01 [video]: the heart of the forest(?)
Name: Yako Katsuragi (un: katsuragi)
Date: May 25-ish
Format: Video
[ The young woman on the watch gives the camera a small smile, though her expression is also a touch uncharacteristically serious for those who’ve met her before. ]
First of all, for anyone who was badly affected by the full moons, I hope you’re feeling better now. If you need any medical attention or want to learn how to help keep others from going feral when you’re not Bonded to them, you should ask the Coven.
[ PSA done, she clears her throat, brushing her hair away from her face. ]
There’s something else I’d like to share. When we first came here, some people mentioned having a dream about being in a banquet in a forest. I had the same dream, too. I don’t know how much other people recall, but one of the the things I remember hearing while I was in it was the name of the place: Dewaint.
Anyway, I did a little looking into it, and it seems like I’ve found it. Or at least, um, something used to have that name.
[ That’s her cue to move, turning the watch to face ... a map. For those who’ve already seen a map of Geardagas, it will look pretty familiar, but it’s large — taking up most of a wall, and Yako has to take a few steps back to take it in its entirety — and it’s clearly old, preserved from being tampered with by a layer of glass. Yako continues speaking as she steps back in closer, panning her camera slowly as she points out areas of interest. ]
The librarians said this map is about five hundred years old. This is where Aefenglom is today, near the coast. And where Dewaint Forest was is...
[ She focuses on the dark spot towards the center of the map, right by the river (since she’s a little short, this takes a lot of standing on her toes, so the video goes a little wobbly before it straightens). The inscription scrawled over it bears a script similar to what might be seen in places around the Coven — and on the protection charms that were offered in the bonfire ceremony when they first arrived. Though the script might resemble Irish Ogden runes in form, for those who recognize such things, it’s clearly a different language. ]
There -- in the center of what The Wilde covers today.
[ Yako pauses, letting the camera linger. ]
To be honest, I’m not sure what this all means. I haven’t been able to find out much else about it, though some books said something about leylines passing through it and called it the heart of Geardagas. [ Although it’s a heart that most people seem to have forgotten. ] All I know is that it doesn't feel like a coincidence.
[ Spiel done, Yako turns the view back to herself. ]
I'm still trying to see what I can learn, but this is what I have right now. I thought other people might find this interesting too. I asked some people about this already, but if you have access to Parliament Records, the librarians and Miss Nessie think they might have more. So if you would like to help with that or with looking through some more books and papers, please let me know! If you’ve found anything related, I'd like to hear about it too.
Date: May 25-ish
Format: Video
[ The young woman on the watch gives the camera a small smile, though her expression is also a touch uncharacteristically serious for those who’ve met her before. ]
First of all, for anyone who was badly affected by the full moons, I hope you’re feeling better now. If you need any medical attention or want to learn how to help keep others from going feral when you’re not Bonded to them, you should ask the Coven.
[ PSA done, she clears her throat, brushing her hair away from her face. ]
There’s something else I’d like to share. When we first came here, some people mentioned having a dream about being in a banquet in a forest. I had the same dream, too. I don’t know how much other people recall, but one of the the things I remember hearing while I was in it was the name of the place: Dewaint.
Anyway, I did a little looking into it, and it seems like I’ve found it. Or at least, um, something used to have that name.
[ That’s her cue to move, turning the watch to face ... a map. For those who’ve already seen a map of Geardagas, it will look pretty familiar, but it’s large — taking up most of a wall, and Yako has to take a few steps back to take it in its entirety — and it’s clearly old, preserved from being tampered with by a layer of glass. Yako continues speaking as she steps back in closer, panning her camera slowly as she points out areas of interest. ]
The librarians said this map is about five hundred years old. This is where Aefenglom is today, near the coast. And where Dewaint Forest was is...
[ She focuses on the dark spot towards the center of the map, right by the river (since she’s a little short, this takes a lot of standing on her toes, so the video goes a little wobbly before it straightens). The inscription scrawled over it bears a script similar to what might be seen in places around the Coven — and on the protection charms that were offered in the bonfire ceremony when they first arrived. Though the script might resemble Irish Ogden runes in form, for those who recognize such things, it’s clearly a different language. ]
There -- in the center of what The Wilde covers today.
[ Yako pauses, letting the camera linger. ]
To be honest, I’m not sure what this all means. I haven’t been able to find out much else about it, though some books said something about leylines passing through it and called it the heart of Geardagas. [ Although it’s a heart that most people seem to have forgotten. ] All I know is that it doesn't feel like a coincidence.
