avalaughs | TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

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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 chilly 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 paralyzingly cold for a few seconds before you're approached by the Lady of the Lake beneath the water's surface. She puts a vial of a vibrant, glowing red Everwarm* potion to your character's lips. The icy water doesn't feel so icy once consumed and you'll be able to move your limbs enough to swim to shore on your own. She can't stick around to explain, she's got to get this to all the new arrivals! Many of which you'll see plopping in around you.

If you can't swim, a handful of helpful ice turtles will scoop you up from beneath and drop you off at the shore. When not helping people, the turtles are going around and hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals or pushing personal items to the beach near the new arrivals they smell like (belong to). If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. If anyone with Animal Magic asks the turtles, they will give the full spiel, but very slowly, and they like to get off topic and gossip about other turtles you've never heard of. 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.

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, a pair of earbuds, and a winter cloak** to everyone before getting them settled in groups into modernized carriages pulled by horses and give 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 with nip bottles. 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.

Everyone needs a little fun from time to time; the locals have put together the annual Snow Games. As with all things Avalonians plan, magic plays a part in the competition. There will be three separate tiers for characters to enter. Each Tier will have its predetermined track or ring, set up and ready to go.

A ⦿ Foot Races

three-legged race

B ⦿ Sled Races

magically driven sleds

C ⦿ Snow Chicken

Snow Chicken, Magic Vs Yeti Style... This competition will differ from the previous two; it is not a race to the finish line but instead a competition to be the last team standing! Participants will pair off and one person will climb on the shoulders of the other and try to wrestle their opponents off without getting knocked off themselves. The field is full of snow, with more coming from the sky. Your opponents will be Yeti. Try to stay on, Yeti are no slouches so teams will have to work together using their magic not only to stay put but to knock your big-footed opponents to the ground.

Just... be wary, these friendly yeti are surprisingly big on hugging as a form of congratulations. It's much more challenging to escape from a yeti's embrace than it is to knock one over.

Trumpets hail an announcement by the town crier in front of the castle. More than a few people pull out their phones to record it and post it to the AOL network for all to see.

"Hear ye, hear ye! Our noblest of lords, King Arthur of Camelot, will host a tournament on this January the 20th on castle grounds. All are welcome to participate in competitions to determine those most skilled in both the physical and magical arts. In preparation for the upcoming tournament, we are sending envoys to Celliwig. In Celliwig lies the Magic Mirror of the South, gifted to Camelot by the Fae, and a means to communicate with their royal court at will. It is a vastly important task in your journey to become magicians and to show your good will toward the fairies. Parts of the mirror's frame have been damaged. We will need those brave of soul and pure of heart to retrieve the crystals needed to repair the mirror. Those interested, the party leaves at dawn."

A ⦿ Brave of Soul

The first stop on the trip to restore Celliwig's Mirror is to a cave just north of Albion's White Cliffs. No longer a part of the cliffs themselves, this outcropping goes underground and to a dank, dark cave. It is the only place which a special prismatic crystal grows. The crystal itself is hidden deep in the cave, which can only be passed by passing into a zone in which magic cannot be used. Characters will enter the cave and must face an illusion of one of their greatest fears. Those frozen in fear will pass out and wake up outside of the cave with no crystal. Those who run will find themselves turned out of the cave as well. Only those who recognize and face that fear deep in their soul will find the path forward. The fear will turn into a small light spirit, which will smile and reveal to them the crystals they seek.

B ⦿ Pure of Heart

The second stop is past a shanty town and at the bridge north of it. The bridge itself is broken, only the ends in existence. The water itself is impassible, white rapids sweeping away anything that steps into it. Silver crystals are on the other side of the bridge, visible in an outcropping from where they are, but it appears there is no way around as magic does not work on the bridge. The only clue as to how to get across is a plaque in the dirt before the bridge.

"The pure of heart will form the bridge with a leap of faith."

Since everyone has gone as a group, it will be possible to see others walking over the water once one person figures it out. Though the clue may seem challenging, it is quite straight-forward. Characters who are pure of heart will find that if they believe in themselves, they will be able to step off the bridge and hardlight will form beneath their feet to allow them to step over the water. Those with ill intentions or those who are willing to harm others to get their way will slip into the rapid waters and may need to be saved by other characters. At least you're off the bridge, so magic will work to that end.

