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 youโ€™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
๐ŸŒ™ Welcome to Lunae Calamitas's first event post! Yer a wizard, whether you like it or not.
๐ŸŒ™ 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...
๐ŸŒ™ Your OOC plotting post is here! Please keep all your plotting on the plotting post, since not everyone uses discord or plurk.
๐ŸŒ™ The South will be going on their mission next week to get this party started. Keep an eye out, Southies!
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] bury my loneliness)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-19 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[Cool... the food's magical, too... he hates it.]

It's probably pretty easy to swap out proteins and veggies too, right? Lots of variety for the same dish.

[He's obviously guessing from his tone, he is not a cook.]
fullspbar: (50)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-22 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ Join the club, buddy...but food's food. ]

Stew's pretty versatile, so probably. You need to be watch it, though; not everything goes well together.

[ Not that they'd be BAD, but some combos are far better than others.

Well, since they're pretty much at town, now- ]


See if there's anything you actually wanna eat since we're already here, and add it to the pile. Might as well, not like the kitchen doesn't have enough room for it.
dyingtohealyou: ([Smile] Where you are)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-22 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
Pretty sure the doughnuts aren't gonna last, but thanks for considering it.

[Ahito, that's not what he meant and you know it.]
fullspbar: (100)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-23 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
...Seriously? We're here for groceries. You're gonna scarf a whole box of those on the way back or something?

[ That's a lot of sugar...well, whatever. He lets the exasperated noise speak for itself. ]

Well, do whatever you want, I ain't your mom. Just don't be bitching if it bites you, later.
dyingtohealyou: ([Smile] This song is my only means)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-24 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
Why not? You don't think I can?

[Ahito, that wasn't a challenge.]

Gran did most of the shopping, so I'm not going to be much help when it comes to ingredients. Buuuuut I can help you get everything back.
fullspbar: (19)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-24 10:16 am (UTC)(link)
Don't really care if you can or not.

[ Stomachache waiting to happen, but that's clearly Ahito's business, not his!! ]

As long as you're actually helping, then I don't care what else you do. [ Although, now that he's seeing these stalls up close...hm. He should ask now, while they're here. ] ...Humor me for a second. What kinda food do you eat wherever you're from.
dyingtohealyou: ([Look] The temperature of)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-25 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
[Thinking on that.]

Baby castellas, but... they don't seem to have them here. [Huge disappointment, honestly.

That's also just. Still a dessert and not, you know, a real meal.
]
fullspbar: (96)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-26 10:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ ...So this guy is for real, then. ]

I'm talking about an actual meal, idiot. Not a snack.

[ ...However.

A brief moment, before he huffs. ]


You'd need a takoyaki pan to make somethin' like that, and I doubt they have those here.
dyingtohealyou: ([Sigh] The lonely parade)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-27 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah. Sucks, 'cause they're damn good.

[What's a lad to do without his trademark snackies tbh :/]

Anyway, I don't have a strong preference when it comes to food. Gran never really made anything fancy.
fullspbar: (17)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-28 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
I don't got much of a sweet tooth. But you do you.

[ Snacks are alright here and there, but he's a voracious eater, so he'll stick to big meals. ]

Well, 's good you're not picky. Something tells me there's gonna be a big difference in types of cuisine around here...
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] my feeling of unease)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-28 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
We've got people from different worlds, apparently... who knows if there's even any overlap in dishes.

[Honestly just the whole "different worlds" part was wild enough, adding in "different tech/times," on top of that, so the thought of adjusting to completely different food is... less weird than the rest but still yet another layer of a big difference he's just got to figure out how to Be Okay with.]
fullspbar: (92)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-29 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
There is. [ That, he's confident of. ] Handful of us are Japanese, so I know that much.

[ He gets it, though. The different worlds thing is still enough to make his head hurt if he thinks about it, but he's yet to really get to know anybody yet, so the details remain unclear. Blissfully, for the moment. ]
dyingtohealyou: ([Surprise] Amid the noise of the)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-29 03:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Really?

[Huh!]

...I don't know if that's lucky or not. More people you can commiserate with, I guess.
fullspbar: (96)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-04-30 10:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ He can't act like that's a surprising reaction...part of him doubts a lot of people are asking that. Luckily, names give things away. ]

Lucky in some ways, maybe. [ Maybe. ] But makes me wonder why they're so damn fond of us. Maybe since that guy, the sage...Totsuka? He's Japanese, too.
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] I was singing to)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-01 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
Really?

[Hrm.]

Who do you know of that comes from there?
fullspbar: (6)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-05-02 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ A faint frown tugs at his lips. ]

Amano. Tsukinaga. Kurusu. 'S all I know, for now.

[ No guarantee Ahito will know who these people are, but. Y'know.

He's not sure about Mikaela, honestly- ]


dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] hope don't dry out)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-02 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
The names don't sound too unusual to me, at least.

[The kind of thing you'd hear in his world honestly.]
fullspbar: (82)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-05-03 09:52 am (UTC)(link)
Your name sounds pretty Japanese. It threw me off for a second.

[ Ahito is definitely a Japanese name, but...maybe things work difference where he's from. Or it's in another language? Who knows. ]
dyingtohealyou: ([Sweat] with memories I)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-03 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[That surprises him.]

Does it?

I wonder if the languages are similar...
fullspbar: (19)

[personal profile] fullspbar 2024-05-05 08:25 am (UTC)(link)
Could be. There's enough weird shit here, it wouldn't surprise me.

[ Seriously. After the screaming seaweed, anything is becoming possible. ]

Not that it matters, I guess. We're here, and ain't likely leaving anytime soon.
dyingtohealyou: ([Sigh] If there's a heart)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-05-05 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Don't remind me. We just got here and I'd already rather be pretty much anywhere else.