I'm an idiot and hit post early on accident.
>>3708603
Water splashes underfoot as you trudge through the puddle filled cobblestone streets of Homeport, the constant low noise of rain splattering off your raised hood drowning out some of the bustle of the city. Thankfully the smell of the capital isn’t nearly as bad as you’d heard it would be on the voyage over, and the steady rain is making the heat of late summer quite mild by your standards. Homeport’s wide boulevards are crowded despite the weather and early hour, filled with citizens beginning their day, small-time traders setting up stands and wagons to hawk goods from, and travelers from the colonies like yourself who are equally out of place in the massive port city.

Tightly spaced multi-storied buildings dominate the flanks of most streets, blocking off swathes of the horizon in a way that is still a bit disorienting to you. Navigating the city is a blur of brick and mortar, stone and arches, colorful and often eccentric signage for shops, and all of it stained darker hues by soot and smog from the city’s almost innumerable chimneys and factories. The rows of carefully planted trees running along the many boulevards are at least a familiar bit of nature as they’re of a type native to your colony, and you stick close to them to avoid the worst of the rain.

Many others seem to have the same idea, and moving through the packed crowds around the trees is an unfamiliar task. All the stories you’ve heard of pickpockets that prey on clueless travelers come to mind as you press through the more densely filled areas. Clutching tightly to your satchel bag, a plain canvas affair containing your magical implements and academy application forms as well as what little else you own, you make your way through the denser areas of the crowd and eventually find a clear spot to get your bearings back.

It doesn’t take long to do so, the peak of the academy’s massive central stone pyramid visible at this angle even over the many tall buildings of Homeport, and you start off toward it once again. It's been like this for the last hour, ever since you were hurried off of the passenger liner you arrived at the civilian docks on, a halting start stop affair as you struggle through the maze of streets that make up the city. Your ship arrived annoyingly late due to a nasty storm at sea and it is now the last day for academy applications, but despite all of that trouble you're still making good time and it looks like you’ll be at the academy’s gates in half an hour or so.

Things are going well, everything considered! Or at leas they were until you…

>Were struck by a fancy horseless carriage while crossing a mostly empty side street.
>Had your bag suddenly snatched by a gang of thieves, and now they’re running off with it!
>Ran right into what looks like a murder in progress in an alleyway.
>Had to take cover in a nearby building as the rain and wind began to rapidly worsen.

>>3708645
>Were struck by a fancy horseless carriage while crossing a mostly empty side street.
Damn rich folks

>>3708645
>>Were struck by a fancy horseless carriage while crossing a mostly empty side street.
kek dead from the start

>>3708645
>Ran right into what looks like a murder in progress in an alleyway.

>>3708653
>>3708662

Reasoning that risking the more confusing side streets again is worth it if you can avoid the city’s larger crowds you head off of the main boulevards and onto smaller side paths. It looks like it was a good decision, as progress is quite swift for several minutes with only a handful of small crowds and the occasional carriage blocking your path. Without the overwhelming hustle and bustle of the larger streets you have a minute to enjoy the walk, taking in the various sights and smells of your surroundings. Newly painted facades of bright colors standing out even in the rain, the scent of freshly baked bread as you pass by a small bakery, the low roar of a combustion engine…

You glance to your right a moment too late, catching a brief glimpse of the front of a large white car just before it rams into you, your head smashing against something hard as you’re sent rolling violently over its hood and then onto the rain damp stone of the street. Everything goes black for half a moment and you find yourself sprawled on the ground face half in a muddy puddle, pain flooding your head and drowning out clear thoughts. A man is yelling something rather emphatically, over and over, and with a bit of effort you roll onto your back and blink several times as your try to adjust to what the hell just happened.

>Sir
>Miss

“[ ], are you hurt? Can hear me?”, the grey haired man staring down at you questions worriedly, his expression one of clear shock. Another man, just out of your pained field of vision, is yelling for somebody to fetch a doctor. Even in your dazed state you note that your satchel bag is gone, and groggily glance about until you spot it a few yards away. It looks like the contents have spilled all over the road, and the wind is blowing some of them about.

>Insist you’re fine and attempt to stand quickly and gather your things. [DC 70]
>Answer but lay still, moving is a bad idea and just thinking about it hurts. Let them get help.
>Lay still and take a few moments to cast a simple healing charm on yourself. [DC 60]
>Yell for somebody to stop your satchels contents from blowing away! [DC 30]
>Write-in.

Rolls are 1d100, successful rolls are equal to or over the DC and best of three.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>3708960
>Miss
>Yell for somebody to stop your satchels contents from blowing away! [DC 30]
Roll over or under?

>>3709013
Roll over or equal to, best of three. Probably could have worded that better originally.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>3708960
>Miss
>Insist you’re fine and attempt to stand quickly and gather your things. [DC 70]

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>3708960
>>Sir
>Yell for somebody to stop your satchels contents from blowing away! [DC 30]

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3708960
>Sir
>Insist you’re fine and attempt to stand quickly and gather your things. [DC 70]
Rolling pre-vote-confirm?

>>3708960
>>Miss
>>Insist you’re fine and attempt to stand quickly and gather your things. [DC 70]

>>3709013
>>3709028
>>3709031
>>3709038
>>3709041
Female wins, getting up wins. Roll of 79 is a success. Writing.

>>3709038
I'll definitely ask for rolls after the vote is locked in the future, that is probably a cleaner way to do things. This time I'll just use the first three rolls that were made. Voting period will generally be half an hour or so.

>>3709065
>I'll definitely ask for rolls after the vote is locked in the future, that is probably a cleaner way to do things.
Apologies for the over enthusiastic rolling then qm

Gritting your teeth you reply simply, “I’ll be fine, I think.”, and fight through the pain to bring yourself to a low crouch, arms shaking as you do so. Half soaked and muddy from the puddle you barely manage it, stopping for a second to wipe away some of the blood and muck on the side of your face.

The dapper looking grey haired man is clearly taken aback by your show of resilience, moving to assist you in standing but being a bit too slow in doing so. With a hand gripping on the edge of the slightly dented hood of the car you’ve already brought yourself to an unsteady standing position. Seems like they mustn’t have been going that fast when they hit you, everything aches horribly but you can still support your weight and your head and vision are beginning to clear.

“Miss, please, allow me to assist you. This has all been a terrible accident, it’s the least I could do!”, the older gentleman manages before glancing off down the road. The other man from the car is down the street, judging by his darker hair he looks quite a bit younger but it is hard to tell at this distance as your vision hasn’t fully adjusted. He’s still calling for a doctor for whatever that matters.

The contents of your satchel bag continue to scatter, and you scramble as there probably isn’t much time to save most of it. “My bag, I… I can’t let it blow away!”, you say to yourself more than the old man, staggering toward the satchel and its scattered contents. Kneeling, and almost falling over as you do so, you begin collecting the magical implements and academy papers scattered about the street. They’re waterlogged but still mostly legible, and you hope that won’t be an issue. The man helps you collect your things, even stopping one of your wands before it goes rolling into a drain, but you gather most of it up yourself.

“Miss, are you sure you’re alright? That wound on your forehead looks rather nasty, you should rest for awhile. Arthur is fetching a doctor, and...”, the older man glances down the road once again, “And it looks as if he’s found one, or somebody helpful at least. Here, sit in the car if you would, it will at least keep you out of the rain.”

He opens one of the rear doors of the vehicle’s cabin, the red cushioned bench-like seat inside looks very comfortable. Making sure your satchel is clasped properly this time and clutching to it tightly, you…

>Accept the offer, and rest in the back of the car for a bit.
>Refuse, that horseless carriage has caused enough trouble for you today and you’re starting to feel steadier again anyways.
>Berate the man for hitting you with a car! Apologetic or not you won’t just let that slide.
>Write-in.

>>3709192
>Accept the offer, and rest in the back of the car for a bit.

>>3709192
>Accept the offer, and rest in the back of the car for a bit.

>>3709212
>>3709201
Alright, seems like resting it is then. Writing.

Nodding quickly you accept the man’s offer, and slide into the back seat of the car. The cushioned red seat is as comfortable as it looked, and the interior is gorgeously decorated and quite clean, or at least it was until you entered. Leaving muddy water prints is unavoidable with the state you’re in, but you don’t feel too guilty about it as they did hit you with a car after all.

Laying on your back across the wide rear seat you stare at the interior roof of the car for a bit, just resting and letting your head clear, thinking of little to nothing while the pain subsides. Being out of the rain is nice, nicer than you expected it to be really. The older man doesn’t bother you while you rest, but eventually you do hear him talking with the younger man outside of the car. There’s a third voice, a woman. A healer you soon overhear, shortly before she makes her way to the rear of the car. Sitting up quickly, maybe too quickly, you assume a more conventional position in the seat, and watch as the portly middle aged woman peers in through the open door.

“Hello, miss. I’m Lily, I’m a healer and you’re going to be alright. What’s your name?”, the woman asks in what sounds like a practiced manner, her tone soft and comforting.

One hand is still clutching at the blooding side of your head as you respond…

>Alice.
>Beth.
>Catherine.
>Write-in.

>>3709355
>Catherine.

Interesting setting so far. Shame the OP was messed up.

>>3709363
Thanks. I'm regretting the OP mess up quite a bit, but there isn't much to be done about it now.

>>3709355
>Catherine

“I’m Catherine,” you respond while scooching to the edge of the seat near the open door. The rain is still falling steadily outside, picking up a bit even from the look of it.

“It’s nice to meet you Catherine, can I take a look at your forehead? Looks like you took quite the bump there, dear.”, Lily continues in her practiced manner, opening a small bag and withdrawing a magical focus - a simple smoothed stone, the sort you’d skip over water, but you can feel it abuzz with slight arcane energies. You lean over a bit more, positioning yourself so she can take a look at the wound.

“Oh, now that isn’t so bad. I’ll have it fixed right up, just hold still.”, Lily notes confidently, “You’re an academy student, aren’t you?”. There’s a slight hum as she examines your aura, casting quickly and with little flash.

[1d100 for natural magical aptitude, best of three]

“Hopefully,”, you glance slightly to your water soaked satchel bag, “I was heading there to ap-.”. You wince as she casts a healing charm, the re-knitting of the broken skin on your forehead is painful and itchy for the few moments it lasts. Aches slowly leave your body and your focus returns for good this time.

Lily draws back a bit, tucking the stone back away, “There we go, right as rain!”.

>Thank Lily and depart, the academy awaits and minus a few bad stains you’re alright now.
>Hop out of the car, you’re going to have some choice words with the men that hit you.
>Speak with the men that hit you, but do so civilly.
>Ask Lily if she ever went to the academy, she seems pretty capable.
>Write-in.

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>3709575
>Ask Lily if she ever went to the academy, she seems pretty capable.
Natty

>>3709575
>Hop out of the car, you’re going to have some choice words with the men that hit you.

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>3709575
>>Thank Lily and depart, the academy awaits and minus a few bad stains you’re alright now.

Kinda want to ask if we could get a ride...

