epidemiology | EVENT ★ NALAWI INTRO

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EVENT ★ NALAWI INTRO

Recruits leave Oska at midday, with about 10 minutes of final warning given from the jewelry. Then the white mist rises as rifts open, and Oska is left behind. The transition into Nalawi is not a peaceful one. When the mist fades, recruits are immediately hit with a face full of lashing rain and driving wind.

The recruits have arrived in the middle of a nasty storm, but that’s not all that greets them. Seawater surges all around, breaking against -- houses? It’s a little hard to tell at first, in the chaos of the storm. Half of these buildings are made of rock, not carved, but shaped, and the other half seem to be living trees, thin wood and thatch, and a handful of more ornate (and more fragile) material, including clouded glass or obsidian. The stone houses are standing up best to this onslaught of waves, but even they weren’t made for this, and they shudder and crumble in the thrashing storm.

Thin screams can be heard over the wind and water, too. The locals are having some trouble not being washed away. The people here are small bipedal deer, and those hooves were not meant for swimming. They struggle in the water, some of them trying to snag a few precious belongings from drowning houses, some of them not even able to do much more than hang onto some jutting stone or tree. There are a few heroes among them, putting superhuman powers to good use: here a young man hovers in the air, dragging others out of the water and toward safety; there a girl parts the water with careful gestures of her hands, enabling a whole family to dart from their ruined home and run for higher ground. These feats are rare, though, and on the whole most of these natives are in trouble.

They don’t look too stunned to see the new arrivals -- they don’t have time to, and will push roughly past a new arrival to deal with some crisis sooner than stop and stare. They’re mostly just grateful for any offered help, generally seeming terrified and shellshocked by all of this. If any of them are asked what happened, they’ll point with varying degrees of wordlessness toward a high stone wall between the village and the sea, with an enormous gap broken through the middle of it where the sea rushes in. Like many of the houses, this dike was clearly shaped from living stone. But whatever shaped it apparently has no power to maintain it, and this is the storm that had finally taken advantage of that.

This long, dark afternoon provides plenty of tasks: help the Nalawi people evacuate from their ruined village, try to find material to rebuild their shattered (and still crumbling) dike, or take care of the hungry sea creatures that have taken notice that the deer, usually safe on land, are suddenly in easy reach. They look like crabs with too many legs, but each of them is nearly the size of one of the villagers. They’re more than capable of seizing a struggling villager and scuttling back toward the break in the dike to drag their prize into the sea. Their shells are difficult to get through, their pincers terrible and sharp, but their joints and eyes are unprotected and tender.

The storm won’t last forever, though. It blows itself out in a few hours, just in time for a truly beautiful tropical sunset over the western edge of the island. Exhausted locals will finally begin to talk a little more. They’ll explain to their rescuers that the Stone Shapers have all had their Gifts faded out: there’s not a single one left. Without these abilities, the dike was left defenseless against the storm and the water rushed in. Their despondency and resignation suggests this kind of disaster is not new to them. They are, however, very grateful for the help: anyone who lends a hand over the new few days (thankfully sunny and clear) sorting through the wreckage, rebuilding, and setting up new dikes will be given food and shown to the inn for free lodgings.

Welcome to Komo, Nalawi.

OOC INFO

ICly this log will cover the day of arrival and the following few days of recuperating and rebuilding, if you would like to include that in your top level prompts. OOCly it will last until the 26th. New information will be available at that time.

As some quick refreshers, we have our Mission Overview here, which also includes a questions subthread for general questions. For intro event-specific inquiries, please see the comments below. Additionally, be sure to have read the Chantes epilogue as well as the Nalawi: Locations page. Note that we will also have new characters arriving during the event, so be sure to give them a hand!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[For the record, Sieglinde would like it known she didn't plan on coming to watch, or anything like that! It wasn't like she was a child or anything, distracted so easily by play. So maybe she'd been a bit curious what all the Nalawin children were so interested in, and maybe she'd sort of crawled over to look, tugging up her heavy gown to keep it out of the sand as she scooted over on her knees, dragging unnaturally tiny feet behind her.

