Pursuers of Arcana (IC)

[Monbon]

Rhea listened patiently. So it seemed Luce and Dia could still play the lullaby and subdue Lilith if need be. That was good to know. Looking back at the orb, she felt some sense of security with that knowledge. The man said it was a scrying orb?

At the sound of the flute, Rhea turned her attention back to the intruder only to be immersed in Lilith's story. The power of worldsong was hard to understand but she didn't need to understand it to know what had happened. The story pulled at her heart strings. She was very familiar with the grief the woman had to have felt but she couldn't imagine the betrayal. The poor woman had just lost something precious and they went and sealed her. How could she not feel for her. This Lilith person was quite pitiful.

Though she understood, it wasn't as if any of it justified the woman's hatred for all of humanity. Does she have to go so far?

Rhea wasn't sure. There wasn't any chance to ask any further questions either or do much with this newfound knowledge. By the time they returned to reality, Magnificus was gone, the orb as well. 'Well, there went our only chance at stopping anything or learning more.'

~

They were retrieved shortly after and asked for details, their little excursion abruptly brought to an end. Rhea naturally cooperated and wrote everything down, including a drawing of the orb and the masked person they had met while the details were still fresh in her mind. It was interesting how quick they were to act. Yet, she didn't completely comprehend the severity of what had happened until she saw the state of some of the other teams. It seemed they were let off rather easy.

~

After they returned, Rhea continued to place focus on her exercise regimen, putting the events past her. She'd forget them eventually so they didn't really matter. Though she got the feeling that something dreadful was going down, it was far beyond her own abilities to even pay it any mind. Someone else would deal with it once it came down to it. They were just students. This time had to be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

While others recovered and did their own thing, Rhea split off to spend time on her own, distancing herself from most of the other students as much as possible, not going far beyond the usual greeting and such unless pressured to. Aside from exercising, she worked on fine tuning her own skill set, focusing on regulating mana. Arju allowed her to use quite a bit but it was hard to get used to when her own pool was so meager.

Despite her efforts, she continued to feel the strong need to improve. When she recalled the masked figure, she realized that if he had chosen to take them out, he very well could have, at least when it came to her. She chose a long range weapon for a reason. At the same time, she was scared of actually having to fight anyone. The thought alone filled her with anxiety. It was something she should gain some experience in but.. How?

The answer came in the latest buzz about the tournament. Originally she hadn't planned on entering and wanted to enjoy the festivities and watch from the sidelines instead. But when she thought about it, it was probably best to learn to apply her hard work here and see how she fared. While the prize didn't interest her, the experience in itself would be valuable.

Once the day came around, she wandered around for a while, window shopping and having fun watching others enjoying themselves at the booths. Rhea didn't dare take further interest in participating in any of them for the most part. Until something grabbed at her attention. She was just passing by a booth when something caught her eye, making her pause. There was a puppet, several actually, sitting on display. Almost immediately Arjuna came to mind.

The demon had been stuck inside that old ragged doll for so long. Wasn't it uncomfortable? Looking over the options carefully, Rhea took note of the fingers and joints in particular. Surely the demon would like to interact with the world around it more, right? While they wouldn't be able to get a full sense of the world in an inanimate object's form, it'd still allow her to do more than just sit there helplessly. The demon wasn't particularly defenseless, but she was still very limited. 'Is anything catching your eye, Arju?'

Though Rhea wasn't well off, it wasn't as if she couldn't pay for a small puppet. There were a few cute ones that seemed to be similar in size to the doll she currently possessed that grabbed her attention. They were so cute, even if Arjuna wasn't interested, she'd want to purchase it for herself if possible.

Ultimately, however, the decision lay with the demon. If she refused or wanted something else, Rhea couldn't really refuse. It'd also be a chance to learn more about the demon. Even now, she was a little wary of her. There were a variety of dolls and toys on display. What kind of tastes did this demon have? Was she even interested in the offer? Even if she wasted the money on another temporary vessel, it wasn't as if the end result would be any different.

---

Interactions: Arjuna @Thaleko
Mentions:
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[Cresion Breezes]

Ena Lavenderdew

---

"...And then, I went swoop, and bang-" Ena landed on the table in front of the investigators and did a backflip, hovering in the air upside down. "And then, the carrot mage went whoosh-" She pointed both her arms towards the wall behind, and then flew backward into it. "And then, there was this lady, she acts like she's my ancestor or something, but it's like she doesn't even know us." Quickly, the fairy did a loop in the air and flipped onto the table again, putting on a comically stern expression, "'I hope you're not corrupted by the world of man', yeah right. If she's seen how much my rootmates were like humans she would've forgotten all about that carrot mage - Are you getting all of this down?"

"Anyways, the point is, I don't really keep records, actually, none of us really do, other than the weird ones." After being scolded for going too off-topic, Ena sat down and began to get a bit more serious. "A lot of us flower fairies know which flower we come from, but that's it, even if we did have an ancestor like you big species, it would've been so long ago." She rolled around on the table a bit, "History is all boring you know, just think about having fun now, and later."

