test drive 01

[thestewards]

'Cause I have these new fears I carry with me
So you can feel stronger, you can know peace

► All TDM threads may be considered canon provided both parties agree and are accepted into the game.

► Canon threads may be redeemed for influence and reputation, depending on how you solve the issue at hand or how you engage with the prompt.

► Feel free to switch up your character's Jewel from thread to thread. Get a feel for how a Birthright Jewel may limit or enchance your character's abilities.

GOOD MORNING, DRAEGA
The psychic summons comes with the first light of dawn, waking you from a dream of home. It takes you a minute to remember where you are (a warm, comfortable room in Queen Fayura's residence) and then a moment longer to parse the words.

*Your presence is requested in the training field behind the Queen's Residence. You have ten minutes to get your ass out of bed on your own, or ten minutes to decide you want to be up to your neck in ice-cold mountain water. Your choice.* Gray power flavors the voice. Ah, you recognize that psychic touch. Allairavar, the Master of the Guard.

You remember, too, that he warned the household at last night's supper: if you live in the Queen's Residence, you practice with the Queen's court. You…

i. Drag yourself out of bed with an aching groan, dress with the bleary-eyed confusion of one too suddenly forced awake, and amble onto the training field to avoid the promise of a much more shocking wake up call. Or maybe you make your way quickly with a skip in your step and a twinkle in your eye. You haven't realized yet that Allairavar does not like morning people. Even so, you don't want to get dunked in ice water in the middle of winter.

ii. Roll over and go back to sleep. The Master of the Guard isn't really going to carry through with his threat. In your defense, he doesn't. But one of the First Circle does. You're not sure how you got from your room to a large barrel full of water that could freeze open flame, but here you are, soaked and shivering and very much awake.

Regardless of how you get to the training field, Allairavar pairs you with another Stranger and puts you through your paces. It's barely above freezing, but you're going to need a shower when you're done.


BUILD BETTER BOMBS
There are three rows of four tables set up in the Tinker Guild Hall's auditorium, all heavy laden with materials. Bits of wires, buttons both small and large, ticking clocks. A tank full of goldfish. Sand, canisters of gasses, a strange viscous liquid in a bowl of lead.

"Handle that with gloves," Master Tinker Mari warns you with a wink and a grin. "The bowl, I mean. Don't handle the liquid or you'll lose your hand." She waves her hands at you.

This is supposed to be a crash course in bomb making, and in a way it is. Master Tinker Mari crashes into person after person, pushing them into pairs. She shoves someone up to you. "Blow my mind!" she whispers dramatically, and then she vaults the table, making something in a vial smoke, bubble, and pop.

Around the edge of the auditorium are four chalkboards, each with several diagrams on them. Presumably, these are schematics for you to follow. Smoke bombs, flour bombs. Fireworks and sparklers. Water bombs—maybe she means water balloons? One schematic requires a hamster wheel.

You might as well give it a go.

Note: Master Tinker Mari won't let anyone blow themselves up (or blow up the building). In the event Strangers make something truly dangerous and not just inconvenient, she will hurry over with a much more serious demeanor and disarm the bomb they've created with a suggestion that they take her advanced course.


CHARITY IS AS CHARITY DOES
You were sent here to help, so help you have: by letting the Ebon Council auction off three hours of your time and the power in your Jewels to help with local troubles. Maybe someone's cold box has lost its cooling spell—that's basic Craft and you can help with that—or maybe someone needs you to fetch their cat down from a tree. Whatever it is, you're here to take care of it.

The stage you stand on creaks beneath your feet as a polite older witch bids on you and your partner (the Ebon Council would never let you work alone, no, the landens are too dangerous for you to be out on your own!) with three jars of pear preserves. No money exchanges hands here, just items like non-perishable foods and handmade clothing or blankets.

