EVENT | ALL HALLOWED REDUX - RITUALISM

[cherrywood]

Characters: Any affected by the ghosting and Losses, their sponsors and nosy observers anyone else who feels like tagging along.
Date: January 11-12
Location: Keeliai
Situation: A moonlight ritual designed to restore lost balance and return Losses and unwanted gains back to a neutral state.
Warnings/Rating: Please indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

The kedan messengers who had originally brought the information to the various Foreigners who'd been affected will return to those same suites on Friday evening. They will let them know to arrive with their sponsors at a quiet field area just to the south of Palace grounds on Saturday at sundown so that the "cleansing" can begin. They don't need to bring anything to aid in the ritual itself though it's advised that they might consider having a spare change of clothes on hand.

The next evening is bright and clear as though the weather itself wishes success upon this strange endeavor. The Foreigners making their way to the field as instructed by their kedan guides will find a large area cleared of snow, right down to the grass and dozens of round pools constructed of what appear to be interlocking stone blocks, so carefully and precisely arranged that they're able to hold water without leaking despite not using any standard mortar or sealant. Each pool stands about three feet tall and is filled three quarters of the way full of water which shimmers in the moonlight, bearing a very similar sheen that people will remember from the iridescent paint.

Does this bode well? Only time will tell.

---

OOC Information

See the OOC plotting post for event details and this post for assorted subheaders outlining various parts of the plot. If your character wants to learn more about the rituals or ask Milyn questions, she will be tagging in the Case Studies thread. Otherwise, feel free to use general affected kedan and their respective sponsors under normal rules for players writing NPC interactions. Feel free to start your own thread header if none suit, or make your own logs for various threadings... this is just for a central post for the event. Any questions can be directed HERE. Thank you!

RESETTING THE STAGE
Pre-Ritual Mingling | Strike the Balance | Case Studies | Greeting the New Day

Comments

Pre-Ritual Mingling

[cherrywood]

Around these pools chat various kedan and by looking at some of them, it's clear why some kind of intervention might be needed. Some of them seem to be bearing truly grotesque physical remnants of shapeshifting, from missing eyes and extra ears to mouths fused shut, to additional limbs growing out of places where there should be none: stomachs, shoulders, ankles. What the Foreigners see in the kedan on a daily basis is by no means a universally mastered art and it seems to not be limited to only the young, as there are kedan of all ages in attendance.

Despite this, the general atmosphere of the gathering is upbeat. This is a time of renewal for the kedan and they're pleasant enough to engage in for conversations while they wait for moonrise, is explained. Nothing will happen until the moon reaches its peak.

Zatanna

[backwordscompatible]

She wasn't nervous. Not really.

Granted, Zatanna didn't have the greatest history when it came to kedan magics. This was different, though. They were being guided by a local. Someone who knew what they were doing. And she had her friends with her. Not just as sponsors, but for her to sponsor and to share in this rather unique experience. Even the sight of the (temporarily) misshapen kedan wasn't enough to sway her.

If anything, uncertainties aside, she was actually kind of excited.

Which would be evident by the first signs of a genuine smile on her face she'd shown in days.

Frank, OTA

[iguanasolution]

The way the Kedan who will waiting for the ritual look is affecting Frank more than he wants to admit. His shape-shifting is related to his legacy and not a natural ability like the Kedan's seem to be so they are in no way related as far as the demigod knows.... but it's still shapeshifting. He'd been trying to ignore the fact that there were similarities, but seeing the worst possible way his powers could end one day is making him sick.

So have an extremely pale-looking kid trying his best not to stare at the Kedan, try being the keyword. Will he end up with half a bull's body one day? Or a disfigured eel-like arm if he isn't careful?

Strike the Balance

[cherrywood]

As the moon nears its peak, a petite kedan woman calls for the attention of both the kedan and the Foreigners alike. She stands with a half dozen other healers and has found a box to stand on in order to get some height and have her voice carry and introduces herself as Milyn, the lead physician who will be in charge of the cleansing this pass. Though she seems on the youngish side in comparison to the other assembled healers present, she speaks with a confidence and knowledgeable familiarity with the topic.

