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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...)
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[And dare he look sullen for a moment, when he recalls it. That basement in Kaer Morhen, so sure he was that it should've been locked. The bloodied beds. The emptied needles. Bottles of parts, both familiar and unfamiliar, floating about in liquid. The small, child-sized beds.
Everyone knows Witchers are taken young. Plenty know that most of them die, too, in the process. It's --
He rubs his face to wipe away the expression, the memory. Jaskier has done his best to ignore it exists at all.]
How fast? Very well! I'll have you know, we practically made a sport of horse racing when I was young. [With rather conservatively bred horses, too. None of them had horns, regrettably. He thinks it's rather fair a horse have a way to defend itself outside a few well-placed kicks. Jaskier gives his horse a bit of a rub on the neck, stretching the path ahead of them long enough it disappears into the horizon.
Plenty of room. He gives the horse the signal, and they take off. Fast. Faster. And the speed only increases as Jaskier grips the saddle's horn, realizing that --
Oh. Fuck. They are not slowing down. At all. In fact, the background is beginning to blur, and Jaskier's stomach has plummeted into his ass. He gives a yell as his hands slip, legs unable to hold onto the saddle, and the yell might be Alucard's name because he is not sure that the horse will fucking stop if he tries to jerk it --
And it doesn't. It blows up dirt with all four hooves and jumps, which is the perfect moment for the bard's hands tp lose their grip. He flips through the air, all of the Horizon blurring around him, and as time slows down he thinks, at least he's pretty sure he can't die if he breaks his neck.]
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[The words young and turned are never a good combination when said so close in the same sentence. No one turns young children into vampires for example. That way madness lies. A prolonged process in youth is not something the dhampir ever intends to ask about. Not when he's realized how touchy a subject family can be when Geralt's in the wrong sort of space for a conversation.
Fast then. Alucard offers Jaskier a look that isn't really a mischiveous grin, but comes close. It is serious, with the undercurrent of if you're sure embedded in raised eyebrows.]
Very well. [The dhampir nudges his own horse gently. He doesn't need to do much more than that.] Radu. Dănești. For the dead travel fast.
[The words aren't magic. Those are about making this experience even more of something for the bard, who Alucard knows will not anticipate exactly how fast these horses move. They're vampires. They have that supernatural speed, and the vineyard is soon a blur. They're out of Jaskier's Horizon now, and Alucard's not sure how far his own is. There's the thick walls around it and --
--oh fuck.
Jaskier's fall plays in slow motion. His hands fly up, there's so much air, and--
--and the dhampir is right there, none of the bard having touched the ground. The horses keep moving - they've too much momentum in this moment - but that's fine. The light drizzle and the mist around them that curls around late autumnal trees means they're in Alucard's domain, and the two horses will get back to them eventually.
He is, however, holding the bard like one of Sypha's fairy stories. No idea how that happened.
With all the graveness that exists within him, Aluard draws himself up just a little bit more.]
I think we've outdone the sport of your youth, Julian.
no subject
Ah. Alucard's shirt. Surely it has wrinkled terribly under the death grip of his hands.
He rests his head on Alucard's chest so he doesn't do something dramatic, like pass out. It has been years upon years since he's fallen from a horse, and the last time he did it he ended up with a broken bone.
With his brain righting itself, he licks his lips and carefully unclaws his fingers from Alucard's finery.] I -- I'm fairly sure I agree. [Alucard really could have warned him. Though he estimates it was a great sport to watch him freewheel through the air like a fish that's flown off the hook.] I appreciate your surge of heroics. I'm quite sure that would've ended up with a broken neck and a feast for your horses.
[His shaking arms have ended up around Alucard's neck, a shift in his legs to indicate he should be. Fine. On his own two feet.] Gods, you're as fast as they are, aren't you?
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Rationality wins out though, and Alucard doesn't let Jaskier down until that shift in legs happens. The whole thing was probably comedic to watch from the outset, and it'll be a good enough laugh in a week's time. For now though, the dhampir is inclined to be delicate as he gets Jaskier standing again.]
I would've pulled them off, don't worry. [Jaskier can reflect on that implication in a moment. Alucard takes a scant moment to readjust his coat, and--
--ah.
There's a nod of his head.]
I am, yes. Faster if the need presents itself. [This is the part where Alucard has to explain what he can't do, isn't it?]
Perhaps this next part is better discussed over more wine, and inside? You'll find that we've changed Domains to mine.
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That was. Brilliant, really. And he would've been safe from the vampire horses.]
Faster, even. Yes, of course.
[Whew. He's fine, though, and he gives Alucard a charitable pat on his shoulder to prove it, even taking a few steps without wobbling or falling. This is going far, far better than his last accident with a horse.
