[OOC] L'Mordryn Academy

[Pyromania99]

@Artifex Oh, actually, is there a uniform or is it just wear whatever you want?

[Artifex]

Looks like A is the popular choice...I myself like A and C

...and yes, @A Lowly Wretch, the kitchens are not in the dorms.

@Pyromania99
Nah, no uniforms...too restrictive

[Hammerman]

I vote for A as well.

[Lord of Evil]

Hello, is there room for more people? The premise is interesting and I have a character idea I'd like to try.

[Artifex]

@Lord of Evil
Yep, still open...go ahead and put up a CS, if you want in! ^_^

(Don't worry y'all, I'll close it at some point lol)

[Pyromania99]

I'm making this backstory a bit more... Negative than I thought, but I think it'll make the character better.

[CloseEnough]

@CelesteEste

That doc is awesome! Also who wants to room with Gat or Mera!

And I'm liking A, the design is simple so you wouldn't have to put too much thought into what is where, and it all draws into the centre.

[Pyromania99]

Sorry if I took a few liberties in this, hope you like the character though (and I hope the boys don't like him in quite another way if you know what I mean hehehe)

Albus Winterhold

Name | Albus Winterhold
Age | 16
Gender | Male
Level/Tier | A2
House | Dracona
Appearance/Attire |

Albus, while male, looks like a younger girl. He tends to wear girly clothes even including skirts, but it’s mostly because that’s what his parents and siblings dressed him up in. Most, if not all his clothes are hand-me-downs from his older siblings. He's a bit on the shorter side of five feet possibly teetering on the high end of 4 feet. He's skinny and has a bit of a feminine form despite not trying and eating a lot of snacks every day.

Alignment | Free Spirit

Personality/Habits |

Albus thinks he hates the fact that he has a girly look and always dresses in female cloths. That said, he uses it to his advantage and finds it exceedingly funny when he tricks people. If he had to choose, he’d rather not look girly. While he “hates” this “curse” he uses it to his advantage. If he can pretend to be a girl to get some things, he’ll do it.

With that complex of his out of the way, he typically acts fairly happy. The thing he hates most is weakness, specifically his own though he isn’t one to hide his dislike for people showing their own weakness if they’re looking like they’re wanting a “woe is me” pity party. Sometimes though, he locks himself away to wallow in his own self pity. He’d hate if anyone found out though. Despite his happiness, he hates the state he’s in but accepts and lives it if not using it.

The most important thing to note of Albus (who does go by Alba when tryin to trick people) is that he does recognize that he is a man. It’s one thing to mistake him as a girl, but it’s another to know and insist he isn’t a man. He’s been known to take extra measures to get people to correct themselves when their irritating him. Another important note is that he’s fairly fickle in how he’s feeling but will always admit he’s male when someone calls him out on it.

Background |

Albus was raised in a family of only girls. They weren’t exactly poor, but they weren’t rich either. Amongst the family they passed on the old clothes that didn’t fit and weren’t destroyed to the younger children. Albus was sadly the sole male child amongst a bunch of girls. He sat as the fourth of seven. His oldest sister and second oldest sister were already married off while his sister a year older was off training as a “knight” in some odd Knight Academy.

Albus meanwhile found out soon enough that he had the ability to be a summoner much like his eldest sister who has by now went to L’Mordryn Academy and graduated around the time he started school. She was a sort of prodigy celebrated by her parents. On the other hand, despite her being six or so years elder than him, Albus wasn’t treated as well. When he first started practicing his parents paid him no mind as he “wasn’t as good” as his sister. This of course stunted any growth as a summoner for a time.

During this time his two older sisters and one just younger than him began to use him as a “toy” and dressed him up in cute clothes and not just the ragged hand-me-downs. They were hoping he would at least stand up to them but he just seemed down anyhow and didn’t respond. One day, however, as they were messing around with him one mentioned that he was “kinda cute” like this.

His ears perked up at this. And told them they were lying. Despite his protests, he was hoping secretly that they were right. To tease him some more, they played on this and told him he was the cutest. He thought on it for a minute and came up with a bright idea. If his parents were just going to ignore him all day anyhow, he’d make them pay attention one way or another. He made them make him as cute as possible. So they did. Considering how young he was, it wasn’t hard to make him look like a cute girl. After they were done, he walked around his parents but didn’t talk directly to them. They must have thought he was one of his sisters at first as they greeted him lightly, but not disdainfully.

