and Pertinax became known as Lucius Pertinax Marcius Augustus Imperator, the first Emperor of the Eternal Empire.

Emperor Pertinax was an inspired ruler but, by the time he had established the Eternal Empire, he was an old man. He knew that his time was short ("Some say that he had another dream of the ancestors, who told him that he was going to die soon," the Instructor adds) so he passed rulership to his one and only child, Aula Pertinax Marcia Augustus Imperator. Emperor Aula Pertinax was said to be even more clever and wise than her father. Certainly, she had an excellent grasp of what was needed to maintain the Empire. It was she who first established the Offices, but she initially only established five of them: Legions, Arbitration, Grain, Scrolls, and Cursors. It was after an attempt on her life by a treacherous former-king that she established the Office of the Guardians.

Aula ruled the Eternal Empire for many years, making it even stronger and more prosperous, and in time passed on the throne to her children. It would be several emperors before the Master of Offices was established.

The Master of Offices was established in response to a great tragedy. The entire Imperial family had been struck down and killed. Though there were still living descendents of Pertinax in other families, the destruction of that particular line of the Imperial dynasty shocked everyone. The attack was committed by savages from outside the Empire while the Imperial family was traveling and it was initially believed that it was the savages who were ultimately responsible. One of the Guardian agents, however, was able to determine that one of the agents, who had supposedly been killed along with the rest of the agents guarding the Imperial family, was in fact still alive. Servia Herennius Canina — the agent who discovered this treachery — tracked down the traitor. Before killing him, the traitor told her shocking information that revealed that members of the other great families had conspired to kill the Imperial family in hopes of putting their preferred candidate on the Imperial throne and, that to do so, they had bribed and controlled members of the six Offices. The savages had been mere puppets, promised gold and treasures for their part in the crime.

When Servia Herennius revealed the extent of the treachery to the Senate, they were shocked. All those accused were rightfully executed. The newly appointed Emperor, Tiberius Fulvius Marcius Augustus, created the Master of Offices to stop such a thing from ever happening again. Emperor Fulvius appointed Servia Herennius as the first Magister of the Master of Offices.

"That is the history of how the Eternal Empire and its Offices came to be, at least a short version of it." It has taken several hours for Instructor Horatius to go over the history. Some of the things he tell you, you already knew but other things are new.

"There is, of course, much more to talk about," the Instructor says. "The differences between how the Offices are run now as compared to when they were initially created, the various wars fought by the early Emperors, and many other things. However, you will learn those all in time. What I want to do now is to ask you all a question: which Office do you think is the most important to the Empire?" He looks around. "Anyone?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana thought about it for a few moments, then raised a hand and if/when acknowledged said, "I think Grain."

[Zelphas]

"Arbitration," Gaius answers immediately. He had sat in silence for the entirety of the lecture, simply absorbing facts. "Without laws, what separates us from the barbarians?"

[Arcran]

Servius sits quietly for a moment, listening to the answers from the others. Grain was an obvious answer, if not effective. What would everybody do if somehow they ran out of food? There would be riots in the streets, battles over the smallest amounts. Arbitration made sense as well, although to a lesser degree. Still, Servius had his own opinion.

"Cursor," he states quickly in a voice barely above a whisper. After all, if they couldn't communicate how could any of the other branches function?

[Hyperbolic sine]

To Tiberius, at first, the answer seemed quite obvious: the Office Master of Offices. Just before answering, though, Horatius' words from the morning strike him: use your mind. Was it another trick question? The Instructor asked for the most important, but...
He ponders for a moment, and in the time it takes for three of his classmates to speak up he reaches a simple but natural conclusion.

"All of them are equally important, for the well-being of the Empire."

[Segrain]

Cornelia was listening to Horatius with attention. Elder tells, children learn - that was familiar enough to comprehend, even if legends of Porta Argenti somewhat differed from what was usually told in her home village. Still, girl was watching the Instructor, and her interest was only growing as his story was progressing from mythological ancestors to recorded history of Empire... that is, until the lecturer decided that his listeners need to be given the definition of who the gods are. Luckily, the rest of senion was probably watching Horatius as attentively as she was, but Cornelia still lowered her head over the deck, long hair concealing expression on her face. Never actually seen? That line was probably added by somebody completely blind.

Of course, she stayed silent and kept her thoughts to herself. It is not students' place to interrupt Instructor with their opinion, that much was already made clear. But even when he actually asked what they think, Cornelia still had nothing that could be actually said in a polite company. And so she stayed quiet, only listening to answers of others.

[TooManySecrets]

"Tiberius Horatius is correct, though his answer doesn't go far enough."

"Every Office is necessary for the Empire to continue. Without Grain, the people starve. Without Arbitration, there is no justice and we descend into savagery. Without Cursors, the Offices cannot work together and react quickly enough. Without Legions, we fall prey to the enemy without. Without Guardians, the Emperor would be vulnerable - and there would be no Empire without the Emperor. Without the Master of Offices, vile corruption spreads quickly. And, of course, without my own Office, the Office of Scrolls, there would be no new agents."

Instructor Horatius's tone is much more conversational. Discussing this, he seems far more like the man you traveled to the Academy with.

"The Offices work together to do what is necessary. There is a reason that there has not been any new offices for over two thousand years and it is because during that time there has been no problem that the seven Offices could not overcome. Remember that. Whatever Office you are assigned to, no matter how you or anyone else might view it, is important for the survival of the Empire."

"Now," he says, "continuing with the lesson, I'll tell you a bit more about the early Emperors."


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

If there's anything that you want your characters to do (such as checking out the library), you'll have some free time after the second lesson of the day (which is after lunch).

If we tried to roleplay every day of the school year, we'd be here forever so I'll be skipping over some stuff and just getting to the important things. So, if there is anything specific you want your characters to do (not just for today), tell me in the OOC thread.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The discussion on the Offices was helpful for Lucius, who had never known much about the Empire - amazingly enough, few folks bothered to teach slaves about the finer machinations of the enlightened kingdom. However, there were a few comments that gave the young boy pause. When the discussion of religion arose, he found himself absently rubbing the small symbol on his neck, a gift from his mother. While not devoted to the old ways, Lucius still did say the occasional prayer, so he thought Horatius' perspective of religion interesting to say the least ... and telling by his description of the primitives and savages that thought it up in the first place.

Lucius was busy writing everything being said down when Horatius asked about which Office was the most powerful. He pondered for a moment, wondering if it would be as logical as the Office of Offices, or something more simple like the Office of Grains. He considered raising his hand, but when Gaius spoke, he froze, fixing the older boy with a stoic gaze. Yes, what indeed? Why is it always the 'civilized' ones that turn this into barbarian bashing?

As it was, he waited for Horatius' answer and wrote down a number of notes to remember the lessons before he moved onto the early Emperors.

Lucius will definitely want to do some studying - he is probably at a distinct disadvantage with regards to education and will endeavor to shore up his lack of knowledge with numerous trips to the library.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Maybe his answer didn't go far enough, but, if being correct meant that he was starting to grasp the mindset Horatius wanted them to have, it was already an achievement; satisfied, Tiberius listened quietly to the rest of the lesson, trying to engrave in his memory the most salient points. That said, ancient history isn't exactly an interesting subject, so he welcomes with relief the break that lunch brings about. He mentions going to the library once they have some free time, activity in which apparently each member of his senion has some interest in given that at the end it seems they are all going: so, at te end of the second lesson, Tiberius approaches the Instructor to ask for directions and - assuming his query is answered - head there after thanking him and taking his leave.

Once he arrives, he will start searching the shelves, looking for books on aircrafting that look interesting and, mainly, for those that - judging from the title - could hood relevant informations on the Wasting Madness.

[Zelphas]

Gaius suppresses an urge to roll his eyes as Tiberius is named correct. Of Course, all offices are important. That wasn't the question.

Nevertheless, he listens attentively to the rest of the lessons, inwardly itching to get out and start doing his own research. He plans to ask the Instructor for directions to the library, but Tiberius beats him to it, so he simply listens as the directions are given and heads quickly to the library.

Once there, Gaius has two specific topics in mind: advanced applications of firecrafting, and law records of kidnappings and missing infants among nobility and citizenry from eight to twelve years ago.

If it works to roll this, Investigation for the two topics: [roll0]

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

After class, when the others mentioned they were headed to the library, Lucius followed silently. As a couple broke off to research their own topics, he headed to the historical archives, interested in the history and organization of the Empire. He figured there would be plenty of lessons on crafting later - it seemed right now the focus was on the foundation of their knowledge and he did not want to be at a loss when asked a question about the Empire. He would always be more interested when those histories dealt with outside forces (i.e., the 'barbarians') and, to a lesser extent, religious texts.

Basic study to get up to speed ...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana was actually kind of surprised that the Instructor considered the question to have a "correct" answer at all (even if it was VIII: All of the Above). To her, the interesting part of it was seeing what the others felt was most important. That Gaius seemed to believe in justice as an ideal strongly enough for its office to be most valuable in his mind. And she certainly wouldn't have guessed the quiet Servius to place such value in the office of communication! She wondered if Tiberius' answer said something about how he saw the world, seeing enough value in all of them that he was unwilling to set one above the others, or if he had just tried to find the answer he felt most likely to match the Instructor's.

Regardless, she listened to the rest of the lecture attentively, taking notes the whole while, occasionally quick-scribbling her own thoughts in the margins. She wondered if maybe a precise enough air or even watercrafting to dictate notes with might be a viable thing to learn; her wrist was getting sore by the end of the lecture. She happily joined the excursion to the library.

When they got there, Elana just kinda wandered around, browsing the book titles, occasionally cracking one open to skim a few pages before putting it back. She didn't have anything particular she wanted to research at the moment, but getting a general feel for what books the library had available would be good. Although after her experience last night, books regarding spirits proved statistically more likely to get a skim when she spotted them. If any of the others mentioned the sort of books they were looking for, she'd keep an eye out for them as well. Elana was nothing if not helpful.

[Arcran]

Servius mentally kicks himself. Of course the answer would be that they were all equally important! Servius was still fairly confident in his own answer; without the other branches somebody could step up to fill the slack but without communication all the branches would instantly be put into turmoil. Still, it wasn't like Horatious would hold it against them, right?

As the group makes their way to the library, Servius instantly goes on the prowl for some kind of advanced earthcrafting technique book. The sickly boy focuses on techniques that, while not particularly impressive from a raw power perspective, require a high degree of control over the earth to pull off.

[Segrain]

For the rest of the lesson, Cornelia listened attentively and took notes - even for somebody with memory as deep as hers writing things down was a significant assistance. Understanding that, she could not avoid following the rest of the senion on their path to the library... yes, it was entirely out of conscious pursue of additional knowledge and most certainly not because she did not know what to do and was afraid to get lost, be she to stay on her own while everybody else does something important. Besides, it actually was important to learn, Instructor could not tell them everything that they needed to know with what limited time they had... and so, having thus persuaded herself, girl entered the library with the same thirst for new knowledge that did not leave her from the city's gates.

And library did not disappoint her. Most of others seemed to already knew what they were going to seek, so, despite her initial reaction to seeing many books in one place, it was probably a good idea to start at something specific, rather than trying to understand everything at once. Having no better ideas, but unwilling to annoy somebody else by constant following, Cornelia focused on the single thought that occupied her mind since the start of the lesson. Instructor said that at the time of Porta Argenti's founding people of what was yet to become the Empire still believed in gods... so how could it happen that they do so no longer? Did something happen? What were their gods, anyway? It was unlikely that nonbelievers would keep any books on things that they refused, but perhaps somewhere in the history books something is mentioned...

To her surprise, in search for a fitting book Cornelia found herself in a company of Lucius, but decided to not distract the quiet boy from his studies.

