isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

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EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

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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."

verbena flower

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.

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[ he feels his hackles raise and the part of him that wants to start a real fight over this start to wake up and then he knows he's pushing it too far. ]

Shut up. Not this time.

[ maybe this is childish "no u" behaviour but whatever. he's not going to stand there and cry again while he watches ryouma leave. he can't. so if it's one or the other, izō is going to be the one who walks this time. he'll find something to do with himself. it's pride or something like that. ]

That's how ya want it, right? All t' yer self...

[ he's made the choice but he's still drunk, so he still grumbles, but he makes the effort to push past. ]

[ Ryouma steps aside and motions for Izō to go. ]

Then go. I tried to make this easier for the both of us. Just get out of here...

[ It'll be better if he's alone, whatever form that takes. Izō won't have to put up with the abuse anymore and Ryouma won't have to worry about making it worse. There will be no target for his anger and no one to touch his already raw nerves.

The knowledge that it's better doesn't make him feel any better about the choice. ]

Yeah, yeah. Y' see me leavin' so ya ain't gotta rub it in my face.

[ it's only after he shuffles past that he realises he's left his key in the door and turns back, but then waves it off. he'd just have to stick around here longer and having it means he'd be tempted to keep coming back. izō does his best to avoid looking at ryouma; sometimes seeing the anger is almost worse than listening to it. ]

Fuck it. Ya know how t' find me if y' want. Lemme in again when this shit blows over.

[ The irritation comes hard and fast again, manifesting in Ryouma throwing Izō's key at him. ]

Let yourself in.

[ Enough of this. Ryouma turns on his heel and goes inside, slamming the door behind him. Nothing about this felt good. Without an outlet his rage gets turned inward, making this all the worse. May as well go sulk in silence alone -- at least then the only target of this pointless anger is himself. ]

[ at least it isn't too long after that before the ritual happens. someone had had to deal with a very drunk and guilt-ridden manslayer as he'd needed a partner to do it with. it's hard to tell if he passes out for as long as he does because of the booze or because his magic had been drained, but it's long enough that he's out through the night and only wakes up the next morning. with the sun out, he only realises it's morning because his phone tells him it is. the bartender sends him off with a little something for the road — likely just to get izō to finally leave — and it helps take the edge off a threatening hangover and the feeling of dread about going home.

the key feels heavy in his hand when he pulls it out of his pocket and he ends up hovering on the front step for a long time again. without the issue of the curse izō knows he has nothing to worry about anymore, so it's frustrating to be hesitating at all. he finally sucks it up and lets himself in.

he moves silently without realising he's doing it, pausing at the bottom of the stairs. he'd had a practical application for it as an assassin but had developed his skill at it a long time before he ever took on that role — it's just what you do when you're trying to be as unobtrusive a presence as possible. izō is just going to need time to re-adjust like he had when they'd first started sharing the room. he'd done it then too.

reconsidering his original idea to just go up to his room, he goes out the back instead. the lack of sun is not an issue since there's already a lantern ~~because he's too old-fashioned about some things to fully convert to using a flashlight~~. plus, it's nice on damp, chilly mornings. izō is really not feeling it and the hens, perceptive as they are, can tell. they don't even give him a hard time like they usually do, because they usually have no qualms about scolding him for being weirdly awake at dawn because he'd just come home drunk or feeding them late because he'd slept most of the day away. they do ask him questions, but they're simple questions. they don't really care about magical problems — or if they do, they aren't pressing for details — but want to know about other things. what the animals are saying. he'll just let ryouma find him there if he wants to, sitting on the back steps with the birds in his lap. izō listens to them chatter away while they keep him company — not that he'd admit that he needed some, even to chickens. ]

[ Ryouma hasn't been sleeping well since they fought. His guilt was too strong to let him have that much. Most of his days had been just going through the motions and keeping to himself as much as possible. Being left alone with his guilt and negative thoughts isn't exactly good for him.

Once the ritual was done, he remembered he needed to take care of the chickens. They nagged at him, asking where Izō was and why he hadn't been back and Ryouma didn't have an answer to give them. This same little routine is going to repeat itself, he's sure, when he goes out the back at dawn to check on them.

So sure that he nearly trips over Izō as he heads down the stairs.

Ryouma stops and stares. The truth is he hadn't expected Izō to return, whether it was because of Ryouma or because he had his own reasons. There's so much he wants to do and so little of it feels like he's allowed to do it. He wants to hug Izō, apologize profusely, and kiss him. He wants to pet his hair and keep apologizing for what happened.

It ends up with him stooping behind Izō to rest a hand on his shoulder. That's all he'll allow himself to do in the moment. ]

...Izō. I'm so happy yer back.

[ He doesn't deserve that happiness after what happened. ]

[ izō sort of wishes ryouma would have just gone for it, even though he'd expected this. even if he wants the hug, he has a hard time committing to actually asking for it. ]

Guess that ritual thing worked... 's good.

