TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 11

[avalonmods]

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ SUMMARY: New arrivals drop into the lake and have to climb up a cliff to the Rent a Ride, where they are given their device and some headphones and can retrieve their personal materials. They travel to Camelot, which is a multiple day journey, so they stop at the Red Springs along the way and stay at an inn there. A ⦿ Soaking in Your Arrival KERPLUNK, SPLASH! Regardless of what you were in the middle of, you and your familiar have been magically pulled into the world of Avalon just above the Bay's waters. After a brief plunge into the Bay, the rush of water filling your ears and soaking up into every creak and crevice of your body, you may need to cough to clear your airways when you rise above the surface. It's still chilly, but not enough that you can't manage on your own. The Lady of the Lake is swimming around under the water, helping to rescue any wayward travelers who look like they're struggling in the water. This month's helpers are Atlantian Saury. Similar to Pacific Saury, these small fish don't have much lift power on their own... but contrary to their saltwater counterparts, Atlantian Saury are known for forming schools of thousands thick enough to lift a person right out of the water... as long as they aren't scared of a few fish flip-flopping out of the water and slapping them in the face with their tails. Animal mages will find they're very chatty, and very fast talkers, and very sensitive to each others' feelings. Insult one of them, and the whole school will start screaming and crying together. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. The shores themselves are littered with new arrivals complaining their way up a staircase carved into the walls of the White Cliffs. There is no railing, so be careful, but if you do fall, be prepared for a mysterious sand hand to reach out of the side of the cliffs to catch you. The hand will pat you atop the head twice before retreating back into the wall. This is the Cliff Beast; despite the name, he is quite friendly. (Though.. given how hot and muggy the weather is this first week, maybe you might want to ask him to toss you right back into the lake where the waters are still cool.) *Reminder: Your character's familiar may or may not be with your character in their initial plunge. If the familiar isn't partial to water, it may meet your character on the beach or sit atop their head while they swim. Or if they are, they might splash about and swim alongside your character. Familiars have different personalities and body specs and we leave those up to the players. B ⦿ The Caravan to Camelot Once everyone is wrangled up to the top of the White Cliffs, the handsome owner of the Rent-a-Ride, Archimedes, will distribute smart phones and a pair of ear buds and tell them to "Check the Shit Box." The "Shit Box" refers to wardrobe more formally known as the Wardrobe of Finding, a hammerspace-like wardrobe that opens to each person's items and pets when the person touches the handle. It was recently enchanted by Merlin to prevent people from having to fish their waterlogged possessions and pets out of the water with them. From there, Archimedes directs everyone to settle in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and gives them a basic explanation of why and how they've been brought to Avalon: The rest of the universe is frozen in time and your character has been brought here by a familiar that was able to bond with them. They'll have to learn magic to help save their own world from destruction, but first they've got to get them to Camelot. It is here that you have the first opportunity to decide who they will be in their new home. You'll have about an hour to wander around here, meet and greet, and pet the horses before it's time to go. These carriages use fae technology that combats weight, so your character will be able to get in regardless of whether they're light as a feather or weigh two tons. The carts have air conditioning when it's hot, heating when it's cold, and a mystical shield to protect from bugs. There is also a mini-bar that pops out of the console. In a deal with Camelot's farms, the drinks are honey-based-- mead, tea and honey, even healthy ginger shots with a dash of honey to take the edge off. (Naturally, virgin editions are available of any cocktails like the Bee's Knees for the underaged.) Characters can use their smartphones to connect to Camelot's internet service, avalononline (AOL), to chat with other characters, watch dumb videos, learn about the world, contact Camelot Support (they'll answer any questions they can for you, from how to use a smart phone to where to find quests and resources to learn more about your magic). Be careful if you decide to use your phones while in the caravan-- if you don't use those earbuds and start forcing everyone to listen to your nonsense, Archimedes may make you walk. C ⦿ The Red Spring The journey from the White Cliffs to the City of Camelot is a long one, and the first evening you arrive you'll end up spending at the Red Spring, a booming resort town. Because of the volume of new arrivals and vacationers, inn rooms are assigned two-to-a-room. The rooms have two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and a few free movies. If you don't want to relax in the room, try taking a dip in the spring for another chance to meet your fellow travelers. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly when drunk. It is known to relieve stress, improve energy levels, and mildly accelerate healing. It may be a little chilly when you get out though, so make sure you don't slip rushing back indoors when you get out! The springs are also home to a large training grounds just outside town limits, where there are teachers who will teach basic magic safety and help you discover what kind of magic you have together with other new arrivals. Try target practice, obstacle courses, meditation circles, and other ways to try to figure out just what you can do... if you didn't already have an accidental discovery on the ride there. SUMMARY: We return to Lestari to collect small creatures called fairy coins that look like stars, using a special bubble bar that allows flight but may have side effects such as truth-blurting or burping bubbles. Side quest: save some kids from some ancient giant bats. With the dangerous battle apparently waging on in the waters just off the coast of the island's west peninsula, the attempt to travel through Dinas Emrys is temporarily delayed. With Arthur back on his feet after a month of recovery, Merlin is working in the background on finding a way to get the travel party back on track. It's fine, since the autumn equinox is on the horizon anyway and there are a lot of preparations to be made. A ⦿ Fizzy Lifting Bar With the path to Lestari routed and still fresh, another caravan heads back up there, this time a group of Elphame Traders (sorry, they're sold out of goods, so you still can't buy again until the end of the month) who are assisting in the preparations. The Elphame Traders are paying anyone who makes the journey up there with them to head into a special place called a bubble bar that only opens up once a year, before the autumn solstice. At the bar, there are large tables with mideval-looking devices filled with vials of colorful liquids. The liquids are labeled with different flavors, like baked potato or bubblegum or something called gn'ooOOoo, which is reminisicent of the way that bumbleberry pie smells when you bake it but somehow doesn't taste like bumbleberry or pie. (It's a special kind of dwarven flavor.) It's no drug, don't worry-- it's magic. From the bottom of these wonderful flavors comes a tube and a replaceable mouthpiece (the traders will provide a disposable one for each person) and you're to take a deep breath in to feel the flavor overtake your whole being, then for about an hour afterward (you can refill as needed), you'll find yourself breathing out bubbles.. and flying. Have fun for a little while with this fizzy lifting bubble and get any hiccups (literal or figurative, as flavors can sometime change into something much weirder before changing back or can sometimes have the side effect of making you blurt out truths to the person you're talking to. The side effects will fade in time, even after multiple stops at the bar. B ⦿ Stars in Your Eyes Once you get past the initial side effects of the bubble bar, your temporary flight can be put to good use: gathering stars. More specifically, a special kind of living rock. They're about the size of a medium-length pinky finger nail and shaped like stars. Some people call them fairy coins, these tiny stars come in a variety of colors and fly around at the top of the caverns that contain Lestari. They do not glow and aren't visible from the ground, so you may not have even noticed them the first time you were there... especially since they're quick and tend to hibernate during the summer and wake up as fall approaches. Maybe try some of your magic out to catch them-- they're pretty indestructable, so you can use any magic at your disposal to try to catch them in jars to gather for the autumn equinox. Don't worry, they won't be harmed in the process! The Elphame Traders will explain they're kind of like magic batteries that have the ability to pass through veil and guide the dead from the underworld through Avalon and on to other worlds from the autumn equinox through the month of October. The variation in travel times is why so many cultures end up with their days of the dead passing near the world at similar, but not the exact same times. What they will emphasize is that there's a big gold prize for the person who catches the most of them.. so don't be lax in trying to compete to catch more than your neighbor! ..Just be careful not to catch them in your eyes, as they like to magically hide in reflective surfaces and can only be gotten out by telling a lie to someone you like.. a repulsive act that will scare them out of your eyes and make you a bit less, well, starry-eyed. C ⦿ Minor Side Quest Fairy coin eggs are laid deep within the rock, so don't worry about disrupting them-- they'll hatch for the next year once it cools down enough for winter and live through they life cycle uninterrupted by groundfolk interference. It's important to note because you will need to forage for something else while you're flying around up at the top of the cave. Well, not so much forage as get out of the rocks... it seems like during the first visit, someone brought their fairy chameleon familiar along with them and it crawled up into the ceiling to have a brood of baby chameleons. Unlike real chameleons, these magical reptiles will change colors to match literally anything they come in contact with, and as babies let out a rather pungent smell to scare away predators... And that happens to have woken up giant bats the size of people that have been flying around and scooping up pets and small children and