♥ March (Ainir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

March Event Log
Spring has sprung! Or at least, in theory. The month began monthly unremarkably, besides the priests of Ainea's temple prepping for the first month in their deity's season, which tends to be a little sleepy as the city traditionally shakes off those winter woes. The earthquakes still has everyone feeling a strange anticipation for change, but with how long it's gone with no noteworthy shifts yet, excitement has grown somewhat muted. All of that is about to change...

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❥ PROMPT I: Let the Rain Fall Down

The month begins with something peculiar: a sudden rainfall occurring sporadically, not just in sections of the city the way it does when the weather system is malfunctioning, but rather consistent across the entire city. The natives in town are flummoxed; this rain is natural, passing harmlessly through the barrier, and the water that falls to the ground is clean, unpoisoned by the perpetual storm and toxic air outside. The rain comes in waves, from a light drizzle to a steady stream, and while it is not raining all day every day, it is probably best practice to travel with an umbrella on hand for a while.

Before long, the effects of this natural rainfall will become apparent: the city is undergoing an unexpected period of growth. Flowers, fauna, and all sorts of greenery are sprouting up in all areas of the city where grass or soil exists. It appears that at last your effort is paying off, and life is returning to Havenwell in a big way. The types of plants that grow will range in type, colour, and species- many of them are live versions of the extinct plants that have been on display in the museums, or whatever is already on display in the gardens. Some of the plants that grow might also be familiar to the visitors of this world- a small slice of your home, adopted by the gods that your touch have rejuvenated.

One downside is that since all these changes are happening at once, in such a short span, the botanical community is ill-equipped to make sure all of these new plants have a chance to thrive on their own. Many things that grow can be left where they stand, but the seemingly randomized placement means that certain plants aren't in a good spot. A tree sapling sprouting in the cracks of the sidewalk, or a sunflower tucked away beneath a rooftop, for example.

Thus, the community is asking for volunteers to help relocate plants to the proper areas. Most should be going to the parks, gardens, or temples, areas with clean, existent soil but with nothing yet growing there. These locations have been tested, and have been determined to be safe for planting- it seems that the rain has purified whatever sour ground that the barrier hasn't kept clean, to make way for the new plants. They can also be relocated to personal residences, for those houses that have gardens or a bit of soil if you're willing to install your own. As the rain continues to fall, plants will keep growing, so when the flora and fauna are relocated there will be more growing in its place before long. Lots of work to be done if you're to save the new life in town!

If you wish to include a specific plant from your canon: please request it in the PLANT FROM HOME APPROVAL thread on the plotting post!

Please be aware that much like the rest of the plants growing around town, those from home will begin as seeds and grow gradually over the course of the event. Keep that in mind!

❥ PROMPT II: Hold My Flower

As the days pass, and there seems to be no end to the growth in town, the natives are growing increasingly excited, and when the collection of flowers becomes such a plethora that there are too many, they explain that the timing of this is very on-point: years ago, before the world began to die, they celebrated a Festival of Flowers, to welcome the shift of winter to spring in their corner of the world. In previous years, the tradition lived on in a simpler form, with paper or synthetic flowers, but it isn't really the same without hair so interest waned.

A major part of the festival involves flower weaving, in many intricate patterns and arrangements, all of which have different meanings, like an arranged bouquet might. These flowers are sewn together into crowns, or woven directly into the recipient's hair, a delicate and rather intimate act done between friends, family, or lovers alike. Since the robots of town can't really benefit from this shared experience (of neither physical interaction or hair weaving), instead they happily pass along their knowledge of arrangements and techniques, floral symbolism. You can follow along with their directions, or just make something up/create something new, though certain unwitting combinations are bound to earn some curious (or amused) looks from the locals. For those of you who lack long hair for such acts, despair not! Crowns placed on short hair are just as socially welcome as the weavings, as you'll see from the robots wearing similar designs around town.

However, there is a chance that the rain is also causing something other than plants to grow around town… namely, exposed hair. Those who get caught in the downpour might inexplicably notice that their hair is an inch or two longer the next morning… and then longer… and longer… there is no hard or fast limit to how much it grows, and cutting it may help for a time, but it does not stem the growth either. Maybe you should just relax and enjoy it for a while.

❥ PROMPT III: Scheme of the Wyrm Queen

Developed by Noctis and Pyra, in collaboration with the VR cafes, Havenwell officially presents: King's Knight 2.0: Scheme of the Wyrm Queen, a game that will be available going forward and premieres this month.

This game is designed to be like an MMO/mobile game, except in VR- every player gets an account, and to an extent their avatars are customizable. There are a set number of levels per playthrough, you can stop and pick up any time after a level ends, and you can re-arrange your party members at the start of each play session.

