promittere: (Default)
lunae calamitas mods ([personal profile] promittere) wrote in [community profile] lunaecalamitas2024-04-04 11:33 pm

if you say it's magic, then you're my wizard

WANING GIBBOUS OVERTURE
The seconds tick by, the elevator rattles. There's a soft, musical chime announcing your arrival before the elevator doors creak open, leaving you and a number of others in the courtyard of a stone manor. The manor is large, looming over the trees surrounding it, and the gardens are well maintained, rows of hedges and beds of blooming flowers as far as you can see. The doors linger open until you clear the threshold, as if waiting patiently for you. Dawdle too long and you’ll feel a gentle push, nudging you out into the yard. The doors shut with more rattles and a cheerful ding!, and if you turn to look at it there's nothing to be seen behind you but the milling strangers.

Then there's a sting, mild at first. But soon, the spot where your sage's crest is starts to burn. It's as though you have been branded, and the searing heat clings to your skin. Should you look at your crest, you'll find it glows a faint red, like the dying embers of a fire, but given enough time it will cool to black and no longer hurt.

Once the pain fades, you notice is that the air around you feels distinctly different. It's hard to say exactly what makes it different, or how. It feels brittle, but malleable. That perhaps if you said or did the right thing, you could command reality to your liking—

The wind blows, stirring leaves and flowers, and that's when you notice there are two people in the courtyard that did not emerge from the elevator like everyone else. The taller of the two looks briefly shocked, before a warm smile blots it out, while the shorter of the two looks remarkably unimpressed—for as much as you can make out his expression under the large hat he wears. He glances at the taller man, the charms that hang from his hat clinking, and crosses his arm over his chest.

The taller man nods, turns to the group, and says, "Sorry. I know you were probably in the middle of something important. But...I need you. My name is Tatara Totsuka. I'm your sage, and you are my witches and wizards."

He looks up to the moon hanging in the sky, still pale and visible despite the light of day, and lays it all out for you: a wizard under the sage's guidance is supposed to fight off the Great Calamity—the moon—when it nears. But you are not meant to carry out this task. The original sage and twenty-one wizards suddenly vanished not long ago. No one knows what happened to them, or where they are. They aren't dead. They are gone.

That you are here, that there are so many of you, that you came from different worlds, means that this is a mistake. Something, somewhere, isn't right. Yet the world has decided to claim you in a frantic attempt to keep itself together.

This world is breaking. If you don't fix this, then you'll be stuck here fighting the Calamity yourselves.

When Tatara looks back down to the rest of you, there's a smile on his face, tinged with apology. "But I think it'll be okay. We'll figure this out... Right?"

The golden light of sunset is oddly cold. It settles over you not in a welcoming embrace, but in a possessive hold. There is a sinking feeling in your gut: whatever your home was before matters no longer. Welcome to a world on the brink of destruction—let's hope it's not for good.


The day begins to draw to a close. You're given the rest of the day to process Tatara's words and to familiarize yourselves with the manor. There are plenty of empty spaces in the manor with sparse furniture where you can rest and try to unwind, and hopefully get some sleep. Everything about today might be a lot to unpack, but surely you can at least relax and prepare for the next day.

The morning starts with the sound of bells. A cacophonous racket of them, ringing in your rooms, in your head, jolting you from whatever slumber you can grasp. The source seems to be a note, unassuming if not for the way it shakes with each toll of the bells, and the noise only stops when you read it.

"Go to the courtyard," it says, and if you try to ignore it the noise returns, growing louder and louder until your vision swims and you find yourself standing in the courtyard with everyone else—and the shorter of the two men from yesterday.

"Practice starts right now," he says, looking bored and just as unimpressed as he did yesterday. The sun has barely started over the horizon—it's early, almost absurdly so. "You need to learn magic sooner instead of later, unless you want to die like miserable worms. If you do, just quit now so we can replace you with someone useful."

