seasonsrpg | Event #13: Who Are You, What Could You Be?

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Event #13: Who Are You, What Could You Be?

Who Are You, What Could You Be?
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Something Old, Something New

Part 1
March 21st

Nightwake is buzzing with excitement. The Dragon Lord, Opallios, has sent a proxy to Nightwake. This young dragon is an ivory colored, medium sized dragon, perfect for mingling with regular people. After a meeting with the guild leaders, the dragon addresses everyone with a booming voice, almost like it's coming from loudspeakers throughout the city.

"Otherworlders", he says. "My name is Einnainth and I'm here on the behalf of the Dragon Lord. You have been invited to the Abandoned Castle by Lord Opallios. We have worked hard to repurpose the place into sanctuary for all dragons and power holders. There, you may participate in a ritual to unlock completely new powers with our help. If you wish to hear details, I will be at the Solarpeak Beach."

The same message is also send to each device, just in case someone missed the announcement.

Those who come to meet Einnainth can see him enjoying affectionate pets from the local children. He will be explain that it was finally time to entrust ancient power holder magic to the otherworlders, as well as the four guild leaders. Dragons have always been the guardians of the powers so it was their duty to pass it on when the time was right.

He also requests to get some supplies for the castle, such as wood and stone, if they're able to spare them. They still have a lot of work to be done in the castle. While they can fix most things with magic, just conjuring materials from thin air is very taxing.

Part 2
(March 22nd onwards)

New teleport crystals have been installed near the Abandoned Castle. All of the four guilds have counterparts for quick travel. Of course otherworlders are allowed to travel to the castle however they want. The crystals lead to a gazebo; those arriving from the summer and spring guilds end up near the summer side entrance, while autumn and winter arrive at the autumn side. It doesn't matter which side someone ends up in, as both entrances lead into the same area.

Those who have visited the Abandoned Castle before can notice a huge change. The walls that separated the two sides before have been knocked down. The only thing separating them is the way they're decorated and their general architecture: summer side is made more of stone and has no furniture or decorations left, while the autumn side has warm, wooden tones and plenty of dusty furniture and decorations in autumn colors.

Dragons have brought in plenty of moss and other soft natural materials for people to sit on. Their own sleeping quarters are in the rooms or outside on the roof. Peeking into them will reveal some of them have started hoarding different things in the middle of their rooms. Leaving them something they collect will result in the dragon becoming their friend.

There's plenty of time to socialize with the dragons before the main event begins. Plenty of berries, vegetables and fruit have been gathered for anyone to eat. Some dragons even have meat and fish.

Part 3

Once everyone is gathered and settled down, Opallios makes an appearance. He's larger than most of the dragons present, white with gold accents. Many might remember him from the Frozen Falls.

"Welcome, everyone. We have gathered you here to help you unlock ancient abilities that we have been safekeeping. These powers are more difficult to master and some of them are even dangerous. However, we have full fate in you, hence why we are ready to pass the powers back into your hands."

He explains that the ritual will happen in special mindscapes, shaped by their minds. It will done in pairs and there's no rush. They can work on the unlocking as long as they need. No one has to do this right now either, as the dragons will remain here and help them anytime they want.

After that, he conjures very old-looking parchments from the air for everyone. They have a list of abilities they're about to unlock, written by the people of old.

Between the Truths and Lies

Part 1

The ritual to unlock the powers starts off simple. There are several small fires in the main room set up. Otherworlders are tasked with finding a partner and then sitting with them by one of them. However, the dragons warn that the more familiar the partner they choose is, the more dangerous the ritual would be. It's better to pick someone who they aren't so deeply bonded with for this.

Once the pair has settled down, one of the dragons approaches them. Next step is to hold hands or otherwise form a physical contact and close their eyes. The dragon will then breathe out a veil of mist that surrounds them. It feels comfortable, making it easier to relax. Slowly, the physical world starts feeling more distant.

Suddenly the pair will feel like they're floating. If they open their eyes they will be greeted with clear blue skies and a vast meadow they're about to gently land on. However, the moment they land the scenery changes; the scenery shifts according to what fits their states of mind. It splits neatly into half, one side for each person.

The state of mind can be visualized in different ways. Someone who has no problems or burdens may just have the same meadow with the blue skies while those with heavy burdens may have an approaching storm on the horizon. The meadow could also be withered and gray instead of the lush bright green, or even on fire.

Even if the two would have similar minds, there are still obvious changes. However if the pair is very close to one another the scenery will seem like it fits together seamlessly, no matter how different their minds are. They even have the risk of melding completely together, which can end up with both of them dead. They have to be constantly focusing on their sense of self to keep the two mindscapes separate. Whenever they stop doing so they will feel it as an ache all over their body.

