cooperation

[alicornucopia]

Two girls are moving their hands through the air and speaking together in perfect parallel.

Two girls are looking expectantly at a circle of red chalk on their floor.

Two girls have done something exceptionally stupid.

with Harry (andaisq)

with Isabella (Eva)

with Arcane (kappa)

with Miles (kappa)

with Nick (Rockeye)

Comments

[rockeye_stonetoe]

And after a bit of wandering, onto a table go a moderately large pile of books. An atlas, history books, a first tier wizardry textbook, and a book supposedly summarizing all the different species in Elcenia. He starts reading.

[alicornucopia]

The atlas indicates that the planet is square. There are continents (three that go to edges, one large island whose continent status is apparently controversial), and seas, demarcated by merfolk political boundaries, several of which also go to edges. It is, by convention, divided into nine climates - three columns with wet on the east and dry on the west, three rows with cold in the north and hot in the south. Esmaar is on the cooler edge of medium and spans the dry area. People only live on the top of the square.

The first tier wizarding textbook has a lot of tips for getting crisp gestures and accurate pronunciation (this part will make no sense, being intended for Leraal speakers). It also introduces the concept of intentional components, suggests exercises and practice spells to get those right, and defines vocabulary like "reversal" and "analysis" even though it says that first tier students will get to those later in practice.

Elcenia has quite a number of sapient species. Fey are apparently three kinds of small insect-winged four-armed people. There are sapient wolves, up north. There are bird people and merpeople and vampires who turn into bats and drink blood. There are thirty kinds of dragons, who can have a number of interesting types of crossbreed. By comparison, elves and dwarves and halflings are pretty tame.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

He attempts to find a book that summarizes the different kinds of magic.

[alicornucopia]

If he looks hard enough he can find one! There's witchcraft and wizardry (the latter of which comes in three 'traditions'), there's sorcery and lightcraft, there are four kinds of mages, and there is the magic that various species sapient and non- can do.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

He skims a few spellbooks - things like "50 Spells Your Friends Will Expect You To Know If You Are A Wizard" - to get a better idea of the kind of things wizardry can do, but by then it's getting rather late. He asks the first not-busy person he can find if he has to put the books back himself.

[alicornucopia]

The kid he asks says there's a spell to do it, and if he doesn't know it a librarian can do it.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"I have no CC. Where can I find a librarian?"

[alicornucopia]

"Behind that desk," says the kid, pointing.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

"Thanks." The librarian spells his books back. Nick directs the lift back to his room and goes to sleep and wakes up at the next day's sunrise unless something interrupts him.

[alicornucopia]

Nothing interrupts him.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

He eats breakfast (It actually contains things that are not meat, he's had his fill) and wanders around the school, thinking about wings and wood and lift and drag.

[alicornucopia]

Assuming he's not going to try the stairs, it's not very suited for wandering per se. The halls don't connect to each other except by lift and he has to know where he's going to use that. He can go outside if he likes; there's plenty of prairie to walk around, and a pond.

[rockeye_stonetoe]

He looks contemplatively at the pond. <Keo, I'd like to try swimming, where can I find a place to do that?>

[alicornucopia]

<The pond's safe but not really ideal. There's a river with a calm spot if you go a few miles east by southeast.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<Wait, you know I'm by the pond? Are you still in my mind for more than purely voluntary communication? I thought I made it clear I would not like that.>

[alicornucopia]

<The pond is the only conceivably swimmable place you could have easily walked to without knowing where it is,> says Keo. <Calm down.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<Calming. It's hard not to be a little paranoid being near people with abilities vastly greater than my own.>

[alicornucopia]

<Anyway. Do you know how to swim? It's potentially dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<I do not know how to swim. I had planned to find still, shallow water and play it by ear.>

[alicornucopia]

<The pond will work as far as still and shallow goes but there's a fair amount of algae in it and the bottom's very silty; you won't come out clean.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<How does one clean clothes around here? I didn't see detergent in any of the shops.>

[alicornucopia]

<Magic, usually. Enchanted baskets, but some people just learn a household spell for it - you'll want the basket.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<How do I get a credit stamp?>

[alicornucopia]

<You deposit some money with a bank and ask for one.>

[rockeye_stonetoe]

<May I have some money with which to do that? I will promise to use it only for things like the laundry basket, which the school should owe me since I'm stuck here by a student.>