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The Letters of Kayley Halloran


Mikka

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I was really happy to finally get Giars to -10 and Duel up to 5 and a decent Patrol... then I realized I was looking in the wrong places for the actual way to start duels. Doh!

 

 

Week Twenty-Three

Random Event Botany 4, mean success (Ob fail/Running suc)

Random Event Daytime Hallway 4, success (Athletics)

Merit prize to good ol’ Vernin on the 21st

No reload used

One new Clique- the Achievers (Zoe and Philip)

Gained Understanding of the Circles (3% increases to chance of success at Abilities and Actions linked to combat spells (…I’m not sure if I get what that means))

 

 

22 Nivelos 1658

 

Dear Mam,

 

Someone tried to send me a bouquet of flowers- but they were actually stink weeds. Unfortunately, while I got out of safe, poor Zoe got stuck with them all over her. I tried to explain it wasn’t me who pranked her, it was whoever told her to bring the flowers to me, but I think she was just so frustrated with being covered with stink weed that, uh, it didn’t quite register. She didn’t tell me who sent them, either!

 

I do know who did something, though- Kurt Henning! I barely know him, but he cast Bad Sprout on me! That’s my spell! How irritating!

 

I didn’t do too much this week. I was in the libraries a lot, but I did discover two things- the Dimmae Theater, and the Spavia Theatre. See, the Spavia’s more fancy, so it’s spelled fancier. I took a tour of both! The Dimmae’s where all the actor kids hang out, which means I’ll probably be taking really longcuts to avoid it, but the Spavia Theatre is gorgeous! There’s an Orchestra Pit, the huge stage, I can work in costuming for some pims (…though I think I’ll avoid that, too), and there’s a Dueling Circle, as well!

 

Best of all, if you’re really good at the lute, you can go there each week and play with the grown-ups and upper-classmen for 250 pims a performance! And everyone will be listening! If only they needed a lyrist rather then a lutenist! Maybe I should switch instruments… but I just love the Lyre too much to ever, ever, ever give it up!

 

Oh, I helped Tabin a bit, too. I went out in the forest and gathered some leaves for him. I’m sure he’ll be really appreciative!

 

The only other thing that happened is I caught a flying carpet for Emma’s crush friend. I’m getting really good at everything related to athletics- you’re going to be so shocked when I come home! Though despite how much I love the sport, I really haven’t had much time to increase my skills with Rimbal at all. Too much to do, and too little time!

 

Love, love, love, love, love!

~ Kayley

 

 

 

Week Twenty-Four

Random Event Thieves Guild 12, failed (Observation suc/Conspicuous fail)

Random Event Classroom 15, success (Perception/Endurance)

Random Event Revenge 7, success (Tactics)

Random Event Creature 10, success (Glamour)

Random Event Forge 8, success! (Incantation Spells)

Reload used to get an actual skill from the Library of Longshade, because why not?

Gained Calligrapher’s Temperament (+1 Art Appreciation and Patience)

Gained Drakesmark (+1 Archery and Move Silently)

Gained Ignore Pain (+2 Max Vitality)

 

 

1 Aruit 1658

 

Dear Mam and Dad,

 

The scariest thing happened this week! Scarier then anything! Suaird was cat-napped!

 

I got him back really quickly- well, he also sort of got himself back, but it was terrifying! We were investigating the mysterious page- first in the library, then finally in a bookshop in the market. Apparently, it’s part of a rare tome that had been stolen- two others rare books had gone missing, too. But when I left the shop, these evil men were stuffing my kitty in to a sack! They tried to sell him to a man who deals in familiars, but as I said- er, wrote, me and Suaird were having none of that.

 

We then followed the cat thieves around a bit. I know that’s dangerous, but they steal cats and books, and that’s just not right! Especially when it’s Suaird!

 

He doesn’t seem to shook-up about it, though. He’s very, very, very proud of himself, actually: he’s learned how to ‘attack’ with a Scratch. He’s been scratching me since we got him back when I was nine, so I’m not really sure what the deal is, but you just can’t reason with a cat this satisfied with himself. The first time I tried, to he demonstrated his ‘new’ skill on my pillow. Thank the stars for Silke! But… he’s also learned that being adorable and curling up next to me and letting me rub his belly while he nibbles on my fingers is really comforting, for me. And he’s actually allowing me to do so!

 

I have the cutest cat in the world. I groomed him all up nice, too- he even sat still for most of it. Then he drenched me with water from the basin I was trying to wash him in, but, well, small steps, right?

 

Just to show me up, though, Giares’ best friend (Hector, who… actually doesn't really register to me, though he is a Morjerk) then starts performing tricks with his stupid ugly owl in the middle of the Great Hall attracting everyone's attention. Like he knew how awesome Suaird is and just had to show us up. Ugh! Though they were really cool tricks! I never saw an owl turn his head thattt far!

 

Z came up with a new spell for Rimbal! When you catch the ball, the ball kind of explodes you backwards. Luti’s all about no-magic Rimbal, because he’s just like that (Z’s okay with the idea, but I mean, you could suggest Rimbal played by cats on broomsticks that involved tiny golden bells and Z’d be all for that, too), but Rimbal with magic is where it’s at. How else can you show off your skills?

 

Hah, then later that day, these two-second years go running at me. The say I did ‘something’, and then one goes to punch me- but I duck left, and just like you said, Dad, one to the chin (I didn’t even need a two!) and he was down! Please, I can handle tidal waves and a whole collage out to get me and a war with potions and muffins, what makes them think I can’t handle bullies?

 

I got attacked by a rock dog this week, too. That was freaky, but I just casted March of Terror. I’m pretty durable, now- the injury faded pretty quick even though it was trying to eat my leg!

 

I’ve spent the week reading about ‘Schoolyard Education’. It sort of sounds like the sort of thing that would be best learned out, well, on the schoolyard rather then studied, but the Library of Longshade is amazing (as are all the others!). It teaches me how to deal with bullies smarter-like (and the tricks they use, too, but I won’t be using them because I’m not a Morjerk!), so it’s really useful.

 

This weekend, I finally got around to checking out the Elemental Warrior thing. Sergeant Ember took me to this lonely island, and then Lieutenant Aqua had me learn how to walk on water. Then I got to face another rookie Elemental Warrior, and I totally kicked his butt! (Well, actually, I punched his gut...) I got money from it, too! Next time, they'll teach me about earth. I'm still not sure what Elemental Warriors do, but it seems to involve Incantation spells, so it seems I fit right in.

 

Even better though… you guys will be so proud! Master Smith Gorithnak, the Minotaur that runs the forges at Academagia, gave me access to his personal workstation and told me I could come and use it whenever I please, after I heated up their main forge for him. I’m practically floating with excitement… alright, so I don’t do any much forging here, but I’m sure over the break you two will have me covered in soot the day after I arrive and next year I’m sure he’ll still allow me so maybe I could take classes in Enchantment or Forging, too, and oh my stars my second year will be SO GREAT!

 

Though I don’t want this one to end quite yet!

 

All the best,

~ Kayley

 

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The Tuesday if the first week was very odd, as all seven people I had information on apparently decided to Study on one day… and each of them failed. Something in the water?

 

 

Week Twenty-Five

Random Event Garden 11, miserable failure (Listen)

Random Event Potions 13, success (Patience)

Random Event Kitchen 11, success (Observation/Incantation Spells)

Random Event Student - Vettor 2, mean (but glorious) success (Duel)

Random Event Foraging 15, success (Observation/Concentration)

Random Event Athletics 7, success (Acrobatics)

Merit Prize to Vernin on the Festival of Durand’s Road

Reload when I realized kitty’s adventure was scarier then I was expecting from a green

 

 

8 Aruit 1658

 

Dearest Dad,

 

I did it. I placed a red mark outside of Giars’ door. That means if he picks on me again, I’m going to be really, really, really mad and we’ll deal with it in a formally way.

 

I know they contacted you once again about how I’m doing in Rhetoric! Thanks for the allowance increase. I’m glad you’re proud of me, even though I do some really stupid things sometimes. I’ve been trying to get better, though, and follow your advice always.

 

Like when that stupid Vettor finally managed to soak me with water after his failure in the forge, I didn’t cry or anything, I just punched him in the jaw (after making sure Professor’s weren’t around, of course). You just don’t soak a girl in water unless you’re playing, and I definitely wasn’t playing. Not with someone as gross as him.

 

Oh, on the Festival! I won the game! Well, okay, I didn’t win, but I lasted really long and did really well. I was also attacked by an evil furlang, who tried to kill me with kitchen knives! I defeated it, though, don’t worry, and then I saved the cook it was about to eat. She gave me a chicken pie. It tasted very good! Though seriously, she was about to be eaten and I almost got killed, and my reward was a stupid pie? A PIE?! She’s been working at this school way too long.

 

I went to train once more with the Elemental Warriors! With Corporal Zephyr, this time. I know I said I was going to be doing something with Earth, but, well, apparently they changed their mind. Very confusing, but that’s okay! I won the air fight, and got some pims, too. I guess Elemental Warriors just duel each other while fighting the elements? It’s actually good practice, and they make sure it’s really safe. Like, when I pushed this guy off this huge platform in to the trees below, they slowed him so he was safe and okay and not crushed!

 

As for trees, I met this nice man in the forest, holding Inzo’s One Man Carnival! Sadly, I had to forage instead of play. I ended up getting caught in this huge spider web, but cleverness ruled the day once again, and I managed to scrape my way out with a knife I’ve started caring around. It was a bit alarming, but I bet if I screamed, Suaird would have came and helped me get out, too, so I wasn’t too afraid.

 

I also broke a pole while pole-vaulting, which was really suspicious, as I’m pretty good at checking for that sort of thing. It was no matter, though: I pulled off a really smooth landing with some of my new tricks. It sort of hurt my wrists a bit, but it looked really cool, and the pain faded when I saw how impressed everyone was. I practice flipping a lot these days. If I cartwheel or flip my way to class, I figure I’ll keep improving my acrobatics! I have to make sure there are no professor’s around, though.

 

I can even go work at the circus now, though they don’t need acrobats. I just work in the back and help get out props and all the boring stuff, but it’s sort of like free admission, as I need to watch what’s going on to get the timing for everything right.

 

That’s it for now, though I bet next week will be real exciting!

 

Lovingly,

~ Kayley

 

 

 

Week Twenty-Six

Random Event Godina Common Room 8, (Observation)

Merit Prize to Vernin on the 14th

Reload not used.

Gained Ink Devotee (+1 Chemistry and Calligraphy)

 

 

15 Aruit 1658

 

Dear Dad,

 

I really did it this time!

 

I challenged the no good jerk Giars to a duel. He? He was worried about the little fishies below us. I’m right there, challenging him to duel with my wand and my athletics and my lyre and my awesome, and he decides to worry about the fishies! I cannot believe him! Our duel is in fourteen days from the thirteenth. I’m suddenly a bit nervous.

 

Please don’t tell Mam about it! It’ll be safe, I promise. I’ve done a ton of research about dueling circles and everything. I want to do some more research on Demi-Tour, though…

 

What else? Oh, I told Z that for the team, he’s going to have to strengthen up! You don’t get to be an amazing Rimbal player without some strength training, so we started to work on that. We did a ton of running. I’m already pretty good at it, and honestly, so is Z, but we have to be absolutely perfect!

 

At least competing on the Rimbal team will be fun, as the TEAM NUMBERS ARE EVEN. Unlike with some other competitions…. Ugh, I don’t even pay attention that dumb merit thing anymore. It was really dumb and stupid and useless, anyway.

 

Something insane happened in the Godina common room! I don’t even know what to say about it- everything disappeared, there was a hammer pounding away at tiles, and there was a weird puzzle set up. I had to dive around on it and match three tiles in a row… I still don’t get it, but I managed to get it solved. Apparently, it was someone’s gift to Luti.

 

Have I mentioned lately that Luti is really, really, really weird?

 

The school year is almost over… I feel really depressed. Maybe a bit worried, too. You have to be absolutely perfect in each part of each class to get the best grade. I’m not there with any course yet.

 

I still need to be more ‘passionate’ for Rhetoric, and study more famous speeches (such a drag!) as well. For music, more famous songs would be good, and if I want to do really well on my exam, I should probably study the violin, Lute, and Harpsichord, as we get tested on ALL of them. Incantation and Glamour, at least, the few things I still need to get will come up in class (at least, I really hope so)- mostly just Pheme work. But then there’s Calligraphy.

 

Calligraphy.

 

Have you noticed? Take this letter and hold it up next to the letter from last week. Then hold it front of a candle, then maybe a bigger fire (But don’t burn the letters! That would be mean!). Try, I don’t know, sunlight, too. And a magnifying glass.

 

Do you see it? It’s okay if you don’t, because I don’t either. Regardless, I am apparently now a master at Ink Compounds. The ink I’m writing in now is different then the ink I’ve used since, um, probably around Gelmenus, and I used a different ink before that, and there was even a different ink on the letter I wrote on the Juvenalia compared to the one I used on the 8th of Athonos. The inks I’ve been using since Gelmenus has all been inks I made in class, though the recipe was the same until last Friday, when I made a new ink with my totally new recipe and experticse.

 

And it’s absolutely USELESS. How will this help me become a famous mage-farmer-horsie owner-thief catching-monster battling genius? It doesn’t apply to the real world at all! No one can notice the difference save for crazy Professor von Rupprecht!

 

That’s not the best part, though. Guess what we get tested on for the Calligraphy finals? Our skill in the entirely speculative ‘art’ of forgery. Which is illegal. Save for when it’s speculative. But because it’s illegal, the Professor can’t teach it. That’s right, I have to speculatively study an illegal ‘art’ (we’re not allowed to call it art, either) that the teacher won’t teach so he can speculatively test my speculative ability. Speculatively.

 

How did you guys talk me in to taking this course again?

 

I like the part where we get to draw, though. My dragons are looking pretty fierce these days.

 

Speculatively yours,

~ Kayley

 

PS: This week wasn't exciting at ALL.

 

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Week Twenty-Seven

Random Event Resturaunt 1, success (Interrogate)

Random Event Duel 4, success (Observation/Running)

Random Event Prank 6, failure (Sleight-of-Hand)

Random Event City Street 3, success (Brute Strength)

Reload used once again on kitty’s adventure… why is the roll red when the quest is green? /grumble

Gained Understand Strategy (+1 War and Insight)

 

 

22 Aruit 1658

 

Dear Mam and Dad,

 

This week has been so quiet. I guess that means next week- er, well, this week- is going to be really crazy, though last time I said something like that I seemed to jinx it. Saturday can’t come soon enough.

 

I haven’t had any trouble with muffins lately, so I guess the water is trying to make up for it. I was walking around the city and some cart went by and absolutely SOAKED me. Can you believe that? I had to go find a darker alley to hide in, take off my robe, then stand there in my underwear, shirt, shoes and socks trying to ring the stupid thing dry. Thankfully, it didn’t take that long at all and I don't think anyone spotted me. The annoying part was I had just washed it that MORNING, and even though it was dry, the water got it all wrinkled. So I had to wash it again today… I hate doing the wash. I should just pay to it done at Washer’s Alley.

 

Ugh, and then in class, there was slime all over the seat next to me! Probably an exploded potion from somewhere, or a prank gone bad. I tried to get it off, but… uh, I sort of messed up. It ended up getting all over the place. I got in trouble, but I got the girl who sits next to me in trouble, too. All she did is scream a bit, and I can't blame her: she didn’t deserve a lecture! Professors are so unfair sometimes. She kept glaring at me for the rest of the class, too. That was a huge mess up!

 

I spent most of Saturday sleeping, to conserve my energy. When I wasn’t doing that, I’ve been studying… oh, I had time to play my lyre a bit! I’m confident that I can play for an audience now, if I feel like it. It might be a nice steadier when the exams are right on top of me.

 

I’m not having much luck with ANY of my friend’s problems. Mirrors and food and wells and powders… I’m not sure what it has to do with anything. I wish more people were as direct as I am.

 

Some people were dueling all wrong, but they got detention for it (Fillip and Prudence, hah!). See, if you don’t do it right, you get in huge trouble. That’s what the dueling laws are in place for. Everyone’s safety.

