oh, hey, a new one. Well, I guess I'll just copy/paste my schpiel onto here.

A practical extension of this might be quite simple. Say wizard A wants a mobile servant who can shoot fireballs.
The fire might be strong fire, so the effect (fire) in the sorcery school costs, oh, say 3 points. Making it ranged costs 3 points as well. Binding it to something would cost, say, one more point.(range: personal 1 point touch 2 point ranged 3 points) Those were done in the sorcery school.
Next, it needs to be mobile. This servant will fly, so it will have a flight-equivalent effect from the matter school (animating modes of movement: Walk, 1 point, climb over walls and ceilings 2 points, flight 3 points)
This was done in the material school.
Next, it would need a spirit to power it- You might want to simply animate a weak undead spirit, as it doesn't need to move anything about, just provide thought. 1 point (brittle skeletons, weak zombies, incorporeal spirits 1 point, stronger undead cost more) That is done in the conjuration school. Finally, you need to control the ghost. That would require 3 points (control mindless creature 1 point, animal mind 2 points, sentient mind 3 points) to control the creature, and an additional 2 points to make it permanent.

That's a whopping 15 points, all added up. However, that's where mitigation comes in...

Anyway, here's the rough rundown. The student doesn't know how many points the spell costs, so he just starts mitigating. He gets the skull of a mage who loved archery, reducing the cost of the ranged portion of the spell by 1 (past familiarity) and reducing the whole cost of the spell by 1 (magical residue). Also, The human skull is easier for a spirit to channel into, and as such it reduces the cost of the spirit's necromancy by one, nullifying it. Next, he performs the ritual in his senior's gravity-less dorm, to imitate the surroundings of flight, giving another reduction. Then he anoints the skull in blood, giving it a base 2 point blood magic reduction, as blood magic is the oldest magic

Also, he casts the spell on the day when the sun and earth are farthest from each other on his home plane, making gravity weaker and giving him a one point reduction (personal astrological significance) Next, he paints the skull in a gunpowder-like solution, reducing the cost of the fire by one (the spell has a supporting material component) and puts rubies in its canines (the spell has a material focus). He continues doing as many preventatives like that.

also, I'm giving these reductions all minimum one-point values, maybe fractions can be gone into for reductions, as not all of them are worth one whole power point (unless it's a very high power-point system)

so if a spell costs 5 (lets say its all one school for simplicity) and you mitigate 7 points, youre saying that would make a 2 point window where the spell functions normally?

So, let's say he's mitigated the spell's cost entirely with his components. Or, say, he mitigated so much that everything has been mitigated into the negatives (spells costing -4 power points or something). This functions as a kind of breathing-room for power point overspillage. overspillage works like this- if so many points in, say, fire are mitigated that it has a negative one point cost, and that fire effect originally had a three point power cost. That would mean that a caster could put one additional power point into the fire section, and nothing bad/something good will happen (the fire shoots harder, it shoots for longer, etc etc etc.) However, if he puts in two power points, something bad will happen, as you're going out of the safe boundries of the spell. say, the skull actually explodes. Also, if you apply less power points than needed, the spell just gets weaker.

>>1818238
yes, exactly that.

>>1818244

but what about the opposite direction? if you only mitigate 3 points for a 5 point spell? then you have to pay exactly 2, or it goes haywire?

>>1818263
Well, kind of. If you pay exactly two, it works well, Any less, and all the effects are weaker. Any more, and it does go haywire, more and more, for every point over. That's why these rituals, and knowing how much power spells cost are important.

>>1818287

if i understand correctly then it seems like there is more incentive to over-mitigate than under-mitigate. not that thats necessarily a bad thing, i just wanted to get your idea straight in my head.

>>1818307
yeah, you can never have too much mitigation. But, mitigation is tricky to get. Thus, the game becomes about gaining the resources to cast your spells cheaply, and not just about gaining power.

I missed the first thread. What's this all about?

>>1818317
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1813027/

>>1818317

basically a harry-potter-esque meets...i dont know, sith academy? grimdark magic school where all the students are pitted against each other in a fight for dark knowledge, wealth, and power.

>>1818317
also, just a maybe kickass magic system in general.

So, if anyone from the earlier threads is here, how do I contact you guys?

>>1818396

i got here near the end; i think the original group said they were going to bed, so youd have to wait for 8 hours or so...im going to be awake for another couple hours, but i browse here fairly regularly, so if i another thread pops up ill surely see it.

>>1818406
allright. I guess having someone looking with me will help.

While not part of the original thread, I'm interested in hearing more about the system you've got going.

If it develops any more or you end up making something out of it (or play a game using it), I'd like to hear if it's not too much trouble. This post has my real email.

>>1818425
will do

Soooo... anyone wanna discuss the possibilities of this system?

bump for magischool

those runes are complete bullshit and i hate them. the ones that are ripped off from genuine futhark are wrong, and wtf is up with the bunch of retarded nonexistant ones? faggotry.

>>1818774
they were one of the first things that popped up when I typed rune into google.

>>1818774
whaddya have against nonexistant things, hey buddy!

>>1818774
They’re Hungarian runes, which have a somewhat different pedigree.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hungarian_runes.htm

>>1818774
hey buddy! Whatcha got against the fantastical, eh buddy?

>>1818774
Bud, we don't like it when people diss the fantastical. We might have to do something unfriendly, eh buddy?

I'm a fan for having effects expire as well. If a sorcery student wants to create a new personalised spell, he'll have to jump through all the hoops yadda yadda, but even after the ritual, his ability to use the spell is only temporary.

Imagine it as he's building a mental engine that channels energy towards a specific purpose (let's say, shooting fireballs). Every time he uses it, the engine wears out a bit. Sure, fine workmanship can preserve the engine, and in order to use it at all he's had to invest some of his permanent resources into it (let's say, no one can have an effect costing more than their total proficiency in a school), but one day it'll break down.

He'll have to spend an equivalent number of character points or XP or whatever to make that construct permanent. Same for alchemists and conjurors. Want to have that demon be a bodyguard for life? Give it 3 XP.

Thus, resources also have to be balanced between progression (enhancing your skills and learning new ones) and preservation (keeping your old tried-and-true effects operative, while allowing ineffective ones to expire or disbanding them).

>>1819326
How bout several degrees of permanency? Instant is free, one day is 1 xp, one month is two xp, permanent is three.

I'm going to sleep soon, I really, really want to get in on this game.

>>1819365
What I meant is that let's have active but nonpermanent effects take up "slots".

Let's say you have Conjury 5. This gives you 5 "slots", since your Conjury skill determines how many and how powerful the contracts are that you can enforce. If you bind a powerful demon, it not only costs Spell Points to perform the ritual (and activate the demon's power when appropriate) but it takes up slots.