[ Spiel done, Yako turns the view back to herself. ]
I'm still trying to see what I can learn, but this is what I have right now. I thought other people might find this interesting too. I asked some people about this already, but if you have access to Parliament Records, the librarians and Miss Nessie think they might have more. So if you would like to help with that or with looking through some more books and papers, please let me know! If you’ve found anything related, I'd like to hear about it too.
audio
I'll add that a dragon was resting in the deeper parts of the forest. Probably an adult, given it was the size of a mountain.
audio
[ But hold on a minute -- ]
Was that after you helped me get back to the castle?
[ Come to think of it, Nel only said she'd make sure Yako could make it back! Not that she was going to follow her!! Miss Nel...!!! ]
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video
[ Souji doesn't begin a reply until after he's seen everything, even going so far as to replay her message so he can get a look at the map again. He tries to write the runes down, but it's... definitely a language he's never seen before arriving to Aefenglom, so he doesn't have a feel for it just yet.
Still. ]
Things are rarely ever coincidences, when they line up like this. [ His brow furrows, thoughtful. ] But if Dewaint Forest is real, and is from the past, what does that mean for everything else that we saw in that dream? Does that mean that it's been lost to the Wilde?
Obviously we don't have access to any information that can concretely answer those kinds of questions, but they're worth asking now so we can find the answers.
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Dreams don’t necessarily portray things that exist in reality or people’s memories. I don’t know enough about magic related to visions or dreams to know what’s possible, or if there are limits to how they work, or how complicated it would be to make a dream that a lot of people share. But...
[ She trails off. ]
I’ve had a dream like it again, recently. Not of Dewaint itself, but a dream that felt just a little too real.
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‘huh, sounds interesting,’ yako thinks, not realizing the clusterfuck of id that is persona 4
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ she finna learn
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audio
I am looking into various books and stories as well. [It isn't exactly out of her way while learning about this 'witch' business.] Should I find something. I can let you know, if you will also do the same. [There is too much to learn for one person to uncover it all.]
I have found some information relating to recent histories [Within the last 100 years.] -but most are accounts of racial tensions. It seems that certain breeds of monsters are becoming near extinct [Dragons and Fea.] -but this world also demands balance or the magic will become unstable.
[She pauses, her lips pressing lightly together. It doesn't make sense and that bothers her. Justine doesn't think that the Coven is entirely innocent when it comes to bringing people here. Witches and Monsters. The situation is tenuous and Justine believes that someone is using them towards that end. Why else is this world turning people to monsters? Are they always made or are they born?
Even simple inquiries require research.]
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I’d be grateful if you could. I’ll certainly be sharing anything else I find.
[ At the next topic Justine brings up, though, she sobers. ]
You didn’t happen to find out what exactly ‘demanding balance’ involves, did you?
[ Like, she’s not an expert, but that just sounds worrisome. ]
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video
I had that kind of dream as well...
[If he hadn't, he might not have cared about any of this information. As it is, though? Yako's discovery feels incredibly important, even if Konoe can't tell how, yet.]
So you're saying... the magic of that forest might have summoned us here? [That's not at all what she's saying, really, but it's how he tentatively chooses to interpret it.] ... Is that place good or evil, though?
[Listen, those fairies were absolute pests, okay?! They stole his tail and everything! And that's ignoring how the Cwyld was everywhere around the forest...]
... Could it still exist, that place? Even if it's surrounded by The Wilde... [If it summoned them, it has to still exist, right? And the area of the banquet was not infected.] Like the eye of a storm.
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I don't think places are inherently good or evil... and I think I did hear some of them talking about it being neutral in the dream. But they can be used to do good or terrible things.
There's no way to confirm if it still exists right now, but I think that's certainly possible it does, especially if it was something with a lot of significance.
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wtg me forgetting to finish a sentence ... i guess just pretend that didn't happen!
it happens to us all
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if akane gets in konoe’s tail he’ll have one to rival dylas
HE'LL TAKE IT
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AUDIO
Maybe the fae still live there? It's not like anyone here would know...
I wonder if it's possible to go there ourselves?
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That's a possibility I thought of. If that dream really did transport us to the middle of the Wilde ... As long as they could keep the Cwyld out, they might have been isolated so long they wouldn't care about anything else, and nobody would know to tell them otherwise.
But I don't think it's possible to go there, at least not with the resources we have right now. Miss Endya kind of made it sound like nobody's been that deep into the Wilde in living memory -- at least not physically.
[ Dreams, as they've already established, might be a different story. ]
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audio;
...That dream. I hadn't thought about it for a while. [ A snort. ] Think they'd let somebody look into something else?
