New Avalon

[yamikuronue]

[Imported from NodeBB]

[CalamityJade]

New Avalon

The gleaming pillar of the world. A city unparalleled in the hundreds of years since it's founding. The lights of the skyscrapers could be seen for miles around, drawing everyone and everything to itself. Anyone that was anyone wanted to make their way there. Those that could make it would be set for life. Towers of polish silver gleamed in the day time....but the city truly shined at night. The town would lite up with a million 'stars'. Searchlights drawing eyes to famous eateries, playhouses, and hotels to draw the eyes of everyone. The lights would reflect off the buildings and they would give an almost unearthly glow. Some would even call it 'heaven on earth'...but the sentiment rarely lasted long.

Of course the city glowed. It was the shining jewel of Merkava, one of the largest countries in the world. It housed the largest shipping companies, manufacturer headquarters, everything. It was also where the governing body of Merkava was stationed and made the decisions that would effect the entire country. Business heads of almost every major company called this place home. Famous writers, actors, musicians...you name it, the best were here. People that could walk over a hundred crowns cuz they made more than that in the time it took to pick up, and if you asked them when they knew they made it they'd say "When I was welcomed here with open arms.". That was the saying here. If the city 'welcomed you' then you would find your success and dreams. What they don't tell you is that the city didn't 'welcome' everyone. Those that didn't had a hard road to walk.

It was something about the city, or maybe the place that it was built, but it could...guide people. People would come here, with nothing but the shirt on their back and a few crowns, and in a year they would be wining and dining with the best. No one knew when it would happen, but one day the city would 'welcome' you and you would be set. It was like hearing the bit of a song that cut through a crowded club and changed you. The thing is that not everyone lasted long enough for that. Until you had your golden time, you had to work the nine-to-five. You were the cog that kept the gleaming machine running and could get replaced in a second. And then there where those that seemed to just become...lost.

You wouldn't know it, but not everyone that comes to New Avalon is 'welcomed'. Some would come here with a little, and lose it all. Some would find...other ways of making their way, usually off the sweat and blood of others. They would find ways of squeezing those waiting their golden time for everything they had till they also become lost. Probably in the hopes they could be comfortable till they were welcomed. Maybe out of spite for the city itself...but even then, they didn't leave. They knew what everyone else did. Once you had been to the city you were either 'welcomed' or you wandered it's streets till the day you died.

The there's been a lot of fliers around town, being handed out and up on bulletin boards and on those posts around construction sites.

Come one, come all to the 42nd Annual Grail Boulevard Bazaar!

Come set for an evening of the best and brightest attractions this side of the Silver Screen! Attractions for all ages and decrees are welcome to take part in the festivities. It's been several years since the Grail Boulevard Art's district was founded and we'll be showing the finest in music, dance, and arts of all shapes and sizes.

Hear a live performance by the Shining Spires brass ensemble!

Come marvel at Mistress Mordriana, private surveyor of fates far and wide. See the patron seer for the Guilded perform her craft for all!

Dance the night away and see the beautiful Break of Dawn heavenly talents and voice in a one-of-a-kind performance!

Don't be left in the dark! Come to the 42nd Annual Grail Boulevard Bazaar! And may you find your Golden Age!

[yamikuronue]

Erika Stark, Convenience Store Attendant At Large, walked home from her job just after dark, fumbling in her purse for keys. It wasn't safe to be out after dark for a young woman such as herself -- but then, it wasn't safe to exist as a young woman such as herself, so she figured she'd deal. She had wide hips and a fleshy middle in an era where the fashion was to strap oneself into corsets to minimize the bulgy bits, and short hair for convenience in an era where the fashion was long flowing locks. She'd probably be safe enough except from desperate men, and nobody was safe from a desperate man, were they?

Keys in hand, she approached her front door. The orange-and-white cat was there, washing his paw on her doorstep, looking up at her expectantly; she pushed him aside with a foot, gently. "Shoo, cat. You know I can't feed you." She'd felt pity for the poor thing and given him half a sandwich once, and regretted it later when her stomach growled at her at work. Two days before payday, she was down to canned tuna -- which he probably would enjoy if she didn't need it herself. She'd run out before she got a chance to cash her paycheck anyway, but only one meal skipped was better than she'd done the last payday, so she was feeling pretty pleased with her rationing skills.

