usir | Event #3 A Tale of Three Cities

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🜙 Mini-Event #2: The North Winds, January 11th

	The Long Night has ended and the sun once more rises and sets with the short winter cycle. Although the cold remains, it has lessened considerably following the harsh freeze of the darkness. Krimnos, no longer having to put all their resources into defending the city from the terrors to come, has been able to clear the heavy snowpack on the cliffs above the city enough to safely begin running two of their three remaining airships. The Skywhale has been making its regular routes since its repairs the previous month, but the two airships from Krimnos to Didymos and the City of the Free Peoples have been grounded in the cliff city for safety since the start of winter. Now two of Krimnos' airships join their sister ship in the skies over Idan. The following routes are traveled once a day by each airship: The *Skywhale* travels from the City of the Free Peoples to Didymos and then back once a day, docking nightly in the City of the Free Peoples. The *Horizon* travels from Didymos to Krimnos and then back once a day, docking nightly in Didymos. The *Valiant* travels from Krimnos to the City of the Free Peoples and then back once a day, docking nightly in Krimnos. The *Zenith* normally travels from Krimnos to the mountain outpost of Preciposte and then on to Einjar. Unfortunately, it is still grounded due to inclement weather and winter threats in the northern mountains beyond Krimnos. The Zenith will not be able to travel until the thaw has begun. A one-way trip takes 4-6 hours depending on weather and wind to go from/to Didymos to either city and 6-9 hours to travel between Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples. Anyone can take a trip on an airship for a purse of silver coins, or try their luck and stow away. Mounts can get a lift as well, but they require an additional fare. Not bad for a chance to see Idan from a bird's eye view for the first time for most people.
🜙 Thlipa's Tribute, January 11th

	As January progresses, pods of fin whales spend their nights in the safety of Fisher's Bay during their migration. At this time Thlipa is believed to be watching over Idan and many of Idan's people show their respect for the deity. Unlike the Day of Lefkokó, Thlipa's Tribute is a far more somber affair. Though she is the goddess of the seas, storms, and power, she is also the goddess of mourning and it is this realm she is believed to preside over most during the cold winter months. People from all across Idan who are able to travel will make a journey to Didymos to be closer to the ocean, while others observe the fin whale goddess' day in their own homes and cities. Ancestors, lost relatives, and friends are remembered with offerings of handmade gifts and small collections of nuts and sweet-dried fish. Small, enchanted candles are set out on boats down the river and shore to be carried out to the ocean. It is believed by some of the more power-hungry supporters of Thlipa that by calling on and revering the spirits of the departed Thlipa might gift her followers with the magic of the fallen. Gatherings of Thlipa's most devout followers can be seen on the shores or on small skimmer boats in the bay, and vandalism of fishing boats and nets that might endanger the fin whales runs rampant during this time.

🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - Krimnos: An Army Adrift, January 12-20th

	It appears that a large company of former Atrómitos knights has awoken in an isolated and forgotten battlefield below Krimnos' twin mountains. The army has journeyed together through the blinding blizzard to complete their original objective: a full-scale attack on Krimnos. There's something off about the tattered army decked in the green and gold of Atrómitos that shows up at Krimnos' gates. They don't seem to feel the cold, and their eyes, if anyone is unfortunate enough to get that close, are a colorless and glossy grey. They continue fighting through weather and injury, undeterred as they focus their attacks on Krimnos' main gate, setting magical fire to the gate, the wall, and their perceived enemies. The army can be seen using weapons, battering rams, and elemental magic to attack the city's gates. Though their eyes are a blank and glossy grey and they do not seem to be speaking or reacting with pain to counter-attack elements, it is clear there is a hierarchy and the commanding officers seem to still be silently directing their forces. They do not speak, and if captured it quickly becomes clear why. Though they appear whole externally, the soldiers of this army lack functional internal organs. No blood runs through their frozen veins and no oxygen is being pulled into their lungs. There also appear to be no thoughts in their minds, only the howling sound of the wind through the mountains around Krimnos. At this time of year, Krimnos can not afford to loose their main line of defense, nor can they risk the very real dangers of battle sounds and blood drawing out the hungry mountain hunters or causing an avalanche that could bury the city in snow. No one knows why this army is here, but with the familiar colors adorning the fighters, there are whispers in the air of an attempt to start a war. Already tense relations between Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples could stand to suffer from this and the citizens of Krimnos seem horrified by the prospect. King Sitka's first concern is the safety of his people, and as such he is driving his army hard into the attacking forces and even beyond its gates if necessary, anything to push the battle farther from his people and the dangerous cliffs stacked with snow that tower over Krimnos.

🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - City of the Free Peoples: The Disappearance of Captain Lykos, January 14-22nd

	No one has seen Captain Lykos since the Long Night but rumors and knowledge of his disappearance have been kept quiet by the city's Defenders, fearful the city would spiral into a panic at the loss of its de facto leader. As word comes from traveling Krimnos merchants that the city is under siege from an army dressed in green and gold, the city turns to its Defenders for answers and finds more than they bargained for. The Defenders attempt to calm the rising panic in the city by deflecting, stating that the Captain is out on a peace mission on his way to Krimnos but this backfires as the city erupts into conspiracy theories that he is actually leading the attack and trying to start a war, with reasons such as anger over a lack of support from Krimnos during the city's time of need being used to feed the growing fear. As outrage and panic spread across the city, the Defenders declare martial law and put the city back on lockdown until answers can be found. The stability of the city quickly begins to fray. Chaos, disorder, and dissent spread and talk of overthrowing the Defenders and putting someone else in charge begins to spread. The city needs answers for themselves and for Krimnos and the Defenders begin an even more desperate search for their missing leader. Meanwhile, the citizens of the city begin preparing for a revolt, with whispers of an organized attack on the warcamp of the Defenders quickly gaining traction. The more time passes the less reasonably either side appears to be thinking, and the longer anyone lingers in the city the more infectious this frantic and paranoid energy becomes. Amidst it all, a Siamese with a familiar glowing adornment can be seen surveying the chaos from the safety of rooftops or tree branches, its eyes occasionally glowing blue while its tail flicks in what seems to be either irritation or frustration.

🜙 A Tale of Three Cities - Didymos: Tidal Troubles, January 14-25th

	Starting the morning of the 14th, trouble comes to Didymos on the tides or the lack thereof. The tide goes out during the night and, to the dismay and concern of Didymos' citizens, it never comes back. In fact, it seems as if the ocean waters are only continuing to recede, leaving Didymos' fleet and her fishing ships awash in the shallows or fully grounded. Each day the waters recede further, leaving sealife beached or trapped in tide pools and larger dips in the seafloor. A pod of fin whales finds themselves stranded in the deepest section of the bay just within the Sunset Gate. As the waters continue to recede, shipwrecks, sunken cargo, and unusual skeletons dot the rock and shell covered shores, turning the edges of the bay into an unending expanse of tide pools and dotting the horizon with pieces of warped and barnacle-covered ships usually only visible beneath the clear waters. Within days it's possible for a fully grown human to wade out to the Sunset Gate without ever getting their neck wet. The confusion and complications caused by this unexplainable dearth of water starts a panic in Didymos that the dual rulers have to fight to control. The widespread fear is joined by whispers of a war brought along from people traveling to Didymos from the other cities, and Didymos finds itself caught in a tense place with the prospect of having to outline allegiances if war breaks out. Everyone knows Queen Adira would put her forces behind Krimnos in an instant, but King Ardis seems reluctant, questioning the legitimacy of Krimnos' claims to a possible war and seeking information.

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[Alucard had hustled everything he could in order to afford passage back to Krimnos and then some. He has plans now, important ones, ones that mean once he returns to Krimnos he must find a horse and supplies, move himself further into the mountains. This is homecoming. This is examining his family's legacy a century onwards. This is seeing to home, to a grave, to everything that his father and mother built. Everything he built.

