TDM: MARCH

[faileas]

Test Drive: March

Welcome to 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.
• 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!



With that taken care of...

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.

Comments

[unyieldingmarch]

Good, you've met Leslie.

[Edelgard's smile grows warmer by orders of magnitude. A great many more. She is indeed a charming little thing, and very polite.]

Yes, that's right, on all counts. Leslie is from another world, and I've taken her as my ward in the absence of her own guardian. She's young yet, but clever and curious, and I think you know how I feel about taking care of children in need.

[Especially ones with her same coloration.]

And...unfortunately yes, we do have enemies here. Though, not the ones you'd expect. Felix and Sylvain both come from versions of our world where they did not join with us in the war. They maintained their allegiance to the Kingdom. [she sighs.]

Felix, at least, has been amenable to working together in certain circumstances. Sylvain has not.

And...I would be remiss in not noting Lorenz among those from realities where we would have been enemies. But he's been remarkably willing to listen to me and my rationale, and has become an ally here.

[nobiliteatime]

[ For as long as he's known Edelgard, he has rarely seen her smile the way that she does when she talks about Leslie. That confirms the sneaking suspicion that he had that she must have taken a genuine interest in the girl's well-being. It's quite touching, really, and that smile... it is a side of her that he doesn't mind seeing.

There was a time when he had doubts that he had chosen the right side. He had placed his faith in their professor and followed readily when they stood against the Church of Seiros, but it was a difficult decision for him at the time. But seeing that light in her eyes, hearing her dedication to taking care of others... had there been any doubt left in his mind, it would have been erased.

But she soon moves on to less... pleasant circumstances. Felix and Sylvain, not to mention Lorenz, and each been among their allies by his recollection, even though it meant fighting against each of their respective homelands. None of them are people he would wish to number among his enemies, for one reason or another. ]

Lorenz is from House Gloucester, which as always advocated for friendly relations with the Empire. Further more, we both have a similar upbringing, so it stands to reason that he would prefer to settle matters with diplomacy when possible.

[ He places a hand beneath his chin, analyzing the situation as she presents it. Those other two names are particularly troublesome, given that they had just faced the Kingdom forces, or what was left of them, in Fhirdiad. ]

I am more concerned with those who owe their allegiance to the Kingdom. You say that Felix has been more amenable to cooperation, and perhaps that is due to his practical nature. But Sylvain... I do not know the man very well, but from what I understand, despite his noble stature, he has every reason to detest a society that values Crests. He would seem an even more natural ally, so if I am to venture a guess, there is some other reason that he is so hostile.

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard had sometimes wondered if she was taking the proper course, in the dark of the night, as well. It was rare, but she was not without her doubts. Rhea had forced her hand in ways she wished she had not. Dimitri had as well, though it was different with him.

When the topic comes to more complex matters though, she has no doubt. The stance of those two was clear. Felix was the pragmatist, and she had given him an enemy to fight and a cause to work for. The blight outside the Bright Wall was a nightmare, and the Fraldarius heir always did need a foe. Sylvain was another matter.]

I have no idea what that reason may be, Ferdinand, but I suppose you are right. Kingdom society being what it is, and the fate of his own brother are plenty of reason to be more willing to hear what I have to say.

Frankly, I would not be able to speculate without knowing the circumstances of his history. It could simply be that he just is a man with no loyalties but to his own desires, though.

[nobiliteatime]

[ None of this is pleasant conversation. That would be what Ferdinand would appreciate the most, honestly: the chance to speak frankly with Edelgard about how best to help the people of Fodlan, without any of the unpleasantness of war or speculating on their enemies' motivations. How cruel it is of fate to steal them away from their hard-fought peace and strand them here, among versions of their former allies who regard them as enemies.

He rubs his forehead to massage away the frustration, reflecting on his memories of their comrades who originally hailed from the Kingdom. ]

I do not think it is as simple as that. I truly believe that the difference lies not with him, but with some crucial moment in our shared history. And yet, I cannot begin to fathom what moment that would be.

[ With a resigned sigh, he lowers his arms to his sides. ]

How vexing. We cannot allow the others here to be dragged into the affairs of our homeland.

[unyieldingmarch]

No, we cannot.

[Edelgard has been firm on that point. She's done everything that she can to keep the peace, and it seems to be working for the moment. Solid and lasting it may not be, but the beginnings of it are there.]

I've brokered a truce. Their conflict is a waste of time and energy, and it is no longer our conflict, nor is it the people of Geardagas's problem. I've made my position clear to them, that I will not initiate any hostilities unless myself or one of the others is attacked. And that should they require aide, I will provide it unless it is a situation of their own making.

[She won't bail them out of jail for rowdy behavior, mostly.]

For the moment it's worked well. Lorenz, as I said, has been quite amenable at least, and there has been no violence. That is as good a blessing as any, I think.