TEST DRIVE MEME ⚔️️ 6

[avalonmods]

Check out the OOC intro meme for this month to say hi to new players/characters!

{ QUICK NAV } Premise ⚔️️ Rules ⚔️️ FAQ ⚔️️ Taken ⚔️️ Reserves ⚔️️ Apply ⚔️️ Locations ⚔️️ Bestiary ⚔️️ Top-Levels Only ⚔️️ 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, but seems to be focusing on coordinating a band of mossatees to help rescue any wayward new arrivals. Mossatees are a special Avalonian manatee that is green in color and has what appears to be a patches of grass or other short plant life growing on its back. While some are fully green, many sport blooming flowers or fairy circles of mushrooms. If anyone tries to ask the Lady of the Lake for directions, she will direct you to Archimedes at the Rent-a-Ride. Those with animal magic may get their info from the manatees, though may notice that they're really overly friendly and have zero concept of personal boundaries. Everyone may notice they have no concept of personal space, as they will happily run right into someone's belly for a snoot squishing. 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. *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, a pair of earbuds, and animal-themed ponchos 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 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. Which given the fact that it's pouring down rain in April? Not ideal. You were only given ponchos, not rain boots. 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. Unfortunately, due to a bee infestation and massive amounts of rain, the hot springs of the Red Springs are not available this month! Instead, an underground salt cave is offered as a way to relax and unwind. Gather around in the rejuvenating, dimly lit caves and breathe in the relaxing effects of salt crystals. Feel the sand between your toes, or if you don't like sand, try one of the many pools with tiny garra rufa for a fish pedicure. Or, lie down in a recliner and stare up at the "stars"-- magic sparkles in the ceiling that move to spell out single-word concepts you may be experiencing. (Maybe you're relaxed? You might get something like "Chill." Find your relaxation buddy hot? Just be careful to look away before the stars spell "Thirsty" to the whole room.) 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. As it turns out, a mythical land that's been around for a few centuries has a few things in common with many modern worlds. It's got the internet, and games have evolved a little bit past hoop trundling and draughts. April, being the traditional month of mirth and games and lots of rain making it hard to have fun outdoors, is the time for Camelot City Gaming Convention, affectionately shortened to CameCon. Come into the large convention center located in the south part of town, get dry, and check out some of the awesome things to do. A ⦿ Couchless Co-Op Without the massive audiences required to really run MMORPGs, Avalon is much more a fan of couch co-op style gaming. Though most games are available on mobile devices throughout Avalon when they are released, there's nothing quite like coming to CameCon to utilize the gaming stages for everyone's favorite fighting games. Multiple players at a time can plug in their phones and connect their accounts to a light magic-based illusion stage (powered by multiple light mages at a time, once a year only!) roughly the size of a basketball court. Fighting games can be played tournament-style on the phone next to your opponent for some awesome trash talk during your battle. Race through space with this year's popular NASTAR Racing Game (National Association for Space Travel Auto Racing) game and fight off space pirates in an epic Mario Kart-esque racing and item battle adventure with your choice of star ship. Or plug your phone into the stage podium and get away from the humdrum fantasy life by joining in a live-movement game that combines synchronous kinetic and light magic. Move your body in the vortex illusion of your favorite rhythm dance game with a buddy! Or maybe you're more into the free-style gaming of Grand Theft Automation with both friends and strangers-- step onto the illusionary stage itself to explore crawling cityscapes and live the life of crime you always dreamed of... at least the cops won't really arrest you if you do it here. Just make sure if you use magic you remember you're on a stage and don't accidentally send some flying off at a poor convention go-er just past the illusion stage. B ⦿ Arthurian RP in your Arthurian RP None can forget one of the most important of game types: the roleplaying game. There's a huge historical set game going on right now where characters can LARP as their favorite Knight of the Round Table. There may be a couple of arguments if two Lancelots end up in the same game, but don't worry, there's a fair way of determining who gets the part for this game if you don't want to wait for the next storyline: rock-paper-scissors-magic. Instead of the traditional version of RPS, you shake your fists and open up to whatever hand-held spell you can make with your particular brand of magic. If it's something that can overcome the other kind in less than three seconds, you're the winner. (And yes, even healers can play-- some protective magic to block a dark magic pain curse is definitely going to win out, for example!) Either way, once your role is decided, put