abraxaslogs | The Festival of Enlightenment

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The Festival of Enlightenment - The Free Cities

Enlightenment - The Free Cities

In the Free Cities, Enlightenment has come once more.

In each major hub, lanterns and lights of every kind are being hung everywhere. On every storefront, every sidewalk, every home and every fence. From elaborate custom made lanterns with color changing lights to simple hand carved candle lanterns and everything in between. By the time Enlightenment proper rolls around, the three major cities are bedecked in lights..

Lanterns and elaborate candle holders and artfully carved candles are going on sale everywhere. Flyers are being plastered on walls announcing The Annual Circus of The Sciences! The latest and most impressive inventions from every corner of the Free Cities! Hosted by Prime Minister Reiner herself!

This is a time to celebrate technology. Free from a dependency on magic, The Free Cities thrive in this time of literal and metaphorical darkness. The phrase ‘lights for Enlightenment!’ is on every citizen’s lips. In the evenings, night markets pop up in the streets. Vendors offering little mechanical toys and decorations set up, as well as the latest street cuisines, and light up jewelry to celebrate the holiday. Pendants, earrings, headpieces, bracelets... some of them glow due to naturally occurring substances, some have chemical reactions activated with the press of a button that make them light up and twinkle.

Circus of the Sciences

In Cadens the focus is on inventions and the latest technological advancements, the buzz about this year’s Circus of The Sciences spreading through the city. On Enlightenment Day, in front of Portham Hall, the greatest inventors from all over the Free Cities gather to show off their greatest inventions, each vying to win the coveted prize of government funding. All inventions are on display to the public - there’s a great deal of talk about an engine powered entirely by steam! - and judged by a team of Ministry officials.

Yet none judge quite as harshly as the infamous Head Judge, Aleksander G. Klingel. Known not only for his own contributions to Cadens innovations and technological milestones, but for his biting commentary during the competition itself. Some of the less technologically minded have even made it a point to attend just to see what the winning insult will be this year...

"I wouldn't trust you running a bath let alone a hydroplane."

"Are you a stuffed puppet? Because your head must be filled with felt to come up with something this inane."

"This is really a tough decision... because you're all crap."

And even the summoned have a role to play, if they so choose. Aleksander is more than happy to compensate any of the Summoned for their time... if they’d just participate in a teeny little holiday experiment. All they need to do is hold a metal rod for a few minutes. Aleksander promises it’s not dangerous, that little tingle is perfectly normal...

Mind over Magic

In Libertas and Aquila, new plays and performances are debuting - and all seem to have a common theme: the power and superiority of technology over magic. Even overheard conversations may espouse the same ideals - how strange that the other kingdoms still rely on magic, it’s just irrational! The theme of technology and light are found even in the newest fashion collections, unveiled for the season, utilizing reflective fabric and metals.

Should anyone ask a local how long, exactly, this holiday is celebrated for, they’ll be told that in honor of the light of technology triumphing over the dim, the festivities last all day and all night. Come the day, the street markets open in the morning and stay open until the next morning. There’s singing and drinking in the streets, everyone trying to stay up until dawn to show that the spirit of the Free Cities will never go dark. Starting with The Circus of The Sciences, kicked off by a speech from Prime Minister Marlo.

Standing on the steps of Portham Hall, wearing her formal military garb, is Prime Minister Marlo Reiner. She holds up her hands for silence from the crowds.

"Welcome, once again, to another celebration of the Enlightenment! We’re gathered together to celebrate and illuminate all the hard work that each and every one of you do, every day, to make our Free Cities what they are! We’ve cut ties with relying on magic to do everything for us and we thrive! Even now, in the darkest part of the year when the rest of the world struggles, we thrive! Because we rely on ourselves! Your minds are more powerful than magic and nothing can dim your light!

"So let’s have a good time! Starting with the Circus of The Sciences! Enjoy the best of what the human mind has accomplished, and if you see something you really like, I don’t think a single one of our inventors would refuse a donation. Judges will be making the rounds soon.

"Here’s to another year of changing the world!"

With a thunderous roar of applause, The Day of Enlightenment officially begins!

A Closing Ceremony

(Coming soon! The events of December 21st and beyond will depend on player actions...)

OOC: Event #5: The Dimming

LOG: Thorne | The Free Cities | Solvunn

PvP: The Mission to the Singularity

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

--Dare I ask where?

[Alucard steps aside to allow for inspection, but it is with a note of begrudging in the movement. It is a cactus! What does she think is going to be in there besides cactus insides and wolf fluff?

