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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Yuya looks up, then rises and leans over the bench to peer at Rita. "Oh... hi!" He stops himself from saying her real name, but there's still excitement in his tone. "I'm making flowering teas... they're little balks that bloom when you steep them, so they're wrapped up to dry the right way."

He leans sideways, rolling a couple onto the table. "I think the first ones I did are probably ready... it's what I got inspired for."

"Hmph... never seen anything like that before." Seems weird and unnecessary, but it does smell pretty nice... She stretches up to check out some of the other balls on the bench.

"They gave you a name, right?" she asks as she examines them.

"Yeah. Iofi." He folds his paws over the edge of table, tail swishing. "If you've never seen one, I can show you! When you steep them you see the flower."

He pauses before rolling one' closer to open the cloth container, sniffing inside to remember what exactly was in this one. "What's your name?"

Iofi. Rita frowns at the name, but she makes the effort to commit it to memory. As for her name...

"Puri," she answers, rolling her eyes a little at the sound of it.

Rita hops up on top of the bench, where it's easier to see Yuya and what he's doing. "All right, let's see how this works."

"Puri," Yuya says it lightly with a smile. That's kind of cute, especially for a cat.

But then she wants to see it now, and Yuya realizes for all his tea making, he doesn't have the vital components for actually brewing it. "Uh--sure! We just need to get a glass pot, and a kettle... I'll find one!"

He hops down from the bench. "I remember a building where people were doing food art, so I can probably find something there."

"Glass, huh..." Rita murmurs thoughtfully. "I know a place. Follow me."

She hops down and starts walking, glancing back and tilting her neck in a beckoning gesture.

Oh--she knows a place? Yuya turns right around, grabbing one of the tea balls in his mouth before catching up to her. "Ohay! Aay!"

It unfortunately makes it very hard for him to talk. Hopefully the intention gets through.

Rita leads him through the neighborhood to a small building with a big stone chimney. Inside, there's what looks like a studio for glassworks. There's a furnace, a workbench with tools, a large supply of glass tubes of various sizes and colors... and a lot of completed works filling the shelves and littered around the floor. Yuya might notice a large collection of glass sculptures of cats in one corner with varying amounts of detail.

Without a word, Rita trots over to one of the shelves, nimbly climbs up to a space full of more practical-looking glassware: cups, bowls, and yes, a teapot. She picks it up (somehow, don't question it) and shows him.

"This look like it'll work?"

Yuya eyes the cat sculptures as he enters, but there's not long for him to dwell on it before Rita grabs his attention and holds up the pot. "Yeah, that's perfect!"

He trots over, waiting for Rita to place the teapot down before he unravels the cloth and drops the tea ball in. And then sticks his paw in, rolling it around a little so it sits upright.

"Now we just have to heat some water and then pour it in." He pauses. "But it needs to be a clean container, so the water stays clean. Could you get that?"

Rita nods. "Wait here."

She runs off, finds another vessel, fills it with water, and brings it back. Then, she holds a paw out at the vessel. What she's doing isn't immediately clear, but the water soon starts to boil. Who needs a stove when you've got fire magic?

When it looks like it's ready, Rita steps back and waves a paw at Yuya to give him the go-ahead.

Yuya's seen enough of her magic to take a guess. Sp that's what she picked as her magical talent, huh? It makes sense.

Once she gives the go ahead, Yuya takes the pitcher and slowly pours the water into the teapot until it's almost full. Then he pushes it out of the way, so it doesn't block their view. "And now... we wait!"

Exciting. Yuya looks eager, even as it takes a few minutes, but eventually the ball unravels and the ruffled pink flower in the middle rises up. The tea leaves unfurl to create a base for it, keeping it anchored to the bottom and upright while the tea seeps into the water.

Rita lies down on her stomach as she watches the flower unfurl, propping a paw under her chin.

"So this is your art...?" It's not really clear if she liked it or not. "Does it still taste good?" That's the important thing about tea, as far as Rita's concerned.

Yuya watches Rita through the teapot, waiting for any sort of interest. He can't help it, especially with the forced passion, that part of him wants to see her like it.

"Uh--I hope so? We can try it... are there cups?" He thought he saw some, but he's not going to root through everyone else's fragile projects like he owns the place.

Rita stands, turns, and hops over to the shelf again. She returns once to set down a pair of saucers, then makes a second trip to bring over a pair of glass teacups to set atop them.