Part 2

Several different colored energy lines travel across the mindscapes. All of them have a different purpose. The bright golden ones are their touch energy, which are currently actively burning. Other colors vary between what season they represent; blue for winter, pink for spring, green for summer and orange for autumn. They have several different shades, representing all kinds of different abilities. Those with special powers from home will also notice an energy line for them.

The pair must follow the right colored lines through a variety of different landscapes; forests, mountains, rivers, and so on. Their lines follow the same path; straight in the middle of the two mindscapes. There's even a chance of enemy counters (representing enemies from home or from Ellipsa), depending on just how dark their state of mind is. All of their powers, seasonal or otherwise, work here so they are able to fight the enemies off. Dying means failing the ritual, injuries will reflects as unpleasant pain for a while after.

At the end of the lines they will find a wall with a gate. Only by touching the gate at the same time will it open and behind it they will find several illusions of themselves. Approaching them will have them tell them something that is either a complete lie or the absolute truth about the person.

Their next task is to find the ones that tell the truth. Accepting the truths, no matter how unpleasant, will the the person absorb energy; this energy will feel like they're unlocking something new. Denying the truth will break the mindscape around them, causing cracks. Too many cracks will completely break it down, waking them up from the mindscape and ending the ritual in a failure.

Accepting a lie as the truth will also result in absorbing energy, but this energy will result in a minor injury in the real body and feels unpleasant.

The amount of accepted truths needed to unlock the abilities varies between each person, but there has to be at least five different ones. These can be just simple things like "he has brown hair" or "she sucks at karaoke", but also truths they necessarily don't want anyone to find out.

Optionally, characters can also capture a floating ball of energy inside the gate that will unlock the ability to do emotion magic. However, this can either be completely ignored or just unnoticed.

Part 3

After the pair has gathered all the possible energy, they are ready to wake up again. To do this, they must join their hands together and focus on the physical feeling of their own bodies. Their mind starts feeling more distant and eventually, they can feel like they're sitting once again.

The dragons congratulate them on their success and offer to tell them all about their season's abilities in more detail. Some even enthusiastically tell them all about emotion magic that may become something like a wildcard for them in battles.

People can redo the ritual with others, should they wish to help them unlock these abilities as well. However, they do not gain anything by doing it (unless they missed the emotional magic part) - other than possibly a deeper connection with the other person.

Do You Remember When Days Were Like That?

Part 1

With all this excitement, don't forget that all around the city, the End-of-Winter Festival is in full swing! Ever since long ago, this festival has been a cultural mainstay to say goodbye to winter and bring in spring (on the calendar, at least, since the seasons all stay in their places).

In every district, there are bonfires set up here and there. They're all in places far from the centre and away from anything particularly flammable, for the sake of anyone uncomfortable with fire -- but they're all festival hubs for people to gather. Just like last year, all the traditional activities are back: dressing in costumes and masks to symbolize winter and spring; singing and dancing around the fire; dramatic improvised plays where people are asked to act out a battle between winter and spring; and, of course, the pancake breakfasts! Thanks to the recent quests, most of them even have real maple syrup instead of the cheap golden corn syrup in the packet. Or berry syrup, if you're not into maple.

The jellycats (cats that have jelly-like shells protecting them. The shells wiggle everytime they purr and they can retreat back into them whenever they're uncomfortable) also make another appearance, staring at anyone eating pancakes and hoping they'll share a bite. They come in various colors and scents (each jellycat smells different to different people). The scent becomes stronger the more a jellycat likes and trusts a person.

Part 2

The traditional festivities aren't the only festivities this time around. After a very successful showing at last year's Arts Festival, the fanclubs of assorted otherworlders who have become minor or major celebrities through quests, missions, or even just plain social media presence are back. Not just that, but they've gotten serious and have opened an Otherworlder Fan Merch Store down a side street in Nightwake near one of the festival hubs.

They've certainly gone all out, even compared to when they just had festival merch booths. Otherworlders can find themselves on all kinds of merchandise like buttons, keychains, mugs, art prints, acrylic stands, and even 3D mouse pads and body pillow covers. Further back in the store are more esoteric goods. How many people are buying collector plates with the city's heroes on them? Who would buy a wallet with their face on it? Pasta shapes in a can?! Someone's gotten creative.

