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

b

[ua_duibhne]

I wouldn't trust a lot of what they're selling, no.

[Diarmuid stands a little way from him, head tilted curiously to the side as he surveys the man in front of him. At a glance, he's a waking contradiction; taller and broader than most humans and towering over the goblins, he has the build of a fighter, not a man of the cloth. Ultimately, unusual it may be but it's more a curiosity than anything to be concerned about.

And so, the witch's smile is easy, his voice congenial and warmed by the lilt of his accent. Gripped in one hand is a parcel wrapped in brown paper- nothing exciting, merely a collection of interesting potion ingredients- leaving the other free to brush back his curl as he nods at the potion.]

... but... you can find some interesting deals if you know where to look. [And then, acutely aware of the merchant's reproachful glare over Kirei's shoulder, he adds with a small laugh-] Likely, that's one of them.

1/2

[livingimpaired]

... Lancer?

[ The voice alone sounded familiar, but it is only when he turns to see who is speaking does his eyes widen. Naturally, he calls the other's "name" upon recognizing his face.

It isn't fear that grips him in that moment. It is honest surprise. Why is a Servant here? His fingers curl a little at his side. All the Command Seals that he had etched into his flesh and soul no longer are upon his arm. But, it is not like he could have used those, anyway. He never was this Lancer's Master, after all.

The way the other speak, however, clicks for him. The way he speaks is not the way that a warrior would greet another. It's casual; it's friendly. His eyes drift to look at the clothes that the other is wearing. Indeed, suddenly arriving in another world was one thing that only caused mild discomfort and confusion for him, but seeing a Servant is another matter entirely.

Of course, this isn't out of the ordinary, either. He recalls the casual manner in which Saber conducted herself with Shirou Emiya. Yet he did not think that this Lancer would be able to be so casual. The pieces that he picked up; the inferences that he made; he isn't certain what it all means yet. ]

2/2

[livingimpaired]

[ And he carefully, meticulously pulls himself back.

The knowledge that I was a Master during that Holy Grail War is not so common of knowledge. He straightens his posture and shifts his body toward the Servant. The surprise fades from his face as he lightly shakes his head. ]

Forgive me. That was rude. [ A beat. ] I was one who assisted the Overseer and I later took up his post, and so... you are known to me. [ Indeed, what he says isn't untrue.

His chin drops as he smiles in an amused way. ] To think that I would have one such as yourself offer to help me find deals... I can't say that I was not shocked by it.

i hit post too early whoops

[ua_duibhne]

[The smile freezes in place.

Lancer. Overseer.

The change in Diarmuid is immediate, subtle and yet painfully revealing. Eyes harden, his jaw tenses, the grip on his parcel become tight enough to make the paper scrunch and his knuckles whiten. It isn't discourtesy that has him so on edge, though, it's being face to face with another reminder of Fuyuki. His face might be unfamiliar but his title isn't and neither are the deep implications of what that means.

Everything that once seemed an intriguing novelty about this man has become unsettling and he makes no move to hide his wariness. There's a stiffness to him now that isn't entirely new; he wears it like an old, familiar cloak, one that he thought he might have been able to abandon after arriving here. Not so, it seems.]

... I...

[He hesitates, unsure what to say. As uncomfortable as he is, he has no desire to uncivil; as far as he knows, he has no quarrel with him beyond his own, private bitterness at the Grail War.]

You needn't apologise. [Diarmuid's gaze flickers to the side, betraying even more of his unease even as he tries to push through it.] We may as well be strangers- and I'd almost prefer to think of it that way. I'm sure you understand why given what you know of our shared... circumstances.

[Has the word "circumstances" ever sounded so ominous?]

NO WORRIES.

[livingimpaired]

[ As Lancer's smile freezes, Kirei's appears.

He soaks in the look of discomfort and silent agony with a calm smile. The smile doesn't reach his eyes, of course. The gaze that he sets upon the Servant slowly deadens until little emotion seems to even flicker in the cool gaze. It is, as it always is; his joy feeds into his own anguish.

Even your pitiful end, I find amusing. But do not fear, Lancer... one day, I will stand before God and I will ask him why I am this way. I will ask Him the reason that he felt I should exist in this fashion. He thinks these words with leisure venom. It is an anger that he has held in his chest for a decade. It has not faltered; it has not dimmed; his anger is all-consuming and so he offers solace to the Servant before him.

The solace is ... that there is an answer for the existence that you see before you. You will not come to know it, however. You will only feed into it until I am gone. In short, the hope that he gives Lancer is simply that there is reason for all meetings; there is reason for all suffering. Because the torment you feel now will make you cherish your freedom and happiness all the more... or ... you will come to fear the day it will be taken from you..

