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

[fallingsand]

[ Right, right, Bruno should have anticipated he would ask that. ]

Oh, that, uh, w-well, funny thing is... um... [ Bruno can't help it. He turns his gaze down, away from Urianger. ] We. We tried. I thought we had a way to the right outcome but... but everything still fell apart and...

[ He gives his head a shake. ]

The house was crashing down around me when I found myself here, so, I don't know. I don't know what's happened yet but it doesn't look good.

[divineth]

[Ah... A heavy breath escapes Urianger. That does sound bad.]

...'Tis possible that it could not have been averted. [Which really sucks to say, but sometimes it does end up that way and you can only endeavor to minimize the damage.] I can only hope that thy family escaped unharmed. Devastating though it may be, a home can be rebuilt. Lives, however...

[He tails off and shakes his head. Bruno is older than him- he doesn't need him to tell him that.]

Not knowing the outcome, however... This cannot have rested well upon thy conscience.

[fallingsand]

But it should have been possible. The vision had two outcomes, Urianger! I... we... we thought we had it figured out...

[ But maybe they hadn't. Maybe he had misread it all. It's his fault, it's all his fault, and it will always be his fault. He seems to sink in on himself, shoulders slouching and his head bowing, thick curly bangs moving with the motion to hide his face. ]

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to stay here and not face what's happened... back home... but I love my home... and my family... and if I don't go back, they're gonna blame Mirabel and she doesn't deserve that.

[divineth]

[Before Bruno can get too lost in his emotions, Urianger leans down to place a hand on his shoulder. A small gathering of shimmering stars have formed around the pair, bringing a calming warmth with them.]

I wish I could tell thee what may have gone wrong, I truly do. I am but able to offer a word of advice: thou shouldst return, else thou comest to regret thy lack of knowing. 'Twould surely eat at thy conscious.

[Almost as if sensing the hang-ups about family, the fog begins to rolls back in, lapping at their ankles. Urianger hasn't taken notice quite yet, though.]

...Not that I do not understand thy concerns. 'Tis...not easy to confront such harsh realities.

[fallingsand]

[ Bruno looks up at the twinkling of stars that catches the corner of his eye, eyes widening a hint at the sight of them being surrounded. He even reaches out to try and touch them but, truly, they are an illusion, in some sense, but the comfort they offer is all too real. ]

...wow. [ Now that is a gorgeous spell for a job i will never level byyyye. Ah, but after that, he will return his gaze to Urianger. ] I... yeah. I know. It's not really ever the right idea to run from a problem, is it?

[ And so entrenched in his own thoughts, he, too, isn't taking note of the forest's creeping fog coming back in. ]

[divineth]

[Urianger manages a small smile when it seems like his spell did its job.]

As enticing as it may seem at our lowest...nay, it is not.

[The smile, and this moment of peace, is short-lived. The fog has thickened further, and though Urianger has finally taken notice of it, it's far too late to try to escape now.]

Bruno-- [His grip on the man's shoulder tightens.] Brace thyself.

[He barely gets his warning out before the fog completely envelopes them...and out of the deafening silence comes the distant noise of a crowd.]

[fallingsand]

[ Oh no, not again. Bruno immediately reaches for Urianger, not knowing whether or not he'll find himself alone in this vision. If the fog had separated them, however briefly, for the vision of Bruno's own all too recent past, then what about this one? ]

Urianger?

[ He asks into the fog, sounding worried and questioning even as he turns towards the sound of the distant crowd. ]

Endwalker endgame spoilers

[divineth]

[Bruno will not receive an answer, even as the fog clears into a scene unfolding before him. He finds himself in some sort of massive indoor garden, full of all sorts of foliage and stately white marble architecture. Beyond the garden is fantasy city with a projected sky and everything else needed to support life in this strange locale.

A crowd has gathered at the center of the garden, many wearing white labcoats and hailing from a variety of fantasy races. Most recognizable to Bruno would of course be the tall and pointy-eared elezen, but there are seemingly humans among this number as well, and...wait, are those little talking rabbits? They're having lively conversations with the studious folk. In the middle of all the action is Urianger, acting as a go-between for the rabbits and scientists.

As Bruno approaches the gathering, he'll find a conversation happening directly in front of him. One of the rabbits, sporting a brown coat of fur over the white of the other rabbits, is speaking to a man that could only be described as "the protagonist of many fantasy novels that Bruno may have read in his youth." Human and average-sized with short brown hair and a bit of stubble, he's clad in full paladin armor and is also observing the scene.]

"Phew! Finally, some rest." [The rabbit proclaims to the man.] "Why, I haven't spoken so much in...well, in forever!"

[Another human man walks up from behind to meet with these two, this one dressed in black and white with a snazzy coat and white hair. A gunblade is strapped to his back.]