You summon a class 4 demon, mitigate the cost down to 1. It takes up 1 slot, costs you 1 spell point to summon and bind, and subsequently activating its ability (let's say, flight for 1 "scene") costs 1 spell point. You can regain spell points fairly easily (let's say, x per day), but your slots are tied up, thus reducing your versatility.

By spending 1 xp, you make the contract binding and permanent, and it frees up your slot. It still costs 1 spell point to activate the ability, but you now have 5 "slots" again, and can bind more powerful demons.

>>1819500
well, there's the thing. we haven't come up with a system for getting MORE Spellpoints- we just expend them. But, as I said, I'm going to bed now. I'll talk tomorrow, kay?

>>1819517
Yep. Hope the thread will still be here.

Spellpoints should be possible to be regained in a number of ways. We might want to scratch having them regenerate normally – let the blighters squabble over it. Maybe they're drawn from the reserves provided by the school's bound demon. Every student has an allowance based on his or her standing, but you could always bully another student into relinquishing his or her spellpoints to you.

Could also get it back by disbanding the effects of others, sacrificing materials, etc.

*yawn*
Ah, a good night's sleep. What did I miss?

Gentlemen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8sFCOPbIf8

>>1818230
*finishes reading backlog* This is genius stuff elephant construct skeleton man, exactly what I had it mind.
As the years pass students gain more and more total SPs so multiple ambitious projects such as your fire-servants or having flying towers are possible whereas first-year's would have to really work hard and pool their points for just one of these creations. It not only makes teachers and older students a force to be reckoned with, but encourages a band of new players to stick together for more powerful projects but not force them to as they grow individually.

An easy way of keeping things fluid in regards to the base costs of things (without memorising Almanacs and astronomical charts) would be to have something like 'Winds of Magic': We understand that doing X in one school is a classic Level Y spell (Sorcerous fire is a lv.3 sorcery, say) - however from year to year (or term to term) the balances of magic shift to and fro slightly which, for example, causes all sorcery to cost one level lower than normal or perhaps one or two higher (and perhaps enchantment being lower). This would disallow metagaming and encourage players to look for signs as to which School had the most power in a given term - crackling lightning whipping down the stairwells might be a good indication.

>>1818230
So ff you eventually had 15 SP (the base cost without ritual mitigation) to freely spend you could quite literally pluck the mobile servant out of thin air in the blink of an eye?

Having read the last thread and this one, there are a few big things I'd like to suggest.

First, for the system: Ars Magica. Seriously, even if you don't adopt it wholeheartedly you'll find a read through the rulebook EXTREMELY helpful.

Next, for the fluff: The whole deal with murder just strikes me as being a little far-fetched, but I think it can work alot more smoothly if you add cutthroat politics and faction warfare to the mix- so a slight between some Slytherin first years and a member of Griffindor in early fall has, by the end of the first semester, escalated into open warfare on the school grounds that makes Gangs of New York look like a friendly fistfight.

>>1819816
Yes. And that's exactly why you don't challenge Demon Lords to duels; they simply have so many points that they can afford not to waste time with ritual. Their word is creation itself.

>>1819821
There are cutthroat politics, intrigues, faction, schisms and betrayals - essentially it's a collection of megalomaniacs each striving to be the top-dog. Murder is a part of this, but in the same way so are lies, bullying, blackmail and broken promises; personal gain is key for how the Scholomance works and the political structures that have formed are both convoluted and fragile. To say 'oh, it's all just murder' is to underestimate what's at stake and the endless cycles of revenge and dominance which often become more powerful the more subtle they are.

>>1819853
So murder is entirely last resort, an act of desperation?

>>1819828
What am I looking at?

Also, I think http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1158048/ will definitely be of interest. But seriously: You NEED to check out Ars Magica, it'll be damn helpful.

>>1819862
When blackmail is so much cleaner? Hell yeah.

>>1819863
The reason why you don't get uppity with infernal powers?

>>1819877
A lot of us were from that thread; it's this game's grandsire. This is more simple and fluid by far, perhaps.

I'll look into Ars. Thanks.

>>1819863
A being that could quite literally kill you in the most impressive display of maigc and literally not feel any sort of ramifications of any sort at all.

>>1819862
Subtle is the name of the game. You can't run around slaughtering people - that will make their sponsers angry, and it will make the teachers angry. If you're discovered, you're likely to be transformed into a statue, an alchemical experiment or a specially prepared host for a demon. If you are discovered, your very soul is forfeit.

>>1819917
"Demons Fall, everyone dies."

So, are demons more like glorious fallen angels or more like >>1819752 ?

>>1819963
Demons vary greatly.
There are Hindu demons.
There are Christian demons.
There are Goetic Demons.
There are all bloody sorts of demons. Mitigation may allow you to narrow down the type of demon that you summon. You might want to call upon a Rakshasa, a Hindu demon. However, without the correct mitigation, you draw out a random creature from the other realms appropriate to the Spell Points spent.

>>1819963
Depends entirely on rank and how they choose to appear. A more human form in fine clothes with a soft tongue might entice a younger student to trust an infernal creature, whereas an older-student would only be tempted by a vast display of alien power.
Of course, Demons (or Devils, whatever you wish) are the perfect essence of purest Evil and can never truly hide their one-sided natures – even the best of guises cannot conceal a sadistic nature and an endless, sardonic grin.

>>1819997
This also works. Demons can appear as they wish to appear. Perhaps a correct form of mitigation forces the demon to come in its true form.

Shit you guys are awesome.
Since this is so awesome, I hereby declare that I will draw anything asked for relevant to this stuff.
Full-color? Sure.
FUCKHUEG ILLUSTRATION? OKAY, ON IT.

I am now dedicated.
(But I won't be able to start until in a few hours.)

>>1820038
Let's start with simple stuff.
A robed student summoning a fiery demon within a summoning circle in the dungeons of the university.

>>1820038
I suppose any PDF manual will need some Alchemical/Summoning circles...

Win.

It seems llike this game will be akin to Paranoia, except with additional grimdark and serious business. Everyone's constantly looking over their shoulders, casting spells to get the upper hand and making sure no one gets the upper hand over them.

For those going "Wtf?"
Check out this link.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1813027/

Some golden rules-based stuff here, gentlmen. Motion to archive?

>>1820812
Is there enough stuff here yet to validate an archive?

Archive would leave it incomplete. Thus, abstain.

As an indicator that I'm actually doing something, here's the sketch.

>>1820762

Just like back in school, well except for the fireballs and stuff.

>>1820843
Holy shit bread, batman.
That's awesome.

I would summon an incubus in the middle of a group of freshmen and watch as he wore them all as condoms.

>>1820889
Yeeeah. That kind of activity would result in your superiors turning you into a drooling automaton to do the grunt work around the campus.

