abraxaslogs | EVENT #22: KHION

Event 22 - Khion

Despite the unsettling tremors from the previous month, the citizens of Abraxas are determined to enjoy their winter festivities. For you, the collective wintertide celebrations - The Dimming, The Festival of Enlightenment, and the Winter Solstice - have often been held in your home territories or Nocwich.

This year brings a change. You'll receive a personal letter from the Nether, signed by Aster, the Guardian themselves. Whether you were there to aid the Nether or not last autumn, the letter thanks you nonetheless for your assistance and informs you that much has changed in their lands...for the better. Indeed, so much so that the Draconae wish to invite you back so you can see for yourself the positive impact you've had.

Their gates will open DECEMBER 16 and close on DECEMBER 20. Because the Draconae do not possess magic as powerful as other races in Abraxas, they kindly ask that you stay for the week since they cannot maintain a persistent portal.

The major plot occurrence will occur at the end. The fallout of this incident will carry over into January.

Above and Below

Previously, only the Obsidian Heart - the volcanic city - was accessible as the area above was far too cold and desolate. Now, with the adult dragons having returned to their full strength and their hatchlings growing by the day, the Draconae have begun to reclaim their territory beyond the volcano.

You'll be able to explore areas within the Heart, but you'll find most of the festivities above-ground. The Draconae are a fun-loving people and they're quite fond of the Summoned after all the help you've given them. They also understand that tensions between the major territories have been high as of late...and would like to grant you some reprieve from a war many of you didn't ask to be a part of.

Accommodations

This time, guests will stay in stone huts built from the Nether's volcanic stone. The stones preserve an unusual amount of heat, meaning the huts are very warm. Bedding is comfortable, if simple, with room to store your belongings. The Draconae believe strongly in mutual respect, so the doors contain no locks. Your safety is assured, but if you're nervous, you can ask for a guard to watch you at night.

If you don't do well in the cold, the Draconae will offer you warming potions and thick furs. Curiously, the furs closely resemble what the werewolves in Luna wear, suggesting that the Nether and Nocwich have resumed more active trading in recent months.

◎ A larger community hut is in the center of the small village that's slowly being built. The dining area consists of open-fire grills, pots, and raw ingredients - including spices and fiery hot peppers. As great believers in self-sufficiency, the Draconae will leave you to make meals to your taste and liking.

◎ You can hunt and fish your meat, as well. There are numerous spots for ice fishing. Since the natural world is steadily being restored, game and fish found are of the common variety like deer, bison, and trout, as opposed to the stranger creatures that were found inside the Obsidian Heart's lava pools. Feel free to share your catch with your friends or offer to cook for the culinarily challenged.

◎ Hot springs can be found to the north. You'll have to hike to reach the area but it's a lovely walk. The waters themselves are crystal clear. At night, they glow with hundreds of tiny unknown creatures. These creatures are believed to be the result of the previously sickly hatchling, Anthusa, who creates bioluminescent algae. Now that Anthusa is much healthier, it can be spotted playing in the hot springs and lakes.

◎ Large fuzzy rodents the size of a small cat will occasionally invade your sleeping quarters or eating areas. They're easily chased off but they can be a huge nuisance by stealing your food and chewing holes in your blankets. You're warned only to chase them off not injure them. Unfortunately, their blood is quite corrosive and can cause a harsh burn to the skin. While the burns will heal up in a few days, it's best to avoid the situation altogether.

Sights & Activities

Opal Flats

The Opal Flats are natural wonders that have recently come into being with the dragons' increasing strength. The pearlescent icy surface glows at night which makes it the perfect place for ice skating after sunset. You can borrow a pair of ice skates and join the Draconae on the ice.

◎ When you're done with the ice, you can join one of the tents nearby that are hosting spiced cider workshops. Here, you can make your own spiced cider blend. Flavors include clove, cinnamon, and berries unique to the Nether. You can test infusing your blend into small cups of cider until you're happy with the results. Your final personalized blend will then be packaged into a jar and tied off with a ribbon. Enjoy it yourself or give it to someone special!

