stellafortunalogs | JANUARY MINGLE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It has. [ Zhongli smiles - it's hard to get that out of him, but he always has one saved for his oldest friend. ] Would that our reunion happened under better circumstances...

[ He doesn't need to explain himself to Venti, because the other Archon would already know his reason for coming. The black seal placed on Zhongli's form is perceptible beneath his clothing, feeding off his divine power like a many-headed serpent. Yet the distinct aura of this seal makes it wholly foreign - neither a punishment from Celestia, nor a curse from the Abyss. All he knew was that the decay ate away at his very soul. He could endure, but for how long? ]

It seems I am in your care, for a change. [ His voice turns resigned - it is quite unbecoming for him to be rendered impotent like this. ]

[ Frankly, the first warning sign was that Morax came to Mondstadt at all -- in the thousands of years they've known each other, as he ever been inclined to leave his city of gold? The second omen was the foreign power swirling around him like a miasma, palpable to the point Venti could swear he tastes it on his tongue. And the third -- the questions that have been plaguing his mind with no answers forthcoming. ]

Do you remember when I first came to Liyue? [ This just a tic of conversation -- of course Morax remembers. He remembers everything. ] You'd thought I must be seeking your aid, because why else would I leave my kingdom?

I'm feeling much the same way about your presence here now. What's happened?

[ The answer comes unbidden to him before his mind processes the question. Because I've retired, is what his instinct prompts him to say, but his careful nature cuts that thought off. He's retired... was he? His memory is patchy on this one, despite his perfect clarity of all those years before. ]

I do not have an answer. [ - is his reply, resigned. ] I only know that it is related to a contract.

[ For all his wisdom, time, and attention to detail, this is the one thing that will never change. He must have come here with consent, because he had not yet laid waste to the land in his battle with the instigator. ]

I would not come here if I was not confident that Liyue would be at peace.

[ He sighs -- a bit over-dramatically, perhaps. Leave it to Morax to say "just a contract." Even if the terms are apparently very concerning. ]

Honestly . . .

[ He beckons Morax closer, not getting up from his seated position. ]

Will you at least show me?

[ About the arm, that is. It's impossible to ignore the feeling radiating off of it. ]

[ Nothing can be accomplished without rules or standards. No matter if it is mortals or adepti, everyone has their place. Contracts keep Liyue in peace. ]

As you wish.

[ Zhongli walks a few paces closer, crouching down so Venti can see. He rolls up his right sleeve. In his human form, he lacks the coloured skin patterns of his Archon form, but his skin is covered instead with strange black marks that shift and move in irregular patterns. The alphabet is not of Celestia, or any known language on Teyvat. They are devoid of any elemental alignment - devoid of pretty much anything, draining whatever they come into contact with. ]

Do you make anything of it?

[ His brows knit together as he eyes the runes, trying and failing to make sense of their meaning or origin. ]

It's more telling what I can't make of it.

[ If it was something borne of Celestia, he would know it. And if it was something borne of some lesser god, living outside of Celestia's purview -- would it really be this powerful? ]

Morax . . . you've gotten in over your head this time, haven't you?

[ Zhongli closes his eyes, smoothing his sleeve back over his arm. His clothing cover the marks completely - none would be able to sense the black seal's existence, save for those that are his equal. ]

None can deceive me when it comes to a contract. [ He has always been pragmatic, rational, reasonable. The God of Contracts would never agree to something that wasn't beneficial. ] I choose to trust my own judgement.

[ He's willing to wait and see. Even if the contract entailed that he temporarily forgot something, it would come back to him eventually. ]

[ This idiot is always gonna be like this, huh.

Venti sighs again, slouching back against the tree and running a frustrated hand through his bangs. ]

There's one important factor you've overlooked this time.

[ Its not surprising that Zhongli doesn't change his mind. It's impossible to change his mind without good reason. His belief in his own self is a great part of what let's him endure all these years.

It also meant that any failure on his part would have severe effects. But he hasn't failed yet. ]

And what would that be?

[ He gestures with one hand, as if to say "well you see you dumb asshole," ]

There's no way for me to render you aid when you yourself don't remember any of the terms of your contract.

[ ...

Zhongli chuckles. ]

I suppose you are right.

[ Though, his expression soon returns to his usual thoughtfulness. He's too used to taking on all the important things for himself, delegating to others only the tasks that he knew they could finish. ]

As you can see, the price I offered is entirely personal. I must bear this alone.

[ There has to be a reason why he decided to not involve Venti in such a thing, especially when the anomaly is localized to Mondstadt. Even without knowing the exact terms of his contract, he could work backwards and guess at what it could entail. For one, Venti is the weakest of the Seven. If he were to receive even a fraction of the black seal, it would put his life in danger. ]

JANUARY MINGLE

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