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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

(more) cleanup
[ Ah, more of that in the East. This time though they really are just gonna gather it all up and burn it in a fire, huh. But that actually is much easier for Comet. It's stuff that doesn't need to be preserved or kept in good shape if it's gonna be destroyed, so.

Comet piles the scrap onto a cloth tarp and when the coast is clear all around it…

Whispering their incantation, they make a downward motion with their hand downwards to flatten it. And flatten it does, swiftly too. Think of when a person steps on a soda can. Then, they wrap up the scrap so it can be dragged along.

Feel free to offer them stuff to press! Or bother them because why do you know this magic, small one. ]

reverence
[ Fellow wizards might notice how uncomfortable Comet gets when the Northern villagers go about their tradition. They try to avoid eye contact, back up when they approach, and they'll hand off any offering kindly thrust upon them to a fellow wizard. It could be a delicious sweet or dried fish, they aren't accepting it. If they and another wizard are caught by the villagers, they're hiding right behind the other. They are short, so it's not hard. ]

ladies night
[ Comet is uh, not trying too hard.
They put their hair up with pins and wear something fluffy due to the cold. If it's cute enough to work, that's a coincidence. ]

Need help?

[ Feeling less than confident or need someone to check how the glamour is looking? They are here to do whatever.

At the actual event… You can use the magical Avrae Dice That Love Us to see if the other guests are convinced (we'll both roll and divide it by 2 for some grace). Surely, things can't go wrong! ]

wildcard/memshare
[[ if you wanna do something different with the prompts, go ahead with something! For a Comet memory, you can ask for one here, and I'll set up a personalized toplevel! ]]

Edited (consistent headers... ) 2024-05-22 22:51 (UTC)

[ Day lets Comet hide right behind him, which, again, not hard for them to do. He is so Done dealing with these villagers and it's been barely a few hours since they arrived in the North. ]

Look, we'll strengthen the barrier anyway, you don't need to give us anything.

[ ...Which doesn't actually reassure the villagers trying to give him and Comet food and furs, since they can't discern where this "generosity" is coming from. They're trying to insist in a way where it's obvious they're wondering if the offerings aren't good enough.

Day, internally: oh fuck me I guess ]

[ Suffering. They appreciate you very much, Day. ]

Maybe they can give it to us after? Then it's like a reward, I guess.

[ Read: never. The two will Book It. ]

They're bein' really insistent.

[ And, well. Day is already pretty Done with this, for all that he is usually reconciliatory. He hates the Northern cold, that this won't be the last village they'll be visiting, and he can tell Comet is very bothered by their attitude.

So maybe that why Day takes a deep breath, straightens up, and says this to the villagers: ]

What, so you presume to know what we want? [ And that makes the villagers flinch, while Day inwardly grimaces. ] We'll only take the furs. [ ONE compromise, to help ease the villagers into this. The furs are probably the one thing that might be useful to them, anyway. ] Give the rest to the next wizards who visit.

[ The villagers look at each other nervously, but in the end leave the furs for the two of them before leaving. Day just sighs. ]

[ Wow! So assertive. Comet's in awe a bit. But the leave and they are thankful.

The furs are useful though for sure... in the sense that Comet takes one and buries their face in it. ]

Dislike... worshippers. Get it... Scared of... monsters... but... Attention... Mmmph.

[ That's what can be made out of the muffled voice. ]

[ If he's allowed to, Day will reach over to pat Comet on the head, ruffling their hair a little. ]

Not the first time you've had worshippers?

Me and my mom. More my mom, but we looked like twins.

[ They have the same face and stature... Never mind the different hair and eye color. Comet just looked like a printing color error. ]

Mom is the most liked by the Gods. So then people go to her for favors and stuff.

[ Some things never change no matter where it happens, huh... ]

And I'm guessing you guys didn't really get much of a say 'bout takin' visitors?

We did not. Mom uh, can't leave the grounds either. So there's not much of an excuse unless she wasn't feeling well.

[ They were technically here before! So with that little experience under their belt, they wouldn't fall for its illusions again (with knives being tossed around). But this time it's a bit different. Toxins!

How do you feel about boats, Ahito? Because you're in one right now. There's a moonless night sky above him and below reflected in the water, lit by a single lantern... Also, he has a fellow passenger! They are curled up on the other side of this simple boat, who was napping? Somehow? ]

...

[...?!

He looks on either side of the boat, hella confused on accounts of... not having any reason to be on a boat??

It's taking him a hot minute to figure out where he was before and how he got here from there.]

What...?

[Well. Uh. He can at least check the other passenger and see who it is?]

[ It's Comet! But they definitely look different. They're dressed in way-too-big robes of pure white, and their hair is very long... enough to reach the floor and then some while they sit up. They look at Ahito, and it's up in the air if they actually see him as Ahito, the Northern-aligned wizard Comet met, or something else to fit this memory. But the smile they give is the same.

But they lean over the side of the boat into the water, making a gesture for Ahito to also look! It's a really big shadow, much bigger than the little skiff the two are on. ]

Sacrificed again, little one?

[ The voice seems to come from the shadow below. It echoes telepathically in their head as something that speaks something understandable, but to their ears, it's definitely not. But Comet is unfazed, nodding as they pet whatever's underneath the water, getting their sleeve wet. ]

[...Everything about this just grows more baffling by the moment.]

Sacrifice...? Wait, what is that?

[Trying to peer at the shadow below.]

[ The shadow helps answer that by defining its shape as it swims by. It looks like a stingray... As in a large round placemat with a long tail. It has a pair of glowing eyes , and faint spots like crescents on its back. ]

Hello, Moon God. Or are you off duty right now?

[ An echoing sigh. ]

I was on holiday, if those Moon people ever respected schedules. Then I find you floating down the river. They could at least give my sacrifice an offering to hold onto that I would actually eat.

[ Splashes unhappily. Sorry Ahito, you and Comet are gonna have to duck to avoid getting splashed. ]

...Death God, then.

[He will indeed try to duck.]

Both? Or?

[What is going on here!! He doesn't know enough about Comet to have much in the way of context to put to any of this, leaving him floundering, if not literally.]

Both.

[ He's spared from sassy pancake's mild tantrum! At least young!comet is helpful to ahito, realizing he's confused. ]

Those who gain their immortality and magic from it like my Mom's people call it the Moon God. It gets stronger from their worship and offerings. But it prefers being a god of Death, since it carries lost spirits around or takes sacrificed spirits to other gods.

[Uh...-huh.

Then...]

When it said you're a sacrifice...

[ A nod! ]

Not the first time, either.

...How does that work?

[ The Death Pancake answers for this one. ]

They try to have me devour the little one as a part pf our deal.

If it's isn't obvious, I'm not interested. They promised me someone else.

But they keep sending them instead?

[ It bobs like it's nodding in response. ]

Because they lack the magical talent or the lifespan to be ever be useful. But that can't even do the deed.

I regret it... Giving those people that magic.

...What magic?

[Hm. The hated word.]

Whatever they thought would keep them and their knowledge of magic safe. There are monsters and demons in the world below them.

And they aren't even properly sacrificing someone for it...?

[Not that anyone SHOULD actually get sacrificed, but-]

Sounds to me like they need their powers revoked.

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Reverence

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memshare for ahito!

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