 

Filip and Prudence got detention for being really stupid. I reported them to the teacher. I won't say it was good to get them in trouble, but it’s good that the Professors are so on top of things whenever people do dangerous stuff.

 

(Unless they involve water or potions, I guess…)

 

Ooo, I forgot the best part! A restaurant near here is taking care of a lil’ baby minotaur. She’s so young… her parents are probably dead, though, which is really sad. But I’m sure the owner will keep her safe. I didn’t think minotaurs could be that cute!

 

I find out all sorts of nice stuff in the city. When I'm not getting soaked, anyway.

 

Love,

~ Kayley

 

 

 

Week Twenty-Eight

Random Event Aranaz 7, success (Ob fail, Glamour Spells suc)

Random Event Theft 11, success (Famous Speeches)

Merit Prize to our not-BFF’s in Vernin on the 23rd

Merit Prize again to Vernin on the 1st, too

No reloads!

One new Clique- the Softshoe Society (Aymeri and Rikildis)

 

 

1 Veranix 1658

 

Dad,

 

We had our duel.

 

It was a bit silly at first: we just traded punches and wrote our phemes. But then, it was just- I don’t know how to write it! Or even talk about it!

 

Giars cast this spell called ‘Negative Alteration of Organic Matter’ on me, which is the most horrible thing I ever felt. My mind just- it locked up! My ears started to bleed a bit and I got a huge headache, but even worse was my tongue. It just… everything stopped. It completely stopped. I was casting Snowstorm, and it went off okay, but it really hurt! And it was like I couldn’t talk.

 

All the Vilocian I’ve heard from wandering by the Mercanary’s in the city- it just didn’t connect with everything else. It was all wrong. I was sort of crying and the inside of my head was screaming and screaming…

 

But then I just punched him again, and I won. He can’t do anything to hurt me now, and I think it holds for the rest of the year.

 

And I learned a lot, too. I didn’t want to look stupid, but at the beginning of the duel, when were just pacing, I was a bit confused, and at the end, I didn’t know how I was supposed to act, either, really. I guess I didn’t know as much as I thought.

 

But I was right in that it’s really safe if you’re careful and follow the rules. I mean, it hurt. A lot! If had gotten to cast that spell two more times, I would be in the infirmary. But that’s all that would happen. They’d keep me for a day, give me a few potions, then scoot me back out. So there really is no reason for Mam to fret so much. It’s much safer then swordfights!

 

…I was a bit nervous about the duel, so I skipped my Friday classes. I got a reprimand, but it was Professor von Rupprecht who caught me, so no detention. See, earlier this week, he was in an argument with Regant di Lucca Alazzo. They wouldn’t let me escape because adults are weird like that, so I helped Professor (although he’s a Regant, too) von Rupprecht. He’s just a bit strict, but fair, while Regant di Lucca Alazzo is still angry at me for that stupid wall explosion way back at the beginning of the year that I had nothing to do with anyway.

 

Oh, and I did something so crazy you’re going to yell, and yell, and yell… but it all worked out great!

 

I heard a rumor that this nice old woman who runs a tavern had been kidnapped. I went to the building, and looked at it, and I gulped a lot of times, and then I crept in. Mrs. Plumpson was there, but so was five a huge bunch of thieves, and there were knives and they wree adults and scary. I preserved, though, and I gave them that speech General Helita made- you know, the famous one with the daybreak and the lack of cowing and mournful defiant breaths- and then I told them about how tavern-nappers lack opportunities and are twelve percent less likely to get to marry rich then dock smugglers and then about how my cat got napped and what I as a very angry first-year could do to a cat thief if I wanted so what did they think a very angry husband could (as husbands are stronger then first years, right?) but mostly just about how KIDNAPPING IS BAD AND THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE DO IT AND THEY SHOULD FEEL VERY VERY VERY BAD FOR HAVING DONE IT BEFORE.

 

It was very convincing, and they let us both go and promised they would never, ever, ever do it again! Some are even going to join the guard!

 

And Mrs. Plumpson says I can have free ginger ale and cake whenever I go by her tavern from now on and everyone at school had heard about it. The story got a bit confused, though. They think I flipped in through one of the windows, socked each kidnapper in the jaw, made them eat snakes, and ran out with Mrs. Plumpson on my back. I’m not really sure why. The flipping through the window part is pretty cool, though. Do you think I could tell everyone that part along with the rest of the true story? It would just be a bit of an exaggeration…

 

Oh, and the Legate gave me some special honors during the Festival of Blooms! It was great!

 

In other news, I’m completely caught up with my coursework, too! There’s still extra credit I can do, sure, and a few things that aren’t really taught in class (like the speculative ‘art’, hah hah), but the basic stuff- like Forms, Illustration, and Ink Compounds for Calligraphy, or Swimming and Wrestling and Running and Competition for Athletics- are all as good as I can do. I can spend the rest of the year mostly relaxing, studying stuff that interests me, and hanging out with my friends.

 

So… don’t tell Mam about the duel and the kidnappers thing, but tell her I’m doing really well and I’m really happy, okay?

 

It’s been a good week!

 

Love you so much,

~ Kayley

 

PS: It’s really silly to write this, maybe, but… the support Mam and you give me means so much to me. Just knowing that you guys are thinking of me and writing letters and reading all of these, even searching and searching about silly Ink Compounds to find a difference for me (I really don’t think the smell counts! And you probably imagineated it, too!)… it’s really nice.

 

YOU TWO ARE THE BEST PARENTS EVER!

 

 

(Salt of the Earth :) <3)

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She's definitely got a pretty good one-two!

 

Sorry for the absence of letters yesterday (and Tuesday night, and today). I had to deal with that ugly thing known as a last minute assignment: I’ve been fitting Academagia around my work schedule easily (play a week, do an hour or two of typing, play another), but a silly miss-communication between two people who weren’t me got something dumped on me with only a few hours to transcribe it. Foo! At least it paid well…

 

Kayley uses the word 'yell' a lot to refer to her parents persumedly sending her scolding letters. I played around with trying to find a better word, but in the end, I figured she'd say it was yelling even if she didn't hear their voices. I know I've been known to refer to someone as yelling at me through written communication, so I imagine Kayley certainly wouldn't worry about the word choice too much. I mean, we're talking about a kid who uses 'bestest', here. /grin

 

 

Week Twenty-Nine

Random Event Duel 3 triggers, success (Intimidation)

Random Event Crafting 1 triggers, success (Observation/Glamour)

Random Event Forest 14 triggers, success (Observation/Hunting)

Random Event Student – Llarina triggers, (Scouting)

No reloading.

A Clique New Addition- Marc joined the Softshoe Society

 

 

8 Veranix 1658

 

Mam!

 

The stupid boys said I was weird for playing pretend with trees. I guess that being a boy just gives you a certain level of dumbness that means you can’t appreciate having fun anymore. I was hanging out with the trees trying to figure out what sort of food they’d bring to a tea-party and if they would go at all… and while Katja says she does stuff like that all the time, and Silke said it sounded like fun and that maybe we should make a tree tea-party for our making the school more awesome project, but even Z and Tabin thought it was weird!

 

Though Z said he sometimes thinks about what Rimbal positions the trees would play, which I think is way weirder. Well, maybe Tabin’s just really grown up. I guess I’ll be like that soon, too, right? Soon I’ll have to worry even more about jewelry and makeup and keeping my hands always really dry so if I hold hands with a boy it’s not all sweaty so it doesn’t gross them out even if I’m nervous…

 

You probably shouldn’t mention this to Dad, though. I don’t get it, but he seems to think I’m still a little girl, not a fully grown-up wizard.

 

Even though while I was playing in the forest, I spotted an army general swinging in the trees (I need to try that sometime!) and I talked to him and he said it was impressive that I spotted him and taught me about self-defense! Which I’m pretty good at, actually, but this was an ARMY GENERAL. Teaching me! I was so shocked!

 

I was in a really good mood, then, so I got out and performed on the lyre for my friends. Amada was really impressed. We’ve actually become really close, but sometimes… it's mean to say, but she's a bit, well, boring! She can be really helpful sometimes, though. I was asking about her hair, and then she helped me. I always wear it up here, like I did at home for forge work, because with so many jerks and bullies that I don’t want to give them an advantage of having hair to yank when they’re out causing me trouble. But for today, I wore it down and all fluffy like hers (though mine’s not as pretty, being this boring redbrown rather then that bright auburn), and everyone who actually matters said it looked really cute!

 

I’ll have to do that on occasion, but it really is a pain. Amada says to wear your hair down, it absolutely must be stroked to perfection, so you have to do 100 over-brushes and then fifty when you lean over and put your head at your knees and comb the backside. And you have to do both twice a day (or three or four, if you're her, but my hair isn't pretty enough to require that much work). Holding my head like that for fifty brush strokes makes me kind of dizzy… and means my morning schedule’s REALLY rushed.

 

Speaking of boring (well, writing about boring…), I also helped Llarina find her pocketwatch. I thought it would be really boring, but it wasn’t at all! Some weirdo turned her pocketwatch in to a grandfather clock! Who would have done it? I got it back for her and she gave me gummies (yum!), but while she didn’t seem that interested the mystery, I sure am. What a strange thing to do… maybe they thought her watch was really great and wanted to share it with everyone? Or maybe she’s right about the ticking, but the grandfather clock bongs, so it’s really just as noisy…

 

And ugh, I got yelled at for trespassing for being in the library again. The library of Mantle this time, but just… ugh! How irritating! I really respect Professor von Rupprecht, but if he gives me detention lectures for silly things like this, I’m going to get really angry!

 

I actually was so frusterated that after class on Thursday, I ran off to go train with the ELEMENTAL WARRIORS!!! It’s a bit complicated, to get there, train for nine hours, have the fight, and get back in time to prove I was in the dorm so I don’t get more dete lectures, but I managed it thanks to the trusty airship.

 

This time, we did get to work with Earth! I worked under Corprol Core (who I think is like, a third year in disguise) learning how to turn the Earth to defense, then I had to raise up a mountain against another girl. I remember how worried you were, Mam, when you heard about the Air battle, so this time I didn’t throw her off the mountain or anything even when she threw gigantic boulders at me. I won again anyway! Apparently, there’s going to be a real for live mission soon, but I imagine they’re going to train to fight with fire, first. Though I’m already pretty good at that!

 

Anyway, I made it back to the dorms before I got in trouble, although I really didn’t get much sleep. I was so exhausted on Friday… I almost didn’t notice that something weird had been done to my seat! Cyrus Davis (the prettiest boy ever, although I don’t think he’s that much cuter Tabin some of the other boys in my grade) asked if he could have the chair, though, and I most graciously allowed it.

 

…It collapsed under him. I guess that’s not going to win me many points with him, even though he asked to sit there. You would think a student from Alvia would be a bit more lucky… or at least able to see through a really minor glamour, sheesh.

 

Some silly little boy tried to run away from a duel was assigned to, but I told him off. Duels are for serious things (well, sometimes the older students do them for practice or fun though I really don’t get the funness of having one’s organic matter negatively alternated. Either he was such a jerk to someone that they felt there was no recourse but to challenge him to get his jerkness to stop, or (more likely- he’s pretty wimpy) he had been teased and picked on so much that he challenged another to a duel in order to stand up for himself. It’s pure cowardness to refuse to meet up to either of those situations, as well as a waste of time for his poor opponent who had probably been stressing and working themselves up about it for weeks which I have total sympathy for.

 

Anyway, after I told him that no one likes a coward, he went right to the duel! Though he lost…

 

Well, I guess that’s life! Win or lose, you have to give it your all!

 

This week, I think I may be prepared enough to help Oan a bit. I feel bad, I didn’t have much time to work on it. I’m researching cooking for Z... it's sort of complicated.

 

I also need to go see the Elemental Warriors again! I want to be fully trained for my first mission!

 

With love,

~ Kayley

 

 

 

Week Thirty

Random Event City Street 4 triggers, success (Intimidation)

Random Event Rumor 16 triggers, success (Passion)

Random Event Library 1 triggers, success (Courage)

Random Event Professor Biardi 2 triggers, success (Negation)

Random Event Athletics 3 triggers, failure (School Survival)

Reload used after a failure at the end of Oan’s adventure- I probably shouldn’t have, but Kayley would have cried for disappointing Oan for like, all the rest of the letters, so really, it’s best this way

Gained Ride the Elements (+1 Incantation Spells and Intimidation)

Gained Elemental Warrior (+1 Leadership, Intimidation, and Confidence)

Gained Suspect Everything (+1 bonus to Question Actions and Ability rolls)

(+1 Finesse for a successful adventure! Huzzah!)

(+1 Intelligence and Insight from successful adventure! Double Huzzah!)

 

 

15 Veranix 1658

Dear Dad,

 

Thanks for telling Mam not to worry about the Warriors and the Army and everything! Though I really don’t get all the fuss you two make sometimes… Still, I really, really love you both even if you’re both a bit silly!

 

Anyway, this was another week just full of awesome good luck! I have to start at the beginning, I guess, but…. PIRATES!!

 

As I said I was going to, I ran off straight away to work with the Elemental Warriors. After training at a Volcano, Sergeant Ember proclaimed me a member of Chaos Squad (which he leads) for my skill in mastering all four elements, and we went right to my first mission! I GOT TO BATTLE SKYPIRATES! IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER!

 

They gave me armor that let me fly around in midair with the Air Manipulation I had learned (and a lot that I’ve picked up from working with Z for so long), and then, you see, I went on the big pirate ship deck, and I made a bunch of steam to disguise my movements so no one could hurt me, then I shot all the pirates all with a ton of water so they fell off the ship in to the trees faaaaarrrr below, and then I found the pirate captain who was looking for me with his cutlasses and I shot him off the ship with water, too, (I want to take a second to thank the greatest spell in the universe, Bad Sprout, for the knowledge and support it has gifted me with this long year) and then I went in to the hull and found some gunpowder and set it on fire and ran away REALLY fast and flew on the air to safety and the pirate ship EXPLODED and caused the ship next to it to EXPLODE too and it was SO GREAT I CAN’T WAIT TILL I GET TO FIGHT PIRATES AGAIN IT WAS SO COOOOL!!!!!!!

 

And see, see, I’m not just Kayley Halloran, future best wizard in the world, anymore! I’m Kayley Halloran, future best wizard in the world (and farmer, and horse owner, and beautiful sorcerer, and proud lyrist of no compare with an honors graduation from the Vilhuelan Academy, and the leader and founder of the (Fantastic!) Fortuitous Fellowship, and the only child of the bestest parents ever, and a tonnnnn of other stuff), and full member of the Elemental Warriors, codename Private Spark of the Chaos Squad!

 

THIS IS THE BEST! Everything! I’ve been so excited! I just wish I could keep the armor on me all the time. It changes colors depending on what spells I’m using! And it looks SO COOL! The teachers would probably get miffed, but I could add a green cloak with the blue and yellow stripes on the back so everyone would remember I’m in Godina (though how could they forget?), so I don’t see why it really be a problem!

 

Godina’s officially 100 points behind Vernin. Why do we have such a stupid contest at this school, anyway…

 

Professor Chastellain was being really great and doing a nice favor for Professor Badcrumble by making some really pretty music for a play she’s directing (I promised to overcome my terror of the theatre and those little brats who perform there to go see it), but a bunch of my fellow students were getting it all wrong, and spreading some jerky rumors. I yelled at them for it: how dare they be so mean to Professor Chastellain? Tell-tales are horrible! They rolled their eyes at me, the stupid meanies, but they did say they’d be more like me and never ever gossip.

 

Oh, and remember when you yelled at me for when Suaird and I followed the cat-napper? Well, don’t yell again! Since I’ve been hanging around the tavern they were in, as well as the bookstore, and I finally managed to hear their most EVIL plan- they’re going to frame the poor bookkeeper’s apprentice as the thief and get him fired! I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I rushed back the bookstore. A robber got in my way, though, but I nimbly dodged around him, and then a doggy got in my way (a mean one, not a nice one), so I growled back and intimidated him so me and Suarid could get safely by. I sort of got distracted on the actual journey to the bookstore, though…

 

See, a girl I barely know from Aranaz decided to write me up a Horoscope. I guess she was feeling pretty bored- it was after the Festival of the Exile (ugh, all the flowers were gone so I had to gather leaves), so everyone was just goofing off. Apparently, I’ll have good luck with ‘finding stuff’. I took that to mean it was a good time to go help out Oan.

