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aterat2020-07-08 09:06 pm
ateratmods) wrote in aterat2020-07-08 09:06 pm
Pulse 001
Speaking Crystal
[Mid-morning, a familiar voice rings out over the crystals.]
Good morning, everyone! We trust you've settled in well! We'd like to meet you all formally and invite you to join us in the fountain square this afternoon! We look forward to seeing you there!
Who; The Aspects (Halcyn & Athony) and YOU!
What; The Aspects welcome their new summons to Aterat
Where; The Fountain Square
When; Thursday; Mid-day
Warnings; None I can think of. Will update if necessary
The Fountain square remains unchanged from your arrival, the multiple tiers containing archways all dim save for the one from which Halcyn and her counterpart, Athony, step at the appointed time. Around the fountain, though, have gathered artisans, performers, and salesman as well as recruiters. People are looking for clerks, delivery persons, and people to run small tasks for them. There are leatherworkers interested in hiring intrepid individuals to acquire more exotic skins for their trade and various other ways to earn coin.
And then there is a larger stall built into the back of a large covered wagon pulled by two oxen. It's set off a little ways from the others, either to set itself apart from the vulgus or simply to afford it room. Two people dressed smartly stand a bit apart from it and will encourage any passersby to come speak with the clerk behind the desk. Emblazoned across the side in intricate gold leaf are the letters "MGB" and the callers will inform anyone inquiring they are representatives of the Merchant's Guild Bank, and that they are willing to negotiate investment in any business ventures newcomers may be interested in...for a modest cut, of course. They assure the contract is thoroughly negotiable and urge you to speak with the broker in the carriage.
All business dealings cease when the portal on the highest level of the fountain activates and Halcyn and Athony step through. She is tall, lithe, with flowing red hair and an aura of goodness and life that overrides any attempts to read her mind. He has a darker aura, clad in deep gray armor with a gem-encrusted sword at his hip and a formidable shield strapped to his back. The murk around his mind is just as difficult to pierce, and anyone sensative to the flow of time would sense these two seem to exist as though apart from it.
They descend the dias to stand at ground level, equal to the gathered crowd, but when Halcyn speaks, her soft melodious voice carries as though its amplified, though there seems to be no source of amplification save for a subtle vibration of magic those sensative to it may sense.
"I'm so glad you all came!" She claps her hands together, clasping them before her before spreading her arms wide. "We have so much work to do, as I've told you all already. We have been tasked with the reconstruction of this world, and we simply can't without all of you. The reason why is complicated, but I can assure you we require nothing of any of you that you are not capable of." She motions around at the square and all those gathered here.
"The people of Aterat are eager to welcome you as well, but Athony and myself will remain around should you wish to speak more privatly. Again, thank you all for coming!"
With that, the gathering dispurses into it's former form, though the Aspects remain should anyone wish to speak with them.
Feel free to post top levels to meet and greet your fellow arrivals and to explore the offerings of this strange new city.
Throughout the city, not only today, but at random times, a new rhyme seems to have been picked up by the children at play, skipping rope or playing hopscotch, or dancing in a strange circle. There's a haunting quality to it, but maybe that's only because no one's taken notice of its existence before:
Traveler, traveler, what do you seek?
Riches and fame make oaken souls weap.
Traveler, traveler, watch where you're led.
One turn left, three turns right will take you to bed.
Traveler, traveler, try not to get lost.
The dwellers in the mirk may well be the cost.
[Mid-morning, a familiar voice rings out over the crystals.]
Good morning, everyone! We trust you've settled in well! We'd like to meet you all formally and invite you to join us in the fountain square this afternoon! We look forward to seeing you there!
Who; The Aspects (Halcyn & Athony) and YOU!
