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avalonmods ([personal profile] avalonmods) wrote in [community profile] isleofavalon2021-09-22 01:13 am

EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot


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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.


SUMMARY: In the days leading up to the fall equinox, geese intended for eating escape and cause havoc around town, people share techniques to preserve plants for the winter, and Camelot's citizens compete to make the best light shows with traditional wax candles to draw spirits peacefully into Camelot.


With all the harder preparations gathered for the Fall Equinox, throughout the month people will notice that decorations start going up around town. The colors of fall seem to seep throughout Camelot, but more than that, so do more traditional sights and smells. In the days leading up to the equinox, traditional acts such as the sacrifice and consuming of flesh are performed. Well.. normally they would be. The fattened geese that are normally eaten in preparation for the equinox have escaped and are causing havoc around town. Geese are running around causing trouble for everyone-- stealing glasses, opening gates, putting up toilet seats when people try to sit down so they fall in the bowl... all kinds of madness! Even if you weren't intent on eating geese and were going to settle for the vegetarian option (pumpkin and nut soups are frequently served using the gourd itself as a bowl), you have to agree the general public needs to be rescued from these menaces. If you have the stomach for it, you are welcome to keep one of the geese you capture for your own table... but otherwise, please return the birds to the farm where they can be handled accordingly.

Birds are not the only sacrifice made to the autumnal equinox. As the flowers begin to reach the end of their life, there is a strong tradition of gathering flowers and herbs and preserving them for the upcoming winter, either to protect their beauty, scent, edibility, and sometimes magical properties. The simplest form of preservation is, of course, drying and pressing-- a technique you don't need magic for, but some of the locals will happily teach you. A more advanced technique can be learned to enchant glass bell jars to suspend the lifeforce of any living thing within its grasp for up to a year, if no one opens it. It's a technique used to preserve important or rare plants that may otherwise die out during the winter, such as herbs used in your favorite spell.. or dish. The glass bell jar will protect the plant, but each time it is picked up, a single petal or leaf will fall off of the plant. If all the leaves fall off, the plant becomes unrecoverable, and come spring the caster will find themselves cursed with a touch that wilts any plant they come in contact with. So if you choose to use this, be warned that there are consequences for misuse and a wide number of horror stories from people who have tried to use this spell for anything other than plants. Any type of mage can pour their magic into a bell jar to enchant it, and the type of magic will be reflected in a glass design that forms around the rim and handle. (An elemental mage may have glass flames form, or frosted etchings of your favorite animal may appear if you're an animal mage, and so on. Feel free to get creative.) Green mages may find this magic a little useless, since they can just replenish plants with their own magic, but it's still a good technique to know.. just in case!

Perhaps the most beautiful tradition that takes form leading up to the autumnal equinox is the candle pathway. Every street in Camelot will be lit up with thousands of candles for two nights leading up to the autumnal equinox, as a guiding light to help the spirits find their way to Avalon. The way the streets in Camelot are mapped out, the lights will form a path to the square where the fairy coins are being held until their release on September 22nd, the same area where the guardian egg ceremony had been performed. Some people get very creative with their lighting displays, which can sometimes result in beautifully lit streets and magnificent structures of flames. Accidents are quickly quelled by volunteer elemental mages throughout the city to prevent any structural damage. Some people might be compelled to make their own light display the most outstanding on the block, and it becomes a bit of a game to compete with your neighbors to see whose section of the candle pathway is the most extravagant.


SUMMARY: The autumn equinox ritual is interrupted by a huge earthquake caused by a Stone Giant bursting out of the Ash Mountains, bringing the closest Ash Mountain and Lestari to the ground. The purple dragon erupts from the ruins to attack Celliwig. The survivors of the collapse need help desperately. Characters must choose where they go to determine the fate of Avalon.


Calm and mundane preparations are a nice break from the sometimes stressful lives of Camelot's citizens and otherworlders, who often are asked to embark on life-threatening adventures and tasks. It's probably a good thing most of the month has been relatively peaceful, as things need to go a little bit differently this year on the fall equinox itself... but not as differently as they actually do.

