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

Temple

[whiteshroud]

[Jun too has decided to investigate the temple. It was the largest building around, and more important than that- there was elemental energy coming from it. There was no way this wasn't an important piece of the puzzle of what transpired here.

So he comes up behind Claude, wearing his hood. He gives a nod as he approaches]

Sure.

[He'll grab onto the door, helping pull it open. Thankfully with his super-strength, it's a much easier task than it could've been. Inside, is a gateway to a domain]

...A Eclipse Gate. [He knows that's not the term they use here, but old habits die hard] Had a feeling one would pop up eventually.

[bowfaire]

(He gives it a pull along with Jun though he can tell that Jun is the one doing all of the work there. Claude's Crest is for healing, not for super strength.

The first thing he notices is the cold and while he's always been one to keep his cool, he can't help but immediately reach to pull his heavy cloak tight around him and yelp. He doesn't even have time to really ask Jun what he meant--)

Sheesh! It's colder inside than out!

[whiteshroud]

[That's okay Claude healing still real important, esp since you're with a geo moron who hasn't bothered to learn shields.

Jun is less visible in his reaction, just tilting his head to try to avoid the cold wind from hitting the bit of his skin that is exposed. It's not that he doesn't feel the cold, he does, he's just been trained for this. ]

Mm, there's an extreme amount of cyro energy coming from here. It's likely this is the source of the mountain's climate.

[bowfaire]

(What if he can only heal himself. Randomly. Without any control. Just cross his fingers and hope the goddess' blessing feels like kicking in for a heathen like himself.)

Great. (Just what we need. More Cryo in this game.) But that just means we should go check it out.

(He's bundling up, covering his face more with his scarf and hood,)

Shall we?

[whiteshroud]

[Yeah that's a bit more useless. Oh well, RIP]

Might as well. [He gives a nod. Then with Claude, he'll go deeper into the domain. Colder and colder it gets, causing even jun's walk to slow as he tries to shield against the cold and swear under his breath]

Shit....

[This is worse than polar bears swimming man. But if they keep pressing onward, their determination (stupidity?) will be rewarded: with a horrible sight of frozen bodies and the skynail! Hooray! ...oh wait no.]

[bowfaire]

(It's useful when it needs to be okay. Sometimes healing magic is linked to your Faith in the Goddess and sometimes you don't have that so healing magic ain't for you.

He's never been one for the cold. Sure, it gets cold back home and he's gotten used to the winters at Garreg Mach and everything but his home is much warmer. Leicester is mild and temperate, close to the sea, and even in the winter months, the chill is tolerable. Of course, being a warm flower doesn't stop him from pressing forward. For the sake of information, for learning more about why they were brought here, he'll push forward.

Along the way he notes their setting. He tries to look at the books but they crumble and fall apart. It looks like there isn't much to gain here... until they come to the frozen bodies. Cool.

He was already cold but that had been phsyical. This is just dreadful.)

... They're praying.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun had been so focused on getting through the cold that he hadn't been immediately aware of his surroundings. It's only when Claude stops and speaks, does he lower his arm and have a look around and does the setting dawn on him. ]

Jesus Christ...

[It's never a good thing when a holy knight sees something that compels him to say his god's name, but here we are. While it's to different gods, the place is familiar enough. He grew up with the church after all, a chapel like this one was an every day presence in his childhood. To see one in such a state, with the clergy frozen as they pray is...

He tries to take a deep breath in to steel himself, but the cold air just makes it painful so he coughs instead]

...Praying for salvation from gods who have condemned them to damnation. I wonder if they even listened to their dying prayers.

[It's evil and twisted. Even the voice modulator doesn't hide Jun's disdain.]

[bowfaire]

They'd have to listen to condemn them.

(It's so much colder here though and as much as he wants to press forward, get closer to the tree and the nail... even he knows his limits. His teeth are chattering so much he feels like they might break and while there doesn't appear to be any sign of life around here, he's become accustomed to fighting surprise monsters and enemies... like this, he couldn't ready his bow and he doubts he'd be much use swinging a sword either,)

I d-don't know how much closer we can get.

[whiteshroud]

...

