00 - prologue

[afflictionmods]

PROLOGUE

It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing – something strange begins to happen. There's a sudden burning sensation that wraps around your right wrist and part of your forearm. If you glance at the affected area, you'll find that it's...glowing.  The glow is pale blue, and it's so bright that it hurts to look at. The burn itself isn't so painful that you feel like keeling over just yet, but it does hurt nevertheless.

But before you have time to try to soothe the pain, you start to feel lightheaded, dizzy. Perhaps some of you may attribute this to any injuries you may currently be sustaining. For those who were previously unscathed, however, there's quite possibly no explanation for this other than the sudden appearance of the mysterious burn on your arm.

There is no time to mull it over, though, because it is the last thing that you see before the world suddenly fades to black.

-----

When you regain your senses, your vision is blurry; but when it starts to even out and you survey your surroundings, you find yourself sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair. Looking around you’ll see rows and rows of chairs, all facing the same way towards a desk, a podium, and an empty wall. A projector hangs from the ceiling and the lighting is bright and artificial... For some of you, it might be reminiscent of a college lecture hall. For others, you might have never seen anything like this before.

Your wrist, by the way, feels perfectly fine...though there’s now some kind of strange marking on it. It looks like a scar of some sort, and if you choose to touch it, it doesn’t feel inflamed or damaged in any way...but that doesn’t mean you don’t experience any pain. Perhaps the last thing some of you remember is a hard-fought battle, and the aches from your injuries still linger; some of you might not even remember getting hurt, and yet, your body aches like it has; for the lucky ones who feel fine, well. Pray that it lasts for a little while longer.

Because the moment someone gets hurt – emotionally or physically – there’s a small chance you’ll feel it, too. Where and who and what it’s coming from, though, is on you to figure out.

In front of you on the desk is some kind of device – a tablet, for those of you who are familiar. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be capable of doing much of anything right now, other than take photos and videos with the Camera app. There's also a translating app for those of you who need help reading some of the text around campus, as it is all in English. (Verbally, however, you can understand everyone in your own language. Tablets are also in characters' native languages.) It seems to be incredibly durable and hard to break, but you may want to be careful with it regardless.

Something shifts in your pocket (or...in your socks/shoe/what have you, if pockets aren't a thing) as you move around. Should you reach in and feel for it, you’ll find some kind of card – those who are familiar with modern technology will recognize that this is some kind of card you need to swipe. It has your name and a photo of you on one side, and the back of the card has the word "KEYCARD" on it.

There are also other people here, scattered throughout this mysterious classroom you’re in. In fact, there’re a bunch of you — 29 others, to be exact.

And now... you’re free to do whatever you want. Mostly anything, at least, given that once you step outside and explore, you’ll notice an ominous fog behind the various buildings within view. Still, this is a good time to get your bearings, check on what you have - and don’t have - and talk to the people around you until orientation starts.

-----

( OOC: Welcome to your Intro Log! The partner system is in effect for the Intro Log, meaning that yes, pain share is happening! For some notes regarding the partner system, your character will not know who their partner is upon arrival. It’s entirely possible that they find out now if their partner gets or is already injured, or if they can pick up on their mood. Otherwise, they’ll find out later today...!

Anyone who tries to leave campus grounds will have to enter through the fog, but no matter what, they will mysteriously wind up back onto campus grounds. And for clarification, the keycards are what characters need to gain access to their dorms!

Finally, we will have an NPC Reveal at 6pm EST today! )

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[sicklysweet]

Why would I be worried?

[You can't Uno Reverse this shit back at him, because he absolutely will never acknowledge how weak and vulnerable he is without access to his magic. He's got way too much pride to do that.]

I have no reason to believe it's gone forever. Otherwise I would be dead.

[He's probably not serious.

Maybe...?]

[magicam]

Dead??

[Hey, wait, isn't that reaction... surprisingly calm? Certainly more calm than someone fretting so much about losing his magic should be about such a statement... right?

Well, either way, Cater is now looking at Owen a little more contemplatively.]

Are you, like, a magical construct, or something? Someone's summon?

[sicklysweet]

[Well, he sure looks offended!!

But it smooths out into another thin, icy smile.]

I’m a wizard, not something under the control of someone else. Surely you know what a wizard is, if you can do magic.

[magicam]

[Oh! Offense! Whoops! Time to, you know, make a decent attempt at damage control... hopefully?]

Ah, sorry, sorry! Cay just totes knows one, so it didn't sound, like suuuper strange?

...But, yeah I know what a wizard is...

[Kind of an uncommon term, but. Wizard, mage, same thing in the end, right?]

[sicklysweet]

Do I look like an object to you?

[smh what a rude kid]

Aren’t you a wizard? I doubt humans can make copies of themselves.

[magicam]

Mmm... not really, but the magical AI I know barely looks like a robot, like, some of the time, so Cay couldn't be sure!! Sorry, sorry!!

[He actually does seem to be apologetic, at least!! He can be rude, but this time was an accident!!]

I'm a mage, but also totes human? And Cay's the only one who can make more of himself!