[TooManySecrets]

Unfortunately, there's going to be a bit of a disconnect between people's description of the library in their posts and how I'm going to describe. Don't change your posts (unless you really really really want to; you don't get any extra credit for doing so). The reason why is because I'm trying to make the Eternal Empire seem like a different but still familiar culture. I'm doing the library in the Roman style, which is different from how we're accustomed to it.
Most of the students around the corridors you pass are much older than you. There are some around your age, but very few and you feel a bit out of place.

The library is near the center of the Academy. It's entrance is a marble arch with silver filigree. The intricate traceries almost reminds you of flowers or vines. At the top of the arch, there is a sentence chiseled into the stone. You can't read it; it's written in Old Imperial.

Through the arch, you enter the library proper. There are rows of upright reading desks, both for codices and scrolls. There is also some more casual reading areas with some comfortable lounges. The lighting in here is quite good — wide windows have their shutters pulled back to look at the atrium outside. In the atrium, there are more desks and lounges on paths through a garden of short plants. The atrium has an overhang around it all, supported by chiseled marble columns. Near the entrance arch is a working desk, at which sits a student. Along one wall is a number of open arches that lead into small rooms with reading desks; private reading rooms, you assume. Across the atrium, on the opposite wall, is a number of plastered doors that look like they have some words neatly written on them in red paint (though the writing is much too small to read from where you are).

All but one of the students here are wearing necklaces. Instructor Horatius had mentioned in passing during the lesson that students of 2nd year or later wear the necklaces to show which crafts they are proficient in.

Seeing your slightly bewildered looks, the student at the desk smiles and gets up. "Greetings. New students, yes?" he says. He's wearing a necklace with blue and black beads on it, as well as an abstract symbol of a scroll in brass. That would mean that this student is at least a 3rd year, having already been initiated into the Office of Scrolls.

He introduces himself as Manius Curtius (red hair, pale skin) and explains a bit about the library. The area you're in right now, he tells you, is the reading room. As is usual with most libraries, the scrolls and codices are kept in storage rooms. "You'll find the stacks in those rooms over there." He points to the doors at the far side of the atrium. "If you're looking for something in particular, I'd be happy to get the works you need. You're welcome to search on your own. At least in the non-restricted sections, of course."

So, I know you guys have already written a bit about what your characters are interested in finding. However, there's a (minor) decision to make here: do you want to get Curtius's help or not? Some of your characters (such as Zelphas's) might want to keep what they're looking for a secret, or be at least a bit discreet. And, of course, if what you're looking for is in the restricted sections and you ask Curtius about it and then later a codex in the restricted section, shall we say, "disappears mysteriously", that would probably be a Bad ThingTM. 'Course, Curtius might be able to find what you need quicker and help point you to areas you hadn't considered. Your choice. You don't have to write up a full in-character post, either, to make your choice. Saying in the OOC "I ask him for help" or "I don't ask him for help" would certainly be sufficient.

[TooManySecrets]

Everyone looking for books on their own:

Wasting no time, you go to the other side of the atrium. The doors leading to the storage rooms are all marked. Most with numbers, though some have an R (for restricted?) before the number. You pick a numbered door more or less at random and go inside.

The storage room is almost like a warehouse, but where in a warehouse the shelves would be lined with crates here there are codices. Shelves and shelves of them. The storage room goes back quite a way. After some random browsing, you figure that the the books are arranged by subject matter. History, philosophy, crafting, and others.

Gaius:

You can't find anything to do with kidnapped children or a record of any other crimes, for that matter. Wherever those are kept, they're not here.

You find the section dealing with crafting and from there find the firecrafting section. You look through the codices and scrolls but they all seem so simple. At a glance, nothing that your "parents" hadn't already talked about ("View the flame in your mind and hold it still, then release it.") and certainly nothing worth your talents. You start to worry that any worthwhile is kept in the restricted sections and then your eye catches a codex that looks different from the others. It's older, for one thing; the leather cover and binding almost seems worn away. On the cover is a single stylized ball of fire. The pages are made out of vellum. The title page simply says Ｃｏｄｅｘ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ｓａｃｒｅｄ Ｆｉｒｅ. No author is listed. You flip it open to a few random pages:

...at which point the subject quickly expired. This result suggests that it is only the Human mind through which the Craft may flow. Dissection of the subject and other animals showed the sacred fire had burned through the rete mirabile. The model of the Human Craft structure is as follows...

...The sacred fire is the manifestation of Human Will through four-folds onto a three-fold point...

...movement of motes of fire through the circle suggest that they can find sustenance. Once the Token has been set and the words given to call forth the Fire, it was as I believed would happen. Taking our current conception of energy and movement it can be considered that what is seen is only a portion of a larger whole...

...Stand facing North with feet together, left hand at your side and right arm extended and centered with thumb out. Trace a banishing Fire Hexagram (red)...
Whatever the codex is saying will take more study, but it seems to be describing some advance techniques for using crafting (and specifically firecrafting). It certainly seems more advanced than the other books. Was this from the restricted section and misplaced here?

Cornelia:

You figure that if there is anything about the religion of the early Empire, it will be in the history section. After all, even if the old gods of the Empire are no longer worshiped, there must be some record of them, right?

Though there are various history codices dealing with the start of the Eternal Empire, most of them are a bit above your head and very few of them deal with religion. Here and there you find references to those old gods, but nothing extensive — not even the condemnation that you expected, except in very general terms. There are references to other codices that seem like they would have more information, but you can't find them. Maybe they're in the restricted section?

I'll leave it up to you on whether you overhear what Lucius is looking for.

Most of the books that you do find are similar to Commentaries on the Non-Civilized Races, excerpts below.

Elana:

You spend your time browsing codices, checking here and there for anything that catches your interest. The library covers many topics but (as one might expect) only the topics that would be relevant to an academic setting.

You find a few books dealing specifically with spirits. Since you've never had much experience with them before, you select what you think might be the most basic codex, Tiberia Laelius Aculeo's Spirits and Shadows. Have to start somewhere.

...Spirits are not the ancestors. They are the shadows left behind by the ancestors. Just as the body is left behind when a person leaves this world, so too is the spirit left behind. The ancestors are eternally alive, but spirits are dead things with no real mind, driven only by need and memory...

...Many primitive peoples believed that spirits were omens and portents of great and terrible things to come. While in this enlightened age we knew this is not necessarily true, that does mean that one should ignore the spirit world. Spirits posses most of the memories of the deceased, though how much varies, so communication with the spirits can make clear many things...

...The greatest danger is if the crafter opens themselves entirely to the spirit. On some level, the spirits know that they have lost something and some of them desire to regain what they once had. Even a benign spirit can cause much damage unintentionally...

Tiberius:

You find the aircraft section easily enough, but finding information on the Wasting Madness is more difficult. You finally find some works describing it in the philosophy section.

The first is a scholarly work from Valgius Naso, a healer, that seems part history and also personal observation.

The second ... you don't know if you want to read it. It's a scroll and, from a quick glance, it seems to have been written by somebody afflicted by the dread disease. The handwriting is mostly cramped, except where it's suddenly large and wild. There seems to be no paragraphs. It's just one long continuous stream of writing. Reading it might give you some insight into the disease but it might also open old wounds of your mother's death.

...To many, the ability to craft and the Wasting Madness go hand in hand. My own studies have done nothing to disprove that, but I hope one day to find out for sure...

...The most obvious sign of the Wasting Madness is the blackening of the veins underneath the skin. To my knowledge, no other disease has such a symptom. There are other symptoms of the Wasting Madness — feverish symptoms, endless shivering, almost leprosy-like shriveling, and, of course, madness — but all of these symptoms also show up in other diseases. Therefore, I have focused my studies on those with this particular "black blood". Unfortunately, since not every victim of the dread disease shows this particular symptom, some of my conclusions may be unsound...

...She stops in front of the mirror and begins to comb her hair. She does not seem to notice that most of her hair has already fallen off nor that by combing she is damaging what hair she has left. It comes out in clumps, leaving behind bleeding wounds. The sores on her face have not healed properly. She hums to herself a traditional song of her village...

Lucius and Servius:

While the others go looking on your own, you both explain to Curtius what you want. "No problem. The storage area is divided into different sections. Each of the doors" - he points across the atrium - "has a number on it, which tells you which subjects are close to the door. The non-restricted doors all open up to the same large room, but the restricted doors each have their own room. Now, I'm sorry, but what is in the restricted sections is itself, well, restricted. We don't want people just poking around in there. I'll go and see what we have available on the subjects you asked about. If you'll excuse me?"

It doesn't take Curtius long to return. He's carrying a number of codices and a scroll. "Maro, I found for you Grattius Patavinus's Commentaries on the Non-Civilized Races. It deals with the early tribes encountered by the Eternal Empire when it first expanded it's territory. I also have this scroll describing some of the history of the Order of the Iron Branch. It's short but maybe it will be a good starting point."

"Vibius, this codex — Bones of the Earth — should help you with your study of earthcrafting. I also recommend this, Marca Antistius Pollio's Foundation. I don't have any talent with earthcrafting myself, but I found her description of it to be very useful when I was practicing my aethercrafting on earthcrafters. Perhaps it will help you as well?"

...It is a mistake, I believe, to view the non-civilized races as idiots or fools, as is the common view of many of my contemporaries. They are misguided, surely, but that is merely because they do not have the same luxuries that we in the Eternal Empire take for granted and thus they cannot understand their own low station. If anything, my study of these "tribes" has made me more grateful of my place as a citizen. It is our duty to help bring civilization to these peoples...

...The tribe of Leiden was one of the few in the area that welcomed the Eternal Empire. This was good news for Flavius's Legion, as the crafters of Leiden were skilled (if unsophisticated) and were quite knowledgeable of the surrounding area. With that skill and knowledge the combined forces of the Legion and the tribal warriors, Flavius was able to stamp out remaining resistance among the other tribes. The resisting tribes were enslaved for a period of no less than forty years. The tribe of Leiden was granted the status of freemen while their former chieftain was granted citizenship...

...To be an earthcrafter, you must know the earth. The earth is strength and support. Deep below the surface, it is cool during the summer and warm during the winter. It is the source of life for plants. It is the foundation of all human life...

...at this point, you should be able to feel the pulses as they pass through the loose dirt. If you are not able to feel anything, then you must try again with the stone. As previously stated, the rigid structure of stone makes the pulse much easier to feel. If the pulse seems to be coming in too quickly, then you must go through the relaxation exercise again — your own heart is interfering with your ability to hear the pulse...



Just a reminder (in case it wasn't explained well) but while the non-restricted section has multiple doors, they all lead to the same room. It's not immediately obvious (the stacks hide the doors from each other just because they're so cramped). If you want your characters to bump into each other, they can.

[Zelphas]

Gaius stares at the ancient codex in his hands, immediately trying to figure out how to smuggle this treasure out without being discovered. For not the first time, he curses his scrawny frame; any attempt to hide the script on his person would be spotted immediately. Must all codices stay in the Library? Maybe I should have asked Curtius some things... well, nothing to be done about that now, he thinks, opening the Codex of the Sacred Fire at the beginning and starting to read.

Gaius skims each page in a matter of a few seconds, using an old speed-reading trick he learned while perusing the libraries of nobles before coming here. He might not be reading very much, but later on he could picture the page in his mind and read the words at his leisure..in theory, at least.

Ten minutes later (provided he wasn't disturbed), Gaius grabs a few codices and scrolls at random and begins wandering the library, stopping at every non-restricted room to swipe a few more articles to add to the growing pile in his arms. He acts the part of the overzealous first-year, picking up a wide variety of subjects in a naive belief that he could read them all and absorb all the knowledge. While this charade is occurring, Gaius' eyes are always moving, looking for windows, especially those with bushes or shrubbery beneath them.

