under the flag events

they'll find out. ysmene enters next, sword strapped to her hip, as always. she greets everyone with a handshake and a smile, and the typical easiness of it seems a little more precarious than usual.

they wait a few minutes. "we're sure they're coming?" kahuzoa asks.

"they said they would," laurelia replies. "maybe we should head to the meeting room. i don't want anyone wandering in and knowing you're here."

the others agree, and they make the long walk through the hall and up the grand staircase to the room the leaders of deyuis always meet in.

before they make it there, clamoring of armor comes from behind them, a sound so loud that they can hear it all the way across the ballroom. it's king andreas and his entourage: surely more bodyguards than he needs, but perhaps it's better to be safe, even in an area where violence isn't permitted.

he makes his way toward them, and by the time he and his allies reach the top of the stairs, two more figures appear in the entryway to the hall.

faeryn narrows her eyes. "the archsage didn't rsvp, correct?" she asks laurelia.

"right. we don't know if he'll show or not."

the others all turn toward the approaching figures. one is misu, certainly.

"alfan von etlia," faeryn gasps, brilliant heron eyesight making him out before the others.

"he has some nerve, showing his face here. he's alfan von nothing now. isn't he ashamed? isn't she ashamed, that she couldn't fight her war without the assistance of a fallen duke she broke out of prison? why does she think i can't defeat him twice?" andreas says from behind her."

no one responds, everyone processing the situation in their own way.

suddenly, in a puff of smoke, the archsage appears, right beside alfan and misu as they approach the stairwell.

"nice of him to join us," andreas grumbles.

the archsage, hooded as always, waves at everyone at the top of the stairs.

misu's gaze is cold, the well-mannered woman of a year ago replaced by a woman hardened by grief and war. once they reach the top of the stairs, she simply nods her head in greeting to the others. when her eyes settle on andreas, she pointedly raises her chin, refusing to offer him any respect.

"it's nice to see you too, empress," andreas hisses.

alfan touches misu's arm lightly, a silent gesture in hopes of keeping her calm.

"shall we commence the meeting?" misu says.

"yes," laurelia, still stunned, agrees with a rapid nod.

"wait a moment. i don't want her to enter the room with a weapon," andreas argues.

"then you can't enter with your guards," misu spits.

"how about everyone leave their weapons with laurelia, and andreas's guards wait out side," ysmene suggests.

"the zoratori councilors don't need weapons to fight," andreas points out.

"if you truly think we'll break the peace of the neutral zone then you are sorely mistaken," kazuhoa growls.

"can we calm down..." ysmene grumbles under her breath, though of course, she, like all of them, knows better.

they still all enter the room unarmed, and take a seat around the table.

"misu, we need to discuss your pointless war," andreas says, just moments after.

"perhaps we need to discuss you assassinating my mother first."

"we did no such thing," andreas counters. "how would that benefit me or my people?"

"you completed your crusade against etlia. we all know gleerium's true desire to conquer deyuis as a whole. it has never been a secret." fire burns in misu's eyes. "if i give you the benefit of the doubt, and say you did not kill my mother, then what of drewitt?"

"his death was quite unfortunate, but once again, out of my hands. perhaps he just ate something rotten, or a rogue poisoned him. i had no involvement."

alfan can't hold back the frown that crosses his lips, but he remains quiet and dignified.

meanwhile, misu shouts, "you filthy liar!" and alfan once again places a hand on her arm in hopes of calming her.

"emperor misu," faeryn mutters, a gentle warning on her other side, and she places a hand on her arm as well. misu shakes it off, and faeryn stiffens.

"if you believe getting my mother out of the picture will put you one step closer to your goal, you are wrong, and you will regret it," misu promises.

"you are just a child sending your people to die for something you've made up in your head, and i am not afraid of you," andreas counters, perfectly calm.

misu is not. misu stands from her seat, and her hands glow a dark purple. an orb of dark magic materializes in her hand, and she hurls it toward andreas.

ysmene jumps in front of it, drawing a sword from seemingly nowhere and deflecting the magic. it bounces off her weapon and disappears into thin air.

misu grits her teeth, and practically growls, and it's alfan to pull her back.

"she broke the vow of peace. she must be escorted out," kahuzoa points out, and he and thegrorthius rise, their unparalleled strength more than enough to open the doors and pull misu through despite her protests and attempts at getting away.

laurelia, who waited patiently outside, looks at the scene with wide eyes. "what happened?" she asks.

"misu broke the peace," thegrorthius replies gravely.

"we took away her weapons," laurelia says, still confused, and faeryn reaches a hand out to her. "we'll fill you in."

"where on earth did she learn that?!" andreas shouts, looking to the archsage with accusation in his eyes.

"not me," the archsage replies. "andreas, you really need to quit believing everything related to dark magic is my fault. i may be powerful, but even i am not capable of that much."

andreas turns to alfan then, who still stands by the door of the meeting room despite andreas's guards rounding up misu to escort her out.

"are you really going to side with her after that?" andreas hisses.

"with all due respect, your majesty, i will certainly not be siding with you," alfan replies, voice entirely level and calm. he turns to the others then. "it was good to see you all again. it's unfortunate that we don't have more time to catch up. i hope we will in the future." after, he takes his leave.

the rest of deyuis's leaders can still hear misu yelling, "you can't silence me!" even as guards escort her down the stairs.

"actually, i'll catch up later. i should make sure that goes smoothly," laurelia decides, bowing to the leaders of deyuis as she rushes to catch up with misu.

"thegrorthius," faeryn mutters as he returns to her side. "i felt it. the dark magic. she is unwell."

