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

[freecshow]

I mean...sure! Moon tides have always affected stuff kinda dramatically... [maybe it was by this understanding that Gon had sort of brushed off the warnings; of course he knew things always got a little weird with the swelling tides of the moon, he just hadn't ever really vocalized it because it was such an obvious, mundane aspect of reality. but Gon definitely takes note of how Killua ties this into some of the abnormal appearances of the people around here; true, they looked like something adjacent to Chimera ants. but Gon, of course, simple boy he is, hadn't necessarily conflated those two things...]

Weird? No more than usual... [Gon has no idea what Killua is getting at. his fingers tangle in the back bed of his coarse hair, rubbing with sheepish uncertainty.] Why, do you?

[killuwatt]

...why?

[ Killua clicks his tongue at him, staring like Gon just asked him why two plus two is four. ]

Because we randomly showed up in this absolutely bonkers alternate reality where people have magic, not nen, and some of them are literal monsters that apparently go berserk during the full moon and people just pop out of mirrors on a monthly basis and no one even knows why! I know we've seen some shit, Gon, but this is weird! And you need to be more responsible!

You might like unpleasant surprises, but I'm not in the mood. Let's go.

[ He should probably have though better of it, but Killua is annoyed -- and now worried -- enough that he's already forgotten how awkward even that small handshake was earlier. He grabs Gon by the wrist and starts to pull. ]

[freecshow]

[berserk? that...doesn't sound familiar, and is a little troubling, but Gon just immediately pockets that for later examination.]

But—!

[and it's true, that all sounds...unpleasant, to say the least! and Gon's not going to say no to Killua dragging him around by the wrist.]

Are we going right now?!

[Gon staggers after Killua, his heart hiccuping a bit.]

But—you don't feel weird, Killua?

[killuwatt]

Not in that way.

[ Everything is weird, really but... that's not what he means. ]

I just want to get as much information as we can, so we're going to the Coven. They can test you for, uh, "magical potential" or some crap. That's what they called it when I did it, anyway.

And it turns out I have a bunch!

[ No one actually told him he has 'a bunch.' Just that he does have magical potential and therefore must have gained the ability to become a Witch here. Honestly, he's hoping they can tell Gon the same. ]

[freecshow]

Huh??

[Gon trots behind Killua's gait, and, perhaps inappropriately, laughs a little.]

Really?? Of course you'd have that potential, [Gon breathes out in a laugh. Killua was really great at everything...]

I wonder, though...

[magical potential? what did that mean? Gon couldn't use nen at all anymore, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't miss that power—that ability. a means to protect, a means to grow... it feels too hard on the hope to hope too strongly, but...]

[killuwatt]

[ At some point, Killua seems to realize that he's still holding onto Gon and eventually lets go. More for ease of walking through the crowded cobbled streets than awkwardness. Or so he'll say if pressed.

It's only been a couple of days, but he's already familiar with the major streets in the city and where the most important places are, at least among those he's had need to encounter so far. He makes a beeline for the northwestern section of the Bright Wall, and the Coven's spires peeking above most of the other buildings. ]

I haven't really been able to do much with it, but they said there are classes you can take at the Coven. Honestly, they seemed suspiciously generous... but then again, it makes sense they don't want a bunch of strangers they can't control in their city wreaking havoc. It's in everyone's best interests to educate them.

[ He glances back at Gon curiously. And is struck all over again by the fact Gon is right there. Here they are, together, impossibly far from anywhere they've been before.

Unable to figure out how to deal with that fact, Killua just lets it happen and focuses on the immediate problems of their new situation. ]

So what have you been up to, then? Where have you been exploring?

[ Because there's no way Gon was standing still. ]

[freecshow]

[Gon is only a bit remiss of Killua's holding guidance, but is thankfully distracted by just...classically, being swept into something. and it was always like that with Killua, wasn't it? and here it is, just like that, even though things were so different.

they were, right?]

Ah, I guess so...

[Gon wonders; he doesn't really have the wit to express his gut skepticism, but the truth of it is that if people from other worlds with all sorts of different powers (potentially) all converged, why wouldn't you want some method to control them? perhaps to utilize them? but again, Gon isn't quite that far-thinking; it's just a feeling from his instincts.]

—Oh! Mostly around here... I've been talking to the people who are from here! And I've been out on the outer edges of the city, but I got scolded a couple of times for it... Because of the—sick people? The Cwyld.

How can I say... [Gon does his best not to visibly falter.] Since I can't use Nen, I guess I've been trying to stay inside these parameters.

[killuwatt]

[ ...huh. How about that? Killua glances over his shoulder again, and slows slightly to walk apace with Gon rather than rushing in front of him.

It still feels so strange and yet so familiar talking like this, despite everything. It's... weird. Everything's weird.

But he's glad Gon seems to be taking the situation seriously, at the very least. ]

Good. [ He nods. ] For now, it's best to just gain as much knowledge as we can. [ He slips so easily into talking as if they're still a team. ]

I've been reading up on the Cwyld and its effects too...