 

We had to find the ‘right’ circle- it’s a bit confusing, but we did. We then had to head over to a Glade, but there was a bit of a prolem… INVOLVLING HUGE GIANT BUGS. I attracted an even HUGER GIANTER bird to go eat them, though! It… sounds sort of weird when I write that down. Maybe I should have done the idea I had with the thundercloud, but the bird seemed more fun. Then we had some trouble with spells, but then…

 

We were before the trees. And it was the most amazing experience. I feel like I didn’t really get it, like she should have come with someone really smart like Zoe or someone in her own grade. But the trees asked what we wanted of them, and Oan was a bit tongue tied, so- I started to speak. Maybe it was just a poem I read in Rhetoric, but it was a good poem, so I asked for ‘gentle wisdom’. And- I think they gave it!

 

It’s so hard to say, but it’s like… I’m a smarter person! How does it work? The grove faded, and Oan and I shook hands. I don’t think I’ll see much more of her this year, which… makes me really sad. Now that we finished the adventure, we can’t be friends anymore? I want to hang out with her like we’ve been doing!

 

I know that’s not true, though. After what we went through, we’re definitely friends. And I learned so much from her!

 

I want to know if I could find the Grove again. I mean, next year, when I get a first-year to show around. I’ll pretend I don’t know that much about the Grove, and let her figure out all the clues, so she can follow the trip and request what she wishes from the ancient trees. Then when she’s a second year, she can do the same with her first year, and it’ll be like this awesome secret of all of ours! I just hope the Grove is always there. Maybe I can’t go back myself, but the picture in my memories- it sounds stay so beautiful and wise and, well, all that stuff.

 

Z and Tabin decided to experiment with Negation Magic today. I’m glad they’re getting along so well! I’m really, really, really REALLYYY glad they decided to experiment with Negation rather then, oh, Incantation or Glamour. At least the disaster was pretty easy to clean up, and no one was seriously hurt.

 

It gave me a bit of practice, though. I had a free class (those are never actually free- they make you go to another class) where I was stuck in Negation, and some weird student came in and started to try and cast something on the professor. It looked suspicious and he was obviously hiding his wand and phemes, so I went to negating everything he tried. And I managed! Even though all I know about Negation is what my awesome friends mess up with!

 

I don’t really learn much in my classes, anymore. I really seem to have gotten everything they teach… I’m thinking about starting to skip them a bit more often. I know that worries you and Mam, but really, I do much better spending my days in the library then I do hearing them repeat the same things over and over…

 

I also found a talking book and got yelled at by the athletics instructor for just lazing around on the field. I wish there was a way to explain that I run so fast that no matter how much I run, I don’t get any better. I’ve like, practiced so much that practice doesn’t even help anymore! It’s like magic. I never thought I could be so fast and skilled and great and have so much fun…

 

Somedays, I really really really really miss you and Mam and feel really homesick. But other days, I feel so scared that even tough I should be really excited about the break, it’s going to be miserable and I’ll just miss Academagia the whole time.

 

And I don’t get why Z and Tabin being boys means they can’t come home with me on Vacation! I mean, sure, their boys, but it’s like you’re a boy, not like Girars is a boy. They’re not icky at all!

 

Though I guess you’re right, they probably want to see their parents and family and old friends, just like I do. It’s just… I’m going to miss everyone so much!

 

Well, back to trying to figure out Z and Katja’s problem. The bullies have left Tabin pretty alone for the last few weeks, though I’ll need to help him soon, of course, and for Silke and my project we agreed it needs to take a back-burner in order to prevent Katja from being expelled and prevent Z from getting himself stuck in the infirmary for months on his latest Rimbal adventure. We’ll definitely get back to it, though!

 

Oh, and the bookstore…

 

Ah, so much to do! I don’t want the school year to end!

 

But I still love you tons and tons and tons,

~ Kayley

 

 

 

(I imagine the first letter: Mam gets it, is reading it and smiling, then all of a sudden goes white with shock all "ARMY?! ELEMENTAL WARRIORS?! WHAT IS MY POOR BABY UP TO?! D: D: (DAD FIRST NAME!)" and then he grabs it and reads it and is like "WHAT IS WITH THIS BOYS AND COSMETICS AND CUTE AND WHAT IS MY LITTLE GIRL DOING SHE IS FAR TOO YOUNG" and Mam's all "Oh, nonsense, she's just exploring and finding herself, I was like that when I was her age, BUT I WASN'T CONSTANTLY FIGHTING WHAT IS THIS MY POOR LITTLE GIRL" and Dad's all "Eh, she's a scrapper, she's doing fine and I'm sure she's taking care of herself but SHE IS WAY TOO YOUNG TO TALK TO BOYS WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION. NEVERMIND, SHE'S JUST TOO YOUNG PERIOD." and Mam's all "Oh, I think it's cute and it's all innocent, BUT SHE IS GOING TO GET KILLED AND YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING THE POINT" and it's like a really, really, really bad comedy show.)

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Week Thirty-One

Random Event Kitchen 3 triggers, success (Observation/Befriend)

Random Event Patrol 1 triggers, success (Ob fail/Awareness suc)

Random Event Student – Cordelia triggers, success (Storytelling… wait, didn’t this event already happen? Huh. Must have been a reloader.)

Vernin got a Merit Prize on the 18th. Not that Kayley like, cares or anything. /sniff

Reloaded to see what skills I need for the next few steps on friends adventures

Rikildis still hates Kayley- Chiseler on Kay and Neso (…though Neso was at 0, so...)

 

 

22 Veranix 1658

Dear Mam,

 

I had a pretty scary morning! I was out patrolling (that’s sort of a Clique thing: as the weather’s been nice, we’ve been hanging out on the steps of the Campus Godina fortress but as it’s sort of inconvenient and the upperclassmen keep just stepping on us we’re trying to find somewhere even cooler, but um, anyway, as we’re out there, it means we need to wander around near the steps every so often to make sure no one does anything bad to them or booby-traps them or is spying on our secret meetings), and saw a bunch of Aranaz students trying to break in to Merjerks' Collage. I told them to stop being such idiots, as it was in the morning, and everyone knows that Morjerks melt in the sun, so they’d all be inside.

 

It’s funny, isn’t it? I thought it was. Well, even if they didn't melt, they’d all be preparing for class and stuff at that time, anyway. A really stupid time to try and break in to a collage is when everyone’s up, getting dressed, trying to find their books! Then I thought I saw them again, trying to break in to a less acceptable target the Gallery, and I got really steamed, but then I realized they were real thieves! Like, from the city’s Thieves Guild, I bet!

 

I was going to go yell at them, too, but I remember that you wanted me to be more careful. So I went and got Professor de Canapiedra- she just caught in a barely a minute! She said I was very brave and quick thinking, too, and thanked me for having the sense to not confront them but also to courage come get her rather then just running away. This was really incredible, as she’s not really big on compliments. More like humiliating anyone who catches her eye. Though… I still don’t get the part about her wanting me to be a better liar who donates more…

 

I also wrote an essay for Professor Vickery yesterday. He said it was very well done! I think I’ve just become a queen of essay writing. If only I had taken Dialectic, too- I’d win everything!

 

Oh, I can’t forget to tell you: there was a fairy in my soup! That was really gross. Something really needs to be done about the cooks here at this school: they’re constantly doing very frightening things. They almost make me want to go eat at taverns, that’s how bad it’s gotten, and you know how well tavern’s treat me. To top it off, I did a ton of research on diets, as I’ve been telling you- see, Z wanted one for the Rimbal team (well, wanted wouldn’t be the right word… more like ‘expected he had to have one’), and you wouldn’t believe how unhealthy some of the stuff we’re fed is. For Z, I got him to learn to avoid the junk and cut back a bit on desserts, and I’m doing the same. He said it's not too much of a hassle at all. I just feel bad!

 

See, I mean, Z’s definitely my priority, but I’m the one training him. We eat all our meals together making sure that there’s nothing too unhealthy in it, we run together every morning before breakfast, we pair up in Athletics, then we try to fit in some exercising after class and before free time and then a few stretchy-stuff before bed in the Common Room. So he’s getting ready for the team, but so am I. I mean, if there’s only one spot, I… I guess I’ll just stand down, as Z’s been looking forward to this for so long and it’s really about him, but if they just allow anyone to make a challenge or try out, I’m going to do it, too!

 

I’m not as good as he is Rimbal, I know, but I’m not bad! I’m fast, I can take any hits, my Incantation and Glamour are amazing, I’m good at tackling… my Rimbal itself is, um, only average, but I’m working on it!

 

I also helped Katja. Sort of. We have a plan now, as tutoring her has gotten us nowhere. We’re going to go find the Well of Nechtan, so she can prove herself worthy and make a wish!

 

It actually seems like the solution to all our troubles. Genius! Tabin could come to, and wish to stop getting bullied, and Z could wish to be on the Rimbal team, and Silke could wish to make a more interesting school (or that her experiments with Glamour would stop making familiars turn bright green, whatever is more appealing)! I wonder what I could wish for… maybe a horsie familiar, too…

 

Oh, and I got another lecture for studying in the library. I’ve been studying just Phemes, which is hard and boring, but I’ve learned a ton of new Phemes to use in spells. But despite how reasonable that is, I get in trouble. Thankfully, no detention because I, aha, never have trouble with that of course, but it’s getting a bit ridiculous!

 

Does no Professor have anything better to do then keep an eye out for a student studying in a place on grounds made for studying so they can yell at them for ‘trespassing’? I didn’t see a ‘No Kayley allowed!’ sign on the door! They’re obstructing my attempts to educate myself!

 

Where were they when Filip was traumatizing me earlier this year, huh?!

 

Ugh! Well, I’m going to spend all of tomorrow in the libraries anyway. They can’t take them away from me! I’ve wasted way too much of my school year in them to be separated now!

 

Lovingly rebellious,

~Kayley

 

PS: I learned the spell Negative Alteration of Organic Matter, though I don’t know the Intangible Pheme so I can’t cast it yet. Still, I learned it! Tell Dad!

 

 

Week Thirty-Two

Random Event Classroom 9 triggers, success (Running)

Random Event Shop 14 triggers, success (Running)

Random Event Student – Malacresta triggers, success (Incantation Spells)

Random Event Forest 2 triggers, success (Observation/Dedication)

Random Event Resturaunt 5 triggers, success (Intimidation)

Reload after adventure skill checking

A Clique New Addition - Leopold's joined Zoe and Philip in the Achievers.

Gained Shieldwright (+1 Forge and Negation Methods)

 

 

1 Anedius 1658

 

Dear Mam and Dad,

 

Z’s a stupid dumb jerk and I’ve never ever ever talking to him again!

 

After all the work we’ve been doing, I find him eating a whole box of chocolate! The whole BOX! And I tell him that that’s going to mess up his diet and the sugar rush is going to be all trouble-y, he tells me that I’m just taking away everything he wants to do and all I’m doing is trying to make him miserable!

 

He doesn’t deserve to be in the Fortuitous Fellowship, because he’s a big dumb loser who’s going to get all fat and pimply and worthless and it’s not like I told him he can’t have any chocolate at ALL or anything, just like, a piece every two days and stuff and I never wanted him to be miserable, I just wanted to help and all the others say I’m being unreasonable and I should let him eat and stop being so bossy but I’M NOT BEING BOSSY! He asked me to be his trainer and I was and we were going to get on the Rimbal team together and show everyone how awesome our combination would be and now he’s just going to RUIN it because he’s just not strict or smart and and I didn’t want to make him miserable at all! I didn’t! I just wanted to help…

 

I keep spilling water on the paper. It’s stupid, too! I don’t even want to write this… he goes out and runs with Luti now, and fine, see if I care, because it won’t do him any good being FAT and PIMPLY and OUT OF SHAPE and he’s a stupid stupid-head! And I know it’s not you guys fault, so I AM writing this, but it's all dumb dumb dumb!

 

Well, even if my other friends aren't being that nice and refuse to see the obvious, at least I don't give up on them.

 

I helped Silke majorly: we made the mirrors throughout the hallway critique your clothing when you walk by. Okay, so most of the time, students are just in their robes, but the dress code isn’t really that strict (especially when classes are over) and really, the sort of socks you wear or the color ribbon you put in your hair can really make or break you. Well, or at least that’s what Silke explained. I’m not really that great when it comes to fashion. But now the hallways are entertaining, with talking statues and mirrors.

 

As for Katja, as we know we needed help to find the well, so we found a ‘fishie’ (ugh, that brings back memories of Girars) who got us a Water Sprite who will help us. In return, the fish asked that we come and talk to him at times, because he gets lonely and bored in the pond. I guess that means that despite his concern for the fish when we dueled, Girars doesn’t really care about them at ALL. Or else this poor fish wouldn’t be lonely and sad. He's just a lying hypocrite, I know it!

 

Also, Malacresta (Zoe’s spacy boyfriend) was having an argument about comets with some scholarly person in front of the Great Gate a few days ago, blocking everyone. I needed to get out to meet up with Tabin to tell him that I managed to carry out his plan with the powder (it was a bit complicated- I’m not sure what the purpose was, but don’t worry, it wasn’t dangerous at all and no one got hurt, it was just a potion thing, and did you notice that I helped him, too? So I tried to help EVERYONE this week!), so it was annoying. I had to get rid of the problem with the old man so I could leave. Malacresta was really happy with me… although I didn’t intend to help him, I’m glad I did.

 

I also saved a baby satyr from a vine-trap, put out a light someone left on at night, got a really good meal at a posh-restaurant because of a waiter who didn’t know how to do his job correctly and got two old wands on a sale. I don’t really need them, but I noticed I can sell them back for more money than it cost to buy them! Hey, I bet someone could come up with a good plan that way! Buy something cheap, and then sell it for a lot more! It’s genius!

 

And I did Calligraphy extra credit, cast some spells, prayed, and other boring things.

 

I… have a lot of free time now, I guess. I’m not sure what to do. I still feel angry. I kicked a wall, but all that got hurt was my toe.

 

Maybe I’ll hang out with Suaird. He knows I’m right.

 

I miss you both,

~ Kayley

 

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Heh, I liked that.

 

Sadly, I managed to break Katja’s adventure so it’s no longer in my Adventure list. Poor Katja. Now she’s doomed to be expelled for all time! I’ll report the exact specifics in the bug forum later (along with the very few others I’ve found :)), but it involved the Helping for Shoes -> Composure thieving path. Don’t take that one!

 

The calm emotion isn't much fun for Kayley, as it sort of ruins her shtick of being! very! excitable! In truth, she isn't that fun anymore (As a person, I mean! The game is great as always <3!), either, but I'll probably ramble about that after I finish this thing. Which may be tomorrow, as my schedule is apparently all clear.

 

 

Week Thirty-Three

Random Event Student – Courtenay triggers, success (Diplomacy)

Random Event Magic Trap 3, not really sure? (Composure)

Random Event Arithmetic 3 triggers, success (Hide)

Reload to see what adventure was for what character as a few names didn’t ring a bell and it seemed like a thing to do

Gained Stony Look (+1 Composure and Lie rolls)

Gained Sense of Timing (-1% chance of getting caught doing something shady (KAYLEY DISCLAIMER: DOES NOT WORK IN LIBRARIES :( :())

 

 

8 Anedius 1658

 

Dear Mam and Dad,

 

I’ve tried to talk to Z! I sat at the same table he was eating lunch at and talked about how great it feels to eat healthily and how in shape I am and how I Professor Massioti believes that I’ll be on the Rimbal team next year due to my extreme training! And I ran allllll the way around the grounds (or at least the southern part of them) twice while Z was lounging around studying for the exams he’s probably going to flunk outside the dorms and then I paused to get SOMETHING HEALTHY to EAT and DRINK and did it AGAIN while he was still sitting around and flunking! He’s just a pimply fat jerk who doesn’t get it!

