[TCPDEX] TCP Research Initiative

[knux400]

Hoo boy, this is going to be a big one. Me and Forceps just got back from a pretty good batch of "field research" in Mockery, if you know what I mean. Not Forceps themself, of course, they had me take one of their proxies with me. Before we left, I insisted we swing by a local costume shop and get the two of us a costume. I went as a pirate and Forceps's proxy went as my bird. They even let me paint the proxy, which was cool! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

DN-1-1: What areas celebrate Darkest Night?

From the bit of travel I did on the way to Precipice, I think a more apt question would be what areas don't celebrate Darkest Night. Everywhere I went, the locals were all having some form of celebration, apart from one snooty old beatfox that said they didn't believe in Darkest Night and just wanted all the pesky kids to quit making a ruckus. There were festivals, markets, costume shops, feasts, you name it! I kept wanting to stop and check it all out, but Forceps said Darkest Night in Mockery was a particularly good place to study the event.

From what Forceps tells me, Mockery is usually a pretty uptight place. I think it's a capital city where a god lives. They're usually all about going about their day and making the best use of their time, but Darkest Night for them is a chance to let loose a little bit and enjoy themselves. We got there just before sundown, which is apparently when the fun really begins. It seemed pretty normal at first as everyone was finishing their work and heading home, but soon we started to notice people were hanging candles outside. As the sun started to set, the city became entirely lit by candlelight- there wasn't a single shred-powered light in sight!

Early on in the night, celebrations were pretty scattered and varied. Kids were running around in various costumes, playing and going door to door for treats. Older kids and teenagers were hanging out in packs, eating candy and talking, some trying to scare passersby. Everyone else was either escorting their kid or were on their way to a friend's for a Darkest Night party. I got a chance to peek in a few houses, there were big tables full of food and sweets, and a special platter was set aside to give to the wanderers. TCPs were all over the place, most of them taking part in their own celebrations, but some were interacting with the complexes. Everyone kept mentioning something called 'The Bonfire', but I was never able to get any details.

When it got really late and the sky was totally black, everyone started to make their way towards the center of town. There was a large tower that everyone was congregated around, and there were lots of party tables set up around it, with even more food and various kinds of drink. Everyone was waiting for something, but before I could ask what, an odd-looking figure appeared at the top of the tower with a torch. They asked if everyone was enjoying Darkest Night this year, which was met with a resounding cheer. They then stepped inside the tower, and before long, a fire erupted from the center. I was worried for a split second, but then I realized it was intentional.

I hadn't seen it before since it was so dark, but the top of the tower was glass and it seemed to have a clock on it. The fire was set inside the clock mechanism in such a way that the flames created flickering and waving gear-shaped shadows all around the plaza. Then the place got wild. People were horsing around, eating and drinking, talking to friends, or dancing to the music that had begun when the fire started. Everyone was having a great time, and I'm not ashamed to admit I forgot all about my research for a while.

The party lasted until the bonfire went out on its own, the chaos slowly dying down with the flames. I think my favorite part was when the tower was only lit by a few flickering embers, and everyone was sitting quietly watching it and reminiscing about the events of the night. People stayed and chatted quietly until the flames were gone and it was dark again (and for a little while after), but then everyone headed home to go sleep, and I opted to follow suit.

DN-1-2: What costumes appear during Darkest Night?

Again, this one was pretty varied. I saw characters from comic books, radio shows, and novels, as well as a few that were just a character someone had come up with or just a generic 'horror' or 'ninja'. There was definitely a sort of desert theme for Mockery, though- about half of the costumes I saw there were various kinds of desert explorer, all wrapped up in colorful robes and adventuring garb. I'm not sure, but supposedly this Desert Explorer was one of the first people to come to this place and build a settlement, and supposedly they also went around doing heroic deeds? It's a different story depending on who you ask. I think one person told me they had a special power that let objects talk to them, and that they were good friends with a piece of paper, a satchel, and a floating arrow. I honestly think they were screwing with me, but I felt I should include that bit anyway.

DN-1-3: What food is common during Darkest Night?

All kinds of food were available, but there was definitely a focus on candy and sweets, specifically fruit flavored things. There were various kinds of punch and juice to drink, and every kind of fruit candy you can imagine, as well as a few you couldn't. That's not to say more traditional feasting food wasn't present (one place had an amazing roast beast), but the focus of it was definitely sweets.

DN-1-4: What are urban legends surrounding Darkest Night?

This one was kind of interesting. The details of the story change a lot depending on who you ask, but supposedly Darkest Night began a long time ago when a bunch of travelers were lost in the woods, and they only had one match to light a fire with. For days they kept wandering around and trying to save the fire for when they would need it, but legend has it one day they decided that they were going to go out on a happy note, so to speak. They lit the fire, made a feast with all their rations, and just had a good time together.

Apparently their celebration got so loud that someone else noticed them, and they ended up getting rescued. I'm not too sure where the costumes came in- some people say it started when the travelers made scary masks to keep away the wildlife. Anyway, it also just happened to be on the darkest night of the year that the travelers held their party, so the event ended up being called Darkest Night and the rest just sort of grew from there.

Some people say if you light a fire in the woods on Darkest Night and sit quietly, you can still hear the travelers having a good time. I never got to try this, unfortunately. By the time I left the party in Mockery I was too tired to do anything but shamble back to my room and collapse on my bed.

---

Wow, that letter got long. Hopefully that gives you all some idea of how Darkest Night is celebrated in Mockery, and I apologize for getting myself so distracted last night. There were probably more people I could've talked to, or things I could've seen, but I got all caught up in the swing of things.

Oh, before I forget! I did bring my sword to see if there was any unusual scrap activity, but I ended up not using it since there were too many people around to get a proper reading- it just kind of wobbled around in all directions and gave me a headache.

I'll be in touch soon!
-Petra