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

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. The most important one is that a few months ago, a coup happened in Castle Thorne that led to the former royal house being slaughtered. The new people in power are King Rudolph Sidwell, the former queen's uncle, his wife Queen Lia Sidwell, and High Mage Mace Hemmet. A war has broken out with the Free Cities and after a tussle in the Badlands to gain land, Thorne was forced back due to the combined forces of the Free Cities and apparently Solvunn's divine intervention.

Also, strange creepy dolls have been haunting the children and causing them to roam.



General.

While Istredd had former partners in this celebration, he is currently the only host, although he can only be found in one section of the room. The rest is working thanks to the kindness of staff who has been partnering with this a long time. He sent out a written invitation to all Thornean newcomers after their arrival, inviting them to meet their fellow Summoned. There will be fliers posted in the dining area that anyone can see. His invitation is much less elegant than Jill's used to be, but he tried to copy it to the best of his ability. You can assume your character was told and got in-person invites or heard about it. 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. It has been arranged for special refreshments to be offered in partnership with local businesses.

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 a 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 cautious how candidly you discuss any displeasure toward Thorne or its crown, considering the new royals may be more sensitive toward any perceived criticism of their actions and behavior. Especially with war now possibly being started with both major territories.

(( 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

iris black | countdown to countdown

[inventure]

magic studies

practice makes imperfect — [ no offense to anyone involved in the banquet — actually? full appreciation and respect for all that are — but fancy dinner parties have never been iris' favorite mode of celebration or mingling. (no, it unfortunately conjures up far too many memories of galas of seasons past, trapped in large ballrooms within the tower where any sort of fun was greatly discouraged... and sometimes punished.) not that he's doing much mingling to begin with, having sought refuge from the party behind one of those folding screens. a low arm chair has been quickly commandeered, along with the coffee table placed right before it, to house a small workstation that quickly becomes chaos personified as iris works relentlessly on trying to recreate penny — the absolute best gal pal literal helping hand a dysfunctional teen like iris could hope for.

tough to say just how long he's been working on it, and any passers-by would likely have seen him trying to pull forth an arm straight out of a detailed drawing he'd drawn out on one of the many papers in front of him — but after several attempts, and more than seven lifeless mechanical arms later, all he's got to show for it is a crick in his neck and a strain in his eye. ]

Something's wrong.

[ this much is obvious, and has been obvious since his very arrival, but this is the first time iris is daring to say it out loud, actually putting voice to the fear and making it that much more real.

by now he's slid onto the floor in front of the coffee table, so when he tips his head back it thunks dully against the arm chair. with a rough sigh, he reaches up with ink-stained fingers to rub tirelessly at his shut eyes. if he digs in any harder, he'll pop each one right out... ]

Think, Black. What's missing...?

[ looks like baby's first brush with a power-nerf isn't going so well :( ]

[ushiri]

[ Kyle had been milling about earlier, checking to see if Istredd needed any help with the setup, though it seems like everyone else has handled everything. These parties always seem to get smaller and smaller, with those escaping to Nott, and fewer and fewer Summoned arriving in Thorne ever since the coup. He wonders how much that has to do with the ascension of the young new High Mage.

All of which means - new arrivals stand out even more than usual, especially ones surrounded by what appear to be prosthetic arms to him. Kyle might be a little more surprised had he not seen Jack's powers used daily - instead he wonders there's a pile somewhere under Jack's bed or in the closet of his roommate's failed attempts to make his own prosthetic leg. ]

A left arm, maybe? [ Kyle slouches where he stands over the coffee table, head canted to one side and a hint of a wry grin pulling at his lips. He's dressed nicely enough, though not entirely distinguishable from the staff - his longish hair tied back from his face. There's old, faint scars here and there on his face - on his hands too, but those are settled into his pockets. His naturally dark irises are ringed with a thin line of unnatural gold as he peers at him. ]

[inventure]

[ by now, the blue-green plumes of smoke that accompanied every manifestation have long since dissipated, so there's no reason for the wetness clinging to iris' lashes when he swivels his gaze from the ceiling over towards the older man hovering close to him. he sniffs, reaching up to rub the back of his hand over his eyes in what he hopes look like more of a gesture of exhaustion than anything else. ]

Penny gets jealous of lefties, [ he explains, as if kyle would have any context to work with at all. he sits up, only to slump back over his opened sketchbook, cheek flat to the pages. ]

That's her name, [ he explains, lifting one hand listlessly to gesture at the lifeless arms. then he reaches out, tapping each one to dispel them in a poof of blue-green smoke, effectively cleaning up after himself. ] Or it would have been, if she came out the way she was supposed to.