 

And now half of Godina thinks I’m a vegetarian like a stupid Morjerk I could name.

 

Professor de Canapiedra wanted to remind me, and I mean me specifically rather then the whole class, that the Kaliri exams are coming up. I think that’s a sign I haven’t been doing that well in Rhetoric, but I thought I was ahead! I’ve been writing very, very passionately! If I wrote any more passionately, it would ooze out my ears! I mean, I’m confident, right? And I memorized every famous speech that ever was spoken (or at least the ones I learned in class, which is probably pretty close to the same thing). And I speculate on my inward upstanding personificationess often! Like, every other day! What am I doing wrong?

 

As for the tale about booksellers and framing and cat-nappers and apprentices and mysterious tomes, Suaird and I (well, mostly I) managed to convince the bookseller that his apprentice wasn’t a thief, which took a lot more effort then I would have thought. Why would someone be so convinced that someone close to them is a thief when the city is FULL of them? I mean, I seem to run in to one every other day in the city. Don’t worry, they don’t pickpocket me or anything.

 

I think.

 

Actually, I haven’t been paying much attention to my pims lately. Uhoh. Maybe I should start doing that again… I want to make sure I have enough to buy all new supplies for next year, as well as to decorate the dorm room (it's so plain and boring that just being in it is sometimes depressing)! I really hope we get to keep the same one, or at least that I’m still with Silke and Katja… oh, and maybe Llarina too, if we could just figure out how to stop her sleep talking. She talks enough while awake that I bet that would get real old real fast.

 

So while I was still in the city, I looked up that Mr. McCroskey’s Dispatch Service that I had heard about months ago from Cirillo the allowance thief. Everything involving the Fortuitous Fellowship is a bit complicated now, but I’m sure I can fit in a part time job on the side, even if there’s only two months till vacation. It’s not nearly as suspicious as I was worried it might be: what I’ll have to do is wind-spell up a land-skiff filled with cargo to the top of Mouth Chauranglaith (following the Chauranglaith Pass) where there’s some sort of fancy retreat thing (and then come back). I get paid some pims (I could make more doing some other jobs I know, but…) AND I get a free meal that fancy retreat thing which I’m betting is darn better then Academagia cafeteria food.

 

Plus that means a meal I don’t have to take with my collage-mates who keep trying to dump all their vegetables on my plate. Don’t misunderstand, I eat ALL my vegetables even when it’s those small round gross smelling green things, but I’m not going to eat theirs too. I’d get everyone else’s dad’s and mam’s mad at me!

 

It’s been a while since I had a really weird thing happen to me, so this week was a treat when sitting out in the Garden Galley for lunch I found a dangerous box with a dangerous wand in it that was supposedly going to doom Professor von Rupprecht just... sitting there next to me. Because when Aranaz students aren’t being rude, intense, family-groupyish, or Tabin-y (that’s smart!), it seems they’re being really, really, really weird. Apparently, one of them thought he would be doomed if he touched the box so he wanted ‘lay-lines’ (whatever they are?) to lead it to someone with… horrifically bad luck? It didn’t cause me any, though. I just took it to the Professors and got a few merits. I don’t see what was so difficult about that, but: Aranaz.

 

I’ve been practicing being unnoticed. Not for any bad purpose! Just so that I can study in the Library of Mantle in peace. As the next time I get lectured I think I might cry.

 

Me and SilkeI had a minor crisis situation when the combination of talking moving statues that thought too much and talking (although not moving!) hallway mirrors that critiqued too much collided. Apparently, the statues started feeling insecure about their clothing (or lack of it, in some cases), and then they started hunting down clothing, and then the mirrors started critiquing them, and then they just started running down students for their clothing. Which. Um. We got that fixed really quick, as statues trying to strip Student’s clothing off probably would have gotten us in the Legate’s office if it had lasted five more minute’s more than it did.

 

Thankfully, it wasn’t that hard. We made them dress in ugly clothing and then they started yelling at each other and crying so we could fix up our Glamours.

 

In any case, all is well, and I can proudly say I’ve never ended up in the Legate’s office, and I hopefully never will. I’ve never talked to him before. I mean, I’ve heard him talk, and I was one of the students he listed as getting some honors at a festival a while back, but that’s different then actually talking to him. Which would be very scary.

 

(Don’t read this, Mam!)

 

I also snuck in to a goblincamp with Katja. It was for a good cause! The Water Sprite told us to get Iron Boots (and holly, and some other stuff) so we could go find the Well, and as goblins are mean and smelly, we figured we’d borrow theirs for this mission BUT we’ll put them back outside their camp when we’re done, as we really don’t need to keep them. I’m slightly nervous about anything involving water and Iron Boots, though. If I had my Elemental Warrior armor, it would be no problem at all. Maybe I’ll see if I can request it before we go and find that well: for now, we’ll just concentrate on the tutoring.

 

Poor Katja. She's in the room with me right now. She’s trying to study, but she keeps failing! I don’t know how she does it, but with exams so soon, I think she needs my help.

 

Lots of love,

~ Kayley

 

 

Week Thirty-Four

Random Event Duel 6 triggers, success (Observation/Athletics)

Random Event Physical Activity 7 triggers, miserable failure (Ob suc/Brute Strength fail)

Random Event Godina Common Room 1 triggers, success (Ob/Bluff)

Random Event Gates 6, success (Creativity)

Random Event Professor Alazzo 1, miserable failure (Social Skills/Scouting)

Reload not used!

Clique New Additions – Prudence has joined the Bessa Mob, making the second four person clique now that the Fellowship is 5. Sigalis joined the Restless... I think that's new. It's starting to make me dizzy keeping track. Definitely not doing that next time.

 

 

15 Anedius 1658

 

Dearest Mam and Dad,

 

I’ve been feeling even more mature then usual! Is that a silly thing to write? Probably, but it is true! A lot of things happened, but I stayed calm through them, and it seems to be working well for me.

 

Though I did cry when I got reprehended for being in the library again. I’m sorry, Mam! I didn’t want to worry you or cause you stress, but I cannot see the logistics of lying or hiding it: I have detention on Thursday for ‘trespassing’ in the Library of Manetele. I just hope the Professor is kind and it’ll only be one week.

 

I even solved an important problem for them (who were acting on behalf of the Guards) this week, you would think they could be understanding! It was actually… so simple a problem to solve that I’m sort of ashamed of the Guards and the Regents both. Apparently, flyers keep appearing on the Great Gate whenever the Guards aren’t paying enough attention. I told them to get a guard-cat like Suaird. Well, actually, they gave me a weird look, so I relented and said guard-dog. Still, really, it was common sense. Now there’s a hound, and no more flyers.

 

I sort of miss them, though. That’s how I found out about deals down in the shops and what restaurants were having specials. Now I actually have to go down in to the city, which takes time I don't have.

 

Also, unregulated duelists who are too stupid to properly perform the dueling circle correctly are the bane of correct rule-following proper duelists everywhere! And everyone else in the world, too! I nearly got mud up my nose thanks to two crazy people throwing lightning everywhere! I managed to hide in a tree and then get to safety, but that was actually pretty close. I really don’t want to spend a day with the nurses when I have so few days left!

 

Particularly after I hurt my hand. There was a tile that was sticking up in a way that was a faceplant waiting to happen, so I decided to fix it in case the next person taking that walk wasn’t as perceptive as I am. Rather then being smart and using the Revision or Enchantment or something, though, I decided to try and fix it the old-fashioned way of hands and sweat. I was almost successful, and I thought I might have found a mystery as it appeared something was stuck under the tile… but I lost my grip and the tile fell and crushed my hand.

 

So the tile’s still sticking up probably tripping someone and I completely forgot what I came to school here for in the first place. That wasn’t even the worse part, though!

 

No, the worst part is that my hand was pretty badly blooded, and I had to get someone to heal it and going to see the nurses is such a pain. Unfortunately, the only one around with a good knowledge of Revision (Tabin’s been busy lately with the plan involving those jerks who were picking on him- he says he’ll need my help soon to finish it, but right now still making plans because he likes to triple-check things (he’s so smart!)) was Z pimply fat face Zorzi that guy I didn’t want to talk to.

 

So we really didn’t talk, but he fixed my hand for me, so I said thanks.

 

…Silke thinks I’m being immature and should talk to him seriously, but I don’t see why I should have to. He should apologize to me, not I apologize to him! I didn’t say anything horrible- he accused me of trying to make him miserable! But she said it might tear up the Fellowship, and I don’t want that to happen…

 

It’s tough.

 

I found out about something at the Imperial Reserve that I’m going to try next week (if I have time!), but I want to be properly prepared first (and I only want to tell you if I succeed!). It’s not really dangerous- not anymore then sharing a class with Filiup and Joana is (actually, it’s probably less dangerous than that…). It’s a bit nerve-wracking, though! However, if I do it right, I’m going to have proven something really important!

 

Or maybe I’m over-thinking it. Are you wondering about it yet? I’m trying to make it sound mysterious and magical, like a good storyteller. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Llarina, so trying to figure out how to make things interesting has become something of a priority in my life right now.

 

I cannot figure out how to make the hour or so of my life that I spent helping Professor Alazzo find his wand where I came up with nothing useful and he didn’t even really thank me interesting, though. I should have just ignored him and went on my way, Professor or no. He doesn’t even teach anything, anyway! At least not to our year. And he’s STILL all about the WALL I DIDN’T EXPLODE. People who hold grudges over something really silly and simple are really annoying!

 

Um, I’m maybe feeling a bit homesick. Is everyone at home well? Safe? Happy? Have they all forgotten about me? Tell them I’m doing well!

 

Muches of love,

~ Kayley

 

PS: I got Suarid a ton of food for the holiday. He enjoyed it, but I was going to write him a song or something. It just didn’t come out well. At all. I guess cats usually enjoy food more then music anyway, but I wanted it to be really special…

 

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Hm, sorry you say... gasp! It was you! :wacko: :wacko: Well, I suppose Kayley won't mind covering for you just this once... ;) And thank you!

 

Amusing sequence of raises and events clocked together for the second week, as well as a hit of Joy, Bon Vivant, and Speculative all at once, then Peaceful Heart followed the next day. Guess Kay really enjoyed the Festival! Also, the second letter really needs a pre-teen girl warning, as in, if you ever were one, reading it may invoke severe feelings of embarrassment and shame due to one's own past. Or maybe that's only the case for me. It was amusing to write, but I can't re-read it without cringing. Never has anything Kayley wrote sounded so similar to something that once ended up in one of my diaries.

 

Also, case of willful ignorance re: Tabin's adventure ending.

 

 

Week Thirty-Five

Random Event Garden 10 triggers, failure (Observation suc/Diplomacy fail)

Random Event Awesome Community 02 triggers, success (Persuasion)

Random Event Magic Trap 4 triggers, success (Acrobatics)

Merit Prize to Vernin on the 17th

(Apparently, gained the ability to Absorb up to 8 fear from Bluff 8? I’m... not exactly sure what that means.)

(Gained +1 Charm from Successful Adventure… I think. Either that, or her Acrobatics are just that good.)

 

 

22 Anedius 1658

 

Dear father,

 

How do I describe it?

 

In the Imperial Reserve, there’s a door in the cliff face. It’s unmarked. You step on the threshold, and the slate feels cold, even through your shoes. You see the gray of the inside of the cliff, then you see Phemes dancing in the air, then you see nothing. You’re blind! You’re deaf! You’re mute! You’re flying, but not like I you did with the Elemental Warriors- maybe it’s not so much flying as it is falling. But your feet are trapped. No, it’s your whole body that’s trapped, earth in your mouth and your nose and your ears, so you’re suffocating. And your skin is burning! Only you’re losing your fingers and toes: they snap right off, because they’re frozen to ice.

 

The last two were actually the strongest. My blood was boiling, and not like, metaphorically, I mean really boiling! But my skin, I was shivering, and I felt like I was made of ice.

 

But it was just for an instance. Maybe less then an instant. And it hurt so much for that instant, but it left little more then a vague ache. It hurt less then the disaster with the tile last week! It definitely didn't compare to the negative alteration of my organic matter, either. It was just like: PAIN! Then poof! In my hands were 200 pims, and everyone seemed to know I had did something great, but...

 

That was it. Nothing more. They had told me… well, I guess it was all rumors, but I felt disappointed. Whatever lies in that cave, I guess it wasn’t for me to see. I could go back, but I don’t think it would be the same. Well, actually, it probably would be- pain, maybe more money. But it wouldn't be as magical and the thing I wanted wouldn't be there. The quicksilver pools... wouldn't that be so great for forgework?

Stupid redoubt.

 

I guess all the training I’ve done makes everything worth it, even if I didn’t get to see the cool things I expected. I fell down a hole trap, but I vaulted right back out of it, and the groundskeepers paid me money for how cool I looked while doing it, which seems to me to be a sign I should perform at the circus or something. Why won’t they hire me as an acrobat? I mean, I cartwheel to class and I get there faster then I would if I run, and I think I’m the fastest runner in my year!

 

Oh, I found some wolf-flowers! Surprisingly cute. They wanted to play fetch. Forever. That was a bit less cute. The gardener wouldn’t help me, either, though the flowers tired before I did. I think Academagia should reconsider their hiring practices, because between uncaring gardeners, Professor’s who release wild animals in to the school at random (AND NEVER LET GO OF THINGS), and cooks who explode kitchens and end up with fairies in soup bowls, this place doesn’t seem to have very high standards.

 

Filip bullied me, but I just cast Moment of Peace and the annoyance was gone in the few moments it took to flick my wand. That would have been really useful at the beginning of the year.

 

I spent time learning to be more intimidating! RAWR! You can’t tell through the letter, obviously, but I’m pretty scary, if I do say so myself. I’m hoping it will mean I won’t have as many problems with Filip and all the other Morjerks. At least Girars de Jerkface can’t do anything to me anymore thanks to that duel. Still, his friends seem to be willing to keep up the whole being horrible deal. Joana was so mean to Silke that Silke got sick from the stress of it. There isn’t anything I can do to help her besides make Joana miserable too, though, which doesn't seem fair.

 

Oh, and Calligraphy taught me something useful. I learned a lot about how to embossing and engraving, to the point of which I’m sure I can do the second with no trouble, and with a bit of practice, I can probably emboss without any mistakes, too. It was something I really didn’t expect to learn in Calligraphy class, honestly, but I’m glad I did! Between that, all my study in the Library of Manetele (detention was really boring, but it was only for a week), and access to the Master Smith’s workstation, next year I could probably make all the money I need just crafting for people!

 

Sure, I don’t know how to enchant things like Mam does, but I could maybe pick that up next year and even a bit over the break. And there’s always a market for non-magical items… you can’t create the Enchanted Sword of Super Awesome Dragon Slaying without having the Super Awesome quality sword to begin with! Maybe I could go in to partnership with an enchanter. That might still leave time for the horses and farming…

 

I can have a horse, right? So I can prepare for my future profession? I think it’s a very mature way of looking at things. And it won’t be any fuss, as I’ll hire Katja to take care of the horsie for me! Or we could even co-own it. I would be okay with that.

 

Think about it, okay?

 

Love,

~Kayley

 

PS: I talked to Z. I remembered the words he used when he asked me to help him get on the team, and acted them out myself: didn’t he love the sport? Why was he throwing it away? Hasn’t it always been his dream, his passion, his goal? He agreed with me and said he was going to be the best Rimbal player in history. We went running together this morning, and had breakfast and lunch together too. We’re going to go train now. Luti might come too sometimes, but I guess that’s okay. And everything that happened was dumb and we’re never going to talk about it again, but we didn’t talk about that. It would be silly.

 

 

Week Thirty-Six

Random Event Theft 5 triggers, success (Character Study/Ethics)

Random Event Dance 2 triggers, amusing success (Passion)

Random Event Godina Common Room 6 triggers, miserable failure (Negation suc/Negation Spells fail)

Random Event Forge 1 triggers, success (Composure)

Random Event Familiar 3 triggers, failure (Awareness suc and... failure at something I now forget)

One New Clique- the Aruit Club (Honors and Luti).

