Leon

Leon was just starting to snack when one of the more normal-looking students suddenly passed out. He rushed to her side when one of the others had caught her.

"Let me take a look at her, I know first aid," Leon said to the boy who was holding her.

Leon took off his pack and began retrieving a few things from it. One of those things was a large green tome that seemed to glow in the light. Leon doubts that he'll need to use The Emerald Tablet for this, but it was best to be prepared. He also retrieved a first aid kit, his potions kit, a few cure potions for common ailments, a mana potion, a few empty vials and tools for if he needs to take samples, and finally some smelling salts to wake her up.

It's not much compared to what he has back at home, but it should do well enough as a start.

Edited by drearyArchon on Aug 23rd 2022 at 7:18:07 PM

Glenn

"Oh...whew, she just plum passed out, nothin' goin' on bad with her." Glenn watched Hikari help get her into the recovery position, and then another guy started in with first aid. But then Hikari mentioned that if she didn't wake up promptly enough, then they should panic.

And that got Glenn a fair bit worried. Hopefully the teachers could help with that. They must have some sort of strong juju if they could bring errybody here. Well, that if Leon and Hikari didn't suffice. The farm boy stood back so as to let Leon work, and looked at the two of them.

"Hey uh," he started, rubbing the back of his head, "Thank y'all kindly fer that. I was right worried 'bout her seeing how she just clunked out like that. Reminded me of my friend Beeel, he knocked his noggin when we was kids all playin' 'round in the yard an' he had ta go to the hospital."

Edited by NickTheSwing on Aug 23rd 2022 at 10:44:20 AM

Marlon

He glanced towards the approaching Glenn, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Howdy, pardner." Marlon said, clearly ribbing Glenn by mimicking the country boy's accent. "Marlon Elliot. Charmed."

Then some poor girl fainted, probably because of the giant spider. Understandable, for a normal. But no one here was supposed to be normal, were they? A curious conundrum.

"Sadly, I don't know any healing spells. Probably should pick some up, at some point." He mused aloud. "Strange that she'd react that way. Must have only recently learned of the other side of the world."

Rachel

Rachel gave Setsuna her best smile, which hopefully didn't look predatory.

"Oh, well, if you don't want a shirt, that's fine too! I just thought you might like one. I'm great at weaving and sewing you know, it's pretty much all I do after all. It keeps me sane." Rachel giggled in a strained way, less genuine than everything else that had come out of her mouth.

"Oh, but you're an oni? That's cool! Well, actually, I have no idea what that is, but it sounds cool! I'm... actually, I don't know what I am either. I'm hoping somebody here knows, right? I mean, they must if they knew to send me an invite, everyone but my parents thinks I died 2 years ago."

Anything Rachel would have said after dropping that bombshell was cut off by the sound of somebody passing out. Rachel rushed to help, but stopped halfway when she realized a bunch of other people had the same idea. Too many cooks spoils the broth after all. And besides, she didn't actually know first aid.

"What happened? Is she okay?"

Setsuna

Setsuna wished she was better with words. She didn't need a shirt, that much was true, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested. She had an eye for fashion, but it was limited by circumstance. Other oni never had much fashion sense and her parents were the same. She had nothing but the scraps of cloth they gave her, but she had long wished to expand her wardrobe. Maybe now she'd have the chance.

"O-oh! Gomensai! That sucks I guess? If it makes you feel better, you can make me a shirt or jacket or something? Maybe something I can sling over my shoulders? Wait, I know! A big pink jacket with purple trimmings! And a cute little pawprint on the back! Or maybe a rabbit or something..."

Before she knew it, she was on a tangent. Her brain raced with possibilities and she couldn't help but express them. It was a whole half a minute before she stopped, but she'd already made a fool of herself.

"O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean to start rambling or anything. But I'm sort of jealous? M-maybe it's different with you, but sometimes, I wish everyone thought I was dead..."

She let the words hang there, the weight of them barely registering, standing in shock. She had barely thought it, but she said it all the same. "Uh, wait, forget I said anything..."

But Rachel had already skittered away. She couldn't blame her, but she soon noticed the other girl. She rushed over, crowding around the others. It was such a large group, but everyone was trying to help. There wasn't much she could do, but she had to do something.

