usir | Event #7 Crowning the Cat & The Celebration of Spring

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🜙 Crowning the Cat: Deception of Aegas

	The Celebration of Spring is being held across Idan, and normally the City of the Free Peoples is at its heart. This year due to the fearful farmers suffering losses in their families and herds to werewolves and the broken city torn between its fears and loyalties, the first sprouts of crops planted during the thaw are significantly less impressive than past years and the hunters bring their hauls back to the cities find themselves facing even more dangerous odds in the wilderness, outwitted and outmatched more often than not. Feasting, dancing, music, staged entertainers of illusion and elemental magic, and heavy drinking still overtake the cities and small outlying villages, putting a temporary halt to any work or other priorities, but there is an air of uncertainty that can't fully be shaken, and an uneasy and unspoken fear of a famine year lies just beneath the lighter festivities. Among the celebrating, people go out of their way to honor the feline constellation deity called Aegas. The youngest of the Constellation Deities, he is known for many things. Aegas' stars are fainter in the skies than most, seen just off the left from the Great Golden Dragon Atromo. In April, Aegas is not honored so much as tributed to keep the fickle feline's wiles and tricks at bay. Children and younger citizens of the cities or those with playful or devious minds play tricks on one another, some harmless pranks and others far more dangerous or deceptive. Despite this uptick of shenanigans, however, for most Aegas' day is a day spent ensuring the secretive trickster cat deity that he has not been forgotten, as well as a celebration of Spring. Openly jealous of Atromo's status and reverence, and long overlooked in favor of the other star gods, the people of Idan learned to show their reverence for Aegas in a ritual known as the Crowning of Aegas. Cat sculptures, paintings, figurines, or idols can be found all across Idan for those who can't make it to one of Aegas' shrines, and offerings of fish, sheep or goat's milk, silver or gold bells, silk, or saucers of water are left out for the many wild, stray, or tame felines of Idan to take at their leisure. Known for being a deity over secrets, pleasure, trickery, and charm, Aegas is a favored god of rogues, assassins, bards, bandits, thieves, and charmers. An enchanted spring illness common in Idan has long been attributed to Aegas not feeling that his charms have earned him the favor of the people. The illness is known as The Aegas Affliction and is actually caused by the pollen of a flower that blooms in April after particularly harsh winters (the Golden Bellflower) Aegas' Affliction causes those who have caught the illness to be easily charmed. Their complexion is often flushed and they give in to their whims with very little self-restraint. The main symptoms are: Susceptibility to personal suggestion (Their own whims, thoughts, and desires), susceptibility to charm-based magic, a tendency to be secretive or deceptive, and a heightened sense of hunger. The illness usually goes away on its own within 1-3 days and has no known cure. It's possible to get infected by Golden Bellflower pollen from April 5th to April 30th anywhere in Idan. Only exposure to a nearby flower is necessary. During the Crowning of Aegas and for the rest of April flocks of lesser winged cats can be seen migrating from their winter homes in the Wavecrest Isles back to the unclaimed lands. Occasionally these flocks of small, canary to bobcat-sized winged cats are accompanied by fiercely protective and dangerous greater winged cat guardians while other flocks travel on their own. The playful smaller felines can be seen frolicking in fields and playing over the rooftops all across Idan while the greater winged cats stay far from the highly populated areas, hunting the wild forests, cliffs, and open lands to stock up food for them and their small flocks of fur and feathered friends.