You can charge through levels just smashing away at enemies, but part of the game mechanic is that physical contact between characters in-game will provide stat boosts, enhancements, occasional heals or buffs, soft revives at 0HP, etc. The effect can vary depending on the nature of contact, but is also randomized to an extent, to allow for player freedom. Let's just say that intent plays a part... so touch someone and wish with your heart, and maybe something nice will happen. Or at least something kind of cheesy. (Noctis would like to establish that he did not program in that part.)

Noteworthy features:

• The plot: The evil dragon queen Nebula has kidnapped the prince of Oriens and absconded to the realm of monsters with him for some nefarious purpose. The gods of Totally Not Aellyn bless a group of heroes with the power to travel through that realm in order to rescue the prince! ...That's it. What, do you think you're here for plot? Nah. You're here to fight monsters and collect treasure.


• A party can consist of 2-4 characters of any class arrangement, though a somewhat balanced party is encouraged to survive each level. Repeated training (or grinding) can help characters acquire better gear drops or level up if they get stuck, but there is an emphasis on teamwork to get you through it!


• "Death" in-game causes a character to become translucent and unable to interact with the game until healed or revived, or until the level ends. If all characters reach this status, they fail the level and the game is over. All characters are healed to full once a level is beaten.


• Levels are randomly generated based on a set amount of algorithms, to shake up the experience and make each game a little bit different. There is a plot as noted above, with some dialogue and programmed NPCs, but interaction with either is simple and can be ignored or skipped after the first run-through if you so choose.


• Certain accounts of people who were a part of the development (AKA those who Noctis pestered about designing things) will gain access to unique costume options upon initial log-in, like a pre-order bonus. These items are cosmetic only, but look pretty nifty.


• The difficulty setting can be adjusted according to player skill, so if anyone feels like Normal is beyond their ability, don't be ashamed to turn it down a notch! Player accessibility is more important. There are leaderboards for each difficulty, but it's mostly for bragging rights and don't earn you anything special.

Available Classes:

• Knight - a well-rounded swordsman with a shield, built tough for the front line and defense


• Thief - master of finding hidden objects, detecting traps, disarming foes, the fastest class


• Sorcerer - commanding the elements, attack from a distance and overwhelm your enemies; glass cannon


• Battle Cleric - wielder of a magic weapon that recognizes friends from foes; striking an ally will heal them without injury, striking a foe will tear them down


• Dragoon - specializes in aerial assault, heavy hits and safe retreats, can reach high areas


• Archer - speedy attacks at long distance; inexplicably great at parkour and glitching out of bounds for treasure

Enemies:

Monsters in-game vary between generic beasts of lore, parody versions of creatures found in Final Fantasy XV, and some monsters based on descriptions that Noctis or Pyra acquired from asking people. These are subject to change on request, as the game will be developing gradually to improve itself.

If you have suggestions or requests for monsters, treasures, or equipment, please submit them to the additional information page on King's Knight, where such updates will be tracked!

❥ PROMPT IVish: A Final Reminder

The soft earthquakes in effect since last month are still ongoing, however they have spread out more and are no longer occurring every day, but instead with a handful of gaps in between. As noted in the Intro Mingle log, there are new messages that characters can receive:

1) "Change is coming." this message is passive, almost like a greeting.
2) "We thank you for all you have done." this message is softer, almost apologetic.
3) "We shall do all we can to keep you safe." this message is gentle, almost parental in its affection.
4) "Share your bounty and your joy." this message is kind and encouraging, tugging you toward people you may not have met yet.
5) "Remember to keep the balance." this message is plaintive, but without urgency.
6) "Do not approach the walls." this message is LOUD, insistent, and the most frequently transmitted.
7) "Soon, change." this message is a gentle reminder.
8) "We welcome you to our home." This message is sent most frequently to newcomers.
9) "Be not afraid. You are safe." this message is polite and reassuring.
10) "Keep your footing and watch your step." this message is cautious, a firm warning.

Most of the residents have stopped linking up, since the messages are mostly on repeat, but the local temple priests still do it every time… just in case. Otherwise, it's easy enough to ignore for most people. The anticipation hasn't faded, but they're simply waiting for whatever comes next.

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This event will run from March 13th to 29th. 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 on the plotting post.

Comments

[iustaegis]

[ How unalike they are, she's reminded once more: his hands are cold. Hers radiate a gentle warmth. His are roughened and marked, while hers are without traces of any wear. Regardless her palm presses to his, accepting his touch and as comfortable with holding his hand as ever despite those scars.

Quietly she begins to lead him to the newly acquired house, the sole purpose of purchasing it being that it has a yard at all. It's not far from where they are, fortunately, and she takes a route beneath some awnings, careful of the rain that falls. More flowers begin to line their stroll. ] These flowers do not exist in my own world. It seems they are unique to Eos, and he's mentioned that they are favored by the Oracles of your world.

