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lunaecalamitas2024-04-04 11:33 pm
promittere) wrote in 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.
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.
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.
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!
no subject
Right? But also, you're lucky that window didn't break. I'm not saying I wouldn't back you up, but it'd totally be your fault.
[An accessory to the crime? No way. Akira would run.]
Anyway, those pellets aren't lethal, but you'll leave a nasty bruise if you hit someone just right with one. That's why I told you not to shoot me.
no subject
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.
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[Sussy phrasing... Akira takes his gun back and tucks it into his coat. May the gun gods bless you with one of your own, Malice.]
What are you, some kind of cryptid?
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[Say it ain't so! Akira's seen stranger creatures, so he's willing to take his word for it. If it turns out later that Malice is pulling his leg, he'll reintroduce him to his airsoft gun.]
Cryptids are like monsters and animals rumored to exist, but no one really knows for sure. For the most part, it's all BS.
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[That one does not exist in his world and now he just looks very, very confused. But anyway...]
Yeah? So are vampires cryptids where you're from? 'Cause it sounds like you've got a pretty weird idea of 'em.
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[Not to be confused with Akira, who is not in fact an edgy teen, but a clown in a teenager's clothing.]
There's a few different vampire legends. Some can be killed with silver bullets, others with a stake to the heart. The lame ones sparkle in the sun. [...] How much of that is BS?
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Dunno what a bullet is or what silver has to do with anythin'. Anythin' sharp enough to the heart'll kill us, sure. An' most of us can't even go out in the sun to begin with, so I'm not sure why they'd be sparklin' in it?
[Notably, Malice himself has been out in the sunlight here without bursting into flames, but he greatly prefers to stick to the shadows or be around at night.]
So most of that's crap. But I'm not surprised; humans tend to get really weird ideas of what vampires are like even where I'm from. They like to think we can all turn into smoke. Or bats? Only a few of us can do that.
no subject
[And he regrets every minute wasted reading Twilight, but that's neither here nor there.]
Harboring misconceptions is just what humans do. Some people are gonna believe what they want about you no matter how well they know you. I'm not saying vampires get a bad rap, but if you ask most people, they'd put them in the category of monsters and fiends.
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[He says it with a grin, but it's not a particularly nice one. Vampires suck, Akira. Except him, obviously.]
But I don't blame humans for not havin' us all figured out, we're a pretty weird bunch to begin with. 'Sides, it's pretty fun to see what kinds of things y'all come up with for us!
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Nothing wrong with an air of mystery. Everything's more exciting when you've only got bits and pieces to go off.
[But some questions just beg to be asked, like this one—]
You need to drink blood to survive, right? Are you going to resort to sucking on cows if no one here is willing to be your blood bank?
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[He laughs at his own joke(?)... And yes, Tatara's nickname is now Tara, that's just how it goes.]
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[Sure, vampires are usually associated with bats in media, but why not man's best friend: the humble house cat?]
I'll admit, I'm kind of curious. If you bite me, do I get sick vampire powers too?
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[whoops, that's what he meant. he does not have the power to turn into a cat, sadly.]
Nah, that ain't how it works.
[A brief pause and then he adds:] 'Least where I come from, it ain't. Though sounds like not all vampires work like that? So.
[Mikaela's vampires are So Much.]
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Noooo feeding on cats. If you get that desperate, Totsuka's got you.
[But does that mean he'll be feeding on Totsuka instead...? Kinky. Anyway,]
I've read some stories where a vampire can turn you into their pet just by biting you. That upgrades them to some sort of super vampire, or something. I'm always happy to help, but I won't be anyone's slave.
no subject
Alright, alright, I won't.
[But it's that second part that has his attention, and he snaps his fingers like he's just remembered something.]
Oh, thralls! I'll be honest, I've got no damn idea how those work. I'm guessin' it's a Domain thing? But it's not super common, where I'm from. Most humans that work for vampires do so 'cause they've got no choice, but they've still got their free will.
Even if I could do that shit, I wouldn't. 'Specially not to anyone here! We're supposed to be workin' together, yeah?
[Don't worry, he thinks the whole thing is awful too, why would you do that to a human?? Humans are great because of their personalities and free will!! Smh.]
no subject
You're a real one. But I figured vampires would be like humans: give them a taste of power and they'll go mad trying to get more of it. You say the people working for vampires have no choice, so isn't that the same as having no freedom?
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[He rubs the back of his head as he tries to work out how to explain it.]
They've got the ability to choose to rebel, does that help? Many humans don't wanna 'cause they're scared of what'll happen if they do. But most of 'em still have their free will, so if they wanna fight, they can.
That's just sorta the way things work in Sveryn. Vampires hold all'a the power an' humans do what they say. So yeah, you're damn right. Vampires love power just as much as humans, an' they've taken over... but there are those humans who are willin' to fight back.
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That's what I figured. I'm not lumping you in with the control freaks, but wherever there's a power imbalance, there are people who will stop at nothing to exploit it.
[And that really sucks, no pun intended.]
And what about you? How do you feel about humans?
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[But Malice doesn't seem all that worked up about it, despite the wording.]
Humans are great - that's exactly why I like 'em. You fight against overwhelmin' odds without even a second thought, willin' to put yourselves on the line for what you believe in. That free will an' determination's just so charmin'!
[...if it sounds like he's talking about an exotic pet, that's just your imagination—]
I've spent most of my life 'round humans, so I like 'em more than those uppity control freaks. Even worked with some of those rebels for awhile! I'm plannin' on doin' the same thing again now that I've met up with 'em once more.
no subject
[It really does sound like Malice is talking about the tiger cub he illegally keeps in his big fat mansion. Weirdo.]
Those people are lucky to have you. Freedom is the only thing you can't put a price on, you know? Your freedom matters just as much.
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[Himself included, honestly...]
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[Ah, but that reminds him.]
Speaking of assholes, I never even got your name. I'm Akira.
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[And that gets him to laugh, waving his good hand as if to dismiss it.]
Slipped my mind too - name's Malice. Nice to meetcha.
["Akira" is pretty short, will he get a dumb nickname or will Malice just use his actual name... who knows...]
no subject
Malice? That's so goth.
[And pretty badass to boot. Akira likey.]
If you're ever in the mood for target practice, I'm not hard to find. Let's hang out more sometime, alright?
(no subject)