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

[fellheart]

it appears the capital was(n't) spared the chaos

[ this is not his first trip to the north, so he's comfortable enough navigating the city and the villages there.

what he seems less comfortable with (or, perhaps, too comfortable with...?) is the way the villagers hold them in awe and regard, practically worshipping the ground they walk on. as the locations grow more remote, and the villagers more reverent, so too does his countenance freeze in a blank, fixed expression, a wide smile with none of his usual wry or sardonic amusement. ]

Of course ... [ he says, his face a pleasant mask, tone silken and purring. ] Fear not. I suppose your offerings are sufficient enough to warrant our favor; if you'll show us your what needs be done, we'll see what we might be able to do for you.

Mind that you keep enough to ration out for yourselves through these ... difficult times— after all, there's no telling how long our goodwill might last.

[ they cannot remain forever for these people, after all. this is, in truth, what he intends, but if the words are taken more as a veiled threat, of the possibility of them revoking their protection on a whim, then so be it.

after all, no one would claim that the fell dragon is kind. ]

id ~dilemnitynesturnpurhopinnings~

[ in addition to the usual hex for warmth and comfort he maintains on himself while in the north, a ward for clean air has been added. modified from some of the charms mages more fond of indiscriminate flame sometimes utilize, it's a faint but noticeable pull on his attention.

maybe that's why he seems uncharacteristically distracted as he searches for stones and lays the dead beasts to rest. you might be able to get surprisingly close in your approach to him (if you do indeed approach him), even, before he actually acknowledges your presence. ]

... You'd best keep your distance, and your wits about you. [ a thin smile, wan and distant. ] Surely you know what hazards this forest poses, and I've no shortage of things to feed it.

It wouldn't do for either of us to have any accidents, now.

[[ this prompt will by default be steered into a memory/dream share of some sort; you can see a(n extremely incomplete) sampler of options in my plotting post, so just hit me up on discord or in the plotting post and lmk what kind of memory you'd like! ]]

wildcard, other jobs, bring your own prompt, you know the deal

[ you do you, we all know the drill. come at me with whatever you like! ]

custom starters under here

[fellheart]

DAY

[fellheart]

[ it is, it turns out, strangely easy to lose sight of robin in the forest. perhaps it's the shock of white hair blending in with the snow, the dark clothing seeming little more than a stray shadow or trunk or bough at a great enough distance,

or perhaps it's the way the man skirts away from company like a ghost as he flits through the forest, attending to the same busywork most everyone else is. the promise of mana stones and beasts that become mana stones; it's reason enough, in the end, for robin to bother with remaining despite the threat of knowing the enchanted forest poses. that's fine. robin can minimize the risks in the little ways he can, keep to times and locations people aren't so active at, wander an eerily silent forest in the eerily cast half-light of dusk, the shadows stretching longer with every minute that passes.

perhaps that's why it's hard to immediately tell exactly when the surroundings begin to warp and shift, twilit forest melting into candlelit chambers, stone and architecture in place of wild nature. however day comes across robin, whether through happenstance or design, he'll find now that the man sucks in a breath through his teeth, shoulders squaring away as his expression grows shadowed beneath his hood. ]

[troublereduction]

[ In this case, it's happenstance. He did notice there was someone else in the forest, but he figured as long as they weren't 1) trying to harm him and 2) getting in the way of the task, it was probably fine. They'll reveal themselves whenever if they ever decide to.

...That said, imagine his surprise at finding himself "inside" when he's supposed to be in a forest. ]

Robin?

[fellheart]

[ robin glances sharply over at day when addressed, opening his mouth to respond, ]

"what are you doing?!" [ hisses robin's voice,

but it doesn't come from the man in front of him. that man only grimaces, what seems almost like an uncharacteristically hunted expression on his face, but it's fleeting, quickly schooled away into an expression of irritation because... no. absolutely not. how dare this forest.

from elsewhere in the 'room,' now identifiable as someone's personal chambers in a castle, robin's voice issues forth again from the phantom hovering at someone's bedside. "you're not supposed to be up! lie back down, chrom, before you reopen something you shouldn't and render all the healers' work useless—"

... the present robin mouths along to the reprimand word for word before folding his arms and stalking over to day, mouth a thin line. ]

... Hah. If it isn't enough to dredge up these things in the first place, it's going to have others witness them too, I see.

