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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Claire had not been doing well, the news hit her like a gut-punch, but she'd been handling it as best she could. She'd barely slept, and she felt like she was back in Raccoon. All those people...just gone.

She'd thrown herself into work, patrolling the camp, fighting to stay focused on anything but the news trickling in.

Spotting Stephanie, she shambles over, walking right up and holding up a little flask

"...Wanna share...?"

Steph has probably gotten about as much sleep as Claire, and it's not even the second time she's dealt with devastation on this scale. She looks at the flask for a long moment, telling herself there's some reason she shouldn't be drinking but unable to think what it might be.

"Thanks," she finally answers, reaching for the flask.

"I guess you saw the news?"

It's whiskey, and it's strong. Something she holds in reserve for certain kinds of occasions, a habit Chris got her into. Don't drink unless it's really bad...

"I did."

She nods, fretting her lip.

"Shit's fucked."

Steph takes a quick swig, makes a dreadful face, shudders, then takes a longer swig. She hasn't really developed a taste for straight liquor, but right now she wouldn't mind if the alcohol and exhaustion make her pass out.

"That's putting it lightly."

She hands the flask back.

Claire takes it and sucks in a breath before taking a pull.

"Are you hurt?"

"No," she answers immediately, then has to take a moment to consider. She has a lot of scratches, probably some bruises. Either the drain on her magic or sheer fatigue made her vaguely achey. But no, she doesn't notice any serious injuries.

"I'm okay. Just... tired. You?"

"Been better. Feels...a little like Raccoon City all over again, but not much I can do about it."

Just like Raccoon, really. She's helpless to do anything more than basic humanitarian aide. It's a disaster, and one that's way, way outside the realm of her control.

"...Not sure what we could have done differently, but I hate it."

"At least there are survivors." If she can't find a way to save her world, there won't be any. She shakes her head, forcing herself to think logically. What could they have done differently?

"There's nothing. There was a whole team fighting the thing, we would have only been in the way." It's why she didn't join them from the start. She doesn't have the skills to fight a freaking dragon. She would just have been a liability.

"Yeah. It was a fucking dragon."

Claire exhales, gulping down more whiskey and tucking it away. Looking off into the distance, she groans.

"I wish I had that minigun from home sometimes. That would've been a good equalizer."

Steph can't stop a helpless, despairing laugh.

"Would bullets even work on a dragon? I don't think exploding batarangs would even make a dent." Given, they are designed to do very limited damage.

"You put enough bullets into something fast enough and it'll feel it. Worked well enough on that 9 foot mutant zombie. Can't imagine it wouldn't dent a dragon."

Which, unfortunately, would probably make her a target. But it's something.

"Maybe," she concedes with a sigh. Do dragons have scales like snakes, or is it more like armor? There are too many unknown variables to get stuck on what-ifs.

She finds a large enough rock nearby and sits down. She really is exhausted.

"I've been thinking I should be more prepared for this kind of thing. Before..." she waves a hand in the direction of Camelot, since she doesn't know off the top of her head which direction Celliwig is in.

"I'm not much of a Batgirl these days."

"You and me both, babe."

Claire follows, plunking down on the ground near Steph's feet, offering the flask a second time.

"I'm a terrible knight, and I've been stuck wallowing in my own shit since Sherry vanished. I need to get better."

Steph takes another big gulp from the flask and hands it back. She makes a face again, but doesn't shudder this time. The first two gulps are starting to hit, and a wave of exhaustion washes over her.

"I've been wallowing for the last year. I told myself leaving Batgirl behind was what I wanted, but really I've just been running away. When did I get so pathetic?"

"...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."

She'd really thought she had told Claire about that already, but she's too tired to remember that she only vaguely hinted at it once or twice. The confusion in Claire's face makes guilt hit her like a fist to the gut. If she hadn't quit, maybe she would have done better back home. Maybe she would have been better here.

"When the dome went up, people went crazy. I wasn't fighting criminals anymore, just scared people. Batgirl wasn't what they needed."

She may have and Claire may have forgotten. Her thoughts have been a jumble since her kid had vanished. And there's the flurry of activity from the last couple of days, too.

"So, you were out there helping how you could, then."

A statement of fact, not a question. She can't imagine a world where Stephanie Brown just sat around.

"Sounds a little like Raccoon City. And this."

"I took a job at a clinic," she specifies, with a tone of confirmation. She was helping, she can't doubt that. She saw too many patients to feel like that time was wasted.

"That doesn't change anything."

"A medic in that situation is way, way more important."

Speaking from experience, it was going to be medics and doctors that saved Raccoon City, not people like her.

"Did you save anyone in the clinic?"

"I know that," she protests grumpily, her eyes on the ground. Being a nurse was a good decision. She's just not sure giving up Batgirl was, too.

"...I delivered a lot more babies than you'd think. But since I came here, I haven't done much of anything. It's just incident after incident proving that I used to be ready for this kind of crap."

"Babies aren't gonna deliver themselves."

And as far as Claire is concerned, helping out there is better than doing nothing. She sighs softly, sipping from the flask again.

"I don't think any of us were ready for this, Steph."

You'd think the lack of resources and overall atmosphere of doom would discourage baby-making, but alas, that is not the way of things. She sighs, starting to get too tired to think straight.

"We should have been, Claire. It's the end of the fricken' multiverse. We should have been ready."

Claire jerks her head up at that, giving it a negative shake and gesturing off somewhere to the north. There's no heat in her reply, though she certainly feels strongly about it.

"Steph, I don't think anyone can ever really be ready for the end of the fucking world. It's a scale that's so far beyond anything I've ever even imagined that I don't know if I even fully comprehend it."

Her shoulders sag and she leans back against a barrel.

"I'm just a dumbass that managed to survive a single night in a zombie infested hellhole. I don't even know how to begin preparing to fight a goddamn dragon."

"Emotionally, maybe not. But I trained with Batman and Oracle. We can be ready for the next thing." There's calm determination in her voice, but her face shows only bitter exhaustion. She props her head on her knees, hands on her forehead.

"Just... not tonight."

"Definitely not tonight."

Head down, Claire holds up the flask, offering Steph the last swallow if she wants it.

"I don't wanna think about anything but bed for at least three days after tonight. Between this and the fucking zombies..."

EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

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