Brass Tacks
Chapter One
It All Started When...
The cobblestone streets of Downtown Newhaven are full of life, and happy Elementals. Flower petals and wreaths are tossed about, decorating the buildings and the people. Beautiful live music is playing on every corner, and the sun is shining down on us.
There's a festival celebrating the founding of Newhaven every spring, and this time we're celebrating Newhaven's 100th anniversary. So many talented Elementals attended and had fun throughout the day. Jehiel spent months helping with the preparation of costumes, floats and decorations. Huo put on an amazing fire dancing performance, and Akaris stole the stage right after, putting everyone in a state of awe just as easily.
Rue and Ophelia made sure that this day would never be forgotten, taking beautiful pictures for the partygoers. Kamen made sure nobody, including Akil and Viktor wouldn’t go hungry with his hotdog stand. Hektor brought smiles to the faces all around him, and Olga made sure that Chau knew how much she … appreciated ... the artwork on his happy face while Alix won a game of catching fish.
That was only some of what went on. Only a very small window into the festivities going on. Who knows what the rest had been up to, and what will go on for the next few days. The summer festival always lasts three days after all.
On the first day, however, the mystery lingers no longer. Seven hours have passed, and Fane is finally ready to give his special announcement. Some may have already known what it would be. Maybe Sanka. Maybe Chester, Evie, or Misef. Leilani and her detective skills could very well have been the first to find out exactly what it would be. Even before Fane’s closest students did.
The Elementals gather at the arena. A special place where olympic-like games have been held over the years. Fane steps out onto a beautiful round marble stage. The sky is dark and paper lanterns float in the air, illuminating the faces of Arevik, Poppy, Azelvia and Nikita.
And he speaks,
“My dearest Elementals… It has been some time now since Newhaven was founded. One hundred years to be exact.” Fane laughs, but something in the sound of it is off. Tired. Afraid even.
“I am old, and the time has come that I fear I may no longer be able to lead this island like I once could. I love each and every one of you so dearly, and it would be wrong of me to keep doing this when I know I cannot. So… As some of you may know, I am going to be handing Newhaven over to a fresh leader…”
Gasps and whispers rise from the crowd, confused and concerned glances are exchanged. Some excited cheers and claps. The mood is difficult to pinpoint, because it’s not one, but many. Some may be able to see Jehiel up front, crossing his arms with a stern expression, or Huo giving him a worried glance.
Fane continues, “I’ve decided to set up a series of trials for those who wish to take my place. Those who do should already be prepared, as I’ve done my hardest to train you and educate you in everything that I know. The trials will be held tomorrow. Mind, body, endurance. To make sure you’re right for the position. Three will come out on top, and the rest of you will vote for one of them to take my place…”
A silence falls over the crowd. Nearby children try to hold Faust and Lively’s hands for comfort, and a woman asks Cecilia, with an uncertain tone, "Can you believe this?"
“That is all…” Fane says. “Thank you all… Thank you...” He lingers there in silence, then turns and slowly makes his way back to which he came, only for Jehiel to climb up onto the stage and stomp after him, disrupting the energy in the air behind him.
Something is … wrong… But for those who come to ask, Fane won’t give answers…
Day two. Day two of the festival is here, but it’s much different than the day before. Downtown Newhaven is more empty, and instead, the arena is packed. Loud cheers resonate from the bleachers. Bets are being placed like some sort of game. This has only happened once in history after all. Might as well make some fun of it for those who are unable to participate.
Elementals of all kinds report to the arena’s entrance to sign up for the trials. Something on the white marble sign up wall has been aggressively destroyed. A rule maybe. But that doesn’t stop anyone from putting their name on the list. The most it does is worsen the strange feeling that lingers in the air...
And the sky darkens...
Nothing could have prepared anyone for what happened. Just a fair game was expected. A fair game that came so close to completion in order to move on to the next stage. But just like that, a sore loser by the name of LEARY, destroyed everyone’s chance at becoming the new leader, injuring competitors and ruining the one hundred year old arena. It would’ve come down to the semi-finalists, AKARIS, SANKA, AZELVIA, or POPPY to grab a chance to take over Newhaven.
