TEST DRIVE MEME | #01

[triumvirmod]

Test-Drive-Meme #01

Welcome to our first ever TDM! This is open to all players looking to join our game or simply have some fun. Play on this TDM does not equate to intent or obligation to apply to join. Players on this TDM should follow all game rules and Characters should meet all game suitability standards per our FAQ. TDM threads are considered game canon for characters who join! The Moon Pact is in power for the full duration of this TDM, putting Sun Pact characters as in service. Moon Pact bindings are presently glittering silver and Sun Pact bindings are unpolished brass. Pact and Class can both be freely player assigned and swapped at will for the purpose of the TDM.

Overseer, Awaken and Conquer

CW: Descriptions of dubiously consensual touch, choking, hallucinations, falling.

The Hands that Grasp

Consciousness wanes. From calm oblivion reaches a pair of elegant hands. Fingertips caress, trailing physical form, mapping curves and divots. Some dark or desperate compulsion leans into the comfort of this touch. The hands dig in. Clasping tight at the neck and pull downward. Down and down, through unclear space, through unclear time. Your character awakens with a start. Where they last felt those hands grasping into them, a collar now rests. Prying does not budge the solid metal, which is either of silver or of brass. Before their eyes is a pane of stained glass. Inscribed in a language all can read are the words Overseer, Awaken and Conquer.

The Glass Coffins

Overseers awaken, contained within a coffin of ornate, metal framework and glass. For some, a light push will cause the lid to swing open. For others, the enclosure may stick or prove too heavy to budge. Breaking free is an option, though mysteriously, the glass fully repairs itself within minutes of sustaining damage. Other Overseers may be present throughout the hallways, willing and able to aid in opening stubborn coffins. That is, should their unlucky inhabitants be able to get their attention through the sound dampening barrier. Overseers continually awaken, either individually or in batches, throughout the month. This will last until the day of the upcoming solstice.

The Gilded Cradle

Innumerable rows of glass coffins line the interior of a grand cathedral tower. Somehow, the name of this stained glass spire is imprinted in the mind of all Overseers. This is known as the Gilded Cradle within Absentia. Where or what is Absentia? How did they arrive here? Why are they here? The answers to such questions remain unknown. These names are as far as the foreign memory serves Overseers. The foggy corridors spiral downward, a staircase connecting floor after floor of largely unopened coffins. Many have glass too hazy to see within. The hallways are heavy with the scent of lavender tinged magic and lightning storm ozone, made visible as a thick haze in the air. Through this fog, Overseers may notice one another or they may see phantoms running by. People familiar to them. Chasing after these figments is a foolish endeavor, they will pick up speed into the thick of the fog. There, they will disappear. This can leave unsuspecting Overseers teetering on the topmost edge of a stairwell or allow their momentum to throw them over the central railing. A fall to the Cradle's ground floor isn't enough to kill an Overseer turns out, but it will injure. Beginning your journey battered is merely an added misfortune.

The Castle Constructs

When Overseers leave the Gilded Cradle, they find they're trapped within an abandoned castle. While exploring they find no other living creatures other than fellow Overseers. Throughout the halls and rooms of the castle rest Constructs. These figures are shells of either iron or brass, with a variety of gargoyle-like appearances. They stand with their wings tucked around their bodies. Littered throughout the location, their placements can often clue in to their former duties as the Castle attendants. These Constructs remain completely inert until two Overseers of the same Pact pass by. Iron Constructs react to pairs of Moon Pact members, while Brass Constructs come alive near pairs of Sun Pact members. When awakened, they unfurl and stand to a height ranging from around three-to-six foot tall. The Constructs promptly begin to carry out butler-like duties, as if they were long ago set to a schedule of operation. When presented with a task they can no longer seem to accomplish, they merely pantomime the action before moving onward. (These NPCs can be player controlled and are non-hostile unless attacked first.)

Locked In

CW: Survival themes, food insecurity, exchanging sex for goods and services.

The Kitchen

The kitchen of Absentia is vast, meant to accommodate for a castle population in the hundreds. Long abandoned, any food reserves have turned to dust or rot. All that remains are a series of strange machines, humming with dull magic. Only operable by the castles resident Constructs, hungry Overseers would be advantaged to activate the inactive Constructs scattered nearby. Once occupying the kitchen, Constructs are more likely to provide a meager serving of food to Overseers who have used magic recently or who hold Influence. (Characters playing this TDM with no canon powers may presume they hold (1) Influence for this and subsequent prompts.)

