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! If your character is interested, they can go help out in Nott instead/afterward!
WHEN: After the new people arrive
WHERE: A ballroom in Castle Thorne and at Nott (pre and post worse storms)

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 would have heard that recently the Summoned were invited to Ikorr, the land of the vampires, for their annual decadent party. While there, a heist went down involving a chef name Marcellus who stole an important Ikorr artifact. After catching the man, the Lunae showed up to demand the artifact so they could destroy it. The Summoned supported keeping it with the Ikorr and not destroying it, causing some trouble with the Luna.

Over the course of the night, a strange being was playing with the Summoned, and when they left, they had a vision of a god who said "You are Awaited." Shortly afterward, the Singularity started reacting to something unknown and caused lightning to appear in the sky and winds to pick up severely. There has been damage to all of Thorne but more specifically Nott. Please note at the bottom of this log that there are two prompts for Nott that you can take part in, one when it's just the winds and one when people have to flee the worse storms.



General.

Jill Warrick and Istredd are the hosts of this celebration. Jill will have sent a written invitation to all Thornean newcomers after 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 or Jill, 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.

Nott Pre-Storm

Newcomers may be made aware that there are particularly harsh winds happening at the moment and that Nott, a poor fisherman city, has been in particular damaged by this. Istredd will announce at the ballroom that anyone who wishes to pitch in to help Nott would be welcomed, and there is a portal going there. He says that there are ships who never made it back and most of the ones left are damaged and need patching up. They have been working on fixing up an old hospital that could use physical labor on it and people to move anyone injured by the storms into there for extra help. Newcomers do not need to volunteer for this and can enjoy the party without it, but this is an option!

Nott Post-Storm

Shortly after the ballroom and the request for assistance, the weather in Nott takes a turn for the worst. Lightning now strikes the ground, and heavy rains have led to flooding. Conditions have grown from troublesome to outright dangerous. While the Summoned can be there at the time when things turn, they will be forced to leave back through the portals, although they will be assured the guards can handle what's coming. They will not have a choice or be able to go back. You can use this for their reactions to the disaster and any feelings they may have!

(( 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.))

Comments

[karsiteweave]

"Never say never! I've found it's often possible to achieve the same result by more than one method! Just because a style is the only one taught, doesn't at all mean it's the only technique to exist!"

He sounds genuinely optimistic about this, at least. It's certainly true for his home, why should it not be true here?

"Once we're both more settled, and I've had time to read up on local techniques, I'd be happy to share with you anything I find! Do you have a particular area of interest?"

Illusions? Conjuration? Transmutation?

[parce]

Well, that's...comforting?

( not that he knows cersei but hearing that they're both on the madwoman range of things doesn't make him feel all that good. )

I don't have much experience with the queen here. I've heard things but haven't had direct dealings. Have you?

perfect! 💝

[thoughts]

[ he is not all right. but she won't push the point. ]

I'm here. We can put more color in your cheeks. Do you want to watch some magic tricks?

[ alcohol and entertainment; it's a good distraction - for now, at least. ]

[sophos]

[ annabeth is a perfectly normal teenager, what are you talking about? please ignore the battle scars and talk of being being smite. ]

How long have you been here? [ she's not doubting him exactly, but she wants to know what kind of credentials he's got going on for his magical surveillance experience. ]

[ his remark about the horizon has her nodding though. ]

I've been asking around about it, and I think I've got a better idea of what it entails. I'm going to go before the end of the night. Is it true they don't like us going there too often in Thorne?

[sophos]

You can add me to the never heard of it list.

[ she steps easily over a fallen slab of wood, without jostling the man's legs between them. ]

I'm from New York, in the United States. It's a lot different from there too.

[sophos]

[ if she knew more cool and hip teenager lingo, she'd gladly share - but annabeth is honestly just as much out of touch with what's cool with regular mortal kids. ]

[ annabeth doesn't think much of the shake, even if her grip is semi-firm in a distracted way. she recognizes when his gaze drops but doesn't process why; it's just exchanging pleasantries. she make a face, however, at his response, a very decidedly unhappy one. ] I can, unfortunately.

[ she is not enjoying how long some of these people have been around. ]

Yes. Inter-dimensional at least. [ her tone is idly teasing, making it hard to tell if it's her first overall kidnapping too. ] Not my first call to hero-ing rodeo though.

[parce]

( nikolai's glad that she's not pushing the issue. she might later but it's quiet for now.

so, he nods. )

Sure, let's go do that.

[parce]

I think I've met a few other people from that place. New York.

( Earth seems to be the predominant place where people are from but it wasn't the only place.

he's careful as they walk, glancing behind him to make sure they were taking the best path possible. )

Do you do these sorts of things often in New York?

[theladyofwinterfell]

"I worry," Sansa says. "I suppose it is the leader in me that does so. These aren't necessarily my people, the people of the North, but I feel duty toward them nonetheless and I want to ensure their safety."

Jon is correct, though, and in spite of their preparations both lives and property will be lost. It always is. All they can do is hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.

[unresponsives]

"Ask me that when we're both more settled."

For Heather knows very little (read: nothing) about magic, not even knowing there are different areas of study. She's got a lot of questions to ask and even more reading to do before she'd even know where to begin.

"Though something small and simple might be the easiest place to start." Harder to mess up? Something to at least see even if it's not especially useful? She doesn't know yet.

[theladyofwinterfell]

( Encouraged, Sansa doesn't feel nearly so out of sorts as she helps him move the debris and once they've done it, she gives Nikolai a smile. )

I'm a day laborer now. So far from a queen it might as well be the distance from here to Winterfell. I cannot say I mind it, however. What else needs moving?

