usir | Mini Event: Aftermath and The Oxen Gods

Mini Event: Aftermath and The Oxen Gods

🜙 The Aftermath

	The re-animated fighters attacking both Krimnos and the City of the Free Peoples burst into flames as the waters of the glass ocean flooded back into the bay. Now nothing but ashes remains of the bodies and the bay has gradually returned to its crystal clear calm waters. Not a trace of the cloaked figures or the fog that had accompanied remains, and the phoenix marks on the survivors of the pit have faded away. The cities have been quietly dealing with their individual recoveries. Didymos' people pulled together to help clean up the shores of the bay, repair damages and recover boats that had been damaged or knocked loose into the bay. In Krimnos, efforts to clear away and repair damages from both the avalanche and the siege continue. With no one certain what has become of Captain Lykos in the general population of the City of the Free Peoples even the end to their second war with Tsekour's Stormers has not brought calm to the civil unrest as the Defenders attempt to force the city to fall into military control and the people of the city continue to resist with violent countermeasures. In this state of recovery, conflict, fear, and uneasy confusion the day of the Oxen Gods comes with few people truly in the spirit of what would normally be seen as a warm and cheerful holiday. An uneasy lull of peace settles on all three cities as people attempt to be faithful to honoring the spirit of the paired gods. Vodi and Voda's day of celebration is meant to be a time of community, love, and reflection. The day of the paired oxen gods of marriage and fertility marks the true start of the thaw, when the snow and ice begin to melt and temperatures begin to rise. Spring is still months away but the first true thaw comes mid-February, right on schedule. The snow in the foothills, plains, and open lands has begun to melt, small patches of greenery appear near the edges of thawed rivers and lakes, the outer edges of tree branches sprout new growth and small, fresh leaves. Animals that have been hibernating or hiding through the winter freeze begin emerging from their homes and can be seen exploring the land for more abundant food sources. Whispered rumors from Didymos about a dragon rising from the bay reach other cities but are never discussed outside of hushed conversations in the shadows or in huddled gatherings that quickly break apart. Speculation is widespread and varied over the origin of the fog and the masked figures that stole away over a hundred people in the night, the strange attacks, and the ultimate fate of those kidnapped. Many citizens who had lost daughters, brothers, sisters, sons, mothers, fathers, friends, or other relatives and acquaintances to the pit continue to desperately seek out the missing, their bodies never recovered and the truth behind their disappearance and eventual death unknown to any but those awakened who had come back from the pit and those they chose to share their stories with, if they chose to believe such horrifying tales.
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🜙 The Oxen Gods.

	Outside of these concerns, rumors, and the general unease across all three cities, attempts are made to forget for just a little while and focus on the celebration. Vodi and Voda are honored by a show of community and compassion. Gifts of fruits and flowers, usually those grown in greenhouses or by magic, are given to loved ones. Ceremonies take place at both dawn and dusk, offering food, gifts, and music to lift spirits and symbolize a union of peace. In Didymos a pod of fin whales can be seen returning to the bay, unusual for this time of year. They linger near the center of the bay, singing mournful whale songs to one another. Celebrations in the city have a heavy focus on Vodi, the moon god. Vodi's impact on the tides makes him a highly respected god, especially among the fishermen and sailors. As the moon rises and reflects on the bay's reflective surface the city comes together as one unified community. In the open squares people from both quarters gather over music, a fresh bounty of fish dishes from the repaired ships, sea shanties sung loudly over various types of liquor and beautiful displays by wild magic entertainers, pairing water, wind, and fire magic to create visual plays, displays of talent, and melting ice sculptures. Didymos' specialty of sweet and salty ice creams are offered by various inventive food fanatics who offer up new and exciting flavors and naming competitions. A pair of young ox calves are paraded through the town, dressed up with ribbons and colorful paints. People pet them as they go by, and the oxen are eventually taken to the temple of the oxen gods near the outskirts of the city where they will live out the rest of their years free from expectations and protected by the temple caretakers as symbolic creatures of honor. In Krimnos as most of the snow is finally cleared away from both sides of the wall, the great sundial is cleared off and the light of the sun's rays reflect off its many-faceted surface, creating dozens of rainbows in the light fog of the warming sky above the city as a colorful artificial aurora borealis. Voda is honored most strongly in the cliff city, the warmth of the sun praised for the thaw that pulls the city out of dangerous freezing temperatures. People throughout the city provide her with offerings in the hopes of ensuring a slow and even thaw that won't bury the city in snow or mudslides. Celebrations across the city happen near midday and are most often celebrated by couples in love and close friends or families, celebrating passion, family, and love with sweets, plants, and crafted goods made of rare metals or glass. Normally celebrations in the City of the Free Peoples revolve around a parade of oxen from local farms, banquets, music, and a celebration of the vastly diverse community of varied cultures with a heavy focus on the rebirth of a new year, the start of a new planting season, and a celebration of the farmers that help keep the city fed and prosperous. This year the city is divided by the conflict between the resistance and the defenders. The city is actively pushing back against the militant hold of force the defenders are attempting to keep over them with the preface of keeping the citizens under control and it is widely assumed Captain Lykos is dead, with the prevailing theory being that the current leaders of the Defenders have killed him. Several members of the resistance broadcast across the city a video of them in possession of Lykos' hooded cloak, claiming they recovered it from the Defenders' warcamp and insisting that the Defenders are the city's enemy. A pair of large orc captains, the duo currently in charge of the city's defensive army, return fire, claiming that the members of the Resistance have kidnapped or killed Captain Lykos and are attempting to destabilize the city so they can take it over for themselves. A hefty reward is placed on the heads of the Resistance and people who speak out against the Defenders are routinely taken into custody and locked up. Before the celebration in Krimnos, during the celebration in Didymos, and following the celebration in the City of the Free Peoples, a strange feline can be seen pacing about the trade district, meowing insistently at anyone with a vial like hers who passes her by. Did you see her? After the full moon on the 19th, several farmers report sightings of werewolves around the city outskirts or report close encounters with the dangerous creatures.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The fried lump of something only takes a couple bites for Shishi to devour, and it isn't until he swallows the last bit that he notices that something's dripping on him. How weird!! He'll half-sit up under the table, moving to investigate the source of liquid dripping on him, which means Strange will have the additional trouble of having to shove Shishi's head out of the way as he tries to sniff out just what's going on above him.

