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 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:27 pm
Cypress smiled; her first time actually talking to someone! She certainly was starting to feel more welcome already. Now all she had to do was make some friends, study hard, and keep on working! I'm Cypress she whispered back before returning to her own notes, still curious about what the last castor shell had done and what it was.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:32 pm
Abrid didn't have long to wait as the questions began. He turned first to Belwen as a gameshow host might turn to a contestant who has given the right response. "This is a Barrier Radius." Abrid crooked a smile and paused long enough to raise a little curiosity. "It heightens the senses to a near supernatural level so that you would be aware of any incoming danger, scrying being done on you and present magics, among other things. Each Radius shell has its own area of affect. You need to learn what the abilities of each type of Shell are as there are no real constants." Abrid louged back against the nearest chair and curled his whip tail around its four legs. And then someone asked the money question. Abrid turned, grinning to Mathiaz and replied genially. "There are 93 all together. But who knows, perhaps someday in the future, some brilliant crafter will be able to add a new shell on to that list." Abrid let the Caster Gun fall to his side. "Now then, when are Caster Guns allowed? Anyone know? And anyone know which Shells are limited to which situations?" Abrid reached one hand into his pocket and grinned at the class waiting for some answers.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:50 pm
Abacus perked up when the barrier radius was shot off, turning around to watch the reactions from the rest of the class before turning his attention forward. This... this was so cool! He listened, leaning back in his chair and simply enjoying the sensa-- oh, look at that! And that! He wondered if his camera would capture the feeling, but decided against taking a picture. Would the same effect be caught on film? Would be be able to look away? Better to forgo temptation than to give into it, and be caught staring at a picture consisting of half of Abrid and possibly his own thumb caught over the lense -- that'd lead to some tricky questions.
At Abrid's question, Abacus raised his hand. Didn't he mention something earlier...? "Caster Guns are allowed in duels - that is some shells are," he corrected. "Other shells are too dangerous, but those shells may be used against Outsiders and monsters in hostile situations."
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:12 pm
Number 86 . . . something didn't sound quite right. Digging in her satchel, she pulled out a book on Castor Shells she had borrowed from the Library and flipped to the proper page. Castor Shell Number 86 - the Warding Radius. Emitting a black translucent sphere to a radius . . . . . Hesitantly, she put her hand in the air. Professor, I thought #86 was the Warding Radius? she asked, rather embarrassed, though she couldn't quite explain why.
Ninety-three castor shells . . . that was going to take forever to memorize! The only reason she had caught the thing about the Warding Radius was that she knew #6 was the barrier shot. She hadn't gotten much past the first seven or so shots. Cypress finally had a question of her own that hadn't been answered yet. Um, Professor, will the power of the castor shell vary depending upon the crafter? she asked, honestly curious. After all, magic spells would vary in potency depending on who and how they were casted, so wouldn't it make sense that the castor shells did too? Or was there some sort of standardization to the process that she was unaware of?
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:03 pm
Belwen sat in her seat almost warily after the shots that the professor had already put off in the classroom. Almost as if she was attempting to not allow him to surprise her again. She glanced over at listening to the other students as they spoke, at the question of what the actual caster shell was she looked up curiously to the teacher. If he was wrong she wondered how he would react.
Nadyrr continued to write as carefully as he could, once Abacus started speaking he realized he had already had those notes down. The brawny Empyrean rolled his shoulders and rested back slightly somewhat pleased. He was sure he would miss perhaps too much of the rest of the class but with his notes appearing to even be slightly useful he felt much better for it.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:05 pm
 Slowly realizing he still had his hand in the air, Khamsyn lowered it as Professor Abrid moved on. The Professors question caught Khamsyn by surprise a little and he paused a second to think on the answer. Abrid had already stated that you could only use shells of your level or lower. So maybe this was a trick question. Or maybe not. Before he could decide for himself, he heard Abacus pipe up and give what sounded like an intelligent and above all else, correct answer to the querry. Just for the sake of it, and to prove he was listening, Khamsyn decided to add something to his classmates answer.
