Floor 5, Room 3

[leewards]

ITHAQUA

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post-central mission northies gathering

[leewards]

[welcome to the first annual northies meeting! started by the local abominable snowman. there's no strict "tagging order" or solid agenda outside of "hey people are going out to so secret things, maybe we should prepare???" kind of stuff. feel free to make your own starter under this header, have your characters do things to itha's room (pls don't destroy it tho), heckle the creature, leave the room once the chatter about missions is over, etc.

basically: treat this like a mingle mini-log.]

[leewards]

[When Ithaqua has a goal in mind, he doesn't stop for anything. Anyone wearing their wizard's coat and bearing the Northern Country's colours gets rounded up, coaxed or just outright picked up and brought to Ithaqua's room on the fifth floor, and told to sit and make themselves comfortable until he's sure he's gotten every representative of the North. At least he wasn't exagerrating about the comfort of his room? There is a massive, comfortable fur rug (if you ignore the little hole in it somewhere), a fur throw on top of a plush couch, padded armchairs, thick, smaller rugs, and a lot of pillows and cushions not just on his bed but everywhere. Plus, everything smells like pine or dried herbs, save for a jar of canned fruit in the corner. Does a half-feral stranger like Ithaqua really live in here?

When Ithaqua finally returns to the room after rounding everyone up, he pulls his stilts off, actually padding into the room on just his boots. A first, surely, though he's still quite tall without them-- but the lack of stilts make his body unbalanced to look at, given the strange proportions of his body.]

Well, Hopefully I've not missed anyone. After all, it would be a shame if they were to miss this discussion. [Then he sits on one of the arm chairs, resting his weight on one of the arm rests and crossing his legs.]

It's about time that we came together for a little country representative meeting, hm? Best do it before we must leave for strange reasons and then return looking the worse for wear.

[That's a bait comment. He's seeing who has been paying attention, and who has not.]



[ooc: once again, no strict tagging order! if y'all want to tag each other under this starter, feel free to, if you just want to talk to itha, it's all good. we have the disco to plan stuff out too.]

[impacter]

[Solomon, for one, is charmed at the general vibes he's getting from this decor. Very rustic, very "witch in the back of the moat". Classic.

He stays very casual, despite looking a little tense and drawn with stress, one hand gently playing with a charm that glows incessantly at his hip. He's not choosing to sit just yet - if he's going to take the time to speak, he would rather have the attention of the room.

When Ithaqua finally takes a seat to show that he's done with his spree of catherding, Solomon taps his wand against a nearby piece of furniture, brassy eyes sharp with focus.]

Since Ithaqua had been kind enough to get our joint attention, I have a few things I would like to make sure we discuss.

Firstly: I assume Lazuli, Tatara or one of your fellow wizards has shared this to you by now, but just in case it's still not clear... Be careful of making promises or vows. It does not matter how small, or how large. Breaking a promise will rob you of your magic.

[He will let that sit, before continuing.]

Second, I would like to know what any of you have heard in detail from our friends that just came back from Central. I've been otherwise occupied, but I'm very aware something is amiss.

[If you heard a gunshot the other night: lol. Sorry about your rug, Itha.]

Thirdly, I would like to explain a situation as it stands in the North.

As some of you already know, the North is not a forgiving place. The relationship humans have with wizards seems to be one of necessity and fear - an unbalanced agreement, of some varying severity, to protect the people. From the representative I spoke to, it sounds like some wizards would gladly take to being treated as a god and threatening punishment or the withdrawal of their protections.

[He sure doesn't have some strong opinions about this... still, he continues.]

With the absence of the previous Sage's wizards, some of the local villages are now without protection. This includes both from the natural threats of the environment, as well as from other wizards who may want to take advantage of their state of desperation. It sounds like escalation will not be a matter of "if", but "when".

In addition, there seems to be an ongoing tension at this time in regards to Central and the royal family with one particular village. The wizard prince was rumored to have been abandoned in the mountains as a child, rescued by another and brought to be raised in the village for quite some time without any having knowledge of his bloodline. While the prince is grown and had been returned to Central some time ago, it seems like some people in the North are unsure of what Central may consider them, now that the prince is missing.

Much of that was very cautious second-hand, so I would like to not take too much as straight fact just yet. But I would keep those tensions in mind if we are called out like those from South and Central.

[fellheart]

[ grima robin lurks in a corner of the room, an unreadable expression on his face. his attention is signified only in the way that his gaze follows whoever it is that is speaking, but as Solomon finishes up with his analysis of the north, robin makes a clicking sound before pushing himself off of the wall. ]

It sounds like they are lucky to have been protected at all, considering what little the books have to say about some of our predecessors all seems to agree that they are... hm, volatile and capricious at best.

