Test Drive - 001

[ateratmods]

TEST DRIVE 001

Welcome to Aterat!

Here is our first ever Test Drive Meme! There are a lot of areas of the city to explore, so please have a look around! In case you need a little help getting started, I've included a few prompts below, or feel free to start your own! Exploration and player initiative are the names of the game here!

NOTE: While you do need an invite to apply to the game, you do NOT need one to tag or top level on the Test Drive!

Helpful Links to Get Started

Arrival & General Information | Locations & Bestiary | Residences & Housing Info | Rules & FAQ (ask questions here!)

---

A. Welcome to the Jungle

The URBAN jungle, that is. You have just arrived and received a strange satchel from a tiny, strange little man and are left more or less to your own devices (more information on what to expect upon arrival can be found here)! Follow directions to the north and check out the housing, or maybe have a look around the Historium, see what you can waste your meager starter coin on in the Market District, or maybe just meet the neighbors.


B. We've Got Fun and Games

At least there's entertainment. In various parts of the city, there are street performers, slight of hand tricksters, and probably a game or two of poker in one tavern or another (there are several to be found, after all). Start up a game of darts, or just sit broodily in a corner and watch the others coming and going.


C. You can have anything you want but you better not take it for free

The Harbor District is a rough joint. There are pickpockets, swindlers, but also hardworking folk and more than a few buildings that seem to be locked. It sure would be a shame if someone were to go about performing some casual Breaking & Entering...you know, as long as you don't get caught. There are guards around, though not nearly as many here as in the other districts. It's almost as though they like to avoid the place. People talk about wererats in the shadows at night and it's not unheard of for the unaware to go missing when they're traveling around here after dark...


D. What's that smell?

As if being carted off to what looks like a city out of a video game weren't bad enough, there's an entire district to the northeast that seems to be walled off, warded, and in all ways inaccessible. According to the sign, it's the cemetery...and boy does it smell.


E. Speaking Crystal

You could always take a look at the instructions that came with your crystal and see who else is listening. Remember, though, these devices are Voice Only and cannot be filtered. If you speak, anyone with a crystal can and will hear you. Now, whether or not they choose to respond is another thing entirely.

---

If you have any questions at all about setting or what is or isn't acceptable, please submit it on the FAQ!

If you would like to explore any aspect of the setting more indepth, please PM the mod account OR comment here! All comments are screened!

» N A V I G A T I O N

Comments

Syeira Harven | Original Character

[tapestryoftime]

0. Arrival
[ooc: you are welcome to assume that you see this, even if you don't interact with her until later. She just arrives, faints and wakes up crying because of reasons.]

It was sudden and jarring for the young seer. She should have seen, should have known, but it came without warning. There was a sharp pain in her chest, a tearing sensation against her soul and then everything began to shift and her body shattered. Her eyes opened to a strange room and she was crying.

"Father..." Her voice trembled as she stared up at the ceiling. At some point she had fallen. It wasn't entirely unusual but this was the first time that there was no one there to caught her. Her father was dead. Her brother was gone. And she hadn't seen it coming. It was all her fault. She was supposed to protect her clan.

Her palm pressed against the ground as she pushed herself up to stare at the fountain. It was beautiful and she felt a seed of hope blossom in her chest. She just had to keep going. As long as she was alive, she could do something.

Syeira stepped towards the fountain and reached for the multi-colored liquid when her attention was pulled away. The strange woman and tiny man only gave her more questions. Questions... that she may never learn the answer too.

She was given a bag and left in the city. For the first time in her life she was entirely alone. There was something daunting about the task. She had no one to ground her and her powers hadn't left her. She saw the shadow of the future overlay in front of her gaze. It wasn't so bad yet... there weren't too many people here. It wasn't like being in a city on Earth. This city was just beginning to grow. The tapestry was a simple design but she knew that it would quickly knot in its complexities.

Now she just had to find away to survive before the constant overlay drove her crazy.

A. Welcome to the Jungle

The odd thing about Syeira was that she rarely looked directly at the world or people around her. Her eyes were unfocused but she never had trouble perceiving things around her. In fact, she seemed to have a sense of what was going to happen a few seconds before it happened. She'd step out of the way before someone crashed into her and apologize. She'd stop to ask someone for directions but sometimes forgot to speak the question aloud, and yet she knew exactly where to go.

