this is Salem, a land filled with magic and maladies. It is a place where witches and their elemental familiars gather, a home to legend and
lore that predates time itself. Yet of all the wicked and wonderful stories the past can tell us of, the most magical are the ones yet to happen.
This is Salem - this is the start of your very own journey. Welcome to starfall
Starfall is an animaga witch roleplay set in mostly modern times. Members play as witches in a world plagued by monsters, where the only safe spots are walled cities. Starfall strives to be a character-driven roleplay with expansive lore and a highly interactive plotline. We want to allow members to
create and look back on a magical journey, and mold the site and its plot as their characters grow.
Lux University is open to the public today, filled with new signage to help non-students find their way around and attract wanderers towards their various events. The lecture halls are set up for lectures on magical topics and demonstrations of new spells. The courtyard has been set up for practice duels, and the labs (at least, the ones that weren't singed by spells gone awry the day prior) are ready for experimentation. [break][break] Volunteer students are stationed around the area with schedules and helpful pamphlets to help those who seem lost or confused, as well as to promote other University activities. [break][break] There is little time wasted on introductions and preamble. Those who've come already know the importance of knowledge and the value of magic. The campus is open, and the day is yours to explore.
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[attr="class","stafftemptitle"] ooc notes
Welcome to day 8 of saturnalia! There may be some staff updates with NPC lectures before the end date of december 7th, but feel free to post with full creative freedom! For more detailed lore about this day, and the entire saturnalia event, visit the overall thread here.
[break][break]This thread is not death nor injury enabled and anyone can join! Posting 4 times or more in this thread will count as a completed event thread for day 8 of saturnalia, and posting more than 4 times may give you additional rewards.
[attr="class","gearcore"] Zephyr was torn over the question of whether he should bring Oxylus to a crowded place. The tin man was fairly new to the world, and had really only interacted with a handful of friendly humans in controlled spaces prior to today. There was a risk that the people attending the event at Lux would would treat Ox like an experiment rather than a person, and more risk that some strong-minded professor might vocally condemn the idea of making artificial people altogether. But, it would also likely be filled with curious people who were expecting to see some unusual things over the course of the day -- and Zephyr would really rather Ox's first interactions with humanity to be filled with wonder rather than contempt.
They skip the crowds by jumping through some back alley Gates the crafter had set up ages ago, quickly landing them at the university's entrance.
"I know I've said it already, but ya gotta tell me if ya don't feel comfortable n' wanna go home," Zeph says to the man of metal, glancing up at him as they walk onto the campus.
"Yes. Six times. I will tell you," is the monotone reply, deep and rumbling from the chest rather than the mouth. Oxylus looks very much like a knight in fullplate, tall and sturdy, with an impassive face mask. It's only the context of the space and the positioning of his voice (and, perhaps his companionship with someone with crescent blades for legs and metal fingers on one hand) which would suggest he's not quite human.
[attr="class","j1scroll"] He finds the time to go someplace today; Lux University, of all places, the very school he'd studied in when he was younger. The eighth day of Saturnalia dedicates itself to magic and discovery, and Caleb, entering Lux University equipped with a curious mind, is prepared for the hours.
[break][break]Lecturers line the halls, and histories of various important artifacts and people fill the air like sweet music (at least for those who are not bored of these). His eyes scan the exhibits of the building, but only stops upon arriving at a hall filled with robotic structures and displays of smaller machines placed evenly in glass cases. There are people here, yes, but nothing is touched; most eyes are focused on demonstrations for crafting these wonders, with only a few walking around and observing.
[break][break]Caleb swallows, nervous all of a sudden. He's chosen crafting as a second affinity yet only has studied one scroll; he hasn't even mastered it yet. But he does remember it to be the same scroll used by an acquaintance from long ago to help him out of his strange endeavors in Eclipse Town--
[break][break]And just his luck, he sees that said person, accompanied by what looks like a tin man. Ever since introduced to the world of crafting, he's always been fascinated by these mechanical companions... but that's not the only reason for his visit, now that he realizes.
[break][break]Caleb knows he won't notice, but he smiles and walks up to Zephyr, with a small wave that would seem like he's greeting someone in midair. The tin man up close is fascinating; how much time did Zephyr accumulate to make this, he wondered?
