⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

[ringleaders]

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.

Comments

[npcarnival]

Gild elbows Ignatius playfully, and he doesn't seem offended, though somewhat shy about being called out like that. The Summer Maiden's eyes narrow.

She is quiet for a few moments, collecting herself and processing all he said, before she speaks.

"My efforts at communicating with Arcadia resulted in many deaths, and not just those of my own people. One of my own allies is responsible for much of the hardship the Summer Court experiences today. I can see no reason that the Summer Court would hear us now, when they refused us every time before. Whatever you did to convince Ignatius is clearly beyond my ken, as he was far less willing to listen during the uprising."

Ignatius and the Maiden exchange uncomfortable looks, the tension there obvious. Still, Ignatius doesn't interrupt.

"I cannot force the Summerlands back into that war. Not when I promised them a means of escape, no matter... no matter what I stand to lose personally, as a result."

[hippocarnival]

"Then don't force them back into war!" Yuya clenches his fists. "Like I said, they're still your people! If you won't have any faith in them, then why should they have faith in themselves? You shouldn't have to fight and--and kill them! Talk to them, show them what you've seen. We didn't do anything you couldn't have if you try--and you have even more power than we do!"

He presses his hands against the table and looks at her, imploring. "What happened then... you haven't let it go, have you? But you have to. You have to let it heal, or else you won't be able to change the future at all!"

[npcarnival]

She looks away from him, seemingly without any immediate response. Her tone is somber when she does finally speak.

"I can't guarantee it won't become a fight. I tried the peaceful way last time, and it devolved into violence regardless. My forgiveness means nothing if they cannot return it."

[whattaprick]

The 'hardship the Summer Court experiences' catches Lambert's ear, but probably for the wrong reason, though his best guess is that said hardship is 'not having their Summer Maiden and a whole lot of their magic' unless she's talking about something here. In any case, he's going to pipe up here, lending his voice to Yuya's although his 'contribution' is of a slightly more cynical flavor.

"Not saying that more power is the right answer, obviously. It just has a way of opening doors wishful thinking can't. Doors that might not have been there the last time you tried."

His gaze seeks out Ignatius among the rest, and presumably his question is directed at him, though he doesn't exactly expect an answer.

"Just how fucked is the Summer Court, right now, anyway?"

[hippocarnival]

Yuya purses his lips as he straightens himself. "But if nobody extends that forgiveness in the first place, it doesn't have a chance of happening."

He puts his hand to his chest, again. "I wouldn't ask you to try if I didn't really believe you could do it. If I didn't think you could do better this time. The way things are right now... don't too many people suffer this way? Not just mortals, but fae too."

He looks to Igantius and Gild again at that, briefly, although the wind is taking out of his sails a little when Lambert speaks, and he waits for an answer to that.

[npcarnival]

Ignatius speaks up before the Summer Maiden has the chance.

"With the full number of the Maiden's fae missing, the Summer Court has been at a lengthy disadvantage," he says. "While normally the Queens would be able to keep each other in check, and compel the Courts to play according to the rules, it's clear now that the Summer's relative weakness has emboldened its Queen to commit crimes against the balance."

The Summer Maiden looks at him somewhat tersely, but ultimately she can't deny it.

"Ignatius has the right of it, I expect. The Summer Court has been divided... while part of the Winter Court was culled, it would be less than what makes up the Summerlands." There's a note of responsibility, there. She knows that pulling them away is somewhat responsible for that.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya looks between them. "Then isn't it even more important to work together? Like this, nobody can help anyone. It's just going to get harder and worse."

He pinches his brow before looking to the Summer Maiden with a pleading expression. "I don't think it's going to change or get better immediately, but we can start it. We can try. You definitely can each people like--like you reached the Ringmaster."

And others, but she's kind of Yuya's biggest appeal right now. "She needs you as much as the Summer Court does. Maybe even more, right now."

[whattaprick]

“More than the Summer Court does,” Lambert interjects, firmly. Look, as far as he’s concerned, the Summer Maiden goes to the Summer Court and that’s the last they see of her for at least a few centuries. He was at least mostly asking to figure out how worried they should be that Winter could kick Summer’s ass if it came down to a fight...

His attention shifts back to the Summer Maiden. His question has less to do with the immediate matter at hand, but without the Ringmaster around, she’s the only one he can ask.

“Why didn’t the Ringmaster choose to stay here, like the rest of your people?” he asks, abruptly.

[npcarnival]

"She didn't want to," the Summer Maiden says simply, at first. "The Court lifestyle was never her preference. Remaining in the Summerlands was remaining trapped, by her measure. She wanted to see the multiverse. She wanted to have something that belonged to her."

The Summer Maiden looks upward.

"And so, she wandered... and after she had wandered, she started to form what eventually became her carnival. I think she enjoyed bringing enlightenment and choice to worlds of mortals, giving them options they never would have seen for themselves."

[hippocarnival]

"... I think she liked bringing them happiness, too," Yuya mumbles, mostly to himself. Happiness that came from opportunities and growth to just... the plain excitement of a carnival. It's telling that her dimension hopping was entertainment and wonder.

"She never wanted it to become like this, either."