It is big enough for a wolf to strech and stand in, but little more. Cozy. Just a good den, if not a very deep one.]

At the Catterborough Theatre, [Her voice is a little distorted, as she cranes her neck to look around. It's so empty! She'd expected...something not that. A blanket, perhaps? A wolf-sized chaise lounge? A waterbowl?] He came to take in the show, was impressed with my work, and caught me backstage after.

[It's a cactus, Sypha!]

I'm not asking him to make this bigger. That path has only terrible results on every possible front and you know it.

[A blanket on the ground isn't a ridiculous possibility! Even kennels have blankets sometimes!]

I don't know, I think that sounds like a fairytale. Like the little old woman who lived in a shoe! The sulky wolf who lurked in a phallic succulent.

[Speaking of, how is this thing both hollow and alive? Desert plants are very much NOT in her wheelhouse. Sypha digs her thumbnail into the interior wall, curious if it's wet and alive under that leathery skin.]

I'm not going to dignify any of that with a response.

[It is time to sulk. Alucard folds his arms over his chest, looking disapprovingly down at Sypha as she keeps poking about at his den.

A den that is definitely alive. The cactus as it turns out, is shaped around the den itself, and the walls are very much retaining water. Dampness forms under her thumbnail.]

Oh that's fascinating. [She's mumbling almost to herself now.] They can store a lot of water, can't they? Must be useful if you're trying to cross the desert. Unless they're toxic?

[Speakers have their own watering points, carefully maintained and obscured, as well as the public ones they maintain for travelers. Water supply is one of those things she looks for out of habit, and it's been strange and upsetting not to understand basic survival in this place.]

Do you want me to just wander around until you're done here?

[Because that's what it feels like at this point. Sypha's going to just go into theory land, and Alucard doesn't know enough about desert plants to hold a real discussion.

He didn't even know about potatoes.]

Oh! No, sorry! I hadn't seen inside of one of these before, that's all.

[Sypha straightens up, dusts off her hands, and silently resolves to get a blanket in there somehow. Alucard might not be up to accepting one from her, yet, but maybe if she slips a suggestion to 'the gardener'?]

I saw some of the repairs, on my way in. You've gotten a lot done!

You've a bit of wolf fur on your sleeves.

[Alucard indicates his left side, meaning that is where Sypha ought to look as well. Whatever her plans may be for blankets, he is blissfully unaware, and Alucard would like to keep it that way.]

Thank you. If nothing else, it has been a way to keep busy.

[Keep his mind distracted, he means.] Would you prefer to walk, or just sit?

[Sypha flicks at the fur, not terribly concerned. She'd spent more than one night on the road curled up with wolf!Alucard (he runs warmer that way than as a dhampir), and she's stolen Trevor's ludicrous cloak often enough that she's used to a dusting of fur.]

Let's walk! And see if we can't find some shade. [The hat goes back on, before she turns into one giant freckle]

Oh, you'll be disappointed about that.

[No shade, save for the statues at just the right angles throughout the day. But Alucard picks the direction, and starts with going right past the cactus and towards where he still has some statue parts stored. Limbs of rock and iron, still waiting to be put back to rights. Only a dozen of them now though, and that has been a quiet victory.

What he doesn't ask is why Sypha's here. No point. It is to bother him about the cactus and to see what the graveyard looks like. The silence though? That bothers him, but filling it? There lies the problem.

So he stays quiet for a bit, letting Sypha just take in whatever catches her eye and attention.]

[The severed statue limbs must be eerie as hell by night, but in daylight they're just pieces of an unfinished project.]

You know, on my way in I was thinking how strange it was to see similar burial customs here. Right down to the carven figures! Have you learned anything about why they do it?

[Sypha he's had impaled corpses on the lawn for days, it's fine at night.]

Not yet. But vaults, crypts, and mausoleums aren't done here. No catacombs either, which is slightly inconvenient. [The why though? There's a shrug.] I've not delved into the reasons why though. Maybe once the work's done.

[Oh, you hinted at your 'go back to sleep forever' intentions back at the watering hole, Alucard, don't think she's forgotten just because you're also talking about staying here forever.]

Open to the sky, hm? [Sypha squints up at the endless blue expanse, brushing her palm over a headstone as she passes.] Does anyone know you're the new groundskeeper?

[He just wants a really long nap, why does everyone keep trying to argue with him about this?]

