agentlelog | event: a gentle arrival

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event: a gentle arrival

I won't give up so don't give in
You've fallen down but you can rise again

► The OOC plotting post for this event can be found here.

► Direct all questions to the mods at this link.

SWEET DREAMS AREN'T MADE OF THIS
The dream isn't unpleasant, just strange. Mist curls around you long after the woman fades. You hold a Jewel in your hand, marveling at its multifaceted surface and feeling the thrill of new, untapped power. Anticipation surges in you: that feeling of wrongness that so often accompanies a nightmare you can't wake from. Anticipation becomes fear. You look up, certain that at any moment the mist will pull back and reveal something gruesome and terrible.

A scream. A piercing wail, that sound that accompanies a violent death. The sound doesn't come from your dream, and it jolts you awake. You…

i. Are alone in your room, and have a moment to gather yourself. Wherever you laid down to rest, you've woken up somewhere different. Somewhere strange. There's a comforting weight in the air—a feeling of welcome, of belonging. Then another scream pierces the night. In your dream, the woman asked for a hero. Maybe you already consider yourself a hero or maybe you don't, but now seems as good a time as any to either be one or start pretending.

ii. See a dark shape looming over you. You have no time to assess the place you've woken up, though you have a quick flash of insight that your dream must have been more than a dream and the woman to whom you spoke has brought you to her world and her home. There's no time to marvel at this. The shadow above you draws back, a pistol Breaker in their hand. Even if you've never seen a gun before, you can somehow taste their malice and hatred. They're pointing a weapon at you, and your scream might be the next to tear through the midnight darkness.

Landen Hunters have infiltrated the Queen's Residence. How stalwartly you choose to fight them off is up to you, but you'll quickly encounter members of Fayura's First Circle defending against the attackers. Allairavar rallies the people of the court, ensuring the most vulnerable are well guarded in the massive dining hall. Loren maintains a Green shield around the room, and only those of the court or the Strangers can enter. There, Healers tend to the wounded, and the children who live at the residence are kept safe.

Amidst the turmoil, you overhear snippets of conversation:

A Healer, quietly, to her patient: If the Lady isn't here, she and Prince Verim must be working some spell to protect us. Rest easy, Prince.

Lord August, speaking quickly to Prince Lachlan as they rush by: —monsters find out the Queen would be bringing help to us tonight? Who told the Hunters—

An injured footman, worried: —see the flames through the window. Landens live in Old Town. How unsurprising that the Guilds would come up with a distraction that hurts their own, too.

FLAME AND FURY
Beyond the Queen's Residence, the Old Town Bazaar burns. Horrified faces gather at the east-facing dining hall windows, and distraught whispers fill the air. Someone cries out that their sister lives in Old Town.

Loren reacts first. He calls for volunteers from the Strangers, and you have the distinct impression that he measures you by your response. "The Hunters—" He grimaces, realizing the Strangers probably don't know what he means. "—landen assassins came in the night to kill you. They've lit part of our city on fire to prevent us from following them. We don't know who, specifically, came for you, but we know where they've gone to ground, so we don't need to chase them down. What we do need to do is stop the fire from spreading. The First Circle will stay here and defend the residence. Who among you Strangers, those of you who came here tonight, will help with the fires?"

Those who agree to help are sent with Allairavar to put out the flames. As you travel with him, Allairavar provides a crash-course in creative application of Craft.

*You wear the Jewels, so you can shield. You should know how, if the Lady's spell worked. Shield yourselves to protect from the flames. Use Craft to shield the buildings and starve out the fires,* he says on a psychic thread so that everyone can hear him and he doesn't need to waste his breath by shouting. *Rescue anyone trapped in the buildings regardless of who they are. Be on the look out for Hunters—the assassins Loren mentioned. They're sneaky bastards, and they'll use our focus on helping the people to put knives in our backs if they can.*

Put out fires, use your powers or Craft to support buildings before they collapse, and rescue landens and Blood alike from the damage done by the Hunter Guild. Be wary and alert, and try not to damage the city more than the fires already have should you encounter Hunters. Blood families will go with the Strangers more easily than landen families, but Allairavar makes it clear that if you have to physically remove someone from a burning home or one that is about to collapse then that is exactly what you should do.

REST FOR THE WEARY
Dawn breaks on the horizon, painting the city of Draega a hazy red. With little wind, the smoke hovers around the city. In Old Town, even buildings that didn't burn begin to smell like the fire.

A somber weight falls on the Queen's Residence. In the aftermath of the night's events, Loren introduces himself to each of the Strangers individually if possible but to groups if he must: He is the Queen's Steward, and his Queen was the one who worked the spell to bring them to Draega. He apologizes for the circumstance of their arrival and that the Queen is currently indisposed. Everyone, he explains, can stay in the residence for as long as they would like, and he makes it clear that by no means are the Strangers required to remain in the residence nor will they be viewed with suspicion or distrust by the court if they decide to find their own homes.