[attr="class","a1lyric"]i got nothing but dreams inside[break] i got nothing but dreams
[attr="class","a1lyric2"]i'm just young enough to still believe, still believe [break]young enough not to know what to believe
[attr="class","a1icon"]
[attr="class","a1white"]
[attr="class","a1scroll"]
Aiden had never seemed like the nerdy type. He had never acted like bookworm or been particularly excited to learn much at the bit of public school he had. But that was before realizing how dependent his survival was on magic. Being good at magic, being very good at your job within the coven, that was a straight shot into an easy life. It’s what he wanted for his grandparents anyway. So, he had poured himself into his affinities, and grasped for one that would match it, assist even, He’d had no idea his natural affinity for purification was related to his bloodline, but it was too late to turn back time and reverse that decision. All he could do was study, learn, train. [break][break]
This was training too. Gathering info, sitting at lectures, keeping up with the newest of the new advances on magic. The more he knew the better he would be at adapting his own magic. After all, most of his spells were straightforward in its use. It was up to him to get creative with how he used them. So he excitedly made beelines form one panel to the next, taking notes, asking questions if he could, taking pamphlets when they were offered. Gathering, hoarding, collecting knowledge because at the end of the day when the Emerson gold stopped flowing, he would have some left, more useful than money. [break][break]
But now, with all his careful notes put away in his pouch of holding, he wandered around taking a peak at other affinities, other research projects. He had some time before the next purification panel. He briefly hoped his friend líng lù-xī had made it alright. He’d sent her a message or two regarding the event though he was sure she was fully aware of the day. He wandered around, moving more towards the open courtyards wanting to see if any witches were picking up dueling. He knew of some knights ready to show off a bit, but he had opted out of that kind of thing. He couldn’t waste time on it when there were only so many panels he could fit into his schedule. He was ready to cheer his friend’s on though, if he saw any.
[attr="class","gearcore"] "Ey Caleb!" Zephyr greets with a grin, eyes alight in recognition as he returns the wave. He glances up at Ox for a quick introduction, "Ox, this's Caleb. He somehow keeps walkin' himself into trouble, but he's a good guy. He talks in sign."
The tin man gives a small nod of understanding before he himself speaks, impassive face directed towards the new acquaintance. "I am pleased to meet you. You may call me Ox," he says verbally, carefully signing the words as he does so. The sign for his name is the same as the sign for the animal, index fingers pointing from his head like horns. Zephyr had imparted knowledge of both spoken and signed language into Ox before sparking his conscious, primarily so that the tin man would be able to communicate with Zephyr's mute familiar.
"Ya seen anything interestin' yet t'day? We just got here an' were plannin' t' hang out by the duels for a bit," Zeph pipes in.
Bailey’s lecture, titled ”The Study of Wraiths, What we Know & What we Can’t”, is scheduled for 1:00 sharp. He has worked with students and the public for long enough to know to actually start at 1:03. [break][break] ”Good afternoon, everyone,” he begins, giving the audience a moment to finish their side conversations and quiet down, ”My name is Bailey Renico, long-time professor and current president of Lux University. I’m involved in quite a few research projects both here and with other educational organizations across Salem, one of which is a practical study on antimas, more commonly known as wraiths.” [break][break] ”We often hear about wraith attacks on our city walls or how the appearance of a wraith nest can destroy less prepared towns. It’s common to personally know someone who has been attacked by a wraith, if not killed by one, and yet we hardly know anything about them. Where do they come from? Where will their next nest appear? How do their nests appear? Do they have a language? A directive?” [break][break] ”The issue, in most cases, is safety. The idea that antimas are malicious beings is not merely rumor. Various studies of their hostility have reported that over ninety-five percent of observed antimas attempted to harm nearby humans in some way within five seconds after sensing them, even if the human was not acting as an aggressor.” [break][break] ”However, this does not mean that we should shy away from this topic of study. The more we learn about these entities, the more prepared we’ll be to defend ourselves and prevent future tragedies.” [break][break] ”I’m going to go through a few recent studies with you, which are beginning to reveal that wraiths not only suppress elemental magic, but also possess many attributes which are in direct opposition to traits of familiars. Some suggestions for new studies have even been made to see if wraiths are only aggressive towards humans because of our familiars…”
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Ah, so Zephyr does notice him. Greetings are exchanged back and forth, Caleb responding to Zephyr with another wave. He addresses the tin man and introduces him to it; Caleb resists the urge to give Zephyr a light, playful smack on the shoulder for telling his companion of his tendencies to get in trouble, but instead a silent laugh comes from him.
[break][break]Caleb hears the tin man's name from Zephyr earlier but it seems he hasn't paid attention, as he can't remember what it is. But then the tin man names himself Ox, signing after every word, and notes the way he signs his name like that of the animal. Caleb assumes that it isn't his full name, but he does not press for it. Instead, he nods and signs back with a friendly smile. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Ox."
