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

Ironically...

"You're gorgeous." Normally not one to hesitate at firing off a compliment, Morgan rubbed the back of his head a bit awkwardly. It was a strange compliment, after all... "Like, it isn't hard to be pretty when things are good and you're athletic and cute naturally, but right now? There's that spark in you. You know the one, that drives you to do things ordinary people never would? And it's beautiful. You're beautiful."

She blinks at him, dumbfounded, turning steadily more pink. It's the kind of odd, backwards compliment that can only be genuine, and unlike anything anyone has ever said to her. It's still a surprise when she gets encouragement as Batgirl. She gets even less of it in her normal life.

How does she even respond to that?

"...Oh. ...Thanks...?"

"I told you it was stupid," Morgan said, actually blushing himself for the first time in... a very, very long time, as it happened. "But, you know... a lot of guys I've known don't go for that sort of thing? Or just accept it? And I figured you wouldn't mind knowing that I'm totally into it."

And saying it was important to him, too. He figured she could stand to hear some vigorous enthusiasm for who and how she was, instead of just... tolerance, maybe. That even though he was gonna try to make her take care of herself, that didn't mean he didn't want her to do stuff like this.

Morgan hadn't had trouble expressing himself like this in quite a while, and he found that strangely thrilling.

"Also so when I shamelessly hit on you, you understand where I'm coming from and don't think I'm crazy because you're battered and bruised and tired and dirty. Still totally A-plus in my book," he added, with a grin.

"Oh, no, it's-!" She turns pinker, her expression a shifting mess of embarassment, delight, confusion, sympathy, and a million other emotions she can't quite name. She doesn't want him to think she doesn't appreciate the compliment, but she's not sure how to properly express what she's feeling without sounding sort of... pathetic.

"I mean-- ah." She struggles with the words, gesticulating mostly meaninglessly for a moment before sighing, dropping her hands and looking away, still blushing ferociously. Her heart is pounding so hard she can barely breathe. Food would probably help with that though.

"It's just... nobody ever really wanted me to Batgirl. Or Spoiler. Or Robin." Or around to begin with, she almost adds. It doesn't help that the guys she's dated have all been assholes to her at some point or another. Just hearing it is more important to her than he can possibly know, even if it is overwhelming. She's so used to having to fight tooth and nail just to be who she chooses to be. It's staggering to be told that not only is she already that person, but she's admired for it.

She can't say any of that. It's too close to self-pity, or fishing for compliments, not at all the confident façade she likes to put on. It's too weak. So she falls back on her usual response to too much real emotion: flippancy.

"Hah. A lot of my friends are real jerks."

"That comes with the territory, doesn't it? Anyone in that line of work tends to be incredibly stubborn, convinced that they could do the job best, and they don't want anyone else to get hurt even if those people are willing to take the risk."

A lot of people felt a conflict between love and duty. The sort of thing where you regret putting someone you care for in danger, or even letting them go into danger. The way Morgan figured it, if you care for them, you accept all of them. You accept that if they weren't the sort to do that, they wouldn't be the same person you care about.

Morgan reached out to catch her hand, the better to walk with her to go hunt down some food. "I mean, admit it," he said as he tugged her closer so he could nudge her with an elbow, "there's even a part of you going, 'stop trying to take care of me, I have work to do', isn't there?"

Her smile steadies, and she bumps his shoulder with hers in response to the nudge.

"My mom's a nurse. I know exactly what happens when you push yourself too far. I may not like where my limit is, but at least you're not telling me to go home because you think I can't handle it, or I'll make a mess of things." Or because he doesn't trust her not to turn out like her scumbag father.

She knows that the critisism she's had to take for so long was (mostly) all in the spirit of keeping her alive, but she also knows that none of the boys were ever treated the way she was.

Edited 2021-11-02 15:51 (UTC)

"And don't expect me to." Though now Morgan's smile quirked a little more amused. "Unless I know something you don't, like, 'the monster only eats hot girls and it completely ignores big lunkhead guys even when they're slaying it.' Though this is gonna sound crazy, I have this plan where if something like that came up, I'd actually explain it instead of just being all 'trust me, I'm using up the time I'd need to explain to explain that there's not enough time to explain!'"

"Now there's a novel approach," she shoots back with a healthy dose of bitter sarcasm. God forbid Bruce ever explain himself, and god forbid Tim ever explain anything without checking with Bruce first.

"See, it's just this kind of outside-the-box thinking that gives me my advantage. Next week, I'll go into my philosophies on how to avoid comical misunderstandings by listening instead of assuming!"

