Pig Boy

[Pig Boy]

Syroa

[Pig Boy]

Despite the chill of the night and the impending darkness of Cylus, Zi’da is a season filled with celebration and hope. The cool night air brings families together before a warm fire to tell stories. Various traditions have developed over time with emphasis on family including the lighting of special heritage candles, gathering in temples to offer thanks to patron Immortals, great feasts, and the occasional exchange of thoughtful gifts. Periods of time, or a single night, are spent honoring this idea of unity, friendship, and family.

Parents tuck their children into bed the night before these celebrations with promises of sweets and trinkets to play with come morning. It is this hope that has crafted some of the most enchanting stories about one beautiful, generous woman. These stories have multiplied over arcs with little agreement on how she looked and acted. It was the children that helped give her life. Their dreams portrayed an image of a young woman decorated with bright baubles and theatrical jewelry. She had glittering eyes that shined with life, and her face always carried a smile. She was capable of casting magic that appeared as glitter dust from her palms. Ponies, dancers, soldiers, and various other magical things would be made from this glitter dust, dancing around the scenes the young dreamers made.

Myths of Saoire’s creation has circulated throughout Idalos in ages past, when her origins and nature were less known. Since giving to Idalos the gift of her children, the Cadouri, people around Idalos have gotten to know better her ways and her generosity.

Sightings of her are spoken of during Zi’da. She is a thin woman with pale skin. Her hair is always neatly tucked up beneath a crown that changes with each appearance. Sometimes, her head is adorned with glistening orbs of varying colours or small parcels that she will take down to give to a small child. Other times, the bristles of the fir tree branches are decorated with red holly berries, vibrant fruits, and pinecones. Her arrival to an area is always accompanied by the smell of warmth, spices, and juniper. She is quick to arrive and quick to disappear, providing gifts and wisdom to those that she visits.

Once the celebrations come to an end, Saoire steals herself back to Emea to watch the mortals of Idalos - her children - with anticipation of her next visit. New stories are generated of her to share the following arc. This season provides a glimmer of light in a world often too overwhelmed with fear, war, and dismay.

Welcome to the fourth annual holiday event! The Staff of Standing Trials are overjoyed to bring you this event to celebrate the various traditions around the world and we'd like to recognise the work of Nymph, Rumour, Munchkin, Pegasus, and Tio who have hosted previous events. This year, Avalon, Pig Boy, and Pegasus are teaming up to organise this!

We invite player characters (no more than 3 sign-up characters per player) to sign up for our Secret Gifter event before December 8th. The Secret Gifter event involves an In Character "random act of kindness" towards another player. Your name will be placed into a lottery where you will be secretly paired up with another participant for you to give a gift to (your Secret Character). A different character will give you a gift. You will receive the name of your Secret Character no later than December 10th, and you will be asked to give a gift to the character that you are matched up with.

This year, we will be dividing players based on their choice of whether they wish to receive their gift Face to Face or From Afar.

• For those that are interested in receiving their gifts in-thread directly from their gifter, we encourage you to sign up for the Face to face Option. These threads are eligible for both skill points and knowledge, as long as the usual review requirements are met. Please note that distance is not an issue here, IC, there will be a starter post from one of us which puts the two PCs together in a current city. At the end of the thread, both pc's will be returned to where they were.
• For those who would like Saoire to deliver their gift as a "random act of kindness", you may select the From Afar Option where you will have a single post detailing the gift you are receiving. You may simply use that thread as a link for your acquisition of the item(s) or you may reply. These threads are not eligible for XP unless they are close to the recommended thread length.

You may participate with up to three characters - but it is important that we know who you play, so please fill the form in carefully. You can't gift yourself things!

PLEASE NOTE:
1. The person your PC is giving a gift to is not and can not be the person who you will receive a gift from.
2. The Option you choose (Face to Face or From Afar) will determine the nature of the thread where you receive your gift. If your Secret Character (ie: the pc you are giving a gift to) has chosen the "Face to Face" option - you will be in a thread with them. Therefore, please only sign up if you are willing to accept the wishes of the person you are giving a gift to and are prepared to be involved in a thread with them, if they choose that option. There is no time frame on when you must complete that thread, but normal rules re: posting in the current season or placeholders apply.

Gifts must be:

• An item or group of items which you either pay for with WP, already own (in your CS) or craft yourself.
• Other (with permission from Munchkin & Pegasus)

The timeline for this is as follows:
1. You sign up here before December 8th.
2. You receive a PM with your gift recipient (Secret Character) by December 10th.
3. You then PM (on site, please, not Discord) Pegasus & Munchkin with a description of your gift (and a link showing where you got it / made it - this might be just a link to your CS) by December 19th. Participants who do not provide their gift before this date will not be able to receive their own gift.
4. Pig Boy & Pegasus & Avalon (possibly with some help from our elves... the National Elf Service) - will post on the 20th December.
-- For the Face to Face Option - we will post a brief starter post putting the 2 pcs together. This will be machinated by Saoire, and when completed can be reviewed as normal.
-- For the From Afar Option - we will post a single post per recipient which details your gift. If you choose to extend this appropriately, this can be reviewed as normal.

Questions? Ask them on our Saoire Holiday Event: Chat and Q&A thread!

For those who participate, you will receive two out of three medals upon completion of your portion.
1. An event medal
2. A "From Afar Gifting" medal - for those who chose to receive their gifts in this option.
3. A "Face to Face Gifting" medal - for those who chose to receive their gifts in this option.

On the 20th, we will put up a thread for you to post in to claim these medals as threads complete.

