thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

[promittere]

NEW MOON ADAGIO

Between the constant requests from the North and the sense of tension that pervades the manor, Sage Tatara makes an executive decision: we're going North, baby.

Of all the things that have happened thus far, let this be the ultimate test of your magic. Even as we near summer, it's frigid. Protect yourselves and your allies from the cold. Protect yourselves while also fighting off monsters (or other territorial wizards, should you make the terrible mistake of wandering into another's territory), flying through the vast wilderness, or protecting the poor humans who need your help to survive. Time to blow off some of your steam. Just be sure to obey Tatara's one rule: don't kill each other.

One particular problem of note is in the Forest of Dreams. Without its guardian, many of these rogue monsters and dangerous predators, displaced from their normal habitats, have found their way into the forest. Many of them, however, are unable to survive against the fatal toxin, and there are plenty of animal corpses and mana stones that litter the forest. It might be best to clean these up before the forest guardian returns...

That said, the toxin is yet another thing you must protect yourself against in addition to the cold. While you can likely keep yourself from dying from the toxins, you may not be immune to its effects. This deadly toxin causes anyone who breathes it in to dream and hallucinate vividly, be it images of the past, imagined futures, thoughts of the present processed and warped...

Strangely enough, those nearby may end up sharing in your dreams... Did you want the darkest recesses of your thoughts, hopes, and fears unearthed for others to see?

Those who decide to venture far past the more populated (in relative terms) parts of the North may find themselves stumbling upon what looks to be an abandoned bandit hideout. It seems it's been abandoned for quite a while—nothing to loot here, sorry!—but there sure are a whole lot of monsters that have decided to make this hidden corner of the North their home.

While you're at it, you may find a nearby cave. Beautiful crystals dot the walls and the floors, and there are small pools of hot spring water free for relaxing. It seems to be relatively free of monsters, too. So maybe this wouldn't be a bad spot to relax, away from everything else?

However, there's one thing that makes this cave truly unique, and it isn't the vistas or the springs—it's the bats. These bats hear echoes of the past and replay them for visitors. Should you stay a while and listen, a bat may pay you a visit. And when it does, it may play for you the voices from the memories of visitors past, whose stories may hold a clue or two to your circumstances...

While the Forest of Dreams is a memory/dreamshare free for all, the aural memories replayed by the bats in the Cave of Time will come from one of the original wizards only. If you'd like an audio replay of a perhaps significant moment either in their personal life or a clue as to what happened to them (it will be randomized), then please reply to this comment!

JOB BOARD

Clean-up and repairs. While thanks to the hard work of your Eastern friends the worst was prevented, the City of Rain emerged from their short ordeal a little worse for wear.

Buildings need repair, blood needs to be cleaned off the streets, the injured need help. This is, perhaps, the only time you will be allowed to use magic openly in the city (you've been given permits and everything!), but you still are not allowed to talk outside of designated zones. Please, please don't get arrested...

As for the scrap that litters the streets? Unfortunately, you'll have to take it back to the scrapyard. But this time, there's a big, roaring bonfire out there. Just chuck all the scrap and debris in the fire. The city isn't taking any second chances—extreme situations call for extreme measures.

Reverence. Several Northern villages are currently outside the protection of a wizard, and have requested the sage's wizards' presence. They're terrified of the monsters and worried the barriers for their villages will fail sooner than later. They don't simply ask for help for free, however, and these smaller villages are steeped in their tradition—they'll pay you their respects, praying to you, offering you gifts, groveling at your feet, in hopes for a modicum of your time and protection. Do their offerings please you? Then assist them with what you deem appropriate for their worship to you: kill a few monsters for them, or a lot if you're pleased. Strengthen the barrier a lot, or not at all if you're displeased. It's up to you! You have the power here. What's it like to be a god for a day?

