epidemiology | PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION.

It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months.

Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775:

Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around.

It's time to get to work.

OBSERVATION.

Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right?

Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up.

People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height.

82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough.

[ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is it wise to push your limits so much? [She frowns mildly with an almost maternal concern that is only momentarily softened as she watches his motions, and the beginnings of something take shape.]

...It looks like you've gone and started anyway, though. I suppose there's no helping it, and I'll just have to keep an eye on you.

[But, ah, yes, he asked her name, didn't he?]

Oh, but it's Flora! It's lovely to meet and see you again.

Lady Flora, then. [ She's to keep an eye on him, is she? ] Perhaps it is for the best that we did not make proper introductions that day in the church; I'd not have forgotten so enchanting a name, nor the Lady who made it all the more exquisite.

[ Where flattery will and will always be forevermore flattery, Sion's compliments are as light of heart as they are sincere. For Flora is exquisite, a beacon of light which renders his tower a paltry gleam at best—she, who'd brightened the church with only her smile, is someone to both admire and protect.

Such is his edict, his duty as the King who would sunder all darkness in the world. ]

Rather, I might have pursued her heedlessly, and we'd have been robbed the pleasure of meeting again, right here and now.

[ That? That, there, might have been a tease, though really, it's rather difficult to tell, but if Sion's smile is any indication...

He's rather enamored with present company. So much so that when he turns his eyes back to the array he's crafted, he raises a hand to alter the equations, to weave new ones, so that instead of a simple platform, a winding, romantic stairwell might be summoned forth from it. ]

What I seek is the lightfield— [ And upon voicing the incantation, the structure rises, takes shape with light formed the energy surrounding (as well as energy from Sion himself). ] —bakushu!

Shall we go together, then? [ When he turns to her, his smile is inviting, made bright with the simple joy to be found in sharing something new with another. ] My name is Sion, Sion Astal, and if the Lady should allow for it, I would happily be her escort for the night.

[He's so polite, more than that, he's incredibly charming. It's incredibly uplifting in ways she didn't anticipate; she's missed feeling like someone worthwhile who could be told these things, silly as it is. She scratches her cheek sheepishly for a moment, but straightens, folding her hands delicately even as her face is a little red.] Well it's a good thing fate has played out as it has, then.

[She could not be gladder for it. And as he finishes his spell, she watches with interest as grand as it is silent, not wishing to disturb him, but by the end, she cannot help but gasp in wonder. She would have this beautiful at any other time, but this world is plagued by a relentless and unnatural darkness. Any light is made all the more precious and beautiful for it, to say nothing of the construct's lovely shape!]

It is lovely to meet you, Sion, and it would be my honour and privilege. Oh, but please, I am no Lady.

[She has rank--it's a little complicated to translate--but it's nothing like nobility.]

But what might you be, if not a Lady? You, who ventured here to free me from my solitude, could you be a knight in disguise? Or are you some manner of sylph, thoroughly undaunted by such heights?

[ Now he's teasing, though not without a good measure of curiosity. Golden eyes keen with interest, he considers her (her bright eyes, the long fall of her hair) before venturing toward the first level of newly constructed stairs and...! Turning back, he extends a gentle hand, palm-open and elegant, to Flora.

No, Flora might not read precisely as nobility (despite her talk of privilege and of honor!), but Sion most certainly does—in a way, it cannot be helped. ]

I wonder, what might we find at the top...? [ He knows, of course, for he is the great architect, after all. In order to cast magic, one must not only weave equations and voice an incantation, but have a strong image of the spell in mind as well!

(Truth be told, the surprise is nothing so grand: there is simply another construct of lattice-work light, a chaise-styled chair for two.) ]

Well, um, my title doesn't especially matter here, I don't think, but...

[Flora can flirt with the best of them at the right times, but this...this is serious, she must remain on her guard!