Past a curtain (wait, no, that's a shower curtain with life-sized images of characters, also available for sale), there's a section advertising "Unauthorized Biographies." Flipping through the comics and novels, one thing is clear -- this is the doujin section. How much of a market is there for RPF of the otherworlders? It's not even all dirty; at least half of these are coffee shop AUs shipping people with their friends or overly personal gushing about the time the subject of the story saved the author during a quest or a time monsters got into the city.

Part 3

The Amberfall Library doesn't have a bonfire (for obvious reasons), but it's also running as an event hub of a different sort. Following the Dragon Lord's announcement, they've brought up some archived books for people to peruse about the old days of the now unsealed season magic.

There aren't very many, owing to how long ago it was, but a few still remain. The biggest feature is a book of short stories, where two specific stories are bookmarked.

In "The Tale of Spring and Autumn," two lovers on a mission, a Spring and an Autumn power user, find a massive and powerful monster beyond description that threatens their home. Pushed to the brink, the Spring mage increases her own magic over and over, disregarding her own safety, to wound the monster gravely, but the overuse of that ability turns her into a tree, and the monster knocks the tree down. The Autumn mage breaks down in a fit of grief and uses her wood powers to kill the monster with the wood of the tree.

In "The Tale of Winter and Summer," a Summer power user is guarding a Winter exorcist when they come upon a spirit searching for help. The Winter channels them to fulfill their last wish to save their town from the pirates that killed them, but the spirit turns out to be lying and is actually a ghost pirate themself, and the Winter struggles and ultimately fails to take back his body from the ghost. The Summer, seeing the rest of the ghost crew gaining on them, causes a landslide with a magical explosion.

Thankfully, they're not all that depressing. Any would-be scholars can read gathered information about their new abilities, though these ancient sources might not always be the easiest to parse.

And as a festival activity, the library has also provided paper and writing utensils for attendees to write about what season magic means to them. They can be anything the writer wants and will be posted up in the library for the duration of the event!

OOC TIPS

Summary of the prompts [ Click to Expand ]

SECTION 1
• The proxy for Dragon Lord Opallios arrives to Nightwake
• Dragons are ready to bestow new powers for the power holders
• There is a request for wood, stone and other materials for the dragons

• Quick travel has been unlocked to the Abandoned Castle
• Dragons have redecorated the castle and provided natural cushions to sit down on
• Some dragons have started hoarding and will become friends with people who contribute to their hoard

• Opallios explains the ritual
• He also provides lists of abilities they're about to unlock

SECTION 2
• The rituals begin with holding hands and dragons breathing mist
• They ascend to a mindscape meadow that will take shape based on the pair's state of mind
• Those bonded closely together have to focus on their sense of self

• Several different colored energy lines appear
• The pair has to follow the right ones through different sceneries
• Enemies may appear
• They encounter a gate that has illusions of themselves inside
• They have to find the truths from the lies and accept them to learn a new power

• Waking up means holding both hands
• Characters may help others to unlock these powers as well

Do You Remember When Days Were Like That?
•Nightwake City is celebrating the spring equinox with bonfires, festival games, plays, dancing, and costumes
•Pancake breakfasts pop up around the city, and stray jellycats appear more often trying to get people to share

•Fanclubs open a merch store for unauthorized otherworlder fan merch
•Fan merch can be anything from common types (think artist alley/fan shop offerings) to weirder things that have been offered as merch (anything from pasta shapes to ice cube trays or fancy plates)
•A section in the back of the store sells fanfiction and fancomics written by Ellipsan fans of otherworlders

•The Amberfall Library is participating in the festival with a display related to the ancient powers in the dragon ritual
•Some old short stories are tragic cautionary tales about the risk involved with the stronger powers
•Nonfiction also exists to figure out things about the new powers
•A related activity is for attendees to write what season magic means to them

• Ask event related questions here

• The new abilities can be learned by anyone, even those who have just started learning their regular ones. They're separate from the original powers, despite both being seasonal abilities.

• The ritual can be done anytime after the event as well and it can be handwaved. However, NPCs can't help with the rituals in this one so everyone should have a playable character to plot with.

• Characters are free to help the dragons repair the castle and otherwise just hang out with the dragons.

• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a separate entry (like to your musebox or characters' journal).

• Remember to content and spoiler and content warn as necessary!

• Reminder to players that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on March 31st, at 23:59 PST.

code bases by tricklet

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She nods, her expression sobering into focused seriousness as she listens to Frieda. Mindless monsters who eat humans… She’s encountered her fair share of those, but they never strayed this close to settlements; the dragons and man-eating plants of her world were creatures that one would expect to encounter in dungeons or other dangerous locations. This made them no less of a hazard, but a more predictable one, or at least easier to plan around. She can hardly imagine living in a city, knowing full well there are monsters outside, and having to trust the walls to protect her, day in, day out. ]

That’s… grim. [ She reaches for a better word, but it does not come. She hopes at least her tone, if nothing else, conveys her sympathy. ] I’m sorry.

