EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

[diceofthegods]

INTO THE WOODS

Click Clock Wood (Spring) by Grant Kirkhope

2:05 / 4:59

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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After making your way through the tiny farming town of Ich and out towards the rim of a massive raised crater, you will find yourself being led through a narrow split in the canyon wall. Inside, glow worms cling to the ceiling and create the illusion of a thousand twinkling stars above the moistened rocks.

When you finally emerge, it is into an impossibly lush landscape of massive, redwood-sized tangling trees and a soft moss carpet. Life abounds here. It feels like an oasis of birdsong and animal activity.

A short walk leads you to the prepared party-grounds. A large clearing with quaint huts all around decorated with strange flowers for partygoers to rest or otherwise entertain themselves.

There appear to be several games and stalls set up, the sweet and savory scents of delicious food fills the air, and so do the patrons of the forest. Seemingly hundreds of Fae folk zip around and greet the newcomers excitedly by placing garlands of vines and crowns of flowers atop their heads.

Glowing flowers and toadstools light your way here. It also seems that even the animals get in on the festivities! Really, just about everything talks here. Almost everything, anyways! Talking to a tree stump might not yield many results but you're welcome to try.

Each entrant is also provided upon arrival a copy of The Rules. A rolled parchment that resists water or any other damage. It also prevents you from writing on it so you can't just do what you want.

The rules read as follows:

DO:
⁂ Accept gifts from the Fae.
⁂ Sample the food provided at the party ONLY.
⁂ Play games with the Fae.
⁂ Feel at ease to rest in the provided huts.
⁂ Keep tabs on your shadow lest it wander.
DO NOT:
⁂ Make a TRADE with the Fae.
⁂ Provide any personal items as gifts or otherwise to the Fae.
⁂ Provide your true name to the Fae.
⁂ Wander away from the designated party area.
⁂ Ascend any staircases you find in the woods.
OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:
⁂ If you see an old woman hiking through the area, feel free to stop her and lie to her. The more brazen and obvious the lie the better. She appreciates this!

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

Amongst the games and attractions are a variety of fun possibilities!

GAMES

⁂ Battleship! (Fae Style!) A number of Fae will be hiding on a large grid of flowers. You guess the locations and if you are correct then you will win a small prize! It is a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have. This works even outside of the forest and can be taken home.

Every time you miss though, you receive a small 'curse.' Nothing harmful! Maybe you’re just rotating in place for the next hour, your ears become daisies, or you grow a tree out of your head? (Feel free to come up with your own silly ideas!) All of the curses will dissipate after a time or upon leaving the forest and none will do any harm or cause pain. The Fae are all about fun tricks, not hurting anyone!

⁂ Dress Up Darlings! You enter a booth and allow the Fae to decide your outfit! Upon the agreement that you'll wear it the rest of the party, of course, no matter how silly or ridiculous it is.

⁂ Bobbing For Onions! Yes, you read that right. Bobbing for onions. There are onions floating around... in water. You have to catch them with your teeth. The prize for success is a Bag of Onions. This bag never runs out of onions. They are always fresh and always onions. Not always the same kind of onion, but always onions nonetheless. This bag works outside of the forest and can be taken home.

⁂ What's In The Box? There is a box. There is something in it. Maybe it's frogs. Maybe it's slugs. Possibly bugs? Maybe apples. We don’t know. Stick your hand in the box and take a guess at what you’re touching! If you’re right, you win the contents of the box!

We'll let players decide via coin flip, rolls, or however they want if their guess is correct! Any items won though will be common, every day items like mentioned and nothing especially exciting. Unless you're really into frogs. Then it's your lucky day, apparently!

ENTERTAINMENT

⁂ Slayd & The Possums! Slayd is here and he’s throwing down the banjo tunes with his possum pals. Feel free to join him if you are musically inclined! The Fae will provide any instrument your heart desires! They can't grant you the ability to play it though if you don't know how.

