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

[prettyrocks]

You... don't have them. [ That's such a strange concept to her. To only have one race of people populating an entire world... How boring that world must be.

But she is a bit relieved to hear that there wasn't some huge calamitous event that wiped out the rest of the population. At least that's a plus. ]

Wow... [ She lets out a little nervous laugh. ] So I bet you've never seen anybody like me before, huh?

[noblegarnet]

[He gives her a brief nod to confirm, although he would argue that his world is anything but boring, thanks! Humans make plenty of problems for themselves, among other things.]

Not in a way that wasn't a costume. [Renaissance fairs and fantasy conventions are wild.] You look kind of like what we might call an "orc," though.

[Hopefully that doesn't turn out to be a weird insult in her culture! That would be awkward.]

[prettyrocks]

[ Definitely not a weird insult, judging by the way Tsutha's face lights up in delight. ]

No way, that's what I am! Well, a half-orc, anyway. Full blooded orcs are way bigger.

[ Says the six foot four woman. ]

you know i completely forgot she said orc so i'm just gonna be embarrassed forever now

[noblegarnet]

Oh, really?

[It worked out! What a relief. It's good to know his occasional diving into nerdy media might actually come in handy here, somehow, because it sure didn't help him when he got his powers back home.]

That's an interesting coincidence. The same goes for the monsters this place has... we have vampires and things in stories, but that's it. [...] As far as I know.

Maybe there are others like us who know about the races you have in your world.

no worries because i forgot too

[prettyrocks]

[ Coincidences are fun. Tsutha is curious how his world has stories about orcs if they don't exist where he comes from, but that'll be a question for a time when they're not on a mission. They're at the Coven building now, and Tsutha moves to pull the door open and hold it for Ferran to go through. ]

We have vampires too, but not just in stories. Well, I guess they're in stories, too, but the stories are based on real life.

[ It really feels like she has a lot of catching up to do in this new place here. But she'll do her best. ]

oops

[noblegarnet]

Right. I guess that's not surprising.

[He'd probably question it more if she didn't have them, honestly. Ferran thanks Tsutha as he steps inside, heading straight for the Coven witch who's attending whatever equivalent of a front desk they have here.]

Where do we learn how to establish a Bond?

[He's not usually so straight to the point, but even with the assurance that he won't have to keep looking for one, he's still anxious to get it done. As soon as they get any direction, he'll be taking it.]

[prettyrocks]

[ Tsutha steps up to the desk behind Ferran, easily able to look over his shoulder at the greeter witch. She nods, smiling pleasantly, looking maybe a touch too eager for this time of night. But the witch at the desk doesn't seem too put off. Clearly she's used to Mirrorbound people coming in looking to form a bond, because she quickly and calmly points them to a room down the hall to the right, saying that the information they need can be found in there. ]

Great! Thanks! [ Tsutha leans down to whisper (somewhat loudly) in Ferran's ear: ] I think this is gonna be real easy.

[noblegarnet]

[He lets out a sigh of something like relief. Ferran doesn't bother to whisper, at least, although he keeps his voice low to reciprocate her apparent desire to keep quiet.]

At least something will be.

[As tired, anxious, and worn down as he is, he can't help but admire the Coven's interior as they head to their destination. He'll probably be spending a good amount of time here, even if he won't be able to take advantage of everything they can teach.]

It's nice they're so willing to help us.

[prettyrocks]

[ Tsutha's only keeping her voice down because she's been inside fancy-schmancy magic schools before, and she's somewhat intimidated by them. They'd almost gotten arrested in Meadowwilde for trying to throw a party during finals week, and having to flee before Marzia could get put on trial left a mark on her. ]

Mhm! Everyone seems really nice so far. Not just the Mirrorbound people like us, but everybody else, too.

[ They make their way down the hall, passing at first a small, unadorned door labeled "CLOSET," then a fancier looking door labeled "MAGICAL BONDS." Tsutha makes to keep walking, of course, not being able to read the signs on the doors. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Making noise during finals week... say it ain't so, Tsutha...

Ferran, meanwhile, had already spotted the sign from several feet away, and is taken aback when she continues to stride along. Hm! That does start to put some pieces in place.]

Uh, hey—

[He tries to catch her arm before she goes too much further, although his puny teenage boy strength may only do so much to stop her. Whether he succeeds or not, his other hand will point to the appropriate door.]

It's here.

[prettyrocks]

[ She really is a horrible influence. Get out while you can, Ferran!

But in any event, she was pretty much waiting to be stopped and pointed in the right direction, so the hand on her arm is enough to do the trick. ]

Oh? Great!

[ And in she goes!

The room is set up like a library, full of books and scrolls on shelves and desks. There is an older gentleman (presumably a witch) sitting at a desk on the far side, writing something down. He doesn't look up when they enter, instead just speaking as he continues to write. ] I take it you're here to form a bond?

[noblegarnet]

[Regardless of any apparent letter-related problems, he's already feeling optimistic about this partnership. Not that he's usually had trouble getting along with people, but it's still nice to meet someone so agreeable! Surely this will cause no problems later.

He's not bothered by the official's lack of interest in them when they enter; he probably gets Mirrorbound in here all the time. He straightens his posture slightly, determined to be polite for the sake of making things go smoothly.]

Yes, sir, we are.

[The level of confidence he expresses this statement is probably not the best thing when partnered with the information that immediately follows:]

We only know the basics, though.

[prettyrocks]

[ With that small piece of confirmation, the older witch puts down his pen and stands up from his desk, waving a hand towards a large empty space on the other end of the room. ]

It's very simple. You come stand on the circle inscribed on the floor and I will bind your magic signatures together. I assume you have written your vows?