But, ah. Actually, I can't use Nen either, Gon. I haven't been able to since I ended up here.

Everything feels... different.

[ But Gon didn't feel it? He couldn't know about the Nen, of course, but-- Killua watches him out of the corner of his eye as they walk, starting to feel a bit anxious. ]

[freecshow]

[that's right! he is! —for his...kind of lack of research...oops.

Gon also feels weird. anxious in a way he couldn't name even if he were more articulate; it feels...maybe too much like old times. is this really the behavior of someone who wouldn't see you come off your death bed? and it wasn't that Gon grudged Killua for that action—in fact, Killua was probably the one so confident that he'd return that Killua hadn't bothered, maybe... Gon's considered that.

but mostly, though they've been talking on and off for the last year or so, it's more that Gon feels he simply wasn't forgiven. and Gon's accepted that as his lot in his consequences, grateful to be Killua's friend at all.

which is why none of this feels...okay, exactly. like he should work a little harder. is it just a matter that old habits are harder to break? especially—

ah. since...Alluka...she wasn't here, was she?

was she?

Gon can't think on it too much anyway, before Killua mentions that he can't use Nen; this visibly surprises Gon, and he furrows his eyebrows.]

What?! You can't?

—I mean... people still feel the same, to me... [Gon was able to use Zetsu, before he knew Nen; he understands the life presence of other beings, and is really sensitive to that kind of energy... but without Nen, it's hard to nail so concisely. the thought makes his stomach churn in a weird type of mourning.] I don't really know the difference, otherwise...

[damn. Gon doesn't notice that his pace behind Killua begins to drag, just a bit.]

[killuwatt]

[ Killua notices. He doesn't say anything; just slightly, he slows his own stride. ]

Figures you wouldn't.

[ He doesn't say it to be cruel. It's just matter-of-fact: without his Nen, how could Gon have known the difference? But it's beginning to cement a dark suspicion in Killua's mind too, the longer they talk. Even without being able to really use his supposed 'magic' yet, Killua can feel it. Maybe it's because he's used to feeling for a similar sort of energy and utilizing it in the way he had back home, but despite the differences, the sensation is somewhat familiar. He can tell it's there. He just needs to hone it and practice (once again, frustratingly starting from step one-- but never mind that now).

If Gon has no idea what he's talking about, then...

Killua shakes his head. ]

When I got here, I tried, but nothing worked. Someone directed me to the Coven. Said the "Mirrorbound" are supposed to go there and get tested and get lodgings and more info from the... Witches. [ They're really called that. Sounds fake but ok. ]

It was a bit chaotic at first, but I've been talking to some of the people there. It turns out that arriving here... it does something to you. If anyone knows how it works, I haven't been able to find out yet, but the general impression I got is that passing into this world changes you somehow. It makes you more compatible with the way this place works.

In other words... you become one of them, physically. A Witch or a Monster.

...you must have heard that. I know you're not that dense.

[freecshow]

—Oh.

[Gon frowns VISIBLY!!!! at Killua for the dense insinuation (which okay he knows he's thick, alright! but he gets some stuff!), but doesn't yell about it because...well, Gon hadn't known all that.]

Yeah, but I didn't think all of the Mirrorbound were necessarily destined to be one or the other? No one had really implied that—that you were destined to be either one... I just kind of figured that it was a possibility, and that was it.

[Gon knows it sounds naive, now, when he says it, and that makes him frown harder. but he still felt like it was a reasonable mistake. maybe Killua had misunderstood?

—but, ugh, when was that ever the case?]

I guess, then... That test...?

[killuwatt]

Hm. I see.

[ That's actually a fair interpretation. He can't really get mad about that. The only reason he doesn't think that's the case is because he's been hounding the Coven Witches and Monsters as often as they'll listen with his three million questions, but obviously Gon has been talking to the regular folk around the edges of the city -- which is also very much like him. ]

I don't understand it super well yet, but I've been told from different sources that all of the Mirrorbound have ended up being one or the other. There are... I guess you'd call them 'normal' humans? With smaller magical ability that wouldn't let them become full-fledged Witches. But something about the Mirrorbound... makes them less likely to be someone like that. I guess I don't have enough information to say it'd be impossible, but that's what I've been told by some of the Witches teaching there.

Don't worry. [ He finds himself reassuring Gon on instinct, wanting to reach for him again-- though this time not following that urge. His hands slip into his pockets once more. ] Once you figure out what to expect, as much as you can, we can come up with a plan of action.

[freecshow]

[as they move, Gon listens patiently—he's not sure he totally gets it, but it's broken down in such a way he actually more-or-less exactly understands it. Killua knows how to talk to his dumb ass, but it's still a lot to process. now having all that information, Gon's eyes fall thoughtfully.

it's not even that he's so disquieted, although, of course, he should be; it's a disturbing situation to be in, but the worst Gon can really think of it is that it's all just...really bizarre. something like Greed Island, like the very real laws and nature of this place are like some kind of game.]

