Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom (Now Official!)

Xarl

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Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom (Now Official!)

« on: 22 December 2003, 21:31:00 »

Time for some confusion, people. But for the moment, I'm being my usual power-complex-filled self and shoving what we have into an arrangement that seems to make sense to my little head. No finality in any of this.

Overview
The Magical Academy of Ximax is not the power it once was. In the old days, it was Ximax, leaving aside the two or three buildings outside the mere six towers that had made up the then-Institute of Magic. Now, there are bigger buildings around it, several additional towers built inside the Academy, and an entire city around it.
However, noone can mistake the fact that these two rings of towers, and the nearly thousand people within it either to learn or to teach, are the heart and mind of the metropolis that has grown up around them.

Layout: Talia.

Outer Courtyards

The theme of Ximax has been and probably always will be sixes. Clockwise, beginning from the eastwards gate. (toss in somewhere.)

The easternmost courtyard is an ornamental garden, framing the entrance into the Academy proper. It is said that the garden is never the same two days in a row; quite accurate, as various new varieties of plants are placed, replaced, moved, and mutated there every day by the magi of the Brown and Blue Towers, as well as by the men of the High Gardens later detailed.

Facing southeast, behind multiple inward-focused wards, lies a plain field with a relatively squat tower at its center. This region is set aside for the containment of the various beasts the Ximaxians are known to study, and within the squat Tower of the Wilds lie all manner of creatures, from the relatively harmless Giant Rats in the upper portions of the tower to the dark cages of the Chasm Demons nearly (30 peds) beneath the earth. Students pursuing Summoning as a way of life can usually be found in this area.

Facing southwest is a more peaceful area. All academies need some area for their students to relax and have fun, and the Field provides it easily. No other name, just "Field." It works. There is a small amphitheatre here for the performance of various amusements... plays, concerts, the occasional demonstration... it is a small venue, nothing compared to Wengerim Hall in outer Ximax, but it suffices. The field has two or three light hills and two or three slightly shadowy copses... the men of the Refounding were not so old that they had forgotten youth.

Every facility has its accidents that require some on-site medical attention. Ximax's are a few orders of magnitude more serious, and so the Hospital Tower and the Herbology Gardens were born in the western sextant of the Outer Courtyards. Over time, the Hospital Tower has gradually become more and more self-sufficient, but even so there remains an emergency detachment of Air wizards in the area at all times to allow for a quick evacuation of the critically injured to a more specialized hospital in the Outer City. There are guides and wards all over the Gardens to prevent the uninitiated from wandering into some of the more lethal areas, as well.

To the northwest lies... alright, let's call this a blank for now.
(PE?)

To the northeast, and last in the Outer Courtyards, lies the second-most magically insulated area in Sarvonia. This area is always covered in a fine mist, a minor byproduct of the constant magical conflict in the area. This is the Testing Ground, where experimental magic sees the air for the first time, where the most secret spells are carried out, and on rare occasions, where wizards go to duel. If, in one's travels through Ximax, one hears a muted explosion, there is about a two out of three chance it is from this area.

More to come.

Xarl Bluestride, Archmage of the White Tower, Elder of the Magic Forum, Master of RP Sorcery and generally cool guy. All requests are to be written on the back of a ten-dollar bill (or equivelant thereof) placed on a gilded hemmhoroid, and tossed in the sewer system.
Xarl Bluestride
Owner of the longest pure text sig in Santharia.
Xarlian Quote Of The Moment
When life gives you lemons, you clone those lemons. And make super-lemons.
No Longer Master of the Magic Forum, but still basically dominate the place. All bribes to xarl@santharia.com

Edited by: Xarl at: 2/9/04 3:26


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Xarl

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #1 on: 04 January 2004, 16:15:00 »

FREAKING HUGE DISCLAIMER
None of the following is in any way final, approved, or even technically feasible as far as I know. I'm just providing details that aren't apparent yet. The final entry may contain many, few, or even none of them, but at least there's some extra crap done on the damn thing.

Damn. My browser is being uncooperative. <insert Snow Crash joke here> I was basing my descriptions off of the most excellent drawings so conveniently provided... ah hell, I can at least do the Inner Circle.

White Tower

The Tower of Light, built of marble and silver, stands at the south of the Inner Circle. It is here that the power of Xeua is concentrated in binding the enchantments that hold the Sheild Dome intact, and it is also here that the Sorcery of Being is most concentrated outside of the Elven forests. Its slight curve and conical shape has been said to remind people of a massive fang. This is not an image the Xeuaworkers who inhabit the tower encourage, but the comparison is nonetheless always present, especially when the Red Tower is particularly bright, and the tower seems covered in blood.