Each of these pools, she explains, represents a different type of balance and by sunrise, each group of three must have completed their ritual while in one. (And suddenly the suggestion to bring extra clothes makes sense!) For the Foreigners in attendance she elaborates that the kedanese ability to change their shape and appearance is struck between a racial, physical trait and a metaphysical property. When one is out of balance with the other, it leads to such mishaps as the ones they see arrayed here. For the Foreigners specifically, she has concluded that there was an absence of the spiritual side to things and thus they were affected negatively a few months ago. If they're interested in more detail, they can speak with her after the ritual has concluded.

For balance to be achieved, each trio must stand in the water which is approximately waist-deep and the affected person must "take" one thing from each sponsor, in corroborating sets as follows:

One shame and one pride, one wound and one balm.
One truth and one lie, one possession and one debt.
One joy and one sorrow, one damage and one repair.

Each sponsor must provide either one or the other, so one may provide a truth and the other then must provide a lie, and so on for each of the matches. As each is completed, it will unlock a part of the balance missing and allow the participants to regain the balance that lets the kedan shift and withholds the return of the Foreigner's missing attributes. Milyn stresses that taking these exchanges seriously is of utmost importance no matter how strange or insignificant they may seem, because of the unique nature of the ritual: a match between two halves.

Zatanna Zatara ⟡ Jack & Kaldur

[backwordscompatible]

If there was one thing in life Zatanna took seriously, it was magic.

For once, she was a model student. Listening patiently. Not a sound. Not even an eyeroll. Her eyes remained focused on the young woman as she gave the directions. Shame. Pride. Wound. Balm. Truth. Lie. Posession. Debt. Joy. Sorrow. Damage. Repair.

Never had she been so glad to have the two people by her side chosen as her sponsors. This was...personal. Even for a ritual. As much as she had been through in the past week, she needed her friends by her side. Having them there helped. More than they would ever know.

"So..." She turned to them with a sheepish smile. "Who's first?"

[wintershepherd]

"Not exactly the most helpful list of directions," Jack said wryly. "I guess... should we do them in the order they were given? That might be easiest to remember, if nothing else..."

Holiday → Balthazar & Bakura

[doc_holi]

This... was ridiculous. Okay, when she heard the word ritual, she had expected some sort fire and a long speech in a language she couldn't understand and maybe some sort of magical light show or something, but... she did not expect to be standing in a pool of water while two guys - one of whom she just met - talked to her about... whatever happened to come to mind at the time. She supposed it... sort of made sense for the Kedan.

Really, who was she to question stuff at this point. It had to be taken seriously, like Milyn said, and Rebecca was very serious about getting better again. Her body was failing her more and more while her mind never did seem to recover completely. She couldn't even grasp things anymore. Twenty-eight was the new ninety-nine in her case and it didn't take a genius to figure out where that was going to lead. At least her hair was slowly getting its color back...

Holiday glanced between her sponsors, wondering which one wanted to start the awkward talk first. If she hadn't thanked them both a hundred times before getting in the water, she would probably do it again for good measure. "So... You guys ready?"

[denyamenti]

Bakura had volunteered in keeping with his host's persona and also because it gave him an insider opportunity to see just what kind of magic ritual they were mucking about with here. (He had not a great track record nor opinion of them...) It seemed fairly straightforward if unhelpfully vague and so, with Ryou's mannerisms firmly in place, he offered Holiday a reassuring smile.

"I am, Miss Holiday. Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be difficult. Ah, let's see... the first one was a 'shame'...?"

Clara with Admiral Pike and Stiles

[parallels]

[Clara shivers.

She's brought the spare change of clothes as requested but the idea of getting the few pairs of clothes she's been able to recover here makes her wrinkle her nose. So instead she's decided to strip down to her undershirt and pair of tight shorts. She's huddling in her coat and staring suspiciously at the pools. She feels a little guilty for asking the Admiral and Stiles to do this for her. They shouldn't have to suffer because she's gone all out of sorts.

So she inhales, flexing her hands which are still scarred as a result from her loss of memory, and looks at either of them.]

Let's hope none of us get pneumonia.

