♥ November Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

November (Malom) Event Log
The chaos of Lasohm's invasion is still fresh in the mind, but it's over. The ugly scar of the hole in Havenwell's wall is a jarring reminder that this world is dying and nothing goes quietly into that dark night. The phantom is gone as Malom overtakes Lasohm, the weather turning colder and chillier with each passing day. Still, the city of Havenwell has all of you offworlders to thank for its survival, and the fearful citizens make sure you know just how much they appreciate you by stopping you on the street to say their thanks. Your new home still needs your help to recover from their ordeal though, so will you lend them your strength once more?

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❥ PROMPT I: Rebuilding Effort

The magic barrier over the hole that unknown monster punched through Havenwell's wall is repaired, stopping the onslaught and encouraging any other nightmares that lurk outside to move on and away, but the hole itself remains. Throughout the month of Malom, robot natives are working tirelessly to gather bricks and stone and patch the breach, but they could use some help. Work together with other offworlders and natives alike to repair the wall and be rewarded with a handsome bump to the Dora in your bank account. They need all sorts of help, from clearing away the dead bodies of the spider-like creatures for cremation, to retrieving and hauling stone for the wall, to actually slotting the heavy blocks into place to cement them back together.

Outside the barrier, now clearly visible through the hole, a storm rages on, obscuring the view of the world beyond it. Gray and black clouds whip against the invisible barrier, and occasional debris slams into it, causing the impact site to light up with silver, pink, blue, or white hues before it fades away again. It seems even without monsters, the world outside is as inhospitable as was rumored.

Work together or take a break along the base of the wall and get to know your fellow offworlders a little better. It's going to take a while before this mess is cleaned up.

❥ PROMPT II: Air Sickness

Those who worked at or were near the breach in the wall for any extended period of time will notice that, over time, it gets harder to breathe. Then they begin to feel feverish, even if they don't have flesh bodies or are immune to disease. Their bodies ache and groan and it gets harder to move about without help. Once the natives notice, they set up a recovery area away from where the breach occurred: a giant tent with cots and pillows, thick rugs and blankets to keep the chill away. Unfortunately, they don't have medicines available to treat flesh bodied people, so they're at a loss of what to do otherwise. The priests gather anyone who is ill and brings them here...which is when a curious thing occurs.

While conventional medicines and healing spells seem to have no effect on the illness, staying in contact with another person alleviates the symptoms. After a period of contact with another person or persons, the fever breaks and it's like you were never sick at all.

Return to the wall, however, and you'll notice your symptoms coming back with a vengeance after a few days. It seems that making regular trips between the wall and this recovery tent is the only way to keep working. At least it's an easy fix so long as you're not a germaphobe.

❥ PROMPT III: A Tasty(?) Reward

Toward the end of the month as the hole in the wall is completely repaired and the risk of illness declines, a message is sent to all the offworlders' communication devices. Those who choose to open it will find a very official looking message from The Havenwell Council that reads:

Greetings, Saviours of Havenwell!
We of the Havenwell Council greet you and wish to express our eternal gratitude for your valiant efforts to keep our wonderful home safe. Without you, we would not have survived this terrible onslaught. As such, we wish to express our gratitude in a more concrete form. Your emissary, Magolor, has been in contact with this venerable Council and has brought to our attention that your greatest concern is for the food available. We apologize that due to our inability to taste we have been unable to supply you with satisfactory meals.

To that end, we invite you to work with our scientists to improve upon the taste of currently available offerings from our replicators. Please come to the Northern Research Tower (map included) at any time this month to sample what our replicators can produce and give us feedback on their flavour and textures. We ask that you be as specific as possible in your criticisms so we may improve upon your general quality of life. Please feel free to bring as many friends as you wish.

May the Gods Protect You,
Havenwell Council, Community Liaisons

Those who take the invitation will arrive at the Northern Research Tower and be taken directly to the 40th floor, where a large banquet hall has been laid out. Five rectangular tables, over 5 meters long each, stretch down the room, creating aisles for people to walk down. At the far end are several high round tables, covered in white cloth, and high round stools for those who wish them. The tables are overflowing with food, much like the welcome dinner, but at each table and scattered throughout the room are scientist robots with arm bands that read "Experiment 73" in that peculiar Aellyn script you saw during your time at the Archives. They invite you to taste the foods - both raw and cooked - and to give your very honest opinions.

