dagung | TDM: MARCH

Entry tags:

* tdm

TDM: MARCH

Test Drive: March

All threads can be considered game canon,

the prompts and test drive itself will be

• Reserves Open Today! If you're interested in securing a character, put one in! This time around, reserves will expire after the first 48 hours of applications being opened. Those first 48 hours will be open to those who have reserves only, so we recommend placing one. It will not guarantee you a spot, but it will guarantee you can post your app immediately when they open.
• Applications Open The 24th! There will be a cap of 30 applications accepted this round, and apps will close whenever we've reached that cap. If there are slots left after the reserves-only period, apps will open to those without reserves. The application page can be found here.
• 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 Underground

Take a moment. Let your eyes adjust to the dark, your ears to echoing silence, but for the steady drip of condensation down the stone walls that surround you. The tunnels down here are wide, the ceilings high, but they are dim, devoid of sunlight and breeze. The only light, in fact, comes from the shards of softly-glowing shards of quartz lining the ground and the bio-luminescent algae that smears the stone in long, blue veins, pulsing gently, pushing breathable air into the otherwise-stale passageways. The air is damp, but the temperature is moderate - almost comfortable. The tunnels fork off and meander from where you are, some narrowing and some widening, but none seem to lead you to the surface, no matter how long you wander. Is it a trick of the light, that the algae glows a little brighter, pulses a little quicker, when you head in a particular direction? It's hard to sort your senses so deep underground, far from the world above where things make sense. Hopefully you've found a friend by now.

The Crystal Cavern
Many of the tunnels, both wide and narrow, lead to the same place: a massive chamber hewn out of the stone by time, and the drip-drip of water from the ceiling into the central lake. Perhaps you came out toward the bottom, and the ceiling is a thousand feet above you, or maybe you came out toward the top, and the lake is a thousand feet below. There are a hundred or more holes in the sloping stone walls that lead to more tunnels, and something like natural steps down from most of them. In a way, it resembles a beehive, this room acting as a central hub of sorts.

This is also the first place you find signs of life. Short, tough little tufts of grass growing from the thin soil, bone white in color, having long abandoned photosynthesis and chlorophyll. More of the glowing algae. Small, skittering insects - beetles, grubs and worms. The occasional albino rat, much larger and louder than rats have any right to be. Ruffled and capped fungi growing on the wet rock like parasites, some as large as a grown man. Blind, slimy cave fish wriggling around in the still waters of the lake.

And milling around the great stone cavern, slurping up the glowing algae that covers the rocks and grows in lacy sheets across the water, are dozens of great beasts, bigger than horses. Shaped like worms, but with dozens and dozens of stubby, fleshy legs, these creatures are huge, with velvety, multi-colored hides, and though their antennae wave in curiosity when approached, they don't seem aggressive. At least, as long as you avoid the big silk-wrapped bundles stuck to the walls and ground all over the cavern. These are their egg sacs, and if their young are threatened, they'll quickly shoot jets of viscous slime, a quick drying adhesive, that can slow and trap even the strongest adult. If you find yourself in a sticky situation, you better hope someone can wrench you loose - the worms seem content to eat algae, until they've caught prey. Each worm has a long, hooked, chitinous blade concealed within its fleshy jaws to tear and shred, and a nightmarish round mouth full of multiple rows of teeth.

Navigate carefully. There at the bottom of the lake, where it feeds into an underground stream that leads down another wide tunnel, there are a few small rowboats, some missing oars, certainly not enough for everyone. You'll have to share if you want to get out of here. Or you can keep hanging out with the giant wormipedes.

The Procession
As you proceed down the stream by boat, the lighting grows just a little brighter, seeming a little more purposeful in how the glowing algae is planted, how the softly glowing crystals are placed. You start seeing a new type of moss, greyish-green and growing in ragged sheets from the ceiling of the tunnel. Watch your head - it's near impossible to cut through this stuff should you get tangled. For a while, you only hear the soft splashing of the gentle stream, but then... there is a flash of torch light, up ahead.

The boat ahead is longer than the one you use, better kept, and full of people - three Monsters, all whose forms are based on creatures that thrive underground, in pieces of armor, holding spears, and one very elderly Witch woman, seated in the middle, wrinkled hands folded primly in her lap. Her milky gaze stares straight ahead, with something soft and proud in the set of her face. One of the Monsters holds the torch, the other rows the boat, and the third settles down next to her; they speak in hushed voices, with little smiles.

