Epsir

Arknights - Project Neptune

"You're leaving again, sis? It's only been a few days."
A whole mob of tiny voices echoed the boy's dismay. Every eye present followed the mass of her plate carrier as she threw it onto the ground, a great whompf and a cloud of dust being the best shake clean the device was going to get. Her coat followed, blazing orange and covered in the devices of her trade. At least, what you could walk out the door and onto the next job with. First aid kid, compass, multitool, a generous assortment of glowsticks, the simple things that saved people. Farida Marchand knelt beside the heap, gingerly going from pouch to pouch, tapping, unzipping, unbuckling and reseting every single one of them. While they whined and fussed she ran down the list in her head. The email had used a few words but one of them had been examination. There wasn't much that she could bring but however she could, she would arrive prepared. Her tomahawk, its skeletal head buried in the polymer of a drop sheath, fell in. At worst, that itself was part of the test. At best, she was saving her comrades-to-be some time.
The sun was beginning to rise, the orange glow of the horizon casting long shadows from the gaggle, nine in all, watching her pack in the driveway. She turned her eyes on them. Her family, some of them by blood, most just adopted along. Her elders had already said their goodbyes, made peace with the fact that she wanted to do this all over again. Ears shivering in the unpleasant morning, tails taut with anxiety. She zipped the duffel closed on her kit. Truth was, she'd known since before she'd came back. The email had come during the process of her withdrawal from Penguin. Her five years were up, and looking back she had more pride than regrets. Round two.

"Sure am. Sorry..." Farida breathed out.
"Sargon again?" She shook her head. "Kazdale?" Another cut in. "All she's gonna say is 'a penguin never tells.'"
"Not for Penguin, not today." Mule stood up, heaving the duffle into the bed of the truck beside her and next to the backpack full of travel goods. "Still don't know, though." She grinned, and a few groaned. "They say it's like a big, flying castle and they go all around the world helping the people who need it, need it way more than us. So I'll be doing that for a little while. Might even be able to send more stuff back than the job before, yeah?"

But that thought wasn't worth anything. Maybe while she'd been off globetrotting they'd grown out of the idea that a corporate mercenary could do anything good for the world. That was worth something: a cold, gnawing nervousness. "Now run back inside before you catch cold. I'm not getting in trouble because you didn't think a goodbye dinner was enough!" They watched as she yanked open the door on her old ride. Poor thing, it'd been a fun week tooling around after five years playing the minor leagues. Now it was going to get left sitting at an airport until someone could come and get it again. The engine shivered until it could burn, the ancient device lurching forward before she spiked it into reverse. One wave to the family, a jerky turn, and she was a dust cloud rising into the distance. She'd have a long drive to think about that lie.

---

One rumble had bled into another. Jet engines, spooling for takeoff. She'd been passed some cans and a mask. There was a little tingle of excitement to that. Most of Penguin's clients might have preferred to see the world from the soundproofed cabin of a fancy aircraft, but this was how they got around, what they trained in: Cold steel, mesh seats, and a few tons of barely strapped in machinery (usually the helicopter the client demanded folded up and tied down) or supplies ready to scare you lifeless when the turbulence hit and it listed like it was coming down. She pulled them on over her cap, ears adjusting to the filtered sound. The face of a microphone caught her eye as she slipped on the mask, a hand traveling up her cable to find the PTT and instead finding nothing. Civilian, so it wasn't going to break any time soon. Backpack in her lap, duffel at her feet, and a fist clenched around the handle on both of them, Mule became a statue as they climbed up into the sky. She helped herself not to stare at the other candidates, head cast towards the metal floor as she slipped into waiting.

A voice came through the intercom. And clear, too. Mule's head shot up, eyes panning for the speaker and hooking onto the helpfully raised hand as she introduced herself. Mule had been about to give it a go herself until she saw the big guy that had been sleeping peacefully, and with enviable technique at that, tear his mask off. Her eyes widened as she thought she was watching their first malfunction take place but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with his tube as he reconnected. Another raised hand, another introduction, crisis delayed. The second group member to profess a medical affinity. She smiled under her mask, there were few mercenaries crazy enough not to enjoy the direct proximity of medics. The rest of these guys could be the craziest Black Steel body pilers money could buy or a bunch of choir girls, they had doctors, and that meant they had a safety net to learn this whole teamwork thing. Spirits high, she raised her hand next.

