EVENT ▸ EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE

[futurologists]

EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE The royalty of Guild Ophelia has managed to hold an audience with Empress Nama of the Celestial Mountains, urging her to meet with the Empress of the Crashing Wave in the interest of finding an accord between their clans. In return, Nama requests that Ophelia take two letters to the Crashing Wave's court, where, as foreigners, they should be received better than any of her own people. The Empire of the Crashing Wave is a week's travel by foot from the Land of Celestial Mountains, through the forests and farms of the Flowerlands. There is no visible indication that this universe was once two, with even the road leading through the Flowerlands heading seamlessly toward the sea. The farms and villages in the outskirts of the Empire of the Crashing Wave are decorated in seashells and motifs of the sea, and the closer one gets to the city, the stronger the scent of the ocean becomes. Once the city proper is reached, Ophelia's magitek projects words in front of their eyes that only they can see: Location reached: » EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE A progressive society that values innovation. Main sources of income: fishing, pearl diving, jewelry crafting, shipbuilding. Politically matriarchal; socially egalitarian. Empress YOUMI resides at the PEACEFUL TIDE. No events scheduled. You may wish to survey the surrounding area. The city is built right on the ocean's edge, with some parts of it even jutting out into the sea on bridges and piers. The castle, Peaceful Tide, is built high above the rest; guards will stop anyone at the gates and, if shown the correspondence from Empress Nama, will deliver the letters directly to Empress Youmi. Attempts to seek an audience with Youmi will be rebuffed for the time being, so you may as well take in the sights... ▸ A PROMISING DEVELOPMENT Unlike the Land of Celestial Mountains, men may move freely here, the matriarchal rules of the land only extending to politics. Men and women work alongside each other in all sections of the city, nobles and commoners alike, and even the guards have men among their ranks. In the Artisan District, potters, musicians, and artists line the streets and sell their wares, work, or discuss their craft with each other. Closer to the Beach, there is a boardwalk where young couples stroll alongside grandparents chasing after their grandchildren, electric lamps bathing the wooden planks in a warm glow at night. Fishermen haul in their daily catch in buckets and nets, trailed by a gaggle of hopeful cats. Beachcombers and pearl divers populate the beach as well, making it a clear place for work instead of play. A few days after Ophelia's arrival in sea clan territory, a bell rings loudly in the late afternoon, drawing citizens toward the castle. Guards stop anyone from getting too close, though the populace seems to know what to expect -- soon, a beautiful woman in an elaborate blue kimono appears in an upper balcony. When viewing the woman, Ophelia's magitek will tell them: » EMPRESS YOUMI Leader of the EMPIRE OF THE CRASHING WAVE. 30 years old. SPECIES: Human. MEDICAL CONCERNS: Lactose intolerant. The crowd cheers at Youmi's arrival, only quieting once she raises her hand. She speaks clearly and confidently, her voice carrying easily across the assembly. "I have received a letter from Her Imperial Majesty Nama of the Land of Celestial Mountains. She informs me that their spring festival was interrupted by an attack from our own people, working without my knowledge or consent," Youmi begins, holding her hand up again when a displeased rumble begins to ripple through the crowd. It's unclear if they're perturbed by the ambush or by Nama herself. Once all is silent again, she continues. "She has detained the criminals, for that is what they are, and assures me she will not bring this to the battlefield. I will send her an agreement to the terms, but hear this: any who escalate this further will be slain by my order. I have spoken. The spirits of the sea watch over us all." Youmi then retreats back into the castle. While some citizens cheer their empress's decree, others mutter unhappily amongst themselves as they disperse and go about their business. ▸ BUT TROUBLE CONTINUES The rest of the day following Youmi's decree goes by without incident, leaving time for Ophelia to stop by the sake breweries near the sea or travel back through the forests of the Flowerlands for hunting, hot springs, or simply enjoying the nature of Hanabira. With war averted and the empresses in communication, it seems as though Ophelia's time in this universe will draw to a close soon. As the sun sinks down, finding a place to sleep might be a good idea. There are hotels in the city, but for those who are trying to be a little more frugal, the Flowerlands is a good place to set up camp for free. Doro, the Lord of the Flowerlands, has heard of Ophelia's efforts in starting communication between the empresses as well, and offers rooms in his castle in thanks; if war were to start between the two, his land would suffer for it. During the night, those who accept Doro's invitation will hear a commotion very nearby, steel clashing against steel. Doro and his daughters rush out, weapons drawn, and straight into a skirmish between sea and mountain clan ronin. The warriors are fighting to kill, and in their fervor, someone's fire arrow alights a farmhouse on Doro's property. The farmers need to be rescued and the fire put out, and while the warriors will likely kill each other, they could also be subdued to prevent further damage. Please let the mods know with a link to the thread if your character is killing or capturing any of the ronin. After the skirmish, Doro must be brought back inside his castle, having been wounded during the battle. He pleads with Ophelia to continue to help, as it looks like a tentative truce by the empresses is not enough to calm the citizens. Since they were so successful in receiving an audience with Nama, he believes they can propose a way the two empires can live in harmony. Throughout the next two weeks, skirmishes between the clans are peppered throughout the Flowerlands, some leaving bodies behind and some leaving damage to farms and forest. It looks like Ophelia's peacekeeping mission just became a lot more hands-on: keep the skirmishes from getting out of control while still working toward a way to end the conflict once and for all. ▸ OOC NOTES This log will last for two IC weeks: the first three days will be free exploration, and day four is Youmi's proclamation and the skirmish in the Flowerlands. Your characters are free to explore for the next ten days, during which further skirmishes will occur. If you have questions about this log or the overall mission, please ask them on the dossier. Questions about Futurology in general should be directed to the FAQ. ▸ Coming next log: Peace proposals! Get your brainstorming started now. ▸ Activity Check is due on 5 February 23:59 UTC. We do not accept late submissions, so make sure you fill it out! ▸ Uniform Design Contest is open! Submissions are due 28 February 23:59 UTC. Gamewide voting will be in March. ▸ Bounty Board ▸ Items Page ▸ Exploration Group Planning ▸ General Plotting ▸ February Calendar