After a while, the rowing Monster slows the boat, before they can bump into a thick, heavy, impenetrable curtain of grayish-green moss that stretches across the whole tunnel, blocking the way, like a gate. The other two help the woman to her feet, and guide her toward the front of the boat - and the curtain of moss. She reaches out for it blindly, and they help her step onto the edge. There is something almost ritual or reverent about the movements, the way they regard the Witch as she touches the curtain of moss... and is wrapped into it quickly, swallowed up, absorbed. After twenty minutes of gentle pulsing, the lump that used to be the Witch is no more, and the whole of the moss pulses with light and magic. The Monsters watch this whole process vigilantly, and once the lights die down, they continue on. The moss parts to allow the boat through, brushing against the Monsters but not swallowing them.

The procession happens a few more times, in separate boats, with separate victims - but all are very, very elderly, and seem proud, even happy to meet their fates. Trying to follow them further after the ritual will have the same thing happen for your boat - the moss will part, and brush over those in the boat without causing harm. If you happen to be infected with the Cwyld, however... you might meet the same fate as the old woman, with the moss reaching and grabbing for you. The procession can be stopped, but drawing attention will draw the ire of the Monster guards, and, strangely, the victims themselves, who will fly into a distressed rage at the interruption.

The Marketplace
Beyond the veil of moss lies... civilization? The cavern is enormous, big enough to contain a city at least as big as Aefenglom, if not larger, though the population at a glance seems to be much smaller. Twenty thousand people, perhaps, give or take. Buildings have been carved out of huge stone spires, or formed by draping cloth around and between the natural stalactites and stalagmites. Monsters tend to be quite tall or bulky, possessing obvious physical strength, while Witches and humans tend to be shorter than in Aefenglom. They all mingle on the streets together, with no immediately obvious class difference. Since there is no weather to dress for, some don't bother to dress at all, though humans at least tend to wear flowy silks or simple clothes made from wormipede hides. The streets are wide and the buildings far-spaced, and many get around on the backs of those worm creatures, having made them saddles and reins.

The stream ends in a lake right next to a marketplace, with many small boats docked on its pebbled shores. The stalls sell all kinds of goods: clothing made from fine silk and worm hide or rat fur, skewered meat (It's bug.), weapons, armor, jewelry made from chunks of beautiful stone. Your arrival is bound to cause a stir though, so keep your head down, and maybe it's time to snatch a disguise from one of the clothing stalls.

Monster guards, occasionally flanked by Witches, patrol the streets and keep the peace, and stopping to talk to anyone will make one thing clear: they are not at all used to outsiders. They won't believe a word you say about being from above ground, and they've never heard of your world or Aefenglom. You're nomads from the tunnels, right? Of course, don't be ridiculous, you can't fool them with tall tales! At least they're usually willing to talk - briefly, of course, everyone is very busy down here, it's morning and many will be heading to tend to the herd soon.

Those who are subtle and pointed in their questions can learn a lot about the vast but also small civilization below the surface of the world. Strength is valued here - the stronger the Monster or more powerful the Witch, the higher their rank in society, and the closer they live to the center, largest spires of stone. Monster-Witch Bonded pairs are the be-all-end-all, and often wear matching wrist-guards or pendants proudly. Pretending to be Bonded to another will put many of the natives at ease, though Monster-Monster pairs get snide comments about how you have to team up to find a good Witch, and Witch-Witch pairs will get odd looks and assume you both have a very strong Monster partner somewhere. It must be quite rare for Witches to go un-bonded here, and any who pass through without an obvious partner may be propositioned by young Monsters showing off their various talents. Unbonded Monsters may be nudged in the direction of any strange, unbonded Witches - usually fellow Mirrorbound - in a poor attempt at matchmaking. Those poor unbonded Witches need protection, right? Or so the locals think.

It's too bad trying to go any farther than the Marketplace will get you stopped by guards and turned back, however. They don't allow nomads into the inner city.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Before I was here, I fought through a burning city, slew a dragon, [ it comes out, dryly, as she leans on her cane ] and my heart is beating. I'm... not at my best, no.

[ she glances about for a moment. ]

There's an alcove there, I think.

...The Immaculate One.

