Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[_DivideByZero_]

(OOC Thread)

Beyond the Victory Arch beckons the Flowering Hall, a towering expanse of trunks, vines and verdant filigree forming the ceremonial palace where the city's Architect once resided. The Arch itself guards the gateway to the palace, emblazoned with the many names of the city-state's conquests.
Upon the sinister side, the arch reads: GREED, WAR, INJUSTICE, and many other words of ill fortune. On the opposite face: SANCTITY, CHARITY, TEMPERANCE, FATE...

"Citizens of the world," says the headmaster, standing atop the arch to face the crowd of people outside the hall. The crowd is diffuse, loosely-packed but by no means small in number. In the distance, standing atop roofs and city roads, onlookers spy on the event through a constellation of glowing mandalas.
"Know that this city in which you stand, that its people, its vision... has conquered all. We conquer not by robbing others of their freedoms, or by slaying those who dare oppose us, but rather through acceptance and perseverance." The headmaster's white ferraiolo trails below him as he launches himself into the air and hovers still, the hem of his clothing hanging one arm's length below the tips of his feet
"Indeed, we have made sacrifices to get this far. We entertain no false notions of equality, no humility to make us bow at the feet of strangers. In this city we are free! We may follow our own precepts, knowing indeed that there will be no partiality, not to those who make friends of the state, nor to those of wealth and status. All ideas stand on level ground, and those who withstand the trial by fire we welcome with open arms into our institution, where greatness is born and nurtured, that your ideas may survive and prosper till the ages to come!"

With that the black-barred gates open for the prospective students, heretofore assembled in a single-file line before the arch.


In front of each examinee stands a block of marble, the height of an adult man, perched atop a quartz pedestal. There are two dozen blocks of the sort, arranged in a neat uniform row, whereas the students beside the blocks are anything but uniform--one of the contestants appears half frozen in a block of melting ice, melting it into a snake-like mass of water as she hovers between destinations. The rest of the students include someone dressed in full black armor and a girl with a metal flower on her back, along with some sort of mechanical spider which is also half-woman (dgr11897).
The spirits above are restless. Drifting to and fro between the luminescent flowers that light the grand halls, innumerable Lv. 1 spirits observe what goes on below, eager to learn some magic of their own by copying the coming inundation-by-spellwork. Greater spirits, as if expecting unwelcome petition from the prospective students, are mostly absent save for a Lv. 3 spirit which makes itself known as a seeker of mechanized knowledge.

Beyond your starting area is a race track, marked with fluorescent red stripes to delineate each contestant's lane. The pathway boasts several tight curves, making four winding 'S' shapes in a symmetrical arrangement, before crossing itself upon a bridge and ramp, with a straight hundred-meter rally to the finish line as the second half of the course.


Each contestant has a white box painted on the ground. Students cannot leave the box during the race, however until then they are to prepare the marble block as a vehicle for the race; standing at the starting point, each contestant will drive the marble block forward along the track to the finish line.

"The marble block contains a crystal which is the only part you must take to the finish line," says the proctor, a woman wearing a red cloak draped over her dress. "Anything else you do to the block is legal, except asking another human to enter the race. You have the whole academy's resources available to you. The path to the professors' offices are to the back of the hall," she points toward an ivy gate in the back left of the great hall, forward being the direction of the finish line.
"And to your left is the path to the central campus, the tower in which students reside, along with their workshops and the main library. You can ask whomever to help you, so long as they do not participate in the race. Be sure to finish before the clock tower strikes noon."


Noon. You've three hours.
The marble block stands in front of you, and you can sense the crystal inside. A dusting of mist is present... not that kind of dusting which accumulates on the surface of objects exposed to the mist, but rather a dusting that is evenly distributed throughout the bulk of the material. This is no ordinary stone. It is highly receptive to magic. Levitating it near you would be child's play. Doing to at a distance would be less so, especially with the other contestants competing for bandwidth across the racetrack. What will you do? Will you implant some mechanism into the marble to make it more suitable for racing? Will you recruit help from entities beyond mankind? From experts in the school? This small block of stone contains your future.

[TheBiggerFish]

Elena de Voire nods at the seeker of mechanized knowledge, if said seeker is visible to her.  She knows a kindred spirit when she finds one.  That said, her immediate plan for the race is simple.

She does have one small question.

"Madame Proctor?  Are we allowed to use devices external to the block?  Are we allowed to test our vehicle to the course?"

Elena wishes to create a system capable of applying vectored thrust at the behest of a control system.  Like a RC car.  (Artifice, Wavecraft?)
She will mount (a small portion of, if successful, to cut down on the weight and increase speed per force) the block, with the crystal inside, to wheels.  If she can successfully program autonomous travel within it, she's golden.  If not, she likely has parts with which to pierce the mist and control the car anyway.