For now though, for now he stands on the deck as Krimnos comes into view for the first time. Alucard's gloved hands grip the railings tightly. He leans over, the wind sending his hair back. The bitterness of it stinging his eyes.

What sprawls before him is strange and familiar. What he sees brings no true cry of home, for his home was not the city itself, but there is such a deep ache inside. It works it's way out. It becomes a breathless sigh, impressed and swept away for the changes. He doesn't know what he expected. But here it is all the same.

Things begin anew.]

I wonder how many of the old streets remain.

[He recognizes some layouts. Paths he used to take. And others are new.]

Nothing beside remains (CLOSED)

[Alucard had planned to make this trip alone. There were only two people he would ever want at his side for this, and at the time he decided to return home, neither of them stood. Now, now he has Trevor. The anger about resurrection left aside, Alucard is glad for it. Grateful, even if he's yet to say it out loud.

The Tepes home was out of the city. Had been put there on purpose, for there were fewer prying eyes who would judge a vampir his love of blood magic. So it takes two more days to get there, horse and all. (Alucard is not Trevor, he does not have such great steps.) A surreal two days, for the route has not changed. Oh, there are more houses now, a hamlet has become a proper village in one or two places, but everything else is unchanged. There are trees Alucard recognizes, and oh, they have grown.

They're close now. It'll be around the next bend, and already Alucard's heart is in his throat. He can't see any spires towering above the trees. He accounted for that fact. Spires are weak against winds and snows and a century without anyone to put the right protection spells in place.

Against the cold, Alucard shrinks into the fur lining of his coat. Nearly buries himself in it, because to do so is to hide the look of terrified anticipation on his face. (Gloved hands mean that Trevor cannot see how white knuckled he is.)

He hasn't said anything in two hours.]

A Tale of Three Cities: Krimnos

[The castle’s not capable of hosting either of them for more than one night. It hasn’t been prepared for the winter, there’s not enough wood to keep a fire roaring, and food isn’t abundant either. So back to Krimnos it is.

Back and arriving to attacking soldiers. Soldiers in the color of a city that has long been dead, just as so many others that Alucard has encountered have been. It is the eyes that unnerve him most. Terrible dead things.

He’s not a distance fighter. Alucard’s skill lies in the closest possible range, all longsword and fury and feral magic, mixed together to announce that he stands for himself and will not tolerate anyone encroaching upon his person. It was what kept him safe when traveling the world in life.

In death and reanimation, the sentiment remains the same. At least for now.

So he descends the city’s walls powered by his own feral magic, the kind that lets him float and land with perfection, and he lays in.]

Wildcard

[ He has an eyepatch again. He didn't, the last time he walked this road. It had been taken from him before Alucard and their companion had saved him from, if not the gallows themselves, the consequences of being too large for the gallows. For the best, really. Where they were going nobody would care about old crimes and two eyes were needed (even with two, Alucard's father had been too fast for his eyes to follow).

Now, the opposite is true. There are more people here, now. An inn or two by the roadside that wasn't there before. And there cannot be anything at the castle so terrible as Dracula was. Secrecy is more important than depth perception. ]

Going to guess that you don't want me to ask if you're ready.

[ Last time he asked that, the answer had been 'no'. He doubts it's changed. ]

It's just stone. Whatever's become of it, it can be undone.

You can take that silly thing off. There's no one here but us.

[And the wolf. And the possum. But that still counts as us as far as Alucard understands it, so there's no point in clarifying the statement.]

I know. I know.

[It's just stone. A helpful refrain, one Alucard latches onto as the castle comes into view again.

The central part stands. Which means that beyond the front doors, there is the great hall, the staircase that leads to his father's study, and then a series of formal rooms after it that have doubtlessly been ravaged by time and treasure seekers. The lone spire that stands was once his mother's lab, which means that there's naught but broken glass to be found

It's hard to know how to feel at the moment, not when the doors are still holding fast in spite of the fact that they could have fallen off their hinges so many years ago. They have to investigate for the sake of knowing what's in there, they'll have to manage to stay the night for it's already threatening to get dark, but it can only be one night.]