Then came dinner time. As they were sitting around the table, the parents came to some realization. There was an extra daughter there and a lack of son. The father scoffed that his son would miss dinner and the mother asked them if they brought a friend. Albus smirked as the second oldest blinked at them and blankly told them that their “friend” WAS Albus.

Their father as outraged, stood and slammed his palms on the table before ordered Albus angrily to got out. Not only was his son a disappointment but just because he had to dress like a girl, it didn’t mean he had to act like one… Albus faked an emotional saddening and grabbed his plate and quickly left before they could tell him to leave his food. His sisters tried to defend him but were quickly silenced by the mother.

Somehow, that was just the reaction Albus was looking for. From that point on, he acted the trickster, messing with his parents whenever he could. As time went on, he decided he needed to save money for himself. His parents weren’t going to help for much long and after he was done with school they’d likely abandon him. Whatever his parents say now, he couldn’t let it hurt him despite how it really made him feel. He kept a happy front to throw them off.

When he was twelve, he went to a local restaurant and wanted a job. Mistaking him as a girl at first for previously stated reasons, they agreed to hire him on as a waitress. He worked this for a year without his parents knowing and found he could, at least more likely, make more from tips as a cute girl than he would as a boy.

His parents found out about his job though, and barred him from it. Despite their lack of care given to him, they told him it was an adult’s job to care for children. If only they really did. This angered Albus of course. At this point, all he was suppose to do was sit around the house all day. Hell, him dolling up as a girl didn’t even visibly bother them now. Now it just bothered him. Why the hell was he even doing this now?

Over time he’s come to appreciate cute things, but started questioning his choices at this point. Much like he did some years prior, he fell into a flunk. His sister came back from school for a break and noticed him having issues. She talked to him about his issues, or tried. He was having a hard time wanting to talk to her considering she was the reason her parents really disliked him.

It took a week of her and the rest of their siblings trying to get him to converse with her to actually get him to do so. She managed to convince him to consider practicing and going to L’Mordryn Academy.

She also told him that it was fine for him to be cute. They then talked about everything that had happened since she started school, especially since Albus had started ignoring her whenever she came home previously. She thanked him for telling her and later that day, she had to leave to go back to school since she had to make some stops first. Her parents escorted her outside town but… When the came back, they treated Albus better, albeit begrudgingly. From this, he started to hate the weakness he could sense inside himself and worked to better himself, readopting his happiness and the facade of such when he was trying to hide the things he hated.

They allowed him to work again if he wanted and gave him some newer clothes, though they were girl’s cloths still. He hated it, or tried to convince himself he did but wore them anyhow. It worked out anyway since he seemed to be able to convince people to help him with things.

Two years later mixing together studying and working, he started at L’Mordryn Academy starting at the Tyro level of course and quickly making his way to Adept Tier 2 showing to himself more than anyone that he was just as good as his sister. He’s also quite likely on the track to becoming Virtuoso Tier One.

He chose Dracona because he thought Dragons were the best things to show off with. That said, his internal thoughts of appreciating cuteness impacted his first summon that he can’t help but resummon for... Reasons.

Favorite Summons |

Vesper

“Stories tell of a bat-like creature from a nearby, yet extinct culture called a Pataavi in more recent years, though in the past it was called some other things. As the stories were written, they were somewhat humanoid creatures that had a relation to dragons. Their tales could be used as a bludgeoning weapons and much like dragons, they had a psuedo breath ability. In their throats, there is an organ that can emit damaging sounds that can either disorient or at a higher strength shatter weaker parts of the body. Stories even tell of one stopping a heart, though this is most likely implausible.

These wyverns are covered in fur which is useful in their natural environments around mountain ranges where they range from their nests higher up to their hunting grounds on the low ground. Due to their size which is about 1.5 times the size of a larger human, they tend to eat a whole deer sized animal a day and store the rest in their stomach which can last for at least a couple of days depending on how active they are. Surprisingly, it doesn’t show when they store food.