[seaweedbrain]

Since when?

[ No. This is a betrayal of the utmost severity. Top 5 Anime Betrayals level of treachery.

The fact that she won't share only makes him want it even more. #teenagers ]

I guess we'll just have to see. [ Boiling them? Oh, so they don't come pre-cooked and ready to be heated? Is that only the Oscar Meyers?

He is putting way more thought into hot dog procedure than he'd ever meant to. ] We'll probably have to run a few tests.

[seaweedbrain]

[ Percy groans. ]

Oh, I didn't think of that. Like this thing's gonna be so big it needs a ton of seasoned warriors and soldiers?

[ He looks around at this ramshackle village. He doesn't want to picture it in complete twigs, all of these people left without a home while the royals are up in their castle in Thorne.

It feels a little too familiar, and not in a good way. ]

I'm obviously really new here so I don't know the dynamics between these three regions ... but what exactly are they all fighting over?

[theladyofwinterfell]

"It does but it's very rare and not anything I would bother with. It's dangerous," Sansa says. "Only the red priests from across the sea practice it and they do things with sacrifices that I would rather not think about. The magic here is much different and requires no such sacrifice of people or animals."

Sansa prefers it that way. While the Red Priestess had helped them in battle, she thinks she'd have preferred another type of help.

[theladyofwinterfell]

Sansa doesn't trust many people here but she feels that she can trust Thancred so it at least takes a bit of pressure off Jon. The wind is stiff, as stiff as any storm at Winterfell, and she's a bit staggered by it as well.

"We need to get people indoors as soon as possible. They'll get hurt otherwise." There's others who are tying down boats and closing shutters against the wind but Sansa knows these aren't her strengths. There are some children nearby and she bends a bit to speak to the eldest.

"Take your brother and sister inside," she says. "Others will deal with the property. Are you able to get home from here or do you need help?"

[theladyofwinterfell]

The offer surprises her but Sansa imagines that it shouldn't, that people are generally kind and not cruel, but learning to trust again has been a slow thing. It's only polite to take when offered, however, so she takes a bit of cheese and is happy to see that it's good.

"It is only that I am meant...to be perfect at home. Weaknesses are not something I can afford to show. Here it is different. I am not the important person I am back home. It's freeing, in a way."

[parce]

I think there's some debris over there.

( nikolai points in the direction behind one of the buildings before he starts to walk. )

You prefer being a laborer to a queen, it sounds like?

[parce]

What I've picked up is that it's all about the Singularity.

( which is one of those words that he hadn't ever used before coming to this place but now it's a part of his everyday vocabulary. )

I think each region wants to control it for their own devices. And those of us not from this place are the only ones able to use it so they need us.

[karsiteweave]

"Oh yes, we get a few months for each season. Now, the city of Waterdeep itself has over a hundred thousand people -- closer to a hundred fifty, perhaps, but Waterdeep's territory sprawls out beyond the city walls. Much closer to a million once you take into account all the outer areas. It's a crossroads of sorts! People from all sorts of places travel through Waterdeep. To trade with fellow merchants, to catch a ship onwards, to find adventure!"

He speaks with pride, with excitement, because Gale loves his city -- he's Gale of Waterdeep for a reason. The city is his home, is where his family resides, is where he went to school. He's a city boy at heart, but he can adapt.

[karsiteweave]

Wild magic. Gale scrunches up his face, thoughtful. All the schools are familiar in their own way, but Wild magic he dislikes the most.

"I'm familiar with Wild Magic, or at least what we call Wild Magic. Raw, uncontrolled stuff. Volatile. Powerful, no doubt, but liable to backfire on even the most experienced caster without warning."

Not to his taste, particularly. Interesting, no doubt, and as a scholar of magic Gale is of course educated in it -- but he'd rather stick to more reliable schools and styles.

[sophos]

It's a big state, and New York City is the most populous in the country. [ her interest piques, but not enough to ask after it. new york is home to to a lot of people, and it doesn't necessarily mean she'll know any of them. ]

[ she continues to move easily through the debris, very aware of everything happening around them despite her attention to the conversation. ]

Do what? Deal with storms? [ it doesn't occur to her he might mean carry injured bodies around. ]

[sophos]

All the more reason for me to figure out the Horizon.

[ she has every confidence she's going to, and it's not even a pride thing - not entirely. if all the summoned can do it, she certainly can. ]

I've been to more difficult places than his one seems to be. [ but tartarus is a high bar, so maybe she should put it aside as its own standard and just consider thorne against, like, olympus or something. higher powers always watching, being mindful of what you say. she can do that, even if her temper does get the better of her from time to time. ]

I'm curious about the magic too. Back home, anything similarly "magical" is just inherited. It seems weird that I can just... learn it. Do we have to learn it through the books here, or are there hands on options?

[ she loves reading more than anything, but alas, learning magic might go faster if she doesn't need to take twice as long to read the tomes. ]

[parce]

Deal with storms or deal with...damage like this?

( he can't help but be utterly interested in places that he will probably never see in his life. some places sound so similar to ravka and others so different. )

Who rules this New York City?

[sophos]

She pauses, briefly, before commiserating. "There's really ancient magic back home that uses sacrifice too. I'm not particularly invested in that one."

Considering Gaea had wanted to use her as a sacrifice, Annabeth is really disinclined towards the practice.

"No sacrifices in this world is a plus. Where do you get your lessons here from?"

[sophos]

Since now.

[ yes of course she will arbitrarily change any rule simply to annoy her boyfriend. even for nonsense. ]

Hey, I already said I'm putting myself in charge of the money, not the food. But I'm starting to worry this business venture might be doomed.