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!
troublereduction: (day12)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-19 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, right. He's an aswang vampire. One thing at a time, he'll make a social call after this... ]
fullspbar: (54)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-19 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[ Looking much the worse for wear is Mr. Aragaki himself, seated on one of the further chairs to keep a wavering eye on the two in worse condition. He's missing his trademark coat, and the bundled-up red fabric that was used to staunch Tatara's bleeding is painfully familiar to those to know him- too thick to rip, unfortunately, but it was good in a pinch.

The same cannot be said for himself, one arm in his lap and the other pressed to his neck, which is littered with a bunch of small-to-medium gashes and puncture marks. There's blood soaking his hand, his shirt, even smeared up the side of his face...he's even sporting a split knuckle, upon further examination, but he seems less concerned with himself. That being said, he's looking quite a bit pale and woozy.

Shinji might try and wave you off if you approach, but he won't protest beyond that. ]
annihilator: (➤ 19)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Day is so nice and helpful. And he'll be rewarded(?) with something that almost tastes like sugar! This is very close to the actual texture and the taste is pretty good... but the aftertaste is a little weird. Maybe Malice just needs more practice?? Regardless, this is a bit like a sugar substitute rather than sugar itself, if your world has those.]

Better this time?
jorunna: (comet04)

[personal profile] jorunna 2024-04-19 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Fuck it we're picking the "out and about option" here. Because it would be true and let's fucking go.

Okay not really, they pause at the sight because that's quite a few peeps they recognize, as well as blood. ]


...

[ They roll up their sleeves. It sure is a Night, huh. They look at Mika with a straight face. ]

What happened?

[ They'd say they can heal but that can be done in some other thready-dos. They'll bother Mika for now. ]
Edited 2024-04-19 03:46 (UTC)
impacter: (103)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-19 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
There's no need to be so down on yourself.

[He pats him on that scrawny shoulder of his from where Bruno is huddled up in his chair like a mouse.]

No one out there has to know you're a seer, you know. Have you never taken a day just to be yourself?
annihilator: (➤ 67)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, no problem. C'mon!

[And back they go! Malice's room is on the first floor, so it's not like it's a very long walk or anything. Once they reach the room and Malice lets Syrlya in, you'll see that it is... very, very goth. Dim lighting, black and purple decor, and generally looks like something out of a far more gothic manor than this one. Malice's replacement arms (he has two of them, one with a giant set of claws and the other with a proper hand) are lying on the vanity, and he goes to retrieve a translucent circular gemstone from the one with the claws.]

Here ya go. Ain't all that much to look at, but it's powerful for somethin' so small.

[It's a little bigger than the size of a quarter, and the insides are almost smoke-like. It catches the light in pretty ways, but generally appears a more white-ish-purple. It doesn't seem to have any power right now, unfortunately for Malice.]
positivize: (pic#17104135)

not here (except she probably is because healing party??)

[personal profile] positivize 2024-04-19 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
[

shes so proud youre helping]
troublereduction: (day62)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-19 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
Way better. Tastes pretty close to real sugar. [ Because wizard sugar is clearly not quite the same thing as normal sugar. ] Pretty good for your second try.
lustro: (078)

ginger juice half empty

[personal profile] lustro 2024-04-19 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
[ If anyone approaches Ginger, he'll wave them away to someone who's more injured first. And honestly, he looks... fine. Ish. He has the most color in his cheeks out of everyone, despite the bloody mess at his neck, the stains around his collar. His clothes are in-tact and he doesn't have any visible defensive wounds.

He just looks tired, in all the ways.

He's the one seated closest to Tatara, slumped and scowling if the other man even dares to wake up and smile at him. Occassionally, he'll toss Yamato, Shinji, and Mika some concerned glances. ]


... Thanks for coming out.
annihilator: (➤ 14)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
[mood!!!]

Kinda crazy that it's somethin' we both have in common, but other worlds are already a wild idea!

[So he's not going to think too much about it tbh. Malice is a simple vampire.]
fellheart: (тнe only one)

also not here (except yeah he's here because healing,)

[personal profile] fellheart 2024-04-19 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
impacter: (043)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-19 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
Mika.

Again, I don't like to assume. I'd be a fool to speak for the humanity in your world.

Broad strokes are just dangerous things to use, whether you're human or not. I'm not expecting you to quench your hurt, or what you believe. I'm just asking you to be careful.