The Hall of Overseers

To the west of the Gilded Cradle there lies a long, rectangular housing structure, framing a vast courtyard. Rain from the storm overhead patters down constantly. Rooms for Overseers line the open air hallways overlooking the nature within the central outdoor space. At this time, those of the Moon Pact enjoy the lower floors of the indoor sections, with luxurious accommodations. These include private rooms with a fireplace, claw foot baths with clean running water, a variety of furniture, and a plush bed. The upper level indoor rooms are for the Overseers presently in service, the Sun Pact. These rooms are all shared and scarcely furnished. Hammocks and bunk beds are provided to house three or four Overseers per cramped room. These upper location hallways have shared bathroom spaces and no private amenities provided. Overseer names are engraved upon the door frame of their assigned rooms. There is no access given to rooms without this engraving. Overseers need to be invited in to rooms they do not own or share. (Rooms are fully self assigned by Players and can change freely between threads. Pact is likewise self assigned, but should match the room type described above. Moon Pact characters are free to invite Sun Pact characters into their rooms, and visa-versa.)

The Hands that Feed

As Overseers settle in, they find resources are thin and accessible castle space highly limited. There is no exit from the castle at this time. Trying to fly out over the top of Hall of Overseers courtyard results in perpetually being turned around by the Storm until exhausted. Overseers who try to smash windows or break through the architecture find their magic or strength immediately drained. Teleportation leads back to where one attempted to leave from. The trap feels inescapable. This inevitably creates an air of frustration and futility within the awakened Overseer ranks. All there is to do is to make do.

➤Attentive characters will discover quickly that Constructs bring extra rations as room service to those in Power. This at first appears exclusive to the Moon Pact within the Hall of Overseers. The Constructs do this when Overseers have sex in the luxury of the lower floor rooms. However, the Constructs range of understanding is a bit impaired, so fucking in the courtyard also works to call food and drink, regardless of Pact alignment.

➤For those seeking a more direct approach to acquiring extra rations, there's always robbery. The Constructs are not highly fortified. Their routes from the kitchen to the Hall of Overseers are easy enough to intercept. They do resist Overseers who attempt to steal from them, defending the food if attacked. Overseers who damage Constructs find they simply curl back into their wings, where they become both immobile and invulnerable from further damage. They will repair themselves in time and do not... appear... to hold a grudge. The Overseers whose meals were hijacked might, though.

The Courtyard

The courtyard at the center of the Hall of Overseers is a public space with five distinct sections. At the center, there is an ornate fountain that serves as the most reliable, public spot for clean drinking water. The fountain depicts the three Classes, though all of them are partially destroyed. The Ruler has their hands broken off, the Dragon is missing its head, and the pegasus shaped Herald has a hole in its chest. Grimly, the water flows from each of these missing pieces into the pool below. This space is open and visible to all, especially from the higher rooms of the Hall. This central location serves well as a social hub and meet up point for Overseers to congregate, though it is perpetually raining here.

➤Heralds and Dragons experience their first urge to transform within the Courtyard. They are able to resist it, if their willpower is sufficiently high, but the compulsion is strong. Dragons feel a need to shed their skin, to fly and be free. There is not much room for multiple, large dragons to do either of these things. Mind your wings! Heralds begin to feel territorial, wishing to reinvigorate the long dead space. Heralds are able to terraform within the confines of garden planters as they see fit, but they may find them destroyed by Dragons or usurped by other Heralds. Miniature territory disputes may serve as practice for times ahead. Rulers can hear mysterious whispers throughout the Courtyard, but especially nearby the fountain. If they acknowledge these whispers aloud, they will get a response. Those Rulers who listen closely can hear the mocking words "you're not leaving this time."