Gained Steady Hand (+1 Slight-of-Hand and Conceal)

(+1 Charm for successful Adventure)

 

 

1 Kaliri 1658

 

Dear Mam,

 

This was soooooo cooool!

 

We had a school dance! A sort of informal one. It was just for the first and second years, so there wasn’t too much dancing as everyone was a bit shy, but there was lots of cookies and punch and whatever, and anyway, all of us were hanging out and Silke decided (well maybe we sort of made her) that she was going to go ask Luti to dance which I totally can’t understand because he’s big and ugly and has dumb hair and she’s so pretty and smart and not Luti-ish but surprisingly Luti actually seemed to know how to dance a bit so I guess so they kinda danced and we were just hanging around and then Katja wanted to go up closer to watch the musicians play and Z said the cookies were getting way to tempting so he left (I’m so proud of him!) so Tabin and I were standing there and I, um, I told him that I was really glad that we were friends and then I said something stupid about his eyes but it made him laugh a bit and then I, I, I EEEE

 

I said that because we were there and nothing was happening that we should dance

 

And he said okay

 

And I put my hands on his shoulders kinda and he put one hand on my arm and one sort of like, on my hip or something and we just sort of stood there and swayed and it was THE MOST ROMANTIC THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But even though I’m the best athlete in the whole world apparently neither of us are really good dancers because even though we were just swaying we sort of tripped, but we didn’t fall, but it was goofy, and Morjerk Filup said it something about Tabin being a midget and me being a gross giant but we just ignored him although I may curse him later but it doesn’t really matter anyway because it was so great and awesome and my life is the best life everrrr and we kept sort of trying and it was totally perfect and he's totally perfect!

 

Oh, and some boring jerk wasn’t watching his way so he dumped punch all over Amada’s beautiful white dress and she sort of just fell right in my arms in tears, so I hugged her and took her with me so I could get right in his boring face, and told him straight out how loathsome, irresponsible, discourteous and horrible he was, and called him a lout around twelve times.

 

He found a Cleaning Charm for her right away and everyone seemed to like my speech and Amada was so pleased. That was pretty cool, too.

 

I’m just so, so, so happy! I don’t think there’s a girl in the world as happy as me!

 

I also got detention next week or I guess this week for being in the Library of Manetele again but I’m not really sure I care. I AM really sure that Regent Alazzo spends everyday outside the Library just WAITING for me to walk in to it because has nothing else to do in his spare time (which he apparently has way too much of with the not teaching and just hanging around being a jerk thing he has going on). He probably hates flowers anyway, see, that’s what I’m studying because Silke and I are having a bit of flower problems and I’m not sure if all the research I did will be any help but I did a TONNNNN of it.

 

Maybe I should just be a gardener instead of a farmer, so then I could just plant flowers and take care of horses! I think that might be the smartest as it still leaves time to have fantastic adventures and stuff.

 

Ahaha, this is just full of run-on sentences and I’m not even using punctuation properly! I forget who teaches Grammar, but I’m pretty sure they would rip this letter to shreds. So glad I’m not in that class, I hear it’s really, really, really boring.

 

But Mam I got to dance with Tabin and I helped him and it was so great! So so so so great!

 

Oh I was out shopping and I saw a woman shoplifting, and told her to stop, and she was surprised that the Academagia trained ‘such ethical students’ but totally stopped, and I there’s my weird encounter of the week, because, really? If you're just going to stop because one person tells you to do so why were you doing it in the first place? I think it proves that I have become totally thief repellent, though, which is really good! I talked those other thieves out of being lady-napping that nice woman who gives me all the ginger ale I can drink, and I talked this one out of shoplifting, so I'm sure I can talk others out of being pirates and smugglers, though I don't think I'm going to talk to the cat-nappers who tried to frame that poor booksellers apprentice. I don't want to forgive them, they were mean, mean, mean!

 

So I figured out how to sneak on to their evil pirate ship. In case it ever become necessary. I like being prepared! Oh, I also did archery, and I volunteered (thanks for the allowance increase!), I saved the forge from a fire, I messed up a tiny bit with an evil honorific potion but I'm not surprised, I did some extra credit for music, oh, and I jumped in a pit full of giant snakes just to see what would happen. Not much. Apparently I'm just too lucky to get bit.

 

Such a great week!

 

Save for when Katja’s violin attacked me! I could have broken it easily but it’s Katja’s Violin and I don’t care how much Revision the teachers have, you just don’t break someone-else's musical instrument even when it’s shooting firebolts at you! I tried to Negate it but I guess my Negation skills aren’t quite that good. As I just ended up on fire and rolling around. But at least the violin was okay.

 

I should probably just stick to my specialties, though my Revision is getting so good I think I’d get a B in the exams if I wanted to take it! Which I wouldn’t really mind. Not even tests worry me anymore!

 

I’m just so happy! And joyful! And curious! And everything’s just been going my way save for violins and the evils of Regent Alazzo and even that I don’t mind too much! I’m not even worried about the exams next week! (This time I really mean next week, not this week.)

 

Anyway! Tabin Tabin Tabin! Oh right, we also stopped those bullies!

 

But it’s… well, I was really helpful, and those bullies were really awful jerks! The Legate even said so! See, he saw them running at Tabin and me looking like they were going to beat us up (don’t worry, I would have protected Tabin! …though they looked really, really mean), and he called out, and the bullies admitted that they were extorting him and threatening to leave him in the forest overnight where he would probably get eaten by a grue or something even worse and they wanted him expelled, and they were awful, so the Legate is going to suspend them and…

 

And. It’s okay now. The bullies were really, really, really horrible. They totally deserve suspension. I’m sure they pick on all sorts of kids and have caused a lot of them to cry and be upset, and I never want to see them again. And they certainly won’t do anything to Tabin anymore! And Tabin and I are even closer then we were before! So everything is just perfect!

 

I’m going to spend the rest of the week cramming for the Music and Calligraphy tests next week, but I’m not really worried as I’m sure I’ll do great!

 

I love you! Tell Dad I’m doing really well!

 

And I told all my friends that you wanted to meet them! Everyone in the Fortuitous Fellowship, and Amada and Llarina too! Everyone seems to think it’s really cool that my Mam is a Forge-Master and Enchantress. I think most of them don’t have as awesome parents as I do, but I didn't say that.

 

Lovingly and excitedly and happily and a thousand other-ly's,

~ Kayley

 

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I have this picture of Kayley with the other girls all "Yeah, he's my BOYFRIEND and we're going to get MARRIED and and Silke you can make my dress and Katja you can play at the wedding but you'll both be my bridesmaids, too, so you can play while walking down the aisle, but wait, does that mean Luti will have to be an usher, too? I don't want that. He's goofy looking. (Silke: Tabin's short!) WHATEVER, ANYWAY, MY BOYFRIEND, EEEE," While Tabin's all "Kayley? Yeah, she's alright. Bit dim, but cool. I owe her. Why did I dance with her? We were at a dance. What are you trying to say?" with the unspoken 'You do know that people who cross me end up horribly humiliated and very close to expelled, hm?'

 

(Meanwhile, Dad cries and cries.)

 

They always say gals mature faster then guys, but I'm really not sure that's the case here.

 

I'm going to finish this today, I know it! Though I said that yesterday, too... ;;

 

 

Week Thirty-Seven

Random Event Dance/Event 7 triggers, success (Observation/Incantation)

Random Event Forge 3 triggers, success (Flattery)

Random Event Magic Trap 10 triggers, success (Theory of Revision/Running)

Vernin gets yet another merit prize on the 6th, those jerks.

Reload used on Adventure skill-checking.

Gained Variable Strum (+1 Lute and +1 to rolls to perform lute, I think)

(Finesse +1 from successful adventuring!)

(Intelligence +1 from more successful adventuring!)

 

 

8 Kaliri 1658

 

Dear Dad and Mam,

 

Still in a fantastically fantastic mood! Not even the annoying things that happened that I'm going to complain about could get me down! I spent a lot of time with my friends this week, just hanging out and goofing off... okay, actually, we spent most of the time studying and complaining about how boring studying is, but it was great! And Tabin's so smart and great so I think even Katja will do well on her tests this time!

 

Some silly prankster tried to play a ‘joke’ that involved making a dragon kite come to life, but I watered that down pretty quick. No dragons at MY school. I also won all the money that some silly student from Vernin had because he bet against me (not that he had much… jerk went on a shopping trip just before we finalized the bet!). You just don’t get in bets with someone who has Cirillo as their collage-mate. We all learned very well to only make bets when we are absolutely positive we're going to win after a lot of very, very, very hard-earned experience.

 

I found a harpsichord that was just sitting around. It didn’t belong to anyone, so I was going to take it, but it was too heavy for me to carry around all day. Hmph. Not fair at all. I guess I should work on that strength thing a bit more and then go back and see if it's still there. Lyre's are way cooler, but you never know when you'll need variety, and what could possibly be cooler than a girl who carries a harpsichord on her back for whenever she needs musical accompaniment? I'm pretty sure nothing.

 

Some weird lava monster popped out of the forge when I was trying to make a cool sword. I buttered it up about it being wonderful and it told me to bring it more coal. I figured I would deliver coal until it was totally relaxed then Bad Sprout it repeatedly, but I didn't have to. Regent Massioti came and fixed everything, and praised me for being clever. Though the distraction meant my cool sword became more an ugly block of gross uselessness, which really wasn't what I was intending.

 

Yet despite saving the day down in the Forge's I still had to attend detention with stupid Regent Alazzo, which involved him staring at me and me staring at him. He didn’t even tell me my clothing was ugly or anything. He deemed me to have served my 'term' and released me, but I got caught studying in the library a day later, so I suppose I’ll see him again soon. Or maybe it’ll be someone else this time. I hope so, as I’m as sick of him as he is of me.

 

WHY DO THEY HAVE LIBRARIES IF THEY DON’T WANT STUDENTS IN THEM ANYWAY?!

 

Z had a really bad idea about spreading rumors, which is pretty silly of him, as I’m pretty sure he was there when I yelled at the whole cafeteria for spreading rumors before. Still, as he was convinced that it would get him on the Rimbal team, I had to dance around the subject and convince him that no, it was a bad idea, because I had a better super-secret idea that would get him on the team without all that fuss and any lying. So I lied a bit to get him to not lie. Is that ethical? I don't really think it is, but it worked!

 

Although considering there’s only a month till school’s over, I’m not sure what’s the point was: next year, we’d be able to do tryouts without having to jump through hoops like we did now. I guess he just wanted to make sure he was on it before break so he should get an official practice menu for the break or so he could tell his parents the good news.

 

In case I haven’t made it obvious enough, HE SUCCEEDED!

 

I did lie, but I came up with a brilliant plan anyway. And see, it turns out just like Silke, Z can sew! (But don’t tell anyone! He thought it was embarrassing, though he’s just being silly.) So we took a generic Godina rimbal jersey, had Silke do a few extensions for coolness factor while I figured out the spells and he started sewing up places for the spells to be put (like, inner pockets- enchanting different parts to make sure even if it gets partly torn or exploded in the craziness that is Rimbal the enchantment will still be working), and then he started sewing the robe even more while I cast the big spell to make a super-awesome robe that makes flying around a whole lot easier.

 

I was so worried it wouldn’t be good enough, but it seems like sometimes, things really do work out. Z’s exercise and diet got him in perfect shape, he’s been working non-stop on his spells to make sure of success, and the robe was just the final piece to awesomeness.

 

I’ll wait till next year to try out, I think: it seems wrong to ruin his moment. He’s great, though. I just wish we could have gotten him on earlier in the year… there’s only like, two games left, and he’s probably going to be on the bench because he’s new. Still, you’d think they made him their star player from the way he’s floating around.

 

(And I really mean floating around. He’s teasing me now that I’m not the only one who cartwheels to class: he just can do it without hands. It’s like, permanent levitation! I think we need to make one of those robes for me, as well. That robe is so an unfair advantage!)

 

As for the flowers that were disobeying, in the end, my study of flowers got me nowhere. I yelled at them and then put a Glamour on Silke to scare them in to submission. I didn’t really want to, but they left me with little choice.

 

Do I sound like Professor Alazzo? I may just have to die. I'm sorry, flowers! I really am!

 

Oh, as a time-waster from all the other crisis’s, I went back to that delivery job. I was assigned the J’en Ai Marre, and I had to take it up the mountain. Some street-girl tried extorting a fee out of me, but me? Captain of a fifteen foot skiff, a Private of the Elemental Warriors Chaos Squad, and you know, most importantly, a wizard? Not to mention I have a killer one-two.

 

She ran off when I told her that, but gave me one of those “You should watch your back cause I’d hate to see somethin’ happen to you,” speeches cribbed straight from drunk pirate I think she stole her clothes from, and I’ve done enough reading to know that means that she’s going to embarrass herself horribly picking fights against me later on. So much for the thing to do that didn't involve any crisis.

 

Oh well. Fighting off a suicidal really stupid street-kid-pirate-wanna-be will probably be sort of an amusing interlude to exams.

 

Anyway, something sort of creepy happened. Actually, not even sort of: it was really creepy. Someone trapped the door to our room with a petrifaction trap- the nurse said it was ‘way above our spell grade’. It turned my arm completely to stone. I figured out it was just going to injure my arm (it wasn’t going to go all over my body until it stopped my heart, thank the stars!) and I managed to get the nurse to help me, but…

 

Someone trapped the door to our room. Which of us was it aimed at? Why? That was a pretty heavy spell. It almost would have had to be a Godina student, as it takes a good time to put a magic trap on the door like that: if it wasn’t, it was a student good enough at Glamour that they were able to sneak in disguised as one, but that actually wouldn’t be too difficult now that I really think about it as all they'd have to do is use a conventinonal disguise and look really awesome. It’s the same with it probably had to be a girl, unless the student was really good with Glamour- a boy appearing to be a girl is a bit more difficult then just changing robes, I think… but then again, there really are some boys who are almost as pretty as girls, so maybe not...

 

But if they were able to trap our door, they could probably get in even with the locks, and do stuff to our, well, stuff!

 

I haven’t told Katja and Silke yet, but I think for tonight I’ll suggest we have a sleepover with Llarina and the other two. I don’t have any favors to cash in with Professor Briandi or any of the other professor's known for their skill in Negation, and I don’t think it was Oan’s best subject, and from what the nurse said a student in our grade probably wouldn’t have been able to cast it unless they were really great so I don’t know if even getting someone from Durand to look over the room would work that well as their Negation might not be enough and I’m not even that friendly with the students in Durand and… ugh!

 

What should I do? Was it one of the Morjerks? But I don’t think Joana, Filup, or gross water boy are smart enough, and Giars shouldn’t be able to do that, anyway and it… doesn’t really seem to be his style, I’ll grudgingly give him that much. There’s Flore in Durand, who’s just a little brat who plays mean pranks and pretends that gives her power, and I foiled her plan to ruin that duel way back so she doesn’t like me, but she doesn’t hate me or anything… actually, besides those five, there doesn't really seem to be anyone who has a huge issue with me. Well, Neso's been all whiny about something, but Neso would burst in to tears the second he stepped up the stairs that lead to the girl's dormitories and the idea of doing something that might end up in a confrontation gives him panic attacks.

 

OR MAYBE IT WAS REGENT ALAZZO! I know he hates me!

 

Ugh, this is so creepy and weird! I guess I should ask Katja and Silke, and of course Tabin (oh, and Z too!) what they think.

 

Tomorrow is my Music exam, and then Calligraphy on Wednesday. I’m expecting them to be my two lowest scores, but I did a lot of extra credit for Calligraphy, anyway, so maybe that will seal it. I’ll know soon.

 

I guess I should sleep so I’m ready for tomorrow, but I just don’t feel tired… maybe because Llarina is still talking. I wonder when she stops? I mean, she mumbles in her sleep, but she doesn’t talk-talk. Does she ever sleep? Well, I guess I suggested this sleepover, so I can't complain.

 

Wish me good grades! Though I guess you’ll actually get this after at least the Music exam is done… retroactively wish me some, then!

