Magical Readathon | 2022 — Orilium Spring Equinox Wrap-Up

I completed the readathon! 😀 I’m so proud of myself — and my characters too — for surviving Orilium’s Spring Equinox semester. Confused about what I’m talking about? Well, the gist of it is —

This is part of the Magical Readathon hosted by booktuber, G, where we get to create characters, have them choose a calling (i.e., a career), and attend a magic university called Orilium Academy. For more details about the readathon, character creation, and all that, see my previous post.

We only needed to create one character for the readathon, but I created two because I got carried away. That means I had a lot to read. Luckily, I own a lot of unread comics and picture books and short stories, so they came in handy and I managed to complete the readathon in time.

We also had the option to take part in quests and guild wars. But I had too much going on, so I did neither. However, although we only had to read books for the required courses, I also took on some additional ones as electives my characters took because I obviously got too excited about all this. Well then, let’s see how my characters did.

---

Zezee

Zezee was ecstatic to begin her first semester at Orilium and surprised herself by focusing more on her studies than partying and getting up to no good. Of course, since her calling is to be a Craftsmage, she did manage to squeeze in a few pub visits and jolly good times to offset the boredom of studying. But her best mate, Silverin, wouldn’t allow her to get too far off track. Thanks to him, she focused and managed to past her courses with flying colors.

Required courses

ARTIFICERY — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON SCHEMATIC LITERACY — READ A BOOK WITH AN EARTH SETTING.

The Worm and the Bird by Coralie Bickford-Smith (illus.)
A children’s picture book about a worm seeking more space and freedom… at its peril. The story and illustrations are somewhat simple, but together, they make a gorgeous book.

INSCRIPTION — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON GLYPH: STRENGTH — READ AN INTIMIDATING BOOK.

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A sci-fi novella set on a distant planet where a princess, Lynesse, seeks the help of a sorcerer, Nyr, to defeat a demon that’s terrorizing the land. But Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and no matter how hard he tries to convince Lynesse of this, she doesn’t believe him. I was surprised that I enjoyed this so much. It’s one of my best reads so far this year.

SPELLS & INCANTATIONS — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON ANTIGRAVITY SPELLS — READ SHORT STORY(IES)/ESSAY(S).

The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell, illus. by Seth
A classic, short Gothic ghost story. A nanny tells her charges about an odd experience that occurred in their mother’s childhood involving phantom visits at their family’s old house, where their mother grew up. It was a quick read that was a bit spooky.

Optional Courses

ALCHEMY — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON POTION OF INFATUATION — READ A BOOK FEATURING ROMANCE.

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin, illus. by Jenn St-Onge
A contemporary romance comic book about two Black women who were best friends as teens in the 1960s and fell in love, but the time and their families kept them apart. Years later, after having children and failed marriages, they reconnect and their romance blossoms. I enjoyed reading this one and liked the illustrations.

ELEMENTAL STUDIES — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON BASICS OF AIR DYNAMICS — READ A BOOK THAT HAS UNDER 100 PAGES.

Wytches: Bad Egg Halloween Special by Scott Snyder
A prequel story to the first volume of Wytches, a horror comic book series about parents sacrificing their kids to wytches that live in the woods. Ugh! Unfortunately, the prequel didn’t work for me.

RESTORATION — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON CURE WOUNDS — READ A BOOK FEATURING HEALERS.

First Test by Tamora Pierce
YA fantasy about a girl who wants to become a knight but must spend an extra year proving that she can keep up with the training. I enjoyed this so much! It was wonderful to return to Keladry’s story.

Silverin’s dedication to his courses rubbed off on Zezee, so she completed and passed her required courses and electives. She found Artificery quite dull because her older sister, who’s a Craftsmage jeweler, had given her some lessons in it growing up, but Inscription and Alchemy were fascinating, and she was a natural at Spells & Incantations. As for Elemental Studies and Restoration, her association with Velinas, the god of death and rebirth, came in handy since those with Velinas as their legacy have a knack for herbology, which is helpful in those courses.

---

Silverin

Silverin was diligent at his studies and passed his required courses as well. Despite her many attempts, Zezee was unable to keep him away from his studies for long, and his commitment to his work rubbed off on her. This is to be expected since Silverin’s goal to become a Mage Hunter, which requires rigorous study, is unshakeable and he will not allow a low grade to deter him.

Required courses

CONJURATION — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON CONJURING LIGHT — READ A BOOK WITH A SOURCE OF LIGHT ON THE COVER.

The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith (illus.)
A children’s picture book about a fox searching for his friend, a star. The story and illustrations are simple, but together, they make a gorgeous book.

ELEMENTAL STUDIES — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON BASICS OF AIR DYNAMICS — READ A BOOK THAT HAS UNDER 100 PAGES.

Wytches: Bad Egg Halloween Special by Scott Snyder
Description above

RESTORATION — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON CURE WOUNDS — READ A BOOK FEATURING HEALERS.

First Test by Tamora Pierce
Description above

SPELLS & INCANTATIONS — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON ANTIGRAVITY SPELL — READ SHORT STORY(IES)/ESSAY(S).

The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell, illus. by Seth
Description above

Optional courses

ART OF ILLUSION — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON MIRROR IMAGE — READ A BOOK WITH A TROPE YOU LIKE.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, narr. by Jim Dale
I always manage to read one of the books every Magical Readathon. I wasn’t planning to do so this time, but I ended up getting sick and wanted to be comforted.

DEMONOLOGY — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON SHADOW DEMONS — READ A BOOK THAT HAS THE WORD “SHADOW” IN THE TITLE.

As the Shadow Rises by Katy Rose Pool
It’s the second novel in the Age of Darkness series, a YA fantasy series set in a world that resembles ancient Mediterranean times. In this one, the characters are trying to stop the event that will bring about the Age of Darkness, which they believe will be the end of the world. A good read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the first book.

SHAPESHIFTING — COURSE FOCUS WILL BE ON FORMATION: CLAWS — READ A BOOK THAT HAS A CREATURE WITH CLAWS ON THE COVER.

Incomplete

Silverin was dedicated to his courses. Studying, memorizing, writing essays were no problem for him, but the practical parts of his lessons that involved performing magic and spells were difficult. Luckily, Zezee was able to help him. Growing up in a large family filled with talented magicians gave her an affinity for casting spells and incantations and conjuring things. Without her help, Silverin would probably have failed Conjuration, Spells & Incantations, and Art of the Illusion. Elemental Studies and Restoration went well for him, Demonology was a breeze, but Shapeshifting was an immense struggle, so he failed.

---

That’s it for my characters’ first semester at Orilium. They are glad they survived, and both received 50 points for completing this semester, so they’ve both gained assistant status.

We’ll see how well they get on in their second semester (in August).

Advertisement