undyingcourt | january tdm/event post

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january tdm/event post

JANUARY TDM - WINTER DREAMS

Welcome to the Undying Court's January Test Drive Meme! This post also functions as the January Event for existing characters, and continues the Winter Season, led by the Blue Court.

New characters may handwave or backdate the previous season's arrival prompt should they wish to, but you may otherwise assume they've been here the whole time! Additionally, all TDM threads can be taken as in-game canon if desired. And remember that apps open February 3-7, with invites opening on January 28, and reserves not long after!

Note that this post will contain: violence, enthrallment, torture, slavery, horror and potentially sexual content. Dreams come in many forms, after all.

This event also features another chance for characters to submit Regains, so make sure to submit after you've posted your top-level or reply to someone else's dream. For characters both new and old, feel free to brush up on the Premise, Vampire Powers, and head over to the FAQ/Game Info page if you have any questions!

Note that this event will be occurring throughout the month of January and into February, so characters are free to forward-date as desired!
For new characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Canon | Court | Youngblood/Novice | TDM
For existing characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Court | Youngblood/Novice
If you have any questions specific to the event, ask them in the Plotting Post Q&A section!

Top-Level Directory:

ONCE UPON A DREAM

A quiet falls over the Castle as a new day begins to break. As with every morning, this is a time when vampires must retreat to avoid the rays of the sun, pulling heavy curtains around their beds and windows to block out any light. However, this particular morning is abnormally quiet as the whole of the Castle seems to fall asleep all at once, and all together. After this enchanted sleep, and for the the next thirty days, the Castle's residents will start to experience strange phenomena within their dreams.

During this period, dreams become more vivid, so realistic it feels like the dreamer is awake. Dreamers can pass into each other's dreams without meaning to. Some of these dreams are in fact memories--either those from the lives the characters have lived in the Castle and the outlying lands, or the strange memories they've begun to gain back.

But be careful! For what starts as a regular memory might start to warp into something new. If you're lucky, it'll be something positive, like a dream of a home you've always wanted. But if you're unlucky, the memory might twist and turn into a nightmare, catching you in it and turning your worst fears against you.

Each nightfall, everyone will wake and return to normal. Or at least, most people will.

[Note: Any current characters who participate in the dream event by creating a top level or tagging someone else at least once in this prompt may be rewarded with a free impactful memory, which may be used in the dreamscape. Don't forget to submit for your Regains!]

A NIGHTMARISH CURSE

It turns out that not everyone wakes up. Those who stay in nightmares for too long may find themselves cursed, and unable to wake up. At first, the curse appears no different from regular sleep. But a few hours in the victim will start screaming uncontrollably. No touch will wake them, no amount of calling their name will break the spell. After too long, the victim will start to bleed, slowly at first, and then more and more as they remain afflicted. A victim left unattended will bleed out and die.

The Council works quickly to step in. Kashire (who is looking rather frayed this season) delivers the news that there's no need to panic, but everyone will need to do their part in locating and curing victims. In fact, the youngbloods seem to be taking this as the perfect opportunity for a teaching moment, and students are expected to try and find a cure with the skills that match their Court. Novices and youngbloods alike are encouraged to try and help lift the curse from anyone they can. (Get creative! Blood heals many wounds...) Any victims that have progressed too far will need to be seen to by Revar.

The nightmare curse, however, can spread quickly. Anyone who enters the nightmare of a victim will fall victim to the curse. Additionally, any attempt to reach out to the mind of a curse victim will also spread the curse. With the combined efforts of the students and teachers, the curse can be completely put out. But it will take time and care to ensure everyone is found in time, and cured safely.

ANYWAY, WINTER GAMES!

But a few curses aren't going to stop the Blue Court from making sure everyone has a good time. The days might be short, and weighed down by the threats of nightmares, but winter has hit Castle Courtsheart in full force, and the long nights and snow-covered grounds make for an excellent backdrop to the Inter-Court Winter Games!

There isn't really a reward for the winning house besides bragging rights and maybe a trophy that doubles as a chalice, but youngbloods and novices alike are invited to join in the festivities and compete against one another in the spirit of glory and the chance to lord over your Court's superiority. Even Council members and mature vampires of each court seem to enjoy cheering on their respective teams from the stands. Everything is fine! Forget your troubles and go play in the snow.

What kind of sports do vampires play? Feel free to get creative, but here are some examples:

Thrall-Curling: Since vampiric strength proves to be a little too much for this sport otherwise, teams of novices (or youngbloods) of the same Court can team up to gently compel their thralls to play the thrilling sport of curling. Coax that stone across the ice with care, and take out the opposing team! Or, well, the thralls will do that, assuming they're guided well. Try not to break them. (The thralls, that is.)