🜙 The Bloom

	Among the celebrating the dangers of spring are temporarily forgotten. Not all threats come with fangs, talons, and claws. Creeping vines and sprouting plants lurk in the tall grasses of the plains and the dense forests. Some of the more dangerous varieties bloom and thrive in the earliest month of spring. Viperlily. A small free-roaming flowering vine with two thorns that protrude from the middle of its flower. The vine slithers along the ground in the grass toward sources of movement or sound and sinks its thorns into the feet or lower limbs of any living thing it encounters. The vine subsists on blood rather than water and uses the gathered blood to provide itself with the nutrients it needs to keep moving. It injects its victim with a venom that causes them to become weak, sluggish, and unable to use their magic so it can continue to drain blood. Most Viperlilys are too small to cause much permanent damage to their victim, but being left vulnerable in the wilderness does lead to many post-bite deaths, especially with the smell of blood in the air. Bloodthorn. A dying Viperlily that has gone dormant and taken root. Small Viperlily seeds grow all over its vines, each one prepared to drop off and grow into a new Viperlily. A thorn protrudes from the bloody sap-filled bulb of this vine. It points up toward the sun with a thorn as sharp and dangerous as a needle dagger. Those unfortunate enough to be stabbed by its thorn are injected with a modified Viperlily poison that causes victims to become feverish and reckless, encouraging them to remain nearby and engage anything near the Bloodthorn aggressively. The bloodshed caused by its victims or the Bloodthorn's own destruction causes the dozens of Viperlily seeds to sprout and take off to find their first meals. Creeping Dragontrap. A member of the carnivorous plant family, the Creeping Dragontrap is a fully mobile creeping vine with one to four heads that each have thorn-filled 'mouths' they snap down on the prey they find. The acidic toxins inside their mouths prevent their prey from being able to fight free on their own. An antitoxin is produced by the sap within their vines, but a victim captured by one of these plants will need help getting free and provided with the antitoxin before the vine escapes in a speedy retreat into the wilderness or ground. Rogue's Blush. The dense cover of this flowering ground vine is a network of sensitive thin vines can sense vibrations in the ground. The night-flowering vine is covered in dormant flowers that open in the darkness. They release pollen into the air when vibrations are sensed nearby. This pollen is collected and used in a common rogue tool: Flash Dust because eye contact with the pollen results in a blinding white flash that causes temporary blindness for 24 hours. Bramble Mimic can shape its vines into any form it has collected a template of. The thorny brambles rest in the form of a dense bush, usually settling itself partially into worn paths made by creatures or people. It uses the blood it collects from creatures or people that bump into it as a template to rearrange itself into their form, though its size is dependent on how large the original mimic has grown. It then uses its new form to hunt for food to sustain itself, holding a natural preference for predators, carnivores, and herbivores. The most common forms are those of predatory forest or swamp creatures such as jaguars, bears, wolves, and alligators.

🜙 A Mod Note

	A "Network log" will be going up the week of the 19th that will be paired with the next event log. The network log will contain courier messages from Queen Adira, King Ardis, King Sitka, Self-Crowned King Koroc, Resistance and Rebel Leader Lorna, Former Defenders Captain Lykos, and Former Defenders Lieutenant Alice. Player characters will be able to ask these leaders questions and attempt to communicate with them personally if they wish.

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“I didn’t know there was a difference between willing and unwilling.” Shura hopes that no one gets the idea to become a dragonborn. Imagine the trouble that would cause! But she doesn’t doubt that becoming a dragonborn might be one of Strange’s dreams. But so long as the conversation stayed light and off the topic of them or anything along those lines, Shura can try to relax for a moment.

"There is. When someone willingly becomes a dragonborn by drinking the dragons blood, it ties them to the dragon. The parent dragon can communicate mentally with the dragonborn and the dragonborn cannot outlive the parent dragon. The madness that is common with half-dragons is something else entirely."

Strange's account is biased as hell. The more he talks about the dragonborn, the more Strange's voice takes an awestruck tone. He can't help it: he admires the idea of the dragonborn. It's a damn shame that they all died out but maybe, just maybe with these new dragons arriving, that can change.

Idly, he scratches Alistair behind his ears. The dragon makes a soft cooing noise as he gets himself even more comfy on Strange's lap.

Aconite lifts her head at the sound Alistair makes. She knows the smell of Alistair, and that sounds like him, but she isn't quite ready to move to find him yet.

"You'd do it in a heartbeat, wouldn't you?" Become a dragonborn. She can't think of anything that would excite a dracophile like him more than the chance to get that close to a dragon. It was probably a good thing Alistair was so small--Strange couldn't possibly think about making that kind of choice with just a kid.

"I would," Strange admits. "And before all this, I would have accepted an offer from any dragon. But now? I only want Alistair to perform the ritual. Of course," he quickly adds because he has a feeling he knows what the next question will be, "I'm not even going to broach the subject until he's fully grown and understands what we would be doing."

He's only been taking care of this little guy for a month or so and already Strange thinks the world of the dragon. Having never had children or pets before, this paternal instinct is something entirely new and entirely weird.

"Still, you must think I'm a fool," he says, with a small laugh. "Considering what happened back in our time, only madmen would want something like that."

On the one hand, he's being upfront and isn't planning on bringing it up with the drago in question. On the other hand, he's clearly thought about this. Shura takes a long drink from her glass, not quite finishing it. But besides that, she doesn't give much of a reaction.

"I knew you were one before, so this doesn't really change anything." Because, let's be real, Shura expects this kind of thing from Strange by now.

"As for bein' a dumb idea--well, yeah. But that was just one part of the problem, wasn't it? It'll be years before he's grown up, so who knows what will be happenin' by then." In their current state, they might not even be able to complete the ritual! Shura hadn't forgotten the sight of scales on her reflection. She pauses, about to say something else, but she finishes her wine instead.

