⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳

[beleos]

ARRIVAL

All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.

The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.

Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)

Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.

All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.

The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!

Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.

CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)

The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)

The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

NOTES

Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)

THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)

There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

NOTES

Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.

TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)

Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

NOTES

Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)

Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

NOTES

Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!

THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

BLIGHT

Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.

The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'

Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.

However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...

TIME

To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.

Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.

Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.

Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!

Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

NOTES

• An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
• Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
• HAVE FUN!!!

CODING

Comments

[passio]

[ bro… :( ]

…

[ dextera shakes his head, shoving the paper back at the otter. he finds it easier when he’s feeling particularly forceful to go without his words and let others divine their own meaning from his gestures—but honestly, he’s not playing that high right now. he’s just frustrated, and he doesn’t know exactly what he’s missing to ask for it properly. ]

dextera • meridian exalt

[passio]

( closed starters! my heart is utterly open to new stuff if you like, so my plotting comment is here. if we planned something but neither of us are topleveling (hehe) then just poke me on discord or the plotting comment and i’ll write something. )

[warmare]

[The words of a truce she had no part in deciding wouldn't do much to bind a woman as volatile as Hayame... if she had not seen the way that insufferable floating river weasel could freeze them all with a single snap of its claws. That, and the absurd sight of someone using their [TIME] to "unfreeze" a headless fishman in ice, as if there was any doubt how something that stupid would turn out. (What? Did they think it would somehow regain a head?)

But it is still tempting to attack on sight the moment she sees the demon of Zenith.

It would be so easy. And perhaps if she moved fast enough, if he let his guard down thinking she'd respect this so-called neutral zone, she could cave his skull in beneath her hoof or stab into his chest-

And he has the fucking nerve to smile at her, mocking and cocky. Every muscle in her body is stiff and ready to lash out... but she doesn't. Her knuckles, though, are white where they grip her bow, her answer to his pleasant gritting spat at his feet.]

Stuff that lie back in your serpent's mouth, Gabriel.

[She hard heard he was introducing himself as "Sebastian" to people now- but she didn't give a damn what false name he was using today as long as he knew she was talking to him.

Not that she wanted to even be doing that.]

for the archangel.

[passio]

[ dextera has been able to avoid him. the world has kept them busy with their own factions, and although it’s never been impossible for them to find a place to meet, there’s always been an excuse to allow dextera to keep his head low. that hasn’t stopped the memory of the archangel from pressing down on his neck anyway, and it’s starting to feel like the only way he’ll get relief is if he takes this clear sign and…

…confronts him? allies with him? dextera hasn’t yet decided what he’s going to do when he sees the archangel, but he knows that he doesn’t want the man to die. dextera is used to conditions like these; the archangel isn’t. ]

…

[ he’s impossible to miss, even as big as the castle is. eventually, seeking him, dextera finds the archangel and reaches out. the archangel’s shoulder is nice and bloodwarm, compared to the frost around them—it surprises dextera, who has never once thought of any part of the archangel as being warm to the touch.

he holds up his hourglass, allowing the archangel to make of that gesture what he will. ]

get these mfing magics out of my mfing worldhopping!!! ... somehow

[warmare]

[The tornado of lashing, crashing, and shattering comes to an end almost as quickly as it had come. She shouldn't have let herself lose control in the first place, she will be ashamed of herself for that later, but... When she had known how the world worked, Hayame has been cold and collected, capable of controlling herself. For months now, constantly thrown into situations she didn't understand and feeling alone amongst magic and foreign lands and strange powers... she has been walking the razor's edge, her temper ever ready to flare to the surface and catch fire.

Ironic, now, in a land of ice.

But when a man she does not know by sight comes around the corner... he has about half a second to observe a woman lost, panting heavily in an angry huff, surrounded by thousands of shards of icy glass that used to be a sculpture. Everything about her radiates pure physical power, from her intimidating height to the half ton of chiseled muscles both humanoid and equine... and that all comes to bear in the next second, when a six foot longbow comes back up and she greets the newcomer down the shaft.

