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Questing Country: Harmonic Resonance
the final Jaunt of lucky round 16 of Synodiporia
September 1st - October 10th

In Questing Country, for thousands of years - but not forever - the collective unconsciousnesses of more than half a dozen species have been meeting as friends and allies. Under the guidance of Spirit Companions, young Dreamers are empowered to take up Roles and Archetypes in the long fight against nightmares, keeping the Waking World safe from their worst fears and desires. Of course, the sophisticated adults of all species almost never believe there’s such a thing as a world of dreams - in a universe with space travel, who believes in magic?

For the Chosen Dreamers of Questing Country, it’s been three months since the end of the cross-time meeting called the Ouroboros Retrograde. In the Starquake Era, the quakes have nearly stopped creating dangerous Transformed Lands, and the Transformed Lands have nearly stopped turning Dreamers into Harbingers. One gate, the Opaline Bore, has been left mysteriously open to permit Timewalkers from the past to visit.

The Oracles have been concerned with two problems, these last three months. The first issue: Human and Gorgon nightmares have both been getting stronger. Human nightmares were expected to grow worse; as humans spread out across the cosmos and discover its size, they discover new unknowns to fear. It’s happened to every starfaring race. But the increase is sudden, and stronger than expected - and no one has the least notion why Gorgons are experiencing the same thing.

The other problem is the Arcana. Spirit Companions have been warning that, while the damage the Arcana did on their last visit has been healed, they are afraid what might happen if the Arcana return. And anything a Spirit Companion fears is almost a nightmare in its own right…

But the Oracles have hope to share. Questing Country is always changing, and there are three new changes that promise assistance.

First, the Hecatites have perfected INVLEP, also called “Envelope,” a program which, when installed in Synthetics, allows them to emulate dreaming. New Synthetic Dreamers have already begun entering Questing Country and being Chosen.

Second, there are now Diabolin dreamers. In fact, there have now been Diabolin dreamers for centuries - a tiny minority of Diabolin have both a genetic mutation and a neurological syndrome which lets them fall unconscious. These periods of unconsciousness are more like comas than restful sleep, but they allow these rare few Diabolin to dream. This is a change in the timeline. While Champions may protest that they’ve had Diabolin friends for years, Oracles and Spirit Companions insist that this is a change in the timeline since the Ouroboros - and a good one. Diabolin understand nightmares - they experience waking hallucinations constantly - and so they’re very unfazed by things which terrify other species.

Third, for two months now, some Dreamers, through means unknown, have become Conductors. This is a new Role - possibly what Harbingers were always meant to be, Dreamers empowered by the unknowable Starmovers. Conductors are almost immune to negative emotion, and each possesses a bident, a weapon that can pin nightmares in place before they flee. All of them have healing powers among their magic. What’s more, they form one single Bond group, and within that Bond group, they can send telepathic messages. Their arrival - though so far very few Adversaries, Champions, or Oracles have become Conductors - is maybe the most hopeful change.

They have the calm of the Synthetics, the fearlessness of Diabolin, the telepathy of the Travelers, and the power to defeat the new Human and Gorgon nightmares. As always, Questing Country draws from the dreams and desires of its Dreamers to give the Waking World a fighting chance.

All that could go wrong now, the Oracles say, is if the Arcana returned before they were ready to face that trouble as well...

Content Notice | The Known Worlds | Species | Dream Forms | Roles | Changing Roles | Timelines & Summaries | Questing Country Locations | Bonds & Bonded Groups | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Glossary | Skills | Calendar | Who’s the What of Which | Player Resources | Questions/FAQ | Plotting

Emodriver Frame Phileon
a mecha space opera Jaunt of love and war
September 20 - October 30

Earth stands accused of a terrible crime, beset by the forces of the Aurigan Empire! The greatest advantage the Earth Defense Forces have is the X-Pression Virus, which allows them to channel emotions - and their new mecha weapons drawing on it, the Emodriver Frames!

On a secret base on Phobos, AEGISCorp is putting the finishing touches on a weapon that can change the course of the war, the Emodriver Frame Phileon! The crew of the ESDF Assault Carrier Valiant and its new pilots and crew are dispatched to collect it.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Princeps and their General have gotten wind of Earth's secret weapon, and stand ready to bring down the full might of the Empire on those who would dare strike at their beloved Imperial Consort.

