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

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You know, I'm not quite sure? The author writes under the assumption that the reader already knows what this is for. [Sypha briefly turns away from the refreshments to recover her spot in the book] Perhaps it says earlier on, I was flipping through at random.

[With one hand, she carves a chunk of softened apple onto her fork. With the other she outlines the silhouette of the array on the page.] I think it's...energy transference of some kind? There's a lot of scribbly little notes about how these shapes here buffer energy decay during the process.

--Admittedly, that's because it is the second volume. I'm familiar with the first, so I didn't see the need to imagine it here.

[This place is just so weird. At any rate, Alucard takes a sip of his tea, considering.]

But yes, that's the general outline of the idea. The idea is to imbue intent into a glyph that is activated by touch.

Hmm. [A thoughtful sip of tea, never taking her eyes off the page. Oo, she does like it with honey. Did he already know that?] And that's something anyone can do, with the right glyph?

[He did.]

In theory, yes. I've found that it helps to have a slight talent for magic in creating the glyph, but then the activation of the glyph can be from anyone so long as they will it so.

Hm. That almost seems too easy. Is there a catch? Oo, do you have any paper? And, I don't know, charcoal?

[Alucard pauses, considering.

Yeah, he's going to be a dick.]

Try reaching into the air, imagining what you're looking for, and seeing if it will appear.

[Even without her past at instant recall, Sypha knows for a fact that she does not back down from challenges. Her spine clicks into perfect vertical alignment at Adrien's mild suggestion.

She lets her eyes slip closed, one hand raised partway into the air. The other remains on the book, feeling the minute textural variations in the paper. If she just imagines the same sensations against her other fingertips--

The distinct sound of fluttering paper snaps her out of her trance just in time to watch a sheet drift down to the tabletop. Sypha hastily snatches it away from the sticky baked apple residue, grinning wildly at Adrien.] HAH!

[Sometimes, Sypha's predictability is a blessing.

So the dhampir settles in, digging into his apples and treating this all as a perfectly normal occurrance. His eyes flick to Sypha with a mild curiosity, wondering how she'll go about this.

By touch makes sense. And behold.

A soft little huff comes out of him, amused.] Not bad. But the charcoal?

Hmmmm, [This time her eyes only fall half lidded as she recalls the feeling of wood in her hand, the smell of a nearby campfire, the faint scratch of the still-smoking burnt end against stone as she practiced her letters--

--wait, what?--

Sypha blinks out of the sense-memory and flicks her gaze to the rudimentary charcoal stick held between her thumb, middle, and forefingers.]

It's will, but it's memory also, isn't it? Or the ability to trick yourself into thinking something's a real memory, like a story told wrong so many times the truth gets lost.

In truth, I don't think I've ever figured out if memory is a factor. I've tried fairly hard not to think too much on it. The metaphysics become exhausting.

[It isn't the proudest thing the dhampir has ever owned up to, but he sees value in being honest enough about this much. Besides - he's more interested in seeing what Sypha might do next.

He takes a slow, careful sip of his head.]

Please don't set my table alight.

[Sypha mouths the word 'metaphysics', uncertain if she's forgotten its meaning or simply never knew it. It teases at something, threads of other words stitched together, but it sits just outside her grasp. Maybe that's the best indicator that this is NEW knowledge.]

Why not? You can just imagine yourself another one, can't you? [She's teasing, okay? Setting one's host's furniture on fire is terribly rude, a bone-deep taboo. She smoothes out her parchment and begins to replicate the rune, slightly surprised at the accuracy of her draftsmanship.] Although, hm, I suppose this is a terrible place to test the results of a spell, since you could simply imagine that it worked correctly, yes?

I could, but that's rather besides the point. [He knows she's teasing, but he has to at least be a little bit of a kill joy.]

That's not wrong, but there's no reason not to just...visualize the results you want, I suppose?

[Visualize, visualize, that's not so hard. But what outcome is she chasing, what energy is she trying to transfer?

Well, now all she can think about is setting the table on fire. Don't set the table on fire don't set the table on fire don't--

--set the table on fire.

The rune Sypha painstakingly copied pops with a burst of incandescent flame. The paper collapses into ash, sifting away and leaving a perfect imprint of the scribed symbols charred into the tabletop.]

...well. At least the table is still plenty usable?

[--Goddamnit.

Alucard sighs, taking a long, long sip of his tea. That really just happened, didn't it?]

True. You just lightly toasted it, which I suppose is preferable all things considered. Perhaps some ice to wash the ash away?

Of course, of course I can- [Sypha plants her palms on the table to lever herself out of her seat. As she makes skin contact with the wood, the inscribed rune flares back to life. A jet of flame bursts from the tabletop, gouting towards the ceiling.

Sypha drops back into her chair with a yelp, arms up to shield her face.] What the hell?!

[Alucard leaps up, moving to the sink immediately. In theory, Sypha could control this flame with ease. But in practice, with her so surprised and the inscription, he isn't taking the chance.

Which is to say that he extends the hose portion of the kitchen sink as far as it will go and turns on the water.]

Call it off!

Call it OFF? I didn't call it ON! [She cuts her hands frantically through the air, thinking no fire! no fire! as loudly as she can.

The flames die back, then, with a pop like a boot coming down on a snailshell, spurt upward again. Something floats upward, not ash, but a chunk of something.]

[It isn't the most elegant spell, but at least it is effective. There's something to be said for that.

But that chunk of something. Alucard rises up from his seat, because this is getting to be just a little too much, even for him.]

What is that?

[Sypha upends the remnants of her tea on the flame, and slams the cup down over the sigil to smother the source further. When she cautiously tips it backward to peek underneath, the brand still glows with a sullen light, but it's no longer as large.

A chunk, perhaps the bottom quarter or so of the circular mark, is just gone, leaving smooth unmarred wood behind. She lifts the mug and inspects the inside, but finds nothing.] I think it may have been part of the magic? Perhaps a...meter or an indicator, of what's been transferred?

[Thank goodness tea has so many uses. Even if the table is still glowing.

But the sudden smoothness of the mark is fascinating. Alucard can't help but lean over to investigate himself, considering.

He then walks over to the sink and reaches for a large mixing bowl, filling it with water.]

Activate it again. We'll see if the theory is correct.

Of course! [Emboldened by his matter-of-fact approach to the mystery and the backup bowl of water, Sypha once again places both her hands on the table.

This time, now that she's paying attention, there's a soft fizzling sensation in her palms. A sense of something winding together, like fibers drafting onto a spindle. The pop of flame that answers is no less intense, but it carries with another dark flake of not-ash.]

[The bowl of water is the important part.

Alucard stands at the ready, eyes not on Sypha but on the flame itself.

There's control this time. Slow, purposeful, the Sypha he knows. And--]

There! [The not-ash makes a second appearance.] It'll demand a third attempt to confirm the theory, but it seems we are correct.

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The Festival of Enlightenment - The Free Cities

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