Anyone might’ve noticed that the tournament might’ve been a little harder on a certain element than others, and yet, they’ve still proven themselves time and time again.
Expecting an explanation from FANE, after the event, everyone waited in and around the circus tent. Wounds being tended to, and helping themselves to refreshments. Hours passed and there was still no sign of the old leader.
Instead, we were met with fire and destruction, leaving us with even more questions than answers as it drove us from our home.
HUO, KAMEN and SANKA were the ones to witness the old leader’s death, and a strange figure who’d given SANKA a message.
Some fled to the beach, while others went to help the rest of Newhaven, only to be met with resistance from an unstoppable force with no known identity.
And as the Harmonia escaped to sea, seeking the next best place, it was redirected to the worst.
The human world is a dangerous place. The mainland, where so many of us are used and abused. We don’t know when we’ll be able to return our old home to its former glory, if at all. We don’t know if the other safe havens around the world have been met with the same attacks, or how far they may be. We’ll have to figure out what to do with what we have… For now… But is it enough?
JEHIEL paces on the dock by the Harmonia, surrounded by friends and acquaintances after what happened with the police and protesters. He doesn’t know the right answer to the common question of “What are we supposed to do now?” he can only come up with what he thinks is right, and so can many others.
“I don’t think we have any other choice. We have to adapt… Someone destroyed our home, and who’s to say they won’t do it again? We have to stick together and make our lives work on the mainland one way or another… Even if we have to take it by force. This has all gone much too far.” JEHIEL says.
HUO interjects. “We can’t stay here! We have to figure something else out.”
He wrings his hands together, looking flustered and unwell where he stands on the dock, as close to the boat as he can get.
“We can get some supplies somewhere else, leave right away, stay on the sea. Fix the ship so it can fly. We could wait the fires out, go back… We can’t stay here. We don’t belong here.”
A sick feeling settles in JEHIEL’s stomach as HUO doesn’t seem to agree with him. 'We don’t belong here,' hits him like a punch to the face.
“We don’t belong anywhere, unless we make a place for ourselves in this world. We can’t walk free anywhere! Don’t you think that this is the last straw? This was an act of war by whoever destroyed Newhaven. Our friends are dead, Huo! Dead!”
A burst of disrupted energy flies from his shaking hand as he swipes it through the air. He wills himself to calm down with a deep breath.
“We cannot just lie down and let ourselves be the victims anymore. Nothing is going to get better unless we do something about it…”
The burst of energy causes HUO to take a step forward, his eyes wide and alarmed. He flexes his fingers at his sides and makes frustrated motions with his hands, like he’s squeezing the air.
“I know they’re dead! You weren’t there for Fane, you didn’t see it like I did. I know they’re dead. I know it. But it’s not all of us. So many of us are still here and alive.” He gestures to the ship. “But we won’t be if we stay here! Do you really think any of us are fit for war, or do you just want it?”
“No!”
JEHIEL seems offended at the suggestion that he wants war.
He feels as though he’s lost much more than the home he’s known the majority of his life, and a father figure, but HUO too. His whole world.
“I want peace. I want to fight for peace. That’s all I ever wanted. Hiding isn’t peace. It’s just another prison.”
He looks at the others, KAMEN, RUE, ALIX, CHAU, SANKA, AZELVIA. Wondering how many others agree or disagree.
“The tournament- or trials. Whatever that was. Fighting each other isn’t how it’s supposed to be. We’re supposed to be a team. I wanted to be leader, but Fane didn’t want me to be because I had plans for change and he knew that. You knew that and you still supported him. I didn’t want things to be this way. War was the last thing on my mind, but now it seems to be the only option…”
HUO stays quiet, giving JEHIEL the chance to talk. But it’s clear on his face the whole time that he’s only going to disagree and fight back.
