♥ May (Ealom) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

May (Ealom) Event Log

Despite the fact that spacetime has been a bit questionable in recent days, the seasons carry on as they should. Spring has begun to grow warmer, the scent of flourishing local flowers often in the air as they are set out to decorate native shops and homes with a burst of lively color. On a larger scale, the march of time flows as inexorable and steady as ever; the question is if that will remain the case for long.

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❥ PROMPT I: Days of Future Past

Randomly throughout the city and following days, the scenery immediately before you may begin to waver as if rising steam distorts the air. The aura shimmers, then suddenly solidifies into a thin, golden line that abruptly opens sideways and upwards forming a window, which cannot be physically interacted with. Stand before this "window" long enough, and you may begin to see imagines of a past Havenwell...

1. For those who have explored the city limits of Havenwell, they might be familiar with the ruins. If a character is atop a roof and looking out at the city scape, this vision depicts these ruins as destitute no longer. Instead, the buildings remain upright, tall, and in pristine condition. The tops of these buildings are crowned with small gardens, and their terraced architecture allows for flower-covered vines to spill all the way from the roofs to the paved streets below. The metropolis glimmers like a treasure trove in the waning sunlight, peaceful and grand. Continue watching this vision, and little lights within the buildings begin to blink on as evening dips into night. Within some buildings are those still toiling late at work, while other residents greet their families as they return.

Curiously, some of those preparing to have their dinners with their family seem to engage in some sort of familial prayer, joining hands and reciting words. Others link hands and stand with their backs touching, tipping their heads so that the back of their heads touch, a ritual that some off-worlders may recognize.

As for appearances within this window to the past, the locals are now flesh-and-blood. They are humanoid in appearance, bipedal, with two sets of eyes, one nose, and a mouth, but some have a few others features. Some sport feline-like ears puffing atop their heads, others have some that are distinctly more mouse-like, rounded as they converse. A family of those with scales, horns, and a tail, similar to the statues in Rawna's temple, begin to dine. A loving couple toasts to each other, and as they raises their arms, their luxurious wings almost sweep the ground.

2.For those who are walking by the research towers, another window appears, depicting how the facility appeared before. Two researchers leave the campus in good spirits, sitting on a bench just outside. One of them holds a clipboard while the other sports a briefcase and thermos. While you cannot peer further into the vision, a snippet of their conversation can be heard clearly.

"OM1 was a success, wasn't it?" The research chimes, bringing a hand rub at the feathers upon his chin. "That's great news. Thing's get better for the planet soon."

"Yeah, I can't wait to get out of this body in general," the second researcher laughs as her pointed, fluffy ears atop her head swivel in the direction of her companion. "I'm tired of these ol' bones already."

"Old? You're a decade younger than me!"

3. Outside of the temple of Ainea, two locals, their bodies fully metallic, are having a discussion. One is draped in the stole of a priest, while the other wears a white lab coat.

"The satellite didn't work," the researcher says. Frustration and defeat can be heard within his voice. "We haven't given up on making a beacon, but we can't afford to send another. It's up to the congregation now."

"Peace, friend," the priest replies. Although his tone is calm, it is no less morose. "It's in the gods' hands now."

These scenes, among others (which you are free to write, taking inspiration from the lore collection along with some newly released entries!), can play out for passers-by, scattered throughout the city for the rest of the month. Some are unique, some will repeat; some are inconsequential, some feel startlingly important, as though you can feel what those in the memory must have felt in the moment. It's a strange experience, overall. As if the world is remembering itself.

❥ PROMPT II: The Antiques Homeshow

With all the windows to time opening up here and there in town, the city is buzzing with excitement and nostalgia as the natives' memory banks are jump-started by familiar sights thought long gone. Seeing their old selves and visions of their old haunts has them invigorated in a way most haven't felt in centuries. But as time wears on, people will start to notice that the windows aren't just for looking through.

It starts with a giant tree, nearly 4 stories tall and meters thick, popping up in the middle of the Entertainment District's streets. Then scattered reports of outer city buildings and areas suddenly disappearing, replaced with tents or campfires. Finally, it happens - your own home is now host to these weird time windows and your things are experiencing the same problems as areas around the city.

Maybe your replicator has just turned into an actual pantry, with perishable food items that may or may not be familiar to you. Weird fruits and vegetables, something that seems like flour? Or is it salt? A salty flour that’s apparently some sort of yeast? Who knows! Good luck finding out. What about your bed? What used to be a comfortable double with plush pillows is abruptly a straw mat with mice! Or a giant four-post canopy king-sized bed made for a room that is definitely 6 times bigger than what you have, and it has completely subsumed your room to the point where you can’t open the door anymore. Hopefully you’re cool with climbing in and out of the windows instead!

Maybe the changes are less obtrusive for some. Their favorite coffee cup is now a jeweled goblet. Their clothes have gone from the height of modern fashion to the height of “what era is this?” fashion. Their carefully cultivated garden is now a wild, overgrown jungle! The time windows seem to be sending in objects from every era, past and future, creating havoc both big and small across the city.

