battlers; in character.

WHO: Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren.
WHAT: Serena entertains at home. It goes about as normally as you would expect it to.
WHEN: August 14th, 11pm British Summer Time.
WHERE: Serena's family's ancestral home, Yorkshire.
RATING: R for animal cruelty, ominous themes and mild peril.

( Though only noticeable by the very observant, Serena was stepping in a very precise manner, only on certain tiles and now and then with a strange pressure... )

To: dwolfe@camulus.edu ["Dylan Wolfe"], javeris@camulus.edu ["Jim Averis"], vdalca@camulus.edu ["Valerui Dalca"]
CC: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu ["Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren"]
From: ualghamdi@camulus.edu ["Ula al-Ghamdi"]
Subject: Obelisk Investigation
Attachment: jokhangannex.pdf

Gentlemen,

I am interested in discussing with you your progress thus far in investing the state of the current obelisk malfunction. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but it is my understanding that the system works via a network of points, or "hot spots," which are then connected by a web of invisible magic lines. This network, or web, or even thick, invisible fog, if you will, manages, by some means yet unclear to me, to work as a barrier to the effects of mortality, letting in only such things as physical and mental and astral blows, while restraining their more threatening, real-life repercussions. This is, of course, divine technology, and not merely manmade magic, but each rely on similar principles of engineering. Therefore, upon conferring with my husband regarding the finer points of magical technology, I can determine the most likely scenario to have brought about our current condition may be one of the following three possibilities: a) a disruption placed along one strand of the network (in the form of a cut or a magical block), thereby throwing the rest of the network offline, b) the disabling of one or more of the aforementioned "hot spots," which would then cancel all areas connected through that avenue (similar to a block or cut in effect), or c) a complete system blackout. The latter would seem the most likely, given the total disappearance of all obelisk effects, yet it is equally the most unlikely, as a complete system blackout would very nearly require a literal "off" switch. Such a switch could only come in the form of a great deal of power, as well as a certain level of access to the system itself at a close range too uncomfortable for any of us to imagine being permitted to outsiders and villains.

Attached, please find the magical blueprints of a temple my team once infiltrated several years ago in Lhasa. The building was, in fact, protected by a divinely placed magical construct using what I believe to be similar technology. We were able to bypass the network by utilizing reflective magic on the system itself, thereby turning the system's voiding power on its own powers. In short: it canceled itself out.

I don't know if any of this is at all helpful to you, and again, of course these theories, assumptions, and methods assure us of nothing yet. And lead us nowhere near the more important matters: when, why, and who? But I believe a meeting between all our minds and talents is as good a starting point as any if we are to do our jobs and to see the students through this crisis (and, it is hoped, to avoid similar crises in the future). I have copied Serena onto this exchange as well, as she seems to have a handle on the delegation of all tasks amongst our colleagues throughout this matter, and should remain informed of our efforts.

'Ula


على الغامدي ,الأستاذة
Dr 'Ula al-Ghamdi, The Professor
Junior Head Mentor
456.356.4787 ex. 34
Office 401

To: [All Mentors] [All Head Mentors] [All Students]
CC: yi@camulus.edu
From: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: Obelisk Maintenance Downtime



Students of Camulus, please attend carefully.

As some of you may already be aware, the obelisks have now been taken offline for their scheduled housekeeping. Due to the complex magical and divine nature of the obelisks, and the amount of work that will need to be done in order to ensure that they are fully functional throughout the Tournament, we do not have an estimation as to how long the devices will be offline. You will, however, be kept appraised of the situation as it unfolds. I would advise that you spend this time in reflection as to what exactly this means for you as students. If you are of inferior intellectual capacity, or an Alpha (but I repeat myself), I have helpfully appended a section to this email about what this means for you.

---

What Does This Mean For You?

As the Obelisks are now offline, each and every one of you are now mortal. Injuries will not heal, death will be resolutely final and pain will not be dulled. As fighting and power usage outside the classroom/Tournament arenas are supposed to be restricted anyway, this should not pose too great a problem. As long as you all act like appropriately mature adults, I doubt that everyday life will change significantly.

However.

It should also be noted that many people have frequently called into question my mental state or lack thereof. What I would say is that, if I really am as psychopathic as many of you seem to believe, then those of you who have decided that mouthing off to a mentor is a good course of action whilst attending this Academy had better pray to the god of your choice that I have better things to do than hunt you down and carry out a little backdated detention. Sleep tight.


----------------------------------------
Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren
Britannia
Freshman Head Mentor
"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it."

