EVENT ✨ The Summer Solstice

[avalonmods]

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This is the event log for IC comments only! Ask OOC questions/plot/view event notes HERE or use the FAQ for general questions. Click here to view top-level comments only. A poll to collect results of the trials will be posted this weekend and stay open until the end of the month to give people a little time to see how their threads are going.

KEY POINTS

Celliwig responds-- y'all barely passed, so they kidnapped everyone and brought them to Celliwig for the summer solstice.

The summer solstice ritual is about renewing the sun and moon within a sacred fountain called Diamond Falls within Celliwig, which requires large-scale magics to essentially create a sun and moon cycle for the following year for Avalon, which exists outside of normal space and time.

Not everyone is happy about Celliwig opening back up, and some cursed spirits cross the river to attack the homecoming trip.

There have been some whispers about the summer solstice, but for some reason, Camelot doesn't seem to have put in as much effort for the summer solstice as they do for the other solstice and equinoxes. If anyone had asked around town, they'll say that the sun always seems to come out after they banish the water spirits, so there isn't much to do for it. A few of the more elderly fae around town seem to say there's a lot to do about it, but not to worry about it and just enjoy the time off. Even more silent has been the results of the trials. It seems as though it's bound to be a quiet June, relative to the last couple of months. At least until the morning of the 20th. The sun has yet to rise, though birds have started their morning rounds and chirping. Rather suddenly, the entire atmosphere goes completely white, as if everyone has been enveloped by the sun itself. It's too bright to keep your eyes open, though if you'll try to squint through it you'll notice the entire ground is enveloped in shadow despite the impossible blinding light all around before you're pulled down into the darkness within a matter of seconds. Regardless, when you open your eyes next, everyone has been teleported to a strange-looking park. The trees seem to be made of ceramic, blossoming strange, pure black leaves. Those with green magic will be able to tell the trees are alive and well, despite their odd appearance, and once out of the park, it may become more apparent where everyone is: A city beautiful and glistening, its buildings made of crystal and glass. Welcome to Celliwig, the Splendored Court. And this time? Their doors are open. Explore: Celliwig Celliwig is a city that's hidden with a large-scale glamour that causes it to look like a shanty-town from the outside. Those with permission to enter, however, will find that the city is actually a splendorous city made entirely of crystals and glass of all kinds. At its center is the Hall of Mirrors, which is typically closed to the public and guarded by a strange old man with huge, rippling muscles of at least 7 feet tall and a long, scraggly beard. Some may recognize him as the man from the #ChaliceChallenge trial, but he'll mostly ask you to call him Glewlwyd (the IV, but you can drop the number.) Everything in the city appears to be open now, in contrast to the city mostly hiding away during the first visit. It isn't too crowded, but there are people out and about, and they seem to be less wary. The popular fashion seems to be styles similar to gothic lolita/aristocrat and cyber lolita/aristocrat, largely in black, white, or gray with sparks of color for accent that make each outfit unique to its wearer, and each person seems to have an almost airy, ethereal nature to them. They seem humanoid, and yet distinctively not human, gliding around rather than walking. There aren't too many typical dogs and cats around as pets, but snow-white ferrets and owls seem to be the popular animal companion of choice, often being carried around with their owners. There are also wild hamsters with tiny, useless wings that seem to run around during the day, so please watch your step. (They are fairies who used to be able to fly, but their wings seem to have gone the way of the appendix.) Music seems to be largely string in nature, though it can range from calm and peaceful to sometimes more familiar music styles. It is played more openly in areas like the park or shopping centers by musicians who simply wish to share their sound, but outside of those designated areas it is mostly quiet in nature, save for the clamor of the newly transported guests from Camelot. Celliwig's restaurants typically serve molecular gastronomy versions of food, and alcoholic drinks seem to come in vapor form and flashes of light if ordered, but seem effective nonetheless. Stores in general are open now, though except for a singular general store, seem to be very specific in nature. If you're going to a magic store, there is one specific store for crystals, one specific store for hand-crafted woodcrafts (wands, staffs) to better direct magical energy, a store for vegetables that's peculiarly separate from the store for fruit and the store for fish and the store for cooking supplies (which again, are all oriented toward molecular gastronomy-- good luck finding a whisk, enjoy your nitro whip canister), and so on. Of note toward the entrance of town is a very large waterfall fountain that seems to be made of massive amounts of diamond, with inscriptions and a plaque toward the front. The plaque reads "Those who walk only in the light miss the truths hidden in the dark." This is of particular note given the invitation extended to all devices in the area: Welcome to Celliwig. Tonight we celebrate the summer solstice. Having Barely Passed your trials, we ask you to participate in this sacred ritual before we grant safe passage and open communication with Queen Elphame. To the north of the park you arrived in, a hotel is prepared for your stay free of charge for the night. At sundown, come to the Diamond Falls. Be warned, thieves: The Diamond Falls are sacred, and thus cursed. Those who try will experience a curse that causes food and drink to turn to ash in their mouth and an inability to experience pleasure, heal from injuries, or die. While they appear normal in the sun, the moonlight will reveal their true nature-- no matter how gruesome that gets, and will only be lifted when the sacred diamond is returned. Drinking water from the fountain is fine though, and if drunk can heal all wounds, regrow limbs, and get rid of scars so long as the drinker stays within the walls of Celliwig. The sacred water's effects wear off outside of the Splendored Court, unfortunately. Characters can ask around and Celliwigians will tell them this information freely, as they are quite proud of their splendor. Those who choose to participate in the summer solstice rituals and show up at the Diamond Falls on time will first be offered a drink from the fountain, though it is not necessary to take the sip. (You may choose whether