let the magic take control, it's there wherever you go

[promittere]

CADENZA DI FIRST QUARTER

On this bright and sunny morning, Sage Tatara and Mentor G'raha call a meeting. It's mandatory.

Once every wizard is gathered in the lounge, Tatara settles into one of the plush armchairs, clearly too big for him, but absent is any of his silly expressions that might make light of the difference in size here. Instead, with a serious hue in his coral eyes and neatly pressed lilac dress shirt, he looks like he means business.

"Now that the Western wizards are back, we need to share what we've learned with each other. I know some of you have been sharing information privately amongst yourselves, but I think it's time we put all the pieces we have together.

"Everyone encountered a moon stone on their missions, and I think the general consensus is that neutralizing these stones brings the old wizards back physically, somehow. But we haven't received any reports of any of them waking up yet."

That isn't to mention the sage, who still remains missing...ostensibly. They'll get to that in a second.

"If there's anything else you've learned that you think might be related to these things, or to our situation specifically, then speak up now."

For a summary of everything discussed in the meeting, please see this comment. Thank you Mauyn!

When the conversation dies down, Tatara raises his hand to get his attention back on him and G'raha again.

"For the second order of business, I have good news and bad news."

His tone and expression are lighter this time.

"The good news is that we've found a ritual that can send everyone back. There are details we can work out in the meanwhile, especially if you've decided not to go back to your home world, but for now, we need to talk about the ritual itself.

"In order for the ritual to work, we will need rare materials from all over the world. I'll be posting the materials on the job board so you know where to look."

G'raha adds, "We'll need these materials by next week, before the full moon. There's a reason for that, but we'll touch on that in a moment."

Tatara glances at him and nods.

"The ritual is far too powerful for any of us to perform, so we'll have to wait until the old wizards wake up. But...I have a feeling we might be able to do something about that."

When Tatara stands, G'raha follows suit.

"There's one last thing I need to show you."

With a silent gesture, Tatara makes for the door of the lounge and expects everyone to follow. Yes, everyone.

Sage and mentor then lead everyone down the winding corridors of the manor, past an indiscreet door into a wing of the building that has remained relatively untouched. The lights here are off, but the chandeliers and sconces quietly flick on as they make their way down the dust-laden corridors.

Soon, all will notice that the halls they walk through are a mirror image of the residential section of the manor, except it seems no one has lived here for quite a while.

You're led up the stairs, where Tatara and G'raha stop before a door that is a mirror location to Tatara's room on the second floor. A faint energy pulses from inside, one belonging to a person unfamiliar to all.

After an exchanged glance, Tatara pushes open the door and G'raha steps inside. He gestures to the sight at the center of the room: there, on his knees, is a young man. His face is frozen, twisted in panic—in fact, all of him is frozen, and his image practically see-through, just scarcely flickering on the razor-thin edge of existence. He holds his fist high above his head, as though clinging, with dear life, to five faint ethereal threads—yellow, purple, blue, pink, and green—that float in the air above his head. The threads are just as faint as he is, fading before they reach the walls.

"This is the previous sage," Tatara says. "He appeared here a little before the Western wizards returned from their mission. I'm guessing whatever they did to the last moon fragment is related."

G'raha nods. "The sage's soul seems incomplete. Putting him back together may be the key to waking him, and the rest of the wizards, up. However—" he pauses, reaching to gently run a finger over the purple thread. It flickers faintly. "The energy in these threads is too faint to see where they lead. They do seem to grow in strength as we get closer to the full moon, though. It's likely we'll see what lies at the end of them when the time comes, next week."

"Next week," Tatara repeats. G'raha steps out of the room, and Tatara closes the door behind him. "We'll wake him up next week.

"But before that, we have materials to collect."

JOB BOARD

An important note for these tasks is that they are time sensitive. At least one completed thread of each material must be submitted before 11:59 AM EDT, June 22 for the gathering of the materials to be considered successful. Now's the time to coordinate and work together.

Water from the Lost Oasis. Mesa was once a great city of commerce in the southern part of the Central country...the part of the country that is now a vast desert. The city was once lost to the sands, and though it is said to have recently emerged from its sandy grave, it is still rather difficult to find in the desert. It is very easy to get lost, even on broom, so be careful.

Either way, your task is to collect a bottle-ful of water from this barren oasis. Your only choices may be to commune with the spirits to have them to show you a phantasm of what the bustling city was like in its heyday, before it was destroyed, or to brute force dig your way to the ground water. Why here, when there are other oases in the desert? This is an ancient place of power, and the land is special.

The Central spirits here are very old and very picky—Northern wizards beware, as your presence may not be entirely welcome. Acting out may cause the spirits to lash out and cause sandstorms.