"we may be in for even more trouble than we anticipated," thegrorthius replies, just as quietly.

"we should also probably...not let this get out to the public if we can, correct?" ysmene speaks up.

welcome to under the flag’s second lotus festival! this event will run starting september 4th until the 29th ic, and will end OCTOBER 7TH at 11:59 PM EST ooc. please tag all posts related to this event as uf:lotusfest953. this event will not make use of the battle system (unless you would like an intermediary for any fighting contests)...at least as long as things don't go south. hopefully everyone will just be able to join the festivities this year!

in order to level up from writing, please submit everything you write for the event to the points blog by OCTOBER 8TH at 11:59 PM EST.

submit the following form:

TITLE: MUSE NAME: LOTUS FESTIVAL 953

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GANGGYN

the monster threat is not dealt with.

it is a careful balance: defend dalyang, which seems to be hub of monster activity in deyuis, or invade gleerium. misu sends most of their experienced troops to gleerium, holding some behind in order to quickly train new volunteers on how to deal with the monsters at home.

it works for now, granted, they are only mere days into the new war.

for now, misu and alfan huddle around a map of etlia in dalyang palace’s war room. the table it rests on is still dusty, this room abandoned for years under emperor yumi’s rule. misu, however, has spent much of the past few days here, sometimes accompanied by the former grand duke of etlia, and sometimes not.

“i’m not sure if gleerium has done anything along the river border since taking over etlia, but if nothing has changed, the border should be very easy for you to cross,” alfan explains. “lucinier–– soule, they’re calling it now, i’ve heard ––is the most equipped for war, being so close to ouros. i am not sure how much this will aid or hinder you. i believe it is most likely they’ve removed any offensive power from the area in order to prevent uprisings by people that know the land better than they do. it’s also possible, however, that gleerium has their own weapons and soldiers there, prepared to put down a potential rebellion with haste. regardless, i’d recommend taking control of soule first, because once you do, you will have another stronghold to use against gleerium.”

misu nods, and alfan continues: “i am not sure how many gleerium troops are stationed in etlia in general. likely many, to make sure the country remains fully in their control. i am sure the remaining etlian fighters would be happy to aid you, but i fear there are few left. most gave their lives when etlia fell, so i am not certain how much we can actually help you. my knowledge is also limited due to my time away. i can tell you how things were while i was still grand duke, but that is all. i’m sorry, misu.”

“no need to be sorry, alfan,” misu replies with a soft smile, resting a hand on his shoulder. “i have my resources. from what i am aware of, yes, there are a hefty amount of gleerium guards occupying former etlia territory. that may indeed be why our forces had such success attacking ouros. i believe gleerium is frazzled and unsure where to focus their attention: call the vast majority of their troops back to defend ouros at risk of etlian uprising as soon as they depart, or maintain control over etlia at the risk of ouros falling. both benefit us.”

alfan is the one to nod this time.

“i believe i know much of what has happened in soule, remilly, and valenvers since you were captured. what i do not know is the land itself, and how to win the hearts of the people there.”

“i do believe i can help with that part,” alfan agrees, lips quirking up in a smile.

misu smiles as well.

alfan turns his attention back to the map, and points out important locations that ganggyn may use to their advantage for more than an hour.

“i will likely need you to repeat much of this to minister dani once i can get her off the frontlines,” misu smiles sheepishly. “but it seems we truly must take advantage of gleerium’s weakness and occupy former etlian territory as soon as possible. we have ouros’s walls on our side already. if we can find anyone that wants to fight gleerium in your country, their aid will be much appreciated; i will have members of my army train them themselves if needed.”

alfan briefly purses his lips for a moment, then nods. 

GLEERIUM

ganggyn slowly expands their reach to the west while fighting against ouros troops, now backed up by troops from felice itself. 

as they do, ganggyn’s troops assure civilians in former etlia territory that they will not harm them. “gleerium is our only enemy,” they say. “we will free you.”

some of the former etlians are invigorated, suddenly passionate toward ganggyn’s cause. some, however, are more skeptical, and others are simply tired of fighting. 

regardless, ganggyn gains strength, and slowly chases the gleerium troops west of ouros back out of the territory they won a year and a half ago. slowly. perhaps ganggyn is just that strong, or perhaps gleerium does not care so much about their newest territory after all.

OMADUUN

posters begin to crop up in the more populated areas of omaduun:

KING ANDREAS REQUESTS THE ASSISTANCE OF MAGES FOR HANDSOME PAY.

of course, even those in omaduun know of ganggyn and gleerium’s war. by now, all of deyuis does. 

many in omaduun are unbothered, convinced the conflict will not reach them. most are discouraged from involving themselves in the war, regardless of promised compensation, but of course, some do not listen. some do choose to aid gleerium for andreas’s promise of a generous amount of gold, but most do not, at least for now.

“i don’t know what he thinks we’ll be able to do for him anyway. pegasus knights are very resistant to magic. what he needs to do is target the assassins,” a mage girl gossips to her friend in the library.

gayeon is still here, studying. she returns to ganggyn every now and again to report her findings, but she ultimately has come up short in her search for the magic responsible for yumi’s death. by now, she is mostly just waiting to speak to the archsage. she regularly pesters the school of sorcery’s secretary, who is beyond tired of her by now, but it doesn’t seem to make anything move faster.

sometimes, she considers posing as a student herself, and simply asking one of the others that passes through the library what they know of dark magic poison that seems to turn the target into a skeleton shortly after their death. it sounds silly, though, and the last thing she wants is for the wrong person to learn the truth of yumi’s death.

she has read so much of poison in the books in this library, but none of it sounds like what was done to her emperor. 

what did misu say...the same thing happened to drewitt?

gayeon heard from the few privy to the knowledge that alfan himself currently occupies dalyang palace. is it possible that he knows something about the same poison–– or curse? ––that befell his son?

maybe she’ll have to pay him a visit, though she’s sure he’s quite busy. she’s never spoken to him herself, but yumi always told her he was very kind. gayeon doesn’t think he’ll mind.

