agogelogs | my oath shall be sped;

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What can you tell about me, then, by reading between the lines.

I thought this was about learning about the sides, not about yourself.

Pay attention. I'm interested in how others respond to your question, and that's not going to happen in this conversation. You've claimed some talent in deciphering hidden meaning in text. I want you to prove it.

Paying attention and putting in a dig at you is a different thing. Catch the sarcasm.

[Hux breathed out. Rereading the conversation. Then.]

You have a great deal of pride and don't like when it's pricked. But you also have a healthy dose of curiosity. Even if you hedge it--as if you are trying to pretend to be disinterested.

You ask me to 'prove' things, as if you disbelieve others have any skill that might be equal to yours.

The 'K' in your ID? I doubt it is your first name.

Possibly stands for Knight.

[The fact that he's even getting angry about being told he doesn't like his pride getting knocked just proves this guy right. Best not to comment on that one.]

I never claimed to think it was a skill greater than my own. I suppose you think you read between the lines on that one.

[Well, he's right. But. Moving on.]

You're right and wrong about the name.

I never said this particular skill--but I think people who are better than you in an some area is disquieting to you. Though that is why synergy exists. No one person can be all things at one time.

[This seems all too convenient. If he's both right and wrong--

Knight..Ren

Ky--]

That's enough, Ren.

[A logical leap. But if he's correct--

--would he never be free of him?]

[At first he wasn't bothered by the use of Ren, considering it was right there in the screen name. It was hardly a successful ploy to unsettle him, until he considered... Wait. It couldn't be, but then, why not? If one suffered, then other suffered. That's how they'd operated the past five years, anyways.]

Hux. How convenient.

[He supposed this could be... good. Assuming he could still bend Hux to his will here, and they could maintain what they'd established in terms of who was in charge just recently.]

I parsed it out before you did.

But you didn't do well to cover tracks.

[He is not Supreme Leader here, now, is he?]

I was hardly trying. You understand nothing between us has changed.

Oh?

And how are you the Supreme Leader, here, Ren?

Nothing between us has changed, Hux. You still serve me. Don't think you can squirm out of it just because we're here.

So desperate to have someone under you?

Because there is no point in calling yourself Supreme Leader when you are the leader of no one.

[Hux is keenly aware that while he may be a General, there is no First Order here. He has no troops, no underlings. He is technically just one of many, right now.]

Clearly we need to establish our facts again, general. Although, you are the general of no one, if I am the Supreme Leader of no one. Except you. Know your place. You lost.

Yes, let us establish the facts.

You are the Supreme Leader of General Hux, of the First Order.

There is no First Order here.

If I decided to renounce my title while here, and instead work independently, you would be the leader of no one.

Now, I would rather us work together, as we once did.

Or are you so determined to hold title over me, to place a boot on neck, that you would risk losing the only ally you have?

[He only rolls his eyes because he knows Hux isn't around to see it. Of course he'd respond with a wall of text, some ridiculous way of trying to logic his way out of this. Hux might fold a little more quickly if they were having this conversation face to face, but he won't give up his location to Ren now.]

Regardless of our respective titles, we'll always be working together. It just went so much more smoothly once Snoke was out of the picture.

[Maybe he shouldn't be so blase about Snoke's death -- he'd pinned it on the scavenger girl, after all. The rest of the First Order wasn't here for Hux to go tattling to, so really, it didn't matter all that much. Snoke was gone. It was a relief, and an unhappy burden in its own right.]

[Let's be honest, Ren; Hux didn't believe that story for a moment. There are cameras in the throne room, Ren. Should he roll the tape?

Still, it is curious to listen to Kylo; that he thinks things went more smoothly. Why, because he had the power to completely lord over Hux, now? To physically intimidate him?

It won't go more smoothly; Ren has no idea what he is doing--the sooner that he realizes it, the sooner it will go better. Unless he thinks the fits he threw on the ATM6 and wasting ammo was things going 'smoothly'.]

I will agree with you on one thing:

It is better that Snoke is gone.

[He was a little offended Hux bought that story so quickly, but then, Hux really didn't give a straight answer as to why a third of the Supremacy had been destroyed, along with what looked like half the fleet. Sheer dumb luck had placed the Finalizer on the port side.

At present, he's careful not interpret what Hux has said as any beginnings of acquiescence. The general seemed to have grown a spine once removed from their familiar surroundings. Too bad.]

Well. That's a start.

[Hux knew how to pretend to buy a lie. Given that someone had just choked him it had been better than pressing it--especially how unstable Ren seemed.

And truly, Hux isn't interested in getting battered again.]

It is. Again, not that his death matters here.

[Will you realize you have now power over him, here, Ren? No power but what Hux allows?]

It does. I wouldn't expect you to understand that.

[After so many years, the absence of Snoke would be profound. As much as his former master denigrated Hux, the general still caught his favor a few times, and mediated between the two of them in his own way. Not that it had helped matters much, in the long run. They were still at each other's throats.]

Tell me where you are.

[Hux rolls his eyes at the words. Well, at least Snoke wasn't someone who was in his head.

And really--]

Why should I tell you that?

my oath shall be sped;

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