Intro Log: October 2020

[faileas]

Intro Log: October

I. ARRIVAL Out of nowhere, a glint of light catches your eye; your heart thunders in your ears as your body moves on its own, your mind consumed with inspecting the source. Your reflection stares back at you, just as curious from the surface - a mirror, a pool of water, your most trusted sword, something fleeting that your mind can barely remember - then ripples at your touch. A moment later, you feel a tug, and you find yourself stumbling into a dark, musty room. Behind you, a mirror stands ornately decorated with reminders of home wrought in brass and wood: the faces of people you know, and symbols important to you; all things that send a pang through your chest with the desire to return to them. Touching the mirror's surface does nothing but leave the stain of your fingerprints. When you turn to survey the room, you find there are hundreds of other mirrors. None of them are as decorated as yours - they're plain and dusty, speckled with age. Then you realize a second thing: You're not alone. Distantly, the ringing bell of a clocktower can be heard. But no matter its distance, the time is clear to make out: it chimes three times, stark, resonating like a pulse of something in this mirrored hall that you and many others have found yourselves in. For those familiar with magic, they might feel the power of the witching hour upon them, though it will feel different from what they're used to - in fact, everything does. You're certainly not the only ones here, however. On the first floor, with the doors wide open behind them in the foyer, is a small group headed by two individuals. As people begin to arrive, to come from the higher floor, they're waiting - and they're waiting for you, and your questions. Explore the rest of the mirrored halls you've now found yourselves in, or proceed to the foyer? Leaving the Looking-Glass House makes it obvious that the clock striking three was for 3 AM - the night sky is faintly cloudy, but the stars are dim in the face of two moons, even so close to the new moon as it is. The Looking-Glass House is rather nondescript two-story cottage made of grey brick, sitting at the edge of The Coven's courtyard; stones which glow as you step on them mark the path to and from the two buildings. While fairly small and plain on the outside, the inside has been enchanted to be the size of a large library, with hundreds upon hundreds of mirrors hanging, standing, and resting inside its walls. Some are broken, some are cracked, and some seem completely uninjured - but all of them are just as plain as the cottage itself, showing age in the silver beneath their glass and in the greening of their metals... Well, all except a character's personal mirror; to characters, one mirror - the one they came through - will be decorated lavishly with metal-and-wood-wrought reminders of home, and the surface will be as clear as a brand-new mirror.

II. THE WELCOME PARTY Whether you've decided to find a way out of the building you've arrived in, or decided to explore the rest of the Looking-Glass House - and perhaps finding a few familiar faces among the crowd - you feel a pull towards the foyer of the first floor. It's like a firm suggestion, as if to take you by the hand and draw you to where it begins, and the source of it becomes quite apparent upon finding one's way to the front room: a tall, comfortably-dressed older woman and her even taller wolfish companion, along with those which feel to resemble yourselves in a world-traversing sense: Mirrorbound, they're called. "My goodness. In the middle of the month! We weren't expecting you, we weren't!" The woman smiles broadly, with her Bonded glancing over the newly arrived and those who may have followed them in to volunteer explanations and assistance to the newest addition of their Mirrorbound bunch. "Let's get through the introductions, shall we? This here's Mhairi Ainsley, ambassador to the Parliament, and of course, my Bonded. And I'm Nerissa Bell, Head Witch of the Coven -- but you can just call me Miss Nessie, you can," she adds with a wink. "I know you must all be tired and confused after all that. We're here to help get you settled, dearest. Let me just..." With nothing more than a wave of her hand, rows of seats are summoned; despite their wooden nature, they're all sturdy and comfortable, filling the foyer and spreading out a ways into the lawn behind them, making room for all of the new arrivals as well as the previous batch. After all, they'll find this just as interesting. The Witches and Monsters that accompanied Nessie and Mhairi move to make room, and some disperse into the building itself to see if there's anyone who needs tending to. Mhairi steps forward as the chairs materialize. "Please, those who are able, join us for a moment. There are many questions that I'm sure you have. We will do our utmost best to answer them, and you may take any that we can't as a promise to find some sort of solution or answer." NOTE: If you wish to handwave interaction with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here. All responses will be summarized answers rather than an IC thread. For those that'd like a more player-based interaction, Aefenglom has its own Welcome Wagon! These are players who've volunteered for the role, and those that didn't sign up may assist as well if they'd feel their character would -- have fun, and make friends. Additionally, those with notable injuries or sickness will be attended to ASAP by Coven-based witches, and should anyone be curious about what they are -- namely, if they have magic potential or not -- then this can be done during this and the general hour or so the new arrivals are within the Coven's grounds. There are ongoing classes on magic, monsters, and Bonding as well, though they take place more during the day than at night. Feel free to have your characters attend them at any time!

