Avatar Theme Week RP: What a week!

[Oneris]

A brownie is not expected to be a leader, but Matheline was not really a brownie. Still, the presence she cast from atop the streetlamp was less imposing than she hoped.
"Right. There is no sense in waiting any longer. Those who are not currently present will learn of the situation through word-of-mouth, and I doubt even being ground through the rumor mill will diminish the impact of the news.

I'm sure everyone has noticed now. The theme of our transformations this week is "Fey" and thus, our surroundings have become a fairy forest. As you know, fairies in the traditional sense have a code of morality differing greatly from our own. While we of this unchanging town have retained our minds, and thus our rationality, little can be said for those dwelling in the forests beyond. As it happens, they are at war. Who against whom, and over what, we do not know. What we can be sure of is that this town will not remain unscathed.

Those of you who can still bear the touch of cold iron, fire, and salt; treasure these well, for they will be your weapons and shields. Those of you who can see through glamour, assist your friends who cannot. Those of you with magic, use it wisely.

Protect your homes. The gates will open to them by dawn. Whatever you do not wish stolen, surround in salt and steel. If you sleep, do so during the day. The night is dark and full of dangers.

Venturing out into the forest is not recommended, but for those feeling adventurous: Individual fairies are capricious and their moods mercurial. Fairy politics takes this to an extreme. Embroil yourselves in their war only as far as you are able to handle. Enjoy their hospitality at your own risk. You may be physically fae, but eating their food may still leave you trapped until the next theme begins.

Above all, be careful. Trust no one from the forest. They have nothing but their own interests at heart, and will gladly harm you. That is all. "

Maetheline paused before hopping down from her perch.

"Anyone wishing to take part in the scouting mission should remain here, so we can discuss further plans. "

((Seriously now, Duck999 and I can't be the only ones world building here Someone else take up the mantle for a change))

Edit: @Duck999: Sorry. Post had been amended.

[Duck999]

Immer holds up the arrows. Well, he technically levitates them above the gathered.
This was their warning shot.
A shadow appears on the wall.
And this is how it was recieved.
The shadows play on the wall so that it looks like the wall of the town. Two figures stand atop it. An arrow appears, flying towards the figures. One falls off the wall, and swoops to catch the arrow. The shadows dissapear.
These arrows are of elven make. This means two things. One, we have enemies among the elves. Two, those enemies are unafraid to hurt us.
An elf appears in the shadows. Next to him is a smaller figure. The elf is violently attacking the other figure with a sword.
We must rise up!
The smaller figure grows larger that the elf. The elf attacks start to slow.
And defeat our enemies!
The now larger figure grows, and soon all that is seen is a hand, which simply flicks the elf. The shadows making up the elf disperse.

((Hey, I did some world building. Like, ummm... having the arrow fly towards us. And writing the OP. That counts for somehing, right? Jeez this is hard to type on a mobile device. So many typos that I had to go back and fix.))

[WarKitty]

A feline figure quietly slips down from the trees, dark wings folded tightly down. Transformations happen, but native kitty magic always persists.

So you're not glamoured then. Anyone know what's going on? The forest look bright but it smells like carrion. And many of those elves are like dried bone. And it felt like a spell in that forest was trying to keep me from leaving the whole time, trying to draw me in...

For those who've seen her before, the cat goes by Felina. It's almost certainly not her real name, but no one's gotten a real name out of her. Her age is rather mysterious too, and the only thing most people know is that she used to be a witch's cat...

I found a giant white tree that looked like it was long-dead but it was perfectly preserved. Instead of leaves it was growing arrows, bone-white arrows made entirely of wood. It was in a clearing full of black thorny vines which grew a strange white fruit that seemed to shift under my gaze. I think there was some sort of spell on the fruit. No animals or even insects were in the clearing, but it sounded like there was something moving inside of the tree, and I thought I saw a pale elven face peek out.

[Oneris]

((Gah! ninja'd. I'm editing my post to match))

"A tree of arrows? If that's how they're getting their weapons, at least we know what to target if it becomes necessary."

