lunae calamitas mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
promittere) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
lunaecalamitas2024-05-04 01:06 pm
promittere) wrote in 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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
🌙 Welcome to your third event! Everyone's lasted a month, congratulations! Keep working on your magic, keep forging those bonds.
🌙 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...
🌙 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.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting on this post, as not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
🌙 Next up for missions is East. Let's hope they don't have to talk to anyone for this one.
3/??
Yamato lets out a cry, and he falls onto the floor, bleeding out before the monster that has clearly taken over Akira.
There's a lot of blood.
He's been hit in his shoulder.
Yamato slumps over. ]
done!
And here comes Yamato, with enough force to knock Malice out of the way and in the time it takes him to turn to ask Yamato what the hell he's doing, the gun goes off.
For a long moment, Malice is frozen, staring at Yamato's shoulder as if simply not able to put the pieces together. The blood, the injury, the fact that Yamato has been hurt none of it makes sense. How could this have happened, when it could've been— should've been him?]
Yama!
[The shout leaves him before he can even think about it, and though his priority should be the threat (the threat who has hurt Ahito, who can hurt so many more of them) he drops to his knees beside his friend, eye wide and fixated on that wound.]
You— You—
[But whatever it is he wants to say doesn't come, so instead he tries to focus on healing. He managed it once before when Yama was injured, so he should be able to do it again, right? But even as he says the words - haec dominium mea est, this is my domain, this is my human - his focus fails to manifest. The magic fizzles out at his fingertips. Absolutely nothing happens.
Shock aside, there's really only one thing to do.]
We need a healer over here! Please, someone—
[don't let him die—]
no subject
no subject
This will slow the bleeding... but I need to concentrate on that... we have to get out the bullet and heal up the wound properly.
[ Practical first aid and magic together, yay. ]
no subject
Day follows after Comet, and kneels down opposite them, moving his hand over Yamato's shoulder too. ]
I'll handle the bullet.
[Is he actually sure what a bullet is? No! He's learning new and exciting things on the fly and he's becoming rapidly aware that he should have asked his mentor back home about certain things more! But he's going to do it because it's Yamato. ]
We do it on the count of three?
no subject
[ For the sake of convenience:
-they'll hand Day a pocket knife.
-on Day's count, they'll lift the gauze. ]
...Three!
no subject
On the count of three Day makes an incision where the bullet entered Yamato's shoulder, to ease the process of what follows next: ]
Amor manet.
[ He doesn't know what a bullet actually is, but that's fine because what he really means here is foreign object, get the fuck out. And he catches the bullet that's forced out from the wound, though. Sorry if it hurts Yamato. ]
no subject
Mare Imbrium.
[ It's probably pain from the shot and now this, so Comet focuses on easing the pain and healing now. ]
no subject
[ Ouch. Ouch, that really hurts, actually! He's not loud about it per se but he is clearly and audibly very much in pain. His breathing is a little more labored now, but thankfully, the pain starts to subside quicker than it normally would with Comet handling that side of things.
Weakly, he raises his head and looks at both Day and Comet. Please ignore his bickering from earlier. ]
Thanks....thank you.
(no subject)
no subject
[Urianger is caught between this and the stabbening happening to Wanderer right now. So much is happening at once, he can't get to everyone.
Thank goodness there are plenty of healers around. He'll come over when he can, though, most definitely.]
no subject
no subject
no subject
...not that Urianger's unused to seeing comrades taking bullets (metaphorical or otherwise) for each other. Sigh.
At least things are being taken care of. He'll come by later when the ghost is gone to see how Yamato is doing.]
no subject
He looks up at Malice. ]
He'll be okay.
[ It's words of comfort for Malice and for himself. ]
no subject
[It's shaky, not quite accepting despite how badly he really wants to accept that as fact. It's hard to, when he has such a limited understanding of what humans can take before they die even before adding a mysterious new weapon to the mix.]
Thanks. All of you, thanks, I...
[He doesn't continue, instead staring at Yamato.]
no subject
[ He mutters his incantation again, sending another warm wave of healing through Yamato. ]
This is what friends do for one another, after all.
no subject
[That's a little more settled. Kurapika remains calm despite the situation, and it does a lot to put Malice's nerves at ease.]
Looks like Kiryu's got that... situation handled?
[What is going on with Lazuli though... This is such a mess, damn.]
no subject
At least it's beneficial, especially right now. ]
I think so.
[ ... ]
I'd like to go help there, but I know when I need to stay back.
[ He wouldn't be able to keep calm. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
His gaze turns to Malice, and with his good hand, he weakly reaches out to place it on the back of the other's hand.
He doesn't speak. He just looks at him with a weary smile. ]
no subject
There's no point in that right now. Kurapika's helped him calm down and getting riled again isn't going to help, so he takes a deep breath before moving to take Yamato's hand in his. His clawed prosthetic remains in the grass, claws digging trenches in the dirt even as his touch is gentle with Yamato.]
You'll be okay, you've got some damn good healers workin' on you. So just stay here with us, yeah? It's gonna suck for awhile, but they'll fix it.
[They have to. He's putting his trust in you guys.]
no subject
[ Oogh, talking is hard. It hurts. And he's saying this in front of people crowding around him but he doesn't really care. ]
A life without you in it ... seems pretty boring.
no subject
[He knew it already - of course that's the reason Yamato got in the way, because he wanted to protect Malice. Because he's an idiot who wanted to help. But hearing it like this...]
You are so damn lucky you're injured, otherwise I'd punch you for that! I'm a vampire, Yama! I could've healed from that easily!
[...maybe, he's not really sure about that, but he would've had an easier time of it than Yamato!!]
You don't gotta protect me! I ain't losin' anyone else, 'specially not like this! My life'd be pretty damn borin' without you in it, idiot!
[y'all the healers are right here...]
no subject
You – you don't get it -
[ Why did he have to get shot? He can't yell back like this??? ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(Here-not here)
It's also because he understands time and place that he's giving them an exhausted look of "guys, I know this is important, but taking things out of people's bodies is gonna suck in a couple of moments". ]
(no subject)