"Uh, I think maybe I have some medicine on me. I don't know if it works on humans, but it's worth a shot? (I've got some sake too, but it might make her pass out again...)"

Leon

"Alright, it seems like the girl doesn't have any ailments, supernatural or otherwise," Leon put down The Emerald Tablet and grabbed the smelling salts instead. "I'd let her rest, but I'm quite sure missing orientation is just going to make things worse for her in the long run. Can everyone with obvious supernatural features clear off for a moment, we should ease her into this as she wakes up to avoid any more fainting spells."

Once everyone who's obviously supernatural clears out of a few meters around the girl, Leon put the smelling salts underneath the gher nose. The sharp scent should wake her up real quick, and if it doesn't then he has some alchemical alternatives to fall back on.

"Good morning sleepy head. Didn't get enough sleep last night?"

Edited by drearyArchon on Aug 23rd 2022 at 8:32:27 PM

Grim Adventures of Many People with the Smelling Salts in the Auditorium

Grim gave a quick nod. "Thanks for helping my blunder. I guess a skeleton is odd for many people still." He turned back around. "That said, happy to meet the rest of you." He gives a literally toothy smile, which thankfully his teeth actually look presentable. But then again, he doesn't give undead vibes in general, besides what he said. There's no evil auras one can sense, no dirty pores, no maggots, and so on. I mean, maybe a bug might have gotten in his cloak while farming, but that doesn't count, now does it?

He waited for Olivia to hopefully introduce herself first, as he didn't want to overwhelm the poor girl. One can only handle so many bones, you know?

"O-Oh yes, I am a fairy!" Blanche confirmed. "I come from a particular line of Fae that only wants to help people. A-and, I heard lots of things about Merlin. H-He's well known in the forest I come from, Brocéliande, and it's rumored that his tomb is located there but it's well hidden to the point no Fae has successfully found it."

Glenn

Now, Glenn wasn't stupid. He knew when he was being ribbed at. And it was hardly the first time somebody teased him about how he talked. He just nodded and smiled at Marlon, "...Howdy."

When he thought about the fact she might've only just learned about this other side of the world, Glenn looked her over and sighed. He knew it could be scary, and there was a lot that was out to get ya in this side of the world. "Aww, so we was all just plum a lil too much all at once fer the lady..." He hoped he didn't contribute any to it. Not much unusual about Glenn except...well.

The spear.

"Only power I got's lined up right to this here thing 'cross my back. Not much healin' in a spear." Glenn then noticed everyone started to crowd around Olivia, and he shouted, "Ey! Ey! We got this, no horse sense in crowdin'! She's gonna be plum overwhelmed again if yall just gather 'round."

Alice

Whatever Alice had been expecting out of her first day, this wasn't it. A giant red girl talking to a girl with spider legs, another girl with wings, a magician, and someone who looked like - and probably was - the grim reaper. It was a lot to take in, so for the moment she'd been content with watching the scene unfold.

Then, someone had fainted.

Alice stepped back as the country-sounding boy told them to give the girl who'd fainted some air, watching as someone else used smelling salts.

"She's, um, going to be okay, right?" she asked, glancing around at her new peers.

Leon

"She was just overwhelmed by the Academy's... uniqueness," Leon responded to Alice without turning away from the fainted girl. "My older brother told me it happens once or twice every year. While most of this group know their lineage and the existence of the supernatural already, some students get their introduction by walking into the Academy's special orientation." He shrugged as if to say, 'what can you do?'. "The girl wandered in here without knowing anything. Or she was looking for answers and instead stumbled across a group of, to her, monsters. Either way, shock overwhelmed her. And she went out like a light."

Edited by drearyArchon on Aug 24th 2022 at 1:43:30 AM

Alice

"Right, right," she nodded slowly, processing the statement. "That'd be a nasty wakeup call to all of... well, this," she gestured vaguely at the auditorium.

"You seem pretty prepared for this sort of stuff. Is your, um, your whole family supernatural, or is it just you and your brother?"

She was pretty new to the "unique" side of things herself, and Leon seemed to know his way around it. Couldn't hurt to ask.

Olivia awakens with a gasp, as though coming up for air from a sudden ocean. She tries to take stock: She's on the floor and she doesn't seem to be hurting anywhere, there's this horrendous stench that nonetheless is bracing rather than cloying and... And she's made a fool of herself. Someone had asked a question and she tried to check who, looked like one of the regular humans in here.

