Field Mission 7: The Queen of Hearts, Part 1

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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

Comments

[myliteratureclub]

[ Her tight smile actually softens to a genuine when she sees Sayori approach. Although she's with a stranger, the queen is pleased to see her friend. Though what an odd request! ]

Oh? And what are you looking for exactly? [ She gestures to the pixie. ] And who is this?

[ They may be friends but mind your manners! ]

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki also seems to lack the usual amount of court-mandated deference, but she has seen enough people come in to know that she's supposed to curtsy.

So, she does a mid-air curtsy for Queen Monika, jingling a little as she does. ]

[hxppythxughts]

[Manners whomst?

At least Monika and the guards are probably used to Sayori's particular missteps by now.] This is Natsuki! We met on our travels and realized...

[She holds up her hand in indication, pulling her sleeve back slightly to ensure that the bracelet with the blue quill charm is visible from the throne.] She has a bracelet like this too, Your Majesty!

[myliteratureclub]

[ Her eyes widen when Sayori shows her charm bracelet. When they originally had realized they had matching bracelets, they wrote it off as a funny coincidence! But now, looking at the pixie, she sees another. How is that possible?

The queen stands from her throne, addressing the entire room now. ]

I'm afraid open court will have to be cut short for the day.

[ There are murmurs from the court members as Her Majesty steps down from her throne. She motions for the two to follow her, leaving her guards in the dust as she hurries ahead. She takes them to her private study where they can speak without peering eyes.

Monika sits in a chair and slides her own bracelet that had been carefully hidden up her sleeve down her arm. It does in fact match the other two.

She addresses Natsuki now. ]

Where did you get that?

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki shrugs. As far as she can remember, she's always had it!

But she does flit closer to examine Monika's, and after a moment of looking at the charm, she looks to Monika with excitement and a cheery tinkle of a bell! Yes, it does match after all! ]

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori has a little bit of trouble keeping up with Monika's brisk gait, but she follows to the Queen's study dutifully, making sure Natsuki comes along too.

Once they're there, she watches the exchange between Monika and Natsuki, and then finally realizes:] Oh, my Queen—Miss Natsuki can't talk like you and I, but she can write with a bit of ink and paper if need be.

[Which is how Sayori learned her name! She's pretty good with the charades but it's hard to gesture a name.]

[myliteratureclub]

Oh I see.

[ The queen moves over to a desk and pulls out a paper and pen for the pixie. Hopefully that'll help. ]

You don't seem to know where yours come from either. Interesting... [ She glances down at her own bracelet again. ] What these anyway? They don't seem to be magical anyway...

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki dips a toe into the ink now that she's been provided it. She uses her foot to write a simple sentence on the paper:

THEY FEEL WARM I LIKE THEM

What does that mean? She doesn't seem to provide any follow-up explanation. ]

[hxppythxughts]

[A weird and cryptic statement, and yet...

Sayori peers at her own bracelet.] You know, I know what she means.

I– found mine some time ago, [she doesn't specify where, though Monika has known her and Andersen long enough that she might have an idea,] and as soon as I put it on, I felt...happy. Like I was supposed to be wearing it.

[myliteratureclub]

Warmth... [ She gently runs her finger over it. ] I see what you both mean. Maybe there is some magic too it?

[ Or maybe it ain't that deep- ]

I don't even remember when I got mine at this point. I've had it for as long as I remember. But it can't be by chance they match, yes?

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki shrugs. Honestly, she has no clue one way or the other. And she doesn't remember getting hers, either -- it had simply always been hers. But, it does prompt a question she writes out ...


MORE?

She gestures out the door. Could there be more bracelets out there somewhere? ]

[hxppythxughts]

[As Natsuki writes, Sayori's eyes go wide.] That's—

[That feeling like déjà vu again, suddenly, and Sayori holds a hand to her chest as her face scrunches thoughtfully.] ...I didn't think of that until now, but...

[She looks from Natsuki's note to Monika, unusually serious.] ...for some reason I feel like...there are others out there.

[myliteratureclub]

[ Wow... serious Sayori almost catches her off guard. She's almost always such a playful mergirl. ]

Let's assume there are then: how do we find them? It'd be far from an easy task. But it could be easier if we figure out the meaning behind them.

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki has an idea. She kicks the current sheet of paper out of the way for a clean one, and she starts creating what is essentially a WANTED poster with her crude drawing of the bracelet featured on it. When it comes to what the reward will be, she stops to look at the two of them with a soft jingle, waiting for an answer on what to put. ]

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori speaks as Natsuki works on her idea.] The meaning... The charms look like quills, don't they? So maybe it's something to do with writing.

[She glances back down just as Natsuki looks up for approval, and gasps with some excitement as she sees what the tiny fairy has drafted up.] Oh, that's a wonderful idea! What do you think, Your Majesty?

[myliteratureclub]

Writing... like the poems you create?

[ And maybe what Her Highness writes in secret? But no one has ever seen her writing... ]

It's not a bad idea. We could easily spread those through the Queendom. Our allies would probably be willing to let us share them as well.

[parfaitgirl]

[ Natsuki jingles excitedly, glad they seem to like her idea.

... But then she looks down at the paper beneath her. It was a lot of effort just to make this one poster for her tiny self ... And now she's supposed to make enough to paper the Queendom? ]