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

olivia | fire emblem: awakening | new recruit

[winces]

WALHALL

[ the fortess is neverending, but the walls are the perfect acoustics for a lullaby. or rather, the closest thing to a lullaby olivia can call upon at the time. follow it, and you will find a path that speaks of some kind of struggle — a fallen iron sword amidst scrapes along the rocks, torn fabric where someone must have attempted to run off but failed. keep following it, and you will find yourself staring at the feet of a giant, tipped over onto its side and snoring — loudly.

standing beside the fallen giant is olivia, skin still flushed from her kidnapping, breath uneven from her song. when she sees you, she holds a tentative hand up in warning, her soft voice gently tapering off on a melody before she dares to speak. ]

I.. I think it's sleeping.

[ she bites down on her lip, eyes wide with an unspoken but who knows for how long. ]

NIBELHEIM

[ for one reason or another, you and olivia have decided to join up. strength in numbers and all that, or perhaps you merely crossed paths and recognized each other of the same organization and decided to be efficient, expedient. whatever the reason, the two of you are in this together now, but maybe you're regretting it in this moment, when you realize just how much of a bleeding heart your new partner is. ]

They need rest, [ she insists on a quiet voice, despite how much it wavers in her faltering confidence. she isn't facing you, instead, turned towards the two children you've recruited — no, saved — one in his teens, the other looking to be just shy of ten. she is currently resting her head on the teen's shoulder now, who sits slumped against the wall of an alleyway you've all tucked yourselves in.

chancing it, olivia glances over her shoulder at her unwitting partner, a small frown on her lips. they need to keep moving, but she is definitely unwilling to continue pushing them to do so. ] Give them an hour. Just one.

AT THE BASE OF A GREAT TREE

[ olivia is tired. she has lost count how many times she has watched this man die, how many tears she's shed for him each and every time. by now, her own body feels hollow, dried up of every ounce of sympathy and sorrow she can muster for him, and yet she persists, kneeling by his side, clutching onto his hand as he dies, again and again.

maybe it would be better to just walk away, to try and free oneself from this torturous cycle. but olivia cannot bear it in her heart to see someone die alone, regardless how many times she's provided him that company. her head hangs low, her breathing shallow. dizzy with grief, with dehydration, she wonders if she is dying as well. ]

walhall

[servant]

[it's the magic woven into the tune that draws him, a curiosity that wins out despite knowing firsthand the dangers of sleeping enchantments. merlin actually moves faster after finding and picking up the scrap of fabric, because it suggests that someone's in trouble.

that someone was almost him, but he manages to catch himself before he can topple over the sleeping giant's foot. merlin exhales quietly once he regains his balance, eyes already wide before meeting hers. he nods in agreement, that same thought in mind.]

We should go.

[the sorcerer whispers back to her, beckoning with his hand. he's a stranger, but at least he's not fifteen feet tall.]

[winces]

[ he holds out a hand towards her, but they are too far away for her own reach to meet it. her feet are inches away from the giant's mouth, fallen open on loud, heavy snores. she worries any movement of hers might rouse him, evident in the way her brows draw together. she immediately worries for the young man who's shown up, clutching at the torn hem of her skirt. seeing that, she is spurred to at least try, tentatively lifting a foot to walk around the length of the giant's arm, thrown out in front of him in his slumber. she gets about to the tips of his fingers before the movement and sound of sandals on rock reaches the giant, or perhaps the spell of her song is beginning to wear off — either way, the giant stirs, a low grumble rumbling through the hall.

in a panic, she looks back up to meet the young man's eyes, flinging a hand out to warn him away. ]

Go.

[servant]

[merlin holds his breath as she starts to move, which in turn makes him more aware of the pounding of his own heart. surely the giant can't hear it...he hopes it can't hear it. he swallows hard, every muscle in his body tensed and ready to flee just as soon as she's within reach.