"There are also shells that can be used to heal and such that can be used in the appropriate situation if I recall correctly." he added, "Provided you are of the same level or higher than the shell."
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:00 am
Ah, of course, when it came to answering questions, the students always grew a lot quieter. Ah well, only two responses meant only two prizes. "Catch!" He said to Abacus tossing a #6 in his direction. "And you!" He said, tossing a #4 at Khamsyn. "you were both entirely correct. Well done. These shells are both usable for you in Duels starting at your current Stage. I hope they come in handy for you."
"As for your question," He continued smoothly, turning to Cypress. "The spells in a Caster Shell are not too different from the spells cast in Magical Theory. The main differences are that these require a synergy with technomagic which makes them more unstable. So there are regulations and specific practices in order to safely make them. So as a crafter or caster gets more experienced and more powerful, the level of damage or the efficacy of the effect does not change in the crafting, it simply becomes easier to perform. The reason we have them graded from 0 to 3 is so that those more powerful Shell magics aren't used by those Empyreans who would not yet be able to withstand or combat their power. Does that answer your question?" Abrid asked kindly, his whiskers curling around his mouth.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:25 pm
 Belwen sat back some in her seat as she listened, she wasn't so sure about all that you would have to go through to make a Caster Shell but she did see the use of having the shells. Giving more attention then she usually did she wrote a few notes in her notebook; she also make a small note to stop in the library and pick up a book on Caster shells, the professor was giving them good information but she was sure there was much more that she could find.
Her eyes flickered over as each shell was tossed to Abacus and Khamsyn, idly she wondered what shells they had received. Listening to him respond to Cypress Belwen made a few more notes in her notebook, it seemed that the shells powers could be quite potent indeed. Nadyrr had given up on his notes, well at least most of them he still jotted down the odd thing or two but really wasn't attempting as hard as he had been. He wondered about the dueling, rubbing the back of his neck slightly he also wondered on the amount of damage they would allow into the ring during a duel. Quirking a brow slightly he made a note hearing of the healing shell, at least it seemed that not all of them were used for harming others; but if you healed with it...did that mean you had to shoot yourself with a Caster gun.
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:44 pm
Cypress nodded, jotting down the Professor's additional comments in her notes. For a Journeyman, she was rather studious. Well, it didn't really matter. She was hear to learn, and learn she intended to do. Once finished, she looked back up at Abrid, wondering what he would tell them, or fire, next.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:58 am
"Eh?" Abacus looked up, then nearly jumped out of his chair to catch the bullet. What would happen if it hit the ground? And what did it do? Abacus carefully rolled the bullet around in his hands, seemingly mesmerized by the shifting colors. When Abrid continued, Abacus carefully set the bullet on the desk in front of him and looked up, listening.
"Professor," Abacus asked, raising his hand, "What would happen if an Empyrean used a shell that was a grade too high for their current level? Would the effects of the shell backfire?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:28 am
Thimble had embarked upon her journey with all the enthusiasm of someone confident of things working to plan: she had time on her side, her colourful scrawl of a schedule detailing which class she was heading to and where it was held was in her hands, and all her books and bits and bobs were there in the satchel bumping against her side, indeed, the weight of painstakingly not forgetting things was causing her to trot about in an oddly lopsided manner, with one of her hands cupped across the slant of her hip to serve as padding to prevent the battering of protruding book edges from becoming painful--revealed flesh made feeling air and environment so much easier, but proved little defence against stride-swinging loads.
However, Thimble had not gone terribly far before she realised she didn't actually know where any of these places were. This would be a disconcerting thought... had not she explained it away in the rationalisation that this would be her first of this class, after all, so it's not so odd not to know. In the good humour that comes in having no concern in being late, she had run up and down corridors, her thick boots tromping on the floors with their attached beads jinkling in a frenzy of mimic-forced movement. Whilst this did not actually help her in finding the place, it had helped her find a group of Empyreans who did seem to know where they were going, and after innocently trailing them, she heard snatches of conversation that confirmed they were the right people to follow.