>>3709612
That's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask for! Feel free to add detail to options and suggest dialogue. Write-ins don't need to be entirely separate actions.

>>3709626
Putting that on, then.

>Ask if we could get a ride, we're a bit late to the Academy to apply, you see and...

>>3709626
Alright changing to
>Speak with the men that hit you, but do so civilly.
>Ask them for a ride to the Academy as an apology

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>3709653
>>3709641
Asking for a ride to the academy it is, with a side of talking.

Rolling the last d100 of the three just to get it done.

[Magical aptitude of 93!]

You rub a bit where the wound was a few moments ago and grin as you don’t feel anything painful there anymore, “Thanks, Lily. That helped a lot.”. You lean forward and give her a quick hug, taking care to not dirty her with your rain water and mud soaked robes.

“Anytime dear, it was hardly a bother.”, she chuckles and then turns her head to the two men outside the car and speaks a touch louder, “Just be a bit more cautious on the streets.”

“Of course, of course. Certainly.”, the younger of the two men, Arthur he was called, responds rather quickly. He looks terribly anxious about the entire incident, hands worriedly rubbing together as he stands in the rain. Quite a handsome man really, tall and dark haired… hitting you with a car does take a bit away from it though.

“...And I’ll try to dodge the next carriage”, you joke from within the rear of the car, a bit of casual playfulness returning now that your pain has subsided. The two men give somewhat nervous laughs in response, perhaps fearing litigation.

Lily steps back fully from the car, saying her farewells before departing, “See to that, dear. I’ve got others to attend to though, workmen are always getting hurt from some foolishness, especially in the rain. Best of luck with the academy, Catherine.”

As she departs the two men move closer to the open door, but you speak up before they can, “So do you two run people over often? I’m Catherine.”. You extend a hand, which they both shake in turn. No reason to be rude, they clearly feel terrible already.

“Arthur Duncan, and I’d like to not make a habit of it.”, the younger of the pair responds before turning to the older man, “and this is my business associate...”.

“Sean Dudley,”, the older man finishes, “and I truly am terribly sorry about all of this, Miss Catherine. Is there anything we can do?”.

You cross your arms, “A ride to the academy would be a good start, I’m a bit late you see...”.

“At once!”, Arthur answers with a small clap of his hands, “And more carefully this time, eh Sean? You company’s car isn’t all it's made out to be, or at least the brakes aren’t.”

A slightly gruff, “...Indeed.”, is all the response Arthur gets from him. Arthur shuts the rear door for you, and both of the men enter the front of the car which is apparently still running. Doing… something with some levers, you’re not really sure, Sean coaxes the machine back into motion.

>Ask about Sean’s company, no reason to not make polite conversation and you know very little about cars.
>Duncan is a familiar name for some reason, and the man is obviously wealthy. Ask more about him.
>Just enjoy the strange ride in the car, you’re going to make great time now and all the topics you can think of are awkward considering the circumstances.
>Check just how bad of a condition your satchels contents are in, that might be a serious problem.
>Write-in.

>>3709940
>Check just how bad of a condition your satchels contents are in, that might be a serious problem

>>3709940
>Duncan is a familiar name for some reason, and the man is obviously wealthy. Ask more about him

>>3709940
>Check just how bad of a condition your satchels contents are in, that might be a serious problem

>>3709940
>>Check just how bad of a condition your satchels contents are in, that might be a serious problem.
and then
>Ask about Sean’s company, no reason to not make polite conversation and you know very little about cars.

if we can.

>>3709940
>Check just how bad of a condition your satchels contents are in, that might be a serious problem.
>Duncan is a familiar name for some reason, and the man is obviously wealthy. Ask more about him.

>>3709994
+1

As the large car steadily rumbles its way down the rain slick side streets of Homeport you check over the contents of your satchel, items that will make or break your future in the hours to come. Things seem gloomy from the start. Quick action after you were hit saved anything from blowing off in the wind but many of the academy papers are almost entirely illegible now, only vaguely recognizable as the forms they used to be. You sigh loudly, looking over what remains of them and run a hand through your hair as you take stock of the situation, sorting the papers into a few groups on the large rear seat. Lightly or undamaged, legible but messy, and write offs.

“Everything alright back there?”, Arthur asks, looking over the rear of the front seat-bench-thing of the car.

Shuffling a few papers from one pile to another on the rear seat you respond with a clear touch of annoyance, “Its my academy application papers, a lot of them are ruined.”, you shake your head as you look at them, “This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.”.

He turns a bit more, resting an arm across the top of the front seats as he gets a clearer look, “Oh. I, uh, I see. That’s pretty bad. They’ll have spares on hand surely, won’t they?”.

“I hope so.”, you grumble. He shrugs apologetically and turns back to watch the road, some obstacle Sean is driving around catching his attention for the moment.

The letters of recommendation are the most obvious and pressing issue, they’re totally ruined and little is left other than the magical seals on the envelopes. Maybe the academy can clean them up, somebody has to be capable of something like that. You ponder trying to clean up the letters yourself, risk a bit of improvised housekeeping magic. Couldn’t get much worse than this anyways, right?

The actual magical implements are all fine at least, the wood wands shouldn’t warp from such little water and the focus stones are… well they’re rocks, not much to worry about with that. Books are mostly fine too, leather cases doing a lot to protect them. Regret at not protecting the forms and letters equally well slowly sets in though, a dull sinking dread.

Taking your thoughts away from your personal disaster of a day for a moment you speak with Arthur, starting up with little warning, “Arthur Duncan, right?”.

“What? Oh, yes, that’s correct. Why?”, he asks quizzically while turning back to you.

The look he gives you makes you feel a bit silly but you ask anyways, “Your name sounds really familiar for some reason, what do you do?”.

>>3710333
Arthur seems perplexed for a moment before explaining, looking as if you just wandered out of a portal from some other world. “Duncan Steelworks. Father owns most of the dockyards, but I try to make my own way, hence Mr. Dudley here. His automobile business is quite something...”, he carries on for a while, talking about their business venture, but you don’t hear much of it as you begin screaming at yourself internally.

“Oh.”, is all you can manage outwardly for a moment. Of course the name sounded familiar - It was emblazoned all over the ship you steamed in on!

>Try to carry on the conversation normally, ask more about what they do.
>Bring the conversation to a quick end, these aren’t people you want to associate with.
>Attempt to clean up the worst of the papers and letters with some improvised magic. [DC 50]
>Ask if they’ll help with the academy if the papers are an issue.
>Write-in.

>>3710335
>Attempt to clean up the worst of the papers and letters with some improvised magic. [DC 50]

>>3710335
>Attempt to clean up the worst of the papers and letters with some improvised magic. [DC 50]
>Try to carry on the conversation normally, ask more about what they do.
They sound like people we should associate with actually

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>3710354

>>3710376
>>3710354
Attempt to clean up the papers with magic wins, just need two more rolls. Next post will be tomorrow, going to sleep for now.

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>3710376
+1

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>3710413
We can cast just a basic restoration cantrip, can't we? That 93 should mean something...

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>3710413

While Arthur continues speaking, seemingly more than happy to talk about himself and his businesses and Dudley’s ‘flying machines’, you turn back to your papers and decide to try your hand at cleaning them up yourself. Improvising magic is a very risky business for most, especially when attempting something for the first time, and can often end in unexpected and unpleasant results - but you’ve always had a knack for it, at least compared to the tiny number of other mages you’ve known. And it’s just cleaning some papers, what’s really the worst that could happen?

Taking one of the focuses in hand you clear your mind, and extend your power into the smoothed stone, setting it lightly aglow and sparking with arcane energies. A few motes of blue mana swirl about, darting in and out of the stone as you move it in slow circles over a nastily soaked and dirtied paper you choose to test the magic on first.

You picture the way the form was meant to be, muddy stains removed, ink print clear and legible, the paper crisp and dry, a return to the form it had been before. With a careful effort you will this clear image in your mind’s eye to be so, motes of energy dancing about the paper. The restoration begins at once, just as you had pictured it, dirt and water separating themselves from the paper and collecting in tiny floating orbs while the forms text slowly grows crisper and the paper straightens back to its proper shape.

A tiny, “Yes!”, is all the celebration you let out for now, and you set to work fixing the other papers in the same way, the little floating orbs of dirt and water slowly growing until you’ve finished.

Arthur stopped talking at some point and watches with great interest as you restore the last of the papers, “...from your tone earlier I’d thought you didn’t know that sort of magic.”.

“I didn’t, but I made due.”, you answer simply while looking about for a place to dump the waste orbs of dirt and water - they’re very small but casting them off in the rear of the car, even with as much as you’ve dirtied it, seems rather rude.

“Oh, well in that case that was quite the display then!”, he responds while curiously watching the floating orbs before pointing at something next to you, “The rear quarter window can open.”.

>>3711097

“Huh?”, you question for half a moment, looking about until you see a small latch on part of the window. With a second of fiddling you’re able to undo it, opening it slightly, and you will the tiny orbs out into the street where they quickly land among the falling rain. From the signs on the buildings outside and their nicer exteriors you suspect you’re getting close to the academy.

>Ask about his business, you missed a lot of that. ‘Flying machines’?
>Ask what he knows about magic, most non-mages are clueless but he seems to understand a bit.
>Double, and then triple check the papers. No risking this, it’s too important.
>Use one of your mirrors and try to clean yourself and the rear of the car up a bit, it's a little different but you’re getting the hang of it quickly. [DC 30].
>Write-in.

>>3711098
>Use one of your mirrors and try to clean yourself and the rear of the car up a bit, it's a little different but you’re getting the hang of it quickly. [DC 30].>>3711098

Going to give the vote a bit longer than usual since its a an odd time of day.

>>3711098
>Use one of your mirrors and try to clean yourself and the rear of the car up a bit, it's a little different but you’re getting the hang of it quickly. [DC 30].
>Ask about his business, you missed a lot of that. ‘Flying machines’?
Surely we can multitask at least a bit

>>3711188
You can definitely multitask a bit, normal issues of splitting focus apply though - likely neither option will be done quite as well as if it had your full attention, and with the car ride coming to an end you've got limited time. If you just want to listen while casting that isn't too difficult.

>>3711098
>>Ask about his business, you missed a lot of that. ‘Flying machines’?

>>3711271
>>3711188
>>3711115
Going to go with the combination option, need the rolls though. That break lasted much longer than I thought it would, sorry about that.

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>3711327

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>3711327

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>3711327

In the slight reflection of the window you can see how ragged you appearance is currently, bits of dried mud and blood across your face, short blond hair stained with dried flecks. Looking like a dirty vagabond when you arrive at the academy doesn’t appeal to you, so with the help of a small mirror withdrawn from your satchel you set about cleaning yourself up. It’s careful work, but with the warm-up of cleaning the papers it isn’t too difficult. Figuring you must have missed something interesting you speak with Arthur while you tidy up, “You mentioned something about ‘flying machines’? I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch all of it.”.

