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!
foresightis2020: (58)

[personal profile] foresightis2020 2024-04-08 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ I for one find this extremely hilarious.

Jing Yuan doesn't even get a chance to doze off before the other is upon him. Anyway the other guy might be a binch, but it's fine, as he playfully over-dramatically sighs. ]


...I did warn you, didn't I?

[ Still, that was fast... ]
Edited 2024-04-08 15:57 (UTC)
shadowkin: (009)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-08 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[Wannabe Cult Leader floating above the riffraff... of the mundane world... something something?? Maybe that's how they're supposed to be?? Come to think of it, he's never actually met one.

Cid makes a bit of a face at the line of questioning.]

I'm already using all my brains tryin' to come up with a motto myself and you wanna outsource yours?? Aren't you the leader here? Shouldn't you already have one......
specialinquisitor: (explaining)

i

[personal profile] specialinquisitor 2024-04-08 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
That is a simple answer, but I would not consider my core convictions to be overly complex. That may perhaps make it simpler for me. I serve the Empire of Mor Ardain, and as such, what more need I say than, "for Mor Ardain!"

[Satisfied with her reasoning, she tugs the grill-like brim of her hat down slightly.]
jorunna: (comet03)

Dining Hall

[personal profile] jorunna 2024-04-08 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Comet's stopping by for a quick snack but since they see the Sage and might as well prod him. ]

Hey Tatara-san, how long have you been a Sage?

[ They grabbed some books from the library in their arms, hence the question! Even one in a language they can't read... ]
positivize: (pic#17104136)

[personal profile] positivize 2024-04-08 06:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, you have to think p-- Whoa!

[Aaaand then he does that little drop, welp. She dips her broom into a slight dive, just in case she needs to attempt a catch if it actually looked like he was falling. But since he appears fine, she'll just hover at his level and look him over.]

A-Are you okay? Maybe we should have this conversation on the ground...
shadowkin: (010)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-08 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe it means you're cursed now? ... Extra cursed? That's usually what it means.

[He's helping.]
jorunna: (comet08)

New friend... Round...

[personal profile] jorunna 2024-04-08 06:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ When Yamato catches up up with Musashi, Comet was crouched at the bottom of the stairs... Having intently watched this friend's journey.

They probably look silly doing so like an audience with front row seats to the stage. It's fine. ]


He's a bit of a daredevil.
themanwhoerasedhisname: 7 (7)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Nothing I haven't done before.

[Like half of the Yakuza games are going from one end to another of the town gathering info of some sort, haha. That's going to be piece of cake -- especially because, given this is not his world, it means he won't be getting into fights with random lowlifes along the way.

Hopefully]


Is that all you'll need from me?
themanwhoerasedhisname: 9 (9)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Good. Probably means when you finally come up with something it'll be significant enough.

[Because it means Kurapika will be inspired! And if he's inspired, it'll be more meaningful for him, and that's the grand goal of this all]
shadowkin: (002)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-08 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[To be perfectly fair all of religion in Midgar is a clusterfuck so it's for the best they don't get too into the theology there. Compared to that, sudden corporate Godhood is probably more straightforward?? Cid blinks.]

Well, it's probably a sign of the times...

[Like, the chicken and the egg, or something? The world falls into chaos, and from the chaos comes (religious) order, and perhaps somewhere in the shadows the religious order is the purveyor of chaos. Super common plot thread, y'know.

But not to wander too far into the weeds...]

I'm guessing you're not talking about whichever god is messing around here watching the moon do an apocalypse... [because yeah, it wouldn't be surprising for people to be scrambling with the literal end of the world afoot] Though, you think maybe they just ran off to the beach? The previous guys, I mean.
themanwhoerasedhisname: 5 (5)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 06:51 pm (UTC)(link)
What I just get myself into.

[Kiryu alredy feels if he keeps answering, he'll lock himself into a loop of questions, somehow.

And yet, he gives an answer that doesn't end things at all:]


If you think I could be one is that why you challenged me? Because you think it'll be easier to defeat me?

[All the brain space dedicated for flying instead being full of metaphor making and understanding, increasing Leo's odds of victory]
shadowkin: (026)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-08 06:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Let's see... Where was that job board... It's either we can grab sugar from around here or we'd like, go into town for it? Maybe you can practice with a whole bunch of things. I'm pretty sure there's stuff in the kitchen.

[....... He's talking about the leftover baked stuff Tatara and who-knows-who-else left around. Clearly two-day-or-three-day-old pastries are spirit food. It's not like it's totally bad or anything, and if it's magic food it'll be fine!! He thinks.

.... It's been a while since he did any shrine or altar offerings, come to think of it...?]
themanwhoerasedhisname: (1)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
They all like it strong. Think of something that's meant to rot your teeth. This one you made doesn't pack any punch.