Finally, Gaius walks up to Curtius, a small mountain of codices, scrolls, and other writings towering over the small boy. He sets the pile down, panting. "Excuse me, Curtius, but are we allowed to bring codices and scripts back to our dorms to look over?" he says with a sheepish smile. "I might have gotten a little over my head here," he jokes, patting the pile. The Codex of Sacred Fire is not among the amassed works; it is right back where Gaius found it, though hidden perhaps a bit more thoroughly by the newer, basic firecrafting codices.

I'm using Gaius' Eidetic Memory to 'read' the Codex of Sacred Fire; it's up to TooManySecrets how much Gaius retains.

Deception to look like a naive little first-year, in over his head: [roll0]

Perception to find a window with some nice concealing shrubbery underneath: [roll1]

Persuasion to get in Curtius' good graces: [roll2]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana kept about her random rummaging. She didn't actually read much, but familiarized herself with the sorts of books in the different stacks. The way she figured it, the best thing to do early was get an idea where to find what, so when she needed to research something, she'd have half a clue where to look. Sure, she could have asked Curtis, but she expected that as the school year went on the time that he and students like him would have to assist the lower years in finding books would both diminish rapidly and be divided more heavily.

Her eyes did grow just a little wider each time she passed by Gaius and saw the growing mound of books he was collecting. Wow... It made her wonder if she was doing it wrong.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tiberius stared at the scroll. Naso's work contained useful informations, but it hadn't been particularly enlightening - as expected from something available to all the students: this one, though, was looking somehow more promising, due to its particular nature.

Maybe this should really belong to the restricted section, but mistakenly ended up here?

Wishful thinking, probably, but even so he was torn on what to do: being at the same time drawn to and unnerved by the scroll, he kept staring at it for quite some time (it was actually only a couple of minutes, but to him it felt like hours) while struggling internally before finally reaching a decision. He swore that he would have found the cause of the Wasting Madness: was he really going to falter and pull back at the first hurdle? Was he going to fail his mother just because he didn't want to hurt himself? Ridiculous. His ancestors were watching him. She was watching him. What were a few nightmares in comparison?

With newfound resolve, Tiberius pulls the scroll out of the shelf and starts reading while trying to keep his sorrowful memories sealed away: almost fighting windmills, despite his efforts, because - even though he does manage to finish the whole document - should someone bump into him it is clear that he is deeply unsettled by what he's reading and, especially towards the end, it is also apparent that he's stubbornly forcing himself.

[Arcran]

Servius looks at Foundation, a perplexed look on his face. Wasn't feeling the earth what he was already doing? Almost unconsciously, Servius mutters those all-too-familiar words, triggering his able to feel through the ground. It certainly wasn't reaching down to where the earth was hot and cold, that much was certain. If the book was anything to go by, he had a lot of work left to go but he already knew that, didn't he?

Servius focuses heavily on the book, reading page after page as he focuses intently on absorbing as much information on the finer techniques of earthcrafting. A small part of him considers practicing the techniques as he goes, but he could do that anywhere, right? The books were stuck here, at least for now.

If you don't want to write more excerpts, let me know and I'll find something else to do! I know they're probably a good amount of work.

[Segrain]

Of course, it was going to take some time to get used to the library system. Cornelia did not expect to find anything especially notable on the very first day. But patience was, without any doubt, a virtue, and she was going to continue her search. Going into the places where students were specifically forbidden to be without permission was, of course, not the best idea, but just what was easily available was already enough to occupy her for long. References to other books were interesting not because of what they promised elsewhere - just their existence was sufficient in itself. At least some of those mentioned works should had names of their authors mentioned too; at least some of those authors probably wrote something not restricted too. Of course, it was not unlikely that this reasoning was going to simply send so back in circles to the very same texts whence she started, but repetition of the same material could not hurt either. Thinking so, Cornelia broadened her search somewhat: if Instructor decided that they should learn about the founding of the Empire and the first Emperors, then it was enough reading for her even if there was no personal interest involved. After all, being a student meant having her duties, and she was not going to put any of her own questions above them.

Whenever Cornelia went to pick up a new scroll or return the one that she finished reading, she tried to keep an eye on others from her senion. Partially it was just to not miss the time when they should be leaving the library for what the rest of the day still had for them... not that it was all that important, of course, and she most certainly had other reasons too. Such as... of course, watching whither others go should help further understanding how the storage area is organised. And it worked backwards, too: knowing what kinds of books were others seeking only helped understand them better. And they are supposed to get used to each other, right?

Some people could say that watching each other read was probably not the best way to start a friendship, even for students. Of course, Cornelia was not one of those people.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The library was an interesting place. Lucius had never seen such a large collection of scrolls and codices in his life - not surprising given his past, but still overwhelming in its own way. He nodded his thanks to the older student and found a seat to sit and read the Commentaries thoroughly. It stilled contained those trace predjudices he expected, but it was at least a more honest assessment of the outside races and what separated them from the Empire. He shook his head slightly at the idea that the people were misguided because they didn't have the luxuries the Empire enjoyed and thus didn't know their station ... you might as well say a man didn't understand how poor he was simply because he was penniless.

It took a bit to read through, but afterwards, he was still eager to learn more. He reviewed the scroll on the Order of the Iron Branch, curious if this was a former office, or something more. Once he was finished there, he felt he had learned enough about the layout of the library to explore a bit on his own. Since he still was concerned about his own ignorance, he headed towards the history 'section' perusing for anything that discussed orders or more on the outside races.
Sorry for the delay - harsh work week. Continuing to look for now. Unless we have a deadline and somewhere to be?

[TooManySecrets]

Gaius:

"I'm sorry," Curtius says, "but all materials from the library must remain here, unless given written specific permission from your Instructor." He gives you an appraising look-over. "If there's only one or two things that you want to look at, I can make sure that they're easily available to you when you come back."

Even speed-reading the book, it's going to take a long time (a few hours at least) in order to properly memorize the codex. With ten minutes, at best you'll only get a vague impression.

Tiberius:

...My brother had this disease. They say that it isn't inherited. They say that it is a not a bloodline curse. They say many things. I know what I know. This disease is in the blood. It is in my blood. It was in my brother's blood. We share blood so why shouldn't we share this disease?...

...I saw a spider run over his face. He didn't see but I saw it. It was clearly there, close enough that I could touch it, but when I reached for it he pulled back. They locked me in the room for that again but I was only trying to stop the spider...

...The woman in white passed my window again. It is the third day in the row that she has passed beneath my window. What if I'm not sick? What if they're doing this to me? They can get into my head with crafting.

...I can see it in my face now. Black veins. Running under the skin. Running like a river. I smashed the mirror. It was wrong. Every time I looked, I saw a stranger's face. This isn't happening to me. I don't deserve this...

...Tod█y, there was █ ████ ██a██ ███ that █████. It must be ██████ ██ f█ll ██████ No I have to keep it secret. Can't write it down. Can't even think it. They'll hear me...

...A faceless man visited me today. He said he was my son but I knew that he lied. He told me that soon I would come to the right size. I tore the flesh from his face and forced him to tell the truth. He told me the secret of the affliction and how it wanders through the air like the effluvia expelled through a noxious corpse. He went away without thanking me...

...The woman in white lives in the walls. I've heard her during the night. Heard her limbs uncurl. She is a beast of purple and violet and her long limbs become entangled. Her number is 71. She keeps me awake at night so that I can't get better...

...Was any of it ever real? I thought I had a son but I can't remember his face. I remember getting married but not to whom. I don't remember my childhood. There's a field somewhere. I see the black rivers twisting like snakes underneath the skin. Is there anything left of me in this body?...

[After a certain point, the text becomes completely unintelligible. The writing trails off into wispy symbols that seem like only the barest suggestion of letters and words.]
The text never mentions any names specific enough to identify a person exclusively nor does the writer ever name themselves. There is not enough details to know where or when it was written.

Hyperbolic sine, add to your character's Complications:

Through the Eyes of the Wasting Madness [Story]: Read the personal writings of a woman afflicted by the Wasting Madness.

[Zelphas]

Gaius:

"I'm sorry," Curtius says, "but all materials from the library must remain here, unless given written specific permission from your Instructor." He gives you an appraising look-over. "If there's only one or two things that you want to look at, I can make sure that they're easily available to you when you come back."

Even speed-reading the book, it's going to take a long time (a few hours at least) in order to properly memorize the codex. With ten minutes, at best you'll only get a vague impression.


Gaius looks disappointed--is disappointed--but sighs and nods, hefting the pile back into his arms with a grunt of effort. "I'd better put all of this back, then. There was a scroll or two on Watercrafting I thought I could take a look at, and a codex on the Office of Arbitration--I'd like to be assigned there, once I'm old enough," he replies, playing up the young, inexperienced, but earnest Academy first-year for all it was worth. "Thank you for letting me know; I'll tell you their names once I'm done getting all this back, if that's all right."

It doesn't take too much time to get the scrolls and codices back in place--Gaius had been careful to remember where he had taken the scrolls from, so that he could put them back again. He was careful to leave the Firecrafting room for last, and after placing the codices back there, he drew out The Codex of the Sacred Flame and picked up where he left off, reading much more carefully now in order to discern a little bit more information for immediate use.

Once his senion's break time was nearly up, Gaius carefully hid the codex in a section bordering the firecrafting texts--far enough away that a search might miss it, but close enough that it could be seen as simply being misplaced if found. He then walked up to Curtius and dutifully gave him the names of a scroll on basic watercrafgting and a codex outlining the tenets of the Office of Arbitration. Watercrafting did seem interesting, and going into the Office of Arbitration would be the best way to track down any kidnappings, he thought to himself, waiting for the rest of his senion to join him at the library doors.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana browsed around until she saw people heading to the exit, meeting back up with the group. Once they had all gathered she asked, "You guys all find what you were looking for?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

Once determined that from a certain point onwards the text is unintelligible, Tiberius rolls the scroll up and, with slightly trembling hands, puts it back under a pile of other scrolls and codices. He was definitely going to have some nightmares that night, but that was not what preoccupied him: the disquieting thing was that the scroll mentioned the disease as one that "wanders through the air". Sure, they could just be the ramblings of a madman, but...

He spends the rest of the senion's stay flipping through books about aircrafting, though at the end he ends up learning almost nothing new: partly due to the fact that his family's library was very well stocked on that subject (and thus he already knows a good chunk of what is within the reach of his understanding and capabilities), but mostly due to his mind being elsewere - something that clearly shows from the distracted "Hmm? Oh, yes, I did, I did." he answers Elana with.

[Arcran]

Servius slowly sets down his pile of books as the others begin to file out, thinking over some of the things he had read. While it hadn't been quite what he'd been looking for it had certainly been enlightening and, at the very least, had given him a few ideas for possible techniques to try to figure out. As he heads out he nods towards Curtius, thankful for his help.

"In a way," the sickly boy says in response to Elana, happy with what he had found. "You?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Mmhmm. I mean, I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, but I think I pretty much figured out my way around, so that's good," she clarified.

[Zelphas]

Gaius nods abstractedly in response to Elana's question and the others' answers. "I found something to start on, at least," he half-speaks, half-murmurs.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

After having read the two documents he found, Lucius was careful to return them to their rightful places. Once he was done, he started to look for more topics in the historical section, but noticed his classmates slowly gathering near the entrance to make their way back. To Elana's question, he shrugged lightly. "We learned the layout, so I suppose so. Time will tell." Now he wondered what the rest of their schedule was supposed to entail ... and how they would proceed from today onward.

[Segrain]

"More or less the same...", - Cornelia nodded to Elana, her thoughts still walking through the library. It was going to take much more than a single visit to achieve anything, but everything had to start small.

[TooManySecrets]

The next day...

You wake up at dawn break and make your way to the gymnasium. The Instructor is already waiting, seemingly not phased by the early hour nor by the morning chill in the air.

