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[higitus_figitus]

[The feed turns on and Merlin is looking at the pocket watch in his hand. He is counting under his breath and after exactly ten seconds he laughs and puts it away.]

Excellent, excellent! Well! It's good to see everyone has returned safely from this little sojourn. You all have our eternal thanks. The Dreamfinder and his spark, Figment, are resting well and soon will be right as rain. They are fine at the moment, a bit tired and a bit hungry but also, hopefully, a bit wiser.

[He ruffles off screen for a minute, a few books floating by as he tries to find something. One of them returns and none too gently taps him on the head.]

Oh! Of all the rid-oh. Oh! yes, thank you, you are just what I was looking for.

[The book falls in his hand and opens.]

Apprentices, this was your first taste of what our Kingdoms have become beyond the safety of Main Street. You have succeeded in returning The Dreamfinder, our only Kingdom Spirit. Now, I briefly spoke of them but time was not on our side-however. Now, I believe it is time to explain further.

[The feed wavers and a streak of blue lighting splits the screen. When it clears, a map of the Magic Kingdoms is shown. Merlin's voice comes over the feed.]

This is the Magic Kingdoms. A realm of imagination divided into six different lands, each one holding it's own special sort of inspiration. Each of these lands was guarded by a Kingdom Spirit, beings made by The Creator in order to help inspire the citizens living in each land.

[The feed wavers again and The Medallion is showing.]

Each one had a sigil, such as this Medallion, that was used to spread their power. Unfortunately, the Corrosion has stolen all magic from these sigils.

[The feed returns to Merlin, who has a rather dark look on his face.]

The Kingdom Spirits...are no more. This Medallion held the essence of the Jungle Spirit, Mara. But now it's no more than a dime store bauble, I'm afraid. Merely a reminder. I thank those of you who returned it so that we may give Mara a proper rest. Perhaps we may find the sigils of the others as well, they fought hard against the Corrosion-but, they fought alone.

[He clears his throat.]

But that does not mean we give up. The Dreamfinder has proven that those with a strong enough Spark can become Kingdom Spirits in these trying times. In order for that to happen, however, we must clear the lands of all the Corroded, to allow the new Kingdom Spirit to form. This is now our focus. I will be giving you your reward when the feed ends, so wait about for those. Use your time to rest up, training will begin again shortly.

The training course is open however, if you wish to make use of it. Miss Shellstrop and Miss Rosabelle, once The Dreamfinder is fully healed we will be having a proper training session for you both. I will let you know when that is.

[There is a sudden ringing sound and Merlin quickly scrambles to grab the watch falling out of his ebard.]

Oh! Is that the time! Well, mustn't let things drag on. Thank you again, Apprentices, we are, as always, grateful. Rest up, tend to yourself and I will see you all soon.

