⍟ OCCULT CLUB MINGLE ⍟

[sunstead]

Who: OCCULT CLUB and whoever wants to drop in!
When: All through August
What: Catch-all mingle post for occult club activities! Anyone is free to make a toplevel here for all your occult needs, hell yeah hell yeah
Warnings: Paganism?? please try not to murder anyone in occult club, will update this if needed


The Occult Club can be found set up in room 1-C or 3-C after the normal class hours, marked by a magically glowing paper sign tacked to the door and the ever-present scent of candles and herbs. Though it may not be an "official" club, anyone is welcome to drop in or ask for help with whatever they might need, be it learning about magic, warding against something, or requesting aid or supplies for spells of their own. The club leaders, Clamor and Lucifer, will usually be around to answer questions or help out as needed.

Those looking to join the club, or those who are just curious, can find magic affinity tests stacked neatly near the front of the room... which is really just a fancy way of saying "sheet of paper with a simple spell circle drawn on it". All it does is glow when activated, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right? Not everyone can use magic, but you won't know unless you try. Why not give it a go?

Those who find themselves unfortunately deemed non-magical won't be turned away, either. Anyone can benefit from the pursuit of knowledge! And besides, magical items can be used by anyone, and Yogen seems to have an abundance of them. Bring in your latest weird find for an appraisal, or maybe just mess around with it and hope it's not dangerous!

There's also a pot of tea set up on one end of the room, in case anyone wants to try their hand at tasseography... or if you're thirsty. Actually, it's just for drinking. But the pot seems to stay piping warm no matter how long it's left sitting there, so if you need an example of the wonders of magitech, well, there you go.

Comments

[sunstead]

Correct! I see you've been paying attention to my lessons! ... or noticed it looks like a giant snowflake. [either/or]

Chilling spells like this one would normally be used on bottles for potions or other goods that need to be kept cool, but you can apply it to almost anything with a bit of effort. If we put in an artificial spirit using magitech, we can keep whatever's inside cool for a longer time and keep the cold from seeping out. I call it a "dry ice box"!

[he sounds very proud of himself, even though he already knows refrigerators exist now..... but can you put a refrigerator in your desk?? probably not? this was really impressive 1,000 years ago he'll be sad if it doesn't hold up anymore]

[sisters]

( an "artificial spirit" kind of brings a headtilt, but he's long since learned that clamor's apparently morally against love spells so, like, amami's going to assume the best of whatever that is. anyhow, he can't deny this man his pride in the idea — things that can be made travel-size are always good to have, and amami'd be the first person to know. )

Using "dry ice" in the name might bring something specific to mind for people, but I can't say it doesn't sound useful. Does it need a constant source of energy, or is it good on its own once you set it up?

( that's where the real value of it is decided. )

[sunstead]

That's the beauty of magitech! Once the spell is put together, it can maintain itself for years and years. Why, some of my finest work has lasted over a thousand years without issue! [which was, uh. him. but that's a bit of a morbid detail to get into, so moving right along like that isn't a totally confusing statement to make with such confidence]

That said... the mana in the air here is a bit thin. It might need to be "recharged" every now and then, but it should still work just fine as long as the seal isn't disturbed.

[sisters]

Oh, really? What'd that one do?

( it's only polite to ask about something he's so proud of, right? oh, but wouldn't that be nice, never having to replace something once it's set up. a downside to technology as opposed to magic, amami supposes, when he catches on to something that was said so naturally that it almost went right over his head. eyes widening, as he glances to clamor with a look of surprise. )

—Wait, if you know that, does that mean you're over a thousand years old?

( forget "dad", you're noah's grandpa... )

[sunstead]

Haha, well... that one was a bit more complicated than something like this. But the short version is, it was a vessel for storing artificial spirits. [among other things.

Ah. Well, curiosity does get the best of some people. It's not a topic that makes Clamor uncomfortable, per se, but he does look a bit weary at the idea of trying to explain this mess. He can gloss over the worst details, but trying to explain it to someone from a world that doesn't even have magic...]

