[@Estylwen][@ERode][@Sifr][@Psyker Landshark][@AThousandCurses]

[b][h3]AUDITORIUM[/h3][/b]

The woman's attention was drawn towards the unconscious Gulliver, a glimmer of contempt flashing across her features before returning to neutrality as she acknowledged Otis. With a slow nod and a sigh and a few rhythmic taps against her staff as she beheld Gulliver, she would look to Otis and gesture for him to return the unconscious brat to his chair. "Yes, Mister Bronsteel was to act as a final test for the students to overcome this morning. His Ethos was uniquely tailored for such a task, and the board of directors insisted he be granted the special privilege of overseeing Mannekin security for this exercise. The, um..." Two glances, one shot first towards the broken Foreteller and a lingering second on Ciara, seeming to tie this into her inquiry as well.

"The summoning of that giant and the 'divine culling' as it has been so strikingly said, were things that Bronsteel took upon himself. Perhaps he didn't expect to make such fast friends, but either way, it's something he'll be punished for. For the moment, though, he had earned his seat here today regardless of the result. Had he succeeded, he would have well and truly been Wingram's only student this year. In that, he wasn't wrong. Return him to his chair."

From the other end of the room, the doors opened as a middle aged human man in a tattered brown cloak, hood pulled up over his head - who Ciara would recognize as Michael - slowly shuffled inside with a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. Whistling a tune of exasperation as he took in the auditorium's state, he exclaimed a horrified, "Fuck me," a little too loud, not anticipating how silent with tension the rest of the auditorium was. He simply stumbled to work with his chosen janitorial weaponry, scooping up shards of wall, floor and chair with complete futility. The scarlet woman scoffed upon seeing the janitor's attitude, and returned to look upon Otis and Ciara once more.

"Now, if that's all, time has run out. We'll begin orientation now."

Turning to face the crowd below the stage, her eyes narrowed as she took in a few dozen students scrambling about the room, no free seats in sight, nor any powers to call upon to secure one. Just as their panic reached a boil...

[i]Slam.[/i]

With a smack of the woman's staff against the wooden floorboards of the stage, all students without a seat in the auditorium would find themselves vanished instantly. What remained was a respectable amount of promising youths, though clearly not quite the turnout the scarlet sorceress had wished for. "This will have to do, then," she muttered, her staff clenched tight.

"Students of Wingram! I am Principal Raja, the one who will guide the hopeful stars gathered today. It has been a long and tiring affair to reach this place, I'm sure. The company on your carriages was almost assuredly found wanting, the nights cold without insulation, and the morning of arrival a mad dash filled with pain and screams. I mean it when I say that those that remain are those I would entrust the start of a promising future for. Those that lose themselves at the starting line would only perish or be crushed by reality in the weeks, months and years to come. We do not, after all, just train you for life - we train you for [i]purpose[/i]. For [i]renewal[/i]."

Runic patterns glowed on the back of the mechanical lizard at the woman's side. Raja traced a pattern in the air in its direction with her finger, and seconds later, the entire body of the lizard split open as countless [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/3b/67/4a3b674ff7c3ce86535b70228cc8f49c.jpg]blue lights escaped from it[/url]. They took to the skies, dancing about the room, looming overhead. After the utterance of an incantation by the principal, these lights each began to shoot towards students with purpose, each one seeming to have a specific target - but ultimately, each student in the auditorium would have their personal space intruded upon by these azure wisps, hovering just in front of them in their seats.

"These are Adapa. Grimoires and tomes for a modern age - for a world in which Astra demands we move beyond the struggles of the Five Year Apocalypse. So long as they're with you, they will allow you to use Vaal Shakta's Essence Mail and access the radios and television channels afforded to Shaktan citizens, among other things to be discussed at a later date."

Davil would glow with starry-eyed wonder upon hearing this, and immediately reached for the blue wisp in front of him without hesitation. Not even a second later, he slumped over unconscious in his chair, instantly comatose. Raja took note of this with a sigh, seeing a few others in the crowd attempt this at that very same moment, all meeting the same results.

"...As I was about to get around to, however, the Adapa is a fickle being. It has its own will, you see, and it's not a creature that bestows knowledge and support to the hesitant. It will attempt to assimilate you, as you do it - tug of war with the self, as it were. It will pull you, mentally, into the weakest moment of your life and attempt to bind you there. Your reason for being here, now, must be stronger than it was when you first gained that resolve. Be certain of your path, more now than you ever were, and the Adapa will become the greatest tool in your arsenal as a shield of the Union."

She would slam her staff upon the ground three more times in quick succession, echoing the start of the final entry test.

"You have endured a battle of the body, but a battle of mind and emotion awaits all of you inside. If you're defeated in this battle, our medical team will be able to separate the Adapa's dominance from you in time, though your time as a Wingram student will be brought to a swift end. Prevail, and you'll enjoy everything that awaits beyond this. Touch the designated Adapa that has arrived in front of you when ready, or else leave this place if you already know in your heart that you cannot win."

For those that touched their Adapa, they would be dragged into the most vulnerable point of their life, forced to relive it and overcome it. All the while, the Adapa acting as a voice of inner doubt, mentally stabbing away at them with precision only known by a mind intimately connected to their own - fusing, and sharing.