lostcarnival | ⇨ THE ATHENAEUM

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⇨ THE ATHENAEUM

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 47 - Day 58 ish
Where: The Athenaeum
What: The carnival arrives at book world. First week, they'll be performing for magical manifestations of book characters. Second week, it's time to hunt (for books, in the library.) Around Day 58 some stuff will occur.
Warnings: Reading is mandatory.

FAERIE TALES↴

Though the carnival will be performing for its guests in the first week, they are welcome to search the Athenaeum while they are off duty during that time. The manifestations of story characters will be out in full force during performance week, with animals, people, objects, and even locations growing out from various tales. Most are distracting at worst, and will be curious to check out the carnival. Some, however, can be as dangerous as they were in their stories of origin. You know what to do.

► IT'S TIME TO ROLEPLAY: The best way to deal with book ghosts is to follow their narrative to its logical conclusion - turn the tables, work the story so it ends in your favour! Naturalistic and narratively satisfying plotting will have the manifestations following your lead. However, push too hard and introduce too many plot holes, inconsistencies, or illogical plot twists, and they will reject your reality utterly, becoming quite aggressive in the process. You can also use your natural abilities and powers to fight them in a traditional sense, but in the Ringmaster's experience, it's best to fight reality benders by bending reality right back at them. If you aren't careful, it's possible to be dragged fully into a story's reality, and then things get really messed up.

► IT'S ALSO TIME TO READ: The carnival came here for a purpose, and that purpose is to research. Specifically, the Ringmaster is looking for information on the Queen's Miracles - the set of ancient fae artifacts that the Blue Rose is one of. The carnival needs these artifacts to defend itself, but nobody knows where they've been for thousands of years. That's what the books are for. However, nothing is stopping you from pursuing knowledge for personal reasons. The halls are open to your perusal, and only your heart can guide you to the book you truly seek. Check the plot post to see what's allowed, and sign up to find plot info or other important game information below.

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Syrlya snorts. "Maybe you will find it in a book." Because if he had to try and explain everything Tyria had to offer, Lambert would be sitting and listening to him talk for days. And that's considering even Syrlya doesn't know all of it, being so young. He's just been through most of the weirdest.

There is the question of whether these books are flammable, at least in the traditional sense given their magic. Syrlya isn't going to be the one to test it, but he sure thought about it.

"And maybe they run out of ideas, writing so many of these. There must be hundreds of mysterious caves out there."

"No thanks." Lambert shakes his head, laughing under his breath. "I don't hate myself that much."

As far as Lambert's concerned, his head's already stuffed with as much information as it can comfortably hold, and he's happy to leave the book hunt to other people. Idly, he flips through the pages of the book.

"Ah, but it looks like this mystery cave has dragons in it." He draws out the word, exaggerated, as his eyes skim over the page and he reads out loud. "'The Commander was forced to face the harrowing truth: that to be Dreamers was not their nature, and the dragon which ruled them was awake.'"

Syrlya's nose is in some dusty tomb when Lambert reads aloud, with seemingly no response at first. Then he blinks once, snapping his attention up and looking at Lambert with surprise.

"Is that--" he furrows his brow as he sweeps to Lambert's side quickly, trying to tilt the book so he can read the text himself. It's a little harder from this angle, while his expression is pinched in concentration. "Is this book about me?"

Hell.

"You tell me," Lambert answers, brows raising and thoughtfully tipping the book to let Syrlya read a bit further down the page.

Though, if it is a book about Syrlya... Lambert grins suddenly, immediately pulling the book away again and flicking through the pages.

"Let's see if we can find the raunchy parts."

"Thorns, I think it is." He sounds more annoyed than horrified about this. Okay, reasonably if people in Tyria wrote (not entirely accurate) books about his life as a Commander, like they do any powerful leader, of course the Scribe would focus on something.

Not that he gets to dwell on that very long, because Lambert is flipping to other pages. Syrlya knits his brow. "There aren't any."

Which is true, actually. Syrlya's short life is extremely devoid of sexual scandal, and mostly filled with war and death.

"That's just sad," Lambert shakes his head, flipping through the pages like he's still fully expecting at least a woodcut of Sylvari junk for the trouble.

It becomes evident quickly enough that Syrlya is right: there really isn't all that much more to it, and he'll simply scrutinize what is there, skimming the pages for anything else that stands out with the expert air of a professional gossipmonger looking for a juicy rumor or blackmail material.

Edited ( ) 2018-05-10 05:02 (UTC)

No such luck there. Syrlya finally plants his hand on the book, attempting to stop further page turning. Lambert trying to look at his life story while he's right here is, to say the least, a little awkward.

