Open Chronicles Festival of Sivil

[D I M A]

"Sivil will protect us now, just as she did in those days~"​

Violence was a constant impulse for some that was indistinguishable from ordinary instinct. A predators need to drink, breathe, eat, and sleep, and at times, when it was too pulling, so overwhelming that it surged past the skin and the very need tore open the soul, she drowned it out with the monotony of her lesser hunts. Darkness smothered her and she let it crush every treacherous bone in her body that so conspired against her fabric.

It helped her feel contained. It kept her thoughts tranquil. Kept her teeth from itching and her bones from aching. The Spider was fortunate in that her very profession allowed her to slake her restlessness, but on days like this, her appetite felt bigger than herself. She was so bloodthirsty she could practically taste it. A palpable desire for blood and carnage that she could not satiate as she was now.

But then again, she was raised differently. The idea of quiet, peaceful life was extremely foreign to the Hiveborn, and yet despite that she found herself completely enamored with the bright lights and the scent of delicious foods radiating in the air. Excitement swelled within her chest instead of destructive impulse, those many eyes flicking back and forth over the bustling city streets as the Festival of Sivil lit up the city the darker the sky became.

Dima was clearly new to cities, the towering structures of Alliria as they dwarfed the spider, The azure spider standing out in a crowd as she curiously followed the flow of the crowd with excitement overwhelming her features. Leaning over a number of different booths that displayed all kinds of strange trinkets that sparkled and shine with delight. Attracting The Spider like a moth to a flame as Dima immediately parted a path through the sea of bodies, her incredible size nearly toppling over a couple of humans as they quickly moved aside as to not get trampled.

Her eyes were drawn to the many fancy items being sold by the countless individuals brandishing their goods. Curiously, the spider was drawn to the man with many faces. Standing unsuspectingly in the Bazaar with a wide, toothy grin. An incredibly massive backpack strapped to his shoulders with faces of horror and terror attached with rope and string. The man quickly caught the spiders gaze, his hand reaching up to grab ahold of a fox max and bring it up to his face to give Dima a playful gesture.

Instinctively Dima responded, her segmented jaws splitting slightly ajar as her teeth rattled and chittered against one another in amusement. Leaning in ever closer as the Spider examined the tiny vixen mask before drawing her eyes to the bustling city only to notice many of them in fact were wearing their own mask that each seemed very pretty to Dima.

"Fancy a Sivil Mask? To keep the spirits away during a time of celebration?" The man asked, slowly pulling down his mask to reveal his pearly whites. A creepy smile to some but Dima, unwittingly returned it with her own smile as she looked over the smaller Elf, slowly circling around him before bringing one of her upper arms up and dragging a clawed finger over her scaled jaw.

"Very pretty~" She mused simply, speaking more of the mask than to the man himself as a low purr erupted in her chest. The azure light from her scales vibrantly pulsing with color as Dima slowly began to pout. "But...Dima has no shinnies to trade~" She mused, her strange, bizarre accent making the salesman quirk a brow in amusement as his free hand rubbed his bare chin.

"Dima...a very sweet name darling. And ya know, i don't think that will be a problem~" He replied, slowly pulling the backpack from his shoulders and setting the thing down to open it up and dig inside. "The Festival of Sivil tends to make its way to all kinds of cities who would host it. Yeah, Sivil was a great hero some time ago. A masked heroine who warded off the dark spirits of Yevone. To her, the mask protected her from those who would steal her face...her identity...her soul. It's a great story, told better by the masters than a mere mask merchant like me~" He explained, causing Dima to tilt her head curiously as he finally pulled out a small, purple box with gold inlay and engravings. "But for a sweet girl like you, its on the house. For the festivities~" He offered, opening up the box and revealing a beautiful mask coated in black and gold styling.

Dima's eyes flickered in awe as her ears perked forward. Looking at the mask then back to the salesman and then back to the mask again before smiling. "Dima is...Dima is very sweet?" She echoed his phrasing, the man chuckling impishly before closing the box and simply presenting it forward.

