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: (➤ 79)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
[.................oh boy.]

Look, I don't mind huntin'. But that could cause problems for people here, yeah? So how exactly are we handlin' that?

[do... do you want him just to go wild on the humans in this world. he totally will. but like.]
dyingtohealyou: ([Look] long night with)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-07 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[...Hmmm...]

Does it impact your health to use?
annihilator: (➤ 76)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice nods, as he does not know a single thing about sweets. Sounds legit!]

So you seein' any others you wanna try 'round here?
discomposer: (ᴋᴀɴ'ɪᴄʜɪ sʜɪᴍᴏғᴜsᴀ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
One of my friends! He makes great sweets!

[ They look like death traps but they taste great! ]
discomposer: sᴀʀᴀsᴀʀᴀ𝟹sᴏ𝟸@ᴛᴡɪᴛᴛᴇʀ (ᴀᴍʏ ʙᴇᴀᴄʜ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
Mmmmrgh! If I don't get this stanza down, it'll die! You'll have murdered it!

[ Kurapika is looking into his future...can he truly trust this man to stay on task for an errand?

Hint: HE CANNOT ]
revengier: (35)

[personal profile] revengier 2024-04-07 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
It depends. It can, if you place conditions on yourself that effect your health.

[ Definitely not something Kurapika would do! No, never! ]
impacter: (090)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-07 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Pff.]

I'm not sure why you're asking me. This WAS supposed to be a week-long assignment.

Will you sleep the rest of the week?
shadowkin: (012)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-07 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah? Makes it look like you've got two different-colored eyes now.

[He really hopes his eye isn't glowing. Heterochromia is way too flashy for every day life. You're supposed to save it for special occasions and gothic protagonists? Antagonists? Whatever.

He squints, trying to see the crest closer. He could just get up, but he's enjoying the shade, really.]
annihilator: (➤ 45)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Catch! He fumbles it a bit because his depth perception is hell, but he manages it in the end!!]

Do me a favor an' grab a few black ones as well! Oh, an' red!

[The edgy colors. You gotta understand his aesthetic, Yamato.

Anyway, Malice sets to work on a nametag! His handwriting is a little sloppy, but you can clearly read that his name is MALICE, in all caps because of course it is.]
annihilator: (➤ 56)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Pew pew!!]

Huh, yeah makes sense. Humans don't heal all that fast from shit like that.

[Here you go, you can have your gun back! As much as he wants one, he will not steal yours.]

Good call, 'cause I totally would've. These things sure are fun, wish I had 'em where I came from.
discomposer: (ʜɪᴋᴀʀɪ ᴏ̄ᴇ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
We~ell, I don't know the latin terms - which everyone seems to be using? - but something like..."shining faith"? Or "judgement time". Or...well, I know a few phrases! Like "amor musicae". Or - I saw this one once, "Ubi verba falluntur, ibi musica loquitur". But that's a bit wordy!

[ He probably wants something snappy. ]

What about you?
troublereduction: (day63)

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-07 01:56 am (UTC)(link)
[ Okay, that gets a laugh from him. ]

Point taken. But let's try not to go too high. Be pretty awkward if any of us broke a leg when it ain't even been a week yet.
revengier: (22)

[personal profile] revengier 2024-04-07 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
So, you'd hate it if I stole your paper and ripped it up?

[ Because he just might—

No, actually... he's irritated, but he ends up sitting on the ground right next to Leo. He'll wait. It's fine. ]
annihilator: (➤ 58)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
[what is latin... he just doesn't know...]

Those all sound pretty damn cool. Dunno what those last two mean, but you're probably right that it's a bit too long. Ya want somethin' you can use pretty easily, yeah?

[As for himself, Malice inclines his head, thinking.]

Honestly? Not sure. I'm not great with words to begin with. I just sorta say whatever I'm thinkin', ya know? [zero brain to mouth filter...] So I've been tryin' that, but nothin's stuck so far.
discomposer: (ᴊᴏʜᴀɴɴ sᴇʙᴀsᴛɪᴀɴ ʙᴀᴄʜ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 02:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Leo's writing music, if Kurapika recognizes that...which he should because he's brilliant. He's also humming something annoyingly catchy as he does. Probably what he's writing? ]

♪~♪~♪
revengier: (31)

[personal profile] revengier 2024-04-07 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ He does, thankfully! Sometimes being a huge nerd pays off, because he knows a little bit of music theory, though certainly not enough to decipher everything that Leo is writing.