⁂ The Crowning of the King of Misrule! Randomly chosen by the Fae, enter a lottery to be chosen as the King of Misrule for the evening. You will be dressed in a stupid outfit and granted Fae wings for the night! You also have the insatiable urge to play harmless pranks on people. The Fae will also give you a "Special Gift" at the end of the party...

FOR THE FOOLISH

Ahh, but there are rule breakers amongst us aren't there? If you choose to sneak away from the party, chances are nobody will stop you; however, you are now on your own in the Talahee Forest.

FIRST LAYER

Rak'tika Greatwood Theme ( Civilizations ) by Masayoshi Soken

4:34 / 5:15

▶︎

Click here to listen.

"Civilizations" prominently features a female vocalist. The lyrics are in the Ronkan language, and has not been officially translated.

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The first layer of the forest is very much similar to what you have already seen. Everything is coated in a thick mat of moss and trees wind away like a massive birds nest to form the canopy above. The faint sounds of animals can still be heard. Up here, you may encounter Fae who did not attend the party. They'll ask you your name and other personal details.

Best that you lie.

SECOND LAYER

Click Clock Wood (Autumn) by Grant Kirkhope

1:12 / 4:11

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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The further in that you head, the darker the forest gets. It seems you are following a downward slope. The trees get bigger here, as do the insects and toadstools. Bioluminescence rules down here it seems. You may encounter stranger creatures here. Ones that will try to make very tempting trades for your personal belongings. Things that will seem like an amazing deal to you. They offer magical items of great power, or even personal effects from home.

Don't be fooled though. These objects are cursed, and are not at all what they seem. You have the distinct feeling of being watched at all times here.

⁂ Possible Encounters: Owlbear, Displacer Beast, Giant Badger

THIRD LAYER

Saint Mocianne's Arboretum (Hard) by Masayoshi Soken

2:50 / 5:10

▶︎

Click here to listen.

...hordes of aggressive plant life exposed to the strange substance stand between you and the information you seek.

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Are you getting smaller or is everything else getting bigger? Were Slayd here, he would have told you about the concept of Deep Forest Gigantism. The deeper you go - just like the ocean - the larger that the flora and fauna get.

You are dwarfed by the mushrooms here in the pitch darkness and only guided by the latent glow of the creatures and fungi that dwell here. Bugs the size of house-cats skitter in your wake. Are you sure you want to be here? Should you encounter anything larger, you’d best stay silent. Or run!

⁂ Possible Encounters: Giant predatory Elk (RUN), Rodents of Unusual Size, Extra Large Bugs

FOURTH LAYER

Poison Tree by Grouper

0:30 / 3:16

▶︎

Click here to listen.

'Poison Tree' is a meditation on the complexities of anger and the internal conflict it causes. It draws inspiration from William Blake's poem of the same name.

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The trees seem to clear out here as you reach the bottom of the forest. There is no light here so hope you brought a match. The landscape down here is a blanket of moss dotted with countless shallow pools. Looking into one of these pools, you will see your reflection... though it may look different in some way.

You will feel extremely compelled to reach down and touch the reflection in the water. Should you give in, you feel as though your world is turning upside down. You could receive memories not quite your own. Memories of a different version of you, even! (CRAU, Canon Update, or Canon AU!)

Yet, you will be experiencing them as your own. A long time could pass in your mind while only seconds have only elapsed in reality. Upon waking, you will find that you have been ejected from the party and the forest entirely. You find yourself at the entrance to the crater. Disoriented, and compelled not to re-enter, you have only yourself to blame as you must shamble your way home with this burdensome knowledge.

Notes

⁂ For the game prizes, we're using the honor system here! So long as you clear the roll then you can receive a prize with no mod permission needed.

- Battleship: If you roll a d20 above a 13, you can receive one of the nectar cups.
- Bobbing For Onions: If you roll a d20 above a 10, you can receive one of the bag of onions. En...joy...?

⁂ To sign up for The Crowning of the King of Misrule, comment here! We'll RNG the winner likely within a few days to a week to give folks time to participate if they want!

