March Event Log

[kaisoumods]

March Event
Dominant Element: Wind
Waning Element: Earth

Full Moon: March 8th - March 10th

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The seasons have finally begun to shift. As the Spirit Vein shifts to hues of green, the city experiences increasing warmth throughout the month. The snows of winter melt and from it the grass begins to turn green. Early buds on some of the trees and plants begin to sprout as the month progresses. Of course, being a wind month, it's not all nice weather. Strong gusts of wind will blow throughout the month, making any early spring picnic difficult. Enjoy the warmth, but be careful not to get swept away!

Top of the Season

At long last, spring is here. The citizens of Kaisou are more than thrilled that the winter has finally passed. Even though the temperatures are still on the cooler side, many people are acting like it may be summer from the way they are walking around in t-shirts amongst the melting snow drifts. People are finding just about any and all excuse to be outside, just to enjoy some fresh air and sunlight after being stuck inside all winter. Expect to see many stores offering outdoor seating, even though the strong winds keep knocking things over.

For the students, March is something of a reprieve month before the end of the year marathon kicks in. Spring break for all the schools will take place March 12th through the 18th, so everyone gets to enjoy a shared week off from their studies and homework. Those who still interested in involving themselves in school activities, they can begin practicing their auditions for the spring play at Kaisou High. Pride and Prejudice will be this years play, so you better work on your British accents! Meanwhile for art students its' time to start working on their piece for the spring art gallery, and those involved with sports might want to consider trying out for a spot on a spring sports team such as baseball or soccer.

But for the older crowds, there's no March in Kaisou without some good old St. Patrick Day celebrations. During the week of the holiday, bars throughout the town will serve green beers and have drinking specials. There'll be small parades throughout different neighborhoods with people sporting green, leprechaun hats, and clovers. Even the Undertown is getting into the spirit, with the vendors selling spells that turn anything green and hexes that will make someone dance an Irish jig for a minute.

The Rainbow Connection

Throughout the month, rainbows will appear sporadically throughout the town. Unlike the typical rainbows you see in the sky, these seem a lot closer too- sometimes arching between two buildings or sticking out of the state park's forest. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why they're appearing weather wise, and we're several months away from Pride Month- so what could be going on? Should you ask the folks of Undertown or at the ENKI learning center, the answer they speculate could be none other than there must be leprechauns around. Why else would they be appearing this month of all months? And for those unfamiliar with the story of leprechauns, folks will more than eagerly tell you that at the end of leprechaun rainbows lie a pot of gold, if the legends are true.

Well, there's only one way to find out! A person determined enough can follow the rainbow to their end, whether it be on the top of a building or in the forest or behind a gay bar. At the end of each of these rainbows, will be a large cauldron where the rainbow and a golden light are emitting from. However, inside the cauldron is not a pot of gold but a few golden glowing salmon that are swimming around in the cauldron's golden water.

Well, it's may not be gold gold, but the salmon have their uses. Zodiac in particular will pay upwards to $1300 per salmon. You can also sell them to other folks in Undertown, albeit it for half the price, who will in turn cook them up and sell them in various food dishes for purchase. Of course, you can always cut out the middle man and cook and consume the salmon yourself. You could even keep them as a pet, if you have enough space for a salmon tank.

However, all these actions have consequences. Whether you eat the salmon (be it from your own cooking or eating it at an Undertown food vendor if you're not interested in chasing rainbows), or spend a great deal of time around them - you'll start gaining new memories of yourself in alternate universe, regardless of if you're an AU or an OU. These lives in alternate universes can take all sorts of strange and interesting forms: perhaps it glimpses of how your life would've been if a certain event hadn't happened, or it's a life where you grew up in a different setting, or maybe even a life as a rock with googly eyes. How many memories you get of this alternate life depends on how much salmon you consume or how much time you spend around them. [Mod Note: The only "alternate universe memories" that are off the table are memories for OUs that'd reveal plot points in their canons that are revealed past their stated canon point! Aka you still need to use the proper channels for a canon bump.]

Unwelcome Guests

During the weekend of March 4th, an unusual Zodiac message will appear on the Libra app.

ALERT: SPIRIT REALM BREACH IN BLUE FISH LAKE PARK.
Element Classification: Wind
Danger Level: Unknown
Designation: Spirit Realm Breach
Zodiac has detected an unusual number of presences from the Spirit Realm appearing in Blue Fish Lake Park. Early reports indicate that they may be part of the Fae, but contact has yet to be established. This is a highly unusual situation, so please approach with caution.

