vivala | Event #09: THE FETE OF KNOWLEDGE

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EVENT #09: THE FETE OF KNOWLEDGE

As the month wears on, the Imperial forces withdraw, tired of scouring the seas in attempts to pick off individual Corsair ships, have slunk back to their masters. During this time, the Corsairs were hard at work finishing the Crimson Portal in Asphodel, and for the first time ever the Corsairs now have four waypoints - an enormous gain as they welcome the refugees from Vindess.

The refugees themselves are settling about as well as can be expected. Tension is still high, while the people are grateful for being saved from certain doom, a lifetime of propaganda doesn’t fade away in an instant and they remain wary, upset at the loss of their homes and way of life. Struggle is natural, and thus, the Corsairs have prepared for the second phase of the resettlement operation - the Fete of Knowledge.

As Asphodel residents stream into the Vault, music - the kind never permitted under Imperial auspices - echoes through the halls. Although the hammering of munitions is ever-present, this music is meant to reverberate through the caverns, echoing upon itself to build into even greater harmonies. This is music of the Crimson Corsairs, made to suit their purposes and circumstances. A salve for aching hearts and a beauty to bring a tear to the eye, the Vault is ready to prove that as the last repository of forbidden knowledge in the world, the wonders they hold welcome all who have the minds to seek it.

With the spring thaw well underway there is still much to be done, but the Corsairs have worked to complete it as best they can. Thus, most everyone within the three, no, four cities should find some time to partake in the Fete. As the week-long festivities commence, Corsairs are welcomed to take a much-needed break and celebrate their triumphs.

Join the Performance

The music of the day is a beautiful choral arrangement, repeated on the hour to echo through the halls, the verses building upon each other. While not enough to drown out the bombing, it’s a gorgeous piece and one that somehow provides a measure of peace and comfort. Any and all are welcome to lend their voices, there are several parts for any vocal range with the more complex vocalizations being handled by experienced musicians. And, best of all, any who aid in the song are gifted a jug of honey wine, a salve for a sore throat and a delicious delicacy besides.

Debate Hall

The Debate Hall is often lively, and during the Fete it has been repurposed to serve as the center of introduction to rhetoric. Debates between people of roughly equivalent skill are held throughout the Fete, and the topic of debate can be anything the participants choose. Debates over best foods, fashion, or even the odd lyrical exchange of truly hair-raising insults, just about any kind of confrontational discourse is currently on display for the amusement of refugees and Corsairs alike. Corsairs are free to join the stage, so long as they honor the traditions of the hall - settle disputes with words, not blades. At least while you’re in the hall, anyway.

Banquet Hall

The Corsairs have tapped their stores to create a truly enormous feast of delicacies only found in the Eternal Ocean. Aquatic creatures of all sorts grace the tables, as well as some of the native flora and fauna of Elysium’s fields, prepared to absolute perfection. And then, of course, there is the grog, free-flowing and plentiful to help take the edge off the trauma of the resettlement. The mood is mostly festive, with sober bouncers on hand to eject any Corsairs who might get a bit too belligerent while soaking in libations.

Dueling Hall

Sometimes words are not enough, and the Corsairs have set up a dueling hall within the Vault for people to test their skills against each other in controlled environments. Ether is dampened in the Dueling Hall, so while one can cast spells as they might, the lethality is far reduced, a once-searing flame is now a gentle warmth and a block of ice a pleasant mist. This, along with padded weaponry, make for a fine way for Corsairs to both test their skill and show off for the masses, with any number of interesting rules in play to make the contests of strength more interesting and enjoyable to watch. With many a pair from the Debate Hall making their way to the Dueling Hall to continue their disputes, the hall is busy for the entirety of the Fete.

Story Hall

A Story Hall has been set up near the library for actors and orators to read and sometimes act out the books and stories found within the library. While the townsfolk of Vindess are not entirely illiterate, their lower class nature as mine workers means that many cannot read, or read well, and this hall gives them an opportunity to experience the wonder of the written word, of story and legend, and to hear the histories the Empire has long suppressed. The Story Hall is always looking for more orators and actors to read or act out books and plays, and it is one of the most heavily trafficked areas in the Fete, with the Vindess residents hungry for these once-forbidden tales.