TO: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
FROM: kfenstermacher@camulus.edu
SUBJECT: A Serious Inquiry

Professor Fullerton-Fitzwarren,

I have a Hypothetical Situation in which I a friend of mine found a Post-It Note with the words "You have Secret Virus Powers" written on it. What should I my friend do about this? How does one get Tested for latent Virus Powers? Should I my friend ignore this because it might be a stupid joke? I My friend would like to know and I have asked you because you are the Head Freshman Mentor and therefore very Wise. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Klaus H. Fenstermacher
MEISTERWERK
Freshman representative of Germany

Who:Viktorus Petraitis and the entire world
What:Post-it notes!
When:Earlyearly Sunday Morning

( xoxo gossip demon )

To: ula-alghamdi@camulus.edu
From: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: A very unfortunate turn

Nemo,

Oh my. This is just too precious. An accusation of unwarranted actual bodily harm arising from Sigma defences, and a confession of culpability all in the space of two paragraphs.


...And he tried to hide it as well. I'm very disappointed and concerned.


----------------------------------------
Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren
Britannia
Freshman Head Mentor
"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it."

To: [FRESHMEN STUDENTS], fdelacroix@camulus.edu, dcordoba@camulus.edu
From: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
CC: yi@camulus.edu, vdalca@camulus.edu, ual-ghamdi@camulus.edu, dwolfe@camulus.edu
Subject: Mason Halloran

Students,

As you may be aware, the freshman codenamed Poppet was discovered in a compromised situation earlier today. I say compromised as opposed to the more usual compromising, as Mr Halloran was quite seriously injured. He has been moved to the infirmary, where I am informed that his condition is described as "stable, but serious".

Those of you who have not been entirely turned off caring for him by his abrasive personality might wish to visit him, but that is a matter for negotiation between yourselves and the medical staff. Were I in his position, I doubt that I would want slack-jawed idiots crowding round mouthing platitudes, but there you are.


----------------------------------------
Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren
Britannia
Freshman Head Mentor
"He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it."

To: ual-ghamdi@camulus.edu
From: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: Sigma Juniors and their unfortunate mortality

Nemo,

Whilst I realise that having you as a guiding figure can and necessarily must lead to inevitable moral turpitude (if not outright depravity), the behaviour of one of your students earlier today defies even my low expectations for your mentoring. That k Jewish boy is skating on very thin ice, and the freezing waters are eager to break his fall.

I'm taking this to Yi, since it's a matter of school security. I just thought you should be aware of what's going on right under your nose...but then, given your peoples' rather chequered past, perhaps you're encouraging that kind of violent escalation. And when I *do* find evidence of tampering with vital school systems in a time of heightened security, you can be sure I'll also move for your dismissal when we finally sweep the inferior tech students from these halls.

This school is a place for the superior and the blessed, not for John and Jane Average to come and play at being a hero with a socket wrench.

Britannia.


-------------------

To: yi@camulus.edu
From: sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu
BCC: bpark@camulus.edu
Subject: Security Lapse

I need to see you. Something disturbing has come to light, and in regards to recent attacks it cannot be ignored.

Serena.

To: Yasmina Kashani <"ykashani@camulus.edu">, Bok-su Park <"bpark@camulus.edu">, Britannia <"sfullerton-fitzwarren@camulus.edu">, 'Ula al-Ghamdi [ualghamdi@camulus.edu]
From: Dai Thomas <"dthomas@camulus.edu">
Subject: Attacks.

( You've got mail! )

To: [MENTORS]
From: Valerui Dalca <"vdalca@camulus.edu">
Subject: Question from Mr Thomas.

Mr Thomas would like for the mentors to attack his teammates at random to prepare them for the arena. If you are interested please let me know so I can pass the information to Mr Thomas.

Valerui Dalca
Senior Head Mentor

sent later

To:> Dai Thomas <"dthomas@camulus.edu">
From: Valerui Dalca <"vdalca@camulus.edu">
Subject: Your question.

Professor Fullerton-Fitzwarren and Professor Kashani have both agreed to your proposal, as has Professor 'Ula al-Ghamdi although she would like for you to email her your teammates, their years, areas of specialization and their course schedules. Professor Park seemed interested, however all he asked was who he would be targeting so it is likely he will help. If I hear back from any other mentor, I will let you know.

As always if you require any more assistance from me, please let me know.

Valerui Dalca
Senior Head Mentor

TO: < All mentors >
FROM: < Robin van Papendrecht 'rvanpapendrecht@camulus.edu' >
SUBJECT: THIS IS URGENT!!!

IS PROFESSOR LEOPOLD COLE ALIVE??????
HE HAS NOT RESPONDED TO ANY OF MY CORRESPONDENCES!!!!!
THE FIRST WAS FOUR DAYS AGO!!!!

♥♥♥♥♥
Robin

( Several copies slipped under the door of each mentor's office. )

Who: Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren [BRITANNIA]
When: Saturday June 11th. Broadcast mid-morning, and repeated through the day.
Where: Camulus Academy, confessional room.
What: Serena has a few choice words, about both the school in general and this new musical turn of events.
Rating: PG, for moderate amounts of Serena.

( When I was at this school, it was about taking your place in society, and fighting for it as hard as you’d ever fought for anything... )

To: jdufaux@camulus.edu
From: sfullertonfitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: Your Ranking results


I am so proud of you. Check underneath your pillow.