What; The Aspects welcome their new summons to Aterat
Where; The Fountain Square
When; Thursday; Mid-day
Warnings; None I can think of. Will update if necessary
The Fountain square remains unchanged from your arrival, the multiple tiers containing archways all dim save for the one from which Halcyn and her counterpart, Athony, step at the appointed time. Around the fountain, though, have gathered artisans, performers, and salesman as well as recruiters. People are looking for clerks, delivery persons, and people to run small tasks for them. There are leatherworkers interested in hiring intrepid individuals to acquire more exotic skins for their trade and various other ways to earn coin.
And then there is a larger stall built into the back of a large covered wagon pulled by two oxen. It's set off a little ways from the others, either to set itself apart from the vulgus or simply to afford it room. Two people dressed smartly stand a bit apart from it and will encourage any passersby to come speak with the clerk behind the desk. Emblazoned across the side in intricate gold leaf are the letters "MGB" and the callers will inform anyone inquiring they are representatives of the Merchant's Guild Bank, and that they are willing to negotiate investment in any business ventures newcomers may be interested in...for a modest cut, of course. They assure the contract is thoroughly negotiable and urge you to speak with the broker in the carriage.
All business dealings cease when the portal on the highest level of the fountain activates and Halcyn and Athony step through. She is tall, lithe, with flowing red hair and an aura of goodness and life that overrides any attempts to read her mind. He has a darker aura, clad in deep gray armor with a gem-encrusted sword at his hip and a formidable shield strapped to his back. The murk around his mind is just as difficult to pierce, and anyone sensative to the flow of time would sense these two seem to exist as though apart from it.
They descend the dias to stand at ground level, equal to the gathered crowd, but when Halcyn speaks, her soft melodious voice carries as though its amplified, though there seems to be no source of amplification save for a subtle vibration of magic those sensative to it may sense.
"I'm so glad you all came!" She claps her hands together, clasping them before her before spreading her arms wide. "We have so much work to do, as I've told you all already. We have been tasked with the reconstruction of this world, and we simply can't without all of you. The reason why is complicated, but I can assure you we require nothing of any of you that you are not capable of." She motions around at the square and all those gathered here.
"The people of Aterat are eager to welcome you as well, but Athony and myself will remain around should you wish to speak more privatly. Again, thank you all for coming!"
With that, the gathering dispurses into it's former form, though the Aspects remain should anyone wish to speak with them.
Feel free to post top levels to meet and greet your fellow arrivals and to explore the offerings of this strange new city.
Throughout the city, not only today, but at random times, a new rhyme seems to have been picked up by the children at play, skipping rope or playing hopscotch, or dancing in a strange circle. There's a haunting quality to it, but maybe that's only because no one's taken notice of its existence before:
Riches and fame make oaken souls weap.
Traveler, traveler, watch where you're led.
One turn left, three turns right will take you to bed.
Traveler, traveler, try not to get lost.
The dwellers in the mirk may well be the cost.
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Not that she'd be opposed to that anyway if someone asked; afterall, she was missing a lot back home by being here. Business stuff, derby practice, watching the entirety of 'Death Note' in a worryingly short space of time...
Urgh. She'd really been looking forward to that.
"Yeah, it's creepy- and kinda makes me wanna poke around some more."
Linking her pinkies behind her, she gives Caelan a very specific Look. "You know, I might be open to havin' some company if you get bored sneakin' around the Harbour."
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She definitely had a measure of it, hard to say how much, but he’d be willing to wager money on how little Athony probably had.
“It’s delightfully cryptic in my opinion, I’d certainly want to poke around a little more to figure out where they got it from. Usually those things’ve got some deeper meaning.” Caelan tucked his hands in his pocket, smiling lightly when he saw a few food stalls set up in the distance. He wasn’t sure what it was, and wasn’t particularly hungry himself, but it would do.
He tilted his head back to glance at Holly, meeting the pointed look with one of curiosity. “Well I’m not sure that it’s possible for me to get properly bored with the harbour district.” Specific reasons of course, more because of what was connected to the harbour district, “But I certainly could stand to have something to do to when I’m not ‘sneakin’ around the harbour.’ So that’s a gracious offer for you to make.”