Technically, yes... but I was sealed away for all that time, so I can't say I'm a thousand years wiser for it. It's more like I fell asleep and woke up a thousand years later.

[don't call him a grandpa he's still young... he's not even 30 yet in living-years]

[sisters]

( oh, it's a good thing for amami that he absolutely has the propensity to be dense as hell when he's absorbed in something. clamor's exasperation goes right over this one's head, and he hardly takes a moment to respond. )

Sealed, like... your spirit?

( which doesn't' come out as accusatory as it might look. it's just that his first thought was "like a demon or something," but he can recognize that much as likely to be rude. anyway, point is that demons sleep when they're sealed — when people are sealed they're usually... just in jail. unless it's on a deeper level than that anyway, which is why amami is asking. to his credit, he at least looks more genuinely interested in understanding than anything else. )

[sunstead]

Correct again! [might sound a little too cheery for a guy admitting he was in a magic coma for a millennium, but yknow] Though with the proper rituals, it's not as unusual as you'd think for a living body to stay preserved for that long. Not that it would be easy, but I've seen it done before. Temporal magic is some fascinating stuff.

[sisters]

Oh. ( he wasn't expecting such an easy answer, but since clamor's so light about it, amami won't give it too much conversational weight either. the momentary surprise is replaced with a smile. correct again! look at him getting good marks in a class that isn't even a class, about something he's not even able to use, himself. he rubs a bit sheepishly at the side of his neck though. )

Sorry for all the questions, it's still just kind of hard to believe. We don't have magic at all where I come from, so I was wondering what's possible with it.

( or, well, they don't have it that he knows of? they do have some pretty weird freak shit, just that they usually lean scientific. )

[sunstead]

[life hack: get people not to think too hard about your horribly traumatic experiences by casually treating them like a pop quiz. ez.]

Curiosity isn't something to apologize for! I don't mind. Honestly, I still have a hard time imagining a world without magic myself...

But I don't think we're all that different, either. Magic is just another way for people to solve problems. It's like this dry ice box—you have something called a refrigerator that does the same thing, right?

[sisters]

( hey, it seems to work better than amami's system, so there's always that. )

Yeah, but I think ours is... well, last I saw it, it was in 2-D? Maybe you have the right idea with making these now.

( just a huge empty space in the kitchen where it used to be. )

To tell the truth, yours actually sounds better. With no wiring or power needed to keep it running, it's a lot more practical.

( you know how like 1/3rd of your fridge is just stuff to keep it cold? and then it's never the right temperature? and you get freezerburn on the top shelf? and it's bad. it's just bad. a very cold cardboard box is also better for camping with. )

[sunstead]

Oh... is that where it went? [i forgot ethics club moved it, crying, but maybe this is the real reason he started on minifridges... where'd that fridge go. Clamor remains oblivious to these antics and only looks mildly concerned.] That's odd... it was perfectly fine in the kitchen.

Ah, but there are some disadvantages. A cardboard box doesn't have much insulation, so it's harder to keep the cold from getting out, and if the circle gets scratched or damaged the whole spell can fall apart! Condensation from the ice magic can wear both down over time, with these materials it'll need to be replaced or fixed when that happens. Artificial spirits are also less effective in places where El is scarce... and, of course, only mages can make magitech. Craftsmanship like this is normally quite pricey, or at least it was back in my day. Better materials, a more complicated spell, or having to bring it back for repairs... all of that can add up quickly.

A dry ice box might be better in some situations, but I think a refrigerator is useful, too. You say wiring or power is a problem, but if you ask me, I think that's even more impressive than the fridge—here, we have electrical energy that can travel through wires all across the school! They never had anything like that in Seven Tower. If you wanted to power something, you always had to do it yourself.

