dankmemes | Test Drive Meme #29

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!test drive

Test Drive Meme #29

Welcome to Hadriel's test drive, and thank you again for your interest in the game! As always, our reserves page is here, and our applications page is here! Reserves open February 21st, and apps are open March 1st. Please remember that there is an app cap of 20 apps.

Two quick points here as well:
1. Any thread made in Hadriel's test drive will be accepted as the sole Action Log sample in the application.
2. All threads made in the test drive can be considered game canon, either through handwaving or through a shared mental experience while coming through the Door!

Test drives will be broken up into specific god mini-events, during which your characters can see how well they fare under the watchful eye of one of the gods. Choose wisely or just simply pick 'em all, and have fun!

F E A R

SCENARIO ONE: FRACTURED FUTURE?
[The Door brings in all that is chaotic and evil in the world. This may include you, may include the person next to you... and may include the monster behind you.

This time, the Door has decided to bring in some monsters who already have a taste of what it's like to win their war. Welcome to the Risen, from the Fire Emblem franchise!

Risen are reanimated corpses, dedicated to obeying their master's will. While they have some form of sentience, they cannot be dissuaded from their goal and attack all who oppose them with a singleminded desire to execute their purpose, which unfortunately for you is "killing indiscriminately". Still, they're not all bad and some of them may even be relieved to finally be put to death. Have fun!]

T R A N Q U I L I T Y

SCENARIO TWO: ONLY THE GOOD STUFF
[Tranquility has decided to take over Hope's food supply regimen and- well, if anyone thought he was a self righteous hipster before, this is probably what's going to seal the deal. All the food provided in the shops is now extremely vegan-only, from basic lettuce to the most bland fruit you can stand to look at.

None of it even tastes like anything, either- it's all like you're eating water. Maybe to Tranquility, this is a feast, but for you, it's difficult to register that you're even full. Better start prepping those salt mines- it's gonna be a long month.]

R A G E

SCENARIO THREE: YANDERE LIFE
[Unfortunately for you, you came at a time when Rage was very unhappy with everyone- and now you get to suffer for it. Is there anyone who catches your eye? Anyone who you might want to get to know a little better? Well, you're about to get to know them a lot better, because now you're obsessed with them.

It's not the innocent kind of obsession, either- this is a full speed ahead, breakdown, pull out the knives and rope kind of obsession, where your desire to be near someone is synonymous with stalking, being a creep, and overall just not really anything remotely approaching healthy.

Better look out and hope that nobody gets a crush on you either.

This is a mini version of our Kiss me Kill me event this month.]

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He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or shocked now that he'd given his name out, but at least it pointed more to him not being responsible for Stefen's abduction. Safest Bard in Haven indeed. Never mind that he'd been the one to say that. Whoever plucked him from the Palace had to be frighteningly powerful. Enough that he'd have to find someone to hide behind quickly. He might be good in a fight alone on the street, but he wasn't a Herald. Or even a soldier.

"Because I'm...quite close to a couple of Mages and surrounded by Heralds and one doesn't spend so much time in their company and retain any sort of fear of a Gift." His own Gifts weren't exactly as flashy, but they were there, too. Court was a little more mundane and he was more afraid of the ladies there than he was of any of the Mages he'd met.

He certainly didn't recognize that name, either. It seemed they were even. "Well-met. Or as well-met as it can be in a place like this."

Likewise, Kelson figured if Stefan was going to recognize his name, he would have. While he was certain there were commonfolk probably naming their children after him, he doubted the mistake could be made. Kelson was also sure that Stefan wasn't the one who abducted him, not with the lack of magical abilities.It took someone with more training than him to be able to seemlessly open a transfer portal....or however some people got from place to place. He was sure they weren't using transfer portals. And he was rather disinclined to call it a miracle when so much knowledge had been lost. Someone out there had it, and he was going to find it. They had libraries and schools to rebuild.

