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

[Blip, blip, blip, blip. God, sometimes the BCE can be such a mood killer. It's insistent, loud, obnoxious, and doesn't back down until it's pacified or given just the right amount of attention that COST members know what's up. Kind of like a mini Ryuji. But that's beside the point. He rolls his eyes as he hits "accept mission" and looks out over the river in front of him.

So what the fuck is this? A bunch of hot chicks singing lovely songs and gold just floating like sparkling bits of bliss all over under the top layer of rushing water. Alright, whatever. This can't be that hard, right? Approaching, he notes one (1) Taako, and immediately thinks that it's actually Lup, so he sits down next to him, approaching all casually and buddy-buddy like.]

Didn't think you were the type to appreciate this kinda shit.

[H....uh?

He reaches out and pokes Taako's cheek. God, stop him.]

Is this one of your spells?

[Taako is, of course, of course perturbed by the chumminess of this stranger from second one with the way he sits down. But perturbed flies straight out the window to make room for offended when Taako is poked in the cheek. His raised brow furrows to match the other as he slaps the hand away and leans back.]

Hey! Hey!

[He points a finger at Ryuji in a silent signal that any approaching hands or fingers will be slapped again. Which is probably better than what Lup would do in his position. She's much more likely to bite.]

[When Taako seems vaguely assured there isn't another poke coming, he straightens up and says,] I'm sure you have your quaint little...customs for saying hello, but watch the merchandise.

[He retracts his hand quicker than frogger trying to cross the street, which is, well, met with the utmost of splats of the nearby oncoming car, slapped vigorously away from Taako. Ryuji's brows threaten to connect with an air of being puzzled beyond comprehension and he just tilts his head at the high elf. What the heckie? Lup, your voice is different too- this magic must be super potent.

He doesn't try that shit again, instead hesitantly just sitting his ground for a few moments, opening his mouth to speak, and then not sure of himself or what to say, just shakes his head.]

Merchandise? I don't see a price tag anywhere 'round here, dude.

[He tries to smile at him, but he's so unsure of the situation, caught off guard- like, come on, we kicked ass back in Paris what're you---

Oh.]

You're not who I think... you are, are you.

[Well, he's firmly no Angus McDonald, but at least he got there pretty quick all things considered. That saves time on back and forth for both of them; this kid figuring out that Taako's a stranger and Taako figuring out that he's not some kind of native to this place. Taako looks him over now that he's not being assaulted with intrusive pokes to the cheek anymore.]

No, I'm her brother, Taako. [Lup's already been in touch (or else Taako would be looking for her more actively by now instead of sitting here on this shore) and honestly, who else could he possibly be mistaken for?] Who the hell are you?

[That... okay. That made a whole metric shitton of a lot more sense; he grimaces lightly and shakes his head. One day Ryuji won't be shit at first impressions, so he backpedals.]

Ryuji Sakamoto. Nice to meet you? Sorry about the unwanted physical contact. I really thought you were Lup.

[That doesn't really answer how he knows her, and he pipes up with a little jolt, quickly, as if he's trying to make up for explanations that have reach their expiration date.]

We uh. We met in Paris, on a mission in COST. Kicked some ass, too.

[Taako arches an eyebrow. He's not particularly surprised that Lup has been busy kicking ass -- that's, you know, sorta her thing with or without the use of magic to go with it -- but the teen sitting next to him doesn't particularly strike him as the type capable of kicking that much ass. More hypeman than anything.]

Did you? She didn't mention anything about that.

[Probably because she was waiting to tell him in person. Trying to communicate that via text could never possibly have the same effect.]

Congrats to you keeping up with her though. That isn't easy.

[Sometimes the world needs hypemen, right? And if he goes unnoticed and people don't assume that he can do things that people shouldn't be able to do, it allows him a specific freedom. And the chance to impress. In the end, Ryuji is just a beast of favor. He wants people to like him, to soak up their positivity and boost it back at them.]

Ah, damn. You'll have to let her tell the story. She's the best person I've ever met at starting a fight with strangers.

[He looks over Taako inquisitively at that, though. He thought Lup was super easy to talk to. Maybe not keep up with in the sense of raw power, but they shared the same ideals about something, and that was enough to clue Ryuji in that, shit, yeah, there are people out there who hate the "greater good" arguments in the world.]

Thanks, dude. Guess if I'm havin' trouble keeping up with her, it's gonna run in the family, huh? [He looks out in front of them, pondering next steps.] Well, anyway, what're we gonna do about that?

[Starting fights with strangers? Boy does that sound like his sister. Taako almost starts to smile. He manages to tamp down on his lips moving, but there's only so much he can do about the look in his eyes. It's gone at the mention of their current predicament though, Taako looking back out at the impossible treasure.]

You know, I gotta be honest, it's starting to feel like it's a lot more trouble than it's worth. [Which is more expression of frustration than genuinely being ready to give up. Taako gets back up to his feet, dusting off more for show and theatrics than genuinely brushing off dirt.] What can you do besides hang out with my sister?

my oath shall be sped;

whats the death count at now taako?

you know, let's not get lost in the details, ok. what kravitz doesn't know won't hurt him.

this is going to make their next date hella awkwaaaard

it's fine, it's fine

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