Those with medical skills or healing powers are brought to the dining hall to help the Healers. The Healer in charge is a young, Yellow Jeweled woman who has exhausted her Craft and desperately needs assistance. Anyone who inquires about her position within the court, either to her or others, learns that she is highly skilled and spent her childhood in the landen Medico Guild before taking a chance on her half-Blood heritage and making an Offering. While she wears one of the lightest Jewels in the residence, even Allairavar submits silently to her attentions and he offers no excuse when she chastises him for getting injured.

Midway through the day, Allairavar and Loren make the mistake of having an unshielded conversation near the dining hall. Anyone nearby can overhear…

"I spoke briefly to Verim," Loren says, voice low and urgent. "They weren't caught in the fire, but Allairavar…"

A muscle in Allairavar's jaw ticks. His massive, membranous wings fan out to fill the hall before he pulls them tight to his back. "She's injured."

Loren nods. "Badly. The backlash of power struck her hard, and Verim couldn't help her absorb it." Tension lines Allairavar's body, and Loren quickly adds, "You can't kill them. She brought them here to help us—"

"Our Queen is vulnerable," Allairavar hisses. "There are strangers in our home." A dangerous, wild look fills his eyes. "Does she plan on doing this again? We're not letting her." He rocks back and forth on his feet with the nervous energy of a man contained and about to explode.

"So we'll strand these people here?" Gentle concern fills Loren's eyes. "She'll need to do this once more to send them home."

All that nervous energy abruptly vanishes, and Allairavar bends a sleepy-eyed, malevolent look on Loren. "Would you ask our Queen to destroy herself for these people?"

Violence cloaks both men, but the threat of action rests solely on Allairavar. Loren keeps his voice gentle. Soothing. "Do you really think she would have made the offer if she couldn't send them home? Do you think she would truly be so cruel as to demand they come here with no chance of ever returning home?"

Allairavar is quiet for a long moment. The tension slowly flows out of him, leaving him looking weary and exhausted. "Yes," he finally says, tone grim. "Because to her, the price is worth it to save the world. And she would accept it for any of them if they asked." He runs a hand over his head and sighs heavily. Without another word, he turns and walks away. Loren does not call after him.

AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you're spinning the dial on your own device, you'll hear…

etiquette with evandra and aren
[Evandra's voice is a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] Just because the Blood have no law against murder doesn't mean you can kill anyone on the street—or in their homes, isn't that right, Lord Aren?

[Aren's voice is chipper and bright. He sounds more like an eager boy than the full-grown man he is.] Quite true, Evandra! Unless someone has done something to merit execution, wanton murder is generally frowned upon. A Queen can demand a price for the death of someone in her Territory or court.

[A thoughtful hum from Evandra.] So, the Hunter Guild's attack on the Queen's Residence last night isn't illegal, but it was incredibly gauche. And now they face possible retaliation from her and her court. How ghastly!

[Aren agrees.] A dreadful affair. Remember: just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[Evandra:] Quite so. Something for us all to consider. As always, I'm Evandra.

[With solemn dignity, Lord Aren says:] I'm Aren, and you've been listening to…

[Together:] Etiquette with Evandra and Aren. [Jaunty outro music plays. Perhaps they should reconsider this particular tune on dark occassions.]

the weather
[A soft-spoken man's voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He's pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] …overcast and snowy days with temperatures hovering around freezing during the day and dropping at night. Need to tune up your e-line heaters? The Elektriline Guild is offering a limited-time discount this week to ensure you stay warm around the clock.

the news
…distressed to hear of the incident at the Queen's Residence. [The man speaks in a slow, smooth voice. His words ring with heartfelt sincerity.] Though Lady Fayura and I don't often see eye-to-eye— [He chuckles at this, as though he's made a joke. Another man, presumably an interviewer, chuckles along with the air of someone who isn't sure this is a joke they should be laughing at.] —I condemn the actions taken by the Hunter Guild. Destroying people's homes is simply unacceptable.

But one wonders what that surge of power was just prior to midnight. Craft, surely, but to what end? Was that the spell the Queen used to summon these… Strangers from other Realms? Surely we can agree that such action, taken independently of the Guilds and the Ebon Council, much as we don't get along, is cause for concern. I believe the Lady has overstepped, and it is my firm hope that Lord Grejor issues an injunction against her for such flagrant disregard for the law.

[The interviewer speaks, and his voice is faintly strained.] Thank you, Grand Master Niall, for talking to us on this issue.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. sweet dreams.

