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

[dyingtohealyou]

In the North (Memory Share, cws: implications of eye damage, needles, surgeries, and terminal illness/injury)

[Ahito can be found picking up mana stones as he comes across them, a ward already in place against the toxins. But unfortunately for him - he's a northern wizard, and this spell is one he's only recently learned to weave.

Perhaps that's why, despite the precautions, he freezes when he hears the sound of two children laughing in the distance.]

-?!

Clean-up and repairs

[He's still not a fan of magic, but, look - it does make things much more convenient when it comes to catching mini automatons with a magic grip, depositing them neatly into a floating, already opened sack.]

It's still annoying, but...

[A little less annoying... slightly... At least they can talk in this area?]

Reverence

[When he's first approached by a villager groveling for his favor, his reaction is a look of surprise quickly followed by a strained smile, a touch too bright to be real.]

The barrier? ...Sure, should be easy.

[It's... definitely a "path of least resistance to get out asap" kind of situation, but despite his best efforts that just gets the villager to glom onto him even more.

Help.]

Ladies' night



[There's a silvery-haired girl nursing a (nonalcoholic) drink as she stands near the edge of conversations, gaze distant - but listening in, for those who look sharply enough.

...Or at least, that was the plan until she was accosted by two very chattery older women who saw a young girl who clearly was too shy to make any friends and decided to take it upon themselves to fix this. Those give-away cyan eyes blink in surprise.]

Huh? Oh, uh...

[Help.]

Wildcard

[Hit me up on my plotting post and we can figure out something else!]

In the North;

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan is back here too, for better or worse.

Perhaps for worse, when he so happens to stumble upon Ahito, and hearing the sound of children laughing...? ]

...Hm, we have company?

[ A pity they aren't able to shield themselves from the affects of the toxin even if they are not afflicted adversely otherwise by it, eh? ]

[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.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Well, Jing Yuan has always had wonderful (?) timing.

But, indeed, whatever conversation they could have made is interrupted by the unhappy story viewed right before their very eyes.

...It is more than a simple story, though. It seems to be a painted picture of one's own memories.

Ahito's, to be exact. ]

...This is from your past?

[ He asks, to confirm (they're in a place where 'anything' can be seen), startled from seeing all of that himself but he is far too calm to react differently. Instead, he asks first to confirm, and while they have a quick moment of reprieve, if one can call it that. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Ahito's hands are clenched at his side, teeth grit as it finishes playing. But- still, he manages to keep his cool.

He releases a long breath, breathing in deep once more, and responds with a curt:]

...Yeah.

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. ]

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. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Gross.

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

Guess we should get started...

Clean-up

[specialinquisitor]

Take solace in knowing that we are helping others.

[She's a bit more fancy, as she uses chains that look to be made of fire to wrap up larger pieces of debris, then heave them over into a central pile. The whole thing will have to go get roasted, and she's not sure how she'll manage that, but worst-case scenario she'll just burn it all here.]

[dyingtohealyou]

Flashy.

[He doesn't feel a need to try to match the aesthetic, though. Sometimes simple is best.]

It's not the helping part I have a problem with.

[specialinquisitor]

Helping others means accounting for the ways in which they need help, and doing so without causing them further harm wherever possible.

[She can be philosophical about this. She's a soldier at heart, after all.]

[dyingtohealyou]

No, I know what "helping" means. But if people make themselves hard to help, that's their own problem.

In the North

[troublereduction]

[ Even with Day's protection charms, apparently the toxins are a little too strong. While Day's helping pick up mana stones, he also hears the same laughter. ]

Wait, why are there kids here?

[dyingtohealyou]

...I don't think those are kids...

[And for once, he hates to be right, because at that moment 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.]

[troublereduction]

[ Truly, Day doesn't get the chance to respond to Ahito before the hallucinations hit. He is finding out that even having lived with a body horror zombie-homunculus, he's not prepared for this medical horror. It's only because he has practice that he doesn't squirm.

...This is...

He stays quiet after. Saying anything feels like it'd be either too prying or tactless. ]

in the north

[jokey]

[What is it with Northern wizards and pocketing suspicious rocks? Maybe Akira should scold him, but he really doesn't feel like butting heads with yet another Northie. He and Ahito... kinda get along?? So he'd like to keep it that way.

He is, however, concerned when he sees the look on Ahito's face.]

What's wrong? Seen a ghost?

[dyingtohealyou]

[He barely spares a glance Akira's way, obviously more focused on trying to find the source of that sound.]

It's not- it shouldn't be.

[There's no way she of all people would be here-

And, in a way, he's right. She isn't. But there is an illusory boy with his parents, silvery hair and light, though otherwise normal eyes, walking into an equally illusory lab that seems to form around them to meet a robed man who promises him magic, shows him a lonely girl kept isolated in a room, her small body covered in bandaged wounds--

What plays out around them is not a happy story. But the whole while, Ahito can't seem to drag his gaze away, even knowing exactly how it ends.]

[jokey]

[...These are the phantoms that haunt Ahito's past, aren't they? If Akira didn't know the story, at least in part, he might be willing to chalk it up to the forest's hallucinogenic tendencies.

Ahito is a precious test subject. Akira knows this, and yet it angers him. Sickens him.

Akira had wanted to know what made Ahito tick, the reason why he refused to cry even for himself. Now, he realizes, he was better off not knowing.

Akira remains silent at Ahito's side for the duration of the memory. No smarmy remarks this time, and certainly no judgment. For a moment after the memory fades, Akira remains still, subdued, before turning to Ahito.]

...Do you feel responsible for what happened to her?

mems mems mems mems

[erythropoiesis]

[G'raha recognizes the boy as one of the few who came to rescue him from his untimely arrival, but as he raises a hand in greeting he sees the boy freeze up.

Distantly, he hears children laughing, and his eyes twitch as he follows the noise.]

Ahito, was it?

[dyingtohealyou]

...Yeah. Did you hear that too?

[He's way more tense than he was when they first met, that's for sure, scanning the forest for the source of the sound.]

[erythropoiesis]

[Well, there's not much point in pretending otherwise.]

Yes, I did. It sounded like... young children?

reverence

[divineth]

[Urianger's here to rescue Ahito! The bundled up Elezen steps up beside his fellow wizard, directing a gentle smile to the villager.]

Prithee, return to the warmth of thy cottage. Rest assured that we have everything under control. Thy barrier shall be restored posthaste.

Re: reverence

[dyingtohealyou]

[Thank god, Ahito's just going to let Urianger handle it because now the villagers are turning to the elf instead to ply him with words of praise and gratitude.

So, so, so many words. And also a lot of bowing and reverence. At this rate they're never actually going to get out of this almost frantic worship to actually, you know, fix the barriers.]

[divineth]

[Hydaelyn help him--

He does his absolutely best to talk the villager down, holding his hands in a calming gesture.]

I appreciate thy words, I truly do, and I intend to return this kindness. But thou must give us the space to perform our magicks.