The Department of Mysteries
Hosted by: Becky

As you walk onto this level, there are tables lined up with five glowing prophecies by the exit area. On the tables, there are five pieces of parchment with each prophecy written on them. They attract your attention because a light shines directly onto them.

SPOILER!!: First piece of parchment

The one who lives life as a lie will become the truth maker. He will lead the chosen one to battle with the weapon he needs, but lose himself along the way. His soul will live forever in the hearts of those faithful.

SPOILER!!: Second piece of parchment

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives

SPOILER!!: Third piece of parchment

The one who waits will be waited on. Marriage comes to this most faithful person after a time of solitude. Ask not where this faithful one has been, but understand the reasons why they were gone.

SPOILER!!: Fourth piece of parchment

This is the one who lives a condemned life. The love of the condemned one will be an inspiration to all who know. But paw-prints in the sand must fade one day and that day will be a dark day indeed.

SPOILER!!: Fifth piece of parchment

The one who served her time will be searched for by many. Solitude is a foe of this successful woman. Console her not, but ask probe into her life to find the answers you seek.

Becca then steps into the light and explains "There are five prophecies before you. What has been recorded from them is also in front of you. Study the records carefully and narrow it down to the Minister's prophecy. To do this, you must look at each line and word carefully and see if it relates to the Minister. Some will be obvious, some not so, but use your mind and powers of deduction. If you're still unsure, look to the planets for help." she gestures to the side of the room where there's a small arrangement of planets.

"The planets will give you two numbers, one of which is wrong, and the other is right. If you ask, I can give you one sentence that will have two planets in it, and each of those planets has a number. There is a diagram of how the planets should look with numbers written above each planet on parchment at your table because to work with the Planets, you should all have this basic knowledge." Becca looked around. "Now, to understand which planets you get the numbers from, you must see which planet does not look like it should, which is shown on the diagram - Study the diagram, learn it, it might help you in the future. Maybe it's colour is slightly different, or it's not in the right place. Then you need to find out the number written above your planet."

"When you get your two numbers, you must look at your prophecy recordings again and the numbers in the corner of your parchment will point out a number from one to five. When you have your two numbers and prophecised records, the other records can be forgotten." She smiled warmly at everyone. "You must then use your common sense to progress. I'm here if you need help."

SPOILER!!: Planets

Planets normally:


What's different?

OOC: To pass this level, you must decide which prophecy is Reagan Taylor's. Make it interesting, have fun with the prophecies and deciphering the planets to get numbers. Drag it out a bit if you want, I'll happily RP with you to make it more fun and remember, not everyone is going to be good at this! When you've decided on a prophecy, you may state it misleadingly in your post to make it harder for others, but PM me your actual answer for the level and see if you get through or not! Just remember this, you cannot pass this challenge unless you have posted at least twice in the thread.

Your character's responses and deductions (Misleading or correct) should be role played and posted in this thread. PM your actual answer for this challenge to me. (Becky).

I reserve the right to move prophecies around

Walking into the room Skander looked around in dismay. The assignment that they were giving didn't really play to his strengths. Truth be told he was rather confused by it all. Well he knew that he had to find a prophesy for Reagan Taylor out of what they were given but he didn't actually KNOW anything about Reagan Taylor. Except that she was female. But that was basically it.

Striding over and looking at the prophesies that were there he did as told and looked carefully at the wording. By doing this he dismissed two of the five prophesies, but three still remained. This was frustrating. A lot more frustrating than any of the other levels so far. He was REALLY hoping that Magical Games & Sports came soon. Please come soon.

Stepping back slightly Skander turned to the woman in charge and asked, "So you mean that say I thought planets five and three looked different than in the other diagrams I would say that both of those prophecies were about the Minister?" This was too much for him at once, going through all the levels in such a short amount of time. If he had the correct understanding of the idea than he already had his planets and therefore the prophesies that he needed. Which was good because both of the ones he had chosen seemed to correlate with the prophesies he thought were possible. Provided he had chosen the correct planets that was.

Smiling at the quick thinking man, Becca shook her head "No. If you think planets three and five look different, you would narrow it down to prophecy three and five. Then you have to pick one prophecy." she nodded. "Easy enough?" she asked, glancing at the planets interestedly.

The next challenge... the Department of Mysteries. Slade and he used to work here... sometimes in conjunction, until he opted to have a full-time position. He knew he would have to face every aspect of his past one day and come to terms with it, but this series of tests was turning a little eerie. If the next challenge had to do with werewolves or kneazles he was going the opposite direction.

He walked over to the table cautiously. Prophecy. He hated prophecy. The first didn't help his mentality on the subject any, though he couldn't really say why. The second was obvious... The last renowned Dark Lord was Voldemort. It had to deal with that era. The third eerily could have been his... well, his Little Kin's, though he knew that was nonsense. The fourth seemed to refer to an animagus or possible werewolf. The last... could have been anyone. But whoever it was, they were certainly female.

