[WORLD ONE | SEPTEMBER INTRO LOG]

[spellbindmods]

Who: The new coven members, old blood & Palai people
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Day 61
Open/Closed: Open to All

The initial setting information found here should be utilized for threads here.

There's no official OOC account for the Palai people. You're free to roleplay their actions and reactions on your own, as in depth as you want -- asking questions, hand-waved interactions, becoming best friends. The new world is your oyster!

All characters are told briefly what their powers are by Genette -- no extemporaneous details. For instance, if your character has the ability to detect lies, they'll be told as such -- no warning about limitations, repurcussions or the like. They'll also be given a variant of this letter so they aren't totally ignorant of the situation -- though of course adapt this letter to the current setting and surroundings of the game.

This setting may be familiar to you -- maybe you caught a glimpse of it when you first visited. Maybe this is your first time experiencing this weird world and the panic is setting in. If you're totally lost, a tall human woman with a long scroll of paper will stop by to give you the run down. She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date. (Maybe someone else can fill in some gaps for you). What you may not know is that this world recently experienced something of a tragedy. You wouldn't be able to guess this based on the festive energy in the air. The main marketplace where you've shown up finished reconstruction last night, and after grief comes joy to the Palai -- those lizard creatures you see wandering around. They're now hosting a festival to celebrate their success and the lives of those both still present and those lost. It's also a chance for them to host one of those big celebrations like they'd previously seen in human books. However, their resources are limited -- don't blame them if things are a little cut-and-paste! A ▢ One of the preferred methods for masking grief in the Palai world is playing games. Because the Palai are still on their shrimp kick (the old blood characters are probably sick of them at this point), the shrimp are being used as part of a few festival games: Shrimp Scoop: Live prawns have been placed in a tank of water. Instead of paper scoops, players are handed small scraps of cloth which they may then dive into the six-foot tall tank to try and grab the prawns with -- no hands! And no magic or your prawn will be revoked. For extra incentive, sacks of golden coins have been tied to the prawns. These coins can be exchanged for goods and prizes, though what your character receives for their coin -- no matter how bland or wacky -- is up to your character. Shrimp Shock: Dead shrimp have been placed in a wading pool. Your character and another character enter the pool while Elto shock the shrimp out of the water. With about 20 shrimp in the water, the character with the most shrimps caught out of the air wins an allotment of coins. Whack-a-Shrimp: Eltos have powered six large, stuffed shrimp dolls (made with cloth), that will pop out of cut holes in a large game board. Hit the shrimp as many times as you can in 30 seconds, and your number will amount to the coins you receive. Shrimp Fest: Is your character a big eater? Your character is given a plate of cooked jumbo prawns. If they can eat all 50 jumbo prawns in 30 seconds, they win 100 coins. B ▢ What good is a festival if there's no face painting? Don't worry, you have more options than shrimp. Palai have an assortment of paints and are making colourful designs on both their kin and coven members -- your request may not look exactly as you want it to since they have bumpy hands and claws that get in the way.

This is all pretty juvenile, but fear not! For the mature sort and adults of Aimintas, there's a more quiet part set up that may cater to your older interests. A softer atmosphere, away from the excitement of things. If you want to wind down from the thrill of being magicked away to a new world, this is probably the best way for it. C ▢ Fans of alcohol will find that the Palai have broken out their best spirits for themselves and the coven. Some of these aged spirits are decades old and have aged accordingly, giving them a bitter flavor with a nasty bite of alcohol. Others are more recently distilled or imbued with magic for an extra buzz. Accordingly, some drinks can get you inebriated pretty quickly. Some drinks are essentially giddy truth serums. Others may have an effect on magic or telepathy. Pick your poison! D ▢ The environment in this more secluded area of the marketplace is supposed to be more relaxed, but it's also the best place to sit if you want a front row seat to the fireworks exhibit the remaining Eltos are putting on. Through balls of dye and their electrical powers, they're quickly blowing up the sky with arcs of color that rain down in the form of bright pieces of glitter once the spectacle is over. They also have a special service they're offering -- the Eltos have a grasp on electrical magic, which means they can draw certain things in the sky with these dye balls. If you have a request for a written message or a drawing of some sort, they'd be happy to comply with your wish! For the real adult experience, however, you may want to check out the large rolling cart that Palai are pushing around the marketplace, landing it in the fireworks area. This cart is filled with all of the eggs that were a product of their mating season, and this part of Aimintas is the warmest. E ▢ For newbies and those who missed the egg train, your character can instead be Egg Parent for a Night. The Palai are holding their eggs to warm them for the evening, but (like most parents with new babies) they're certainly trying to show off their creations. Hold them, pass them around -- or maybe even act a fool and fend off a fiercely angry Palai parent.

