TheHangedMan

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Zetsuko Haha, it's waaaaay more simple than that. In fact, if Fo had asked a child to answer her question, they would have immediately answered. This is the kind of test that really trips up people that have lived for too long XD

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

You need to give her 'the magic word', but don't overthink it. This is a test of the simplest kind :) You can't fight her, you can't force her, so what are your only options?

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Zetsuko

Fo shook her head. "Nope, no trade-offs. There is only one way to get me to open this door, and that's by saying the magic word. You shouldn't be so quick to surrender what's yours, by the way. What if I was a malevolent spirit that hijacked the entrance exams? Then you'd be in real trouble," she said, a playful smirk on her face. A moment later, she added: "That was a joke by the way. It's practically impossible for anyone to hijack these exams, so don't worry."

The small fairy stood up from the doorknob, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at Kieran. "In any case, you ought to hurry. I've received word that over half of the examinees are finished now. Only you and a handful of other people are left."

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Aisling
"Good, good. You're almost finished," muttered Din, though audibly enough for Agatha to hear. As frost covered his forsaken world, Din himself began to ice over, his body slowly being enveloped by a thin sheet of ice. His movements became slower, more labored, until he altogether stopped moving. As the ice thawed over and gave way to spring, the frozen skin of the copper Man broke down, revealing a hint of gold underneath. Eventually, this spread throughout his entire body, and like a snake shedding its skin, Din's appearance took on a new form.

In place of the Copper Man, there stood a resplendent figure made of gold. Gone were the dagger-like fingers, replaced by thin, long silver hands. His face was gold and his eyes were cornflower sapphires. The large, sharp teeth had disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

The new born Din stood up, with none of the hollow sounds he had made before. Despite his transformation, however, he still had the same neutral scowl on his face. Still, he radiated a kind of happiness that was out of place for him.

"Congratulations on finishing your exam, Miss Pendragon."

Din walked towards Agatha, with a grace and confidence he didn't have before. With every step he took, the earth went wild. Small trees sprouted and grew were he tread, and bushes, flowers, berries and all sorts of plantation sprung at his sides.

"Now, you ought to prepare for your next exam," said Din, flicking his arm upwards. In response, behind Agatha, a door made of solid gold grew. It was intricately carved, with the sides of the door made to resemble trees, and the wide arc at the top shaped like a canopy of branches. The doors were made of a dark colored wood, and the door knobs fashioned from diamond. "You'll be dueling one of your peers who has also finished his exam. I hope you're ready. Also, now would be the time to ask your questions."

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Eklispe

Meruin Hazy's Exam

Meruin sucked in a breath as she prepared for the inevitable pain. The blades of grass sunk into her skin, and Meruin grit her teeth to prevent a cry of pain. Somehow, though, the blades sank no deeper than a few centimeters - painful, certainly, but not life threatening. Meruin nearly passed out from the shock, but remained firm. More blood dripped from where she was stabbed, and Meruin gave a small, meaningful smile.

In terms of spell casting, she would be hard pressed to match the man before her - that much was true - but there other ways to enact a spell, for example, sacrificial blood. Blood has always been a powerful catalyst for spell casting, even more so for the blood of mages. Still, there was one kind of blood that held the most power in human history:

The blood of a female virgin. The blood of one who had yet to taste the desires of another. Throughout the ages, Mages and Demons used the blood of virgins to fuel their strength; through this blood, miracles could be achieved. Still, that was not to say it was all-powerful. Indeed, only a skilled mage could make practical use of the blood of a virgin, and even then, most mages were hard pressed to find the right kind of virgin, one who fulfilled the necessary requirement that was purity of the soul, in order to truly process the power their blood held.

It just so happened that Meruin was both a mage and a virgin. More than that, she had very little idea of what sex or lust was. It wasn't even too far of a stretch to say that she had never experienced lust either. Reina hammered the point home very early on in Meruin's teachings: Meruin's blood, her sacrifice, would be a very powerful tool.

And it would be even more so when given willingly.

Meruin's released a cool breath. In the span of a second, the ground beneath her crumbled to dust, as the spell that shaped them died out. Meruin stared at the puppet approaching her and flung her arm, splattering blood all over it.

Her blood glowed, and moved across the puppets body to form a three-pointed sigil. Meruin clapped her hands together, and the puppet froze.