---

The days passed after the investigators told the students to not disclose what they've seen to others, she tried to ask the others who were also on the trip about whatever they saw, but it seems like everyone was given the same direction. "Ughh...shucks." Ena mumbled as she picked up a sewing needle, poking it onto a flower petal - it was somewhat like a journal, the markings on the petal were ones used by fairies. "Fine! I'm not gonna tell anyone!" She picked up the petal, flew out the window, and shoved it under a pebble, it gave her a tiny bit of relief from not being allowed to say anything about the incident.

Luckily, a new distraction soon came in some sort of games, Ena's ears perked up a little when she heard "games", but was slightly disappointed by the prize being reading. It was alright though, after a few days of boring investigations and nothing happening, Ena was more than happy to partake in some exciting games. She tapped around her "dorm box", gathering up her new projects. "Aw, right, I didn't even get to use it because of the weird lady." She mumbled to herself as she looked over the artifact that she's been working on. It was still a work in progress, the transfer of mana from her body to anything else was always met with some deep obstruction, she would need something that conducts mana better and is sturdy enough to withstand her mana amount.

"...Where to....where to find..." Prancing and fluttering around the box, she thought about professors, but Ena wasn't sure if they were going to help with this big game. "Oh right." A spark of an idea blitzed through the fairy's head as she remembered her fellow artificer students.

"Riiiiiiiiii-krikkkkk-" Ena found her way back to the workshop she spent a fast-paced and fun day in during the school year's opening. If there was any place where artificers would be, this is it. She debated whether or not kicking open the window will be a bit much, but was out of a choice when she noticed the window was latched shut. Now the latch was no longer on the window, neither was the window frame. She dashed directly towards the workbench that appeared to have people nearby it.

"Hey Rikrik, do you have - ouupfft -" Ena struggled out of the bundle of hair, pulling out the strands that might have gotten into her mount. "Rikrik, when did you turn into a girl - Oh." It took a moment (probably longer than it should have) for Ena to realized that Rurik didn't turn into a girl, a girl was just also here. "Hello!" After the confusion was gone, Ena cheerfully said hi to the girl there, she doesn't remember her being an artificer, but she must be a friend if she likes being in the workshop.

"Umm...you're...oh right, Kyra!" The fairy wasn't very familiar with the other, personality or ability-wise, but again, she must be a friend if she likes being in the workshop.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Rurik mulled over potential steps forward. Once he refined the material and made it reliable, he could worry about reforging it into equipment he could use. That would be a much simpler task, he surmised.

As he mumbled to himself, he felt a presence at his back and a breath against his ear. His body stiffened and tensed as his head jerked to spot the one responsible. It was the demon girl with a curious tone that overlay what he knew to be smugness. A little payback for the scare he gave her, perhaps. Though his was unintentional.

A long, drawn out exhalation came from his nostrils as he looked at her before standing up to full height.

"Trying to get this thing to reliably absorb spells, for one. And didn't we talk about this?" Rurik turned around and leaned against the edge of the table, folding his arms as he looked at the woman expectantly. "Copping feels and whispering in my ear and, still no dinner. A little aggressive, hm?"

The very same mask that was faceless yet seemed to perfectly encapsulate his jest and suspicious tone. He played off the initial surprise with his own remarks, though that wasn't too necessary thanks to the distraction brought on by the fairy. Between her shooting in and her initial confusion, there was little time to prod about his startling.

"Right. Because me turning into an attractive woman is more likely than an attractive woman being with me in my workshop," Rurik retorted in the same joking, suspicious tone. "I know I stick to myself, Ena, but that's a pretty deep wound."

@Jessica2477 @Cresion Breezes

 

[Reanimator Buns]

Kess had just fooled another sorry sap into spending way too much coin on a simple bet. As the man walked away frustrated and angered, Kess called to the next person who approached him, his eyes closed. "What about you Ma'am? I bet someone like you has some good for-Oh Luce! Uh..." Kess quickly gathered his little game and threw it to the side. He didn't want Luce learning that he was swindling people. He doubted that he'd appreciate that.

He had been keeping a close eye on him since he had nearly lost his life thanks to the poison of that Manticore. He asked if he was excited for the Wizard games. "Of course I am! I'm always looking to learn new techniques from others. And I think this is a pretty great way to learn them." He produced a small stone with a simple engraving on it. This was given to everyone who had signed up for the event. "I've already signed up. Though I wonder if this thing has anything to do with the start of the games..."

He looked around, trying to see if he could find his sister. Didn't look like it this time, but he did see Diastrea who was always vulturing off his books once he was done with them. He called her over "Hey Cat!" He was curious if she too was gonna take place. Speaking of, he turned back at Luce inquisitively. "So hey, what about you and Kyra? You two gonna take part? Sure would be fun as hell."

