The Math Club DT

This storybook is a fanfiction based on The Bartimaeus Sequence (also called The Bartimaeus Trilogy) by Jonathon Stroud. However, you don't need to read the series to join the storybook! I'd be happy to help you out if you have any questions on how things would work (you can PM me or ask your question in the DT), and the wiki has a lot of information on the mechanics of the world; which, by the way, are the only major similarity to the series this fanfiction is based off of.



Magicians: Magicians are wielders of magic, which they do through the binding of spirits from a realm of chaos known as "The Other Place". Magicians used to be the ruling class, but, after the Salem Witch trials and similar witch hunts, have taken to ruling by controlling corrupt politicians or being politicians themselves.



Imps: Barely worthy of classification, imps have little power, although certain sub-types of them fulfill useful roles, such as acting as Search Spheres. Imps are commonly used by magicians as messengers, sentries, or other minor roles. Personality-wise, imps tend to be disrespectful and extremely dull.

Foliots: Foliots are considerably less powerful than djinn, and spirits more powerful than foliots view them with some disdain. They are somewhat prone to petty squabble but are apparently capable laborers.

Djinn: Djinn (plural form of djinni) are the third most powerful kind of demon; most demons summoned by magicians tend to fall into this category. Partly as a result of this and partly as a result of the fact that Bartimaeus, who narrates a large percentage of the trilogy, is a djinni, more djinn are mentioned, and more details of their various strengths and habits are brought to the reader's attention.

Afrits: Afrits are the second strongest conventional class of demon, and are typically summoned more than marids. They are described as being spirits of fire and possessing fiery hooves.

Marid: Marids are the strongest form of commonly summoned demon. Marids are so powerful that they leave behind traces of their powers that can be tracked, similar to the slime left behind by a snail. It is unwise to use this analogy in the presence of one though, for obvious reasons. Even a weak marid usually takes two magicians to be summoned.



Resilience: Resilience is an intrinsic property exhibited by certain humans, that makes them naturally resistant to the effects of magic. An individual possessed of it may withstand magical attacks that would kill or even obliterate another. The causes of resilience are undefined, but it seems to develop over a period of centuries in societies where magic has been present and active. Resilience was apparently solely a born ability and could not be gained if a person was not born possessing it.

The foremost aspect of resilience is the resistance to magical attack, and this is shared, to lesser or greater degrees, by all possessed of the trait. However in certain individuals it is augmented by further abilities, such as:

-The ability to see through magical illusions, and perceive the true forms of demons
-The ability to see auras, and thus determine the magical properties of apparently mundane objects
-The ability to hear concentrations of magic in their locality, in the form of a slight ringing

Resilience has variable effectiveness. It should be noted that no one person's resilience is demonstrated to be perfectly effective against magic.

Ask any questions you have hear, and please give suggestions for what should happen over the course of the story! ^_^

Quick Update: The school has uniforms. We can use the DT to discuss what exactly they look like. ^_^ We also need to talk about the principal. All that I know is that the principal is a woman; she still needs a name! ^_^

Important: If you have a character who is a spirit, put a "full name" for them. For example, Marius of Britannia is the real name of my character, Puck (Puck is a nickname he's gained over the years). I put him as "Puck Ward" because that's the name he'd be registered under in the school. Spirits need to have these fake identities so they can be official members of the club.

Also, what is everyone's thoughts on club positions? I currently have the following officers, but I'd be willing to add more! I'm just not sure what exactly a "Math Club" would have for officers (I was only a part of a math club when I was in middle school - which didn't have officers)

President: Arthur Croft
Vice-President: Puck Ward

@Sacredlege and @AllisontheWriter, what ideas do you have for your characters so far?

I'm not able to make a profile yet, I'm pretty busy at the moment, but I'll get to it a couple of days from now. I can assure you that it'll be this week, but I can't say for certain as my schedule is jumpy and confused.

Well, I have her name. I came up with it for another SB character's mom, but I don't know if that subplot's working out after all. After all, there can be more than one Viola Fawkes in the spacetime continuum, right?

@Sacredlege: I completely understand! ^_^ I'm pretty sure that whatever you come up with will be incredibly awesome. ^_^

@AllisontheWriter: Of course there can be! ^_^ And with a name like that, she's bound to be awesome!

Deciding whether or not to join...I'm busy but I do love the Bartimaeus series. BTW a piece if advice: you mentioned that the spirits are mainly djinn and afrits. Well, given that they're just high school students learn, imps and foliots would seem more appropriate. Maybe the odd djinn, but I think that would be it. That's just my 2 cents.

@Mage

@LordZeus: Well, if you do end up joining, welcome to the storybook! Here in The Math Club, we have lots of fun. ^_^

Your advice does make a lot of sense - in retrospect, I'm not sure why I didn't include foliots when listing which spirits are the most likely. Imps and foliots are definitely good for the beginner magician, but the majority of the magicians in the club (except most new members) have been taught about magic since they were little kids. Nathaniel, for example, can summon a djinni despite only being twelve in the first book (I understand he's special, but I think it can still be considered a valid reference point).

Afrits and djinn are the most common out of the spirit members of the club because of how varied they can be (especially djinn) and because they seem to have a large variety of personalities. Bartimaeus and Queezle, for example, are two very different characters personality-wise. That isn't to say an imp or foliot isn't like that; the book just shows more of the later.

But please feel free to create whatever type of spirit you want! ^_^

@occymay: I accepted your character! ^_^ She sounds really neat; my only comment is that if she's a member of the math club, it might be hard for her to hide who her summoner is. All students are registered in the math club (even spirits), so someone might be able to easily figure out her summoner's identity.

Yeah I think as the story progresses I will probably add in who her summoner is but my creative juice could only create one today

I'll try to join, but I'm not sure how active I'll be. I'll try to work around my schedule!

@occymay: I completely understand! ^_^ I'm surprised that I managed to come up with this storybook, Puck, and Arthur on the same night, to be honest.

@LadyEvvy: Awesome! ^_^ Welcome to the Math Club!

I'd like to join too, if I may.

Of course you can join! ^_^