hugtopia_logs | ♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

♥ January (Lasra) Event Log

a winter scene showing a line of houses, each a different colour, and a church in the background

January (Lasra) Event Log
Are you feeling free of last year's burdens, offworlders? The natives certainly are after spending the final month of the year at Rawna's temples. Now it's time for a new beginning even as the cold deepens, leaving snow drifts piled along Havenwell's streets. Industrious robots are hard at work keeping the city clean and removing any ice from the stone roads, leaving only beautiful winter scenery behind. The city sparkles under the snow and the silvery white decor brings out of their temples the priests not only for Rawna, but all of the gods.

❥ PROMPT I: The Temple Celebrations

lights decoring trees in front of a church

As noted in the Intro Log, the residents of Havenwell have been invited to help with the decorations in order to incorporate your worlds' cultures with their own, and to assist in celebrating the new year's coming. Residents are encouraged to visit any temple at their convenience or pleasure and join in the design process. There are craft tables, ranging from basic (for the younger or less skilled, such as kites or papercraft) to intricate and advanced designs (like glass lanterns or embroidery). Those less creatively-inclined are welcome to use their various skills, magics, or just ladder-balancing talents to help with the decoration installations around town. Many hands make light the work, after all.

Each temple has music playing and all of them have their associated animals not inside the temple like normal, but spread all over the temple grounds and surrounding areas. They aren't lost for once, but seem to be beckoning people toward their respective homes which are bedecked with holograms of dark green leafy boughs, ribbons, and ornaments all in the temple's colors. Diacht has red and white striped ornaments, Ohma has blue and gold, and Ainea is bringing up the cute factor with pink and purple. But Rawna is looking especially resplendent with rainbow sheened silver ornaments hung in the air, mixed in with real ones that are suspended from wires so thin they look as if they're hanging in midair. The dragonlings fly through the air, trailing silver ribbons behind them that make the temple really seem to shine this month. At each temple, simply by showing up, you can receive a small gift from the priests regardless of whether or not you're an adherent. And they invite you to play the temple games or dance along to the festive music playing from speakers. Each temple has something different to offer, so grab a friend and make your first visit of the year a special one!

Ainea:

Rawna:

Ohma:

Diacht:

❥ PROMPT II: Your Yearly (Mis)Fortunes

a hand pulling a fortune in front of a set of temple drawers

At each temple along all the other celebrations and games, you can also find a separate booth that has a strange and unreadable Aellyn script on it. The robot sitting behind the booth has their face covered with a strip of fabric that obscures it completely, but it calls out to you when you walk by. It offers you an ancient-looking wooden container with a single small hole at the top. If you take it, it mimes shaking the container and tipping it over. Do as they say and a wooden stick pops out of the top with that same strange script on it. The robot takes a look at what you got and takes the container back, passing you a single strip of paper with reverence. "Keep your fortune close or learn to let it go," it says, and then looks to find another patron. Turn your paper over and discover what your fortune holds for you.

Big Luck:

Medium Luck:

Small Luck:

Bad Luck:

Terrible Luck:

OOC: If you wish to roll for a random fortune, leave an comment with your character's name in the Request Thread. The mods will randomize for you and give you your fortune. Your character can only claim 1 fortune, no matter how many times they attempt the fortune-teller's game. Feel free to choose your own fortune instead, if you would prefer a set result.

❥ PROMPT III: Memories of the Sun (VR)

This seasonal VR simulation is especially popular with the natives for the fact that it lets them see their world as it used to be. Load into the simulation "Memories of the Sun" and you'll be transported along with all others who are currently logged in to make a pilgrimage up Aellyn's most sacred mountain. Although its peak is rocky and somewhat barren, it has a serene beauty as it reaches up through the cloud layer and you climb upwards through the dark. The path is clearly lit by small lamps embedded into the ground, but you might find it easier to take the climb if you hang onto someone else. Once you reach the peak, whether you're alone or with someone else, you'll be treated to the sight of a gorgeous sunrise peeking over the thinning clouds. It's a sight to remember, and a sight that brings memories. As you watch you're overcome with a very real vision of your home, a place you remember, or people you know. This vision is typically of a better time in your life, something to bring you hope and peace as the new year dawns - but not always. Is this a vision of your past? Your future? Of your present? If you came here with someone else, they can also choose to share in your vision and you in theirs. Are you brave enough to face what the mountain has to show you?

