Event Log: September, The Price of Revolution p1

[faileas]

Event Log: September, The Price of Revolution Part 1

I. The Freedom Festivities Behind the fortress-like walls of Dorchacht, what was once a gloomy, imposing city is lit up for the festivities to come. Septeril brings with it many mixed emotions for the citizens of what used to be called The Black City, though the overwhelming atmosphere is positive - this is a celebration of freedom hard-earned and prosperity hard-fought-for. The triple stars of the Resistance, now the current reigning party, feature heavily in decorations and in clothing: in pins, on hats, golden stars enchanted into fabric to dance merrily across skirts and cloaks. Stars light up the streets in decorative strings hung from lamppost to lamppost, flickering gently over the cobblestones. Mirrors, as well, feature into the decor, tiny round ones hung in multitudes from awnings and in windows like ornaments, catching the light and playing it across the otherwise-utilitarian architecture, lending it a sort of understated beauty. Much of Dorchacht has been rebuilt and repurposed by necessity since the uprising last year, and many new small businesses and restaurants are being featured at the festival - their goods or their foods on display in markets of street-side stalls or on the feast tables. Local handmade wares and crafts are out for sale for modest prices, and every sale helps out both the small business, many of which are started by former slaves, and helps the local economy, which is better these days but still recovering. The festivities go for six days, almost a full week, with feasting and bonfires every evening, and tours and tales of the city by day, as they display the changes for the better they have all made. And then, on the final evening, all are invited to watch a grand fireworks show that will be put on in the skies over Dorchacht, presided over by the Circle of Three themselves. Mirrorbound are welcomed warmly, whether they were present last year or not, and treated much like family - get ready to be pulled into activities and plied with food left and right. a. Join the Fun The children of Dorchacht are out by the dozens during the festivities, excited by all the freely-offered, special sweet treats and the magical sparklers and poppers being handed out by the fistful. The poppers explode when thrown to the ground in bursts of bright colors, completely harmless, and the sparklers are enchanted not to burn little (or big) hands if mishandled. Mirrorbound passing through may find themselves roped into elaborate pretend games of revolution by eager faces: the children name themselves either Resistance members or Mirrorbound, and 'do battle' with their magic fireworks against scarecrow-like constructions cloaked in dark bed sheets as 'the bad guys'. Depending on one's perspective, it may seem dark, but this is what these children have known very recently in their lives, and their caretakers or parents (there are more of the former than the latter, especially for the young Monsters) let them play as they will. If asked, they'll just explain that some of those kids even remember the fighting when it happened; this is just another way that they try to understand how the city has changed. More organized, family-friendly reenactment performances are also common, with several of the orphanage groups putting on small plays about the uprising, or moral plays about kindness and togetherness between Witches and Monsters. This includes a prominent set of performances by the Mirrored Hearts Home for Children - maybe you're helping out with their sets or costumes, or maybe you assisted with their scripts and songs. Those Mirrorbound volunteers will want to see the kids do well, right? They'll be heartbroken if you don't show. Of course, kids aren't the only ones doing reenactments. The newly formed Dorchacht Historical Society, dedicated to protecting Dorchacht's history going forward, puts on several - and may drag in passers-by to play different roles! Only the luckiest are begged to play the role of The Dragon, who valiantly rose up against their cruel former master, Morgana, and helped lead Dorchacht to where they are today. b. Forget-Me-Not While the overall air is celebratory, among the adults who are old enough to understand just what was lost as well as gained, there is an undercurrent of sombre remembrance. Many visit the burned-out Old Coven, left as damaged as it was when the fighting ceased, as a monument to how freedom fighters suffered and fought. Plaques dot the grounds and buildings there seemingly at random, until you realize that each metal plate bearing names is laid where someone died. To decorate these plaques, and homes and businesses as well, there are tables set up in the yard of the New Coven, heavy with a rainbow of small magical flowers called Forget-Me-Nots, and the supplies to make remembrance wreaths. In this new tradition, the flowers are chosen with a dead, missing, or simply absent loved one in mind, and woven together with glass beads, small wooden charms, and a spell written on a slip of paper. The enchanted fragrance of the Forget-Me-Nots allows whoever smells them to witness short, happy memories of the person the wreath was made for - whether they knew that person or not. The memories come from the wreath-maker, and are only short flashes (less than a minute long) or mere impressions, but all are pleasant or warming. With the spell woven in, they'll last for an entire year without wilting or losing their effects, a souvenir from the festival to take home. Mirrorbound are encouraged to join in, and make wreaths of their own, whether or not they lost someone in Dorchacht's uprising. It can be for someone who has disappeared from Geardagas, someone who died long ago, someone living they miss from home, anyone who is not currently with them.

