⇨ GREYSOL

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 155 - Day 169
Where: Greysol
What: The carnival resumes its tour, this time heading to Greysol, a city tied deeply into the fabric of the multiverse. Here, everyone has an animal companion from birth that is the second half of their soul - and thanks to the Ringmaster, so do you. (Remember, joysweeper is our guest event runner for this location, and location specific questions should go to them.)
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE CITY OF GREYSOL↴ The carnival arrives in a manicured park in the center of a big city that sprawls out along where the river reaches the ocean. It’s spring, early enough that nights are chilly, warm enough in the days that people and their souls savor the weather, and sometimes shelter together from the rain. Greysol was designed from the bottom up to accommodate the human-dæmon bond. Go out and see! ► THE SHAPE OF YOUR SOUL: The dæmon-forming spell kicks in at about four in the morning. Most characters will wake up with their souls in some small form, curled against them. Even if they were awake, they became dazed and unfocused while their souls were being drawn out of their bodies and have little memory of how it happened. Until that evening every character's dæmon is able to change shapes, and children and some teens will continue to do so. Most will settle on their permanent forms by evening. Characters without dæmons will just look on, and the few who are thousand-pound bears have to handle being really big. ► IT’S GOOD TO SETTLE: Elaine Tavis Aracari, sixteen-year-old daughter of two actors and a moving pictures sensation herself, just ‘settled’ - her dæmon Tavis stopped changing shape - as a stunning blue peacock. Settling is a major coming of age milestone and celebrated as such in different ways all over the world. She and her family are throwing a massive party in the central park and inviting the public to join in! Enjoy easy access to free catering, live music and showings of moving pictures, and displays of mostly trivial magic. There are also form readers from across the country setting up booths, happy to accept a small fee to inspect your dæmon’s settled or most favored forms and tell you what they mean. Is there anything to these analyses? Eh, maybe, but they’re flattering and fun. ► WITCHING HOURS: Characters who are clearly witches for this event will often be assumed to be in town for a lover, and people, witches and not, may want to know who that is. Humans usually regard them with wary respect and interest. Real witches living with their human families or on business quickly suspect that something’s up, but without clear and present danger take a relaxed wait-and-see attitude. Wait for long enough and any possible decision will come around again, they believe. There isn’t time to learn much witch magic, but witches, real and carnival-made, have an inherent power: the ability to fly using branches of “cloudpine”, an attractive soft-needled tree common in the park. Witches usually ride large branches as if they’re steeds but can use even short sprays, and you’ll probably see the few witches in the city coming to the park to do so. Why not try? ► BEAR PUN: Human-panserbjørn relations have historically been troubled, but have warmed in the past century. It’s the 65th anniversary of the breaking of the Siege of Bertin, a much-mythologized time when Spectres flooded Greysol and a company of panserbjørn arrived and directed efforts to get the survivors out of the city. A statue is being erected and many florid accounts of the story are being told. If you’re in a panserbjørn shape for the duration of the visit you will probably get thanked and celebrated by people trying to hide their nervousness of you. Expect someone to ask if your dæmon would be a human - it’s a common supposition. ► KERNER ISLAND: From the harbor you can see a wooded island. Although there are no rocks to speak of it sports a tall lighthouse, and nearly all boat traffic avoids it carefully. On a clear day someone with binoculars or a particularly sharp-eyed soul can see loads of trash, birds and various other animals that don’t seem local, and… children? Adults and settled teenagers will see tall vague shapes moving about too. When asked about it the most important thing adults will tell other adults is don’t go there. They’ll hold their dæmons close and tell you that on that island are things that eat souls. They may also admit with mixed pride and shame that it’s been a source of wealth and innovation for the city. There’s a facility there that can open windows into other worlds, and the children who can reach it can cross through and bring things back. Many of the children are recruited by research and development teams on the lookout for items they can use, but there are also kids out to have adventures or who’ve run away. More on this later.

Comments

[anti_nonsense]

Well... in a sense.

The thing is, I recently worked out a formula that converts aer into mana. I plan on applying it on a large scale in the near future. [So it is becoming more potent... because of Rita.]

[chronosynthesis]

Hm... I hope I do not have to tell you, but be careful. [Any magic is dangerous if you get it in big enough quantities, let alone what creatures would try and do with that kind of magic.] Especially if you have no definitive knowledge of what increasing mana will do in the long term.

[They had hypothesis's too, after all. ]

[anti_nonsense]

It's true... replacing aer with mana might create a whole bunch of new problems. [At the moment, it looks like a miracle solution... but it's naive to think Rita can change something so vital not just to magic, but to all life in the world, without any ill effects.]

But there isn't any time to worry about that. Without mana conversion, humanity won't survive for much longer. So all we can do is go ahead with this plan, and deal with the consequences as they arise.

[Yep, it's reckless as all hell. But that's how Rita does things.]

[chronosynthesis]

[Humanity, huh? That's the sentiment they had about the dragon's, too, and somehow now they're between a rock and a hard place, instead of just a rock.

Syrlya tilts his head, curious.] Why is it that you would cease to survive?

[anti_nonsense]

It's a long story. [Rita scratches her chin, trying to think of how to condense it for someone who knows nothing of her world.]

Basically... a certain technology we've been using, which runs on aer, turned out to be upsetting the balance of aer throughout the world. This caused tons of problems, including the slow destruction of ecosystems, plants growing out of control, and monsters growing more aggressive than ever.

The worst of it, though, was that it led to the appearance of the Adephagos... magical beasts that mindlessly consume life. The first time they appeared, the ancients managed to drive them away and put up a barrier around the whole planet to keep them from coming back, but some idiot broke the barrier, and now a whole swarm of them is headed our way.