"Yeah, I... Did kinda skip sleep... And breakfast..."

She omits the part of it where that was because she was on a slightly illegal charter flight across the Atlantic ocean in a plane that screeched the whole way and that after that she was in a mad rush of hitchiking and walking to get to the Academy in the morning rush of students. She leaned in closer to Leon to attempt something approaching a whisper.

"... I really hope I'm not hallucinating all of the stuff I'm hearing and seeing..."

Glenn

"Aww gosh, that'd right do it, too. Mama always said - never skip yer breakfast."

Glenn nodded at Olivia, trying to keep from startling her at all. "And naw, you ain't seein' things. All yer seein' right now is on the money. But I swear we're all good folk here, see?" He gestured around, "Soon as we saw you clunked out and might'a hit yer head, errybody ran to help. Ain't nuthin' to be a'scared of." He beamed and nodded a few times.

He looked around. So there was someone here who had some connection to death, a big ol' Oni girl, a fairy, and more! Honestly, if it wasn't for the time spent on the road he might've been just as overwhelmed as poor Olivia!

"So uh, by the by, m'name's Glenn. Nice to meet'cha, and wish we could'a met in less overwhelming situations."

Leon

The mention of his family got Leon to stop for a second, but he focused back on Olivia once she starts waking up. "You're not hallucinating, and while you're slightly malnourished you're otherwise physically fine. You should try to eat healthier. Or maybe add some supplements to your diet."

"I suppose now is as good as time as any to introduce myself. I am Leon Hesperos. I'm a descendant of Hermes Trismegistus, as are the rest of my family," Leon said. "Everyone in my family has some ability in the magics he taught: Alchemy, Astrology, and Theurgy. Every family member also carries on the Thrice-Great Ancestor's legacy and gathers knowledge and wisdom. As part of that, my elder brother was enrolled here, though he's already graduated."

"Pleasure to meet you all."

Edited by drearyArchon on Aug 25th 2022 at 2:41:11 AM

Hikari: Auditorium

“My name is Hikari Mochizuki. I'll say it loudly so I won't have to introduce myself again,” Hikari stated flatly, getting back up and stretching slightly once Olivia was awake. She nodded towards the others who had just introduced themselves, and gave them a small smile in acknowledgement. “Descendant of... mm, let's keep it fun, shan't we...? Whoever guesses who I'm descendant of gets a kiss on the cheek~”

She couldn't help but chuckle at the prospect. She loved making games out of these kinds of things. It gave dull trivia a bit of an edge. Even if that dull trivia happened to be divine lineage, she still considered it to be as such. Ancestry meant nothing if the current generation was also nothing, so she was curious to see how these people would fare. Also what they'd guess her to be.

Kotone

Looking around, she saw a colorful cast of potential friends, Instead of being freaked out she couldn't wait to meet them all and make friends.

She was cut short when a girl fainted however, probably from shock at how different everyone was. Kotone was surprisingly unfazed however. Fortunately someone was quick to rush to her aid and she got up

"Hmmmm... I have no idea" she rubbed her head "I didn't actually know much about this stuff until I learnt who I was descended from."

"Come to think of it, we're all descended from some kinda important figure... I wonder what that's about"

Setsuna

"O-oh, gomensai..."

Setsuna backed away, giving the poor girl some space. She felt guilty,but was glad she was okay. But there wasn't much she could do. Not without making things worse. It was frustrating, but the others were looking after her. Best thing to do was leave them to it.

She was about to sit down, but then Hikari proposed her little game. She nearly stumbled, pushing against the chair to hold herself up.

"Uhhhhhhhh...

She racked her brain for an answer, but came up empty. She knew plenty about yokai and kami other such beings, and Hikari was Japanese, but it was a tough call.

"Um, sorry, but I can't think of anything? Like, you could be a kappa or kitsune or something, but that doesn't mean you are. Maybe you could give us more to work with? ([I-if that's okay with you...])"

Hikari: Auditorium

-smooch-

Hikari's response was immediate as she suddenly moved over to Setsuna and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek for guessing correctly. Which the oni certainly had done, if only indirectly. With a small smirk, Hikari gently patted the side of Setsuna's face before moving back to her original position as if it had never even happened.

