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TDM: January
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aefenglom's test drive! All threads can be considered game canon, should you choose to do so; regardless of if you pick specific threads to remain canon to the game, the prompts and test drive itself will be. This will be touched on later in-game, so it's fairly important to note! Aside from that, here are some quick reminders:• Reserves Open Today! If you're interested in securing a spot, put one in! We accept applications without reserves too, of course. Reserves will expire three days before the end of the application period, on the 28th.With that taken care of...
• Applications Open The 24th! These will last until the end of the month, the 31st, with the intro log going up on February 1st. The application page can be found here. As a reminder, this will be our last uncapped application round!
• If you have any questions about the game or the world, please refer to the FAQ page; if you still have questions, feel free to ask them! For questions specific to the test drive, please ask them on the appropriate thread.
• For the purposes of the test drive, your character will have access to all magics taught by the Coven if they're a Witch, and as much of their shifted form as you'd like if they're a Monster. Feel free to play around and experiment with each!
• Test drive threads can be used as samples for your applications!
You feel like you're floating. Around you, colors and sounds and smells swirl as if trapped in a whirlpool, vibrancy and hue ever shifting. The more you watch them, the less solid they are; they only become clear out of the corner of your eye. The area around you begins to feel more solid as well, until your feet are on the ground, the wind brushes playfully against your face -
and you know one thing, and one thing alone: this is a dream, and an incredibly realistic one at that.
The Prehistoric Wilde
Thick summer heat hangs heavy over the uninfected landscape like a damp blanket, smothering. The jungle around you is thick and wet, full of the sounds of chittering animals and the high-pitched drone of insects. The flora and fauna are like nothing you've ever seen before, large and alien in colors and shapes, though they bear no signs of the Cwyld. Flowers the size of a man's head and brightly colored in rainbow hues curl their tendrils invitingly, and giant mosquitoes buzz through the air seeking a meal. You can barely see the glow of the twin moons through the thick canopy above. There are no signs of civilization - at least, not the civilization most will be used to; only the distant sound of the river, compelling you to follow its winding path. But will you go forward, or will you go back?
 Rumble in the Jungle Making headway through the jungle at night is a chore. The foliage grows thick and the humid heat is oppressive for even those who enjoy the warmth. There are no clear paths here, no easy way through. The canopy of the ancient trees far, far over your head is just as dense, but the faintest moonlight filters through the holes left by the huge leaves in stippling patterns across the musty forest floor. 'Large' seems to be the theme - lining whatever path you pick your way through, there are pitcher plants massive enough to swallow a grown man, with small animals and giant insects being digested down inside the sticky liquid that fills them. The flowers are as big as a man's head, and come in a rainbow of colors, their venomous tendrils curling toward signs of life. The trunks of some of the trees are as thick as houses, and shade the ground beneath them with leaves like umbrellas. The hand-sized mosquitoes thrive in the sticky heat and if not killed first, can make off with a full pint of blood from an unsuspecting person. At some point in your journey, the ground begins to rumble beneath your feet. The farther you go, the longer you walk, the more signs of life become visible: thick, winding trails of crushed foliage, huge, animalistic footprints in the mud. Luckily, to this world, you are small and insignificant, and may escape the notice of the local Monsters - the massive, prehistoric ancestors of today's Monsters. They seem like giants, colossal Titanoboa Nagas with hollow fangs like swords, towering Fauns with the lower halves of mammoths, sabertooth Turnskins, pterodactyl Harpies with leathery wings. Even the parts of them that resemble humans (and they have far fewer human-like parts than their modern counterparts) are larger than any actual human being. They operate primarily on instinct, made even stronger by the full moons above, and perceive the strange new creatures as threats - or food. Sticking to the river seems safest - at least until you run into megalodon Merrow, singing an alien, but alluring, song to draw in prey, or the apex predator of this prehistoric world - Dragons, bigger and scalier than the ones Mirrorbound may know, stopped to drink at the river. All other Monsters flee from the huge reptiles, lest they become food themselves. Luckily you can defend yourself with your new abilities, or your neat changes - you're small, but not totally helpless. Interesting to note... while all other Monster types are represented, there are no Fae or Chimeras in the Wilde here, and the Vampires are more like huge bat-monsters that traverse the jungle on all fours than humanoid bloodsuckers. |