[Feed end.]
~~~~~~
As the video feed ends, a half dozen fireworks shoot up, exploding into a beautiful kaleidoscope of red, purple and blue sparks. For a moment the sparks seem to float, suspended in mid air before taking off towards any Apprentice, no matter where they are. Each Apprentice will have three sparks (one of each color) flutter around them. If an Apprentices touches them, they will get a small tingle of Adventure. That thrill that makes a heart race and a smile appear as thoughts of the next great exploration or discovery looms in their hearts.

Whatever tool, affinity token or weapon an Apprentice has will then begin to glow, pulling the Sparks deep into them and sending that thrill of Adventure towards the Apprentice in a rush. Enjoy the warmth of it for the next 3 hours.

Any Apprentice that has an element will have the nearest source of the element glow as well before the Sparks descend into the Apprentice's chests.

Tomorrow morning there will be a new announcement board right outside the castle. A list is posted on it of available missions for the Jungle. Missions are now Open!

Comments

[beancounter]

Whaaaaaat? You mean we did all that for nothing? Azeer-- Aizphf-- ... Mr. Fell nearly got eaten by a fish, we all got soaked to the bone, a temple nearly collapsed on us, and... ...it was pointless? [Fenton didn't know whether to rage or to cry. His brows were knit and his frown was heavy in anger... then his brows lifted in pity at the knowledge that the spirit in the medallion was gone, it couldn't survive the corruption... that they failed, and his frown became sorrowful. Anger or sadness, either way, the emotion sat heavy in his heart.]

So. New Kingdom Spirits, huh? ... Don't know if I can handle an explanation on just how one becomes one right now...

[Fenton goes to the window as the fireworks go off, allowing himself to enjoy their beauty, to try to offset the upset he felt. He blinked in surprise and awe as the three coloured sparks danced around him, reaching out to touch one. He felt a small thrill of adventure, allowing him to see the excitement and fun that had been their recent trip, despite, well... pretty much everything. The thrill Mr. McDuck must feel all the time, on all of his adventures. The lamps around him start to glow brighter and a few of the electrical applicances give out a more audible hum, as if there was a sudden power surge, and an empty power socket or two even spark with a few quick flashes of electricity. A few pens, and an apple that had been sitting in a small bowl of fruit, jump and roll across the table, as if suddenly unable to keep still. This all startles Fenton, before the Sparks enter his chest, spreading a soothing warmth through him.]

....huh... [he said softly, almost distractedly.] Is... that my element, then? [He'd never really been able to narrow it down, before. He looks at the lights, now back to normal... the outlets, and the scattered pens, picking the apple up from where it had fallen on the floor.] Electricity, or... ...a sense of... energy, maybe? [He turned the apple over and over in his hands, contemplative.]

[strangeandunusual]

Lydia's heart went out to her feathery friend at his outburst. She, too, had been overwhelmed by the Sparks that had followed, even floating a few inches off the ground in a quick burst of Wishful energy that had made her want to celebrate the way she had with Adam and Barbara. Once she was grounded again, literally and figuratively, and changed out of her dirty camp clothes into pajamas and fuzzy slippers, she went hunting from door to door, armed with two cups of cocoa until she found what she was looking for, and knocked with one elbow.

"Fenton?"

[beancounter]

Answering the door, Fenton greeted her with a smile. "Lydia! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He glanced down, noticing the cups of cocoa in her hands. Boy, did they smell good! But he didn't want to draw too much attention to that, so he returned his attention to her face.

[strangeandunusual]

"You looked like you could use it after the mess at the temple. I would have been upset, too."

She gave him a sympathetic look with just enough of a smile to not downplay the reason she'd come. "I know how much you worry about doing things right."

[beancounter]

Fenton smiled warmly, and took a step back, gesturing for Lyida to come in and make herself comfortable. "Thanks so much, Lydia. You're amazing, you know that?" His smile softened. "You're always there for everyone, supporting and offering reassurance to us all." He paused a moment, the corners of his mouth pulling down a little. "I hope there are plenty of people to return the favour in kind. ... If you're ever bothered by anything, if you ever need anything, you can always come to me, okay?"

He was hesitant, fearing he was not very good at the whole talking-about-emotions-and-comforting-people thing. It wasn't that he didn't have any ability in it, or a lack of desire... he just hadn't had much experience with it. For so long, it had just been him and his M'ma, and, well...until the last few years even that was rather strained, and distant. (He could see that, now.) And while his relationship with his mother was better, now... and he had a girlfriend, and other friends with the McDuck family and all, well... honest-to-goodness heart-to-hearts were just... generally not a thing. So Fenton felt out of his depth. But Lydia had been such a good friend, right from the word 'go', there was no way he COULDN'T make such an offer. He would definitely try his best to help.

[strangeandunusual]

"You're amazing too." She gave it right back as she stepped inside and raised an eyebrow at him. "Not everyone survives the crap you just did, and still has it in them to give people open invitations."

She glanced around the apartment, curious to see if he'd done anything special with the place yet.

"So who's your roommate? They're not gonna mind if I'm here, right?"

[beancounter]

Flustered by the praise, Fenton just spluttered wordlessly for a moment. "H-how can I not, when you've been so nice to me?"

Closing the door, he followed her into the front room. "The Doctor. Shorter guy for a human, with short, dark hair? I don't think he'd mind you being here. He'd probably enjoy chatting with you. Have you met him, yet?"

[strangeandunusual]

She smiled as Fenton mentioned the Doctor, only to stop short, confused.

"Uhm. But the Doctor lives down at the end of the hall, with Rose and some tall skinny old guy."

[beancounter]

"The Doctor lives down the... OH the older Doctor!" Fenton slapped his hand to his head comically for a second, then chuckled. "Ahh.. yeah. I only met the older one briefly when I first arrived, so I forgot about him for a second. Okay. So there are two people called the Doctor, here. The older one and the younger one." He paused, frowning briefly. "...I forget exactly how the Doctor, THIS Doctor, here, put it... I'd just arrived and my head was already full of stuff so what he was trying to explain just confused me to no end, but I think he was saying that they're the same person? Just from different times or something? I really didn't understand and don't know how it all works, and I really have no desire to ask again," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "I know I wouldn't understand. If you deal with both on a regular basis, I bet it can get very confusing very fast."

[strangeandunusual]

"Time travel," she said instantly. "The Doctor - the one I know - was explaining it to me while we were out in the jungle. It's because he does a lot of time travel...there's something that makes him able to be in two places at once, he just looks different. He hasn't gone into how it works, but now I'm curious."

She brought the cocoa over to the couch, amused that all the apartments were set up the same way.

"You know, I bet my Dad would like it here. The apartments, I mean."

[higitus_figitus]

Not pointless, you found proof that the Corrosion has become powerful. Information that we sorely needed.

[beancounter]

Fenton frowned a bit more. "I thought you already knew that the Corrosion was powerful. That's why everyone's here." He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair feathers. "Even more powerful than you expected, though, I'm gathering that's what you mean."

Perfect. Juuuuust perfect.

[higitus_figitus]

Unfortunately, yes. Or at the very least, stronger than a single Kingdom Spirit.