His explanation on magic is brief—he explains that magic is a deal struck between caster and the spirits of the world, using a meaningful word or phrase to communicate your will to the as-of-yet unseen spirits of the world, who will respond to your desires and power your magic. A focus, an object of significant meaning, will help strengthen your ties to the land and direct the magic for your spells. If you have nothing that would work as a focus right now, he says, chances are the perfect thing will find you anyways.

While he looks unhappy to do so, he emphasizes that magic—as it works here—is all tied to your emotions and your convictions, and then he assigns you a challenge for the week. He wants you to come up with your incantation—the words you'll use to cast all of your magic—as well as find or draw forward your focus, with the final task being summoning a magic broom you'll use for transportation.
Threading out magic practice and ICly discovering your characters' magic words, manifesting their foci, and summoning their broom will count as three different jobs, and will be eligible for a set of rewards each. While not technically classified as a job this time around, this is a special circumstance. When you've accomplished any of these things, please submit them to the rewards page as a job submission.

If you're having trouble coming up with a focus or incantation, think about your answers for the first and third mandatory questions on your app! Your focus of choice does not have to be in your character's inventory—if what works best for them as a focus did not come with them, then they can focus and reach across universes to bring it here with them.

JOB BOARD
You may have just gotten here, but people across the continent still need the sage's wizards to do things for them. The job board will typically have 2 - 3 requests each event that can be turned in for rewards when completed.
Sugar delivery. Confectionery shops and pharmacies put in regular orders for wizard sugar to the manor, and despite the unusual circumstances, now is no different. Wizard sugar—sugar spontaneously created through a wizard's magic—is said to have restorative properties and said to bless those that consume it, so it's no wonder it's in high demand. It also happens to be one of the first things young wizards learn to do. So once you've perfected your sugar, go deliver it to the shops in Central capital and to the Southern merchants waiting for shipment near the Central tower.

The Southern merchants, in particular, seem rather anxious to receive as much sugar as possible, as soon as possible.

WANDERER TASKS
The wizards' new mentor knows that this must be an incredibly overwhelming experience, so he has a list of things that should help break down the process of learning and understanding magic. Or that's what he says, at least, but it feels like he's trying to make things more difficult...
Nobody is going to hold your hands for you, and the best way to learn is to understand the root cause of an issue. Use that paper being left around for something actually useful and do some research on the spirits of the countries you've been tasked to represent. I'll be expecting some actual thought out papers within the week.

For the idiots who can't research to save their lives, prove you can actually manage the bare minimum. There's a spot you can't reach without magic within the manor grounds—bring me one of the trinkets you find there.

For the even bigger idiots who are overconfident, come find me and we can spar. I won't go easy on you.

TATARA ACTIVITIES
Tatara knows things are tense and uncomfortable for his new wizards, so he'll offer up a few activities each event post to help them relax if things get too tough.
We're all new here, but we'll be friends before long, I know it! There's a table in the dining room with paper, pens, markers, glitter, and pins so we can all make name tags and get to know each other better. We'll go from strangers to neighbors to besties before you know it!

Oh, you should probably get a feel of the manor, too. This IS your new home, after all! And what better way than...hide and seek?! Sounds fun, right? I'd tell you MY favorite spot to hide, but then that wouldn't be fair!

I don't know how long we're going to be here, so it probably wouldn't hurt to settle in. Grab a friend or two and head to the market in the Central capital to stock up on whatever food you like and stuff for your room. May as well get comfortable!

OOC NOTES
🌙 Welcome to Lunae Calamitas's first event post! Yer a wizard, whether you like it or not.
🌙 While not technically jobs, ICly working out your character's focus, incantation, and broom are all separately eligible for rewards. Good luck on your basics, little wizards! You'll need them...
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Please keep all your plotting on the plotting post, since not everyone uses discord or plurk.
🌙 The South will be going on their mission next week to get this party started. Keep an eye out, Southies!
annihilator: (➤ 31)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, absolutely. I didn't really value it enough before... well, anyway, point's that I get it now. An' I don't mind helpin' fight for it, 'cause vampires shouldn't have all the power. Pretty much all of 'em are assholes, anyway.

