and i'll stay yours, no matter sunrise, nightfall

[promittere]

WAXING CRESCENT PRESTO

Things haven't been easy the past two months for the new sage's wizards, but their hard work is paying off. All twenty-five, including sage and mentor, have been personally invited to the home of the newly-appointed Lady Diane Chenon of Borda Island, located in the Western Country.

Borda Island is a popular holiday desination located off the western coast of the mainland, and as the local ruler, Lady Diane's abode is nothing less than a beautiful castle—a gorgeous piece of architecture, even if it isn't as grand as Granvelle Castle.

She invites everyone to stay for an entire weekend. But when they all arrive to their destination, they'll find that she's...absent, due to sudden business she has to attend to. No matter, though. Her staff is ready to receive you anyway, and you're given free reign over both the castle and the island.

In the castle, the staff have set out an entire feast for the crew, with all sorts of food imaginable. From large savory dishes to delectable sweets, everything is exquisite, and it's set out in a buffet style so everyone can pick and choose what they want to eat. The castle also has stunning views of the town and the western expanse of sea beyond the mainland.

Outside of the castle, the world is your oyster. Borda Island's beaches are pristine, well-maintained, with silky sand and shining blue water. While there are several other beachgoers at this time of year, the sands and seas are mostly open for the sage's wizards to lounge in as they please. If you think your water breathing magic is up to snuff, then why not go diving? There are whispers of a sunken city far off the coast (if you think you can find it!), and you may be lucky enough to run across a mermaid...

The markets aren't far from the beach, and they hold a vast array of trinkets, activities, and foods catering to every taste imaginable. What's unique about these markets is that a large section of the markets are wizard-owned, which means there are plenty of magical trinkets for sale. And that also means the native wizards are quite curious about you, the alien wizards...

Alternatively, feel free to return to the mainland to visit the Nectar District, which is not that far, all things considered. This is the wizard-only pleasure district of the Western Country, for those who wish to indulge in a bit of depravity. And it is worth visiting at least once while you're here, if at least to connect with some native wizards and learn about wizard culture. But be careful, and do be home in time for dinner—it's hard to escape a Western wizard's charms once they decide they want to play with you.

As night falls, everyone is treated to a spectacular sight. Some may have heard whispers of its arrival, some may not. Either way, the Venator meteor shower darts across the sky as dusk falls.

The meteor shower has another name among wizards—the Lineal meteor shower. Wizards live for a very, very long time, yet their pasts and experiences live on in the teachings they hand down to their apprentices. The stars, too, live a very long time, and as the meteor shower comes by every year, they trace the slight differences in time and in these relationships.

In the past, shooting stars have been considered bad omens. And though the perception of them as simply natural phenomena has become more prevalent, the superstition remains. But some see them as travelers, foreign visitors who are here to usher in a new age of change. How do you see them?

Regardless, every wizard has a memory or two closely related to the meteor shower. Take a moment to look up to the shooting stars as they color the sky, and take in the life you have now—what sort of memory are you going to make on this night, and how will you pass it on?

JOB BOARD

Rekindling. Thanks to your Northern friends' hard work, the worst of the damages have been avoided for the City of Ice. But that doesn't mean they don't need your help still.

The earthquakes left by the chimera's rampage have rattled some buildings, and they need repair. The magical blizzards also seem to have injured some people and damaged some of the stained glass decorations the townsfolk value so highly. Collect crystals from the Forest of Ice to try and replicate them, and try to put in as much protective magic as you can—they need it.

They also request a barrier that blocks magical signatures, much like the one erected around Granvelle Castle. It seems their patrons are back and comatose, and they would like to avoid any attacks by other opportunistic Northern wizards...

Theatrical assistance and celebration. The West is a country of the arts, as well as science, which means there is always some sort of production going on that needs hands and talent. One of the largest theaters in the City of Affluence is in need of help with costuming, prop manufacturing, and is holding auditions for roles in their upcoming play. Maybe now's a good time to get some good publicity for wizards? Or the promise of remuneration and a share of the profits will be enough, as anyone who helps the theater or helps draw crowds to their new play will get quite the financial compensation. And free tickets!

Those more musically inclined or prone to stage fright can also help with the theater's upcoming parade through the city. Those with no marching band experiences can play the most important instrument of all, the cymbal. Or triangle, pick your poison.

If that's still too much, there's always passing out flyers to advertise the new production.

The advent of summer. The summer solstice nears, and the City of Clouds has asked for your assistance! Their yearly summer solstice celebration is coming up and they need help preparing for the festival. Their usual magical muscle is unfortunately still out of commission, so they've turned to the current sage's wizards for assistance. They need help building sets for their dances and music, setting up magical illusions and lights for the main event, and clearing the land where they'll have the food and activity stalls. This may not be as grand in caliber as your previous jobs, but at this point, it may be best to begin building regular goodwill among the natives of this world. Who knows if it may end up being your home...