The other four quadrants surrounding the central fountain are overgrown and wild, contrasting the initially desolate central area. These spaces are each themed to a different season; spring, summer, fall, and winter. Once Overseers enter one of the gated in spaces, the area within appears larger than the outside barrier suggests. The temperature varies wildly between each, though the Storm over head remains consistent. Each contains a singular hideaway which the Constructs will bring food to. These shield Overseers from outside view, but may turn out to be in hot demand. Mind yourselves if trying to sneak into one of these spots for privacy, they may already be taken! (Each hideaway may be customized at player discretion to suit their threads. A single piece of furniture for leisure may be present, like a lounge or hammock. Some ideas for natural spaces would be hidden behind a waterfall, beneath a canopy of trees, a frosty cave, or an alcove hidden by fallen leaves.)

Grief Hath Mates

Class Scenarios

Note: The following prompts are available for all Players, though abilities should always match up with a character's present Class! Class for characters on the TDM can change between threads, but should not change mid-thread. This fully locks down upon acceptance to the game. Characters are presently "unstable" in their Pact and Class assignments, so all threads can remain canon, even if they contradict Pact or Class assigned later on. Any changes made to shared setting environments below are temporary, so feel free to play with destructive and creation powers as specified.

RULERS

➤Rulers who attempt to speak to the Constructs will find they are reacted to in a way the Dragons and Heralds are not. Constructs do not speak back, but they are more attentive towards Rulers regardless of their Influence level. If asked where something is, Constructs will dutifully guide the Ruler to the location in question if it exists. Sometimes, Constructs will open up previously locked doors. None of these lead outside, but they offer some new clues to how the castle once operated in the past. Rulers can open up additional rooms to explore such as a drawing room, a music room, a wine cellar, and a smoking room. These rooms all have basic supplies for their given activity, including aged wine and cigars in the latter two respectively. Rulers with clever tongues or manipulative sensibilities can convince the Constructs to leave them “in charge” of a room. This grants the Ruler a key to the door they can leverage as they please. (Players can play their Ruler as if they hold exclusive control of a room, but this is not imposed TDM-wide. Multiple Rulers can each claim the same type room, no player actually holds full IC/OOC control.)

DRAGONS

➤Dragons are going to be the first to snap under such cramped conditions. Their natural urges are to spread out and fly, not be stuck within a castle. The more volatile Dragons will find their natural instinct is to go Berserk. Berserk mode can be engaged in either their humanoid or Dragon form, though Dragons can only transform at this time within the confines of the Courtyard. If Dragons are causing trouble in the Courtyard, luring or forcing them out of the Courtyard at large forces a Dragon to return to their humanoid form. Getting in fights may not be productive, but it might provide some enrichment to Overseers wishing to challenge each other or keep the peace. (Reminder: Dragons, regardless of form, are especially durable and may prove difficult to subdue! Rulers are best suited to this task, given they have a natural advantage over Dragons. Heralds can make their own attempts, it is simply more risky for them given how fragile they are.) Dragons of more even temperaments can make themselves productive by using relevant elemental magic around the castle. The castle interior is lit only by the dull glow of the sun or moon, which are often dulled by the cloud cover overhead. Providing temperature control or lighting could be a great ease to their own mental state, as well as benefit their fellow Overseers.

HERALDS

➤While cooked rice, dried meat, and pickled vegetables are largely what is being provided, there is a distinct lack of fruit or alcohol coming out of the kitchen. Heralds may find themselves especially desperate for these. Within the courtyard only, they can flex their newly found Class abilities to rapidly influence nature. Heralds may find themselves having vivid daydreams about their favorite fresh fruits from home. These fantasies manifest, growing the imagined fruits from nearby vines, bushes, and trees. This can happen deliberately or entirely by accident. However, due to the imperfect nature of both memory and imagination, these fruits are never fully accurate recreations. The taste and quality of the fruit end up heavily influenced by a Herald’s own subjective experience and are prone to exaggeration. Any fruit from any world is allowed, these simply cannot cause any magical effects. Devious Heralds which imagine poisonous fruits can injure, but not kill fellow Overseers. Such produce can be used to make alcohol by those with the knowledge and wherewithal to do so. Any manner of food is in demand and Heralds have this to provide. Replenishing energy though sex is always an option to help produce more or better resources of this kind.

OOC Info

What happens next?

On the 21st of June, the Pacts will turn over. For the IC duration of the TDM, the Moon Pact are in power. Those assigned to the Sun Pact will start the game off proper as the faction in power. Characters who are accepted into the game will be freed from the confines of the castle. The game will greet new players with a Mingle Event and Network Introduction Post, once all applications are processed. The storm will pull back at the start of July, allowing even further world exploration and Territory claims. Our first plot event will focus on discovering the threat that the Lost Souls of this world can present.