(arthur would have a good laugh at that, the idea that his scrawny servant even has muscles, despite knowing full well that everyone has muscles.)

he's starting to hope that they'll make it out when the worst actually happens. the giant starts to rouse, if not fully awake yet. merlin shakes his head back at her, throwing caution to the wind as he rushes to her side.]

This way, before he gets up!

[winces]

[ olivia nearly chokes on her gasp of surprise when he does the exact opposite of what she told him to do, actually rearing back from the shock of it. fortunately, she catches herself before tripping back over the giant's hand, which has begun to move now in its sluggish, drugged-like state.

she sucks hard on a breath, holding it as his recklessness grows contagious, and (without any other viable option) she follows after him, pressing her hands firmly over her mouth just in case her panic startles a scream out of her.

she doesn't dare look back, but the ground begins to rumble beneath their feet. she can only up the giant is as slow to stand as he is to wake...! ]

[servant]

[merlin does that quite a bit, especially when it comes to saving his own backside. it's something she'll learn about him, provided they get out of this alive.

he leads them back the way that he came, the quickest way out. and then he actually pauses, letting her get a few steps ahead of him. merlin lifts his hand, eyes glowing as he causes something, anything to fly into the giant's path. maybe he'll get lucky and his aim will be true enough to knock it back out again.

there's also the chance that his magic does just enough to piss it off. either way, merlin quickly starts to run again.]

There was a forest below, if we can just make it there, it might gives us cover!

[if.]

(base of a great tree)

[impend]

[ call it what you will, but avoidance and running away from the reality will always be easier. That's what Ryoji had tried to do, after all, wishing for oblivion rather than certain knowledge of doom, so he understands. He understands the will to stay too, to stand one's ground even in sight of such senseless destruction and death. It's too familiar, the pang in his chest.

He manages to sneak as close to her as he dares without catching the attention of the archers, and he crouches down low behind the shrubbery and calls in a whisper. ]

Hey. Wake up.

[ Ryoji has been watching him as well, but it's clear that this place where the cycle has been shattered, there's nothing he can do — what he is has no real power here. ]

There's nothing you can do for him now.

Do you want to die as well?

[winces]

[ as dazed as she is, she cannot determine if the young man who speaks to her now is real or imagined. a ghost, perhaps, if ghosts existed here, or maybe just her own consciousness, pleading with her to turn away. ]

If I die here, I will just come back, won't I?

[ like this man, like anyone else made to suffer through this loop, time after time.

she shakes her head, so low now that her long hair touches the ground, the man's blood staining the pink red. ]

He's suffering enough, why should he suffer alone...

[impend]

That's why we're here, isn't it?

[ because it's clear from her reactions that she is the same as him; brought to this place somehow to fix the problem, to undo what the Regency has put in place. If she had just been part of this world, she'd have remained oblivious, blind and deaf to this pointless cycle.

Ryoji tilts his head slightly, glancing up at the men — they haven't got much time, and he's loathe to just leave her here. It's too much reminiscent of his own despair, the feeling that his fate is nothing more than sand seeping through fingers. But there must be something more that can be done. ]

We're trying to stop it, so he doesn't suffer anymore. Isn't that why you're here, as well?

You can't give up now.

[winces]

What can we even do...?

[ they were given no guidance, no lead. nothing but the misfortune of a world wrecked into despair. fight, perhaps, but olivia is not a fighter. the iron sword at her hip is but a heavy reminder of the danger she could find herself in, of a strong man's promise that she would never have to fear that kind of fear again. but she is not the true wielder of this blade, anymore than she belongs on a battlefield, regardless of how desperately she wants to help, yearns to help.

but she knows just as well as anybody (if not more) that her capacity to help is minimal to none. ]

All I can do is this.

[ be there, here. ]

[impend]

That's what we're here to find out, I guess.

[ Ryoji can't help it - even facing such odds, he has to smile; a short breath of laughter escapes him, barely audible under the laboured gasps of the dying man and the rustle of leaves. ]

I don't know what I can do, but ... I'm here now, and I don't want to sit by and watch this happen.