[chronosynthesis]

['Magic beats that mindlessly onsume life' hits too close for comfort, and Syrlya frowns.]

So you consider converting to a more stable magic more viable than ceasing the use of this technology at all? [That's... a fair assessment, probably. People could be horribly stubborn about their way of life, especially if it means giving up a convenience.] Can you barrier be restored with mana?

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita shakes her head sadly. She wishes, from the bottom of her heart, that they could keep the blastia. But that isn't realistic, and even if they could, it would probably just lead to a repeat of the same catastrophe sometime in the distant future.] Actually... part of my plan is to convert the cores of all devices across the world. We'll be losing our technology as a result.

And we can't restore the barrier. The original barrier wasn't powered by aer or mana, but with human lives.

[chronosynthesis]

Ah... hm. [That would be pretty damn inconvenient. So it's another rock and a hard place--can't keep the current magic, can't keep the current barrier, and their technology is getting crippled as a result.]

So you intend to fight them instead when they arrive? I hope your ancient races help you some information on that.

[anti_nonsense]

The ancients? [She shakes her head.] Not like. Most of their records are incomplete and vague, and considering how human sacrifice was such a big part of their strategy, we probably won't get far relying too much on their wisdom.

[Although... Rita is still using some formulas she only worked out thanks to her study of ancient ruins and technology, so maybe they deserve some credit for that.]

Anyway, my plan will work. We'll have a different kind of help. [The corner of her mouth curls into a smirk.] My mana conversion formula had another effect: the creation of elemental spirits, sentient life made of pure magic energy. They've already agreed to help.

[chronosynthesis]

Even if you disagree with their methods, there may still be something to learn of it--ah?

[Although her planning solution is interesting, and he leans a little closer.] Created them? What sort of elements are they? What are they like, do they have a favored form--?

[anti_nonsense]

Water, fire, earth, air. Their forms all look wildly different. Some kind of look like people, and others look more like beasts, but they're all fully sapient.

They were overcome with joy at their new existence... at the way they perceive and interact with the world. [Rita sounds like she's making an effort to contain her own joy.]

[chronosynthesis]

Fascinating. [He smiles. He can recall a similar feeling when he awoke, past the confusion and the overwhelming real stimulus when he had been pulled from the Dream.

He can guess--no, he's almost certain these elemental spirits probably share more differences with his people than similarities, but he can at least appreciate their origin.] I hope they will be well received in your world. Witnessing the birth of a new form of life sounds incredible!

[anti_nonsense]

It is. [Rita wears a small but genuine smile as she reflects on that. But after a few moments of revelling in that success, she seems to come back to reality, blinking as she gives him a questioning stare.]

Um, come to think of it... what are you, exactly? [She's been wondering since she first saw him, but magic talk came first. Naturally.]

[chronosynthesis]

I am a Sylvari. My people are native to a place called Tyria. [That answers absolutely nothing, he knows. But he'd like to get the terms out now before he becomes 'weird plant person'.] We are foliage instead of flesh, if that is what you're wondering.

[anti_nonsense]

Foliage?

... You mean like, plant people? [Sorry Syrlya, that's still the first thing to come to her mind.]

[chronosynthesis]

... Yes, I am a person that is also a plant. My name is Syrlya.

[anti_nonsense]

[Rita senses irritation in his tone, but doesn't look too bothered by it. She's coming a little close as she looks him over, like he's a new research specimen.]

Fascinating. Your body's entirely made of plant matter? What do you eat? How do you...

You're being rude again. [Krios, who has been quiet for some time now, suddenly speaks up again from atop her head.]

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya leans back as she comes closer. He doesn't mind the questions so much as the way she does it, and he presses his lips tightly for a moment to hold in his irritation.

Thankfully he's spared further intrusion by her daemon.] I am a plant, so yes. I eat and function much the same way you do.

[... Okay, there are differences but he's not going to sit and detail his biological nuance, here.]

[anti_nonsense]

The same way? But... [Rita totally wants to go into the biological nuances, but Krios once again tries to steer her into a more socially competent direction.]

You know, he gave you his name. You could tell him yours.

Huh? Didn't I?

No.

[Weird. Rita could've sworn she... well, maybe she didn't. She went on about all kinds of important things, she just kinda figured they were past simple introductions.]

... Rita Mordio. [Said with a bit of a pout, like a child who's being forced to be polite.] I do lighting and special effects at the carnival.

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya bows his his head briefly.] Ah, well--well met.

[He still has to be cordial with his co-workers, anyway.] I serve with the carnival's defense as a mercenary and a bouncer. I signed on for the affair recently.

[anti_nonsense]

[A mercenary and a bouncer?] Hmmm.

So I take it that what you said before, about how any magic can be combative if used that way, is from experience?

[She supposes he must be confident in his combat abilities, to take on those kinds of jobs. Rita's having a hard time imagining a plant-person being particularly strong, though.]

[chronosynthesis]

[She would be right about physical strength at least, although he is hardy. That's why he relies on magic, though.]

You would be correct. I am a--ah, I was a commander. Lately however I have been taking an independent path to quell the strife of my home.

[anti_nonsense]

The army's way wasn't cutting it? What a surprise. [She doesn't sound surprised.]

...What kind of strife?

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya shifts on his feet with a frown.] It--was not exactly that.

[But he's not going to elaborate.] All live in Tyria is currently in danger of being destroyed. I am doing what I can to prevent it.

[anti_nonsense]

[She's about to ask, not quite getting the hint, but what comes next gets a surprised reaction from her.] What... seriously? Is anybody here not from a land that's currently on the brink of destruction!?

[Because that's a pretty crazy coincidence. Also, Krios is pecking at her head to urge her to treat the matter with a little more sensitivity.]

... Destroyed how?