[Himself included, honestly...]
troublereduction: (day25)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-12 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
[ Almost immediately, recited from heart: ]

"Once, there was a maiden…
...who fled a shadow, in the company of a friend.
They traveled through strange places, and among strange people.
'How can you trust me,' he asked, 'with such horror behind you?'
'Love endures,' she said."

...It's called the Scripture of the Bride.
annihilator: (➤ 48)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice laughs at that and tries very, very hard not to go "whee" once they pick up speed, but the manic giggling is probably enough of an indication that he is still having a very good time. Sometimes you just like to go fast.]
annihilator: (➤ 20)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:08 am (UTC)(link)
'Course! Anyway, thanks for singin' for me! You've got a damn good voice, so I hope to hear more of it in the future!
shortleash: (pic#17103508)

[personal profile] shortleash 2024-04-12 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
( That's pretty surprising to Mika. He would've thought for sure it'd be a curiosity kills the cat situation, with just a handful of the brightest (and luckiest) surviving... but he supposes satisfaction brings them back, etc. )

You guys are pretty lucky to have your curiosity rewarded, then. Magic isn't really an easy or safe process, where I'm from.

( Whether magic is safer there or Solomon's world is overall kinder, Mika can't guess. But he knows his own home's fatality rate. )

Not that I used it. But I've seen the spoiled fruits of it.

( Rotted off the vine... )
annihilator: (➤ 05)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:09 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah! There's a... vanity? Desk with a mirror? It seems like a pretty good spot to put 'em so I can see 'em every time I enter or leave the room!
annihilator: (➤ 77)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice nods at that. Humans and their forbidden arts... They will always find a way (affectionate).]

Makes sense. Why push yourself to get stronger if you don't have'ta? Can't say I personally agree with that, but I get where they're comin' from.

My best guess is that my world's vampires ended up with Domains 'cause we had to fight against humans using magic - there ain't as many of 'em these days, but they can still kill vampires real easily; we're real weak to magic. So vampires kill humans with magic - assumin' they can't press 'em into service, anyway.
revengier: (25)

[personal profile] revengier 2024-04-12 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...Oh. He wasn't expecting something like that, and it takes him by surprise, pulls him just slightly off center as he thinks of his own friends. ]

It's a nice poem. Worthy of pulling inspiration from, in my opinion.
annihilator: (➤ 21)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
[It's fine........ It's fine.........]

I did manage to escape just before bein' pulled here, but it's still an improvement. 'Course, even just bein' in another world seems like an improvement on mine!

[He laughs at that like it's a joke. It's... not really...]
leewards: (007)

[personal profile] leewards 2024-04-12 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
And that works out for me quite well, doesn't it?

[With a flourish, Ithaqua gives him a little bow, his cape fluttering as he moves his arm.]

But I appreciate the concern.
annihilator: (➤ 15)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
Intentionally, 'least in my case. I'm not sure how all of 'em work. If it was reflexive, it probably would'a shown up sooner...

[Malice grumbles that last part before shrugging.]

But that ain't important, I've got it now an' that's what matters.
annihilator: (➤ 45)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
What's it mean?

[The incantation he means, but then Malice immediately gets distracted by the second part.]

Oh, is that sugar? For the request, yeah? Wow, two birds with one stone, nice.
annihilator: (➤ 20)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
Hah! Well, here I am, in the flesh!

[He grins, showing off sharp pointy fangs, as you'd probably expect!!]

Why was he disguisin' himself as a vampire, though?
troublereduction: (day47)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-12 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
It means "love endures".

Ain't sure if the merchants are gonna want sugar that looks like this, but it's a start. [ He holds up one that kind of looks like a square with broken corners. ]
annihilator: (➤ 40)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-12 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
Aww, that's cute.

[But anyway...!]

Well, you can probably keep tryin' an' you'll get somethin' that looks a little neater. How'd you do it, though?
shortleash: (pic#17103513)

[personal profile] shortleash 2024-04-12 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
Having a human thrall with magic sounds like a mess waiting to happen.

