[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 She'll also give you a letter, which may give you more questions than answers since the information is a wee out of date.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

[transcutation]

[...kind of cute. He reminds her a little of Ouroboros. Mostly in the being large and scaly part.]

And I'm guessing the natives here haven't been much help either. [They seem... not the brightest to her, honestly. She doesn't realize they aren't related to the coven yet]

[rootandbranch]

Oh, the Palai don't know anything about Qri. They seem like they're happy we showed up here, but it's not like she's talked to them either. I wonder if everyone we visit will be this glad to see us?

[there's a bit of wry irony in his tone now; Geir can very easily envision a less welcoming local population. he hopes that the next world doesn't require the coven to fight to make a place there; he certainly doesn't anticipate Qri doing anything to smooth their way.]

[transcutation]

[Showed up? Visit?] So you mean... this Coven we're supposedly a part of now, it's not from this place? And we're set to travel to yet more?

[Well now, wasn't that interesting... perhaps it was related to her own arrival.]

[rootandbranch]

Sure! I haven't gone anywhere else myself, but some of the people who were here when I got summoned have been to a "Hub." Did you get a letter? I couldn't read mine, but Vern read it to me.

[Geir searches his memory, which is quite good. He was very fond of the desciptions of other places to go, too...]

I think it talked about even going to other universes.

[transcutation]

Hmph, I suppose they did mention that... elevated mages, different universe...

[Her muttering trails off, and for a moment she goes quiet. Then her voice comes back, not as words, but as a dark, cackling laughter]

hmhmhahahahhahahAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well perfect, just perfect! I was getting tired of knowing everything in the world! Maybe this can finally surprise me after two thousand years!

[rootandbranch]

[Geir politely waits out the crazy laughter. he's not a crazy laughing guy himself, but he can respect some good crazy laughter; Cagliostro clearly has her take on it down cold, and you know where you stand with someone like that. he tilts his head in interest when she hits the bolded bit. nice, nice.]

You knew everything in the world? Geez, I see what you mean! That does sound boring.

[transcutation]

From an alchemical standpoint, yes - I'll admit current politics and the like could be out of my realm after being sealed for a few hundred years. But even just in the time I've been here I've been seeing all kinds of interesting new things.

[She grins at him]

Though I'll admit, I haven't gotten as many opportunities to study dragons as I'd like - especially dragons from other worlds.

[rootandbranch]

Sure, how would you? Unless you traveled to other worlds a lot, that'd be hard.

[he's not immediately alarmed at the prospect of being studied, if that's indeed what she's going for.]

"Interesting" is a good way to put all this stuff! I like it, though.

[transcutation]

Well, I was originally on a journey to Estalucia, the island at the end of the sky and the realm of the Astrals... but it seems that goal was still a ways off.

I suppose the lizards are the most interesting thing though... their magic and biology.

[rootandbranch]

"Biology?"

[that's an unfamiliar word to him. he's going to assume that she's talking about another kind of lizards, not the dragons again-- that would just be rude.]

[transcutation]

Their bodies - how they work and all that. It seems like only certain types of them can use magic, based on physical differences.

[rootandbranch]

[oh! Cagliostro is talking about the Palai. Geir nods his understanding now that he's followed her train of thought; the Palai are sort of interesting, though he hasn't asked them much about their magic.]

Oh, right, the Eltos. I don't know what it is that makes it so they can use magic -- I'm not sure the Palai do, either. That's something that you study?

[transcutation]

Of course - I want to know everything, but especially things relating to magic are of interest. Getting to study magic from another world could lead to all kinds of new discoveries for Alchemy. [Or it could be completely useless if it's species-exclusive, but hey, that's science.]

[rootandbranch]

What kinds of things do you discover?

[Geir is starting to get more into the conversation, eyes sparkling with interest. he does love learning new things-- which is a lucky break for him, since there's so, so much for him to learn about everything around him after his long incarceration under the earth and sea. what Cagliostro is talking about isn't quite the same as things like "social norms" and "how to be a functional person," but it's still fascinating.]

Hey, one of the guys I met here talks about alchemy a lot... he can make things out of other things, just by clapping his hands together. It's amazing!

[transcutation]

How magic works, how it's utilized - both from a thaumaturgical and biological standpoint. How is the energy carried, how is it generated, by what lines is it conveyed... heh, talking about it almost makes me want to dissect one of those lizards. [Not that she would but.]

Oh, another alchemist? I wonder who was desperate enough to invent it in their world.

[rootandbranch]

I dunno, but his name is Alphonse. He's really tall and always has this giant suit of armor. You should ask him about it! I think magic is different between different worlds... none of what the Eltos do seems much like anything back home either.

[he lets the "dissect" comment pass because he isn't quite sure what it means... if it becomes relevant, he'll ask later, he figures. hopefully it won't become relevant.]

I already didn't know much, but around here nobody knows much. It's kind of fun!

[transcutation]

An armor-wearing alchemist? Sounds inconvenient. [They couldn't be that good if they needed that.]

Well, it's interesting if there's so much to learn, but it is kind of inconvenient if no one knows anything... hearing about the different magic in different worlds could be interesting too. Maybe what they call "Alchemy" is completely different.

[rootandbranch]

Could be! It's interesting, finding out.

[Geir is completely relaxed, now; he's enjoyed chatting to Cagliostro, and her enthusiasm for knowledge strikes a chord with him. her crazy laughter and strange mannerisms aside, she seems pretty fun... and who doesn't indulge in crazy laughter or strange mannerisms now and then?]

It's not the worst, that witch grabbing us.

[transcutation]

Tch... I can't say I approve of being anyone's underling or pawn but at least they aren't boring.

[rootandbranch]

Ha! I hope you stay unbored, then.

[transcutation]

Oh believe me, I can find ways to amuse myself.

[rootandbranch]

I'll look forward to seeing them!

[Geir gives her a nod before he hops to his feet, stretching out from where he was resting on the back of her throne; the fireworks have been lovely, but it's about time for some of those pastries.]

I'll see you around, too.

[transcutation]

Heh, catch you around, dragon. Don't let anyone else dissect you first.