isleofavalon | EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

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EVENT ✨ Sugar and Siege

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This is the event log. If you have questions about y event, reply to this comment HERE. Click here to view top-level comments only.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ izō should've known that he isn't cut out for what he was trying to do. it's not even a skill thing it's an izō is only one guy problem, but he thought he could manage and protect them both...

he knows the wraiths can't die but it feels good cutting them down anyway. it's an illusion of progress even though they just rise again, but aren't they just buying time anyway?

izō doesn't see it when it happens, it's the yelling that gets his attention. it scares him, because something being terribly wrong is the only reason he can think of why ryouma might be yelling at anyone. it's only once he's closer that he realises it's something else entirely. izō has seen ryouma fight and he knows that he doesn't draw his sword lightly, even against enemies like this. ryouma's not fighting like a person defending himself and it's so jarringly strange that for a few seconds izō forgets he should do something about it.

snapping out of it, he hurries over before ryouma can find something else to go after and grabs him by the arm. izō is out of breath and as dishevelled as one would expect someone to be after fighting all this time. his hand is shaking a little, mostly coming down from the scare earlier although whatever's going on right now isn't very comforting either. ]

Y' alright? The fuck's gotten in t' ya? Ain't gotta try that hard when I'm around, y' know?

[ he plays it for a laugh because... maybe it's stress or something? which isn't good. izō isn't supposed to be the reasonable one. ]

[ Ryouma doesn't take it as a joke. He yanks his arms out of Izō's grip and glares at him. ]

Why? Afraid you'll see how much better I am and storm off?

[ That was not an okay thing to say. Why is he doing this? Izō doesn't deserve that kind of cruelty; it's not even really how he feels. Why is he so quick to anger right now? If he'd spent any time at all researching this fight, he'd know it was the touch of that wraith.

He doesn't know that, so all he can do is stew in his anger. ]

Get away from me.

[ izō freezes just like ryouma leaves him, empty-handed now that he's pulled away, just standing there like an idiot staring like he isn't sure what's happening. he never even had a chance to get angry about it; ryouma might as well have cut him for real it's so sudden and gets past his defences like he might as well not even have any.

he takes one and then another step back and then hesitates. izō almost listens because old habits die hard and he's used to obeying when he feels scolded. ]

What the fuck... [ he rubs his forehead, recovering enough to at least put a better face on. he hopes his voice'll get the hint and do the same. ] Who d'ya think yer talkin' to? Ain't gettin' rid'a me that easy. This is some magic bullshit 'cause yer full'a shit if y' think yer better'n me.

[ see? it's fine. tough act as usual. he's fine. ]

[ He told Izō to leave. He told him. Anything that happens after that is not Ryouma’s fault. The fact Izō didn't listen to him sends another hot flash of rage through him. His knuckles whiten as his grip tightens on his sword. The anger flowing through him is enough to make him shake. ]

You want to prove that?

[ Dangerous. Why is he doing this? Why can't he stop? Why can't he just calm down and de-escalate the situation? ]

[ somehow the worse it gets, the better it feels. which is not to say it feels good, because it's going to sting for a while no matter what, but the anxiety that had cropped up over it at least dies down to a manageable simmer for the moment.

izō just knows he can't fight him. against an enemy opponent, that's one thing. swords are for killing, so that's a competition he's confident he can always win. fighting ryouma means always doing everything in half-measures; holding back when he'd normally seize opportunities. against someone as good as ryouma, that's a much tougher fight to win. with how ryouma is right now, there's no way of knowing if he'd even get the same restraint in return. all signs point to no. ]

Nah. I'm good.