>>1820900

But it would be oh so worth it

Hi. Just to identify myself, I was the guy who wrote the posts on punishment using Hermione and Draco. I also wrote the bit about the Alchemy Teachers, and the Conjuration teachers. I'm a bit of a writefag, but I don't ever go into doing fanfiction. I like fluff tho. I actually wrote a bit of fluff for Rodentia back in the day...

Anyways. 'sup, /tg?

>>1820938
Write some stuff about what you think the campus should be like then - big arcane university inside a magical hole in reality, that a thousand different rifts converge on.

Damnit, I'm currently trying to memorise Hamlet but I swear as soon as I'm finished I'll compile the rules, that is unless the eloquent 'elephant construct skeleton man' turns up; he understood perfectly my intentions and was so exacting in his explanations...

If not I'll bust out my tablet and doodle some artsie stuff..

Okay, so I've been thinking about this 'Binding' thing. And so now I've got questions.

You conjure up a demon, and kowtow to it and ask for power from it. What does it ask for in exchange? Selling your soul outright could work, but then what do you sell to others?

Should there be levels to pacts? You could rank them as Trivial, Typical, Serious, and Major, maybe?

Can you bargain with things other than XP? Say the color of your hair (causing a social point reduction)? All your memories prior to turning 3, which sounds small, but remember, this is when you learned to walk and stop shitting your pants. Perhaps you give up some livelyhood, lowering your physical attribute?

I'll have to halt 'construction' for a short time, max 1 hour, but pic will be delivered within reasonable time frame. (less than 3 hours)

>>1821011
Trivial would be sacrificing an animal or pet.
Typical would be a blood sacrifice.
Serious would be the sacrifice of another person
Major would be selling your own soul.

>>1820955
Alrighty then. Maybe I should open up notepad. So we've already established that the school is more or less a castle, correct? Before jumping into a description, what are the surrounding environs? Hogwarts had a nearby mountain and a forest. Are we going to have a wasteland? Also the 'thousands' of entrances creates a problem... anyone could leave at any time. Maybe the 'holes' only function at certain times?

Since it's basically a province-sized dimension, on a clear day could you stand on the roof, and using binoculars look into the far distance and see the back of your own head?

I like the multicultural aspect of magic of it and imo it should be reflected in the architecture of the place.

Imagine a character fleeing over the endless rooftops Gormenghast style. His journey begins in a part of the school that looks like a 14th century european castle. as he makes his way across the the rooftops and buttresses the architecture gradually starts to change. Minarets and rooftop gardens start to make their appearance and the type of stone used in the building change. Eventually he finds himself in a castle looking like something out of a 1001 nights.

Also imagine if the weather and environment changed and adapted according to the architecture. Like the wind growing from cold and wet to dry and hot. From freezing you to the bone to feeling like it's about to flay you alive. I mean, this place is built in a rift outside reality. Pretty much anything is possible.

>>1821052

This is >>1821058 speaking. The environment should be psychotropic and change according to the style of the school itself. If you leave through a part that is middle eastern in style you end up in an oasis surrounded by a deadly desert and so on. The physical manifestation of the place and it's surroundings should be like a dream made flash. Nothing should be real and yet everything is. For all intents and purposes the domain of the school is endless but many are the students who have overestimated themselves and traveled too far in the dreamscape, loosing themselves forever.

Also the surroundings should be inhabited by all kinds of mythical creatures.

>>1821052
Those thousands of entrances are only one way. Anything can enter this bizarre realm. Nothing can go out.
The method of escaping the university is known only to those who graduate, who are able to enter and leave at will. Those who have not mastered the arcane arts remain until they do so - or die.

This was written at the start of the first thread by the OP, I believe. I think it has a good feel for it:

"New students, age 16, shall we say, are allowed to select their lodging (an ‘Atelier’) amidst the great spires, dungeons, halls, gardens, domes, walls and pits of The Academy. Space isn't much of an issue seeing as the 'real' boundaries of the place have been so extended and warped out of any normal plane by students who wanted a little more room to stretch their legs that that it's quite impossible to say how much of the architecture is real and how much simply dances on the head of a needle.

Many a romantic First-year will select a high tower but, as any old master will tell you, dungeons are easier to defend by far. Students are permitted to bring furnishings, servants and personal items as they see fit. If not, The Academy often deems it suitable to extend to the individual student the use of one of the school servants, a limited use of school library(s) and general supplies both mundane and magical; notable and costly exceptions to this generosity include the trilogy of Wine, Blood and Ink - which all must be paid for."

>>1821083

Let me just add this. While the school itself and it's immediate surroundings are relatively grounded in what might as well pass for reality the farther you stray the less real and more dreamlike everything becomes. Even to the point of the traveler being able to affect the environment directly through his mood and thoughts. Most often not consciously leading to unforeseen and most often catastrophic consequences.

>>1821085
So you could have a year consisting of students from any place... or any time since the conception of the Academy, 16th to 20th Century.

>>1821128
I like that. Wander too far and you get crushed by your own Id.

>>1821135

Shouldn't the place be even older. It's founding being lost in mists of time. The oldest parts being found in the deepest crevices of the school and consisting of nothing more than dark caves with paintings of strange symbols and creatures, the meaning of which no one can remember. What everyone can agree on is that these places are best avoided because if you linger for some time you can hear the souls of the most ancient of magicians whisper and scratch trying to claw their way back into the world. If you are unlucky or stay to long they might just find a way through you.

Goddammit, now I feel like writing something as well. So many ideas, so little skill.

>>1821128
Certainly in places where the power of Enchantment runs strong.

In areas more attuned to Sorcery, static jolts and marsh-fires flitter off the walls and along banisters; vast boiling clouds of dust and fire rage in cavernous halls and the flags beneath one's boots dissolve into molten, bubbling streams and the window panes run in sliver rivulets across the boards. Else vast glaciers lurk in classrooms and time runs itself about in circles.

In areas famed for great feat of Conjuration even the furnishings move and talk as an endless stream of lesser spirits passes though the place. The floors and walls call to each other as they leap and bandy, the figures in their flames pontificate and up and down the halls on a great many shelves and ranks countless human bones chatter and squawk with the indignation of dead.

These places of power contain miraculous secrets, to be sure, but each is as dangerous as the next; many a student and master has oft never been seen again. Lost or else consumed by the very walls themselves.

so I herd u liek magikal college. you know some jackass is going to think its funny to specialize his character in Conjuration: Beer Elemental and a spell to see through womens clothes, right?

>>1821215
Magical hotspots? Awesome. I suppose they grant bonuses to performance in that area but at great risk?

So, on 'Enchanted Ground' the slightest emotion or wandering thought can warp and alter the physical boundaries of the building.
'Sorcerous Ground' is wracked by the full force of the universe’s energies, a place of unbound and deadly power.
'Conjured Ground' is a wonderland of animism, a cross-road of spirits where even the walls are alive and demons stalk the halls.
'Alchemical Ground' hmmm, what would that be? A place where matter moves and shifts to recreate itself into mechanical things of motion?