[ Where Frieda’s powers are represented by warm shades, Falin’s are in cool hues of pale jade and icy blue. The line of autumnal orange is as thin as a piece of embroidery thread, barely visible — she hasn’t had time to acquaint herself with her seasonal powers yet, and though she would probably find herself able to use them if the situation demanded it, in this representation of her mind they might as well not exist. ]

You’re right. Let’s go. Hopefully we won’t run into any trouble on our way.

[ The weight of her mace, strapped to her belt, is a comforting reminder that they will hardly be defenseless even if trouble does come looking for them. ]

[Frieda's people's entire lives revolve around the Walls, to the point where their only religion worships them as gifts from the gods. She and her inner circle of nobles and clergy are the only ones who know better, who safeguard the secret history of how the Walls were created and how many were sacrificed to erect them. It is grim, and while Falin's expression of sympathy comes from a place of kindness, Frieda feels too much culpability to be able to accept it.

As they set out along the path, following the energy streams they recognise as theirs, she nervously keeps an eye on her side of the landscape.]

If we encounter titans, know that they only have one weak spot: The nape of their neck. If they are struck there and the wound is deep enough, they will fall and dissolve. Any other injuries will heal.

[She pauses for a moment, struggling... but she really needs to forewarn her friend.]

...

Should we face any, I may assume my own titan form. It is a power passed down my family line. Horrid as I will appear, I'll retain my intelligence, so you can rest assured that I won't harm you.

[ She pauses, blinks, thinking she’s misheard — didn’t Frieda just say the titans were man-eating horrors incapable of reason? How could a person — not just any person, either, but this kind girl who has been nothing but sweet to her from the day they met — turn into one of those? Her mind returns, unbidden, to the time she spent in her own monstrous form, bound by another’s will, powerless to resist her master’s orders even as he bid her kill people she would never have hurt otherwise. Is it really possible for Frieda — for anyone — to wear a monster’s shape as one would a cloak, without it shaping the wearer in turn?

She exhales slowly, deliberately. ]

Okay. I… I trust you.

[ The nape of their neck, she repeats mentally, hoping she will never have to use this knowledge. Then she looks at Frieda and smiles a faint smile, as if trying to encourage herself.

The nape of their neck.

Behind her, amidst the trees, a dark shape looms, too distant and too heavily obscured to be identifiable but clearly bigger than a human — easily twice the height. ]

[It's understandable that not everyone can take such a revelation in stride as easily as some of their fellow otherworlders have, so Frieda doesn't think twice about Falin's moment of disbelief. Just as she wants to return her smile, she notices the movement in the distance, and her entire body tenses up.]

Falin... behind you.

[She's seen titans many times by now - in her ancestors' memories, in her living subjects' memories, in dreams and illusions she encountered here in Ellipsa -, but they never lose their terror. The tension enters even her voice.]

Let's keep moving. If it is a titan, and it comes after us, you must give me berth! Else my transformation will harm you.

[ She turns around, her right hand instinctively drifting to the handle of the mace at her belt, and squints — an old habit — trying to make out the details of the silhouette, but all she can see is the shape, vaguely humanoid and pretty wide in proportion to its height. ]

I suppose it could be a golem… [ Her voice is uncertain. ] Wandered over from, um, my half of this place, so to speak? I don’t know if that’s possible, but… If that’s the case, it shouldn’t bother us if we stay away.

[ She nods at Frieda’s instructions. Whatever power lets her transform into a titan reminds Falin of powerful magic, and in her experience that has always been best observed from a distance.

The creature between the trees moves before they do, but it walks slowly and appears to not be headed for them, instead starting in roughly the same direction the lines of magic point towards. They move in parallel for a little while, but Falin and Frieda easily outpace the creature, and soon lose sight of it.

As they walk, Falin thinks, but it takes a good ten minutes before she gives voice to her thoughts. ]

Frieda, you said the titans… eat people, right? Does that mean you…?

[ She does not finish the question. ]

[Frieda knows what a golem is, having encountered and battled the colourful local variant in the Des(s)ert of Illusions. They certainly were aggressive enough, and who knows how strong the ones from Falin's world are? But whatever creature it is, it leaves them alone... at least for the moment. Falin's question breaks her tense concentration on her surroundings, and she opens her mouth to quickly explain that no, as an intelligent titan she doesn't eat people - but that wouldn't be entirely honest. Her face falls a little.]

