[Saoire Event 723] Vega to Ulric

[Winston]

Some time before The Gifting

It was the beginning of a new trial as Vega awoke after a long night of dreams. As the world came into focus and the light around you dispelled the shadowy corners of 'the Dream', you spotted something beside your bed.

It was placed delicately atop whatever was usually beside where you sleep and had a bow on top, with a little note that read...

"Me taught yuh might find dis 'elpful far de coming season. Jost make share yuh use dis far yuh gift an don't tell anyone dat dis did nat come fram yuhself. Et will make wood shimmer when de right ting es put on to et."

Included in the box was enough wood wax/coating to finish a medium-sized box. Very specific instructions were included with the wax detailing what must be done to have each compartment of the box she had planned shimmer and shine.

The specifics of the item above

Enough wood wax/caoting to finish a medium-sized box. Very specific instructions are included with the wax detailing a symbol to write and a song to sing while any item is then soaked in the wax for 30 minutes (this is novice level Tunuwan Alcemy to add a single trigger).

Once this is done, the wax used in this way will then glow and glitter gently when it comes into contact with something of that nature again, e.g. if you soaked a pebble it would be triggered when a pabble is place uppon it.

By then working this into the wood of the box, each compartment could be 'triggered' by the things that she decides to soak and glow and glitter once they contain the item they need.

This is delivered at some time that would be convenient for you and the acquisition of the gift you are giving.

I know you might have powers that might prevent people sneaking up on you etc., so please assume that this gift appears in such a way that either it a) does not trigger defences as there's no ill intent or b) only serves to wake them to see the gift (as it's not there one moment but is the next).

Gifting Trial Arrives!

In the run-up to the Gifting, one Winston Millar had all but become a recluse as he spent his trials ferreting away at the preparations for what would come. A great many trials went by as his forge was operated by Cho as the Cadouri was nowhere to be seen. "Yup, dere... Noh, jost to de right a lit... STAP!" He commanded

Smokie

with an excitable energy he could barely contain.

As the gifter and giftie both passed through the doorway they chose to use to get to the Gifting, a world of enchantment was revealed as they stepped into what appeared to be the grand, stone-walled hall of a castle. A kaleidoscope of colors greeted them. The air was thick with the sweet scent of their favorite foods and the gentle melody of ethereal music played by invisible musicians.

For those able to see them, Fairies (Spirits) fluttered all around, placing decorations and plucking at musical instruments in a way that made the music feel like it was coming from the walls themselves.

The banquet hall stretched out before them, a dazzling display of festive joy. Glistening crystal chandeliers made of green and gold leaves hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, golden glow upon the room from their luminescent bulbs. The walls were adorned with tapestries depicting scenes of ancient legends and mythical creatures from Idalos and the Dreaming, making unleavable scenes of heroism and gift-giving.

A long, banquet table stood in the center, covered with a rich, emerald-green velvet cloth that cascaded to the floor. On the table, an array of dishes awaited them. Plates were made of delicate leaves, and glasses were of sparkling daffodil cups with an otherworldly iridescence. The air was filled with the tempting aroma of dishes both familiar and exotic – Platters of enchanting delicacies and spun sugar that literally floated in mid-air, held in place but nothing but a thread of sugar, beckoned to them. Nestled beside flowery goblets, chocolate truffles adorned with edible gold sparkled like miniature constellations. Towers of fantastical cake, layers infused with the essence of dreams, stood tall, their frosting kissed by the ephemera of various emotional spirit domains for Ulric's pallet. Each decadent slice promised a journey through velvety realms of rich chocolate and enchanted sweetness, a sublime indulgence that mirrored the magic lingering in the air. The banquet, a realm where every bite was a spell, celebrated the alchemy of flavors, with chocolate and cake weaving a delicious enchantment through the tapestry of the fantastical feast and

emotional energies

.

At the head of the table, a ferret known to some as Winston stood, placing some finishing touches to one of the many dishes.

"Welcome, nobal guests, tuh de Gifting!" he declared, his voice full of a thick accent of the tiny creature's upbringing. "Com-com! Com en! Feast, dance, sit or talk. Dis place es yars totrial, as we celebrate de magic that binds us all and builds relashunships new an' old trough 'giving'." He gestured to the room around them. "Once yuh are done, yuh cun return 'ome, noooh prablem. Ontil den, yuh jost let meh know ef dere es anyting me cun doh tuh 'elp."

