⇨ CONFLAGRATION

[ringleaders]

Who: The Ringmaster, Peridot, Amethyst, Shima, Tyki, Childermass and Ignatius.
When: Day 68
Where: THE CENTER OF THE (OTHER) MOON.
What: The Ringmaster has recruited the help of a not-so-elite group of carnival members to help her deal with the imprisoned Ignatius.
Warnings: Weird egg stuff.

THE FIERY ONE↴ When you meet up with the Ringmaster at the portal she's in her humanoid form, but that doesn't last long. After a brief period of waiting, she will take you back to the carnival grounds, still fresh and partially undefined from her rebuilding. It's familiar, but as if details have been left out - like a painting that's not finished yet. The sky isn't right, and and the forests are oddly barren. She'll assure you she simply isn't finished with it yet, but that this has taken precedence. Soon, she'll be turning into her dragon form and whisking you all away, up into the second moon. The flight happens almost instantaneously - first you see the carnival grounds, then the sandy oceans of the moon - then, you see nothing. It doesn't last for long, though. A ring of glowing stones light up the new space you're filling - a cavern carved out of the center of the moon itself. Unlike the moon with the Blue Rose, however, it isn't perfectly spherical, and gravity goes straight down. There is a rough, uneven floor you can walk on steadily, with boulders and rocks scattered about. The Ringmaster's current dragon form fills about half of it. In the center of the room there are two man-sized eggs. One glows brightly with an inner light, radiating heat. The other does as well, but less so. There's an impromptu nest of rocks around them, preventing them from falling over. The Ringmaster seems unsure of how to start. "So," she begins, uncertainly. She is till hunched over in dragon form. "This... is a bit complicated."

Comments

[periphrasing]

Peridot stares flatly at him. "Okay. I'm trying really hard to understand your perspective, but so far all I'm really hearing as far as an explanation goes is, 'we get to be in charge because we say so'. Which is super cruddy in my extremely important opinion, because the freedom to choose your own path-- to experience life, and learn about yourself through all your successes AND your failures-- is universally one of the most inspiring things that I've discovered in my thousands of years of life. It's what makes the multiverse so amazing and diverse and just. Beautiful! Taking that away, enforcing this homogeneous lifestyle-- it's just about as bad as outright destroying the world and everything in it."

She huffs and glances away, folding her arms at her chest. "I know. I'm being dramatic, and this probably sounds ridiculous to you, you being made to conquer or... whatever."

[npcarnival]

"You're idealistic," he says, simply. "Perhaps inexperienced. True freedom can't exist, because when allowed to do what they will, some, many, will always choose to rule over others. To take what you need from others is one of the most basic impulses of life. Animals feed on smaller animals. The powerful and canny will rise up and shape the world to their desires, unless there are restrictions and laws to stop them."

"You can talk all you want about the beauty of diversity and choice, but that will only stay beautiful to you as long you aren't subjected to those whose choices you dislike. True freedom will always allow the unlucky or unworthy to the slip through the cracks."

[periphrasing]

"So: I'm an idealist, just because I think there's got to be a better way for you fae to do your balance maintaining that doesn't involve conquering worlds and enslaving all of their inhabitants," says the gem, resting her chin on one palm and leaning on it, looking unimpressed. "Noted. Of course I understand that there's always going to be people who want to take from and control others! But that should be each world's own responsibility to work out for itself. Not the court's."