Anyone watching her movements would notice that they were odd. Even if they couldn't pinpoint the brief pause or delay. There was just something strange about her, as if she was slightly out of place.

But that could be normal. Everyone was out of place here.

She was dressed in a collection of bright fabric: red and orange skirt around her waist with a slit for her leg to peek through with each step, her stomach and lower abdomen were exposed with a light tan top circling her chest, her hair was bright and wavy, hanging around her slender shoulders along with a thin dark brown vest.

B. We've got fun and games

Syeira had been born and raised in the circus. The one thing she knew well, was how to entertain. Her job was that as a dancer, an assistant and a fire spinner. She had been given some money but she knew that it wouldn't last her forever. Bronze? It was a strange currency and a bit heavy.

Even so, it was enough to purchase what she needed for her performance.

She hoped that this crowd was amenable.

She found a safe corner and began to lay out some candles to mark a boundary. Each one was lit and carefully place. There was then a small cheap looking top hat placed just inside the boundary of the circle of candles. A sizzle ignited into the air, calling the attention of those nearby, as Syeira lit two metal balls that were attached to her palms by long sturdy straps. She then began to dance, swinging the flames with dangerous accuracy while drawing flickering flaming lines in the air around her.

It was beautiful and after the performance she slammed the flames to the ground, putting them out.

E. Speaking Crystal

It worked!

[The voice is bright, feminine and warm.]

Hello everyone or those who are here. This is a really beautiful crystal. I've never seen magic like this before but I like it. If there are any of the Septian clan here? Or perhaps a circus?

This is the first time that I am on my own. I am not sure what to do but I could use a hand.

[She hopes that it's safe to say so much but she's in an awkward situation. Syeira has never been on her own before. Her powers can protect her to a degree but she isn't a fighter.]

6. Wild Card

[ooc: come at me with anything! She will break and enter (the c option) but only when she realizes that her limited skills can't make enough money. On the plus side, she can see into the future and can probably get in and out without getting caught by a guard... maybe. so if you wanna play with that, I am 100% game. Also, she can tell the future so if you want her to answer a question before it's asked, please put it in the subtext. Otherwise I might have her randomly say things that make no sense and it can be assumed that it's a future that never happened.]

E. Speaking Crystal

[asthecroweflies]

[He jumps when the voice comes from his crystal, muffled until he opens the locket. There's a lot to pick apart in her address, so he's going to start from the beginning.]

You haven't seen magic like this before? But you have seen magic? [It's what was implied.]

E. Speaking Crystal

[tapestryoftime]

[There is no physical connection between the stones but the voice strikes Syeira has familiar. It's as if she's heard it before... in a dream. It's too fuzzy for her to make out, too far into the future but she feels its importance reverberate through her.]

Yes. I am able to see many things.

[She pauses briefly before asking.]

Do you know of the Septian people?

E. Speaking Crystal

[asthecroweflies]

[Yeah, he's really not following.]

Yeah...we all are, love. [There's a pause. That had been next on his list of things to ask about, after all.] No, but you mentioned them before. What are they?

E. Speaking Crystal

[tapestryoftime]

[She isn't supposed to talk about her clan or her people as a whole but the man she's speaking too feels safe and it doesn't even occur to Syeira that their conversation isn't private.]

They are the bloodline of the readers and viewers. That is, they can see into the future or past. Some of the line can lightly manipulate small objects with their minds or speaking directly into someone's mind or read surface thoughts.

It is a little different for everyone within the Clan.

E. Speaking Crystal

[asthecroweflies]

[No, to be honest, this has crossed his desk before. Of course, if the weird people who met them at the proverbial door were to be believed, there was nothing suggesting they were even from the same universe.]

Sorry, love. Never heard of them.

E. Speaking Crystal

[tapestryoftime]

Oh. [She sounds genuinely confused and a little sad.] I'm sorry Jagger.

[There is a brief pause as she attempts to clear her head.]