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Yes, yes, she knows the Aspects may not be the only ones responsible, but it's hard to take the high road here when they've all effectively been kidnapped and Halcyn's all smiles and joyous crowd addresses.
Holly had some choice words for her, but that was neither here nor there; right now, she had another question for Caelan specifically.
"What's so interestin' about the Harbour District? It smells weird, and I bet there's a load of bodies dumped there. I don't mind that so much, but it is somethin' to consider - I mean that'd be where I'd chuck 'em, just weigh down the body bag with big old rocks and splash, see ya sucker-"
Okay, Holly. Focus. Shaking her head like her brain's an etch-a-sketch, she carries on, still as brightly as before.
"Is there somethin' there you wanna find? I can help, I'm good at all that stuff, in case you needed remindin'."
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It was like they weren’t particularly discerning when it came to their choices on who was brought to the world. Certainly not sensible...
Caelan gets a rather amused little smirk at the question about his interest in the harbour district, though it’s easily dismissed if you assumed he was amused with Holly’s apparent knowledge on body disposal. “The harbour district has plenty of secrets for one. For another, I grew up on and still generally live next to the ocean shore. So the area is a source of curiosity and familiarity?” He circled around though, tone lightening at the offer. “Clearly you’re a lady of many talents. Sneaking, body disposal, skating, what can you not do?”
Turning slightly, he moved for the food stands and hummed a little. What did kids even like? Especially one that had professed to be a picky eater...? Sara would be more suited to this, damn it.
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"What d'ya mean, secrets? What secrets?- Wait, how d'ya know there's secrets?"
Wait, no- how could he be turning towards the food? He just casually mentioned something that could legiterally be the most interesting thing to happen since she was brought here.
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Ah, now that was some enthusiasm for secrets that clearly rivalled his own. He can indulge her on the secrets he’d happened upon, they were better than those of the personal sort. “How? Well, if you’ve ever lived near harbours, you’d know that these ones just aren’t right. I would say they might’ve been left in a state of disrepair for a reason. More uninviting, less normal folks poking around the locked up buildings.” And then there was the entrance to the sewer...
Caelan intended to explore them, but not without maps or blueprints. At least... not without trying to find them first. So, Holly wouldn’t hear about that form him just yet. He remembered being young and curious, that was a bad mix.
And if anyone was going to do something exceptionally stupid? It would be him, once the boredom had set in.
Yes, Holly, he is turning towards food. Either you tell him why you didn’t want food or you put up with him trying to be a responsible adult
HA!and get you something to eat.no subject
Someone who's squeamish, perhaps?
Still, she persisteth, happily rolling next to him in this new, food-centric direction. It smelled good, whatever it was - but it wasn't what had her stomach growling at her.
"But anyway- I've never lived near a harbour, always been right in the city. Well- not in the city, that'd be way too noisy and my house wouldn't fit probably, but yeah, no harbour dwellin' for me." Usually, this'd be where a regular person would pause for breath; Holly just got distracted momentarily by one of the stalls they passed, before she continued.
"Don't y'think they could just look creepy and busted up because the city's 'fallin' apart' or whatever? Hey- maybe that's why you were brought here! T'fix the boats and the harbour and shit! Maybe Halsey and Charlie Frown looked into their crystal ball and were like 'ohhhh, that duuude, he's got a weird number'a fingers and knowledge about spooky harbours! GET HIM!'"
This came with 'spooky' hand gestures and wiggly fingers, just for emphasis. "Still wanna know why I'm here though."
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None of this was important of course, beyond giving him a little perspective and more of an idea of what kind of life Holly had back home. There was still something particular about her that he couldn’t put his finger on, but he’d figure it out eventually...
Of course, he stops and takes a few steps back towards the stall that had distracted her, halting the continuous talking for a moment. Hmm... Looked like they were selling some kind of hand pie, that might do the trick?
