august mingle

[stellafortunamods]

August Mingle
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Happy new year....! In Teyvat, that is. It is now January ingame, and Liyue's people go about their disaster recovery efforts with more vigour than before. After all, Liyue's biggest festival is slated to occur in the latter half of the month - the Lantern Rite!

The Rite of Parting - Rex Lapis' funeral - passes without much incident, and Liyue collectively breathes a sigh of relief. With the Fatui being chased out of the yard, it seems that peace will finally return to the harbour city as they rebuild from the storm. You'll also get to watch three million Mora's worth of incense go up in smoke, so there's that.

Eager to focus on the future, Liyue folk have begun discussing the upcoming festival. The Lantern Rite commemorates hope for a new beginning and continued prosperity, and the construction of the festival centerpiece is currently underway. This year's Mingxiao Lantern will soar into the sky amidst thousands of smaller lanterns, and it will take the shape of a fallen Adeptus to commemorate the Adepti's contribution to Liyue's lasting peace.

Unfortunately, you're not quite out of the frying pan yet. With the Fatui gone from Liyue, the Ministry of Civil Affairs turn their attention to solving another issue that has cropped up after Osial's revival and subsequent defeat. Quite a few miners have gone missing from the Chasm, and the likelihood of finding them will only grow slimmer as the days go by. Both the Millelith and the Adventurers' Guild have pitched in to search for the kidnapped people. All clues lead to Nantianmen - and it's just your luck that Geovishaps and their hatchlings have come out of hibernation at around the same time. These lizard-like beings have shells of solid rock, and they seem especially agitated at having their territory invaded. Solving the mystery of the missing miners will take more than just a day's work.

State of the World

With the Lantern Rite set to open on January 21st, all of Liyue have come to visit the harbour to set up their stalls and pitch in to craft the Mingxiao Lantern. Hopefully the miners are found before the festival begins - the Lantern Rite is a festival of reunions, after all. Not to mention the Geovishaps' increased activity will inadvertently lead to them burrowing around in the rocky mountains. There's a small, but non-zero chance of them hitting an ancient seal somewhere and unleashing a buried threat.

Unless... that was their intention all along?

Please direct all questions to August's OOC post!

Comments

[sufferean]

[You cannot escape him, Jun. He must help. It is in his blood.]

Ah, I see. Yeah, I was having some trouble with that, too, at first.

Mind if I take a seat? Maybe I can help figure out where you're going wrong.

[whiteshroud]

Haha, knock yourself out. I'm almost ready to give up.

[Ok that might be a mild fib. He wants to give up, but his stubbornness would probably prevent him from actually doing so.

He scoots his chair so Rean has more room to pull up his own. On the workspace, there's several sticks that have been snapped after being bent too hard too fast. ]

[sufferean]

Haha, I don't think you ought to call it quits just yet. I'm sure we can figure this out.

[Rean nods in thanks as he squeezes himself in next to Jun. He picks up one of the bent sticks, turning it over in gloved fingers in thought.]

Mm... yeah, this looks pretty similar to how mine looked at first.

My guess is you're moving too quickly, and with too much force. That's probably why the children are so good at this... they're weaker than you and I, and they're not used to having to put force behind something like, say, a sword swing.

[Rean takes another stick, and hands it to Jun.]

Try it again. Just try to be slow, delicate.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun is quiet as Rean explains his reasoning, mulling it over in his own mind.]

Hm, you might be right. I'm used to working with Geo, and you have to be a little forceful with that...

[So, total opposite of how you're supposed to handle a delicate child's craft.

He takes the stick that gets offered, looking at it before he starts again trying to bend it like the instructions say so so it can fit in the foundation. This time...he does it very slowly.

Very.

Very slowly.]

1/2

[sufferean]

Yeah, exactly. Rock's a lot more difficult than a skinny little piece of wood! I'm sure you'll do fine this time...!

2/2

[sufferean]

[...

💧]

You... can maybe go a little faster than that...

[Jun, if you go at that pace, you might get this lantern done tomorrow. C'mon, now.]

[whiteshroud]

[.....

Doesn't go faster. When he speaks, it's in a tone that almost sounds like he's mimicking some of the old priests that probably said stuff like the following often growing up:]

Patience is a virtue, Rean.

[sufferean]

...Hey.

[Color Rean extremely unimpressed.]

Don't you think I'm the one who ought to be saying that kind of stuff to you? I've got all sorts of adages I can share from my master about patience and concentration...

But I think even he'd tell you that if you go at that pace, the lanterns will all be in the sky before you get yours done.

[whiteshroud]

[Wow did he actually manage to hit a nerve? Jun will try to hold back a snicker. ]

Okay okay. Sorry, Rean-sensei, I'll try to pick up the pace.

[Ok so his tone is still a little teasing but at least it looks like he's picking up the pace a little!]

[sufferean]

[Rude, Jun. Rude. But even so...

Rean can't help but be caught off-guard by that term. He will... try... not to summon a horde of shoujo sparkles in awe of this finally happening to him.]

Sensei...?

[WAIT NO. He can't be letting these weeaboo urges distract him now!]

...Ahem. That's better.

[whiteshroud]

Haha, it's the title we use for teachers back in Japan.

[He's seen that tachi, white boy, he knows you're a weeb]

[sufferean]

Y-yeah, I'm kind of familiar with it.

[Because he's a weeb.]

It's just weird to hear it applied to me, that's all. Even if I am a teacher... it sounds more like something I'd call Master Ka-Fai.

[whiteshroud]

"Master Ka-Fai"?

[He'll ask curiously as he continues to work. Looks like so far he hasn't broken another stick. Maybe the distraction and going slower is working]

[sufferean]

He's the master of the Eight Leaves, One Blade style of swordsmanship. He taught me everything I know about using a blade.

[Rean's keeping an eye on it, but let's be honest. He's going to be completely distracted by sword talk after this.]

[whiteshroud]

Eight Leaves, One Blade style huh...

Is that a common sword style in your world?

[sufferean]

I wouldn't say it's the most common, but it's at least highly-regarded among swordsmen.

Master Ka-Fai is pretty stringent with his pupils. Either you're up to his standards or he'll just stop your training.

[...As he knows firsthand.]

[whiteshroud]

Ah, one of those types huh? I've heard of teachers like that...can't say I'm a fan of that method.

[He liked Towa-sensei because she was patient and always explained things in ways he could understand. Rean seemed to be the same way]

[sufferean]

...It's not how I prefer to teach, no.

[Rean can't argue that point. That rejection stung for years, and probably held him back in more ways than he cares to admit. But...]

Still, he doesn't do it out of malice. He just wants what's best for us, and sometimes there's no way for him to teach us what that is other than for us to see it for ourselves.

[whiteshroud]

Hm...well I suppose that much is true. Some lessons can't be taught just by going to class.

[He knows that much. He had lessons teaching him about the outside world before he left the Orden, but none of them truly prepared him]

From what I've seen, you're very good with a sword. So he must've taught you well.

[sufferean]

Yeah. Some things you just need to work out for yourself. And it's not like he ever truly gave up on m—

[Ahem.]

Gave up on any of us. It was just a matter of waiting until we were ready to move on.

[Nailed it. Probably.]

But thank you. I still have plenty of learning to do before I'm anywhere close to the level of some of his other students, not to mention him, but I don't intend to give up my training any time soon. Maybe one day I'll see that dream through.

[whiteshroud]

[So in other words, Rean was one of those students that this master dropped. That's an interesting little tidbit to know. Jun will make a note of it, but file it away. It's not really his business to pry. ]

I see... [Rean takes his swordsmanship seriously, it seems. ]

Well, I'm not back at my full power yet, but if you ever want to test your skill level by seeing how long you'd last against me, let me know.

[Yes, he sure did say how long you'd last]

[sufferean]

[Oh? That bit of wording doesn't go unnoticed. Rean can't help but smile.]

How long I'd last? Well, that sounds like a challenge I can't pass up.

It never hurts to spar against someone with a different style, anyway. There's always something new to be learned.

[Said like a true teacher.]

[whiteshroud]

[He gives a slight unconvinced look]

Mm. The style Seal Knights use was developed for combating monsters rather than fighting humans. As such, it's become known for its "unbridled lethality" and isn't typically used for sparring for that reason.

So, if you're sure, I recommend checking with Forneus to make sure he's still able to revive us, just in case.

[Please sign the waiver with the time god before fighting, in other words]

[sufferean]

["Unbridled lethality?"

...

Sounds cool tbh]

Haha. I should probably be concerned by that, but honestly... that just makes me more intrigued.

I'll check with Forneus first, though. Better to be safe than sorry.

[whiteshroud]

[Well.

Can't say he didn't warn him.]

Alright, let me know!