OOC Info [OOC] The Concilium

[Madeira Dusk]

MURDER MYSTERYYYYYYYY!!!!

Oh my god this is so good! What an action packed season! I'm signing up for everything and if some one wants to join Mads (a master investigator, which might come in handy) for some sleuthing let me know!

[Luminescence]

Glad to see you on board, Mads! For everyone else, if you're interested in this event, please let me know ASAP; I will be trying my best to get the thread up in the next week or two since most of your solo investigations will rely on information from the meeting.

Also, if you haven't, please do take a look at the most recent Founder's Announcement about exploring the wilds and the Wilderness Survival skill. I know the Unforgiving is tempting and many of you are interested in exploring it, so keep this in mind as I will be expecting you all to adhere to these guidelines, and will act accordingly if I see people doing otherwise. As always, if you have any questions, just shoot me a PM.

[Ennisa]

Hey all, I just wanted to poke my head in and say hi, also that I've really been enjoying reading people's threads here. great job everyone.

[Madeira Dusk]

Aha! You've finally stepped out of your cave, I see. And I thought I was the hermit here.

If any of you guys have a chance to jump in on her threads (there's a new "pm to join"!) I highly suggest you take the opportunity. She has a wonderful knack for dialogue and lively, vivid characters. All her thread plots have been unique and every post goes down like a refreshing glass of water. A+ thread partner.

[Fabell]

Thank you all lovely people for welcoming me into this community, both in the forums and on Discord. I will be trying my hand with a Benshira in the beautiful city of Lhavit, primarily because the city is just so different from where he grew up that he really wants to experience something new and amazing.

I did have some questions about Lhavit, so I'm hoping some of you Lhavit loremasters can fill me in so that my posts can be more well-informed.

1. According to the Atlas, there are around 9,000 people currently living in Lhavit. However, this is also somewhat after the Day of Discord, which happened primarily because of the terror the Anchorite and the Towers put over the people, turning a majority of them into slaves, and murdering who knows how many. Am I right to assume that prior to the events when Syna and Leth returned to the city during their 10 year travels, there were actually more people living there? I'm trying to get my bearings for the size of the city because according to the Atlas map, it seems like the population should be far above 9,000 (which is approximately the size of a small medieval town like Spello, Italy, when in fact the map looks closer to the size of a larger town like Assisi, which is around 28,000 people today.

2. How long would it reasonably take to traverse one of these skybridges? Are we talking about a bridge that literally connects mountains, or are we talking a singular mountain that has five peaks on that same mountain with some short bridges that people can take a stroll across?

3. In the Atlas the fierce wind and rain are mentioned as having some relatively serious effects on the population. Is this something that is a constant trial for people on a daily basis (especially when crossing bridges, as they might need to in their daily work), or is it aided by the Towers (specifically air-based reimancy)?

4. How does Lhavit handle people who don't have work (specifically those who don't want to work)? Do the houses have specific programs for people who refuse to work (like they refuse to do gardening), who are unable to work (mental illness or debilitation), or do they just put them on a ship and ship their problems to other cities?

I also have a couple of finicky weird questions, but I'm not sure where else to ask them. They aren't important to my character or how I will write, but they are curiosities. Also please tell me if I need to stop asking these kinds of questions (I often get in trouble for my questions):

5. How are okomo culled/managed, especially if the animals start to reproduce too much? Is this purely managed by the Sharai, or do people also keep okomo at home as "members" of their family (such as the Benshira)?

6. Is climbing the mountain-range that the city sits on prohibited by law, incredibly dangerous, or a hobby of sorts for people?

7. Is Lhavit considered a warm city? From the map it looks to be quite temperate (almost like the cool weather of San Francisco), as the far north (Avanfal, in Taldera, for example) seem snowed over, while at the base of the continent there is desert (which again, assumed that there may be land somewhat to the south of Mizahar, if the planet operates according to a pole system).

8. The mists of Lhavit might work similar to how the Santa Cruz Mountains operates in California (forgive this reference - it's close to what I know). Would this be accurate, and therefore for most of the morning Tranquil Port might actually be covered in that same fog as it rolls through the hills and past the mountains?

[Ennisa]

Great questions Fabell. I'll be keeping an eye on those. I would also like to say that I will be away from Mizahar for approx. 10 days from today, as I'm going on a hiking trip, so I can reply in about 2 weeks time.

