EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

[avalonmods]

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The fairy queen is less than pleased, but not angry, with how her quest went. She has Princess Bluebell of the Guinea Pig Nation speak, and Princess Bluebell also has a favor to ask... which seems to be the calm before the storm, as an unknown third party who made off with the Fisher King earlier this month have performed a ritual to resurrect him and left the veil open, letting in untold forces that have engaged in a Wild Hunt... and the prey is Camelot.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

• 1st Prompt: --
• 2nd Prompt: Active: Battle, disease, famine, living death, rage; Historical/Not active in prompt: mentions of serial killers, murder, biological warfare, god/human love affair
  
• 3rd Prompt: --

This prompt is backdated slightly and takes place on February 18th.

A live broadcast comes to everyone's devices, featuring a rather peculiar speaker. "Attenchun, kindly o-otherwowders! Tis I, Pwincess Guacachia Bluebell of the Guinea Pig Nation of Nowth Elphame. Though our home is too small to be noted on the Laage Neighbow's maps, I asschuwe you I am caulified as Ambassadow for Chween Elphame. Though you had failed her chwuest, many of you have shown the twust she asked fow even if not the bwains. Those who have will be shown gweat gwatichude, but she does feel [squeaking sound of dismay that cannot be translated out of guinea pig adequately] as the Fishaa King's body was pawt of hew pwans to dishmanchle the Cawamidy and didn' want to speach chuday because of it. Evewyone send good wibes and wikes, she won't speak when she's not
[again: squeaking sound of dismay that cannot be translated out of guinea pig adequately]... the Cawamichy won't be ended if you all don't wowk with the Chween, King Awfur's gwaces or notch, you know! But that's none of myyy busy-ness! Elphame offews a rewawd fow the Fishaa King's body now, much to keep you "fat and happy" for many yeaws!    I also have a favew to ask on behaaf of my people. Our Festiva of Life is next week and the usuaw souwce of one of the chey ingwediench of our festiva cakes was a Leschawian, bwessings to them!" As it turns out, the Guinea Pig Nation (all talking guinea pigs who like to dress up in various outfits- in style now in particular is old western themed outfits, but the Princess must always wear her crown) are in a pinch because their Lestari hook-up for the feathers died in the fall of Lestari. They need help to pluck feathers from a bird called the Prism Tweeter! Their people love to decorate the outside of their Festival of Life cakes with their feathers, which are made of finely spun sugar in a variety of colors. These birds are typically found in the first Ash Mountain, but upon its fall, migrated to live in the Forest of the Felled as one of its new, more colorful residents. It only takes one feather to cover a cake, so pluck no more than one feather per bird and the whole flock will go unharmed... the only trick is catching these delectably sweet aviators: The birds can magically phase through physical, non-enchanted objects, so you have to surprise them to grab them. The plus side is, they really love vanilla beans, so they're easy to lure out of the trees.. you don't have to be George of the Jungle to help out the pigs.   More of a stay-at-home kind of helper? That's fine too. They need bakers to make as many tiny cakes as they need for the festival since it's so last minute this year! Hurry up and grab a friend to get to baking 3-layer 1 inch cakes wrapped in rainbow feathers to help these little guys out. The Elphame Traders will make a special trip to Camelot to pick up all of these cakes as a favor to the Guinea Pig Nation, so you can stay at home and bake with your friends no matter where you live. This prompt takes place on February 22nd and February 23rd.
	A few days after the fun and fancy-free stylings of the Guinea Pig Nation ahead of their Festival of Life (you weren't invited, sorry, too big you would destroy their homes- but they appreciate the help!) things are going pretty mundanely. That is, until what sounds like a battle cry is heard approaching New Camelot. On the horizon, what appears to be a massive cavalcade of demon horse-riding wraiths lead by four knights in what appears to be ancient armor rush toward the city. A few of the locals who hear the sound and come out to see what all the fuss is about immediately seem to spook, shouting something about the Wild Hunt. Usually it's something preserved for earth and those who find it will be taken along and dumped either in Avalon itself or taken straight to the underworld, but their presence here in Avalon.. well, that can't be good. The shouting seems to alert the castle, which seems to alert more people, and within a matter of minutes people are being rushed to take cover within the castle walls for siege.