Enjoy the food, help them improve the flavours, and walk the room to talk with the others who have come. Those who participate will receive a small synthetic fruit basket to take home with them on their first visit. Feel free to come back as often as you like, however! Each time, they'll be changing and adjusting the food available so your first and last visit may be very different. Perhaps that strawberry actually even tastes sweet, finally.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Virtual Spa

The VR cafes are uncharacteristically quiet while the rebuilding effort goes on, but there are still those who come to plug in to unwind after a day of intensive labor. And what better way to unwind than with a hot bath, right? Since the people of Havenwell can't actually submerge themselves in water, they're doing the next best thing: going to a virtual hot spring. There are several types to choose from and despite being digital, their calming and soothing effects on the body seem very real. Choose from:

• The Classic Outdoors: a rock lined hot spring with natural rock floors and steamy mineral infused waters nestled in the mountains. All around you is beautiful greenery like a sweeping pine and low fragrant bushes. The serene air and the calm forest is only occasionally broken by the sound of a wooden pipe thudding hollowly against a rock at a steady interval or the sound of birdsong off in the trees. The relaxing atmosphere is enough to set even the tightest wound nerves at ease.
  
  
• The Marbled Columns: white and painted marble columns lead to a series of different shaped baths with statues of the gods pouring water into them. Each bath has a different healing property, which is clearly marked with a plaque at the rim of each: good for your circulation, your bones, your aches and pains, even acne and metabolic rate. The columns support a beautiful open ceiling that shows the perfectly blue sky overhead dotted with the occasional cloud.
  
  
• The Steamy Sauna: though seemingly austere in their white tile and deep blue bath basins, the air here is thick and steamy and the baths are deep with hand-rails leading down steps to help you enter. All around the basins are stone or wooden benches with towels laid down for those who wish to simply sit and let the warm air open their lungs. If you get too hot? Grab a bucketful of cold water from one of the freestanding tubs and douse yourself to get a shock and cool off.
  
  
• The Milk-and-Honey: a beautifully tiled bath with a large shallow rectangular basin. The surrounding walls and ceilings have blue, white, and gold geometric designs laid out with loving care in pleasant designs that ease the mind. The bath water here is filled with a concoction of milk and honey to soothe and smooth the skin, filling the air with a pleasing sweet scent. The effects of these baths on a person's skin is said to make them glow from the inside out for at least a day after bathing.
  
  
• The Theme Park: the first thing to greet you is the comically oversized bottle of red wine tipped to pour a continuous stream of red liquid into the large crystalline bath basin. The smell of wine is heavy but pleasant in the air and the crystalline basin is round and shaped like a wine glass. Climb up the glass steps and give yourself a good old soak in the red water. You might even find that taking a dip here gives you a heady happiness that lasts all day. And if it feels like you're a little drunk while there? That has to be your imagination! ...Maybe.

Hot springs are great to experience with friends to deepen that feeling of skinship you have with each other, and several Havenwell natives are doing just that. But what about those who don't have a friend to log in with? Don't worry! The game will randomly select another player from this or another facility and match you together. Isn't that nice? We're sure it is! Who doesn't want to talk to someone else while naked, right?

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This event will run from November 14th to the 31st. 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 here.

Comments

[iustaegis]

[ Suddenly, she feels ill, numb. Is it the wall? Is it something else?

She already has her answer. But he-- he is wise. A part of her seeks his as well, as if she might still have doubts of her own. ]

You... It is your world. What is your opinion, [ Slowly, her eyes raise to meet his. ] Emet-Selch?

[unsunderworld]

...A question with no easy answer, I'm afraid. For I was among those who summoned the first of such gods, and in the end, the world we sought to save faced perhaps a worse fate for our actions.

[While she might meet his gaze, it's clear that he is not meeting hers - not out of any intent not to, but simply because his eyes are too distant, focused on a far-distant past.]

For in the wake of Zodiark's summoning was called forth a counterpart, Hydaelyn - and by Her hand was the world split into fourteen. And whether this was salvation or destruction is perhaps the oldest war of all.

[iustaegis]

[ A god was born from his heart, then, for "the world we sought to save". Yet from that wish the world was eventually wrecked.

She gathers a few things from this. One: that Emet-Selch must be... old. Very old, to speak of such things. His eyes are distant, he's caught in the past in a world that is not her own. He has seen much, he has seen ages and death and life anew and war and war and war and war. Two: Hydaelyn, whose name she knows from Era, who is Her daughter. Three, what he does not say.