Maethel looked contemplative.
"Miss Felina, do you think you could lead us to this tree? If it is currently in use, perhaps we could arrange a meeting with its users.

Or at least learn enough to replicate its technology. An everlasting supply of arrows could be useful.

[WarKitty]

I could, I think, but we would have to be careful. I suspect there might have been some sort of magical lure on the fruit. Most catfolk are naturally resistant to magic, but I don't know how well everyone else handles such things. And those thorns were longer and sharper than my claws. Perhaps if some sort of protection could be acquired?

The cat quietly licks a few rumpled feathers back into place.

[Lycunadari]

When Lycunadari woke up, the first thing ze noticed was how big hir bird companion had become. Actually, everything seemed suddenly huge, especially the tree ze had slept on. With a sigh ze realised that it was probably not the world that had grown but rather that ze had shrunken.

"So, what other changes happened tonight?", Lycunadari wonders. Ze stood up and looked down hir tiny body. Hir shoes were gone, but ze didn't mind that. Ze often went barefoot anyway. Hir clothes also had changed but the changes were less drastic than they had been after previous changes. Ze also had wings, small translucent ones. They shouldn't be big enough to carry hir, but when ze tried moving them ze found that it was surprisingly easy to stay in the air. Lastly, ze touched hir head and felt a strange hat. "What's that? A bellflower? Looks like I changed into a flower fairy."

Then Lycunadari got distracted by several people passing hir tree and hurrying towards the town square. Ze decided to follow them, curious what this was about.

Ze soon got hir answer, and the bad news of attacking fey from the forest outside the town.

"I don't understand why they are attacking", ze said to the small group discussing their next actions. "I know fey can be fickle, but they usually aren't malicious. At least not malicious enough to start a war." Ze buried hir hands in hir bird's feathers, afraid of what was happening. What if the townspeople suspected hir of being a spy or something?
While ze usually wasn't a fairy, ze always was some kind of fey and this violent attitude of hir relatives made hir very uncomfortable.

((Lycunadari doesn't know hir own age nor exact "original" race, but ze's probably a young adult.))

[WarKitty]

I don't know why, save that I thought I heard the sound of horns echoing. The hunt, perhaps? I stayed quite still up in the trees but I did not see anything.

Also, does anyone have anything to eat? This change has resulted in rather a dearth of prey available.

[Duck999]

((I'm assuming the hunt for the arrow tree takes place in mornig. Is it morning now? I'm not keeping track of when it is.))

Immer looks taken aback at the thoght of such a tree.
If we were to go on such an exploration mission, we would also need to be armed. I also suggest sending out a small scouting party first, or even having the tree hunters be the scouting party. It looks easy to get caught or lost in those woods.

[Rain Dragon]

Still a little phased by recent events, Uryuu hadn't been paying much attention until a cat noted a lack of prey.

"Truly? Did you notice much in the way of prey in the forest? If there is food there, I suppose I shall have to accompany an expedition to investigate the situation. The one with the flower for a hat has a point, however. I do not wish to assist in any sort of action without more information."

((OOC note - I'd like to RP my character as a newcomer to Ah-Vatar, please.))

[WarKitty]

Hunting horns, but I could hardly find a squirrel or mouse for my supper. Did not note terribly many true animals, save for the beast fey and those following them. Certainly not enough running around to catch anything. Felina mews rather plaintively.

[asdflove]

At the mention of the arrows being of elven make Kendall can't help but frown, as she is usually an elf. "Elven made-" She pauses taking in what Felina said. "Elven grown arrows?" She raises her eyebrows. "Interesting. I'll go on this scouting mission or whatever it is. My interest has been piqued."

((I would do some world building, but I have no ideas...))

[Duck999]

((Is it morning? It's morning.))

Immer flies above the remaining people who are to participate in the scouting mission.
For those of you who can't fight, stick with someone who can. Bring your armor and your weapons. Come back here when you are ready.
Immer flies back down and lands. He starts testing his shadow magic to see if it has changed a lot in this form.