All of Camelot's gates are closed and people are directed to a couple of different places: knights and those who wish to fight are to prepare for battle at each of the gates. Healers who wish to stay and help the wounded are to gather in the citadel, where the injured will be taken. Those who wish to battle and heal will act as field medics to get people into a state enough fit to be taken to the citadel. Those who wish to offer other support may be asked to hand out food and water within the citadel or fetch supplies around the city, or to rush to the library to try to figure out what the hell is leading this hunting party toward them. King Arthur will lead the knights into battle. Merlin will also be assisting in battle, using a variety of magic from atop the castle. If your character gets into a pinch and you aren't sure how to get them out, feel free to have him send a magic spell to block an enemy. Knights given the authority to direct other fighting characters as they see fit (though your non-knight fighter's compliance is, as always, depending on your choice as a player).  Those who wish to opt out of this event entirely will be whisked away by some of the Fairy Queen's spies to Nicnevin for safekeeping. If you do not want your character to remember or acknowledge any portion of this event, we can handwave that the Fairy Queen arbitrarily found your character annoying and put them under a sleeping spell for the duration of their stay. This will be done before the outer city gates are broken through, so your character can be safe the whole time and just chill in a hotel room in Nicnevin. Those who stay will be fighting wraiths (unkillable enemies) lead by four beings called the Knights of the Veil. Those who have rushed to the library to find answers will be able to spread the following information regarding the enemies, though first-hand experience may also be how your character finds out some of it: The Knights of the Veil live in the void between the world of the living and the dead and escaped when the veil was not closed during a ritual to raise a heavily cursed and protected corpse back to life. Though there's no way to know which corpse, recent news of the Fisher King's body going missing leaves some speculation and fear about who it was that was raised, but no one has any idea who did it. The Knights of the Veil have touch-based magic in addition to weaponry which you may have your character afflicted by at your behest. The four knights are as follows: Carlea: Once a proud Queen, she sold her soul to the darkness after her husband was killed by enemies and the prince of the enemy nation forced her to marry him. She used this ability to brutally murder every last citizen of her enemy's kingdom over time in secret and feed them to a pet bear she was gifted by her new husband, saving him for last. Carlea's touch will invoke a curse of famine, causing all food and drink to turn to ash in the touched individual's mouth. Rubion: Rubion was a serial killer in his world known for killing over a hundred people, though the exact number is not known. Who he was before that isn't particularly known, but as a killer, he was known for brutally killing anyone who crossed him in a fit of rage. He was from a time before forensics and tended to kill witnesses, so he was never caught. That is, until he missed seeing a small child hiding under his bed during one of his rampages. The child's grandfather took him in and killed Rubion himself after he found out why the child would not speak for a month straight. It is thought that his own god cursed Rubion to stay in the void where he could not torment his victims in the afterlife too. Rubion's touch will invoke uncontrollable, violent rage and turn even the smallest slight into a mountainous anger. Augusto: Augusto was the general of an army who used the blood of his people's sickly to spread disease in conquering nations. He did not choose to become one of the Knights, instead being cursed to eternal damnation by a priestess in one of the villages he wrought destruction upon. Augusto's touch will inflict a disease of the player's choosing upon their character, at full height of symptoms within 30 minutes of touch.  Pien: Pien is a god of an older religion who was banished from the heavenly kingdoms for loving a human so much she attempted to give her eternal life despite that it was forbidden to grant eternity to mortals. She has a high-and-mighty attitude, and if disrespected will disrespect you right back with dignity-obliterating consequences. Her followers tended to be on the M side of things. Her touch will invoke conscious zombieism, meaning that your body will die and begin to rot despite still being able to move, and you will be aware and able to communicate and feel during this experience.    The Knights and Wraiths cannot be killed by any means as long as the ritual remains in effect and their tie to the underworld is stable, so for the time being this is a heavily unwinnable battle. Thankfully, wraiths are not very coordinated even if they are aggressive in battle so it's easy to dodge, flee, or take cover.