Black Tower

The Tower of Shadow, standing opposite of the White Tower on the northern side of the Inner Circle, is made of black marble, obsidian, and has rings of gold demarking the floors of the Tower. This tower is shaped like an obelisk, its four walls sloping sharply up until they decrease angle at the Eyrie of the Archmagus, and flatten off at the surge point atop the massive structure. It is here the studies of the Dark Xeua, Ecua, are performed, and also where the libraries of Demonology are located. The Tower's surge point's effects can be felt at any time of the day; at least once a month the inhabitants of the city suffer a split second of midnight and a headache that endures for a few minutes as the Tower bleeds off excess destructive force crashing against the Sheild Dome.

The White and Black Towers do not serve to absorb any particular energy, unlike the other four of the Inner Circle. Their purpose can be likened to that of a cavalry division of an army of infantry; when one of the Four Towers falters, the White and Black serve to quickly 'charge to its aid' and help repair any damage done by conflicting magics.

Blue Tower
The Tower of Water stands at the northwest of the Inner Circle. This tower is shaped almost like an icicle that somehow dripped upwards, stabbing into the sky with its three uneven points. Of course, ice is nowhere near as important in the tower's construction as stone and iron, but where magic must be channeled in the Tower there is always a conduit of magically strong, magically cold ice. Here, naturally, the studies of Water Magic and its related fields are concentrated. It is usually incredibly hard to find a nonhuman in this Tower, but prolonged inspection would reveal that about one in twenty-five of the students is elvish.

Yellow Tower
The Tower of the Winds stands at the southwest of the Inner Circle. Its construction is fairly odd, looking as though a simple cone of yellow stone had been constructed and then several doughnut-shaped rings had been somehow cut away from the desert rock afterwards; this is the one tower that has not been renovated since the Fall of 733, and with the good reason that noone is quite sure what mix of magic and engineering keeps the thing balanced. This tower serves as the headquarters for the Seers, a few Healers, but most of all the Airmasters of Ximax. Elves dominate this tower's upper levels, but among its lower-level students many humans and even two or three of the Volkek-Oshra can be found.

Red Tower
At the southeast end of the Inner Circle looms the Tower of Flame. Rivaled only in oddity of construction by the Yellow Tower, the Red is formed of two massive spiraling pillars of red granite, slimming gradually until reaching the Eyrie and the ruby spire atop it. Despite its strange looks, leading one to imagine the architecture of two constantly tilted towers within it, it actually has standard flat floors and at least two large passages between the two sides of the spiral per floor. Without question, the Volkek-Oshra orcs are the majority in this Tower, but its doors are quite open to other races. As such, many dwarves, humans, and even a few elves have held high positions in this tower. The archives of Ximax even tell of an elf who was once granted the chair of the Crimson Regent.

Brown Tower

The Tower of the Earth would go fairly unnoticed in the right city; for example, a city in the middle of a volcanic mountain range. The Brown Tower is shaped like a somewhat stretched mountain, no doubt due to the efforts of the various Brown Archmagi over the years. Never once has that seat, and its accompanying staff, been held by any but a Dwarf, and so it shall most likely remain for the forseeable future. It is here that the Earth magics, and some of the less 'pure' magics are studied. Less pure not meaning any more corrupted, but more mundane sorceries, such as how to magic an oven to cook as you wish it to, or how to use minor telekinesis to help you adjust your appearance, and such things. Very rare is the student who does not spend at least some time in the midlevels of this Tower. (Worth noting is that the Tower extends underground as well)

Edited by: Xarl at: 1/4/04 6:24


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Silfer Darkflare

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #2 on: 04 January 2004, 18:24:00 »

Xarl, you are definately not bringing finality to this, oh no. Just confusion. Secondly, why don't you be more friendly, let other people's comments in (Like Talia/Rayne/Dasson) who have worked on this, hmm?


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Rayne (Alýr)

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #3 on: 04 January 2004, 18:31:00 »

It has already been decided by Mina, Dasson, Valannía, and myself that the towers wil all be of uniform shape and that the colors will be distinguished by their trimmings. I sugget that you stop work on this entry until more is discussed and decided.

...Ripples in the Dream Pool...