"That you are~" He agreed, Her tail swayed in excitement as Dima took the small box and squealed in excitement, her legs fueled with energy as she began to hop back and forth between each hoof as she danced a happy dance.

"Exciting!" She cooed, happy to have a...'gift' as humans put it. The man laughed, lifting a hand and gesturing to the firework show near the center of the city.

"Enjoy the Festival Dima, i think the main event will begin soon. Try not to get into trouble~" He laughed, resealing his backpack before giving the Spider a wave and continuing through the crowd.

Such fascinating creatures~

 

[Griffyn]

The wagon trundled to a halt alongside the many others that clustered thickly at the edge of town. Griffyn came to a halt beside it.

"This isn't...?" he began, scratching his head.

Thadrick chuckled as he hopped down from the vehicle. "Nope. Got some ways to go yet, lad. This is just a little stop to make repairs."

Griffyn looked over at his employer, pulling his attention from the fireworks in the dark night above them. "What? Repairs?"

Thadrick nodded, giving the rear wheel a solid kick with his boot. Behind him, his young son hopped from the wagon and took a few steps toward the crowds with a rapturous expression. "Gotta hole up 'til I can find a replacement one of these."

"A... wheel?"

"Sure."

A hand slapped against his shoulder. "What the boss is saying," said Dale, leaning against him, "is that we can't go on for a few hours. Can't be helped. You get me?"

Griffyn eyed his fellow caravan guard. "We might not make the deadline for delivery, then."

Dale shook his head. "Pity, that. But as we gotta make repairs, there's lit'rally nothing we could do about it."

"Crying shame," Thadrick agreed with a solemn bow that shadowed his mischievous grin.

"But we'll still be paid when we get to the city?"

"Oh, most definitely!" the wagon driver answered. "Not fair to deduct us 'cos of matters out of our control, is it?"

Griffyn nodded. "I see." Thought it rankled him to bend the system in this way, it was clear the two other caravaneers were going to outnumber him on this. He sighed.

"I suppose we'd better see the festival then."

Dale chuckled, hugging the shorter man's shoulders, and Griffyn pushed him away with a resigned smile.

Thadrick's son returned at that moment. In his hands were a stack of ceramic masks. He held them excitedly but reverently, like any young lad might hold his first sword. Thadrick took the top three.

"Here," he said, handing a mask to each of his two guards. "Compensation for the additional time out in the field. 'course, we'll need to set a watch on the goods. Three shifts of four hours sound about right?"

The tall Vel Aniri spearman beside Griffyn affixed his mask with eager speed - it was a stylistic depiction of a horned ram. "I'll take first, then," he announced. "Griffy can be last, as from his wide-eyed wonderment I have deduced that this is his first time seeing the majesty of the Festival of Sivil."

"Griffy is fine with that." He shrugged, lips pursed, looking down at his own mask. A beaked design, possibly an eagle. He tied it to his face, resting it on his forehead so he could still see. "It does look like fun."

Thadrick smiled wide. "You and Thayne go on ahead, then. Spend some of that in-advance you got from yours truly"

"Yes, boss," Griffyn replied with a smile. A little hand grabbed his wrist, and Thayne, adhorned with a lion mask, immediately tugged the traveller away from the wagon and into the ebb and flow of the crowds. Behind them, Dale called out well-wishes with a boisterous bellow.

"So kid," Griffyn said, walking companionably with his charge. "What's the deal with all the masks?"

 

[Prince Vanieron]

“Reef sails!” Vanieron’s voice boomed across the sound of the waves and the wind that whistles cleanly past his ears and through his hair. Around him, the crew of the Starlight hurried to it, scrambling up the mast and hauling ropes through block and tackle. The town was busy enough for a harbor and their ship, while smaller than the trade ships and warships, was still larger than most vessels that plied the coast.

With a great creaking of wood, the vessel began to slow. Vanieron leaned hard on the tiller, bring the prow into towards an empty dock the pilot they’d met had directed them towards.

Beyond it, he could see the thronging festive crowds full masks and revelry. That was why they had come, after all. The prince scrutinized the rapidly approaching dock nodded.