"Codename Mule, reporting. I did security and surveillance details for Penguin for five years, most of that under night-vision. Shield bearer when it got hot. I don't mind if you're infected or not, we're a team and I've got your back. Same goes for all of you, you can count on me. Over." Mule's hands came down, both the one that had been signaling and the one that had been habitually thumbing her oxygen tube. Oh, right.

Arknights - Project Neptune

MULE

Posable Rat Bits sold separately

FARIDA MARCHAND

27 | FEMALE | ZALAK | 174 CM

RE:Recruitment Message
From: MULE <[e-mail]>

Dear Diver,

Hello and thank you for your interest. It is a great honor to be considered by Retra Corp. and I have sent attached the most current assessments I have, both amended or retrieved at the time of my separation from my previous employer, Penguin Logistics Co. I have worked in asset protection, logistic security, protective and discretionary surveillance on the behalf of Penguin for five years. In that time I acquired certifications within the company and with accredited international training agencies for disciplines such as nighttime operations, hazardous environment operations, and clandestine information gathering. I have worked with contacts around the world under numerous jurisdictions and liaisons, and maintain cooperative relationships with agencies in a number of mobile cities and nations as a result of my working experience.

My combat certifications are as follows, transcripts available:

• Operations Team Field Specialist Senior Grade
• Hand to Hand Combat Certification
• General Marksmanship Certification
• Close Quarters Shooting Certification, Distinguished
• Area Entry, Clearance and Denial Explosive Application Junior Level Certification

My operational certifications are as follows, transcripts available:

• Operations Under Night-time Master Certification
• Static Asset Protection Certification, Urban and Woodland
• Motor Asset Protection Certification
• Surveillance and Counter-surveillance Field Level Certification
• Hazardous Materials and Environments Threat Mitigation and Operations Integrity - AKSHA Certified
• Tactical Driving Junior Level Certification
• Operations From Airborne Vehicles Certification
• Asset Creation and Management in Non-permissive Environments Junior Level Certification
• Human Resources in Security Application Certification
• International Commerce and Maritime Law Familiarization Class
• Uniform Code of Mercenary Justice Familiarization Class
• Inter-agency Incident Prevention and De-escalation Class

Should you find my services a desirable addition to the C.A.L. Protection Initiative, I can be reached for contract negotiation at any time at this address or through the agents which provided it to you.

Well Wishes,

Mule

Form H-0-15c.X 22-03-XXXX Physical Assessment

No.494
Administered:
Penguin Logistics Columbia
221 North Lawrence St., Floor 68
New Norwick
Columbia

Subject: Farida Marchand
Admin: Amos Collins, M.D.

[Physical Strength]
Normal

Candidate demonstrated physical strength and endurance matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in Weight Constrained Endurance March.

[Mobility]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated physical mobility and reflexes matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in Low Visibility PtP March. Instructing physician notes that candidate's long distance course scores are likely affected by candidate's aptitude for navigation, but proposes no objection based on otherwise acceptable agility assessment.

[Physical Resilience]
Excellent

Candidate demonstrated resistance to physical stressors in distinguished excess of PLC assessment standards. Response to pain stimulus psychologically pronounced and healthy, but degree of coordination loss is low. Resistance to fatigue exceptional.

Note: After her first year of service at PLC, operative enrolled in FST and scored in the 99th percentile on a week long sleep deprivation drill. Operative was promoted to Field Specialist rating. - Collins

[Tactical Acumen]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated mental agility and tactical ability matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in spatial awareness and Low Visibility Coordinated Maneuver.

Note: After her third year of service at PLC operative was selected for and subsequently failed to qualify for a promotion to Operations Team Leader rating. See Price's assess. - Collins

[Combat Skill]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated capacity to learn and employ martial arts matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards.

[Originium Arts Assimilation]
Flawed

Candidate demonstrated an impaired capacity to learn, employ, and defend against Originium Arts beneath PLC assessment standards.

