lunaecalamitas | you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

THIRD QUARTER ALLEGRO

While our newly-arrived wizards have been settling in, learning their magic, and getting to know one another, the sage and their mentor have been busy with a different kind of work behind the scenes—bureaucratic work. It hasn't been particularly exciting, but it has paid off.

Because now, the world is ready to receive them.

Put on your finest clothes, because Granvelle Castle invites you to a welcome ball in your honor.

Didn't bring any fine clothes with you? No need to worry—specially chosen tailors from Central Capital have been commissioned to take care of you, and they will be visiting the manor to get you gussied up in the fashion of your choice for the day (by this, we mean feel free to pick whatever fancy clothes you want for the ball).

As the sun sets on the designated day, all the residents of the manor make their way to the castle. Granvelle Castle stands proud in Central Capital, its lights a beacon in the darkening city, and its doors open to outsiders for the first time in weeks. Upon arrival they're greeted by brightly lit halls, welcoming staff, and a grand ballroom, windows flung open to let in the spring breeze and pale moonlight. Everyone and everything seems determined to make this a cheerful affair, despite the underlying sense of dread and tension.

Live music fills the air, played the greatest musicians in the world. There are some larger ensembles, solo acts; some pieces are of more traditional folk dances, while some are slower, and some are upbeat and avant-garde. Regardless, the floor is open for dancing—grab a buddy and dance the night away!

Lining one wall is a long banquet table, filled with plenty of food and drink, both alcoholic and non to sate the new arrivals. The hors d'oeuvres and small plates comprise an array of delicacies from around the world, with everything from savory lobster bites to the sweetest portions of tres leches you have ever tasted. It seems someone has also put in a specific request for Japanese food—a part of the banquet table has been set aside specifically for Japanese dishes, and this includes small portions of ramen. There also seems to be a plate on the far end of the table filled with lovingly stacked pieces of charcoal... Is that meant to be food?

You aren't the only ones in attendance tonight. Representatives and dignitaries from around the world are also present—they have quite a lot to say about the unusual situation, and they are most curious about these otherworldly individuals tasked with fending off the moon under their national banners. The most dignitaries are from Central, West, and East, while there do seem to be a few representatives from the less populated North and South. Those from Central, West, and South in general seem to be the most social, while the rest are more reserved. There are also a few of the castle staff that seem (begrudgingly) willing to speak with the new wizards. Most are here to chat and mingle—lend them an ear, you may learn something new...

For those tired of socializing, the ballroom opens out onto a breezy, spacious balcony. It looks out over the main thoroughfare leading to the main castle entrance, and the nighttime lights of the Central capital twinkle in the near distance. For those that would rather take a breather, there is a small patio table and a couple of chairs. Despite the waxing moon in the sky, it is a very nice evening.

If you would like to have a chat with an NPC, then please respond to this comment. NPCs will be assigned randomly if no preference is given. While everyone has something valuable to say, they're not giving potentially sensitive info out for free—let's hope your diplomatic skills are up to snuff. We're doing our best to give everyone meaningful conversations, so please bear with us!

JOB BOARD

Rejuvenation. Thanks to your Southern friends' hard work, the South has been saved from a potentially devastating crop failure, and these fledgling towns can continue to grow as they're meant to! Give them a pat on the back and a round of applause.

But the South is not without its scars. While the root cause has been taken care of, the damage has been done. A town's wheat field has been partially destroyed—help them tear out the blackened, dead wheat, till and fertilize the soil, and replant what can be replanted. The City of Clouds, the most prosperous of the Southern settlements, have also offered extra tools, hands, and seeds to help set the town back on the path to recovery. Transport these supplies to the town. Let's hope your broom skills are up to snuff too, because it's a long ride.

Shadows in the night. The residents of the Central capital have recently been reporting eerie sightings after sundown: shadowy figures lurking in corners, the constant feeling of being watched, and, in some extreme cases, these shadowy figures attacking when traveling alone at night. Many reports seem to indicate an odd concentration of these creepy figures lurking around the Granvelle Castle moat, as though trying to find a way into the castle. Residents are understandably frightened and unnerved and cannot go about their nightly business—beat back what shadows you find and make the streets safer for the Central capital residents.

