spellbinders | [WORLD TWO

Who: All coven members
Where: In and around the new world’s apartment building where the coven is staying
When: Day (the calendar isn’t syncing for me hELP)
Open/Closed: Open to All

You’re in a room. It’s pretty bright — blindingly so, even. There’s something very stark and very clean about the place, and also the person you’re sitting in front of. You’re sitting? You’re sitting. There’s also a pane of very powerful plexiglass separating you from the uniform-clad person who is now speaking to you.

It’s impossible to transcribe what they say verbatim, but here’s the gist of it:

- You’re being welcomed to a city called Shehui. Depending on who you are, the level of technology may be light years ahead of you or child’s play.
- There’s a very strict policy about magic. While there are measures put in place to prevent magic from happening, this is still something that they reiterate over and over. They don’t want to take chances.
- Crime is also frowned upon. Small infractions will result in credit deductions, while major crimes will get you banned. Antisocial behavior is also looked down upon. You’re locked in the city for your initial eight weeks. You can leave afterwards, but trying to break out of the city or cause social unrest will result in monitoring and a potential ban.
- This city is supposed to be somewhat relaxing. Is it a free pleasure cruise? No. Is it a self-contained society that runs on community and indulgence? Yes.
- You’re being given an allotment of credits in order to stay in the city, which is what the economy there runs on. This goes on for quite some time.
- You’re being moved to a housing location. Despite the slotted speaker in the middle of the plexiglass, the only time you have a chance to ask questions is when a small slit opens in the bottom and a package is slid towards you.
- What’s in the package? There’s a credit card-like apparatus that has apparently taken a picture of you. It contains a place to write your name, an identification number and barcode. It also has a thin strip near the top that has scrolling script floating by. It states “WELCOME TO SHEHUI. YOUR ID WILL UPDATE WITH COMMUNITY NOTICES AND PERSONAL PINGS FOR JOBS AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO YOUR INTEREST.” It’s a lot to take in, but that’s the long and short of it.

Have questions? The person will reiterate a few times that there are information desks around the city. That’s all for now…now you’ll be traveling to your next destination: your new home.

The floor slowly lowers as if you’ve been in an elevator the whole time. It connects to several other glass containers, much like your own, all suddenly clanking together in a chain. After a short wait, the chain begins to move — quickly. Faster, maybe, than you’ve ever gone before. It’s hard to even make out the scenery when you’re zipping past everything so quickly.

Where does this trip lead you? The ground floor of your new apartment building. The plexiglass cases open up and you’re in a hotel lobby. There’s a flashing board on the wall — NEW ARRIVALS, COME HERE.

The apartment building is locked up tight for three hours in order to let new arrivals get their bearings. After that, the ground floor lobby doors open into the city of Shehui. There’s a lot to take in, but let’s cover the biggest bases:

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Playing games is fun but playing with other people is even better. As Nazuna gets tired of going solo, he looks around the arcade and spots a girl roughly his age playing a racing game by herself so he makes his way over. Racing games aren't really his things but it sure beats all the shooting games that fill the arcade.]

How about a match?

[ Hell yeah kicking peoples' ass is a lot more fun.

And, like, playing with other people, stuff like that. Amanda looks up once she finishes the course she's on. ]

Strap in buddy.

Cool!

[Without wasting time, Nazuna hops into the empty seat next to her.]

I might be a bit rusty after being stuck on an island without electronics for a couple months though.

[Just a disclaimer in case he loses super badly but Nazuna's sure he can put up a good fight regardless. He pays for the game and the looping intro movie changes to a vehicle selection screen where, after some consideration, he chooses a blue race car.]

Eh, I've been actually flying back home, and there aren't a lot of video games at witch school.

[ Oh nice. Amanda's always down for red - whatever's fastest, who cares about handling? ]

Name's Amanda.

You're a witch? That's pretty cool!

[He's met enough different types of people by now that this doesn't shock him as much as it would normally.]

