lostcarnival | ⇨ EDEN

Entry tags:

⇨ EDEN

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.

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To the local Honorables, it probably does sound like Pesagni's just fascinated by his name, saying it to make sure he's memorized it.

For Papyrus, who's just been called to the cathedral for his own naming ceremony, it sounds a little bit like a pokemon's repetitious sounds. Which is a little extra bit concerning, when they're all freshly turned into animals.

"Are you... okay? You're saying the same sounds over and over."

Carly gives him a look over, and decides it's better to be blunt than hold back.

"....I don't think you're a pants guy." It just won't work for you, you're a large cat. "Something more mobile is what you're going to need."

"Bags...." She hums, pondering this for a moment. "I could definitely make a set really quick~" the snake answers. "How big do you need?"

Looking over the Margay, Reira has to give that a bit of thought. "...I'm not too small?" She asks, staring at his mouth in particular. She is, to be fair, about two inches long...so not very large.

"...If you're very careful, I think," she eventual decides.

"Yeah-!" She will happily explain what that even means.

And does. "You have to build the pile just right, and then when the light hits it the right way too, its shadow makes a shape." As to what her current one will be, who knows, but she's working on it. She certainly seems pleased and proud that Shiemi feels she's making progress at all. At least two Honorables have had to be corrected after they assumed it was Found Object art.

Enough about her though. Reira seems equally interested in what Shiemi has to say about her own work, peering toward the bird with evident curiosity. Or perhaps she simply has curiosity for the flowers. A mix, perhaps, as she looks from the flowers back to Shiemi. "Hehh...You can make clothes from flowers?" She gasps, voice already filled with wonder.

And Strange tilts his head in an inquisitive manner. Well now. This is certainly interesting.

"Go on," he starts, obviously interested in what she has to say.

Strange does follow. It's only when they get to a certain elevation and when Syrlya starts talking that Strange feels comfortable answering the question.

"They were worried—they hadn't seen anything happen like that before. I tried to stay and look after him, but they removed me from the tent."

It's obvious from Strange's tone of voice that even though this isn't his fault, he kind of thinks it's his fault.

Rhys...wants his legs back. Yes, he knows this is apparently a necessity for this place but he wants his legs back. He doesn't want to be furry and small and easily stepped on and when he comes upon a snake, he recoils because now he thinks someone might eat him.

Why couldn't he be something cool like a lion or a bear or something? No, he's a damn snake.

"Signature?" Rhys asks despite himself. "Like a trademark?"

Branding himself was one of those things that Rhys had thought about doing when he got promoted. But of course, he'd never gotten promoted so he hadn't had to worry about that.

Rhys doesn't like being small. He doesn't like being furry and he likes even less that he has to worry about someone large stepping on him and killing him. If he does while he's like this, does that mean he gets turned back into his normal self?

Rhys isn't sure he wants to risk death to find out.

"I'm here," Rhys says which doesn't really answer the question, sorry. He's a professional asshole.

If he had a mirror he would help her out with that. Unfortunately he does nor does he have something he can take a picture with. The thing Tyki is focusing a lot on right now is the fact she's just a baby bat instead of a regular one. It fits into her wholesome cuteness and, like usual, he wants to dote on her. It's just that he was doing his very best not to fall into his old ways and he's being rather neutral with most of carnival except for here or there. It was natural to gain friends in similar circumstances, aka them all being branded at the same time, yet sort of try to weed his way in by doing a good job or catching someone's eye eventually. Unlike everyone else working hard to impress, he simply blended in.

He would note he didn't ask her if it hurt. He merely said one burn was enough but he doesn't comment on it, "Initiation. I think." Well, he's pretending he doesn't know how societies work.

If Tyki was allowed to express his opinion right now he would muse that she looks at everything from different angles. That her theme of light and dark, fire and ice, and so on often led to her usual means of compiling information. She didn't have a based opinion as much as she gathered every inch of what she could.

Or maybe she just really wanted to compliment opposites. Who knows.

"Eh, it's a little overwhelming," read between the lines, there's a lot of ground to cover. Hardly anything actually overwhelmed a man like Tyki. "Found my own little nook to create in. Been attending lectures and group opportunities. The name is Baruchi, by the way." Not that she asked.

He said burn- burns are meant to hurt. At the very least when someone says 'once is enough' for something meant to hurt, that's what it's about. "Mnn...Initiation means starting something right? I guess it started everyone's art things," the bat determines, peering up and up and up toward the comparatively enormous wolf. "You're making nice lanterns now, right?" So yes, agreed on initiation in other words. As for herself...hmm.

"...Do you have pieces left over?"

Still don't know boundaries, does he? Tyki would sneer if he could make the proper facial expression as a wolf but from being a cat he knows animals expressed themselves more in their fur, stance, ears, and tails. "Oh, I'm aware of how your type is." Cats, he's implying out loud, but the meaning is much deeper than that. He knows who Herbert wants on his table the most.

"What about walls? Buildings? Or do you have to be some distance away?" he says smoothly with eyes narrowing at Herbert not even maintaining eye contact with him. How he wants to bite back verbally and physically. Instead, he noses into the pack tied around his flank and pulls out a glass cylinder. He sets it down and steps to the side to allow light to pour into the cracks. Designs flood the floor around Herbert, bathing his fur in blue light. "Glass and light refraction, I suppose, or I think that is what is called."

