♥ 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]

[ ...Less science, then, more imagination. This is just how their talks went with making King's Knight. She adapts to him, the soft fondness that that been in her eyes now dimming. Instead, her tone carries a more playful cadence to it. ]

In return, they probably saw your star and thought it was the brightest, because you were there.

[carbungle]

[He pauses then, glancing sidelong at her with a touch of uncertainty in his gaze. Did... he say something wrong? He's not sure what, and it was subtle, but he caught a shift there, and not a good one. She's still smiling, but still- it throws him off guard for a moment.]

Uh... no, false. They can't see me in Lucian blacks.

[Because... ha! ha! dark aesthetic. Look at that mood, so light.

Give him a second, he's fumbling.]

Have you charted the stars here? Even the fake ones.

[iustaegis]

[ Lucian blacks-- oh. Oh, it's an actual family thing?

She notices his fumbling. ]

The library has textbooks of the current night sky.... I've read a few. [ The one displayed, at least, do not need to be charted because someone already did it all and wrote it down. Obviously, all the constellations are alien. She's learned other interesting things, too, about the stars that lie beyond. What elements they're made of, both familiar to her and her world, yet some entirely not. She keeps this to herself, however. Too technical. ]

They don't refer to their world as a "star", though, if you are wondering.

[carbungle]

No, that's probably not that common. It could just be a translation thing- the language of the Astrals doesn't always reference well with human words. Or maybe when you're that big, stars and planets don't seem so different.

[Just guesses, admittedly. He's only ever exchanged actual conversation with one Astral, and they likely wouldn't have been interested in talking astronomy at the time. Even if he'd tried, the answer would likely be too taxing to understand anyway.

Anyway, that's mostly irrelevant right now.]

Might be neat to learn the constellations here. That way once the real sky comes back, we'd know what to look for.

[iustaegis]

[ And she does so hope the sky will be restored... For all they know, they could even be on a larger planet's moon. Wouldn't that be something, when caustic atmosphere disperses and barrier dismantles at last, unveiling a view like that. Of course, she would be just as content seeing a streak of the arm of whatever galaxy they're in splashing across the sky with all of its colors.

While her expression doesn't completely change, her eyes are slightly brighter at his suggestion. ]

Constellations are a good way to immerse oneself into the sky, aren't they?

And the myths behind them, too, [ She smiles. ] as if the people below didn't have paper, so they drew upon a canvas of stars.

[carbungle]

Well, stories usually find a way of getting themselves told. Nice thing about the stars is that they're there so much longer than people- they can wait until the medium to record them exists, even if the same people who found them and made up those stories aren't around anymore.

[Now it's his turn to sound fond. He loves daylight, the sunrise- that's a given, anyone on Eos would. But it's fitting that the night calls to him as well, as it's part of who he is. Maybe it's the privilege that comes from growing up behind the safety of Insomnia's barrier, away from the daemons and danger that haunts those who live outside the walls. He'd grown up with the luxury of loving night. Knowing that doesn't stop him, though.]

[iustaegis]

[ Hearing the fondness in his tone, she turns her head to look at him. Just what part of what he's saying elicits that tone, she wonders. The stars themselves, the stories they tell, the people of the past who may have written them? Perhaps his father read him tales of the constellations in his own world when he was younger? A little bit of all of the above?

Whatever it is, she respects his tone, and he does have a point about the stars' stories outlasting the people themselves. Learning them might give them a clue about this world's past. Practicality of learning history aside, however, she likes how he appears to like the stars' tales. He's thought about the stars often. Her hand in his shifts. ]

You've looked upon the stars for hours before, haven't you.

[carbungle]

...Yeah.

[He leans back in his seat, looking up. There's no open sky above them, just the plain old ceiling of the fancier townhouse, but he can imagine it well enough.]

The Citadel was the tallest building in Insomnia; it had to be, to maintain the Crystal and the Wall. When I couldn't sleep I used to go up to one of the towers and lay down on the roof, trying to find new patterns, or just counting them until I dozed off.

[They never looked right, with the Wall in between, but it was relaxing every time, and those twinkling lights chased the dark of his dreams away far better than the empty canopy of his bed ever could. He hums, amused and somewhat pleased with himself.]

Used to drive everyone crazy when they'd check my room and didn't know where I was.

[iustaegis]

[ She does not know what the Citadel or Insomnia even looks like, but she can picture a sky above and a sleepy Noctis lying somewhere beneath a lowering building of steel and glass. She murmurs, ] Stars make for both the best lullabies and blankets.

[ Even more intriguing is that he didn't follow any constellations as he looked up at the sky, but made patterns of his own. But then... ]

You... I wouldn't have guessed, that you had trouble sleeping. Not when I first met you sleeping outside on a bench.

[carbungle]

[He opens his mouth - shuts it - and is quiet for a moment, looking as if he'd perhaps said too much.]

The city's called Insomnia for a reason- it never actually sleeps. Sometimes the lights and the traffic kept me up.

[Not a lie, exactly. There were times when that was the reason for it.]

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ In a tall palace, however? She would have imagined either by height he would have been shielded from light pollution and the bustle of the streets below. She also can't imagine guards having checked in on a adult Noctis' room during his sleep, so he must have been younger than he is now.

Insomnia is not uncommon in children, but with Noctis in particular... ]

[iustaegis]

[ Softly, she redirects the topic. ] You know... I used to do the same thing.