—Okay.

[he genuinely believes that. how could he not, with Killua around?

Gon lifts his head, like he's decided something. indeed, he's immediately arrived to his own conclusion, and his hands knot around the straps of his backpack, twisting a bit anxiously.]

So, does that mean you're one of those things, Killua? A Witch or a Monster?

[killuwatt]

I told you already. Weren't you paying attention?

[ Killua shakes his head at him, resuming his faster pace once more and expecting Gon to do the same. ]

I have magical potential. That'd make me a Witch.

...though the name still seems a little weird. Makes you think of old crones in fairytales, huh?

[freecshow]

Monsters can have magic, too!

[they'd even met a couple! —though Gon wouldn't personally call them monsters, as others might...

Gon grins, tailing after Killua happily, meeting his speed with ease.]

Haha, yeah, a little! Or a woman, at the very least. I don't think I've heard of a boy witch, before.

[Gon laughs cheerfully.]

[killuwatt]

Really? I was under the impression they can't... or maybe it's just different? We can ask when we get there.

[ He snorts at that. Yeah, he'd thought the same thing. ]

Right? But apparently it's what you say here and it doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl or whatever. It's not a big deal, just another odd thing about... all of this.

[freecshow]

Oh, I meant more like back home... [his point is it was a perfectly reasonable misunderstanding, Killua! smartypants.]

Yeah... I guess that's fair. So, Killua, if you're a Witch, what's your magic like? Have you tried it yet??

[Gon relax Killua hasn't even been here for a week]

[killuwatt]

Ah...

[ Killua frowns a bit, shoulders up, hands still in his pockets. He shrugs. ]

I mean-- Kinda. I tried, but it feels a bit different from Nen. So it's not like I know how to do it yet.

I'm sure I'll figure it out soon though. Can't be that hard, pfft.

[freecshow]

Oh, yeah...

—Haha, right? Especially for you, cuz you're such a quick learner!

Though I wonder what kind of monster you would have been...

[Gon tilts his head, raising an eyebrow... he doesn't have a full lexicon of the types of monsters people can be... but all told, Gon's actually been paying careful to the information available in that field so far, and is almost on the money.]

[killuwatt]

[ It's not like anyone gets a choice, as far as he knows... so it seems like a silly question, but he humors Gon. It's easier talking about this than--

Anything else. Better to discuss the current weirdness than the past.

So he grins back at Gon over his shoulder for a moment and replies, matter-of-fact: ]

Something totally badass, obviously. Like a dragon!

[freecshow]

Really??

I was thinking like... those people who are walking around with animal ears and stuff.

You'd be a pretty dargon, though... I met a lady who had kinda silvery scales when I first got here, [Gon explains with an amused laugh. the first person he'd met in this world had been a monster, and how about it, the exact type of monster Killua's talking about!]

[killuwatt]

Hey! Don't sound so shocked!

[ Why doesn't Gon think he'd be cool?! This is so insulting. ]

You're the one with the habit of sniffing around for clues like a dog. I bet you'll start growing fuzzy ears at any moment now.

[ ...the teasing might be in somewhat poorer taste considering it's likely Gon might have to deal with exactly that, but. oh, well. ]

[freecshow]

Haha!

[Gon is so absolutely distracted with Killua's company, he hasn't even properly considered the possibility of being a witch OR a monster. until. well.]

Ah! You think?

[Gon touches his hairline above his ears, blinking. it seems like Gon also hasn't considered any of that was meant to be an insult.....]

Maybe like a foxbear... I wonder if I'd get territory and hibernation instincts and stuff.

[killuwatt]

[ ...oh. Killua hasn't considered too much of those aspects, actually. Hmm. ]

I suppose... that would make sense. I'd think it's likely, since the 'Monster' people here are different species entirely, not just regular humans with funny features.

[ Honestly, it makes him think too much about the Chimera Ants when he focuses on it, so he hasn't really been studying too much about the Monsters yet. It's not that he wants to think ill of the different races in this world, and he knows it's unfair, but some of them -- even just random people he crosses on the street -- really look like creatures they might have encountered in NGL. And it makes his skin crawl.

...suddenly, Killua is contending with the very real fact that he might see Gon transforming into something like that, and the joking around loses all luster. ]

That's a question you can ask at the Coven too. We have to be prepared for the possibilities.

[freecshow]

[Gon's thought the same thing, and his gut would twist with guilt for those feelings; he'd had that thought with the woman he described earlier. there's a type of tension that makes his hair stand a bit... Gon hasn't even considered how a white feline turnskin might make him feel.]

Hm... yeah...

[Gon lowers his arms. he won't say it out loud, but he hopes he'll be a Witch, like Killua.]

I'm sure there's a lot of information at the Coven... like a library, or something.