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

[promittere]

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

🌙 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.

» NAVIGATION

Comments

Amulets

[dyingtohealyou]

[Damn... caught.]

...Fine.

[impacter]

Perfect. I could use your opinion.

[Come along now, kiddo. He gestures for Ahito to follow.]

It's good to see you up and about so soon.

[dyingtohealyou]

Bruno does good work.

What are you looking for?

[impacter]

He does, though I hope we can give the man a break. All of you that keep juggling the healing magic are going to wear yourselves to the bone at this rate.

An amulet, of course. Or, rather, some inspiration for one.

[dyingtohealyou]

Inspiration? Thinking of making something for yourself?

[impacter]

Mm... Possibly, but the amount of incantation work I might need to try would be a pain if I started from scratch...

I could just find a suitable template, though.

[dyingtohealyou]

What are you thinking?

[impacter]

I'll know it when I find it. But I won't find it unless I look.

Have you had any thoughts yet as to yours?

[dyingtohealyou]

I've been thinking on it, but I haven't come up with anything. I guess jewelry would be the easiest to carry?

[But he obviously isn't much for accessories given outside of the tie that comes with his uniform and the belt that holsters his gun, the only thing he wears is... shades intended to block his magic in his world.]

[impacter]

It might be best to take a step back even further from that.

If this amulet is supposed to charge with the energy from somewhere meaningful to us, then it's only natural that something about it connects to that meaningful place, too. But that means knowing where it is your heart feels at home.

[dyingtohealyou]

Do you have a place like that?

[impacter]

I do. The closest I can manage, at least.

[dyingtohealyou]

Where is it?

[impacter]

I can show you sometime. Not now, though. The weather hasn't been clear enough.

But it's where I always go when I feel troubled.

[dyingtohealyou]

It's weather-dependent? Is that reliable enough?

[impacter]

Maybe not in an ideal sense. But I don't have a problem adjusting to it since I don't imagine it's something we'd need continuous access to. If we did, almost all of us would be nonfunctional with our spells right now.

[dyingtohealyou]

As long as it's not a problem if we get a week of bad weather or anything.

[impacter]

So cynical. Are you worried about me?

[dyingtohealyou]

Just questioning your location.

[impacter]

That's not a no. How sweet.

I'm confident in the importance of my choice, though, Ahito. That is more important to me than its overall practicality.

[dyingtohealyou]

Making up an imaginary version of me in your head, huh.

[Dude................]

How'd you figure it out?

[impacter]

If you simply wanted to judge me, you wouldn't waste that sort of energy. You're too practical for that.

[Whether that's true or not is up to Ahito, but it's a humorous thought nonetheless.]

Mm, how to put it...

Have you thought about the things you do when you're not feeling at your best? When you're ill, or tired, or just a little down in the dumps?

[dyingtohealyou]

[...]

Why, are those the types of places that work best for a mana area?

[He sounds dubious...]

[impacter]

Ahah.... I know as much about it as you do, Ahito. I'm just talking from my own experience.

But no, not quite. Just humor me for a moment.

Do you have something, somewhere, you like to go when you're not quite feeling yourself?

[dyingtohealyou]

Sure. It's nowhere particularly special, or even pleasant, though.