[break][break]Zephyr asks him if he's seen anything of interest today, nodding in response. "The automatons and machines have grabbed my attention, yes. But aside from that, nothing more." Caleb nods to the sculptures in display and the machines in walls, some roaming around the halls as demonstration. "I'll accompany you to the duels, if that is alright. That is, if I'm not in the way if you're meeting with friends."
[attr="class","gearcore"] "Hold up, there's other crafters here?" Zeph exclaims with unfettered excitement. It was fairly rare for crafters to be lumped together with the rest of the magical community as equals. More often than not, they were seen as people who only made items to interact with mana because they couldn't properly interact with it themselves. Zephyr didn't know that crafting could be one of the affinities celebrated on this day of Saturnalia.
Ox, who was already getting much better at recognizing tones of voice despite struggling to replicate them himself, notices the enthusiasm of his creator. "Should we go see them first instead of the duels?" he asks, a slight tilt to his head made obvious by his horns.
And just like that, the spark of excitement in Zephyr's eyes turns to worry. (Not enough worry to stop him, but enough to give him pause). What if there were other tin men there? What if they were made better than Ox? What if they were all made worse? What if--
"Yeh, but ya gotta promise if ya don't feel comfortable--" Zephyr starts, mostly just to interrupt his own anxious thoughts.
"Seven times," Ox says before Zephyr has a chance to finish, and it feels like he would be smiling if his face were capable of such a thing, "I will tell you."
Zephyr, on the other hand, can and does smile. "Sorry, sorry. We'll check out the machines first, then. You're welcome t' come with us if ya don't mind seein' the same things twice. I didn't make plans with anyone else, so no need t' feel like you're interruptin' anything," the crafter says to Caleb, "Honestly, I hardly made plans at all t'day. Ya gotta let me know what things are worth seein'!"
Post by corvus kasparian on Dec 5, 2019 18:27:22 GMT
Corvus had no powerful interest in the sciences or specializations of magic. He had enough Starcalling knowledge shoved into his head only to be immediately dumped out by a gorilla’s throttling. He wasn’t going to bother trying to reabsorb that. Same with illusions. He would rather just take it one step at a time and feel his way through with practice. Theory wasn’t good. Still, that dind’t mean he thought the whole affair at Lux University a waste of time. There were mock duels being held and he wanted to support some of his peers. saskia burovski mainly, but you know, peers. He’d cheer on anyone with an hourglass. Though, he doubted many others felt the same. Silvertongue overall, was a pretty detached coven, but he supposed he had his family anyway, so it wasn’t that lonely. And he was friends with one of the friendliest people there.
Duels took time though and last he’d checked they were still waiting on something, so he’d decided to move right along. There’d been a lot of hubbub surrounding a particular presentation and, nosy as he was, Corvus was decided to venture near enough. The head of the university probably had something interesting to present, and he was right. Sort of. As Corvus quietly peeked in, standing by the entrance walls as all the seats were full and the place was packed. Antimas? Was that because they were opposite of familiars? Did that make wraiths kind of like familiars? Were they dead familiars? Or like? Parallel universe familiars? What was a familiar again?? He’d never put a lot of thought into it. Ah, he’d blame the concussions on his ignorance. ‘Philippe do you know?’ he asked silently as Bailey lectured and he stared up blankly.
‘I have never interacted with a wraith, and I advise you to do the same. You’d get us both killed.’ The large bird returned with a huff before settling back into a comfortable silence. He looked around at the other witches, all who seemed entranced. He even spotted a few reporters, probably eager to get a word with Bailey afterwards. Corvus kept to the exit, ready to speed his way out of there if Bailey stopped talking. This was above his level of understanding after all. He backed away during a pause, flinching as he bumped into someone. “Oh! Sorry!” he whispered quietly before moving aroud nthem and trying
[attr="class","j1scroll"] Zephyr seems elated at the news of crafters in the area. Caleb wonders why that is, exactly... of course, for one reason, it is no question since Zephyr is a crafter himself, and he's read in history books tha crafters are quite a rarity in Salem. However, the eighth day of Saturnalia is supposed to be a time for presenting even the rarest of affinities, so Caleb seems to have expected the presence of crafters in the university.
[break][break]He does not say anything of the matter, though, and instead turns to Ox, who asks his creator whether they should see the machines first before heading to the duels. He watches Zephyr and Ox's small exchange with an amused smile... so this is how it is like to have a companion. Caleb is not sure about what Zephyr feels about heading to the machines first, however, but he doesn't bother pressing the crafter for this.
