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morningdewsvalley2024-03-17 10:26 pm
mayorityvote) wrote in morningdewsvalley2024-03-17 10:26 pm
WEEK THREE
WEEK THREE
19 Villagers
They say nothing is healthier for the mind and body than physical labor - especially if you can hold the fruits of it in your hands and store it in your kitchen. Whatever cruelties you have witnessed or endured in the past week, your fields need tending to and they reward you with as quick as harvest as always.
If drowning your grief in work is not enough for you, there are new spots to explore in Puffin Town. Allow the novelty to distract you from your dwindling numbers!
Always remember, the value of a community is not measured by it's size.
(( OOC: Murder proposals are due by Tuesday at 4 PM EST / 1 PM PST for this final week! Get your bloodthirst in or forever hold your peace! Gift submission is still open as well!
If your character has been planting Astera, here's a reminder to report it at the Astera tracker - this does not need to have been threaded, we're just taking stock on an OOC level.))
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And the reason for its sudden appearance may make itself apparent if you venture deeper - because there is the noise of shuffling of something moving further into the forest now! Unlike the lights, this is definitely something corporeal. ]
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What is that, tho? Can they close in on the noise? ]
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Think it's whatever that the ducks here need protection from?
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but yeah, let's just carefully follow the source of the shuffling. ]
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As you stalk your prey, you might become aware of another piece of paper stuck against a branch. This is also a journal page, but the shade of the paper is different and the handwriting here is a flowering cursive. ]
Chronicle 550
There are few records of how Puffin Town and their unique relationship with the Junimo came to be, but we can make some educated guesses according to the local folklore and traditions – which vary wildly, from tales that the shore puffins brought the Junimos to land in their very beaks, to rumors that the spirits came from the stars themselves and that that is why their very favorite berry is named Astera. Whatever the case may be, they are not of this world in so many ways. I find myself lost in the study of them whenever harvest season comes around; and it may be a study that continues all my life.
The Junimo are elusive little things, but every once in a while they will hold their very own nightly festival, giving credence to the idea that they are connected to the starry sky. I think that our Flower Dance Festival may have been established to coincide with the Junimos’ calendar, something both whimsical and very much pragmatic, since that is when their magic is at its peak. At some point, it was discovered that the Astera were not only their favorite plant, but that it would resonate with their magic, amplifying both the magical effects and the abundance of the harvest. It should have been a win-win situation.
But spirits are spirits: they are neither good nor evil, at least not in the way that we humans could hope to understand. There are few records, but the moment Puffin Town discovered the double-edged nature of the beautiful Astera and thus, of the Junimo that loved them is infamous in the local community. I won’t detail all the bloody history here, but there is more blood in the soil of that forest than lies under some battlefields. It was not, of course, entirely local. What is impressive is how well Puffin Town closed themselves off to the outside world and erased all rumors of these happenings – perhaps with a little magical touch. Nevertheless, it will never again be entirely peaceful. Every once in a while an outsider or two finds their way in; every once in a while a villager is tempted by the products of blood magic, the ability to grant wishes so long as they spill blood for the Astera. Some believe that the Astera and the Junimo together literally form a path to the stars. Quite foolish, I want to say, but I may just be too cowardly in my old age to face the reality of the Junimos’ power.
[ And just as this distracts the group for a moment, they may see their strange forest guide from the corner of their eyes.
1/2
[ BUT IMPORTANT...they know this is certainly. The history is...certainly something.
They kind of feel like their brain is melting a little.
But, oh, hey Enkidu turns their attention to the forest guide and smiles, coming closer. ]
2/2
[ Friendly little smile. Hi little guy! ]
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When their guide appears, he moves on instinct to put an arm in front Enkidu as if to shield them.
Then it clicks that it's an apple. A living and moving apple. ]
What the? Does that fruit have eyes? [ ????? ]
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... Wishes. It's always wishes... But... wait.
[ finds their way in? none of them remember wanting to come here. so then, in that case...
but hello animate green apple spirit. ]
Oh, hello ... You're sort of like the Mana of this place, aren't you?
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It just shimmies like this for a little, watching you with its adorable little eyes, and then...
... it dashes off at completely unexpected speed. Time to run after it? ]
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Maybe they are then about to respond to the other two's words until the green thing runs off. ]
Let's go!
[ Maybe the little guy is leading them somewhere. Enkidu chases after it excitedly, moving pretty quick themselves. Forests are familiar grounds to them, so they are used to natural barriers and the like as well. ]
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Huh? Wait up!
