Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

[faileas]

Event Log: May, An Inauspicious Arrival

I. Boaltinn (1st - 3rd) Boaltinn comes around again. A handful of Mirrorbound will remember the holiday from last year, but for others, it will be brand new. In both Residential Districts, bonfires burn in central locations through the night, frequented by the residents celebrating another summer come to Aefenglom. Curiously, while last year the bonfires seemed quite segregated by human or Monster, this year, there is more of a noticeable mix at each, and Mirrorbound are invited to join the games and festivities quite happily. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire. The city has quite a bit to offer for this holiday: shared rose baths at public bathhouses and pleasure establishments that increase feelings of friendliness and talkativeness, poles draped in ribbons meant to be danced around, wrapping a ribbon around the pole to bring good luck for the summer, food stalls whose offerings are meant to be shared, and fortune-telling set up by Divination students of the Coven, who can tell your day is going to go. To see last year's Boaltinn prompts, you can take a glance right here! Much of it, including the bonfires, baths, and entertainments will be similar this year, so feel free to use those in your top levels.

II. An Unusual Arrival (3rd on) A full year from the arrival of the first group of Mirrorbound, the 1st passes quietly, with no one showing up in the mirror-lined halls of the Looking-Glass House. Dates and times are important in most kinds of magic, and this is strange enough that some Witches of the Coven get together on the night of the 3rd to try a probing ritual, attempting to gather some kind of clues that could be useful in prying out the cottage's secrets. Boaltinn is the best time for such things, when the boundaries are thinner, and magic is stronger. Those who are awake that night at 3 am might notice a pulse of harmless silvery light that spreads like ripples on water throughout the whole city, originating at the Looking-Glass House, but nothing further happens, and the Coven receives no answers. Well, nothing happens in the Looking-Glass House. Before long, the reports start coming in: people are emerging from mirrors, regular old mundane mirrors, all over the city. Anything with a particularly reflective surface could be an entry point for someone from another world! Inhabited homes, businesses closed and locked for the night, pools of still water in fountains or the river, these unorthodox Mirrorbound pop up anywhere and everywhere, causing chaos for the City Guard (folks aren't happy to find strangers in their bathrooms at 3 in the morning) and the Coven both. Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. If you are one of these unfortunate arrivals, it's likely a rude awakening for you, to find yourself somewhere inconvenient, somewhere other than where you've been. It only makes sense to be confused. Hopefully someone finds you and explains to you what's happened to you. Resident Mirrorbound will hear a message from Miss Nessie shortly after it begins, a call to arms: "Dears, I'm quite sorry to disturb you, but it seems your fellows are arriving elsewhere than the Looking-Glass House this month! We're trying to track them all down for the usual welcome, but we could use a hand or several! If you could just bring them by the Coven, the usual spot, that would be lovely." She'll give her usual orientation and pass out Watches, but no doubt the Mirrorbound will be more helpful in this regard, with so many arriving.

III. The Goblin Market (All Month) Life goes on in Aefenglom, despite the addition of so many new residents. With the City Guard decidedly busy dealing with the sudden flood of break-ins (or, more accurately, break-outs?), the vendors of the Goblin Market find opportunity to set up their stalls more openly than they have since the crack-downs some months ago. They pop up all over the city, but clustered more often in the Residential Districts and the Harbor District, where there are even fewer law enforcement agents out and about to run them off. These sellers, while not as devoid of morals as those major players of the Black Market, still have very few compunctions when it comes to lying, cheating, fencing stolen goods, and misrepresenting their wares to unsuspecting buyers. It's also the place to find those things that are- not quite legal, shall we say. They won't say a word if you don't. If confronted, they are quick to pack up their things and slip away, however; they know this city and its hiding places a lot better than you do. With a brand new batch of what the natives assume are Mirrorbound, many undergoing rapid transformations into their Monster forms, many of the wares on display are potions: supposed cure-alls for aches and itches, calming draughts for the full moon restlessness, some even claim their brews can halt changes entirely! Some concoctions are meant to increase a Witch's magical ability, or decrease it, or provide them a finer control. They offer potions that they say will eliminate the need for a Bond, or temporary Bonding potions of their own that they claim are more pure, stronger, than the ones offered by the Coven. Claims are only claims, though. A few remedies for the pain of changing or some regular temporary Bonding potions can be found here and there, but for every potion that works, there are twenty more that have less than pleasant side effects. A brew that will cause everything you touch to turn to solid gold for up to an hour; a potion that will invert your sense of direction - trying to turn right will make you turn left, trying to go forward will cause you to walk backward; a potion that will remove all traction from your feet, causing you to slide around as if cobblestone are the slickest ice. Worse, some shadier vendors sell things more sinister, including a potion that gives you the appearance of being moderately to heavily infected by the Cwyld. Even if you don't drink any, the vendors are not at all careful where they're sloshing those bottles around, trying to show them off, and they all activate on skin contact.