II. The Uninvited Guests On the 25th, the final day of the celebrations, the partying lasts all day. Food and drink are abundant on every corner, upbeat music is played by street performers and over the radios that can be found in nearly every household and shop, and the bonfires have been enchanted to let the flames take fanciful shapes. Drinking games and dancing, storytelling and general partying all last clear into the evening, but once dusk falls, everyone gathers in the center square of the city for the fireworks show. The Three are there - the Witches Bryn and Hilda, and the Monster known as The Dragon, Starlight, or formerly Fafnir - with Nessie and Mhairi as guests of honor, and Hilda is the one to set off the first enchanted fireworks, after a brief speech thanking everyone for coming out to celebrate a year of freedom and independence with them. It's with bursts of colorful light in the night sky behind her that she seems to appear from nowhere: tall, dark and imposing, a sharp-eyed Witch that exudes power. Morgana Drummond is not alone, either, flanked by a dozen rough-worn Witches and a host of others. The chaos that ensues is immediate and violent. "All of this for me?" Drummond sneers. Attacks bounce off her, no matter how powerful - even Nessie's considerable spells. Witches will be able to sense the strong barrier spell close-fit around her body, and the others around her will not let Monsters get close. It's The Dragon who speaks, voice rough from disuse but loud enough: "How dare you return here-" "I built this city in all the ways that matter. I was never going to let you have it. You burned away my Dorchacht, so now I will make sure there is nothing left of yours but ashes." a. To Sleep, Perchance Unreachable, Morgana Drummond's form limns in a sickly violet light, the circle of a spell forming beneath her feet, steadily growing as her power gathers. So much magic gathered in one spot is bound to be felt by all the Mirrorbound, Witch and Monster alike, oppressive in nature as if it could steal the breath from your lungs. Perhaps it truly was a fluke that she was driven from Dorchacht, a happy accident caused by a timely distraction. The spell circle spreads, glowing, until it envelops the entire city, and it pulses once, blinding, before it sears itself across Dorchacht's streets and buildings in burnt lines and symbols. The fireworks continue to pop and burst overhead, casting shadows that seem suddenly sinister. Nothing happens for just a moment - and then all the people of Dorchacht collapse in waves. Next to a stunned Nessie and furious Mhairi, Bryn, Hilda, and the Dragon fall into a heap as well, the final three bodies to hit the ground. Mirrorbound and citizens of Aefenglom do not fall prey to the sleeping spell despite being in its area of effect. It happens in the span of just a few minutes, and then Morgana is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving her people to sow terror on the sleeping city. b. Battle on the Streets While she brought with her only a dozen Witches from her former Coven, she's collected a force in the Wilde. Blank-eyed rogue necromancers, mind controlled the way the Monsters of Dorchacht used to be, storm the streets controlling in turn their dead Monsters and creatures. A few even have with them dead Nuckelavee, which will require multiple fighters to take out. Wilders from Dorchacht gone missing on expeditions in the last year bear the signs of mind control as well - the ones who aren't dead, shambling around the necromancers. Maybe you recognize them, maybe you don't. Maybe you can help them, or maybe you can't. The mind control enchantments can be dispelled with a lot of effort or with the specific spells used often by the Resistance a while ago, for those who still remember it. In the slums of Dorchacht, the people who were convinced of Morgana's return, those who want to return to the days of slavery and terror, break free from the now-sleeping guards and failing wards that kept them contained and join the fighting, manic in their glee. The spell that put the rest of Dorchacht to sleep seems to slip right off them, perhaps sensing their loyalty to terrible causes. It is chaos, as the insurgents set fires and attack at will with magic, claws, weapons, anything they have. Mirrorbound will soon realize that they and the visitors from Aefenglom are not the only targets. The sleeping people of Dorchacht are ripe for the killing, unable to react or defend themselves. The fighting will continue into the night until the invaders are all dead or captured.