your acting skills to the test! ...and if you don't have any, well, they have costumes that will help you get into the mood with a little dress-up and props that will magically give you sword skills... though only while using the dull-edged plastic props. Or you can just sit on the sidelines and have a picnic on the concrete floor of the center with a potential new pal and watch other people play-- there's a lovely little buffet table with pastries, coffee, and juice in the corner. C ⦿ It Figures... A convention isn't a convention without a little shopping. Come check out what cool games are upcoming in the exhibit hall, buy figurines of your favorite game characters (or.. new ones you've never heard of since this is a new world, but are still cute and/or kick-ass), and most importantly, check out the cool magic you can apply to them. A spell available for purchase in the convention hall that's popular this year is Recipe: Figure Anima, which makes your figures move in place and say popular lines as if they're an actual, miniature version of the character. It's recommended you practice while you're in the convention hall though so figure experts can help if things go.. awry. People have been known to have their own emotions influence the spell, and sometimes toys have started taking on the attitude of the caster. There's nothing quite as tragic as your favorite angelic game character telling you they're gonna kick your ass because you were in a fighting mood. So OOC. Maybe you can find someone who's a little better at magic to fix the problem? Of course, when the rain breaks through and floods the exhibition room, there's a lot of mass hysteria as people scream and climb up onto tables, trying to protect their merch above all else. Hurry, help someone else up onto your table before their ent dakimakura they just purchased gets wet! Only you can save the gamers from water! ..Or that's what you thought, until a second later the electricity goes out and you're left in a total electricity blackout in the convention hall. It may be a good idea to use some magic to try to light the way and find a way out of the flooded hall... A ⦿ Keep Your Vines to Yourselves With magic blossoming left and right because of the bountiful spring equinox rituals, things have been getting a little stranger around the Broceliande. Though it's always been known for being a little odd, there is an overgrowth of prehensile, very friendly vines populating the forest now. The vines seem to have minds of their own, sometimes grabbing people, pulling them up into trees, or generally wrapping around them as if trying to get a warm hug. Ultimately, they seem relatively harmless.. except when you can't get down from them. Hopefully, you've got some kind of destructive magic that can help you fight off the overly friendly vines as you head into the forest to investigate the strange reports citizens have been making of their friends and family disappearing in the generally friendly, if odd forest when they've gone to fetch herbs or other supplies, gone on walks, or who knows what else from the forest. It seems like the best way to get the vines to let go without magic is to tickle the person the vines have captured, so you really better hope you're ticklish... and there's someone willing to really go in on it. It takes a lot of laughter to get these vines to leave you alone! B ⦿ Selfies with Selkies Those who continue on with their investigation after avoiding or escaping the vines will find a very, very large flower that seems to have taken route in a sink hole in the middle of the forest. Hundreds of vines seem to be coming from it, and it seems like this flower may be the source of all of the vines throughout the forest. It won't attack unless you attack it first and it seems to almost immediately regrow any vines that are destroyed. If the flower itself is attacked, it will rise up and attempt to eat your character with thousands of tiny shark-like teeth that lie where the pollen of its flower should be. Those who try to fight will find it seems virtually unkillable and immovable. It is neither plant nor animal and seems to have a thousand minds and souls held within it that somehow feel incomplete, so it's largely incommunicable even with cognitive or death magic. It's definitely a strange find, and it could be easy enough to assume the missing people tried aggression as their first tactic and got gobbled up... Take a trip up to the Archivist will lead them to find a book that includes information on the species: The Cereus de Anima. This giant flower rapidly grows when a seed from the Land of Rot transfers via someone's clothing to an appropriate forest environment and is known to absorb a piece of a person's essence from anyone it touches with its vines. People often seem to go missing for a short period of time when one of these appears, then come back behaving a little differently but ultimately don't seem to be in distress. No one is quite sure what the cause of this is. There doesn't seem to be any record of there being lasting damage, however questionable the plant is... The Archivist, upon seeing you researching the plant, says that he's heard some of the lake's residents just off of the Silent Shore have some experience with one. He hands you a couple baskets of some specially anti-rust enchanted parts and tells you he was