lostcarnival | ⇨ EDEN PT. 3

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⇨ EDEN PT. 3

Who: Everyone!
When: End of Day 88, on to Day 89
Where: Eden
What: The carnival breaks into two groups, as one entertains the Architect Samyaza at her festival, and the other assaults the Cathedral through a secret passageway with the intent of claiming the Silver Mirror and liberating those imprisoned.
Warnings: Ritual sacrifices.

IN GOD'S HANDS↴

Only those left in Eden and remaining undetected will be able to come to Samyaza's festival, which is an increasingly small group. It's also a dangerous proposition - there's no way to know what Samyaza has in store for her visitors, only that she apparently wants to interact with them before allowing the other Architects to act. It could work as an excellent distraction, drawing the eyes of the Architects towards the festival instead of towards the Cathedral while the attempt to claim the Mirror is taking place.

For those that arrive in Samyaza's gardens, they are beautiful and well prepared, and music of otherworldly perfection flows through them. Tables are arranged with amazing works of art as their centerpieces, while the trees themselves are made into dazzling displays of color with an effect that seems to turn their leaves into pure light. Samyaza will be presiding, a hare that looks like she's made of something ephemeral, like wind of pure colour. She invites you in kindly, saying that before she speaks, she will honour you with a song...

► THE SET UP: For the first hour or so, the festival will be nothing but celebration. There are other Honorables there, but not as many as usual - the main event are you and the other new arrivals. After the hour mark, Samyaza will perform her song. Until then, threads can be made focusing on the pre-song mingling and planning. Will you listen when she sings?

► THE TWIST: There will be more happening at the festival than Samyaza plans. While she is comfortable waiting to act, other Architects are less patient.

ON HOLY GROUND↴

With carnival members (and Ignatius) in enemy hands, there's no more time for hestitation. Based on the information given to her by various carnies, the Ringmaster will meet with the Furies and declare her intent to attack the Cathedral's underground during Samyaza's festival on the evening of Day 88. The Furies will agree, saying that those they have on the inside will use their influence to ensure there are as few Architects and Scholars are blocking their way as possible, but they must all still expect a fight.

Furies from the base in the barrens will be coming along with this raid group, using what information they have to speed transit through the underground tunnels. They only ask two things - that after the Mirror is collected, it be used to save the lives of Hasma and the other captured Furies, before being used to repair the mind of the Serpent herself.

► THE SET UP: The Ringmaster will lead the way into the secret ruins that Childermass and the other found - the main difference is that she will smash right through the cracked wall defending the depths of the Cathedral, clearing the path entirely with her now serpentine body. Her plan is this - to draw the attention of the Architects to the surface by taking on the appearance if the Serpent, while carnival members and assisting Furies search the tunnels below to find the Mirror and the captives.

► THE TWIST: The people captured by the Twelve and imprisoned in the garden (AKA characters on the TDM) will be found, but the carnival members won't be. At least, not in the same place as the other captives. A megathread will go up for the group that goes to capture the Mirror, but you are free to NPC and thread confrontations will Scholars that are protecting the underground prison and the chambers where the Twelve held their meetings. Please report any Scholars that are killed or seriously harmed to the mods. Lambert will be leading the part of the group heading towards the Mirror, while Sans will head the group searching the tunnels for captives.

Now is the time to let loose and use all your powers. It's probably best to keep your disguise to catch people off guard, but it is no longer necessary. New characters will be directed to post here once accepted.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I am able to discern truth when the evidence is before me," Penemue says, simply. Then he looks to Rita. "I have spoken to your person. He seemed quite convinced that he was a master of the device in his own right."

Penemue definitely sounds wry about that observation.

"However, we have no such mastery over removing entire peoples from the Mirror. It may be beyond us."

Peridot is downright stunned by how smoothly this seems to be going, but the discussion of Strange throws her off kilter a bit. She doesn't like the sound of Penemue's uncertainty; she's still mad at Strange, but she'd still very much prefer if he didn't remain trapped in the creepy faerie artifact?

"That clod," she groans under her breath, eyes rolling ceiling-ward as a pained expression crinkles her little bat brows.

Rita rolls her eyes, perfectly able to picture Strange and his bullshitting. "Yeah... of course he was," she mutters dryly.

In truth, the possibility that Strange could be trapped forever is one that's crossed Rita's mind... but each and every time, she quickly pushes the thought away.

"There has to be a way. Look... I'm a scholar. Magic artifacts are one of my specialties. You and the other Architects might have more experience with the Mirror itself, but if I could examine it, maybe I can figure something out." It might seem absurd, asking to use something her group clearly intended to steal just minutes ago. But if Penemue's so sure of his ability to discern truth, maybe he can see that she genuinely wants to get that idiot out of there, first and foremost.

Penemue tilts his head, considering.

