September Side Event 2019

Hunched over a desk with a book open upon it, Leo cradled a coffee in one hand while his other fist was jammed into his jaw, eyes flickering as he attempted to brush off the sleep of the night before. Fifteen minutes early, as per usual his attention was more so on the students trickling into the lecture hall, hushed voices whispering, other loud and jovial, but for the most part there was silence, a great well of nothingness that always seemed to encapsulate the first class of the day. Soon, the time ticked down to five minutes on his wrist, then one, and as the clock struck eight did he gingerly pick himself out of the chair, watching as more dreary faces panicked, though he had never cared for their lateness, it was too early to host such petty concerns.

An hour of droning on, the class a familiar one accustomed to his tired mannerisms of the morning, and as Leo liked to imagine it relieved that they didn't have one of the louder professors with their enthusiastic attitudes far before he thought it natural to have one. The subject wasn't a captivating one anyway, the formation of modern states on the colony ships had put even his best students to sleep before, but he saw the wandering eyes less than halfway through the lecture, heads slumped against the wood below. Leo let out a long sigh, setting down the clicker in his hand. "Please wake up," he muttered, soon clapping his hands together a few times in lieu of his uttered plea. "Right, so this is pretty boring, isn't it?" A chorus of dulled nods, a pout forming upon his visage.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Leo asked, louder now, which was followed by a more enthusiastic ensemble of verbal opposition and then assertion. "Good, I can't agree more. Can someone give me a current intragalactic conflict on the news?" At first no hands were raised, although there was of course one event that rang throughout the minds of the entire class, himself included. At last did a young woman in the front volunteer, and upon his incline did she answer.

"The Seveni rebellion, sir?"

"Yes, of course. Now this isn't a political science class, thank goodness, but by using modern events we can often trace them back to history. And what would that tipping point be for the people of Seven?"

"The Great War. Why, what does that have to do with the formation of modern states?"

He chuckled for a moment. "That is indeed the question we must ask. The Seveni, having little resources of their own and having been crushed during the war, were forced to flee Earthland in primarily Boscan ships, although some subsets of the population trickled onto Fioran ones. This, in turn, led to Fiore voicing their opinion in the matter now, among other things. Now, with that connection in mind, we can examine how exactly the Boscan Republic was structured, and how it eventually led to the modern-day Großereich. Any questions thus far?"

"Ah, Professor, what do you think of the rebellion?" He could hear the fear in the student's voice, the uncertainty of the future in the minds of the young. Others glanced in her direction, some with similar expressions, a few moving to gestures of silence. By touching on what naturally went unsaid, he had at last gotten the attention of the entire classroom.

With the briefest tug of a smile, not one of joy but of understanding, did he offer a response, just before continuing the lecture. "Like all things, it will pass. What sort of influence it will leave on the world remains to be seen. Change, however, rarely plays out negatively in the long run, you only need to look to the past itself to bear witness to such."

Sooner or later, all Rousseau children were sent to Nox. For the next few years, he would be their guardian… their teacher… their warden.

Nox was a lot of things… He was devious and cruel, pompous and confrontational, inconsiderate and patronizing… ill-tempered, inflexible and downright Machiavellian… but a man of his word. For decades upon decades, Nox has held the position of Procter for the Rousseau line, serving to teach new generations in The Way of the Crow. While he may hold utter contempt for children, he takes great pride in his work, molding the Rousseau youth into thieves, thugs and spies befitting their heritage. And when it came time to leave Nox’s tutelage, each Rousseau would be given a single task: complete The Hunt.

The Hunt was a simple concept, by all accounts… Those with magic were fitted with a nullifying cuff, and then you're tasked to evade detection: for one full week. Once they have a chance to hide, all bets are off. You’re hunted… not just by Nox… but by each and every one of your peers. And if you were found, you're forced to stay under Nox’s care for another year of harsh training, rigorous testing and flavorless gruel… but first, you would spend the rest of your Hunt in The Hole.

The Hole was Nox’s personally-designed prison. Every surface was designed as an example of hostile architecture. Even the bed was designed in a way to make it painfully uncomfortable to lie on, poured from concrete without any padding in sight. To make matters worse, your time there is spent in total darkness and silence, with only your thoughts for company. It was hell, and as such, a perfect place to put people who failed Nox’s final exam. Of course, no one had ever passed The Hunt on their first attempt. There were even some who had been making the attempt for almost a decade… But Jak had a plan. Unfortunately, the plan had gone wrong.

Jak had lost track of how long she was locked in the dark. The minutes blended into hours. Hours into days. Had she been here a week? Longer? It was impossible to know… All she knew was that her food was running low… And she had no idea what was going on in the world outside these walls. So her only option… was to wait. And until then, she would ration her remaining food, in case she ended up in here for longer than she was meant to be… She couldn’t afford to be found yet.

Because the others… They were still looking for her. Nox, too. And if she emerged from her hiding spot in The Hole, there was no telling what or who might be on the other side. Instead, she would be patient. She would bide her time and she would endure the room’s features. And, in the end, she would leave this place behind. She just had to be patient. She had to wait. It would all pay off. She was sure of it.

And… in the end, her half-mad self-assurances were right.

She would win her first Hunt. She would be the first to ever do so. Although, this would not be due to no one knowing where she was. Nox knew exactly where Jak was hiding, but after she endured three weeks in her self-imposed isolation, Nox couldn’t help but be impressed. Most of his students were clawing at the door by the end of day two, and sweet little Jacqueline didn’t even have to be there. It was then that Nox decided…

Jak would always be his favorite.