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Fantasy Magic's Return || Mysterious Urban Fantasy || [OPEN]

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StoneWolf18

Within the Depths of a Dream
[class=stoneWrapper] width: 100%; background: url(https://www.rpnation.com/media/stars.36596/full); height: auto; overflow: hidden; [/class] [class=stoneHeader] height: 300px; width: 100%; background: url(https://www.rpnation.com/media/magic-banner.36597/full); background-position: center; background-size: 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat; [/class] [class=stoneTextBox] width: 85%; color: white; padding: 10px; font-size: 15px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255, 0.2); margin: auto; margin-top: 10px; [/class] [class=stoneLinkBar] display: flex; flex-direction: row; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; justify-content: center; width: 100%; [/class] [class=stoneLink] color: white; font-size: 30px; height: auto; padding: 5px; width: 300px; text-align: center; [/class] [class=stoneSubheader] font-size: 20px; [/class] [class name=stoneLink state=hover] background: rgb(255, 255, 255, 0.2); [/class] [class=hidden] display: none; [/class] [script class=stoneLink on=click] hide stoneTextBox set link (getText) if (eq "${link}" "Introduction") (show introduction) if (eq "${link}" "Premise") (show premise) if (eq "${link}" "Vis Basics") (show basics) if (eq "${link}" "Roleplay Expectations") (show roleplay) [/script][div class=stoneWrapper][div class=stoneHeader][/div][div class=stoneLinkBar][div class=stoneLink]Introduction[/div][div class=stoneLink]Premise[/div][/div][div class="stoneTextBox introduction")]The lecture was roughly one-hundred students in size, the group filling the room with a hushed murmur as people spoke. First day of the semester and very few within the room look to be anticipating the coming few months.

Soon enough a young man walked into the room, shutting the door behind him as he went before placing the few things he carried with him on a nearby desk and standing in the center on the floor. As he was noticed, the students began to quiet down, allowing him to speak.

“Yes, I can already see the excitement.” He chuckled, his gaze slowly scanning the room. “Best get right to it then. This is a World History course that you all will need to graduate. I do have a few more housekeeping things to address but first, how about something a little more entertaining.” The man would take a couple steps back, leaning on the desk behind him while crossing his sweater-concealed arms across his chest. “If you didn’t bother reading any of your paperwork, I’m Timothy Curtis and to start your afternoons off a little more interesting, I want questions. Anything you can think of that you would want to ask me, preferably history related.”

From somewhere in the room, a male student called out “What’s your favorite color?”

Without skipping a beat. Timothy responded “Blue, next question.”

This continued for a little while, most of what was asked being rather stupid and unhelpful. Are you married, do you like dogs or cats. But soon enough the questions slowed to a halt, Tim looking a bit disappointed.

“Really? Nothing else? No other burning questions anyone has to ask?”

A moment passed before a young woman sitting in the back spoke up. “Yeah. What happened to magic?”

Snickers were heard around the room, though the woman’s serious expression didn’t waver. This caused a small smile to touch at the corners of Timothy’s lips. “Ah, exactly what I was waiting for.”

He seated himself on the desk and rolled up the sleeves to his sweater while beginning to explain. “Before I get into this, you need to understand what magic itself is- or was, which is more than just throwing fireballs at things and watching them explode. It is an energy. A force of nature. We have heat, light, electricity, radiation, gravity and kinetic energy, but we also have vis, or magic. Now, centuries ago we were able to harnish such energy much like we do today with say… a battery. We can store electricity in a battery and use it in all sorts of ways.” Tim paused a moment to sip coffee from the thermos he held. “But unlike electricity, Vis has more than one use. Some even believe it has infinite uses, as when Vis is used in the form of weaving spells, all it is doing is changing the fabric of the world around them. Warping it to the desire of the one casting the spell. It is believed that magic is how humanity got its jumpstart. Mages in nomadic tribes were able to coax plants out of the ground and teach those unable to manipulate Vis to farm them.”

The same woman that had initiated this discussion had a curious look about her face. “What made people mages?”

Tim shrugged. “Who knows. There are a few popular theories. Some scientists believe there was a conduit in our blood, others who are a bit more spiritually inclined like to suggest that it had to do with the soul. Me? Based on some documents from early river valley civilizations, I’m more inclined to believe the former. With the authors claiming the trait ran in certain families.”

“Moving on… we believe magic disappeared roughly around the time the Black Death was rampaging Rome, which roughly began 500 B.C.E.”

This time, one of the men who had been snickering when this conversation began now looked a bit more intrigued. “Why do we believe it disappeared around then?”

With a nod, Tim took another sip from his thermos. “There’s a few pieces of evidence in terms of documents with authors saying they’ve never seen a disease that couldn’t have been cured. But to me, it’s obvious. While other plagues hit Rome, and Europe for that matter, the Black Death still has the highest kill-count compared to all off them. Now, if they were still able to manipulate Vis and magically heal patients who had been infected, why are so many people dying? Because they can’t manipulate it anymore.”

“Tons of people have come up with theories as to what happened. Science tries to prove that whatever conductor that existed in our blood before, we no longer have or not in the same potency as before to allow us to actually manipulate Vis the way we did before. But…” He would let a small chuckle escape as he set his thermos down. “That's the boring explanation.”

“I’m sure many of you have heard these types of stories, so bare with me as I share another. One I’m particularly fond of.” Tim shifted on the table, crossing his legs. “So.” He sighed thoughtfully. “Let’s begin with saying that there were two different sides. A threat, and people trying to stop this threat. What is this threat you might ask? In this story, an evil. A destructive force that was set on taking the budding civilizations for themselves, crawling out from the very recesses of existence. The people trying to stop the thread were mages, if you didn't already figure that out. They fought and waged war against one another until they nearly lost. Not wanting to risk losing all they had to this evil, the mages decided to and put all of their strength into their casting to repel them and force them back to where they had come from. This act, while successful, drained the earth of her Vis and ever since then, she hasn’t generated enough since to allow us to control it the way we used to.”

