PREP Highschool

[Ironsmith]

Ecbatana

"Of course, your highness. And it's good for you to show interest in the city's faith and spiritual health, as well. Some of this city's residents are shockingly lax with their sacrifices, especially those of Immonian heritage. They are weakening this city at a time it cannot afford so. The nomads of the Sea still remember the Conqueror, and fondly for the death he wrought, and they speak of his return, sooner than Ecbatana's ready." That, of course, is Aikobaz' nominal grandfather. So perhaps she could comment on that. Or possibly his disdain towards the refugees who entered with nothing.

[Ecbatana]

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that." Aiko beams, hands behind her back in her best attempt at looking coy despite the heavy subject. "That's my gram-gram you're talking about. As good as he was at conquering stuff, there's bound to be a little bit of it in me, right? And I'm not going to let this city get hurt, whether it's feeling especially spiritual or not!"

Her smile fades a little as she lets that statement sink in. "...But... I'd still like for us all to have a good, solid church here, too." She continues. "So if we're having any problems with that... please, do tell."

[Earl of Purple]

Ecbatana

"We won't be advertising that part of your heritage. He had the regent drowned in the blood of his sons in the throne room, whilst your great-great-aunt watched. He also ordered half the priesthood to be castrated whilst my predecessor at the time was sealed in a box. He was able to escape and avenge the royals, however, with some assistance." So the priesthood of Ecbatana was part of the conspiracy that managed to kill Aigothurz the first. "As a result of that assistance, we agreed to let the Immonians settle whilst their own god disowned them, but they are refusing to assimilate and continue to practice black magic and exult in blatant necromancy, as well as regularly refuse to make the required tithe to the priests of all citizens of Ecbatana." That last may well be the result of poverty, however. Can't tithe money or food that you frankly don't have.

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

Mac’s expression softens and he sets down the towel.
”Okay. What would you like to chat about? I don’t have anywhere to be right now but the showers.”

[[brackets lover]]

[A New Student Approaches!]

Ardi shakes his head at Octavia, casually skipping past the topic of paralysis.

"Khannie... Got it. And where is she, then?" he asks determinedly.

[Training Grounds]

Asami perks up for a moment before suddenly clicking his tongue and freezing up entirely. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh..." he says, trailing off.

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

Mac raises an eyebrow.
”I’m getting mixed signals here. Did you have something you wanted to talk about or not?” he asks. Patiently! But increasingly less patient.

[quillpleasant]

A New Student Approaches!

-i... do not know where khannie stays. but she's usually around somewhere- says Octavia. She pauses. It feels weird to go this far without her body, but this kid is being spectacularly unhelpful. Maybe if she gets him what he's after, he'll finally relent and withdraw his paralytic power.

-okay, we're doing this. follow me, we're going to see khannie- she says, not waiting for a response before rapidly flitting off down the corridor. Although she doesn't know where the unicorn lives, she does know some of the classes she goes to, and she took the time to download the school schedule into her head for easy reference. At least one of them should probably be getting out soon.

[[brackets lover]]

[A New Student Approaches!]

Ardi strokes his chin and tilts his head down musingly. "Stumbling around blindly? Now you've got the right idea!" he cheers, vigorously following after Octavia.

[Training Grounds]

Asami grows nervous at Mac's response, wincing in panic. After a bit, however, his eyes widen up. "Ah! So, I gotta tell you about what Darko-senpai did at lunch the other day. He actually went and bought a carnation for himself! And then when I asked him about it, he gave it to Lex to eat. Who he just met. Lmfao he's such a dork."

Asami snickers, his facial expression genuinely alight with playful amusement.

[Rebonack]

[A New Student Approaches!]

As it turns out finding Khannie won't be that hard. She just got out of her Introduction to Petty Godhood class and she's trotting toward the arcanium while having a chat with another student who appears to be the descendant of some agricultural deity.

"-that bad, is it?"
"Nah I mean it coulda been worse, right? My dad's gotta hang around determined people. We dunno what my little brother's deal is gunna be yet. And I've just gotta be around anything that makes the world less corrupt."
"That's better than having to ripen squash."
"Wait, is it JUST squash?"
"Yep, that's me. Chloe, goddess of squash."
"Holy heck, you really got short changed."

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

"What's wrong with buying flowers?" Mac asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Or did you want him to give it to you instead?" he asks, wiggling those eyebrows a bit for effect.

[quillpleasant]

A New Student Approaches

Oh good! Octavia glows with relief upon seeing Khannie. Here's someone who's traveled between dimensions a lot more than she has, and who will hopefully be able to help this infuriating boy. Not that she'd say that out loud, but being without her body this long is really starting to grate on her nerves.

