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.

Comments

[yesdoubt]

[There's not much Momo can personally compare that to - he has juniors with dead parents, but not for such a catastrophic reason - so he just nods understandingly, a sympathetic look on his face. A memorial for even just a city takes time and a lot of people to create.]

Sorry for your loss. It must've been terrible to have your whole world taken away from you like that. [Humans like to go to war, but at least they haven't managed to wipe out any planets. Yet.] Was it connected to what you Paladins were protecting the universe against?

[He's heard fragments of the Paladin stuff from her and Lance, but not all that much about their enemies.]

[quintessent]

[She lifts her head in surprise that he knows about it, but the expression softens soon enough as it makes sense that he’s been talking with Keith and the others enough. It’s not a secret at all, and she doesn’t mind him knowing. She nods.]

We were fighting against the man who took my planet from me, when we were brought here.

[She fiddles with one of the flowers,] They say that once it’s finished the wreath will be infused with the magic from our memories. I’m…. anxious to complete mine.

[yesdoubt]

Then I hope you can personally get the justice you deserve for what happened. [Momo is definitely a little bit of an eye-for-an-eye type about some things, so while he'd want her to have justice either way, he hopes she manages to seize it herself. It seems to him like it'd be cathartic.

But for now, he nods, starting to work on his own wreath again.] I helped pick some of the flowers for this, the smell of them gave me...nostalgic thoughts, I guess? Happy memories. So I can believe that's what'll come out of the finished wreath as well.

[quintessent]

[She nods, just a little bit of a hard look coming over her expression. Since Kolivan arrived, and finding out about Keith's heritage, she's had a little bit of a softened heart when it comes to the Galra. But that didn't change the fact that Zarkon and his ilk needed to pay. It would take a lot more than a few good eggs to heal what has been done.

But she doesn't say that, and instead turns back to their wreaths,] That's true. And if they're only based on memories... Well, then that should be safe.

[She wasn't there for the loss of her planet, which was equal parts a relief and left her eternally feeling ill at ease. Like maybe it's still out there somewhere.

She affixes another flower to her wreath,]

My mother used to weave flowers in my hair like this - the gardens on Altea were unlike any other.

[And as she speaks, Momo might get a whiff of the flowers and a vision: A woman that could just as easily be confused for Allura herself, if not for the fact that a smaller Allura was sitting in her lap, pink and white flowers being tucked into her braided hair.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo blinks at the vision, momentarily surprised but his expression softening a bit after that. He'd always been very close with his family before his career choice had driven a wedge between them, so it's nice to see others with such a good relationship.]

You look alike. [A gentle enough observation, he feels.] I've never been much of a gardener, admittedly, but my darling's house is full of plants, so sometimes we go to places like that and sometimes for work too. It'd be nice to see what another planet's gardens look like.

[His hands move meticulously over his wreath, weaving the flowers in tightly again so they don't show what's underneath. Something like this would probably be cute in Yuki's hair too, he thinks, but possibly at a less somber time.]

[quintessent]

[It shouldn't surprise her, how quickly she feels the sting of tears as soon as Momo comments on her mom's appearance, her throat feeling tight. But she keeps it together, smiling and closing her eyes at the shared memory. Her mom puts a juniberry in younger-Allura's hair. Pink and white, not unlike the colors in Allura's wreath.]

I picked up gardening once I came here. I'm afraid I was much more interested in following my father around, when I was young.

[The memory doesn't shift as much as it progresses - an Altean man dressed in fine armor joins his family. The younger version of her happy to go and immediately roughhouse with him.

Allura opens her eyes, bidding the memory away.]

Your partner... Yuki, was it? Does he keep plants now that he's come here? I could give you some cuttings from my garden, if he would like them.

[yesdoubt]

[He does wonder if those same flowers are used in mourning in her world, which would make the memory all the more bittersweet. But for now, he feels it might be better to file that question away for later.

He smiles a little knowingly at her description of following her father around.] I used to be kinda like that with my big sis too, when we were really small.

[His parents worked a lot, so his sister was around a bit more reliably and they were close enough in age to get to know each other's friend groups. In an indirect way, she's the reason he ended up becoming an idol.

He brightens at the suggestion of cuttings for Yuki, though.] He does! They really brighten up the house, and the kitchen smells really nice because he tends to keep herbs around there...if you have stuff spare then I'm sure he'd appreciate it. I've never met a plant he doesn't like.

[...Except maybe that weird bone eating one Momo got from the cursed basement, but we don't talk about that one.]

