TDM # 6

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players test drive meme #6 It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, you are home. Perhaps you are with your family, perhaps you are at work. It's a completely normal day . . . and then, suddenly, your stomach drops. You are overcome with a sudden sense of vertigo. You cannot see up, or down, or where you are. You fall flat on your face. It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and catch your breath. You are surrounded by ancient stone buildings, with carvings you do not recognize etched into the stone. There's a sense of nausea, overwhelming and sudden, when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. . . . or maybe you are. It seems oddly like a state fair, except a bit more mystical, and a bit more . . . well, touched by faerie-magic.. THE TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS. Welcome to the "Home Base" of Astoria's Circle. What the actual name of the base is called is lost to the ages, and there's no sense of where you could find it, unless you started asking around. At any rate, this is a central hub of the Circle, a place of powerful magic and mysterious energy. It is a scattering of ancient stone buildings and for the most part, it looks abandoned . . . except for what seems to be a few items, some rooms taken, items moved or organized, even a small garden planted. These are just the smallest hints that there are people here that have been here before you arrived. Overall, it's fairly beautiful. However, it is definitely not modern. Upon exploration, you find that the buildings are kept up by some kind of magic. Some of the rooms have items, things from other Circle members already settled, and others appear to be unclaimed. Pick your rooms, explore the grounds, see the beauty and wonder all around you in such a magical place. Once you're done with that, though, get ready -- there's a carnival in town. FEAST FOR THE PEOPLE. An array of familiar scents welcomes you — it reminds you so terribly of your roots. Perhaps it’s the clam chowder your grandmother used to make, or the distinct smell of your least favorite kind of enchanted crabapple pie traveling through the air. Regardless, it leads you to a variety of food stands, each and everyone being manned by one of the unseen servants.And lo and behold, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for: food from the very place you’ve come from. The plates and portions are . . . er, floating in air due to how unseen the servants are, but when you reach forward to have a bite, you are promptly stopped. It seems as though the servants are asking for something in exchange. A sign floats up before you… “The food is free ♥ But first, find someone and show them… Your best smile! A flower! Spring is abound ♥ A neat trick using the power I gave you~” You’d best get on it — of course, you could try to simply steal if you’re hungry enough, but well...we’ll see how well that goes over. Ironically enough, the foods you may not be especially partial to will be offered to you without any trouble. Huh. TEN TICKETS GETS A PENCIL. There are a large variety of other stalls too. While the food definitely follows you wherever you go, there are small booths set up with games. Anything from a ring toss, target practice, games of strength or games of balance have been constructed and set up all around this patch of grass. You might notice a game from home, no matter how specific or seemingly out of place it appears to be in this festival. You’re here to have fun! And maybe the person standing next to you does too. Will you challenge them? Or let them go ahead? Besides, don’t you want those prizes? There is a wide selection of "stuffed animals" made out of grass and flowers to be won, but it all comes down to you. These prizes won't wilt or die, either! How lovely. Additionally, some of the booths give you out some arbitrary amount of tickets, regardless of how well you do. If you win, you seem to get . . . less tickets? But if you lose, you get the lot. Astoria doesn't seem to really get the point of carnival games. There is a booth to turn in said tickets, though! Ten tickets will get you a bright pink pencil. Fifty tickets will get you a kazoo that makes you irresistibly happy for thirty minutes at a time. A hundred tickets will get you a massive stuffed puppy made out of flowers. And two hundred tickets will get you a tiara made out of flowers. . . . these gifts seem to be Astoria-centric, but you'll surely like them, right? LOVE IS IN THE AIR. What is a festival without some carnival rides? They’re scattered around the faire grounds at random intervals, and seem familiar enough, if not for the fact they seem to be held together primarily through magic. The ferris wheel is made entirely from giant leaves and vines, but is still running, and absolutely safe. You might want to jump on it to see the entirety of the Temple . . . in the (near-ish) distance, you can see Lake Dona, stretching on for what appears to be miles. You can see the Forest of the Fey, equally massive and sprawling . . . and neither seems to have an end in sight. But hey, at least you got a free carnival ride. Bumper cars? More like bumper logs, floating in a small lake of sorts that (for those who have been in the Circle for some time) definitely wasn’t there before. Crashing into one another is a load of fun, but if you get up-ended, you might wind up being shoved back into the logs unceremoniously by some kelpies. Where in the heck did they come from? (They're harmless, for the most part. Astoria seems to have recruited the more tame ones.) And, even better, the unseen servants are keen to get new people to know one another! Are you in line with someone you know? Or next to a complete stranger? Either way, you’ll get shuffled into the next cart and put on your way. The Tunnel of Roses is a great place to meet someone, right? It's seemingly sprung up out of absolutely nowhere . . . a dark, quiet, romantic ride on a tiny little boat, just big enough for two! You’ve got some...time to break the ice. The ride apparently lasts four hours. COMMUNICATIONS. Upon arriving, you will notice on whichever is your non-dominant hand, you will have a fairly simply screen. A smart watch, if you will. Upon exploration, you will find that it has a directory of all those here with you at the Temple of Beginnings- names, and access to a direct message to them. The watch also has video, audio, and text capabilities, as well as what looks like a collection of messages sent to everyone who wishes to open them. This is your 'network', and also how Astoria can reach out and communicate with you. There is nothing keeping you from removing and/or losing your watch! But remember that you will not have access to this network without it. OOC: Also feel free to join us and other possible players on our discord server! enjoy! ♥