"I'm not familiar with those terms--at least in the context I think you're using them. Are you telling me you spend your time with mages, sorcerers, people who can use magic?" He wasn't sure what a Herald was but he was sure it wasn't what Stefan wasn't talking about a messenger.

And he called it a Gift. That was a rather nice way of putting it. Kelson mulled it over in his mind. He would have to remember to bring that up when he got home. And find out how the ancient Deryni called it. Was it a gift or something else? Or was it just what it was? Neither a gift nor a curse?

"I admit, I'm not used to this weather. Would you care to join me in the shade?"

"Yes. Though the mages were growing increasingly sparse." No need to go into more detail than that, although he had a feeling that he'd probably be pressed for it. And he didn't have any answers beyond several of them dying lately. That didn't explain why there weren't new Mage-Gifted Heralds coming into the Collegium. Maybe it was nothing, but he knew people were starting to worry. "I suppose Mage Gift was always rare, so perhaps another one is on his way and we haven't heard from him yet. We don't hear about all the Companions leaving for trainees in Bardic."

The offer of shade was probably the best thing he'd heard all day. It might not be much cooler, but at least it wasn't under the sun and he would probably not burn. He was starting to feel a little overheated in his Scarlets. If only he were a Herald. Then he could wear Whites.

"I would appreciate it. If I stayed out here much longer I'm sure I'd turn as red as my Scarlets." Rather easily, too. And he had enough red about him without a burn.

The young king motioned to an area of shade where they should withdraw, likewise in Haldane crimson. "I quite agree. There are those back home who would be quite vexed with me if I let myself turn the color of my tunic."

The mere fact that there were two suns was still taking getting used too. As was the rage he was fighting off. At least it was lessening now that the man wasn't leaving.

"Why?

Kelson realized he was pressing the other for information without really giving much of his own, but that was his prerogative. He adopted a look of careful thought, listening. Not quite his neutral, steely eyed gaze he adopted in court, but trying to piece together information to get a clearer picture. He didn't know much about this young man or those around him, but he knew his own situation. Deryni were few and far between, either in hiding or simply slaughtered. They had never been very prolific to begin with. It was simplistic logic, but perhaps understanding one would help understand the other. At the very least, he could try and help. That was his job wasn't it?

"Is the ability not passed down? Wouldn't a mage have mage children?" He supposed it could be that there was more than one factor. What little he knew of the days before the purges, the Healing gift was rare. Sadly, he didn't have the knowledge to understand why. It had all been lost. But he was going to get it.

"You've lost me again and I want to make sure I understand completely. Companions and Bardic?"

"We're not really sure why. Or the Heralds aren't, anyway." The Bards and Healers were probably very concerned too, but he wasn't exactly in favor with the one, and he was rather sick of the other, but surely it wasn't only the Heralds who were worried.

He gratefully stepped into the shade, though he was still a little on edge from their introduction and maybe he shouldn't have let himself be alone with him. But now he was in too deep to make a polite excuse and leave. He was half afraid he wouldn't be able to leave if he tried and if might have been safer to just do what he wanted until he got bored. He knew enough to do that. Make himself either useful or invisible and maybe he'd escape notice.

"Not necessarily. If both your parents are Gifted you're more likely to be, but it isn't a certainty. And Gifted children come from unGifted parents rather commonly." He sometimes wondered which his were, but he had to imagine they were no one, or else he wouldn't have been left on the street for anyone to find.

"Ah, sorry. Bardic is one of he three Collegia at the Palace in Haven. They train the Bards. Companions are...more difficult to explain. You may need to find a Herald for that."

Well that meant that whatever reason Mages weren't being born in Stefan's kingdom weren't the same reason as Gwynedd or the rest of the Eleven Kingdoms. Kelson made a musing sound, thinking.

"It's not the same where I'm from. You can't be born Deryni from human parents. The only other possibility is that one or both parents don't know they're heritage." That had exactly happened to him. His mother had repressed her Deryni side, never knowing. He wasn't sure if her parents knew either, although he still wondered how they couldn't. Gift's manifest, didn't they?