@Jessica2477 @Thaleko

 

[Jessica]

Luce & Kyra
Interactions: Rurik | @EmperorsChosen
Fairy | @Cresion Breezes
Kess | @Reanimator Spuds
Mentions:

Asmodeus and Camael

~~~~~~~~


A little snicker followed watching Rurik getting startled by her arrival. Success!...Or rather, she thought it was a success until the next words that left the man's mouth earned a blush and left her tongue tied.

'Aaaahhhh it backfired! Backfired!' She mentally screamed, only to be laughed at by her pact demon.

Thankfully they didn't have to dwell on the topic for long because a newcomer arrived in the workshop, someone Kyra hasn't had the pleasure of properly meeting. The small, cute, fairy girl that the demon had seen running around but never stopped to say hi. At least now was the chance... Wait, did she just ask her if she was Rurik who'd turned into a girl? Did she really look like that much of a man?

Is that why her luck with men was so terrible?!

Ugh, now she really needed to win the damn Wizard Games...

W-Wait, did Rurik call her attractive?

Yes, her plan seriously backfired on her.


"Ena, hm?" She repeated to the fairy to make sure she got the name right. "Yup, I'm Kyra. Nice to meet ya." Her attention turned to Rurik. "Hey, she thought I was a man turned woman. I'm wounded too."


-----

He tilted his head a bit seeing Kess eagerly toss something aside. "Some good for" what?" Luce asked, however he doubted the other would give him an answer. It was obvious Kess was trying to hide whatever it was he'd been doing, so Luce wouldn't pry.

'Most likely sinning like the little sinner he is.' Camael commented within his head.

If that was the case, then Luce was all the more curious.

He suspected Kess was looking around for his sister, then when asked about him and her, it confirmed them. It'd be fun to mess with his friend a little bit~ "I signed up, but I might rescind my participation. Kyra is definitely going to be there if you'd like to "become closer" with her."




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[Thaleko]

Contrary to what Rhea may think, Arjuna had the capacity to move in this doll form. Using her demonic power and mana, she could easily move the doll as if it was her own body. Which it sorta was. Though she was a mere inhabitant.

The weird, faceless, pink doll perked up. Then it hopped out of Rhea's arms, coming up to the windows to "look at" the various dolls Rhea was talking about. Really, its black holes stared forward at them.

The doll held up its little stubs for arms. Then looked at the others. "Hm. A real body, would be of interest to me," Arjuna answered.

"As for these dolls... Hm. I suppose... Anything would suffice. I am not sure I have that much of a preference."

"Sometimes it is best to embrace the misconception or stereotypes. They help others relate to you based on their previous knowledge. Nya."​

"That is a misconception, nya~" she began, calmly strolling over. "I am a Rakshasa. Well, actually, specifically, I am a Whiskerkin. That is most likely where the misconception comes from. It can be said I possess quite a few cat-like qualities, mnyaaa~" Right down to how she spoke.

As if the question was asked to her, she responded. "I most definitely am going to! I am very interested in claiming that title, and the tome. Nyoww~"

Her red eyes glanced at Luce. "Ah, the one known as 'Kyra' is your sister?.. I had no idea. I really need to study you a bit more. Study everyone a bit more, mnyaa..." She began scribbling away in her notes. Eagerly updating Luce's profile to indicate he and Kyra were related. Though Diastraea had yet to formally meet the one known as 'Kyra'.

 

[kookyboy9]

Khalid Abbar

Location: Ancient Ruins - Mysterious Hall
Date: Unknown

Interactions:

Khalid had been at his training for quite a while when it occurred to him that it had been a while since he'd caught up with Rurik and Ena. Ena was liable to be nowhere in particular, but Khalid recalled that Rurik had some sort of lab somewhere on campus. Perhaps he could find him there?

His destination in sight, Khalid started towards the lab, arriving after an embarrassingly large number of times getting lost. There seemed to be some sort of altercation going on inside. Something about Rurik turning into a girl? Khalid was pretty sure that humans didn't do that, but magic was magic. A closer look revealed the window was broken, and probably recently. The conversation inside revealed that Rurik did not, in fact, turn into a girl, but rather had company over. After giving them a moment to get the rest of the exchange on the topic over with, Khalid knocked on the workshop door, then stepped inside. "Popular place today!"

Ena was definitely here, as well as... Kyra? Was that her name? She'd been along for the desert ruins expedition, but he hadn't really had a good chance to talk to her. He held out a hand for her to shake if she was so inclined. "I don't think we've talked before. I'm Khalid!"

Regardless of if she chose to shake or not, he turned to Rurik. "Anything I can help out with around? Been a while since we had the chance to catch up!"

 

[Cresion Breezes]

Ena Lavenderdew

---

The fairy tilted her head at the conversation, she didn't fully understand what Rurik or Kyra meant, but they did look a bit melancholy. Everyone back home played both men and women in their elaborate pranks, there wasn't really a difference other than how they looked. She recalled that her rootmate once told her that most people on the outside didn't get to choose, though Ena didn't fully understand, fairies didn't get to choose how they looked either.

She flew over to Rurik and plopped herself on the other's head, "it's ok Rikrik, it's not more likely." It was hard to think up of a proper response, if Rurik looked upset while saying it, she should probably deny it. "I think it might be equal chances." And you shouldn't overdo denying it, or else it would seem unrealistic, Ena responded as she recalled her lessons on acting like humans. Ena patted Rurik's head a bit as she came up with a proper response, the texture of the hair was spiky and uncomfortable, and probably not the cleanest. The fairy's face slightly scrunched up, as she quickly flew over to Kyra, inconspicuously wiping herself on the other's long hair. "And well, Kyra, I think Rurik is pretty, so it means you're pretty too." Make sure you explain things like it meant something else, if they seem upset. Ena felt proud about properly following all the tips on proper social interaction she learned.

