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.

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[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.

[ 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. ]

[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?

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. ]

[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?

Edited 2021-05-10 06:03 (UTC)

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

[ ???? ]

[Bread and fruit....

Not that those things were bad, but. ]

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

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

[ # justgodthings! ]

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?

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

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

[.... 💧 ]

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!]

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

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

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.

Ah, alright.

[ He'll try to get cards and games specifically from Elliot's world, as a show of respect. ]

I rarely interact with humans, so I appreciate your advice.

[In that case, get ready to play knock-off Yu-gi-oh cards (no i don't know why that video runs slow) Forneus]

Eheh ... so I've noticed. But that's alright! It's good that you're trying, and I'm pretty used to people with, uh, curious backgrounds.

[Half of Class VII were friendless losers before they became a group, he means]

[ Forneus is also a loser lbr ]

Hmm! If that's the case, then I suppose I'll tell you a bit more about myself. [ He leans a little closer conspiratorially: ] I'm actually not from Teyvat either.

You aren't?

[Well he wasn't expecting that]

That's a twist. Where are you from?

Its name not pronounceable in any worldly language, but it roughly means 'First City'.

[ Because that's not ominous at all. ]

It doesn't exist anymore, though. I came to Teyvat after a long journey.

[First City? Should that mean something to him? And taking a long journey before ending up in Teyvat? Is that normal for gods to pick worlds like students pick colleges or is this a massive bombshell? Elliot knows nothing about how gods work. Aidios is very much the type of goddess that prefers you don't question this shit too hard, so there's not a lot of theological theories. And even if they were, it's not like Elliot had a strong interest in religion like Gaius so he probably wouldn't have read them anyway.

But at the same time, he doesn't want to sound like a total dumbass to Forneus. So excuse him as he

]

...Huh. Interesting.

[ Luckily for all parties involved, Forneus does not seem bothered in the least by Elliot's answer. ]

Ehh, no need to think too deeply about it. It's all in the past anyway.

[ In other words: this is a story for another day. ]

Anyways... it's one of the reasons I thought of inviting people from the outside. Native Teyvat gods hate outsiders, they'd never do this sort of thing.

[Oh thank the goddess, he'll nod and gladly putting those thoughts aside. Perhaps he's not longer under Aidios's direct influence by virtue of being in Teyvat, but all this stuff was still confusing as heck to him. Better to focus on something he can relate to.]

Now now, don't assume that's true for every Teyvat god. You can't paint everyone with the same brush. [He crosses his arms. Sure, in general he believes stereotyping is bad. But he actually has a more pragmatic reason] ... During the Erebonian Civil War, the Noble Alliance fought for Erebonian aristocratic supremacy, but those views didn't stop them from making allies with Calvard, Erebonia's historic enemy, to gain a tactical advantage.

[in other words, even the most xenophobic are more than happy to temporarily put their prejudices aside if it works in their favor. There's no ruling out that Celestia might do the same if pressed]

...But, that does explain why you feel willing to trust us so easily. You feel a type of kinship, being an outsider yourself. I can understand that.

Edited 2021-05-11 17:22 (UTC)

[ Considering that Zhongli is right there, well... Then again, Zhongli is more of an earthly god than all those guys sitting up there in Celestia. ]

You're a person who believes in working for a better world. That's one of the reasons I picked you.

[Still case in point! Not that he knows Zhongli is the god. Honestly he's just "hot guy at camp that knows a lot of trivia" to Elliot.]

Haha, you got me pegged alright. [He smiles] My dream's to make my music resound across Zemuria, and use it to help heal and bring peace.

And even if I'm not from here, I want to do the same for Teyvat.

[ Forneus looks at him, and for a moment Elliot can feel that the guy is looking inside him, a certain kind of assessment that goes into his soul. ]

You'll do great things wherever you go. I'm sure of it.

[Forneus that's invasive, though Elliot is one of the few that won't raise a fuss about it. I'm sure his insides are just a lot of music puns, gay and anxiety]

Haha, that's sweet Forneus. I'll try not to let you down!

(no subject)

stellafortunamods - 2021-05-16 14:25 (UTC) - Expand

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