--I suppose so, yes. [Alucard takes a sidestep, avoiding one of his own prep areas. A canvas with the pieces of the headstone laid out and ready to be rejoined.]

If anyone has, no one has said anything to me. I prefer it that way.

[Because they like spending time with you, even if you're an 80 year old man in a 19 year old's growth-accelerated body, you twit.

Words she will almost certainly have to scream aloud at him at some point, so put a pin in that.]

Huh. Not that you're not doing a wonderful job, it just seems like something the city would already have covered. The bureaucracy here is kind of terrifying. [She frowns down at the nearest prepped canvas.] You don't think the Eifstide revenants got them, do you?

[Didn't you accuse him of being a teenager in an adult's body, Sypha?! Pick an insult and stick with it!]

Is it? I'll be honest, I haven't invested much of my time in understanding the place's innerworkings as far as governance goes. Doing that strikes back at my desire for some peace and quiet.

[There's a gentle shrug at any rate.] I'm not sure. But you know how it can go some time. A place's population dwindles, no one else is around to take care of the dead. Looking at the headstones, there have been no recent burials.

At any rate, I've taken responsibility for it, even if it is for selfish reasons.

[There are plenty of prematurely aged teens out there, and it's a fond observation ~~most of the time~~]

Yes! I went looking into their civic codes and regulations, and it's dizzying. Somewhat bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake. The free election concept is compelling, but in actuality it's difficult to unseat any official.

[She's thinking about YOU, Ranier. That's a woman who knows how to work a system. But Alucard's not looking for politics, he's deliberately dodging them. And, in fairness, he always has. That's on-trend for him. Sypha can respect that.]

Well, it's looking much better than it must have after Eifstide. Did...any of the revenants come from here?

[We're not all commies before communism as a concept was articulated by Marx, Sypha.]

I'll take your word for the matter. And I am not shocked that that's the path you found yourself down.

[Sypha, you're....utterly yourself.]

One or two, yes. [There's a shrug.] They've been reinterred, and I can only live in hope that things remain quiet for now. I don't know how people live in cities.

What, causing trouble? [She does not say 'being a nosy parker', because her Grandfather taught her never to put a knife in an opponent's hand, but she'd rather openly admit to stirring shit than poking around where she oughtn't.]

On that we can always agree. The art and culture are fascinating but there's hardly any room to breathe. Most rooms you can't even go like this- [She stretches her arms out to the sides, which is about the width of her private quarters at the Cat. And she's not a tall woman, her wingspan is significantly smaller than Alucard's.]

Looking into functioning governent systems and how things are organized here. [Not nosy! He's even being polite and acknowledging that this is a smart thing to do.]

Why do you think I'm out here? There's far too many people. [But of course Sypha's true issue is space. Alucard shakes his head, although the note of fondness that should be there isn't.] There's a few ways around it, but. Hm.

[Someone's going to tell her eventually. It may as well be him.] Has anyone explained the concept of the Horizon here to you yet?

[Sypha tips her head, raising a hand out behind her towards the wavering line of scrubs and dunes stretching toward the edge of the sky.] I assume you don't mean the obvious?

You know the answer to that.

[But Alucard's eyes do go to the Horizon. The desert is still wholly unfamiliar, but he appreciates the seeming, impossible vastness of it. That he can run or fly for miles and miles and precious little will change. That seemingly nothing lives there, and what does only comes out at night.

To the point.]

The thing that the different factions war over, the Singularity. Those not from this world such as ourselves have some kind of innate connection that others do not. The Horizon is a second reality or plane of it tethered to this Singularity. In theory, it is a blank space, but one can conjure their own little world within it if they so choose. Like a fiefdom or a domain, but singular to one person and much smaller in scale.

[A blank space, accessible only by people from other worlds, anchored by an object of this world. A plane of conjuration. There's a lot to peel back, there.]

All right. When one enters this Horizon, you step out of this world? Through what means? [She sees it in her minds eye, a great rent in the catacombs' wall, searing violent and green and blue at its scintillating edges, a hellish landscape speeding past on the other side. Could the Singularity be an entrance to the Infinite Corridor? A method of navigating it, even?] And if you have a keep there, then--ah! I knew you weren't actually living in a cactus!

Only mentally. Physically, you look as if you're meditating. [That should explain the means, but--

--a keep. Alucard shakes his head.] Why would I construct something in a false reality that I am capable of actually creating here? [he's living in a cactus, sypha.]

And as I know where this is inevitably going, there is a caveat regarding one's first journey there that you should know about.

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