I'm Nazuna! So you're not from this place either?

[As he talks, he scrolls through the courses, trying to find one that looks interesting but not too challenging.]

Hell yeah it is.

[ A really lazy witch who breaks rules for fun. ]

Nah, I'm with that big caravan that showed up.

[ Amanda can let him pick, too. Challenger's privilege. ]

A big caravan... Oh, are you a part the coven? So am I! What a coincidence that I ran into another member.

[Finally he finds something that goes through a cityscape with a good balance between turns and straight roads.]

This one look okay to you?

I dunno, we're all probably wandering around like tourists even more than most people here.

[ Oh good, plenty of straightaways. ]

I like it.

[Nazuna chuckles at her comment.] That's probably true. It's nice to finally be off the hub island.

[And that's all the confirmation he needs. He selects the course and the screen changes again. This time it shows his car idling in the middle of the road as a countdown flashes on the screen. He grips at his steering wheel.]

Alright, get ready!

God, right? No more marauding wild pigs.

[ Amanda's already practiced the timing on the starts here a little - her advantage. ]

Yeah, ready to leave you in the dust.

Yeah! I was getting tired of having to hunt for food. And sleeping in a leaky cabin.

[Although the leaky cabin was partially his fault and his sub-par building skills.

Nazuna might not be used to the timing of the game but he has good reflexes. So as soon as the large golden 'GO' flashes onto the screen, he stomps on the gas pedal and his car hurtles forward.]

More like ready to eat your words 'cause I'm not going down that easy.

We gotta get some farms set up.

[ Preferably someone who isn't her. ]

Sorry, but I'm all about speed.

[ Although she's impressed by his reflexes. ]

I think there are some people trying to set something up but I'm useless when it comes to farming so I don't know much more than that.

[A sharp turn comes up ahead and while Nazuna makes it without too much trouble, he doesn't hug the curb as tightly as he'd like and that sets him back a bit. He makes an unhappy 'hm" but doesn't say more than that.]

Same.

[ Useless at farming, that is.

Amanda has to drift recklessly as fast as she's going, narrowly skirting past danger. ]

[His mistake makes him fall behind a bit but Nazuna isn't the type to give up. He leans forward a bit more as he concentrates on the screen and catching up to the red car in front of him and soon enough, he manages to do just that. As he goes around to try to move past the red car to take the lead, he doesn't give enough room between the two cars and bumps into it. Oops.]

[ Amanda's tearing it up - the turning on this course isn't too hard, so she can take full advantage of her high top speed. Still, her handling does leave a few opportunities for catch up... and her car's a smidgen lighter.

So, she's not sure how bad Nazuna's situation is, but she's spinning out hard. ]

Come on!

[Despite not meaning to bump into her, Nazuna's not going to waste his chance. Because his car is heavier, he's able to regain control after some slight swerving and while Amanda's preoccupied, he pulls around her into the lead. When you're in a battle, you just gotta use whatever you're given to your advantage.

And he shouldn't but he can't help not throwing over a taunt.]

See you later!

[ Okay. She can bring this back - she just has to get close enough to draft. That's the catchup mechanic here, right? Gritting her teeth, Amanda focuses. ]

S-see you sooner!

[ ...which is why her reply is so lame. ]

[Just because he's in the lead now doesn't mean he can take things easy so Nazuna continues to keep his focus. Things go well for a while until another sharp turn looms up ahead. Keeping in mind how badly he did at the last sharp turn, Nazuna tries his best to hug the curb tightly this time but it seems like turns really aren't his forte because once again he makes it wider than he'd like and his car even runs against the edge of the track for half a second before he straightens himself out. That's definitely not going to help his chances in staying in the lead.]

[ Amanda's reckless through the turn again, barely keeping herself in control as she drifts through. This time, Nazuna's lack of control actually keeps them from colliding, bringing them up even instead of relying on the physics engine to hash out who's in better shape. ]

[WORLD TWO | INTRO LOG]

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