or not your character was informed of the effects of drinking the water ahead of this decision, if you want them to do so but they would not on their own.) After the drinking, a number of Celliwig's citizens will engage in a dance that rapidly picks up pace until they go into a trance, glowing magical energy starting to flow out of their bodies and create an almost solar flare-esque glow before they collapse to the ground. Not a moment later, the earth shakes and the ground begins to open up beneath the fountain, the waters draining down over a staircase that opens up beneath the floor of Celliwig to a large crystal cavern. The crystals within are huge, some easily surpassing twenty feet in length, and burst out from both the floor and ceiling. At the bottom of the staircase, the ground itself is covered entirely in at least half a foot of water save for raised platforms that those performing the ritual will be expected to jump across instead of disrupting the waters. At the end of this long passageway, there is a door made of stained glass. On the other side, a room carved out in stone, lit in vibrant orange and heated by a scorching heat. The stone forms a circle that flows around a large pool of lava. One of the Celliwig leaders reads some sacred texts, then offers the following instructions: "Turn to the person next to you and offer them a piece of yourself. It can be tears, blood, hair, a whispered confession made tangible with magic-- anything that is yours. That person must then throw it into the lava and do the same in exchange. By giving part of ourselves to the fire and weaving that energy through those around us, we share the light with all around us. We fuel the sun of Avalon." Once this portion is done, water will rain down from the ceiling and the entire room will be filled with steam, and then darkness as the lava's flames are rapidly put out. It's blinding and almost unbearably hot, and you'll have to find your partner-- or maybe someone else, by wandering around carefully and blindly. It may help to use a little magic at this point to see or guide yourself or others, either by cognitive suggestion or something more physical like creating vines to catch someone from falling on the still-rather-hot solid substance created by the water hitting the lava. Regardless, there seem to be giggles and screams and all manner of unnerving sounds as people try to find each other in the dark and look for the exit, which... doesn't seem to be where it started. Eventually, the steam seems to get hot enough and shatters the stained glass door, which reveals a different room than before. The temperature drops rapidly, the air fresh and much easier to breathe as the steam spills out over the surface of the cool water. Light spills out from the ceiling, dim from the moon, and it becomes apparent that everyone has been let out into a massive cenote. It seems as if it's now time to relax and swim for a little while and just enjoy the cool release of no longer being trapped in the hot Diamond Fall's underground. Eventually, everyone will find that regardless of how they felt when they got in, anyone in the cenote will feel their mood lift, until eventually they find a song in their heart that cannot be contained. People start bursting into songs that express part of who they are. For some, it will be songs they know. For others, it may be a song they've never heard but matches who they are to a tee or shares something they hadn't intended to about themselves with whoever is there. It's also possible two people could end up in a duet and end up swim-dancing together through a musical number. With each song that finds its way into the cenote, crystals seem to light up in the walls, as if they're reacting to the music itself. Once the entire cenote is lit up, the water begins to rise within the cenote much as the tide might, finally raising high enough to bring the people within back to the surface, the small pond within the park that everyone started in. "The tides can feel your hearts and souls and raise with your spirits, and the Moon of Avalon in turn finds its will to dance with the Sun, providing light for the dark as the sun rests." the same leader speaks, before finishing, "Thank you for your assistance. With so much more energy than normal, even with the world as strained as it is now, Avalon's day and night cycle will remain as it should be. Rest now, and stay as long as you like. We will speak to Elphame and arrange a meeting. This shall not be forgotten, and you are welcome in Celliwig so long as you remember that light and darkness exist in tandem." With the stay in Celliwig over, a special squad designed to help use a large-scale dark magic spell to pull everyone back to Camelot has come to greet everyone at the entrance to the city. However, the sudden increase in noise and flow of magic has attracted spirits from the Forest of the Felled to start crossing the nearby stream. The Forest of the Felled is a haunted forest, filled with spectral creatures alike of all manner that are often trapped in a labyrinth of spells and wards that were once put up by Camelot's finest. This haunted forest is part of the reason that Celliwig had cut ties with Camelot to begin with, after a group of people from particularly morally strict times had decided that the dead and cursed should not wander among the human witches and wizards that, at the time, had largely populated Camelot and sealed them off in the Forest of the Felled. Enraged by Celliwig's reacceptance of Camelot citizens into its borders, a wave of specters has rushed across the white waters without concern for the Pure of Heart bridge to attempt to possess and attack the citizens of Camelot and prevent them from easily getting home. Ultimately, those with death magic are going to be most effective in this case, particularly at stopping possessions. However, green mages, alchemists, and elementalists are going to be important for staving off the death-like state of freezing that specters passing through your physical body can cause by creating means to rewarm people before they succumb to freezing temperatures and die. It seems as though light magic is very good at hiding people from the specters as well as temporarily warding them off with large blasts, and they seem particularly fearful of dark mages who are willing to curse the dead, given they've already lead a miserable existence. There are plenty of ways for each type of magic to find themselves useful in this battle, whether it's to help others escape or to fight on the frontlines. Be particularly cautious as some of the will-o-wisps joining in the battle can transform into the visages of the deceased that they sense are close to your heart and draw you into the white rapids of the river. In the end, it will be a fierce battle.. or a fierce retreat, for those who don't have fight in them. Regardless of your solution for getting home, this time, you're going to have to walk home after escaping instead of relying on Celliwig's shadow transportation ritual.