Apparently they had to be concerned about other shard-bearers taking their [TIME].

But once he speaks... she does recognize the voice. By the time he bows... she lowers her weapon (but does not put it aside). And in return for his greeting...]

I am a warrior, not a woman.

[... She'll let him closer to bring the arrow back, because he's not wrong. But he can put that "miss" away.]

truly we suffer

[liuli]

[ there's a sense of innate respect that comes despite the angry, unhappy huffing and the relative tantrum. by now, gu yun's already reconciled the fact that there is a Lady Who Is Part Horse (thanks communion!) so the initial feeling of what the fuck has already been processed and is replaced instead with that respect. after all, in his many duties, gu yun is the head of a cavalry, and he understands the immense amount of power and grace both human and horse require, let alone both at the same time. impressive is a good word.

so, maybe to his credit? he doesn't even flinch when the longbow is pointed at him. it is not the first or the last time this will happen, inevitably, because gu yun is the kind of person who gets weapons pointed at him a lot; he just stands perfectly still with the arrow out in his flat hand, arrowhead pointed to the side instead of towards hayame, waiting until she lets the bow down.

and though he cocks his head a little at the comment, he hums and comes closer once it's lowered to offer her the arrow. ] I know at least one who is both. [ their pugilist miss chen, but, it's just a little aside, because he's nothing if not born of his liangese manners, and a warrior respects the desire of another, so: ] Do you have a title you prefer? I don't think we've been properly introduced beyond communion.

[fishfearme]

Is that so? You were struggling before.

[Byleth's words and tone were blunt enough to bruise, but he eased out of his guard position and side-stepped a fraction, so he was standing at the man's side rather than standing protectively before him. His eyes scanned their surroundings, but the mirrors made it difficult to tell where their foe had slithered off to - no doubt scurrying about in the shadows, waiting for the time to strike like a viper in the grass.

Byleth could leave the man to it. He wasn't entirely helpless from the looks of it, but the nature of this magical trap seemed to work on psychologically torturing the individual to impair their rational thinking, and thus leave them vulnerable to attacks. Likely the man was concerned at whatever deep dark secrets the doppelganger would spill, or some other pride thing, but Byleth was unbothered by it all. If need be he will simply promise to forget all he saw and heard here after the situation was resolved.]

In any case, it's in my best interest to help you neutralise this threat, to ensure it doesn't endanger anyone else. I'll aid you, as and when you need it.

[liuli]

The gossip's going to be unbearable.

[ now that's a familiar voice! gu yun's got a smile on his face as he leans back to look at anders - a black crow flutters into the room and settles comfortably up on the doorframe, but he says nothing about it, instead raising a hand in greeting. he's like maybe one iota less tense to see a familiar face, but when you've got a castle full of people trying to kill each other, can you blame anyone?

he does seem pleased, though, stepping back from around the embracing (or murdering each other) couple. he's going to look at the bed, checking the covers to see if there's anything particularly useful in terms of warmth, and eventually pulling off the sheets. ]

If the embrace is any indication, there might yet be a dagger or two around. [ considering... everything. gu yun kneels beside the bed to check underneath it, and then pauses to watch anders, propping his arm on the bed. ] Do you know how to pick locks, Anders?

[liuli]

[ oh, it's just a little guy!!

gu yun glances back briefly. somewhere above gray's head, a crow flutters into the room and sits on the doorframe, but it does nothing except drop down like it's nesting, fluffing its feathers and getting comfortable.

he takes a moment to assess, too, though it's not particularly noticeable, before he shrugs a shoulder with a light clank. ]

Why'd you come all the way out here? [ there's no heat to the question, light - almost teasing. he also has been hunting for supplies, and closer inspection does reveal he's got a small pack over his shoulder, though... that's maybe less pressing or exciting than the sword at his hip. ] I suppose I could ignore them, but this is the first time I've seen a tableau quite like this, so it caught my eye.

