Test Drive #15

[powersthatbe]

Welcome to the Synodiporia Test Drive Meme! Below the cuts there are two new prompts, and here are the prompts from previous test-drives, which you’re still welcome to use in this post. When you comment, be sure you specify what prompt you want to play with, and please put up your own threadstarter - it makes for a much more friendly environment that a forest of bare toplevels! OCs are especially welcome! Please take a quick look at our Directory & familiarize yourself with the concept and setting of the game before you jump in.

Our upcoming app round runs August 24th-31st. Our next Jaunt, Lightside/Darkside, takes place in January, a clockpunk city on a hill, home to a unique, fey, fairy-tale culture. The Lightsiders and Darksiders live on the same streets, but every day, at sunrise and sunset, one group flees inside to lock their doors, and the other takes to the streets to conduct the day or night’s business. Each group faces unique challenges and mysteries in their separate but overlapping cities--and what they do not know about one another could serve to either unite their society or tear it apart. The Jaunt is scheduled to begin September 9th & run for approximately six weeks.

Prompt #41 is set in the Bando Peninsula from the Code of Dishonor Jaunt, a martial arts fantasy where ninjas, spirit summoners, peasant armies, scheming nobles, and the monastic Sun Guard all recently came together to depose the Shogun who ruled over them.

Prompt #42 is set in the supernatural princedom of Sarmatia, home to vampires, werewolves, and the corvigers who serve them in order for their own shot at immortality. During the Children of the Night Jaunt last fall, the Travelers help Sarmatia hold its first free elections.

Prompt #41


Since the True-Named Empire first started dumping its political dissidents in the Bando, the people of the three provinces have celebrated the annual Spirit Festival from the 8th to the 15th Days of the Cycle of the Hungry Ghost. Normally, it would be celebrated in smaller festivals all over the Peninsula and indeed those festivals are still happening. This year, however, a special Spirit Festival is being held in the burnt remains of the Shogun’s Palace, while representatives from the three provinces meet in a palatial tent to discuss Bando self-government going forward.

For everyone else, there’s the festival.

Hastily erected stalls line what used to be corridors and grand hallways. There is every kind of festival food from octopus balls to meat on sticks to shaved ice brought down from the mountain and flavored with fruit juices. There is rumor that later tonight there will be fireworks. Right now there is a double-ringed Spirit Dance in the remains of the throne room, where the living form the outer ring and spirits made visible by Sun Guard summoners form the inner. In the center of it all, the irrepressible Sun Guard spirit Sai leads the dancers in the ritual chants.

With such a huge crowd, it shouldn’t be too hard for Investigators to fade into it.




Prompt #42


The thumping backbeats were enough to wake the dead. Luckily, the dead made up a good portion of the audience. The top of a burial mound might seem to be a strange place to hold a concert, but Britpop boyband sensation NOIZE liked the spooky atmosphere and had been willing to pay a considerable fee to rent the Kurgan for their concert. Given the unfortunate state of Sarmatian finances after the most prominent banker in Colchis ran off to Brazil with half of everyone’s money last December, this was simply an offer the two co-princes could not refuse.

(Even if it meant they weren’t holding court tonight from their usual spot inside the Kurgan. Too noisy. Much, much too noisy.)

To the Travelers, this might seem like a fairly standard loud pop concert from the tail end of the twentieth century. But when some of the concert-goers show a bit of fang or seem rather hairier than most people--and when some of them might even turn to you and offer you immortality in exchange for serving them--it’s suddenly apparent that this is a different kind of Eastern Europe than they’re likely used to.

Comments

Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

Prompt #41

Was this a dream? It felt real, is smelt real, but how could it be? Melisande drew back her veil to look at this strange place more clearly, in hopes that something she saw would help put the pieces together. Celebration flowed around her but she did know now why, or who, or even where.

Not only was she not in the Temple as Asherat, her refuge and prison for the last ten years, but this was not La Serenissma. It was not like anything she had seen before, except in books about the far eastern parts of the world.

If this were true and it was not merely her imagination, than some magic must be at work. Magic had always made her uneasy, for it was so far outside of her control. But perhaps ...

Imriel.

The sudden idea that struck her was almost too longed for it to be true, but Melisande had always believed most things happened for a reason, even if they appeared to be by chance. And what other reason could there have been for her to be taken from her home and flung so far away, except so that she might bring him home?

She prayed that this might be so and started looking around. Her heart skipped a beat at each child she saw, but none were even D'Angeline, let alone familiar to her. Still, she kept searching, willing to live no stone unturned while she had this chance.