III. The Aftermath When the fighting ends, the work begins. An entire city deep in the throes of an enchanted sleep is a worst-case scenario that none of them could have predicted, even those who had a hunch Morgana didn't die out in the unexplored Wilde. Miss Nessie and Mhairi will remain on the scene helping to direct the aid efforts in the aftermath of the battle. Fires must be put out, corpses must be rounded up to be buried or burned, captured attackers must be secured and questioned, sleeping citizens must be whisked from the streets to safety and shelter, and buildings ensured to be safe in the meantime. Aefenglom's Coven are called in to assist, anyone who is available, and Mirrorbound help is more than welcomed. They will need everyone they can get to make sure not all is lost in this tragic attack. Nessie herself will ensure the Three are taken to safety in Aefenglom until the people of Dorchacht can be woken. Action needs to be taken quickly. Morgana needs to be found as soon as possible, and capable hands will be needed to search the Wilde far outside Dorchacht, the most likely place for her to go. More urgently, however, are the sleeping citizens. Nessie announces late the next evening, the normally-bubbly woman gone solemn and serious: "I believe I've found a counter-ritual for the spell that nasty woman used, I have. I will need your help, though, Mirrorbound. Volunteers only, of course, of course, as it's likely to be quite dangerous, though the Dreamers and I will take every precaution we can. Discuss among yourselves, decide if you're willing. Those who are, meet at the Coven at midnight on the 27th. It's not right to just leave them all like that, not right at all..."

Welcome to September's event log, Part 1 of The Price of Revolution! This event will continue in the TDM posted on the 21st, with a foray into purposeful dreamwalking. It will be a hybrid test drive and event that current characters will be allowed to top level on as well. Quests into the Wilde to search for Morgana will currently bear no fruit beyond small clues, but Part 2 in early October will deal with her whereabouts and her final fate. As always, direct your questions about the event HERE! And finally, for those who are wondering what's up with Dorchacht, we have a Setting update for you.

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II. Fighting the dead

[darkestbefore]

[ It's the sound of a flute that cuts over the chaos and lures Yona away from where she'd been checking and warding fallen bodies. She recognizes that sound and hurries to locate it, searching for others helping to deal with the madness that's been unleashed in the streets of Dorchacht.

She turns a corner and spots him among a horde of shambling dead. Knowing there must be a necromancer nearby controlling them, she hastens in that direction, bow already raised, and unleashing an arrow at one nearing too close to his flank as he plays and pushes the others back. She doesn't call out, doesn't otherwise draw attention to herself, but she suspects she won't need to, even as she sends another arrow out, whittling down the numbers of dead around him. ]

[zewu_jun]

[It's a shame that the monsters and wilders attacking them are being used. They aren't fighting of their own wills and killing them again seems cruel to him. It isn't their fault that these people are trying to overthrow the city. But he has to defend the citizens, too. Lan Xichen leans heavily on defense, avoiding direct conflict as much as he can, but in the end that only leaves him more open to being cornered and outnumbered.

When he sees a corpse near him fall to an arrow, his song becomes slightly more relieved, gaining strength as he sends a current of wind out to push back the other animated dead away from the unconscious innocents. But his magic is running thin and Yona comes just in time. As her arrows cut down the nearest attackers, Lan Xichen stumbles and loses his spell, falling down with his body covering at least one of the victims lying beneath him.]

There are too many! Don't get too close!

[Calling out at that point isn't going to help with more and more monsters closing in. They'll have to spot the necromancer, but that means staying alive first.]

[darkestbefore]

[ Seeing him fall means that Yona completely disregards that warning, even as she dashes to close the distance between them. Several more arrows are shot off to keep the space around him safe, even as she skids to a stop beside him.