Poor Steph. This really was the sort of thing 'bitter sarcasm' shouldn't apply to... But he was gonna keep being silly instead of making a big deal about it.

She appreciates the effort, though she isn't sure if it's intentional. It gives her the sense that she's made a good choice romantically for the first time in her life. She grins and shifts to slip her fingers between his.

"I've written essays on that subject. But I don't think my English teacher was very impressed by my take on Romeo and Juliet."

His fingers interlaced with hers like they belonged there, and his grin grew broader from both amusement and subconscious delight.

"Literally, Romeo and Juliet was two horny teens mixing up lust and eternal love, as horny teens do, and making multiple bad decisions based on that, as horny teens do! And I don't say that without sympathy, because we were all once teenagers making terrible decisions based on misunderstandings of what the most important things in the universe are, but let's call a spade a spade! I mean, they met and got married the next freaking day, didn't they?"

Morgan's boarding school education had covered the literary greats as well as martial arts, as it happened. And this was, if nothing else, a wonderful way to ignore the grim reality around them, the better to build their strength back up for when they inevitably returned to it.

She shrugs, but mentally asks herself why she thought it was a good idea to talk academia before she's had any coffee. At least historical subjects are easy for her.

"It wasn't unusual. Women back then were mostly all married by 16. But honestly, imagine how differently it would have gone if literally anyone in that play listened to literally anybody else."

Because they're both dorks. And perhaps secretly nerds.

"And that is why feuds are the dumbest shit." Morgan huffed out an irritated breath. "But you know, now you're gonna get me on a whole rant about letting go and stuff, which is exactly the sort of cranky I shouldn't get when I'm hungry and achey. God, I need a hot shower."

Very, very secretly, at least on Steph's part. She groans in sympathy.

"Same. But I need coffee more. And I need several full nights of sleep before I can muster the energy for a rant."

"If I find a hot shower, don't worry, I'll share."

Steph was going to learn, if she hadn't already, that he was irrepressible and shameless.

She snorts a laugh. She has only a small amount of shame herself.

"Deal, but we're both brushing our teeth first."

In a situation less pressing than "citywide devastation" that might be trouble.

"Yeah, that's fair. Even if we tried to compensate, you know we'd forget and suddenly end up ruining the.... shower." Or possibly any other noun that pause might have brought into their brains!

"That's a little harsh," she protests. "We wouldn't ruin it." They'd just maybe have to take another shower later.

"Well, spoil the moment, maybe." Morgan chuckled, then perked up slightly as he caught sight of a gathering not far away. Looked like someplace offering shelter, and more than likely, food!

Steph turns in the direction he's looking.

"We're all civilized people here, right? They have to have coffee."

"I'd agree if civilization itself weren't having a bad week." Still, only one way to find out!

"When we give up on coffee all is truly lost," she states with the highest of tragedy. They'd run out of coffee back home, but they still tried.

"If this keeps going places," Morgan mused, meaning her and him, "we might have a real struggle on our hands to reconcile that I like waking up early."

It takes her a moment to figure out what he means. When she does, she blushes. To her their relationship has gotten pretty far already. And it's not just the sex, for all that this is the first relationship she's had that started with that. It's the shared secrets, the sheer amount of time they've spent together, the fun they've had, and now this struggle they've shared. It hadn't really occurred to her that those things might have different meanings to other people. How embarassing would it be if she was the one getting carried away?

She gives his hand a squeeze and pushes those thoughts out of her mind. What they have is good, and there's no need to complicate it.

"You'll just have to be bored in the morning. Or else learn to be a night owl like me."

Honestly this thing they have? It got pretty out of control, pretty fast, and it's moving really fast. Not because of the sex, though he'd have been cool waiting -- but more, because his own feelings were apparently way more ready to handle this than he expected. Like he'd told her on their date, he wasn't that far out from losing his wife... and though, thanks to friends and family, he'd been handling it quite well, he'd been certain up till now that he wasn't handling it this well.

Then in waltzed Steph, playful and smart and bold and gorgeous, and here he was occasionally feeling like a confused teen again, losing track of words and being subject to her impish whims, and. Well. His comment had been presuming only that they'd end up spending more nights together, which seemed likely any way it went, but...

Well, he certainly wasn't opposed to more!

"Oh, I'm never bored, don't worry about that. Hope you don't mind me getting in a morning workout and meal and... well, pretty much everything!"

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