Ladies' night. The monthly lady officers' gathering is coming up in the City of Affluence—it's an exclusive meetup for the women involved in and related to Western military and bureaucratic affairs. Anyone is welcome, so long as they meet two requirements: they are outwardly presenting feminine, and they have an invitation to the gathering. Here's your chance to flex your transformation and glamour spells! Infiltrate the meetup with a disguise and a fake invitation, mingle, enjoy the drinks, the jazz, the entertainment, and find out what you can... What's the Western army up to? Be careful, though—don't get caught and kicked out!

The attendees seem to be excited about the new phantasmagoria technology and the upcoming display, and many whisper about the upcoming Venator meteor shower...

G'RAHA TASKS

Greetings, new friends! I am G'raha Tia, and while I hesitate to call myself a mentor or a replacement for the one you had, I am eternally grateful for the assistance I received and will do my best to help your cause in any way I can. To that end, I feel I may need to be caught up to speed on the events and get to know all of you.

We can have some tea and sandwiches and have a discussion! That's the best way to learn, sometimes.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

Even if we're not here for very long, I think we should leave our mark (not literally! Don't paint on the walls!). I got paint and big paper in the dining hall, but no brushes... Do you know what that means? Finger paint! Finger paint a portrait of yourself with your name and I'll hang it up in the library when they're all done!

Thanks to Cid and Khun, my camcorder works now. The thing is, what's the point of filming anything if we have no way to watch the film?! Could you guys work together to make some kind of projector? Or like...VHS player? We could have a movie night together!

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your fourth event! It's your dreamshare and memshare event! Ready to open up with your deepest and darkest secrets?
🌙 We're halfway through the game. How do you feel?
🌙 Back at the manor, Kurapika and Maya have set up a bulletin board! Leave comments, argue with your neighbors, have fun. Be nice. Don't set it on fire.
🌙 On the admin side of things, Lav has swapped out Wanderer for G'raha! Please say hello to your new mentor NPC.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting to the post, and remember to check back frequently, since not everyone checks plurk or discord all the time.
🌙 The next country to go on their mission is North. Do you think a PVP-enabled mission will go well?

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[1145pm]

> sepia dreams.

[ Tatara can't venture out into the cold of the North alone, so...good thing he has you with him, right?

It also doesn't really matter if he almost got choked out the last time he was here, because if Tatara Totsuka is known for anything, it's his complete lack of sense of danger. It's not like he doesn't trust you, or anything.

Either way, he's sticking close, eyes wide as he looks around the forest. It's pretty. ]

Hard to believe these trees could kill you...


(( Memshare! By default I'll steer the thread into a memshare one, but if you DON'T want one, let me know ahead of time and we can have fun forest time instead! ))

> smile!

[ Whether it's in the North, or back at the manor—surprise! Tatara will jump in front of you, his camera (or for those without the technology, a curious, eldritch gadget) trained right on your face. He waves, looking at you through the lens. ]

Hellooo! Have a word or two for our future viewers?!

[ He's chipper, as usual, and very excited. At last, his camera is working again... ]

> library etiquette.

[ Back at the manor, Tatara has decided to start working in the library.

Except...he seems to have things a little backwards. There are stacks of books occupying the chairs while the sage himself lies on his stomach on the table. He has his head propped up in his palm while he kicks his feet in the air. Slowly, he flips through a particularly thick book...

He doesn't really seem to care that he's got it backwards. Sorry, nerds. ]

reverence

[lighthaus]

[ what's better than having to deal with a groveling villager? having to deal with a groveling villager and khun ofc. he walks over, apparently in some type of mood, bundled up in a periwinkle pea coat. ]

We heard you the first time. [ the glare he gives the villager is just about as frosty as the climate here. ]

tea

[lighthaus]

Khun Aguero Agnis. So why are you here exactly?

[ pleasantries are for when you want to bother to be pleasant. ]

tea

[troublereduction]

[ Finding out that the little expedition party came back with a...new??? person is certainly some sort of news, but that's why he's here. ]

Nice to meet you. I'm Joyous Day, but just Day's fine.

