Intro Log: May

[moustre]

Intro Log: May, Game Start

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 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. Besides the new arrivals, however, there's one more person in the building, and only one. A young teen stands; previously bored and mulish, he's now owl-eyed and slackjawed as he takes in each arrival, either from the mirrors or coming from another floor as you try to get your bearings. In his hands he's clutching a broom like a security blanket, until - "M... Miss Nessie! Miss Nessie, something's happened!" he yells, as he drops the broom and turns tail out of the building. Leaving the Looking-Glass House makes it obvious that the clock striking three was for 3 AM - the night sky is clear, but the stars are dim in the face of two moons, regardless of their waning crescent phases. Follow, or explore the rest of the mirrored halls you've now found yourselves in? 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. "MISS NESSIE" Whether you've decided to follow the hapless young man, 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. The woman covers her mouth with a soft "Oh my!" as she surveys those who begin to crowd in, and she turns to the werewolf (?), lowering her hand once more. (The handful of others who'd come with her peer as best they can from a ways behind her with unconcealed curiosity, closer to the door out than not. The boy previously seen before he ran off can be spotted at the very back of the group.) "This is right unexpected, isn't it?" She not-quite whispers, delight and confusion in equal measure in her voice. Her companion makes a quiet noise in her throat, unscarred eye narrowed - it's hard to tell if that delight is one shared by both parties. "Well, they've always said the veil is thinner during Boaltinn... We'll have to talk to James and see if he was doing anything other than cleaning, we will, but for now, we've got a full house to attend to, don't we? Ah, if they're all Witches, that'll be something, it will!" Without wasting another beat - much to the fond irritation of her companion, certainly - the woman turns back to the newcomers of Aefenglom, clapping her hands together in glee. "Well then! I'm certain you all have many, many questions... As do we! First thing's first, though, first thing's first! I am Nerissa Bell, the Head Witch of the Coven - that's where this house is located right now, on Coven grounds - and this is my Bonded, Mhairi Ainsley. Don't worry, she's a right softie despite her looks! You can simply call me Miss Nessie - everyone does, short of those stuffy folks up in the Parliament, but, well, that's just how things are with them, I suppose." She pauses a beat, for breath, before continuing with a wave of her hand; dozens of chairs and stools, all surprisingly comfortable despite their wooden looks, are conjured in an instant, and Nessie smiles wide as she gives a small bow. "Take a seat, and let's get familiar with one another for a spell! The city'll celebrate without us one way or another, and we've already finished our business for tonight anyway. Isn't that right, Mhairi dear?" Despite the onslaught of information and excitement at three in the morning, Mhairi inclines her head slightly after a huge sigh; her voice is likely exactly as expected, low and akin to a growl. "Best to take advantage of the distraction. Let's begin, before I have to report this to Parliament." NOTE: If you wish to interact with Nessie and Mhairi, please comment here. You have the option of handwaving the IC interaction to OOCly ask what questions your character might have for them, for us to summarize an answer for, or you can request an IC thread. Simply specify in your comment's subject and we'll respond accordingly.

III. THE COVEN 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, a solution is presented. Though they certainly can't answer every question, Nerissa and Mhairi promise to help find the answers, and open the doors of the Coven to all new arrivals in the Looking-Glass House. The walk from the quaint cottage to the imposing structure ahead is lit only by magic provided by Miss Nessie and the Witches accompanying her, as well as the path of stepping stones coming aglow with each step that's taken across them. Beyond the courtyard, with its high, opalescent walls, a city can be seen. There are torches accompanying the flickering light posts outside, and the sounds of life clear even this far from the heart of Aefenglom, something that sounds like... merriment? Festivities are in full swing, even this close to dawn. The rest of the world continues on, even though you've arrived, confused and perhaps missing a few aspects of your usual persons. But while they certainly weren't expecting to spend the festival like this, the Coven has worked as quickly as it can. Their doors, decorated in cowslip flowers, are wide open - welcoming to the public, and to new arrivals as well. The Coven's main building has a surprisingly large front room, compared to its outside; the ceiling stretches ever onward, with stairs of the solidly-flush-against-the-wall variety and floating-ethereally-in-the-middle-of-things variety both. Magic and mundane intermingle as if meant to, with brooms inscribed with runes to clean making quick work of dirt and dust, shadowy figures opening and closing doors as people enter and exit, plates of snacks drifting around as if carried by invisible servers. The brooms are especially attentive to the door as new arrivals step in - they don't apologize for knocking into anyone, and really, anyone particularly scruffy will get swept at until the brooms are satisfied. None of this seems to mind the Witches coming in, with small murmurs of gratitude given to the busybody brooms instead of reprimands. Doors lead this way and that, on higher floors and on the ground floor, but runes glow by their frames in indecipherable patterns. 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, and Nessie waits for things to calm before she steps up the floating stairs and addresses the room. "We'll see to it you all have lodgings for a bit, we will, but for now, the festival's still going on - if you couldn't tell!" She laughs a little, hands on her hips. "There's nothing we can do about things right now, so you might as well enjoy yourselves, you might. If any of you want to stay in 'til morning though, well, we can provide - just mind your manners, magic's real particular about them. At least," she winks, head tilting with the motion, "that's how I teach all my classes, it is." Those deciding to stay will be lead to doors that seem to follow no real pattern by native Witches; the rule is "two to a bed," so get cozy with the person next to you. They're the ones you'll be sleeping with tonight. The beds aren't too small - enough to accommodate at least three humans - and they're fairly comfortable too, for their old-looking age.

