Inedible

Secundi Lux

The tides of battle are shifting, the surprise attack having gone far awry by this point.

There’s a crash as Selma slams her masked target into the ground, a strangled cry of surprise and pain echoing through the darkness. The weight and power of the big girl comes down with punishing force, and her attacker crumples into a heap nearby. Crystal drives another back, and another sharp crack echoes as Rivka takes her next shot. It strikes center mass, the figure pursuing Crystal dropping to a knee as the shot hit true.

Captain Wei’s arm reaches to balance upon Chie, putting weight against her as the panicked girl helps the officer to her feet once again. It takes just a moment for her to steady herself, and she reaches to take her weapon from the girl’s grip with one quick motion.

“Stay close to me.” She instructs, taking several quick steps to help another of the soldiers to their feet. Her voice rises after, barking, “All of you, with me!”

The woman begins to move, making a sharp gesture for both her soldiers and the four girls to follow. She heads for one of the long stairwells that leads up to the surface, two of the recently recovered soldiers acting as vanguard for the small party. The remaining two officers are soon stumbling to their feet, picking up the rear guard and discharging their own rifles, their shots echoing those Rivka’s already fired. All together the escort forms a rough square around the four girls, Wei and two in front, two behind, all beginning to move toward the stairwell.

For a moment it seems escape is eminent. Easy, even. The masked figures are wounded, crumpled on the floor, shot and scattered.

But there’s something wrong with them. Rivka realized it after her first shot, that these people are something more than just people. It’s confirmed when the first injured figure removes their hand from the shattered remains of their mask. There’s a face behind, but it’s not quite right. Black veins run through the skin, and one of the eyes is no longer white, but a pool of obsidian. The others are rising as well, dragging themselves to their feet despite their wounds.

The one with the shattered half-mask, what looks to be a woman, raises her hand as the four girls and their escort begin their retreat. There’s a sudden grinding sound, followed by the ear-splitting tear and twist of steel.

And then it is raining chunks of metal. One of the giant display screens set on the ceiling above comes crashing down to earth amidst the escapees, shattering with a cacophonous bang. More follow, displays and chunks of ceiling, turning the way ahead into an obstacle course of debris. One of the soldiers guarding the rear goes down as a piece of ceiling smashes into him, pinning him under part of it.

“Move!” Wei demands, her pistol echoing again in the darkened subway station.

It’s not as easy as that. The falling displays soon block the path, requiring a detour around. One that will give the remaining masked figures one last chance to grab their targets. They’ll have to be avoided one more time, along with the other obstacles, for each girl to get to the staircase.

Secundi Lux

Things are happening quickly now, the quiet walk through the darkened subway transitioning abruptly into a panicked struggle.
Crystal’s would-be abductors are surprised to find that the girl is alarmingly competent in self-defense. The first stumbles back, the second releasing their grip on her and clutching at their throat as they tumble backward onto the tile. It takes the first a moment to right themselves, rising unsteadily and taking a wary step backward.

Chie proves easier for the other masked figures to keep ahold of. At least, initially.

Rivka is a trained marksman, and there’s just enough light and just the right angle to take her shot. Her targets are tall too, and busy keeping the girl in their grasp held tight. They don’t notice that the purple-haired girl has the rifle until it’s too late.
There’s a sharp crack as the magitech rifle goes off, a sudden illumination in the dark. In the flash of light the pale masks of their attackers are starkly visible, none of the strange symbols drawn on seeming quite alike. And one of those masks, worn by one of the two hold Chie, shatters abruptly as Rivka’s shot strikes true. The person behind it staggers backward, a hand rising to grasp at the wound opened up by the blast. A wound that by all rights should have put down any normal human.

Chie finds, consequently, that one pair of hands on her has suddenly let go. The other loosens, a momentary gap that may allow her escape if she takes advantage.

In the meantime, Selma’s dowsing reveals that Rivka’s concerns aren’t entirely unfounded. There are more figures in the dark, hostile and heading toward the group from behind. Two more in those strange masks, both of them with heading to engage.