[ushiri]

[ If Kyle clocks the wet tracks, he doesn't give it away, focusing his gaze on the arm instead. The ritual, by intention of its caster (unlikely) or the Singularity's will (more likely, in his opinion), has a tendency to send the youngest of the Summoned to Thorne. He's yet to understand why, but it's not something worth lingering on. They end up here whether he knows the reason or not.

Kyle eyes the sketchbook, until the boy draws his gaze away with little poofs of smoke. He raises an eyebrow. ]

How is she supposed to come out?

[ He cannot even begin to guess where any of this is going, and seems fine to roll with whatever the boy means to explain. ]

[inventure]

[ can iris explain penny? that's the bigger question here. for so long, penny has always just been — penny. his friend, his helper. whatever it was he needed at the time, and at the time what he needed most was really just someone. an anyone. another being to simply fill in the void.

sitting up, he folds his arms over the low table and settles his chin right atop them, looking out over the various pages of detailed sketches. ]

She's... funny. [ it feels a little silly to say it, but penny is genuinely one of the funniest — people? — he's ever met. ] And whip-smart, too. And protective, and helpful. She always wants to learn, too! Even if it's hard, even if you tell her no. She'll always do what she thinks is best. She's — [ alive, he wants to say, knows it in his heart that it's the closest thing to accurate he could possibly say, and yet to put voice to it feels a confirmation of things he isn't yet ready to come to terms with. after all, how the hell could he make something alive? no way. it's just simply not possible. ]

She's my friend, [ he winds up saying instead, deflated. ] She's Penny.

[ushiri]

[ Oh. His eyes widen in surprise, apparently this wasn't what he was expecting. His gaze slips to the now empty space where the pile of arms had once been, and his expression sits remains bemused, though softened by a degree or two when the boy deflates again. ]

I think I understand. [ As best he can, anyway, coming from a world where such - machinery? artificial intelligence? is far from possible at their current level of technology. Most of what he knows comes from Nayeshi literature or films, or whatever else he's learned from others here like Viktor.

He purses his lips, taking stock of the room and how many castle staff are still milling about. ]

These things are sometimes easier to practice in Horizon, if anyone has told you about that yet.

[inventure]

[ disheartened as iris might be, it does not escape his notice the way kyle quiets and considers the people around them before making that suggestion. it makes iris wish he'd paid a bit more attention to that part of the banquet, because he's definitely feeling like he's missing a thing or two about this.. horizon thing. ]

You mean the mind palace place?

[ ... yeah, that's his closest point of comparison for the horizon, unfortunately. doubly unfortunate: he isn't being nearly as discreet as kyle is. ]

[ushiri]

[ He gives a small huff, and a wry grin. ] That's a new one.

[ To his ears, at least. As for Iris' lack of discretion - it's fine, this secluded area is generally as safe as can be for them to speak, the staff tend to leave them alone here. Kyle has just been here a while now, and even when he arrived it was with a heightened sense of caution, bordering on paranoia. His work in his own world had necessitated it. ]

You can make almost anything you like in it.

[ Actual sentient things are... complicated, though. He has some experience with them. ]

[inventure]

[ truth be told, he hasn't given the horizon much more than a passing thought. it's overwhelming enough trying to get settled here, in thorne, without having to consider an entire endless dreamscrape that may or may not be incredibly suspicious by sheer virtue or what it promises. ]

..."Almost" anything?

[ even that sounds doubtful. limits in a limitless void? sus sus sus. ]

It probably wouldn't be the same, anyway... whatever magic's working to "make" things there, probably won't be the same kind of magic [ his ] that made Penny in the first place.

[ a pause. not wanting to completely shut the guy out, he does offer a mild, ]

Sounds nice, though.

[ushiri]

[ The mild reaction he gets from the boy almost makes him laugh, he manages to hold it back - only a small, amused puff of air passing from his lips, and he gives a kind of conceding nod. Such a place might have been more impressive and frightening to Kyle when he arrived - but he supposes not so much to a young man who can already create from thin air in the real world.