He didn't know as much about anatomy as a physician did or of course the Healers of old, but he he knew whatever made you Deryni was the same thing as what made his eyes Haldane grey. It wasn't spontaneous. It was hereditary.

If Kelson was more in control of his faculties and was aware that Stefan was afraid of being alone with him, he'd be sick. Slowly, he nodded his head, accepting that Stefan was unable to answer all his questions. He was quite getting used to that answer.

"I'm sorry, what?" Apparently they really were from two different places, with very different words for things. He'd never heard of "Deryni" before, but apparently they were mages? Or similar to them. He couldn't even recall ever hearing the word in his classes. Granted he'd had a bit of a late start, but he had still managed to go through the entire course. He hadn't missed something, had he?

"I'm not sure what a 'Deryni' is, but I don't think we have any of those in Valdemar or I would heard about it." Right? That wasn't something they'd have kept secret. It seemed innocuous enough. Or maybe he just wasn't important enough to know about it. That was a possibility too.

"I am sorry I'm not more help, m'lord. I'm afraid even with as many Heralds as I'm typically surrounded by, They're still quite a mystery." At least the more arcane things about them, anyway. They were people, too, like anyone else in the Palace, and people were easy enough to figure out.

"It's also possible that we know them by different names. What I call Deryni you might be calling a Mage or Herald, although considering I don't know the full extent of the gifts of either there's currently no way to be sure."

Well, that wasn't entirely correct. He could be sure. But it involved a slight rapport with the man and unless things changed he wasn't in the habit of randomly engaging that level of intimacy with strangers. He could keep his shields up, and just lightly probe Stefan, he supposed. It could work....

"We have individuals in Gwynedd who seem Deryni but aren't as well. Maybe they're your Heralds or Mages. Valdemar, that's your kingdom?" It certainly wasn't a member of the Eleven Kingdoms. "Who is your King?" If he could contact them when he got back home, they might be able to compare notes. Gwynedd could certainly use some. They'd lost so many texts.

"I suppose that is possible." He could probably have given a full list of all the Gifts the Heralds had, but, well. It was a long one and he doubted that he even knew the ins and outs of all of them. Where was a Herald when he needed one? He certainly would have loved to have a certain one standing next to him...

More words he didn't recognize, but at least that sounded like it might have been a place. A country he'd never heard of. Haven would be throwing a fit if anyone was here. Somehow the thought that they might have missed an entire country was distressing. Hellsteeth.

"Randale." If he didn't know Randy's condition, he wasn't going to elaborate. "And yes, Valdemar is my kingdom."

Kelson wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of having missed an entire kingdom either, but he was somewhat placated by the idea that if he missed it, so did ten other kingdoms. He had been hoping he was from Torenth or something, even if his dress and language was nothing like them. Kelson shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know him or your kingdom."

He wasn't sure if that was a relief or not. He wished he knew Randale, there would at least be a common link between the two, but at the moment he could find nothing. No proof that their two kingdoms had anything in common, besides mutual abilities that may or may not be the same. God, this was all tangled. If Stefan had any abilities he could ferret them out, find out once and for all if they were the same. Then again, maybe not. There were non-Deryni magic users in Gwynedd. No, Kelson needed more information. He just wasn't certain where to get it at the moment. Most of it was undoubtedly buried somewhere back home. Or destroyed.

"Then I suppose we're even." Disconcerting. He wasn't supposed to be involved in all this. He was Bard, dammit, not a Herald. And certainly not a Mage. Vanyel should be here handling this. Which was probably why it was Stef who'd been snatched without so much as a hello. Or a by your leave. Or even bothering to ask him if he'd rather prefer to stay int he comfortable palace instead of a burning desert city with a man he was still slightly terrified of.

"But I suppose I'm not even sure where this is." For all he knew, it could be a dream. Or an abduction. He would have vastly preferred the first option.