“Ah, of course, spell work does take some focus, doesn’t it?”, he answers quickly before continuing with quite some enthusiasm a bit of explanatory gesticulation, “They’re heavier than air contraptions, not at all like those bulbous dirigibles the navy uses, real engineering marvels of our age. It’s mostly been Sean’s work, he’s been at it for decades now you see, but together our companies have gotten a few of them actually flying. They’re, uh, sort of winged things, like a bird, but instead of flapping they pull themselves through the air with a propeller powered by an automobile engine.”

“Propellers? Like on a ship?”, you inquire, using your glowing focus stone to clean a bit of your cloak as you do so. Some of the dirt and stains on the seat get your attention for a moment and you clean them up as well, the orbs of dirt and water collecting in the air notably larger than what you pulled from the paper - a much smaller orb of dried blood floats alongside them. With a quick flick of willpower you send them out the still slightly open window.

Arthur nods, “A similar idea, but they’re a bit different in how they work. Are you familiar with the mechanics of flight? I never did ask what your focus as a mage is.”

You continue cleaning up as you answer.

>I’m a little familiar, on my home island we had an enchanted kite you can ride the updrafts on with the right air charms.
>I haven’t really dabbled with flight, I’m more of a summoner. Tried to avoid calling up things that fly, hard to catch them if they break loose.
>Most of what I know came out of civilian defense training the militia put on a few times, healing and basic missiles mostly.
>I, uh, don’t really have much of a focus yet. Mostly just winged things so far, teaching was limited back home.
>Write-in.

>>3711441
>I’m a little familiar, on my home island we had an enchanted kite you can ride the updrafts on with the right air charms.

>>3711441
>I’m a little familiar, on my home island we had an enchanted kite you can ride the updrafts on with the right air charms.

>>3711441
>I’m a little familiar, on my home island we had an enchanted kite you can ride the updrafts on with the right air charms.

>>3711441
>I, uh, don’t really have much of a focus yet. Mostly just winged things so far, teaching was limited back home.
Talented, but no specialty and has to wing things on the fly constantly.

>>3711441
>I studied birds for a while trying to make working wings for myself, it worked as well as for everyone else that tried but still

>>3711528
>>3711471
>>3711460
Kite wins, writing.

>>3711574
Actually a pretty neat idea.

“I’m a little familiar, on my home island we had an enchanted kite you can ride the updrafts on with the right air charms.”, you answer truthfully. Flying wasn’t exactly a safe hobby but it was very exciting, definitely beat the alternative of farming, chores, and then more farming and chores.

He looks at you carefully for a moment, sizing you up, “...Impressive, that’s rather dangerous work as I hear.”

“Yeah, had my share of bad landings to prove it too, but I stuck with it for a couple of years. Got pretty decent at air magic.”, setting aside your focus stone you feel at where you broke your left arm two years ago, “So are your flying machines safer or something?”.

“Eh, not currently, they’re still a bit haphazard… Say, Sean, do you still have that photograph of the first flyer?”

“Aye, never go without it.”, the older man responds, pulling something from a vest pocket while still watching the road carefully. He hands the photograph to Arthur, who admires it for a moment before passing it on to you.

“It’s a bit more complex than a kite, but I think you’ll get the gist of most of how it works.”.

The photo is in color which is a bit of a shock, but in only a few garish tones, and the bizarre contraption displayed in it isn’t like anything you’ve seen. It’s all thin struts and wires and canvas, a multi-leveled multi-winged thing that only in the vaguest sense resembles a bird. Standing next to it are clearly Sean and Arthur in what looks like winter clothes, another man dressed similarly but with a padded cap of some kind, as well as a few men in mechanics coveralls. The propeller Arthur described is clearly visible and the engine, or at least you think it’s the engine, is set behind it. An odd machine, but it does have a certain sense to it from what you can see.

“That thing can fly? Does it need a mage?”, you ask, noting the emblem on the third man’s coat while studying the photo carefully between cleaning up a few remaining bits of grime.

“The pilots have all been mages so far, for safety reasons, but we’ve minimized the use of magic to almost nothing now - it flies entirely under its own power. The goal is to let anybody fly eventually, no magic required. That one there is an older model, from a couple of years ago, it couldn’t stay up for more than a minute or so.”

“Newest one is up to two hours!”, Sean chimes in with a bit of cheer as he begins to slow the car. Your view is a bit obstructed but the academy’s massive outer wall is now clearly visible out of the front of the car, and it’s clear you’ve almost arrived.

“In good weather. We’ve been making great progress, shame the papers hardly run the story.”, Arthur clarifies, taking the photo back after you’ve had a while to look it over. The car comes to a complete stop as it pulls along the side of the street outside the academy’s outer wall.

>>3711715
>Ask if those mages were flyers too before they tested the machines. Are they academy trained?
>...Anybody can fly? There’s a thought. Are you making more of these things?
>Continue the conversation in some other way. (I’ll take suggestions)
>Get your things together, say your farewells, and depart. No time to waste!
>Write-in.

>>3711718
>>Ask if those mages were flyers too before they tested the machines. Are they academy trained?

>>3711718
>Ask if there's any way you could help with this project

>>3711718
>Ask if those mages were flyers too before they tested the machines. Are they academy trained?
Finally
>Ask if there's any way you could help with this project

>>3711752
+1

>>3711788
>>3711747
>>3711738
>>3711752
Alright, locked in with a mix of conversation.

The car ride got you to the academy far faster than you otherwise could have managed, even without the accident, and you see little point in rushing out and cutting this conversation short - It’s just beginning to get interesting. For having been hit by a car, things have turned out very well indeed. Outside the car the rain has died down a bit as the weather is beginning to clear.

“The mages flying these machines, these pilots you called them, were they flyers beforehand?”, you inquire, now finished with cleaning up and turning your full attention to Arthur.

He nods, “They were, out of the initial group of test pilots they had the best sense of how to handle it. At the very start knowing how to handle a crash or bail out was important, and they had the most experience. A lot of that is behind us now with the newer models.”

“Mostly behind us,”, Sean adds a bit grimly as he turns to look at you now that the car is parked, “spins are still a bad problem. We’re making progress though.”

“The occasional crash isn’t so bad really, it’s mostly the first one that terrifies you. Sort of, uh, get used to it after awhile.”, you half jokingly comment, knowing from painful experience that every flyer is bound to crash eventually and generally do so quite a lot early on. Using a spell to cushion your fall was all there was to it with the kite, you just tried to avoid the nastier looking trees and rocks when you came down.

The older man chuckles at that, “You’re built of tough stuff then, Miss. Explains a lot.”.

You push from some more detail, “So these pilots, they’re academy trained?”.

“Mmm? Oh, yes, most of them.”, Arthur answers, “We only take the best, a few were freelancers though. Very capable.”

“Looking for anymore?”, you ask hopefully. The kite is all the way back across the ocean, and you miss flying.

“Interested? Didn’t think a car accident would yield a new pilot, but the world is often full of strange coincidences. We’ve got all of our piloting needs filled currently, but...”, Arthur turns and opens the glove compartment, pulling out a small silver pendant before handing it to you, “This is an emblem of favor for our company, by the time you’ve gotten some more training we’ll likely have need of additional pilots and you seem rather resilient and capable as a mage. It’ll get you to the front of the line for the job, so to speak, assuming you do well with your studies.”

You take the pendant, looking it over, it’s engraved with the same emblem the pilot in the photograph had on his coat - A more stylized variant of the Duncan Steelworks lion.

“...I’ll definitely keep the offer in mind, sounds like exciting work.”

>Keep talking, you have more to ask. (Suggest it)
>Say your farewells and depart, the academy gates await!
>Write-in.

>>3711986
>Say your farewells and depart, the academy gates await!

>>3711986
>>Say your farewells and depart, the academy gates await!

>>3711986
>Say your farewells and depart, the academy gates await!

>>3712028
>>3712022
>>3711997
Locked in.

Farewells are exchanged as you get all of your things together and prepare to exit the car, and you receive a final apology from Sean who promises to drive more carefully in the future. You open the car door, pull your hood up, and step back out into the rain taking just a moment to close the door. The rain is hardly a drizzle now, and will probably let up entirely soon, but if all goes well you'll be inside by then.

The car pulls away behind you as you look over your surroundings, the absolutely massive grey ashlar outer wall of the academy stretching high above you. This close to the wall the academy’s central pyramid isn’t visible anymore, but you know that it’s far larger, easily the tallest building in Homeport. Everything about this area of Homeport is ancient, from the residences and shops surrounding the outer wall of the academy to the paths that run between them - much of it constructed and maintained for, as you’ve heard it at least, the better part of two thousand years.

Looking to your left down the stone path running next to the wall you can see the angular protrusion of one of the entrance gatehouses. With a quick stride you head toward it, knowing that should be where you need to go. It doesn’t take long to get to the gatehouse, but you find the great black iron gates shut and a smaller arched side entrance open instead. The reinforced wooden door of the smaller entrance opens without resistance, and you push inside and out of the rain.

Lowering your hood you take a look around, observing a waiting area of some sort and a few people dressed similarly to you sitting within it. The floors are cleanly cut stone, subtle paths worn into them from many years of light foot traffic, and a few simple wooden benches line the walls. A few paintings adorn the walls as well, all looking somewhat modern and depicting pleasant scenes of nature. A trio of cutouts in the stone dominate the wall to your left, and they house odd looking transaction windows and small counters that remind you a bit of your home island’s small bank. Two of the three are closed, but the third seems to have somebody behind it. Carved into the stone above it is the world “Applicants”.

You’re busy retrieving your papers from your satchel as you approach the window, and when you look up you almost jump a bit in fright. The clerk behind the window isn’t human, but instead some sort of winged frog-like humanoid creature, a squat and short scaley-skinned fellow wearing a large pair of spectacles and sitting atop a tall stool. His, you think it’s a he at least, large yellow eyes stare at you expectantly and he points a small clawed hand to your papers.

>Introduce yourself and hand over your application forms.
>Just hand over your forms, no need to talk.
>Try to make some small talk, you’ve never met a… thing, like this. Is it a spirit?
>Write-in.

>>3712208
>Introduce yourself and hand over your application forms.

>>3712208
>Introduce yourself and hand over your application forms.

>>3712208
>Just hand over your forms, no need to talk.

>>3712208
>Just hand over your forms, no need to talk

>>3712208
>>Introduce yourself and hand over your application forms.
Spooky froggy

Rolled 16, 20 = 36 (2d100)

>>3712289
>>3712254
>>3712244
Locked in.

>>3712208
>Just hand over your forms

>>3712320
That uh, doesn't look good

>>3712328
Says guy that decided to give our name to outwardly creature

>>3712333
It's going to see our application forms you know. Pretty sure it'll figure out our name regardless.

While sliding the forms to the small winged frog-man through the transaction window you introduced yourself, attempting to stay polite despite the small scare, “Hi. I’m Catherine, I’m here to apply for the academy.”.

