fellmemes | Test Drive #1

Entry tags:

! test drive

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

I. As the Moon Rises

[To call this overwhelming is a complete understatement.

At first Sarah can be found tugging at the Temple doors with all the fire and annoyance of someone who seemed more put off over this whole 'being pulled into a completely different place' deal than worried or frightened. She huffs as she backs off from the doors, scrubbing her now slightly raw hands against on her jeans and against her hips as she outright rolls her eyes.

Since there's no way forward in that direction she's quick to turn around and look the rest of the area over. The rising smoke draws her attention as it does many others and in the end she seems to decide investigation is her best option here.

And that's where the overwhelming starts. She's not in the city square more than a minute before those same raw hands are grasped by a fairly over emotional woman who just starts dolling out thanks on her like she's done her some massive favor.

To say Sarah's expression is well and truly befuddled is an understatement. She looks around her as if trying to find a way out, stumbling out a reply to the woman's exhausting praise in a tone of voice that speaks of trying to calm the other woman down.]

Thank you, I can appreciate how excited you are but you've really got to calm down. [And then, gently pleading:] And maybe let go of my hands?

[And then another woman just comes right up and drops a flower crown atop Sarah's head. The ribbons festooning the crown quickly tangle with Sarah's dark hair.]

II. The Setting Stars

[It's all a lot of information to chew on and Sarah for one takes the opportunity of drifting to heart if only so she can let everything she just heard sink in. After the tour of course, she can definitely be found on that just sort of ... staring at everything. The last castle she was ever in wasn't really during the happiest of times so part of her drifting really is her soaking in all the near fairy tale charm of being in one.

To anyone she runs into, she's ready with a faintly sheepish smile. Particularly if they're not one of the knights.]

I don't know about you but I'm just trying not to get lost in here.

[She has an alright sense of direction so she doesn't get that badly turned around at any one point but she's not exactly immediately finding her way around like she's made a map in her head either.

Eventually though she does make her way outside as the day begins to wane and can be caught outside at the parties given by the Starfolk. They are rather calm affairs for all their joy she thinks, save for the circle dances. Those seem hectic and eventually Sarah can't help but be drawn into one by sheer chance. She looks equal parts pleased and once again embarrassed, her laugh light as she casts a glance to whoever she's been pulled into joining hands with in this particular circle dance.]

I'm not much of a dancer so... sorry?

[At least this isn't some one-on-one waltz where she can trod on anyone's feet.]

III. Welcome to the Gods Wood

[So does this place just like dropping people off in random spots or do the people here just like doing it? That is Sarah's first mental question once she pulls the blindfold off with some easily seen and probably easily felt annoyance radiating off of her.

The first actual question she puffs out is:]

Did anyone else just hear a talking wolf or was that just me?

[Whatever the reply she gets, Sarah isn't about to stick around and hope that wolf comes back to maybe talk some more. Or give directions out of these woods. ... Do wolves even give good directions?]

IV. Drawn to the Coastline

[The transport mirror gets a good bit of a leery look from Sarah at first. It's not that she particularly distrusts mirrors, given how often she uses one nowadays to talk to Hoggle and the rest at home. When you add the word 'transport' before the word 'mirror' though, it's bound to draw a lot of raised eyebrows though and suspicious looks from anyone who has had more than a dealing or two with magic before.

In the end once a few others have stepped through Sarah just gives a brief shrug of her shoulders, a look that says "what the hell" and in she goes as well. She needs a moment of something like solitude to process everything that's gone on today. And she needs to start learning the lay of the land too if she ever wants to figure out a way home. She's not exactly against helping out here considering what's been said of protecting their own worlds but she would almost rather go home and protect home from there rather than here if that's the case.

Once out on the other side of the mirror she has to admit that the bustle of a large city is almost as relaxing as anything else could be. She's from New York after all and a busy city teeming with life around her is sort of the everyday norm. This isn't exactly New York but it will do, she thinks. And equally she's no drinker but right about now with all this information swimming in her brain, the tavern doesn't look half bad either.

She's a perfectly friendly person once she's set up with a drink and isn't shy about conversing it seems. And eventually the beach will draw her attention so she can be found there too, soaking in the sun and the crashing waves with closed eyes.]

V. Wildcard

[Feel free to drop any other prompts you like. PMs are open for any questions you may have!]

Edited 2019-08-14 19:55 (UTC)

Not just you.

[It comes from the pink-haired woman not too far away, a pack slung over her shoulder and a torch in hand. The fire plays with light and shadows across her face, but there's no missing the annoyed expression on her face. Seems they share that, at least.]

Did it ask what you'd do to save your world?

That sounds about right. I suppose I must have pleased it with my answer...

[Now she huffs a faintly, the sound sardonic in nature and matching the faint smirk on her lips.]

Or maybe angered it, considering I'm out in the woods now.

[Sarah glances over at the other woman now and has to blink a bit at the torch, mildly surprised to see it. In the gloom of the forest it's a welcome sight to eyes that haven't completely adjusted to the dark just yet.]

It looks like you came prepared.

Could be both. It's not like these things care about what we think.

[Experience colors her voice. It's clear she thinks she's encountered this type of thing before, but is she going to explain? Noooo, she's not. She's just going to gesture with the torch to a nearby tree. Packs lay scattered at its base, almost as if someone....tripped over them. Whoops?]

There's more over there. [A snort, and she reaches for the weapon holstered at her thighs.] Guess they didn't want us entirely unprepared.

Yeah, you've got that right.

[And there's experience in hers too. There's no need to explain in Sarah's opinion and thankfully she doesn't ask the other woman to explain further. Instead she looks to where the torch is gestured and breathes a very big sigh of relief.]

Well at least something is going somewhat right.

[The packs may be scattered but that matters very little. Sarah plucks it up easily and bears no bones about opening it up immediately, talking as she rifles through it's contents.]

Have you seen anyone else yet so far?

Sarah Williams | Return to Labyrinth | Undecided on faction

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