IV. BOALTINN For those who journey out into the city, they'll be sent off with a word of warning to keep out of trouble from Mhairi, to find everything still quite lively - and still quite unaware of what's taken place. There's very little left to the shadows, with dim light filling in the gaps between the flickering streetlamps and the extra candles and such people have put up themselves. Curiously, small bonfires seem to follow a pattern, culminating into a wide plaza in the center of the Residential District where a larger, brighter one burns, with people dancing around it, their clothing jingling softly with little bells hanging from their hems. The same is mirrored on the direct other side of the city - the only difference is in who's dancing. The Eastern Bonfire has more visibly humanoid beings enjoying themselves, while the Western Bonfire has creatures more monstrous in looks. Regardless, they all seem to be happy- And the reason is this: Boaltinn, a festival lasting the next two dusks. The nights and early mornings are filled with flickering firelight, while the morning and daytime have all but the small fires leading the way to the giant bonfires extinguished; the bonfires, however, stay lit. - and in general, it seems the city is quite happy, quite cheerful, and quite close. a. The Bonfires The main attraction of Boaltinn, as they are with any fire festival, the bonfires on each side of the city are tended to by various Monsters every hour of the day. While much of the scenes are similar - there's plenty of food to be shared, with those partaking in it cowed into sitting with someone else regardless of how familiar they might be, and children of all kinds play together and invite those sitting or watching to come too, in all manner of games, such as jacks, hopscotch, and running ribbons around the tall poles at the bonfires. But there are marked differences, too. The Eastern Bonfire primarily has humans or those that can pass as humanoid in attendance, and they're much friendlier to those who look similar to them; to those that look a little more monster-like, though, their replies are far more curt and their shoulders colder. The area around the bonfire is also littered with trinkets and baubles, all shiny and new and utterly forgotten by their playmates; the ribbon poles are similarly new, made professionally as if by commission. Characters are invited to try and jump through the bonfire's flames to burn away any poor relationship experiences, be it romantic or platonic, past or present; to aid them in this, those at the Eastern Bonfire will give those participating rune-etched accessories to protect them from the fire. Meanwhile, the Western Bonfire has primarily those who are more monstrous in looks, and they're similarly friendlier to those who resemble them, with a similar brusque and cold manner to those who look more human. The area around the bonfire is carefully kept clean, however, and the ribbon poles look handcrafted from lumber and grass, with tightly-woven knots and clumsily-made paper decorations. Those attending here are also invited to jump through the flames, but no such protection is offered; it's simply assumed that, as a Monster, you're likely much better at handling a little fire. b. A Little Entertainment It isn't only the bonfire celebrations that one can participate in, however. All throughout both the East and West Residential Districts, as well as a portion of the Shopping and Entertainment Districts, there's a number of stalls, stands, and stores available for perusal. Take a gander at the rest of the city and find something to do. Of note: Divination readings are available in various stalls, set up by Coven-official Witches as well as homegrown ones, with tarot cards that vary from pristine art pieces that one would almost hesitate to touch to the personally drawn and cut. They offer free readings, enticing all who pass by to join them at their table. Good or bad, the cards seem to bring with them lessons and words of wisdom, interpreted expertly by those handling them... or as expertly as possible; some readings seem a little unsure and muddy. Regardless of belief, those who take part in these readings will suddenly find their day going either exceptionally well or incredibly poor, depending on the overall feel of their reading. Carts and booths are available for one to partake in more food, however there's a stipulation to taking anything from these vendors: one must share this food with others, either in pairs or a group. While relations between humans and beasts seem to be a little frosty, they can be seen intermingling a tad more freely when it comes to this portion of the celebrations, sharing the treats and small meals that are being offered to everyone. The food available all seem to be those easy to hold in hand, not unlike modern-day food trucks; of note, the thin pancake wraps seem to be the most popular, with a bubbly drink similar to a milkshake filled to the brim with drinking straws for best sharing experience coming in second. Flavors are plentiful and varied, though they err closer to the fruits, vegetables, and spices side of the spectrum. Finally, the more pleasure-based businesses offer the chance to relax one's weary feet and take a chance with a little aromatherapy with their rose baths. While traditionally this had its roots in imbuing the bather with good tidings and blessings for the upcoming seasons (or so they'll say when asked), nowadays, it's simply become a luxury treatment for those needing a little TLC. The waters here do have the added bonus of making those who share them friendlier and more talkative with their partner(s) - and yes, all baths are a shared experience. Rather than being split by sex, baths are split by monster and human; co-ed bathing exists for those who don't mind mingling with the opposite species, and if really pressed, they can offer separate baths for different sexes, but their focus seems elsewhere. c. Impulsive Compulsion Throughout the whole festival, new arrivals, particularly those with magic talent gifted to them by the world, will feel like they can do anything and will push themselves to the limit. While not inherently detrimental, those who feel it will become more reckless, their inhibitions lessened and impulses heightened; trying new things is easy as pie, with any thoughts of fear left far in the back of their minds. While magic is highly discouraged on festival days, given their rest day quality, those under the spell of Boaltinn's madness will feel the temptation to try some anyway, regardless of knowing the proper way of performing it - perhaps it's about time to try out what one discovered in that strange dream... Those found doing magic will get a firm scolding, but no actual punishment; it's only looked down on, and they'll be cautioned against using too much. If any property damage occurs due to reckless magic use, however, there are fines; those without any money to their name can be recruited to pay it off by working at the buildings and stalls they may have accidentally damaged, serving people, looks, or whatever else the business might offer.

