promittere: (Default)
lunae calamitas mods ([personal profile] promittere) wrote in [community profile] lunaecalamitas2024-05-04 01:06 pm

look at me, i'm the wound you tried to hide

ANDANTE ALLA WANING CRESCENT
Another day dawns for the Sage's wizards. It's been a month, now, since arriving in this world and being given a task nobody seems to fully understand—though after the jobs the Southern and Central wizards have taken on, it seems like it might just be possible after all.

And it seems like there's another task for the wizards, from the Eastern nation. However, unlike the other requests the Sage has been fielding, this task is far too big for five wizards alone. This is a task everyone will need to help tackle, whether they like it or not. Those that aren't particularly altruistic will still be whisked together by Tatara and Lazuli both, and they may still find the journey...illuminating. Answers to what happened to the original wizards may be just within reach.

Traveling via the elevator at the manor is familiar to some of you, at least, Lazuli setting a mana stone into the control not a surprise in a the slightest. The fact all of you can, somehow, fit in the elevator comfortably may be a surprise, but it's best not to dwell on it too much. You'll be staying at the City of Rain, Lazuli tells you with the air of someone reading you a court sentence, but you've been tasked with clearing up the site of some sort of disaster. He doesn't have much information beyond that—a fact that seems to greatly annoy him—and he warns you not to break any of the City of Rain's laws well before you're out of the elevator.

Which that shouldn't be too difficult, right? Right...?

Perhaps not, as the rules of the city are extreme. There are certain areas which forbid socialization and talking entirely, some areas where only talking to strangers is forbidden, only a handful of businesses allow chatter of any sort, and the list goes on. The most pressing law of all, though, is very simple: no use of any sort of magic within city limits. Do your best to follow the rules because breaking them will result in an arrest, and do you really want Lazuli and Tatara bailing you out? With the rules laid out and lodging sorted, Lazuli ushers you to the site you're tasked with dealing with. You will have downtime to explore the city, though, as it's expected to take several days to clear things up.


The site is a terrible, terrible mess. In what must have once been a peaceful patch of wilderness, there now sits a terrible gouge in the earth, several meters deep and twice as wide across, hollowed by what must have been a powerful force. The dirt is gray and sandy, dead in the manner the Southern wizards will recognize. Plants on the edges of the crater are dry and withered and splintered and broken. Permeating the air is a lingering dread, one both Southern and Central wizards will immediately recognize...

But it is clear now, now that your magic is considerably stronger, that the spirits are agitated by the disturbance in the fabric of magic. Dark clouds hang low over the site, and low thunder rumbles in the constant threat of a storm that will never come. The spirits' agitation, coupled with the dread hanging in the air, will feel uncomfortable, and perhaps leave the more sensitive of the bunch feeling on edge. This is not something that can will resolve on its own, so your most important task is to calm the spirits. That means doing the things they like: playing music, dancing, praying, telling stories, wearing fanciful and whimsical clothes to soothe their temperaments.

Your second most important task is to clear out monsters. The unusual energy in the air is attractive to beasts magical in nature—they slink out of their hiding places in the deep wilderness to the area, and their presence is threatening the humans who regularly use the nearby routes for trade and to commute. Kill them, take their mana stones for yourself. Win-win.

The third task is general clean-up. Remove the dead plants from the earth, remove the broken trees and any natural debris that might prove to be a hindrance. Characters are more than welcome to search inside the crater for any hint or clue as to what might have caused this strange explosion, but they'll find the site picked clean, earth having fallen into cavities where there might have been larger objects present at one point...like someone was here to clear out any evidence.

JOB BOARD
Reinforcement. Peace in Granvelle Castle has been restored. A liveliness and energy has returned to the castle and the surrounding parts of the city that hasn't been seen in nearly a month. Thank your Central friends for their hard work!

Their issues aren't quite resolved, however. The castle is asking for help in creating and then reinforcing a magical barrier around the castle. The barrier is a bit bigger than what one wizard alone is capable of at this point, so band together to create and reinforce what parts you can. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to use your own hair or blood as a conduit.