supposed to deliver them to a Selkie man living in the lake for a project he's working on. You and a partner can make the delivery and ask your questions from him. The Selkie isn't going to be particularly friendly to fellow men, not trusting human men farther than he can throw them, but will decidedly try to seduce women as Selkie men are known to be extremely handsome and flirtatious with human women. Non-humans he will be neutral toward. It's best to go in pairs so you don't end up on a whirlwind candlelit beach picnic with a shirtless selkie in exchange for information about how to uproot a Cereus de Anima. (At the very least, the selkie will want you to take a selfie with him before you leave so that you have something to remember him by, and you'll always be welcome back if you change your mind.) Regardless of how much of a challenge it is for you to get to that point, as long as he gets the delivery from the Archivist, he'll eventually tell you and your traveling partner about how he heard that there used to be a village at the edge of the Dusklight Woods that was overrun with one of them, and that there's only one survivor who moved to in a cottage on the other side of the Pure of Heart Bridge.. Those familiar, yes, it is the old man that Morganna tried to kill and save in a quest a couple of months ago! Time to travel all the way back to the Pure of Heart bridge and make your way over to the cottage and talk to the man and it sure seems like this quest is long and tedious and you may be wondering if someone will have noticed you're gone... C ⦿ The Answer is No Back in Camelot City, it seems that anyone who's been touched by the vines has been replaced by a doppelganger in their lives. They're just barely off from the original- they have all the memories, but may be slightly more skilled at things they didn't used to be, or may seem to make less ethical choices than they might otherwise. There's just something slightly off. But when people start using AOL to contact their friends and let them know they've been gone.. well, it may seem like the jig is up, or at least in question. Those who find out they've been replaced may want to return to Camelot quickly to try to reclaim their lives. Doppelgangers will attempt to kill their original if they come into contact with them when they aren't around other people, so you may need to flee for your life if you haven't gotten good enough at magic to defend yourself yet. Around other people, the doppelgangers will do their best to try to prove themselves the real person and since they were made from the original, will have the same memories as the original character so asking questions that "only ___ would know" may not work. Eventually it will come out that the doppelgangers have occasionally wriggling vines instead of spines underneath their clothing, if you're willing to check that to see who's real, but that won't be common knowledge. What can be found out from the old man at the Pure of Heart bridge if you choose to leave your doppelganger alone is that Cereus de anima doppelgangers can only live for a month without killing their original and absorbing the rest of their essence. However, if the original plant isn't taken care of with a special venom you can only obtain from certain creatures in the Forest of the Fisher King, the problem will just keep happening over and over until the city is overrun and becomes nothing but a breeding ground for the flower and its replicas. 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. • You can have any animal-style poncho you want! They are themed, not made from actual animals. No animals have been harmed in the making of these ponchos!! • TIMELINE: The resolution to the third prompt will be in April's event! The first two prompt sets will be during the first week of the month. The doppelganger problem and obnoxious traveling and research will be occurring for the second and third weeks of the month. • People with green magic may be able to fill something off about the doppelgangers, but may not be able to identify what it is right away. Blood mages will be able to feel that their blood feels the same as the original as they are essentially copies. Cognitive people will be able to use their magic normally except for hypnotic suggestion- the doppelgangers are immune to it, so while you may be able to find other ways to out them, hypnotizing people to tell the truth won't work this time. Doppelgangers are made from the essence of the person, so they will be able to access their phones and accounts. Note that the Cereus de Anima and doppelgangers are not fairies and cannot be contracted with. If a Death Mage attempts to possess a doppelganger, it will technically come in contact with the doppelganger's vine and may end up with more than one doppelganger depending on how many times they try it. Siphon magic can be used to destroy a doppelganger easily, however, the essence that was stolen from the original's soul may be destroyed in the process so it is not recommended as the original may start to feel as though they are no longer a whole person. • 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. Make sure to read the Red Spring section on this month's even if you're normally familiar-- the springs are closed this month, check out the alternate prompts! • 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