[The intonation came as a whisper as he made for the alcove, part of his thoughts centered on his various conversations with Edelgard about the nature of their realm. She had caught him up on what she knew, and he had done the same; while he was still nowhere near the war's conclusion in his memory, there were still several key differences.

A sigh. Lorenz looked at her, worried.]

You're not hurt, are you?

[If she was, that would have major implications on how this conversation would go.]

[ byleth simply nods once in response to the title, taking a seat in a carved out bench in the alcove. as for the rest... she shrugs. ]

I'll be fine. [ she gives him a slight smile, hoping to reassure him. ] I'm... exhausted, and weak, but it's nothing that rest won't solve. I already had help with the worst of it.

That's a relief to hear.

[Even with the different face, the tone was a reassurance. Lorenz smiled in return, gladdened, as her too a seat.]

... It seems we are dreaming right now, Professor. You can take as much time as you need.

I heard as much from some others. [ byleth pauses. ] How long have you been...not here, but... [ yeah. ] El said she had been brought from Fódlan months ago, and all of it seems... [ that name for edelgard came out without thinking. she exhales. ]

I suppose hard to believe isn't the right phrase. Belief doesn't change what's in front of you.

Edited 2020-03-18 01:12 (UTC)

[El.

Lorenz knew whom Byleth was referring to in that instant, even though the nickname was unfamiliar to him. It was so simple, so tender and soft that he didn't dare let it fall from his lips. He held his breath, somewhat taken aback by the subtle show of affection.

The truth was plain to him. In more ways than one, this was not nearly the Byleth he knew.]

What you say is correct. It is hard to believe, but that doesn't make it less real.

[He breathed, wondering where to continue.]

You've already met Lady Edelgard. That's good; she's likely brought you up on affairs. We arrived on the same night, but...

We are not from the same time.

[He paused, suddenly aware of how difficult the task before him was.]

From what we've gathered, Fodlan is somewhat unusual here because it's history diverges onto multiple paths from what I theorize is a single point:

Yourself.

[ oh it's all terrible. byleth has FEELINGS now, lorenz. she's in love. her heart beats. everything's overwhelming and gross!!! but that gets a slow blink. ]

... I am so very tired of having that kind of weight placed upon me. [ she says that at last, slumping slightly in her seat and sighing. yeah, sure, why wouldn't that make the difference between worlds at this point. fuck it. her life is nonsense. ] Explain?

...Apologies. Again.

[A sigh. It was bad enough that Claude had made the Professor the frontman in his schemes, but hearing the implication that other timelines had done the same was not comforting.]

It seems paths start to diverge depending on which House you decide to teach at the Officer's Academy.

[He looked out over the crowd, half hoping to find a distraction or other means of escape. His Faun instincts had him shying away from trouble.]

Before we continue, we need to clarify some details. You taught the Black Eagles during that time, did you not?

[ really, the way she saw it, edelgard had placed no particular symbolic weight upon her. it was good for morale and propaganda to see a would-be tool of the church turned against it, but it wasn't demanded or even asked of her. byleth embraced the role of her own volition, and the people gave her the resulting names without the crown lifting a finger.

seiros, on the other hand, was another story entirely. ]

I did. I'm a general in the Imperial army now, leading Edelgard's strike force. [ why in the world would she have chosen one of the other houses...? she turns that over in her head, but nods for him to continue. ]

I suspected as much.

[A sigh. He never fully understood Byleth's reasons for their decisions, but he knew that, ultimately, they were for some purpose he couldn't yet see.

This, perhaps, was one of them.]

It wasn't unusual practice to recruit students from other Houses at that time. By my understanding from Lady Edelgard, a great many students joined the Black Eagles before long.

But, for myself...

I stayed with the Golden Deer. And, as strange as this may be to your ears, the 'Byleth Eisner' I know from my memory is a man.

[He cast her a look, reflecting his own befuddlement in the matter. There was a great deal he didn't understand, but the Professor deserved to know.

Byleth deserved to know.]

So, now that you are aware that I am either among the enemy or, more likely, a part of my father's games to curry favor with the Empire in a parallel history, it's likely rude for me to continue calling you 'Professor'.

...What do you want to be called?

[ so she taught the deer in that world, then. or that other byleth did, in a world where jeralt and sitri had a son who rhea carved open. ]

... Byleth, to you, I suppose. I haven't been Lorenz Hellman Gloucester's teacher in a very long time, anyway. [ she cracks a quarter inch smile. ] I'd have said "General" if you hadn't been so welcoming.