If you decide to head to the Zodiac office first, the overall atmosphere is tense. The Zodiac attendant are there, as well as the fuzzy Professor, but they certainly seem to be working with less resources than usual. The attendant apologizes that they couldn't send out any earlier agents to investigate the situation, citing that the higher ups cut their department's budget to devote to "other projects". The Professor chides in at this point with clear agitation, "Yeah because creatures invading from another world isn't a high priority apparently!!", before he takes a deep breath and tries to calm down.

Even with their shoestring budget, the attendant and the Professor will try to answer the best they can. The attendant explains that normally it's impossible this this number of Spirit Realm occupants to come into this side of the world unless there's a manmade tear- and no new ones have been detected. They have concerns it's a sign the Spirit Vein is leaking energy, but the higher ups won't approve the resources to perform tests that'd detect that. Meanwhile the Professor will chime in. It turns out the "early report" mentioned in the message was him going to Blue Fish Lake Park, getting a look at the fae, and then scurrying away before they could spot his small puppet body. While he insists that history is his specialty and not myths, he will concede he's read some things about the fae. Particularly that they are nasty tricksters with egos and temperaments that'd give high profile celebrities a run for their money. Do anything to make them angry, and they won't hesitate to curse you and ruin your life. However, the fae can never tell a lie, and if you get them to promise something- they can never break that promise. Also if any types of diplomacy fails, iron works great on them!

That intel in hand, it's time to head to Blue Lake Fish Park to meet the guests.

Arriving in Blue Fish Lake Park, you'll immediately tell that something is off. Despite the rest of the city's flora still being in the very early stages of spring, the plant life in this park looks much closer to the late spring. The grass is fully green, flowers are in full bloom a month early, and the trees have their foliage fully grown in. In fact, it's almost like new plants and trees have sprouted and grown in the last few days. And it's not just the plant life that's unusual. Amongst the normal visitors of the park (many of whom are normal people who notice nothing unusual is afoot) are the occasional fae, sticking out with their insectoid wings and other inhuman features. All of them on the outer edges of the park seem to be moving with purpose, either guarding or scouting. Should you approach any of these fae demanding answers, they will state that they in service of the original leaders of the Fae court. Seeming to recognize that you are no normal person, they will inform you that you should head into the forest to speak with the court themselves.

Stepping into the forest, you'll find a forest that's further along in being changed than the rest of the park. The trees have grown taller and been warped in ways the Fae find more appealing. The lush green canopy looks like it belongs in the depths of summer than March. And there are Fae everywhere, among the trees and the underbrush, watching you as you come in. Head deep enough into the forest, and you'll come across a make shift throne room out of trees and stone in the area- its under construction, if you will. All around the court are numerous fae guards, ready to attack at a moment's notice. The leader of the Fae, a Fae queen who act as arrogant and dismissive as ever, will react as if you're the one who has stepped into her land.

It'll take some coaxing and insistence to finally get an explanation to what's going on. Since the kidnapping attempt last March, a division has happened among the Fae court between the Seelie and the Unseelie Fae. This rift grew only deeper as time went on, until it turned violent. The Unseelie managed to get the upper hand through a surprise tactic, managed to drive the Seelie - the Fae here- out of the court. The Seelie Fae decided rather than attempt to take their court back, that they would take advantage of Kaisou's ever growing spirit energy and lay claim to a court here. The entire time, the Fae Queen does her best to paint the Seelie as the wronged party and perfectly innocent in every way - but despite her attempts, many will get the sense that the Seelie are nowhere near as blameless as she's painting them as. And as for her claim that the Seelie fae intend to live with the humans of Kaisou in peaceful coexistence and won't cause any trouble? Well...

The Seelie are Assholes

Yeah, so as time goes on, it becomes quickly apparent that the Fae Queen's claim of peaceful coexistence was, to put it, an exaggeration at best. These are still the same spiteful and vengeful Fae that kidnapped a bunch of app users last year, after all. Throughout the week, there are numerous attempts by various Fae to kidnap babies and children to bring them to their court to raise as their own, so have fun sorting out those incidents. By the end of the week, they've gotten it in their mind without any discussion that all of Blue Fish Lake park is their territory, and therefore everyone who steps into the park is subject to their rules. And what rules are these you may ask? Well honestly, there'd be too many to list, and they seem ever constantly changing. They all seem to boil down to not doing anything at all that'd annoy one of the Fae, especially if they hold status in the court.

