my oath shall be sped;

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? The January TDM.
WHEN? The mythic dimension of Vorspiel.
ANYTHING ELSE? Violence, as always. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence, and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME;

Vorspiel; a land of song.

arrival for new recruits

You wake up in a patch of verdant forest, with the birds chirping all around you. You're not in a clearing; your body lies between the trees. Near you, a frail woman with tired eyes rocks back and forth. You have none of your clothing, just black military-issued underwear, and none of your previous possessions beyond the one you chose (if you remember choosing) to bring with you.

When the tired woman notices you've come to, she speaks in a tongue you won't recognize, but somehow understand, in tilting tones that somehow always rhyme. Tired and sorrowful though she is, if you have questions as to what's going on, she'll answer: you are a member of COST, a paramilitary organization of time travelers fighting against the Regency, a tyrannous kingdom of the future who are trying to stamp out freedom and individuality in the name of peace.

She will provide you with the clothing necessary to fit in, and show you how to use your BCE implant to look up information on this dimension and its social and political mores. She won't let you leave until you're properly dressed to fit in, but once you are, she'll wish you luck. She thinks you'll need it.

And, she says as you depart, if you see the Gods, spit on them. They will do you no favors here.

ARRIVAL FOR VETERANS

While on BASE, you'll receive a message on your BCE.

URGENT MISSION: VORSPIEL UNDER MAJOR ATTACK. ALL POSSIBLE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO PROVIDE AID.

ACCEPT: Y / N ?

Selecting 'Y' will instantly teleport you to Vorspiel. Or maybe you're not the volunteering type, but your BCE glitches and signs you up anyway. Them's the breaks.

When you appear in Vorspiel, you'll find yourself in that same forest with the same woman who is ushering new recruits. She will give you clothes and wish you luck-- though luck, she says, is something true heroes have in short supply.

VORSPIEL

Regardless of how you got here, your BCE will have a short rundown of the situation once you arrive.

Vorspiel is a mythical, magical dimension rich in rare and precious resources. During the course of the war, it's been fought over by both sides. The Regency has recently allied with the leader of the misty country of Nibelheim to issue what is known as a Time Break; a sort of spell only possible in ancient dimensions such as these. Essentially, linear time has been destroyed in this dimension. Everything is happening at once, simultaneously and perpetually, a never ending cycle of lives and deaths and battles. While Vorspiel is a vast dimension, its borders have become warped; it is possible to walk from one country to another across the sea in a matter of moments, by accident. While the BCE is trying to send people to Nibelheim, it's entirely possible it misses the mark completely, or sends them to several places before they reach Nibelheim.

This chaos is meant to be a punishment: bow down before the Regency, or nothing will ever be the same again.

There is good news, though. Vorspiel is a dimension of inherent magic; singing or humming or whistling certain magical tunes will have an inherent effect upon one's surroundings. The BCE lists all the spells, though it notes that some have varying results (AKA go wild, guys, have fun), and the ones named after people will do little unless the person in question is present (a statistical unlikelihood).

As you enter different parts of Vorspiel, the BCE will sometimes give you different assignments, prompting you to take this action or that. If you have any questions about how this setting works, feel free to ask!

THE RHEIN

You come upon a giant river with clear and beautiful water. The sun shines down upon it in yellow light, and wherever the light touches it, gold floats to the surface of the water. The BCE will prompt you to fetch as much of this gold as you can-- it is an extremely powerful magical resource, rheingold-- but it will not warn you about the Rheinmaidens.

The rheinmaidens are mermaids, essentially, and at first, they are very friendly and gentle, singing nonsense songs and welcoming you to their home. But as soon as you begin to make any moves toward the gold, they will curse you, dive for you with surprising speed, and attempt to drown you. They will be vicious, and their natural element is water. You're in their territory, taking their things, as far as they are concerned. They have every right to kill you.

Killing the rhienmaidens will work... for a minute or so. And then they will rise again. Wounds will undo themselves-- whether they're inflicted by the rheinmaidens or you. Drowning doesn't seem permanent either-- you're pulled under, and all air escapes you, death befalls you... and then you wake up a moment later, standing on the shore.

