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

"I can treat him. Head trauma shouldn't be left alone, even more if they're fading in and out of consciousness."

From what she was being told, the second individual - an older man - was fairing better despite conditions. That, and Eve was handling preliminary treatment. Still, this one, it might be swelling...

"Help me move him to a clear area. Once that's done, you can resume digging. Eve will guide you once you're close enough."

He nodded and did as he's told. It's difficult to get used to human strength once again, but it's not as if he was weak. It just took more effort to move the survivor than it would have previously.

A clear area was a bit of a tall order, but there was some space not far away. He moved them over as quickly and safely as he could, then gave Naomi space to work.

"I'll work on getting the other one out. Do what you need to."

They had to be careful transferring the kid too since they didn't want to jar him anymore than needed. However, once they were over to a clear-enough area, they could set him down. Slowly, carefully, and that should do it...

"Leave it to me."

Settling in and slipping on another set of gloves, she places her hands gently on the boy's head.

"... Also, just a warning. Eve is a snake so don't attack her when she emerges to help."

"I appreciate the warning, but I don't mind snakes at all."

They reminded him of someone who was normally always at his side...He'd been feeling her absence more strongly than he expected to. There's no time to dwell on that, though. He went back to the rubble to continue digging the other victim out, keeping an eye on Naomi out of the corner of his eye. If he needed to cover her, he'd be up in a flash.

"Alright."

That's enough for her, and she'll resume focusing on the teenager. She could see they were on the younger side of teen, but not just turned. If she had to guess an age, perhaps fifteen. He could take a hit, but preferably not like this. Hand moving, she can see her fingers wreathed by a familiar faint blue glow as she follows the trail of blood to the point of impact... there.

Since no threats were presently in sight, her companion could keep digging. He would soon uncover dark scales - or, no, that was a black-scaled head and beady eyes peeking out at him.

And, true to his word, he didn't panic. No, instead he smiled. Eve wasn't quite the same as Oryou -- too small, for one -- but she still brought her to mind. Despite the situation they're in right now, he smiles.

"Ah, you must be Eve...Thank you for your help."

No one liked a thankless job.

Eve stares, but nods at his thanks. The snake doesn't talk, but it's capable of communicating with their bonded. Still, she does her best to, dipping her head into the rubble, not yet burrowing in, but peeking back up at him.

Follow?

He gets it -- communication doesn't require words. A little strange to be following a snake into a pile of rubble, but what is normal here? Ryouma nods and...well, time to follow Eve. Whatever gets the job done faster, that's all that matters.

Burrowing down, Eve would lead him, but not directly to the person. Instead, it's to the rock in question holding them down. Tongue flicking, her tail gestures to the side: it was safe to remove the boulder in that direction to free their survivor here.

Meanwhile, from under the rubble, there's a grunt from the older man, asking if someone's there and if their son is alright.

If Ryouma wanted an answer, he would just have to look Naomi's way. "You can rest now... We'll have your father out momentarily."

"He's fine, just hold still and we'll get you back with him."

He's strong, but this rock may be a bit much. What little magic he's learned so far was focused on purely healing, save for a mild strengthening spell. He'd tended to use it on others, but what better time to test it out? A quick, quiet chant and he can at least feel something happening.

It's just the extra nudge he needs to push the boulder free, in the direction Eve motioned. Even with the extra help from the spell, he'd probably feel this in the morning, but it's fine.

"Oh, yes... thank you."

The father sounds concerned, but not for himself. He'll lay there quietly, wondering what's going on, but then, coughs when the boulder was removed from the rubble covering him. Seemed like that was putting weight on his chest. At least without the boulder too, Eve can slither over the pile and offer her own healing magic to ease the damage to his chest.

Just long enough for Ryouma to help.

He carefully set about removing the rest of the rubble, giving Eve a wide enough berth to do her work. This was still beyond anything he'd ever done and maintaining his focus on the task at hand was difficult. There were so many others that probably needed help, too, how the hell did people do this and not get overwhelmed?

Don't overthink it. Focus. He's too kind-hearted for this...

"Is everything alright?"

Naomi had seen him digging for a bit longer than she expected. Had they hit a snag? The boy she'd been tending to had finally been able to fall asleep safely that she could spare a brief amount of time to help if need be. Eve turned her head, tongue flicking at Ryouma. Was he doing okay?

"Fine," he called, "we're almost done here!"

Even if the work was starting to get exhausting. He'd be fine, he'd manage -- he always did. He was slowing down a bit, the effect of his spell growing less and less with each passing moment. It was still enough to get the man free enough so he could be safely moved.

Freed enough, the man did move albeit slowly. Eve had done so much healing, but the older man would still feel lingering pain in his chest. He grunted, placing a hand over his right side, but managed to rise.

"Thank you. Ah... do you mind helping me down?" Though he was out of the rubble pile, both of them were still on it; and it was fairly uneven, shifting ground.

"Of course."

Ryouma offered his hand immediately and put an arm around him to support him. At least he's used to uneasy footing. It's slow going, but any faster would guarantee a quick trip to more pain.

"Easy now, just a little further."

Slowly, steadily, carefully, they made it safely to more stable ground with only a couple of slips to show for it.

The father accepted the help without hesitation, grimacing only slightly on the descent. Whether from his aching chest, or just having the ground rattle and shift that he's wary about falling, it's uncertain.

"R-Right..."

By the time they would reach even ground, Naomi had flagged down further help: one person to help transport the son while he rested, and a second hurried over to help the father move to a safer location.

"Thank you," the father says, nodding to Ryouma.

"It was nothing."

He's grateful for the help, of course. There's still more work to be done, but he needed a moment to rest. He wouldn't do anyone any good if he overworked himself.

Ryouma looked to Naomi with a tired smile.

"Holding up alright?"

With those two being helped off, they should be fine. Naomi stands there, watching them leave, and slowly crosses her arms.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking. But do you need another minute?"

He looks tired. If she could've gotten help sooner, maybe that wouldn't have happened.

Ryouma shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine."

He probably did need a moment to rest -- getting used to a human body and human limits again was a bit of a steeper learning curve than he anticipated -- but he wasn't good at letting himself rest. There were more pressing matters to attend to right now than his own limits.

"We should keep moving."

"... Fine. Next area then."

Another time, she might tell him to take five, but sometimes, people were stubborn and needed to get winded before they actually consider they might want to rest. Survivors weren't going anywhere, and the dead weren't going anywhere faster - unless they were the undead occasionally spotted around.

So, just nodding along, she'll begin leading on to the next area they should check.

His fatigue didn't show, at least; whether that was him intentionally covering it up or the adrenaline covering it for him was anyone's guess. It didn't matter, he followed after her as he was told, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"I've been through so much but I've never seen anything like this..."

"Never? Not even in the case of an earthquake?"

Which she could say this was about the equivalent of. Considering this world, that wouldn't be possible, but in her world, disasters weren't all uncommon. The scale could change of course. Coming to stop at another pile, she set Eve down and let the snake burrow into the rubble again.

"I never saw an earthquake in my lifetime."

Not that he hadn't seen death -- he'd seen plenty and the loss of even one life was more than he wanted to see again.

"I lived in a time of exceptional turmoil, though...So it's not that I'm unused to lives being lost."

"... Natural disaster or man made, the results are the same. Still, we continue doing what we can ourselves: recover and rebuild."

Plenty of people here seemed to have experienced loss of life one way or another. The scale and method differed, but the cycle was the same.

"Anyway, let's begin digging. Eve has located another survivor... Do you know if anyone that came with us is a vet?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ✨ Fall Equinot

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