But if pressed, she would like it known that the only reason she really was watching in the first place was because the animal companion she heavily relied on for transportation had decided now was a good time to run off and try to bite the waves of the incoming tide.

Really.

But once the display starts she's definitely watching, wide-eyed and curious as to what sort of magic he might be imploying to animate the objects without a spoken spell at the very least, completely focused on figuring that out- so much so that she actually started in surprise when spoken to, looking up flustered.]

Ah, no- I mean-

[Damn it, Sieglinde, you are looking a fool in front of all these native children! She cleared her throat hastily, waving her hand and trying to appear as if she was simply passing through.]

I am merely interested in your methods- do carry on...

[ Luckily the Nalawin children take little note of the unintended pause in their entertainment, giggling when a stray seaweed joins the castle, flowing at the top like a small flag. The laugh is infectious, and North joins in, a low, booming sound underneath it all. ] Quickly, get some water for moat! [ He urges, and some of the children stand, looking around the area for some sort of container to carry the water over.

It gives him a little time to remind himself (again) that having children look at him is an acceptable thing here, at least for the time being. He lets out a small breath (ridiculous, considering he doesn't need to breathe), watching the small display he put on with fond eyes.

But none of this means that he's forgotten about their new guest - he's been glancing over at her now and then, blue eyes bright and curious. ] Methods? [ He questions, raising an eyebrow - ]

Hah! [ He waves a hand, which accidentally sends a seashell flying off to the forest. ] -- Oops. [ He summons a new one to join the marching crew again, pretending none of that happened. ] Come here, come here! You can be sitting here and be "interested". [ Don't you know, Santa does better with an audience. ]

[Sieglinde had quite a bit of practice in hiding the fact that she was jealous of things, though it did show through at times. Like when she watched how easily the children stood and scrambled to find water, how steady their hooves were on the sand. She wanted to respond to his invitation, to come closer and therefore be able to observe the magic or ability even better, but now that his eyes were upon her and their conversation has attracted the looks of some of the native children she felt more embarrassed of the way she was forced to move on the sand without crutch or assistance.]

I can see just fine from here, I assure you-

[She's quick to cover for it, waving a hand dismissively while the other quickly arranged her skirts to hide bandaged legs and bound feet, having a few stare downs with the native children until they turned their gazes back to the performance of floating seashells and castle building.]

Please continue your magical feats- do not mind me.

Oh? [ Well, that won't do at all - the frown on his lips is obvious, eyebrows furrowed together as he tries to figure out the reason for the refusal. She's obviously curious (as she should be!) yet she refuses to give in.

But as curious as he is, he also won't dwell on the "why" for too long. ] Nonsense! [ He stands, holding a finger up for any of the deer children scrambling back with water. ] Just a moment!

A little bit of moving is required. [ He explains, and with a gesture of his hands the entire set up - castle, shells, and flag - lifts about 4 feet into the air. The very definition of a floating castle. But he moves with it, walking closer to his newest guest until she has front row seats to it all.

Gently, he sets down the mini scenery, recreating the moat. ] There! Now we can have proper castle. [ He announces to the children, voice entirely too satisfied with what he did. He sneaks a glance over at the girl, too, giving her a softer smile, complete with -- is that a twinkle in his eye? ] Problem solved, no?

[What did one do in the face of relentless cheer and goodwill? Frown even harder, apparently, in an attempt to keep a straight face. She was most definitely far more mature and grown than these... These children! Nevermind that she's only newly turned twelve last snow moon, or anything like that.

Except he just lifts the whole castle and she can't frown when she's looking at it in childish awe mixed with scientific observation, red sparking even as she critically tries to not what sort of magic it might be- if it was perhaps an invisible sphere of sorts he was using to transport everything within or if it was more the items itself he was moving- with his mind? He wasn't using spells verbally at least, merely the physical features, and-]

I- if you insist, I suppose... But it is not a proper castle without guards.