The type of barrier is specific, however—they want one that masks magical signatures. If you step inside, you'll feel a faint, but powerful presence within... What are they guarding?

Recycling. The Eastern country is known for its expertise in all things mechanical, particularly when it comes to clockwork. While not as bombastic or flashy as Western technology, the use of magic and mana stones being deeply frowned upon and rejected, Eastern artisans can create truly fantastical things just with gears and cogs and a bit of know-how... But, of course, sometimes it's better to scrap something and create something new than let the old items waste away, so some Eastern craftsman have asked for help gathering clockwork automatons and other creations in order to melt it all back down. Some of them seem a bit nervous and harried, but it's an easy enough job to scrap automatons and cart junk around.

Monster hunting. The few settlements in the North have been sending in frantic request after frantic request. There has been a disturbing increase in monster activity in the North, and the native Northern wizards are as unreliable as ever. They need your help in thinning the numbers, and that's all they really ask for—you can keep all the mana stones you earn.

For those of you who haven't been to the North yet, the weather is harsh, no matter the season. Protection on oneself to survive the negative degrees is crucial; make sure your magic is up to snuff enough to keep yourself at least room temperature. And using your magic to battle on top of that? This isn't going to be an easy job, not at your level. Be cautious, and good luck.

Mana areas & amulets. You've been here for a month now, and living in an unfamiliar place, alongside unfamiliar people, using unfamiliar magic must be wearing you down. Isn't it? In that case, it's time for the last piece of your wizardhood puzzle: your mana area.

Mana areas are spots where wizards feel most at peace with themselves, most whole, and a place where they can refill on the emotional load they've been chipping away at for their magic. It can be a specific location, or a conditional circumstance. Find more detail on the magic page. Your task—given to you by your sage and your mentor—is to traverse the continent, find your mana area, and recharge your batteries, so to speak. While there, make an amulet to take back with you, like a portable battery.

WANDERER TASKS
Listen to the spirits.

You've been here long enough that it's time to see if you can actually communicate with the spirits who've laid claim on you and have been empowering your spells. Try your listen and see if you can hear what they have to say to you.

OOC Note: For those attempting this task, ping one of the mods and roll a dice! Based on the dice roll, your character will get a little tidbit from the spirits... Or they might not hear anything yet, but they can always dedicate themselves to their studies and try again after leveling up!

TATARA ACTIVITIES
Don't make promises.

If you've made a promise, don't break it.

If you break a promise, you'll lose your magic. And I don't know if I can help you anymore or send you home if that happens. I'm sorry this is so late. But please...be careful.

OOC NOTES
πŸŒ™ Welcome to your third event! Everyone's lasted a month, congratulations! Keep working on your magic, keep forging those bonds.
πŸŒ™ As your characters settle into the world, they might find themselves irresistibly drawn to crowds, to music, to dancing. It's hard to resist the allure of a gathering, and it's hard to keep yourself from swaying to music when it fills your ears, no matter what sort of person you used to be. You're changing...
πŸŒ™ As we enter the second month, we are announcing a deadline for finding your pairs. This will be Friday, June 14 at 11:59 PM EDT. Remember, you may submit a guess at any time, and there is no penalty for getting a guess wrong, so long as you have a thread to back up your guess and consent from your partner. The pair page is here.
πŸŒ™ Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting on this post, as not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
πŸŒ™ Next up for missions is East. Let's hope they don't have to talk to anyone for this one.
revengier: (94)

[personal profile] revengier 2024-05-09 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...Ah. He isn't sure how to handle that reveal for a moment, but he moves on quickly enough. ]

In that case... let's find somewhere to sit. You shouldn't be moving around in this state.

[ He holds out an arm for support, if Kiryu decides to take it. No harm, no foul if he doesn't. ]
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] bury my loneliness)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
Freaked you out that bad, huh.