The creature quickly snatches up the forms as they slide through, separating them into piles quickly with only a brief glance at each while speaking rapidly in a raspy voice, “Oh! A talker, good, I love talkers. Didn’t even yelp. Very nice to meet you, Miss. I’m Karga. Hand.”.

“...Hand?”, you ask, eyes widening a bit as the fat little frog-man pulls a needle and small patch of white cloth from a drawer in the office on his side of the window.

“Yes, hand. Give it over, that thing. Need your blood for the application, tester is at breakfast still.”, he points to your hand and you can’t help but notice the rows of pointed teeth in his unsettlingly wide mouth as he smiles at you.

>Give him you hand.
>...The blood is for a test?
>There’s somebody else who does this normally?
>Write-in.

>>3712360
>There’s somebody else who does this normally?
>Give him you hand.
We are in industrial era city and not Sith temple, no need to be overly cautious

>>3712360
>There’s somebody else who does this normally?

>>3712360
>There’s somebody else who does this normally?

“There’s somebody else who does this normally?”, you ask, hesitating for a moment as you watch the odd creature continue to point at your hand with the needle.

“Mhm. Eats slow. Long time until he’s here.”, Karga twists his body pudgy body atop the stool and adjusts his spectacles as he looks at a grandfather clock on the far side of the office, “Hour at least. Very slow. Hand. Give it here.”

Glancing at the rest of the waiting room you see a pair of what must be other applicants, a young man and woman sitting on one of the benches and giving you sympathetic looks. The man is shaking his head, as if to say "don't do it".

“No, no, don’t look at them. They picked waiting. Very slow! Slows down the whole day. Hand, please.”, Karga insists, beginning to sound more annoyed.

>Slide your hand over for whatever unpleasantness this is, making the admissions frog-man mad seems like a bad idea.
>Wait for the other 'tester' to show up, you aren’t comfortable with this.
>Write-in.

>>3712425
>Wait for the other 'tester' to show up, you aren’t comfortable with this.
I too will pick waiting

>>3712425
>Wait for the other 'tester' to show up, you aren’t comfortable with this.
Waiting doesn't sound so bad now.

>>3712425
>Wait for the other 'tester' to show up, you aren’t comfortable with this.

“I think I’ll wait too actually, if that’s alright”, you say, backing up just a bit further from the window.

Karga looks quite miffed, huge yellow eyes narrowing as he grumbles at you, “Bah! Fine. Have it your way. Wait for the slow poke.”. He puts away the needle and cloth, and moves your forms carefully over to the side of his work area and out of the way.

Turning back to the room you realize what you’ve done so far today and groan a bit at it. Got hit by a car rushing to get here early and now you’re going to wait around for who knows how long for a less creepy clerk to show up. You shake your head at it all, and move to find a place to sit and wait.

>Sit near the other applicants and find something to talk about. Do they know something about Karga you don’t?
>Sit alone and read one of your books, it’s an easy way to pass the time.
>Sit alone and practice levitating some of your focus stones with small gusts of air. Just a bit of practice while you wait, there’s a small skill examination upon entry from what you’ve heard in the past.
>Write-in.

>>3712483
>>Sit near the other applicants and find something to talk about. Do they know something about Karga you don’t?
>So what's so wrong with letting him poke us?

>>3712483
>Sit near the other applicants and find something to talk about. Do they know something about Karga you don’t?
>So what's so wrong with letting him poke us?

>>3712483
>Sit alone and practice levitating some of your focus stones with small gusts of air. Just a bit of practice while you wait, there’s a small skill examination upon entry from what you’ve heard in the past
>>3712490
I think we're supposed to be a human supremacist

>>3712483
>Sit alone and read one of your books, it’s an easy way to pass the time.

Taking a seat next to the other two applicants on one of the benches you strike up a conversation about the weird frog-man, “So what’s wrong exactly with letting him poke us?”

“He’s a coal imp, they’ve got a nasty habit of biting off fingers if you give them the chance.”, the man answers matter-of-factly, “Not sure how they got one to do paperwork but I just don’t trust it.”.

“I’ve seen them take a whole hand off a sailor before. Needles just a power test I think though, no harm in that.”, the woman adds in a soft voice, sitting at a bit of an angle on the bench to see you past the man.

From their demeanor you’d expected something horrible like that, but it's still weird to hear, “Oh. Woah. You think he’d do that? I’m Catherine, by the way.”.

The man shakes your hand, his look quite serious, “Frederick. And yeah, I think it would. It was eyeing my hand up the way a starving cat watches a bird, which is weird because that's the fattest imp I’ve ever seen.”

The woman leans over to shake your hand, introducing herself with a simple, “Lisa.”.

“...And they’d let it work in an office? Sounds like a beast, not an office worker.”, you comment incredulously.

“Baffled me too. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe they’ve got it trained and bound too well to attack, but risking my hand or just waiting an hour? I’ll take the wait.”

“Definitely take the wait.”, Lisa repeats. You get the impression they’re siblings, their freckled pale complexions and red hair matching up pretty well.

“So you both know about imps? Are you summoners?”, you ask, moving your satchel to a more comfortable spot at your side on the bench as you adjust your position a bit.

“We are, yeah. Grew up dealing with the blasted things on colliers down at the docks, they’d hide in the holds and everybody pushed off dealing with them to us. When we came into our magic they just expected us to work harder at it.”, he wiggles his fingers a bit, “Managed to avoid losing anything so far, don’t plan on starting today.”. Lisa raises her left hand as well, revealing a stump where the little finger should be.

“Not quite as lucky.”, she says a bit sadly.

>Talk about your own past a bit, it hasn’t exactly been great either.
>Ask more about them, they both seem nice and summoning isn’t something you know much about.
>Go finish your application with Karga, these people just seem overly suspicious of him.
>Write-in.

>>3712659
>Ask more about them, they both seem nice and summoning isn’t something you know much about.

>>3712659
>Ask more about them, they both seem nice and summoning isn’t something you know much about.

>>3712659
>Ask more about them, they both seem nice and summoning isn’t something you know much about.

>>3712659
>Ask more about them, they both seem nice and summoning isn’t something you know much about.

>>3712659
>>Talk about your own past a bit, it hasn’t exactly been great either.
Quid pro quo, of a sort.

Also, ouch for Lisa.

>>3712690
We'll be able to heal her. Hopefully.

>>3712692
I doubt it. It seems like it's an old, old wound. Usually there's some sort of time limit to restoration stuff like that. Best we could probably do is some kind of magical prosthetic. I do agree with the general 'help her somehow' sentiment, though. If only for our own educational purposes.

>>3712699
We could always transport her soul into a new body

>>3712665
>>3712673
>>3712677
>>3712685
Locked in.

>>3712705
Bit of an extreme measure, isn't that?

>>3712699
Cut off hand -> grow new hand

>>3712756
Good idea
>>3712748
We could use magic to make a body identical to hers other than the finger. This wouldn't be very extreme, would it?

>>3712772
Yes. Yes, it would.

>>3712756
As well as this.

Holy shit guys
Just make controlled cancer growth in place of stump and sculpt it into a finger
Or even just stick a piece of metal into it and have her posses it with her ghost finger
No need to remove anything

>>3712787
>Just make controlled cancer growth in place of stump and sculpt it into a finger
Now we're cooking with grease.
We could always take a finger from someone else and sew it on, do a little bit of magic to make it useable.
Isn't that what people already do with their toes nowadays?

“Ouch.”, you wince a bit as you see the stump. It looks like it's probably a very old wound. Lisa moves her left hand back out of sight, but doesn’t seem put off by your reaction.

“Ah, it’s not so bad, lesson I won’t forget. Still got all the others.”, she gives a weak smile, “And I hear they can replace them here anyways, neat little stone… Uh, what were they called?”

“Prosthetics?”, you offer out, hoping you’re correct. One of the militia men back home that used to be in the navy had a moving stone arm, did something heroic in the last big invasion apparently. You never knew him well though, just heard the story around town.

Lisa nods, “That's it, yes. They make them unique, little carved stone statues that look like the original, it’s a sort of binding ritual or something. Spirit moves it around.”.

Interesting, that wasn’t how you’d expected that to work, “That’s actually kinda neat. You both probably know a lot about binding as summoners, right?”

They shake their heads and Frederick explains, “Eh, not too much really, we did more banishing than anything. Got really good at it, even without much power.”.

Lisa repeats the sentiment about banishing before carrying on, moving the subject to you, “You’re from one of the colonies, aren’t you Catherine? Accents odd. Not that I mean anything bad by it, it sounds nice.”.

“I’m from Cape Laka, yeah, and thanks I guess. By your story I take it you’re both from Homeport?”

“Born and raised.”, Frederick answers proudly.

>Talk about your own past a bit.
>Ask more about Homeport.
>Really good at banishing? Sounds like rough work.
>Write-in.

>>3712862
>Talk about your own past a bit.
More because I'd like to hear about Catherine's past than anything else.

>>3712862
>>Talk about your own past a bit.

>>3712862
>Prosthetics
Boring
>Talk about your own past a bit.
Knowing who we are would be useful

>>3712862
>Ask more about Homeport.

>>3712862
>>Talk about your own past a bit.

“Is Laka nice?”, Lisa asks sounding a bit more cheery, “We’ve cleared imps out of a few ships that headed southways, some probably ended up there.”.

“It’s alright, a lot warmer than here but there isn’t much to do. Sort of a farming town latched onto the side of a big navy station if you can picture it. Streets aren’t nearly as busy either, can hardly get around here without being run over…”, you trail off for a moment, thinking of the odd car ride to the academy and you check to make sure your satchel is still next to you on the bench. It is of course, and the rest of the waiting room is still very empty aside from the three of you. Karga continues glaring at you from the window, grumbling to himself.

“You grew up on a farm?”, Frederick asks, “Airs a lot cleaner out there, isn’t it? A lot of sailors talk about how clean most of the colonies are.”

“Yeah, really big farm outside of town proper. Lots of fresh air, chores, and not much else. It’s state run, the navy set it up after the last really big invasion to help take care of all the orphans.”

“Oh, so you’re an…”, Lisa starts sadly. She seems like a sweet person, it’s hard to imagine her fighting an imp in some cargo hold.

You finish the unpleasant thought for her, “Orphan, yeah. Most of us never knew our parents so it was more like a giant family, caretakers were real taskmasters though. Navy discipline wasn’t uncommon, but I think they meant well. Don’t mess up twice after a good lashing anyways.”

>”Things got a lot worse after the raid though, the black ships didn’t leave for a whole week.”
>”Things got a lot worse after the cyclone though, whole town was almost leveled.”
>”Things got a lot worse after the mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”
>Write-in.

>>3713093
>”Things got a lot worse after the mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”

>>3713093
>>”Things got a lot worse after the cyclone though, whole town was almost leveled.”

>Hell if the rebuilding didn't bind us together like nothing else, though. Not to mention everyone what could walk on two feet got to know woodcraft at least a bit.

>>3713093
>”Things got a lot worse after the raid though, the black ships didn’t leave for a whole week.”