...

I ate one person, the one who held these powers before me - my uncle.

[There's pain in her voice. She loved her kind and gentle uncle Uri, and the lead-up to the succession ceremony was hard for her, much as she'd gathered her resolve. As if to take the brutality out of her admission, she adds:]

His life was coming to an end, and he needed to pass the power of the titans on to a blood relative. I volunteered.

Edited 2025-04-15 22:30 (UTC)

[ She winces, wishing instinctively she hadn’t asked — but no, she thinks a moment later, this is good to know, unpleasant though it might be to imagine. She hears the needed to loud and clear, and the hurt in Frieda’s voice as well, and decides that it likely had to be done, that there was no other way, and that it brought Frieda no joy. ]

Eating is the privilege of the living. That’s what Laios says — my brother.

[ She pauses for a while, walking silently, and when she speaks up again, her voice is maybe the most serious that Frieda has ever heard her sound. There is no fear in it, no upset, just focus and emphasis, like what she’s saying is very important to her. ]

Laios and I, we used to be adventurers. When we last went to a dungeon, I… I died. A dragon caught and ate me. Death doesn’t last in the dungeon, and Marcille, my closest friend, was able to revive me, but in so doing my soul was joined with the soul of the dragon. There was no other way. But the dragon was a servant of the mad mage who ruled the dungeon — and I had no choice but to become one too. He… [ Her voice falters, but she presses on, as determined to make it to the end of the story as she is to reach the end of this mindscape, this place that brings ghosts of the past back to haunt them. ] He made me into a monster. He bade me protect him and kill his enemies, and he saw enemies everywhere, in everyone in the dungeon who wasn’t under his spell. I…

[ Finally she turns her gaze away from the land ahead and meets Frieda’s eyes. ]

I killed. Like I said, death doesn’t last in the dungeon, and they were all revived, but it was my magic that caused them pain. My claws that brought them death.

[ She exhales slowly, shakily. ]

I guess what I’m trying to say is… You’re not alone. And I’m sorry. And thank you. For telling me.

[Frieda wasn't prepared for the question, and admitting to any part of her family's bizarre and abnormal traditions doesn't come easy, even with so many here having learned of the truth, but lying to Falin just wouldn't have felt right - and the revelation she hears in return almost feels like a reward for being honest.

She's astonished. Never in her life would she have guessed that a sweet, cheerful woman like Falin could have undergone such an ordeal! But then, the same could arguably be said for herself. For a moment, she struggles for words, but she immediately reaches a hand out for Falin to take.]

...

Thank you, too, for confiding in me with this. I'm... I'm so glad that everybody came back to life.

[She means it, but there's a strange undertone in her voice. She can't help but feel jealous. Despite Falin's evident guilt, the weight of her deeds is at least alleviated by the certainty that all her victims were revived. Nothing of the sort can be said for the countless people who fell under the Eldian Empire's tyranny, and the weight of their lives keeps the scales firmly grounded against her soul's.]

[ She takes her hand right away in both of her own and squeezes hard, not to the point of pain, just enough to provide the same sort of reassuring pressure as a hug. She’s not smiling, but there is warmth in her eyes and a sort of tenderness in her expression, the same way a fresh bruise is tender, or the new pink skin underneath a pulled off scab. ]

Me too. I don’t know if I could have lived with myself if they hadn’t. The spell that the mage put on the dungeon, the one that made death impermanent… It was a curse, but there was mercy to it, too.

[ She’s reluctant to let go of Frieda’s hand, but it’s the smart thing to do — it’s better that they both have their hands free — and so she does. As they walk, the golden fields of Falin’s half of the mindscape, the same ones that just minutes ago seemed to stretch on endlessly, start giving way to gently rolling hills covered in grass, sheep grazing here and there. In the distance a dark line of a forest’s edge can be seen, and beyond it, somehow, still the castle, seemingly just as far away as it was when they first set off. She supposes it only makes sense that a place born of a dream would be governed by the same logic that dreams abide by, fluid and malleable. ]

[At a glance, it's hard to imagine how coming back to life could be a curse, but Frieda is sure that once she asks Falin about the details, it'll become clear to her. Her mind is still reeling from what she told her; there are so many aspects to it that she's still digesting.

The way Falin's soul was fused with the dragon's, the way she became all but a slave to the master of the dungeon and did his bidding against her will... it's not the same as her own inheritance of the Founding Titan, the way her ancestor's vow bound her to act in his spirit and keep her people in the dark about their history and the reality of their world, yet she can't help but feel a great sense of kinship with her, and she returns the strong squeeze of her hand before letting go.

