The Morning After...

[paraplots]

To think all of five days fluttered away in what might felt like just a day for the residents. Only yesterday the enemy showed its face only to be defeated, and today, the sleeping residents wake to a brave new world.

The castle itself seems much the same if not for that renewed spark of beauty in everything. The glittering veneer has returned. Every sweeping staircase, every turn of the hallway and every glint of sunlight against the windows would take your breath away. Paradisa defines its very name today.

But the greatest change will be felt by those venturing out to the City Royale, now brought centuries back to be reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Even here the air smells of hope and rebirth and the townspeople speak of the recently defeated enemy like an ancient piece of history that they are rightfully proud of. The Steward, they say, is planning to erect a statue to commemorate it but he has been busy on city matters. Far too busy. It can wait.

Paradisa, after all, seems to care little for trivialities such as time.

LINKS: THE CASTLE | CASTLE GROUNDS | CITY ROYALE | Start your own!

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THE CASTLE

[paraplots]

Much is still the same on the surface. The hallways and stairs and lobby haven't been changed as much as they have been renewed, given a fresh breath of life. Everything is vibrant and stunning and it's clear to all who look upon the castle that Paradisa is the vainest being that ever was.

Those who go exploring, however, will find many rooms have been moved about the place, a few taken away and a handful added.

The towers, especially, have each gained a distinct purpose: Pietas tower will be for the bookworms, while the Ortus is for those with their heads in the clouds and the Satis for those with magic in their blood. Impetus tower doesn't tend to be too welcoming, unless you like that sort of thing, while the Terrere tower redefines the meaning of four seasons in a day. Gaudium has a war room and a gym (same difference really) and Ira is your all-in-one stop for getting hammered at the Death Match then spending your hungover mornings at the Clinic. Convenient, right?

CASTLE GROUNDS

[paraplots]

Paradisa, as vain as it is, won't let itself be surrounded by anything less perfect than itself. The grounds surrounding the castle is just as stunning in all its forms. The enchanted forest is awe-inspiring both day and night, the gardens are always meticulously kept and trimmed while the glasshouse shimmers with sunlight and colors.

Some residents may notice a few additional details and a handful of missing locations, but it's a fair trade for such a beautiful landscape surely.

CITY ROYALE

[paraplots]

Residents will be the only ones gawking at the sudden change in the city. The locals may vaguely remember a time when the town was different, with paved roads and indoor plumbing for example, but that was ancient history. Practically a myth.

Any resident-owned property will also find its facilities rendered useless. Water won't be coming up the pipes and there's simply no electricity to power anything. Some buildings may even revert to stone walls and thatched roofs to match the neighbors. But stop fretting about your shower not starting and step on out!

The air is fresh with renewal and the townsfolk are friendly and there's fresh bread baking along the craftsmen district and the finest dresses and shirts to be found in the merchants' street. Farther out, the land turns idyllic with smiling farmers tilling soft soil and milkmaids looking up to greet you as you pass them. What's indoor plumbing compared to paradise?

[rapscalliongirl]

Since she arrived just today, just a few hours ago, she doesn't know anything about the castle. So she was exploring, by running (actually jogging, to her) up and down the corridors, grabbing walls (and maybe leaving hand prints) at the corners when she turns.

But suddenly, when she's bouncing down another corridor (not even noticing that she passed her own room for the seventh time that hour) on the second floor, she felt a shift in the air, and she had to stop. She leaped to the wall and spun around, stopping in the middle of the corridor. Just for the sake of taking deep breaths to see what this new new scent is.

"Interesting..."

[lucre]

[ Lucrezia tells herself that it is her thirst for the familiar during this dark time that has her rushing to the stables as soon as she notices the change. So here she is, grooming then saddling one brown Andalusian, a mighty horse fit for a prince. Her brother's, once. She goes through the routine mindlessly, her thoughts straying far away as she brushes one side of the animal for much too long.