taking them up into the rocks. While you've got that gift of flight, why don't you take a look around for some of the misplaced children and pets. The people of Lestari didn't even know those bats were up there, and they seem pretty primitive... even animal mages might find them speaking caveman-style and focused on nothing but base animal instincts. Oh, and they have 6-inch fangs and even bigger claws. Take a partner so you can fend off their captors while one of you takes care of the captive! SUMMARY:Those in Camelot help prep for the autumn equinox by gathering the ashes of the dead for a ritual to bind spirit guardians to characters via tattoo brands. Other volunteers act as personal genies for those willing to host guardians. Those close to Camelot will not be without preparations to make, whether they took the trip to Lestari and came back later or stayed the whole time. There are a couple of tasks that will take.. well, quite a few types of badasses. The first preparation involves the binding of ash to mages to create spirit guardians for the dead. While the fairy coins act like batteries for the magic that lets the dead pass through the veil, spirit guardians are needed to direct them to the correct worlds.. or in this case, to welcome them to Avalon and direct them back to the underworld safely. The universe outside of this is frozen in time and space, there's nowhere for them to go, and that means things could get dangerous when the solstice rolls by if things don't go as planned. Which means they need as many mages as possible to volunteer for this.. somewhat painful process. A ⦿ The Fighting Badass (CW: Undead creatures, destruction of remains) The first ingredient needed to raise spirit guardians is the ashes of the dead. Since they can't wait around for current ashes, a group of people will be sent out to the Land of Rot for monster-slaying. Capture an undead creature and bring back its remains to the giant cauldron roiling away all month in Camelot's town square. Be careful- undead creatures tend to pop back up even after you slay them more than once, and the trip takes more than a day, so you may have to spend all night waking up to make sure that your skeleton hasn't started crawling out of your backpack to gnaw on your arm. The remains will have to be burned in Camelot's crematorium until it turns to ash and can be placed in the cauldron, so you've got an arduous and tedious journey ahead of you. B ⦿ The Pain-Tolerant Badass (CW: Branding/tattoos) The next part of the preparation involves the removal of what appear to be pitch-black eggs that glow hot like coals from within the cauldron after it stirs in the ashes of the dead. Volunteers will be asked to act as hosts for the spirit guardians. Volunteers can lie face-down on special obsidian slabs that have been laid out around the cauldron. Others who are less brave are welcomed to use iron tongs to remove the eggs from the cauldron and place them on the backs of those who lay on the obsidian, then cast whatever magic they have on the eggs. This will cause them to crack and their insides to ooze out and sear a tattoo into the backs of the person they are placed upon. The designs are representative of some facet of the person they have bonded with. Though the process itself stings like only a burning hot tattoo can, after a couple of days, those who volunteered will find themselves immune to pain until the autumn equinox. C ⦿ The Caring Badass (CW: Consensual submission) The other two badasses have been through a lot, and no one can deny that the kind of person who can see someone go through things like that and be willing to be a shoulder to lean on is their own special level of badass. Anyone who isn't bearing a tattoo can volunteer to be a caretaker-- a special spellbound servant who is required to fulfill any need, like a personal genie, for a person with a tattoo for the duration of their shift (one day per person)! Those who take on this role are given special privileges for the rest of the month and can essentially get free meals from any restaurant in town for their sacrifice. It is voluntary to be spellbound for this position and none of the special priests around town are unclear about the terms-- anything needed means anything. Absolute refusal will result in the spell being broken to prevent non-consensual practices, but will unfortunately result in the person you are caretaking for losing their bond with the spirit guardian, resulting in return of pain reception and yield no reward in the equinox. This makes it important that guardian hosts don't push it to anything too abhorrent to their caretaker. Though you may not know each other to start, you'll undoubtedly come to trust each other by the end of the day and assure the spirit guardian it is in a place it belongs. MOD NOTES: • All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, but this post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads, but should not top-level comment on this post. • If your application is accepted, you may accept TDM threads as game canon as long as both players consent. Characters may begin threading as soon as their journal is accepted to the communities. •If nothing here tickles your fancy, try one of this month's Quests for your TDM prompt. • The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but contain seasonal tweaks for flavor. All other prompts will change monthly. • Questions about this TDM's content? Comment here! If you have a question about the game at-large, please head over to the FAQ.