[break][break]Zephyr tells him it's alright to tag along, as he doesn't have any plans for today. It makes Caleb smile. He doesn't have any friends around either, so it's nice to keep Zephyr and Ox company. "That's great! Machines first, then," He signs rather cheerfully, pointing to where he had been earlier. "And of course I don't mind. The machines I've seen were mostly small models of cars and automobiles displayed in large glass cases, and demonstrations by various others, though there's a big chance I've missed quite a lot."
[break][break]He smiles at Zephyr proclaiming he hardly made plans for today. "You and me both." He signs again, pointing towards himself then at Zephyr's direction simultaneously. "And speaking of interesting things, aside from the crafter's area, there's also a lecture conducted by Bailey Renico, if you want. It's all about wraiths."
Post by Charani Petrov on Dec 7, 2019 23:02:11 GMT
@learning bois
LOREM IPSUM
me @ me
Me @ Aiden u fratboi
"I don’t know if I could ever go without"
"Watermelon sugar high"
“Hmm... maybe then Wraiths are connected to familiars then. Like they occupy a similar space or are competing for similar resources.” He was mostly just hear because some people he knew were lecturing. A few of the doctors and nurses he was learning under were here to do new general magic applications to the medical field to increase general practitioners with the growing gap of providers.
The crowd around the head of the university was large. He was talking about wraiths after all. It was a scary and fascinating topic that lots of people probably wanted to learn about. This was especially true from someone as well known and talented as Bailey.
“I should go see the staffs lecture.” The area was way to full of reporters and people he didn’t want to be around. Better to go see some other lectures with less of a crowd. Maybe he’d run into someone he know. aiden emerson and líng lù-xī both went here after all so it would be a surprise to see them. He mostly just wanted to float around though.
“Oh. Well let’s go Teddy.” That was his cue to walk ahead of his witch, the small dog weaving through the crowd with ease. They’d go see some of the healing lectures maybe and then they had one on dream interpretation that seemed interesting. It was not done by Ezra so it was hard to tell how accurate it would be but whatever. It was something to kill time today. Or something like that.
[attr="class","a1lyric"]i got nothing but dreams inside[break] i got nothing but dreams
[attr="class","a1lyric2"]i'm just young enough to still believe, still believe [break]young enough not to know what to believe
[attr="class","a1icon"]
[attr="class","a1white"]
[attr="class","a1scroll"]
There’s a commotion on Bailey’s newest lecture, and he’s intrigued, but with so many other friends in attendance, he was sure to get better notes form them. After all, one was an atheneum user. They could practically record the lecture and play it for him another time. For now, he settled in the dueling ground watching a few witches get settled on pitches. He notes quietly marks of purification to keep stray spells form flying out of bounds and reflected back into the field. Notice is a understatement. It’s during his inspection of one of these points inside the grounds that the duels begin getting called and he quickly stood up to prevent form getting dragged into a duel. Though he does offer his support to a couple of knights that he recognized. He managed a small smile, not entirely familiar with them, but feeling a heightened sense of camaraderie after so many events. [break][break]
He recognized this one from the Empyreal Cup, they’d made it out a little better than him. He’d hung around the med bay with Aiden and been released first. He wasn’t entirely sure what affinities they held though but nevertheless there was a semi-enthusiastic pat on the back as knights clear out of the scrimmage for a real duel. Representatives of Silvertongue seemed to be hanging around the opposite side. He assumed only the ones wearing a hint of green were actually dueling. Subtle, but striking. With a final wave, the redhead jogged out of grounds before immediately turning as the field erupted in a loud explosion as the SiLVertongue side let off a technique he recognized. The clap of thunder goes off and meets an explosion of rock as the knight shielded themselves. [break][break]
It’s just barely started but the intensity has already cracked up. Aiden is distracted as he watched the barriers. With keen focus, he watched the certain runes and points on the walls flare up as explosions set off, and he vaguely wondered if the magic wasn’t just containing the combatants, but siphoning out mana of the area to lessen the burden on the structures. He was unfamiliar with the spell but its fascinating enough for him to begin muttering notes to himself and stepping back. “Oh, shit sor-” Green eyes trail downwards, and he saw not a small child, but a tiny puppy he recognized but could only hope was just a regular dog. “Heeey…buddy? Wanna scratch?” he said his expression halfway through a smile and a grimace. He does not offer his hand or outstretch his fingers to the small pupper. In fact, he stands up a little straighter in case Teddy decided to make a jump for it. “Charani- Hey.” He added not really mentally prepared today to deal with Teddy AND Charani at the same time, but this was happening. "Checking out our coven?"