[ if day is watching the scene, the unfamiliar figure in the bed only groans, disoriented. then: "robin-? what did- oh gods, emm! the assassins- is she all right? what happened with the assassins?" ]

[troublereduction]

[ Oh, this is... A younger Robin, perhaps? Or, if he assumes that story wasn't just a story, the human the dragon dreamed it was? ]

Yeah, uh. Sorry 'bout that. [ Day is just along for the ride now, apparently, despite never actually having bought a ticket for it. He won't comment even as he watches, however. ]

JING YUAN

[fellheart]

[ death by airborne toxin tends to leave most of the non-magical corpses relatively intact, compared to other possible methods. predation, for one; injury from an attack in a struggle due to overlapping territory another.

still, not every one of the creatures felled by an unfortunate choice in temporary home is quite so unmarred. to that end, as robin walks the forest and collects mana stones and tends to corpses both, sometimes he'll just... pause. kneel down, nearby one of the more unfortunate seeming carcasses.

let feed a small trickle of his power into the deceased forms, even as he minds the wards maintaining both warm and clean air carefully. the method is not quite the same as he knew from his home, several missing intermediaries rendering an exact replication impossible, but he understands all the mechanisms involved, the anatomy and systems that must be preserved and how they do and don't fit together. it should not be difficult to recreate them via a magic that is, in some ways, more freeform than the systems in place whence he came.

so bones and flesh, even in varying states of decay, knit themselves back together. in one aspect, it's healing, because he's certain it will be a valuable skill to have in reserve should they be called out to deal with anything untoward. he knows life and death well, after all, and he's mentioned as such before, that he can be a capable healer if one is willing to accept the cold mercies of the north, the healing that isn't so much a surplus of life as it is a lack of death.

in another, it's ... well. you cannot properly heal the dead, cannot bring them back to life, but you can certainly do something else with them. a small wolf, whatever it is he's knelt over, eventually shambles slowly to its feet, tongue lolling out in breathless pants as robin checks over the integrity of its limbs. its eyes glow a color somewhere between ocher and red as it paces in circles for him to test the soundness of its reconstruction.

most likely, it will be in the middle of these kinds of experiments and exercises that jing yuan will come across robin in the forest of dreams, where surely nothing involving dreams or memories will happen. ]

[foresightis2020]

[ Considering the constant requests and other tasks assigned by a poor village, Jing Yuan finds himself once again in the Forest of Dreams, having come upon seeing Robin revive this wolf. To many people it'd be disconcerting and to Jing Yuan he is at least a little wary because he has to figure if its a friendly creature not attacking Robin first.

The eye color isn't exactly something that immediately gives to an easy confidence, though the vibes he can tell is that it isn't a threat after he visually assesses the situation properly. Especially since he knows Robin is essentially a strategist and would have reacted accordingly himself. ]

...Is this a familiar of yours, Robin?

[ A fair question to ask, considering everything, and it kind of looks like that since he wasn't here for the beginning of all the experiments — but in the midst of this one, sort of. ]

[fellheart]

It is not. [ said, matter of factly. ] It's simply an organic construct animated by magic that happens to still look like a living creature. Any breath or will it once possessed was long gone before I got to it.

[ though it certainly resembles a tame hound when it puts a paw into robin's hands for him to examine. he'll do so, briefly, before setting it back down and having it sprint another circle around them. ]

... convenient, though, when one wants to work on knitting together a wounded body without having to slice someone open for it.

[ because imagine how that would go down. 'hey, need to stress test and work on healing, you wanna get beat up a bit for me?' anyway.

the reanimated wolf isn't autonomous, can't move on its own without robin making it so. still, some notion of whim has him pacing it up to jing yuan, tail wagging— before a sighed gesture has the light fading from its eyes as it lowers itself down again, well and truly dead.

... faintly, though. is that the march of soldiers, baying of horses, hoofbeats of cavalry resounding somewhere in the distance around them? do some of the patches of snow now more resemble blades of yellowing grass? ]

[foresightis2020]

I see. You created one to practice on healing abilities in the event you would have to do it for someone else?