[Kiryu, that's a terrible direction to give]
positivize: (pic#17104058)

[personal profile] positivize 2024-04-08 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Having her space back definitely lets her regain her composure, and the fact that he's honestly just acting more like an enthusiastic kid about all this certainly helps too. Sure, the nametag is super edgy, but it's not like it's real blood, clearly he's still just going through a chuuni phase. Live your best life, Malice.

Anyways, there's a nod in response! That's fair enough, really. She'll turn to the door then, so they can walk as they talk.]


Do you usually live with someone else, then? I can see why it'd be pretty exciting to have a place for yourself if that's the case!
themanwhoerasedhisname: 8 (8)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 07:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh, it's a really cool name indeed! And he's the man who erased his name, see username, so he shouldn't be writing it...but here he is because really, everyone and their mothers recognize him even though he insists he's not Kiryu, hah]

It's my name but I shouldn't be using it. Long story.

[Real long]

Guess it doesn't matter because it's not like any of you are from where I came from.

[He'll be Kiryu here, yup]
positivize: (pic#17104058)

[personal profile] positivize 2024-04-08 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course.

[Although they've actually kind of come full circle with this conversation, huh?]

Speaking of which, do you know where the sage and the wizards were seen last before they disappeared? Or if there was anywhere they were planning to go?
themanwhoerasedhisname: 13 (13)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Exactly.

[He stops doing the finger gesturing]

Not that it matters how it looks like. It only proves we're here even though we shouldn't be.

[In a way it's a bit of a chain, Kiryu is sure, the way the world has to seal the deal. We're in this with no way out!]
positivize: (pic#17104120)

foci!

[personal profile] positivize 2024-04-08 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure "convenient" is the word I'd choose... it'd be one thing if we had a heads up before we got pulled here, but having all of this dumped on us now doesn't really make it easier.

[Sure, there are a couple potential items that come to mind, but none of them are with her, so is she just stuck playing scavenger hunt?]
impacter: (056)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-08 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Oh my god it's like being let loose in a candy store. The vagueness doesn't seem to matter to him as he eagerly starts pulling a few things out. Alien ingredients? For HIM? It must be his birthday!]

Interesting. I wonder what it is about Earth the spirits like so much. Kidnapping is hardly the way to go about it, though.

[Pan, pan, he needs a pan, hmm.]

Do you like omurice, dear Sage? I think I could make an equivalent that we could easily split. [Well. Somewhere within equivalent. Several times removed from equivalent. Eh. Details.]
dyingtohealyou: ([Serious] Are the days when)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-08 08:00 pm (UTC)(link)
-?

You're a sage and you don't even know that much?
themanwhoerasedhisname: (1)

[personal profile] themanwhoerasedhisname 2024-04-08 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh. So this is what magic is supposed to be.

[Whimsy. Kiryu takes a step back and his focus appears in his hand -- a piece of paper he treats very, very carefully. Kiryu, as usual with him, can't help but unconsciously do things with flair. This is no exception. Giving an intense glare to nobody in particular, he makes a fast, sweeping move]

Dragon of Dojima!

[And sugar pops into existence around him, sprinkling to the ground, the focus vanishes and he just glances at Yodarha]

Not too bad for a first try?

[It's easy to guess his first obstacle to solve is to not, you know, make sugar sprinkle everywhere whenever he tries to make more appear]
Edited 2024-04-08 20:05 (UTC)
1145pm: (pic#17103094)

[personal profile] 1145pm 2024-04-08 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Damn... Tatara is in awe. His eyes seem to glimmer in admiration, like a child's, when she says that. ]

Whoa...

[ A real fairytale hero? In the flesh?! ]

You're so cool, Special Inquisitor! How many other worlds have you saved?
specialinquisitor: (glare)

[personal profile] specialinquisitor 2024-04-08 08:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Helped save. [Mòrag extends a finger, making sure he has that point perfectly clear. She had been there. She had assisted. The true credit goes to all of them, but to Rex, Pyra, and Mythra most of all.] A certain person was attempting to destroy Alrest entirely. We stopped him.
1145pm: (pic#16970063)

[personal profile] 1145pm 2024-04-08 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
He isn't native, but he was here before me. [ He taps the table. ] I don't know what it was like when he arrived, but I heard his arrival was unusual. I think it tipped the older wizards off that something was going wrong?

[ He hums, lifts his tapping finger to press to his cheek in thought. ]

That's why they brought me in, or so I was told.
shortleash: (pic#17103485)

[personal profile] shortleash 2024-04-08 08:13 pm (UTC)(link)
What, so he just showed up suddenly? Or he was summoned, too?

( Crosses his arms... Leaning back in his chair... )

... I know this is preaching to the choir, but this whole situation's weird as hell. I almost feel bad for people who were in the middle of something before coming here.