The Frozen Oz Root. Named after the world's most powerful wizard, the Oz flower is a brilliant crimson and deathly poisonous. It grows in the vast snowy plains of the North, but it is said to be exceedingly rare, despite how the color of the flower stands out so starkly against the white of the snow. Finding it will not be easy and you will need sharp, tireless eyes.

Despite how beautiful the flower is, that is not what we need. All of the flower's poison is housed in its roots, and we need the poison. However, the most important thing is that the roots remain frozen. Do not let it thaw. Once it thaws, the poison loses the quality we need for the ritual.

A Storm in a Bottle. It's the fickle quality of the spirits in the Valley of Storms that cause the eponymous storms. They're shy and sensitive, a lot like the Eastern wizards themselves, and don't require a lot of prodding to elicit any sort of reaction from them. Your job is to agitate the spirits in the valley just enough to cause a storm, and to catch that storm, lightning and thunder and rain and all, in a bottle for use in the ritual. Western wizards in particular will have an easy time stressing them out, but be careful not to push the sensitive spirits too far—the valley is also known as the Valley of the Lost for a reason (don't get trapped, please come home!).

In contrast, if you accidentally make the spirits happy, they might take the form of cats instead... Which is nice, but the manor isn't exactly aching for more cats. Just don't get too distracted playing with them if this happens, okay?

Blood of the Last Monster. The Western military and word on the street will tell you that all of the magical monsters in the West have been slain, their mana stones harvested. But is that true, when there has been no word of the death of the mythical tarasque? The legend of the tarasque tells of a large, ancient beast with six bear paws for legs and a massive turtle shell on its back, who slumbers in the depths of a remote ravine among the mountains on the Western Country's northern border. You are to collect a vial of this ancient creature's blood. Nothing more, nothing less.

Be careful not to wake it, and be careful not to kill it. If awakened, there's no telling if anyone would be able to stop a creature of that size and caliber. And if killed, its mana stones would attract all the wrong kind of attention. Besides, doesn't the West still deserve to keep some of its native fauna, magical or otherwise?

Pestilence Frog Mucus. Though once a plague-ridden bog, the Swamp of Pestilence is now home to a thriving, diverse, and healthy ecosystem. It's now also home to a very rare type of frog, its stunning green, yellow, and blue stripes eye-catching and attractive. However, this frog only emerges from the depths of the bog on a clear twilight after a day of rain in the rainy season...except the Southern rainy season isn't for another few months yet. You don't exactly have the time to wait until then, do you? You'll have to figure out a way to trick the frog into thinking it's the rainy season to lure it out, or dig it out by force... Either way, you'll need at least a vial's worth of this frog's mucus. Make sure the swamp water (or rain water, for that matter) doesn't contaminate it.

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your final final mingle! It's time to share info and get down to business.
🌙 How do you feel about the bonds you've forged thus far? Was it all worth it?
🌙 Pair guesses are now closed! Thank you and congratulations to all who found their pair!
🌙 A reminder that rewards close at 11:59 PM EDT, June 19, and that includes mission rewards. If you have not submitted rewards for your mission participation yet, then now's your last chance!
🌙 Speaking of time limits, if you missed it above, all materials must be submitted before the finale for the gathering to be considered a success. Plan your time and your threads wisely.
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here. Please note that this plotting post doubles as the sign-up for the finale and final encounter. Read it over carefully and fill out the form if you'd like to die play.
🌙 Speaking of, what do you think is happening next week...?

» NAVIGATION

Comments

[foresightis2020]

[ Some people are just ready for the worst... ]

Such as it being a result from an attack. Not due to us, but because of the force of another country entirely.

It stands to reason that we would be essentially road blocks to those looking to achieve certain goals, such as getting their hands on Oz, at the very least. And other insidious...plots.

[ Conquering other countries, etc. ]

The West itself seems a likely source.

[fallingsand]

[ But why... ]

If they go after us, though, who's going to stop the calamity? Do they just not care about that?

[foresightis2020]

[ He will impart a wry smile. ]

There could be a number of reasons, including that they think they're powerful enough to stop the calamity.

Or can find wizards that will follow their orders.

[ But those are only the few. He can't really know... ]

[fallingsand]

Considering how the wizards here seem to be, uh, it's... probably not the latter...

[ Wizards? Follow orders? Please. ]

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan remembers talk about some of the OG wizards summoned here and looks faintly amused. ]

...Whatever the case, I can't say for sure that I know what they're thinking, but they clearly do not seem to believe we are necessary anymore.