He turned as someone began speaking, and saying what they were to do. Planets... That was where he'd worked. This was definately turning out to be irony at its finest. He looked back to the prophecies, thinking about the Minister. He cursed himself once again for his solitude upon returning and disregarding the doctor's instructions to reintegrate himself. He knew little of what had been going on, and didn't care to find out. He was paying for it now, he was sure. The third and fourth he ruled out... as well as the second. That left the first and the fifth. The first was ambiguous to gender, and the last indicated a female, unlike the third which was distinctly for a man.

Both seemed like they could fit at the moment... since the Minister was gone. Seeing if he could narrow things down a bit he turned to the previously mentioned planets, looking for differences. The most obvious were the... first and fifth. Are you kidding me? Well, that was many levels of NOT helpful.

His eyes flicked back to the third parchment. Were they all real prophecies? Well, whether it related to the man or not, he memorized it. With that, he went back to looking at the first and fifth prophecies. Now, the question was... Hmm... "Would it be..."

Benjamin entered the room and looked around. He then listened to the instructions given to them. Once they were given, Benjamin observed the prophecies. Number two could be eliminated immediately, but then there was the other four.

Observing the planets he immediately realized which ones were different. One and Five. He then observed the prophecies they represented... He had to take a minute to recall memories of the minister, and apply them to this test.

Looking over this man's shoulder at his answer, Becca shook her head "Oooh, close." she smiled, letting him know he was so close, but still wrong. "Try again" she encouraged him.

"Nearly there?" Becca asked, glancing interestedly at the planets again.

He nodded. "Then it must be the other." He smiled to her. Strangely, he missed this. But, he couldn't just leave behind his department now. Maybe he would return one day. "I am glad to be here, even for a while... I've missed the Department of Mysteries."

"Why, yes I am," Benjamin said with a smile turning to Becca. "It seems as though out of the two I came down to, one of them describes a female, obviously not the minister. So, I believe, the minister's prophecy, is the first one!" This task was the easiest one yet. Simple deductive reasoning. He hoped that there was no secret answer, or something.

Handing this unnamed man something, Becca smiled and then turned to the other man.

"Good deduction skills" she handed him something and then turned towards the door, expecting more people very soon.

He couldn't help a grin. It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed himself this much. He hadn't forgotten the reason why he was here, though... he could feel like his old self, without the weight of his past on him. He gave her a bow and made his way out of the room.

"Why thank you!" he said receiving the item. He gave her a hat tilt and moved on to the next challenge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky

Smiling at the quick thinking man, Becca shook her head "No. If you think planets three and five look different, you would narrow it down to prophecy three and five. Then you have to pick one prophecy." she nodded. "Easy enough?" she asked, glancing at the planets interestedly.

"Ah ok. Thanks." Skander replied with a smile. Ok, so he knew the two he thought looked different. Now to distinguish between them. Looking back at the two prophesies he thought fit Skander stood for a few minutes trying to distinguish between the two...

This was not fun, prophesies frazzled his head on a good day. *sigh* He really hated this level. It just wasn't fair. Oh but maybe. It could be... "Out of the two I've chosen both talk about a female, I don't believe that the minister is condemned though so it would have to be the first one I thought of." Hopefully it was anyway.

Great.

This challenge - did not play to her strengths.

Marina Effron, a Division Head for the Department of Mysteries. It felt ironic to her, as she got down to work now, that she was having trouble with this challenge. But, in the end, she had only one thing to say on this matter - planets were not, never had been, her strength.

Now, if they had set a task related to the Death Chamber, that -- she would definitely have excelled in. But this was harder, no doubt, and majorly because it was related to planets. She had studied those, but there was definitely a reason she had not specialized in that field.

She considered the two pictures, now - the most obvious difference was, of course, between Earth number one and Earth number two. Then there were Jupiter and Saturn, both a little off in the second photograph. Colour-wise, that is. Marina studied the image for a little while, then looked down at the prophecies. Some mystery, this!

But at least she had figured out the planets. "Becca -" She gave her Department Head a friendly nod, as she spoke up, to get the other woman's attention. "Would the correct prophecy be --" and then she stated her guess. She wasn't too sure of it, though.

She hoped it was correct. If not? Well, she would just have to try again, then. Persistence would be the key.

Hopefully.

Smiling at both men, Becca watched them leave and then turned back to the two people in the room.

Nodding with a smile, Becca handed over the key "Nice work. Have fun and good luck!" she then turned to Marina. Aha!

When her division head spoke her name, Becca smiled and nodded. "Why though, Marina?" she asked, smiling at the woman. No one who worked in her department was going to get away with just telling her the answer. Becca wanted explanations!

Right.

Marina should have so seen this coming - she was pretty certain she was getting asked this, only because she was an employee of the Department of Mysteries, herself! The thought was actually sort of funny. But she did love her department, and was very proud of it.