Welcome to the intro log! While mingling on the log itself is highly encouraged, feel free to make your own logs; take the prompts offered and go wild, go crazy, go stupid, have fun. 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 now as well! While technically most of them won't start until after festivities, you can go ahead and put your name on some by replying to the May Quest Pickup thread on the Quest Board. 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

[boneofsword]

[Archer is more insincere than dishonest; omitting part of truth instead of lying works well for him. It's how he is and how he grew up.]

I've choosen to uphold the ideals of justice and benevolence. [those were the ideals that he's been following to the very end. While he's not as bitter about it as he once been, there's no pride left.]

[hearthebell]

[Dealing with anything but the perfectly pure truth is dicey business, regardless. It's a lot to memorize, and keep track of, and it's never a certain, just how trusting or shrewd another party will be.

He cants his head, interested by what's simultaneously very vivid and still on the vague side. Justice is defined by the winner, after all, at least in L's world.]

It's a noble objective, to be sure. What changed?

[boneofsword]

[It's both the simplest and most tricky question. It's definitely refreshing to talk about it with someone, even if Archer isn't sure if Linden will understand.]

My perception of humanity did. All it does is trying to destroy itself. [it's perhaps not as important what Archer says as how he does it. He simply sounds tired, like he's talking about a fact that's been proven countless times. Like he's seen it again and again.]

[hearthebell]

[That's one of the top factors when it comes to how much someone will open up, unsurprisingly: whether or not a person actually wants to talk about the issue at hand. L counts himself lucky that even if the topic is a sore or sensitive one, Archer does come across as someone who has something to get off his chest. And in Geardagas? It might just be safe to tell a relative stranger things like this.]

What do you think it stems from? Pride, naivety? Stupidity?

[L has his own opinions on the matter, of course, and a somewhat similar experience witnessing disappointment in his race near constantly... but he wants to hear Archer's take. He wants that perspective.]

[boneofsword]

[It is indeed a relative safety in unloading this weight off his chest. Archer spoke of it only once, before finding himself in Geardagas.]

