Event Log: January, Return to Dorchacht

[faileas]

Event Log: January, Return to Dorchacht

I. A Tarnished Reality The teleporter to Dorchacht becomes operational by the 4th and the ambassadors return to their city with the first open, ceremonial operation of the device - along with any Mirrorbound who wish to join them, and Theodore Rosethorne and Sowilo, who make the trip as representatives of the Coven to ensure that all is well. Those who missed the first teleportation, never fear! Now that both waypoints are functional, Mirrorbound and others may travel freely between Aefenglom and Dorchacht at any point they choose to. Notably absent from the group, though - most of the Dorchacht refugees originally smuggled into Aefenglom. Only three or four are going back with the ambassadors, and they're primarily Witches. The rest have chosen to stay. Upon return to Dorchacht, it's obvious that some major changes have been made with the new regime. The sky is overcast, but it's merely fault of the weather at this time of year - the oppressive fog that used to hang over the Black City is gone, along with its effects on the natural lunar cycle. The auction blocks, damaged in the fires of the event the locals now call "The Rising", have been fully torn down, not a trace of them left to sully the streets. Where the triple stars of the Resistance used to be worn in secret, a majority of citizens now bear them openly (and in many cases, proudly) on pins and on clothing. In fact, any Witches who do not display the triple stars on their person somewhere, are generally regarded with suspicion, disgust, or fear unless they're recognized as Mirrorbound Witches - careful not to be mistaken for a Drummond sympathizer. The Monster citizens won't be outwardly cruel to any Witches, but will be somewhat fearful, hurrying their children along or crossing the street to get away. Recognizable Mirrorbound, those who were there during The Rising and before, are treated a bit like celebrities on the streets, though any Mirrorbound are given a warm welcome, albeit a little less warm for Witches. Storytellers share tales of how diplomats treating one another, Witches and Monsters alike, as equals so publicly and openly within Dorchacht gave them hope that such a life is attainable, or how a band of Mirrorbound snuck into the city under the cover of darkness and helped give their Resistance a leg up in the good fight against Drummond's extremists. Others share stories of being rescued from burning buildings or cruel Witches during The Rising by brave heroes. Many of these tales are shared in the form of song, as homage to those Mirrorbound who brought hopeful music to Dorchacht through the radio, which is still operational and playing a selection of music with a little more variety. Still a bit soft, their speakers and songs are, but as time passes, they grow a little more experimental, branching out from the lullabies that used to be played. Overall, the Black City is much less black these days, a little greener and brighter from the plants left by Mirrorbound before. Where the old Dorchacht could take your breath away with its feeling of barred oppression, many of those barricaded windows have been opened, reinforcements on the doors broken down. Though things are never perfect after a revolution, and it's clear that the work continues. Armed Resistance guards patrol the streets in trios, normally two Monsters and a Witch, to keep the peace. Their first priority is the protection of Monsters, many of whom still seem anxious and scared as they go about their days - not of the guards themselves, who they often greet with smiles, but of the Witches and humans they pass on the streets. In some cases, keeping the peace means breaking up fights between their own and those humans and Witches who do not want to accept Monsters as their equals, and in some cases it means putting Drummond sympathizers in their places with intimidation and force. While they do their best to keep skirmishes out of Mirrorbound sight, it's clear that despite the improvements, Dorchacht is still no utopia, and the road to a true peace is fraught with speedbumps. As noted, characters are free to travel between Aefenglom and Dorchacht by teleporter as often as they'd like! The waypoints will remain open even after this month and travel will be unrestricted; we will note if this situation changes in the future. Dorchacht quests are also now available ICly!