~ Kayley

 

 

Week Thirty-Eight

Random Event Magic Trap 6, success (Tactics)

Random Event Potions 3, success (Duel)

Random Event Thieves Guild 9 triggers, success (Observation/Concentration)

Random Event Foraging 7 triggers, failure (Botany)

Random Event Kitchen 8 triggers, success (Character Study fail/Practical Jokes suc)

Reload to check requirements for kitty adventure

…After a quick eyeball, no clique changes.

(+1 Finesse from Successful Adventuring)

 

 

15 Kaliri 1658

 

Dear Mam,

 

This is complicated!

 

The bookkeeper’s apprentice was kidnapped by the bookkeeper’s son, who has gambling debts, and who is friends with the pirate. They're the evil thieves! The bookkeeper’s son alerts the pirate when the shipments of rare books come in, and then they use a hawk to steal them (which seems a bit round-about, but that’s probably why I’m a lovely charming sorceress, not a thief). The hawk dropped the page over Academagia, which Suaird found, and that’s how we got involved. I snuck on to the ship and rescued the bookkeeper's apprentice, but it's not over.

 

Now I need to find the bookkeeper’s son and the pirate, and tell them they need to stop stealing and kidnapping and catnapping as well as get them put in jail FOREVER, and get the books returned so all is well. I think.

 

As for what you and Dad are concerned about, I got a 102 on my Music exam. There were higher scores, but I did better then Z, Katja, and Silkie (though Katja and Silke did really well, too, and Z... well, he didn't flunk it!)- actually, I did better then everyone in Godina. Two Aranaz students got the highest scores, though. How do they do that? I mean, if it was Tabin, I wouldn't wonder, but it wasn't. I never hear about any Aranaz students getting detentions for being in the library too often. I mean, most of them read a lot, but they’re always busy doing crazy-intense things so it doesn’t seem like they would have time for serious study. Is that part of the 'be perfect but don't let anyone know you're perfect' image they go for?

 

Well, regardless, then I got 114 on my Calligraphy, which was the second highest score in the class! Tabin's score was just a bit lower.

 

Everyone seemed to do pretty well. Tabin absolutely aced his Revision exam, while Z... at least didn’t flunk it, and Silke did well on Negation (and she did a totally through look over our room, but she didn't find anything). Katja hasn't had any exam but Music, though, and it's her we're worried about

 

Oh, and I guess we’re finally done with our glamorizing the school project! Silke seems to have gotten most of the credit, but I don’t mind. She’s really happy: lots of girls wear flowers in the hair now just like her, even some of the upperclassmen! And it seems that whenever someone runs in to either of us, they start talking about great our statues and mirrors and flowers are. I admit it’s a lot more exciting to wander through the halls now. I’m just sort of sad it’s over. It was a lot of fun! And… she gave me a gift for my help. One of her hand-mirrors (she's not like Amada, who keeps fifty million of them, but Silke definitely has a few). It was really sweet. I told her I didn’t need it, as I worked on the project just because we were friends (and it was cool!), but she said she knew that, so I should take the mirror, just because we’re friends.

 

It was really sweet. We promised we'd be best friends forever, too. (And Katja as well!)

 

As for the trap thing, we’re back in our room- as I said, Silke searched ours. However, I was in the hallway and a trap orb came flying at me at ‘random’. The only problem was I was standing behind a Morjerk girl at the time. That sort of confuses the issue. Not that I’d put it above them to try and kill cause grievous harm to their collage-mates, but with a trap that seemed to be homing on me like that, it would have been easy to get me alone or with just my group of friends. It would have been more useful to the culprit, even- two people means four eyes to see the trap coming.

 

So! It probably wasn’t a Morjerk, unless it was deliberately done to make me think it wasn’t them…

 

Ugh, I kinda want to shake my fist at Tabin for teaching me about strategy and tactics, as now I have a huge headache. But not too much. Because it’s been really helpful like everything he does and I can’t really complain about him teaching me so many important things so it's really not bad at all!

 

Oh, and I was fine. So was what’s-her-face.

 

I took another delivery job, complete with help from a old goblin (who wasn't mean at all, making me feel guilty about that iron boots thing way back), but… an avalanche happened! I know I do reckless things a lot, Mam, but not even I was so stupid as to try and sail a skiff through an avalanche, particularly when I has a passenger with me whose life would be in great danger as well. I went back. Mr. McCroskey wouldn’t pay me, but was glad ‘the skiff and the cargo’ were unharmed.

 

…I’m not sure I want to work for him anymore. Jerk!

 

Oh, and to make sure that I didn’t go to break forgetting about our secret war, a potion decided to super-grow an ant so that it came to my waste. I dueled the ant in a fight to the death (I won!), and everyone cheered, but I know this was only a battle in our long ongoing war.

 

The thirteenth of Athonos, the explosion in my face! I’ll never forget!

 

Filup tried to do something gross to me, but I outwitted him. Stupid jerk. Everyone clapped for me, too: I wonder if he realizes how much everyone hates him and how stupid he looks? Tonight he goes to bed looking like an idiot, which he could have completely avoided if he didn’t try threatening me or hurting me. I used to think he was really scary, but he seems more mock-able pitiable really stupid, now.

 

And his grades are horrible.

 

Rhetoric and Incantation this week!

 

Love,

~ Kayley

 

PS: Remember how I talked about taking Dialect next year? Forget that! Not a single person got over 75 in that class, and majority of the scores were in the sixties! That class must be insanely hard and quite possibly traumatizing!

 

PPS: I found these great gloves in a warehouse used by the thieves guild! Don't worry, I didn't run in to anyone in the Thieves Guild, and I checked the gloves for any sort of tracking magic. They're really cool: rich black and fitting perfectly for a great grip, and they go a bit past my wrists but not really to my elbow. They look awesome! From now on, I'm going to wear them allll the time. Well, save for when I need more protective ones for the forge, I guess.

 

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*Insightful!*

 

"Filup tried to do something gross to me, but I outwitted him. Stupid jerk. Everyone clapped for me, too: I wonder if he realizes how much everyone hates him and how stupid he looks? Tonight he goes to bed looking like an idiot, which he could have completely avoided if he didn’t try threatening me or hurting me. I used to think he was really scary, but he seems more mock-able pitiable really stupid, now."

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THE MOST ROMANTIC THING EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How long did Kayley take to write all these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111 with a quill? ;):huh:

 

That said, it looks like a nice idea for Mastery Spells!

 

(Must...stop...corruption... :( )

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Probably not as long as it took to doodle fifty million stars and hearts all over every inch of the page that wasn't taken up by her squee-ing! ;) Ah, and Mastery... I have an adventure chain idea about that too, although only for a beginner... hopefully a good way for a student to start the path to some the advanced ones you've been writing. I need to read every History lore first, though... and while I know I could just look it up in the Mod-tools, playing a character with History as their chosen focus seems like a more fun way to do that. /g

 

And that's indeed true about poor Philippe. He's an interesting character. I've only had one character that managed to get close to him in all my runs through the game.

 

...Anyway. Well. We're done! I'm going to make one more post tonight, where I babble about Kayley's stats and direction, a few dumb things I did, a few smart things I did, some ideas I have, and just generally babble because I really like babbling. I'm sure I'll do it in that post, but I want to do it here, too: thank you everyone who read this! Thank you tons! I hope you got some enjoyment out of it, and everyone's comments really made me happy.

 

 

Week Thirty-Nine

Random Event Familiar 4, success (Observation/Tactics)

Random Event Tavern 3, success (Tactics)

Random Event Incantations 3 triggers, success (Character Study/’let him be the bigger man’)

Random Event Foraging 13 triggers, success (Observation/Hide)

Vernin Merit prize on the 18th

Reloaded a Cleanse and Remake miscast

(Fitness +2 from successful adventuring!)

(Finesse +1 from successful adventuring!)

 

 

22 Kaliri 1658

 

Dear Dad,

 

Second highest grade for Rhetoric at 111, and then a 110 in Incantation for the highest grade in the class by far! The Glamour exam, which I took today, I only just got a 100 on that. I’m not sure why. I did extra credit! It’s still ‘perfect’ish, though, so I guess that’s okay. It was a hard class: Silke did a bit better, and Z a bit worse.

 

I broke up a fight between Luti and Neso, which would have been hilarious to watch is probably very good for all involved and made our collage look very intelligent and well-oiled. Which we are!

 

Remember that old goblin and that stupid pirate-girl? The dumb, stupid girl kidnapped the old goblin’s granddaughter! I was aghast. We only had till nightfall but we were on top of the mountain near sunset, so I triggered an avalanche (leave that part out when you’re telling Mam, okay?) to get us to the city in time and we just went so fast that the wind gauge broke! Actually… the whole skiff broke.

 

I was terrified when it was happening, but now I think it was the coolest thing that ever happened in my life (or at least one of them!). Maybe even cooler than my time with the Elemental Warriors! We literally crashed in to the city, sent the skiff exploding in to the hideout of their little wanna-be-pirate gang, rescued the old goblin’s poor little granddaughter, and then when ‘I R STREET PIRATE KID RAWR’ girl came at me with a knife, I threw her on to a nearby roof. Dummy.

 

Mr McCroskey flipped out and fired me, getting dock workers to throw me out, too, when I was already to walk out calmly and maturely. He’s going to pay for that, one day, that’s for sure.

 

Well, it doesn’t really matter! I saved a little goblin girl and reunited her with my family, I got rid of some jerk thieves who were causing trouble in the city, and I have 2700 pims, anyway, so it’s not like I really needed the job. And I did a ton of great things, too.

 

Myself and the bookkeepers apprentice (you know, he keeps telling me his name, but I just keep forgetting it… I’m starting to feel really bad) saved the day! We waited until a book was coming in, and stood in wait for the bookkeeper’s son (the horrible thieving thief). He tried to outwit us by going a different way, but I caught on to his plan quickly. I ran around the tower, tackled the thief, feared him, and then helped Suarid deal with the hawk before tying up the jerk! Then me and the apprentice went back with the son, and the apprentice is getting a raise, Suarid is super proud of himself for beating up a big mean bird, I got a bunch of pims for a reward, and the Hawk was given to the Menagerie at the Academagia where I’m sure they’ll teach him not to work with jerk thieves and to instead eventually be a familiar to a young first-year who has yet to bond with one.

 

We also told the authorities about what the pirates had been up to and everything we knew. They said that we should leave it up to them, now (actually, they sort of implied we should have contacted them sooner, but, well, it was personal!). The bookkeeper is happy (well, not with his son), the apprentice is happy, and Suarid and I are happy, and all of us are well, so I think it’s fine.

 

Did I really say ‘a young first-year’? Hee! Next year will be so fun, being an upperclassmen!

 

I guess I really AM an adult now, but I decided that because I was an adult I could afford to do something really childish. I helped a girl named Honors from Durand (I don’t know her well, but I like her- she’s tall like me, a bit shy like Katja can be, and really good at poetry and loves to write… maybe next year we can be friends) collect Theneian flowers. My study of flowers reminded me of a clever way to get them, so it didn’t take five hours like it did back when I was kid- we got it done in maybe an hour, but it was fun to do, and we talked a bit about nothing important, which is good to do on days with no classes.

 

Anyway, considering I’m no longer a working girl, I decided to look in to a few of the other mysteries of the school. In particular, the Ometti. I wanted to ask Cirillo about it, so Z showed me his room. Z and Luti have a room to themselves, and then Cirillo, Alan, and Neso are together. I’d never seen the boys rooms before! Cirillo and Neso’s stuff was actually pretty boring, tons of good luck charms (for very different reasons), I think, but Alan had all sorts of cool stuff. I’ll have to ask him if he’ll tell me about them some day… everything from rocks to wands to stuffed animals to shoes to lots and lots of feathers. He’s always looking for something, and though it seems like he hasn’t found it, he’s sure found a lot of cool stuff in the mean time.

 

As Cirillo wasn't around, Z then showed me his and Luti’s room, which was exactly how I expected it. He has the robe we made hung up on this custom-made bolted to the wall robe hanger so it’s practically the centerpiece of the room: it’s really cute. There’s also five million posters of Rimbal teams and players, and then some diagrams about strategies. Mixed in, there’s also a bunch of really nicely done drawings and paintings, and on one of the spare beds they set up a sculpted miniature version of the school’s Rimbal field, with the benches and the trees off to the side and everything!

 

They’re using Battlemace figures for the players, though, which seems a bit silly. Doctor MeshCoil, the eternal rival of Professor CogSpring, seems to be leading his team of nurses and poisoners against… well, not Professor CogSpring, but rather the Knights of Monteon (from one of the historical packs- though there are a few mercenaries mixed in, as apparently they haven’t had much luck getting enough Knights, as you have to buy those one’s blind and hope you get a good figure inside or pay wayyy too much).

 

I say it’s sort of silly, but me and Z sat there and played Battlemace Rimbal (complete with casting random incantation spells on the miniature ball for the fun of it) for around two hours before I remembered I was looking for Cirillo and had to scoot. Maybe I’ll look up collecting those next year…

 

Though they need more female Battlemace warriors! And most of the girl ones wear these robes that totally show their (xxx) (xxx) chest and really aren’t practical at all!

 

And us girls need to decorate our dorm room. The guys shouldn’t have more interesting dorm rooms then we do. That’s not right at all.

 

Okay, back to the tower. I finally tracked down Cirillo because I wanted to ask him about luck, but he was in a bad mood. Turns out he was stressed about the Incantation exams, so I told him to come to when me and Silke were tutoring Katja and Z later. Cirillo’s theory is that chance is probability, and luck is improbability, and also, Katja’s music is lucky. I’m not sure how much sense that made, but as I needed to tutor both of them anyway, I followed that one through. Katja claimed luck isn’t her thing, but she believes that music is a virtue, not just practice, talent, and a gift. You have to immerse yourself in it. I could understand that. She then thought that music virtue to her must be what luck virtue to Cirillo.

 

It’s a bit confusing, but maybe I get it. I went to the Ometti, then, and told them what I learned, and they’re going to have me meet privately with each of their three candidates to the throne. And they only told me not to spend too much time away, rather then “IT HAS BEEN FIFTY OF OUR YEARS AND EVERYONE DIED WHERE WERE YOU?” like I was terrified they would, so I think it turned out well!

 

I also got to meet the first and second candidate.

 

The first is Fortunolo. He’s blind, but he seems… well, actually, he seems incredibly smart, humble, and wise. He certainly doesn’t let being blind get in the way of anything, and he obviously cares a ton about his people. His sister is the current ruler, being the King’s widow, so he’ll have good help. I really like them both! He reminds me of Katja, somehow: he’s a bit strange, and likes gardens and fishing and hears things I can’t quite, but he’s really kind at his core and smarter then he thinks he is. He seems to be better at putting those smarts to use then poor Katja, though…

 

(Why do people always remind me of Katja?)

 

The second is Onorino. He’s a general, and according to him, the King’s chosen successor. The Ometti have been fighting a war in the caverns below against the Olgoli for a long, long time- only neither of them like to be near each other. Onorino referred to the Olgoli as dark reflections… which I could see, as three of them attacked us! I got rid of two of them, while Onorino knocked down the second. He’s a bit taciturn and gruff, but I could tell he was a good per- er, Ometti. I’m not sure if he would be the best king, though: he’s clearly the perfect general, and separating your war-leader from your king seems like a good idea. The General should be able to concentrate solely on all the difficult and scary stuff he has to fight while not worrying about whether the green cloth or the purple cloth will offend more people.

 

I also seem to have found my path heading down another adventure.

 

We have a storage tower on the Campus Godina. The east tower’s just full of all sorts of semi-useful STUFF: you can go there, get whatever you might need, and zoom, everything’s good to go! Silke volunteered me and her to go there as Noemia was too afraid to go by herself after breaking a quill (Neso’s the male version of her, only he’s annoying while she’s mostly just adorable if a bit frustrating). The door was locked- I figured Alan did it, as he doesn’t like having company when he’s on his searching- but I just kicked the door down. Then we went in, and my theory was right, as Alan then went running past us screaming about monsters and he and Noemia nearly killed each other both trying to exit at the same time.

 

My collage is so weird. Very entertaining! But weird.

 

Silke then decided that me, her, and Cirillo, Luti, and Vuilaume needed to go back and explore the tower, as she thinks there’s treasure there and she’s a bit bored now that we’ve stopped decorating everything, too.

