Who: Everyone
When: Late Evening
Where: Town Hall
What: A town meeting to cover the generators, Vice Council positions, and the All Hallow's Eve preparations.

Theora waited for the gathered crowd at Town Hall to settle down before she approached the podium. The priestess cleared her throat, a subtle way to quiet the crowd, and smiled at everyone when the talking finally died down. She took her place in front of the citizens, a calm radiance coming from her being. “Thank you all for attending our meeting this evening,” she began. “We have many things to discuss tonight, all of which are very pertinent to you, the citizens.”

( There were a couple of things that would not be mentioned... )

Who: Dylan and Lucretia
When: Mid-morning after this.
Where: Medical Pavilion
What: After the coroner's examination, Dylan comes to discuss the matter of Simon's murder.

Everything was beginning to change. As much as Dylan wanted to believe in the good of people, he was obviously mistaken as of late. Dissent existed amongst the citizens. Maybe not in the form of whispers heard, but clearly in the form of actions. Apparently, someone did not believe in the inalienable right to life for all people. All life was supposed to be sacred and precious while taken care of and protected against harm. Within their own haven, people were beginning to turn on others. A mauled faun was one thing; there was no proof it was done by anything other than an animal, but this — this wasn’t done by an animal. It was done by a monster.

His footsteps echoed down the hallway as he walked towards the coroner’s examination room. The medical examiner was in there with Simon’s deceased body, and Dylan was the one meant to speak with her afterward. Dr. Rousseau had in so far during her stay in Elysium been granted a reprieve from her previous life’s work, but the last two weeks had proved themselves to be graciously turning in her favor.

He walked up to the door, turning the handle and opening it to reveal a chilled room illuminated with soft blue-hued lights. There on one of the tables was Simon’s corpse covered only with a white sheet draped over the lower half of his body. The workers of the wine bar were charged with keeping their silence, and the same had been relayed to the medical examiner. Dylan need not explain it again for her as entered the room and closed the door behind himself.

Dylan circled around the table and surveyed the lifeless young man. Only days ago had he had been alive and in their custody. Now, he was no longer breathing. No longer moving. No longer living. Someone was playing a dangerous game with the Head Council. Certainly, not in a direct manner, but a dangerous game with them all the same. They were forces to be reckoned with as the circumstances diverged from their greatest hopes and surpassed their greatest fears.

He halted in place, folding his hands in front of himself as he continued to gaze at the body. It was so hard to accept another death. Not because death was meant to be avoided, but because Dylan hoped it never would have come to this — to murder. Even as Dylan heard new footsteps, his eyes remained at the young man on the table. His silence in and of itself held a profound weight.

“Dr. Rousseau,” Dylan said, eyes fixed on Simon’s pale corpse. Finally, he lifted them in Rousseau’s direction. “I trust you have the answers we need.”

WHO: Dylan and Leon
WHEN: Early Afternoon
WHERE: Helicharis
WHAT: A meeting between like-minded men.

Dylan walked with his hands in pockets, surveying the landscape around him. A group of children were playing nearby, and it brought a smile to Dylan’s face. They were playing a ball game, and some of them had wings and were attempting to fly above the others to win. A fairly tall child, presumably a giant, grabbed one of the fae children by the feet and told him to come down. Dylan shook his head and laughed, turning his attention back to his walk and the road ahead of himself.

However, their play resulted in loss of the ball. It fell from the fae’s hands and bounced across the grass, finally rolling at last and stopping at Dylan’s feet. He halted in his walk and, instead of bending over to pick up the ball, Dylan held out his hand towards it and began to levitate the light object. It floated into the air as the little kids all ran towards him. “Can we have our ball back?” one of them called, a chorus of voices echoing their agreement.

“Yeah, can we have our ball back, please?” another said.

Dylan smiled and shook his head, causing the ball to dart away from the boy with wings who had immediately flown to try and retrieve the floating ball. “Hey!” the little boy exclaimed, his wings buzzing in the air like a dragonfly’s wings.

“Play nice with each other, and I will return the ball,” Dylan said with a gentle grin, causing the ball to dance through the air. The kids started to laugh and jump up and down. The fae boy landed on the grass and took up beside his friends. They all began to promise in a loud chorus of voices how they would behave and play properly if he returned the ball to them. “Do you promise?” Dylan inquired, lifting an eyebrow.

“Yeeessss,” they all said. Dylan chuckled and released the ball, sending it soaring over the crowd of heads. They all squealed and began running towards the ball. “LAST ONE THERE IS A CHICKEN EGG!” one called, and Dylan’s nose wrinkled at the suggestion. He hoped the girl was not a witch, otherwise she might actually try to attempt the feat. He shook his head and walked once more, planning on heading somewhere for a rest today. Often, he worked long hours and did not do much for himself. Today, that would be different.

