abraxaslogs | OPEN MINGLE: Welcome to Thorne

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OPEN MINGLE: Welcome to Thorne

WHO: OPEN to all Summoned in Thorne
WHAT: A party, info dump, and magic study session all rolled into one! Eat, drink, mingle -- make some friends!
WHEN: a couple days after the newest Summoned start appearing
WHERE: a ballroom in Castle Thorne

NOTES: This is an open mingle log where everyone can tag one another!

Rhy Maresh will have sent a written invitation to all Thornean newcomers within a couple of days of their arrival, inviting them to meet their fellow Summoned. Otherwise, there will be fliers posted in the dining area that anyone can see. If your character has CR with Rhy or Istredd (or Kell), you can assume they were told and got an in-person invite -- and you can even assume your character helped with setup if desired (decorations, helping set out food, etc.), since Rhy definitely needed the assistance. Up to you!

Istredd will also be hosting a group meditation to allow newcomers to access to the Horizon (and network). New Summoned who wish to learn how to step into the Horizon have an opportunity to have their connections to the Singularity activated. If preferred, they can also get one-on-one help from those who've been around for a bit. He will also discuss the magic in Abraxas and point them in the direction of teachers of magic, combat, or other things they may be interested in.

Banquet.

The large ballroom is bathed in warm, golden light from dozens of chandeliers above, reflecting off the gleaming inlaid floors and brass light fixtures along the walls. It is at once neatly sectioned, yet naturally open, allowing the length of the room to flow from one potential activity to another with ease.

In the center, a circular area has been left clear, and every half hour or so during the first half of the evening, two native Thornean (apprentice) mages come up to offer magic demonstrations -- mostly flashy elemental magic, adding sparks and atmosphere. If any of the Summoned who've been around longer wish to show off as well, they are welcome to do so.

Along the walls stand narrow refreshment tables, where one can serve oneself wine from large glass carafes. Hot tea is also available in a few flavors. (Though those who have been here a while may notice there are fewer carafes, and more expensive options for alcohol and refreshments are missing this time.) For those looking to eat, a large dining table has been set out toward the center of the room, with plates and utensils and large platters of food in the center -- nothing fancy, but perfectly serviceable, and arranged to look good even if the ingredients themselves aren't nearly as lavish as they have been in the past. Still, despite the impending war and tightened purse strings in the face of shortages, the kitchen has agreed to help welcome the newly Summoned as best as they can.

Both the handful of large tables and the smattering of small, taller tables for standing at are in full view of the demonstrations so the show can be enjoyed with food and drink, whatever your desire. Bright summer flowers garnish every table, freshening up the space.

Of course, there's plenty of space to stand and mingle, walk around, and see what everyone else is up to. In the back of the room, the folding screens offer a quieter area, for more private conversation and meditation as desired.

Magic Studies.

Behind the folding screens made of tall, carved wood in intricate patterns, there are a handful of low sofas and chaise lounges around a fireplace at the far side of the hall. This sectioned-off area has been enchanted to provide some insulation from the sound of the banquet beyond, and once you step inside, the quiet is like a gentle blanket settling over everyone who chooses to spend some time here.

This is the best place to ask questions in some semblance of privacy, to learn about your new home, and to receive guidance on entering the Horizon and using the so-called network of telepathic notes only the Summoned can send one another.

A mage named Istredd seems to be the one 'in charge' of this particular endeavor, but others who have been in Abraxas a while are likely also about, lending their assistance to those who are newly arrived and sharing thoughts on their experiences so far.

Just be careful -- even if the insulating enchantment is sturdy, there are still Thornean natives around, refilling refreshments outside and demonstrating their magic. You may want to be careful how candidly you discuss any displeasure toward Thorne or its crown, considering the Queen's notoriously explosive temper, and the rumors of the dungeons deep beneath the castle. It's hardly a secret, at this point: a conflict has been sparked, and the mood around the castle is a tense one, even amidst a celebration such as this.

(( ooc: Feel free to make your own top levels and tag around! This is meant to be an open mingle, with the above as mostly setting and flavor, so don't feel limited if you want your character to do their own magic demonstrations, for example, or even if your thread ends up moving outside the ballroom. Have fun!

It should be noted that if you would like to handwave your character's first experience to the Horizon, you can do so. It's a blanket permission from me / Istredd that he took your character there, helped them leave, and showed them how to go back in with their memory now.

This was written by Lena aka Rhy player! Contact me @ waftingcurtains with any questions otherwise just roll with it, friends. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That is reassuring. And all the cities I've been in could use some improvements, so a lovely forest dwelling sounds like a delightful alternative.

[She really cannot recommend medieval Europe. At least the vampires are civilized enough to remember some science from ages past, but all the human cities she's seen and some of the vampire residences are ... well, not everyone shares Lenore's prioritization of bathtubs.]

Do you reside in specific glades or are you nomadic?

[ thankfully, middle earth seems to dodge some of the issues that plague medieval europe. he considers her question with a hum. ]

We do have specific dwellings, though some of us do travel around, never truly settling.