Machias Regnitz | Trails of Cold Steel | Healing/Technomancy - Familer: Fanged Wolf

[gunlord]

Arrival

[One minute, Machias was running with Elliot and Fie towards who knew where right now with a hastily packed bag considering a literal civil war just broke out and they had just sent Rean off in the Ashen Knight to a (hopefully?) safe location and thus they needed to get the hell outta dodge only to suddenly find himself plummeting into water? A lake? Something? Did he accidentally fall off a cliff?

He sputtered as he surfaced, coughing and trying to get his bearings because what in the hell-?!

Machias felt himself abruptly on top of a flowery manatee and outright carried to the lake's edge. Guess he dawdled a little too long and while it was chilly, things didn't appear to be totally dire? Once landed, Machias stumbled his way onto the shore and proceeded to awkward stare at his savior because how do you thank some animal and--]

Ack!

[The manatee answered the question for him by ramming into his belly with its snout and knocking him flat on his back, already askew glasses flying.]

Wh-What the hell?! Get off!

[Meanwhile, a wolf sat nearby, watching in amusement even as he dutifully picked up the discard glasses and waited patiently.]

AOL
[Assuming what he was told really was accurate and he may not need to worry about any damn nobles from the Noble Alliance or something from seeing this...]

This is Machias Regnitz, if you're from Class VII or even Thors Academy, please respond. Thank you.

Quest: Librirynth

[Machias shouldered his shotgun. If they were going to be slimes in here, then he was going to likely need it. The only problem was that apparently Orbal rounds didn't exist here, neither did Septium that was used to make the bullets needed for his shotgun. He was going to have to be careful in how much was used. And likely look into another weapon for the time being. But he didn't exactly have a chance to right now. So, he was going to have to make do and hope they didn't encounter too many.

He checked the pouch at his thigh, content at the amount he had so far. There was more in his bag back at the inn from when they'd scrambled to escape Trista, but that was all he had in ammunition. He adjusted his glasses with a sigh and cleared his throat. He looked his quest partner in this.]

You ready?

Wildcard

[If you want to do something else, let me know!]

AOL UN: Konpeito-Oni

[konpeito_aji]

I'm not from either, yet still responding. Is that a problem? I wish to hear more about both of those if you care to share.

I am Lord Oda Nobunaga from Japan.

[He struggled with the "from x" part a great deal, to be honest. Sure, he wanted to unite all the warring factions, but wasn't it a bit much to claim success prematurely? But by the same token, he refused to narrow it down the more obvious "Oda lands, and forced lord over all the allies and those forced to submit," and narrowing it down even further to Owari was outdated for him, and Azuchi Castle was just bizarre. So a vague sort of all-encompassing "Japan," it is. Besides, it's never been said he was without too much arrogant ego.]

[gunlord]

No, it's not a problem.

I'm afraid I've never heard of Japan, it's nowhere on the Zemurian continent, at least.

Class VII are my friends. We attended Thors Military Academy where they divided students based on birth. Classes I-II are for the nobles, Classes III-V are for the commoners. Class VII was a new hybrid class. No, there is no Class VI. Don't ask, even I don't know.

We've became separate due to a civil war that literally just broke out before my arrival here. I just want to make sure my friends and my fellow classmates from the Academy are alright.

[konpeito_aji]

Correct, it is an island nation [PAUSE. Well... He's working on that part. Lalala not rehashing it again!] onto itself.

I've never heard of the Zemurian continent either. Now I question if we really are in North-eastern Europe, as I first suspected. Do you know anything of plant-life or environs?