>>1821239
This is why I suggested no pig disgusting Americans in the first thread.

>>1821253

yeah, cause only americans like getting drunk

>>1821250
The alchemical zones are much like how the normal world functions - except the land acts as if every second is a century. Techtonic movement happens much faster, the ground flows into the furnaces beneath and is spewed back up against, rapidly cooling. The world would move so fast it would seem almost like a living thing. Mountain would rise and fall over the surface just like warts and spots would and it would add a much greater emphasis on you seeming like a parasite on a much larger creature.

>>1821260
No, but only Americans have frat boys like that in vast majority.

>>1821277
The whole college fraternity thing is such a massive thing in America in a way that most other countries just don't do. It's like you're NOT A MAN UNLESS YOU JOIN A FRATERNITY AND GET STRIPPED NAKED AND DUMPED BY A ROADSIDE FIFTY MILES FROM CIVILISATION BY YOUR BEST BUDDIES.

Man, those were they days.

>>1821291
everyone who isnt in a frat, at least where I went to school, thought the fratboys were fucking retarded and avoided their shit at all costs.

>>1821239
Luckily this game is being produced by about five of us, will have a 6 page rule book on PDF and be played entirely on the /tg/ chat channels. If it ever even gets printed, let alone handed to a person not actually creating it then I will eat my hat.

>>1821300
Maybe it's one of those plots to kill off the really dumb ten percent of the population, except it backfired because America apparently thinks that being good at football is a qualification for college education.

>>1821313
Try that shit in the UK and have fun bagging the groceries.

>>1821320
Removing one tenth of the populace or getting into college on a "football scholership"?

>>1821320
Try that shit ANYWHERE ELSE and have fun [insert shitty job here]

>>1821322
Getting into college based on sports.
No, fuck that. You want to get into sports, you just flunk college, join a FC and if you fail that, you bag groceries for the rest of your life.

Right. Back on topic.
I really like the idea of the scenery constantly warping based on the thousands of different cultures that make up the University.

>>1821058
Like in Assassin's Creed? That game had a good mix of European and Middle-Eastern architecture?

>>1821372
Sounds good to me. Except, mix in a bit of Indian. Some Chinese for effect, too. Some African, maybe a bit... Oh! Native American! Mayan, some druidic stuff...

Oh fuck it, build it out of every culture.

>>1821385
Ah classic Gothic cathedral-esque hall, but what's this? The pillars are fuck-off huge celtic monoliths stone-henge style covered in dark and ancient spirals.

Yes please!

>>1821385
I think I might have some good architecture somewhere on my hard drive.

>>1821327
>>1821326
>>1821322
>>1821320
>>1821313
>>1821300
>>1821291
>>1821277
>>1821253

And wtf? Not all Americans are like this. Could we just replace that with simply keeping assholes out?

Also, what time period so I know what era Indian/other cultures come in. Pic is an abandoned Russian Institute.

>>1821342

Thanks! I was quite pleased with it myself.

Anyways story time, an educational little thing to show the way the Scholomance can act if you're not careful. I'm taking some inspiration from >>1820889 because I find Incubii and sex-magic cool.

So anyways, there once was this teacher in Conjuration. Nice enough guy but a little off, But hey, what can you expect from someone who spends more time with demons than people.

He was a decent enough teacher and the mortality rate amongst his students was well below average. Problem was, being a renowned Conjurer he had during his life made tons of pacts with a motley crew of demons, devils, spirits and other unsavory, supernatural beings. And the time to pay the piper was drawing close.

The teacher had no intention of spending the next eternity being ripped asunder by the multitude of beings who he owed his soul. The answer to his problem was simple enough and the gods know it's been attained before, at least temporarily. He had to gain immortality.

Now a Sorcerer might have turned himself into a being of magical energy, the alchemist might have transferred his soul into a magical construct and an Enchanter would just go body snatching. But our dear friend was a Conjurer, demons were his thing so he made a plan.

"Welcome to the First Basement, young master. Boiler-room and general pumping; laundry is though the arches a league yonder."

>>1821405
>>1821385
Pic is a western European style building with Asian exterior refitting in Myanmar(Burma)

Ulf Grimsdotter had just turned 16. His father, a wealthy businessman, often spoke with him about this day. He told his son that on his 16nth birthday, he would become a man. Ulf did not exactly know what this entailed, school had taught him that becoming a man happened biologically through hormones and so forth. They had driven to Stockholm in silence. As they drove, Ulf realized he could count the times he'd seen his father drive himself on one hand, and in every instance the driving time was short compared to when the chaufer drove him. Stockholm was three hours away by train, but they couldn't have been in the car longer than half an hour when they entered the city limits.
The Saab came to a stop outside a rundown flophouse on the outskirts of the city, a building that looked old compared to the nearby stripmall and adult theatre. Father smiled wickedly and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "We're here, my son. Come, help me with the bags." The driver-side door slammed shut.
"Bags? How long are we going to be here?" As Ulf got out of the passenger seat, he looked around at the dilapitated slum, a far cry from the clean life of the mansion where he grew up. His father was opening the back of the car and taking out two suitcases. "Take these. I'll carry... This." 'This' was a small wooden chest, about the size of a cat. Cradling the box to his chest, his father briskly walked up to the door of the flophouse and went in. Ulf grabbed the bags and hurried after, realizing that his father had just left an expensive car in the bad part of town without even bothering to lock it up.

>>1821419
The ole multiple contract bait and switch eh?

It took a minute or so to catch up to his father, who had stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Dad, what are we doing here? This place is probably full of vermin!" His father cast him a stern look and mouthed a word, which made obvious the fact that Ulf was talking entirely too much. He watched silently as his father rattled a nearby doorhandle. His father swore loudly and the door suddenly rotted away.

Ulf stared in disbelief as his father, a loving and caring man who had always provided for his family, stormed into a stranger's room and began harassing the inhabitant. "Out of my way, you old whore!" Standing the doorway, Ulf watched his father pull the woman from her bed. She looked rather young, in fact. Her hair was disheveled and her makeup smeared, but she was probably in her twenties.

"What the fuck is WRONG with you people?!", screamed the prostitute, in a voice that was gravely and spoke of sickly lungs, her breath carrying the stench of old cigars and moldy carpets. She was dressed in a stained t-shirt that was several sizes too big. Ulf stammered an apology to the woman, as his father gripped the bed and flipped it onto its side.

"Pay no heed to her, son. Come to me." Ulf found himself wondering who he had been talking to. He went to his father, who was crouching beside a hole in the floor that the bed had covered. "Put the bags in there." Ulf did as he was told, and one suitcase after the other vanished into the hole. Strangely, there was a soft *whump* noise, as if they had landed in something soft... a cold wind blew out of the hole. Then without word or warning, Ulf's father grabbed him by the neck and threw him after the luggage.

