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avalonmods ([personal profile] avalonmods) wrote in [community profile] isleofavalon2021-09-22 01:13 am

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.
    sighsheavily: (pic#14281459)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-27 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [she doesn't look up, but her eyebrow arches all the same. it takes a little effort to keep from making a dubious noise, but she has effort today! no geese have fried her patience (yet), and she's actually quite amenable to conversation.]

    They are certainly innocent until proven otherwise, but I'd be quite the fool at this rate to trust any ritual to go off swimmingly at this point, wouldn't I?
    mayoninofukucho: (Smoke Break)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-09-27 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
    No joke. And seriously, this ritual in particular is just way too sketchy. Burning the undead, boiling their remains, and sealing spirits inside people? That's practically asking for shit to go south.

    [And yet he volunteered for exactly that... no, he doesn't know how to justify it, other than having felt compelled to lend his support to what seemed to be a particularly tough challenge for the dead this year. It's his new self-identification as a death mage coming through once more.]

    So if the spirit possesses me at the equinox or something, run.

    [How very reassuring! But at least he's not asking her to take him out if that happens. Given that he's a warrior by trade that'd be a tall order.]
    sighsheavily: (Default)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-09-27 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)
    [flatly:] Duly noted.

    [but that does pique her interest.]

    As a [necromancer] death mage, is it your opinion that even this much [she holds up a drying-out mushroom.] is a risk?
    mayoninofukucho: (Routine)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-02 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [He's not a necromancer!!]

    What, the mushroom? What'd you do with it?

    [Sorry, Cecelia, sometimes the lightbulb in his head goes out...]
    sighsheavily: (pic#14281461)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-03 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
    ...

    [gods give her patience.]

    The spell. I'm referring to the spell withholding decay.
    mayoninofukucho: (Uniform)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-08 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
    Oh!! No, that's fine! Well, apart from the whole thing about every plant you touch dying if you screw it up.

    [He doesn't sound too bothered, though. After all there are workarounds, like gloves!]

    And I guess you really shouldn't try to do this with anything other than plants. That's probably how you'd get a zombie infestation, even if it's just insects.
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667795)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-08 09:04 pm (UTC)(link)
    [flatly:] Would you not assume that the authors of such a spell would be certain the risk is low enough as to share it with so many novices?
    mayoninofukucho: (Here we go again.)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-08 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    Honestly? Not really. I mean, why else did they warn us so explicitly?

    [He holds up the book, which also contains a side note along the lines of "DO NOT USE ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN PLANTS".]

    People here grow up knowing what consequences shitty magic can bring, right? They've probably got way more instinctive caution about all of this than we do, so they think it's safe enough as long as they inform us.
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667798)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-09 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
    [she sighs a bit, putting ingredients back down and looking to the page.]

    That's an awful lot of faith to put in a group of utter strangers with vastly different priorities. But I suppose that it's all simple speculation until someone proves themselves untrustworthy, mm?
    mayoninofukucho: (Thanks for that.)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-09 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
    Precisely. Let's look at the upside here: we're being trusted to neither be agents of chaos nor total morons.

    [To be fair, it's pretty much confirmed that this doesn't apply too 100% of the outworlder population on at least one count, but hey!! He starts to actually focus on his totems, combining ingredients for the first one while referring back to the recipe ever so often. He's made them a few times now, but it's better to be safe than sorry.]
    sighsheavily: (pic#14667794)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-10 04:45 pm (UTC)(link)
    [that gets a soft hmph out of the half-elf, not terribly inclined to buy into such an optimistic take, but also not keen on arguing about it, either. what would it prove, anyway?

    instead she just picks up a couple leaves in her palm, pulling water out of them with her unoccupied hand. she lets the dried components flutter onto the table to be picked up and used as he pleases.

    after a few minutes:]
    You'll have to forgive me: You offered to aid me, but I haven't had the coin to spare.
    mayoninofukucho: (Well-Rested for Once)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-12 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
    I told you, serving the common good is all the reward I need.