She's still a strange kid but it's refreshing in his mind even if mildly frustrating. It makes him extra careful around her. He's watching her and when she looks up at him with some tremendous height he lowers himself to nudge against her and offer her a way to climb onto him. He may as well be helpful. Mental tick to allow Reira close over many and use her as a patsy towards any 'friendships' he'll acquire here in this newborn state of mind.

"At least for those that want it. No one else seems to like my work," he responds with some disdain. It made sense though for Honorables, that had been here entire lifetimes, to look down on a new artist's work.

"I do have some bits of glass over carved out and unused. You want them?"

Truth be told, Strange is a sizeable bird and it would take a lot of effort to wolf him down should he end up going feral or he would have to fake it somehow. Not that he would ever do that to a cherished friend. Were Strange not making such a target of himself he would've allowed the pecking to continue without much thought to it.

It's not that he disbelieves such things as prophecies and fate. Noah inherited the goals of the former without much question. They were already roped into their destiny whether they liked it or not. He just would rather he had nothing to do with fae other than the Ringmaster, who he trusted for now, to influence this fate any longer, "As if I would allow one single card to fall from my deck..." ...good sir. He knows what it means to defy fate. It never went well and usually trying to avoid it caused one to barrel into it on accident.

"Hmph, a dream is sometimes just a dream. A pretty thing."

She catches him up on everything: About her plan to try and find the Ringmaster and the rebel animals, about what she discovered last night about the effects of the barrens, or lack thereof. She makes sure to do it in a hushed voice, just in case anyone might be listening in.

"I was also thinking... that perhaps our, uh, little friend from Summer, could benefit from accompanying us?" is the last thing Peridot says, grimacing slightly.

Edited 2018-07-14 15:21 (UTC)

Strange listens intently, nodding as Peridot explains things and catches him up. When she mentions Ignatius, however, Strange frowns.

"Why would you want him to come along?" It's obvious from Strange's tone of voice that he thinks this is a bad idea, but he's willing to hear Peridot out.

"Because we're supposed to keep him safe, and right now he's a fugitive," she explains. "Bezaliel's followers and the Twelve are definitely looking for him, Lapis heard it from Rizo herself. I don't know where he's been hiding out exactly, but if we took him out into the Barrens he'd be well beyond their reach!"

As soon as Peridot mentions Lapis, Strange can't help but frown. He stays quiet for a moment or two before shaking his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea. One, if Ignatius goes, then I'm going with him. Both of us are suspicious enough already and I'm certain they're expecting us to go to the barrens in the first place. And second, I don't trust Lapis anywhere near him."

Strange is calm yet insistent about this point.

"I'm sure they did." He's not surprised, since even at best Strange hovering around is an obstacle to their job. They didn't let just anyone walk in and out of med tents in the Pact, either.

"There was a group of you that left with him, were you all seeking medical treatment fot the branding? What were they doing for him before you left?"

"Oh! Yes. That would make sense, wouldn't it?" Peridot nods, trying to sound impressed by the observation, like she'd failed to make that connection herself.

Now how the heck does she make her next point without just making it super obvious what she's talking about.

"It's interesting, how they..." She makes a circular gesture with one forepaw, filling the space while she chooses her words. "They don't just tell us what they see in us. It's like they want us to discover it for ourselves, so they can... Watch, and see what goals we establish for ourselves," the raccoon says slowly and awkwardly.

That's what she thinks she'd do, if she were in the Architect's position of detecting interlopers of some sort, but not knowing what their intentions were. She'd keep going like nothing was wrong, while keeping a close eye on the offender to try and figure out exactly what it is that they're after.

The raccoon seems to deflate a bit, ears flattening to give her a surly expression. The first point she can accept, but she really thought she'd put the whole 'Lapis is a traitor' issue to bed by now.

"If you trust me, then you can trust Lapis," Peridot insists stubbornly. "When I asked her about what Ignatius claimed, I had to explain who he was, she was that unfamiliar with him. And it doesn't matter if they expect you to go to the barrens, the point is if you do, they can't follow you out there!"

If she seems distressed, the reason is explained soon enough: "You noticed Sans didn't show up for his usual delivery last night, right? And now he's acting like he's cracked? If they got to him, they could get to you too."

"They either didn't... Or they did, and they're just watching us extra closely waiting to see if we slip up, or if they can figure out what we're here for," Peridot hisses softly. "I'd say either scenario is pretty likely."

"She may be unfamiliar with him, but he's familiar enough with her." Strange is trying to keep his voice level but it's obvious this topic annoys him somewhat. Because despite what Peridot says, he really doesn't trust Lapis.

"Ignatius is desperate. He can't go after the Mirror himself and he's given up his one advantage just to be here. And she hates the carnival enough that if he offers her the opportunity to go home or hurt the Ringmaster, I think she'll take it."

"Well I think she wouldn't, and you don't know her like I do," Peridot snaps. She doesn't like hearing Strange slander Lapis like this but more than anything else, she's hurt that he won't take her word on this. Like she's the kind of person that would let her emotions and sentimentality blind her to the reality of a situation. "Fine, so she's not the biggest fan of the Carnival! You're right about that. But she wouldn't do anything that would put me or Steven at risk!"

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⇨ EDEN

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EVENING 82

LATE EVENING 79

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