event pt 1 | full moon & litha

[moustre]

Event Log: June, A Midsummer Night's Dream

I. IUNERIL 17TH - THE FULL MOONS The days leading up to the full moons are the same as last month: Monsters are a little itchier and a little easier to agitate, whether they mean to be or not, which becomes increasingly noticeable the day before the full moons. But of particular note is that this may be the second full moons that some arrivals have experienced, and with that comes greater risks, greater agitation, and further reminders to take care of themselves. Weather fair, despite the worries of the city, Monsters will find that the Sisters aren't blocked away by clouds this night. The moons cast their light down on the city, and the pull is strong for even the veteran natives that call the city home. The Coven is offering potions and charms, in an attempt to encourage those without a Bond to ensure that they will be able to keep their wits about them throughout the entire stretch of the Sisters' time in the sky at their fullest. They're always allowed to reject the offer, but it's with a warning: if they let their newfound instincts overtake them, then they might find themselves back in the Coven under worse conditions. But the Sisters rise framed in stark red skies, even as evening falls across Aefenglom, much to the discontent of the city. Streets that are rarely dim are lit up even moreso, now, in the face of this omen, lanterns and candles leading all the way to the Harbor District. Their colors flicker with shades of blue, green, violet - anything to offset the red. Boats that come and go along the river also carry a lantern or two with the same intent, and ships in the harbor are decorated with magical faerylights, strung across hulls, masts, the works. There's no place in the Harbor District untouched by light, with nary a sign of red in the midst of their goods. Tensions are already high, between the humans and Monsters of Aefenglom. It's especially noticeable on this night: full moons already cause everyone to be a little jumpy, but with the red tidings for Litha, they're more on edge than ever. Some blame the new arrivals, though never directly to their face, especially when they don't know who, or what, someone might be. It's always a there-and-gone whisper, it seems like. Gossip. Distrust. Unease. It doesn't lend well to the full moons, but there are still those that want to help. Many will notice that there's already activities and decorations up for Litha, some of them still under construction despite the fast approaching festival. The most notable of all are the hedge mazes that have been constructed, both by hand and with magic to encourage their growth. Behind the festival organizers' backs, a group of people - both man and beast - are offering Monsters a chance to burn off some of their energy by embracing their instincts in a more... constructive manner, with native Witches and Monsters alike prepared to intervene if things get a little too violent. In a sort of mockery of Litha's traditions, they're partnering Monsters up with a willing participant to run the mazes, with a variety of options that they will list. The partner - or partners, if there is a party looking to go in together - can be either Witch or Monster, and the people organizing this won't judge as they inform the interested individuals of their options: a. A-HUNTING WE WILL GO, allowing the Monster to either hunt a small livestock or game animal (a piglet, fowls, rabbits, the like) or to hunt down their partner through the maze they've chosen. This need not end violently, and can become more of a game of hide and seek meets tag. b. EVERYBODY WAS FIGHTING, where one maze in particular has been devoted to a makeshift fight ring at the very heart of it. The organizers hope, somewhat, that by making the Monster(s) in question run the maze first they'll be a little tired out already when reaching the ring. c. UNDER THE PALE MOONLIGHT, because instincts don't always call for violence, the organizers offer a more intimate experience here, whether it's sexual or nonsexual. Maybe you just want a good cuddle..? The organizers emphasize the idea of consent, and will not force anyone against their will into the hedge mazes, no matter which one it is. They also want to make sure that they will step in to help if called upon, in case someone gets a little too overeager. Witches looking to use magic this night will, peculiarly, find that their magic is a little less... cooperative. Many of the Coven Witches speak of how they specifically wait to cast powerful spells on the night of the full moons, to ensure that they have the greatest chances of success with the help of the Sisters. However, Witches of the new arrival persuasion are much weaker on full moons. Their magic is still there, and they can still draw upon it for spells, but they'll have to put greater effort if they want to cast a spell with any significant amount of power. Overexerting oneself while doing this is entirely possible, so it's best to try and find some sort of balance, lest you find yourself exhausted and without a means to defend yourself. We ask that any and all NSFW threads be marked accordingly, or otherwise moved to a locked post on the log community or an entry/inbox on a character journal. Remember to please be excellent to each other, and respect all limits that your threadmates might have, if you explore the more sexual or violent aspects of the offered prompts. If things get OOCly out of hand, please let us know; if things get ICly out of hand, please let Nessie and Mhairi know.

