OPEN MINGLE: Welcome to Thorne!

[magicalarchaeologist]

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! New characters may hear some gossip and chatter about recent important events that happened in Abraxas. They may have heard that the Summoned were invited to the Nether in October to help save the ailing dragons from extinction. Kyle and Rhy Maresh represented the Thorne Summoned in a negotiation with the Nether officials to exchange supplies for assistance with their navy. The dragons are alive and well, and the Draconae are very grateful.

Due to an announcement in November, the Summoned are invited to visit Borrel after Nocwich (the first weekend of the month) for the Maritime Fair. It is a three-day festival with lodging provided for the Summoned and a small stipend.



General.

With Rhy Maresth's blessing, Jill Warrick will be taking over his hosting duties on the celebration side of the mingle. Jill 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 Istredd, Jill, or Rhy, 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 they 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 and liquor from large glass carafes. Hot tea and a variety of warm drinks are also available in a few flavors. 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. Jill arranged for special refreshments to be offered in partnership with local businesses. Dante has also offered pizza for those who want something less traditional.

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. Everything is decorated in Thorne's local winter flowers, filling the space with pleasant smells and pretty atmosphere. There is 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.

Istredd is 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. Istredd recommends people visit his Horizon because he has a history of the Summoned and general helpful details written in there for anyone to see.

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. Your character can also know anything from the entries I linked to above that are in his library if you'd like to jump-start them into having information, or they can know none of it.

Thanks to Lena for originally designing this mingle every month, and Ammay for joining in on the fun now!))

Comments

[theladyofwinterfell]

Wine is usually my preference though I have been known to try ale before. Of course, the last time I tried it, I could barely get through it. My brother got a laugh out of it.

( A simple story with no consequences but one that will carry the conversation forward so that Sansa can get to know this man. She dips her head toward him in deference. )

I am Lady Sansa Stark, newly arrived. It is my pleasure to meet you.

[parce]

Nikolai Lantsov. Not newly arrived but still trying to get my bearings.

( he gives her a nod as he moves to stand, gesturing for her to follow him so they could get her a drink of something that thorne's serving. )

Where do you from, Lady Sansa? I can't help but be curious if it's somewhere I'm familiar with but I doubt it.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Westeros, actually. As I do not know your name, I am not certain if you will know it. Of course, I cannot claim to know every man in all of the continent.

( Most of the nobles, yes, but if he is not a noble she doesn't think she'd know him. His name isn't a Westerosi name, though, so he may not be from home. She follows him to get the wine she'd asked for. )

[parce]

I don't know it. I'm from Ravka and I doubt you'll know where that is if I don't know where your home is.

( oh well, it was worth an ask. it's still good to learn about new places.

leading her to the table, he stops and gestures to the various bottles. )

Anything that catches your eye?

[theladyofwinterfell]

( There's a wine with a deep red that catches her eye and she wonders if it will taste anything like the Dornish red of her own home. She hasn't had any in a long while so this is the one she gestures toward. )

That one, I believe. And yes, sadly, I do not think I have ever heard of Ravka unless it is on another continent. I have never traveled off my own continent though there are others in the world.

[parce]

I doubt it's on a different continent. I think it's an entirely different world.

( which doesn't entirely surprise him. but, he shrugs it off and reaches for the bottle that she gestures toward before grabbing a glass.

he fills the glass halfway and then offers it to her. )

Try it and tell me what you think.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( The idea of different worlds shouldn't shock her, considering she's come to this one, but it still seems somewhat surprising. She covers her surprise by sipping the wine, though, and finds it to have a pleasant flavor. )

You know your wine, Nikolai. I think I must concede being impressed.

[parce]

Thank you.

( he bows his head, grateful for the compliment. wine is definitely something he knows fairly well. )

I come from a place where wine was fairly plentiful and used in all sorts of celebrations. Or just...regular days when no celebrations were taking place. Wine is versatile.

[theladyofwinterfell]

My country is more fond of mead and ale, I'm afraid. The best wines come from the south and it is difficult to get them in winter, if not impossible. I wouldn't have access to anything like this.

( Only what was in stores and those had been depleted by both war and winter. No, Sansa has adjusted from what she used to be but this wine is a taste of that girl. )

The snows make it impassable a lot of the time.

[parce]

I don't think I've ever seen Ravka have that much snow. We've had more issues with something called the Fold.

( ugh. he makes a face because he does not want to think of the fold or the darkling or the shadow creatures that had given him the wound on his chest. )

It's gone now but it cut off a lot of places from the outside world for a very long time.

