“It seemed like a perfect time to focus on finding new accessories.” – The Narrator The students of the Astral Academy are not after only their school’s missing spell parchments, but there are other fascinating things to be found out there in the great wide yonder. Hats There are chests hidden all across the perilous journey, and while some are sadly empty, others contain fashionable pieces of millinery: hats! Each student has their own hat, but they find stranger and more wondrous hats as their quest progresses. Playing on a harder difficulty allows you to find more interesting, rarer hats, […]
“This is Fire, this is Ice This is Death, this is Life This is Lightning, this is Steam And this is all that’s in-between” – The Principles of Magic for Elementary School Levels by Professor Butternut Nine Parchments is all about runaway students from the Astral Academy going after missing magic parchments on their own, so here we take a closer look at what kind of magic we have in question. The spells cast by the students, as well as the spells they find out in the wilderness, fall into seven categories: six kinds of elemental spells; and non-elemental spells, […]
Amadeus the Wizard “By my trousers, I must flee!” – Amadeus the Wizard Favourite spell: Amadeus’s Box While the box is no fireball, Amadeus is fond of his long-time companion. The box can be used as a counterweight, a weapon, and sometimes a mild annoyance to adventuring companions. Amadeus the Wizard is a long-time student of the Astral Academy where many years ago he was abducted by a magical artefact, Trine, in order to save the kingdom from an undead hostile takeover. His companions Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief may have helped a little bit there. Amadeus has […]
Prince Selius Heatherwood “You’d best keep your guard around me.” – Prince Selius Favourite spell: Piercing Shadow The spell is as intense as the Prince’s dark gaze. Prince Selius has been stumbled upon by his fellow students in the underground quarters of the Astral Academy, and joins their suspicious hunt for the Nine Parchments. The fact that the Prince has been locked up in the dungeons by the wizards for some reason may or not be cause for alarm for his fellow travelers. He certainly does have interesting moods, each more sinister than the previous one. Prince Selius has an […]
“You are all disqualified.” – Professor Butternut Professor Butternut is the teacher in charge of the class of students hunting for the Nine Parchments. He has not been pleased with all his apprentices rushing off into the wilderness after the missing spells, and plans on remedying all absences with punishing new classes. Professor Butternut’s Thoughts on Summer Holidays The students have returned from their dubious little trek to recover the missing spell parchments, which went missing after Anastasia blew up a wall in the library. It was my impression that our young apprentices were not happy to deliver the spells […]
This is a story about the development of Nine Parchments, a multiplayer video game about young wizard students collecting spells and sometimes blowing themselves up accidentally while learning them. For your amusement, this story is illustrated with images and outtakes from across the development period. The Journey Begins In the autumn of 2015, Frozenbyte published the third installment of the Trine series. Trine 3: The Artefacts of Power was an ambitious project, which near broke our hearts as we were forced to release a game with only a partly finished story. As we labored in the smoldering ruins of our […]
Nine Parchments is a very fast-paced game about a group of ragtag truant wizarding students going out into the world to look for some missing spell parchments, and while they encounter terrible foes and breath-taking vistas, any dramatic moments of confronting difficult narrative choices (other than, should I throw a fireball at my friend or not) are less than featured in the game’s short, sweet and few cutscenes. Party Banters To match the game’s lively speed and our intention that you would like to experience the action more than just once, we wrote you some Party Banters. You may have […]
There are many wizards in the world of the Nine Parchments, and we have now met all the adventurous students of the Astral Academy who are about to embark on their quest to complete their spellbooks later on this year when the game will be released at last. But they are not the only wizards in the world! Amongst many others, one particularly famous student of the Astral Academy is Amadeus, who made his name and face memorable when he banded together with Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief. Together, as the heroes of Trine, they defeated many villainous […]
Nim the Cleaner “Few things are worth pursuing – but a complete spellbook is one of them.” – Nim Favourite spell: Steam Beam Not only vaporizes enemies, the steam also removes grease stains from the dining hall flagstones. A less-fortunate student at the Astral Academy, Nim finances the Academy fees by working as a cleaner before and after classes. The mysteriously masked caretaker is a taciturn mystery who prefers short conversations and solitude. Nim is eager to collect the Nine Parchments, for a completed spellbook means a swift end to a life of servitude at the Astral Academy.
Owl the Mechanical Owl “Think, Owl, think. If Owl were a parchment, where would Owl hide?” – Owl Favourite spell: Electric Bolt It’s easy to be charmed by a high-speed lightning projectile that stuns its targets. So much potential for experimentation, observation and unintended lightning injuries! Owl is a self-aware mechanical creature and one of the many peculiar oddities of the Astral Academy. Being capable of casting spells and learning magic, Owl was accepted to study a couple of years ago. It seems to have a knack for lightning spells. Owl is curious, analytical, perky and completely lacks all common […]
Carabel the Glacial Fortunately, I’m not afraid of hard work… or doing it all by myself. – Carabel, Head of the Astral Academy Student Committee Favourite spell: Frost Cloud A chilly spell for a hothead. An efficient and exciting way to start a career in ice sculpting. The Astral Academy’s precious spell parchments are gone, and Carabel is determined to help retrieve them – and to have the adventure of a lifetime! Coming from a long line of Ice Wizards, Carabel’s childhood bedtime stories were populated by these heroic wizarding stalwarts. She yearns to follow in their footsteps, to leave her […]
Rudolfus the Strange “They say curiosity killed the cat, but I don’t think the proverbial cat knew how to conjure hexes.” – Rudolfus the Strange Favourite spell: Certain Death Spray A dangerous spell with dangerous effects for its caster. But happily enough, Rudolfus loves dancing on the edge of trouble. A student of the sinister death magics, Rudolfus is aspiring to become a warlock. As for his background, no one knows where he came from. There’s also some speculation whether or not he is a werecat, or a cat turned into a man, or a man turned into a cat; […]