 The Natives Going backward, away from the distant sounds of the sea and against the current of the river, leads you through dense jungle. How long have you traversed the landscape? Hours? Days? Time passes funny in dreams. Eventually the trees thin out, grow taller and less leafy, and the air becomes drier. Instead of loamy soil beneath your feet, you start to feel rocky, harder earth, and spot outcroppings of stone. The sun begins to rise, which makes it easier to spot people on the horizon, a little settlement coming to life in the morning, nestled where the river forks into two. They're much hardier than the familiar people of Aefenglom, sunburned and dressed in natural, rough fabrics. Their homes, if one can call them that, are shoddy little structures made of sticks and leaves and mud, pressed up against the sturdiness of the stone formations. And, when they spot strangers approaching their village, they scramble for their weapons - crude clubs, stone axes, even just large rocks snatched up off the ground. The translation magic works on them, thankfully. Their speech is halted and simple, but they get their point across. Tell them who you are, or they'll beat your brains in. Monsters might get their brains beat in anyway if they aren't careful, even though they're much smaller than the Monsters these humans are used to. And Witches? May the gods help you if you use magic in front of these terrified, unevolved people, lest they mistake you for a Fae (the word is whispered with fear and revulsion in their voices) and swarm you with simple iron tools. If you're an actual Fae, an obvious Fae? They'll whisk their children into their huts protectively and then run you right out of the village. Violently. The truly observant, or those who can see through illusions, among you may notice something strange, though. Some Fae actually seem to live among them, heavily cloaked in natural illusions, with the primitive humans none the wiser. There are just a few, but all of them look young, twelve or thirteen at the oldest, and they are all scared of their secret coming to light. Fae who get caught tend to be burned at the stake around here. |
 The Invaders Perhaps you chose to go forward, with the current and toward the distant sound of ocean waves, where the river pours into the sea. More long-time residents of Aefenglom may notice that the shoreline is familiarly-shaped, but wider, bigger, not yet worn down by thousands of years of erosion. There is no bustling Harbor, only the waves crashing on the rocks, small islands dotting the water near the shore. There is no Bright Wall - there is no city, even, only an expanse of beach transitioning gently into an idyllic grove dotted with gauzy, pointed tents, and a beautiful, gilded ship half sunk into the sandy earth. It seems safer than the jungle, at first - until you notice all the Fae. They're more insectoid than the ones many are familiar with, with big, glittering eyes and either bright, jewel-toned wings like dragonflies or butterflies, or delicate, leafy wings in greens and browns. They're also taller than modern, lesser Fae, though not by much, and they're thin and angular, standing on spindly limbs that barely seem able to hold them. Characters receive a warmer welcome here, by the band of true Fae that have made their camp in the grove, though the alien-looking beings have a tendency to treat them like toys, children, or both, cooing over their sizes and their magic. "Look at the little Monsters! Aren't they cute!" "We should make some of our own! And oh, the little humans have magic! Delightful!" It's hard to have a conversation with one - they're condescending at best, and at worst, flit off to another entertainment out of boredom while you're mid-sentence. And entertainments abound in their camp. They're served and tended to like emperors by collared humans - adults and young adults do the heavy labor, including pulling grand little chariots for transportation, though there are some highly-supervised human children running about fetching drinks and fanning their Fae masters with palm leaves. Farther out, a large, deep pit has been dug out of the earth, ringed by a waist-high barrier of logs, a few Fae gathering at the barrier and leaning over, talking in conversational, happy voices. Down below, Chimera gladiators fight for their amusement, while the Fae keep up running commentary, discussing each warrior's chances, new breeding prospects, interesting crossbreeds their fellows have come up with ("She's trying an Arachne and a Turnskin together, how delightful!"). Trying to disrupt the proceedings will only result in the Fae turning their magic on you - illusions and curses, nasty little tricks. Sit down, silly little ones! The fight is just getting good! Or maybe... Maybe they'll toss you into the pit to see what your chances are in battle. |
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The woman looks highly offended and clicks her tongue in their direction rather indignantly.]
"Who do you think you are? You're a guest here as well, are you not, witchy? This is none of your business. So be on your way."
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[Yeah, eat shite you wannabe drama queen.]
Honestly, be in his position for a moment. I am quite sure your intelligence can comprehend such a request but imagine being somewhere and you are poked and prodded and you do not enjoy it. You ask them to stop but they giggle and keep going and tell you to just be silent and put up with it. Would that make you angry? I bet it would.
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"My, if I wasn't mistaken you think these monsters deserve the option of that choice. Perhaps you haven't seen the pits yet. That boy is of strong good stock. I can tell. And I'll be damned if I let you get in my way."
[Wow, he's not anyone's stock?!
The witch better be careful, the fae lady has some dark flickers of magic starting to crackle at her fingertips.]
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[If the fae expects Mira to cower at the threat of being thrown into a pit...reminds her of defending Tataru back home in Ishgard. Oh no, as a matter of fact...the witch grins at the thought.]
Sounds like a wonderful time you propose! 'Twould be interesting to see how your skills par up against mine!
[Mira then holds up her own hands, one crackling with lightning and the other in dark flame. Not to mention her sword.]
That is...unless you don't possess the stones to do it.
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He reaches out, hand touching the witch's arm gently. He shakes his head insistently.
