TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 15

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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. It's a fast process, though they do take their time as they need to go around hitting the ice that keeps forming on the surface with their shells to keep the surface open for the falling arrivals. 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.

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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, with a special feature for warm winter drinks like hot apple toddy and butter beer. 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.

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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. Newcomers get free inn rooms for their one night stay on the way to Camelot, containing two twin beds, a bathroom, a mini-fridge and microwave, and a TV equipped with a couple of entertaining video games and movies.   Don't want to relax in the room? Take a dip in the communal hot spring. The waters have restorative properties that help horses and travelers recover quickly. 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.

 

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Last month, players were invited into the fae territories in Elphame for the first time for the Winter Solstice celebrations while King Arthur and Queen Elphame enter talks regarding the next steps toward saving the multiverse. In the meantime, a special camp hosted King Arthur's knights has been created on the riverbank just inside of the Forest of the Felled to act as a midway point for travelers going between the two points.

 

A ⦿ Snow More Cold
	The Forest Camp is quite a stunning outpost for Camelot. Given the snowy, cold weather, the campsites have been built with the knowledge of some of the snowier fae in mind and have resulted in what some are referring to as "Igloo Glamping." Artfully carved out group rooms, dining halls, and storage for supplies, and more have been carved out of snow to create a surprisingly warm solution to keeping safe as a Forest halfway point. Admittedly, it's not the your standard glamp-- but there are TVs, board games, and long fur-lined beds to keep you and four other people warm cuddled up together at night! There's also a snow port-a-potty that you probably don't want to face, but sometimes we face challenges in life. There are also a number of planned activities to keep people out of trouble while they stay.
...Or if they do get themselves into trouble, they can also end up in snow jail, a special igloo built with extremely tough ice stalagmites that will be hard to break out of until authorities can come pick you up and take you back to Camelot.

 

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B ⦿ The Great Avalon Bake-Off
One of these activities is inspired by a surprising store of buried baking supplies like flour, sugar, butter, yeast, and eggs that was found in the forest. It's been there a long while, but it seems to have been protected through magical preservation, so there's really only one thing to do about it: a bake-off! It's a little tricky out in the snow, so outside of the igloos, a trench has been dug and all contestants have been given a campfire. Alchemists have helped by creating clay ovens in the snow for contestants to bake their culinary creations in. The most impressive confections (not just the top scorer) will earn a copy of (Spell) Thirst. This spell can make someone feel thirsty, even if they aren't.

 

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C ⦿ Ingredient Hunt 2022
	The real trick is finding ingredients to make your confection something to stand out and come up on top of the contest, which you may need to wander into the Forest of the Felled to look for. There are a variety of winter berries able to be found, herbs and flowers buried under the snow if you can find them, and most importantly, a couple of truffle bushes from which chocolate and vanilla truffles can be harvested. There are quite a few tasty flavors to be found throughout the forest, and since it hasn't been repopulated yet due to the harsh winter, it's relatively safe to wander around no matter who you are. If you feel like you need protection though, maybe ask around camp to find someone who can fight for you.
Just be wary as there are a few ingredients you can find in the forest that may cause a few unintended side-effects to your taste-testers: Cider Berries: These berries appear to have a fiery glow coming from within. That is because they will temporary cause anyone who consumes them to breathe fire when they exhale for about 10 minutes straight... definitely a problem when you're living in an igloo. They have a great apple-y smell though! Strangler Figs: These fig trees grow around other plants and strangling them as if they were anacondas around prey. They produce the most brilliant looking and tasting figs, even in the winter time. Unfortunately, having been in Avalon long enough, they have absorbed magic into their roots and are now able to defend their fruit by creeping up anyone who touches them and trapping them in their grip. They cannot move while you are looking at them, so don't blink and hope you can outrun them. Little Leeks: These are very, very small leaks that seem to be hanging out in small vials found about an inch beneath the surface of the snow. They all seem to have different faces painted on the front of the vials, though the vials do seem to be a part of their body. The simple faces match the effect you'll get-- a crying face will result in your character having an uncontrollable sob fest, a happy face may make it seem like nothing phases them, some angry eyebrows on a frown could result in your character wanting to fight everyone in a fit of anger, and so on. The most tragic part is that these will continue effecting you until they are fully digested-- so it could take hours to stop bawling.

 

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Back in Camelot and Elphame, trouble is brewing of a different variety.