>>3713093
>”Things got a lot worse after the Fire Nation attacked though, their constant nagging for avatar was infuriating.”
More seriously
>”Things got a lot worse after the mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”

>>3713093
>”Things got a lot worse after the mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”

>>3713093
>>”Things got a lot worse after the raid though, the black ships didn’t leave for a whole week.”

>>3713093
>”Things got a lot worse after the mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”

>>3713104
>>3713137
>>3713143
>>3713154
Locked in, next story post will be the last for the night.

>>3713137
Pffff. You've got air magic, a hell of a magic aptitude, and had a kite you could fly on. I don't think the fire nation would have to look for long.

>>3713169
Guess learning fire magic will be a pain. Good thing healing is usually water magic.

>>3713169
The previous post mentions lashing and I wonder if we've been lashed before.

“Things got a lot worse after mutiny though, the natives… Well, it wasn’t pleasant.”

It’s always a little weird to talk about the mutiny with somebody that wasn’t there or in another colony, but you carry on nonetheless. Won’t be the last time you have to speak about it, and talking has always helped some. Makes it a bit easier to deal with.

Frederick looks horrified, “God, I hadn’t realized Laka was part of that. I’m not, uh, not great with geography. Heard it was really rough in a lot of the colonies though, can scarcely imagine it.”

“It was. Navy base took the worst of it in the first few days and went up in flames, they had a couple transports of auxiliaries there when it started and it didn’t take long for them to join the rebels. Had to hole up in the farmhouse with the other for a few weeks before the relief column arrived from the north.”

“But you all made it through intact, right?”, Lily asks, looking just as shocked as her brother.

You continue your grim tale, “Most of us, seemed like it wouldn’t ever end though. Mutineers took a few goes at the farmhouse and bombarded it a few times, but we still had access to a well, and kept them past the outer wall with…”

>A lot of hunting rifles and a militia machinegun, which we put to good use.
>The help of some soldiers that holed up with us after the fighting started.
>Creative use of air magic and a lot of lamp oil and matches.
>Write-in.

>>3713234
>A lot of hunting rifles and a militia machinegun, which we put to good use.

>>3713234
>Creative use of air magic and a lot of lamp oil and matches

>>3713234
>The help of some soldiers that holed up with us after the fighting started
Gib Army exp

>>3713234
>>Creative use of air magic and a lot of lamp oil and matches.

We are not the most powerful magic user around, but we are TRICKY AS FUCK.

>>3713272
Why not both?

>>3713234
>A lot of hunting rifles and a militia machinegun, which we put to good use.

>>3713234
>Creative use of air magic and a lot of lamp oil and matches.
So we are mage that likes to fly and uses copious amounts of fire
I hope we will get close to some alchemist that can create napalm so we can recreate Vietnam

>A lot of hunting rifles and a militia machinegun, which we put to good use.
We gun wizard.

>>3713234
>The help of some soldiers that holed up with us after the fighting started.

>>3713246
>>3713255
>>3713272
>>3713559
>>3713600
>>3713677
Going to combine the two options a bit.

>>3713234
“...our hunting rifles and a machinegun the militia stored at the farm. Everybody did their bit with what we had, and we were lucky enough to catch the rebels off guard with some magic at the end when things were looking bleak. Firestorms scared off their last few pushes.”, you continue, adding a bit of emphasis to the last bit. The siege isn’t a pleasant memory but you’re proud of how you handled yourself.

“Firestorms?” they both ask, attention focused entirely on you. Karga seems to be listening too from across the room, leaning close to the window to hear more clearly.

“Air magic and a lot of lamp oil,'' you explain,“add a few matches and you don’t even need a pyromancer. I knew the winds well enough from flying to make a big storm out of it past the wall. Took a, uh, few attempts though. First couple of times it didn’t really take off. It was mostly just a fear thing though, more flash than substance, but they never tried to push through it. Rifles did most of the real work. By the time we’d run out of oil the army had arrived and cleaned things up.”

Frederick looks very impressed, “Wow. So was that magic all just you? I haven't ever heard of somebody doing something like that with air magic.”

Shaking your head you clarify a bit, “Me and two others, they were flyers too. I had the longest section of the wall to guard of the three of us though.”

“...Can we read your aura?”, Lisa questions, probably wanting to get a sense of your ability.

>Go ahead, it might look a bit off though. Had some healing done earlier.
>Sure, if I can read both of yours too.
>I’d prefer you didn’t. Thanks for asking first though, a lot of people don’t.
>Write-in.

>>3713787
>>Sure, if I can read both of yours too

>>3713787
>Go ahead, it might look a bit off though. Had some healing done earlier.

>>3713787
>Sure, if I can read both of yours too.

>>3713787
>>Sure, if I can read both of yours too.

>>3713787
Also explain that it might seems off because of healing. We don't want them to run to us with false idea that we can heal them

“Sure, if I can read both of yours too. Mine might be a bit off though, had some healing done earlier.”, you answer, interested to see their power for yourself as well. They mentioned being relatively weak earlier, but if they’re applying to the academy it probably isn’t that bad.

The pair exchange a quick look and a nod, and Frederick shrugs while speaking for them both, “Fair’s fair.”

The siblings adjust the sleeves of their robes and hold one another's hand, a slight hum barely audible in the air as they raise their entwined hands and extend their senses. The read isn’t quite as quick or subtle as the one Lily did earlier, and you can feel it pulling faintly at the edges of your perception. After a few moments they lower their hands and the sensation fades.

They stay silent for a moment while you read them in turn, the faint nimbus of energy around each of them becoming clear as you extend your hand and focus. Their auras aren’t very bright, not much more than wispy trails of energy wavering around them, but the pale blue motes of mana swirling about them make their magic clear enough to see. With a slight surprise you note that the glow of the motes grows much more intense in the slight gap between the pair, which is something you haven’t ever seen before.

You don’t have much experience with healing but neither seems to be in poor health, sans the odd gap in Lisa’s aura where her missing finger should be - the vague outline of a finger is still there, glowing faintly. Altogether they seem to have told the truth about being fairly weak mages, but the interaction between their auras was interesting. Lowering your hand you end the reading.

“You both work better together, don’t you? I haven’t seen anything like that before.” you ask, breaking the small silence that had settled in the waiting room.

Frederick answers first, but Lisa had started as well before falling quiet, “We can sort of... multiply our ability, if we stay close together. I know we’re probably not strong enough for the academy alone but we’re hoping they’ll let us in as a pair.”

“Do they do that?”, you question with a bit of surprise, having never heard of the practice.

Lisa is the quicker of the two this time, “It’s been awhile since they have, or at least the mage we spoke with said so, but he didn’t see why they wouldn't still allow it. I hope they will, we’ve been looking forward to this for a long time now.”

A muffled thud and some slight clattering is heard faintly from the office behind the transaction windows on the far wall, and the little frog-man imp isn’t visible anymore behind his window.

>Ask what they plan to focus their studies on. More summoning?
>Ask about how their power intensifies, that’s something you’d never even heard of before.
>Ask about something else. (suggest it)
>Check what that sound from the office is, is the ‘tester’ here?
>Write-in.

>>3713892
>Ask what they plan to focus their studies on. More summoning?
One more conversation and check on tester

>>3713892
>Ask about how their power intensifies, that’s something you’d never even heard of before.
Let's replicate it using only ourselves if it's possible

>>3714033
>>3713910
I'm going to give it awhile since its a slow time of day and I've got some stuff to do. I do need some sort of consensus though.

>>3714083
If it's a tie you can roll a dice

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3714108
Eh, sure, why not. 1 is asking about their studies, 2 is power stuff.

The three of you look up in the direction of the noise coming from the office, but for now nobody moves to check it out further. Not wanting the conversation to stagnate after the slight interruption you ask, “So what are you going to focus your studies on, more summoning?”

Frederick explains their plan, still glancing every so often to the office, “That’s the basic idea at least, just train with one of the summoning instructors until we’re qualified for bigger work than imps. There’s a lot of demand for it these days, shipyards as busy as they are, and we’ve already got banishment down pat so that’s a leg up over the competition.”

“Pretty much a third done already! Just need to get a handle on conjuring and binding and we’ll be great. Spirits won’t know what hit them.”, Lisa adds cheerfully, emphasizing the point with a clenched fist.

“Sounds like you’ve got the dangerous part of it sorted then.”, you respond optimistically, “So it’s the academy and then right off to protecting ships?”

“Yeah. Might join the navy or just freelance, we haven’t really picked anything out thou-”, Frederick begins to say before suddenly stopping, listening intently as a new voice can be heard coming from the office. It’s a bit muffled but clearly male, and you can just make vague sound of an argument between the newcomer and Karga.

“The tester?”, you question, looking to Lisa and Frederick. The three of you waste no time in getting up to check out the commotion in the office, crowding in close and peering through the transaction window and into the space beyond. A dark haired bearded man in academy robes and Karga appear to be arguing over some sort of obscure point of protocol, and it’s mostly gibberish to you despite your best efforts to make sense of it.

>Let them finish their argument. It’s amusing to watch, even if you don’t understand most of it.
>Try to politely get their attention.
>Crack the air with a bit of magic. Loud pops get attention very well.
>Write-in.

>>3714287
>Try to politely get their attention
"Sirrah please"

>>3714287
>Crack the air with a bit of magic. Loud pops get attention very well.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3714288
>>3714298

>>3714423
My luck...

As entertaining as their arguing might be you have things to get done, and attempt to get their attention with a light tap on the glass and a polite, “Sirrah, please.”

They both turn to look at you, Karga stopping mid sentence and squinting his big yellow eyes for a moment before the bearded man lightly smacks him on the back of the head. “Ow! What’s that for?”, the imp complains loudly, trying to rub at where he was hit but unable to reach with his small oddly shaped arms.

“Oh shut up, you know what it’s for.”, the man says while glowering at the imp before shooing him off through a small wooden door that leads out of sight, “I’ll be right with you Miss, my apologies for the Imp’s behavior.”

“Is he always like that?”, you ask, wondering if this is business as usual at the academy.

The man approaches the window and immediately sets about making sense of what Karga did with your papers and forms, “No, normally he just does the work without a problem. He’s been… regressing somewhat over the last month or so unfortunately, we may need to get another soon. I hope he didn’t unsettle you too badly, I thought he could still cover for me without causing an incident.”

“He wasn’t that bad really, just a little creepy. What do you mean regressing?”

“It happens sometimes with trained and bound Imps, predatory instincts can sneak back in even if they’re well fed and the contract is ironclad.”, he explains while reading over some of your forms, “You’re Catherine, correct?”

“I am, yes.”

“Good, good. We need a bit of blood for the records, it will only sting a bit, and I’ll need to perform an aura reading if you’ll allow it.”, the man brings the needle and cloth back out from the drawer they were placed in earlier.

You extend your hand to the port in the window, feeling a lot less like something is going to bite your hand off this time, “Of course. So Karga, he… hasn’t actually bitten anyone, right?”