"Well, I've often seen that the answer to what might seem to be the most complicated problem, is usually a very simple one. But we're so busy looking at all the complicated can-be solutions, that we tend to miss it. I figured out the correct prophecy by the pictures -" Well, that much should be clear. "There were two planets I could have picked from, but I went for the clearest difference, because that was the simplest solution; and, in a planned set-up, we are often misled just because we think something is too simple, to be correct."

Therrrrre. To be very honest, Marina was not exactly the best person out there with words, but she had still tried to explain her thought process. Hopefully, Becca would understand.

Nodding with a smile, Becca handed Marina a key "Good luck! And nice explanation." she grinned, feeling happy with Marina's attempt at explaining.

Turning back to the planets, Becca waved her wand and smiled, changing something happily.

Marina was glad she had been able to get her point across. "Thanks, Becca," she said, with a friendly smile. "It's been a pleasure working with you, as always." She honestly had an amazing Head.

Accepting the key that Becca was handing over, Marina gave her Head of Department a polite, little nod, before half-turning round and moving away. Now to finally head on to the next challenge.

Even though she was going to miss this one -- it may not have played to the best of her strengths, but it had had that air, that Department of Mysteries air, and Marina had enjoyed that. Yes, there could be no denial that this challenge - it had actually felt like home.

As Ronan walked into the next challenge and looked at the various prophecies before him he furrowed his brow not knowing how he would possibly get by this challenge easily.

For one thing, he hardly knew anything about the Minister of Magic herself and he thought it would be incredibly hard to decipher something written about a person when you don't know them personally.

He sighed and looked at the picture of the planets and noted which ones he believed did look different smiling that his job had been narrowed down to two prophecies.

For now, it was a guessing game. Unless he could somehow ask Mrs Lee questions about the Minister of Magic.

"Mrs Lee, am I allowed to ask if the Minister has a long term boyfriend?" Ronan inquired wondering if this would somehow narrow down his search.

"No problem" Becca smiled, appreciating the thanks from Marina. "And you." she replied kindly, straightening out her blouse happily. "Good luck!" she wished her again.

Now looking to Ronan, Becca smiled again and nodded "You're allowed one question about the Minister. And the answer to that, is yes, I think." Becca smiled thoughtfully. "Remember to use the planets if you're still unsure" she nodded to the planets and shifted to see what Ronan was looking at. Ha, she was so interested in how people worked these things out.

Ronan nodded and then looked down at the photos of the planets again. He blinked thinking that lack of sleep was making his eyes play tricks on him as he studied to see which planets were similar and which were different.

It wasn't really easy depicting which ones were and which ones weren't. Sighing he looked up to Mrs Lee and decided to go with his gut instinct. "Is it...?"

Watching Ronan interestedly, Becca glanced towards the door and then nodded at his question "Yep, well done! But, why?" she grinned, wanting to know why Ronan had said that particular one. "Was it the long term boyfriend that swung it for you?" she asked.

Ronan smiled as Becca congratulated him on his guess. "Yes, it reminded me of my Rose." he admitted with a fond smile for his wife. "Thank you for this challenge Mrs Lee, it was a brilliant set up." he said taking his prize and moving onto the next room.

Grinning at Ronan's mention of his wife, Becca nodded "No problem, you did well! Thank you, Ronan." she beamed, glad that he was happy with her challenge. Sitting on the desk he'd just moved away from, Becca looked around the empty room and looked at the door, wishing Brian would walk through it. She really did miss her husband, even if they'd only just left each other's company to do their jobs.

Walking into the next room his heart stopped. The Department of Mysteries, great. His one biggest problem ever. His one weakness was things mysterious and this was mysterious alright. As he stopped and crossed his arms, a deep scowl on his face Darius listened to what the lady had to say. He had no idea who she was or anything but what she said made some sense. In a way. All he had to do was figure out what prophecy was the Ministers. But he didn't know anything about the Minister, or even the Ministry.

Scowling some more he read the parchments, trying in vain to remember anything that Ari might have said about this. It was then he realized he was in trouble. May as well try he mused, stepping up and looking at each one, a completely blank look on his face. He was in trouble, yuppers. Walking over to the wall he slid down, his mind reeling as he began thinking. After taking a look at the planets he had begun to make a clear concise theory but he knew it was wrong.

Crossing his legs he closed his eyes. He thought better in peace and serenity and right now he needed it. It was a good thing Ari had taught him her mind trick or else he'd be in trouble right now. "Hmm, there are three possible prophecies here. But only one is right. Ugh. Why did I have to join the Ministry without even knowing anything about it?" he groaned as he dropped his head back against the wall.

Getting up from the desk, Becca approached the man who had obviously given up. Sitting next to him on the floor and smiling at the voice of Brian in her head that told her to get up, Becca leant against the wall and looked at the guy "That's why we're doing this Education Fair thing." she smiled "Come on, I'll give you a hand." she encouraged him "Becca Lee, by the way." she introduced herself, hoping he'd get up and move over to a desk to work. If not, the papers could come to him.