Note: During her years of service at PLC, operative repeatedly attempted and failed out of Arts Qualification courses. As of her latest assessment she is still rated excessively incapable, but has demonstrated the ability to utilize the most basic of Art Staff Devices. - Adv. Manteau

[Clinical Analysis]
Non-infected

Imaging tests reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sign of infection. At this time, subject is believed to be non-infected.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation]
0%

Subject showed no symptoms of Oripathy.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density]
0.09u/L

Subject has an operations record and medical treatment history in Originium-afflicted areas but no episodes of acute exposure. Overall density remains low due to observation of proper protective measures.

Form H-P-2a 13-04-XXXX Psychiatric Assessment

No.494
Administered:
Penguin Logistics Columbia
221 North Lawrence St., Floor 68
New Norwick
Columbia

Subject: FS (ret.) Farida Marchand
Admin: Wendy Price, M.D.

Specialist Marchand is difficult to dissect. She wears the skin of an affable, courteous professional well and at first take it is easy to dismiss her system of judgment as too skittish and reserved for someone in her line of work. Whatever she is in society, however, she is not in the field. Her service record indicates a strong familial instinct, and an ability to offload her aversion to risk in order to accept the personal sacrifices necessary to protect her team. In the process of conducting this questioning I have come to the conclusion that she is absolutely ferocious when backed into a corner, her manner of conduct sharpening and becoming standoffish as tension, and the battlefield might demand. Suffice to say that in the comfort of an exam chair I am unable to coerce her into a falter and her work history permits the assumption that the same is mostly true in the line of duty. She becomes defensive and alert when questioned about her family, overeager to protect and project the idea that she comes from a close knit warren and learned from life that she must work hard and in cooperation to succeed. Indeed what Penguin's background check service was able to dredge up about Marchand reveals that she is a third generation immigrant to Columbia and worked in the agricultural sector before seeking employment with PLC.

At first mention among points of strength is of course her ability to commit to a collective and face personal risk without concern when rationalized as for another's sake. This mentality has made her both a highly successful and highly regarded presence in the squads which have returned service records involving her. She is capable of playing an emotional and physical backbone when one is needed, but demonstrates a lack of initiative in actually directing a group which has accepted her. In addition, she demonstrates a dangerous line of thought that forbids her from designating others to work or suffer in her stead. Seven of ten members of the panel which rejected her promotion to Operations Team Leader rating cited an inability to decisively and swiftly delegate responsibility as the reason for rejection. Her physical capabilities seem to lend her to a direct action posting, but on the basis of her psych eval and the concern that combat attrition within her assigned group could compromise her judgment, I have put forward upon her initial assessment and maintain to this day that Specialist Marchand is best employed in reserve operations.

Arknights - Project Neptune

Thankee much, I can't wait to get started.

Arknights - Project Neptune

[screaming]
In my tabbing around the operator profiles of who had notes about exposure in their past I forgot to put in the damn zero, thank you

Arknights - Project Neptune

MULE

MULE

Posable Rat Bits sold separately

FARIDA MARCHAND

27 | FEMALE | ZALAK | 174 CM

RE:Recruitment Message
From: MULE <[e-mail]>

Dear Diver,

Hello and thank you for your interest. It is a great honor to be considered by Retra Corp. and I have sent attached the most current assessments I have, both amended or retrieved at the time of my separation from my previous employer, Penguin Logistics Co. I have worked in asset protection, logistic security, protective and discretionary surveillance on the behalf of Penguin for five years. In that time I acquired certifications within the company and with accredited international training agencies for disciplines such as nighttime operations, hazardous environment operations, and clandestine information gathering. I have worked with contacts around the world under numerous jurisdictions and liaisons, and maintain cooperative relationships with agencies in a number of mobile cities and nations as a result of my working experience.

My combat certifications are as follows, transcripts available:

• Operations Team Field Specialist Senior Grade
• Hand to Hand Combat Certification
• General Marksmanship Certification
• Close Quarters Shooting Certification, Distinguished
• Area Entry, Clearance and Denial Explosive Application Junior Level Certification

My operational certifications are as follows, transcripts available:

• Operations Under Night-time Master Certification
• Static Asset Protection Certification, Urban and Woodland
• Motor Asset Protection Certification
• Surveillance and Counter-surveillance Field Level Certification
• Hazardous Materials and Environments Threat Mitigation and Operations Integrity - AKSHA Certified
• Tactical Driving Junior Level Certification
• Operations From Airborne Vehicles Certification
• Asset Creation and Management in Non-permissive Environments Junior Level Certification
• Human Resources in Security Application Certification
• International Commerce and Maritime Law Familiarization Class
• Uniform Code of Mercenary Justice Familiarization Class
• Inter-agency Incident Prevention and De-escalation Class

Should you find my services a desirable addition to the C.A.L. Protection Initiative, I can be reached for contract negotiation at any time at this address or through the agents which provided it to you.