Comments

[antithesizes]

[ Well, Matthias isn't going to accuse Nina of being mistaken that there was a cut on her finger before, that's just insulting. He rallies instead against the need to deny that this is happening at all. Before he can come up with an appropriate response the water drops from around his hand, causing him to startle slightly. He'd stopped focusing on it at all... if he's going to learn to control this at all the curve will be steep, that's for sure. But he needs to accept it first. ]

I'm no healer, Nina. This witch has a terrible sense of humor.

[adorned]

[She grins at him.]

And why not? You're certainly protective enough.

[antithesizes]

Is that the defining trait?

[ He doesn't quite meet Nina's eyes, though, reluctant to explain why he doesn't think it fits. ]

[adorned]

No. You were afraid it was something destructive, weren't you? Isn't this the best thing it could be?

[antithesizes]

That would be more in line with who I was. Do you know how many Grisha I condemned, Nina? How much pain I caused?

[ He sighs, looking down at his wet but currently empty hand. The sense of wrongness at having magic is somehow worse now, that he doesn't feel it suits him. ]

You're right. At least I won't be hurting anyone with this. If that's actually what it is.

[adorned]

[It's not something she needs to be reminded of, and her shoulders tense for a moment. Then she's reaching for his hands again, lacing their fingers together.]

That isn't who you are now, Matthias.

[antithesizes]

[ It's not something he likes to say, either, but Nina deserves the truth of where his head is at. Still, she takes his hands again, and Matthias blinks in surprise before wilting slightly. ]

Who I am now -- I'm not certain, but I don't think he's healer material just yet either.

[ Except he may not have a choice. ]

[adorned]

Maybe not.

[She isn't going to lie to him. As much progress as he's made, unlearning all that brainwashing is going to be a process. Still.]

That only gives you another reason to work towards it.

[antithesizes]

Well... I suppose I did watch over you well enough.

[ Nina said as much, anyway. Matthias smooths his thumbs over her fingers, trying to process all of this, to encourage himself a little. The fact that the guilt is there should mean he's not a monster anymore. It's just a lot to take in. ]

How do Corporalniks practice?

[adorned]

There's a lot of studying. More than you'd probably think. We aren't even allowed to touch anyone at first, but after that it's little things—healing bruises or paper cuts, or clearing up blemishes. We work our way up from there.

[antithesizes]

I suppose if it really is a healing ability, I'd be able to find volunteers who have those little hurts they'd like gone.

[ He still sounds like he's not on board with this power -- this gift, if that's what it is -- or using magic himself, but they'd already agreed they need to learn control, need every tool at their disposal to get through this. If the stories he's heard today of how the Circle travels to dangerous worlds are even halfway true... he might need to get a grasp on this ability quickly. However unnatural it feels. ]

Why the water, do you think?

[adorned]

I'm not sure.

[She bites her lip, considering.]

Unless the witch wanted your power to seem linked to Djel.

[antithesizes]

....smart.

[ He has to admit that much. To use his faith in such a way, make it seem as if Djel were granting him a gift from the wellspring rather than it being imposed by a witch from another world. ]

It might prove to be less convenient than the association is worth, though.

[adorned]

You could always carry a canteen around with you.

[antithesizes]

I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves. I need to speak to the witch.

[ If nothing else, though, this discovery has distracted him from his nausea at the swaying of the boat. ]

Maybe when this ride is over.