"You will do the same thing we did yesterday," he says, without any preamble. "Three laps around the gymnasium. Tiberius Horatius will lead and set the pace. I hope that today will go better. When you are ready, Horatius."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Well, that much was expected. Tiberius didn't sleep well - nightmares about your mother going insane and dying aren't exactly restful - so he would have set a slower pace regardless, but this time he'll make sure to not leave anyone behind.

He replies with a flat "Yes, Instructor.", then does some warming-up exercise and - when everyone is ready - takes the lead and starts running the three laps of doom, looking behind at regular intervals to make sure everybody can keep the pace (mainly checking on Gaius and Elana, since the others already managed to keep up the day before).

Set initially to DC 10, adjusting if someone rolls lower.
Athletics Routine Check: 10+0=10.

[Quellian-dyrae]

The pace was actually still a bit faster than Elana could match comfortably - simple fact was she wasn't a strong runner. But unlike last time, it wasn't so tough that she didn't feel like she could match it with some effort, and after the embarrassment of yesterday, she didn't want to fall behind again. Paying close attention to where she put her feet, she took off in a valiant effort to keep the pace.

Here's the thing about trying to run at a high speed while paying really close attention to where every step was landing. All that focus on what the ground looked like? Kinda distracted from actually moving smoothly. And when going faster than you normally would, distraction was a bad thing. She ran on fine until they got to the first curve in the track, and as she was turning into it, tripped up and came down hard on the same leg she had sprained the day before. There was a small but sharp cracking sound as she landed that was immediately followed by a high cry of pain.

If anyone showed concern her immediate response was to wave them off and start pushing herself to her feet, but as soon as she took another step her leg folded on her and she collapsed again with a whimper, tears falling from her eyes despite her brain's absolute insistence that You aren't going to cry. Don't you dare cry.

Current Status: 1 Bruise, Hindered. Seems appropriate.

[Hyperbolic sine]

It seemed everyone was managing to keep up the pace, this time.
Since everyone else can meet the DC as Routine.
Well, until the first curve at least. Tiberius wasn't looking back in that trait, for obvious reasons, so at first he didn't notice Elana falling: the cry of pain, however, didn't require eyes to be heard. He immediatly stops in his tracks, turns back and quickly reaches the injured girl with a worried expression.

"Hey, are you hurt?" he asks, before being promptly waved off. Good thing he didn't trust her, though, because when she collapses again he's near enough to catch her before she falls. "You know...to me, this seems like being hurt. Lie down, please."

What now? She'd need a healer...

A healer? Wait, we've got two watercrafters!

"Lucius, Cornelia!" he calls out. "Do you know a crafting to heal injuries?"

He's not sure stopping the run was what Horatius wanted them to do, but...Who cares, I'll deal with that later. She's hurt.

[Zelphas]

Gaius is determined this time to keep up the pace, so when they begin running, he keeps right up with the other people in his senion...

..right up until Elana hurts herself on the first curve. Gaius hesitates debating between keeping up the pace and stopping to help Elana. His dilemma is solved by Tiberius turning towards Elana himself. Instructor Horatius did say that he sets the pace, Gaius thinks with an inward smirk, his face morphing into a look of concern as he moves towards Elana as well.

[Arcran]

Servius does his best to run along with the others, pushing himself to make the same pace as the others. Of course, when that pace is adjusted due to Elana falling over Servius adjusts as well, slowing to stand slightly behind the others as they gather around Elana, not entirely sure what to do at this point.

Just taking the routine check here. Don't need two people tripping. :smallredface:

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Following the pace with a little effort, Lucius paused at Elana's accident, already on his way over with the others when Tiberius called him. Glancing at Cornelia, he shook his head. "I ... I do not know how to do that." Jogging absently in place, he waited to see what would happen next ...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana shakily followed Tiberius's instruction, lying down and getting her weight off the leg, turning her head away from the others as they gathered, the shame and the pain waging a bitter war for dominance in her thoughts.

[Segrain]

Once again Cornelia had found herself following right after Tiberius. His pace was easy enough to keep, and even being not entirely awake yet did not worsen her mood; if anything, running was a good way to get rid of any sleep.
Of course, it only was true for somebody who could run easily. Remembering what happened last day, Cornelia tried to keep an eye on those who were less used to such exercises, but this time everybody stopped before she could say anything. Making her way to Elana through boys, girl could only frown at them. Sure, even being a watercrafter had not necessarily made somebody a healer, but had neither of them all ever hurt a leg?
"Let me take a look", - sitting down next to lying girl, Cornelia softly touched her leg, careful to at least not make it any worse. - "Did you break it?"
The tone of her voice hopefully suggested that it is the worst case and unlikely to happen, but she actually was not so sure. She occasionally had to deal with simple injuries before, but something serious required an adult... and the only available adult was equally likely to scold them for being unable to deal with their problems on their own and for not calling him as soon as something happened. But there was only one way to learn, and it had to happen earlier or later.
"Somebody hold her still while I am trying to help...", - Cornelia raised her eyes on boys, not sure whom of them to ask, and glanced at their teacher. - "And somebody might have to explain to Instructor why are we not running. And maybe ask him what to do, it can take quite long for me..."
The last phrase she uttered in a lowered voice. It was unlikely that Elana could not hear it, but there was no reason to worry her more than necessary.

Athletics as routine check.
Treatment: Int +6, ranks +6, no tools -5 for total +7.
If applicable, diagnosis (DC 10): [roll0].
Does houserule for treating Afflictions apply to condition? If so, [roll1].
Healing takes long, not declaring it yet in case if Instructor intervenes.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"You're right...I'll go get him as fast as I can. Celeritas." Tiberius' tunic starts fluttering as if because of a strong wind, and turning on his heels the boy quickly departs running to search for Instructor Horatius, leaving a small cloud of dust behind him.

Aircrafting Array Status:
2: AGL +1
12: Sirocco Celerity (Speed 3)
14/14

Also, Athletics Check [roll0] to increase to Speed 4. Speed 4 it is.

[TooManySecrets]

You don't need to find the Instructor. He's still behind the group. I was just slow at replying.

The Instructor has been quiet so far, but anyone who has looked his way behind the group would see him watching. His face is unreadable. Now, he comes walking over and leans down next to Elana and Cornelia. "Hold still for a bit," he says, not unkindly. He puts his hand on Elana's shoulder and his eyes go distant for a moment.

You can feel your blood swirl. It's a strange sensation but one you've felt before. Instructor Horatius is using watercraft assess your health.
Elana will be okay. Nothing is broken and, while she might get a nasty bruise, she should be up and walking again in an hour at most as long as she doesn't do something dumb (like trying to keep running).
"You'll be fine," he whispers to Elana. "Just wait here a moment."
Having finished, the Instructor stands up and turns to address Tiberius Horatius. "You are the one who is in charge. I've seen what you've attempted to do so far, but pretend for a moment that I wasn't here and that you weren't at the Academy. Somebody that you are responsible for -" he points at Elana "- has been injured. What would you do?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"I..." Tiberius briefly pauses to think. "...I suppose it depends. If I had a healer with me, I'd fly the group to somewhere safe and let her take over; otherwise, I'd either fly the group to a healer or a healer to the group. I mean, I don't have any knowledge of how to treat wounds." he answers sincerely, then hurriedly adds "Yet.". He had the feeling the Instructor wouldn't be satisfied with that answer, but, hey, you can't expect someone used to have people do things for him to suddenly become able to deal with such things all by himself.

"Anyway, how...how is she? Will she be fine?" he asks, worried by not having been able to clearly hear whatever it was that Horatius said to the girls. He can't help but to feel a little guilty, since he was leading after all.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana nodded, taking a few long breaths and remaining still and quiet.

[TooManySecrets]

"Your concern does you credit, Horatius," the Instructor says, "but I want you to look at me. Don't look at them. Look at me."

When he has your attention, he continues. "Every agent must be prepared to lead, whether to direct fellow agents or other subjects of the Empire. Your decision will impact the lives of more than just yourself. Sometimes you will not have the luxury of a nearby healer nor the luxury of time to find one. So, tell me truthfully, would you be willing to do what is necessary to complete your assigned mission, if it meant leaving behind an injured person?"

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Hearing what the instructor said to Elana, Lucius realized this would be another learning opportunity. He remained silent, remembering how the Instructor had treated Elana when she spoke up last time. However, as he listened to the interchange, he realized the flaw he had been operating under (and perhaps the others as well) - he kept thinking of the Academy as primarily a school to learn the intricacies of crafting with follow-on service as an Agent to the Empire in one of the Offices; however, the Instructor's response made it seem they were being trained as Agents first and foremost, and their education in history, physical training, and even crafting, were only to make them more efficient Agents.

With that realization, he felt he understood the purpose and intent of the Instructor's questions a little better. However, since the question was address to Tiberius, he kept silent ... least he get them all in trouble for impertinence. "I ... I do not know how to do that."

[Hyperbolic sine]

Horatius dodged the question...not exactly a good sign. However, Tiberius tries to ignore his worries and forces himself to fully focus on the Instructor - who finally asks a direct question.

So that's what he wanted to know.

The expression on his face shifts from one of worry to one of deep thinking and gloom, as he lowers his head and tries to virtually put himself in that situation: would he really be able to leave someone behind? Possibly to die? What if it was "sacrifice one to save many"? However...he couldn't do anything to save his mother...would he not save a friend, if he could? Thoughts like these kept crowding Tiberius' mind, a wrestle between the rational and the emotional sides to reach an answer that had at least some truth in it - it's hard to know how one would react to a situation without having ever experienced it. After about five minutes - which to the boy seemed an eternity - of silence, he raises his head again, though avoiding to meet Horatius' eyes, and with a sorrowful tone he says "I...I don't think I'd be able to leave a friend to die." "I'd try to come back to where I left them once the mission is complete." he then adds, trying to make his previous statement sound a little less un-agentlike.

[TooManySecrets]

The Instructor gives Horatius a questioning look. "You don't 'think' so? Is that so?" It's impossible to tell whether Instructor Horatius is upset or happy. He just seems like he's made out of stone. "Perhaps you should give some more thought to it, one way or the other." He looks around at the other students. "That goes to all of you."

"Now, I will guide Oria in assisting Pirea. The rest of you should complete your laps." He waits for a single moment before barking out "Now!" and pointing to the gymnasium's track.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The rest of the day passes quickly enough. Another senion and Instructor enters the gymnasium to exercise. The Instructor and Oria heal Pirea's injury quickly enough and she's up after the rest of the senion finishes their laps. The other senion is still there when you leave for your lessons. It's more ancient history on the early Eternal Empire. The names and deeds start to blend together, especially since the Instructor doesn't give you any free time today (only a quick break for lunch). The prospect of dinner and some free time afterwards peps you up a bit.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

Most of the students are finishing up dinner when Manius Vibius swaggers over to your table. He looks inordinately happy and that smile is back on his face. He comes to stand across from Servius. "Why, brother, imagine my surprise when I heard your name today? You've barely been here for a few days and it seems like your senion is already starting to develop a reputation. A bad reputation, I'm sad to say."

He shakes his head. "Oh yes. Seems your group had a little 'accident' today at the gymnasium. When I heard that somebody in Horatius' senion had fainted while running, I was worried that you might have been injured, Servius. That would have been terrible and certainly reflected poorly on the family. Are you alright?"

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

The impromptu lesson definitely gave Lucius food for thought, and it was the filter through which he tried to view the remainder of their lessons. Whether it was the physical exertion (that he still needed work on) or learning about the history, origins and evolution of the Empire (which he also needed more work on), he tried to put it in the context of being an Agent of the Empire.

And it was that consideration that gave him some pause in the few quiet moments between lessons. He had been looked down upon for so long by the very government he was supposed to give his undying loyalty to ... how was he supposed to come to terms with that? Would he have been able to answer the questions Tiberius was asked early? Could he leave a comrade or friend behind for the sake of a mission? Sure, he could have said that easily enough. But more importantly, would he have been sincere, with the Instructor or himself?