Pushing the door open, she hit the switch to turn on the Pulse-powered lights. The Pulse bill ate into her paycheck something fierce, but she was hopeless with oil lamps, and really, if a girl couldn't have a few luxuries what was life worth anyway? She'd just be careful, that's all. Erika tossed her bag onto the chair and moved to sit on the bed -- she'd bought a nice folding screen to sequester the sleeping area from the living area in her studio flat, back when she thought she'd make it any day now, and she hadn't managed to find a buy when the hope dried up. Nobody wanted to buy a folding screen used. That was silly.

As she sat on the bed to take off her shoes, a sickening crack rang out.

"Oh fuck me. Fuuuuck me."

Erika grit her teeth, holding very still. Maybe it was a fluke. She was sure she'd heard more creaking than normal the night before, but she was tossing and turning a lot, and well, there were mice in the building that would probably move around at night, so it was probably....

Another crack rang out, and then she was falling the half-a-foot to the floor. Erika leaped up, turning to stare at her broken bedframe in dismay. For a moment, the room seemed to spin around her as her stomach lurched. That was it. She had three coins in her pocket, and no more hidden in her money jar, not until payday, and after she was done paying the bills and the loans and the rented chairs and table...

There was nothing for it. She had to get another bed. She couldn't sleep on the floor, the couch was sold, the table was rented to begin with, the cupboards were bare, and this damned screen was the most worthless thing she'd ever bought. What was she thinking? Sure, it looked nice, all dark wood and pretty gold birds, but it was cheap wood painted to look nice, and yellow paint to look good, and nobody would give her enough for a bed for it...

She won't cry. Erika Stark never cries. She just pulls on her coat, ties her boots, and shuffles back out into the night, hoping the payday loan place hadn't closed yet....

[CalamityJade]

The payday loan office was closing, actually. Just across the street she could see the clerk that ran the place starting to able his way towards the door. His name was....Gregory....Jeremy...something like that. She just knew he had a bit of a limp and a tendency to leer now and again. She might also think that he was scamming her, but he took the loans and didn't give too much fuss about her payments. She'd better hurry if she wanted to get the loan processed. He was closing now and with the bazaar coming up, a lot of shops were going to start closing early. Given that she didn't get many breaks that could mean trying to coax the cat in to let IT try fighting off the rats.

[yamikuronue]

"Shit, Hey! Hey, hang on!" She might not cry, but she will yell, wave, and scramble across the road in an undignified manner if that's what it took.

[CalamityJade]

The man spots her, freezes for a second...and seems to actually amble towards the door faster?! Oh hell, is he REALLY trying to leave that quickly. It's only thanks to her well-working legs that she made it to the door first.

[yamikuronue]

Erika plasters on her best smile, out of breath. Damn, she was really out of shape. Back home there'd been a gym she could use, when she lived with her mother in their apartment complex... best not to think about it. She was so tired all the time....

"I'll be quick, promise, I just need another loan, that's all." Her third one.

[CalamityJade]

"And I want a Morrigan Special. Seems like neither of us are gettin what they want." The man seemed rather annoyed. "Look, even IF I was gonna give you another loan, you have any idea what time it is? I mean sure, you might have a bit o difficulty with a sign, but even you can read a clock, right?"

[yamikuronue]

Erika opens her mouth to protest, but what he's saying sinks in. "Wait, no, hang on. You know I'm good for it. I just had a little setback, that's all."

[CalamityJade]

"And every 'little setback' means ya gotta pay some of what you already owe. Thirty crowns minimum payment before we start adding MORE to it, yeah?" He looked a little annoyed.

[yamikuronue]

Erika does some fast mental math. "Okay, I'll give it to you tomorrow, when I bring the payment for the other two." That means she can't afford the yogurt sundae she'd promised herself as a treat, for sure -- and probably not any meat this next fortnight either, nor the Pulse bill, but she could go without lights for a bit while she sorted things out...

[CalamityJade]

"Now. Ya want a hand-out, go ask the nuns at Lit Walk." Lit Walk, or the Church of the Shining Path was a unique religion to New Avalon. They believed that there was a sentience that guiding fate and that he had gifted the founder of New Avalon with insight into that path. A lot of the truly desparate find themselves there while waiting to be Welcomed to the city. In fact, even some of the Welcomed were believers...and contributors, of course.

[yamikuronue]

Erika winces. "It's not a hand-out! I've never taken a hand-out in my life. It's just an emergency kind of situation, that's all." She hesitates. Maybe if she skips lunch every day... "What if I throw in another five crowns?"

[CalamityJade]

The man scoffs. "Drop in the bucket, lady. Three crowns and I'll even consider it."

[yamikuronue]

"I have..." She reaches into her pocket, opening her hand. "Seventeen pence and the promise of more tomorrow."