II. LITHA - IUNERIL 21ST TO 23RD Despite what chaos there might have been on the night of the full moons, and the subsequent day after as things began to calm, Litha still arrives as scheduled on Iuneril 21st, as the sun begins to set. The summer solstice reaches its peak the following night, and the festivities wind down the third dusk. While certainly still lively, it isn't as completely festive as Boaltinn, most certainly because of the red skies, and the natives are obviously trying to make the best they can of what they perceive as a poor situation. To say that the natives are on edge would certainly be an understatement. Whatever happened in those hedge mazes is untraceable, now, and everything looks pristine. Faerylights decorate every awning, overhang, and eave, magical and twinkling with colors to offset the red skies. There are no bonfires, this go around, but much like the fires it seems that the lights all lead to the primary area of celebration: in contrast to Boaltinn, Litha is celebrated in the Entertainment, Shopping, and Harbor Districts. Doors to businesses are wide open (with many even having large signs indicating VAMPIRES WELCOME HERE - those that don't make a clear statement), and stalls offering wares and foods and activities alike are set up at nearly every corner alongside preestablished businesses in the market. The harbor is especially lively, with many sailors coming and going as they prepare for setting sail. While ships themselves are always coming and going in the port, Litha is an important time for the more longterm voyages and those meant to carry some significance, and each ship departing is bid farewell with equal fanfare. Fireworks and celebration that is, at least in some part, genuine, but does carry a certain level of enthusiasm that borders on force of will. a. ASKING FOR A LITTLE COMPANY Though all businesses in the Entertainment District open their doors for the festivals of Aefenglom, the brothels of the city in particular are offering a warm welcome this Litha to anyone who might be interested in spending some time with someone - or, multiple someones. They have open rooms for mingling, lounges with floor pillows and low tables where customers can partake in spiced and unspiced drinks alike, where the unspiced are lacking in the potions and near-aphrodisiacs of the spiced drinks. Private rooms are also available for those seeking a more... intimate experience, however one may take that to mean. The brothel workers are more than happy to attend to any interested parties, but also aren't against randomly pairing individuals up, based on their specifications. And, after a little misunderstanding regarding their classes, the Head Madame of the guild has decided that they will be offering chances for individuals to perform at their establishments. She was rather charmed by the mishap, bless your souls, as were the rest of the guild, so the new arrivals have endeared themselves to the brothel workers. Dances, conversation, assorted busking - whatever skills that their quest-takers learned, whether it be of the more sexual nature or not, they'll provide whatever they might need to put on a show and attract or entertain clientele. b. I'M WISHING FOR THE ONE I LOVE Anyone interested in making their way into the Shopping District will find just as many open doors, as well as numerous stalls interspersed where they weren't before. Vendors hawking their wares and goods like always call out with Litha specials, and businesses set up temporary stalls to draw attention to themselves, with promise of greater bargains and products to be found at their main establishment. There are many that sell spiced foods and drinks, with varying degrees of strength depending on how one wants to feel. Others are selling candles and lanterns, offering a magitech version of a lighter at a steal, depending on how much you purchase otherwise. The largest stalls, and the biggest displays at storefronts, are the flowers though. Every single flower shop in Aefenglom has come out full force, practically painting the district in a myriad of non-red colors as they put their stock on full display. They offer deals for those who wish to buy bouquets for a sweetheart or someone they admire, as well as anyone wanting to make flower crowns for those they care for. Each of the seven largest shops are also handing out a single flower for those partaking in festivities to place under their pillow to dream of future partners, the flower they're typically most well known for; this varies from shop to shop, but the up and coming Rose Bush certainly isn't going to let superstition stop them, and are handing out red roses. It's a bold move, but one that causes the tizzy that they were intending it to. And if one is feeling particularly whimsical, they can go to any well at night, looking into the depths in a bid to see their future spouse and true love within. Perhaps making an offering of a flower would bring good luck..? Just don't linger for too long, as there's a rumor that someone is pushing unfamiliar faces into the well, likely targeting those they think are new arrivals. c. GET LOST WITH ME Though the Harbor District has some bleedover from the Shopping District in terms of festivities, their streets and warehouses are where the most room is available for the hedge mazes. Some are sprawling as they fill the streets and alleys, spilling into the towering buildings that have been empty to load the contents onto waiting ships. They create their own environments, with flowers from the flower shops blooming in the rows and creating archways at entrances and exits. Some are enchanted to seem neverending, although there always is an exit, if one can only figure out the puzzle. Each maze has a different method to its madness, and arrangements that those running them have decided on. (Some faces may seem familiar, to those that encountered them on the full moons; they'll feign otherwise, focused only on the now and refusing to draw attention to any recognition.) Some mazes send in the partners together, randomly selected and tasked with figuring out how to reach the end of the maze together. Others will send the partners in from different ends, with the instructions to find one another, whether in the center of the maze or in its winding path. Another variety offers something reminiscent of the hide and seek meets tag game, tasking one as the hunter and the other as the hunted, a game of pursuit meant to replicate the "playing hard to get" variety of courtship. There's no restrictions on how many times one can enter the maze, as it allows one to forge many bonds - and possibly Bonds - and replicates the process of finding your true love. Or, loves; no one here is going to judge anyone. They certainly won't judge, either, if participants opt to take a swig of something for luck in love before they go in. However, some mazes have been tampered with: rather than opening out into somewhere safe on the street or in a building, they empty out unaware participants into the port itself. Hopefully you know how to swim. Once again, we ask that if any threads take on a NSFW nature that they be marked as such, or otherwise moved to a locked post in the log community or an entry/inbox in a character journal.