One way or another, the long stalemate will be over... But who benefits from this terrible war?

Find out in the thrilling continuation of Doki-Doki no Gakuen, Emodriver Frame Phileon!

World Info | Setting Update | The Mechs | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Infiltrator Directory | Skills | Calendar | Locations | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

Paramo Riconquista
a return to the world of pirates, mermaids, and ninjas
July 19 - August 27

The Festa Di Riconquista, held every six years, is when the aggressive island duchy of Paramo celebrates its history of naval victories - battles are re-enacted on old, mothballed ships, which are sunk in glorious fireworks displays, and jingoistic military pomp and patriotism rule the day. But we’re not concerned with the celebrations of Paramoese civilians - and our only worry about the Navy is that they might catch on to what’s happening under their nose.

Separately, two groups have come to Puerta Lagunuesta, where the Festa is held. The first group, the Crownbreakers, a coalition of pirates, mermaids, and refugees from En Zhenming, are using the Festa for cover. The re-enacted sea-battles sink ships above Thalassian waters - and so it’s possible to send the rebel mermaids still living in Thalassia arms shipments, messages, even, perhaps, magical assistance in the form of a dragon scroll - if they can load them aboard the ships to be sunk, and be sure they survive the sinking.

The second group, the Xunhuo Guwei, are to all appearances fireworks merchants from En Zhenming, here to sell colorful pyrotechnics to the Paramoese. In fact, their mission is to mine the channel south of Lagunuesta, and damage the Paramoese fleet, triggering a war between En Zhenming and Paramo. The Truenamed Emperor knows that in any such war, there is only one place that Paramoese troops could safely land and gain a foothold - the Bando. And the Paramoese are infamously ignorant about what distinguishes one group of Zhenmingren from another.

However, the opening stages of each of these plans are disrupted by the ignorance of the smugglers each group has employed to bring in their contraband. With four weeks to go before the naval re-enactments finish, the smugglers hand off the shipment of salt-blessed blades and spears and deep sea charges to the Xunhuo Guwei, and deliver the shipment of limpet mines and reefblasters to the Crownbreaker crew.

Now, under cover of the festivities, the Xunhuo Guwei and the Crownbreakers must find one another and evade detection by the Paramoese in a war of assassins, sabotage, and misdirection. The fates of three Empires hinge on the actions of four dozen spies and thieves…

World Info | Jaunt History | Glossary | Skills | Calendar | Locations/Map | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator Directory | Investigator Roles | Questions | Plotting

Beastfolk
a Pastoral
May 15 - June 24

The Beastfolk of Home have been scratching out a living in their little corner of a highly dangerous world for over a century now, making the most of the few resources they have and relying on oral tradition and the strange visions of their seers to keep themselves going. But when a strange creature - that only one of the village elders recognises as a mythical human - stumbles into their enclave from beyond the desert and the latest group of foundling Beastfolk to arrive on Gods’ Isle is considerably larger than usual, questions about just what brought them there and how to move forward begin to arise…

World Info | Beastfolk Species | Health Issues | Community Structure | Wildlife | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator Groups/Roles | Investigator Roles | Locations | Skills | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

The Question of Albion
an uchronic fantasy Jaunt of magic and succession
March 19 - April 28

During the month leading up to the High King of Albion’s ceremonial abdication and retirement, the city of Londinium waits to see if the crown will pass along the maternal line to the High King’s sister’s child as tradition--or if the High King’s own child will raise their banner against the rightful heir as expected. It has been more than a century since there has been a succession dispute of this nature, but there is precedent--and because of this, everyone in Albion will need to think very hard about whose claim they will back.

Matters are complicated, as always, by the genii: supernatural entities who humans summon and form contracts with in order to benefit from their aid and accomplish feats of magic. In Albion, the main workers of contractual magic are the Druids, who are traditionally neutral in these conflicts--but such things are not necessarily true of the magical workers of other lands.

And there is a circle of magic workers from nearby Gaule in town.

Lead by a failed Albionese druid, they seek to contract with a far greater genius than they have before--and should they succeed, they would make valuable allies for either would-be heir. Of course, if they fail, the consequences could be disastrous...

