⇨ 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

[insidescoop]

"Well, I don't have a lot for myself... ...And I think it would be nice to have feathers," she begins, before coughing.

"Just as a...feature, you know!~ They seem...comfortable."

[pipers_son]

"Ya don't have ta spare my modesty, I know I'm very handsome~. Anyone would want ta have feathers like me!" Proudly, he spreads his wings... but it's half all bullshit, too. It works for his persona.

"So I'll be happy ta share. Just..." Let him adjust himself until he can spread his tail out, the range of colors rising up behind him. "Pick yer favorite colors."

[insidescoop]

"Who said anything about sparing," she chuckles, swaying a bit on the spot. "Maybe I'm trying not to inflate your ego any further!"

Two can play at the persona game, it would appear. As it is, she slithers around to inspect the feathers. "Hnmmm...I assume I can't take too many of these at once...."

[pipers_son]

"Awww, such a shame. Until I'm an artist they're impressed by, my dashin' good looks are all I have ta keep me afloat~." Not that he really cares if they think he's a fantastic artist or not, beyond any privileges it might grant him. They aren't supposed to stick around here, after all. If they do, well... That will be a sign that things have gone south.

In the meanwhile, he keeps his tail spread out for her, allowing her choice of whatever she likes. "Well, ya can grab a pretty, ah... mouthful?" Right, none of them have hands. He'll have to keep watching his mouth- beak on that one. "It doesn't hurt me much ta lose a few feathers."

[insidescoop]

"It's just how it's going to go, I guess," Carly sighs, seemingly not caring much about the poor peacock's standing. She is, however, careful about what feathers she takes. "Hmmmm...well, I want to go for a bit of a rainbow so.... hold still!" she announces-

And rather abruptly, plucks at a few.

[pipers_son]

It's a good thing Joker has experimented with plucking some of his own out as well, or else this would probably be a lot more surprising than it is. Still, for all that he's used to it, and sort of expecting it, that doesn't necessarily stop the way he jolts a little bit.

"Whoa- ya just went right for it, didn't ya!"

[insidescoop]

"Of course!" Carly insists, huffing. "You gave me free reign, and fanned right out! I'm not going to wait!!"

[pipers_son]

"Not gonna be gentle, either!" he says, head tossed back as he laughs. Sometimes, it's so refreshing when Carly just goes right for things, no dilly-dallying. "I thought objects of art were supposed ta be handled delicately?"

[insidescoop]

"Well if I go slow and gentle it's going to hurt worse when they come out! It has to be quick, like.... ...Like a snake bite!" She almost said booster shot.

Almost.

[pipers_son]

For a moment, he cranes his head back to look at her with an almost thoughtful stare... before starting to quietly snicker. "Why, Sabathi, I didn't know ya thought we were up ta that part of our relationship already, talkin' about bitin' me already."

Listen, animals bite each other for reasons like that, right? He can bullshit, it's fine.

[insidescoop]

"HEH!?" The snake drops the feathers she's got so far, sputtering.

"W-WE- We're supposed to be above that!! In fact, I'm sure we're above that!! Don't say things like this!"

[pipers_son]

Oh, that is a perfect reaction, and Joker's cackling is completely unrestrained. It's a good thing he used that sort of teasing with Carly instead of one of the locals. He's sure that they would think him uncouth, at the very best. Well, it's not like they would be wrong.

"Such embarrassment! Well, it's not as if I can help it." He waggles his tail a little bit, still snickering to himself. "It's what these feathers are for, after all! But ya may have a point. I suppose that's somethin' for another life." You know, the one where they're human, although he hopes any eavesdropper would just assume that he's talking about when they were regular dumb animals. "Well, there's no need ta worry~."

[insidescoop]

"Oooooghhh..!!" If only she could blush properly! That would make this even better. Carly gathers as many of the feathers as she needs, sliding around the bird while grumbling to herself. "I'm not worried about anything, believe me! You're the only one who should be worried!"

She doesn't actually have a reason for that, she just needed a comeback.

Which means it failed already.

[pipers_son]

Radiating amusement, Joker watches her scurry about to collect the feathers, and doesn't jump nearly so bad this time around. "Oh, then I'm sure I'll be lookin' forward ta how ya make me worried~."

He's still waiting on those embarrassing clothes, after all.

"How many do ya think you'll need?"

[fortuneglass]

"As you should!" That's not a good answer Carly.

As it is she holds her bundle close, inspecting them shortly. "Mmmm..."

Pluck.

"There we go, that's it~ Perfect! Care to watch me work on the results of my plan~?"

[pipers_son]

His ass is going to be sore for ages, he can tell. Joker waggles his remaining tail just to adjust to the weight of it again now that it's got some of a load off.

"Sure. It'll be fun, won't it? And it can give me some more ideas on how we can work together in the future." Or how to come up with better lies, it's fine.

Mfw she wearin this in her fights now

[insidescoop]

"Exactly~" She cheerfully slithers into another area of the studio, inspecting various fabric sheets. "Hmmm...whatever we use will have to simply be accented by the feathers, but without drowning their look..."

[pipers_son]

Joker casually follows, stretching his head to check out the occasional bit of cloth that has his interest. There's probably no leather considering how that gets made in the first place, but he's sure they can figure something out.

"So will color or fabric play a more important part there, do ya think?"

[insidescoop]

"Hmmm...It's hard to tell. Colour is certainly key, but certain fabrics will...shine, and catch the light in different ways..."

She hums, tilting her head as she darts between the racks. "And it needs to be comfortable for that matter! No sense wearing something that isn't!"

[pipers_son]

"Oh, absolutely." He bobs his head in a nod. "So what if ya go with somethin' that has a good texture, but looks plain in colors? Think that would work?" Pausing, he stays in place so that there's less of a chance for her to run into him.

[fortuneglass]

"Exactly..! Not too plain...but simple!" Carly explains, turning her head from where she coils. "Simple, not too complicated...'plain' isn't quite the right word for what we want after all, and...oh~!"

She pauses, pulling a stretch of fabric down. "This might work..."

[pipers_son]

Now that Carly has stayed to a spot for more than a second, Joker hops over and coos in interest.

"Oooooh. That could definitely be fun, couldn't it?"

[insidescoop]

"That's what I was thinking at least~" Carly chirps. "Now I just need to come up with a style....hmmm. There's not too many things to be done for my body type, but I'm sure I can get a bit creative....Something that flares or loops might be nice, don't you think?"

[pipers_son]

"Well, you'll want ta take the shape inta consideration along the feathers." Hopping around, he gets a good idea of the fabric. "It'll have ta be something that, ah, accentuates 'em." The word is said carefully, syllable by syllable. "Do ya plan on havin' 'em stick out, stay on edges...? That should help figure it out."

[fortuneglass]

"Hmmm....I don't know if sticking out all the time is a good idea...maybe while I'm gliding," she mutters, "But not when I'm on the ground, they'd get dirty..."

Hm. "It'll need to fold up on its own somehow...."