Flitting over to Khannie and Chloe, Octavia darts in front of them, flickering to get their attention.

-hello khannie vallarm! hello designated chloe goddess of squash! it's me, octavia- She feels that specifying that is good, since she's currently a basketball sized tangle of wheels and eyes rather than her usual form. -this is ardi, and he is desperately trying to return to his home plane. since you're a dimension traveler i was wondering if you had any advice?-

Buzzing a little closer to Khannie, she whispers -he's paralyzed my body and won't tell me how to fix it, so i'd appreciate some help here-

[[brackets lover]]

[A New Student Approaches!]

Ardi, the small boy, gently draws his sword and plants it into the ground, kneeling before Khannie. His red cape fell to his feet and his blue robe clearly wasn't a modern garment.

"Well met, lady Vallarm. I appologize for the suddenness of my request, but I've no other choice. As the hero of legend, its up to me to save my world," he says, a brimming conviction in his voice. From here, Khannie can see a sort of crest imbued on the back of his sword hand, a trapezoid with its upper line bisected by a perpendicular line pointing straight down, the alchemical symbol for stone.

Ardi stands up, desperately pleaing, "I beseech you, aid me in my quest."

[Training Grounds]

Asami awkwardly smiles, looking confused at Mac. "Ah, well... Basically, its supposed to be a romantic gesture. I was just making fun of how unromantic he was being. Nevermind, um..."

He brings a finger to his lip in musing, pausing to give Mac a chance to say something, as men are known to do.

[Rebonack]

[A New Student Approaches]

"Uuhh..." is Khannie's reaction to being beset by a wheel tangle and a hero of legend all at once. So this kid just landed here and also Octavia's body is paralyzed. Khannie isn't sure she can really help with either of those things.

She got no idea how Octavia's robot body works.

She went through a Gate one time?

And her dad brought her home from the Mystery Dungeon world when she was little. Khannie is skeptical about that counting as expertise. If he needs an expert he would want to talk to-

Oh!

Duh.

"Okay if you wanna get back home then you're gunna wanna talk with Geneva. She's my.... aunt I guess? Sorta?" the unicorn suggests. "Did you JUST get dropped in?" she asks as she levitates her phone out of her bags.

"Good luck you three. If any of you need a winter squash to grow really big then let me know," Chloe says as she departs.

[Ironsmith]

Ecbatana

"We won't be advertising that part of your heritage. He had the regent drowned in the blood of his sons in the throne room, whilst your great-great-aunt watched. He also ordered half the priesthood to be castrated whilst my predecessor at the time was sealed in a box. He was able to escape and avenge the royals, however, with some assistance." So the priesthood of Ecbatana was part of the conspiracy that managed to kill Aigothurz the first. "As a result of that assistance, we agreed to let the Immonians settle whilst their own god disowned them, but they are refusing to assimilate and continue to practice black magic and exult in blatant necromancy, as well as regularly refuse to make the required tithe to the priests of all citizens of Ecbatana." That last may well be the result of poverty, however. Can't tithe money or food that you frankly don't have.

[Ecbatana]

"Ooh, bit of a no-no subject, huh?" Aiko grimaces. "...All right. So we've got a bunch of poor Immonians in our city who aren't really interested in becoming Ecbatanans. How does that affect our people's spiritual health, though? Don't we basically have faithful Ecbatanans and a few hangers-on?"

[Artemis]

[Hunting Class]

"I could climb up there and push it down?" Landon suggests. "Is there a rope holding it? You could shoot that?" It would be an impressive shot, actually.

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

"Eh, I don't think the guy has a romantic bone in his body, and that's okay. Some people are just like that." It seems Mac isn't really the type to gossip about people. But then, the worst he has ever said to anyone is light ribbing so that probably checks out.

[quillpleasant]

A New Student Approaches

-a good hero doesn't usually paralyze innocent civilians- grumbles Octavia, many eyes narrowing. So he's some kind of knight or something. It seems questionable just how many legends there could be about a child- he hasn't been alive long enough for too many to form. But who knows, maybe Ardi's deeds really are that great.

-yes, he appeared in a flash of light and when i woke him up he attacked me- she confirms to Khannie's question, spinning a circle in the air. -also, what is an aunt?-

[Zefir]

[Another Person appears]

A young boy has finally taken the hint to come here. His last experience with the local organisation MERC told him he was under aged. He can't understand why that is a problem, but it's clear some underaged peoples action caused many deaths and that is their way to prevent that.

