In Which a Prophesy is Delayed by a Cat

Ghaloaire

Context: Earlier today, Meleris advised that I seek out the Deva's counsel in finding out what is going on with the Sun. I spent the next ~7 hours lighting beacons, and finally put the last pearl in place... only to miss the Deva's prophesy due to rushing to meet her in the usual place on the Upper Deck.

You put a gigantic glowing pearl into the southern voluta diadema beacon.

A gigantic glowing pearl fits perfectly into the southern voluta diadema beacon, which begins to hum and vibrate.

A glorious beam of light shoots out over New Celest.

> path walk celest

You begin speedwalking...

The nine beams of light over New Celest meet high above the city, converging into one brilliant point. With a sudden flash that lights up the entire Basin, the light forms a new and glorious star that bathes the city in a soft white glow.

You speedwalk northwest to on lower Murex street...

The Star of Celest shines brilliantly and, in a flash of light, a spirit of radiant starlight descends upon the top of one of the city's beacon towers.

You speedwalk northwest to the Pool of Stars.

You have reached your destination.

> up

On the upper deck of the Pool of Stars.

This location is flooded with shallow, crystal clear water. A translucent anchor of essence is quivering furiously here. A statue of an exalted ivory and gold dragon stands here, memorialising his noble spirit. Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy lingers here, her figure traced in a soothing aura of effortless serenity. She wields an eight-pointed sapphire klangaxe with both hands.

You see exits leading north, northeast, southeast, southwest, northwest, down (open door), and in.

A streak of light lances towards the Star of Celest from the centre of the city, trailing a shroud of dancing, starlit darkness.

Bleuu claps her hands together merrily.

You press your palms together over your heart and perform a humble bow, chanting a harmonic mantra that creates a profound sense of peace.

You say, "So we need to check the beacon towers?"

Bleuu tilts her head curiously.

With a flourish of your hand, you gesture at the empty air.

You say, "I saw a spirit descend on a beacon tower."

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says, "Oh!"

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says, "Ok."

(Snip: I investigate each of the beacon towers three times, but find nothing interesting. I return to the Pool.)

You say to Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars, "Hail, Meleris. I have lit all of the beacons as instructed, but the Star Deva has not appeared anywhere that I can see. Have I perhaps done something wrong?"

An austere blue glow fills the room, fading away to reveal Bleuu coming in from the up.

You say to Meleris, Keeper of the Pool of Stars, "I've searched the surroundings including each beacon tower, but the Star Deva is nowhere to be seen. Was this what you wanted me to find out when you advised I seek her counsel? That she is unavailable to us?"

(Time passes...)

You shrug helplessly.

You say, "Well, I've been at this for a week now. I suppose the Deva isn't available at the moment."

Bleuu ponders for a moment and says "Hrm..."

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy looks thoughtful and says, "I don't understand what could've happened."

You say, "Me either."

(An admin echo arrives!)

You think about it for a moment, and you consider, it must be the case that you saw the Star Deva, for how else did you receive the prophesy?

Musing to yourself, you say, "I feel like she came to deliver some sort of prophesy, but perhaps in my rush to meet her at the usual location of the Upper Deck, I missed her arrival and prophesying at the beacon?"

Perhaps, you think to yourself. And you try to recall if you saw or heard anything in particular.

You say, "Well, let me see. When I put the pearl in the beacon, a glorious beam of light shot up and joined with the other eight beams, converging in one brilliant point that lit the city. I then saw the Star of Celest shine, and a spirit of radiant starlight descend on a beacon tower-- but by that time I was already hurrying along Murex street towards the Pool."

You say, "I did see a streak of light lancing towards the Star from the centre of the city, trailing a shroud of dancing, starlit darkness."

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy looks skeptical and says, "I feel like she would not have left that quickly."

Bleuu shrugs her shoulders, casually stating, "I don't know," as a testament to her cluelessness.

Bleuu ponders for a moment and says "Hrm..."

Oh dear, you think, what if the Star Deva remained on the beacon tower?

Bleuu's eyes bulge out as she utters a strangled, "Gah!"

You say, "I think I'll check the beacons for a fourth time, just to ensure I didn't miss anything."

You cough softly.

Bleuu gives a trillingly melodic laugh.

(Snip: I begin checking each tower in sequence, when my attention is captured by a cat at the westernmost beacon.)

At the top of Tonna Olearium Tower.

A rhythmic thrumming saturates the area, drawing attention to a war shrine of Terentia nearby. The large, spiraling, tonna olearium beacon shines forth with a powerful yellow light. Pawing at his ears, a silver coloured cat plays nearby.

You see a single exit leading down.

> p cat

Deep sapphire coloured eyes stare back at you from underneath a long coat of pristine grey fur. Streaks of silver shimmer effortlessly when struck with light, and flow in elegant markings towards the paws and the tip of his tail. Waves of long whiskers flow from just beneath his nose, almost touching the ground before him.

A silver coloured cat does not look particularly dangerous.

He weighs about 10 pounds.

You cannot see what a silver coloured cat is holding.

It has the following aliases: cat, animal.

You pet a silver coloured cat ingratiatingly.

A silver coloured cat arches his back, enjoying your affection.

> get cat

You cannot pick up a silver coloured cat.

You ponder the situation.

You say to a silver coloured cat, "Pardon me, I'll return shortly to finish petting you."

(Snip: I check the rest of the beacons, then return to the cat.)

You greet a silver coloured cat with a sincere smile.

A silver coloured cat turns his attention towards you as his ears perk up in interest.

You cannot pick up a silver coloured cat.