Figure skating: Practicing your pirouettes? For a vampire, a quadruple-axel is hardly worth breaking a sweat over. Favored for its beauty and almost seductive grace, the figure skating competition will be scored and judged by a multi-court panel. Participants might get extra points for incorporating bladework and masking into their sets, so these performances are sure to wow the judges.

Ice Hockey: Yes, the high-contact sport transcends time and space, but vampires don't need silly things like helmets or padded safety gear. Don your court's colors and hit the ice to toss the puck around and score as many points against the opposing team as you can before the time runs out. Violence is encouraged! Everyone likes to see a bit of blood on the ice this time of year. (Shadowstepping is considered cheating, but only if you get caught.)

And more! Snowball fighting may not be a sport, but there's no better time to enjoy the outdoors and stretch those growing fangs and muscles than the dead of winter. So whether you're cheering on your Court or watching from the sidelines, there's something here for everyone. Just because the castle is full of the the undead doesn't mean they can't have a little winter fun.

CLASS NOTES

Other notable happenings for the early winter season include:

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and maybe it's time to find or make gifts for that special blood claim in your life. This season blood jewelry is the hot ticket item. These are pieces made from precious metal and glass, which hold the blood of a vampire in them. Carry a lover's blood to show how much you love them, or carry your own to force down the throat of your enemies so you can influence them.

Whispers around school start to say that Black Court lost a novice this month. Not murder this time! He simply unmade himself trying to mistwalk. Eh, these things happen.

As a result of a tie in last month's pumpkin carving contest, members of the Black and Red Courts will find small packages outside their doors. They are gifted silver letter openers, with the handle inlaid with pumpkins and leaves, and a note from Revar with a little drawing of a pumpkin and their signature. How nice!

Lady Whisperfangs is quiet for now, but her time is yet to come... This month's check-in will have a field to submit gossip about your characters! Vampires do so love their drama.

Once again, characters are free to talk to the NPCs as well: Revar & Kashire. For any questions regarding this month's prompts, please comment in the Plotting Post. For general game questions, please check the FAQ/Game Info. In the meantime, remember to submit your Regains for this month's free reward, and keep an eye out for our AC Check-in next week, starting on January 25-31.

The new year has brought us plenty of thirsty vampires, so we're glad you're here to share them with you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The ailment spreads through dreams. The magical ability for dreamwalking is similar to that of mind-reading. It requires a great deal of power to exercise one's abilities during sleep, however, so youngbloods like myself are normally unable to visit another's dream unless we ourselves are awake.

[ He jots down a few more numbers. He's stalling, really. He can see where she's going with this. ]

A mature vampire of the Gold Court would be able to share dreams as we have been this month, but they would be unable to compel the bodies of the afflicted to scream until they are exsanguinated. A continued affliction would fall nearer to enthrallment, and vampires are not capable of being enthralled.

[ He looks directly at her, to make his point as clear as he can. ]

Were the Gold Court behind this affliction, I would be the first to see that a punishment is carried out. But the incident of compelled sleep that began with our shared dreams, as well as the physical nature of the ailment combined, are what have led to myself and those of the Council to deem this to be a magical ailment. A curse.

I don't think it's a particular court or singular person behind this.

[ It's too grand a scale, and that's how she felt back when telling him of the sensations felt from the bonfire. Was that meant to be a magical ailment as well, then?

It takes a moment to search for the bit of charcoal that was in her notebook, having probably slipped out into the bag. After dipping into it an elbow deep, she finally pulls out the charcoal to write down and at least confirm those things. It was a nice mix of black leather, silver and a hunter green that matched the clothes she was wearing, still holding the appearance as it stayed around her shoulder and in her lap. ]

So we're back to you not knowing about magical ailments, and Revar saying nothing like this has happened in about a hundred years... Yet there's so many books taken out, I can't find anything about curses or even if there's been projects between Gold and Silver courts that could help.

Magic was not uncommon among our kind, many centuries ago. When we warred with humans, and lived more among the fringes of the world, it was no doubt needed to survive.

[ But now everything is totally fine and magic is boring anyway, especially when it causes curses like this! ]

It is likely that the knowledge was lost, as the oldest vampires guarded their secrets closely. I myself have been searching the archives of the library for any similar instances, to limited success. A transfusion of blood may be most successful, but it is unclear if such a solution would benefit a Novice, when you have not become undying.

[ Well, that's getting noted down for someday in the future. Maybe. Depends on if she dies from some curse or something. For a moment, there's a questioning thought from that, which she doesn't think too loudly, but it's easy to guess. If the best solution meant either losing all the novices or forcing them to be turned early, which doesn't seem likely, was this a more intended sabotage? ]

Hopefully we can do this with only some blood and Silver Court healing if it does come down to any being necessary for the cure.