Comments

[starshower]

Two down, one to go.

[Tifa's suddenly right at Juzo's side while the dolphin keeps the last of this small group of specters busy, and watches as the second disappears much like the first. The ghost tries to pass the familiar, but she's quick, dodging left and right and slapping it back with her tail again, which buys Tifa a few extra seconds to breathe, and to cast a smile over her shoulder at Juzo.]

How about we do the honours together this time?

[Team attack GO GO!!!]

[gunmettle]

[ He is, quite frankly, still baffled by the presence of a dolphin, but an ally is an ally. It gives Tifa the chance to move close, shoulder to comically large shoulder with Juzo.

A joint attack? He can’t say he’s ever done such a thing before, unless he wanted to could all the times his partner stood behind him to pull his trigger. This is different, though. It’s moving in tandem with someone instead of being controlled. ]

You bet. Ready?

[ It almost sounds like he’s grinning. He curls his fingers, sickly black-purple light gathering on his fist as he once again siphons the curses away from the ghost, who in turn rises and strengthens as the oppressive magic is sucked away.

They have a very small window to do this. ]

[starshower]

Always am.

[Her own grin widens, and it's audible in her voice. She can practically feel the energy being dragged out of the ghost, the weight of it heavy in the cooler air around them. There's little time for her to wait around as the specter begins to grow bigger and more ominous, towering over like it's getting ready to consume them.

Magic flickers at Tifa's feet before it the fire bursts, rocketing her into the air to briefly meet the specter face to face. From inside its body, she can hear it roaring at her. It should strike fear and paralyze her—ghosts are not to be reasoned with and she can't touch them, so she has every reason to be afraid right now—but like the warrior she is, she turns that around.

The dolphin comes up under her and throws her upward with its tail, and down she comes, fiery boots first and passing right through the specter like an arrow. It shrieks again, this time higher and more pained, and when she lands, she turns to Juzo.]

Let's finish this!

[gunmettle]

[ That display of acrobatics is nearly enough to distract Juzo from his efforts of drawing power from the ghost, but he regains his focus quickly enough. Tifa buys him valuable time to siphon more power than he'd normally be able to before the specter turned on him. He'll have to thank her later.

Juzo settles into his stance, one foot back to brace himself as though he were prepared to stop an oncoming train instead of blow a hole in a ghost. ]

Don't need to tell me twice!

[ He winds up, body arcing as he draws his fist back. The motion is familiar yet alien, since he's drawing on magic instead of the metal and wires that live beneath his skin, but when he throws his fist forward, he throws his whole body behind the blow. Magic bursts from his knuckles, a wave of force that ripples and explodes and tears the specter to shreds, kicking up dust and water droplets from the edge of the river. ]

[starshower]

[Welcome to Final Fantasy, Juzo!

The explosion caused by his magic is enough to take out not just this specter, but any others that have wandered into its immediate area as well... Which aren't many now. Most of them have either been scared off or taken care of, and if that show of skill by either of them didn't do the trick, then who knows what will...