[scourgingstars]

I described them to a friend once, and it sounded as though they were utterly foreign to him as well. Strange to think something so minor as a flower would be unique to a single realm, but I'm inclined to believe the same.

...Aera always liked the white ones.

[iustaegis]

[ Aera.... The Oracle of his time. ]

Do they symbolize anything....? The flowers, that is. And their colors. [ She is aware that many cultures ascribe meaning to flowers, even to different variations of the flowers. She hadn't asked of their meaning when she first received them, having gotten all three colors at once... but now she is curious.

They turn down an street. Only a block more to go. ]

[scourgingstars]

If they do, I know little of what it could be. They've only ever been a common flower in three colors to my knowledge, growing commonly in places around the kingdom.

[iustaegis]

[ Noctis once described their kingdom as being more desert-like, arid, instead of temperate. That puts these flowers' viability into perspective, knowing that they grow across their land. ]

When I received them, I immediately set to plant them. [ She says as they approach their new house. Instead of taking him to the front, she leads him by the hand towards the back entrance to their yard. She uses the communicator to open the gate. ] With this rain, [ Giving his hand an encouraging tug, she leads him into the yard.] they've proliferated wonderfully...

[ --Perhaps more than she intended, by the scene he will be greeted with upon entering the yard. It's a field of flowers just past the gate-- of sylleblossoms, whites, reds, and blues, generously carpeting yard. Another part has the bright pinks of juniberries from another otherworlder. To the corner there is a section that seems to have had some sort of structure to the rows of flowers at one point, but as she said with this latest monthly phenomenon, the rain has made her modest, amateur garden grow a little (read: overwhelmingly) beyond its borders.

The garden isn't sustainable like this, but the visual itself is impressive and the scent, fragrant and floral, even moreso. She turns, smiling sheepishly to him, as if to apologize for the disaster-explosion of flowers all over the place. ] Perhaps... too much. More than it had been even an hour ago.

[scourgingstars]

Oh, dear.

[It was a bit much, but Ardyn found it all the more beautiful for the sheer chaos of it all.]

It is lovely, if a bit uncontrollable.

[iustaegis]

[ She needs a moment to take this all in. If another drizzle of the rain happens to pass by, she's very certain that the flowers will soon be intruding into their house. ] O--onn.... the bright side! [ She tilts her head, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. ]

This means you're more than welcome to take a few extra home with you...

[ Better yet: ] Or, I can weave them into your hair.

[scourgingstars]

...I might like to take a couple off of your hands, though if you're willing to insist on the latter I would not argue the idea.

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ Oh, boy, please take more than a couple. Please take fifty.

But as he says that, her eyes grow wide at this new opportunity-- ]

[iustaegis]

[ --That of braiding Ardyn's hair. ]

Oh-- oh, absolutely, please, you can sit on the porch, and...

[ Should he have no other objections, she will be guiding him by the hand to take a seat onto one of the steps. Come, be settled. She nearly bounces with each of her steps, obviously happy. ] You'll have to tell me, which color? The white ones? The red ones? Blues? All three?

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn laughed a little awkwardly as he let Pyra lead him along, untying violet hair as he sat down.]

...I always liked the red ones, myself.

[iustaegis]

[ The red ones, then. 

 One he's settled down, she will gather a few of them before kneeling behind him. Lifting her arms to either side of his head, she begins by coming her fingers through his hair. It won't be the most professional job-- even if a comb is literally just within her house-- but she manages to part a few of the locks. His hair is far softer than it appears; it's like she's moving her fingers through clouds. ] 

The reds are... lovely. And they'll look wonderful on you. [ She's fond of all the colors, actually, but the red holds significance to her, too,  because-- ] When he gifted them, the red ones were the most numerous in his arms.

Their color reminds me of life.

[scourgingstars]

...Were they? [That brought a small smile to his face, hands fidgeting restlessly as he tried to find the words to express what he was thinking.]

That's...nice to hear. Blue was ever his color, and white was of course Aera's.

[Which left red for only one of them.]

[iustaegis]

[ She looks up towards the sea of flowers that have since taken over the makeshift garden. Red is still dominant, followed by the bright pinks of the juniberries. Blue and whites are scattered throughout.

When she had first seen the bouquet in his arms, she had wondered if the red had been gifted to her with a thought to be particularly for herself, for the similarities in their color. How presumptuous, selfish of her—

Blue was ever his color, and white was of course Aera's.

—she is not of his family, or of his world. This red belongs to Ardyn, his beloved brother. ]

This red is... vibrant and bright. We may not know what it symbolized but— to me? It reminds me of life.

