Unidentified Flying Objects

[Revan Blackhand]

121 Ashan 724

"You don't look like a Wesley." The Yludih examined it's new face with skepticism. It had decided on a name already but upon seeing the finished creation, it was unsure that the name it wanted would fit. "You don't sound like a Wesley either." The Yludih ran his dark fingers across the jaw he'd fashioned for this new face. He'd gone with a darker skin tone than he had before. It was out of curiosity more than practicality. He'd opted for a relatively clean shaven appearance too but still left some stubble. This was not a face for delicate needs, it was to be used for rugged and difficult things. When he needed to get his hands dirty and he couldn't use Grimwald. A fighter. A brawler. Everything he wasn't... yet. This face would be the gateway into another world. They always were.

The new jaw clenched and the Yludih tilted his head slightly. Perhaps it was just his reflection but it seemed this face had a small scar on the edge of its jaw. When did he slip- oh, that's right, he'd been considering what scarred tissue would look like and wanted to test it. If he could make small scars, he might be able to get more grotesque with his faces. A burn victim perhaps? There was a benefit to appearing ways which made people divert their attention. However that was a problem for another time, in the moment, the Yludih needed to come up with a new name before Willow returned. "Namira, suggestions?" The Yludih looked towards the wall where his diri of shadow was currently projecting itself. It shifted into letters to spell out names as the Yludih read them aloud.

"Grenn. No. Grim. No, too close to Grimwald." Why Namira was picking so many "G" name was lost on him. He pinched the bridge of his slightly smaller nose in frustration but took a breath and focused on Namira again. "Fergus? Fallon? Fingers?" He looked up at his reflection for a moment and shook his head again. "Morton, taken already. Maris. Good but not for this. Mathos? Hm..." The Yludih looked into the mirror again and tilted his new head slightly. "Mathos." He repeated. "No." He looked to the next word Namira formed and shook his head slightly. "I will not name a face Picky." She shifted again and the Yludih's new eyes widened slightly.

"Martyn." He took a breath and turned to face the mirror as if he was introducing himself. "Hello- no. Hey- no. I am- no. They call me Martyn." He could see that working for a fighter. Martyn. It wasn't perfect but it was something. Maybe he'd settle on something else, something with flare like Red Martyn or Merciless Martyn- something with more flare for people to announce- but only if this was the face he meant to engage in Rharne's favorite pastime with. Content enough with the new face and name he and Namira had come up with, Martyn's form shifted back into Revan's.

It was strange that he'd finally come to a point in his life where he could transform in front of a mirror and not be a little bit surprised when he opened his eyes and saw a different person looking back at him. He adjusted the vest over his shirt and made sure he hadn't forgotten to shift his clothing as well. Duplicity. Fun word. Once he was certain he looked only like Revan again, he picked up his cane and limped back over to a locked chest in his house. Namira fell into his shadow and mimicked his movements while his dragonling and dragonet seemed to settle back down into their chosen spots.

Revan opened the chest and began rifling through it. He heard Willow just beyond the door but not with enough warning to shut and lock the box again. It didn't really matter if she saw was inside or not, he just didn't want his draconic pets to mess with the contents. Willow knocked at the door, an unusually polite move for her.

"Did you find anything?" He asked as he invited her inside. Willow moved through the doorway and Revan sealed the passage behind her. He limped back across the room to his chest and knelt down carefully to finish what he'd been doing. Willow crossed the room and plopped down into Revan's chair.

"Nothing useful." Willow replied, which bothered Revan slightly. That wasn't a great sharing of information. "You?"

"Met a brawler named Martyn in a tavern but he didn't know anything." Revan lied.

"A Blackhand?" Willow asked.

"A prospect. We'll see how it goes." Revan quickly shifted the focus off of his expanding lie to keep it from getting beyond him. It was the same lie he always used but lying to Willow was more difficult. "Tell me more about what you found."

"It's mostly drunks telling stories and wild, wild rumors right now." Wild enough Willow felt they didn't bare repeating, but she hadn't forgotten the strange lamps. "Weren't the lamps in this Quarter gas?" She asked Revan.

"I've never really looked, why?"

"Tonight, I saw a few that looked like they were candles."

"And?" Revan didn't see why it mattered to them how Rharne kept the lights on in the dark.

"Something about them made me feel..." Willow seemed to collect herself and put some walls back up, "You should go look at them. I'm going to bed. Let me know if you find anything." She was out the door faster than he could have stopped her. Revan rose from where he was fiddling with his chest and set the lock back in place.

Strange lamps that made Willow feel some way? Airships approaching Rharne? Perhaps everyone in the city had just had a little too much to drink that night. Perhaps not. Either way, Revan put on his cloak of hiding and set off to try and find these strange lamps Willow told him about.

Second 6 Hours

Revan is going to go look at the lamps. Maybe steal some stuff if they find something worth stealing.
If he hears anything about Rharne Prison or the Umbral Caverns, he will shift focus to finding more about that- but again novice intelligence and investigation.

[Tristan Venora]

Mathematics alone, Tristan quickly realized, wouldn’t get him very far as far as finding out where the flying ships were and where they were going was concerned as there were too many unknown factors. He decided to try a different approach and rely more on his (very, very limited) skill in cartography and navigation. He decided to try to decipher the map itself and mark different spots in order to get the results he wanted. Eventually, he focused on something else though. He was pretty sure that the Lightning Knights and the other important people in Rharne had access to incredibly skilled cartographers and were already trying to determine the location of the ships, so his information wouldn’t be of any use in that regard. He just wanted to feel a little safer and a little less clueless.

He wanted to feel like he was doing something because he couldn’t just sit there and wait for something to happen, like an animal that was waiting to be slaughtered, like those poor people in his old home. He still didn’t know the extent of the horrors his grandmother and his parents had experienced. They had been among the few that had escaped.

While his family were drinking brandy, whispering among themselves and checking the windows, Tristan continued to talk to Chester. “You’ll get a harem”, he promised his friend. “Maybe you’ll even get a second harem sometime, one harem for special trials and one harem for all the other trials. Thank you”, he added as the diri started floating southeast. Tristan didn’t know where he would get a spirit harem yet, but he fully intended on keeping his promise. He’d find a way. Maybe, his spirit potion would help!