"You win~ By accident~ I am a kitsune-descendant. But that was very quick, so I'll give the same offer to anyone who can guess who specifically. Just to keep the game going," Hikari said serenely, evidently unperturbed by the prospect as she calmly clasped her hands behind herself. "Though I'm technically a hanyō, and physically human, my spirit is vulpine. Hence the relation! That, and my inherent magic."

She winked at the others, seeming slightly more expressive now that she was talking about herself.

"I'll show you that only when the time comes~"

Edited by Enirboreh on Aug 24th 2022 at 5:15:09 PM

The lights began to dim in the auditorium as a voice rang out over the area. "All students please direct your attention to the front, the headmistress has arrived." a few moments were given for the various people in the hall to turn to face the front or take a seat before the curtains drew back, a spotlight shining on a sole figure in the center of the stage.

"Greetings my future students, and welcome to Solomon Academy." the woman at the center of the stage spoke and the very air seemed to hang on each word. To call the figure before the students beautiful would have been the single greatest understatement to ever be spoken. It was as if each part of her had been crafted to fit the perfect ideal of the idea of beauty, the exact starting point by which aesthetics could be said to have sprang forth. However rather then fill one with overwhelming lust there was something else about it, a sort of wrongness. Imperfection was natural, and thus something that could only be described as 'perfect' was enough to trigger something in the back of every mind. Hers was the same beauty as a poisonous animal, whose loud colors spoke only to just how deadly what laid beneath could be. "My name is Aphrodite, acting headmistress of this school."

She smiled and despite the dim lights the room seemed to grow all the brighter, as if the very world reacted to her emotions. "I am sure many of you have questions, after all most of you have grown up in a world where myth and fantasy are simply things to be studied or watched on a screen. But I ask that you keep all questions until I have finished," with that said she pulled forth a small clay jar, undoing a lid that sat atop it and letting forth a cloud of ash into the air. The ash swirled through the air, creating a large circle upon which dark figures began to appear.

"Gods have always walked amongst humanity hand in hand, the whims of the gods granting gifts and humanity in turn giving their faith to the gods," two black figures, a being dressed in robes standing tall and a man bent in worship appeared in the ash. "Inevitably the two separate beings would become one, and many children would be produced from unions of the divine and mortal," the ash shifted, changing to reveal beings in armor and carrying weapons. "These demigods became heroes and tyrants in equal measure, their divine birthright and skill setting them far apart from humanity, but never being close enough to the divine to truly be called gods themselves," another shift, showing the demigods between the human and divine, alone between two worlds.

"However this division is necessary, because outside of the monsters of legend there exist darker forces beyond even the gods reach," the ash revealed numerous images, each one a haunting refrain. A odd snake like creature wrapped around a girl, whispering darkness even as it multiplied through her. A legion of creatures with monitors for heads worshiping in the middle of a carnival. Hundreds of beings compressed into single forms, huddling together for comfort even as vein like tendrils sought to bring others into their embrace.

"These creatures are known as Outer Beings, alien gods and their worshipers whose eyes are drawn to Earth for a variety of purposes," the ash showed the gods again, hurling attacks at the beasts only for them to fall short. But neither could the monsters hurt the gods themselves. "The gods are tied to the world, and cannot touch what lays beyond us, but neither can the Outer Beings harm us. However humanity laid as sheep without protection against the wolves, waiting to be devoured." darkness closed in on a number of humans fleeing for their lives, until an armored figure appeared and thrust back the darkness.

"However demigods lay between humanity and the divine, and could fight back the darkness that sought to bring an end to the world, the brave few fighting a war that would never be known." the ash flew back into the container, sealed once more.

"Solomon Academy exists to train the next generation of protectors of the world, for four years you will undergo both training and trials against the enemies of the world in equal measure. At the end of those four years you may request any boon from the gods that you wish. Fame, fortune, divinity, anything you wish will be granted," Aphrodite took a breath and looked out over the students to be. "So, any questions?"

Axel took a moment to study everyone else, as they kept discussing how being new to this whole god thing, but refrained to comment. Like he had any idea what it meant for him. It's just some weird thing hanging over his family.