And as she attempts to wrap her mind around this, she takes a step towards him, as if she might step within the past and his world into which he is looking. It's intrusive; focus, back to the present, Emet-Selch, and answer. She presses, because he has not given his. Her voice is hollow. ]

Do you regret it? Your wish.

[unsunderworld]

...I have not the capability.

[It is quiet, and simple, but in a way, it is neither a yes nor a no.]

Those who summon are touched by the will of what they summon forever after, like fabrics dipped in dye. I could give you an answer, but it is not the honest answer I believe you seek, because I am no more capable of giving you that than the waves of the sea are of breathing fire.

[iustaegis]

[ How was he changed, she wonders, if the god he summoned was born from his very heart? If all gods in his world are born from desires?

At last, however, she seems satisfied for the moment. If she's truly curious, she might ask this question upon the network to gain further insight. Thus Pyra takes a step back, although she appears far more tired than she had been before. ]

Then, the god you created from your wish.... tell me about them.

[ A pause, as she gathers more of her thoughts. ] Was this god splendorous, like your soul? [ Rather, like she pretended to describe his soul, after observing the color of his eyes. ]

[unsunderworld]

[It is a moment before he begins, because he must first settle on where. The tale of Zodiark and Hydaelyn is incomplete without an understanding of what came before, after all.]

The city in which I lived, called Amaurot, was home to people of far greater strength of soul than the people of now, or any I have yet seen on this world. We were creators - even the youngest of children could use their aether to form whatever they might imagine. Sometimes these things went awry, but in general, 'twas as peaceful and blissful an existence as one might imagine, all living together in harmony.

Until the Sound. We first heard of it in other cities, far from ours, but it came too to Amaurot as inevitability. And once it had sounded, every hell one could imagine broke loose, for any creation became a monster. Being a peaceful people, the vast majority of Amaurot knew of no way to defend themselves but to Create a protector, and thus did the problem compound, and compound, unto our very destruction.

[Somber, quiet. For all that he speaks of a time of utmost chaos, there is a stillness in him. Grief for what has been lost, never to return.]

The world itself was dying. And so in our desperation did we seek to create a will for the planet itself, who could restore the order we had lost, and make the world whole once more. half of their survivors gave of their very lives in this endeavor, and from that aether was born Zodiark.

[iustaegis]

[ She listens quietly, attentively, a picturesque audience in one: her expression shifts from sorrow to sympathy to surprise to sorrow again. For him, for the people he knew, for his world. His grief isn't quite palpable, especially for someone whose expressions are a subtle as his, yet...

From the way he describes his once-home, she imagines there remains a bit of longing for what once was, a feeling of loss.

So. He was a... creator of sorts. She does not know what that means, exactly, but it sounds fascinating.  Many questions remain from him-- from of his home called Amaurot, to what it means to be a creator, to even why he only wears one earring-- but she saves those for later, nodding slightly with a swallow.

She whispers, ] 

Zodiark.

[ A god that he created-- with others, born of sacrifices and a desire for restoring their world. A being that embodied the will of the planet, of his own heart. What does Zodiark look like. What does Zodiark's power feel like. What would it be like to observe this Zodiark's might for herself, to know how a god born of someone's heart is.... ]

[unsunderworld]

[A simple nod, as she repeats the name. The origins of it are beyond mattering now.]

What we sought to create was a will for the star itself, to preserve it beyond even ourselves. Many more sacrificed themselves that the lifeblood of the land might be restored; that growing things would once more grow, that birds and beasts walk again.

And the land grew and blossomed once more under our care. And with this accomplished did we hope to restore our fallen, to tend the land that it might in turn allow us to restore those who had given their souls to His keeping, and it was to this that Hydaelyn's summoners objected. And from their desire to hold Zodiark in check came Hydaelyn, whose blow shattered Him, and thus the world itself and all who dwelled within, unto fourteen reflections.

[He will not speak to the dream that lived in the hearts of those who summoned Hydaelyn. Even much as he hates them, he cannot believe that it was this, the destruction that followed salvation that followed destruction. He cannot believe that any of them truly desired the Sundering, as it would play out.

Perhaps that is his own last remaining naivety.]

[iustaegis]

[ His story weaves an image as epic as myths, except she takes his as true— if albeit artistically put. There is more to this story, as he is collapsing ages and the destruction and reformation of worlds into mere sentences.  The lives that were lost, the lives that were gained since then... she wonders about them all, of their future.