❥ PROMPT IV: All the Ups and Downs

And while the celebrations continue, there seems to be something a little awry with Havenwell. Here and there throughout the month, gravity has gone utterly haywire. You can be walking from temple to temple or going about your everyday life when suddenly you feel yourself lifted off the ground or heavier than you have any right to be. Havenwell's natives aren't immune to this effect either, and you might see a robot go shooting up into the sky suddenly to hover a good five to ten feet in the air. Or they might take a step and suddenly fall flat on their faces, their gears whirring with the strain as they try to pick themselves up. Thankfully the other natives are quick to jump up and grab their companions if they're flying overhead or pull their friends out of the well if they're stuck to the ground. If you find yourself caught up in these gravity wells, you'll need someone's help to do the same. Be sure to pay it forward because you'll never know when it could be you in this awkward position.

This event will run from January 15 to January 31. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread below.

This post is meant to act as a catch-all for convenience, but feel free to make your own posts if you prefer!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He makes a quietly agreeable noise at that, not sure how to respond at first. Lots going on in her world, it seems. Not a surprise really- so many people here have had full and busy lives before arriving, himself included. Part of what makes being here so difficult.]

I don't feel guilty. [...Maybe a little.] I just didn't want you to get the wrong impression.

[From how she describes her patron, though, it sounds like she understands just fine. He studies her photo as she holds it up, recognizing certain familiar signs: the expression on the man's face, strong, firm, yet caring, and she herself, caked in the marks of a warrior fresh from battle, proud of where she stands. He's felt that after tournaments, or when he had his prowess during training witnessed and praised, he's seen a similar look in his own father's eyes. Posed in plenty of photos trying to balance precariously along the line of the truth of his own feelings versus the public expectations of the royal family.]

Sorry... that you lost him. Both of you.

[This, too, he can understand. The ache of a loved one's death is familiar and fresh months later, still an open wound that he remembers even when he looks at his alive-and-well father here. The man is decades too young, has only been told of the son he'll have instead of remembering the one he raised. His love is more free to give, but it's new, inexperienced. Not yet a father beyond the name alone, though... he does try. Noctis will give him that, at least.

He shakes his head, trying to dispel those miserable thoughts. Thinking of darker days is what caused this mess in the first place.]

...How did you change it?

[ His condolences strike a chord in her, giving rise to the grief she still feels no matter how much she accepts that Haurchefant is gone. Era struggles to shove it back down, deep enough in her heart that she can continue to fulfill his dying wish.

A smile better suits a hero.

A breath of a laugh escapes her, frail and wet. She puts on a small facsimile of a smile. ]

The Holy See of Ishgard was a theocracy built on the foundation of a thousand years of lies. The Archbishop knew the truth, yet wished for things to remain as they were and would kill to keep the status quo.

He turned himself into a Primal, commanding his Tempered Knights of the Round. I killed them all.

His death was the only one I've ever taken pleasure in. The Archbishop was the reason I could do naught but hold my brother's hand in mine as he died.

[ Era takes a breath, shifting her legs. She can feel them entirely now, though they are not yet fully responsive. ]

The theocracy ended with Thordan, and government was shifted to a bicameral republic. His bastard son, Lord Commander of the Temple Knights, was voted in as Lord Speaker of the House of Lords.

There are still those who resent the changes, but Aymeric leads his people well. He is one of my best friends, so I have faith that he will help rebuild Ishgard into something greater.

My father is still highborn and raised, so he will never express his emotions as he might otherwise... But future generations will now have the chance. Should Artoirel and Emmanellain gift him grandchildren, they will have a grandsire who freely dotes upon them.

[And once again it's... a lot. Her words are a reminder, a strange and alien echo (hah, how fitting) of what he's learned to be true of his own home. Built on a foundation of lies... even if the intentions had been for good, even if it was for a prophecy meant to save the world, it was still their unpleasant reality, and many have suffered for it. Their family and friends here included.