[ he wants to apologise but has a hard time forming that too. he shoos the hens away gently so he can stand up. ]

'Course I came back. Now y' got yer chance to tell me t' fuck off proper for havin' anythin' t' do with all that what happened.

[ that's what he expects everyone he knows to do. ryouma is just the first person to tell, even though he's fairly sure he's going to be forgiven doing this now, if only to try and make up for what happened. ]

That's what ya oughta do.

[ Well, he can't resist now that Izō's standing. Ryouma gives him a warm, lingering hug before responding at all. He's so grateful that Izō came back after what he said to him.

He cocks his head slightly to one side. ]

Huh...? What're ya talkin' about?

[ with the hug, he forgets what he wanted to say for a moment or two, really wishing he didn't have to. but that wouldn't be fair and izō knows there's no way he just gets away with fuck ups on a grand scale metaphysically if nothing else. ]

... Dunno where t' start. I fucked up. How's that? Only a matter'a time, right?

[ Ryouma frowns for a moment, then squeezes Izō's shoulder in an attempt to reassure him. ]

Tell me what happened...Please. Don't matter how long it takes ya t' say it, I wanna hear it.

[ he lets out a breath, shoulders slumping. so this is happening. izō sits back down again and gestures for ryouma to follow; he just can't bear going inside right now. it should be worse out here given the present state of the sky, but it's peaceful in spite of that. ]

This guy was lookin' for somebody t' help out with somethin'. A... a ritual thing, I guess? Gave this whole long story...

[ he's just trying to get the whole thing out start to finish. the details he can fill in later... probably. ]

Had a weird feelin' 'bout it but—... [ he hesitates for a moment or two, then shrugs a shoulder and moves on. ] Anyway, in the end, said I'd help. So I did. Me an' some other people. Nobody said that's what was gonna happen! That fucker tricked us! This is what I get for stickin' my neck out for people...

[ he settles back down when his yelling disturbs the birds. ]

Ain't expectin' t' get a pass. Jus' want ya t' hear from me before ya hear it elsewhere.

[ he's sure ryouma will have questions, but having to admit he fell for something is bad enough. ]

[ Ryouma's expression turns more stern, but not at Izō. It's for whoever manipulated him into helping with the ritual. Izō had a history of being manipulated for the purposes of others and seeing that repeat itself has Ryouma feeling sick to his stomach over it. ]

The blame lies on whoever made ya do it. Y' didn't know what y' were gettin' into. Who was it an' what d'ya intend t' do about it?

Gonna kill 'em, whaddya expect?

[ that's really his only immediate and available option as usual. ]

But I ain't hidin'. Ain't invitin' people neither, but I get how this works. People like havin' somebody t' blame. Better me than somebody else.

[ he wouldn't be so resigned to it all if he wasn't also trying to shield ritsuka from any backlash entirely, but he's doing his best to leave her name out of it despite the likelihood that all of this will all come out eventually. he hasn't thought things through like that. ]

If I tell ya, yer gonna make me go an' turn 'im in...

Better th' person that did it than you.

[ His tone is firm in an attempt to emphasize to Izō that he's not the one to blame here. ]

That's why y' should turn 'em in instead'a killin' 'em yerself. It ain't yer fault that someone took advantage of ya...It ain't fair someone did that, either. I get why yer angry but killin' 'em ain't gonna do anythin' but get ya in more trouble.

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. ]

[ 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.

[ his shoulder tenses under ryouma's hand but he hesitates somewhere between how the past few days went and guilt enough that he doesn't pull away or shrug it off, just looks away instead.

it's not that he's worried about ryouma revealing his secret, it's more izō's embarrassment about the fact that he completely failed at what he was trying to do at the time. ]

Nah. 'Course I wasn't alone. Took a few people to do it, but it ain't like I knew the others. I was jus' tryna help Master out, y' know?

[ it feels like failing as a servant and as a friend. ]

...Master was there with ya?

[ If so, that explains everything and makes him a little more angry, to boot. ]

Yeah.

[ he sighs, because now that he's said it he might as well piece it back together in a way that makes more sense. ]

I didn't much like the guy. Jus' didn't seem like somebody who oughta be trusted but it's a feelin', y' know? Ain't like I had proof an' y' know how she is.

[ and how he can be, but that's established. ]

Anyway, I ain't blamin' her an' I'm leavin' that detail out so long as she don't mention it herself.

[ because that isn't up to him. ]

Th' only person to blame is the one who did it -- I said it before an' I mean it.

[ Ryouma decides to leave it at that. Was it a huge mistake? Yes. Should anyone else be held responsible for what someone else manipulated them into? Not really.

Now is the moment he decides to hug Izō, though. It's reassurance for both of them that whatever happens, at least they've got each other...Whatever that means after the whole cursed incident. ]

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EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

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i'm not emo about birds or anything

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