With her relationships repaired, Ena bounced out of Kyra's hair, wanting to get to the main point. This was when the last member of their invention convention group showed up. Khalid stepped into the building, and while Ena thought about sitting on his head instead, she remembered how he was like, completely made out of rocks. The fairy jumped back into the long white locks of the demon girl and fidgeted with her hair. It was good that Khalid showed up, maybe he can help with what she wanted to ask Rurik for.

"So, Rikrik, I need a material, something strong that conducts mana really easily." It was for her next artifact, getting mana out of herself was difficult, even onto something close as a melee weapon. She had learned about mana manipulation through artifacts and thought it could be a good chance to upgrade. "Weight isn't a problem...and, oh right Khalid, maybe you know how to make it?" The fairy asked, seemingly half-hearted as she flew up, trying to see if Kyra's hair is long enough to touch the ceiling.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

As the students went about their interactions, nothing of note or were tending shops a blue shimmering field would envelope each of them, glowing from bracelets or tags each mage had been given if they were of a mind to participate in the Grand Wizard's Games being told beforehand to keep the trinket of choice with themselves or else they would not be allowed to advance once the games kicked off.

Of course none of them were told how, where or even when this all was going to happen. Such were the whims of Professor McGuffin. With a sense of vertigo the teleportation magic they had seen in limited use was deployed on a massive scale, landlines physically glowing in the soil appearing and vanishing in a flash of light, whatever they had been doing, where they had been or even the how and why was a mute point as a woman of orange hued hair and a massive wingspan flapped above them, a man in red with hair to match stood a bit with a grumpy expression to his face, followed with an exhale and a seat was empty beside him save for a single trademark pith hat, one the good professor was not often seen without during his expeditions... Yet he was not here.

"Gods Dammit Cherrie.."

"What? Its time, its not my fault Macky isn't here."

"IT IS YOUR FAULT IF YOU TRANSPORTED HIM!"

The man fires back at the woman, who shrugs her shoulders without a care in the world as she gazed down upon the rest, in a manner she seemed like a Hawk marking her prey as she mumbled incoherent ramblings attaching numbers to each of them. Not individually but almost as if ranking them to her own on the spot judgement.

"Well hello there, Kiddos and not so kiddos with the repeats."

There were more students here than just the group that Professor McGuffin oversaw, though be it by luck, trinket or chance all of his students were grouped together close to one another as the winged woman speaks.

Birb

"Hello there! I'm going to be running Commentary over the fights, sorta like a Judge, minus McGuffy is going to be judging off of other factors than winning, but lets not talk all of this stupid shit on "skill" I don't care how many nice particle beams you can make if you end up eating dirt. So don't disappoint me! Also, ah yeah, name is Carmilla Duval, friends call me Cherrie. And till you Impress me we aren't Friends."

"Cherrie.." The other man says testily.

"Yeah yeah. I got it. Also if one of you makes another eat dirt, stop there and leave it be. If you go too far I'm going to put you in a nice shame box for the crowds to see. Ah yeah, my magic is based on Teleportation and thats all you need to know, but yeah if you want to enter the fights then take a step over to the left. your up Rags."

"..." Looking at the woman a bit he just shakes his head, holding a red crystal in his hand, bouncing it up and down.

"Names Rufus Redman. Partner in Crime to Professor McGuffin, I'm what you call an Archeological Archivist, if its magic and it Belongs in a gods damned Museum then I make sure it gets there. My magic is typically as my looks would suggest, fire based. I'm an Alch-"

"He's named Rags cause he used to burn his fucking hands." The winged woman says with a laugh causing the man to shoot a glare that would kill at her.

"Yes, an Alchemist. Well moving on. The Grand Wizard's Games are not a contest simply of martial power. Among the Professor a few other instructors will be keeping a watchful eye over you all, to see how you deal with things, maybe even to send you a mission themselves directly for points.

Points are the means of scoring to decide the next "Wizard King", a title of ceremony and of prestige. As to what I am doing, there will be randomized packets with a few tasks for you that focus around skill as a mage rather than battle ability.. Unlike my friend there I say there is nothing wrong with eating dirt so long as you can play the long con. Artifacts need to be recovered, stolen texts found, magics to be planned around. At some point you will run into a threat or a problem that brute force cannot handle alone. It is these scenarios I will hand off to you. But as I said others may have tasks for you, in which case you'll get a dispatch from a Raven. The one with the most points, experience or Judge votes will be the Wizard King. In all there are five judges but you shall only know of the Professor. Bare in mind you may martially dominate and continue well into the finals but be found wanting for the Wizard King must not be just strong, but wise, intelligent and adaptive."

Rags

Finishing his speech the man motions with a few packs of paper. "If you want to try your mental prowess take a step to the right. If you wish to do both that is also possible but physically time constraints means you'll have less tasks to perform. Also it should be added your initial matches will be among classmates that you came here with.. You have ten minutes to decide. Ask what questions you may have."

With that out of way the two flame haired folk look on, the man with a detached world-weariness and the woman with her predatorial gaze. What answers would they have? What questions could they have? And most importantly where was the Professor? Either way these two seemed intent on rolling on without him.

 

[Astros]

Yanagi
​

Spoiler