IV. A Wilde Hunt (7th - 22nd) All Mirrorbound, temporary or not, are likely to feel it. Monsters are always affected by the full moons, but this month, it is more. Stronger. Instincts rise to the surface as the Sisters emerge full and visible in the night sky, and for many Mirrorbound, they are undergoing rapid transformations into whatever type of Monster they are meant to be. Curiously, the natives get along like they usually do, noticing nothing out of the norm, other than the increased agitation and restlessness from Mirrorbound Monsters. Monsters' aggression fades when the Sisters start to wane, but as the new moons approach on the 22nd, Mirrorbound Witches will notice their magical reserves overfilling, and will find themselves stricken with the overwhelming urge to use it, until casting spells, pushing one's magical limits, is almost a compulsion. Those who are not in proper Witch-Monster Bonds will feel it even stronger, with no stabilizing magic to consume (for Monsters) or avenues to expend magic (for Witches) other than casting spells. (For those who are interested, the Coven does offer temporary Bonding potions which can be used to help alleviate the effects somewhat.) The Coven Witches notice the signs, and they take decisive action on the morning of the 6th, the day before the full moons. So many Mirrorbound, likely to be so heavily affected by the lunar cycle this month, many of them coming into new features and abilities at a breakneck pace, only spells danger for the city. They barricade off a massive chunk of Wilde outside Aefenglom, largely free of Cwyld and totally bereft of farms, homes, and Wilder outposts. They invite anyone who feels the effects of the moons too strongly to control to come out for a Hunt. The hunting grounds will be open nightly to anyone who needs to work off restless energy or overflowing magic; all participants will be warned that their safety cannot be guaranteed from others, but they won't be able to harm bystanders out here. The woods are thick, with the river cutting through them, and full of wildlife. There is room to run and chase prey, or room to play with your developing magic. Play cat and mouse with your friends or Bondmates, or stalk a stranger. If playing games isn't your thing, there is something else to hunt out here as well. With the deep Wilde entering into Winter, this patch of land so close to the city is much warmer, and fearsome Shades have emerged to search for prey. These were once living beings, Monsters, Witches, or animals, who have been overtaken by Cwyld infection long ago, leaving them dead but for the infection, white-eyed and seeking out sources of magic to consume and infect. Anything could become a Shade, but the most common out right now are the ferocious remains of bears, wolves, and nomadic Arachne and Turnskins. If not killed, these Shades threaten the people of the Outer City, when they inevitably escape the barricade. Careful to limit your contact, though; anyone infected upon their return to the gates will be escorted straight to the infirmary.

Welcome to May's Fourth Wall event, An Inauspicious Arrival! The comms are now open to comments from all registered users and will be until June 1st. Current players, if you don't want fourth wall characters tagging your posts, just say so in your text. Fourth wall characters can use this post for their own network top-levels, or this post for log top levels. This event is game canon; threads from this fourth wall can be used as application samples later and current players may use these threads for AC. As always, be courteous to each other! Let the mod team know if there are any problems and we will handle things.

As always, please direct your questions to this thread!

Comments

[jichengren]

[ He had been about to accost someone else entirely, when he catches sight of that familiar smug face. He has never liked Wei Wuxian. Everything about him just rubs Zixuan the wrong way. But he is his wife's sworn brother, so he has had to accept the fact that Yanli wants Wei Wuxian involved in their lives, and the life of their son. Some concessions are necessary. ]

Wei Wuxian, you're... [ Here? And not at the Qiongqi Path, being accosted by Jin Zixun. Was that good news? ]

What are you talking about, none of this makes any sense. Where is "Aefenglom?"

[ If Wei Wuxian thinks anything about this scenario is going to make Zixuan relax, he has another thing coming. ]

[weiward]

[the last time wei wuxian saw him, he'd upset her yet again, right in the middle of the phoenix mountain hunt. and the nicest thing he could've said to jin zixuan at that moment would've been that at least he wasn't his cousin, who was an even bigger ass.

but he's had some time since then, and they're here now, so he's not going to deny him help.]

Aefenglom. It's another world. Did you come through the water or someone's mirror? The mirror's the normal way, that's how Lan Zhan and I arrived a few months ago, along with Zewu-jun.

[so he doesn't think he has to take wei wuxian's word for it.]

[jichengren]

[ Okay. He did come through someone's mirror. So that at least lends credibility to Wei Wuxian's words. He's still trying to piece the rest of it together. ]

I still don't understand. I saw Hanguang Jun only this morning, at Carp Tower. [ He hasn't seen Wei Wuxian in months, so maybe he has been here instead of at the Burial Mounds. What does he know? But he would have heard if Lan Wangji had gone missing, months ago.

