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

[jokey]

[Good. It's better that he can't manage to fake a smile. Unlike Solomon, Akira has just enough strength left to throw a punch.]

Makes enough sense to me. Were you aware of that when your powers started growing?

[impacter]

[He shakes his head, a shallow motion.]

No. I didn't know anything.

I wasn't much older than you when that happened. Maybe five years your senior. I'd only had my freedom for a few years. But all I knew was that my power frightened people... and that the more that time passed, the harder it was for me to hide it around normal humans. It grew inside me faster than I knew what to do with. No matter what I looked into, I couldn't find a way to contain it, or to stop it.

Eventually, I lost control.

[jokey]

...So it wasn't really your fault, huh.

[It doesn't sound like Solomon was intentionally seeking to gather as much power as he could with no mind for the potential consequences. To cause such a calamity without ever having intended to, without knowing when or how to stop his powers from growing... Akira sighs. It would be easier if he could blame Solomon for what happened, but he can't.

With concerted effort, Akira staggers to his feet. He holds his hand out to Solomon.]

Well, it's over and done with.

[Yeah, right. There's no forgetting something so painful, so destructive. Maybe they can simply pretend this never happened.]

Let's go back.

[impacter]

...

[He takes the outstretched hand long enough to gingerly right himself to his feet, shaking out his cloak. But he pulls the hood back up, not bothering to turn to the exit.]

...I can lead you back to the entrance, or to one of the towns. But I can't go back just yet.

I'm sorry.

[jokey]

[...Ah.

It stings, as it always does. It isn't the second or even third time Solomon's rejected him, pushed him away, but it still stings as if it were the first. Akira's hand stills in the air, empty, for a long, long moment.

Eventually, he smoothly tucks it away into his pocket. Any trace of hurt in his eyes is swept away just as cleanly. The rejections never stop stinging, but he's gotten better and better at hiding how much it hurts.]

Don't say you're sorry when you're not.

[That isn't an ask. That's a demand.]

Why?

[Why can't he go back? Rather, why won't he?]

[impacter]

I am. But I will accept if you don't believe me.

[He had hoped he could have finished his work and come back immediately. But things hadn't worked out quite to plan.]

I have something I need to finish. A word I gave to someone in need that I need to see through.

Once I'm done, I will be back.

[jokey]

[Something, he says. Someone, as if it's of great import that he keep their identity a mystery. That, or he doesn't trust Akira with the details, and that would be nothing new. Akira acknowledges with nothing more than a snort, as if to say of course, because this is Solomon he's dealing with. If he wanted Akira to know the particulars, he'd tell him.]

Must be pretty important if you don't care who gets hurt in the process.

[impacter]

Are you talking about Bruno?

[We don't talk about him, Akira.]

Or are you hurt because I can't tell you specifically?

[jokey]

That's right.

[Oh, but we do talk about Bruno. It's the lack of talking about him that hurts the man, you know.]

It's not about how I feel, Solomon. I've made peace with who and what you are. What I can't accept is you letting other people suffer for your secrets.

[impacter]

Bruno will be fine, Akira. All I did was limit his ability to talk about me, so that the rest of you wouldn't follow along. It should have worn off by now.

[No need to just stand here amidst the poison. He starts up a casual enough stride to the forest exit.]

[jokey]

[Oop, wrong answer. How good are your reflexes, Solomon? Akira's been working on his sucker punch, and before Solomon can turn to leave, Akira shifts into a stance and punches him square in the face. Deserved, and surely Solomon can't disagree.]

You don't get to decide whether he's fine or not. That's not your call. You think you had a right to do what you did?

[impacter]

[The punch lands with a sickening crack, and Solomon stumbles right back down to the ground with a splatter of red and a hand pressed to his face. The pain radiates with the taste and smell of blood fresh in his senses.

He takes a second to cough, recollecting himself as his wrist smears red across his face.]

To hex him?

It's not about whether I have the right. It was better to do that than risk far more lives just because someone didn't believe my intentions.

[jokey]

[Solomon has had thousands of years to work on his bad behavior, but isn't it true what they say about age? The older people get, the more solidly they become mired in bad habits.

It's one thing to grow beyond your limits and spiral out of control. That can't be helped. It's another to act when with the knowledge that what you're doing is dangerous enough that the people who care would want to stop you. That is what Akira can't forgive.

Akira exhales a breath, shaky and labored, but it's not enough to simply punch this man. Even with such limited energy, he gladly spends it sinking his boot into Solomon's gut.]

I wonder why he didn't believe you? If you have to silence someone into keeping your dirty little secrets, then I have to question how good those intentions are.

[impacter]

[He doesn't block it quickly enough. The hit lands, and he buckles in on himself, crumpling to the ground with a grunt of pain and a choking exhale.

He doesn't respond. He can feel the charm for the poison wavering. It's best to just let it run its course. ]

[jokey]

[What could Solomon be thinking? That no answer is better than a truth Akira doesn't want to hear?

It doesn't matter much when there is no right answer, and with Solomon down, Akira holds him there beneath the heel of his boot. Sorry if he gets a little dirt in your hair, old man. It'll wash out.]

Do what you want. I know nothing I say or do will matter to you.

[Not even this will stop Solomon long enough to make a difference. No amount of anger, no amount of upset, will sway his heart. So be it. After this, Akira won't spare him another ounce of either. He'll hate himself for this later, but it doesn't matter right now. If Solomon hates him for it too, that's all the better.]

You owe Bruno an apology. A proper one. And until you give it to him, don't you dare show your face around me. Got it?

[impacter]

[He feels the press of leather and snow and dirt into his temple. The blood runs down from his nose to stain the snow, his breath labored.

There's tension across his face at what Akira implies. At the line he draws, with something he already had been planning to do once this was all over. It wasn't Bruno's fault that he stumbled onto something and made what he thought was the right decision.

He chose a lesser of two evils. And it seems that his hunter has finally found his hydra.

His body is pliant. Exhausted. His eyes drift shut.

He still doesn't respond.]

[jokey]

[Silent, even with the bruises forming and the blood spilling down his face, melting the snow beneath his cheek. The sight of him arrests Akira, shakes the breath in his lungs. How long ago was it that he lied on the cold hard ground beneath someone else's heel just like this? His mission so important that he would endure any amount of abuse to keep his secrets safe?

Back then, he would've died to protect his friends, all the people he cared about, to keep Mementos out of the hands of people who might use it to abuse and exploit the masses. He had to stay mum. He had to endure the abuse. If he didn't, countless people would have gotten hurt. No matter how people misunderstood him, villainized him, Akira would gladly suffer in silence as long as those same people would be protected through his sacrifice.

Solomon's eyes close and Akira withdraws, turning on his heel, to stagger back the way he came. The hydra's head will remain firmly on its shoulders, and Akira won't give chase when it recovers, leaving the fallen beast where it lies. There is no fairy tale ending, no moral to this story, only silence.]

[impacter]

[He stays unmoving on the snowy forest floor for a long time. Long enough to collect his emotions, to settle himself, to strengthen what fragile hold he has left on his protective charm.

Only then does he finally push himself up, frozen stiff and bloodied. He has no energy to remove what stains his clothing.

He simply conjures what sugar he can, downing it without even chewing, as he lifts his hood back up and slowly starts to leave.

No turning back now.]