What he does know, however, is that that tune is going to be stuck in his head. ]


Finished?
discomposer: (sᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ ᴋᴜᴡᴀʙᴀʀᴀ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
Hm~! It feels like we're not thinking of it the right way. It's the "meaningful" part that's getting me...? I mean, the things I say that matter the "most" to me are things I'd like to keep saying normally? Which, wouldn't that be a bit bad to have as an incantation? I think you'd want the incantation to be something you won't say on accident or anything?

[ ?? He's...TRYING to think about it seriously. Ish. ]
annihilator: (➤ 34)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
So... Somethin' important, but not somethin' you say all the time. Maybe turnin' it into some kinda short-ish phrase?

[Though what would work for that... Malice runs his hand back through his hair with a sigh.]

You'd think this'd be easier... You got any ideas?
fallingsand: (27;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2024-04-07 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ Easy for you to say, Ahito, you just dropped hints of heavy trauma on a poor old stranger. He's like... kid, are you okay? Do you need help? Blink twice if yes? ]

I mean, all the books in here are written by, like, past sages, so? We could probably find out but... You don't think anyone picked for this would do stuff like that, do you? Aren't we s'posed to be helping?
shadowkin: (Default)

disarmed & deniced

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-07 02:12 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, it's the inexplicably American dude who looks like he'd be the rogue in a JRPG party. And that's not just because of his missing arm or the extremely purple hair. Cid isn't that good at remembering people but it's kind of hard to forget this one!

(Actually everybody here is fairly memorable, it's kind of off-putting. He does not like this party business. But that's neither here nor there.)

It looks like purple fellow is about to get more memorable because now he has a disembodied arm flopping about. Cid pokes his head in, raises his eyebrows, and then narrows his eyes.]

Huh? How'd you get an arm so fast?
annihilator: (➤ 15)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-07 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Wow, called out immediately.......]

Huh? It's mine. From back home.

[He gestures with his good arm - there's actually a second metal arm on the table there too! This one has a proper hand unlike the other one. So he technically has three arms, I guess.]

But it ain't workin', so it's totally useless here.
impacter: (008)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-07 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
Art Project
[For the first few days, Solomon flits from person to person in conversation, buried in a book in the library or taking a stack to his room on Floor 3. Always watching, but never quite doing much.

After a few days, anyone walking through the courtyard late in the evening will catch the spry young man humming to himself as he experimentally traces out something onto the stone around him with blackened ash from the kitchen stoves, operating by candlelight. He stops occasionally to adjust letters, to clean up lines, a cheerfully relaxed expression on his face as though he's a child with chalk. Though he was seen with a purple jacket on the second day, he still doesn't seem to be wearing it out and about.

He will wave to anyone that passes by before continuing with his work, seemingly unbothered.]


A Spoonful
[What better way to test making sugar out of magic than in the kitchen?

Relatedly: there's smoke coming from the kitchen. This seems fine. Is smoke supposed to be that color? Who knows.]


TASKS/WILDCARD
[Solomon can be found in the library, the kitchen, the bar, the markets, or on Floor 3. If you'd like to tackle a specific task, just hit me up on plotting or on discord! I will mostly be tagging out whenever possible.]
dadsandals: (yama25)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-07 02:18 am (UTC)(link)
[ This is a lot to take in. He's not so used to strangers talking to him like this, but then again, he's never met anyone who's going through an apocalypse, so you know.

Yamato doesn't quite know what to say at first as some bitterness starts stewing when he thinks about the possibility of his current issues being trivialized. Like always, though, he pushes it down, because he's not dumb enough to say that his problems are worse than living in a world with nothing in it.

So, he just ends up smiling softly. He won't apologize or display any kind of pity. It's probably not what the guy wants.
]

I guess you're right. It could be worse.

[ Which is true. ]

Well, what's going on right now can't be helped, no? I'll just have to adapt.
shadowkin: (Default)

iii. checklist checklist ginger is working hard

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-07 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
That's what they call magic stuff, right? Magical lore and... or was that religious stuff?

[Of course that piques Cid's interest -- meta recognizes meta, after all, even if he makes sure not to show it! He's very busy right now pretending to be a normal person who is definitely not on his third isekai from Japan. They're both doing great. This is going to be such a truthful conversation.

He plays off his initial interest by putting on his dumbest face, because that one usually works out.]

I kind of feel like I'm being asked to join some new religion or a cult or something...? That happens a lot back home. New cults springing up, I mean. [scratching his head] So I don't know how much of the history is accurate.

Still, I'm not much of a fighter either, so I think either way they've got the wrong people...
discomposer: (ɢɪᴜsᴇᴘᴘᴇ ᴠᴇʀᴅɪ)

[personal profile] discomposer 2024-04-07 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
Yep~! This song was safely born!

[ ...WAS THIS THE TIME FOR THAT? No. But the dice spoke... ]