[ it feels like he understands a little bit, what they had felt. The hopeless depair is still there, but there is hope, as well. ]

I'm sure you will be able to do other things - besides, you are too pretty to be sitting here crying.

[ a hand, extended toward her tentatively, fingers curled a little. ]

Come on.

nibelheim

[lonelywar]

[Unfortunately, Ashitaka is not much better in the "bleeding heart" department.

He stares readily back at the young woman he had teamed up with, gaze slowly shifting from her mingling expression of compassion and determination to the exhausted faces of the two youths they were in the middle of spiriting away to COST's care. It was more difficult on those who were younger. The danger is encroaching, and his caution is bolstered by already having lost a small number of those he might have saved already.

But she's right. If they kept pushing them without rest, it would only increase their chances of being caught. Perhaps even higher than they were now.

The young man typically keeps a cloth tied around his head, a thin (and largely ineffectual) barrier between himself and the smog choking the cavern city. He lowers it now so that he might talk quietly and more easily be heard.]

One hour.

[It's a quiet assent, coupled with a nod.

He is silent a moment longer.]

If we are discovered, [he continues, expressing growing grim again,] you should take these two and escape. I will be able to prevent pursuit long enough to give you a chance to get them to safety. Do you agree to this?

[winces]

[ her relief at his acquiescence is short-lived, caught mid-breath under his piercing stare. for a long moment, she does not answer him, eyes widening just a fraction in response, frozen on a promise she cannot possibly make.

logically, sensibly, she knows that there is merit to his words. that in a situation like this, tough decisions must be made, and sometimes sacrifices are necessary. but even just the thought of leaving him makes her sick, and she knows she is far too selfish a person to withstand the guilt her conscience would wreak on her if she did.

so instead, she looks away, pretending to refocus her attention on the other children. the older of the two, the one still mostly conscious, has by now taking a lock of her long hair and curled it around his index finger, thumbing through the pale strands in a dazed sort of fascination. ]

Does our communication device keep track of time as well? [ she absently smooths a hand over the brows of both kids, causing the elder's eyes to finally flutter shut in his exhaustion, his starvation for gentle contact. ]

[lonelywar]

[She does not answer.

He notices this quietly, deciding in the moment that passes that he would let it go. He reclines a bit more against the wall, head resting against the solid surface, willing his heart rate to slow so that his breathing could return to normalcy. It would do no one well for him to be nervous; should the worst happen, they would have to react quickly and cleverly.]

It does. [The strange device overlays over his vision for a moment, and he earmarks the current time, making sure to rouse the two youths for the final leg of their trek after another hour has passed.] I will keep an eye on it.

[He has calmed, but he knows he would not sleep. After a moment he breaks the silence again, words soft.]

This kind of work... it is not easy for you, yes?

[He only asks because the other young woman he had been working with seemed to do it as easily as she breathed.

He's silent another moment longer before adding, even more quiet,] You are brave.

walhall;

[prestidigital]

[The magic in this place isn't completely unheard of where Taako's from. Bards are after all talented with their craft beyond the mundane and he's seen what being who can only speak in tones can do. But it's not his wheelhouse in the slightest. He figures if he's got a shot at getting out of this place without ending up crushed, he's gotta stick close to someone who's got some talent with it.]

[So, of course, he hears a melody on the air, senses the magic, and immediately starts trying to track it down to its source. He probably should have predicted he would have run into its target before its user, but boy is he glad it wasn't an attack and just put the giant to sleep.]

Uh, yeah, I'd say so. [Taako speaks in a softer tone than he normally would because, again, this shit isn't his forte. He knows when he knocks people out with magic, very little can wake them up. He doesn't know how this bard-like magic here works and boy is he not feeling lucky after the day he's had so far.] Whaddya say we just let him be and move on?

[No more climbing up trees for Taako if she says yes, which is the ideal.]