[ Too dead to truly be considered alive...is it? Simply puppeteering the corpse to act in turn? It does make him think of certain creatures potentially encountered back home, but there are obvious differences. Though enough that he keeps an eye on it still, at least somewhat still wary even for a moment if it is not going to attack.

But, Robin's motives for it are understandable, and this is not the power of the Abundance of work, even if it is inherently similar. Not that it matters much either way because it suddenly falls dead; when it did come close, tail wagging in nothing less than friendliness, he didn't find himself seeing that as a threat. It may even be docile enough for a head pat; not that it matters, since it falls dead once more.

Indeed, not the same as the Abundance after all.

In the midst of his questioning, he also does notice that he hears something, and temporarily turns his attention towards it. ]

...An illusion?

[ Mostly to himself. The way this place brings about unreal phantasms isn't an unknown or abnormality to him by now. Is there more to this sound of a marsh and the horses on the move? To the change that shifts beneath their feet even now? ]

capital

[shortleash]

( As the tides of the villagers break along the shore that is Robin, pleading for his favor, Mika is an indifferent god: he does not entertain them, he does not accept their gifts, and his displeasure is serrated should they venture too close, apologize too much. It puts them ill at ease, between Robin's potentially-ominous words and Mika's absolute displeasure, to think that they have displeased their sole means of protection.

Even when they don't speak to him, though, and only murmur amongst each other, Mika's gaze sometimes narrows sharply - only amplifying the anxiety of those humans watching him.

He has hung back after completing his work quietly, and watched Robin in his own interactions, and he does not interfere; it is only as Robin drifts away for a step from the immediate crowd that Mika steps from his post, and remarks: )

... You don't have to entertain their fantasies, you know.

[fellheart]

[ it seems one never does quite forget how to hold court. whether it's in the way of the fell god of a nation in millennia past; or the way of the mysterious plegian tactician wandering ylisse's halls, regarded with both suspicion and awe both; or the way of a distant hierophant, guiding enemy pieces and grimleal alike to where they need to fall...

robin slips into the role he has to play like it's as simple as donning another cloak. it isn't much hardship or effort to do so but for the disdain it invokes in him at the whole affair. trade one position of reverence and mixed fear and awe for another. regardless of the world, people are the same everywhere.

still, mildly and not meant to carry, as long as there's no villagers in immediate earshot: ]

Not acting as they expect causes more problems than it's worth when one wears the colors we do. They're aware of who among us might be standing in for their wayward wizards, I imagine.

[ some of them, anyway. see: the poor delegate he terrified at the ball by telling him to carry himself with some self-respect. ]

Though perhaps you might have a bit more liberty in that regard.

[shortleash]

How responsible of you.

( Though not a statement made with derision, it's not necessarily a compliment. He keeps his voice low. Though he does not indulge the villagers, he isn't here to pick a fight with them, nor torment them. Humans are rarely worth the effort. )

It's true Eastern wizards have a reputation for being unfriendly, apparently. ( Convenient excuse for him to be antisocial. ) I've heard Northerners like to torment the people. If you're worried about being in-character, why not start there?

( This does not sound like a serious suggestion, and it isn't - but it is needling at the idea: what do we owe these people, anyway? Whether or not they indulge them, the wizards are still generally doing their jobs, and surely that is the only thing that fundamentally matters. )

[fellheart]

[ even if it isn't a serious suggestion, robin responds anyway: ] Because that would take excess effort and follow-through I'm not willing to spare.

[ really, what does he look like? he has no need for their paltry riches, no care for their simple luxuries. he is the end, and while the end may be unpredictable or cruel, it hardly takes pleasure in tormenting people purely for the sake of torment itself. ]

Don't misunderstand me. I'd simply rather not be stammered at for over half a conversation as they try to understand why I'm rejecting their offerings. Worship for benediction, they understand. They're given less reason to doubt when there is a clear exchange of some sort, and we're not here to start to try to change the hundreds of years of traditions they've built up.

