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

[revengier]

Of course not. The kind choice would have been to not kill him at all, to not have dragged it out the way I did.

[dyingtohealyou]

There's different levels, you know. Kindness doesn't mean "innocent."

[revengier]

[ ... ]

When you put it that way... I suppose it makes sense. I can't remember the last time I would have even considered myself "innocent".

[dyingtohealyou]

Exactly.

You can still "do someone a kindness" even if the overall situation is cruel.

[revengier]

[ He sighs, shoving his hands in his coat pockets. ]

You're so annoying sometimes.

[ Because he's right. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

You can't just say that every time I'm right.

[Hehe.

That said, there's a rather out of place laughter from somewhere afar - it sounds almost like young children?]

[revengier]

[ Ugh. Kurapika rolls his eyes, about to say something, when he hears... laughter?

He frowns, looking around. ]

Do you hear that?

[dyingtohealyou]

[...His gaze turns sharp.]

...That sounds like...

[He could never mistake it - how many times had he heard those same voices in his dreams?

But as for Kurapika, he'll see for himself as a young, silvery-haired boy with light but otherwise normally colored eyes is led along by his parents to the labs. And, once there, being introduced to a robed man who promises him magic, shows him a lonely girl isolated in a room, her small body covered in bandaged wounds--

What plays out is not a happy story.]

[revengier]

[ ...Ah.

So this is the girl he couldn't save, the one he felt haunted by. It's surreal, to see the impact she had on Ahito in real time, watching all of it play out. Something tugs at him, memories of his own friend that he couldn't save.

When it vanishes, he doesn't know what to say at first. ]

...You really cared deeply for her.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He watches it play out with a solemn, though... not particularly sad expression, gaze intent on Mizuki the whole time.

It's been a while since he's seen her - ironic, since she'd haunted his nightmares for so long. And yet, now that he's finally moved past all the guilt, she's gone and more or less disappeared from his dreams.

When the memory fades and Kurapika speaks up, he responds, voice quiet:]

Someone had to.

[She had no one else. She'd been spared the immediate deaths her family had suffered, and for what?

All it meant was that she was delivered right into the hands of a callous lot who were interested only in what they could hope to gain from her. Maybe that's why she only ever spoke to Ahito, her voice so quiet it could barely be heard...

He was the only one who cared enough to listen, to stay close enough to pick up every whispered word.]

[revengier]

I know you've come to this conclusion already, but despite everything, she seemed to be happy to have you there.

[ Even if Ahito felt like he failed her in the end, that failure still came with a lot of success. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[The words get a faint smile.]

...That's what I wanted most - or, maybe second most? [Other than her recovery...]

The best times during all of that were the ones when she had something to smile about.

[When every day brought pain and uncertainty, when she fell asleep each day wondering if it would be her last...

If he could get her to smile, even with all that, he could be happy, too.]

[revengier]

That she had those moments at all... that's an accomplishment itself. Being in such a condition isn't easy, after all.

[ He stuffs his hands in his pockets. ]

I had a friend with deteriorating health as well. That was why I left the Kurta Clan at all. I wanted to find a doctor that could attend to his needs.

[ And in the end, he lost that friend too. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[It wasn't easy - her health was getting worse, and on top of that, she realized his condition was worsening, too.

But that just made every smile all the more precious, to him. A hard-won victory against all odds.

At Kurapika's words though, he thinks back-]

...Is that why you cheated the test?

[revengier]

I think my friend realized how important it was to me to go find a doctor for him, so helped me.

[ And it's why he didn't mind cheating, because it got him closer to his goal. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

He was in a position where he could?

[revengier]

Mm, he was. With enough effort, he could get around, but the condition of his legs and eyes were deteriorating by the day... so I was in a hurry to leave.

[dyingtohealyou]

[...Ah.]

...Yeah. I see what you mean.

[...Shame it didn't work out for either of them, though, now did it?]

[revengier]

Strange, isn't it?

[ He glances at Ahito. ]

We even have something like that in common, at least in a sense.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He returns the look.]

Maybe that's why we ended up partnered - two similar souls, even if we're from different worlds.

[revengier]

That's what I think as well. We share a surprising amount of things in common... it would have been a shame if we never got along, wouldn't it?

[ But they hit it off almost immediately, and for that, Kurapika is grateful. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Sometimes you hear about people who are so similar they end up conflicting with each other. Guess we lucked out there, too.

[revengier]

We did.

[ He smiles. ]

I feel lucky, you know. You really are a good friend, even if you're a jerk.

1/2

[dyingtohealyou]

Bold words from someone who took jabs at me early on, too.

2/2

[dyingtohealyou]

...Buuuut I guess you're not a bad friend, either.