Arcane Academy Episode 1

### YouTube VOD

***The Arcane Academy* Episode 1** was streamed on BrettUltimus' Twitch channel on July 16, 2020, and premiered on the World of Io's YouTube channel on July 19, 2020. Elenora, Tremmer, Gideon, and Aldoras board the airship Delgado to travel from the Archcity of Brisbin to The Exodus Academy, spending time on the airship, exploring the amenities, meeting classmates and rivals, and having a battle of familiars.

## Summary

*Written by JustAScrub, edited by Palladium*

Four young human wizards enter the airship Delgado, which is docked in the Archcity of Brisbin. They are new freshmen of the Exodus Academy, the premier place for those who wish to learn the arcane arts in Ishtar, and possibly all of Io. The students in this story are Elenora Mordove, Tremmer Kushions, Gideon Snowfall, and Aldoras Theletian. Each of them is accompanied by their familiar. Elenora's familiar is the albino ferret Lumi. Otto, a clay homunculus, was created by Tremmer. A small white fox, Riske, is owned by Gideon. Oswin the pygmy flail snail belongs to Aldoras. All four of the students enter the ship individually and are greeted by the ship's Shield Guardian, which gestures each of them to the same cabin.

Soon after everyone is settled in their seats, the Shield Guardian’s voice greets Aelith Malcolm, a pompous, highborn noble. He passes by the cabin of the four young students and peeks inside, only to have his face be assaulted by Otto. Tremmer recalls his familiar when he hears the Shield Guardian’s stomping towards them. The party’s next visitor introduces himself as Shij. He recognizes Aldoras for his snail, pulls out his sword slug, and compliments Aldoras for his choice. Shij talks about his passion for gastropods. He then beckons everyone close, and he tells them that he knows of someone who knows a spell. However, the Shield Guardian interrupts and informs Shij to go back to his cabin. The Shield Guardian greets another newcomer, Nigel Valiensworth, and tells him that his cabin is the same one as the party’s. The meek student quickly takes his seat after apologizing for intruding. Gideon spots that this child is absolutely terrified, so he welcomes Nigel, calming him down. The boy spots the various familiars and excitedly shows his interest in them, as he himself is unable to bind to one. He hopes to learn the reason at the Academy. Soon, everyone hears the engine’s roar, and the Shield Guardian announces that the ship will be departing soon. It informs everyone to stay in their cabins during take-off. Once the ship is airborne, everyone can exit their rooms. The Shield Guardian also informs everyone that there is a small library and a dining area.

Soon after the ship is in the air, the party decides to go to the library with Nigel. They invited Shij, but he wants food instead and heads in the opposite direction. At the library they find a Warforged who hands Tremmer a scroll. The Warforged states that it cannot figure the scroll out, so it asks for their help. Everyone goes around to search the library for any clues. During their search, they find several unrelated but notable books and scrolls. Tremmer picks up *Howl and Fang* and Gideon takes *The Mystery of Magic Missile*. Aldoras shows a book in an unknown language to Nigel, who recognizes it as Goblinoid, a language he is willing to translate. Aldoras then finds a different scroll and learns how to cast Prestidigitation. In addition, he learns an alteration to the cantrip, allowing him to magically make spicy food not as spicy. With his book, Tremmer understands what to do with the scroll that was handed to him. He has found a rune within the book, which he draws on the scroll. The scroll then lits up, and words begin to appear, teaching the reader about the spell Pack of the Wolf. Nigel finishes translating *Goblin Earth* and hands it to Aldoras. Elenora’s book, however, is the result of a bard who had gone mad after being bitten by a snake and doesn't contain any useful knowledge.

Everyone then moves up two floors to the cafeteria, as they want to ask Shij about the spell he mentioned earlier. They find him there, but they also spot a woman who is currently fanning her mouth. Shij is outraged because the food here is spicy. Aldoras uses his skill with Prestidigitation to decrease the amount of spiciness. This action prompts a reaction from the kitchen, as the chef looks over and winks at him. The woman catches the attention of Nigel, who remembers hearing about someone on the ship who knows sign language. After realizing that she cannot speak, Nigel puts his hand up. She takes the sign and places her hand on his. Nigel then introduces the woman as Ellie. Upon being asked about how he did that, he confesses that he has several gifts and states that he is going to the Academy to learn more about them. Shij then realizes that Nigel is the one who knows “the spell about familiars”, believing it to be a “fun game”. He explains that Familiar Fight creates illusions of the participants’ familiars so that they can battle one another. Nigel suggests for more people to join in, so Shij heads off, telling everyone to head to the deck while he gathers more people. Soon after the party arrives on the top of the airship, Shij arrives with Ellie, the Warforged, and Malcolm. Nigel casts the spell, creating illusions of the familiar of each wizard in the room.

The party’s familiars find themselves fighting against a sword slug, a snake, a clockwork spider, and a fire fox. Malcolm sends his fox to engage in a fight with Riske and receives support from the Warforged’s spider. Meanwhile, Lumi exchanges attacks with Ellie’s snake. Otto supports the others with various buffs and heals. The two gastropods support their respective allies as they slowly move to engage. During the fight, Lumi launches her finale Fiery Knifestorm, causing the fire fox illusion to dissipate. Riske is the next one to fall from an opportunity attack from the sword slug. Another Knifestorm goes off, defeating the snake and the sword slug. Otto revives Riske with its Second Life ability. Soon after, Oswin swings a Flair Tendril at the spider, defeating the last enemy.

The party has won the fight between familiars. While everyone else is cheering for the party’s victory, Malcolm looks over at Gideon and says, “*Nice going, lowborn. Perhaps you’re not a complete waste of a student*.” The party then compliments Nigel for his creative spell. Eventually, everyone disbands from the top deck and returns to the ship’s interior. Soon, everyone spots the Exodus Academy through the windows.

## Cast

### Player Characters

* Elenora Mordove
* Lumi
* Tremmer Kushions
* Otto
* Gideon Snowfall
* Riske
* Aldoras Theletian
* Oswin

### Non-player Characters

* Delgado Shield Guardian
* Nigel Valiensworth
* Shij
* Aelith Malcolm
* Ellie
* Delgado Library Warforged