NOVEMBER MINGLE.

[lasteden]

STARS WHICH FALL FROM THE SKIES... WHO. Everyone. WHERE. Inside the White Moon. WHEN. November 1 - 15. WHAT. Mingling and exploration. WARNINGS. None for now. FOR THE NEWLY AWAKENED. You are asleep. The dreamscape ripples, resolves into a vision of a foreign land, and then a world of pure white. There is the sensation of rising through deep water, and then you find yourself in a room of white marble. Your items may be set on the floor around you, or you could have arrived bare-handed - whichever it is, you'll soon be addressed by a couple of tired-looking people in white coats. It seems they're as confused as you are. Upon receiving an introduction to the White Moon and choosing your faction, you will be allowed to leave the Sanctum - but there will also be an announcement made later on in the afternoon to all of the Moon's foreigners. Will you attend? COLLECT AND RENEW. Those who do attend will be ushered into one of the Sanctum's meeting halls, where Lucius waits with a woman in green by his side. The Empress and Wintersmith have arrived as well, taking their places to the side of the room - one austere, the other radiating a chill that befits his name. "Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks to your help, we've been able to assess the condition of the terminal. In the best interests for the Moon, it will be decommissioned permanently. We need to retrieve the crystals still inside it, and transport it back here." Now, the Wintersmith speaks: "Crystals are a unique type of substance in this world. They have the capability to store a great deal of energy within themselves, so they were chosen to power the environmental systems here. They are however a limited resource, so we need to conserve as much as we can. Understood?" The Empress shoots him a glance, though her manner remains placid as ever. "I will assist all that I can. If you have any queries, we are here to answer." What will you do? ADMIN. Welcome to Last Eden's November monthly mingle! It is intended as a catch-all for threads that are not put in log posts. New characters are encouraged to use this post as an 'intro log' of sorts, for prompts both in the Sanctum and around the Moon. Please direct any questions about this log to the OOC post here. The faction leaders (or their stand-ins, for Blood and Light) will be available to interact with upon arrival. To thread with them, tag in to the NPC toplevel and mention who you would wish to thread with. If you wish to have your character meet them later on in the month, please submit this to either the interaction turn-in on the OOC post, or contact the mods to arrange it.

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Comments

For the Empress

[scarsolderthanyou]

"I'm in, of course," Stone shrugs. He always comes to these, whenever they're given, because it's the best way to not only stay on top of things going on with their flying rock, but also because he can usually see all the newcomers here. "Just get me some kind of basket to put them all in and I can fly them wherever you need them."

No dragons necessary. He caught that look to the Wintersmith, and she either disapproves of what he just said, or disapproves of him personally.

"How many are there that need to be hauled away?"

[lasteden]

The Empress' countenance softens a little when Stone approaches, though she remains calm as ever.

"If it is from the terminal, Lucius tells me there is quite a lot. Most of them are mounted on collecting devices, so we can simply pluck them off their stands. He would estimate about several hundred that can still be recovered."

A pause, as she casts a glance around the room:

"It is quite a lot of work, so I intend to have my people work with the process. I would not wish to trouble you so."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"The getting them, or the dealing with them after they're gotten?" Stone asks dryly. "Because getting them seems like it would be less trouble for me than half your people combined. An easy flight outside the city, a couple hours picking things up and tossing them in a basket, and an easy flight back?"

Less trouble than planting season, that's for certain.

[lasteden]

That gets a laugh out of her, however slight.

"If you do not mind, then I would appreciate it greatly. You have been valuable help to us."

[scarsolderthanyou]

He shrugs, smiling a bit at her reaction. "It's better than not being useful, or having to hide what I am. You all have been very accepting." And he does appreciate that. They seem like decent people, on the whole, even if they (or someone here, anyway) kidnapped him from his court. "So I'll go. Where do you want them brought?"

[lasteden]

She nods.

"To the Life Springs. We will have need of them there."

[scarsolderthanyou]

He's pretty sure he knows where that is, at least. And if he winds up in the wrong place, he can just stop and ask someone. "What are you planning on doing with them? If you can tell me that, anyway." He's not sure how rocks have power in them, but then, magic where he comes from is very different, and technology is more on the level of clockwork and steam in the cities, and levers and pulleys among his own people.

