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

[oathkeeper]

[Sora blushes deeply at the compliment but he kisses back with a tiny huff.]

Hey, I can do more than just be adorable...!

[But thanks for calling him adorable! He's smiling like an idiot.]

[darkcharge]

[ It's right about then that Vanitas removes his hand from Sora's face. He then places it between those two ears and gives the other teen a bit of a hair ruffle. Careful ruffling because he knows what touches to those ears can do. ]

Never said you couldn't do more than just that. Merely implying you may not need to.

[oathkeeper]

[With the ruffling Sora tucks his chin down slightly. He's still blushing softly. Soft appreciative emotions flicking across their bond.]

Still, I wanna help out where I can. If we're gonna live together always now.

[If he's messy he'll just have to make sure he tries harder not to be! That's that!]

[darkcharge]

[ Vanitas likes those soft emotions. Wants to gobble them up and keep them for himself. No one else should be allowed to feel them like he does. Yet his hand stills, only for a thumb to gently rub against the base of one of those ears. ]

There will be plenty of chances for that.

[ Augh. It's disgusting how much he likes this other boy. It really, really is. ]

[oathkeeper]

Okay.

[Yeah, these two are pretty gross.

He laughs softly and leans up to nuzzle his nose against Vanitas' cheek.]

Vanitas? You know, your eyes look a little different.

[darkcharge]

[ Now that comment sure does make him slightly uneasy... ]

What do you mean by "a little different?"

[ There's so many ways that could be taken. So many things that it could mean. There's a nervous little flicker across their bond for it too. ]

[oathkeeper]

[He notices that uneasiness quickly and he lets out a soft snort of laughter.]

In a good way, I promise!

[Now it's time for Sora's own fingers to come up to touch and hold at Vanitas' cheeks like he's checking him over.]

I dunno what it is but it's like your eyes are changing colour. It's like they're... green? Blue?

[He's not sure which one exactly. But it's still very, very striking. That swirl of colour mixed with yellow gold?]

It's pretty.

[darkcharge]

[ He doesn't really move or pull away. Vanitas just allows Sora to inspect as he sees fit. ]

Green? Blue? That can't be right...

[ He gives a mock offended scoff at the "pretty" comment though. Eyes changing color is not a good sign is it? ]

[oathkeeper]

I'm really not dreaming it up! Your eyes are changing!

[Sora blinks his currently yellow eyes. He's still seeing the colour difference there. It's odd because it's like they're swapping default eye colours now. But what's causing it for Vanitas?]

But you're pretty, Vanitas. I like it?

[darkcharge]

[ Now he is sort of curious to go to a mirror and look. Maybe when he gets back home. Now he could probably go to the Coven and they might be able to tell him. However Vanitas still doesn't know what to make of it all.

At least until Sora makes a comment about him being pretty. The Witch huffs, eyes narrowing just a little. ]

I'm not pretty. [ Don't call someone like him pretty! It's making him feel all weird on the inside. ] You're so weird.

[oathkeeper]

[In return Sora laughs, winking at Vanitas with a bit of a tilt of his head. His ears wiggle.]

Why am I weird for saying that?! You're pretty, Vanitas, Pretty.

[That wasn't an invitation to repeat yourself, Sora!!]

[darkcharge]

[ DON'T REPEAT IT DON'T REPEAT IT!!

He's all flustered now. Flustered and blushing and trying to pull back from Sora. ]

That's like calling yourself pretty...

[oathkeeper]

[HE REPEATED IT. And he seems to have zero regrets doing it too. Sora loves seeing that flustered blushing look. It goes both ways to be delighted to do that. But he does let Vanitas pull away with a small snicker.]

Hey, no way. We look different enough, you know that! You're way prettier than me. [Okay maybe Sora isn't letting up yet.] You're handsome. Like cool and sharp and handsome. And really I think green or blue eyes look good.

[darkcharge]

[ If Sora is going to enjoy is then Van is going to go so far as to maybe scoot a little bit further away. Arms crossed and looking at anything but this bratty Puca. ]

I guess part of that must be true. It isn’t as though I am being mistaken for you as much lately.

[ But then his gaze shifts towards the sky and the fireworks again. ]

But the rest of it? You’re horribly biased.

[oathkeeper]

[Sora holds in a soft snicker and lets Vanitas fuss. In return, he scoots just a little closer. But he looks up at the sky too and watches the continuous sparks and bangs of colours in the sky.]

Maybe a little.

[He grins. He does have to wonder...]

What do you think is changing your eyes, though? Do you think it's because of living here?

[The magic in this world or something else special...]

[darkcharge]

[ Sora is wondering it and so is Vanitas, really. ]

The moment you said it the thought crossed my mind. It took years bound to your heart for Ventus to recover his. I have three people that I have Bonded with. Who knows how fast it is recovering...

[ His gaze shifts back to Sora. The Puca that had been the first one to do so. ]

Who knows what kind of effect it will have.

[oathkeeper]

[That makes Sora's breath hitch just a little. He looks at Vanitas with a soft expression. There was so much he wanted to do for Vanitas when they first met again in this world. It hurt Sora so much to watch him burn up, be sick, still refuse certain things. But now...! With Sora's heart so close to the other boy's to hear something like that makes his ache with happiness.

He really can't help reaching out to put a palm on Vanitas' chest. To feel his heart as it beats like he has before when they sleep together.]

Whatever's happening I hope it keeps happening. [Sora smiles.] You deserve to have a whole heart that's all yours.

[darkcharge]

[ By now he is so used to Sora doing these sorts of things. With a huff, Van merely allows for this to happen. It still makes his cheeks burn a little. However, Vanitas can't help but still be in a little bit of awe. All of this has happened within the span of nearly a year... ]

Sora...

[ This is making him feel all weird. Happy, but all weird. Like his chest is tightening. Full, but so tight. ]

[oathkeeper]

Aha!

[Sora doesn't say sorry for getting his head all up in the romantic clouds but he does withdraw his hand. He's still smiling, cheeks glowing with pink.]

I'm just really happy to hear it. And to see it happening too!

[darkcharge]

[ He's about to say something else, but the sky suddenly lights up brighter than before. It seems as though there are many fireworks going off all at the same time.

It definitely has Van's attention and, perhaps, his mouth his hanging open just slightly in awe. ]

[oathkeeper]

[Sora looks up with Vanitas when the fireworks seem to reach their crescendo as well. It's brilliant and Sora lets out an excited whoop.

He reaches for Vanitas' hand and laces their fingers together to watch the remaining minutes of the show together in awe.]

[darkcharge]

[ Well NOW it is permissible for Sora to be closer. Or maybe it is Van that moves closer. Either way, his head ends up on Sora's shoulder.

This last year has been a struggle for Vanitas is so many ways. Yet if this is what that all leads to, then maybe... Maybe it really had been worth it. ]