To her credit, her recovery is as smooth as the hand that runs through her hair. ~~She won't lose~~]

I can be more than one of those things, no? Heights do not bother me, it's true, but let's just say I also have a vested interest in the happiness of others. Naturally, that includes yourself.

[A playful wink, and so saying, and with just as much grace, she slides her hand into his. She is no noble at all, but she has manners fit enough for royalty when she needs to.

In a spur of spontaneity, blooming vines start to sprout and wind around the light railing of his construct with every step they take together, but she doesn't appear to be doing anything herself.

Such a mystery~]

[ A mystery, indeed.

Sion, appreciative of beauty and life in all its forms, gives pause, breath catching at the sight of the flowering vines—how can he not reach to touch? Gently, he cups a flowering bloom, closing his eyes and focusing for the feel of the petals against his skin before he looks to Flora, his golden eyes brimming with a sentiment which...

Is misplaced, he knows, but he cannot help it all the same. ]

I am no one so deserving.

[ Of happiness, and yet it's found him in the here and now all the same.

He continues on, then, leading the way with simple grace and a measured step, fingers curling about Flora's hand in a gentle, playful squeeze. ]

But you are a mage, and a rather gifted one at that. My country's magic harnesses the power of nature, but never to create, only to combat.

[She smiles at his enjoyment, his declaration.]

That's for me to decide, isn't it?

[And truth be told the ones who say such things often need it the most, in her experience. But she won't say this aloud, she doesn't want to be presumptuous.

However it does resolve her to keep a closer eye on him. Congratulations, Sion, you've made a friend.]

I can use magic, but I'm not a mage, exactly. Something else. Combat does have its uses, but that is a little sad to me, if that isn't insulting to hear. On the other hand [and she perks visibly, pointing a finger from her free hand upward before it lowers into a sweeping gesture.] it's not as though you're entirely devoid of creative applications. You made this, after all.

This light... [ His free hand ghosts over the railing, then, as he leads her ever-higher, their final destination nearly in sight! ] ...is oftentimes used for marksman, so that they might be able to have a clear view of their targets from on high.

It makes for a fine shield, as well, standing as a bulwark against the dark. [ But mentioning as much reminds him of the war which awaits him in Roland: Gastark amasses power in the North, the country's sights set on his Empire and claiming his head. And Gastark is not wrong for it, but Sion must defend his people (and so too the world), regardless of consequence (and what evils he might commit). ] I've merely altered the equations the magic is comprised of, for perhaps I am weak, and wanted only to see beauty tonight.

[ And at long last, they've made it there: the seat at the height of the stairwell, a chair which sits at the edge of the world. With a gentleman's touch, he guides Flora to take her seat, before joining her as well as though this were normalcy, reclining with the whole of the night sky before them, legs dangling below as though they were perched atop some great cliff in the wilderness, weathered by eons of time come and gone. ]

But if you are something else, will you at the very least humor me with a clue? [ With a shake of his head, he laughs, for certainly he's never felt (or met) anyone like Flora before. ] Tell me of your wings, perhaps?

[Flora is a fighter and as she listens she must admit those are fair and fine applications, but it's when he speaks of beauty that she feels very compelled to answer after taking her seat. Her voice is at first slightly confused, but quickly stalwart and reassured, even if it is still gentle.] Why ever would you think that? Beauty is something worth seeing, pursuing, treasuring, and protecting. Wanting it doesn't make you or anyone weak.

[Not inherently, but she always assumes the best of others, and doesn't take him for someone frivolous or superficial. Besides, beauty is something incredibly important to her.

He wants a clue though, and though she taps her finger to her lip rather dramatically, she is somewhat a bit at an honest loss.]

Hmmm, truth be told, I'd have thought the wings would have given me away. Though, I suppose we might not exist where you're from, or perhaps in another form.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

OMG

(◡‿◡✿)

>B( what the hell is this gorgeousness

sion is just ridiculous

ridiculously awesome

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