Achronum
kittyluna45
Scrawl Banditta
Not a Sayan
KazAlkemi
Neziul
Kirah
Blizz
BlueSky44
@Achronum@Trainerblue192@Morose@Blizz@Kirah@PatientBean@Teyao@KazAlkemi@kittyluna45
Evening - Thur. Oct. 31, 2040
“Darling, I do not know why danger is present.” Dysphoria murmured in Finley’s ear as their head manifested out of their shoulder. Even with their tongue freely tasting the air, they were unable to identify anything that would have them on edge but as quickly as the feeling came, it faded away. “I do not know why, but the danger fades. Whatever happened, we are safe for now.” Dysphoria disliked that something had passed beyond their notice but it would have to be. Now was the time for fun and friends!
“What did you catch?” Dysphoria got close to the key and tasted it. “No magic left. Disappointing. I cannot wait to see who we get to play with this year!”
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The last of the twelve had finally arrived into the room. An old leather doctor's bag in his left hand and a rat riding atop his right shoulder. His dark curly hair fell over the round spectacles that sat midway down the bridge of his nose. He wore an off-white, almost cream colored, cotton button up with a dark mossy green sweater pulled over it. The sound of his dark brown leather tanker boots echoed in the room as he approached the crystalline structure. Sparks of blue lighting jolting from the corner of his smile toward the brim of his glasses. He pushed his glasses up with one finger before looking at all the others who had gathered in the room, noticing Connie was amongst them. He gave her a meek smile and wave before holding his hand out with his palm towards the ceiling.
The rat crawled down his arm and onto his hand, its own tiny paws grooming its face and whiskers as the miniature goggles jostled about its head. The rat looked up at Franklin, one whisker twitching before the other. “Igor, grab me a fish would you please?” Igor squeaked with glee before decidedly diving down into the aquarium, but not before it pulled its goggles over its eyes. He swam with about as much grace as any rat could, tiny paws paddling before diving deeper as its tail swished from left to right behind him. Finally, Igor got a bite…out of the fish. His teeth sank in deep and he held on strong as he swam back up towards the surface and paddled over to the edge where Franklin scooped them both up from. “Best little assistant.” He praised before the world's tiniest fist bump had occurred. The fish shifted into a key, and as much as he wanted to see if he and Connie were roommates, his attention was pulled elsewhere. Another student here had such vibrant and strange creations, and Franklin couldn't help but be drawn to him.
His key gripped tightly in a fist, Franklin made his way towards Pedrito before stopping short of a dog? It seemed a Xolo dog, but the ears were more like a rabbits, and it had hooves and antlers and…feathers? Franklin couldn't help but squat down to the creatures eye level as he placed his thumb and forefinger to his chin, inspecting the beast. “Fascinating. What manner of creation is this? What resources did you use? And was the splicing necessary or out of necessity instead?”
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Almost everyone had ignored Jake, walking past him as they went to the beautiful tank at the front of the room. His mouth was slightly agape with wonder as he saw them perform incredible acts of magic, unable to see from this distance what their objective was. They all seemed to know what they were doing here, carrying themselves with confidence and certainty. He didn’t know what he would have done beyond just stare until a gorgeous person with a kind, sweet face approached. Finley. What a silly name! He liked the way it sounded.
”Hi Finley! You need to catch a fish? Why?” And there was someone named Constance that they said would know if he was new or not. But Jake did not know who Constance was. He didn’t know who anyone in this room was. So instead he stared after the person with the wild hair - did it grow like that? Jake’s own hair felt suddenly plain. Why didn’t he look like that? And then, after a minute of indecision, Jake bounded forward after the person. Maybe he was supposed to catch a fish, too.
But by the time he reached the front of the room and stood before the tank, his only friend (he hoped Finley was his friend! It occurred to him he should have asked) was already gone. As were most of the fish. There was just one fish left in the tank, and a deep sorrow filled Jake as he looked down at it, as well as a strange rumbling in his stomach. There were some cryptic squiggles on a piece of paper, but he could not decipher them.
There were people here, too. Were they also students? Maybe they would be his friends! Did they need to catch a fish? There was only one left. They must have already caught one. ”Hi, fish. Do you have a name? My name’s Jake. I think I’m supposed to catch you, if that’s okay,” he stated. He didn’t know how to care for a fish. He hoped he would learn quickly. And then he stuck his hand into the tank, gasping as an icy feeling gripped his hand. And then his eyes widened, as a gross, slimy texture brushed up against his fingers - and finally, a yelp as he pulled the fish from the tank, and it completely changed, becoming smooth and still. ”No no no no no!” Jake panicked. ”Fish! Fish wake up!”
He looked at the three there in fear. Had he killed the fish? Had he killed his second friend? He held out the strange fish to them all. ”Can you save him? Please, I didn't mean to hurt him!”
