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Entry tags:
cr & plotting: september
- • 09/05 - Event Log: A Tale of Two Cities
• 09/15 - The Midmonth Updates Post & Feedback Post
• 09/16 - TDM for September; Reserves open
• 09/23 - Reserves close; Applications open
• 09/24 - Activity Check begins
• 09/30 - Applications close; Activity Check ends
Moving along - a recap.
- So - August certainly happened. On the tail end of another batch of new arrivals, the Wilders posted a training offer for any interested in honing their skills; at the edge of their testing area, the frozen land and bodies of long-passed dryads were discovered, harkening back to a dream shared by the mirrorbound in mid-July. It'd seem these dreams really aren't just dreams: as some people both OOCly and ICly have guessed, they're connected to the waking world.
Which makes the dream of the Black City all the more terrifying. Set in a more present-day year, as characters discovered, Dorchacht is a city ever ruled by its branch of the Coven. For a number of years, this north-west city has held captive Monsters beneath enchantment and binding spells, as a way to protect its people and others from the dangers that Monsters present to them - a stance almost completely at odds with how the Coven in Aefenglom runs things. Its leader, Morgana Drummond, caught sight of those traversing her city's dream, and has thus since contacted Aefenglom's Coven about reparations for trespassing. Some information about that can be found on August's follow-up post here under "The Consequence of Dreaming" - in the meanwhile, Aefenglom's Head Witch and her Ambassador have also put out a notice ICly about what's going on.
So: speaking of what's going on.
Dorchacht: The Black City
- As mentioned on the follow-up, for this coming month, the primary focus will be in Dorchacht! From an IC standpoint, Nessie's idea for having mirrorbound go along as dignitaries with her is twofold: one, to show that Witches and Monsters can coexist with no issue and needing no compulsive magic to do so, and two, to allow them a chance to apologize for the trouble. While they don't have to mean it, Nessie's main goal is for peace to remain between the two branches of the Coven. While she'll do her best to convince Morgana the way Dorchacht is doing things with its Monster population isn't the end-all be-all of dealing with them, nor is it the kindest, her primary goal is simply to make certain the branches of the Coven do not splinter. As a leader, this is her duty; keeping peace is also what the Parliament has asked of her to do, as they cannot afford a war.
However, those in the dignitary groups will have a chance to brush elbows and get closer to things higher-up in the city. While the Coven enjoys its seat of unlimited political power, there are those within its walls who aren't happy with how things are run. These bleeding-hearts, as their peers might scornfully refer to them as, keep the three-starred mark of the resistance on them in places even more hidden than those who walk the streets do: beneath the brim of their hats, carefully placed rings on their fingers, on easily-missed charms or jewelry.
And yes, we said groups. Given the volume of people interested in it, we'll be splitting them up into two. The first group will go for the first half of the month, and the second will go for the second half. Easy, right? For more exact dates, the first group will be out of Aefenglom from the 5th to the 16th, while the second group will be out of Aefenglom from the 18th to the 29th. If there's any quests or Aefenglom-based shenanigans those on the dignitary side of things would like to get up to, simply do it when your character is back in the city. And, since it'll be asked: if you only want to do things in Dorchacht, then arrangments can be made ICly for your character to stay the whole time through - this is just on an OOC level to allow a little freedom, while on an IC level, smaller groups are less intimidating than bigger ones. To see who all is going, or to sign up for it, you can do so here. Sign-ups for this will end September 5th.
While those in the dignitary groups will have the pleasure ("pleasure") of a sea voyage to get to Dorchacht, those who showed interest in the epsionage side of things have only one chance to get in: an older teleportation device considered by the Coven as a matter of transport, before they decided it was a little too risky. This means those on the espionage team won't be able to return to Aefenglom until the end of the month, generally speaking... though witches involved in the underground revolution will, once their trust is earned or the mirrorbound provide proof that they're for their cause, seek to find a way to return them back to Aefenglom. Ultimately, this will result in the successful use of a teleportation device similar to the one the espionage team used to get to Dorchacht in the first place, with the same results: it's a one-way trip. Those on the espionage team will be on their own ICly, but can use the chance to investigate things ona more local/ground-level than the dignitary team, and won't draw as much suspicion either, as they won't be being watched like hawks. To view who's already signed up for this group, or to put your own character in, check this thread out. Sign-ups for this will end September 5th.
"But why can't they just go on the ship?" You might ask - and that's because Dorchacht is watching very, very closely. It would put the dignitary group at risk should anyone attempt to sneak on board to gain passage back (or to) that way. This is also the reason why those on the dignitary team and espionage team cannot share roles; the only role they can share is the strike team.
Speaking of: the strike team is another group not directly approved of by the Coven, formed of members both on the "espionage" side of things and the "dignitary" side of things. Simply put, these are the people who'll work with the revolutionaries the way they had in the dreams: freeing Monsters, starting smaller riots, and contributing to the non-peaceful side of negotiations for freedom.
Some talk has already started on the IC notice post, as linked above, but we'd like to link this log by Daenerys as well! Throw around those ideas for Dorchacht, and once your characters' decisions have been made... Well, we're planning on having an OOC post for people to put down concretely what actions their characters have taken within Dorchacht. This will affect something a little in the future, so it's important that if your character does something to help or harm the situation that you post to it! We'll have examples and a form to follow on the post itself, but for now, that's your heads up.
Those staying behind in Aefenglom won't be left out of the fun, however.
