[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

g

[girasole]

[You sound really familiar. He'll make the connection in a second, but he needs to get this out of his system first-]

Please. You'd be my savior. Once I learned that I could use my hamon, and once they learned of my hamon, and once they learned I was single, I...had to fend off so many propositions. [And, you know?

There's limits. He's not James T Kirk.] I would love to.

[songbird_slayer]

It's all seven hells being so popular! Why some strive for fame is beyond me...

[The smile was quick and relieved. Now this was jingling little bells in her mind. They'd definitely spoken before. It was the accent, a touch from a land she knew nothing of.]

At any rate, I'm not a choosy savior. If there's a place you've got your eyes on, I'm there.

[But with her black-scaled tail moving in the manner of an intrigued cat, betraying her amusement, her curiosity could contain itself no longer.]

You're the firefly, aren't you?

[girasole]

[That gets him to slow, in the way that everyone does when they're unexpectedly recognized, and not only that, but are recognized for something which they didn't quite see coming. Just a step or two, and then normal.] Ah, yes, I was wondering, signorita.

[(Yes, universal translators exist but sometimes you need to drop the actual word and this is one of them.)] I was wondering. Firefly? That's actually a nice way of putting it.

[He'll take it.]

[songbird_slayer]

I'd hoped so! There's something delightful and romantic about them, especially after a summer storm.

[She craned her head. At just about 5'2'', she had to have herself a little laugh.]

Ah, and it's just my luck that everyone I've met is so tall! I feel like it won't be long until someone mistakes me for a palai.

[girasole]

Most of the people I kn- knew were taller than me, actually. You have no idea how it feels to finally be tall.

[Tallish, at least. Anyway, they are checking out a restaura- wait, no. He was going to suggest a random restaurant, because adventure. He was going to mention that it smelled good and it looked crowded, but not in a bad way. It showed all the signs of being a decent place to eat, and, sure, they might get stared at, but all he'd have to do is be a sunlamp and they should be fine. He was even going to hold a door open with a flourish should she agree because he's that kind of guy.

But no. He was five seconds away from saying, "How about that place? There seems to be a menu over there." And then he hesitated because...

...wait for it...

It was named The Edgewater Gill. (It's a grill. There's grilled food inside. It's a terrible pun.) The second Caesar realizes this he just stares at it.] Of course it's a pun.

[Of course. And it's probably edgewater because there's water above them and they're on the edge of it and- how very dare you, whoever opened this business. How very dare you.] Let's just find somewhere else.

[songbird_slayer]

P-pft... Happy to help! But if we ever need to do some real scouting, I get to sit on your shoulders.

[Ah, here's a spot. It's the Edge...water... oh. Oh. Seems dear Caesar wasn't much for puns. Madhuri briefly chewed her lip in thought.]

I for one enjoy a good pun, but it's hard to tell whether they wanna be funny to be memorable or to say 'please, give us a chance'.

[She stood taller and lifted her nose.]

After all the harassment we've received for our single status, I too say nay!

[girasole]

[That gets him to make a snrking noise which wasn't an amused noise, it was just him clearing his throat, but-]

Putting it like that...now I'm curious. [#yolo

Looking at a menu that's outside isn't committing to actually eating there, after all-]

Crab and Go. [This is sort of horrifying and yet compelling.] There's also a Shellperd's Pie if you're interested? Girls' Night Trout for cocktails.

[songbird_slayer]

[She gaped.]

No. Are you serious? Wait, let me see-

[Time to feast the eyes on the menu. But the poor she reads, the more she feels utterly torn. Oh god, puns were her weakness- what bard could resist them?- and whoever wrote this menu was tiptoeing toward the realm of genius.]

Trout better be involved with these cocktails.

[A pause as she nibbled on the tip of a thumb in thought. She's actually considering it.]

...It's a sweet enough fish, I think... vodka? Tequila, maybe, if the trout is grilled with lemon...

[girasole]

[You know. He can see where this is going. Part of him goes, "No, you know this will likely end up in regret. Look at all of the fish puns. Look at all of the fish puns. If they were confident about the quality of their food they wouldn't resort to copious fish puns."

The rest of him goes-]

This is a bad idea, but, even so, we have to try this. If we don't we may never get the opportunity to try it again and we'll always be curious until the day we die.

[Which, in his case, is maybe five minutes after he goes home, and he knows this, but he's trying to stay positive through a mix of resigned weariness and repression with mixed results. There's worse fates.]

I'm sensing an opportunity to have the Echo trigger, if'n you like. Either during the meal or later.

[songbird_slayer]

Precisely! We can say we've tried it and add it to our memoirs: Hook, Line and Sinker: Ode to Trout Margaritas and Seaside Punnery.

[She marched right on in. May as well start this rodeo and hopefully not end the night in gastrointestinal distress. They'd had enough of that back at the hub, but nobody seemed ill coming out of the place. That was good. Fingers crossed?]

I smell a best-seller. And beer batter.

I'm in. I love surprises. Surprise me.