Comments

[tantailizing]

Yeah, it is.

So no real harm in the end. Nodding to Vivi when he's ready to go, Zidane will turn and start heading the same way the others were. And yes, Vivi is right - that's the way they're supposed to go. Feels like old times again.]

[ornitiers]

I'm just glad you're here. That you're okay. But.....tell me about this place?

[Vivi just got here, after all. So of course he's curious and still figuring out about this place he just.....well. Fell down to. Naturally, he asks about it as he follows Zidane, as they walk with the crowd in gradually making their way up the cliffs. It seems they have a little time, after all. May as well try make the most of it in getting more answers about what was going on.]

[tantailizing]

Sorry for worrying you, but I totally got it.

[No he didn't, but he can act like he knew what the hell he was doing diving into the Iifa Tree. But yeah, let's not talk about that and work on heading up the cliffside.]

Well, this place is called Avalon, and it's kinda like Gaia, but not. Like, there's King Arthur, there are knights, and there's magic, but the technology is somehow between Lindblum and Bran Bal. Oh, and somehow, they don't have airships.

[ornitiers]

Avalon. I guess in some ways though it doesn't sound much different to home if there's still knights and magic. I haven't tried to use any yet here or anything.

[So Vivi isn't sure yet on what was going on there. That his magic may be a little different and more restricted than usual. So to speak. He follows up the cliffs with Zidane, relieved with Zidane reassuring him even if it might not be the entire story there with what happened back home.]

[tantailizing]

There's a Training Ground here that you can use to practice your magic. And you might wanna do that since this place kind of messed with all of our abilities.

[If Vivi was lucky, he got magic close to his original magic. Restrictions aside, he'd pick it up faster than most people here.]

[ornitiers]

A training space? I guess that sounds worth trying then. If my magic might be different somehow?

[If Zidane is saying their abilities were messed with somehow? Vivi isn't sure how that might be, but then some magic and attacks back home did have certain statuses if they hit. Vivi is smaller, and naturally a little clumsier, but at the least so far in making their way up among the crowd he hasn't actually fallen.]

[tantailizing]

Yeah, like, they still have elemental magic, but they call white magic separated into healing magic and light magic? Like, Light Magic lets you cast barriers and holy, but Healing is only healing.

[Which was not cool. And he still didn't know Dagger and Eiko's second magics. Zidane keeps his pace with Vivi, keeping an eye out if he falls, but they should be good going up the cliff even if he does.]

[ornitiers]

It's separated? I wonder why? Maybe healing is more specialized here or something....?

[It's not like that was Vivi's thing, his specialty to be sure though. So that would more be something to ask Eiko and Dagger about given they were the White Magic. And they both are apparently around here somewhere, so. May as well. He is going to want to check in with them and all anyway. Not that he has even considered the possible reactions of them seeing him again depending on what they last remember exactly.

At the least he is mostly managing in only falling in tripping the once. And even then it isn't that the cliff beast needs to catch him.]

[tantailizing]

Maybe. They even have a whole other magic for dealing with undead monsters and ghosts around here. Oh well, the point is, we all gotta learn a little, but it's fine.

[He shakes his head. Being able to have a White Mage able to deal with an Undead next to a few fire spells could be really convenient, but nooo, not here. Also, no Blue Magic which would disappoint someone else.]

[If Vivi started to go down, that was right, no cliff beast needed to catch him because Zidane's got him.]

[ornitiers]

I guess depending on how similar it is to what I could do back home it might not be too difficult to figure. What about you? Your magic here?

[Zidane wasn't so much a mage as the likes of him and Eiko or Dagger exactly, after all. So Vivi can't help but to wonder on that. Let alone the question of whether Eiko and Dagger could still heal here or if they had some other magic or something. He's not sure how it works exactly if they get something similar to what they could do back home or not.

He shifts in standing with Zidane's help again, thanking him and attempting to dust himself off a little, to straighten his hat.]

[tantailizing]

Yeah, you got it. Eh? My magic's Kinetic and... Bargaining.

[That second one might be a little harder to explain, but Kinetic itself was too. It was like energy manipulation, but then also gravity and speed? He doesn't honestly understand it and just ran with it.]

[Looking over Vivi once he's standing again, he grins and only begins walking when he does.]

[ornitiers]

Kinetic? Hm.....moving things? Is that it? I'm not sure how bargaining is a magic exactly.

[Then again. Zidane's past as a thief and such. Well perhaps it sort of makes sense? Vivi seems a little sheepish in being so clumsy but. Well, they were both used enough to it back home. So he's quick in following along as they continue their way with the cliffs. Finally, they make it and he glances around at all the caravans.]

There's a lot.

[tantailizing]

Right? Apparently, I can make deal with some creatures around here, but I haven't really noticed.

[Despite making a deal with some fire lions and faeries at some points, but those were all coincidences, right? Totally...! Zidane chuckles a bit at the sheepish expression, it's nothing at him. If anything, Vivi not tripping would be weirder. Once they reach the caravans, Zidane nods.]