[he gets more and more giddy about modern technology the more he goes on about it, he might be a fan]

[sisters]

( clamor... doing a fantastic job of selling the geatness of this new invention he's so proud of... )

You didn't have any way to transfer power? I mean, artificial spirits don't sound too different from our batteries. ( is that rude to say? that might be rude to say. just how much spirit is in those artificials... ) You'd think that with something called magitech, there'd be, uh...

( he points, for a moment, bringing his finger up to his chin after as he tries to think of the word. god, this is gundham's area of expertise, amami does not read that much manga to know the correct term off the top of his head. given a moment he kind of sighs instead, waving his hand as if he's waving the effort away. )

Those lines. You know, the ones magic can go through. ( he's thinking of ley lines or something but knows nothing about how they might actually work, so. )

But I guess it really puts things into perspective if even a plain cardboard box can turn into something valuable.

[sunstead]

Batteries? Oh... [he probably knows what a battery is by now, just give him a second to think about it] Hmm, kind of? Not exactly. Artificial spirits do produce mana, but it's the same way natural spirits and humans do. They absorb El from the environment and turn that into mana. [more like a solar panel, basically. and also literally, because there's such a thing as sun El...] Transferring mana between two individuals—or in this case, two pieces of magitech—isn't impossible, but mana tends to disperse quickly when it's not attached to something. Travelling large distances in thin wires just wouldn't be possible.

Although... I think Nasod technology used raw El energy to get around that? Ah, but that's outside of my expertise. And, well, it was apparently quite the controversy... sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent there, didn't I?

Anyway! [checking the box once more, he's been multitasking but maybe it's done now... time to stick his hand inside and try to turn it on.] Plain boxes are still useful for storage, you know! I'm sure whoever came up with the idea was quite pleased with himself.

[sisters]

( oh, he was thinking more like a $0.50 box becoming something super expensive through a magitech rune like this, but when clamor makes a point like that, he breaks out into a grin. it's hard not to be charmed when someone appreciates the little things, y'know? maybe they should be respecting cardboard boxes a little more for the important work they do. )

It's alright, it's pretty interesting learning how these things work — if the classes here were anything like this, maybe studying would actually feel worth it. ( since lets be real here, do you think he cares about any of his lessons other than, like, geography? ... not really! but this is different. or maybe it's clamor's passion for the topic that makes it seem more interesting and the teachers here just suck. who knows. either way: ) If it's fine with you, I'd be interested in hearing more later.

( to spare you from compiling more of elsword's mess of lore for him in-character, something something playing 20-questions offscreen where amami is a surprisingly good student.

in the meantime, he leans in a little to peer into the box when clamor reaches in. )

Did it work?

[sunstead]

Of course! If there's anything you wanted to know more about, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. [and you can really hear it in his voice, just super stoked to have people who want to hear him ramble about magic.

There's a bit of a sparkle within the box as the circle within it glows, glittering like pale ice dust and a quiet tinkling sound... but it fades once the light dies down, and it still looks like just an ordinary box. Clamor takes his hand off the circle, picking it up to scrutinize his work, turning it around...]

Hmmm... why don't you see for yourself? [...and, with a bright smile, holding the open box out to Amami.

The outside is only slightly cool to the touch, but if he actually sticks his hand inside of it it'll be kinda like sticking your hand in a pile of ice cubes, except it's just an invisible pocket of ice-cold air. It might also feel like it's moving around a little. Try not to be too startled.]

whats cooler than being cool........................

[sisters]

( oh, yeah, it's fine. they're a match-set, seeing as amami feels the need to know everything about everything that seems like it could be useful to him, and to a lesser extent, in general. just... as long as clamor's willing to do more demonstrations. like this!

and speaking of this demonstration, it only takes a moment of peering at the box before amami decides to go on ahead and skip to sticking his hand right in. it's fine, how much harm could a snowflake rune really do? except, judging by the face he makes, it's definitely a bit colder than he'd expected. pulling his hand back out, he shakes it like he's trying to get the cold off, laughing a bit sheepishly as he does. )

Oh, yep. Looks like you got it. Might be more like a freezer than a fridge, though.