Slipping into class with these Empyreans, Thimble managed to stay unnoticed, though a small grin--revealing, even, a few fragments of white teeth--betrayed her smug pride of success where others might have lose their head for panic. As she unpacked her books and quill, she kept an eye out as others entered, and was slightly ruffled to realise she didn't know the names of any of them, even if some of their faces seemed very familiar. At least she knew the name of this kindly faced long-tailed stub-fingered Empyrean, holding over their shoulder something long and intricately fashioned, who must be the teacher, (at this, she glanced down at her schedule) Adrid.
The uncomfortable feeling of namelessness was only heightened when she pulled out her notebook to see it entirely blank. Was she still dreaming? One of those horribly convincingly real ones where you can't even seem to remember the most obvious and simple of things... but no, she must have just started a new book or left her half filled one----
The lights went out. Thimble's thoughts were completely derailed as everything went pitch black. Blackout? Power failure? Then a crack rang out. A gunshot! This really must be a dream. A nightmare, more like. As an eerie red light washed over everything and suddenly she could see again as though normal--though nothing was normal about the sudden hue-change of her world. Thimble pressed herself into the back of her chair, shrinking and gazing wild-eyed about her. She never had nightmares! Had she eaten something bad? Was it hot that night? How do you wake yourself up? Ge....aaah, it was creepy how vivid everything was. What if something horrible happened and she'd feel it with all of her senses like she was doing now?
A small, creepy Melancholic, who was already coloured red-and-shadows (now appearing hellish in this tinted glow), had made a noise like a banshee and jumped to her feet centre stage from Thimble's seat. The expression on her face was positively insane, a demonic kind of glee, and as she blathered potent-sounding cryptic phrases, Thimble almost passed out. She was petrified, whilst she didn't make a single noise, she was biting her lip so hard it had bleached, and her arms were shaking so bad, nails scratching at the paper of the book. Next the Empyreans would start eating each other or something...
Thimble began to panic, she was ruthlessly frightened, and eyes flickering to the door she did a quick contemplation-crunch of fending off an entire classes worth of Empyreans in a bid for escape. It did not appear good, maybe if she picked up her heaviest book, she could use it both to beat off any advances and shield herself?
But--hangon? Whilst there had been an initial scattering of shrieks and shock-reactions, and of course that incredibly disturbing performance a few desks ahead, the hubub subsided quickly and a stable voice -- originating at Abrid -- was calmly and cheerily conducting a lesson. Hands were being raised and questions and answers were bounced back and forth. Eventually the lights returned, and nothing else macabre seemed to be occuring.
This was just... class? Thimble's nails had left little indents in the blank pages. Everything seemed to be resolving itself peaceably, even if that strange Empyrean had prompted little more than a few side looks. Oh, how confusing! When the second shot rang out, Thimble was at a loss as to whether she was knee-deep in some strange fiction or whether it was actually class, and if it was class---
Notes! Notes! Quick quick quick, before she forgot them (though she would not forget the effects of either of the shells) Suddenly Thimble was a flurry of catchup activity, blots of ink flecked her hands like spittle as she jotted down everything that had been said in a highly abbreviated form, if there was time later she'd flush these parts out but she couldn't give it a lot of attention as she still had to concentrate on what was currently being said. It may well be a dream and thus a strange thing of pointlessness to do, but better she do it then realise later she actually needed those notes. It was hard though, her thoughts were already difficult to pin to words, and her state of mind wasn't helping.
With every passing minute, normality seemed to be more restored, and Thimble's shakes became trembles, and her face calmed as well. Hopefully... not every class will be like this, or she'd be well on her way to needing a counsellor. Heck, even now she wanted very much to go to her room and lock the door and just... hide under the blankets for a while. Even reading those terribly dull tomes didn't seem like such a bad way to spend the time right now. It didn't seem like she could ever be a big fan of castor guns, after an experience like this.
The professor had just thrown out a few shells, and answered the latest lot of questions.