By this point most of the lecture was engrossed in his story, eyes trained solely on him. A few were napping and one man rolled his eyes. “That’s pretty vague for a story.”

Tim only shrugged at this comment. “Vague, maybe. But that’s the fun in it.”
“Why are you telling children’s stories and talking about fantasies in a damn lecture.” The same student grumbled, leaning back in his chair with a bored expression.

“Children’s stories?” Tim asked. “These stories might be told to children, but I believe a large portion of our World’s history that we are aware of originated in these types of tales. Whether you believe them to be true or not, well that is up to you. But denying that magic ever existed is denying much of what was made possible by it. The reading of the stars, the translation of distant languages, the shaping of early societies which then grew into what we now live in today. We can say it was that humans were somehow able to create number systems and complex languages from nothing because we’re human, but I would like to bet that there’s more to it than that.”

A different female student now decided to speak up. “Do… you think we’ll ever be able to cast magic again?”

This question caused Tim’s features to darken somewhat. “While it isn’t out of the realm of possibility, I wouldn’t like to even imagine the consequences. Imagine if manipulating Vis was still possible during the world wars? When the atom bombs were being invented, or the twin towers were attacked? Or even now… the security risks of it being abused, which it would…” He’d give his head a brief shake. “We aren’t prepared for it. And I would just hate to imagine what the government’s response would be, trying to regulate magic. I might as well just say we just get tossed into the latest Marvel movie.”

Another student was about to speak but Tim cut them off. “No, I haven’t seen Infinity War yet so don’t you dare spoil anything.”

The rest of the lecture when as expected and soon the rest of the class, and the rest of the class had cleared out except from the young woman who had started the entire conversation. She was taking a considerable time to get out of the classroom that Tim couldn’t help but notice.

“You alright?” He asked as she passed by his desk. “I hope my explanation was what you were hoping for. I tend to get carried away on the topic of magic.”

Blinking a few times she would give a nod and a somewhat forced smile. “Yes, but I really should be…” She trailed off, appearing extremely unsteady on her feet.

“Hey- Woah!” Timothy nearly shouted as she fell, moving forward to catch her. “Hey, hey, are you alright?” He slowly lowered her to the ground.

“I’m… fine.” She groaned. “Just this damn headache.”

Timothy didn’t look all that convinced but nodded. “Okaay… what’s your name then?”

The woman mumbled while sitting up. “Erika, damn do you have any advil?”

“That’s one hell of a name.” Tim laughed while moving to the bag he set beside his desk. “I might have some, let’s see…” He began to dig through the side pockets as Erika held her head in her hands.

Eventually he did find a small travel bottle he kept with him, shaking a couple pills out and offering them to her. She quickly swallowed them dry before nodding in thanks.

“Now I know what people mean when they say migraines are bad.” Erika responded after a second, a dry bit of humor lacing her tone.

Timothy would take a seat beside her again after retrieving his thermos, giving a large grin. “Yep, they can be quite a pain.”

Erika rolled her eyes. “That was awf-fucking hell…” Pain contorted her face as she raised her hands to once again grip her skull.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Tim asked, concern replacing any type of previously felt humor.

“No... let me just sit for a second..." She sighed, moving herself into the chair that Tim had moved for her.

"Sure thing, though I don't want you to be late for any other class today." He responded.

The woman dismissed him with shake of her head. "My schedule's pretty light this year, nothing else for today thankfully."

They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before Erika spoke up again. "So... how long have you been studying magic?"

Tim shrugged "A while. Visology was my dual major."

'Wow, I didn't expect that." She was clearly a bit surprised. "Why did you chose to study it?"

The smile he had worn before was making its return, adoring his lips ever so slightly as he began to speak. "I, uh, was kind of a nerd growing up. Loved comics, video games, playing dungeons and dragons. I always thought that it sounded so amazing to be able to manipulate the world around you with just a little concentration, and since we were once able to do so I figured it would be an awesome field to go into." His smile wavered somewhat. "Though... it is a dying one. We haven't had any concrete evidence of Vis existing for years so many are tossing it into the realm of pseudoscience now."

Tim paused for a moment, noticing a distracted look upon Erika's face, almost as if she were looking through him. "Erika? You there?" He'd wave a hand in front of her face as she blinked a few times, refocusing.

"Yeah..." Erika trailed off as her eyes darted around the room, confusion and concern beginning to develop.

"Are you okay? Do you see something?" Tim would also glance about the room but not notice anything out of the ordinary.

"I... assume you aren't seeing this..." She'd eventually murmur.

"No... here, its alright. Just explain what you're seeing..." The professor would try to instruct her, slowly reaching for his laptop and beginning to search through its hard drive.

With a nod Erika would comply. "Alright. I see... colors? Like misty lights in trails all around the room, going through walls in lines.... God damn I sound insane."

Tim's heart skipped a beat as he read the file on his screen. "Yes, good." Looking up from the screen he would give her an encouraging smile. "You don't sound that insane. Are you seeing anything else?"

"No. Just those lights."

"Alright..." Tim would type a few things before looking up once more. "Where is the nearest trail you're seeing?"

Erika would gesture to a spot in the room a few feet away. "Right around there."

"What color is it?" Tim would ask, fingers hovering over his keyboard, excitement growing in his voice.

"Yellow... Mr. Curtis? What's going on?" Erika's voice was filled with much more concern.

Quickly Tim stood and made his way to his door, glancing in the hall before shutting it and walking back over with a stupid grin on his face. "This is going to sound crazy, but I had a theory that since we don't have a 6th sense, the ability to sense Vis was tacked onto another one of the five we have."

Erika's eyes widened. "I'm seeing Vis? But you said there hasn't been proof of it for centuries!"

"Well... until now." He would situate himself in front of his laptop as he had been before. "Now, if you want proof that this isn't some hallucinogenic mental break you're having, I need to see if you're able to interact with lights you're seeing... Please?"

