As the moon rises on the 21st, all non-emergency businesses will be closing early as the Winter Solstice celebrations are of the utmost importance. Those who participated in the ritual will feel the night is different in their very being. Anyone who participated in the Winter Ritual preparations will be immortal for the next 24 hours. No harm may come to them, they will not be affected by the cold, and their magic will be amplified significantly as they are currently a conduit for the world's magic. Everyone, regardless of whether they participated in the preparations or not, is welcome to partake in tonight's festivities as there are many ways in which the Winter Solstice is celebrated.
The most significant event of the night is the Solstice Night Run. If you didn't participate in the ritual, you may be able to get a hit off of someone's Everwarm to participate. At the edge of the City of Camelot, heading into the Brocéliande, characters will be asked to remove their clothing (or if they aren't comfortable with that, change into very light robes provided by local donations) to return as close to a natural state as possible, then run through the forest. As characters run through the forest, despite everything being covered in ice and snow, the woods will begin to come alive. Will-o-wisps sprout out of the snow and shake the frost off, floating in the air to provide lights throughout the forest. The trees seem to move and dance as you pass by, flurries pick up, and even some animals will start running alongside you. It's a celebration for all, as magic flows through your body as becomes part of the forest.
Inevitably, somehow, someway, those participating in the run all end up reaching what seems to be a crack in the ground, slabs of rock surrounding a stream of water flowing through the crack. This is the fairy fountain of Barenton, a crack in the fabric of Avalon that connects its waters to other worlds. Though it's currently unable to connect now due to the time freeze, some of the fairy folk running with you will happily let you know that some of its powers are still in tact-- try sprinkling some water on the stone slab nearby. As the waters trail down the slab and form a puddle on the floor, the drops from your hand will open a vision of a treasured memory. Anyone near you will be able to see it, so only do it if you're willing to share. There are many other uses, but since you're still very new, this is the only one they're willing to share for the moment. Regardless of whether you choose to use that form of magic or not, as you approach the fountain, it will begin to bubble and glow, and lights like an aurora borealis will begin to glow around you as your connection to Avalon deepens. You'll be able to feel the life of the forest, a connectedness to the world you've likely never felt before. Every leaf, the wind, every living being, the magic in the fabric of the world, is a part of you and you are a part of it.
As the night presses on, a large number of fairies begin to form fairy circles, both in the forest and back in the City-- so you needn't have participated in the run to find one. Toadstools and flowers sprout up through the snow that hadn't been there before, forming near-perfect circles in nature. Stepping into one, whether on purpose or on accident, will shrink you down to the pixies' size so you can dance with them, if you promise to keep going for the whole dance. The dance lasts about 20 minutes straight and there don't seem to be any rules besides keep moving around the fairy circle, even if you bump into someone. In the last minute of the dance, pixies will fly above the circle and sprinkle dust over the whole party. Anyone who completed the dance will be returned to their normal size and granted the ability to fly for the duration of the witching hour of 2-3am. You'll be invited to drink with them afterward, if that's your thing, but will not be offended if it isn't.
Not completing the dance despite stepping into their circle, being rude to the pixies, or attempting to stop anyone who is dancing will anger the pixies. Pixies are a tricksy bunch, so you'd be better off avoiding this, but if a character happens to get on their bad side, there are a few different types of pixie curses they may be inflicted with:
Small Soul: They simply won't return you to your normal size. You may need to find some other way to remedy this, or else you may be spending some time quite small. This can be fixed by a person with healing magic and a simple healing spell, as the spell wasn't originally meant to last this long to begin with.
Pixy-led: The pixies will upset your center of gravity for the rest of the night. Though in reality, there's nothing going on, you may have a huge sense of Spinning Vertigo for the next hour or so. Good luck getting home! You may want to find help. The way to break this spell is to put your coat on inside out, so you'll have to find someone willing to share that with you- the pixies might if you promise to give them something good.
