lostcarnival | ⇨ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Unsurprisingly, Alphys hears the rustling before she sees it. She watches her papers shuffling around on their own before slowly reaching out with one paw to pick one up. "H-hello...?"

"Oh-" Reira seems somewhat alarmed that the papers are suddenly moved from atop her, and it takes a bit of looking around before she actually looks up.

Fortunately she recognizes the voice- though she was not around for Alpyhs' name, hmm. "...H'llo!" she therefore cheerfully greets instead. "...I'm reading."

Just in case you were wondering, you know.

Alphys squeaks and scrambles back at first, her small rabbit brain immediately going THREAT. But no, it's just a critter even small than she is.

"O-oh jeez, I d-didn't see you there! You're from the c-ca--" She trails off. She's pretty sure they're from the carnival but she doesn't want to screw up already.

"Category?" Reira, fortunately, is decently good with words that one does not expect.

(And please, Alphys. Even in the wild, vampire bats have never killed their prey-) "...Umnh...I think we got names from the same Architect, so..." That covers for your screw up enough, right Alphys?

She hobbles a bit, before simply planting herself on top of an eraser. "Ummmm...my name is 'Phanu' now. What did you get?" For a name, she means.

You surprised her ok. Alphys is going to assume that yes, this is somebody from the carnival. "M-my name? It's, uh. Al-NAYA. It's Naya. jeez, this is hard."

"Ok!~" Pff, hard? Reira doesn't find it hard at all! "It's nice to meet you Naya! ...Um...I like your ears," she adds, hopefully getting the message that they're 'familiar' across.

As it is. Names?? Hard?? Bah.

It's what happens when the last name you had was your name for a whopping half year including Carnival Time. She waves her wings. "I'm making shadow art!" she declares conversationally, not really understanding the point of a smooth transition at all. "Do you have things you don't need anymore, so I can make it?"

"T-these?" Alphys' ears perk up slightly. "Thanks, I guess... they're way too big for me..."

She starts sifting through her mountain of paper. "Uhh... I think I have some pages with rough sketches I'm not using?"

"Yeah!!" She doesn't specify why, but maybe she'll have the chance later. "...They're big, but they're nice and floppy and soft...like a scarf..." She can at least drop as many useless hints as she can, however.

Following Alphy's motions, Reira tries to see what Alphys is referring to, already excited about the idea of getting some material. "Umn! That works...are there lots?" she adds, not yet thinking about how she'll get the pages anywhere.

"I've got tons!" Alphys scoops up pages upon pages. "I went through a lot of rough drafts, you see and- wait, how does your talent work again?"

Tons?! Now that's exciting to work with. The bat eagerly watches as various pages are scooped together, only pausing when she realizes she's been asked a question. "Umn- My talent? ....I..."

Come to think she's not really sure how it factors in, completely... "...Umn. ...Normally I feel everyone's feelings... ...So I guess that's to help make sculptures with an inside and an outside? I make a big sculpture made of things that don't look like anything, and make the shadow from it something else."

"I have no idea how that's supposed to work." Alphys says, flatly. "...Can you show me?"

"Ummm...." She has to think that over. "...I can try. I can make a sculpture fast, but I don't think I can make a good feelings one that fast..."

⇨ EDEN

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