⇨ EDEN

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 79 - Day 85
Where: Eden
What: Everyone arrives in Eden with their new animals forms - unfortunately, the welcoming party is a bit more intense than expected, with a ritual called 'The Anointment.' Better get this place figured out before anything gets any crazier.
Warnings: Hopefully no ritual sacrifice!

FLAME OF INSPIRATION↴ So it begins. After everyone has been given their new animal form and have had about an hour to readjust to it, the Ringmaster begins the infiltration. You don't see a lot of the specifics of the magic - all you know is that Pru's sword, the Hand of God, is somehow involved. It alone can tear through the wardings of Eden's realm, and once that entrance is made, the teleportation is instant. Everyone will find themselves in an open grassland overlooking a dense forest, with buildings and lights poking up out of the leaves. Behind you, there is a darker place - the barrens, the Ringmaster has explained. It's were the Outcasts are sent after they're banished. You are scattered across the area as if you've been dropped in with nothing. You've been given specific instructions - act as if you have no memory besides the vague life of being an animal. None of you know each other. You don't know how you got here, you've just been suddenly found yourself enlightened. Hopefully feigning ignorance will be what the residents are expecting, as what information the Ringmaster could find suggests it should be. Before the beasts of Eden come to claim you, you'll see the Ringmaster once last time, in the form of a giant serpent. With a nod of her head, she slithers away towards the barrens - she'll be in touch. ► THE WELCOMING: It's not long until you're discovered. The first to find you is a pigeon, who seems rather surprised. She'll ask the first few new arrivals she sees a couple questions - 'did you just get here?' 'did you meet the great Lilith?' Regardless of your answers, she'll hurriedly say she's going to go get help, and will fly away back into the forest. A short while later, an entire welcoming party of different animals will have come to greet you, sweeping out to find every straggler and explaining that you are the newest of the chosen. After they are sure that nobody is being left behind, they will invite you into Eden. ► THE GARDEN: Eden is a beautiful place. Every street, every structure, is surrounded by flowers and vibrant plant life - every bit as idyllic as its mythos would imply. The architecture is ambitious and creative, as if the residents have been perfecting the art for thousands of years, which they almost certainly have. There is the sweet smell of perfumes and incense on the other animals are you are led into the city. This is your home now, the locals will explain. You have been chosen by the Creator to serve Her cause. You will become one of the Honorable, one of Her artisans working towards the Divine Clarity. But first, of course, you must be sanctified. ► THE ANOINTMENT: On that first night, everyone is brought to a vast cathedral, covered in unknowable writings in a shining script. You are brought in through several gorgeous hallways lit with shining crystals and blue flame torches, only to emerge in a great hall built around a circular, sparkling pool of water. There are several braziers around its circumference blazing with fire, with sets of tools hanging out of them, like iron pokers. All of the new arrivals are gathered into the grand hall, and scriptures are read in the background that you can't really make out the specifics of. You will all be made to stand around the outside of the pool, and the local animals will gently explain to you what needs to be done. To become a new Honorable, you must be Anointed with the Flame of Inspiration - that is, they are going to brand you with the metal pokers they have heating up. If you go along with it, they will burn the mark into a highly visible part of your person (they have smaller brands for smaller animals), and then cool it off in the pool of water, where you are encouraged to bask until you are comfortable again. There are obviously a couple concerns with this. The biggest one is that it's sketchy as hell. The second one is that the brand is definitely made of medium grade iron. While the painful difference it makes won't be super obvious from the outside, long-term veterans and those with superlative fae qualities will find it very uncomfortable, and it will blister for a fair while afterward, which is seen as unusual. If your character refuses, or tries to get around it somehow, please explain in reply to the post down below. ► THE DAYS AFTER: After everyone is branded (or isn't, as the case may be), you'll be given the opportunity to dry off and head back into town. All of the fancy structures here are communal, they will explain, and you can choose wherever you'd like to sleep. There are a few buildings that are mostly empty that newbies seem welcome to hole up in, though the locals assure everyone they will be nearby in case they need help. In the days that follow, everyone will be welcome to explore Eden and find their bearings, and begin to discover what gifts the Anointment has bestowed on them. Whether or not you were good at a creative pursuit before, you will find yourself filled with inspiration for something - any artistic talent will do. It's like a creative talent will have been born in you overnight, or like an existing talent of yours has been boosted to near perfection. This effect will last as long as the characters are in Eden unless you are told otherwise. You won't feel the need to eat, but there is breakfast available, if you'd like it. The locals are very courteous, though they seem a bit confused. Something about your entry seems to strike them as different than usual.

Comments

[npcarnival]

They are all immortal, but it's been a very long time since Eden was created. As far as they know, the oldest of them have since passed on, because eventually they run out of ideas.

They do know some people who have been chosen! Kerubi the fox, for instance, often helps Saraqael with his works. She's just a regular Honorable like them, but she's gotten so good at creating beauty that the Architects have taken her on as a protege.

[periphrasing]

She basically says 'fair enough' with regards to talking to him directly and will let that avenue drop for now. She'll see about poking that lead when she's more settled in.

1. So the naming isn't random then? It's based on what's in your soul? How can they even see the souls of other animals in the first place, is that part of the Divine Clarity?
2. One of the Architects? Who are the others? And what purpose do the serve to the rest of Eden?

[npcarnival]

1. Yeah, their perception of reality is keen enough that they can glean information about beasts just from looking at them. They know that as an animal in the wild, sense of self was never a big thing - but the Architects can already see the foundation of your potential! Your name is the first step to building on it.