PODAKKO

there is unrest, even in podakko. it’s not a matter of internal conflict; instead, it’s mercenaries with torn allegiances in the war, officials from both gleerium and ganggyn coming to the country in search of extra help in their war. some choose not to involve themselves, while others chase coin no matter where it leads. sometimes, it puts mercenary friends against each other: those that once worked together now employed for opposing sides in the war.

that may just be the risk mercenaries run in their line of work, though.

ysmene keeps a close eye on matters, but otherwise stays uninvolved herself, believing in her peoples’ autonomy, so long as it doesn’t cause great difficulties for podakko. after all, fighting in the country is commonplace. when does the queen decide it is so severe that she must intervene?

it isn’t easy.

ZORATORI ALLIANCE

the tension between the birds bleeds away, dwarfed by the conflict in the rest of the continent and controlled by faeryn’s assurance of dealing with their problems more seriously.

as is often the case, however, the laguz councilors barely acknowledge the new war in the west. they see no reason to stress out their people with issues that do not impact them.

at least for now.

they urge the laguz to go about their lives as usual and avoid involvement in the war. 

councilor thegrorthius, however, is careful not to make any promises of the laguz’s safety. after all, he has lived through nearly every war deyuis has endured; he knows better than to tell anyone the war will not impact them, especially in the early stages.

it is far too soon to know.

NOYILLAI

the neutral zone still undergoes slow renovations and construction after the damage done by the monster attacks. perhaps it’s a good thing that some of noyillai’s previous residents evacuated after the attacks, because it makes room for early refugees of ganggyn and gleerium’s war to take shelter in the safe zone it provides.

after a few weeks of the fighting, however, andreas withdraws gleerium’s help from the area, with many apologies to laurelia. 

she tells him it’s fine, but not without harboring a little bitterness. 

she suspects he doesn’t want gleerium to help any ganggyn refugees. 

GANGGYN

alfan doesn’t really expect to be taken directly to dalyang palace, but he quickly is granted audience with emperor misu herself.

they bow politely as soon as they see one another, and misu dismisses alfan’s guide with gratitude.

“princess–– ah, emperor,” alfan greets her.

misu raises an eyebrow. “you heard, even in the dungeons?”

“what can i say,” alfan chuckles, mostly humorlessly, “the guards tend to gossip.”

“regardless, it’s good to see you, your grace.”

“ah, no need for the titles. we know each other too well for that, and i lack the power i once had to go with that name.”

misu nods, and her lips quirk up in a smile. “alfan, then. my point stands.”

“you as well, your majesty, though i do wish it were under better circumstances. thank you for saving me, though i take it i am not here just to give you my gratitude.”

“that’s correct,” misu nods. “in a bit over an hour, minister dani will be leading a large force of ganggyn soldiers into gleerium territory: vessalius, to be precise. we intend to use the element of surprise to deal a hefty blow to ouros before felice can send reinforcements. in a few days, i will officially declare war on gleerium.”

if alfan is surprised, his expression doesn’t show it, aside from the slightest frown marring his features. “you believe they killed your mother.”

“i know they killed my mother,” misu corrects him, fire in her eyes. “they killed drewitt, and then my mother. my mother may not have seen your son’s–– my fiancé’s ––murder as reason to intervene in the war, but my ganggyn will not simply stand by and let gleerium do whatever they wish. it is time they pay the consequences.”

“understood,” alfan replies levelly. “what do you intend for my role to be?”

“we were a staunch ally of etlia in your war against gleerium, albeit secretly. it is my hope that you will pay us back by helping us familiarize ourselves with your country’s territory. we intend to occupy valenvers, soule, and remilly as soon as possible, but we do not wish to harm your people. we want to be allies once again, and together, we will chase gleerium out.”

silence stretches between them for several moments, alfan’s face still unreadable, before he says, “very well,” and bows his head.

“good. we have already prepared a room for you in the palace, so you may safely stay here for now. i look forward to working with you.”

ZORATORI

kulpat hall typically sits quietly on a hill in the middle of the zoratori alliance, zoratori constitution hanging proudly on the wall of the primary meeting room, but today, there is squabbling.

“we have larger enemies than each other right now, skrarrenniek!” daak, king of the hawks, shouts over the meeting room’s table.

“relax, daak, that was just one group of ravens that chased after one hawk,” skrarrenniek replies, far more casually than his hawk counterpart. this seems to only infuriate daak further.

“one group of a larger whole that continues to be a problem for my hawks. we are fighting monsters. if there is any time for us to be allies, it is now!”

“i didn’t say we shouldn’t be allies,” skrarrenniek drawls. “but there aren’t many monsters in raven territory anymore. have you taken care of the threat on your side, daak?” there’s a dark glint in his eyes, his lips upturned in the slightest smirk.

“perhaps we wouldn’t have issues anymore if ravens weren’t attacking hawks!”

“that was oneee timeeee, daak,” skrarreniek counters, still nonchalant, though he appears a little more annoyed now than before, if only when he rolls his eyes.

“it’s not one time,” daak argues. “this happens all the time and you know it. this is just the first time it was brought to my attention since the appearance of the monsters. i’m certain this was not a one off event.”

