[WORLD ONE | POST-UVI CELEBRATION]

[spellbindmods]

Who: Coven members and Palai
Where: In and around the Aimintas marketplace
When: Day 39
Open/Closed: Open to All

After an appropriate amount of time for mourning, the Palai have shifted into a more positive mood -- they're a very resilient species, though there is a bit of a muted tone to their celebration. The whole event is a little hodge-podge, mostly because they aren't used to having to celebrate with the coven members added to the guest list. The Palai have gathered together all of their people and have invited the coven members to a small, intimate gathering -- the purpose of the event is to thank them for their service in fighting the Uvi, and the success of freezing the Uvi in their home. While no one knows how long the Uvi will stay gone, any amount of time without the Uvi being a concern is fine by them. The event takes place in the very center of the marketplace, with the Palai interacting on the fringes of the party throughout the rest of the large building. The coven members have time to spend by themselves, but there's room for moving around on their own and also spending time with the Palai if they so choose. A ▢ One of the more noticeable editions to the food the Palai have provided is a large pile of sweet, sugar dusted pastries. You may notice that something about them seems...odd, to say the least. It looks as if the pastries are vibrating slightly, but they smell divine. If you're so inclined to ask what the deal is, these pastries are magically infused by Eltos, which somehow gives them a sweeter flavor and enhances the sensation of tastebuds. The Palai sometimes eat these before meals in order to better the flavor of their entire spread -- though adding this energized magic to an already magical being means magic powers may be a little off kilter. Don't be surprised if suddenly your abilities go a little crazy. B ▢ The Palai aren't participating the party for two big reasons. One, the purpose is to celebrate the victory of coven members. The other reason, however, is one that may be more interesting to outsiders. While previously the Palai were peaceful people, happy to exist submitting to the Uvi, the coven's show of strength and valor has inspired them to be more aggressive in their approaches. Grown Palai can be seen working on makeshift weapons, but the idea of smaller tools like slingshots have already been constructed and almost perfected. The Palai youth have discovered these tools and are playing with them gleefully, though occasionally hitting each other -- and potentially you -- with energized, paralyzing rocks fueled with Elto energy. Watch out or you might get zapped! C ▢ Other Palai youth aren't as fortunate to be so distracted and happy. While fewer Palai died during this attack, the casualty number wasn't zero. Most Palai children still have at least one family member to care for them, but they're still a little disconnected from their people by means of grief. Some are milling about with the coven members, trying to eat or pester them for attention. If you're good with kids this may be more your speed, but those bad with children can find this irritating. Some Palai youth are more muted, however, content to just sit and listen to stories or eavesdrop on conversations. D ▢ For some people, rain isn't that big an issue -- but it certainly puts a damper (get it?) on a party. The Palai seem a bit confused by the sudden shower that comes in heavy as the evening dies down. The Palai have never experienced rain before, using irrigation systems and existing ground water as their means of hydration (both for themselves and for plants). Because the rain is coming from the ocean, the drops are large and salty, and the marketplace quickly begins to flood. The Palai move the party indoors for the most part, but that doesn't mean you or the food aren't already soaked. It's much warming underneath the roofs in the marketplace, but that doesn't provide much relief since the ocean rain is warm and humid. E ▢ Wildcard! How will your character handle this violent and volatile situation.

Comments

[oneandmikleonly]

Shame. You won't have any room left for ice cream, then.

[imsorey]

Don't be silly, there's always room for ice cream.

[oneandmikleonly]

[pokes him in the side]

Really. I'm not sure I feel any.

[imsorey]

[swats at his hand and tries to poke him back in retaliation]

I promise there's plenty of room! If you're actually making ice cream.

[oneandmikleonly]

[swats back, snickering]

I could be. Maybe.

[imsorey]

Then you should. Obviously.

[pauses]

Do they have the right ingredients to make it here?