◎ Keep an eye out! The young dragons are troublemakers and will sneak into the workshops to steal cinnamon sticks, drink from the steaming cider pots, and knock down hanging decorations. You can help rehang decorations or remove the dragons from spaces they shouldn't be in...though they'll soon find their way back again. The Draconae seem exasperated but tolerant of the hatchlings so you shouldn't worry too much about the mild chaos. It's to be expected.

◎ Once more, Khloris is the biggest menace and it's grown larger since. While Khloris has learned to better control its powers, it's still prone to causing flowers to sprout in your hair should you come into contact with too much of its pollen. Fortunately, the effect is temporary - just a few hours.

Dusk Falls

Each day, starting at dawn, two Draconae guides will lead a hike up the mountains. Make sure you bring your hiking boots! The slopes are frosty and can be dangerous but they'll keep you safe as much as possible. Otherwise, it's a lovely trip and takes about two hours to reach the top. You'll encounter a beautiful view, fresh mountain air, and a cavern at the peak where you can go inside and look at some frozen waterfalls.

◎ Unusual ice-like spiders infest some portions of the cave. While they're quite big (about the size of a wolf spider), they're harmless and seldom bite. On the occasions that they do, the bite is easily treated with a bandage and a few days to heal. However, they do have a bad habit of dropping down from the ceiling onto the heads of passersby wandering through the caves. The experience can be startling if you're not expecting it.

◎ Once you've all finished enjoying the sights, you can return to the bottom. Luckily, you won't have to climb down. Instead, the group will get to ride one of the two adult dragons in the Nether: Hierus, the Obsidian Drake, and Kruos, the Glass Serpent. They'll bring all of you safely back to the base of the mountain.

Cinder's Core

Walking through the Ashlands no longer requires any special potion. The air is now clear. Cinder's Core lies at the southern end. Previous visitors will recall that it was full of petrified trees and fossilized bone. The detritus of a fallen ecosystem remains, but alongside it is new growth of flourishing green thanks to the young dragon Okenus. This includes the trees growing the unique kydros fruit.

◎ You can help harvest the kydros fruit to contribute to the feast above the surface. Now that they're growing freely again, the Draconae are no longer reserving them for the potions and have reintroduced the fruit into their regular dishes! Mildly sweet with a hint of citrus, it tastes somewhat like a pomelo.

◎ Be careful when harvesting or traversing the area! While the jungle is starting to recover, it's still a jungle full of tripping hazards, slippery vines, and high cliffs - some of which now have refreshing waterfalls. There might also be a hidden snake or aggressive birds. These creatures aren't dangerous to any real degree, but if they bite or peck, it'll leave a mark!

Mysterious Gifts

While the Draconae participate in traditional gift-giving, this occurs only between the closest of mates and friends. More common is an activity they call Krypto's Box. Krypto's Box is a massive jar in the middle of town with a hole carved out at the bottom to function as a sort of dispenser. Filling the jar are hundreds of vials containing a mystery potion. Each year, the batch of potions is blessed by magic from the young dragons of the Nether. In other words - these mischievous creatures have influenced the potions' effects.

You can take a potion and gift it to someone. Neither of you will know what the effects are until the recipient opens it, but you can trust it'll be something mild, temporary, and amusing. During Khion, it's not unusual to see the Draconae wandering around covered in glitter, swirls of flowers, or hovering 2 feet above the ground. Accepting a mystery potion is part of the fun. The local Draconae will gift you some alongside your Summoned friends!

If your character has received a potion - whether from a Draconum or another Summoned - comment HERE to see what effect they'll receive. If you don't like the effect, simply disregard your character having received a potion to begin with.

Making Friends (NPCs)

The occasion is less formal this time, so Anneth and Aster will each be available for you to meet regardless of your status. There's also one surprise guest that some of you might recognize from last year's Epulum event in Ikorr: Babis, the cheerful Draconum who was merely looking for a good time and found himself embroiled in a mysterious theft.