Bellbark: Until broken by anti-magic, any time your character hears a bell, they will mentally act like a dog for the next half-hour. This will last beyond the span of the event until your character is able to get their hands on a counter-curse potion, so be wary if you choose this one for your character. As the night winds down, anyone who had participated in the ritual will find themselves rather suddenly sleepy regardless of where they are and may fall asleep as if under a spell right there out in the snow. They'll wake up normally in the morning, the land having used their slumber as time to finish off its work using you as a conduit. Don't worry, those under the influence of the ritual's effects won't catch cold or anything... though, we can't guarantee anything with those pixie effects-- they weren't really harmful, after all, just irritating. Anyone who fell asleep outside will find that the snow has melted in their area for about 5 feet and bright green plants have started sprouting around them on the ground, some vines growing around their limbs but ultimately nothing that can't be brushed off easily.
It would appear that while it was a permitted act during the Winter Solstice, the fae who may have told you about that little trick with the fountain and the pedestal may not have shared the whole story. As it turns out, the slab that everyone was trickling water onto is a stone known as Merlin's Step. Merlin's Step, when a little bit of water is sprinkled upon it, summons rain. When a lot of people put water on it, it summons a huge thunder storm. It is certain to, as many of the fairies are happy to attest, wash away the freezing snow so they can move about freely during the winter again. Fae often have ulterior motives, even if they're often coupled with good intentions. This may have gone a little beyond their expectations, however, as enough people have done it that the storm has brought about torrential rains and hail, frequent zaps of lightning, and strong winds. Most people are being urged and ushered into cellars throughout the city as the hail has been causing injuries, breaking windows, and the lightning is strong enough that it's been striking the ground frequently. You may end up crammed together in a small, dark room while a storm rages outside with little to do except what's in the cellar-- eat canned foods, play old board games, dust of a.. uh oh, is that a Ouija board? Get creative and have fun with what you think could be in the cellar you end up in.
After what seems like most of the day, the storm is still raging on, but the next moment you find still water, the Lady of the Lake's face shows up, with another woman beside her. The Lady of the Lake's ability to communicate via water is being used to reach everyone at once. The Lady doesn't say anything, once she's got it live, well aware that they're short on time as the lake surface is choppy and dangerous right now. They have a limited time above the surface to speak, so she leaves it to the woman with her. |
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isleofavalon2020-12-20 12:32 am
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(Harry begins to sneak across a couple of bushes to get a good look of the mysterious Black Knight. Granted, he has his Invisibility Cloak with him on this quest, but it wasn’t working normally in Avalon (it is now just a fancy looking cloak here), so he has to think fast or risk getting hurt by the Knight’s sword.
The first thing he does is to send a few rocks to fly in various directions, confusing the Knight, but because Harry is sending flying rocks in different directions and is hiding very low under some bushes, he couldn’t tell who is throwing them and where they came from. He is hoping that Ken is able to find some animal friends to keep him extra busy.)
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Still, he had to put his trust in Harry.
Shaking off whatever nervous energy he had, he looked around to see if there were any animals who would be willing to help. The problem was convincing a couple of rabbits who would be risking injury over this. That being said, Harry may or may not hear how he was having a debate over this with them]
But you have to help us...! [He said which other people might hear]
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He quickly glances at 4 loose tree branches nearby and sets them out to hit the Knight on the head in four different directions to get him mixed up while staying low as much as possible beneath the bushes and setting out more rocks to come after the Knight too, with Rose assisting him along the way.
In addition, he has to stay quiet as much as possible or the Knight might find him in his hiding spot, still he mumbles to himself quietly, wondering about how Ken is faring so far.)
I just hope that he is going to be okay out there with the animals.
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Now that Ken was able to see the Knight nearby, that's when the rabbit decided to charge head on!]</small>
Wait a minute! <small>[He whispered but it was too late. At that moment, the rabbit was trying to distract the Knight from walking any further. Looking at his familiar, Jack Frost, he couldn't help but wonder where Harry might be at this moment.]</small>
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It is when he spots a rabbit snuggling against the Knight’s leg, which means that Ken was able to find an animal to distract him as well. He then sends in more rocks from various directions at the Knight, raining down on him while sparing the rabbit at the same time, while he quietly slips away to meet up with him.)
Okay, so what’s the next step? Should we knock out him with something large?