Kelson was still going with hallucination. Or random kingdom he'd been teleported too by a most likely sinister unknown force(or at least unknown to him), who most definitely needed to be stopped if they were procuring others. As for being terrified of him, that wasn't entirely unusual and Kelson used some of it to his advantage. Sure his people liked him well enough, he was a good, fair king and did his best to ensure prosperity and safety among his people. However, he was also known to use magic. That prejudice and fear would take longer than the four years he'd been king to unravel.

"I don't either. But we're not bound and free to roam around so whoever is behind this must believe we're secure enough." Or this was a hallucination and he was rationalizing it to himself.

There was a pause that was perhaps a few seconds longer than was comfortable while Stefen considered how much he should say, whether or not saying anything would give away things he'd rather not share. He'd never been ashamed of his past, really, but it also wasn't exactly a point he was proud of, either. He'd survived it, he'd escaped it, but he also knew he was one of the lucky ones. And while he may have risen far beyond it, it wasn't exactly a happy topic that he brought up on a whim.

"You don't have to be tied down to be a prisoner."

That was something Kelson wouldn't have had experience with. As a King, he made a valuable commodity. Outside of his castle in Rheumeth he wasn't even allowed to find the privy by himself. And the times those closest to him had been taken prisoner, even drugged with merasha and unable to use mind or body, they had still been tied up. Better to not take any chances.

So he regarded his new acquaintance, face open with polite, gentle curiosity.

"I won't press if you don't want to elaborate."

After sharing the memory of the princesses rape, he didn't want to pry on somethings. This was something he didn't necessarily need to know. He would like too, but those were two different things.

He gave the man a look out of the corner of his eye but said nothing at first. He couldn't decide whether that was true or not, but the way he asked it, the way he was holding himself, seemed to say that he wasn't lying. But then, that could mean he'd just dig into his head without pressing for more details with his words. He'd have to earn to watch his mouth even better than usual if he was actually stuck here, which he still refused to believe.

"Thank you. I'd rather not, but...it's just as true. Just because there aren't ropes doesn't mean you're not being held."

Kelson did his very best to never lie if possible. There was always the possibility of another truth-reading him, and as a King it's simply bad form. He took the oath he swore to serve and protect Gwynnedd and her allies seriously. You don't lie to your subjects, and it's disastrous to lie to your political allies or sometimes even your enemies. Just because he knew how to get around a truth-read didn't mean it always needed to be employed. Court intrigue and politics is a art form all its own.

"Perfectly alright. I'll accept it at face value." Still, without more information, there was little he could do with that revelation. It seemed like everywhere he was being tied down or restrained, it was just with lack of knowledge than anything else. But something told Kelson that was not what Stefan meant.

Assuming this is a sensitive subject, he looked around, spotting an odd pool of water. "How are you faring in the sun?" Even if the shade was cooler, it still wasn't weather in Rheumeth. And he didn't want anyone here to pass out from heat stroke.

Given that opportunity, Stefen simply dropped the entire subject, thankful that he could just move past it by the simple convention of ignoring it. At least he hadn't been forced to relive the entire experience of his childhood in painful detail, even if it hadn't been as bad as it could have gotten. He still didn't like to remember what it was like not to know if he was going to be able to eat that night. He idly wondered if that would end up his situation here, and quickly stamped that thought down. He'd sing until he was hoarse and play his fingers raw for a cruel master who fed him before he let that happen again.

He managed a polite yet pained sort of smile, at least, falling back to that Court mask he'd worked so hard on to hide what he was actually thinking. Granted, that was far easier around people who couldn't just dive into his thoughts whenever they wanted.

"I'm not enjoying it much, I'll tell you. Haven was far more temperate."

Kelson knew that mask well. He'd mastered it himself and had seen it mirrored in the other lords and ladies in court who had learned to school themselves. So, true to his word, he didn't press. He didn't know what was in the man's past, but he knew if someone had asked him to talk about what happened with Conall, it would have been difficult. If he could prevent it, he didn't like causing pain. Sometimes of course it was unavoidable. Hopefully it would not be in this case.

