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abraxaslogs2021-12-11 04:25 pm
The Festival of 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.
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...
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!
(Coming soon! The events of December 21st and beyond will depend on player actions...)
Castiel | Supernatural | The Hanged Man
[ A consequence of being created with the express purpose of following orders is that it becomes very difficult to kick the habit. When Aleksander G. Klingel, the Free Cities beloved man of science, offers Castiel his Science Rod, with the request he hold it for some minutes, it’s already closed in his hand before Cas asks Why?
Holiday Experiment, apparently, which doesn’t clarify anything, but this rod touching’s already kicked off, so why not?
The first minute or so’s alright, an annoying tingling sensation, but nothing unbearable. Then, the pain kicks in. As if the stick’s gradually scorching the palm of his hand, and Cas furrows his brows down at the offending object. Aleksander offered monetary compensation in trade, and this is far from the worst the angel’s endured. Still housed in the barracks and lacking for gainful employment, payment for gripping some dude's pole is an alluring prize.
And Castiel's a stubborn little fuck.
That’s how Cas ends up standing dumbly in the festival square, a dubious frown aimed at Aleksander’s experimental shaft clasped in his hand, with a growing crowd of intrigued onlookers surrounding him. His expression remains schooled up through six minutes. As the pain ramps up, his eyes close, face a mask of intense focus, head occasionally twisting to the side like working out tension in his neck. When asked if he’s hurting, Castiel’s quick to give a curt “I’m fine” and returns to his silent concentration.
Ten minutes, and it's like his entire hand is on actual fire. Cas shifts his weight from one foot to the other, fidgeting, grip closing tighter around the rod, clearly determined to see this to completion. Twelve minutes, he's rigid with the intense effort to keep control, and his eyes open to stare Aleksander down, as if considering relocating the baton to the scientist’s face. Fourteen, and the gathered crowd watches the twitching muscles in Castiel’s clenched jaw, sweat at his temple.
Just past fifteen minutes, Castiel's had enough. He allows his tether of control to snap with a rough shout, and finally releases Aleksander’s stupid rod, the metallic clatter against cobblestone drown out by cheers of the crowd entertained by the Holiday Experiment. Clutching his hand protectively to his chest, Cas addresses either the scientist or the larger community around him. ]
I don’t understand what was festive about that.
Mind over Magic;
That’s inaccurate.
[ Cas announces to no one in particular after hearing Prime Minister Marlo’s speech. Some pieces of the rhetoric he perhaps took too literally are nagging at him, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. ]
The Internet, nuclear power, the Large Hadron Collider - though society functions efficiently without magic in the digital future, none of these surpass its potential in power.
[ human ingenuity has an incredible potential, it’s true, but Cas finds it pretty irresponsible to claim it can overpower something it can’t. There’s no device that could’ve stopped Lucifer’s rising or dispersed a curse without application of corrective magic or following the curse’s demands. Learning how to work around the rules of it is one thing, but there’s no over-engineering a magic-based problem. Not to say the Free Cities citizens shouldn’t strive towards industrial revolution, it is to their benefit to eliminate the dependence on magic for daily life, but believing the mind alone can nullify its effects is a dangerous road towards failure. ]
Wildcard;
[ hit me ]