Finding a small line to stand in the back of, Caelan tried to imagine himself building a ship or doing any kind of large-scale wood working project. That makes him laugh. A lot. Especially with the addition of the dramatic wiggly fingers, that’s very much his brand of dramatic. “I’m not sure that six fingers makes me any handier with building things, one can have experience with harbours and not know how to build anything I’m afraid. Fishing? Perhaps!” Definitely. “Ship building? I’d shudder to think of how briefly such a ship would stay afloat.”
Shaking his head a little, he had to admit he just didn’t know. “I’m afraid we’re both still quite in a similar kettle of fish, no idea why they picked either of us. I’m not sure they really know what they’re doing when they pull people here.”
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"Hey, you don't know - maybe it'd help you build stuff! The extra finger that you 'don't have'-" With air quotes, for emphasis, "-could be good for like...holding an extra pencil. Or nails. Or a cigarette- but maybe not, because they smell nasty and turn y'lungs into wrinkly garbage bags."
Biology, see? Truly the gift that kept on giving.
His inability to offer her any theories about why they specifically were there earned him a dramatic groan, but it wasn't long before her mind was already on other, more edible subjects.
"Okay- if you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what'd it be and why?"
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Of course, the topic jumped rather rapidly to food. Caelan had to pause for a moment, wondering vaguely if it was because of the food stall or because that was simply how she changed topics. Maybe it was both. “Now why would I only have to eat one thing? Salmon, or maybe herring would be the obvious answer, I suppose.” Because... Well it was simply a part of his diet. Seafood was life, Holly.
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As it turned out, that thought was;
"- wait- salmon?? What are ya, a fuckin' bear?" They eat salmon, right? "That's super weird."
Following that was an approving grin. "You're weird. But in a good way. Okay! Next question, uh.....Oh! Would you rather only be able t'speak in song lyrics of songs that you know, or have every bird attack you on sight, 24/7?"
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Still, he’s not going to let her think he’s a bear. That’s just absurd. “You know a lot of things eat salmon, even people eat salmon?” Like seals, for instance. That would be a rather on the nose hint though, and he’s not about to go there.
He couldn’t help but think on how weird he could say she was, given the rapidness of her subject changes and the very strange hypothetical situations she was presenting him with. Was this some sort of test or a game? or both? He was used to games of questions after all, there were plenty of fae who were fond of them. “That’s easy, speaking in song lyrics. I know plenty of songs, and I have written many. What about you? What would you’re answer be, or are you not participating?”
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'A guy who wears gloves 24/7 and wants to eat entire fish'...could be an alien?
Now there's a theory, though it's one she'd keep to herself. For now. But with her own question turned back on her, she hummed aloud as she weighed the options.
"I think....the birds. Yeah. I don't know enough songs that have curses in 'em. I could just carry a big-ass umbrella everywhere so they don't see me right away, or only travel at night! Birds sleep at night, right?"
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“Some birds do, but other birds don’t. You could end up with birds working in shifts, the nocturnal ones coming out to get you in the evenings just when you think that you’re safe.” Caelan responded to the question with a small grin, just because the sun went down didn’t mean that everything went to sleep after all. People, animals, and birds alike.
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Holly would counter with 'all the sides' being included in the meal would mean the whole lot would count as 'one thing' - but that was neither here nor there. Right then she was more concerned with the fact that birds could unionise against her.
"...Dang...well....maybe I'd just wear riot gear everywhere, that wouldn't be too hot or weird or inconvenient at all."
Nope. Not at all.
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See, Sara? You aren’t the only member of the group who can be!!
The selkie finds himself a little unsure of what she was talking about again, but he had a feeling it was some sort of armour to wear in case of a riot. Sounded like armour anyway, and it was easier than constantly asking her what something was. “I dunno, gremlin. Sounds to me like you might be better off learning some more songs or how to write the ones with words you prefer to use at this point.”
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"That's so many songs though- which I guess isn't bad, I mean what kinda weirdo doesn't like songs, but..."
