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lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
promittere) wrote in lunaecalamitas2024-05-18 12:19 pm
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...
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.
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...
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.
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?
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[ Because it's not enough that Akira's passenger ripped it open for him and made sleep difficult for a while, it seems.
As they approach, they can see a somewhat younger Day standing on the stage, closer to a teenager than whatever maturity he has now. What follows is a hallucination more like a fever dream, or the kind of experience where you think you might be going insane because surely that's what going on instead of divine interference. It's vivid and intense, enough that for a moment you could almost believe destiny has come for you too.
The real Day is simply going to freeze up, one hand gripping his arm tight as if the pain will ground him as an old wound is opened again. ]
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the flow of battle has always made itself known to him at a glance, possibilities playing out in mind's eye from every brief appraisal of a new opponent or enemy force. things that others would not so readily see, and the responsibility of navigating through them to the end with as few casualties as possible taken.
(no more scenes like these, not again, he won't let this happen again if he can help it.)
but now, the weight of all that and more, fate and creation spinning out in all directions around them while also being unmoored, torn away from any stable foundation and set adrift to be so utterly alone ...
(and day thought to comment on how young they were.)
not a choice but a role unceremoniously thrust into. the stage is set, the actors chosen and gathered. go on. play out your assigned fates until the very end. apotheosis is not so easy a thing, is it?
at some point during the younger day's run, robin's gazes fixes itself instead on the one following him. only once the scene has progressed to the point that the younger day is finally addressed by someone aware of his existence does he speak. ]
... Destiny, it seems, is kind to no one when it comes for them.
[ (and in the midst of all that ... a name? was this current one chosen for him as well, or ...?)
addressed directly to the one who even now has to try to hold onto himself, as if even now he has to ground himself in the here and now: ]
Will you be able to continue to walk on your own?
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...Yeah. Just...give me a moment.
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he would not want pity. pity does nothing to change what is and what isn't. pity implies the one offering it takes solace in the fact that they, at least, can count their blessings, that they are better off than the one who is so pitiable.
as such, he will not offer it to day, either.
perhaps subconsciously, though, his magic feeds into the hexes he's been maintaining. the subtle hint of desert heat, incongruous with castle, forest, and stage alike unfurls briefly into a few stray gusts of arid and warm air. ]
... I am the Wings of Despair. I am the Breath of Ruin. I am the inevitable end of all things, the one who awaits.
I am the Fell Dragon, Grima.
[ he'd said his name was robin, back at the beginning of all this. at this point, though, continuing to pretend the story was just a story does everyone involved a disservice. ]
A name for a name, as this forest seems to care not for what will and won't be spoken.
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...And then Robin says all that, and some things click into place for him. Ah, so this is why Day couldn't help but feel that Robin, for all he reminded Day of his colleagues in the Division of Endings, also struck him as someone who'd be an enemy of fate in the right (or wrong?) circumstance. ]
...So the story wasn't just a story.
[ Stating the obvious, but the point still stands. ]
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[ unfortunately not. ]
... Would you still rather be addressed as you have been, Joyous Day?
[ is being called 'moss' akin to tearing open this old wound again, taunting him with what cannot be, another life cut abruptly short?
is it a name better buried, or simply listened to with longing for what isn't, and never will be anymore? ]
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Yeah. Day's 'bout as real a name as the one I was given, by now. [ And perhaps surprisingly, he seems okay with it. He doesn't want to simply give "Moss" to anyone, because it represents a part of his life he can't really have again, but these days it feels less like a painful reminder and more something that just is. ] It'd be kinda awkward to use anythin' else by now.
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[ the little lost princess didn't decide to call herself 'marth' on a whim, after all.
but if that's the reasoning day wants to give he'll allow it. ]
Day it is, then. [ ... ] How are you faring?
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[ There's a wry, but fond smile. ]
I think I wanna keep that.
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...I think I'll be okay. Ain't the first time this ridiculous world's made me relive that day.
[ ... ]
You still want me to call you "Robin"?
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[ he has never disclaimed it, and none were ever able to take it from him. not here, nor in another, distant sky. ]
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Robin it is, then. [ ... ] You doin' okay too? [ Which he asks only because, well, these two memories have been some kind of ride. ]
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[ watching it play out was almost like watching a different person entirely, even if he can pull up the echoes of it from somewhere in his heart.
only almost, though, for better or for worse. ]
As for the other one ... Finding oneself so abruptly alone is quite the experience, isn't it?
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Day won't say anything about that, because he knows his comments wouldn't be particularly welcome or productive right now. ]
...Yeah. Wouldn't wish it on anyone.
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(but not so, surely, in a past that once was.) ]
... A pity, then, that what anyone actually wishes for can mean very little in the face of fate sometimes, isn't it?
We all have our parts to play... [ quiet, musing. none of the dramatics this kind of speech usually entails. ] And yet, you were the one who said something before, weren't you? About whether acceptance might not be the same as resignation, in the end.
[ it is not a confession. he cannot. he cannot revoke or go back on what he is, what he's done. to shirk responsibility for something like that— because who was robin if not someone who takes the responsibility for the everyone else's well being upon himself? who was robin if not someone who once cared for others more than himself? who was robin, if not defined by the bonds once he built with others? the ones that lie shattered beyond repair now?
to run away from or forget that— surely that would be a betrayal of himself strong enough for the spirits to strip of his magic on the spot. ]
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...I did say that, yeah. [ In a moment of cynicism, but one that has crossed his mind often enough that he can't say it isn't sincere, either. ] I guess 'fore I came here, I didn't think I'd have much outside the job, either.
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[ is that so. ]
And you think differently now?
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[ He'll let Robin decide if that means he thinks differently now. ]
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resignation or acceptance, was it. ]
... I see. It affects all but the ones who came for you, then?
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