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Welcome to the first Test Drive Meme for

escordvi! Anyone can participate in the test drive, regardless of invite eligibility. Just keep in mind that only those who have received invitations from the mods can actually reserve on August 25th and apply on September 1st. Our Interest Check can be found here.

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada Choice. If undecided, put "Undecided" for the Armada.

For everyone's convenience, TDM threads can be carried over in game if you wish! If you are still unsure which armada to place your character, you can play it a bit loose and vague in the TDM and make retroactive changes if you carryover the threads. We'll have more armada focused prompts in the opening log in September. The log itself is set to cover the next two weeks, until the end of the month. Characters will appear at random intervals during this time rather than all at once, so players have some more flexibility on how much more adjusted they are for someone else.

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR MAGIC USERS!! All magic abilities will be "sealed" until characters get their tattoo from the Inkwave parlor in Eltrut. That means no magic on the starter ships before docking.

We do require TDM threads for samples for our application!

If you have any question about the TDM, comment here. If you have questions about the game in general, please comment to the Game Info.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated August 28)

STARTER SHIPS: ORIENTATION

There are two ships that serve as starting ships for each armada: Stormbringer for the Corsairs, and Royal Fortune for the Paladins. There are various ways new arrivals—or riftfarers as they will be called, among other creative names—will appear on or by these ships.

🚪 Random room. It could be empty, filled with crates or supplies; down in the hull where the livestock are kept; have the luck to awaken in a bed...or the misfortune of that bed already occupied; somewhere in the kitchens; in the bathroom—any room! Now let's hope the doors can open or someone may have to try and ask for help. Or jump through the porthole if there is one and it's above water.
⛵ On deck. If not in the ship itself, another possible spot to wake up to is somewhere on the maindeck. If they're lucky, they're on the deck itself. More unfortunate souls may find themselves caught in the sails or netting, the crow's nest, or on the top of the masts. Someone should be able to help, right? Or catch.
🌊 In the water. The most unlucky sods will find themselves appearing in mid-air just past the ship and plummeting straight into the water. Good news, there's always someone on the look out for such a thing and calls for help to throw a lifesaver get the rowboat will be made. Are there sharks? Well... ...Are there?

However the new riftfarers arrive, they will be poorly clothed, practically rags or loose uniforms depending on the ship. Fortunately, veteran crewmates will guide them, escorting them to a room with a strange typewriter in it. After typing their name, the typewriter will magically continue and type by itself at a fast pace until it dings and rolls out the paper. This paper will have the following information:

• Name and Shellphone ID (journalname)
• Armada (Corsair or Paladin, will match the starter ship)
• Cabin Number for their personal cabin on the starter ship
• Apartment Address for their personal address at their base armada location
• A basic map of the starting locations in Eltrut, including written directions (continued in the Eltrut section)
• A basic map of where they can find a chest with their original clothes and belongings (this will be different for every person and will be anywhere either on the starter ship or on Eltrut—players can be creative here).

After that, the crewmate will do their best to explain the basics of how they got here, what's going on, and what they'll need to do to live in Escordvi while they are here, giving them a small leather pouch with money. They will be reaching Eltrut soon, so the crewmate will suggest they look around, meet the others who have arrived. Even from their distance, they will be able to see the giant sea turtle that serves as Eltrut's leviathan.

ELTRUT: FIRST GLIMPSE

After reaching the port of Eltrut, several birdfolk will appear and happily greet all the new arrivals from both starter ships. Here it doesn't matter which side they are affiliated with, as long as they keep those swords and weapons sheathed and not pointed at each other's throats. The birdfolk will even act as guides, showing them the main places they should visit and give them a visitor's map to help guide them.

🐚 Microshell. The first stop that is encouraged will be Microshell, the main store to acquire their own personal Shellphone. The paper they received on their starter ship will have their ID and the staff at the store will set them up, explaining how the device and the network works.
✒️ Inkwave, Tattoo Parlor. The next stop is Inkwave, a tattoo parlor run by a very burly but friendly octopus, Knistej. Here everyone receives their own unique magic tattoo, allowing anyone to cast specific single element spells and other magic. Note: tattoos are required before anyone will be able to use their original magical abilities.
📜 MANTA office. The final stop is the MANTA office, where all the request, mission, and task notices are posted. Each armada has their own branch office for armada specific notices as well. A great place to find jobs to earn some cash so they don't stay a hobo forever.