Otherwise, she can be found trotting toward the enchanted forest dressed in Tyrian purple and matching leather gloves, colors too dark compared with her usual reds. But she loathes all manner of black. With her head so weighed by concern, it's possible she may nearly run you over. ]

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer's first thought upon finally coming out of the dozy haze she'd found herself in was clinic. If the castle had changed, perhaps other things had, too. However, she was still drowsy, so she wished herself up a coffee, leashed up Blue and let Marie out of her Poke Ball, then journeyed down to the City, toward her clinic.

She could tell right away that things had changed here, too. The townsfolk were nice enough, but she felt suddenly out of place. Everything seemed different. More ancient, even. Marie didn't notice; she cheerfully greeted people as they passed, and chattered to Jennifer as they went to the clinic.

The clinic- or the building that stood where it was supposed to be- definitely looked different from the outside. Stone walls. Jennifer fumbled in her pocket for the key, turned it in the lock- and opened it to nothing like she was expecting.

Her clinic was gone. Torches in the walls, a bare dirt floor... nothing remained of the familiarity of the building. There was a thud as Jennifer's journal dropped out of her pocket, and she also dropped her coffee from shock.]

WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLINIC?!

[Marie and Blue looked hopelessly at their mistress. Feeling as though she were still in a dream, wondering if she'd ever truly woken up, Jennifer began frantically searching the city for her familiar clinic. It had to be here somewhere.]

Re: THE CASTLE

[fearbringer]

[Pitch can be found pretty much e v e r y w h e r e in the castle. He'd tried exploring the night before, but had ended up crashing in his room due to the Sleeping Plague; now, though, he's alert and refreshed and ready for all the exploring.

He's not going around with any particular sense of purpose or method; sometimes he'll spend some time in one tower, then go to another tower halfway across the castle, and then end up in that first tower again. He's doing a lot of backtracking as he gets his bearings, making a mental map of the place. All the while, his shadows dance around him, sliding along the walls, snaking along the ceiling, and curling around corners.]

[OOC: Info on what sorts of characters will be able to see/sense him!]

[fearbringer]

[Spotting the running girl, Pitch silently slips out of the dark corner he's been lurking in and gives chase. So far, he's come across a couple people who've been able to see-- or at least hear-- him, and he's curious about whether this one can, too.]

[OOC: Info on what sorts of characters will be able to see/sense him!]

Re: CASTLE GROUNDS

[fearbringer]

[After covering the castle pretty thoroughly, he heads outside. He would have preferred to go out at night, but he wants to get all his initial exploring done as soon he can. This place is new and weird and seriously lacking in dream sand to corrupt, but other than that, he actually finds it pretty cool. He's wary of the fact that he was brought here without his consent and for unknown purposes, but he's still very curious.

Just like in the castle, he can be discovered anywhere; for the most part he's not really taking the time to stop and smell the roses, preferring to cover as much ground as possible as quickly as possible. If he's still here later, he can do a more in-depth once-over then.]

[OOC: Info on what sorts of characters will be able to see/sense him!]

[fearbringer]

[Pitch is going into every building he can find, so it stands to reason that at some point he'll find himself in the stable. It's possible that the horse will sense his presence even if Lucrezia doesn't-- he's found that animals are often more sensitive to this sort of thing than people are these days.

Right now, he's tucked into a corner, just watching. If he isn't noticed by either human or horse, he'll try something more.]

[OOC: Info on what sorts of characters will be able to see/sense him!]

[rapscalliongirl]

[ She stops sniffing the air for the general scent of the place. She feels like she caught the scent of (and maybe she heard something, she's not quite sure...) someone - or something? - almost similar to something she has come across before... ]

Black rukh..? The medium?

[ she turns, and half expects a huge creature with no similarities to humans, but it's not really what she sees. Despite her more than excellent eyesight, this person is half blurry, as if she's still half asleep. Is he surrounded by a cloud of black rukh, or something? But it's not the butterfly-like energy, is it? ]

No, some magician?

