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]

[Jun has a keen enough eye, so it's hard not to notice actual cherry blossoms appearing around Tsuru. It's uh...really something. Something that even gives him the slightest bit of pause as he mutters to himself]

He really is like an anime character...

[It's the only way to explain it. But for now, it's the fight that needs focusing on. Tsurumaru is clearly enjoying himself, and Jun isn't going to be one to take that away from him. Strong as Jun was, he had no real ego about it, so he doesn't mind playing second fiddle at all. Also maybe it's good to let the old sword fight a bit. Like walking a dog to wear down their energy.

So instead he sticks to support. He'll conjure another geo arrow, shooting it at the beast's leg to impede his movement. He then preps and shoots another arrow, this one aiming at the tail. All to slow down the beast and give it openings for Tsurumaru]

[cranelike]

(Says the video game character... But Jun definitely has the right idea. He's a sword so it's good for him to fight. It keeps his skills sharp! But it's also very fulfilling to do what he was made for.

Jun is good. His arrows strike true, hitting in the right places and doing enough damage to provide plenty of opportunities for Tsuru to strike. Of course, there are times when the Geovishap gets the better, knocking Tsuru off balance and hitting swiping at him. He takes each hit well enough, always coming back for more despite whatever injury he might have gained in the process,)

Tch. If I get dirty, I won't look like a crane...

(He's more worried about his looks, it seems. And this time, he goes for a different sort of attack. His focuses his Vision into his next strike. When he attacks this time, it's fast and there's a burst of Cryo energy that manifests as a white wing of frost that shatters, leaving residual energy in its wake. Quick on his feet, he's already spinning on his heel to charge again. His aim now is to go for a killing blow once an opening presents itself again--)

[whiteshroud]

[ 💧

Annnd Tsurumaru is caring about his aesthetic rather than safety. Yep. Same crane sword as usual, it seems.

Oh well, there's no debating his skill. Swift and without any hesitation in his strikes. Jun would liken Tsuru's sword being an extension of himself but, uh well, that's less a metaphor in this case. It's just what it is.

It looks like he's ready for his killing blow now, he just needs that opening. Jun will give him one- aiming another geo arrow at the shoulder of the the beast, at the space between the bone- causing it to stumble back and give that desired opening]

[cranelike]

(Aesthetic is important, Jun.

Their opponent trips, stumbling backward, arms flailing and leaving itself wide open. Seeing his opening, Tsurumaru kicks off with a burst of speed and adjusts his grip on his sword. Instead of cutting or slashing, he goes for a piercing attack, driving his blade through what looks like a soft spot between its stony armor-- right through its jaw.

Yeah, there's no way anything is surviving that, especially when he pulls back his sword. He steps back, slashing at the air to clean it off, and keeps it by his side as the Geovishap collapses.

With their enemy down, he sheathes his sword. He's calm this time around, not really celebrating or feeling too much now that the fight is over but he turns back to give Jun a light smile,)

Well done.

(Yes, the cherry blossoms are still falling. Though, they seem to be letting up some now that the fight is over. He's also just going to start to pat himself down just because he's all covered in dirt and that's gross.)

[whiteshroud]

[Well. That's taken care of. Jun will dismiss lower his bow, using his vision to dismiss it into thin air. He then approaches, glancing over at the body and Tsurumaru. He's dirty, but looks no worse for well.]

You fought well yourself.

[But also...]

The cherry blossoms are new.

[cranelike]

(He holds his head up high. Thank you for the praise, Jun, he's very proud. He thinks he fought quite well too. It's nice to be recognized and told nice things. Thank you very much. But ah--)

Hm?

(He has no idea what you're talking about, Jun. It's totally normal?

There're just a few petals left in the air now. It looks like it's all going to come to pass and come to and end soon.)

[whiteshroud]

[...]

Nevermind.

[Very well then, keep your secrets.

He starts looking around]

I don't see any signs that the miners were attacked by these monsters. Based on the trail, they walked through here undisturbed.