Time has been fundamentally broken. Nothing done here is permanent.

WALHALL

You stand outside a fortress bathed in rainbow light atop a glorious mountain. Around you, the air is cool and still, and the roof of the sky seems terribly close. No matter how far toward the fortress you run, you can never make it inside. And thundering footsteps are coming just around the mountain pass, coming for you.

Lumbering giants wander around the fortress, searching for something they mutter and murmur is theirs. If they see anyone around, they will attempt to carry them off, kidnapping them for unknown purposes. They do not seem interested in eating their catch; they seem more interested in kidnapping it. Still, they are dangerous, brutish and sloppy with their strength. It is best to avoid them if possible, hiding in the trees.

Or perhaps you'd rather fight these fifteen-foot monstrosities on your own?

Of course, if you kill them, they just... come back. Death cannot be permanent in a place where time has been caught in an endless loop.

NIBELHEIM

The misty country of Nibelheim is located within a network of caverns dug into the side of a great mountain. It's a foggy, polluted place that brings to mind a city on the brink of the industrial revolution, not unlike Victorian London, though Nibelheim is entirely underground. There is smoke and smog everywhere, and living conditions are generally poor. The rich class is one family, ruled by a Nibelung named Alberich. He has various objects of great power that keep him enslaving his fellow Nibelung, working constantly in factories of his making. He has allied with the Regency to achieve this goal, and the time break within his home dimension is due in large part to his planning and plotting.

Human visitors to Nibelheim aren't unheard of, due to trade, though they are in a minority. Nibelungs, for the record, look and feel and act completely human, but they are ultimately alien, averaging a foot shorter in height at least, having naturally sallow skin, large eyes, hairless regardless of gender, and long, nimble fingers. They are a race of people made to live underground, and it shows; most can see in the dark, and climb nearly any surface. They are famed as smiths and metalworkers. Most just want to make a living and feed their families, though Alberich's clan keeps them in line.

Your duty here, the BCE says, is to try and befriend these people, the average Nibelung, and spark some kind of revolt. There are Regency spies everywhere, however, so be careful; you cannot call for rebellion in an open voice on every street corner. No, it's better, safer, to be subtle about it. Win the trust of a local businessman, seek out influential Nibelungs and figure out their opinions. Be tactical, be clever, be quick.

And avoid Alberich and his family at any cost.

But if you can, try and save some of the Nibelungs. Due to Alberich's machinations, Nibelheim is the only part of Vorspiel that has been untouched by the time break, but that will only stay true for so long. If you can convince any Nibelungs to join COST, they will do so willingly; you'll just have to escort them to safe places in hidden back rooms within dingy bars and forgotten libraries, the places where COST cells have been fermenting under the nose of the Regency. Don't get caught, and be careful; save as many as you can.

AT THE BASE OF A GREAT TREE

A man lays dying. He looks very much like the woman who introduced you to this place. Regardless, he lies in a pool of his own blood, a stab wound through his heart. The time break keeps him from ever truly passing into the next life; as soon as he dies, his eyes open, and he begins the process of his last painful moments once again.

Each time, he begs you to avenge him and find his love (or sometimes his sister; he seems very confused), and if you ask him his name, he will only respond that he is, "the woeful one". And then he will die again, for the hundredth time.

In the trees, warriors watch, poised to attack. They see you communing with their enemy, and they wish to defeat you as well. These warriors care little for your protest; they are locked in an endless battle that they cannot free themselves from, and you have just joined it.

IN THE FOREST

There is a serpent, larger than anything you have ever seen, sitting at the mouth of a cave. It sits upon a hoard of gold that may be familiar to you. It may not, but the BCE will inform you of what it is: rheingold, an incredibly potent and valuable magical resource.

Regardless, the serpent will attack anyone that comes near it or its hoard, even by accident. It, too, is caught in an endless loop of battle long over, for it calls you boy and foolish young man regardless of who or what you are. It speaks in a deep and sonorous voice, and will not stop until its head is cut off. The creature is obnoxiously large and highly dangerous, and battle with it will be long and painful, not least because, like everything in this place where time has been so fundamentally broken, it is very bad at staying dead.