Repent

The body of the puppet crumbled to dust at her words, leaving nothing but a pile of dirt. Meruin faced the mage in front of her, bleeding heavily. Still, in contrast to her injured body, the amount of magic gathering in the air was climbing at a blindingly fast rate. With every drop of blood, Meruin's spells grew stronger and stronger as her presence asserted itself into the world.

Narrowing her eyes, Meruin pointed a finger at the figure in front of her, and whispered:

Fire

A spell made for novices, that any beginner mage could cast. It only took one word to activate, making it one of the quickest spells to cast. In contrast to its speed, however, it was a weak spell that did little more that light a fire.

Empowered by her blood, however, the spell took the form of a large ball of flame that hurtled towards her opponent, scorching the grass beneath it.

---

@Aisling

Agatha Merriweather Pendragon's Exam

Din looked on, watching as Agatha began reaching for an answer. The Copper Man wondered what the girl was thinking right now. The test was ultimately designed to warp the way she thought about the world, but there were only one of two ways to go about this and, more than that, this was still a test that would determine where she stood among her peers.

As it was, she had hit a few rough patches, but she was steadily improving. Din wondered if he should help her out; strictly speaking, the examiners weren't forbidden to assist their charges, however doing so too much would cull their chances of reaching out for answers themselves.

"Come now, Miss Pendragon. Surely you must have realized what to do next, correct?"

The answer to what pattern of weather she should follow was simple: The four seasons of Spring, Fall, Summer and Winter, however, Din meant it when he said that she must start with death - the death of all things as life hid beneath a blanket of white, and prepared for its rebirth into the spiral that was this world.

---

@The ghost in black

Aleksandra 'Hound' Galino

The Golden Titan looked on in confusion as the Silver Titan raged against Alkesandra, unsure of what to do. The Siler Titan, meanwhile, threw a kick towards Aleksandra with its other leg, going at speeds that should have been impossible with its size and weight. As its foot collided with her fist, Aleksandra was sent flying into the side of the arena with tremendous force, and while the Silver Titan acted unaffected, its leg had warped from the heat of her punch. Still, it pressed on, stomping towards Aleksanrda with nothing but the intent to grind her into the ground.

---

@Zetsuko

Kieran Altaaya's Exam

Fo leaned a little away from Kieran, flustered and confused look on her face. "Okay, noooooo thank you. You're not my type," she said, raising her palms up to keep some space between them. "In any case, no I won't be opening this door for you, but since you asked somewhat politely, even if it was in a very disturbing manner, I'll give a hint: There is a secret, arcane word that I was cursed with during the start of this exam. If you can figure it out, then I'll open the door for you. Understand?"

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Eklispe It's revenge I tell you. I know the minds of students that hate it when their professor is late . . .

Haha, reminds me of how one class boycotted a professors lecture because he was always late, and his only response was 'lol, better late than never amirite?' xD

When Royalty Collides ~Closed For Now~

@HaleyTheRandom yep, actually just waiting for someone else to post before going, but seeing as its been awhile, I guess I'll just go ahead ^_^ post'll be up in a few.

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

Alright, posted! Sorry again for the wait. In any case, did I miss anyone?

@Aisling Yeah, I figured that it would be easier to do that . . .

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Eklispe

Meruin Hazy's Exam

Meruin grit her teeth, and her heart hammered. This was the first time she had ever been pressured into fighting at this pace. Duels with her master had always been an exchange of spells - in fact, the amount of power that the puppet launched against her was nothing compared to even her masters most childish techniques, however, Meruin had been caught of guard, and consequently had no time to prepare and had let the puppet and its master get too close.

Meruin went through a series of strategies in her head. Her body was already tiring from that exchange, and she could feel her legs shaking. Physical activity was not her strong point, but this was an opponent that demanded such from her. She had to overcome this somehow!

With a swipe of her hand, Meruin intercepted the bow launched at her, however, there was no spark of magic or rune that came to life to shield her. Instead, the bow pierced her hand, getting stuck inside her palms.

She let out a cry of pain and bit back tears as she altered her chant. The opponent was drawing runes faster than she could, and his own puppet had her trapped. Her options were limited, and she needed to act fast - if that was the case, then there was only one solution available to her. Remembering the words of Lady Chase, Meruin let the blood from her palms flow into her dress and drip into the floor. With every line across her arm, the blood arranged into a straight line, forming a circuit-like pattern across the limb. On the floor, her blood sunk into the ground, glowing for a fraction for a second, before disappearing.

"C-come on then," she challenged the man, not moving from her spot, "and see what Meruneika Arcana Obsura has in store for you!"