    [Sure, he said that, but who would take that seriously coming from a man like him?! He puts on a sombre face, though, as he does take a couple of dried leaves for his mixture.]

    If you need help, then I'll help you. That's what a knight is there for.

    ...

    Unless it's some bullshit. Don't make me clean your rabbit cages or something.

    [There's always a caveat!]
    sighsheavily: (pic#14315118)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-13 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
    [she looks over at him with a squint.]

    ...Do I appear to be someone who is apt to keeping vermin? Or to waste your time with petty errands? Truly?
    mayoninofukucho: (Tea Time)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-14 08:45 pm (UTC)(link)
    I wouldn't say it if it hadn't happened before! Well, not with rabbit cages, but you get the picture. But alright, I'll trust you to keep it reasonable!

    [He gets his bottomless mug from his bag, takes off the lid, and sips some mayonnaise. This crafting session is actually starting to feel cozy... maybe the dark season won't be all bad!]
    sighsheavily: (pic#14281462)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-14 10:49 pm (UTC)(link)
    [as far as she's concerned, her affiliation with rabbits begins and ends with that stupid Sir Floppykins or whatever the hell its name was back in the springtime...but Cecelia has a feeling were she to make such a bold claim aloud, Avalon would, in some way, conspire to prove her wrong.

    such is the fickle way with magic.

    so she drops it, letting a more comfortable silence settle in to accompany them with their work. this seems to be a thing between them, isn't it? just indeterminate amounts of time quietly and dutifully seeing to a task. that's actually quite rare to find here, considering how hectic Avalon can be and how impatient most mortals are; it's rare to find someone who can match pace and not have it dissolve into impatience or boredom.

    egads, it's almost...nice? another thing she'll dare not vocalize for fear of some unexpected consequence.

    eventually:]
    Your independent study...has it borne any fruit?
    mayoninofukucho: (It's always something.)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-16 08:25 pm (UTC)(link)
    [Hijikata feels the same way. He may come across as a lone wolf type in some ways, and he does run out of patience with others quickly, but in truth he doesn't like to be alone. So he appreciates Cecelia's quiet company, much as her sharp mind and tongue keep him feeling like he's verbally blocking and parrying half the time whenever they talk.]

    Hm... some fruit, I'd say. I've got a better understanding of exorcisms and spirit repels now, but the curses they put in the Forest of the Felled are a whole other tier. I went back to investigate, and I'm not sure if they're too complex or simply archaic, but I could neither recreate nor undo any.

    [Neither of those things might have been very recommendable to try in the first place, but he at least wanted to see if there was an alternative to leaving the fate of the forest entirely up to that kooky Kymbyr!]
    sighsheavily: (Default)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-17 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
    Mm. Time does have a role to play in the potency of many kinds of magic, from what I've studied - if only because the nuances and practices change as generations pass. [she shrugs.] To say nothing of the matter of who did that magic in the first place. Some...magical signatures are just harder to reforge.
    mayoninofukucho: (Idle)

    [personal profile] mayoninofukucho 2021-10-18 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
    I didn't know that, but it makes sense. I mean, if those curses and hexes were put up by people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago it's like trying to decipher an older language form, right?

    [He sets another finished totem aside and starts the next one. It's odd how practiced he has gotten at this in a short time, but ultimately they're less finicky than certain other spell items.]

    Then again most of the books I used for reference are pretty old too, but regional differences probably play a role as well, both between the local cultures and those who've been coming in from outside across the ages.
    sighsheavily: (pic#14281459)

    [personal profile] sighsheavily 2021-10-18 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
    [with a faint, grim smile:] So therein lies some of the many facets of complication in navigating one's self through all of this successfully. To say nothing of how success may be so differently defined, depending on whose answer you seek!

    [even with a frozen-yet-imminent apocalypse looming, nothing is ever so clear-cut. that's just the irritating truth.]