Be careful when you fight it -- if you accidentally get some of its blood in your mouth, you will be suddenly and temporarily able to understand the language of birds. Which is cool, but also, you know, distracting.

The birds will tell you to find the Valkyries, who will bring you great fame and glory. They will also tell you to run, for Fafnir does not die so easy.

AT THE END OF THE WORLD

You are at a funeral. A golden-haired woman stands upon an unlit pyre, standing next to the man who, she sings, is her dead husband. Her song is beautiful and loud and incomprehensible, and when the pyre is lit, the fire swallows her whole. But the burning doesn't stop there; it begins to destroy the assembled mourners, the forest around it, the castle, the very river burns. The fabric of the world crackles and sets to flame.

Run from the flame all you like, but it always licks at your heels.

There is a trick, though, to saving your life. If one is truly unafraid of death, the fire cannot harm you, or anyone you touch. The BCE won't warn you of this; it doesn't know. But if you are unafraid, you can simply walk through the flames unharmed.

It will bring you to a wide field atop a mountain, where a woman lies sleeping. It's the same woman at the funeral, peaceful in sleep, unmoving, unsinged. She can be awoken by a kiss.

Of course, awakening her will begin the cycle again: the pyre, the fire, the fearlessness, the clearing. Over and over again, endlessly, until the BCE manages to pull you out.

This is the will of the Regency.

As a final note: This will not be the main mission for January. This TDM is meant as a one-off to dump characters into a setting they don't have to read a ton of infopages for, while still getting a sense of what Agoge could be (and as always, this TDM is game canon).

The main mission for January will be the Gallipoli campaign, as detailed here. Future missions for Agoge are always listed here months in advance.

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

Jeyne Westerling | ASOIAF | New Recruit

[goodandtrue]

I. The Rhein

It seemed a simple enough task, collect the rheingold that floated to the surface, plucking it like daisies from the fields. With the warm sun gleaming against the water, she could clearly see the large pockets of gold, but not the waterbed below. It didn't seem to matter. Everything was beautiful and quiet, which any warrior might know spoke of trouble, but for Jeyne, it only meant a simple and easy to complete mission. For her first time collecting for the BCE, it was almost a relief.

There were even maidens singing in the water. Mermaids? Not only were they beautiful, but they seemed friendly and kind. It was only as Jeyne approached the water, slowly wading from the shore that everything shifted. The wind seemed to turn cold against her skin and the singing stopped all at once. The heat of the sun changed as the maidens dove forward, calling her a number of names in their language.

Before she could reach the shore, they were tugging at her skirts, pulling at her and dragging her back into the deep water. Jeyne struggled to keep hold of the ground, digging her hands into the soil as she screamed for help, if there was anyone nearby to hear her.

'They are going to drown me!' It was a sickening realization. Instinct and adrenaline reared up as she fumbled around, reaching out to grab a large branch in the mud. Her hands circled around it and brought it back, striking at the women with all of her strength. She kicked and struggled, hitting and fighting back against them. She was not a violent girl by nature, but she would be as fierce as the wolf she married.

There was someone coming, she could hear their footfalls buried under the screams of the women. She couldn't risk looking up and letting her guard down as she continued to hit and swipe at the maidens. Instead she yelled at the figure, "Pull me up! Help pull me up! They will drown me!"

II. Nibelheim

The Nibelung were no different than the other men and women Jeyne had come across in her husband's war. They were people tired of oppression, wanting only to survive with their family and to find better conditions. Perhaps it was her sympathy that aided her the most? Or her experience under the Lannisters, being sold and shipped away as though she were little better than a stockyard animal. Whatever the reason, she was able to reach some of the families. It was a blacksmith that first responded to her appeal and agreed to follow her to a safe house. There was little that needed to be said to convince him, the exhaustion was already in his eyes.

Collecting his family, she lead them through the alleys, back towards the abandoned library that COST gathered. It was only when they passed through the doors that the blacksmith's wife realized that one of her children had been separated from them along the way. With a quick reassurance, Jeyne hurried back out into the streets, searching for the child.

