etrayalogs | FEBRUARY MINGLE

Entry tags:

FEBRUARY MINGLE

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: February 14th - March
WHERE: Etraya
WHAT: The arrival of newcomers, a mini mission, and some new city features!
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.

In the hospital's lobby are several party tables set out with miscellaneous baked goods: croissants, cookies, breads, cake slices, as well as tea and coffee to accompany them - or hot chocolate, for those who are opposed to the other offerings.

Outside the hospital, the last remnants of snow are melting in the sunlight as the weather begins to warm up. It's still chilly enough one might want to put on a coat, but not so cold a jacket is necessary for wandering around without freezing off one's fingers.

We hope you enjoy your stay.

⏵ heroes return ⏴

As the Quantum Rail train glides to a halt, returning passengers step out onto familiar ground - the train station, right where they had initially begun their mission. When exiting the station, their earpieces vibrate, indicating the automatic download of a detailed map which highlights key locations, transit paths, and notable landmarks. As Aurora promised, she had been working on a few renovations around Etraya! A sleek trolley system now winds through Etraya, following clearly marked pathways through the city bubble to make travel across the city smoother. However, the trolley only moves one way, eternally following the loop Aurora has set it on. And because of this, it takes six hours to complete it's loop all the way around. Don't miss your stop!

Pets and animals have been returned to their usual preferred areas, some awaiting the arrival of their owners, and others keeping to themselves in the forested areas throughout Etraya.

Beyond the small upgrades, things seem relatively unchanged - until one familiar sign catches the eye. One marked by four vertical lines, methodically crossed out one by one: the final slash has now been drawn through. The tally is complete. What it indicates has yet to be made clear, but it has to mean something, right? No one would go through the effort of making an ominous-sounding sign without following through.

⏵ love in the air ⏴

This Valentines Day, Aurora and the companion bots have opted to try something a little different: they have scattered mystery valentines across the city. Hidden within mailboxes, tucked into cafe menus, slipped under doors, on the outside of high windows for those wall-crawlers to spot. There are countless of these little slips of papers, strewn throughout the city. And within each valentine, is a challenge or gesture to complete. Please feel free to make these up yourselves as long as they fit in with the theme!

Some examples include:

Deliver a flower to a stranger.
Write a heartfelt poem for someone.
Share a box of chocolates!
Confess your feelings for another.
Play matchmaker for two people - this can be platonic, or romantic!
Gift a friend with a stuffed animal.
Give five different people a genuine compliment.

While not mandatory, completing five tasks will earn an individual an additional ten points to use towards anything they would like!

Each little Valentine is signed "Your Secret Admirer. ♡", and some of them may even be addressed to specific individuals. Don't be surprised, Eddie, if you see one or two that are specifically addressed to you lurking around your collection of chicken friends!

And while most of these are harmless, some of the valentines cards come with effects for those who come into contact with the paper. Perhaps they thought it was a piece of garbage, or were just kicking it out of the way rather than intending on taking part. It doesn't matter! They get to join in on the fun, too.

Heart Eyes - your pupils literally turn into hearts for a few hours, making it hard to focus on anything other than things (or people) you find attractive.
Love-Struck Stammer - You can only speak in poetic compliments or romantic declarations, regardless of whom you're speaking to.
Chocolate Bliss - Everything feels good. Simple. Easy. As if there's nothing in the world to concern yourself with. You feel happy, without any concerns or worry.
Rose-Tinted Vision - everything looks soft and romantic, as if you're in a romance novel. You know the ones.
Magnetic Attraction - regardless of what you had been doing, you suddenly find yourself unable to leave the side of the person closest to you. Had you been eating chocolates while walking down the street? Well, have fun getting stuck to the guy who'd been out for a jog!
Serenade Syndrome - you find it impossible to resist the urge to sing your words, turning all conversations into love ballads.
Heartstrings - A thread appears, connecting you to someone close by who you share many similarities too. Perhaps you had never met this person before, but the threads tied around your pinky fingers that refuse to let go until you allow yourself to open up to them clearly means you should be a little more familiar with them.

Love is in the air—or maybe just a bit of well-intended chaos! 💕

⏵ NOTES ⏴

Welcome back from the mission, and welcome to Etraya for our newcomers! We've tried to keep this log simple for an easy introduction, as well as some downtime for our mission-goers who worked hard to solve the Quantum Rail mystery.

There is something else going on, but. . . well, no one seems to know what! The computer that had been on the lower floor of the hospital is now missing, and Aurora may seem a little flustered as she flits around Etraya, in search of something.

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⏴

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Friendship and cooperation, clearly. [Ithaqua's done is dry. He's just thinking about the implications such a thing... and he doesn't like it. He doesn't like being attached to a stranger without any way out or any way of removing said tie. At the very least it doesn't seem to snag... but it's still right there.

A visual reminder.]

But rather than asking such things, best to ask how to remove this, yes?

That sounds typical of the motivations for such activities. [ Unlike Ithaqua, he seems entirely sincere about it.

It's a practical suggestion, and one he agrees with. He gives the string a sharp tug, which in theory should be enough to snap it outright...

It does not. He has no tools to further test its strength besides a sharp prong of his staff, which he proceeds to try and cut the thread on. Nothing happens. ]

It is unusually strong, [ he notes, after a moment. His tone is one of mild confusion. ] Are you able to sever it?

Mm~ I have attempted. [Then he shrugs.]

But no matter how sharp my axe is, it remains frustratingly intact. Thus! [His voice goes low, as if imparting an important secret. It's all dramatics anyway.] All I can conclude that it is magic.

[ He looks at Ithaqa for a long moment, as if processing this revelation. ]

I am sorry. I do not have experience with that word. Are you...referring to spiritual phenomena of some kind?

