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

"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?"

Oh. That should have been obvious, good job Strange. He can't help but give Ignatius a wry smile as he answers: it's obvious that Strange wasn't expecting 'what's poker' to be the biggest problem Ignatius had with his statement and yet he's super charmed that it is.

"It's a card game. Normally it involves betting and bluffing, but as neither of us have any money on our person, we can use sticks and leaves."

⇨ EDEN

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