[impacter]

[Here he is! He looks slightly more worn down than the last time he was in the manor, scraped up across the face here and there with the flush of red that comes from long exposure to the cold. But he'll easily extend his own heating spell towards Jing Yuan as a gesture, though it will only work if they stay relatively close together.]

The North isn't so kind, dear Jing Yuan.

Let's make quick work of what we need to do here.

[Behind Solomon, the long expanse of trees seems to shift, warping, the white of the snow bathing into tiles of red and pink and gold, windows of enormous height that show a sky as dark as night. The muffling of voices from all sides, the sound of guards protesting behind them at a figure unseen. It's like a mirage in its quality, hard to grasp without focus.

Solomon's face tightens a bit, but his attention stays on Jing Yuan.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan tilts his head when Solomon extends the healing spell to him, and decides to make the most of that relative benefit by sticking close. Not that he knows the limits of Solomon's spell, but it is what it is. He keeps himself from making a quip about the cold because he is not a complainer, though he is tempted. ]

You haven't been out here too long, have you?

[ He can't tell but he is asking just in case, because some of you Norths are (literal) cryptids it can't hurt.

But, the sudden change gets him to keep a closer eye on what's happening, attention focusing on the oddities in their surroundings. Last time aspects changed there was an encounter with someone new and Lazuli disappeared. Though this is certainly different. ]

...This is...?

[ What, exactly? An illusion? Solomon doesn't seem to be reacting much to it other than the facial expression like he swallowed a lemon, and so he looks back at him curiously. ]

[fallingsand]

ALMOST LADIES NIGHT

...geez, I don't know, how can I even tell if this fits well...?

[ Look, there's an occasion to try out shapeshifting magic, and Mr. Youngest Triplet has always wondered before what if he weren't the only son out of the trio, okay? Who wouldn't? Right? It isn't an idea he would have considered before but with that suggestion being up in the air, well.

He's given it a go and he's done so specifically to try on what seems to be an endless array of dresses from one of the wardrobes in the manor. So far, he's only been pulling them out and holding them up against, well, his... new... body? Is that weird? Is it that weird to think of it that way? He is still wearing his usual get-up of a loose button-up shirt and pants, the sandals, and all, although they're baggier than usual seeing how he is now a few inches shorter.

Shorter, and supposedly curvier, although his already comfortably baggy clothes don't show that off much. His voice, however, is feminine, and his curly hair is now much longer and wilder than ever. Overall, after a few tries? He's gotten his transformation very right.

THE DREAMING FOREST

[ Inevitably, Bruno... finds himself back in the North! Which is terrible. He's realized he doesn't like real snow in real snowy places that are meant to have snow. It's not great. That said, he can be found grimacing at the dead animals as he uses magic to return their bodies to the earth or tentatively pocketing the mana stones scattered amongst the trees.

That said, run into him and hang out long enough, and things will begin to get a little... odd, as the forest's toxins begin to warp the world around them, but until then, he'll turn and hold up a mana stone. ]

H-hey, do you want some of these? I don't. I don't really want any, since they're, uh. Y'know.

[ ooc: please specify if you want a) a memory (sad), b) a possible future (variable), or c) a dream (weird/less sad) in your subject line if you choose this option, thx! ]

drifting doooown

[fallingsand]

[ Skirting about as Solomon is, Bruno doesn't realize he isn't alone in here until the white-cloaked man speaks up and startles the heck out of the green-cloaked (or is it green-ruana'd?) one. He jumps, spinning about to face Solomon on the verge of panic until... ]

Dios mío, it's only you. Could you at least try to make some noise when you're lurking around like that? You aren't making it any less dangerous doing that.

Re: reverence

[dyingtohealyou]

[Cool, just what he wanted...

The words do seem to scare the villager, at least. Their eyes go wide and with some hasty apologies, no doubt hoping to avert a possible curse rather than a blessing, they bow low even as they back off.]

...Did the previous Wizards actually enjoy this?

[It's a soft grumble, but Khun at least can overhear.]