With a reluctant grimace, she would stand and walk over to the point in the room she had pointed out not too long ago and would slowly stick her hand out. "Woah... It feels... powerful."

"That's what I hoped to hear." After noting a few things down, Tim would walk over to stand beside her, a child-like excitement brimming throughout him. "Magic is back, Erika! Its back and you can control it."[/div][div class="stoneTextBox premise hidden"]Something in Urban Fantasy settings has always bothered me. Normally, magic isn't believed in by the majority of the populous and those that know of its existence are fighting to keep it concealed. Yeah that's great an all, but...

What if magic had existed at one point but wasn't able to be utilized anymore?

And so I was up writing at 12 AM because I couldn't sleep with this on my mind. Truth be told, this is a whole new area to explore.

How would it have effected early civilizations (were some way advanced for their time?)
The development of religions? (Did Moses part the Red Sea himself casting a spell? Did Jesus just transmute the water into wine?)
How would the scientific community be within this field of study? (Those torn between it being a legit science and a pseudoscience, and even within those communities if it was purely scientific in nature or if it was proof of a divine presence?)
How would modern believes and culture be shaped? (Would Wicca be more popular? Would people be making posts on Tumblr claiming to be mages?)

And more.

And then this evolved into, so... if we have been without magic for centuries, what happens when it begins to return?

That and and everything else I've mentioned (and am going to mention) is what this roleplay is trying to explore. It is going to be focused on a bunch of young adults attending Fairview College in New York City (yes its fake for convince on my part) who are just beginning to explore magehood. They are going to be brought together by Tim/Mr. Curtis in a rather inconspicuous club for "vis enthusiasts" and end up having to deal with themselves, their magic, the school board, the government, other mages abusing their newfound abilities, and other big bads™.[/div][/div]
 
Tim was bouncing in place as various students filed into the room. It was the first official ‘Vis Enthusiasts’ Club’ meeting, but even then it was much more than that.

As the hour finally ticked over to 12:00, he would set a wide grin on his face, waiting for the room to hush before speaking.

“Hello everyone! Welcome to the club.” His voice held elevated notes of a childlike excitement.

“There are a lot of you all here this afternoon so I’m going to be brief and get to explaining in a quick couple seconds here. But first...”

The man gave a quick turn to the desk behind him, grabbing a stack of papers before turning back and handing them out in small stacks. “If you could just spread those around the room, fill them out, and then get them back to me sometime during this meeting that would be great. Thanks.”

The handouts would read the following:

Vis Enthusiasts’ Club Member FormWelcome to the club! Please fill out the basic form below to be granted membership.

Name: _____________________
Year: ______________________
Major: _____________________
Have you been experiencing any strange sights/sounds/tastes/sensations that you otherwise can’t explain? [_]Yes [_]No
If ‘yes’ please describe them in detail below:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Taking a few steps back, Tim would wake a couple seconds before continuing. “For those who haven’t had me as a professor, I’m Timothy Curtis. Most know me as a Visology fanatic but I prefer the term ‘magic obsessed nerd’ instead.”

When no one laughed, he simply smiled brighter. “Anyway the reason you all are here is because you enjoy magic, or Vis as the substance is formally called. But this club serves a duel purpose.”

He would move over to the door, glancing outside for any late arrivals before shutting it. Without anything to block his desk, everyone was given a clear view of the two empty venti Starbucks plastic cups with a third half-full of an iced sugary mess.

Returning to his original position, he gave a huge smile. “Magic, the ability to manipulate Vis. It’s back! I know you might not believe me but I know a lot do you have been experiencing some really weird things lately. Seeing colors like a fog float around in the air. Hear strange sensations. That’s your ability to perceive Vis! For some reason it decided to unlock in some of you sitting in this room and I’m sure more elsewhere all over the world.”

His expression waved slightly as looked of pure disbelief and skepticism were passed about the room.

“Alright, well...” Tim trailed off, about to form his next argument when the door opened and a young woman slipped inside the room.

“Erika! The professor cried happily. “Yes! Come here please.”

With a sigh the brunette would walk over to him. “Yes, Mr. Curtis?”

He would nod eagerly. “Yes, if you wouldn’t mind. Could you show the wonderful crowd what you have been, eheh, studying lately?”

Erika would set the few books and other assorted things she carried down on the man’s desk before facing the other students. With a palm facing upward she would appear to concentrate for a moment before a - very brief - flame appeared at the center.

Tim was watching excitedly, but of course it didn’t seem as if anyone else was as impressed.

“Yeah right.” A guy huffed in the back of the room. “You most likely prepared some optical illusion bullshi-“

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before the first row of desks and chairs were flown to the right side of the room due to an enormous gust of wind.

His eyes, like many others’, widened in shock. “T-those were bolted to the concrete...” he mumbled, unable to find a logical explanation.

“They were, Yes...” Erika nodded, though visibly swaying on her feat. “I was... able to use Aer to move them...”

Tim moved a chair that was still upright for her to sit down on while he gave his trademark smile to those about the room. “Magic is back. Who has questions?”
 
Alexander Blake

Alex filled the form that were passed to him as fast as he could, really curious to see what would this club entail. Of course he did some light reading beforehand, but it was just to refresh his knowledge on the argument, nothing particularly in depth.

After the whole explanation and the demonstration, though, he was struck speechless. Still, on the subject of questions...

He have questions.

A lot. Tons. So many question that he didn't even know from where to start.

First of all, how does one manipulate Vis? Do you need a specific item or words? Or intent? Or... or...

Alex had so many question that he could barely speak, only stare in disbelief. He knew that magic was back, he could see it, even with his eyes closed (although that was almost surely a trick of the mind), so he knew it.

But until he Saw it being used right in front of him... He couldn't shake his fears that maybe, just maybe, it was only a trick of his mind. But now...

And with that he fond his voice.

Alex raised his hand, like he did when he was in Highschool and waited for being called.

"How do you actually use magic?"
 
