fellmemes | Test Drive #2

Welcome to the September test drive! We're so excited to have you with us.

A few things of note:

✦ Test drive threads can be considered game-canon if you choose. They're essentially in a shared dreamscape and take place between your character leaving their world, and arriving in the audience hall with their faction leader.
✦ Reserves will open at 12:01 AM UTC on October 1st, and continue to be until 11:59 PM UTC on October 7th; they are not necessary to apply! They're valid for the first four days of the application cycle.
✦ Applications will open at 12:01 AM UTC on the 8th, and remain open until 11:59 PM UTC on the 15th. The IC & OOC intro logs will be posted two days later.
✦ Working on your app and not sure where you put your character? We have a faction sorting meme available for people to make use of!
✦ Questions? We have a FAQ that's chock full of good information! If they are test drive specific, we have a top level thread below that allows for OOC questions to be posted.
✦ The network is available to use! No matter where your character is, their compass arrived on their person. Please feel free to include a network post in your top-levels! Once opened, the compass will display instructions on use, such as using voice-commands to activate it. Usernames are your characters first name or their most common nickname.

All set? Perfect! Welcome to Fellden.

AS THE MOON RISES.
You’ll find yourself just outside the Temple doors, which will be locked if you try to open them. A little rude, keeping you out after bringing you all this way. The thing is, you can hear a lot of commotion in the distance, and smoke rising from the center of a district; you may want to check that out. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire!

Except the smoke is not at all something to be concerned over. Instead, people are gathered near a large bonfire in the decorated city square, drinking and carousing, singing songs of celebration; Moon saviors have arrived! War winners! The residents of the city laugh and sing and dance in pairs throughout the square, grateful for those who have come to aid them. Their merriment doesn’t dwindle as the sun begins to set on the horizon, twin moons rising in its place.

When you (and other new arrivals) are finally noticed by the revelers, do not expect to be left alone! Flower crowns will be deposited upon your heads, food and drink placed into your hands, while live musicians play loud enough for the dead to hear. You’ll be invited to dance, to drinking games, and offered food and flowers and other items of value. Some may cry when they look into your face, thanking you for becoming their champions during this long and exhaustive war.

Hopefully you’re here to enjoy the festivities. Sneaking off is just fine, too, but don’t expect to be let go of quietly; the people of the Moon Temple are so happy to see you! Enjoy the celebration while it lasts long into the night.

THE SETTING STARS.
Unlike the Temple, your arrival to the Court of Stars is met with a rather somber greeting, however expressions are relieved, despite any emotional guard that may be up.

A gathering of knights, weary from a skirmish along the border they're returning from, pat you on the back and lead you through an open air courtyard. All the gathered people of the Emperor's Court look up from their tasks, giving the passing Otherworlders a knowing nod. There's gratitude in their eyes, but that's all the welcome you'll receive: your presence is appreciated, but growing an attachment is another heartache for those that care so deeply for their faction fellows. The silence is broken when a high-ranking member of the guard gives the proclamation: "Our heroes have arrived! Court defenders, world travelers! Help has come from the far lands to aid us in our battles for our Emperor, for all of Fellden!"

From there, the few knights that have not yet departed will lead you through the Court's castle, a brief tour of the most important areas (dining hall, housing wing, guard barracks, and the throne room) is given before they instruct you to rest, because the real excitement begins when the sun falls behind the horizon.

Left to drift, you can explore the castle, or venture out to the surrounding city as it prepares for the celebration the Starfolk have in store for the returned soldiers and, now, the new arrivals. You'll be invited to the party that spreads across the entire Court city, drawn into large circle dances, and will find that the locals become more at ease and welcoming the longer you spend with them.

BACK TO SCHOOL.
School is back in session and Terebellum is here to tell you all about the benefits of the University! Come for a tour (except for the library which remains closed and well guarded), meet some current students, see what all the fuss is about when it comes to this prestigious institution!

With All Hallow's next month, the students of Terebellum have decided to pay homage to many of the games and decorations that will be found around the country that night! Carving pumpkins or other seasonal squash, bobbing for apples fresh from the harvest, or watch as Illusion students wow you with life-like displays of dancing skeletons. There are booths for each school of magic as well as all other subjects taught at the University, others are dedicated to businesses within the city that hire students. There will be cycles of tours that will show you the University grounds and all it has to offer! Get paired up for a small tour group to enjoy the sights or bump into a new arrival (or old guard) while listening to people speak at various booths.

As the only major University in the country, Terebellum accepts people from all walks of life, regardless of faction affiliation. Come meet some fellow potential students, learn from current ones about the atmosphere, or participate in some of the booth activities.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I. The setting stars]

[A. Learning by Osmosis]

[When granted leave from the Emperor's Court Hauchefant took the freedom to explore rather than rest. At least that had been the intention. Boredom set in rather quickly once he got the basic layout, it was simply a regular castle after all.

So when he stumbled upon the library he idly started thumbing through the books, perhaps looking for information on his supposed new home... which lead to him eventually sprawled out on a couch, book over his face, sound asleep. Anyone that sought to use the couch would have to wake the Elezen up, at a little over six and a half feet tall he had overtaken the entire thing, with his legs sticking off the end.]

[B. Party Knight]

[The celebration was a welcome shift from the morose doldrum of the castle, reminiscent of home as it was, he was more than ready to partake in a little revelry. And wine. He was not yet drunk but it was indeed a work in progress. Looking about the celebration he would gravitate towards those that looked rather morose, uncertain, shy, or even just lacking in company- anyone that looked as though they might need a little spirited fun to pull them from their rut.]

You look like you could use a bit more merriment this eve. Come, I would have this dance should you be willing?