"We have never seen this happen before. The Mirror is capable of storing aspects of souls within it, but nothing so physical has ever entered it whole. Lilith never explained much beyond our immediate needs."

"However," he adds, a moment later, "if you intend to take it off our hands, you may have much time to find the solution yourselves."

Meanwhile, Armaros reappears on the ceiling, lowering herself through the veil of webs.

"Saraqael is ready to have us," she says.

Looks like it's time to go. Childermass does have one last thing to mention before, at least on the topic of how to use the Mirror

"Our man in the mirror aside, there is one thing we may want to address before removing the Mirror from Eden entirely," he adds before they move on, looking back towards Penemue. "The Serpent. She was cursed using the Mirror, wasn't she?"

"Yes, that is the impression we are under," Penemue says. "The Serpent took the power of the Fruit and the Flame into herself, and so the Mirror was used to disable her."

"And it didn't occur to any of you to use it to try to fix her?" says the bat, more than a little bit critical. She figures they must have their reasons, all of them, but...

“If they had done THAT,” Zangetsu says, loudly enough to actually be heard, “Lilith would have done the same to them. Or worse. She’s clearly not a super benevolent deity.”

He stands up and rotated his shoulders a bit.

“We should secure the mirror and contact the boss. Then we can worry about fixing the Serpent and getting Strange out.”

Armaros makes a gesture, allowing the webs covering the ceiling mirror to fall away. Then, she retreats to the ceiling.

"Only Saraqael is with the Mirror now," she says, warily. "I am going to keep watch."

She vanishes. Meanwhile, Penemue spreads his wings, looking to the group. It's in that moment that Agla and Soterasi reveal themselves. Penemue doesn't seem surprised.

"I should have thought you'd be involved, Agla," he says, stoically.

"Someone had to do it," Agla says, not without a certain coldness. She looks to the others, and then heads to the center of the room. "You must look at the ceiling, and join with your reflection, then become it. Follow along."

Agla looks upwards, and then she's vanished - her reflection regards the room for a moment, before running away elsewhere.

Syrlya doesn't openly respond to the development, at first, but after Alga reveals herself and disappears through the reflection he lets out a faint sigh before, with a wave of his hand, he drops the veil on himself, Tyki, and Lambert completely. He's not sure he really trusts that it's going to be this easy. He's used to things going worse than expected, not better.

He looks to the rest of them, then to Penemue and nods once in his direction. "Thank you."

With that, he follows Alga's direction to the center and looks up to will himself to his reflection.

Speaking of the boss, Lambert wonders just how her distraction is going. He supposes they’ll find out, but for now, he’ll finally move now that Syrlya’s droppedthe illusion— not that it seems to have availed them much, in this case. He’s got half a mind to ask if Armaros needs assistance keeping watch, but if it’s come to this?

“Is this really the only way to the Mirror?” he asks Penemue directly, like he isn’t just a cat that’s leapt off someone’s shoulder and spoken for the first time. “Was that your idea, or Lilith’s?”

Nonetheless, as Agla directs, he’ll look up and see... well. Himself, as a man and not a cat, scowling and irritable. He’s not sure how this trick’s supposed to work, but he tries to focus less on his own body and more on trying to think of his reflection as himself, trying not to feel ridiculous all the while. At least it’s easier since it actually looks like he expects himself to, but now he wonders if this illusion too is going to be stripped off him as they’re brought up.

Edited 2018-08-13 00:38 (UTC)

Things look passive for now and Tyki is fine with that. If it comes down to anything more, his guard isn't lowered completely. Either way he watches the developments and nods in agreement to Zangetsu's words even if it isn't really seen. There's no time for petty words or bickering about why this or that wasn't done. That could always come later.

He watches the others revel himself and when his own veil is dropped by Syrlya, he takes just one step up into the air a little higher and looks upwards. "Be prepared so I don't drop you," he tells Lambert, half joking, half serious. He could always hop back on after. Tyki simply doesn't want to be rude.

But like the others, he'll look up at the mirror, questioning exactly what he sees. He's always wearing a glamour and he's done well to hide his true appearance for a while now. He hasn't seen it in a long time, either in a mirror, nor his own reflection. Either way, he wills himself into his refection like the others.

So finding how to release everything the Mirror's taken from people might be the first on the to-do list but... Would the Ringmaster even know how to do that?

A question Childermass keeps to himself if only because he's hopping off of Rita's shoulder and releasing his crow form mid-flap to become a dog again. He lands with paws on the floor, not talons, and likewise follows Alga's directions. Looking up, willing himself to join the reflection above him. He wants to be up there, not down here.

All signs point to 'go see Saraqael', so at Agla's beckoning, Rita also looks up.

"Looks like it's safe now," she tells the others. She didn't exactly tell them the webs were there in the first place (it was hard to tell, with how much magic was already in the ceiling itself), but Rita figures some might have suspected a trap was laid in their way.