[Luminescence]

Have a good trip, Ennisa.

Fabell, to answer your questions;

1. While the citizens weren't treated super well prior to the Day of Discord during the absence of Aysel and Talora, it's not as if thousands of them were killed over the 10 or so years that Aysel and Talora were absent. The population would have been about consistent with what it is currently, give or take a few hundred; at most perhaps a thousand. It wasn't a period of left and right murder, simply intense class division.

You also have to remember that the population of Miz as a whole is, in general, fairly small; people are still repopulating after the Valterrian. Also, a large territory doesn't necessarily indicate a huge amount of people...just look at Canada.

2. The bridges connect peaks. Traversing them, depending on which bridge it is, how much foot traffic there is, how fast you walk, etc. would probably anywhere from 20 minutes to about an hour.

3. While it is common weather it is not constant, especially over the past few years since the weather is out of whack with Morwen's dissappearance. You'll also notice every season I specify the type of weather the city will get in the calendar. The bridges are entirely closed in, and reimancers would not waste their time and effort trying to combat weather without serious need to do so.

4. The houses are not the government and couldn't care less. In situations like that, people would likely be taken care of by their family. There is no official program for people unable to work in the city, but homelessness is not allowed in Lhavit; in serious circumstances where someone is seriously ill (ie physically cannot work) and has no family to care for them, the Constellations would likely arrange for something on a per case basis.

Those who simply don't want to work are unfortunately going to need to get over themselves. Everyone in Miz needs to work in some way to ensure their survival, and this is not unique to Lhavit.

5. Okomo are not culled. Killing one is a serious offense; they are sacred animals. The people who work at the Villa manage them to an extent, but largely they are left to their own devices when it comes to breeding and their population is not overly managed.

Okomo are not kept as pets, however, if one were to grow fond of someone and largely take up residence near their house, that's the okomo's choice. I wouldn't say that's entirely uncommon since people do like to spoil them.

6. Climbing the Misty Peaks or any area of the Unforgiving isn't illegal, but it is extremely dangerous; the only exception are any paths on the border of the city, and even those aren't 100% safe. That's not to say people don't do it; they do, whether for hobby or job, but it takes a lot of the right skills and it is dangerous.

7. It varies with the seasons. More often than not it is cool, but it can be on the warmer side within the actual city due to all of the skyglass; however they do get snow, and it can get extremely cold in the mountains. Think the Canadian Rockies that transition more into the Himalayas the higher up you go.

SF and the Bay Area probably aren't the most accurate as a comparison; the summers there are likely much hotter than in Lhavit, and the winters not quite chilly enough. It definitely would not be an appropriate comparison for the surroundig wilderness. Again, none of this is really true at the moment since Morwen is gone and the weather is out of order, and as I mentioned I do detail the seasonal weather in my calendars.

8. Fog and mist is not an uncommon thing at all in the city, especially around the Port, however it does also depend on the weather. The image you linked would be a more intense example.

I hope those were satisfactory answers. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Ennisa]

Thank you Madeira for your recent spate of grading! It is super duper appreciated.

[Madeira Dusk]

Does anybody want to do a partner investigation thread tied to the city calendar plot? Now that we have the investigation starting point (explained here, if you missed it) I'd like someone to join me in kicking down Penrose's door and asking what's up. If you're up for some sleuthing please PM me! It doesn't matter if you were not part of the previously linked quest thread, Mads could always fill your PC in or otherwise get them involved.

[Luminescence]

Hi guys!

A bit of an update on events this season; I know it's almost the end of the month (and season) and I apologize for how slow I've been on modded stuff, especially since I wanted to keep events this season going at a faster pace, but unfortunately life happened, which it seems to do a lot lately.

I will be posting a starter for the thread on the Crone's death event this weekend at some point; if you're interested in joining it, please PM me by Friday so that I know who to expect in this thread, because I need to know who to keep updated. The way it will work is similar to the investigations in that while I will be posting the starter, most if not all of the information you receive throughout the thread will be sent to you via PM so that you all can move it along at your own pace.

As far as I'm aware, there are only 2 PCs so far who are actively participating in the investigation, so here's your chance to jump in if you've been debating about it. You don't have to have been in the Midnight Meetings thread to be involved in this one; just let me know by Friday if you're interested.

I hope you've all been having a good season so far! Happy writing, and good luck with the rest of NaNo if you're participating.