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

[The nod was a relief Takame didn't know he needed. The last thing he wanted to do was insult someone devout, no matter what world they may be from. The devout were the most frightening ones, but truly he just didn't want to be rude upon a first meeting.

Seeing Zhongli's Vision, Takame took the opportunity to give both it and him a meticulous head to toe scan, wanting to see exactly how he carried himself. Based on the way he spoke alone, Takame presumed either an undeserved sense of grandiosity, or true wisdom. The latter was leaned into more based on the man's demeanor.]

Is that right? Hm... [His scan stopped again at the Vision, now recognizing the sigil on it as the element of Earth, or Geo as he must now remember to call it.] You're quite knowledgeable about the laws of this world, ser...? [His head cocked slightly, asking for a name with the gesture and inflection.]

[ His hands are stained with the blood of countless humans who have followed him to their deaths. He bears the sin of sending five Adepti to a life of never-ending torment, and the crime of letting his most stalwart ally fall. Gods may be powerful, but they are not infallible. ]

I am Zhongli.

[ A tall man dressed in vestments of black and brown, accented by jewels of gold. Zhongli lacks significant body movement, holding himself to a quiet austerity. Once Takame has had a good look at his Vision, he returns it to its proper place on his coat ]

Welcome to Mondstadt.

[ It's not hard for him to identify the outlanders as an Archon, but... he can probably pass this comment off as innocuous. ]

[A steady man well suited to his Vision was the conclusion Takame drew. Whatever god commanded Geo chose this man well, unlike the Pyro god whomever they may be. But far be it for him to question them. If this was to be his fate...]

Zhongli. [Repeated to commit to memory, followed by a formal bow.] My name is Takame. 'Tis a pleasure.

[For as much as Takame still struggled in conversation, he was still able to realize when someone is comfortable through study or through experience. But to say he wasn't trying to distract from using his Vision by steering the conversation elsewhere would be a lie.] Are you familiar with this land?

[ Takame is a name in the style of Inazuma, yet he has not met an individual bearing scales as this one. It reinforces his observation that certain things remain constant across worlds. ]

Teyvat is the realm I call home. [ So that's a yes. ] I come from neighbouring Liyue, but I am here to visit an old friend.

[ It's not a lie, either. ]

I see. [Liyue. Takame committed that name to memory as well, having heard the occasional whisper of it back in the city. Liyue which borders Mondstadt. Zhongli of Liyue.]

I'm not interrupting your meeting, I hope. [Unless by meeting he meant something more somber, not that he'd pry into it since he's learned a bit already. Despite his face not budging from its undefined expression, he did feel a bit bad if he's taken time out of Zhongli's day.]

You are not.

[ He keep his voice calm, conversational. ]

I decided to take a walk, and our meeting was by chance. [ Or was it? ] Conversely, I hope I am not interrupting your training.

[ Zhongli is good at lecturing. He could talk all day, it's really Takame's choice... ]

You are not. [Said putting his sword away, once more drawing attention to his vision. As much as he'd like to ignore it much like a child with an unceasing urge to poke at a bandaged injury despite being told not to, his hand was just drawn to it.]

'Twas an assignment rather than training which brought me here. I was culling the numbers of the local monsters to relieve the Knights of some of their burden. [And based on the Lack Of Slimes around, he seemed to have finished shortly before Zhongli found him.]

[ Archons choose people for a reason. Because of this, it's easy to guess at a Vision holder's personality just by the element of their Vision. Takame may be calm and collected, but the Pyro Vision next to his sword gives enough clues to the hidden passion of his temperament. ]

Many will be grateful for your deeds.

[ Takame is nice. Helpful, even. It's not out of place in Mondstadt, a land more innocent than the mercantile economies of Liyue. ]

If you are heading back, I would be glad to accompany you on the way.

Mm. [So was Takame's intent. So Takame hoped. From the perspective of an informed outsider, one might guess why the god of Pyro sought him. To him who was forced to find himself cold and unfeeling despite his best efforts, he would politely disagree.

But he wouldn't dare say that to a native, he thought shoving the thought into the furthest depths of his mind. He did intend to go back alone, but well... Zhongli asked. And he wasn't entirely opposed in general despite what his lack of tone might indicate. He nodded.]

I'll not decline your company.

[ Zhongli isn't one to smile easily, but he gives Takame a nod of acknowledgement before he sets off along the path back to Mondstadt. There are many ways that he can begin a conversation and many things that would be useful to ask, but he's far too polite to bombard an acquaintance with trivial things in their first meeting.

So he'll just walk. Zhongli holds himself with quiet confidence, matching Takame's pace easily. If the other man has anything to ask, now's the time. ]

JANUARY MINGLE

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