A thing of note is that each of the Pataavi can fill either the role of a male or female in a relationship having the equipment to work either way and while this creatures seem mammalian in nature, they truely have draconic ancestory and this means they lay eggs. They also have the ability to make a telepathic link with those they deem worthy and are fairly intelligent. A summoner is one such of these people as well as their mates (pluralized for implications sake.) These creatures are said to have disappeared into deep mountains in unexplored areas.”

-Tales of Specialized Regional Draconians, “Chapter 5: Draconians of Forgotten Civilizations, Part 4” by Earnest Draco

Vesper is a Pataavi, a type of wyvern noted mostly by an age old civilization that has since been replaced. Vesper was first summoned by Albus when he was attempting to summon a generic fire drake when this previous passage passed through his mind. The end product was that he summoned a Pataavi instead of a fire drake and it became quickly attached to him.

While he was somewhat embarassed at first, it turned out to work fairly well. Due to it’s size, it is able to carry around it’s summoner via flight and doubles as a soft pillow anywhere. Good for naps or just laying around. Vesper also likes to be petted as long as it’s gently but when the petting gets rough it tends to launch a disorienting sonic attack at whoever and escape.

[Lord of Evil]

Right, here's my sheet. Feel free to tell me if you have issues with it.

Nikola

Name | Nikola Drakengard
Age | 15
Gender | Male
Level/Tier | Adept 2
House | Dracona
Appearance/Attire | Short, pale, and thin, with short, messy brown hair. Nikola isn't exactly the picture of perfect health and his shabby appearance makes certain people worry about him, especially considering the constant bags under his eyes which make him look like he needs sleep. Above those bags his green eyes are often muddled due to sleepiness but take a certain shine when he's faced with something interesting. Nikola understands he's not exactly a looker so he typically dresses plainly, with a loose fitting hooded robe on top of basically presentable clothes.

Alignment | Bystander

Personality/Habits | When looking at the boy, it becomes very hard to believe Nikola is from house Dracona. He is very quiet, and there are times when it's as if he's forgotten how to speak. In reality, he's a little slow in social situations and likes to take his time responding. When he speaks he is always polite to the other party, whether they are human, animal, or inanimate object. He lacks confidence in speaking (and many other things) and tries to make up for it in other ways, small actions to indicate acknowledgement or the presentation of small gifts for apologies. Although he spends a great deal of time studying or reading, he's not exactly introverted; he has a great curiosity about the things around him and will make motions to explore their workings. He's shy talking to others but won't hesitate to do so if it will benefit him, and those that talk to him seriously find that his appearance belies a great pride and determination. He has joined the cute and fluffy club in order to get to grips with socialising.

Background

An orphan since birth, Nikola was raised in a small out of the way orphanage in a town he never knew the name of. Ever since he remembered he had been plagued by mysterious nightmares, of a mysterious foreign world filled with all manner of wondrous beasts. Even as a child he was aware of their great and terrible power, which caused him many sleepless nights. His insomnia took a toll on his health, making him appear frail and sickly. Years went by, and as children came and went, Nikola remained. He was resigned to his fate until one day, a nobleman came that changed everything.

It was a day like any other, but then the nobleman came. The nobleman was intense, with a force of personality only matched by his beard. Nikola happened to cross gazes with the man and was startled by his sharp gaze. They stood and stared at each other for a time, Nikola staring simply out of curiosity, while the nobleman seemed to peer into the boy's soul. Soon afterwards the man turned to the women running the orphanage and declared his intention to adopt Nikola. As it turned out the nobleman was the current head of the Drakengard family, a powerful noble family whose ranks featured many gifted invokers of house Dracona. He was also an eccentric, and had picked up a rather strange hobby. Ever since the death of his wife he had fallen into the habit of visiting various orphanages on the lookout for children with the potential for invocation. He had them undergo a strict training regimine in the hopes that they fulfilled their potential, with the goal of raising an appropriate heir to the house of Drakengard.

