|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 3:09 am
The students milled and gradually found their seats, most with friends or lovers. Paxar turned slowly about, his four supporting limbs click-clacking against the tile of the floor, his two raised, clawed hands etching away in the air. Very slowly Paxar's watery gaze filtered over the multitude of students in the room.
"Well, well now..." The Draconic Professor intoned slowly, his voice not unkind, but echoing and eerie. "What have we here? What indeed... What are you all doing in my room?" Paxar took a lumbering step forward, and his thick tail swung about, very nearly toppling a desk in its sweep. All the while the Professor moved, when he talked, each breath he took and each blink of his eyes, his talons were moving jittery through the air, scratching out numbers, lines, shapes, confining the logic of the world to theorums and equations, constantly weighing, evaluating, accounting for every variable. Only through such constant effort of his massive mental prowess could he remain sane - or at least, as close to sane as Paxar could ever return to. Professor Paxar stepped up to a student in the front row and lowering himself down to peer into the boy's face with the smooth and minute features of a serpentine visage smiled to himself. "Ah, could it be? Could it be? Has so much time passed? Zeroes? Fresh Husks, brought in from the world of death..." Paxar raised back up onto his haunches and licked his smile-stretched lips. "How charming. Well, Zeroes, what do you want?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:27 am
Amelia smiled as Grave sat down close to her. It had been awhile. "Hi Grave! It's been far too long, I know. Sometimes I just get in a mood to be by myself, I guess," she said, giving him a shy smile. "Sometimes I wish I was more sociable."
She noticed a boy sit down next to Grave and greet him, and she smiled and introduced herself. Now that she was out and about, she may as well meet a new classmate. "Hello, I'm Amelia," she said, waving to Torrid.
It was then that Kallisto plopped down next to them, and again, Amelia had to grin. She'd always liked Kallisto, they'd just never had much time to talk. "How've you been?" she asked, greeting the pigtailed girl. "It's been far too long!"
Before she could get an answer, Profesor Paxar began talking, as if he had no idea he was supposed to be teaching a class. What an odd fellow, she thought, examining his draconic features. as he paced around the room looking more than a little confused.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:10 pm
"We're here for class, Professor Paxar," Antigone piped up, golden eyes blinking slowly as she watched the draconian Empyrean move and twitch and jitter. "Math class," she clarified, licking her lips nervously. Talking with Professors made her nervous- especially given how badly things had gone with Bardane. She watched him curiously, her Academics mind recognizing, on a sub-conscious level, that Paxar was Broken. How had he come to be this way...?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 11:42 pm
Astaroth leaned back slightly as the professor seemed to appraise him, a frown curving his lips downward. His eyes flashed with thinly veiled annoyance. It wouldn't do to get off on the wrong foot in the first class he attended. As Paxar straightened, he looked relieved. People getting close was not among the things he usually enjoyed.
He paused, echoing what Paxar had said, "World of death...?" He spoke quietly, sensing that mentioning it too loudly might disrupt the strangely active equilibrium the professor seemed to be in. While Astaroth found he could follow the lines and patterns easily enough, he knew not what they meant - they were so complex.
He opened his mouth to respond but closed it again as Antigone spoke up. No point in repeating the answer.--- 
Kallisto nodded, "It has! I'm great. You?" She responded as the professor began speaking and turned to face him, forcing herself to watch his face instead of his constantly moving limbs. He seemed entirely strange and she wasn't entirely sure whether or not he was jittery because of excess energy or because he was being distracted. The things he was drawing through the air utterly and completely confused Kallisto so she assumed it was the latter. After all, how could someone not be confused by such a jumble?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 9:38 am
Danna inhaled a sharp breath when the Professor lowered his face to stare at Astaroth, and she felt a pang of relief when the professor moved away again. Something about this Professor didn't seem....right. It was Danna's first class so she couldn't be sure, but when she'd spoken to Professora Quenda, and Professora Raelyn, they hadn't been like this at all... Perhaps it was a nature inherent to Phlegmatics? Still, it didn't seem to sit right with her. Danna shifted her attention from the agitated professor to the many glowing patterns spreading through the air and began trying to copy some of them down into her notebook so she might be able to study them later, and perhaps figure out what they meant. Cyphr beamed at Blayk. It had been long enough that his non-existent Short Term memory had rrelented, and his long term memory had begun to pick up the pieces and inform him of what had happened. One of the little tid bits of information that he remembered was the girl's name. This was Blayk. Blayk was neat. She was a friend. "Blayk, you're Neat!" Cyphr whispered to her, his voice carrying farther than he would have liked. The Professor was talking in riddles, and Cyphr couldn't stand riddles, they muddled his brain. So he did his best to distract himself with staring at the useless lines of light above his head instead. 