Thankfully, however, these changes don’t seem to be permanent. If the object is removed from its window area, it reverts back to its original form over time. However, damaging anything from the past has unforeseen consequences in the future, so do be careful. Cutting down that tree could mean a building in the future doesn’t get built, or removing a flower from the jungle may lead to the extinction of a known Havenwell plant! Or maybe it does nothing. Time is weird that way. Good luck with stepping on that butterfly effect!

❥ PROMPT III: Powering the Conduits

Another joint announcement comes from the researchers and priests, and they are happy to report they've been investigating and fine-tuning the prototype crystal conduits as developed by a few off-worlders. These past two weeks, they've been vigorously testing and retesting the prototype's effects on the caustic atmosphere of the outside world. Whereas the first version caused a thinning of what heavy, mysterious miasma hangs in the air, it was unable to project a proper barrier or last long. They hope to refine what the dedicated off-worlders started, and for that, they need volunteers.

Specifically, they need volunteers to help charge these individual crystal-conduits' with the power generated through touch! Researchers will be handing out these small, amber-colored crystals to those who are interested in helping, encouraging the off-worlder to wear the and hold someone's hand, hug them, or be especially lovely-dovey-kissy-wissy with whomever their SO may be. This is in the name of science, it's very important. But be warned, since these are still being tested, a few unlocking people may have experience a couple side effects:

Creating One's Own Personal Barrier: It seems rather counter-intuitive, but when the crystals are overcharged, they may automatically project a barrier that expands, pulses in an unstable fashion, and then shrinks around the wearer and whomever they're engaging in touch, trapping you both. Thankfully, this will last a few minutes at most before the barrier vanishes.

Siphoning Power: Some of the crystals may have been accidentally programed to take too much power from those wearing the crystal-conduit, causing whomever is wearing the gem to rapidly begin to deteriorate in energy and health. Effects can be a little as feeling tired, to outright collapsing.

When your crystal-conduit is fully charged, the researchers ask that they be delivered back to the towers for further analysis.

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This event will run from 15 May to 31 May. 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. You can also use the Havenwell Status page or the General Plotting Comment to give you other ideas for original prompts!

Comments

days of future past

[tempusfinis]

[ Oh hey, it's this kid...

Machina doesn't appear to mind the company in watching one of the visions the windows present. This one appears to be of a family settling down to dine together. ]

Do you recognize this type of magic...?

Or technology.

[ What with this world having living robots, perhaps there's not much distinction between the two. ]

[wakemelater]

[He glances sideways, nods a slight greeting, before turning back to the scene.]

No. Not really. Gods on my world can send visions of the past or future, but usually in the form of dreams.

[But not always. And it wasn't limited to gods, as he knows Bianca sent visions to another demigod after her death. Still...]

So my best guess is, the gods are doing this.

[tempusfinis]

[ Machina, being new to this world, has no reason to doubt Nico's answer. Orience has its fair share of historians and those who are curious about the past, if only for practical reasons, but it is not one of the most studied areas. The past belongs to the dead, after all.

But that gods have this sort of power is unfathomable. ]

Have they done something like this before?

[wakemelater]

Not quite like this, no.

[He crosses his arms, eyes still on the vision playing out in front of them, though it doesn't seem anything dramatic or interesting is going to happen.]

But there have been other things. Ghosts, dreams.

[tempusfinis]

[ Ghosts and dreams...? Sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. Machina tilts his head upward as if he might be able to peer over some of the structures depicted in the window. ]

...This is basically looking at ghosts, isn't it? Showing something of the past like this. Who knows how long ago this was.

[wakemelater]

I suppose it is.

[It didn't feel like ghosts to him. More like a weirdly projected movie.]

From the state of the ruins and what research has been gathered...very long ago.

[tempusfinis]

[ This is coming from Machina, who has never seen a ghost or even believe they exist in his world. But there! Are stories! ]

And the locals want to return to how they looked like... that?

[ All with normal, not-robotic bodies. He's seen various prosthetics for soldiers and veterans alike in his world, yet to do the opposite, such as re-growing a lost limb? ]

I can't imagine how something like that would be possible.

[wakemelater]

Honestly, me either.

[Prosthetics were definitely a thing. And he'd assisted in the reattaching of limbs back home. There was only one demigod in memory who had transferred his soul to a new body in order to prolong his life. Daedalus had been a genius, a highly skilled artificer. Nico doesn't quite grasp the science though. Magic is more his thing.]

If they were able to build new bodies in the first place, then...Maybe they just need more time to figure it out. [He shrugs.] But magic might also be an option.

[tempusfinis]

[ Machina frowns, continuing to watch the scene play out. Seeing the locals as they once were is fairly surreal, perhaps more than seeing robotic life itself. ]

I wonder what will happen first... them getting their original forms back or them remembering who they once were.

[wakemelater]

Remembering.

[He says this with a definite surety. He spends much of his time in the temples and observing the priests and locals. On a few occasions, he's been privileged enough to witness it.]

