@ERode@Psyker LandsharkCLASSROOM 103
Otis' inquiry would be met with varying responses that all gave the same general answer - the shaking heads, shrugs, confused head tilts or otherwise quiet stares all indicated that, including 104's teacher, none seemed to detect Davil's presence within their overcharge. It almost seemed as if the boy were a ghost, if not for his physical body being present and dragged. The teacher, who was a minotaur, nodded with a firm and succinct, "If that will be all, excuse yourselves," before running a curious hand across his goatee.
By the time the pair had returned to room 103, their dear instructor had already begun to engage in combat with some rather rubbery slices of ham in the ham and cheese sandwich he had packed for lunch. He'd already sustained battle wounds of mayonnaise and mustard stains on his trousers as he listened, giving a thumbs-up while mid-chew upon casting a glance down to see Davil's chained figure. When Otis had finished speaking, Alto would promptly rip an entire ham slice out of his sandwich, sending a messy splatter of crumbs and sauces across his desk before swallowing and nodding.
"The guy who taught me everything I know about magic, including control over leylines, was Strigari Academy's headmaster, Gorias Velyphus. But..."
Alto withdrew a napkin from his backpack and began wiping the stains and crumbs off his desk, tilting his head and squishing his face in uncertainty. "You can understand why inquiring about this with him might prove troublesome. He's the biggest big shot there is in Vaal Shakta next to Mayor Highguard, so he's popular
and a significant travel away."
After unceremoniously flicking all of the loose sandwich bits off of his desk and tossing the dirty napkin into a nearby garbage can, Alto once more looked towards the curious owl. "I can relay a message to him over email if you'd like, though. Provided it
needs to be him."
A finger wag of approval would also be directed towards Iraleth's words, eyeing Davil's chained, shivering body as the boy muttered gibberish under his icy breath. Alto would raise a concerned eyebrow towards the inconsolable Wund, finger to lip as he leaned back in his chair.
"A clinic likely won't be necessary, but release him all the same. Maybe all he needs is a hot cup of tea and the love and kindness of his friends, eh?"
@EstylwenWINGRAM CLINIC
As Ciara recounted her injuries, so too did Payton furiously write each word down with determined precision, her pen taking to the page as if it were a bard composing their latest epic. All the while, the doctor's listless and neutral face did little to match the passion with which her hand danced upon her journal. She would occasionally mutter her patient's words under her breath as well, making sure that every detail was recorded with perfect accuracy.
As quickly as her writing flew across the page, it stopped just as fast when Ciara was done speaking. Glancing once over what was written, the doctor released a brief grunt of acknowledgement before closing the book entirely. "Then I, Doctor Payton Sylv, accept you as my patient on this, March 2nd, 1526 of the Sacred Record. Etched Experiences Echo - in you."
The moment the last of the words left her lips, a page shot out of the closed journal in Payton's hands, levitating in the air. It would hover over to Ciara, just above her head, and seemingly begin ripping itself apart, raining upon her as tiny scraps that would seem to absorb into her body as essence upon making contact. As this process occurred, she would hear her own voice from moments prior, stating her injuries. As she did so, the corresponding wounds would begin to heal rapidly, causing simultaneous stinging pain and refreshing coldness as the absorbed essence mended her every sustained injury from the battle with Professor Alto. It would even numb some of the mental damage sustained from listening to the screams of damned souls, attempting to soothe or relax Ciara away from those voices were she ever to dwell on them.
"Your page as my patient will regenerate in this book twenty four hours from now - March 3rd, 1526 SR at 9:47 AM. Should you sustain injuries like this before then, I can administer basic healing magic or medicine, though it will not be as effective against more serious wounds. Please try to avoid being maimed, especially in such cases as limb loss - those cannot be healed quite so easily, if at all, depending on the situation."
Just as dry as before, the doctor would state these things while flipping through other pages of her journal - notably, showing signs of many ripped pages already within.
