⇨ 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

[npcarnival]

"Well, they're forbidden to walk free," Yefefi says. "There's a distinction."

"Most Honorables don't know about all of this stuff, anyway," Duma says. "Or maybe they just don't really care."

"Examining the souls of various Peoples is a pretty big part of what they do down there," Yefefi says, like it should be obvious. "I think, anyway. I haven't been there myself."

[stompadour]

"Down where," says Jasper, squinting at them suspiciously.

[npcarnival]

"I'm not talking to you right now!" Yefefi snaps back at Jasper.

[stompadour]

Jasper leans back with a look of indignation and stamps her hoof. "Fine!"

[chronosynthesis]

Wait, what. "Then tell me, please. What they do down where?"

[moonfang]

"And can I come out now? Pleaaase?"

[periphrasing]

Okay now they are starting to reveal a bit more information than Peridot was intending to and is comfortable with, and it's making her fidget. The mirror? The fact that a fae brought them here? She definitely feels like they're digging themselves a deeper hole here.

And then they drop THAT little nugget.

"OKAY I think we're getting off on the wrong foot here," she tries to interject frantically. "Can we maybe just, slow down for a second, and start from the beginning?"

[npcarnival]

"So you're telling me," Yefefi says, pointing a tiny finger, "that all of you guys turned yourself into beasts and broke in here... but you don't even know what Eden's purpose is?"

They seem reluctant to explain anymore before they have a solid idea of what these people are all doing here.

[mirrortide]

"I have literally no idea."

[periphrasing]

Peridot literally just. Gives up and lies face down on the ground at this point.

"This was a mistake. Coming out here was a mistake," she gurgles miserably.

[stompadour]

"What I don't get," says Jasper, who has a bit of a one track mind, "is why these ones aren't corrupted when all the creatures back there obviously were."

[chronosynthesis]

"We heard that it was Lilith's attempts to achieve perfection. A being to rule the multiverse, or something along those lines. Has it changed?"

[npcarnival]

"Okay, well, you know that much," Yefefi says. "But... why are you here? You wanted the Mirror, you said?"

[periphrasing]

"That was our purpose for coming to Eden," Peridot clarifies, lifting her head slowly. "Our purpose for coming out HERE was... Well, we wanted to talk to you."

[chronosynthesis]

"We wanted to see if we could ask you for information the other Honorables won't answer, or will look too suspicious. Perhaps see if an alliance was possible... after all, your people are seeking something else out of Eden than Lilith's goals, aren't you?"

[periphrasing]

Thank god for Syrlya. If Lambert doesn't hate Peridot already thanks to Strange's tattling, she'll have to remember to thank him for the recommendation next time she sees him.

"It was in the wake of this scorn that the Furies of Eden were born, a gathering of Honorables that could no longer see the wisdom in their Maker’s plan," Peridot intones seriously, suddenly recalling the info that was passed around back at the Athenaeum. "That's what you said, right? You're the Furies."

[npcarnival]

"Well... yeah?" Yefefi says, sounding a little confused. "But you aren't painting a very clear picture of who you actually are or what exactly it is you want from the Furies. To be honest, a lot of what you're saying is just coming across as noise right now..."

"Oh..." Duma says, suddenly. "I wonder if the dream I had was real... It was about humans..."

[stompadour]

"We're not humans," says Jasper, offended. At least, she's pretty certain none of them here are? Syrlya obviously isn't, but Zangetsu...? She's not totally sure?

She kind of likes him, so she decides to believe he is not.

"And what we want is information, because we don't trust the Honorables back in the city or their leaders."

[moonfang]

“Yeah, gotta admit. The way the Honorables in Eden act? Pretty culty if you ask me,” he says, tapping his clawed fins on the stone floor of his cage. “And ta be honest, some wanted posters went up, and I wanted to know what exactly it takes to get in that much trouble with the elephant police.”

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya reaches back to gently swat his wing against Jasper's leg. One Fury already isn't talking to her, he doesn't want to piss the rat off more.

"We were hoping you could tell us more about the Silver Mirror--I presume that is what is being used to observe these souls? Such as where it is kept, or who has access to it."

He pauses. "It sounds as if you have already heard of our strange arrival... how easily does information from Eden reach the Furies?"

[periphrasing]

The little bat finally sits up again and shakes her wings out, sighing dramatically and making a side comment to Yefefi. "I suppose I can't really blame you for being confused. We did just spew a whole lot of information and questions at you at once, in a completely disorganized and chaotic manner," she growls, shooting a meaningful scowl at Jasper.

[stompadour]

Jasper huffs and flicks her tail, but shuts up.

[npcarnival]

"Yeah," Yefefi says, looking at Peridot. "I'm not really feeling it, to be honest."

"Usually allies offer something mutually beneficial..." Duma drawls flatly.

[chronosynthesis]

"Of course. As I said, if there's a possibility if making an alliance, then we re open to helping you achieve your goals in exchange for aiding ours. We desire the mirror, and you..."

He gestures to them. "There must be something you need to know, or something you need done."

[npcarnival]

Yefefi groans, and then taps something into the crystal interface that finally lets Zangetsu free.

"How about you start from the beginning. Tell us everything - why you're here, what you want, what you need from us... then we'll talk." They shake a finger at them. "And no more questions until you do! We're not the ones on your doorstep."

"I'm going to tell Agla," Duma sighs, and disappears into another puff of clouds.