The hazy rays of daylight extended their greetings of the morning anew. Piercing through the forested canopy inland, the forest of Fenring was abuzz with life yet visually tranquil. Behind the still bulwarks of root and bark, raged the everlasting competitive game of survival. But, to the eyes of one who stood still and generally outside or above this mortal struggle, the overgrown ruins of a past kingdom amid nature's untamed beauty was rather peaceful.

Staring idly at a group of morning sparrow, as they hopped around in search of morsels of food left behind by more wasteful predators. Yanagi lay drowsily against the remains of a century's old stone and mortal wall. Feeling rather rested from his long overnight slumber, he yawned widely. Taking for a time to stretch his limbs and properly ease back into his daily training. The sparrows watched cautiously from a distance, but otherwise remained busy with their task.

Similarly, with a growl Yanagi's stomach reminded him he was overdue. After a moment of searching beneath his long overcoat, he held the leftovers from the other day. A handful of dinner rolls, now as hard as the stone surrounding him and as dry as the desert had been. Nibbling at them individually, he would have to make them last til the evening came. Until that time arrived, he turned his attention again to yesterday's work.

Descending from the relative safety of the lookout tower that remained to guard the old ruins. Yanagi dropped down with a soft thud among what was once likely an armory of some sort. The wooden roof having collapsed in and vanished long before he had discovered it, what remained were a mere four stonework walls. Heavily overgrown by vines and mold with decades of nature's patience. The doorway was impressively still intact even if it did lack the necessary "door".

This shabby storehouse had made a reliable study for Yanagi. The walls had been cleared up to his height and in place of nature's green hand, the stone now bore man's handicraft. Countless transfiguration circles, spell incantations, and a mix of the two were sprawled throughout. On the floor too, there was numerous lines of chalk, charcoal, and crudely carved symbols. Atop them were piles of leaves, sticks, tree bark, rocks, crystals and otherwise debris meticulously sorted and grouped together. It was clear that the items had been collected for a purported use, but what exactly wasn't made obvious.

Flipping through the pages of his journal, in between infrequent bites, Yanagi returned to where he had left off the previous day. On the left side was a list of the items collected throughout the room with notes and comments written messily and without uniform. At a first glance it would seem incoherent, and of little importance. To Yanagi, it was the collective of all the hours he had spent testing and questioning his understanding of wizardry.

What had begun as merely route practice in sketching transmutation circles to increase his speed and effectiveness. Was itself transmuted by boredom and curiosity into a practical thirst for understanding and pages of test results. Turning back through his earlier entries where the format of his journal entries abruptly changed all together. Yanagi reviewed his makeshift notes of the building blocks to the method. Things that the professors and course work either chose to gloss over, or took several days to address after many hours of abstract thought.

For instance, the circle necessary in transmutation and other spells. What were the limitations on its application and adjustment? Variable differences of large versus small. Wide versus tall. Thick versus skinny. Multiple versus singular. Incomplete versus complete. Dotted versus lined. Overlapping versus side-by-side. Every conceivable variation was jotted down, tested several times, and combined with other alterable elements. Their results recorded, and anything producing nothing marked for "further tests". Even the medium of drawing the circles was investigated to see if any notable difference in speed or power could be found.

Rather disturbingly, blood appeared the most effective from the handful of tests. Overall, however, it seemed spell difficulty/class played the larger role.

Morning quickly seemed to give rise to midday. Exploring the unknown elements of wizardry and to a degree artifice, reminded Yanagi of his childhood days among the swamp. If one could overlook the poisonous wildlife that seemed to invade every corner of livable space and defend it to their last breath. There was a unique mysterious beauty to the otherwise gloomy bog. The more perceptive and spatially aware could note minute differences in groves and the unruly underbrush. No dozen feet of overgrowth was truly the same as the one before it, and it wasn't any wonder that many perished simply by losing their bearing among the natural maze.

However, due to this fact there was a great unexplored novelty to wandering the wilds. You never knew what you would be surprised by or end up discovering one step to the next. An endless cycle of discovery awaited anyone who ventured forth, that eroded away sense of time down to the rise and wane of the sun's rays. It was easy to get lost, both physically and mentally. But, if you could manage it there would hardly be a dull moment that would greet you.

Long days had faded into short weeks for Yanagi as the papers in his journal seemed to disappear along with the coin in his purse. After a morning that seemed but a few hours, he found himself on his way back to civilization. By now he had memorized several "docile" routes to return to town. Avoiding areas that displayed natural signs of magical corruption.

Stopping to peer around the base of trees and moldy logs for anything edible or that could fetch a price with the herbalist. In his back pouch he carried a rough gem with which he planned to sell to pay for a second journal and additional writing supplies. Having come across it while spelunking a rather shallow cave, he made the difficult decision the day prior to part ways with it in place of using it for his tests.

Mind drifting to the time when he deliberated on the matter, his surroundings blended into one big background scenery. A few minutes of being absorbed in thought was all it took before he found himself in a region he had yet to explore.

