bellelurette | Mesdames et Messieurs, Voilà, C'est Vous

Bievenue

You're wrapped in a soothing, all-encompassing darkness.

Well, perhaps not perfectly all-encompassing -- you can see some slivers of light here and there, just enough to realize that your current space is literally wrapped in something, and that you are a highly customized burrito at the mercy of an entirely too fluffy bed and set of blankets. Moreover: you are definitely not alone.

Depending upon the contents of your bed (two of you, waking up dressed exactly in what you wore last you remember back where each of you came from, in the exact same state as those last moments no matter how illogical or disjointed), it may not be comfortable or feasible to stay cocooned up for much longer. There's a low, muted GONG, GONGG coming from not far away, your bed creaks like a beleaguered ship in an unannounced storm, and it is joined by even more noises of movement beyond the bed canopy as you try to take stock of where you are.

Eventually, you either fall out of bed or drag yourself into this world: your new and strangely crowded personal rooms, the clock insistently sounding out the hour, and the halls and heraldry of the venerable Château Ambregris -- a lavishly decorated and fully furnished version of a more-or-less authentic French castle (assuming you know what France or a castle are).

Left to your own devices for the moment, you may find it helpful to explore the castle for your own purposes, check out the suspicious statues and personalized plaques in the Promenade of Reflexion, or perhaps to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and frankly alarming amount of bread piled up in front of the place settings in the Banquet Hall. (Were you thinking of escaping? Any attempts to leave the property will be met with no forward progress at all, treadmill style). There's just about every kind of loaf, roll, boule, baguette, croissant or even animal-shaped bread you can think of stacked in baskets. There's absolutely nothing else save for plain bread, but at least you won't starve.

[OOC: Welcome to Château Ambregris, a perfectly normal castle receiving perfectly normal guests. Feel free to ask any questions in discord! The NPC Meet & Greet will be later today, March 8 at 6 PM EST/3 PM PST.]

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[She hums in the affirmative, though it's a tight sound.]

You don't happen to know who's responsible, do you?

[ A shake of his head. ]

I do not, though not for a lack of effort on my end.

[ He simply hasn't found anything. ]

[Great. But her ire isn't for him to bear, so she lets it go with a wordless sigh.]

That seems to be the case for all of us.

[Frankly, it's absurd. She doesn't know any of these people. And this many? Just what's going on?]

[ He understands that sigh deep in his bones, and honestly has half a mind to let a similar one out himself. ]

You awoke in the same manner as me, I presume? In a luxurious bed, wrapped up in entirely too many blankets?

Yeah. There was someone else, too.

[And how? She's a light sleeper. Something foul is at play, and if her suspicions are correct, there'll be hell to pay.]

You as well, then.

[ Talk about an awkward awakening. ]

I'd never seen that individual in my life, so imagine my surprise waking up right next to them... It felt akin to a prank.

[ A sick joke, considering the extravagance surrounding them—especially those statues and plaques. ]

[A prank.]

It would've been better if it were a prank. I don't recognize anyone here.

I recognize one. A dear friend of mine, in fact.

[ Though G'raha has yet to see him... hopefully he's alright, and they'll run into one another sooner or later here. Sooner would be much prefered. ]

There is... another, too, though I believe all they share is a name.

[ He smiles, a quick quirk of his lips. ]

[He knows someone here? She blinks while he continues, because that changes things (maybe) with the pattern of strangerhood broken.]

Who?

Urianger Augurelt. The man is quite tall, so you will know him when you come upon him.

[ It's hard to miss a guy that's nearly seven feet tall, after all. ]

As for the other name I recognize... I know of a Tiamat where I hail from, though this one is very obviously different.

[ Truth be told, it might be the woman in front of him if height and the statue are of any indication, but he doesn't want to make assumptions. ]

[She glances vaguely at the statues lining the hallway. At best, she gave the plaques a cursory look, but she does recall a peculiar name attached to an impressive height.

Her eyes flit back to her conversation partner. Different is right: She doesn't know him at all.]

Ice Dragon Tiamat, the future Ice Spirit Lord. That's me. Call me Tia.

'Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tia. You share the name with a great wyrm on my star, so imagine my surprise when I came across that very name here.

[ But she's still a dragon in some form... much to think about later on. ]

My name is G'raha Tia, but you're welcome to call me by G'raha.

Edited (shamefully correcting a typo 2 hours later pls ignore me) 2025-03-09 05:05 (UTC)

A great wyrm . . .

[Her brow creases, less in displeasure and more in thought. A wyrm is very different from a dragon to her, but it's mere coincidence.

She gives him a sharp nod.]

I suppose it's not an uncommon name, judging by yours.

[Tias. They're everywhere.]

[ They sure are. ]

You're certainly right about that! 'Tis quite a common name where I hail from, as it is a part of Miqo'te naming conventions.

[Miqo'te . . . ]

Are you a beastman?

Not quite, though we do have bestial traits.

[ Hmmm... ]

I do believe that in the context of other stars, I very well could be one.

[ So, really, the answer is up to her. ]

[He's quick on the uptake.]

Then you're familiar with the existence of other dimensions.

[ If it weren't for his experiences, he wouldn't have even considered it, but all these different names and different skills and the decor itself... it screams another world to him. ]

I am. I've spent my fair share of time on other stars. Mayhap I'm jumping to conclusions here, but... the way that this mansion feels is akin to that of no longer being on my star.

[Finally, someone else who knows these things.]

If that's what you feel, it's probably true. The real question is how to reverse the summons.

That, I fear, is likely far more complicated than the act of summoning us here.

[ Which he unfortunately knows from experience. ]

So long as we know the destination, it shouldn't be a problem . . . unless you know something?

Edited 2025-03-12 01:05 (UTC)

I have... some experience with traveling between stars. It came with its own host of complications and I imagine that we would run into at least an issue or two here as well, given the sheer number of us that there are.

[She frowns, then sighs.]

I guess that's true. It's easier to travel when it's just yourself.

That it is! For example, what if teleporting someone back to their home were to disrupt the balance in some way? The likelihood of that possibility is much greater the larger our number happens to be.

Balance? At worst, our souls would be sealed in such a way that dampens our powers for traveling so recklessly.

[Like here, which is already odd, because she shouldn't be having such troubles. Her eyes narrow briefly in irritation at the thought.]

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