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

[unyieldingmarch]

I'm aware.

[Hand on her hip, Edelgard looks him up and down, but her grip never goes towards the hilt of her blade.

She's not smiling, exactly, but her face is smoothly neutral.]

The Byleth Eisner I know is a woman. And her hair changed back to it's normal color when Seiros died.

[She won't hold that fact back. She has no reason to deny the man these scraps of information, at least.]

[unsacrificing]

[well, okay, that was a lot of powerful information in one sentence.]

I see. I've met her- that must be one of the reasons why she and I are so different.

[he's not really the type to smile, but he is somewhat... nostalgic talking to Edelgard so calmly like this. much has happened, and despite their opposing sides on the battlefield, he still holds dear memories of her from the academy.

he glances at her basket.]

Ah- sorry to keep you. Were you busy?

[unyieldingmarch]

You both made different choices.

[Edelgard turns slightly, looking off down the street.

Should she even be talking to this man? It's strange, almost like looking at a dark mirror of someone she's deeply involved with. She remembers the conversations they had, and the vision within Byleth's mirror showing some memories of Sothis.

It's...this is complicated.]

And no. You aren't keeping me. I'm just picking up a few things for Hubert, and my ward. You...are welcome to walk with me.

[unsacrificing]

I would like that.

[he moves to stand next to her, a comfortable and amicable distance away, waiting for her to lead cause he sure as hell doesn't know his way around the place yet.

he may not find the answers that he wants or needs, but in this strange pocket of time, he'll gladly take the time to spend with her again.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard starts walking immediately, letting him choose his own pace. He's the Professor, certainly, but he's not...no...this is so strange.]

...Did you choose the Golden Deer, or the Blue Lions? That seems to be the point at which our timelines diverge, based on accounts with the others.

[It's so bizarre, and it's an unfair expectation placed on Byleth. But much of that that is on Rhea, a fact she's recently become aware of.]

[unsacrificing]

The Golden Deer.

[he can't explain what drew him to claude and his fellow deer, he thinks it's the other's particular charm and laid-back nature, a persona that he's slowly been able to peek behind throughout all their time together.

dimitri is almost an open book. and edelgard? he's never gotten the chance to know her as he has claude, and he wonders if he had the chance, if bloodshed could have been avoided. his encounter with the other byleth tells him probably not, but the hope still remains.]

You all remember me-- the professor, differently, isn't that right?

[unyieldingmarch]

Much differently.

[Edelgard shakes her head. No, she remembered the Professor very differently, and the Golden Deer...that seemed a little better than the Blue Lions if she was honest. At least Claude's goals and her own didn't clash the same way that her and Dimitri's did.]

She is a woman. And sided with the Black Eagles.

[Tilting her head to look up at Byleth, she exhales.]

The war is over in my time. Rhea...Seiros...is dead, and the Church's power over mankind has been broken. I'll spare you more detail than that, but I imagine your experiences with me...and with everyone else...have varied significantly.

[unsacrificing]

[there are so many questions on byleth's tongue. so many answers he wants and needs, so many tidbits of information that are missing. because edelgard is not an evil person. he knows this from their time in the academy and even now, walking beside her.

but the devastation of war is still not easy to cast aside. and edelgard has made it clear why she fights - or fought - for the world she's imagined and, in her universe, successfully created.

asking for a 'why' is a pointless question. asking if it was worth it is an insult to the sacrifices she's made.

so he nods instead.]

Yes. War has not been kind to our relationships. And though Claude and I will not stop to protect the future we envision, I am glad to see you here looking well, Edelgard.

[unyieldingmarch]

[She would simply repeat herself, as she has many times over. Thankfully she's spared the need to, and that's good. She isn't sure she has the capability to explain it all to someone that may as well be a stranger.]

As long as you do what is right for Fodlan, in the end, I would encourage that you do fight. The only counsel I can give is that you not allow Rhea to seize power again.

[She knows this man does not know the truth, the whole of everything that drives her, and she's not prepared to share that information now. But she can offer her well-wishes.]

And, I hope, that you would honor the truce Lorenz and I negotiated when we arrived in this world last fall. I would not wish to go back to war, and have that conflict cause harm to our hosts.

[unsacrificing]

[a little smile - soft and barely noticeable, but there all the same.] Of course. You can trust that Claude and I will always have Fodlan in mind. [they all do, in their own ways... just the methods of getting there are a bit different.

and he's always had his own doubts regarding rhea, his father's words about her aside. he can tell she once had her heart in the right place but has long since strayed. but he wonders if that means rhea's alive - they were just about to march to enbarr before this all happened.]

I had no intention of bringing Fodlan's war here.

[blink] Our hosts?

[unyieldingmarch]

[She offers an arched eyebrow, confused that he even needs to ask.]

The locals. The people native to this world. We...are given homes and a place to live without cost, Byleth. They are hosts to us, and good relations with them are important.

[She knows that he was a mercenary, since presumably he's similar enough to her Byleth. But hopefully he understands the implications of why.]

[unsacrificing]

[his eyes close briefly as he thinks back to his conversation with dimitri. he didn't mention free housing, but then again, they definitely had more pressing things to discuss. like dimitri being actually alive and breathing and (mostly) well.]

I see. That's very generous of them.

[that opens up 109123781023 more questions though.]

Why are we here, then? There must be a purpose, if we are taking up so many resources.

[unyieldingmarch]

I wish that I could give you a solid answer.

[Edelgard exhales, slowing her stride a bit. She's thought about this, wracked her brain over and over...]

The Coven claims that they do not know. And given the strain that we place upon their already burdened government, I cannot say that I disbelieve them. If you're anything like the Byleth I know I'm sure that you investigated and are aware of the blight outside the walls. Some vile contagion that taints the land, twists the plants and animals that come into contact with it. The Cwyld, they call it.

Many Mirrorbound believe that the world called out to us, to help deal with the blight. Given the timing, us arriving at an hour of need, I honestly find it difficult to dispute the notion.

[unsacrificing]

[he starts formulating a plan on finding out, but the sound of his name brings him out of his thoughts and back to the current conversation. what edelgard says certainly sheds more light on the subject- an alarming one, at that.

he smiles a little, a smile tinged with something bittersweet.]

As you've said, she and I have made different choices. [and as such, are two wholly different people. their only similarity, in his mind, are their names. his priorities had been focused elsewhere when he arrived.

How strange...that I'd need to become a strange monster to assist with the blight. But if that's how it needs to be, then I'll help this world.

[unyieldingmarch]

[That is a little alarming.]

Do you know what manner of creature you're becoming?

[She turns to face the Professor, and there is actual concern there. She's learned long, long ago to be mindful of changes.

She also can't help the faint flash of teeth, elongated canines, that stand out against her too pale lips.]

[unsacrificing]

Mm, I don't know. I was thinking maybe some sort of fish.

[he points at the peek of scales crawling up over his collar.

he is definitely not a fish, but a man can have his dreams.]