balancemod: (Default)
balance mod ([personal profile] balancemod) wrote in [community profile] balance_logs2020-01-03 01:32 pm

Field Mission 7: The Queen of Hearts, Part 1


Once upon a time...
NAVIGATION


Click here for the RNG thread!




The day is met the way all others begin: the sun rises from the eastern stretch of land facing the sea, as the citizens of Emberwharf awaken to a fish market brimming with life and splendor. The same sun is seen in Ok'talar, where its warchief watches, as is tradition for its leader to be meditating under the warmth of its warm embrace. The clans of the Highlands pick up where they left off just yesterday, squabbling over minor infractions of land, marriage, or deals that have fell through. And in the cold clutches of Orrenvia to the north, people are bundling up and preparing to visit the mines at the base of the Spine of the World.

The general news throughout the Kingdom of Fanelia is that today is a day of celebration. It marks the 110th anniversary of the coronation of its ruler, the Queen of Hearts. While some people around the outskirts of the citadel proper consider this as a day of mourning, many are called forth to partake in festivities, dining, and the accompaniment of the finest musicians from the far-reaching town of Peppelfen.

For the last 110 years, the Queen has kept order and, somehow, relative peace throughout the kingdom she rules. Although open defiance and protest is met with swift justice and sentencing, no one can overlook how crafty and careful she is. Her manipulations resonate throughout the annals of the history of Fanelia, present in every major brokered deal throughout its vast land mass and diverse population. Her benevolent guidance is felt by all... as is her tyranny. She is a monarch of paradoxes: obsessed with control, but only acting for the betterment of the realm's self-preservation. Every passionate declaration of "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" had been necessary up to this point; who else can steer and guide this world into prosperity than she herself?

The horizon in the far off distance swirls with its usual tumultuous temper. A dark cloud surrounds the continent where Fanelia is located, known to all as "The Expanse." Every year, the border closes a little bit more inward, narrowing the lands and threatening the civilizations that reside on the fringes. Its presence encroaches, and with it, a general looming sense of fear that one day only the capital city will be left standing, protected by a magical bubble of pure radiant light that allows only those permitted by decree to enter.

But none of you can remember your life before this illusion took hold. As far as you're concerned, you've been here your entire life. You don't notice that this farce, this world created by the usage of a Grand Relic, has only existed for a year. One whole year has passed since magic was cut loose from Faerun's fabric, and no one is any wiser that it's been gone at all.

You look down to your wrist, noticing the same three clouded, empty colored crystals that have always been there since the day you were born. Each one bears the shape of a heart, and it makes sense to you why Lucretia is known as...

The Queen of Hearts.





1. THE COURT OF HEARTS




A. ANOTHER MORNING, HOWEVER YOU SLICE IT

Good morning! Where are you right now?

Another day is creeping over the horizon, and your life as you know it is continuing down the path it always has. Wherever you are. However you're feeling. The crystals on your wrist, though you've managed to sort out at least one purpose for them by now, remain as dull and lifeless as they've always been.

Maybe you've long since figured out that not everyone has them — and maybe today is the morning that you finally heed a call to figure out why. The harder you think about it, the more questions you seem to have.

It's a wide world out there, and there are people you just might be dying to remember. Where will you go? Who will you run into?

B. NETWORK

Speaking of that one purpose you've stumbled upon: A series of messages that, if you choose to access them, dance across your mind as if they were your own thoughts. Over the years, the messages have ranged from confused — people on the other end wondering what this is, without really finding any answers — to just straight up sales pitches.

One day, though, a message under the name of Avalon appears:

Wandering fortune teller and adviser offering services.

Have a burning question you want answered? Do you wish for a quick peek into the void, to light a match into the unknown?

Giving out free samples now! Just message me ;)


[ooc: If you'd like a randomized way for a memory to begin unraveling, feel free to hit up the RNG thread for a fortune! Note: A low roll doesn't necessarily mean a failure to nudge your character in the right direction, it will just dictate how cryptic and/or troll-y the fortune actually is.

Or, feel free to come up with an unrelated fortune for a prompt.]


C. AROUND THE CAPITAL

One way or another, you may make your way to the capital city, the seat of the Court of Hearts. Whether you're here for answers, or whether you're here just to see the sights, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Chaotic croquet: Indeed, you will be discovering how the capital city plays the queen's favorite game. You and a fellow crystal-bearer/Reclaimer will near immediately be roped into a round and pitted against each other, with a rather stern reminder to follow the rules.

If only the rules made sense! Each path to the next wicket is more treacherous than the last — you may find yourself quite literally navigating the ball over a bottomless pit, or bumping it up stairs that threaten to send the ball right back, careening toward your face. There is also the Stone Golem guarding the final wicket to contend with.

It's a bit strange, actually. It's almost as if this match of the Queen of Hearts' imagining would prefer that the two of you worked together, rather than against each other.

○ We mentioned earlier that the castle, should you wander past the common areas, gets a little ... strange. It's labyrinthine in nature, with staircases, doors and hallways that lead to no where, or straight into the ceiling. The neat line of roses planted along the hallways begin to wither the farther you walk — almost as if nobody dared getting lost just to water some plants.