It's a lot to take in for sure, with the port city bustling with all walks of life. Not only do they have both armadas mingling with each other, there are different races and species from all over Escordvi gathered here. It's not just humans, which many riftfarers always seem to be surprised about. There are also plenty of veteran riftfarers who will gladly give some advice and even share stories of their world. Maybe some are familiar.

After finding their belongings, exploring the town, and meeting other people, being able to just sit back and enjoy a drink and warm meal will be in order. While there are plenty of places to choose from, the Minstrel and Cask will be the top recommended tavern for all newcomers to visit at least once. Great drinks, great food, and can learn a lot from the patrons or meet more people.

Of course, as expected of a highly popular tavern, it's not always peaceful. A man will ask travelers what they want to do with their life. Clearly drunk, he only accepts answers that hint at wanting to find riches. If told this he will give out a treasure map. But if told anything else, he'll put up a fight, hoping to deliver a black eye. Those who do receive the map will be sorely disappointed—it will lead them down a long, winding, circuitous path around town and end at a random outhouse, likely occupied and certainly stinking to high heavens. There's likely some kind of moral here, but at some point, others who have been duped will return to the tavern to sling their fists around.

Looks like another tavern brawl for the night.

QUESTS

For those who want to try their hand at some quests, there are a few that would do well for newcomers. Teaming up is of course encouraged, no matter what the affiliation. You can assume they acquired some kind of ship for the quests out at sea, either the starter ship or some other ship heading out there.

Spicy Squid Eating Challenge

Eltrut Port

There is a traveling food ship (think food truck but on the water) that has been going around challenging ships to their extraordinary Hornswaggle's Spicy Squid Eating Challenge. If participants can scarf down a prepared three-pound bowl of exceptionally spicy ghost pepper squid and rice, they will win their meal for free as well as a crate of dried spicy squid for their ship's stores. If participants fail, they will have to pay for the meal and the crate.

...Careful, are some of the squid tentacles still moving?

Coral Reef Snacks

Eltrut

Rumour has it that certain types of coral reefs contain unique properties that can make you more alluring to the one you desire, but no one is sure what the side effects are. Test this out by trying to crunch into chunks of coral reef pieces to see if there are any added effects on your body. Hopefully, they don't ruin your teeth in the meantime.

Oh, and you have to find the correct coral reef too! Red chunks seem to make you more affectionate towards others, while blue chunks seem to make you more volatile towards others. Eaters, beware!

Giant Sea Slugs

Starter Ships

Giant sea slugs tend to only attack ships if they feel threatened but are otherwise peaceful creatures. They're about the size of a large wild cat. They also secrete a slime that contains strong disinfectant properties. This thick slime is highly sought after for its ability to heal wounds cleanly, so kill them and collect as much slime as possible.

Killer Sharkgulls

Eltrut port and ships

Seagulls can be a pain to most ships. Yet, seagulls that have evolved to be violently carnivorous can be even worse. These new birds, effectively named sharkgulls, have been seen attacking ships and ports alike. They are big enough to eat small children in one gulp or will do their best to eat full-grown humans after they've ripped them to bite-sized shreds. Beware and kill them before they can kill you!

Siren's Serenade

Out at Sea

A merchant's ship has crashed upon an outcropping of rocks after being lured in by a group of rogue sirens. These captivating creatures possess the power to ensnare their prey with their enchanting voices, luring unsuspecting souls into the depths to meet the grim fate of drowning.

Search for the missing ship and help rescue the captive sailors before it's too late! You will be supplied with special earplugs to muffle out the siren's voices so be careful to keep your ears effectively plugged. You don't want to succumb to the siren's bloodlust yourself.

Any sailors or rescuers affected by the siren's song can be treated with a harpy's potion that can reverse the song's effect. Or tie up the afflicted for twenty-four hours to wait out the effects.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Unaware of Benedikta's thoughts—and honestly considering of somehow acquiring his own ship at some point after figuring out what's real and what isn't about this place—Cid closes the drawers and glances at her.

He then looks her over, and after a moment's thought—]

Here.

[He takes off the belt and hands it to her as if it were natural—]

Pants are pretty snug so don't really need it.

[—and it is, a little. Or it used to be, in their past.

However, his attitude and demeanor doesn't seem to suggest he's thinking much of it, acting as if it was just an idea that popped into his head to solve her little problem. Nothing more, nothing less. (But of course, it was more.)]

[She isn't even sure what compelled her to reach her hand out when he held it out to her, but one second, she was complaining about her pants and in the next, she feels the weight of his belt draped over her palm, almost like it was a reflex to take it. A long time ago, it had been... Those mornings when she would leave the Lord Commander's chambers wrapped up in his leathers...

