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

[missingache]

Half right? [What] How can you be a crane and a spirit, but not a crane spirit.

[evilisnotatoy]

[Perhaps in a fit of whimsy or perhaps in simple respect for the sheer amount of work that had to have gone into this prank (spoilers: it's both), Sooga carefully moves the tiny snowmen out of areas where they're likely to get stepped on, keeping them intact.

...This may mean that where the cryos' tents were conspicuously lacking in snowmen before, they have plenty now. And by "may", I mean "most certainly". The ones around Sooga's tent might also gradually gain tiny masks of their own, but those are definitely just for his own amusement.

He's having a nice time, really.]

[fortuna_tenax]

( you know what? roxas can have one of hers. no really she's just gonna pick it up and hand it over. there you go. )

[evilisnotatoy]

[Roxas need not feel left out for long. For one thing, he might notice that snowmen do slowly begin to fill in around his tent.

For another, it doesn't take long for Sooga to take pause at the kicked puppy face and wordlessly hand the lad a banana.]

Wanders in 15 minutes late with starbucks

[whiteshroud]

[Jun doesn't actually stay in camp too often. Why freeze his ass off when he could teleport to his nice warm bed in Mondstadt? Not to mention, he had a dog to take care of back there.

This means, he's not coming out of any tent. Instead he comes across this scene later than everyone else with a cup of coffee in hand. He stops short of the snowman, staring out in confusion at the sea of snowman as well as the other people getting their revenge, taking photos, or feeling sad over getting left out.

...

He missed something, didn't he. ]

[evilisnotatoy]

[Accept that people love you, Rean.

Sooga's body language radiates quiet anger at the reminder of what Celestia has done, and how uncomfortably close it comes to events that have shaped his own people's history.]

...I would hope none of us intend to stoop to their level. We are here as arbiters of change, not as instruments of vengeance.

[His tone makes it absolutely clear that he will do some stabbing if they show no remorse though.]

[evilisnotatoy]

[She hasn't done anything to earn his ire, so it's not like it's hard to keep his mouth shut and not wound her pride.]

I haven't been here much longer than you have, but my home is- was in a remote highland area, so I can offer advice on how to make your stay less unpleasant.

[infreefall]

Yep, that's it! It's called Zero Gravity.

Magic, though, huh? It's not like the card trick and rabbits in hats kind, is it? Could you show me if you get it back while we're here?

[fiddlestick]

[One only slightly less weird than a KH life.]

Well, there you go! A little more practice, and maybe you'll be using it like a pro by the time you head back home.

[missingache]

[That's actually rather sweet. He'll take it with a soft thank you and very, very carefully put it down in front of his tent. Making sure it couldn't be accidentally knocked down at some point while someone gets in or out.

Jinx has made one boy very happy with this gift.]

[missingache]

[!!! This feels like some weird, Teyvat Christmas now! Except with snowmen. Which... this place is weird, so Roxas would not put it past the people here to celebrate like this.

The banana is taken with some confusion.]

Thank you?

[missingache]

The phones back home aren't that advanced. We can use it for Kingstagram and calling. I don't even know if we can text on it.

[Yes. It's really called Kingstagram. Thanks, Disney.]

when the tsundere ninja witch is secretly a softy

[fortuna_tenax]

( nooo that's so cute? she will bring some more over safely, so that the snowman isn't lonely now. snowmen for roxas. )

[fortuna_tenax]

Oooh, gravity manipulation. Always impressive.

And sure- but also yeah, no, it's nothing like that. A few magic users do do stage magic for fun, but that's a them thing. Magic can be a lot of things- mine specifically is luck-based.

( bad luck, to be even more specific, but like... better to not talk about a thing that makes avalanches happen while in death mountain, yeah? even if her magic isn't here right now. )

[fortuna_tenax]

( ohhhh, so he's someone who always seems to have his shit together. okay, jinx can work with that. )

It's appreciated. I'm from a coastal city. All of this is way outside of my experience... But it's better to learn now than through 'sink or swim' methods, yeah?

( despite it being a question, it's also... not. jinx is confident and determined by nature, the idea of floundering helplessly is unacceptable. and if she wants to be better than she is- which she always does, given that she's a tiny little perfectionist- then it's time to crack down. simple as that. )

[justicefang]

[He flicks an ear to show he heard him.]

There's no doubt we're all better being comrades. It was just something I found interesting.

[Magic, well beastman abilities don't work like that back home. And it's a nice distraction.]

I haven't heard how 'geo' works just yet.

(good to handwave that?)

[fortuna_tenax]

You're not wrong...

( and jinx has herself a catalyst. time to work some magic, she guesses. )

[fortuna_tenax]

( hm. why would seeing the city make them need to question if they want to continue? something's fishy 'bout that. she might need to poke around further... )

Alright. ... Thanks, for answering all my questions. I know I'm probably not the first one to ask.

cuuuute

[missingache]

[So many! Does she want to help him put leaves and stuff on them to decorate more?]

That's fine!

[missingache]

Then let's try that.

[And hope no Hilichurls decide to come along...]

[dispassionatedevotion]

...You were handing out rewards for our service.

[ Ledah had hardly desired anything in his entire life as a Grim Angel, so he hadn't bothered to seek out such things or asked earlier on.

But as the subject during the meeting progressed, something like a bit of curiosity had nagged at him. ]

What are your limitations in that regard?

[dispassionatedevotion]

[ Ledah will bear witness to the low opinion soon enough, though that too would be something he'd understand, given the circumstances behind their recruitment being a little dodgy. It'd make sense not everyone would accept it.

...That said, he will not accept cruel derision of his benefactor or insinuations that he's untrustworthy, should he be in the presence of it being uttered. ]

I see. I wouldn't know how, but I imagine that is something I can inquire about with the others.

[ And by this time, they have more or less returned to camp successfully. ]

Before I do so, have you any advice to impart regarding that matter?

[fiddlestick]

Kingstagram...?

[The heck is that]

[fiddlestick]

Hm?

[He looks over at Ledah, rubbing his head. Ah, one of those types it seems.]

Hey, c'mon now. There's no need to go into a place like this alone. It's dangerous. I don't like the cold, but I'll help you out. We're all working together, after all.

[The power of teamwork!!! But also yeah, he rather this guy not join all these priests in their frozen tomb because he decided to try this all alone]

[bowfaire]

Change is good. It's how we grow.

(He says it simply, even if he knows there's more to it than that,)

Imagine a world where your success isn't determined by birth. What if there was a world where everyone could be anything? A commoner could become a holy knight or even their captain. A merchant can join a nation's council. If a leader is poor at their job, someone better could take it. What if libraries could be filled with all of the books in the world instead of just the ones that are allowed?

(Hello, welcome to Claude's world.)

Imagine a world that could grow and be anything instead of small and stuck behind a bunch of walls?

(He might be lighting up the more he speaks; it's clearly something he's very passionate about.)