stellafortunalogs | MAY MINGLE

MAY MINGLE

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Huh?

[Right now? He frowns at the suggestion and takes a look around.]

Aren't we needed here? I don't know how I can help, but we're supposed to help out, right? Like... [What do you do with dead bodies? Most of the ones he's come across all disappear...] I don't know... Explore this place more?

[Jun will shake his head.]

At this moment, there's not much to do. Everyone else is coming to gripes with what happened here.

It'd be best to give them some time. We can explore later.

[A lot of people did look rather shaken by this. Makes Roxas almost feel bad he wasn't as affected by everything going on here. It might be best not to make too many verbal observations around here.]

Alright... but we shouldn't stay gone too long. How far away is this city?

[Yeah, that's what he's thinking. He remembers all too well Roxas is not...the best...with tact.

Instead of giving an answer, Jun will just hold out his hand]

Far enough. Take my hand.

Edited 2021-05-02 06:09 (UTC)

.... [Sorry, that's going to get Jun a flat look.] Why do I need to take your hand?

[ ... 💧 ]

So I can teleport you there.

[LOOK. They might know each other, but hand holding isn't something that just happens. But at least the explanation makes sense.

Have a hand to hold, Jun, even if Roxas would rather be doing something else.]

Right. Once I get my powers back I won't need to hold anyone's hand.

[It's probably good that Jun's got his hood on, because he sure eyerolled at that remark]

Don't worry, you won't catch my cooties.

[Holding onto Roxas's hand, he raises his free hand. There's a blue glow around them before the area disappears. A moment later, the scenery comes back looking completely different. They're in an alleyway in Mondstadt - where it's nice, warm, and sunny-- completely different from that frozen hell they just came from ]

[What are cooties... Doesn't matter. The feeling of teleporting was weird. Far weirder than his Dark Corridors. Roxas blinks and looks around for a moment as warmth creeps in.

It wasn't cold here.]

Wow...

[Wait. Removing his hand from Jun's, he sticks it into his coat pocket and moves a little away from the other.]

Thanks... but how did you do that? I don't remember anyone having a teleporting ability back in South Sister.

[He's fine with letting go of Roxas's hand once the teleportation is over. With it being much warmer here, Jun will take off his hood and run his hand through his hair to fix his hood hair.

Surprise, Orden was that nerdy kid that ran the anime library and helped you with cooking all along. He continues talking like this isn't some big bombshell reveal, now in his normal voice. ]

Magic.

[A very unhelpful explanation, but that probably should be expected]

I could teleport back in South Sister too, I just didn't do it in front of you.

[....

Roxas stares at Jun with his mouth a bit open.

WHAT IS GOING ON????]

J-Jun....?

[JUN IS ORDEN? WAIT. THAT... makessolittlesense]

[Jun notices Roxas's complete shock and pauses. Oh right. He'd been so used to everyone in Mondstadt knowing his identity these past few months that he...forgot. That Roxas wouldn't know.]

Haha...oh right, you didn't know.

[Oopsies]

Surprise...?

[Logically Roxas shouldn't be too upset at his since Jun was always nice. But Orden... He huffs and frowns.]

Why didn't you tell me! And why are you such a... [What's a good word for Orden...] Why do you act like such an adult as Orden!

[That makes no sense, Roxas...]

Well, we aren't exactly close...

[So, that's why. He raises an "eyebrow" at Roxas calling him an "adult", but he supposes he gets the gist ]

It's...complicated. Basically, I was on duty when I was acting as Orden, and that duty comes with certain expectations. Like how a cashier's always expected to smile while serving customers, you know?

... I hate secrets.

[Crossing his arms, Roxas looks away from Jun.]

We were stuck in a place where secrets were bad, but you still kept up on your duties? I don't get it. It wasn't even your world, so why bother hiding? I figured out real fast that South Sister wasn't part of the Order I was supposed to protect.

[Ah. He did not miss this.]

My duties still applied there, even though it wasn't my world. It wasn't like I could let the Silence run rampant.

[Well, he could've- but he tries not to be a sociopath these days]

As for why I bothered hiding... [He goes quiet for a moment. There's loads of official excuses he could use, but he knows that's not the whole truth. He can at least be honest about this]

... I wanted to be normal and make friends. When people know the truth, they tend to see the Seal Knight part of me before anything else.

[Hearing the word Silence makes Roxas check his wrist for the millionth time since he's been here. It was good it didn't follow him, but the fear will be there for a while.]

You know, as someone who was part of an evil Organization and not human, real friends don't care about that. They'll accept every part of you. [At least people who want to be friends-friends.] The people who can't see past the Seal Knight are probably not long term friends unless they can learn to see you for more than that.

[While Jun doesn't necessarily disagree with that sentiment, he doesn't buy it either - at least, not from who it's coming from. He puts his hand on his hip. ]

Hmm...you say that, but you've been on my ass every time I so much as breathed loudly as Orden. And it sounds like you're just mad that I didn't let you in on some private information when we weren't that close. So I question how much in good faith you're saying this...

It's not like I hid it from my actual friends. If I thought they could be trusted, I told them.

Can you blame me? Orden was like talking to one of the many stubborn adults who thought they knew better than everyone in South Sister. It was hard to like that persona.

[A lot of the adults still don't seem all too competent.]

If I'd known it was you under there, I wouldn't have been like that... and secrets weren't good in that place. The people that ran that place knew everything about us already. I didn't keep anything about myself a secret so they couldn't use it against me.

Uh...those "stubborn adults" were much nicer and less stubborn than you were, so yeah, I think I can...

[Father Abel, Father Hansa, Natori and Zhongli treated him like family. Rose looked after him. Mando clearly cared about the younger kids. Even the Admin had his moments.]

Considering I was helping the Admin willingly, him using my secrets against me wouldn't have benefitted him. Besides, I really am required to keep secrets as part of my duty. That hasn't changed.

I think we were talking to different adults...

[Father Abel was the only one on that list he ever talked to, and he just seemed kind of weird.

Roxas might also be jaded by all bad adults back home. There were so few genuinely good ones.]

Then what makes this place so special?

[Yeah it's true. Basically anyone taller than Goofy is sus in KH world

Jun shrugs]

Nothing. I just arrived here lacking my powers like everyone else, so it made hiding my identity more difficult than it's worth.

[In other words, if he had all his powers, he'd be right back to hiding who he is 8D]

[Not that anyone shorter than Goofy was any better.]

Wait...... that's a power changing your voice?

[He thought it was just some weird mechanism or something!!]

[It's true Donald did everything wrong. Everything.]

Mm, in a sense. It's a magic enchantment imbued into the hood. It'll only activate to my spiritual energy, so no one can steal my uniform and pose as me.

[............ that sounds so much more convenient than what Riku did and changing his entire form.]

We don't have enchantments like that back home.

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