Anyway. the boy enters the campus looking a bit lost. Does he need to register anywhere like with Merc or is it just like any other common school were you fill out a paperand thats it.

[Earl of Purple]

Ecbatana

"If they live in our city, they are reliant upon our god. Their... atheism is harmful to the city as a whole, and there's a lot of them. Two thirds of the poorest segments of our city, demonstrating that their blasphemy isn't just hurting the city- it's hurting themselves. The wealthiest merchants and the aristocratic class are dedicated and vigorous in the demonstrations of their faith, even those that adopted our city; if the Immonians could do likewise, I'm sure Ecbatana will improve their status and provide them with opportunities to thrive and bolster our city." Theoretically, if the Immonians embrace Ecbatanan theology and mimic their social betters, they'll be spiritually better off and, given the patron god of the city is the one they'd be worshipping, that would be followed by economic betterment and perhaps even a reduction in the city's slums by a third. At least, that's the high priest's theory, and he is doubtlessly biased.

Hunting Class

"There should be a rope. I can shoot that. Or, no offence Landon, I can use my magic to get up there quickly to push it down. That'd be quicker than climbing, especially since it's a greenhouse and glass is slippery." Although that would also require shooting things, and using her magic to boost the recoil of her pistol to double-jump.

[[brackets lover]]

[Training Grounds]

Asami blinks in disbelief. "Hey... That's mean," he says defensively.

[A New Student Approaches]

"Ooh, ooh, I know!" Ardi excitely exclaims, raising a hand in the air, "An ant is a little critter that crawls on the ground like this-" he gets down on all fours to demonstrates, "And snatches up the food you leave out with these things-" he curls his fingers in front of his face to resemble pincers. Done with his demonstration, he stands up, taking on a serious expression again. "Anyways, I presume this Geneva is the queen of her colony if she's strong enough to bring me home. Very well, I would like to request an audience with her."

[Hunting Grounds]

The cat tilts his head. "Nyalright... That sounds easy enough. I'll stand around and make sure no one comes by while you do that."

There doesn't seem to be a rope.

[Ironsmith]

Ecbatana

"If they live in our city, they are reliant upon our god. Their... atheism is harmful to the city as a whole, and there's a lot of them. Two thirds of the poorest segments of our city, demonstrating that their blasphemy isn't just hurting the city- it's hurting themselves. The wealthiest merchants and the aristocratic class are dedicated and vigorous in the demonstrations of their faith, even those that adopted our city; if the Immonians could do likewise, I'm sure Ecbatana will improve their status and provide them with opportunities to thrive and bolster our city." Theoretically, if the Immonians embrace Ecbatanan theology and mimic their social betters, they'll be spiritually better off and, given the patron god of the city is the one they'd be worshipping, that would be followed by economic betterment and perhaps even a reduction in the city's slums by a third. At least, that's the high priest's theory, and he is doubtlessly biased.

[Ecbatana]

"So, to summarize... They're poor because they don't worship, and being as poor as they are, they're a burden on our city's hard-working faithful?"

Aiko gives the priest an innocent-looking smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. In fact, if the priest were to look only at her eyes, he might get the impression that she was trying to will an aneurysm into his skull.

"Do I have that about right?" She asks, in a tone that's just a little too sweet.

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

"Is it?" Mac says, quite genuinely. "Some folks just don't do romance. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Just like I can't fit into small places, and some folks in this school can't go around without attracting attention. It's just part of who we are."

[Rebonack]

[A New Student Approaches]

Initially Khannie opens her mouth to correct the hero on his mistake but, then again, he isn't wrong.

He just didn't understand what Khannie was saying.

Which is fine, probably. The paralysis thing is probably less fine.

How do you even paralyze a robot angel body, anyway?

"Aunt. Not ant. She's my dad's sister. Uuh... sort of," Khannie explains. Or would Geneva be more of a godmother? That would probably cause even MORE confusion, honestly. "She works at this place called VIGIL. I dunno if you can just WALK in but my dad works there so I can probably get us a pass?"

Thankfully getting there isn't TOO hard.

It's just a Riftline ride and then you've gotta take one of the shuttle things up to the flying island. Lapis has talked about it a TON so Khannie is pretty familiar with the process.

"Is this, like, super urgent so we don't have time to figure out how to fix Octavia first?" Khannie asks.