All those thoughts were pushed away as the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and his brain stopped working for a few seconds. But soon enough he recovered his own ability to think, as his fist connected with his own temple.

...So, he just got himself signed up to fight monsters beyond reality, with insanely high stakes?

From any point of view, it sounds insane.

...And yet.

A rather sardonic smirk came to Axel's face, as his right arm shone for a second with lightning and a big stone gauntlet formed around his hand. His fist clenched in it, as his other hand ran through it.

"Time to see what you are good for, Breaker" He said, as the weapon disappeared once again.

Grim Oh My The Revelations

Grim grimaced and then dropped his jaw... to the floor. It appears skeletal as you'd expect. On the other hand, his mouth under the hood appeared as a mask, similar to a Mortal Kombat ninja. Or well, the kind of facemasks people wear these days. Thankfully it's not a grisly image.

"What the heaven did I get signed up for?!" He asked no one in particular, exasperated. He picked his jaw up and reput it onto his face. "...Okay, had to get that out of my system."

"Alright, soooooo... I guess they might count under the term 'monster'. But something I don't understand is what these kind of Outer Beings are. Are they natural creatures like we are? Are they evil? Good? I don't want anything to happen to the great people in this world, but... I also want to understand what we're dealing with here."

Edited by Irene on Aug 26th 2022 at 10:40:31 AM

Setsuna

Setsuna was speechless. She stood still, slowly raising her hand and rubbing her cheek. It wasn't her first kiss, but she hadn't expected it from a human. Or a kitsune. The hanyo had explained it, but it didn't make it less perplexing. She attempted to speak, but all that came out were uh's and um's, no matter how hard she tried. But she wasn't upset. If anything, she wanted a round two, though she would never admit it.

But then came the Goddess. If she wasn't already stunned, she'd be gobsmacked. She was a bit scrawny, but was beautiful in her own way. She barely listened, too lost in her thoughts to pay attention, but she got the gist. They were here to kick ass and take names, something she'd done all her life. Maybe there was more, but she could handle that much.

"So, um, does anyone else know about this place? Like, if we didn't want anyone to know we're here, you wouldn't tell them, right? ("I mean, of course you would, why wouldn't you, that's a stupid question isn't it...")

Edited by kkhohoho on Aug 24th 2022 at 6:05:52 AM

Hikari: Auditorium

Ahhh. Aphrodite. Headmistress and god of love and beauty. Evidently so, as Hikari marvelled at the woman's appearance and immediately set about studying it. She didn't need a pen and paper to sketch out their headmistress' face. She just committed it to memory, and it would remain, so she took in as many details as she could. It was so perfect and symmetrical, that Hikari knew that she had to make her own face a little closer to it afterwards. Once she had some time, and a mirror...

"Headmistress Aphrodite, I don't question the facts. The fact is we're to be godslayers, of gods greater than you," Hikari smoothly said, elevating her voice with mild distortion. Like a microphone experiencing slight feedback problems. Hikari didn't shout very much, nor did she like to, so artifically raising her volume while keeping a normal speaking tone was something she hadn't practiced often. "It must be humbling, for you. But I know my place, and I'll follow directions. I'll keep myself to myself, though, because I love to surprise. My eventual wish too, is also private. That's all, Headmistress."

That was all. Hikari had no intention of revealing more about herself than that just yet. But she was proud, and that smirk stayed on her face as she stretched. Her attention turned back to Setsuna, along with the others. Gods were unimportant. They were nothing compared to the things beyond. Aphrodite had said so herself. They were important. The hybrids. The abominations. As ever, Man's hubris would be bolstered with its own self-deification.

If Hikari was the philosophical type, she'd find it both incredibly funny and incredibly disheartening. But, she had nothing beyond what was in the present moment. So she just smiled beguilingly and knowingly, and didn't let her gaze falter from her newfound allies.

Edited by Enirboreh on Aug 24th 2022 at 12:21:58 PM

Kotone

Kotone blankly stared straight at Aphrodite after she finished. The whole gods thing was still something she hadnt quite wrapped her head around, but she understood the gist of what she was saying

"I guess that explains my question from before then."

But Kotone was having doubts. Protectors of the world? She wasnt really very physically strong or had any experience in wielding weapons. She was mostly skilled in music, and that didn't really seem too helpful in this context. Unless she could weaponize it somehow.