 

(Katja can’t afford a moment away from her books, Z’s busy with the Rimbal team, Noemia and Neso weren’t even worth asking, it’s a secret treasure hunt so we can’t really tell Llarina, and Alan…)

 

Well. Alan.

 

He’s didn’t want to share ‘his treasure’, but he agreed to take us in to the tower so we can start looking for it, anyway. He’s afraid of ‘the monsters’, but I told him not to worry. I’ve faced pits full of snakes, the redoubt of the Champions, pirates, a lot of people with knives, satyrs and goblins and trolls and, yeah, those drowned bad people monsters. They should be scared of me rather than me being scared of them!

 

Or… so I thought.

 

We managed to head in, and unseal the gate to the lowest level (Luti and I pried it off) but it seems to be flooded. And there were- well, are- eyeball shaped monsters made entirely out of water chorusing that the treasure was theirs. I was actually willing to stay and give fighting a try, but no one else was, and when four of your friends (or collage-mates, at least!) are running away screaming, it’s proper behavior to run screaming with them.

 

Silke and I convinced everyone to go back the next day, though. Cirillo managed to make them really angry with a prank gone bad, but I worked it out. The creatures are tied to the tower because they need magic, and they’ve been basically picking up the magic from all the stuff that’s in the tower. They want to flood the whole tower so they can move it to some lay-line (which is still confusing) in which they’ll be able to pickup a ton of magic and probably leave, but everything will be ruined then. However, if we could find more magic and give it to them, they wouldn’t need the tower or the flooding.

 

So we just need to find a ton of magic, compress it so it can be consumed, and give it to a bunch of weird water eyeball monsters who are holding the treasures of King Godina (that may only exist in Alan and Silke’s heads) hostage! No problem.

 

I wish I could ask Tabin for advice, but everyone else, even Silke, says we need to keep it quiet because even though Tabin is totally trustworthy, another Aranaz student might get wind of it somehow (they probably castlistening charms on each other all the time) and get themselves involved. I guess I can tell him after we get the treasure…

 

Oh. the tavern tried to remind me that it’s still against me, too, but they’re not anywhere near as scary as the potions. This time, when a fist fight broke out right in front of me, I was the only one left standing. I am an awesome sorceress warrior queen! There should be a BattleMace figurine of me!

 

Then some Morjerk girl’s snake was about to eat Alan’s poor little rat familar! I quickly noticed it and distracted the snake, because that would be the most horrible thing in the world, and… um, the Morjerk girl thanked me. She said she’d be so sorry and upset if the rodent was hurt and thanked me three times.

 

I’m sort of confused. Apparently, her name is Ulivia, she REALLY likes snakes, and sometimes she likes to pretend to be a snake sometimes because she really likes the movements they make. But apparently she likes rats too, or at least doesn’t want to hurt another student’s rat, despite that snakes eat rats.

 

Yeah. I’m definitely confused.

 

Morjerk water boy Vettor the loser played a mean prank, on me, though, quickly reminded me to stop making attempts to see Morjerks as worthy as human kindness. Because they’re mean.

 

Tabin aced Astrology! Katja got… in her 60’s. I don’t understand. I’ve been watching him teach her! I’ve learned a ton about Astrology just from overhearing! I just don’t get it. She got an 80 in Incantation, which is decent enough, but it was actually Silke who bombed that one. She said she was stressed about the tower treasure. I told her she shouldn’t worry so much: we'll get it under control!

 

Cirillo almost got a perfect, so he’s happy with me, and Z did get one, so I think we’ll call Incantation a success, at least for now.

 

Anyway, I’m going to write you and Mam a letter at the end of the week, even though you might see me before you get it! I’m actually not sure how the plan for break works… do we leave next Monday? Or do we stay for another week after this one, then leave after that? Well, you probably know. I could try digging out that schedule, but it’s buried under my half-hearted attempts to pack a tiny bit as well as all the study material for every class me or one of my friends takes, information on magic lay-lines and then my notes on the Ometti. If I didn't just throw the thing out.

 

I can’t believe the year is this close to done. I’m looking forward to seeing you, but I’ve been all sniffley today! I just can’t help it! Everything is about to be done… for good. My first year is over and it’ll never ever come back and it’s not fair and I wish it could last forever and ever and ever...

 

I love you and Mam tons,

~ Kayley

 

 

Week Forty… last day of it, not Week Forty-One first, this time ;)

Random Event Daytime 3 triggers, success (Revision)

Random Event Proffessor Office 2 triggers, success (Acting)

Random Event Library 10 triggers, success (Perception/Painting)

Random Event Revenge 5 triggers, success (Enspell/Planning)

Random Event Kitchen 19 triggers, success (Strategy/Incantation)

Reloaded so that the friends that came to see her on the last day were a bit less random. Sort of dumb, as that day will be done over in the end, but why not?

Gained Beacon of the Beggers (+1 Insight and Confidence, +3% success for Prayer Ability and Actions)

(+1 Insight from Successful Adventuring!)

(+1 Luck from Successful Adventuring!)

 

 

28 Kaliri 1658

 

Dear Dad and Mam,

 

I’m crying! I was going to write out ‘Wah’, but I thought it might look goofy, but: wah! It’s over! Everything is over! I’ll miss Academagia so much!

 

I can’t seem to stop, either…

 

Silly things happened. I tried competing with what I thought was a statue being crazy with lights, but it was actually a class doing badly- apparently, Professor Aventyare believes I should take Revision next year. I mastered archery: Tabin came to watch me, and was really impressed, I think. He then sat and waited for me and walked me back to Campus Godina, and he is the best boy in this year EVER. Some of the other boys came and watched me too, though, which was… really weird. Maybe they were all worried about the Athletics final (my score was 102, which is above average but I really thought I'd have done better) and wanted to watch a master. I had to do a stupid contest which really didn’t make much sense, but though we lost, it at least wasn't humiliating or anything. I went and ate two cakes after getting away from a really boring tea-party that involved no tree.! Some books cast a spell on me that made me unable to communicate or be communicated with, but drawing rather then writing worked. Our room got trapped again, but this time with grass, but some salt fixed that up (and I don’t think it was the same person- as they left a weird note, and grass growing in your room is way different then your arm being turned to stone).

 

Suraid was afraid of going back home because he thought he’d never see my friends familiar’s again, which was adorable, but I promised that we’d come right back in the fall and that he could see Goodfellow and Prettyboy and all the others over the Summer, too…

 

Ah, that didn’t help me think of how to stop crying! Let me try this… I’ll write about my final meeting with the Olmetti.

 

I talked to Asimodeo, the last candidate. I already knew him: he was the one who proclaimed me the (bad) lucky person to choose the King of his people. He’s clever and progressive, and worried about relationships with the outsiders: he’s been coming up with trade policies and way to make his people safe from those icky Olgoli.

 

But immediately after, they decided it was immediately time to choose! I was the Arbiter, the lucky one, and they didn’t allow me any time to consider it, it had to be then, and what if I made the wrong choice? I’m still a bit worried.

 

Onorino is a General. I ruled him out first. As I wrote in the last letter, a military leader shouldn’t be bothered by pesky things that a King will be. The key was that the King had to be wise enough to listen to him. But Asimodeo and Fortunolo both have a lot going for them. Fortunolo’s work with the miners is important, as they are a mining society, and Fortunolo can simply sense when things go bad, seeing with his ears rather then eyes. But what use is mining if you have no one to trade it with, lacking food but piled up with gems and gold, as Asimodeo pointed out?

 

…So I went with a throw-away suggestion of Asimodeo. I said they should keep their currently ruling Widow Queen, Enrichette, who progressively looks towards the future and trade like Asimodeo suggested, will likely listen to her brother and his wisdom, and won’t cause a huge shake-up so that if war with the Olgoli breaks out immediately, they won’t be in the middle of any complicated changes and can look to Onorino to guide them in the fighting. And everyone seemed happy: not even Asimodeo, Onorino, and Fortunolo seemed upset.

 

Onorino said I had a friend for life, Fortunolo said his sister would continue to rule wisely and he’d support her, and Asimodeo was a bit smug, but I think that was fine. As for Enrichette, she hugged me and thanked me for sensing her truest wish. There was a huge feast and games and it was all lovely, and… I’m happy that I helped! I just have to hope I made the right choice. And hope, too, that I’ll see them again. Maybe next year, I can help Enrichette and her people again. Or they can help me! It’s good to know your neighbors. And always good to have a friend in a Queen!

 

On the other project, Godin’a storage tower- well, some bad things happened. But I guess I need to start at the beginning for this, as well.

 

First, Vuillaume made an object that can absorb magic, and the easiest way to do that was to bring it to the lay-line, and then bring it back to the watery eyeballs. The lay-line was far underwater, though, which would have been scary and a crazy long confusing swim… if Private Spark of the Chaos Squad, serving the Elemental Warriors, hadn’t been around!

 

As I told them, I’m a member of a mercenary bodyguard company who fights pirates! I took Luti with me, too, and he couldn’t stop giggling as I pulled up earth platforms, built an air bubble, and whipped water all around for speed, and I found the lay-line within moments and got our orb all magicky. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him giggle before! I guess he’s really not that bad. And the other three were just gaping at me as if I was the coolest thing they’d ever saw, which, well, I was pretty cool.

 

We exchanged the Orb, but… we searched high and low in the tower, and found nothing! We thought the eyeball's had went against our deal, but then Alan started acting funny. Silke blamed Alan for taking everything and not sharing, but Alan said he had been hypnotized, which was really, really, REALLY fishy. I can't imagine that happening to me and how scary it would be: just trying to makes me feel sick

 

We went to the tavern for a stakeout, in which Crillo abandoned us to gamble, only he was… losing. Repeatedly. Which meant something was seriously, insanely wrong. He got hypnotized, too, but I got some paper from the man who he was playing against- and Alan was able to confirm that was the man who'd gotten the information from him. I was all excited, about how we now would have a fighting change of getting back the treasure of our collage’s namesake… or failing that, at least teaching this jerk not to mess with Collage Godina!

 

Unfortunately, things got rough. See, that guy- and his friends- were descendants of those who were once students at Academagia’s Collage Icanicix, a former collage of mean crazy people who dabbled in forbidden spells (although they weren’t forbidden when the Collage existed, I guess). They claimed that the tower- and the creatures in it (that weren't actually there anymore)- were theirs, then told us they’d teach us forbidden magic that would get us killed if we let them wander off with the treasures of King Godina.

 

I’m sure I don’t need to say ALL of us raised our wands and got ready for battle.

 

I fought the leader, because- well, I don’t know why. Positioning! It was really scary. I was fighting for my life, and- I… Mam, this is really hard, but I didn’t have time to think about arrests. Luti was barely conscious and none of us are like, super-wizards of battle. Not even me. I just kept moving and dodging and throwing everything I knew at him, and I wanted him to die.

 

I wanted to someone to die. Really die. And I was trying to hurt that evil man so he died, so I could go and help the others, because even if Vuillaume is on the side of the evil potions, Luti has really stupid hair, and Cirillo and Alan are both really weird in fantastically different ways, each of them is my collage-mate and friend, and Silke’s even my best friend. I wanted the horrible summoning hypnotizing people to be dead and not hurt anyone ever again!

 

And Mam, it’s just so hard to write and think about! I’m not a bad person. I wasn’t ready for this! I didn’t want to have to fight someone, really-really fight. It was totally different from all the times when there were pirates and stuff, as this time it was just me, and my wand, and one guy, and his wand.

 

It was so scary.

 

But then the creatures came, and- they made the scary people disappear. Just like that. They then gave us the treasures of King Godina, so apparently they had betrayed us, but as they had just saved us and given the treasure back, it really wasn't worth making a fuss over. I don’t know what happened to the ‘descendants of Icanicix’, but they’re gone, and… I don’t think I’m going to think too much about what happened until I can talk to you two. It seems to be a wise choice.

 

Besides, right now, in my lap, I have King Godina’s Shield. The real one. It’s positively truly not a copy or fake.

 

Is it… really mine? I don’t know what to do with it. It feels like it should be in a museum, not in the hands of a student, despite what Silke has been saying about how it would be boring if the treasures were stuck in some drab museum somewhere. I mean, she's right: the place for them definitely wasn't at the bottom of a flooded mostly abandoned tower. But would King Godina be angry that I have his shield? Am I misusing what was gifted to me?

 

I want to talk about that, too.

 

Well, to end this letter more happily, I finished the year on the high-note. I volunteered down at Begger’s Corner, and everyone was really happy with me and I felt like I'd done a ton of good things, and I FINALLY solved that stupid block puzzle that’s been driving me to distraction since the beginning of the year. I’m also the wrestling queen. I threw fourth-years around without any trouble.

 

I retraced my steps a bit, too. I know that I chose the right collage, and I love all of Godina. I know that I love Glamour and Incantation and both are the bestest ways of magic, that Calligraphy is frustrating but rewarding with a great Professor, that I’m the star of Athletics no matter what my grades say and that I'll be totally on the Rimbal team next year, and that Rhetoric has changed the way I think and talk, and that my Music has improved more then I thought it could. I know I had a lot of fun adventures, learned some way cool spells, stood up to a bunch of jerks and came out the better, and most of all, that I have the best friends in the world and I love all of them and I still wish I could just take EVERYONE home with me.

 

I know that I’ll spend the break sweating at the Forge and playing Rimbal with you two and everyone else in the town, and I know it’ll be really, really, really awesome.

 

I can’t wait to see you again! I know I’ll get scolded a bit and hugged a lot and I’ll tell the same stories five million times for you two until you’re sick of them, and I know once I’m hope I’ll never, ever, ever want to leave, but I’m sure next year at Academagia will be even better then this one was!

 

If I’m not home when you get this letter, don’t worry! I’m on my way! Wait up for me, okay?

 

Your loving daughter,

~ Kayley

 

PS: Katja did really good on her Botany and Zoology, so I think we're safe. All of us will be able to be together next year, as it should be!

 

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So. That was fun!

 

 

Kayley ended the year much improved from how she begun it. Her attributes at core are now Fitness 6 (Silke’s clique ability makes that a 7), Finesse 7, Charm 6, Strength 2 (+2 with the Shield of the King), Intelligence 4, Insight 8, and Luck 3. Emotions are generally pushing up quite a few of those: she’s been in a good mood and stayed in it since that dance. Hm.

 

As you might expect, she maxed out Athletics, Incantation, Glamour, and Rhetoric. For Calligraphy, she completely ignored Bookbinding and Forgery, and for Music her Harpsichord is only 3 while the Violin is only 4. Other skills were mostly maxed out for adventures: Conceal and Bluff for Tabin, Intimidation and Logic and Ethics for Z, Phemes and Flowers for Silke. Half the time, I ended up not needing the skill I raised, but that’s the way of things. She's also very talented in Research (though she never once actually researched), and has her ability in Revision, Forge, Astrology, and Slight-of-Hand are worth commenting about.

 

Interestingly, she ended the game with Befriend and Gossip both 1, and built her clique with them at 0 (Befriend was raised to 1 after Z joined but before Tabin, but I don’t think Gossip was raised till after Tabin was a member). Good luck on those roles.

 

A lot of time was wasted in hopeless competing. To my intense frustration, learning the Compete skills took half the game: even whining to the Sphinx didn’t unlock Wits. Tabin gave Manipulation to go with the starter Striving Against the Foe, but Planning didn’t want to show up, either, despite it being so common, which meant all her useless competes were also 3 pointers, too.

 

Still on game mechanics, I have never had a character that had as much trouble as she did with trespassing. I’ve had characters that got at least a third of their study raises from the Professor’s Lounge, and I still never came close to the amount of yelling Kayley got for hanging around in the Library of Manetele. I actually found it hilarious after a bit, but I was also convinced someone cast some secret ‘up your chance of discovery to five million’ spell on her or she was holding a cursed item. Wasn’t. She just had some bad luck with the random number generator.