One of them doesn’t make it fare before there’s another crack of gunfire. The figure doubles over, stumbling several steps before hitting the tile. Captain Wei is shakily rising to her feet, pistol in hand. The remaining attacker collides with her a second afterward, tackling her to the ground. The weapon clatters to the tile, and the masked figure is soon scrambling for it.

Secundi Lux

Captain Wei is content with the lack of questions, leaving the passengers to talk between themselves or sit in silence as the city slides by. The quiet rattling of the car fills the empty space, more stations and buildings passing.

When Wei speaks again it’s not to any of the passengers, but to a small earpiece that her fingers rise to touch.

“Here.” She says. A long pause follows, during which bad news is likely delivered. Something that makes the woman scowl at least, her lips tugging down before she responds: “Understood.” Dark eyes flicker toward the four passengers, as if to make sure they’re still in the spot she left them. She clears her throat after, beginning:

“There’s been an itinerary change.” She gives a short pause before continuing: “We’ll be getting off in the next three stations, a car will take us from there.” More stations rattle by, the lights in each flickering and dim. Three more until the car slides to a slow stop.

---

𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊
𝚁𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟿:𝟶𝟽 𝙿𝙼

---

The station that they arrive at is lit by emergency bulbs, cool orange lights set at regular intervals throughout the darkened hall of the station. The floors are tiled black and white, the walls and ceiling made of smooth metal paneling that reflect the meager lighting. Pillars run through the length of the station, as do half-walls of waist-high greenery. Rows of displays overhead scroll with cautionary text, repeated by a calming electronic voice at regular intervals:

“--expected to resume within the next several hours. Please hold until then. This is a code white announcement: Travel along the Kei Line is currently suspended. Operations are expected--”

The main power seems to have gone out, and the waiting passengers with it. The space is almost eerily empty, only a few clusters of people-shapes sitting in the darkness. Shapes that Captain Wei surveys briefly before she motions for her passengers to take their luggage and disembark. It takes a moment to do so, but soon the group is moving through the rail station, heading toward one of the long flights of stairs that leads toward the surface.

It’s near halfway there when the world goes white. A blast of force ripples through the rail station, the impact hard enough to throw each of the four girls and their small entourage from their feet and to the tiled floor. Everything is a swirl of color afterward, disorienting noise and blurred vision.

Both Crystal and Chie soon feel hands pulling them to their feet. Forcefully yanking them up and dragging them backward. It becomes obvious within moments that these are not their guards, but someone else. Tall figures in dark clothing, their faces covered by bone-white masks with jagged, geometric designs inked across the surface. They are neither gentle nor friendly, their gloved hands attempts to secure each girl as they retreat.

Selma and Rivka come to their senses near the same time, both getting a view of those figures attempting to spirit their fellow candidates away. There are two per abductee, and though there may be more hiding in the dark it’s difficult to tell.
Captain Wei and her soldiers seem to have taken the brunt of the blast, and none are rising quickly. Whatever hit the small group seems to have had more effect on them than the four girls they’re meant to protect.

Which means they'll have to fend for themselves, at least for these precious few seconds.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

A short time later the shape of Palmyra appears in the window of the control room. In the evening light the city looks like a disk-shaped web of light that runs up along a coast and peninsula, a mass of civilization huddled against the darkness. The lights grow bigger and brighter as the ship descends toward the ground below, the sound of radio chatter filling the control room as docking instructions are given and followed. The vessel comes to a halt with a shudder as it touches down, and after a few minutes of hurried activity a small escort is formed to lead the five girls off the ship and to the dock below.

From there they travel by vehicle, a too-bulky military car that ferries them through the narrow, hilly streets of the city. Outside a maze of fluorescent lit streets pass by, dull white lighting occasionally broken up by flickering LEDs or neon signage written in mixtures of English, Russian, and Japanese. Most buildings they pass are utilitarian in architecture, a far cry from Nicole’s beloved Hasta at night and something more suited to a military city.

