isleofavalon | EVENT✨ LAPIS EXILIS

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This is the event post! Ask questions in response to this comment HERE. Click here to view top-level comments only.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

1st Prompt: Merpeople, naga, cecaelia. If fish, tentacles, or scales freak you out, be warned.
2nd Prompt: Mention of changelings, impotence, future generations. Only if your character is a dick.
3rd Prompt: Age-inspired death acceptance, violence, flaying, alcohol.

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POST TYPE: Event
DATES: Algae is Greener - 8/19-8/24 (includes travel time). Dinas Emrys- General area description, arrival is ~8/24. Worthy- 8/24-8/25.
PROMPT BRIEFS

Algae is Greener

Residents of the cursed underwater town characters encountered about a year ago sent out messages in a bottle during the TDM sharing they had a way to get past the battling elemental giants that's guaranteed no pirates.
Use cursed crown from cursed town to curse otherworlders (anyone who gets into the water near Camelot) to turn them into merpeople, naga, or cecelia. Use special crystal to delay setting time, so they have a week before the curse becomes permanent.
Don't want to go on the quest? Babysit the alpacapies-- help take care of the sick parents or babysit the babies.
Swim under the lake to get to Dinas Emrys. Encounter dangerous creatures we've previously met in game. See bestiary.

Dinas Emrys

Setting info for Dinas Emrys location. Explore. It's a lot of description, there aren't really specific prompts here, but feel free to do whatever inspires you.

Worthy

Phoenix puts characters through trials of chivalry to see if they are worthy of the lapis exilis, which it will die to give up and save the multiverse. But it has to trust y'all first.
Wake up warring red and white dragons, valley of the shearing sucks, there's a lake of mead. All of it was actually in y'alls shared cognitive space though so everyone's choice counts and if most people pass the trials, lapis exilis is yours. Fail and have to embark on a new quest to find the only other source of lapis exilis available. Or kill the phoenix, that's always an option. There's a poll attached to this part.

