lostcarnival | ⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 178 - B1: Day 6
Where: The Carnival and sometimes on top of the Heart of Stone.
What: Now that the Prince is dead and gone, there's a lot left to sort out. As the remaining servants are liberated and those captured by the Prince are tended to, it's time for recovery and goodbyes.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

HOME GROUND↴

At long last, it is over. The Prince is dead, and all of his stolen Names have been restored - all that's left to do is treat the wounds and move on. For the first day or two, the Ringmaster will be arranging passage for the servants that are left, all of which have remembered their names for the first time in years. The earth elemental that had been trapped and forced to serve as the Prince's manor, the Heart of Stone, is happy to help for the moment. It appreciates the Ringmaster's mercy, and is free after untold eons of imprisonment.

Yet, there are plenty of aspects that are far from simple. There are still servants left mad and transformed into beasts, with no easy way to change them back. The Prince's spells outlive him, and those bearing his poison and his curses will have a difficult road ahead of them. Though most of the bestial servants have been rounded up, and a large number that had been reduced to unmoving statues returned, even the Ringmaster can't return them to normal so simply.

The next week is for rest and for settling remaining affairs. If you want to bid farewell to any particular NPCs, or assure care is given where it's needed, now is the time to do it.

► A CURE: The Ringmaster will tell everyone simply - there is no simple way to undo another fae's magic. The Prince's powers were essentially on par with hers, which means that those who have been transformed to stone and those that were cursed into beasts and driven insane are not something she can trivially fix. It will take the work of the carnival and a couple weeks of treatment to shed the curse of stone, and the maddened servants are an entirely separate matter. She will do what she can, but for the most part she is arranging for the Prince's servants to be cared for elsewhere. At least for now, the Ringmaster will be animating the stone portions of people's bodies with magic, though those portions will still be a bit clumsy and numb feeling.

► THE NEW HEARTSTONE: In the absence of the prince, the Heart of Stone will be taking over the remains of the Prince's realm and preventing it from collapsing into void. As it turns out, the manor had been an earth elemental all along - a form of Wyld Fae almost on par to the Prince and Ringmaster themselves. How the Heart of Stone was enslaved is a long story presumably, but the Ringmaster considers it to be a sign of the Prince's own depravity. The Heart will be allowing visitors for the first couple days of this period through the portal, but keep in mind you are essentially just walking around on its body. At least the realm has a floor, now, instead an endless abyss surrounding it.

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[Syrlya snatches the mirror with his freehand immediately, turning to stare at it. It really is a blue rose growing in his hair. He lets out a squawking sound in his throat, fangs baring as he stares at the frozen reflection like he's a cat that just thrown into water. Strange is lucky he's getting away with touching it because both of Syrlya's hands are now taken up.

For a moment, at least, before he's turning back around to gently bat at Strange's hand with the mirror.] Oh, stop it.

[This is why you do not much play with powerful magic!]

[ Yep, this feels like a plant. As Syrlya bats at Strange's hands, he moves them away from the other man's head, trying to dodge the swipe. Of course, this opens up so many more possibilities that he feels he needs to at least mention or mull on. ]

I wonder why it started to bloom, [ Strange can't help but muse, still staring at the rose. ] It was just a bud until I started casting a spell.

[ Perhaps the magic had something to do with it? Or perhaps he was just lucky. ]

[It would be immature to accuse Strange of making it worse... but he thinks it for a moment.]

It probably would bloom eventually. [He's a healthy Sylvari, thank you!] Does it feel particularly magical?

[He's really hate to be an incubator for another one of those roses. Luckily, however, it isn't come across as any less inherently magical than the rest of him.]

Stand still for a moment.

[ whoooo time for some Third Eye bullshit as Strange stares at the rose, concentrating on it in a way that he wasn't beforehand. ]

It does feel magical. However, it feels the same sort of magical as everyone in the carnival feels. [ weirdo changeling magic. ] There isa sliver of some magic I cannot recognize in there. I think it's safe to assume that sliver is the power of the Blue Rose: it's enough to change you, but not enough that you can draw from it.