When Paxar spoke Grave stilled. He'd heard from Requiem that Paxar was Broken, but only now, seeing the way the man spoke and the way he moved, did Grave fully understand the depth and meaning of that status. Why did they still allow Paxar to teach? Brilliant as he may be, he didn't seem to even know they were students, less teach them anything. Grave began to feel on edge. He wished the etching would just stop and the class get on with today's Lesson, whatever it might be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 9:48 am
Aside from the ceaseless etching of Paxar's fingers, the rest of the Draconic Empyrean sat perfectly still, his eyes glazed to dull spots in his featureless face as he listened. Not to the words that the students spoke to each other, but to their thoughts, in specific, the thoughts they were projecting about the Professor.
Broken... came to him from a few of the mnids in the room.
Yes, he was...Paxar thought to himself suddenly. He had been. But by whom? And why? Paxar's consciousness began to spiral its efforts towards that thought, and he was about to slip when he heard a vaguely familiar voice speak out.
"Math Class." Paxar's eyes blinked two sets of eyelids and he inhaled deeply. Ah yes. Math Class. He smiled. Now there was a subject that was fit for occupying his thoughts.
"You'd like to learn some Mathematics, then?" He asked, the lessons well known to him after all these years. And with that he waved his hands and the many lighted diagrams crumbled in another collection of sparkling dust.
"Mathematics are possibly the most powerful Augmentation that is known to us." Paxar spoke strongly, his voice rising out of its previous eeriness to reveal a self-confidence that put so much more strength into his draconic body it was startling.
"While the full breadth of the things Mathematics can be applied to would take us many long cycles to cover, there are a few keystones I can start you off with. Once you learn these basic starting skills, you can then begin to play with the patterns yourselves and discover what you can about the magics of Geometries."
Paxar clasped his twitching fingers behind his back and raised one of his supporting foreclaws and held up a single talon.
"Please take notes!" He smiled his strange snake-like smile. "We will be covering three key concepts in this season's Math Class: Magic Squares, Substitution and Geometries. Let's Begin."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 2:37 pm
Astaroth flipped open his notebook to a fresh page and nodded as he wrote down the subjects they'd be studying. His writing was crisp and elegant as his quill swirled across the page. A smile played across his features as he thought about the options he'd gain by learning from Paxar. Mathematics would be yet another tool in his mastery of magic. He leaned to the side a bit and whispered to Danna, "If you need help, just ask."
Kallisto blinked as the professor suddenly became for more understandable and... powerful. That's the only way she could describe the confidence that seemed to have suddenly settled onto him. It was a little bit frightening and made her wonder if Paxar would slip back into the strange state he was in before.
What were Magic Squares? She frowned, she'd never heard of them before.... But as he continued to speak, she realized she hadn't yet pulled out her notebook. Hastily doing so, she tapped the quill on the paper thoughtfully. If this subject was among the most powerful augmentations they could use, she knew she had to pay attention - her studies in circle magic had emphasized the effect geometries would have the potency of her spells and even her alchemical pursuits.
She only hoped she wouldn't fall too far behind... This seemed like a very intellectual class and that wasn't her strong point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:49 pm
Aysel was frightened. Frightened of this professor and his glowing etchings, frightened of the way he seemed not to recognise them..not as Zeros, not as students. She trembled slightly, her eyes never leaving the form of Paxar as she silently (and hastily) fished writing implements out of her bag and began to take notes. She hadn't been this sort of scared..of just about anybody else. Not when she'd been burned on valentines, not even on the all hallow's eve trip. There was just something...off, about this professor...something her fellow students seemed to know, while she was clueless. Scowling a bit at her ignorance (as well as the way the hand gripping her quill was shaking- weak!), she grabbed inconspiciously for the only comfort she could think of- that is, the comfort of Antigone's hand in hers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 10:36 am
It took Ubel several moments to function properly after being given the command to take notes. He just sat numbly in his seat, watching Paxar with nervousness and fascination, hardly able to imagine how difficult it must be to function and live life as the other was. But eventually, he moved, reaching into his bag and taking out his notebook and quill, a shaky sigh escaping his lips as he began to write, listening to what the Professor said. Lior immediately reached for Cash. It was instinctive, comfort-seeking, and he held onto the other's hand as he watched Paxar with careful curiosity and definite wariness. He almost didn't want to move, didn't want to attract the Professor's attention. Finally, though, he managed to let go of Cash and move to begin writing, smiling sheepishly at the Phlegm.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 3:58 am
Yambati watched the Empyrean's change from not-all-there to confident teacher with interest. He'd never seen somebody who was broken - and he found it fascinating. That something could so alter somebody's mind...