Who: Constance, Dylan, Theora, and Adam
When: Morning
Where: Town Hall
What: The council has some important things to discuss.

Furious wasn't the proper word to describe how Constance currently felt as she stormed down the hall to find Dylan and Theora. Adam trailed behind her, keeping close. On the same night as her granddaughter getting attacked by a werewolf, a faun turned up half-eaten and torn to shreds near the festival grounds. It wasn't a coincidence in her eyes. By now, everyone knew about the dead faun, but nobody knew about her granddaughter, Alicia. They were keeping it under wraps to safeguard the minds of the community. With the news of the faun on the loose, if they heard about Alicia then the entire community would panic.

Her shoes clacked loudly against the wooden floor. When she arrived in the council chambers, Constance waited for Adam to step into the room before she slammed the door behind them and let her anger known to her colleagues and councilmen.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Constance demanded, regardless of whether or not anyone had any answers to her question. "Already, people are referring to it as a murder when we don't even know what's happened — and I can't take this." Constance sat down in the nearest chair, looking more worn for wear than usual. Adam took a seat beside her, a worried expression on his face. Constance hadn't wanted Adam to get dragged into it, but Alicia was family and he already knew about what happened to her.

"I've told Lucinda and Kelsey to keep quiet about Alicia. I've told Alicia, Zach, Adrienne, and Nico too. No one else is to know about this. If word gets out Alicia was attacked by a werewolf outside of the full moon and then a dead faun turns up, everyone's gonna think we have a psycho on our hands." Constance chewed her bottom lip. She said something then they all had to take into consideration.

" . . . And maybe it's time to recognize we do."

Who: Dylan [Narrative]
When: Mid-Morning
Where: Magical Supplies Shop
What: Dressed low key and fiddling around.

Pointing his finger at one of the instruments on the shelf across from him, Dylan levitated the small object towards himself. It crept slowly through the air, floating along, until he held up his other hand with its palm up and the object placed itself safely into his grasp. The djinn had never seen an object like this before. Gold-plated metal pieces glimmered under the shop's lights and twisted and turned all around each other, creating something that looked a Da Vinci creation. There were also many, many thin wires of metal running all across the creation on each of the metal pieces and twisting around and around in a confusing pattern, creating what appeared to be tunnels without walls that were made out of four pieces of wire each. Dylan furrowed his brow, wondering what the object was capable of. What was its purpose? It looked like it made measurements of some sort.

Dylan's eyes focused on the small, round ballpoint at the top, situated on a thin pole stretching down into the curves of metal that had many intriguing markings upon them like miniature symbols or hieroglyphics. There were also etches of fine lines on the curves of each piece of metal at the tips — like a tape for measurement that humans used, only all of the fine lines were carved into the metal. Pressing his finger gently upon the ballpoint, the machine suddenly came to life. It began to twist and turn, all of the pieces moving in what seemed to be like opposite directions and colorful beads spilling out of nowhere to fall through various tubes and settling themselves on different curves of metal.

"That," said a man behind the counter nearby, "is a life measurer!"

Dylan looked over, raising his eyebrows. He looked to the object again and wondered exactly how it measured time or what it was measuring about time. "What does it measure of life?" Dylan asked, his deep and accented voice coming through clearly. The man recognized him then, eye growing wide. "Councilman!" the man cried out, hurrying over. "I didn't know that was you! Oh, it's such an honor to have you in my shop! Here, let me show you . . . "

Carefully, he took the object from Dylan and placed it on top of the shelf. "This little instrument, sir, measures life by telling you the events of your life and showing the patterns that have led to both good, bad — and neutral, of course — things that have happened to you. It allows the reader to decipher how to make decisions in the present, and even the future, to bring about better outcomes for themselves in their lives." He looked up, appearing embarrassed behind his spectacles. "It's my own creation," he said. "I'm a bit proud of it."

Intrigued by the machine, though, Dylan looked at it and watched as the turns and twists slowly came to the stop and the final beads dropped down. The whole thing stilled. "Tell me," Dylan said, "what does it say of mine?"

( “I’ve based it on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs!” )

Who: Dylan [Narrative]
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Town Hall
What: Dispatching an important letter to Mitsuko Kamiyama.

Town Hall bustled with activity and chatter as the chambers of councilmen discussing the case against Mitsuko Kamiyama had disbursed from their meetings a short while earlier. A decision had been reached over the investigation involving the kitsune, the only one left from their list of suspects that was believed to be responsible by some as the thief herself. However, talks had been proceeding since the day before, well into the night, and into today. It was finally done.