Can I reserve my character before applying?

If you want to claim a character spot in advance of applications opening, our Reserves Page opens on the 10th of June, through to the 15th. This is not required for application, but highly recommended even for original or obscure characters. Reserving provides an instant-pass through 1st month game Activity Check! It also provides Moderation with an idea of incoming player numbers!

How do I apply to join the game?

Head over to our Application Page. These open up on June 15th and close on the 20th. The game officially opens on the 21st of June, barring any unexpected delays.

Is there an OOC space I can discuss potential plans?

Take a look at our Enable-me-Please for OOC discussions and plotting!

(CODE)

Comments

Garner Cinderbrooke | OC (D&D Exandria flavored) | Ruler, Sun Pact

[whisperedone]

Castle Constructs
The construct stationed in this hallway likely wouldn't be overly fond of being touched so thoroughly as is currently being done to it, if it had any emotions or sentience. As it is, Garner stands in front of the metal-feeling thing with a puzzled expression on his face. As his hands skate over the nooks and odd crannies of the gargoyle of indeterminate material, his unseeing eyes stare off at nothing while he concentrates on his hands.

"What...are you?" He asks the thing beneath his fingers, though it wouldn't be hard to think the softly asked question was directed elsewhere with how hi empty grey eyes possibly meet someone approaching.

Courtyard
'Overseer, Awaken and Conquer..' The words tumble over in his mind, trying to make sense of them, this place, and the cold barren mountain he'd been on before waking in his glass coffin. There's movement and activity and people stumbling about no differently than him, but by the fountain, there's some peace in the sound of the running water. He has his head angled slightly so his ear is facing the burble of the fountain and his sightless eyes stare out at nothing. When the whispers start, he thinks nothing of them at first. He is no stranger to the whispers in his mind. It's the content that has his eye narrowing and his focus turning inward. Where the Whispered One's influence often had him hearing temptations and knowledge just out of understanding, these ones felt...directed. Clearer than usual. And never once had the mutterings of his previous God been so direct as to tell him he couldn't escape. Evil gods rarely had to be so direct. The shifting of fabric or weight nearby has Garner 'looking' up at whoever was nearest to him. "Do you hear them? Whispers in the water?"

Or is his sanity slipping further away than he'd like?

Class Scenario-Music Room
He'd asked for a room with art he could touch when he'd found one of the constructs that could now move. A place he could 'rest and find some quiet.' What he got was indeed a room of quiet, but not if he touched the art. Instruments ranging from a harp to a piano and flutes held in cradles met his exploring fingers and he traced them all. How he wished Ivx were here, she could likely do something with this. Or Raleigh...

Garner pushes the thought of his missing friends aside as he sits on a cold piano bench. His fingers find the lid over the keys and carefully push it back to expose the keys below. Reverent fingers press one key and then another as he turns his head slightly towards the sound. "You need tuning, my friend."

Wildcard
Have an idea? Go for it!
((For those who know Crit Role/Exandria, Garner comes from 814PD. He is blind in both eyes, the left with no visible injury except those with medical training and the other with a clear cut across the right. He can hear and smell and sort of 'sense' around him for movement, but he is still effectively blind. You can hmu through PM or at Plurk))

Courtyard

[andromedaunchained]

Perseus had asked for a place where he could see the open sky, and the automaton had delivered in full. Granted, it had taken him several minutes to do more than gawk at the clouds, the rain, the plants. Life. He's never seen so much life in one place. Nothing real anyway. He'd had to touch one of the plants, rip the leaves apart to verify. The older man is no engineer, but if these are biomechanical, they're beyond anything the Olympians have been able to replicate, even for the likes of Artemis and her famed 'garden.'

The whispers are what break him from his reverie. They're indistinct, but have him looking up and around, searching for the source. The only other person out in the courtyard appears to be another man, sitting out in the rain on the edge of a fountain--a fountain like he's only seen in the thoroughfares of the upper levels.