Despite being an island of largely green plains and clear brooks. One could still easily find themselves lost within the woodland of Fenring. The woods seemed to move and shift while one was standing still. Not that you could notice such movements, but a path you took one day would not lead you to the same region a week before. At least, it didn't seem to for Yanagi, who had picked up on this fact quite early in his journeys. Perhaps, because it had reminded him of regions in Shaambalak.

In this moment, more specifically, the regions populated by Wandering Willows came to mind. Enormous trees that were technically more vine mimicking trees. The Wandering Willow was one of few plant species that would physically migrate.

Having evolved to compete for resources by invading hospital regions dominated by other species. The willow would envelope a suitable area populated by other species thriving from readable water and rich soil. Taking hold of the competitive species, it would slowly, entwine itself to their roots. Physically strangling and uprooting them in order to rob access to its nutrients. Given a couple months, a willow could completely encase trees, brush, and even animals if they weren't wise enough to avoid a bog.

Suffocating with its tendrils, denying access to sunlight, oxygen, and water. Inevitably, the invading willow would claim the territory. Having uprooted and decomposed the native species with its acidic sap. Reduced to sulfur and carbon to enrich the soil, the original species would come to support the willow.

This "wandering" was continuous, as with such an aggressive growth cycle the willows grew to massive lengths and height. The natural nutrients in any given area never enough to sustain it. This resulted in a shifting landscape known primarily to Shaambalak. Where only in a weeks time the swamps could be transformed and one could easily lose their way as a result.

Staring at the clearing now, Yanagi was reminded that the woodland in Fenring seemed to share traits with that of the swamps of Shaambalak. While it lacked the same ruthless competitive nature of survival that Shaambalak seemed to exude from every leaf, vine, and body of water. The two still both possessed an unnatural, mystical element, that made it more than mere landscape.

________________________​

Once returned to civilization, Yanagi was less visibly distracted and more focused on his shopping . Finding a suitable merchant who would make him a fair offer instead of cheating him took more time than he had hoped. It was common to be offered a trade in terms of items instead of simply coinage. Promises he could get more out of the trade from the item's worth at the next trader grew tiresome. But, from experience he knew not to trust these kind of deals. They had left him starving and broke in the past, and he didn't trust things would be any different now.

After a time, with his coin pouch a little heavier than the start of his day. Yanagi casually made his way to a local grocer who he frequented. Being greeted upon entrance, he had gotten to know the owner from their numerous encounters. The man often took whatever Yanagi had to sale, as it often was a simple trade in goods. Food for the evening and the next morning came as cheap when you could make a return and then some when trading for gold. Yanagi didn't mind that he was short changed here, so long as he had a reliable trading partner.

...

Moving towards the back of the shop where the household goods were shelved, Yanagi began to inspect the various journals. The more expensive were leather bound, embroidered, and often had more robust pages. Though, with what he could afford Yanagi was left to inspect the bottom row of two to three options. The cheapest one barely having a protective covering to it at all, would likely be ruined by mere rain, and was out of the question. The other two had hard paper spines, but in exchange fewer pages. And then there was one just above what he could afford which matched his needs. Cheap leather, and just enough pages to be the best of the lowest two tiers.

Picking it up to inspect it, he thought about trying to make a deal with the grocer owner somehow to settle the difference. But, just as he went to turn around a distinct blue shimmering field enveloped him. Surprised, and mildly panicked he considered switching with the Architect for fear of being targeted. But, as soon as he considered the idea a familiar sense of vertigo made him adjust his stance to keep from falling backward. With a step back, he suddenly was no longer in the store, but once more back outside.

...

With a raise of his hand, Yanagi was surprisingly one of the first to propose a question. Noting the turn of head from the two event leaders, he lowered it before saying. A bit timidly.

"I don't have my equipment... am I... able to go collect it? It's... more than ten minutes from here."

Everything he had been preparing for the games he had left back at the tower base. Unaware of how the trinket was to work, he hadn't imagined nor prepared for the possibility they would all just be summoned. Without notice. He honestly didn't know how far away it was either which was a larger problem than currently deciding which side to take.

That fact presented a problem in itself, as he had spent weeks preparing for battle situations and now was being offered the chance to recover relics, stolen texts, and inspect magic? Those tasks suited him much better, he knew, but all the preparations he had made thus far would then be a waste. Deliberating on the choice as he spoke, Yanagi waited to hear their answer first before moving. If he wasn't able to go gather his things he'd be left to siding with the Alchemist. Otherwise, he would attempt both. A well rounded wizard would walk away with more general points and approval than specialists. After all.

@RedArmyShogun

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Pausing to look at Yanagi, the two remain fixed on him, with the woman smiling just a bit more and the man rolling his eyes a little.

"That's the nature of the test. If your magic depends on items, not traveling with some of them at nearly all times leaves you open to attack."

"Rags has the right of it. Normally I would just tell you too bad.."

"However."

"Yes. If you can get to where your stuff is and back before your match is called, say within 15 minutes. If more than that we'll have to just move on."

