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]

So she was a player for this? Well... She'd have to find weapons then. And since she didn't know anyone here... She didn't intend on claiming to 'own' anyone, but she'd have to play along if she wanted to get her memories back and figure out what in the world was going on. And she would definitely protect everyone she could.

She pulled out the glove she'd gotten from her bag and put it on. Now all she had to do was convince people that despite all appearances, she could actually fight. Lyra wasn't big, but she was nimble and not at all fragile, despite all appearances.

"Hey!" Lyra began turning to everyone she could see, asking each of them some variation on a single question. "Do you want to be my weapon?"

[greennotgold]

"Ah, I already have one," Fletcher replied, holding his hand up to the necklace partly embedded into his skin. "Sorry... Are you, um, one of the Players this round?" She must have been one of the new names he didn't recognize.

[loyal_liar]

Other players already had weapons?

"Oh... Yeah, I'm Lyra," she told the boy, bowing her head politely.

[greennotgold]

"I'm Fletcher. My brother's a Player this round, so..." he replied, nodding to her. He assumed so, at least, unless someone else had wound up here with the last name Tringham. "It's nice to meet you, Lyra."

[loyal_liar]

"People... People's families get brought here together?" Lyra asked, turning her attention to the necklas he was wearing.

"It's nice to meet you too, Fletcher- did they bring a lot of kids here?"

[greennotgold]

"Sometimes," he replied, "not always." He glanced back to the board again; was that really Edward Elric's name? He tried to keep himself focused on the present conversation; it would be rude to walk away. "There are a few others! There's Mei and Molly and Hiyo and Tomoko, at least."

[loyal_liar]

"Oh... Does anyone know why we're all here? Or why we have to play the game?" temporarily shoving her confusion aside, Lyra's mind was whirling with questions.

"And what's that you got around your neck?

[greennotgold]

He shook his head, the worry clear on his face. "N-no one's said... they just want us to fight for some reason."

He glanced down slightly. "Oh! This is a link charm. They're one of the things you can buy at the booths. This makes it so if I'm a Player, my brother is automatically my weapon, and the other way around too."

[loyal_liar]

"So it's a way to make sure you can help out your friends?" Lyra asked, her eyes brightening. This was definitely something to keep in mind.

[greennotgold]

"Yeah." Fletcher nodded, a faint smile on his face. He didn't want to have to fight, but if his bow could help his brother out... "I hope you can find some weapons who can help you!"

[loyal_liar]

"I do too. Maybe if we get each other's memories back, someone will remember something to help get us out of this place!" And let her reunite with her daemon again, wherever he was.

[greennotgold]

"Right! Um, next time I'm a Player I'll get you a Memory Charm," he promised. If he had the tokens, anyway.

[loyal_liar]

"I- Thank you!" Lyra said, honestly looking a little shocked. She hadn't been expecting to get any of her memories back any time soon.

"And if you're a player, I'll definitely be your weapon!"

[trollofthree]

According to the board, there were only two people he knew selected as Players, and they were both princesses with knights of their own. If either of them asked... but they wouldn't, of course, and he would rather find someone who was going to fight.

So when, for the second time in two weeks, a girl confronted him with an offer of ownership, he stopped, grinned, and accepted in good cheer. "Sure!"

See, wasn't that easy?

[loyal_liar]

Lyra nodded happily, bowing her head before speaking.g

"My name's Lyra Silvertongue and... Do I have to make that promise? I'll protect you, but I won't own anyone," she told him, looking up to meet his eyes.

"Although I'm not sure what's going on, exactly," she admitted, "But I'm going to find out."

[trollofthree]

"That's an interesting name," he looked down at her, half-seriously assessing whether she could hold her own in a fight. Having concluded in a few seconds that the answer to that was 'probably', he shrugged. "Up to you whether you want to promise anything, but I'll serve you either way. At least, until you lose. Try not to do that too soon."

He offered a hand, so they could shake on it. It didn't look like she was going to kneel. "The name's Gino. Nice to meet you, Lyra!"

[loyal_liar]

"I don't plan to," Lyra told him, shaking his hand with a surprising firm grip for such a small hand. She wasn't really used to the idea of bowing- as the daughter of a noble, she wouldn't have been expected to do it in her own world anyway.

"It's nice to meet you, Gino," she said, "What kind of weapon do you have anyway?"

[trollofthree]

Apparently they were going to get on just fine.

"A halberd." Once they'd shaken hands, he sketched it in the air, the gestures showing the basic shape of the blade and implying that it was longer than he was tall. "It's been upgraded, so you can use it." Even though you're kinda short went unsaid. He held out his other hand, briefly, to show the two rings on his middle and index fingers: one with two crossed feathers, one with a stylised boxing glove.

"I guess you're one of the new guys, though?"

[loyal_liar]

"Upgrades?" Lyra asked, not bothering to disguise her confusion as she inspected the rings, and reminded herself to read the manual later.

"Yeah, I just got here. Have you been here very long?"

[trollofthree]

"This'll be my third round. I guess that counts as long!" He worked the feather ring off his index finger, and began to flick it from hand to hand. "Yeah, upgrades. That is, these things," he caught the ring again, and held it out. "Fashionable, right? They give your weapon special powers, kinda like upgrading a machine. So, 'upgrades'."

[loyal_liar]

"I see... So besides buying back people's memories, we can make each other stronger?" Lyra said, and she looked at the feather ring curiously.

"So what do your upgrades do?"

[trollofthree]

"Right again! There's other stuff you can do too, but you can find out about those later." He put the ring back on, and tapped them both in turn. "Flight, strength."

[loyal_liar]

"Flying?" Lyra asked, a bit taken aback.

"You can fly?"

[trollofthree]

"Right! You can," he corrected.

[loyal_liar]

At that, Lyra grinned from ear to ear. Even if she was still confused, and very, very worried about what was going on, there was one bright spot!

"When can I start?" she asked.