I suppose we will see if that's better or not. [He frowns, reaching to touch the bloom. That's enough touching that magical artifact, then.

Still, he remembers something else about it that hee knows will interest Strange, and it keeps his attention off the bloodstone.] It had many abilities innate to it aside from turning into a sword. Restorative magic, enhancing the power of my own magic... and some elemental magic but I was not able to figure it out in the brief times that I held the rose.

I wish I could have wielded it myself, [ Strange admits, with a little smile. ] If only for a moment or two.

[ Eventually, Syrlya will ask around and find out about Jonathan Strange's dubious history with items of great magical power. As it is, he can only daydream and get lost in thought. Restorative magic would be good enough, but enhancing the power of his own magic...the things he could do! ]

Still, I've a feeling the Ringmaster's shoved the thing away in her treasury, keeping it safe and sound and out of our grasps.

It is for the best. [He offers the mirror back to Strange.] She noted that it was very willing to synthesize with me, but even then I could feel the strain of so much magic coursing through my body.

[And obviously it's left some permanent effect on it. Who knows what would have happened had he held onto it longer.] I hope it is enough for her. I don't think we need another diplomatic affair with her 'allies' any time soon.

[ As he takes the mirror, Strange waves a hand over it. The image dissolves and the mirror returns to being a boring ol'normal mirror. And despite the fact that Syrlya is pointing out multiple obvious flaws with taking up the Blue Rose, Strange can't help but briefly entertain a fantasy of him doing so. He could easily break the curse if that were in his possession.

Still though: Strange can't help but bitterly laugh as Syrlya mentions the "diplomatic affair." Yeah, that went to shit fairly quickly. ]

I've a worrying feeling any other attempts at diplomacy would fail as miserably as this one did. Partly because of the people in the carnival, partly because the Ringmaster has so few actual allies to begin with.

Did she know what his real nature was? [He frowns and gestures out with his free hand.] He was looking for a way to control the situation from the start, and that does not even begin on his depravity.

[Because yeah, he kind of enslaved and tormented tons of people as his servants and clearly didn't care.]

He's fae, [ Strange remarks, as if it's the most obvious thing on the planet. ] She had to have had a hint of what he was truly like.

[ After all, it's not like enslaving people is a trait that only a few fae have. It's distressingly common. ]

[Syrlya frowns deeply.] Then I hope it was worth it.

[So many people suffered. There's no point lingering on the topic, however.

Instead Syrlya holds the bloodstone up in both hands. Firmly.] You may look, but do not touch it. It is far too easy to end up using it without realizing.

[ It's almost comical how Strange's eyes light up in excitement as Syr shows the bloodstone. Look but don't touch, he can do this. Strange puts his hands behind his back, as if to show Syrlya just how good he is at not touching.

He will lean in a little to try and get a better view, though. ]

How does one come across a bloodstone?

There's said to be four scattered through Tyria. They're much larger, relics from a time where the Seers attempted to control the flow of magic through them.

[And then the human gods repurposed them and now they're just big magic rocks.] A human cult blew up the one in Bloodstone Fen recently. The entire area has been warped magically and everything trapped in the blast that survived is now mindlessly obsessed to consume it for its magic.

[Eating rocks, only a step below eating mice. Syrlya taps his finger against the stone.] They are natural conduits of magic and using one as a focus can allow you to draw in substantially more magic than is capable of a person.

[ The sad thing is, Strange would 100% eat a rock if he thought it'd give him a sweet magical power-up.

There's a lot of terms involved here that Strange doesn't really realize, but he can at least gain what they are from context. Bloodstone Fen = where the bloodstones lived. Seers = ancient magicians? Though surprising no one, that's the term he wants context on. ]

The Seers? I don't think you've mentioned them before.

They were an ancient race of people on Tyria, extinct now. They were... serpentine? And supposedly worked closely with the human gods at one point.

[Sadly, Syrlya's context on the seers is limited because they're all dead and he's not as well studied on human lore. It's a pretty recent discovery they had something to do with stopping the Elder Dragons, too.]