>>Also, what time period so I know what era Indian/other cultures come in.

I think the idea is that any time period can be represented. Even styles that have not been invented yet.

He landed with a loud *whump* in a snowbank, and sat up with his teeth chattering as the chill wind blew stinging ice crystals into his face. His father was suddenly crouching beside him, opening one of the suitcases and pulling out a thick parka. "Wear this. We've got a long walk ahead of us, son." Ulf climbed to his feet and pulled the warm coat on over his clothes, looking around the mountainside for a path or destination. Over the tops of distant trees loomed a mass of mishapen stone, black against the setting sun. Beside him, his father opened the little chest and pulled out a mummified lump of flesh the size of a fist.

As the next peak over pulled itself free and fell skyward, Ulf felt his father's warm hand on his forehead and experienced a sensation akin to waking up. Moments of his past became clear. He knew now that his father's butler and chaeufer had no faces. He knew that his mother cried black tears at breakfast that morning. His childhood pet had been a roach the size of Dachsund. When his little sister drowned, it hadn't been an accident. Together father and son picked up the bags and began walking. "Today, my boy, you are a man. And as men, there are things we will discuss..." During the long walk, great birds flew through the clouds, tearing them and making them bleed blue

>>1821436
I'll take that and run with it.

>>1821449

>>1821455

>>1821438
So far, this has been win. Keep it up, please.

Also, keep up all of the different images of different cultures - thousands of different, constantly shifting buildings will make up the university.

Comments? Suggestions? I decided to use one of the 'doors' from the last thread, the whore's bed in the Swedish ghetto. I decided that it's been the same whore for ages, she's actually over two hundred years old, but sleeping near the hole keeps her from aging externally.

>>1821459

>>1818204
>>1821429
>>1821432
>>1821438
>>1821471

Archtexturefag here, your writing is awesome.

Also, pic related, should be what happens each time someone tries to access 4chan inside school grounds.

>>1821419

Continued.

The teacher made his preparations in secret and a few weeks later he was as ready as he'd ever be. He was about to meet his new class of freshmen for their first lesson, and it would be the perfect time to execute his sordid scheme. An entire classroom full of magically gifted supple young bodies, nothing could be more suited for what he had in mind.

He greeted the class in his usual gruff manner and went on to make a "practical demonstration", he usually did this as an introduction to his new students. Summon some minor demon to give them a little scare. But this time things would be different.

The Incubus came roaring from the portal in a display of raw sexuality and rage. Several students were dead within seconds, impaled upon the demons cock. It took it's time with the rest of them.

The teacher meanwhile, dick in hand, masturbated furiously as he chanted the words of the binding ritual. He had been quite satisfied when he came up with his plan, demons were immortal beings, more so than most and for a Conjurer of his power to dominate the will of one, effectively expelling it from it's own immortal body was a simple thing. All you had to do was to make a nice enough distraction.

But no plan is perfect and neither was the teachers. Dealing with demons is never easy and the slightest mistake can turn the tables rather quickly. No one knows what mistake the teacher did. Maybe he'd made a mistake in his warding circle. Maybe a bit of sperm smudged a protective rune or maybe he just wasn't strong enough to push the demon out of it's body. When the failed ritual was over the demon had buggered off back to whatever hellish place it came from along with the teacher, leaving the classroom drenched in blood and semen. They're having tons of fun together. Now and forever.

To be continued yet again.

>>1818204
>>1821491

>>1821438
just stumbled across this thread on my way to crashing. extremely awesome writing.

>>1821498
pic is mecca, THE example of Middle-eastern architexture

>>1818204
>>1821512

>>1821520

>>1821524
Shadow of the Colossus also has some good "otherworldly" architecture.

>>1821537

>>1821494
Isn't this a bit... excessive?

>>1821471
Continue with this. Just use this kid as an example for anything and everything when it comes to the Scholomance - or the University. Whatever.

>>1821494

This could have been the end of the whole affair. The students dead, the Incubus in possession of a new plaything, and the teacher being buggered with knives for all eternity. But things rarely stay buried in the Scholomance.

The faculty off course had the classroom boarded up and warded. The site of such a bloody occurrence was tainted beyond salvation. The very walls radiating sex and violence. There's just the little problem with students.

Some 50 years later the wards protecting the classroom were oh so carefully removed by a rather curious third year student. The student in question was in the habit of exploring the old and forgotten parts of the Scholomance, both in search for power and for his own amusement.

As he breached the old classroom he was rather disappointed. There was nothing out of place except for the odd stains all over the floor and walls. The student returned to his quarters having gained nothing from his excursion except for a rather odd feeling in his groin.

He was found the morning, a noose around his neck and his pants around his waist.

Is this thread auto saging?

If it is we need a new thread.

Also, archive up at :
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/1818204/

>>1821586
No, it isn't autosaging. And I guess 125 posts is a good archiving point.

>>1821564

Yeah, you are probably right. I was just pretty much freestyling. And I'm not very good at writing anyways.

>>1821595
There was one example of Conjuration teacher. He had bound and charmed - or so he thought - a succubus. However, he found out that it was all trickery when it took control of his body while he was in the mortal world, casting his soul throug the mists of space and time. While his body serves in a correctional facility, his spirit roams the universe, observing the various secrets. Occassionally he is conjured into a Homunculus crafted particularily for him in order to continue teaching at the Scholomance.

Is that better?

>>1821633
Actually, it was good to go into bloody detail for this specific thing, just try not to give us all mental images of incubi.... doing anything.... I thought is was pretty good in its original form.

Pic related, seeing as this looks like something a student would do.

>>1821647
I suppose you're partially right.

Change the helicopter into a deepcrow and I think we're going places.

Crap guys, what kind of symbols do I use for the summoning circle? Should I just wing it?

>>1821664
Use shit from anywhere. Perhaps a combination of anything. Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, the stuff in the OP, anything pictographical.

>>1821647

Thanks, it was honestly the first piece of fiction I've written since I was a wee lad. And you really don't want to know how graphic I was going to be until I decided discretion was probably in order.