_/ _/ _/ _/

As Lucius ate with his senion, Servius' brother walked over and began to talk. When the older boy had originally come over, Lucius had found him somewhat likeable and couldn't really tell what Servius' issue was. However, with this somewhat superior and snide approach, Lucius began to see that some of the charm was a veneer, a mask he wore to engender a positive response. Given Servius' had stood up for himself last time, Lucius was more inclined to pick sides and defend his classmate.

"Your information is flawed - no one fainted. You may wish to check your source; you wouldn't want the Catalus reputation associated with spreading rumors and gossip. I know it would be beneath your brother ... and you, I would presume." He spoke softly enough to keep the conversation to the table, with the last piece made mostly as a statement ... but with an implied question.

[Arcran]

Servius frowns at Horatius' non-answer. What were they supposed to do? Put the mission ahead of the life of any one of their friends? Or trying to save the team, even at the expense of the mission? For some reason Servius felt it was the former, but a solid answer would have gone a long way to illustrate what their role would actually be.

Still, Servius runs his laps in silence, doing his best to keep up with the others.



Servius' knuckles go white under the table as his dear brother approaches again, expecting more of the same. Somehow, Manius didn't manage to disappoint him.

"I'm fine," Servius says, knowing very well that his brother couldn't have cared less about his well-being, even in regard to how it reflected on the family. "Thanks for your concern," the young boy adds, somewhat scathingly. "You should know by now that I can get by without completely dragging our family name through the dirt," he adds, almost as an afterthought, not quite sure how to deal with his brother at this point.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Elana considered the Instructor's question all while the healing went on. She had thought it would be an easy question to answer. Of course the safety of her friends would be paramount!

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn't that simple. They were all here to be agents, who might be called to give their lives for the Empire. If they couldn't accept losses if the fate of the Empire depended on it, they were worthless as Agents. And also insane; the Empire as a whole was simply more important than any or all of them.

Flip side, not every mission would be about the fate of the Empire. As Agents, her senion would be uniquely suited to protect other lives in the future. A skilled agent was too valuable to sacrifice lightly. Likewise, their own effectiveness, ability to take risks, was improved if they knew they could count on one another if they were in peril.

So what was the right answer? Far as Elana could tell, there wasn't one.

Or not a general one, at any rate. Elana knew what her default response was. Asked the question in a vacuum, the life of a friend outweighed the success of a mission. She couldn't bring herself to think otherwise.

But there were circumstances, even she could admit, where that would not necessarily be the case.

And something she supposed she would have to determine before her training was complete, was where that line was drawn.

--

Elana kinda shrank down a bit when Manius spoke. Ancestors, the entire school knew? She started paying much closer attention to her food.

The continued tension between Servius and Manius concerned her. She simply didn't understand it. Why were the two so...unfriendly with each other? They were brothers, weren't they?

[Zelphas]

Gaius shrugs and returns to running, having already resolved the question asked by the Instructor in his mind. On the course of doing their duty, every Agent was expendable. If they didn't have the ability to take care of themselves, then their usefulness to the Empire had already come to an end. He'd leave them to fend for themselves without a qualm if the mission demanded it, and he'd expect no more from any of them if he was the one who was injured. Of course, he'd never be so careless as to become injured or fall behind during an actual mission, so it was a non-issue for him.

---

When Manius came to goad Servius once again, Gaius had=s to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Seriously, there's showing your dominance to one lesser than you, and then there's being petty. Manius is still a powerful noble, and so Gaius keeps out of the conversation for now, but he begins to wonder if there was some insecurity that the arrogant Manius might be hiding.

When Lucius speaks up, Gaius can't quite suppress a rueful shake of his head. You've got guts, Lucius, I'll give you that; but Manius could wipe the floor with you, and I won't help you out of this mess, he thinks to himself.

[Hyperbolic sine]

True enough, he'd have to think about it. He's going to become an Agent sooner or later, and he might be assigned missions vital to the Empire - missions that greatly outweigh the life of a single person...but one thing is knowing that, one is actually making the decision of leaving a friend to die. Besides, that wasn't all: even if the Instructor didn't ask that, Tiberius coulnd stop asking himself what he would do if he was the injured one. Would he be able to tell the others to leave him behind, even knowing that it would spell his death? Truth is, he didn't know. It's easy to say "of course", but you can't know how much of a coward you are until you actually find yourself in such a situation.

Musing about all these things, Tiberius went through the day until finally dinner time came and hunger and tiredness relegate such thoughts to the back of his mind.

-------

Tiberius was about to reply to Manius' comment when - unexpectedly enough, as he was usually quiet - Lucius speaks up, and much to his amusement he gets back at Servius' brother with a clever retort.

"Really. I thought this was an academy for training Agents, not gossips." he adds, as innocently as he manages to sound.

[TooManySecrets]

"Really. I thought this was an academy for training Agents, not gossips."

Manius looks at Tiberius. "I think you'll find out — if you hope to be an effective agent — that information and reputation is one of the most important things to cultivate. If you were a noble, you'd probably know that already."

"But," he says, turning back to Servius, "it's good that my information was ... 'flawed', as your friend here said. I'd hate for father to hear anything bad about you, Servius. It would break his heart. In fact, we should have a talk about that in private later on. Don't worry, I'll find you."

Manius sweeps his hand in front of him. "Enjoy your dinner." With that, he turns and walks away.

We're going to be skipping ahead in time about a week next post. If you guys want to do anything right now, here's your chance. Otherwise, timeskip is coming up.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Information, indeed." Tiberius murmurs as Manius walks away, amused by the irony ot the very person telling him that information is important not knowing he is, in fact, a noble. Well, whatever...what he said wasn't wrong, but let gossips be for haughty people. He values facts, not hearsay.

"Hey, Servius, what's with him? Does he feel threatened by us or what?" First the Instructor, now the senion...it seems like he hasn't anything better to do than trying to show he's superior to them.

[Arcran]

Servius gives a hardly audible gulp as his brother mentions wanting to speak later, already trying to figure out a way to get away before he's locked into a discussion with his not-so-dear older brother.

"He's just a prick," Servius mutters, not entirely sure himself why his brother had such an agenda against him. "I doubt he's threatened as much as he just doesn't want me to get ahead in any way ever."

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Leaning back in his seat, Lucius found it interesting that Servius' brother never even acknowledged him. It was telling on a number of levels, and perhaps it spoke to his 'station' within the school. Of course it begged the question - if the Empire had different social groupings, did Agents of the Empire fall into those? Or were they above such petty distinctions?

[Zelphas]

Gaius tries to give Servius a sympathetic look, but it comes out more curious and puzzled. Why is Manius so worried about Servius upstaging him? He goes out of his way to belittle his little brother... what is he hiding? he muses to himself, deciding to add "look into Manius' background/motivation" to his list of pending projects. What I really need is to get connected to the rumor mill of this school...

[Hyperbolic sine]

"If he goes out of his way to do that, than it means that he does feel threatened. You don't actively try to impede something with no chance of happening." Tiberius replies with a shrug. "So...don't let it get to you. The taller they stand, the harder they fall."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"That's...so weird," Elana said with a faint, uncertain laugh. "I mean, you're his brother. He should be want you to do well. Are you sure he isn't really just trying to look out for you? I mean, that's what he says he's doing after all, and he does kinda sound...spiteful when he says it, but is that maybe just how he is? I don't know him, of course, but maybe he just has trouble expressing affection, so he covers it with disdain, or something?" The sort of relationship that Servius and Manius had just didn't fit into Elana's worldview. Oh, sure, she and her siblings would scrap and tease and fight, but that never took away from the fact that they loved each other and wanted the best for each other.

[Arcran]

Servius looks at Elana with a dumbstruck look, not quite comprehending how she doesn't recognize the less-than-civil relationship he has with his sibling.

"That is just how he is," Servius says slowly, trying to figure out how to phrase it, "but he's not hiding any affection with it. As far as he's concerned, I'm just the crippled, failure of a brother. He's not scared of me, or trying to help me, just trying to make me quit so I don't embarrass the house any more than I already have."

[Quellian-dyrae]

The look Elana gave Servius pretty much mirrored the one he was giving her. "That...it...but...are..." she stammered through the beginnings of several responses as she tried to figure out exactly how to express the point she wanted to make, before finally settling on a firm, "That isn't right. How can he treat you like that? It's...I can't even....do you want me to talk with him? Maybe I can set him straight, or something."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"And here I thought my brother was a pain." Tiberius comments. "Well, being chosen for the Academy doesn't exactly seem the trademark of a failure to me. His arrogance will be his downfall one day, I assure you."

He then turns to Elana with a dubious look: "I...am not sure that's a good idea. He has a way with words, I have the feeling he'd manage to turn it against Servius. But...is it really so shocking to you? I mean, this level is definitely unusual, but it's not like siblings don't ever fight."

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Maybe not, but I'd still like to give him a piece of my mind. And this isn't just fighting. Teasing each other over whose element is better, or arguing over a game, or even the occasional screaming match is one thing. But, I mean...you heard how Servius says he treats him! Like a 'crippled failure of a brother'? An embarrassment to his house? You don't make your brother feel that way. Period. So, yeah, I am that shocked. Shocked and frankly appalled. Even if he's just that spiteful and mean-spirited in general, family deserves better."

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Well, I can't really argue with that." Tiberius replies with a shrug. After all, he's being a little bit of a hypocrite: if things had started to go beyond just words, he would have jumped to Servius' (or anyone else's) defense without as much as a second thought. "I still think he'd make it pass as something like Servius unable to defend himself, but I suppose seeing you give him an epic chewing would be priceless."

[Arcran]

"The cripple bit is accurate," Servius mutters, although the mutter carries no shame. He knew he was a cripple, even if he wasn't particularly happy about that specific fact; denying that wouldn't bring anything useful about. "It's not like I've done anything of note for my house, other than coming here. Until I do something, he's not inaccurate," Servius finishes, voice almost completely emotionless.

"Anyways, leave him be. If he does more than talk he'll be the one that gets in trouble; I doubt the instructors will play favorites like they did at home."

At least I hope not, Servius quietly thinks to himself, hoping he hadn't managed to get himself into a worse position than before.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Alright. But if you change your mind, let me know, okay? Whether or not it's accurate is irrelevant. It still isn't right. And really, for anyone, especially at your age, to be accepted into the Academy is actually a pretty huge achievement, I think." She also wasn't entirely certain the term "crippled" could really apply to any earthcrafter who still had all their limbs, but she really wasn't sure just how bad off Servius was physically, so she didn't argue that point. Although she did have to wonder how much that part of his self-image was true, and how much of it was because of how his brother treated him.

[Starbin]

Lucius Maro Virgilius

Sighing, Lucius spoke up softly with a shake of his head. "You don't understand. People like that are alpha-dogs ... and he's an especially privileged one. They usually don't learn ... it is who they are. Best thing Servius can do is avoid him, or beat him. Best thing we can do is give him a reason to start trouble elsewhere.

That's my opinion ... for what it's worth."

His voice trailed off as he watched the older boy disappear into the crowd.

[Arcran]

Servius nods at Lucius, completely agreeing.

"Stay away from him until I'm bigger than him. Well, not bigger," Servius quickly corrects. "Better is probably more accurate. He can say whatever he wants to me; he can't actually hurt me here," he says, almost as much to reassure himself as Elana.

[TooManySecrets]

Time passes.

Every day you wake up to train in the gymnasium. Every day, Instructor Horatius seems to find some fault. When somebody falls behind, he tells you all to work together as a group. When you work together as a group, he tells you that you're going too slow. When you go faster, some members of the senion fall behind or there's another disaster, like what happened with Elana. The only brightside — if it can be called that — is that he's certainly not solely picking on Tiberius. After the first few days, he's given you all the chance to lead the senion in its daily run. No matter who leads, however, you've all come up short in the Instructor's estimation. You've begun to dread the daily run or you've tried to become inured to it or perhaps you try all the harder, as is your own individual nature.

