isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

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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.

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Darin had heard the call for blood mages and come running. Honestly, the idea of sapping the dragon's strength was in the same vein (no pun intended) as some of Darin's ideas; ways to bring the creature down without having to slay it. After all, it had just lots its home. Would anyone else be in a good mood if they were in the same boat?

But when Edelgard began issues orders that seemed more in line to kill rather than subdue, Darin couldn't hold his tongue.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Look, I know things aren't looking good right now, but there's got to be another way! It's not just some rampaging beast! It's sentient! It can communicate!"

Edelgard doesn't even glance at Darin as he protests, keeping her focus on the approaching dragon, but her brow does knit in frustration. Really?

"It does not appear to be feeling particularly communicative at the moment." She replies curtly. "Get into position. Wait for my mark."

"So?! Then we get its attention! We get it in the mood to talk! You can't just meet aggression with aggression otherwise everyone loses!"

Dammit, they were running out of time!

"Look! We obviously have a means to slow it down! To bring it down! That means there's other ways to stop it! Siphon mages can siphon away its resistance! Cognition mages can try and calm it down! There's so many other ways that don't have to result in death!"

The dragon is getting closer; the trees are shaking with its approach, and its roar grows ever as it approaches in fury. Edelgard is well aware time is swiftly running out.

"It moves to attack Celliwig. Do you understand the damage it will do if it gets there? I will not risk the lives of the Fae." Edelgard finally turns to acknowledge Darin and her expression is far from friendly. "If the creature is as intelligent as you say, it did not immediately have to spring to violence. It could have tried to reach out, get more information on what was happening. It chose to do none of those things. It chose to do this, instead. Now get into position, or get out of the way."

She turns away, not waiting for Darin's response. Her body language makes it clear she is in no way interested in what he has to say. Others are forming up, but Darin's protest appears to be causing uncertainty among them as to who is in charge here.

If that was how Edelgard was going to play it, then Darin moves to stand in front of her. At six foot four inches, he's definitely big enough to block her vision.

"So that means we meet violence with violence?! You're already risking lives by meeting it in battle so what the hell have you got to lose?! You criticize it for acting out of a baser instinct, but you're not acting any better!"

Darin straightens up, stands his ground, and stretches his arms out to either side to continue blocking, no matter how futile it might look when Edelgard has a battalion at her command.

"Aren't you an Empress? Is this all you know? All you care about? War? There are always other options! Stick with your contingent here while people of likemind as me head out and try and deter it! If we just jump to violence every time something like this crops up, Avalon won't survive! This is the last bastion of life in the multiverse, don't we have an obligation to at least try and protect what we can?! Can we really consider ourselves in the right if we don't exhaust every available option?!"

To her credit, despite the obvious size difference Edelgard does not look the least bit intimidated, holding her ground and staring up at him with an equally intense look of determination.

"What I am is someone who owes you no explanation." She nods quickly to two of the other soldiers she mobilized. Well, she tried to offer him the soft method of leaving. "You two. Get him out of here." Wonderful. She had to take what she could get leaving Camelot, and now with the dragon so close they're already down three before they've even begun. This fool, and two others to babysit him.

The soldiers begin to approach, though cautiously. Darin looks fairly mad. Edelgard begins to step around him. "Ridiculous." She mutters angrily, and definitely loud enough for Darin to hear. "Absolutely ridiculous."

The soldiers can do their worst. If they attempt to subdue them, Darin will boost his strength enough to put them down with alarming precision and confidence, then heal them back up to prove a point.

But that doesn't mean he's going to let Edelgard off the hook, whether they try and stop him or not. He will get in front of her again.

"If it's so ridiculous, then what have you got to lose? Huh? If I fail, I die in the jaws of a dragon and you and your little contingent here can wage your little crusade. If I'm wrong, I die and you can stand over my dead body and proclaim you were right. But if I'm right we save a lot more than we stand to lose."