What do you think? Stuck in a lover's embrace, or about to kill each other?

[fishfearme]

oh goodie oh boy! thank you for the interesting book~

Library

[fishfearme]

Byleth had been merely passing by, preoccupied with his thoughts, when he heard the question aimed at him. He turned to the man who had called out to him, and couldn't help but think how this man looked quite similar to Yuri. Well, there were distinct differences of course (like the lack of make-up), but the similarities were enough to snare his interest and draw him into conversation. In a land so unfamiliar to him, he couldn't help but be pathetically drawn to anything that vaguely reminded him of his homeworld.

"Yes," his replied, and held up the book he had been flicking through before. "A book that discusses mirror shards imbued with time magic. However, I'm unfamiliar with this magic's mechanisms. A side effect of differing worlds with differing rules, most likely."

He considered the man for a moment before awkwardly holding the book out. "You may have it, if you like. I've already committed its relevant contents to memory."

[liuli]

[ idk what you mean he's clearly useless

no im kidding. this is definitely the posture of a soldier if nothing else, though... it seems gu yun's attitude isn't too different. he glances up at the familiar face - oh, it's the blood guy - and then snorts, tapping his book with a fingertip. ]

Someone who thinks they have a sense of humor. There's a bit in here about this time magic. I think whoever wrote it must have been blind, based on their penmanship and bad taste.

[ he's allowed to make jokes about this because he's blind sometimes. anyway. ] What about you, little sword? Any luck?

i.....

[liuli]

[ oh this guy again

have some amusement over communion because someone does not seem too bothered this is happening during saving people time or whatever: ]

I suppose that's one way to keep warm. [ bad. ] Doing some light reading?

library!

[liuli]

[ oh, that's a familiar voice. gu yun greets hythlodaeus with a mischievous little smile and a polite bow. ]

Doctor. [ stop calling him that

but then he comes to sit down next to him in a clunk of armor, holding his own book in one hand and a cloak over his arm. meridian reading friends. ] A bit on time magic, a bit of bad taste. A name, too, if nothing else. What about you?

[liuli]

hi modlies, three questions!

1. Do the mirrors in the hall of mirrors labyrinth reach floor to ceiling? IE, could something like a bird fly over top of them?

2. are there any places where magic does/doesn't work specifically in the castle or is it all fair game?

3. ....is it okay to ask mr tibbs about our library finds (whether he'll be helpful or not)?

💖

[liuli]

[ good news for ruby: maybe that reflection is just gu yun's hair?

no im kidding. the mirror hall is an overall unpleasant sort of place, but in the hunt for the oracle, no stone goes unturned, and so, here he is. finding the young lady who sounded a little unsure over the communion had been a bit of a surprise, but gu yun's not about to leave anyone be. whether they're small and frail or some sort of battle hardened warrior, if they're not attempting to take his well guarded sand at the moment, he doesn't feel any fear letting someone come by for a truce.

so. he's walking through the hall of mirrors with his right hand on one of the mirrors, gloved fingertips absently touching the surface as they walk, navigating the labyrinth with relative ease. there's a sword at his hip, on the opposite side of ruby, but for now, gu yun doesn't reach for it, letting her grip his armored left forearm if she'd like.

despite his posture - tense, straight backed, like a panther poised to strike at any moment - gu yun's voice is easy and relaxed, like this is a corn maze instead of some sort of mirrored death trap as he answers her question. ]

I don't think we're safe much of anywhere, miss. [ his gaze flicks absently away from her - checking their surroundings, in front, behind, around. for a moment, the dark haired reflection is missed, if only because it walks so, so close to another one just like it. or - at least it appears to go missed?

gu yun doesn't acknowledge it, shows no verbal or visual reaction, but notes it, for now. interesting. very interesting. the conversation stays light. ]

Is your homeworld full of much magic?

smacks in here with no warning for the chill mirrors

[liuli]

[ im running to help the baby

by which i mean, hearing someone smack into the mirrors is startling in the hall, and gu yun, who has been meticulously plotting the pathway through the labyrinth for later, jumps when he hears it, turning a rapid corner with his hand at his hip and his sword to see...