[Her cold, mature act wasn't going too well, fussily spreading out her skirts more and leaning forward to get even closer, one hand moving to clasp the compass hanging from her chatelaine, streaking a glance at it. It was designed to locate magic-

And it was pointing right at the man and his castle.]

[ The natives dump the water into the sands, watching most of it get absorbed by the ground beneath. But slowly, with each round, the moat begins to fill; whether that's thanks to the work the children are putting in, or some involvement on North's part, is a mystery. Point is, the castle is complete! All that's left is a drawbridge, something he's throwing together with a tiny, tiny bundle of sticks, tying them together with grass.

Only - ] Guards? That is what seashells are for! [ North gestures at the misfit of shells circling the castle. ] ... But they are not very good guards, no.

Is there better idea? [ The mini project in his hands gets temporarily put on hold, glancing up at Sieglinde.

Nicholas St. North, a 1000 year old spirit, is just as engrossed over a sand castle as the rest of the children are. But then, he couldn't proclaim himself as the Guardian of Wonder if he didn't find all of this enchanting. ]

Shells can be shattered by a single blow, they would be better off as the royalty.

[Sieglinde tells herself that this is all being done just because she wants to see the extent of his magic abilities, not because it was sort of fun or anything.

And if she was seriously considering the best answer to his query, that was only a testament to her mature and serious demeanor. Naturally. Not anything to do with getting swept up in the excitement.]

Fish can guard the moat, and those tiny chitinous creatures can be guards.

[She means... this world's equivalent of small crabs.

Partly a test to see if his abilities can be used on living things and partly because... that did seem far more fitting, did it not?]

Hm- This is true! [ Whatever the motivations behind Sieglinde's suggestions, North still takes them with every bit of seriousness it deserves (hint: a lot). His hand moves to stroke his beard, but not before waving a hand to set the seashells at the top of a newly formed tower, watching over the set up.

He takes the moment to lean over, installing a brand-new bridge for the castle too; it's a miracle when is large hands don't knock over any of the sand. His eyes are narrowed in concentration, and with care he drapes over a small piece of grass on the other side of the moat as a mini controller for the entire bridge.

When he leans back, he's awfully proud of himself, though he mumbles - ] Not sure where I can find small fish... [ He mumbles, until suddenly! ] Aha!

[ An index finger raises to point upwards, eyes bright and his entire body language screams "new idea!". He scrambles to stand, deserting the set up for a short moment.

When he returns, he has a small -- pile of leaves? Barely the size of a section of a finger. ] These should do. [ He handpicks a few - no more than five, that all get dropped into the water. Within seconds (and a twirl of his fingers), they're swimming in the moat. ]

Now for crabs... [ He might be speaking to himself, but blue eyes are on his only human audience. Any ideas? ]

[The real problem with running magic experiments without telling your subject you're doing one is that correlation didn't imply causation and just because he didn't actually use living fish didn't mean he couldn't... The man's enthusiasm is leaving her in the proverbial dust- or, sand, really, and every time he got up to move she was left sitting where she was, fussily rearranging her skirts to appear disinterested or shooing at the deer children.

But- she had a chance!]

Why not use real crabs? Make them move with your magic.

[She could test it that way! It was a bit early to be calling whaf she saw magic but perhaps it would do for now- if it wasn't magic he would surely speak up about it.]

Real crabs?

... I do not see any! [ Which is honestly half the reason; North isn't particularly interested in the kind of magic that requires him animating live beings. It's messy and potentially awful and someone completely innocent will likely get hurt, so.

But that's way too deep for a fun day with a sand castle with little moving figures. So North just doesn't bother going up to look for the crabs in the first place, waving a hand away. ] But!

If you are seeing any crab shells... [ He straightens out again, looking around. ] Or maybe little stones!

[ He sure is skirting around all of this. ]

[How frustratingly elusive this bearded mage is turning out to be? It's also difficult to tell if he was clueless about her line of questioning or enlightened to it, leaving her frowning in dismay at things not going her way.