When Chester informed him that there was a bit of chatter in the Beneath, Tristan furrowed his brow. He wasn’t sure what was optimistic about spirits going missing, so he asked his friend, “Can you tell me more about the optimistic aspects of those conversations, please? What exactly are the spirits saying? And did anything unusual happen before those smaller spirits went missing or were scooped up into Idalos from the Beneath? Do any of the spirits you talked to have more information? Did they see or hear anything unusual?”

“Please be careful”, he said to Chester as the spirit continued to travel. “If there is something that affects spirits, or ephemera, or ether, you might be at risk as well. Keep your distance until you are sure that you won’t disappear as well. I don’t want to lose you again. Try”, he continued as he had just had an idea. “Try to find out if any other spirits – or any other beings at all – have tried to contact the ships. If they have, try to find out what happened, please, and don't put yourself in danger”, he added, aware that he was giving the poor diri a lot of work. Hopefully, the promise of a harem or two would convince Chester to continue his excellent work!

“I can’t see anything”, Tristan’s mother told him as she looked out of a window. His father nodded in agreement. Regardless, they continued to survey the area. Anything was better than to just sit there, be afraid and get drunk, and they were too nervous to even try to sleep!

Tristan nodded before he shared what Chester had told him with his family and finally sent a letter to the Lightning Knights. He also informed them that he had access to a Diri of Communication that helped him understand any language, among other things. While the Lightning Knights did without a doubt have excellent cartographers among their ranks, they probably didn’t have such an amazing Diri with such amazingly rare and useful skills!

Eventually, the family grew exhausted, and they decided to head to bed, after all. Before he lay down, Tristan told his three bodyguards – Hannah, Brandon and Lianne – to take turns guarding the house, just in case the situation escalated overnight and alert him in case something unusual happened. He wanted them to check if anybody was approaching the door as well as check the windows and also alert him in case of any unusual sounds. Their help, he assured them – employees that felt valued were more eager to work – would be invaluable.

He also made sure to check on Ayla and see if she was okay.

In the morning, the family ate an early breakfast together and shared anything that had happened during the night. Tristan made sure to talk to Ayla who was still unaware. He told her that flying ships were approaching Rharne, that they didn’t know what exactly they were yet and that there was nothing to worry about yet. She was safe here, with them. For all that he knew, Ayla was more sensitive to unusual things, being a Mortalborn.

Things still seemed to be relatively calm, so Tristan and his grandmother decided to head outside, pay their neighbours a visit and see how they were doing. They had initially decided to only do so in case the situation escalated, but they had come to the conclusion that it would be prudent (and polite) to do so, anyway. They wanted more information on the situation in the Glass Quarter, and in order to achieve that goal, they needed more than one or two sources.

Maybe, one of their neighbours knew something that they didn’t. Of course, Tristan had his small crossbow with him, hidden under his cloak. Additional support came in the form of his Tunawa companion, Koral. She was small, but skilled with a weapon. Tristan didn’t want to be defenseless at the moment, no matter how peaceful the Glass Quarter appeared to be, but he also didn’t want to intimidate the neighbours. They might be less inclined to talk then. Koral was not intimidating, at least not right away.

Of course, he also waited for more information from Chester. If the diri told him anything important, he would forward the information to the Lightning Knights – unless it was extremely personal.

The next six hours

Tristan checks the map again, this time relying on his skill in navigation and cartography.
Tristan asks Chester for more information on what the spirits are saying.
Tristan asks Chester to find out if anybody has tried to contact the ships.
He also asks him to be careful and only make contact if he comes to the conclusion that it’s safe for him to do so.
He shares the information with Lightning Knights and also tells them about his Diri of Communication.
Tristan checks on his daughter.
Eventually, the family head to bed.
During the night, Tristan’s bodyguards take turns guarding the house. Tristan tells him to report anything unusual to him.
Early in the morning, the family eat breakfast and talk about the night.
Tristan waits for more information from Chester.
Eventually, Tristan, his grandmother (Expert Intelligence, Competent Investigation) and Koral the Tunawa decide to visit the neighbors, see how they are doing and gather information.

[Pig Boy]

Maybe Don't Look Up?

The Wisps had finally caught sight, some of them, of the air ships. A few of the ghosts had anchors not far from Rharne Jail, and the Umbral Caverns, that area of Rharne. They reported back to Winston that they were big, one of them was. The other two were smaller, but nearly didn't notice them as they were oveershadowed by the larger airship.

A few beings had touched down, they were winged and had horns about their head, and very exotic clothing. They were investigating, and talking amongst each other in a unknown language. The Wisps had not shown themselves, for fear that they might alarm these groups, and asked Winston what they ought to do other than watch them.

It appeared the ships would not be arriving anytime soon, or even within the day, at least not while moving at the current speed they maintained.

The Lightning Knight that gets back to Winston first is not the sitting commander of the Lightning Knights, nor Vivian, but a lower ranked corporal known as, "Corporal Xithyria Manrantha Remnate Videx, asking for permission to meet Winston." he said, as he arrived at the location where Winston was situated. Given his communications and coordinations with the Lightning Knights, Xithyria found the place easily enough. "We require your help with a most urgent matter, or to put us in contact with someone who can. We know you are a accomplished ensorceller, having experience with magic artifacts? We do know that you've devised a fair few of your own."

Xithyria cleared his throat, and then went on. "We've found a great source of ether concentration in the armory of the Lightning Knights. Commander Urien bid us to find an ensorceller, and yours was the first name that came to mind."

"This ether concentration seems to suggest that certain cannonballs were imbued with magic though we do not know the type. I'm an abrogator, and could try to establish a field over it to try and dim the magical energy, but we have no way of knowing how these munitions will be triggered, whatever the purpose of their enchantments."

"Will you come with us, please?" The Ithecal asked.



Commander Urien sent a missive to Gennadiya, as the head of the Order of the Adunih, to send a group of healers to the Sky Quarter, although he did not mention the reason. He advised her to stay where she was regardless, and not divert her attention toward the Sky Quarter for now, but that they could use a few of her subordinates to be on hand to render aid if it was needed.

Otherwise there was little else coming her way from the direction of the Lightning Knights.

Meanwhile, her healers spread out through the city rendering moral support and calming the people and situation where they could. The city's mood grew increasingly less panicked by her efforts and those of her subordinates. Which was a good thing, as many had assumed the worst, and were on the verge of self-destructive behavior. Overgambling, overdrinking, and just generally enjoying the finest vintages in their wine cellars in anticipation of the worst. Many a fine bottle of wine was spared by the efforts of the Order to calm the populace.