Should one break one of these rules, a number of consequences can happen. They may decide to curse you in some fashion, either with a classic curse or start turning you into some monster. Thankfully, being on Earth renders their powers weaker, so many of these curses are either weaker or not as long lasting as they could've been if they were in the Spirit Realm properly. Alternatively, they could just decide to attack you or try to kill you. And if you really make them mad? They might decide to kidnap a loved ones of yours and bring them to the fae court to curse them instead. Great.

That said, for some endearing yourself to the Fae Court may come with some advantages, though it may also run the risk of them deciding to try to change you into a fae. But whether or not you avoid that fate, you can get something truly valuable. Namely: information. Should you get into their good graces (by them doing favors, offering them gifts, flattery, etc), they will provide what they know about the ongoing situation. Their ability to be in Kaisou? Is thanks to the unusual levels of spirit energy coming from Kaisou's Spirit Vein. The ruptures caused by Professor Willow (with a certain portal in August exacerbating the issue) has caused spirit energy to flow into the city unchecked, making the Spirit Energies rise to levels not normally possible on Earth. The new powers and monstrous forms that people have been exhibiting? Is due to the increased Spirit Energy levels. Normal human bodies don't typically do well to prolong exposure to the Spirit Realm. Some may have a higher tolerance than others, but it's still unhealthy in the long run. The Fae mitigate this problem by changing their kidnapped victims honored guests into Fae with their magics. Most likely, they speculate, the increasing Spirit Energy is attempting to do the same in its own way, as a way to prepare for...

Prepare for what? The Fae at this point become more evasive, not wanting to give a direct answer. If you push them enough without angering them, they will ask "Did they ever find Roanoke?" as a rhetorical question, before dropping the subject altogether. While this may lead to more questions than answers, it wouldn't be a bad idea for someone to inform everyone else of what you learned.

Tír na nóg

So yeah, it's safe to say that letting the Seelie Fae stay is not going to work out, right?

While Zodiac itself continues to be preoccupied with other matters, after the third Fae mistook him for a human baby and attempted to kidnap him, the Fuzzy Professor is thoroughly done with their new guests. He sends his own message on the Libra app, proposing a plan. He's done some research and found that per the rules of the Fae, should the leader of the original Fae court (the one in realm of Tír na nóg) announce that it's time for a Gathering - all the Fae associated with that court are required to return to the Court to attend the Gathering. So if they travel to the Spirit Realm these guys came from and convince the current Unseelie Ruler to announce a gathering - the Seelie Fae will return to that realm and once they're all gone, they can seal any gates so the Seelie can't come back in the city. If asked if the Unseelie ruler is unwilling to cooperate with this plan, but Professor gives an ambivalent "well then uh...overthrow them, I guess? Look, I just want these guys gone okay! I'm sick of getting kidnapped!"

You know what? Fair enough.

Per the Professor's instructions, while the main gate the Seelie Fae used is heavily guarded, they can reactivate the old gate from last year that's hidden away in Brick Alley. Sure enough when they arrive in Brick Alley, there's no obvious standing tall gate. Instead, they will have to search around until they find a circle of mushrooms that have popped up on a patch of grass. If you can't find it, the blue little puppet who is standing nearby will be a good clue. He wave you over and gives anyone who cones by a piece of Ariandhe's Yarn, so they can teleport out of that realm immediately once their job is done. The mushrooms that make up the fairy circle are impervious to harm, and you'll have to stand in the center of them if you want to enter the realm. It'll take a moment or two to activate, leaving you feel a little awkward as normal people pass by and stare at you standing in a circle of mushrooms, but hold fast, because soon you'll find yourself warped into another realm.

Some older app users may recall their previous visit to this realm as stepping into a beautiful fairy tale realm. Certainly, many of the old familiar features are there: the rocky cliffs, the meadows, the Fae castle in the distance. But past those familiar sights, there's been a lot of changes. It's colder in this realm, with everything having the look of late autumn and early winter. It's darker as well, with the daylight hours being no brighter than twilight, and the nights lasting much longer than normal. The forest has become overgrown, wilder and more twisted. This place looks less like a fairytale and more like the setting for a halloween story. Seems this is what happens when it's only the Unseelie controlling the land.