The fae scowls angrily and it seems that her magic is starting to crackle louder across her fingers. But she does seem startled enough at Mira's intimidation, taking a step back.]
"Fight you? Hah, that's preposterous. I meant to throw you in with the rest of the rabble down there today."
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I appreciate what you are trying to do, but she will not listen to kind words and pleas. That is what she seeks to hold those under her power. Besides, she may undo the curse out of spite.
[And then back to the fae, much more loudly.]
So you ARE scared! How pathetic you are to not even do your own work...and lazy. Then again, [She steps towards her with a smirk.] I suppose you would be rather boring if all you can do is simply use that magic to make a tiny threat.
[Don't even need the Provoke ability, she's got that down.]
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But in the same instant that Sora's watching he has to duck as a sudden blast of dark lightning cracks through the air! Right at them both!]
"That's it! I'll show you what a threat can be!"
[Geeze! Sora's fingers itch. He wishes has his own weapons on him. But here comes another lightning bolt!]
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You may want to stand back. Things are going to be a little more hectic.
[And she darts out into the fray as she unleashes her own lightning strikes against her opponent, dancing more than dodging the attacks. Despite it, she really should thank Emet for the snowball fight battle. Otherwise she wouldn't be as good dodging.]
Now that is what I like to see! About time you found them!
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And this stupid mute curse!! He still can't say anything!!]
Hnnn!!!
[Sora flails angrily but he does dodge his own way out of a blast of black lightning. He's just as agile as he usually is it seems.
The woman growls angrily when the magic is returned and puts up some sort of flash of light that absorbs the spell makes it explode into sparks of light. Next comes a flash of fire magic, erupting like wildfire!]
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Nice little trick there. I got some too!
[The winds lick around the fires, forming into a cyclone shape as Mira directs it right back at the fae. This is better lessons than the Coven!]
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With the cyclone of fire and magic the fae doesn't have much choice but to dodge as much as she can, a flash of magic trying to absorb some of the damage again. Then she shrieks as she's burned up one arm and she stands there glowering at the other witch.]
"What business do you even have here! This is foolish!" [She trembles and then turns away to flee...
But Sora hops forward-looking shocked. Wait! His curse!!]
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[Mira flicks her wrist and the winds sweep under the fae's feet, an attempt to knock her down.]
You remove this kid's curse and I'll let you walk away. Understood?
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IS SCARY.
Sora watches with bated breath! The wind catches the lady and she lets out another angry shriek before snapping her fingers quickly. Magic sparks and Sora suddenly finds himself able to gasp through his lips and he starts coughing with a start! He's free!]
Gaahh!!
"Off with you, I don't have any more time to spare on the likes of you!"
[Startled and angry (and more than likely super embarrassed) the lady tries to rush off again.]
Yeah, you! You run! Serves you right for being a big bully!
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You're not hurt are you?
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Nope. Better now that I can talk on my own again! Thanks!
[Then he grins a little sheepishly.]
You really know how to stick it to em, don't you.
[She's savage!]
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It was rather simple; she acted like a spoiled child who was used to getting her way. That is until someone pushed back against her wishes. No matter where, there are always those who feel entitled that have not earned it.
But we need not to worry about it. What is your name?
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[Sora kind of supposes she has a point. Sora smiles and nods. He doesn't like bullies either but he might not have been so violent about it.]
Uhh. But alright! I'm Sora.
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[Wait, she heard that name before...]
I'm Mira and forgive the questions but...might you know another with a similiar appearance?
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[He looks slightly puzzled but then...]
Uhhh...! What do you mean? Someone who looks kind of like me? Er...
[BECAUSE YEAH HE DOES]
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[Is this THE Sora?]
I swear I have heard him mention your name that I have to be sure.
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But he's a bit surprised Vanitas mentioned him to someone else.]
Vanitas? [Sora looks curious, eyes wide.] Yeah, we look a lot alike. It's, uh... Kind of a long story? You know him? What did he say?
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[It's complicated.]
I take it that you two have more of a tale than I understand. [Or rather, Mira is interested in hearing Sora's side.] But he is fine to my knowledge, been staying with me and a couple of my comrades.
[Comrades is a small word, Bondmates yes but there's something more to it.]
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Really? He hasn't done anything weird, has he?
[Like... demand he fades away into DARKNESS.......]
But I'm kind of glad to hear he's doing fine? Here I thought he'd sneak off to sulk somewhere for a long time.
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[He's had some self loathing stuff come up but there was this nice thing called communication.]
He more than likely does from time to time. But he knows he has a place to go to if he needs it.
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But- That really has Sora looking at Mira with more surprise, something inside his heart feeling strange for it.]
I'm ... [He smiles.] Thanks for giving that to him, Mira.
[It means more to Sora than he can say right now.]