[It's Jun's inclination to linger. His pain threshold is higher than most people, so he could last a little longer. But above his own desires, he was thoughtful to the people with him. He notices how much Claude is suffering from the cold- and that comes first. ]

Claude...

[Immediately, he puts asides all his own personal feelings, and focus on his friend]

Mm, this place is too dangerous to linger. [He'll hold out his hand] Take my hand, I'll teleport us out of here.

[Maybe they can return later, more properly equipped.]

[bowfaire]

(A-are we friends Jun. Powerful.

But Claude shakes his head,)

The tree-- (The Nail. It's clearly important and even if it's dangerous, that's never stopped Claude from pushing forward when he feels like he has to,) If we can get closer...

(One half step forward and there's a flash of light as a crescent moon appears in front of Claude. It fades as quickly as it comes but whatever effect it has, it's enough to make him take a few more steps.

Jun, did you know Claude is a hecking protag? )

[whiteshroud]

[ !

Crap. He failed to realize he befriended another protag. He makes a surprised sound as Claude chooses to step forward, causing his crest to appear. While he doesn't know the extent of Claude's power, he tends to know his own seal flashing is usually not a good sign]

Claude!

[Okay so his friend is being too stubborn, so he has to think of something to keep him from dying. He quickly thinks through all his powers, but most of them aren't really useful here. It'd be nice if he had his light elemental powers back to work as a heat source, but--- Oh!

Well, this is worth a shot. He holds his fingers out and tries not to tremble as he draws a hexagram in the air and concentrates on a spot near where Claude is walking. Then with a surge of magic, a portal opens up. And more important, the harsh but much warmer winds from Starsnatch cliff blow through. ]

This is the best I can do for heat, so hurry!

[Do what you need to do Claude, preferably before he freezes!]

[bowfaire]

(JUN SURE DID BEFRIEND A PROTAG. A lazy, sneaky, suspicius and no good schemer... who is actually a RPG protag.

It's kind of amazing how a spell like this can still make a difference. The cold is so intense that every little bit really helps. He's never really thought about the cold feeling warm but he knows it's only because the cold from the portal is just less cold than the brutal cold of this domain.

Let's say this gives him another minute to get closer to the tree, the cold getting more intense the closer they get. It's close enough to be able to figure out that the nail seems to be the source of the cold and the tree doesn't look like it's alive... but nothing else. There'd definitely not going to get close enough to touch the tree or check out any of the finer details before Claude reaches out to grab Jun's hand without thinking. Call it survival instinct; a desire to live and not die like a curious cat.

It's definitely time to get out of here, Jun.)

[whiteshroud]

[While Claude was doing his shonen best to get to that tree, Jun was focusing mostly on keeping that portal open. Normally it's not hard for him to open a portal and leave it, but it's harder to keep magic steady when he's in pain from the cold. And so he focuses on that, so the portal continues giving "warmer" air instead of destabilizing and exploding on them.

Thankfully, Claude's survival instincts kick in at a good time, before Jun gets too cold to do anything. As soon as he does, he'll close the portal. He then doesn't hesitate to lift his other hand and cast a teleportation spell. There's a blue glow, and then the area around them disappears for a moment.

When the scenery reappears, they're by the barbatos statue halfway down the mountain. Thankfully due to the statue's presence, it's warm here. Jun breathes out in relief]

You alright?

[bowfaire]

(The warmth washes over Claude and he can feel his body finally relax after being tense from the cold for so long. Everything feels like jelly and he wobbles on his feet before collapsing, sitting down in the snow and just needing a moment to collect himself,)

Yeah.

(He sounds breathy,)

I just need... a minute. (He never knew the cold could be so draining,) ... Thanks.

[whiteshroud]

[Thank God. They got out of there before it got too bad. Jun will walk over to the edge of the walkway near the statue, sitting down with his legs dangling over the edge. He likes heights ok. Now that they're in a place that's not dangerously cold, he'll pull down his hood. ]

Ha...take your time. I need a minute too.

[Seems he's a little out of breath too. Doing a bunch of magic while also dealing with the unnatural cold was draining even for a Seal Knight. ]

[bowfaire]

(He's catching his breath. It feels like he's run a mile at full speed but he knows it's just from the cold earlier. When he finally his himself together again, he manages,)

Someone else... can probably get closer than we did and get a better look. (Huffs,) But it looks like we found the source of the cold.

