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

[napstar]

[ He doesn't get a single word out before she smashes into him, almost toppling him over. He hugs her back, resting his chin on her shoulder and closing his eyes, taking in the familiarity. His best friend is here. It's the first sense of comfort he's had since Eurydice's death, and it alone has made the whole trip worth it. The weight on his heart lifts a little and he hugs her tighter, steadying his breath before he speaks in a whisper. ]

Thank you.

[gotyourbach]

[It isn't exactly like there's a piece missing from her when he's gone -- she always knows where he is, after all, and she can never truly be alone -- but when he's near, things just seem a little bit brighter. Like the orchestra accompanying a piano soloist, her music that could stand on its own becomes all the better.

Her own grip tightens, gloved fingers digging into his back. Even if she couldn't feel his feelings, she'd know something was wrong. She injects a little more cheer into her voice and lightly bonks her head against his.]

I missed you too, dummy! Don't sound so sad when we're finally together again.

[napstar]

Right...

[ He can't not sound sad. Not when his heart is this raw. It consumes his mind. It's the only music he plays. He loosens the hug as if it's the proximity that spills the sorrow out of his heart and into hers. He'll make an effort for her, but even as he pulls together the energy he knows it won't last more than a sentence or two. ]

You seem well.

[gotyourbach]

Yeah? You don't.

[Blunt as ever. She releases him from the hug, but it's only so she can take his hand and give it a gentle tug.]

C'mon... I have a room upstairs. You'll tell me what's wrong, won't you?

[napstar]

[ He nods once at the remark and again at the question. Of course he will explain it. That's reason for the whole trip. He doesn't react to her taking his hand but follows her lead when she gently tugs it along. Like they've been doing since they were kids.

It's not until they're in her room that he tries to remember what he had prepared during all those hours of transit. It was good too, laying everything out cleanly and precisely. Or maybe it was just as much of a mess as he feels, hidden behind an illusion created by mulling it over for hours...

After staring off in silence for a while, failing to remember the words he had prepared, he stands up and unpacks his violin. Music always came easier to him than words did anyway.

The song he plays starts with a joyous wedding medley. Their wedding was fun, if simple. They spent their honeymoon in the fields where they met, the music morphing into a light seasonal tune. They weren't joined at the hip however, and one day Eurydice went to pick flowers and never returned. The light music becomes progressively heavier until it becomes hard to bare. A search was conducted and her body found with a snake bite on her ankle. For this he slows considerably until the music has all but faded and his sadness seems to permeate not just their connection but the very air in the room.

When Minato pulls the bow from the strings the sorrow in his face deepens. ]

... She died.

[gotyourbach]

[She may not have spent very long in this town, but already her things are strewn across the inn room as if she owns the place. She's always been that way, more concerned with being able to see everything at a glance than worrying about it being in its proper place. Clothing half-pulled out of her travel bag piled in the corner, half-finished sheets of music scattered across the floor, bed unmade and rumpled.

She stays sitting, waiting as patiently as she can for him to start speaking. He's not like her; when she's lost for words, she gets flustered, full of "ums" and "ahs" and "uhs." Not like him, cool and collected, even with something like this. Her heart aches for him, and not just because of their shared bond.

When he finally gives up and moves for his violin, she settles herself in more comfortably to watch. To watch, and to listen, eventually closing her eyes to follow the melody. Even before he speaks, she understands the gist, if not the exact particulars.]

I'm so sorry...

[She brings both hands up to try to stem the flow of tears. It's not just his emotions she can feel, it's her own, dredged up by the music and compounding what she can feel from him. It hurts so badly, a physical pain dragging down her heart. She can't help but cry from the emotion in the music still lingering in the air, no matter how she wipes her eyes.]

Is... is that why you left home? [she manages, face still hidden behind her hands as she fights back another wave of tears.]

[napstar]

I wanted to tell you.

[ And maybe escape the islands for a little while too. Be somewhere that won't constantly remind him of her.

He sets the violin down gently. Now that he's expressed what he could through music, it's easier find words. ]

She went out to the meadow. Didn't come back. There was a search.

[ He sighs, the air escaping him unevenly again. ]

They found her body... A snake bit her.

[gotyourbach]

Minato...

[Try as she might to sniffle back her tears, she can't stop crying. Eurydice died all alone, to something that wasn't even malicious on purpose. It hurts to think about. If only Kaede had stayed behind, even just a little longer, maybe then...

If she hurts this badly, how must Minato feel? She rubs her eyes and bites back another sob as she reaches deep within herself to try to feel him, to tell what he's feeling. It's hard. It hurts.

Eventually, she just wraps her arms around him again, tucking his head into her shoulder as if she could somehow shelter him from anything bad ever happening.]

I'm so sorry... [she mumbles again, fingers squeezing into his back.] I wish I could say something to cheer you up. It's okay to cry if you want to.

[She says, crying herself.]