III. THE HAVEN After an hour or two of general chaos, questions that the natives attempt to help with, and injuries tended to for those who arrive in poor condition, it's time to make the trek to where you'll be staying. As you're leaving -- with Coven and/or Mirrobound escorts as guides -- you'll be given a peculiar-looking device. It's a very special watch, the native Witches explain, compliments of Parliament. These watches are passed around to all the new arrivals, who are given a quick rundown on their functions and encouraged to test them out when they can. They can even do it as they make their way out of the Coven's courtyard and to the Haven. Formerly part of the Aristocratic District, The Haven is just as well-kept and brightly-lit as the district it hails from. The houses err on the tall and ornamental side, large enough to fit several families (or, according to the upper class, their one family, several dozen servants, and guests), especially closest to the Aristocratic District. They become a little more modest and smaller as one gets away from the realm of high society and nearer to the Residential District proper. Newcomers are shuffled here and invited to find somewhere to live, free of cost. The Coven is currently handling expenses for the houses themselves in a program implemented by the Parliament, though if your character wishes to have anything extra -- like maids, chefs, and so on -- they'll have to pay for them with their own earned money. Much of the landscape and fixtures are the same as in the Aristocratic Districts, though it lacks formal emergency services. Much of the housing already has furnishing as well: standard items such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind by the relocated owners for those moving in. Though some are fairly newly-unoccupied, the dust on the floors of other houses suggests they were left long before the new arrivals even showed up -- a reminder that the Cwyld can strike just about anyone, regardless of standing. Another portion of this district has been opened up to the new arrivals: the barracks, the row of buildings pressed against the very edge of the Bright Wall. As the city's military force no longer has the same presence it previously did, the barracks have gone into disuse, and a cleanup effort has been in place since before the new arrivals came through the Looking-Glass House. For those who desire something a little less opulent, the barracks might just be the answer. The barracks can also be used for business, for a welcome center, a communal space, for anything that the residents of the Haven see fit to use them for -- so long as the legality isn't questionable, at least on the surface. To help with filling up the larger houses -- and even some of the smaller ones, or the shared rooms in the barracks -- the Coven put together a little roommate finding service, on a smaller scale from the grand opening of the Haven a while back. For those who aren't entirely sure who they want to shack up with, they have a small survey for them to fill out and post on the board they've magicked up in the center of The Haven. The board also very helpfully reads aloud each form for everyone to hear in a cheerful, monotone voice. It isn't able to be shut up, nor is it easy to ignore, being imbued with a kind of amplification magic. It simply reads the information you've offered up yourself -- or that someone might have written up for you, should that be their idea of fun.

Welcome to the intro log! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs if you prefer! The network system is free to use once characters have their watches as well; information on that can be found at the bottom of the Setting page, while any extra questions about it can be found in the FAQ index. Quests can be picked up throughout the month as well! While new characters will have to get settled in, you can go ahead and put your name on some by replying to the October's Quest Pickup thread on the Quest Board. Finally, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans or if you have any other questions, just let the mods know here!

Comments

Ferran Gallagher | OC | Fae | Open!!

[noblegarnet]

[a] The Haven

[If you're thinking that the silent young man with dark circles under eyes, who fluctuated between deer in headlights to staring into the middle distance during the whole Q&A session, and who came out of a the consultation about magical potential somehow even paler than before, also looks like he's about to keel over at the slightest provocation—

Well, you'd be absolutely right.

On the way to the Haven, he just up and collapses in the street. This is way too much trauma for him to handle at the current moment, and as it turns out, he's really bad at asking for help before getting to this point!]

[b] Network (username: feal)

is there somewhere people can go to find a bonding partner

id like to have one as soon as possible

thank you

[Half-hearted typing or not, he can't forget his manners.]