On the second day of the Siege, devices will flicker with a face we haven't seen in some time. She is this world's mother goddess, after all, so if threatened she will come to offer reprieve. Morganna looks almost amused at how much destruction had been wrought by the actions of, truly, one man and those he had strung along. Morganna will not punish nor reveal them, but she will speak on the matter: "Those wishing for this to end, rejoice. I have birthed verbena upon your doorsteps. Take another's hand, light a candle and burn the flowers. Whisper 'lights out' three times together, and pray to send some of your magic to me. I need as many of you to do it as possible, or else I will not be able to freeze time fast enough to stop the calamity from engulfing this place afterward when I complete the ritual shutter."
That is all she says. The ritual won't do much if only one person does it outside of today as Morganna is keeping secret what she does on her end to complete it. If your character's name is possessed by the fairy queen, they will be forced to participate in this ritual so they may notice something odd if they weren't intending to do it. After the ritual is complete, all personal rituals will be voided and need to be recast. (This includes things like brownie summoning spells or the banishing of lesser frost fairies if your character was doing that from last year to keep their house warm.) This will also cause both the sun and moon to black out for about a day afterward, so you may want to get on board with artificial lighting or spells until a party heading to Celliwig to repair that ritual can get out there in about a day's time. The most dangerous ritual that has been broken will be the time freeze. Morganna uses everyone's magic to give herself superspeed to recomplete the ritual to recast it, along with a significant portion of the Isle of Avalon's itself that had been built up in surplus having everyone here for so long. However, there are still 2 seconds in which the massive event that threatens the multiverse can move forward. It is now visible in the sky to the north during the night even without being at the End of the World, and will stay that way for the duration of isleofavalon until the multiverse is saved. It is outright terrifying if you travel to the End of the World now, taking up the majority of the sky. For a month afterward, those who participated may find themselves fatigued without clear cause... but in general, magic will be misbehaving and causing accidents for everyone for about the next month.

Comments

[silvergarden]

Well... [Rinea returns her hands to her lap, watching Hijikata's expression in the glow of the phone screen. Explaining feels suddenly so shameful, like reliving a moment of weakness. She is glad for the darkness that hides the minutia of her reaction, though she cannot disguise her voice.]

I--I only wanted to bind his wounds sustained in the siege. But he was enraged, somehow, about an enchantment we'd experienced the month before. I have never seen him so angry. He tried to--

[There is something deeply humiliating about being slapped, specifically. It is an attack not meant to maim or kill, but to punish. Rinea's throat closes around the phrase.]

--to, to strike me.

[Rinea feels the pressure of tears behind her eyes, suddenly disgusted with herself. What is she doing?] --You must understand, I do not want to believe it was him! I would never want to besmirch his reputation. But if it was truly sir Somnus, and I ran from him, then...

[then... has she done wrong by preserving herself-- and subsequently Hijikata-- instead?]

[dottedline]

[This is why Jade is his favorite.]

Please don't risk it. If you pass out, we're done for.

[arf]

You're not?

[ He sounds surprised, looking like he's got to think.]

I don't know, you've got kind of that gentleman thing going but you get flustered sometimes, I would say it's not cute, but like in a classy and dignified way.

[fujimaru]

That's better than nothing.

[ Though frankly, Ritsuka knows she's not going to be much help there, either. ]

Just saying here and now, I'm probably better as bait than anything else. I'm no good in a fight, but I'm real good at running away.

[admiralchiss]

[Thrawn accepts the water with a grateful nod and takes a sip as Bruno works on him, not even hissing at the antiseptic.]

