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

▶︎

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

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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

[avanture_time]

"Oh, you don't have any darklings where you're from?" He clearly has humans and dragons, so it seems odd to Avan that one leg of the trifecta would be missing, but alright, he can explain.

"Their basic shape is much the same as a human's, but they have a wider variety of skin tones and tall, pointed ears." Avan is definitely a hand-talker, and while one is stuck holding his plate, the other holds a finger up next to his own ear to indicate how a darkling ear points: up rather than out like an elezen ear. "They tend to be physically stronger than humans, but it's magical power that they truly excel at. They usually live for hundreds if not thousands of years, but their independent and competitive nature makes it difficult for them to form societies the way that humans do."

[zodiheart]

"We do not," Elidibus confirms. Then settles in to listen to the description. They sound rather like the 'elves' Elidibus had heard about from other worlds, save for the lack of societal structure.

"Thank you for the explanation," he smiles. "I have not encountered darklings before, though my would does sport a variety of races of our own. Would you like to hear of some?" There are many Elidibus could choose from.

[avanture_time]

"Yes, please!" Avan does so love to learn about new things.

[zodiheart]

Elidibus launches into a description of the varying races of man common to Eorzea upon the Source. From those similar to what Avan may know in the Hyurs and the Elezen, to the diminutive Lalafell and grand Roegadyn. Then come the catlike Miqo'te and Hrothgar, the scaled Au Ra, and the rabbit-like Viera to round off the group of eight. He is sure to give a brief description of the two subraces of each and how they may differ.

"-and that does not mention that each race may have children with others, though these offspring are rare." He crosses his arms and taps one finger against his opposing arm. "Nor does it mention the vast amount of peoples less commonly found in that specific part of the world, such as the Arkasodara - who resemble upright elephants. There is quite a bit to know."

[avanture_time]

Avan finishes loading up his plate while Elidibus exposits. He's listening, he just likes to multi-task.

"Wooowww, your world is really diverse! How well do they all get along?"

Humans and darklings pretty notoriously, uh, don't.

[zodiheart]

"There are two answers to your question. The first, which pertains to my own people, is that we all lived within a utopian society, and strife was a thing long since forgotten. We, however, lived eons ago to what would now be deemed as present day."

He thinks on it for a moment. Better to leave the fact that his world was sundered for now.

"The second answer will be slightly more disappointing - the races of the world have not always gotten along. Different peoples over history would find themselves in conflict, and fighting would break out. At present, however, there is the least amount of fighting that I am aware of. They had all banded together to face a threat to the world, and from that sprung new alliances and newly forged bonds. It is my hope that these bonds hold fast."

[avanture_time]

What an odd way to talk about it all. Popp's from farther down the timeline than Avan, but Avan would still refer to his own time as the "present" and Popp's time as the "future." The way he talks about it, it makes him sound like he's been there himself. Avan tilts his head to the side a little.

"Are you some sort of time traveler?"

[zodiheart]

That sort of conclusion is perfectly understandable for one not accustomed to an effectively immortal people. That, and the fact that time magic did, in fact, exist.

Still, he must offer correction. "I have yet to experience the time-related magicks on a personal level. No, I am merely quite old to have experienced both eras."

[avanture_time]

...

"EEEEHHHHHHHH???"

[zodiheart]

Elidibus imma thinks that Avan must have not heard him properly.

So he smiles and patiently explains, "It is difficult to measure my exact age, as I was alive for quite a long while before a marked event took place upon my world. Since that event I have lived for over twelve thousand years, and an untold number previous as mentioned."

What was it Emet-Selch had one said? A thousand, thousand mortal lives? It is an appropriate estimate.

[avanture_time]

Man, he really thought this guy was a human with magical eyes somehow but APPARENTLY NOT, OKAY. His face stretches into a comical grimace.

"I wouldn't have guessed more than twenty...."

[zodiheart]

A genial wave dismisses Avan's shock.

"It is usual for my people to appear far younger than we actually are. There are some individuals far older than myself who retain their youthful features, much of it is that we appear as we feel much of the time, while others appear older."

Should he speak on the others? He feels he must. "Lahabrea bears far more of his years upon his face, as an example. Though, he truly is an elder amongst my people."

"It is merely how we came into the world."