[WarKitty]

Unless we have someone else who can pierce glamours, I should probably stay up front. Felina hopes Immer is paying attention from all the way up there. Wings, so inelegant, mutters to herself, stretching her claws.

Spoiler: Arrow tree stuff:

Show

The fruit around the tree is indeed enchanted; it's intended to make people want to eat it and fall into a trance. The tree itself is inhabited by a sort of elf-arachnid race (lots of eyes), which is liable to be initially hostile to the "invaders." Past that, have fun.

Permission hereby granted to presume Felina's glamour-spotting on a scouting mission though she'll hide from any combat.

[Duck999]

Immer nods.
If this is the source of elven arrows, we can assume that it will be guarded. By elves. Grab your gear and come to the main gate. From there, we can head to the tree.
Immer flies towards the gate.

[Oneris]

Maethel's eyes lit up, like a pair of small purple beacons. "I'll grab my adventuring gear"

She returned a few minutes later, laden down by a small leather bag that sat upon her back like an obstinate potato.

"I dumped out my bag of holding and filled it with things I though we could use," She chirped happily, pulling out each thing in turn,"Waterskin, fruit and berries from the larder, some bread I baked earlier today, a leftover meat pie from dinner, my sewing kit, some extra leather scraps, several buttons and trinkets for trading purposes, a couple of gold, silver, and copper coins, some wooden and pottery bowls, three balls of yarn, since the rope was too heavy..." going on and on, "And the best part, they're all normal sized, so they'll last twice as long for us. " She frowned, "Oh, and there's a couple of things in there I couldn't remove because it was too big to fit in the living room. Like the tent. And the wagon."

Spoiler: List of everything she has. This may come into use later.

Show

• Waterskin
• Basket of fruit (apples, pears, peaches, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and blueberries) If it's anything Maethel's good at, it's keeping a good house.
• Two loaves of bread, one stale
• Half a meat pie
• Sewing kit with three spools of thread and a bone needle
• Leather and felt scraps in green and purple
• 16 assorted buttons and a gold locket
• 12gp7sp8cp in coins
• Two wooden bowls and three pots
• A copper cookpot and a wooden spoon
• Three balls of yarn, knitting attached.
• Six knitting needles
• Pair of dice, marbles
• Four pieces of taffy and one candy wrapper, because she got peckish on the way here
• Quill and paper, but no ink (it was iron gall ink)
• Silvered handmirror
• Copper bell
• Whistle (c#)
• Tent for three humans
• Wooden wagon

[Lycunadari]

"I'll come, too. I can't fight, but I want to know what all this is about. And I have a pretty decent knowledge of plants and animals, that could come in handy.", Lycunadari said. Then ze flies off to get hir things.

Ze returned shortly after, empty handed. "I could carry most things," ze said, "So I have just the things I already had in my pockets - a few dried berries, a piece of honeycomb and some willow bark. Let's just hope we wont need that."

With that ze followed Immer to the gate.

[Lord Raziere]

So many words! To be sure, it was an interesting enough story, but still more in one sitting than the fairy was expecting.

Speaking of words, and speaking of speaking of, she was just asked- okay, my narration's getting a bit too flowery here.

"Me? Um, I'm Cly."

"Why hello Cly! A simple name, yes? Good, nice and to the point."

"Forgive my rudenss, m'lady. I was deep in thought" The knight bowed with a grace that he never had before . " I would give thee my name, if it was mine. However, it hath been forfeit, and thus I remain without family. If name is needed, Rutger will serve. Thou dost not think the wizard is to blame?"

"Greetings Rutger. And Hm, a wizard? What wizard do you speak of? I know of no such wizard. I come from the Court of Summer, I am curious about this town and wish to learn more about it. Perhaps I'll learn more about whatever wizard you speak of once I get in."
Raziere then walks into the town to check it out and inhabitants.