And then, you wander into an empty room, that quite literally transforms before your eyes.

It's the place you call home. Or ... is it? This is most certainly not your bedroom back in whatever corner of Fanelia you hail from. In fact, you don't think you've ever set foot in there before — it might be a bedroom with views into outer space itself. It might be a place from another world entirely, one that you definitely don't recognize.

But as time passes, and as you stand there, your sense of longing grows stronger. You should probably get out of there, before the guards find you.

○ The Queen of Hearts, in a recent twist (not unusual for her), has a keen interest in the relationships her subjects have with one another, whether it's romantic or platonic. And she'd like to see to it that the people of Fanelia are able to find those important people in their lives.

Enter: THE FANELIA FRIENDSHIP (OR SOMETHING MORE?) EXTRAVAGANZA


Yeah, it's pretty much a dating show, for both the amusement of onlookers and for your benefit! Or friendship show, as it were. Sign up, answer a brief survey, and showrunners will pair you with a fellow crystal-bearer/Reclaimer that they think you may be compatible with.

Let the dating begin! You may:
- Slay a monster together
- Take a nice long walk around the capital city together
- Be given a series of embarrassing questions to ask each other
- Cook a meal together
- The list goes on

Is the right person, or your new best friend, waiting for you in plain sight? Sign up and find out!




D. EXPANDED WILDCARD

As we mentioned in the OOC post, we highly encourage worldbuilding and creating your own scenarios to recover your character's lost memories! Outside of the capital city, the entire setting is yours to alter, and play in, as you see fit. Want to haunt the Enchanted Forest, or hunt wild boars? Want to follow your character's fairy tale story and have them work their way to leader of a clan, or of a settlement in Kingstown? Go for it! This is your story to write.

If you have any questions, feel free to hit us up on the OOC post.







blurb code by photosynthesis
menarefrom: (Guess they don't know)

[personal profile] menarefrom 2020-01-16 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
Well, all humans are strange. That's their nature.

But over time they fade. Maybe not as fast as us cats, but the curiosity fades. The light.

[The brightness, the something beautiful inside each person. The thing he's sure he's lost.]

You still have it.
menarefrom: (Guess they don't know)

[personal profile] menarefrom 2020-01-16 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
So it doesn't matter to you if it's real at all, then, as long as the unreality is shared.

[He's just wondering!]
doubledsofjustice: objection! pointing off camera and declaring with furrowed brows and squared posture (icon_009)

[personal profile] doubledsofjustice 2020-01-16 01:54 am (UTC)(link)
I know.

[There's a sigh; Mia pointedly isn't looking at Sans, hand half over her mouth as she analyses what all of this could mean, how far Maya could have gone in hours or days, and about how-]

It's just, I felt we needed to be here.

[The faux voice she's been using fades as she becomes more thoughtful, as if this stranger of a skeleton cat could somehow help her still with what she's puzzling over despite her lack of direct questions.]

That being here was vital.
mylawn: (Default)

[personal profile] mylawn 2020-01-16 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
No, I can't say this has happened to me.

[yet]
eudaimonikos: (and in the end if I don't)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 02:22 am (UTC)(link)
Mmmm...sure, they are.

[He doesn't tend to follow specific ones for very long, but he's interested in them generally. It's even sort of interesting when they overcome their fears - although he always abandons them when they do. No point anymore.]

Don't they act differently around you when you're doing this?
seasaltkeys: (just me)

[personal profile] seasaltkeys 2020-01-16 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
Well, if you're going to do it to spite me, we might want to work that out now, rather than later.
seasaltkeys: (showing off)

[personal profile] seasaltkeys 2020-01-16 02:39 am (UTC)(link)
There's a lot more where that came from!

[He's taunted the monster now, trying to to keep it's attention to give Hayner enough time to get away. He can't really tell how much of a mess this might end up making.

Not that he's trying for that.

But he'll go in for another attack. Keep up the momentum.]
hxppythxughts: (feather♥ Little balls of sunshine,)

iii

[personal profile] hxppythxughts 2020-01-16 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, she's not nervous, but she does seem young and lost, and maybe a little lonely, in the right cant of her head under the light of the moon. A small frog rides atop her head.

She turns with a curious noise at the sound of footsteps; her frog, echoing the noise, croaks quietly. But there's...nothing there?

Hm! But she doesn't seem terribly bothered yet.]
Hello?
menarefrom: (And I don't know what you're looking for)

[personal profile] menarefrom 2020-01-16 02:50 am (UTC)(link)
Well, sure;

[Spike agrees, shrugging.]

Don't they act differently around you?
hxppythxughts: (flying♥ It makes me feel)

A

[personal profile] hxppythxughts 2020-01-16 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Entranced by the distant sound of flowing water and rhythmic notes that she can't quite hear, Sayori finds her way to the fountain. As she gets closer, she can distinctly make out the sound of poetry. Strange, but beautiful poetry.

She hovers nearby and just listens for a moment as the girl reads, an eager sparkle in her eye and her smile growing slowly as she keeps reading.