Well Wishes,

Mule

Form H-0-15c.X 22-03-XXXX Physical Assessment

No.494
Administered:
Penguin Logistics Columbia
221 North Lawrence St., Floor 68
New Norwick
Columbia

Subject: Farida Marchand
Admin: Amos Collins, M.D.

[Physical Strength]
Normal

Candidate demonstrated physical strength and endurance matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in Weight Constrained Endurance March.

[Mobility]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated physical mobility and reflexes matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in Low Visibility PtP March. Instructing physician notes that candidate's long distance course scores are likely affected by candidate's aptitude for navigation, but proposes no objection based on otherwise acceptable agility assessment.

[Physical Resilience]
Excellent

Candidate demonstrated resistance to physical stressors in distinguished excess of PLC assessment standards. Response to pain stimulus psychologically pronounced and healthy, but degree of coordination loss is low. Resistance to fatigue exceptional.

Note: After her first year of service at PLC, operative enrolled in FST and scored in the 99th percentile on a week long sleep deprivation drill. Operative was promoted to Field Specialist rating. - Collins

[Tactical Acumen]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated mental agility and tactical ability matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards. Scores high in spatial awareness and Low Visibility Coordinated Maneuver.

Note: After her third year of service at PLC operative was selected for and subsequently failed to qualify for a promotion to Operations Team Leader rating. See Price's assess. - Collins

[Combat Skill]
Standard

Candidate demonstrated capacity to learn and employ martial arts matching or exceeding PLC assessment standards.

[Originium Arts Assimilation]
Flawed

Candidate demonstrated an impaired capacity to learn, employ, and defend against Originium Arts beneath PLC assessment standards.

Note: During her years of service at PLC, operative repeatedly attempted and failed out of Arts Qualification courses. As of her latest assessment she is still rated excessively incapable, but has demonstrated the ability to utilize the most basic of Art Staff Devices. - Adv. Manteau

[Clinical Analysis]
Non-infected

Imaging tests reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sign of infection. At this time, subject is believed to be non-infected.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation]
0%

Subject showed no symptoms of Oripathy.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density]
0.09u/L

Subject has an operations record and medical treatment history in Originium-afflicted areas but no episodes of acute exposure. Overall density remains low due to observation of proper protective measures.

Form H-P-2a 13-04-XXXX Psychiatric Assessment

No.494
Administered:
Penguin Logistics Columbia
221 North Lawrence St., Floor 68
New Norwick
Columbia

Subject: FS (ret.) Farida Marchand
Admin: Wendy Price, M.D.

Specialist Marchand is difficult to dissect. She wears the skin of an affable, courteous professional well and at first take it is easy to dismiss her system of judgment as too skittish and reserved for someone in her line of work. Whatever she is in society, however, she is not in the field. Her service record indicates a strong familial instinct, and an ability to offload her aversion to risk in order to accept the personal sacrifices necessary to protect her team. In the process of conducting this questioning I have come to the conclusion that she is absolutely ferocious when backed into a corner, her manner of conduct sharpening and becoming standoffish as tension, and the battlefield might demand. Suffice to say that in the comfort of an exam chair I am unable to coerce her into a falter and her work history permits the assumption that the same is mostly true in the line of duty. She becomes defensive and alert when questioned about her family, overeager to protect and project the idea that she comes from a close knit warren and learned from life that she must work hard and in cooperation to succeed. Indeed what Penguin's background check service was able to dredge up about Marchand reveals that she is a third generation immigrant to Columbia and worked in the agricultural sector before seeking employment with PLC.

