TEST DRIVE #6

[fairyfoes]

TEST DRIVE MEME

Considering apping to EACHDRAIDH? Why not give the setting a test run here! OPTIONAL SCENARIOS 01. ARRIVING IN THE DRABWURLD. The Seelie and Unseelie courts welcome you with mirthful revelry and hearty food. After you have been briefed on your purpose here, you will find an endless feast and a night filled with entertainment to placate your concerns. Mingle with new arrivals, sneak down the castle halls and make sure your eyes are always on your glass; fairies and imps have no bias when it comes to tricks! 02. THE STATION. Looking for a little slice of home? The Station gives you all that and more. Take advantage of the wifi, have a cup of fairy-brewed coffee (the one they didn't spit in) or sit back and relax on the patio. You can even move your things into one of the available rooms! 03. WILDCARD. Your own scenario! Explore the Drabwurld or simply take advantage of your Locket!

Comments

[crymoore]

[ She's laughing at him, but it's a good kind of laughter. The kind that bubbles forth once the stress of emotions becomes too much and seeks release. Relief fills her once his hand envelops her own. He's real. This is real. By the Light, she has one of her greatest companions here with her! ]

Thank you, old friend. [ With as much grace as she can muster in her tired bones, she takes over his chair. He didn't call seat back ok. Releasing his hand, she slouches a bit only in the presence of someone who can tolerate it.

Exhaustion fights her every step of the way in their joyous reunion, clinging to her bones in an attempt to anchor her. The politics of Azeroth often did that, but now that they had been removed she could pursue their friendship more openly. ]

This weather--[ The sullen and bitterly cold winter that had been thrust upon them. ]--isn't my favorite to travel in.

[ Or her favorite in general. Winter brought too many painful memories to mind. ]

Will you forgive me?

[shamanism]

[He's feeling it, too, but his demeanor is a little quieter. He smiles around his tusks and lets go so that she might sit. If he's offended that she took his chair, he doesn't show it. Ancestors know that thing is too small for him.]

There is nothing to forgive. [He keeps his tone light, and pulls another chair over to sit across from her-- though not across the whole table. The thing squeaks pitifully as he sits on it.] I am hardly amenable to this weather, myself.

Do you need anything? I will fetch it for you. [He'd offer his lunch, but it's... uh... gone. He ate it. Sorry.]

[crymoore]

No, no. It's quite all right. [ Once she's caught her breath with warmth returning to her lungs, she conjures a plate of treats for them. Having overdone it slightly with the amount, she planned for a possible appetite with various pastries, some filled with meat, others with cheese or fruits. ]

The world provides for us well here even if this Station is full of strange things.

[ Why just earlier she passed by a square scrying orb with brightly colored dots and catchy music. Strange things indeed. ]

[shamanism]

[Orrr she can do that. He's not opposed to mage food, but he wonders sometimes if it's better that she eat like... real food.]

That is true... dark as it is.

[He reaches over to grab his coffee cup, awkwardly cradling it in his huge orc hands.]

At least this place accepts those who wish to remain neutral. There must be others who don't care for this war, but I haven't found them yet.

[crymoore]

[ Mage food is real food, just minus the calories. Probably. Without her companions from Theramore to share meals with, she's mostly stuck to this diet. ]

Speaking boldly against the war only raises suspicions with the sovereign of this realm. [ But they exist, dear friend. ] There is a town west of here that hosts a meeting place for those who wish to remain neutral, but there were very few present today.

[ It's likely they are out right now opposing the very battles that threaten to rip this realm apart. ]

[shamanism]

I will not march into battle blindly. [Aaaaaand here's Thrall's temper. Sorry.] We deserve a choice, Jaina, no matter how dire their stories sound. I will not forsake everything we have fought for because someone ordered it so.

[He considers, then nabs a pastry so he can eat it. STRESS EATING THO.

He swallows.]

Stopping this war will be a monumental task. The neutral party will need more than numbers... they'll need influence.

[crymoore]

That they do. [ He's in good company for stress eating as Jaina has been working hard on those tarts herself. ] It will be no easy task to sway people from the war when the monarchs offer power and passage back home.

[ A thoughtful pause. ] Unless we are capable of giving something better and proving their words are lies.