[oneandmikleonly]

[a slightly rueful look]

Honestly, no. Doesn't mean I haven't been keeping an eye out for working substitutes, though.

[imsorey]

[sighing, wistful]

Too bad. I'll just have to help you keep an eye out for ingredients.

[oneandmikleonly]

[amused noise]

It'd help if they had milch animals. That's the biggest obstacle, I think...

[imsorey]

[nodding, the picture of seriousness except for the slight quirk of his mouth]

The only thing they have here is fish, fish, and fish. Maybe we'll have better luck on the island. There might have been animals we didn't see wandering around.

[oneandmikleonly]

Or we could try to milk a fish.

[that is the worst thing he has ever suggested]

[imsorey]

[it is and Sorey is judging him for it

only a little though, because he does want ice cream]

I don't think we can milk a fish.

[oneandmikleonly]

Well, if I see a sea goat, I'll let you know.

[imsorey]

Hmm. They could actually have those here. There's nothing to say that there aren't any mammals swimming up in that ocean after all.

[oneandmikleonly]

Hmmm.

[looks out at the Palai kids, and sighs a little bit]

...when we've got some other stuff investigated -- that island barrier, for one, and why it's started raining, and what the deal is with the Uvi -- let's do that.

[he wishes he could just give them a break from those, but the ocean falling is too alarming a prospect to take their focus away from]

[imsorey]

[nodding in agreement; pressing matters come first]

Business first, right? The rain's got me pretty curious, but I don't know how it ties into the rest of it just yet.

[oneandmikleonly]

I just really don't want it to come down on us. All the seraphs in Elysia wouldn't be able to handle that much water falling onto our heads . . .

[imsorey]

[sighing and shaking his head; the thought is too worrisome to think about for too long, especially when the buildings in the city were not made to withstand an ocean being dropped on them]

It would help if we knew exactly how it was staying up in the first place. The terrain down here makes it seem like there was water on the ground at some point.

[oneandmikleonly]

It's true. Like Aimintas was an island, and the rest of it was water-covered or one big beach . . . I haven't heard anything from the Palai about the sky ocean being a recent development, though.

[imsorey]

It may not have been a recent development. Maybe it happened hundreds of years ago, or more than that. Enough time for them to stop commenting on how it used to be. Or if it's always been like this then there would be some indication of that in their history. Not that we can read any of it, but we could probably get enough of a history lesson from the Palai to give us some context.

[oneandmikleonly]

[hunches his shoulders a little; it's a body habit he's starting to pick up, since he started being able to change into a shape with wings]

We can ask around, though...I'm not sure we'll get a lot of useful information. We might want to ask why there's only the one Palai city, too...shouldn't they have spread out further by now, especially if it's been a long time since the ocean rose and made so much more land available?

[imsorey]

Especially when they're being attacked here...Even if they don't want to fight or leave each other, they could create a more defensible area. Could it be that it's just something they don't think about? Moving further away, or doing anything different than how they've always done it?

[it's possible, but in his mind there's always someone who would strive for growth and change, some kind of improvement upon their current way of living. they couldn't all be satisfied with living in fear of attacks.]

There could be a more practical reason for it. Climbing up the mountain was hard; they might not be able to get down.

[oneandmikleonly]

Even with all their technology? They haven't been able to invent something that gets them up to the ocean, but certainly they could make the trip down easier. It's possible to do that part on foot.

[ah]

Perhaps it has cultural significance to them, to remain under the island that was the source of what bettered their lives, though.

[imsorey]

[inclining his head in agreement]

Or they're hoping for another "blessed day" to help better their lives, even after all this time. That could be tied into cultural significance though. especially if they feel like they need to give back some of what they've received too.

[oneandmikleonly]

Yeah, especially with the instruction so vague. "Give back" could mean giving back to the people who gave to them, or to be generous in general, or...

[a thought strikes him. more slowly]

...or could it actually have meant "give back our things"...? I hope not.