Some have already started to remember. Not much, from what I can tell, but even a fragment of memory is more than nothing.

[tempusfinis]

[ In light of this information, Machina glances at Nico. He follows up with another question, bringing his hand to his chin. ]

Any pattern to the locals remembering? Like ones more than others?

[wakemelater]

[His brows furrow as he thinks back, but eventually he shakes his head.]

Not that I can tell. The times I've encountered someone remembering, it's been rather random. But if one were to ask around and compile the data, maybe something would emerge?

[Or nothing would. That's also possible.]

[tempusfinis]

That's a good start. [ And the point of gathering data: maybe it'll show a pattern, maybe it won't. It's worth finding out if there's a presence of a trend.

Machina lowers his hand, beginning to pace around the window, looking at it from the hazy "frame" and then from the other side of it. ]

...Do you know what they're doing? Them standing together and tilting their heads back.

[wakemelater]

Some kind of prayer, I think. It...

[He'd seen this before, but it was a while ago, shortly after he'd arrived on this world. He pauses to recall the memory.]

A while back, there were these earthquakes. Nothing too strong, but you could feel it. During these quakes, the natives would do that. [He nods to the family in the window.] When I tried it with a few different people, I heard a voice. It was different each time, things like: "share your bounty and your joy" and "we'll keep you safe".

[tempusfinis]

[ Machina lifts his head, peering through the "window" where he can just make out Nico's silhouette through the vision. ]

Have you tried it recently?

[wakemelater]

No. Not since the earthquakes stopped.

[He studies the vision. Nothing distressing seems to be happening here. Praying around mealtimes is pretty common back home. Even at camp, they would give a portion of their meal to the fire and offer a prayer to their parents.]

They lasted a couple months, until the wall expanded.

[tempusfinis]

[ Machina returns to inspecting the vision of the past within the window.

In Orience, it's foolish to speculate the will of the Crystals, but in this world, it seems the gods truly wish to restore this world from the wasteland it is. Perhaps it's safe to wonder why these visions appear, if is from one of the four gods, or if it's because of another thing entirely. ]

...Let's give it a try.

[wakemelater]

[The gods here are not as...present as those back home. Which is saying a lot, because his gods are famously absent. But they do turn up from time to time, often to be annoyingly cryptic before skipping off.

He assumes all the strange things that happen are because of the gods here, but it's not quite the same as having a god speak to you in the flesh.

He tears his eye away from the vision to look at Machina.]

...You want to try praying like them?

[tempusfinis]

[ He walks around the edge of the window to join Nico. ] Aa. [ An affirmative sound. ]

Not just you, but others mention that things have been improving. So. [ Machina looks from the "window" to Nico, frowning. ] If the gods are becoming stronger, too, then maybe earthquakes don't... need to happen to hear them when linking up like that. It's worth a shot, isn't it?

[ ...Forgive him, there're no traditional prayers to gods in his world (or maybe there are, but the tradition has long since died by the time he's come around). He's only going off speculation. ]

[wakemelater]

[He looks at the family in the window, then back at Machina.

He nods.] Okay. It's worth a shot.

[The worst that can happen is nothing. So he turns and stretches out his hands.]

[tempusfinis]

[ Machina, too, takes one look back at the window for reference before taking Nico's hand. Then, mirroring what the individuals in the vision are doing with their backs to each other, Machina turns and waits for Nico to do the same, afterwards tilting his head back.

...

.....


Aaaand nothing happens.

Machina murmurs, cracking open an eye: ] D'you think it's a matter of waiting...

[wakemelater]

[Machina can probably feel Nico shaking his head.]

I don't remember waiting very long.

[But he stays still a little longer, just in case. And then he sighs when still nothing happens. Not that he had his hopes up, but it would be nice to hear something.]

[tempusfinis]

[ ...Well. That's that, then. Rather than be completely discouraged, though, it only seems to put his mind to more work.

Machina once again turns to face the window, but, if Nico is partial to remaining holding hands, then that's where his hold will stay. Otherwise, they can part.

Without missing a beat, he continues] So. The gods are probably stronger, but not strong enough to commune anytime. Was there any way to speak to your gods... or your dad... in your world? Regularly, I mean.

[wakemelater]

[He expects Machina to let go, and when he doesn't, Nico twitches, but also doesn't let go.]

That's possible.

[Unfortunately, sensing life-forces didn't extend to detecting gods or their power levels.]

I could visit my dad in the Underworld, if I needed to. Other gods...It depends. You can pray to them and maybe they'll answer. Usually they'll send dreams, prophecies, signs.

There's also sacrifices. Nowadays, that means burning a portion of your meal, instead of killing animals.

[tempusfinis]

[ Just two dudes holdin' hands for the world. ]

Sacrifices, huh... [ His tone suggests that he's noting this with both interest and distaste.

But more importantly, Nico informs there's more than one way in which to contact the gods, or be contacted by them in his own world. ]

...Then it's possible there could be another way to commune with these gods, too.