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

[unyieldingmarch]

[She nods, glad that he's willing to accept it, and that makes her considerably less antsy. If he'll listen, great.]

I am Edelgard von Hresvelg. Thank you, Momo.

[For being polite, and agreeing.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo inclines his head as if committing the name to memory. He's usually more sociable about first meetings, but this isn't really the situation for his normal manner.] Well, it's good to meet you, even if the circumstances are some of the worst we've had in a while.

[He makes a somewhat casual saluting motion, decidedly not anything actually military but an indication of his preparedness to be ordered.] Time to get started, then?

[unyieldingmarch]

Yes. Time to get started.

[Edelgard sweeps forward, preparing herself mentally for the conflict, knowing better the kind of person she's leading.]

I'm going to get up on a roof and come down from above. Get into position and make yourself ready. When you hear them fighting me, make your move.

[With a leap, she takes off...turning to mist halfway through the jump, and coalescing atop the structure. Nodding down, she starts moving.]

[yesdoubt]

Alright. [Momo inclines his head as she goes, starting to move once she does. He doesn't want to get into line of sight, so he quickly casts an illusion between himself and the necromancer posse, bending light so he's invisible to them but still visible to Edelgard if she needs it. It'd be easier to just disappear himself entirely, but that might make tactics harder.

But for now, he keeps moving, starting to "write" another spell down his arms, as his casting method generally looks like. It goes down one forearm and then down the other, and then he moves up to just barely around the corner of a building from the group, holding onto the spell until Edelgard makes her own move and he can take the cue.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[She gives him a few moments to prepare, and then she starts off. The Necromancers have no idea what hits them. There's a flutter of fabric before it dissolves into mist and the Emperor of Adrestia manifests behind the group. One of them dies immediately, her sword shoved mercilessly through the woman's chest.

Edelgard is already withdrawing her blade and moving to carve through a man's arm, cutting it off at the wrist as he screams a warning.

Now the fight is joined...]

[yesdoubt]

[The fight is joined first by a horrific cracking sound when Momo actually casts the spell he's been holding, and then when he finally drops the illusion, it's about a foot away from the head of one of the thralls about to fall in to defend its masters. That cracking is unveiled in that moment as the sound of a lot of moisture freezing all at once, because what punches through the thrall's head and mostly destroys it in a single shot is not just Momo's fist, but a long and cruel ice spike. He has one on either arm, engulfing just a bit up past his wrists so he doesn't give himself the magical weapons equivalent of a boxing fracture, and basically makes his arms two very unpleasant stabbing weapons with a lot of brute force behind them.

Landing from his leap in, he uses the recoil to launch himself into another of the larger thralls that might pose a threat to Edelgard's work, again going for the head for the cleanest and easiest kill. The man's warning has several of the thralls closing in, a few dead Witches trailing behind a handful of different Monsters that are the larger concern, but Momo's combination of agility, brute force and willingness to go straight for the weak point is a good one of this kind of fight. Dead, corpse-puppeted Monsters just don't hold up quite the same way as live (or properly undead) ones, and since he can cast basic impact barriers without a proper focus these days, he throws one up between the incoming thralls and Edelgard just in case any of them get any ideas before coming at them like a ton of flying bricks.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[With aid this is much, much easier. Edelgard largely ignores the thralls unless they get in her way directly, instead focusing all her energy on isolating and killing the witches. Her body blurs with inhuman speed, a gift of all vampires, but also with rapid flickering between being made of mist and being solid. She's practiced this trick for months and months, turning herself into a dervish, swirling around her foes, carving into them with ruthless efficiency.

There's no flashy maneuvers, no sparks and showing off. Edelgard is a soldier first and foremost, and she's used to fighting for her life. Her attention is everywhere, dodging blows and phasing through bolts of flame, occasionally zipping near Momo to help out.

And, of course, warnings.]

On your right!

[yesdoubt]

[Momo is generally observant, but even after months there's still very much a part of him honing in on that particular hyperawareness that's necessary in a fight like this. At least he's quick to react when he's warned, turning sharply to swing his arm spike through the head of his would-be ambusher. There's a fluidity to his movements that says his particular agility probably comes from something like dancing rather than fighting, but at the same time, there's zero hesitation or holding back in his combat. It's something akin to street fighting, the largely untrained but very brutal combat that originates from necessity more than anything.]