[break][break]
[attr="class","a1notes"]Charani Petrov ITS TIME TO D-D-D-D-D-DUEL
What peasant was foolish enough to bump into him... and of course it was that damn Twink. His red hair and goofy lopsided mouth were telltale signs of Aiden. That and his ghostly pale skin that contrasted his masters own. ”Oh. It’s you.” The dog seemed less pleased than usual. Mostly because he had just been bumped into by this boney Twink. Where his master got his taste in men he would never understand. At all.
The witch smiled though unlike his companion. The boy waved happily to his friend as the battling went on in the background, he was not worried thanks to the barrier charms placed expertly around the area. He imagined Bailey himself probably looked at them before today. It was a holiday tradition for these little bouts after all.
“Oh not really. Some of the people from the hospital are lecturing today so I thought I’d go to support them. Or something like that. I figured I’d see you or líng lù-xī around eventually.” The area was fairly loud with the fighting going on. Thought there did appear to be some form of noise lowering spell in effect because despite the lightning and earth magic whipping around they could still hear each other talk.
“Well boy, you here to learn right? At least you’re trying to improve. I suppose even a broken clock is right twice a day.” That sounded like something his grandmother would say, only with less bite to it than it would coming from her. She was a sassy old broad, er... refined mature woman. He obviously was not about to be pet. His body language made that very clear. On the plus side as Charani got close to Aiden the dog didn’t make to get between them like he would previously. That’s a good sign. Right?
[attr="class","a1lyric"]i got nothing but dreams inside[break] i got nothing but dreams
[attr="class","a1lyric2"]i'm just young enough to still believe, still believe [break]young enough not to know what to believe
[attr="class","a1icon"]
[attr="class","a1white"]
[attr="class","a1scroll"]
Ah, even if the little puppy spoke to him like trash, he still really wanted to pet the dog. To be honest, the never-ending quest to touch the little dog, maybe even give him a scratch had been what had led to his and Charani’s friendship or well- whatever this was now, unspoken until further notice. “Nice to see you again, Teddy.” And he kept it at that, not wanting to bring up the extensive amount of times he’d decided to Not See the seer had probably contributed to him not seeing the familiar as well. He loved Teddy, it was a real shame Teddy didn't seem very fond of him despite the fact that Charani did. He thought. Then again…he’d always had those doubts. But who would play him this long? What kind of ruse was that? He’d woke up to him after the Empyreal cup after all, surely it wasn’t a lie. [break][break]
“Oh ok. I thought I’d see her around, but we haven’t crossed paths yet.” Not that they had much in common when it came down to magical fields of interest, but it was always nice to trade enthusiastic notes even if you sometimes didn’t understand one field or another. “If she’s anywhere it’s probably Bailey’s lecture. That’s one of today’s biggest events.” He added before looking down at the Seer’s familiar unsure how to respond. “I- uh yeah. Gran’s taught me what she could on weaving, so I figured I’d find some kind of knew stitch or thread information here.” He reported, not entirely sure why he was doing it but nevertheless showing the dog the respect Teddy, Charani’s dear familiar, deserved. He didn’t try to even reach for the pup, not wanting to lose his fingers. [break][break]
He settled for looking at Charani, under Teddy’s baleful gaze. “Were you thinking of doing a duel? For fun I mean. Or am I keeping you from a different lecture?” he asked carefully. He didn’t want to keep him after all. And he had a bit of time on his hands before his next panel. “I can walk with you there if you are. I don’t mind.” After all, he’d said his due courteous ‘Good Lucks’ and with all the smoke and debris flying about and hitting force fields, he doubted he’d get to see much of the action inside the little dueling pitches anyway.
[break][break]
[attr="class","a1notes"]Charani Petrov ITS TIME TO D-D-D-D-D-DUEL
So Aiden hadn’t seen the girl either, that’s sad. Oh well knowing her she was somewhere around the campus. ”Probably. But she’s all into that runescripting stuff and I don’t really get any of it so she could be anywhere learning.” The blonde boy didnt really get how her magic worked but he knew it did.
The familiar wasn’t really listening to what Aiden was saying. Partially because he didn’t care. Partially because he was watching the fight happening near them. Someone had just sent a bolt of lightning from the sky causing a loud crack even with the dampening spells.
“Honestly I don’t really have any plans. I was just kinda wandering around lectures and then I saw you. And here we are.” The stuff he has come here for we’re already over. He sat through two or three lectures and couldn’t sit still. He was more chatty than normal. Or well more hyper than usually. He was always chatty with Aiden after all.
“What about you?” That was subtle. Just subtle McGee here trying to spend time with Aiden again. Like they didn’t just hang out like a day or two ago at the concert. Like they didn’t hang out just before them either. Oh well. What now,