Descriptions about the three NPCs and where they can be found will be in their character comments below. Depending on who you talk to, you can learn a little more about neighboring Endsmuth, the dragons, and relations with Nocwich. The meetings might not last very long, but you'll be able to get in one or two questions!

Characters of any rank can speak with one of the three NPCs available.

To do so, TAG IN with your character under the NPC you want to meet.

Renewal

The Nether's limited magic means that they seldom feel the effects of the Dimming. However, even the Draconae begin to notice something is wrong as the final day draws near wherein the Singularity should go completely dark, falling into its usual state of hibernation. The dragons, in particular, are disturbed and have communicated as such to both Anneth and Ermis, the Keeper.

Before anyone can determine what's truly happening, a massive quake strikes all of Abraxas. As far away from the epicenter as the Nether is, even they feel the effects, a tremor that knocks over decorations and cracks foundations.

For any who are near the cliffs overlooking the ocean below, they can observe a giant tidal wave that consumes the island where some of you recall being held captive on.

Portals Awry

Naturally, you want to return home after such an unexpected event. The Draconae hurriedly open the portals to your individual territories and assure you they will assist in any way possible, though they are equally unsure of what's just happened.

Stepping through the portal, you expect to pass through and face the familiar sights and sounds where you reside. For a small handful of you, that may be exactly so. For many others, however, you'll find yourself in a completely unexpected place.

Indeed, it seems that whatever force has caused the quake has also disrupted the Singularity's no longer waning magic, corrupting the portal magic and sending you into an opposing territory. In a time of war, this could be disastrous for all involved...and it's clear from the locals who greet you on the other side that they are as baffled as you.

Players can choose to mix things up and send their characters to a new territory for the duration of January. Since this will be temporary, feel free to separate close CR or put your character somewhere they won't enjoy. It won't last long!

Characters will not be placed under any restrictions for accidentally landing in a strange place. They will, for the time being, be treated as guests while officials determine what to do next.

The Wrap-Up will detail how characters' experiences will go once they are in their new territory.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The status that the Summoned have in this world is a good part of why they're generally allowed on these trips, it seems. It would cause more problems than it would solve for any of the nations to forbid them from traveling when they're invited, and oftentimes the rulers hope that some of the Summoned will even bring back information from places where they're not personally welcome.

All that to say, Thancred is quite used to these trips by now, but he can understand why it would seem strange to someone like Boothill. Settled down in one of the large tents where Draconae and Summoned alike are making spiced cider, he takes a long sip of his cup as Boothill prattles on.

Yes, it doesn't surprise him that he's heard of the Horizon, even if it's only been mentioned in passing. ]

It is a place only Summoned can go. [ He sets his mug down. ] In that way, it is the most effective way of slipping our leashes. It is a realm where we can meet and speak in private, even across territories, though it is also connected to the Singularity. [ Meaning that if Boothill has any uncertainty around the giant monolith, he might not be as interested in exploring it. ]

Accessing it requires going into a meditative state. [ There's a long pause wherein he raises an eyebrow at Boothill. ] Can you manage that?

[ Prattles? Okay first of all, fuck you, he's a yapper, not a prattler. Second of all, ooooh mister phd can't handle a bit of a meandering sentence structure to get to the point? You're Literally Friends with Urianger "Modern Sorcerer of Not So Eld" Augerelt, shut up!

Boothill laughs at Thancred's little dig, not actually insulted. He knows what kind of impression he gives people, and how to work it in his favor when push comes to shove. When it works, it works; when it doesn't, he goes for a backup plan. But he doesn't wanna shove Thancred, just needle him a little for information. ]

I mean, if it's a matter of staying still and pondering on something, I think I've got you beat, pal. I can't get pins and needles from sittin' too long, no matter how funny my posture is.

[ He takes a deep swig of his heavily spiced cider, and makes up his mind. He does want to check out the Singularity, somehow, but knows the trip through the Badlands is gonna need at least a gun and a solution to his charger problem first. If this meditation realm is a step in the right direction, he'll take aim for it, sure. ]

So, this this place, it's memetic...? [ Look. Just let him yap a bit. ] The Asdana system's lousy with waking dreams, and you can't not end up in one, 'cause of all the memoria floating around, so I'm used to that way of doin' things — but none of my dreams here have been waking ones, and I'm no memokeeper, bouncin' around in peoples heads instead of walking. What's the trick that makes the meditating so special?

