⇨ 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]

"Lambert can shapeshift as well," said like it's obvious. Shapeshifting doesn't equal stealth, after all. It also doesn't change the fact that he still doesn't trust Lapis to begin with and certainly doesn't trust her if she's in the same room as Ignatius.

"All you have to go on is her word. That isn't good enough for me. If Lapis goes out on this exploration and actually attempts to protect the carnival, then maybe Ignatius and I will hide out in the barrens. But as long as Ignatius is my responsibility, I am not letting a potential traitor to the carnival even talk to someone who's more than willing to help betray us in the first place!"

[periphrasing]

Peridot is about two steps away from just storming off. The first point is a stupid argument in her opinion: Lambert can shapeshift about as well as she can herself, and only into one ASTOUNDINGLY unsubtle form. The two are hardly comparable. More importantly though, she's not registering what Strange is saying as distrusting Lapis; she's hearing it as not trusting her. And that... That just feels like a slap to the face.

"She is not a traitor!" she snarls, outright baring her teeth now. And before she can even think about it, the truth just comes rushing out: "You want to know why he was looking for her? Because Nightshade tricked her! Which is something I'm sure you of all people can appreciate the humiliation of!"

[kingsroads]

Strange is honestly trying to keep his cool. He's trying to keep his voice down, he's trying to keep his mood level, but every word Peridot says just annoys him more and more. Because yes, if someone was looking for Lapis to make an arrangement to betray the carnival, then that pretty solidly makes her a traitor.

Once Nightshade is mentioned, Strange goes still. It's not a 'quietly goes still' sort of calm, but an 'angrily goes still' sort of rage. How dare Peridot blame him for the mistakes that Jonathan Strange made in Portland?

"I was a Nightrider," he hisses. "In between the campsite and Eden, we asked around, trying to figure out just why Ignatius was asking about Lapis. Why is it that it's been weeks since the Atheaneum and this is the first I'm hearing that Nightshade's involved?"

It's less that this was kept a secret from him, more that it was kept a secret from the Nightriders in general. Once again, here's one of his friends disappointing him and keeping something secret for no good reason. If Nightshade is involved, they should have known before now.

[periphrasing]

Stars, she really shouldn't have said anything. Peridot's spluttering, caught between the guilt of having been dishonest and the outrage she's feeling surrounding this whole conversation.

"Because--! Because." She sighs shakily, trying to calm herself down. "Lapis didn't realize what she'd done until she came to me to talk about it, and neither of us were even sure at the time if it was the real Nightshade or just some sort of illusion from one of the books. I wanted to tell Lambert what happened because OBVIOUSLY this was a security risk, but Lapis was afraid of getting in trouble. So yeah. I reported it to let him know that Nightshade might be an immediate problem, but I lied and said I was the one who saw her. Okay!?"

[kingsroads]

Can birds glare? I don't know, but Strange is giving Peridot as much of a birdy glare as he can muster. She did this because Lapis was scared. Not because she had already told the Ringmaster, not because they had already worked it out with Nightshade, but because Lapis was scared. What a piss poor reason to put the carnival's safety at risk.

"Wonderful," Strange remarks, with a tone of voice that implies no, this isn't wonderful at all, he's pissed off about the whole thing. "I expected to not trust Lazuli. I didn't know that I shouldn't trust you either."

With hindsight, he'll realize that statement is a bit harsh. And depending on plot, he'll seek Peridot out later to apologize. But Strange is just so tired of not knowing things and so tired of people keeping secrets from him for no damn reason. First Lambert and Childermass, now Peridot?

"I've plenty of other reasons why I wouldn't want Ignatius on this mission, but this one's sealing it. He's not going."

[periphrasing]

Peridot's not like Steven. When someone says something hurtful to her, she doesn't cry about it. Instead it just looks like something kind of breaks inside her in a way that Strange probably hasn't witnessed before and then her ears and whiskers droop, and she gets a blank expression on her face.

"Fine."

And she hops down off the wall, and starts skulking away, radiating an icy hostility. Without looking back, she adds: "If you both wind up getting brainwashed, don't come whining to me. Because I tried to give you an out!"

[kingsroads]

Strange is radiating hostility right back, though his is fierce stubbornness. He's right. He knows he's right! Lapis hasn't done anything to prove she shouldn't be trusted and Peridot likes her too much to actually realize it. He matches her blank expression with a determined one of his own.

Before Peridot gets too far away where he has to yell it, Strange says, "When I see Lambert next, I'm going to tell him the truth." He starts to flap his wings as he takes to the air. "You should worry about yourself instead of me."

[periphrasing]

Okay now that's just low.

Peridot whirls around with an outraged snarl on her lips, but it's too late: Strange is flying away, and threatening to tank a second friendship as he departs. As if the extra petty barb was really necessary.

She doesn't have time to worry herself into a tizzy over this. There's too many other far more important things that need her attention right now.

She stares after the raven for a long moment, and then continues storming off.