[Oneris]

"Greetings Rutger. And Hm, a wizard? What wizard do you speak of? I know of no such wizard. I come from the Court of Summer, I am curious about this town and wish to learn more about it. Perhaps I'll learn more about whatever wizard you speak of once I get in."
Raziere then walks into the town to check it out and inhabitants.

In the midst of cleaning up the last of her equipment into her bag, Maethel spied a flame-haired elf with cloak of a most ethereal quality striding through the gates. Through? From the outside? It couldn't be. Sunrise was still a few minutes away. Maethel gripped her knitting needle tightly and moved to confront.

"You there! State your name and your previous form if you be of this town. If not, keep your weapons sheathed. "

[Duck999]

Immer flies over to the person in the sunshine cape. He faces Maethel.
You don't have to be so mean about it. Well, it sounded mean to me anyway.
He faces the visitor.
Hi! He says cheerfully. I don't recognize you. Where are you from?

[Lord Raziere]

In the midst of cleaning up the last of her equipment into her bag, Maethel spied a flame-haired elf with cloak of a most ethereal quality striding through the gates. Through? From the outside? It couldn't be. Sunrise was still a few minutes away. Maethel gripped her knitting needle tightly and moved to confront.

"You there! State your name and your previous form if you be of this town. If not, keep your weapons sheathed. "

"I be Lady Raziere, my good elf. I am a Dervish of the Summer Court, I am only curious about this place. It seems interesting. Why pray tell are you so hostile? I have done nothing to cause you harm or threaten you."

[Oneris]

"I be Lady Raziere, my good elf. I am a Dervish of the Summer Court, I am only curious about this place. It seems interesting. Why pray tell are you so hostile? I have done nothing to cause you harm or threaten you."

"You come to Ah-Vatar, the Unchanging City, the Sole Still Point of the Shifting World. Whilst the world outside these walls warp, here it remains the same. For those of us who are caught in this web, this city is the only place we can call home. But for those outside these walls, this small town here is nothing."

Maetheline was almost pleading at this point. She was once an adventurer, yes, but she had homes all over the continent. Here, her small apartment was her only place of solace.

"So, if you be an adventurer transported and transformed, then you are welcome to stay here. But if you be native to the forests beyond, please spare our small town from the destruction of the war."

((I'm assuming that every theme world is actually a separate world that our town is transported to for a week, and the people of that world are affect by some sort of charm that does not make them freak out at the sight of a small anachronistic town suddenly appearing. Feel free to use some other definition if you want.))

[Duck999]

Immer listens throughout the entire conversation. At some points nodding.
He does look like he will comment, the changes his mind.
He flies up to see who gathered at the gate.
((Actually, I believe that the area around the town actually changes, the town does not move.))

[Kaariane]

“Okay, first things first.” Anna spoke quietly to herself. “Get out of this tub.” With a complete lack of grace or flourish she managed to heave herself out of the tub to splash noisily onto the floor. Instantly her scales began to feel dry and uncomfortable.

“Now to find out what I can about merfolk.” Anna crawled her way to her library to find a tome that could enlighten her about her new form, its abilities, and its limitations. Fortunately the one she sought was within reach and not high upon a top shelf. She opened the ancient tome entitled “Creatures of the Fey” to the entry on merfolk. Scanning through it quickly she read that they have the ability to shape shift into a human-like form when upon land.

“Thank the Gods!” She exclaimed. She searched through the pages but she could find no mention of exactly how they manifested this change.

“I am a wizard,” She told herself firmly. “I can do this!” She looked down at her tail, then closed her eyes, cleared her mind and imagined herself with two legs. She held the image firmly in her mind, infused it with her will and whispered, “Change.” A ripple of energy flowed through her and when she opened her eyes, to her delight, she found that she had legs once more. Her skin, though still a pale shade of green was no longer covered in scales, and thankfully no longer felt uncomfortably dry and itchy. Her hair though soft and supple like human hair again, was still the varied shades of green with touches of red of seaweed.

With a bit of a wobble, she managed to gain her feet. She heard the buzz of many worried voices from outside the tower, and quickly, she donned her robes and went to the window to find out what was happening.

