lostcarnival | ⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

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⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 119 - Day 126
Where: The Summerlands
What: Ignatius and Gild portal everyone to the Summerlands, with hopes of appealing to the Summer Maiden for help. Meanwhile, the carnival gets the chance to relax in luxury as only tentatively welcome guests. Here is the location write up from the last time the carnival visited. Since then, of course, some things have changed.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

THE SUN RISES↴

After taking the time to rest, Ignatius and Gild will be able to pool together their energy to portal the carnival (and the airship) to the Summerlands. Those still in Polaris will be left to their own devices for the moment as Gild intends to ask for the Summerlands aid in relocating them, hopefully as soon as possible. With the effort the carnival put into sorting things out in there, however, they should be fine on their own for a little while, at least.

They will arrive in the flowery fields at the base of the mountains, and soon the Summer Fae will notice their presence. Since the last time they visited, however, the atmosphere has changed.

► YOUR ARRIVAL: As the Summer Fae discover the group's arrival, it will quickly become apparent that there is a tension present that wasn't there any of the other times the carnival has visited. The Summer Maiden comes to greet the group personally, with an entourage of armed Summer Fae. They are not at all aggressive unless provoked, but there is clearly a wariness that is new. They seem uncertain about Ignatius being here, and while Gild will be able to do a lot of the talking and smooth things over, the Summer Maiden will deflect having a serious conversation about affairs until the carnival has taken time to 'rest.' It's more likely that the Maiden needs a moment to think over this new information before dealing with it.

► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, and the initial uncertainties are accommodated, they will invite you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but it feels like more of a formality, and no one is obligated to take them up on it.

► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will do their best to entertain these new visitors - but it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do.

► FAMILIAR FACES: One very different thing about the Summerlands this go around is that there appears to be a small settlement built at the base of the mountains, filled entirely with the former residents of the Manor. Alyss and Reyna will explain that they set up a place to live down there with the Summer Fae's help, and that the fae seems to be trying to remain hands off except when they are needed. The Manor folk overall seem to be doing well, though there is some tension regarding their place in the Summerlands - they are clearly seen as refugees, and while the Summer Fae do their best to help them, the arrival of the carnival and the request for even more help with refugee aid seems to be making things awkward.

► OF THINGS TO COME: The Summer Maiden will remain distant for the first few days, but according to Gild and based on personal observation, it will seem that the news that the Ringmaster has been taken and the idea that even more desperate mortals are requesting to come here are putting her at significant ill ease. She's not rude or dismissive, but she seems reluctant to address the situation head on, though she has said that she will hold a meeting with the carnival later in the week to discuss everything in more detail. None of them seem particularly angry or resentful, but they seem to regard the carnival as an ill portent of things to come.

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Huh what?

Strange blinks as the paw slaps him...and then just stares at the cat as it talks. Unsurprisingly, his first thought is 'oh my god, I'm going mad again.' But sense prevails as Strange lights up his third eye: the burn scars on his forehead, hand, and forearm light up in flames as he examines the magic surrounding this cat. The animal transformation spell is vaguely familiar, but the source of the magic is exceedingly familiar.

"Tyki? When could you do that?" He's equal parts charmed and confused.

This jerk of a cat hasn't really moved from his spot on his shoulder even as he watches Strange go through some sort of mini transformation with flames and the like. Hmm, that's an interesting tell. He'll have to store that information away for later.

He raises a paw to rub over his own ears, smoothing the black furred appendages downwards and fix the flow of his coat from all that vigorous scratching. He has to think but he's answering eventually while he grooms, "A little after Wismuth."

"That long ago? Damn, I haven't been paying attention." Strange stays put: after all, there's a cat on his shoulder. However, he snuffs out his flames because again, cat on his shoulder. The flames of his hair are still burning so be careful there, Tyki.

"Do you plan on turning back to human or am I just going to have to deal with you like this?"