I understand your concerns completely, I hope you find everyone safe and well or at least better answers than I can provide. From what I was briefly told of wormholes, it might be moot, however. And certainly the beings that brought us here seem to think whatever is going on here will affect our own homes' safety accordingly.

[gunlord]

I don't think it's on any map I've seen outside of Zemuria.

[Then again, this was happening a lot, wasn't it? Different worlds and whatnot, as ridiculous as it sounded. Then again, things like the Ashen and Azure Knight seemed to thing of folktales until recently.]

They never said we were in whatever North-eastern Europe is. I know perhaps enough to get by, but not as much as I'd like. [That was usually Emma's territory.] Well, if what they said is true then for now, I may not need to worry. But I will anyway until I can see them with my own two eyes.

[Frozen or not, his friends had been in danger.]

[konpeito_aji]

Does the flora here look like what you'd find on Zemuria?

Completely reasonable. I'm restless just wanting to know what's happened to my lands, I think anyone would be much the same way.

[gunlord]

I honestly hadn't had much of a chance to look. Everyone seemed pretty normal though.

[It would be a good idea though, to take stock on what was and wasn't familiar.]

Unless this Camelot is on some unknown continent, then I likely have no choice but to believe what they say. That this place is a whole different world. Nothing I've looked up thus far on this device mentions anything close to Zemuria or the nations within such as Erebonia, Crossbell, Calvard, and Liberl. If those don't exist, then the surrounding towns and villages likely don't either.

[konpeito_aji]

I suppose that is my mistake. The Europeans refer to continents they only just gained seafaring access to as the "New World," so I assumed it was just the same deal.

Admittedly, I haven't heard of those names from any of the missionaries or merchants, and I was pretty eager to learn all I could.

What is the technology like in your realm?

[gunlord]

Well, I suppose that wouldn't be unheard of. If there are lands they never heard of and they suddenly have access, it would be new to them.

I can tell you about our history, if you like. While I'm still learning, there's a lot that is already known.

The technology? Well, these units are a bit more advanced than what I'm used to. I have what's called an ARCUS unit, it doubled as both a communicator and a battle orbment. But we were only able to communicate by voice. Texting and using video like this was unheard of and generally only done via the orbal computers. A lot of this technology is largely in part due to the advancements by both the Reinford company and the Epstein Foundation.

[konpeito_aji]

I'd love to hear the history. Especially what led up to the current circumstances, if it's not too troublesome.

I have a theory about dividing the people into castes in my homeland, and I'd like to see if it holds out elsewhere as well. In Europe, while we call them barbarians, they are more advanced than my home in many ways. Not just technologically, but their people are able to enjoy more general prosperity on a daily basis. I was only able to speak with missionaries and merchants from the lands, so they were obviously biased in their own reasoning for the causes. -- They assumed their religion and trade opportunities respectively were the reasons for the societal structure. But for my view, it's that they didn't exclude people from enjoying things purely on birth status.

Can these devices carry voice as well? I wasn't aware!

What is video?

AOL; un: azure.witch

[illusionarymelody]

[Well, at least this isn't a noble, though Vita is probably not among people Machias wanted to hear from even if she personally has no issue with Class VII.]

Perhaps I could be an acceptable substitute for Emma? Or maybe I'm the last person you want to talk to.

[gunlord]

[It didn't take long to put two and two together and Machias was tempted to just leave her on read. :|]

It would be the latter, thanks.

[He still couldn't believe that Misty and Vita were one and the same! And that she wasn't just an opera diva but working with the Noble Alliance to bring all this chaos! He really wasn't sure how else to answer her right now, he's kind of shocked that of all people here it's... her.]

Text; UN: CalamityHawk

[wherethewindtakesme]

[Gaius has been checking in with the network every so often, just to see if someone, anyone else from home might appear. And one day, he is rewarded.

He has to retry his message a few times because of excessive typos for typing so fast.]

Machias, where are you?! Did you just get here?

[gunlord]

[He would recognize that screen name anywhere.]

Gaius? Yes, I just arrived. I'm at the inn!