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Yes, I believe the librarians would be happy to help anyone who's looking into answers for their questions, as long as it's something they'd reasonably know about. I don't think I would have found any of this without them. If only because I can't read that many books all on my own...
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It's almost like someone tried to make sure it was forgotten. [ Hey, if America can spitball conspiracy theories, so can she! ]
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video
He~ya, Yako-chan ♪ [ The blankets move a little, presumably with a wave that can't ... be seen... ] Keepin' yourself busy, huh... I haven't really poked my nose around or anything, so I'm kinda useless for anything recent. Dream-wise, though... I remember those bugs - faeries, I guess? - going on about some kinda royalty or whatever, and some court business... And then this past week or two there was that other dream, too-
[ A beat, shifting in his blanket nest, humming. ]
...I've been in the Wilde... 'cause I went with Midorin pretty recently... And it kinda felt the same. The trees were the same color, too... Autumny? We didn't find any caves or mermaids or anything like that though, so I dunno if it's really the same - but it kinda reminded me of when we went in the Wilde with one of those Wilder guys.
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More to the point, though, she thinks she knows who he's talking about. ]
Ah, so you were with Midoriya-san. [ Unsurprisingly, she's still formal enough to call him that, not having interacted with him all that much yet. More surprising is that he went outside, but she supposes she can't judge from experience. ] He told me a little bit about that ... but not what it was like out there.
Ah, I don't remember seeing any caves in the dream myself, though I did see a Merrow that was ... well, something was wrong with them. I don't know if it was the Cwyld like it was in the dream about the forest. Can you describe the caves to me?
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audio
dream stuff was real? the stuff he vaguely recalls happened?
oh
he'll just die, he guesses. some of it... though, some of it wasn't real, right..? some of the people he met then, they weren't here when he came through, and even this past one... was that real, too..?]
Um~, I can look through books and documents if I get my hands on them... I don't rea~lly like doing that sort of thing, but I'm used to it since I'm part of my school's student council. I know how to speed-read really well. ♪
[picking out specific terms of interest and the like.]
I'm close to Mhairi-san too, so I'll see if she can give me a hand. I'm interested in seeing what the Parliament's like up close anyway. ♪
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It would be wonderful if you could. I’m not sure exactly how complicated it might be, but you could ask if Miss Ainsley could put you in touch of members of Parliament from either the Civic Seats and Educative seats. Miss Endya seemed to think they might be more sympathetic to a request to access to the Records.
I don’t have any more additional notes to look through right now, but I’ll let you know when I do, if you’d still like to help then!
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video; un: mikleo
[This is exciting. He's tempted to rush off to the library right now and study this map for himself, so he can have a copy in his notes. Not now, definitely later.]
If you don't mind an extra hand, I have something of an interest in history and archaeology.
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My name is Yako Katsuragi. It's good to meet you.
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video | un: Caster
That's an incredible find, good job. [ A sincere compliment for a start. The amount of work to pull this all out must have been significant ] Our appearance has been an anomaly here, but in my experience— Magical anomalies are either ripples coming from a much bigger one, or are preceded by smaller ones.
[ We might have not been the biggest anomaly here ]
Maybe it's still there, maybe it was destroyed but its echo remains— the Dream connects us to it. Say, have you come across mentions of expeditions to the Wilde during your search?
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As for expeditions, I'm afraid not ... but I wasn't looking into those specifically. But it appears that no one's travel so far into the Wilde -- at least, not in the College's histories -- in a very long time. Maybe the Wilders would be the right people to ask, but I don't really know beyond that...
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audio
Dewaint? That's very interesting- I hadn't realised it was still out there. It… looks like far more than a day trip, though.
I'd like to assist. Is there anything specific you need?
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[ Because if it were that easy, or worth it, they would have done it by now surely? ]
At the moment, I've got a few people who offered to look into things ... umm. But I don't know very much about the Wilde itself, actually, or how the Coven's been helping to deal with it. Have you worked with any of the Wilders?
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Video;
My friend Steven and I were speculating a while back that the Fair Folk from that dream might have had something to do with all of us ending up here, but... If their home is at what sounds like the epicenter of the Cwyld, I really don't see how that can be possible.
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pretend this isn't so late... (audio)
A dream where the name of a real place is made known to you before you learn of it while awake...? Such an occurrence certainly cannot be brushed off as insignificant.
I never had any dreams like that. That is to say, a dream shared by many before arriving. I wish I had more insight to offer, but... I think we can both arrive at the same theory that there must be some power to dreams here, likely magical in nature. A type of passive divination, perhaps? Or maybe there is an actor influencing our subconscious...
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... Are you feeling better, Soren?
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