Act 0: Just off the boat

Earlier today you first set foot on the island of Avalon. Most of your time has been spent waiting in the grate hall for the last student to arrive. Your belongings are piled by the fare wall.

The Great Hall at Avalon Academy of Arcane Arts is a magnificent and awe-inspiring space, designed to impress and instill a sense of wonder in all who enter. It is the grand setting for the beginning-of-year welcoming ceremony, where the headmaster addresses students and faculty. But when does it start?

Description:



Architecture: The Great Hall is a vast chamber, characterized by its grandeur and a mix of architectural styles. It features a high, vaulted ceiling adorned with intricate patterns of enchanted stars that seem to twinkle in a never-ending night sky. The walls are made of ancient, weathered stone that glows softly with an ethereal, otherworldly light, giving the hall an enchanting atmosphere. Elaborate, towering wooden columns line the sides of the hall, their surfaces adorned with intricate carvings depicting scenes of magical history.

Seating: The hall is designed to accommodate the entire student body of Avalon Academy, faculty, and guests. Long, polished wooden tables stretch out in parallel rows, flanked by rows of elegant, high-backed wooden chairs. The tables are meticulously set with sparkling silverware, crystal goblets, and fine china plates, awaiting the banquet that will follow the ceremony. A raised dais at the front of the hall is reserved for the headmaster, other school officials, and honoured guests.

Enchanted Decor: The Great Hall is decorated with large, ornate tapestries and banners that hang from the walls. These tapestries depict significant moments in the school's history and scenes of magical wonder, often brought to life with animated enchantments.
There are 4 banners that really catches your eyeAnd the last one is just grey

Ceiling: The ceiling of the Great Hall is a marvel of magical craftsmanship. It appears to be an endless, starry night sky. As the headmaster orates, the stars shift and form patterns, often reflecting the theme or mood of the speech. The ceiling also illuminates in different colors, casting a warm, soft light over the assembly.

Entrance and Exit: The Great Hall has two large, ornate double doors at the rear, which serve as the entrance for students during the welcoming ceremony. These doors open dramatically to allow students to enter. There is also a smaller side door leading to the kitchen, where the banquet feast is prepared and sent out for the celebratory meal after the ceremony.

As you are waiting in this extraordinary setting for the beginning-of-year ceremony, you can't help but feel the magic and history that permeate every stone, tapestry, and candlelit corner of the Great Hall at Avalon Academy of Arcane Arts.

Finally, 3 other students enter and take a seat furthest away from your group. A few moments later 2 other students join them.

Sitting by herself is a girl with tangled Red curly hair. She his newer looking robes that already caked with dirt, paint, and who knows what else.
She talks rapidly to a small blue songbird about all the wonders and amazing things she sees. The bird chatters and signs back to her.

"Well then Bex, I hope Fiero doesn't suffer from separation anxiety while we are in class. Anyway, it's nice to meet you."

Soon after meeting Bex, Seraphina hears a chattering bird and notices the bird owner's fiery red hair. Making a note to herself that the redhead would need instruction on personal grooming she then turns her attention to the student sitting beside her. She looks quite studious, and that is a good quality in Seraphina's estimation.

The curly red head shrugs. "Mother always says Mess is Best. " She giggles cheerfully. "I can never get the charm right to clean them.'
She picks a few stuck sunflower seeds off her robe and feeds it to the chirping bird.

I can teach you one to make it so the dirt doesnt stick.He smiles

Evelyn Ashwood sits a comfortable distance from the others, her blue eyes peering over the rim of her oversized spectacles, observing her peers with a mixture of curiosity and reserve. Clad in a neatly worn school uniform, her long black hair keeps falling into her face. Her backpack was full to the brim with books on magic. It all came together to make her seem like a Withdrawn Bookworm.

Noticing the interaction between her fellow students, Evelyn can't help but feel a slight twinge of longing to join in, but the comfort of her books holds a stronger sway. She overhears the conversation about familiars and cleaning charms, and instinctively reaches for a well-thumbed book on practical spellwork, the gears in her mind already turning on how she might contribute knowledgeably to the discussion.

Clearing her throat gently, she addresses the group, her voice tinged with a soft, unassuming confidence. "Um, excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear. If anyone is interested, I have a rather effective charm for warding off dirt and stains. It's quite handy for keeping robes pristine. And, um, I'm Evelyn, by the way." Her eyes briefly meet each of her peers, offering a tentative smile, the sort that's unpracticed but genuine.

"If you like mess, sure," the spectacled girl says and rolls her eyes a bit. "But I'd go for the cleaning charms if were you."

She looks up when Evelyn Ashwood introduces herself and nods.

"'Day. I'm Evelyn too. Not Evelyn-two-too... Evelyn Evans."

You hear the clocktower strike the hour. Instead of a traditional bell or gong, the clock tower uses a series of enchanting chimes. At the top of each hour, the tower emits a beautiful and melodic chime. The chimes are produced by large, suspended crystals, each representing one of the four elemental forces - earth, air, fire, and water. The combination of the four elements creates a harmonious and magical sound that resonates throughout the school, bringing a sense of enchantment to the experience.