She'd just straight out ask, but she hasn't had much success with that in the past- not that it surprised her. Mages could be exceedingly secretive about their powers... but this one is just amusing children, wasn't he?

- There was something about him that she couldn't quite place, but.]

Well, you heard him-

[Sieglinde turned to the native children with a commanding tone, pointing out towards the line just above high tide where there were small holes indicating crab presence.]

Crab shells! Little stones! We are in dire need, here!

[But she stayed put, not about to risk her dignity crawling around in the sand or trying to stand and losing her balance doing so. As the children scrambled for the ingredients, Sieglinde continued to stare openly instead.]

[ North, in all honesty, is surprised at the sudden orders that come from the girl. Not enough to comment, or make it painstakingly obvious - but he raises an eyebrow, blue eyes darting over to watch her as the children also perk up, scrambling to stand again.

There's no voices of dissatisfaction from them, at least; most of them are just excited to see what the man's about to come up with next, and figure the girl has something to do with it. Otherwise she wouldn't be sitting here like she knew exactly what she was doing, right? Right.

In the moment of silence between the two, as they wait for the children to return with their items, he glances at the castle - then at the girl, then back, then forth - ]

You like the castle? [ He suddenly asks, because in his opinion it looks fantastic!! But as much as he's enjoying it, it's supposed to be for the children. ] What do you think?

[For all her size and youth, Sieglinde is accustomed to giving orders and having them followed- it came with the territory, with being the Lord of her village and the Green Witch both. Even if both those titles had been bestowed as part of a falsehood.

She sits and fussily adjusts her skirts before she meets the bearded wizard's alternating gaze, her own subconsciously following. Castle, bearded wizard, castle, bearded wizard, a question-]

It is quite fine- but I believe the time for play is over.

[Affected a lofty tone, even as she eyed him up and down once more.]

Just what it is it you are supposed to be- a psychic or a mage?

[ Children, despite the centuries he's protected them for, will never cease to amaze him. This is no exception.

So it... takes him a moment. A part of him should be offended but he definitely isn't, instead delighted by the fact that she's asking the question in the first place. Once he recovers, there's a chuckle that fills the air, and - ] Neither!

I am a Guardian. [ Which explains absolutely nothing!!! But judging from how he's acting it's apparently supposed to explain everything? ] But - and this is secret - [ He pauses, for dramatic effect (though it really is a secret, because Nicholas St. North isn't much for talking about his past. It's just that she's a child and curious and - you know, obviously Santa Claus' weak spot is children). ] I was taught by a wizard, long, long time ago.

And what is a Guardian? What do you... Guard?

[Because, really, that didn't answer anything, sir! Sieglinde couldn't be sure if the phrase was just so common in his own world he forgot himself and where he was, who he was talking to... or if it was an answer meant to obfuscate.]

You seem familiar to me somehow... which wizard did you apprentice under?

[Her tone still seemed to brook no arguments, leaning closer and resting her hands on her knees to support her forward-tilting weight, squinting slightly. Something... about him...

Perhaps it was another figure from her readings come to life in a different world?]

Oh, that is easy! [ Wait for it - ] The children!

And those that are believe in me. [ Now added on as an after thought, because ALASTAIR has made it rather clear there are a fair number of people that still believe in Santa Claus, no matter what the age. ]

Ah, do I? [ He raises a single eyebrow, turning to face her and leaning forward in response. His smile way too smug for someone who's supposed to be giving presents to all the good boys and girls once every year. ] How mysterious!

[ But despite talking in circles he never seems to grow annoyed or bothered; he wants her to figure it out. ] Hah! I am - now - much more famous than who taught me. Would have easier time if you are trying to guess who I am instead.

[ It's a mystery where this old man gets all this confidence from. A hand raises to wave dismissively - ] Besides, I am supposed to be keeping some secrets, no?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ NALAWI INTRO

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