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

[mylawn]

[Jack is used to being recognized, and perhaps is not unaccustomed to inquiries like this, though he's often conflicted about how to handle them. On one hand, he knows it shouldn't be his responsibility to train every wannabe do-gooder that crosses his path. On the other, he's not going to be around forever.

Perhaps he'd feel less ambivalent if he wasn't trying to puzzle out recent strange happenings. He gives Roxas a good look up and down.]

Who says I'm here to train?

[State your credentials, kid.]

[seasaltkeys]

[There is definitely a part of Roxas that is screaming to abort. To thank him for his time, and and just pack his bags and get out of town. But that would be breaking a number of Phil's rules and well, if word got around he'd probably be toast.]

Well, maybe not train, but. Something. At the very least, I'd like to show you my stuff.

I've been training with Phil...that is Philoctetes. And I'm trying to prove that I'm a True Hero.

[He's had a good run but it's all over now.]

[mylawn]

[Jack lets out something of a long-suffering sigh. It’s clear he likely gets requests like this on a fairly regular basis, but he’s not quite curmudgeonly enough to outright refuse to hear someone out. What he hates the most is feeling like this is an audition—but he reminds himself that he’s here for a reason. He gestures to Roxas to come join him at a table.]

What do you think that means? True Hero.

[The kid certainly says it with enough importance.]

[seasaltkeys]

[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.

[mylawn]

[There's a great deal of this that has Jack raising his eyebrows, and unfortunately it all shows on his face. He waves a hand to indicate that Roxas should probably stop there.]

You were told?

[He needs to make sure this is actually something the kid wants, first.]

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas almost looks a little sheepish. It's not often he delves into his backstory.]

I...I'm a demigod. If I can become a true hero, I'll be able to rejoin the gods on Mount Olympus.

And maybe find where I belong.

[mylawn]

Uh-huh.

[It's clear from his tone that he is not quite buying this, and possibly thinks Roxas might be crazy. All in all, not a very convincing argument.]

Is that what you want? To go back there?

[seasaltkeys]

It would be where I belong, wouldn't it? With my family.

[Or so he thinks. It seems right anyway.]

But I haven't felt like rushing there. I kinda like travelling around, adventuring, stuff like that. Helping people along the way has been pretty cool to.

[mylawn]

I guess.

[Again, he doesn't sound very convinced. It still doesn't give any indication that Roxas actually knows what it means to be a 'true hero', but Jack isn't sure he does either. He's just tried to do right by people, and protect them, no matter what that means.]

So, give me the resume. What kind of helping?

[seasaltkeys]

Usually defending villages from monsters, saving damsels in distress, helped a few cats out of trees.

I defeated a hydra! And a giant.

[He just. Won't mention that mess that usually followed them.]

[mylawn]

By yourself?

[Kid, you're so small. Now's the time to reveal your fabulous secret powers, if any.]

[seasaltkeys]

Well, I had some help from Pegasus, my flying horse.

But it's sort of stuff that Phil trained me for. I'm really strong, so I need to put it to good use, otherwise it just makes a mess.

[He sounds a little embarrassed by that.]

[mylawn]

[Yes, of course. A flying horse. He nods along, figuring that he’s certainly seen and heard about weirder. As he sits here and sizes the kid up, however, it gets harder and harder to ignore something that looks a little familiar.]

What’s that on your wrist?

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas is a little disappointed that the Satyr that trained him didn't come along for the journey, but he supposes that Phil deserves some retirement.

But he's a little bit surprised at the question. He'd been expecting to go into more detail about his heroic feats. But instead he holds up his arm, slowly.]

You mean these? I've had them as long as I can remember.

[He indicates the hearts.]

[mylawn]

[Jack seems to consider something for a long moment--he's not going to reveal the markings on his own wrist, figuring it's best to keep things close to the chest for now. Still, something has clearly given him a moment of pause.]

Get some rest today. We'll start first thing in the morning.

[seasaltkeys]

[At that, Roxas's eyes go wide and he lights up like a Christmas Tree. He can hardly believe this. All because of the markings on his wrist?]

You...you really mean it?

[He looks a bit more like a kid now]

[mylawn]

I don't say things I don't mean.

[However reluctantly he might be saying them.]

Quit looking at me like that.

[seasaltkeys]

Oh, sorry.

[He tries to compose himself to be taking a little more seriously. But man, wait until he tells Phil!]

But thank you. Thank you so much!

[mylawn]

Don't thank me yet.

[There is, apparently, still time for Jack to regret this decision.]

Just show up on time.

[seasaltkeys]

Right! Of course!

Just, here in the tavern?

[Something is going to get knocked over if he's not careful. He still has Tavern Brawl.]

[mylawn]

Around back. More room to work.

[And less of a chance that they'll break something that belongs to someone else. He has a feeling they might be doing a lot of that, if they're not careful.]

[seasaltkeys]

Right. I'll be there! Bright and early.

You...you won't regret this!