Dylan left his office with a letter in one of his hands, a fine beige envelope containing the folded parchment with the announcement of the final decision that was to be delivered to Mitsuko Kamiyama's cottage. Good news was contained within, relieving the kitsune of all suspicion on various grounds. There was not enough evidence against her, her story was corroborated by others, and the kitsune did not have the power to get past the secure barriers that had been put up around the artifact itself.

In other words, she was free of all possible charges. It was lucky, Dylan thought, that they never reached the point of being able to charge her with anything. Part of him remained ever skeptical, as did Constance. Beyond that, it was good it did not come to trial without Theora's presence. Dylan believed the High Priestess would be able to help them discover the real thief, for he did not believe Mitsuko had reason or might to take the elven artifact from its cradle that night.

Which left the question of who really committed the crime, but Dylan's thoughts were not to be troubled with that at the moment. He handed the letter over to a dispatcher with a smile on his face, hoping the news would reach Miss Kamiyama very soon.

( THE LETTER DISPATCHED: Mitsuko Kamiyama. )

Who: Dylan, Mitsuko, and Pietro
When: Morning
Where: Town Hall
What: A conclusion over the stolen artifact.

His footsteps echoed across the floor as he made his way to the small conference room. His heart weighed heavily with each step his feet took through the hallway. Dylan knew there were people who wanted answers about the artifact, and there were some who did not care. They questioned further people, but through much less alarming methods. Visitors to people's houses stopped by the previous afternoon to confirm the stories given to them by their suspects. Partial confirmations were given, but not everything fell into place.

It had been up to him and others to determine whether or not any of their called in suspects had indeed taken part in the theft of the artifact. The decision had not been easy either. Irei Arakaki was written off of the list. There was no way he could have partaken in the theft. As for the two kitsune, things were much more different for them.

Dylan opened up the door to the conference room, saw Mitsuko Kamiyama and her lawyer, Pietro Conté, on the other side of the table. He closed the door behind him and approached the table, shaking Pietro's hand and bowing to Mitsuko in greeting to them both. "I must inform you both that this has been a very hard decision for the summoned jury council to decide upon," he began with the two of them, taking a seat at the table on the side opposite of them. "The artifact is still missing, and there are those who want answers."

His words were cryptic as they sometimes revealed themselves to be for others. "Miss Kamiyama," Dylan said, turning to look at Mitsuko. "If you will, please relay to me your side of the story once more. In detail, truthfully as it happened. As much as I am sure you do not like me, I ask only that you answer this as seriously and kindly as possible. This is important for you to say, and important for me to heed. Therefore, if you will, calmly tell me the events of that night, which you and you alone have experienced and have the ability to tell."

Who: Constance and Dylan [Narrative]
When: Evening
Where: Town Hall
What: Now, there are dead animals to add to the mix.

"What the hell is this?" Constance demanded, smacking her hand against the table once she had been informed of the news. Apparently, one of the doctors had been up at the town hall on Wednesday to report half-eaten and ripped animal carcases strewn across someone's lawn, and no one took him seriously. The matter wasn't looked into that day, and it was already cleaned up by now. Constance was just finding out at this particular moment, and it was an understatement to say she was pissed off about it.

Stalking out of her office, Constance immediately went to find Dylan. Something didn't sit right with her about this. They didn't have any large, immensely threatening predators on the mainland that would do something like this. What did it? Who did it? The creatures had been half-eaten, marks of a animal . . . but purposefully strewn in someone's lawn? The mark of a intelligent being. Someone praeternatural or human.

She found Dylan as he was pouring himself a glass of water in the hallway by one of the elven fountains. Her lips were drawn thin and taut, and there was a look on Dylan's face like he too had something on his mind. "Did you hear about this?" Constance asked him, going into detail about what she was told.

At the end of it all, Dylan slowly nodded his head. "I just heard about it as well," he revealed. "It troubles me," the djinn said softly. His dark eyes turned to Constance's eyes. "Something is not right, but I do not know what we are to do."

"First," Constance began to ramble, "we have a theft of that powerful elven piece of metal, and now half-eaten dead animals are showing up on people's lawns? What the hell is going on around here?" Her head lowered, shaking slowly as her hand came up to touch her forehead. She felt her ability as a leader was failing somewhere along the way. Things like this didn't just . . . happen right under your nose.

"I do not know," Dylan said, "but we will keep our eyes steady and trained on our surroundings." One of his hands came up to rest upon her shoulder. "In case it happens again, we will be prepared."

Constance glanced up, not liking the words she was hearing but understanding. Releasing a heavy breath, she nodded her head.