⁂ The plotting post for this event/November is up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available to people read about updates, clarifications, and a poll to participate in!

⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!

⁂ Full Navigation ⁂

Comments

And Away We Go

[zodiheart]

Elidibus watches the younger Sephiroth slip away from the party with a hawklike gaze. Capable as the young man may be, out there is a wholly different beast from the party, full of fae that are not harmlessly playing games. No, one could have very real and permanent damage done to them out of nothing but ignorance.

It would not be his fault if he does not know.

No, it would be Elidibus's - he's witnessed the departure. He also feels a fondness for the boy, and decides to protect however he can.

So he tucks away his won items and ensures both they and his piano are doubly and triply secure, and follows. It does not take too horribly long to catch up to Sephiroth, and he does so in time to watch the tension bleed from his shoulders.

"Brave of you to take this path alone," the words are spoken softly but loud enough that Sephiroth should have no issue hearing them. Elidibus stands a polite distance away.

[miniroth]

The quiet is welcome, after all that noise. Animals tended to avoid him, but it didn't stop the birds singing at a distance, didn't stop the hum of insects in the underbrush. That was enough. He knew he had to get used to crowds eventually, his role as Shinra's poster boy required it, but it didn't have to be now.

Elidibus is rather obvious, stark white against foresty shadows and greens and browns, but the distance and speaking up removes any trace of stealth - probably for the best, one person can be tolerated but surprises were another matter entirely. The Ancient, barely taller than he is, is studied for a moment before his eyes shift away, to the moss and greenery instead. "I don't know how anyone can stand all that noise." And the press of too many people and the overwhelming mix of scents and--

"...There's nothing dangerous here for now." The rules said don't stray, but he hadn't gone too far. It's probably fine, right? "It's just a forest." With unknown beasts within, and the fae, but his experience with the fae was hardly dangerous. But he knew what to do about monsters, and wasn't worried. "Hardly bravery, I'd think. Cowardice perhaps, for leaving to begin with."

[zodiheart]

Closing his eyes for several long moments, Elidibus takes in the relative serenity of the forest. It's a far cry from true silence. But, if anything, that means their surroundings are made all the more comforting by that fact.

He remembers long stretches of time, years - decades, even - standing upon the lunar surface. There was naught to make but a whisper there. The passage of time marked by the slow progress of the sun upon the Star above, by the winking of celestial bodies far in the distance. By the pull in his breast towards the imprisoned god beneath his feet.

True silence rarely comforts man.

But Elidibus says none of this.

"If one is not used to such things, it can be quite the adjustment. Some may never be able to endure it for very long. There is no shame in that." He opens his eyes to peer into the forest, following Sephiroth's gaze. His voice turns slightly gentle, "There is no cowardice in respecting one's own limits."

As for the forest... "This place is deceptive. You may see only a forest, but without the self-imposed rules from the festival, the fae here are not to be underestimated. The ease with which they may decimate lives is striking."

[miniroth]

Used to being kept in near featureless isolation chambers as his 'room', silence was being left alone with his thoughts. Not being poked and prodded, experimented on or cut apart to see what would happen. Many would find true quiet unsettling.

It's an old friend, for the boy. It shouldn't be. "Another has warned me. I've no interest in spending my life as a shrub." But there were no pixies around, so it's probably fine. Isn't it? .. Right?

Gaia's advice has been sound so far, he'd done his best to avoid offending the fae even if he wasn't interested in games as often as they were.. which was to say almost never, but he could make allowances, it let him pick and choose when they were going to be trouble as opposed to being blindsided by it at a terrible moment.

"I don't plan on going further." Not much anyway. Not until his frazzled nerves settle a little more. "I just.. need a little time."

[zodiheart]

"It is good that you have received warning. They are prone to making promising deals or offers that seem to be worthwhile, but will not be what they seem." Such as it was with fae. The devil's in the details, always.

But oh, does it move him to hear that tone in Sephiroth's voice. To see it in his face. He knows the story of the other man, at least a brief telling of it, and thus knows that even at this age he's been going through what no teenager should. All deserve to take the time they need to decompress.