'But' she tended to swear a lot, and occasionally rather creatively. How many songs contained sentences like 'you're such a fucking failure, your birth certificate is just an apology from the Durex factory'? Or 'I'd call you a cunt but you lack the depth and the warmth'?
First world problems, man.
As the line moved forward some more, she sighed and shrugged. "I dunno, maybe that would be best- okay, new question! What year is it for you, back home? 'Cause you're obviously not from anywhere close to my time, judgin' by the funny looks you keep givin' me every time I'm done talkin'."
That, and she was exceedingly curious about whether or not they were from the same world but different times, or different worlds entirely! Either way, she was about to find out if either alternate worlds or time travel existed.
Fuckin' awesome either way, man.
no subject
Taking another step towards the head of the line, he blinked a bit at the question. “Good question.” He responded lightly, wracking his brain a little. Seriously, how did immortals remember to keep track of the date...? Time was weird when you lived a long time, Holly.
“I think... I think it was around 1880-1890 something?” Caelan finally responded a moment later, before glancing down at her curiously. “What about you?” It was an interesting idea, that perhaps they were just from different times rather than different worlds altogether. Not that it made anything make any more sense than it did now.
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That skill, however, hadn't quite started developing yet. Her reaction to his answer was instantaneous, already wide eyes growing wider to accompany-
"WOAH, what?? That's like...old-timey time!! Like, before even jeans and shit!"
Ah yes, the newest way of measuring time, according to Holly; B.D and A.D. Before and After Denim.
"It's 2018 for me!!"Was her voice starting to rise in volume bit by bit? Quite possibly, but in her defence this definitely warranted a bit of yelling.
As a treat.
"Dude- 1880 though? That's nuts! Like, a good source'a healthy fats kinda nuts!! Mind blown-" Of course, this came with the appropriate hand gesture. "That explains why you look at me half the time like y'don't know what the fuck I'm talkin' about, because you literally don't!!"
Yes Holly, being the one in question would likely mean he knew that he didn't know what she was talking about half the time.
"That's so cool though...Man, I can teach you all this stuff about the future, and then when slash if you go home, you can tell everyone and have everyone call you crazy but then a few more decades down the line they'll be like, 'Oh, that Caelan dude, he knew what was up. Let's give him a nobel prize and a big house'."
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Although one could argue that he was, indeed, an old man compared to the twelve-year-old excitedly raising her voice over the fact that he was from the ‘olden times.’ Of course, 2018 was an incredible jump as far as the idea of time travel went. That was so far into the future. A time that he wasn’t sure anyone, even a fae, could properly imagine at his point in time.
“But yes, I would say that is why I look at you like I haven’t a clue what it is you’re on about sometimes. I can sort of guess what some of it is or why some of it seems strange to me through context, but otherwise? I don’t know.” Moving towards the head of the line again, he pulls an example to the front of his mind to use to explain it. “Like your shoes with their batteries? Batteries are kind of enormous in my time, you wouldn’t see any shoes with them. So I had a feeling your world had at least progressed a lot further than my own.”
Another chuckle escaped at the idea of him taking all that future knowledge back to his own time, “I admit, some of it would be very useful to know in advanced. I don’t believe I’d want an award or anything, too much attention is bad for sneaky business. You need to balance out the attention you want from the attention you don’t want, and I would say awards would tip the balance.”
Yes, Caelan loved having people focused on him. He liked being the center of attention, but only when he could use it to his advantage or if he was performing some musical piece.
no subject
The next few seconds are occupied by Holly trying to count on her fingers how many years ago 1880 was as far as she was concerned, but that didn't last long. Her attention span was far too occupied with all the stuff she had to tell him, how much she could learn!!
Dude, her history classes were gonna be bomb after this. It'd basically be illegal for them to give her anything lower than an A+.
"I dunno how many years that is but it's SO MANY! Urgh, that's cool..."