At first mention among points of strength is of course her ability to commit to a collective and face personal risk without concern when rationalized as for another's sake. This mentality has made her both a highly successful and highly regarded presence in the squads which have returned service records involving her. She is capable of playing an emotional and physical backbone when one is needed, but demonstrates a lack of initiative in actually directing a group which has accepted her. In addition, she demonstrates a dangerous line of thought that forbids her from designating others to work or suffer in her stead. Seven of ten members of the panel which rejected her promotion to Operations Team Leader rating cited an inability to decisively and swiftly delegate responsibility as the reason for rejection. Her physical capabilities seem to lend her to a direct action posting, but on the basis of her psych eval and the concern that combat attrition within her assigned group could compromise her judgment, I have put forward upon her initial assessment and maintain to this day that Specialist Marchand is best employed in reserve operations.

Here's my first crack at a character. Please let me know if there's any systems or lore stuff I've stepped on the toes of and I'll get right on fixing it.

Oh, and sorry it's not an Ozen clone my guy. Was already a bit in motion on this one.

Arknights - Project Neptune

finally, a crossover of armored core and kemono friends, the promised land

If you aren't already calling it a full ship I'd be interested in running a Defender.

London by Lamplight: A Victorian Magical Girl Story !

Would love to see a character sheet, but I might be interested.

Arkus Academy

Kirigina retreated back to the easy role of listening as the dancer began to talk openly about their casual disruption of time and space. In a normal conversation she could have had the luxury of just sort of not really understanding how one goes about their normal life when a sneeze or casual mugging could propel them outside the boundaries of causality as she knew it. A humble reminder that a stronger sort of people existed in the world, who faced down existential uncertainty with that kind of nonchalance. "Haha," She laughed along. Ending up naked in front of your work group, crazy stuff, that. This wasn't a normal conversation, the chief artificer beside them was jotting down all sorts of things, examining Xanara's story and assuring her that this sort of thing was dealt with around here. Nope, Kirigina was the odd one out and before long she was just the odd one when Sira strode away.

The mechanic's face took on a quizzical twist as the dancer continued, as if she'd just been made to swallow something only mildly sour. "Ne, I do not know about that last part. You definitely don't need to be special to be a technician, they take everyone they can get their hands on." That didn't paint them in such a great light, did it? She gripped at her wrench. There was a little bit more to it than that, though not much. The machine took the citizens it needed to keep moving, but... "But that has worked out well for me," She shrugged her shoulders. "I think it would be rather sad to have to work at something where my fate was put out by things like talents and sparks before I ever got to try. At least I know why dancing makes me so nervous now."

Wait, was just taking the compliment the better play? She chuckled nervously at the end of her own attempt to keep things light. Her mind began to spin for a way to follow that up but a social creature the Kirigina was not. As the horror of being locked in a conversation between two people with nothing but ostensibly good intentions in common set in, Kress broke through, bringing his bloodstained new friend with him. The circle of cool peeps grew as the strange sudent finally put name to a now unforgettable face: Cormac Hollow. "Wow, so many mages in performing arts. More lively than the scholars I pictured going to work with... Um, in a good way, of course."

Arkus Academy

Heartening news. It would have been an awful tragedy had Kirigina been sent all this way only to find that the academic artificers of Arkus Academy preferred the study of theory over practice. Not an unreasonable commitment but one she was wholly unsuited for, wrench in hand and textbooks traded for calloused, blistering experience at the front of repair queues. A warm smile spread across the wrench witch's face as Kress went on, and she found herself nodding confidently at the concepts broached. Maybe she was proud to be keeping up with the theory after all, since while the steel constructions of her homeland were titanic representations of the Republic's progress in rebuilding... They were not usually so ornate. "Building sized heat exchangers composed entirely through runes. I cannot imagine how sharp the tolerances must be, or what kind of work went into creating, no, affixing that system to these old structures. Even if the yield were unsteady, the air is very clean here to think a forge might be nearby."

Before either could continue the instructor she'd just been thinking about flagging down approached them. Sleepy eyed fascination shifted from Kress to Sira, glancing back in time with their instructor giving the boy the same lingering glance she had. Artificers were not people people, so much was true across borders at least. Or he just had one of those familiar faces. "Ja," She responded automatically to being called an artificer, bowing her head but only listening to the teacher. The tour proceeded, prompting a long period of polite silence as instructors talked and pointed them around at the buildings. A workshop, a garden, all handy things to be so close to with reasonably unlimited access. Who could have envisioned a center of learning, the focal point where the future was weaved with an unsuspecting and uncaring generation of new hands, could afford to be so comfortable. But, just as soon as she warmed up to the idea of the academy they were done, turned from a tour into a group of meandering students deciding where first to go. That was a new feeling. Giddiness tipped the corners of her lips, "I cannot believe it," She admitted, nudging Kress... but as a growing trend, before she finished the thought they were face to face with more of their kind.