[ For hopefully obvious reasons, of the richness of blood and vigor of heartbeats, neither of which she has ever had. Ardyn will feel her fingers begin to part the strands at his scalp; she’s preparing a series of braids. ] I suppose you will now, too.

[scourgingstars]

[His hands were cold, the blood running through him a blighted plague. There was nothing truly ‘living’ about him, and hadn’t been for a long time. Perhaps even before he’d died in that throne room at all.]

...It suits you. [Pyra was a kind and caring person, the sort that might just prove a good influence on his unfortunate brother. She might have been patient enough to reach him when Ardyn no longer could, and...part of him resented that. Resented how far apart they were because of a thousand different reasons on both sides, resented that it was an ache even he had no power to heal, and resented that Somnus had Pyra while Aera had vanished far beyond Ardyn’s reach once more.]

[That wasn’t fair. Not to him, certainly—but it was unfair to hold anyone else accountable for things beyond their control. Those bitter sentiments were only going to chart a course Ardyn couldn’t let himself follow, knowing what kind of bloodshed and vengeance laid upon it.]

So many of them together resemble fire, don’t you think? Evoking a sort of light and warmth.

[Both of which were Ardyn’s complete opposite now.]

So...I think it a good match for you.

[iustaegis]

[ While he might not be able to see her smile, he’ll certainly hear it carried by the soft tone in her voice. ] There is no reason it cannot be both.

[ While she’s never once called upon her own fire, red is easily associated with fire by color alone. Much like blood, she imagines, and life. And beyond that—... Ah, she’s doing it. She’s doing what humans do, finding meaning and symbolism in things that have none otherwise. It’s no different from naming a star set in the north; they have no meaning beyond existence, it is the humans that give them a purpose to suit their lives, whether that be for imagination, art, or survival. It’s arbitrary, but wonderful. This flower could symbolize so many different things in so many contexts, perhaps even changing over time. Uniquely, however, it is a flower only set in their world.

With that, she curls one thick lock of his hair over the other, bringing up the first sylleblossom to thread into his hair. ]

So... in that case— [ Now her tone turns more playful. ]

How... vivacious do you want your hair this afternoon, Ardyn? [ Vivacious; a good word that accompanies both fire and life, she believes. She could put in only a few flowers, or she could deck his whole head in them and have ample left over. ]

[scourgingstars]

Oh...do have some mercy with me. I’m naught requiring anything ornate, after all.

[A simple healer, if barely even that much.]

[iustaegis]

[ Mercy from a crystal? Never. ]

Mm... I think seventy will be enough.

[ From her tone, it should be obvious that she’s only joking as she folds another braid into place. ]

Or how about eighty?

[ Naw, she has a plan for maybe eight at most. ]

[scourgingstars]

Oh, I half expected eight hundred. I’m wounded, deeply.

[iustaegis]

[ She chuckles softly, lifting the second flower up to his hair. Shall she put it here..? Or— no, here instead. ]

Oh, oh, so you’d like me to fashion a veil for you. You’ll be the loviest bride, I promise.

[scourgingstars]

[Aaaand there was the crushing misery. Hadn't taken long to resurface.]

...Hm. I've no doubt I'll be a stunning sight in your capable hands.

[iustaegis]

[ Oh she had been joking oh no, what did she do...?!

Noticing the drop in mood, her fingers twitch along the stem of a flower before undoing the previous braid and redoing the weave about the flower. ]

Oh— ah... I said something sensitive, didn’t I. [ Her smile fades quickly, and the lighter tone she had used is discarded entirely. Meekly, ] I apologize.... Are you alright?

[ Really, she knows little else about this man other than what he had told her, what Verstael had said, and that he is kind. It’s probably best to not joke with him, like she can with Noctis. ]

[scourgingstars]

N...no, it's alright. You've not said anything wrong.

[Upsetting, certainly, but that wasn't Pyra's fault.]

[iustaegis]

[ He says he's alright-- at least, not offended-- and that's good enough for her. After a moment or to passes in respect to him, she deciding not to pursue a decidedly uncomfortable topic. Instead, Pyra opts for an obvious redirection of topic back to the flowers, specifically. ]

Would you tell me more about these flowers...?  [ For it seems that she's made a mistake in wearing them (and will continue to make the mistake of wearing them), it might be wise to understand a little bit more about these flowers, as delicate as a topic they are themselves. ]

What you remember of them. As in... if they were used in festivals. Or made into perfumes. If-- if that's not too much to ask.

[scourgingstars]

I fear I remember very little, in all honesty.

[Not just of the flowers, but most things--after so long in solitude, he'd chosen what memories to hold to the detriment of all else.]

I think...white ones used to grow in abundance in the courtyard.