It isn't all rubble. That's...heartening.

[Either enough magic endured or enough fear of his father endured.]

Edited 2019-01-15 01:35 (UTC)

There's no need, unless you expect trouble.

[ Sir this is his emotional support eyepatch.

To someone who'd never seen the place in its prime, it would have seemed ridiculous to say that there's not a lot of the place left. It's still a castle, after all, even in ruin. But he had seen it when it was whole, and what is left is barely bones. It's practically another of those great skeletons littering the land.

Except for the fact that he doesn't fucking like those skeletons, and while he didn't much care for this place before either, it had seemed like it might grow brighter and warmer. One hundred years ago, it had seemed like it might eventually become- if not home, then a place he'd be able to return to for sanctuary.

He sets the wolf down on the ground. ]

Best we make sure nobody else has settled in here, before anything else.

[ This is Alucard's home. Alucard's business. Alucard's right to take the lead and determine what they do. But- best to at least offer to take the lead. Best to have a task, to keep moving and be a step ahead of the emotions. ]

[Alucard frowns at the word trouble, but lets it go.

Better to focus on the practical parts first. Trevor's right, someone might have still settled in. Which means he has to walk in and survey every room, if only to know he can sleep comfortably for a single night. That's fine. He can focus on that.

There's a simplicity to dismounting the horse. To walking up the steps to the front doors, his eyes searching for the marks made by his mother's knife years ago. There are additional marks there now, carvings on the door made by various hands, some the written names of those passing through, the others likely the claws of animals.

When Alucard presses a palm to the door, there are none of the magics that ought to be. The castle is inert, and that is no surprise. The door opens without a sound. Silence, it seems, is king here. Even the wolf's quiet, and that's never her M.O. (At the moment, she's just standing next to Trevor.

The main hall is still large and intimidating. The staircase is there, in good condition from what Alucard can see at his current vantage point. Moth eaten carpet, stains and tears from animals. A few scorch marks in a circle, suggesting long gone visitors who used the place to shelter for the night. Nothing seems terribly recent.

Alucard's eyes rest on the staircase.]

Up or ground level?

[ There aren't many places with Trevor-sized doors. This is one of the few, and he doesn't have to duck to enter. Which is nice. He does bend down anyway, though, the scratch the wolf's head. Dog is on her back, making that constant wary hissing. It's nothing to do with the castle, probably. He does that about everything that isn't food. ]

Ground level first. If there's something on the ground floor and we head upstairs first, we let it cut off our exit route.

[ Also, stairs are always kind of fraught for him. And they look to be in good condition, but it'd be nice to put them off just a little longer. ]

Right, yes. Of course.

[That was the other advantage of having Trevor along. At least one of them could be grounded in strategy.

Ellis, who up until this point has pretty much been flopped all over Trevor the second he's given her attention, is actually still. Even with Dog hissing, because that's what Dog does and she's figured out which hisses are actually an alert of a problem versus Not Liking a thing. Her ears twitch, but there's nothing.

Alucard just nods, and he starts to walk to the stairs and beyond them. The castle's main body has always been accommodating to those of Trevor's size, but the doors to the individual rooms are not quite as helpful.

Not that there seems to be much to worry about. Those ground floor rooms are all there for show. None with fireplaces. None that held anything important, because these were for the rare guest. Alucard still goes through them slowly, mindful of overturned and destroyed furniture, pieces of broken pots, or else glass that has been brought in from elsewhere and shattered.]

We'd do best to use some of the destroyed furniture in here for warmth tonight.

[Horrible thing to think. Painful to say. But needed, and the furniture's beyond saving anyway. Best put it to use.]

Alucard| Krimnos

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{ krimnos; wildcardish }

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