fellmemes | Test Drive #1

Welcome to the August test drive—our first in

fellden! 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 are open and will continue to be until 11:59 PM UTC on Tuesday, August 20th; 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 21st, and remain open until 11:59 PM UTC on the 27th. The IC & OOC intro logs will be posted two days later.
✦ 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 either arrived on their person or available in the Gods Wood. 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. (Apologies for missing including this on the initial test drive!)

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.

WELCOME TO THE GODS WOOD.
Between one blink and the next, your eyesight has seemingly been stolen from you. Or, perhaps it’s more likely that something is covering your eyes? Yes, that’s definitely a blindfold tied around the back of your head, although quite the mystery as to how it came to be there. You vaguely remember a wolf that may or may not have spoken to you, but the blindfold is certainly a new addition to the situation.

Once removed, you’ll find yourself in the thick of the woods, with no path or directional indicators in sight. The moon is obscured by the tree line, and the stars above do nothing to light your path; seems like removing the blindfold wasn’t as helpful as you may have thought. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, it’s obvious that you are not alone in this; other people are removing their blindfolds just as you are, staring blearily into the dark of the forest with a similar lack of understanding to how they came to be here.

Thankfully, you’ll find some nearby travel packs with self-lighting torches, a few rations, and your faction-provided communicator. The compass, unfortunately, remains broken, which means you’ll have to find your way out of the woods without it. Hopefully your sense of direction is passable!

Whether you team up with others, or go your separate way is entirely up to you, but you must find your way out, and the fog rolling in is not going to be of any assistance. This is a Dropping, and the Gods Wood is not kind to loiterers.

DRAWN TO THE COASTLINE.
Needing an escape from the hectic energy that greeted you in your faction, an empathetic bystander pointed you in the direction of a nearby transport mirror, which you either stepped into without stating a destination, or didn't give one with enough clarity for the mirror to understand. Spitting you out on the beach just outside Kyst, it doesn't seem keen to let you back the way you came; temperamental teleportation magic.

As the largest trade city in all of Fellden, there is no shortage of things to do here! Shopping with what coin was hoisted upon you before your departure, mapping out the city itself to memorize the in's and out's, enjoying a drink on the house at a local tavern where you can get into a mean game of cards with some faction soldiers, or even meeting someone else that seems to have stumbled into this world just as you did. Perhaps you're more keen to the outdoors, rather than the bustle of a large city, wandering away from the city just far enough to find a stretch of pristine beach and inviting crystal clear waters of the ocean; the salty air fills your lungs while the rays of the midday sun are almost blinding against the swath of bright white sand that meets the crashing waves.

Regardless of what you decide to do, or where you end up, you're in the closest thing to No Man's Land you can get; enjoy your time fraternizing with the enemy, make some new friends in this neutral land, or stick with those from your own faction to get a lay of the land.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A big guy like Bull doesn't tend to blend into the tavern very well, or so you'd think. Not unless you were the type to spot their type. She hasn't seen that many giant horned folk since the attack on the wingship to Sibir, so she's particularly curious about this one. She spent enough time in the establishment to notice that only certain patrons seem to be given special treatment, which ought to put this one in the same boat as herself.

In that way and more, Mora has earned an eye for detail, even when it's trying not to be noticed. It comes with the territory of Bloodbanes -- mercenaries that aren't always given the warmest welcome in all parts of the world. You learn to take advantage of places where you can survey the room, to not get ambushed, to stake out the entrance so you can keep tabs on who all comes in and with what.

Mora has her own drink as well, which she's been nursing rather than pounding down shots as she had planned to once she was back on solid ground. That was before learning that she ended up in a completely different country on what is supposedly a different world. Otherwise, she would revel in the opportunity to accept any drink on the house.

Not so much this time.

Ironically, with drink comes a little clarity, as it dawns on Mora just where she might have recognized this horned hulking man. And it wasn't the same one on the wingship, either.

"Saaaay, you were at that lunar shrine place too, weren't you? Thought you looked familiar." They had churches similar to the moon temple in her world, if only under the names of different spirits. She didn't linger for long getting to know people yet, however; her priorities being to track down her sister until it eventually occurred to her that Yasamanah was nowhere to be found. Not in this world.

Doesn't mean she can't at least ask around, though.

Bull's gaze settles on the woman that's been looking at him. She asks him about the Moon Temple and he shrugs one shoulder.

"I was there," he answers, somewhat taciturn. It isn't his best approach but it's been a long time since he felt this off balance, and he doesn't particularly like it. Still, the Bull is outwardly calm and easy-going, relaxed in his seat. He doesn't recall her face, but there was a lot going on and picking out faces in a crowd are difficult when dozens of people are dancing and cheering and otherwise distracting. "Thought I'd try to find somewhere quieter but I ended up here. A drink seemed in order."

He rests with his back against the wall.

"Who are you?"

"I see, sounds like a fair priority. As... humbling as the bigwig treatment is, the attention is a mite..." She glances over at the barkeep with an uncertain look, grimacing. "...overwhelming."

Not to mention nerve wracking and throwing quite the wrench into her plans. The idea of her trip to Sibir was to keep a low profile, but to end up someplace where she's treated like a celebrity of sorts? Consider laying low for a while a moot effort now.

Her pleasant smile returns to her visage when her attention returns to the stranger. "I am Mora. Obviously I too was at the temple, but thought it wisest to tour the lands personally. It's hardly my first time arriving to new countries alone, after all."

Though this isn't just a new country, is it? This is a whole other new bag to start unpacking.

Test Drive #1

Tavern

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