But the undead are still shambling closer, more than she can shoot alone, so she acts in haste, reaching down to imbue the cobblestones beneath their feet with a barrier rune and then pushing it outwards in a wider circle. It won't hold them off for long, but it should buy them some time, enough for her to get Xichen back on his feet, perhaps.

Seeing it spring upwards in an orb or bubble around them, she spins to crouch beside him, eyes searching him for injuries. ]

Are you hurt?

[zewu_jun]

[Oh, no. She comes closer instead of keeping back, which forces Lan Xichen back up as much as he can. At least to his knees, because he can't let Yona be injured trying to help him!]

I'll be fine. You mustn't come close to here. It's dangerous-

[And way too late to be saying that now. They are already being circled by the dead monsters and wilders under the sway of the necromancer controlling them. Lan Xichen sits up, still protesting, as Yona holds their attackers at bay with her runes. At least one of them has managed to do that. He's managed to get himself some pretty gashes and a bite mark from one of the Turnskins, but he is trying to shrug that off in favor of guarding others. Once he realizes they really are committed to this team up against his better judgment, he huffs.]

I thought you weren't supposed to be getting close in battle.

[darkestbefore]

[ She frowns at that chide, huffing at him in exasperation as she props her hands on her hips a moment. ]

You looked as if you needed the assistance!

[ As if she would stand by while he was overrun. Did he truly think her so cowardly? Hak would of course scold her, but he'd also know she wasn't one to stand by when someone else was in danger. Her conscience would never allow such a thing. ]

It's dangerous for you here, too! Can you stand?

[zewu_jun]

[ She's young enough to be one of his students, a junior training for adulthood, but she snaps right back at him stubbornly as if he were the one needing direction. And maybe she has a point. Xichen draws himself up, limping slightly as he stands next to her, pulling his blade up to shield them from at least one side.]

I can stand... It's all right. If you were hurt because of me, I'm sure your friends would scold me for not protecting you.

[It's only a half-hearted argument, though. She's holding her own and, with a wry smile, Xichen notes that Yona has managed quite well on the front line.]

These ones are getting too close. We need to find the witch that is commanding them. Do you see anyone further off? They won't face us if they can help it. We'll have to go to them.

[Which means more danger, but it's just too late now.]

Thank you. For helping me.

[darkestbefore]

[ She scowls at him for a moment. ]

I should hope they would scold me as well, had I stood by and not done something to help, when you were surrounded. Would you have kept your distance from someone in need of aid?

[ She may not know him well, but she still doubts his conscience would have allowed for such a thing. he struck her as far too noble and courageous for that.

But relenting, she huffs out a small breath at his thanks. ]

You're welcome. But you're right. Whoever is controlling these will just keep sending more. We need to cut off the source. [ Which has her pausing and taking a good look around them. ] Unless the witch is lurking atop one of these buildings, they have to be in that direction. [ She points down the other end of the street from where she'd entered. ] I passed no such figure on my way to you.

[zewu_jun]

[ Lan Xichen looks taken aback by the scowl and firm words of correction. It's been a while since anyone has dared to actually speak to him in a harsh tone, deserving or not. He stays quiet a moment, only beating back one of the attackers as he processes what just happened.

She's making a lot of sense and he wasn't ready for it. ]

I apologize. You are correct. If I saw someone surrounded, I would not have fled either. I sometimes forget myself here.

[ She's a fighter too, isn't she? It's only natural to want to do what she can. Lan Xichen nods. ]

Then you and I must hunt for them. Since we do not know what is up ahead, we should stay together for now.

[ Charging through the various clashes already going on. That won't be easy, but at least they can back each other up? It's risky, but they don't have much choice. ]

[darkestbefore]

[ At the apology, she relents a little, since that chide had perhaps come out a bit more forceful than intended. But she was not here to be protected from harm - especially when he was already in plenty of danger as it was.

Letting the issue go, she instead looks around, nodding at his plan. They don't have time to argue, not when so many lives are still in danger. ]

Hunting I can do. The sooner we find who's controlling them the better. Shall I follow you?

[ She does at least grant that she's better at covering defense, and at a range. She does have her small blade with her, but she's got far more experience with her bow, and has been learning how to imbue magic into her shots as well. ]