tushanshu_logs | EVENT | ALL HALLOWED REDUX

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Prussia is someone who can be very oblivious when he chooses to be, so of course having to not entirely pleased people in this pool of water with him didn't mean much. He was more focused on the fact once this was done he wouldn't have to carry around a notepad and write in English most of the time.

Standing in a pool of water with a notepad is going to make it a bit more annoying, but priorities.

Whichever either of you want. One of you has to have something you think is shameful.

It's shameful that I let myself get dragged into this mess, was what Barnaby wanted to say. But he remembered being told that he needed to take this seriously, and he had a feeling the people presiding over this wouldn't appreciate such a flippant remark -- even if it was a little bit true.

And, anyway, if he'd already agreed to help this guy get his voice back, then Barnaby wasn't going to be the one to drag this out longer than necessary.

Normally, he'd gravitate toward pride. But letting a kid deal with shame right off the bat didn't sit well with him, either. Damn.

"I'm ashamed I nearly killed someone close to me," he admitted after a moment, face schooled into a stoic expression. As much as he hated sharing such a personal detail, Barnaby was generally a shameless person, which didn't give him much to choose from.

Bean raises an eyebrow. There's certainly a story behind that confession, but he wasn't about to delay the ritual by asking. Besides, he doesn't even know this person.

Time for a pride, then. Bean typically isn't a prideful person, and so much of his past is double-edged, things to be proud of coupled with reasons not to be. Yes, Ender's jeesh saved the world, but it came at quite a cost.

In the end, he says, "I'm proud that I've survived this long." Maybe eight years isn't a long time for most people, but if they knew everything Bean has been through, they might reconsider.

Prussia is kind of curiously himself, but really almost killing a friend is nothing new to him. It's happened more than once over his life and might happen again in the future. It's how life goes. What he does care about is the way the water shimmers, brightening up and then dimming again.

Was that a sign? Did that mean they could move on? He's almost tempted to reach over and pat Bean on the head, but the kid doesn't look like he'd appreciate it. Definitely buying him ice cream after this.

But now they've got the next set and "wound" is pretty obvious in his mind. Not that he likes what it entails. Who the hell made up these rules? With a huff he dips a bit further into the water and digs into his boot to pull out the dagger he keeps there. He straights back up and holds the knife up. Which one of them wants to do it?

Well, that went easy enough. Hopefully the reaction from the water is a good sign. No one seems to be in pain, at least, so there is that.

Of course, it looks like that's going to change pretty fast. Barnaby eyes the dagger with an annoyed expression.

"If you're asking one of us to cut ourselves," he sighs, "the least you can do is write it out on that notepad of yours. I can't guarantee we'll agree to it, though." Honestly, they aren't mind-readers, and he doubts the kid will be any more eager to point the knife at himself than Barnaby is.

"Or to cut you," Bean adds. He may be a child soldier in some respects but he's never attacked someone with a real knife before. Still, the water glowing gives him confidence in the ritual, at least, so he takes the knife. Eying the blade suspiciously, he takes a deep breath and makes a small cut in his left palm.

"Remember, you promised me ice cream after this."

That is definitely not what Prussia meant! He had thought at least one of them would get that they could cut him easy. Instead the little kid is cutting himself and Prussia wants to pull the knife away. Writing out a message takes backseat to that. And he holds the knife up, shaking his finger and looking really put out. But then he looks over to the other guy and points back at Bean's hand as he slips the knife back down to his boot.

Get to the "balming" or whatever!

Barnaby is pretty sure that, if the kid wanted to go out for ice cream, he could easily find someone who would take him without expecting anything in return. He can't say he thinks very highly of anyone who would bribe a child (without a legal guardian, most likely) into being part of this kind of ritual -- even if the child did have the fortitude to willingly wound himself over it.

"You were the one who couldn't be bothered to tell him what you wanted," Barnaby reminds Prussia. "We're not mind-readers, you know."

And what the hell does he expect Barnaby to do about it? It's not like he has a first-aid kit with him. As things stand now, the only thing Barnaby can do is tear a strip from his shirt to form a make-shift bandage, which is precisely what he does.

"I expect a replacement for this." The comment is directed toward Prussia as he reaches out toward Bean with the strip of cloth.

Bean holds out his hand to be bandaged. As the other man wraps the cloth around his hand, the water glows again, so regardless of what they thought of his action, it worked to further the ritual.

"We might as well move on to the next step. One truth and one lie." The difficulty lies in whether they're allowed to say whether their statement is one or the other. Bean could go ahead and say "I was commander of Dragon Army in school" but neither of the men would know that it was a lie, so how would this blond man know to speak a truth?

He'd better say something that was obvious. "I am eight years old." Just in case, he gives the blond man a small nod indicating that yes, this is true.

Prussia feels kind of bad about a kid cutting himself like that, but really the blond guy reminds him of Germany with all the disapproving looks. He shakes his hand dry and pulls out his pen and notepad--crap, did it get damp somehow? stupid water--and writes a quick note on it.

No more sharp objects for you, kid!

The fact that it was his own fault for not keeping it away from him doesn't matter since obviously he thinks Barnaby should have stopped him. Then he makes a motion at him with his hand telling him to move it along with whatever lie the guy intends to tell.

At this point, Barnaby just wants to get the ritual over with, since his patience is starting to wear a little thin. Thankfully, the kid's true statement is straightforward enough, which makes Barnaby's job that much easier.

"My name isn't Barnaby," he simply says. At least Kotetsu is out of earshot, or else he would have (un)helpfully added that it's actually Bunny.

As the blond man-- Barnarby-- speaks, the water glows again. Good. What next? One possession and one debt. Bean has no idea how to interpret that, and he says as much.

"Should I... give you something? Owe you something? You already owe me ice cream. That's a debt." Whether that would count towards the ritual, he couldn't say.

EVENT | ALL HALLOWED REDUX - RITUALISM

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