let fury have the hour,

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Agoge's third TDM! And the death of an important guy. And some very upset royalty.
WHEN? Late 1792, Paris.
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.

IT'LL BE FINE;

Paris, 1792: revolutionary france.

read the France setting infopages

arrival for new recruits

(Note: If you were one of the people who used the previous TDM and want to use that as canon while still participating in this one, feel free! The following will still happen, though the guide will apologize for a malfunction in your BCE causing you to zap through the intervening month instead of joining your comrades like you should have. You'll be assured the glitch is fixed now, and it probably is. Probably.)

You wake up in a Parisian hotel room with a kind woman standing near the door, waiting for you to awaken. 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.

The woman by the door speaks French, and if you didn't understand the language before, you do now. 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 at this time, and show you how to use your BCE implant to look up information on this time period 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.

KILL THE KING

It doesn't matter if you're new, or if you've been here a while. You'll hear about the execution going on today. It's as though the barely restrained urban chaos of Paris has ground to a halt. Everything is about the king. Is it really going to happen? Are they really going to do it? Can they do it? Is it even possible?

Anyone out of the loop will be filled in, but with no small amount of ridicule: Today is the day of the king's execution. His trial has wrapped up, and the National Convention voted to execute him for treason and tyranny.

The crowd at the execution is enormous, a riotous mob of passion barely restrained. Everyone is jockeying for a better view, with children and adults climbing up on nearby statues, lampposts, the sides of houses, rooves, some even hang from windows. Everyone watches the scaffold.

The prison cart arrives with no fanfare save the yells of the crowd. Within it sits a small, fat little man, looking like he's doing his best to remain composed. He's brought to the scaffold, and his crimes are read out: colluding with foreign powers, and the crime of royalty, which is anathema to the republic of France.

When asked for his final words, Louis Capet, known to some as King Louis XVI, speaks in a quiet voice. "I forgive my enemies."

When the blade comes down, the crowd errupts into cheers. Many rush forward to touch the blood of a king, dipping bits of cloth in it in an attempt to save it.

I PREDICT A RIOT

It's as though all the built up tension in Paris exploded when the king was killed.

Who knows what started it. Rumors spread like wildfire, and it doesn't matter, does it? In the end, most of Paris is swarmed with chaos, especially in the areas nearest to where the king was executed. There's no doubt that the riot and the king's death are directly related; no peasant currently throwing stones and breaking windows will deny it.

Fights are happening with great frequency. It only takes a word, a half sentence, for someone to decide you're some kind of counter-revolutionary. There is a current of anxiety in Paris that hasn't gone away; after reaching a fever pitch, it has expressed itself with violence and chaos.

let's visit the tuileries

The Tuileries was the royal palace in Paris, the last residence of the king before his death. Of course the people of France end up clamoring at its gates, screaming profanities and attempting to scale them.

The majority of the guard let them do this, making only the most token of efforts to keep the peasantry back. But one guard, a man by the name of Antoine Colin, seems to become spooked and shoots repeatedly into the crowd before someone knocks him out.

By then, though, it's too late. The crowd was rambunctious, but not murderous. Now it's bloodthirsty, and the gates are stormed. It isn't long before the common people of France are trampling through the corridors of power. Inside, they'll mostly find servants running and hiding, and lots of valuables to steal.

Most are content with that, but not all. Some clamor for the deaths of the queen and the royal children-- per the laws of inheritance, Marie Capet's remaining son is now King of France. Should he not die as well?

The queen is hidden in a safe room, a hollow wall inside her apartments. Do you try to find her? Try to save her? Try to kill her yourself?

...And what about those kids hiding in there with her?

BRING IN THE TROOPS

The riot in the Tuileries lasts several hours, well past nightfall. It's beginning to peter off, people loosing their energy or vigor, when the sound of gunfire echoes from the front courtyard.

General Lafayette has arrived to save the queen, and brought with him a retinue of personal soldiers. All on horseback, brandishing firearms and sabers, they stream through the expansive halls of the Tuileries and attack anyone who looks out of place. They're here to clean up this mess with no concern for more filthy peasants getting in the way.

Aftermath

The night is a long one. Several fires break out in various parts of Paris, shops are looted, and several die in the Tuileries. The queen has disappeared, along with Lafayette. Some say she and Lafayette died, and they'll show you the bodies for a couple sou. Others claim they saw them riding off into safety just before sunrise. There are already talks of hunting them down, trying to find the traitors.

Only one thing is known for sure: It may be advisable to stay inside for the foreseeable future.

read the France setting infopages

NAV NETWORK LOGS OOC PLURK DISCORD

Comments

[frogfractions]

Short girl. Glasses.

[And true to that description, Prelati shows up on the scene a few moments later, already scanning the dying fires - ]

We'll talk and work. [She's talking to nobody in particular, but, well - there are a few people milling around (for a given definition of milling), and she doubts there are that many girls her height and apparent age heading towards the fires.

