Player Plot: The Salvation of Geardagas, Part 1

[faileas]

Event Log: January, The Salvation of Geardagas: Part 1

The Evergreen Circle Something is happening in Aefenglom. A rash of disappearances has finally caught the attention of the authorities, but only thanks to a strange twist: a handful of the missing individuals are starting to turn up again, and not as they should be. It began with a harpy. After a week of nothing she returned, fully transformed into a Shade and too far gone to save. The same happened with a trader the next day. And the next with a witch. All three were infected, albeit to varying degrees, and only one of them was able to be brought back from the brink. Naturally, this is a huge cause for concern. There's little sign that the Bright Wall is damaged and none of the victims were known to have left the city. Questioning the survivor, Owain, doesn't produce any leads either as he can't remember anything before his disappearance. It's only after he's had some time to recover that he notices something off. As the blackening of the Cwyld fades, a small tattoo on his palm that wasn't there before becomes visible. To the concern of the Coven, it's a symbol that's familiar to them as the emblem of a rising spiritual movement favoured by the wealthy called the Evergreen Circle, led by a witch called Cillian Alder. Their purpose, he claims, is to provide hope through interrogating the Cwyld from a scholarly and philosophical perspective. In spite of this, Alder has developed more of a cult-like following than anything. Mirrorbound of standing (business owners, members of parliament, public figures, etc) might have already received one of their pamphlets. Naturally, it's an incredibly sensitive subject. The Evergreen Circle has been entirely peaceful up until now, and with such influential and powerful figures among its numbers, the Coven is reluctant to make any outright accusations. Instead, the task of investigating them has been covertly passed to the Mirrorbound. As outsiders, they stand less of a chance of causing political unrest. However, they explicitly warn against taking any hostile actions for the time being: this is an information-gathering request, nothing more. They can provide basic information about the Evergreen Circle meetings but that's about it. a. Preaching to the Choir (Every Friday Evening, Mid-Ieneuer to Early Feoveuer) Cillian Alder Art by Rachel The hall is buzzing. Though there aren't even enough people here to fill the place, everyone seems to be bubbling with excitement, exchanging loud greetings and introductions. They're particularly friendly to newcomers and are quick to offer up their experiences with the group: "Cillian is a truly free thinker!" "I haven't felt so positive about our future for a long time." "There’s a real sense of hope and community here in the Circle." The meeting convenes at 8 o’clock sharp and silence descends upon the room as a figure takes the stage. With his commanding presence and charismatic smile there's no doubt about who this is: Cillian Alder. A man in his late fifties with greying hair, he speaks with an accent crisp as cut glass and a strong voice, no doubt amplified by some kind of spell to reach around the room. He's hypnotising, those cool blue eyes of his impossible to look away from and piercing in their intensity. "How wonderful to see you all tonight, both familiar and unfamiliar faces alike! You are all welcome. I have only one request." He brings his hands together with a smile. "That you keep your hearts open. How else might our minds grow Evergreen?" Alder's speech is nothing if not passionate. He paces and proselytises, responding to the audience's interruptions and cheers with enormous enthusiasm. Throughout, his message is clear. "Who are we to immediately decry the Cwyld as a curse? Fear of the unknown, of what we have yet to control, can only hold us back! We must instead seek to understand it and be at peace with its presence! This is a test of our conviction! Our will to survive!" It goes on for the better part of an hour and, afterwards, he descends into the audience to receive their praise and questions with the gracious smile of a beloved king. He might even turn that magnanimous presence on you, affording you a few crucial moments of conversation (limited to 2 RNG characters). Will you stick around to find out more or try and slip backstage while everyone is distracted? For such a warm, welcoming atmosphere, there seems to be a lot of security around the doors leading back there so it might take some quick thinking to get through without conflict. Those who are caught will have to face the consequences, but the results might be… unfavorable. b. Spirited Away (late-Ieneuer to mid Feoveuer) Those less inclined to subterfuge won't have any problems finding trouble to get into either. As the month goes on, more and more people disappear, and that might even include Mirrorbound. Whether you're intercepting a kidnapping or fighting off your own, you're more likely to get caught up in it the longer the month goes on. It's easy enough to fight off the attackers but nigh impossible to actually catch or identify one: each is dressed in black and smells of the tell-tale decay of the Cwyld. But even assuming you do manage to apprehend one, they will refuse to talk in anything but vague, confusing comments about salvation and new beginnings. c. Cast Out (mid-Ieneuer to early Feoveuer) Likewise, the number of locals who have been abducted and released continues to rise. The victims, anywhere from badly infected to fully transformed into Shades, require subduing, healing and, in the most dire of circumstances, permanently dealt with before they can hurt anyone. Without exception, they're aggressive, reacting violently to attempts to heal as well as harm them and there are no discernable patterns when it comes to victims. However, the eagle-eyed might spot the Evergreen Circle's symbol on some of their palms if they're not too heavily corrupted.

