⇨ 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]

"Nothing unexpected," is what her final verdict is - which is both a bad thing and a good thing. She sounds pretty neutral.

[pipers_son]

"Whoa-" Even if he sees it coming, it's still something else entirely to have something rising up beneath him, and his feet scramble to get footing so that he doesn't just go tumbling off. To be on the safe side, he presses up against the back of the goat's head (it is a goat, right). And, well, if he's curious to try and guess who his heroic savior might be, so sue him.

Although he supposes he shouldn't be too surprised when he hears that voice. "Oh, much better." He shakes his wings out as best he can, although he's pretty sure they won't dry for a while. "I suppose I owe ya a favor, don't I?"

There's a sort of amusement to his voice that he's not bothering to hide... although hopefully, in time, the 'Honorables' of this place will just find that to be how he is. Which isn't wrong.

[hippocarnival]

Well, it's still a relief to know it doesn't suck so Yuya laughs a little in response. He'll admit he didn't really believe the tea itself was going to be anything close to what Kerubi can do and has seen. But he still wanted to share it with her because then it's something more than just a pretty tea, right? It brought them together to talk, and they made a moment with it, and he got to learn a little bit more about Kerubi. He sounds positive about at least that much.

[sunflowerfields]

Hinawa will gently ask around about the missing animals' loved ones. Surely someone cares about them and is worried for them? If she gets any bites, she'll try to find them to convey her sympathy.

[npcarnival]

She stares at him, setting down the tea.

"Are you... smitten with me, Iofi?"

[hippocarnival]

Yuya almost spits out his tea choking on it.

"No! No, that's not what I--" He vaguely gestures to Gon's presence as if to indicate three's a crowd as he tries to compose himself. "I just wanted to talk! Without just being a bother... like making friends, you know?"

[npcarnival]

Kerubi is unflappable.

"You must understand how it comes across... perhaps latent urges, based on our species. It takes a while to fully shake off the wild."

[hippocarnival]

Yuya's ears fold back. "No, I really mean it's not like that. I don't think about that kind of stuff."

Now he really is is chugging his tea down to buy himself a minute before he changes the topic off his sentimentality. "But can I ask about something else? I heard when we get our names, it's from the Architects looking at our souls and choosing one based on that. Is that how it works?"

B

[sunflowerfields]

When Joker pokes his head in, Hinawa's eyes light up.

"Ah, J-" she interrupted herself with a cough. Right, they're not supposed to have names. "It's you! I was wondering how you were feeling."

[npcarnival]

Nope, question denied. She's not done with you, yet.

"Then there just be some reason you are seeking me out in particular. I've been nothing but rude to you, so far."

She tilts her head, staring at him.

[hippocarnival]

"If you were really rude, you could have ignored me completely when we first spoke. And you didn't have to agree to look at my tea either, but you did."

His tone implies that she's really a lot more amicable than she's giving herself credit for--which, in his opinion, she is. "There's a reason you're even giving me your time in the first place, isn't there?"

That's the simplest reason. She's just plain willing to talk to him in the first place.

[npcarnival]

"It's because I'm investigating you," she says simply, taking another sip of her tea.

[hippocarnival]

"Investigating...?" That makes him pause. "What, me personally? Or all of the new Honorables?"

Since they did already establish that their whole group has some oddities.

[pipers_son]

Yeah, weird about not having the name thing, but, fortunately, bullshitting nicknames is a time honored tradition, and Joker isn't letting that stop him as he waltzes right in. He looks a little better now that he's not waterlogged. Speaking of-

"Oh, because of the dip in the water, right? Well, I'm just fine. But it doesn't seem like everyone took well to the branding."

[npcarnival]

"You personally, as an extension of the others. Your group has displayed atypical behavior all around, both socially and physically. The only reason something hasn't been done about it is that no one is completely sure what to make of it, and there is no desire to persecute the innocent."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita looks around the room with her ears still slightly bent. What does all of this say about her...?

Ugh. It's not like she cares.

"Right... I see what you mean," Rita muses, drawing a little closer to examine the details of the glass ball's interior. Without looking up from it, she goes on to ask, "How are you settling in here, anyway?" She'll try not to be too direct in asking about what he's found so far.

[atouts]

Childermass pauses in his work to look back, eyeing the armadillo for a bit before confirming that, yes, he was among those getting anointed that same day. Therefore, very likely from the carnival. Still, he wrinkles his nose, since the voice doesn't immediately tell him who.

"Just a stag," he does answer, at least, and it is, roughly, what the shadows form. It's less precise than what he's done previously, a mass of shadows seemingly splattered across the surface in a form that does look like a stag. He looks up at it again.

"A bit messy but I think it works out."

[hippocarnival]

"... Oh." Yuya slumps a little, looking disappointed. And he kind of is, because he's been approaching this genuinely and not just faking it. He's not sure how to respond to that at first.

"So you're not really interested."

[npcarnival]

She blinks at him.

"...That's really all you're taking away from this?"

[atouts]

Very familiar and therefore a relief in itself. As if it's an answer, Childermass will roll over to his other side and use his paws to push himself closer, just enough so he can flop his head down against the cat like he's some living fuzzy pillow. Just better enough to move, it seems, so there's that.

"Could have done without that part," he grumbles quietly, caring not at all for how familiar he might seem with what should be a strange cat. He's a dog, after all. Domestic, too. That should cover for being overly friendly.

[hippocarnival]

"No, but... what am I supposed to say to it?" He's not sure what he has to prove. "If you say we're odd I believe you, but I just got here and I can't explain anything."

[atouts]

"I wonder if he would change his tune if we decided to eat him again," Childermass mutters. Of course it would be 'our skink friend'. He knows damn well who that is. "What of the cave? Where was it? Or did he leave that part out, too?"

[npcarnival]

"Is that really the truth?" she asks.

[hippocarnival]

"It is." And he sounds honest because he is. He can't explain anything because that would out the whole carnival and betray his friends, and he definitely can't bring himself to it.

[npcarnival]

"I see," she says. She stands up. "I wish you luck, then. The price of heresy is steep, and ignorance isn't necessarily a defense." She turns to start leaving.

"If you find you have anything to tell me, my ears are open."