[ to name just a few, the demon king oz, who supposedly conquered his way across half the world before abruptly stopping, as the history books would put it; mithra and tiletta, both supposedly incredibly violent and unpredictable; the twins white and snow, one of whom apparently died at the other's hand...?

(yet the accounts both textual and otherwise speak of their presences as current, outside of their immediate circumstances. curious.) ]

Of course, they might be a reasonably biased account, considering the clear tensions present in both the country and this world alike— but for what little it means I am given to believe that all the tomes available in the manor's library were penned by previous sages, not the populace here. They also span quite the length of time.

For what it's worth, the representative I met from the city the wizards Snow and White used to protect was of quite ... nervous disposition, let's just say.

[annihilator]

[Malice is here too, but unlike all the other Norths, he has no information to share. Doing work?? Why would he do that when he could ditch the party and go punch shadows with Kiryu???

But he is listening from the chair he's sitting in, head tipped slightly to the side as he considers all of this.]

Y'all've found some damn good info. Thanks for callin' this meetin', an' for sharin'.

[He turns his attention to Robin, though.]

'Cause you're a wizard? Did the representative have anythin' interestin' to say?

[impacter]

The Northern representative I spoke to was incredibly timid as well. Given the general state of the North and the disposition they might be used to, I don't think I would blame them for cowering.

[It's like being treated as a predator among prey - a wolf in sheep's clothing, where all the sheep are aware and live in fear for the days the mask is lowered.]

[leewards]

Inhospitable lands also make for inhospitable people. [He swirls one finger up in the air. Look he's an authority on inhospitable lands, he made his own even worse. For the humans.]

But what are we to do with nature itself? I'm certain there's a limit to even that.

[Ithaqua lacks the desire to even change such a nice, snowy place. Looks like home, honestly.]

What can we do for them? Are you thinking of showing the humans some good will?

[impacter]

Of course. They're our priority.

[His gaze goes slightly flat towards Ithaqua, but he continues, letting it pass.]

The previous wizards apparently set up protections against avalanches and storms. It would be less changing the environment and more helping them persist despite of it, I imagine. But it's hard to say without the details.

[fellheart]

Because I am a wizard favored by the Northern spirits here, I would say. Same as all of us present. I told the man to carry himself with a little more self respect and he reacted as if he thought I would kill him on the spot for the disrespect.

[ so, you know, they're doing fine up there. he breathes out a sigh before continuing. ]

The monsters up North seem to be more active than usual, and manpower for day to day survival seems to be stretched thin between the more frequent attacks, and their city apparently having taken in more mouths to feed in the form of children.

[ with no one else to look after them, apparently. ]

[annihilator]

Really? Damn.

[This is going to be tough with our assorted Northies, isn't it... We're all a little intimidating...]

Good to know. There's definitely stuff we can do to help out with that... but I dunno what exactly we're gonna be tasked with whenever we're sent up there.

[Those poor kids, though...]

[fellheart]

[ that thread is pending, so robin, or whichever name he's given them to use ... huh he wouldn't have actually given anyone here his name. well, whatever they've had filter to them over time. some people have his name, they might have heard from them.

anyway point is he doesn't go further into details for now, instead just vaguely affirming what it is malice says with a low 'hmm'ing noise. ]

My thoughts were about the same. If it is a matter of supplies, then that, at least in the short term, is a relatively easy fix... same goes for if we need to do any extermination.

The issue is that these remain simply stopgap solutions at best. Maybe that is all we're here for, in the end, and we should leave the bulk of the problems for the native mages here to deal with should they be recovered— but who knows when that will be.

But who knows. [ he shrugs, languid. ] Perhaps we'll find the root of all issues whenever it is we're called up North.

[ and maybe they won't, and they'll have a merry little time having their own chances at getting possessed. ]

[impacter]

I don't know if "lucky" is the word I would use, but I suppose that's beside the point.

[He isn't going to get into that shallow of an argument over word choice.]

I would agree on your assessment of the library, though. There is nothing from the perspective of another wizard. It makes for a rather bumpy picture... but perhaps its best that it comes from a third party.

The man from the village that Oz normally protected was similarly timid. He even questioned why they were invited to the ball in the first place. I wonder if yours felt similarly.

[fellheart]

Is it not more fortunate than the alternative? So many would rather avoid death by any means they can, after all.

[ but he's also not looking to get into it over semantics, so he shrugs and moves on. ]

If the guests were all there by invitation ... it can't have been the two here [ he means tatara and laz, ] that drafted the lists, could it? So that just makes me more curious what the relations between the countries here are like.

[ the more ... opulent, of their number at the ball certainly did seem to be the sorts that might think less fortunate countries and those who didn't directly benefit them beneath them, but ... well, a single ball is but an instant in time. drawing any hasty conclusions would be ill-advised. ]

What tensions may exist between countries, what maintains their peace, and other such factors.