“Not anytime recently. He isn’t a danger, but if he’s bothering applicants it's still a problem. Thought I had him speaking in normal sentences again but…”, he pricks your index finger with the needle and collects a drop of blood on the cloth, “I guess I misjudged his state.”

“So he’s less creepy normally?”

The man raises a hand and you can feel the aura reading begin even with the glass between you, “Much less, appearance aside. Imps make good workers generally, even if most people think they’re pests. Ah, there, all done. Very impressive aura, you’re a real heavy hitter aren’t you?”

>>3714605
“Uh, thanks, I guess. All done?”

The man writes a few things on a standardized looking card and then stamps it before handing it to you, “All done here at least, everything is in order to progress to the next stage. If you would, go through that door over there, the hallway will take you out of the gatehouse and into the academy grounds proper. Head into the pyramid, there’s a waiting area for applicants near the testing chambers - If you follow the signs you can’t miss it. They should have copies of all of your papers and be expecting you by the time you arrive, but if there’s an issue head back here and I’ll sort it out.”

“Hallway, pyramid, testing chambers. Got it.”, you parrot back while getting ready to move out of line.

The bearded man nods, “Have a nice day, and good luck. Next, please!”

>Wait for Frederick and Lisa and go in as a group.
>Move on and head right for the testing chambers.
>Look over the card for a bit.
>Move on and look around the grounds for just a bit, you’re curious to see the academy.
>Write-in.

>>3714611
>Look over the card for a bit
Then
>Move on and head right for the testing chambers.

>>3714611
>Move on and look around the grounds for just a bit, you’re curious to see the academy

>>3714611
>Move on and head right for the testing chambers.

It feels as if a great weight has been lifted from you as you turn to leave the room, knowing that you aren’t going to be held up by some bureaucratic nonsense is wonderful. With a bit of a spring in your step you head for the far door, your future ahead of you.

The door is old and heavy, dark wood reinforced with iron, and takes some effort to push open. The hallway beyond it stretches on for a good twenty yards and is illuminated in flickering lamp light. On an intellectual level you knew the gatehouse and academy walls were massive, large to the point of being almost impossible to build even with modern technology, but actually seeing the staggering scale of it as you pass through them amazes you. Holes in the ceiling of the long hallway, murder holes you believe they’re called, give evidence to a much older and more violent time, and there are many signs of additional gates and doors long removed or sealed over with stone throughout the hallway. The door at the end of the hallway opens just as the first did, and with a push you transition back from dim lamp light to the brightness of day, blinking and squinting for a moment as your eyes readjust. As your vision returns to normal you can’t help but gasp slightly at the view.

The academy is a magnificent sight, the towering central pyramid of gleaming polished white limestone looming high above the many pillared buildings that stretch across the grounds about its base. The only thing you could compare it to are long gone ancient temples you’ve read of in history books, for there’s nothing else like it in the world anymore. Wide pathways of smoothed stone connect the many buildings, carefully tended landscapes of trees and flowers filling the gaps between them. Forums, theaters, and dozens of other structures from times long past stand just as they did centuries ago.

Even the air seems cleaner and fresher, as if the smog of Homeport couldn’t find purchase within the academy walls, and from the unstained look of the building exteriors you deduce that there must be some sort of vast enchantment maintaining that state of purity. After a few moments of taking in the sights you set off down the largest path that heads directly toward the pyramid, walking past small groups of robed men and women going about whatever business they attend to as mages. A patrol of stern looking pyramid guards walk past in good order, all wearing outdated cuirasses and colorful puffy clothes of a style long past, but the bolt action rifles slung across their backs are anything but archaic.

>>3716553
You briefly look at the card you were given as you walk, it’s a temporary identification pass of some kind. Neatly printed and labelled cells filled in by hand with your basic personal information. Catherine Ward, age nineteen, Cape Laka… Everything seems correct. The stamped area is a bit odd though, a massive red “AA-” stamped in the largest cell of the card and labelled ‘aura’. A classification system like this for auras is unfamiliar to you, but you think that's a good rating.

It takes a few minutes to reach the pyramid, its large black iron gates very similar to those of the outer wall’s gatehouse but left fully open. A cavernous central hall lies within and stretches all the way to the other side of the pyramid where another set of open gates mirrors the first, and from your past reading you know that an almost identical hallway runs perpendicularly through this one forming a great cross from which many staircases allow access to higher and lower levels.

You aren’t exactly going to some obscure corner of the pyramid though, and after entering you easily follow the clearly posted signs to the testing chambers, making your way past groups of students and a few instructors. A guard checks your card before letting you pass inside the testing area, directing you through one of a trio of arched stone entryways. The room beyond is in line with the rest of the pyramids gargantuan scale, a large stone dome with nothing cluttering its smoothed floor except a few summoning circles cut into the surface. Bright light from an unseen and indistinct source illuminates the area clearly.

>>3716555
In the center of the domed room stands a tall raven haired woman wearing the gold trimmed red robes of an academy instructor, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently as you enter. Her expression is almost disdainful as you approach, sharp facial features given a stern aspect by it.

“Catherine Ward.”, she states, voice clear as she enunciates each syllable in a strange accent.

“...That’s me, yes.”, you answer, not entirely sure of the protocol for the situation yet. You hand her your card which she looks over with a small sneer before handing back.

“I am your proctor for this examination. Get rid of the bag.”, she commands, moving with measured step as she circles slowly around you and sizes you up.

A loud buzz fills the air and the feeling of an aura reading beginning is unmistakable, the tugging at the edges of your perception stinging and painful as she makes no attempt at all to lessen the discomfort. You lower your satchel carefully and slide it away a good distance across the floor, managing to not wince at the sting of the reading as you do so.

She ends the reading with a snap before continuing, utterly authoritarian in her manner of speaking, “The purpose of this examination is to determine your current level of skill in four broad categories the academy finds useful when considering a students application: Summoning, elemental control, body alteration, and general arcane martial ability. The results of this examination will be forwarded to a board of instructors that will determine your acceptance or denial to the academy, as well as your potential for both non-standard and advanced instruction. Is that clear?”

“Yes, proctor.”, you answer, falling back into the habits of discipline and respect you learned on the state run farm you grew up on.

“Excellent. Each category I listed has a corresponding section of the test. You may choose the order in which you will attempt these sections.”, she explains while casting a spell on a small stopwatch, “There will be no breaks between completion or failure of a section, you must choose the next one immediately or I will. I will give further instructions upon the selection of a section, and if you require clarification of instructions you may ask at any time. Choose the first section now.”

To begin with you start by...

>Choosing summoning.
>Choosing elemental control.
>Choosing body alteration.
>Choosing arcane martial ability.
>Asking her name politely, just calling her ‘proctor’ feels wrong.
>Write-in.

>>3716559
>Choosing elemental control.

>>3716559
>Choosing elemental control.

>>3716559
>Choosing elemental control

>>3716611
>>3716582
>>3716580

“Elemental control first.”, you choose, steeling yourself and focusing your mind for the task to come. The proctor draws a focus stone from a pocket and hands it to you, it’s a cleanly cut flat dark disc very unlike the smoothed skipping stones you are accustomed to. Adapting to it isn’t troublesome though, motes of mana beginning to swirl about its reflective surfaces as you test it, and if anything it’s easier to channel through.

With a snap of her fingers the proctor dims the lighting of the chamber slightly, focusing it on the center of the room where you both stand. She casts quickly and with practiced ease, a few smalls waves and gestures setting the circles carved into the floor aglow with arcane power. Minuscule but brilliant pinpricks of light appear floating above the center of each ring for a brief moment before expanding into small portals of swirling purple and black that are painful and disorienting to look into directly. A lit brazier, a basin of water, and a stone sphere float gently out of each portal sending ripples across their ethereal surfaces, and they come to rest on the ground at the center of each circle.

“This section of the test consists of four tasks, one for each of the classical elements.”, she explains, “I will first cast a series of spells manipulating each of these objects in set patterns, the stone with be used for both earth and air. You will then attempt to recreate the patterns of manipulation with your own magic to the best of your ability.”

Casting begins as soon as she finishes speaking, control of each element being displayed in at first simple but then increasingly complex ways. The flame is snuffed out, brought roaring back to life, its intensity altered from a tiny flicker like that of a candle to an overwhelmingly bonfire and then back to its original low burn. It’s shaped into dancing forms and burning geometric patterns, intertwining weaves of flame resembling wicker, chains of glowing heat…

It doesn’t take long to realize that the emphasis of the instructions was probably on ‘attempt’, the later parts look absurdly difficult especially for what will be improvised magic for the tester. You watch closely as similar displays are made for the other three elements, water moved about much as the flame was, and the stone sphere is carved and cracked and reshaped before then being sent gusting about the room at great speeds along complex and ever altering trajectories.

The example portion of the section ends after a few minutes, the items restored to their original condition and once again resting in the center of their circles. The proctor watches you like a hawk as you ready yourself to cast.

>>3716888

Following the instructions you begin at once, calling up your power and...

>Focusing heavily on the parts you’re more confident in already - Doing the best at what you’re best at.
>Pouring your effort into the extremely difficult looking parts, relying on experience to cover the more mundane bits.
>Tax yourself greatly and give every element your true best effort, trying to recreate the display perfectly. This will likely leave you drained in the next three segments.
>Write-in.

>>3716892
>Pouring your effort into the extremely difficult looking parts, relying on experience to cover the more mundane bits.

>>3716892
>>Focusing heavily on the parts you’re more confident in already - Doing the best at what you’re best at.

>>3716892
>Pouring your effort into the extremely difficult looking parts, relying on experience to cover the more mundane bits

>>3716898
>>3716905
Alright, need some rolls.

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>3716935

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>3716935
Ex

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>3716935

>>3716977
...Was writing with the 92, gimme a bit to adjust a some descriptions.

>>3717006
Sorry

>>3717019
No worries man, wasn't too hard to change things. Almost done now.

>>3716977

The reflective black focus stone in your hand is alight with dancing motes of mana, and you can feel your aura flaring as you draw out your arcane power and focus it on the task ahead of you. Improvisational magic is already quite difficult, and this is going to be some very complex improvised spellwork indeed - To mention nothing of the raw energy some of it requires. You choose to lean into the difficulty, pouring your effort into the toughest parts and relying on your experience to handle the more basic manipulations of the elements.

It’s difficult deliberate work, each expenditure of power carefully controlled as you begin repeating the patterns the proctor displayed. The brazier’s flames dance to your command, swelling and shrinking as you gesture, fire contorting in close mimicry of how it did earlier. It isn’t quite perfect, occasional stray flames and flare ups marring the performance and the more complex weaves and patterns flickering and marginally less intense than they should be. You feel very good about it though, that went much better than expected, and you shift your focus to the remaining elements.

Water and earth are a lot trickier than fire was, you have little experience controlling them directly rather than with currents of air, but you manage to get through it quite competently. The errors that you displayed with flame are a bit more exaggerated with the water, but general forms and movement are still correct even through the most complex parts. The stone sphere is an utterly different beast, and changing its surface is a painfully hard thing to do, nothing at all like contorting the other elements. It is easily your worst part of the section, but in the end the contortions and alterations of the sphere are still more or less what were asked of you. A close run thing but a success nonetheless.