Despite the close warmth Cormorant’s teeth chattered loudly and across from him the fire offered no warmth to the freezing pallor that gripped his heart. The soft furnishings of his study held no comfort and all the knowledge plucked from the strewn books, all now pulled from their shelves and perching in slanting piles across the desks and stools, offered no reprieve from the dread that seemed to suck at his spine. Licking his lips nervously and giving one last misgiving glace towards the door, Cormorant lent back in the deep plush of the chair and closed his eyes. He’d put this off for too long, far too long. But went it was over, he told himself with gritted jaw, he wouldn’t have to be afraid of anything ever again. Old Grandfather, with its beaten brass moons and many dials, whirred with a bass tone that reverberated across suddenly silent study. Cormorant sealed his eyes tighter yet, like a man on the edge of a vast precipice. The Devil is never late.
The clock struck once.
The soft paisley weave of the floor snapped open like the lids of some giant eye. The room’s contents were whipped to the sides, quills and books flung weightless into the searing air, the carpet and boards wrinkling and pulling back like some grim flap of private flesh revealing a rounding expanse of milky glass. In the centre an iris of darkling shade glared wild and mad towards the high ceiling. Raising himself weakly after being spun violently from his seat, Cormorant could see his own pallid, panting face staring back at him from the slick surface of the budging eye; his cheeks sunken then suddenly flush with the thrill of breathless terrors. Around him an endless cavalcade of tortured shrieks and wails pierced the air and plucked at his flesh with invisible fingers. The Devil is never late.

>>1821678
/tg/
Not /d/

>>1821664
Try this, its a polish symbol.

>>1821692

Not like I gain any sexual gratification from it. Okay, maybe a teensy bit.

>>1821664

>>1821691
Do go on! This is fantastic!

>>1821704

When you see it...

>>1821717
i already saw it. Just for mentioning that, you get this.

>>1821717
Manji, not swatsika.

>>1821737
Oh, didn't see that.

>>1821717
How can anyone on /tg/ be this ignorant?

I was thinking about the school and it's architecture again. I assume the school continually grows without anyone lifting so much as a finger. Powered by latent magical energy and the inhabitants perception of reality.

My question is this. How would the newer parts of the school look? The ones influenced by more modern times. Or is there a rather lengthy period before the architecture of an age permeates the school enough to make an architectural mark on it.

>>1821773
Possibe some art deco, let me see if I can find some.

>>1821793

That's pretty much exactly what I thought as well.

>>1821773
I suppose on some parts you might find roofs that look as if they belong to flats, to domes that seem as if they should be at the top of mosques or cathederals.

>>1821773
I suppose if each Sorcerer chooses an Atelier of his own, a tower or pit or house with the Academy's walls, when they would expend some magic to change it to what most suits them - comfort, fortification, a grand statement.
I suppose they'd learn towards opulence and 'high' architectural styles. Teachers might construct class-rooms perfectly suited to the task of instruction or keep bizarre and moving lecture halls that must be found first before class can begin. Their personal lodgings might be modest and academic or vast testaments to their conceit and power.
The place shouldn't build itself thoughtlessly, perhaps in the wilder places where even the walls breathe - mostly it's the whims of students and staff that shape the place, shifting fashions and vain one-upmanship.

>>1821820
I'd like to see some little chucklefuck think he's funny when he scrawling all over the wall of the place only for the wall to grow the words "Nice try, dick." and dissolve the scribbles.

>>1821820

Yeah, I like this.

emos go here.

Deep within the walls of the Academy a titanic courtyard sits, at its centre a baroque fountain roars impressively, stone cherubs and nymphs pushing the jets into stunning forms. The walls of this mighty square, however, are the dank exterior walk-ways of high-rise inner-city flats which have been adorned with the various clashing banners, hangings and liveries of Scholomance's Houses and Colleges.
This is Communion Square, a place once fashionable for debate amongst the student body and a place of truce. However, after the grim incident of 1769, it has become a quieter, more hallowed place where only the most furtive of lovers will rendezvous.

Someone, write up some non-faculty NPCs.

Tapas led his daughter along the parapet surrounding the courtyard. Savita's eyes were wide open,

staring as they passed a European gargoyle and a chinese stone dog. As the came to the stairs there

was a loud granite crunch as the two creatures resumed thier century-long fight for thier prized

pedestal.

"Did you once come here father? As a boy?" Savita's excitement was starting to grate on Tapas'

nerves. In his mind, this was not an accomplishment, nor a passing of the torch. Her bright red

sari was glaring against the grey stonework that made up this staircase. The walk from the

Northmost Minaret wasn't a long one.

"Yes I did, Savita. Do not gawk so. This is a place of learning." They came to the bottom

of the stairs and began crossing the courtyard. On the left a group of third-year students was

sitting in a circle, watching an image of some European popstar wash his hair. They passed a statue

of a Roman Goddess, her marble jaw stained with the blood of an unfortunate pigeon.

In through the massive mismatched doors, one wrought of lead and the other made of

wickerwork, and then across the stadium-sized hall they walked. Many first-year students were

there, standing with parents, or in some cases golems or clokwerks. Savita tugged her father's

sleeve as they bypassed the long line and headed towards a small door in the side of a stone

pillar. "Father, if I am to be a student, shouldn't I be with the other children?"
With a gruff frown behind his moustache, Tapas shook his head. "No, little one. I have taken care
of such things already." He opened the door to the ushered her through.

>>1821884

This got me thinking. Are there any non-magical humans living in the school? People like cooks and janitors. Or are the menial tasks handled by magical constructs and enslaved supernatural entities?

If there are "normal" people in the school they should be born in the Scholomance, the descendants of other servants. There should also be a rule that anyone fucks with the servants is severely punished.

Three months later Tapas was standing on the beach, his white teeth glaring in the tropical sun. His cell phone rang, and he answered it. The news took his breath away. "What do you mean, it doesn't work? You saw the results of the clinical trials!" He turned back towards his house, kicking up sand... stopped in his tracks. "You... why are you.."

The tropical sun was bright that day, but for twenty seconds on the southern edge of the island no sun shone on the beach. Savita climbed into her father's Porshe and drove back to the hotel. She disliked the warm climate. When she got back to her room, she placed a pair of rat skeletons on the television and turned it on. There was a tall man on the screen, scrawling intricate sigils on the skull of an ox. She sat on the bed and smiled at the man, who had been her teacher for over half a decade. "My father is no more. You are paid in full."

>>1821926

>>1821918 mentioned golems and clockworks.
Those are good for janitors and stuff.

Okay, there you go. More fluff for the fluff god. I need to go to work now. I'll maybe write more tonight, and I'll check this place on my lunchbreadk.

>>1821952

Thanks, you rock.

>>1821926
Servitors, made from the bodies of failed students.

>>1821973
Frighteningly GRIMDARK.

Seeing the animated corpse of your former classmate cleaning the halls/delivering parcels/whatever. A good reminder of the price of failure.

I vote Chaotic Cleric as the Writer admin of Scholomance!

>>1821952
You are awesome.

Anyway, I was thinking. Perhaps the school provides for itself? Perhaps thousands of people who strayed unknowingly into a rift shuffle through endless fields, their minds broken after what they have seen. Now they till the soil, sowing and reaping crops for those who live at the Scholomance, raising and caring for cattle before slaughtering them.

While the tear in space and time has no effect on the magically adept, it has strange effects on those who lack such magic - the distortion of physics and reality drives them insane and keeps them alive, not allowing them to age by mortal means. However, spellcasters are resistant to both the insanity and the immortality that the rift provides.

