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WHO: Anyone and everyone in Solvunn!
WHAT: Mingle for the Summoned disguised as Winter Survival Camp™
WHEN: Two days, some time in January after the beached great yawning shark situation has been resolved.
WHERE: Within the boundaries of the Primary Settlement, at the edge of a small forest near a small body of water.

The invitation for camp is made after the beached giant of the sea has been put back into its rightful place in the ocean. It's an idea that had been ricocheting in the minds of those who live in Gardsbruk farm, and after sharing the idea with Aloy, together they've managed to design something that will (hopefully) not raise too many questions. Aloy has scouted a suitable camping area—safe, near water, with lots of space—and has cleared out debris or any obstructions that will make it difficult for people to pitch their own tents.

The Summoned are, of course, all very explicitly invited to join, and they are to disguise this congregation of too many like minds with extending the invitation to children, teenagers, and young adults in the Primary Settlement.

The individuals of the Primary Settlement are, after all, familiar with the majority—if not all—of the Solvunn Summoned. Though cautious as the natives of the commune may be, there is familiarity in the work some of the summoned ones have done to integrate, help, teach, and entertain the younger inhabitants.

And so, for two days, they will continue to integrate, teach, and entertain those who decide to join.

A. WINTER CAMP FUN

Delightfully, Solvunn doesn't suffer from having incredibly cold winters, but it is still chilly and wet enough to make camping a test of wills. However, they're lucky to have Aloy working behind the scenes to get something going.

She will be assigning chores to Summoned and Solvunn natives alike: getting water, gathering firewood, organizing supplies, pitching up tents. Additionally, since this could be new to many, she will be offering instruction in all these things, including how to build a fire, preparing wood for lean-to construction, basic traps for small game like rabbits and fish. If anyone happens to be particularly intrepid (and is not squeamish about it), she can teach them how to prep and cook said small game. Older kids and teens are asked to mind the younger children, and there is always adult supervision around the corner.

Also, maybe check first with someone before eating those mushrooms, and don't go anywhere alone. Use the buddy rule.

It's not all chores at camp, though. Some activities are available to pass the time, from the usual team-building ones to survival to improving a fighting skill. An archery range has been set up, a tightrope for a test of skill and balance, and a drum circle for a moment of singing fun and rhythm blazing are among the activities. Additionally, scavenger hunts in the near vicinity of the forest are set up, with the opportunity to run around and solve puzzles. For those who prefer quieter activities, there is always the small lake to swim into (it's cold! but nothing like a shock to the system—), collecting pebbles from the shore, or simple bird watching.

Of course, every Summoned is welcome to bring their own idea of a fun time to the camp, and whatever spin of an activity they may want to share with the others.

B. CAMPFIRE CHILL

After a long day of running around, jumping into the freezing lake, quiet meditation to garner favor with the gods, and getting energy depleted with the other activities that took place during the day, there is nothing better to end the day with than to have a big, roaring campfire to huddle around while holding onto a delicious, steaming bowl of creamy soup. All ingredients have been locally sourced (with goat cheese and bread available as sides), and now is the time for everyone to wind down. The younger children sleep first, but for those who are older, there is always a drink or two to pass around, stories to tell, and perhaps one of the Summoned will delight the group of Solvunn natives (and other Summoned) with a story of their big feats of heroism (or otherwise) back in their world.

Musical instruments will be made available, should anyone want to break into song. Games like charades will be an interesting concept to introduce the Solvunn natives to. Stargazing is another activity to indulge in should one walk a little ways away from the bonfire to look up at the night sky.

The fire blazes with life with every log of wood thrown into it, and marshmallows roast at the end of branches (some may burn), and the night really winds down the energy of the group, with people going into their respective tents, wanting to build the energy for the last day of camp, full of activities.

C. THE SUMMONED

Obviously, the Summoned are not expected to be, nor stay, during the entirety of the camp. Some can arrive on the last day of, ditch when it's time to set up or put everything away, or simply walk off if they feel bored.