As the landscape around them changes - less so on her side than on Falin's, seeing how there's no civilisation outside the Walls -, she eventually asks:]

Your soul... is it alright now? Is it all yours again?

[ Now there’s a good question. Is her soul all hers? It’s hard to say — soul research is difficult, and there’s still so much they don’t know about it — but as far as she can tell… ]

I think it’s alright. There’s still some dragon left in me, hence my eyes and my teeth and so on — you can’t separate souls that have been joined this way, they, um, they blend together, I suppose… But the way I see it, I’m still myself, I’ve just changed a little.

[ She’s quiet for a while, thinking something over. ]

You know… I wasn’t very sure about this ritual at first. I knew the dragons of this world wouldn’t necessarily be like the ones at home, but I was still nervous. I don’t resent this dragon part of myself, but there’s no denying that it was — well, forced on me, I suppose. [ She looks down at her hands, finding one of them fidgeting with a loose thread on her sleeve. ] I was a little worried about this magic… So I was really glad to meet the dragons, and to learn that they’re really just people. Not anyone’s thralls, and not the type to force anything on anyone, I think. It’s a relief.

[And just like that, those small peculiarities about Falin's appearance fall into place. Frieda had just taken them in stride, but now, she's looking at them in a new light. She's all the more beautiful, she thinks, for having come out of such an ordeal with her kindness still intact.]

I'm glad you were brave enough to come here despite what you experienced. If I were in your place, I probably wouldn't want anything to do with dragons!

[Before she can say more, she hears that awful noise she's heard so often in those borrowed memories and dreams: The sound of giant footsteps. She whirls around, and sure enough, a pair of titans are coming towards them from the general direction of the Walls in the far distance. One is about 4 metres tall, the other about 7 metres.]

Titans!! I'll transform!

[With that, she hurriedly puts distance between herself and Falin. It won't take the titans long to catch up with them, but she'll summon her Founder before then - and hopefully, she'll be able to grab Falin and make a run for it with her, because she doesn't want to fight her cursed subjects, unreal as they might be, if she can help it.]

Right! I was initially planning to just meet the dragons, but…

[ She trails off, frowning as the thundering sound of giant footsteps grabs her attention. She follows Frieda’s gaze and flinches as she notices the titans. She had some vague idea of their size, if only based on how tall the Walls need to be to protect against them, but it’s one thing to imagine them and another thing entirely to see them with her own eyes. Even the smaller one is taller than she was in her chimera form; she’s feeling really small of a sudden. Small doesn’t have to mean weak, though.

She gives Frieda a sharp nod and backs off a couple steps, then more, keeping Frieda between herself and the titans. Watching them approach, she raises both her hands, one of them holding her mace like a staff, and starts speaking what sounds like gibberish to Frieda’s ears; if it’s a language, it’s not one that the magic of Ellipsa is able to translate, but it seems just as likely that the syllables hold no inherent non-magical meaning beyond their sounds. Falin’s hair billows as if touched by a sudden gust of wind, even though there’s none among the trees; then she speaks one last syllable and a surface rises between Frieda and the titans, curved towards her like a shield, transparent but shimmering with the same sort of icy blue energy that makes up one of the magic lines they’ve been following. It’s only about three metres tall, nowhere near big enough to stop the titans from advancing, but if one of them was to attack Frieda while she was transforming, it should be able to withstand at least one hit. Truth be told, Falin has no idea how long a transformation like this lasts, nor whether Frieda would be vulnerable during it, but her instinctive experience with magic from back home suggests that powerful abilities sometimes put their users at risk, and she will not just stand by and let Frieda face that risk alone.

The nape of their neck, she reminds herself, hand tightening around the handle of her mace. She has even more doubts now about her ability to meaningfully hurt these titans, but if it comes down to it, she’ll do what she can, however little that might be. ]

[Seeing Falin's efforts on her behalf moves Frieda. She should be looking out for herself first and foremost in this situation! Frieda's sense of urgency in protecting her increases.

The titans pursuing them are, incidentally, the smallest types, nowhere near able to reach the top of the roughly 50 metre high Walls - but Falin won't have to wait long to see the next-tallest category. As soon as her shield goes up, Frieda bites down hard on her hand.]

[A huge strike of golden lightning shoots up from her rather than down from the sky - the reason she had to keep Falin away -, and the Founding Titan's 13 metre tall body forms around her, concealing her in its nape. While it is still completing itself, it moves towards Falin and puts its open hand on the ground in front of her. Get on!