He thinks of what Somnus said, about fighting Ardyn in Insomnia years before his own birth. The awakened king in the armored form of the Old Wall, huge and imposing, fighting against a wronged man attempting to defy that dynasty... he wonders if the men Era fought had been filled with that same belief that they were doing what had to be done. Back home things were black and white for so long that it's strange to be straddling the line between as often as he is these days.

Whatever their situation in Eos might be, however-]

I'm glad you won. A crown built on lies- maybe they're just meant to fall one way or another, eventually.

[His father didn't deserve to die, and whatever government Niflheim has created in his stead can't possibly be better. But now that things are broken, his task is to fix it. And in the process he can make it better, in much the same way this friend of hers is trying to do.]

I'm glad as well. Countless lives both Ishgardian and Dravanian were lost in their thousand year war. Countless lives snuffed out over lies and betrayal disguised as truth and justice.

[ She tries no to dwell on how different things could have been, instead focusing on how different things will be. ]

Kingdoms are only ever as strong as their foundations. Now they can rebuild anew, alongside the dragons they once hated.

[ Era still knows so little about Insomnia and its foundations, beyond the fact that it was built on lies as well. ]

...Perhaps your kingdom can rebuild its foundation as well, from something far sturdier.

Yeah... that's what I want, if I can get us there.

[He can't help feeling somewhat doubtful how well he'll manage at it, with how difficult it seems things are going to become alongside his own qualifications. If his father struggled so hard for so long, if better kings before him couldn't accomplish such lofty goals, how the hell is he meant to do it? Hopefully sheer stubbornness and the blessings of the Astrals will tip the scales in his favour, but who really knows.

No one's ever stopped him from wanting something, though. Or trying his damndest to get it done.]

Our war's been going for hundreds of years, on and off, and the way they ended it left nothing but holes. Taking over Insomnia, stealing the Crystal, it's still not enough- they want to make sure no king's ever sitting the throne again. But screw that. I'm taking it back, and then I'll do it my way. Be my own kind of king. I want Lucis to be better than it was before, for everyone.

[ Era listens, more focused on the conversation than she is the situation at hand, though she does curl her tail upward and drape it loosely over one of Noct's arms. She doesn't mind leaving it dangle for short periods, but for longer stretches it makes her feel a bit vulnerable. ]

I wish I could help. I've a great deal of experience with destroying imperial legions and castrums, and freeing nations from their control. [ She lets out a muted sigh, then add more softly: ] ...And perhaps this Crystal would speak to me.

[ A shake of her head, and another sigh. There's no use thinking of such things now, while they loom as an impossibility.

(She ignores the part of her that points out there is apparently no such thing as impossible when it comes to the Warrior of Light). ]

I believe in you, Noctis Lucis Caelum.

If it did, I'd be amazed. It's never said anything to me, no matter how many times I poked at it.

[He offers up a wry half-smile, trying not to squirm at the tickle of her tail around his arm. (Lucky he didn't drop her when he felt it there.) He didn't spend a lot of time in the Crystal's chambers, but he'd visited a few times, out of some misplaced duty or curiosity about where his powers come from. He'd received no message or vision or even so much as a hint of what his eventual destiny was to be, so there was little point in trying often.]

...Thanks, though. We'll get ourselves there eventually, somehow.

[Even if she can't do anything, to know there are so many people willing to help and support them isn't without meaning.]

My mother is a crystal far larger than yours, filled with such Light and life even when weakened that She is awe-inspiring. [ She thinks of Ardyn and Hades both, then amends: ] ...Or perhaps terrifying beyond measure, dependent on one's perspective. With my Blessing perhaps I could make a difference, but...

We are worlds apart, and such idle musings are of no use here.

[ Era moves her tail in a facsimile of a reassuring pat, hands too preoccupied with keeping warm to offer such comfort themselves. ]

You will. And if I can help change things for the better, I will do my utmost to aid you.

[ Ardyn will be her priority, of course, but Noct will be a close second — at least in terms of those from Eos.

Thinking of Ardyn... ]

We are near your granduncle's now, aren't we?