While physical attacks don't seem to do much against them, they dissipate rather easily under magic. Try not to wear yourself to the bone, though—there are a lot of them.

Escorting nobility. The Eastern Blanchett noble family have called an important meeting, inviting nobles and others of import from across the Eastern Country. However, their castle lies beyond Sherwood Forest, a very large, dense, and deep wood—while a fine natural defense for the Blanchett family, it's a bit of trouble for those looking to visit. While the Blanchett's own forest guard is absent, it is your job to safely escort these nobles to the Blanchett abode, and back out. But be careful: lurking in the shadows amongst the trees are all sorts of territorial predators like bears and wolves, not to mention the magical beasts that sneak up on unsuspecting prey. You may come across a brigand or bandit or two, since the forest is a near perfect hiding place for illegal activity. And please—try not to get lost.

Typical of any Easterner, the nobles are reluctant to make much small talk and are a bit suspicious of the new wizards, but they are otherwise pleasant and will generally comply with most requests.

WANDERER TASKS

Can you go a week without ruining food or the pots and pans? Stop being so wasteful and learn how to cook or stop trying.

Learn how to use magic to repair things. Again, if you're going to keep ruining the kitchen at least learn how to put it back together.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

I need milk. I'm trying to perfect latte foam art, but I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet... I used up all the milk (oops, sorry!), so I need more. Actually, could you grab me other kinds of milk while you're at it? I want to experiment! I'm sure other markets in the farther reaches of the world will have weirder milk... Please!

We should start a veggie garden! Or an herb garden? Doesn't matter! I found a nice sunny patch of grass in the training forest—we could dig up that spot, right? Help me get it set up! I need people to dig, and till... Oh! We need seeds to plant, too! Please and thank you~

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your second event post! Get out your snazzy outfits. It's time to party.
🌙 As you grow into your magic, your character might start realizing they can differentiate between everyone's magic. Everyone has a unique signature, and you may be able to start sensing who cast what, where. Someone put a magical seal on the kitchen door? Smells like Shinjiro's magic. Akira had some of Solomon's sugar? You can sense that, too!
🌙 As you start getting past the basics, your character might realize they have a much easier time with certain kinds of magic over others. For North, this will be offensive and attack spells; for East, this will be intricate seals and curses; for West, this will be manipulative magic like illusions and transformation; for South, this will be healing, purification, and protection. Central? A little bit of everything. Read up on your country if you need a refresher!
🌙 It's been peaceful at home in the manor thus far, hasn't it? Do you think that will last?
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting contained to the OOC post, since not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
🌙 Our next group to go on their mission is Central. Be ready, heroes...

» NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Jing Yuan watches the other man formulate a shield decent enough. At first.

Which is...something, until it unfortunately dissipates. Alas, we knew ye well. ]

This is your first time trying to construct a shield, isn't it? But, practice makes perfect.

[ With a little thoughtful expression he does add: ]

...A pity that forming a shield made of fire from magic probably isn't practical at this stage.

Yeah, probably gonna take quite some work...

[Which is a shame, because the fire did come easily to him... But at Jing Yuan's suggestion, Malice lights up.]

That'd be so cool! ...Or hot? Eh, you know what I mean.

[oh my god.]

Lemme try somethin'...

[He's had pretty good luck with fire so far, so Malice says his incantation and channels his magic through his focus, passing his hand in front of him. Fire follows, though this time instead of a fireball, it's more akin to a wave following his hand, spreading upwards and downwards as it goes. It might potentially be a shield, but it burns brightly; more like a wall of fire than a proper shield. Still, it's an offensive variant of a shield, and that seems to come more easily.

Of course, it doesn't last long - it is far too large for Malice to sustain at this point and the flames fizzle out.]

Yeah, now that's more like it!

[ Puns are allowed in this house-

Anyway, jokes aside, Jing Yuan's eyes twinkle a bit before he just smiles in approval.

Malice catches on swiftly.

