Round 1 [new characters and round announcement]

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

- I remember now. It's a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.

The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.

No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep.

"Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. This tramline terminates here; all change. Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. All change."

Sunlight streams through the windows of the long carriage, making the seats almost uncomfortably warm beneath its waking passengers. The air is muggy and thick, the atmosphere deeply tired. Your nausea settles, slowly. The last of the dream fades.

"We have arrived at Utopia. Repeat, we have arrived at Utopia Academy. Could all passengers please leave the tram, as it is terminating here."

The tram pulls to a stop outside the academy station, and the students onboard are ushered off and directed to the front lobby of the school. They can't miss it; there are signs up pointing toward the main entrance, reading "New student orientation" in big, bright letters. If anyone should care to move off the path, try exploring somewhere else, a teacher will conveniently appear to shoo them back toward the lobby, assuring them that "all your questions will be answered inside".

The lobby is big and spacious, looking more like a university or perhaps a fancy international hotel than a high school. Stood around are any number of students in the uniform of the school. Some of them even look awake. There are several receptionists at the desk towards the back of the lobby, but for now they seem busy with paperwork.


[ Note: the round announcement will go up in a thread once you've all mingled. ♥ ]

Comments

[loyal_liar]

Lyra shook her head, her expression unusually serious. Especially for someone her age.

"Me neither," Well, she had some ideas, but she'd rather only say them once. Which meant waiting until she had more than one person listening to her.

"This en't my world... How did we get here? I thought they were going to close all the windows," she said, more to herself than anyone else. She would have said it to her daemon, if he was here... and if she could remember what he looked like, she'd have imagined him there, and if she had remembered her name, she'd have said it. But she could not do either, and Lyra felt... alone. It wasn't a familiar feeling, and it was all the more unpleasant for it.

[waddles]

Not... her world?

Rafiel took a moment to process what she'd said, wondering at it. Had she truly come from another world? Some place other than Tellius? Or perhaps she simply referred to another one of the lost continents. Maybe this was Ashunera's will...

Still, she didn't seem to be actively speaking to him, so he stayed silent as she continued her murmuring.

[loyal_liar]

Lyra glanced up at the taller man, "Do you know about different worlds?"

If Lord Asriel or his enemies were behind this... Lyra's hands curled into fists. She'd thought she'd be able to return to her own world and go to school, and learn what she'd have to do to create the Republic... but apparently not.

[waddles]

"No, I know of only one land, Tellius." Rafiel explained serenely, seeming unfazed by her declaration of something that seemed so far-fetched. "This is a different place?" He inquired next, feeling a touch of worry inside him.

If it truly was another world, the others would not be able to find him. He would end up worrying Nailah and his father...

[loyal_liar]

"I think so. It en't my world, that's for sure," Lyra said, looking up at him.

"The place I come from is called Earth," she offered.

[waddles]

"Perhaps I will get the chance to ask you about your world, soon." Rafiel replied, wondering at the sudden possibilities presented before him. Different worlds, spanning as far as the imagination could go and each with its own different set of inhabitants and cultures. It sounded... wondrous, really.

"I am Rafiel." He said after a moment, treating Lyra to a small smile. "And you are?"

[loyal_liar]

"I'm Lyra Silvertongue," Lyra told him, smiling a bit more broadly.

"I'd love to hear about your world too," she told him brightly.

[waddles]

"I hope we get the occasion for it after our inauguration." There was a hint of joy in Rafiel's eyes at her smile, if only because it was good to see it in such a trying time. Perhaps this situation wasn't pleasant but at least there was some good to it.