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When Ethan talked about his newfound discovery of his taste buds going haywire with one of his friends, he received a clue on who might be able to debunk this new mystery for him. The friend told him about his professor named Timothy Curtis he had the pleasure of listening to last year and about the man's obsession with Visology. Magic? It was certainly not the path Ethan had expected to traverse to get his answer but it was worth a shot. He didn't have anything to lose and if it proved wrong he could just return to more conventional methods like, perhaps, going to the doctor. With a little digging for information, Ethan found that the professor was running a club apart from doing regular classes. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to go and ask him some questions and perhaps he would even stick around if the club proved to be fun.

The morning the club was going to meet, Ethan woke up earlier than usual. Right on cue, when he thought about the strange sensations he was experiencing they started happening again. Different tastes flooded his mouth and Ethan could only sigh before willing them to stop. That was his only major discovery. He could turn it on or off at whim, but his knowledge of why and how it was happening was at zero. He got out of his bed and got dressed before fixing himself up a light breakfast. Appetite was usually not a problem for Ethan, but today his excitement was keeping him from indulging in food as well as getting his usual amount of sleep. Being left with some spare time thanks to his early rising, Ethan decided to use it to finish an assignment he had for next week.
He finished his work a few minutes before he had to leave if he planned on being on time for the club gathering. Giving himself a pat on the back for a job well executed, Ethan packed up and headed for Fairview College.

When he arrived at the lecture hall entrance, there were already students filling the room. Ethan followed the crowd and took a seat near the back of the hall where he waited patiently for the gathering to start. There weren't any people he knew here but he recognized a few faces from different classes he attended. So much for sticking with a known crowd. When the clock ticked to 12:00, the man standing at the central desk finally addressed them. He handed them stacks of papers to redistribute among themselves and introduced himself as professor Timothy Curtis.

"Thank you." Ethan told the girl in front of him that handed him one of the sheets and when he gave it a glance he was shocked at its contents. It looked like the professor had anticipated something like what has happened to Ethan would also happen to others. He quickly filled out the form and continued to listen to the professor.

Was Magic really back? How, when and why were the first three words that crossed Ethan's mind when he heard the professor declare it. So he wasn't developing some strange disease, instead, his sense of taste was just acting as a receptor for perceiving Vis. It was a bit far fetched to believe, but something told him that the professor was right. The proof of Timothy's claim would come moments later when he called out one of the girls from the crowd. The girl, Erika as the professor called her, managed to create a brief flicker of flame and Ethan wasn't sure if this was the only proof the professor had of magic returning. What really chased away any doubt Ethan had in his mind was when, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind blew away the first row of chairs. "Oh my..." Ethan mumbled, astounded at the feat Erika accomplished. The biggest smile crept up on his face as he willed his apparent perception of Vis to turn on. The taste of mint was the one that prevailed in his mouth and Ethan attributed it to the magic he saw Erika perform.

Forgetting to raise his hand from all of the excitement, Ethan just spoke up after hearing the question one of the students asked. "Professor, could you also explain the different sensations some of us are getting? Right now I can taste nothing but mint after what Erika did."
 
Flossie Callidas
Although she didn't know it at the time, Flossie was one of the few people attending the meeting that hadn't actually encountered the Vis yet. She had simply heard that there was some sort of Magic Club and immediately it had struck her as something that she would enjoy. Additionally, while he had never lectured her, she knew Mr Curtis was one of the much more interesting professors here and she was intrigued to hear him talk. Excitedly, she had arrived moments before the meeting had started and filed into one of the remaining seats near the front of the lecture hall. She almost had to stop herself from bouncing in her seat as she waited for them to begin, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes bright with excitement.

"I don't know much about Vis, do you? I just know it disappeared a long time ago! Way before even our grandparents were born," Flossie chattered, to the unsuspecting person who had sat next to her without realising they were going to get an earful of it, "I'm really excited. Do you think-"

Abruptly, she closed her mouth as the clock turned to 12 and Mr Curtis started speaking. He sounded just as exhilerated as she did and she knew it was honest more than it was to do with the coffees he'd seemed to have been inhaling beforehand and instantly, Flossie knew that she was in the right place. As he passed out forms, she was one of the first to recieve one, dropping it on the desk and handing the rest of the pile along. Quickly, she scrambled for a pen and began scribbling out her information, her hair falling haphazardly in her face as she wrote. When she got to the question, she frowned before drawing a circle around the word "NO" and glanced around the room, straining to read her neighbours' answers. She wondered if the question really meant what she thought it did or whether she had just misinterpreted.

As the club was explained further, her frown only deepened in confusion as Mr Curtis explained that some of them may have experienced Vis. Firsthand experienced it, as if it wasn't something that had disappeared thousands of years ago. It set her heart racing just to imagine it. But no matter how much she cast her mind back and tried to remember anything unusual that had happened recently, Flossie had no memory of ever experiencing the sensations he mentioned. However, unlike some of her peers, she didn't immediately scowl or scoff in disbelief. Instead, she sat forward in her seat with her eyes wide and this time she did start bouncing in her seat, unable to contain her excitement. She tapped her pen against the desk in rapid succession. If magic was real, than that meant that everything was completely different. Her fantasy stories were turning real in front of her eyes. She could've cried.

Unexpectedly, Mr Curtis drew out another student in order to demonstrate the Vis. Flossie was so close to the edge of her seat that she nearly fell off.

She was one of the most directly impacted when the desks and chairs were abruptly flung to one side of the room, as if a high wind had suddenly swept through the room, due to her choice of sitting so near the front. For one, she had likely been inches away from being hit over the head with a chair and secondly, she was temporarily worried that she would be swept away as well. Luckily, only the front row of desks was affected and Erika only seemed to be able to move furniture, not people, but it didn't stop her from visibly gasping when it happened and nearly falling out of her seat in shock. She dropped her pen and it rolled off the desk onto the floor. Once it was over, the adrenaline left her much more excited than scared.