Haven't been paying attention? Oh he knows. It makes him sneer a little, which looks odd on a cat, up at Strange and he'll flex his claws outwards in a gesture, "There's barely anything you've been paying attention to since you met that fae."

He does weigh the question for a few seconds. He leaps off of his shoulder onto the ground, transforming mid-air with a flush of power before landing on his palms and toes. He shifts around and sits in front of him, his nose wrinkling up at Strange, "I can still be pampered like this. But... that's not why I sought you out. I met the beautiful Lady Shimmer~"

Strange at least looks a little sheepish when Tyki calls him out on the fact that he's been focused pretty much on Ignatius and less on everyone else. The fact that Tyki's the second person to do it in a week makes Strange worry that oh damn, he really was focusing a lot on Ignatius, this wasn't entirely Lambert being jealous.

The conversation shifting to Shimmer makes Strange perk up a little, happy to have it shift in that direction. Because Shimmer's cool. And he thinks that her and Tyki would get along wonderfully.

"Was it during all that Polaris nonsense? If so, what a pity. The Mother of Invention didn't seem to keep much alcohol on the premises."

His tail sways behind him against the ground and he'll stare right at him to gauge his expression. Unlike Strange, Tyki pays attention to everything. He'll place his hands on the ground and lean forward, butting into personal space, snorting at the way he looks with some odd satisfaction.

"That's correct. She was there when we went off to go look for the carnival's belongings. She performed the chip replacement in my implant in order to allow us access along with saving us from a rough situation." An implant he still has within him whether he likes it or not. A lot of the exterior is removed but the back of his skull is evident from it.

"I owe her a drink or two when things are less strained."

All of that does make sense. As soon as Gild or someone had learned they were with the Mother of Invention, Shimmer would be the best person to seek out. "She'd enjoy that drink," Strange muses, though it's obvious he's thinking about something else.

"It does make me wonder...why didn't the Mother of Invention change the locks?" Which Strange knows is a metaphor, but look, he doesn't know computers. So he starts to explain. "She knew she had lost a changeling or two—Shimmer's brother, Scald, was with the Mother as well. So the Mother of Invention had lost a person who knew the layout, knew the codes, knew how the chips worked, and so on and so forth. If I were in her shoes and something like that happened, I'd change the locks as quickly as possible."

Of course, Strange has a feeling he knows what the answer to that is: the fae radically underestimate changelings in general. But the point remains. At least in his mind, this is another instance of the fae being profoundly stupid when it comes to certain things.

"I wanted to lighten the mood and she did rescue us from a lot of trouble." He did not enjoy getting tased and then tased again for good measure due to his implant. Plus he remembers Strange a long time ago telling him not to thank or do anything like that to any type of fae or changeling.

"Could she? Our implants allowed us access to the higher levels. It was not the matter of changing locks as much as it was restricting our access without restricting her obedient technicians as well." He remains leaning forward, sneering at Strange, "Thing is, when Shimmer changed out my chip with a chip from a Beta she knocked out, the Mother of Invention couldn't find me. Until she came to visit."

He crawls forward then, his fingers reaching out to jab Strange in the chest, "Which also means that prophecy amounted to nothing about me and our fates entwined so much as the carnival getting caught up in it. I evaded her detection, I was the only one not used as a puppet when she took over Yukio, Sans, and Rita. It was nothing more that prediction that we would run into her."

He does look down at his own hands, flexing them like he needs something to do with them, "But... I think I understand. I feel as if she could've ended this a lot quicker. She just didn't want to. I think she wanted to see what would happen." Something Tyki understood in great detail. It's hard to admit he might've gotten comfortable in Polaris over time.

As Tyki pokes him in the chest, Strange simply raises an eyebrow. He's not buying what Tyki is selling. As far as Strange is concerned, the worry about Tyki and the Mother's destiny intertwining did come true.

"On the other hand, you were one of the few who made it to Delta. And don't you have a chip still in your head? Perhaps that's the reason why the Athenaeum gave you her book. Say what you will, but your fates were entwined more than say...hers and Zangetsu's, for example."