“okay, since you know everything,” skrarreniek replies, and he slams his hands down on the table, leaning a little closer to daak on the other side. “what do you want out of this, daak? how can i appease you and lessen your rage, your highness? i am oh so sorry.” his voice is heavy with sarcasm. he doesn’t sound remorseful in the slightest.

“i want territory lines,” daak answers back. “if a raven commits a crime in official hawk territory, he will be subject to zoratori law. no more casual agreements or letting things slide. enough.”

skrarrenniek blinks in surprise. “what about wanting to be allies?” he counters with narrowed eyes. 

“you don’t seem too keen on the idea, and i am starting to believe it’s impossible. let’s quit wasting one another’s time and settle it once and for all.”

“fine.”

daak, clearly prepared for this moment, pulls out a map of the zoratori alliance and lays it out on the table.

as soon as he does so, a commanding voice sounds from the doorway of the meeting room: “gentlemen.”

both bird kings nearly jump out of their skin. 

“lady faeryn,” they say almost simultaneously, both bowing to the zoratori alliance’s bird councilor.

“i heard you were causing some trouble,” she chides them, but rather lightheartedly, though she turns serious soon enough. “let’s sort this out like adults, shall we?”

the bird kings remain with their heads bowed to her as she makes her way over to the table, and looks over the map daak revealed. she soon rolls it up, and hands it back to daak.

“there are no official dividing lines in the zoratori alliance, and neither of you are any position to start drawing them up now. that is a decision all of the councilors must make, not two bird kings whose only power rests in their fancy title and nothing else.”

skrarrenniek raises his head, and daak elbows him in the side, and his eyes soon return to the floor.

“if your disagreements have become this large of an issue, we will take crimes within the bird tribe more seriously. should anything serious enough happen that you would like to fight over it, i would like a detailed report sent to me, with accounts from all parties involved included. then, i will review the crimes with the rest of the council, and we will decide how to act. i assure you i will make sure these matters are dealt with fairly and with care. understood?”

“yeah,” skrarrenniek replies.

“yes,” daak agrees, far more earnestly. 

“i will be counting on your assistance. while the monster threat is far less severe than it was several months ago, we must not grow complacent. can you assure me that you and the rest of the birds will assist any herons in trouble if they come to you?”

“i cannot promise all hawks will cooperate with that demand, but i will do my best to ensure they do. if they do not and it is brought to my attention, i will let the council know.”

“thank you,” faeryn replies with a gentle smile. she then looks to skrarrenniek expectantly.

“yes, lady faeryn. the herons will be in good hands.”

OMADUUN

“what may i do for you?” a cloaked, mysterious woman behind a desk questions.

“i would like to meet with the archsage,” gayeon, late emperor yumi’s personal priest, replies.

the woman snickers. “my dear, the archsage is a very busy man, and he does not meet with others so easily.”

gayeon’s gaze hardens. “tell him it is about emperor yumi’s death.”

the woman frowns, and takes a sheet of parchment out of her desk, where she then jots something down with a quill and ink. “i will send a note from you to him. is there anything else you’d like for me to include?”

“tell him it is important for me to meet with him over the cause of emperor yumi’s death as soon as possible. we believe dark magic was involved. i will not tell you anything further because the details are a private matter.”

the woman writes down gayeon’s request, then hesitates. “perhaps our library may aid you in your quest. typically only students of the school of sorcery use it, but you are here for important reasons and there are no rules against outsiders looking through the texts.”

gayeon nods. “thank you.”

the secretary of sarlimar’s school of sorcery writes down directions for gayeon on another sheet of parchment, and gayeon is left to wander the halls of the magnificent school by herself.

remarkably, when gayeon arrives, the library is empty of all but one person. perhaps it is daldona smiling upon her, granting her this privacy in which to conduct her work and get to the bottom of yumi’s death.

she must look lost, though, because the single man in the library says, “is there something you need?”

“ah, are you...the librarian here?”

“correct.”

gayeon hesitates, trying to decide how much to share. “i’m here to do research on dark magic.”

“you’re a priest, aren’t you?” the librarian questions.

she wants to ask how could you tell? but instead simply nods.

“is there something in particular you’re looking for?”

“ummm...” she hesitates further.

“all books on necromancy have been removed from the library, if that is what you’re searching for. we don’t want to encourage the students to practice such dangerous magic.”

“all of them? do you not think it’s important for the students to have knowledge, so long as the texts aren’t teaching them necromancy itself?”

“perhaps. the archsage is still thinking about it.”

from what yumi told her about the archsage, gayeon gets the feeling he’s been thinking about it for a while (he probably forgot about it.)

“well, where would i find the books on different forms of dark magic, then? i’m not necessarily interested in learning how to practice it, i would just like to understand it better,” gayeon says.

the librarian points her in the right direction, and she wanders past dozens of bookshelves until she reaches the back corner of the library. there are countless books that fit the description. she suspects one day here won’t be nearly enough time to find the information she needs.

the first book she pulls from the shelf is about the origin of dark magic itself: omajug, god of death, and sarlimar, the first practitioner of the “art” of dark magic, as the book calls it. it details the events of sarlimar’s war, but she closes it and places it back on the shelf when it gets into ganggyn’s involvement in the war.

PODAKKO

“queen ysmene, ganggyn has declared war on gleerium.”

ysmene quite literally does a spit-take, mouthful of ale spraying across the floor of her bedroom. “eugh, sorry,” she apologizes, then gives the messenger her full attention. “they did what now?”