---

@Aisling

Agatha Merriweather Pendragon

Din shook his head. His glinting steel eyes stared at her piercingly, yet with no sign of impatience. The copper man stepped forward, ignoring the hail and the ice as it crusted over his form. His hollow shell of a body groaned audibly as empty joints. The ground he stepped on, however, turned dark, with the already brown grass wilting into black dust under his feet.

"This world is dead, but this is a fate that visits all worlds. Earlier, you said that the world is a circle; if you want to learn, then listen - that is not so. The world is a spiral. Events interlocking with each other in events so similar it looks repetitive, but make no mistake. Each and every experience is individual, different, and each action dives into each other, resulting in another link until the spiral deepens . . ."

Din crouched low, sharp hands brushing the frozen grass. "But unlike a circle, which has no beginning or end, a spiral must end at some point - and similarly, must begin somewhere. Your ability is that, Miss Pendragon. You are capable of starting that spiral, if you will let it. The problem is that your ability is what is in control, not you. Emotion is such a fickle that would it be tied to your emotion, then would not the earth die from its erratic behavior. That is one of the keys to passing this trial, Miss Pendragon - the other, as I've said, is simply a matter of logic. Weather follows a pattern - I'm sure you're familiar with it, we experience it with annual with the passage of time. Simply emulate that pattern, beginning with death, and ending with life."

As he spoke, the gears began slowing down and stopping in accordance with change in temprature.

---

@Zetsuko

Kieran Altaaya's Exam

The airy narrowed its eyes at him, before playfully sticking out its tongue. "Don't be so familiar, Eldritch. I'm not attracted much to your kind."

Still, the fairy hovered a bit closer to Kieran, staring inquisitvely at him. "Still, I must say you are a first. Despite my life, I've yet to meet one such as you. Perhaps, with time . . ." With a chuckle, she let the words die and spun away from Kieran, back to her perch on the doorknob. "In any case, you still have an exam to finish!"

---

@WittyWolf

Azrael Arcana's Exam

Garrooth simply gave Azrael an acknowledging nod, before watching him move through the doors of flame. "The Labyrinth of Hope is open to all students, so long as they are courageous enough to enter again, though some spirits loath your presence here . . ."

The voice of the spirit faded as Azrael passed through the doors, and with his entrance, it closed behind him, and at once the temperature dropped. Despite the intensity of the flames, they were cold and chilled to the bone. Azrael's breath came out in fogs of cold, and he was surrounded by nothing but darkness. A voice echoing around him called out:

"Please wait here, until your opponent finishes their initial exam, Mr. Arcana. Oh, and congratulations on a job well done. It's a pleasure to have you at our Academy."

The voice was warm, in sharp contrast to his freezing surroundings, with a tone that would be familiar to everyone - it was a voice that everyone kept within them, a voice that they would instinctively recognize even if they had never experienced it before. A voice that cared, and a voice that soothed you, and lulled you to sleep, that protected you from the nightmares of the dark, and assured you when you needed it the most. A voice that all living things craved for, no matter the passage of time.

The voice of a mother.

---

@The ghost in black

Aleksandra 'Hound' Galino's Exam

The Lady stared at Aleksandra, eyes wide open and mouth slack-jawed. Her beautiful face stared in disbelief as she processed the words that just came from the girls mouth. She shook her head a little, as if she were trying to wake from a dream, and when she did not, she sighed. Unbelievably, Aleksandra just came up with the worst possible solution she could think of for her exam. The two beings in front of her were Titans - powerful, old, and, much to her misfortune, proud. A pride that had kept them fighting for hundreds of years, and that had made them loathe the idea of receiving help against each other. And now, she had slapped that pride without nary a thought to what that might mean.

There was a silence in the air, a silence so thick and pervasive that a knife would chip itself trying to cut it. The Silver Titan turned slowly towards Aleksandra. It's face gave away nothing of how it felt, however, a foreboding pressure erupted into the air, radiating from its very being.

The Lady grimaced, for even she who adored violence and carnage, could tell that this was not going to be pretty.

"HRGRGRGRGROOOAAAGH!"

With an inhuman, gurgling cry, the Silver Titan lifted its foot and sent it crashing towards Aleksandra, its face contorted in apopletic rage. Its rival and nemesis, the Golden Titan, stared on in surprise, unknowing of what had happened.

Mana-Script Academy For The 'Gifted'

@Eklispe yeah, I figured that Magus would post sooner - he usually responds fast. Didn't notice he was offline for awhile :( gonna post soon, then.