TDM #7

[vivalamods]

TEST DRIVE #7

The day begins as any other, you’re going about your day, living your life, when, without warning, you feel the world around you shift on its axis. You feel a great tear, welling from the depths of your soul as you are ripped from all you have known. If you’re lucky, you arrive in the wilderness of an unfamiliar world, where the language is foreign and the people are hostile. To make your escape, you must learn some language, flee, and occasionally fight, all to find your way off the floating isles you find yourself on and to the great ocean below, where rebel forces will welcome you.

If you’re unlucky, you materialize within a room full of armed guards and are quickly subdued with charged nets, stripped of your belongings, fitted with strange devices that suppress your powers and pressed into servitude. Your days are unimaginable pain and toil.

Fortunately, even in this world, there is still hope. For the denizens of this world have not given up. And it is for that dream of salvation that the Crimson Corsairs raise their flags and sail - for liberation. Perhaps you are one who has lived their entire life under the oppressive yoke of the Empire. Perhaps you have seen first hand your family and friends cut down by nobles hunting men for sport, or perhaps you have run afoul with the church and barely escaped with your life. No matter your origin, the Corsairs sail for you, for your freedom, for your life. And today, a taste of freedom will be won for all.


ARRIVAL/LIBERATION
With the impending attack on the Vindess Mines, the Corsairs sent in a negotiation team to get the Miners on their side. Although there was some conflict with the pro-Imperial miner leads, most of those on the ground are horrifically mistreated and open to a better life. As such, the Corsairs have reciprocated their allegiance by quietly evacuating their loved ones and relocating them to the Vault. Among these are some Servants and dissidents who had been held in the mining area for penal labor, and are now enjoying their first taste of freedom as they’re quickly loaded onto a Corsair airship.

During the tense hours of the journey, the ship runs silent and dark, with nobody daring breathe a word and with only the gentle groan of the machinery as its carefully guided away from the Isles Above and descends toward the Eternal Ocean. The silence is finally punctuated by an announcement from the Crow’s Nest - Flotsam sighted! Suddenly the entire ship seems to blaze with light and warmth as cheers from the sailors are accompanied by lamps bursting to life, and it is with this relieved and celebratory air that the ship comes in for a landing and a warm welcome at the hands of the Flotsam crew before their handoff to the Vault.


A NEW YEAR DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED

While the official celebration of the New Year has been pushed back to give the Corsairs a chance to complete their mission, there are still muted observations throughout the three cities. Warm food and drink are passed around table and tavern as those who have been left behind quietly ring in the new year, hope in their hearts that the mission will succeed and give them much more reason to celebrate.

While muted, the taverns are bustling as people share food, most homes partaking in a traditional hot pot-style meal where whatever good food they still have on hand can be tossed in and boiled in flavorful broth to feed a large audience. With hope in their hearts and prayers on their lips for the Corsairs engaged in their most daring operation yet, the Crimson Corsairs watch and await the dawn.


NEW YEAR RE-RIGGING

A major Flotsam New Year tradition is to replace as many weathered sails and ropes as possible on the fleet. The Corsairs spend hours during the colder months sewing sails, weaving rope, and forging hooks to keep the fleet in tip-top shape. During the first clear day of the new year, any hapless soul who looks limber and unoccupied will be pressed into service, working with crews for long hours to replace sails, rigging, and other essential pieces that define a ship’s worthiness. It’s not all bad though, those who do help are plied with copious amounts of grog and food after the job is done.


WHAT’S NEW YEAR WITHOUT A BIT OF GAMBLING?

With a New Year comes bonuses! The Corsairs don’t have much, but it is still customary to give out bonuses to Corsairs who do well. The sums aren’t necessarily much, but they go a long way for the Corsairs with family hoping to get a few luxuries off the black markets of Elysium. For those without such obligations, however, well, there’s always poker. The taverns of Flotsam are bustling with ne’er do wells looking to burn through their new lucre with a game of cards, or perhaps acquire more of said lucre from unsuspecting marks. Care to try a hand? Just be warned, Corsairs play for keeps.