Quite bad.

[reloves]

[ Minako isn't too sure what's happening anymore during all of it. All she remembers is fighting one moment, and then the next it was as if all the lights had been dimmed - though that was impossible, since they had been outside. But her vision still goes completely black.

And it's like her mind is gone. Just temporarily, but it's so hard to sense anything. It feels like she's being moved, but she's not sure how, or to where. She can vaguely hear a voice, but it's too far away to even make out who it is. Her limbs feel so heavy, and her head feels so.. so hot. It's like she's having the most intense fever of her life.

It's only moments later that she realises she recognizes that voice she keeps hearing. That's.. Monika, isn't it? Is Monika calling out for her? But.. why..?

Her brain feels like it's caught into a fog, but that thought makes Minako at least force her eyes open enough to see that the other is right there. Minako has about a thousand questions as to how she ended up in this situation after just having been fighting a few moments ago, but she's too weak to even ask them. ]

Mo.. nika..

[ She slowly speaks up. It's hard, but Minako is forcing it. She has to let the other know she's here, at least. That she's okay.

(Not that she's actually okay, but Minako's instinct is to reassure the other anyway. She doesn't want to see Monika like this, so obviously panicking, even when viewed through half-open eyes on Minako's end. ]

It's okay.. [ Is she being moved again? She isn't too sure, but she can only focus on continuing to speak, her arms hanging limply. ] I'm.. here..

[hitokiri]

Why? How's it more trouble? I'm jus' doin' what's gonna happen anyway. How'm I s'posed t' jus' let it go, huh?!

[ it's hard not to yell even if it's the last thing he wants to do because after the tension and anger lately, all he wants is peace. the anger isn't even for ryouma, but that's what agitates him in the first place. somebody should get to do something to another person izō has already officially admitted to caring about and izō is supposed to just peacefully pass on an opportunity to do something about it? it makes his blood boil just thinking about it. ]

It ain't jus' for me! It—... well, it ain't jus' 'cause they convinced me. Toldja, shit felt real weird but I changed my mind 'cause I couldn't really say no...

[ he looks embarrassed. now he's having to produce more details since trying to argue a point against ryouma's when he's left out a major part of the story is never going to get them anywhere. he looks embarrassed because this is another situation where he's going to have to quit pretending he doesn't like people. ]

[schmisse]

It is. [ Scary, she means. There's no need to act tough right now, so she agrees without hesitation. ] But... I don't think this is the worst that could happen.

[ If anything? This just feels like the start of something. At this time, they all seem to be aligned and focused. There's panic, but the fact that there are people in the frontlines right away means that they all still have a fighting chance. That's hope, and a positive thought to hold onto. ]

I'm okay, just... this is really stressful.

[ She'd hoped to not have to get involved in this capacity here, let alone have to fight for her life here, but... it seems she has to. ]

There are so many people who need to get to safety.

[peninhand]

M-Minako...?

[ Monika froze in her tracks. Oh thank god, she was still there... But she sounded so weak. She sounded like she barely could open her lips. What had the rider done to her? It had to have been the one who could inflict diseases at will... One of the four riders was pestilence incarnate if she remembered well. But how did it help now? She should have focused on getting that information earlier.

Monika couldn't help the tears, but she lowered her head as she spoke to her girlfriend. ]

H-Hold on...! [Minako was so strong. Even now, she tried comforting Monika when she should be the one doing that.] You-you don't have to speak... Save y-your energy...

[ Immediately, she resumed her pace. Monika wasn't used to carrying heavy things around, so she was slower than she could have been-- Not that Minako was heavy! She was fairly light, all things considered. But... A human body was still different from carrying stacks of books every now and then. It would be so much easier if she used her telekinesis to move Minako... But the thought didn't cross her mind. She was much too panicked for that.