Aefenglom: Beneath The Stones
- Meán Fómhair is just around the corner - but neither city on the continent of Geardagas seems to be in the mood for it. Dorchacht observes it in small ways - the passing around of apples is fairly common, given the uninfected orchards that happily take root to the west of their fair city - but otherwise doesn't do much for it. They aren't interested in smaller festivals: the only ones they pay much mind to are the ones on each solstice, Boaltinn and Samuin.
But even the festive Aefenglom's mind seems elsewhere. The Parliament is quiet, stressed about the relations between their city and Dorchacht, and with Nessie and a small portion of her experienced staff away, the Coven is operating in a similar, muted fashion. As has been the case for festivals since Litha's ominous portent, an odd tension fills the air as the festival celebrating another successful harvest and minds bearing the fruit of their year's labors comes on. Notably, natives seem to be taking this opportunity to stock up on supplies, rather than using them in every celebration, as if preparing just-in-case.
From the festival entry:
Passed down from the years where the farms outside of the Bright Wall were safe and still in business, Meán Fómhair is a once-a-year event where growers of apples of all kinds celebrate the area's hardiest fruit. Boasting that only their apples have ever survived the Cwyld, they dare the bravest residents to test their luck outside of the city's walls by placing one as far into the maladied area as they can. The city also hosts a variety of events, ranging from apple-bobbing to cooking competitions involving the fruit, to hanging them from strings on cross-shaped wooden fixtures with burning candles - the intent being grabbing one down with one's mouth before hot wax begins to dribble down.While these activities can be found going on in Aefenglom from the 21st to the 23rd, the festival is just custom - just a tradition for them to hold onto - and the things usually hidden in the background of the city will take their chances this month to step out into the light and put the festival behind them instead.
A small contingency of doctors and entrepreneurs have taken this opportunity of possible accidental injuries to peddle and promote their wares around the city; they're largely cure-alls and patent medicines, with herbal remedies offered from some of the Witches of the Coven. Taking most of them is simply taking an overpriced placebo, but there are a few that often have unexpected side-effects, covered in the clause of "it will do something to you" to defend against any legal action.
To put it plainly: both the goblin market and the far more secretive black market will be making an appearance as this month marches through.
The goblin market is a mish-mash of those things sanctioned by the Coven - such as the sale of approved medicines, alchemical practices, enchantments, and so on - and things they've so far either not known about... or turned a blind eye to, depending on your feelings on the Coven itself - such as the selling of Monster parts, Witch's blood, and other things that would help sate the need for a Bond for either party. While not the best place, it's often conflated with the far worse black market.
The black market operates beneath the streets of Aefenglom, within its sewers; primarily servicing those lucky enough to live in the Aristocratic District, or who have the money and means to do so, the black market is one might go to for the buying and selling of actual living things in a way not-so-dissimilar from Dorchacht - including compulsion, though unlike Dorchacht, these seem restricted to collars, manacles, and potions rather than a spell seemingly cast across the city. Some of these people and Monsters are willing, with the money being given to their families, but others are wretches that would've never been missed: those from the Outer City. The black market, incidentally, is where one can also find Cwyld-infected items. This includes, unfortunately, both the living and the dead - being used as ingredients.
The goblin market will be more openly available for characters to visit, while the black market will be more inclined to taking those who investigate it too closely into its custody. That's not to say it isn't able to be found, but you're more likely to find yourself in it via chloroform (or, magically, sleep spells) and capture, unless prior knowledge of the tunnels beneath the Aristocratic District and how to get into them is had.
The markets aren't the only things surfacing in Aefenglom with the government preoccupied: talk against Bonds. While Bonds have never been specifically dissuaded against, there's always been alternatives to them - more than what the Coven says there are. It was only when Nerissa Bell took over as Head Witch some ten years ago that the push for Bonding to be more accepted, both within the Coven and within the city itself.
There's also something a little more planted: murmurs of harsher restrictions on Witches and Monsters both. Stirred up by the recent reminder that Dorchacht, in fact, exists - and a few of their Witches who've snuck into the city to cause a little controversy - this opinion is spoken of quietly, but firmly. The Witches of the Coven are essentially one of the only things keeping Aefenglom from falling to the Cwyld, with their enchanted Bright Wall that stretches around the city, but not everyone likes them or the push for Monster-Person solidarity.
Acts of petty vandalism might just begin to happen to those who're known Bonded, or who're known to be affiliated with the Coven - both native and mirrorbound alike. Particularly the mirrorbound, given Miss Bell's insistence that they're the Coven's responsibility... The perpetrators are difficult to catch though, and all investigative efforts will lead to dead-ends outside of the city.
Forms
With all that out of the way, here is your CR/Plotting form!
Player Name: Your name, handle, whatever you'd like!
Pronouns: Your preferred pronouns.
Contact: Preferred method of contact - discord, plurk, twitter, PM, ye olde MSN messenger, etc.
Timezone: Where are you in the world?
Character Name: Name & username!
Canon: Exactly as it says.
Appearance: Link an image or describe your character; if there's anything notable about them at first meeting, put it here!
Brief: A few words to sum up your character, a couple of lines to tell what they're about, whatever you'd like. If you have an info post all ready to go, feel free to link it in addition to your summary!
Choice: Witch or Monster; and for the latter, which one?
Event Plans: Anything specific to this month's event!
General Plans: Any other plans you have for the month! Don't forget to check out the Quest Board, too.
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I was being a horrible player and making new icons instead of tagging first but I'll get to it now!