"Lively, isn't it?" [He says.] "The town is abuzz- everyone eager to meet with our friends from the moon."

[He turns his attention to observe Urianger, who is currently recommending one of the rabbits to a group of labcoat-clad people.]

"I'm impressed. Truth be told, I struggle to tell one from another. No offense intended, of course..."

"None taken!" [The brown-furred rabbit replies.] "After you and your friends left Mare Lamentorum, we spent no small amount of time with your Urianger. Oh, the conversations we had! He told us all about Etheirys- answered our every question, no matter how trifling or trivial."

[It seems like Urianger befriended talking rabbits from the moon! Wild. The brown-furred rabbit goes on to explain how much they were able to write down about Etheirys- the world that Urianger and the others are from. Now here they are, experiencing it and its people in person.

The white-haired man looks back to Urianger with a thoughtful smile.]

"What would they think if they could see Urianger now? I daresay they'd be more than a little surprised...and impressed, no doubt."

[Sounds like Urianger has come a long way in some manner. But who might he be talking about? Friends who are no longer with them, from the sound of it. As he's reminiscing, he falls quiet and balks at the sight of a couple—a man and a woman—approaching the scene. They are of another race than the humans and elezen, very tall and broad, and also clad in lab coats.]

"Ho there!" [The man calls out to Urianger.] "Heard there was a visiting expert who we might bother with a few questions. I take it you'd be the one?"

[Urianger freezes in place at the sound of this man's voice, a look of both surprise and fright in his expression.

Whoever these two people are, Bruno gets the sense that Urianger was dreading their appearance at this event.]

[fallingsand]

[ If Bruno had considered the countries in the land of wizards to be amazing, then that thought is blown out of the water by what forms around him in what has to be one of Urianger's memories. He turns about, wide-eyed, taking in the quaint little hamlet, followed by the vast fake sky overhead. What is this beautiful place? Where...?

But the crowd does draw his attention and the people there are as fascinating as the scenery. Strange to see humans amongst so many different kinds of people, from the tall elezens to the little bunny people. He draws close to listen in, a smile crossing his face as he takes in the lively atmosphere and the friendly chatter.

He could stand here and listen like this for, well, hours, probably. It's kinder than the Northern forest, even more so than his own memories, but that feeling will be short-lived as the dread creeps in with the appearance of two new strangers.

Bruno can't figure it out, though. He turns to watch the two approach Urianger. They seem normal enough, uh, despite being... really big? But they're dressed like most of the other people here. They're not exactly out of place.

Why is Urianger afraid of them? ]

[divineth]

"Y-Yes...I am..."

[Urianger's typically calm and collected voice is absent, replaced by something small and meek. It's unlike anything Bruno has heard from him before.

As the group Bruno is standing by watches on, the white-haired man fills the other in on who these people are.]

"Wilfsunn and Bloewyda. Sharlayan's foremost researchers in the field of teleportation magick...and Moenbryda's parents."

[Upon this reveal, Bruno will inherently come to understand that they are also Urianger's adoptive parents, and Moenbryda his adoptive sister. Yet this still doesn't explain the shock and dread.

Urianger keeps his distance from them, nervously stumbling over his words as he continues.]

"It hath been some time. 'Tis... 'Tis good to see you in...good health."

[The man, Wilfsunn, answers jovially, adding a strange dissonance to the encounter.]

"Likewise, old friend! Bloewyda and I were most honored to answer the call. Never expected this reunion though, did we, dear?"

[He turns to Bloewyda, who also stands tall over Urianger. Her eyes are closed in contemplation, seemingly holding back her feelings. But once she's addressed, she immediately steps forward and raises her voice in exasperation.]

"I'll say! The nerve...sending that letter, then running off to the gods know where!"

[Urianger immediately flinches and bows his head in shame. He knew this was coming, that's why he never wanted this reunion. How was he to show his face to them after what he did? He...

...He finds himself tightly embraced by Bloewyda. Absolutely shocked, he can only stand there, unknowing what to do with this.

She lowers her voice, still tinged with anger yet on the verge of tears.]

"Do you have...any idea...how worried we were?"

[Worried...? About what?]

[fallingsand]

[ There's some heartbreaking about it all. These were the people who raised Urianger and Moenbryda, where is she? Why does it feel that there's an awful hole in his heart when he wonders?

Bruno's worried at first, but when Bloewyda pulls the elezen into a hug, he feels an inkling of relief.

Whatever happened, they aren't angry at him. Whatever Urianger must have expected, it doesn't appear to be true. ]

[divineth]

[It doesn't, and Urianger can scarcely believe it.]