“Gather at the town square.” She heard clearly from a small shape racing at blurring speed across the roof tops. She could see that many had already gathered there. Using her already conveniently filled tub, she cast a spell to scry on the meeting.

“So, it seems we have ended up in the middle of a war zone this time.” She thought. “This does not bode well.” She shifted her spell to scry the forest beyond the town walls, the forest was layered in spells that blocked her sight, and try as she might, she could not force her way through them all. “If they are going out there, I had best go see what I can do to help.”

Taking her wizard’s staff in one hand and the ancient tome in the other, she made her way to the town gate to offer whatever assistance she may.

[CapedLuigiYoshi]

By now, Cly had arrived at the gate or town square or wherever, armed with merely a sword that, while a tad large proportionally to her, doesn't really measure up against those wielded by the still Medium-sized people.

It's not that interesting of a sword, either. Sure, it seems to be made almost purely of an emerald-colored stone, with a pale pink gem fixed in the hilt, but it doesn't even have any markings or anything. Just kind of generic-looking beyond that. And Cly doesn't seem to possess any other weapons, or armor of any sort, so... she has no idea how she's supposed to help, but she can't just stay at home doing nothing, can she?

...Can she? She looks like she's seriously considering exactly that option.

[Lord Raziere]

"You come to Ah-Vatar, the Unchanging City, the Sole Still Point of the Shifting World. Whilst the world outside these walls warp, here it remains the same. For those of us who are caught in this web, this city is the only place we can call home. But for those outside these walls, this small town here is nothing."

Maetheline was almost pleading at this point. She was once an adventurer, yes, but she had homes all over the continent. Here, her small apartment was her only place of solace.

"So, if you be an adventurer transported and transformed, then you are welcome to stay here. But if you be native to the forests beyond, please spare our small town from the destruction of the war."

"It is unfortunately not within my power to do so, I am equal in rank only to a Knight, and have not the ear of Titania, and never the ear of Mab. The war is an eternal one, forever between Winter and Summer, with one side never truly winning, as the conflict keeps the seasons turning from Spring, to Summer to Fall to Winter and back to Spring again. You will simply have to survive, as to stop the War of Courts Seelie and Unseelie is to stop the seasons themselves, which without the orderly turn of the seasons would cause untold devastation and destruction across the world.

If this small town however is nothing, you should have no problem though. The Fae do not war with outsiders, why should they? No, beware instead the gifts of the Fae. To accept the gift of a Fae is to be in their debt, like signing a contract. The only possibility I can see how you'll get involved is if your foolish enough to accept a gift from one and they call in the debt to get involved. or if you go onto their lands and break one of their many strange laws, thing are tricksy like that, with the Fae. Be thankful that I come bearing the gift of all this information.

Now you can accept this gift of information in return for say, showing me around this town, or you can not and simply forget it as if it was never told to you. Your choice."
And yes, Cly does technically owe her something equally informative as her story about Raziere's armor. Fae are tricksy like that. Don't worry, she can choose to forget it instead.

[CapedLuigiYoshi]

And yes, Cly does technically owe her something equally informative as her story about Raziere's armor. Fae are tricksy like that. Don't worry, she can choose to forget it instead.

Doubtful she has forgotten, although she is likely unaware of such a debt (plus a third of the story probably flew over her head too fast anyway).

[Oneris]

((Hang on, what's to stop us townsfolk from hiding in the town always? We need a reason to leave the town and venture into the world. Someone kidnap a baby or set fire to the grain silo or something))

[WarKitty]

As Raziere finishes speaking, a hunting horn sounds outside of the town. Those listening closely might hear the baying of dogs.

((I presume anyone may create events around here?))

[Duck999]

Immer drops to the ground and faces the gate. Shadows appear in his hand.
Prepare yourselves!

[WarKitty]

The horns sound closer. Great shadowy dogs appear baying at the gates, though their owners are not visible.

Does anyone know what's going on? Felina shouts, her ears pressed firmly back against her head.