⇨ 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

[periphrasing]

"Well the GOOD news," she says, forcing herself to look more chipper, "is that it's likely those people are being held where the mirror is! Sooooo. If we can get in there, we can probably help them!"

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE?

[starseedling]

HE'S DEFINITELY TRYING.

He clenches his fists at his sides and nods, trying to accept that as an answer. It never feels like they have enough time to help with the nightmares they come across.

"Yeah. I just... wish we had more time, to make things better here."

[periphrasing]

"I mean... We might not need a lot of time. To fix things. ...This time," Peridot tries to reassure him while picking her words carefully, swishing her tail anxiously. "From the sound of things they're using the Mirror for the examinations, so if we take that, it should cripple their operation pretty seriously."

[starseedling]

Steven stares at his bleeding arm, nodding a little. Then he abruptly changes the subject.

"Did you actually get in a fight with Mr Strange?" he asks.

[periphrasing]

To say Peridot is caught off guard by that question would be an understatement. She closes her mouth, lips pressing into a thin line as she gawks at him for a long moment.

Then she flops down onto the ground and sits with her legs crossed, looking defeated.

"Yeah," she groans miserably. There's other more important things to be talking about, specifically regarding this mission? But Peridot has absolutely no qualms about taking a break so she can dump her emotions on Steven.

[starseedling]

It could be that Steven doesn't really want to think about the animals or the Mirror anymore. So, in a signature move, he's focusing on someone else.

"What happened?" he asks, sitting down as well.

[periphrasing]

Peridot makes an unpleasant face, almost like she's going to vomit or something, and flops onto her side.

"It's complicated," she whines. "It was just before we left on this mission. I tried to get him to come with us because, OBVIOUSLY, he's been hanging around with Ignatius, who's already gotten in trouble with the Twelve. I figured if we found the rebels, it would be safer for them to stay here than it would be in the forest."

[starseedling]

"And... he didn't like that?"

He sounds uncertain. From the story so far, he can't imagine how a big conflict could come out of it.

[periphrasing]

"Well. No," Peridot confirms. "He didn't. But what he really didn't like was that Lapis was involved."

She has a sour expression on, staring at her hands and flexing her claws slightly.

[starseedling]

"Oh," he says, putting it together with a frown. "...And they don't really get along, do they?"

[periphrasing]

She sighs heavily.

"No. They don't," is Peridot's quiet reply. "Especially not since Ignatius showed up looking for Lapis at the Athenaeum. He thinks she's a traitor to the carnival. Everyone does, and I've never been able to adequately explain that she isn't because--"

She pauses, realizing that she's getting ahead of herself a bit. There's no way Steven could know about that incident either, which means she's going to have to explain THAT bit, which she's not thrilled about doing, but. Surely he won't get mad at her like Strange did, right? Surely, if there's anyone who'd understand why she lied to protect Lapis, it would be Steven.

"...I should probably rewind a bit, shouldn't I," she huffs.

[starseedling]

"They... wait, why do they think she's a traitor? Because Ignatius wanted her for something?" Steven is totally lost, yes. He needs some help here.

His body goes tense immediately, though, at the mention of Ignatius. Both because the fae get him on edge easily, and because this sounds more difficult than he initially thought.

[alienwear]

It's pretty plain to see that Peridot is reluctant to talk about this, going by the way she can't hold eye contact with Steven for longer than a second. She draws her knees up to her chest and hugs herself, opting to stare at the base of one of the nearby game booths instead, falling silent for a long moment.

"...I don't want you to hate me too," she says in a small voice.

[starseedling]

"Peridot..." he says sadly, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "I didn't hate you when you were trying to destroy my planet and kidnap me... I'm not going to hate you now."

Which, is true, but less bluntly:

"I know that, whatever happened, you were just trying to do what you thought was right. You've always done that."

[alienwear]

It's pretty hard to argue, when he puts it in those terms.