[ like how close they might be to breaking? ]

[impacter]

I'm unsure. Our dear little sparrow already told me that he wasn't the best at networking and didn't know everyone present. I could see them acting as a emissary role for the event, but if I had to guess, the invitations would have come from the royal family.

As I stated before, at least for the village I spoke to, they seemed wary of their status with Central due to Oz and the prince. But at least from surface impressions, everyone at the ball seemed willing to be diplomatic to some degree. I don't doubt part of that was because of how unusual this whole situation is, but still... nothing stood out to me as a heavy political conflict with any immediacy.

Maybe some of the more recent library tomes would deserve another glance. Tatara and Lazuli might have more to say on it as well, if we're specific.

[Might. Big might. Lazuli was pretty matter of fact, but as much as he appreciates their Sage, he's extremely flighty.]

[fellheart]

[ he listens, his only real acknowledgement an incline of the head before he starts speaking again. Solomon's assessment of the ball matches his own, for the time being. ]

Yet according to him, [ a nod at ahito, ] there's something going on in the west.

Even in peacetime standing armies will be maintained, yes, and there is of course the expectation that they'll run their drills, and technological advances will march on... Still, given the circumstances of that single survivor, one does have to wonder at whether this is just routine research in the name of progress gone wrong, or signs of something else brewing underfoot.

[ ... It also begs the question of why he attended at all, or how Ahito managed to get that information out of him if he hated wizards that much, but Solomon's already asked that question. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Ahito is similarly standoffish, partially because he had to be scruffed to come along and partially because he's just like this. He, too, spends most the meeting leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed, watching in silence as others give their reports. But eventually:]

The Western Magitek Army is up to something. I spoke to a member of their research group who happened to be the sole survivor of some kind of incident. Apparently, the wizards who came before us did something that led to an explosion that killed his entire crew except for him, and they were conducting an expedition for research in some hidden labs or something.

[He waves a hand in annoyance.]

It was all piecemeal - between his nervousness and hatred of wizards, the man couldn't say more than a couple sentences before going on and on about how all wizards are evil and caused the incident and all that.

Other than that... It seems Central was called to deal with some ghosts in the Granville castle, presumably because they're tied to this country. Totsuka warned me that as a Northern wizard I should be working on improving my magic as much as possible due to the dangers we're sure to face, so I'm sure we'll be called to the North ourselves sooner or later.

...Based on the person I talked to, it sounds like Central had a rough time of it. They touched a cursed object and - shockingly - it's cursed them as a result. Not that any of you need to hear it, but it sounds to me like caution's the way to go if and when we get called upon.

[impacter]

[Hm... quite a bit to touch on here. His expression shifts to something, a brief glance of... concern? Sympathy? It's kept short, though - he has no desire to bring that up, it's not his place.]

It would likely be safer to assume the distaste is not going to stop. That he told you anything at all with a hatred that strong... It's sort of surprising.

Has the Western concern been passed along to Tatara?

[dyingtohealyou]

No. What would he even do about it?

I was planning to talk to Jing Yuan about it.

[impacter]

Because our Sage is who ultimately holds the responsibility of sending us out for intervention.

Jing Yuan has a level head, so it's still a good choice. But Tatara needs to be kept informed as well. Maybe there's something he or our little sparrow know that could give more context.

[dyingtohealyou]

There's nothing stopping you from passing it along if you think it's so important.

[leewards]

[Ithaqua taps his claws on the arm rest.] There's more to be said about the mission of our friends, the representatives of the Central country.

The object, a rock, is what was drawing the ghosts in-- I presume they either lived in it, or it had some properties that were attractive to them. I think it's more the latter though, as it's tied to the moon in some way. I was told that the pain of handling the rock was metaphysical, rather than physical. Spiritual, I suppose.

Us Northern wizards are far more intimate with destructive magic, yes? Exorcism and cleansing... studying that wouldn't go amiss.

[A pause, then:] Did anyone speak to someone from the South after their little excursion?

[fellheart]

Not regarding their excursion, I'm afraid, at least not on a personal level. They did do a bit of a public debrief afterwards, that morning they tried to call us all down with that... summons.

[ vuvuzela crimes... ]

[dyingtohealyou]

...That must be what he touched.

[Tch.]

What's his name - guy with green hair had a meeting a while back.

[fellheart]

Hm-? Oh, the little nonbeliever raised among monks. Yes, he is quite the ... responsible sort, isn't he?

[ yeah that's the tag. and that's how robin knows day. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Seems like it, anyway.

He was talking about... a moon rock, I think? It was causing everything around it to die, so they had to purify it. Oh - except I think he mentioned there was some kind of plant monster next to it, too?