Re: CITY ROYALE

[fearbringer]

[Pitch ends up here after he's explored both the castle and its grounds, and discovers that this is apparently where the action is-- there are far more people here than anywhere else. He also notes how old-fashioned the city looks, as if he were back in the Middle Ages-- and this thrills him. He can be seen all over the place having a grand old time, flitting from person to person: running cold fingers up the backs of their necks, whispering about scary things in their ears, following them just a little too close for comfort.

The only annoying thing is that, when he scares a person and then returns to them later, it's like he had never been there in the first place. He can get a guy all worked up about the dark alley he's walking through, but then ten minutes later he'll be walking through another dark alley like nothing had happened. His fear isn't sticking-- and that's profoundly irritating, because one of the best things about fear is watching it grow and spread on its own after the seed has been planted. Short-term scares are good for short-term fun, but he's been subsisting on that for a while now, and he wants something bigger.

It's a serious shame that these people aren't very good at giving him that.]

[OOC: Info on what sorts of characters will be able to see/sense him!]

[fearbringer]

[He thinks she's seeing him-- there doesn't appear to be anyone else around-- but he's not 100% sure. She might just be talking to herself.

Coming closer, he gives a toothy grin.]

Boo.

[rapscalliongirl]

[ Even though he comes closer, he's still blurry. But no, it's not rukh that is the cause of that.

But as if that would scare her. Her race are all beasts, and Rohroh loves to do that thing this guy just did.

Rohroh looks more evil and dangerous than this weird one.

She grins wide enough to show her sharp fangs, but her grin is unamused. ]

Boo to you too.

[fearbringer]

Oh, how interesting.

[His grin widens.]

What are you?

[rapscalliongirl]

Don't you usually introduce yourself before asking someone that question? What are you?

Besides, it should be obvious what I am.

[ She doesn't know that, while in her world, her race is obvious because of her appearance, it's not known in other worlds. ]

[fearbringer]

It should be obvious who I am, too. You would not be able to see me if you didn't have at least some idea.

[rapscalliongirl]

You're partly see-through, you know. And no, I don't. Some sort of weird black djinn?

[fearbringer]

Then it should be partially obvious who I am.

I'm the Boogeyman.

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley remembers the the dark ages. He hates every waking second of them, they seemed to go on for far too long, and he threw himself a little me-party when humanity finally decided indoor plumbing was a good idea.

And now, now he's back living in it, and he is not amused. And so, he's piling his animals and belongings (most of which currently defunct, as was the case of his poor, sad laptop) into the Bentley, while trying to decide how the balls he's going to drive the thing all the way back up to the castle. ]

Sod this for a game of soldiers.

[rapscalliongirl]

Considering magicians have magic that can make them appear in similar fashion, it shouldn't, actually.

And I've never heard the word.

[ She's unfamiliar with the word, but if she knew what it was, they she would be able to confirm that she believes in him. Fear and nightmares and all that - she's very familiar with things like that, even from before she was a slave. ]

[rapscalliongirl]

[ Razol has found the outsides of the castle, and in a way of exploring it, she's out running. Or jogging. More like lightly walking, maybe. She can hear the sound of something from behind her, more to the right, though, and she slows down and heads that way. A horse? The only ones she knows that uses horses are those from the Kou Empire, and the Kouga clan. So she's not come across too many horses. But it sure has a shiny brown fur.

She jogs up by the side of the horse, and evens her pace with it. She waves a little. ]

Hello~

[rapscalliongirl]

[ She had just been casually (as casual and normal as a young woman in a roman armor with scars all over and flaming red hair can appear in any place that's not her country) but WOAH what ever in the world is that thing? It look so weird.

So she's walking around it, wondering what would happen if she, say, poked it. She noticed the guy by it, of course, but she has seen people before.

This mysterious thing, on the other hand... ]

[lightbranded]

Will begins the day wandering through the castle. After all there were so many new things to see. Eventually he ends up in the kitchen and busies himself making some tea.

If the past was any guide, it wouldn't be long until he had some company.

Lobby

[schrodingersghost]

Danny is standing in the lobby and staring up at that chandelier with some concern.

"If anyone drops that thing? I'm not catching it."