You tell Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy, "There's a cat who refuses to be picked up on Tonna Olearium."

An austere blue glow fills the room, fading away to reveal Bleuu coming in from the down.

Bleuu reaches over to a silver coloured cat and itches his back.

A silver coloured cat meows at Bleuu endearingly.

You say, "The only thing out of the ordinary that I've seen, besides that wagon, is this rather friendly cat who refuses to be picked up."

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy looks thoughtful and says, "I saw him here earlier too."

You nod your head in agreement.

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says, "But I didn't think much of it."

You say, "He is constant, in a city where the cats move all the time."

You pet a silver coloured cat ingratiatingly.

A silver coloured cat arches his back, enjoying your affection.

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says, "Is he always up here?"

You say, "You know, I'm not actually sure. I don't come to the beacons often."

You say, "Let me think back and see."

(After a pause for log-checking)

You say, "I was unfortunately in too much of a hurry to notice a cat, even one so handsome as this."

You say, "Speedwalking between the beacons has its disadvantages."

Bleuu nods her head emphatically.

You give an emerald firefly squid to a silver coloured cat.

A silver coloured cat curiously bats at an emerald firefly squid, leaving it rolling on the ground.

A firefly squid jets off to the down.

You peer about yourself unscrupulously.

Bleuu gives a trillingly melodic laugh.

You give a bag of fish heads to a silver coloured cat.

A silver coloured cat curiously bats at a bag of fish heads, leaving it rolling on the ground.

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says to a silver coloured cat, "Kittyyy."

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says to a silver coloured cat, "Can you help us?"

You say, "Well, he's not waiting to be fed, that's for sure. No self-respecting hungry cat would turn down a whole bag of fish."

The corners of Bleuu's mouth turn up as she grins mischievously.

You say, "But perhaps he can lead us to the Deva?"

Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy sticks out her tongue and says, "Perhaps he is more of a mouse cat."

You have emoted: Utasa makes a strange chirruping noise to try to get the cat's attention, then extends his arms and arches his back in his best-- but still comically-inept-- impression of a Deva.

A startled laugh escapes Bleuu's lips, which is quickly stifled as her hand moves to politely cover her mouth.

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "The admins are probably like "these two f***ing idiots.." haha."

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): You say, "Right? I detected a definite hint of 'you dumb***' in that last echo about checking the beacons again."

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): You say, "Which I probably deserve after walking away from the beacon mid-prog."

You have emoted: Utasa wobbles a bit as he attempts to hold his position, casting hopeful looks in the unimpressed cat's direction.

Petting the cat gently, Quartermistress Bleuu, Servant of Mercy says, "I guess not."

You have emoted: Utasa wobbles determinedly in place, flapping his arms slightly to emulate wings. "C'mon kitty, I'm a Deva! You just have to find another Deva and I'll stop doing weird things and bothering you!"

You have emoted: Utasa pauses for a long moment, then slumps his shoulders, letting his arms fall back to his side. "Ah well, it was a long shot anyways."

You say to a silver coloured cat, "Sorry we bothered you, furry friend. We'll go talk to Meleris and see if he has any suggestions for how we can contact the Deva."

Bleuu gives a trillingly melodic laugh.

You press your palms together over your heart and bow humbly to a silver coloured cat while chanting a harmonic mantra. A silver coloured cat's eyes light up with profound peace.

A silver coloured cat turns his attention towards you as his ears perk up in interest.

Bleuu reaches over to a silver coloured cat and itches his back.

A silver coloured cat's ears perk up as his attention turns towards Bleuu.

Bleuu rubs up against a silver coloured cat, purring like a cat.

A silver coloured cat meows at Bleuu endearingly.

You say to Bleuu, "Shall we?"

A silver coloured cat stretches languidly.

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): You say, "The cat stretched, is that a good thing? Do they normally stretch?"

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "Hahaha."

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "I was just wondering the same thing."

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "I dunno."

You ponder the situation.

A sudden flare of an austere blue glow blinds you momentarily as Bleuu leaves to the down.

A golden retriever struts out to the down.

You say, "Rest well, little one."

(Snip: We return to the Pool.)

You say, "Well, I'm at a loss. None of the beacons had anything particularly Deva-shaped, other than that one suspiciously stationary cat who, like all others of his kind, still wouldn't give us the time of day."

You say, "He even turned down fish. And a fresh squid."

You say, "That cat is spoiled, I tell you."

You say, "I shall name him the Good Prince Snugglepants, the Keen-Eyed Guardian of the Western Wall."

You say, "Clearly his loyalty is unswerving, and he cannot be bought away from his duty."

Sylvanas

Ghaloaire said:

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "The admins are probably like "these two f***ing idiots.." haha."

For the record, we have all had that moment.

Phoebus

I wonder if it was that cat. He can't be picked up because he is a hero.

Dylara

Sylvanas said:

Ghaloaire said:

(Fraternitatis Dreadnoughticum): Bleuu says, "The admins are probably like "these two f***ing idiots.." haha."

For the record, we have all had that moment.

I'm pretty sure they were thinking the same when Glom did its prophecy like two days ago.

Ssaliss

Phoebus said:

I wonder if it was that cat. He can't be picked up because he is a hero scarred for life.

You really need to learn to spell better. That was the worst typo I've ever seen.

Ghaloaire

It's official!

Events News #348

...

Whilst waiting, at Meleris's urging, Utasa of the Tahtetso raised the

beacons to seek the prophecy of the Star of Celest - which, despite

several hurdles and the discovery of the Guardian of the Western Wall,

was eventually found.