fairynuff | TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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TEST DRIVE MEME #4

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Really? I don't mind! I would rather be in the world of humans!

Or... Wherever this is, precisely.

What nonsense? This is delightful!

[He just assumes he means the party]

Whatever this is is a new special kind of bullshit war that's more special than the Grail War.

[Waver has to admit though, before charging head first into info dump mode, it might be nice to appreciate Rider's presence and catch up.]

Which is actually no longer a working system.

Ehhh???

Don't tell me...

...you went on to win it in my honor?!

[Because why the hell not!]

More like took the whole thing apart?

That is impressive, indeed...

[Who would even think to be so far above the Grail that they would try to take it apart?

Rider is a little jealous he didn't think of it first now]

Then did it truly grant wishes?

Let's go with after your fight with Archer, Fuyuki was on fire for a bit, and ten years later the Grail showed up again and the ending wasn't quite everything on fire, but close.

So, if it did, it had a very weird way of interpreting them.

I thought it was only supposed to show up every sixty years?

Ah, but perhaps someone simply wished for a hot time on the town?

That's what I thought too. The working theory right now is that there was something wrong with the whole system, and it impacted everything else.

[He shakes his head, exhausted but amused.]

It's gone for good now though. I can't say I will ever envy your command post though.

Perhaps something went wrong during the fourth war that upset its workings?

[Because it had been regular until then]

Then I wonder if that means the Throne is inaccessible from the mortal plane, or if it will simply cease to be.

It might be the fourth, or it might be the third. If the system wasn't slightly off kilter, I do have to wonder if Caster would have been summoned.

[Not that Caster's identity had ever been figured out. But Waver had compared notes with Rin about seemingly less than Heroic Spirits in the Grail War.]

I doubt either. First of all, because you're here now, and second because it just means we've shut down a single path of access to the Throne. Doubtlessly other people in the future will think up new reasons to need to access it, and will do so.

Well, in that case, it would seem that I have nothing to worry about at all!

[In case worse came to worse and all]

And is any of that possible here?

Given what I've seen of this place and it's magic? I would certainly not rule it out.

[The statement earns a little bitter sigh.]

I'd probably take a Grail War to the war here, truth be told.

Hmmm...

[That doesn't sound too good - although Rider is now definitely paying close attention to the conversation]

And what kind of war is it that's going on here?

The kind where if I'm going to speak honestly about it, we need to move to a different location.

I see.

[So he slams his empty cup on the table and waves away the servant that instantly appears to refill it. Then he stands]

Shall we adjourn to someplace less noisy, then?

[Waver nods, standing up first. The cup's drained in one last swig, and placed down on the table.]

My lodgings should do.

Lead the way, then.

[Awww yeah time for a slightly tipsy briefing!]

[Waver's pace is steady enough, which is good because the walk is a longish one.

The bedroom Waver walks into is neat to the point where it doesn't look lived in. Books sit on the bedside table, piled with the biggest on bottom and smallest on top. VH sits pooled in a large washtub at the end of the bed, making little waves to entertain itself.

Waver seats himself on top of the desk that he's commandeered for the room, and waits for Rider to get comfy.]

Sorry for the level of secrecy, but this isn't something I want overheard.

[When Rider sits on the bed, it actually creaks under his weight. And droops.

He also notices VH in the tub and raises his eyebrows]

I take it that came with the new title?

[Oh right, briefing]

So what is the situation?

Yes. [Waver nudges the tub gently. After a moment's irritated splashing, VH helps itself out of the tub, and slips into it's human form.] Volumen Hydragyrum, Rider. Rider, Volumen Hydragyrum. Formally Kayneth's mystic code, now mine.

[VH offers a silvery hand, one that ripples in mid-air. Waver's found that while human form can be maintained, there's always some motion with it.]

The situation is this, as far as I know: both sides claim the usual propaganda nonsense over the other and have summoned people from all over time and space in order to fight in their war. The conflict has gone on for centuries in a constant state of stalemate, with neither court pulling out ahead of the other. Take that as you will.

Through conversation with others, the stakes are not what the monarchs of either court are willing to tell their shard holders. Supposedly, and I take this with a grain of salt even though I generally trust the individual who told me, the reality of the situation is that there's a proper end of the universe happening on every level. The Unseelie want to stop this from happening, whereas the Seelie see that universe-end as a natural thing that shouldn't be fought against. Now, how factual this statement is is up for question, and it is something I've been trying to confirm.

[Waver takes a scant moment to regather his thoughts, and leans forward, forearms resting atop his knees.]

That would be all well and good to fight for if it wasn't screamingly clear that the courts tend to use the people that they've summoned to accomplish ends. Watching the wave after wave of people show up, it comes off as if the courts expect loyalty upon summons, rather than work to earn it or go out of their way to lead people into cohesive groups. There's inevitable chatter about defection, but it's hard to bring up questions like that when you're in controlled territory.

And that's all pre-text. The Unseelie have made major gains and are relying on raising a beast in order to cause grievous harm to the other side. It has, according to another source, been used before and the destruction it created was devastating. The Seelie equivalent's already been taken out, and I'm not sure what their defenses are.

[He shakes his head, a small bitter laugh escapes.]

And this is all to say that whenever one side wins, the other will probably cease to be. The length of the conflict along suggests that the victor won't be inclined towards mercy.

[This is the firmest handshake Volumen Hydragyrum is likely to ever see. Although after that's over, Rider looks pretty serious]

I see. Those are grave stakes indeed.

One is given to wonder if those are really the Seelie's motivation, though. It seems contradictory to fight so hard to simply allow something that's bound to happen anyway. And it isn't as if the people who have been brought here to fight would know any different if we asked them.

We need to find the heart of the matter.

I agree, but the whole thing is easier said than done. I tried to make use of the giant library that lies in the northwest, but it had been torched to ashes by the time I got there. Plus, there's that whole Unseelie-with-massive-weapons-of-destruction thing. It suggests that things right now need to be stalled, in order to encourage a more complete investigation.

Stalling weapons of mass destruction, you say? That sounds right up my alley.

What kinds of destruction are we speaking of here?

It's a creature, called a Jabberwocky. I haven't gotten any idea of what it looks like, only of what it can do. There's nothing I can compare it too either. But I can tell you that the Unseelie have been securing their fronts too, and re-commanding loyalties in preparation.

[Something Waver's been involved with, but for now he won't bring that up.]

And what is it that it does? It sounds like they're planning to use it.

If they were so certain of its efficiency, why bring more of us here?

He's a sad drunk

He prefers practical.

Drunks are rarely, if ever, practical

Let him dream.

Drunk dreaming 8)

Basically. Drunk happy dreaming.

What a happy ending!

Indeed!

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