lunae calamitas mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
promittere) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
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!
snacks
So like, what's a Sage, anyway? Are you some kinda cult leader?
no subject
A cult leader! [ Tatara latches onto it immediately, pressing a hand to his cheek in mock flattery. ] Would that make you one of my cult followers, then?
no subject
Cid hums as he gathers up food, excluding the day-old stuff, and starts investigating all the writing utensils for nametagging. Hmmmmm... Tatara gets a side-glance.]
Dunno about that? I haven't decided how much I wanna join whatever this is, anyway. [a scribble, a dash of glitter, and then he hands Tatara a nametag in blood-red scribble that says WANNABE CULT LEADER] I'm just some student who happens to know some magic. Don't you have, like, magic police or whatever for missing persons cases?
no subject
Tatara's brows shoot up as he's handed the nametag, but after a second or two, it's obvious it isn't out of offense. If anything, he's delighted, and he sticks that on his shirt with pride. Probably helps that it's in red. ]
If there would be a magic police in this world, that would be the sage's wizards... [ He pauses for dramatic effect, hand cupping his chin in mock thought. And when he opens his eyes, there's a glint of a tease in them. ] So, you?
no subject
Hmm... This sage really rolls with the punches. But that's sort of the air he gave off anyway? Is it airheaded? Is it just that he's got protag armor??? Who knows right now. Cid is satisfied with having made a nametag.
He gets to work on more. He might as well have some to go around. There's a pause from him also, though it's less dramatic and more not-quite-mock-chagrined.]
Man, joining the Knight Order was one of the things I really didn't want to do. But I guess you're not Alexia or a Cult of Diablos guy, so it could be worse...? [unsure given present circumstances that he doesn't understand, but oh well] Your recruitment pitch could use some work.
no subject
Knight Order, Alexia, Cult of Diablos—words he doesn't know get tucked away in his mental pocket for later.
Tatara leans on the kitchen island, picking out some strawberries. ]
What do you think I should say, then? Something that pulls at the heartstrings? Something a little more dramatic? [ He bites into one. ] A cool motto instead?
no subject
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......
no subject
[ It is kind of like a motto, isn't it? He hums as he bites into the rest of the strawberry, thinking as he does. ] I can't use magic, so I don't have one. But if I did, it'd probably be... "No Ash."
[ Pretty plain. And short? Yet in the little pause that follows, he seems satisfied with it. ]
What ideas have you had so far?
no subject
[Or would if it was, you know, real.
He can kind of see the vision? It's catchy but a bit underwhelming by itself, but it's not like it's going to do anything, so maybe it's fine.....]
Um, but wait a second. If you're not magical or anything, what are you, anyway? Admin? P-- Diplo...mat?
no subject
I'm the sage. [ He grins. He's teasing. ] Admin, I guess. Mediator? Director? Representative, maybe...? [ He cups a hand over his chin to think. ] Honestly, I'm still not totally sure, but I'll figure it out.
no subject
Meantime, Cid finishes another nametag and slaps it on himself. This one's in plain black script and glitterless. It says: RANDO STUDENT A.
He decides to try one of the unusual confections while he side-eyes the Sage(?).]
So far I'm getting all the glitz and none of the wisdom, so it's like... business chic?
[This blondie has no idea what he's doing, but that's okay. He seems like he wants to be some kind of Sage regardless.]
If you lost the handbook, I guess you could... make the title your own? Grow into it? Have it grow into you? Or you could make up a new title.
no subject
I dunno. I don't know where the title comes from. Maybe the sages from eras past were really wise? You know, with long beards and fancy robes and all that?
[ Maybe he needs to invest in a cool hat or something? :thinking:
But the smile that crosses his face is genuine. ] Yeah, that's the plan, at least. I'm trying to learn from the last sage, but...it's not like I can ask questions anymore. [ His eyes dart to the new nametag, then back to Cid's face. ] I'll figure something out. I think we'll be fine, Rando Student A.
no subject
More... robes and staves and stuff.
[Nobody currently matches or looks like a wizard except the super obvious fantasyland transplants among them... It's more and more obvious how transplanted they are. (Though it's kind of cool to have a mass isekai, not gonna lie, it was something he wanted to try at least once?) And the wizard fashion so far does leave something to be desired.
He'll worry about it some other time. His current nametag means he's better off not being especially fancy.]
It's not like anybody here knows how to be wizards either. [shrug! he's so carefree, but Tatara reading off the nametag makes him nod proudly for some reason] And I'm literally Rando Magic Student A, so I'm just here for the food, I guess.
no subject
Also, it would probably help if he stopped wearing plain clothes in neutral colors. ]
Not a bad plan. We can snack as we figure out how to be sage and wizard.
[ He grabs a handful of grapes and pushes the rest of the bowl towards Cid. ]
Rando Student A must have a real name, though.
no subject
Also Cid cannot talk because his everyday wear is literally more colorful than his special occasions wear. The hazards of coming from weird steampunk fantasyland.... everything is brown and gold...]