"Indeed. And keep in mind, all of you, that an enemy may not give you time to get ready and may grab you just as suddenly as we did. Also bare in mind this is not meant to be any sort of battle to the death."

"So if you wish to have some stuff, any of you. I suggest you leave. Now, before I battle you myself."

With the two carrying out their interplay it seemed they have a working relationship at least, as to what the Professor would have thought or said, well they were not him.

Thalia

​

Thalia for her part had no questions, most of the material she had need of was with her and the rest had to be acquired from the would be target, plus she wanted to see if she came far enough to consider taking up that offer. She had to admit it was intriguing and she never once believed the events from that tomb, that prison, were done and over with. But that was then and now, well that was now. Stepping over to the left she looks up at the two judges wondering what the Professor would have thought of all of this and just who the other four judges were. Gazing upon the crowd she had no illusions about her ability to win at this contest in full.

But she could take a couple down on her way out and that was all the reason she needed, holding a few nails in her hand, she throws them up into the empty sky, catching them on the way down.

"I will join the battle, though I do wish to do the tests once I am eliminated."

Findel​

Findel for her part had no questions and always kept her means of battle with her, she even would set the sword outside of her tub during a bath and most of the rest was engrained into her skin. Plus she was still something of an entertainer of the Arena. It couldn't hurt to gain a little fame here at least... Plus it might be interesting fighting one of those she knew. She suspected that was by design rather than chance, more so if these were one on one matchups rather than someone they didn't know, was it just another test? Well whatever was the case, she would perform to her role, once more as a Gladiator and Spellsword. With a spring to her step she takes a jaunt over to the left.

"Well, lets get this show on the road!"

 

[kookyboy9]

Khalid Abbar

Location: GMG - Field
Date: Unknown

Interactions: @Cresion Breezes - Ena

Khalid thought for a moment about Ena's question. "I can try, but I don't know how to make stuff with specific properties. I just know how to shove my mana into stuff and manipulate it."

At that moment, the trinket he'd been given began to glow, the light encompassing him. One moment, he was standing in Rurik's workshop, and the next he found himself standing in a field of other participants in the games. The two announcers explained the rules, leaving little else for Khalid to do but step off to the left. He wasn't terribly sure that he could win a tournament, but he was definitely sure he wouldn't know all the answers on the tests. He just didn't have enough general knowledge about the current era. And he didn't really attend classes on topics outside of Mana Manipulation, so no dice there. And Mathematics weren't exactly his strongest suit.

 

[Cresion Breezes]

this post's manga version (left to right)

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Ena Lavenderdew

---

Ena's hair ribbon blew in the wind as they were transported to the field, she felt something familiar for a moment, but soon turned her attention to the facts at hand. "Ughhh, I didn't expect it to start already! I was going to finish my secret weapon!" She tugged at Kyra's hair a bit harder than before (not so hard that it would come off) while complaining about the poor timing of the event.

Gazing around, the fairy remembered what Khalid told her about the specific material. He said he could try, and after seeing him in action during the entrance tests, Ena thought he could come up with something useable before the games officially start. That is until the really loud lady, who calls herself a commentator, said that they only got 15 minutes. Ena thinks she could be a commentator too, since it seems like you just have to be loud and aggressive.

Quickly scanning the area, Ena found Khalid and hopped onto his head, lowering her own head to look at the other in the eye while upside down. "Khalidddddd-" She started the question, making sure she's got the attention of the quiet boy, "can you do that thing right now? In, maybe, 15 minutes?" Feeling a bit dizzy from hanging upside down, the small fae climbed back up and sat on the boy's head again, trying to make a more convincing argument, "I'll punch Rikrik in the tournament if you do it for me?"

---

Daemon Lavenderwind

---

The field of lavender plants rolled slightly in the wind, as a lone young man stepped across the violet-hued plants, running his fingers through them occasionally. "Hey Val..." He muttered under his breath, something about a tournament, or games, but quickly caught himself midsentence. "Oh, right."

The sun shone through the canopy onto Daemon's real and illusionary eyes, it tingled a bit. He thought about just going back to sleep, back to that lavender-hued and scented fragment buried deep in his memories, but a dim glow from the bracelet on his waist (and recreated on the wrist of his illusion) forced him to focus. A small sigh came out of the illusionist, it appeared that he would need to walk this path alone anyways. Every previous Grand Wizard Games Daemon had been in, he was accompanied by his best friend and also a pact demon Valefar, it was different this time. Valefar was gone, he was alone now.

"I'll burn that bridge when I come to it." He lazily mumbled to himself as he made sure his hood and staff are both in order, while being enveloped by the dim hum and light of a teleportation spell.

Daemon didn't feel fully awake yet, in grand contrast to the commentator this year, an energetic young lady with a huge wingspan...wait, am I allowed to comment on a girl's wingspan? Not knowing whether or not that was an appropriate thing to talk about, the fairy illusionist tried to shift his attention to the other contestants. Most of them are students, he used to be able to deal with students decently, but without Valefar he had trouble determining the specific subject of the "you have an overdue assignment" illusion.