Comments

[forcevisions]

Stop the next one before it starts.

[ she sighs and settles down onto the pile of debris she has collected. ]

I just wish I knew how. That's why we brought the negotiators, right? They're supposed to know what to do about this.

[rhinostagros]

I think that's what we all want.

[ Their team, anyway. Hopefully.

He goes to lift up the plank he tripped on earlier. It's a little heavy for the small boy, but slowly he drags it to join the pile. He pauses a moment, to talk. ]

We managed to come together and convince Empress Nama for an audience. That got us our truce. Surely we'll be able to think of some kind of peace proposal.

[ What kind though? That still requires some thought. ]

[forcevisions]

A proposal to convince a whole population that it's for the best, when their rulers cannot? [ she shakes her head. ] I don't even know what that'd look like. Or ... what they want from war in the first place. From what I can see, all they're getting out of this is stupid, pointless death.

[rhinostagros]

[ He adds the broken plank along with the pile, then seats himself down in an empty spot next to Rey. He's probably not the best to talk with when it comes to settling a political dispute, but he listens. ]

Maybe they want more land? Resources? I don't know why they can't just share it. Isn't there enough to go around?

[forcevisions]

It seems that way.

[ it reminds rey of takodana, a little bit. there's plenty here, unlike jakku. but ... ]

I guess people always want more than their share.

[ which is stupid but whatever right. people. smdh. ]

We have our work cut out for us if we need to convince people to stop being greedy.

[rhinostagros]

[ He'd never lived with other malakhim, but he can imagine this is one of the reasons his kind refuse to mingle or live close to humans. Greed is just another form of malevolence. ]

Why are people greedy? I don't get it...

[ Like a lot of what's happening, pretty much. ]

[forcevisions]

I don't know.

[ she shakes her head. then, thinking on it a while, she supposes that's not true. she's not … material greedy. she's never had enough to feel that way, and she's never been willing to put money or resources ahead of the other things she wants. but she is greedy for those. love. friendship. belonging. ]

I guess … maybe we're all afraid of losing what we have, and getting more is a way to insulate ourselves from the loss.

[rhinostagros]

[ He doesn't feel he has truly lost anything, both material and immaterial sense. Perhaps he's had some occasional feeling of greed, but not so much that it harms others. He believes he has all that he needs and his incentive is to keep it that way.

He tries to imagine himself in a different perspective, to understand. ]

If I had more than what I need, I wouldn't need to worry so much. But if I saw someone that had less than me, I'd... I'd feel really sad. I would want to help them.

[forcevisions]

I feel the same. [ growing up on jakku, how could she not? ] Maybe one day we'll visit a world where everyone else does, too.

[rhinostagros]

Yeah...

I don't know how a peace proposal or some sort of compromise is going to look in these lands. But that's why we have this team. We'll come up with something together.