With that, she gives Childermass a glance (though he seems to already be on his way), focuses on her own reflection, and vanishes with the others.

Easy enough. This was actually quite similar to the way he possessed Ichigo, watching his battles in the reflections in the glass of the sideways cities. Waiting for the moment their eyes meet.

Zangetsu climbs into the air so he can be close to the reflective ceiling, staring his own reflection in the eyes. Me. That's me over there. I need to be over there.

And just like that, he is.

But his guard is far from down. In case it's some sort of trick, he has his hand on the hilt of his blade, hanging from his back as usual.

Through Zan's contribution, Peridot doesn't stop scowling critically at Penemue. It's not that she couldn't hazard an educated guess at what what the architects reasons for inaction were; she's just of the opinion that they're bad reasons, considering the Furies were actually out there trying to do something about Lilith.

Either way, she keeps her mouth shut for now, and looks up at the reflection as directed. It takes her a moment to wrap her head around the trick, but she joins everyone upstairs a few moments later.

Everyone who travels through the ceiling will find themselves in a new place, with a reflective floor and shadowy corners. There isn't a lot in here, comparatively, but that's okay. The main event takes up most of your attention.

The Silver Mirror sits at the far center of the room, with two silver trees growing around it. Each tree blossoms with flame and is heavy with shimmering, purplish fruit. As Strange described, it is about ten feet tall, and the trees grow straight from the Mirror's base.

A wolf stands before it, dark fur filled with starlight. He waits patiently.

"So... you convinced them. Good."

Well that was a neat way to travel, from one point to another, but he's experienced that kind of thing before. He takes a brief look around, gathering in the way the floor reflects and shadows linger all around them. It doesn't make him wary, too comfortable with this type of situation to feel unnerved. At least it paints a perfect scene, like a climax before a final battle, the other weighing every action thus far.

Similar to the branding, he's one of the first to step forward once arriving mostly allow room for others in case they converge in the same spot. He raises a hand in greeting towards the Architect, the one who named him, in front of the mirror, "Good evening."

If anything, he's polite.

Zangetsu, in contrast to Tyki, ignores the giant space wolf for the time being and approaches the mirror from behind, as to not have to worry about seeing his reflection and getting messed up by an extremely powerful fae artifact.

"Huh. That's inconvenient... The drawing didn't have these trees."

Syrlya takes a room in, finding... at least only Saraqael openly. He takes tentative steps to the mirror, circling around the side to inspect the tree with the fruits growing off of it.

"They must be the Fruit of Knowledge and Flames of Inspiration. I'm sure that is Lilith's touch." He pause, before reaching for one of the fruits.

He looks sideways to Saraqael. "So, you were already convinced the mirror needs to be removed?"

Once they're through, Lambert stands on his own feet ... which remain paws, for the moment. He'll take the opportunity to step forward, tail curling warily, as his eyes focus on Saraquel with a cocked head.

He isn't surprised about the trees, because Strange had told him as much, but he's interested in observing it externally -- and more to the point, seeing if the trees actually root the Mirror into the ground, or merely grow off it.

He also hisses, cat-like, when Syrlya reaches for one of the fruits, only to look annoyed at himself for making the sound. Maybe he should have asked to be changed back sooner.

"More that I was convinced that Lilith could no longer be the leader of Eden," he says, casually. "Though, removing the Mirror seems like a good first step. Provided we can be otherwise spared from her wrath..."

His eyes narrow slightly, observing the group, specifically Peridot.

"Which was implied to be part of the offer."

"Oh don't worry about that too much. I'm sure the Ringmaster will eat her."

Seems like a lot more than just two of the Architects were sick of Lilith's shit. But it makes sense that they didn't all show their hands.

Speaking of eating...

Zangetsu pokes one of the fruits.

"Can I have one of these?"

Syrlya still doesn't move to pull the fruit off, through he's holding it as he gives Lambert a bewildered expression. "Did--you just hiss at me?"

He frowns, not sure how to take that, but Saraqael continuing on distracts him. Ah, so he's one of the Architects working with the Furies.

"Of course. Are--" Hm, well, eating is an option but maybe they are no more inclined to just murder Lilith? "You know her better than we do. How do you anticipate her to retaliate?"

From the instant Peridot arrives in the room, her attention has been pulled this way and that in rapid succession: First she can't take her eyes off the wolf and the mirror, then she has to stop and give Lambert a weird look because what the hell was that noise-- and then she feels Saraqael's eyes on her, and she whirls back to face him, looking slightly alarmed.

The bat briefly glows a blinding white-green, and warps back into regular old Peridot, that same surprised expression still on her face. Fortunately, Syr speaks up before she has the chance to stammer over herself, thanks to feeling put on the spot.

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