Intro Log: November & Event: Nothing to Be Drone About It

[faileas]

Intro Log: November & Event: Nothing to Be Drone About It

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 others have found yourselves in, along with... several items, perhaps even creatures scattered across the floor around other mirrors? 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. 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. "Just a few of you this month, hm? Don't mind the junk across the floor where you came out, someone is sorting that!" The woman sets her hands on her hips, with her Bonded casting a glance at those looking confused - newly arrived - and those who may have followed them in to talk to the newest addition of their mirrorbound bunch. "About time for introductions though- this here's Mhairi Ainsley, ambassador to the Parliament and my Bonded, and I'm Nerissa Bell, Head Witch of the Coven - but you can just call me Miss Nessie, you can," she adds, winking. "The lot of you must be as tired and confused as the last batch - hullo to those who've joined us, too! - so just a moment, dearests, I'll set all you right up—" 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 interact with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here for a handwaved, summarized answer to your character's burning questions. 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 - if they have magic potential, or if they swing a different way - 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 a trek to where you'll be staying while Nessie and Mhairi continue to search for a solution to the situation. As you're leaving with a few Bonded for guides, peculiar-looking devices - watches, the native Witches explain, compliments of Parliament - are passed around to all the new arrivals; they're given a quick rundown on their functions and bid 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 - 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 themselves 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 due to its roots as part of a district that already did. Much of the housing already has furnishing due to the speed at which homeowners were relocated; they were given enough time to collect their valuables, but standard furniture such as kitchenware, couches, beds, etc. were left behind for those moving in. Other houses appear the same, but the dust on the floors suggest these houses were left 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 it for - so long as the legality isn't questionable, on the surface. To help with filling up the larger houses - and even some of the smaller ones, and the shared rooms in the barracks - the Witches put together a little roommate finding service, on a smaller scale from the grand opening of the Haven. 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 reads simply the information you've offered up yourself, or that someone might have written up for you, should that be their idea of fun.

IV. Nothing to Be Drone About It While a handful of mirrors in the Looking Glass House at 3 am on the 15th spat out people - new Mirrorbound or perhaps returned Mirrorbound - many other mirrors poured forth items or small creatures, all on their own. The night cleaner resigns himself to a long night as he has to deal with mess and confused folk, but he isn't terribly surprised. It was around this time last year that something similar happened with the mirrors. They may not understand it, but it looks like it may be a pattern, relics of the Mirrorbound's lives reaching out to them from home as gift or curse. The night cleaner fetches Miss Nessie to handle the arrival of a handful of new Mirrorbound, and then returns to start tidying up everything else. Luckily, she assigns him some help in the form of a young Witch named Emmelie, eager to prove herself. Not wanting to crowd the Looking Glass House, in the ensuing hours, she turns to an invention of hers to sort out the stuff littering the room with the mirrors. The goal, of course, is to get each item back to its rightful owner, and she firmly believes in better living through magic innovation! Unfortunately, it becomes clear fairly soon that Emmelie's brass flying saucers, which she had hoped would effortlessly deliver each item based on magical signature matching, could use a little... fine-tuning. The big saucers complete with six segmented mechanical 'arms' to hold the cargo in place are persistent as they zip around the city, often trying to take the shortest path to their programmed destination - whether it means they bump endlessly into barriers such as walls, get stuck on rooftops or in the River Temese, or knock over people, natives and Mirrorbound alike, who happen to be in their flight path. Some of them end up at the wrong Mirrorbound, and bump incessantly into them until they take the offered item, uncaring if they're who it belongs to or not. Of course, some deliveries go smoothly, exactly as they are intended to, but... they're in the minority. By the early afternoon, Emmelie is sending out a voice message that can be heard by Mirrorbound anywhere in the city, her young voice panicked as she explains what happened with her inventions and your mementos of home, adding at the end: "Ahh, it's such a mess! Look, you've got to help me, and please don't tell Miss Nessie, she'll never trust me with anything important ever again! I'll owe all of you so much if you'll just help find and return everything to where it needs to go!"

Welcome to November's combo Intro Log and event! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs. 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 as well right over here at November's Quest Pickup thread. Finally, if your character is getting into any Shenanigans, let the mods know and if you have any questions about the log, ask them here!

Comments

[darkestbefore]

[ She can tell that smile is not wholly genuine. Or perhaps just shadowed by things he's trying to hide. Another concept she'd understand all too well. Her country had been in political chaos and on the brink of war - wars? - before she'd been pulled here. She had no idea what had become of her companions in her absence, or how her disappearance might have affected them. She tries not to think about it when she can avoid it, otherwise her heart would break. The loneliness and homesickness for them had been the worst when she'd first arrived. Even now, they're what she misses the most.