Afternoon classes aren't much better. While the Instructor seems to be in a slightly better mood, he's done more than teaching Imperial history. Sometimes its boring, sometimes its interesting (somewhat), but what it isn't is crafting. It's a bunch of dead names and dead people. You thought that being an agent meant that you would learn to wield the forces that bind the world but instead its been nothing of the sort. Instructor Horatius has barely mentioned crafting at all.

It's been two weeks so far since you've first arrived and the whole thing is beginning to wear on you, to say the least. The only serious free time you've had — since the few tired hours after dinner barely count — has been on each week's market day (day E, this year). Unfortunately, you can't even visit the capital's market: all first year students are confined to the Academy, except for certain feast days, visits to home, and while accompanied by an Instructor.



Everybody gains 1 power point!

Since this is the first time you've gotten some power points, lets talk a bit about that. You can hang onto them, if you want, but you can't spend them in the middle of important things. You are free to spend your points during "downtime". Use your best judgement to make sure that the points you spend are appropriate for what has happened during the game so far. For instance, spending points on the Athletics skill or Expertise: Imperial History would be pretty obvious. Spending points gaining an entirely new craft element is right out. Don't be afraid to ask about spending points on something that might be a bit more iffy.

Also, I'm doing something a bit different here. You guys and gals are being broken up for a little bit, basically so that we can get the main plot and a little side plot going on at that same time. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is which. To keep things from getting messy, one group will (temporarily) be using another thread. You are free, however, to read both threads, just remember the difference between what you know and what your character knows (if that gets important).

Got it? Good.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

Group A - Servius Vibius Catalus, Gaius Aelius Gracchus, Cornelia Oria Valeria

You — Gaius Aelius Gracchus — have found this entire experience so far intolerable. By the Emperor, you came to the Academy to learn the craft! Instructor Horatius has certainly failed in that (whatever other merits he might have). As the saying goes, "nothing comes from nothing" so you've decided to take it upon yourself to learn something worthwhile here.

Luckily, you came across a real treasure in that codex, the Sacred Fire. You haven't taken it out the library. At least, not physically. In terms of information, though, you think that you've been able to memorize it. Maybe. It's taken these few weeks of surreptitious reading in the library, watching over your back to make sure that no one sees what you've been doing, moving the codex around so that no one else can find it. Finally, you think you're ready and you've got just the right craft in mind. The Nameless Author called it "Calling Forth The Living Flame".

At least, you think that's what he called it. Even having read through and memorized the entire codex, it still doesn't make too much sense. The writer seems to jump from topic to topic, with no paragraph markings or labeling to make it easier.

Unfortunately, this particular craft will require the help of two other people. Since three of the others are out right now — going to the library or something, not that it really matters — it basically comes down to Servius and Cornelia. Hopefully, they'll agree to help you.

In addition, you'll need:


Some kindling, wood, and something to burn it in.
Some burnt ashes.
A quiet, non-public place to carry out the ritual and not be disturbed.

Group B - Elana Pirea Cenca, Tiberius Horatius Pulvillus, Lucius Maro Virgilius

Click Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?415339-By-Blood-and-Craft-IC-Thread-2&p=19256110#post19256110)

[Zelphas]

So far, Gaius is thoroughly unimpressed with the Academy. He was there to learn hoe to craft, not dead kings and forgotten places! At least his efforts to tap into the rumor mill of the Academy are bearing fruit; he can already find just about anything on campus, as long as he asks the right people.

That should cover the location, then, Gaius thinks to himself after talking to a few of the students about discreet, out-of the way places around the Academy that no one went to very often. He has gotten to the point in The Codex of the Sacred Flame where simple book-study wasn't enough; it is time to experiment. The location was the first step; next was kindling (easily done, some of his notes from the first few Academy classes had already served their function) and firewood (a little more difficult, but gathering fallen branches and twigs around campus over the course of a few hours should work). Burnt ashes were a trifle; a quick blast of flame once everything was ready, and he'd have them.

The last step is what really rankled Gaius. He had to ask for help? If it wasn't an absolute requirement for the ritual to even work, Gaius would have risked it alone. Instead, he turned to his senion. Cornelia wasn't bad--she was smart, somewhat inquisitive, and seemed to know how to keep secrets--but the fact that Servius is his only other option makes Gaius' skin crawl. Still, mustering up all of the guile and humility he possesses, Gaius seeks out Cornelia and Servius. "Hey," he says shortly. "Are you guys as tired as I am of doing nothing while we're here? Don't you want to actually do some real crafting?"

I spent my one point on Contacts. If that doesn't work, let me know.

Investigation (to find a suitable hidden place for the ritual): [roll0]

Persuasion (if you'd prefer we don't use social rolls with players, just ignore this): [roll1]

[Segrain]

Time flows, and everything else is carried down the stream.

Being pleased or annoyed by that changes nothing; the only reasonable thing to do is accepting it as it is and finding your place in the flow. So far this principle served Cornelia well; if anything, it only kept proving true in the Academy. Sometimes it even applied more literally: the habit of swimming with the river's stream turned out to be quite effective for running too, whether in following or in setting speed for others. Sometimes it just remained a wise adage, keeping the girl working hard on one lesson after another, and time in stories of the past went by together with the time in days of her life.

But sometimes, she was reminded that not everyone follows the same way of thinking. It was one of those times when Gaius approached Cornelia with his weird question, and she did not stop to think before answering. "I pray that there will be no need for me to use any", - was her first thought and her reply. It was a truth, too: every day she prayed that it will not be a day when she will have to use her healing abilities, well aware of how meagre they actually are. But, perhaps, humility was for somebody an idea as alien as praying or having some patience to learn before trying.

"...why do you ask?" - added she somewhat slowly, looking over the boy. He certainly did not actually need her healing, but that thought was less relieving than it should had been. In absence of others, she was the oldest of the three, and that meant having responsibility over whatever could happen due to any bright idea sparkling in a too hot head, even if she did not understand it yet.

It was probably too much to hope that it could be simply extinguished. Silently, Cornelia once again prayed that this day, too, will pass without any actual need for her craft.

[Arcran]

Servius does his best to make use of his time at the Academy but, like Gaius, finds himself becoming increasingly bored. He'd expected to be mastering the finer aspects of earthcraft by now, not simply running laps day after day. He'd read as much as he could and, yet, seemed to be hardly making any progress. At this rate he might be strong enough to be of note in a couple of years but that was far too slow for Servius' goals.

So, when Gaius comes, Servius hardly even has to think abou tit.

"I'm in," he says with a shrug, rolling off his bunk and setting the book he had been working on down. "What did you have in mind?"

[Zelphas]

Inwardly, Gaius sighs. It was just his luck, here at the Academy; the earthcrafter is the gung-ho one. Outwardly, he turns to Servius with a smile, though he tries not to exclude Cornelia. "I found an advanced Codex in the library, and I've memorized most of it. I think it's about time I try something called 'Calling Forth the Living Flame'. I need two more crafters for the ritual. Don't worry about not knowing firecraft; I'll be doing all the technical work. All I need is the raw power, and you both have plenty of that." A little flattery never hurts. And on that note... He turns to Cornelia. "I'm almost certain I have everything under control, so you shouldn't have to use your crafting here. Like I said, I could use any two people for this, but I'd like to keep it within our senion, and I'd feel a lot more confident with a skilled healer like yourself near at hand."

Deception (he's pretty sure everything's under control...mostly): [roll0]

[Segrain]

"Almost certain?" - the girl frowned. That was, no doubt, quite reassuring - that is, making her quite sure that something was going to happen in completely wrong or, at least, entirely unexpected manner. And, considering how ready and willing was other boy to join at the first invitation... - "If you say so..."

She could refuse, of course. But if Servius's reaction was any indication, it will be only a matter of time, and short time as that, until they will find one more volunteer. If Gaius did not yet want to involve anybody unrelated - what was suspicious on its own, but could wait a bit - then she could indulge him for once. He was right at least in one thing: having a bad healer is still better than having no healer, just in case if something happens.

"What is supposed to happen, anyway?" - it did not require any actual education in firecrafting to imagine what a ritual with a name like that can possibly evoke. Probably not something that was safe to do indoors, or what they were allowed to do in the dormitory. Not that Cornelia was entirely sure that they were allowed to do it at all... - "And how... how and where are we going to do it?''

[Arcran]

"I'm with her," Servius says, more than a little flattered by the comment about raw power, even if it likely was just to get them to help. "I mean, I'm in, but I'd kinda like to know what's going to happen before we burn down our dorm or something like that," he finishes, his initial excitement giving way to a little more caution. He'd honestly do anything at this point to just have something to do, but just jumping in would probably be a bad idea, right?

"It might help if we knew a little firecrafting, right? It couldn't hurt," Servius says, giving a not-so-subtle hint. "For our safety, of course."

[Zelphas]

"From my readings, this ritual should actually summon...well. living flame," Gaius responds. He quickly adds, "I doubt it's actually alive, in the true sense. More like... increased energy, allowing more power and versatility with this kind of fire." He moves on to her next question hurriedly. "Like I said, the ritual's fairly simple. I already have a few leads for a secluded place to carry it out. We need to start a fire, get a good campfire-sized blaze going, and then you two will draw on your power. I'll sprinkle some ashes over the fire, and then... link up with you two, and feed your power and mine to the flame. There's some chanting and a few gestures involved, but I'm the only one who needs to take care of those."

Gaius then turns to Servius, a slight smirk flickering across his face. So, the earthcrafter wants to learn some real crafting, huh? Can't say I blame him. The smirk vanishes as quickly as it appears, replaced by a slightly doubtful expression. "I'm no teacher, but... I think I can tell you the basics. It actually might be helpful here, come to think of it. Firecrafting, in its purest form, is all about moving energy, adding to or subtracting from the energy all around us to cause several effects. The most obvious and easily created, of these, of course, is flame." Gaius's voice takes on the cadence of someone reciting something from memory. "Calling forth flame is a simple exercise of concentration. Visualize a flame in your mind. this flame should be small, no larger than a candle's spark. It must grow. Start feeding everything else in your mind--all of the thoughts and emotions--to this flame, giving it fuel to grow. Keep back only one thought and one emotion--the thought gives the flame shape, and the emotion gives it strength. The flame should be the size of a campfire in your mind now. The single emotion, the single thought, should fill your mind, vibrating together. Hold the flame, the thought, and the emotion in your mind, speak the command word, and..." With a sibilant hiss of sound, Gaius is holding a ball of condensed flame in one hand. "Fire." Another word, and the fire vanished. "For this ritual, you won't need to actually call any flame, so the basic visualization should work just fine."

[Segrain]

Cornelia nodded silently, listening to the explanation. She was not really that much interested in the theoretical intricacies of the firecrafting, and Gaius did not tell anything about the ritual beyond "it will probably make a fire"... still, it was enlightening to hear the perspective of an user of another craft. That thought actually made the girl smile: did a younger boy just tell her more about crafting in one minute than any tutors did over entire two weeks? Perhaps she could understand his eagerness to learn more, even if they disagreed on proper pursuit of that goal.

But nonetheless, however curious it could be to hear, it was still entirely alien way of treating the craft, opposed to everything that she was taught. It was not going to be of any use for her own element, and Cornelia had no intention to ever learn firecrafting itself. She had seen it in action, of course, but had she ever met anyone who managed to use fire and water alike?

...actually, that turned out to be a very good question to ask herself. She really should had thought of him earlier instead of agreeing to whatever Gaius's plan could involve. "So...", - asked she, once the boy finished his small speech. - "Did you tell the Instructor about this idea? He should understand firecrafting better than anyone of us does. And are we even supposed to try something like that on our own at all? Yes, we are not even taught the crafts yet, but it is probably for some reason..."

