lostcarnival | ⇨ EDEN

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⇨ 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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Ignatius stares at him.

"I would rather not."

Yeah, he figured.

"If you have any better suggestions, then I'll be happy to hear them. But since you're my responsibility, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe."

And if that means forcibly shoving Ignatius's tiny little skink self in a mirror then dammit, he's going to do that.

Ignatius flicks his tongue.

"...It's a shame I have no use for all of the gossip I overheard while I was there. In fact, I'm pretty sure I even heard them talk about the Mirror."

There's a solid five or so seconds where Strange just stares Ignatius down. He doesn't care about the Mirror. He can't be bribed by information about the Mirror! Except no, he really can, and he caves and asks,

"What did they say about the Mirror?"

"By the terms of my agreement with your leader, it would be against my best interests to say," Ignatius replies. "I'm not allowed to try to claim it for myself."

"Well then you can tell me," Strange starts, without thinking. "And I'll—"

But then his brain connects to mouth and Strange stops talking. He'll what? Go after the Mirror himself? God, how he really wants to. But he's already put people, including himself, in danger due to his thoughtless actions in the Athenaeum. He's not going to do that again. And unlike other people, Strange actually believes in the Starlight's prophecy. The devil you know may be the one who tempts you the most easily, or something like that. Could this be that moment?

There's a few seconds pause where Strange frowns in frustration before he continues his thought.

"And I'll tell the rest of the carnival," Strange finishes. "You might not be able to claim it for yourself but I'll tell the Ringmaster that you helped and put in a good word for you once this all is done."

"Do you really think that's going to make a difference?" Ignatius asks with a spark of frustration - more than he usually gives off in a situation like this. "After this... I am going to have absolutely nothing stacked in my favour. I gave that up just to get here."

"You'll still have me," Strange points out, as if it's obvious. "Yes, when all this is over and we return to the carnival, our agreement will be broken and I won't be in your service. But I like you—against my better judgement, I might add."

Because man, would the past few weeks have been so much easier for Strange if he actually hated the guy he's supposed to hate.

"I'll still advocate for you and try to find your Heart. But as a friend, not as an underling."

A downside to Ignatius being a skink right now is that he's incredibly difficult to read. His tail flicks, and after a few prolongued moments of tension, he huffs a puff of smoke out of his nostrils.

"Completely demented," he growls, and then turns right around and scurries into the grass on his fast lizard legs. It's not clear where he's going except away.

Edited 2018-07-10 20:55 (UTC)

Completely demented? Well, perhaps. He had been mad before. He makes a happy little chirpy noise, like whatever the bird equivalent of a small laugh is.

"You're still my responsibility," Strange calls out, as he swoops down from the tree. He tries to fly and catch up with Ignatius despite the fact that the skink's got a head start and it's pretty easy for him to slip away if needed. "Oh, and I'm Zophi now. You might want to know!"

"Zophi, I would like to be alone," Ignatius says from... whenever he is in the grass. The brooding tone he says it with is obvious - apparently he's suddenly in a bad mood, in a way that being kidnapped by the zodiac government didn't manage.

Oh. Well okay then. Lord knows that there were times Strange wanted to be alone, he can respect that. There's a small pause before Strange continues. "Very well. I'll see you later."

And he does leave Ignatius alone! Though if he doesn't hear from Ignatius in the next few hours, Strange is going to start up some creepy, routine scrying to see what he's up to.

When Strange scrys him later, he'll see Ignatius just lying on a tree branch, staring into space. He pretty much stays there doing nothing for the entire duration of the time Strange watches him. Everything about his posture suggests 'I've made a terrible mistake.'

Yeah, considering the events of yesterday, Strange sure as shit knows what that feeling's like.

Nosiness wins out as he flies over to where Ignatius is. Strange lands a few branches away from him.

"If you want to talk, I don't mind talking. And if you want me to leave you alone, then I shall. But..." There's an awkward pause before Strange continues. "But I'm glad you're here, and not dead or trapped in that cavern."

Ignatius startles when Strange arrives, because holy shit, how did he find him like that? He's technically in hiding. He begins to suspect that Strange has a way of tracking him as well.

"Oak and ash," Ignatius says in a way that is obviously a curse. "Why the hell do you care, wizard?"

Strange's way of tracking is 'being a nosy fuck via his magic'. At Ignatius's question, he makes a little gesture that could be a shrug if he actually had shoulders.

"I care because you're my responsibility. And aside from that, I like you." Like, duh Ignatius.

"None of this will turn out well," he says forcefully, and with a sense of finality. "Even if you get the Mirror, even if you escape this place... I can't do any of the things you want me to do. The Summer Court won't, either."

"Where do you imagine this ending? Do you really think you're accomplishing something?"

"I know," Strange simply responds. He's not as optimistic as Yuya and some of the others: Strange knows that without drastic measures, it's damn hard to force change on a nationwide scale. Strange managed to do it by bringing magic back to England. But that's barely a drop in the ocean compared to the level of change some members of the carnival want to happen.

"I don't know where the Ringmaster or some others think this will end. But as for me? The main thing I want to accomplish is to go back home to my wife."

It's a little sheepish admission, like Strange is a bit guilty of actually saying these words. Sure, drastically changing the Summer Court and upturning the entire system of the Courts itself would be nice. But the nicest thing of all would be to see Arabella's face again.

"Then that will only be when you leave these people behind. You can have your comrades here or you can have your wife, you won't have both." Him seeing Arabella is more likely only because it's willing to forsake everything else to accomplish it.

The scales on Ignatius's back burn and flicker like coals.

"Much like how I will succeed in betraying you, or I will lose my home forever."

"I know that as well," Strange responds. Yeah, he might see Lambert and Childermass in London, but what's the odds he'll see Rita or 9S or Tyki again?

He hops over to a branch closer to Ignatius, keeping his voice calm all the while.

"But you have a third option: you wait. The Ringmaster won't keep you here forever. I know it's hypocritical of me to say this, but perhaps the best option is simply to see what happens."

He meant more that he would lose them because they will be dead and not because he'd be in London, but okay.

"I do not wait," Ignatius spits, fire coming from his mouth. "Idleness is the same thing as treachery in a conflict like this. I would be just as guilty as I would be if I had taken up arms against them."

Maybe not factually, but emotionally.

In a conflict like this? Well, at least from Strange's point of view, he's interpreting that conflict as Summer Court vs. Ringmaster. And the conflict against the Ringmaster seemed to be going on for literal ages, ever since she at the Winter Queen. Is that the sort of conflict Ignatius is talking about? And considering that Ignatius is a general and probably has been ever since this thing started....

"Out of curiosity, when was the last time you relaxed?"

He has a point with this, he promises.

Ignatius practically growls.

"This isn't a joke."

"And I'm not laughing," Strange points out, in a 'well duh' sort of tone. When he speaks again, he's obviously choosing his words very carefully.

"I can't change the fact that this conflict exists and that you were brought here. And though I wish I could, I doubt I can solve it by myself or that it will end in a way that makes both of us truly happy." Because even though he'd kind of like to be friends with Ignatius, he knows that whole prisoner thing will always linger in the background. And in Strange's mind, it's just as futile to convince Ignatius to shun the Summer Court as it would be to convince Strange to shun England.

"But what I can do is see if there's any Honorables here who have made a deck of cards and win against you in a game of poker."

Ignatius has a lot of problem with this, and each and every one of them comes to mind immediately. Somehow the one that comes out is this, in a tone of defeat:

"What the hell is poker?"

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kingsroads - 2018-07-11 23:26 (UTC) - Expand

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