He'd done it so many times that all of it was second-nature.

And though he might not appear to think much of it, that fact makes something in her heart sting as she stares at the belt, and then wraps it around her waist.]

Fine...

[It's grumbled under her breath over the sound of the metal buckle clinking softly.]

But do not think I will be returning it.

[Is her way of saying that this will be the last time that they see each other...]

[He just looks at her before there's a wry grin.]

Didn't think you'd want to keep it so badly.

[Which is his way of dismissing that attempt.

He knows very well she will try to avoid him. And in the past, he also tried to avoid her. It was always easier that way, after everything. Yet now, he thinks he should change that. And she'll have no idea how much of a nuisance he intends to be.]

[Completely unsuspecting, because they would just carry on their business like usual, with the very likely occasional sword at each other's throats.

...

As much as she's always hated him because it was the easiest thing to feel in his presence, the fact that it was their default—the animosity and the anger—always did leave her thinking in the end. And especially now, her thoughts keep wandering out of her control and she keeps having to rein them in.]

I don't.

[Though...

She moves to the door with another defiant huff.]

Are we finished here?

Seems like it.

[He just continues to watch her before he follows after.]

Where to next?

Might as well find ourselves a way off this bloody ship.

[So that she can finally be free of him... is what she's desperately telling herself when she keeps accidentally meeting his gaze.

And as she exits the room, she's just going to start walking down the hall—the wrong way.]

[Back on the main deck would probably be better. They still have a ways, but easier to get more information. Not that he doesn't know what she's up to, and perhaps it wouldn't hurt to split up soon. Not like she can run yet, and she seems more...herself. Not to mention that everyone seems hospitable for the most part, already considering the duo as one of their own. She might even find or learn something he doesn't.

But as he turns right, she turns left, and he lets her walk three paces before he calls after her.]

Thought you'd want to go up top?

[She's going to turn around and stubbornly remain where she is.]

This is the way up.

[Maybe she should have paid attention when they were coming down here, but she had been so lost in thought as she followed him that now she is completely turned around and has vehemently convinced herself that he is the one in the wrong, as he always is.]

...Sure about that?

[He just crosses his arms over his chest, brow arched. Should he let her...

But the stairwell won't be too far off, and she'll be able to see that it only goes in one direction. Down.]

[Ugh. Must he do this? Patience already wearing thin, she closes her eyes and turns sharp on her heel and continues moving down the corridor, but as soon as she nears the end and realizes—

...

.....

..........]

Fuck.

[Benedikta whirls around and walks back in his direction, not saying a word as she passes him to go up.]

[He is not going to say aaaannnnnyyyyyyything, but he is definitely wearing a catlike smirk as he watches her pass her before he follows, idly whistling as he does.]

[She's not even going to turn around as she stomps down the hall, but she will snap back at him.]

Stop that.

[His whistling, and that stupid grin of his because she knows that it's there.

And on their way out, she does pause when she hears a light beeping from one of the open doors, as well as blinking lights coming from the darkness. Curiosity gets the better of her, and gods, she knows exactly how Cidolfus might react to even the slightest engineered sound, but what she sees on the other side when she lets her gaze wander that way definitely surprises her........]

Just mindin' my own business.

[He says, while knowing very well why she's so mad.

But he also catches the sounds, and she's right. He's intrigued. However, he would have refrained himself and kept going if she hadn't stopped, and so when she does...]

What in good Greagor's name?

[Once more Cid's interest is piqued. Beyond piqued as he steps up next to her and peers in to see all sorts of machinery and devices he's never seen or fathomed.

And without even asking, he's walking in, looking like a kid who just entered some amazing wonderland.]

[Even she's taken aback by everything, all of the blinking lights and sounds and screens a touch overwhelming. She has no idea what this all means, but she can see a map on one screen, words flashing on another, and more buttons than she would ever know what to do with.

So she doesn't notice right away when Cid pushes past her to go into the room, and as soon as she does—]

Don't touch anything!

[But even as she says that, she watches him... closely. Watches how he darts to it like a moth to a flame. How he has that childlike glint in his eye as he tries to figure it all out.

... Oddly, it takes her back once more. Wrenches her to the past when she would watch him hunched over his desk in the candlelight with a quill in his hands and papers sprawled every which way. She would lay in his bed, head sinking into the pillow as she waited for sleep to find her, and she would just... watch... enthralled by the way his face would wrinkle in thought, or how he would mutter to himself when something didn't quite fit.

...

....]

Ach, I know, I know!