Not that she could divine what that reason could be. But if anyone asked, they could take the question to the Instructor - and it was probably much more proper than whatever they had in mind now.

[Arcran]

As Gaius speaks Servius closes his eyes, trying to focus on the advice. Adding and subtracting energy? That couldn't be that difficult, right? With his eyes shut tight Servius focuses on a fire in his mind, willing it into his hand, pushing all of his focus into creating some sort of flame. A small one, like Gaius said. Emotions were poured into the flame, one by one, until the only one thing remained in Servius' mind: his desire to be better than Manius. With a whisper Servius speaks the command word, focusing with all his might on the flame and finally opening his eyes...

Only to open up to an empty hand. Frustrated by his failure Servius turns to Cornelia, snapping a little bit more angrily than he intended to.

"Why should we bother? We're not getting any stronger doing what he wants us to do, right? If we're careful we won't hurt ourselves. We're here to become better crafters, right? So why the hell aren't we actually crafting?"

[Zelphas]

Gaius watches in amusement as Servius attempts to call forth flame. Poor fool. No one calls fire on their first try, not even me. There's no chance an earthcrafter like you could manage it.

He smiles at Servius's outburst, but holds up a placating hand. "I may not be as... enthusiastic as Servius, here, but I share his sentiment. A lot of our tests have been attempts to make us think outside the box, to bend the rules we're used to to come up with a solution. Maybe the fact that we haven't crafted in so long is to make us so frustrated that we'll start doing so on our own." His voice turns slightly wheedling. "I don't want the Instructor to get upset with us about nothing; we're already in enough trouble with him as it is. Besides, I just want to see if this works; I'm not going to use it to burn down the gymnasium or anything." If only I could...

[Segrain]

"Is him being angry for something somehow preferable?" - Cornelia sighed. She did not agree with the opinion that the Instructor is annoyed, or unfair, or otherwise not the right person to ask about something so important and probably dangerous, but her agreement with anything at all was at this point asked more out of courtesy than of any actual necessity. She could not persuade the boys to be more careful, so the best she could do was coming along and keeping an eye on them, rather than leaving everything to happen as it will. - "But if you think that you can control it..."

Girl took a pause, but there was not much that she could add. It was going to happen. No reason to stall the inevitable. "Fine. You know how to call it, you have some place where it will not burn anything, you can control it if it comes. If you say so, fine. All you need is some help from us two. Is it something to happen right now, or you are only giving a warning of future plans yet?"

[TooManySecrets]

if you'd prefer we don't use social rolls with players, just ignore this

My policy for player vs player social rolls is basically that players should use them as a guideline. So, roll as you feel appropriate but I can't force people to roleplay.

Gaius figures, after having talked with some of the other students before and poking around the Academy building, that there are a few places that might be quiet enough. On a market day like today, it would be easy enough to just go into one of the empty classrooms. Most of them are just lecture halls, little more than a room with chairs and a board. You wouldn't be disturbing anything or anyone and if you closed the door nobody would come in. Probably. The other location that might work is one of the storage towers. The Academy has a number of towers. Some of them are for guards or for some of the specialized classes, but most of them are given to storage space. You've surreptitiously checked a likely place out before. Given the thick coat of dust on the bags, nobody has been there for a while, especially on the upper levels. It would work and no-one would hear you, though it might be a bit cramped.

Of course, you could also try to do it at night. You'd be practically assured that nobody would disturb you ... but if you they did you're pretty sure — no, you're certain! — that Instructor Horatius would punish you.

What does he tell the others?

[Zelphas]

Gaius discounted the classrooms immediately. They'd be the safest of the three options in the short term, but if anything went wrong, it would be immediately noticed. The storage rooms would be less noticeable, but all that dust... it was a massive firetrap waiting to happen, unless they dealt with it. Working at night would have the least likelihood of something going wrong, but also the best chance of capture and an absolute certainty of punishment.

"I'd like to do this today, so that we are less likely to be bothered," Gaius says to Cornelia, ignoring her first question. "The storerooms are almost always deserted, some of them even have dust coating them. That's where we'll do this.

"Even though we need a room with dust to ensure privacy, we can't have dust anywhere near where we're working." He gives Servius and Cornelia a serious look, no trace of dissembling or levity in his face or voice. "Dust and fire are a bad combination. Cornelia, can you use water to gather up the dust? It'll keep the dust from going airborne, which would make it an even worse problem. If not, grab a broom, and I'll help you clear it up. It means we'd have to wait a few hours for the dust to settle, but it's better than nothing.

Meanwhile, Servius, you need to start gathering up wood and twigs from all around the trees on the campus. Don't gather them up by the armful; take a few at a time, pretend your playing Legion with them, I don't care, anything to keep suspicion off you from whoever might be around. I'll help, either right away or once I'm done helping Cornelia. We'll put the firewood in the storage room next to the one we're using; it'll let us gather wood nearby, without disturbing the air in the storage room until necessary. Any questions?" He looks at his helpers expectantly.

[Segrain]

Cornelia stared. It was a gaze normally reserved for looking at something completely and hopelessly stupid. It was a glare that her own mother used to give the girl when she forgot to wash away the playful mood and put her mind back into proper state. It was an expression that had no reason to ever be used in the Academy that was supposed to gather the most talented and teach them. In other words, it was exactly what Gaius deserved by asking something so... actually, she had no words to describe it; but it did not require a watercrafter to read her thoughts just on her face.

"Y-yes..." - stammered she, struggling to choose the most simple words and not say what she actually was thinking. - "Use water to gather the dust. Also known to us of simple birth as "cleaning". Yes. I can do that", - another glare expressed her opinion on the boy's intellect better than any words could.

The girl rolled her eyes, listening to the rest of the instructions. At least, if somebody would happen to catch them in the middle of preparations, they could pretend to just be doing some tidying, and maybe that would be the end of it... but for some reason, she quite doubted that any of her hopes had any place to exist that day. "Just... one question", - sighed she, not expecting the answer to be any better than the rest of the conversation. - "Had you ever held a broom, or I am going to clean entire room myself?"

[Zelphas]

Gaius reddens under Cornelia's stare, just barely biting back an angry retort. You need both of them for this to work. Calm down. "I'm sorry, I didn't phrase myself clearly enough," he replies slowly, choosing his words with obvious care. "I meant to ask if you could simply command the water to gather up the dust for you. If you could, I would just be in the way. I can use a broom, yes; I was raised by commoners."

[Arcran]

Servius looks at Cornelia with amusement. Cleaning duty? A small smirk crosses his face, at least until Gaius tells him to gather small twigs.

"No offense, but how big of a fire are you expecting to pull off with twigs?" Servius asks, a doubtful look on his face. "I mean, the fires at home, the big ones, those always used actual firewood. Wouldn't we be better off getting some actual logs from somewhere on campus? They have to have a stockpile for when winter comes, right?

[Zelphas]

Gaius rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs. "We only need a small campfire, at the biggest, and I thought that gathering twigs for kindling and larger branches for the body of the fire would arouse less suspicion, but if you think you can steal from the firewood stores without getting caught, be my guest," he snaps, wishing for the thousandth time that the ritual hadn't specifically called for two more people.

[Segrain]

"Just lead the way..." - Cornelia sighed again. - "If we have to do some housework before you can try your ritual, then the earlier we start it, the faster it will be done. And yes, we are doing it the normal way, without any crafting."

[Arcran]

"I'll work on that then," shooting Gaius a quick glare for snapping at him, heading out and trying to find some sort of fortuitous stack of firewood.

[Zelphas]

Gaius ignores Servius' glare--what does he care if the earthcrafter dislikes him--and nods to Cornelia. "That will work fine. Let's go procure some brooms, then."

[TooManySecrets]

I'm leaving it up to you guys to decide where you want to go search for stuff. You can just make appropriate rolls for it if you want, but it'll probably go better if you try to think of some places to search yourselves. This is a chance for you guys to have some input on what the Academy is like. Feel free to make something up. I'll go with it, as long as it's not too outrageous. Just remember "Roman-esque" and you should do well.

[Segrain]

"So, how big a room are we actually going to clean? If it will not take too long, it is probably not a problem to just get what we need as usual... unless it is so abandoned and dusty that we will be there all day?"

Truth be told, Cornelia was not overly eager to run over entire Academy looking for a way to sneak a broom or two into some storage. At least crafting actually was something worthy of distraction from daily routine. But if Gaius had wanted some preparations done, he could start taking the lead.

I feel like I am missing something and asking a dumb question. But if it was two weeks and they are cleaning at least their rooms themselves, is there any problem with getting brooms or what else they might need the way it is usually done?

[Zelphas]

"We don't want a room that's been completely abandoned; you're right, that would take too long," Gaius agrees. "Using brooms to clean the area should be fine. If we can get some mops from the cafeteria kitchens, that would work even better, but if you don't want to take the risk, it's not essential."

I'm looking for a room with a light layer of dust on it, not one covered in dust and cobwebs.

Investigation: [roll0]

I would also like to echo Segrain's question: do we have cleaning supplies for our rooms? IF so, we can use those.

[TooManySecrets]

Nope, it's not a dumb question at all. In fact, I was sort of waiting for people to figure that their characters probably did know where to get some cleaning supplies for the exact reason you stated.

Arcran, any place in particular you want to start looking?

There's a broom closet not far from the kitchen area. They're hard brooms - a stick with a tightly-tied bundle of twigs. Good for getting dirt out of rooms. Not all that great for dust but they should work. Students going from the closet to their rooms at pretty much any hour of the day isn't too remarkable. A group of students carrying brooms to a storage room? That's something that might be remembered.

[Zelphas]

Gaius looks at the brooms and sighs, wishing there were soft-brush brooms they could use. This summoning ritual better be worth the headache.

He glances over at Cornelia and decides to attempt to mend a few bridges before they completely burn. "Should we work in shifts? One first-year going to sweep the storerooms will be less noticeable than a group going all at once, I think. Then again, if we get questioned as a group, we can make up something about a punishment for our senion, which might allay suspicion...what do you think?" he asks.

[Segrain]

"Who does sweep there, by the way? Nobody would believe us if first-years are not supposed to be there at all..." - for a moment, Cornelia wondered whether their punishment for pretending to be punished by being sent to clean some abandoned rooms would be actually being sent to clean some abandoned rooms. - "But one or two of us, it will not make much difference. And if we will try to say that we are punished, somebody will probably ask our Instructor, and then we would certainly be..."

Brooms were probably too big to sneak under children's robes. At least, so she thought, not much experienced in wearing robes and even less so in sneaking anything. If only they were smaller... no, breaking brooms in half was just wrong, not to mention too noticeable, and taking them apart and tying again at the place probably was not going to be much easier. "Actually..." - mused Cornelia, turning to Gaius again, - "...those are storage rooms, you said? What is stored there, anyway? It would be quite convenient if you knew one with mops, or brooms, or something like that in it already..."

[Zelphas]

"I'm not sure who does the cleaning in the storerooms, if anyone does. As fr as I know, there's no ban against first-years using the rooms; if there was, I wouldn't have heard they were a good place to be secluded on campus."

Gaius considers that for a moment, before nodding. "It's definitely worth a look. We have all day to put this together after all; no need to rush ourselves."

[TooManySecrets]

Gaius and Cornelia make their way to the storage room, brooms in hand. They get several strange looks from some of their fellow students once they leave the dorm area but nobody stops them. They don't encounter any Instructors either, so maybe they just got lucky.

The storage room has that look of disuse that one might associate with an institution that has been around as long as the Academy. All the crates and boxes are of high-quality but they're only stacked carefully in the back and with much less care the closer they get to the door. A thick coat of dust covers everything. In the center of the room on the ceiling is a trap door. Nearby is a ladder. It's old, too, but it's thick and made out of hard wood and the store room is dry so there's no rot.