( Like, for the other vampires. Imagine walking into a sexy vampire castle with a metaphorical bazooka strapped to your back... )

Honestly... that sounds like the worst fork of evolution ever. ( Pretty frank. ) Vampires, where I'm from... I think, besides not needing to, there's a built-in stopper. They... we lose our feelings and emotions with time. With it goes a lot of motivation. Because it's a curse. They're arrogant, which is stupid because they lose the motivation to do anything, but they can't die. So they just exist.

( :thinking:... )

That's what makes a vampire who does scheme dangerous. ( He's vaguing Ferid rn, ) Because they have a decent amount of assets they can use... but most don't use them.

( But Malice's people (if you can call it that) don't have that same built-in obsolescence... Because they're a naturally-occurring species? And Mika's version of vampires do, because they're a curse because God Hates Him, Specifically? (and the rest of them,)

He blows an exhale through his lips. Man. This is a lot. His feelings on vampires have always been pretty straightforward, and they haven't exactly changed... but he doesn't know if he wants to think on the topic with nuance. Vampires don't deserve nuance. But man. Even after learning about other universes, he never really considered there could be alternate types of vampires. )


... This is weird.

( Very articulate... but he has no better way to put it. Getting your brain frozen at 16 doesn't make one the most articulate. )
Edited (minor grammar tweaks) 2024-04-12 05:26 (UTC)
troublereduction: (day79)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-12 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ With the look of someone who isn't sure how to feel that phrase got called "cute", considering where it came from: ]

I just thought 'bout making sugar, tried to picture it, and asked the spirits if they could help me out here. And I guess it sorta worked.
troublereduction: (day13)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-12 05:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ Day's smile softens. ]

Yeah. I tried some phrases from other poems, but it looks like this one feels right.
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] I haven't been able)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-12 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
[Waving as he departs, as if he is actually acknowledging the words (he is not).]
dyingtohealyou: ([Think] if I can't see any love songs)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-12 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
Do they work with the local governments to stay hidden? Or are their organizations strong enough to hide even from them?
shadowkin: (010)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-12 05:53 am (UTC)(link)
Be nice if we could figure out what all the times or time immemorial or whatever means in terms of our own times? Seems to me like there's people from all kinds of different times here. It's all over the place.

[And all over the time....... and time-space.

Like he said-thought before: complicated. There's almost no sense in trying to statistics this, is there. Cid gives another yawn almost as a reflex.]

Well... I guess there might be consequences if you just destroy the moon? There's usually magical effects when you mess with nature like that, too... [and this moon sounds a whole fuck of a lot more magical than anything else; even more so than whatever the blood moon was] But I guess it could also be job security. Maybe that's why they want us out of here instead of just conscripting us properly.
fellheart: (gιve мe yoυr lυng)

[personal profile] fellheart 2024-04-12 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
In more than a few ways it is not unlike some of the methods utilized in the world where I come from.

[ though one wonders if these wizards have the equivalent of the spirit charmers of distant lands past... or about how and if the practice has evolved over time.

after all, nosferatu was once considered the domain of clerics, not dark mages. but back then, magic was also paid for in blood. ]


I suppose it could be said that I have a head start?
dyingtohealyou: ([Think] if I can't see any love songs)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-12 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
Not for this world's magic. There may be some things that inherently make sense to me, but that's just because I've known about magic for most of my life.

Just be careful not to dive in too deep until you know if you can handle it.
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] that I don't forget)

1/2

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-12 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
[He immediately makes a face - looking downright offended at the suggestion.]

Wh- I'd rather die before I became a researcher like that!
chronosynthesis: (❖ Self-Deception)

[personal profile] chronosynthesis 2024-04-12 06:13 am (UTC)(link)
Hate humans? [A beat.] Well, I am familiar with the word but I don't believe we have anyone quite like your kind in Tyria. What would be the problem if I did have flesh blood?