hugtopia_logs | ♥ December Event Log

December (Ranir) Event Log
The city of Havenwell is recovering very well thanks to your efforts, offworlders. The hole in the wall is sealed up and, while maybe not looking like new, it certainly looks sturdy and safe. The city itself has removed much of the rubble from the battles you fought, and the people are back to their regularly scheduled lives. They're eternally grateful that you continue to put in the time to rebuild this final bastion of civilization and are pleased to see that you enjoyed their festivals so far. As the weather of Ranir turns colder and the nights longer, some may even see snow dust the cobblestone and paved streets in the morning. The time of Rawna has come and with it...

❥ PROMPT I: At Least It's Not a Sweater

a pair of hands holding each other with a red ribbon tied around their wrists

Normally when a new season belonging to a god rolls around, the temple priests gear up and start with temple festivities. Seeing how this is Rawna's month, however, nothing much of the sort seems to be happening. In fact, it's almost as if Rawna's priests don't even care that their god's season has started. Rawna is, after all, chiefly the god of Apathy, so is it all that surprising?

What might be surprising is the sight of Ainea's priests in pairs out around the city in their stead. Each pair carries with them a single bright silver sash and they alternatively stand in broad daylight or hide in the shadows of the buildings. Walk by on your own and you'll be left alone, but when the priests spot two people walking even remotely near each other, they spring into action.

The two robotic priests zip around you and another person with surprising speed, tying the sash off around you - either around your wrists, your waists, your legs, whatever it takes to tie you to another person. With a triumphant buzz of excitement, they declare "Happy Ranir! Kindness comes in many forms!" and depart to find a new pair of ~~victims~~ patrons. As they leave, one of the pair calls out an additional clue for you: "Be kind to unwind!"

Good luck, everyone, you're now stuck with this other person. You can either wait until the sash naturally falls off in a few hours, or you can take the direction of the priests and be kind to the other person to encourage the magical knot to come undone. Each compliment, word of encouragement, or other act of kindness directed at your new partner seems to loosen the sash a little each time, so get to winning the Niceness War.

Oh, and in case you were thinking of blasting, teleporting, or cutting your way out? No amount of magic or physical force seems capable of cutting or removing the sash. Hopefully you went to the bathroom before they got you.

❥ PROMPT II: A Delicious Delight

After a long hard day of dodging Ainea's priests or just slogging through the colder weather around the city, what could be better than imbibing a seasonally festive drink? Well, the scientists in charge of Experiment 73 certainly think so! They've added a limited edition drink selection to all of the replicators and have some delightfully festive booths spread about the city staffed by a few robots wearing Rawna's colors in their sashes and hats. There are five drinks in total to choose from and you should certainly try them! They're only here until the end of the month and then the scientists say they'll be gone! The best things in life are fleeting, aren't they? The best things in life are also surprises, so when you take a sip of these exquisitely delicious (honest! For once they're good) beverages, prepare yourself for a little trick with your treat.

Ginger and Honey Tea: A hot, thoroughly warming drink with the bite of ginger and the sweetness of honey. Drink this and you'll be shored up against the cold, but also feel compelled to tell or blurt out the truth. Whether you're asked a question or trying to tell a little white lie, you find you can't say anything but the truth. This effect lasts for up to an hour after drinking the tea.
Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie: A cold sweet treat of vanilla smoothie topped with sweet strawberry pieces and whipped cream. At the bottom, you'll find a layer of sweet sponge cake cut up into pieces. Drink this with its own special thick straw and enjoy the taste of cake; and the effect of a personal miniature snow cloud that appears over your head. The cloud dusts you and your immediate area within a foot of you with beautiful multicolored snow - and that snow leaves splotches of color behind that last for up to an hour after drinking the smoothie.
Hot Cinnamon Apple Cider: A deliciously steamy beverage that tastes of apple and cinnamon and comes with a cinnamon stick stirrer for effect. This beverage smells as delicious as it tastes and the aroma wafts around the area more strongly than the others. Drink this penultimate holiday drink and you'll find yourself heating up so much that you'll want to stay cold by giving your heat away via holding someone else. You'll want to be everyone's personal heater for up to an hour after drinking the cider.
Gingerbread Latte: A nice piping hot latte with the hint of gingerbread threaded through the coffee, topped with whipped cream and dusted with gingerbread spice. Served in a tall red cup that seems to transfer the heat uncannily well through its thin walls, sip this and you'll find yourself painlessly sprouting an animal's appendage at random. You can have one functioning or non-functioning, cosmetic animal appendage like a cat's ears, a dog's tail, a duck's beak or whatever else you can think of for up to an hour after drinking the latte. They can replace your original body part (e.g. your ears become cat ears) or grow superfluously (e.g. you have regular ears AND cat ears). You can move the appendages or talk with them as if they are your own, but they don't confer any special magical powers with them. So you can fly with those griffin wings, sure, but you're going to need to put the effort into it.
Hot Mulled Wine (alcoholic): This one isn't for children - and in fact, under 18 people might find it hard (but not impossible, be industrious, little ones!) to get their hands on this drink. Red wine is heated with spices and citrus fruit over low heat for several hours - or it would if it wasn't all synthetically created. The effect is the same though, a delicious adult beverage that's a nice way to spend an evening with someone special. And you'll want them to be someone special because drinking the hot wine makes you inclined to get a little steamy with people. Kisses, both chaste and passionate, seem to alleviate the urge which you'll be under for up to an hour after drinking the wine.