It doesn't look like the other man is speaking, but Perseus does approach, lifting a hand in greeting before he sees the eyes. The genial smile he'd been wearing shifts to surprise. "Good to know you're not ventriloquist, friend. I thought you might be trying to get my attention by very talented means." Perseus cocks his own head and the whispers resolve into words.

"You're not leaving this time."

"There. 'Not leaving... this time?' Hmm... I've not left the first time. Mind if I join you? It's been years since I could sit in the rain." And not worry it wasn't laced with poisons or acid.

[whisperedone]

The rain is already soaking beneath the leathers and cloth he wears and he shows no sign of caring over much as he gestures vaguely to the space beside him. "Please, be my guest. I find it a very...purifying sensation. Rain dulls sounds and smells and allows for a clearing of the senses, especially for me. But...yes, I noticed that as well. With no clear means of leaving available, why do you think the water feels the need to threaten us?"

An unfortunate predicament when this was a reliable source of drinking water. He'd still drink from it of course, but being threatened while doing so was not preferred.

"Perhaps the better question is: have we been here before and don't remember or has there been others like us who have escaped?"

[andromedaunchained]

Perseus glances at the water, then back at his new companion as he sits down. "Well, if it threatens first, it sets the rules for engagement, eh?" He thinks for a moment. "If we're not leaving, remember that means you're stuck with us, Whispering Folk." It's silly, speaking to the water. Speaking to the minds he expects are actually at work here. Perhaps it's some bizarre connection terminal for the Acheron? He'd read stories of deviant minds who'd managed to break free of control for a short while. Who's to say some wouldn't be here? Or something like them. Souls hijacked into running this place. That might explain their general predicament.

"But threats to the water aside, I think the latter more likely. Though... I haven't been looking for signs I was here before. Are you the sort of man to leave clues for a future you, my nameless friend? And Perseus. You'll forgive my manners not saying so earlier. I'm having a very interesting morning. Much like you, I expect."

[whisperedone]

The fact the man -Perseus- rolls with Garner's thought that the water was threatening them and doesn't just dismiss him gets a small smile aimed at Perseus' knee.

"I am called Garner and, yes, this is not quite where I last laid my head. If I thought I was at risk of losing my memories, then I very well might. If it was a surprise, then no. I suspect you are right and it is more that we are not the first ones here. Certainly, it is a large enough place to have once held a community or two. At least...it seems large enough. Correct me if I'm wrong; waking up in an unfamiliar place is difficult to navigate for the first few days."

[andromedaunchained]

"It is a vast palace, Garner," Perseus agrees, unable to help the note of awe that touches his voice for a moment. "The grandest I've seen in decades. With this magnificent garden. I spied land stretching out through the windows. If it's more than mere holograms..." He trails off, shaking his head. "I can't say what this place is apart from the fact that it's something out of a storybook. A world before the Olympians." Ah, but that's going too far. From the people he has encountered, they know nothing of the City or its 'gods.'

"That's what I see, in any case. It looks abandoned, mind. Dust coats its halls and terraces, and the automata are in disrepair. I wish I had Hippodamia here. A comrade. There's no one better with machines, especially older ones." No one in his employ, anyway. He suspects Melinoe could give the woman a run for her money, though, based on what he'd seen of the Champions. "It's a beautiful place, but unlike anything I've seen. It has the air of the ancient about it."

music room

[propatriamori]

The sound of a poorly-tuned piano draws Edward out of himself. He ventures into a hallway and follows the sounds until he thinks he's found the right room. Then he lingers in the doorway, listening.

"Do you know how to tune it?"

[whisperedone]

Even with the quiet of the room, the new person's approach doesn't reach his ears and he looks up, surprised and caught of guard, but not unwelcoming.

"In principle. I haven't searched for the tools needed, but if you've eyes to spare, I could give it a try. I need string dampener...and hopefully, none of the strings have snapped. That is outside my experience, I'm afraid."

[propatriamori]

"Ah. Then no, I'm afraid I shan't be much help." Edward gestures at his face and the scars on his eyes. "If you can find the string dampener, though, I may be able to give it my best attempt."

[whisperedone]

Garner pauses as he listens, brow furrowing and gaze empty. The man...didn't have eyes to spare? And had he made some motion? He'd sensed movement and the empty pause someone usually granted when they expected him to see something he couldn't, so perhaps...