She was easy to locate, as small as she was. Once she was in Jeyne's arms, she hurried back along the route she came from. That was the mistake. Alberich's men were patrolling the area and the look of fear on her face would be easy to recognize, something would be amiss about her.

Holding her breath, Jeyne ducked behind one of the bars, trying to search her mind for another route. "Which way do I go?" She asked out loud. There was another person passing, wearing the same issued clothing she was. "I need to get back to the library. Do you know another way?"

III. At the End of the World

The song is beautiful, for as little of it as Jeyne understands. She could see herself in the woman, bearing the loss of a husband but searching for strength in something, looking for a way to be as brave as he was. She watched as the pyre was lit, allowing herself time to mourn as well, never having had the chance properly before. There was always someone interrupting her or pushing her about, acting as though Robb's death was something she should be pleased with. 'I loved him,' her heart whispered into the wind. 'I should have been allowed this.' But her mother refused to let her.

In the flames, there was peace and quiet, a chaos of its own against the pain and sorrow. She didn't notice the fire spread or reach beyond the pyre, she didn't feel the heat until it was next to her skin. Her body responded first, jumping backwards as it seemed to follow. There was nothing to do but to run, but even that seemed hopeless. As fast as she could be, the blaze was directly at her heels.

"Where do we go?" She called to the person near here. "This fire is going to burn the entire field!"

1

[rippedoff]

Shinobu's thought of process, for the task the BCE presented to her, was to try to stick to the shadows as much as possible. If it were so easy to just pluck the gold straight from the surface of the water, why wouldn't the rheingold be pilfered already? There had to be some sort of catch.

As she's stalking the perimeter of the river, though, it seemed that someone was already ahead of her – someone unfamiliar. While Shinobu was rather new to COST herself, she had been there long enough to at least know the faces of everyone that was lurking within the base. It wasn't like there was a whole ton of them to remember, at any cost.

Regardless, Shinobu knew nothing of this woman's abilities or what she was really capable of, so she had no reason not to believe she couldn't handle herself. As the other woman is being entertained by what appeared to be mermaids, Shinobu tries to advance further away to see if she could use the distraction to try to find a spot to steal the gold further away.

Before she can get too far away, though, the other woman is suddenly ambushed by the rheinmaidens, and it appeared they were about to try to drag her underneath the water. Shinobu still makes no move to try to help, until she's being addressed to directly. She was not a heroic type by nature, after all. Well shit. There went that bit of cover.

However, she wasn't completely heartless either; it was obvious now to Shinobu that this other girl did not have the capability to fight her way of the the situation. Seeing no other way around this, she sternly draws her attention to the scene at hand, quickly withdrawing her katana from its sheath. Wasting no time, she swiftly stabs one of the offending maidens in the shoulder, enough to draw her grip away from the captor.

Taking the chance of an opening, Shinobu reaches with her prosthetic hand (disguised under a glove, to not confuse the inhabitants here) toward the other girl, roughly trying to bring her to the shore.

"Hurry!" Because if she had to guess? This bit of a rescue attempt was likely going to piss them off, inciting them to only become more aggressive.

[goodandtrue]

If only she had thought that far ahead and wondered about why the task had been so easy, but Jeyne couldn't see a reason for deceit or tricks. It was a simple request, one that should be fulfilled quickly. Only now, as she struggled against the strong grasp of the mermaids that she understood what she should have done. This wasn't just about collecting gold, it was about using her wits. The BCE could ask anyone for help if it was just about gathering gold...which they might need soon, if the mermaids managed to pull her under.

The fact this woman hesitated felt like a cold slap of reality. The world wasn't so simple, something she should have known already. She had seen how easily others could turn and how little trust should be given, yet she still reached out for help. The hesitation and the moment of uncertainty made her stomach twist painfully. "Please."

Whatever momentary doubt and fear she had, it was unfounded. The woman was quick to come to her side and stabbed at the women. Suddenly, the pressure at her skirts is gone and she can scramble to the shore with Shinobu's help.