Your goal is to once again reach the castle. However, the journey is much more perilous than before. The path that was once a straight shot to the castle now has become more winding. It now crosses through bogs full of Will-o'-the-wisps which attempt to lead you off the path and into the bog...which is still full of undead skeletons who are more than happy to try to drag you under. And these are hardly the worst dangers, as unlucky travelers may happen upon a banshee whose screams may paralyze anyone. Going near any body of water runs the risk of happening upon the Kelpie's more violent cousin, the Each Uisge.

Also remember the Dulahan and the large, fire breathing, dragon from last year? Yeah, they are no longer restricted to their little spots and are roaming free, able to attack and breath fire on any poor soul they happen upon. The trip is a long one, possibly taking a few days (though luckily, barely any time will pass in Kaisou itself). So go prepared and...have fun!

The Unseelie Court

After a long and dangerous journey, they finally reach the castle. Just like the rest of the realm, its been twisted and turned darker to represent the Unseelie's particular aesthetic. And if you think that the danger was over now that you reached the castle, oh, you're quite mistaken. These Fae, either because they know your intent or they simply do not like intruders, will likely attack on sight unless you're extremely good at talking your way out. Either this will do this with direct assaults or through trickery, conjuring illusions that reflect your own personal nightmares in order to break you.

Struggle through the winding halls of the castle best you can until you reach the throne room of the court. There stands the Unseelie King. You can go about this a few ways, either attempt to persuade him to initiate a Gathering, though he will protest quite a bit - and has every bit of arrogance that the Seelie Queen showed. Should persuasion tactics not work, it's a matter of fighting. Either kill or incapacitate him, all you need to do is take his crown that sits upon his head. Though be careful, he's not the king for no reason. He'll be a tough opponent, with both fighting prowess and magical skill alike.

If you fight him and obtain the crown, all you need to do is put it atop your head and declare that it's time for The Gathering. A bell ringing sound will ring out throughout the realm, alerting all the Fae. The task done, it's best to make your hurried escape before the Fae have caught onto your deception or you get sealed in with them. Use the yarn that the Professor gave you, or find another way out and head for home.

Aftermath

When you return to Kaisou, you'll find the Seelie Fae are quickly making their exit back into the realm they came from, having been summoned for the gathering. As soon as the last one steps in, the members of the Black Order can use a sealing spell granted by the higher ups in order to seal the gate. With the Fae gone, Blue Lake Park will slowly turn back to how it looked before. Some of the temporary curses will fade. Unfortunately, not much can be done to cure the more permanent curses. And for many, the information that the Seelie Fae provided may still trouble you. Just what is going to happen to this town? Is there a way to fix it before it's too late? Why is Zodiac suddenly so disinterested? Only time will tell, it seems.

OOC Notes

The dominant element this month is Wind! Anyone with an affinity to the wind element will find themselves boosted throughout the month. This could mean a boost to their power, having more energy, feeling more inspired with creativity, having better luck on different attempts -- the boost can manifest in all sorts of different ways. By contrast, anyone with an affinity for Earth will be experiencing the opposite. Perhaps their powers will be weaker, they have less energy, they're having a creative block or general worse luck - again it can manifest in all sorts of way and players are free to play with this mechanic as they'd like.

For the month of March, courtesy of the Fae, characters can obtain up to 3 monster transformation purchases for free. This does not count for your usual monthly limit, so you can also pay for 2-3 more if you wish! And for this month only, characters can regain monster features for up to two monster types (for example your character could gain monster feature from a unicorn AND an avian if they wish to be an alicorn). The IC justification for this is that it's Fae magic. After this month, the monster transformations will go back to their regularly scheduled limitations.

The original OOC plotting post for this event can be found here. Another Zodiac Post will be going up March 15th to serve as an intro post for new characters and allow characters to react to developments over the network.

Comments

[bladecaller]

Libra. Yeah.

[ HM.....over a year, huh. That's. That's information he's going to have to process, yeah. ]

Is this what's responsible for the weird things people are experiencing?

[areyuuserious]

Wouldn't necessarily call it responsible, but it's certainly connected.

[They're quiet for a moment, before they add--]

People who have it turn up tend to be connected to the paranormal in some way or another.