"Do you need any water? There looks like there's a pool over there." He smiled and shook his head. "It doesn't get this hot in Gwynedd either. Torenth, yes. I count myself lucky I haven't had to visit lately." Probably because he was holding their young king and dowager princess hostage. Which, honestly, sounded worse than it was.

What a brazen suggestion. Clearly from someone who hadn't needed to worry about things like where his water came from. Stefen wasn't quite sure he trusted water just sitting there, contained in a pool in the hottest place he could have imagined being short of the hells, and he eyed it a little suspiciously. Oh for the comforts of the Palace and a kitchen he could beg food off of by simply playing up how slim he was.

"I'm not sure about it, but I suppose I don't have much of a choice. I'm certainly not looking forward to the taste, if nothing else."

No, Kelson most definitely did not need to worry about where his water came from. But that didn't mean he hadn't drunk from streams during the wars. Although, it helped to be with people who were familiar with the areas and knew what to look out for when refilling bottles. This was a man who didn't know grain could go bad and his foster brother got sick and hallucinated for a day.

Despite Stefan knowing he knew how to use magic, Kelson was reluctant to go right out and say he could usually tell with some effort if things were tainted. Not alwas with what, but he could tell the offness. So instead, he strolled over to the stagnant pool and bent down, probing gently.

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't." Because the water was off. It may look fine. But it wasn't just water. It certainly made him appreciate what he had at Gwynedd. All he had to do was cough and ten people would be there with goblets.

Even not being certain exactly what he'd just witnessed, Stef could tell it was something magical. Or else some other Gift. He wasn't exactly certain which one, but apparently he'd been right not to trust the water outright. Maybe there was someplace else they could get it--there would have to be, right? That dark part of him that Vanyel would be proud of kept saying probably not. But then why would whoever had snatched them give them an entire city just to watch them die of thirst?

Nothing made sense, really. He should probably stop trying to make it before he gave himself a headache.

"I'm not sure where else we'd find any, though perhaps inside stands a better chance. Or else it would be somewhat cooler, at least."

"Well, we are never going to find anything unless we scout around. We can't stay here forever. We're going to need better shelter, food and see if that's our only source of water." And there was no one else to do it and divide up but himself and Stefan. But it was an unknown area. They shouldn't split up.

He pushed himself off of his squatting position by the pool and stood up.

"Let's go."

Naturally he thought Stefan would agree with him and follow.

Stefen hesitated, staying in his spot where he'd been watching. He was reluctant to lose another person he could hide behind but he also wasn't a Herald. He didn't risk anything if he could help it--let alone his life. They had no idea what was out there waiting for them, and he'd worked too hard to lose everything because he' gotten careless. Or worse, altruistic.

"I'd rather find a hole somewhere and stay there until someone finds me. I'm sure I wouldn't be of much use to you, regardless."

Kelson wasn't sure he'd heard correctly. This man wanted to hide rather than go find useful supplies. He'd rather hide in a hole, and hope nothing found him. Not everyone could be a warrior that was true, but he had hoped for some semblance of courage within the man.

"Be that as it may, it may not be safe to separate. I would hate for something to happen to you while I was away." He'd seen it enough. Hiding was well and good, but it was better if you were with a group. Preferably a group who could defend you.

"I took an oath to protect and defend those under my care, while you are not technically a citizen or vassal of Gwynedd, you are still under my care. And I won't leave while you hide in a hole. Do you understand?"

If he had a set of ward cubes he could shield him, but he didn't. His options were limited.

That was probably the smart thing to do, but Stef didn't like it. He did not like being in danger, having to make the difficult choices about which option was safer. He'd had enough of that growing up, and now here he was again, back on the street and trying to navigate the best way to draw the least attention to himself in the hopes that he'd be overlooked and live.

He raked his teeth over his bottom lip, worrying for a moment, but eventually he sighed and nodded. He didn't have much of a choice. And if this man could protect him--as terrifying as their introduction had been--he'd have to go with him. At least until he found a place to hide.

"Very well. Although I warn you, I won't be of much help."

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