dagung | 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

[Maybe it makes sense to Nie Mingjue. They served very different roles during the Sunshot Campaign - Lan Xichen was the people's hope, spiriting away the innocent, helping them, and Nie Mingjue was the furious blade cutting down the enemy, winning battle after battle, taking the heads of Wens. Still, the comment earns a rare, small smile, a brief flash of the side of him that isn't furious at the world.] You have a warm heart.

[But there are more important things to worry about. Like this dream. Like this world where he will supposedly arrive, not dead. Though he looks up when Lan Xichen mentions 'Young Master Wei', eyes narrowing.] Wei Wuxian is alive as well? [See, he never got the memo about Wei Wuxian not actually being that bad a guy. He was dead.

The touch is light, but it feels strange; still, he doesn't pull away.] Mm. It is not likely that there will be any medicine here that I would trust. I will endure.

As warm as any heart that has felt loyalty.

[Because he can't let Nie Mingjue create distance between them based on compassion. It's true that he was always the peaceful one, but he never assumed that any of the differing parts they played in the war were a statement on their different natures. To Lan Xichen, both of his brothers were equally men of compassion and honor. It's true that view has since been tested and may have had to be adjusted slightly, but it's only because his view of the world has grown. He values that too in a bittersweet way.]

Please, don't pursue him. That man is important to Wangji. He's a good man, despite some mistakes. We may all become monsters in the end. There's no reason to view anyone any differently. I want to live past the wars.

[It's more than just wars, but he doesn't feel ready to even consider that long road of pain that came after just yet. That was a different type of trial.]

You always endure, brother. [He sounds quietly amused by that.] But I am learning their magic as well. I can find something for you.

[He wouldn't exactly agree, when it comes to their third brother. It's a sore spot between them all, Nie Mingjue's and Jin Guangyao's inability to really forgive each other and make peace for very long. He'd thought, for a few weeks, that they might finally be able to set aside old wounds. Jin Guangyao had promised him the head of Xue Yang. Things were getting better. And then...

Then, Nie Mingjue slipped into deviation. Clarity hadn't been working the way it should have.

The topic of Wei Wuxian is a welcome one in comparison to those dark thoughts. He frowns, expression dubious, and haven't they been here before? Lan Xichen urging him to trust Jin Guangyao? But his heart is not so hardened, not to this man.] I hope you are right about this one, Xichen. I would hate to see your brother hurt worse in the end. [He knows things had gone badly for their family after Wei Wuxian's demise, though not all the details.] I will not pursue him unless he commits atrocious acts. You have my word. [There are some things he won't overlook, even for Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, and it would be dishonest to promise that he will never move if it becomes necessary (he will never be dishonest with his sworn brother), but those things, he hopes, are unlikely to happen.

Exhaling, he finds a small smile in him again.] It seems you are always helping me. I owe you a debt.

[Lan Xichen is steadfastly not going to talk about Jin Guangyao in front of Nie Mingjue. There's no reason to provoke him and stir up that bad blood when he knows how it all ultimately ends. The Lan sect leader's one wish is to find peace for all of them, past the resentment that built up over so many years. He doesn't have to ask to know how troubling it all must be for his older brother. Things had ended so badly.]

I trust Wangji. He knows himself well enough to make his own decisions, and from what I have seen of Young Master Wei, he... can be reckless, but we were all young, Mingjue-xiong. We all believed things that were from our own internal worlds.

[He smiles, shaking his head.] You don't owe me anything. I, too, have been learning just how much I don't know.

[His thoughts keep drifting in that direction - it's hard to keep away from it, considering his last, hazy, red-tinged memories, but he doesn't want to voice these thoughts out loud and build the rage up inside himself. For now, he keeps that darkness under lock and key.]

Then I will trust you both. [He knows the brothers to be honorable and honest, good men. Lan Xichen especially, he does feel he owes a debt to. His musical techniques that granted Nie Mingjue a little while longer on the earth (unlike Jin Guangyao's playing, what had gone wrong?), his guidance in this strange dream, he doesn't exaggerate when he says it seems that Xichen is always helping him.] I hope he does not squander it. He was a friend to Huaisang as well. [Something flickers over his face, fleeting, when he mentions his brother's name out loud for the first time since waking here, but he doesn't give voice to whatever thoughts cross his mind.]

I imagine there is much to learn here. Tell me about this-... magical world that you believe I will wake in.

[If there is a shadow in Mingjue's eyes when he mentions his brother, it is echoed in Xichen's as well. The quiet shade of sorrow and pain that comes from other secrets he dares not voice to his sworn brother. Xichen knows how much Mingjue worries about Huaisang and telling him anything might be too much. It might lead to other, awful subjects that Xichen knows will only reopen old wounds. Still, he can't stop looking subdued at the mention of the younger Nie son.

He breathes in and out, preparing himself, and nods to the request.]

It's a strange place, but peaceful. There are many people brought from unknown numbers of worlds we haven't heard of. Perhaps even heavenly realms. But the city I woke up in was full of strange buildings and magic that all of the witches can do. They are very welcoming.

[He looks for a moment like he wants to ask about his brother, his baby brother left alone far too soon. Nie Mingjue had thought he could protect him for a lifetime; in a way, he supposes he did - his own lifetime. He wants to know how he's doing, but he sees that shadow cross over Xichen's face like clouds hiding the sun, and he doesn't ask. Not yet. (If he assumes anything, it is that Huaisang's grief was terrible. That Lan Xichen had to comfort him.)]

And this place has... these Monsters, as well? [It's a rhetorical question. He's guessing yes.] They live alongside witches. They keep their own minds? [Of course that's his greatest worry if he becomes a monster, whether or not he will lose himself again, the way he lost himself to Baxia's overwhelming spirit in the end. He doesn't want that, he wants... He wants to remain clear headed. He wants to live, not be put down like a beast.]

[The hesitation he gets from Nie Mingjue doesn't go unnoticed and Lan Xichen waits. He wants to answer his sworn brother with whatever he can offer him; to ease his pain and concerns in a way he couldn't do after his death. But whatever questions he is holding onto don't come and Xichen doesn't guess at them. When he's ready, Mingjue will ask.

In the meantime there are more present concerns to talk about.]

Despite their looks, the monsters here are not really so different from the witches. They do have different needs, yes, and I have heard that their wild natures can come forward during the full moon, but the people of the city I found myself in treat them as they do any human. They expect to face their wild temperaments. Apparently witches can calm them.

[He doesn't know from experience so he can only guess it works.]

The monsters I spoke to all seemed very friendly. They walked in the streets openly, without fear or aggression. I'm afraid I don't know very much about it, but I have heard bonding helps.

TDM: MARCH

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