Action

[wherethewindtakesme]

[Usually Gaius is way more restrained, but this is an unusual and welcome situation. So Machias might hear the sound of someone taking the steps two or three at a time before Gaius appears out of breath in the lobby.

Machias has enough time to register that Gaius isn't wearing his school uniform, but clothes that seem normal for this place. He puts both his hands on Machias' shoulders and squeezes.]

It's a blessing. A blessing from Aidios and the winds. You're here and you're safe.

[gunlord]

[Machias has to assume that Gaius was nearby because wow, the big guy was fast! Okay, he was always fast but still? Not that it really matters in the long run, because Gaius is here and in front of him and real as well!

He couldn't help feel a bit awkward at the intense display of emotion though, something he would have expected from Rean. He patted one of Gaius' wrists and he couldn't really help the relieved smile on his face.]

Same to you, I have to say. Elliot and Fie and I were on our own. I honestly didn't even see where you and the others ran off too! And I just hope Rean made it somewhere safe...

[wherethewindtakesme]

[Well, there's a reason for the intense emotion, so prepare yourself, friend. With seeing Machias alive and well, Gaius calms down and lets his friend go.]

There's so much that's happened. I don't know where I should start but...

You actually remember running somewhere? The last thing I remember is telling Rean that he should go and I would try to defend Erebonia. Then he flew away. Then I ended up here about two months ago and no one else in our class showed up.

[gunlord]

[So, they were at best somehow maybe an hour apart? How did that even happen? Then again, this whole situation was completely bizarre and not at all helping his stress levels. He sighed, pushing up his glasses as he tried to let out that stress.]

We booked it back to the dorms to pack what we could. The faculty were holding the line for us. I'd like to think our fellow classmates were also able to escape but I can't be certain. It was all so fast, one minute we're packing and the next... [He looked down with a shake of his head.] And then, there were three.

[He was so worried once he realized their numbers had been reduced due to the chaos.]

[wherethewindtakesme]

So...if we take everything we know from what I saw and what you said happened, it means the people we know escaped are Rean, Elliot, Fie and you.

[He's had a lot of time to think about this and perhaps quietly accept that things may not go very well for him. But at least knowing SOMEONE escapes besides Rean gives him hope. Even if he can't do anything to stop the coming war, there'll be someone there to help Rean.]

That will have to do for now.

But I'm glad you're here, Machias. I've picked up enough knowledge from being here and met a lot of good people, so I should definitely be able to help you out.

[gunlord]

Yes, but I refuse to believe that the others didn't.

[He said this firmly, crossing his arms. It would certainly have to do for now, yes. And then, he sneezed. He was quick to turn away and get his arm across his face before doing so, at least. He shook his head and pushed up his glasses again.]

Sorry, Gaius. I hadn't exactly a chance to dry off properly and those... ridiculous ponchos did nothing to actually dry us off.

[His was fox themed. Ugh.]

I guess the first order of business is to shower and change. That shit box at least kept our things dry, do you mind waiting a little longer?

[wherethewindtakesme]

Oh, oh of course. Everyone always seems to land in the lake when they arrive. So go ahead and get settled. I'll try to have something made for you to eat and drink by the time you're done.

[It's clear that someone is intensely grateful for this meeting and attempting to not squeeze Machias again.]

un: Hot Soup

[justlittle]

[ Will Bean ever settle in on one network identity and stop using pseudonyms? No, not until he can trust that he's safe to reveal his true identity here. ]

I've never heard of Class VII or Thors Academy. But then, I'm guessing you've never heard of Battle School or the International Fleet either?

[gunlord]

No, I haven't. I suppose that would be par for the course if what was told me is true and there really is a multiverse out there.

[justlittle]

It's hard to say whether we should believe what they tell us, but I have to admit, the evidence is stacking up in their favor.

[gunlord]

Exactly what I thought as well. We are at a distinct disadvantage here, but it doesn't appear anything they have said was untrue. If nothing else, they don't appear to be taking advantage of our ignorance but that still remains to be seen.