Please comment below with the code provided to sign-up for our event!

Code: Select all

[style=max-width: 490px; background-color: #228b22; padding: 30px 30px 30px 30px; margin: auto;margin-top: -20px; font-size: 13px; color: #ffffff;][googlefont=Roboto][align=justify][b]Name:[/b]
[b]City of PC Location in Zi'da 720:[/b]
[b]Receiving My Gift Option:[/b] Face to Face or From Afar
[b]CS Link:[/b]
[b]Special Notes:[/b] Include any character likes and dislikes here. 
[b]Excluded PCs: [/b] Please list here all your PCs who are / might sign up, so we know. Thanks![/align][/googlefont][/style]

[Pig Boy]

Bloody Ashan

[Pig Boy]

The Sleeping Heart

[Pig Boy]

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[Pig Boy]

Syroa

Lickety lick.

[Pig Boy]

► Show Spoiler

The moment that Faith laid down the Oasis beneath them, something shifted in the air. Jasper would feel it in a potent release of ephemeral energies. All around them, if he indulged his spirit sight, it would nearly blind him in that moment. Yet something compelled him to give in. It was his choice whether to turn on his spiritual sight. Eldloga had no opinion to venture on that matter, neither to object nor to encourage. He seemed to be in the throes of ephemeral overload.

As the heartbeat reverberated through the chamber, Faith, Padraig, and Jasper alike would hear a voice between their ears. Like a palpitation out of the rhythm of the Heart they'd previously heard, it would echo through their minds.

I am Strong,
You are Weak.

The Aukari that were left, besides the dead royal guard, all were of a mind about what to do. While they were impressed by this show of power by Faith, they were more frightened of how Faldrun would punish them should their failure reach his ears. The Commander brandished his burning blade, and caressed it with a master level stroke of magic. It burned with the brightness of the sun, and the power of the Al'deum mark. At that moment, there was little that could extinguish the flaming brand he bore before himself. When Faith turned her back on them, and began to walk over toward the spot where the Royal Couple were held, she'd find the Dragonlings hissed and retreated, sly in their movements and circling around toward the shadows. Their amethyst eyes shone with untold malice.

The Aukari Commander led the charge, and was met as expected by a blast of powerful water. Yet he held his blade in front of him, the combined deference and heat of the sword burning away at the water, creating a mist of steam. Water poured all around, hitting the other Aukari full in the chest, leaving him alone on his feet, struggling against the elemental fury of Lovalus.

The water trickled all along the ground, soaking it, and scouring the blood of the fallen. It trickled into grooves in the stonework, which followed along in an intricate network of siphons all around the floor.

You Have Blood in Plenty,
But I am the One Who Bled.

Faith could reach through the flesh leftover from the dragonling's afterbirth. There appeared to be a series of releases that needed to be figured out, through their link, Faith would easily be able to communicate the complex machinery to Padraig. Eldloga called to Jasper then, and spoke, "Guard them, Augur. My friendly fire shall keep the Castaway Heart at bay... Hold my Aspergillum to the ceiling."

Now, Ephemeral Waters kick up the filth of ages, Sacrifices of the Long and New Dead.

A growling resumed from deep beyond the stone chamber. In each of the party's mind's eye, they could see a glowing red fissure, which appeared to be a wound almost, in the chest of a great scaled beast.

I Awaken with the Stench
of the Conquerer's Grandspawn on my nostrils.
Cierel's Get was wise to snatch him away.

Before their eyes, flashed scenes of the battle that Varlum was participating in. Just moments here or there, nothing to give an opinion of how the fight was going, but the general thrust of Varlum fighting alongside Faldrun.

In my Inevitable Hunger, I Would glut myself
upon the very Bones of Idalos had she not.

The ground shook, as the party busied themselves about the task. Still the Commander raged and raged against the blast of water, creating more furious blasts of steam. They scalded his hands as he fought against it, but he was not able to make a footfall closer to Faith's position.

As it is, my kindred shall sup on the creations of his offspring.

How... Poetic.

The following words were for Faith alone, which by their link Padraig also picked up on. And she would find the royal couple beneath them, in a small latch that separated them by stone. All she needed do was lift the slat, to see what was beneath.

Scurry now, Slaveflesh, to unshackle Slaveflesh.
Slaveflesh is what it is, whether it wears velvet, silver, gold, or roughspun.
The Royal Couple. What Intoxicating Naivety.

And there below them, a great mound of fused flesh, of a woman and a man, their clothes weaving in and out of the folds of fatty flesh. They cried in unison, screaming. The two Biqaj were flush with silver blood, which pumped through great arteries. But inside of it all, inside those folds of flesh, Faith could perceive something that was untouched by the foul magic of it all. A babe, innocent and perfect, yet uncorrupted by the evils that surrounded her. She was within reach, Faith needed only to slip her hands through those accursed folds of arcanically corrupted, living meat.

Yet all around them, the water continued to kick up the blood of age-old sacrifices. Like finely aged wine, it fed Deabrutoa.

The Dragonlings struck then, against the Aukari that had fallen by the wayside. Their wounds spurted flame into the mouths of the Dragonlings, gouts of fiery blood. Yet they seemed to enjoy it as they would any meal. Strangely, the waters of Lovalus didn't attack them. Why?

This is their Nature, to Sup on the weak.
Nature is Red in Tooth and Claw...
Feed for Me my Children.

[Pig Boy]

Lorem ipsum etc.

[Pig Boy]

Lorem ipsum etc.

[Pig Boy]

Lanneisse,

The Broken Promise

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