G'RAHA TASKS

I've heard that some wizards have found that they're capable of a unique sort of spell with another wizard around them, and that those spells can be quite powerful. While I've yet to see any for myself, I've been doing some digging to see if I can understand where it comes from and how it might be replicable. To that end, I think it may be fun to host some sort of gathering where people can try out spells with their comrades and see what happens...?

(OOC Note: This is basically G'raha sanctioned speed-dating, so go wild with this!)

TATARA ACTIVITIES

You know what the best way to bond is? Food! We should have a huge potluck feast one day—everyone make one dish they consider to be their specialty, and we'll have them all out for dinner one day in the dining hall! Don't miss it! I expect all of you to be there!

I really want to fill out my sage tome. I haven't gotten everyone so far, so I'm relying on your trusty submissions! If you could please write down what you like, what you don't like, what you're good at, and what you're bad at and then leave your papers in a stack on a library table, I'd be ever grateful! Thank you~

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your fifth and final (?) event! Sick of sand yet? Have some more!
🌙 Everyone made AC and that's dope, actually. Thank you all so much for sticking with us!!! We're in the home stretch. Things may be low key right now, but do you think you're ready for what's to come?
🌙 A quick reminder of the deadline for submitting your pair guesses: Friday, June 14, 11:59 PM. There's still time to guess!
🌙 We'll also be closing the rewards page on Wednesday, June 19, 11:59 PM. That's your last chance to get your random items, and your last chance to get your mission rewards. Don't miss out!
🌙 Don't forget, your OOC plotting post is here! Please be sure to use this post, since not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
🌙 Our last group to go on their mission will be West. Don't fuck it up, Westies!

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[dyingtohealyou]

[He pauses, eyes narrowing. The threat to leave might have been more of a bluff than anything else.]

If you didn't always take so long to get to the point, it wouldn't matter how much patience I have or not.

What are you asking about?

[impacter]

I lost the privilege to speak my mind bluntly with you a while ago, Ahito. If I do not explain myself, you won't believe me. If I take too much time, you deem it a waste and unimportant. You can't have it both ways, and yet you expect me to find a third one.

[It's a bit colder than he'd like, the fraying edges of his exhaustion. But he simply exhales, a hand pinched to the bridge of his nose.]

Are you aware of the wizard known as Oz?

There is a village associated with him in the North. I need a group to come with me to check on the people there later this week.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Tch. This is just... annoying. So annoying, in ways he's certainly not about to put word to.]

I heard you loud and clear - repeatedly, under the honesty charm - during the party.

[He can't deny the fact that the old bastard cares anymore, as much as he'd love to.]

Just get to the point and let me make my choice. You can trot out the explanations after I know what the hell it is I'm even supposed to be doing.

[Nevermind that he's also annoyed he's even entertaining helping to begin with. Ugh!!

Still, once Solomon mentions the actual task, he settles back fully in his perch, crossing his arms.]

...Yeah, I know of him. [And where he is right this moment, though he's not about to mention that while in Western lands.] Sounds simple enough.

[impacter]

[Honestly, that doesn't fill him with any sort of comfort. The more he spoke at the bar, the more irritated Ahito looked. Perhaps no amount of honesty could recover this.]

This is not a situation where I'm going to lead with what I want you to do. I have done that with absolutely no one else, and I will not make an exception.

[...]

You've told me before that you would keep your focus on the people. Is that still correct?

[dyingtohealyou]

There's other people involved this time?

[Huh... Wonder who else he's pulling in.]

...I'll help the people of the North, at least. I have some standards.

[He's not about to go out of his way for anyone he deems to be causing needless suffering, human or not.]

If it's another group, I'll need more details.

[impacter]

Yes. A group of five has already gone out the end of last week at my request, and I would like another group to go with me directly now that I'm mostly fit to walk again. Nothing complicated, but I am not in any state or mood to babysit people who don't give a damn.

Which is why I'm only asking some of you.

[...]

Are you aware Oz's castle lights have been restored?

[dyingtohealyou]

[Lips forming a hard line for a moment. But eventually:]

Can't say I've been paying much attention to the castle. I was mostly out in the forest.

Why?

[impacter]

Oz's castle acted as a scarecrow of sorts to other wizards in that area. Given his power, his presence meant either he would scare any others off, or those that were too foolish would have to face the magic that protected his castle even when he wasn't present.

When he vanished with the other wizards of Central, his protective magics vanished, and so did the lights. And even after Central's mission succeeded and their wizards were brought back, those lights didn't return.

