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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[Poor Darin, his words aren't getting through to either side that is too damn stubborn. The dragon has its intents and Hawk has his and both are not in any state to see reason.

But Hawk responds to Darin with a sick and twisted sounding laugh and then teleports himself to another location. He's now by one of the dragon's forelegs and has his lightning coated swords at ready to try and stab the leg. Quite interesting for someone who is seemingly blinded by battle lust to actually have a solid strategy and take advantage of Darin's attempt to protect the dragon as a distraction when it would be easier for a true monster to just take down the obstacle getting in the way and move on.

Not that it means too much, Hawk's only interested in the worthy opponent: the dragon. And once he's in this state, there's no stopping him until he's no longer able to fight or there are no remaining opponents to fight. Darin is clearly going to have to make a choice here before they make a choice for him.]

[Oh what the hell, he can teleport now?! Since when could he do that?!]

[A flurry of thoughts filter through his mind at that moment. If he could teleport like that, why wasn't he doing it constantly? Had Hawk really lost all control? After all, if he was beyond reason, shouldn't he be cutting down anything that gets in his way? Why wasn't he raising his swords against him?]

[Maybe he hadn't lost complete control. Maybe he was only on the verge. Which meant there was still a chance to get through to him before he was completely lost. Either that...or Hawk's berserker ability only extended to himself and his opponent. That he wouldn't stop until one or both of them were dead...]

[He had to chance it. One last time. Get between them, pull them apart, anything to stop the fighting. Once that was done, he could take the next step.]

[He buffs his strength and makes a dead sprint towards Hawk. Without breaking his momentum, he pivots on his leading foot and spins, whipping his back leg around in a devastating roundhouse kick to catch Hawk on the side, aiming to blast him back and create distance.]

Hawk! I know you're in there! Stop this! It's not worth it! You're gonna get yourself killed!

[Sheesh Darin, he's got kinetic magic. Of course he can teleport. Of course Darin isn't exactly aware of how quickly Hawk tends to learn things and that he's actually mastered a good amount of his magic because for him mastering things quickly is the norm. He just tells no one of this because why tell people something that makes his life have no meaning and they won't understand that?

But Darin will find that his kick is met with a very effective shield. Hawk perfected his barrier using a mix of elemental and kinetic magic so it doesn't shoot everything back. But it's still made with wind so Darin will be able to feel air moving on his leg and it likely feels very weird. And then he gives that somewhat creepy sounding laugh again.]

What could be better than falling to an opponent this worthy? Even better if I bring it down with me!

[At that point the dragon clearly is sick of dealing with these pathetic humans. It starts to inhale to use a breath attack. Hawk sees a perfect opportunity to attack. At that moment, it may be able to be attacked so he could pierce the lungs with one of his swords. Best case, dragon dies from the injury. At minimum, it should disable the drgaon's most deadly attack.

Problem is, there's no way Hawk can do this and not be hit full on when the attack comes. Even if he was at his full powers right now he'd never survive an attack like that and he knows it. He clearly has decided it's worth dying if he can pull this off and he even welcomes it. That much is clear because he's grinning and seems very pleased with himself. He makes sure his swords are charged up with as much lightning as he can. As the lung expands he's moving to stab right into it with all of his strength.

Looks like Darin is going to need to make a choice fast. The dragon might survive this, but if Hawk is successful it will be disabled if it does. However there is zero chance of Hawk surviving this if he remains where he is.]

[Great. Hawk was completely lost to the battle lust. Now, caught between a charging Hawk and a dragon preparing to turn them into piles of ash, Darin had to make a choice.]

[Did he let Hawk make the attack? He'd be able to cripple the dragon and likely stop its rampage. And even if it didn't outright slay the dragon, maybe if it couldn't use its breath attacks, maybe they'd be able to talk it down...]

