( TDM | #2 )

[spellbindmods]

IMPORTANT: This TDM takes place on the current world the coven is part of. Please read the linked Google Doc about the world AND be aware that the world is high-frequency, meaning canon magic and powers can be used.

TDMs can be used for anyone interested in the game and/or testing out a new muse.

Test Drive samples are encouraged to be used for your application sample, though they are NOT a requirement.

Feel free to use one prompt, multiple prompts or make up your own!

These threads can be considered game canon upon game opening if you so choose.

Telepathy and magic can be used at any point in time on the TDM, from Prompt A to your wildcard prompt. A specific prompt exists, however, that makes sure all characters have an equal chance to use this mechanic within the TDM. You're encouraged to have characters use telepathy and their magic accidentally or even purposefully on any TDM prompt.

If you aren't set on your character's power yet or want to try out a few, you're still able to use the test drive. Maybe your character is a late bloomer and hasn't fully unlocked their intuitive drive yet. In the case of multiple powers, only prompts that contain the power you choose for your application will count as potential game canon threads.

While only one character can be apped or reserved during a cycle, feel free to post with more than one character if you like! This is for those who are uncertain of their first choice or who would like to try out different characters within the setting.

WORLD ONE: AIMINTAS

You blink and that's all it takes. At first the picture doesn't come in clear, like you're waiting for a screen to fully load -- more aptly, it's like you're waiting for a camera to focus so you can find image clarity. Before you happened to rapidly close your eyes and open them, your life was normal...well, normal for you, anyway. Fighting an alien, making a quesadilla, dying. And then that blurry picture suddenly takes over... Some of you might open your eyes to find yourself wandering around a sandy area, outside of a large stone house. There's a large glimmering caravan floating around outside, which might intrigue you. There's also a lot of supplies, food, clothing...all just laying around outside. It's worth investigating, right? A ▢ Your character has found themselves arriving right outside the coven's new digs in Aimintas, and there's a lot of confusing stuff to look at. Th ocean in the sky, that floating caravan...your character probably can't get to that ocean, so they may want to examine the caravan. If they touch it, they'll immediately regret that decision -- the caravan has its own defense mechanism, and you can pick one or the other: - A1: Once your character touches the caravan, they can't remove their appendage from it. Kick it? Their foot is stuck. Touch it? Their hand is stuck. Lick it? Their tongue is stuck. They'll remain like this for 15 minutes without magical intervention. - A2: Your character's hand doesn't stay for long, but the caravan holds onto that hand for five seconds while giving your character a pretty excruciating burn. Medic! B ▢ Maybe they're smart and they don't touch the caravan. Let's go through all of this cool stuff on the ground! It might be sort of obvious that it belongs to someone -- a lot of someone's -- but your character is thirsty, confused...maybe there's some water or answers in this pile. And maybe there's also someone who catches your character going through their shit.

Other new potential coven members will find themselves in a completely different part of town. These lucky individuals will have suddenly appeared in the marketplace area of Aimintas, surrounded by walking lizard beings that suddenly turn and take an immediate interest in this stranger. C ▢ The Palai are very interested in the new coven members, and a new humanoid person -- or anyone that doesn't look like them -- will immediately catch their attention. They'll immediately find your character worth of their undivided attention, talking to them about coven-related things...pretty confusing right? If you need help with the short lizard folk, maybe someone will eventually arrive to help you out. On the other hand, you might learn something interesting talking to them. A friend might join in either way! D ▢ Once you break free of the Palai, you'll find that this marketplace is pretty interesting. It's a mixture of primitive and semi-modern technology...or is it totally unfamiliar to you? Never seen a cellphone before? Unfamiliar with the concept of women wearing pants? There's certainly something to see that'll interest your character here. E ▢ Finally, you might be hungry and thirsty after suddenly appearing. The Palai are masters of making food, including a new concoction of theirs that they're trying out in honor of all the new people. It's a sort of bottled fruit juice that has been energized by the Eltos. It's essentially the first Aimintas Red Bull, except on acid. The drink immediately makes anyone who drinks it extremely giddy, hyper and they may potentially hallucinate. It doesn't seem to bother the Palai's biology, but everyone else...oops!

The setting found in Aimintas is pretty expansive, so you have a lot of room to wander around. Here are a few things that might catch your eye if you're really committed to wandering around. F ▢ A house near the marketplace is incredibly special to the Palai people. Characters who wander near here will find a group of Palai who are even more excited about their new visitors: baby Palai. Some are still in eggs and kept inside, but the juvenile Palai are about two feet tall, rowdy and want to play with these new, bipedal creatures. Some of them still crawl around on all fours and are more lizard-like than others. Hope you're good with kids! G ▢ The Palai have constructed a large library in the middle of town. If you wander in here, you'll find a myriad of books in a strange language. The Palai are a rather visual people, though, so many include pictures and illustrations. They also have a collection of computers here that connect to the Aimintas internet, as well as visual media stations that can play videos -- though they're really just powered tablets that play video files. Time to get a little taste of the Palai culture. H ▢ Wildcard prompt. Go nuts and utilize your own creativity within the setting. This can mean striking out on your own or utilizing a certain location in a different way. The world is your oyster!