It’s at one of those buildings that they make their first stop, a medical facility somewhere on the northern end of the city. It’s clearly more than a civilian outfit, judging by the guards. It doesn’t take long to check each of the girls in, and the tests begin shortly after.

For Nicole, Astrelle, and Dana, the work only takes about an hour. They’re run through a machine or two, blood is taken, and there’s a brief physical examination. Each is deemed clear of any harmful effects from their earlier exposure, with further tests to come in the following days as part of their Ars Magi preparations.

For Penny and Vanna things are a bit more extensive. The former gets her shoulder set and a proper cast for her arm, as well as some well-deserved pain medication. Vanna’s cheek is stitched up and bandaged, and once the Duodecim girl returns to consciousness she too is released back into the care of her escorts.

It’s another short drive that follows afterward, through now empty streets and passed several quiet districts before they arrive at their final destination:

---

𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚊 𝙻𝚞𝚡 𝙰𝚌𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚢
𝙳𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚜
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟷𝟶𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟷:𝟶𝟽 𝙰𝙼
Dana Noel, Penny Grenoble, Nicole Cognoscenti, Diana Khay Vanna, Astrelle Lennox

---

There’s not much time to admire the sprawling stonework of Nova Lux and its sister academy, nor examine the carefully cultivated gardens or exquisitely chiseled monuments half-hidden in the darkness. At this hour--past midnight now--the lights are dimmed and the stone pathways that run through the buildings are empty of any presence save the five girls and their small escort.

A brief check-in is made with one of the faculty members, a woman who looks sorely unhappy to be out this late. She takes the lead once the girls gather their luggage, guiding them to the dormitories and through the ornate wooden doors that lead inside. A dimly lit, blue-carpeted hallway awaits them, and after a short trip to the second floor each is given a key to their respective rooms. Orientation is to begin at 8 AM tomorrow, and the woman recommends getting what rest they can in the meantime.

Of those rooms they’ll be settling in, some are shared. Penny and Dana shortly find that they’ll be sharing a dorm, as do Astrelle and Nicole. Once they pick their door out of the long line of similar looking portals they find a reasonably spacious room awaits them. Reasonably by the standards of anyone but Astrelle and Vanna, anyway. Two twin beds sit on opposite ends of the room, two small desks, two small closets, a kitchenette and bathroom. Windows look down upon the dark courtyard below, blue curtains at their fringes. Mostly everything is either blue or gold, the standard Imperium colors.

Vanna finds her room much the same, with one addition: There’s already another person there.



As soon as the white-haired girl opens the door she’s blasted by sharp chords of music, strings of noise that echo out into the hallway. The girl inside is very much not asleep despite the hour, lying in the center of the room with palms pressed to the floor, body rising and falling in steady rhythm. “Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two.” She exhales a breath with each push-up, pausing to crane her head upward when she notices her visitor.

“Oh--hey!” She pauses halfway through her motions. “They said you’d show up eventually.”

She finishes her exercise before hopping to her feet. The girl is tall, red-haired, built lean but athletic. She wears a basic workout ensemble with hair tied back in a ponytail, and a thin sheen of sweat covers the hand that she extends out to Vanna. “I’m Cara.”

She considers briefly before asking: “Is your face okay?”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

“No.” Victoria replies to Nicole’s question. “It was…unexpected.” It’s hard to tell how sincere the Ars Magi is, given her expression seems never to change that much. Yet there’s the slightest hint of a frown, a small note of displeasure with this fact that she shares.

Her frown deepens slightly when Astrelle speaks. Crimson eyes turn toward the dark-haired girl, the Ars Magi holding her gaze for a few icy seconds.

“It was an Ars Magi.” She replies. “Or something similar enough that I wasn’t able to tell the difference.” Astrelle manages to pry that loose, at least. “It shouldn’t be possible.” Victoria seems fairly certain about that. Regardless of the actual reality.

