lunaecalamitas | thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

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

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Heh, I'm glad to hear it.

[And Malice really is. After all, it seems like Comet needed to have some good experiences in their life, especially after what happened with their mother...

But at that, Malice snaps his fingers.]

Right! I've been thinkin' 'bout that! They said somethin' like... "they've journeyed far in search of normalcy" or somethin', if I'm rememberin' right.

[...]

You think yours was talkin' 'bout me, huh? Those strings of fate or whatever they are... I wonder if that's the kinda magic Itha an' Sol used...

[They did pull off a super cool attack despite really not liking each other, and it seems like it would've been tough to set up spur of the moment... But then, he didn't really see what happened inside their attack, so who knows. Regardless!]

'Course, I wouldn't mind at all if you're my fated partner or whatnot!

It does, doesn't it.

I imagine for the Northern Wizards, it should be fairly self-explanatory, given even the examples we make ... but what the humans living here have done to make themselves so supposedly undesirable might still be a mystery.

[ they are so eager to throw themselves at the feet of those who could better their circumstances. surely there are ways in which the other countries might be able to take advantage of such a populace?

ah, but perhaps he is simply too cynical about such things. or perhaps this, too, is a protection the northern wizards afford them: both from the harshness of the land, and from exploitation by the other countries. still ... ]

[ quiet again, he murmurs: ]

... Indeed, there's nothing left to see here.

[ if the illusions, or dreams, or whatever they might be are based off of his memories, then perhaps leaving the area where the younger robin himself is might be enough for them to fade away. after all, if he's sat by the bedside, then he cannot know who might or might not be outside roaming the castle still.

or perhaps the forest will use his other memories to try to sketch out the layout of the phantom castle instead? they are in chrom's room, after all. he's walked the hallways outside many times, in the life that he wasn't meant to have. ]

Walk with me, then.

[ he'll turn to leave regardless of whether day follows him immediately. crossing the threshold both is easy and yet, feels like it carries with it some sort of significance. it feels like a precipice of some sort.

the robin in that room no longer exists. he ceased to be that day at the dragon's table. and yet ...

well. no matter. the confines of memory begin to relent the further they walk down the recreated hallway, away from the room. ]

Either way, their last chance at survival anywhere ends up with them groveling at the feet of Wizards. What a rotten life.

[The change in the environment certainly gets Kiryu to get his guard up. Salt, huh...Kiryu immediately thinks of the ocean. Having lived in Okinawa for a few years, he knows what the sea feels like.

And given what forest this is...]

Hey. Is the sea important to you somehow?

[Trying to determine what might come, if what he thinks is happening is true. Delving into someone's memory always has been...a bit uncomfortable for Kiryu, who definitely prefers not to forcibly pry into someone's past if he can avoid it]

You don't.

[ Of that much, Kurapika is sure of. ]

Why won't you cross paths? Is that a result of your betrayal?

[ That contempt... there's a comfort in it somewhere for Kurapika, and it surprises him. It's warmth that spreads gently in his chest, even as he's about to respond to Jing Yuan, tell him that it's just the way things work in the mafia, that they all have to see and do things they would rather not.

Only, he can't exactly do that now, not with Jing Yuan himself succumbing to the darkness that surrounds him before the environment shifts. He frowns, standing still as he takes in his surroundings—that speck of something in the darkness, that tree with the blue light...

For now, he'll head towards that something. ]

I refuse to answer the phone whenever one of my closest friends calls.

Then here's to hoping no one attempts to take them from you. I'd hate to see the battle that would erupt.

[ After all, he fully believes Ithaqua would fight to keep them.

That said... ]

It seems like your mission was rather straightforward, even if all of you were summoned in a manner I don't exactly approve of.

[ He's quiet for a moment, mulling over Day's answer. It may be hard for him to imagine, but his answer is still just as thoughtful as Kurapika expected it to be. ]

I... suppose you're right.

[ Kurapika sighs, though it's closer to a soft exhale. What kind of person would he even hope to be? ]

You know, people here have told me I'm not cut out for what I've set out to do.

[ And he isn't sure what to do with that. ]

[ ...hmn. khun lets that sit, which is as much acceptance of kurapika's approval as he can manage. ]

I have a long way to go still. And she has a lot of enemies and isn't the type to lie down and cut her losses.

And past that...she doesn't have a reason to seek me out.

[ he thinks, anyway. and he certainly won't be the one to seek her out. ]

There is no greater joy, I think, than pride in a student's path.

[He's still going to bug you for pictures, sir. At least they're almost out of the treeline...