“emperor yumi has passed, and the new emperor misu declared war on gleerium, claiming they assassinated her mother.”

ysmene falls into quiet thought for a moment, then sighs. “alright. i’d love to keep helping them fight monsters in their territories, but if they’ll be fighting one another, i don’t want my forces involved. of course, podakko mercenaries are free to fight with whoever they wish, but not the army of xakar. i’d advise the other town leaders to withdraw any troops they offered to ganggyn and gleerium as well. i’d rather none of us get wrapped up in this.”

the messenger bows to ysmene, then excuses himself.

ysmene takes another sip of her ale.

“misu, what are you up to...?” she wonders aloud.

OOC

welcome to your second state of deyuis post! this is an event, but one with lots of wiggle room on what to write about. all you have to do is write about anything mentioned in this post, and tag it with #uf:spring1 for it to count for the event. no matter where your character is located, you are still welcome to write about anything relevant to them happening in other countries, or have them travel there themselves! warp travel is quite easy, after all.

this is a lot of information, so don’t hesitate to send any questions to the main if there’s any confusion or you’d like clarification on anything.

this EVENT will run until saturday, june 3rd, at 11:59 pm est. this means you will submit the following FORM to ufpoints by sunday, june 4th, at 11:59 pm est:

TITLE: MUSE NAME: SPRING 1

[ link to your uf:spring1 tag ] [ link to your status page ]

“princess...ah, emperor?” gayeon says, her cheeks still wet from tears, but eyes full of questions.

“it’s gleerium,” misu repeats, voice unwavering, full of confidence.

“with all due respect, emperor, how do you know that?” dani asks.

“it’s the same way in which they murdered drewitt. etlia didn’t even hold a proper funeral for him because he was nothing but bones within a few days. alfan and the others didn’t want to disturb anyone that saw his body.”

“how did you know it was gleerium then?” dani questions once more.

“they found the assassin and plenty of information to confirm his affiliation to gleerium,” misu practically snaps, patience clearly wearing thin, but she soon sighs and releases some of her tension.

“what is it...a form of dark magic?” gayeon asks next.

“yes...magic that both poisons and drains life force simultaneously. we don’t know much about it. perhaps the archsage or one of his students may be able to help us.”

“if you would allow me, emperor, i would like to be the one to try to find our answers,” gayeon requests, and misu is quiet, considering. “i have experience with magic, as well as a personal stake in the matter. if i failed to prevent this magic from taking yumi’s life, i would like to redeem myself by learning about it as the source of her death.”

“very well,” misu agrees with a nod, and gayeon bows in gratitude.

“it isn’t your fault, gayeon,” dani attempts to reassure her, and gayeon bows to her as well.

“i appreciate it, minister dani.”

silence falls upon the women and the disintegrating former emperor, before dani finally speaks up: “emperor misu, what is our next move?”

“i’m not certain,” she admits, then thinks in silence for several moments more. “i believe we must follow alfan’s example and not hold a funeral; at least not a more public one. perhaps those closest to her...” more silence, and then: “dani, what is the state of our army?”

“certainly been better. much of it is spread throughout ganggyn to deal with the monster threat.”

“well, i would like an organized army. please find some way to accomplish it.”

“emperor...?”

misu does not acknowledge dani’s concern, and instead says, “may i have a moment with my mother, please?”

both dani and gayeon linger for a moment, before dani nods and leads the way out of the emperor’s bedroom. 

it’s only now that misu cries openly. “mother, what happened...?” she whispers, and then she drapes herself over her mother’s body and weeps.

THE ZORATORI ALLIANCE

hawk king daak’s castle is not nearly as impressive as any other castle in deyuis, but that much makes sense: he is not really a king at all. maybe it can compete with faeryn’s relatively humble home, but it certainly cannot touch the rest of the zoratori council’s magnificent forts. still, as is the case for most structures in kesthe. 

daak doesn’t exactly have a throne room either. instead, it is more of a very large and impressive office, ceilings remarkably high, plenty of room for any bird to stretch their wings. 

now, however, he sits at a desk, perhaps surprisingly, scattered in parchment, making him look far busier than he actually is. maybe it’s intentional.

of course, the young and troubled hawk cannot visit the hawk king’s “throne room” without guards, so they lead him there. it’s only when daak takes one look at the young hawk that he nods to the guards to let him go and leave them be for a few minutes.

“i heard we have a problem,” daak addresses the other hawk, and already sighs. 

“yes sir,” the young hawk replies, nodding several times. he recounts the same tale he told the guards outside the hawk’s makeshift palace, and daak listens closely. he sighs once again in the end.

“we had an agreement,” and he sounds both disappointed and exasperated, as if he both expected this result, yet still hoped for better. he turns his attention to the other hawk, looking him right in his eyes. “thank you for telling me,” and then he looks back down at his desk. “it looks like i’ll be paying our dear friend skrarrenniek a visit.”

“i didn’t mean to cause any problems, sir––”

THE ZORATORI ALLIANCE

squabbles within the bird tribe are far from unusual. sometimes it seems as if their wings and beaks are the only things the hawks and ravens have in common.

in times of trouble, however, they are usually able to set their differences aside to fight together; after all, they are all part of the bird tribe at the end of the day, regardless of their exact species.

the monster attacks are certainly a time of trouble. the zoratori alliance is not exempt from them, the same creatures that rose from the earth in noyillai doing the same in their country, from the forests of the birds to the mountains of the dragon tribe. it is the dragons that seem to have the easiest time fighting the creatures, while the birds struggle the most.

perhaps teamwork between them is more important than ever, but it would appear it’s scarcer than ever too.

it begins with a typical argument over something or other between a small group of hawks and ravens. in this case, when monsters attack, the groups do not band together in the ways the birds preceding them did in times of war. instead, they treat each other like enemies as well; they do not fight one another, but the ravens redirect the monsters to attack their hawk counterparts instead.

this leaves the entire group of hawks dead but one, while the ravens live. after the monsters are dead, the young hawk survivor flees the scene, but the ravens give chase until they realize where the hawk is headed: to the hawk king daak’s palace.