[shamanism]

That may involve currying a certain amount of favor with the monarchs. [He's not sure he can bow his head and lie like that. He is honorable, Unseelie or not.] They brought us here, and they can send us back-- but their terms can change at any moment. Remind the others of that, and perhaps...

[He finishes the rest of that pastry quickly. Food and politics. This is the norm for them.]

How much empty territory exists?

[crymoore]

[ At least the pair of them can feel normal despite their abnormal appearance. A human sorceress who looks as if she belongs in a palace meeting with a green skinned man who belongs in the field of battle must raise a few brows, but fortunately no one has come to disturb them so far. The Station's likely bore witness to stranger meetings. ]

Plenty, provided you can work around the natives. [ Which seems easy enough considering they adore the Shardbearers for the most part. ]

There are other angles to look at it as well. Many of the younger ones here are ancestors of previous Shardbearers. Perhaps seek them out to join our cause and allow them to open the eyes to our more stubbornly blind kin.

[shamanism]

Whatever we can't negotiate with, we will leave alone.

[Just like the Quilboar. Except... uh... infinitely more nasty, probably. He takes another sip of coffee, and nods to Jaina's suggestions.]

That would certainly help our cause. So we could have a base of operations, and influence. My next concern is security; empty territory does not necessarily mean it is unclaimed territory, and I am not sure of the patience of these monarchs. Do you think they would tolerate a small stronghold of discontent in what is technically their territory? I have my doubts.

[crymoore]

Of course not. [ What leader would? She can't think of any that are lenient save for the man sitting across from her.

That's how Theramore came to live peacefully for those few years. Any other and it would have been impossible. ]

We could take to the skies, but that may do our cause more harm than good.

[shamanism]

[He'd be honored to know she thought such things of him. He, of course, feels exactly the same way. It'll take both of them to make this work.]

There could be neutral territory somewhere-- a place where neither court dares to tread. A buffer between the borders, perhaps. [A no man's land. That would be a terribly dangerous place for one of the courts to be, but for a neutral party...]

The sky may or may not be feasible. It certainly worked for Dalaran, but our resources are... somewhat limited at the moment.

[crymoore]

There exists places like that and they are threatened daily. Would people gather if they knew it could be ransacked each and every day?

[ They came to Theramore only because they had limited options. Jaina hasn't had a chance to memorize this world yet, but works at it every chance she gets. ]

It'd be problematic to make something fly when there could very well be something in the sky that would knock it back down. Building defenses, gathering enough magi to power catalysts and the sort would take some time. It isn't feasible right now, but perhaps in our future.

[ And does it feel good to call it our future. ]

[shamanism]

[Thrall grumbles in displeasure. Obviously he was hoping for a better answer than that. Such places are usually abandoned, so why...

Spirits, this shouldn't be so hard, but complaining about it won't make it any easier. He has built something out of nothing before. He can do so a second time, and he will make it right.]

It would take time, but it is time well spent. If we can keep it sheltered enough while we make preparations, we could launch it all at once-- and be protected. Though it's highly unlikely a small, neutral party against conflict would seek to start conflict, I am sure there will be some friction.

[He smiles despite his words, a gentle tightening of his lips around his tusks, not too much teeth. Very human.]

Still, it is a future worth striving for.

[crymoore]

It takes a bit of friction to create a bright flame that envelops others in warmth. [ Jaina reminds him as eloquently as a sorceress is capable of. ]

It's what we do with that flame that will be talked about for months to come.

[ While she pictures great things, fire is also a destructive force. It could very well be turned against them and what if this is the incident that causes their friendship to crack? ]

[shamanism]

[His smile brightens without becoming terribly monstrous. It's something in his eyes.]

Even under duress in a foreign land, you haven't lost your gift with words.

[He's thinking something similar, though. Fire is the most unpredictable of all the elements; this could easily backfire on them.]

Whatever the result, we will weather it as only old friends can.

[crymoore]

[ It won't be the first time she's gotten burned. The many nights she spent putting salve in places that salve shouldn't go will never be forgotten. The downside of learning the magical arts was recovering from one's mistakes, but Jaina always bounced right back from them. ]

That we will, dear friend. [ They certainly will. ]

I have heard tales of harsher lands towards the coasts where the armies do not frequent. The seas are deadly on their own with the creatures that rule them, keeping us from traveling outward.

Perhaps we could start there.