"Thank you!" She turned to look behind her, seeing a look of hatred in the rheinmaiden's faces. They were predators about to strike again, already surging forward towards them. "What are they? Mermaids?" In the stories, mermaids couldn't come onto the shore, but these...if these were different? They would need somewhere to run.

[rippedoff]

Keeping a steady eye on the rheinmaiden's, trying to anticipate where they were going to strike from next, Shinobu just assumes that Jeyne makes it to the shore okay. This is confirmed not long after she pulls her to safety, hearing her voice ask some questions behind her.

"Hell if I know." There's a bit of exasperation in her tone, because although she had certainly heard of mermaids before, they had only been in stories, most of them being pretty dark in nature. While this would certainly match up to what was going on now, Shinobu had no way of confirming what they actually were. "Whatever they are, we're gonna have to take them out."

From what she had seen, Shinobu guess that Jeyne wasn't quite capable of fighting. She could deal with that, though if she were some new member of their crew, she'd likely try to encourage her to train later. For now, though, she showed no signs of trying to escape, by far more focused on the mission.

"Keep yourself away from the shore until I can do that. Then you can help me carry the gold, okay?" She says all of this, keeping her back turned toward Jeyne. Mostly because it's not long before the rheinmaidens make their way to the surface, attempting to leap on her back, but she dodges the first, then slashes at an arm of the next. "Let me know if there's any more sneaking around, too!"

[goodandtrue]

"Take them out?" There was no disguising the horror in her voice. While she had agreed to work for COST and to fight for them, the actual thought of battle still made her heart seize. "I...I don't have a weapon." She had done fairly okay with the branch, but an actual sword? She didn't even know if she had the strength for it.

She knew what she sounded like, especially to someone who had rescued her. Any other objections and fears, she quickly swallowed them down as she clutched the branch against her. She at least had that and she could hit with as much force as her small body could muster. That had to count for something.

After this, she would need to at least learn some self defense. She knew that she would have to do that eventually even before this. Now, it was clear she couldn't continue on in this way. She couldn't rely on someone to rescue her every time, what if Shinobu hadn't been nearby?

"All right," she nodded, holding the branch out, as though that were enough of a threat to keep the rheinmadens away. Her eyes widen as she watch Shinobu darted about, wielding her blade with confidence and skill, as well as any man in Westeros. "There's one crawling up on your left! It's there!"

[rippedoff]

All in all, it doesn't actually bother Shinobu all that much that Jeyne didn't seem to have any obvious weapons. If anything, she was actually far more used to taking on hoards of people on her own – working with a group of people was the more foreign experience for her, at this time. However, everyone she had killed before were human (or part robot), certainly nothing like the rheinmaiden now. So, while she was confident in her abilities, Shinobu still had enough discipline to know that she was going to have to find a way to defeat these beings around an element they had the obvious advantage over.

For the time being, though, there was at least one rheinmaiden who was going to be greatly slowed with an injured arm, so she at least had a slight bit of wiggle room with that much, but she was going to need a whole lot more. With a momentary pause in the action, Shinobu stares hard at the water's surface, trying to find a ripple of which her opponents would emerge from. In fact, she's so focused on what's in front of her that she had no way of knowing that the remaining maidens were planning a flank attack to her left.

Thankfully, though, Jeyne's warning reaches her ears just before they can attack. Eyes wide, Shinobu ducks in the nick of time, causing the rheinmaiden that attempts to grab her to flail above, hitting a nearby boulder that was sticking out of the river. Seeing the opportunity, she strikes her in the abdomen, effectively taking another out of the fight (for now). However, with that bit of a victory, another rheinmermaid takes an opportunity of her own, diving down into the water, taking Shinobu down with her.

At the very least, Shinobu is able to punch the one that grabbed her, releasing her out of the hold. Shinobu heads for the surface, stabbing that maiden as she attempts to hold her under again. Finally, she makes it to breathe air again, but it doesn't last long, as the two remaining maidens team up to try to grab her under. There's not enough time to try to ask for help, but the flailing hand that tries to reach for the edge of the bank should be enough of a clue.