It's not that he doesn't believe him. He's come a long way towards forgiving Wei Wuxian's... Wei Wuxian-ness, ever since marrying A-Li. But he has to admit, this is a lot to take on faith. ]

How do we get back? We can't stay here. You must come with me to A-Ling's one month celebration.

[ He had been worried that his brash cousin would accost Wei Wuxian and ruin things, but now here they are, things ruined for entirely different reasons. ]

[weiward]

Time plays by its own rules here. It had been sixteen years since he last saw me.

[if jin zixuan's observant, he might notice the slip of ribbon around wei wuxian's wrist, a familiar pale blue color. a piece of a lan head ribbon to be sure, lending a little more credence to his claims.]

I'm sure the Coven is working on getting you back, it just might take some time. [he doubts that the city is up to a jin's standards, but he can at least help him find a roof to go over his head. oh, and there's the details about changes and bonds too, but wei wuxian's distracted by the unfamiliar name.] A-Ling?

[jichengren]

[ Sixteen years... Did Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian even know each other sixteen years ago? Zixuan does some quick math and figures that Lan Wangji must be from his own future as well.

That certainly adds a wrinkle to everything. Zixuan frowns, but decides to believe Wei Wuxian. The ribbon is proof enough. ]

When was it for you, then? [ Obviously sometime in the past, if he doesn't remember the child he helped to name. ]

Jin Ling is our child. He is turning one month old soon. We are hosting a grand celebration.

[ He doesn't have to mention who the other half of the "we" is. ]

[weiward]

The night hunt at Phoneix Mountain. Right after Shijie confronted your cousin.

[and not a shining moment for the two of them either, wei wuxian angry at him for upsetting yanli again and losing control. jin zixuan flustered and fleeing, leaving everyone to wonder what just happened.]

...Your child? [he says the words slowly. it's certainly not his and wei wuxian's child, so he is pretty sure who the mother is.] I have a nephew then.

[this is a bright side, but wei wuxian's smile is still a little soft and sad.]

Congratulations.

[jichengren]

Hm. [ Not his finest moment, to be sure. He would rather put that unfortunate incident on Phoenix Mountain behind him, but no. Wei Wuxian has to bring it all back. ]

You do. A-Li insisted that you be invited to the ceremonies.

[ He'll leave out the part where his cousin went to intercept him at Qiongqi Path. Zixuan had been on his way to rectify the situation when he had found himself here instead. ]

[weiward]

[you're the one who asked, jin zixuan. but that seems to be the way of them, always getting under each other's skin without even trying. but they do have one thing in common, and wei wuxian can't resist a smile at hearing her name.]

And you honored her wish?

[jichengren]

[ Zixuan resist every urge inside him to roll his eyes. ]

I do have an interest in seeing my wife happy. So yes, I honored her wish.

[ It's just his cousin that made the whole thing difficult, by going to intercept Wei Wuxian on his way to Carp Tower. Zixuan had been about to leave to stop it, but wound up here instead. Hopefully things won't go too badly without him. ]

[weiward]

Good. She deserves to be happy.

[do not make her unhappy. wei wuxian's words seem to be saying that too. but who knows? it sounds like he's off to a good start.]

I haven't experienced that yet, but now I'm looking forward to it. I hope to teach him a lot growing up.

[something comes over his expression right as he says the words. right, except he probably won't be alive to do it. he does know that much.]

Anyway, you can't wander the streets all night. Inside the wall is pretty safe from Shades, but there's still thieves.

[and jins are shiny.]

[jichengren]

[ Pressing his lips together in a hard line, Zixuan very politely refrains from mentioning his own hopes with regards to Wei Wuxian's influence on his son. Allowing him to choose his courtesy name was far enough, in his mind. ]

Do you have a better suggestion for where I should go? I can't exactly go back to Carp Tower.

[ The mirror didn't go two ways. He knows, he tried it. ]

[weiward]

[he could leave him on his own. jin zixuan is a grown man, a cultivator, still handy with a sword even if he is cut off from his golden core.

he is also his sister's future husband. and the father of his nephew. and - ugh, he is not drunk enough to deal with this.]

You can stay with Hanguang-jun for the night.

[the two of them were civil enough with each other, it should be fine.

he just won't mention that he lives with him too.]

His cottage is this way.

[jichengren]

[ Zixuan wasn't intending to accept any charity. But accepting the charity of someone like Hanguang-jun is at least a little better than accepting the charity of Wei Wuxian.

(Little does he know...)

Even if it is presumptive of Wei Wuxian to just give out Hanguang-jun's place like that.

But, what other options does he have? He's in a foreign city with no money, and no connections save for this man who he doesn't really like all that much. He nods, then begins walking in the direction indicated, assuming Wei Wuxian will keep up. ]