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

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

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!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ OOF. He's right.

But Kurapika crosses his arms. ]

That has nothing to do with my ability to stay composed here.

[ He'll be fine, even if this place is more brazen than the ones he's been to in his world. Kurapika looks around and... ah, the first shop window his eyes land on is so forward that he immediately averts his gaze. ]

[ Day's gaze follows where Kurapika is looking, and then he just laughs. ]

You kinda just proved my point, though.

They're very... forward here. Surely you understand.

[ And he's supremely uppity, you see. ]

I do, but it ain't that different from my workplace back home.

[ Is Day perhaps amused by how uppity Kurapika is? Yes. ]

[ That gets Kurapika furrowing his brows. ]

Your workplace? What do you do, exactly?

[ At this point, Day has ran out all fucks he had to give about maintaining the pretense that he doesn't work for some higher power, so: ]

Managin' destiny. Specifically destinies involvin' stuff that bring joy.

[ At least Kurapika doesn't seem too terribly taken aback, simply nodding at Day's answer. ]

Ah, that explains the blessings from your memory. And you're able to choose whoever you like to give those to?

Yeah, though I might need to answer if it ends up being flagrant abuse of my privileges. But I get a lot of leeway in how I get missions done as long as it's done.

It's a power you can only use on missions, and not as you feel like?

We can certainly use them outside of missions. It's just that actions have consequences.

[ Day, having tried to dodge his performance review once using said powers: ]

What sort of consequences does blessing someone have? [ Hmm. ] I suppose it could turn out badly should they decide to commit evil acts.

There's that. And sometimes people get filled with hubris if things seem to be goin' too well for them, y'know?

[ And they can't always predict what people will do with complete accuracy, either. ]

Mm, you're right. Though I wonder... would their hubris have a negative impact on them if they've been blessed? How foolproof is it?

Think of it this way, I can bless someone, but fate ain't ever gonna let a blessing last forever. And a person can always make a bad enough decision that being lucky ain't necessarily the same as walkin' away unscathed or unchanged.

[ Which, in so many words, is Day saying that fate can be funny and ironic like that. ]

Makes sense. Eventually, whatever is meant to happen to them will happen.

[ But that brings up something else for him... ]

Fate exists in your world, then. It doesn't in mine. We decide our own paths, though history will have naturally carved out a significant amount of it.

Well, I mean...what would you say "fate" is, Kurapika?

[ Things Day was not expecting to talk about here, but he figures Kurapika might be interested in as a nerd: what fate and destiny are to the people whose jobs are about working with them. ]

Events that are destined to occur and cannot be avoided. I suppose you could say that some greater force has predetermined an outcome.

[ To him, that's what it means. Something that cannot be controlled. ]

Yeah, that's what most people think of when it comes to fate. And it ain't entirely wrong.

[ At least in the sense that some greater force has determined outcomes. ]

In my line of work though, it's a little more complicated than that. I guess it's better to say fate's more like causality. [ ...Man, recalling when he first got this explanation during training and he couldn't wrap his head around it. ] Like, some things have fixed outcomes. Things fall down, not up. If you flip a coin and you didn't do anythin' to mess with it, like it bein' a trick coin or flippin' it a certain way to make it land one side over the other, it's always gonna be 50-50 which side it lands on. It works like that 'cause fate's already defined those possibilities. Easy enough.

But when you start involvin' beings that think and feel, it becomes more like...let's say someone makes a certain choice. Fate might define, let's say maybe three different ways it could turn out. But then sometimes more possibilities just spring up dependin' on a hundred or a thousand other different things also happenin' and how those events impact that person and their circumstances. We can kinda see those possibilities and try to nudge things along a certain way, but until they happen, they're just possibilities.

It all builds upon itself, in that case.

[ He thinks he gets it, though it really isn't the way his world works. ]

The way you've described it reminds me a bit of the butterfly effect—one small choice or incident leading to greater effects later on.

Do you always try to nudge things along? Or are you required to let some things simply happen?

[ "The butterfly effect"... A somewhat poetic way of putting it, Day would say. ]

Usually, when we get involved, it's because it's likely somethin's gonna happen that requires our intervention. Like, how to say, preventin' outside forces from interferin' with things. So yeah, sometimes we have to let some things happen and keep stuff from changin' that.

Could you provide an example of that for me?

[ He's curious, but if it's top secret... well, he understands that much. ]

A typical example is if someone gets the attention of the Fair Folk. They don't follow fate's laws and tend to have the sorta whims that don't spell anythin' good for anyone who catches their interest. Them messin' 'round with people usually ends with people...bein' warped [ (and he uses this specific phrasing because that's often literal) ], if they don't end up dead or soulless. Sorta thing that throws people's lives and destinies out of wack.

If there's a known or high risk of Fair Folk bein' involved, that's one reason we get assigned to a mission. Or sometimes one just shows up out of nowhere and suddenly we've gotta deal with that.

I see... so generally, you try to help people stay on track. I suppose if that were to happen to enough people, your world would turn chaotic.

[ Huh. It's an interesting job.

But now he's wondering— ]

How exactly does that translate to your workplace being like the pleasure district? Is it the sort of person that your job attracts?

Kinda. My division handles destinies that bring serenity, yeah? And things that bring joy can include love, the arts, and...well, a ton of vices.

[ It's one definition of "joy", anyway. ]

Our office buildin' is big pleasure-manse with all sortsa entertainment. [ So in a way, not that different from Nectar District. ]

[ Ah... he sees now. That definition of serenity makes sense, but there's one thing he's hung up on here. ]

In an office building?

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