“That’s the transparency I can offer you.” She finishes, adding, “But Miss Cognoscenti has it correct. If you’re going to serve the Imperium as an Ars Magi, Miss Lennox, obedience is what’s expected of you.” There’s been very little indication that Astrelle has a choice in the matter.

“If you’ll excuse me.” The Ars Magi steps back, heading toward the control console. Soon she’s deep in discussion with the pilot manning it, and the surrounding soldiers after that. She doesn’t leave this time, but she makes herself busy enough to avoid further questions. The five girls are left alone in the meantime, with not much in the way of privacy.

Secundi Lux

Quiet conversation fills the rail-car as time ticks by. The figures outside of the car continue to speak among themselves, pausing briefly when the lights both outside and inside begin to buzz and flicker. They don’t die but they do briefly dim, humming with quiet effort before full and fluorescent illumination returns to the car.

It’s after that brief interruption that the doors slide open once again.

A short, dark haired woman in Imperium uniform enters, flanked by four of the soldiers that had been milling around outside. The men take position at front and back of the car while the woman addresses the occupying passengers:



“Ladies. My name is Captain Wei, I’ll be escorting you to Calcaria’s military base.” Her tone is crisp and formal, information delivered at a break-neck pace. “A heavy front of Nox is moving in from the north and it’s been decided that it would be unsafe to send you through it. We’ll be holding you over a day or two until it clears.”

Explanation given the woman makes a signal to the operators outside, and with a gentle shudder the rail-car begins to move. It lurches forward along the track, clearing the station in a matter of seconds. The track running from the airship docks provides a spectacular view of the city as the car glides down toward the city surface, and those looking out the windows find a sea of lights spread out before them.

As the car picks up speed buildings move by faster, buildings rolling quickly past the windows. Once they reach the ground they pass through what must be the central station, a web of tracks and moving cars that necessitates a brief slowdown. From the window they can see clusters of people moving through the bustling station, the waves of bodies pausing briefly as the lights flicker and dim for a brief moment. A tremor of darkness runs through the surrounding buildings as well, until steady illumination returns a few seconds later.

“They’re redirecting power to the diffuses.” Wei comments in explanation. Considering her earlier remark about a heavy influx of Nox it’s likely the cities defenses need the boost. Such occurrences aren’t common, but it’s likely each of the girls in the car have experienced it at least once. The cities Ars Magi are most likely deployed as well, to contain anything that breaks through, something confirmed with Wei’s next statement:

“I’m afraid your original escort was needed elsewhere. I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have in the meantime.”

The car begins to accelerate once more, leaving the central station and heading onward tower its destination. Occasionally other trains can be seen passing by, flashing by the window. Other stations similarly pass by, filled with waiting pedestrians.

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

Things are returning to some form of normalcy in the control room. The injured, including Vanna, have been moved to a separate area, and those crew members still in good health are preparing for the upcoming landing. The sun is still sinking outside, vanishing slowly out of sight and leaving darkness behind.

Penny’s first assessment of the Ars Magi’s state didn’t earn her a response earlier, but now that the ship is settled and the woman has time to speak she address further the question of what, exactly, happened: “The Void that knocked the ship off course was much more dangerous than the one you faced.”

“I-It looked like you were fightin’ another Ars Magi… W-Was it some kinda Void that could shape shift?”

Victoria’s gaze turns to Dana when she broaches the subject of the other Ars Magi. The Wing of Justice is quiet for a moment, considering before she replies. “That was...” A pause. “An enemy combatant. I couldn’t tell you any more than that.” She doesn’t clarify if it’s because she doesn’t know, or if it’s some other reason she’s declining to speak further. “Regardless, what you saw is not to leave this ship.”

“Understood?”

Nova Lux: A Magical Girl Game

𝙰𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚜
𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
Penny Grenoble, Diana Khay

---

Vanna’s second and final attempt to smash the crimson core in the monster’s side sends it sprawling backward. The force of the impact drives it into the floor, bringing it down hard. Its body pulses once, the geometric lines running across it flickering a final time with crimson light. Its skin too ripples, like an obsidian lake disturbed by stones being flung in.