They approached from the place where the wounded were treated. They'd have a bed there and stuff for treating her, right? Then she'd move her to a comfier place where she could look over her. Monika took deeps breaths as she ran, trying to force herself to stop crying. Minako needed her. She needed her to be strong. She was the one who needed to be comforted, not Monika. ]

It-it's gonna be okay... I promise... [She sniffled. Gosh. Crying, carrying and running all at once, trying to force herself to stop crying, it was so hard... But it didn't matter. Only Minako mattered.] There's so-so much I want to show you... S-so much you deserve to see... [She forced a smile through the tears.] I-I've always dreamed of having a small cottage... A cozy little house. Surrounded b-by flowers and all the things we love... Just for the two of us. [It was silly. Would Minako even like something like that? But she just wanted... To give her something to hold onto. Their dreams and hopes. Their future. Even if not all of it came to pass... Even if silly dreams like those weren't what would come to pass. They had a future together.] Our dreams... Your dreams... I'll make sure we see them all realized, so please... Please hold on...!

[dottedline]

I have never. What. People find that cute?!

[localdeliveryboy]

Then just leave the talking to me.

[ And most of the actual deceiving part of this whole excursion. Noah stopped and peeked around the corner only to hold up his hand signal 'wait' as a pair of voices drew closer. ]

Evenin' ladies. How are you both doing tonight?

[ He says coming out from the corner and stopping the two nurses from spotting Alfonse, distracting them with conversation whilst they pass the hall - their attention fixated on Noah who continues to shower them with compliments and banter, promises about tea after all this is done - until they completely pass Alfonse and Noah waves goodbye dreamily to the pair. ]

Two days time, afternoon tea. I won't be late.

[ He chuckles and smiles then turns to Alfonse. ]

....Oh, right. All clear, lets go.

[ Clearly, dates with women > helping Alfonse in terms of priority in Noah's head. ]

[mayoninofukucho]

[Losing Rinea's touch makes Hijikata feels a regretful tinge for a brief moment, despite his earlier hesitation. He works with ghosts, after all, and doesn't have much physical contact with other living people. But he immediately focuses back on the conversation.]

What did that enchantment entail?

[If it happened a month ago, then why should Somnus only air his grievances about it now, and at such an inopportune time? While he listens further he finds some valuable information on AOL. So the leaders of the Wild Hunt - apparently that's who those wraiths are - are known as the Knights of the Veil... as he reads on his expression turns into a frown. He may have found the answer for what happened to Somnus, but he'll let Rinea elaborate first.]

[silvergarden]

[Hijikata's all-business attitude could be seen as unfeeling, but Rinea finds herself a little grateful for it. It keeps her on task, rather than spiraling away before her explanation is out. Wiping her eyes, she continues:]

Earlier this year, did you hear of the creature called an aurora bear? Its spell causes the afflicted persons to act as a family unit and ensure its survival. Sir Somnus and I came upon one together, and raised it for the duration. [They even named it...]

I had thought the incident behind us, but to think that sir Somnus was harboring resentment that I replaced his real family... I don't want to believe it.

[mayoninofukucho]

[He can tell how much the incident is affecting her, but sadly he's bad at offering emotional support to others, so he simply does what he does best: be a policeman about it and investigate, step after step.]

I remember those strange little bears. They hatched from the eggs, right? I didn't end up taking care of one, but I accompanied the escort mission to release them in the wild. Somnus didn't show any upset about taking care of it with you up until now?

[silvergarden]

[Rinea's eyes slowly adjust to the darkness the longer they sit in it. She shakes her head, gaze dropping to the extinguished coals in the fire pit.]

He was perhaps... embarrassed, after the fact. [Insofar as a man like Somnus can feel that emotion, anyway.] But I daresay his attitude during it was the most human I have seen him.

[There was the concern Somnus had about his brother getting to her, but that conversation was more out of kindness than discomfort or anger. And it doesn't seem like the kind of information she should share unless she has to... even if Somnus used it to rake her over the coals, as far as she can tell.]