WILDCARD

Have an idea for your own prompt? Feel free to make any prompt that you think would fit!

OOC
Welcome to the seventh Test-Drive Meme for Viva La! All threads here may be considered canon once characters have entered the game. Threads here are eligible for use as a roleplay sample for applications, which will open on the 15th of December at midnight.
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[theriflespiral]

She nods. "I'll look into it once I'm..."

She hastily reconsiders, having heard his methods, on saying more mobile, and instead chooses, "Once I'm healed."

Then... "And if you need particular Imperial medical supplies after that, I can help. They'll know me as Nathalie."

[heaven_rooted]

Tsuyukusa fixes her with a knowing look. "Should I carry you back?" Probably wouldn't be very dignified, being brought in like a sack of flour, but he's hauled people twice her size in that very manner. That's when he's being nice.

"Heh. Imperial supplies. Well, I guess bandages and that sort of thing is something you can't have too much of on hand. I prepare all the medicines I use myself, otherwise."

[theriflespiral]

"Ah, I see. Compounding, then?" Medicinal herbs for extraction wouldn't be too hard a task, now that she's thinking about it; almost perfect for Penguin, which specializes in guaranteed delivery of small packages. But if he finds and compounds them himself, then there's a level of trust she'd need to gain in regards to quality.

... And so-- "If it salves your conscience. I probably have enough energy to get back, but then, I thought I had enough energy to travel, so what do I know?"

[heaven_rooted]

"Good question."

He eyes her at that. "Considering you just fell asleep sitting here, you seriously need to reevaluate your energy levels." Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one else has hurt themselves in the time he's been dealing with her, Tsuyukusa holds a hand out.

"Well, if you're ready. I'll walk you back, just to make sure you don't go collapsing on your face."

[theriflespiral]

She stares at the hand for a long second, then takes it, and slides off the crate as if accepting a dance on stage. "Let's go."

And then, as soon as she moves, the illusion shatters; she's there enough to not drag her feet but is otherwise taking it a bit slow.

[heaven_rooted]

That's already too long, and Tsuyukusa's reassessing whether he should just toss her over a shoulder already or not.

For a while he humors her, letting Natalia set the pace. Of course, he only has so much patience, and it'd be a bit pointless if she exhausts herself before getting back to the city.

[theriflespiral]

She does get on the march, as if reading his face and irritation, though she has to control her breathing and marshal her Ether to do it.

Why the hells that's her first instinct is likely a very interesting story which she is not telling right now.

[heaven_rooted]

They continue for a while. Some of the Corsairs who have had close encounters of the Tsuyukusa-kind look a bit nervous as the two pass by, pointedly making sure their work takes them in the opposite direction.

The portal's still a way's off, and Tsuyukusa's next action is quite out of the blue as he suddenly lifts a hand to simply try tapping at the side of Natalia's head. Just a test, given all the concentration she's putting into just keeping mobile.

[theriflespiral]

It's automatic. She doesn't move out of the way or stop, but she does, for a fraction of a second, lift her free hand in response and breathe in as hard as she dares--

Before remembering who Tsuyukusa is, clenching that fist and intentionally setting it down. If he wanted to make another inspection, surely that was a medic's prerogative.

[heaven_rooted]

"Huh."

Well, that's an interesting response. Tsu's not quite sure what to make of it though. The young woman seems to have quite a bit drilled into her. He sighs. Moving on reflex even on low reserves was going to get her killed if she wasn't careful.

He moves to step in front of her, his expression neutral as he means to have her stop.

"Do you know how the Crimson Portals work?"

[theriflespiral]

Natalia pauses, looks up, nods, and begins with, "The Etheric Ocean states that with the proper spell..."

Then, she stops, both because this is not information to be stated in public, and it's certainly not what Tsu is getting at. "This is not what you are asking. I understand how to use them, yes, and could review the principles, if you like."

[heaven_rooted]

The half-blooded planetouched snorts in mild amusement.

