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annexedlogs2022-10-21 09:04 pm
modaccount) wrote in annexedlogs2022-10-21 09:04 pm
Relief Log #2
I. In The Aftermath
After the mission is complete, the new recruits are invited back to Central Command for a patch-up and celebration to let loose and socialize a little bit.
The first order of business is the patching up. Anyone who was injured is welcome to go to the Hospital, if the injuries are more serious. Everyone else, those with smaller injuries like scrapes and bruises, minor cuts or burns or abrasions, are welcome to come to the Infirmary in Central Command. There will also be attendants that tell returning new recruits that if they'd like to learn a little first aid and tend to their comrades, they can also head to the Infirmary.
In the Infirmary, anyone who's not injured but shows up will be instructed in basic first aid so they can tend to their teammates and friends. Nurses will be rotating around to check in on people and make sure nothing is more serious than it looks, but generally, the new recruits will be encouraged to tend to their teammates in order to encourage group bonding.
II. A Fine Meal
On an evening a few days after the mission is complete, all the extra-universal new arrivals will be summoned to one of the large meeting rooms in the Central Command for a feast. When they arrive in the room, it is decorated with orange and brown streamers and fall iconography - bundles of twigs and dried flowers, bundles of fragrant herbs, dried pumpkins with faces and fall scenes carved into them, and other decorations. In the center of the room there is a large table laden with delicious-looking fall foods - poultry birds so large they had to have been roasted on a spit, huge roasted portobello-style mushrooms, mashed tubers, gravy, stuffing, bean casserole, candied yams, mooncakes, boiled spicy crayfish, roast herring, various types of stews ranging from traditional stew to fish stew to mushroom stew, and tons of desserts like tarte tatin, ice cream, apple crumble, pumpkin pie, and almost any other fall food you can think of.
Characters will be invited to sit around the table and feast together, while quiet music plays in the background, facilitating conversation. Some of the rebels have volunteered to keep restocking the table as people wander in and out to sit at the table and eat in rough shifts, and these volunteers will encourage characters to share things they're thankful for, things that make their lives better. All of those things that make life worth living, that make the fight worth fighting.
On a table near the door to the room, there is a stack of beautifully cloth-wrapped bento-style boxes that characters are invited to take with them. They are told by volunteers that these boxes aren't just leftovers for later, but a necessary component of the night's test of courage. They encourage characters to take one and participate, as it's a particularly bright feather in the cap of anyone who undertakes it.
III. The Skyclad Light Show
Once the feasting throughout the late afternoon and early evening is about complete, characters will be invited out into the courtyard of the Central Command for the evening's entertainment. The courtyard is essentially a small but beautiful park, with benches, patches of grass, a few ornamental trees and gardens, and plenty of places to spread out a blanket (provided by friendly volunteers!) and watch the show. And what a show it is!
Every year around this time the Skyclad take magical lights that trail behind them, and put on a spectacular light show in the sky. Streaks of vibrant color follow each hoverboard as those riding them in the sky flip, twirl, dive, and perform other feats of hoverboard artistry for the crowd below. The show goes on for about 45 minutes, with the Skyclad twisting and twirling, drawing beautiful designs against the evening sky.
Characters who really bonded with their hoverboards and took to tricks and flips and kicks after the mission would have been invited to participate, especially if they were interested in joining the Skyclad. The Skydance, as they call it, is quite highly choreographed to avoid midair collisions, all with the goal of producing something truly beautiful and ephemeral. Try not to choke!
IV. Night of Remembrance
The final tradition of the evening is a solemn remembrance of the warriors who have fallen in the fight against the Sylphid. After the Skydance, volunteers would have set up another table of those bento boxes from earlier as well as little bags containing 5 mandarin oranges, and would brief the people in small groups about the traditional Night of Remembrance. The Night of Remembrance is a really big deal among the Witches, and is a great opportunity to prove yourself if you're looking to gain respect and rise up the ranks, as it's also partially a test of courage. The tradition involves taking leftover food from the feast to the shrine at the cemetery in the Mages Sector in order to 'prepare a feast' for the dead and honor those who have fallen, and offering oranges to the fallen along the way. The food must still be at least a little warm when it's presented to the spirits. Sounds simple, right?
Once characters who wish to participate find their way to the cemetery, they will discover a couple more volunteers with a variety of lanterns. For some reason, nothing electric, battery-powered, or at all technological will work in the cemetery, and they haven't for as long as anyone can remember. Any light source must be either very old-school or magical in nature, and texting someone for help would be completely impossible. But why would you need to call someone for help?
Well, it wouldn't be a test of courage without a little danger, right? On this night, every year, the spirits in the cemetery are stirred up and come back into the land of the living. Yes, ghosts do really exist. The ghosts have a variety of temperaments - some of the ghosts are very pleasant and will chat with people for a while before accepting their orange, some are playful and mischievous and will play pranks on people coming into the cemetery (these pranks are sometimes harmless and sometimes very not-harmless), and others are angry and resentful at being dead and won't hesitate to viciously attack interlopers. Some of the more unfriendly ghosts can be calmed down with pleasantries and shows of respect, but others cannot be and will continue to attack interlopers until offered one of the oranges that they've brought.