“My boy, you did exactly what you were expected to do.” Mikkail explained kindly. “It was never a fish! Only an illusion of one. It was always a key; you’ll need to find your dorm mates next.” Sariel eyed him strangely as she took a bite of apple and Croan ignored him outright.
”Oh!” Jake exclaimed, before breaking out into a big grin. He’d done something right! He didn’t know what a key did, but it must have been important. Although if he were to be honest, he’d liked it better as a fish. It was so pretty and alive, and now it was very still and cold.
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The doors to the Hall of Ancients opened for the last time, admitting one more stumbling ever so slightly into their midst. To most, her appearance was stylish yet otherwise unremarkable - long dark hair, fitted purple trousers and a white collared shirt matched with her signature brooch and trench coat, and hints of purple around her eyes. Yet to those who knew, she was as unmistakable as she was infamous.
The acting headmistress of Strange Academy, (former) mistress of the Darkhold, and perhaps the most lethal witch-killer the world had ever known: Agatha Harkness smiled and cackled as she strode through the small gathering, stopping at the front of the room as she turned to face the assembled students.
Only twelve this year. Disappointing. She’d left behind her previous gig babysitting wannabe witches in California for this and she expected more. No one in the crowd stood out to her - no one had that spark that she looked for. But the smile remained on her face, as fake as it was. Once she finished giving a few inspiring words about covens, she could retire back to her personal quarters, and attend to some of her own projects she had in the works. Low quality students aside, this was going to be a fantastic year at Strange Academy… at least for her.
She threw a glance over her shoulder at some of the other professors gathered, temporarily letting the smile drop into a grimace. “Yikes, right?” she stage-whispered.
“Welcome back to Strange Academy for another great year. I’m Agatha Harkness, your headmistress as Stephen is unsurprisingly too busy with the Hoary Hosts or whatever it is he’s always prattling on about,” she returned her attention to the students, pacing ever so slightly back and forth as she spoke. “If you’re in this room, you’re supposedly one of the best students we have - whether it’s taken you centuries to make it here to the big leagues or you woke up yesterday with your own purple at your fingertips. New witches and old, coming together, yadda, yadda, yadda…” She clicked her tongue.
“In a few moments, you’re going to meet your covens - a pupil of mine once described covens as the truest form of sisterhood, drawn together by mysterious forces of fate. But if you ask me, covens are about power - even the sorriest of witches when in close proximity with each other can add some magical oomph to their spells. Covens are what allowed me to survive all these years, to live and thrive while so many of our witchkin fell to the cruelties this world attempted to visit upon them. We draw strength from our sisterhood. So now I invite you to go and find yours. Find your sisters. Seize your power.”
With a snap of her fingers, a purple spark shimmered on the lapel of each student, before solidifying into a pin. Students assigned to Prof. Marino’s coven bore a pin depicting an eye above a boiling round bottom flask, the mark of alchemy and artifice, her two specialties. Students assigned to Prof. Mikkal’s coven had the image of a multicolored dragon, rich and vibrant hues of purple, blue, and pink. And lastly, those under the direction of Prof. Croan had a dark ruby, encased in black thorns as their symbol.
“Oh yes, encourage children to follow in your footsteps. That won’t end poorly for all of us.” Croan grumbled, sinking into the shadows beneath the table and reamerging from behind a statue on the other side of the hall from Agatha.
Mikkail shook his head at Agatha’s performance, a deep sigh huffed out of the man, and he too took leave of the little stage as food and drink began to make an appearance. He plucked a glass off one of the circulating platters and sipped delicately at it.
“So lenient! Finley, Annika, Franklin, Rohan - feet are made for walking, not standing, so get over here. We have work to do!” Sariel shouted across the hall as she leapt down the meager stairs, boots clicking on the marble floor as she made her way to the center of the room.
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy
Grimoire: N/A
Skills: N/A
Jake had been absolutely enamored with Agatha’s speech. Sisterhood! He liked the sound of that. He wanted to be with people who he liked and who liked him. And if he could protect them and help them be strong, that was even better! His chest felt strangely full and swollen at the thought. He could protect people. He wanted to protect people. He wanted to protect his people. That must have been why he was here at Strange Academy. He was here to protect them all.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what Coven he was supposed to be in. Agatha had told them to go and find them, and then one of the people from the fish tank rattled off a list of names, none of which happened to be his. Something purple and glittery had appeared on him when Agatha was speaking, and he looked at it, seeing a dark red gem held in something black and twisted. Everyone else had things pinned to them, too! And they were different! This must have been how they were supposed to find their covens.
With a bounce in his step, Jake walked in no direction in particular. "Is anyone else part of the red coven?” he asked, hoping to spot someone else with a pin just like his own. He was so excited! He was about to have sisters! (What were sisters?) He hoped they were like friends!
