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

[leewards]

That shan't be our problem, once it happens.

[Which is why Ithaqua is not fussing too hard. Why should he care, when all is said and done?]

[dyingtohealyou]

...It's just annoying. Putting in all this work just so someone else can come back and play at being god again.

[That's... one way of putting it.]

[leewards]

You're concerned about them? Hm? [Ithaqua can hear that past all of the huffing and puffing.]

[dyingtohealyou]

More like I'd take regular humans over magic users playing god any day.

[His least favorite type of magic user and yet so, so common.]

[leewards]

[Why not just kill all, then... Oh well.]

Oh, no, I would rather just abandon all.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Shrugging - for all he knows, humans kickstarted the apocalypse in Itha's world, too. But as for his own take:]

Normal humans aren't great either, but magic users are the ones using people as fuel for their experiments just so they can toss them aside once they're spent.

At least I know how to deal with normal humans.

[leewards]

[Ithaqua has to give a snort.]

And yet humans band together against a single wizard or witch who is attempting to go peacefully, and torture them to madness. [Both sides are terrible?

Of course. Magic civilization is exhausting, he thinks. Though the human one is much worse.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[There's an audible pause as he processes that. It's unexpected - or maybe that's his own bias, when there's clearly so much distrust of magic in this world alone.

Is this another area where his world is the odd one out?]

That's the sort of thing that happens in your world?

[leewards]

Is that so surprising. [Ithaqua gives a theatrical shrug.]

Humans hate that is what is different, and if they hate something, they often seek to remove it.

[dyingtohealyou]

It's just different in my world, I guess.

Magic users aren't revered, but they're respected - the talent for magic is uncommon, but there's still plenty of people who study it in schools supported by the royal family itself.

...Besides, that, the country's relied on magic for military strength, too. The power that comes from having magic users on your side is indisputable.

[Though it's clear from his tone he finds it all distasteful.]

[leewards]

[Ithaqua has to give a snort. He's not very impressed-- solely because Ahito makes it seem like most magic users are only respected if they use their powers for the benefit of their country, which is distasteful in itself.]

And here we are, being hated but indispensable. [And being used as private guards, almost.]

I would rather Tatara send us out on missions without having to deal with the humans.

[dyingtohealyou]

Maybe we'll be able to dodge it... It's not like there's many people up here to talk to anyway.

[He'd be down, if only so they stop groveling at him. Gross.]

[leewards]

Let's take this mission slowly, then, and not need to be exposed to them so soon.

[dyingtohealyou]

...If it bothers you so much, I can put in the report afterwards.

[leewards]

[What is he, a coward? Ithaqua shakes his head.]

No, I shall be there.

[dyingtohealyou]

...It's really not that big of a deal, you know...

[leewards]

No, I shall definitely be with you. [Stubborn, now. He has pride, thank you.]

[dyingtohealyou]

If you say so...

So. Barrier?

[leewards]

Yes, yes.

[He cricks his neck.]

I've much experience with barriers now, thankfully.

[dyingtohealyou]

Because of the castle, the North, or some other thing?

[Still, he casts out his senses for the magic of the barrier - begins channeling his own power into it, to strengthen and repair it.]

[leewards]

Mostly because of the castle. [There's a slight tinge of disgust as he says that.] The sage tasked me with building that barrier after I took your advice to report to him of my findings.

So I did-- after much research. I know more about barriers than I would like now.

[dyingtohealyou]

Hah. Put you to work, huh?

If it makes you feel any better, he hounded me on the info I got, too.

[leewards]

[Ithaqua makes an irritated noise. Of course he did.]

Surprisingly sneaky, isn't he? He acts lazy, but then becomes quite persistent when he decides we've discovered something.

[Which is annoying! Tatara is incapable of just being straightforward.

Ithaqua catches himself, and redirects his energy from being annoyed at the sage to focusing on making the barrier as pure and strong as can be.]

[dyingtohealyou]

I was shocked he was doing his job for once.

[And annoyed that it meant he had to do his job of reporting to Tatara for once...

His own magic wavers at the feeling, and he pauses to actually like, focus again instead of getting distracted by Ugh, Our Sage.]

[leewards]

He does his job solely to annoy us.

[At least Ithaqua has gathered himself enough to hold the barrier while Ahito reorients himself.] Here, let's do enough if a job that he won't be annoying us about it in the future.