In the town square, elaborate celtic-similar symbols are carved out into the ground and filled with mysterious glowing liquids. All of those who gained guardian tattoos and their attendants were asked to attend a ritual to release them on the night of the 22nd, along with anyone else who would like to witness. Everything is ready and as the witching hour approaches, several individuals dressed in flowing robes with their faces painted like skeletons approach. As the leader raises his voice to explain why they've come and what to do to make this night a success, a sudden shock-- Avalon itself shakes with the might of an earthquake... or at least, that's what it seems like for the first few minutes as everyone gathers themselves until they hear mass screaming in the distance. Though it's hard to see what's going on... there are still some very, very obvious problems.

A stone giant rises from the first of the Ash Mountains, crumbling the mountain around it as if the ancient being were holding the very mountain itself up... and it was. Those who visited Lestari will have seen its giant feet within the underground city. The former city. Lestari is now buried beneath the mountain, along with many of the other creatures living on and around the mountain. A huge storm of mixed weather forms above the giant's head, blizzard and lightning raging around it to no avail. As the people of Camelot watch what's only visible at a macro distance, they may not be as quick to notice that all of the fairy coins have begun glowing vibrantly, then suddenly burst out of the jars they've been held in, shattering right through them to fly off en-masse toward the stone giant. They embed themselves in it, fueling the giant with enough power to both begin to walk away from the rubble and for the spirits that have begun gathering in Avalon to head toward it, rather than where they had been intended.

As if that were not enough, after the Stone Giant takes two large steps through the Land of Rot, the gargantuan cloud of dust covering the ruins of the first of the Ash Mountain range rather suddenly lights up with a vibrant, ultra-violet burst of flames that illuminates the smoke. The gargantuan purple dragon that once took up residence in the mountain clambors out of the dust and shoots straight into the sky, enraged and furious, and able to sense where the magic came from that raised the stone giant. The reason it immediately begins flying toward Celliwig with the intent to raze it to the ground is likely not immediately apparent, but it is quite odd that it bypasses the much closer target of Camelot with its rage. As does the Stone Giant, though it does not head toward Celliwig and instead seems to absorb the souls of the dead that were intended to be guided by the fall equinox's rituals as it lumbers through the land. If someone does not stop it, it is headed for the Forest of the Felled.

King Arthur is immediately on the emergency broadcast system to implore people to join one of three groups:
  • Investigate and stop the Stone Giant

  • Slay the dragon and save Celliwig

  • Rescue survivors of Lestari and the Ash Mountain


  • The success of each of these missions is dependent on character participation. See the poll for details about how certain character types may affect the outcome of the missions.

    Please refer to Event Poll Notes for information about aftermath of this event and additional event info > Event Outcomes.
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667795)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-30 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
    Untrue. [she twiddles a leaf by its stem between finger and thumb before setting it aside.] No amount of hazards can stop the truly headstrong from barreling forward however they see fit.

    But that hardly matters if you're the one saying you're being careful. [she arches a brow and glances up toward him. is that what he's saying?]
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667798)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-30 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
    I won't...put money on it. [oh, gads, it's like teleporting to the edge twice. she resigns herself to kneeling to keep from pitching forward or just losing her lunch outright.

    she lifts her head only to try and chase the sight of the dragon still in flight.]


    But if it's...quite a bit too busy...with those others taking their shots, then perhaps.

    [she side eyes Yuber.]

    Your pride...it's not too bruised...to give it another go yourself, is it?
    sighsheavily: (Default)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-30 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
    [well, if she's really going to be sharing theories tonight:] No means at all? That's supposing the familiar system isn't designed with a means to prolong shorter lives.

    What's a battery if it fails to keep charge long enough?
    absentconstellation: (curious look)

    [personal profile] absentconstellation 2021-09-30 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
    "Have you the magic for such a task?" he asks with genuine curiosity. It seems that everyone here has magic of some kind, even if it works so differently from what he's used to. He's still learning about the different types.
    absentconstellation: (handsome kitten)

    [personal profile] absentconstellation 2021-09-30 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
    A cat should always be treated with the utmost respect for dignity. Children can be forgiven for not knowing, to a point. He certainly doesn't begrudge this frightened, injured boy.