"I don't mind waiting. I still don't know as much about the dragonborn ritual as I'd like. If it's not instinctual, then I'm going to be the one to teach Alistair what to do." And branching off from that, how to keep Strange from going crazy.

He's noticed that pause. And he's also noticed that Shura's wine is gone. As he talks, Strange reaches down to pick up the bottle of wine, assuming that she's going to want more (he definitely wants more).

"Were you going to say something?"

"Mm." Yes, there are words hanging on the tip of her tongue, but they're the sort that Shura was trying to avoid. But since she's feeling the beginnings of a buzz starting to build and Strange is filling her glass, Shura goes ahead and says them, her voice low and quiet.

"It ain't like I'm your wife, so I can't really tell you no." And Shura knows what she would say if she let herself get tangled up with Strange like that. She can't imagine married life with him, but she knows the answers to very specific questions, and it annoys her.

"I'd listen if you told me no." Shura might not be his wife, but she knows how much he cares about her. Even now, when they're in this weird state of romance limbo, he'd still listen to her.

Strange has a slightly serious, slightly cautious tone of voice as he continues talking. "Do you think I should let myself become a dragonborn?"

Shura turns her head towards Strange's voice, quiet.

"I don't think you should. And I wouldn't want you to, either." Two entirely separate matters in Shura's mind, and it's embarrassing to say it. She looks away, even though she can't see his stupid face, and takes a sip from her glass.

"Then I promise I won't do it." His tone of voice is like this is the most obvious thing ever. But when Strange speaks again, a quiet hesitancy makes his way in his tone. For someone who's normally so blunt about his feelings, it's obvious he's taking time to choose his words carefully.

"Even if you don't want to be with me, I still respect your opinions. You're smart, capable, and I...well, I don't want to hurt you."

He doesn't want to hurt her again. Deciding that he's not drunk enough for this, Strange takes a sip from his own glass.

"I know."

Wasn't he going on about how he was only going to heed her advice in life threatening situations a few months ago? Shura purses her lips, giving Strange a sidelong glance as she tries to pretend that she isn't turning a little red. Frankly, neither of them are drunk enough for this. Didn't he have something more than just wine stashed around?

Aconite is slowly growing bored with just hanging out on Shura's shoulder, and she lets out a discontented rumble as she fidgets. She might not quite understand everything that Shura and Strange are talking about, but even she can tell the mood has changed a bit. It isn't enough to completely distract Shura, but she will move her from her shoulder to her lap. While maybe not as cozy as her shoulder, it's just safe and familiar enough for Aconite to crawl around. She can still smell Alistair, so she'll call out to him with a few chirps.

As Alistair hears Aconite chirp, he looks over at her. The dragon is hesitant for a bit before he leaps from Strange's lap over to Shura's.

"Alistair!" Strange calls out, a little bit horrified. Of course the tiny dragon doesn't know that Shura can't see at the moment, but dude! Manners!

"Ah, my dragon has decided to jump on your lap." Granted, Shura could probably tell, but better safe than sorry. Alistair decides to take the opportunity to sniff around, lightly nudging Aconite with his snout as he chirps in return.

Shura half-expected this when Aconite decided to make noise in Alistair's direction, so she isn't surprised. It's probably a good thing that he's willing to try and make the jump.

"He's fine," Shura says, carefully stroking him with her free hand. So long as a tussle didn't break out, they should be fine. Aconite doesn't seem interested in starting anything, only giving Alistair the same sniff treatment. She's much more cautious than before, but she still reaches out with a clawed hand to touch his snout. This time, it's mostly to keep track of where he is rather than to hold him still.

"He's gotten bigger." Of course he was bigger, but Shura's just looking for something to say after what they just talked about.

"He has," Strange admits. Though Aconite and Alistair seem fine, Strange is keeping a close watch on the two, ready to jump in should anything go wrong. Fortunately...everything's looking fine? When Aconite touches his snout, Alistair just blinks a little before he resumes nudging Aconite.

"I can only hope he's gotten smarter as well. I read to him and give him lessons every day but he hasn't shown any signs of speaking or understanding yet."

When she's sniffed to her satisfaction, Aconite will just settle in beside Alistair. It's exciting enough for the moment to just be close to a friend, no roughhousing for her right now.

"Dragon or not, he's still just a baby." He's not even a month old, yet! Even Shura knows better than to expect that from a baby. But it makes her wonder if she should be doing more education-wise for Aconite. Sure, letting her practice hunting with crickets was probably a good thing, but reading... Ugh, just one more thing to consider. "If you can get him to focus on somethin' for long enough to have a lesson, I'm impressed."

Alistair's a little hesitant, mostly because he's a weeny and expects some roughhousing. When none comes, he settles in besides Aconite, making a small little satisfied chirp in the process.

"He'll pay attention to the lesson but loses attention halfway through. That's when I bribe him with food." Strange just straight up admits that, what do you mean bribing with food might be a terrible parenting choice, Strange thinks it's an awesome parenting choice.

"I will give him credit, though. He'll sit and listen to me whenever I talk about the history of dragons. He's interested in his species."

“Your lessons are too long if he’s losing focus . Your old students said you talked too much, didn’t they? And they were grown. This guy’s just a kid, he ain’t gonna be able to pay attention for too long, and Bribing him ain’t gonna work in the long run.” Shura, simultaneously the best and worst teacher. And just because Strange mentioned giving him treats, Shura’s just going to casually pet Alistair and check to see if he feels a little pudgy under that hair.

“Those stories are probably more exciting, so that might be a better reward for him.”

Alistair isn't full heckin' chonker level of dragon, but he isn't as slim or muscular as some of the other dragons might be. He also is very pleased to receive pets and happily chirps when Shura starts petting him.

Strange can't help but look a little guilty as Shura points out the truth: yep, his old students did say he talked too much. Maybe if Alistair could talk, he would say the same thing.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," he admits. But time to change the conversation away from him a little bit. "What about yours?" Strange asks, out of genuine curiosity. "What have you been teaching Aconite?"

It could be worse, but if it kept on like this, then he would have trouble flying. Maybe Strange just assumed a chubby baby was good, no matter the extra weight? Well, whatever. Aconite will promptly chirp and nuzzle closer to Alistair, and Shura feels vaguely compelled to pet both of them equally for a moment.

“I haven’t really been teachin’ her much.” Lesson plans, what are those? “It really hasn’t been something I thought about. I let her watch if I’m doin’ something—that’s what she was supposed to be doing when I was gathering the pollen, but that was prolly pretty boring. Otherwise, I just let her play.”

So Aconite is learning stuff, but compared to Strange, Shura can’t help but wonder if she shouldn’t be doing more.

Let her watch if Shura's doing something? That's smart. And Shura does go out and about and does more things than Strange does. Alistair's mostly watched him move and research. And the little dragon does need some fresh air...

"I've got a proposition. Why don't we work together with teaching these two? I can teach Aconite about magic and history, you can teach Alistair how not to die in the wild."

If Strange wasn't so damn straightforward, Shura might think that this little proposition of his was a proposal in disguise. But Strange isn't so conniving, though he might sometimes think himself entirely too clever for his own good.

"'How not to die in the wild' is a pretty broad thing, Strange."

It isn't a bad idea, though. But there was the entire problem of her sticking close to the City while he was settling in Didymos.

"It's a pretty broad thing that you're more experienced at than I am. My survivalist period ended up with me dead on a battlefield." And also he was bugfuck crazy during the woods hobo period but Shura doesn't need to know that right at the moment.

"Even something as simple as how to hunt or how to identify poisonous plants would be useful."

Shura wants to point out that her survival skills didn't stop her from getting stabbed in the back on a battlefield, but that isn't the point and Strange doesn't need to know about her time as a spy in Thalassa.

But it isn't the worst idea. If nothing else, it might help prevent Alistair from gaining even more weight.

"Start giving him crickets to chase. Even if I'm not here, that will keep him active and help him figure out how to hunt." And then, because Shura knows Strange works in Yes or No, and in spite of her reservations about Strange educating her dragon in magic, he might be better qualified to teach her about history. "We'll figure out the arrangements, I guess. I'm stuck in the City until things settle out a bit more."

"It's optimistic to think that things will settle out to begin with." Is he being a little pessimistic about this? Yep. But this whole kerfuffle with the City seems like it won't shake out until someone dies somehow and someone else's forces attack in retaliation and things continue until the City's nothing but ashes.

"You don't have to stay in the City," Strange points out. "You could always stay in Didymos."

There's an unspoken 'with me' in there.

“With you.” Shura has no problem filling in the blank for Strange. And because she knows that barring the razing of the City, the only reason she would choose to move to Didymos would be Strange, she’ll dodge answering that directly. “We’ll talk about it when that’s closer.”

For Shura, it’s a quiet admission, and she’ll just scritch behind Alistair’s jaw instead of clarifying what she means. “I can’t just bail on him at this point. It’d be troublesome to leave a loose end like that.”

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