They will, however, be expected to be there for the very first night.

As darkness covers their surroundings, illuminated solely by the light of campfire and torches, and once all Summoned who have decided to attend are in the clearing they had used for the bonfire, Wanda will step up and unfurl her Chaos Magic. With it, she will create a small hex, covering the perimeter of the camp, from the tents to the clearing the Summoned sit at. From the outside, nothing will look amiss: everyone sleeps, the bonfire dwindles as times passes, and from the inside, the Summoned can move about without having to worry that their movements or words will be noted outside of the Hex—an illusion with six walls and a roof, which, from the outside, gives the impression that things are still and without movement, just another night out in the forest.

No one can leave nor enter it, however, without her first bringing the Hex down. Those who are intuitive with magic will take note of the complexity of the spell, but nothing about it will neither change nor modify physical and mental traits of those within it. Its purpose is to solely give them a space to speak while the natives of Solvunn sleep, and remain asleep.

Wanda will have reached to a select few during the camp—those she's aware of magical prowess and mind control abilities—to aid her during the night to make sure the Solvunn natives remain asleep throughout their discussion, and to keep curious ones trying to get into the camp to turn around and return home without getting too close to the Hex.

Here, they can speak freely.

Before the end of the night, and when they have finished talking, she will wait for everyone to return to their tents and bring the hex down with little fanfare. Mind control or other magical trappings are no longer necessary at this point.

( OOC This will take place in one starter thread HERE. It's preferable that it can take place in an e-cats format (quick, short and snappy tags to move the story along), with no order as to who intervenes in the conversation at any given time. As different characters have different information to provide, feel free to start a thread within the starter pertaining with whatever information shared/discussion your character wants to share. Feel free to jump in and branch off, too! It's going to be a little chaotic, but we can suspend disbelief for the sake of info-sharing.

Feel free to assume that your character has heard all the information being shared in the different branching off conversations! No need to respond to claim that they have. If you want to hit a serious or emotional beat, do feel free to write as much as you want; that's fine, too! But be aware that the purpose of the conversation is for it to move along quickly. Feel free to write your own, separate post-conversation threads if you'd like. )

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[well, wanda supposes she could start them off, much as she hates taking the spotlight.]

Did anyone overhear anything while on the ship? Someone mentioned that there were disappearances taking place in Thorne, too, in Nott, specifically. I got to speak with a man of authority in Thorne about it—said that people going missing is quite common.

[she crosses her arms.]

Then there's that issue with Josselyn and 'losing favor' with the gods.

Edited 2023-01-10 14:23 (UTC)

You heard that too?

[ steve wasn't really planning on diving into this part of the conversation, as it's usually not his strong suit, but at the mention of the disappearances, he can't help but perk up a bit. ]

I heard a guard talking about it on the shore. He said the undead made it hard to investigate anything.

[ there's probably a moment here where steve is going to end up either catching eddie's eyes or just looking over towards him - people 'going missing' sounds a lot like home - before he's back to wanda again. ]

Did he say why it's common?

Times are dangerous.

[that's what lyle had said. she sweeps her glance over towards steve.]

Lyle—that's his name—he also said that he wouldn't be surprised if some citizens just didn't find it worth it to live in Thorne anymore, so they've taken whatever risks come with relocating.

[howmever—]

Are they still having an issue with the undead? The omens have been a while back.

Haven't they always been dangerous? [ steve blinks, not quite sure if he's assuming something wrong here or not. ] Or does he just mean since we started showing up?

[ the name lyle doesn't ring any bells, but who knows. if steve had any access to...any of the kids back home, or nancy at this point, he's pretty sure all of this mystery would have been worked out by now. as it stands, he barely even knows anything about thorne. ]

Is it really that bad over there? [ and then, at the question, steve shakes his head. ] They didn't say anything about that, but I don't think so? Unless zombies are so normal people don't bring them up anymore.

This world has way too many centuries of history under its belt. Perhaps danger is to have always been expected, though I'm not sure what our being here is meant to herald. We're treated as something given to Solvunn by the will of the gods, but the purpose of the Summoned is different in other factions.