“Back oars! Three strokes!” He called again and below, the sailors assigned to rowing duty for the docking process moved in unison, first letting the long sweeps drop into the water and then to the beat of a drum, rowed backwards three times, bringing the ship to a gentle stop perfectly in line with the dock. One at the prow and one at the stern threw two thick lines to the dock, where some wharf-men tied them around stanchions.

“Anchors away!” Vanieron called again, stepping away from the tiller tying it to the support beams. Two large splashes followed this and he strode to the edge.

“Ship-Maester, are watches and shifts accounted for?” Vanieron asked, turning to grin at the older man who served as his second aboard the vessel.

“Aye, captain, 12 hours on, 18 off. Three shifts. You’re lucky enough to be among the first ones to shore crew.”

Vanieron grinned and donned the mask he had made in preparation, a delicate, silver-gilt gull with its wings spread across his face.

“To the festival!”

D I M A Griffyn

 

[Amandara Adhya]

Amandara had always been a social person. And a festival was something she loved to attend. She walked about the crowded street, her hair down and let to fall free over her chest and down her back. She wore light blue for tonight, and a pale blue mask decorated like a bird. The only weapon she carried was her katar.

So many people, even something that looked like a humanoid spider. Sailors, craftsmen, farmers, merchants, everyone was there. So many people from so many places and so many species too. She wasn’t much of an oddity thanks to the huge number of people there, honestly she was actually quite typical when compared to a lot of humans there.

So she walked into the crowd, looking for a few new friends to make.

 

[Sephoria The Undying]

“I warned you that I was no easy meat,” said Sephoria angrily as she brought her boot down into the ribs of a man on the cobblestone beneath her.

The footpad groaned in pain and curled into a fetal position to try and guard his organs. She could hear soft sobs emitting from his lips as she sighed and relented from what would have been a fifth kick. Instead, the woman knelt next to another still figure beside them.

Her attention had left this man once she had been grappled from behind by the other, though he had been the first to strike her. Her dagger jutted out of his throat as lifeless eyes stared upward. It had been quick work, and she removed the dagger without a sliver of empathy.

The living footpad shied away from her further as she returned with dripping dagger. The question of his fate rolled through her mind.

A couple moments passed before finally she wiped the blade off on his sleeve and turned to leave. The footpad potentially had a family to feed. She knew what it felt like to starve, and in a way, she was used to this. Men often mistook her for an easy target despite her height or the equipment she wore.

Thus, Sephoria left the alleyway she had found herself in. She only took a moment to stoop down to pick up her mask which had fallen off at the beginning of the altercation. There was not much concern about prompt response from the city guard during the festival. Still, it was a good idea to move a street or two over.

Once the sounds of festivities surrounded her again, she took the time to look down at her mask. The paint had chipped off the right side of the maw of the stylized wolf. Great! Another thing to further sour her mood. A drink was in order. Hadn’t there been a tavern on that street corner?

 

[Luc]

"Dance, dance, dance!" The halfling chanted excitedly as the the small leaf which sat in the palm of his hand began to move in a circular motion before it was swept up and sent twirling about the gathered crowd. "Like the great mystics of yore who used the wind to fly, and other devious acts." Luc rattled, pausing to send a gust of wind with his other hand that kicked up the ends of a Lady's skirt which revealed the small clothes underneath in comical effect, before he continued on with the sounds of laughter around him, "I command the wind as well to make this leaf dance! But I ask you fine patrons of the arts! Why do you simply watch in awe while you can dance, dance, dance!"

The question left several standing there in the most timid of fashion until the wind chimes strung about begin to play a haunting melody which was joined by bubbles thanks to the wired frames hung beside them that had a thin mesh fabric stretched over and had ben treated with soapy water. Thanks to the wind magic he seemingly could call upon, making bubbles and music were a rather easy task.

The space he had come to occupy was between two vendors, one selling masks and the other grilled meats, which meant his simple venture of putting on a show in exchange for coin could prove quite lucrative. Many had already stopped to gather around the handsome elf even before the show, watching curiously as he set up. Now, embracing the full spirit of the festival itself, he performed with a modest smile his bubble show continued on for those to watch and marvel.