[WORLD ONE] AIMINTAS (INTRODUCTION)

[spellbindmods]

Who: The coven & Palai people
Where: In and around the city land of Aimintas
When: Days 13 & 14
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!

Just like how you arrived, the process of leaving the hub and reappearing somewhere else is quite quick and uneventful. Brie and Genette gather as many people as possible so that everyone can explore the new world together in a group, which is where they all land once Qri has worked her magic. If you weren't in the vicinity, or thought that not being social meant you'd get to stay on the island, you come along as well, though you didn't exactly show up with the group. A ▢ Everyone starts their journey a reasonable distance from the outer city walls of Aimintas. It's about a four hour trek to the rocks on foot, which Genette tells everyone to move towards -- though you're free to do as you please. You may discover that traveling on your own too far away results in something quite unpleasant. The initial terrain is quite interesting -- it's at least different from the hub island, though you may not be particularly impressed. There's sticky kelp to step in, water in the sky to look at and sand to get stuck in every orifice of your body. How do you like the new digs thus far? B ▢ Genette explains that the gang must enter the city of Aimintas to survive, but it's easier said than done. Maybe as something of an incentive, Genette climbs into Qri's caravan and it floats away, over the rock face. There go all the supplies you brought! The rest of you losers will have to climb through the craggy rock walls, hundreds of feet tall with very few crevices and cracks that are navigable. Hope you can climb...or maybe you can find a way to get through using someone's magic? The sun sets while the coven is busy trying to get through the craggy infrastructure (at least, that's the fate of those who don't find a quicker way to get into the city). Brie locates a large cave in one of the rocks, and that's where everyone sets up camp for the night. If you want to carry on, that's your choice...but who knows if anything that goes bump in the night is out there bumping in the night time? C ▢ What will your character be doing tonight? Sleeping on a hard rock? Stuck awake? Even if they do manage to fall asleep, they may be haunted by the occasional high pitched screech that comes through the night, though the location of the noise is unknown as of right now.

It takes about a day to travel to Aimintas, climb through the rocks and come into the city. Thankfully the city hub is close to the side of the city the coven managed to climb through, so civilization is awaiting. That civilization is decently modern, lizard-like and very, very nosy. D ▢ Upon entering civilization, the Palai are immediately curious and in awe of their taller, bipedal visitors. They've only seen people like those in the coven in pictures, and if they learn that your character has magic? It'll be as if an A-list celebrity just wandered into town. Because they're so enamored, the Palai will readily give coven members gifts as a token of their appreciation. What exactly do they appreciate? Don't be afraid to ask a few simple questions. They'll be more than happy to give out answers. E ▢ Some Palai, though, will want to see some of that magic before they offer up any gifts. Some may be a little demanding, just because their curiosity is so overwhelming. A harsh no will result in an apology and a gift anyways, but maybe just show them some magic anyway...? Even outside of interacting with the Palai, there's quite a bit around here to look at. Genette can be found in the middle of one of the parks, handing out the stored supplies to their owners. (Don't worry, she'll tell you where she is with a little telepathic poke. Your supplies will give you access to shopping and bartering...your status as a magical humanoid thing will only get you so far. F ▢ The Palai marketplace is rather large and home to a variety of businesses, shops and services. Want a good night's sleep? Want to eat a delicious shrimp wrap? Need your hub technology charged? You can do that here. What strange items will you fine? Is their technology level something you're familiar with? G ▢ Finally, the Palai are a people of culture. That culture can be quite unforgiving to those who choose to wander around alone. Some Palai people, after the initial wonder has worn off, will deny services to people who are on their own. It just doesn't compute! Your character is better off with a group of three, but a friend is fine. Travel in groups or couples and your character will find that they get fewer strange looks and questions.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed within the Palai marketplace, so no one will blame a coven-member for escaping the city for a bit. On the outside of the marketplace is a very large house with dozens of Palai congregating -- and my dozens, we mean at least 200. A Palai mate triangle just committed to each other, and this is certainly worth celebrating. H ▢ The guests feel blessed by the presence of a coven-member, and they readily invite any that happen by to the festivities. There's cake, alcohol, drinks, dancing. The Palai people certainly know how to get down. I ▢ Wildcard! How will your character interact with this new and unusual world?

Comments

[splinten]

[He pauses.]

Okay, but I'm stickin' with you.

[If she collapses, he's going to be there to catch her. He started this, and he is going to be there to the end.]

[soulcomet]

Okay. [she even tries on the tiniest of smiles, but it's a poor effort and entirely unconvincing, and she can't seem to wear it for very long.]

[she's quiet for the entire walk back to the cave, and when she gently sets the Soul Gem down next to an inconspicuous rock near the cave's entrance. what could she say? she's standing on the brink of her own humanity, and Madoka is terrified of what they're going to find, when they leave her Soul Gem behind.]

[it isn't until they're about a football field away, and the Soul Gem's gentle pink glow is well out of sight, that she finally speaks.]

How long do you suppose we should walk?

[Dirk won't get a chance to answer, because not even a few steps later, they cross the threshold and, much like snipping the strings of a puppet, Madoka's connection to her body breaks.]