    Every time the boy slows, the Cat moves ahead a little and mews. Between the two of them, they're able to coax him all the way out of the tunnel. The child stumbles and falls once he reaches the entrance, but as young as he is it doesn't seem to bother him. Once all three are clear, pieces of the tunnel fall, eventually causing the entire pile to collapse on itself.
    queenofminiskirts: (cheerful || awkward)

    [personal profile] queenofminiskirts 2021-09-30 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
    Her smile was a little less teasing but it's still there. Even if she's worried, clinging to that won't do any good.

    "I'll be okay. We just have to keep moving forward." She stands up and stretches. "But I guess I am a little jealous you got a Spirit Guardian. It came with a tattoo, right?"

    Or did the tattoo come with the guardian?
    chatwithdeath: YouTube: babygirl91580 (What to do?)

    [personal profile] chatwithdeath 2021-09-30 03:24 am (UTC)(link)
    She catches him glancing, and notices his paw too. It looks fine - worn, but fine. He should just take it easy for a while.

    Looking ahead again at the people being transported out, she nods. "No matter the situation, a calm mind and steady hand are required. When you're a doctor, you can be the final person who stands between someone living or dying."
    chatwithdeath: (Just another corpse.)

    [personal profile] chatwithdeath 2021-09-30 03:34 am (UTC)(link)
    She might agree with that if she hadn't known one that proceeded to eat unknown bone fragments and almost die from it. Still, yes, children get a free pass.

    Naomi makes sure not to move until the boy's ready to keep moving forward. If the structure ends up compromised, she wants to be the first to react and make sure he didn't crawl back into the pile. There would be no furniture protecting him this time. Once they're out, Naomi stands - and though there's a small tumble, the boy is unharmed. Looking back at the pile, it's come down. That had been cutting it close.

    "Good job crawling out," she says trying her best to be gentle. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Do you think you can walk with us a little further to look for your parents?"
    eightfoldfiend: (Destroy us or make us saints)

    [personal profile] eightfoldfiend 2021-09-30 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
    My pride is not bruised.

    [He tilts his head and watches her a moment, eyes sparkling with fondness. It's not the fondness someone might have for a potential friend or lover, it's the fondness a wild animal might have for a person who has come to feed it in the dead of winter. It is alien and distant but genuine.]

    You want me to draw its ire while you see to evacuations, hm? I'm to be bait.

    Very well, I'll do it. I owe that old lizard a death anyway.
    tantailizing: Artwork by: Unknown (Oh yeah?)

    [personal profile] tantailizing 2021-09-30 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
    "Good. And yeah, we do. There's still people that need help." So, standing up himself, he rolls his shoulders and neck, ready to get a move on. At her question, he nods.

    "Yeah, it did. It's moved on by now... took the souls it had with it. Which good, they don't need to be around this thing anymore than needed."

    He was going to miss it a little.
    trueltning_fury: (plain talk)

    [personal profile] trueltning_fury 2021-09-30 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
    [first, a long "hmmm" of deep thoughts]

    You know, I have yet to figure out the familiars at all. Mine doesn't even hang around much, which isn't exactly a complaint...

    [even as he says it, he looks around. The floating purple furball is hard to miss, even though it's barely the size of a basketball, but it clearly isn't anywhere within sight. Which is fine, maybe? Geddoe has only ever fought them, he doesn't even know what they actually eat. If familiars need to eat...]

    Though you're right, I guess. What else would be the point? The magic here being different entirely, that is. It has to work with whatever they have.
    cameprepared: <user name=axiometric> (Default)

    [personal profile] cameprepared 2021-09-30 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
    "...You gave up on being a superhero?"

    Claire takes another pull, confused, looking up at Steph in bewilderment.

    "I thought that was like, your thing."
    cameprepared: Unsure of Source (Chatting)

    [personal profile] cameprepared 2021-09-30 04:09 am (UTC)(link)
    Okay.