This time it doesn’t scream.

This time it melts. Half of it seems to bleed away into an oily puddle on the airship’s carpet, while the rest of its mass pools off it in a cloud of toxic black Nox. What it leaves behind is a shattered red core, a faded crimson object the size of large marble and broken in three pieces.

The hallway becomes abruptly quiet, the sound of combat dying along with the Void itself. Slowly the familiar rattle of the airship fills Penny’s ears once again, the sound of the vessel speeding swiftly through the air.

It’s over.

𝙰𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚛𝚞𝚜
𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚖
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
Dana Noel, Nicole Cognoscenti, Astrelle Lennox

---

Dana’s hasty explanation sends ripples of concern through the soldiers. That two pieces of their most precious cargo are missing is not good news.

Several scrambling soldiers are quickly organized and directed to the deck below to follow after Nicole and provide further assistance, scooping up their weapons and hustling down to help retrieve the two girls left behind. Others move to take Dana and Astrelle to safety before they too can place themselves back in mortal danger.

And as they do--

“We’re clear!”

It’s a relieved shout from the pilot as the Laurus lurches from the choking black clouds and into clearer, orange-tinted skies. The sun is setting in the distance, half of the sky turned dark, the rest slowly burning away. Thin tendrils of Nox still lace through the air, but soon begin to fade and burn away as the ship accelerates further still.

When the clouds finally clear from the deck Victoria Glass stands alone, visible through the control room window. Huge chunks of broken glass are scattered across the front of the ship, near half of the glass surrounding the main deck having been shattered by some terrible force. The Ars Magi picks her way across it as the wind buffets against her, limping and balancing herself against her weapon; an enormous metal cross.

Crew members wedge the door to the deck open for her, a great torrent of wind ripping through the cabin before the portal is quickly shut behind her.

“Report.” Her voice is still icy calm, even as she clutches at a wide and bleeding slash in her side.

The remaining soldiers are quick to do so, and fall quickly in line as she begins issuing orders to sweep the decks and re-secure the ship. They set to it, first to retrieve Vanna, Penny, and Nicole, then proceeding further onward.

---

Nicole and her new escort find Vanna and Penny where they left them, sans one void and with Vanna unconscious. Crewmembers help (or carry, as may be necessary) the girls back to the control room, securing them there.

It’s near thirty minutes later before Victoria has time to attend to the five candidates personally. In the intervening time the ships medics check over Penny and Vanna, making a makeshift sling for the former and making sure the later hasn’t suffered permanent damage before bandaging her cheek. They’re left to wait near the control room until the Ars Magi returns to report:

“The ship is clear and back on route.” She informs the girls. “When we land we’ll have each of you examined and treated. This level of Nox shouldn’t be overtly harmful to you, but the doctors will want to be sure.”

Crimson eyes pass over the five girls, the older Ars Magi silent for a pointed few seconds before she continues: “As you’ve guessed, we ran into an area of heavy Nox.” She doesn’t comment on the battle that some of the girls caught a glimpse of, continuing instead: “I neutralized the worst threats, but you were left to deal with the lesser on your own. Admirably--but unfortunately.”

“We should be landing within the hour. Until then you’ll be kept under guard here. If you notice anything abnormal, report it to the crew members immediately.”

Secundi Lux

Music: Wind of Beginning

---

At some point in their lives each Nova Lux candidate learned they had the gift of magic, the ability to manipulate one of the natural elements. Perhaps it was learned at a young age, or perhaps only recently. Regardless, it wasn't long before the Novus Orbim Imperium knew as well.

It was determined in short order through a variety of tests that their varying talents were notable. While others may be capable of magic, their bodies in particular were an ideal conduit for the raw magic that suffuses the earth. Accordingly the arrangements were made shortly after, parents informed, travel plans made. There was at least a month worth of waiting, time to say goodbyes and get things in order.

And then it was time to go.

