Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 5, 2015 21:04:24 GMT
OPEN TO CAEsAL (special invitation to Amon if interested)
The metal stairsteps creaking under the shoes, the wind whistling through some unseen opening in the far high above and the hollow noise of the few torn apart industrial ropes dangling from the ceiling were all familiar sounds by now. It was almost nostalgic, in a bittersweet manner. The redhead made her way up to the top floor of the broken clocktower, guiding the new batch of CAEsAL newbies who had completed their trial that evening. The sight of Lodan carpetting the land as far as the eyes could see through that clockface-turned-window never seemed to change, but that didn't mean it wasn't beautiful.
Edelweiss continued the usual explanations pointing at every district, helping the newcomers to make a mental map of the city they were working and living in. She wondered if any, or how many of them knew or at least suspected the true reason why she always brought them to see that place. Did they? If any of them knew, it seemed to have became something bound to secrecy to them as much as their codenames and actual jobs, for a reason Edelweiss wasn't sure of.
The view from the clocktower at night was quite breathtaking. Max had taken a habit of coming here in the evening to watch the sunset and look out over the city, seeing the little lights flicker on. It was relaxing in a way, especially since she had been working so hard on the entertainment career. Her first show was going to be soon after all. Her roommate, Jasper (the one that wasn’t Lullaby) had joined her tonight and although they didn’t speak to each other much, there was a shared understanding in the silence.
However that silence was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, as well as a familiar voice. It seemed that some new assassins had joined and Epikuro was showing them in, a part of the trial Max had missed out on. They turned to watch the newbies ascend the stairs for a moment, before shrugging and looking back out the window. They wouldn’t bother the new recruits, but they would listen in on the explanation. There wasn’t much else to listen to after all.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 5, 2015 21:51:27 GMT
Words to come and go, just the same usual explanation Edelweiss gave to every new group that was brought to the clock tower. The general area of each district of Lodan, who (or what guild) was in charge of each, what kind of people lived there, and just a few tips on where to find a couple informants on important spots. Once the explanation was finished the redhead let the others watch the scenery a tad longer, and a moment later the group dispersed - one by one heading downstairs to call it a day and head home. It was only then she turn her attention back at the two remaining figures who were there.
They had been quite quiet the whole time so weren't a disturbance, but would be hard to miss since they were also looking through the clock face like everyone else. Plus, Max had retired, and Jsper wasn't usually seen at the clocktower since his info-work territory was the Hovel. Edelweiss could sincerely admit she was curious about what had brought those two up there. "Of all the places to have a date you two ended up here?" She asked with a bit of a grin delating barely-contained amusement. "Or were you doing something else?"
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
With a sideways glance Max watched all the new members leave; evidently none of them had any reason to stay. She wondered briefly what Edel would do and if anyone else would walk up the steps, but then a question derailed her train of thought.
“Date?” she asked with a confused expression. “He hadn’t seen the sunset from here before, and I was coming to watch it when he decided to join me.” That was how it had happened, from the young rogue’s point of view at least. If anything different was going on in the head of her companion, it was lost to her.
Hoping to move away from that topic, she asked a question then. “How did the tradition start to bring members here?" It was one of those things she was thinking about in the quiet before the arrival of others.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 5, 2015 22:27:23 GMT
"Well, there are a couple different reasons." Edelweiss shrugged. She knew Jasper since he was a lot younger, but even now it was hard for her to fully get into his head as well. So she didn't protest when Max changed the topic.
"First reason is the clocktower doesn't look broken from outside unless you pay attention to the clock hands not moving, which makes it a really nice emergency shelter for Anders, assassins and informants alike. Where would one least expect to find a bunch of magic people, or people how run through long hidden paths chasing down targets? Yes the huge yet narrow blatant clockwork building please. It can also work as a deposit to storage things." She sat down on the 'sill' of the clockface-window, resting her back against the numbered glass. "Second, it's one of the highest points one can climb in the Theater District while still having a ceiling above the head. There's a clear view of the city, and the ones watching it remain unseen, which also makes it a great observatory point. ...But at the start... in the first times I started bringing the newbies up here, I guess I just hoped someone would pay attention to the fact it's broken. Someone who might ask 'Hey why is this a wreck?' or 'How did it break?'. Needless to mention no one ever does that; maybe everyone thinks it's a taboo to ask or something."