[goodandtrue]

It didn't seem to irritate Shinobu or slow her. However, Jeyne knew and recognized that she was a liability in this situation. While she didn't know much about battles and warfare, she did know that if Shinobu was forced to keep one eye on her, it would leave her vulnerable to surprise attacks. She tried her best to compensate, using the branch to swing out at the rheinmaidens whenever one came closer. The edge of the branch scratched against one of the maiden's cheeks, causing her to scream in anger.

Jeyne watched Shinobu, trying to learn and adapt through observation, but she was too new, too much of a novice to understand what the warrior was watching the water for. The sudden attack was at least diverted, giving Jeyne a momentary sense of being useful. She smacked at one of the maiden's leg, hitting her hard enough to do real damage.

She tried not to flinch as Shinobu stabbed one of them. The chaos and remaining maidens had pulled Jeyne's attention away for a moment. When she looked back, she saw Shinobu was being pushed under the water, held by several women. Without hesitation, Jeyne dove forward to grab the woman's hand. She pulled with every ounce of strength in her, hitting at the maidens against as she tried to make them release their grip.

"Hold on!" She pulled again, dragging her companion up.

[rippedoff]

Feeling the solid hold by Jeyne, Shinobu is able to pull herself up to the shore with her assistance. Needing to catch her breath, she hurries to get herself more cover on the land, bending to a knee as she loudly gasped for air, coughing out water. As she composes herself, though, she nods toward Jeyne, who already seemed busy doing her best with a branch.

"Thanks." It's not often that she outwardly shows gratitude, so even that little bit was pretty big for her. However, she needed to hurry, and get herself back into the thick of the action. Brandishing her blade again, she runs to the shore, hopping across the water a bit to get to a boulder in the middle of the riverbed.

"Watch your hands!" It's a hurried warning as Shinobu finds another rheinmaiden resurfacing, trying to go for Jeyne at the edge. Hopefully she moves fast, as Shinobu dives in quickly, finishing that maiden off with a stab from behind.

However, there was still one maiden left, lurking somewhere deep below. "Watch yourself, we can't let our guard down now."

II

[dorzalta]

Similar enough. The question is nearly ignored, for she's a task to accomplish, and her mind is an ocean away. Ah--perhaps she shouldn't think of water quite yet, seeing as she'd just drowned hours ago. Nor can she ignore the fact that one of her purported allies dragged a dragon's head with no shame to be seen. Ordeal after ordeal in this place barrages her, until she feels as if the next surprise will result in someone's death by the wrath of her stare alone.

Dany's in quite a mood, suffice it to say. Disheveled though her hair may be, and despite the fact that her clothing still holds some dampness to it, there is still an air to her. One which speaks to authority. Importance. She cannot lessen her posture, which proved impossible even in the days where Viserys lived. Granted, her confidence could use with a dampening on these undercover missions, it cannot be helped.

When she's questioned, her mien is not one of warmth, but of a distant coolness. This woman with a child in her arms does not lessen her ire in any way, though the question does give her pause. Her steps slow, and she's ducking back around to step closer. It's not a face she recognizes, but rarely is she ever informed of new recruits who join their ranks until after the fact.

"What use do you have for the library?" she asks, knowing full well she needs to divert this one's attention if she's not with COST.

[goodandtrue]

She was naive and trusting by nature, but she had slowly been learning how to follow the BCE's instructions and what they were looking for in their agents. She couldn't speak directly, but had to rely on subtlety. This woman couldn't exactly be trusted, not right away. For the sake of the child in her arms, she would need to be on her guard.

"I left something there." She whispered, drawing further back into the shadows as some of Alberich's men passed. The woman was regal and distant, bearing the sort of authority she had seen in Robb when he spoke with his men during council. This was the air of a ruler, drawing back from their natural self in an effort to shield and rise above uncertainty. She had no reason to trust Jeyne, nor did Jeyne have any reason to trust and appeal to her, save for desperation.

The child squirmed in her arms, whimpering against Jeyne's shoulder. "If we don't go to the library, it might be lost for good."