"Really, the most interesting thing about my life is campaigning against the dragons," with an implied 'which you already know about' in his tone. Although that's only a surface understanding. Which doesn't mean there isn't potentially juicy gossip to be found, Syrlya's just trying to curb that interest.

Sure, he knows about it, as much as drunken storytelling amounts to knowing anything. Lambert snorts at Syrlya interrupting his browsing, looking up at him with a grin.

"See, the thing about people telling you what the most interesting thing in their life is, is that they're probably wrong." And cue trying to sneak the book out from under Syrlya's hand, less because he really wants to read it and more because he's enjoying teasing Syrlya for once.

Syrlya's hand drops when the book disappears from under it, which he looks briefly affronted about. "It's fighting dragons!"

He doesn't even know how to embellish that, unless Lambert is looking for scandalous rendezvous like some romance novel. "Are you actually going to read that in front of me?"

"Yeah, well based on the stories here, everyone fights dragons," Lambert answers, with a dismissive wave. It's true, though: for some reason, Syrlya's book has been shelved with a whole bunch of stories on fighting dragons and all their like.

"I can read it out loud, if you'd like that better..."

Edited (wrong icon...) 2018-05-15 22:08 (UTC)

Syrlya somehow finds it harder to believe they're actually categorized than there being dragons to fight in other worlds.

"I already know what is in it." Maybe not that book directly, except the excerpt he heard, but seeing as it's about him, whatever's in there he's obviously lived through. Some of it, he wouldn't care to be reminded of.

He makes another grab for the book, but it isn't rough and Lambert likely won't have any trouble evading.

The silly game of keep-away continues as Lambert dangles the book just out of Syrlya's reach, though he's also not making it particularly difficult to grab it out of his hands if he really wants to. Still, it does accomplish his probably desired goal of not having his life story scrutinized, and the witcher laughs.

"You said you were five years old. There can't be that much, can there?"

Yes, yes there can. Finally, though, he'll relent, snapping the book shut and tossing it at Syrlya gently.

Edited 2018-05-24 17:19 (UTC)

Syrlya catches the book and folds it stubbornly in his arms.

"That depends on what you are looking for." His love life, no. Conquests against evil-doers and dragons and armies? That could fill a few tomes in five years... he's been busy. "But you are better to ask instead of trying to snoop into my business, intentionally or not."

He doesn't really have any secrets to keep, not anymore. He just also isn't inclined to go around sharing himself to everyone, about everything (or most things).

Better off asking, huh ...

“Why don’t you tell me about what I was just reading about, then?” Lambert asks. Without a book in hand, he’s free to stretch out and contort himself on the chair as he likes, sprawling out indolently with one leg hooked over one arm of the chair while he props his elbow on the other.

“What did it mean about a dragon that ruled you? I thought you were supposed to kill dragons, not obey them.”

"I do kill dragons." When killing them doesn't pose even worse consequences for everything. "Including that one."

He wiggles the book in the air for emphasis, pursing his lips as he considers the easiest way to explain it. "Mordremoth was the Elder Dragon who ruled over the domains of plant and mind. It could create its minions, rather than only corrupting the existing races."

He regards the book for a moment. "Our origins are hard to trace, but the legend is that Ronan found the Pale Tree's seed in a cave, so I presume he spread his influence the same way which we came into Tyria. However, the Pale Tree grew without Mordremoth's influence, allowing the Sylvari to be our own, free people."

He pauses. That seems like a good explanation--at least, one that doesn't imply he's seconds from turning into a monster. They had come dangerously close to succumbing to its influence, but that's over now. They've paid enough of a price for it.

"We killed Mordremoth when it awoke, of course, but that is when we began to realize we needed a way to control the magic released as a result."

Dragons that rule over plants? Sounds fake, but then again, before he ran into the Fae, Lambert would have said the idea of any single being ruling over a domain was bullshit, too. However, what he gets out of that is--

"Lucky break," he raises his brows, smirking. "Otherwise, he would have had a whole race of plant people to turn into his army." Not that Lambert has a problem with mind control as a concept, per say... but the scale that implies is a little unsettling to think about.

"Who's 'we'?" He grins. "I thought the whole Wyld Hunt thing was just yours."

It definitely tried, but Syrlya doesn't get the moment to explain further before he regards Lambert's next statement with confusion, furrowing his brows.

"It is. But the dragons affect everyone, and I am only one Sylvari!"

If he was told he would be fighting Zhaitan alone, like Trahearne's Wyld Hunt... he probably would have also assumed it impossible. "It is a war. The other races had a hand in confronting the dragons before the Sylvari even awoke, our very world depends on unifying ourselves."

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⇨ THE ATHENAEUM

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tmw you remember this is before all the shit happened and this just sounds super prescient

LOL