Her heart pounded in her chest and her cheeks flushed brightly as Mr Curtis opened the floor to questions. Immediately, people across the room seemed to thrust their arms in the air to ask questions, the room buzzing with what they had just witnessed. Unlike a few of the others in the club, Flossie had too many questions and ideas to nail it down to just one or two to ask. Her head filled with hundreds of questions, ranging from stupidly obvious to much more complex, and she sat in an usual silence with a smile so wide she thought it might just break her face.

"This is the best day of my life!" was the insight she offered instead, glancing at the other students to see if they shared her enthusiasm.
 
Elena McIntosh
wallhaven-453738.jpg
Outfit (plus a black cardigan);
female skirt.jpg
Still not quite sure exactly what she was doing or why she was there, Elena primly walked into the lecture theatre and sat a few rows from the front. She was one of the first students to get there, she had been early as per usual. Making herself comfortable, she sat with her back straight and knees together, her arms lying daintily in her lap as she watched the bulk of the students file in with interest, discreetly studying them to see if she could glean anything. There looked to be a wide range of people, so she didn't get much from the group, but made mental notes on a few interesting characters that caught her attention.
One of those interesting characters, was the professor in front of her. She had never been to a lecture of his, so she had looked him up before going along to that particular meeting, and he looked to be just as engaging as some of his students claimed him to be, his smile suggested as much to Elena.

Her suspicions were solidified once everyone was seated and Mr Curtis opened his mouth - it was obvious how truly passionate he was, a quality Elena truly respected - and she knew instantly that she would very much enjoy her time in this club, no matter how dubious she thought it was.
It was sheer luck that the day she started seeing magical floating orbs with glowing misty trails, was the day she saw a poster for the Vis Enthusiasts' club. After looking it up, she decided to go along before she jumped the gun and labelled herself medically insane or admitted herself into an asylum. It was a long shot - and a scientist at heart she was more than sceptical, she completely rejected the notion of magic.
It was preposterous, ludicrous, impossible, everyone in this room was completely insane... And yet... She couldn't accept that she was hallucinating, either.
The wisps were much too real, she couldn't be going crazy... Although of course, that was precisely what she would say if she was.
So she had decided to go along to the meeting, just on the off chance that she wasn't going crazy and the wisps were actually real.

"Many thanks.", she whispered softly to the girl who handed her the forms, taking one and passing the rest on to whomever was behind her. Still listening to Mr Curtis as she half studied the form.
It was... Frightening how accurate the questions were for what she had been experiencing for the past day - she was honestly quite impressed. The scientific part of her brain was already thinking up excuses - perhaps they put something in the water, a psychological experiment, the list went on. But she filled in the form truthfully anyway, simply putting multi-coloured will-o'-the-wisps as her 'detailed description'. Too her it was certainly more than enough explanation. She had done her best to ignore and avoid them since her discovery the day before, but she couldn't deny their existence.

Elena turned her full attention back to Mr Curtis just as a girl - Erika - walked in and was promptly shoehorned into a demonstration.
"Hmmm.", Elena couldn't help the unconvinced hum that escaped her as the flame died almost as quickly as it was created. Something like that could be fabricated a hundred different ways. Perhaps she was just ins-
Her train of thought was abruptly cut off and she jumped almost out of her seat - the front row thrown sideways by a powerful wind - she felt some of the motion of air, being as close as she was, it's movement was unnatural - wind didn't blow in a uniform column like that, let alone start out of nowhere in an enclosed room...
Elena's eyes were wide with shock as she processed what exactly she had experienced, she certainly couldn't form words to ask any questions. As dumbfounded as she was, she couldn't even think of any.
In her daze Elena still listened to what Mr Curtis and her peers said, a small part of her brain noting that what a fellow student described as tasting of mint, she saw as pale yellow, glowing orbs floating around the room leaving similar looking trails behind them as they moved.
 
Freyja Oxy

  • Freya had heard about this club surging in interest by chance in the hallways, a club specifically just for Vis enthusiasts. Had this club been for anything else or simply caught her attention a week earlier, she would have ignored it. Unfortunately for her, this was a lead for her to follow up on. After finding out their first meeting and location, she did what she did best. Research a topic beforehand. Her research of an hour would yield mild results, mostly delving into historical texts and websites only to avoid the fanatics. A few facts stuck out as she wandered towards the club room. One, Vis was a widespread thing. Two, it disappeared around or possibly even during the Black Death outbreak in Europe, which was one of the deadliest outbreaks ever recorded and even earned the nickname 'the Plague.' She tried to dig up more, but her lack of reading material was killing her with every step as it sunk in more in how she would need to try alternate methods to learn about what may be happening to her. She was skeptical, of course, when she heard about this club. What sane person wouldn't doubt the mention of magic resurfacing? But... Vis was the only reasonable answer to her problem, at least the only answer that didn't involve an institution. No big surprise she would push herself out of her studies to ensure she was stable of mind.

    With that motivation she squeezed her way into the room, migrating her way to the back. Despite her diligence in class, she usually migrated towards the backs of populated rooms due to her awkward nature. Sure she could ace a test and hold her own against teachers, but being looked at by a room full of students while she was not presenting something? That put her a bit on edge. Thankfully her height would always lend her to seeing well enough in the back, so it always worked out. On her way back she picked up a membership form, to which she folded and kept under her arm with a bit of skepticism on joining. She came here for calming her mind, not a fan club. By the time she snaked her way to the back and viewed the spectacle the caffeine-addled boy was putting on, she was beginning to think coming here was just going to attach a label of crazy further on her.

    He clearly is just as he said... As Freya conversed with herself mentally she watched the girl walk to the front with an eager professor, her eyes between this girl and the heckler in the crowd. A 'magic obsessed ner'-- SLAM. The amber eyes shrink in surprise as she just barely catches a glimpse of the bolted down furniture sliding across the room in a gust of inexplicable wind. She listened a little more openly upon seeing the display, finally filling out the membership form. If this was any evidence she was sensitive to this dormant sense, then she best align herself with some reference to help further it.
    Maybe this could be thought of as a young think tank? We shall see if the others are as serious... She thought to herself, letting the first flow of questions come in. How do we use it? Good beginner question, glad someone is asking already.... seems some people are getting enthusiastic. Good, that means I won't have to raise my hand to ask the basics.... someone is tasting mint? This is why there are multiple senses listed under how we might perceive something 'strange'....
 