[ Admittedly, Era isn't all that familiar with it. It's always been Carbuncle chasing the man down while she meets up with him in other districts, or at her own residence. ]

I'm sure Cor'd tell you I need training.

[He snorts absently, because he does, technically, but there's more to life than that. Anyway.]

Yeah, just around the corner. Hang on-

[He picks up the pace a bit, winding a quick path to the house they seek, and stretches out a boot to knock it a few times against the door, announcing their arrival.]

[Ardyn opened the door only a second or two later, opening his mouth to speak...and immediately closing it at the sight he was met with. Sure, he expected Era would be conscious by now, but she did possess functioning legs.]

Is...everything alright now?

[ Her tail wags at the sight of him, and she smiles and waves her greeting. ]

Hello, brother.

I can feel my legs again now, for the most part.

[T...tickles... Noctis half-grimaces, as much out of guilt as it is to keep from smiling at the most inappropriate of moments.]

Yeah, um. Memory carry-over, I guess?

[At least Ardyn's already aware that those particular limbs of his have had a bad time at some point, so maybe that'll help clear things up.]

...Of course.

[He stepped back to let them in, not questioning a thing past that. He got the message clear enough.]

[ She feels lucky to be surrounded by men she trusts with her life while in such a vulnerable position, though she'd feel luckier still if the Echo hadn't left her with any residual effects.

Era makes no effort to free herself from Noct's arms just yet, waiting until they're inside and near furniture she can lean on if need be. ]

Three of four Lucis Caelums thus far. The Echo seems fond of your family. [ She sounds amused. ] I can't imagine why.

Guess our souls just have a lot to say. Lucky us...

[He carries her in and beelines for the sofa, crouching and setting her down as carefully as he can. He offers up a sheepish smile as he lets go, lingering until he's sure.]

All good?

Do forgive us, my dear. And...perhaps exercise a bit of caution when next you see His Majesty, just in case.

[do i hear 4/4]

[ The care he takes with her is a sweet gesture and she offers a reassuring smile in return. The sheepishness of his is something she's seen in his father, which only serves to make her smile brighter. ]

Perhaps I'll keep a spotter nearby, to catch me should a fit of giddiness overcome me in his presence.

[ Era begins to move from the sofa as she speaks, placing her feet on the floor, then her slight weight onto her feet.

She crumples immediately, squeaking in surprise. ]

[SPOTTER YOU SAY, well luckily

He lurches up to catch her around the middle before she can drop too far, an indignant noise escaping his lips.]

Whoa, whoa! You're supposed to take it easy, you can't do it all at once. C'mon, sit back down and I'll show you.

[He tilts his head towards Ardyn.]

Can you move the table closer for a sec?

Wh--yes, of course.

[ERA PLEASE,]

[he'd just scoot that table over a little closer, even if he had no idea what Noctis was doing.]

[ Era flushes, both in embarrassment and mild frustration. She doesn't sit back down (sorry Noct), but she at least doesn't try to move. ]

I'm fine, Noct. I can feel down to my toes, I just need some floor space to stretch.

[He exhales through his nose, sharing her frustration from the opposite end, though he sympathizes with it as well. How many times had he fallen, or stumbled, or thrashed and yelled in protest of his complete inability to do something as simple as standing up? Some of that has never completely gone away, on bad days or when it rains or he forgets his stretches. Getting feeling back in those limbs had meant very little in his case, and if that has carried over to her through the Echo, pushing it won't fix anything. At least - gods willing - her recovery can't last nearly as long.]

Look- I get it, okay? It sucks. [He hated it, too.] I just want to help.

...He does occasionally know what he's doing, my dear. Would you but humor us a little?

[ What a betrayal this is, brother. Her eyes go big and sad, expression downtrod, with the sulkiest sag to her shoulders and swishing of her tail. ]

It's just my soul, not my legs.

[ ...Like that's any better. ]

["Occasionally", he says... not incorrect, but still. Noctis resists the urge to grumble at the both of them.]

And your soul's apparently telling your legs that they're not working right, so until that sorts itself out, chill.

[He tries to nudge her back towards sitting down.]

[he loves you, nephew]

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