Elidibus would never begrudge Sephiroth this.

"That is understandable. Would you mind my company?" he speaks softly. "Even just to enjoy the sound of the forest together."

[miniroth]

"..I've yet to hear any specific examples of the deals they offer, but I don't think they have anything I'd want." Most people are easy, offer wealth or power or similar things. Maybe a house.

What did normal people even want that a fairy could give them?

Concerns for another time. No such offers have tempted him so far, and it wasn't likely to change. His interactions were mostly of the pixie sort, which made it .. somewhat safer. Play games, they stay happy. "...If you wish. As far as I know there's no rule against it." Just being out here at all is however!

... He's going to ignore that one. It didn't say not to have company, and that's what counts. "Though shouldn't you be enjoying the festival? Supposedly there's entertainment."

[zodiheart]

"Generally speaking, I imagine they would be items from home. If one were offered their favored weapon, for example, that did not make the journey here, one may make the mistake of trading for it. Or mentioning their name, or giving other parts of themselves away via accident." He hums, softly. "Or perhaps the fae offer them a way to win back a lost love, or heal a hurt long ago dealt. Revive one thought lost forever, to injury or time. There are many things they may catch someone in, should they not know that these will not be what they appear."

It's good that Sephiroth doesn't object to his presence. Elidibus is fond of the boy already, and feels a measure of protectiveness over him. He's plenty capable on his own, that is true, but that does nothing to dull the feeling. Respectfully, he will continue.

"I have enjoyed the festival to a great degree, and have provided entertainment of my own. You may have already slipped away when the time came for me to bring out my grand piano and play, but needless to say it was a wonderful time for me." He smiles at the memory, eyes looking from tree to tree in the forest.

"But I saw more than a few individuals slip away, and thought to ensure their safety. Yourself included. We are friends, after all."

[miniroth]

"..I see. Then they truly have nothing they can offer me. I have no use for objects, and there is no-one they can hope to bring me or tempt me with." Not even his mother, now that he knew the truth of what she'd done. Had his older self not interfered, not warned him of Lucrecia Crescent and that she too was a scientist to her core, then maybe he would have been an easier target.

He would be anyway in time, but to far easier questions. Like his name.

Reassured that no temptation would be worth his time, the issue of the fae is simply put away for later. It might be interesting to see them try, but even something as precious as his mother's locket was now irrevocably tainted. "It is good you are enjoying yourself."

Except for where Elidibus felt obligated to follow people beyond the festival grounds and into the sheltering boughs of the forest. He shifts a little in place, a restless motion, when it's declared they're friends again. "..You may pursue them as you wish. I'm in little danger." Not if that's all that was at risk! Objects! People he's supposed to care about! "It would be unfortunate if another fell prey to such lures as trinkets while you were distracted with my presence."

[zodiheart]

Taking a moment to consider the words, Elidibus instead smiles, "I do not think I will go elsewhere. While I could search for others, I may find no others. Instead, I have found you."

He does not speak on the reasons why just yet. Sephiroth is a soul who has been shown little in the ways of kindness, in the ways of friendship. Were he to merely speak on the subject and declare himself, they would register but would fail to have the intended impact. Instead he will continue to show his friendship in actions.

He approaches one of the towering trees thick with moss.

"Come, I wish to show you something," and with great agility and strength, climbs into the boughs above.

[miniroth]

"As you'd like." If Elidibus chose to stay then so be it, it wouldn't reduce the otherwise comfortable silence of the woods any. It could never be as bad as the madness some people were calling 'fun' at the festival. So far the white-clad Ancient hadn't given him the impression that any such unwelcome amounts of noise and socializing would be forced upon him any time soon, and so was tentatively safe in that respect.

Less assured, any kind of predictability. Which is proven when Elidibus .. climbs up one of the towering nearby trees, and for a moment, Sephiroth hesitates, thoroughly nonplussed. And then very carefully takes his gloves off, putting them in his jacket's pockets. He may keep his claws deliberately blunted, but they and the array of nearly black scales offered better grip than leather did.