... something that aches with familiarity, in a way.

the footsteps won't be familiar, but the voice might from meridian communion, earlier in the week; that of a young man, soft and with a quiet lilt of amusement, though not meanly so. ]

Take two steps backwards, and one to your left to clear the corner. [ to get around an unfortunate corner in the labyrinth, a jagged, sharp edge. ] Are you alright?

[liuli]

ACTUALLY I'M BACK i had a tiny brain blast

If someone were to write something back in the book, would the mysterious figure of the future write something back since it came to expect it?

Jealousy is unbecoming of you. Can someone with such bad handwriting comment on beauty? Or is this how you cope with your failings?

calling dibs on the siren

[liuli]

[ it seems that set is not the only one who's come to this conclusion. he finds himself in the room with an armored gu yun, a sword at his hip, his dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. he's not the lilting, silly voice over the communion this time - this is the commander, the marquis of order, holding as still as a statue as he assess their situation.

a crazy half mermaid woman who believes a shard is her child. sure.

despite his everything, gu yun is soft hearted, sometimes. it would be easier to just kill her and take the hourglass for meridian, but the insistence with which his companion says he will not harm her means that's likely not an option. alright. plan b.

his dark eyes scan their proverbial battlefield, for a moment, clever and bright, assessing. and then... ]

Break the illusion of it? Or fetch the hourglass without changing the status quo?

[ which one is it going to be? let her live in false happiness, or end it? ]

cw: sa, slavery, forced amputations, etc.

[warmare]

[Hayame has almost grown used to the vague presence of another in the stark white chill of her hearts. Almost. She does not want to puzzle over how or why the bond remained when the other one that the dryad forced upon her had faded and finally been severed when the Tribune had cleansed her Discord, freeing her from the creeping specter of the smirking demon that had ripped the eye from her head and shamed her with his "mercy" before mocking her with offers of peace between them. She assumes it was because of her demand, their vow, the single strand of hair in her ink black mane that now sometimes seemed crimson in the light...

For whatever reason, he is there, lingering and easier to reach out to in Communion than some others she has attempted to speak to. So she tells Set where she has gone, and she tells herself it was done more as simple notice than precaution.

But what she finds in the Hall of Mirrors is nothing like what she expected, nor hoped.

The cold of the labyrinthine paths deadened her sense of smell, the reflective surfaces confused her eyes, and the echoing sounds in the chambers muddied her ears. She had thought to root out Zenith ambushes, perhaps traps, not imagined that the strange, icy sheets would show her scenes from the past she never liked to acknowledge. The further she had gone, the worse the images had been, and though she tried to ignore them... it became difficult to not confront them. The dead eyes of the filly she'd once been, her younger half-brother standing in horror beside her as they watched the stable master oversee the flensing of a disobedient yearling's arms. The distant gaze of the young mare in her first season, standing for Exhibition Day and mentally going anywhere but the line where potential buyers were allowed to run their hands over legs, check their teeth with their fingers, pull their tails up to inspect suitability for the breeding stables. The fire burning in the eyes of the woman who looked between her master's enemy and the raging waterfall and instead of believing in his offers of freedom... grabbing the rope that bound them together and throwing herself into the water.

And sometime in between the maze-like halls leading deeper into the castle and the realization that the eyes were watching her, following her... any connection she might have had with other shard-bearers goes dead. It isn't until hours later, once she had throttled the life out of a version of her herself that emerged from the ice and watched the doppelganger shatter along with the mirror she kicks to pieces, once she has dragged herself most of the way back but collapsed upon the stairs... that she hears a voice again.

It's his voice.]

Take that insult back.