[ His mind is still drawing blanks about their current situation. He's just trying to remain hopeful for them. He looks out towards the broken farm structures. ]

For now, I think we should try to put this place back into better shape.

[forcevisions]

[ she looks around at the wreckage and sort of nods and sighs. then she gets to her feet and stretches out her arms like the force somehow uses physical strength. it doesn't. but ... it's the perception that she needs to stretch, still. ]

Take care of what we can control, huh? That's sensible.

[ look at the kid with the good advice. and, besides, the movement is sort of meditative. she closes her eyes to focus in on the feeling, to feel the web of energy that spreads into all things. and then she starts to lift, and her eyes open back up so she can watch what she's doing. ]

[rhinostagros]

[ He tries to smile a bit. ]

The farmers will need a new place to work and the animals a place to stay.

[ They can at least make the rebuilding process easier for them.

Laphicet watches her with curiosity and awe. Something about what she does reminds him of his own world's natural energy. But he doesn't want to bother her while she's focused. He steps down from his seat and moves to some broken scraps remaining on the ground.

Might as well use his powers too, since he's bad with physical labor.

Pulling a card-sized paper from his pouch, he draws upon nature's energy and imbues it with mana. In one quick push of his hand through the air, he sends forward the mana-imbued paper. The paper disintegrates, transforming into a gust of wind and shoving the debris into a pile. ]

[forcevisions]

That's a neat trick.

[ she says it off hand. she feels it more than watches it, and she doesn't let it distract her from what's essentially lifting rocks — take that, luke skywalker — but she's curious. ]

Where'd you learn to do that?

[rhinostagros]

It just comes to me naturally.

[ Again, he does the same motion to push together a second pile. Another slip of paper depleted, but it goes by too quickly, making it seem like he's merely pushing out a gust of wind.

He turns to look at her, a little sheepish. Well, might be the proper time to inform her now. ]

I'm a malak, a kind of spiritual being. We're born from untainted mana... that's what we call the natural energy of my world.

[forcevisions]

"Natural energy." [ it clearly means something to her. ] Where I'm from, we call that The Force. And you're ... born from it? You're not human? [ he looks human. ]

[rhinostagros]

[ Oh. That makes sense. There's a flicker of recognition at mention of The Force, only because a certain someone else mentioned the term to him. ]

...I'm not.

[ An indicator might be his lack of reflection or if there were any other humans around staring. Otherwise, he pretty much looks and acts human. Tangible even, to those that can perceive him. ]

Humans with a weak spiritual sense can't see me, but people like you can. My name's Laphicet, by the way. Now I understand why I felt drawn over here.

[forcevisions]

Rey. [ she returns, readily. ] Does that mean there are people in guild Ophelia who you can't even see or talk to? What about across the magitek?

[rhinostagros]

I can see others, but they can't see or talk to me in return. Sometimes there's people who can only hear my voice if they concentrate hard enough or... catch a glimpse of me.

[ He places a finger on his magitek, the pendant on his collar. ]

But I can talk to everyone across the magitek just fine, yes.

[forcevisions]

I'm sorry.

[ she deflates, visibly. she can't help but imagine what laphicet's life must be like, cut off from everyone like that, and— ]

It sounds terribly lonely.

[rhinostagros]

[ Oh no. Please don't look like that. Laphicet won't admit to it being lonely and frustrating working with the team. He does intend to speak with the technicians once they get back to Headquarters, to change his situation here hopefully.

He just smiles, cheerful. ]

It's okay, Miss Rey! I have people like you to talk to and a few others too. It's not entirely lonely or sad.

[forcevisions]

[ she looks heartened by that, at least, though not entirely assuaged. ]

Yes. Yes, you must know Kisuke-san, of course.

[rhinostagros]

[ Wait. Does he? He tilts his head. ]

...Kisuke-san? I'm afraid I haven't met him.

[ Yet??? ]

[forcevisions]

Kisuke Urahara. He's my teacher, a shinigami. In his world, Japan, what you've described is called reishi.

[ this entire tag is a mess i'm sorry for rey's understanding of bleach/earth. ]

[rhinostagros]

Reishi, huh. But what's a shinigami?

[ it's ok rey, feel free to tell the kid all about shounen manga ]

[forcevisions]

They help spirits pass on and find peace.

[ this is as much as she's got. she's not a shinigami expert; she just knows they're different enough from jedi that it's hard, and she's something called a space quincy. ]

They can use the reishi, spirit particles, to give them abilities that help them do it. So ... they can see that energy, the energy that made you.