[But doing so would cost Hawk his life. And this wasn't any sort of altruistic sacrifice. Hawk clearly wasn't in his right mind. This wasn't a heroic sacrifice, it was just...death for death's sake. Was it right to let Hawk make that call when he was so consumed by the battle that he wasn't thinking straight?]

[But if he stopped Hawk...they were on Celliwig's doorstep. If they didn't cripple the dragon here, that was it. The forces in Celliwig were far too divided, too uncoordinated to properly fend off its assault. If they didn't stop the dragon here, Celliwig was gone.]

[Darin raced through every option he had.]

[Dammit...DAMMIT!]

[He had seconds.]

[He whips around to the dragon and casts the Cool Fireworks spell, a seemingly useless novelty spell he'd picked up half a year ago, aimed right at the dragon's eyes. Flashes of purple and blue and red explode in front of the dragon, blinding it and causing it to flinch, spewing its breath attack up high and wide.]

[Knowing Hawk would see that as the perfect diversion, Darin casts one spell after another. First, he pours a strength enhancing spell into his right arm. Second, he casts a protection spell around his arm to keep the bone from shattering on impact, and third, he uses his blood magic to drop Hawk's blood flow in an attempt to weaken him. Finally, he casts EmphaSize on his strengthened arm and whips around just as Hawk was passing and slams Hawk with the most devastating, mother-of-all right hook/lariat combos imaginable, seizing Hawk by the face and slamming him back and down with all of his ungodly might.]

[He has to knock him out now. He has to! He drives his arm down so hard that even the protection spell on his arm might not be up to snuff...he can feel his bones creaking from the force alone. The impact sounds like a meteorite striking.]

[With any luck, it's enough to put him down. With the dragon still temporarily blinded, Darin uses his enormous appendage to scoop Hawk up and throw himself into the cover of the trees.]

[When the dragon regains its senses, it decides that these two are no longer worth the trouble and takes to the air again.]

[Watching it fly off, Darin exhales and drops whatever augmentation spells he's using. He can only hope that stalling the dragon was enough to get as many people out of Celliwig as possible. The city was done for now but...]

[He looks at Hawk.]

...Sorry, pal. But we're gonna live to make things right tomorrow...

[Lucky for Darin, Hawk is paying more attention to the dragon than him now. So Darin's attack is wildly successful. Not only does it render Hawk unconscious and effectively stop him that way, but even if it hadn't it also disables him from further attack even if he could wake up quickly. It's a good thing he got knocked right out before his ability to feel pain came back because this would have hurt like hell. The aura around him vanishes, though with his eyes closed now it can't be seen that his eyes also shift back. Because the sheer force of that results in Hawk ending up with multiple broken bones. While not immediately visible, there's going to be a ton of internal bleeding. Luckily for Darin, Hawk's got a lot of stamina and durability so he's in bad shape but still alive and capable of being healed.

It takes a bit, but once Darin gets to safety he'll notice something else. While unconscious, Hawk can't keep up his Monstrum form and will shift back to human form. It takes a bit of time since he hadn't fully exhausted himself and was suddenly knocked out, but maybe about a minute later Hawk suddenly changes in appearance entirely. Now Darin is holding on to a man with purple hair and wearing more casual clothing that is rather low key compared to his flamboyant costume. Likely a shock since Hawk's been keeping quiet about one of his abilities being that he can change his appearance entirely, not just sprout wings. He's definitely been keeping more than a few secrets from the people he knows beyond that ability of his.]

[As soon as he knew that the dragon wasn't going to do a big loop around and roast them, he turns his attention to Hawk...]

[...who...wasn't Hawk anymore. What?]

Oh, what fresh hell is this. What, are you like Cereal? Change color when all your bones are broken...?

[It's a joke only for him and he'll scoff at is own idiocy as he starts to rapidly heal Hawk. There was a lot about this guy that Darin didn't seem to know. ...Then again, Darin had his own fair share of secrets.]

[Did he regret saving his friend from making the worst choice, even as the litany of screams rose over the treetops as Celliwig began to burn?]