Who: Constance, Dylan, Mitsuko, Logan, Shigeru, Irei, and Elven guards.
When: 12:00 PM
Where: Town Hall
What: The questioning over the stolen elven artifact.

Outside of the grand structure of Town Hall, there seemed to be a perfect silence that had settled upon its grounds. No clatter or clamor echoed from within the building, only a calm quiet permeated the air. The only movement appeared to be a gentle breeze passing through the tall grass and the flowers outlining the fine building. However, the silence was an ominous sort of feeling for those approaching its structure. The question of what to expect within remained ever unclear.

Once a person walked into the main entrance, they were greeted by an array of Elven guards outlining the hallways. One of the guards would approach and inquire of their name and their business in Town Hall. When their name was given and if they were one of the people summoned from the day before, they were asked if they had brought their summons letter. Those who brought theirs were asked to show them; those who did not were known by name as it were by the guards. They were then escorted singularly to one of the four small chambers set aside for the interrogations on this day.

The four interrogation rooms had elven magic cast upon them to render all within the room incapable of performing their natural magic, temporarily "nullifying" their abilities as long as they were in the room. However, this protective measure also worked against those who were the questioners. Of course, attributes like strength remained the same, and so two Elven guards were placed in each room along with the interrogator.

Now, it was time to see what those brought forth would say.

Who: Dylan and Constance [Narrative]
Where: The Temple
When: Morning
What: Talk over the stolen Elven artifact.

Their footsteps echoed through the temple as they walked down the opening between the long, polished benches. It was a walkway of neutral stone and fine carpet. Constance's arm were crossed. Dylan's hands remained in his pockets. The two of them had already discussed the missing artifact with the temple priests, but now they walked in silence as the first rays of sun poured in through the high windows and sheer curtains.

"This is Zach's birthday," Constance said sternly. "I'm not giving a speech on Zach's birthday about this damn thing." It was a special day for her family, but the events of the night before could not be ignored.

"The priests and I will handle the announcement to the public," Dylan said in a kind voice. He stopped walking, turning to Constance and offering a sympathetic look. "You may go home to your family. We will deal with this. At the current moment, all we can do is make an announcement. The priests are examining the temple for evidence. Perhaps something was left behind that was not here to begin with," Dylan informed her. "We do not know, however. We have no suspects yet. We will have to see where this goes, but for now, leave it to me and the temple priests."

Constance nodded her head slowly, her lips drawn into a tight, thin line. "I don't like things like this happening right under my nose. Right under any of our noses, but you're right." She raised her gaze to Dylan, a serious gleam in them. "There's nothing we can do about this right now other than wait and see what turns up and what happens next." Constance glanced over to her right. "Tell me if you find anything, okay?"

Dylan slowly nodded his head. "I will." He offered a small smile. "Now, go spend your grandson's birthday with your family."

He watched as she nodded her head in response. Constance looked up and reached out to affectionately pat Dylan's arm with her hand. "Good luck," she said. "I hope you find something." With that, she turned around and walked towards the exit of the temple.

"Tell Zach I said 'happy birthday,'" Dylan called softly to her.

Raising her hand in a backwards wave as she left, Constance acknowledged she heard his final words. A soft smile marked Dylan's face before he turned back towards the forefront of the temple, a creased brow taking over his features. He did not know what they were going to find by the time of the announcement this evening.

Who: Constance, Dylan, Midori, Sonya [and others, if anyone wishes to speak to the Head Council today]
Where: Town Hall
When: Various times throughout the day.
What: Leadership duties.

OOC Note: Start sub-threads in this post by posting the name of your character(s) in the subject and the approximate time of day that particular scene is happening. One of the council members will reply to it.

Without the third member to make up the complete council, duties were drawing themselves tightly around the two remaining members left behind after the high priestess had sailed away to the isle known as Tol'hith far out on Lake Alata'elen. An ancient elven artifact had been put on display due to her departure by the elves at the town's temple, something of great worth in terms of power. It made a distrustful Constance wary. The grandmother, though the youngest of the council, had spent more years being jaded and skeptical than either of the other two council members. It put her on edge knowing it was just out there on display like that.

The full moon had also just occurred on Tuesday with a number of the werewolves coming out in bad shape, especially a young woman in particular. Despite Zach's claims that it had been done on purpose, and Adrienne coming to conscious to explain her attack to them, Dylan and Constance were split over the matter. Constance believed it was done on purpose, took her grandson's word for it. Dylan thought the opposite, calling it the nature of werewolves. According to him, it was nothing more than some rough play that got out of hand — perhaps even the move of dominating male wolf exerting force over what he saw as a young female.

