⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[kingsroads]

I don't mind starting now if you wish.

[ it is the middle of the night and they're sitting next to a lake, perfect time to start learning magic. ]

We can at least get some of the basic theory out of the way before I load you up with books and write out a plan of action.

[ because he is 100% gonna write out that lesson plan, partly because it'll be useful, partly because the lesson plan that Strange received from Norrell was TOO DAMN LONG and even when his mentor's literally in another realm, Strange wants to show him up in stupidly petty ways. ]

[hippocarnival]

Okay! [Yuya turns around so he's sitting to face Strange, putting his hands on his knees. If he can't sleep he might as well start on training to be a stronger friend. Now that he knows some spells to go for, he's excited.] So what's the basic theory?

[kingsroads]

With my English magic, most of my spells involve calling upon the relationship between the magician and whatever I wish my magic to act upon. In Portland, I called upon the magic itself.

[ And then, Strange starts an explanation, yammering on about his interpretation of basic magical theory. Both magics placed an emphasis on the ritual: asking the elements to do something, reciting a formula or a sequence of words, and so on, though they could be worked down to just a thought or a hand gesture. It might be a bit of a challenge as thanks to Strange's shoddy memory both pre and post Portland, he doesn't exactly remember the longer form of that spell, but that's okay, they'll just make do with the shorter casting. An important thing about casting was to feel it. Try to tap into that feeling that you get whenever you cast that warding spell—and if there isn't a particular feeling, then find it in the first place. But the most important thing in Strange's mind is to love it. If magic is a chore, if it's something you view as a tool instead of an art, then it'll only be treated like a tool.

The way Strange talks about magic is surprisingly poetic. It's obvious he loves the stuff as every word and description about magic treats it like this object of great beauty. The talk lasts for a good fifteen minutes before he catches himself yawning, a large ridiculous sort of yawn that he doesn't even bother to cover. ]

Good Lord, [ he can't help but murmur, more to himself than to Yuya. ] I wonder how long it's been?

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya listens quietly, in part because he doesn't want to interrupt Strange's pure enthusiasm for magic (it's like how he feels about duel monsters, probably) and also because exhaustion is slowly catching up to him, and he doesn't have the energy to interrupt. It means that every so often his eyes clothes a few seconds too long, and he misses some of what Strange says.

His response to Strange's question is a little delayed when he lifts his head and blinks slowly.] Oh, uh. I don't know.

[He rubs his eye as he pulls his duel disk out of his pocket and taps the screen, checking the time.] I've been out here for a couple hours? So I guess half an hour or something.

[That is not a remotely educated guess of the time.]

[kingsroads]

[ A half hour? Good Lord, that's longer than he had thought. Strange stands up, stretching slightly as he does so. ]

We should probably go back to bed. I've a feeling our trailermates are wondering where exactly we are.

[hippocarnival]

Tamaki's probably still asleep. [He and Yuya don't keep too close of tabs on each other, he doubts he's worried for him.

He doesn't really want to sleep either, but he doesn't want to leave Strange wondering why he's sitting at the lake all night. So he rises to his feet, dusting off his pants with one hand.]

[kingsroads]

Syrlya...well, I've no idea if Syrlya sleeps in the first place.

[ Do plants sleep? Strange doesn't know. Is it rude to ask if he sleeps in the first place? Is that plant-racist, lord knows Strange doesn't want to be plant-racist. ]

I can use my magic to bring us closer to the trailers, if you wish.

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya shakes his head with a small smile.] No, it's okay. I'll walk.

[He bows, politely, since Strange is now technically his teacher.] Thanks, Mr. Strange.

[kingsroads]

[ And Strange gives Yuya a little nod of his own. Yuya says he'll walk but Strange is 100% a cheat and is going to magic himself closer to the trailers. And thankfully, there's a bit of a puddle nearby thanks to that water otter that was playing at the start of their conversation. ]

You're welcome, Yuya. I'll drop off a lesson plan and the date of our next lesson sometime in the next few days.