Finally, the Palai are getting used to the standard familiar faces, so they aren't unaware that there are quite a few new faces in the mix. Based on how familiar your character is, they'll receive a nice little gift from the Palai. Older coven members will receive a scrolled parchment that lists them as honorary citizens of Aimintas and a handmade, harden clay sculpture of their likeness. It may not look a lot like them, but they tried. F ▢ What about new members? Well, they get the Aimintas Starter Kit: an unmarked vial containing Palai mating pheromones (makes your character affectionate, etc), a bag of cooked shrimp, a collection of their baked goods and energy drinks (containing Elto magic that makes magical abilities hard to handle), and a harmless paper flower. Your character likely isn't used to the dangers of some of these items, so maybe someone can help them...or is it too late? G ▢ Because the Palai recognize new faces, these new coven members will be dragged to other coven members who they do recognize. In an effort to help make introductions, the Palai are trying to connect new members with old members in order to foster friendships. Say hi to a new, awkwardly introduced covenmate...? H ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[alphonse]

Supposedly, Qri thought she could get by with just those two at first. You can ask them about it if you catch them in the right mood, but so far no one's gotten anything useful out of trying.

[Chaotic as the city's been, it doesn't feel like they've made any real progress since his own arrival.]

Maybe Genette really believes what's in that letter, but that's about as seriously as I take it. All the stuff about Qri being so important sounds way too convenient.

[spaceforged]

It does seem like a convenient excuse but we can't confirm or deny it. [It's not the most worrying part of the whole thing. But it's pretty close. The only race he knows of in his home galaxy that sought energy like the Qri were sucking it out of planets. He crosses his arms over his chest and frowns thoughtfully.]

The only thing to be sure of is their power. People who can take us out of where we belong? That's worrying.

[alphonse]

And to keep bringing in more people, like she's not even threatened by what we could do together.

[With a sigh, he looks down and shakes his head.]

I wish I had better news.

[But Shiro seems like the pragmatic sort, seeking answers instead of panicking. It's probably best to just be upfront with him.]

I'm Alphonse Elric. There's a lot I'm still figuring out, but I can try to help if you have questions.

[spaceforged]

That would be a great help. I'm Shiro. [He bites back saying he's a paladin of Voltron. It won't mean anything here.] Just how many worlds has the Coven been to so far?

It sounds like we're taken from multiple times and places. All of that would have to add up to expending a lot of energy.

[alphonse]

I don't know about Brie and Genette, but the others have only been to one other place. It was an island in the middle of nowhere--from the way they described it I can't be sure if it was really its own world or just some kind of hub between them. It sounded like it was set up just for the coven, as a place to practice their powers. Whether or not it's somewhere Qri actually made I can't say, but for someone who's supposed to be low on energy she definitely uses a lot of it.

[spaceforged]

Could it be the more people she pulls in the more trickles of power she gets in return? [He has to ask. There is no other way to truly explore all possibilities except to run through them.]

For now I'll work with everyone. The only way to find out more is to be on her team. .,,Whatever is truly going on. We'll find out eventually.

[alphonse]

Maybe. Or if bringing us here gives her some kind of lasting connection to our worlds...

[It's too dark a thought to finish. Shiro's right about exploring every option, but Al doesn't want to get too pessimistic with the new arrivals.]

I think we're all pretty much in agreement about what to do, so at least you're in good company. Everyone in the coven I've met so far has been really helpful and willing to work with each other to get some answers.

okay fully back. Sorry about that irma killed my power.

[spaceforged]

Good. Glad to be among you. Well, given the circumstances.

[He glances briefly down at his metal hand and closes. This isn't like being a prisoner. They have some freedoms.]

I'll do whatever I can to help. ...is our old abilities unable to used here? I haven't tried anything yet. But it would be good to know before I make any attempts.

no worries, hope things are okay!

[alphonse]

It might depend on the nature of the ability, but I haven't heard of anyone else having trouble. At least not here in Aimintas. Supposedly, it has something to do with the frequency of the world being able to generate magical energy. Back on Qri's island, it sounds like we aren't so lucky.

[It's the one part of Qri's story that does make sense to him, considering how alchemy works. Of course not every planet would produce the right amount of power.]

If you don't mind my asking, what kind of things can you do?

We're slowly getting back on our feet. But we'll be okay!

[spaceforged]

[He holds up his mechanic hand. Purple light runs down from the tips of his fingers down to his wrist in thin lines. They expand and spread out to cover the hand as a soft resonate hum fills the air.]

On my own, this is what I can do. It depends on how I'm consciously seeking to use it or adjust the frequency of energy. For example, I could block something and in the next minute cut through the hull of a ship.

glad to hear it!

[alphonse]

[He leans closer to watch, his voice carrying a sense of awe. Winry would flip.]

That's amazing. Is it something built into the automail or are you using your own magic?

[spaceforged]

It's built into my hand. I don't feel any drain to using it. ...But I'm not a tech expert. Whatever else it does I wouldn't know those details.

[The hum fades as the energy drains away. He flexes the fingers.]

Probably should be really careful with it in places we can't use our natural abilities.

[alphonse]

Good call. There are people here with mechanic experience, but I'm not sure about automail experts. Your arm is definitely more advanced than anything I've ever seen back home.

[spaceforged]

Are you familiar with computers? [He holds his arm up so Alphonse can study it.] Galra tech is fairly strong it might not get damaged. But good to know I could possibly get it repaired if that happens.

[alphonse]

I'd never seen one before I came here.

[A little sheepishly.]

That's not really the norm, though. Most of the others will have a better idea of what you're talking about. Do you mean your arm works kind of the same way?

[spaceforged]

Something like that. There is a lot of data stored inside of it. It allows me into certain systems but there's an id marker that keeps track of what I'm doing or accessing.

...it's like checking out a book in a library. I don't know how useful that will be in the future.