That elf looks like she would cook and eat me...The lady with the huge wingspan angrily asked for questions, and judging by how she answered the first one, the others seemed too intimidated to go. Daemon, however, didn't really notice. Instead, he thought back to the lessons he was taught in previous battles. Never show all of your cards, that's the trick in utilizing illusions...something something, lay low, and act weak. Seemingly having an epiphany, the young man with an unusually cheerful demeanor raised his hand.

"Which should I choose if I'm bad at everything?"

It felt somewhat strange to say, but it was probably alright. Daemon thought to himself.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Rurik narrowed his eyes beneath the mask at his fae. The green orbs stared at her for a moment before he sighed.

"I'll take it," He responded to the compliment. "Maybe I should start charging for entry."

Leaning back over the table, he grasped the trio's old project. If he had a readily available material like that, likely the artificer would've applied it to his present project. He would need to venture out for more resources and start melding, and as Khalid explained, he couldn't create something with a specific property.

"I'm working on that too. I'm going to need-" Rurik began to speak before the blue light that enveloped the others surrounded him too.

Suddenly, he was outside, crowded by others. Two individuals rambled through basics on the "games" they would participate in. One was moody and the other was--A character. Either way they had had dragged everyone here to begin. Sure, it was a magic school, but couldn't they have just set a damn timer? He didn't even have any of his gear, and he wasn't the only one. He needed to come up with more equipment he could have on his person indefinitely.

Watching as people began to disperse, Rurik once again narrowed his eyes at the fairy suspiciously. He wasn't sure why he was getting punched, or why that would have any tradeable value. Regardless, he had to go get his tools. He didn't trust even the mental challenges to be a simple written test. Unfortunately, that meant he'd have to run.

"Oh, fun."

 

[Thaleko]

"The Grand Wizard's Games are here. Time for the ultimate test of a wizard's worth. Magic. As an entity that has been around, since time began, I shall not lose, nyow~"​

The cat girl's red eyes glanced around her as suddenly she was enveloped in a blue light. "Nyarh~?" She meowed in a curious tone, looking down at the glowing bracelet on her wrist. Now what might this be? It was an intriguing sensation! While slender fingers hovered over the small little lute-like instrument tucked into her side that she had been absentmindedly strumming at while walking along in the marketplace. She had been taking a day to study the people of the scholae, while donning her usual mage-garb.

Thmm thmm~

She strummed the instrument a couple more times, as the light and magic whisked her away.

Appearing amongst a crowd, the curious cat's head swiveled around to take in her surroundings, and all the other people.

Then the announcers began their loud broadcast, drawing her attention with the flick of a fuzzy triangle ear.

"Yyeer~?"

Exciting! Her tail flicked in excitement. She instantly flipped out her journal and began writing things down. Carmilla Duval, whose friends call... "Cherrie, mia~ Teleportation magic... Very interesting, mnyaa.."

Then there was, "Rufus Redman, an Archeological Archivist.."

Her ears flicked, listening to their banter. So, left for magical battles. And right for... tests of sorts.

Both sounded very appealing. To Dia, she really liked the idea of being named the 'Wizard King'.

"Meooah~" She meowed, snapping her journal shut, while stepping over to the left. She had various smaller questions, but ultimately understood what was going on. She felt like there was a lot of questions left unanswered, like what the tests entailed, so maybe she should've questioned about that.

"The contestants can attempt both, yes, mnya??~" she asked aloud. "What are some of the tests, mnya?"

 

[Reanimator Buns]

Elsewhere upon Fenring​

"Confound that blasted witch! She neglected my hat..." The professor stood up and took a look at his surroundings. Where was he now? It looked like some of the woods in the island. He wondered if he could have this be his assignment. Simply just a "Find me!" idea. As he looked around, he noticed a shadow slowly begin to rise behind him. He looked behind him, realizing he wasn't alone here. "Oh dear..."

Back at the Main Stage
​

Kess wasn't expecting the sudden transportation to their new location. He heard what everyone was saying, speaking of tests and earning points. Honestly, he didn't care about earning the points. He simply wanted learn and experiment. After his encounter with Lilith, and his time spent unable to move about, Kess was feeling pretty anxious to actually do something. "Can't say I'm typically looking for a fight, but I'm trying to test something out."

Kess looked around, noticing of course, the ever pleasant Pantheo, as well as a few other individuals. He noticed a larger person, dressed in similar clothes to the fairy. Odd, but whatever. Eccentrics aren't exactly uncommon around here. The time had almost arrived now. In ten minutes they were going to get started.

"Alright, then. I'm excited to see what I can learn from this."

 

[kookyboy9]

Khalid Abbar

Location: GMG - Field
Date: Unknown

Interactions: @Cresion Breezes - Ena

Khalid's eyes didn't even move as Ena leaned down in front of him. No reason they would, considering they were purely decorational. He didn't even normally blink unless he remembered to creeped people out not to. Regardless, fifteen minutes was a bit short. He could probably get past the first round even if he helped her, but he'd have nothing left for the following rounds. But she was a friend. He couldn't just leave a friend hanging. "I can try, but I have two conditions. Well, three, but one of them is just that I don't really want you to punch Rurik as payment. First condition, I'll probably need to powernap between rounds if I help. I need you to rouse me for matches if so. And second, if you win by some long shot and actually get to peruse the entire book instead of just a few pages, I'd like for you to see if you can find something specific about worldsong magic. I can tell you more about that later, though."

Around them, the multitude of people were slowly deciding if they wanted to be tested or go through battles. It seemed that a good portion of them were choosing battles, so the competition was likely to be rather stiff.