[II. Back to school]

[A. Having a Gourd Time]

[While Hauchefant had little interest in achieving a higher education, he was curious about the land he was now a resident of. He did not regret his decision, as he quickly got swept up in the festivities.

Mostly the pumpkin carving.

Mostly because a small handful of attractive young women were making a fuss about trying to get the gunk out of the pumpkins, and who was he, a chivalrous knight, to let these poor women to suffer in their task? Of course he turns on the charm and offers his aide, and despite his primary goal being shamelessly flirting he also seems to be having a grand old time pulling gunk out of the pumpkins.

Occasionally he'll make a call out at anyone remotely good looking in an attempt to join in the revelry, or perhaps he gets a bit too carried away with his task and accidentally smacks a passerby with a fistful of pumpkin innards.

Or maybe someone has come to tell him that his giant bird is sneaking apples from the nearby bobbing for apples bucket.]

Edited 2019-09-29 05:11 (UTC)

[ It's the laugh he hears first.

He had come to the university to learn of the magics offered, rather than really partake of the festivities. Not that he was opposed to them, but after the Harvest Feast, he could ill-afford to be taken off-guard again. Too many had been lost, and he would not be responsible for more deaths as consequence of negligence.

Passing by those carving pumpkins, he stops still as a familiar laugh, one he has not heard in, oh, so long, strikes through his consciousness like cold water. Surely he was mistaken, as distinct as that laugh was, as much as he thought fondly of it, it could not be. It simply could not.

He's stopped short enough to thankfully not end up with bits of pumpkin smeared across his scholar's robes, but following the arm that had nearly struck him, familiar armor, and that blue hair-

The Warrior's heart skips so many beats, it feels as though it has stopped altogether, and the wind likewise driven from his chest. ]

...Haurchefant...?

[ The voice that inquires sounds barely like his own, strained and quiet, daring barely above a murmur as though startling the man might make him disappear forever. This- this could not be, and yet— ]

[If it wasn't for the familiar voice, Haurchefant may have very well not even noticed his name being called given the soft tone, but those large ears had some use yet and he curiously looked over his shoulder at the source. In a moment his face lights up with his trademark beaming grin, and he opens his arms to welcome his dear friend to... whatever this was. He wasn't quite certain, but it was quite enjoyable, thus the renowned Warrior of Light should take a break from saving the world and take part in the frivolity.

Haurchefant should also probably put down his handful of gunk and carving knife before making his grand gesture, but much to the concern of the others at the booth, that courtesy had escaped him.]

My friend! I should have known it would be only a matter of time until you arrived in this grim land! [He chuckled in spite of himself as he realized that perhaps he had chosen the wrong adjective for a city amidst celebration.] Well, perhaps not "Grim", but troubled all the same.

[ There's only one place where Ashe feels almost at much as home as he does in a kitchen, and that's a library. The smell of old parchment and the creak of well-worn leather are as comforting to him as one might find a warm blanket or a soothing drink, and with a whole new world's worth of stories opened up to him, he's content to lose himself in the pages of a tome and forget about the dire reality of his situation - at least for a little bit.

Or a long bit. He has no idea how long he's been hunched over this book, but it must be getting late. Tucking the book under his arm, he makes to leave only to stumble across someone else who has stayed a bit too long. ]

Um. Excuse me?

[ He doesn't want this man to get in trouble for falling asleep here! ]

Edited (forgot to specify which "A"!) 2019-09-30 02:36 (UTC)

[The voice vaguely stirred him, but only just. In his slumber he believed that perhaps if he didn't acknowledge it then he could continue his slumber in peace. There has been no sense of urgency in the tone to rouse him immediately.

So he sluggishly rolled to his side to settle himself further on the couch- in the process the book slipped from his face and landed on the floor. If the book was inspected, it would seem to be a rather saucy romance novel, and the slumbering individual was either quite the speed reader to get to that point within the day.... or he deliberately skimmed through the book to find the steamy bits.]

[ The man just rolls right over, and Ashe catches just enough of a glimpse of the contents of the book as it hits the floor to bring a hint of color to his cheeks. While the type of stories that Ashe favors sometimes include romance, there's never anything quite so... uh, like that.

However, his focus on the book is short lived, because his eyes land on the man's ears and are caught there for a couple of moments. By now he knows there are people here from all sorts of different places, but this is his first time seeing someone with features that aren't quite... human.

Ah, but even if this man is still asleep (or feigning sleep) it's rude to stare, so Ashe tears his gaze away and tries again, clearing his throat to speak louder this time. ]

Excuse me? I'm sorry to disturb you, but it's kind of late and I don't know if the castle staff will let you sleep in here.

[Now conscious enough to be more aware of the words spoken, he opens one bleary eye then the other, then props himself up.]

I suppose it is about time I roused myself then. It would be rather unbecoming to find one of their celebrated heroes piddling away his time napping in their library.

[He chuckles before briefly stretching. Dozing off on a cramped couch was a poor idea for a number of reasons more than the ones spoken. He may have slept in worse places, but that did not make him any less stiff.

But such was neither here nor there, and he set his focus to the thoughtful stranger with a smile.]

And I fear what ill effects sleeping in chainmail might have on my back. You have my thanks, friend.

O-oh, you don't have to thank me. It's nothing.

[ Ah, now that he's not distracted by the man's ears or by his rather... uh, interesting choice in reading material, Ashe does note that his garb is rather like that of a soldier... perhaps even...

There is the tentative beginnings of curious joy in his tone. ]

Are you... are you a knight of some kind?

[ Knights!! From other worlds!! He's probably being presumptuous, but his curiosity has gotten the better of him. ]

Test Drive #2

Hauchefant Greystone | FFXIV | Court of Stars

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