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Regardless, the younger of the two was already thinking of ways of how to tackle this new foe. Just where was his leader when he needed her? The moment he heard Harry speak up, he gave a small sigh.]
Is there something large enough to take him out? I don't know what else your magic can do but please do be more cautious. [A pause] I was really worried when you came toward me.
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(He will apologize for the recklessness later, because right now the two of them have to find a large item to knock the Knight out for a little bit. It doesn’t take long before while scanning the area, when he finds a a large rock near some trees that he got an idea.)
Hey, maybe I can send the rock flying towards him, knocking him out depending on how force I put into my magic. Not enough to kill him, but more than enough leave him unconscious for some time.
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[He said before mumbling to himself. Ken didn't want to tell that to him but he was just worried! That and the last thing he wanted was someone to get hurt on his watch. Not again anyway.]
It's worth a try! If you think you can do it, then go for it. [In the back of his mind, he was wondering if this was reckless. And knowing where this was going, it probably was.] Just know where the rock might be landing!
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(Focusing a lot on the rock, he begins to let it float with the motion of his fingers. And with a deep breath, a flick of a finger, and a singular focus to knock out the Knight, he sends it to hit on the Knight’s head.
Luckily, the Knight was too busy trying to get the rabbit away from his leg when the rock hits his head hard, leaving him unconscious on the ground while the rabbit stares at him. Near invincible but not enough to avoid a flying big rock to the head.)
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He just hoped Harry was the same way.
As the giant rock hit the Knight's head, whatever breath Ken was breathing in finally came out.]
Good job! Hopefully he should be unconscious by now! [Because Ken's plan was to give it a few more seconds before he dared approach him!]
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(It takes only a few minutes to let them confirm that the Knight isn’t getting up anytime soon after the 5 minute mark. Good, that means either them or the other groups can make their move and grab the sword.)
Well, he’s not moving at all. Let’s hope that it stays that way.
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Okay, let’s get ready. [And yet, there was this nagging feeling something was going to happen but he didn’t know what it might be.]
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(There is a good chance they might get into trouble with the Black Knight regaining consciousness at any moment. Still, Harry gently manipulates the Knight’s grasp of the sword to be loose and motioning the sword to come to him and Ken, first by letting it slip past his hands before flicking two fingers to let it fly towards him. He is able to catch it immediately with the skill of a Seeker.)
Hey Ken, I was able to get the Knight’s sword! Now we need to meet up with the others and hand it to the Lady of the Lake and the other woman. (He says this in a soft quiet tone as not to disturb the Knight.)
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Thank goodness! [He whispered before looking back at the Knight] Sorry, Harry-san, I didn't mean to doubt you. I was just worried how we were going to fight it if he woke up.
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(While the Knight is down for the count now, he could get wake up at any moment, so they need to make their way out of the forest and hand the sword over to the woman they saw in the water at the cellars.)
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By the way, you mentioned something about how you’re a wizard back home right? Was this something you did often?
[Because Ken had to admit, Harry was a really strong person, wasn’t he?]
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Somehow, the moment I learned about what could I do with kinetic magic, I actually learned that it is possible to disarm an enemy’s weapon with it and how similar it is to using the Disarming Charm. I didn’t expect it to happen so early.
(For someone so ridiculously modest all the time, Harry is quite strong on the use of defensive magic really well. All the practice and juggling cafe duties helped him in his favor on this task.)
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You're a really strong person, did you know that? If you manage to get it done so easily, it makes me wonder what else you can do!
[It was impressive for someone who learned of this magic for just a month. Then, he couldn't help but chuckle] I guess I know who I need to ask if I want to get stronger too!
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Erm, yeah, I could see why despite needing to get used to a different kind of magic from what I’m used to.
I understand that we have different magics, but maybe someday we should train together to help each other to get better at controlling them.
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[He said before scratching the back of his head. It wasn’t really magic per say but it might as well be back home.]
I’m more use to physical combat so a magic that requires me to ask for assistance isn’t something I’m use to.
[It doesn’t really make him all too happy. If Harry listened close enough, there might be hint of regret in his voice.]