[skybluejeep]

[He's listening very carefully too, and his mind is reeling with how this is all going to work. Magic is one of those things that he believed was firmly in the realm of World Of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons. But then his best friend became a werewolf and all bets were off. So he's barely learning all this stuff, and it's fascinating. And worrisome.]

Yeah, no kidding. I'm not in the mood to deal with that.

[He glances at Pike, and shrugs a bit. Total stranger, hi there.]

So, um. I'm willing to be the. Um. Yang side of this little Yin and Yang. Clara, you can use me for the, um. Less pleasant stuff. The wounds and the lies and all that, I mean. I guess.

Frank Zhang - Cassie & Miles

[iguanasolution]

Frank is a private kind of guy.

It's not that he hides or lies when asked, and he's been telling people more and more about his legacy, his powers and his mother and grandmother's fate since he got here. But the fact still stands that he doesn't just share things with people he's just known out of the blue.

So while the ritual doesn't make him share those things he still looks extremely uncomfortable (and frankly a little guilty) at the whole idea.

"I... didn't know they were going to make you guys share that much."

[spiderkid]

Miles didn't know he was going to have to stand in the water, but he guesses it's not so bad, just a little uncomfortable. And he doesn't mind helping Frank out. Besides, Cassie is there too, which is pretty cool.

"That's okay, dude. Whatever we gotta do to help, right?"

So what's first...? One shame and one pride. Something Miles is ashamed of or proud of. He can think of a lot he's ashamed of, but he's not sure whether he wants to admit to it in front of Cassie and Frank.

But. He can trust them, right? Frank's admitted to having superpowers, and Cassie's really cool about stuff. He knows if he says something he's proud of, that'll make Cassie have to say something she's ashamed of, and he doesn't want to do that, so he takes a deep breath and steps forward.

"I'll start. I'm ashamed that..." Okay, admitting it is kind of harder than he thought. "I'm ashamed that it's kind of my fault my mom died."

Zel - Bart & Damian

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis is antsy. Technically, his Loss wore off, and the whole thing struck him as excessively personal. If he'd have been a sponsor... well, he'd consider finding a last minute replacement.

Plus, there was always the off chance that this ritual could reverse certain other unwanted magical changes.

"Let's get this over with."

[demon_brat]

Damian's lips were pursed, from the moment he heard what would be required of them. He did not consider stepping down - giving up wasn't exactly in his nature - but he was... he took some time to mentally prepare for all the information he would give away.

At least, he thought, it will not be Zatara learning these things. Bartholomew was already more aware of his past than most, and the victim in need of help...

Damian was relatively sure that he'd be sufficiently discrete, with whatever wasn't completely out of context. At least he was grateful for the thermal insulation in the Robin costume. That was... rather convenient, for being wet in this weather.

Before he started, he closed his eyes behind the mask, and sent as much of a soothing ... thought? whatever he and Taraja shared - to the hatchling. This was likely to give some unpleasant thoughts off, to her, and he wanted to warn her, to tell her that he was all right. Whatever the thought of 'future' meant to her, as yet.

Then he started. One shame - a word he would not mention, but the words came out steady and low, all the same.

"My mother, the woman who created me, has disowned me, and named me an enemy of her family."

Damian didn't regret the decisions that led to that fact. But the shame that he wasn't good enough for her not do it, anyway? It was real.

Prussia ◈ Barnaby and Bean

[cantbewalled]

So he had turned out to not have this as well planned as he had thought considering he had been so picky when asking for similarities and different over the system. But in the end he had one kid who he figured would work fine and in need of another. But he'd been walking around when he saw the fight between the two guys about the one leaving trash all over the place.

He speaks English and likes to keep things clean. Close enough! So Prussia had caught up with him and not really given him much of an explanation before dragging him along to the field where the ritual was taking place.

Good thing the kid showed up--even if he's a lot tinier than Prussia expected. Not as tiny as Nations when they're little but still...a lot tinier than he remembers. He definitely doesn't spend enough time around humans. He pulls out his notepad briefly and writes a scratchy question on it.

Did you both get what the hell she was talking about?