---

𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊
𝙰𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝙳𝚘𝚌𝚔
𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟿𝚝𝚑, 𝟷𝟷𝟽 𝙰𝚅
𝟾:𝟹𝟶 𝙿𝙼

---

The main method of travel between Sanctum Cities is via airship, and this is how four of the new recruits have travelled thus far. Their ship, the Concordia, is a sleek vessel made up of metal and wood, a cross between the new and old world that ferries them across ocean and continent. From Sisica, to Norba, then Hasta, Baetarrae, and finally Calcaria. Their final destination is Palmyra, home of both Nova Lux and the prestigious NOI First Military Academy.

For Selma, Sadie, Crystal, and Rivka, the journey has been pleasant enough. It may even be more than that, for those individuals who’ve never experienced the wonder of flight. Airship travel is both relatively expedient and considered mostly safe; not in just that the technology works, but also in that the deadly clouds of Nox that cover the planet rarely float up very high into the atmosphere.

They also have their very own contingent of guards, just in case. Both NOI soldiers and a singular Ars Magi, a blonde-haired woman in a gold and blue uniform that patrols the deck. None of them make much time for their guests but give short answers if asked about the trip and destination.

Individuals rooms have been set aside for each girl, the cabins more akin to train than airplane. Each has enough room for both their passenger and their luggage, along with a wide window to grant them a view of both the sky above and the clouded world below. Unfortunately, they’ve also been mostly confined to their rooms for the majority of the trip. This mean limited time spent on the deck, and not much contact with each other. Food and drink are provided, but each girl is mostly left to entertain herself for the duration of the trip.

Until they reach Calcaria.

Chie, waiting at the docks with her own escort, can see the lights of the Concordia as it touches down nearby. The docks around her mark the highest point in the city, a network of suspended pathways that connect to towering stone and steel structures that spread out in the sky like a maze. Here she is supposed to board and be taken with the others to Palmyra—

Or at least, she was, before plans changed. After near ten minutes of waiting to board Chie is informed by one of the Imperium soldiers escorting her that she’s being rerouted, as are the rest of the new candidates. The four girls inside the airship are similarly told to gather their luggage before they, like Chie, are escorted from the dock and to an adjoining rail station. Smooth metal cars rattle along the elevated tracks that run through the building, stopping briefly to let on passengers before continuing their journey down into the city.

It’s into one of these rail cars that the five girls are escorted, the metal doors sliding shut behind them. The markings on the outside designate it clearly as a private car, something important and military. There’s enough room for the five of them and their luggage, and they’re left to situate themselves and make preparations. The guards escorting them huddle outside the car, speaking over earpieces and making short gestures.

They appear to be waiting for something.

Which means the car won’t be moving in the immediate future, leaving the five girls temporarily to each other’s company as the minutes tick slowly by.

Secundi Lux

Secundi Lux

GM: @Inedible
Discord
Status: Closed

- - -

One hundred years ago the First Void appeared. A towering beast made of darkness itself, no one knows where it came from, but its goal quickly became apparent: The destruction of humankind.

From the First Void came Nox, the rawest form of what humans now call magic. Deadly in large quantities, Nox quickly spread and covered most of the planet, warping and twisting everything that it touched. Humanity was scattered, forced to retreat to higher elevations and behind hastily erected walls.

Until they learned to harness magic for themselves.

The Twelve Heroes were the first individuals born capable of harnessing raw magic. Together with the first magitech weapons they destroyed the First Void, ending the immediate threat to humanity.

In the aftermath of the Dark War the Novus Orbis Imperium was established by the first of the Six, an organization that would quickly take charge of the remains of civilization. They established, help fortify the Sancum Cities and became the unifying government.

However, though the First Void is gone the threats it left behind still remain. Where Nox gathers other, smaller Voids manifest. The Sanctum Cities are still threatened by periodic Void attacks, and not even the technomagic shields can always prevent the buildup of Nox.

That's where you come in. Ars Magi, transforming soldiers with the power to fight the Voids. Selected to be trained at Nova Lux Academy, you are the brightest hope for the future.