Dylan had more on his mind, though. Constance knew that. His cottage had been trashed by a trouble-making, no-good kitsune by the name of Mitsuko Kamiyama. Constance wanted to do something about it, but the fact of the matter was do what? Neither of them knew. Dylan, because he wasn't sure how to approach the situation, and Constance, because she wished she could throw the kitsune into the dungeon for a week and see how the fox liked it, but that sort of punishment was far too extreme for the offense.

Sighing for all of the thoughts in her head, Constance exited the records room and marched her way down the hallway to look for Dylan or a strong cup of coffee.

Who: Dylan and Constance [Narrative]
Where: Town Hall
When: Early Morning
What: Everything seems to be going wrong.

After helping to keep watch over the werewolves last night as the barrier was erected and put into place, Dylan returned briefly to his home to find everything in the lower floor smashed and ransacked. A great pained feeling overwhelmed him at the sight, to find many of his possessions broken or torn to shreds. Ornamental dishes made by his mother’s hands lay in pieces upon the carpet. Perhaps some of them could be repaired, but seeing them in shards at his feet caused a swell of emotions in the djinn. Books that had lain upon his shelves were torn from their spines, pages scattered everywhere. Everything was knocked over to cause a mess, other things were broken, and a window was smashed wide open.

Then, as he passed through the wreckage, Dylan came by a note left on one of his tables. A little white sheet of paper with five words written on it: Guess I’m NOT mature enough. Emblazoned beneath the letters was a kiss mark of red lipstick. Dylan knew the perpetrator without having to wonder or ask questions. Mitsuko Kamiyama. She had wanted him to know, or she wouldn’t have left the note. It pained him in a way that he could not describe, as he folded up the little note and slipped it into his pocket.

At the current moment, the sun had risen not too long ago and Dylan walked down a corridor in the town hall building with Constance at his side.

“I’ve been telling you,” Constance went on knowingly, “that fox ain’t nothing but trouble. Her momma said it, her momma’s been saying it, and now we finally find out just how much of a damn—”

“Constance,” Dylan said softly, holding up one of his hands as they walked, “that is unnecessary.”

( “Well, that may be unnecessary for you,” Constance shot back, “but where I come from, we spank unruly children and make ‘em show some damn respect for authority.” )

Who: Dylan and ... [Anyone involved!]
Where: Town Hall
When: Afternoon
What: Finding the orphans homes.

**Note: To join, begin a subthread with the names of those involved in the subject of your comment. I'm not sure who and all is participating!

All of the orphans had been brought to the Town Hall today. Although Dylan had no children himself, he knew how to act with them due to spending time with the youth of his clan back home. He arrived at the medical pavilion dressed in very simple human clothes today: a t-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap. It was not the djinn's usual style of clothing, but it made him more approachable to the other residents of Elysium. Often, he seemed quite imposing with his size and extremely professional demeanor.

Dylan picked up the orphans from the medical pavilion and took them to Town Hall. The smallest sat on his shoulders and two of the others held his hands as they all walked into the building together, laughing and talking along the way.

Once they were inside, Dylan brought the children to one of the rooms set aside for them with supervisors as he met with the prospective foster parents today. He remained in his choice of clothing, deciding not to switch out for a suit or robes. Dylan found the human clothes to be rather comfortable, though he was not sure he liked the jeans very much. For someone used to loose-fitting fabrics with fluidity, jeans felt rather restrictive. He hoped his appearance would be okay for those coming by today.

Who: Dylan [Narrative]
Where: The Temple
When: Morning
What: After a moment of prayer, a moment of consideration.

A calm wind was beginning to pick up in the air, soothing Dylan's worries away from his mind as he stood upon the upper ring of an open hallway, much more like a balcony with a roof, stretching across the second floor of the elven temple. Today would begin as a beautiful day, though there were tidings of small rainstorms later in the evening. Dylan rested his palms upon the marble banister as he gazed out at the horizon, bright with the colors of a new day. Hues of golden sunlight fell onto the vibrant greens of the mountains in the distance, a fair view to behold. With lifted hopes from his session of prayer this morning, Dylan felt immensely better after his worries the past few days.

Returning from their mission in the outside world, they came back with important news and findings, relaying all of their discoveries to the other councils of faraway havens. Not all havens, it seemed, had sent people out. Some of them, however, had dared to risk it along with Dylan's own community. All current knowledge aside, his predications met honestly with what he had seen out there. So, then, what new things had he learned from their mission? How many new things did any of the havens know? It was not much, in truth, but they did know one thing. There was still life out there, struggling to survive.