“He knew what he was doing, Jehiel. I know you want to fix things, to change things. You aren’t wrong for that, but don’t you think people have already tried for ages?” He takes a deep breath. He knows that what he’ll say next is probably going to be taken badly. “He didn’t want you to lead because you weren’t right for it. Because things were fine how they were, and probably as good as they’d ever get.”
HUO steps away from the ship, hesitantly approaching JEHIEL. He reaches for his hands, but leaves them hovering in the space between them.
“Kids. That’s what most of them are.”
He looks over his shoulder at OLGA, at POPPY, at NOT and CHESTER and EVANORE. At everyone.
“You can’t ask them to do this. We need to be safe. We need a home, Jeje… We can find out what happened, fix things… Anything else is just going to get more of our friends killed. Please listen…”
RUE shifts, stepping closer to her friends. Her eyes are wide and glassy as she faces JEHIEL.
“Surviving this far has been a war in itself. Jehiel, you were there for the man in the fire, a human couldn’t survive that, cause that— That’s our problem right now. What... what we need is the life that’d been granted us. Gifted to and forged for and by us already. And to take care of each other.”
There’s an unspoken, Rather than kill who we have left… written on her face.
JEHIEL steps away from HUO, recoiling as if he was about to be struck. He feels betrayed. More than he ever has in his life. He shakes his head.
“So you two think I’m incompetent now too… Huh?”
He hugs himself just to have something to do with his hands.
ALIX, steps in then. “As good as it will ever get will never be enough. We deserve to walk those streets like anyone else, without fear of being captured and weaponized simply because we’re born with powers that were out of our control,” they drawl out, arms crossed over their chest as their golden-eyed gaze flicks from person to person.
There’s no warmth in their gaze as they straighten their posture and stride over to where JEHIEL stands.
“I stand by Jehiel because it’s high time we’ve reclaimed our place in the world. The world has shunned us for simply existing and no longer will I stand by and let that happen. Never again.”
JEHIEL nods at ALIX, finding some comfort in their words. Enough to gains some confidence in his choices.
“The people who kill us and use us every day don’t care if we’re children or not, Huo.”
He looks to RUE too.
“You should know that… I just want us to be free… I want to bring justice to those we lost. The man in the fire could have very well been an elemental weapon sent by the humans. We don’t know! I don’t want anyone else to die… I just-”
He squeezes his eyes shut. He won’t cry. He won’t. He doesn’t need to explain himself further if minds have already been made up. He looks to an old submarine across the bay, as the gears turn in his head, coming to his own decision.
“Fine… You do things your way, and we’ll do things ours. I don’t want to be controlled anymore. I’m done… Things can’t stay in this endless loop, it’s not right… So, you… You take them… Whoever wants to go with you. You take the Harmonia and you be safe… But you cannot make me go, or anyone else, it has to be their decision.”
JEHIEL then turns to the rest of you. The ones who will make or break this. The ones who will pave the future of Elementals one way or another. The ones who he extends his hand to for help. HEKTOR, AKARIS, MISEF, CECILIA, AKIL, every person who escaped on the ship with them…
“Who’s with me, then…?”
HUO watches JEHIEL with wide eyes, utterly speechless. Then his gaze slowly travels to everyone else as well, silently asking the same question. What’ll it be?
Factions have now been unlocked. Please slot your characters in to pick a side!
This is not optional. Chapter 2 will begin on 9/1/2020, so you have until then!
CECILIA earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
AZELVIA earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
POPPY earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
NOT earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
HEKTOR earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
CHAU earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
AREVIK earns 0 EXP and is at LEVEL 1
OPHELIA earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
AKIL earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
AKARIS earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
MISEF earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
CHESTER earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
LIVELY earns 0 EXP and is at LEVEL 1
OLGA earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
LEILANI earns 0 EXP and is at LEVEL 1
EVIE earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
SANKA earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
JEHIEL earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
HUO earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
KAMEN earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
ALIX earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
RUE earns 2 EXP and is now LEVEL 2