The words were undoubtedly practiced

, but delivered with the most genuine joy and intent. He was obviously uncontainable excited to be here, but with that, without leaving the room,

Winston adeptly made himself seem politely busy as his guests meet and greet each-other without his interference

.

Just then, the banquet hall erupted into a symphony of laughter and giggles. The fairies (should you be able to see them) gathered around the table, watching and listening as events unfolded. The air was alive with the fluttering of wings, the tinkling of laughter, and the soft susurrations of a great many playful beings.

As all of this sunk in, a figure made themselves apparent, a very finely dressed butler of impeccable manor bowed slightly to one side. They held a tray with daffodil glasses filled with delightful nectar and bowed.

Shinwa

gestured towards the tray to indicate that a drink could be taken, if so desired, after which he offered to unburden their guests of their coats or cloaks.

!

Message from: Winston

Welcome to your Saiore Gifting Event thread for 2023! How does this work? - So, this is your thread (the two of you) and you can get here via the magic portal, from where-ever you are and will be returned there once you decide to leave (unless I say otherwise! SHOCK! Secrets! AAAAAAAH!). This thread will be eligible for both skill points and knowledge, as long as the usual review requirements are met. It can be whatever you want, of course, but it is a modded event and so I control the surrounding and NPCs, so please don't assume control of them (unless, of course, they are yours). You can bring anything with you that you could reasonably be assumed to carry or BE carrying and of course your gift comes with you You may bring with you any flavour NPCs if you wish, but please either avoid making these a 'mass' of actual physical people (if you have a child or someone that you really feel like bringing, please do). Diri's, Spirits, small creatures/pets on your person, etc. that usually hang around you are also all fine. A 13 foot dragonling or horse, not so much What should you do? - Please post your first post in two sections: 1) "Some time before The Gifting": A section that describes the making or acquisition of your Gift. This can be anything from "Jeoff picks up the gift he made." To a fully fledged description of the shopping/making process. This can/should be a creative and enjoyable writing experience. Write something you enjoy, in any style you enjoy, IF it's something you will enjoy! The emphasis is on FREEDOM not requirement. Don't feel required to make a lenthy section here, but certainly feel free to (rewards will be issued for creative or well crafted gift sections). 2) "Gifting Trial Arrives!": Post your arrival! If you post first, you are there first. If you post second, you can assume you spot your companion on entering and respond to anything they provide for you in their first post. 3) When you have completed this thread, please place it up for review as normal. Once it’s been reviewed, post here to claim your event medal! Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Vega]

Saoire Event 723

Some Time Before The Gifting

"It's a gift, Ipi," Vega said to her

daughter, Joy

who had asked her mere moments before what it was that she was making. Joy scrunched up her nose and considered this for a moment.

"Who for, Mama?"

Vega smiled at her daughter and put down her woodcrafting tools for a moment. "It's for someone who I haven't met yet. I'm givin' them a gift because Saoire asked me to." Joy considered this and then nodded. It made sense to the young girl that this was the case and so she asked no more, but instead she watched.

It sometimes still surprised her that, somehow, they had a gaggle of children, but Vega took the job which gave her the title 'Mama' very seriously indeed. So, Joy was not surprised when Vega started explaining things to her. "See this, here? I'm makin' it look like shootin' stars in the night sky on the lid. See how it glitters?" Joy nodded.

"What's that, Mama?"

Vega grinned. "It's a magical thing what I got given to make this better. See, each compartment will have a suggestion for what goes in it an' I'll use this so that, when that particular thing gets put in there, it'll glimmer an' glitter an' glow. Joy watched, seriously, and then nodded.

"Can I help, Mama?"

"O'course you can, Ipi.", Vega said with a smile. "Let me show you how to sand wood an' then I'll give you some to do, what will go on the lid." It took longer to make the item this way, of course, and there were things which Vega had to go back and correct because they weren't of a high enough standard, but neither of those mattered to the feisty red head. Her daughter learned and that was the most important thing of all.