    [It's sensible. Claire follows, looking back over her shoulder as The Dog snaps back into the air to chase a goose. What tomfoolery is this.]

    ...Other than the fowl, how've you been? I...haven't really kept up with much since Sherry left.
    amakakeru: (so here i stand)

    [personal profile] amakakeru 2021-09-30 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
    Even if I've seen new things, it doesn't take away the wonder these held for me. Seeing what the old technology turned into...That's just as amazing, you know? Something like the Golden Hind is just as impressive as any modern warship, more so because it was used to circumnavigate the world without the benefit of any modern technology!

    [ He's gotten so into this that he just...finishes off his drink before continuing. ]

    Just think about that, a galleon with a crew of just 80 men going around the globe over 250 years before either of us were born. What a ship that had to have been to capture Cacafuego and come out unscathed! They were the ships from the Golden Age of Piracy, they were really something special...

    [ A few moments pass and he realizes he did it again. At least Ryouma has the self-awareness to look a tiny bit embarrassed. ]

    ...Ah, sorry, I really went off there, didn't I?
    Edited (I can't spell) 2021-09-30 04:20 (UTC)
    dragon_slaaaaaaave: (lina12)

    [personal profile] dragon_slaaaaaaave 2021-09-30 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
    "Yeah maybe, but lemme ask you, can your firepower get all the way up there?" She points to the giant's knee. "Now I've taken down a few big fellas in my time, and rock or not, joints are always weaker targets. Gotta be more flexible for movement, right? So I'm betting it won't take as much to blow apart, or at least knock him down on one knee." She points to the gourd. "Look, we don't have a lot of time here. Throw that, and I can get it the rest of the way up there with my kinetic magic, then *boom* goes the gourd, and Rocky here comes down. Okay?"
    dragon_slaaaaaaave: (lina17)

    [personal profile] dragon_slaaaaaaave 2021-09-30 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
    Lina responds by scooting around to face Homura, and folding her arms over what passed for her CEIPHEED'S HOLY DRAGON SHIT WHAT THE HELL HOMURA. How are those...things not smacking you in the face every time you run?!

    Not that Lina's jealous or anything. Looks like way more trouble than they're worth, honestly. Backache city, amirite?

    A-Anyway...

    Slapping her face a little so she doesn't look like she got too bug-eyed there (she's also tired, so that helps), Lina's back straightens and she adopts a cocky grin. "A deal, huh? All right, I'm game. Lemme guess, you'll help me carry all this treasure down in exchange for any weapons I might have dug up already?" There does look to be like a sword or dagger poking out of the large "donate" pile.

    "Problem is, this still looks like a bit much for just the two of us. You got a solution for that?"
    dragon_slaaaaaaave: (lina11)

    [personal profile] dragon_slaaaaaaave 2021-09-30 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
    "Ah, you know me, Zel." Lina says with a bravado that the chimaera can tell is almost certainly forced. "You win some, you lose some, right? And now here we are with dibs on this enormous dragon horde to boot! First come first serve and I'm at the head of the line." She starts to laugh, but it...quickly begins to peter out into nothing.

    "Besides, it's only fair after what that dragon did. Take its gold to pay for the damage it caused. Reinvesting in the local economy, makes way more sense than hoarding." Says Lina Inverse, sorcery genius and master economist.

    "...What about you, Zel?"
    flame_emperor: (82)

    Aftermath-F&F together

    [personal profile] flame_emperor 2021-09-30 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
    The moon is high when the howl pierces the quiet of the forest, low and mournful. If either of them were asleep, it's probably loud enough to wake them from their sleep.

    By the time both Ferdinand and Flayn are out of their tents, the fire is already being tended to...by a rather familiar Emperor. Her shaggy wolf spirit lies curled at her feet, though it does open a lazy eye to regard them as they come into view.