At any rate, once the dust and water settle again, the air falls quiet, save for the sound of the rapids, but even they seem calmer now. Less aggressive.

Tifa waits a moment to see if they're in the clear, her chest rising and falling with her quickened, adrenaline-laced breaths, before she lets herself relax. There could be more on their way for all she knows, but for now, they have a moment, and she is going to seize it. She jogs up to Juzo and raises both of her hands for a high-five.]

I think we did it!

[Don't leave her hanging!]

[gunmettle]

[ That was a much bigger boom than he anticipated, but there’s not denying its effectiveness. Seems he’s getting the hang of this magic stuff after all.

With every nearby specter either caught in the blast or on the retreat, they’re afforded a moment of quiet, Tifa jogging over to…

Uh.

He does, regrettably, leave her hanging for a moment as he awkwardly regards her palms. Juzo doesn’t typically celebrate his victories like this – anymore, he’s lucky if he walks away with all his limbs in-tact, and besides, one doesn’t tend to get high fives when working alone most of the time. ]

Yeah…

[ Tifa is about to get the most awkward high-five of her life, large hands coming up to tentatively bump against her own. ]

[starshower]

[There is nothing more awkward than being left completely hanging, so she's glad that he at least returns it, even as she prepares herself for the possibility of disappointment. When he brings his hands up, she'll meet him halfway in an attempt to make this a little less awkward for both of them.]

Hopefully that's the last of 'em. Don't know if I could do that again.

[It sure as hell took a lot out of her. She's got stamina, sure, but martial arts are a little different from using magic.

She wipes the back of her gloved hand against her brow, and her familiar swims up to greet Juzo, and to bump its long nose against Tifa, chirping for her attention.]

Right, and we couldn't have done it without you.

[gunmettle]

[ Tifa did her best to make it as not-awkward as possible, bless her, but Juzo still falters a bit when their palms bump together. This is so weird.

Speaking of weird, there’s that dolphin again. Juzo tilts his head, looking it over curiously now that the threat has passed. ]

This a friend of yours?

[starshower]

My familiar.

[It's no handshake, but the dolphin pats its tail against Juzo's arm, spraying the both of them with a mist of water that Tifa fans away.]

Surprised she didn't introduce herself sooner. She's all too eager to make friends with just about anyone around here. Especially my friends. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was jealous.

[She chirps back, hitting Tifa with a fin.]

[gunmettle]

[ Normally, Juzo would tolerate the tail thing if it didn't come with a spray of water. It serves as a harsh reminder of where they are, and Juzo recoils back half a step, arm raised to protect his head from any stray droplets. He doesn't wanna rust! ]

She's sure... uh, enthusiastic.

[ The use of the word "friend" doesn't escape his notice, but surely Tifa must be referring to other people around here. They barely know each other. ]

[starshower]

Think it's a dolphin thing.

[Enthusiastic would be a substantial understatement. She takes after her owner, but it's as if someone took her and turned her up to full blast. Like an eager cat would, she's trying to find Juzo's hand for a pat on the head, but Tifa reins her in, gently pulling her back by a fin.]

She means no harm, though. I guess it just means she likes you.

[She'll try to keep the dolphin under control! Unlike the others Tifa has met here, Juzo's far more affected by the overly friendly splashes of water...

This quiet moment is interrupted by a roar in the distance and as much as she wishes she could make it last a little longer, she's reminded that they still have a battle to fight. There are still people who need help, and they're a far cry from home still. The rest of this conversation might have to wait until they get there... Even her familiar chirps out in concern before vanishing in a display of bubbles.

Tifa sighs.]

Guess it's not over yet...

[gunmettle]

[ He really is at a loss here. It’s his first time seeing a dolphin, never mind a spectral one, and its playfulness has caught him off guard. By the time he thinks to pat its head, Tifa has already guided it away.

Perhaps he’ll just never get used to people – and their familiars – who don’t shy away at the mere sight of him.

The noise coming from upriver pulls all three of them back to reality, and Juzo’s posture shifts from slightly awkward and wary of the water to something tense and ready to fight. ]

Looks like it. You good to keep going?

wrapping!! 🎀

[starshower]

You know it.

[Although she doesn't mind continuing the fight, she had appreciated that short moment of reprieve. Even the greatest warriors need breaks sometimes, and theirs was short-lived. Back to the grind, so to speak. It's nice having someone alongside her that can not only carry his weight, but can fend for himself, so she's more relaxed this time around. The ghosts still scare her too but knowing how to handle them makes it easier to manage.

Tifa flexes her fingers, preparing herself with proper stance again, fists raised and feet firmly on the ground before she pushes off, kicking up dirt in her stead.]