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

For Crowley

[unrecovered]

[It's a bit further away from the capital than Wash likes, especially nowadays, but the library at the university in Ravensfell is expansive, which makes it his best bet for finding information. He's been in town for a few days, spending most of his time in the library trying to find information on the Expanse - he has a kingdom to save, after all, and he cannot be deterred from his duty.]

[He can, however, take a break, and that's what he's doing right now. That break has taken the form of yet another pile of books: it seems now he's trying to find information on the heart crystals embedded in his wrist. He's had very little luck so far, if the pile of books meant to go back on the shelf is any indication; for now, he has one book open to a diagram of different crystals and has placed his arm wrist-up next to it on the table, looking for similarities.]

[Two of the three hearts glow a warm red.]

[janthony]

[The Black Prince of Ravenfell is well known to lurk within its expansive library. It used to be his family's, after all, before the university was relocated.

However, his mood since the Wintersend Gala has been less Lurking and more Obsessed.

He sets a glass slipper down onto the study table near Wash, and then turns to try and find a book... Only to find an empty space where it should be. He turns, one hand akimbo on his hip and the other running through his long hair, pulling the loose braid over his shoulder, as he glances around.

And sees the book he's looking for in a stack next to the man he'd ignored just a second ago.]

Uh... Hi. Mind if I borrow one of these?

[He touches the book he's talking about, not taking it yet but indicating which one he wants.]

[unrecovered]

[Wash barely looks up at the sudden addition of the shoe on the table, but pays the newcomer a bit more attention.]

Sure.

[It's not quite as politely worded as it should be. He's noticed that he cares less about that nowadays. Odd, but not worth pursuing.]

Hopefully you'll have better luck with it than I did.

[janthony]

[Crowley's never been one to insist on propriety anyway.]

Appreciate it.

[He plucks the book from the stack and takes a seat, propping his chin on the back of one hand, leaving his raised arm facing Wash.

Along with the one filled-in heart crystal on the back of his wrist.]

What are you looking up? Maybe I can help.

[unrecovered]

[Wash looks up at the question and, for a moment, just stares. Not only does this person have hearts on his wrist too; he also has one of them filled.]

[After a moment's pause, he points at Crowley's wrist.]

That, actually. How did that happen?

[janthony]

[Crowley lifts his head and, when he sees the man pointing at his wrist, looks at it.]

It... Happened at the ball. After the ball.

[He lowers his wrist and runs a thumb over the heart. His expression is closed, helped by the dark lenses he wears over his eyes.

He looks over and sees the two hearts filled in on the other man's wrist.]

Whatever it is I see you're ahead of me.

[unrecovered]

...yeah.

[It's probably going to be give and take here if he wants any further information, isn't it.]

One was after a dream, and the other was...not fun.

[And the sun is slightly warm.]

What did you see?

[janthony]

...I saw a man I'd just met. Except it was like we'd known each other for...ever, almost.

[He glances at the glass slipper.]

It wasn't a dream, it was like suddenly I was somewhere else. A gazebo. And he was there too, just as clearly as he'd just been standing in front of me.

When I came back to, he was gone. Left so fast he ran out of his shoe.

[unrecovered]

[So the person he'd seen was actually here - there's physical proof of it. It's not like Wash's visions, where the people in them don't seem to actually exist.]

[..and yet...]

What you saw - did it feel like it...fit? Like it was yours, and you just didn't remember?

[janthony]

It-

[He pauses, blinks behind his glasses.]

...Er. Yeah. It did.

[unrecovered]

[So he's not alone in this. Honestly, Wash can't tell if that makes him feel better.]

It was the same for mine. Seeing people I felt like I'd known for years, even though they don't exist. Even the painful one still felt like it belonged to me.

[He pauses for a moment, then:]

I don't know what to do with that.

[janthony]

The man I saw in mine... I was talking with him before I had the memory. I only met him a month ago.

[He runs the hand without hearts through his hair.]

I don't even know his name.

[unrecovered]

...but he's here.

[It's a leg up on Wash's situation; at least Crowley's is actionable, to a point.]

Do you know anything else about him?

[And a shot in the dark:]

...do you think he might have crystals too?