[ she lets out a breath. ]

But for what it's worth... the Lorenz I knew believed in what we were doing. You had your misgivings sometimes, but... you understood, I think. I never once thought you were with us for someone's power play.

[ she cards a hand through her hair, slightly agitated as she thinks. byleth is actually emoting a little. ]

... And I can't fault you for making different choices if they came from my own. You're on the wrong side, [ she says that simply, like it's a fact, because she so completely believes it that it's not even a matter of opinion in her eyes ] but... so is your Professor.

[ she sighs. ]

More likely, he never chose at all.

Edited 2020-03-18 02:36 (UTC)

[Lorenz watched Byleth's fidgety motions, his surprise at such small matters evident on his face.]

Byleth, then.

[A nod. The name was unfamiliar on his lips... but he would get used to it.]

If I had a chance to speak with Edelgard at that time, I may well have joined her. Though her methods are more bloody than I prefer, there is no doubt that her end goal is worthwhile.

Claude, in his way, hopes for a similar outcome. However, I do not yet know how he plans to implement his schemes... and he does not have the full scope of the details that Lady Edelgard does.

[He drew in a breath, briefly pondering over his missing compatriots, wondering how they would feel in light of these details.]

...If I may be so bold, Pro-- Byleth? You seem far more emotional than I recall from your counterpart.

[ a deep breath, in and out. okay. ]

... Seiros [ not rhea. even in death, that monster doesn't get to hide behind that name, not anymore. ] did something to me, after I was born. I'm not... totally sure of the details, and I haven't... said most of this out loud, so bear with me.

She put something in my heart. Sothis's Crest Stone, I'm sure of it—it gave me my Crest, let me use the Sword of the Creator... I didn't have a heartbeat, Lorenz. I didn't feel. I was... I was a shell, for twenty years, until Garreg Mach.

Seiros made me a teacher to control me. To control the vessel for her mother. [ she stares straight ahead. ] So I used her mother's power to smash her mad skull. Whatever she put inside me died with her. [ she rests a hand on the grip of the sword of the creator. absolutely no response. ]

And my heart is mine again.

That--

[He knew from Edelgard the basics of what Rhea-- no, Seiros-- had done, and he knew to trust his own instincts about the woman from the very start. But, this?

He frowned, taking all of the details in.

On one hand, the assertion hardly seemed rational. Why would a lack of heartbeat inhibit emotions? That was a poetic convention, hardly a reality. However, powerful beings who defied human understanding, like Seiros, like Sothis, rarely relied on matters that were realistic.

Perhaps, poetry really could provide the understanding.]

And thus, with your heart returned, your emotions spring free-- like so many flowers blossoming after a long winter's freeze.

[A sigh. Perhaps, the metaphor was apt. Frustrated, angered on Byleth's behalf, Lorenz kept his cool and delicately intertwined his long fingers in his impossibly straight hair to tug lightly at the strands.]

That woman truly is deserving of being called a monster, [He intoned darkly, wondering how much of this would be made known in his own timeline. Would Claude ever find out? Or was Claude too focused on breaking down international borders to see the problems that lie in the heart of Fodlan?]

...Now that you have your Self, what do you plan to do?

[ she appreciates that it's not sympathy, not pity. byleth doesn't see the use for either of those about something so... all-encompassing. but spreading her anger over this? that's, at least, satisfying. ]

... The only choices I'd ever made, real choices, were the ones that placed me at Edelgard's side. [ she finally looks at him again, expression hard to read. ] And I've seen our path through this far. I don't intend to stop now.

[Pity? Never. Such shallow sentiments were an insult to Byleth and everything she had both endured and accomplished.]

That sounds reasonable, [he replied with a nod.] Though I disagree with some of her methods, she is a more than effective leader who is using her skills daily even in this realm.

You'll find no conflict from me. Even if Hubert and Edelgard do not count me among their closest associates, we are friendly enough to at least call upon each other in emergency.

I hope to encourage Felix and Sylvain to be more open minded around them one day... but that is a work in progress. There has been some success, but only time will tell where everything falls.