Welcome to the event log, part I! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs; take the prompts offered and go wild, go crazy, go stupid, have fun. As ever, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans, let the mods know, and if you have any questions about the log, ask them here!

Comments

[showsnopiety]

[She may be dangerous but-it's a low key dangerous at least, nothing flaring up at the moment. There was no reason to be dangerous to him. Not right now at least.

Her fingers grazed over his briefly, before she took the glass, and held the stem in her hand. She understood why there was less-he didn't want to overwhelm her when she felt dizzy. It was a courteous thing to offer indeed.]

That's what I was hoping to do. And I'm still hoping to do.

[She tips her glass towards him, as a kind of toast.]

Now, I could try to interest you with speaking of myself, or try to turn this around by asking further questions about yourself-get a reading of what you would truly find interesting as I stumble in the dark. But that would undermine your intelligence and mine.

[Gold eyes meet gold. She could have played that card, but for all that he's similar to Gilgamesh, this Servant is not him. Stroking his ego doesn't make an "interesting" conversation.]

Instead...what if I told you a true story?

[fulgency]

[As she speaks, Ozymandias scoots back a little further up on the bed to recline on his side, facing her and propping his head with a loose fist. He gestures with his glass in wordless permission to tell her story before taking his first sip.]

[showsnopiety]

[She smiles a little. Well this is a good start. So she takes a breath, peered at her wine, and started her story, low and soft.]

Not so long ago, in another place, there were three families that came together to have a discussion.

These three families were people of power, that of the magi. And all three families wanted the same thing: they desired power, far greater then they already possessed.

But there was a way, established long ago: that of the path of the Grail. Should they work together, they would obtain their goals.

Of course, they knew that it may take more then once for this to come to fruition. So they made a promise to work together to make sure the event would come to pass, and that members of all three families could work towards the greater sacrifice.

[fulgency]

[As Ozymandias listens, his expression remains relatively unchanged. That is until she mentions the Grail and the corner of one of Ozymandias' lips pulls up into nearly a smirk. When she begins the story, he has a sense of where it might be leading, but it's only upon mention of the Grail that he receives more of a confirmation.]She

[She knows what he is then. (Or rather was at this point.) That leaves the question of what is she? Perhaps an overseer? She did speak of the Church assigning her to various locations, perhaps one such location was to be where a Holy Grail War would take place.]

[He takes another sip from his wine, choosing not to interrupt her story, allowing his speculations for the time being to be private.]

[showsnopiety]

And of course, being magi, they knew that all of them would try to stab each other in the back-that was what the fight was about after all. So they turned toward the Church to be the overseers, to watch over, to judge and to offer sanction for the survivors.

And the Church agreed because they wanted to see the face of god-and they would have power over the magnus families of course.

[She offered a slight wave with her wine hand. She knew that she was revealing herself, in a way, but she may be misleading him too. That made things interesting and fun.]

So the Grail wars began. The first passed, the second-unremarkable for taking the greatest humans can become and making them as part of a simple war game. Rather a waste, really.

The families kept going, striding towards the goal-their Wish. And in an attempt to gain an advantage, one magnus summoned outside of the usual seven. They wanted to be greater; they wanted to win.

So they brought in All the Evils of the World.