[ Once again, if Boothill has questions more elaborate than the clarification he needs to frame this new information in his understanding of the universe, he keeps them to himself. ]

[ Perhaps it's the very fact that he's friends with the Modern Sorcerer of Not So Eld that he is both used to and slightly exhausted by prattling. Not that he makes a point of this, as even two conversations have proved to him that this is simply Boothill's way.

And to be honest, Boothill's accent and odd or unfamiliar word choices sometimes make him just as difficult to follow as Urianger, for someone like Thancred. But that's neither here nor there.

Though it is interesting when Boothill outright admits that he is mainly inorganic, more machine than human. Thancred has yet to uncover the whole story there, but he suspects that it will come in time if they continue to run into each other like this. He's in no hurry. He'll take Boothill's insistence that he can sit still and quiet his mind at face value.

Except... ah, there he goes. The ~~prattling~~ yapping. Half of that means nothing to Thancred, although he can perhaps guess that this "memoria" works a bit like dynamis. The important question there seems to be "what's the catch?" ]

You can't go in alone, for one thing. You'll need someone who's already been there to show you in, so to speak. It requires physical contact. [ He takes another sip of his cider, unconcerned. He's ushered plenty of people into the Horizon by now. ] Secondly, your first trip will be a bit different, in that you won't have any of your memories. It happens to all of us, and for any subsequent visits you'll be in full possession of your faculties.

[ Those are the terms and conditions, so to speak. He raises an eyebrow; still interested? ]

[ Pffff, listening to confusing people is easy. Just don't try to understand anything, and go off the vibes. It works just fine for him, see?

Maybe the idea of losing his memory would would give him pause, if it weren't for the theophany bullshit he almost went through, with that Asistanana before getting yanked in here. Thancred certainly isn't making it sound so bad, if it's just temporary — and something about the guy just feels trustworthy, enough that Boothill only has to think on things for a second or two before he elects to not change his course. Better here, in this place, than trying to find someone back in the Free Cities to show him on his way, when he might get someone poking around his body without permission. ]

Well, it won't be the first fudgin' time I forgot shirt in dreamland.

[ Rather than finish his drink, Boothill sets the heavy ceramic mug down with a decisive thump on the table between them, and holds his hand out to Thancred, palm up. (The metal on the inside of his hand is still warm from the heat of the ceramic, but the lateral plating covering the back of his fingers carries the chill of the season.) ]

Show me in, pardner. [ Right here. On the picnic table. Just take him, in public. ] If the forgetting gets real bad, just gimme a smack on the head and I'll right myself, somehow.

[ While Thancred may not know the specifics, Boothill seems to have some experience with strange dream realms. He's mentioned it a few times now, and even has run into temporary amnesia in the past, if he can take those words at face value.

In that case, there isn't much more to discuss, though he still isn't expecting Boothill to ask him to get on with it right here, right now. He does take note of the offered hand, but doesn't reach for it, instead taking a look around them. It's a crowded spot, and while no one is directly paying them attention in this moment, that would change if both of them went into meditative states at random. ]

I'd be happy to do so, but I think it would serve us better to relocate to a spot that's a bit more private.

[ This feels like it should be common sense. Either way, Thancred finishes off his last few gulps of cider and sets his mug down, then pushes to his feet. He's certain they can find a more appropriate spot. And, well, the most logical place to take Boothill to is the little hut he's been staying in since they arrived here.

~~No, it's not odd to be taking him back to his room.~~

In the interest of not making things weird, he gestures to a fur rug laid out on the floor. It's perfectly cozy in here, and it should be a good environment to calm down and relax.

Once they're both settled on the rug, he holds out his hand this time. ]

Shall we?

EVENT #22: KHION - IC LOG

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