"If that will be all, I have many others to attend to, and you have already been given the privilege of line cutting that many will undoubtedly scowl at me for. For all the good it would do them."
@SifrCAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST
It had only been a day since students had resided in Wingram, and yet the pink half-elf strode up the main stone path as if it were her own home; if she were angry about being home, at least. She glanced to her left and right as her cotton candy colored hair swayed in the wind. She'd yet to repair her dress, and thus the smell of burnt silk carried on the wind in Hildegunde's direction as she followed. For brief glimpses, Chloe would retrieve her Adapa only to once more dissipate it, as if checking for a reply that just wouldn't arrive. "Completely unbelievable," she would growl under her breath, no longer even checking to see who was nearby, completely hypnotized in rage at the idea of getting to her destination.
After a couple minutes of walking, she stopped and stared to her left. She'd move off the path towards the left, wading through bushes and thorns, raising a Personal Barrier to avoid scrapes and bruises from the rugged wilderness. "At least that's
some kind of payoff," she'd mutter.
Eventually, she would stop in front of a tree, slamming a hand against it forcefully. "I... cannot be here long, but you read it. You promised there would be no interference."
After a few moments, the sounds of a vaguely male chuckle could be heard from the other side of the tree. It sounded distorted, as if unnaturally deep and low in pitch. "The whims of the wind were especially fickle today. You can understand that, can't you? All you good little Astrites love to cuss with the wind's permission, to call upon it for aid, and yet you can never accept the truth."
"The truth? What truth might that be?"
"That privileges demand payment. In this case, for all of Astra's blessings in the eyes of your people, her gracious wind also decided to deal you all a losing hand today. A shame, but as people like to say... 'it is what it is', maybe? A kind of 'c'est la vie' situation, even."
Chloe's fist slammed against the wood, her barrier the only thing stopping her from breaking her hand from the impact. "That's not good enough! You promised Wingram would be different. That these people would
help, but all that's happened so far is a series of near-death games and attempted executions!"
A pause hung in the forest. Even insects would cease their symphony as an odd feeling of uncertainty gathered about the area, before Chloe's hand uncurled and a sigh released an untold amount of stress.
"Give it more time," the voice behind the tree would state plainly. "If you had died or given up this early on, your goals would never have been reachable. They still won't be, as far as I can tell."
Another sigh from Chloe, the girl not even attempting to mount a defense against the unseen voice's words. It would continue with a sigh of its own, with words tinged with venom that would immediately make the hair on Chloe's neck stand and her eyes widen.
"Not as long as you can still let yourself be followed so easily by unwanted eyes."
@AThousandCursesCAMPUS GROUNDS
Chunji's Adapa, in its own way, would begin to go over the basic functions of an Adapa. Its core features included messaging between others who possessed one, access to news articles from all across the Vaalin Union and the Kingdom of Mirris, cable television from Vaal Shakta's various recorded programs, radio, live feeds of Strigari Academy's skirmish battles, and many miscellaneous features. One could install additions such as alarm clocks or alter their settings such that they can disable mental pinging sounds when essence mail has been received, browse a public message board for the students of Wingram, or write down text notes using one's voice. It also had brief articles installed by default that would cover the basics of essence manipulation and essence itself, for those who may be truly untrained and uneducated in such matters, as well as a manual detailing actions one can take to try to fix a malfunctioning Adapa.
It would be compared to Vaal Shakta's 'Leylight', which is a non-sentient interface conjured through a series of hard light screens anchored to an individual's prime essence with permission from Strigari Academy's headmaster - a privilege typically only given to students and faculty of the academy, as well as government officials of the city. It also differs in that Leylight privileges can be removed from those the headmaster deems unfit, while an Adapa can't be forcibly removed once bound to an individual.
As Chunji was going through these explanations, crowds of students would eventually begin walking in the same direction nearby. As time ticked down, it was clear that the attunement ceremony - and by extension, the decision to join the Sword of Wund or the Shield of Nero - would draw near.