 

A ⦿ Calls You Daddy
Strange eggs with even stranger tiny legs have started wandering into the city and making their way into peoples' homes. Inn rooms, houses, apartments, tents, tree trunks, igloos, even townships have found residents waking up with a tiny little egg snuggled up to their side to keep warm in the morning.  These eggs act just like babies too-- they cry when they need to be fed (they'll roll around in the food to absorb it), are extremely picky about their food (and each egg has its own unique palette), need to be cleaned after eating, and they need to be kept warm or they will perish.
One touch of an egg to direct skin will result in a parental instinct being imprinted upon whoever touches them, so you may find yourself wanting to care for this egg as much as it wants you to care for it. Eggs come in a variety of colors and designs and will seek out at least two parents, so you may find yourself in an unlikely relationship for the next week or so until they hatch...

 

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B ⦿ Aurora Bearealis
	After about a week, the eggs all seem to be antsier than before. Many of their legs disappear and their colors start to glow gently at night, as if some kind of strange nightlight. Eventually, the top of the egg will burst open and out of it will hatch a slightly oddly shaped bear creature, which looks almost like a living teddy bear. The bears themselves have strange glowing markings that match the outside of the egg that they used to be in, and when they step out, a mysterious flow of light comes out of them- like an aurora borealis. At this point, there are two real problems that have started: Touching the aurora borealis lights will also make you glow with aurora borealis lights for 48 hours. They are bears and they act like bears and they get into everything and fight everyone like bears, except their perceived parents.

 

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C ⦿ Go on, Git. CW: Mentions of poaching, beheading in last paragraph.
	These fierce little aurora bears are causing destruction and pain in both Elphame and Camelot alike, so a decision has to be made: the bears need to be led by their parents and some fighters out to the nearest forest and set free to live in the wild, as they probably were intended to. Those in Camelot who release their bears there will find a heart-wrenching goodbye interrupted by a rather dramatic battle. The natural predator of aurora bears, the flaming lions known as Fogueria, have come out of the Land of Rot to hunt them down. I hope you brought someone with you to help save both you and your beary good friend from this flaming enemy. Fogueria cannot be defeated without using magic, so you've got your battle set out for you!
For those who have taken to Elphame, they are not faring much better. As it turns out, these little eggs have made quite the impression on some goblin poachers released from prison last month. These goblins are hunting down the newly released bears for capture to sell them as circus side-shows, food, and more to more devilish creatures. They love gold much more than they love anything else, except perhaps the fierce beast that accompanies their party to help them devour anyone who would try to stop them: a gashadokuro, a fierce skeletal demon formed of the bones of fallen travelers. It is known to bite off the heads of travelers and drinks blood. You'll have to defeat the whole party to ensure your newly released bears remain safe.

 

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• All test drive prompts are open to anyone in the game at any time to create your own logs with, as the events within are considered game canon. • This post should have top-levels by potential new characters only. Current characters may reply to any threads and may start their own logs off-post, 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 usually 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

[beaumains]

Even so... [ Gareth sighed. ]

Whether it's proper human history, or a lostbelt, it seems she was determined to make her legacy the ruin of Artoria, regardless of which... It's been a truth of her that I have had difficulty accepting, before...

[ So much of the last stretch of her life was drenched in tragedy and bloodshed caused by her mother's machinations. To think even when summoned to a Lostbelt, she found a way... ]

But the Gareth you know... she's not related to Morgan? Or of the House of Lot in Orkney?

[dienw]

[ she shook her head at that. ]

She was of the Mirror Clan of fairies. In the Lake District. Morgan came from Orkney, but... the other clans wiped out the Rain Clan there for protecting her, when she was still young.

[beaumains]

[ The ways of the Fae sounded just as chaotic as she'd always been told.... warned of, even. Mostly of those stories, even, ironically, had come from her mother. But of Gareth wasn't of Orkney, then, and the House of Lot didn't seem to exist... ]

And of her brothers?

[dienw]

[ she shook her head. it had been strange, when morgan had called her her sister, but... honestly, it hadn't seemed off, either. ]

We don't... really have family by birth? We aren't that sort of creature. [ she knew that wasn't quite what gareth meant to ask, given what she remembered from her dreams, so: ]

... If versions of your brothers emerged in Britain, I never knew about it. [ barghest... didn't count. she had liked bageko, but still. ]

[beaumains]

That Gareth... she must have had a fairly lonesome life, if that's true.