You'll help the little old witch who needs some rocks moved from the fields just outside Draega's walls, but it occurs to you that only the Blood were at this auction, and only they will reap the rewards. That's hardly charity… but that's also not your problem, is it? Maybe it is. You could always ask that landen couple hovering just to the side of the stage what they need (their roof is leaking, and the man's right hand is crippled, twisted into a rigid claw). Or maybe you won't. They don't have anything to offer, and everything has a price, even your time.


HIT AND RUN
Chill winter air doesn't keep anyone inside in Draega. Stalls line the streets of the Old Town Bazaar, and vendors hawk their curious wares. Blood and landen mingle here, each a little wary of the other but with the affect of those who have accepted they must live alongside their enemy. Expressions are shuttered, but marks are marks no matter who hands them over. No shopkeeper denies a customer just because the money comes from someone they don't like, not in times like these.

As you make your way through the Bazaar, perhaps in search of something or someone or a place to eat (the scent of meat pies is thick in the air), you hear a shout and a cry of pain. People peel back as one, revealing a group of young landen men carrying clubs and wearing cruel sneers. At their feet, a young boy sprawls across a puppy in the muddy slush that covers the road.

You catch the flavor of his psychic scent: he's half-Blood, one of those pitiable creatures accepted by neither the Blood or the landens.

"Y-you can't hurt him!" the little boy cries, curling around the puppy. "P-Prince Verim will stop you!"

The young men laugh. "Prince Verim isn't here," one spits, raising his club.

You could step back. After all, this isn't your problem. You could just alert the First Circle and call it done; they patrol the area, one of those males will surely be here soon. Or you could step in. Everything has a price, and the price of attacking a helpless child and a puppy is a tussle with you.


WALKIE-TALKIE
Catch up with a new acquaintance you met at the Queen's Residence or simply pause to listen to the news playing in a store you're passing through. Far-casters come in all shapes and sizes, from the held-held device that's a bit clunky to the radios that stand at a man's height in some restaurants. If you're spinning the dial and listening to some radio programs, you'll hear…

etiquette with evandra and aren.
[A woman's voice leads. It's a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] …just as well. Since you don't want to die for offending a Warlord Prince's lady, what do you do, Lord Aren?

[A man's voice, chipper and bright. He sounds more like an eager boy than the full-grown man he is.] Apologize immediately to her, but meet his gaze so he knows the apology is for him as well. Remember, dear listeners: a Warlord Prince's lady may be all that stands between you and a violent end. Make sure she likes you!

[The woman laughs.] Or at least doesn't think killing you is worth the trouble. If we all learn a little more about each other, we can learn to live together. As always, I'm Evandra.

[With great gusto, Lord Aren says:] I'm Aren, and you've been listening to…

[Together:] Etiquette with Evandra and Aren! [Jaunty outro music plays, a complete tonal dissonance with the fact that the two were just educating landens on how to avoid murder.]

the weather
[A soft-spoken man's voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He's pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] …rain tomorrow with overcast skies through the morning and afternoon. Landen weather devices indicate a decrease in sky-pressure, so those of you who suffer from migraines may want to talk to your Healers or Medicos now.

There's possibility of snow later in the week from the northwest. Questions about snow removal? Reach out to your local Transport Guild rep or your Ebon Council chairperson.

the news
…Blood family of four found murdered in their homes. The Queen's Court assures Draega that no payment for the murders is being asked for at this time. [The man speaks at a brisk pace, hurried and harried as though he has too much to say and not enough time to say it.]

That's right, Garret. [Another man, nasally in tone. He doesn't sound rushed so much as put upon.] Preliminary investigations do indicate the Hunter Guild may be responsible for the deaths.

[Garret:] Indeed they do, Wilt. Evidence at the scene supports the use of Breakers on the family. Turning now from the grisly murder to the surprising way the Queen's Winsol gift to the city is being used to benefit both Blood and landens.

Comments

[beguiledcard]

[ He gives the kid a small grin and a thumbs up, but his attention is almost instantly right back on the pair of assholes as he calls on the power of Uriel. ]

I'm willing to protect a clearly good person from the real garbage.