Well, as you can see, I'm all healed up and good to go. Bruno does good work.
jokey: (pic#14295666)

[personal profile] jokey 2024-05-09 12:37 am (UTC)(link)
And mentally? Emotionally? Bruno can't heal that kind of trauma.
dyingtohealyou: ([Down] Somewhere inside)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 12:42 am (UTC)(link)
...

Hey, Akira. Did I ever tell you exactly how my eyes ended up this color?
jokey: (1591591 (62))

[personal profile] jokey 2024-05-09 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Akira shakes his head.]

No, you didn't.
dyingtohealyou: ([Strain] I cried out)

cw: eye horror, needles

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
[His smile is grim.]

They had to administer it via injection. Naturally, that meant I had to be awake - can't really inject anything into a closed eye, after all. I got pretty good at sitting still after the first few surgeries.

Maybe I can't measure up to some of the other wizards we've got, but among normal humans? My pain tolerance is probably one of the best around.

[So, you know.

He's fine.

Obviously.
]
mirristry: (9)

[personal profile] mirristry 2024-05-09 01:02 am (UTC)(link)
To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. I was simply attempting to replicate an arte from my own world and combine it with one of the seals I've been studying here. So in all truth, you may have been the one who ended up doing more than me by "pulling the sucker loose," so to speak.

[Phil is not an exorcist! He was just flying by the seat of his pants!]
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] with memories I)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
...

You fought as in verbally, or...

[Honestly, he should know the answer, but.]
foresightis2020: (07)

[personal profile] foresightis2020 2024-05-09 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
And that is how you keep them from also betraying you, hm?

[ ... ]

You are also right that I do. They are not uncommon back home, though if one is facing down something supernatural, they should give up on the idea of controlling it. Containment is the best action if they are something like a spirit.

And extermination is the best option if they are tangible.
dyingtohealyou: ([Down] They're transparent)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Hm? I'm not really moving around all that much or anything.

[His little ambush spell is doing most the work for him tbh.]

...Are you going to be alright out here?
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] I haven't been able)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-09 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Hmmm...]

What floor's your room on?
foresightis2020: (36)

[personal profile] foresightis2020 2024-05-09 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
That kind of opinion can be subjective.

[ He simply says, even if it is a popular thought. ]

Besides, there are other methods people use to judge others. Otherwise, so many wouldn't have trusted you, no?
fallingsand: (52;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2024-05-09 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Would the spirits even be capable of that...? But how? ]

Well, I don't know. I love them, y'know? And I miss being with them, even if. If they don't miss being with me. You all kind of brought me here at a pretty weird time. I thought maybe we were going to get the good outcome of my vision but... then everything was being destroyed... and now I'm here...

If nothing else, I need to convince them to blame me for it, not my niece. She. She doesn't deserve that.
fullspbar: (58)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-05-09 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ Akira seems surprised, which he can't say he finds surprising, either- Shinjiro has not exactly made himself out to be a paragon of kindness and saintly patience ( at least, that's what he thinks). He was probably expecting something violent, especially after...everything. He gets it.

But Akira speaks again, and all Shinjiro can think of is how he's staring at himself. Younger, but himself. Mind swirling with thoughts that could eat you whole. Restless. Guilty.

He lets out a breath, and a growl beside it. ]


Don't gimme that shit. [ Shinjiro has patience, but there's something he hates, in the idea of watching someone become him. Akira is brighter than he is. He doesn't need to turn into some hollow shell who lets his mistakes turn him inside out. ] If anyone needs it, it's you, dumbass.

[ A hand runs through his hair, aggravated, but at least his frustration hasn't peaked yet. ]

You expectin' me to beat you up, think it's what you deserve? You want someone to tell you it's your fault? And don't bother lyin' to me, either.
themanwhoerasedhisname: 10 (10)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-05-09 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[It's hard to imagine how much of a powerful beast Kiryu was, if what Kurapika has seen is Kiryu when he's not optimal at all. Still, the offer...

...he does rely on Kurapika's arm. As much as he hates to admit it, he needs the help right now]


...don't go telling the rest about this. It's for a reason that I have been keeping this to myself.

