IC Info Winter 517 Calendar

[Chameleon]

Winter 517 AV Calendar

As the world holds their breath to see whether Winter will come, Alvadas finds they can't get rid of it. Snow, snow and more snow attacks the city, although with the changing borders, the illusion of Winter has started to fray at the edges...

Fall's calendar.

Quick Glance

1st: Heavy snowfall leaves the city freezing and even more impossible to navigate. Large amounts of people remain trapped inside houses.
10th: Twisted-Streeters have cleared the streets enough to make travel easier
17th: Whales appear in the Patchwork Port
28th: A Winter's Fair is thrown [P]
35th: People finally are able to return to the Underground
39th: A Listener is trapped in the Underground [M]
42nd: An entire day of daytime
43rd: An entire day of nightime
52nd: A cow race is held
66th: The Rainbow Shells freezes over
68th: A party is held at the Surf and Turf
80th: Wells start to run dry
85th: Protests for something to be done about the lack of water.
86th: A party leaves to find water [M]
90th: Déjà vu day

Key:
[M] Moderated event.
[P] Prompt.

The Costume Box
Info: Here you can find some helpful illusions, scenarios, items and ideas for free use in roleplay. The items listed below are not date-specific!

Half a flute combined with half a harp
Chamberpots start disappearing
Two Isur and an immigrant walk into a room
A mask that's made from snow
A purple platypus
A wannabe lawyer who can't stop singing
An Akvatari with a broken wing *Credit to Karyk
A scarf that strangles anyone near it *Credit to Karyk
A broken parasol *Credit to Prophet
A shyknado *Credit to Karyk, Tierra and Prophet
An incredibly spicy kebab *Credit to Karyk
A scroll glyphed with air reimancy and some foul smelling herbs *Credit to Prophet

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

At the break of the season, Alvadas finds itself under an invasion of snow. Snowflakes, varying from the size of a nail to a human head, start to fall, increasingly heavy, as the day goes on. In certain houses, there's snow coming from the ceilings too, so if you don't find yourself snowed in, you'll find yourself snowed out instead. A thick layer covers the city for the rest of the season.

Those who find themselves out at night (or trapped outside, because of the snow) find the Twisted-Streeters are out more than ever, clearing pathways between the buildings, and within a few days, there are several chiselled out routes linking buildings together.

Travel becomes even harder than usual, and most find they can only reach a few buildings at any one time - to get where they need to go, they need to sit tight and hope the buildings will shuffle around to how them need them to be soon. By the 10th, things become easier, although less frequented areas of Alvadas are still hard to travel through.

A Winter's Fair...

Despite the cold weather and inconvenience that the snow brings, the city decides to celebrate at the apparent return of Winter by throwing a fair in Morwen's honour. On the 28th, a small square, practically cleared of snow, appears on everyone's path, presenting them with a neat arrangement of stalls set up around the edge and a frozen fountain in the middle.

Here, people can buy warm pies, mulled wine, blankets and winter clothing, play games, socialise with others and simply enjoy themselves in the winter climate that the rest of the world is missing out on. Everything seems merry and cheerful, but at nightfall, a sudden blizzard forces everyone to flee back home.

Look here!

Flames Below

All entrances to the Underground are lost under the deep slow for the first part of the season, only emerging on the 35th and later. Those who venture below find the scenery drastically different to above: instead of snow and ice, the Underground is scorching hot, and the majority of it seems to be on fire. Lava pools and hot springs are also common.

Vigilance is up as people believe the firefighter that appeared last season will make an appearance and try stop the flames in the Undergound. One such is Listener from the city, who finds themselves trapped after heavy snowfall blocks their exit. A small group of people find themselves recruited (or accidentally caught up) in trying to figure out where the listener has gone. They are sworn to secrecy and the identity of the Listener is held at the utmost importance.

(This will be a Moderated Event, which you can sign up to, using the correct form, in my office. Limited spaces available! Note: Although you do not need to have the lore of the Underground to sign up, PCs without it will find themselves encounter certain... difficulties.)

The Life of a Farmer

The majority of those who set up a farm in the previous season find themselves unsure what to do with the land during the Winter, especially with the thick layer of snow on the ground. Some start desperately working the fields again, and call for labourers to help them work the soil, in hope that the strange crops grown last season will return. Others sit back and relax, believing nothing will grow in winter.

Two neighbouring farmers, both with a small plot of land, decide that crops aren't the way to go and instead decide to purchase as many cows as they can and on the 52nd, they host a cow race around the edge of their land. Some people simply let off their cows in a hope they know where to go, others rent out a cow and attempt to ride it, while a few brave racers decide to race themselves, and run between the cows.

The farmers charge 2GM per entry, of any form, and 5GM for those wanting to rent a cow. Although they have a winner's pot of 50GM, they still find themselves making more than any other Alvads aspiring to be farmers.

