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

I don't particularly care whether they're being upfront about it. It's another job.

(well, it doesn't cover all of his impressions, but this explanation's a fine foundation for them.)

People are struggling with it. They consider their own duties back home more important.

[Mamoru tilts his head at that. Another job seemed purposely vague. People had jobs because it was either their calling, the need for whatever they received in return for them, something to fight ennui or busy their minds with... or doing them because there was no other thing they could do. Or, in Mamoru’s case, all of the above. ] I take it you volunteered, then?

[He folds the cloth around the frames of his sunglasses a little better, tucking it against his scarred brow. That morale seemed low was a fatal flaw for COST. Not that it concerned him directly. Everything about it, the Regency, it didn’t add up. But he knew his beliefs and his motivations were vastly different from those of other people.

But a group is still a group and a wounded pack becomes prey in a heartbeat. ] That is only natural. The best way to make someone fight your battles is to make them believe they’re their own. Kinda difficult to change their mind when they’re already invested in something else of their own will.

I did. I had nothing and they gave me something. Consider yourself manipulated, but I have flexed my own free will.

(mamoru's speaking with a man who has very few reservations about throwing himself into complex situations with little to no serious thought given. he can't care for his life, anymore. it's been spent doing so many things he's regretted, so it seemed suitable that he finally make a choice for himself when presented with one. this is the first decision he actually feels he made himself, no amber, no xing, no organizations, no one but him.

hei doesn't like how empowered it makes him feel, but he'll do anything to keep the trend going. that means looking out for his comrades when he wants nothing to do with them.)

That's exactly what we're meant to protect. While the Regency means to make life debatably safe, easy, and uniform, we preserve chaos in its most natural form. We're protecting the things that make life sour and difficult and terrifying, but yours all the same. I've grown to appreciate it; I want to help.

You'll hear varying opinions. Take them all into consideration.

[It's normal to hear, sometime in your life, that Respect Is Something You Earn, a phrase told by many mostly in a context to hold it above someone else. Someone asking for forgiveness, someone not assuming they don't like someone because they don't click. In Mamoru's mind, that was the wrong way to deal with the concept in itself. Respect isn't given nor earned; it's not a connection between two people or a group, it's not a brick to build a wall in, it's the land in which you build.

And for a very fleeting moment, Mamoru could see the groundwork - not the reason why Hei joined COST, or the obvious desperation behind it.

It was resolve. Mamoru had used it as a rope to climb out of whatever mindset that held him back, whenever reasoning or ethics had held him back. When resolve failed him, it had cost Mamoru's sights, it had cost collateral damage.]

Huh. I get it.

Any fights going on between people?

Yes.

(uh, doesn't think to mention that it's been him who's been fighting people.

getting to the edge of the forest is something of a relief. his paranoia is in full swing where those little tribes of tree-dwelling punks are concerned, having a fight with more than of few of them on each pass-through. would've liked to see mamoru's skill in battle, though there's plenty of time for that later.)

It takes time for a team to build trust, especially one so cobbled together. Apparently they thought any kind of fool would suffice.

[He finds interesting that somehow, Hei has relaxed somewhat. Does it have to do with the forest or the subject they're discussing? He snorts, although it's subtle.]

What kind of numbers are we talking about?

(a pause, stopping his stride to consider their direction.)

I'm not sure how many operatives exist within COST, if that's what you're asking. On our ship alone, there are close to fifty.

[The tip of the makeshift cane sets between his feet, sticking firmly beneath Mamoru's hands. His mollars set tight against each other, eyes darting foward. 50?

Mathlady.gif] So what are the chances that we're fighting against the absence of choice through a militia that doesn't offer a choice to some?

Uncertain. They've been rather forthright with information, however, but it's no concern of mine.

(turning to mamoru, expression a flat one.)

Regardless, we're all in this situation together now. People must surmount this quickly and find their usefulness, or we'll all likely die.

[A snort, blindfolded eyes focusing on Hei as if he could actually see him and not a simulation of the surface his face makes.

--still, his voice is kind of distant, as if he's quoting someone else (he kind of is). ] We'll all likely die anyway, but better if we do it in our terms, right?

Sure, if you're a prideful person.

(hei doesn't much care about glorious deaths. if he dies, he dies. he's never appreciated life in himself, however —
only in others.)

We're at the mouth of the city. It's underground, set in the hills just North of us. If you need an escort, you'll have to find someone else who's willing; I'm not.

Pride, huh?

[It’s a concept he knows, but not when it’s applied to his own life. Thin line between pride and confidence in his skill, he supposed, but even then whenever he had dipped his toes in that side of the limbo he knew it was just to know if he could. And most of the time, he couldn’t afford it. It made him careless.
Pride in others, maybe. Pride in little girls who struggled against circumstances they can’t avoid no matter how knowledgeable they are. Who struggle without pulling the sleeve to cover the heart they’re wearing.

But prideful... lives were those who committed to a lifestyle with a purpose could be prideful. Those who walked a line of contribution towards others, too. A self-indulgent life like the one he had?

It’s not the time to discuss it. He has seen a rightfully prideful life die in an alleyway [a death that suited Mamoru] and he doesn’t want to fall in that line of thought.

So he nods at Hei, the corner of his mouth twisted just a hint.] Wouldn’t want to hold you back from whatever you have to do.

my oath shall be sped;

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