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

Thorne didn't exactly recognize where the Trumps had dropped them, but after talking to a few people, she'd found out that this was somewhere on the Bando Peninsula, from the ninja jaunt she'd missed.

She didn't exactly recognize this woman either, but there was something about her blue eyes that was oddly familiar. And she knew what this woman was. It was hella obvious to anyone who ran in the same Travelers circles she did.

"Hey," she says, approaching the lady. Then, in accented and somewhat halting d'Angeline, because she was learning and could use the practice, and people always liked it if you tried to speak their language, "Hello. Do not worry. I am another traveler. I can speak your language a little and understand more."

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

Melisande had still seen nothing to suggest that Imriel was here when she heard someone speaking in D'Angeline, albeit rather badly. She turned and faced the woman, slowly looking at her from head down to toe. Melisande did not recognize her and could not place the accent. Still, she smiled, hoping she might be to get some information.

"Hello," she replied. "Isn't it a lovely day for a festival?"

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

"Yes," Thorne says, "It's nice." And then she realizes that because of the translation effect this woman would probably hear her in accented d'Angeline anyway, given that it doesn't sound like she's unconsciously blocking the network like Imriel did when he first showed up, so she just switches back to English, "My name is Thorne. If you're looking for other d'Angelines like you, there ought to be four others traveling with us, including my--" Boyfriend, she would say normally, but this is a d'Angeline woman so instead she just says, "--lover. Hopefully they're still somewhere around here."

(To Melisande, it sounds like the short-haired, dark young woman suddenly got a lot better at d'Angeline, although still quite accented.)

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

How strange. The woman suddenly seemed to speak D'Angeline much better. What reason could she have had to pretend to be less fluent than she was? Melisande did not know and her interest was piqued.

And that was even before the other D'Angelines were mentioned.

"It would be lovely to meet others from my homeland," she said with a guileless smile. "I wonder if you could tell me their names?"

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

Oof. The more Thorne looks at her, the more she really does seem familiar. Like an older version of that woman who Fakedre had turned into in Alcuin's dungeon.

"Phedre nò Delaunay de Montreve, Joscelin Verreuil, Alcuin nò Delaunay--that's my lover," she adds. "And, uh, Imriel. Who doesn't have a surname. Because he's either an orphan or a half-orphan, we're not sure. He's, uh, kinda squirrelly, because he was in an awful place before he got here, but he's getting better."

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

Melisande nodded but said nothing. It was not easy for her to not react to the list of names - those who knew her well would certainly notice, though that list might only include Phedre these days.

Imriel was here and suffering, because of her. But now that she was here, she could do ... something.

But there was something odd, something she picked up on slower than usual, distracted as she was by the mention of her son. Alcuin nò Delaney. That was Anafiel's other pet courtesan. And he had been dead for well over a decade.

This magic was getting stranger by the minute.

"Will you help me find them?" she finally asked. It was a more direct path than she would usually choose but if Imriel was here, nothing else mattered.

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

Luckily, Thorne sees nothing odd about the d'Angeline woman wanting to find her countrymen (and woman.) Why wouldn't she seek out the familiar in a strange place?

"Sure. I'm not sure where all of them are right now, but I'll see if I can't bring them over."

(Time to alert them in a psychic message?)

"So where are you from?" Thorne asks cheerfully. "I know Joscelin's from Siovale and I think that's where Imriel's from too? Maybe? And Phedre and Alcuin are from the City of Elua, although Alcuin was born in the Camel Lines. Cammaelines," she corrects herself.

(She knows where all these places are on a map now. She's proud of that.)

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

Outwardly, everything about Melisande seemed to belong in this place and, from what she can tell, the woman believed the act. With that accomplished, it was time to find her son.

"I am from Siovale as well," she lied. "And I think I may have heard about this boy, Imriel? He was raised at a temple of Elua, before being taken by slave traders, I believe, the poor thing. Perhaps it would be comforting for him to meet someone from his home?"

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

Why would she lie about that stuff?

That the woman knows who Imriel is, however, is weird and kind of surprising and Thorne still can't shake the idea that she should know this woman is. She's just so damn familiar-looking.

"Maybe, yeah. I didn't realize that... well, I guess what that kind of thing happens, news does sort of get around."

She already knew about the being kidnapped by slavers thing. Delaunay had got that much out of Imriel the short time he was here and he'd told Alcuin. (God, she wished she'd known that before she'd fucked up with Imriel during the broken liminal space.)

"So what's your name, anyway?"

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

What name to give? Certainly not her own - this woman may recognize it and Imriel would not. She smiled a true smile when she decided.

"Oh dear, how rude of me to have not mentioned this earlier. I am Edmée de Toluard."