[sicklysweet]

[It’s hard to say if the apology is accepted or not, because the rest of what Cater says is way more interesting than this “aye-eye” stuff.]

Humans can’t be wizards.

[Duh.]

Why are you the only one who can do that spell? I bet I could learn it, too.

[Multiple copies of himself would make fighting Mithra or Oz way easier…]

[magicam]

Eh? Sure they can, because Cay is totes a mage. Not everyone can be, but all the species he knows of in his world have the potential, at least!

[Humans and beastmen and mermaids and fae... all can be mages!]

Because it's my Unique Magic. Everyone has one, and that one's mine. It's suuuuper tiring the more mes I make, though, so Cay has to be careful with it.

[sicklysweet]

[Very intent staring…]

Hah.

[Interesting. Very, very interesting.]

Sounds like an ideal world.

[Squints.]

It seems strange that the magic you’re best at would have downsides like that.

[magicam]

[He's not sure he likes that staring!!]

Eh? Ideal? Nah, there's toooons wrong with it.

[Sighs?]

Well, magic is tiring no matter what kind it is, eventually! It just takes a lot to have a bunch of mes running around, since they're all still me, yanno?

[sicklysweet]

[pls tell him everything that's wrong with your world]

I've never found magic particularly tiring, but I don't have a weak connection to the spirits.

[Mainly because he doesn't draw his magic purely from spirits and it's something he's especially good at...]

Really, it's only tiring if someone's killed me. Which, hey, hey. What happen of these other yous die? How would you know if it happens? Does it hurt?

[magicam]

[Look, it'd probably sound pretty boring and mundane to Owen, honestly...]

Your magic is from... spirits? They exist in my world, but as, like, ghosts, who can do their own magic, sometimes.

[But hold on, wait a second, isn't that question way too morbid?? And wouldn't answering in certain ways implied he's, you know, let one of the other hims die?]

Ahaha... Cay usually just... dispels them before it gets to that point, yanno? They usually turn into cards, but that's mostly just aesthetics~~

[Dodging! The question!]

[sicklysweet]

[Sounds like a copout! He wants to know all about human depravity on other worlds!!]

Ghosts and spirits are different things.

[Obviously.]

But if they don't like you, you won't get to do anything... Assuming you're a wizard to begin with, at least.

[You can dodge a ball but you can't dodge a question, Cater.]

Usually? So not always, then? So you know what it's like... Did you learn the hard way that it hurts? Did you kill the other you yourself? Or is there someone out there who would hate you enough to want to see you die?

[magicam]

[Maybe there's some info in the mysterious textbooks! Sure would be great if Owen went and investigated those, yep!!]

...They are?

[Not obviously!]

Ah- Cay knows that when the other mes get hurt, it hurts, so... he can only assume it would really hurt if one died, right...? Ah-... depending on how he died, probably. He hopes no one out there hates him that much, though!!

[sicklysweet]

Yes. Spirits don't start off dead.

[He is not doing a spectacular job of explaining the lore, but that's the way it is, Cater!]

Aha, true. Some ways are dying are much more painful than others... But it's hard to know what people really feel about you, isn't it? There could be people who you think love you, but all along they've just been thinking about how much they hate your very existence.

[magicam]

Eh? I mean, Cay wouldn't be surprised if there were spirits in his world, too, different from the ghosts, he's just never met one...

[You know what? Just gonna roll with it.]

Ah... Yeah, that'd be like, the least surprising thing you've said yet, yanno? Cay tries to be likeable, but some people find that suuuuper annoying, so what can he do about that? Nothing. Don't think anyone I've met is the type to, like, try to kill me over that, though.

[Over other things; however........... Well. That was only twice.]

[sicklysweet]

It's hard to say what people to kill over. I've been killed for absolutely no reason at all before, so who's to say that won't be how you or your double meet your end?

[Is he bullshitting or not? It's... hard to say, considering this is all delivered with that same bright, awful smile.]

What would happen if the original you died? Would your doubles take over? Are you even sure you're the original you?

[magicam]

Eh? You've been... killed? No way!!!

[Wow, Owen, way to pick at an existential crisis that he usually very carefully avoids!!]

Hmm... Well, Cay-kun is Cay-kun. That's all.

[He's only sure he's the original because he hasn't disappeared when the others have. Last time he used it. So. You know. Can't be certain, ever, no big deal.]

[sicklysweet]

Of course I have. Would I lie to you?

[He certainly seems serious about that, somehow, but considering everything else about this conversation... It's entirely possible he still doesn't come across as sincere.]

So you don't know for sure if you're the real you? What a pity.

[magicam]

Mmmm you seem like you might!!

[But, you know, given everything else happening lately...! It's still a mystery!]

Ehh, well, Cay is Cay, so it's fine.

[sicklysweet]

[He's got a point there.]

Well, I'm not lying about this. I'm dead right now, actually.

[:worry:]

Well, if you ever decide it's not fine, please come to see me. I'd like to see that crisis play out for myself.

[magicam]

Eh? Dead right now? No way!

[He doesn't look or smell like he's dead!!! So!! It's probably fine??]

And no way, no way! If Cay has a crisis about it, no one will know!