⇨ 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

[kingsroads]

Strange doesn't really put up a fight as Peridot picks him up and carries him away from where he ate pavement. He makes a little cooing noise that he didn't know he could make, but that's about it. When she plops him down in front of her, Strange gets to his feet and awkwardly starts shaking out his wings, making certain nothing's broken.

Her question gives him pause as that panicked look spreads back on his face. Strange shakes his head. "He's missing. I tried to scry for him once or twice, but it didn't tell me anything." And he looks over at Peridot with a worried expression. "I should have found a way to stay in the healing temple! If I was there, this might not have happened."

[periphrasing]

Peridot can only gape at him while he explains, and by the time he's done, she's just pressing at her eyes with her forepaws, ears flattened anxiously.

"Okay. Okay! This is bad! Just-- Walk me through exactly what happened. Maybe I can try to help you search," she says, making a serious effort to keep calm.

[kingsroads]

At least somebody here's keeping calm because Strange sure as shit isn't. Still, walking through what happened, he can do that, he's got this.

"We all saw that he reacted badly to the brand." For obvious reasons, what with the whole 'iron' thing. "He was taken to a healing temple. I came along with him, but I was ejected from the temple shortly after. I arrived back there in the morning to find that he wasn't there and nobody would tell me where he is."

Strange looks like he's working himself more and more into a panic. "I've been looking for him all day, but I don't think he's anywhere in the city to begin with!"

[periphrasing]

Just because she's making the effort to be calm doesn't necessarily mean she's succeeding. Just barely under the surface of that cute and cuddly exterior, she's a raging sea of nerves.

"Nobody would tell you or nobody could tell you?" asks the raccoon, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Or let me put this another way: Do you think he ran away from you on purpose? Or do you think someone took him."

[kingsroads]

"I don't know!" Strange whines. Because he doesn't. Yes, it would make sense for Ignatius to run away from him: he had already fussed at Strange to basically back off and give him some space. But at the same time, it would make sense for someone to take Ignatius off for questioning to try and learn more about him.

"Both are likely options," he grumbles, still looking the closest to an anxiety attack that the carnival's ever seen him. "But I don't know if it's either of them to begin with."

[periphrasing]

"Okay, first thing's first," the raccoon groans, and then reaches out and puts both forepaws on Strange's... bird. shoulders. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to try to calm down." She's talking to the magician now the same way she talked to Steven back when the Earth was in danger of exploding and they were the only two gems left to try and avert that: That is, she's being kind aggressive with her words in order to cover for how freaked out she actually is. "Listen. We're going to figure this out, because we are both awesome. Acting hysterical like this is just going to get you noticed, which is NOT a good thing."

[kingsroads]

Strange looks over at Peridot as she gives him the pep talk. And...she's right. They are awesome and they are going to figure this out, mostly because Strange can't imagine just how fucked he would be if they don't figure this out. He's just going to keep to himself that he's probably already noticed, thanks to Strange flipping out at the healers. Instead, Strange takes a few deep breaths.

"You're right," he admits, a bit under his breath. "It's just...it's only been a day! She trusted me with this and it's only been a day before things went terribly wrong!"

[periphrasing]

"Well it's not like you messed it up by doing something stupid," Peridot cuts in. Like, if Strange had actually been an idiot about it, that would be one thing, but. "We didn't know about the iron. That threw a wrench in things right from the get-go. If you look at it that way, it's just as much her fault for not getting that information, really."

Pause.

"Uh. Not that I'd say that to her face."

[kingsroads]

Strange can't help but let out a little laugh at that. Because Peridot's right. Both in the sense that the iron threw a wrench in things from the start and that he's not going to tell the Ringmaster that it's her fault for not getting information about said iron.

"If she knew iron would be involved, I don't think he'd come along in the first place."

He still looks like he's on the verge of a panic attack. But this is at least starting to calm him down.

[periphrasing]

"Pretty much," she agrees, whiskers twitching with amusement.

Peridot sits up a little, and glances around quickly before looking back at him. "We probably shouldn't be seen talking together for too long," she says with some urgency. It'd make sense for her to check up on the raven after a crash like that, but a lengthy conversation is going to start to look suspicious. "I'll assist in conducting a search for him, though."

[kingsroads]

"Thank you," Strange responds, with a little nod. He hops away from Peridot a bit before shaking his feathers out.

"As I'm the more mobile of the two of us, I'll check in with you later."

The more mobile plus the one of the two who's claimed scrying as his talent. It's easier for him to find her than her to find him.

[periphrasing]

Assuming he keeps that promise of checking in, on day 85 he'll find her just sitting on a low wall overlooking the forest beyond the city.

She has questions for him, and she's not even sure where to start.

[kingsroads]

Strange does keep that promise. He doesn't even have to scry this time: Strange is about to fly to the forests when he spots her. Strange has a few things to ask so, as quietly as possible, he lands a few feet away, at the back of Peridot.

However, ravens can be dicks. And for this moment, Strange is going to indulge in his dickish nature. As quietly as he can, he hops up to Peridot and tries to yank on her tail with his beak.

[periphrasing]

Fucking rude.

Lost in thought as she is, Peridot isn't difficult to sneak up on right now. She startles badly, jumping in the air with a squawk and whirling around to face the offender with teeth bared, only for the ferocity to slip away when she identifies who it is.

"What the heck was that for!?!" she snaps.

[kingsroads]

Strange makes an odd little bird noise that might be a laugh if birds could actually laugh. "It felt like the right thing to do," he answers, as if that's a good enough answer. It isn't but hey, there you go, that's the answer Peridot is getting.

He flies up to stand next to Peridot on the low wall. "I saw whatever you and your lynx friend were trying to do earlier this morning." Who (normally) has two thumbs, a slightly fucked sleep schedule, and no sense of personal boundaries? Jonathan Strange. "What exactly was that?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot scowls at him when he just laughs, but allows him to perch on the wall next to her without further retaliation.

"Testing a theory," she says cryptically, hesitant to elaborate too much in case they're overheard. If she's uncomfortable with the scrying, she gives no particular indication of it. Too much else on her mind. "I'm glad you came to find me; there's a lot I need to fill you in on."

[kingsroads]

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.

[periphrasing]

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.

[kingsroads]

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.

[periphrasing]

"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!"

[kingsroads]

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.

[periphrasing]

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."

[kingsroads]

"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."

[periphrasing]

"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!"

[kingsroads]

"The carnival consists of more than you and Steven," Strange points out. Thankfully, his bird form prevents him from setting his hair on fire with anger but it's obvious he's getting more and more annoyed. Because he does think Peridot is letting her sentimentality blind her to the situation. In his experience, there's no reason to trust Lapis in the slightest.

"And honestly? I've no idea why you would take Lapis on this mission to begin with except for the fact that you're friends. How on earth is she stealthy?"