Revan found some interesting trinkets at the place marked by Willow. It was the Infirmary, on the south-eastern portion of the Earth Quarter, not ar from Little Ivorian and the Bronze Boar. There were medicines being brought into the place by the crate-full. Or at least it seemed so by the clinking of vials and bottles. It was hard to tell witihout looking beneath the cloth covering those articles.

As he looked at the candles that were set up nearby the Infirmary, he would note that the flames that were still lit, even in the small hours of the morning and toward noon, drew his eye. As if he saw something that he really wanted inside their flames.

The longer he looked at them, the stronger the feeling of covetous greed for whatever it was he wanted most in life. Until he could just about visualize what he wanted inside the flame. If he looked long enough at the flames, that want would overcome his senses entirely.

!	Message from: Pig Boy
	Let me know how long your pc looks into the flame if at all.

Tristan finds things are quiet all along the Glass Quarter. There may have been a bit of commotion earlier when the news hit, but now things are calming down and everything appears normal on the street.

Chester reports feeling much less unusual about the spirits as he ventures beyond Rharne's walls. On the way toward where the Ships were said to be spotted, he notices nothing unusual until he reaches the outer edges of the Stormwastes/Stormlakes. There he feels a lot of excitement about things in general in the spirit world, as if the spirits are welcoming their long-lost kin home. It's the closest approximation Chester can make to human phenomenon.

As for the optimism and mingling nervousness, Chester wasn't really able to pin it down. Just that many spirits were being turned while in Rharne from one emotional extreme to another.



Things are calm and relatively quiet as the noon of the first day of the sightings arrives. The Healers of the Order are mingling with the persons on the street and in the taverns, trying to calm down fears.

The Lighting Knight patrols report nothing out of the ordinary around the surrounding countryside. Other than the three ships still making a ponderous pace toward Rharne, and floating above the Umbral Caverns. At this point, it becomes relatively common knowledge where the ships are, in relation to Rharne. Above the Umbral Caverns and former Jail.

!	Message from: Pig Boy
	All are welcome to join in and post. You will not be kicked for not being able to post on a given round. I will post again in two weeks from now. Feel free to post more than once between yourselves, or split the next six hours between posts made.

[Seira Shiryu]

121st Ashan, 724; Current 6 hours

Seira had had a troubled night's sleep. Her dreams, while quite pleasant, had all been about her sister. Some were of things that had actually happened, while others had been spawned from her imagination. The result had been that Seira had gotten little useful rest despite having gone to bed at a reasonable time the night before. For that reason, she was now getting a late start to her trial. She had briefly wakened earlier long enough to feed her pets and taken Taerin and Meiryu out to do their business, but since she didn't have anything pressing to do this morning she had gone back to bed in the hopes of getting a little more sleep.

Now that she was fully awake, she mused that even pleasant dreams could be disturbing at times. Not that she wanted to stop dreaming about Seri. Not by any means. But the dreams, while pleasant, had awakened a painful longing in her that had made falling back to sleep difficult each time she had woken up after one. Even now Seira longed to see her sister again. She missed Seri desperately, and it took a force of will to shove that longing aside enough that she able to get on with her trial.

After a quick lunch, seeing as it was around noon, Seira got Teirin ready to go for a walk and headed out to the market to get enough food to last her the next few trials or so. When she did, it was almost like finding herself in another world. The Glass Quarter was quiet enough, but as she approached the market in the Earth Quarter, people were abuzz with the strangest of news. She couldn't help but hear that people were talking about flying ships that were headed towards Rharne. Apparently official street criers had been out earlier spreading the news from what she was hearing. Some people were frantic, while others appeared to be excited. And Seira could see healers from the Order moving about the streets trying to calm the people who were the most frightened.

Seira paused when she saw that. Flying ships were...well...her first thought was that such things didn't...couldn't exist. What power in the world could make something as big as a ship fly after all? Magic existed, of course, but could magic cause something as large as a ship to fly? It seemed impossible. And yet...dragons were real, and back in the world. Seira had never seen one before, but she did know that they were real instead of the stories she had always thought them to be. So if dragons were real, then why not flying ships? Seeing the healers out trying to calm the panic made it all seem more real somehow.

So...flying ships. Seira's mind whirled wildly at the thought. Flying ships that ere headed towards Rharne. Were they friendly? Seira hoped so, but she knew that there was a chance that they might not be. What did the people on the ships want? It was impossible to know for now. Seira eyed the people who were panicking and promised herself that she wouldn't join them. For one thing, the ships might be heading towards Rharne, but they weren't here yet. Maybe they would change direction and head somewhere else before reaching the city. And even if they did come here, there was no evidence that they were hostile. That she knew of anyway.

Seira wanted to learn more, so she began to pay more attention to what people were saying around her. No one official looking like a Lightning Knight was making any announcements, but if enough people said the same things, there was likely to be some truth to them. She also began to ask questions. Things like what did the official news criers say when they were out earlier, and has any of the Lightning Knights made any announcements? Seira realized that much of what she might hear was likely to be rumors, or gossip, but again, if enough people were saying the same things, she might find that some of it was true as well. In doing this, she realized that people could be a good source of information when you wanted to research something. It would be better to ask people that she knew knew more than she did about the subject, but even this might prove useful too.

After Seira had learned everything she thought she could for now, and bought the things she needed, she went back home. Her mind was still whirling over the idea of flying ships, and images of all kinds filled her mind. What would they look like? Did they ride the clouds, or fly below them? All of a sudden, she itched to write down everything she had learned as well as the ideas that were filling her mind. When she knew more, she could write everything into a story to tell Seri when she returned. Perhaps she could even get a song or two from it. She wouldn't even need all of the truth for those. Her imagination was quickly filling with a number of stories that could be "told" in the form of a song. So she quickly put her purchases away and grabbed some paper. Then she began to write everything down. The information she had just gained went onto one sheet of paper so she could use that to figure out what was going on as well as come up with song ideas. The workings of her imagination were written down on a different piece of paper so she could keep them separate. Even if she did end up writing a song or two, she wouldn't perform them until she knew how things turned out so that if something bad did happen she wouldn't risk upsetting anyone with the songs. But it wouldn't hurt to write her ideas down now at least so that she wouldn't forget them.

ooc

Actions of the current 6 hours

Seira went to the market where she heard people talking about the flying ships.