[it's instant. it's as if a flip were switched, and she's suddenly gone, the light in her eyes suddenly extinguished. and down the body goes.]

[splinten]

[It's a flashstep forward and he grabs her in his arms. He feels the soul still humming gently, in the cave. He feels that Madoka does not bear that soul in her. It's like a tether pushed too far. Dirk pulls her up, into his arms, and quickly moves back, waiting to feel the link snap back into place.]

Madoka?

[soulcomet]

[it takes a minute or so, once they're back in a range that her soul can reach. and just as suddenly as she left, she snaps back with a gasp, unconsciously gripping his shoulder tightly as she tries to regain her bearings.]

What —

[splinten]

You collapsed.

[He keeps his grip steady because they both know that it means he was right.]

I'm sorry.

[soulcomet]

But ... But I ... [that's all Madoka can manage before she breaks down, shaking, tears flowing freely.]

[it's too much. it's too horrible. it feels like she can't even tell whether the pain is coming from this zombie body, or if it's off in the distance where she actually is.]

[splinten]

[It's unfair. He hates this—he hates seeing this, that she's like this. He hates that he was the one who forced this on her. Prince of Hearts rings in his head, a miserable truth.

Dirk picks up her Soul Gem, so that she can continue to live, and carries her outside of the cave, away from anyone else's hearing.

He doesn't say anything. He doesn't know what to say. He just knows that it would be unfair to leave her alone. So he lets her cry and shake and he stays there, not letting go.]

[soulcomet]

[Dirk might be here a little while. every new, awful question that occurs to her knocks the wind right out of her; she can only make tiny, pained little sobs.]

[how could she go home and face her family and her friends? how could she even bear to tell her friends the truth? that this is what it really meant when they exchanged their lives for a wish, and became magical girls?]

[is ... is she even alive right now?]

[when Madoka finally does say something, it's not much better.]

How could he do this to us? I just ... I just wanted to help everyone...

[splinten]

I don't know. Wanting to help everyone ain't a bad thing. Sometimes, people take advantage of it.

[He tries to draw away, not so far as to let her go, but just so she can look at him face-to-face. Shades or not, he wants her to be able to see the sincerity here.]

Listen, Madoka. Like I said, this is my aspect. I'm supposed to be responsible for this. So... ask the questions you want to know, and I'll tell you the truth.

[soulcomet]

[Madoka trusts him entirely, perhaps in spite of it all. at least Dirk was brave enough to tell her the truth, even though it's nearly shattered her. she trusts him not to lie to her.]

[it's obvious, somewhere behind the miles of pain in her eyes. Madoka doesn't say anything for a while — most questions she has ... she doesn't know if she wants the answers.]

It can't be put back ... can it?

[splinten]

[He doesn't answer immediately. He knows, with the instinctive understanding that let him know he could rip out souls, that this is within his power. He remembers the feel of Aranea's soul in his hands (a ghost of him, his soul splintered) and he knows that if he chose, he could have ripped it free without breaking it. He knows on instinct that he could have taken that soul and pushed it into some object, trapped it there. The reverse, then, must be possible.

But.

His breathes are quiet, paced and measured.]

It should be something that I'm capable of. I've never tried it. I've only tried to pull a soul out once, and that was right after gaining that power. So it's possible, but it would be a gamble to do it right now. I'm unpracticed. I don't know enough about how your Soul Gem works.

The safest route would be to wait until I'm better at using my aspect before we tried.

[The offer is implicit, but he doesn't think it needs to be stated. He is willing to practice and learn. He is willing to work on it. In a way, he considers it his responsibility. Isn't he supposed to be a God of Heart? Helping Madoka seems like the best thing he could do with his supposed divinity.]

[soulcomet]

[she would lose her magic, if he did it. she would be relegated to the sidelines while all of her friends fought — with the exception of here, when she would step in occasionally to heal someone.]

[the only thing that may make Madoka feel even worse than she does right now is if she retreated. if she left everyone else to do the fighting for her. it goes against everything she had hoped she could do for the world when she contracted to begin with.]

[it's that line of thought that prompts her next question.]

This ... it's supposed to be the source of my magic. Does that mean when I'm using my magic, I'm... [using her soul? what she really wants to know is if this is going to kill her, but she can't bring herself to ask.]

[splinten]

[He can complete the thought. Dirk 'reaches out' with his senses. He tries to feel the gem and understand it. But it still isn't totally comprehensible to him, or perhaps it is his powers that aren't.]

I can't tell right now. I might be able to, if you used magic in front of me.

[But it could hurt her. He won't ask her; he'll leave it as her choice.]

[soulcomet]

[she can do that. Madoka nods, moving to stand, and taking several steps away from him. she feels heavy, like a burden far bigger than herself is pushing down on her shoulders. but she can do what she had intended to show Dirk before this started — her magic — if it'll help at all.]

[in a flash of light and a blast of air she transforms, and the Soul Gem reforms into a teardrop fixed on her chest. her dress is pink. it suits her. the defeated expression on her face does not, not really.]