Then, she waits for him to pour it, sitting upright with her tail swishing expectantly.

Yuya balances the teapot carefully, fumbling a little because of the heat. But he manages to pour two cups without spilling everywhere, and after he drags his own cup closer.

And then basically sticks his snout into the cup as he tries to suck some out. Being one of the first tries, the flavor is light, simple, and not terribly exciting. But it's tea, and it's drinkable.

Rita tries a sip, then winces, realizing her new cat-like tongue is more sensitive to heat than she expected. She waits a little, tries to blow on it, then finally gets a proper drink of the tea.

"It's not bad," she says simply.

"...Found anything interesting since coming here?" she'll go on to ask after a moment. It doesn't seem like anyone could overhear their conversation, but she'll try to keep her voice down.

"It's all interesting!" He chirps, even though they're alone. But then he slides around the table to Rita's side, lowering his head and his voice for privacy. "But I met one of the Chosen, who're really close to the Architects. It seems like they don't talk with all the honorables very much--just a few that are so good at making things that they ask for help with their projects. She said the best way to get to talk to them is to make impressive things."

Thus what Yuya's been trying. They're Lilith's trusted people after all.

"Making impressive things, huh..." Rita mutters, casting a look around the workshop. "I wonder what that even looks like. It sounds like even the longtime residents don't know what's expected of them."

Still, it's interesting to hear the Architects sometimes seek out those with valuable skills. It's in line with what Rita's heard, too... Is it possible for anyone from their group to get acknowledged that way?

Yuya makes an attempted motion to shrug. It falls a little flat. "I don't know... she also said everyone has to find it their own way, because everyone's talents are different and no one else can really teach that to you."

So it sounds pretty vague, and a lot of trial and error. If people didn't seem so dedicated to pleasing and worshipping Lilith, it might almost seem Buddhist to him.

"There's nobody here from when Eden started, either. Apparently if you run out of inspiration and can't create anymore you die."

He didn't exactly find out how, given they're supposedly immortal.

"Huh!?" Rita's ears twist at that. "What do you mean, they..."

She shakes her head. It probably doesn't matter how they die, exactly.

"...I wonder if that means the residents here don't know about..." she trails off, thinking of how to put it, "...you know, events that might have taken place a long time ago." She means the Serpent's attempted coup. There's no way of really knowing when the events described in the Athenaeum's texts really happened, after all. It's pretty hard to ask without raising suspicion...

"They probably don't. Or if they do, it might just be stories... but they didn't seem like they had a lot to say about the history of this place." Maybe he just asked the wrong Honorables, though.

"I think the Architects know the most, we just have to be able to get their attention in the right way." He's not really equipped for sneaking around or interrogation, so this is the best way he has to contribute to the goal.

"Hmph. If we want to get them to notice us for our art, I think we'll be waiting a while. Lots of Honorables have been here for years, maybe centuries, without getting any recognition yet. A bunch of amateurs probably won't even register in their eyes."

Her gaze still wandering, she adds with a scoff, "Guess it helps us fit in, though."

"Yeah, I guess." He doesn't really expect to match up to their abilities, especially with a craft he's never done before. But maybe he can surprise them with something to take notice of. It's at least worth a shot for someone to try. "Have you learned anything?"

"Not much, but..."

Rita stretches a paw out, lightly touching Yuya's teacup. She holds it there, and seems to concentrate for a moment. She then leans back and takes another sip of her own tea.

"Your tea'll get cold," she says, vaguely urging him to take a drink from it.

Should he touch the cup, he'll telepathically receive knowledge of what Rita's seen so far. How she followed Ignatius to the healing temple, saw him pass out, then got shooed out along with Strange and Herbert. Upon returning another day, she learned that he wasn't there anymore. Additionally, she's heard that the Honorables find their arrival particularly strange, and rumors are already starting to float around.

Oh. And as an afterthought, she'll throw in a mention that she can magically imbue objects with information like this. Surprise.

Yuya tilts his head, curious when she touches his cup, but he obeys her direction and grabs it with both paws only to immediately stop as he's immediately filled with information. He's felt this before, with Rita's book, so the surprise is less that she can do it at all, and more that she kept the ability to.

He smiles, his expression someone twisted with amusement as he looks over at Rita. "You're really smart."

She knows that, but he feels the need to say it anyway. They can keep things completely secret this way. "Does it work in reverse?"

⇨ EDEN

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