abraxasooc | INTERLUDE: NOCWICH OPENING

Interlude - Nocwich Opening

Nocwich, who remains free from the influence of the Heralds last month, has decided that it's ready to open Oleuni Square on a more regular basis.

While the territories of Ikorr and Luna outside of the Square continue to remain closed, portals to Oleuni Square will now open for 3 days every first weekend of each month. Any character who has their pendant from the original Nocwich trip can continue to use it to visit while the newly Summoned will be given a pendant upon arrival after they've formally settled into their factions.

Nocwich continues to remain out of the conflict, but they are providing economic support to all three factions through trade. In exchange, Nocwich has gained a few exports from each faction that it did not have before: potions from Thorne, crops and herbs from Solvunn, and modest technological inventions from the Free Cities.

As for Lady Elin, the seer, she is nowhere to be found and has not been heard from since the events of August. No one appears to believe she's in danger. There are rumors that she's retreated to Lunar Pond, refusing to be disturbed. By all accounts, this is not uncommon for her and she's been known to vanish on occasion after some great disturbance upon the world - which the start of a war most definitely is. The werewolves believe she will return when she's ready.

Nocwich has been given an official Settings page.
Please check out the page to see what you'll find when you visit Nocwich from hereon out.
Players will also have the opportunity to decide, through a small IC "vote", whether Luna or Ikorr will open first. See below for more details.

Tokens from Nocwich: Luna or Ikorr

In the middle of Oleuni Square sits a decorated and gently lit table. Upon it are two bowls, one carved with the moon emblem of Luna, the werewolves, and one carved with the blooming flower of Ikorr, the vampires.

◎ The bowl from LUNA contains intricate animal carving made from deer antlers.
◎ The bowl from IKORR contains intricate floral carvings from shiny pearl.

Characters may choose one. They do not need to pay for it - these are tokens to welcome the Summoned into Nocwich.

Submit your character's selection to this comment here.
OOC, this will function as a vote for whether Ikorr or Luna opens up first in the coming weeks. Don't stress about the decision too much! Eventually, both Luna and Ikorr will open for characters to enjoy.

Notes

As with all interludes and preludes, this is not a formal game event! Rather, players can use the details described as inspiration and incorporate it into any threads or CR plans they may have. You can handwave as much or as little as you want regarding this occurrence. If you'd like, you can use this OOC post to plot with each other.

The factions will be keeping a close eye on Nocwich as the small nation begins to enter the larger playing field while tensions are high.

Questions and Answers

If after reading these you're still unsure about anything, or your question wasn't covered, please feel free to hit up our Questions thread below!

Can my character investigate Lady Elin's disappearance?: There's no need! For logistical reasons OOCly, Lady Elin has vanished so the mod team can arrange the fortune telling feature for both current and incoming players. She'll be back as soon as possible once we've opened that aspect of the game.
Does this mean characters can now mingle once a month in person across factions?: That's exactly what this means! Characters from all three factions will be able to meet face-to-face for 3 days out of each month. They can participate in many of the same activities found in Oleuni Square during the Nocwich event in August, including the Hunting Woods, gambling dens, shopping, and hot springs. The only parts not open are the Lunar Pond and the Nightbloom, which are located in Ikorr and Luna - two cities that can't be accessed right now.
Can my character use this opportunity to exchange faction-unique items?: Yes, to a degree. Nocwich still will not allow large weapons and strictly speaking, contraband from opposing factions is not allowed. This includes things such as the sap and metal, books of knowledge, and similar. However, for individual use on rare occasions, characters who are subtle may be able to trade a small amount. Just be aware if anyone informs upon them or they're spotted doing so, there could be consequences.
What happens if my character fraternizes often with those of another faction?: War or not, diplomacy remains in play and that means even officials from factions in conflict might meet for negotiations or to play nice despite the tensions. The Summoned are welcome to do the same...but those who appear too friendly with others from another faction or who are spotted seemingly conspiring may raise suspicion.
Will characters ICly know the impact of their choice between the tokens?: Not necessarily. They may be able to sense that Nocwich on the whole is attempting to gauge where the interests of the Summoned are, but it will not be in regards to any explicit decisions.
Will there be an event post for this?: There will be no event post! Players are welcome to use the details outlined here to flavor interactions in their personal logs and threads. Our upcoming event will be in December.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Will these weekends be on the Abraxas Calendar?

(Apologies if they are already there. I tried to check the calendar page, and while the page itself will load the work wifi is denying me loading the embedded calendar on this computer!)

As noted, it's the first weekend of each month so you can assume as such on a regular calendar. For example, the first weekend of November is the 4th-6th.

What will happen if someone tries to get a friend from a different faction to go back to theirs? I assume the pendant won't allow that but just curious!

Adding a quick second question for Istredd: is there a bookstore or something like that which would carry texts and history info about Nocwich area that wouldn't be available in the other factions? Or generally books/info Thorne wouldn't typically have?

Edited 2022-11-01 18:45 (UTC)

That's correct, the pendant will only allow them through their faction's portal.

The Square will carry some general books containing the information available on Nocwich's settings page. However, as Luna utilizes a strong oral tradition and Ikorr keeps its knowledge secured in ancient vaults, the writings open to the public are not in-depth. He'll also find a variety of fiction published by local Nocwich writers that wouldn't be available anywhere else.

Just to clarify, we can jump into Nocwich any time as part of our catch alls and stuff? We don't need to wait for a formal post or anything right?

That's correct, as noted the Square opens ICly on the first weekend of each month but players may make their threads at any point in their own logs when using Nocwich as a setting.

Would small animals be allowed to travel to Nocwich? Jaskier has a toy gryphon he would try to bring with him. He's very well behaved, I promise.

Yes! There are no restrictions on pets of average size. The citizens of Nocwich might be curious since toy gryphons aren't common in the area.

And Jaskier can't wait to show him off! :)

Reply with your Player Name and Character Name under either Ikorr or Luna, depending on your choice.

If you have multiple characters, please only submit one per player. Multiple characters can take a token ICly, but we ask that each player cast only one vote.

You can use the code template below: