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

▶︎

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

[fatedfinality]

Noctis really shouldn't care what Ardyn thinks of him. Granted, what he does actually think might surprise the boy but- It hardly matters right now, does it? What does matter is getting him to someplace he can clean up and rest away from prying Fae eyes. And, probably, from Ardyn too.

"I do count those," he acknowledges since, well, yes. He can also make potions like Noctis is able to. Jhank tells him to be honest though. Surely, Noctis deserves that much after being torn open by Ardyn. And while he doesn't necessarily agree, if it gets the dragon to stop nagging at the back of his mind: "But I can heal like the Oracle can. Not... exactly the same, mind you, but similar." Aera and him had bonded in part over that, after all. They were both healers, but she was blessed by the gods to have her line carry on the responsibility of healing those ailed by The Scourge. Ardyn just did whatever he could to ease that burden of hers.

At least, he did once upon a time. Now? She'd hate him now, he thinks, and rightfully so. Spreading the very disease they vowed to try and cure their people of. Would she even recognize him if she saw him these days? Probably not. "Obviously, it's not something I try to advertise." It might put into perspective though why this man came out of seemingly nowhere to become chancellor of Niflheim apparently overnight. There are a lot of reasons for that Noctis doesn't yet know, but his 'unique' abilities certainly didn't hurt his standing.

[berriedmemories]

"No one can heal like the Oracle." That's the point. But even as he says it he's eyeing the man in front of him. Weighing what he says, the likelihood that he's lying, what purpose it could possibly serve to make something like that up.

He's still wary, not entirely sure he believes it... but in the moment the best he can think of to test it is to simply call his bluff. So, after a few more steps he draws up short. "Fine. If you really can..." Noct trails off, stuffs the bundle of his cloak under the opposite arm, and holds out the one he'd raised to block his face from Ardyn's breath. It's not a lot of damage, mind. A patch that is a bright, angry red on the edges and unsettlingly pale in the center, small blisters from the needling frost peppering the skin.

"Prove it."

[fatedfinality]

"Not anymore, they can't." It was the point, wasn't it? Sometimes, Ardyn wonders if his own healing was simply an oversight always meant to be eradicated along with him. For beings that claimed to know everything and how it was all preordained, it was strange to designate a bloodline of 'true' healers when he'd already been gifted the ability himself.

When he's given permission - or rather, told to 'prove' his claims - he does step up to inspect that wound. Not as bad as the claw marks, of course, but there is still a flicker of something behind his eyes briefly. It isn't entirely remorse; he does feel bad about losing his temper, sure, but there's also an unfortunate sick satisfaction deep down he can't deny seeing Noctis in pain.

He doesn't dwell on it though. Instead, he gives a small hum of a sound to signal his starting the healing process. There is no light or indication that it's happening. Rather, Noctis will simply feel as if the pain of that frostbite is being pulled from him. And that's because it is. Beneath the sheer fabric of his sleeves and even over other scars, the same wound will be reflected onto Ardyn's arm. It 'heals' after almost immediately after appearing on his body.

"There," he says, giving his own arm a small shake from the brief discomfort, "like it never happened."

[berriedmemories]

Noctis watches him carefully, cautious and ready to warp at the slightest indication that Ardyn means to use the opportunity to get close to him to do more damage rather than fix it. But he doesn't. He actually does heal the blistered skin, draw away the lingering sting.

And if not for those absurd fairies he'd never know the price of that healing. Blue eyes narrow, suspicion shifting to confusion as he watches Ardyn shake out his arm as though he isn't wearing a completely sheer top so that Noctis can see exactly what just happened there. "I dunno that it really counts as healing when you're just.... transferring it." The wound changes places but no actual healing of the wound happened. Someone else just has to suffer it for him.

Story of his life, really.

[fatedfinality]

He wasn't really trying to hide it. The ability isn't something he likes people to know about these days. Like mentioned- It's been a long, long time since he truly healed anyone.

"Semantics, I suppose," he offers, with a half-hearted shrug. "I am able to heal it from myself," or rather The Scourge is, "but it needs to get to me first. I can suffer far worse than most people can due to my unique circumstances so- Why not? I don't make a habit of it though. Too charitable and people would take advantage of it, so! Better it was kept secret."

While there is some truth to that, it was also just giving away too much to both The Empire and Insomnia. He needed to remain as unconnected, unattached as possible for things to work out right. And even if he doesn't need to be here, well- Old habits die hard. Also difficult to adjust to still is reverting back to a Noctis who barely knew him versus the one he was ready to face at the final hour.