"I...I'm sorry. 'Twas remiss of me...not to deliver the news in person." [He finally responds with a shaky voice. He still can't bring himself to return the embrace, not with his guilt hanging so heavily over him.] "No, 'twas more than that... 'Twas I who..."

[Before Urianger can even begin to blame himself for his family's grief, Wilfsunn interrupts.]

"Our daughter was disillusioned after Master Loisoix left her behind. The day the Scions called upon her was the happiest I'd seen her in years. She made her every choice of her own free will. No one could have ever forced her to do otherwise."

[With Moenbryda's name being spoken of in the past tense, the only natural conclusion to all of this is...]

"Don't blame yourself for her death. Celebrate her life. You know that's what she'd want."

[Indeed, some time ago, Moenbryda had lost her life. But...it was more than that. She had given her life in the pursuit of defeating the Ascians- immortal beings who sewed chaos and destruction upon Etheirys. Her death was a noble one...and Urianger hasn't stopped blaming himself for it up until this point.]

"If there is one thing we resent you for, it was that we could not be there to mourn her with you." [Bloewyda adds, tears beginning to well in her eyes as she thinks back to the letter Urianger had sent them.] "Reading the words you penned in that shaky hand... We must have cried as much for you as we did for her."

[With these words from his parents, Urianger begins to break down. He wraps his arms around Bloewyda tightly.]

"I'm sorry. I truly, truly am... I knew not what to say. Knew not how to express my feelings..." [His arms shake as much as his words. All of the grief he had bottled up begins to spill out.] "The poems and platitudes of wiser men. Musings of sadness and loss... Studied and memorized...and meaningless in the moment."

"Silly boy..." [His mother chides, gentle and loving.] "We are powerless before such grief. Even now, try as I might, the words escape me... But in our hearts, we know. We always know."

[Silence falls as the family shares a moment of quiet tears and warm embrace.]

[fallingsand]

[ And all Bruno can do is stand by and watch, sharing in that same grief and tears even though he's outside the memory itself, only looking in. He isn't sure if the memory brings tears to his eyes or his own soft heart, although he would suspect it's both.

He's glad to see Urianger with those who share in his loss, able to grieve with those closest to him, but in the same thought, he wishes whatever must have happened had never done so.

Losing someone so dear... and she must have been, this Moenbryda.

What a strange vision for the forest to offer, with so many mixed emotions. ]

[divineth]

[As the fog begins to creep back in, Bruno is treated to Wilfsunn and Bloewyda reminiscing over their children's youths- of how much effort Moenbryda put into protecting the bookish young Urianger from bullies and trying to understand him and pull him out of his shell so that he would never be lonely again.]

"And look at you now. At the center of the crowd... The reason there even is a crowd, having brought these people together. You've no idea how proud we are."

[Just that affirmation alone nearly brings Urianger to tears a second time.]

"To see the boy our daughter trusted and believed in more than anyone...grow into the man she always knew he could be.

I can see her in you, too. Feel her. She walks with you, wheresoever you go. So thank you, Urianger. For being who you are."

[Finally, it feels like everything makes sense. With tears shed, so too are his guilt and reservations. His words begin to fade with the scene, growing more distant as all turns to white.]

"I... I think...I can feel her, too... The truth...of her life. Not sorrow...but hope. And love..."

[And just like that, they're back in the forest. Urianger has returned to Bruno's side, somber and contemplative.]

'Twas a great weight lifted from my shoulders that day, yet not a day doth pass that I do not think of dearest Moenbryda.

[It feels strange to have such a heavy memory shown to another, but Urianger ultimately doesn't mind if it's Bruno.]

[fallingsand]

[ Oh, they're back here. Bruno gives a faint jump, startled when Urianger speaks again from a spot different from where he last saw him. Well, "him". ]

...ah. [ He turns towards his tall friend, looking up, his eyes still teary but he makes no effort to hide that. ] W-well, yeah? I mean, she meant so much to you, so of course she isn't far from your thoughts. You wouldn't want to forget her, right?

[divineth]

[Truthfully, it's hard for Urianger to not be a little misty-eyed too after reliving that. It's still a fresh memory, but no less poignant.

He shakes his head.]

Ne'er. And I shan't. She shall always be with me. Even here, on this distant star.

[He takes a moment to rub his eyes, then smiles down at Bruno.]

If...thou art at all curious about her or what thou didst see, I would answer thy questions. Mayhap after returning to the manor? I daresay we have earned a strong cup of tea.

[The forest has had enough fun with their memories and feelings at this point.]

[fallingsand]

Well, yeah? Who wouldn't be curious?

[ But a cup of tea in the manor over this forest sounds like a blessing at this point. He'll summon his broom — a plain bristle broom, no decorations or embellishments to be seen — to his hand. ]

C'mon. Let's get out of here. I have, like, a hundred questions.