His lips curl a little more. But I suppose that will be up for you to decide. Either way... there is no easy end. Cover your ears, cherish your happiness. Or curse that I reminded you of your pitiful, humiliating end... by a Master that was unworthy of you to begin with... by a Master that you sacrificed everything for, and received nothing in return beyond a resentment that tarnished your Heroic Spirit. ]

Indeed, we may well be. When I became the next Overseer, your Master no longer was part of the Holy Grail War. [ He couples his word with a small sigh. Indeed, the word "circumstances" have never sounded so ominous, and so he plays into it, by taking out a knife and driving it deep. ]

I am also certain you were unaware that he had a hand at murdering the previous Overseer. [ His shoulders drop before he takes a step forward; he keeps walking toward Lancer before subtly turning to the side -- indicating the other should join him on a leisurely walk. ]

So, we are but strangers that happen to be tied together in a messy fashion. Still ... it is good to see you as you are. [ He doesn't break his stride. ] Truly, a magnificent Hero.

[ua_duibhne]

[That smile. Is he being mocked or pitied? Scorned or mollified? Whatever the case, it doesn't penetrate the abyss-like darkness of his eyes, leaving Diarmuid almost dizzy in their wake. But it's the placating, bassy hum of his voice that most unsettles him; it's impossible to read anything but the truth within it. Diarmuid's instincts cry danger and yet. And yet-]

... did he.

[A flat statement, not a question. The revelation evokes nothing more than the faintest spark of lingering loyalty in him- but it's enough to provoke a reaction, even in the smallest of forms. It's the same part of him that defends Fionn, the same part that would still prostrate himself for a second chance to prove himself to either of them.]

My Master was many things [arrogant, mistrustful, narrow-minded] but that's... I have to admit I'm shocked. He held the Grail War in deepest respect, or so I-

[Diarmuid shakes his head. In the end, though, he doesn't care enough to do more to defend Kayneth's honour or interrogate him further; the truth is that he never truly knew his Master. If nothing else, his time in Fuyuki had proven his own stupidity and blindess- which is why he's quick to reject Kirei's praise.]

Please, don't insult me with flattery. [He fixes him with a sharp look, gold eyes hawkish.] Rather, kindly tell me your name, Overseer.

[livingimpaired]

Do you take it as an insult?

[ He stops walking so that he can shift his stance to regard Lancer better. ]

I only spoke of the mistakes your Master made. That does not tarnish your spirit. [ His gaze remains dead and empty. It is only needling, he supposes. He needles because of the shock that he felt in seeing the Servant in the first place. It really is like having ants crawl all over one's back when standing before them in this fashion -- an itchy, uncomfortable, unsettling feeling.

Kirei is not immune to such things. He can only alter his expression to make it seem as though he is unbothered. Such is the talents of one that went through various self-flagellation within the Holy Church. ] But you wish to know my name.

I am Kirei Kotomine. And, I suppose, while we are on the topic of names... what would you like me to call you?

[ua_duibhne]

I was his Servant and he my Master. [If I had served him better, if I had won his trust and loyalty, if, if, if-] His failings are my own. I bear both of our mistakes.

[But enough of that. Ever since his dream last month, the guilt of how their battle ended has been greater than ever and he doesn't want to linger on it- and so he focuses instead on the priest.

Kirei Kotomine. Vaguely, Diarmuid recalls mentions of him from Kayneth but he was little more than a name at the time, a connection to a far more important figure to be kept in mind but paid no real attention. Even now, his presence doesn't evoke much more than poorly concealed disquiet; he dislikes the void of his stare and smile and his knowledge of suffering and yet there are no real reasons to turn him away.

Rather, honour wins out and he forces himself to settle down.]

... whatever you would prefer. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne... Lancer... I don't mind. [He shrugs, self-conscious in spite of himself.] True Names have no power here.

[livingimpaired]

Interesting.

[ It is all that he says about Lancer's decision to accept Kayneth's failings as his own. His lips quirk a little in amusement, but he allows that one word to be a weight to rest on the Hero's soul.

Whether it is a pebble or a boulder, I'll leave that up to Lancer. He has chosen to take on the man's faults and so... he can carry the burden as long as he likes. Kayneth respected and believed in the Holy Grail War... yet gave up his pride as a mage in the end. He gave up everything and lost. Truly, I would not accept that man's failings as my own but cut ties and consider him a worthless, unworthy man.

Indeed, he thinks that if Lancer has decided to do that much, he should have served Kayneth better. He should have voiced his opinion more; he should have offered more words rather than just been a tool to be used. Oh, well, that is his burden to bear as one who let himself be blinded by honor and duty. ]

Is that so? [ Kirei moves onto the next topic of conversation -- True Names. ] We are not particularly close and so I'll call you "Lancer." [ Do you truly not mind? ] Even if the Name does not have power, it doesn't feel right to bridge a relationship when the waters between us are so muddy.

[ He breathes in. ] So, Lancer, how have you been in this world?