“please allow me to see his highness,” the young hawk says once in his human form, falling to his knees in front of the hawks guarding the door of the palace.

“why?” one of the guards asks brusquely.

“monsters attacked my friends and a group of ravens. the ravens did not help us. all my friends are dead, and even once the monsters were too, the ravens said ‘no survivors.’ i flew as fast as i could, but they chased me, and–– i don’t know when they stopped. i didn’t look back.” 

the guards exchange a look, and one finally says, “i’ll go see if lord daak is busy.”

“thank you, thank you,” the young hawk says, soon in tears.

of course, word travels fast among the bird tribe, especially when two-thirds of them treat each other more as enemies than friends.

PODAKKO

despite podakko’s nature to fight, it is oddly…more at peace than most of deyuis.

given it is a nation of warriors, the monster threat is already nearly eradicated in the country. some speculate that podakko’s monster threat was never as large as the rest of deyuis; that they came in smaller numbers.

still, the people of podakko do not let their guards down, each town leader still ensuring their fighters are on the look out to protect the more helpless people of podakko, though there are far less of those in this nation than any other, also.

ysmene, however, is so confident that she begins lending out parts of her army to the rest of deyuis: gleerium and ganggyn in particular.

GLEERIUM

gleerium’s winters are harsh, their brutality only beaten by the neverending winter of omaduun. as the months of autumn fade into those that are colder, the ice and snow begins to set in in the north, slowly making its way further and further south.

the people of gleerium dread it this year, and they pray that gleil will have mercy; that he will spare gleerium’s southern states from the chill, because they must fight. they must stand guard ceaselessly, and they need to maintain their energy, because the closer the state is to the river, the greater the threat of the monsters. 

no one knows why, but it is enough to spread fear throughout the entire country. the monsters are more active at night. andreas urges the civilians to seek shelter early to avoid being ambushed by creatures in the dark, and some of the barons of the towns and cities set curfews for their people. few parents allow their children to play outside without supervision anymore.

andreas has magic users of all kinds inspect the river, but no one finds a reason for the monsters populations to increase in density near the river, and no one knows why it is especially bad in the former etlian territories and those surrounding them. luckily, vessalius is a state made for war, so they are well defended. the other areas, still recovering from the war of the states…aren’t so lucky.

it will be the first real test of gleerium’s ability to take care of their newly acquired territory.

OMADUUN

as if it were possible, omaduun’s winter is harsher this year than ever. other than that, little changes. omaduun was no stranger to the monsters that appeared at the lotus festival long before they shook the country as a whole, and for some reason, their population changes little in the country known for its dark magic.

deyuis, once judgmental of those in omaduun, begins to turn to them and their mages for help. after all, those familiar with the creatures now plaguing their lands will surely be useful. some of omaduun’s mages are bitter while some are eager to assist.

others, especially historians, can’t help but notice similarities between this, and when gleerium called upon omaduun for aid in the 300 years’ war centuries ago. this time, they are not fighting against laguz, so perhaps it’s different. this is not a war; it is a continent united against a common enemy.

at least for now.

GANGGYN

pegasus knights circle above the city of seodal at all hours of the day and night. the streets of the city are more well lit than ever, and every archer in the city is extremely busy, called upon to teach their craft to as many as possible, especially the pegasus knights themselves. it’s a strange combination, but if they can strike down the monsters without even needing to touch the ground, it’s ideal.

so intense is their military operation that dani, minister of military affairs, has taken up a temporary residence in dalyang palace in order to discuss the necessary strategies to defend the capital from the onslaught of monsters.

and it is an onslaught. the creatures most frequently appear outside of the city’s walls, but they seem to grow out of the dirt itself even within the city, the underworld opening up to unleash them. the people scramble to cover any dirt or grass to prevent the creatures’ “growth,” and this does seem to help.

“i hate to say it, but i think we need to do something about the gardens,” dani says, in a meeting with princess misu.

it’s a bit strange for a princess to take part in strategic meetings at all, yet alone lead one, but yumi wasn’t feeling well and returned to her room early, and crises wait for no one. if they want to beat the monsters, they must stay on their toes.

“the gardens are a staple of seodal…” misu argues.

“i know, but as long as there’s grass those monsters are going to keep cropping up, and i don’t know how long you want so many soldiers outside of the palace.”

“as long as it takes,” misu argues.

“would your mother say the same?” dani returns.

there’s a fire in misu’s eyes momentarily, but it fades quickly, soon replaced by the levelheaded manners expected of ganggyn royalty: “i believe so. if the creatures are still an issue in the new year, perhaps we can discuss it…but until then, i believe it is too soon to destroy what our city is known for, especially while our armies remain perfectly capable of defending the palace and surrounding areas.”

dani is quiet, clearly thinking, and then nods. “understood. i’ll check in with the emperor in the morning to see if she has any other thoughts––”

their conversation is interrupted by the meeting room’s doors flying open and the panicked face of a palace priest. it’s not just any priest, however; she is yumi’s personal priest and companion of many years.

