⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 138 - Day 152
Where: The Summerlands
What: The Ringmaster brings the carnival to the Summerlands immediately after being freed from Portland so that everyone can take a fucking nap. Her included.
Warnings: Individually marked! Most likely discussion of torture and trauma in here.

DAYS OF SUMMER↴ You made it! And things are back to normal... more or less. Upon waking, you will be greeted with a clear blue sky and gentle breeze – the carnival has found itself situated between a pair of mountain peaks, with great fields of flowers extending in the distance. In the other direction, you’ll see mountain-top cities and tall waterfalls accenting vast swaths of forest. Some of you will already know this place. It’s the Summerlands. You game here once to rest in safety nearly a year ago, and now you’ve come to rest once again. ► WAKING UP: Shortly after the carnival arrives, the Ringmaster will send out a somewhat cryptic radio message - but her immediate location won't be clear. Whatever items you had on your person at the time the Severing was broken will still be on your person, including whatever clothing. All of the animals and pets of the carnival will have returned to the grounds as well, though they are currently free from their designated living spaces. Things in the carnival will appeared to have naturally aged a month, as if the carnival was been sitting here empty and waiting while everyone was in Portland. The lawn needs mowing. ► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, they will welcome you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but they will not be particularly offended if they are turned down, for now. ► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will mostly enjoy the company of any carnival members that offer it - it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do. ► NEW ARRIVALS: Though the Ringmaster will not be offering much guidance for the first week or so, eventually the carnival will begin running for a few small performance sessions, off and on, as a thank you to their fae hosts. The carnival will also be open to receiving new arrivals during that period, and so there will likely be some newbies to train and get orientated as well.

Comments

[wild_magic]

The right knowledge...? He doesn't exactly know what she means, but he can tell that it's different from his own. It must be more like wizards' magic, where they have to study and read books to do it. It's still impressive to watch though, either way.

"Did you have to study for a long time to be able to do stuff like that? To get the 'right knowledge'."

[anti_nonsense]

Hmm. He's interested in the details? That's fine with Rita. She rather likes going on about her magic.

"That's right. I've been studying magic for my whole life. Using blastia magic requires an in-depth understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and of course, blastia formulas themselves." Anyone can do it... with years upon years of study, most of which isn't feasible unless one already has access to a top-notch education, or at the very least, the right kinds of books.

[wild_magic]

He nods a little at first at the explanation. Once she gets to the parts about what else you have to understand though he frowns; he can guess "blastia formulas" are a spell or something, since it's called "blastia magic", but the rest...

"What are physics and chemistry?" Those are definitely not things you learn about when you grow up in the forest in a world like his.

[anti_nonsense]

That is not a question she expected to hear, and it shows in the blank look Rita gives him.

"Uh... are you asking seriously?" Her brow is scrunched as she tries to determine if that's a joke.

[wild_magic]

He nods, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah! I've never heard of them before. Are they fun?"

[anti_nonsense]

"I... think so?" Rita looks bewildered at that. How does she even answer a question like that?

"They're not something you normally do for fun. Physics is the study of the motion of matter and energy, while chemistry is the study of the composition..." She gives him an uncertain look. Is a kid who's never even heard of these concepts going to understand the explanation? After a pause, she opts to simplify the answer a bit further. "...you know, what things are made of."

[wild_magic]

"But, can't you just tell about motion and what things are made of by looking and knowing? Why do you have to study them?"

It's an honest question, as he seriously doesn't understand it - just as much as he doesn't understand having to study magic in the first place. But still, it's interesting, and he likes talking to people, so even if he doesn't get it he's still prodding.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita looks around helplessly, as if hoping someone will jump in and save her from these questions, or maybe come out and tell her this is all a prank. When neither of those things happen, she faces the boy with a dry look. "...You've got to be kidding me."

This is really happening. Talking to the lesser-educated, people outside of academia, that's fine. She's done plenty of that. But someone who doesn't understand the very fundamentals of any major fields, who doesn't even understand why those fields exist in the first place? That's entirely different. And frankly, it's pathetic.

"There are lots of things you can't just tell by looking at stuff. Even just in the air around us, there are different substances that, if separated and concentrated, could have wildly different effects." For how annoyed she is, she's willing to attempt to explain, at least.