When Magic's All You Know {Interactive Story)

[Piefan]

So, uh, hey.

This is a revival/sequel of Of Magic and Nature. If you didn't read that, no worries - this also works as a standalone, and if you're confused about some piece of world-building or information, go ahead and ask about it. The summarised world is that we have druids (as in, the tabletop game nature-manipulator type of druids, not the ancient Celtic kind) and magicians, living in dubious harmony.

This works like so:

1. At the end of each 'chapter', you can choose what this character does, or, in the case of the first couple posts, you answer a question. (I'm afraid there's not much character customisation here - the main character is already a female teenage magician - but you still have a couple choices.)
2. I post the next chapter. If all goes to plan, I'll be posting once every week or so.
3. Rinse and repeat.

[Piefan]

Character stats

As per a poll, we totally have character stats now. As I don't want literally every decision/action to be affected by these, I'm only having four attributes - one for each school of magic that our beloved character studies/knows; one for general combat. If need be, I'll add more, but I doubt it'll come to that. How this will work is that every action relating to the skills has a difficulty level - if our statistic for that particular attribute is higher than said level, our character succeeds. Otherwise, she fails.

In terms of contests with others, the difficulty level will be equal to the skill level of the other character.

To give you a rough understanding of what these equal:

A score of 1-5 = utterly useless
A score of 6-10 = average for a teenager
A score of 11-15 = typical for a grown adult (who doesn't specialise in it)
A score of 16-20 = typical for an adult who trains in it

Jay (our character)
Illusions- 8
Enchantment- 7
Summoning- 7
Combat- 8

(7 is what Jay began with for all. Every fifteen points for the other skills = an extra point for combat, since she'd probably use them while fighting anyway.)

[Piefan]

Light, filtering through the floral drapes, falls upon you. It's with a groan and a rub of your eyes that you finally awake, dragging yourself from your bed.

Why in the name of Anastasia and all that she's given us do we have translucent curtains? What's even the purpose of that? You grumble to yourself as you go about your morning routine - brushing your teeth, taking a shower, and so on. Last night, you turned in late, leaving you now still tired in spite of your long sleep. Regardless, you know you have to prepare as quickly as possible, lest you become late for school.

While you change into more appropriate attire, you become acutely aware of the noise going on outside your home. Festivities, you assume. Wizards such as yourself tend to have extravagant celebrations, whether or not they're required. It's a way, you suppose, of showing off their skills - fancy fireworks and magical light shows aren't easy to make.

You tie up your hair into a neat bun soon after leaving, your satchel swung over one shoulder. Your school is one of the few in the city which does not offer boarding, meaning you have to make the hour-long journey daily. Though this annoys you tremendously - it leads to being late every other day - your parents refuse to let you transfer to another one.

As per your usual routine, you reflect on your life as you walk. Having few druids in the area to whine about the lack of nature, the district is all stone streets and tall brick buildings. You follow the path before you, absently observing your environment.

You're a wizard - sorcerer, mage, magus, whatever other terms there are for you. Your mother was, your father was, and you're pretty sure that the same could be said hundreds of generations into the family tree. A purebreed, they call you. Not that you like the term; it just fits.

There are six schools of magic you're able to study - Illusions, Enchantment, Summoning, Conjuration, Divination, and Necromancy.

The first of those happens to be the most famous. Allowing its users to fool any or all of the five senses, it's mostly used for parties and pranks. Though it's less popular, Enchantment is just as useful on both counts. It can alter any existing object in nearly any way imaginable, though it can't create new matter out of nowhere.

Summoning and Conjuration are often confused, due to being extremely similar. The former is used to create living beings (something that seems amazing at first, until you realise you need to define literally every tiny trait of your creatures, and that they probably won't listen to your commands), while the latter creates everything that doesn't live.

Considering the wizards' dedication to knowledge, it's a surprise that divination isn't more popular. It allows its users to take any subject and suddenly know everything about it. Apart from that, it can also be used to tell the future, via esoteric prophecies and out-of-context visions.

Depending on who you ask, Necromancy is either the most moralistic thing you could study, or downright evil. The former because it allows people to reunite with their loved ones; the latter because of its association with the dead.

Of course, like most teenagers, you only know three, which are...

... Wait, actually, what types of magic do you know?

[hxneystorm]

Ooh ooh ooh! I love interactive stories!!

I'd go for Illusions, Enchantment and Summoning

[starsailor]

Illusions, Summoning and Conjuration

[Piefan]

• I'd go for Illusions, Enchantment and Summoning :D
  
• Illusions, Summoning and Conjuration
Right. That's what you do - Illusions, Enchantment, and Summoning.