>>1822028
Lose the good, lose the bad, eh?

>>1821926
Hundreds of them. Many where brought in as personal servants and aids but have since out-lived their masters and now seek more general employment but others have been specifically brought in, whether by stick or carrot, to deal with the unpleasantries that both students and staff will not deign to dirty their hands with or waste their magic on:
Cooks, cleaners, labourers, guides, bureaucrats, bouncers, artisans, astrologers, engineers, smithies, scoopers, messengers, maids, butlers, runners, buyers, baggers, hunters, soldiers, assassins and thieves.

Pictured; the livery of Scholomance's mortal guard.

>>1822028
How about it drives them mostly insane, we could perhaps expand on that by having some non-magical serial murderer in some area... hmm...

This is getting retarded

>>1822004
And what of the rest of us, silently toiling in nameless fashion to bring written goods?

>>1822067
I don't think we should put ourselves into this, that leads to the path of the Mary Sue.

>>1822067
You're the writing mods, obviously.

>>1822040
I prefer a more normal non-magcial staffing as said in this post: cleaners and such who are real people and who can be bargined with and used to your ends. Mindless atomations don't make for a good social game of intregue and ploting.

>>1822043
Perhaps it is.
We'll see how it works out with the playtesting. Since the mechanic-makers are out, we're just bantering about possible background to the setting.
>>1822039
Exactly.
>>1822042
Once in a while, a few people resist the insanity - rather than providing for the masters of the Scholomance with the rest of their companions, they desperately seek a way out of the nightmare and will do anything to find it. Including killing.
It could occassionally be a test for a few students - root out the murderer and punish him. Perhaps the Headmaster even restores partial sanity to a few mortals in order for this test to be conducted.

>>1822078
Why not combining the three?

Golems for heavy lifting, servitors for menial tasks, mundane humans for skilled labor...

>>1822077
I'm putting this all together and I'll include anything on the setting regardless of who it was written by, judged purely on its own merit. I'm just waiting for Elephant to awake and help solidify the rules.

>>1822098
Golems and servitors require valuable magic.
Why waste that on such things when you could merely have lesser humans carry out such tasks?

>>1822099
Ah, so we do have some mechanics people here! Awesome writing in >>1821691 BTW, you've got a really nice style. I can tell exactly which bits are yours. You and Chaotic Cleric should team up and write a winful game.

>>1822123
That was the idea. ;) Well, I suppose we could move onto IRC or suptg for chat...

>>1822105
Upkeep. Servitors and golems are a lot more resilient and you don't have to feed them or give them shelter. And they can work 24/7, unlike regular humans.

>>1822123
I'm a mechanics guy, but I'm only familiar with d20 systems and exalted. When I say familiar, It means those are the only systems I'm comfortable with. If I knew what system this is based on(nobilis?), perhaps I could become familiar with that too?

Fuck, I've got so many cool ideas for this I don't know where to start.

>>1822129
Tell us when you do.

>>1822141
Start with ALL of them.

>>1821793
Hey guys, Architexturefag here, it took me a while, but I tracked down the last piece of architexture on my hard drive. An art deco tower.

>>1821691
Legendry! This has to be in the PDF!!

I like the idea that everyone who comes to the school is a student, and technically remains so until they "graduate" by escaping or get killed off in the process. However, quite a fair number of students manage to get by by doing the washing, mail, etc, and not being much of a threat to anyone.

Since the population of the school comes from all ages and nations, any long-term student will either be extremely multilingual, or hardly speak at all.

As was discussed earlier the surroundings of the Scholomance get less and less stable the further you stray. However the immediate surroundings are strongly influenced by myth and legend. For example when you exit the school from a particular gate you find yourself on the road to the generic enchanted forest. It's a beautiful but hazardous place filled with entities like unicorns, faeries and the like from european myth. Exiting from another place in the school puts you in the Shining Desert where you instead encounter a more middle eastern mystical flora and fauna.

>>1822138
Try and download it.

>>1822098
I still like the idea from the last thread that all the servants are the bound souls of failed students, serving forever until they somehow manage to redeem themselves. That would allow for some intrigue, as they would still be human, and although whatever binds them into service would prevent them from using magic or directly harming any of the students, the more crafty would love to find a way to break the binding spell or steal the powers of a student and take their place.

Damn, it seems like I'm on the other side of the world; I get to the thread too late and everyone is asleep, I go to sleep and everyone starts posting again.

So we've drawn up a lot of the fluff, but how would this game actually run in this setting? Would teachers hand out quests/research projects or something? I can't see how this would be all tied together.

Second question: is this game going to be completely magical, or is there still going to be some mundane elements to it? I mean, using magic ALL the time would be expensive, particularly for an inexperienced student, so I imagine that maybe they'd use a spell or two to lure their target to a secluded area, but the actual murder would simply be you stabbing a knife in their chest. If so, we may want to start considering other mechanics for simple hand-to-hand combat.

>>1822162

When exploring the magical wilderness beyond the schools walls you sometimes encounter former students who for some reason has left the school. They might have been driven out by there enemies or grown sick of the constant plotting and scheming within it's walls. What they all have in common however is that they are less than mentally stable. Living in the ever changing dreamland that lies beyond the towering walls of Scholomance changes a person, making them a part of the land. They often take on traits of the region they inhabit and eventually loses all their humanity turning into beasts of legend.

>>1822138

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=tbtmcbr1

Nobilis core rules

Right, #Scholomance is now up and running at http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/chat.html

>>1822177
Where would the normal humans, who have been made immortal and had their minds broken by the change in reality, dwell and farm the crops and animals that dwell in those parts?
>>1822172
Perhaps - in the original paper, there was the idea that in the final year, seniors could do whatever the fuck they wanted. However, at the end, they had to present a full paper to the faculty. If successful and providing new, interesting knowledge for the professors, they would declared a fully fledged mage and given the right to come and go as they please.
If they fail, they stay on another year.
Classes, of course, are optional to help students learn.

>>1822247

It's possible that parts of the surroundings have been culled, producing a more normal and stable environment. Or the servants are forced out into the organized chaos that is the outer lands of the Scholomance.

>>1822172
Where's what I wrote about it... damn... right, here:
"Are you aware of the concept of a University Dissertation? While at the end of most 2-year courses (in England at least) students are graded on an extended essay or presentation in which they attempt to answer a fundamental or poignant question relating to their subject.
I was thinking that for the Academy that this would be the only requisite for passing the academic year; one must successful present one's paper or practical demonstration to the examining body and they must deem it suitable.

What happens between the start of the year and your exam is of no consequence, lectures and classes will be run and help offered but it's entirely voluntary. What you do and how you secure your... research material is up to you."

Bump.

