When Magic's All You Know {Interactive Story)

[Piefan]

(Bump - c'mon, guys! Make your choice! :D)

[starsailor]

*had been leaving the others to decide cus I can't decide* Um, don't go. WAIT GO

[20lait1]

Go!

[Piefan]

With a slight nod, you reply, "Yeah, I'm going. No reason not to." Staying at home for the sake of studying could be a good idea, but then again, examinations are months away.

Rosetta grins. "Great. Renee and I'll be backstage - she's doing a music thingy with the orchestra, and apparently I'm allowed to hang out there too. Meet us there?" You shrug, deciding not to make any promises. You've seen them before a performance - Renee's usually chattering on about music theory while Rosetta pretends to listen. Not exactly your idea of a fun time.

The three of you snap back to attention when Atlas turns around, a disapproving look on his face. To your relief, he doesn't scold you for talking in class - only gives you a slight glare before continuing with the lesson.

***

As you briskwalk through the streets, your ankles aching from the high heels, you decide that you hate formal wear.

Two guards stand on either side of the entrance to the city hall, knives presumably hidden somewhere in their clothing. Riots between the two factions happen all too frequently on this particular festival - which, you muse, is rather ironic. Half the purpose of celebrating it, according to the government, is to remind everyone that druids and wizards came from the same roots.

Opening the door, you take in the scene around you. Unsurprisingly, people are everywhere - making small talk, singing songs, and all in all having a good time. You can only assume that there's some kind of sound-dampening spell cast on the building; it would certainly explain why you haven't been deafened yet. Slivers of moonlight filter through the stained-glass ceiling, from which fairy lights hang; decorative vines climb the white pillars.

There's a stage opposite you, wooden and large. It's currently empty, though, save for a podium at its front. You could head for it as Rosetta suggested, but you're not keen on the idea. Neither she nor her sister would be offended if you didn't. Besides, you're pretty sure they wouldn't allow you backstage - at best, you could loiter nearby and hope they notice you.

Beside that is what appears to be some kind of unprofessional, unofficial magic show - several children are gathered around a man, who's waving around a magic wand. You could check that out, too, if only to decry some obviously fake stage magic.

Or you could just stay near the snack table all night, shoving pieces of cheesecake into your mouth. You find yourself inclined to do just that.

[trickszy]

Stay at the snack table. Food is better than people.

[apricotflyer]

Duh, stay at the snack table. Cheesecake is the best~

[Piefan]

You make a beeline for the snack table, where you grab some pudding before casting your gaze about in search for a seat. When you find none nearby, you sigh and lean against a wall. They spent thousands of dollars on this party, but not a single chair?

As the night wears on, you help yourself to more food, keeping one eye on the stage. You consider just leaving early, but you discount the idea - if nothing else, you want to at least hang around long enough for watching Renee. She doesn't appear, however, and you're beginning to wonder if the orchestra's some kind of closing act.

You head back to the table for some cheesecake before returning to your spot near the wall. As you do, however, you hear a familiar voice behind you. "You probably shouldn't be eating so much rich food in a single night."

You turn around to see Atlas, dressed in a tuxedo, hair roughly combed. Surprised, you step back - your teacher definitely wasn't in the list of people you expected to see. He's never seemed like the type of person who would really enjoy formal parties (or what's advertised as a formal party), anyway - he can barely handle being referred to by his full title.

When you recover from your surprise, you reply, flatly, "I have a strong stomach, Master Atlas."

"You don't even call me that in school; why is everyday life any different? Just Atlas is fine."

"Alright, then." You pause for a moment as you chew your food. You've been told your taste buds are about as sensitive as Rosetta, but even you can tell this is good - smooth, creamy, and tart. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Atlas shrugs. "Neither did I. Expect to be here, that is." With a soft shing, several dim orbs of light appear around him in a tight circle. You know enough about his spells to side-step it when one threatens to ram into you. After a moment, each solidifies into a book, and he grabs one, leaving the others floating there. "But I noticed several holes in the history books widely distributed by the nation's schools, and I was hoping I'd end up meeting someone here who could help me find information surrounding them."

If he goes on a historical tangent here, you swear---

"I don't think any of these were intentional - there's no reason for Driyla's schools or historians to hide anything about ancient history. It's already clear, and plenty diviners have confirmed that they believe everything written in these books is true. Anastasia and Daniel learned a whole lot about the world, lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, they got arcane and druidic powers respectively. And - forgive me for skipping a century ahead - together they created the phoenix, a being of fire and magic, just as powerful as themselves, if not more so. It flew across the skies, spreading life and joy in its wake."

How did you get yourself into this conversation---

"However, no more than five pages later, it's clear that combining their powers would result in all involved spells 'fizzling out', as you teenagers would say." (Doesn't plenty of older literature also use that phrase?) "Maybe they could overcome that by pouring all their energy into it, but all the same, their spells would be messed up somehow. From its description, the phoenix was exactly what they intended to create. So how did that happen? I have two theories: one, that they were simply extremely skilled. The second is slightly more complicated, and would imply an entire conspiracy spanning hundreds to thousands of years---"

---You resign yourself to listening, shoving more cheesecake in your mouth. It may not be the best time for it - this is a party, for goodness sake! - but maybe it'll come in handy later.

As tends to happen when listening to Atlas speak, however, your attention drifts, and you're suddenly eyeing the entire room. People around you are still chatting away, most not even bothering to glance in your direction. There isn't much strange about an overenthusiastic wizard, after all; he should be considered too old for this, but he looks a lot younger than he actually is.

The music seems finally to have come in, though it's not the orchestra - a single performer stands on the stage, strumming an enchanted guitar and singing some modern rendition of an old folk song. In all honesty, you're not fond of it - too unusual and chaotic for your tastes. Then again, it is about an unusual and chaotic situation.

A flicker of movement catches your eye, and you raise your head to see what appears to be a hatch, just barely open. Strange - you could have sworn it wasn't there before.

A/N: I'm a rebel. You can tell because I used three hyphens rather than an em dash. B)

[hxneystorm]

Ooooo

[Piefan]

Bump! If I don't receive a command by next week, I'll just pretend "Oooo" is an actual command. xD

[apricotflyer]

Go check out the hatch.