As you approach your school, you find yourself craning your neck to look at its entirety. It resembles a tower in that it's taller than it is wide, stretching out to the skies. Simple drawings line its exterior; its interior, you know, is much the same, except wirh far more detailed art.

Entering, you spend a moment gazing at the murals on each wall - paintings of this school's past. Workers building it from the ground up, enchanting each brick to its proper place (you've always suspected that one was just an excuse for the resplendent display of magic); its first year, its few teachers and students enthusiastic; the gradual increase in popularity.

In the middle of the room lies a magical teleporter ring - given there are at least fifty storeys in the building, it's practically a necessity. Nobody wants to climb twenty flights of stairs just to get to class.

You step into the ring - a circular hunk of metal, really, with heavy enchantments on it - and pale blue light encases you. If you remember correctly, it detects your intentions as soon as you enter it, then moves you to your selected floor.

It takes a moment before the light fades. You exit the device, nearly breaking into a run as you spot a clock from the corner of your eye - you're going to be late.

The school has far smaller classes than average. They intended to have a one-on-one mentorship program, but there were plenty problems stemming from that. Ultimately, they ended up with around five students to each teacher, as well as optional, extra lessons after school, which you never bothered attending.

Flicking open a wooden door, you walk into the classroom. Your mentor's a tall, pale-skinned, and lanky fellow by the name of Atlas - Master Atlas, technically, but he's never seemed to mind you calling him that. He seemed to be made distinctly uncomfortable, in fact, at the more formal title. He's standing in the middle of the room, dressed in loose-fitting clothing, and saying something about cryptography.

Opposite him stand Rosetta and Renee, the two sisters. They're talking to each other, the former leaning against the wall. There used to be another member of the class, but he got himself transferred to another school - a more art-oriented one, as opposed to the neutrality here.

As you enter, Atlas turns to you. "Ah, you're here. Good morning..."

... Wait, what's your name?

New poll.

[starsailor]

Jay, I really like the name Jay.

[hxneystorm]

Briley, Maya or Hailey
Or maybe even Brayla
Or Jasper or Tessa!

IDK

[trickszy]

Vanessa?

[Piefan]

• Jay
  
• Briley/Maya/Hailey/Brayla/Tessa/Jasper
• Vanessa
A/N: In case you were wondering, I don't choose according to post order - the random number generator chooses for me.

"... Jay." Atlas smiles politely at you before turning back, tapping on a whiteboard hooked to the wall. "Now, today we'll be learning about, uh, illusions. More specifically, how to counter them, and how to stop others from countering yours."

That school of magic happens to be the only one that all three of you study, although you seem to specialise in different areas of it. Renee loves the auditory aspects of it (most of her practice comes from bursting into song at random points in time); Rosetta prefers the visual. You remain neutral, as a jack of all trades.

He carries on with his speech, occasionally summoning illusions to demonstrate a theory or show you a flaw in its design. You're pretty sure you're not going to use this any time soon, but on the off-chance that you do, you pay attention regardless, drawing a notebook and pencil from your satchel.

Illusions +1!

Despite your best efforts, you find your attention wandering. As Atlas turns his back to find something, Rosetta leans towards you.

She and her sister are largely similar in appearance, with the same round, dark eyes and light skin. Though both are relatively short, Renee's thick hair makes her seem a few centimetres taller; Rosetta doesn't have this advantage.

"Hey, Jay," she says, and you have to look down to meet her gaze. Her brown hair is messy as usual, her voice raspy. Despite this, she's smiling, small but obvious. Beside her, Renee's turned to you, listening to your conversation as she's wont to do. "You coming to the festival tomorrow, or what?"

You furrow your brow in confusion. "What?"

"You mean 'what' as in you're not going, or as in-"

"What festival, I mean?" you clarify.

Renee speaks next, cheerful as usual. "You don't know?" Her tone is disbelieving. "The Anniversary of Magic's Founding. Back when Anastasia and Daniel-"

"Oh, that." You nod in acknowledgement. It's an extremely significant event here in Driyla - given how important magic is, it's no wonder. Used for practically everything, from farming crops to mass-producing clothing, life would probably collapse without it. Not just in this country, either - nearly every land relies heavily on it.

You were going to stay home that night, sleeping, studying, and talking to your parents. Still, the festival, being partly organised by wizards, is known for being intense and fun. It might be a good idea to attend...