World Info | Contractual Magic and Genii | Particular Magical Circles | Albion & Gaule | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Locations | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Skills | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

MARKET OF THE VANITIES
Revisiting Purgatory
January 17 - February 26

The Market of Tech Duinn sits on a hill just above the banks of the river Styx, on the edge of the Asphodel Meadows. Oaths sworn over the black water of the Styx cannot be broken, making the Market a favored location for Heaven & Hell to bargain with one another, although few angels and demons reside there. Sithen, the half-fallen angels whose only crime was to refuse to fight demons, consider it a center of culture, and often use it to trade Demesnes (feudal land grants among the Sithen which comes with supernatural powers, like an angelic Grace or demonic Dignity, but with added real estate). But that is not why it is there. Dhuosnos, the Old Man of the Market, a powerful Sithen who claims the hill as his Demesnes, first weighed and codified Virtues and Vices as tradable commodities 1,800 years (or 140 Eschatons) ago.

Strange as it may seem in these latter days, he conceived of the trade as a mercy to the Peregrines - lost souls caught in Purgatory - because they entered the afterlife with no wealth to match the Immortali (humans who have achieved undeath or eternal life, and thus keep their souls forever), and no station like those Angels, Demons, and Sithen use to measure their relative worth. The Market has always been a friendly place for Peregrines, and since the beginning of the Asaph Eschaton (which started with the speaking of the Name in Melasurei), it has been a place Peregrines rallied. In times of old, Dhuosnos sold four Princedoms to the Market - one to the Angels, one to the Demons, one to the Sithen, and one to the Immortali.

Now he has sold a fifth, to the Peregrines - and they pass and trade it between them, rather than appointing a single spokesperson. But six positions on the Market Council means votes may be deadlocked (for of course, Dhuosnos keeps a vote for himself), and so he is considering the sale of a seventh Princedom… and Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory have all noticed.

The growing Peregrine presence at the Market could nearly be considered an army. The Demons would pay almost anything for the power to bind it to their service; the Angels, to redeem these lost souls and bring them to Heaven - whether they wish it or no. The Sithen fear a third front in the war waged across their homeland; the Immortali fear being outnumbered by a group who no longer needs them for survival & who may grow wealth to threaten theirs. And the Peregrines - they seem to wish something different with every passing day, every new argument.

All creation is sending their subtlest diplomats and agents, their most coveted treasures, to this place on the banks of the Styx, where everything is for sale, all contracts are binding, and all sales are final. Who will gain a second seat on the Market Council - and what other bargains, trades, and sales may be made in the shadow of that distraction?

Disclaimer | World Info/Theology | Locations/Map | Factions | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Skills | Calendar | Infiltrator Directory | Player Resources | Questions/FAQ | Plotting

Dawnbreak Boulevard
Movies, Meta, and Mayhem
November 14 - December 24

Hollywood is timeless - so timeless that it spans both universes and timelines. Dawnbreak Boulevard is one of those places. The City of Movies, Vineland, is where everyone’s dreams are made or shattered at their feet. Larger than a panoramic city shot, and as small as a baby’s close-up, it takes all sorts of personalities to create a movie. However, behind the glitz, glamor, and red carpets, there is a seedier side of Vineland, one of love triangles, the intricate machinations needed to get a movie made, and above all, the almighty dollar, which makes the cameras roll and keeps the lights shining. Welcome to Transcendent Pictures, where dreams can come true if you’re lucky.

Currently, Transcendent is about to start filming The Phantom Thief, a pulp noir film based on the work of an extremely popular dime-novel author whose books have been flying off the shelves. There is quite a lot of excitement around this particular upcoming picture, as its main-character detective is one of the most beloved characters in current fiction. It has all of the hallmarks of a blockbuster, but as with everything in Vineland, anything can happen.

World Info | Locations | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator Roles | Investigator Roles | Skills | Calendar | Infiltrator Directory | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

Elsewhere University
based on charminglyantiquated's Elsewhere University world
September 19 - October 29

Cauti
Cordati
Auspicati

The University was founded on ordinary, flat ground in the late 1800s in the country of New England. No one knows its original name. The fairy hill came later, around the 1920s. For the unknowing, Elsewhere University--EU or Elsewhere U for short--is a typical school, albeit with a few quirks. Iron washers on strings are given to all the freshmen. Green is noted as bad luck, but it's still the school colors (although the actual shades change frequently). Everyone must go by false names and never, ever say their true names. Ever.