Watching it is also splendid; those flames coming to alight in a veritable conflagration turned into an offensive-defensive maneuver. In a fight, he can imagine that this man would paint a surefire destructive force across the field. Even if, for now, the ability isn't exactly something the other can sustain too long. ]

That was quite impressive, Malice. [ Bravo! ] You didn't shy away from attempting something spectacular. In fact...

...You seem quite accustomed to adapting to creative and incendiary solutions, no?

[ Heh. Incendiary. Please, give him a round of applause (no) ]

[Well it gets a laugh out of him, so close enough right??]

Adaptin's what I do! If I didn't, I would've died a long time ago.

[He doesn't seem upset by that or anything, that's just the way his life has gone. But he is quite proud of his ability to adapt, and the praise certainly helps!!]

I'll keep workin' on it - next time you see it, it'll be even stronger!

[ Help, the way Malice says something like that cheerfully.

Well, certainly better than being doom and gloom about it, but still, that is equally noticeable. ]

Being a vampire does seem like it's bound to earn you quite a few scares when it comes to matters of life or death.

[ Because, yeah. Typically people don't want vampires around, do they? ]

I have no doubts that you will. You do seem like the type of person who'd wish to keep up one's efforts.

Mhmm. Only the strongest survive.

[Though that's not entirely true. The quick-witted and intelligent can manage to survive as well.]

Yeah, I sure am! I don't wanna risk holdin' anyone back, y'know? So I'll keep practicin'.

[ What an interesting comment; he assumes that must be based on Malice's experiences, more than anything. Which would make sense, given vampires do not have the same options as humans or other species when it comes to sustenance. ]

Only the strongest? Hm...while that can be certainly a fact, do you believe that is something true for every species?

[ As for the other matter... ]

Naturally, a good idea. Some might believe they've reached the pinnacle of their ability without having the foresight to hone what they're able to do in the first place.

For humans... I'd say the cleverest are the ones who survive. Strength for a human won't go as far as cleverness when it comes to dealin' with vampires. 'Course, that's in my world - an' things are certainly different here.

[Which is a good thing! It's nice to see everyone working together, despite their varying experiences and species.]

[ Jing Yuan idly wonders for how many people the difference in setting has been nothing but a boon, compared to their previous one.

Not to say one's world can't ever be viewed as anything but home even so, it is a line of thought that always comes across his mind swiftly in moments like these when comparisons have been made. Though, at this time, those have been far and few in between. ]

...Do you find it refreshing in some ways? This change of pace, that is.

Yeah! It's takin' some gettin' used to, but it's been... nice. Real nice. I feel like I don't need to be on edge all the time, both 'cause I'm not fightin' every day an' cause the people here are just so... genuine. An' nice; everyone seems to want to look out for each other 'cause we're all stuck in this situation together.

[It's a wonderful change of pace. Malice's world is one he's glad to be away from, in all honesty.]

[ This is extremely funny now getting back to this tag, but it's fine. Some light-hearted conversation from the definite disaster that is to be occurring some few days from now... ]

I suppose it's even something even I'd recognize. We could have all started easily off on the wrong foot, but we've managed to avoid anything calamitous for now, and I do hope it stays that way.

[ lmao ]

That said, what have you thought of the festivities so far? Has it been to your standards?

[we could not have timed this better if we tried.]

Yeah, agreed. It'd be nice if things stayed this way.

[lmao]

And... long as we ain't expected to deal with all those fancy nobles again, it's fine. That ain't anythin' I like, y'know? Had to deal with that crap back home an' I'd prefer to never do it again.

Ah, that's understandable. Dealing with nobles is never easy; expectations can be quite difficult to uphold once one is among such a crowd.

[ Jing Yuan will simply chuckle at that, though, because he truly does feel that is an entire mood. ]

...In truth, I wouldn't be surprised if we had to. We are still new to this world, and we may be expected to attend such events more than once.

Though, that doesn't mean we necessarily would have to entertain them for long in the event of a second occurrence, hm?

[That gets a groan from him before he catches onto what Jing Yuan is saying.]

Hah, yeah! We could easily just humor 'em for a bit then duck out!

[he says, like he didn't do this already with kiryu.......]

Good thinkin', I think I can put up with that!

[ That nets something like an amused glance, but he is all the more glad the other more or less once again catches on swiftly.

And it's fine, time is fake... ]

Precisely. The others won't have much trouble entertaining them in the absence of a few.

[ The amusement now spreads to the smile on his face. ]

But, I am also glad to hear you can tolerate that much to get to that point in the first place.

Hah, my ol' lady's one of them fancy nobles, if you can believe that.

[He knows how unbelievable it is considering everything Malice has decided to be...]

So I've had to put up with way worse. I can play nice for a little while, long as I don't gotta do it for the whole damn night!

Hmm, so you've had even extensive experience.

[ As opposed to just basic exposure.

Jing Yuan also attempts to imagine Malice being all stuffy-like and everything that it entails. He fails miserably... ]

This lady you've just now mentioned...do you mean your mother? And she introduced you to such events on more than one occasion, I imagine?

Yep. Through a series of stupid events, we didn't know we were related until a couple'a years ago, but we met up again an' she took me in. An' then proceeded to try to stuff me into the same role her other kids fill an' that sure didn't go as well as anyone hoped.

[Including Malice himself, to be perfectly honest, but he seems chill with the idea now.]

[ The chill is duly noted. If it had gone any worse the other certainly might have shown it. Maybe.

But, all things considered, Malice doesn't seem like the type of person to not make clear about how he feels about matters, so. ]

...Ah, did you end up causing quite a few disturbances for those on the noble scene before it became apparent to her that you were not exactly fit for that sort of life?

Yeah, it was kinda funny watching her usually stoic face do all sorts of weird things every time I opened my mouth? But in the end, I ditched an' ran away. Which was all part of her plan anyway, so whatever.

[He lifts his shoulders a bit. And, with the same amount of chill as before, he continues:]

But I'll make her pay for that once I get back.

[that's fine.]

[ Ruh roh...Jing Yuan sees that chill and realizes swiftly instead it is just a mask for Malice simply going to bide his time on the whole pay back thing.

But, anyway. What a wonderful time not to be in the line of fire. ]

Is that so?

...I can only conclude that she put you through quite a lot to warrant that sentiment.

[ Not in a normal noble-upbringing attempt-way. ]

[It's Fine! :) ]

Yeah. She an' this guy I trusted tricked me, leadin' me to get the Domain - my power - beaten outta me. I ain't forgivin' or forgettin' that anytime soon.

[malice seriously has no brain to mouth filter, he just says these things, i am so sorry jing yuan]

[ Oh my god.

Those are sure words coming out, but at least he can understand the grudge now!! ]

...She simply used you, then. Whatever the case, it is understandable why you would wish to bring retribution to her.

Were you able to retrieve this Domain before you came here?

Mhmm. I ain't gonna be satisfied 'til I've dealt with her.

[He pauses at that, though, considering. He didn't mention what a Domain is, did he...]

Domains are basically special powers all vampires have. So like... turnin' into mist or smoke, turnin' into a bat, flight, invisibility, accumulatin' knowledge, stuff like that. Mine is the ability to reflect damage - so if you stabbed me, I could inflict that same stab wound on you. Mine wouldn't go away, but you'd have one too.

[Does that explanation help a bit...??]

So yeah, I have control over it now, but I don't appreciate bein' used like that just to figure out what the damn thing is!

[ No, he didn't! But, Jing Yuan is ever grateful for the explanation, because one might be able to guess where he was going to direct his inquiries next. ]

Quite an ability to have, though unfortunate when needing to activate in the first place.

[ Putting together the pieces painstakingly—or perhaps not so much, given a few words are easy to conjure a full picture of the ruthlessness of that atmosphere—Jing Yuan can arrive at a conclusion that attempts to "activate" it were likely none-too-pleasant. ]

I wish you all the success in being her rightfully down for acting so barbarically. Not only is your sentiment understood, but I believe your cause to be right—even if that needn't be said.

you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

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