He won't push for him to experience Horizon for himself, though he might mention it again as something he ought to try sooner rather than later. For now, he just looks over Iris' sketches again, or whatever he can see of him. ]

This is magic where you're from? [ Some places use different terms for such things. He's taken to calling his own abilities magic here from time to time, because the shorthand is just easier - despite the sacrilege. ] What else do you make?

[ He seems genuinely curious. ]

[inventure]

[ iris folds and unfolds his legs beneath the table, trying to find a comfortable position. eventually he settles for legs stretches out wide, encompassing the space, but he returns to folding his arms on the table and resting his chin over them. ]

Magic, powers, abilities... they all kinda mean the same thing where I'm from.

[ maybe it'd be different, if iris hadn't been deprived of whimsy and fiction growing up. maybe he'd have learned to attribute "magic" to something fantastical... out of reach. as it is, he just winds up lumping it all together. ]

There are some people in my world that are just born with the ability to do stuff... other people can't. We're called Demiflora.

[ there's a complicated note to his tone. pride, but a stifled sort. the kind that's learned to keep it muffled, out of safety.

still, kyle's question brings a slow smile curling iris' lips. his eyes are dark, but there's a glint of light in them, of endless possibilities. ]

Whatever I can think up.

[ he taps at the sketchpad before him. ]

I just have to draw it first.

cw: vague reference to past abuse

[ushiri]

[ He recognizes something of that pride in a young person, as well as the need to mask it. He had once been a prideful and arrogant teenager, with a teacher who didn't take kindly to either attitude. Many of the scars he bears are from his training, for the abilities given to him by his blessed bones.

The light in Iris' eyes when he speaks is a good sign though, he thinks. He smiles back at him, cocking his head to the side again. A power like this doesn't scare him as much as it once might have. He has seen too many people here doing impossible things, though he does have to wonder the cost. ]

Pencil and paper, that's all? [ He raises both eyebrows, briefly wondering what Viktor might make of this boy, making a mental note to mention him the next time they speak. ]

Show me something else, then.

[ Not a friend-arm. ]

[inventure]

[ not a friend-arm, no. his pride, however stifled he must make it, simply could not take another failure, and he'd rather not see another lifeless version of a friend he's come to value like family if he can help it.

he takes a second to think about it.

before too long, he sets to work, the lines on his paper flowy and organic. he works silently but efficiently, his strokes sure and bold. soon enough, his intent becomes clear on the paper before him: a single black iris, with a delicate bend to its stem, looking near solid from just some shading here and there.

the magic happens after, of course, when his opposite hand presses over the drawing. blue-green smoke plumes in wafting curls as he pinches his fingers together, and out from the page he pulls out that very same iris, very much real and — alive? no no, iris, the boy, couldn't even begin to explain. it simply is.

he holds the flower out for kyle to take. ]

[sophos]

[ the boy is slumped over on the floor by the time annabeth stumbles upon him, which means she looms above him even more than she might if he were standing. she takes a look at him in his despair, glances at the sketchbook, at the arms, and assumes there's something regarding powers going on here. ]

[ she remembers her arrival party. there had been a few more people, and she'd spent far too much time studying the interiors of the castle to meet everyone. ]

[ he's new, that much is clear. she remembers what that was like too. but she decides to not be helpful, at least by way of starting conversation. it could change later! ]

The rest of the body?

[inventure]

[ oh she got jokes? ]

Penny doesn't need a whole body to be perfect, Penny is fine just the way she is.

[ a pause, and then a rueful glance towards the graveyard of penny-duds. ]

Well... usually, anyway. [ he nudges one close to his foot with the tip of his boot, causing it to disappear with a poof! of blue-green smoke. ] There's been some technical difficulties this time around.

[sophos]

[ she's got so many when she gets such a good set up!! ]

[ but she does hold up her hands in apologetic surrender at his reaction. maybe the arm is sentimentally sentient, she doesn't know. she does follow his gaze towards the discard pile and tries very hard not to make a surprised face about it. ]

[ then she looks at the boy again, confirming that she's never seen him before. definitely new, and when the arm literally poofs away, annabeth thinks she might have a sense of what's happening. maybe. it depends on what penny the arm actually... is. ]

Is she magic? Or are you?

[inventure]

[ he actually has to think about that for a second. ]

Both? I guess...