She asked questions and listened to what other people were saying in the hopes of learning more.

Then she went home to write everything down so she could try to figure out what was going on once she learned more as well as writing down ideas for possible songs she could write.

[Netzach Embersoul]

The Dust Quarter

Netzach heard a lot of theories. Too many, in fact. The first one had him hooked. What? the Shadow quarter are behind this?

But then another one came, and he felt less moved. Teq? Aeva's champion? Well I guess thats plausible but it sounds more like a romance novel than anything.

By the third rumour Netzach was fed up, and began to actively tune them out.
With these many conflicting ideas of what was happening, Netzach was certain of only one thing; that nobody had any idea what was going on.

That was to be expected. The whole city was in uproar over this strange event. These ships were just pure mystery, looming over everyone's understanding of warfare, security, transportation, politics, everything.
Netzach wondered whether the actions of the city would be just as disorganized, torn between different ideas and theories.
That would not be good. Netzach didn't know much about Bureaucracy, but he figured if the people in power kept fighting against each other, it would be like a two horses trying to pull a carriage in two different directions. They wouldn't get anywhere.

Still, he had to hand it to himself, he was able to navigate through the rumors a lot more level headedly than a lot of the common folk did.

He saw the Order of the Adunih trying to quell the fears of the public, trying to put a positive spin on things. Trying to cut out the negative, and frankly ostentatious, rumors that were running unchecked like a plague. Netzach smiled. What a swell bunch, these Order people, he thought to himself.
Maybe Rharne wouldn't set itself on fire before those flying ships got here.

As he wandered the streets of Rharne, his ears picked up on the facts as they came through town criers and whispered rumors; that the ships were standing in the same area as the old prison in the Stormwastes... the same area as the Umbral Caverns.

Netzach briefly wondered what his master might be doing around this time. He must be just as confused as he was, or maybe he would know more than Netzach did, as he had greater mastery over his magic than Netzach did.

"Knowing that bastard, he'd probably be excited. If Rharne falls, thats more corpses for him."
He muttered to himself.

Netzach shook his head, brushing aside his wandering thoughts.
He decided to take the day, wandering through Rharne, having his ear to the ground, figuratively. He kept his ears sharp, and brought out his Attunement. His skill had grown considerably in the last season, and it was time to make use of it.

Next 6 hours from Noon

I missed the last post because of IRL issues
At any rate, Netzach will begin walking through Rharne, mainly the Earth and Dust quarters, and seeing what he can pick up with his Attunement.
In particular, he would focus on passing Lightning Knights, and seeing if their notes reek of an army getting ready for peace or war.

Short post for now, but if and when our UFO's touch down, I'll be excited to try to attune to them!

[Tristan Venora]

Things seemed to be quiet in the Glass Quarter, Tristan observed, as his grandmother, Koral and he took a look around the neighborhood. Whatever commotion there might have been earlier, had passed, and people were out and about. Everything appeared to be back to normal. Once upon a time, the young man would likely have come to the conclusion that it was all a bit anticlimactic, but nowadays, he was just relieved. His family and he had experienced enough traumatic events to last for an entire lifetime, or several. It was good that this here would likely not turn out to be the catastrophe it had seemed to be at first.

Tristan and Koral made a bit of small talk with the neighbours. Tristan’s grandmother did the same while keeping her eyes and ears open for anything unusual. Unlike her grandson, she didn’t trust the peace entirely. Things in the Glass Quarter seemed to be quiet, but the situation might be different somewhere elsewhere in Rharne – in the Earth Quarter, the Sky Quarter or any of the other parts of the city – or beyond the city. She was too old and had seen too much to be that trusting. Besides, who knew what was going on behind the scenes?

What were the people in other places talking about?

Eventually, they headed home again and shared the good news with the rest of the household. Afterwards, they ate together. While Koral, his grandmother and his parents relaxed, Tristan played with Ayla. He wanted to provide his daughter with as much normalcy as possible.

Meanwhile, more news from Chester arrived. Tristan and Ayla were just playing with Ayla’s dolls and her doll house when the diri reported that he hadn’t noticed anything unusual until he had reached the outer edges of the Stormwastes/Stormlakes.

Tristan set the doll he just been playing with down – this trial’s game was “tavern”, and he was a patron – and explained so that Ayla wouldn’t wonder why he had stopped, “I’m talking to Chester. Remember the flying ships? He’s trying to find out more about them for us.”

“What did he find out, daddy?” Ayla asked, her blue eyes wide.

“The spirits are excited, but in a good way”, Tristan summarized what Chester had said to her.

Ayla smiled brightly when she heard that and called out to Chester, as if she expected him to hear her across that vast distance, “Are you excited as well, Chester? You are the best Chester ever!”

Tristan shook his head slightly and smiled before he focused on his conversation with Chester again.

“Long-lost kin?” he asked and furrowed his brow in confusion as he didn’t know what to make of that statement. “Are there any beings that spirits are related to or have a close connection to? Chester, does anybody know what the people on those ships look like? Can you find out, please?” he asked. While they were – hopefully – not dealing with a catastrophe of epic proportions, things were getting just a little mysterious.

“What can cause your kind to have such mood swings?” he wanted to know a moment later when the diri reported that spirits were being turned from one emotional extreme to another while in Rharne. Was it just excitement, or was some sort of power at work here?

“Chester”, he finally said and resisted the urge to slap his forehead because he felt quite stupid all of a sudden. “You are a Diri of Communication, aren’t you? Can you pick up any kind of communication from the ships themselves? Which language are the passengers speaking?”

While Chester was hopefully trying to find the answers to these questions – while being appropriately careful – Tristan went back to playing with Ayla for a bit. The little Mortalborn had decided to change her game. Strange people had descended from the sky, and they had decided to stop by their tavern. They demanded the strangest kinds of food!

As the trial progressed, more news slowly reached Rharne. Apparently, there were three ships, and they were above the Umbral Caverns and former Jail. Tristan decided that it was time to head out once more. This time, he was going to the library. His grandmother insisted on accompanying him once more – and asked Koral to join them, for a little additional protection. She didn’t like staying at home and only getting second-hand information as a consequence. Her son and her daughter-in-law on the other hand were quite happy where they were.