It's a rental shop. They always have a few, but some of them are normally stationed in Camelot. When people arrive, they don't really know how many will appear so they have more than plenty just in case.

[ornitiers]

I guess that might not necessarily be something that comes up much.....? But that makes sense with the caravans. It'd be better to bring too many than not enough for everyone to get them where they're staying.

[Vivi agrees, it makes sense in erring on the side of having more rather than leaving some people behind. It's better than walking if it is particularly far they are going. And while they might be more used to the transport back home, this wasn't too unusual a vehicle, just a little more basic.]

What is it like, where we're staying?

[tantailizing]

It really isn't. And yup, that's the idea.

[That's not even mentioning that most people double up in caravans anyway, further cutting the number needed down. The most confusing part about the caravans were still the horses.]

It's not bad. It's an Inn that they're letting everyone stay in unless they wanna move somewhere else. The rooms are pretty big though, and each of them has a kitchen in them and lots of other things. I had to ask if they put us in someone's house on accident.

[ornitiers]

The rooms have a kitchen? Not just the beds to sleep in?

[Yeah that kind of does sound more like someone's house. But then. Vivi isn't necessarily so used to such things, outside of the times they stayed at the castles during their travels. Zidane isn't either so of course that seems fancy to them. He supposes he would see what the other means once they get there.]

I guess I'll see when we get there. But that does sound....nice.

[tantailizing]

Yeah! It's pretty crazy!

[And that's besides the fact it still could fit multiple people comfortably. As for everything else in the room, Vivi would just have to see for himself; it would be hard to explain.]

You might have to share with someone for the first few days - just until they get every new arrivals sorted, okay?

[ornitiers]

I've shared before. But that was with you and the others.

[Vivi's just unsure what sort of reaction to expect from others here as he just arrived and is still adjusting. What their response might be to his appearance. He's no idea how many might be used to black mages. What their experiences might be? Or if they might have no idea but still be unnerved given his appearance. He fidgets a little in being nervous at that already.]

I hope that'll be okay.

[tantailizing]

It should be. And hey, if you don't find yourself getting along with your new roommate or just nervous, you can always come by one of our rooms.

[No matter what, Zidane's always got his back. Vivi's got valid reasons for being concerned, but Black Mages like him weren't really in other worlds. If anything, people would be curious and ask. Zidane wouldn't expect anyone to be mean to Vivi, but if they were and he found out, oh boy.]

[ornitiers]

I can? Okay...I'll do that. If I have to.

[It's reassuring in knowing that was an option at least. And, well. Vivi should probably have figured it was anyway, that Zidane and the rest would support him but still. This is new to him. It would take time to adjust and figure this place out. He just hopes it works out that people here aren't too scared of him.

Even if he is oblivious as to Zidane already basically all but threatening anyone who dared to be mean to him.]

[tantailizing]

I doubt you will, but yeah, door's open.

[Figuratively speaking, Zidane would make sure Vivi settled in without any big issues. Eventually he'd have to try meeting new people, but that was up to him.]

[ornitiers]

Thank you. I guess we should get ready, with one of these caravans.

[At the least, Vivi was smaller. So he'd easily fit in even if it may get a little crowded depending on how many others join them in that same caravan. He does note the horses, head tilting curiously at the creatures not being what he is quite used to back home. So he does pause for a moment there before getting into one of the caravans, glancing around and taking a seat.]

[tantailizing]

You're welcome, Vivi. Yeah, let's head out.

[Of course, after that minor detour to get filled in/recover anything that Vivi might've had on him. Hopefully that didn't make him miss riding in the same caravan; and if it did, well, crap.]

[ornitiers]

[Vivi somehow just manages to be on time in keeping to the same caravan as Zidane, watching as they get moving and seeing where they're going, sitting with Zidane in holding his staff in his hands at his lap as he tries to keep himself smaller in fidgeting a little nervously. Not that being in a new place is anything that surprising to him but he is aware others here might not know of black mages and be wary of him or something given his appearance.]

I still have so many questions but where to start....

[tantailizing]

[They were both cutting it close, but that's nothing new. Sitting back in the caravan as it rolls along, Zidane considered maybe sending a message ahead to Eiko and Garnet, but now would probably be a time to try explaining other things. Ah, it sounded like that might be the option to take with Vivi speaking up.]

Hm... which question jumps out to you first?