[c] Lawn & Order

[Free housing is certainly a huge boon, and one that Ferran is grateful for, but there's a lot more than shelter that a person needs to live—food and clothing, for starters, and there's only so much he can (stand to) rely on charity or hospitality. So after a day or two, he takes the most easily accessible job he can find, and starts raking.

Over the course of an hour or two, though, he eventually starts staring off like he's in another world entirely, leaning vaguely against his rake in front of a pile and scattered assortment of leaves.

It looks pretty easy to take some of those without him noticing; they're pretty valuable, after all, as far as leaves go. Or he could be in someone's way, which he usually tries to avoid, but he has zero situational awareness at the moment. Or maybe someone could just prod him back to reality for the sake of being nice? He doesn't exactly have the healthiest look about him, so it's not unlikely for someone to think he needs a break. Or a snack.]

[d] Happy Hauntings

[Several days after arriving, a few sparkling scales are already visible on the backs of his hands, and he's resolutely ignoring their existence for as long as possible. It's slightly easier to focus on the mundane goal of funds... and get distracted by an entirely different supernatural issue that doesn't involve him at all. Annoying but harmless ghosts are basically a day at the spa compared to fighting monsters every other day.

Whether he's come there already accompanied by another Mirrorbound, or someone shows up to help a little later, he ends up squinting at the image of Edgar when it tries to brush them off. Not now, let an old man listen to his sports!

For the first time since his quiet introductions and any polite but brief small talk that might have followed, he speaks up.]

There's something weird about this...

[well no shit, sherlock, it's a ghost.]

[e] wildcard

[Interested in something else? Hit me up at my ooc intro or lumieresdedragon and we can figure something out!]

[b] username: tdfsh

[prettyrocks]

[ By now some kind samaritan has shown Tsutha not only how the watches work, but specifically how the text to speech and voice to text functions work. Otherwise she would have no way of responding to this message. Thank goodness, because it's actually relevant to her interests. ]

is this thing working?

i think it is, little letters are appearing on the screen.

hello! i need a bonding partner too!

maybe we can find one together.

[noblegarnet]

["Little letters"... speaks to something Ferran is going to have to deal with, somehow. But right now, he really does not have the emotional energy to care. He'll figure it out, it's fine.]

sure

[His brain is working enough to realize this might be a better conversation to have in person, though.]

do you want to meet up

[prettyrocks]

great!

[ She was a little worried about having to find a bond all on her own, not knowing anyone here well enough to help her out. But strangers can work just as well! ]

sure! i'm outside the mirror house we all showed up in.

and... action!

[noblegarnet]

ill be there in a few minutes

[In the limited thought he's put into this whole ordeal, he happens to forget to ask anything about the responder or provide any identifying information about himself. In addition to that, he doesn't realize until he's already gotten there, and he kind of just stands in front of the Looking-Glass House dumbly for a moment.

So there's just a young man with brown hair who kind of seems like he had the psychological equivalent of a building dropped on him... looking for someone who looks like they're looking for someone else among all the newcomers and citizens milling around in the wake of their recent arrival. Will he overcome his embarrassment and text back?

Nope. Not yet, anyway.]

[b] username: al bhed

[al_bhed]

The network is a good place to start, so you're on the right track! That's what I did, and I found someone who might work out and also got a lot of good suggestions for what to do in the meantime.

Just be ready for people to lecture you forever about being responsible.

[Because that's what happened to her. Apparently bonding is a Big Deal or whatever.]

[noblegarnet]

i can handle being lectured

[Look, he'll take just about anyone. From what he understands, the actually important responsible thing is to have a bond at all, otherwise...

Nope, brain can't go there right now.]

what did they say you could do in the meantime

[al_bhed]

[Honestly, Rikku respects that energy. If it weren't for the endless grief she'd receive from her big-sister-housemates, she'd be inclined to volunteer to bond with him to help him out.]

I just wanted to let you know.

And that depends. Are you a witch or a monster? The advice I got was for witches, but I'm sure we can find out stuff if you need monster advice!