[quintessent]

[She smiles, making a mental note to deliver some of her cuttings to Momo and Yuki. It’s been a hobby since she came here. Something she couldn’t do when she was living on her ship in space, so it felt nice. Grounding. And with the way her magic manifested, often stoking life in the things around her, it just made sense.]

You have a sister! [Said with a warm voice, and she sets the first wreath to the side, settling to work on a second one.] I never had any siblings, and I travelled often with my parents, so there weren’t always playmate my age. Are you the youngest?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo grins in a nostalgic sort of manner and nods. He's had his ups and downs with his sister, but they're on good terms again, so it's not too painful to talk about her as long as he avoids the bad topics.]

I am! It's just the two of us, and Ruri's two years older than me, so I'm the baby. We used to hang out a fair bit when we were teenagers, her friends really seemed to like having me carry their shopping and scare off weird guys! [Also having a hot athletic guy close to their age around to ogle, but Momo was naive back in the day and still carried some of those assumptions through getting that part of his personality stripped away in adulthood.]

But she actually took me to my first idol concert, so I kinda have her to thank for where I ended up, since I never paid much mind to male idol stuff before that.

[Despite the several years she disowned him for replacing Yuki's original partner, who'd been her favourite, and finally bringing her jealousy towards him for constantly overshadowing her over the edge. Momo does get it, even if it wasn't particularly pleasant to live through.]

[quintessent]

[It's fun to listen, even if she doesn't have many experiences to compare to it. She knew other youths with siblings, and Lance often spoke fondly of his large family. She never felt like her own was lacking, but to have a little brother or sister!]

So you were her friends bodyguards, how noble of you.

[Said in mostly a tease, but it's well-natured.]

Are you close with her now?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo can't help but laugh at the bodyguard comparison, but now, having a bodyguard himself back home...he guesses it's not entirely wrong. But he focuses on successfully half-truthing that question more than anything.]

Not as much as we were when we lived together growing up, but we still keep in touch a lot! I think she gets jealous of me working with so many hot guys, even though she has a fiance...she was really fond of a particular idol when we were younger, but he's not in the business anymore, so she's drifted a bit from that scene.

[Momo shrugs, the motion making the scent from his wreath waft over. Seemingly unbidden, there's a flicker of an image of a blue-haired man with blue eyes and a blue suit like some kind of administrative worker. He looks a little bit older than Momo, maybe one or two years, and indeed, in the slight snatch of memory, he's petting a rather extravagantly dressed and blushing Momo on the head.

He may or may not be telling the entire truth about the nature of this "particular idol" his sister liked.]

[quintessent]

Oh... I'm sorry.

[She's not sure if she should be apologizing. She doesn't know what it's like to grow apart from family, but it sounds terribly sad, and like something that could be touchy to poke into. But her worries drift as images enter her mind. A man she's never met before, and Momo. She shakes her head,]

Surely she still wants to watch you perform... you're her brother after all.

[Although there's a lot about his career that is a mystery to her. The memory persists and she smiles,] You're dressed like a prince. Is that a costume for the stage?

[yesdoubt]

She watches us on TV a lot! But our live gigs are more of a risk since our fans might see her, and we look pretty alike.

[Momo frames one of his lurid pink eyes with his fingers to highlight that someone who looked alike to him would probably be fairly distinctive. Ruri doesn't have his frosted tips, but hot pink isn't a terribly common eye colour even in his world.

He's absolutely fine with not having to elaborate on Banri for the moment, though, and thus happily takes the topic leap to his costume and not the person in that memory snatch.] It is, yeah. We often have costumes designed for specific songs, so that one was for a song we did as a movie theme a good few months before I came here. I've got a music video for it on my phone, actually, maybe I could show you some other time!

[Just obviously not here and now, because there's a time and a place for that and in the mourning flower wreath area is not it.]

[quintessent]

[To be fair, Allura has green and purple eyes, so she doesn't have much idea of what kind of eye color is strange for humans or not. But she'll take him at his word.]

I would like to see that sometime. [But yes, this is neither the time nor place for it. She smiles, setting some flowers into the base of the wreath,] It's no surprise that you were so good at acting when we put on that stage play. I'm still embarrassed by my performance.

[An actress she is not.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo grins encouragingly at that, reaching over to pat her on the shoulder gently.] Everyone starts somewhere! I had no experience with entertainment stuff before I got into the industry, so it was just a lot of practice and work to get to where I am now. There's definitely things I did back then that I'd be super embarrassed to look back on now, but I just think of it as part of the improvement process. There's a time I would've been to shy to act alongside Yuki since he's such a talent at it.

[Momo's one of those people who just relies on hard work for everything, since he doesn't consider himself particularly talented at anything. So failure to him is just a fact of getting better, even if he takes certain failures more personally.]