The first scouting mission yielded survivors from the war and the virus, the lethal Pandora. All praeternaturals held an innate immunity against the virus. Even the metahumans, despite their human lineage, were immune to the effects of Pandora, although they were not immune to other human diseases. This strain in particular, Pandora, wiped out nearly all of the human beings on the planet. If not by infecting them, then by starting the war that killed the rest. Yet, not even all human beings were prone to catching the virus. A small percentage of them, such as young Chris, possessed immunity. It was a very small percent, and yet there it was: it was hope.

Pandora had not come to wipe them all out. It served another purpose, one that Dylan could not decipher at this time, but it seemed to be important. The numbers of those on the earth had grown smaller, much smaller than it had been for centuries, and now most of those who had survived lived in these havens. Safe places in the world, free from the terrors and the horrors beyond the borders of the mountains.

Dylan knew the children would be safe here. For that small comfort, he felt the scouting mission accomplished its purpose. He, too, had accomplished his purpose. As a soft wind tickled the back of his neck and passed upwards into the sky, Dylan smiled gently at the bright horizon ahead.

Who: Open to anyone who wants to go to the funeral
When: Evening
Where: Town Hall
What: Raidon Nagamori's Funeral


Giving to Mitsuko's rogue-like nature, most would not believe her to be a spiritual person. While it was true, she would most likely wade through the serpent-infested water when it was her time to cross Sanzu-no-kawa, the rites and rituals of her upbringing were ingrained deeply within her.

Her father would have shared these beliefs. He was raised in the same skulk as her. He would have wanted a proper funeral.

She had wore black. For the other funerals she had gone to, she'd worn white. The skulk of Midori was pretty old-school. But she had lost her white kimono ages ago. So she chosen her dark black kimono, with a black obi, decorated white small, white flowers. Her hair was pinned up in a bun. It was a very different look from her normal, skimpy fashionista wear.

Mitsuko looked around the assemblage. None of them knew her father, save for Logan. But she supposed that was fitting.... After all, she didn't know him.

Logan. He was... Pretty much an adult. She hadn't expected that when Theora had asked her to care for him. But there he was, seventeen years old. A man. But he was a man scarred, broken.

He was unable to speak. Struck mute by the horrors he had seen. So it was up to Mitsuko to lead the service.

Slowly, Mitsuko walked to the casket Idehr had made. She opened it, looking down at the white fox inside. Her hand trembling, she reached inside and touched a hand to Raidon's head. His fur was soft beneath her fingers. He was lying on a pile of clothes.

Carefully, Mitsuko pulled the hakama around her father's fox body, folding right side under the left.

She picked up the small bowl of water next to the casket. She dipped two fingers into it, placing it against Raidon's mouth, moistening it with the water.

Mitsuko reached into her kimono and pulled out a small bag. Opening it, she produced six coins. She placed them next to the body.

"For your trip, father," MItsuko whispered in Japanese.

She heard the snap of a lighter and looked to her side. Logan was beside her, lighting incense. He met her eyes briefly, but quickly lowered his head and continued his work.

Mitsuko went to the podium, where the Head Council made their announcements. She took a deep breath.

"I didn't know my father," she admitted. "My mother left him before I was born. But... I know he cared for me. That I remained in his thoughts always."

Mitsuko felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned to Logan. He held out a picture to her. She accepted it from him. It was a photo of Raidon Nagamori with a beautiful woman. They were getting married. The car they were running towards had a sign on it reading Congratulations Raidon and Ceridwen.

"He was married," Mitsuko said. "To a woman named Ceridwen. And then had a son, Logan." Mitsuko looked at the hurt expression on Logan's face. "And Logan loved them very much. They died trying to get him to safety. And they succeeded. They brought him to me." She looked at him very seriously. "And I promise I will not let them down."

Who: Everyone [Narrative]
Where: Town Hall
When: Evening
What: Town meeting to relay the discoveries of the scouting mission.

Once again, the meeting hall was packed with the people of Elysium. Those who had accompanied the scouting mission finally returned that morning, bringing with them survivors and many useful supplies from the outside world. It was important for them to relay the discoveries of their journey to the citizens, to announce to them what had indeed happened to the world beyond their borders and what they had found and the people they had rescued. Dylan stood before the crowd this time, fresh from his return and ready to speak to the awaiting crowd. The other Head Council members, Theora and Constance, stood by his side. They waited as more citizens piled into the seats, a loud murmur of chatter filling the air. He could hear the questions now. What had they found out there? Was the world really destroyed? It was time for them to know what their leaders knew.

"Thank you for showing up today," Dylan began in his deep voice. The talking of the crowd whittled down to a quiet murmur and almost faded altogether as he spoke. "I am glad to see so many of you have come for this meeting. All of the scouts have returned safely, without incident, and we have scaled the outside grounds to the nearest city. Supplies that will be of use to us have been brought back from the outside, such as generators and medical supplies."