[ Which is something he thinks he can say with certainty with the current developments. ]

Not that I believe will end well for them. Their underestimation of our prowess will be their undoing.

[fellheart]

People who once looked to someone or something for protection can be quite quick to turn on them when they think that protection is no longer needed.

Whether that confidence is warranted or not, who can say.

[fallingsand]

[ Bruno sure doesn't like the sound of any of that. :( ]

[fellheart]

[ why no he doesn't have personal experience with this, thank you for not asking ]

[1145pm]

[ Okay, that's a possibility that Tatara wasn't considering but it alarms him nonetheless. When he hears Jing Yuan mention this, he stands up.

Also because time is fake— ]

Regardless if the fire is a mistake or an attack, that Bruno keeps seeing it has to be significant somehow.

[ That's not what he's worried about, however. ]

That means we should find a way to protect the previous sage. He seems vulnerable in the state he's in right now. And... [ He purses his lips as he pauses. ] I have a feeling we'll really be stuck here fighting the moon for good if something happens to him. I think the previous wizards being comatose is related, somehow.

[ It's not a coincidence they're all technically unconscious in some manner or another, right? ]

[fellheart]

... we can't interact with or move him at the moment, correct? Because if that's the case then we can't just abandon the manor...

[ hm. ]

[1145pm]

[ Nope. Totally see-through and incorporeal. ]

We should at least keep a few people back at the manor to keep an eye on him, just in case we're ever called away for a group outing again.

[ Sucks for whoever might miss out on the next beach vacay but it's a necessary sacrifice. ]

[fellheart]

Barriers, enchantments ... I wonder if we can disconnect the space he's in from the rest of the manor, actually.

[ just store him in a pocket dimension where the fire can't reach, ]

Who are you thinking to leave behind in such a situation?

[troublereduction]

We can't exactly just move him, can we?

...Wonder if we can put an enchantment or seal to protect the room he's in.

[foresightis2020]

An enchantment or seal...it'd have to be rather powerful, at the least.

[ Jing Yuan thinking of the weapons available to their enemies, so he thinks it'd be good to be reinforced. ]

[troublereduction]

If a bunch of us work together and maybe we spill a bit of blood if we have to, I think we might be able to come up with something that'll hold for as long as we need it to.

[mirristry]

If... I regain my ability to use my magic, I could likely handle something like that. Seals are the specialty of Eastern wizards, and combined with my own knowledge of magic, I should be able to manage something that would be difficult to undo.

[1145pm]

[ Shakes his head. ]

That'd probably be the best idea.

[revengier]

I think so.

[ He crosses his arms. ]

It might be worthwhile trying to find a way to wake the previous sage at some point. But in the meantime, do you think magical barriers would be effective?

[1145pm]

The full moon, like G'raha said. [ He nods. ] We should be able to see where the threads go under the light of the full moon, and those might tell us how to wake him up.

[ NOT THAT HE LIKES THE IDEA OF THE FULL MOON AT THIS POINT... ]

But yeah. A barrier or something to keep any theoretical fires out. That'd probably be the best.

[revengier]

Is that something we'll simply need to follow?

[ He'll be prepared to do that, in any case... it's just like following the trail of someone's aura, for him. ]

We may want to equip the barrier with a tripwire of some sorts. Something that will notify several of us that the barrier has been tampered with. Ideally, one person on each floor of the manor or from each country would know.

[leewards]

Magical barriers again? [Ithaqua tilts his head back over his backrest and looks as if he's ready to turn into a puddle.]

Ugh.

[impacter]

Mm. Maybe that would explain the threads. [don't mind him he's just having a Think]

Do you think their fates are all intertwined that deeply with their Sage?

[1145pm]

[ Nodnod... That they're colored to the countries and grow stronger the closer they get to the full moon feels like it explains a lot (he doesn't know exactly what Solomon is talking about). ]

I do. Their fates are deeply intertwined together, and their sage is like the keystone to their weird little family.

[ He thinks back on the previous sage, and he sighs, because that relationship feels right in ways he can't really describe. ]

He's a great sage—better than I could ever be. [ He smiles, because it's true. ] I think he was meant to take on this role.

[foresightis2020]

[ Jing Yuan gives a nod to this; now these are certainly words that he feels are certainly warranted.

Considering the circumstances, he wouldn't be surprised that it'd be possible the previous sage could be in danger in the event of an attack. ]

Mm. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a correlation since those wizards were under his purview.

...Therefore, yes, I agree that we should find a way; at least by some kind of protective spell.

[ Or, well, what Day has suggested, to start with. ]

[1145pm]

[ nodnod ]

For now, at least until we can figure out what those threads are.

[ So, a little less than a week. ]