Ice, Ice, Baby

With the illusionary cold, the top layer of water over Alvadas' Charbosi freezes over on the 66th. The thick layer of ice traps the sea dwelling creatures underneath, as well as freezing a lost ship into place. Melting it seems to have an effect, as does breaking it apart with chisels and other tools. Those who wish to help are allowed to do so, and pickaxes and similar tools are provided to those without their own.

After two days of work, a significantly large enough hole is drilled out and as a thank you to those who helped, the Charoda host a party at the Surf and Turf, and the Alvads gather to enjoy the free entertainment and the (not so free) drinks.

The younger members of Alvadas also see the ice as an opportunity for fun, and by the 70th, the entire area transforms into giant ice rink with plenty of people making their own skates, or selling and renting them out to those interested.

City-Wide Illusions

On the 42nd, the city experiences an entire day of day, Syna apparently refusing to set. Additionally, no one feels sleepy and find themselves getting everything they needed to get done in that 24 bell long day. On the next day, the 43rd, everything swap rounds, and a blue moon watches a city trapped in night for 24 bells. Most people feel very sleepy, although those who do stay up find the night sky seemingly rearranging itself to form constellations in honour of them.

With the expansion of the city still taking place, works done of the new wall and with the removal of the old every day, the borders of Alvadas start to shift and it becomes uncertain where they start and end. Certain areas of Alvadas that find themselves near the borders suddenly lose their illusions for periods of time ranging from a few bells to several days, while other strips of land outside the city's walls gain illusions for brief moments.

One such illusion is in the Patchwork Port, on the 17th, when giant whales appear and begin to jump between the boats. Some of these look vaguely familiar, and someone finally realises that they've already befriended these whales, back in Spring 516 when the buildings transformed into them.

Parched Throats

As the season progresses, people start to find that despite all the snow, their wells and creeks are growing emptier and emptier. Attempts to drink using melting snow is futile, as instead of leaving liquid, the snow simply evaporates if heated enough. Most people don't find it too much of an issue in their everyday lives until about the 80th, when suddenly, Alvadas find massive queues of people gathering to fetch water from the larger wells.

After protests on the 85th for action to take place, the Speakers hold a performance in which they ask for a group of able-bodied men and women to form a group and set out in search of water. A small party set out on the next day, heading out towards the mountains of Kalea in search for water.

On their journey, they soon stumble across an unnatural seeming brook, and further investigations are organised.

(This will be a Moderated Event, which you can sign up to, using the correct form, in my office. Limited spaces available!)

The empty wells that are left behind also become sources of interest for those looking for junk and treasure dropped in the depths. Those willing to risk it propel themselves to the bottom of wells in hope to find money that had once fallen in the waters, but instead end up in the Underground, in a pile where everything that has once fallen down a well has ended up. Perhaps there are some treasures... but there's also far worse things down there.

Déjà Vu

On the 90th, the illusions within the city seem to be different for every person. At some point during the day, they find themselves in a position that is almost identical to one they have almost experienced, down to the people around them (which, if the actual person is unavailable, are simply other PCs or NPCs with an illusion that makes them resemble whoever they are filling in for.) Everyone is given a chance to replay the events of whenever they find themselves, or learn from their mistakes and play the day out differently.

(PM me, Chameleon, if you have any questions about this. This'll give you the chance to rewrite those old threads anew to see how your PC - and you, too - have changed since then. Or explore past events. Or anything, really!)

Those who find themselves reliving the day are certain something like this has happened to them before... Although they can't quite be certain.

_________

Seasonal Challenges Winter 517

Note: Completing these challenges will allow you to receive the Alvadas Seasonal Challenge Badge. Those who currently hold the badge are: Sayana & Aislyn Leavold. This season, there are three categories. Out of these three categories, you need to pick two challenges. Each must be covered in individual threads, but there is no minimum word count. Once completed, post a list complete with links in my office.

Multiplayer-character challenges: Must be completed with another PC).

• Visit a party, fair, festival or similar such event
• Feature two things from the Costume Box in your thread
• Have a [1- snowball fight] [2- ice skating competition] [3- warm drink together] *
• Meet someone new in an embarrassing way

Skill-based challenges:

• Gain an "unusual" skill
• Learn a completely different skill to use in your job thread
• Have your PC attempt to improve their lowest skill
• Attempt at skill your PC's [1- parent] [2- best friend] [3- enemy] excels at *

PC-development challenges:

• Find something that only your PC would consider as treasure
• Complain about [1- the cold] [2- being thirsty] [3- a lack of illusions] *
• Have your PC adapt to the snowy weather
• Have deep thoughts late at night

*(Roll a 3-sided die in chat if you want a random selection)