abraxaslogs | Welcome to Thorne!

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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! 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.))

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[ she opens her mouth, then closes it. camp half-blood is a secret, but it's also not here - annabeth is so far from her own world, what are the chances of anyone even knowing or caring? ]

Because... it kind of is. My camp's a little different from normal summer camps. We get trained how to fight and survive our world's dangers alongside team building games and campfire songs.

[ jinora raises a very good point about their bodies. she has a hard enough time keeping her own safe when she's fully aware of her surroundings - what happens if someone, or something, attacked her while she was in the horizon? most people here don't seem to consider it too much of a threat, but given annabeth's life, it's impossible to avoid considering. ]

You bring up a really good point about our real bodies. I'm gonna have to look into that too.

[ she pauses. ] It's not that I doubt you, but I think I'm going to find someone who's been there a lot to get me there the first time. I am definitely coming to you for meditation practice though.

"I like to think it's always served me pretty well too, so you're in good, practical company." Logic and rationale are some of her favorite things!

Her own childhood mistakes were born out of very flawed, faulty logic, but there's still... some semblance of trying to be practical in there, even with a skewed perspective. Perhaps that's just her mother's fault.

"I'm not really interesting in magic for the flash of it either - unless the situation calls for it. It's never been on my radar before, so I've got a lot of thinking to do about what I'd like to do with it here."

[ some people don't like to open themselves up immediately. annabeth is just a little extra stunted there too. ]

[ but when he hints at his own experiences in hero-ing, she does cast him a second glance, and maybe offer a little more. Simple quests, saving the world, the needs can vary. It's a pretty open definition.

[ she snorts at the animal remark. ] Cat rescue's low tier. Sometimes I've even saved the trees. [ she says it a little teasingly, but there's an element of honesty it in too. she has dryad friends! save the trees is a very important part of camp half-blood life. ]

Gods, I have way more than a few questions. [ she doesn't know where to begin half the time. annabeth looks briefly around the room, then drops her voice a little so it doesn't carry - not that there are too many people around. ] Are we really not allowed to carry weapons here?

Me neither.

I don't really think a perfect world or system of governance exists. [ sometimes she thinks she could help things get closer to that, but she also knows that's a part of her hubris talking. and she's been warned about that already, thank you very much. ]

I'm starting to think there will always be people ready to screw it up, even if it did.

Please. You know exactly what I'm talking about, Mr. Five Slices of Pizza.

[ she lets out another little laugh, mostly at his face this time. ]

You'd have to eat more than junk food to even get the interview. [ she's not one to talk about eating poorly, generally speaking, but at least she gets a handful of fruits and veggies for the sake of it. even if it's mostly olives and strawberries. ] But I think you'd be pretty good at it.

Edited 2024-05-19 00:54 (UTC)

[He just sort of shrugs at her disgruntled expression and sweeping assessment that that sucks. It doesn't suck so much. Brick by brick, he's built a life here that he's proud of. A life that he actually wants to be in. It's not perfect, but it's his.]

I mean, Viktor is over in the Free Cities, so I guess they're worried about outside influences corrupting the population or whatever. But it's still stupid.

[He rolls his eyes, landing in a grin. He throws his head back.]

God, I wish we could get a car here. That would really give them something to freak out about.

I don't disagree.

( about any place being perfect or about the existence of people who want to screw something good up. )

Some people get very bored, I believe, and try to start trouble for their entertainment.

[ she wrinkles her nose, even more disgruntled. ] Wouldn't they want innovation? This place seems to thrive on knowledge.

[ it's a semi-rhetorical question, asked mostly aloud to voice her own confusion over it all. the priority they place on learning here versus a vendetta against bicycles... weird. ]

[ she perks up a little at his reaction. did she just get a good grade in amusing a fellow teenager, which is normal to want and possible to achieve? ]

The potential hilarity there is almost worth introducing fossil fuels to a medieval castle. [ a beat. ] I'm Annabeth, by the way.

[ she keeps forgetting to do that. ]

You wouldn't understand the half of it, I think. I appreciate your thoughtfulness on the matter, Nikolai. You couldn't possibly know how much.

( Sansa feels a bit safer around him than other men and she supposes it is because she met him shortly after arriving here and he hasn't pressed himself on her. No one has, really, but her experience with him is different. )

"Well met, Jinora. I confess, I have never heard a name like yours before," she says. It is a beautiful name, though, and she imagines that someday in Westeros there might be a Jinora or something similar.

"Is it a common name in your home or is it unique?"

Nott isn't a terribly big place but it still is large enough to have a few streets to wend their way through and with the wind stiff and the children scared, it is a longer trip than Sansa would expect it to be normally. The eldest seems to try and put on a brave face and Sansa compliments them, telling them that they're good and strong. A gust of wind presses her back against Sansa and they stagger a bit together.