"Are...you wouldn't happen to...also be blind, would you?" He feels a bubble of humor in his chest he tries to swallow down, but it still ends in a small smile in his tone. They were going to make a terrible time at this, if so.

[propatriamori]

"You as well?" Edward can't help the surprised tone in his voice, but it dissolves into good humour immediately. "That would certainly explain why you didn't recognise my very clever gesture towards my face and eyes."

He feels his way further into the room, eventually bumping into the piano. He makes his way around to the keyboard, and plays a rippling little pattern on the bass keys.

"Oh, that is out of tune, isn't it?"

Constructs (ellwood is also sun pact)

[dearestdarling]

Wandering the halls, Ellwood has come upon these gargoyles with similar confusion. He figures they must be tacky art pieces of some kind. He stops and gawks when he sees a man breaking the first rule of any art museum or castle such as this; touching the art, or the replicas, or whatever these are. To Ellwood, these are clearly not for touching.

As he gets closer, the rubber soles of his army boots clunking softly on the marble floors, he notices the man isn't actually looking at the statue he's touching. He's looking more in Ellwood's direction, but not at him, with hazy, unfocused eyes.

"You might get in trouble for touching that," he calls as a warning. Whoever owns this castle seems to have abandoned it or died, but you never know, there could still be someone here who wouldn't appreciate this.

Wonderful, they get to Discover together

[whisperedone]

The distinct sound of well-soled boots has Garner turning his head more towards his new companion and a hand pulls away from the odd statue just in case....not that the other one entirely pulls away.

"Ah, then it's time to use the smile and apology tactic. It gets me out of most situations where exploring is frowned upon. Tell me, if you don't mind, what is it? The shape is humanoid, but the features are..." Grotesque comes to mind, but since he can't be sure, he chooses a more tactful description. "-Seemingly misaligned. Or animal-like perhaps." There's a subtle rumble under his fingers as the other man approaches and the metal shifts and moves and Garner yanks his hand back as if burned. "What in the Dawnfather's name...?"

yesssss-- cw corpses/war grossness

[dearestdarling]

He gets near enough to Garner to see him better, and along with his question of what the statue is, it clicks in Ellwood's head that his eyes must be damaged to the point of blindness. A victim of gas, maybe? Ellwood tries to place his accent.

"It's... Some sort of gargoyle."

Ellwood also startles as the statue moves.

"Christ!"

The gargoyle straightens, rises to its full height, which is near Ellwood's eye level. It stands at attention, facing them as though watching them, or waiting for something.

Ellwood's hand has instictively flown to his chest, and he backs away a little, trying to shake the memories of bodies turning in the mud and being unsure whether they're alive or just being moved around by rats.

"Christ, it's alive!"

[whisperedone]

To anyone of Earth's ears, he certainly sounds English of...some stripe.
The word 'gargoyle' does make it into his brain to think on when he's not jumping out of his skin, though.

"Is it? It's made of metal..." But if it is alive, then that's rather rude to talk about someone in front of their face, right? Garner turns to the creature, his quiet voice carrying his uncertainty clear in it. "Hello....are you alive, then? I apologize for touching you so much if you are, you weren't moving before."

And what had caused that, exactly? The gargoyle doesn't seem to reply, however, it just...stands there. Waiting. If anything, Garner might describe its presence as expectant, but of what?

"It talks about as well as I can see, I think."

Courtyard

[druidofthegoddess]

Mordred did not pay the man mind when he came into the Courtyard, focus solely on whatever it is that makes him wish to be a stag and the nature of this place. There is fear in the voice and the question. For what reason he cannot fathom when this place is the only one in the entire castle that is not attempting to drown them in stone.

"The water speaks?" Water can be used for rituals for prophetic visions, but he has not heard of water directly speaking to someone. Even the Lady of the Lake has not made mention of anything like that. Not to him. Perhaps his Grandmother hid something else from him in an attempt to keep more control. He would not know the difference even if she had.

He moves closer to the other after plucking an apple from a tree. The smell is sweet, but wrong in that way he still cannot fully grasp. It complements his own musky scent of earth, leaves, and hides. "What does it say, the water? It has not chosen me to hear it."

[whisperedone]

It's the musk and the leather and the voice that turns his head towards his new companion more fully. When he speaks, his voice is soft and just audible over the sound of the storm and the burble of the fountain.