The Novus Orbim Imperium

Known more commonly as the Imperium or the NOI, this organization serves as the new government in the wake of the Dark War.

The Imperator is the ultimate authority of the NOI, able to pass laws and allocate technological and military resources. They are assisted and balanced by the Duodecim, 12 noble families that oversee the Sancum Cities. The Duodecim have, in theory, the power to veto and pass laws if they are able to reach an agreement between them.

The Duodecim

Formed in the wake of the Dark War, the Duodecim trace their ancestry to the twelve heroes of that conflict. All families oversee at least one Sanctum City, with the most powerful controlling multiple.

Each family governs itself in different ways and holds different values. One family may emphasize bloodline purity, while another is willing to adopt exceptional individuals into the house.

The Duodecim families are named after the twelve central Roman gods: Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Apollo, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, and Vesta.

23 Sanctum Cities

For a complete political/city map, please visit:

Here!

Magic

‘Raw’ magic, called Nox, blankets the earth. Outside the Sanctum Cities it exists in large amounts that become visible to the naked eye as thick black clouds, but in smaller quantities it tends to be invisible and (supposedly) harmless. Inside the Sanctum Cities magic is regulated by shields to prevent excessive buildup.

Humans interact with magic mostly through technological interfaces. This like airships and rail systems are powered by magitech, as well as some military weapons. Those unfortunate enough to absorb too much raw magic are twisted and corrupted into Voids, hungry and violent monsters.

Notably Ars Magi can use elementary magic in their untransformed state, but they’ll find that they can only pull off maybe one notable feat before the ambient magic around them is depleted. Transformed, however, is a different story...

Ars Magi

Ars Magi are magical girls created at Nova Lux Academy. Their creation entails a technomagical procedure where an Ars Armagus, a magic core, is implanted inside of them. This gives them the ability to transform into warriors capable of fighting Voids and resisting infection from Nox.

Ars Magi have enhanced strength, dexterity, and magical ability. They act as the speartip of the Imperium military, and often as bodyguards for the Duodecim and important leaders.

Candidates who show some magical ability are typically invited to Nova Lux at the age of 16, where where will begin their training.

A typical Ars Magi is made up of these elements:

• Ars Armagus - The ‘core’ of the Ars Magi. Typically a gemstone inlaid in the stomach.
• Gladius - The weapon manifested during transformation. Not always a literal sword.
• Parma - The armor manifested during transformation.
• Elementum - The magic element the user manipulates. For example: Ice, Fire, Metal, Darkness. Ars Magi can manipulate their Elementum to do things like shoot bolts of ice, cover a room in darkness, etc.

Terminology

Ars Magi - A Magical Girl. Created and trained at Nova Lux Academy.
Dark War, The - The war against the First Void, approximately 100 years ago. Humanity won (yay!) at significant cost.
Duodecim - 12 Noble families that control various Sanctum Cities.
Nox - A large amount of raw magic. Appears as dark clouds. Currently blankets everything outside the Sanctum Cities.
Sanctum City - A megacity protected by a magic stabilizing field. Humanity lives in the remaining 23 Sanctum Cities.
Void - A violent, corrupted entity. Voids can come in many forms and possess various malevolent powers. Humans exposed to large amounts of Nox will become Voids.

Character Sheet

The Mundane
Name: What’s your character's name?

Age: Should be between 16-17.

Sanctum City: Where do you come from?

Description: What does your character look like?

If you have a picture, anime art is probably the most appropriate.

Personality: What's your deal?

Background: Who are you? What’s your life like, pre-Nova Lux?

The Magical
Armgaus Name: The name of your Ars Armagus. Generally |Adjective| |Color| |Gemstone|. Burning Yellow Pearl, Vicious Black Emerald, etc.

Gladius: What weapon do you manifest?

Parma: What does your transformed self look like? Though hair/eye/etc color may chance, you’re still recognizable as yourself.

Elementum: What is the element you can control?

Elementum Abilities: What kind of things can you do with your element?