subdivided | week zero: mingle

week zero: mingle

Week Zero
32 in Competition

On Monday morning, the sun rises on the sleepy village, and when the first ray of light touches the gates at each corner of the village, the previously tightly sealed doors open.

The barriers around the village fall, and leave it entirely open. Each cardinal direction will have a path exiting the village, taking the curious explorers who follow it on an adventure to new territories to be explored. They’ll find that each location that they arrive in appears to be associated with one of the elements. As the Signs had explained the day before, each of the participants in the game possesses an elemental assignment, whether they are aware of it or not.

When they approach the elemental areas, they’ll find themselves more in tune with their new powerset, as if the location invites them to take them out for a spin. The new areas appear to be perfect for training and learning how to use the new skills, or maybe if you’re curious you can discover which of those listed powers you’ve been granted.

Just try not to hurt yourself while you’re out there.

In addition, it seems now that more pieces of the core are being revealed, the river that runs through the village will begin to be dotted with small lanterns floating on the water. Some of them seem to be holding small notes. Try as you might to grab one, they’ll always just barely float out of reach.

Perhaps try sending one yourself and see what results you might get?

Occasionally in the village, you might hear the sound of drums and flutes - is that festival music? - though no matter how you search, you can’t find the source… yet.

Welcome to your tutorial week mingle log! Please see all the links within the log to check out the new updates. In addition, your status page has been updated. In case you missed it, please report all item theft to this top-level where all comments are screened. Private conversations are also open and should be reported under the Week 0 top-level.

A mini-event will also be posted on Wednesday, June 5th, so please keep an eye out for that!

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How can you be getting training if this is new to all of us?

[ Not that sparring is a bad idea... or it wouldn't be, if any of them had any control over this new magic. ]

You can't even get a flame.

[ As if this judgy bitch can. ]

It's not new to everybody. There're some people here who had magic like this back home, supposedly. [But wow, Kara, that's really rude? That's really rude!! (Kaoru would say the same if their positions were swapped, but.) He's looking at his hands then, concentrating for a moment and narrowing his eyes to focus on his finger tips.]

Getting one on accident like you did doesn't count either.

I never said it did.

[ It's not a contest, kid, shut up. ]

Sounds like they haven't been much help, either.

[ But nothing really has so far, has it. Maybe it's better if Ookurikara falls on something he knows better...? Whenever he's trying to nail a difficult maneuver, it's easier to act it out, he thinks, hand closing on the hilt of his sword. He has nothing to go on for magic, but if he's meant to fight with it, it makes the most sense to use it and his sword in tandem. The familiarity of practice drills is the only other way Kara can think of trying.

Don't mind him, Kaoru, he's gonna draw his sword and take a stance. ]

[The first thing Kaoru thinks is "cool, I'm going to die because he's mad." The second thing Kaoru thinks is that this is absolutely the reflex of someone who's practiced a lot. He leans forward, hand cupping his chin as he eyes the sword for a moment.]

...that's the thing that was waiting for you here? [He's guessing. He's poked around the armory and immediately walked back out, but the familiarity is hard to miss.]

[ i should've mentioned he'd probably turn away from Kaoru for this but oh well. Ookurikara glances back him, mildly annoyed that he's still talking. ]

Yes.

[Fair. In that case, there's a nod and he seems to make a mental note before he actually goes quiet? He's going to watch for a bit, it seems, but he has nothing else to contribute at the moment.]

[ Good. With that quiet granted, Ookurikara closes his eyes to take a breath before starting to move in his usual drills. It's an effortless dance, moving smoothly from one position to the next as if fighting an invisible opponent. These maneuvers are second nature and take hardly any thought, so before long, he's finished with the basic set.

Then he starts again, moving slightly slower this time. After going through those familiar moves, he thinks, maybe it'll be easier to call this magic on the second run. So he takes his time, trying to picture the flames flowing down his blade when he gores through the next slash.

...Well. It doesn't exactly do that, but after a few more moves, he does manage to create a few sparks. ]

[There's a difference between dressing up as a swordsman and actually knowing what you're doing. The moves are very well-practiced and it's enough to keep Kaoru quiet the whole time even as he starts climbing down some of the platforms to get a closer look.

This is just another reminder that he is absolutely out of his league here, but it's fine. He's still not saying anything but he continues to get about as close as he can without being too noticeable or in the way.

The sparks are a surprise though and there's an audible noise of approval. So there are other ways to make this work. That's good to know.

He wants to say something, but he's also gauging Ookurikara's mood. It's fine.]

[ Kaoru may be staying quiet now, but as a swordsman, Ookurikara trained to stay alert. There's a part of him that is aware of where Kaoru is, and that he's moving closer, but as long as he stays out of range, he'll be ignored.

Ookurikara's attention is on the sparks - they're a good start, but still useless if they can't become something more useful. As he continues the moving through the drills, he begins to settle into an odd sort of calm, almost like a moving meditation as he wills the sparks to grow. Gradually, they work up into small flames, but he can't keep them going. By the time he finishes this set, they're gone.

He straightens, casting a look over at Kaoru. ]

Don't get too close.

I'm out of firing range. [Just. A slight protest. He doesn't move any closer and instead sits back on his haunches, arms wrapped around his knees and still watching.]

...what kind of art is that? [Namely because it seems to help chill this guy out and that's something else worth noting.]

[ Technically, yes, but he doesn't take his eyes off of Kaoru until he's settled down. ]

It's not art.

Swordsmanship is an art. Like martial arts are an art. [...] Unless you mean it's simply your own style.

[ It's less art than it is... life, really. Before being granted a human body, there was nothing else.

But he'll let Kaoru have his delusions, and answer with a simple shrug. ]

Something like that.

It seems to work for you. [Obviously. But there's something more in that.] And it means that our options for channeling magic aren't as limited as I thought.

My way won't work for you if you don't know how to fight.

[ That's. Not exactly what Kaoru was saying, but okay. ]

Obviously not. [A half-grin because please don't remind him he has no way of fighting.] But it gives us something else to go off of for the future.

[...he's going to regret asking this.] You think it's important to know how to fight with a weapon here, too? [What are they really up against here.]

[ ...Well, obviously Ookurikara has a bias, but. ]

It wouldn't hurt for you to learn. We don't know what enemies we'll be facing here. If you can't master your magic quickly, you need another way to defend yourself.

[That's about what he thought the answer would be which is...not necessarily disappointing, but not great either. There's a slow nod because he's not going to argue that. He's right. They're still lost on what "the darkness" actually means.]

Then I suppose I have a few things to teach myself. [Though observing Ookurikara's given him some ideas, so that's nice.] Perhaps we'll be lucky and we'll actually have a bit of time.

[ He just gives a snort. ]

Don't count on that.

Wanna bet on how long it'll take before things go poorly then? [It's sort of a joke but also yeah, that's a good way to look at it.]

[ Well, that's a morbid way of looking at it. ]

...No. Just make use of the time while you have it, and that should be enough.

[ There's no need to tempt fate, what the fuck. ]

[He stares for a moment...and then there's a nod as he gets to his feet almost elegantly. Turning, he descends the platforms of stone again and walks along a river of lava, shoulders back and eyes forward even as he waves over his shoulder.]

Thanks.

[…for what? There's no elaboration, but:] Good luck with your training. You seem to have a handle on that part just fine.

[And off he goes. Sorry, Kara, he just had a thought and he's off to go pursue it. He'll speak with him another time.]

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week zero: mingle

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