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THE ALGAE IS GREENER

As promised in the messages within bottles sent to New Camelot earlier this month, the citizens of the cursed underwater town have come bearing a gift, and a curse. Their curse, actually. The entire city has agreed to come to Camelot for a town-wide vacation and offer what they have discovered to be the vessel for the curse: their town mascot and honorary Junior Mayor, a giant 400-year-old quahog that ate a cursed crown from a long since fallen king. After removing the crown, they offer it to Camelot on the condition it be returned to them at the end of the mission. After all, their town has been like this for the last couple of centuries– it’s their culture now, and they would not like to live on land anymore. Keeping the cursed object on them is dangerous– but they have discovered protective crystals that will delay the settling of the permanent version of the curse to a
week, rather than only a day. One of their own will travel with you with the crown and upon the party’s arrival and resurfacing in Dinas Emrys, utilize a Welcome Ring to return to Camelot for their people, thus freeing participants of the curse before it settles in permanently and returning their legs to them. Anyone who gets into the waters near Camelot will be transformed into a merperson (fish bottom), cecaelia (octopus bottom), or naga (serpent or eel bottom) during this time. This is the player’s choice, not the character’s. All characters affected will be able to breathe underwater without use of a potion and will be able to swim at much faster rates than normal. Merpeople’s singing voices are able to put people and creatures into a trance. Cecaelia can normally grant vengeance wishes, but per previous events, wish magic is not currently functioning as it should- so their primary features are the ability to ink and use their tentacles as additional controllable appendages. Naga have advanced strength and can extend their nails as claws. Whether they intend to travel or not. The curse lasts for 3 days, but don’t worry– if you’re not intending on taking the underwater trek to Dinas Emrys, there’s something for you to do and the curse will remain, as at least two of the gems from the crown are being kept for a very particular purpose… A tragedy happened and most of the adult population of alpacapies has grown ill. (See notes for reminder species info.) Healers and alchemists who do not wish to travel are being urged to come treat the adult alpacapies… it’s best to do so in pairs for safety. because they are irate and can suddenly attack when ill. Everyone who isn’t going is being asked to care for the two-month old babies. They’re rambunctious and love nothing more than to investigate any loose objects and hide them for their own collections later. You may also have to find their favorite lake kelp to feed them, as they’re very picky eaters when they’re separated from their parents! Good luck! For those who are traveling, you may find that the perils of the lake are no friendlier to you when you’re one of them than when you’re not. Though you can breathe underwater, you may need to fight fuath, kelpies, merrow, and a megalodon who’s more than happy to swallow wayward travelers whole if they stray from the group. You will be traveling deep enough to avoid the battling giants, though should you happen to go too far, you may be thrown clear across the map by one of them and need to come up with your own spur-of-the-moment landing strategy. Once everyone has gone the underwater path beneath the battling elemental giants, characters will emerge on the shores of Dinas Emrys. --------------------------------- *DINAS EMRYS* Dinas Emrys is a rather large area. The western arrival point is heavily spotted with brushwood that leads into a grove of well-sorted trees with a well-kept field in the middle. This place is known in the local tongue as Cell y Dewinaid, or “Grove of Magicians.” There is evidence of recent use, as there are certain areas laid out for fires, flattened grass circles where spells have been performed, and a circle of stumps for meetings at the easternmost point. A little further along and there is a camp of a nomadic coven of druidic witches. These witches live in wood and cloth hovels they’ve built themselves, as if they were straight out of Arthurian times, and leave no footprint, no harm to the environment. They give more than they take, and they are loved by the trees and animals of the area. Though they are not the only people to live within Dinas Emrys throughout time, they are the prominent group within the area now. North of Cell y Dewinaid are rocky and wooded hillocks, leading up to a tall peak at the northernmost point of Dinas Emrys. From the peak and down the center of the hillocks is carved with a creek and small waterfalls throughout. Dinas Emrys itself is a largely peaceful area, filled with natural spirits such as vila and treants. Vila are a living essence of nature and live in the trees and waters of Dinas Emrys. They are beautiful, eternally young, possess no gender, have eyes that flash like lightning, and unique wings sprouting from their back. Vile can transform into horses, swans, falcons, wolves, or be invisible as the wind. They tend to help guide those who are lost so long as they are kind to the woodland around them. Destruction of the environment will be met with cursing with impotence, magically marking people as a target for changelings should they ever conceive, or cursing their next five generations with tremendously bad luck. They are not to be trifled with if you value your future, even if they are non-violent in nature themselves. The treants may go unnoticed by you unless you’re a keen observer. They tend to be slow-moving, but do change position– which makes it very easy to lose your way. They will speak to green mages, but don’t tend to bother with most people. They are thousands of years old, and thus can offer sage advice on all matters, though it may take some time to respond so you must be patient with them. There are of course, woodland creatures out and about, but for the most part, Dinas Emrys is a relatively safe place on the surface. Speak to the residents to get to know the area, or simply explore, and eventually you will gain information about the lapis exillis. Just remember- do not take anything from Dinas Emrys you do not have permission to take, and do not destroy anything, and you will be seen as a friend. --------------------------------- *WORTHY*
	At the peak of Dinas Emrys lies a nest rumored to be made of the very threads spun by Rumplestiltskin himself. (No one can confirm this, but it is the old wives’ tale that seems most prevalent.) This nest is the home to an ancient bird– one of the original phoenix of legend, who gave life to those phoenixes who followed, including those who are familiars now. This bird is millennia old, old enough to remember the time of the Stone Giant and have witnessed the birth of man itself. Its brother was the one whose heart was given to create the lapis exilis used to forge the Holy Grail. The coven shares that you must climb to the top of the mountain and kneel before the nest to show humility. Only then will the phoenix appear to discuss the lapis exilis.