He looks about, taking in. Oh. Certainly they have stepped far from his vineyard (which will be safe enough, with Moglad and the goldfinch there) into darkened forest and mist. It doesn't surprise him to hear Alucard claim it, either.
His heart pitter-patters. His first time here, too.] That would be quite lovely, thank you. Er. Do we need to gather the horses? I assume they're fine on their own. Not that I could catch one. I'd give a very good attempt.
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It is a perfectly wonderful November forest, thank you Jaskier. And hardly that dark. Bright leaves of gold and rust orange cling to the trees, swaying gently in the occassional wind that blows through.]
The path will wind them towards the house eventually. I'm not going to ask anyone to run after them once they've gotten started. [Himself included.] This way. Straying from the path will get you lost in here.
[Alucard designed his domain to urge others away. There's a single true path, and it takes dedicated wandering to find it - otherwise, one is apt to wander.
The true path presents itself with only a few steps though, and it takes very little time for the chimney of a house to rise out of the midst. But where one might anticipate a grand castle or even a manor house, Alucard has a hut. One with a small wooden front door with no decoration carved into it, one with only a few windows, one that can't be more than two rooms large. There's no cheer to it. Being uninviting is the thing's purpose.
Unless you're Alucard. Then it is a cozy place to hole up and enjoy the sound of rain against the roof, for just as soon as the two reach the front door, the weather picks up.]
Any wine pairings you'd like to suggest?
[The question comes as Alucard passes through the threshold, revealing a kitchen that shouldn't fit in the space that the hut seems to take up. It is a gloriously modern thing, perfectly arranged copper and cast iron pots, an oven and working stove, a table in the center to eat at and work on. Tile flooring, a fireplace to one end for heat rather than cooking. In the corner is a vestibule with two doors, both open. A bathroom, and a small bedroom with little more than a wood burning stove, a bed, and a night table stacked with books.]
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He blinks, staring down the path. For some reason, he can't help but imagine the horses are just going to keep running until they've arrived back here. Is there a joy in going that fast? A horse must enjoy it. Certainly those ones needn't suffer from being prey.
Jaskier turns back to his friend, moving to his side perhaps a little closer than normal. Nothing against him, but he would very much like to not get lost in vampire woods. It doesn't surprise him that Alucard has specifically designed this place to keep himself alone, yet his heart is heavier for him all the same.]
Cozy, isn't it? [Is his comment as they come upon the hut. And the very opposite of a moving castle, a difference so obvious it can be nothing but deliberate. To Alucard's credit, the inside is quite cozy, the kitchen a clear focus. He stares at it all, at least half of it unfamiliar.
It's quaint. A vampire with a penchant for cooking. Perhaps Jaskier is really still throttling through the air, his head shaken. It feels like it.] Ah. I do adore brie. Do you have something with a note of fruit? Cherries, perhaps?
[Certainly it's all expensive and rare, but that's the glory of this place. He could provide his own food, his own wine, but he's far more curious what Alucard will choose given the chance.]
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Once they're both inside, Alucard goes right to a bread box that sits on the counter. A small box of salt sits on the dining table. Hospitality. Bread and salt. Always and without fail.]
I don't need much more. [It is dry, he can cook, and there's a bit more space than the cactus. Inside, the rain patters against the roof in a gentle staccato. The dhampair grabs a cutting board that lives behind the bread box, and soon enough, there's a thick, crusty rye loaf brought over to the table. A serrated knife is balanced carefully on the board.]
I'm not familiar with that type, but I might have something. Feel free to start slicing though.
[Alucard moves to the refrigerator, something that's rudimentary but functional. A small rectangle that cools itself through circulated water and a little bit of magic. One of his father's favorite inventions, and one that does indeed have cheese within.]
I've a goat cheese crusted with hazel nuts and a medium sheep's cheese that might work. Do you have a preference?
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Jaskier, curious, watches him move about his own space. Certainly it's nothing like the discomfort he saw tensing Alucard in the babble of the museum. He plucks up the knife and begins cutting them both a sizable slice of bread, still vaguely warm to the touch.]
They both sound excellent. The hazelnuts, I think. [Anything for a bite of the rarer things in life, when he so often spent time on the road. And though he could summon up a brie, naturally, he likes the aspects of the Horizon that feel all the more... real. Thus, the vineyard.
He does summon a few grapes, though. Not out of nothing, but simply a relocator spell. They'll go well with the goat cheese.] I imagine you don't have company here much, do you?
[Not with the single bedroom. The single bed. He leans against the counter, plucking at grapes. However this day was meant to go, he didn't expect he'd wind up here.] Thank you for inviting me in, Alucard.
[He might not only be speaking of his cottage, or his domain.]