He chuckles as his broom is summoned, taking a seat on it idly to float alongside Jing Yuan. No need, nowhere to go, but if Jing Yuan was going to pry at his choice of appearances, he couldn't help fall into the dramatic for a moment, one leg crossed over the other, the jet black and gold of the broom a start contract to the stark white he now wears, tapping a finger to his own lips in mock thought.]

Mm.... it just makes me wonder if you haven't quite made up your mind, dear General. First you say I'm not considering my intention, and then you say my intention is for mischief? Tsk.

Should I be offended? Or maybe... it's simply a good deal of fun, to see you be a little bashful for once?

The capricious, unsociable Northern wizards are quite protective of their lands and people. Who knew?

[Well, Ithaqua, in a way. He's quite territorial too, even if he'd rather kill humans.]

[Pausing to remember what a phone is.]

...Is the friend annoying?

[Otherwise, it's Ithaqua, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to fight off sleep.]

We shall have to see if he does-- I've plans to look on him when they wake.

Perhaps I'll make regular visits to the castle. [Unseen, of course.]

[ Jing Yuan does nod in agreement to the first statement, because he feels this is true; Yanqing's progress so far has always made him proud. It's one of the few still-bright spots in his life. Also, Solomon better ask for pics or that will be the most unforgivable thing yet. This is a threat!!

Anyway, Jing Yuan does not quite mind that Solomon indeed conjures a broom to ride upon as they move forward; though he may look kind of amused at the little display of dramatics? Even amongst the tinge of bashfulness caught in there, he can still manage that with startling ease. Don't ask how he does both at the same time.

It's a talent (?) ]

Perhaps I am simply also gauging how well you can follow along. A pity that I haven't managed to throw you in a loop for your most unforgivable line of teasing.

[ Jing Yuan says that with an easygoing tone that can, in fact, but its own form of teasing in return. Not quite in the same vein as Solomon's, though.

As it is, his golden eyes twinkle a little bit as he responds thusly: ]

...Mm, indeed. Not many would have the confidence to point out what you have. Such as it is, I wonder if I should feel offended myself.

A stalemate like that can be for the best.

[ ... ]

You know, I have a friend whose mother loves him but only sees him for the purpose with which he can serve the family. He's much happier out of their grasp.

Most unforgivable? Please, don't get me curious.

[Ah, but they're clear of the forest enough now, yes? They'll need to find some means of shelter from the wind now that the trees have grown sparse, but Solomon easily grins as he tucks the scarf tighter against his face, obscuring his nose and mouth further with a slight muffling.]

Hah! Well, don't hold back on my behalf. I've offended far greater with far less brevity. [For example: that memory Jing Yuan just saw with Solomon deciding to just make demands the king of Hell itself with foolhardy confidence and vicious followup of his words.] I've seen you on the offensive, Jing Yuan. On the battlefield, over chess... [In these mysterious intentions he has with Solomon in particular, even if they're on pause.] You hold fire behind that composure. If I'd truly angered you, there would be no need for a game of cat and mouse.

I dunno, would bein' cut out for it be a good thing?

[ Considering exactly what Kurapika is setting out to do. ]

[ Day certainly has wondered when he remembers how Robin had phrased it in the story he told before. All dreams come to an end, and Robin sounded so sure that dream of being a human was firmly in the past, now. But then again, maybe it doesn't matter when the memories remain. He lingers only for a moment before he follows Robin.

As they walk further down the hallway, the stone floor...starts to give way to a wooden one, and the walls seem to disappear. In the distance, the floor seems to lead to a stage, like the kind you'd find in a large theatre. ]

...

Of course he is. He's one of the most annoying, loud, obnoxious people I've ever met.

[ So, like, Ahito can be sure Kurapika really likes him. ]

He sticks his nose into my business too often.

[ But the reality is that he has to keep his distance from his friends back home. It's a real shame that's been impossible here. ]

Shocking, truly. The Northern representatives were picked well.

[ Kurapika stands, patting out the wrinkles in his clothes. ]

Is there anything you need? I'd be happy to grab something for you.

Edited 2024-06-06 05:45 (UTC)

[Ithaqua shakes his head.]

No need. Helpfulness has its place, but best you direct those efforts to the others who do need it. I'm the most powerful one, naturally I'm met with very little consequences.

No. People cut out for that sort of thing aren't good people.

[ He can say that without any trouble, even if it might apply to him. ]

...But I've tried to be. I've already done plenty of terrible things outside of what you just saw.

[ He smiles a little. ]

In that case, I'll leave you to enjoy your tea and coffee in silence.

[ With that, he'll head to the door. ]

Oh, and thanks for the gift you left me. I've used it well.

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thousand dreams, lotus boats upon the waters

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