[ An apple this day is only keeping itself away. Time to run after it! ]
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[ where are you going, apple? time to give chase? he only lived alone as a hermit in the forest for most of his life this is fine, he knows the terrain. after that (probably) spirit!
(by the way, is this forest where the fog would normally cut them off, or?) ]
Investigation end!
But you have not ventured that deep, as you find out in your chase. In fact, you've been led in a neat little semi-circle - the trees get fewer again and before you know it, you find yourself in front of the mysterious little hut that has suddenly joined your cul de sac of farms!
There is no sign of the sentient apple left, but there is a final page of notebook on the path to the hut. It's the same cursive as before: ]
Chronicle 556
There is an alternative to the dark temptation of blood magic: perhaps this is a way in which the universe bends its arc towards a balance of the powers. Love and Hate are two sides of the same coin: both are born of strong emotions, and the movement of the heart is the movement of magic. (One day, I will look into whether Junimo are really born of the stars, or whether they may in the end be born of our own hearts, closer to home.) The pattern wasn’t seen at first, in all the hubbub of the harvest and of wedding ceremonies – it’s not so often even in a remote place like this that all weddings take place at the same time of year, but Puffin Town is fond of its festivals, and of course the blooming of the flowers, the fruit of the fertility of the soil, and the Flower Dance Festival is often attended by many soon-to-be-betrothed. With so many weddings in the late summer, it was only a matter of time before the villagers noticed that it coincided so perfectly with the greatest instance of the Asteral bloom; and the more weddings, the more fruitful the plants, and the more Junimos would come out of the forest. It was a positive cycle after all the darkness, making it revered among those here, like a kiss to lift a curse in so many of their favorite fairy tales. The weddings themselves don’t have anything to do with the seeding of magic, of course. Weddings are merely a formality, but formalities and the acceptance of society can go a long way towards uplifting and intensifying existing feelings.
Maybe I’m getting sentimental at this age.
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Movement of the heart...hate...and, a kiss? They have to wonder... ]
...we really should get everyone together for a meeting sometime.
But maybe here instead, or the mines.
[ They look at the other two curiously. ]
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Where did the little dude go, huh?
[ Looking around for any sign of the round critter. Then he'll give a nod to Enkidu. ]
Is it something big?
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... I think so, yes. Probably. Somewhere less... with less around. He probably just went back to wherever he is usually... It's not like we can see them most of the time, right?
[ vayne is ... looking thoughtful? they have acquired three papers. to divvy up or... ]
I don't know if the, um. Communication devices like we've been doing are the best idea either, but I guess we don't have too many options there...
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[ They mutter...as for the other matter, though: ]
...We track down people the old fashioned way and whisper into their ears.
[ PROBLEM SOLVED ]
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Sounds easy enough, yo. [ Are you going to trust Nine to go whisper in people's ears? ]
Meeting here then?
[ He will take a paper if it's offered. ]
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[ he's not going to think to offer unless they ask, he's distracted, help. if they ask he'll hand them one of the three though. ]
... I think I remember Miss Makima saying something about how she has surveillance or something in town, during one of the times we're all together. Have ... either of you seen anything like that, though?
[ ... ]
Either way, I guess here works. Less chance of us all getting stuck in a cave-in, or something.
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In which case, we definitely wouldn't see anything like that!
[ Don't say it so cheerfully... ]
But, alright. I'll get everyone here tomorrow. If any of you want to help yelling in people's ears, meet up with me a little before the meeting.
[ They apparently trust Nine to help with ear yelling. They then run off after doing a little wave to them both, bye. ]
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[
are birds actually government surveillance]If yelling is what you need, then you don't really need to look further. I'm a yelling machine, yo.
[ Or something. He'll give them a wave though. ]
Can't believe they are ditching me just like that. [ Hate to see them go, but don't mind watching them walk away. Anyways, he'll give Vayne a pat on the shoulder. ] C'mon, before something else comes out of the trees.
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Yeah, we probably should be heaving back, huh... though, I'm not all that good for yelling, haha. I guess I'll count on you two to do the yelling for me. But, um, discreetly? ... Is yelling at people discreetly even a thing that's possible?
We can tell people to come here for... I don't know. Party planning, or something...? They'll probably notice we're going to be doing something anyway if all of us vanish into the forest, but oh well.
[ can't do anything about that part. ]
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We'll make it work. [ Discreet yelling or whatever they wind up doing. ]
If they notice, they notice. Maybe we'll get all the important shit out before they send their spies.
[ He doesn't seem actually worried if they do spy though. Time to motor /o/ ]
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it must be nice to have nine's level of confidence. still, after a moment, he nods. ]
... Yeah. We'll make it work.