"Yeah... You're right. I do. And I did," Peridot replies in a tiny voice, finally looking at him again. She takes a deep breath to center herself, and then forces herself to sit up again.

"Back in the Athenaeum... Lapis came to talk to me one afternoon, to ask me some questions about fae. When I pressed her on her reasoning, she told me she ran into one out in the archives, and from the description she gave me, I deduced that it must have been Nightshade."

[starseedling]

"...I guess that makes sense, since they were stalking us and everything," he says, though talk of the Athenaum obviously makes him uneasy, just thinking about it.

[alienwear]

"Yeah. Well. It gets worse," Peridot groans. "Apparently Lapis was talking to her about... About making a deal in order to break her contract with the Ringmaster. That's why she came to me afterwards, to ask me about fae deals, to see if I thought it was a good idea. OBVIOUSLY I didn't, and I made sure to make it adamantly clear that she should not, under any circumstances, be making deals with strange fae."

[starseedling]

Oh. Well. That would do it.

Steven is obviously uncomfortable, glancing away for a moment, but only because he knows what that could have resulted in. He knows what Nightshade wanted. Lapis could have ended up hurting him without even realizing it.

"And that's why Strange was mad?" he asks, a bit more gingerly.

[periphrasing]

"Nnnnngh... Noooooo," she creaks, shrinking in on herself and glancing away again. "Not exactly. See... At the time, we weren't sure if the Nightshade that Lapis saw was an illusion from one of the books, or the real thing. I told Lapis I wanted to inform Lambert and Sans about the incident right away, because it posed an obvious security threat. But..."

She pauses briefly and glances down at her hands, fingers twined together anxiously. "...Lapis was scared. She didn't want to get dragged into any more trouble, especially not after I lectured her about the dangers of what she almost did. She said she didn't mind if I told the other supervisors, but if I did tell them, she wanted to be left out of it."

Steven can probably see where she's going with this.

[starseedling]

"What did you tell them?" he asks, not because he hasn't already gotten the gist, but because he wants to know the specifics. He figures they might matter when it comes to resolving the problem.

"Did they find out she was involved anyway?" There isn't much judgment in his voice. There's a good chance he'd try to lie for Lapis's sake, too.

[periphrasing]

"Strange did. Recently. Yesterday." She pauses to sigh before answering his first question. "I told them that I was the one who saw Nightshade. I figured that so long as they knew there was a possibility that Nightshade was lurking around somewhere, it didn't really matter who it was that saw her. Especially since Lapis had learned by that point that making a deal with another fae was a terrible idea, so there was no longer any risk of her turning traitor."

Her expression darkens.

"...And then Ignatius showed up in the library asking for her, and made it an issue again."

[starseedling]

"Did... Lapis actually agree to it?" Steven asks, sounding stunned. He'd been assuming it never got that far, and the idea that it might have chills him.

[periphrasing]

"Of course she didn't!" Peridot says urgently, looking alarmed. "She said she didn't get to that point and I believe her. But Ignatius was still looking for her, and he asked a huge group of people about her, so... it directed suspicion at her. I wound up asking Ignatius about it directly-- with the Ringmaster's permission, of course-- and he said that Nightshade told him that there was someone among our number who was interested in defecting. It all still lines up with what Lapis told me: Nightshade told her that she could put her in touch with a more powerful summer fae who could make a contract with her to help, and Ignatius corroborated that."

[starseedling]

"But... she went along with it enough that Ignatius was going to offer her something," Steven says, his shoulders sinking. "Yeah... I guess I can see why they'd be mad."

[periphrasing]

"She didn't know any better!" Peridot insists, swishing her tail anxiously. "You know how she is. She hates being at the carnival, all she really wants is to go back to the barn where she can stay out of danger. She thought that working with another fae would be enough to break her contract with the Ringmaster and earn her some stability. She was obviously wrong, which I made certain to THOROUGHLY explain to her, but... No one else seems to get that."