Sure enough, as promised, those who kneel before the golden nest will witness a bird emerge from deep within it in a burst of flames that heat the gold threads of the nest into glowing metal for a brief moment before they, and the phoenix, cool back down to a safe temperature. Those who do not kneel will find that nothing happens, as they have failed the first test: humility. Those who have met the phoenix will find that it speaks within their minds and already knows what they seek: the lapis exilis. The phoenix shares that it is prepared to give it, and has known this time would come for a long, long time. It is old, and it longs for rest, but it cannot simply give such a powerful stone to just anyone. It needs to know that those who seek its gifts are noble. To that end, to obtain the lapis exilis, participants must pass a series of trials to prove they are worthy of this phoenix giving its life. The mountain you stand upon is hollowed out and within it, a lake filled with the finest mead any man has ever tasted. It is said to be the variety with which the giants tested Thor, and even such a just and righteous god fell to its temptations. Those who drink even one sip of this mead are said to lose all inhibitions, but will be blessed with luck so strong that they will be immediately given one of their desires upon doing so. (The drink will cause your subconscious to project your greatest desire-- be that upon another person, bending them to your will, or causing an illusion that reflects it if that person is not here or it does not involve a person.) Test two: Conviction -- Promise not to drink the mead. Do not drink it. Hold yourself accountable, as though it is tempting, you have a task to complete. At the bottom of this lake lie two sleeping dragons of red and white color. These dragons were sealed at the bottom of the lake by King Lludd to stop them from destroying the towns of the middle ages with their incessant fighting. It is possible that they will resume their fighting when awoken, but they are presently trapped in a prison within their own minds. If they awaken, they may break through the mountain and could potentially threaten Nicnevin with their battle. Test three: Mercy. Show mercy to the Red and White Dragons by waking them, even if it means that there may be consequences. The dragons will then awaken, and sure enough, burst through the side of the mountain, causing a new cave to open up and a rockslide to spill into the canyon known as the Valley of the Shearing. The Valley of the Shearing is so named as it is filled with a hoard of creatures known as Kamaitachi, who are all now wide awake and pissed. These creatures move with the wind and are demonic weasel-like creatures with blades for arms. They slice and flay any who would enter their territory. There is no time to summon your flying mounts before the dragons reach Nicnevin. Test four: Courage. Despite the high likelihood of injury, cross the Valley of the Shearing to follow the dragons. Note: The phoenix will heal all those who manage to get halfway through, and effectively cast a temporary regenerative spell on them, but only after they've shown courage enough to move forward without. Test five: Justice. Get the dragons to stop fighting by any means necessary, except for ending their lives. They have not broken any laws fighting with themselves yet, and as such are not subject to laws that would permit their slaying. This can be done by diverting the fighting away from Nicnevin through joining the fight, using animal magic to talk them down, cognitive magic to influence their emotions and take them out of their fight-or-flight state of panic after waking up from their slumber and only remembering battle at first, or any other means you can think of that does not kill or permanently harm the dragons. Lastly, the unspoken test: nobility. It is possible to simply rip the living heart out of the phoenix. If you have hope and faith and choose to take the tests instead of resorting to unchivalrous action, you automatically pass this test. Note that the phoenix uses cognitive magic to cause each of these scenarios to play out within peoples' heads as they arrive. ----- The following section contains content not previously mentioned in the plotting post based on the poll results.* The choices that people make during this event will be totalled, and if the majority of characters pass each test, the phoenix will choose to pass gracefully and allow the lapis exilis to be taken from its heart painlessly. Once the test is passed by the majority of those who have visited the Phoenix, the Phoenix will wait until the sun begins to set. The red and white dragon will come up to the peak to say goodbye to their old friend. As the fires of the sun begin to disappear across the northern edges of the Lake of Avalon, the edges of the bird's feathers begin to furl into dull embers. Each feather that disappears fades into a ghostly wisp of orange, yellow, and dim red flames that flies into the sky. The process is slow, and the legendary bird sings a song rarely heard by any people. It's haunting, and yet strangely uplifting. There are no words, and yet it's clear it means goodbye. These are its dying lights. Small embers glow from the ashes and suddenly shoot into the chests of each Otherworlder who stayed to give the Phoenix their respects. In this fashion, the Phoenix's final spell is to protect the Lapis Exilis until it is safe in Camelot. When each of those who passed its test return to New Camelot's grounds, the piece will arise from them and find its brothers and sisters to form the Lapis Exilis. This way, no mischievous souls may interfere with the universe being saved by stealing it for their own means, as the Lapis Exilis is a powerful means to gain immortality. The two dragons sealed within the mountain invite all those who wish to celebrate their friend's passing are invited to the very Mead Pond featured within the test. This mead does not have magical abilities like it does in the test, it is simply really good mead. The dragons have long since made up and are great drinking buddies, hoarding treasure along the Mead Coast. The vila will take anyone who wishes to go there to drink with the dragons in celebration of the phoenix's life for quick passage to the Mead Coast, where there are large amounts of food on an old table. It is recipes of the olden days- roast birds, stews, tomatoes on the vine, grain, and freshly roasted veg. There are huge amounts of meat, of course, as the dragons intend on dining with you. There are not, notably, utensils or napkins. Good luck with that. The dragons will then fly anyone who wishes or does not have another way home over the real Valley of Shearing (unfortunately, accurate to the trial version) and to Nicnevin so that they may find safe passage home.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Honestly, Minako has a whole lot of trouble putting aside the moral aspect of this. Or even the practical aspect. Who would sacrifice so many lives to save two? Sure, maybe only someone who was very invested in said two particular lives - but neither she nor Jade have any reason to really care that much about these sleeping dragons, right?

