SPECIAL EVENT: The Flower Oracle

[polymods]

✖ Meet The Oracle

A low thrumming sound builds in the background noise of the raised village, starting so softly that it would be easy to mistake it for the ever present hummingbirds. It keeps building slowly, somehow managing to be both a sound and to bypass the ear as it hums in the bones. The local Temple Guardians bump heads and brush against each other, quietly affirming their bond as they divide their duties: one staying with the local Temple and the other winding through the paths of the village down to the bud of the Flower Oracle in its place of honor in the city center.

The villagers stop what they’re doing, not quite in a panic, but their speed is deliberate and definite. They gather things on their way, flower wreaths, fish, beautiful food, sharp knives, until everyone has something in their arms. There is an ecstatic tension in the air, after all, the time has come when these people will yet again see substantial proof of their god, and it seems they have forgotten all about the Travelers who might have joined them. There is plenty of room for everyone to gather in a circle around the green bud that has grown even larger.

The thrum rises until it is hard to breathe, until some of the structures around begin to groan in the onslaught, and then it stops, suddenly. In the vacuum of silence, there is a wet and meaty sound as the bud begins to open, a first hint of things that look like red lips and white teeth. A canny Traveler might be forgiven for running at that point. The visceral sound of the splitting, of this birthing, continues as the bud splits, then splits again as the four sepals fall open, exposing an inner surface that glistens red and is lined at the edges with white sharp growths that may be fangs. The villagers ignore the implicit threat. They have eyes only for the structure in the middle.

Who can blame them? Translucent petals form a breathing tower, curled tight and perfect as a seashell. A glow pulses like a heartbeat as the petals slowly unfurl, collapsing elegantly to reveal the Oracle and provide protection against the threat of the sepals. The Flower Oracle is beautiful, glowing, soft and round. She is initially surrounded by four guards, each masculine and clearly dangerous, but they move aside to leave a clear path. The villagers line up with their sacrifices, and there is ritual patience in the act. Everyone will have their time with the Oracle, and anyone must be allowed their time alone within the petals.

Notes:
Characters who wish to approach the oracle need to respond to the thread titled ‘Meet the Oracle’. After they get their response, they can post a separate reaction thread to play out some of the consequences of the event.

Responses to the Oracle Thread should include: a short description of their IC reaction/actions, a description of what they bring for a sacrifice, and their question for the ancient. Villagers will have let them know that traditional options include: fish, flowers, art, blood, secrets, or memories. Characters/players may come up with their own sacrifices. Please include a note if the character helped decorate the local temple this month.

WARNING: Contacting the Oracle may result in negative IC results for characters, and there is a degree of randomness in how the mods assign results.

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Comments

[epitaphs]

[ She rewards him with a wry smile. ]

I suppose it depends on what you consider lucky. Some might say we're lucky to be here at all, given some of the alternatives.

[dothelokimotion]

[ ah. he glances at her. ]

Do you truly believe that?

[epitaphs]

[ Her expression turns somber. This isn't her first rodeo. She's still waiting for the other shoe to drop as it always has. ]

I think I've been given more second chances than ought to be possible, and I'm not going to say no to another.

[dothelokimotion]

. . . But you don't trust it, do you.

[epitaphs]

I don't trust easily.

[ An understatement. This place is too weird and unpredictable to trust even if she did. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki raises an eyebrow. ]

That is you and everyone else here. Hardly distinctive.

[epitaphs]

I didn't think it was a competition. Maybe I've had enough of being distinctive.

[ She's just trying to get along and not end any more worlds, gosh. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ he squints at her briefly. she doesn't look particularly distinctive. must be a facet of her reality. ]

So you're making use of your second chance.

[epitaphs]

[ She narrows her eyes at the look he gives her; it's not like you can see her black blood from the outside, or all the things she did to earn her reputation back home. ]

Yeah, aren't you? What else is there to do?

[dothelokimotion]

I rather just break out and decide for myself. I am not a fan of any omnipotent deities deciding things for me, no matter how congenial they may be.

[ and it's clear now that they're not. it is a roll of the dice, who suffers and who doesn't. loki is a fan of chaos, but he is not a fan of arbitrary justice. ]

[epitaphs]

Yeah, join the club. But they've already decided, and we're stuck here. We might as well try to be better, right?

[ She idly twists the ScryWatch on her wrist, its face a distinct reddish hue, perhaps shifting slightly closer to orange if only because she's taken a few large steps back from any sort of leadership roles. Not for lack of wanting to; just because she's found she hasn't needed to. ]

[dothelokimotion]

Better in what way? Do they even know what better looks like?

And why should we let others decide for us?

[epitaphs]

Do you? Because every time I've tried for better on my own, I've screwed up. A lot. Make enough bad decisions and you start to wonder if maybe you're the problem.

[ Spoiler alert: she is. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki shrugs. ]

Maybe so.

But I still don't think that gives anyone the right to decide for me.

[epitaphs]

Are they deciding anything more for us besides what weird island we're going to next? The curse thing is kind of your own fault -- no offense, but what did you expect from a giant sentient flower thing that can answer incredibly personal questions?

[ To be fair, she hadn't expected a curse, but she'd expected a price. Same difference. ]

[dothelokimotion]

They might. These things start small.

[ and he scowls at the idea that this is his fault. ]

I expected many things. A curse isn't unbelievable, but it tells me to look beyond the curtain at the very least.

[epitaphs]

It's not a bad idea to investigate. I'm just saying maybe it's also not a bad idea to help each other out while we're pretty much limited to what this place wants to do with us. Unless you're hiding superpowers that can break you out?

[ It's said skeptically; if he's got superpowers, the flower issue should've been no biggie. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ loki grimaces. ]

My magic can't break curses. At least not this kind.

[epitaphs]

Well, there you go. Guess you're stuck mingling with the peasants like everyone else.

[ She's not unsympathetic, but honestly. Most people don't get magic. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ he gives her a long look. not because she's wrong, but he's curious what made her come to that conclusion. ]

You make a strange correlation between peasants and magic.

[epitaphs]

I wasn't being particularly literal, though where I'm from, appearing to have magic gets you treated like a god even when nothing's really magic there.

[ It's an academic distinction, but you can learn advanced science. She's not sure she could learn magic, if given the opportunity. ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ ah. hm. ]

That is news to me.

[epitaphs]

Unsurprising, if people have magic where you're from as a general rule. They don't where I'm from, and humanity's kind of on its last legs. We're easily impressed.

[ Humanity's done where she's from, but she doesn't owe anyone that story.]

[dothelokimotion]

They don't. It's not what I would consider common.

Hence why I was surprised by your comment. Humans prefer technology. They care little for magic.

[epitaphs]

Guess it's different at the end of the world.

[ She'll never understand how so many religions had sprung up among the remnants of humanity who'd lost their tech, but she's never been one to cling to a lie. ]