When he brought up her shoes again, she grinned at the reminder. "Oh yeah! Yeah, you can get 'em in all sizes now, so like- little tiny ones, skinny ones, fat ones - depends on what y'need 'em for! Like they can make stuff light up or turn your XBox controller on or make your Christmas tree look pretty 'cause of the lights- Oh! And you can get ones that recharge too, but if you leave 'em somewhere and forget about 'em or if you don't change 'em out they like explode and leak everywhere and you've basically gotta yeet your remote control into the sun."
Caelan, it seemed had picked up a shovel and was preparing himself only to dig himself deeper into the 'what is Holly talking about' pit.
"Okay okay okay- BUT, okay- what's a cool technology thingie that you guys have? Like what's just been invented? I dunno that much about the 1800's- I know a lot about Vikings though!"
no subject
“It’s a lot of years, so I would agree that it’s ‘cool.’” Yeah, he’ll try her funny future slang! It was a lot of years between them, so many that he’s not sure either of them could say that it seemed realistic. Barring any particularly bad situations, he could honestly say he might still be around in that era... But he’s not sure he can really picture that right now.
A moment later, he realized she was talking again in that same excited rapid fire ramble that she kept flying into whenever she discovered a subject that she could explain. It was so very confusing and difficult to follow, but delightful at the same time. Instead of folding his arms and tapping his foot like some might do as they waited for it to come to an end, he listened to every word with the most confused but intrigued look on his face.
There were just so many words there, and a few of them he had no idea what they were. A smart man might just write them off as unnecessary and just take it as it was, but it was filling the time to get to the head of the line. “Alright, so I get that they come in all shapes and sizes; but what, might I ask, is an xbox, and a yeet?”
The question is met with a pondering little pause, his head tilting slightly as he tried to think of an invention that she might find interesting. The problem was, years bled together a bit by this point, and he wasn’t sure what the exact year something might have been invented was. “There’s a thing called a toaster? They toast bread with electricity instead of fire?”
no subject
"It's not a yeet, like a thing you can hold - when you yeet somethin', y'throw it real hard as far as you can. And an XBox is a big boxy thing that y'plug inta your TV and it lets you play games! Y'just put the game disk inta the XBox and then it comes up on the screen, and you control it from wherever you're sittin' with a controller. Something else that's very cool."
Was she expecting something a little more exciting than a toaster? Yes, possibly, but at least it was something she knew. If he'd said something like 'the first fancy pants telescope thingie' or 'the first molecule in a whatever', she'd have probably started to glaze over. In this case however, she just laughed again.
"I'm just imaginin' all these old timey Victorians settin' fire to bread and hopin' for the best - that's pretty neat though."
no subject
Then she explained, and a slightly bemused grin crossed his face. “So yeet is another word for throw... An Xbox is to play games.” He’s not even going to ask about the tv, not right now. They’d be here all day if he did, because the selkie was sure she would explain that only to say something else that he didn’t understand...
Caelan was at least wise enough to know when you just had to accept that not everything a friend said would make sense, he got the basic idea and that would have to do until he was actually faced with something like it. “So if I was gonna toss myself into the sea, you’d say I yeeted myself into the ocean, yeah?”
Yes, he’s very amused. It’s a fun word to say, okay?
“As for toast, yeah that about sums up how it was made for a while, shove a piece of bread on a toasting fork and hope you didn’t set yourself on fire. Some had toasting plates though, made of cast iron that sat in front of fire to eat it all up.” Damned problem was the fact that most human cooking utensils were made of iron, thus he tended to give them a wide berth if he could. Gloves or no.
no subject
And that will help him diddly squat if he ever goes home! Incredible, more at nine!
For someone who had never eaten and never would eat toast, Holly was pretty amused by the mental image he so casually painted. People used to set bread on fire for breakfast before they probably went and caught typhoid or a chill or something anyway. People back then were metal as shit.
"That's neat though- it sounds kinda like a big clunky version of the toasters some of my friends have, but way more fun. Those you just press a button and wait, but I think if there's no risk of setting your house alight then what's even the point?"
This time, she is kidding. Probably.
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