II. A Few Alterations a. The Coven Major changes are still underway. One of the biggest that Mirrorbound will notice is that the new administration of Dorchacht have moved the Coven. The old building is in a state of disrepair right now, doors and windows wide open, the interior stripped of trappings. The library has shed its books to somewhere else. The basement where so many horrors took place is abandoned. Instead, a sign has been erected outside it, stating that this center of Drummond's operations will be turned into a museum to remember their unpleasant history, and to memorialize those who lost their lives fighting for freedom. It's still a work in progress, and not high on the priority list when survival and care of the citizens have to take precedence, but inside, characters may still find small shrines set up in various places to Resistance members who died there. Instead, Dorchacht's new Coven is currently based inside an old manor located just a handful of blocks from the town square, and it's a much more informal affair. Magic lessons have continued with Resistance Witches, though the subject matter has changed instead. They experiment with different types of magic based on their own interests, but many are studying plant magic, medicine, and defensive spells that can be used out in the Wilde. Anything that will prove to be practical going forward. Lessons are also open to Monsters now, so they can see what their magical brethren are learning (and know that the compulsion and control spells that Morgana loved so much are no longer being taught). With the Coven being moved, visitors from Aefenglom are offered places to stay either within the manor of the new Coven, or in various empty houses around the city. Stay as long as you'd like, they say, and apologize that the accommodations aren't nicer - reconstruction is still obviously ongoing all over the city, repairing damages from The Rising and the fighting that happened afterward. They don't really have anywhere as nice as the rooms their ambassadors were given in Aefenglom. b. The Walls One of the biggest on-going projects in Dorchacht right now is removing the Monster control spells from the set of enchantments on their city walls. High on the list of priorities is making sure that Monsters can feel safe again, secure in their own minds and bodies. As the spells are made visible, particular sets of runes have to be ground down and smoothed over. A spell is either cast or provided to soften the stone temporarily, and then it's basically going at it with magitech-powered sanders created by Hilda. The particular runes that need to be gotten rid of will be provided on reference sheets - please don't touch the others, they chide! Those are to protect from the Cwyld, and are still very important. While help is welcomed with open arms and enthusiasm at most sections of the walls, those guards posted at one particular small district, guarded with trios of Resistance members at each entrance and warded with alarm magic to warn of escape, turn Mirrorbound away; these runes are being altered, not removed, to help contain unruly Drummond loyalists, they say. The people who now live in that guarded district are all human, whether they're Witches or no, and all refuse to bear the triple stars. "Troublemakers," the guards will explain grimly. "We have to contain them for now. It isn't a perfect solution, but they've hurt people, or tried to hurt people, since Drummond was run out of town." c. Bond Lessons Bonding is a bit of a tricky subject in the new Dorchacht. Many Monsters are afraid of the idea, as it was once used as one of the collars around their necks, but the Circle of Three recognize it as an important way to wean citizens off the lullabies and calming draughts that prevent going feral during full moons. As part of encouraging others to form Bonds, partnerships at the very least the way most Resistance members describe theirs, there are demonstrations and public seminars that pop up around Dorchacht on the regular. They may be as informal as a circle in what's going to be a park or as official-seeming as a talk held inside a shop or lecture hall, but they have one thing in common. Many of the citizens are keen on getting Mirrorbound in on it -- mostly by dragging them in, asking if they have a Bonded, and if they do, they tell the Mirrorbound to talk about their Bonded. They're interested in the ups and downs (but mostly ups) of having one in order to show that if the Mirrorbound are into it, you should be too! They accept all stories but prefer the happy ones - the aim is to encourage their Monster citizens and help them be less afraid of taking that step with Witches. And for those who aren't in a Bond, or decline to talk -- well, they get what amounts to a "flour sack baby" in the form of a Dorchacht citizen of the opposite role of their own (a Monster would receive a human/Witch, a Witch would receive a Monster) that they must hang with for a day, ensuring no harm comes to them, bound by one of the temporary Bonding potions so popular in the Wilders' ranks. (As a note, for the second option, you have free reign of the NPC; do the personalities you find fun, be they cooperative or mischievous, shy or loud, abrasive to your character or someone they can genuinely get along with. They are all willing - no one is being forced into this. No Fae or Dragons allowed for Monster NPCs, unfortunately, as they are still very much not about.)

III. Ahoy Mateys! With Dorchacht opening up again after the last few months of closed off internal fighting, plenty of trading ships' Captains are ready and raring to go build business relations with the new regime and find a new market for some of their wares. There has been increased interest in finding a shorter route to Dorchacht by sea - the teleporter is useful for small groups of people, sure, but it can't handle much cargo. The only problem? Ships are being turned back, barely halfway there, with significant damage to their hulls. Brave individuals looking for a seafaring adventure are asked to come aboard and help the crew navigate tumultuous waters, hopefully figuring out along the way what's causing the damage to previous ships. It's a three day trip to Dorchacht if the waters are kind, and characters can simply teleport back home once there. On board the various ships brave enough to return to the sea, Mirrorbound find the problem halfway through the trip: a colossal squid that's made it home at this point, thrashing ships that come too close to its den. While uninfected, it does have injuries on its body, which may be the source of its lashing out. The ships are able to bring themselves close enough for longer ranged attacks, and the Harpy on board are careful not to be captured by the churning waves caused by the thrashing, but there's others who want to seek a less violent mean to end this surf and turf conflict. Killing, healing, subduing, or relocating it are all valid options, but getting in close to do any of those will be difficult, as it has a tendency to ink up the waters around it and reduce visibility to nothing. Be careful of any creatures swimming around that are interested in the weakened squid as well, such as various carnivorous fish, sea-plants, and things that appear alike to Merrow, but rely only on instinct. The Merrow cannot be spoken to, nor are they infected; the Captains of the ships will explain that they're "wild", and refer to them as distant cousins to the Merrow that sparsely populate Aefenglom itself.