"No" Thimble said suddenly, and seemed almost to surprise herself that she had answered a question asked to another student. There was a short awkward pause before she elaborated, fiddling with the quill in her fingers nervously, getting them even more darkly spattered.
"Only that... missed asked question." Thimble's voice was clipped in this sudden anxiety spike, tone tainted by a few residues of fear. "C..." Damn, she didn't know the name, though she'd later feel stupid because this one looked like someone she should know "Choleric asked for clarifcation. Clarification... identification. You said shot #86, but you said shot called Barrier radius. Hep say shot called Warding radius. Shot is Barrier or Warding, hey? And for first shot..." Thimble continued past her point, as the urge to better understand all parts of this world made her curiousity rise past her unsurity.
"When you say, how you say," she fumbled before remembering the words, seeing as they had been heard when she was half out of her mind "Those within ten foot of Caster will see, you mean Caster gun, no? Or where shot fired, no? Or Empyr who fired, no? Question then be... Caster can move, hey? If Caster can't move, then shot not be useful, no? Because is loud, others know where to look, and not much point if needed done again over every 10 feet. But if Caster moves, then shot-spell work in certain way, hey? Spell binds to someone, no? Spell decide target in certain way, hey?" Thimble's brow was knitted slightly, as she momentarily lost her jitters in perplexion of the puzzle this was presenting her.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:07 am
Abrid's happy expression faultered for a minute and he became quite while he composed his answer. Finally he turned to Abacus and spoke carefully, "The other Professor's would like me to lie to you, to tell you it wouldn't work, so don't even try... But that's not much of an answer, and it's certainly not true..." Abrid's whiskers flicked a little agitatedly and he strove onward. "The truth is, you could technically fire one. The Caster gun is not intelligent, it does not know who holds it. It does not know at whom it points. Therefore, a Zero could technically fire a restricted #1 at a Three and kill him. It can be done." Abrid was grave and silent for a moment and then he added. "If one uses a shell beyond their legal capacity, they will be arrested, and taken to trial before the chorus. If the Chorus decides it, the offender will be Extinguished for breaking the law. That is why, we say you can't, not because of some limitation of technology."
And then Thimble spoke up, in a curling passage of words and Abrid grinned mirthfully to himself at the sound of it. "Number 86 is in fact called the Warding Radius, which heightens senses, and alerts you to anything trying to come near you, but also keeps certain things at bay. Like bug spray." Abrid grinned and scratched an itch on his knee with the tip of his tail. "The Barrier Radius, #6, is a protective layer, and is in fact a different Shell." And then, in the tumbling way thimble spoke, she hit on a very good query. Abrid grinned full out and wiggled his fingers in excitement. "Where the Shell takes effect depends on the type it is. Radius Shells take effect around the Caster, and yes, they can move with the Caster. Shot Shells take effect wherever they are fired, such as at an opponent or at a comrade, or at yourself. Blasts are directional, moving from the caster to a target, and hit everything in between in a solid line. Arrows hit a certain target and then remain there, continuing their affects. Release Shells unleash a creature or monster that then comes into existence in front of the Caster. Gas Shells explode wherever they are pointed and spread out from their in a Radius that follows the target. And last but certainly not least, Flare Shells take effect over an entire area, so filling a room, section of a forest, etc. These terms in the names tell the User what sort of way they take affect so they can be more accurately used. Does that answer your question?" Abrid asked, tossing a #6 to her for the question.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 10:16 am
Cypress smiled - she hadn't wanted to push the question she had asked about #86 being the Barrier or Warding radius, but she was happy to know that she had been right. She also smiled at the girl - she had never seen her before. Cypress almost laughed. She had hardly met anyone, after all. She flashed the fellow Choleric a beaming smile and turned her attention back to the class.
She was, however, a bit disturbed that Abrid had given them information that he wasn't supposed to. They could shoot level 1 bullets? Yes, they weren't supposed to, but still. That wasn't the kind of thing you should share with ones as young as they, was it? What if someone got really upset in a duel? Cypress sighed. Extinguishment wouldn't bring back the Empyrean that was killed, and it would further weaken their society. Based on her anxiety, she had another question.
