JANUARY MINGLE

[stellafortunamods]

January Mingle: A Ballad in Goblets
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
You open your eyes to an unfamiliar sight. A cool breeze flits through rustic buildings and sunny streets, carrying the smell of flowers and wine. The very air itself seems charged with mana, the warm pulse of the land palpable beneath your feet. This is a new world, a world where the elements compose all of reality. Before you is a bubbling fountain, and a key is entwined between your fingers. And that weight on your hip? A sparkling bauble that you've never seen before, yet it feels natural, as if it had always been there.

Asking around nets you the name of this world - Teyvat - and the name of this city - Mondstadt, blessed by the Anemo Archon, Barbatos. Your new home is accessible with the key placed in your hands, though this also brings to mind another question. How will you get money? Food isn't free, after all.

Luckily for you, there's plenty of jobs available for the enterprising Traveler. Be it taking requests from the Adventurers' Guild, or working part-time at one of Mondstadt's many food establishments, Mora is to be had when hard work is involved. The cuisine of Mondstadt is best paired with its wine, served at bars or enjoyed in private with a few friends.

And about that shining gem. locals will tell you that it is a Vision, a sign of favour from Teyvat's elemental gods. With the Vision on hand, you find yourself capable of commanding one of the seven elements. What will you do with this newfound blessing? Use it for good... or for evil?

Mondstadt's liveliness doesn't diminish when night falls. Bards sing through the wee hours of the night, and the lights of the city help keep most evildoers at bay. All seems peaceful, a pastoral idyll of a life that seems more at home in a storybook. Yet for those Travelers who venture out beyond the city's walls and into the ruins dotting the landscape, they may discover hints of a bloodier past now forgotten.

Glancing at any of the calendars in the city will tell you the current date. August 10th was the day you arrived. As soon as the last minute of August 16th slips away, the world around you changes. A blink, and time itself rewinds by seven days. Looking outside, the mown lawns have regrown, the windmill needs fixing again, and the well is once again full. Just what is happening here? It seems only you, Traveler, remembers the week that never was.

State of the World

For the first two weeks of the game, IC time will be looping from August 10th to August 16th. It's currently late summer in Mondstadt, and the trees are just beginning to turn out their autumn colours. The weather is cool and pleasant, with light showers on Tuesday (11th) and Friday (14th). It's also a good time to go out gathering berries and nature's bounty from Mondstadt's forests and valleys.

These two weeks will let us trial out our commissions and regains system and craft improvements for February onwards. There will be no activity requirements for January, so all threads started during this time period can be used for regains!

For all questions regarding January's mingle and events, please head over to our OOC post.

Comments

iii

[extinctive]

Hm?

[ figaro's at the flowershop looking over their wares when his attention is called. who is this... sassy lost child... ]

Oh, just looking over the flowers. Pretty, aren't they? It's as if they've been well taken care of for a while now.

[ a really long while. ]

[magicdrain]

[ Oh yeah, well who's this... nerd looking at flowers. Got 'em.

But hm. Lucas will contemplate Things for a moment before strolling on over. He's still taken aback about this time loop deal, and anyone who's out of place is better than dialogue-repeating NPCs. ]

They've just gone back to how they were a week ago.

[ Nothing special about that!! Just weird!! ]

[extinctive]

[ hey, that's a doctor to you, shortstuff. which is a unique kind of nerd, so... that still scans.........

anyway! figaro blinks at the boy and to the flowers. the calla lilies and windwheel asters continue to bloom in their respective pots, which doesn't look too off to him? probably?? ]

Flowers don't usually die in the first week or so if tended carefully? I'm sure this young lady have taken care of them very well. Isn't that right?

[ flora, the little girl tending the flower shop, only repeats the same dialogue he'd already heard the week before. that doesn't answer the question at all... or does it? ]

[magicdrain]

[ Wh... That's like the highest form of nerdery??

But huh, does this guy not realize they've looped a week back? Fair. After all, Lucas only realized just moments ago. ]

She doesn't have to take care of them at all. Time isn't working correctly here. It's August 10th again.

[extinctive]

[ he's a nerd who can decide whether you live or die by his hands, ok. have some respect.

okay, now it's dawning on him. honestly he may have already figured it out the moment flora spat out the same npc dialogue to him, but lucas pretty much confirmed it for him. thanks, kiddo. ]

Is that so? [ his brows knit together. ] Must be a curse in the area. Does anyone else know?

[magicdrain]

[ Lord let him get these regains so he can cause great pain to everyone referring to him as child and kiddo in brackets yes I'm abusing meta. ]

You're the first person I've spoken to since finding out. I'm sure the others will realize eventually.

[ What a BOTHER. But he did sign up for this... There are only regrets now. ]

So this is the reason we were brought to this place.

[extinctive]

[ once a kid always a kid, no matter how young they wanna choose to look like. figaro's been there, soooo done that. ]

Seems so. It'd be easier if I had access to my actual magic, but that's the cost of making a promise with an entity for you.

[ at least he didn't completely lose his powers but... doushite... ]

Should we not tell the others? But they might've figured it out by now, true.