It's obvious that Strange is going to find a way to justify his beliefs and justify his thoughts on the whole matter. Thankfully, prophecies are a nebulous enough concept that he doesn't feel any shame inferring or drawing slightly spurious conclusions.

"Prophecies come true in mysterious ways. For instance, I didn't expect the one about me to take the turns it did."

He snorts loudly, his hand waving dismissively at the idea. She chipped a lot of people, more than him, and he was going to keep being stubborn about this.

"I will admit I understood her perspective. To toy, tear, rip, and shred in the favor of gaining a decent reaction. I wanted that more than anything at home, sometimes boring, sometimes not. Even in war, there is no real compromise. You're fighting and that's it. The carnival has given me more experiences than I can count and she only wanted to see what would happen."

Which is why he's sure if that hadn't been the case she wouldn't have come out so openly amidst them. There were lots of ways she could've taken everyone down. She chose this way to observe.

"Mmm, one often meets his fate trying to avoid it, Jonathon. Yours or mine. I'm more curious about other things, like what Shimmer looked like before the Mother of Invention got her hands on her." Being Delta, he learned a lot of things about the technicians. It's a frightening thought.

Other people might be wary about Tyki admitting that he understands the Mother of Invention's perspective. Strange isn't. After all, he feels the same about some of the Court Fae. Strange was a soldier: he's always going to find a little bit of camaraderie with someone who believes in something so strongly they were willing to fight or die for it.

At Tyki's other statement, Strange can't help but laugh. "You can always ask her," he teases. "Though considering how much certain members of the carnival have changed in just the week the Mother's had us, I suspect the Mother did a number on poor Shimmer."

Says the person who oddly has no visible signs of changes thanks to the Mother.

It's why he so openly admits a lot to Strange in general. Plus, Strange enjoyed any bit of knowledge about someone he could get his hands on. At this point, he didn't really want to hold back anymore. Already his glamour was compromised and using it meant nothing to him now. Even Allen understood that once you announce someone is dangerous they are allowed to play every card. It's why Allen kept such a tight lip about Tyki's ill intentions both times he was in carnival.

"I am never a man that allows my curiosity to go unsated though it is a touchy subject." He tilts his head at Strange, leaning back again to sit on his butt once more, "Mm, you do know that when you reach Beta your entire body is removed and you are put in a new one, right? Which means she could've looked like just about anything or any other species. It's why all technicians of higher class look the same. It's why with the Beta and Alpha chips in my head it didn't make a convincing argument to anyone up there."

He rocks a little in thought, his tail lashing beside him, "Also there is Scald, her security, to contend with as well should I ask personal questions. In Delta we were assigned partners. Sans observed while I was his security. I imagine it was the same for both of them."

He did not know that. And Strange's expression lights up with curiosity and fascination as Tyki continues to explain. "That explains so much...I was wondering what the point of breaking everybody to hell and back was if we were supposed to strive for upward advancement. If she can transfer our minds and souls into a different body, then it doesn't matter what happens to the old one!"

This is all morbidly fascinating and Strange is just chomping at the bit for more answers. He looks over at Tyki with a slightly rapt expression and a wide smile.

"What else did you learn? Was there anything of interest about the Mother herself?"

"Thing is, I didn't undergo a single experiment myself and I made it to Delta through aggressively hard work. They didn't pick us uniquely for Delta. They seemed to pick and choose through experimentation... by asking and waiting for volunteers. Of course, some were more special than others and forced if they really wanted information."

He sneers gently at his question about the mother, continuing just to emphasize on that, "Exactly. She wanted to see how our bodies would react. No one actually had to undergo the trials. Anything they experienced was of their own will and choice. I believe that is what the Mother wanted most of all. She wanted to see what we would do."

But to better answer his question, he scratches upwards near the back of his head towards the pieces of implant left, "Mmm, we didn't exactly get one on one time with her. Even though I think I might've enjoyed asking her a few things."