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Arthur walked past the room several times, occasionally looking in to see if people were there yet. He spent this time debating his introduction to the club. "Hi! I'm Arthur. I'm so glad I get to explore vis with all of you!" ... No, too anime... "Yo, let's see what the vis is all about!" ... Now that's just plain wrong for a school environment. He looked at the clock... "Only five more hours to go." Worried that he would arrive late, Arthur had thought it was a great idea to arrive seven hours early, and that's exactly what he did. "Greetings fellow vis enthusiasts, I'm Arthur, your new co-enthusiast." Not bad Arthur, not bad! This was a terrible idea.

Settled on his introduction, Arthur sat down to wait the remaining four hours and fifty-eight minutes. He checked the clock several times an hour, a forceful habit that he developed as a child when waiting for his doctors appointment. To fill the void between the sporadic clock-checks, Arthur read his book, How to Not be Stressed While Waiting. Perfectly accurate for the situation he was in. As the deadline approached, Arthur began to relax a bit more. Perhaps the book was actually helping, or maybe it was the fact that his lack of sleep (About two and a half hours) was starting to take it's toll.

At 9:30 he finally slouched to his side, and quietly fell asleep. He dreamed of the beautiful song that he still heard even to today. It had become more distinct from every other sound, and he had gained the ability to quiet it down when he was trying to listen to something else. It was a wonderful dream, but it was cut short when the alarm he set for 10:35 sounded from his phone. Startled, he got up, walked into the room, and took a seat in the back. They've already started? Arthur thought as he placed his bag on the floor in front of him. It was then that he looked at what was on the projector. Shaking the grogginess from his eyes, Arthur could distinctly make out the words;
How to Effectively Give CPR
He was in the wrong room.

He had waited seven hours,

and he was in the wrong room.

He quickly got up from his seat, threw his bag over his shoulder and sprinted out of the door, much to the dismay of the professor and several of the students present. He went to the front desk and asked where the Vis Enthusiast club meeting was taking place. The lady there told him she had never heard of this club meeting. Confused, Arthur walked outside and checked his phone for the information on where the meeting was to take place. Fairview College in New York City, he looked at the sign in front of the building
Riverside College, NYC
He was in the wrong building.

He had waited seven hours,

and he was in the wrong building.

He checked the maps on his phone and determined the time it would take him to reach Fairview College. Forty-Five minutes. He breathed a sigh of relief as he called a cab, and took it to this place of new beginnings. Once there, he found the room, promptly sat in the back of the room, and fell asleep.

He was awoken by the sound of Tim's welcome and the Vis Enthusiasts' Club Member Form being shoved in his face. Arthur listened intently to the whole lecture, and when he heard Tim's comment on 'Magic obsessed nerd,' he did actually laugh, but then quickly stopped as he realized no one else was laughing. The whole time, Arthur was fascinated by the concept of Vis, and he hoped that through this club he could learn what exactly it was, and potentially, how to use it. He thoroughly believed in it's power, and that belief was further amplified by Erika's demonstration.

“Magic is back. Who has questions?”

Arthur looked around the room for anyone willing to take the man up on his offer. When he saw a man raise his hand and ask "How do you actually use magic?" he was relieved. Perhaps he would sit this one out and wait for 'Mr. Curtis' to enlighten everyone as to the true nature of Vis. Quietly, he slipped his hands behind his head, and listened intently for the professors' answer.
 
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William had Mr. Curtis his freshman year, which was at the least 5 years ago, for World History. Having already experienced how the loony professor viewed magic and other natural phenoms, he knew once he saw the notices and emails going out about this "Vis Club" he knew it was just another crackpot idea. But despite how eccentric this man was, he had somehow always been fascinated with his propositions... He never believed a word the man said, but that didn't mean he couldn't attend this little meeting to revisit with his old professor...


Arriving to the meeting not late nor early, he spotted a empty seat towards the middle of the class, and quickly maneuvered himself to it. Taking his seat, he quickly glanced to his left to a ghostly bleach blonde filling out a form of sorts. Spotting the word "Vis" on the form, Will couldn't help but scoff to himself. Curtis must've gone mad in five years... Before he knew it, a woman was handing him the same form, in which he took silently. Removing a pen gingerly from his book bag, he filled the form out without any notable reaction, despite the coincidences he began to see. What are the odds this nut is right...


Suddenly, a large crash arose him from thought- as desks and chairs soared across the room. His icy eyes widened in surprise, then quickly narrowed back to reluctant disbelief. This couldn't be right. I know i'm not a science guy, but there is no physical way this is.... "This isn't logically possible... I don't know what I just witnessed Professor Curtis, but... It can't be true... Hell, do you know what the world would do if it were?!" His mind was already racing. Governments would be kidnapping people for testing. Armies would kill to have it. Hell i'd like to have it...

[/div][/div][/div][div class=credit]credits RI.a RI.a [/div][div class=overlay]Will Blackwater[/div][div class=tags]Location?
StoneWolf18 StoneWolf18 FrostFire FrostFire [/div]
Name: _William Blackwater
Year: __Grad. Student______
Major: _Law________________
Have you been experiencing any strange sights/sounds/tastes/sensations that you otherwise can’t explain? [X]Yes [_]No
If ‘yes’ please describe them in detail below: Touch. Lapses of vertigo-like sensations, the severity typically depends on the environment. Usually happens while doing some sort of moving.
 