Um. This is the usual magic that I use... [she turns to the side, a gnarled bow that looks awfully similar to a branch materializing in her hand. and in one swift, fluid motion, she summons and fires an equally pink beam of energy toward a rock some distance away. the beam slams against the rock, crackles as it splits into several smaller beams, then dissipates.]

[splinten]

[It's beautiful, and he sees its beauty—but he sees something else laid underneath it. Something else, from her gem. It isn't her soul being used up, it's her soul growing different. A fraction of it made—corrupted. Unwell. And he realizes, with a dead certainty, that if it isn't kept in check, it will kill her.]

It doesn't use up your soul. But it hurts it. If it went far enough, it would destroy it.

[soulcomet]

[Madoka finally buckles under how terrible it is, and drops to her knees, her bow clattering to the side. she's exhausted.]

[that's what it meant when Mami-san said using magic muddies your Soul Gem. that's why it was so important to cleanse it; it wasn't just so she could use her magic endlessly.]

[in order to help people, as she so desperately wants, Madoka literally has to corrupt herself. is this really what she'd been fighting for?]

... I don't know what to do anymore. [it hurts so much, but she's already past the point of tears.] Do I just ... stop fighting?

[splinten]

[When she collapses, he moves. He's in front of her again, the pink mess of misery. The brightness of that gem eats at him when he knows what it really is and even though Dirk doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't know how to hold or support people, he takes hold of Madoka and doesn't let her go.]

Hey. You've got the literal God of Souls on your side here. I'm still learnin' the ropes, but this sort of thing is basically my divinely appointed job.

[It's a false bravado, but Dirk is sincere in his intentions. He is supposed to be for this. This is what Sburb gave him. If destruction can be used for good, then isn't this the right way to do it?

He reaches out to the gem with his thoughts, trying to seek an answer. Trying to find a way out.]

I might be able to destroy the corrosion. It's like a poison, or a sickness. I figured out how to destroy those with the power Qri gave me. As the Prince of Heart, I'm uniquely qualified to work this one out with you.

[His hand is steady on her shoulder. He can't let his own self-doubt let her down.]

It's definitely fucked up, and it ain't fair. So whatever you decide to do, I'll try to help.

[soulcomet]

[Madoka has met and befriended so many gods here. it all would be sort of funny, if she remembered she was one, too.]

[she's still surprised, though, when she lifts her head to look at him. Dirk had already described his abilities to her earlier, when they first started walking down this road — it suddenly makes a lot of sense to her, that he's a divine being.]

[frankly, Madoka is devastated. it'll take some time for her to mend, but if the wobbly, grateful smile and the the way she lifts a hand to grim his arm is any indication, she's. on her way there.]

Thank you ... You've been so nice to me. [because despite everything, that's what she pulls out of this. endless optimism and hope.]

[splinten]

'Nice' isn't the first description of me that'd come to my mind after this.

[It's almost unbelievable. It reminds him of Jake, of that relentless desire to think the best of others, to think the best of the situation. It reminds him of that sacrifice.]

Do you want me to stick around for a while?

[Dirk grew up in isolation. To him, there is little worse than being left all alone.]

[soulcomet]

[the fact that he's even offering to stay at all is enough to convince her. that's not something that someone who isn't nice would do — and someone who isn't nice would have stood by and watched her unknowingly destroy her Soul Gem.]

[the fact that he cared enough about her, a total stranger, to say something, is enough to convince her.]

[but Madoka doesn't have it in her to argue, sitting there on the ground. she'll tell Dirk what she thinks, though, one day. she just nods, and the pink dress dissipates, leaving her back in her regular clothes.]

[she'll stand up soon, just give her a minute.]

[splinten]

[He doesn't mind taking as long as she needs. He stays there, and he keeps himself steady and calm. He wants to offer her that grounding point. Everything has been disrupted for her, and there are heavy decisions before her. So he stays without complaint, present and solid.]

[soulcomet]

[she finally pulls herself to her feet, her hand still latched onto his arm. she's not unsteady when she walks, but ... she's lucky to have him there with her all the same.]

[though something does occur to her, somewhere along their trek back to the cave. because focusing on something other than her own misery will help her rest, at least for a little while — and, well, being concerned about other people is just in her nature.]

... So ... your finger is 100 percent back to normal, right?

[splinten]

Yeah, it's okay now.

[He holds his hand out to her, so she can see.]

Like I said, my thing is destruction. Specifically, destruction of that which I can understand. I understand a broken finger, so I can destroy the brokenness of it. It'd be risky for me to try on injuries I'm not familiar with.

[soulcomet]

[instinctively, she reaches up and takes his hand. it's not that Madoka doesn't believe him, it's just ... whenever she thinks back to that day, she can still hear bone snapping. please humor her, Dirk, while she makes absolutely certain, for her own peace of mind.]

[and, when she's satisfied:] Your magic really is incredible, Dirk-san.

[splinten]

[He doesn't pull away, though the contact surprises him. Even after six months with his friends, that feeling, the physical presence of another human being, is strange to him. So he allows it, but he almost seems to marvel at the simple fact that she is here.]

I've been trying to think of it like that.

[But it's difficult. Dirk sees himself as toxic. Poisoning, destructive.

It's hard to see the positive applications. But he tries anyway.]