About a third of the campus knows of the Gentry, the Fair Folk, the Good Neighbors, the Lords and Ladies. Call them what you will, call them even by your own culture's name for beings like them, for that is how they may appear to you, but always with reverence. Hailing from a magical world dubbed the Elsewhere, Fae come in all shapes, sizes, and scuttles of life.

A human may be unexpectedly swapped with a Changeling Fae. It happens. The Treaty says no severe harm shall come to or from the Changeling, and that the Taken human may be retrieved at the end of the semester. However, human, Fae, and Other will be caught up in a potentially disastrous Changeling exchange that will lead to an emergency rescue mission in the Elsewhere. Those on both sides of the divide will be tasked with helping one another with wit, bravery, knowledge, diplomacy, and of course, Deals.

Name Directory | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Beings | Glossary | Locations | Skills | Calendar | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

RED DIRT
Space, cowboys, and metaplot
July 7 - August 16

Mars, 2148. The greedy corporate barons that run Mars ration technology as a way to keep their industrial workers and colonists in line. The black-market smuggling this leads to has created a thriving underworld, and one of the premier pieces of contraband is… well, cattle, due to their ability to feed on the tough, inhospitable grasses that hold down the Martian topsoil, and, er… create new, better topsoil of their own.

The citizens of Ridge Rock, tired of being ground down under the heel of the corporate overlords, have decided to take matters into their own hands, with a little help from the local ne’er-do-wells. Every Founders’ Day, Erebus Corp shows off its wealth by importing a fresh herd of cattle from Earth, and this year is no exception - so why not steal as many of those cows as they can and bring them home, tipping the balance of power and becoming a little more self-sufficient? Of course, managing a herd of cattle in the low-gravity deserts is easier said than done, and before they can declare it a success they have to get those cattle home.

Enter the Travelers - but not, as quickly becomes apparent, to usual circumstances. Who are these handful of mostly unfamiliar faces claiming to be Travelers? Why are a couple of the very oldest guard positive that they’ve been here before, and not merely in the general sense? What brought them back, and what must they do before they leave? Have the stakes on any jaunt ever been higher?

World Info | Locations | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | System Glitches | Infiltrator/Investigator Roles | Skills | Calendar | Infiltrator Directory | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting

Digital Frontier: Legacy Mode
May 7 - June 16

In the Network, more than a dozen Systems flourish - independent nations connected by high-speed data lines, overseen by Programs - humanoid beings made of pure information, each with its own Purpose and Priority in the System.

Only twice in the history of the Network has a System fully fallen to viral corruption - first the ZODIAC, and then the Grid. Five cycles ago, an expedition from other Systems managed to restore the Grid under very strange circumstances - but the rest of the Network, unconvinced that the recovered Programs weren’t concealing viral influence behind their unnatural behavior and outlandish stories, has kept the Grid under strict isolation.

Until now. The Colossus, a System admired for its rugged survivalism and powerful military, is willing to take a risk on the Grid. The Colossus is sending its own team of soldiers and experts to attempt to recover the lost ZODIAC System. Their expedition travels on a large, encapsulated vessel called the Rejuvenator, specifically meant to be difficult to control, to have new Data and Programs uploaded to it remotely - but to be totally unable to send any data back without Colossus approval. If the mission fails, the Rejuvenator will never be allowed to return.

But all the fresh-trained Programs from the Colossus are untested. To give them the best chance at success, the Rejuvenator was sent first to the Grid, to take on a volunteer crew. If the ZODIAC Initial Probe fails, the Grid will remain under lockdown. But if it succeeds, and the Colossus Programs send back a positive report, the Network will consider opening their Ports to the Grid again, and letting its Programs rejoin civilization...

World Info | What Happened Last Time | Factions | Locations/Map | Casting Call/Plot Role Announcements | Infiltrator Roles | Investigator Roles | Glossary | Skills | Calendar | Infiltrator Directory | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting