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

[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!

[sufferean]

Will do!

[RIP, Rean. Cause of death: yolo.]

But hey, seems like that lantern's coming along now!

[...Please don't snap it now that he pointed out you're doing well.]

[whiteshroud]

[ !

Jun will look a little surprised to see sure enough, the lantern is nearly done. Guess talking did help stop him from focusing too hard]

Oh! It really is!

[sufferean]

[Aww, the surprise is kind of cute. Good job, Jun! You're doing the thing! Sensei is proud.]

Just had to lessen the tension a bit. [Rean smiles.] Both with you and the sticks, I guess.

[whiteshroud]

...Aha, perhaps so.

[He won't deny it. He knows sometimes he tries a little too hard. But now that it looks like an actual lantern now, Jun looks at it with some more fondness]

It is really quite pretty. It reminds me a little of making a jack-o-lantern during Morimiya's Autumn festival...though, that was easier than this.

[the main skill with jack-o-lanterns is stabbing things, and boy is jun good at that!]

[sufferean]

[It's okay— Rean's not judging. He knows that exact pain pretty well. But it's his job now to try to guide.]

Ah... yeah, I can kind of see the similarities. Once they're done, both of them glow from within, after all. There's something kinda comforting about that, I think.

I can understand why it'd be easier with the gourds, too. Once you figure out the design, it's less finesse and more just brute force. [He laughs a little.] We're both swordsman, we're naturally going to be better at that.

[whiteshroud]

Mm, something like that.

[Not only those similarities, but for Jun, it was also one of the only times he'd done an activity like this. Do an art and craft for a festival. Done for no reason beyond to celebrate a holiday. It was a nostalgic feeling.]

Basically, yeah. I just copied off my friend's design, so all I really had to do was gut and carve.

[sufferean]

[Rean is blessed in a lot of ways he doesn't realize. Festivals and holidays aren't an everyday occurrence for him, sure, but he's definitely more than familiar with them.

It doesn't even cross his mind that Jun would have missed out on things like that.]

Haha, yeah. Definitely makes things a lot easier!

Man. It sounds kinda gruesome when you think about it, though, doesn't it?

[whiteshroud]

[....]

Yeah, it does. It's a good thing the gourds probably can't feel it.