[ Tsutha looks uneasy suddenly. ]

Uh... No? Does it have to be written down?

[ She hadn't anticipated running into this kind of hurdle so quickly. ]

[noblegarnet]

Vows, right. That was the word.

[Hm. It has a lot more implications in his culture than contract does, although he's sure in this context either would work fine. He turns a brief look to Tsutha when she expresses concern, but instead of offering her any direct attempts to assuage that, he simply tries to solve what he's guessing to be the problem.]

Would it just be to help us remember, or does the spell need the actual paper? [He guesses it's a spell? Ritual? Whatever it's called. Either way—] I guess we can come up with them together now and put them down if it is.

[prettyrocks]

[ The man shakes his head. ] If you wish to recite them extemporaneously, that will do. As long as the intent is genuine, the medium does not matter. Take whatever time you require; it will take me a minute or two to prepare the ritual enchantment.

[ Phew! Tsutha looks instantly relieved, letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She steps over to Ferran, smiling a bit nervously. ]

Guess we'd better figure out what we want to say, huh? Do you... have any idea what vows like these are supposed to be like?

[noblegarnet]

[Hmm. Ferran scratches the back of his neck, expression twisted in thought. It's a little awkward, but the necessity of it helps him push past any hangups he has about coming up with vows to be connected to someone.]

Well, we're exchanging energy, right? Mostly for the sake of not... losing our minds. [The blind leading the blind, here.] So, I guess... maybe we can promise to respect each other, and... do our best to keep each other anchored?

[prettyrocks]

[ Tsutha nods, agreeing. The whole point is so they don't go crazy and die or something, right? That's definitely something Tsutha would like to avoid. ]

Sounds good to me. Maybe add in a bit about how if one of us is in trouble, the other one will come help them out. That's an important part of a partnership, right?

[ That's the sort of promise she had made with her friends back home. It's why they traveled all the way to the Feywild to save Mazon from that dryad. It's why they had brought Adari back with them from the Beastlands. ]

[noblegarnet]

S-sure.

[Ferran seems a little surprised and a little nervous at the suggestion, although not necessarily because he's not willing.]

I mean, there's not really a lot I can do, but... I'll definitely find help for you if I can.

[prettyrocks]

[ The hesitancy in his answer doesn't seem to put Tsutha off in the slightest. She knows not everyone is an adventurer ready for combat like she is. ]

Sure, that's fine enough. As long as you don't just like... stand there and let a vampire eat me.

[ Since they were just talking about vampires. ]

Is there anything else you want to cover? Besides respect and anchoring and helping each other out?

[noblegarnet]

[He relaxes a little at her understanding. Not that he would necessarily leave anyone to fend for themselves in such a case... unless they deserved it... but his personal efforts might be limited. He just misses his magic right now, feeling helpless without it.]

Right, of course.

[If nothing else, he can be a decent distraction! But then that might ultimately leave Tsutha Bondless—damn. Can't be quite that reckless with his safety anymore.]

I think that's all we really need for now... If we figure out anything else we want to help each other with, we can just make a normal promise.

[Whether it's a good idea or not, he trusts her enough to not need any other possibilities to be magically binding.]

[prettyrocks]

Sounds good to me! [ She turns to the Coven witch. ] OK, I think we're ready now.

[ He instructs them to come stand on the magic circle inscribed on the floor and hold hands. He begins to work a spell, the runes carved in the floor lighting up with a soft yellow light as he does.

Tsutha smiles at Ferran, having absolutely zero regrets about rushing into this contract. When the witch nods to her, she speaks. ]

I, Tsutha, promise to respect you, Ferran, and to act as your magical anchor. I will protect you if you need me to, and... I look forward to being your friend.

[noblegarnet]

[And they're ready to go! It's going a lot more smoothly than he thought, making him a little more optimistic about the whole deal. The physical contact probably helps, once they've clasped hands. As familiar as Ferran is with flashy magic, watching the old witch do his work is interesting in his own way... but he should focus.

The addition of Tsutha's final comment flusters Ferran, and he blinks, momentarily speechless. Not that he wasn't already planning to work towards that idea, of course, but having the idea out there so soon is still enough to throw him off for a second. Before he trips over his words, he clears his throat to mirror her vow.]

I, Ferran... promise to respect you, Tsutha, anchor you, and do my best to help you when you need it... and to earn your friendship.

[prettyrocks]

[ As the vows are exchanged, the soft light from the magic circle swirls its way up their legs, pooling in the center to wrap around their joined hands. The magic glows brighter and brighter, before it finally dissipates in a shower of golden sparks.

The Coven witch nods, a firm smile on his face. ]

There. The deed is done. You are now Bonded.

[ Tsutha lets out a celebratory whoop and raises her hands for a double high five. ]

[noblegarnet]

[Sparkly, just like home.

It's certainly a new feeling, once the Bond is complete—similar to being linked to his magical gem, but deeper and almost... wilder? But it makes sense to him—magic though his necklace was, it was only a rock, not a living person.

He'll have more time to think about it later. Right now, his partner is pretty clear on what she wants. His reply is an awkward uhh, and jerky, uncertain raising of his hands, but—

Tsutha, he's only five-foot-eight, please have mercy, he can't reach that high.]

[prettyrocks]

[ She can feel the hesitancy through their bond, which... Okay, that feels a little weird. She hasn't been connected to anything this way since the Sphinx sacrificed herself to save Tsutha and her friends. But at least Ferran doesn't have to be tattooed onto Tsutha's body...

She quickly adjusts, bringing her hands down to meet his. ]

Yes! We did it! Do you want to go celebrate somewhere?