First a snow haired boy who introduced himself as Cormac Hollow and in the same breath declared himself to be possessed of some sort of pact with an Angel. Kirigina raised an eyebrow at that and immediately recognized the nose bleed from earlier in the day. Her hand flinched, the start of a protective reach for her new friend's shoulder in what was surely a trying time that stopped as a second person introduced themselves, and so easily, the first bloc split.

Xanara. I hope that is spelled phonetically. The lively looking girl who spoke with the artificer-instructor about some high concept things a few moments before. Kirigina had overheard the words causality and paradox and promptly checked herself out of overhearing a conversation so far out of her league. It made for an interesting assessment of the sunkissed woman though, spoke to an intelligence one might not have immediately associated with 'one of those dancing girls from the west.' No, even the witches of old had their dancing rituals around the fire. They dressed more modestly because they would have died wearing that skirt in the tundra, but nobody mistook them for prudes. Maybe she was a proud practitioner of ancient, traditional magics and here she was rubbing shoulders with a dusty mechanic from a line of spellcasters who bent to the call of progress.

"I am Tanya. Pleased to meet you." She said, correcting her failure to introduce herself while the tour had been going on. In one motion she shuffled her wrench into the crook of one arm, brushing an already clean hand across the fabric of her coat out of habit before extending it in greeting. "N-next week?" The conversation blew past the little hangup she stammered under her breath. "I am a Technician, which is to say both of those things when they are needed. Slight differences. Aha." She chuckled nervously. This Xanara was disarming in a natural sort of way. If only that did not frequently forecast danger in Kirigina's homeland, and on the witch's face a strange blend of social anxiety and ease among comrades played tug of war while she watched the closest thing she had to a friend spirited away over the dancer's shoulder. At least it wasn't the scythe mob.
"I fix these sorts of things." Kirigina followed the young woman's gesture, beaming at the Cresian vessel. "Well, Verholtan ones. Machines are deceptively simple once you know their language. Maybe like dancing, once you understand the swing of things it gets easier?"

Arkus Academy

"... Weird." Kirigina toyed with the edge of her hat, looking away from the front of the procession as the two of them wrote off the strange nosebleed sufferer. Given everything she'd seen so far it was indeed greatly comforting to be told that there were in fact healers - wonderful ones! - nearby for the certainty of magical mishap. Any second now someone would turn too fast or jostle the wrong way and poke their eye with a scythe tip. Or sneeze fire into someone's cotton. Or upset their extradimensional patron into gracing them with their incomprehensible creepingly chaotic presence. She just wanted to turn a wrench, and never fet so more clearly as the tour of the airfield had stopped with the chief artificer's brief in indication of the other vessels collected around them. That was the sum of the attention paid to her craft, and with it, they were marched off towards the academy.

What kind of mutant deer grew up white? Some product of the wild magic of this land, no doubt. The old witches would have prospered in such a place, the tundra was so inhospitable as to have shaped much of their craft into devices for survival and medication in their environs. Kirigina raised a hand to point at the animal, but it had already fled from the march of students. Her eyes flitted around from plant to plant, seeking its snowy face once more as the talk turned to undocumented creatures and untold dangers within the greenery's veil. "Was that some kind of deer monster?" She said, mumbling the thought aloud before they were safe. The rest of the tour was through constructions of stone and opulence, full of actual magic to be sure but not as magical as walking through a place of uncategorized life.

In the blink of an eye a student had come forward from the mass, engaging one of the guiding teachers in the middle of their tour. Her own initial shock gave way to a sense of relief, at least the instructors were approachable enough to present questions to. Unfortunately that was the one teacher at the academy she would have any questions for. Kirigina looked to Kress once again, gesturing to the many towers around them as she asked. "Comrade Kress, we've passed quite a few buildings but I do not see any stacks here." A long pause as she hoped continued looking would prove her wrong. "Do Cresian academies usually have a forge or do you, erm... industrialize differently?"