[ a dismantling of societal structures and norms like that would take more time than they ideally have. and even if they did, when the original northern wizards are returned to this realm— what then? if this were his world the answer would be simple.

but it is not, and so his coat flares out behind him as he begins making his way towards the perimeter, ideally closer to where the edges of the dwindling barriers might lie. he's layers more than his usual, of course, warming hex or not, but the silhouette he cuts is the same as ever. ]

... Were I to offer more freely, perhaps in the manner of the South, I imagine they'd be even more fearful, because now they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. The lives of worms are miserable enough as it is without our adding to it.

Capital

[dyingtohealyou]

[Ahito's content to let Robin do the talking - for his part, he's just trying to keep a neutral expression instead of openly grimacing at the completely unearned reverence.

His eyes do, however, flick towards Robin at the casual threat/reminder for them to preserve some of their own stock for themselves. Hmm.]

[fellheart]

[ despite the many things he can claim, being psychic isn't one of them. at least, not free telepathy with just about anyone, anyway. if you really want you can blood pact with him to change that.

digression aside, robin doesn't immediately acknowledge the side glance, instead maintains the air of a self-important, aloof god oh so generously deigning to offer their benediction for as long as it takes to for the two of them to be out of earshot. eventually, when there are no more villagers milling about: ]

If you stare too much I may grow self-conscious, you know. Surely nothing I've done or said has been that interesting?

[ what can he have done to deserve that kind of attention, hm? ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Just admiring how threatening you can make "take care of yourselves" sound.

[He would not have had that kind of grace, personally.]

[fellheart]

Hmm? I said no such thing, of course. I merely warned them to remember that even if they benefit from our aid right now, they do so only out of the goodness of our hearts ...

[ a low, humourless laugh. ]

Truly it must be miserable having to scrabble for favor so. Not all wizards would be so generous, after all, and yet they take to it so easily.

Id

[chronosynthesis]

You sound as though you are warning me off like those villagers. [Syrlya's mouth twists wryly. He had overheard some of Robin's conversation. They are... a lot, to deal with.] But you didn't jump to immediately stabbing me for approaching, so it seems we're both of sound enough mind not to have an accident we can't avoid.

Are you holding up alright out here?

[fellheart]

Fairly enough, I suppose. The modified ward I'm using was originally meant more for volcanic fumes and smoke, but airborne toxins are airborne toxins all the same.

[ unclean air you don't want to breathe in, in other words. things to be filtered out. ]

That said, have you been following me since our misadventures in the villages?

[ or did syrlya just happen to overhear some snippets of his interactions with the villagers, and then just happen to head the same way to the forest at about the same time as robin? ]

[chronosynthesis]

I did check the other direction for a while. [He jerks his thumb towards it.] I just happened to overhear you remind them to keep things for themselves instead of placing it all at our feet.

[Albeit with much harsher posturing than Syrlya would have done.]

[fellheart]

[ a shrug, dismissive. ]

I was informed previously by one of the few representatives of the north at the ball that the settlement he hailed from was worried about being able to feed themselves, what with the way things have been as of late.

[ so the fact that some of these villages are so willing to throw gifts at their feet... perhaps they wouldn't be threatened with starvation if they weren't spending so many resources and effort on buying favor. ]

And I may have somewhat terrified the man unintentionally when I told him to carry himself with some more self-respect. [ admittedly, perhaps with some posturing, but that's just how he is. the message should have been clear regardless. ] Playing into their ... traditions, saves all parties involved a greater headache.

[ the forest's illusions begin subtly, in any case; the ambient lighting dims slowly in stages. ]

id memory share

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

It won't be a problem.

[Or at least Kiryu is confident he can handle whatever comes, even with this forest's...qualities]

The sooner we get out from there the better, though.

[fellheart]

Get out...? When there is still so much to be done here?

[ so many mana stones to be collected, so many corpses to be tended to? of course, he is aware of the dangers of the forest, but... ]

I believe you misunderstand. I intend to stay for a while yet. The warning was for your sake, not mine.

[ and slowly, as it happens: the faintest tang of salt in the air for those paying attention, a phantom sensation with no source especially if one is taking care to maintain any form of protection on the air they breathe. ]

[themanwhoerasedhisname]

[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]