Gifting Trial Arrives!
Vega had wrapped up the gift in a pretty yellow scarf, then tied it up with red ribbon. As she stepped through the door, she felt a sense of anticipation and not a small amount of delight. Winston, after all, was her friend and he was organising Saoire's gifting this arc, which was an incredible honour and a great thing for him. She was pleased for, and proud of, Winston for this and she had brought with her a second package, wrapped the same way.

The table was amazing and the attention to detail was astonishing. Vega beamed in delight as she looked around and for a moment she wished that she had brought Joy with her. But, she stood firm and resolute that the children were better off with Arlo; this was not least because if she brought Joy she'd have to bring Wren and then Ru would want to come and if Ru was coming, Conlan would want to be here and Akor would cry if Conlan left her. So, that being the case, Vega decided that she'd go alone and that was that.

"Oh, Winston it looks amazin' here," Vega said. She looked around with eyes which shifted in colours of delight and then she walked over to where Winston was. Learning forward, she kissed him on the cheek and put down a small gift for him. "I made that for you," she said quietly. "To say thank you for this an' for organisin' it." When he looked - assuming that he did - it was the same gift as Ulric, but in Winston-size and with written suggestions appropriate to him.

Then, she took her seat and she put the gift for Ulric at his seat. Looking around, she watched for him and gave a grin to Winston as she did. "It's weird, but I'm nervous," she said honestly. "I hope he likes it.".

[Ulric]

Zi'da 723

Zi'da was cold everywhere apparently. That probably wasn't true but thus far Zi'da was definitely as cold on a ship as it had been on land. It was as cold in the Beneath (metaphorically) as it was on a ship and it was as cold in Scalvoris as it was wherever the band found themselves when the doorway opened again- though the weather was not exactly the same. The living dead man wasn't thinking about gifting-trial anymore since he'd already given his gift. It never occurred to him for very long that he would also be on the receiving end. Gifts and gifting were a strange thing the living did that he'd forgotten during his time among the dead. It never seemed as important as the rest of the memories he clung to and as a result the details escaped his mind. Details even a child would have known.

Ulric was in one of the cheaper rooms at some inn in some part of the city where they were staying. Helena and Elia had gone out to deliver goods from one place to the next and Balon was out scouting for the next place he wanted to perform. Ulric should have gone with him but when he had finished bathing the bard had already departed and left a note. So Ulric took his time drying off and getting dressed for the trial to come. His choice of dark attire fit with most of his surroundings where he was staying but he liked it because it kept him warm.

Just after fastening his sword belt, but before he could put on his swords, Ulric felt a familiar but delighting chill roll through the air and he turned towards his door. It's time? Again? He took off his cloak and set it on his bed before crossing over to the door. As his hand found the handle, he paused. Was he dressed for the event? Why did he care? He didn't. He had to remind himself that it was Balon's voice in his head nitpicking his clothing. He opened the door and proceeded into the wonderland once more.

When Shinwa appeared with his tray and gestured towards it, Ulric took the drink he was offered with a quiet, "Thank you." He had no cloak to unburden given that he'd left it on his bed at the inn so he excused himself and moved closer to the table as Winston performed his greeting. Ulric fought the urge to look around at everything and instead focused on the host and the person who'd greeted their host already.

He didn't recognize her at all but she seemed to know Winston well and Winston seemed a very good person. Maybe he was being too trusting. Maybe it was just the season. He didn't feel the need to be on the defensive in this place. He liked that. It was rare. Ulric shifted his drink to his left hand and approached the two after Vega set the gift down in the chair for Ulric. He began with Winston simply because he'd seen the fellow before. Familiarity made things easier.

"Well met." He said to Winston. It was arguably a much less warm greeting than Vega had given him but Ulric didn't know Winston that well yet. "Thank you again for organizing this- and for the treats." The enhanced food was not as mesmerizing the second time as it had been the first but that didn't mean that Ulric didn't want to stuff his pockets with it. Thus far this was the only place he'd ever encountered such intricate delights. Now cam the part he was not accustom to- meeting a new person. Ulric turned to Vega with as genuine a smile as he could manage.

"Greetings," He said, still unsure really of how to introduce himself to a stranger. Most of the time he just avoided people outside of his group. He didn't even like telling people his name. "I'm Ulric." That felt weird. He held out his hand to shake but his gestures were stiff. It was either nerves or discomfort... but probably nerves.