And then she stops reciting, and—a striking sense of familiarity. Like Sayori has heard her read poetry before.

Weird! But her excitement doesn't abate.]
Not until now, I haven't! It's some terrible creature, right?
seasaltkeys: (I don't know)

[personal profile] seasaltkeys 2020-01-16 03:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Roxas hesitates for a moment at the invitation before scrambling to the chair. There's a chance he accidentally trips someone while doing it so there's a few apologies made. His coordination is not the best sometimes.

But he sits and then has to think for a moment.]


I've been, trying to figure it out. My fath--I was told that I needed to prove myself one. So I've been out, saving people and fighting monsters. But I don't know if it's enough.
bu773rfly: (49)

[personal profile] bu773rfly 2020-01-16 03:39 am (UTC)(link)
Right up [using the same trick twice is gauche but she only has so much to work with here. tries to shove Mage Fingers up his nose. i rolled a 9 for this.] here-
eudaimonikos: (proposition)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
I just don't let them see me.

[Some of them can't. But most people in Fanelia believe in magic and spirits, so the more common situation is just that. The monster is always scarier when you can't see it.]

More people've seen me today than the past decade, at least. I noticed some of them have the crystals too, thought that was weird. Not as weird as a cat, though...
eudaimonikos: (eternalism)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
[Nope, he's not gonna fall for the same trick twice. At least, not within minutes of each other; he teleports sideways out of the way.]

Tsk, come on. That was just sad.
eudaimonikos: (responsiveness)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
[Unfortunately, he cranes his neck back to look up at her pretty quick, and from that angle he's got eye protection.

Fortunately, having crap on your glasses is the literal worst! And it's not just any crap - it's pixie dust. Magic of dreams, or hope and trust, or whatever the fuck. It's not poisonous to the Boogeyman, but it's a definite irritant! Grimacing, he stops to take them off and start cleaning them.]


Ugh, dirty little things...
usamin17: (white rabbit)

[personal profile] usamin17 2020-01-16 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
It should be a rule because it’s...

[Nana teleports up to Sans’s face, in an attempt to replicate his earlier move. It doesn’t quite have the same effect, possibly due to the fact that she almost loses her balance and falls again.]

THERE! S-see? Isn’t it scary and... discomforting?
ribticklers: (025)

[personal profile] ribticklers 2020-01-16 04:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Saying it like that...] There are a lot of people here right now, aren't there? Of course, the capital is always popular. I guess people just love the thrill of court intrigue and maybe losing a head or two.

[Sans pulls back the right sleeve of his hoodie, though. His lack of a right hand is very obvious like this, but more importantly, his crystals are there, too.]

Once is coincidence, twice is happenstance. What's it called when it's one or two dozen?
ribticklers: (029)

[personal profile] ribticklers 2020-01-16 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[Sans loves it. It's hard to tell, but his perpetual smile widens.]

What can I say? We're very purr-sistent.
menarefrom: (And you're my time wasted so I said)

[personal profile] menarefrom 2020-01-16 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
[there's a weird rrrroot? sound under Spike's voice; it's really a normal cat noise, but in his low voice, it's a little weird.]

Crystals?

[Spike holds up his arm. There are three crystals on his, too, just like all those others, except that his go down his forearm because of the size of it.]

Like these?
eudaimonikos: (the song of god)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 04:14 am (UTC)(link)
[Boy, he could totally kill that frog.

In a little bit, maybe. You don't want to escalate too fast. Instead, there's a quick flash of shadowy movement, like a figure ducking into an alleyway.]
ribticklers: (029)

[personal profile] ribticklers 2020-01-16 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
I don't know, I don't mind. Isn't this [Sans puts his feet on Nana's shoulders and walks over it and onto her back, standing sideways like that's a perfectly normal thing to do] a little more strange?
eudaimonikos: (alternate possibilites)

[personal profile] eudaimonikos 2020-01-16 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
...yeah.

[He bends down to get a better look, although by this point he doesn't reach out to touch. It's not courtesy, really; he's just seen enough.]

That's weird. I would have expected them to be proportional to you.
doubledsofjustice: (icon_013)

[personal profile] doubledsofjustice 2020-01-16 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
--Evidence.

[Mia answers, almost excitedly, lighting up at the revelation-- and then frowning for a moment. Evidence? Why's that the word that came to mind? Never mind, it-]

It has to mean something. There has to be a reason why so many people have these.

[There's more and more itching at her mind right now; why should a skeleton missing an arm be so similar? And why would she look at what's clearly a cat and think only of little white dogs?]
menarefrom: (Guess they don't know)

[personal profile] menarefrom 2020-01-16 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
Guess you're more firmly rooted.

What else could you expect from a human?
doubledsofjustice: at your side; angry and determined with furrowed brows and open jaw (icon_007)

[personal profile] doubledsofjustice 2020-01-16 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Mia listens, perhaps too earnestly; she nods, then, sympathetic.]

I understand.

Whereabouts was this?

[there's a look of determination despite any fear that may be coming off her. If there's a threat like that, she's going to get to the bottom of it, especially if it's endangering her charge-- and her chances to get to Uta.]

I'll make sure our commanders know.

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