[TricMagic]

"Procter, it is only necessary to cross the goal with the Crystal, correct?"


First things first. Get the answer to my question.

[TheBiggerFish]

"Oui, yes, is that the only requirement?  For instance, this track..."
If it is, in fact, the only requirement...
Step 1: smallify the vehicle as before.
Step 2: embed straight-shot driving to the finish line.

That said, it's probably not the only requirement, so an autonomous vehicle is most likely the plan still.

[IcyTea31]

Marcus gazes upon the task before him, and begins to think.

"Some of the prospects are probably amp the signal to move it themselves, but maybe it'd be smarter to make it move in its own as there'll be a lot of noise. Spirits are plentiful, so I could organize a choir to guide it while the spirits push it forward. That'll be easier if I reshape it to move on the ground first, or in the air if the lower friction is worth it..."

Before doing anything, however, he turns to check out his competition on either side:

"Hello! How's the day for you?"

[TheBiggerFish]

"She is decent!  How is yours?  What are you thinking of doing?  I'm thinking an autonomous system!  And wheels, or casters, to simplify turning a bit...  What bands are people prone to using around here, anyway...?  Please tell me you have some concept of signal management?"

This girl has a strange accent.

[_DivideByZero_]

She does have one small question.

"Madame Proctor?  Are we allowed to use devices external to the block?  Are we allowed to test our vehicle to the course?"

Proctor, smiling through her glasses, motions toward the ivy gates once more. "Of course, my pupil. Should you be limited to stone tools, I would have pointed you toward the caves outside the city."

"Procter, it is only necessary to cross the goal with the Crystal, correct?"

"Correct. The crystal must cross the finish line intact, while the stone is merely a vessel. If you so choose."

The crystal itself is about the size of a human head. More portable than the block itself.


On the spiritual plane:

Elena de Voire nods at the seeker of mechanized knowledge, if said seeker is visible to her.  She knows a kindred spirit when she finds one.  That said, her immediate plan for the race is simple.

The spirit makes its presence known to all that it can. You hear the crackling in your ears, like a voice inside your head, but it is the same no matter how you turn your head.

The signal grows stronger, as if it came nearer, but it isn't quite revealing its position clearly. Or perhaps you're just not understanding it.

[TricMagic]

Italics only are for thoughts

That's a new one.. Hmm..

Hop on top of the block. Listen and converse with this strange spirit. I have plenty of time for this. Wonder what it's life has been like.

I have spoken to Elemental spirits before, and I can understand them. Not to mention having my own young spirits within me.

[TheBiggerFish]

"And testing?  Are we allowed to make test runs?"

Elena doesn't really expect to receive assistance from the spirit, or be able to communicate with it well, such craft not being her field.  She might, however, have something she can do to render it intelligible...

Would a speaker/microphone, infused with magic dust, allow the transmission of communication to and from the spiritual plane?

Would it be something Elena might already have?

Nevertheless, Elena is set on her task: crafting a vehicle out of the stone and crystal set before her, and making it drive.

[IcyTea31]

"She is decent!  How is yours?  What are you thinking of doing?  I'm thinking an autonomous system!  And wheels, or casters, to simplify turning a bit...  What bands are people prone to using around here, anyway...?  Please tell me you have some concept of signal management?"

This girl has a strange accent.

"I don't know which bands people use or even that much about that whole signal management stuff, but I'll be using audible sound to bypass the noise problem. Heh. Either way, are you sure wheels are the best option? Levitation would minimize friction if you can Ignite it."

Would it be something Elena might already have?

She is currently talking to a moderately powerful Spiritseer. Ain't no rule that you can't ask the other prospects for help in preparation.

[TheBiggerFish]

"But I do not plan to ignite!  I plan to artifice!  And this way I can send more power to the motion, instead of spending a significant amount of energy fighting gravity!"

Indeed there is not, but Elena simply doesn't feel a strong need to do so.

[dgr11897]

Hmm, What to do, what to do... Ignition artifice combo?
Caelum begins cutting up her rock into 4 parts, 1 part to levitate and provide forward thrust constantly, 2 to levitate constantly but provide thrust forwards only if they sense a florescent red line 1 foot forwards and a little to the left or right of them, if they don't they provide half thrust in reverse.  Then she artifices a vehicle for her gem using the resources  from the academy and the rocks, by placing the conditional thrust providers on opposite sides, she can make a primitive line follower, one which should stop when it reaches the finish line, hopefully... She gets the teachers to check her plan before she starts, just to be sure.

[IcyTea31]

"How will you get it to move, if not by spirits or ignitions? Surely you're not just trying to boost over the noise?"

[TheBiggerFish]

"She turns the wheels, she moves."

[Supernerd]

Octavia thinks for a moment, then decides to ask for a clarification on the rules. "I know that I must remain in the box painted on the ground during the race... But does the box itself need to remain stationary?"