This time, Darin plants his feet in front of her, indicating that he doesn't plan to move unless she makes him move herself.

"All I'm asking for is a little time. And unless you've got some kind of transport under that cape of yours, you're planning on making your defense here. You don't even have to leave."

Edelgard's hand clenches into a fist as she hears the soldiers go down. When he once again sets himself in front of her, her expression is far more icy.

She lets him rage at her, venting his spleen at her (it's not the first time a self-righteous man has spit fire at her, and she long ago stopped caring when they did), letting more precious time slip away as he pontificates.

"Are you finished?" She asks, ice falling from every word. "Good." And that's when she attempts to hit him with a Blindness Curse, a bit of Dark Magic she worked up to incapacitate any troublesome opponents, followed by a kick to his knee, to force him down. Even without her two Crests, Edelgard still learned how to use an axe and fight in heavy armour, then spent five years honing those skills in war. She is stronger than people might think, and her blows still have weight to them.

While he might not have a counter to the curse of blindness, he's gotten far more proficient with his healing magic in conjunction with his blood magic. When she strikes him, he buckles, but he heals his own knee at the moment he feels the impact, then uses his own blood magic to get his own blood pumping.

Sure, he could use his blood magic to make Edelgard sluggish, but unlike her, he's not willing to sacrifice someone who could wind up making a difference in the end.

So he grits his teeth and his knees buckle, but he doesn't fall. He stands his ground.

"Kehehe...so that's the kinda ruler you are, huh? Fall in line or fall in place? You're the one wasting time now. All you have to do is spare me a fraction of the time you'll be using to mobilize anyway."

He stands back up and while he can't see her, it's obvious from the way every muscle is twitching and the faint crackle of magical energy emanating from his body that he'll only back down if she kills him on the spot.

"Do the right thing. It costs you nothing." A final plea to at least hear him out.

Edelgard's eyebrows twitch angrily. She'd almost resepct his tenacity and determination if it wasn't the for the fact that he has no perspective on this damn dragon issue. At least the blindness curse worked, so while Darin continues to make his demands, Edelgard gestures to the soldiers to move around Darin and reform behind him, in place of the dragon. It's not ideal, but he can't possibly hope to stop them all before the dragon arrives. At which point his naïve calls for peace will be as useless as he's been so far. Giving Darin as wide a berth as they can, the soldiers begin to follow her commands.

"But you are mistaken. It will cost me the lives of nearly every Fae in Celliwig. Clearly that means nothing to you, so I will not attempt to to persuade you further. If I must work around you, so be it but understand one thing. The dragon dies tonight and I do not care what you think about that, or what you think about me. My decision is made."

"It's almost on top of us!"

Edelgard nods, holding position. She raises her hand; to focus on the dragon, she'll have to drop the blindness curse on Darin. That's fine. With the other Blood Mages on hand, there's not much he can do. She stares him down regardless. "Blood Mages, wait for my mark. Soldiers, ready weapons."

Darin was used to the sound and the feeling of being flanked. After all, he was technically still a wanted man, back home. He knows how soldiers work. He knows the distinct sounds of foot falls. All he needed was for Edelgard to drop her curse.

When she did, he acted. With a powerful surge of strength buffering magic sent to his leg, he lifts his foot and stomps with the force of a bomb going off; more than enough to shatter the ground beneath them and definitely enough to catch her little contingent off guard enough to knock them off their feet. Whether it does the same to Edelgard or not, he doesn't care. It'll take them at least a few minutes to get sure footing again and that's all he needed.

Fortunately, by this point, someone else seems to have intercepted the dragon's flight path. Darin doesn't know it yet, but it's a good friend of his. Using the lucky break, Darin turns his back on Edelgard.

"If I fail, then I fail, but I'm going to try whether you grant me permission or not, Your Majesty."

With that, he's off. If any blood mage attempts to use blood magic to slow him down, he'll counter with his own blood magic to cancel it. But he knows Edelgard won't follow.

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EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

Dragon Attack

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