DECEMBER MINGLE

[etrayamods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: December 21st - Early January
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: Newcomers, a surprise gift from Tatianna, and a visitor!
NOTES\WARNINGS:

⏵ arrival ⏴ Welcome to Etraya! Arrival goes as expected - characters awaken on hospital beds and are offered an explanation of their situation: that they have arrived in the city of Etraya, and they are their world's only hope. They are welcome to wander the hospital if they would like to - the upper floors are mostly empty, full of pristine hallways and numerous rooms filled with supplies, cots, and things one would expect from a relatively average 21st-century hospital. The lobby is filled to the brim with tables of freshly baked goods. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" banners are taped to the walls, and several other typical birthday decorations can be found in this area. A few of the baked goods tables are lined with massive cakes covered in unlit candles, just waiting for someone to grab a lighter and sing off-key. Is it anyone's birthday? Who knows! The companion bots seem to believe it's every new arrival's birthday and will greet them as such - with friendly waves and cheers as they make their way to the lobby. A coat rack is situated by the doors leading out of the hospital, covered in warm clothing that fits the new arrivals just right - whether it's to their preferred style or not is something else entirely. Some of them appear normal enough. Others? Well. They can't all be perfect, now can they? Outside the windows, the grass is covered in a couple of inches of loosely packed snow. We hope you enjoy your stay. ⏵ an unexpected gift ⏴ Out by the hospital stands a tall, decorated tree covered in candles and golden pinecones with a handsome, red velveteen tree skirt. In front of it are a few oversized wrapped gifts for show- and atop one of those sits a familiar woman. Or unfamiliar, if this is your first time. It's Tatianna in a slutty Santa outfit with a big ol’ burlap sack. “Hey, I got something for you,” she says, digging into the bag and rummaging for a moment. She produces a painted egg and holds it aloft. “It’s your Winter Solstice Egg! This is the egg holiday, right? Wait, shit. I’m mixing them up, aren’t I? ...Well. It’s a little late to change it. Here you go!” How one treats their egg is fully up to themselves. They can choose to ignore it entirely, or destroy it and leave the yolk and innards to rot on the ground. They can hand it over to someone else or care for it as if it were something precious. No one will prevent them from doing whatever they please with it! ⏵ naughty or nice ⏴However, how they treat the egg will define how the egg treats them in return. Those who keep the egg and tend to it will get the benefit of being able to watch it hatch seven days after they are handed the egg. Eggs that are treated with attention and love may yield a loyal companion, or a weapon of choice that always returns to its owner, while neglected eggs may yield a curious, cursed trinket or an animal who treats its new owner very much the same way its owner had treated it before it was born. Please submit an egg request below for what items you would like your character's eggs to hatch into! Please note that these cannot be things that would be applicable in the game. Those whose eggs are destroyed or forgotten will simply get the gift of... nothing! ⏵ free your spirit ⏴ With the winter chill gripping the air, a mysterious figure makes their presence known in Etraya - a towering, horned creature dragging a massive sack behind them. 𝓐 𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊 𝖇𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖙 𝖔𝖓 𝖑𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖜𝖊𝖆𝓴 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓. Regardless of a character's strengths or weaknesses, they will find that when Krampus raises his massive sack over their head, they are powerless to stop him from catching them. Those capable of great magical feats or other supernatural abilities will sense something... otherworldly about Krampus, but will not be able to place the source of that sensation. Once within Krampus' sack, they are welcome to fight, but escape is impossible. It will feel as if Krampus is dragging them over every rock possible, dragging the sack in through the rivers to the point it soaks through and drenches them - potentially almost drowning them. When the sack opens, they will find themselves in an impossibly dark space. Around them are others who have also been captured and dragged here by Krampus, trapped in small cages hanging from a massive, wiry tree. Krampus will return often, banging clawed hands and birch rods on the walls of the cages and knocking them into one another. 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖋𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘𝖘. The whisper resonates through the darkened area, regardless of Krampus' presence. Confess your secrets, and be freed. Otherwise? You'd better hope someone figures out where Krampus has set up base; those who refuse to confess may find themselves stuck here forever. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Krampus' base is under Etraya! Deep within the catacombs, he has set up multiple cages to capture those who inhabit Etraya to punish them for their naughty habits. Fighting him is possible! Defeating him by means of combat is not, however, possible. Think of it like fighting a god: Krampus creates the rules in the space around him, including who can use what ability. For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the mod queries comment. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

[godsandbats]

At that question, Kirk is quiet as he thinks about how to phrase his answer. If he was really going to try and find a cure in Etraya, then he'll have to diverge some frank information about himself.

"An extremely rare blood condition," he quietly replies after a moment. "Technically there's only one case but if that's cured, it could save others."

