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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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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.
    ichoosefight: (sometimes donuts aren't enough)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-27 04:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    She sighs.

    "I can stay and help in the tents. I'm out of supplies anyway."
    morganknight: (looking at you)

    [personal profile] morganknight 2021-10-27 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
    "You could help me. After last night, and thanks for the idea by the way, I think I can do more with Bargaining than I can on my own. And if you help me fulfill conditions, that's all the more I can do."

    Staying in the tents had its worth, but he didn't think that would satisfy her or at least assuage her conscience as much as doing something more active would.
    leicesters: (158)

    [personal profile] leicesters 2021-10-27 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
    [She'll feel how much his heartbeat has quickened as she rests her hands on his chest, while his other arm moves to hold her close. She feels so small, but he knows she's anything but fragile, and so as her lips part a little he deepens the kiss, tasting her mouth with his.

    He won't keep anything from her, not any longer -- something he wants to prove with this kiss, a gesture both tender but filled with intensity.]
    notcethleann: (love~)

    [personal profile] notcethleann 2021-10-27 11:43 pm (UTC)(link)
    [She feels as though their hearts must be beating in tandem, because hers is racing just as much and he picks up where her silent invitation leaves off. His arm winds around her and she feels safe and wanted; she follows his lead and tastes him in turn, marveling at the sensations of it and the way it makes her feel warm all over. The way it makes her feel as though Claude has finally opened a door and let her in.

    She slides her hands up from his chest to wrap her arms around his neck, pressing as close to him as she can. What a remarkable feeling, as though she is being gently buoyed by the ocean waves and riding the high winds of a tempest at the same time! A small, soft sound rises from her throat into the kiss, joy and contentment and passion all rolled into a single, wordless murmur.]
    mayoninofukucho: (Again?)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-28 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
    If only my Mayorins had been allowed to stay here! They'd have fit right in here!

    [Cecelia can count herself lucky that she missed that entire chapter. Hijikata is probably the only person in the multiverse who finds the gnome-like mascot creatures endearing.]

    You know what, once I'm done here I'll check some more areas in the library. Perhaps they're not in the magical creatures section but in the food section?
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667798)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-28 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
    [surely there are better things to focus one's study on, Cecelia ought to impose. but...engh. she doesn't have the mental energy to waste on that, especially when he seems so...weirdly invested in it.

    life is just...weird sometimes. she has to accept it and know how to pick her battles.

    and so:]
    One will have fewer regrets when one is thorough.

    [there. huzzah. the blandest of cheerleading.
    emet_sulk: (13 the world belongs to us)

    [personal profile] emet_sulk 2021-10-28 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
    How do you think herbalists developed their cures? They were not born into the world magically knowing their craft.

    [ But he tucks the packet away with a satisfied smirk. ]

    Don't worry. I prefer more direct methods of murder.
    friendsallover: (Default)

    [personal profile] friendsallover 2021-10-28 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
    Are they close, do you think?

    [There's a part of him that wants to rush but given the mess they're working with, that's a bad idea.]

    We'll need to start stabilizing the rubble.
    feralhumanity: (Perhaps best described another way)

    [personal profile] feralhumanity 2021-10-28 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
    [Nanaki lowers his ear to the ground, listening.]

    ...Not terribly, but not too far down. The dirt may be muffling them.

    [He looks up at the rubble, frowning.]

    If we can get it stable, I can squeeze in and under.
    leicesters: (087)

    [personal profile] leicesters 2021-10-28 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    [That noise, small as it is, stirs something in Claude, and he guides her back to press her up against the nearest tree, with barely room to take a breath before the kiss resumes. The annoying thing about disguising one's feelings is that it can be too successful, can lead to one hiding their innermost feelings even from themselves. In a moment like this, he's sure that's true. He's also sure, with Flayn as happy as she is right now, he doesn't want to put her through that again. Never again.

    Even if this world took him from her tomorrow, he doesn't want her to doubt how he feels in this moment.]
    ichoosefight: (glasses?)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-28 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
    "Yeah? What do you have in mind?" She doubts anything will satisfy her after all the dead and wounded she's seen so far, but she wants to do as much as she can before collapsing. ...Again.
    inevitablerest: (054)

    [personal profile] inevitablerest 2021-10-28 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    Hm. Brave of you.

    [Considering Hijikata's attitude to such things - spirits and the like - when they met, he's... actually a little surprised that he'd volunteer for something like that. It's not something he would have expected of the man.]