[ So an ancient race of dead snake people used the bloodstones to control the flow of magic. One got blown up, odd magical things have happened and people have changed as a result. Strange manages to piece together that much...but of course, he has more questions. ]

If these bloodstones are so dangerous, then why ask for one yourself?

To study it. [That's not much of an answer, though. Or it's just the most obvious answer.

He turns the bloodstone in his fingers, looking down at it. He might well give Strange the most honest explanation.]

I've told you that magic is a tangible energy In Tyria. There are these enormous monsters called the Elder Dragons. They're like primal forces, the size of jungles, and they consume magic. It is destructive, however, and comes at great cost to all life on the planet.

We have tried killing them, however the result is... a release of so much magic that is also cataclysmic. Too much magic is volatile, it changes and poisons everything.

[Let alone the Literal Explosions that can occur. Who knew too much magic was a bad thing? His expression sinks further, a little more haunted by the reality.] The dragons... manage the flow of magic, but if we leave them alive we will die. I signed a contract to find a way to maintain the balance of magic without them, like the bloodstones were originally designed to do.

God, [ Strange can't help but mutter, with a little frown, as if realizing this for the first time. ] I'd hate your world!

[ A way to maintain the balance of magic, to cap it off and cut it down instead of letting it flourish wild and free and plentiful...that sounds absolutely horrid in Strange's mind. Syr thinks that too much magic might be volatile but in Strange's mind, there's no such thing as too much magic. Hopefully, England shall never come to that. But then again, England doesn't have dragons. But speaking of dragons... ]

Are these Elder Dragons literal dragons?

Tyria really is an absolutely wonderful place. That is why we are trying to hard to preserve it! [The impending apocalypse at multiple angles isn't a great selling point for his home, however.]

They are dragons, yes, but... they are as much the actual land as they are dragons. Enormous--[He gestures wide.] Larger than cities. Large enough to be the jungle.

Oh, I'm certain it is. But too much magic being volatile? [ Strange shudders, shaking his head slightly. ]

That's the part that sounds atrocious.

[Ah. Syrlya smiles wryly.] When it threatens to consume your planet, yet, I suppose it is. I don't know that I can describe to you how much magic saturates Tyria. It is absolutely dangerous... but I also cannot imagine the world without it.

[In part because he basically wouldn't exist without it there.]

[ And Strange's eyes light up with the same worrying fervor that they had when he learned what the bloodstone can do. Syr might view magic as something potentially dangerous and best regulated. Strange views it as wonderful, beautiful, and most importantly, something to play with. To have that much magic at one's disposal...it sounds amazing.

He's 100% forgetting about that 'threatening to consume your planet' bit. ]

England is still in the early stages of regaining her magic—I have brought it back, but people need to learn how to use it. What I would give to see a world where there's so much magic that you consider it dangerous!

It is not just considering it dangerous... [But, well, Strange comes from a place where magic is still new and limited. Syrlya honestly hopes there will never be so much that it will threaten to tear all life apart.]

If there is ever the chance that I could show you Tyria if only for a day, I would. [As stressful as the situation is, he still treasures his world. Or else, why would he be fighting so hard to protect it?]

Perhaps we could petition the Ringmaster for a visit? [ Strange asks, with a wry little smile. He's pretty certain this ain't gonna happen. But hey, might as well ask and tease and pretend like it would happen, just to see what Syrlya's reaction would be to the idea of visiting Tyria.

Some people seem overjoyed to show off their homes. Others seem drastically opposed to it. It seems like Syrlya's the sort who loves his homeland, but how exactly would the clown car of disasters known as the carnival fit there? ]

[Syrlya pauses to consider that. He kn ows time is strangely disconnected between his world and the carnival right now. What would happen if they proceeded to visit? Would it pick up where he left it off...?

He shrugs after a moment.] Perhaps, but there are many things that will demand my attention and will wonder about this 'joining a carnival'...

[He's pretty sure the payoff will be worth it, and if it's not then it doesn't cost their world anything. But he doesn't want to have to explain that to them.]

⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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