[noblegarnet]

[Curse those other people for being concerned for younger types making questionable decisions!!]

the latter

[Saying the m-word in reference to himself is still way too far out of his comfort zone for right now. It doesn't help that he'd been fighting things he called monsters literally the night before.]

a

[tsukky]

[ The entirety of the last couple of hours had been a blur - a deeply surreal and very stressful blur. Tsukuyo had managed to take in most of this complete overload of information in and she's still mulling it over and over in her head as she and the rest of the new arrivals start heading out towards the Haven.

Most of her thoughts however, are consumed with the idea of trying to find some way out of here, some kind of escape route. She can't just roll over and accept all of this, there has to be some way out. Some way home.

She's poised to break away from the rest of the group, that is until she notices the drawn looking young man not far in of front her collapse in the middle of the street. Never one to walk away from someone in distress despite her outward surliness, the blonde woman quickly moves forward to check on the stranger, kneeling beside his crumpled form. ]

Hey, are ya alright?

[noblegarnet]

[Unfortunately, Tsukuyo will find that the young man is quite unconscious. He is alive, though, as a quick check of any breathing or pulse will show! So that's good.

The fact that he just fainted probably answers her question pretty well. He'll require a little more prodding to return to consciousness, or just a good old fashioned nap, if the dark circles under his eyes are any indication. It's up to her to decide whether she wants to let him have the latter now or later.]

[tsukky]

[ When it becomes clear that he's most definitely alive but out cold, she actually debates whether carrying him the rest of the way to their new residence might be the best option. That seems like a last resort though.

For now, Tsukuyo settles on the gentle prodding approach and continuing to speak to him at closer quarters this time. Whether he can actually hear her she's not sure but it can only help. ]

I get that yer tired and this is all a hell of a lot to deal with but I don't think sleepin' in the middle of the street is gonna work out so well for ya.

[ Especially taking into consideration monsters and witches and whatever the hell else they might have to deal with here. She briefly wonders which of the two categories this guy falls into, not that it really matters right now. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Sleeping in the street is better than nothing, okay.

A bit more of that prodding, especially with her talking more closely, does at least start to rouse Ferran. He doesn't have a nice experience with it though, as the immediate grimace and furrowed brow probably make obvious, although he doesn't open his eyes. He sucks in a shallow breath with his teeth clenched, and there's really only one concern at the forefront of his mind in his half-conscious state.]

... my head...

[His eyes are still stinging even closed, his limbs are prickling with the sensation of pins and needles, and he's not sure he's ever had a worse throbbing headache. Who's talking to him and where he is hardly register as concerns at the moment.]

c

[galrarm]

[ Shiro's been here long enough to settle into a routine--even if he might be a little on edge here and there, still. Aefenglom almost demands it, he'd say, and while that's partly true, it's also mostly his paranoia. Still, here he is, gathering up leaves. Hey, it's simple enough, and it doesn't involve any life-threatening situations.

Probably.

He does notice that the guy nearby seems a little out of it, and Shiro, being Shiro, calls out-- ]

Doing alright there?

[noblegarnet]

[It takes a few seconds to register the fact that someone's speaking, and by the time he realizes and turns towards the source, only the fact that it was in his direction remains in his mind, the words already gone.]

Hm?

[After six months of being hyper-aware of his surroundings, maybe he's finally run out of the energy for it. Yeah, maybe that's a good thing to blame it on...]

Sorry, what was that?

[galrarm]

[ He doesn't know the guy, but... that's enough for him to be concerned. Shiro leans against his rake; his priority is no longer the leaves, but the stranger who seems.... ]

You seem a little out of it. Doing alright?

[noblegarnet]

[I'm fine.

That's what he'd automatically reply with in 95% of all the possible situations he could be in. Now, though? His actual feelings come through easily, at least in terms of the words he says.]

Not really.

[His tone of voice is pretty even, at least... so there's that. Not breaking down is good, right?]

I just got here.

a

[magisterium]

[To see someone simply collapse in the street is alarming, to say the least. Naturally, Dorian is prepared to handle such situations with all the grace and tact required of them— certainly, this is a serious incident that needs tending to.]

You've chosen an awfully uncomfortable place to sleep, haven't you?

[Right. A very serious incident.

Even so, he's already in the process of getting down on one knee to reach out and take the young man's shoulder in his hand, and despite the light and dismissive tone in his voice, his brow is knit with concern.]

