gameofmana | ♪ Our house ♪ in middle of this tree ♪ our house

Who: Everyone
What: The first morning of an adventure begins.
Where: Home
When: Day 1
Other: Be courteous and warn for any of the usuals in your thread subject title if it gets to that point.

You wake up to a serene and idyllic morning.

Outside, a pleasant glow from the sun fills the room including the small crannies in which the beds are tucked. All windows have been latched close, but it's easy to see a gentle breeze ruffling the leaves of branches which loom overhead. Faintly, bird song can be heard from outside. In this place, it'd be a simple matter to close your eyes again and drift back to sleep.

There's simply one problem: this is not where you last went to sleep.

Waking up properly will display not only how the picturesque and cozy little room stands out in stark contrast to where you should be, but that you are sharing this space with someone else. Depending on things, they might be very mundane or very... unusual. Either way, they seem just as bewildered as you are. The good news is that at least all the things you immediately had on you at the time are right nearby the foot of your bed along with what seems like a small gift- a small pouch of some sort of coin. (500 Lucre, although that might not be immediately realized anytime soon.)

Exploring the rest of the house shows it to be otherwise quite empty, except for some writing utensils and paper in what appears to be the study along with basic kitchen tools in, well, the kitchen. There's no food, however, and no decoration. Venturing outside onto the grounds reveals an expansive but not particularly well tended estate including another building that is fairly run down. Attempting to venture down the path from the front door out into the world reveals... well. Nothing. It's a fruitless endeavor.

However, not for long.

Hajime Iwaizumi will be the one to find what appear to be a few discarded children's toy blocks. The Colorblocks immediately seem off in some way, strange even as they should seem inconspicuous. Something about them will compel him to pick them up. The nature of this apparent toy will not be obvious until he ventures near the edge of Home himself. A sound, almost like distant bellchimes, will start to emit from the Colorblocks.

When exposed to the air, suddenly they emit a glow and shoot off into the sky with all the brilliance of a falling star. Its trail is both noticeable and easy to follow, curving an arc through the sky until it falls some distance away... and its impact bursts an aurora of colors through the distant and dimmer sky, encircling the site. As the whirlwind of color fades, what appears to be a town can be just made out...

That is the town of Domina.

Some OOC notes:
➸ Prior to the activation of the Colorblocks, the only books which will be filled out in the Study will be "Artifacts" and "Visitors".
➸ After Domina has been unlocked and some characters have explored the town, "People" and "Locations" will be filled out in the Study as well.
➸ To see who your character is initially rooming with, check the Home page. These rooming assignments are not permanent or mandatory by any means, and characters can change them whenever. Officially letting me know will be present and explained in the next mod post coming in a week's time, but for now we can play it relaxed and loose. Just don't burn down the tree in the meantime.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Do you know what's going on?

[Despite his irritation and imposing presence, the Roe's voice sounds perfectly calm and collected. None of that anger is directed towards the kid in front of him, after all.]

[Despite how tense he is, Chikusa’s response is slow and careful.]

I can guess. I don’t know.

[The calm tone doesn’t seem to be doing much for him…. But he’s always had difficulty reading other people outside of Kokuyo, more often than not.]

Someone has to know.

[His glance aside is for no one in particular, just a chance to aim his anger somewhere other than the person he's talking to.]

Though they might not be here.

...This place might not be real.

[It probably isn’t, in fact, but Chikusa is still investigating that.]

Not real?

[What in Hydaelyn's name did he mean by that? They're here, and they're real. It might be strange, or some sort of aetherscape, though the latter is unlikely.]

There isn't enough aether here for it to be false.

Aether?

[That could be another name for Mist flames- the world is vast, and not everyone goes by the Flames of Sky naming system that Italy has taken to- but Chikusa suspects not.]

Life energy. Magical energy. [He isn't going to get into the complete explanation; the kid's head would probably explode.] Not enough of it around here even to cast spells.

[He might be surprised. Chikusa is quiet as he thinks.]

...It’s called “Dying Will Flames”. At least by Italians.

Hmph. Poetic. We call the spirit energies in the aetherial realms the 'Lifestream'. [Though a moment's consideration of the name alone makes him think the concept can't be too different.] Sounds about the same in practice though.

[So it is the same thing… Interesting. Chikusa shifts in place.]

If it’s a good enough illusionist… You wouldn’t be able to tell if this was real or fake.

Illusions couldn't take away our own magic, though. And it doesn't work here. No one's does. [Well, his and his wife's, but so far that seems pretty universal.]

It could make you think you’re powerless. [He adjusts his glasses.] Letting an illusionist trick you…. is surrendering your idea of reality.

[Dread shakes his head.] Maintaining a comprehensive illusion on every potential use of aether my wife or I could perform would be too much for one person. Even an Ascian. There are too many variables in arcanist calculations. Too much raw power in black magic. The idea's far less likely than just a lack of aether.

Maybe you just don’t know good enough illusionists.

It's a matter of limitations of the mind. [Dread taps his forehead with one large finger.] It can only do so much. Heuristics are good, but their first failure would cascade.

[For all that he could explain…. Chikusa merely sighs and adjusts his glasses.]

No.

[Okay, when you make a coherent and rational argument and get 'no' as the counterargument, that's the time when you stop arguing.]

Whatever the case, we have to deal with what we see.

So you’re going to interrogate everyone you meet…?

[Dread shrugs, which vaguely gives the impression of a mountain about to collapse. ] Doesn't hurt to ask. The worst that happens is no one knows anything.

And after that?

Either we have answers, or we don't. If we don't, we keep looking.

[No reason to overcomplicate things.]

...It doesn’t seem like there’s much to look into...

Just the mass teleportation of multiple people from vastly different realms. [Dread shrugs. No big deal, right?]

[s i g h]

Physically.

Good question. There might be physical clues.

(no subject)

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