She's lucky they're dying down, at least in this area. There are plenty of concerned onlookers, the occasional shout as a building seems like it's about to give out at the last moment, but she can't imagine the chaos when they first started.]

That basically good for you, ponytail?

[horsepowered]

[Short girl. Glasses. Chiron's eyes cannot be on the watch all the time for whoever it is he's spoken to through the communications channels, but damn if he doesn't try.

So small wonder that Prelati sticks out easily, and that she...finds him first. He ca't respond before one of the buildings crashes in on it's own fragile frame, sending embers of the fire spitting outwards in every direction. Chiron cringes at the noise before he can respond.]

Your arrival, yes. What you just saw, less so.

[frogfractions]

[Prelati winces herself, glancing at the source of the noise. A building that burned and frail would be a hazard anyway - and a revolution isn't prime season for real estate. Maybe it's best that it burned down completely, lest someone try to hole up in the husk.]

It's the end point of a fire. Not an ideal one, but basically not surprising.

Where should I start? I might not look like it, but this body can handle manual labor. The young have enough energy for it.

[horsepowered]

Finishing off the fires here would be ideal, I suspect. [That Paris had water pumps attached to horsedrawn carts had been a pleasant surprise of a detail that Chiron didn't know about, but once he did know, it gave him some relief.]

Some of the pumps could use an extra pair of hands, from the looks of it.

[frogfractions]

Works well for me. [She's familiar with the details, for the most part - she's seen them before, though she's never had to work with one. She motions for him to follow her over to one, rolls her wrists a little as she grip the pump. It's basic, primitive technology - and she's always preferred her alchemy to technology, so that's another hurdle to overcome.

At the same time, though, it's something she can use to put out the fire. She wonders how she'd put it out on her own, then decides not to think about it. This is the method.]

Have you been at this work long? Ah, I don't mean firefighting.

[horsepowered]

A few months.

[For all that being a Heroic Spirit entails, Chiron's not a mage. Firing arrows at a fire is just silly, and so this kind of work is a far better use of his talents. Besides the fact that he doesn't require sleep, he's stronger than most and can keep working the mechanism for the pump for much longer.]

That's spanned more than France as well. There was some time spent in the Crusade era before arriving here.

[frogfractions]

The Crusades? That's a few hundred years before I was even born. That's impressive.

[Something that's 'history' even to her - it's an odd, almost exciting thought. When was the last thing she thought about most anything from before her time, save what was necessary for her work?

She works the pump with far too much strength for her frame - not half as much as Chiron could muster, but at least enough to keep up with a full-sized man in decent shape. The only difficulty of it comes from her height, and while she's small she still reaches about five feet. She's not that little of a girl.]

Still, it's convenient that I've wound up in France, even if the show's over. I have plenty of nostalgia for this place. Are we allowed to leave the city?

[horsepowered]

The ability to slip through different points in time has proven to be interesting so far.

[Chiron had only experienced Greece and early 21st century Romania prior to...all of this, and so there was a certain type of novelty in moving from point to point. The reason for it was less enjoyable, and the events wearying, but there was always that little bit of pleasure in discovering something new that surprised him.]

That's a question I don't actually have an answer to, unfortunately. While I suppose you could try, it might not end well for you. [If she's from the country, then there's another question:] Where would you intend to go?

[frogfractions]

[She's not quite from France, but Italy holds less meaning to her, really. She thinks it over for a moment - 'might not end well.' Best not to risk it.]

I was thinking of going down to Nantes. A friend of mine was buried there, a few hundred years before now. Basically, a social trip, but one that shouldn't bother the timeline. It's not as if I can help him any now.

[Cryptic, and she realizes it. She works the pump for another moment, then glances over her shoulder.]

I think I'll stay here. Wouldn't you be curious, though? If we went back to a time and place you remembered, or that had something to do with you.

[horsepowered]

I'd first determine how many days that sort of a trip might take.

[Chiron's guess is a while but he doesn't offer much more than that. His own arms keep at the pump, showing no sign of growing tired.]

It would be something of a surprise, I do admit. It'd be even more curious if you ended up running into yourself.

[frogfractions]

Hmm... Maybe eight days by foot, if I double time it. I might be able to find a horse, but things as they are, that's basically a pipedream.

[Prelati doesn't even slow down to talk - a perfect body is one that can handle a task like this no problem, and still have the energy to talk. She glances back at the embers of the fires, seeing them slowly fade out as the rest of the crew works.]

My old self wouldn't even recognize me. A person can change quite a lot in a few hundred years. It might be fun to mess with the old me, actually. Ah, but that'd definitely get me in trouble. Tch.

[horsepowered]

Mm. Even if you left the city, there's no promise that you'd be allowed back in.