Thanks. [While several of the thralls drop each time a necromancer dies, some of the other necromancers try to take over the control each time, using as much of their magic to do so as they can. It makes things frustrating, but being the type to pay his dues, Momo takes advantage of it when a normal human-sized thrall comes a bit too close at the same time someone tries to shoot a magical projectile Edelgard's way.]

Heads! [That's more of a warning for Edelgard, because the necromancers seem to have no idea what he means - in the split second before he just bodily throws the thrall at the one responsible for the magical projectile. It's one way to distract someone for a few critical moments, though it also means he has to turn away from it almost as soon as it's thrown to deal with his own battle problems.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard catches the warning in time, her body blurring again, this time her natural agility keeping the shot from getting anywhere closer than rippling through the air where she had been. Her sword flicks up, the enchantment in it flaring to life and reflecting the projectile into the face of another necromancer. This one screams as her face literally begins to melt off, the acidic arrow spell burning away flesh and bone.

Nodding her appreciation, Edelgard turns on another thrall...gesturing with a hand towards a necromancer trying to retreat down an alley.]

Stop that one before he brings reinforcements!

[yesdoubt]

[Momo does not want to look at that face-melting incident for more than the second it takes for him to realise what's going on, though at least he has a strong stomach. Thankfully, Edelgard's direction gives him something else to focus on, and he whips around sharply, casting a barrier down the alleyway that flies like a projectile past the necromancer before bursting into a flat blockade that fills the alley wall to wall.

Momo pulls his arm back, and the barrier drags back with it, pulling the necromancer harshly back into attack range as Momo comes to meet him.] Where the hell do you think you're going?

[While he doesn't go for a kill shot - Edelgard seems plenty fine with doing that - he kicks the vulnerable necromancer in the throat and then in the temple mercilessly enough on the way down, using the barrier as something for the impacts to crush him against. If he wakes up before the battle is out, he's probably going to be nursing either a concussion, a partially collapsed windpipe, or both.

Letting him collapse and the barrier drop, Momo leaps back in at the nearest thrall who'd approached to try and defend the necromancer, stabbing it through the throat. Its claws slash at him before its head separates from its body, and he smacks it in the direction of a necromancer nearby Edelgard hoping he can nail someone in the head this time.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard doesn't hesitate, no, she's a soldier. So, when she sees the thrall stumbling towards her and her intended target, she darts in quick and drives her sword through the thrall's chest. Holding position, she uses the body for cover, blood spilling down the front of her shirt from the open wound. The necromancer shrieks as her fire attack bursts harmlessly against a corpse...and then louder as the Emperor shoves it against her. ]

Robes catch fire. You'd think they'd learn that lesson.

[She muses this as she wrenches her sword free and watches the woman go up in flames. She's feeling merciful enough to open her throat before turning back to face what's remaining.]

Did any others try and run?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo is surveying what's remaining and going for any particular outliers already - most of the Monster thralls are down, but there's one or two still hanging on because the couple of remaining necromancers aren't willing to let any of the ones left intact drop. The rest are dead Witches, who without magic aren't exactly a large threat.]

Not that I saw-- [And then one of them breaks formation and starts to run off, and Momo rolls his eyes. Rather than do the wall barrier this time, he casts a different one that shoots forward and surrounds the person in a bubble, then pulls it back to dump the unfortunate necromancer closer to Edelgard than they were in the first place.]

Spoke too soon. But hopefully we can finish this before any other escape attempts. [Off he goes to engage those last couple of Monster thralls, an arachne and an unluckily landbound merrow. He dispatches the merrow remarkably quickly, for whatever reason.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard doesn't even pause to consider letting the necromancer go. Once he's roped in, she's already darting forward, slamming her sword through the man's chest and impaling his heart. In, out, the simple movement ending him in a gasp of blood.

Once the thralls are down, she surveys the scene, tilting her head.]

I don't...hear any more heartbeats from them. So we must have killed them, or wounded them so badly they are bleeding out.

[not bad!]

[yesdoubt]

[With the necromancers gone, the thralls drop anyway, at about the moment Momo was disposing of the arachne anyway. He rebounds from the body quickly enough, though the fact that Momo hasn't met many vampires probably shows in how his brows arch at her observation.] Huh. Can't say it doesn't make sense, but I didn't realise vampires could hear that.

