EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

[diceofthegods]

INTO THE WOODS

Click Clock Wood (Spring) by Grant Kirkhope

2:05 / 4:59

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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

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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

[zodiheart]

Emet-Selch plays his part of the game well and beautifully all up until he asks Elidibus for the likes of an onion. Though the request is entirely unexpected, Elidibus is nothing if not flexible. Without questioning he reaches for the Bag of Onions and procures a single onion.

"Will this suffice?" he says, handing it over. It's of a white variety, nicely sized with enough heft to do any dish it would have been used for proud. Elidibus, however, has a suspicion as to what Emet-Selch intends.

Rather than say anything he remains silent, indicating for his friend to continue.

[recreator]

Emet-Selch accepts the onion from Elidibus easily, turning it once in his hand and holding it up to his eye. While it would do well in just about any dish one might imagine, Emet-Selch has far different aspirations for its immediate future.

"Yes, this one looks conveniently robust," he says at last. "Now then, did you wish to provide another melody for this purpose, or must I be left to demonstrate the proper method all by my lonesome?"

With a crisp snap of his fingers, Emet-Selch summons yet another onion from the depths of one of his pockets - this one an ordinary scallion with a long green stalk. Where might it have come from, you ask? Well, perhaps one of the other bags of onions that have been won this evening.

With a meaningful glance at his companion, Emet-Selch turns and makes his way towards the stage. Hopefully Slayd and his party won't mind if he borrows it for a few moments. Besides, if he's really going to do this, he's going to do it properly. And it simply won't have the same mystique when only he and Elidibus are privy to the first part of the act.

[zodiheart]

"I would never leave you bereft of a satisfactory introduction," Elidibus sounds as if he has to hold back his mirth. This is not obvious to everyone that may be watching, but Emet-Selch has known the man long enough that it might as well be clear as day. He does hold himself together, however.

Taking the cue for what it is, Elidibus follows at Emet-Selch's heel. He casts his gaze out towards the crowd and dancers as he had several other times that night, and lifts his arms in a motion that they should be familiar with by now. Indeed, from seemingly nowhere he pulls his grand piano - settling it down just to the side of center-stage. This is Emet-Selch's time to shine, after all, and the way he's angled his instrument will give him both full vision of the crowd and his friend.

Making quick work of getting himself seated, he rests his fingers upon the keys. Hesitates for a brief moment. The genre will be entirely different from before, he decides, utilizing far more of his skill and talent. This will be something warm, something for the two of them and any others from Etheirys in attendance tonight. Something from home.

And then begins to play.

[recreator]

Oh please, you enjoy this just as much as he does.

A simple word to Slayd and Emet-Selch strides across the platform as if he knows exactly what he's doing (because he does). That being said, he feels no need to demand attention from the crowd, no need for anything comically over-the-top or outrageously grandiose. He does humor Elidibus and himself (and anyone who cares to watch) with a simple trick, however.

With a mild nudge of his own aether, Emet-Selch sets the two onions to balance upon the air directly in front of him, rotating gently as they levitate higher and higher. Silently does he channel magicks from his own reserves up the length of his arm to tremble at his fingertips, and with another reverberating snap does he allow the spell to resolve, reshaping the two specimens into a handsome white violin and matching bow.

It is this instrument that he tucks into the crook of his shoulder, awaiting the warm swell of music from Elidibus's ivory keys before he sets bow to strings.


The song is familiar and nostalgic, of course. One he could scarcely forget despite the steady, unyielding march of time. And so does Emet-Selch begin to play, coaxing out a sweet melody, one which meanders for a moment, then centers itself, buoying the bright notes rising from the piano before soaring ever higher.

Emet-Selch allows his eyes to slide shut and the music to take him, the violin conveying a full range of emotion that pride and words will never allow - ultimately hopes, joys, and an abiding love of his people that will weather every sorrow, however painful and bittersweet.

[zodiheart]

Oh, how Elidibus had missed it. Emet-Selch was always far more reticent when it came to his emotions and inner thoughts, to how something affected him despite his claims it did otherwise. But the Emissary knew how music could reach down to the very marrow of one's soul. He was never as transparent as while he played the piano, the fervor of his keys and passion on display pulling from the deepest currents within himself.

Emet-Selch was the same. The violin sings sweetly, expertly played - of course it would be - pulling from the depths of the man's soul. Others would no doubt hear the notes and appreciate their beauty, but Elidibus appreciates it for far more than that. They play together, the songs of their souls twining and communicating in a way that only song may allow, that only they and others so learned in the ways of music and in their people would know.

Their duet is a thing of beauty, soul-deep.

For Elidibus, for the both of them, the core of it is love. As it always had been, as it always would be. His feet ply the pedals and work in tandem with his busy hands, each fingerstroke coaxing the melody forth. Their instruments sing together as if they had always done so, calling for a people they would always remember. Would always love.

But the melody does not turn somber, does not turn melancholy. Elidibus keeps it going, full of hope, full of life.

[recreator]

That's the glorious thing about music, is it not? Always in flux and forever open to interpretation. The melody itself provides emotion a place to dwell, and a means to soar to higher heights. If he is feeling nostalgic, a simple tune is enough to lend it an escape.

Indeed. How often in his youth had he been admonished for becoming too "sentimental", too hopelessly attached? Eventually he had learned to shroud such feelings behind a gruff outer facade. Yet no matter how he tried to deny them, there were those who had always possessed the ability to see through that wall, to disregard his stern words and sharper barbs and bask in the wellspring hidden beneath. What a salve that had been for his loneliness as a boy.

A double-edged sword, always, yet one which has endured all these long millennia. An unshakeable devotion even at the end of it all.

Mayhap that is part of the reason Emet-Selch had been one of the first to pledge his support of their new Elidibus all those years ago. In all its many forms, 'tis a language they both understand, and one to which he continues to lend his voice via the lush and emotive timbre of the violin.