It makes her sigh. ]

I kind of understood the rest so far.

[ Even the kneeling.. Beings this powerful usually want that kind of stuff, after all, and Minako is not prideful enough to not go along with that when the outcome is more important than the process.

But this is a different story entirely. ]

This is the place I'm stuck. It's not even teaching us anything. Like you said, it just sounds like maybe this phoenix cares more about the dragons than about people, so it's making us do its dirty work.

That is what I think too. It is certainly what I might do in its position.
Hypothetically speaking at least.

[That last sentence is added on smoothly, though really, Jade does have to admire the bird's clever thinking. And it's Benevolence and Generosity of course. And speaking of those concepts...]

Though I will say that sometimes kindness has serious consequences that we cannot foresee and other is a point at which we have to choose one evil over the other in that regard. As long as there is something in return, it is not so terrible.

But I can see very little to gain in return other than appeasing the phoenix.

[And appeasing him is annoying right now. Floyd would say as much if he were here.]

[ Wow, Jade, it's like you're telepathically reading what Floyd is telling Minako in another thread.. A true brother connection..

But Minako just shakes her head as she glances over at the other. ]

Then let's move on.

[ It feels like the only sensible option here to her, especially with the two of them agreeing on it. ]

Maybe that's the true trick behind this trial, you know? Maybe we're actually supposed to let them sleep. And if the option to wake them up was the true one after all, we can just tell the phoenix that the entire point of this specific part of the trial is dumb. Or that we're onto its human-destroying ways.

[ Look, usually Minako would say to not talk back to creatures more powerful than you.

But she feels like they've got a very valid point here. Clearly this being just needs some critique on its trial techniques. ]

[Jade and Floyd are cut from the same terrible cloth, so it's only natural. But Jade turns to step away, looking over his shoulder one last time at the dragons.]

That is an interesting theory and I'm perfectly willing to gamble on it. Especially since I suspect there are plenty here who would want to free them. So we might as well take a different choice.

[As boring as just walking away is, he's sure some do-gooder might think otherwise.]

Besides, it might make the conversation with the phoenix more interesting.

Ugh, let's hope not.

[ It's perhaps a little grumpy by Minako standards, especially with that 'ugh' in front of it and her tone not quite dramatic enough to match her usual levels of it, making it all feel a little more light-hearted.

But something about this trial seriously just bothers her, and she knows that it's going to continue to bother her even as they leave it behind them. Just the idea of any creature putting them in front of a choice where the 'right' answer in said creature's opinion is obviously the wrong one leaves a bad taste in her mouth. ]

'Interesting' here probably means it'll instead scold us for not being merciful enough by not wanting to murder entire towns full of people. [ Minako huffs. She won't stand for that, okay! ]

[He can guess at her frustration more or less. For all that her pragmatism has surprised him, she is pragmatic. But also ultimately good. At least in comparison to him. And so this must be so vexing.

Though he does have to laugh now.]

Honestly, the other possibility is that it thinks this is great fun, watching us all squirm. There is always that. Both the convenience of achieving its goal and also stimulation.

EVENT✨ LAPIS EXILIS

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