IV. Back At Home Back in Aefenglom, the stir caused by the Circle of Three's arrival takes time to calm. It's the talk of the town for days - many seem happy about Morgana Drummond's apparent demise. "Good for them," is the general sentiment in the residential areas more populated by Monsters and the Harbor District. They're glad to know that things are on the way up there. Others think this is a boon; should anything happen, now Aefenglom has an ally city to stand with them, one in their debt. Others still don't really care either way, and go about their lives as if nothing's happened. The refugees, in their neighborhoods on the far reaches of the Haven, seem happy to hear news from home and find The Dragon/Starlight/Fafnir freed, and while a few of them choose to return to Dorchacht, having never put down roots in Aefenglom, more still don't wish to leave the homes and families they've formed here, or the Mirrorbound who have helped them so much over the months. Some even doubt that things are as good as they say, and choose to remain for that reason - slavery and ill treatment from the upper class in Aefenglom instilled in them a sense of (well-earned) paranoia regarding the intentions of Witches, especially those back home. They hear that things have changed, but don't necessarily want to find out for themselves. Even still, the mood is upbeat, with a general consensus that if Morgana is really gone, that's at least a solid step in the right direction. In the Aristocratic District, though, the atmosphere is sour. The general sentiment is that they wish the refugees would have left with those ambassadors. The kinder ones think Aefenglom should focus on its own citizens - the people from the Outer City brought in to weather the blizzard have never left, after all, still living in the neighborhoods with the refugees. Those who are more vocally outspoken about the Mirrorbounds' presence in the city think they should have all left to Dorchacht. Let another city shoulder all the misfortune they bring with them! Many of the people grumbling about that are ones who were directly affected by the Mists back in October, either through temporary changes themselves or through being attacked by ferals. Some of the more hot-headed young people try to spread this message - through graffiti, on homes and businesses in the Haven and the refugees' district, though if caught, they're quick to run away and not willing to enter into a confrontation. The graffiti is wholly mundane and not particularly difficult to remove, just unpleasant, telling Mirrorbound and refugees alike to "go home" or "go back to Dorchacht", in so much colorful language. Seems there's still some work to do at home, as well.

Welcome to your establishing post for the current situation in Dorchacht! This log takes place through the entire month; characters can come and go as they please. As always, you can direct all your questions HERE. This month we're also putting up a City Tracker for PC actions, both in Aefenglom's plot later on and Dorchacht's log here. Let us know what your character is doing, good or bad! The cut-off for the tracker is February 3rd.

Comments

A

[inlikethebrume]

Or so I heard.

[Mira waves at him once she spots Thancred by the storyteller. Thankfully with no ale but just simple water.]

You helped here before, haven't you?

[wordsinthesoul]

There's a kernel of truth at the core.

[A wise choice- and as much as Thancred appreciates a drink, he'd still prefer not to get drunk here himself.]

Ah, I may have stuck my nose in a little, here and there- though I was hardly alone in any of that. I'm glad we managed to help the city along.

[inlikethebrume]

[She's not taking any chances. Twice she's seen drinks have things that shouldn't be in them so there's some leeriness towards any opened alcohol.]

It would not be you to simply watch. It sounds like good timing, doesn't it?

[wordsinthesoul]

[More than fair- the caution will hardly hurt, at any rate.]

That's kind of you to say. Good timing, and effort. It was- as some say- an interesting time to be here. Quite dramatic, in fact.

[inlikethebrume]

Considering stories I have heard, every right to be so.

[Auctions, treatments of monsters...just things that make the stomach churn.]

It still eludes me why people act as such. To treat others like they are nothing...