For some reason I had thought that you knew. It- I was sure.

[But she isn't so sure anymore.]

E. Speaking Crystal

[jaglikethecar]

[A beat.]

I never told you my name.

E. Speaking Crystal

[tapestryoftime]

You... didn't?

I was sure that you had mentioned it.

Maybe not.

[There is another brief pause.]

I'm sorry. I just have this feeling that we were going to meet.

Fun & games

[fatedsacrifice]

Having been in wherever this place was a little while, Noctis had wandered around a little bit. People seemed friendly enough so he moved at a normal pace among them. The king was on the lookout for certain friends of course, but so far nothing. And that's when he heard something sizzling to rouse him out of those thoughts.

Coming upon a group of people, Noctis moved in between them much as he'd done in Altissia to go see Luna. Curiously he stopped and watched the show in progress. Even as one who could wield the power of the element of Fire himself, the king was impressed. There was a deadly grace and beauty to the show and the king's blue eyes didn't miss a moment of it.

After the crowd thinned out quite a bit, luckily the lady was still there and he nodded. "That was some show."

Fun & games

[tapestryoftime]

Syeir looked up at the man with a warm smile. "Thank you." There was something strange about her gaze. It was distant, as if she wasn't looking at Noctis but something that stood in his place. It was a little unsettling though it looked as if she was trying her best to remain focused.

"You are-" She paused and continued without a change in her tone. "-someone who was brought here like I was. To help rebuild the city." Syeira bowed her head slightly but then walked towards the hat she'd placed on the ground to see how well she had fared.

"It's nice to meet you. I was wondering how many others were brought here the same way or if everyone was."

[fatedsacrifice]

The warm smile was nice to get even if she seemed sort of..like she wasn't really seeing him. But the king dismissed the thoughts and nodded at the gratitude. But then she paused and what he heard was incredulous. So was this the answer to the riddle of being brought back and brought..here?

Help rebuild the city..more like he should be back home helping to rebuild Insomnia and that made him feel bad. But his place wasn't there anymore, because that was literally a past life. The others would be taking care of it, or maybe they wouldn't because with the line of Lucis gone now, there was nothing left to have the city for, unless it would be for some sort of honouring the Rulers of Yore.

"There's others that were brought here?" To him he'd thought he was the only one at first and now this lady had filled him on as to why they were here and that there were other people dragged from their home worlds. But as his expression turned more puzzled, his dark blue eyes watched the scene curiously and the king's arms crossed his chest.

What could he do? Sure he was a king but one that was brought back to life by who knew what, though now he knew the why. Was this like something Materia had done when he was younger, all those years ago? A deity needing champions to rebuild a city? Could they all go home after that then?

[tapestryoftime]

His questions weren't going to be answered by Syeira. The woman with fiery red hair who she had met upon her arrival would likely know more but she'd try her best to offer some sort of comfort and grounding to the man standing before her. He seemed troubled and uncertain.

While, this was a situation and time for sure feelings, Syeira got a sense that it was deeper than a simple relocation. She could tell when someone was focusing more on the future or past than they were the present.

"Yes. I have not met everyone but I believe that there are many who are being brought here. There was a gnome that explained it to me some but he vanished before I could ask more."

[fatedsacrifice]

Even if he was brought back to life by whatever magic, the old familiar nervousness returned. One would think with age (and death) that Noctis would've surpassed that and grown out of it. But no, the old feelings stirred and he could definitely feel the old nervousness there.

"A gnome..." Noct's voice trailed off as he recalled seeing something that resembled one. But the king just figured that it was being brought back from the dead and he was seeing things rather than actually witnessing something out of one of the books that had read to him as a kid. The dark head shook slightly and a sight came out.

"So..a runaway gnome holds the answers..." Well he'd chased after cactuar and those little guys moved a lot faster than that gnome had. Shouldn't be too hard to catch up with it and get some information, right?

[tapestryoftime]

"Possibly, I don't know. He might just be here to greet us but he knows more than we do." Syeira watched his face curiously, the light hue of her unfocused gaze seeing him beyond the physical appearance. She felt the future threads tug and the tapestry intertwine. "You won't catch him. Not unless he wishes to be caught. He is a busy man..." Her voice trailed off.