There are two types of lanterns available: traditional lamps that are simply a candle in a glass bell that can be easily carried with a ring on the top, and magic lamps that attract spirits and appear as a glowing blue-green orb floating in a glass bell fitted with a ring for portability. People carrying traditional lamps are seen as quite brave, but those who take a magical lamp are absolute legends.
Participants will need to take a bento, some oranges, and a lantern of either variety, present the oranges to various ghosts as they make their way to a shrine on the other side of the cemetery, where they will set out the food from the bento as beautifully as possible...and don't let that food get cold, or your offering will be worthless - who wants congealed gravy and soggy stuffing?! At the shrine, they will find an assortment of delicate beaded charms attached to the branches of a large weeping willow tree. These are protected by magic, and can only be taken by someone who's completed the tradition. They will light up a different color depending on what kind of lantern the participant is carrying. These charms will provide a one-time magical boon to whoever takes them.
Characters carrying traditional lanterns will find their charms lighting up orange and these charms will, when used through the calling of a keyword by either Heba or Tian characters, summon the spirits of the dead in an area with a radius of around 50 feet to attack an enemy or group of enemies. The keyword can be set simply by speaking it to the charm. This charm can be offered to another person as a gift or kept for the character's own use, and can be used only once. If the charm has been gifted to someone, it will turn red, but will still be functional.
Characters carrying magical lanterns will find their charms lighting up blue and these charms will, when carried on a character's person, provide one resurrection from death without the loss of memory that usually comes as a side effect of resurrections. This charm can be offered to another person as a gift or kept for the character's own use, and can be used only once. If the charm has been gifted to someone, it will turn purple, but will still be functional.
Regardless of which charms are given, characters are encouraged to show them off as evidence of having participated in the Night of Remembrance. Anyone who is gifted one of these charms should be grateful, they are regarded as high-value gifts to be given only to someone you care about a great deal. Many people, regardless of whether they've earned the charms themselves or been gifted them, will attach them to their network devices to show them off.
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"Now, be silent and stay still," she admonishes, holding a hand over the wound. She closes her eyes, taking a few breaths - and letting what she knows of Force Healing do its work. She's no expert, and frankly if the wound were much worse it would be beyond her abilities.
But the energy would become visible, arcing wisps of white energy roiling around the leg - and bit by bit, the wound begins to close. The effort on Juhani's face is clear, breathing heavily. But the bleeding will cease before she does, falling back on her elbows, chest heaving and clearly a bit dizzy.
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But at least she listens. Or maybe she's just too tired to keep arguing; either way, Codi obediently shuts up and holds still, watching Juhani work with unsteady eyes. It feels...weird. Not painful, like she expects it to be, but kind of tingly and itchy. Generally getting cured with magic just brings the 'itchy' part of that equation. It also usually does more than just close up the wound; when Juhani finishes up, Codi still feels incredibly dizzy and cold from blood loss. They're both left on their elbows and panting in the dirt for several moments.
"...Thanks for that," Codi murmurs breathlessly. It is genuine, which is a rarity for her, but she at least has the presence of mind to recognize that she normally doesn't bleed so badly from wounds like this, and that if she had tried to continue as normal, she probably would've bled out on the way back to the start. Juhani being there was more than just a stroke of luck. "Force stuff?"
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"Indeed," she replies, with a slight smile.
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"--I never grabbed my charm," she gasps. "I can't believe--you'll help me get it?"
This isn't actually a question; Codi is already trying to struggle back to her feet under the assumption that Juhani will agree.
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"Best to make our withdrawal, yes," she replied. "Where is it?"
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"That should be easy enough to locate," she ventures.
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Her relationship with Juhani, for example. She's been a curiosity so far and Codi has been happy to keep it that way; by Juhani's own admission, she's average in a lot of things related to the Force that Codi would otherwise be very interested in exploiting, but her knowledge of other parts of it and her willingness to provide it for nothing make her interesting to keep around and interrogate.
On the other hand, Juhani saving her ass just now has made Codi realize that she could be much more of a practical asset. She specializes in concealment and healing - the latter of which is important for reasons made apparent mere minutes ago - she has so far followed unquestionably her orders and shown regret for making mistakes with them, and her emphasis on balance makes her a level-headed voice when things get dire, as they frequently have over the last few months. If she'd had Juhani around during this last mission, rather than just bothering her at the start of it, maybe she could've avoided a lot of the pitfalls she ran into during.
She needs to keep this woman close.
Codi's pace slows, partly because she's getting sluggish, partly because she wants to walk level with her companion. "...Juhani," she says cautiously, an eyebrow raised. "How've you been doing? Like, in general?"
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"As well as can be expected, being drawn into another universe and it's strange war."
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Juhani would not be such an uncalculated risk. "She's Heba, isn't she?" Codi continues, casting Juhani a sideways glance. "Like you? So you'll be needed a Tian Tether soon, right?"
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"Anyone on your list of contenders, currently?" she asks, smile twisting into something more impish.
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"No, Codi," she replies, patiently.
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"Then you're in luck," Codi continues, raising her free hand to tap Juhani roughly in the shoulder. "I just happen to be in the market for another Tether. What do you say, eh?"