[No matter how wretched she feels, part of her [TIME] stolen and body aching for it even though she'd reclaimed it, alone in the dark with the glow of the ice lurking behind her. As if this wasn't communion, a place where a lie or a front could be easily exposed-]

I merely lost track of time. I did not know war gods were able to fret about schedules so.

[leicesters]

Book pls!

Can I also ask what the scattered papers lying around are, if Claude were to gather some up? Are they documents, letters, torn pages from books etc. or a mixture?

[warmare]

[The sarcasm... is definitely not appreciated. Especially not on the heels of that floating otter impersonating a human not only humiliating them all by freezing them, but to steal parts of their shards, to claim them for his own to turn them into sand... when Anders comes around the corner, he will come across a woman who, no, is definitely not human. Her lower half is a dun mare, and the powerful equine muscles have lashed out in anger and reduced a nearby ornate statue... to a scattered ring of shattered ice upon the floor, bright and sharp.

Both sets of lungs pant slightly after her explosion of humiliation and anger over how easily mages render her physical strength, the only thing she had, useless. And of course, of course it would be a mage who comes to rub it in.

Recognizing the voice from the Meridian communion saves him from being greeted by an arrow, but it does not spare him the violent rage just barely contained in her quivering form- and just barely hiding the visceral fear she felt for all things magic and incomprehensible to a woman of her world.

A hoof slams onto the icy floor, making the broken statue pieces clink and chime.]

Be gone if all you are here to do is mock me, healer!

[She thinks that's the voice, anyway. Sure enough to accuse him of being the same man.]

i..........

[lockedon]

[ man what the fuck ]

Is now really the time for this?

intro.

[vapour]

[ this entire situation sticks and yet, the icy stones is almost vanilla in a soothing kind of way, reminding him of the frozen landscape of his home. Even feeling awful, the familiarity is snug Well, since he's such here feeling like shit... might as well talk to the cute otter that just like... did something soul violating, he's pretty sure.


Hrm. It's always the cute stupid looking ones that pull the rug out from under you. Hmph. ]

Do you like kids? My siblings would love one of you. Or are there other versions I can get that do like kids, if not?

i realized i deleted a whole line in my toplevel and now im embarassed

[shisho]

[ This guy, he is. Fixing the books. How diligent of him, considering there's no guarantee anyone will ever use this library again. Granted, they're all using it now. It is a neutral territory, affording them all space to sit and find rest without having to worry about being ambushed or challenged to a duel or have their Sand stolen from them, so it makes sense to keep the communal space tidy. Reigen's apartment back home wasn't untidy, per se, and his office was -- well, the eclectic nature of it just made it busy.

His space reflects that business, with pilfered books forming a retaining wall against the rest of the lunatics beyond it, a comfortalbe pair of chairs and what looked to be one of the long tables from the aisles beyond all crammed into it. He's found an alcove, with shelves on three sides for privacy and just. His now, yoink. ]

I could tell your fortune if that's what you wanted.

[ He drones it, shifting to sit himself up and take measure of the fastidious guy before him; what a looker, it's unfair. The majority of the Shard-Bearers were stupid levels of attractive and skilled, the exact audience that half of his tricks wouldn't work on -- so he's had to get more and more creative. Applying himself, eugh. Why can't he just snack his way through the aftermath of the apocalypse. ]

What I do is a little more nuanced and tailored to meet my client's needs, though. I have a 99.9% success rate at whatever I do, too. In my world, I'm a consultant regarding psychic phenomena. Here, I'm taking on more general duties.

[ With his snowpants heaped around his middle, he's not much to look at. A dirty blonde with dark eyes and articulate hands, gesturing boldly between the two of them in a punchy way that might be a quirk, might be on purpose. He frames Zhongli's face ( ugh, too handsome -- ) between the intersecting 'L' of his thumbs and forefingers, squinting through the box. ]

If you want me to tell your fortune, I can. I can use these very books surrounding us to do it, too.