Wildcard

The Fete of Knowledge is all about sharing, so there are any number of activities, and Corsairs are encouraged to come up with their own to keep the Fete moving. You may use this prompt to do whatever you wish. Enjoy the party!

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

theriflespiral

I. A Lively(?) Debate
Well. If it's Natalia Koutolika, spreading knowledge and stories, what better way than the dockside champion of the boast to make a boast?

"Boasts for the hale-hearted, those unwearied world-walkers, whose tales command and whose fortitude is unmatched! Speak your poems of heart and rising! Come and let me hear you, truth-teller, fist-fighter, for you know, when you speak of one whose boasts are unrivaled, you speak to Natalia! So willing am I to be challenged, I will let you boast first."

II. Stacked To The Nines
If there's one bad habit Natalia picked up in the Army, it was never to turn down a free meal. And so, rather than doing the polite thing, she has stacked her plate to ridiculous levels, balancing it only by supernatural coordination and skill, plates and bowls of a dozen different cultures piled high.

She's not sure if she can eat it all now, but she'll sure be able to eat it all later.

... Though she'd better make sure no one realizes she plans to hoard this, huh...?

III. A Dancer's Duel
In the dueling hall, Natalia picks up a pair of meteor hammers and breathes. If nothing else, this latest challenger seems like the perfect opportunity to test her dancing and casting to the utmost, and an incredible opportunity for her to teach others the start of the secrets of the Inner Lotus.

And perhaps, of course, the Inner Lotus is not quite the same here, that it is back home. Perhaps it is not a shard of divine nature, urging itself into living flame blossoming flower fruits of hard work.

But it is close enough, she thinks, that teaching it will do no harm.

Well. For the average citizen, anyway. Other PCs have different paradigms.

From:

singlemilletgrain

"流星...? (liu xing...?)"

Good heavens.

She has never seen anyone actually use the meteor hammer in real combat. One of the ancient weapons of Yanese civilization, she had always suspected it was one of her brother's more impractical inventions. A soft weapon, its mastery involved martial skills that far exceeded simple swordsmanship or spear work. Balance, coordination, precision and dexterity over strength or force.

It made for an excellent demonstration of wushu. But in an actual duel?

Shu sits up a little straighter in the audience to observe what is to come.

From:

theriflespiral

"Understand I am handicapping myself further here by using these," she explains to her opponent, unfurling her Inner Lotus. "I am Outlander. These weapons are..."

Her opponent, however, is impatient to begin, pulling a straight sword from the rack and ignoring ettiquette slightly. "Enough of your boasts!"

Natalia slips out of the way of the exceedingly clumsy swing, turning, starting a rhythm that shows in mist and the turning of the hammers. As she suspected, the wide-ranging hammers combined with solid organic material gathers and disperses Ether more efficiently than she'd feared, but less efficiently than she'd hoped. They would do, but better ones would have to wait for her to understand magic weapons.

Regardless, she continues her lecture, keeping rhythm while she speaks. A burst of mist suffuses the ground and obscures the battlefield. "Back home, something similar to these are used to test one's care and erudition with what, here, is called personal Ether."

She slips out of the way once more and now, one meteor hammer hooks around his sword arm. "One may focus one's Ether, even through an inferior weapon, to reinforce its capabilities. This is a more advanced form--"

The hammer shifts in a way that appears unnatural, changing direction with barely a twitch from Natalia's hand. "Where one can control the path of a connected object."

His arm is trapped, but of course, he has his own strength, and contests control of the weapon. Natalia shifts stance, but her foot and maneuver are still keeping time.

From:

singlemilletgrain

She hides a smile at the opponent's frustration, and though she did appreciate Natalia's grandstanding, it was, perhaps, a bit lengthy.