"No thanks. And no, that wasn't what I was asking." He folds his arms again. "It's all Ether-based, yes. But it responds with the Ether of the person going through. If you're focusing all yours on just trying to set one foot in front of the other, what's left to help push you through the portal?"

[theriflespiral]

"When told to march, I march," she puts simply. "I have good control over-- back home, it was called internal energy. 'Personal Ether', I suppose, is the equivalent here. I need more energy to walk than stand... but then..."

"the Currents are orders of magnitude stronger than any human's Ether, so surely I could... but that wouldn't resolve the lack of reserves, simply restore them to back before... And that's if the Currents don't sweep me up entirely..." She's actually calculating if she can do this.

[heaven_rooted]

Tsuyukusa's expression flattens again. He runs a hand over his face. "Tch, you're overcomplicating this."

That's about all the warning he gives before stepping closer with the full intent to try and pick her up.

[theriflespiral]

Thankfully, occupying her with both the nerd bomb of getting somewhere else, and the problem of remaining ambulatory, has just about managed to keep her from realizing Tsuyukusa is about to do what he's doing until he does it.

That said not long into hauling her around, she does say a muffled, "So I could probably do it."

[heaven_rooted]

He's a little surprised for the lack of protest as puts her over a shoulder like she weighs little more than a pillow. The maneuver draws more than a few curious looks and some cautiously amused commentary, confirmations from stories they'd only heard, of Tsuyukusa hauling drunks twice his size in such a manner, tossing them into the ocean to help sober them up- a rumored pastime of his.

"Don't gamble with things like that. It's either you can or you can't, or you end up bouncing back or collapsing on the other side." A malicious but brief smirk tugs at his face, revealing his sharper canines. "Or pulled apart. Who knows. Devices like those only manipulate Ether into doing specific things and usually under the expectations that whatever or whoever's interacting with them are at some baseline." Honestly, that's the best way he understands such artificial creations. He's no tech-head and doesn't really care to figure out the specifics.

"Anyway, if it doesn't feel like enough's getting us through, I'll supplement it."

[theriflespiral]

"see that's the thing, the main effort's in converting corporeal to incorporeal ether, once you've overcome that boundary, you're in the Currents..." She blinks-- "Wait. Where are we goin'?"

[heaven_rooted]

"Portal. Elysium? That's what you said, right?" he asks, still keeping a steady pace.

[theriflespiral]

"-- I thought we were going back to hospital?" ... Thankfully, similar directions up to now. "The ward?"

[heaven_rooted]

"Would you be more inclined to stay there? Or wherever you're quartered?" he asks. "Or would you be more tempted to move around knowing things were slightly more accessible for the latter?"

[theriflespiral]

"I'm quartered in a bare flat with no accessories and a cheap Ether stove. So long as I've something to read, I'll be fine in the ward." At the very least, she's learned escape in her current state is impossible, and getting from her flat to Penguin would be difficult.

[heaven_rooted]

Tsuyukusa considers that, nodding. "At least you've got people over there too. All right then." One less thing to fuss about.

"I'll have someone run some books up for you later, if that's all you want."

[theriflespiral]

"For now, yes. ... I'd ask for magic theory and spellcasting basics, but I think if I tried to learn a martial art in this state you would tie me to the bed."

[heaven_rooted]

"Yep."

Not even a moment to consider.

Books though... That means a trip to the Vault. Tsu makes a face at that. Well, can't be helped. So long as it keeps her from going anywhere herself, which is really the point.

"Magic theory and spellcasting basics, huh?" he murmurs, committing it to memory. "You trying to learn anything specific?"

[theriflespiral]

"... I'm surprised. I'm becoming of the opinion that most spellcraft, as it is practiced on Esthere, are martial arts and the fruits of hard work under a different color, not at all like pacts or high-level formations." She pauses.

"As for specifics... Principles and properties of ice-type Ether. Anything you can find on curses on a person's Ether. And especially any texts on supernatural martial arts."