[ And, right after that, he's using Deathbound, which deals medium Physical dmg to all foes 1-2 times (at the cost of his own health, but details). It only hits each of the pair once, but it's something - hopefully enough to make them hurt.

Thanks to Akira having a Green crystal, that attack doesn't take quite as much of his health as he remembers... thankfully. He shoots them each a glare. He... doesn't want to kill them, at all. Time to see if he can scare them away. . . ]

Now, get out of here before I start using real attacks.

[thricefold]

[ they don't need to be told that twice.

now cowed by the sudden attacks and how effective they were, the group quickly lose steam and are quick to turn tail and run.

bullying a weak and helpless child maybe something they could do, but actually going up against someone who can fight back? and do it with such force? not something they were expecting.

the crowd, too, decides it's time to turn and suddenly become busy, the air thick with nervousness and apprehension at the display. but, for the time being, it seems all is calm now for the time being, something zita tries to tell the boy as she draws back closer to the young man. ]

You're safe. No one is going to hurt you now. [ then, to the young man- ] Are you alright?

[ thank you, goes the boy, blurting out the words impulsively while he continues hugging his puppy to his chest. i thought they were going to hurt me... but you two helped! thank you!

judging by the way the boy is looking up to them with such teary eyes, it seems this isn't something he's used to. the kindness or the fact someone stepped up for him? possibly both, deppresingly enough. ]

[beguiledcard]

[ It's after they're out of sight, Joker's shoulders slump a tiny bit, and for more than one reason. He releases a quiet breath, opening his mouth to answer the question, when...

... ah.

The mask and Joker attire are traded out for his regular clothes. Akira's sliding his hands into his pants pockets, giving the kid a warm smile. ]

I'm just glad you're both okay.

[ To the lady: ]

And I'm fine. [ feeling a little sluggish, but nothing some rest won't fix, probably ] I've been through way worse.

[ There's a short pause as he twists a strand of bangs. ]

I wish I could say I'm shocked there are people like that here... Thank you for helping protect him. [ a beat ] Ah- My name's Akira Kurusu, by the way.

[thricefold]

Thank you for your help in return.

There will always be individuals who will be cruel for the sake of being cruel. [ she smiles at the young man - at akira, she corrects herself - as the young boy continues to cling to her skirts. ] It's rarer for individuals like you to come in and help.

[ here, she gives a little curtsy. minding the boy and his pup, of course. ]

I'm Zita Harrington. It's a pleasure to meet you.

[ usually, she wouldn't attempt to insist on something someone had said 'no' to, but zita feels like she had to make an attempt to help.

feeling so powerless in that fight, having resigned herself to the idea of taking the burnt of the beatings instead of the boy, was not enjoyable and had to corrected. somehow. ] Are you sure you're not hurt? Not at least tired from your, ah, summoning?

I can help you with my magic, if needed.

[beguiledcard]

[ He studies her for a moment, brow just momentarily tensing. It's after some consideration, he gives her a warm and patient smile. ]

If it wouldn't be any trouble, I'd appreciate it.

[ Frankly, this is more for her than for himself. It seems like... it might put her mind at ease? So, he'll gently yield. But, first? ]

By the way... [ walking over to the kid, then gently kneeling down ] Got something that I was saving for someone special or super brave, and you just happen to meet both of those requirements.

[ GIVING. A SUPER IMPRESSED LOOK! He's pulling out what looks to be a generic lollipop. Now, he's looking super serious... ]

Whenever you feel really sad... or like giving up, this can help.

[thricefold]

[ both the boy (and the pup) perk up at the sight of the sweet, clearly not used to these sort of luxuries coming their way.

after taking a second to look up at zita, as if asking for permission, the boy takes the lollipop upon seeing her nod in encouragement. thank you, sir kurusu. i'm beron and this is my dog, pup! ]

What fine names for fine lads. [ she smiles down at the beaming boy before looking back at akira, her expression a bit more serious. ] We should probably go somewhere a bit more private. I would hate to keep drawing attention away from others' activities.

[ and, in turn, keep drawing attention, period. ]