Sitting in the last row, like she usually did to avoid disturbing the lecture if she had to leave early to be on time for the next one, Charlotte Baumann was fidgeting with that tangled mess that were her headphones.
She had arrived about twenty minutes early, always preferring to be there in time to get a hold of her preferred seat and watch other students pour in...and struggle finding anywhere to sit. But unlike the other extracurricular activities she attended, there were far fewer people actually interested in this "Vis-Enthusiast" club. Lottie had expected the club room to be filled to the brim, but then again, she doubted a lot of people had experienced such a strange occurrence like she had when looking for a particular cook book.

Just thinking about it made her face scrunch up into a pained grimace as she remembered that overwhelming sting of sour taste that had threatened to melt off all her taste buds.
What a strange sensation it had been, caused by some unknown source that now seemed to be somehow connected to Tim Curtis' club, or rather the Vis-Enthusiast club that may yield the answers she was looking for.

A soft hum escaped her lips as her dark eyes blinked lazily, wandering around the room to spy some faces she had already met on her all too brief stay at this American college. Back when she had decided to join the exchange program, Lottie had wondered what kind of exciting stories she would be able to tell her younger sisters, and what things would shock her older brother, but never had she thought she'd end up in a self proclaimed "Magic-Enthusiast" club.

A smile would spread across her face at the realization that it was far tamer than the things her parents had warned her from, having heard of scandalous rumors of what college life looked like overseas.
But for whatever reason she had felt compelled to attend Mr. Curtis' meeting, Charlotte knew things were about to get interesting when they were all given some spare paper they had to fill out.

It seemed oddly professional for something that was considered everything BUT scientific but them having to record any strange occurrences they might have experienced over the past few days did make the German exchange student anxious to see where this went.
Leaning forwards in her chair, Lottie propped up her face by resting her chin on her palm, watching as Erika was bid forward by Tim.

And dark eyes widened as a small flickering flame appeared in her fellow student's hand.
But before Charlotte could raise her hand and already begin skewering Tim with questions, someone a few rows in front of her just had to make sure to show his skepticism in a very inappropriate manner.

Doubt that was soon just blown away, quite literally so, by an array of desks and chairs just being pushed around the room by a violent gust of wind that made Lottie almost fall off her chair from sheer shock alone as a somewhat sweet taste assaulted her tongue. One very reminiscent of faintly sugary whipped cream melting at the tip of her tongue, her mind already associating it with the kind of strawberries she'd like to dip in it as the sensation caused her mouth to water.

Shaking her head, Charlotte finally realized that what she had experienced that day in the library was nothing less than her body reacting to a display of magic, the sour taste being vastly different from the sweeter one she had experienced when Erika had blown away the furniture with a gust of wind.
It didn't take long for her to regain her composure, running her slender fingers through her short dark hair, as she'd raise her hand, feeling her pullover's sleeve just slide down her limb as she'd wave her arm around enthusiastically.

"Mister Curtis, bitte, may I ask what you think to achieve by creating such a club?" Charlotte asked with a raised eyebrow, her tongue protruding to lick over her lips as the faint sweet taste still lingered.
"Do you intent to teach us more about this phenomenon?"
 
Jamie was worried, to say the least. He had gone to the doctors to get his issue looked at. Hearing weird noises would be bad enough for most people, but for Jamie, it ignited an almost primal worry deep inside him. He already had lost the use of his eyes, he couldn't lose anything else. The doctors did little to help. They found absolutely nothing wrong, not a single thing. Jamie didn't know what to think, something was clearly wrong. Random loud noises that sound like whispers in another language are not normally the sign of something being right. All the doctors could do was say to stop listening to music as much and see if it clears up.

While walking home and being grateful he pays so much for insurance, Jamie rang his mother. She was the first person he turned to when this happened, and she wanted to be updated as soon as anything happened. Explain the unproductive nature of his visit, Jamie's mother told him to keep an eye out for anything that could point to what is causing this and of course to keep her informed if anything. With encouragement that he would get through this, she said goodbye.

Sighing Jamie racked his brain, on the walk back to his dorm, for anything that could help. Then something one of his course mates mentioned. A club meeting, something to do with Vis. The Vis Enthusiasts’ Club. Jamie had spent little time on the subject, a few cases he had to study very briefly mentioned the stuff. He didn't know if he even believed it, but well what did he have to lose.

Walking into the lecture hall, his cane hitting the floor in a rhythmic fashion, Jamie found a seat close to the front. Handed a piece of paper, he sighed. He would need a hand filling out, one of the many drawbacks of his condition. Ignoring that for the time being, Jamie listened to the professor. He paid close attention when he mentioned 'Hear strange sensations'. Could this be it? This professor Curtis seemed to believe what he was talking about, but Jamie needed more proof. Proof that was quickly given.

While he didn't really know what the first demonstration was, he could feel the rush of air from the second. He couldn't believe, his mind rushed to so many possible outcomes. Could he control it? What could he do it? How did you do it? Why did Curtius and Erika care? Those were answered by his fellow students, meaning Jamie just waited for what would come next and see what everyone else was making of it. Someone mentioned that they could taste mint.

"So some people get taste, I get the fear that I might be going deaf? Sounds like I drew a short straw somewhere", Jamie muttered hoping no one would hear his sardonic comment while straightening his jacket, Jamie kept his attentive ears open for any other details about this new world that had been opened to them.
 
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Constantine wasn't a happy camper at this point in time. He was one of the first people to arrive at the inauguration of the new Vis club, dreary-eyed he walked with a zombified step towards a corner at the back of the room, frustration mixed with curiosity was the only barrier keeping him from stepping into dreamland. The reason for his current situation? Lack of sleep, obviously. The reason for his lack of sleep is a bit more interesting than that.

After he discovered his new altered sense of smell Constantine couldn't do anything but stay up trying to find out more about his sense of smell, categorizing the nostalgic smells with certain attributes. But after a while, he decided to use the internet to find out more about the situation, which lead him to a paper by a certain Timothy Curtis. The paper was about the Vis, a reason that some in the historian community attribute to the existence of magic but no evidence other than uncheckable mythological and very old historical instances. "The disappearance of Vis happened around the time of Plague of Justinian? Well, it would explain why Tribonian's pagan shitfests stopped being as popular after that... but that would also mean..." and just repeat that cycle for a few hours and you achieve his current disposition.