How can she know of the magnificence of the god born from his and his people’s wishes by mere story? She can’t, but she realizes she wishes she could to feel that sort of power it held. No matter what destruction came of the gods, that they had been born of others is... wonderful, she thinks. (Fleetingly, she wonders what power penned the fundamental laws of a world like that.) She feels for him, in his loss and sacrifice for his role in this tale, she understands the destruction that has happened; she weeps for who have fallen, who he was unable to restore. Yet he continues to live and tell this story for those, ignorant like her, to hear, to listen, to honor.

She's exceptionally grateful for it, and that grace dances in her eyes. ]

Your heart... 

[ And the god that had been born from it. ]

One day, I wish to see Him. [ Not that... she's entirely sure it would be possible in this world. But there, she said it. As if to emphasize her point, she lifts a hand to bring it up between them, placing her fingers upon the slight left side of his chest. ] And know Him.

[ She smiles. ] Because that would be like knowing you, yes?

[unsunderworld]

[Such a straightforward young woman. It has been such a very long time since he encountered one who was so earnest, in a way that is so surprisingly, so likely to catch him without reply. Most mortals have long since become predictable to him.

But then, he has his doubts, that Pyra is anything that might be called mortal, at least any moreso than he is. He has very many questions, and eventually he will turn to seeking his answers.

For now, he hardly reacts to the hand on his chest. While she may not be able to feel much of the warmth of him or his heartbeat through the layers of fabric, it does indisputably rise and fall with purely natural breathing, a slightly higher rise just before he speaks.]

Perhaps, perhaps not. I was hardly the only one who gave shape to that summoning, after all. If there is a piece of me in Him, then it is surely no more or less a piece than there is of Lahabrea and all the others. If anything, the piece of Elidibus might be largest, considering that he speaks for Zodiark in His slumber.

[Strangely, for all that there might normally be confusion about which pronouns belong to which in that sentence, the meaning is perfectly clear, almost as though the capital letters could be heard.

A quirk of his lips, into an amused line.]

If it is me you wish to know, then I confess the best source remains in front of you.

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ Lahabrea, Elidibus; more names-- more like him, perhaps, who collectively birthed this Zodiark? More like him, as in, more who desired so much for his world, and lost it all save for a lingering hope, she thinks. She, too, is hopeful to be able to see this Zodiark at some point in the future...

Her hand falls from him, as does the warmth. He is so much more than he seems, a captivating presence. He's an orator, the way he speaks betraying a refined practice of telling stories, histories, legends. And that certainly sounds like an invitation to ask more, like he's been waiting for an audience to tell.

She has a great many questions from which she might choose to ask. ]

Mm... Then, to start with... [ She peers at him for a moment, as if mulling over the question. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Then, straightening, she smiles inquisitively. ]

So. You are a creator.

What was your favorite thing to create?

[ ICE CREAM? ]

[unsunderworld]

[Ah, at last, a simple question on which he need not guard his response. She is young, yet, and even as he is, the old fragments of Amaurot that remain within him require him to allow children that place to grow into themselves and their own thoughts, without shaping them too closely.

But this? This he might speak passionately of for hours, without needing censor himself. It is an easy subject.]

Why - architecture. From Amaurot's skyline to the more pedestrian designs of one's own home to the towering space of a throne room or a temple, my love has always been most for building. It was always among the most challenging sorts of creation, and not only for the size of it.

[His smile is genuine, too, as he gestures at the wall above them.]

Take this wall, for example. One must keep in mind the very practical purpose, of course, of separating the city from the beyond - but also one must keep in mind that the residents shall look upon it every day. It must be high enough to be protective, but not so much that it is obtrusive, overshadowing the sky. It must not be bland to look upon, lest it feel more like prison than protection, and yet it must also not be so overwrought that one notices it upon every glance skyward. And then there is the balance of the height of the wall against the view of the taller buildings within the city, both from the outside looking in that those tallest rooftops might be seen, and the inside looking out, that one can stand upon a balcony or look out a window and see something other than the wall itself.

[A pause.]

Though the latter, I suppose, matters little in this circumstance. A pity.

[iustaegis]

[ He may speak of the wall and its features, but she keeps her eyes on him instead. Emet-Selch describes creating, and he does seemingly enthusiastically. Architecture is indeed is passion, from the way he describes making entire skylines. ] Purposeful and beautiful.... and sacrificing neither one for the other.

