MAY MINGLE

[stellafortunamods]

May Mingle: Entombed City
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Everyone's hard work resulted in the gate to upper Dragonspine opening. These ruins have not been traversed in years, if not centuries - everything within has been lost to time and living memory. An entire city has been buried in the snow.

People once lived there. The broken buildings host damaged furniture and weathered streets. There are various cloth-covered mounds in a house here and there, accompanied by a sprig of blue flowers. Someone has laid these people to rest after they passed away.

Traces of technology can be found in the city - golden boxes that contain crystals capable of recording and playing back holograms. One of the boxes introduces this place as Vindagnyr; a land once full of greenery and life. Just what happened to these people? What caused the eternal winter?

The highest point in the city is occupied by a temple built into a Domain. Within the Domain is a pale white tree, split in half by a strange object that has fallen through the Domain's ceiling. This temple was once a site for worship for Vindagnyr's people, and even in death they continue to pray for salvation. The priests have been frozen in ice, and the sheer cold emanating from the Skyfrost Nail makes it obvious that it is the cause of winter.

The city's inhabitants worshipped Celestia. Why then were they left to die?

State of the World

On October 1st, the entombed city of Vindagnyr becomes open for exploration. Travelers can choose to look for clues or try to scavenge the city for ancient materials or tools. Recording boxes all around the city tell stories of Vindagnyr's greener past, and of the days when winter suddenly arrived. This is the cruelty of Celestia that Forneus wished you to see.

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

Comments

[fiddlestick]

Hm?

[Forneus sure is trying, though he reacts with a little confusion. His head tilts curiously]

Pretty sure we're already hanging out, Forneus. Do you mean come closer?

[stellafortunamods]

[ Oh, right. Not everyone has parallel temporal sight. ]

I forgot to add 'in the future'. Sorry about that.

[fiddlestick]

[Well that clears that up!]

Oh, haha. Now I get it.

Sure! We can hang out in the future. Maybe we can do something fun instead of talking shop. [Elliot gets the sense that's the main reason anyone contacts him] You ever play pool or darts before? We could do cards too, so long as you don't look into the future at what my cards are.

[stellafortunamods]

[ Forneus chuckles, folding his arms. ]

I haven't actually played them, but I've watched enough matches to know the rules. Of course, I won't cheat when I'm playing with mortals. [ It removes the fun of rng, coming from a guy who's able to predict the rng naturally.


Since Elliot is an outlander, it's hard to predict his rng too. ]

[fiddlestick]

[Well Elliot's going to take what he says at face value. It's just games anyway.]

Hehe, then great! There's a guy I need to beat back home, so this will be a good chance to sharpen my skills.

Tomorrow evening okay?

[stellafortunamods]

Sounds good! Do you want some food too?

[ Considering the guy seems to be living in some sort of 21st century house, he might have modern food in the fridge or elsehwere. ]

[fiddlestick]

[he'd be surprised this guy can get food, but...well. this clearly is some kind of god magic void, so why not]

Sure, if it's not too much hassle for you! What do you have in mind?

[stellafortunamods]

Well, I've got some snacks like bread and fruit. Unless you have other requests? I could probably manage something small.

[ ???? ]

[fiddlestick]

[Bread and fruit....

Not that those things were bad, but. ]

...Let me guess, you don't cook very much, do you?

[evilisnotatoy]

[RIP the two of them, I guess.]

[stellafortunamods]

I don't. I don't need to eat either, so I've just been observing.

[ # justgodthings! ]

[fiddlestick]

Ha...I had a feeling.

[Welp. That settles it]

In that case, leave the food to me. I'll whip up some bar foods for you to try, that should fit with the theme of the evening nicely! Maybe some drinks too?

[stellafortunamods]

I'd appreciate that. In return... I suppose I could skip the hangover for you if you wanted to?

[ ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? ]

[fiddlestick]

[.... 💧 ]

Uh, thanks? Though I wasn't planning on drinking that much. Just a beer or two.

[He may be a bard but he's not Venti!]

[stellafortunamods]

That's okay too. It's just a thought.

[ Yeah he doesn't really have a concept of what's normal ]

[evilisnotatoy]

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the job, Woodcutter. How many bundles do you think you'll be able to gather by day's end?

[Surprise, Tsuru. Sooga might not be from a world where Japan exists, but he certainly is used to shenanigans.]

[pragmatism]

Tell me, when you are faced with the possibility of something better, will you not reach out to seize it?

[ Zhongli folds his arms. ]

Or will you be content with the bliss of ignorance?

[pragmatism]

[ The silence is longer before Zhongli replies ]

If you seek my personal opinion... they are likely to have not.

[ Celestia may be cruel, but they never did waste their efforts on inefficient things. From what he knows, they would have just dropped the Skyfrost Nail and then moved on. ]

[fiddlestick]

I appreciate the thought! I'm just not the "drink 'til you're hammered" type.

[But since Forneus offered so he could return the favor, so...]

Just handle getting ahold of the games while I handle the food and drink, and that should be even.

[nefilim]

Blind devotion. They probably believed they would be saved until the very end.

[There's something almost pained in her tone; mostly due to how deeply this resonates with her. And is this still an issue now? Would them brining the truth to light only prompt ire and disbelief?

It's hard to tell. Ana will just hope that isn't the case, lest the end goal of taking down Celestia becomes greatly more difficult.]

[whiteshroud]

[He'd even already been thinking along the same lines, but to hear it confirm by someone he respected and trusted the word of -- it hit with more weight. These people died praying for salvation, and their gods who had personally condemned them didn't even have the decency to be with them in their final moments.

Jun is silent in response as the emotions swell up again. They were overwhelming, and he needed an outlet- but he didn't know how to put any of them to proper words. Any sentence he formed in his head just jumbled into something non-sensical before evaporating. Just like when Hu Tao tried to teach him poetry, his own limited experience was hindering him once more.

Soon enough, he gives up on trying to put it to words and opts for an outlet he was taught. He whirls around and punches the nearby wall hard. The stone cracks from the sheer force of the blow.]

[nefilim]

[She glances over at Jun, watching as he rubs at his arm before she focuses her eyes ahead once more. A quiet huff then escaping her, raising her brows again for a moment - she won't press, but she imagines him saying that prayer is said "violation".]

A contract? You're starting to sound like the old man. [Zhongli. She means Zhongli. She means this in a totally affectionate way, she swears.]

... Then I hope the wind carries them to him. [She cares little for gods and whatever salvation they may bring, but even that is better than being trapped in this icy hell. It's the thing closest to a prayer she's willing to offer.]

[nefilim]

[At least two good things have happened in the hellscape that has been today - ]

See, so we should investigate some more first!

[NOW THAT SHE HAS ELLIOT TO BACK HER UP -]

But a corruption curse? Hmm, it did look corrupted...

[nefilim]

Then I'll keep an eye out. It's not good to be alone like this.

[For both of their benefits, really. Something like what they saw... It's a lot to take in. Not even she's entirely unaffected.

So with her deciding that, she steps a bit closer and flicks a small flame into the campfire, bolstering it.]

Besides, having someone with a Pyro Vision around right now won't hurt.

[whiteshroud]

[There is a distorted sound that is possibly a "heh" at her pointing that out]

Perhaps. [He's around Zhongli a lot, it's inevitable he'd start to rub off on Jun] I feel it's a more apt way to phrase it than the flowery language the church uses.

[You know, blah blah the gift and acknowledgement of god's divine grace, blah blah. "Contract" was simple and apt - much more fitting to Jun's view of things]

[But awww Ana you do care. Jun pauses, before nodding just slightly] ...Me too.