So with his head resting on his the table, he stares at the professor discontent, blaming him for spending too much time on Vis and only resulting in more questions than answers. His glaring stare was only broken by a person poking him and handing him a piece of paper, he stares at the paper for a few seconds perplexed and then groggily takes out a pen and begins filling it drooling over it a bit. "Shite".

The lecture begins and his attention returns once more to the spry professor. He wasn't a fan of overexcited professors, he much rather enjoyed solemn and direct professors who just told him what to do, harsh but fair. Nonetheless, he can appreciate someone who clearly enjoys the subject he teaches. Though as Erika begins to show off her capabilities his sleepiness seems to disappear replaced by complete and utter intrigue, smelling a scent of freshly cut grass as the gust of wind flies through the room.

As soon the proffesors asks for questions Constantine put his hand up and asks; "If my colleague said that he can taste the mint, while I on the other hand smell freshly cut grass does that mean the way we experience it's individual or is it based around the sense? The former sounds tiring."

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The moment Elise popped out of bed, she did what she always did first thing in the morning after stretching and donning her ever-essential glasses. She sat at her desk, stretched her hands, booted up her pc, loaded up a word processor and began to write whatever was spinning around in her mind. Doing this both first and last on any given day tended to start it off right emotionally, as well as cultivate focus, help her sort out her always-busy mind, and wake her up effectively. After she felt a bit clearer-minded, she headed downstairs, greeted her mother as the older woman went about making another batch of coffee for her customers, and proceeded to use the other machine to make some for herself. The act of making the coffee always brought a deeper element of focus into her life, and drinking the coffee added the energy boost she felt she needed to really get the day jump started, as it were.

After dressing, showering and ensuring her hair was is decent order, she then packed her backpack for the day, ensuring all the assignments she had completed the night before were included so as to ensure she could turn them all in as soon as possible. With that, she headed out the door, her mind abuzz with thoughts regarding the rather odd and extremely interesting subject of the lecture she was about to attend.

Elise wondered as she sat down; just what was there of Vis to enthuse about besides what everyone already knew? Humans could once harness it, and now they no longer could. Though, she did wonder if those strange, intense full-body sensations she’d felt every now and then could have been her literally feeling Vis all around her. That was why she’d attended this. It couldn’t be any sort of medical condition, she figured, and which sensations she felt seemed to be dictated by her surroundings at the moments they occurred. If Vis was in all things as most people are aware of, could that be it? Humans purportedly lost the ability to perceive Vis ages ago, though, and many thought it wasn’t real at all, just another myth. Elise had never been so certain.

As a sheet of paper was passed to her, she nodded gratefully at the student who’d done so, before looking curiously, eyebrow raised, at just what she was handed. The content of the sign-in sheet before her washed away all of the doubts within her mind, her eyes widening and her hand reaching for a pencil in the bag near her desk, and filling out the entire sheet with gusto once she’d found one, running out of space for her descriptions of the odd, sporadic sensations she’d been feeling recently before she’d gotten them all down. Oh well, there was probably enough there for Mr. Curtis’ purpose for the inquiry. She was certainly going to be getting some answers today, it seemed, and her anticipation was palpable as she respectfully set her eyes upon the man’s face as he began, folding her hands in her lap after taking one last sip of the rather large thermos of coffee she had sitting on the corner of the desk. He seemed to be just about as hopped up on caffiene as she normally was, as well.

Her eyes were alight with genuine curiosity now, so she sat up straighter and looked Professor Curtis dead in the eyes. The moment she had calmed down from the sheer excitement she felt at hearing the good professor’s introductory speech, she was rendered speechless once more, and for far longer this time, by the startling demonstration put on by the professor’s spur-of-the moment assistant that ended up blowing back her hair and making her eyes go as wide as saucers. One of the front row desks that had gotten blown over by the girl’s powerful displays had been right next to her!

Once her pure shock had faded enough for thoughts to be formed in her mind, Elise decided as, just as she theorized, and had honestly hoped, real magic was definitely involved here. This was not some display of tricks of the mind put on by a charlatan in a comically large top hat; in fact, the display was clear proof that these odd bodily sensations she’d been experiencing were born of Vis. She could feel an intense light, spacious sensation in her form; the kind she’d always imagine she’d get when flying, in the wake of the extremely forceful gust of wind the girl had sent through the room.

She ended up letting others ask their questions first for a while, out of pure shock, whilst focusing on observing those fellow curious individuals to center herself. She’d never met any of them before, after all; seen them around campus between classes maybe, but nothing beyond that.

The young man who spoke up first asked a rather pertinent question. Elise’d been wondering that herself, of course: if she was able to feel magic, how, if at all possible, could she go beyond that and harness the Vis of the world, as the long-lost people who’d purportedly perfected the art could? Was it even possible to this extent? How many of these questions were even wise to ask on the first day? She didn’t wish to drag things on too long. Hopefully, the professor’s seemingly abundant confidence in the subject was a sign that at least some of those questions could be answered today.

She waited patiently as others sparked further questions with the man, and thankfully, by that time, Elise had filtered through the questions in her mind enough to come up with one she really felt she couldn’t go without knowing, if it was knowable with the Professor’s current knowledge. She watched the various other personalities in the room ask questions, make comments, mumble or simply remained dumbfounded as she had, before arriving at something she felt pert to say, building off of the questions of the others. Speaking up, though a little tentatively, she asked, “to add to the others’ questions, if we were to learn to use Vis like Erika can, how… difficult is it to control? Unless she intended to rip the furniture in front of her from the floor, I gather that it’s a pretty unstable force to mess with. Are college students like us really wise to pursue using such power? What would happen if we just carried on like we were?” There was clear caution and concern in her voice. She was excited about the possibilities of Vis, but that display had really put into perspective for her the possible consequences for delving into such a thing.
 
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