Professor, as Zeros, what shells are we allowed to use? And how would a Zero get their hands on a level one shell anyway? she asked, though her voice expressed not curiosity in doing it herself, but almost disdain that it was even possible. Surely none of the Technomagi would sell over-rated Castor Shells to anyone . . . It was then that she thought of Cyphr. What if he was able to "order" shells for higher level Empyrs and then give them to Zeros? She shook her head almost immediately. She didn't think Cyphr would do that. Besides, Ones and above would be able to get their own items, wouldn't they? The entire idea worried Cypress quite a bit and her note taking slowed with the increased ramblings of her mind. Without even waiting for Abrid's answer for her first question, she rambled out some more. Wouldn't there be a way to put some sort of . . . tester . . . on the Castor Guns? Something that could read the amount or strength of our Essence and determine what type of shells we can use? I mean, trial by the Chorus is great and everything, but it can't undo what's already been done. Shouldn't there be more than just a law protecting their use? she asked and, if anyone paid any attention, they could easily sense the underlying current of panic in her questions. She didn't even know why she was so upset about this. It wasn't like she'd be in the field any time soon. But the idea terrified her, probably because she loved peace and reason more than anything else, and the answer Abrid gave had offered her neither.
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Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:58 pm
As soon as Porfessor Abrid tossed the shell towards Khamsyn he felt a surge of panic. Things seemed to switch to ultra slow motion and he could see the shell tumble through the air towards him. His muscles started to react unconsciously to catch it but they seemed to be moving even slower than the shell. Would he be able to catch the shell in time? Suddenly visions of him completely missing and hearing the shell carry on past him and clatter to the floor flooded his mind. Or missing the shell and someone else having to catch it for him. Maybe a Kinesthetic, their reaction times are faster after all. Or even having the shell bounce off his forehead as he stared cross-eyed at it. All of them would be highly embarassing. No doubt the other students would laugh, or at least snicker, at him if such things happened.
The shell continued it's arch towards him and Khamsyn closed his eyes and prayed, letting his body take over. His hand extended and he felt the shell strike his palm... and bounce as he failed to close his hand in time. Suddenly his other hand shot out and smacked into the shell, sending it upwards now yet still out of his grip. A bead of sweat slid down the bridge of his nose and hung momentarily from the tip before dropping. Opening his eyes, he saw the shell arch up into the air slightly, his first hand making a grab for it again. The surge of relief when his fingers closed around it securely made him smilely widely. Quickly placing the shell in his sleeve for the time being, he audibly sighed and slumped back in his chair. He'd look up what the shell was later. It wasn't a pressing matter anyways. He had no castor gun in which to laod it anyways. Still, he was curious.
His curiousity waned as his attention snapped back to the class at hand and times seemed to return to normal speed. The questions posed to Professor Abrid were getting good, and he needed to pay attention. Being a Journeyman had it's advantages and disadvantages. Chiefly having to study that much harder to keep up with the Academic types.
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:36 am
Aysel was quiet, although she continued to jot down notes as questions were asked and answered. However, at Cypress's question about putting a tester on the gun, she nodded and blinked. Why couldn't that be done, after all? "Accidents do happen." she murmured, more to herself than anything. "In the hands of somebody unskilled..somebody who hasn't yet been educated in Castor Guns and the like..isn't there some sort of safety precaution that could be equipped? A shell reader, or something similar? It seems awfully dangerous.." she trailed off with a shrug, wondering how such a reader would work, if it were to exist.
Sombre, on the other hand, cared nothing for the discussion at hand. Oh, no. She was far more interested in the effects of the shells that Abrid shot off. She giggled gleefully, wiggling her little body around, and then scooted forward in order to be closer to the Professor. Fixing her eyes pleadingly upon him and clutching Scalpel close to her chest, the tiny Melancholic's expression was almost one of hero-worship.
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