[lasteden]

The Empress lowers her voice at this point:

"They will be given to the spirits."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone looks baffled by that explanation, though he accepts it as the truth-- just a truth he doesn't understand. "What would they do with them?"

[lasteden]

"The spirits will draw upon them to rejuvenate their magic."

Given that it's not a well-known fact about them, she keeps her voice soft.

"It is my hope that they will grow stronger from it."

[scarsolderthanyou]

That makes him pause, and think, and then nod. So far, he hasn't seen anything all that dangerous about the spirits, beside the talking in people's heads, but after weeks of experiencing it, it does seem like that might be all it is, just talking. That doesn't mean there isn't anything dangerous about them, or in making them more powerful. But it only makes him wary, not outright disapproving.

It also makes him think of what he'd been told about the Jade Dragon. "One in particular, maybe," he suggests, thoughtful.

[lasteden]

The Empress picks up on it with a slight smile.

"He used his power to rejuvenate this Moon when we boarded two decades ago. He has been sleeping ever since."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"I've had a little bird or two tell me about that," Stone nods thoughtfully. "Think you'll let me be there when you try it? Or is that a private sort of thing?"

[lasteden]

She ruminates on it for a few moments.

"You can come. You have helped us quite a great deal. Perhaps you may connect with him, too. He is a being of immense age."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone snorts at the last, not sure if she's trying to make a joke or not. "Then we'll have something in common," he says dryly. He might not be as old as the spirit-- after all, he does age, just more slowly than most-- but he's still pretty old. "I'll make sure to hang around after we bring you the crystals."

[lasteden]

"Thank you. I shall send for you when the time comes."

There is still much to be done...

[scarsolderthanyou]

More complicated than he'd imagined, then. Interesting. Stone nods. "I'll be ready when you are. Until then--" He pauses, tilts his head, and asks, "How are things for you?" Because he hasn't actually heard anyone tell him how the Empress herself is. Just how they feel about her. And if he's going to be here, working with her, he'd like to know her, as a person.

[lasteden]

It's a question that doesn't quite catch her unawares - a slight blink from her, before her expression becomes pensive.

"I will do what is needed to protect my people. You have helped me with the crystal investigation, for that I am grateful."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone considers whether that's supposed to be a hint that he shut up and not ask personal questions. However, being who he is, he says anyway, "That's all good, but it didn't answer my question. I asked about you. If you'd rather I didn't, I won't, but somebody probably ought to." And the old man who no longer cares a lot about social rules is a good choice to at least try.

[lasteden]

Stone's persistence pays off - her expression freezes for a moment, before she relents and sighs.

"There are some things that I cannot speak freely of. I have heard from the spirits that you have been around in my country, you must know that I am not universally welcomed. I must restore the life to our world before I set upon any other task."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Even the best queen isn't going to please everybody," Stone points out. "And trying will only turn a good queen into a worse queen. But if this is the thing you need to do, I'll at least try to help." He has yet to see any sign that she's power-hungry or cruel, and she doesn't seem weak-- albeit a lot less violent than the queens he's used to-- but he hasn't seen everything. What he hasn't seen, however, is anyone else able to fill her role, so he'll do what he can to support her for the stability of the people here.

[lasteden]

The queen smiles, though it is faint.

"Our nation's covenant with the spirits hinges on our promise to live with the land. There are those in power who seek to use nature for their own gain. Once broken, the pact cannot be reforged. I must preserve it as Empress."

[scarsolderthanyou]

He nods. The Raksura are fairly good with nature, themselves, but he doesn't know if it's to the extent she means. It simply doesn't come with a living, talking representative the way it does, here. "So we keep it from being broken. When you say 'our world', do you mean this moon, or where you came from?" Or where they're going. Because no one seems to be able to tell him where they're going.

[lasteden]

She closes her eyes.

"This Moon. Our old word is no more."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"That's what I thought, but I've known people to be delusional about things like that before," he answers with a shrug. He's a frank speaker, can you tell, Empress? "So is waking up your Jade Dragon and fixing up the ground in here the only thing you need to do to preserve this pact, for now? Or should I be expecting more treks for mysterious magical objects?"

He doesn't sound like he minds, at least. It's better than harvesting.