Air on the other hand is an absolute breeze. This is your domain, some of the first magic you ever used, and improvised or not it comes wildly more easily than the other elements. Gusts of wind move the stone sphere about the chamber perfectly, simple and complex trajectories matched without errors.

This was some of the best magic you’ve ever managed in your life, and you feel fantastic as the section wraps up.

“Minimally satisfactory.”, the proctor notes, her expression unwavering and difficult to read.

>Minimally satisfactory? Oh come on, that was amazing!
>Choose body alteration for the next section.
>Choose summoning for the next section.
>Choose arcane martial ability for the next section.
>Write-in.

>>3717038
>Choose body alteration for the next section

>>3717038
>>Minimally satisfactory? Oh come on, that was amazing!
>>Choose body alteration for the next section.

>>3717053
>>3717251

“Body alteration next.”, you blurt out quickly, not wanting the proctor to choose instead. You adjust your grip on the black focus stone, getting a firmer hold on it after having worked up a bit of a sweat in the last section. Body alteration likely entails something with healing, so you roll your sleeves up a bit as things could get bloody. This isn’t an area of magic you have much experience with, the serious risk of causing more harm than good warding you away from attempting to improvise it much in the past.

“This section of the test consists of two parts, the strengthening and healing of a living being.'', the woman explains in her odd accent as she opens another portal with a snap. You watch, careful not to stare directly at it, as the portal abruptly disgorges a confused looking sheep into one of the carved circles. The animal bleats as it stands up and rights itself, but it doesn’t look at all injured.

While you’re pondering the sheep’s seemingly good health the proctor draws a small top-break revolver from within her robes, not looking at all bothered as she does so, and with a small gesture she casts a spell shackling the sheep in place with stone drawn up from the floor. You quickly realize what sort of test this is going to be.

Without a hint of remorse she continues with the instructions, “You may approach it. You have ten seconds to familiarize yourself with its aura and strengthen it, at the end which I will shoot it five times. You will have ten minutes to heal any wounds that are caused to the best of your ability.”

Growing up on a farm the slaughter of animals isn’t something that disturbs you in the slightest, but just injuring one for a test like this still seems a touch cruel.

>Object to the test, this is cruel and unnecessary!
>Focus heavily on strengthening it before it is injured, reducing the wound severity will help the most.
>Focus on readying yourself to heal it after it is injured, you can’t make a sheep stop a bullet.
>Tax yourself greatly and attempt to strengthen the sheep and heal any wounds it suffers to the best of your ability.
>Write-in.

>>3717327
>Focus on readying yourself to heal it after it is injured, you can’t make a sheep stop a bullet.

>>3717327
>Focus heavily on strengthening it before it is injured, reducing the wound severity will help the most

>>3717327
>Focus heavily on strengthening it before it is injured, reducing the wound severity will help the most.
I prefer a tough time on flesh wounds

>>3717327
>Focus on readying yourself to heal it after it is injured, you can’t make a sheep stop a bullet.

File: sheep.jpg (33 KB, 800x480)

33 KB JPG

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>3717352
>>3717400
1.
>>3717376
>>3717399
2.

Going to need some rolls as well.

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>3717425
baaaaaaaaaaa

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>3717425
I'm doing my best Sheep-kun!

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>3717428
>>3717439
And the final roll, to keep things moving.

You waste no time, senses already honing in on the sheep’s aura as you move closer to the struggling animal while keeping out of the proctor’s line of fire. Beings without magic only have the faintest shadow of an aura, but it is still there and clear enough to read. In the few seconds you have you attempt to memorize its healthy state, noting the many fluctuating facets of the spectral cloak that wraps about the animal. Drawing on your power you try to lend a small measure of strength and resilience to the poor thing, but unfamiliar with this type of magic and doubting its usefulness in stopping a bullet you hold back and prepare energy to treat its wounds.

The proctor’s shots come in quick succession, leaving your ears ringing and striking the sheep across several areas of its body. A spray of blood splatters across the stone floor and your robes as something important is hit, an artery perhaps but you aren’t sure, and the animal cries out in pain. You try to stay focused and assess where it was hit by observing its aura and areas of its fleece rapidly darkening with blood, noting two quickly hemorrhaging wounds on its neck, a terrible looking ragged hole through one of its knees, and another pair of wounds in one of its shoulders.

All of the injuries are on the front half of its body, and you try to picture what its aura looked like there just a few moments ago before it was hurt. It’s a struggle to do so, the cries of the dying animal distracting you, but following the guiding mental image of its aura you begin to decipher what you think it is you need to do to save it. Starting with the most grievous ones you work wound by wound, in your mind’s eye picturing the flesh and sinew and bone returning to the shape it once held, motes of mana travelling in a steady stream from your focus stone to the animal as you force it to cease its bleeding and begin to heal through sheer force of will.

At first your efforts seem a success but the fight to keep the animal alive stretches on almost for the full ten minutes, and about half way in you realize it's a losing battle. Too much blood was lost before you staunched the flow, too many new sites of internal bleeding found just as you thought things were under control… It all just starts going wrong, issues more complex than simple bleeding or shattered bones beginning to compound the difficulty with every passing moment.

The sheep dies.

“Your failure has been noted.”, the proctor remarks coldly, returning the small revolver to some unseen holster within her robes. She releases the spell of stone binding the animal to the floor, smoothing the stone once again in a small display of elemental control.

>>3717739

“Step back two paces.”, she orders. As you comply she snaps her fingers and removes the sheep carcass with another rapidly opening portal, this one stretching across the surface of the floor in the carved circle. It closes with a small pop a moment later.

>Take a moment to come back to your senses, failure tastes bitter in your mouth. The proctor can choose the next one.
>Choose to test your arcane martial ability next, you’re frustrated you couldn’t save the sheep and need to hit something.
>Choose to test summoning next, a break from violence is needed after that unpleasantness.
>Write-in.

>>3717749
>Take a moment to come back to your senses, failure tastes bitter in your mouth. The proctor can choose the next one.
Mages don't dick about I suppose

>>3717749
>Choose to test summoning next, a break from violence is needed after that unpleasantness.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3717759
1.
>>3717753
2.

>>3717846
Finally

Using the focus stone you clean blood off your robes for the second time today, wishing that had gone better. After your success at elemental control you’d harbored a tiny hope you would pass all of the sections, but that dream is snuffed out now. Not wanting to delay for much longer lest the proctor choose you speak up, “Summoning next.”

She reaches into her red robes yet again, this time withdrawing a few small wooden cards. Taking a couple of steps closer she hands them to you, three in total, and you examine them as she gives instructions once more.

“This section of the test consists of three parts: Conjuring, binding, and banishing. The cards I’ve handed you have detailed steps outlining how to complete three different summoning rituals. You must choose one, complete the ritual, force the spirit or spirits to obey two of the commands listed on the card, and then banish the spirit or spirits. Fully losing control of a spirit will result in immediate failure of the section. There are twenty minutes to complete this task, beginning now.”

Of the three rituals you choose to summon…

>The three crafty coal imps.
>The mighty hellhound.
>The beguiling demon.

>>3717968
>The mighty hellhound.

>>3717968
>The mighty hellhound
I trust Catherine's raw power, if not her craftiness.

>>3717968
>The beguiling demon.
Let's make a deal.

>>3717968
>The mighty hellhound

>>3717968
>The mighty hellhound.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>3718070
>>3718020
>>3718004
>>3717998
Alright, need some rolls. Try to not get chomped.

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>3718142
I don't know whether to laugh or cry

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3718142
Have we accidentally opened a gate to hell?

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>3718142

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>3718142
Well this will surely end well.

Summoning the hellhound, the great fiery wolf Ergrark, seems like the best choice of the three rituals. You discard the other two and they clatter across the hard floor. The proctor arches an eyebrow at that for just a moment before pulling the cards back to her with a simple use of air control.

The ritual card warns of Ergrark’s ‘indomitable will and terrible strength’, but as the days events have shown you’ve got a fair deal of raw power to spare - The prospect of meeting force with force and just overpowering an opponent almost sounds pleasantly straightforward after the straining ordeal that was attempting improvised body alteration or earth control.

Steps for the ritual are simple, and you approach a summoning circle carved in the floor that is of the correct size. Nicking the back of you right arm with a sharp gust of air projected from your focus stone you procure the few drops of human blood needed, and use another wind current to scatter the blood in the complex pattern specified by the card.

Easy stuff so far, anybody could do this.

Next you activate the circle with a touch and a few motes of mana, its outline glowing brightly as it seals shut and protective wards activate. The final step is to gather your power and focus it all into a single thought, putting the name Ergrark at the forefront of your mind as you call out into the void to bring him forth from the darkest depths of the spirit world. You do so, shutting out all other thoughts except that needed to hold the protective wards of the circle…

The air cracks, abyssal smoke smoldering from the ground in the circle, fiery flashes illuminating the massive hulking figure of the great hellhound Ergrark as he bursts forth from the stone floor! You stagger back a step, the concussive force of his arrival shaking the domed testing chamber. Ergrark is terrifying, a living nightmare made manifest, a great burning wolf of surely unstoppable ferocity. In his mouth he holds the dying body of a lesser spirit, a thrashing creature of carapace and claws, and with a shake of his head the hellhound rips the lesser being in two.

“Sit!”, you command, trying to sound authoritative.

Ergrark does so, unable to resist as your summoning caught him entirely off guard during a hunt.

Seizing the moment you bind his aura, focusing all of your power and thought on the image of a spiked spectral collar around the spirit’s huge neck. The hellhound cocks his head sideways, looking around the chamber in confusion before settling his predatory gaze upon you. A low growl fills the chamber, the wolf’s eyes full of rage.

...That went a lot better than you expected. Summoned, bound, and he’s already followed one of the commands the card lists. What is your second command?

>Roll over!
>Play dead!
>Fetch!

>>3718295
>Roll over!
Cute puppy GET

>>3718295
>Roll over!
Do we have any treats we can give him for being a good boi?

>>3718295
>Roll over!
Then rub his belly while saying "good boy!"

>>3718295
>>Roll over!
I thought about making it put it's paw in our hand but then I remembered it's pretty big

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>3718339
>>3718327
>>3718318
>>3718302
I need some rolls for him to roll over.

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>3718430

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>3718430
good boi

I hope we get dice modifiers from catching it off guard the first time

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>3718430

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>3718430

>>3718434
>>3718435
>>3718455
>52
Closer than I thought this would run.

>>3718452
You do.

An immense sense of triumph fills you, successful completion of the section just within your grasp. Staring down the enormous spirit you gather your willpower and begin to issue the second command, “Roll ov-”

Searing pain jolts you into silence, your mental focus briefly broken as Ergrark digs his claws into the cracked stone floor and strains against your control with every fiber of his being. The binding on his aura holds him in check long enough for you to recover, but the spectral collar is beginning to crack under the sudden mental counterattack. Surprise won you an impressive initial victory, but it seems ‘indomitable will’ wasn't written as a warning for no reason.

