theafflicted | 00

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.

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( 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)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[As if he's going to ask her to move. Phantom is eyeing the door to his room with the look a cat gives the filled bathtub it's about to deploy all limbs in a frantic whirlwind to stay out of.]

If you're so taken by it, then by all means. Enjoy listening to the barking of a rabid dog for hours.

[Please trade with him. Please.]

[ First impression of Phantom: this is a nice expression and people should express their distaste so openly more often. ]

What, are you already familiar with your roommate? Talk about moving fast.

[ The idea of coming in from the same place has not yet occurred to her, with how different everyone looks and how little anybody seems to know about her time period. ]

Oh, we're very well acquainted. Perhaps you had already left the lecture hall before he attacked me.

[In the dignity vs slandering Marcus battle, one side is clearly winning.]

I take it not everyone was so fortunate with their assignments.

[ Left the hall...? No, probably not. She's pretty sure she was one of the last ones to exist, which means... ]

I just didn't pay attention.

[ SORRY PHANTOM... ]

So far, I haven't even found anybody who shares my general state of common knowledge - let alone somebody I am personally acquainted with.

[That's fine. That's fine. This is normal, and he can only look so wounded when he admittedly wasn't paying attention to anyone who was not punching him.]

Yes, I met someone who wasn't even acquainted with the idea of magic. Whether this is purgatory or simply an experiment of some kind gone awry, likely most of the people here are from different worlds.

[Couldn't they have just, like, not brought someone else from his world though. At all.]

Why are you assuming it's gone awry? It seems to me that whoever brought us here has prepared exactly for the ragtag group that has actually arrived.

[ She gestures at the nameplates. ]

It is not favorable for you, but it certainly appears to be favorable for them.

The limited medical facilities, lack of oversight, and absence of a means of control mechanism.

[Just ticking them off off the top of his head. Though he glances down at his wrist again with a brief frown. Maybe not total absence of a control mechanism.]

You're correct. It may be more precise to say their methods are simply sloppy.

[2/10 unimpressive, Mastermind, if you're listening!]

[ Well, Miach certainly has to agree that the medical facilities look like shit. She thinks this is delightful, but it's still objective fact. ]

I wouldn't say that we can take all of those for fact just yet - we have just been transported across dimensions into a college campus encircled by impenetrable fog. Admittedly, my world does not have magic as yours appears to, but I would still say that this makes it pretty difficult to evaluate their power levels at this very moment.

Oversight and control mechanisms do not need to be visible to be effective.

Neither the transportation nor the fog are particularly impressive. But I take your point. Less visible mechanisms could be more effective, and the ability to suppress other magic alone should not be taken lightly.

[Or the healing, but that's no one else's business and he's not currently volunteering it.]

So you are normally a magic-user yourself and right now, there is nothing you can do to prove it.

[ She's inclined to believe him anyway, but that can't be the case for all of the people here surely. ]

What would it take you to create something like this fog, under regular circumstances?

I have no interest in proving it or not.

[Said a little sharply, but he does continue to answer.]

As an illusion? A few seconds of focus and a trivial amount of energy. Even a novice would be able to manage that much for at least a short time.

Would it also function as an effective barrier to keep a group of people trapped? Or would it just be set dressing?

[ Magic sounds really interesting to her. Unfortunately, she has zero frame of reference for it. ]

The simplest version? "Set dressing" would be accurate enough. It could easily obfuscate another mechanism, however. For something more along the lines of a spacial distortion that could serve as a barrier...

[He considers it a second. Only slightly undermining what he said before:]

It would take a constant focus and outpouring of energy to maintain. Other than myself, one - no, two people in my world would be capable of it without additional tools. But those who brought us here have no doubt had time to prepare whatever they needed.

I see...

[ This guy is certainly not humble about his skills. ]

So going with the hypothesis of this being an assisted set-up, there would be objects to destroy in order to mess with the spell. Is that correct?

Yes, likely. Your world has technology, correct? The most direct analogy would be destroying the engine powering a machine, or sabotaging its gears. If there is no external 'object,' the engine to destroy would be the mage themselves.

[Just matter-of-factly. She's being very blasé about this, so why not.]

[ Phantom's estimation of Miach's character is correct - she does not bat an eyelash at the idea of murdering some mages. ]

That's one thing to look out for then. As much as I enjoy the early 2000s college set-up here, I don't particularly feel like remaining imprisoned for however long.

00 - prologue

dorms

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