[ Now that takes profound skill. She smiles. ] Objects can only hope to be both.

[ It makes her wonder what his opinion of this wall and this city is, and what changes he'd made or recommend to the council. The wall is one thing, however, while the barrier is another; she's always thought of the sun and moon above as an illusion, unless of course the barrier itself may filter out the haze of the storm outside. ]

If... you could envision this wall differently, would you be able to create it here for them?

[unsunderworld]

Alas - in this world, at least, my aether is far too limited to create anything much larger than furniture. Something like this- well, even outside of all that I've just described, it's almost certain that the material is of some nature beyond the mundane, that it functions as a whole with the barrier above, and to Create of that material would take a great deal of research. Research that I have my doubts our hosts would allow me to conduct upon it, assuming it not to be merely divine blessing.

[He says it with no small amount of disappointment. He does so very much miss the ability to simply create, without having to so carefully measure his strength.]

Even at the height of my power, to Create the entire span of the wall would be beyond me. A space such as this gap would be about the limit of what I could manage from scratch, and would leave me able to do little but recover for some days. Easier to create a framework and then fill it out, much as they do in mundane construction. Far easier, perhaps, depending on the level of detail involved; a wall is nothing so complex, but something such as the temples would be far too much detail for even one such as I to hold in the mind at once.

1/4

[iustaegis]

[ Something in the beginning portion of what he's said seems to have caught her attention-- moreso than it had before, but then her expression shifts once more, sorrowful. ]

[iustaegis]

[ She appears sympathetic, thoughtful.

It must be disappointing to have an ability, an adored one at that, and then, upon arrival, not be able to exercise it...

She understands, she feels the same, but expressing her understanding won't help him, so she doesn't. ]

[iustaegis]

[ ...Wait. ]

done

[iustaegis]

---Emet-Selch!

[ Her head snaps up, looking at him. ] Emet-Selch, [ She repeats this with a smile. ] It might not be the same thing, but...

Perhaps, virtual reality will give you chance to enjoy Creating once again! [ She steps up to him with a bounce. Hi, hello there. Pyra is here. ] I've heard from someone that there were virtual games for things like dancing in their world, and if there are games like that, then there could be something for building, too!

[ She claps her hands together. ]

Think of it-- [ She encourages this softly, voice imbued with hope for him. ] Entire cities to draft, at your fingertips!

[unsunderworld]

[He still smiles, more than faintly.]

I've indeed considered the matter; I might well take up the challenge, if such a thing does not already exist, for I've some understanding of such code.

[Look, Allag had reasonably complex AI, they almost certainly had Minecraft.]

But I fear it will never be quite so seamless. No matter what substitutes I might find, true Creation has ever been its own entity. Coming as close as I might is a worthy challenge of its own, but those systems were not created with entities such as I in mind. They've no ability to represent aether, which feels not unlike saying "they were created with every sense but one."

[iustaegis]

[ What tragic irony it is, that a creator such as him helped birth a god that ultimately led to destruction.

She takes a step back from him, a hand going to her chin. ]

"Entities such as I"...? [ A soft laugh tickles past her lips. ] Are you above having a little fun?

[ OKAY she knows he means it in the sense of what he is, but she can't help the jest. He just sounds so posh while saying it! ]

[unsunderworld]

[His smile remains in place, though it is faint.]

When you've as much experience as I moving among those who are so unlike yourself - [And for a moment, just a flicker, but one that she will almost certainly not miss, as focused on his eyes as she always is, his gaze drops, to that core of light that forms her chest.] - then you too will come to understand the need for a different set of standards.

The people of this world have no experience manipulating aether, or so it seems to me from the forms their technologies take. So of course they would not include it. But the resulting landscape within those simulations is... unsettling, from my perspective.

[iustaegis]

[ While she catches the flit of his gaze down to the crystal, she does not remark upon it.

Virtual reality would not be the same as creating a true landscape, but she knows many might enjoy the opportunity to devise a city, even in a game. As for Emet-Selch and what he may accomplish within actual reality...

It saddens her to hear he isn’t able to do as he’s done in his own world. She is not either. The power to create suns is beyond her now. But perhaps together... . ]

Emet-Selch. [ The hand that had been upon his chest returns to hers, fingers delicately curling inward. ]

Not now, but in the future.... Let us Create something together.