The battle of minds is grueling, stretching on for minutes, but slowly you regain control. Adrenaline and an almost primal belief that this creature will devour you alive the moment it escapes drives you onward. Girding yourself you make one final mental push, just barely overpowering the hellhound as you cry out the second command once again.

“ROLL OVER!”

The floor shakes as the massive fiery wolf complies, rolling over just as a trained dog would despite its best efforts to resist. Both commands have been obeyed, and now only banishment remains.

The proctor watches closely, checking her stopwatch.

>Strike now while the iron is hot and finish it, banish the hellhound!
>Attempt to make the binding more permanent and secure, this is probably a rare opportunity!
>Write-in.

>>3719052
>Strike now while the iron is hot and finish it, banish the hellhound!
Finish the job

>>3719052
>Attempt to make the binding more permanent and secure, this is probably a rare opportunity!

>>3719052
>Strike now while the iron is hot and finish it, banish the hellhound!

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>3719098
>>3719066
Need on last set of rolls for this. Probably.

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>3719294
Sorry doggie, gotta go back to hell

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>3719294
Bad doggy

Rolled 74 (1d100)

The hellhound is effectively pinned at this point in your contest of wills, the spectral collar you bound it with recovering its strength now and only compounding your dominance over the beast. Having never banished a spirit before you’re not entirely certain how to proceed for a few moments, but wanting to end this while you still have the upper hand you make a guess and settle on a direct spiritual attack - No physical matter, no manipulation of elements or willpower, just an unrelenting torrent of mana to strip away its aura layer by layer.

You raise the black focus stone and level it at the wolf, drawing deep from your reserves of power and dropping the summoning circle’s wards as you coalesce the attack. Motes of mana, innumerable blue sparks, form into a coherent beam of spiritual energy that begins to burn away at the creature’s aura.

Ergrark howls terribly as the attack strikes him, magical flames sputtering and going out across his dark hide as the beam burrows into him. To the naked eye it’s an impressive and bright display, but to those with magically attuned senses it is almost blinding - You can barely even watch it yourself, squinting and shielding your eyes with your spare hand to avoid the worst of its painful radiance. The beam is a very sloppy brute force method, certainly not how banishment is meant to be done you now realize, but with the binding collar weakening the hellhound’s spiritual defenses it cannot resist the assault.

The huge spirit dissolves into what looks like ash, starting from the impact point of the beam and then rapidly spreading outward, and a few moments later even the ash itself fades away. Only cracked and charred stone is left to evidence that it was ever there.

You feel drained, but you’ve done it. The summoning section is over, you didn’t lose control or time out - It’s a pass. Some part of you doubts you could have done it without the element of surprise, but whether that’s true or not hardly matters now.

>>3719693

“A peculiar technique.”, the proctor states sounding almost amused before returning to her normal icy tone, “The final section of the examination will now begin.”

From her crimson robe she draws a black focus stone almost identical to the one she handed you earlier, and the realization that she has been casting without one this entire time rapidly dawns on you. With a snap she opens almost a dozen portals of varying sizes in many places across the domed chamber, and lit braziers, huge basins of water, and many stone spheres float gently from them and settle on the ground. Another snap dismisses the portals, and she assumes a fighting pose.

“This section of the test is simple: You pass if you are still conscious in one minute, or somehow render me unable to fight. The chamber’s portal system and circles are not to be used. Prepare yourself for combat, Miss Ward, and do not hold back.”

You’re already tired from the previous sections, and wish somebody had actually mentioned that the damn proctor attacks you as part of the exam. You were expecting some moving targets or something, not a duel! Nothing about this exam has been basic, somebody has clearly lied to you, and it all feels like its been set up to ensure catastrophic failure.

...So what’s your plan to pass anyways?

>Attempt to keep your distance and try to get a read on the proctor’s aura, figure out what you’re dealing with here.
>Ready a defensive shield with air and fire control, that should stop almost any kind of attack in its tracks.
>Attack, and attack, and attack some more! Let her have it with a barrage of stone spheres!
>Write-in.

>>3719708
>Ready a defensive shield with air and fire control, that should stop almost any kind of attack in its tracks.
We've some knowledge of how to conduct a defense, no? Just hold the line.

>>3719708
>Attack, and attack, and attack some more! Let her have it with a barrage of stone spheres!

>>3719708
>RUN BITCH

>>3719708
>Focus on that feeling of indignant rage at all this bullshit.
>Rush her. Physically. She said 'still conscious or render her unable to fight'. She never explicitly said you had to use JUST magic to do it. Get a tailwind behind you, tackle her and pummel and maybe use some magic to enhance your hits because fuck her, and fuck this.

>>3719942
supporting
the best defense is an overpowering offence

>>3719942
Switching
Use a jet of air to propel our fist as hard as we can into this bitch's face

Rolled 7, 99, 83 = 189 (3d100)

>>3719942
>>3720238
>>3720400
Alright, seems like a bold plan. I'll need some rolls.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>3720582

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3720582
>99
really? Well, guess this quest is taking a left turn. Hedge Mage Quest ahoy.

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>3720582
We just need to roll a 100 to get her!

Really, I just dislike uppity, non-emotional people like this proctor trying to act tough to some children. Emotions aren't bad, you fucking tree.

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>3720582

An indignant rage fills you as you glare at the dark haired proctor, thinking of what utter bullshit this whole examination has been. You’re worn down from the previous sections, the aches of power use now setting in, but you’ve had worse in the past. Weeks of fitful sleep during the mutiny, long hours spent waiting for the rebel’s sudden assaults on the farm, kept awake for ages by sporadic bombardment - A bit of fatigue isn’t going to stop you now, adrenaline and rising anger pushing you forward.

Stay conscious for a minute while desperately avoiding attacks? Buy time with defensive spells? No, you’re going to knock this cold bitch right out of that absurd fighting pose she’s in, it's probably the last thing she expects.

You grip your focus stone tightly, clench your offhand into a fist, and prepare to go on the offensive. Fighting against another mage is new to you, most of the fights you’ve been in have been at a distance with rifles, but you suspect that this isn’t the place to risk improvised magic and call on a very, very familiar spell instead - The body encompassing air cushion you use to survive kite crashes. With a bit of redirection and some hastier energy expenditure it could be a potent attack, massively enhancing your impact into a target in a split second instead of reducing it over several, and a second more focused version of the spell should ward away any self-inflicted injury your new striking strength will cause.

Wind kicks up around you as you center your mind, small pieces of the cracked stone floor swirling about as you wrap yourself in the spells. You charge toward the waiting proctor, blasting yourself forward with a great gust to strike that with your spell laden fist.

Only at the last moment do you realize your severe misjudgment, the proctor’s arms suddenly aglow with the blue light of mana.

The blast of the impact is tremendous as she redirects the force of your blow with a spell enhanced parry, a punch of her own aggressively striking into your extended arm while simultaneously knocking it aside. The gust still carries you forward, but instead of crashing into her with a tackle you find yourself thrown to the ground as she sidesteps and pushes you violently downward with a wind enhanced strike from her focus stone wielding hand.

The second spell you prepared saves you from blacking out into unconsciousness as you slam into the floor, the impact still feeling like you’ve been struck by a car though. You have a bit of experience with that sort of thing though, and scramble quickly to get back on your feet and recover. The proctor presses her attack as you do so, lightning quick kicks landing in rapid succession before you can mount a proper defense. It’s all you can do to get away as the blows rain in, sliding yourself across the floor haphazardly with a powerful gust of wind to get some distance back.

>>3720845

Pain floods your senses, and your left arm feels broken, but you manage to stagger back to a standing position, breathing labored as you ready yourself for more attacks. They don’t come. Instead of closing the distance and continuing to pummel you the proctor is casting some kind of spell from across the chamber, and with a groan you realize that the stone spheres across the chamber are rising into the air.

You’re still in the fight, but just barely, and hardly any time has passed at all. You’re outmatched physically and magically, the dark haired proctor looking to have great experience with both kinds of combat and raw power comparable to your own - This is a bad situation, but sheer bloody minded determination carries you on.

>Attack again! She’s probably distracted readying that spell!
>Focus on defense, intensify your protective air spell and try to dodge what you can.
>Try to redirect the spell she’s casting, use the spheres against her.
>...Try to buy time and rush a re-summoning of the hellhound. The chamber's circles can’t be used by the rules, but containment is the last thing you want right now.
>Write-in.

>>3720847
>Try to redirect the spell she’s casting, use the spheres against her.

>>3720847
>Focus on defense, intensify your protective air spell and try to dodge what you can.

Now that we are flushed with adrenaline knocking us out should be much more difficult task. The only thing we need to do is stay on defensive. Just as planned

>>3720667
This is test. What were you expecting tea and biscuit?

Well, that didn't work. Time to run.

It's said flat out:
>You’re outmatched physically and magically.

It'd be a fools errand to try and actually assault her as tired as we are now. My intention was to catch her off guard and hope for a quick end. Now all that's left to do is run. I'd love it if we could actually escape the battle area, but she strikes me as the type to not permit that because reasons.

>>3720873
I was expecting something feasible to accomplish for the layman, not an 'elites only' kinda situation, nor did I expect the proctors to inflict a test situation that would logically be incredibly difficult to actually accomplish. I was expecting basic aptitude tests, not anything like this. I suppose I get why they do it, but it still strikes me as more than a touch unfair, as if someone could accomplish all this to more than a 'minimally satisfactory' level, then why the hell would they need schooling? It strikes me as counter-intuitive.

>>3720856
Could we remove the air that she's breathing. I 'm thinking that this would stop her from concentrating on her spell.

>>3720847
>Focus on defense, intensify your protective air spell and try to dodge what you can.
>Misdirection attempts as well, any kind of obstruction of line of sight if possible.

>>3720901
Or this, but only if we know we can do it.

Rolled 39, 25, 84 = 148 (3d100)

>>3720888
>>3720870
>>3720926

The core of both of these are pretty similar: keep distance, misdirect, defend when possible, etc. Going to combine them since it all makes sense together.

Need some rolls for it though, throw em' at me!

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>3720950
O
shit
O
fuck

>>3720873
This is me
>>3720888
>I was expecting something feasible to accomplish for the layman, not an 'elites only' kinda situation, nor did I expect the proctors to inflict a test situation that would logically be incredibly difficult to actually accomplish.

But tests were not difficult.
>Elemental control.
Straight out aptitude test, I think even MC comment on it herself
>Summoning.
We passed this even if we didn't have previous experience. We didn't even recognize being at the entry as an imp.
We could pick something less difficult. Also the two girls at entrance. You know with pitiful amount of magic. They are able to banish imps, not that hard of a test.
I was baffled when annons picked hellhound.
>Body alteration.
We had no idea about medicine... Im not surprised that we failed.
>Choosing arcane martial ability.
Test is ongoing so I hold out on commentary.

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>3720950