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"There is much misjudgment in the world. Now, I knew you for a unicorn when I first saw you, and I know that I am your friend. Yet you take me for a clown, or a clod, or a betrayer, and so I must be if you see me so. The magic on you is only magic and will vanish as soon as you are free, but the enchantment of error that you put on me I must wear forever in your eyes. We are not always what we seem..." -Schmendrick the Magician, The Last Unicorn

Ta`lia of the Seven Jewels

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #4 on: 04 January 2004, 17:40:00 »

Rayne, it is after all Xarls entry, though he was away for some time. And it would be polite to ask him to cooperate as Silfer did. I don't see, that you four have the right to decide about an entry as long as the former initiator has not vanished totally.There is no need to make all towers uniform. I don't see much difference between a finished entry and one in progress. As long as Xarl is here now and then, nothing should be decided above his head, though it may take another half year to finish this.

***Astropic of the day***
"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"

Edited by: Talia Sturmwind at: 1/4/04 0:42


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"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"
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Silfer Darkflare

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #5 on: 04 January 2004, 19:42:00 »

Balance, my dear ladies. If Xarl wants a say in this, then he should be here, and also discuss with us. Not just override, as that is rude and shows no care for the work you do.


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Rayne (Alýr)

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #6 on: 04 January 2004, 22:44:00 »

@ Talia: Please take note of the last sentence of my former post. Thank you!

...Ripples in the Dream Pool...


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Xarl

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #7 on: 04 January 2004, 22:56:00 »

I kindly direct you, Silfer, to the very first sentence of my first post. There is no finality here; none whatsoever. However, it is my experience that it takes a decent impetus to get people to editing and suchlike.

What I'm putting in here, at least at first, is only a template for how the final entry should go. If a bit of what I write survives, I'll feel happy, but other than that, I have no ulterior motive.

Thought I'd read deeply enough into what you'd said while I was gone; my sincere apologies, Rayne. However... all the towers uniform? These are wizards! What's the point in being able to bend the very fabric of reality to suit your whims if you can't show it off, pardon the character. C'mon. I see the Towers as having been a subtle form of competition. Make yours cooler than the next one over, that sort of thing.

And besides. The World Trade Center was the best example of uniformity present, and architects all over the world hated it for that. Look at a skyline. Get a picture of Chicago's, if at all possible. They're all tall buildings, yes, but they're all strange in their own special way.

My thanks for defending me, Talia. However, considering the length of my absence, they are well within their rights to complain. I do not begrudge them that.

(Just to clarify things for future discussion, and to lay my motivations completely clear, I tend towards liking Rayne's style and disliking Silfer's. No offense, Silfer, but (he said, completely negating the no offense) you seem more RPG than world-oriented. And you may have noticed that RPG magic tends to... well, suck, if veiwed in the context of the world it's set in.)

Yes, what I'm doing is unilateral. However, I entirely expect my work to be butchered where appropriate, completely wiped out where also appropriate, and left in where decent. I see no problem with that whatsoever.

Long weeks of administration at my other site have taught me something; good work tends to not coalesce out of thin air. Exhibit A being my original Ximax school entry. Take a look if you haven't recently. Be appropriately appalled at it. Good work tends to derive itself from a platform of absolutely miserable work.

*dramatic pose*

That... is what my posting is all about.

Edited by: Xarl at: 1/4/04 6:49


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Rayne (Alýr)

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #8 on: 05 January 2004, 00:56:00 »

Well, the reasoning behind the uniform was that their similar structures would convey a sence of unity among the towers. It would also make it structurally easier to design, thinking about how the interior will be laid out.

Xarl, do you have any means of contact? We should like you to be a part of this, but we need to be able to talk to you and discuss with you. If you want to contact me, all my contact information is on my ezboard profile. Please get in touch with me!

...Ripples in the Dream Pool...


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Silfer Darkflare

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #9 on: 05 January 2004, 17:13:00 »

Well, I am not sure what you mean by my style, but I seldom take offence of things anyway. However, please clarify.

Also, I am trying to make magic multisided, both balanced and useful, in battle and everything.

And btw2, I am not really doing anything with THIS particular entry as of yet. But I am joining in on it.


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Mina

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Re: Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom

« Reply #10 on: 11 February 2004, 12:19:00 »

Hmm...I was re-reading this and realised that I couldn't quite visualise what the wind and fire towers were supposed to look like. I don't quite understand this line about the wind tower:

Quote:
and then several doughnut-shaped rings had been somehow cut away from the desert rock afterwards

As for the fire towers, are the two pillars some distance apart (making it look sort of like a DNA molecule), or are they almost touching? Or are they supposed to have an entirely different look?

There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force.


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Ximaxian Academy: The Rewrite of Doom (Now Official!)