Chekov -- Clara & Isabeau

[starcharter]

Chekov still has some misgivings about this. Something that works on a kedan might very well not work on a human. Or might work in an unintentional way. But he doesn't want to be a liability to his crew (and he definitely doesn't want to hurt them the way he did before). So he's willing to try this, at least.

Chekov is smiling, though he's quite to-the-point right now.

"Thank you for helping me. I am ready whenever you are."

Alcuin - Rapunzel and Sabriel

[virginprice]

Alcuin steps into the water, shivering a little- despite the area being cleared of snow, there's still a chill in the air. He turns to help the girls in as well, offering them each a hand, the little smile on his face belying his nerves, though his eyes are grave. He would not take such a matter lightly. "Where should we start? Some of these seem easier to provide than others..."

Case Studies

[cherrywood]

When it seems as though the various groups of kedan and Foreigners are underway, Milyn begins to move about the area. She has a clipboard and is taking notes of all the trios, asking them questions about how they ended up with whatever mishap brought them to tonight's ritual. For the Foreigners, she asks some general questions about what they experienced while being ghosted and is especially interested in their Losses, probing for as much detail as they are willing to give. In return, she is open to giving more information on these rituals and their history with the kedan.

She also inquires as to whether those affected by the ghosting are willing to part with a few harmless blood and hair samples. "The iridescent paint has kedan DNA in its making," she will explain if asked. "This is to ensure that it wasn't been introduced to your bodies as a contaminate," she'll add. If people seem unwilling to volunteer such samples, she smiles and nods, making a note in her book and advising them if they change their mind they can find her at her residence before moving on.

[strategisch]

Well. This is curious. Armin was extremely unsure about the ritual as a whole, but wanted to avoid becoming blind again enough that he pushed that aside his misgivings and decided to take part in it. Now as he climbs out of the pool, he watches as the strange fluid slithers through his fingers and slips off his wet clothes and wonders if he did the right thing.

He's putting his boots back on as Milyn makes her way over to his group.

"Are you entirely certain this is safe?" He asks her, understandably suspicious when asked for medical samples, "take whatever you like, of course... I'm only concerned. That procedure was very odd."

[backwordscompatible]

"So...what you're basically saying is that we could have been contaminated?"

She wasn't being glib. She wasn't even being sarcastic. Kedan DNA. And it had been used on her.

That sounded...worth a few questions, at least.

[iguanasolution]

"Who would be the one to study the samples though?"

He knows for sure now it doesn't show anything about the gods and his heritage, but the idea of samples still makes him feel a little wary. Not to mention knowing the Kedan have cloning facilities makes it pretty obvious that they have more technology than what they are letting on.

Re: Case Studies

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis is rather unwilling to part with hair and skin... if Milyn can even get a skin sample from someone made of stone. But he did have a question. "What did you mean by 'an absence of the spiritual side'?'

Greeting the New Day

[cherrywood]

As the moonlight begins to wane and the eastern horizon starts to brighten, Milyn and the other physicians go around to check on everyone. By the time the dawn breaks, they will be happy to announce that all tonight's rituals were successful and that all missing balances should be restored. The kedan waste no time in shifting away their unwanted changes and the Foreigners will find that whatever has been missing from them since becoming ghosted has been returned to them.

opennnn

[corage]

[Hal doesn't know what to feel at first - not because he's lost, but because after months of nothing there's suddenly everything and it all rushes back to him like a tidal wave. He can feel the water lapping at his fingers, the cold that bites at his nerves and when he smooths a hand down his arm he can feel his skin, the hairs on his arm and its amazing just how much he's missed.

There's suddenly so much again and its incredible, its wonderful, and Hal lets out a giant whoop before he can stop himself, punching the air with a triumphant fist and shouting aloud to show hos joy. He has missed it, and having this back is just... well, awesome.]

Frank, OTA

[iguanasolution]

Frank tests his voice quietly at first. He says his name as a whisper, then louder. He looks at his sponsors and thanks them profusely, going as far as holding both their hands- and even hug them, if they seem to be comforatble with it.

And then he looks up to the night sky and lets out a scream to the top of his lungs.