[fulgency]

[Despite the existing similarities -- enough that Caren knows what Ozymandias is and he can speculate -- it's obvious as she continues her story that her world is not the same one that he originates from to this place. But that matters very little, he asks a more pointed question,]

And when do you come into this story? [He takes another sip.] Or is the better question how do you come into this story?

[showsnopiety]

Oh, I'm a long time in coming. And I slip in when something else arises, due to a Wish and due to the meddling of Angra Mainyu.

And some other complications. I can try to condense it if you so wish.

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias makes a small noise of disagreement.]

Continue as you were. I wish to hear the whole of your story.

[showsnopiety]

[She bows her head, smiling slightly, as she continues with the story. It seems she's truly caught his interest.]

I'm glad to hear it. Now, for the third battle, Angra Mainyu is defeated rather quickly; it's a given, how his strength is not best used against Heroes, but humans.

What the magi do not realize is the damage that was done, once he was added to the Grail. He was tainted, and thus he tainted the Grail itself. It's unknown how much damage was done in the third war, but sixty years later during the fourth...

Well. Things were already going badly for the three families.

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias' eyes are trained on her as she continues. If there were need for evidence of his interest, it's certainly that. And his continued questions.]

How so?

[showsnopiety]

One family-they were not doing so well when it came to the fiances due to the nature of their magic. Another could only cling to the past, and not produce anything more then dolls-so instead they brought in a mage killer. And the third-their bloodline was failing.

The last child born shortly before the conflict could not produce magic at all.

[fulgency]

And yet they persisted.

[Ozymandias is really not one to judge having great ambitions, but there are certain sacrifices that even he would deem too much in such ventures.]

[showsnopiety]

Of course they did.

They were so close, they thought! And they made their alliances and schemed and...

There was no winner. Instead, the Grail spilled over when there was an attempt to destroy the Grail itself. It was nothing short of a miracle that it didn't consume the entire town-just a part of it.

[fulgency]

I imagine not even that slowed these families and their ambitions.

[showsnopiety]

More then you would expect. It was the family of the dolls that were to the greatest advantage, since while they lost their mage killer and their Grail, they still had more then enough resources.

But the family with the dead bloodline had only two options-a boy unable to perform, or the mage child they adopted from the financially desperate family.

And the last, well-the heir had to be taught by another, as the head had been killed in the war. And that teacher had...ambitions greater then suspected.

[fulgency]

And what exactly were those ambitions?

[showsnopiety]

To bring the world to ruin.

He was a survivor of the Fourth War you see, son of the Overseer, and Assassin's Master. We don't know his complete motivations for this. He was a priest himself, and a magnus-and someone whose magic specialty was supposedly healing.

He was supposed to be someone beyond peer, someone who was supposed to be completely trustworthy. But then, that's why traitors are so hated.

[fulgency]

I assume he met his end for those designs.

[showsnopiety]

Eventually yes. About...little more then six months ago.

What killed him, we're not entirely sure. It could have been due to hubris, human error, or a Hero's wrath.

But he did bring it on himself when he induced the war to start too soon as part of his designs. And he stole the Command Seals from another master.

I didn't even know that was possible.

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias frowns a little, considering his wine a moment before he takes another sip.]

How is so much about him unknown?

[showsnopiety]

While he was of the Church, he behaved perfectly, as far as anyone else knew.

All was known was that he was dead, and...the fact that he had stolen the Command Seals would have gone unnoticed if he had finished the job of killing the previous master.

Because she was discovered by the very being who corrupted the grail. And together, they froze the area into a time loop after...six months that the war had finished.

I was only able to slip in because with the death of the priest, there was a role that needed filling.

[fulgency]

A time loop?

[It sounds so outlandish that it must be true.]

Were you aware of time repeating itself?

[showsnopiety]

I was. And initially I was the only one, until the pivot-the one all the events it centered around-let himself remember.

[She sighed.]

It took awhile. He was a bit of a dunce.

[fulgency]

[Ozymandias huffs a small laugh.]

I imagine that was perhaps a reason for why he was selected as the pivot. If he were aware, he would no doubt begin attempting to undo the loop, would he not?

[And, naturally, Ozymandias concludes that he was likely the only one actually capable of doing as much.]

[showsnopiety]

He would, and he would need guidance to make a difference.

[She shook her head with a exasperated sigh. But there was fondness there.]

I lost track of how many times he died-how many times I died. It took some time, as the only other person who could have done something thought she would die but-

They were finally going to release the town, and the grip the Grail held over it when I was brought here. I went up with him on the stairs in the sky.

And I'd be forgotten but-I'd still know what I'd done.