[Earl of Purple]

Ecbatana

"No, they are poor because they lost everything and were unable to retrieve their wealth or belongings when Immonia was angered and cast them out. They remain poor because they do not worship, and it is our responsibility to care for them whilst they remain in our city. They visit the shrines for their daily bread, but not their long-term salvation, and so remain a drain on the temple's- and the city's- funds." Which doesn't explain the third of Ecbatanan slum dwellers that are not of Immonian heritage, though perhaps there's another reason the high priest has for their misfortune.

[quillpleasant]

A New Student Approaches

Okay, a little animal. Octavia is familiar with animals, she's seen them around. She actually spent an embarrassingly long time trying to introduce herself to one of the campus squirrels before someone explained that they weren't actually students.

But then Khannie is saying that it's not an animal? And using other unfamiliar terms like 'sister'? Octavia is more confused than she was before asking. People are so weird and complicated. Not like the angels back home, who are all aggressively literal about everything.

-ardi been ignoring me whenever i ask about getting unstuck. i'm beginning to suspect he doesn't know how to fix it- she says testily, -which doesn't strike me as particularly heroic in all honesty- It's a little mean to say, but then again, it was a little mean to freeze her in the first place.

[[brackets lover]]

[Training Grounds]

"He can too do romance! AND I DO NOT ATTRACT ATTENTION!" Asami blusters in direct response to Mac doubling down, his face heating up and steam flying out of his mouth. It seems like he only needs to hear one more rebuttel from Mac before he's ready to do something drastic.

[A New Student Approaches]

Ardi frowns. "I thought I already said I don't know how to fix it? Sorry..." he says remorsefully.

All of a sudden, he shakes his head, replying sternly to Khannie, "The situation in my world is dire. That's why... I have to get back as soon as possible! I can't let Darkness destroy everything I know and love!"

[The Arena]

Ah yes, the fighting arena of style reminiscent of the ancient world really puts the whole academic atmosphere together. While normally it hosted the more deadly classes such as monster hunting, the battle club also used it after-school. Owing to the fact the club also helps puts together the end-of-year tournament show, they tend to advertise a lot harder this time of year. Consequently, a lot more matches went on as people sought to hone their skills in advance.

The club members were mostly independent, with the leader occupied in deep meditation off in the corner of the room. Thus, the battles were mostly unregulated.

There are some loose guidelines, however. An emphasis on physical combat is greatly encouraged, with blasty things seen as unsportsmanlike. There are more official rules for the tournament and other such events.

Asami wanders into the arena, dressed in her sailor fuku. She rubs her eyes and yawns, dismissing the invisibility on her staff.

[Halae]

[The Arena]

Skye is here as well, dressed in her ornate armored jacket. There's a teasing smile on her face as she looks at Asami, "Come now, are you really that tired? No excitement at all for combat?"

She joined the Battle Club because, frankly, she just enjoys combat. At worst, it lets her exercise and honor her god.

[[brackets lover]]

[The Arena]

"Gimme a break, I just woke up from my math class," Asami says defensively, turning to face who she was addressing... And upon catching sight of Skye, Asami jumps back. "Kya!" she exclaims as she falls on her butt. She glances about the room, embarassed by the cacophony of snickers that seems to follow her everywhere.

Yep, not fun being the school klutz. Trying to take her mind off it, Asami greets Skye properly, "Sk- Skye-senpai! Funny seeing you here." She laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

[Halae]

[The Arena]

Skye will offer Asami a hand back to standing if she wants to take it, but won't be bothered if the younger girl doesn't.

"I'm not sure why. I haven't precisely made a secret of the fact that I'm a warrior. A group like this is perfect for me. It's good to see you improving yourself as well."

[Keeper]

Training Grounds

"...I was talking about Mary. And fine, you know him better than me. Goodbye, Asami."
Mac turns to leave again, utterly baffled once again.

[Rebonack]

[A New Student Approaches]

Darkness, huh?

Khannie had better lay off her magic for this little trip 'cuz it sounds like this kid is pretty trigger happy.

"Okay, we had better get moving then. C'mon," Khannie says, turning to start trotting toward the Riftline station near the campus gate. She moves at what's a comfortable clip for herself, though she'll glance back to make sure this hot blooded hero can keep up.

Unless there's super stuff going on, humans typically have trouble keeping pace with a unicorn.

One of the upsides of having all those leggy legs.

"I guess we're gunna have to figure out how to get you unfrozen when we get back," Khannie says to Octavia, her tone apologetic. But then a question to pass the time! "So, like, what's the deal with this Darkness trying to gobble up your world, anyway?"

It won't be TOO long before they're waiting at the train station for the fabled train! Has Ardi ever seen a train before? Stay tuned to find out!