[wordsinthesoul]

[For a moment, Thancred’s expression turns more serious, eyes flicking to the people about them- some of whom still seem wary.]

There are common factors at the root of it- control, and power... It hardly makes it better, but I should like to think in knowing we could guard against those who would seek to employ such means.

[inlikethebrume]

To protect those who cannot defend against their oppressors...

[It resonates with her.]

I can understand the feeling. It is why it is the path I chose to walk, why the sword is on my back.

[wordsinthesoul]

Exactly. To try to see that all can live well.

Then I hope we may walk it together. I've heard a few rumours, but- how did you come to the sword?

[inlikethebrume]

Rumors? What kind of if you do not mind me asking?

[Did Irhya mention them somehow? Mira wants to be sure before spilling.]

[wordsinthesoul]

Oh, you know the sort, I imagine. That dark knights are born of the shadows, appearing and disappearing in the middle of the night- wanderers without a home, save beneath the moonlight. Practitioners of arts otherwise, with swords that whisper secrets as much as they do threats. Which sounds unlikely, but- stranger things have happened.

[inlikethebrume]

Wanderers without a home, hmm?

[That gets a chuckle.]

I can say I do have a home so that leaves one rumor solved. We do use arts uncommon to those in a guild and we do focus on the shadows rather than the light.

[And swords that whisper secrets...well, soul crystal but...]

[wordsinthesoul]

That's what some tales tell.

[He smiles in return, settling back a little more.]

Good news indeed- though perhaps a deep secret, hm? How are the arts taught, if I might be so bold?

[Some of it probably is straight-up exaggeration, in the end. Not everyone is going to be so close as that.]

[inlikethebrume]

Mostly through practice and while on the road. I did have someone teach me the ropes at the start.

[Does Fray count as self taught?]

[wordsinthesoul]

So it was mostly through experience- travelling alone, or with companions?

[There are ways such arts could backfire, he imagines- was there anyone there with her?]

[inlikethebrume]

Partly alone but also with some comrades with more experience.

We did make sure to have someone who could provide conjury in case matters got too much to handle.

[Rielle is still a child but if she wanted to help, Mira wasn't going to say no.]

[wordsinthesoul]

That's good to hear. Being able to hear from others who have walked the path you are walking provides useful guidance.

[Hence, well. The Path, before the Calamity.]

That's good- though, well. Did it?

[He'd bet on yes, if pressed, but- he'd like to hear her answer.]

[inlikethebrume]

Did it give me guidance?

[Well...]

In both art and myself along the way. Things I would not have learned otherwise.

[wordsinthesoul]

Ah. A dose of self-reflection's never easy. But… necessary, now and then.

[He tilts his head.]

What are your companions like, if I might ask?

[inlikethebrume]

[She ponders for a moment and remembering Sid and Rielle makes her chuckle. It is a warm feeling, like a old comfortable blanket that she looks upon them.]

Sidurgu is...rough at first. But once you get to know him, he is rather kind despite the distaste in mooglekind. 'Tis a long story. Blunt in his words, he does mean well even if the words spoken are not the correct ones.

Or perhaps it is because of Rielle that he has gained these thoughts on. She is but still a child, she is passionate and strives to learn conjury. Although she may soothe hurts, she does know how to make Sid listen with her razor tongue.

They are precious people to me, those I can depend on and am willing to protect.

[And then Fray...and Myste...]

[wordsinthesoul]

Sidurgu? Well, I've known one or two people of the sort. And… well, if he found himself the target of a moogle's prank, I could certainly understand that. Perhaps I'll meet him someday.

Rielle- ah, is she the person you spoke of before? [That's… probably a lot to ask, but- it's something she can do, and the others will protect her.]. Then it sounds as though you're a fine team.

[inlikethebrume]

Those damn moogles...

[Mira's more of a namazu girl if she is honest. But Thancred catches on quick.]

Nay, I had met Rielle the same time as Sid. There was another...named Fray. Alas, they couldn't stay for very long.

[wordsinthesoul]

Then they caught you in it, as well?

[Well, he dealt with them less than Papalymo, but Thancred's got on with moogles well enough.]

So they travel together, then. Is that so? Were they pursued, then?

[inlikethebrume]

Well...

[How to put it...]

Rielle's mother was rather devout to Halone and anything not seen as pure or in her vision...was dealt with quietly. Including her own family.