❥ PROMPT III: Winter (VR) Wonderland

a wooden lodge at night, blanketed in snow

There isn't quite enough snow on the ground to allow it in reality, but in the VR Cafes anything is possible. This month, the VR Cafes are decorated with snowflakes in odd patterns and designs - holograms, naturally - that spin and change shape and color in a timed routine. Plug into the games and you'll find a new selection among the usual offerings: Winter Wonderland.

There are two modes to Winter Wonderland and each are fun in their own ways.

Snow Fight! Head out into the powdery snow where fantastic snow forts await and battle it out with snowballs to claim the most territory or just see who can hit the other side the most. You can choose Team Battle, Solo 1vs1, or Battle Royale. All magic, skills, and cunning are at your disposal. While the snow might not be falling outside, it's definitely going to be raining down on you here, so bundle up and have some fun. You earned it!

Ski Lodge But maybe you don't want to go flinging snow down someone's shirt and would rather cuddle up on a couch in front of a big warm fire, huh? Sure, we understand that. Welcome to the Ski Lodge, a cozy getaway up in the mountains where you can relax with a hot chocolate (or cider, or glass of wine even) and curl up on the couches and experience a lazy afternoon in thick fluffy sweaters. It's even better with a friend, they say, so why not create this private little getaway for the two (or three or four, we're not judging) of you? For people wanting a romantic lean, you can always slip out the back (and out of your clothes if you prefer) into the private jacuzzi on the wooden deck, too.

For people who want to have some fun tearing it up on the mountain-side though, we suggest trying Ski-venture! A year-round game that lets you ski or snowboard your way down the mountain.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Mysterious Gift [REGAIN EVENT]

Toward the end of the month starting from the 20th and on, some people may find themselves drawn to Rawna's temple late at night, when most of the priests are offline or elsewhere. The only native creatures you can see here are the fledgling rainbow dragons which watch you from their various perches all around the sanctum. As you approach the temple's altar, you realize someone else has been drawn here as well. In the quiet, dim lighting, the barest of candles still burning and the watchful eyes of the dragons, you feel compelled to unburden yourself to the other person. Tell your tale of woe or sorrow, relieve yourself of a secret you've kept hidden for too long, and listen to your companion as well. They say a burden shared is a burden halved after all.

Once you've both shared something, a pair of dragonlings crawl up into the altar's clawed hands. They wind around each other until an iridescent light shines from their scales. The light is blinding and you must look away as it reaches its pinnacle and releases a burst of rainbow light. When you look back, the dragonlings are slithering away and in their places are two objects - one familiar to you and one to your partner - so long as both of you have shared. It seems your tithe has been rewarded with something from home.

OOC: These items from home must be approved by a mod. They cannot exceed the Medium Item regain limit. It cannot be a power or other ability. It cannot be something your character did not own or have knowledge of in their canon or their CRAU. Please post your regain request in the Regain Request thread before threading out the receipt of the item.

This event will run from December 6th to December 31st. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. You are welcome to use this log, or create entries of your own! If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Regis' expression becomes contemplative when Somnus gives his answer. As he thinks, he gives his distant relative's hand a squeeze.]

Young Prompto was also to a different world before this one, as was another I have spoken with. It is a little...frightening to think that there are so many of these places which can just grab us at whim no matter the importance of what we are doing at home. I know had Cor not been here to tell me we recovered from the Founder's Day attack, I would have been much more desperate to return home quickly.

[Argentum, too. The worlds ever ask much of people.]

Your kingdom will recover. I have also seen it.

[He keeps his gaze trained ahead. Unlike Noctis and his entourage, Somnus was there to see the city refortified. And unlike Regis, Somnus has no one to tell him if his brother will find peace at last—an unknown that wears on him with each passing day.]