Namely it could save others from becoming Kirk's next meals.

[wolfish]

"Blood, huh..." Funny how, in Yuri's life, blood has been a running theme. Not just because he's grown up having to do some unsavory things, either. He's long held his suspicions as to what the red liquid that saved him really was, then there was that mad cardinal who needed very specific individuals for his blood ritual...

Is it safe here, to bring up that little matter he'd discussed with Seteth? Perhaps he'll circle his way around to it. "Have you got a clear idea of the symptoms? I'd wager you do, after years."

[godsandbats]

At that question, Kirk maintains his monotone and tries to keep his explanation clinical.

"At the onset, the patient experiences an extreme change in their diet and in their blood because their body ceases to produce certain amino acids and requires a different set of nutrients to maintain their energy. The new diet is the main symptom of this condition."

He shifts the egg again in his arms before continuing.

"If the patient goes on a few days without these specific nutrients, they become aggressive, violent, and less cognitive. The behavior is comparable to a rabid animal. When taking in these nutrients, the patient's canine teeth become elongated. The patient's skin also becomes much paler."

He then adjusts his red goggles.

"And their irises become red while they have increased light sensitivity."

[wolfish]

"...So you're the patient." Yuri ventures what he'd deem a safe guess, seeing as the man so pointedly adjusted his goggles. The avoidance of what that diet entails also suggests a certain sensitivity to the matter. It could be deeply personal, distasteful to others, or both.

His world does not have the equivalent of vampires, so the combination of traits is curious, but he can imagine how others might be unnerved. Different scares people. Dimitri's uncanny strength impressed some and dehumanized him to others. Monstrous, they'd say.

"And the diet's a delicate matter, I take it." Yuri doesn't need to prod and pry. If he's working with the man, he'll be told what he requires knowledge of as a matter of practicality. "Do you think it's more an alteration or contamination of the blood, this condition?"

[godsandbats]

"Contamination," Kirk calmly replies. So far Yuri hasn't recoiled from his explanation but Kirk is being very selective with his vocabulary. This is carefully treading into personal matters as opposed to just jumping into the deep end of the pool. Kirk knows he has to explain more though.

"I had a different blood disease and the attempt to cure that caused my current condition. The current condition has been with me for over 10 years now."

[wolfish]

"That's one hell of a complication." An understatement, Yuri knows, but an acknowledgement that it's a terrible outcome. Much experimentation had been done on people in Fódlan, often with ill effects. Some were worse than others, but the cases Yuri knows of can be tied directly to those dark mages who called the lot of his kind beasts. "So it won't do you in so long as you mind your diet, then... Which means the diet's troublesome."

Another understatement, but the man is being cautious. Yuri takes the weight off it as best he can. It doesn't help to judge a man for something he can only manage and is trying to remedy.

[godsandbats]

Kirk nods. He appreciates Yuri trying to be sensitive to the matter.

"I had to create artificial substitutes to better maintain the diet," he continues. "They keep the madness at bay it's not the same as a cure. My original blood disease might be gone but continuing the diet is more trouble in the long term than a cure."

[wolfish]

"I doubt anyone'd choose to be saddled with a condition like that if they can cure it." Well. There are some lunatics out there with strange tastes who might see some strange benefit to it. "Do you have the resources you need to keep stable, for the time being?"

While they work toward a proper cure, that part matters.

[godsandbats]

“I do. They’re enough to cover my basic needs,” Kirk replies. Though the ingredients here for his artificial plasma formula aren’t exactly the same quality as what he uses back home.

“With residents from so many different worlds here, it seems worth a shot to take an unorthodox approach to my research.”

[wolfish]

"I agree. There's a wealth of information and options here because we're such a mixed bunch. Just a matter of finding the right fit." After ten years, Yuri'd say the man's due for some results. That's a damned long time to have to manage something that might otherwise wrest autonomy away from him.

[godsandbats]

“Precisely,” Kirk agrees.

Part of him feels strange that he’s once again trying to have a collaborator for his cure. The previous attempts ended in betrayal. Jeremy pretended to be kind-hearted and tricked Kirk into killing his rival mobsters. Will had been secretly going mad and plotted to wipe out free will from humanity. Plus, he might’ve purposely sabotaged Kirk’s original lymphoma cure.

With all the pain Kirk had experienced because others saw him as too strange or monstrous, he knows it would be all too easy for him to cast off all of humanity and just embrace his monstrous instincts. But in the end, all Kirk wanted was to just be rid of the blood thirst. That stubborn shred of humanity he still has in him still has empathy and sympathy for others.

So he’s trying once again to reach out for help. It’s been too difficult to accurately unravel his mutation, especially now knowing Will had been secretly sabotaging him.