[But then, he figures they have to know where their next source of blood is coming from. Not much point chowing down on a dead body or someone else undead or whatever else.

Nonetheless, with that confirmation, he shakes his arms out and dispels the ice spikes, bending his fingers back a bit and rubbing some warmth back into them. It's not quite the same as if he'd gone and shoved his hand into a bucket of ice or something, but a few minutes of it was still a bit chilly.] That went well. Assuming I'm not going to jinx us by saying so.

[unyieldingmarch]

It went well enough.

[Edelgard relaxes slightly, but remains on edge, her eyes flitting around the battlefield in a wary posture. They had won, yes, but they weren't safe. This was a battlefield, and the fighting could draw the attention of things like Nucklavees, things they weren't ready for.]

We should head back towards the portal. Friendly lines, where the Coven has set up a perimeter.

[yesdoubt]

[After warming his arms up a bit, Momo looks ready enough to head out again, but when she suggests moving back to the lines, he tilts his head a bit, looking concerned.]

Friendly lines are safer, sure, but don't the sleeping people further out from there need protecting too? They're being pretty opportunistic.

[And sleeping targets are decidedly easier to kill than the fighting back Mirrorbound and Coven. It's at least obvious his questioning comes out of worry for the people of Dorchacht more than anything, though.]

[unyieldingmarch]

We need to be strategic.

[She says that flatly, though there's a pain in her eye.]

We'll need help if we're to push further. That means more than you and I. If we run into a Nucklavee, we're dead and then we can help nobody. But if we have a group, then we can do more good.

[yesdoubt]

[Momo looks like he really doesn't want to hear that, but at the same time, he was part of the original fight with the nuckelavee and he can only imagine the dead ones are even more stubborn about dying a second time. It's enough to make him let out a reluctant breath and nod.]

Fine. Lead the way, I hadn't gone back in that direction until now.

[He didn't even know there'd been lines set up, honestly, he'd just been picking off necromancers as he found them.]

[unyieldingmarch]

Good. I...know that backing down is hard, but sometimes a retreat to regroup and marshal our forces is the wiser move.

[She starts in that direction, wary and alert, careful about exposing either of them to the larger, open streets and the chaos on those.

Better to stick to the shadows, and then return with reinforcements to smash the enemy.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo nods again, more understandingly this time.] Yeah. I guess it's just that I'm more used to strategising outside of fights and fights too sudden to give much time for strategy.

[So he's used to both factors, just separately from each other and usually when he gets into fights back home they're ones he can just throw himself at. In consideration of Edelgard trying to keep them out of sight, though, he keeps his tone low in saying it. No point drawing extra attention.]

[unyieldingmarch]

It's a learned knack when fighting a war, unfortunately. Don't worry, just trust my experience and your own instincts. We'll be fine.

[They are definitely making it back towards safety at least, and without much difficulty. It seems that they've culled a major force on this street at least.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo is still very high-tension, but that's another side-effect of not being as used to these fights - he's still used to just being at that level of ready to punch someone in the teeth the entire time.]

It's not really me I'm worried about. [Usually he wouldn't admit that, but here it feels more acceptable to say that he's less occupied with what happens to him than what happens to everyone else tangled up in this.

Though, on that note.] ...Have you seen many other Mirrorbound before running into me?

[He sounds a bit preoccupied, so he might have someone specific in mind.]

[unyieldingmarch]

I have. I've been directing those that aren't combat ready towards the portal and out of the city.

[She gives him a look, because yes, she picked up on that.]

...Is there someone in particular you're concerned for?

[yesdoubt]

[Momo's mouth twitches in a bit of a grimace, though it's more worry than anything.] My partner, Yuki. Delicate guy, long silver hair, plus the usual merrow-on-land stuff. But knowing him, he would've refused to go through the portal while I'm still here, so I'll have to keep looking.

[Momo sounds quite certain of that second thing. As much as Momo hates it, because Yuki really isn't a combatant at all, he's horribly stubborn when it comes to Momo putting himself in danger and trying to keep him out of it.]

[unyieldingmarch]

I haven't seen anyone matching that description, unfortunately.

[That being said, they're coming close to the portal.]

Look among the crowd, perhaps pop through and see. I would avoid using the watch to call him though. If he's near trouble that could alert a foe.