It is obvious that Natalia is skilled. There is some combination of Ether and martial prowess happening - perhaps something intrinsic to her, as well. She recalls that Natalia had spoken of and demonstrated an inner... frost when they had first met. This, she gathers, is manifesting as a sort of mist, perhaps.

The dancing meteor display is one that she has seen before, but its theoretical usage contrasts sharply with its practical ability now to grapple an opponent. Shu watches with great interest as Natalia disables the other combatant with one easy swing of the hammer. It appears that Natalia is aware of what an unusual demonstration this is, judging from the lecture.

From:

theriflespiral

The disarm is similarly quick, as she pulls the hammer in with her whole weight and a foot, drops the second, and with her free hand, wrests the sword from him, sending it flying. "You are correct-- Imperial training trains mass quickly, and effectively for many situations. But it is not the pinnacle."

Now, she sighs and helps him recover, and they both take bows, because it appears that, in fact, she has drawn a crowd.

From:

singlemilletgrain

Shu is part of the audience that applauds enthusiastically, though she does not go so far as to cheer and holler as some of the more boisterous Corsairs do. It appears that several are interested in Natalia's demonstration, for she has a few hangers-on who ask her some questions. Some vaguely insinuate that they are interested in learning how to use such a weapon, though heavens only knows where they might find a meteor hammer instructor in this world.

Well.

Perhaps Natalia.

Once she is a bit more free, Shu will approach.

"That was a very impressive demonstration. Truly, I have never seen the usage of that weapon for actual combat before."

From:

theriflespiral

A lot of them are turned away when she mentions that the actual reason to learn them is for a trick of erudition, which hinges on their nature as inherently soft devices. Since even minute motions and changes in Ether can effect the trajectory of such long, flexible weapons, back home they were used primarily to test the user's control over their Ether--

Most of them leave before she even describes the test, but that just leaves room for Shu to come in.

There's a moment where she's utterly shocked, and then remembers. "From-- New years', yes? And Vindess, not long ago. Shu?"

She recovers from the shock of meeting someone from such a chance meeting (surely, it was a dream?), and nods. "As I said, this was a handicap. A way to make up for the fact that I was... Uncomfortably far from that fellow's capabilities. I did not wish to fight him sword to sword. It would have felt... Bad."

From:

singlemilletgrain

Shu privately observes that Natalia can get a bit long-winded, even outside the context of making boasts as was required in any good show duel. As the disappointed Corsairs trickle away, she also notes that a few of them are enjoying themselves by wrapping their arms around their friends' weapon-hands and locking up their motion much like the meteor did with the sword.

"Yes."

Is it such a surprise? They had only just worked together to retrieve Donnie and Aira, after all. Though their first meeting, she will admit, had been quite bizarre and not one that was likely to repeat until the next time she felt the urge to inflict soup upon random strangers.

"The young are apt to be... ambitious. And of course, they must keep up appearances around the Outlanders. The native Corsairs, though good comrades, I find do not wish to be considered inferior to whatever skills we may bring in."

From:

theriflespiral

"Ah. Perhaps, then, I should have gone easier on him. These things are difficult." It's hard to beat Natalia in a martial-arts-off. Without relying on drug enhancement, she's one of the best there is! "And I truly do find the use of Ether through weaponry a fascinating topic on its own, though-- I suppose not everyone shares my enthusiasm."

That does explain why she's so good at it, at least.

From:

singlemilletgrain

"When the purpose is a martial demonstration to boast of one's prowess, there is no need to go easy." Shu affirms. "But I am curious as to why you would choose to train upon such a weapon. I had thought you were a marksman from the display you put on earlier. Or perhaps it is simply that you are versed with all manner of things?"

From:

theriflespiral

"It... Was part of the Inner Lotus training, like I was trying to say earlier. When you first start to grow the Inner Lotus, this is the next challenge: you are put in a field of targets, very thick, and made to run a hammer routine for five minutes.

"The point is not to break as many targets as possible; quite the opposite. You are not considered to have good fine control until the wild arcs of the hammers break only a minimal quota. Three is traditionally a fail. I did not stop training until I had struck none."

Event #09: THE FETE OF KNOWLEDGE

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