[lighthaus]

Probably. Or they were too lazy to put them off it.

[ he watches the villager trail off with a huff. ]

[lighthaus]

[ the wardrobes, a place khun visits fairly often even if he keeps his own collection of clothes in his room. and who is this? khun can make a guess based off characteristics and what tonight is: a night he is apparently staying in, since he's in an oversized t-shirt and black leggings.

but he's apparently feeling generous, since he peeks his head around the corner with a grin. ]

You look like you need help.

[dadsandals]

[ ME!!! ]

[fallingsand]

[ Unlike most of the wizards choosing to do this, uh, surprising no one at all, Bruno's a lot less confident about the transformation, so when Khun appears and says that, he gives a jump and shoves the dress he'd been looking at back into the wardrobe. ]

What? No, no, I'm. Nope, I was just, y'know, putting this... stuff away... yeah, haha.

[ Here he goes, pretending nothing is different about him as he stuffs the wardrobe and shuts the door. It isn't rational, considering anyone could tell from his voice and hair alone, but, look, this has been an odd experiment, shush. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Gross.

[Understatement honestly, he's thinking real unkind thoughts about the original Norths right now.]

Guess we should get started...

memshare

[leewards]

[Ithaqua ignores Solomon's warning, because he has already been here, the comment was wholly unnecessary. He simply waves his lantern over himself to form an invisible barrier against the toxic spores.

Solomon can't see it, but he's seething right now.]

[erythropoiesis]

Ah, old habits die hard.

[It's said with a wry smile, as he shuffles around the tea cups.]

I've spent too much time with things needing to be rather formal that I almost forgot what a casual tea party could be like.

[The last time he had a tea party was probably when Lyna was still just a babe, after all...]

[erythropoiesis]

I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that.

[It's not the worst start to a conversation he's had, so he can roll with this.]

It seems whatever brought me here did not care to provide any instructions on the matter.

[erythropoiesis]

[it's okay g'raha doesn't know what an idol is, he wouldn't understand,,,]

Ah! Please, make yourself comfortable.

[He has cookies... and so much tea...]

Anything you feel may be of import, no matter how large or small a detail it may be. If that includes gossip than... I'm all ears.

[erythropoiesis]

[G'raha Tia is not fashionable and most of his clothes are just what other people have shoved at him.]

Ah, well, it's just... The ears might be a problem, don't you think?

[They're low to her head, and she looks so flustered. Don't perceive her...]

But, um... I do like red a lot, though I'm also partial to blue...

[bombpop catte...]

[erythropoiesis]

[Please be proud he won't even think about making some sort of "joyous occasion" pun even if I'm thinking of so many right now.]

A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Day. Please, sit down and help yourself. There's plenty of snacks available...!

[His tail swishes, and his ears wiggle.]

[lighthaus]

Putting it away? The dresses would fit you better than what you have on right now.

[ throwing a Look. ]

[lighthaus]

[ that's how it was with them but. ]

And you don't know where the short angry kid went?

[erythropoiesis]

No, I'm afraid I've not met anyone with that descriptor... recently.

[there's a lot of short angry kids out there in the worlds...]

I take it he's whose room I'm borrowing, then.

GOLDEN POOL....

[erythropoiesis]

[It was inevitable for G'raha to end up in the Forest of Dreams, as it is where he entered this world. He's hoping it'll provide answers for him, somehow, but he also just feels out of his depth. He needs to learn more about this situation before he can do anything about it.

He looks over at Solomon, ears perked.]

I'm afraid I don't know what this place is usually like.

[An awkward smile crosses his face.]

I shall take your warning to heart, though.

[dyingtohealyou]

[-?! Jing Yuan? When did he-

No, more importantly-]

It can't be. That sounded like-

[But whatever he was about to say dies in his throat as the hallucinations take hold, a child led by his parents into a lab to meet a man who promises him magic, and a lonely girl kept isolated in a room, her small body covered in bandaged wounds--

What plays out is not a happy story.]