[Winston]

When Vega handed over the gift for him, he made an "Eep!" sound and his little feet hopped back and forth. He would have blushed when she kissed him, had he not been so distracted by the gift, his joy bubbling in it usual manor as he let his delight be known without concern.

He didn't say "you didn't have to", because she knew that, and didn't say "you shouldn't have" because if not in Saoire's gifting, when SHOULD gifts be given and instead he went with. "Oh-oh-oh! Et's so awesome! Tank yuh!" As he opened it and gave it a swift look over. As he reluctantly put it aside before getting lost too deeply into exploring it before Ulric arrived, it would be obvious he was infatuated with it and suppressing the control his curiosity had over his actions if not his expression.

Winston smiled. Nerves at a gift-giving showed for a person that truly cared. He set about distracting her from her nerves with some friendly conversation, avoiding the topic of the gift itself, as his 'insider information' informed him that it would be a conversation best had between Ulric and Vega. "Me es certain de effart will be appreciated far shar and ef nat, Chest 'as permission tuh eject him into Dream tuh fend far 'iself." He gave a playful grin, deliberately leaving the it up to her to decide how much truth there was to the statement, which of course with Winston, was usually complete.

As Ulric entered and welcomed the ferret, he received the greeting with a delighted smile. "Yuh very welcam!" He replied, gesturing to Vega for them to perform their own introductions.

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Nice posts! Please feel free to interact directly and assume things you would enjoy to eat and drink are there for you to have. Anything up to Tier 10 but not extraordinarily rare is up for grabs. Though Winston is more likely to have cooked an inexpensive dish from your fondest memory as a super-expensive dish packed with expensive ingredients. Whatever it is, it would be immaculately well prepared however. Please consider marking up 3 (or more) knowledges in your next post. The fairies around the room are equally as likely to interfere as they are to wait and watch with bated breath. Please feel free to include some inconsequential encounters should you wish to. Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Vega]

Saoire Event 723

Winston's reaction was delighful and Vega smiled in genuine pleasure at his unfiltered joy. She was very fond of the little ferret and that he was here, acting as Saoire's Ziellmas-ferret-of-holiday-cheer made her happy in a way that she would describe as 'gettin' the warm an' fuzzies'.

Thankfully, Winston was also more than appropriately distracting as they waited for Ulric. However, once Ulric arrived, Vega gave a cheery grin and offered her own hand to shake immediately.

"It's righ' nice to meet ya, Ulric," Vega said cheerily. "My name's Vega an' I'm more'n pleased to finally get to say hello." Just the act of meeting him made her nerves disappear. "It's strange, makin' a gift for someone you've never met. I reckon, though, it's the best way to really understand Saoire an' what she stands for." Vega wasn't great at philosophy, but she figured that was the case here. "So, in Saoire's name an' with the best I can do, here's your gift, Ulric. I made it for you, so I hope you like it."

Assuming that he took it, Ulric would find his carefully wrapped gift contained a medium-sized box with a hinged lid and small compartments of varying sizes. The box itself was dark wood with what appeared to be shooting stars and twinkling stars on it - these were subtle, but definitely there. Each compartment had pieces of parchment with written suggestions about what should go in each compartment - things like "A pebble from a beach at night" or "a token from a treasured memory" - things like that. All with the aim of grounding him in being alive again.

"My children wrote the suggestions for the contents.", Vega said with a smile. "An' while that explains the handwritin', it also means that the handwritin' were better than if I did it."

Looking then between Ulric and Winston, Vega gave a slight grin. "So, rather than feel awkward, lets have somethin' to eat an' share a story together? " Vega said. Looking at the pair of them with eyes which swirled in colours, she grinned. "I'll tell you about the time, when I'd hurt my legs an' were walkin' with crutches," she said, remembering the events in question very clearly . "When my husband an' I went to a place called 'Sweet Treats' to buy some chocolate. Turned out the sweet treats in question were some very friendly ladies." She gave a grin.

Motioning to them to get over there and get started on the eating, she spoke with a grin. "So, what do you reckon," she asked to them both. "What's a funny story about you?".