It's Cid Kagenou, but you can also just call me Rando Student A or just A. Both work.
[Why is he like this............ he's serious though!! Please look at how serious he is about his Very Unimportant Title. SMH. He'll take those grapes, though, contemplating them for a moment.]
Speaking of snacks, though, I always thought getting summoned on one of these big otherworldly trips would come with cooler food... or different architecture. But it's not that far off.
no subject
Anyway, Tatara nods slightly as he speaks, and his eyes wander to look at the other food laid out across the kitchen. He's paying attention, but also thinking. ]
It's weird, isn't it? The sky's still blue, the grass is still green, and the architecture looks... [ His eyes snap back to Cid. ] Wait, do you know what Europe is?
no subject
Oh, right, he needs to be on top of his game so he can be "Cid Kagenou" properly.]
Umm, Europe's new -- is that what the kingdom's called? We've just got Midgar and other places back home.
I haven't seen anybody freak out about the grass or the sky, though, so I guess some things are the same anywhere.
[It's too bad, really.]
no subject
He nods at mention of the grass and sky. True! Or maybe they're all more similar than he thought. ]
Huh... It's a continent where I'm from. I've never been, but all the buildings here feel like they'd be similar to European buildings? [ hmm, ] Are they the same for your Europe?
no subject
Sometimes Cid marvels at his own good memory for anything other than schoolwork and the mundane.]
I don't remember the continent's actual name-- [is there an actual name??] --but there's no Europe back home that I know of? But the buildings here definitely have a familiar style, 'specially the castles. Maybe some of them are more like the Oriana Kingdom, but I don't know the place that well...
So you're saying you've got all this stuff but it's called Europe?
no subject
Huh... I've never heard of an Oriana Kingdom. That's funny...
[ Just that things can be both different and the same. ]
I guess so? [ He leans over the counter to rest his chin on his hand, and he smiles. ] I've never been. I've only heard stories and seen pictures. But I guess it would probably look something like this? I don't really know.
no subject
But if he can't be Rando Student A or even Anonymous Villager E, at the very least he can stick with being Wizard Summon #12 instead of anything that stands out too much, like Wizard-Summon-Isekai-Reincarnator-Eminence.
Sometimes you are here for a good time not an honest time. ☆]
It is pretty funny... the differences are harder to spot.
[In some ways. There's some really glaring ones, like literally everybody here, but other than that. Cid pops another donut or whatever into his mouth. It's nice eating on someone else's dime, as always.]
I've traveled a bit, but I don't think anybody here is from one of the countries I know. Way too much of a coincidence. [...] Speaking of which, are there even cameras here? Feels like nobody would believe me if I just took the stories home.
no subject
His eyes do seem to light up in a different way at mention of cameras, though. ]
Oh, no. There aren't, unfortunately.
[ He pops another grape in his mouth and hums. ]
I came with my video camera, but it ran out of charge a long time ago. Otherwise, I'd be taking so much video.
[ Ah-ha! An idea! He stares Cid straight in the eye. Unfortunately, since they've just met, he doesn't know that this is the look Tatara makes when he's about to rope people into shenanigans. ]
Do you wanna help me?
no subject
That's too bad... We only just got 'em invented, too.
[A blink.]
I think there might be video? Maybe. But it's mostly magical stuff on that end.
[He is pretty sure video happened at one point but either it's a nationally classified secret or only for the mega-rich, which he is (was?) not. Alas. Just having a video camera on the premises is a luxury in that case...
He's so busy pondering the long-lost art of multimedia that he definitely misses the glint in Tatara's eye. Oh, well. This is just his life.]
I don't mind helping, does it have anything to do with the video camera? Is it fixable?
no subject
It's probably fixable. [ He plucks up another grape and eyes it idly, turning it over in his fingers. ] I'd just have to find something to power it. Mana stones might work, but I don't know anything about technology. [ Like...in general.
It's unfortunate Cid misses that, because now has no idea he's about to be constantly badgered by this silly little man... ]
Do you?
no subject
[Damn, that video camera can hold a charge if Tatara hasn't tried before now. Or maybe being isekai'd made him forget about the demands of electronics. Cid hasn't had to worry about that before, but now he's forced to consider the age-old problem of batteries and electricity in a world without them.
Mana stones as batteries....... how convenient, actually. He'll have to remember that.]
I, uhhh... [he thinks about it; he's not just making a show of thinking about it, because honestly he left all that stuff to Eta, but maybe he remembers enough both from his own experience and her tinkering...?] I could take a look at it? I feel like it would be pretty different from anything I know, but two heads are always better than one.
I'd probably have to learn more about mana stones, too.
[He's actually more interested in the mana stones, anyway. Having a Tatara-shaped shadow is probably actually mild compared to some of Shadow Garden so maybe he will survive this, unlike his encounters with Wanderer.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)