>>1822229
Keep up the art deco.

>>1822224
Of course, just like Nobilis, there would be physical aspects. It's not all magic.

In the starting years, I suppose that teachers would hand out assignments - and the ultimate step to completing the assignment is by outwitting everyone else.
Another thing could involve feuds between students - basically, this other guy? He doesn't like you. You don't like him. In fact, you dislike each other so much he's going to make your life miserable - and you're going to do the same to him.
At the same time, you must make sure that even your friends (aka, other places) don't get the upper hand otherwise they might ditch you at any moment. And lackies are always so useful.

>>1822245
I'm awake. how do I join this channel?

>>1822474
The mundaneties I'll handle with a narrative flare and a level head. No point making convoluted combat rules for something so insignificant.

Uh, guys ... about that summoning spell ... I think I got the wording and warding reversed at some point ...

>>1822563
never, EVER summon us into the demonic realms again!

>>1821717

I see it, I mean - I see a symbol of the Sun and fire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svarog

>>1822474
Also, a lot of real world collegium (modern) facets could work their way in- a senior mage who is actually still just considered a teaching assistant while the Archmage (like Doctors and Professors in the real world) sequester themselves into research and personal projects while others do all the actual work.... potential for backstabbing, defecting to another archmage, etc.

>>1822913
I like it. got a nice half-summoned demon look to it.

Sorry for the long wait.

EDIT: moar basementy.

>>1822949
all summonings are done in basements, of course.

So I imagine that demons in this setting would act something like the Daedra Lords in Oblivion? Powerful beings, some of which like to mess with our realm, some who just ignore us, making deals, etc?

>>1823045
they act like any demons. Whatever demon you summon, they act like that kind of demon does, historically. Summon satan? Better be prepared for some trickery. summon a hearth god? Be prepared for free baked goods.

Those searching for more images might find the "scenes" folders at http://picasaweb.google.com/brooks.dagdamor helpful, I'll see if I can't contribute something in the way of architectural images.

I'm still finding the grim, bloody aspects of the setting rather groundless/gratuitous, but that could well be just a matter of personal taste.

Also, please ell me you've taken a look at Ars Magica. The system's use of "grogs" (Each player controls a main character with some plot armor as well as a set of cohorts) would do a damn good job of addressing the whole lethality issue.

So yeah, possible architecture pics.

Just alot of possible directions, since it seems like that matter's still up in the air.

>>1823789
haven't looked yet, but we're almost done with the system.

I imagine it looking like the city from Thief.

Dark, creepy mix of gothic architecture/steam punk machines.

>>1823894
THEN YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING AT IT NOW. Seriously, I can't recommend this any more strongly.

>>1823952
well, we've mostly made health into a freeform thing.

>>1821307

How long until upload?. Better check.

Back from work, finally...

Knockknock?

DEATH!

Ulf and his father trudged through the snow. The massive black rock, for at this close distance he could see no visible masonry, stuck out of the ground like a knife in the back of Gaia. They walked maybe three miles, at times Ulf swore that he had heard something following them, but his father patiently explained that nothing would happen as long as he remained close. And so he stomped after his father, and with every step closer to the jagged landmark Ulf found himself remembering new things, glimpses into a veiled life.

When Ulf was ten years old, there was a night when he asked his father for help with his homework. Up until a few hours ago he knew that they had gone up to his room and went over History. But now he realized that there had been lessons of a different sort. Once or twice a week for the past six years his father had been tutoring him in fantastical things, every session ending with his father pulling that misshapen object from its wooden box and telling him what he would remember instead.

Ulf looked at his father now, lit only by the glowing sphere that hung over their heads; a lantern that didn’t bother with things like flames or metalwork. Father wore no coat to protect him from the wind and snow, and yet no icy flakes gathered in his close-cut black hair, and his breath did not mist until it was several inches from his chiseled face. His bare hands showed no sign of shivering or frostbite as they clutched the intricately carved chest he cradled in his arms. Up until an hour ago his sire spoke of the place they were visiting, the Scholomance. As they neared the crooked monolith, the stars overhead spun wildly and assaulted the moon en masse.

"This is an entrance to the Scholomance. One of many. Here you will find your heritage, and your heritage will find you." His father’s voice was warm, his tone easier than Ulf had ever known. "When my mother brought me here, I knew nothing other than that this place claimed two of my brothers. You will have the benefit of knowledge Udolf, which is more than most." His father’s use of his full first name was strange, as his nickname had been in household use for as long as he could remember. His father smiled, "This time, I will go first." And with that he placed his hand upon a smooth spot on the jagged mass of rock and pushed.

The gate opened. For a heartbeat Ulf was standing both in knee-deep snow with frigid winds chilling his bones, and also feeling the warm sun on his face. His father motioned for him to follow and stepped through. Ulf kept up with his father, looking over his shoulder at the granite stones they had emerged from. Clumps of snow that had fallen from his shoes led right into the stone. Ulf then hurried to keep up with his parent, not wanting to lose sight of him in the crowd.

Such a crowd as he had never seen, in fact. There were people of all kinds walking through here. They passed fez-capped moors, a trio of brothers in frocks and powdered wigs, and a father and son dressed in sharp business suits with bones through their noses. By the time he was again walking beside his father, he was out of breath and sweating into the thick parka that was far too warm for this sunny plaza. They passed under a free-standing archway and were suddenly in a large dark hall. Massive standing monoliths held up a vaulted ceiling far above the torch-lit keep.

Ulf’s father strode purposefully across the stone flooring, his footfalls lost amid the dull roar of many hushed conversations. They passed many doors, many people, and once in a while one of the unhewn pillars that stretched into the vertical darkness. They finally came to a halt a few feet away from a tall man with broad shoulders, dressed in a long silver robe. His face was young, but his eyes were distant and his hair white. He dismissed the small group that he had been conversing with and turned towards Ulf and his father.

"Albrecht, I see you have sired progeny as well. How fortunate for you." The man’s voice was deep and hollow. Ulf resisted the urge to put his father between himself and the tall man, something in the way the man’s eyes looked at him reminded him of the way his grandfather played chess. "He is a good pupil, Silas. I’ve never known him to rest with a task unfinished. Here, these are his records and his tuition." With that, his father turned over the wooden chest.

The tall man lifted the box in one hand, and with a flourish of fingers lifted the top of the box ever so slightly. He then shut it again, turned it sideways, and opened the top again as luminescent mist poured out. Then he shut the lid once more and tucked the container into his sleeve. "Very good. You will be informed when the term is over Albrecht." The game-playing eyes took Ulf in once more, the distant twinkle within them malicious. "Welcome to the Scholomance, Udolf Grimmsdotter. Say your goodbyes. Shortly you will be lead to your Atelier." The man turned away, appearing to instantly forget the Slavic father and son to greet an approaching pair of young women.