[whiteshroud]

Yeah...someone else for sure. [Not warm squishy Claudes. Jun won't chide further than that though. He exhales, slowly catching his breath]

Mm. It has to be. [...] I knew ahead of time that this was Celestia's doing, but seeing the reality for myself was ... something else.

[bowfaire]

(He's just going to smile at that; a little crooked but it's as audacious as ever. He would do it again Jun!!)

They must have known that, though, but instead, they just sat around praying until the very end...

[whiteshroud]

[Of course he would. He makes a thoughtful sound at that]

Zhongli told me that in Vindagnyr's time, Celestia had a much more direct presence in the people's lives. I imagine that led to the people becoming over-reliant on them. Their society grew because of their gods constant presence.

So when Celestia choose to condemn them ... they probably didn't know how to fend for themselves. Like small children abandoned by their caretakers, all they could think to do was beg for them to come back.

[bowfaire]

I'm not sure if it would be much better even if Celestia was less involved...

(Speaking from his own experience.)

A god that would just abandon people who rely on them on a whim, though. I'd say everyone would be better off without them but looking at what happened here...

(It's more than that. The world is better off without the whole rotten system sometimes.)

[whiteshroud]

[Yeah, considering Claude's own take on religion, he's not surprised by those words. Jun can only offer a slight shrug]

It's hard to say. The relationship between humans and gods by its very nature is ... complicated, to say the least. No system a god chooses will be without its flaws.

[An ever present god might cause over-reliance, while a distant god may cause feelings of abandonment and resentment. If there was a system that worked perfectly, Jun's never heard of it]

...If you ask me, Celestia is insane and as cruel as any demon. [He'd been leaning that way for awhile, but the sight they saw solidified that opinion further.] But... I still don't like the idea of outsiders deciding this world's future.

[None of them would have to live with the consequences of what they do here, and there'll be consequences for sure. It should be the Teyvat people deciding if they want to deal with that]

[bowfaire]

(He offers Jun a glance, raising a brow as if to ask, "Are we really having this sort of conversation right now? Yeah?" He doesn't mind, not when it's warmer by the statue. He wouldn't mind hanging out around here a little longer if he was being honest.)

I agree.

(Celestia is definitely a problem if they believe everything they know about the village. )

It's not that I'm against stopping Celestia and helping this world but it doesn't feel right that we're the ones making the decision. I don't like that we're doing it because another god is leading us in that direction, either...

But this is their world and the people here should be the ones who decide what they want for their future... not a bunch of outsiders that are going to leave as soon as the job is done.

[whiteshroud]

[We sure are, Claude. Jun needs a few minutes to regain magical energy anyway, what with the stunt back in that temple. ]

I'm relieved to hear you say that.

[He means that truly. As different as some of their viewpoints may be, he really did respect Claude's opinion. And Jun was still pretty new to forming his own opinions, so it feel nice to have someone agree]

I did bring it up. [To Zhongli, but eh. Details] Forneus is trying to see what he can do without Celestia noticing. Though I don't know how that'll turn out.

[bowfaire]

(It is nice when they're on the same page about things. Claude is someone who is so used to being offbeat and different from everyone else, it's always a little exciting when he meets someone who thinks like him. )

And if we can't get the people on our side first? What then?

(A question for Jun,)

... Personally, I'm not against carrying on without support. It wouldn't be my first time doing something people didn't know about; or even something that was unpopular.

But at least back home, it's well... My home too.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun is quiet for a moment]

I'm no stranger to having a bad reputation. Seal Knights aren't exactly popular back home among the Underground.

[To Say The Least. ]

If we can't get a clear indication from the people what's best for them, we're left with no choice but to follow our own beliefs and pray they're substantial ones. So long as I can see that this course is really in the best interest of the Teyvat people, I'll continue upholding my contract to Forneus.

[He pauses, before adding]

...If nothing else, Zhongli seems willing to go along with this plan. And even if I don't fully trust Forneus, I can't see Zhongli ever agreeing to something that'd be harmful to Liyue. He loves that country more than anything.