For her part, Shura's just grateful that Strange seems to be willing drop the previous topic. She'll ignore Shishi for the moment, first handing over whatever napkins she has over to Strange before picking through the fried bits and pieces to try and pick a bite that doesn't have any rabbit or lion cooties.

"Shoulda known when you said remarkably that she's usually just as bad as Shishi." Because if Strange through Shura was needy...

As Shishi moves his head in Strange's direction, Strange tries to awkwardly push the lion away with his leg. It's partially successful.

"She's not as bad as your lion," Strange butts in, trying to defend Bell's honor (even though it's a losing battle, she's already scarfing down some fried food.) "If only due to size, Shishi wins most troublesome."

He continues to mop up the liquid, making a crumpled pile of slightly soggy napkins as he does so.

Oh, are you petting him, Strange?? Shishi will happily misinterpret Strange trying to shove him away as a game, nuzzling him and pushing right back against him.

"We should all be glad she ain't his size," Shura replies, feeling no need to defend Shishi's non-existent honor. Now it's just matter of picking a few pieces off the plate and keeping them in her hand before Bell gets to nibbling on everything.

"Frankly, I agree. You're not allowed to grow, aren't you Bell." There's a little bit of baby talk in that last sentence as Strange scratches Bell with one hand while grabs some food with the other.

Sorry Shishi, you're getting ignored at the moment. Strange wants to at least eat some of the food before the rest of the animals do!

And this, the man who was baby talking a bit of his soul, someone who was the complete opposite of what Shura liked in men, was the man Shura didn't immediately turn down when he expressed interest in her. Something had gone terribly wrong in her life. Shura rolls her eyes, focusing on trying to get a few bites in her mouth and finishing her drink so she can flee the madness in front of her.

Shishi will remain patient for a moment, setting his chin on Strange leg and staring up at him. He was getting food for him, right? Food and pets?

Why does he feel like someone's staring at him? Oh, wait, because he is. Strange looks down at Shishi and gives him a quick scratch behind the ears before going back to grabbing some more food.

"Pet your lion, won't you? I can't distract my hare, eat some food, and pet your lion all at the same time."

No matter what, Bell is definitely distracted. She's rubbing against Strange's hand, nuzzling him slightly, and lapping up the attention instead of going for the food again.

"He wants your attention, not mine." Did that mean something? No, Shishi is just an attention whore who doesn't care about where the pets came from. If Shura didn't have any ill will towards the man, then Strange was good enough to beg from. Still, Shura doesn't want Strange getting any ideas, so she'll nudge Shishi's rear end with her foot. Shishi understands that this is a command to move, and he does. He moves up on to the bench, right next to Strange. Enjoy that lion breath!

"Wait, you idiot, not there!"

Strange just laughs as Shishi clambers up and gets right up in his personal space. He's almost being pushed off of the bench, but this is all a little funny in a ridiculous sort of way, so he'll tolerate Shishi's antics for the moment. One hand is still holding on to some food during all this: he'll give pets, but Strange still wants to eat!

"I think he likes me best!" he teases, as he moves to scratch Shishi under the chin. Who's a terrible attention seeking lion, issit you? Issit you?

"You can keep him!" Shishi, no. There's a part of Shura that's dying on the inside, that's been steadily dying on the inside since they got to the tavern. This was a mistake, the nasty looking necklace of teeth wasn't worth this trouble.

She'll just shove another piece of fried potato in her mouth, as if carbs will fix everything. Just eat and go, it'll be better once she can be on her own.

Strange is king of the animals! He continues to give Shishi loving with one hand while shoving food in his mouth with the other. Occasionally, he'll reach over to pet Bell, but as she seems content just eating right off of the plate, she's not getting as much attention as the needy lion.

"You know, it sends mixed feelings when you give away part of your soul to someone after rejecting them."

Strange has the biggest, most ridiculous, 'I'm trouble and I know it' smirk on his face as he briefly shittalks Shura.

Could he have waited until she swallowed that potato chunk before sassing off to her? Shura finds herself choking yet again, reaching for her glass and chugging that down to force the potato down her throat before jerking a finger at Strange. That flush is right back on her face, so Strange can feel proud of himself again.

"I'll kill you, you damn windbag!" What's this about not attracting attention? A few tables are half-watching them, mostly because they're enjoying the drama of a man trying to confess to a woman and getting rebuffed by a woman who doesn't seem to know what to do with him. It's too loud to make out what they're saying, but it's making for some fun people watching. In spite of Shura's agitation, Shishi seems to just love all of this attention, which probably adds a another layer to everything about Shura's muddled non-rejection.

Strange feels so proud of himself. He's just grinning like a maniac as Shura choke on her potato chunk and starts to yell at him in return. Yeah, he's won this round, he can easily tell that much.

While Strange is oblivious to the attention, Bell isn't. After spotting people looking at them, she sniffs a little, sits pretty, and straight up poses as she watches the people watch them.

"Says the person who almost choked on her food? I don't believe that in the slightest!"

Mini Event: Aftermath and The Oxen Gods

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