[ He comes from an entirely sci-fi world where everything is explained by increasingly complex technology that may as well be magic, please forgive him. ]

Hmm. [Ithaqua strokes his chin as he peers at his companion, even if his mask is covering his face-- he's just ending up stroking his mask's chin, honestly. Then he cocks his head like a bird.] Not familiar with magic, are you?

It is a supernatural power capable of doing anything, hampered only by the user's personal ability. Spiritual? No, I don't believe that, magic has no religious origins.

I am not. It is a power unfamiliar to me. It is likely it is a property of your world, but it was not present in mine.

[ He wonders if magic could have reignited the stars of his dying universe. He lingers a little too long on that thought before refocusing. ]

Anything? Is it a power that truly has no bounds?

[Ithaqua waggles one finger.]

Just the user's own limitations~! As I have said.

Or, perhaps their own preferences are the limitations, if they are truly powerful enough.

I...see. [ That seems...inefficient and hard to measure. ] It sounds as if magic is...imprecise.

Is limitation measured in strain on the body? What determines the level of power of an individual?

[Ithaqua hums in thought, before raising two fingers.]

It's both, and more. What determines limitations? The body, the mind. Perception, will, experience. If a mage is weak, then their magic is weak, limited. If a mage is powerful, then their magic, too, is powerful.

It's something so dependent on the individual that only I cannot be the best source of information.

So it is only subjective, and cannot be observed externally.

...A strange phenomenon. [ Then, something occurs to him, and his body language stiffens a little (not that it wasn't stiff before). ]

If an individual is powerful enough, would they emit some sort of...field? An area. Something that can affect the mind by its presence.

[ Perhaps this magic is analogous to the weight, that fog...that thing he had glimpsed in Alepsis-Taura. ]

Hmm. [He taps at his chin, his claws drumming against the mask.]

If they had the means, yes. A mage influencing the mind? Not at all odd, even if I've not seen the like in my life.

Some "field" however, you must elaborate on that.

There was an...anomaly I could not explain or detect with my sensors, back in my own world. It... [ He hesitates, as if trying to find the words, trying to describe nothing less than an empty hole in his own senses. ] It manifested some manner of pressure, a wide-spreading influence, and when it touched me, I was unable to think...clearly. I malfunctioned and became strange.

I had never experienced anything like it. [ He hopes never to do so again. ] It was as if my mind had simply become incapable of understanding it, and so I received no data on the entity at all, only the traces of its passing in where it had...disabled my memories, my ability to function.

[Ithaqua has certainly not heard of such a thing, but the ability to control others... that's still magic, isn't it? And certainly something commonly attributed to witches and demons, possession and control, and whatnot.]

Did you ever feel like your body was not yours? Or something whispering in your ear to do this and that?

[ He contemplates this only for a moment. ] Yes.

At the time I had discounted it as...confused sensory input, a trick of malfunctioning sensors, but I...do not believe my memories can be trusted. There was a voice...even if I cannot recall it, only the absence of it. I could not move, nor could I think clearly.

[The way this person talks about himself, Ithaqua feels like he's understanding less and less. Sensory input? Sensors? Not organs, nose, eyes, ears? How... odd. He doesn't know what to make of this. He has to focus but he just can't help but constantly run certain thoughts through his mind solely because of the turn this conversation has taken.]

It could have been an influence on the mind as you had mentioned earlier, or it could have been possession. With your retelling, either is possible.

[ He, on his part, is simply finding the experience somewhat confusing, but comprehensible enough. It has not really occurred to him to explain what he is, or why he talks the way he does. ]

I see... [ He inclines his head. ] I am familiar with possession, but I have never...experienced it. It would likely be injurious to me in any case, so I had no desire to test it, especially since I would not be capable of repairing myself.

Thank you for answering my questions. I did not believe magic was possible in my world, but perhaps the presence I felt is one such.

...Though I do not know if it matters to know the possible nature of such a thing if I am helpless against it. [ His tone falters a little from mild and unwaveringly polite, pitching a little deeper. He shakes his head as if to clear it, that maudlin disruption. ] Nevertheless, I have asked much of you. Is there anything you wish to ask in return?

Edited 2025-03-03 13:47 (UTC)

Hmm. [Well, here he was thinking he needed to wrack his brain a little longer for a magic that he's not familiar with, but it seems mercy shines on him today, he doesn't need to continue to worry.

As it is, he clears his throat and straightens up again. Ask the stranger in return, eh? He'll take the opportunity.]

You describe yourself in ways I haven't ever heard before. What are you?

I am an artificial being - a construct. [ He tilts his head. ] Are you unfamiliar?

[Now Ithaqua crosses his arms, drumming his fingers against his bicep.]

I have... heard of something called a golem, or a homunculus, but have never seen them in person, nor anyone capable of creating them. There are so many stories, but my experience? That is limited.

Truly, none at all? [ It's his turn to be shocked. It's so utterly different from the world he knows. ] That is unusual, but I admit that it is so only for me. Creating machines such as myself was very common, though they were rarely so complex as I.

[Ithaqua has to shake his head, crossing his arms over his chest.]

I specialize in wind magic, and the towns neighbouring my forest detested magic due to their religion. Who would have created any of the sort?

I see...your region did not care for them.

So these golems and homunculi... [ He does not quite stumble, but he hesitates just a little as his internal dictionary provides translation to the closest equivalent ] They are also made with magic in such tales? Not by craftspeople, nor...technicians of any kind?

[Ithaqua places his hands on his hips.]

And where do you think that magic comes from? Who molds that magic? Mages, of course. They hone their abilities in order to craft their golems.

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FEBRUARY MINGLE

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