[No. At the end of the day, he could shoulder the burden that his actions killed many. He was a monster, after all. But he'd never be able to stand by and watch a friend willingly throw his life away. Beating the dragon then wouldn't be a victory to Darin.]

[It was his choice to make. As painful as it was, he could live knowing his friend would be alright.]

...Man...and I thought I was troublesome...

[He takes off his tattered smith coat and drapes it over Hawk, doing his best to hide his features from anyone who might stumble there way. And he stays with him until he comes to.]

[However long that takes.]

Edited 2021-09-24 06:54 (UTC)

[It will be some time before Hawk does wake up. Not only was he pretty badly beat up and knocked out, but he also used his berserker ability that has a nasty drawback to it. That being that if he's injured severely while in it, he exhausts himself much quicker. Last time this happened, it took a couple of hours of rest and that was definitely less of a beating. Though if Darin wants to try and get him back to Camelot he's welcome to find Hawk's stash of Camelot totems.

Though something interesting happens while Darin is healing him and keeping an eye on him. A hawk with black feathers of a color much like Hawk's own wings lands right on Darin's head. It's Hawk's familiar, who almost no one has actually seen. He's looking on to make sure that Darin isn't going to do anything to harm the dumbass he bonded to and he's quite fond of perching on heads.]

[When the familiar lands on his head, Darin stops his emergency care of Hawk to glance up. Honestly, Darin's first thought was that this was Hawk's familiar. After all, he didn't know many birds cheeky enough to plop themselves down on someone's head like that.]

...I don't mind if you hang out up there, but don't get any ideas. If you've gotta use the bathroom, go somewhere else.

[He'd feel weird rooting through an unconscious Hawk's personal belongings...especially now after all of this. He sits there next to a prone Hawk, listening as the sounds of battle over Celliwig slowly begins to die down over the course of hours.]

...Your partner is a pain in the ass but...I hope you're glad he's still alive.

[After that first thing, the bird makes a sound that is suspiciously like a snort. As if he'd do something that crass and get shit on his gorgeous feathers and feet. How is he supposed to attract a female for himself like that?

But upon the second Darin will hear a male voice in his head since the familiar only can broadcast his thoughts and can't actually speak.]

Only because unlike that idiot I don't have a death wish.

[And while Hawk's still not awake, in his sleep he makes a sound like he's not too pleased and unconsciously makes a movement that would push the bird off his head if it were there. At least that's a sign he's already improving greatly.]

Yeah, about that. What's his deal? I've met people who'd prefer to die in battle. That there was glory in it.

That wasn't what that was.

It's like he's looking for a fight because he wants to die.

[The bird thinks for a moment. This really isn't his to explain and he also has to recall what Darin's had revealed openly. This time he's not going to broadcast it so even Hawk can hear while still out of it.]

If he wanted that, he had a perfect chance against the slime.

[Darin might recall Hawk's comments about how it was just a pathetic slime. That's definitely a lot different from how he spoke of the dragon.]

...He wants to die by someone he deems worthy enough to kill him.

[He sighs and runs a hand down his dirty and sweat stained features.]

...Real handful, this guy...

[So the human does have a brain. It may not be all of it, but that's enough for now. It's not for him to explain how Hawk considers his life to have no meaning and that's the purpose behind his desire. He can't find meaning elsewhere in his life, so all that remains is to die well.]

He's going to be displeased you denied him the chance. He's going to wake soon, so one last thing. Do not dare assume he wasn't in his right mind. He was.

[And before the bird can say much more, Hawk starts stirring. He's still pretty exhausted and can't shift back to Monstrum form yet, but he's recovered enough to be awake.]

If I'm such a handful then you should have left me to die.

[Yeah, he's definitely not sounding too appreciative of having his life saved.]

[The last bit the bird says sits in the pit of Darin's stomach. There goes his rationale for stepping in. But still, this wasn't about heroic sacrifice...]

