text; un: vivelafrance

[thejoyrider]

Name: Marie Antoinette
Date: 2nd
Format: text, with pictures added

[Marie opens the post with a smiling photograph of herself, taken in the main square of the city. After all, most of those she was addressing have not met her yet so it would be nice to give them a face to go with her words, right?]

Hello to everyone who arrived in Aefenglom recently! Without doubt you must be feeling lost and confused right now. But fear not, that is where I and the other Mirrorbound come in! My name is Marie Antoinette, it’s a pleasure to meet you! I have been here for some time, so I would love to offer you some of the experience I have accumulated during these months - I was lost and confused at some point as well and I wand you all to have access to the assistance I know I needed back then! I was blessed to have close friends from home here with me but I know that not everyone’s situation is like this. Maybe you are the only person from your homeland to ever arrive in Aefenglom or maybe you have been separated from your friends and family.

Fear not! Our homelands are as different as possible but we are all in this together and we will help each other! I will write up what strikes me as most important and others, especially Witches can add to it! I am a Fae so much of the Witch business is unknown to me. However, that’s why we all need to share experiences!

[She attaches a small and very simple smiling drawing of herself]

Firstly, you will hear this many more times but whether you are a Witch or not, do not neglect your Bonds! You might be thinking that you do not need anything like that, that you have always managed without any kind of connection. The truth is, it is different in Aefenglom. You need a Bond to survive. I know what you are going to say, that you do not want this kind of closeness with anyone. Still, I recommend you at least try it with someone, for your own good - if it does not work out, you can always call the Bond off. You can also use the temporary Bond potions to get a feel of how a Bond feels fist. If making friends is not your forte, just contact me and I will do my beat to introduce you to someone!

Secondly, and this is directed to those who are not Witches... You are going to experience changes. These will start happening when full moon comes and will repeat every month. Depending of what you are transforming into, these might be faster or slower, but whatever happens, it will probably hurt you, a lot. You might feel as if you weren’t yourself. Do not stay alone during these harsh days. Have someone to give you a hot cup of tea and hold your hand. If you can, find a Bond before that. Even if your Bonded does not stay with you, the connection will make the whole process less painful and more bearable.

Do not hesitate to reach out to other Mirrorbound with any questions you might have. We have all been new here at some point. I can take care of you during your first transformation if you do not have anyone else. Just contact me via the watch!

[Her own transformations were... more or less bearable by now.]

Please take care of yourself, everyone. If the recent events have shown me anything, it is that we as the Mirrorbound of Aefenglom are always ready and willing to help each other, no matter how bad the situation might be. It is when the Mirrorbound refuses to accept the help when the worst tragedies can occur.

[She ends the post with a photo of some fresh flowers]

Comments

[thejoyrider]

Thank you!

[Of course she is cute, duh]

So far, nobody had any success with any of these things you are mentioned. Sometimes people disappear and it is said that maybe they went home. But nobody knows what this is caused by.

The Mirrorbound have first arrived in a distant past

[mensrea]

So there’s no guarantee that the people who disappeared actually made it home? What if they turned into Shades?

[thejoyrider]

Well, we cannot ask them. The mirrors they came to Aefenglom through are smashed and that’s all we can see

[mensrea]

[ Having tried unsuccessfully to break his own mirror, Stiles assumes there's little chance someone else broke those mirrors. Still, it sounds more ominous than hopeful to him. ]

Have you ever seen the Shades?

[ Sorry, Marie. He's going to keep drilling you. ]

[thejoyrider]

I am not much of a fighter and I do not venture outside city walls often. However, there are some who regularly do. There are always some investigations to be made, resources to collect... They might be able to tell you more

[mensrea]

Okay, so you said you’ve been here a while. What do you do most days then?

[ And the interrogation continues. ]

[thejoyrider]

Let me think... tea parties? Walks around the shopping district? I also like to put together outfits...

[Oh, interrogate her all you wish, she is happy to share]

[mensrea]

Ughhhhhhh! I don’t get it. Aren’t you trying to go home??

[ Then, following quickly on the heels of that question – as a paltry apology: ]

I mean. Unless your home world sucks. In which case, sorry.

[thejoyrider]

Well... my home world is quite nice but I would probably miss everyone I met here if I went home now, you know?

[And there’s that one, important factor]

It is nice to be alive again

[mensrea]

[ Excuse him, what. ]

Run that by me again. "It's nice to be alive again" ? Like, as in you're undead or something back home? Or...?

[ Just dead. ]

[thejoyrider]

[Almost.]

Ah, let me explain! Back home I am a Heroic Spirit, a type of familiar. I have lived and died as a human and since the memory of me remains with people, I remain as Heroic Spirit. A powerful Mage could summon me

[She’ll stop here before an explanation of Grail Wars is necessary]

[mensrea]

[ This is overwhelming, though he is familiar with video game mechanics; summon is a concept he can understand, even if it’s weird to apply it to a real person. ]

I think I get you. So, back home…do you only exist when you’re summoned? What happens when you’re not summoned? Is it like being asleep?

[thejoyrider]

Heroic Spirits remain in a space called Throne of Heroes. This is where we are summoned from! Although... it’s less a space in a physical sense and more like “storage” if it makes sense.

[If she was familiar with technology, she would have described it as backup for Heroic Spirit data]

I could be summoned multiple times and not remember it

[mensrea]

[ Now he’s totally lost. ]

Hold up. I don’t know if I understood that last part. What would you not remember? Do you not remember every summoning…? Are you saying the last thing you CAN remember is being alive?

[thejoyrider]

[Sorry, Stiles, Grail Wars do not make much sense and frequently break their own rules]

How should I put it... I remember being alive, then being summoned and existing as a Servant and then coming to Aefenglom and becoming mortal again. But it is entirely possible I have been summoned more times and defeated. I would not remember that

[mensrea]

[ For a moment, he almost thought this sounded cool. Now he just feels sorry for her. ]

Do you...like being a Servant? Is this something you volunteered to do through some kind of magic pact while you were alive? Or is your spirit basically enslaved to the will of these summoners?

[ #FREEHEROICSPIRITS2020 ]