    "Ah, good evening." Edelgard tells them, throwing more kindling onto the fire. "Apologies, I'm afraid my companion got a little excited when she finally picked up your scent. I can't say I blame her, of course." She looks over her shoulder. "The two of you have been rather hard to get in touch with the last few days."
    amakakeru: (my friend)

    [personal profile] amakakeru 2021-09-30 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
    "He's fine, just hold still and we'll get you back with him."

    He's strong, but this rock may be a bit much. What little magic he's learned so far was focused on purely healing, save for a mild strengthening spell. He'd tended to use it on others, but what better time to test it out? A quick, quiet chant and he can at least feel something happening.

    It's just the extra nudge he needs to push the boulder free, in the direction Eve motioned. Even with the extra help from the spell, he'd probably feel this in the morning, but it's fine.
    amakakeru: (in the dark)

    [personal profile] amakakeru 2021-09-30 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
    [ The goose can probably sense how kind-hearted Ryouma is -- even if it stole his hat. He'd never harm it unless he was absolutely forced to.

    And right now, it's running right for him. He runs to grab it and it quickly evades him by darting to the right. Ryouma switches direction only to lose his footing and fall flat on his face.

    The goose did not win this battle, though, as he managed to get a grip on its body. It honks and whips around to bite at his hands, which means it drops his hat.

    That's a win, right? ]


    Grab that, if you would!
    hitokiri: (108)

    [personal profile] hitokiri 2021-09-30 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
    [ if it were anyone else, izō probably would've cut them off at the first thing he didn't understand, but instead, he listens in silence while he sips his own drink.

    he has no idea what the specifics of a galleon entails — other than it must be a big ship by the sound of it — or much else exactly, but the significance isn't entirely lost on him thanks to how ryouma had explained it. he supposes ryouma's always been good at that. it doesn't feel like a lecture; it's clearly just... something that makes ryouma happy.

    that still comes with the pang of jealousy he'd felt a long time ago when he hadn't known what to do with himself and it's unsurprising that he'd feel it again now because while everything has changed that's one thing that's managed to stay the same. that compels him to finish off the last of his drink all at once, because that's exactly the sort of thing he doesn't feel like thinking about right now. ]


    S'alright. Ain't like I got anything interestin' to say anyway.

    [ self-deprecating as it is, it doesn't sound as bitter as it could have. ]

    Y'already know I don't really get it, but ya make it sound excitin'. Not sure ya didn't jus' make up "Cacafuego" though.

    [ one can only imagine how badly he butchered pronouncing that just now. ]
    flewfromthecage: (then I finally knew why)

    [personal profile] flewfromthecage 2021-09-30 06:32 am (UTC)(link)
    Witches?

    [But the term definitely carries a negative connotation, even if it isn't too far removed from what Vivi is. It doesn't sit well with her.]

    I had been under the impression it was related to honoring the dead, but now I'm not so sure. What is the relation to witches?
    omnicrafter: (shame shame shame)

    [personal profile] omnicrafter 2021-09-30 06:41 am (UTC)(link)
    "Because I should've stopped to reassess before charging in like that. We just didn't have the numbers, that much was..."

    Well, no, it wasn't obvious like what lingers on the tip of her tongue, but she's torn. Her expression twists; and that's not even the whole of it, but he doesn't need to get tangled up in all of her issues.

    "I'm more of the lone worker type, myself, but we need to be better organized in general for emergencies like this. This was a great example of naught but us running around like terrified chickens."
    chatwithdeath: Art by: Aralez (Haunt)

    [personal profile] chatwithdeath 2021-09-30 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
    The candles alone are... well, can be. It depends on the person you speak to. As for the relation to witches, they're just often depicted with pointed hats, more typically for children.

    Still, all together - the display of a hat and the candles - those can lean towards more occult and witchcraft. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but for the days where the realms are said to cross, it would be time for those who participate in such practices to come forth.
    omnicrafter: (outrageous)

    [personal profile] omnicrafter 2021-09-30 06:44 am (UTC)(link)
    You prefer piles of rubble?

    [Well... that's certainly a preference. Not that he's wrong about the wizards, though.]

    What good does that do anyone, much less yourself? Can't destroy what's already been knocked to the ground.