[He's not here to avoid judgement for being on humanity's side. He's put up with plenty in that regard, and he will for as long as he's cursed to live.]
dyingtohealyou: ([Serious] Then that must be)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-19 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[He will not be waved off, shades folded and put away revealing those strangely bright cyan eyes.]

You can't keep putting off healing, you know.

Let me try treating it?
annihilator: (➤ 19)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice watches, whistling lowly as Ithaqua summons his own unique version of a broom.]

Whoa, that's neat! Seems like you're real fond of nature, yeah?
jorunna: (comet06)

[personal profile] jorunna 2024-04-19 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Approaches. Beanie person all pale and bleeding doesn't scare them, if it's supposed to. Nah. ]

You're the one I see in the kitchen at night.

[ Nocturnal gang rise up. Or not, especially here. they're kind of in a State. ]

Someone should tend to your injuries too.
lustro: (106)

[personal profile] lustro 2024-04-19 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
No. His kindness is...

[ He makes a sound that's frustrated, a choking laugh. ]

... like loss. It's like heartache. Does that make sense?

[ It makes Ginger want to cry. ]
annihilator: (➤ 12)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Wow. That's. A lot.

[He's pretty sure that's not a normal human thing!!!]

I guess I kinda get it, provin' you're the strongest could mean you'd be a good leader for the family, but strength an' leadership are two different skills, so...

[So the logic isn't really holding up here!!]
mirristry: (2)

Art project

[personal profile] mirristry 2024-04-19 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
[The circle is enough to catch Phil's attention; he pauses for a moment and just watches Solomon work in silence, and while he doesn't recognize that particular pattern (nor can he read the symbols), he does have enough experience with magic to know what sorts of things diagrams like that are generally meant for.]

A transfer circle? Or something similar to that, I assume?
annihilator: (➤ 13)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah? Guess it makes sense why they picked me!

[Malice laughs at that. Between his name, his species, and his general... everything, yeah that scans. He doesn't need to question it.]

You think we'll be able to like... actually talk to 'em at some point? I dunno what I'd say to a spirit, but they sound interestin'.
annihilator: (➤ 31)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Phone...?? Well, we can deal with that later. For now...]

Nah. I'm not human, so I can't eat normal food. Any of it. All I can consume is blood.
impacter: (012)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-19 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Solomon's one of the ones immediately headed for Tatara, and though he gives a nod towards Ginger, he stays silent in concentration outside the firm repetition of his incantation.

Manu Propria.

Manu Propria.

Manu Propria.

...

The tension is building in his brow after a while, frustration aching and digging at how difficult this magic is in comparison to what he knows. But he lets it settle. Frustration won't bring the power they need.

Additional hands present at least gets some of the urgency under control. Whenever Tatara has started to get a small amount of color back, Solomon will finally raise his eyes in Ginger's direction, mouth thin.]


Ginger.

Once he's stable, you should let someone look at you, too.
lustro: (051)

[personal profile] lustro 2024-04-19 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ Uh??? ]

Are you... alive under there?

[ Well, he starts pushing the books aside anyway, trying to unearth this person. He did offer help, but he didn't expect this level of clumsiness. ]
dadsandals: (yama24)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-19 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
[ After being rudely awakened graciously healed by Joyous Day, Yamato can be found sitting up in the common room, leaning back against a wall. He looks...surprisingly fine, all things considered! Just drowsy and kind of moody. Probably from all that blood loss, let's be real.

He's making no real effort to talk to anyone. He's exhausted, has a headache, and doesn't really feel like making a big deal out of this because he's pretty overwhelmed that there's such a huge fuss over something that couldn't be helped. ... Or, well, so he thinks. He's not exactly in a great mood.

Still, if anyone's adamant enough on checking in on him, he'll just give them a little chuckle and a dismissive little wave of his hand.
]

I'm fine, so don't worry about me. The others might be worse off than I was.

[ Were they? Honestly, he has no idea. He's just talking out of his ass. ]
annihilator: (➤ 44)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
Yep.

[Got it in one...]

Though they wouldn't describe themselves that way. They're more... uppity. Noble-types, y'know? Strict adherence to whatever stupid arbitrary rules their "society" has while actin' so above it all an' everyone who isn't in their little circle.
annihilator: (➤ 12)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-19 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah? None of your incantations are workin'?

[Having a bunch of them, though... How do you remember them all??]