    How are you feeling about it?
    inevitablerest: (125)

    [personal profile] inevitablerest 2021-10-28 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Truth be told he doesn't wear these clothes much anymore, but if he's going to fight they're easily the most comfortable and familiar things to move around in. He doesn't hesitate in taking the knife and cutting off a generous chunk of the fabric.]

    It's been a while since I took such a beating. [He mutters with a small shake of his head, folding the cut fabric into a neat pad that will cover the injury. Thanatos hisses softly as he has to twist slightly to apply it, then he glances up.]

    Thank you.
    heartlessswordsman: (15)

    [personal profile] heartlessswordsman 2021-10-28 09:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    Every time they'd saved the world and shit, it had only been just barely. Prevention definitely wasn't their strong point. Had they ever actually prevented anything?

    "No. No, we really aren't. Considering the fact that we don't really know much about this world compared to our own, we'll probably be even less effective here. I'm not really sure how we can gain an upper hand here, assuming it's even possible to begin with."

    Don't mind him, he's just having an emo moment.
    notcethleann: (shy blush)

    [personal profile] notcethleann 2021-10-28 11:12 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Before she even fully notices they're moving, her back hits the tree and she makes a tiny sound of surprise - how exciting! How wonderful this feeling is, as though the two of them are the only ones in the whole world at this moment, all of their attention and feelings absorbed in each other. She has read many descriptions of what being with someone one loves, and who loves one in return, is like, but none of them were adequate. Secondhand words were insufficient to make her understand the way that such adoration can be expressed without words, in passion and touch and this building intensity between them.

    She hopes that her own feelings are as clear in her actions, as well. She leans back against the tree and holds him close, one hand inching up to tangle in his dark curls. Ah, his hair is just as soft as she'd imagined it to be...]
    morganknight: (oh really?)

    [personal profile] morganknight 2021-10-29 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
    "I'm still working on that part. Be patient, it's a miracle my brain has gotten this far under its own power." More like it's on cruise control, without much hope for accelerating any faster. Or making any clever movements.
    friendsallover: (Default)

    [personal profile] friendsallover 2021-10-29 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
    I can try to find something...or would kinetic magic work?

    [If he can hold things stable for long enough, it might just work.]
    dragongrrl: looking up fearfully (don't like this DON'T LIKE THIS)

    [personal profile] dragongrrl 2021-10-29 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [Barbara's eyes go wide, and her first reaction is to give an involuntary jerk as Darin wraps his arms around her. It was not what she expected. It is something that she stopped expecting when she was a young child and realized that comfort from a wind drake could not come from its forelimbs, and learned instead to crawl under the shelter of a wing.

    She doesn't know what it's like to be hugged not as a child by a parent, a protector to a charge. Darin is a comrade, an ally, a friend--a person feeling the same kind of pain as her.

    That's what this is... a sharing of the pain. Like a heavy load borne together. Hesitantly, Barbara lifts her arms and puts them around him. If they both hold this together, they don't have to carry it alone.]
    ichoosefight: (sweet but veiled)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-29 01:39 pm (UTC)(link)
    She pauses a beat, then laughs. They did just barely wake up. State of Emergency Autopilot can only do so much.

    "Coffee?"
    morganknight: (amused)

    [personal profile] morganknight 2021-10-29 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    "No, Morgan."

    And that was where HIS autopilot went.
    ichoosefight: (let me lay it out for you)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-29 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
    She stares back at him, looking far less amused than she actually is.

    "No. Coffee."
    morganknight: (oh really?)

    [personal profile] morganknight 2021-10-29 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
    "...you're hot, so okay. I'm Coffee now." Morgan Coffee shrugged and surrendered to the inevitable.
    ichoosefight: (sneaky ninja stuff... in a dress)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-29 03:33 pm (UTC)(link)
    "...Give me coffee. Before I punch you."
    morganknight: (ha ha no)

    [personal profile] morganknight 2021-10-29 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
    "Oh. Let's go find some coffee."

    Let's -- let's find a way to move, first. Still terribly stiff, Morgan couldn't help but make a few unhappy noises as he started discovering just what his joints and muscles didn't like. Which was, primarily, moving in any capacity.
    ichoosefight: (okay concussion let's make some noise)

    [personal profile] ichoosefight 2021-10-29 05:01 pm (UTC)(link)
    "Good choice." Her tone is light, since she wasn't really annoyed with him to begin with.

    When he starts struggling to get up she does the same. It takes 3 tries and some grunting, but she manages to pick herself up off the ground without falling over again. If she has one skill, it's the ability to keep an uncooperative body working. She's not sure that should be counted as a skill, really.