Most often all three. Naivety in thinking they're going to survive. Pride in their accomplishments. Stupidity in not really thinking it through.

[He's still careful to keep things rather vague, without facts that could hint at the details of his perspective. There's one thing in saying how his opinions changed in time, but another to explain why.]

[hearthebell]

[He nods; it's not far off the mark, he supposes. Nothing is ever so simple. There is nuance, and complexity, and shades of grey in all things that concern human beings.]

And... were you, yourself, a human being? If so... how did you reconcile your feelings about the species with your personal efforts, and how they might have succeeded or failed?

[A pause.]

If you weren't human... I suppose I'd like to know why you came to believe they could be saved in the first place.

[boneofsword]

[Archer glances at him with curiosity. It's the phrasing used that hints to the possibility of earlier brush with supernatural beings, before coming to Geardagas. While it's certainly interesting it's also not his business. At least not right now.]

I've never been anything but human. For my whole life I've been travelling all over the world, trying to help people wherever there was an armed conflict. [Archer shrugs, his gaze distant.] Like most idealistic idiots I couldn't believe that saving one person means sacrificing another.

[hearthebell]

You can't believe that's always true. You can certainly save someone without sacrificing someone else, and if you must, it's likely that the person you've chosen to save is at odds with the moral values of the one who must sacrifice, meaning that good is prevailing at the expense of evil, in a way.

[It sure is an... acrobatic way to frame it. Not atypical, for L's reasoning.]

You also don't strike me as the type to fail more often than you succeed.

[boneofsword]

[It's certainly unique point of view, even if it's still too idealistic for Archer's taste.]

It happens more often than you imagine. Are you familiar with the trolley problem? No matter what will you choose a life will be lost. [Archer chuckles quietly, the laugh completely hollow.] That's what I've most often faced, and the choices I had to make. Price of one - no, several lives to save the hundreds.

Sounds good as a topic in academic dispute, but when all depends on the choice you yourself have to make? What if it's you who has to pull the trigger.

[hearthebell]

[The trolley problem is something L's very familiar with, as an academic and as someone who has been making the kinds of decisions it merely postulates on a daily basis since childhood. Truly, his career was full of those dilemmas; the name he's chosen here is a slight variation on Lind L. Tailor, a man that L literally sacrificed on live television to find out more about his latest quarry.

Situations like this are difficult. He has to pretend to know less than he does about it, slip into the mind of an intelligent student instead of a seasoned detective.]

Of course it would be daunting, if you think about it that way. Rather... you have to consider that it's a privilege to save lives at all. In any version of the trolley problem, simply abandoning the wheel is the most irresponsible and cowardly choice that can be made, even if ending a life inadvertently is the result of the decision to stay. At least, that's what I believe... if a life ends either way, all you've done by walking away is absolve yourself of responsibility and guilt.

[boneofsword]

I see. It can seem so from the point of the discussion, but it brings another question that you don't consider. When you pass the point when human life loses all value and becomes merely an obstacle that you need to remove. Can it still be said that you're saving lives when all you do is killing?

[It's the greatest irony of his ideals that turned Archer into a jaded man he is. All he has are regrets, and the bitter dislike of ideals that betrayed him. It's possible that Linden won't be able to understand, looking from purely theoretical perspective.]

[hearthebell]

[L abstains, carefully, from bristling at the notion that there might be something he hasn't considered. His pride is on leave; the ego of Linden Tailor has no reason to take umbrage at the word. Students are interested in learning, open-minded; they humbly assume that they do not know everything.

Living here is going to be so hard.]

If all you are doing is killing, and no one is being saved? If that's your meaning... then removing oneself from the wheel is perhaps the only responsible choice. In my world, prison or the death sentence would be the extreme examples of dealing with someone who literally only takes life, but... I doubt it's quite your intended meaning. When examining the trolley problem, the morality of most people relies strongly on there being a difference between intentionally taking a life, and passively permitting a life to end. "Killing," as most humans define it, is the former... and in this case, most humans would probably consider it a permissible and even moral act to take the life of someone who is either actively taking other lives, or seriously intending to carry out an act that would kill others.

[boneofsword]

[Something flickers in Archer's eyes when L mentions death sentence, but is gone in an instant. He chooses his next words carefully.]