[ Then there's a weird thought that has her writing 'gold needles??' in the notes, on a page with potential things that could help. ]

There's also something odd that's been going on. I seem to have ideas and a feeling of knowing medical things I hadn't been taught before. It just keeps coming to mind, but with everything that's going on, I'm scared of where it's from...

[ No, turning all of the novices early would cause more casualties than even a nightmare curse, that's for sure. ]

It should be possible for each Court to cure it. A curse is not physical the way illness is. If the magic affects the person's mind...

[ He sighs into his notes, a rare sign of frustration for him. A mental fix was of course the easiest, but that only spreads the curse. ]

I am in the process of devising a cure, hopefully. Its success remains to be seen.

[ Numbers! It's all for the greater good, even in his mind. ]

Have these memories come to you in dreams? Things you did not know, but recall with startling clarity?

The curse affecting the mind is why you were who I thought of to talk to. And hopefully you figure out the key to its success.

[ See? She also has plenty of logic in all of this. She just wanted something to ground and link the two together. It's just that these other thoughts kept getting in the way. ]

I can't say they came through from dreams in particular, but it is oddly clear and like it's a fact, not some whimsical thought.

[ Flipping back a few pages, Eden offers the notebook for Xenk to see. It's... well, the figure of the human body is traced, but the lines and dots marked are all written by hand. ]

I know that what I drew onto there are called body meridian lines, and each spot will have a related effect if I place a thin needle into the body a particular depth in. I thought up a small list of herbs that could help with the medicines being produced, but I don't actually know if they exist.

It is unfortunately what makes it dangerous for those of us in the Gold Court. The curse spreads to those who enter the minds of the afflicted.

[ It's frustrating, frankly! And entirely unfair, when Gold Court would normally have the easiest solution here. He observes her notes, not understanding most of them -- but then he's no doctor. ]

I see. Strange facts and memories seem to be afflicting many throughout the castle. I have yet to form any concrete conclusions as to their origins, but the incident is not isolated.

That's the other frustration...

[ You couldn't exactly go in and drag people out of their nightmares that way. ]

On one hand, it's giving me ideas that I think can help. On the other, I'm scared that maybe someone put it in my head to cause more trouble... But if it's done by someone skilled and old enough, I'd have no way of knowing the difference. It's what's kept me from handing this information to Revar before.

Indeed. It poses a conundrum.

[ He sighs. His solution so far is... well, he's working on it. He scribbles a bit more in his notes before continuing. ]

It is unlikely to be knowledge forced into your mind for nefarious purposes. Though it would be within their power to do so, mature vampires of the Gold Court do not waste time with novices. [ He would know, having had a maker who was definitely the type to do that. ] Youngbloods such as myself have experienced similar symptoms, regarding foreign recollections, so this is unlikely to be due to any outside influence.

[ He takes another moment to add more numbers to his notes, then looks up. ]

A magical affliction requires a Court's abilities to cure. The Silver Court is best suited for this. Focus on your Maker's teachings, and you may succeed.

[ So things like this were happening outside the bonfire incident? Maybe it was about how much of a vampire someone was before these things started to happen... Which didn't make sense, and it was all still so weird. She didn't even talk about this weird inspiration to dance, which was far more foreign to her. ]

I'm still doing that, believe me. I just hoped that a different court perspective would help.

[ But now there's new questions, less related to that, so they'd have to wait. Still, this has been enough to write down in her notes. If she could trust the information in her head, then that's fine, but it's a bit of nonsense all the same. ]

In a way it did, though that's sadly because if this were in any books, it's currently in someone's possession right now.

Correct. The whole of the castle is banding together to find cures for this curse. No doubt one will make itself known, soon.

[ If nothing else, Eden can rely on the fact that everyone is working on it... even if the Winter Games are still happening, people have been scrambling to get as much knowledge as they could. ]

I regret that I cannot offer you a simple solution. Alas, the Gold Court is more prone to the ailment than others, as our powers lie in the mind rather than the body.

Actually, if someone is on a psychoactive, where they're to the whim of what's going through their body and that affects what they see and experience, does that make controlling that person harder or easier? I know what's happening is a curse, not a gold court ability specifically, but...

[ It's a different train of thought for the solution, but one very in line with her court. She's writing up a list of things that could work if that was a path they could take, on top of treating the symptoms. There were ways of affecting the mind in ways that didn't involve court skills, after all. Along with others that help with strengthening it. She just needs something to make the current fixes to the symptoms an actual cure instead. ]

It'll just require resisting the urge to use those powers on the affected people, until you know for sure what will work. Then there's only the same risks everyone else has with this dreamwalking stuff.

The ease is not the problem. A powerful Gold Court vampire can enter any mind, in any state. The problem is that any contact with the affected one's mind causes the curse to spread.

[ Xenk puts his pencil down, the numbers on his notes wildly varied. ]

I have considered using thralls as an intermediary, but the casualties may prove detrimental to the continued survival of Courtsheart.

