idolpro | Flowers of Heaven 2: avante en garde

There's a snap in the air like the fluttering of a banner in the wind, and then the heavy sound of some large animal breathing.

Gathering around you, though, are creatures that more resemble the idea of animals: lions, wolves, gryphons, unicorns, and stags with stunted bodies, gaping mouths, and rearing poses—like nothing so much as... heraldry. Indeed, upon closer inspection, their bodies seem to be made of stitched brocade. Nevertheless, they bow their heads to you, solemn and respectful, and nudge at you with their heads, paws, and horns, guiding you toward a gap that's opened in the thick curtain of kudzu vines and onto a winding path beyond.

Once you cross through, the vines grow rapidly to cover the open space behind you, and the voices of your fellow idols fade from your ears. It seems as if you’re on your own, now.

❀ ❀ ❀

Here, the path beneath you is partially-paved with ancient-looking stones, and in the distance, from no identifiable direction, is the faint, steady sound of a drum.

It seems the herald-creatures are carrying some things for you: a collection of sixteen different flowers, and a small lantern of blue flame, and a wreath woven from vervain, star of bethlehem, and chamomile.

Quick Links: Flowers | Status Effects | OOC Rules

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Characters will discover a scroll somewhere on their person, which may be unrolled to reveal words written in ornately flourished script in an unfamiliar language. The rules resonate in their minds when they look at them, despite the apparent language barrier.

Included, too, is a list of sixteen flowers, each with an associated meaning.

Look within yourself: you are connected to two Flowers of Heaven. You will find you know what they are.

You must make your way through the Garden, out to Freedom.
However, three Obstacles block your way.

The Blue Flame Pyre can burn past these obstacles, but its fire requires at least three Flowers of Heaven as fuel. A fire given more fuel may burn past more Obstacles, but at far greater cost to your Selves.

Express your collective desire to the Blue Flame Pyre, and it will burn the flowers that are willed. However, be warned: if the three most-desired flowers are unclear, the Pyre will burn all that seem to have been chosen, no matter how many that may be.

Your souls are tied to your personal Flowers; should one of your flowers be destroyed, so too will its nature within you be broken.
To lose both your flowers is to lose your Self.

You are not without protection, though: Your chancelfolk carry with them a symbol of your group’s unity. The one who wears the wreath will find their flowers preserved—for themselves and for any in your group who share them—regardless of how the Pyre burns. But be warned: for each person, the wreath’s protection will work but once.

The energy of Freedom will be powerful enough to heal those teams with the most Flowers remaining to their collective. All others must find their own way to becoming Whole.

As you walk the path through the vines, you come to a place where the strands of some half-finished and abandoned spiderweb have meshed and twisted so fully across the path that it's too dense to pass through, too sticky to climb.

The heraldic animals go into a flurry of distressed activity at the sight... and then they pass you the collection of flowers, the lantern of blue flame, and the wreath.

Make your choices.

Edited 2022-08-07 17:16 (UTC)

The path continues, the brilliance of the blue flame dying out with the last of the burnt flowers.

You're not sure how long you've been walking when you reach the iron doors. They have a heavy, defensive feel to them. At the center of the doors is what is probably a pair of massive handles... but the doors have been densely overgrown with vines to the point that they grow back faster than anyone can break them.

The heraldic creatures look upon the doors mournfully, inspecting them for any way to pull away the vines, but it seems beyond their ability. Once again, they offer the blue-flame lantern, the collection of flowers, and the wreath: something must be sacrificed.

After journeying a while longer—it’s unclear how long, and the way time passes here is… strange—you come upon a dense field of wooden and iron pikes jutting out from the ground, sharp points toward you, like a fortification. Here, thick as the kudzu is, it seems like it’s starting to wither. The leaves are brown at best and starting to liquefy into a kind of black tar at worst.

Can flame really take care of this…?

—actually, as you approach, fire is running along the sides of the path following you, and catches upon the stakes, setting them alight into a bright blaze and clearing your path.

Edited 2022-08-07 22:55 (UTC)

[ You pass through the field of ominous pikes—and find yourself standing before three gates.

To your left is a gate of ivory, polished to a shine so bright that it refracts a brilliant rainbow of chaotic light.
To your right is a gate of twisting black horn, beautiful and unapologetically fierce-looking.
Between them and a bit further back is a gate of pure white flame. Even from here you can feel the searing, purifying heat of it.

Which gate do you take? Each of you may choose separately, if you wish; you feel instinctively that, whatever the significance of this choice, if indeed it means anything at all, it has no bearing on your connection with your unit. ]

. . . I hate spiders.

[ Bugs... ugh. ]

It seems... we have some decisions to make. But I think our best course of action, in order to protect one another, is probably to share what our flowers are?

Edited 2022-08-07 19:34 (UTC)

[Type type type.]

I'm not a big fan either I'm Gorse and Star of Bethlehem Whatever those mean

Edited 2022-08-07 19:35 (UTC)

[ Look what the ~~cat~~ heraldic gryphon dragged in! ]

Mela's tits. [ it's under her breath, to her credit ]

Have I arrived right in time for a game?

I ain't too keen on any spider what could do all this...

Guess we just gotta burn it...?

Hey--you're back!

You're back! Welcome back Sorry about the game though

Thank you for sharing. My own are Lotus and Chamomile.

[These games just keep getting weirder...]

Well, at least I do not think I will need to break down any doors...

Through this entire flower-burning ceremony I suppose.

This is a strange game.

[Looking down the list of flowers...]

Oh, chamomile is a 'romantic, dashing hero' That suits you

Ah... Amaranth-san?

[ Shaking his head. ]

Of course they would drag you back right into the fire.

I will be honest; I do not truly understand all of this, but the flowers I have been assigned are ah... "Honeysuckle" and "Hollyhock".

I'm back.

[ she wraps an arm around Nem's shoulder to briefly pull her in for a side hug ]

Gods, but I swear the plot of this "FIGHTLORDS OF SAVAGEWORLD" production they like to employ me in gets more incomprehensible each time.

What have I missed?

I think breaking the obstacles without using the fire would be cheating And probably wouldn't work

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Flowers of Heaven 2: avante en garde

IC RULES

THE FIRST OBSTACLE

DECISION

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

THE SECOND OBSTACLE

DECISION

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

THE THIRD OBSTACLE

PRE-ENDGAME

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