But she lets him gather his thoughts, threading her fingers together loosely on the table before her as she watches him thoughtfully. ]

I'm a witch here. [ She offers this information with a small smile. ] Mostly I've spent my time here adapting to that. There's not magic like that where I come from, so it was a lot to understand when I first arrived. Even now, I still feel fairly new at it, but I'm getting better.

But there are also many people here that need help. People affected by the infection that plagues this land, or those just struggling to get by.

[likethelight]

[ She mentions magic and that is a very good point for the counter one it brings up with him, and he presses the thumb of his left hand a little harder against the other. He hasn't been fully stripped of his powers, obviously, otherwise he'd have no arm and probably be blind in one eye. But something doesn't feel right, either. Like his hand is... thick, and clumsier than normal. Not that he can see it, but his left eye is slightly cloudy as well.

Witches and 'monsters'. Right. He should probably try to figure that out, later. How would his Innocence have factored into that? Would it make him immune?

But his expression shifts and his chin lifts slightly when she mentions the infection, becoming more sobered and clear. ]

The 'Cwyld', right? [ He stumbles slightly with the pronunciation, but for someone like him that was obviously something he paid close attention to. ]

[darkestbefore]

[ She nods as a tray with a small teapot and two cups are brought over to their table for them to share. Waiting until it's settled, she moves to pour them both a cup, sliding one over to him with a small smile. ]

Before the Mirrorbound arrived here, it had very nearly overwhelmed all of this world. It's still very much a threat and covers a great deal of the land outside the cities. But we've found some ways to start driving it back. Those of us with magic often help with that, where we can. We've found that there are places we can start healing the land. But much of what lives within the depths of the Wilde is twisted and changed beyond recognition or repair, I fear. Perhaps that will change, the more we learn.

[likethelight]

[ Ah, the tea -- ! He'd almost forgotten that was why they were here. And he accepts the cup gratefully with both hands and a quick, surprised word of thanks, before seeming to scout around for something. A sugar pot, apparently, which he slides closer and begins to add cube after cube of the stuff to his cup with deft familiarity.

One, two, three... how many is he going to keep adding? Because he just keeps going... ]

When you say "with magic" -- do you mean witches? [ Or, as he might understand it: ] People with sorcery?

[ Crimes against tea notwithstanding, his expression has softened as she's mentioned the plight, in an empathetic sort of twinge. ]

You don't think it's related to why people like us started appearing here, do you?

[ It was six, by the way. Six cubes, into a very small cup. ]

[darkestbefore]

[ Okay she just sits and watches him put lump after lump into the teacup and at this point maybe she should have filled it with sugar first before asking if he wanted some tea with that. But her lips just twitch in amusement as she props her chin on her hand to see how far this goes. ]

Yes, the witches are mainly the ones who have the ability to channel their magic into the leylines. The monsters in this place also have magic, but it's a different sort. It's innate and more focused around what they are. However, they usually only let Bonded witches come to help with that, because we need our Bonded to replenish what we channel.

And I personally think it does, although you might find other theories floating about. The Coven doesn't seem to know why the Mirrors do what they do - and seem to have trouble predicting when in recent week, even. But considering what we are capable of doing, perhaps something in this world knew we would be needed?

[likethelight]

[ Don't even joke about that Yona, this is the appetizer round. He has to pace himself. ⭐

But he looks thoughtful, sipping for a moment at the incredibly sweet concoction. ]

I wonder... [ By the quiet way and rhetorical manner in which he said that, it would imply based on what little he knows that he agrees with her. It would seem like a very strange coincidence otherwise. And coincidences of this magnitude rarely seem to ever happen in his experience.

He seems a touch lost in thought though, gaze becoming distant. "Bonded"... ]

Witches and "monsters" fight it together then? [ It's rhetorical again, but he seems a touch uneasy as his gaze has slipped to the side as well. One of his left fingers taps for second against the cup, like a small sort of nervous tic. ]

How did you know that you were one?

[ Or which, rather. ]

[darkestbefore]

[ .... Have something of a sweet tooth there, do you, Allen? ]

They do. It's a balance that both sides need. Witches can cast magic, but we can build up too much to dangerous levels if we don't spend it. Having a Bond with a monster stabilizes that for us, and also helps us channel and focus. And monsters, with a witch Bond, can draw on that magic to filter it off smoothly and it helps keep them more aware and in control of their instincts.

As for which you are... someone at the Coven should be able to tell that for you. Often they do before you leave the Mirror house, but maybe they were caught off-guard today. I don't think anyone was expecting new arrivals just yet.