[With an annoyed sigh, Darin konks Hawk on the head with a balled up fist. Enough to sting, but nothing more.]

Is that how you thank the guy that blinded a dragon to save his friend's life?! I don't care how much of a handful you are, getting your dumb ass fricasseed is not the way out.

[Hawk barely even reacts to being punched. Because really, punching someone who isn't even strong enough to fight back and is currently almost defenseless? He might deserve it, but right now Darin's not being much better than a bully.]

I'm sure the people of Cellwig won't agree. Also, if you want to beat the shit out of me, wait until it's a fair fight.

I'm gonna hold you to that.

[But there's silence regarding Celliwig.]

[Finally, after a long few minutes, Darin speaks up.]

It wouldn't be worth it. If the people of Celliwig want to string me up for it...

...I won't sacrifice a friend for a win. There's no honor in that. That's just...

It's playing with the currency of lives. I don't play that game.

[He sighs.]

...With any luck, we bought them some time to evacuate as many as they could. Beyond that...as a whole, we were too disjointed. Too scattered.

[It was a lost cause from the start.]

Right so instead there's honor in forcing me to be a shameful coward who runs from battle. Did you know that in most armies the punishment for such an act is death?

[He finally stands up having regained enough strength to stand and also to transform. Darin will see his appearance completely shift to the more familiar blond haired and blue eyed man. Even his clothes change back entirely. The only thing that remains the same is his voice and his overall body type. Still looks rather exhausted and probably not too capable of a fight or much magic but at this point all that remains is to use his remaining strength to try and help find survivors and get them to Camelot.]

When I'm summoned to battle, I fight until the foe is defeated or I am. Don't get how you can say you're my friend and not even understand that I'm not a damn coward who is afraid to die in battle.

You didn't run from the battle, idiot! I knocked you out! I intercepted you before you could do something stupid. There's no cowardice in being sucker punched.

So, the only one who has to worry about punishment is me. So, if I have to take responsibility for what happens then...

...Then I will.

[He watches Hawk stand and return to the appearance Darin was more familiar with. He's not going to bother clarifying the fact that he doesn't think Hawk is a coward any further. Instead...]

Why do you hide your real face?

[He still highly disagrees because he should have been able to tell he was going to get hit and take action to dodge it. It's just clear there is no further point in arguing this. Also, now that Hawk's standing and able to take Monstrum form, his familiar leaves Darin's head and flies off.]

Can't use powers in human form. That includes this place's magic. Since Monstrums ain't wanted criminals here, there's no reason to be in a weaker state.

'Monstrums...' [Darin echoes.]

What are Monstrums? What exactly was all of that back there with the dragon?

[He stops just short of asking 'What are you?']

[Well lucky you Darin, he's pissed off enough that screw it. He'll go ahead and give the whole ugly as hell truth of what he is.]

A copy of a long forgotten war hero made by alchemy who was given a curse through a magical bullet. More alchemy most likely. Said curse turned me into the inhuman freak you know very well. We were created to be summoned to battle against creatures too powerful for most humans to fight and most humans can't even see.

So that's what you saved. Someone who is completely replaceable. If I die, they'll just make another. That's what they've been doing for centuries now.

[Darin listens to Hawk intently, and when he's done, he doesn't say much. But he does have a question.]

If another copy of you were made...would you retain all of your memories and experiences...?

Unless someone takes them away we do. Still get the experience even if I don't remember it all.

[Because yeah, he's missing memories even from this time around and only has 15 years of memory currently.]

Keep this shit quiet though, okay? No need for anyone to get any bright ideas regarding this place's alchemy. Already been there and done that back home.

Edited 2021-10-01 11:59 (UTC)

I'm not going to tell anyone anything, Hawk.

I'm just...trying to understand you. You're acting like losing and not dying means you're worthless.

(no subject)

notquitetamed - 2021-10-05 10:07 (UTC) - Expand

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EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

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