Curiosity is a compulsion all its own, and he does follow - there hasn't been a whole lot of tree climbing in his life, but it's not terribly difficult save particularly soggy bits of moss he's forced to navigate around.

[zodiheart]

Leading Sephiroth, Elidibus halts his progression when they get to a particularly sheltered spot. Thick branches come together and weave into a bowl shape, the curtains and carpet of moss shielding them from any eyes that may look up. At one end their hidden nook opens up to reveal the forest in a breathtaking view.

The soft sounds of the forest still reach them but are hushed. Theirs is a sanctuary with only they two aware of it. Elidibus does not speak of how he was able to discern its existence. Instead, he settles back against one side of the bowl and gestures for Sephiroth to settle in on the other side.

Voice soft, Elidibus speaks, "Here we may remain undisturbed, by fae or partygoers both."

[miniroth]

Whatever he's expecting higher up in the trees, it's not this. The bit of exertion is nice, he never felt he got enough exercise these days, but when the branches open up into a secluded, odd little nest of leaves and wood, there's hesitation again.

This doesn't look natural to him, but it does, on careful application of his weight - rather more weight than he looks like he has - having nothing creak or snap beneath him, pick his way delicately out as bidden to settle amongst the branches. And immediately put his gloves back on.

"How did you know this was here?"

[zodiheart]

"I felt it," he keeps his voice soft in their sanctuary of space. "All things are composed of matter, of energy, and I have since adapted my aethersense to be able to see and feel the energy found on other worlds. I simply cast it out, and felt both the shape and that it was empty."

Sephiroth's expressions are easy for him to read. He smiles.

"A small bit of sanctuary to relax within. Though it does occur to me - I had promised sparring for you much earlier, did I not? Perhaps not tonight, but soon, I will make good on those promises."

[miniroth]

Abilities he didn't have, as inhumanly sharp as a SOLDIER's senses could be. He closes his eyes, listening not only to Elidibus' explanation but anything else that might catch his attention, from the drone of insects to distant birdsong. The festival is too far away for even his hearing to detect.

That's.. fine. He knew the way back. "A useful skill."

Not one that can be taught, if it required 'aethersense' to begin with. "...You did, yes. I'm still interested in doing so." Even with the scales and claws and sharpening teeth. "Though it grows more annoying to hold a sword properly, sooner may be better than later. I will not fight as a monster does." While he could use tooth and claw and melee combat, it wasn't what he preferred. He can't help becoming a monster, but he could resist acting like one.

[zodiheart]

"Then let us do so once this festival has concluded and we have gained an appropriate hold on the first of these changes. If the hold of a weapon grows too tedious for our altered fingers and hands, I should be able to adhere them to our grip with magic," he hums in the space for a second of two. It's the start of that enchantment, the cadence of the required spoken words running through his mind. Both reminding himself and practicing how it begins.

And as if he's not offering Sephiroth enough-

"Would you like to learn it? The skill is useful to you, yes?" he offers yet more of himself. He cannot teach what one is not born with, that is true. He cannot teach true aethersense. But what he can do is give the tools for Sephiroth to achieve the same effect. This world is full of magic, it is in everything, from the elements to the flora and fauna, and all he would need to do is tap into the boy's inherent magical abilities.

His world does not have the same systems, true, but he is proficient with materia. And that should be enough.

[miniroth]

This is considered for a long moment. There could be inconveniences too in being unable to drop a weapon, but it would be better than not being able to hold one at all. He'd have to roach his claws back as far to the quick as he dared get. He considers one hand, and the gloves he'd have to modify soon in order to not simply tear them up, flexing his fingers slowly. "It would be something worth testing first. Perhaps while working on more wood for the fires." See how it felt. See how it worked.

But the offer that follows brings his head up, perplexed. "Is that something that can be taught? Such things don't come naturally to people of my planet." He certainly could, he had more than enough mako in his system, and he wasn't fully human besides. But he'd never actually tried, and nobody else could, therefoer it was impossible. "The Ancients could but we are removed from them by over two thousand years."