Perhaps we're just a means to an end, or a way to showcase that each faction has some leverage.

[for the summoned are pretty strong individuals, in one way or another...

zombies. wanda scrunches her nose. yeah, suppose that's what they are, after all.]

Thorne has always been kind of bad. Himeka could probably explain it best.

[ steve gets....a little more than half of what it is wanda's trying to say, but the confused expression remains even still. it just doesn't make sense to him - the summoned here are presents from the gods, but the summoned in thorne are tools? and what about the cities? soldiers? ]

Leverage for what? War? Cause you'd think they'd bring over more like- actual soldiers.

[ that isn't to say that the people around him aren't all crazy good fighters. it just doesn't feel on the level where a couple of them could take on an entire army.

he means, wanda could, yes, but not steve. ]

Why do people still live there, then?

[wanda shrugs her shoulder at his question. she doesn't know that much about that, truth be told, but she can imagine how being the only nation without any summoned would put it at a disadvantage.]

Bargaining power? [but then somewhere like nocwich hasn't gone through the trouble of a summoning ritual. perhaps they don't have the resources for it.] All these three nations seem interested in the Singularity in some way. The Badlands seemed a point of interest in the most recent negotiations for all three nations.

[as for why people live there?]

Home could be riddled by conflict and broken by war because of an inept government and leaders, but it's still home. I only ever left my country when it was completely destroyed.

[—some personal input there, but it's not the focus. thorne is thorne, and those who were born there might considering leaving to not even be an option; loyalty, love, or whatever other concept.]

We should focus on finding out more. Gather information—there's a library here, and perhaps in the other settlements. The history of the place, the Old Gods, whatever it is — the more we know, the better prepared we'll be to understand what the Council's goals are.

[because clearly they are being left in the dark to an extent.]

Wouldn't Nocwich or Luna want bargaining power too? [ which is to say: most of this is fully out of steve's depth. he has no idea what the singularity is beyond the very basics, and he's not really sure he even wants to know.

his face scrunches up a bit at the whole concept of the badlands. it sounds like it should come out of a movie, not be some....weird far-off place that people are throwing magic missiles over. ] I don't even know why Solvunn wants that area anyway. I thought they were doing okay up here, staying out of the war and everything.

[ and honestly, steve supposes he gets it - why people would stay, even when they know their home is dangerous. he still lives in hawkins, doesn't he? after everything? though...that is probably a much deeper question that he's not really in the mood to ask himself, so he'll just move on. ]

Would a Library in Solvunn really have information on why people are going missing in Thorne? Or do you mean looking for something else...?

Yeah, I don’t know how helpful this is?

[ He raises a hesitant hand, already speaking as he does. ]

But one of the guys who organizes the elections in the Free Cities was complaining about the Prime Minister—Marlo, I think? Yeah, he seemed to be implying the whole beef with Thorne was her doing to put off the election so she could keep her position. I think he might have been drunk, though? And I was sort of half asleep, so--

[The lounge had some really comfortable couches, okay? ]

Take that with a whole boulder of salt.

[she doesn't care much for politics, to be honest. the free cities seem rife with it, though. wanda frowns a bit.]

That's really shitty of her if that's the case.

[to encourage war to keep herself in power?]

Wouldn't put it past it a politician, but they weren't responsible for the attacks in Nocwich to begin with. She must have thought she got a lucky break.

I did hear someone talking about how the Council of Elders or whatever are meeting up separately, like they're sneaking off one on one or something. 'Stead of all together, like they're supposed to.

[ Jerry doesn't know what they're supposed to do. He's just repeating something he only half understood. He also may be slightly stoned, but that's pretty normal. ]

[who this dude? wanda doesn't look like she recognizes him, but she saw him mingling with the other guys earlier.]

Did you catch onto any names?

[ She's probably seen him around, but he's definitely from the newest batch. Mostly, he's been helping out with various errands around the commune and generally being unobtrusive (for now...).