I can understand that. In my world, there is a group of people who call themselves Speakers, and they are nomadic, carrying their magic and science and centuries of oral history with them wherever they go. It has always seemed a very noble existence, but I myself have always preferred the safety and comfort of having a specific dwelling.

[Lenore's preferences often come down to the words safety and comfort.]

May I ask your own preference?

[ elrond pauses. ]

I'm not entirely sure I have one. Circumstances have dictated where I must be and I have never considered my own desire.

[ his home being burned down, being forced to wander without a place of belonging. his statement of being "elrond of lindon" is an affectation at best, at behest of the king and not so much a reflection of elrond's true feelings. ]

Oh. [That seems very sad, and she's sympathetic, but as soon as she reflects upon it she realizes that her own situation isn't much different.] I suppose I'm much the same. I've always chosen my living situations as the best of the available circumstances, with very little thought as to what location or accommodations I would choose for myself, if I had freedom to do so.

[It's a surprising thing to realize. Where would she choose to live, if it could be anywhere? She's not at all certain.]

[ he nods, empathetic. ]

It seems, no matter which world we are in, freedom of choice is limited. It is a cruel thing.

Do you think there is no better, kinder world, in all the worlds and amongst all the stars?

[She's an optimist. She wants to believe that there are gentle places out there.]

[ elrond considers this before replying, his voice soft but no less kind. ]

Of course. But it is not the world that is cruel, but we who make it a cruel place. And it is up to us to make it a gentle one as well.

[Lenore has spent too much of her life as the victim of cruel vampire warlords to easily accept being included in that 'we', but she can brush that aside with only a brief cooling of her enthusiasm. Easier to focus on his more optimistic conclusion.] I certainly agree that the best way to better one's own circumstances is to help one's fellows.

What ways have you found to apply yourself to gentleness in this place?

In healing and magic, mostly. That is where my skills lie.

[ though magic is still a new thing, he is magic, living and breathing. ]

I'm very interested in learning the local magic. It's pleasing how relatively easy it is. What specialties have you been studying?

Academic magic, for the most part. It is the kind of magic I am least familiar with and it'll do my good to dissolve my weakness.

[Lenore blinks a little, uncertain of what this means. She remembers hearing some offhand comment about how the other factions have other schools of magic, but she doesn't know enough of what the differences are, so she just looks helplessly lost.] Which ... what kind is that?

It is the magic Thorne specializes in. One from book lore and learned, spread from practitioner to practitioner. Istredd handles some classes.

All right. [Lenore's still uncertain, but it tracks with what little she's learned elsewhere in the castle.] And do you have specialties within that? I'm still trying to learn what paths there are to follow within the magic available. You mentioned healing, of course. What else?

[ elrond chuckles. ]

I have only just begun. You expect me to be an expert so soon?

No, not at all. [Lenore looks lost and a tiny bit hurt that he's avoiding what she thinks is a simple and casual question.] I'm trying to ask what subjects you're not an expert in. I want to learn the cloth creation and modification spells they use for clothing. I learned a spell to create light. I don't know what other options exist. I wanted to learn of more options and to ask which of those you're hoping to learn.

You work fast.

[ curious. he wonders if she feels that she has to catch up, no matter what. to feel stable. ]

Magic can come from all sources. For the elves, magic is in everything we do. It's simply the manner of how we exist. Our clothes and weavings seem magical to some, for they are light in raiment and steadfast in the harshest of weathers.

Healing is one I excel in and one I devote my focus. Otherwise, I spend most of my time in history. I do not pursue magic. I am magic.

All I have is the light, [Lenore shrugs off the tiny spell.] It's not dissimilar to magic from my homeland. Much easier, to be honest.

[Lenore wonders how that works, how a person is magic. He looks perfectly solid. She thinks of some of the beings of magic that she's encountered and does not feel fondly toward the memories. If a being is all magic, then how can they be a being with a heart?

Even Lenore has a heart, and it beats. Slower than a human's, and she knows that the pace will move slower and slower as she ages, pushing blood around her body merely once a minute, then once an hour, then... she's never known a vampire that old. She hesitates to try and imagine how alien such a being would be.]

In my world, the beings who are magic are ... like fire. Fire, which can warm you or burn you, and doesn't care in the slightest which one it might be. They are magic, which leaves no space or them to be anything else.

[ elrond examines it curiously. yes, that is more the "traditional" magic people seem to expect. the elves could distill light from stars and place it in objects, but it was never a wave of a hand or a spoken word. ]

We are not primordial or a force of nature. But our nature is . . . intrinsic to how we were made. What we are fated to be. Men may call it magic, but it is simply how we are, how we live with magic rather than to tame or control it.

All right. I think I understand. [Lenore nods, still a little uncertain on the concept but comfortable enough with the explanation that she's willing to leave it there.] Thank you for talking to me, and for explaining. I want to meet some of the others at this gathering, but I look forward to speaking with you more in the future.

[She gives a polite curtsy and a smile, friendly but still mostly impassive toward him.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OPEN MINGLE: Welcome to Thorne

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