I mention trolley problem for a reason. For example imagine a situation where a group of people will inadvertently start a catastrophic event. A good example here would be damaging a dam some distance away, that will in result flood a whole city built in the valley. You're not able to stop them, or to warn anyone. The options are to cause a rock avalanche that will kill the whole group, use a warning flare that can make the group hurry, or do nothing. What will you choose?

[hearthebell]

[L's quick to notice anything out of the ordinary. It's a great paradox that while he's poor socially, as a rule, tending to approach interactions as interrogations rather than conversations when he doesn't avoid them altogether, he is actually quite gifted at noting small tells hinting at lies or discomfort on the faces of others. He brings his hand to his mouth, teeth picking at the skin of his thumb's pad, but he doesn't comment on it, merely noting that swiftly suppressed reaction.]

Given the options, and what I know...

[I don't care... but Linden Tailor would, right?]

I'd have to ask some additional questions. Do we know for certain that their actions would damage the dam? Do we know for certain that the warning flare would communicate the intended message, and that working quickly would mitigate damage?

[boneofsword]

I've been wondering the same and trying to come up with a different solution. [Archer shakes his head. He's been analysing the situation several times over and over, but the results were always the same.]

The facts are simple - the group was heading to the cave that has been a smuggler's den before. These smugglers have been known to boobytrap their posessions and the cave had to be checked by several experts before allowing anyone in. It was't intended to be open to the public. At least few of the smugglers were appointed as construction workers when the dam was built, and all evidence pointed to them planting explosives. As for the group they were overheard planning caving the day before. While there were several caves around they've been heading to the smuggler's den, since there's no other cave on this summit. The way is steep and dangerous but doesn't require climbing, and there are several paths leading to the cave.

[Nothing is as simple as it seems, and Archer is well aware of it. There had been too many similar choices he'd made, and each one was just as complicated. In fact he's simplifying it.]

Afterwards the experts found explosives planted in several places inside the dam, with ones at the base of it meant to trigger chain reaction. It was to be activated by anyone foolish enough to enter the cave, no matter how careful they were, and impossible to detect by most means. Unless some superhuman feat, like xray eyes, was made possible.

[hearthebell]

[Oh. So it isn't a hypothetical, after all, but something that Archer himself was involved in. Closely and, from the sounds of it, rather personally.

That someone changes things, at least requiring a different approach on L's part. He can't talk about it in theoretical terms with this new information. And there's a fair amount of it, with details, implying that it couldn't possibly just be a continuation of that hypothetical. Not unless Archer is more prone to overthinking hypotheticals than L himself, which is unlikely to say the least.]

It sounds like there were no small amounts of oversights.

Was all of this discovered after the fact?

[L would ask what the outcome of this was, or was shaping up to be... but the point of the trolley problem is that no outcome is ideal.]

[boneofsword]

Most of the details that I mention were discovered afterwards, aside one. [Archer glances at his hand with a slight frown. After a small pause he continues.]

I knew about the explosives, because I had been asked to check it. Such feat requires magic. [among other things, but Archer prefers to keep the insignificant details out of the description. He's not sure if Linden comes from a different Earth, and doesn't want to take any risks.] I've been on my way to the cave after checking the dam.

[hearthebell]

[L considers. There are so many factors at work when determining a trolley problem's best possible outcome, and personal involvement is one of the most important ones. L is interested in just how far Archer's guilt goes, and why.]

Please humor me. I wonder what you believe you could actually have done to help them, beyond what you were reasonably able to.

[boneofsword]

[A lot of Archer's regrets stem from the same core - his inability to save people without sacrificing any lives. Nothing can make him forget those he cut down. It's not what he wished for.]

Trying to minimize the size of the rock slide. Choosing the gentler slope.

[hearthebell]

Even then, things could have gone wrong. An attempt is not a guarantee; "gentler" is not necessarily "gentle enough." Your decisions were made based on the information available to you and what you learned later can't be rationally factored into what actually occurred.

[A pause.]

The operative word is "rational." I realize it can't always be a purely isolated line of reasoning to reach this kind of conclusion.

[And guilt is a powerful emotion, one that L has felt very rarely. He is perhaps unwise to attempt advising on that specifically, and on some level, he realizes that, too.]

[boneofsword]

[Archer just shakes his head, for a moment his eyes lose that faraway look as he glances at L.]

It's been the only plan giving them a slight possibility of survival. Otherwise it would be murder.

[hearthebell]

You didn't choose the option that would amount to murder. I would say that makes you a moral person.