Once he had arrived at the library, Tristan approached the librarian and asked them for books on several topics, the Umbral Caverns, the former Jail, spirits and the Stormwastes. He also browsed the shelves himself though, if he was allowed to do so. The objective of his research was to find out if there are any special connections between spirits and other beings. He wanted to find out if there were any records of beings that Chester’s kind might be excited about and welcome like long-lost kin. Were there any kinds of beings that Idalos might consider to be lost?

He also wanted to find out more about the Umbral Caverns and the former Jail – and what might attract these mysterious visitors’ interest. Was there anything about those areas that might affect spirits? He was looking for anything that might give him a clue, even myths and legends. As a competent storyteller, he knew that those often contained a kernel of truth.

Koral, the Tunawa, who was a bit of a storyteller herself, did the same, although she struggled a lot more.

She needed to ask for help in order to even open some of those books!

Meanwhile, Ebony did what she did best: She kept her eyes and ears open, for anything that might be of interest, on the way to the library and in the library itself. On trials like these, there were often whispers, even in places where you were normally supposed to remain quiet.

Rumours, she explained to Tristan before she left him to his research, could be a good source of information.

The next 6 hours

Ebony doesn’t trust the peace and decides to keep her eyes and ears open (Expert Intelligence, Competent Investigation). She wants to find out if there is anything unusual going on in other parts of the city or in the areas beyond the city. She wants to find out what people are talking about. Are there any rumours?

Tristan, his grandmother and Koral head home again.

Tristan plays with his daughter and talks to Chester.

Tristan asks Chester if there are any beings that spirits are related to or have a close connection to. He also asks him if anybody knows what the people on the flying ships look like and what can cause spirits to have such mood swings.

Finally, he wants to know if Chester can pick up any kind of communication from the ships themselves or figure out which language the people on them are speaking. He is a Diri of Communication, after all!

Ayla talks to Chester, as if she really expects him to hear her across that vast distance.

Later that trial, Tristan, his grandmother and Koral head to the library.

Tristan researches several things: He wants to find out if there are any special connections between spirits and other beings and if there are any beings that Chester’s kind might be excited about and treat like long-lost kin. Are there any records of possible lost or unknown races?

He decides to also check out myths and legends in that regard.

Is there anything about the Umbral Caverns/the former Jail that might attract the mysterious ships’ interest?

Koral (Competent Storytelling) decides to look for stories that might fit their research objectives as well.

Meanwhile, Ebony continues to keep her eyes and ears open.

[Winston]

Just don't blow up Rharne!

Responding to Genna

"Jost... A... Little... Cloooooosssssaaaaaa....." The tiny fury alchemist was gently placing the final touches to one of his alchemical glyphs as his Holo-com sprang into life as Genna's visage appeared on his desk. He flinched ever so slightly as her voice called out, nudging the circle's edge with his calk. Quickly he removed the mistake, extended the circle again and completed the glyph, as the energy of the circle began to fail. Recovering the error swiftly, he let out a sigh of relief. "Wow... Dat wus close..." He said, as he placed the chalk down and made his way over the the communication device with a broad smile.

His visage appeared above the woman's device. His fur was a little uneven, the right side of his nose was covered in glitter and there was a blob of something rainbow coloured on his right ear. It held on to his fur like some kind of limpet, causing his ear to flick and flinch as he subconsciously tried to shake it off as he spoke.

"Lady Lyosha!" His tone, despite his disheveled appearance, was one of delight as she introduced the situation. He nodded enthusiastically as he replied, quite honored that she would suggest he was even capable of building something like a flying ship. "Hahaha! Noh, nat mine! Oh, mun. 'ow cool wud dat be? Isanamia, EQUITY FRAM ABOVE! Hehehe." The ferret was as jovial as ever. Being busy was his favourite way of being. "Me es organising a welcome party far our visitas, en case dem are friendly. Alex es arganisin' peopal fram Isonomia tuh be ready far watever occurs, in case dem ar nat. Let me know ef dere es anytin' specific yuh need, but dere will be peepal around tuh 'elp yuh teams 'oweva yuh need." He concluded with a determined nod.

Between the two factions, he was certain they could encourage the people to be positive about the approaching ships, until it was clear they should not be.

"Shinwa, please cun yuh approahc de local Guilds and Breweries? We shud try tuh involve dem. Dis es Rharne afta al."

Back to the current 6-hourly chunk

Winston was reviewing the report from

the Wisps

with

Felicity

, who was much more competent at such things. "Interesting. They don't seem to be attacking anything and there's not one, but three ships."

"Dere are THREE ships?" His voice was full of awe at the prospect of not just one, but multiple flying ships. This suggested they might not be uncommon among the newcomers and the idea what there might genuinely be a chance he could explore one of them filled him with glee.

"Yes, that could be a problem." Considered the Wisp. "Multiple ships means multiple problems."

The ferret frowned. "Multiple sheps means multiple parties." He was joking, a little, but Felicity was not entertained.

"Focus Winston, this is serious."

He rolled his eyes in a playful manor as they continued to receive the report. "Oh-kay-oh-kay. Shud we say 'ello..?" He pondered aloud.

Felicity objected with a voice of experience that caused the ferret to nod slowly. "No. Right now we have an advantage. While they are not being a threat, we can gather information. Plus, if we make contact, we take the rather considerable responsability of making first contact with another nation... I'm not sure Winston T. Ferret Miller has that authority."

He shrugged, as if what she said might well be right, even if it was not fun. "True. Oh-kay. Let's 'ave de Wisps maintain their distance an' watch far any indicashun dat de visitors mean any 'arm. Tell dem to maintain dinatance, bot try tuh establish wat de visitors dat are commin' tuh land are doin'."

He turned to

Shinwa

as he continued. "Cun yuh pass dat on please, an' let de Lightening Knights, Vivian and Genna know dat dere are thrreeeee af dem. Eeeeeee" He could bearly contain his excitement at the prospect of 'spare' ships arriving. The idea that they might be open to trade for them filled his mind.

A knight arrives at day

Still working furiously on his forge and the preparations for the explosive welcome, there was a gentle tap at the door as Shinwa entered and introduced one Corporal Xithyria Manrantha Remnate Videx, with a bow and a gesture toward the man.