[girasole]

[What were these intensely pitying looks that Caesar was get- oh, right, it was the fact that there was two of them (and thus merely passible) opposed to three (the prime number.) Still, he's good at ignoring them. They pitied their lack of triad; he practically sparkled (metaphorically: literally shining with the light of the sun would be awkward at best) as he suaved- yes, suaved, not just said, to the Palai working there-]

We'll sit at the...bar.

[He thinks. He had no idea about the minimum drinking age in Palailand or what a lot of the laws were like in general, but you know what? It didn't matter. He didn't care, because for things like this what was important that you sold it: you said it with a smile and conviction. And then people usually went, "Sure, sounds legit." And not only that! He also didn't care because they were staring at the two of them with pity because they're two and not three but not all things had to be done in sets of three, fuck you, and, yes, Palai, sometimes you really did need a moment alone. Yes. He was spite-metaphorically sparkling at the Palai.

Whatever.

Company's good. No complaints there.] After you.

[This to Madhuri. She didn't get the suave or the sparkle, she more got the conviction of we're being stared at this is what's called a show we got this.]

[songbird_slayer]

[Caesar, the hero. The eyes on them wasn't the biggest deal for her, accustomed to being ogled, even with a sense of pity. They were pushing their culture, and some folks just didn't gel with making things a three-way.

She wasn't that adventurous. ...Maybe. Jury's out on it.]

Why, thank you~

[Alright, so they didn't have an Elto, but maybe having the presence enough to fill in that gap might at least give them a little breathing room. She would part ways with him to go for a bar stool, but not without a lingering look and a rather coy nip into her bottom lip as she did so. A show was precisely up her alley.]

1/2

[girasole]

[...god, the second he showed his power he'd be mistaken for one - again - and words couldn't describe how old that was gotten. Still. He smiled in return, actually pulled out a seat-]

For you. [And-]

2/2 let me know if this doesn't work and I'll edit :|b

[girasole]

[And then an echo.

-then Suzi twitches, limbs contorting, raising in a way they shouldn't bend, a trickle of blood like - and Caesar thought this for one moment before both wanting to laugh and hating himself for thinking this at such a moment - but like an accident in the kitchen with spaghetti and sauce going everywhere. Except with blood. It had that same artless nuance, like the thing possessing her was trying to make her bleed but had no idea how bleeding worked. It was like that.

Then his master spoke up, offering to make the kill for them so they could go on ahead- of course she did. Lisa Lisa had always been like this. She seemed stern and…was. Severe. She was severe but also kind. Like a mother. Which was why he immediately insisted that he’d do it. Suzi and he weren’t as close as they could’ve been, but they were close enough, and he wasn’t leaving the task of a mercy kill up to his mother.

And then Jojo spoke up (bless him) said that he had an idea (bless his ideas) and as Suzi twitched he turned and said-]

1/2 Works for me!

[songbird_slayer]

[An offered seat, and she made way for it. But amid the silly game and small lizard eyes staring, it was like a hammer to the brain. One strike. Two. Madhuri gasped and raised her hands to her temples to fight what felt like her eyes and her brain threatening to spill out of the cracks that would soon form in her skull. Not again, not here...!

She sees a poor young woman twitching in pain, posed like a marionette twisted in her strings, and three figures standing in only momentary horror. But it seemed they got their act together quickly enough, enough to speak of who may eliminate the unfortunate host. It reminded her of Thancred, the silly bastard, body made a puppet by Lahabrea.

But as a plan was made, despite Madhuri's curiosity, the Echo decided to slowly pull her back...]

2/2

[songbird_slayer]

[But her mind reeled. So much red... it was hot and dry that night, the air rife with the smell of blood, of fire that charred both armor and flesh. The battle cries mingled with anguished screams of many wounded and dying below, and all she could do was fling arrows, throw a protection to a warrior before a fireball would burn him to a crisp...

But a horrid crackling sent all eyes, both friend and enemy, to the sky. Weapons and magic, magitek walkers all ceased as the looming red moon above shuddered and burst, revealing a pair of thin and craggy wings. The fear of it slamming into the planet and putting a crater in the battlefield twisted into something far worse.

Dalamud couldn't be stopped after all. Gods, the damned moon was housing something.

The red moon erupted into pieces, falling to the earth in streaks of fire as the great black dragon roared in anger, in glee. He was free now, and any below who had voices left uttered the same thing: "The Dreadwyrm..."

He sailed through the air as if in a dance, the Dreadwyrm's fury taking the form of massive flares singing through the air before destroying everything in their path. As pillars of fire and death light the night, the war was forgotten. Soldiers on both sides turned and fled in terror. Madhuri stood still, hands shaking on her bow.

She would die tonight, then. Her family, her friends... everyone. The Dreadwyrm would burn the planet.

So she waited, and she watched. It would only be a matter of time until a flare would eradicate the world beneath her, taking her with it. Even when she shut her eyes, the black turned to an overwhelming red against her eyelids. She felt light as a feather. She felt no pain at all. In fact, it-]