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

Yuya jumps when he feels something by his brand, having been too wrapped up in the pain to notice Steven approaching until he turns around, wide eyed. He's only startled for a moment, though, before the pain numbs and he recognizes who it is.

"Oh, Sss--" he catches himself, holding his mouth tightly shut to prevent the name from slipping. He takes a breath and tries again.

"Thanks. That helps." He's a little awkward, suddenly unsure what to say when they're not supposed to know each other anymore.

"It's okay," Steven says airily, obviously pretty out of it. He isn't thinking about the details of the deception so much, but he knows enough to not use proper nouns or anything.

"That really hurt," he says, sinking down onto his butt.

"... Yeah." And if it hurt for Yuya, it must be agonizing for Steven. He forces himself up enough to slowly turn, half curling by Steven's side as he looks down at him to look at the mark. "Are you okay...? Was it really bad?"

He doesn't have the magic to help Steven in return, right now, but he wishes he did.

"My leg feels all prickly," he says, his ears drooping back. "But... I think... I'm okay?" He lays down too, resting his head on Yuya's side. The branded leg seems kind of twitchy as he stretches out his toes.

He'd still take it over being kidnapped by his mom, so relatively speaking, he's doing pretty okay.

He wonders is, given the way the branders were panicking, they can really say they're not okay. But they're both not inclined to make someone else in pain worry about them instead, so Yuya can only take that answer.

When Steven rests against him, Yuya tilts his head down to poke his nose to the top of Steven's head while his tail curls around like an arm to provide comfort. "Can you walk? I can carry you if it's too hard."

He sits up a little, leaning over to lick his own haunch. Unfortunately, his healing powers don't work on himself. Not like that, anyway.

"Yeah... I can do it," he says tiredly. "I just didn't think this would start off so bad."

None of them did. What part of paradise includes ritual iron branding?!

"But then you know tomorrow has to be better than today." He doesn't know that, but he sounds confident enough. "They said there's places we can sleep so we can recover. Think you can make it there?"

If not, he can probably fit on Yuya's back. It'll be slow moving, but Yuya won't just leave Steven alone in pain.

"Yeah," he says, and slowly starts to stand up. He's basically not putting any weight on that leg at all, if he can help it. "I have to find... some people. That looked like they didn't take it well."

Yuya could point out Steven doesn't look like he took it well, but that won't deter hin from helping right now will it?

"I'll go with you." He says it quickly and pulls back a little before he slowly moves to stand. "Did you see where they went? Or, uh, didn't go?" As the case may be for anyone still passed out in the pools--he hope it's nobody.

"Everyone's just heading over to the living spaces right now," he says, slowly wandering in that direction himself. "I think the skink guy was the only one who stayed unconscious..."

Which, he thinks that was Ignatius? So, that's worrying.

Yuya follows beside Steven, limping himself. Still, probably not quite as badly, and he's watching Steven out the corner of his eye in case he starts to struggle worse.

Right. Ignatius. "Yeah, but I think they're taking care of him so... that's going to be fine." He hopes it's going to be fine. A few of the carnival members went along, he's pretty sure. "I think that was more of a welcome than we were expecting."

That's an understatement.

He laughs tiredly.

"I guess there was no way to know what this would be like without just doing it," he says. "Maybe this was already the worst part."

Like, probably not, based on past experiences. It's a nice thought, though, so he's going to stick with it. Meanwhile, his walking path seems to waver back and forth a bit, but nothing too severe yet.

"Yeah, it's--I mean. Eden's supposed to be good for us, right?" It's a little strained in the way that he's trying not to be suspicious, but his faith is falling a little flat after the whole disturbing experience of being branded. "They looked pretty surprised, too. Maybe it's not supposed to be that bad."

He knows exactly why it was that bad, but he can't say it.

Yeah, no kidding. Is it weird that Steven didn't really find it that shocking, though? Things like this are just starting to seem normal, after some of the stuff that's happened to him.

"I wonder if it means something... that we were different, like that," he says, a little bit more cautiously. If he was really in this situation he'd probably be hoping that being unique that way was good. From this perspective, though, he suspects they'll see it as the opposite.

Yuya glances back over his shoulder before lowering his head, closer to Steven's so they can speak a little more softly. "Maybe, but we have to show them we're supposed to be here, right? It's an honor to be an Honorable."

He smirks, trying to lighten the mood a little at least. "It's really pretty here."

⇨ EDEN

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