He blinked, then opened his notebook, prepared to write down notes. This was one teacher who wouldn't lose his attention, even if he found mathematics boring (which he hoped he wouldn't).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 7:28 pm
 For all that Mat seemed to be everywhere and annoying people all the time ... he hadn't really heard any of the rumors about Paxar before this. He'd taken a seat slightly behind and to one side of Grave, staring wide-eyed at the Professor. "What is wrong with him?" he whispered, leaning forward a little toward those in front of him.
Because ... y-ea, something was most definitely "off" here ...
He did get out a notebook though, and a quill. Weird as they were, the patterns of glowing light looked pretty cool ... and if they were going to learn to make those, this might just be more interesting than he'd thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 10:57 pm
Torrid shot a grin and a wave to Kallisto as she joined them, pleased to see a group gathering. He found he rather enjoyed class when there was more than a few friendly faces about. Largely ignoring the crazy antics of the obviously bugged-out professor, though he listened to his ramblings, Torrid was pleased to see the girl Grave was with introduce herself. He liked girls, but he found himself feeling more timid than usual around them.
"Hi there, 'm Torrid," he said to Amelia, and smiled.
After a moment or two, he decided at last with some amount of good timing to prepare himself for the day's lesson, digging his school supplies out of his bag as Paxar's insane babble took on a purposeful tone. Torrid felt himself make a face, though he knew it was rude; what a weirdo this guy was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 7:48 am
Paxar's watery gaze filtered over the open notebooks and he smiled his wide sperpentine smile. "Like the Colours of the Spectrum, specific Numbers each have meanings, and power they can influence over othe aspects. Whether it be the degree of distance between two bodies, of the length of time your sustain a spell's effects, Numbers rule the world. So, if you can apply and invoke their power in Spell casting you become capable of many amazing things. It is a difficult skill to hone, as it requires the perfect focus of the mind simultaneous to the actual casting. Mudras can help train the mind to this focus." Paxar paused and brought up one jittering claw. "In order to draw on the natural power of a specific number, you need to draw a magic square." Paxar drew a mathematically perfect square of light. He then divided it into 9 mathematically perfect boxes. "The Minimum number of squares within a magic square is nine, but you can go infinitely larger... Keep in mind that the number of squares in each row influences the strength of the Magic Square too. In this case, 3 stands for the Trinity, the balance of power. A good number for a magic square." Paxar flicked his gaze to the lines of light floating perfectly still between him and his students. "Choose which number you wish to draw your magic square for...I will choose 15. 15 equals 6. You reduce the number by adding its component parts, 1 + 5 = 6. Each line in your square will add up to your chosen number perfectly, and will reduce perfectly."
Paxar wiggled his claw and the square filled up with numbers:
.4.9.2.
.3.5.7.
.8.1.6.
And when the last digit was in place the entire square lit up with bright white light. It shone so brightly, the rest of the room seemed to dim, and it hummed deeply, like a frequency so low you're sure you hear it. Paxar stared intently at his class.
"Can anyone tell me the properties of 6?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:30 am
Ubel continued to quickly take his notes, biting his bottom lip as he listened to what Paxar said, trying to wrap his mind around the strange, mathematical concepts. It was so... odd. But it made sense. He looked up to watch the square be drawn, tilting his head, before wincing at the suddenly bright light, drawing back just a little. Of course, he told himself to write down the notes, to make sure he had it right so he could practice later... "Properties, Professor? Exactly... which properties are you looking for?" he asked then, biting his bottom lip lightly once more. Lior was baffled. Completely. Mathematics were... ridiculous, in his opinion, and as fascinating as this was, to watch things glow about... it was hard to keep himself focused. The Sanguine squirmed, sighed, and played with his hair, doing his best to take notes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 12:00 pm
Blayk laughed softly at Cyphr's 'whispered' words. "Thanks, Cyphr. I think you're pretty neat yourself." Getting out her writing utensils, the Choleric female gestured for the Sanguine next to her to do the same. "Math may be hard, but if it's being taught, it has to be important, right? So you better take notes." And speaking of notes... "Six is the number indicative of love, domesticity, family affairs, as in of the alignment loyalties, and loyalty. Six consists of the first male number, three, mixed with the first female number, two, and therefore characterizes productive and harmonious balance. Is that what you were looking for, Professor?" Antigone rubbed her thumb over the back of Aysel's hand, sending her a soft smile. "Settle down, dear one," she murmured softly, leaning over to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. She let go of her lover's hand long enough to rummage about in her bag, producing a quill and her notebook. In writing that was more scribbles than anything else, she began to jot down everything the professor said. The Phlegmatic Journeyman wrapped both of his blue-tinged hands around Lior as the Sanguine clung to him, giving his friend an understanding look as he was sent a sheepish grin. "Don't worry about it," he murmured, before taking out his own supplies for notes. Noting the other's inability to pay attention, he yanked a piece of paper from his notebook, and printed in neat, concise handwriting, 'Having trouble keeping focus, Lior?'
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