( a. ) [ for a demigod, a somewhat prophetic dream is nothing new, nor is the looming sense of impending doom — and so when leo wakes, it is with the singular, clear thought of, well, this is not ideal.

as soon as his eyes adjust to being open, and as soon as he registers the presence of another person, and the weapon he is holding, the thought changes from not ideal to almost definitely screwed. ]

Have you never heard of an alarm clock? [ his mind flits through his options: running, not good. fighting, plausible. he's pretty sure his hammer is deadly enough, and assuming this assassin dude isn't immune to fire, some nice balls of fire could be made too, if it wasn't for the flammability of everything nearby. which leaves — ]

That's a pretty cool gun, what kind of ammo does it use? You don't see a gun like that every day, trust me, I've gotta see — [ he moves closer, puts his hand over the barrel. mutters, just gonna fix you a bit, buddy.

twists his fingers.

the Hunter presses the trigger; the gun fires. backwards. ] Right, that's my cue, nice to meet you! [ excuse him as he hightails it the hell out of that room. maybe you stand outside and hear him, or maybe he just barrels right into you instead. sorry about that. ]

( b. ) [ eventually, leo makes it into the dining hall, stepping through the green shield with some awe. it's like camp half-blood, sort of, isn't it? the shield that only lets certain people through.

instead of talking to people, leo wanders between them, listening to the chatter, and upon overhearing some of the conversations, he runs his hand through his hair and sighs. ] Assassins and a fire in town? Sounds fantastic. Totally up for some more fighting and saving people and stuff. [ #sarcasm, but then, what is a demigod's life if not fighting and saving people and stuff? ]

ii. flame and fury.

[ it's a fire — of course he's going. it sort of feels like cheating, even thinking of staying away when he's guaranteed to be unharmed by the flames. when just his presence can lessen the flames and give people a chance to get out. ]

( a. ) Whoa, hey, I'm here to help! [ he yells in one of the houses, to a family that's trapped in one of the back rooms. leo steps forward, and the flames are drawn to him, dying out around him. he spreads his arms like, see, it's fine, it's safe.

and yet, the family — an older man and his daughter — don't move. leo groans. ] Seriously? Am I gonna have to carry you guys out of here? [ the man looks at him, in all his scrawny, short glory, and lifts an eyebrow. you and what muscles, he seems to ask. and okay, yeah, so he has a point. some assistance, maybe? ]

( b. ) [ and just as monsters are drawn to half-bloods, so do the hunters seem to be drawn to the strangers. it's outside a recently collapsed building that one of the assassins comes face to face with leo, whose arms and head are still smoking from all the heat, and it's rather obvious he's not there as one who is escaping the houses.

what I wouldn't give for my hammer right now, he thinks, before grinning brightly at the assassin. ] Sup, dude! You ever heard of negotiations? You know, the type where people talk before burning houses and murdering others? I think you could really use some of th —

[ whoa, okay, so that was definitely the dude going for some rather aggressive negotiations right there, and it's only leo's reflexes that get him to dodge in time. this is going just great. ]

iii. rest for the weary.

[ it is a very exhausted leo valdez that comes back to the queen's residence in the wee hours of the morning... also a leo valdez whose shirt and pant legs have totally burned off. unfortunately, when the fireproof-level of your clothes depends on your concentration, accidents are bound to happen.

he stumbles to the nearest unoccupied place, whether it's a chair, a table, or just the corner of a hall, and promptly falls asleep. sorry, was it on top of your things? was it where you'd been sitting? oops. wake him up if you feel like it.

and later, when he's woken up from his nap and found some new clothes, he decided that some food might be a good idea — only, heading to the dining hall means also heading to where loren and allairavar are having their conversation, and it's one that kind of leaves him without much of an appetite. ]

Well, that's not ominous at all, [ he mutters, and maybe, if you too heard it all, you agree. ]

iv. wildcard.

[ if we talked about teaming up for a job thing, feel free to wildcard that, or poke me for a starter either by PM or on plurk @ celen! or feel free to hit up leo for any other things in-between any of the prompts above! will match format. ]

Tell me about it. This is a rough welcome.

[Not that she won't help. Of course she will. But this has already been a rough night.]

They already sent assassins, was the fire even necessary?

Was any of this necessary?

[ really. really. this whole thing is starting to get old. ]

What is it with people and the whole hey-I-want-to-kill-you-for-stuff-you-might-do shtick? [ a pause. ] I mean, not that I have any experience with that.

[ whoops. that totally sounds convincing, right? he's not exactly going to start hollering about the whole gaea thing without knowing more about, well, everything and everyone. ]

[Starting to get old? No, this was old when it started.]

I'm not even sure what they think we might do. It's not as if they know any of us.

[Alice has words for whoever sent these assassins. They are not pleasant words.]

And why would they involve the locals? The people whose homes they burned down tonight might just do something themselves. I know I would.

Yeah, well, from what I know, that doesn't matter a whole lot sometimes.

[ just the potential. just the fact that you might stop whatever plans are in motion. sometimes, that's enough. ]

I kinda hope they do, don't you?

leo valdez | ota

Sweet dreams B

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sweet dreams a(re made of this)

cries already

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