“Thank you for considering this,” he adds, though aware this could end in another failure.

[wolfish]

"Oh, I'm not considering — I've signed on. If others were afflicted with the same condition, who's to say they'd have your resourcefulness or restraint? What if somehow we were faced with an epidemic, someday? Having a cure would make all the difference." Truly, that's enough motivation for Yuri. He'd survived a plague, so health concerns will never fail to impress upon him, no matter how peculiar they may first seem.

"I'll show you that library anytime you're up for it. I'm the only one in Garreg Mach these days, so it's a quiet place to read or tinker with spells." He doesn't mind disclosing the easily observable. Yuri knows the place better than anyone here.

[godsandbats]

Kirk had done a flyby over Etraya shortly after arriving. He remembers seeing the castle as it's one of the more striking structures around.

"If you don't mind, I would like to drop by later today."

After he puts away the egg of course. Kirk is eager to start digging into this.

[wolfish]

"By all means. We've got a little too much free time now for my liking, egg-sitting aside." All the eggs need is cozy shelter, and while Yuri busies himself with certain aspects of upkeep, there's still too much time in the day. "One thing — my world doesn't have those electric lights, so it's sun or torchlight, unless I ask Aurora for a change to the amenities. Might be easier on your eyes as-is though."

In truth, Yuri was accustomed to the low light of Abyss and very unaccustomed to the low hum of eletricity. His stay in Moorecroft made him very aware of that.

[godsandbats]

"Yes. Dark rooms won't be a problem for me," Kirk confirms. Whenever he works in one of his labs, he generally keeps the lights dim. It's more comfortable to do his lab work without needing his goggles. Plus, it doesn't sound like electricity won't be needed too much for this magical endeavor.

"I'll need to get a better grasp of magic first before we try to mix it with my own work."

[wolfish]

"The library's got plenty of books covering general principles, from basic to advanced spells. I've got my own insights and observations — books are a great start, but there's a reason academies employ professors." Both the Officer's Academy and the school of magic in the north had faculty. It makes good sense to pass along knowledge and skills, after all.

He shifts his weight, bundling up his egg further as he considers. "The Shadow Library had more...unusual applications documented, though some of those texts were heavily redacted. When I've got the means, I'll see if Aurora can oblige me in bringing the underside of Garreg Mach here."

[godsandbats]

“Thank you,” Kirk says. Magic may not be the same as decrypting a dead planet’s data but it seems like a worthy endeavor. “Why were they redacted?”

[wolfish]

"Officially? The usual reasons a church buries innovations. The printing press could lead to people spreading lies about the goddess, this or that could be misused, so forth." Yuri shrugs, the sarcastic edge to his tone suggesting his own feelings on the subject well enough. He absolutely respects Seteth, but he wishes the man wouldn't be so zealous in enforcing the Archbishop's more draconian directives. "My people took a keen interest, so if Aurora can bring those texts in, we've made some progress on determining what was blotted out."

[godsandbats]

Kirk softly scoffs. A religious institution trying to restrict knowledge never leads to good things. It's good to know he and Yuri are on the same page about that.

"It sounds like it would be worth retrieving," he says. "I assume there's quite a lot that was redacted?"

[wolfish]

"Right on the money. There's multiple floors to that library, though how redacted each book is varies widely." Some were mostly redactions, others only ommitted scattered words. "Of course, seeing as everything is penned by hand, sometimes you can make out lines well enough with the right approach."

When motivated, people had ways and means.

[godsandbats]

Kirk isn't intimidated by the challenge. He's had worse.

"There's always a workaround somehow. It's just a matter of finding the right one," he says.

[wolfish]

"True indeed. Few things in life are easy, besides." At least they aren't where Yuri comes from. Tenacity is what gets a man somewhere, in his experience.

With a decade of seeking a cure under his belt, safe to say the other man has it.

[godsandbats]

“What seems to get redacted the most?” Kirk asks. He wants to get an idea of what he might be in for.

[wolfish]

"...Technological advancement." Yuri answers after a moment of consideration. The archbishop seemed to find such innovations uniquely threatening, if the contents of the shadow library were anything to go by. "The printing press remains a sore spot with me. Supposedly that would make it easier to spread lies about the goddess, but on the contrary, literacy would better the lives of the people. My countrymen would be eager to read scripture were they able, besides."

Which is to say, Yuri doesn't buy the excuse.

[godsandbats]

"It's exactly what happened in my world when the printing press was invented," Kirk says. The religious establishment Yuri's talking about is sounding less impressive the more Kirk hears about them. "Books used to be only for clergymen and nobles because of how arduous they were to make. Once the printing press came into play, accessibility to literacy became much more achievable."