You... don't think it was really him, do you?

[theskyaccepts]

Hie?

[Tsuna blushes at that, probably more out of surprise than anything else. And really, he shouldn't rest for too long with everything still happening. But he wouldn't mind a moment of peace.]

I mean...if you don't mind...I can just find a place on the wall or something...

[kiss_it_better]

"It's hard to say how Morgana's magic works."

Probably because Morgana's magic was so much more advanced than theirs. That was a question for another time. He noticed that she tried to do something to the candle though he wasn't sure what. He also didn't bother to ask; he merely made a note of it in his mind. Something to ask about on another day, perhaps.

"There's nothing to forgive." He says it and it's as calm as ever but sincere enough. "We're in a rather stressful situation." Which gives her a way to explain away any mistakes that was made but it's also a little bit of an understatement of the chaos that's been going on.

[kiss_it_better]

I am not sure I trust Morgana fully but in this she had nothing to gain by lying about the efficacy of the ritual.

[Though there's no light to see by there's something else useful, maybe. Because the thing is, Li Min always smells like a particular sort of Chinese medicine that is used for calming the mind and aiding in sleep. He'd managed to find the plants here after some searching and these calming herbs have a distinct smell when put together.

But maybe that's not as useful for someone who doesn't have a dog's nose.

Still, he reaches out, following the voice and his fingers brushes against an arm.]

Ah, is that you?

[theskyaccepts]

I think so! There was a group that was going to the library to find stuff out.

[But being the shonen protagonist that he is, Tsuna went the opposite direction.]

I'm not sure how they're going to get the information out though. We might be fighting until then.

[milkmycattle]

[Watch his back? Oh yeah, they are in the middle of a fight, but the sight and smell of blood have Crow's undivided attention. He hovers his hands over Jean's wound, and he tries to will the blood to still. It takes some concentration from Crow who has to ignore everything that's going on behind him, but he's successful in getting the bleeding to stop.

Since the blood isn't gushing out, it's easy to tend to the wound with a tourniquet. He tears a bit of fabric from his shirt and wraps it around the wound tightly. It's probably best that Jean seeks medical attention to stitch that up because any harsh movements will make the wound reopen again.]

I think you need a time-out. This will hold you for a little while, but don't go back out there trying to be a hero.

[He looks over his shoulder to see how they're fairing. Not well, since they can't kill these bastards.]

[doctorintern]

[ Well, scans don't seem to show any kind of major injuries. So he really is just sleeping. Which is good, but maybe not out in the open like this.

As he closes the panel on his arm, the voice startles him just a bit, but he recovers quickly and once again dons the usual deepened voice that came with the Gizmoduck persona. ]

Ah...sorry, not a dream. But my apologies, I didn't mean to wake you.

[amakakeru]

[ He can read between the lines. Someone else he cared about was there, weren't they? Ryouma puts a hand on Izō's shoulder as some physical reassurance. ]

Ya weren't alone with this guy. Who else was there? I ain't gonna say a word t' no one unless ya want me to...I just wanna know what ya were dealin' with.

[colchismagecraft]

[Her lips tightened a little as she realised that her weakness had been exposed enough for him to see- but she did let a little more weight come into the grip on his hand to let him steady her.]

...I can't say I've taken much time to rest in all of this.

You don't seem to have been worn down too severely?

[colchismagecraft]

Agreed...!

[She's not planning on resisting- running was definitely not one of Caster's strengths, but she had no intention of staying in the midst of the attack. She just hoped she wouldn't slow her ally down too much.

With a sharp flick of her wrist, she called a shadowy mist around them- hoping that would cover their escape. How or why this was happening were questions that could wait until they were somewhere safe!]

[colchismagecraft]

More of these wretched things...

[Running was not one of her strengths, but she tried her best not to keep him waiting too long at each turning. Meanwhile, darkness started working its way around her fingertips, ready to deal with any enemies that suddenly came her way.]