[ ooc: More information about the event can be found on the plotting post along with comments for questions, and RNG sign-ups for directly interacting with Alder! ]

Comments

[stopfen]

[She could sense something magical but... That didn't mean much when nearly everyone had something magical on their person. There wasn't anything directly in her face and so she'd ignored it.

Then he keeps talking.] Mikasa blinking at each revelation. Something to be reviled? But he'd been hiding it??? The evergreen circle? The weird cult thing that's going on.

And finally the shade comment. She waited another moment in silence just in case there was anything else he wanted to add. But it seemed like he'd been waiting for her to answer something, not that she fully understood. Not beyond, he'd joined a cult. Or was drunk...Either way he was just getting the lineface until she'd worked it out.]

...You're not rotting like the shades I've seen... [Namely, the giant rabbit which by the point she'd ran into it was very dead.] Is that why you needed legs?

[Because she vaguely remembered that conversation.]

1/2

[bloodwit]

I'm a few steps away, yes.

[ not quite yet, he wants to be able to add, but refrains. he would be lying if he said he hadn't -- wondered, and then more. but what mikasa asks next derails that train of thought. ]

[bloodwit]

[ you got him there, mikasa. ]

[ any extraneous legs he may or may not have are far away, safely tucked out of sight to rest comfortably within the hoard, and thus equally far from viren's mind at the moment - ]

What are you talking about?? Needed legs?

[stopfen]

[They have each other, because her head started to tilt at the mention of steps. Then righting itself with a jolt when he asked about the legs.]

Eren... He said he gave you a leg. Something about not being able to reach me.

[Little did she know, that the reaching and the leg had been too separate things. Eren had been that desperate that it'd just been blurted out in a rush.]

[bloodwit]

[ viren's heart rate speeds up considerably when he makes the connection. coupled with a flash of passing irritation - is that only why he'd received it? because he hadn't been able to reach mikasa, for her to have it first? it's a foul thought. but what's more pressing is the subject itself, ]

[ viren's pupils grow wide, voice dropping to a growl, ]

You're not taking it.

[stopfen]

[Mikasa had no idea she was ruining a present. She was just happy to not have been given a fucking leg. The growl makes Mikasa squint, her head shaking a little. Looking away from the dragon, tilting her head a little, then back to him.

Clearly confused.]

... I don't want it. Keep it or bury it... Whatever people do with that stuff here. [Normally, back home. They'd burn the random limbs that littered the area after titans got loose. Just AoT things.]

[bloodwit]

[ ah, well. viren's irritation simmers and fades with the confusions that greets it, and he instead feels his face reddening with some chagrin at the misunderstanding. ]

I see. Well — yes. [ he forces an uncomfortable smile. ] It's my instinct to keep... [...] scales. It'd been a very generous gift on his part.

[ a lie, but he doesn't see a way that it might be figured otherwise. he doubts mikasa would care much for the politics behind keeping monster body parts, but it's a fact he habitually holds close to his chest anyway. ]

Does that answer your question?