[ see his hands? not going for his sword. he still has them out in front of him, as a matter of fact. what he's thinking is not smart but this is not izō's first time in this situation. maybe no weird magic was involved at the time, but not the first angry potential swordfight. no, what he's thinking isn't smart at all but he's no healer and no good at talking people down from things.

so he tries to punch him instead. no, this will not make ryouma less angry, izō is almost positive about this. might drop that sword though. ... or izō ends up with a worse problem but he's doing this live. ~~and maybe he puts a little extra behind it because what he said earlier really fuckin' hurt.~~

he'll make up for this later, assuming he makes it out of this in one piece. ]

[ The punch connects and Ryouma looks livid. It's not like he can't do unarmed combat, either. Some part of him that isn't completely clouded in anger knows better than to attack Izō with his sword, so he sheathes it before retaliating. ]

You're just as stupid as you look.

[ He will be apologizing to Izō for eternity and nothing will ever make up for these words. This is not what he thinks whatsoever, but the words are still coming out of his mouth. Ryouma can't control himself right now and that's the worst part.

Ryouma reels back and aims a quick punch to Izō's jaw. ]

Don't know what you're trying to do, but it's not making this any better!

[ maybe he shouldn't have put everything on the hope that this would change anything. or at least prepared himself for ryouma to say something else equally as scathing. but no, no, he's not expecting that either. it just makes getting hit in the face right after that even worse. ]

Dunno. Figured it might snap yer ass out of it.

[ izō really wishes it had. not for his own sake but because this shouldn't be a thing that's happening in the first place. at least he's not worried about dying but he still isn't sure how to fix it. ]

Already know I'm fuckin' stupid, ain't gotta say it.

[ If Ryouma weren't so blinded by rage, he might have felt bad about Izō's reaction. It's something he'll carry with him for awhile, beyond this moment, and that will hurt later. In the moment, though, he snaps and shoves Izō away. ]

Then just do what I say and get away from me! Or do I have to knock some sense into you?!

I toldja I ain't leavin'!

[ he's stubborn. and he doesn't want to admit that he doesn't know what he's doing. and a little desperate. ]

Yer jus' gonna keep runnin' around bein' pissed off at everythin' until ya get yer self killed...

[ so what does ryouma expect him to do but be persistent about it? not that he's asking, because he knows he won't like the answer. ]

Do I look like I'm hurt? These things won't stay down...But I'll be fine. You're only going to slow me down. If anything, you not listening will be why I get hurt at all!

[ Ryouma closes the distance between them. Something is very wrong, as if Izō didn't know that already. He shoves Izō again, harder than before. ]

Go! Or do you want me to go after you, too?!

No shit! 'Cause ya can't kill 'em!

[ he keeps protesting but it's clear he's being worn down. he can keep telling himself that there's something wrong and it's not what ryouma would ever say otherwise but he has limits. still, it feels like abandoning ryouma if he doesn't try. ]

Maybe I do. If I piss ya off enough, ya gonna run me down?

[ Sense comes briefly to Ryouma. He stops himself from drawing his sword again, if only because the very quiet sensible part of himself says that's a bad idea. Instead, he settles for trying to throw Izō to the ground. ]

No...but I'll leave you here. Don't follow me.

[ Because next time he might not be able to stop himself from hurting Izō. He doesn't need that weighing on his conscience along with everything else he's said. ]

[ izō puts up a good struggle but ryouma has the advantage here too. he keeps fighting even when he ends up on the ground on his back, but the slow realisation that he's at a disadvantage and already tired from the earlier battle and can't win slowly drains the strength out of him.

as usual, he can help create problems but can't fix them. even if izō doesn't hold ryouma responsible for the things he said doesn't mean those things aren't still true. everyone else in his life already agreed they're true and he knows it himself, doesn't he? this wouldn't even be happening at all if he hadn't made such a stupid decision...

izō turns his face away quickly, hoping ryouma will think he's just angry too even though he already knows it's pointless hoping for that. his body doesn't shake like that when he's just angry.

now he's sure he'll have to hear something unpleasant about the fact that he's crying about this, but ryouma's words just hit him exactly where he's most vulnerable. ]

Jus' fuckin' go then.

[ he throws his arm across his eyes so he doesn't have to look. ]

But ya better not forget whatcha promised... or I'll find ya and fuckin' kill ya...