[ Ah, that's what the numbers are about. ]

Oh, no, not for that. I'm thinking of something to add to the mixture's to hopefully snap the cursed out of it and act as a cure and not just something to buy time.

[ Also, shit man, is that what all the writing has been for? Eden's been looking at how he's been frantically adding numbers. ]

Yeah... With how easily people get infected, that sounds a good way to go through all the thralls.

[ She could imagine a few of the immediate caretakers of them (like Elias) wanting to do a murder if that happened. She saw his response just from someone getting a bad infection due to poor treatment of a single thrall. ]

A medicinal cure may be of use. So long as the knowledge is sound, it may be worth attempting.

[ Xenk nods. That's a much better plan than his, but look. When you're a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. ]

Indeed. It would require a great deal of quarantining, and expend far too many of our resources.

[ He's really trying to calculate a version where this works, but you can kinda see why Elias hates this guy... ]

I need to look over what we've been using so far and float the blend to Revar. That way, anyone can be delivering the cures when they hear someone screaming.

[ Novices were limited in what they could provide, compared to the advanced healing a fully turned Silver Court vampire could do, after all.

But even without knowing of Elias and Xenk's history, she can imagine how much this plan of Xenk's would upset and stress him out. Problem was, she didn't see a way of successfully convincing a hammer to act like a scalpel instead. ]

Hopefully you find a less... Resource intensive method. While the thralls used during Sol are technically healed, I'd recommend against using them as well, because they need to bolster themselves back up again, which limits what you have further.

It would be a boon to have a steady, reliable solution.

[ Xenk nods. It's good work from Eden, he's glad to hear that her skills are going to good use. Really, the Silver Court seems to be the perfect fit for her. ]

I will take your suggestion under consideration.

[ He is the guy who can just enthrall new people, so he doesn't value them quite the same way the Silver Court does, but he knows that their importance to the castle cannot be overstated, and training a whole castle's worth of thralls wouldn't be worth it. ]

[ She knew that she couldn't stop people from using the thralls, as they were a resource, but at least she could lean it towards a more responsible use. Not necessarily for them, but so it stresses her Maker and Elias less. ]

If you ever want to learn how to view a chart to know when a thrall is in shape for any use, I'll be happy to show you. There's an easy trick for that much. Then you don't have to worry about any stressing and breaking down too early, or not having the endurance for certain number of tasks that's usually expected.

I am able to probe their minds for their health.

[ That doesn't help if they don't know their own limits or health, but you know. He thinks it's good! ]

[ There's a few false starts in responding because she's wondering something along those lines. Not everyone knows when they're not cleared or healthy enough- not everyone knows what their bodies were just fighting off. So, to start off with an easy question. ]

Is that reliant on how aware they are of their own health?

It may be.

[ Xenk shrugs, which is how you know he's out of sorts. He's... he hasn't been sleeping super well and he's tired. It's fine. The thralls can handle it. Definitely! ]

In any case, I am certain a cure will present itself. Each Court has banded together in this.

[ Oh, Xenk... The forced dreamwalking isn't exactly the most restful of sleeps, and this added stress during the evenings is just making things harder. Thing was, she didn't know who to go to in order to make sure he was looked over properly, and to prevent any big problems from happening due to how... Off he was.

It was concerning, and made Eden worry about this just increasing his risks of getting 'infected' by the curse. Yet how was she to say something like that when her opinions as a novice weren't going to go very far? ]

Well, if anything, I might suggest you talking to Mr Argent or Karma before testing this out with any amount of thralls. Just so they're aware?

[ Maybe they could talk sense into him. Eden knew better than to try, but at least that seemed like the easiest way of keeping casualties minimized. ]

[ Xenk blinks. ]

Of course. I would never enact a test that would risk a thrall's life without first consulting the Silver Court.

[ He's all about rules, remember. Though he's sleepy enough that he, uh, might've. But he won't anymore! He's fine. ]

Just consider it a bit of professional concern. Even vampires can go through the horrible effects of exhaustion. I wouldn't want you to start hallucinating or anything on us, after all.

[ She tries to say it like a slightly amusing joke, but it was a legitimate concern. Sleep deprivation and exhaustion could cause so many problems. While she was a novice, her experience in the medical field was substantial enough to feel comfortable in saying 'professional concern.' Just... Ignore how young she was. You're never too young to learn what kind of mistakes could happen because someone hasn't had a good rest in a long while. ]

My mental fortitude is too strong to suffer hallucinations.

[ Spoken like a guy who believes himself to be above physical ailments... But he is pretty strong. So he can probably go like. A week without sleeping. ]

Your concern is noted, Ms. Woods. Trust that I have seen far worse than this, and know my own limits. This is far from them.

[ OK, but what's Xenk like when he's at his limit?? Yikes. ]

january tdm/event post

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