"Just take it slowly," she says. "We will get there in plenty of time even with the winds, all right? Everything will be well. Thancred is a warrior. He won't let anything happen to us."

It is a platitude she gives without looking into it too deeply; they ought to believe in someone and Thancred is right there.

"We could work on it together, perhaps. I am yet a novice but it seems our goals are aligned in some manner," Sansa says. She doesn't often open up to someone so quickly but Annabeth seems to have a good head on her shoulders and that is something she can appreciate.

"If our magic is practical, then perhaps we can help others without having to worry about making it terribly pretty."

I'm sure I wouldn't.

( being a man and all, he wouldn't be able to see it from her point of view but he could sympathize. )

But, if you should need me, you only need to come and find me. I'll do what I can to assist.

[He hesitates.]

I've seen her. Been in a room with her. She might recognize my face. I don't think she'd know my name.

[Nothing in his tone suggests that this state of affairs troubles him -- the opposite.]

I can't recall... were you here when we first went to Luna and Ikorr? More than a year ago, now.

A blank shake of his head.

"We can't ensure their safety. Not from the weather, not any more than we can be sure to save the old men of the North from a long, hard winter. We can only do as much as we can."

He cracks a mirthless smile and adds, "At least it's only the weather here. Wind and storms are bad enough, but they're better than wights."

No, I wasn't.

( his time here had been lengthy by now but he's certain it hasn't been that long. )

What happened at the time?

"If we had to fight the dead on top of vicious storms I feel that even though you and I would be uniquely qualified for such a thing, it would bring back memories we would rather not have," Sansa says.

"Worrying for a threat that has not yet arrived upon your doorstep is harrowing enough. I cannot imagine fighting one for myself."

It is a lie; Sansa has fought the dead and seen them but she is protecting Jon from a future he doesn't know about. He deserves that much.

He tips his head to the side.

"The dead have risen here, but not in great numbers. Back when there was trouble with the heralds... about a year and a half past, if I remember right. They were not so hard to put back in their graves as the ones the Night King commands."

"Thank the Old Gods for that," Sansa says. "From what you have told us - what the Wildlings have told us - those commanded by him are not so easily slain and we will need far more dragonglass than we'll ever have at Winterfell along with our steel."

A half truth. Jon gets the dragonglass and more besides. Sansa despises lying to him because he is her brother, her truest companion here in Thorne, but she must so that she can protect him.

"We must make our magic stronger if we hope to keep Nott and the others safe from everything that might happen. It seems to be our best weapon."

"The dragonglass." He says it flatly, then with a long sigh. He was diverted from that by his summoning here. "Gods willing, I can get it someday."

Then he looks at her more directly. "Aye. Wights go down with a sword, but only Valyrian steel. Here, it was wards, mostly. They did not wish us to mangle the corpses... understandable, I suppose. How are you doing with the magic?"

That's infectious, and it makes Jon's smile widen.

"I've never been to a city so big. Not to many at all -- this one, and White Harbor back in my own world, and the Winter Town, the castle town at Winterfell. A small place in fair weather, but a city in winter." He shakes his head. "These short seasons are new to me. A short season is a year or more when I come from. Like enough to be a few years.

"Your Waterdeep sounds more like the capital down in King's Landing."

"Well enough, though you know I am only learning ice and not fire. Perhaps fire would be more useful but I wanted...I wanted to be able to wall myself away from everyone should I have to in order to protect myself. A block of solid ice seemed more efficient for that than a wall of fire. And you? Still working on the fire?"

Sansa has seen some of it and Jon is further along than she is. Of course, he's also been here longer so it only makes sense that he would be more adept in magic because he's had more exposure to it and more time to learn.

Another half-shrug. "I might be working on it for the rest of my life here. I'll do it until I stop getting better, then I'll do it to keep in practice." After a pause, he adds, "It's getting close on time to return to the castle. When we get there, we might as well go to one of the practice rooms. You can show me what you can do with ice... if you're not too tired."

He can only assume that the fire came to him because wights were much on his mind when he was first brought here -- wights, and what he needed to do to fight them. A wall of ice is like enough to keep them out: it has for thousands of years, with what is rumored to be the right wards. But it will take fire to kill them.

Among many, many other reasons too. Thirst for power included.

[ the guy groans between them, and annabeth takes another look around. ]

Looks like there might be some kind of medical tent up there.

"Julie or Julia?" he echoes, faintly amused by the name set. Matching names! Sisters? Or just a coincidence? "I'll keep that in mind, although asking about ominous clowns isn't usually the best way to open a conversation."

Even if it was a commonly known vision-clown. Usually better to warm people up a little, rather than go straight to the interrogation. Still, he tilts his head curiously.

"How long have you been here yourself, if you don't mind?"

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Page 14 of 17

Welcome to Thorne!

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i was moving during this event, my knowledge of it is hella vaguer than Jon's would be 😅

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