[theladyofwinterfell]

The Fold? What is that, then? Some sort of battlefront? We have the Wall, far in the North, and we use it to defend against Wildling invasions. Or we did once, anyway.

( It sounds the same, in a way - some sort of front where a constant battle rages and must be maintained. It is a heavy thing for a ruler to bear. )

[parce]

The Fold is...hard to describe. It's just darkness. Darkness that cuts through the land and wilts everything inside of it.

( not a good place to be, obviously. )

It's created magically and it's been around for as long as I've been alive.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Magic. The thing I need and don't trust at the same time. How would you trust magic if it is destroying your home?

( This Fold sounds even more dangerous than guarding the Wall since the Wall itself, sealed with spells, is at least protective in nature. They've had to rebuild it after the war but it functions again. )

How do you fight it and keep it from spreading? Or is it stable on its own?

[parce]

We can't fight it. We avoid it if we can and try to survive if we must.

( neither option was a good one but it was what they had. )

We fight what comes out of the Fold.

( well, they tried to. his chest aches as he says that because, while they'd figured out a way to fight the shadows, many people had lost their lives or been injured terribly. )

[theladyofwinterfell]

A constant warfront, then. My condolences. We had the same for a long, long while. It's been dealt with now but the casualties...they were almost too great for us to bear. I wish you good luck with your war, as well.

( Sansa sighs a bit and tips her head. )

Time doesn't pass here the same as at home, does it? My brother says he's been here for a length of time that he hasn't been missing from home. Do you have others from your home to confirm it for you?

[parce]

That's what I've heard. That we return to the same time and place that we were taken from. I can't say that for certain because I've never gone back but —

( he'd definitely like to hope that because it means he's not missing anything and ravka isn't suffering. )

There are others here from my home that I know. Not in Thorne, unfortunately. But, I've talked to a few of them though that hasn't come up in our conversations.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I know it to be true, at least for my brother and I. I do not know if that is of any comfort but at least I can prove it as long as you trust my word. It's always difficult to trust the word of someone you don't know.

( Especially for Sansa. She isn't certain that she would trust the word of another person on this but she can only offer what she knows. )

Otherwise we would have had some serious problems in my homeland.

[parce]

That's good to know, at least.

( that he hasn't left ravka without a king and that he hasn't left the people in his court wondering if he'd been kidnapped by another nation or been killed somewhere.

they just won't have any knowledge whatsoever. )

Strange to think that time just stops there. I've lived out several months and they haven't.

[theladyofwinterfell]

It is very strange. My brother seems to have had a whole life here I had no idea that he was having, considering the state of things back home. It's good for him, I think. He deserves it.

( All of the Starks had suffered these last long years but Jon's suffering is nothing to scoff at. Perhaps he hadn't been abused in the same ways she had but he'd suffered pain and scars all the same. He deserves whatever happiness this place gives to him. )

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. You probably deserve respite too.

[parce]

( she has no idea just how true that statement is. it's a relief but he still...can't help but be curious how. how he was living a life when ravka was in a state of stillness.

it's a good thing but magic that powerful is frightening. )

I don't know if I'd call this a complete respite but it's been awhile since I've stayed in one place for this long. I traveled a lot back home and not being able to do that is difficult.

[theladyofwinterfell]

All I have wanted for years is to simply return to my home. I imagine I wouldn't leave it for anything unless I absolutely had to. I certainly didn't choose to come here.

( Sansa believes she is done with travel, at least outside of the North. She will have to see her bannermen, naturally, but aside from that she wishes to stay in Winterfell for the rest of her days. )

Do you like it? Travelling about?

[parce]

I always have. I like seeing new places.

( and he liked being out from underneath the thumb of his family, constantly being asked to fill diplomatic duties that he had no desire for.

that's moot now since he's been named king and can't avoid those duties anymore. )

There is a lot of beauty out there if you know where to look even in the ugliest of places.

[theladyofwinterfell]

I imagine there would be. It is far easier to travel as a man than a woman, though, so the traveling I have done has been far from pleasant. My sister has done a fair bit, though.

( Arya is her own creature, though, beholden to no one. )

Sometimes I envy her freedom.

[parce]

Ah.

( yes, that is something he can understand, unfortunately. it might be a touch easier for women in his world but it's not always easy. )

But you want to travel? Do as your sister does?

[theladyofwinterfell]

I wish I had the freedom sometimes but no, I do not. If I did, everything around me would fall apart.

( In more ways than one, now that she's the queen, but Sansa doesn't want to tell anyone here that lest it gets back to Jon. )

I have to take the responsibility of my family.