And so, Nikola's new life began. It was similar in some respects to life at the orphanage; sharing a living space with other children was something he'd done all his life, after all. But the atmosphere was much more stifling. Meals were had in silence, his education difficult, his training more often than not met with failure. This time around the people around him weren't his siblings, they were competitors, and it was obvious that Nikola was around the bottom of the pile. And on top of that, his nightmares continued to make his life miserable. But it was during one of his sleepless nights that he got to see another side to his adoptive father. He had woken up in the middle of the night after a fit of nightmares and decided to tour the mansion to clear his head. It was then that he found his father, reading a book and sipping wine under the moonlight. The man noticed Nikola's presence and, rather than shooing him away, beckoned him closer. They talked at length about various topics. First about his training, then his education, and then about summoning and the various creatures that could be invoked. Before he noticed the sun was peeking over the horizon. Nikola made his excuses and went to do his morning preparations, but before he went his father stopped him and told him he had great expectations for his new son. From then on Nikola did his best to live up to those expectations. Like his siblings he was enrolled in L'Mordryn academy when he was old enough, which meant it would soon be time for him to summon something.

When the time came he wasn't sure what to look for. He opened the portal with ease, because he had become quite good at it. He looked for various draconic races, as he'd decided that he'd wanted to follow his father's footsteps. But their natural pride in themselves was something he couldn't match, and his childhood trauma had never gone away. But he looked and looked, and eventually he let his instincts guide him. He linked with something warm, something that he felt a bond with. Soon enough that something came out, and when he saw it he knew he'd found a friend.

Favorite Summons

Kitten

A pillow dragon, the sheep of the dragon family. The species primary lives in frigid conditions and thus traded tough scales for thick fur. A rather sedentary species, sleeping most hours of the day. They hunt by projecting sleep inducing pheromones around themselves, which induces their prey to let their guards down. The dragon will then snap their their jaws down on the hapless creature and eat away. While the trading of scales for hair may seem detrimental to their defence, a dense layer of fat makes them surprisingly difficult to meaningfully damage. They are rather weak to fire, however, as their fur is rather flammable.

Their fur is very soft, ideal for fur coat. In spring they begin thinning their coats, in preparation for the coming heat. They can also shake off a large amount of their fur to distract predators in an emergency. It's here they use their largely vestigial wings to flap or glide to safety, as without their coats they become significantly lighter and thus actually fit for flight. Although, less fur means less heat retention in a cold environment.

Kitten is a child of the species, so while adult pillow dragons can be quite large, Kitten is only around the size of a cat, and it has the intelligence to match. Pillow dragons were always on the lower end of intelligence amongst dragons anyway, and its adolescence only adds to the matter.

Nikola named the young pillow dragon so because it had reminded him of one more than anything, and it responds well enough to the name. Their link is very strong, with Nikola being able to summon Kitten effortlessly and keep him out almost indefinitely. They often go to sleep together as the pillow dragon's peaceful aura helps him ward off his nightmares. They can often be found in quiet places together between classes, Nikola buried in a book with Kitten sleeping on his lap.

[Bartimaeus]

@Pyromania99 I wonder if it would be wrong to have Cleo hit on “Alba” 😂

[sempis]

room for one more?

[Pyromania99]

@Pyromania99 I wonder if it would be wrong to have Cleo hit on “Alba” 😂

@Bartimaeus

"Alba" is a cutie, so not really. ;) Just be prepared to spend some of your wallet and then "Alba" disappearing though. XD

[Artifex]

@Pyromania99
I kinda feel for this kid...nice job. He's good to go!

@Lord of Evil
Kitten is adorable...Darcy's dragon-cat will have a field day with this one. Approved, my friend!

@sempis
Still open...come one in!

---

So it looks like the dorms will be in the style of Dorm A in the poll. The kitchen will instead just be a large foyer and the back wall will open to a balcony (kinda like in Dorm B's setup).

I think I'm gonna have to adjust some numbers around.

[Bartimaeus]

Since we’re doing layout A... dibs on top-right bedroom! :D

[Artifex]

Ok, so the dorms will be in a tower style. Four rooms per dorm, four dorms per floor, six floors per tower...making 24 dorms instead of 25.

[sempis]

awesome! i will have my form up soon :)

[A Lowly Wretch]

Just putting it out there that Nettle is still available if anyone wants to share a dorm room.

[Artifex]

Discord is up!

https://discord.gg/gHNYYXB

[ghastlyInc]

I'll be working up a CS sometime over the next two days if there are still slots available. Likely a Tyro for Dracona, cause someone has to be at the bottom of the top.

[Artifex]

@ghastlyInc
We still got room, so go ahead and put it up whenever you're ready!