A burst of excitement seemed to wash over the crowd, the murmur of their voices rising higher once more at this news. Dylan let them talk amongst themselves for a moment before continuing with a louder voice that hushed the noise of the crowd. "The world outside has indeed been hit by the terrors of war. The land surrounding the haven is untouched, but beyond that, the land is tattered, some of it destroyed, and the city we visited was in shambles from weapons of war. The effects of a war are obvious on the land. However, despite this grave news, we were able to recover a handful of survivors."

Again, the crowd reacted. This time with gasps and loud calls out to each other and towards the Head Council. Some seemed angry, and others sounded relieved. Dylan held up his hand. "The survivors are not to be released until they have been in containment for tests to make sure that they are healthy. This will probably take a day or two to accomplish. We would like to ask for volunteers at the medical pavilion to help us tend to those brought back. Anyone with medical training or medicinal knowledge is especially wanted. Interacting with them will be completely safe if you are properly protected, as we are unsure of their health status. Human volunteers will not be accepted for safety reasons on their own behalf. The survivors are very weak from their ordeals, so no visitors will be allowed. Only volunteers may come by and will be granted access, if approved. Also, the father of one young man passed away before he could be brought to the haven, and there will be a funeral service to lay his body to rest in proper time."

The people began to talk immediately again at the end of Dylan's speech. Everything that needed to be said was said. Dylan nodded his head deeply to indicate he was finished, and he turned to Constance and Theora to see if they had anything to add. People began to rise from their seats and filter out of the meeting hall. Already, a few people arose and began to form a small group willing to volunteer at the medical pavilion. The meeting itself was clearly over, and everyone left the Town Hall to return to their daily lives.


** NOTE: If you would like to have your character volunteer for the medical pavilion, please have them leave a note to any member of the Head Council so that they may discuss it in game. **

Who: Theora, Dylan, Zane, Ide, and other scouts (then Danté & Logan!)
When: Tuesday (beginning late morning)
Where: The forest outside the nearest city, and the city's airport
What: The scouting mission finds survivors and supplies

Traveling further from the haven's entrance revealed that there was indeed damage to the area. Some parts of the land were burned, trees and shrubbery singed and blackened. Grass and earth crackled underfoot and there were even parts that were still sending smoke into the air. Zane's brow furrowed as he pressed forward with his group. The party had divided up to cover more area and Zane's party (lead by Dylan) was headed into the now deserted town.

"Unbelievable..." the doctor breathed as his eyes took in the sight before him. The quaint little town was ravaged and Zane imagined what it could have looked like before it became a target for bombs, armored cars and tanks, even infantry. Parts of buildings were blown off, there was concrete crumbled on the ground and splintered wood strewn everywhere. The smell of decomposition mingled with burnt flesh caused Zane's to wince slightly. It was ghastly but nothing that he wasn't prepared for. He took careful steps through the rubble sighing softly when he spied a severed arm or foot, remnants of citizens who were either victims of the virus or the war. Either way it was a tragedy and Zane was thankful for the chance he had to live in Elysium.

Proceeding through the town the group found the city's small airport that had been converted into a temporary military air base. It was exactly what they were looking for, a place that would have the type of supplies that they could use. Plus, it was still intact unlike the rest of the city. Zane crossed his arms and looked around, things were taking a turn for the better and maybe if they were lucky they would even find some survivors.

WHO: Dylan, Theora, and other scouts [Narrative]
WHERE: Beginning at Town Hall, ending outside of Elysium
WHEN: Starting at 3:00 PM
WHAT: The Scouting Mission begins.

The town hall was bustling with activity as they went through the final preparations for the scouting mission. The horses were saddled and bridled, their hooves stomping at the ground in anticipation of the upcoming trip. Neighs filled the air as the horses shook their manes. Their riders stood beside them, double-checking their bags for all the necessary items. There were two wagons that were part of the expedition, one with the necessary supplies for the survival of the party, the other completely empty and ready to carry back whatever they found. It was indeed exciting and everyone was talking about what it would be like outside of the high mountains.

Centaurs and minotaurs did their own kind of preparation. They readied their bows and arrows, their daggers and long swords. Leather armor covered their bodies, and shields forged in the hottest dwarven fires were strapped to their backs. They stood as the guards of the party, those that would fight and defend if necessary. All hoped that it would not come to that, but everything in the outside world had changed since they had last set foot in it and nothing became predictable anymore.