GAME NAVIGATION

Comments

[storyseller]

[oh no it's a king she fucked]

[While he is quiet in dignity, it is undeniable that this is a king's dignity. She becomes wary. Her instincts battle within her. To address him, or avoid him? she does not wish for harm.

Caster chooses to remain at a careful distance, but attempt to discern what book he reads, and how he interacts with it.]

[bulletbiter]

[ Julius seems to be reading a book with a plethora of illustrations on plants. The tome is handled carefully, each page spread open without damaging the binding and weighed down with the edge of another book. He has a pad of paper for notes, wittten in a neat, sharp handwriting. Mostly English, with copied sketches of the kelp from the books.

He doesn't seem to notice her at all. Or if he has, he chooses to respect her distance. After a while he rises to replace the book on its shelf, and it's all very normal - until he returns to his desk and promptly doubles over in a coughing fit. However, it's quickly repressed - his frown never directed at her, only at himself. ]

My apologies.

[ If he's disturbed her. He glances at his palm - no blood, so it's not so bad. ]

[storyseller]

[She recognizes the language of the writing, and from this ascertains certain information about him. However, when she witnesses the cough, she freezes.

Cough—disease—death. He looks to his hand. This is a way to check for the colour of mucus. Is this a serious illness? She must assess risk of contagion. It is impossible to discern from his presence if it is a risk or not, for those with the bearings of kings may be as callous as any others about spreading disease. Or he may not know.

She does not move further from him, but she doesn't move closer, either.]

Are you unwell, Your Majesty?

[bulletbiter]

[ The pain never goes away. But he's no stranger to it, the burning in his veins, of the haze that threatens to engulf his vision the moment he lets his guard down. A battle that his body fights against his mind, a King who did not want to be King, a destiny not by his own choice.

And he's been weak enough to show it to someone else. ]

... I'm fine, thank you. [ With effort, he keeps his voice calm. ] And - I am not royalty, only a common man.

[ Why did she call him by the words of a king? How does she know? The curse that now consumes his blood - something that was discovered only too late. ]

[storyseller]

Forgive me my mistake, please...

[She bows her head. She does not wish to cause offence, and already she made a mistake. How stupid...]

[bulletbiter]

[ This is... a lot, really. First she calls him King, as if she's somehow seen through the facade that he's scraped together and into the curse that now resides in his blood; and then she apologizes for what seems to him just a simple matter of a first meeting. He's unsure, out of the realm of the military - so it is only right to give her the courtesy that he would any other civilian. ]

No, it's alright. [ A pause. ] Can I help you with anything?

[storyseller]

[She doesn't rise from her deferential tone, despite his permission. He is, after all, a king.]

It may be so that none of us can help another. I wished to read these books, however... the words are impossible to understand.

[Which sucks balls.]

[bulletbiter]

[ Even if his kingship was not one that he desired? ]

Yes, I have had difficulty too. However, the pictures help a little.

[ Though since he's reading informative books rather than stories, that may be why. ]

Can I take a look?

[storyseller]

[Even so, as one whose identity is founded on his Sovereignty, Caster must recognize him.]

Of course, if you wish...

[She opens the book, showing him the images. Perhaps he can discern them.]

[bulletbiter]

[ A king of puppets, a king of trees... a king of a new grand order. Many things. ]

Thank you.

[ His expression deepens in intensity once he is able to glance at the book. Certainly different from the catalogue (?) he was perusing earlier. ]

Is this... a story?

[storyseller]

That was my hope...

[But it is hard to be certain.]

[bulletbiter]

[ There's a silence as he cast his eyes towards the pages, trying to make meaning of what's presented. ]

... If it be a story, then it might be of the things that fell from the sky.

[ That's the most that he's been able to glean from it. But he's not a storyteller, so Caster might know more. ]

[storyseller]

Is that something that occurs often in what you ready...?

[bulletbiter]

I have heard that these falling objects are treated as 'bounties' by the natives.

[ He's paid attention, at least. ]

From whom, I can't remember. But most likely gods or whoever else they revere.

[storyseller]

And yet... They may come from the Uvi, their enemies...

[bulletbiter]

But why would the enemy give gifts to them?

[ Subterfuge? Trickery? It's hard to conceive without more information. ]

[storyseller]

Perhaps an accident of that which is discarded...

[bulletbiter]

The only way to be sure would be to confirm with them.

[ They seem too useful to be trash, but that's not something he can confirm. ]

[storyseller]

That... would require making contact with them.

[And they're hostile and scary and she doesn't want to die.]

[bulletbiter]

[ No one wants to die. ]

I don't think that's a priority by any means.

[storyseller]

Perhaps not. Yet there are many questions we have yet to answer through this place.

[bulletbiter]

Do you find it concerning?

[ He's curious, nothing else. ]

[storyseller]

Yes. Such uncertainty can always be a potential path to danger.

[bulletbiter]

If we consider the probabilities, I don't think we need to worry about it too much at the current time.