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

[foresightis2020]

[ Oh, he certainly understands that much.

The sentiment, funnily enough, is familiar to himself that he also finds it hardly all that unreasonable. Perhaps, even though it may still sting, that can be what drives Ahito forward. ]

Those who have moved on would certainly indeed be upset with us to find if we had ourselves too mired in the past to advance.

Though, it is far easier for people to become far too trapped in knowing what they have lost to the point where they no longer see what is before them. I can acknowledge that you are not among those who'd be as much...even if I was not sure if that initially happened to be the case.

[dyingtohealyou]

...It took a while to realize it. But - once I did, it felt obvious.

Besides, Mizuki doesn't deserve to be remembered that way.

[Guilt made manifest, haunting his every step, cursing him for his failure - how could he have thought of her like that for so long? It's almost embarrassing how blind he'd been.]

[foresightis2020]

I see.

All too common grief can hold one down, or simply the remembrance of those who have passed in the worst of ways. In retrospect, I can only imagine Baiheng would wish to be remembered for her brighter days as well.

[ The grieving process is, at times, simultaneously complicated and simple at the same time. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

...

Got any good stories of her, then?

[He's willing to listen.]

[foresightis2020]

...

[ Now, at that, Jing Yuan smiles even if he's surprised.

But, it's kind of a pleasant one. ]

Yes. You may not call it pleasant, perhaps, but there were a few amusing aspects surrounding her.

Baiheng had a knack for predicting how things would go whenever she rode upon her starskiff, though it was generally inauspicious, and she constantly crashed them to the point where she received the title "Starskiff Killer". Though now that I think about it, if she knew I was telling you this, she would've likely been a little cross with me.

[ But, Jing Yuan doesn't seem unhappy to talk about it. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[...

Headtilt.]

Starskiff?

[foresightis2020]

[ Oh, right.

Jing Yuan forgets the technology disparity and sometimes certain aspects of different world hurdles that may elude others. ]

Oh, right, many here probably haven't heard of it before.

It's something like a ship that takes to the air, rather than the water — have you heard of such things before?

[dyingtohealyou]

...Airplane?

[Is a thing he's heard of









from other people here,,]

[foresightis2020]

[ He pauses at that. He probably hasn't...heard of an airplane. ]

...I assume that is another flying vehicle.

[ They don't have normal 'airplanes' on the Xianzhou Alliance. ]

Do you know what it looks like, for comparison's sake?

[dyingtohealyou]

From Kurapika's world, yeah. We don't have anything that flies... We only recently got trains in the capital.

[So that would be a no.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Womp womp...

A pity trains have just came into style, but he can roll with it. Kind of? ]

Hmm, I suppose then I'd ask you to imagine a boat that can take to the sky. But with wings.

Those who pilot these vehicles are also beholden to traffic laws. And they are not exactly inexpensive.

[dyingtohealyou]

Traffic laws...?

[They have trains not cars,]

But... I think I get the gist of it.

[foresightis2020]

Yes, traffic laws.

...Are you unfamiliar with those as well?

[ Help, but he will nod at the rest. ]

But, very well. Shall we begin to head back? The Forest definitely seems to be active in the most unfortunate of ways this time.

[dyingtohealyou]

Probably a good idea.

[Unless another memory were to come for Ahito haha... unless?]

[foresightis2020]

[ If another memory is upon them from Ahito's side...well, why not, right? ]

Then, I shall lead the way.

[ Jing Yuan will turn and begin to make his way back. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Ahito's quick to follow - quicker, when he starts to hear the chattering of what sounds like a large group of people. Maybe teens, based on the pitch of voice?

Maybe if they go fast enough the memories can't catch them...]

[foresightis2020]

[ The sound of chattering catches Jing Yuan's attention; it isn't something he an ignore even if he figures by now that it'd be something potentially also unreal. But, it does make him curious enough to see more from where those sounds have come from.

Even if he sees no reason to say as much a lot. A bit too late for that and the intention seems to be evading more of these rather than succumb. ]

...More, then.

[ Will moving along at a quicker pace be fast enough, however? ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Evidently not, because the voices grow closer, and eventually they're in a quiet part of a city where a bunch of teens wear a similar uniform to Ahito's, albeit with white robes. There is, in fact, another Ahito - this one the same age as the real one - seemingly teasing a small girl in green robes who is supposed to be leading the students on a field trip.]

...Oh, this one.

[Ahito sighs, but like - in a lot of ways, at least it's not as bad as the previous one?

It does however mean the scenery's going to be doing a lot of changing around them as it follows the group on a fun little adventure.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Eventually they are indeed. But, wait...

Ah, well. There's nothing can be done once they're caught in a memory; and he watches it all from beginning to end.

It's mostly not so bad, but he isn't going to forget about that monster because hello?? ]

It appears that you had quite a lively group as your classmates.

...And that a certain group caused other issues with their so-called experiments.

[dyingtohealyou]

It's what magic users do. Experiment and gather research for their data - no matter the cost.

[To themselves, and the people around them.

Bastards.]

[foresightis2020]

What a terrible cost it is indeed, to have wrought something like this.

[ Though he certainly doesn't believe this effects all magic users. Mayhaps just the ones in Ahito's world. ]

...Your class seems also more lively than I could have ever imagined.

[dyingtohealyou]

-Oh yeah? Why, what gives you that impression?

[foresightis2020]

Their unique personalities.

[ A wry little smile at that; he's counting everybody there. ]

I had no idea that there were varying talents as well.

[ That girl with so much firepower...help... ]

[dyingtohealyou]

...Oh, wait, do you mean the homunculus girl? Shiiko?

[Shiiraasan - he refuses to say it correctly.]

[foresightis2020]

[ Help.

He assumes Shiiko is a nickname, so...he gestures for them to keep walking, but as he does so, he continues speaking. ]

Yes, her.

What is the story behind her, exactly?