“forgive me,” she pants, voice cracking simultaneously. “the emperor––” she begins to cry, but manages to finish what she came to say: “she is dead. emperor yumi is dead.”

“what?!” dani exclaims.

“i believe it to be poison. i didn’t realize until it was too late. i’m so sorry,” the priest weeps, and dani puts a somewhat awkward hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

misu stands, frozen in shock, and both the priest and dani look to her for guidance. she chokes back the tears that glisten in her eyes, soon replaced with anger, and she says, “it’s gleerium.”

“do we have any proof of that?” dani asks, turning to the priest, who shakes her head in response. “i don’t believe so.”

“princess–– er, emperor, i urge you not to make hasty assumptions.”

misu sighs, some of the emotion draining from her features. “very well,” she agrees. “we will…search for the evidence first. and in the meantime…ah…” she looks up at dani, and they simply stare at each other for a moment, at a loss.

eventually, misu speaks once more: “i think…we do not tell anyone. at least for tonight. we can say…she is ill, and only let the trusted individuals closest to us know the truth so they can aid us in investigating her cause of death. once we know…then i will announce the truth myself.”

OOC

welcome to your first state of deyuis post! this is an event, but one with lots of wiggle room on what to write about. all you have to do is write about anything mentioned in this post, and tag it with #uf:winter1 for it to count for the event. no matter where your character is located, you are still welcome to write about anything relevant to them happening in other countries, or have them travel there themselves! warp travel is quite easy, after all.

this is a lot of information, so don’t hesitate to send any questions to the main if there’s any confusion or you’d like clarification on anything.

this EVENT will run until saturday, march 3rd, 2022 at 11:59 pm est. this means the following FORM will be due on sunday, march 4th, at 11:59 pm est:

TITLE: MUSE NAME: WINTER 1

[ link to your uf:winter1 tag ] [ link to your status page ]

laurelia falls to her knees in the center of the ballroom, exhausted after escorting guests out and trying to defend them herself.

it's faeryn that puts a hand on laurelia's back and sinks to the ground next to her.

"i'm sorry," laurelia whispers.

"why are you sorry?"

"i failed to protect this place. as the guardian of noyillai, i was unable to fulfill my duty. if you must find a replacement for me, i understand."

"laurelia...i must speak with the others to confirm, but please know i will fight for you to maintain your position as long as you wish to keep it. the damage would've been far greater without you."

it's then that the silence around them breaks, giving way to the sound of feet running across the ballroom floor. the leaders all look to the source.

"a ganggyn messenger," princess misu informs the others, once the messenger's form is close enough to distinguish.

faeryn and laurelia stand as the messenger runs by, following in order to hear what she has to say.

finally, the messenger makes it to the end of the hall, and kneels to to leaders, most of them once again standing on the balcony overlooking the devastated hall.

"your highnesses," the messenger begins, short of breath from her long run. "i'm sorry to interrupt, but this is urgent. we know these creatures attacked noyillai, but some have appeared in ganggyn as well."

"how many?" emperor yumi asks.

"unclear. multiple reports, however. several messengers from smaller towns in ganggyn requested help from the army so we have reason to believe it is a country-wide issue, and it gets worse. there are more monsters…skeletons and some that look like reanimated corpses.”

“more?!” kahuzoa exclaims. 

the ganggyn messenger nods. “i saw many of them myself on my way here. it seems they travel in packs.”

"is minister dani aware of this?" yumi asks.

"yes, emperor."

"report back and tell her to act as she sees fit for now."

suddenly, a tiger bursts through one of the broken windows, giving everyone in the hall quite a fright.

"haruko, we've spoken about this," thegrorthius sighs. "manners. remember?"

the tiger shifts into his human form immediately, and offers a sheepish smile. "sorry, councilor, but once you hear this you're going to be glad i skipped the formalities and got right down to it. there are big creepy eye monsters in the zoratori alliance-- the same ones that are dead all over the floor here, and there are others too. skeletons and zombie things."

"mogalls, bonewalkers and revenants," the archsage informs him.

"okay. yeah. those."

the leaders of deyuis look to one another.

"we should assume they'll appear in gleerium and podakko as well if they haven't already," ysmene says.

"they'll make their way across the borders eventually at the very least," andreas agrees.

"alright, how about this," ysmene begins. "make sure every town in your country has at least one armed guard in case the monsters attack. ideally more than that. maybe start training more people to fight. deyuis is no longer at war just in time, so let's put those armies to use dealing with this new threat instead of each other, yeah?"

"sounds good to me," kahuzoa replies.

"what are their weaknesses?" ysmene asks, turning to the archsage now.

"we in omaduun have dealt with these creatures for a long time. mogalls fight with dark magic and are less likely to attack others that use it. they are quite resistant to dark and anima magic, but light magic seems to harm them more successfully, as do physical attacks. revenants are easy to injure and quite clumsy, but they are…resilient. bonewalkers’ attacks are weak, but they are quick and more difficult to hit than either of the other creatures. we’ve found that light magic is effective against all of them, actually."

"what do they want?" ysmene questions.

the archsage simply shrugs.

"wow, helpful, thank you very much," she replies sarcastically.

"with all due respect," princess misu speaks up, voice soft. "our people need us...if there's nothing left to discuss, it's probably best we return to them and prepare our defenses."

"very well. may gleil smile upon us," andreas says, bowing his head to the others.

"and may daldona grant us grace," misu replies, bowing back to him.

