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

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

🌙 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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You've had experiences with them before, I take it?

[ khun sighs and closes the book he's currently looking at, tossing it across the floor. ]

Certainly.

Not too personally, but I have crossed paths with those who are quite learned. There are many who have all the time in the world to refine their knowledge back home. To the point where they can end up considered a 'mad genius'.

[ Though, there is a reason they've got that much time on their hands. ]

[ actually this reminds him of a question he's been meaning to ask but kept forgetting. ]

"All the time in the world"...what's the lifespan of people where you're from?

[ Well, it's fine. All things considered, Jing Yuan doesn't consider it a difficult question to answer; matters like lifespan aren't far too revealing for him (even if for others, that is not the case.) ]

It depends on the race, but for many of those originally from the Xianzhou Alliance who are, like myself, a human-like long-lived species...practically as long as they can stand to live.

And provided they don't succumb to any afflictions that could arise.

[ Then there are the Vidyadhara which are more complicated so...one matter at time. ]

Edited 2024-05-11 20:22 (UTC)

But how long is that?

[ there's a reason he's asking, which he'll say after. ]

[ Hmm...he looks thoughtful as he considers this. ]

At least to a millennium, barring any complications. [ Like getting stabbed, etc. ] After that time, issues are bound to arise, even if they may persist even longer. But, I have not heard of anyone living past two millennia at this time.

Is there a reason you're asking for specifics?

[ he breathes out. ]

That makes sense to me. [ a millennium is pretty long though if you're not immortal, but that's really not that hard to reconcile in his head, and jing yuan said it was rare. ]

Malice told me that most humans don't live longer than, what was it, less than a century?

[ the number is absurd to him. ]

[ His previous Teacher is walking proof that anyone can live past a millennia but even if the bodies are functionally immortal, other...things just start to go to not make it worth it. ]

You'd be correct. On the Xianzhou Alliance there are a short-lived species of humans who barely live even to a century.

[ Very unfortunate and something he'd prefer not to experience himself despite the hangups long-lived people can get. ]

...Am I to presume that you live far longer than that yourself?

[ nevermind, that's more confirmation he really didn't want. ]

There's a lot of ways to die in the Tower, but from plain old age is nearly unheard of. Residents who don't try and climb at all can live to two hundred, and even if you try and fail, it's triple that.

And if you get to be a Ranker and don't wish for immortality...it's basically a millennium too, actually.

[ he had to some quick math in his head for that one, because at some point a lot of people stop counting. ]

[ Well...

You know what they say about wishes...or whatever positive quote that may exist about them. It's fine. ]

Hm...I see.

I suppose that it seems that there are similarities in certain respects. At about a millennium I presume one's condition starts to deteriorate in certain ways, even if their physical body may be fine in some respects.

[ he waves a hand. immortality and being long lived isn't what he's interested in, the concept is far away from him even if he wasn't climbing the tower. sorry he's just being rude again smh. ]

Nevermind all that. To die at less than one hundred years old of natural causes...that makes way less sense to me. How could someone deteriorate that fast?

[ Jing Yuan doesn't really react adversely to the hand-waving thing. People certainly have been more rude. ]

A good question, isn't it?

[ He hums a little. It does make him think back to Yingxing, before he became what he is now. In fact, he will smile a little in a bit of thought. ]

Perhaps it simply is the way of things, as unsatisfactory as answer you will find it. Though, it doesn't mean they can't treasure life in the time that they had. The memories they make with their loved ones, who have left them, and who will always be with them until they die...those must be invaluable to them still.

And to those who may be left behind, they should do what they can so that each moment will never be wasted. So that there will be no regrets.

Edited 2024-05-14 11:57 (UTC)

[ this conversation is going to haunt him later down the line and he's going to make this expression at it:

for now he just huffs. ]

Well we agree on that much, I'm not the type of person to regret anything I do.

[ a shake of his head. ]

What did you come here for? Stargazing or exploring?

[ Surely it will be totally fine? What reason is there to

about it??

Jokes aside, though... ]

A little bit of both. In addition, given the distant location, and where it is settled far away from most commotion in general...it is somewhere that will rarely be the site of disturbances.

[ So, relatively peaceful. There is something about the serenity of the area that already drew him here for, like, mana area related reasons. ]

Do you plan to do more exploring or stargazing yourself?

[ :myahey: ]

It's quieter here, that's for sure. With the amount of people who look at the stars each night back at the manor, we could throw a party.

[ he's only moderately whining because he's part of that group even if he stays way shorter than the rest of them. it's a habit he intends to keep even if he thinks it's kind of dumb, he's also stubborn that way. ]

The first one. But I could try stargazing here too I guess, to see if it feels any different.

[ :3c ]

Haha, I never noticed how many decided to do so, though that might be because I never bothered to gravitate in that direction at that time. Perhaps it is simply the nature of most individuals to like viewing the sky at night from a certain point at a specific location?

[ He's not one for crowds, honestly, so it works out that he is an outlier. The most stubborn he's going to be about anything is still talking his walks through the courtyard. ]

Hm...well, why not? The stars may be the same, but in every situation it is always best to see things from another perspective.

[ khun just sighs, it's annoying. he's not the type to be predictable with a schedule like that, especially if there are a lot of people coming and going. which means some nights he does have the roof to himself and other nights it's basically a rave up there. ]

It's not really that. The stars in the Tower are fake, projections of light, just like the sun. These are real stars, aren't they? But they don't look any different to me.

[ yet almost every night he looks up at them just for a few minutes. ]

[ Would you say it's a crab rave?

Anyway, that said, it is a little interesting hearing that the stars are fake in this 'Tower', but from what he can gather, what with there being floors...he isn't really surprised. ]

...It could be that the fake stars you witness in the Tower are modeled off real ones. Especially if their positions are the same to the ones you see in this sky; or at least, rather similar.

[ That is, if these stars they view aren't fake either. But that statement seems too far leaning on the conspiracy for him. ]

They are. But someone I know really wanted to see the real ones.

[ a touch quieter, yet with more weight. ]

[ .....?

That sure is a notable change even if slight—enough that Jing Yuan is a little surprised, pausing for a moment. But he does ask carefully regardless: ]

Someone...as in a well-known companion of yours?

Edited 2024-05-16 05:44 (UTC)

[ a sigh, though it's really not at jy. ]

You can just say someone important to me you know, because he is. His name is Baam.

Hahaha...I suppose so.

[ Jing Yuan gives the other a sheepish (kind of) smile, but he nods at that. Talking about this person must not be an often topic he engages in, though. ]

Baam, hm? Can you tell me what he's like?

[ He smiles, earnestly curious. ]

Why do you want to know?

[ It's not a no, but this is a topic he's cautious about. ]

Ah, well...normally people like to talk about how their friends are, and truthfully, I was already curious, since we were already on the subject.

[ Jing Yuan thinks it's true, though at the same time, it isn't like he's going to force the subject. ]

But, if you do not wish to discuss it either, that is fine with me as well.

[ khun gives this serious thought for something that is, by jy's correct measure, something relatively normal. ]

Trade me. Tell me about one of your friends and I'll tell you about Baam. Deal?

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