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
"...The heck...another one...?" Amon muttered to himself. He was wandering around the Theater District, initially visiting Edel's place to see if she was home. Upon the lack of response, he assumed she was out at the moment, and just decided to take his time making his way back to his place, partially in case he ran into her, partially to get a feel for the district she ran; he had a funny feeling he was going be getting very acquainted with this place.
It was due to said wandering that he happened to see the district's clock tower, though it took him a bit to realize that it was broken. "Jeez...what is up with this city and non-functioning clock towers...I mean...it makes sense, but still..." he thought. It was when that he saw a fair number of people leaving the tower did curiosity get the better of him.
Once there were no more people leaving the tower, he made his way inside. "Well...that explains the distinct lack of ticking," he thought, observing the hanging cables and fallen gears. As he made his way up the stairs, he began to hear a pleasantly familiar voice.
"Could be time, rust, or a number of other reasons really," he said with a smile as he made his way to the top of the stairs, though the smile faltered for a second upon seeing the other members of the party. "...Uh...hope I'm not interrupting something...again..."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Max nodded along as Edel explained; it all made sense to the young girl. But before she had a change to reply to it, someone came up the stairs, someone she’d never seen before. Which meant he wasn’t from the guild. She tensed up a little and kept her eyes on the stranger, but a glance at Edelweiss said he could be trusted, so she took her turn to speak.
“I’ve never asked because I thought the answer was lost. To time, or to the past. But if that is not the case, I would like to ask how this place broke down.” She leveled her gaze somewhere between her guild leader and the stranger. Beside her, Jasper also seemed on edge, but he chose not to speak, instead glaring at the new man, reading to either strike or flee.
"I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone." -Lord Byron
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 6, 2015 3:47:34 GMT
"With this amount of damage? And it's not that old." She turned to look when heard a familiar voice talking, an amused grin on her lips and having to use quite a bit of willpower to not chuckle. It was a nice guess, just... way off from the truth. And that disapointed-sounding apology did end up getting a snicker from her. "It broke during the Civil War. I might tell the details if you care for a little story."
"Didn't interrupt anything, we're just chatting now. Though to come up here right now, you do have a knack to find me at the strangest of times... Oh right, do you know each other already?" She asked, looking between Amon, Max and Jasper.
"Sorry about that," he replied with a sheepish smile. "Coincidences seem to be a rule in my life..."
"Amon, by the way," he addressed the two other members in the room, waving his mechanical arm. "Mingo's guild leader."
"Anyways, I was just at your place Edel, but when there was no answer, I just kinda wandered around the district...never expected you to be here..." he said as he made his way to Edel.
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
They each nodded their name to Amon, not showing any reaction to hearing he was the leader of Mingo’s. The mechanical arm was unusual, to say the least. Stepping aside as Amon approached the window, gazing out to the city, Max turned her attention to Edel. “I’d like to hear the story.”
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 6, 2015 4:23:55 GMT
"Great view, right?" She chuckled. "Just one of the many reasons I never felt like requesting for it be fixed. So many people would turn unable to see this."
At Max's affirmative response that, yes, she wanted to hear why the clocktower was broken, Edel nodded and was ready to restart speaking. there was a question she needed to ask beforehand thought. "First of all, do any of you know why we had a Civil War in the first place? I'll give a tip: it wasn't only because the previous queen died."
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Post by Maeve Blodeuwedd on Aug 6, 2015 4:48:28 GMT
"I know the answer to this one, not that it mattered to me none." Maeve spoke up suddenly, poking her nose into where it didn't belong. She wasn't even sure why the hell the guildies were congregating in the clock tower, but she saw them all head up so she followed. She figured maybe it had something to do with the serendipitous night sourpuss decided to play chase and sent her up the tower because of his inconvenient fear of heights. She never did make heads or tails of that game, only that the person they were after musta snubbed CAEsAL The wrong way.
Maybe he forgot to pay his tab.
She shrugged, even though only her glowing eyes could be seen from the corner.
"Some mono y mono showdown with the pirates and the assassins of the old guilds. Heard they basically killed each other and the other guilds made a dive for the spoils or some bit. Didn't do dung for us i the hovel though. we walked away with as much as we walked into the war with. and in case yer were wonderin' that's not a drated thing"
"...Yeah, I can just gaze at this view forever..." he said with a sidelong glance at Edel.