It is hard to believe considering where I was pulled from, but I don't doubt either of your words.

[Regis shakes his head, taking a moment to push back the urge to ask for the specifics of how things turned out. The temptation is there, but he will know what he needs to soon enough.]

At least now I understand why he wished me to call you forward so badly.

[He remembers the force of his brother's rage from that day. Amid the countless memories he carries, remembers all that transpired vividly.]

If not for you, I would have ignored his call.

[The sole reason he answered was to keep Regis safe, though Somnus will be the first to acknowledge that it was a calculated move for the sake of the prophecy. Even so, Regis suffered a great injustice that day.]

There is part of me that wishes to know what makes me so important, but the wiser part of me will not ask the question. Not with the pieces of the future I have come to know.

[If he let himself, he could guess. Noctis' trip. The urgency behind it. The way that he, himself, will die. There is a very obvious answer in there that Regis knows he is in no way ready to face yet.]

[Although going without any of those pieces would have been better, realistically speaking it isn't possible in a world like Aellyn. Regis is wise enough to turn away from the temptation of learning more about the future when the truth is dangling itself before him. It's much too soon to be bearing that burden.]

That knowledge will be yours one day.

[But the prophecy isn't all that makes Regis so important. The tea compels Somnus to continue after a lengthy pause.]

You are my children's son. You will always be important to me.

Probably sooner than I wish, considering the grim picture some of the pieces paint.

[Still, there is nothing to be done to change the future--at least, as far as they know. Concerns for that time can wait.]

The later generations don't just feel like strangers with how much time has passed?

[The question is genuine. Two thousand years is a long time to watch people live and die after all.]

Neither time nor distance can sever the bond between us.

[He said something similar to Regis a month ago. He meant it then, and he means it now. And although years of observation have desensitized him to violence, they haven't made loss any easier to bear.]

I've watched all the generations from birth to death. There is none among them who's a stranger to me.

[Regis remembers well hearing those words not long ago and they still makes him shake his head today even though they are applied in a slightly different manner.]

I don't know if I could stand watching the generations live and die like that. I think the grief would drive me mad.

[Then again, he has no idea how many deaths he will stand witness to in the future. There is more strength in him than he knows.]

It was not grief that drove me to madness.

[Somnus stops walking. After a moment of pause, he turns to face Regis. No idea, indeed.]

As kings, we push onward always.

[Many a Lucian monarch in the past succumbed to grief at one point in their lives. In some cases, it even affected their rule. But none of this is about them, and they know their duty is ultimately to the future.

As king, Regis will serve as one of the greatest examples of this philosophy. It's unfair, but necessary. They can only hope that the future will be a better place where life thrives in the Light.]

[It is fortunate that they stop walking because if they hadn't Regis would have when he heard that saying from Somnus. It is one of the few things that he learned from his father that has actually stayed with him.]

I knew that saying originated far back in the line, but I did not realize how far back it went.

[Regis pauses then, obviously contemplating how to ask something without Somnus feeling as if he must answer.]

May I ask the source of that madness then?

[Even if the saying hadn't existed back then, all the kings and queens lived by it. Somnus looks aside.]

You may. [There's nothing to stop Regis from asking. He turns back.] But you will learn the answer in time.

[Somehow Regis doesn't find that answer surprising. Isn't that how almost everything else is? The answer will find him...in time. It is the realm of the future and he has decided he is not going to ask about the future. That particular decision is becoming harder to stand by but he has not looked back with regret on his decisions before now and is not about to start.]

All right, I will wait for the information to make its way to me. There are reasons that the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat" has stuck around for so long.

[Knowing won't kill Regis in this case, but that just means his spell as a daemon is irrelevant and therefore unnecessary. The madness that consumed him then will stay in their future and his past. Somnus meets Regis' gaze, nods, and pulls his hand away.]

[There is much he still wishes to ask, but it seems that this meeting has come to an end. Regis allows Somnus to pull away and then gives his ancestor a smile.]

I still don't know what started all this, but I hope this talk has helped in some small way.

[Just. Don't try the tea, Regis. It's better for everyone that way.]

[What, indeed? His thoughts wander to the hand that was holding Regis'. In some ways, this has been a helpful encounter.

It's also better for everyone if no one imbibes the tea. Certain truths and questions are withheld for reasons.]

Trouble yourself not, young king.

[His worries are his own, and they won't affect his actions. He won't waste any more of Regis' time. With that, Somnus continues on his way.]

♥ December Event Log

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