"Wow, oh. Dat's quite a lat... Ummm... Caperal is et?"

The man nodded as he set about putting in his request for help.

As the man began to lay out the details, Winston started by nodding knowingly, making the assumption that he was here about the ships. As soon as it became apparent that the ships were apparently not at the top of the list of problems they were presenting him, his surprise was obvious. "Yes, af carse de ships are indeed a... Oh! Cannan balls? En de armory? Uhhh..." He looked at the forge and his megar supply of explosives. He would need many more before the ships arrived if he was going to achieve more then just a token effort at the celebrations or the distraction.

Hearing his thoughts, Felicity spoke to him telepathically through the symbiotic possession they shared. "We should go, Winston."

The ferret's expression shifted to one of very serious doubt as he replied, telepathically. "Bot, why are we wastin' time an some cannan-balls when we are facing ground-breaking meetin's af a new flyin' race?"

"They need their munitions Winston if these new friends you are hoping to meet turn out to be unfriendly. Think about it Winston. If this IS an invasion, is it really a coincidence that the only form of substantial defence against something like a Flying Ship might have been sabotaged?"

His eyes bulged at the prospect of sabotage in the fore of first contact with a new, potentially powerful race and he turned his, very obviously distracted attention, back to the Knight. "Ok-key, yus, af-carse. Munishuns are not me speciality, but we most make share yuh defences are nat campromised." He replied with a newly found sense of urgency to fuel his curiosity.

Shinwa made a polite 'ehem' sound before adding. "I will arrange the appropriate invoices for services rendered be forwarded to the appropriate department, Sir?"

The ferret nodded absentmindedly at the suggestion, his head already spinning with the potential of the mystery cannon balls stretching from anything from total world destruction to rainbow coloured glitter. "Oh, af cars, tank yuh, Shinwa. Me always forget dat bit." Waving a hand at the diligent butler in gratitude for dealing with the less interesting aspects of business that prevents one becoming a poorper, he turned back to the Knight.

"Me gat a lat af work still tuh do 'ere. Wud yuh mind leadin'

Chest

tuh de armoury while me worked?" He looked up at the ceiling as he addressed Chest directly. "Yuh, oh-kay tuh fallow dis 'ere chap, please Chest?"

There was no reply from the room, but the locomotive luggage followed the Knight to their destination while Winston continued to work on the welcome explosives as

Angela

forced him to remember to eat.

At the armoury

Assumptions & Mod Tips

I am assuming that Winston reaches the Armoury in the 'second half' of this 6-hour window as this makes sense and also means I can narative some 'initial investigations' for Mod response.

Pig has given me permission to assume I get a look at the Armoury and also dropped the following tips:

• The balls appear to have included Chistone Wells in their construction.

Winston has 5 Relationship Points with his Songforged Diri, Joe. This being so, Joe's Sense Magic custom power is upgraded to be twice as effective, as per the Scalvaris Forged write-up. This means he can 'detect' from Competent (easily) to Expert (with effort) magics/wells/etc.

It took a little persuasion to convince the Knights to allow Chest into the Armoury, but as fortune would have it, Winston was an extremely persuasive ferret when he wanted to be and right now, he wanted to be. Having been informed that the magic cannon balls had been disturbed as little as possible, he was taking no risks.

He still remembered quite vividly the catastrophe that occured as a result of Nar'wie's haphazard meddling back in Scalvaris and had no intention of having that occur tutorial, dispite his burning curiosity. "Right..." He began as he looked over the armoury. "...Ef me es doin' dis, den dis entire room es af limits until me say oddawise, Oh-kay?" It wasn't a negotiation, the well-mannered ferret's usual amiability was no less present, but those involved either agreed and received his help... or they didn't. Assuming this was acceptable, he set to work.

Turning to the Corporal, who had offered the protection of some aduration magic already, he nodded. "Corporal, et wud be gud tuh 'ave yuh 'andy far a shield ar two, ef de need arises. Bot please don't cast anytin' yet... nat ontil me 'ave established ef et es safe." He requested, with a happy smile. Leadership was not one of his key skills, so all too often his demands came off as requests, but nonetheless, he said it and trusted the Knight to follow siute.

Approaching the room, he called

Joe

forward with a little thought aimed in his general direction. "OK, what's the plan?" He asked as the room stood around them, empty of people and full of secrets.

"First, we establish 'ow big a prablem et es we are dealin' wid." He said, getting out a pad of paper from Chest and a writing implement. "Lend me yuh powa me friend..."

He asked politely, using Joe's senses to enhance his own skills and meditation

.

With the help of Joe's unique ability to sense magic

, he started by wandering around the room, identifying where the offending items were and how many there were. It was his hope that they were not too powerful, or they would leave poor Joe with a headache, but should that be the case, then he would resort only to his Meditation and Encocelling talents to try to ensure he does not miss anything.

Noting what he found as he went, he moved on to establishing what they were. Using his encocelling tools, he began exploring one of the cannonballs, touching it as little as possible, but to try to discover what it was made of, or perhaps intended to do. Focusing his mind to clear it of distractions and gently teasing the information he wanted out of one of the items, he gradually began to feel a familiar sensation. He was still very carful not to inadvertently put any ether into the device. Activating it could lead quite literally to anything and for now... "...

A Chii Well?

" His eyes opened wide at the revelation. "Corporal... Please take Joe an' 'ave 'im check any equipment dat 'as already left dis armory far signs af magic. Any cannan balls already distributed."

He knew these particular Wells intimately and the idea that even just touching the device could lead to someone else reading his thoughts caused him great concern as he pulled his tools away from the device.

Felicity spoke up inside the ferret's mind. "You must tell him, but be discreet. If they have a spy, this could lead to remote triggering of these devices, right?" She asserted, drawing on the knowledge of what the Chii stone's mean from Winston's mind.

Nodding slightly he responded, silently within their shared consciousness. "Yus, et could... We need tuh try tuh prevent dem fram workin'. A Selenenyte might stap dem from being activated, ef dem are nat bein' too powaful... We need tuh work out what class af well we are dealin' wid 'ere."

He moved closer to the Knight, who was either 'in on it already' and knew everything, or was the only person Winston was sure he could currently trust with this information. He spoke as discreetly as he could, to avoid being overheard... even by the devices themselves. "Whateva dem are, dey cun almost definitely be activated fram a distance, an command... Yuh MOST do dis discreetly tuh avoid lettin' an dat we know, but while me secure dis room, yuh shud try to locate any other devices before dem are turned an."

