Welcoming Talent Ceremony
Note: If you are not a first year in September 2026, please post in this thread.
With Summer's end a new studying year would begin, yet students would be returning to the school quite differently this year. In a change of traditions, new students were asked to arrive by 7pm to the small village located at the Pyrenees. From there they were taken by the abraxan carriages and brought to the school for the first time.
Instead of the expected castle and dorms their relatives or friends had perhaps described, the castle was transformed into something fitting its new chapter. It was obvious to those who knew tales of the school that it had gone through some renovations. Now the dorms had transformed, instead looking like towers, with an entrance through the common room on the fourth floor. There were 4 towers, each one divided with sections for guys, girls and those who identified as gender-neutral. The first tower was decorated with shelves upon shelves of literature of all kinds, for students that had talent in the written arts. The second was adorned in paintings and artistic expression, for those who were talented in visual art. The third tower was decorated with different ballet poses and portraits of famous dancers, for those talented in physical arts. Then finally, the last tower was for those who were talented in music, where all manner of instruments could be found. Each tower represented the skill of its association and each would provide its students with ways in which to hone their talents.
As students departed the carriages, they were soon met by the Caretaker and brought to the ballroom, located on the first floor. Headmistress de la Croix-Valmer was sitting in the furthest side of the ballroom with other professors and staff. The first years were then called one by one to the middle of the room. Different objects were placed on the table and Célestine was sitting behind the table. Near this table there was a circle on the floor: a place where they would stand for their sorting. "Welcome back to Beauxbâtons! This year I'd like to introduce something unique. I always enjoyed that we are not separated by houses like Hogwarts; however, I'd love to see more development with the talents that each of us have. Magic is just one aspect of what can be developed. Your talent can help you with a lot of things: focus, relaxation, and simply enjoyment. Perhaps you'll be interested in pursuing it as your work or hobby.
On this table you can see four different objects in front of you: a pair of dancing shoes, a canvas with plentiful art supplies, a leather-bound journal, and a gramophone. Please, step on the circle and wait for a moment so that we may see which talent calls strongest to you!" As the students waited, the objects began to choose their owners and, unlike the Sorting Hat, there was no inner dialogue between students and objects. It was a simple process to discover what kind of talent they possessed. Once the decision was made, the object would levitate upwards with light shining from it. If musical in talent, a melody would fill the studio, welcoming the student. When physical art was their favoured, the sound of dancing feet will fill the air. Those with gifts for written arts, would hear a captivating line of prose or poetry and the journal would engrave their initials to its spine. Lastly, if a student was talented in visual arts, a beautiful portrait will appear on canvas to welcome them.
Once the sorting was finished, the Caretaker gave each student a small token, representing the group into which they had been sorted. Finally they were ready to join the tables where older students were sitting and waiting to welcome them.
Once all the students got sorted Célestine stood up to welcome everyone. She never liked long speeches, so she decided to make it short. "Welcome, everyone, to the French Academy of Magic, Beauxbâtons! I am glad to see our older students return—I hope you all enjoyed your summer and are ready for the new studying year. I am also glad to see so many new students—you will not only learn magic, but also develop your talents here. Over the summer this school went through some renovations, as you will soon notice. Why would I do it? I always dreamed about having more specialty related to the arts. It makes us unique and helps us develop ourselves more. It was something that I wish I had when I was studying here, so I could develop my skills during school. Let's begin our feast, and later our staff will bring you to your new dorms."
She sat down and immersed herself in light chat with the staff; however, if anyone had any questions, they could come closer to ask her.
La seule limite est celle que vous vous posez
| Linda Ramirez - PC | Kaya Rose Bennett - first iNPC | Ryusei Ishikawa - new iNPC |
The only limit is the one you set for yourself.
Welcoming Talent Ceremony
Location: Beauxbatons - Welcoming Talent Ceremony
Word Count: 735
❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀
Elodie was told not to worry. That particular advice came from several adults for the past few weeks and it accomplished very little (or none at all). She’s not that worried, that was what she told her parents. Worry suggests fear, and she’s not frightened of Beauxbatons. Truth be told, she wanted to come here. She wasted enough time over summer wondering what her lessons would be like, what sort of things she would learn and if it would feel different from home schooling. She was THAT curious. There’s just this uncomfortable feeling that’s difficult to ignore when she’s standing together with the other first years in that Pyrenean village without her parents accompanying her. That’s all. Her hand reached for the forget-me-not pendant which she was wearing and rubbed her thumb against it. Lucky for her, the creature they called Abraxans provided a welcome distraction. She saw photographs and illustrations of them before, but still, even with that knowledge didn’t prepare her well for their size in person. Look at the enormous winged horses, she had a lot of questions, but it’s just the timing that’s wrong while everyone was being directed to the carriages. She climbed inside and took a seat. The journey was another challenge, there were too many things to look at, mostly the view. Her parents knew the school by reputation, her relatives supplied their own descriptions, and she also read whatever she could find about the school. All her life, she only experienced education done at home. If she had a question, she would ask directly. If she wanted some time to think before answering, no one would fill the silence. There was no dormitory and, no roommates assigned to her and no event full of children her own age. Summer camp gave her a taste of what it would feel like. A month surrounded by other students taught her that large groups of children were survivable, and she even enjoyed herself, but she also knew camp was only temporary. Attending school is nothing new anyway, it’s not an impossible system. She’ll make it work.
When they finally arrived, she was in awe. Beauxbatons was beautiful. Everything she heard or read about it didn’t do it justice. Her gaze shifted from one place to another. The ballroom presented a different sight and had to slow down imperceptibly when she saw just how many people occupied the room. There really were an awful lot of them. She found her place among the other first years and listened as the Headmistress explained the changes to the school and, more importantly, what was about to happen to them. Talents, icks. There were four objects on the table. She’s never understood why a magical school felt the need to divide children according to personality at eleven and then expect that decision to suit them for the rest of their education. Beauxbatons found something else to do instead. Interesting… that was what came to mind when the process of sorting was explained to them.
She wanted to know how does it work exactly? Was it detecting experience, aptitude or preference? What happened if someone was equally skilled in two things? What if you don’t know what you’re good at? Her father would have told her she was attempting to overthink again before she could gather enough information to form a conclusion. As usual, he’s right about that, but she continued doing it anyway. Names were called one after another until her name was called. Another icks! Apparently walking across a ballroom with several hundred people was when her courage objected. Despite that, she stepped forward with her back straight and chin raised. She went into the circle and waited. That was a short moment that nothing happened at all. Her eyes went to the objects as time passed by she was beginning to question if none of them will… but the gramophone rose.
The first notes of a melody filled the ballroom and her eyebrows lifted automatically. There was music. She didn’t succeed at covering her smile. She accepted the small token and uttered a polite thank you. Tomorrow she would wake up here, eat breakfast with other students, attend lessons with them and return afterward to a tower. The thought filled her with strange feeling, but it’s not unpleasant. The feast began and all she could do was enjoy it and observe.
❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀
STAMINA - 8, EVASION - 9, STRENGTH - 0, WISDOM - 8, ARCPOWER - 0, ACCURACY - 10
CHARMER
PC: Zephyr Deakin