As the chimes ring out, the Enchanted Clock Tower releases bursts of magical light, with each elemental crystal emitting a different color corresponding to its element. This creates a mesmerizing display of colors that bathes the courtyard and the surrounding area in a soft, ethereal glow.In walks Headmaster Agness Wagonblottand, closely followed by the rest of the students milling in to take their seats.

Welcome studens, new and old. I hope that your studies will be fruitful and the friendships you make will last beyond the mist.
Now for the new studets there are some rules that you must abide. She sends a sternlook at some boys in the back on the hall.
And some old students that need a refresher:

- Magic is not allowed in your dormitories!
- In class, you are only allowed to use your magic when prompted by a teacher!
- Any permanent alterations, transformations or modifications to yourself or fellow students are grounds for expulsion.
- Magic that makes the target go against its nature, is also grounds for expulsion, perhaps even being handed over to the authorities.
And this is for the older students!
- There will be no hexing, jinxs or other shenanigans the first week.

She now turns to your table, and speaks to you directly.
It has been a long tradition that students form groups and compete in our game*. We challenge ourselves in orientation, magic ingenuity, stealth and endurance, as each team makes their way through the forest to reach the banner. Once claimed, the returning team is allowed to hang their banner here in the greate hall. Last year, we had The Wolf... A group of boys starts the cheer.
The dears... a group of fit looking girls, stands and cursites
And The Hedgehogs... There is scattered laughter all-round
Each placed the banner on the wall. Since the last group graduated, their banner and familiar animal have faded and is ready for a new group to claim it. Tonight we eat and tomorrow classes will start. Enjoy the feast

As the headmistress entered the hall, Evelyn made sure to sit up just a bit straighter than she had before.
She listened to the seemingly traditional words and warnings and scanned the crowd.

"Uh oh," she whispered to herself while looking a one of the Wolf-Boys in the distance. "That bloke's gonna get himself in detention before the week is over."

As the headmistress explained the rules of the game Evelyn looked at the students around her.
" Are you folks in any groups yet? Ya reckon we'd be mates and team up for this?"

As she offered them to become a team, the doors of the hall opened. Floating mid-air were dishes and trays. Vegetable pies. turkeys, curries and pasta's. Food from all sorts of culture. Plates flew through the air in perfect, organized lines, guiding them selves to the table. As if there was an invasion of invisible waiters all perfectly synchronously aligned. A network of invisible conveyor belt's all delivering food. Evelyn was quite sure none of that was true and the food was just flying in a very orderly formation before it arrived at the tables.

Seraphina follows the headmaster's gaze to the troublesome boys at the back, taking note of their faces. As a prefect, doing her duty would be much easier if she knew ahead of time who could be depended on to cause trouble. Perhaps a word of warning or a simple charm sent their way to cut off the serpent's head ahead of time. One that didn't break the rules of course. Despite what the headmaster said, she could have a lot of fun with this:

Magic that makes the target go against its nature, is also grounds for expulsion. It wasn't as restricting as one might think.

"Just the Prefect group, Evelyn."

"If I may ask," she stood and boldly yet respectfully addressed the headmaster, "Why can't there be some form of permanent reminder of winning teams in the past? It would be a fitting tribute to last through the ages. I'd be happy to form a committee and come up with ideas for past Mystiwood Banner Challenge competitions."

I have to say this game sounds better than my old school's already.... though I don't know what to do with my old equipment then... he blinks. Mates would be nice, youre the first folks to talk to me at all. At least the challenge can be done on a broom. Mine is very sporty

The second Evelyn was rubbing her chin as if trying to make up her mind if she should say what she'd been considering ever since she met her classmates and the other girl named Evelyn.

"Uh, hey everyone, you can call me Charlotte. I used to go by my middle-name Evelyn since my best friend early in life was named Charlotte. Now we've got the opposite problem with duplicate Evelyns!" Feeling like people were staring at her, Charlotte blushed and then rapidly spouted, "Anyway, call me Charlotte, and I'm looking forward to the Mystiwood Banner Challenge!"

The curly red head picks out her dirty robes while the others chat.
When the food lands before her she digs in. Hands fly out grabbing food and stuffing her face.
With a mouth full of food "Parents told me about MBC. Told me about all the gnarly injuries people got. Takes a large bit of sausage. "Dad flew into a tree, broke his leg and arm." She starts laughing loudly and food bits fly out. "Names Dottie... Most call me Dot." She offers a mash potato covered hand to anyone who wishes to shake it.

"Oh." Seraphina was sufficiently cowed by the headmaster to immediately sit back down, a slight flush rushing to her normally pale cheeks.

"Well Dot, they wouldn't be worthwhile if they were easy. I'm sorry about your father though. I imagine he had some healing spells?"

Turning to Evelyn she can't help but chuckle. "It looks like you have the naming problem well in hand. We will call you Charlotte, but ...." The prefect leans in closer to the girl, "You won't want to call the competition MBC. You'll incur the wrath of Mr. Blixencoop. He will consider that blasphemous. Oh and Bex, you might be able to trade your equipment."

He nods, bit looks slightly worried about the tree crash. He sneaks a piece of turkey to his kitten before looking around at the others. I really do agreee...We should form a team. for the challenge, I like that idea.