He waited to see how well the man took the news. It was pretty important to their success that he handled it well, but at the end of the trial, Winston could only really control his own actions and leading a Knight in his responsibilities was something well outside his capabilities.

Whether the Knight got on with his task or not, Winston set about establishing what he could about the device. Finding out what total Well Class they were dealing with would be crucial.

Six hour #3 summary

Key Questions for Mod please:

• Are there any more devices, outside the Armoury?
• How many devices are in the armoury?
• What total Well Class are the individual devices (so I can tell if the Selenenyte might prevent them from triggering)?

Winston did (or continued) the following:

• Replies to Genna and disseminates the information (via Shinwa with Intelligence at Expert) he has gathered on the ships between her, the Lightning Knights and Vivian.
• Helps Gena spread positive vibes about the approaching ships to encourage celebration instead of panic.
• Continues making the smoke bombs for a few breaks (Alchemy at GM).
• Tells the Wisps gathering information on the ships to avoid direct contact and monitor the people landing to try and establish their apparent intentions.
• Consents to go and visit the Lightning Knight armoury to explore the issue with their munitions.
• Shinwa reminds the Knight that the services of a master encocellar are not free and there would be an invoice following for works done.
• Has the Corporal lead Chest to the Armoury so that Winston can continue to produce the smoke boms inside his forge until they get there.
• He tells the Lightning Knight Corporal:
  • That no one can do anything in or around the armoury while Winston is investigating.
  • That the devices could be remotely activated.
  • To be very discreet with this information, while they secure the armoury.
  • To help Joe find any other items that have already deployed from the armoury that are magical.
• Uses Encocelling (Master), Meditation (Expert), Detection (Expert), Investigation (Competent) and Joe's Sense Magic ability (capable of sensing up to Class 3 wells with some effort) to:
  • Locate any and all devices in the armoury before they start touching things.
  • Begin to decipher what one of the devices do, with as passive an approach as possible to avoid accidental activation.
  • Begin refining a Selenenyte to try and prevent the devices from working (if he can establish they are not more powerful then Class 3).

Contributing Skills:

• Joe:
  • Not a skill as such, but Joe can let Winston sense sources of magic within 15 feet up to a Class 3 well (after which, pain happens).
• Winston:
  • Alchemy (GM)
  • Tactics (Competent)
  • Encocelling (Master)
  • Investigation (Competent)
  • Socialisation (GM)
  • Stealth (Expert)
  • Meditation (Expert)
  • Detection (Expert)
  • Logistics (Competent)
• Shinwa
  :
  • Etiquette (Expert) - For dealing with the Guilds and advising on Rharne celebration traditions
  • Logistics (Expert) - For the celebration arrangements and co-ordinating with the Guilds
  • Intelligence (Expert) - For managing
    the Wisp's
    information gathering on the ships

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Dandelion]

Rosebay, 121 Ashan 724, 1200 - 1800 hours

Dan watched the distant airships drift across the sky from the top of Rosebay's protective wall, and his mouth tightened. Rosebay had no protection against attacks from the air at all. Perhaps he shouldn't assume they were hostile, but they were certainly strange, and long years of having to protect himself from all the creatures of the wild kicked in.

He made himself turn his head away. "Yes," he told Rosebay's residents, "they're clearly real. If you have weapons or armour, get them, and be ready to use them, but don't start anything. We don't want to attack if they come in peace, but I don't want us unprepared if they don't."

Arbie added, "Stay in pairs, one to guard and one to work. And the children should stay inside the Hall, since that's the most protected place we have."

Dan nodded his thanks to Rosebay's guard captain. "Once you're paired and equipped, work as usual. The animals still need to be tended, for instance, and dinner won't cook itself."

Rosebay's residents laughed, and split up to do as asked.

By the time the runner arrived to warn them about the ships, Dan was wearing a full set of leather armour under his shirt and loose trousers, and carrying his bow and spear. He was also watching the ships again, trying to figure out how they worked, but he turned to receive the message. Agnes had joined him to translate, and he flexed his fingers, shaking off the urge for an extremely sarcastic, "We noticed."

Instead he nodded, taking in the information and thanked the messenger when they were done. "Is there anything you need?" he asked. "Food, water, a place to rest?"

6 hour summary and notes

Rosebay is on the western edge of the Stormwastes, 1 day south of Storm's Edge. Pigboy was kind enough to inform me when the messenger would arrive, and whether the airships were visible (yes, but distantly)

Rosebay's people have been told to:
1. carry weapons and wear armour, where possible
2. Not to start fights
3. to carry on with their duties as usual

In addition, Dan has:
1. received the messenger sent by the knights
2. asked if the messenger needs anything after the trip from Rharne

"Signed words" Spoken words

[Revan Blackhand]

121 Ashan 724

Wearing the first face he ever had again, Revan made his way through the slowly filling streets of the Earth Quarter in search of the candles that Willow had reported finding. He didn't think it had anything to do with the ships flying their way but he was becoming less and less interested in the ships. Had he heard where various winged individuals were depending that would have been different. The dragon had been in the prison. The induk of the Deep was in the Umbral Caverns. He had been to both places, albeit wearing different faces. He had met both forces of nature and been changed by them. The dragon imparted Eris, Achlys, and Namira. The induk made Namira stronger. However Revan did not know and so it did not matter to his pursuits until the ships reached Rharne.

He stopped by a tavern and ordered a few drinks. Nothing fancy, just something to give him a little boost of energy since he hadn't slept through the night. Sleep. It was a strange concept. He didn't dream. He went to Uleuda to learn. What was rest for their kind? Irrelevant if you could maintain your energy other ways. The tavern wasn't far from the place Willow had seen the candles so he went there directly after.

He hadn't expected to find medicines being loaded into the infirmary by the crate full but he saw an opportunity that Willow, apparently, had not. Medicine was valuable. He wished he'd brought Willow along now but little could be done about that. She knew more about medicines than he did. She'd have known what was valuable and what was common. Still, what would it hurt to just remove one crate? Who would notice? He watched the shipment moving for a short time while he assessed how strong their security was. The idle pull to liberate some medicine from the storage was slowly becoming an urge he wasn't sure he could control. Then he saw the prophesied candles which were, oddly enough, still lit and burning.