Gaius, you haven't checked out the upper floor yet — didn't want to have to answer any awkward questions if someone walked in — but it will probably be safer doing the ritual on that floor.

I assume that you guys are going to just want to get up to the upper floor and then clean the place out. That should only take one post. But feel free to do anything.

[Zelphas]

"Let's check around for some better cleaning supplies, and then head to the next floor. The ceremony should be safer to do up there," Gaius says once they arrive, keeping his broom in his hand. He searches through the rooms quickly but methodically, starting with the first floor and then moving up to the second. If he finds cleaning supplies on the first floor, he stops checking the rooms there and moves up to the second, searching until he finds a room with only a small amount of dust and enough clear space that leaping flames won't immediately set everything on fire if they got out of his control.

Once they found the room, Gaius sets to work with the broom (or whatever they end up finding). He's by no means an expert at cleaning, but it's obvious that he has done so before. Sweeping the dirt floor was a common enough punishment in Gaius' old home, partially because it was humiliating; even the worst Earthcrafter could make a dirt floor clean and level in a tenth of the time of a Firecrafter with a broom.

Investigation for cleaning supplies/ a room (if necessary): [roll0]

[Segrain]

Over two weeks spent in the Academy, Cornelia slowly grew more accustomed to it, but every time when she thought that it was not that much different from home, something happened to remind her just how wrong she was. Visiting the abandoned storage rooms certainly was one of such moments. Yes, the Academy was a huge building, but it was a matter of scale. In a city so big, having so many students, that size made sense - on an assumption that it was actually used to house and lecture those students. But seeing how much of empty building space can be taken just by storing some old things, and then completely forgotten... that was unbelievable. Clutching her broom tighter, girl hurried to follow her guide, as if staying alone in that place could mean that she would be equally forgotten by everyone and left in the dust forever too.

Dust. That was yet another weirdness of that place. When Gaius explained the plan, Cornelia opened her mouth to say something in agreement - and barely managed to cover it with a sleeve before having a muffled coughing fit. Nodding wordlessly to show that she is alright and has no objections, girl looked around. Having grown up between a river and a sea, she never thought that the air could be so dry; now she could easily imagine why Gaius was afraid of starting a fire in such a place. Still, she was no stranger to housework either, and once they found a suitable place, she certainly was not going to be any slower at it than the boy could be.

Ouch. If there is an Investigation to be made, let's try for something better than 1: [roll0].

[TooManySecrets]

Gaius and Cornelia make their way up the rickety ladder.

The second floor room is much like the first. There are stacks of crates vaguely organized around the edges of the room. Dust is on everything, swirling in little clouds as Gaius and Cornelia move around the room. With no windows in the room and with the trap door closed, the atmosphere in the room is oppressive but you can be almost certain that nobody will notice what you're doing.

It doesn't take them long to clear out a space in the center of the second floor. The dust is heaped up in little piles, out of the way and behind the crates.

There is nothing of any immediate use in the crates. Most of them contain common, recognizable tools — the sort you'd expect to find in any manor house — but there are some other things as well that you don't recognize. Looks like miscellaneous equipment for specialized crafting. Or perhaps it's just decade-old (century-old?) detritus of no particular interest. Regardless, without knowing what they are, they're about as useful to you as a book to a barbarian.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

Eventually, Servius is able to track down some firewood in the kitchen. There are only a few people in the kitchen — all students — and they all seem more interested in the various tasks they're doing (mostly cleaning) to pay any attention to him. It's simple enough to grab an armful of sticks near the ovens and put them in his traveling sack. He's even able to get a small brazier and stuff it in the sack when nobody is looking.

Nobody comments on a student walking the halls with a sack on his shoulders and Servius makes his way to the others.


_/ _/ _/ _/ _/

The time has finally come.

Gaius goes over the ritual with the others again. The brazier will be lit (done already — it's literally child's play for a firecrafter to start a fire) and they will all kneel around it an equal distance from each other. Gaius will start with the chant and the others will follow his lead. At the right time, they will all visualize a single flame and Gaius will throw a handful of ash onto the brazier. Then, they'll all release their power and the ritual will complete itself.

Simple, right?

Servius and Cornelia need to make Expertise: Firecraft checks. This can be made untrained.

Gaius needs to make either an Expertise: Firecraft check or a Fire Craft check. Craft checks are similar to skill checks, but they're measuring raw power in a craft. Your modifier for a Craft check is equal to the total cost of your base Craft power (i.e. not counting costs for something like Alternate Effect).

[Zelphas]

"Now just remember, focus on the flame, and I'll do the rest," Gaius cautions Servius and Cornelia again. Here was the tricky part; he had to rely on other people for this, which made everything...less reliable.

Still, he reflects as he begins chanting, his part is relatively simple. All it needs is his power. And I have plenty of that.

Fire Craft Check: [roll0]

[Segrain]

Cornelia only kept silently nodding to Gaius's explanations. She did not want to open her mouth in a dusty room more than it was necessary, and her thoughts were somewhere far from the firecrafting anyway. It was just too alien; ever since the boy lit the fire, she hid her hands under her hair and only silently waited, holding her head. Her lips did not move, but in her mind the girl was praying.

"Yes", - Cornelia coughed, clearing her throat before chanting. - "I am ready".


[roll0]

[Arcran]

Servius nods along with the others. Focus on the flame. That would be easy enough, right? Nothing too major he could mess up?

Of course, while Servius does do his best to focus on the fire, he does allow a small part of him to focus on his earthcraft, trying to sense if anybody was approaching to, well, at least give them some warning.

Expertise: Firecraft [roll0]

[TooManySecrets]

You all sit and chant, gathering your power to release at the proper moment. Hopefully. Something certainly seems to happen at least. The flame in the brazier seem to move quicker, dancing back and forth with an almost living intensity. The fire starts to glow brightly — or is the room growing darker? — as the ritual nears completion. The energy builds up to almost a nearly overwhelming intensity.

And then the fire goes out with a soft "poof".

Smoke wafts out of the brazier in a lazy spiral. Whatever energy was built up during the ritual is gone. Something clearly went wrong.

[Zelphas]

Gaius stares at the remains of the fire. That...isn't right. That isn't right at all.

With a muffled curse, he gathered more of the loose firewood and he lit the fire again, preparing another batch of ashes for the ceremony. "We're trying again," he snaps. "Focus this time."

If possible, start the ritual over again (and hope I roll better than a 3 this time :smallsigh:).

Fire Craft Check: [roll0]

[Segrain]

Cornelia glared at Gaius, but said nothing. So far the ritual did not seem to be really dangerous, so perhaps it actually could end well, and it certainly was not worthy of arguing. The boy could be angry as much as he wanted; she just waited until he was actually ready to start again and joined the chanting. It did not even seem difficult, either.


[roll0]

[Arcran]

Servius curses as the ritual fails, assuming he was the one at fault. Once again Servius focuses on the ritual, completely ignoring all earthcraft as he does so.

[roll0]

[TooManySecrets]

Gaius picks up a few pieces of firewood but, just before tossing them into the brazier, he stops. There's something wrong. The smoke — which had first seemed to be wafting slowly — seems to be moving with increased vigor, swirling around in a small circle. Faster and faster it moves, with hypnotic pulsing and hidden purpose.

Gaius and Cornelia recognize it as a fire crafting of some sort, giving them a moment to react. Servius is not so lucky.

The smoky circle bursts — that's the only way to describe it — and a howling, ripping wind fills the small room. The dust is whipped around and the wind bites with a crafted chill. The temperature drops, like a boulder off a cliff. Frost forms on everything and everyone in the room: the brazier, the floor, the ceiling, the boxes ... exposed skin ... open eyes. All of it swirling and swirling around the vortex above the brazier, the center of the storm.

Smoke. Dust. Frost. And the certainty that you're going to be in a lot of trouble if somebody finds out.

Gaius and Cornelia need to make Dodge checks vs DC 15. Servius automatically fails because he doesn't recognize the danger in time. Everybody who fails the check is Blinded and Disabled, as their eyes and mouths are covered in a flash freeze of frost (ouch).

Everybody in the room is also Impaired (remember, Disabled supersedes Impaired).

[Zelphas]

Gaius reacts to the sudden flash frost instinctively, cranking up his own natural heat until the frost melts away from him. The dust and the smoke still choke him and make his eyes water, but his eyes and mouth are free of frost.

He stares at the whirling, swirling smoke, absentmindedly muttering the words that should heat the entire room to sweltering summer levels. Is this...right? Is this what was supposed to happen? "Um..." he says, then curses his foolish tongue. "Living flame? If thou art the living flame, answer me!"

Free Action: Switch Firecraft Array to Environment (Extreme Heat) 3.

Expertise (Firecraft) to ascertain what's going on (-2 for Impaired): [roll0]

[Segrain]

Cornelia did not know what to expect. If she understood anything at all from Gaius's explanations, it was that they were supposed to be summoning a flame of some kind; even if it could turn out wrong and get out of control, it was still... a flame. Dangerous, perhaps, but in the same way that any other fire is. Something reasonable. Of course, something acting the way that that something should act was the watercrafter's reasoning; and it was too late to remember that firecrafting was making something out of nothing and defying any expectations.

Smoke was supposed to be a sign of a fire. It only seemed correct. Wind indoors was strange, but she was no master of the craft. Perhaps it had to be that way. The sudden chill... it did not make any sense at all, but Cornelia had no time to think about it. She was cold, and it was probably only the second time in the girl's life when that unfamiliar sensation had reached such heights. The first one was not so long ago, and, actually, involved the very same boy, and it was surely a sign of something - but she was not thinking about it either.

Shivering, - what was an unusual and unpleasant feeling on its own, - Cornelia tried to make some sense of the world around her. But her eyes were useless. "Gaius?.." - she tried to call. But her lips did not move. The boy's voice was still audible, but whence? Turning to the sound, the girl stretched her arm, trying to at least feel something. The ritual certainly went wrong, but she did not dare to stand up yet. Maybe it was going to make everything even worse.

At least it was easier to think than admitting that she was afraid of cold and blindness.

[Arcran]

Servius' hands instibctively go to his face as it is flash frozen, hitting the cold ice hard. The agonized scream from the boy was decidedly not one of a nobleman's son but, then again, Servius was only that in name.

A moment after going blind Servius manages to remember that he doesn't entirely need his sight to see and, with a few muttered words, extends his sight into the ground itself, before remembering that he was not in fact on the ground.

For now, Servius contents himself on trying to break loose some of the ice around his eyes, hoping to actually get a slight handle on what's happening.

[TooManySecrets]

"Um... Living flame? If thou art the living flame, answer me!"

The breath catches in Gaius' throat as he shouts, the chill wind almost seeming to burn. The chill is as cold as deep winter. Colder even.

You can feel your craft flowing around you, fighting against the cold. For a moment, it seems like your craft is fighting back, pushing back the cold. And then you feel a pulling sensation. Your craft is being pulled out of your body, leaving it.

The ritual ... it never ended. Yes! Something went wrong with the ritual — as if that wasn't obvious — and somehow it is still drawing the power of the craft from you and the others. Whatever is happening, it will only get worse until the ritual is somehow stopped.

And you have the sinking feeling that you just gave this out-of-control ritual another boost in power.

Gaius' firecrafting has been Nullified for this scene or until he can somehow get them back. Gain a Victory Point.
Servius and Cornelia are able to slowly clear themselves of the frost, at least over their faces, just as a pulse of extreme cold rolls over all three students. The temperature in the room seems to plummet even further.

Servius and Cornelia are no longer blinded.

Everyone must make a Toughness resistance check versus Damage 2, as the cold starts to turn lethal. For the purposes of this check, you are not Impaired (i.e. you don't make your Toughness check at -2).