[zodiheart]

A nod is all Elidibus is able to get out before he receives Sephiroth's undivided attention. Well, their spar can come later, eager as he is for it. It was not as if they could spar tonight with the party in full swing.

"Aethersense, no. But I believe we may be able to allow you to achieve the same effect, particularly in a world so rich with magic as this one appears to be." It would take work to show and guide, but with someone who had the experience, Elidibus believes it possible. "We must show you the proper connections to be made, and then it becomes akin to another muscle - with use, it will grow stronger. That you may use magic at all should suffice."

Not to mention whatever connections are being made within themselves from their bonded dragons.

[miniroth]

They certainly COULD but it might be fairly disruptive, which could be a problem. Avoiding agitating their faerie hosts was an important thing to keep in mind - only inasmuch as he'd already done so by leaving the fairgrounds to begin with.

Combat, at least, he knows and understands. Aethersense, or something vaguely like it, on the other hand was not. And it would be more imminently practical than most other things, even if it was .. definitely a problem of being different again. It was easier to think it might be a manifestation of their changes into dragons than some innate ability of his own. "While an interesting notion, I'm not sure I am yet enough beast to have access to such things."

It's not a no, he's curious. But he's still, for now, more teenager than dragon, though that was changing gradually day by day.

"Though the ... creature I now share a mind with believes 'wizardry' is well within my reach eventually." What. The hells is even wizardry, he doesn't know.

[zodiheart]

"I do not doubt that when our joinings are complete we will have access to a host of new abilities. The way magic works in this world, for instance, is different than my own. Finishing our bonding process would make us akin to a native of this place, and as such it should then be possible to utilize said magic."

At least, that's his hypothesis. He's been able to use his own magic just fine, and has been able to translate it into using the energies of this place - but there's something to be said about learning a land's own energies, being part of that... well. They shall see.

"But what I speak of does not have to do with what may come. You are proficient with materia, yes?" he waits for the response before continuing.

a tiny tag.

[miniroth]

What materia has to do with any of this he doesn't know, but there's a slow nod anyway. "Yes, of course. Every SOLDIER is."

He could do quite a bit with materia shards as well, but that was a one-and-done, not reusable like a normal sphere. "..I have one with me if it is required."

also smol

[zodiheart]

"Not every person can wield materia. What is the feeling you experience when activating it? I have been told in the past that there is a physical sensation."

By Angeal. Though that could differ from individual to individual.

[miniroth]

"..I admit I haven't encountered anyone who couldn't, with time and effort," the boy says slowly, weighing his words against his memory. He supposed it was possible, especially if this included things like a modifiable simulation run by very dubious people who liked to tweak parameters at random.

It's also not something he's thought about in a long time, if at all. "It's hard to describe in words, I don't know how I perceive it is the same as how anyone else might, it could be subjective. There is of course, warmth when handling fire materia, or a chill for blizzard. They have different tastes." They what. "I haven't paid much attention to what the experience is when used in a very long time, I'm afraid."

[zodiheart]

"The sensation you are experiencing whilst wielding materia appears to be your body and self responding to those magical energies. That you can recognize them shows me that you can tap into that sense."

He draws a line in the air, going from one point to another.

"From there, re-familiarizing yourself with those energies should lead you into more. Especially in a world so rich with magic as this one."

[miniroth]

That sounds unusual and a bit suspicious to Sephiroth, who reluctantly admits to himself that he doesn't know enough about how other planets work to say absolutely whether or not he could. Earenk has no opinion on the subject when he stops to consider, beyond the faintest feeling of encouragement.

"I'm..willing to find out if it's possible. It should at least be diverting." And not a frivolous thing, that's something he can actively use in the only way that really mattered - the business of singleminded murder. "If I fail I am willing to try again when change has progressed further, assuming I am still capable of thinking."

The ongoing concern he might just turn into an animal still lingers.