![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
TDM: MARCH
- Welcome to
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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 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.With that taken care of...
• 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. |
holy crap no kidding
[ She watches the pair leave with a shake of her head before she turns her attention back to Byleth. ]
They think we should bond. [ She clarifies, for her sake. ]
You may call me Saber.
no subject
... General Byleth Eisner, of the Imperial Adrestian Army. [ the introduction comes automatically, like a script, as she leans slightly on the cane in her hand. ] But just Byleth is fine. It's a pleasure, Saber. Are you here from Geardagas, or your own time?
no subject
I am from my own era. Although I have never been here...
[ She glances around, lips pursed, before her attention refocuses on Byleth and her cane. ]
Are you well? Your journey here could not have been easy.
no subject
Well enough, just a bit weak. I was fresh from the battlefield when I woke up in the caves. [ the blade of her sword, not completely hidden by her cloak, is partly covered in dried green blood. ] Are you bonded, then? I don't know if they took that into account when they tried to... do that, just now.
no subject
Ah, I see.
[ She glances down at the sword and the green stains on it. Interesting. She notes that for later and then shakes her head in reply. ]
I am not; but I have been looking as of late. It is... complicated. [ She frowns, the tufted tip of her lion's tail flicking into sight again. ]
I can explain it in more depth, if you like.
no subject
I don't have anything more pressing, so I don't see why not. I'll either wake up in Aefenglom or a field hospital bed, after all. [ and she is curious about saber. ]
no subject
Would you like to sit? [ Mostly because she notices that cane. ]
This may take a bit.
no subject
I have nothing but time. And you remind me of someone, so... [ please. ]
no subject
I am glad to remind you of a friend, then. [ Or at least she hopes its a friend. ]
People here may form what is called a bond. To my understanding this allows the flow of magical energy between them - as well as emotions, memories, and fragments of thoughts. When a bond is formed between what they call "monsters" and "witches", this allows both extremes of each type to be kept in balance. Without a bond, for example, a witch may overexert themselves and become... dangerous. Mainly in that the magical energies they use may become unstable or uncontrollable.
[ She pauses. ] A monster, without a bond, is more likely to turn feral or go mad under periods of the full moon.
no subject
I had heard... some of this. Not the nature of the risks, in that much detail. [ it makes some sense. magic and power have always had some risk in fódlan, some cost. a way to neutralize some of those drawbacks in a mutually beneficial manner... it's a fairly elegant solution.
she takes a moment to mentally thank hubert and corrin for ensuring that didn't happen to edelgard. ]
When is the next full moon? [ it's said like she's... considering something. how much time have you got until shit might break bad when you wake up, セイバー. ]
no subject
[ She frowns, considering this. ]
General, it does take time to build to such a feral state for monsters or to a too-large amount of magic for mages... a month or two, at least. But the results can be... unfortunate.
[ She's speaking from experience. ]
no subject
My... [ quick. find a good word. ] Emperor has offered to bond with me if I do end up in Aefenglom, so I'm not at risk thanks to her, but... [ brief hesitation, like she's not sure if she should ask this, but she's going to ] it sounds like you've had to deal with that before. Have you had trouble finding a Witch to bond with?
no subject
[ Maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. ]
I... have had some trouble. I have not yet found someone... or at least someone I trust. But I will not allow myself to have such troubles again.
no subject
Her Imperial Majesty Edelgard von Hresvelg, [ she doesn't make a habit of speaking about edelgard so formally—even in the slightest—but something about saber's bearing has her falling into scripts she might use while standing by in diplomatic meetings ] along with some of our comrades. And... others.
[ byleth's brow creases as she goes on, thinking over what saber said. ]
I can understand the reluctance. Still, if I might be able to help—at least temporarily—I would be willing. If we know each other better by then.
no subject
[ She figures they're the same person, but it's always possible there are two Edelgards. There are two Zeldas, after all. ]
I didn't realize she was an Emperor.
[ No real surprise, of course. She, herself, is a king.
Byleth's offer gives her a bit of pause and she blinks in surprise. ]
Ah - I couldn't ask that of you. Especially since I have no idea if you will even arrive here. But - if you are offering, a temporary arrangement may be helpful.
no subject
I am offering. [ she nods, then, like it's Decided. temporary bond if she arrives in the city and saber still needs it. easy breezy. that's all there is to it!
that done, her brain completely shifts gears. try to keep up, saber. ]
Are you a soldier as well, then?
no subject
Then... I will accept. Should you arrive.
[ She's not sure she will, but it's worth keeping in mind. There's at least a way to avoid her last full moon repeating itself. The next question grabs her attention. How honest does she want to be? Is she really ready to make peace with her past? ]
I am a knight. And a king.
[ She admits the last part with a touch of reluctance, but covers it well. ]
no subject
yes, byleth's decided. it'd be rude. ]
My father was a knight, once, [ she says that finally, nodding once in approval ] and I'm close with some of the Imperial knights under my command. I think we may get along, Saber.
no subject
I hope that we do.
[ Saber's glad to see her take it in stride. ]
My days of ruling are... behind me. So now I do my best to serve.
im sorry byleth has just been fucking weird at every turn here
That's admirable. Edelgard plans to abdicate eventually... her reign has been in the name of service. [ hm. ] She's who I meant when I said that you reminded me of someone, actually. Though she favors red and gold as her colors.
No worries, saber is used to weird.
[ Her kind of Emperor, pretty much. ]
Oh? What similarities do you see between us?
no subject
That idealism, for a start. Everything in service to a goal. But when I said it before... I was referring to little things. Your bearing, something in your demeanor. And she favored an armored gown too, during our war. [ and your height ] ... Though she prefers axes to swords.
no subject
[ Saber is even more curious now about this Edelgard. If her memories of this conversation remain clear, she's most certainly going to have to seek her out. ]
I will have to meet her.