[ his usual threat, but hardly threatening like this. because he has to go through the motions anyway to avoid feeling even worse about himself. ]

[ What's the more painful option: Ryouma seeing Izō crying and saying something worse than he's already said in a fit or anger or him simply walking away without even looking back nor even acknowledging Izō? Ryouma does the latter, not even sparing another glance for him.

The anger that surges through him is completely unnatural and he needs to just get away from here before everything gets worse. Away from the battle, away from the castle, away from everything. Nowhere is safe, that much is true, but so long as he can make it in one piece back to the detective agency, at least he'll be alone.

Alone is better than the risk of hurting anyone else. He should be alone until he can figure out what's wrong and until this passes.

However long that might be... ]

[ izō returns to the detective agency late because he's not sure if he's going back to an empty place or who had walked off earlier, and he wasn't sure what would feel worse. it's not like he's needed there anyway; he's not going to show up with answers miraculously. so he goes drinking instead because at least then he knows it'll stop hurting eventually.

that's when he heads home — while he's still on a high note — and how he finds things back home will ideally feel less unpleasant in whatever way they appear. go home, get upstairs as unobtrusively as possible, and try not to think too hard about the fact that he's going to sleep in his own bed for the first time in a while. it's fine. that's the plan.

he's already failed one-third of this plan because he had a hard time getting the door unlocked, which was noisy, but he's sure everything will work out now. probably. ]

[ He'd told Izō not to follow him. He tried to isolate himself from everyone else to protect them. It was stupid of Ryouma to come back to the detective agency -- why wouldn't Izō come back here? It was their home, after all. He curses under his breath as he hears the noise of Izō trying to unlock the door and storms over to it.

He hasn't gotten changed and he looks just as angry as ever when the door opens. ]

You couldn't even listen to me, could you? [ This isn't justified. Ryouma just brushes past him out the door. ] If you're going to stay here, I'll come back when you're gone.

[ He doesn't expect Izō to let him go just like that. He anticipates Izō doing the exact opposite of that. That'll really get the rage burning in him again... ]

Expectin' me t' go live outside again? I got my own room, remember? Or ya jus' gonna be a baby 'bout it?

[ izō is definitely doing the opposite of letting him go. he really should just shut up — at the very least — but he can't. it feels worse when ryouma leaves and pushes him away, even if he knows having his attention isn't much better because of the things he says. there are no winners in this situation. ]

[ Ryouma doesn't turn to face him. His hands ball into fists, his nails digging into his palm. ]

Then go to your room. I'm going somewhere else before I do something we'll both regret.

[ What exactly that is he doesn't know. The sensible part of him that's left knows it won't be good, though. ]

Like what? Havin' t' tell the truth? Ain't even pissed off 'bout it no more, see? [ he points at his face. ] Everybody knows it.

[ he leans in the doorway because standing up straight is an effort for another time, but doesn't go inside yet. ]

Who knows... maybe y' won't remember it when it's over, yeah?

[ He whips around and tries shoves Izō just like he did before. It's irrational, white hot rage and there's nothing he can do against it. ]

Shut up already! [ This isn't like him. When -- if -- this ends, he's going to feel sick about everything he's done and said. ] You can't do anything right. The one thing you're good at isn't any good here. You too scared to turn your sword on me? Because you know I'm better than you?!

[ if he wasn't holding onto the door frame he might've fallen over, but he manages to cling enough to only stumble this time. ]

Fuck, no. What're ya, stupid? 'Cause I ain't tryna kill ya. An' who says I ain't useful? Gonna get the guy who did this.

You're dumber than I thought.

[ His nerves are on fire. Why is this happening?! His mind is too clouded by anger to think about what caused this, so he can't even give Izō the slightest inkling as to who might be at fault for this. ]

I'm going to repeat myself: don't follow me. Just stay here. You understand what I'm saying, right? Or do I need to beat it into your thick skull?!

[ 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.

2 ok i'm ready to suffer

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