[Chiron's not focused on the embers. He is instead listening to everything from every direction, in case there is a sudden change. But no, the embers are dying. The task here may soon be done.

Prelati's thoughts on running into themselves takes him by surprise. They don't give off the air of being a servant but there's...something going on.]

It'd probably disrupt a timeline or two, yes.

[frogfractions]

To say nothing of meeting someone I know before they met the 'real' me. Then again, a few things are different from how I remember them, anyway. Basically, might be best not to worry about it.

[She gives the pump another round of the old heave-ho, then glances up from it.]

My name's Prelati, if you're wondering. If you're familiar with the history of the region, I might sound familiar. Ah, but I didn't do all that much.

[horsepowered]

[The name isn't familiar. Chiron's genuinely thinking about it though, it shows on his face as he pauses for just a moment.

He knows where there's at least one library though where he can correct that oversight, and makes a note to do so.]

I am going to presume that part of that statement is you deflecting your own work.

[frogfractions]

I'm a follower, not a leader.

[She likes the look of concentration on his face - digging back into his mind, and all. She wonders where he's from - or when, as the case might be.]

It's rude to take a woman's name without giving yours in return. [And that, of course, is just her channeling a friend. She hardly cares much about her own gender.]

Or are you worried I'd recognize your name? You're a little broader than I remember Frenchmen being.

[horsepowered]

Few people would ever say that statement boldly.

[Which is interesting in and of itself. But no matter, it is simply something to file away for later.]

Chiron. [And if it is recognized, then so be it.]

[frogfractions]

[She does recognize it, of course - but she doesn't have any reason to think he's The Chiron - for any number of reasons. Even if she'd just given her name as Prelati, it's not like he'd have any reason to think it was Francois, without her telling him that she was important and had a friend buried in Nantes.

She does give him a look up and down, though.]

That's a good name. [She decides on that. She'd given up her given name, both because it was a man's name and because it was the name of a person she just wasn't anymore, but she hadn't given up her family name. It's convenient, and she doesn't want to completely throw away her sins.]

Which statement, though? Being a follower? I'm proud of it, if you mean that. It means I found someone I was willing to serve.

[horsepowered]

[Technically, he's just an amalgamation of the many versions of Chiron, so it'd hardly stand to give him a capital T in the t-h-e anyway. As it is, Chiron's happy to move past names if there's no click of recognition.]

I know and taught too many strongheaded boys. It's a phrase I'm unaccustomed to hearing, you might say.

[frogfractions]

All young people are hardheaded, basically. When you get older, it gets annoying. I can only imagine what a teacher goes through.

[All Prelati wanted to do was a little murder, and then she had a bunch of teenagers beating her up. Really, kids are brats.

Granted, those kids had also been completely right in every single way. She chews on the thought for a second, visibly.]

Boys especially. They're too full of themselves.

[horsepowered]

They're usually raised that way. Being demi-gods doesn't help the matter.

[In truth, if Chiron had found out about a little murder, his opinion would have shifted quite drastically. In the meantime though, he simply reflected on the number of students he had over the years, and their deeds.

They were both skilled and had an uncanny ability to draw the ire of the gods.]

[frogfractions]

[Hey. Hey. Don't judge a little murder, buddy. She just wanted to pick a fight with God.]

The more power someone has, the more it gets to their head. I'm as guilty of that as anyone else, basically. [But - yeah, she's willing to admit her plans hadn't exactly panned out. Partly because she'd just taken for granted that they would work.]

It doesn't matter if it's physical power, divine power, or just social power - money, nobility. People like to have excuses to not worry about other people.

[horsepowered]

[Don't we all?]

Mm. You've given the matter some dedicated thought, I see.

[frogfractions]

I told you before I was a follower. My leader, Saint-Germain - she has strong ideals. I believe in those ideals, think about all the ways she's right. Maybe it's wrong that I got them second-hand, especially considering I was born with some power myself, but...

[She shrugs, a little.]

There's nothing for it. I believe what I believe, basically.

[horsepowered]

[Now Saint-Germain is a familiar name. But that's all it is, a name that could have a million interpretations.]

What are the ideals that she articulates?

[frogfractions]

The end of oppression. No one person is born above another, and no one person deserves to be used or controlled by someone stronger than them. It's a little similar to some of the revolutionary ideas here, actually, just more evolved. No discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race, nationality, class.

[She chews on how to explain the more, ah, esoteric parts of her goals -]

And open communication. [Technically correct, though this is less freedom from censorship and access to an open forum and more 'literally, we want there to be a universal language again, like we had before the whole Tower of Babel story.'] That's a little less common, in these times. [What with the guillotine, and the hunting down of 'anti-revolutionaries.']

She's a very inspiring person. She took a clown like me and gave me a goal. But she runs a little too hot. Basically, she wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut if she saw an injustice, even if it'd ruin the timeline.