He turned when he heard the new person come up the stairs. "Pretty much have to agree there," Amon said with a shrug. "Lived in Lodan my whole life, but missed out on the intricate details of the Civil War...due to a number of reasons..."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 6, 2015 17:52:54 GMT
The sound of periodic metal creaking delated someone else climbing upstairs - always, unless the person had by some oddity of thought decided to float themselves up with Telekinesis or climb the remaining cables rather than using the stairs. Maeve. Edelweiss didn't really feel upset for seeing an entertainer up there, CAEsAL wasn't made fully of assassins afterall (and Amon wasn't even a CAEsAL member either, for starters), although that also meant she would have to either 'encode' or omit quite a feel details in that improvised history lesson.
"Well that isn't wrong. First of all there was the tense atmosphere rising because of the mess with the previous Queen, and with no one to keep control over 10 different guilds something was bound to spark up at some point. But for a while there had just been this state of peace veiled with tension since no one wanted to make the first move. Until news rose up that an Assassin murdered a Pirate, and left a message in blood next to the corpse. And chaos ensued." She sighed. "Mind you, when I heard those news at first I thought it was a bad joke. The Assassins guild back then were almost like mercenaries, right? They killed criminals upon request and payment when people didn't think the Military Guild would do the job, and otherwise stayed hidden - so killing another Guild's member in the open was a very idiotic move." First it wouldn't pay it up, second it ended starting the war. "But those news were true. It's not a very common knowledge but people who were there during the war might remember what happened later - apparently the Leader of the Assassins guild, Clue, had disappeared too, and one of the remaining members took a 'free pass' to do whatever, which culminated with the dead pirate. This info only ever got to see the light of day because of what happened to 'Mr. I-Write-In-Blood'... Lets call him BloodLetter for short." An actual codename, of good ol' Alex Cohen whom had also almost married Caitlin and Edelweiss could not bring herself to miss in the least.
"...Retaking the topic, because the remaining Assassins and the whole lot of other 9 Guilds were tossed into civil war due to BloodLetter, the guy wasn't very well-liked anymore. I'm not sure which Guild did it, if the Pirates wanting revenge, or the Hunters, angry stray assassins or even others, but BloodLetter's whole family was wiped out. Someone poisoned his mother while he was at his bethrotal party, and after that it was just relatives dying one after the other. And seems like he was from one of those fancy old noble families or the likes, so news spreaded like fire. BloodLetter was left for last." She made a hand gesture indicating the center of the clocktower, where there were no metal stairs nor wood floor, just hollow neverending empty space with a couple dangling cables where there should have been the large cranks and clock gears. "From there on this info becomes exclusive of CAEsAL, so, Amon, I'll have to ask you to not spread it any further: A remaining assassin chased BloodLetter into the Entertainers Guild territory. He fled into the district's clocktower, hoping his pursuer wouldn't follow him there - but they did, and sealed the entrance after passing. Then it seems they fought there. I would think someone would have heard a hell of a noise coming from that, but with war still going on everywhere else was noisy too." Still, it had been one of the very few missions that actually still sent shivers of fear down her spine sometimes from the memories; back then, she had reached a point when she had actually pondered 'this might be the place where I die'. It had been terrifying to fight someone who had once been her colleague - and one who had been on the job for longer and had more experience than she did. And sometimes the redhead couldn't help but feel like the only reason she survived was for being lucky enough that their running and fighting around set the clocktower inner structures loose. "At some point, people noticed the clock hands had stopped moving. The Entertainers had been a somewhat neutral party at war, though they also suffered in their business and on getting supplies. But in that sense, they were perhaps the only Guild who still could afford to think 'the clocktower broke, lets fix it' rather than 'who cares, everything is crumbling and I'm busy trying to stay alive'. They reopened the door, but instead of finding a malfunctioning gear they found no gears at all. At least not where they were supposed to be; they were all cluttered at the bottom floor of the clocktower, the cables ruptured, the pipes down, and BloodLetter's body lying broken amid the pile."
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Post by Maeve Blodeuwedd on Aug 6, 2015 19:51:02 GMT
Maeve leaned forward, impressed by this impromptu history lesson. She'd heard things of course. but she'd never heard of this man who'd started it all. Sounded like he'd gotten what he deserved. When Edel said he was old money, she snorted. Seemed like plenty of bad eggs came from the nobility. Course, you could find bad eggs anywhere, probably even in this room. Her eyes scanned the present company, but she couldn't tell right from wrong just by lookin' at them.