The pure titans aren't slowing down, apparently undeterred by the larger opponent, but if Falin doesn't hesitate, Frieda thinks she'll be able to outrun them with her titan's longer legs. Granted, some hesitation would be understandable, given the Founder's appearance, its face stuck in a snarl.]

[ The unexpected lightning strike gets a yelp out of her; she instinctively takes another step back and almost trips, but manages to steady herself after all. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t find the Founding Titan at all frightening, but she purposefully reminds herself of Frieda’s words — she said she’d retain her intelligence, and so Falin decides she has to trust her. She knows she won’t die a real death even if these titans eat her, but if this was the dungeon back home, the death would not be real but the pain absolutely would, and she doesn’t really want to find out if the rules of this place are at all similar. She nods, as if to her own thoughts, and trots up to the Founder’s hand, then looks up into its eyes — as if to make sure that Frieda hasn’t changed her mind — and finally climbs into its palm, feeling, in comparison, barely bigger than a pet cat. ]

I trust you! [ She calls out, hoping her voice will reach Frieda’s — the titan’s — ears. They’ve made so much casual physical contact since they’ve met, even earlier today squeezing each other’s hands for reassurance and comfort, and she wishes she could do something like that now, in this stressful, scary situation, but the difference in their sizes now leaves her at a loss — but moments later a thought comes to mind and she wraps both her arms around the titan’s thumb and hugs it tight. ] Let’s go!

[The Founding Titan's eyes are a vacant purple, unlike Frieda's (most of the time), and its unchanging expression inspires little confidence, but Falin's trust is rewarded. Frieda carefully lifts her up and places her on her titan's shoulder, waiting for her to have a good grip on her hair (albeit shorter than her own, it's luckily long enough for this) before she starts running - slowly at first so Falin can adjust her grasp or posture, but once she's sure that she won't fall off, she accelerates as much as she can.

It's not a moment too soon that she takes off, because the pure titans were almost upon them and keep pursuing them. Luckily, they gradually do fall behind - only for another 7-meter titan to appear literally out of left field from behind a small forest. Frieda curses inwardly. This is like a nightmare! Granted, it'd be far worse if she didn't have the Founder at her disposal.

She painfully remembers how she recently ended up in Jean's dream, where the pure titans wouldn't listen to her, proving once more than the Founder's true power remains sealed away from her. She can already tell that it'll be no different here. I can't even use it in dreams and illusions... you were thorough, King Karl.

The latest titan to appear is momentarily close enough to try and reach out for hers, but she manages to outrun it. She won't slow down until the pure titans have fallen far enough behind to be well out of sight - provided Falin can hang on. Luckily, she shouldn't get shaken up too badly up there - and if nothing else, she gets a good view of the area!]

[ She hesitates at the prospect of grabbing the Founder’s hair, not wanting to cause Frieda any pain or discomfort, but then a part of her sternly reminds her that if they don’t get moving they’ll be in a situation much more unpleasant than anything she could possibly do to Frieda and that’s enough to get her to hold on tight. She lets out a startled little squeaking noise as Frieda starts running, but she’s planted her feet solidly on her titan’s shoulder and her grip on its hair is strong enough that she keeps her balance even as it breaks into a full run. There would be something exhilarating about the whole experience if it weren’t for the mindless titans chasing them; it makes her miss the sensation of moving around as a chimera, especially the powerful jumps and graceful gliding that form allowed her. She’s not used to this feeling; she has made her peace with that experience, but never once found herself missing any part of it, and now there’s a strange sort of nostalgia spreading across her chest in a wave of warmth that feels weirdly vulnerable. She frowns and chases it from her mind. There will be a better time for introspection later, when monsters aren’t chasing them. Not that there’s much she can currently do about it — she has never been very good at offensive magic (how she wishes now that she had Marcille’s aptitude for well-aimed fireballs!), and she’s barely practiced her seasonal powers, meaning she’s not really confident in her ability to use them yet. The best she can do is look out for any new titans joining the chase and quickly react with a shield if any of them gets close enough to swipe at them. It’s a little frustrating to have her options so limited, but she supposes this is why they’re doing this ritual as a pair — to help each other out and cover each other’s weaknesses. ]

[Frieda could use her seasonal powers against their pursuers - at this size, her wind blades would be large enough to cause them sufficient damage to slow them down -, but she's saving such measures as a last resort. Even though titans can't experience pain, she feels great conflict at the prospect of outright attacking them. It's partly a sense of guilt, partly her ancestor's vow of non-retaliation, layered over her mind like a constant veil.