He shrugs, and takes a drag from his pipe. ]

Sorry, dudette. I gotta assume they meant, like. The council members? One of them's named Winifred, I think?

[ Someone has to know better than this guy. He only remembered because he found Winifred to be a slightly funny name. ]

Or you mean the guy I heard talkin'? He was one of the shrine keepers. Seemed important.

I don't think he was happy about the council meeting up all separate.

Nooo idea what any of it means, though. But since you were asking.

[what's a 'dudette'??]

It's fair to think that the Council is suppose to be this monolith of unity, or whatever— Meeting separately could imply members of it being at odds.

[hm

more importantly,]

Are you high?

Yep.

[ He answers immediately. And shamelessly.

For a beat. Then, a gasp. ]

Oh, shit. Sorry.

[ Not for the reason you think. He starts digging around in his pockets. ]

Rude of me not to share. Want some?

[ He pulls out a slightly squished little mushroom. ]

[he's definitely apologizing for the wrong thing, seems like, but wanda is not too fussed regardless. it's just curious—that no one had actually gotten their hands into either mushrooms or other herbs to get high on, or maybe she just wasn't paying too much attention.]

No, I'm fine. Don't know how it would affect my magic.

[the one keeping them within this space, inconspicuous and all that, right.]

—what's your name?

[she doesn't think she's met him before.]

Edited 2023-02-04 23:15 (UTC)

Sweet. What kinda magic you got? Is it cool?

[ He doesn't appear at all affected by the refusal either way, and pockets the mushroom again. ]

Oh.

I'm Jerry. Hiya.

Wanda.

[this guy seems incredibly easygoing, like nothing could affect him. could be his current state of mind, though.

thus, she keeps the conversation light.]

Isn't all magic cool?

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marlbro - 2023-02-12 22:24 (UTC) - Expand

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carmesi - 2023-02-13 00:05 (UTC) - Expand

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marlbro - 2023-02-17 08:22 (UTC) - Expand

I have known the Summoned to occasionally return to whence we had come - or presumably do so. But if those native to this world have also done so, that is certainly more concerning.

[And something that would very certainly be worth looking into, for all that it might be easier said than done.]

[a fair point.]

Do the natives here have anywhere to return to? At least we know that we have our own worlds.

I believe we are the only ones known to have a specific connection to the Singularity, so I would doubt they're returning to any world but this. But neither is it impossible that other... realms exist here. Ones that we are unable to either perceive or visit.

[After all, just because he can't sense an Underworld here doesn't mean there isn't one.]

[Someone mentioned Marlo. Elidibus speaks up on the topic as well.]

I overheard the assistant of Free Cities' prime minister complain of extra duties for Quilleth Kar, representative of Libertas. Despite their opposing political views which seem genuine, their relationship seems to be close.

[Elidibus doesn't sound particularly surprised that the two might be friends despite their political views. But it is still a useful tidbit in understanding the whole picture.]

Complain that he was being given extra duties, or that the representative had been forced into same?

[Both are perfectly valid complaints. But each suggests at a slightly different state of affairs, though Emet-Selch will be the first to admit he knows comparatively little of the Free Cities.]

That they had been given extra duties for Quilleth Kar's benefit.

[The answer is offered with certainty.]

It seemed no more than a complaint of extra work, though the close relationship between the prime minister and Libertas's representative seems worth noting. Unfortunately I could not probe for details.

[He had been pretending to nap. And yes, those lounge couches were comfy, can confirm.]

That they had cause enough to complain is intriguing enough in its own right. True, we may not necessarily be able to say why they should have been given sufficient additional work as to be noticeable but that they have been - and that they are not offering worse complaint - is intriguing in its own right.

[And he will definitely not argue that the couches had been quite comfortable.]

Likewise, the relationship between the prime minister and Libertas' representative is something worth noting, even should we not yet have anything further on the matter.

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· OPEN ·

about rumors.....

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threadjacking ok!

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Re: about rumors.....

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