C ⦿ Celliwig, the Splendored Court

As the travelers leave the bridge, they turn toward the shanty town-- wood shacks and failing farms. Not a place anyone would want to visit. Those who try to run ahead will find that it disappears as if an illusion, and they will find nothing. Those who stick with the party will wait a fair distance away until the sun sets. Once the sun begins to fall beyond the horizon, the small town will begin to shimmer brilliant whites and colors-- a glamour hiding its true glory, a city made solely of crystals and glass: Celliwig, the Splendored Court. Though smaller than Camelot, every part of the city is beautiful and glistening. The population is small and it's very quiet and serene for a city. The people of the city don't seem keen on speaking to outsiders, and will typically scatter before anyone can really engage them. They seem humanoid in nature, but not entirely human. Even the animals around the city seem to be ethereal in nature, gliding more than walking.

The party is led to a hall at the center of the city-- the hall of mirrors. Those who have succeeded in obtaining crystals need to bring them and set them on a table placed before a mirror at the end of the hall, which appears to have a number of empty settings. It's unclear what happened to the mirror previously, but now it's necessary to restore it to garner the favor of the fae.

Once crystals have been delivered, people will be free to explore the quiet city, but it seems most of the city is closing shop while the visitors are around. There is a restaurant that will serve visitors food, though all of the dishes are of the molecular gastronomy variety. Alcoholic drinks seem to come in vapor form and flashes of light if ordered, but seem effective nonetheless. The local general store seems to be willing to sell supplies to weary travelers as well, but that's about it.

...That said the inn doesn't seem particularly keen on allowing visitors in strangely, so you're either going to be sleeping on the iridescent streets or camping just outside the city if you prefer the soft grass and the darkness of night. Just be aware, if you leave, you won't be able to get back into this mysterious city so easily.

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.
• Note that the third prompt in this TDM will have consequences on the game's progression. After the application round, a poll will be put up to see how many characters who are in the game, both new and old, are able to obtain the crystals from the Brave of Soul and Pure of Heart prompts.
• The first "Arrival" prompts are present on every TDM, but may 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.

*This Everwarm does not count toward your potion collection for those who wish to take up potion brewing. You must obtain Everwarm from the Elphame Trader's to count.
**Jackets come in a variety of neutral colors, enchanted with a fit-adjustment spell that will adjust to your character's size.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ A voice wafts over the humming congestion of strangers speaking all at once, landing on Liu Qingge's shoulders the way two arms might draw up and wrap around him in his deepest dreams. Melodious as guqin strings trembling under the stroke of fingers, he'd recognize it in every lifetime. No matter how many years might pass him by. Even after Cang Qiong crumbles to dust and his own bones have been weathered by the passage of hundreds or thousands of years, Shen Qingqiu's voice will still haunt his memories.

In this foreign land so far from comrades or country, it's Shen Qingqiu's voice that calls out to ground him. Instilling warmth in a man left adrift in what might as well be a sea of emotions when his last moments before setting eyes upon this place had been emersed in a reunion with not the sound or sight of Shen Qingqiu's smile, but his body left cold even under Liu Qingge's touch.

Neither the absence of his cultivation or five long years since he'd heard a whisper of it dulls ears attuned to this siren's song. Nor does any of that stop footfalls from taking him directly to the source. A carriage near enough to board.

A born fighter, rumored to have entered the world with his sword in hand, he anticipates a trap. The most enticing bait of all doesn't materialize to dangle under his nose for no rhyme or reason. But whether this is an illusion brought about by some other cause or the fault of Luo Binghe, doggedly chasing at his heels and hunting Liu Qingge into this world, he can't yet know without giving chase.

Up steps he takes in twos or threes he enters the carriage's tight confines. At some point Cheng Luan is drawn, sliding like a second skin into the calloused grip of fingers that white-knuckle their hold. Like his own flesh and blood, it too is sapped of qi, echoing nothing but silence when he beckons with the spiritual power stolen from his veins. But its still cold hard steel. More than fit enough for use if necessary, when a single swing of powerful arms could fell towering trees and grown men with nothing more in their grasp.

People move when he shoulders on, or end up displaced to the side by the forceful path he carves through bodies nudged out of the way. There's no decorum here, no reins to hold his insurmountable impatience at bay. And that energy translates outward into the parting crowd, their disquiet and the sudden thud of footfalls louder than they have ever been now that no cultivation exists to soften their steps.