The wagon filled with various supplies for mission held food, including the nutritious and long-lasting Lembas bread, plenty of water, tents for the overnight journey, extra weapons and armor, plus extra clothing for the scouting party. Two horses carried each wagon, and every member of the expedition rode on the back of their own horse or led it along for the time being. All together, there were twelve horses with the group, all of them sturdy beasts unafraid of battle of dangerous conditions. No one would have to worry about lost horses when they departed from the shelter of Elysium.

"Is everyone prepared for the journey ahead?" Dylan inquired of the party, securing the strap of the bag slung over his body, which also carried important items within it for their task. "Double-check all of the bags once more. Make sure that we have everything we need. We will not be coming back to pick up anything that is forgotten. When we leave, we will be locked out until the task is completed and we are ready to return. Is that well understood?" Holding up his arm, Dylan revealed an alchemical bracelet on his wrist that appeared to be made of silver. It glinted in the sunlight. "Also, make sure you are wearing the bracelets that were handed out to you. These were made by Constance for our journey and imbibed with Theora's magic to protect all of us from any poisons or radiation lingering outside of Elysium. If you are not wearing your bracelet, you may very well die. They will last for 72 hours. We will begin to return to Elysium by the halfway mark to ensure our safety. Double-check your wrists now and make sure you are wearing it. When it is on your wrist, hold up your arm for me to see. When I see everyone's arms are raised with their bracelets attached to their wrists, we will re-check our bags and leave for the path of the guard towers."

Dylan waited for confirmation from those around him as, one by one, people raised their arms to reveal the bracelets. Nodding his head once they were all raised, he pointed towards the wagon and then patted his bag. "Re-check your bags and the wagon now," Dylan ordered firmly. They must have everything or they could not leave. As everyone checked through their gathered supplies once more and made sure all supplies were with the group, he took lead of the scouting party.

They traveled from the Town Hall towards the path that led out of the city to the exit of Elysium that they would be taking. Along the way, they passed by the fortified guard towers filled with their watchmen: constant eyes remained on Elysium, and would remain even while they were away. When they arrived upon the deep tunnel much like a cave, both magically and physically shielded, that dug into the earth and marked the beginning of their true departure from the haven, the group prepared themselves with their weapons in case such action would be needed. Hopefully, it would not be.

( Marching forward into lamp-lit darkness, they would find out soon enough what lay beyond the borders of Elysium . . . and what had happened since dreadful war began. )

WHO: Dylan, Theora, Constance, and Adam
WHEN: 9:00 AM
WHERE: Council chambers in Town Hall
WHAT: Council meeting & a debate over a scouting mission.

Dylan’s footsteps echoed down the corridors of the Town Hall.

Arriving early for the council meeting, he made his way up a curved flight of stairs and down another long hall towards the assembly room in the building. He opened the door and stood on the threshold for a moment, his gaze passing over the shaded surroundings of the other side. The Town Hall was quiet this early in the morning. As it was, the building was unoccupied most of the time. Order was kept well so far in Elysium, though Dylan wondered how long that might last.

As positive as he was on the whole, he still had a bit of a pessimistic streak every once in a while. All societies and empires in the past eventually fell, no matter how peaceful or grandiose they were on the scale of things. The bombing that all within the haven had heard going on beyond their borders for the past few months spoke of that. A world full of both great and small most likely reduced to ashes by now. Of course, there was no means of telling what exactly had occurred in the outside world at this point. The Oracle spoke of a war to end all things, but Dylan knew that the visions of oracles were sometimes subjective and uncertain. There was no way to tell for sure.

Not until they looked for themselves to see what had happened out there.

Dylan walked over to the wall lined with windows. Pulling back one of the curtains, his eyes took in the sight of the city below. People were actually walking around outside with sizable groups and in much larger numbers than they had been doing in the past few months. Fear and uncertainty kept them locked inside their houses, afraid that the bombs outside could make their way into Elysium. Dylan couldn’t blame them. War was a terrifying thing, even if the arrows or the bombs weren’t landing on the patch of land that held your own two feet. No such weapons could surpass Elysium’s protection. Old magic worked better than bomb shelters. They had been safe despite the harrowing noises beyond the haven, but that hadn’t quenched the fear.

With a delicate pull on an embroidered rope beside the window on the far end of the council chambers, Dylan opened all of the curtains across the wall. Sunlight poured over the polished wooden table and the pale, luminescent walls. The room was distinctly elven in its make, the hue of nature written into the faintest tinge of bluish-green pigmentation on the walls. Despite its simplicity, the chambers were still elegant.

His hand removed the sunglasses from his eyes as his other pulled out one of the chairs from underneath the table. Seating himself in the chair, Dylan tucked his shades into the front pocket of his coat. He waited for the others as he lost himself in his thoughts.