Having someone to protect, of course, is greatly helpful in keeping her focus, and luckily, the pure titans gradually fall behind more and more. As an unintended upside to using the Founder for transport, Frieda and Falin are covering far more ground in a much shorter time than they otherwise would have. They make it through varying terrain, still following the energy streams in the air while keeping watch for other hostile creatures, until the Founder eventually slows down. Being in titan form is exhausting, and while Frieda honed her control of it during her time in Ellipsa, she still can't compare to her combatant peers who were trained from childhood on. After ensuring that no enemies are around and that Falin is holding on tight, she has her titan crouch down so she can exit its nape.]

[ She’s relieved to see the other titans slowly disappear in the distance; nonetheless, she stays vigilant until none of them can be seen anymore, and only then does she let her eyes wander idly across the mindscape. She rarely gets to see anything from this height, except maybe the distant views out of castle windows, so it’s fascinating to watch the world move so quickly and so far beneath her. She’s lucky not to be scared of heights.

The titan slowing down does give her ample warning that it’ll be time to hop off soon, but she still staggers a little when it kneels down. Frieda emerging from the nape of its neck gives her pause for a moment, and then she frowns as she puts two and two together, but that can wait — first she goes to check on Frieda. ]

Frieda! Are you alright?

[ She has no idea whether turning into a titan or back is painful, or tiresome, or anything — but giving Frieda a hand as she gets out of it is the least she can do, and so she does exactly that, letting her grab her arm for stability if she needs it. ]

[She nods, looking about as reassuring as one can while engulfed in steam and sporting raw strings of tissue that attach her to the titan body. Tearing them off, she starts to exit its nape, gladly taking Falin's offered hand.]

I'm fine, thank you. I'm sorry... this was probably scary to see.

[Both her own titan and the others. Hopefully, they won't have to face any more of them! While Frieda's mana reserves are full and she's muster the energy to transform again in an emergency, she needs a break.]

[ Her hand’s surprisingly solid and stable; she’s stronger than she looks, and she easily helps Frieda out of the titan’s neck. It’s fascinating to her, the way she was enveloped in it just seconds ago, and now the flesh that connected them is falling away bloodless, almost like the skin of a fruit easily peeling away. Her first concern is Frieda — and she’s very glad to see she’s alright — but now that they’re out of immediate danger, there’s a little seed of curiosity taking root in her mind. ]

A little — but it’s okay! It’s not your fault, and besides, you did that for both our sakes! Do you think we should cross over to, um, to my side, for a little while?

[ She looks across the border onto her half of the mindscape. They’ve left the golden fields of wheat behind, and now the terrain looks quite similar to Frieda’s half — a thick forest of old trees, mostly pines, spruces, and the like. There is a handful of thin pillars of smoke on the horizon, suggesting the presence of a village or maybe a small town. ]

I think there shouldn’t be any monsters there… And if there are, I can’t imagine they would be very dangerous.

[As her titan's body starts to slowly evaporate, Frieda's eyes follow Falin's. At this point, the difference between their sides of this plane lies in the sky moreso than in the landscape - hers is still covered in dark, grumbling clouds, and she idly wonders what's keeping the thunder and lightning at bay. Is it her grasp on who she is?]

Yes, let's do that.

[Following her, she tries to sort out her feelings. Using her titan to survive the wilderness is something she's gotten accustomed to, but back home, she'd probably have lived out her short lifespan without ever transforming - well, if it weren't for Eren's father. Her mind once again wanders... what is she going to do to prevent the Founder from falling into the wrong hands?

Hopefully, at least Falin is paying attention to their surroundings, or else willing to snap her companion out of her ruminations.]

[ She has an easy time making her way through this forest — it’s very similar to the woods around the village she grew up in, enough to feel familiar, even though she doesn’t recognise any actual landmarks — and it’s not difficult keeping an eye on Frieda either. She can see her friend is lost in thought, but she doesn’t interfere, instead just guiding her gently this way and that when she’s about to wander right into a berry bush or a stump. She pauses briefly once when she hears a wolf pack howling somewhere far off, and again when a boar crosses the path they’ve been following; only once it’s disappeared between the trees does she start walking again. There really appears to be no danger in this forest, at least of the supernatural variety, and even the mundane predators like wolves seem happy enough to keep their distance. Between the fresh and woody smell in the air, the gentle rustling of pine trees overhead, and the birds calling to each other among the branches, this is… almost relaxing, actually. Certainly more so than running from titans.

At the same time, she’s having some thoughts of her own. Something’s telling her this is not the best time to ask about the finer points of titan physiology — maybe later, once they’re out of here — but there’s one thing she’s definitely been wondering about. ]

So, Frieda, I’ve been meaning to ask… How come you don’t lose your wits when you turn into a titan?

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