[ having him think about the mechanics of his powers at least gets him out of his funk enough he stops looking like a sorry sack of bones. sitting up, he turns to face the blond a little more fully, scratching at his jaw. ]

I created her. My — magic — [ he stumbles on the word, because it's so odd to think of it as the thing that he's used to involving a man pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but that's semantics for you, ] — lets me make my drawings real.

[ he reaches out, tapping his open sketchbook. ]

She started out as an idea, then I drew her.

[sophos]

[ she might not wholly get how his magic works, but she doesn't need to have the complete grasp of it to know it's not actually working. standard operating procedure for the summoned, though not something she really felt on her own end to the same extent. ]

[ annabeth draws in a little breath, then nods with something like sympathy. ]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it'll be a little out of sorts for a bit. The technical difficulties will go away in about a week. It's like that for anyone with powers or magic, after they first arrive.

Try again once you're more settled, in a few days.

[inventure]

[ there is, still, a petulant sort of pout on iris' lips, as is stubbornly resisting the calm and sensibility that is annabeth chase. give him a second, he'll get over it. ]

...Yeah, okay.

[ honestly, what could he say? that he has a bad feeling about it? that something feels off, even despite all this summoning stuff? he can hardly articulate how he does anything as an iris, so trying to explain how he... doesn't seems its own impossible task.

instead, he'll swerve the focus of the conversation, if he can. ]

Do you have powers too?

[sophos]

[ sometimes a gut instinct is invaluable, and even though he doesn't say anything to suggest he's second guessing her, his expression casts some doubt. without knowing the extent of his powers, she just assumes it'll come back. ]

[ annabeth can recognize his question as an attempt to pivot and doesn't really care much about proving any sort of point with his powers. she's seen them come back based on percy and hasn't thought much about it beyond that, given how little it effects her. ]

[ speaking of: she shakes her head. ]

No. Nothing muted by the summoning. But I've been picking up magic here. Anyone can learn it.

[ surely being a demigod means technically some of those boons count as powers, but with the people she's usually surrounded by, annabeth never thinks of them that way. ]

[inventure]

Oh, yeah, I heard about that.

[ truthfully, he hadn't given it much further thought once he realized his own powers were on the fritz, but now he's wondering if he should give it some more consideration... what kind of powers are available? and would any compliment what he already has?

he gestures for her to take a seat if she'd like to — either any of the couches or the floor by the low coffee table, just like him. if he's going to bother her with questions, she might as well be comfortable for them, right? ]

What can you do?

[sophos]

[ she pauses, but she's curious and she definitely does not mind talking magic, however basic her skills remain, so after a few seconds, annabeth moves to sit on the floor to keep them more leveled. ]

Well, I don't need a match to start a fire anymore.

[ she reaches for the candle on the table and blows out the flame. then with a little mumble of the spell, she relights the wick and grins about it. ]

I don't need magic to get by, but some of it's fun. Over the summer, they asked us to gather up some new horses for the stables, like a quest, and they taught us a magic lasso spell to help out.

[inventure]

[ iris watches, as fascinated as he was the first time he'd seen his roommate do it. give him a sketchpad and a few minutes and he could pull forth enough fire to bring down the entire castle, but there is something uniquely marvelous about someone who can create something out of nothing. ]

It's nice they're so welcoming of it, here. Can anyone really learn? I guess that's why they don't mind it so much, if it's available to literally anyone...

[sophos]

I didn't really believe anyone could at first but... [ she shrugs. ] It turned out to be true.

Thorne wants us to learn it, as summoned. We're encouraged to go to the lessons and practice. That's why they claim to give us rooms and food free of charge.

[ there's definitely a lot more to it, but that's bare bones why they don't need to pay for basic necessities, unlike the other territories. ]

It won't hurt to sit in on a lesson and see if you're interested.

[inventure]

Oh, [ he says, looking as if the very thought had never occured to him. frankly, it hasn't, save for a passing little wouldn't it be cool—? after seeing wilhelm light their fireplace on fire for the first time.

almost bashfully, iris leans back and chuckles faintly. ]

Nah, I'm good, I think... I wasn't really given a lot of chances to use my powers whenever I wanted back where I'm from, so now that I can [ nerfs notwithstanding..... ] I'd rather just focus on that.

[ a very thoughtful pause. ]

Besides, I think it's better for everyone involved I don't know how to start fires that easily.