2. There are 12 Architects, appropriately referred to as 'The Twelve'. They are Saraqael, Shamshel, Penemue, Araqiel, Azazel, Armaros, Kakabel, Samyaza, Chazaquiel, Gadreel, Baraqel, and Bezaliel. They are the leaders of Eden in the absense of Lilith, and they are the closest to achieve the Divine Clarity. (Which is explained in other posts as a kind of spiritual nirvana.)

[periphrasing]

She would be so tempted to ask further questions about the naming, bc it sounds an awful lot like something to do with TRUE NAMES, but seeing as inquiring about that would give her away she keeps her mouth shut.

1. So what's the purpose of splitting everyone up into groups then? Why not just defer to The Twelve as an entire group? Why does everyone basically get assigned one to report to from the get-go?
2. You mentioned that Saraqael is a badass. She would like to know what he has done to earn that title.
3. Related to the first question, is there some sort of restriction on interactions between citizens of Eden who work under different Architects?

[kingsroads]

Strange refuses to leave the room, to the point where he starts looking for somewhere to perch on if they end up spending the night.

He'll also bother the healers with another question: how do arrivals normally happen?

[npcarnival]

1. Because then the Architects can't fight over the young talent, or something. More importantly, why not?

2. He's the King of the Moon. Obviously.

3. No, there isn't. It's for organizational purposes only, and to give people a spiritual leader who can understand an individual's origins.

[hippocarnival]

Oh... do they die because they run out of ideas, or they chose to die because of running out of ideas?

He's thankful for the name, anyway, and after the naming ceremony he'll look around and see if he can find Kerubi.

[npcarnival]

They hate you already, buddy.

Well they normally turn up like this without knowing anything, and they normally need to be Anointed, but usually Lilith is with them.

[npcarnival]

Uhh... the latter, they think? Something like that. They don't sound sure.

Kerubi is hard to find as she is a busy woman, but less busy than the Architects, at least. It will take him at least a day of hunting around to catch sight of an artic fox watching the new arrivals curiously. She's perched up high on one of the nearby buildings.

You don't know for sure, but a white fox is how she was described.

[psionichax0r]

Okay, if there's no signage explaining how things are organized he's definitely going to rudely interrupt the first person he sees at the sight of all those books and ask:

1. How things are sorted, if they are sorted at all.
2. Where the books about Eden are.

If they aren't sorted and he's not given a direction he's literally going to start looking through them one by one. He'd probably do that for 2 hours before ragequit-ing.

[npcarnival]

One of the Honorables writing at a table looks at him, confused. They are sorted alphabetically, by author. When it becomes clear he doesn't mean fiction, they will ask:

Why would you need a book about Eden? You live here.

[psionichax0r]

He would definitely inquire. But he's super shy so it would probably be kind of awkward.

[kingsroads]

He's the best at making friends. c:

That's a solid answer for Strange, so he stops pressing for questions and instead just flies around, occasionally gets in people's way, and watches the healing process like the big worried creep he is.

[npcarnival]

The scriptures are mostly something that's memorized by the priests, so there aren't a lot of physical recordings of it. The ones that do exist are very precious and are for the clergy only. If you want to hear more, you can probably just show up for a sermon, though.

[hippocarnival]

WELL then he's just gonna leave the death conversation alone at that, thank them for their time and head off.

Of course, he'll ask to confirm if she's Kerubi and introduce himself as Lofi, a day giving him time to get used to the new name. He'll explain how he heard of her and if she'd talk with him... maybe over tea, since tea making is his talent. He didn't hear what hers is, though.

[psionichax0r]

Well, he just got here and he wants to learn more about it.
If that isn't enough of a reason he will ask if learning about his new home breaks some kind of unwritten rule.

[chronosynthesis]

Makes enough sense. Are there honorables who tend to take greater leadership rolls he should look for? And if someone did want to talk to one of the Twelve, if it was important enough, would they come to this same place? Or somewhere else?

[psionichax0r]

He will do that then! Is it a daily thing?

[anti_nonsense]

Understanding beauty... Rita looks super unsure about that. She's never really given much thought to beauty in a grand sense before.

She'll ask: scary how? What happened last time she was around?

THE HEALER'S TEMPLE

[npcarnival]

The Honorables will take Ignatius (and, eventually, anyone who reacts to the branding super badly) to the Healer's Temple, which is ostensibly where they heal people who hurt themselves. There is a lot of foliage here a well, as well as some giant floating crystals.

They lay Ignatius as the base of one particular floating crystal, and ostensibly stat channeling healing energies into his body. They will say that with this additional energy he will just need time to rest, since it doesn't seem like his body needs to be reconstructed. Honestly, they have no idea what his problem is - like he's had a violent allergic reaction.

Letting Ignatius bask under the crystal, they will ask anyone who isn't injured to leave. Strange, notably, does not. Whether Herbert and Rita do is up to them.

[npcarnival]

You can find the follow up to this investigation here.

[npcarnival]

You can find the follow up to this investigation here.

[npcarnival]

You can find the follow up to this investigation here.

[npcarnival]

It doesn't, no. It's just that nobody wants to write factual information about what Eden is, only what it could be.

So the short version is they don't really know where any history books would be, since usually that gets talked about during sermons. He could ask Harah, though, if he wants? Harah is the owl in charge of the library.

[npcarnival]

Every noon and midnight. They are not required, but a lot of people like going to them in order to get their creative juices flowing, or consult priests about their problems.