isleofavalon | 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

"I'm certain it was over there! I can't pinpoint the exact spot, but..." She falls short of an answer. Would siphoning be able to detect someone's magic, especially if they're far out of reach under the rubble? "... we'll worry about that once we're closer!"

She starts to lead the way, moving swiftly but not breaking into a full sprint just yet. After all, there's not a convenient path into the rubble, with even the flattest parts being disrupted with cracks and stray rocks. But it's the best they can do, particularly as massive slabs of debris stand tall over them like a jagged cliff face.

Right away, the fact that there's no further sound worries her, and she calls out: "Where are you? We've come to rescue you!"

There's no path to follow, but Jade isn't bothered by the idea of having to scale a bit of rubble— only that it must be done carefully so as not to cause an unwanted landslide, but she and Allura seem to be managing well enough as they make their way deeper into the heart of all the wreckage.

When the fair-haired woman calls out, Jade sweeps her gaze across the rubble ahead, listening hard for any response— and though the cry for help that comes in reply is faint and strangled, the hand protruding upwards from beneath what looks like part of a wall catches her eye immediately.

"There!" She points, immediately quickening her pace as she scales a fallen chimney, eager to reach the victim in question before the debris has a chance to shift and cause further harm. "Just a bit further— we're almost to you, sit tight!"

Allura follows where Jade is pointing, and catches sight — and takes a different route, keeping balance as she steps from an uprooted tree to a thick door torn off its hinges. This way, the two of them can distribute the weight, and reduce the chances of triggering any sort of collapse beneath their feet.

But getting closer confirms her worst suspicions that she had from a distance:

"There's not enough of a gap to pull them through. And if we try to widen it, the whole wall might fall apart..."

She takes a moment to survey the entire wall, checking to see if anything else is leaning on top of it and weighing it down. Because otherwise, the next suggestion would be out as well:

"We might not have a choice but to lift the whole thing!"

Well.

A tall order, perhaps, but one Jade is determined to do her part to fill. She looks over the wall in question, appraising, looking for the spots where it's wedged against other debris. It will be difficult, certainly, but between the two of them, they have a good chance.

"I suppose we best get lifting, then." She dusts her hands off against one another before bending to take a hold of the wall's edge between both, looking to Allura to do the same.

"What I wouldn't give for kinetic magic right now instead of blood— but I think we have this."

They're both strong, capable ladies, after all.

"I know the feeling," she responds to Jade, as she takes a position to start lifting with her legs. "At times like this, I would gladly trade your blood magic for my cognitive..."

But she's not helpless. Not merely because she's in outstanding physical shape, either — but because of her secondary magic, which she's charged up in fighting off earlier monsters, and which now tingles and burns as it pulses through her muscle tissue and reinforces it.

Perhaps there's similar ways in which blood magic can be applied. Something to talk about when this is all over.

"On your signal, we lift."

Edited 2021-10-03 07:30 (UTC)

"Right."

She nods, glad they're on the same page and resolved to work through this quickly. They're all here for the same reason, and it's refreshing to find herself working alongside someone who isn't given to panic.

"On three— one, two, three!"

She clenches her jaw, focusing everything she has on centering herself and lifting all the way from her legs, feeling her muscles pull tight beneath the weight of the wall. It's going to be a challenge, but they have this.

"Hrrgh!"

Even despite the power boost from her siphon magic — it's difficult. Such a sheer amount of weight that she can't blame the strain on the loss of her Altean strength. And while the hardest part should have been the start, of simply lifting it enough to get better leverage from underneath, it instead felt as if the higher it was lifted, the more gravity pulled down to try and bring it back down.

"Can you get out?!" Her voice is harsh, but it's out of concern. If they do drop it, it would all come crashing back down on the victim. Or worse, something could break off and fall back down regardless. "Please, as soon as you can move...!!"

Jade can feel her own strength threatening to waver, as well; even with the pair of them having taken hold and managed to coordinate the lift itself, the weight is too great a burden for them to hold for long. She draws in a sharp breath as she maintains her focus, not wanting to let distraction be what makes her lose her grip, but thankfully, Allura has this next part covered.

Allura's question is met by a bout of weak coughing, followed by a small voice that rings out clearer now that the debris isn't in the way: "I think— I think I can, I'm gonna run for it!"

There's some shuffling of stone as the victim stumbles, and Jade feels the weight of the wall bearing down on her harder with every passing moment, but just as the strain starts to settle in, the figure of a young boy of about twelve bolts through the entrance they'd made by force, scrambling past them and nearly tripping over the waiting pile of debris.

"Alright— drop it!"

She has a feeling Allura is feeling the weight just as much as she is.

Oh, yes, she's also feeling it. And as soon as she hears the cue, watching to time it with Jade — she pulls her hands away to let it all fall. It strikes the ground with a low, thudding boom, loud enough to faintly echo through the ruins.

In fact, for a moment, there's a sound of debris falling, having been shaken loose by the impact — and Allura goes tense, waiting to see if it's the sound of something much bigger cracking apart, if something in the pile is about to fall or collapse.

But a long moment passes, and things go quiet. For now, it looks as if they haven't triggered some sort of avalanche of rubble. Allura allows herself to exhale, and turns to the boy they just rescued.

"Are you injured? We can help you walk back to where the healers have gathered."

EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

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