Strange nods. He remembers how Steven was downright forced into one of the trials. If they stayed there any longer, it wouldn't surprise him if others were forced into that position. He continues listening as Tyki continues to explain. And Strange can't help but frown a little as Tyki talks about how they didn't really get any time with her.

"She was positively barbaric, a complete idiot for focusing too much on that technology, and I'm glad she's dead...but I can see your point. Our chances to talk with the fae are rare. Any sort of information we could get from her about magic, society, or what have you would have been useful."

"Technology and magic are the future. In this world and the next, and the next. Whether we like it or not. Even the Earl at home uses that sort of thing. He's likely my best bet at removing this implant all together." As Shimmer did give him the option of taking it out but there would be a hole and wires still left inside.

"I imagine I might've gotten more time with her as I climbed the ranks naturally, had my body replaced, and gotten more comfortable with the place as time went on. Us Deltas, we were treated rather well. Cozy room, snacks, comfortable places to spend points with no real consequences for not climbing the ranks. We just had to do what we were told, that's all."

"I'm a little jealous," Strange muses. There's a pause before he continues, smile shifting to a little frown.

"You know, the only reason I was reckless enough to be demoted to Theta was that I thought there wasn't any chance of upward mobility. The Mother of Invention would always need me as nobody else was touched by the Silver Mirror. But if she could have just swapped my consciousness out and placed me somewhere else...it makes the whole thing even more pointless than it already was."

Lambert may think differently but with hindsight, Strange honestly can't see how his vent escapades were useful in any way, shape, or form. Deltas would have maps. They'd be able to search for Ignatius and then he could have snuck in and saved the man. He should have waited.

"You say that and yet all of us ended up with little tiny pieces and reflections of our inner selves. You're just the only one that Silver Mirror infected like a parasite but you have to admit you left yourself wide open like a public invitation, Jonathan."

He leans to the side, resting his chin into his open palm and his elbow to his knee, the more casual look instead of his excitable one bleeding into his features, "You just wanted the attention~"

He winks, "I am the natural choice though. I'm not your common pen and quill noble, nor am I shy of hard work to get what I want. I over exceeded expectations which most could not do given their lack of muscle, powers, or motivation. Whatever it took, was that not what I said? Even if it worked me to death."

"No, not pointless. She gained precious information. It less about obtaining any artifacts, you understand, and more about how it worked on your bodies. How you reacted to it. If you weren't in that body, what worth would it be?" he says through a curt sneer, "Besides, not all were meant to climb. Not all could ever stomach what we saw.

Strange can't help but raise an eyebrow at Tyki's response. "If you're implying that I could not stand whatever 'horrors' you saw, you know less of me than I thought."

Though he doesn't actually physically do air quotes, the tone is in his voice. This is partly Strange having a high opinion of himself and his tolerance for certain things, partly him honestly believing that Tyki's talking this up and trying to haze him a bit. After all, he's already seen so much in the carnival and so much in his world. Of course he could stomach it.

"Still, I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. What happened has happened."

"Says the one that has yet to meet the wonderful spider ladies from the Manor. They are here, you know," he muses, having spent quite a bit of time with them already in their new home of a cave. Even Princess was looking well.

"You're not all talk, but a bit of your words are. That's why you're fun, Jonathan~♥ I would love to show you something horrifying one day."

"Souls and magic are an interesting combination the Mother of Invention used no doubt when infusing us with these implants and giving Beta and higher new bodies. It's not a strange concept though nor one I am new to it. At home I'm use to seeing creatures like that."

Strange's attention shifts a little when Tyki mentions the spider ladies from the Manor. "They're here?" Which would make sense, of course they'd be here, L'Sann the bicorn lady was here so of course Tyki's spider friends would be here as well.

"In that case, what are we doign sitting around here talking? You've got to introduce me to them, Tyki, we can talk more about souls on the way there."

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⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

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