[ there's something almost... stricken? in her expression when he brings up felix and sylvain in that context, but it fades as soon as it appears. ]

... Their Professor fought for the Kingdom, didn't they. [ it's... not a difficult leap, given the pattern thus far. something about that idea sends her blood boiling. she can't imagine. ]

I brought as many students as possible into the fold. Everyone but Claude, Hilda... [ a pause, a flicker of... something wistful, regretful. it's gone almost immediately, like before. ] Dimitri and Dedue.

We were... [ she exhales. ] We all understood. We didn't have the same feelings on everything, but we knew what had to be done. How could things have gone so wrong?

Edited 2020-03-18 04:14 (UTC)

...A more pious person would say it's the will of the Goddess, but we know better.

[Watching such rapid shifts in emotion was almost startling. The fact that Byleth's face, despite sharing elements with the counterpart he knew, was somewhat familiar likely staved off further alarm from Lorenz. Instead he watched her quietly, taking in every nuance and expression to later engrave upon his memory.

These were rare sights. Although he knew they would likely be more common in the future, he didn't wish to forget them.]

More likely, it's because people are gifted with free will. However, that makes me wonder about other things we've discussed.

[He paused, reflecting upon her quiet assertions certainty and making decisions of her own accord.]

...Byleth, I'm sorry to ask, but just how much of what has happened since you became a teacher has been of your own will? It's doubtless that Claude likely wrapped you up in his schemes in my history, but seeing you now makes me wonder how much was actually of your own volition?

No, it's a fair question.

[ she nods, turning that over in her head. ]

... I think of choice as... something conscious, an active thing. Before I met Edelgard, I... didn't choose, not really. I'd do as I was asked or told. If I had options I'd just pick one without much thought or feeling. Even at Garreg Mach, I was... still like that, mostly. And then I protected her, on instinct. Some girl I didn't even know. I never would have done that before. It... stuck with me. So I chose the Black Eagles. I chose to witness her coronation, and protect her again in the Holy Tomb.

[ she considers. ] Those were the only moments I felt my heart beating, before today.

Edited 2020-03-18 20:07 (UTC)

[The gravity of those decisions was not lost upon Lorenz, even with his own biases.]

Then it truly is possible that something went awry somewhere in the other timelines.

[He breathed, not certain of the peculiar feeling that welled up in his chest. Was it anger, or uncertainty? If he were more prone to having faith, it could even be interpreted as betrayal from the Goddess that he had never fully believed in.

He laughed-- a sharp, bitter sound that was dulled by the bustle of the surrounding marketplace.]

For once, I'm speechless. But, no-- maybe my history is in the wrong. Maybe, somewhere, there's a place where at least Claude may have joined as well... that way the both of them could acheive their dreams.

[ yeah, lorenz, that's all a big mood. ]

... I think they will. Claude and Hilda are both alive; he left Fódlan for Almyra. I mean to urge Edelgard to reach out to him once things calm down.

Yes... of course he is.

[Such was the way of Claude, always looking beyond Fodlan's territories to see what lie ahead of them.]

He had hinted such to me before, but he had assured me that he would see the war to it's end. Although, he likely had little choice against Edelgard.

... He means well, I think. Even with his schemes. I don't know, we were never especially close.

[ he had been one of her students. she had liked him well enough, but he kept her at a distance, especially given the house she aligned herself with. she thinks on that. ]

But I could have killed him at Derdriu, and he knows it. I don't think he'll soon forget that we let him go in peace.

[ ... that's meant much less realpolitikish than it probably sounds. ]

I feel the same. However, your efforts may ultimately benefit his schemes.

[Lorenz folded his hands together and leaned back on their bench, relaxing his posture and musing on the man who held everyone at an arm's length.]

We're not in a position of direct confidence, but my understanding of his goals from years of observation and investigation [~~spying~~] suggests that he ultimately wants to tear down the borders and divisions within Fodlan and open us up to what lies beyond.

What larger cause of these borders and divisions is there but the Church itself?

[ oh. those who slither in the dark. lorenz doesn't know, does he?

but without the church to capitalize upon and work against, and with the ruling structures of fódlan now completely turned against them... no. it's not relevant. ]

... I think Claude has his wish, then. [ there's something comforting about that. she nods, a slight smile on her lips. ] There are threats still waiting in the wings. But I know that Edelgard plans to grant Brigid its independence and treat them as a more equal partner, and with our hands reached out to Almyra and the other nations too... there's little we can't do.

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