He stands in the small clearing of figures. Peoples of all sorts milling around and listening to the ringing intonations from a figure composed of elegance and grace. No less brilliant or dazzling than the first day he'd met him, but far more than the last, when this gregarious creature had been reduced to eternal silence. He recalls the same face, shut eyes casting an inky splay of long lashes across the pale chill of cheeks. Skin like ice from head to toe, yet it had almost burned his hands for the scandalous fact of its bared existence.

Sword drawn and presented in a threat, it points towards the ghost of a man who cannot exist, let alone shine so brightly after half a decade since his death. ]

You....! [ His eyesight clouds, running bloodshot in rage and torment. ] What kind of twisted joke is this?

[Speak of the devil!]

Liu Shidi!

[He said brightly. His hands coming together with mild excitement. So they did choose someone better! Good. He completely missed everything else that was going on and didn't think to even question that there might be a discrepancy between them.]

It is quite strange, and hard to get used to, but it is definitely not a joke. You shouldn't think of it that way, it's really happening and accepting that sooner is more beneficial.

[Of course he thinks it's about the world hoping, and not that he is alive.]

[ The call of his name sluices over him, running sheer electricity against each and every one of Liu Qingge's frayed nerves. Plucking bouquets of nostalgia like spring blossoms straight from where he's sheltered those old feelings. In miles of old memories, gardens of them blooming with only this man and his voice. Calling to him as he does again.

It's trickery, his instincts say. It's a lie, his wounded heart warns.

Predatory creatures evolve themselves to wear camouflage like second skins, luring their next warm meal into greedy gullets by first making their prey feel safe, secure and not under the gaze of hungry eyes. Liu Qingge should know. He's hunted the worst of them. Scoured lands in his lonesome with only Chen Luan at his side. A pair that cleaved through hordes of beasts which blended into scenic backgrounds or mimicked other more demure lifeforms entirely.

Succubi have elevated this deception to an art. They have their own illusionary magic which disguises monstrosities under petal-soft flesh. It's a Universal concept, found everywhere from the farthest reaches of their world to places frighteningly close to home. Any seasoned hunter wouldn't need to wonder how likely it was that these same principles applied no matter where they might travel. They'd know.

Or so he tells himself. That Shen Qingqiu no longer lives and breathes to utter his name as he does now. And this creature wearing a dead man's face is only some perfect mimicry. Doing its utmost to perform an imitation of perhaps something it saw in his memories, or a feeling lurking in a heart it might have ransacked. Alongside knowledge of his demise and faked resurrection.

How and why he can't explain, because none of it has any explanation. But between believing this is a wholesale deception and that Shen Qingqiu has somehow risen from the grave he's not yet been laid to rest within, the lesser of both lunacies is that his ears and eyes and heart are being made into liars. ]

That's enough. [ Frustration wells up and explodes with a sweep of his free hand, as though cutting aside every word meant to mislead him. ] Don't you call me!

[ There's no blast of spiritual energies or rocketing sword glare to speed out in the same arc of a hand swung through the air in pure futility. The act does nothing more than clear more space around him as people back away from this mounting dispute.

Tongue-tied into knots he can only grit teeth, jaw working with the same tension in his sword-hand that trembles for its efforts. He summons the only defense against the fact of what stands before him: An argument. One based on the notion that this copycat is trying to goad him into buying into the fantasy that Shen Qingqiu is alive and well. That all life's consequences and tragedies composing his abrupt end have been wiped clean from existence. ]

Who's stupid enough to believe something so absurd? [ He scoffs. ] Or do you think I was born yesterday?

[He was expecting Liu Qingge to not take the situation well, as he was that sort of stubborn straight forward sort of guy. But he was not expecting him to have such an extreme negative reaction.

Why?

He opened his fan and swayed it side to side slowly as he tried to distract himself slightly from the situation. How was this so complicated? Was it not obviously a completely alien world? Denial of what is before you does nothing productive.

But then it occurred to him, perhaps the issue here was not the location, but himself? But why?]

Isn’t it already apparent? Look around. Does anything here look normal. What is denying it all going to accomplish?

TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 3

The Caravan to Camelot

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