"It says 'you're not leaving this time' and not in a kind way. Like it delights in this taunting phrase. What do you make of it?"

[druidofthegoddess]

"A prophecy or omen. A message from those who rule this place." His answer is immediate for he has heard such things from the gods. Directions for what he must do. Caution against that which would oppose him. Filtered to him through his Mother or Grandmother, or sometimes through his own visions.

He sits beside the other and leans his ear toward the water. His knee bumps Garner's without notice or care. There is strangeness to his movements that Mordred will investigate after he understands the signs the water is imparting.

"This place is already standing around us. Are we threatened with this or called to action?" It could be either. He frowns and exhales what to normal ears would be silently. "It is a strange thing to impart only to some of the number here. Such action sows chaos and mistrust."

[whisperedone]

Garner nods. It makes as much sense as anything else he can think of with what little they know. The brush of a knee against his own makes him flinch in surprise, but he doesn't pull away nor say anything until the other man has spoken again.

"Perhaps that is the point. Perhaps the intent is chaos to pull ourselves and each other apart. Or, perhaps, it is to motivate us...to drive us, not into despair, but into defiance with those of us who know leading the charge." Again, just one of a hundred theories he now has spinning in his head.

courtyard

[twicelost]

Out here, with the rain and the fountain, it feels like another part of Bristol Cove. It's not home at all, being on land, but it feels close. It will do for now.

Most other Heralds find themselves drawn to planters in need of tending, but Katrina gravitates to the fountain. It isn't sea water, but it's moving water, and it has to come from somewhere. She sits at its edge, watching everyone who comes and goes, ready to fight them if they do anything but drink from it.

This man has been here for some time, not unlike some others, until finally he speaks. Katrina looks at him, then at the water, then back at him, a threat lurking within her gaze for any who can see her. Maybe he can sense it.

"The water not speak." Not without speaking to her first, damnit. "Only give drink. Whispers from other place."

[whisperedone]

He can feel her gaze upon him, though what he's said that might offend, he can't imagine. Maybe she imply thought him insane. He's not sure he could argue against that.

"Another place? Perhaps the fountain is haunted." He certainly doesn't say or mean it as a joke, as much as the words themselves sound ridiculous when he says it.

"Do you hear the same thing I do? That it's saying we won't be able to leave this place?"

[twicelost]

Perhaps it is. She will love this fountain even if that's true, of course, but perhaps it merits an additional amount of respect.

"I do not hear this." Which doesn't mean it's not possible there are voices. It might be beyond her kind to hear.

"You hear warning, or threat. Maybe... voice of who put us in glass cage. In stone cage."

Because the castle is also a prison, let there be no mistake. Plucking people from their homes and putting them here is not a friendly act.

"Are voices... familiar?"

[whisperedone]

Glass cage...yes, that is what it felt like when he woke in the glass box. The dimensions had felt like a coffin when he'd touched it, but a cage was a better descriptor when it came with an immediate message.
It's a fitting description of this castle, too.

"You may be right about that. Perhaps we're no different than pets or animals for viewing to them." Whoever 'them' is. Whoever brought them here. There have been too many signs now that it wasn't just some fluke of temperamental magic.

Her question, though, causes a pause. Surely she means 'is the voice itself familiar?' And yet, for a moment, all he can hear is 'do you usually hear voices?' His paranoia spiking, surely...

"N-no. No, I can't even say if there's an age or gender attached to it." He's at a loss beyond 'mocking.' "Do you have a name I can call you by? I believe I would know your voice if I heard it again."

castle constructs

[breadmuffs]

It probably would be easy to misconstrue that question, but having observed Garner exploring the construct with his fingers that thoroughly, Caleb thinks it probably isn't exactly directed at him.

"I'm not sure if they're decorations or they once served some sort of purpose. Probably the second one, given how many of them there seem to be and how randomly they're scattered about."

[whisperedone]

He pauses with the new voice and cants his head in his direction before nodding. "That would make sense."

His voice is quiet and soft, but he punctuates his response by smacking the golem in its center. A hallow reverberation meets his ear and Garner's brow raises.

"Durable, yet hollow...interesting. The magic in them must be strong to still linger this long without casters about for some time."