- Serena.


[[Underneath Jacque's pillow -and heaven knows when or how she got it there without being seen- lies an unobtrusive necklace. It feels a little heavier than it should, and (if you are a person prone to paranoia) it might seem as though the creature on horseback is looking directly at you. But that would be ridiculous.

Underneath, in Serena's neat script, is a small card. It reads simply: "Wear it always"]]

To:sfullertonfitzwarren@camulus.edu, bpark@camulus.edu
From:jdufaux@camulus.edu
Subject:Training
Hello,
You'd probably already guessed since I haven't been showing up, but I don't want to take the potions anymore. They were helpful, but the emotion-eraser potion erased all of my emotions. I couldn't feel anything. Is that normal? I can't live like that. So if that's what that does, I'm sorry, I can't continue on this course.

Thanks for your help.

Jacques Dufaux.


To:sherrera@camulus.edu
From:jdufaux@camulus.edu
Subject: Training
Professor Herrera,
I've stopped the course of potions. I don't like the side effects.
Can we continue training? I'd like to do more. As much as I can, within reason. Let's forget the schedule I posted though, that one's pretty ridiculous.

Jacques Dufaux.

TO: [ GROUP: MENTORS ]
FROM: baeksunmin@koreatv.kr
SUBJECT: Baek Sun Hee

Hello, mentors. I am writing to you on my way to Seoul. My daughter, Baek Sun Hee, was victim to an assassination attempt while in the Seoul airport about a half hour ago. While I am told her body has begun to fix itself, she will be unable to take a flight in enough time to reach Camulus in time for her Tuesday classes. I hope she will be able to get on a flight sometime tomorrow, but it will depend on the puncture wound because it could cause her problems due to the elevation.

She or I will keep you informed of her health and return to Camulus. Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,
Baek Sun Min

시 그녀에게 4 매 평일보기!

TO: apark@camulus.edu, yson@camulus.edu, hyoo@camulus.edu, aoneiros@camulus.edu
FROM: baeksunmin@koreatv.kr
SUBJECT: Baek Sun Hee

You will probably soon hear of this, but I wanted to let you know before you saw the report. There was another assassination attempt on Sun Hee. She told me that she couldn't go to Seoul due to a prophesy that someone would attempt to hurt her if she did. However, her flight from Pyongyang had to be redirected to Seoul and she was going to re-board another flight. While she was waiting in the terminal she was stabbed in the stomach. I am currently on route to see her in Seoul. The doctors have told me that she is recovering, but we will need to wait at least until tomorrow before she can fly. I hope I can convince her to stay here at least two more days, so she is not in pain due to elevation. I have not spoken to her yet but I imagine she is very shaken up.

I have let the staff of Camulus know that her return is delayed due to this incident. I would appreciate it if all of you could explain the situation to her friends, as I have only your email addresses. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Baek Sun Min

시 그녀에게 4 매 평일보기!

To: mhalloran@camulus.edu
From: sfullertonfitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: A word of advice

Poppet,

Far be it from me to pass comment on what an insignificant tabloid in Ireland says about a challenger, but you are one of my freshmen and so it would be remiss of me if I did not at least address the matter with you.

I'm sure you have seen by now what the Post is saying: frankly, I do not care if it is true or not - you would not be the first killer to attend this academy. You would not even be the first killer mentioned in this email. But what is important is that you do not allow this chatter to influence your actions. People talk, and the cattle population of the world do love to throw their little stones...but you will come out of this public relations storm much better if you do not allow your naturally hot temper to get the better of you. I care greatly about your success, and would be distressed if you allowed an essentially minor incident throw you off your game.

Simply note: keep your mouth shut until this blows over and you'll be fine.

---
Regards,
Professor Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren
Britannia
Freshman Head Mentor

WHO: Everyone!
WHAT: The Pledge Social.
WHEN: Sunday, February 6 from 6PM to 2AM.
WHERE: The Grande Ballroom.
STATUS/RATING: IC/OOC.

( But remember, tomorrow's a school day! )

To: bpark@camulus.edu
From: sfullertonfitzwarren@camulus.edu
Subject: An Earnest Proposition

Darling,

Would you say if I told you that I possess the very last bottle of Chateau Picard '08 in the world? That it is sitting in my wine rack, waiting to be sampled by two people -perhaps two people very much like you and me- and I am currently holding a corkscrew. Would you perhaps be amenable to coming over and helping me consume it?

Quite by chance, we might also take this opportunity to indulge in our yearly appraisal of useful and/or easily-moulded freshmen to add to our ever-growing 'future interest' portfolio. There is one in particular [a shape-shifter] who I believe would benefit from your kindly paternal care. He is having concerns about his emotional state. Poor lamb...

Do let me know at your earliest convenience. This wine won't keep itself chilled.

---
Regards,
Professor Serena Fullerton-Fitzwarren
Britannia
Freshman Head Mentor