The representative I spoke to at the ball shared most of this with me. They had fear of Central retaliation, as well as avalanches from the mountain, attacks from beasts, and wizards wanting to slide in to Oz's territory. So I told them to call on us, when they felt they were genuinely growing fearful.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He absorbs it all, looking out from his perch in the tree rather than down at Solomon. After a moment:]

When did the lights return?

[impacter]

When I broke in and turned them back on.

[dyingtohealyou]

...That why you were gone in the leadup to the chimera?

[All because he went to turn some lights on, of all things?

Not that Ahito's one to assume it was a simple matter, but... all this secrecy, all this sneaking, and for what?]

[impacter]

Partially.

I wasn't so stupid as to think restoring a failsafe would be easy or without consequence. So I stayed with them and helped rebuild their homes while we braced for retaliation. Going up against Oz took every drop of magic I had, so I left for the Forest of Dreams once a day to collect whatever I could find for stones and watch for the movements of anyone or anything magical that wasn't the rest of you.

[dyingtohealyou]

And that's why you were already in bad shape for the fight.

[Goddammit grandpa.]

Did your little brush with death remind you there's other people here who are capable of helping, too?

[impacter]

More or less.

[It's quiet, his head leaning back against the trunk of the tree.]

With tensions as high as they were, it felt easier to let the rest of you think what you would of me, than to bring along people who may very well be spiteful to myself or to the people. The village didn't deserve that.

I've just.. forgotten, I suppose. How fragile being mortal feels.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Just letting out the longest sigh.]

And in your arrogance, you almost died and left them to fend for themselves anyway.

[impacter]

Hah. Maybe. But they always would need to fend for themselves. Even when I was there, that wasn't really my job, even if they wanted it to be. Not outside where magic made everything truly unfair.

People don't need a defender, or a controller, or to be anything besides what they are. They just need each other, and the freedom to decide what to do.

Whether I live or die doesn't change that. I just want to give them a little more sufficiency before our time is up. If I'd died... well, that's more a final embarrassing wound to my own prideful sham of a legacy than it is a reflection of the people who keep trying regardless.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He gives a soft snort.]

Some legacy.

[But there's no real bite to it anymore. Not like the many other times, where his voice immediately turned to steel, twisted and coated in venom.]

...So? What's the actual task?

[impacter]

[Some legacy, indeed. But that was fine. He's had more than enough time to resign to being an idea more than a person in the eyes of the masses.]

Charity.

Checking the castle's grounds, the village borders. Repairing what needs an extra hand, organizing rations if they're low. Tending to the injured and the sick. Fending off the beasts that have strayed too close if needed, and restoring deterrents if not.

Speaking with them in the only ways they know how to be heard.

[A chuckle, tired.]

You would need to put up with me, of course. Malice wishes to come, as do Yamato and Comet.

But I do not have the word from them as I do from you. So even if I have to babysit the rest of them... I would like to have someone along whom I trust to do the right thing with a compassionate heart.

[dyingtohealyou]

[He gives a slight huff.]

That's a pretty tame group. You really expect me of all people to be better behaved than them?

[Even when it's not a metter of menacing people, he's been the troublemaking type far longer than not.]

...Still, should be doable.

[impacter]

At the moment? Yes.

Malice is kind, but he doesn't come from the perspective of what is important to people specifically. Comet is helpful and resourceful, but perhaps bleeds their heart too freely without thinking things through. And Yamato doubts and worries enough that I wonder how he might fare if things turn too dire.

[They're good people. But there is a reason they are attending with him, and not independently of him. His care for these people runs deep, enough to not want to scar them with clueless or malicious intent from someone using his name.]

Mm. I can give you time to think over it. With or without, I leave by the end of the week.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Mmmmrrrghh...]

...I was probably going to check up there anyway, so I might as well be around when everyone else is. It'll be more efficient that way.

[Tsun.]

[impacter]

[Oh. Is that agreement he hears? Coated in begrudging excuses, sure, but!]

Hahah. Whatever works. I can plan to expect your company, so long as you don't follow in an old fool's footsteps to go off on your own.

Thank you.

[dyingtohealyou]

I'm not doing it for you.

[Tsun. ...But also true: he isn't.]

Maybe you should get a couple more brushes with death after all. Get back in the mindset of us lowly mortals.

[Remember what it's like, living knowing that one day you will die.]

[impacter]

I'd be very disappointed if you were. [Good answer.]

Hah. Put me in my place or something like that, I guess?

I used to be. Mortal, that is. An accident robbed me of that a long time ago, though.

[dyingtohealyou]

Knock you back down on our level again. I can't stand high-and-mighty types.

[That kind of attitude always leads to the worst of the worst, as far as he's concerned. And didn't it already, in Solomon's own past?]

...How do you become immortal on accident?