Can you hear me?

[noblegarnet]

[flashbacks to fire emblem awakening

Technically speaking, Ferran's ears are still working, and if he were dreaming he might even halfway register that someone was speaking to him and have a weird mental experience incorporating that into whatever his dream was. If he were able to process the words, he might almost appreciate the levity... almost.

Unfortunately, he is quite unconscious. Still breathing, heart still beating, all of that good stuff, but he looks rather drawn and like he hasn't slept in more than a day, among other failures to take care of himself. Dorian won't find any resistance to whatever methods he might try to wake the young man up or move him, that's for sure.]

[magisterium]

[Cue Dorian letting out a beleaguered sigh upon realizing the young man is, indeed, unconscious.]

Well, that's unfortunate.

[Said with all the dismissiveness of someone who fully intends to walk away, though Dorian does the exact opposite, taking hold of both of Ferran's shoulders and rolling him onto his side to get a better look at his face, reaching to take his face in one hand to examine it.

To say this young man looks dreadful would be putting it mildly. Dorian is no healer, but he assumes there must be one established within the Coven itself. This can't be the first such incident they've seen.]

This certainly won't do.

[And without his magic, there is little to aid him— frustrating in and of itself. Fortunately, his arms aren't just for show, and he manages to pull Ferran into a seated position, attempting to put an arm around his middle and under his arms so that he might support him and pick him up.

It's... a rather graceless attempt, all things told.]

Alright, perhaps not as easy as I thought...

[noblegarnet]

[Thankfully, Ferran at least isn't witness to any embarrassing struggling, and even if he was, he wouldn't say a word. Hopefully no one else would make fun of him for trying to help, either, or the new Fae might need to have a few Words with them later...

The jostling does start to take him out of his trauma-induced nap, but for the moment it only manifests as deeper, shakier breaths. He's only conscious enough to realize that his head hurts like hell and that he just wants to keep sleeping, if at all possible.]

haven

[chefalier]

[It's that... kid, the one from the nightmare. Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising to find him here, since that whole dream almost felt like a prelude for things to come. But because of that, he's probably one of the people that he's more familiar with, especially compared to the other Mirrorbound in this city.

Still, what are the chances that he's come across Ferran again in a miserable sort of state? Maybe it's his default state.]

Hey, you're gonna get stepped on.

[He remarks with a small sigh, but Sanji kneels down by Ferran and shakes his shoulder. Shit, he really doesn't look that great... but he's far from being a doctor. Helping him to the nearest doctor might be the best course of action, or just some place that isn't the ground to rest.]

[noblegarnet]

[Sadly, stepping on him would likely get more of a response than Sanji's warning. For now he's out like a light, and the pirate will have to make a decision on what to do about that without any input from Ferran, currently. It seems like the shoulder shake wasn't enough.

(It's definitely his default state, but he won't admit it.)

Unlike the dream, there are no scales or wings to be found on him this time. He's just a normal looking teenager in a dark coat. At least he's dressed for the weather.]

[chefalier]

[Tch, no luck there. A small wave of irritation passes through Sanji, but it's still largely beaten out by his concern. Sure, he's not terribly injured from the looks of it, but Sanji has gotten a look of whatever shit he's been dealing with when they met in that dream. That mocking figure, cruel in both appearance and words.

Doesn't seem like something that's been resolved either back home. Not his place to ask though, especially not now.]

If I bump into you again, you better be happily eating or something. Heck, I'll be the source of it if I have to.

[The comment may sound a bit grouchy, but it's all too apparent how worried Sanji actually is. He tries another hard shake of Ferran's shoulder and if that doesn't work, he pats the unconscious teenager's face. Luckily, it doesn't seem like a lot of people are paying attention to them, not that Sanji would care.

If neither action works, Sanji will let out a small sigh, before starting to pick up Ferran, intending to give him a piggyback ride to the nearest hospital.]

[noblegarnet]

[While he doesn't react to any of the prodding, the maneuvering required to get him into a carrying position does jostle him enough to rouse him, albeit his return to something like consciousness is very slow.

The first thing he notices is—ugh, the smell of smoke...

Instead of a word or other noise at all, the first sound he makes is a brief cough.]