--

this officially concludes the lotus festival event!

given monsters have begun popping up all over deyuis, you're free to continue writing about encounters with them in any threads going forward, at least until the threat is properly dealt with (if it ever is?) you simply won't level up from doing so the same as you would during an event.

additionally, feel free to incorporate information from this post into your muses' threads and lives. every nation in deyuis will be announcing ysmene's plan and organizing official guards for every town to protect against the monsters. your characters are welcome to be part of this guard, whether they are an official member of their country's army or just a skilled volunteer, because much help will be needed! just remember to contact us first if you'd like to mention an npc in anything you write.

misu is the one that reacts first, drawing her sword and slicing the creature.

"what the hell is that?" ysmene hollers, drawing her own sword.

just as she does, more of the creatures explode through windows, this time in the ballroom itself. some of the guests scream, and all chaos breaks loose, people trying to escape, the guards on standby trying to fight.

"mogalls," the archsage replies, voice troubled. "we sometimes see them in omaduun."

"their appearances historically have coincided with the use of dangerous dark magic," thegrorthius adds, moving to stand in front of faeryn; he knows from experience, as he was alive among some of the first dark mages in existence.

andreas turns on the archsage. "you did this," he claims, with little room for argument.

"for what reason would i summon mogalls to a celebration like this?" the archsage fires back.

"your people will do anything to sow chaos! you expect me to believe it's a coincidence that you finally show up to a meeting and these things do too?"

"gentlemen!" ysmene loudly interrupts. with her sword in one hand, she motions with her free one to an approaching mogall. "get busy."

it's enough to stop their bickering for now.

"kahuzoa," faeryn says, somehow calmly and urgently at once. she stands with kahuzoa and thegrorthius in front and back of her, protecting her from any oncoming attacks given her inability to fight.

"if you are able to fight," kahuzoa's booming voice echoes through the ballroom once again. "gather your weapons and join us in neutralizing this threat. otherwise, find safety as soon as possible. look to laurelia for guidance."

he then shifts into his lion form and lets out a roar that does little to disturb the mogalls.

"daldona and gleil help us," laurelia mutters under her breath from her place in the chaos on the ballroom floor itself. she raises her voice a mere moment after: "do not exit through the broken windows! you may take shelter in the eastern part of the hall where there are no windows, or use the north and south exits to evacuate. your weapons are being held in rooms by the doors you entered in, sorted in alphabetical order based on what name you gave upon entry. i know everyone is frightened but the entryway to these rooms is small, so please form a line outside the door and move to find your weapons as quickly as possible. we will prevail!"

– ♕ –

the order of speaking is always so, barring any emergencies: gleerium, ganggyn, omaduun, the zoratori alliance, then podakko.

andreas is sure to fill the rest of the leaders in on his remarkable feat of conquering etlia and uniting all of the countries north of the river and west of the mountains, perhaps exaggerating the magnificence, and certainly leaving out the more inconvenient details, like the incredible unrest lingering in what was once etlia.

"congratulations," kahuzoa says, and andreas thanks him.

yumi has nothing to report.

"omaduun is colder than ever these days," says the archsage, a bit distantly.

"what does that mean?" ysmene questions.

"probably nothing," the archsage replies, chipper compared to just a moment ago.

ysmene narrows her eyes at him, and utters, "probably..." under her breath.

the archsage complains about the weather some more, and kahuzoa practically growls, "is that all you have to talk about?" before they, as he sees it, waste more time listening to the archsage's rambling.

the zoratori alliance is next, and thegrorthius gives a sweeping update on the state of the zoratori alliance's health, and assures the others that they need no assistance.

"are the birds still causing trouble for you?" ysmene questions from beside them at the table.

"always," faeryn laughs lightly. "are they causing trouble for you?" the hawks and ravens and their constant feuding reside relatively close to podakko and zoratori's border, after all.

"always," ysmene returns, and both women laugh. "i'm just kidding. everything is fine here. we actually haven't had any shifts in power since last year, so podakko is really having less issues than ever."

they discuss more matters, the meeting largely light-hearted, and yumi, although usually quiet, barely utters a word.

when they deem the meeting over, they all rise from their seats.

ysmene is the first to open the door from the meeting hall, and the sound of the ballroom below them drifts into the room. "sounds like we have quite a party," she says with a smile.

"does everyone have their speeches ready?" thegrorthius questions, ever responsible.

"oh, nobody told me i was supposed to write a speech," the archsage replies, and ysmene sighs.

"please don't improvise," she practically begs, but she's soon distracted by yumi, lingering behind everyone else. her strange silence today aside, she looks a bit pale.

ysmene goes over to her and places a polite hand on her back, gently guiding her toward the doorway. still, she asks, voice low, "yumi, are you well?"

"i assure you, ysmene, i am fine."

ysmene offers a terse smile and a nod before they all exit the room. laurelia greets them at the door, as does princess misu, who soon links arms with her mother, yumi.

they all stand at the top of the staircase, balcony outside the meeting room overlooking the ballroom and the festivities below them.

“does anyone need anything?” laurelia questions, and all of the leaders express that they’re set and ready to speak.

“go ahead, then.”

welcome to under the flag's first actual event: the lotus festival! this event will run for the entire month of september ic, and will end SEPTEMBER 27TH at 11:59 PM EST ooc. please tag all posts related to this event as uf:lotusfest. this event will not make use of the battle system (unless you would like an intermediary for any fighting contests), and is just for you and your characters' enjoyment.

that doesn't mean you won't level up by writing, of course! you might...and for that reason, we request you still submit everything you write for the event to the points blog by SEPTEMBER 28TH at 11:59 PM EST.

submit the following form:

TITLE: MUSE NAME: LOTUS FESTIVAL

[ link to your uf:lotusfest tag ] [ link to your status page ]