Her head felt light as she searched through the paths of the future. "-not like that-" She spoke nonsensically. "-I wanted to-" She felt herself stagger, her hand reaching out to steady herself on whatever was nearby.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to help. It's not usually like that..."

[fatedsacrifice]

The king crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm sure he knows a lot more than we do." After all, the little gnome ran everywhere and had given out a satchel that was blue to him. There were instructions on the crystal usage too that Noct hadn't even gotten to yet. And when she said he wouldn't catch him, any comment was withheld but he smirked.

The dark head cocked to the side as the lady began saying what to him sounded like random phrases. Who..exactly was she talking to? And he was about to ask when he moved to try and catch her before she fell.

"Not usually like what?" Noctis asked in his usual soft tone after a moment or two more of silence. He was confused as to what she was attempting to do and whatever it had been didn't seem to have gone over well overall. But he stayed there as her support so she could at least get back to being upright.

"Do you want to sit down?" There was a bench nearby that he could help her over to. People had been sitting on it moments before.

[tapestryoftime]

Her palm rested lightly on his chest as her head began to clear. The world was moving too fast--- her gaze unfocused as she watched each story overlay over top of each other. "Yes." She breathed the word softly. "I would like to sit." She had to pronounce each word carefully, as if she was double checking that he had offered to help her sit.

She was coming back to herself but it was all a little hazy and it took a great deal of effort for her to ground herself within the present moment.

"It's fine." Syeira paused and tried again. "I will be alright. I sometimes... see things and it's been harder to control since..." Since her father had died? It'd been easier in this city, where the threads of fate hadn't become too entangled but that didn't make her situation easy. Human's weren't meant to see all of the future and past at once.

E

[hellofishies]

I'd never been on my own before either. [ There's a lot of sympathy in Arkady's voice for someone else in a similar position. ] It's different at first, but it gets easier. [ That's a lie. It hasn't gotten easier for her the longer she's been away from the others. Arkady's always been great a lying about her own feelings though. ]

I could lend you a hand! What do you need help with?

E

[tapestryoftime]

Really? Then... Maybe there is some hope.

[That she won't go crazy.]

Would you walk around the city with me? I don't know... what to do here. I haven't had a traditional job but I can see things that others can't.

[hellofishies]

No matter how bad a situation may be, there's always hope. Sometimes you just have to really work for it.

[ She sounds very excited about the next part. ] I'd love to! I can see things too. Sometimes people don't like that.

[tapestryoftime]

Yes. I think so too.

[She likes the idea that there is always hope or... why continue on?]

Really? What is it that you see?

[hellofishies]

See? It won't be so bad! [ At least she can hope it won't. At least it can't be worse than the last strange place she was taken to. ]

The future. I know when people will die and how they'll die. And I can see long distances if I look! And inside people's minds, but don't worry I don't look unless I have a reason to. It's a rule.

[tapestryoftime]

Really?

[She should have stopped and considered what she was hearing but a flood of questions rose to her lips.]

I can see the future too but it's too fuzzy here. Everything overlays on each other and when I look at the weave it's filled with decisions that haven't been made. More than usual but the weave is simple right now, those who define the future have only just arrived.

I don't... [Syeira's voice softens.] Doesn't it ever get to hard to see?

[She can't turn off her powers. The future is always overlaying over her reality.]

[hellofishies]

I have to look to see the future and I haven't looked here yet. There's a lot I have to do and look at.

[ She doesn't pause at all before continuing and her tone sounds just as chipper as when she started. ]

It depends, sometimes it's important to know and see. Other people don't like it though. Kirk told me not to tell people. I kinda forgot I had told people though. I guess I left it in the future where I saw it.

[tapestryoftime]

Oh. You don't have to see it all the time?

[She sounds a little disappointed but her tone picks up a moment later.]

Yes. I am not supposed to tell anyone either. I was told that it wasn't safe. I didn't really believe it until recently and now I am here. I am not sure what to think anymore. I don't want to lose hope but I am scared that I might, in time, lose my mind as well. Readers without Viewers do not last... the weave is not so kind.