Picking out patterns in the stars, that is. [ The ones already recorded were fine as they were, but only so many nights beneath the stars and picking them out again and again grew boring. ] Ships were my favorite to make. How about yours?

[carbungle]

[He says nothing of the shift, but there's a subtle slump to his shoulders, indicating his relief. He really is trying to keep the conversation light.]

Mm... animals, mostly. Cats, dogs... oh, and I used to love anak, these giant stags with huge horns and claws on their front legs. Looked for them a lot. And Carbuncle, too.

[iustaegis]

[ And she, too, is doing her damnedest to figure out what exactly she can speak with him that isn't melancholy. ]

...Can you just imagine? [ She lifts up her free hand, swiping it across an imaginary sky. ] Carbuncle, but on the scale of stars.

[ With her other hand, she gives his a soft squeeze. ] But to everyone else it would still be invisible.

[ Speaking of, is it here with him, she wonders. ]

[carbungle]

Yeah, I can imagine.

[Sometimes it was up there with him, curled up against his side or on his chest, chirping soft and soothing encouragements as he pointed out the shapes above them. He'd wake alone, of course, but the figurine was still there, tucked up against the collar of his pyjamas or his jacket pocket. As always, Carbuncle was there to protect him from his dreams whenever he needed it.

The comment reminds him of something, though, and he looks over at her, eyes suddenly alight.]

Oh, right! Prompto- he saw it in a photo! That's never happened before.

[iustaegis]

[ And suddenly, brightness in his mood. The sudden change is jarring at first, but she adapts-- with confusion about the photo. ]

Ah... what? It never used to show up in pictures?

[ A little context could help. He's mentioned this as if it's significant, but she's not really sure what it means. ]

[carbungle]

Yeah. Back home at the end of the day we'd always go over the photos Prompto took, and sometimes I'd see Carbuncle in the background, but nobody else could. Like the magic that keeps it invisible even transfers into photos, too.

[He shrugs his shoulders. He's long since stopped questioning the nature of the Chosen's Messenger, or how any of it works.]

No one but me has ever seen it before, far as I know. Even if it's just a photo, or even just one extra person... it's weirdly validating.

[iustaegis]

Do you think... there is a reason for this change? [ Better question, can anyone else see it who is from Eos? His father? Somnus?? Ignis? ]

[carbungle]

Not sure. Maybe because of this place? It's strange that they pulled it here at all, but I didn't think twice because Umbra was already with me. I don't see why being here would let it appear to other people, but... who knows. Messengers are as mysterious as the Astrals sometimes.

[Or worse, mostly because the Messengers are conveying actual understandable words instead of bizarre hallucinations and dead languages.]

Could be Carbuncle just decided it's okay, here.

[iustaegis]

[ Perhaps it's a matter of personal selection of whom it happens to trust most, some sort of system where the Chosen's Messenger also chooses who gets to see its divine form. Thus it would be a privilege to even be able to see it... Promto is his best friend. Of course he would be able to sooner than others.

That's not going to help her with an idea that's suddenly come to her mind, of Carbuncle and the talk of stars. She recalls the emotes she received from the little Messenger before, and she had felt its presence next to her, as well as the softness of its fur; however, that won't help her.

Ah. ] ...Would you mind drawing me a picture of it? Or would a drawing also be invisible? [ Like how deep does the magic of veiling its form go. ]

[carbungle]

No, I think the invisible thing only affects stuff when Carbuncle's directly involved. I used to draw him when I was a kid, and people could see those just fine. Actually, I have a figurine now-

[He fishes around in his pocket, emerging a moment later with a little carved figure of Carbuncle, in a similar style and material as the carving Pyra herself would have received from Era earlier in the month.]

I can still draw it if you want, but for right now, this is what it looks like.

[iustaegis]

[ She peers over, looking at the carving. She recognizes the detailed craftsmanship. After a brief nod, she replies with a smile, ] Oh! This-- Era made it, didn't she? [ The quality can be appreciated even without holding it. ] She can see Carbuncle too?

[ Definitely fox-like in appearance. And what cute ears and tail! This will work out nicely. ] --Ah, either a drawing or a photo will do.

[carbungle]

Ah... not exactly, um... [He's embarrassed.] She just knows what it looks like. It's a long story.

[Unless Pyra already knows about the Echo, but he figures it isn't his place to talk about it in detail. Plus that memory was really... uncomfortably personal.

He offers the figurine out to her though, if she wants to examine it herself or just take a photo of it. Might as well, since it's right here.]

[iustaegis]

[ ...A long story that somehow embarrasses him. Juicy gossip, maybe? She'd ask, but he doesn't appear interested in telling; so, she moves on.

Pyra has to release his hand to take the figurine into the both of hers, carefully, turning it over to admire the craftsmanship. To make up for the lack of touch, she scoots closet to him so that their shoulders touch, comfortable as ever. ] It's adorable. [ Taking out he communicator, she snaps a picture. ]

Oh... It has a little horn on its head. [ C U T E. ] I hadn't noticed that. [ Hm... Hm! She can definitely work with this. Now all she has to do is not let the excitement get the better of her so she can keep her idea a surprise. ]

[carbungle]

Yeah, I'm not sure what the horn's for. Maybe so no one just assumes that it's a regular fox. Or it's secretly the source of its powers. A mystery never to be solved.

[He moves his hands in his lap, making shapes to demonstrate it to be around the size of a regular cat.]

It's about this big, with silvery fur, and big brown eyes. And the horn's red.

[His lips quirk.]

Are you gonna tell me what you're doing with Carbuncle?