01 - 01/13/25 : The Place to Be
Ezri and Snow, two prospective students of Everlight Academy, had joined a merchant caravan in exchange for travel to Fortune's Crossing. Ezri was content to keep to herself for the duration of the trip, but her companion was far more curious. Upon learning that both were planning to join the academy, Snow asked about the gnome's motives, who reluctantly expressed concerns about her own magic power and the possible threat it posed to herself and others. Snow, in contrast, was fairly confident in her own magical abilities, but hoped it would grow with instruction, though Ezri had her doubts on the tiefling's magic potential.
The discussion was put on hold as an explosion in a nearby crossroad caused the caravan to halt. The two adventurers were tasked with investigating, where a hidden figure demanded that all the spellcasters come to the center of the crossroad. Ezri put up a tough front, but the two cautiously complied to draw the attacker out. As they did, three hooded figures emerged from their hiding places and attacked the duo. The pair of mages proved to be quite skilled in combat, though Ezri was very unaccustomed to the dangers involved. As Snow managed to bring down one adversary, the others gave up and plead to save their friend, which the duo allowed.
The trio introduced themselves as Sleight, Nox'a'an, and Mary, revealing that they were attempting to hunt Everlight students to gain access to the Brighthollow archives. As one of their members, Nox, was a Githyanki who had been in the invading force that attacked Darnegal 5 years ago, they believed it to be their only way for the group to gain access to the knowledge in the archive. As they lamented giving up on this aim, Ezri and Snow suggested that they instead come with them to Everlight, as an unknown school would be better than completely giving up on their goals. The trio agreed and join the caravan, with some trepidation from the merchants.
As they continued journeying, Snow noticed that Mary's mouth movements seemed slight off when she spoke. Mary expressed annoyance at the apparent slip-up, and as the caravan made camp for the night, the trio explained that Mary was, in fact, a mimic taking humanoid form. While the revelation was shocking, Snow and Ezri took the information in stride and agreed to let Mary establish herself in town without revealing her secret to anyone. As the party rested for the night, Ezri heard a voice questioning her motives for sparing the trio. She dismissed it as "more players on the stage," and, satisfied by this, the voice left her to her slumber.
The next day, the caravan finally arrived at Fortune's Crossing, where they were greeted by the town's mayor and a scholarly looking fellow. The duo showed curiosity in the Nimblewrights automatons that assisted visitors with their belongings, and the scholar explained that one of the Everlight professors had created them. He went on to introduce himself as the headmaster of Everlight, Arwyn Halliwell. Arwyn excitedly welcomed the prospective students, informing them that with their numbers, they now totaled 9 students and 5 instructors. He also explained that, with the threat from Darnegal, the school needed to use some divination to ensure that the students didn't mean the city harm. Ezri was concerned about accidental harm, but Arwyn clarified that they were only concerned about intent. He explained that the new students would need to remain on the school grounds during this process, but that they would be able to speak to the professors for the time being.
With Arwyn's direction, Ezri headed for the glade of Professor Cirella, with Snow tagging along to her chagrin. The professor greeted the two, introducing herself as Cirella the Phantom Eye, who studied ways to more thoroughly master the amount of power spellcasters could utilize. Ezri explained her fear of power and desperate need for control. Cirella offered to teach her, but would need to start by pushing the limits of what Ezri could control, warning that the ritual for this would be quite painful. Ezri balked at the witch's proposal, not wanting to deal with cruelty of ambitious mages. Cirella was taken aback by the young girl's visceral reaction, dropping the theatrics and ensuring Ezri that she would be fully in control of the process and could end it if she felt unsafe. With this in mind, Ezri went forward with the test, allowing her wild magic to run wild while she endured the pain. As she made it to the end, Cirella confirmed that she had taken the first step towards greater control.
For the next stop, Snow dragged Ezri with her to meet Professor The Golem. Arriving at his dojo, the duo met the imposing figure of The Golem, who believed that a honed body could improve the arcane skills of mages. While Ezri was unsure of this methodology, Snow excitedly took to her new mentor's teachings, pushing herself to begin his training, which took a bit of strain on her body. The Golem promised to help Snow develop a regular regimen for the soldier's future arcane training.
The next day, Arwyn enthusiastically woke the new students, having completed their background divinations and was ready to have them start on their first objective. Arwyn described his own studies on ley lines and the ways to find and utilize them, and wanted the students to gather some data for him. He presented them with the tools of his research, ley poles that could be attuned to different arcane energies. As Snow focused on hers, she envisioned how her magic was one more weapon in her arsenal, tapping into a source of powerful evocation. Ezri's wild magic pulled in all directions, but she eventually focused in on the protective power of magic, zeroing in on the powers of Abjuration. Thrilled by this result, Arwyn then gave them ley orbs which would help direct them towards the sources they found. As this was their first assignment, though, he decided to give them a guide to assist in their travels, a well known magic user from town. A proud voice announced the presence of their new companion, referring to themself as "The Great Nessali."
Comments