[magicdrain]

[ Oh hey, another person who lost their magic, whew. Join the club, buddy, it's been major suffersville from day one for poor Lucas. ]

It was too high a price to pay.

[ He feels incomplete! If he'd known this was going to be part of the deal, he would've called it off, both middle fingers up and a tongue stuck out. You know, like a mature person. ]

What's your name?

[extinctive]

[ it's not a huge loss so much as a total nerfing of his abilities, but... yeah it sucks. especially when contracts and promises are a huge no-no for wizards like him in general. ]

My, so straight to the point. [ he laughs. ] Figaro Garcia, at your service. One of the Sage's wizards and a doctor from Southern Country.

[ not that southern country would ring any bells to anyone here, but he may as well for formalities. ]

And you?

[magicdrain]

[ There's no familiarity that passes through his expression, but a wizard? This guy?

Damn, they must make 'em different wherever the Southern Country is... Maybe they just throw the title at anyone and call it a day. ]

Lucas. [ He's got some fancy shmancy titles, but he doesn't think they're very important right now. ] I'm a wizard as well.

[ Wizard, warlock, magician... It's all the same. ]

[extinctive]

Oh! That makes three of us then, since one of my students is here as well. From what country are you from?

[ wizards are born, not made, and ones from the south are pretty weak in terms of power? but they got a lot of heart and they're willing to help out anyone who needs it so at least they have that.

it's just that figaro isn't born from there, is all. ]

[magicdrain]

[ Three, huh... Doesn't sound all that much like a coincidence and he's expecting to meet more magic users along the way, so this tracks. ]

The Obelian Empire.

[ Waits for a reaction, though he doubts he's going to get one of familiarity!! ]

[extinctive]

[ alas, he just shakes his head. ]

Ah, doesn't ring a bell, sorry. Still, it's nice to know that there are wizards in other worlds as well.

[ it's fine, it's fine. but now figaro's tempted to compare and contrast... maybe after they get to the bottom of this current predicament first. ]

Whoever locked our powers away doesn't want us to solve this problem anytime soon. I wonder how long this timelooping business has been going on... [ hmmm. ]

[magicdrain]

[ Is it nice? Is it?? Lucas is just gonna end up getting in his head that there might potentially be more powerful magicians out there that he doesn't know about! How is he supposed to be the greatest magician ever to exist if there are other worlds?

But that's a thought to haunt him for another time. ]

Long enough if they resorted to bringing outsiders like us.

[ What a PAIN. ]

It seems like you're not useless. [ Is that... supposed to be a compliment? ] We should continue to find out what we can for now.

[extinctive]

[ why is it always the dark-haired red-eyed boys who wants to be the strongest wizard in all the land...

he'll take that compliment with a laugh though. oh, if only this kid knew that he could literally unalive him at a drop of a hat if he would. ]

I'm glad I can still be of use with these powers! Maybe we should check the other stores, see if there are some discrepancies.

[ the blacksmit is a mere stone's throw away, so figaro'll go on ahead. ]

[magicdrain]

[ BYE FOREVER FIGARO

But no, as much as Lucas wants to lean into his nature of lone wolfing it, he'll grumble out something under his breath that's not very discernible before heading toward whatever else is nearest. Probably a butcher's store.

This is NOT teamwork. This is just... using what's available. And Figaro is available. ]

[extinctive]

[ being used by a little kid(?) for intel... well, figaro will be willing to share what he knows about this world for now. no use trying to hide important info from the rest when they're all on the same playing field when it comes to their powers getting nerfed.

he speaks to wagner the blacksmith and as expected, the burly man only spat out the same dialogue when figaro had inquired him about weapons the week prior. he tried talking to his son, and even the various shopkeeps and baristas along the way - nothing. just the same old, same old.

the sight of lucas at the butcher's is something new, at least. figaro waltzes up to him. ]

Any luck?

[magicdrain]

[ Damn, Figaro, way to get it done.

As expected, Lucas has no luck with the butcher. It's the same old dialogue, with no other questions really being answered. And all the people passing by repeat the same date, August 10th, when asked what day it is. This is truly... mystifying.

Along with incredibly troubling. ]

No.

[ He's quick to respond, tone thoroughly annoyed by their predicament. He turns to Figaro with a sigh and shake of his head. ]

What about you?

[extinctive]

[ he gets the job done ok 💪

figaro doesn't look too troubled, however. he just doesn't let it show on his face, choosing to smile instead. ]

No such luck. Whoever or whatever is responsible for this loop must be powerful enough to control time itself - most wizards from my world can only pause time for a few seconds at most.

[ the fact that there's a more powerful wizard wielding this kind of magic out there does piss him off a little, not gonna lie. ]

[magicdrain]

[ Someone that powerful... Lucas wants to fight them for a multitude of reasons, most of them being that they're wasting a gigantic portion of his precious time by bringing him here with no place to start for clues.

It's incredibly frustrating, and Lucas shows it by sighing once more. He's going to deflate at this rate. ]

If only I had all of my magic.

[ AND THEN THEY WOULD SEE... ]

Keep searching. I'll do the same. We're bound to see each other again in the coming days, [ it's not that big a place ] so let's share whatever we might find then.