[Kiryu has given zero details to Kurapika about what ails him, but really, with Kiryu being how he is, anyone can tell he doesn't want others to worry]
Edited 2024-05-09 02:00 (UTC)
themanwhoerasedhisname: 4 (4)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-05-09 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
When you arrive to a place bringing a couple minions with you, it's never for a verbal fight.

[Typical Yakuza sidequest: some jackass and his posse try to mess around with innocent people and Kiryu has to deal with it]
Edited 2024-05-09 02:02 (UTC)
themanwhoerasedhisname: 5 (5)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-05-09 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
Second floor.

[Kiryu shakes his head. He can feel it pounding, like with a migraine. It's enough to have him somewhat dizzy]

...I think I can walk by myself. You won't have to get me to lean on you, at least.

[He feels he could be doing worse than this. Feels to him like a mishmash of inconveniences piled together enough to actually affect him. Later he'd realize it doesn't match anything he had felt before with his condition and probably would realize it was magical nonsense going on, but right now it worries him]
Edited 2024-05-09 02:07 (UTC)
themanwhoerasedhisname: 13 (13)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-05-09 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
I have never really understood why people trust me, so I don't really know.

[Somehow when Kiryu sounds it it doesn't sound self-deprecating or like he has low self-esteem. It just sounds like there's something he doesn't see, a factual statement instead of something to evoke some kind of pity]
foresightis2020: (19)

[personal profile] foresightis2020 2024-05-09 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's exactly it. It'd be just the right place for naps too. Preferably with a lot of shade, naturally. ]

Oh? The library holding many books must call out to you.

[ He remembers when they were shopping Kurapika picking carefully those books. ]

But, what is it about the ruins that makes it potentially ideal?
troublereduction: (day25)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-05-09 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
If something like that actually gave me a heart attack, I woulda been dead way before showin' up here. [ Read: It's fine, Akira. ]
positivize: (pic#17104136)

[personal profile] positivize 2024-05-09 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Even so, that seems to be enough to shake her out of the vestiges of whatever vision she found herself in. The moment he says her name, her eyes snap open and she turns her head instinctively, expression caught halfway between startled and confused. However, the recognition sets in quickly enough and she automatically straightens her posture, doing her best to achieve some facade of normalcy, even as she keeps her right arm in a loose grip.]

O-Oh, Mika-kun. Did you need something?
leewards: (Default)

[personal profile] leewards 2024-05-09 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Keep him out of things? Perhaps. But they're clearly struggling to keep his presence quiet.

But I feel that their intentions are not as mild as that, especially if they were among those who handled the cursed rocks.
troublereduction: (day51)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-05-09 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
What, like...to control him somehow?

[ Actually, now that he's suggested it, he doesn't like the idea, which is why he's frowning. ]
jokey: (Cf1BTT1)

[personal profile] jokey 2024-05-09 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
[What is this now, a lecture? Akira gets it, truly, but he wouldn't have expected this from Shinjiro of all people. They weren't what he'd call friends before, but they were friendly up until the point that he drove a knife between his ribs. It's almost like he's a nice guy. Much nicer than that aloof, bad boy exterior suggests. Maybe this is what Shinjiro's been hiding beneath layers of clothing and slumped shoulders?

...Give Akira a moment to center himself. Compartmentalizing the knowledge that Shinjiro is, in fact, a nice guy will have to wait until later. Akira's fingers toy with the curly ends of his bangsβ€” an anxious tic, depending on the day.]


Hey. I'm not telling you you're wrong, but getting wound up like this for my sake? You're going to end up pulling something. I'm the last person you should be worrying about right now.
jokey: (1591591 (37))

[personal profile] jokey 2024-05-09 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
Point taken. I'll warn you next time before I blow a hole in your floor.

[Or maybe he'll learn his lesson and not fuck around with his gun in the manor? It's a tossup.

The elevator chimes and the doors slide open, welcoming them back onto the manor grounds. Akira heads straight for the second floor.]


What kind of flowers did you want, anyway? If you want a dozen hand-grown roses, I'll do it, but you may be waiting a while.