Anafiel would no doubt not approve of her borrowing his foster sister's name, albeit with a slight alteration. Alas, he was not here to object.

"And you are?"

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[thornsofmalkav]

Huh. Those names are both actually semi-familiar, thanks to the story Joscelin told her. She's sure that there's probably a bunch of people named Edmée, but...

"Oh, like the Count. Comte."

... definitely going to psychic message Alcuin about this because. Thorne's figured out why she's so familiar. This lady really does look like an older version of the Melisande from his dungeon that they'd all had to fight. And she's pretty sure Alcuin would have had to know the names of most of the big families for his old job.

"Sorry. It's Thorne. Like a thorn, but with an extra E on the end. I think I said it before, but you were probably confused. You're new to all this, right?"

Keep smiling, Thorne. Stay friendly. She might be really who she says she is, after all, and you might be jumping to conclusions. Maybe she's just Melisande's Siovalese cousin or something. (Ugh, Alcuin, why did your brain make her your dungeon boss?)

Re: Melisande Shahrizai de la Courcel | Kushiel's Legacy

[star_of_the_evening]

"Yes, though I am only a distant relation." The more provincial she sounded, the better.

Thinking back, she realized Thorne had mentioned her name earlier. It was sloppy of her to have missed it, even if she hadn't heard of the name before. Perhaps her years in the temple had dulled her skills more than she realized.

"What an usual name," she said. "Is there a particular reason behind it?"

She ignored Thorne's question, hoping her own would distract from it until she could determine what precisely 'all this' referred to.

41

[laceandcarnage]

On the edges of the crowd is a woman dressed all in white, matching the colour of her hair and skin - although those aren't her normal colours. But she has enlisted another traveler's aid to magically transform her appearance, because Istas is pretending to be her own ghost.

It's a rather long story.

When Melisande comes near, she turns to watch her with an intense, inhuman stare, as if evaluating whether Melisande is predator, or prey.

"You seek something," she says.

Re: 41

[star_of_the_evening]

Melisande had noticed the woman in white from a distance but not paid her more than a moment's attention, until the woman spoke to her. Now, she looked her over more carefully, while also taking care in choosing her words.

"I seek many things."

[laceandcarnage]

"What do you hunt?" she says. Her tone is casual, but her gaze remains intense. Her eyes do not leave Melisande.

[star_of_the_evening]

Melisande met the woman's gaze with an even stare of her own. She had never been intimidated easily.

"Who are you to ask?"

[laceandcarnage]

The funny thing, it isn't Istas's intention to intimidate. But it is, she knows, a natural response to her.

She is a predator, after all.

"I am Istas," she replies.

[star_of_the_evening]

Perhaps that should mean something to people here, but Melisande has never heard the name before. Still, there is something about this woman that feels familiar, as if Melisande was having a conversation with herself. So she stayed.

"I am Edmée," she said, maintaining that falsehood. "And I seek a lost child."

[laceandcarnage]

A lost child.

The woman who she had been in this world - the woman who had died, and whose ghost she now pretends to be - she had lost a child as well.

Istas has no children of her own, but she knows from being Izanami how painful their loss can be.

"I will help you find them," she declares.

[star_of_the_evening]

Melisande was not used to offers of help but she also knew she was in no position to turn such an offer down. "You have my thanks," she said, her gratitude honest. "His name is Imriel. He is ten years old and looks quite like me."

She doesn't know more than that, since it has been so long since she laid eyes on her son. But she knows she would recognize him, she is sure of it.

[laceandcarnage]

"Does he smell like you?" she asks. Humans could vary in their features, but she identified them by their scent, not their appearance.

[star_of_the_evening]

For a moment, Melisande was actually taken aback by the question. She certainly had not be expecting to be asked about Imriel's scent.

"I am afraid I do not know," she said after a moment. She could vaguely recall the smell of his small head, pressed up against her chin, but that was so long ago now.

[laceandcarnage]

"Smells can be followed," Istas says. "Sights cannot."

[protect_and_serve]

Subtlety has never been, and will never be, the hallmark of Joscelin Verreuil or any Cassiline. But grace, perhaps, is - grace and economy. To run through an unreal space, occupied by dozens of people, with a naked sword-blade is a clumsy thing, but Joscelin makes it look not only natural, but easy - and he does it without ever passing within a sword's-reach of anyone, so that they are all of them perfectly safe, even if they do not see him coming.

But to see that gray blur, flashing silver at the edges, and not think "Cassiline" is utterly impossible. As impossible as thinking a Cassiline would bare his sword first in a fight.