[ She couldn't... even imagine where she'd be, who she would be, without her brothers, without Gawain especially. So much of the essence of herself, what she knew herself to be, was formed in the bond she held with him... ]

But all the same...

She had you. [ She still had a worthwhile life, then. ]

[dienw]

For all of the good it did her. [ she pulls her knees up closer to her chest. ] There was never any saving Britain. Just setting things right and letting it end. She put all of her faith in me, so many of them did, and then...

[beaumains]

[ They hadn't been speaking long, but Gareth could already tell how much felt different here, between this girl and her uncle. Not just how she spoke, but... speaking about what was expected of her, like that... ]

In truth, my faith in my king, surely as Gareth's faith in you, was not seated in any greater destiny. This... this I have to believe is true, if she was truly a reflection of myself...

[ Gareth drew in a breath, turning her gaze to the sky above. It was so clear, now... the clouds had drifted away, leaving them with the canopy of the heavens, full and bright. ]

But instead just... admiration for who you are. Perhaps someone they aspired to be like...

[dienw]

[ artoria's face reddened again, and she glanced away and toed at the snow with her boot, chuckling awkwardly. ]

I wasn't anything that impressive when we met... but you're probably right. She... really saw something in me, even then. Plus, she'd been dreaming of helping the Child of Prophecy, and she wanted to be a knight...

[ finally, though, she turned her attention skyward too. no walls of light at the edge of the horizon, no withered husk of a fantasy tree, just... open sky. ]

[beaumains]

From all you've told me... she was a knight... as true to what it means to be a knight as I could ever hope to be.

[ She didn't know the details of how the other Gareth met her end. Honestly... she didn't need to know. Her own death was... tragic, in a far different way, she could feel that much. And she didn't want to burden this girl with that comparison. Instead, she just beheld the stars, there beside a girl who sounded like she could really... use this moment to breath.

Stoirm let them do just that... at least for a moment, letting out a warbled huff. ]

Right right... I suppose we ought to make our way back, at some point. We'd catch our death if we stayed the night out here.

[dienw]

[ artoria took in gareth's words with a slight smile, nodding once as she kept watching the unfamiliar stars. even so, none shone so brightly as the one that she had seen in her dreams again and again.

this moment of peace, after everything, was... much-needed.

at last, though, she remembered herself thanks to stoirm's prompting. ]

Can your wolf carry us both?

[beaumains]

Oh absolutely! [ Gareth laughed, gingerly getting herself back to her feet, wincing only slightly. The potion had done its trick, mending a lot of the worst bruising she'd gotten, but she was still quite sore. She turned to Artoria, extending a hand for her to take. ]

I'll help you up onto her back.

[dienw]

[ artoria grinned as she took gareth's hand and got to her feet, though—she realized something. she called her blades back to her hands, wiped and sheathed them, then did the same with marmyadose, hefting it back into its scabbard with a mumbled heave-ho!. picking up chastiefol, and... ]

Ready to set off! [ let's gooooooooo ]

[beaumains]

[ Gareth gave Artoria's hand a squeeze before she used both hands to pull herself up onto Stoirm's back, who had just stood up herself. Once settled, she reached once more for Artoria, to help her get situated as well. ]

I won't rush back to the campsite. This way the wind won't be biting us.

[dienw]

[ she felt her heart flutter a touch at the squeeze to her hand, and finally nodded, taking gareth's hand and climbing up onto stoirm's back behind the knight. ]

Good idea. Taking our time sounds nice, really... [ even with everything that had just happened... it was beautiful scenery. it wasn't at all like the roaring blizzard she saw nearly every time she closed her eyes, the raging wind in her ears that drowned everything else out. it was peaceful. normal.

absently, she hooked chastiefol into a loop on her sword belts and slipped her arms around gareth's waist to hold on. ]

[beaumains]

We've certainly earned our right to...

[ Thanks to Stoirm's thunderbolt before, there was only the blackened clearing to travel through, and none of the sordid remains of the battle. Just a nice, gentle padding up towards the campsite. Gareth's armor and gear were set to trail behind them, Stoirm using a simple magnetic field to hold them close, so that Gareth could focus both on riding and staying warm, something her armor definitely would not be helping.

She leaned back, slightly, against Artoria... she could hardly remember the last time she rode with someone like this. It had to have been...