From his comfortable and less than noteworthy spot, Revan examined the burning candle. He didn't want to get close to it at first, since he thought it might attract attention, but then the strange allure of the burning wick began to draw him in. There was something in fire. Something he felt he... needed. The image never became clear to the Yludih but the allure drew him two steps closer to the flame before he averted his eyes. This wasn't right. He took a breath and his eyes focused on the floor beneath him. Namira was imitating a second shadow when he noticed her shaking her head. She agreed that something was wrong with the candle.

Revan took a few steps back into the alleyway he'd been surveying everything from and Namira appeared on the wall across from him. He crossed his arms beneath his cloak and leaned on the wall behind him. "It's mid-trial, we can't just snuff it and take it with us. Too many people will see. Nights not much better. Someone is more likely to notice the candle going out then." Revan's words were barely audible and the result of a racing mind.

Namira's form shifted into letters that said 'Swap.'

Revan's eyes widened slightly. That wasn't the worst idea. He could lie his way out of most situations if he was just 'switching the candle out for a new one.' Yet was the candle worth all the bother to steal it? Revan glanced back at the flame and felt the same pull. He wanted something in the flame. He needed it. He looked away again and shook his head slightly. "Flying boats, hypnotic candles- what's next? Ilaren in a bubble bath?" Namira assumed her normal, more feminine shadow form and moved as if laughing. It brought a small smile to Revan's face but he shifted his attention back towards the Infirmary and the medicine being put inside.

"Thoughts?" Revan asked as he looked towards his diri. Namira shifted into other letters which spelled 'Scout and friend.' He understood what she meant. Revan went to a nearby tavern where he could sit outdoors and watch the shipment being delivered to the Infirmary without looking suspicious. He'd spend as long as he needed to get an idea of what they had to protect their medicine with. He'd even send Namira in to scout around, but that would occupy what remained of his hours. Drinking, scouting a target, and trying to ignore the candle. Towards the end of his time, he'd go to look for Willow. If he was going to act, he wanted someone who knew more about medicine with him.

Third 6 Hours

Revan gets some drinks for energy, then he goes to look at the strange candles. He considers stealing the candle but doesn't act on it.
He notices the medicine being brought into the Infirmary and spends some time watching the delivery to assess what their security is like.
He goes to find Willow so she can help determine what medicine would be worth taking.
He looks into the candle flame for about 3/4ths of a bit.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian groaned and shook her head when she woke up, way later in the day than she had planned. Still, she shook it off and got ready to go on at least partial duty, then got coffee and went to the command room. It was some of the same group from during the emergency meeting, but none of the people who had been on duty when she had went to bed. When she was brought up to speed on the current situation, she looked over the drafted public statement that was waiting for her final approval, then nodded and handed it off to be issued to the populace. Then she turned her attention towards the situation reports.

The unidentified ether was a new one and she pondered that for a bit before shaking her head. "See if we can isolate the ether charges and move them out of the armory. For that matter, see if we have an Atuner that can tell us anything more about the ether." she said, before looking at another part of the reports. "Isonomia and the Adunih might be able to shed some light on that as well. Doctor Augustin left them her notes and she dealt with all sorts of weird stuff. It might match up with something she stumbled across at one point. Oh, and Gennadiya offered to aid in linguistic duties. We should take her up on that if she's available and the need arises." she said, writing a letter to send back to Genna.


"Genna,

My thanks for the aid. At the moment, a conflict doesn't look likely. There's been no hostile activity from the ships, though we're preparing for it just in case. Did Faith leave any notes on strange forms of ether with the Adunih? We've picked up a few strange ether charges and we aren't yet sure of the source.

Vivian."


It was a short note, but one that Vivian was happy with, and she sent it off to the head of the local Adunih. Then she continued her way through the reports and noted the message from Tristan. "Well, that's good. Chester's independence has some benefits." she muttered, before getting a mental huff of irritation from her own Diri partner, Fins. Fins and Chester had never really gotten along, largely due to the little shark-dog taking a severe level of offense at Chester's attitude. Vivian, for her part, wasn't particularly bothered by it and got along with Tristan just fine these days. She did send him a note thanking him for the information and asking that he share anything that he and Chester find.

She saw that Urien had already contacted Winston and left that to the more senior commander and instead turned her attention to the reports of the flying ships. The prison and the umbral caverns had both been places of import recently, but what the interest these ships had in them was less clear. The investigation of them wasn't a sign of much without any form of context. Could just be they looked neat and some of the visitors had gone sightseeing? It was possible, but given the way things usually went, Vivian thought it just as likely that Varlum would walk through the office doors having been shrunk down to the size of his nieces. More likely, something about those locations was deemed significant to the visitors, though whether they recognized those places as Rharnian territory was a bigger question.

"Land knights at the prison and the caverns, and put a bit of attention on making sure these strangers don't head to the Mire. We don't strangers poking around Rharnian territory unescorted, especially when those locations have been involved in recent troubles. Even more, we don't want them riling up the Jacadons." she said, before pausing. "For that matter, if they send out landers anywhere else, get knights out there. No aggressive motions unless they attack, don't try to arrest them yet. Like as not, they don't know what we do and don't claim, but we want to know what they find interesting in the area, and why if we can manage it." she said, her tone thoughtful.

"Also, reach out to the Wardens of the Lake, have someone check on Lovalus, Zynyx, Clemengoth, and Umbral. See if anything about this has the Induks riled up or otherwise acting strange. They're more in tune with the supernatural than we are, so if they start acting strange, we want to know about it as soon as possible." she said, her tone calm. Since she was officially on duty by this point, people weren't exactly questioning her giving orders and they all had their own parts of the current situation to attend to. Vivian, for her part, focused on what was coming from the reports.

Off Topic

For the current six hours
Vivian sends a letter to Genna thanking her for the offer of help and asking if she knows of any odd ether types from Faith's notes.
She asks if they can have an atuner look at the armory.
Orders that knights go to the prisons and the Umbral caverns to see if they can see what the visitors are up to.
This order extends to anywhere else the visitors land.
That said, they are not to engage them on any sort of military footing yet.
Reach out to the other Wardens of the Lake to check on Lovalus, Zynyx, Clemengoth, and Umbral, see if there's anything odd going on with them.