 

And it’s amusing that CremePudding brought it up: the biggest thing I regretted about her, statwise, was a visit to the Library of Longinus that gained her a point in Mastery Spells. I ignored that in my narrative, as I could only imagine after getting it her running to a Professor in tears about how she’d learned this horrible thing from a book and she was so sorry she didn’t want to have learned it, such a thing just happened and was she now a danger to herself or others and did she have to be expelled and this was so horrible (WAHHHH). I wasn’t sure how to write that actually happening without a better idea of how the Professor’s would react and a way to make her forget, though, so for now, she’s doing willful ignorance.

 

And as I’m already talking more about story then mechanics, let’s jump over to that.

 

 

As I said before, Kayley was based after Kayta Shalstorm who was… actually a Hedi student who did Music as well, as I realized pretty early in the game after checking collage-mates. Oh well. I’d never played a Godina character to the end, and I’ms orry that it looks like I missed another Godina only adventure involving that shortcut. I was surprised I got the tower one done in two weeks… hurray for Cleanse and Remake and Selective Focus.

 

Kyata of course came from Kayla, whichis a modern form for Katherine or Kayley. Shalstorm was just random fantasy garbage, which meant for Kayley I chose Halloran. Distilled, that roughly translated in to Stranger from the Sea (or beyond the sea), and Suaird of course comes from the word Sigeweard: the protector of victory. All of those are Gaelic, which went well with the pale reddish haired portrait- whatever small town she's from, had a slight kick of fantasy Ireland in it.

 

I imagined her being the daughter of a rather skilled Enchanter(ess), although I don’t think her mom attended the Academagia- rather, probably a smaller school dedicated simply to Enchantment somewhere. Her father wasn’t a mage, but fell in love with one. They were an eccentric middle-class family that probably leaned on the side of obnoxious at times and Kayley grew up hearing some quite loud fights as well as being part of them, but they never let her forget how much they adored her. The family are artisans, so that meant she grew up used to working and doing chores to a degree (and due to her music school, studying and all that as well), but she was also left quite sheltered.

 

I don’t know if ages are ever directly stated: I actually don’t think they are, but I may be missing something extremely obvious. In my head, I assumed the 5th years were 16, which seems to be the popular Age of Becoming An Adult in fantasy literature (and in quite a few real life cultures). For me, Kayley was probably 11- starting the year at 10, but having her 11th birthday early in it. I tried to make her stumbling back and forth between extreme childishness and then some rather mature wisdom, but never quite settling on either. She’s not an adult- not even a teenager- but she’s not a kid. This age group is certainly a modern one, even more then the teenager group is (which really only developed fully in what, the last century and a half?), but considering the setting, I think there probably is something of a preteen culture at a school like this (idleness, after all, is the start of what can eventually create a distinct age group, and the kids seem to have a pretty good amount of free time) even if the word wouldn’t be used by anyone in the setting.

 

Another thing I tried to do as I saw what skills she was developing (mostly due to a certain Aranaz’s boys adventure…) was, well, slowly move her. Read the first few letters: she comes across as cute and naïve (or cloying and stupidly self-absorbed, if you prefer). As we go towards the end of the year, though, she’s lost a lot of that. She’s still cute and fun at times, perhaps, but her insults and anger got a lot more serious, unfunny, and bitter, as well as judgmental. She isn’t a horrible person- very far from one- but despite a lot of kind acts, she’s probably not as nice a person as she was when she first arrived. Whether that was inevitable part of growing up or merely an unfortunate path, I guess that’s a personal opinion.

 

As she actually gained some Intelligence and kept upping her Insight, she started lying more to her poor parents- but also to herself. The big example is Tabin’s adventures ending: while the easy way out would be for Tabin not to mention he totally manipulated that situation and got suspensions (if not worse, as the adventure implies) handed to people whose crime was threatening him twice, why wouldn’t he brag a bit? He’d just did something incredibly clever, it was painfully obvious something weird was going on, and he doesn’t know she has a picture of him built in his head as some perfect paragon of awesome. So what happens is Kayley giggles nervously, tells herself about how clever and smart he is, then keeps telling herself that the bully’s really were really, really, really mean until in her mind she’s convinced herself that they really were all planning that and Tabin the smart made them confess and no one got undeserved punishment and they deserve everything, really, really, really…

 

Remember kids, peer pressure is bad! Or something like that.

 

I’m interested to see where she goes next year. Maturing or growing more immature, learning to forgive or forget or keeping with her grudges, and gaining new friends and enemies and losing the old… it’ll be fun. When does year 2 come out, again?;)

 

 

A few quick (hah, like I can be quick) meta comments, then I’m done, I swear.

 

First, Legate, do you guys accept ideas for backgrounds and abilities/actions in the Writer’s Area as well? As I've come up with ones that were really pretty cool.

 

Back in October, the Legate said: ‘Your character actually does have a room-mate (as I recall 3 of them.) Dorm rooms, what you put in them, and who lives in them will be a feature in Year 2.’- that’s why I have Kayley with two others. The choice was pretty random: she had +1 with most of the girls in the collage, so while I knew Katja I wanted due to the music connection, Silke was completely random. As she ended the game at 12 due to her expanding their friendship max at the end of her adventure, I guess that was a wise choice. I’ve been having some ideas of maybe an autofire event on night of the first day or morning of the next that might be able simulate dorm mates in the first year, but… hm. Well, that’s for another forum. I didn’t really intend on making a clique of ‘Kayley and her roomates’, but once I got there, why not?

 

Z was added because everyone had good relations with him, but Tabin was another incredibly random addition- there was absolutely no one that everyone liked but Luti, I wanted one member who wasn’t in the collage (besides, Kay's relationship with him was pretty bad), and I eventually decided a guy would be good so Zorzi wouldn’t be lonely. Silke had a few points with Tabin, and Kayley had 4, and he was uncliqued, so it was a complete and total why not. Other options were Malacresta, Reitz, and Leopold, if anyone cares.

 

Kay had what I refer to as her friendly stalker: Raoul, who ended up at 7 despite Kayley never seeking out any contact with him. I don’t even think they had random events together, either. Despite that, he kept trying to befriend her every two weeks for a while until his AI finally realized it wasn’t working. Poor kid. He’s still uncliqued. Besides her clique (all maxed out), her only other close friends were Amada at 8 (who she seemed to have some serious LesYay with, if you’ll pardon the TVTropes Turn- almost every event with Amada ended with Amada looking at Kayley with admiration) and Llarina also at 7. On the other hand, the only real negatives are Philippe and Vettor at -3, and poor Girars at -9.

 

Girars, btw, is the sweetest rival from Morvidus any of my kids from that background have ever had. Besides two events (the playing music better and the ‘following around being stalker-creepy’), I don’t think he ever interacted with her. No bullying, no torment by abilities and familars, and he had this tendency to get +1 whenever she raised Conversation or any random skill that gave +1’s with someone, in which she would repeatedly bad sprout him back to -10 to… no response from him. This may be because the last kid I played was a Morvidus with Girars as their best friend (although not in their clique). Or maybe he really is just a nice guy. I certainly felt guilty.

 

(That’s also why Kayley never followed either the guards adventure (not enough luck for Legate, and I couldn’t see her doing the Pirates or the Thieves) or the musical one, despite seeming perfect for her- they were done just before I started this play-through.)

 

This playthrough had my first duel, some of my lowest testing scores since my first play-throughs, one of my stupidest mistakes (the wrong spells for the wrong test), and the first time I was stupid enough to combine opposite pims in one spell. (Doh!) Hurray for milestones!

 

I lost one week to a crash that I am slightly upset about: in it I had some good material, involving an event with Amada's kitty that made Kayley wanted to breed both their familars together, an actual encounter with Girars in which after she ran in to trouble he helped her proving himself once again to be a pretty darn good guy, but most importantly, the Library of L granting her Riding 1 and the advertisement for Academagia's Riding Club which caused her to completely lose it in five paragraph rant of people putting an advertisement for a club on the bulletin board but not saying where you go to join it. It was all good, though: the event gave me ideas for how you could almost simulate allowing first year's observer status in a club through adventures and one ability... hm.

 

I do plan on doing another roleplaying play-through like this, because it was a lot of fun, more then likely about a student going in the opposite direction: a horrible piece of work who may just learn through the power of friendship and attendance at the Magic School of Pure Awesome that they really don’t have to be so nasty… or maybe they’ll crash and burn and get even worse. There’s also the Aranaz non-magical spy and Avila’s luckiest Astrologer that would hopefully be fun for people to read, but those two, at least, are going to wait for another DLC. I was going to do that with the first idea, too, but… this was actually a lot of fun, and good way to make sure I kept writing every day. :) I hope some of you will read that one, too.

 

Also, this forum does not approve of a word for the feminine upper chest area that you may also eat if you're having chicken, but it does approve of a more crass version. Seeing as the first was censored, I did the same to the second to be cautious, but it is slightly amusing.

 

 

Now that I’m done sounding like some sort of advertisement, I want to thank everyone who read and enjoyed those silly letters once again. :)

 

I enjoyed the comments, too, very much. Thanks for making them! Um. Yeah. :)

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Mikka;

 

Delightful role-playing and thoughtful analysis is always welcome! :)

 

"do you guys accept ideas for backgrounds and abilities/actions in the Writer’s Area as well?"

 

The answer is a definite yes! Some of the Backgrounds we have were in fact created by the community- you are welcome to submit yours for inclusion as well. :)

 

Can't wait to see your next role-play! Tabin, by the way, is a particularly interesting character. I am really eager to see how K reacts in Year 2.

 

Regarding Girars, some bullies are less motivated than others- it depends entirely on their AI whether they are meek or bold. Still...some may have some nasty surprises waiting for you...

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A lot of time was wasted in hopeless competing.

Come to think of it, perhaps excellent performance in exams and not missing lessons should give additional merits?

 

Still on game mechanics, I have never had a character that had as much trouble as she did with trespassing.

:P I wish I could cast my Sena Mastery spell to solve this problem... I was caught five times in a row!

 

And it’s amusing that CremePudding brought it up: the biggest thing I regretted about her, statwise, was a visit to the Library of Longinus that gained her a point in Mastery Spells. I ignored that in my narrative, as I could only imagine after getting it her running to a Professor in tears about how she’d learned this horrible thing from a book and she was so sorry she didn’t want to have learned it, such a thing just happened and was she now a danger to herself or others and did she have to be expelled and this was so horrible (WAHHHH). I wasn’t sure how to write that actually happening without a better idea of how the Professor’s would react and a way to make her forget, though, so for now, she’s doing willful ignorance.

Judging from her bloodlust desire to kill all Mastery and Gates users, I'd say she is on the fast track to corruption :lol:

 

:angry: Hey! Delicious puddings using Mastery are not hilarious!

 

By the way, students for the 1st year is around 12-14. You can see that in Nyaa's excellent World Of Academagia thread.

That reminds me, I wonder how old was that Elleen from the Elleen's Eyesore action when she finally graduated...

 

Another thing I tried to do as I saw what skills she was developing (mostly due to a certain Aranaz’s boys adventure…) was, well, slowly move her. Read the first few letters: she comes across as cute and naïve (or cloying and stupidly self-absorbed, if you prefer). As we go towards the end of the year, though, she’s lost a lot of that. She’s still cute and fun at times, perhaps, but her insults and anger got a lot more serious, unfunny, and bitter, as well as judgmental. She isn’t a horrible person- very far from one- but despite a lot of kind acts, she’s probably not as nice a person as she was when she first arrived. Whether that was inevitable part of growing up or merely an unfortunate path, I guess that’s a personal opinion.

Don't feel so bad. Half of the kids I sent to Academagia ends up being power-mad (The-ends-justifies-the-mean-saints) with Mastery or Gates.

 

As she actually gained some Intelligence and kept upping her Insight, she started lying more to her poor parents- but also to herself. The big example is Tabin’s adventures ending: while the easy way out would be for Tabin not to mention he totally manipulated that situation and got suspensions (if not worse, as the adventure implies) handed to people whose crime was threatening him twice, why wouldn’t he brag a bit? He’d just did something incredibly clever, it was painfully obvious something weird was going on, and he doesn’t know she has a picture of him built in his head as some perfect paragon of awesome. So what happens is Kayley giggles nervously, tells herself about how clever and smart he is, then keeps telling herself that the bully’s really were really, really, really mean until in her mind she’s convinced herself that they really were all planning that and Tabin the smart made them confess and no one got undeserved punishment and they deserve everything, really, really, really…

 

Remember kids, peer pressure is bad! Or something like that.

Luckily for Cosetta Re, peer pressure is not that apparent in Academagia, where you can't have 14 children gang up on a tattletale. Not that having Penne routinely hit her with Induce Coma or forcing her to run crippling tracks every other day isn't enough. (Philippe actually battered Cosetta in the infirmary :o )

 

I’m interested to see where she goes next year. Maturing or growing more immature, learning to forgive or forget or keeping with her grudges, and gaining new friends and enemies and losing the old… it’ll be fun. When does year 2 come out, again?;)

Either way, it'd be a blast peeking at Kayley's letter!

Back in October, the Legate said: ‘Your character actually does have a room-mate (as I recall 3 of them.) Dorm rooms, what you put in them, and who lives in them will be a feature in Year 2.’- that’s why I have Kayley with two others. The choice was pretty random: she had +1 with most of the girls in the collage, so while I knew Katja I wanted due to the music connection, Silke was completely random. As she ended the game at 12 due to her expanding their friendship max at the end of her adventure, I guess that was a wise choice. I’ve been having some ideas of maybe an autofire event on night of the first day or morning of the next that might be able simulate dorm mates in the first year, but… hm. Well, that’s for another forum. I didn’t really intend on making a clique of ‘Kayley and her roomates’, but once I got there, why not?

Uh oh. Isabaeu.

Kay had what I refer to as her friendly stalker: Raoul, who ended up at 7 despite Kayley never seeking out any contact with him. I don’t even think they had random events together, either. Despite that, he kept trying to befriend her every two weeks for a while until his AI finally realized it wasn’t working. Poor kid. He’s still uncliqued. Besides her clique (all maxed out), her only other close friends were Amada at 8 (who she seemed to have some serious LesYay with, if you’ll pardon the TVTropes Turn- almost every event with Amada ended with Amada looking at Kayley with admiration) and Llarina also at 7. On the other hand, the only real negatives are Philippe and Vettor at -3, and poor Girars at -9.

Beware, Amada's hair might strangle you if you get close enough ;)

 

Girars, btw, is the sweetest rival from Morvidus any of my kids from that background have ever had. Besides two events (the playing music better and the ‘following around being stalker-creepy’), I don’t think he ever interacted with her. No bullying, no torment by abilities and familars, and he had this tendency to get +1 whenever she raised Conversation or any random skill that gave +1’s with someone, in which she would repeatedly bad sprout him back to -10 to… no response from him. This may be because the last kid I played was a Morvidus with Girars as their best friend (although not in their clique). Or maybe he really is just a nice guy. I certainly felt guilty.

Vegetarians tend to have sightly better temper.

 

I do plan on doing another roleplaying play-through like this, because it was a lot of fun, more then likely about a student going in the opposite direction: a horrible piece of work who may just learn through the power of friendship and attendance at the Magic School of Pure Awesome that they really don’t have to be so nasty… or maybe they’ll crash and burn and get even worse. There’s also the Aranaz non-magical spy and Avila’s luckiest Astrologer that would hopefully be fun for people to read, but those two, at least, are going to wait for another DLC. I was going to do that with the first idea, too, but… this was actually a lot of fun, and good way to make sure I kept writing every day. :) I hope some of you will read that one, too.

Also, this forum does not approve of a word for the feminine upper chest area that you may also eat if you're having chicken, but it does approve of a more crass version. Seeing as the first was censored, I did the same to the second to be cautious, but it is slightly amusing.

I can't wait to see a crash and burn. Even that Joe Smiley guy with the worst stats possible still had a pretty good life.

 

I want to eat deep-fried Black Chicken chest

 

You have posted more than the allowed number of quoted blocks of text :angry:

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  • 1 month later...

These were such amazing letters! Oh, and, um, not sure if this was intended, but I just had to point out and jump up and down over the 1776 reference in the first letter (tucked under her chin, bows, knows).

 

Yeah. I know this is an old post. But still. :|

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