Right. Lady Lyonesse. ]

Tell me, Artoria... is there a girl named Lyonesse at all, that traveled with the Gareth you knew?

[ She didn't expect a positive answer. If it was going to be a dangerous quest, she doubted even the Lostbelt Gareth would have let Lyonesse tag along. ]

[dienw]

[ no one's projecting anything here. ]

Lyonesse, Lyonesse... [ she hummed in thought behind gareth, face scrunching up briefly in concentration. ] I don't think so? When she caught up to us after we left Gloucester, she made it sound like she had been on her own... and I don't remember anyone by that name in Londinium...? Sorry, I don't know.

[beaumains]

[ On her own, huh? Hmm... Gareth let that thought settle for a moment. But, in truth, while Lyonesse had been part of what inspired her to keep pushing for her recognition as a knight, everything she'd heard thus far lead her to understand something... ]

Perhaps... that's for the best. But regardless, it sounds like she found someone worth becoming a knight for, just as I had in Lady Lyonesse.

She found it in you. I... can't say how I know that, but it feels true. Like I can already understand how she thought....

[dienw]

[ artoria nodded, at last, into gareth's shoulder, even as she felt her face heat up yet again. this way with words wasn't something she had known the gareth of fairy britain to have. ]

... Britain was already dead. I think she knew that as much as I did... but she wanted to stand up for it anyway. For me. And I... [ she closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath as she stayed close. she was tired, and sore, and even if this wasn't quite the gareth she knew... she felt safe. ] I had to ring six bells. One for each clan. The bodies of dead clan leaders would... become the bells, when placed.

Gareth was... she was the last of the Mirror Clan. And their bell was missing. I knew I didn't let her fall, but... once I was back in Londinium, and saw her, I... [ there had been no time to mourn. there never was. ] I carried her body up the bell tower. And she just became another step on my pilgrimage. She was more than that, she deserved better, but... I...

[beaumains]

[ It was... maybe worryingly easy for her to hear about the Lostbelt Gareth's death. She wasn't certain if that was an aspect of coming to terms with her own tragic end, or if it was something else entirely, but she didn't feel herself shaken by it. Honestly... she couldn't help but feel slightly envious. ]

She died in battle, didn't she? Fighting for the sake of others... as a knight should...

[dienw]

... Yeah. Londinium was attacked, while I was away with Percival, the Chaldeans and most of our strength. We lost everyone who was there, but... she went down fighting. Protecting the civilians... and making sure we would have a place to come back to. [ she felt her arms tighten around gareth's waist, briefly. ]

[beaumains]

[ Gareth moved a hand to cover one of Artoria's own, brushing over her knuckles. ]

It's okay... That same feeling that assures me of her reasons for fighting, it assures me she died with no regrets...

... In truth, I only wish I could say my own passing were so noble...

[ Artoria had to have noticed by then, right? That she was also a Heroic Spirit, which meant... ]

[dienw]

[ artoria had... assumed, at least. and the feeling of gareth's hand over hers was... nice. and a lot. ]

... I don't regret anything about mine, either. Then again, it's the last thing I remember, so... maybe I'll change my mind. [ she managed an awkward, small laugh and took a breath, in and out. ] ... I'm sure Ritsuka and the others finished the job.

[beaumains]

[ Well that broke the moroseness of the previous mood, didn't it? Gareth nearly jerked her neck looking back at Artoria, gasping. ]

Y-you know her, then? My Master! You know them, right?!

[dienw]

[ WHOA OKAY. artoria reared back, eyes wide. she blinked once, twice, before stammering to try to find her words. ]

Um. Yes? [ did she not mention that. she felt herself grow more and more embarrassed, eyes averting again. ] S-she and proper human history's Tristan were my first supporters, after I set off... but since she didn't know who I was, and the forest had taken her memories, I just... tried to be normal, for a few days? I didn't tell her who I was... and she didn't hate me for hiding it.

[beaumains]

That definitely sounds like her. [ Gareth's smile was like a sunbeam, despite the dark and moonlight surrounding them. ]

She's really quite amazing! She's here to! Though... ah, she won't recognize you, I'm afraid. We haven't visited the British Lostbelt yet... honestly, we're not even really capable of approaching it.

[ Not that time meant much in the Wandering Sea, but she knew for sure Ritsuka would have mentioned the British Lostbelt if she'd seen it, yet. ]