[Just a little wave as he continues to move this way and that. As a fellow engineer, he knows not to bother anyone too much while they work, instead placating himself to watching from behind...

....

But at some point he just can't help himself, practically hopping on the balls of his feet as he looks over the map and finally asks a few questions when they don't seem particularly busy. At least they seem used to it as they answer readily enough. Some less friendly—which is to be expected, but others are more amiable, even eager when they realize Cid wants to learn the ins and outs of what's going on and even being able to keep up a bit, only stopping when they talk about things he's never heard or seen.

And occasionally he'll look over at her and wave her over so she can see, too, but...

...

......

Yeah you lost him, Benedikta.]

[It's a wave of his hand that grabs her attention again, pulling her focus back to catch him bothering those working in the room. With the slightest furrow to her brow, she steps inside to move up beside him with an idle curiosity of her own. She never was good with this sort of thing, but she would be lying if she said she never found it interesting. Never asked questions when he'd been working on things. Granted, it was never this advanced, but it was far more than anything she'd ever be able to dream up.

For once...

Benedikta will allow it, if only because she is listening, too. Trying to absorb as much information as she can about this place, because that is what she does. It's instinct.

But... She casts a sidelong glance at Cidolfus again.]

Never seen anything like this before, have you?

Not even the Fallen have anything compared to this.

[He just glances at her with that same fascinated look and spark in his eye as he looks it over.]

And to think, this is fairly common. Every ship has a system like this, and those shellphones we were wondering about will be something similar, just small.

Can you imagine? All this—[A grand sweep of his arm.]—in a small device that could fit in your pocket! C'mon, lad, show her!

[He's suddenly pulling at a poor crow's wing to show Benedikta their shellphone. And though there's a squawk of surprise, the navigator will oblige.

"But it's not the exact same, y'know. These systems can do a lot more than what the phones can, but you'll want to keep yours on for long distance communication. No more pigeons or fishgrams for us!"]

[She can only roll her eyes at his enthusiasm. It's so... loud... but so very him. Perhaps that's why she can't help it. Even now, when she is using him for her own gains, he finds a way to annoy her. Or so she tells herself, ignoring the part where there's a shallow warmth pooling in her belly that billows up into her chest each time he looks at her with those lights in his eyes.

And each time, she has to remind herself that those lights in his eyes were the ones that left her behind.

Fortunately, she can easily distract herself with the shellphone, and while it is somewhat impressive...

...]

Are you kidding me?

[She tips her head away, not wanting to look too interested.]

More things we'll have to figure out? [Under her breath, she mutters.] This really is hell.

It's a pretty fun one, I'll give it that.

[Cid is of course not bothered at all, and he's itching to get his hands on his own so he can start tinkering and figuring it all out.

And he's going to be drawn by another technician who is willing to show him some more of the systems and machines in the room, making him once again forget about Benedikta's presence.]

[Her arms fold over her chest, the tech just shrugging, unfazed, by her reaction because she is certainly not the first or the last person to be bothered by it.

But she simply stands there for a while, listening to Cidolfus and the others, absorbing as much as she possibly can despite the strange jargon that she doesn't understand. It's only after he leaves her side to check out the machines on the other side of the room that she even reacts at all with a slight but sharp narrow of her eyes as she follows him away from her.

Immediately, she feels her shoulders tense, that strange warmth in her belly turning into something hotter. Something she doesn't like as she watches him with his back to her...

... Almost as if she isn't even there at all.

A feeling that she is not used to. Even on their worst encounters, he would see her... Look at her.

Quietly, she sneaks out of the room while he's distracted and wishes that she had her pipe with her as she finds a spot against the wall to lean against a few doors down where she will wait for him, her hand in her pocket and fidgeting with the little trinket that she has hidden away there.]

[It will take a few minutes longer than she would like before Cid realizes she's gone. So absorbed was he that he's actually surprised when he turns to call her to once again point out something that he finds her gone.

Seeing him confused, one of the techs point him out the door, and with a slight rush of panic he rushes out. Curse his penchant to get lost in new inventions. He can only hope she didn't actually disappear—]

Benedikta!

[There's some relief as he sees her waiting for him. He's...actually surprised she did. This would have been a perfect chance for her to just leave, and yet...

...

He's not sure what to make of that, but for now he'll just play it normally.]

Looks like I got a bit carried away.

[A bit.]

[Is it odd that the panic that she hears in his voice and the relief that follows when he finds her still out in the hallway, waiting, pleases her somewhat? Gives her an odd flicker of pride in her chest? Makes her stomach do a little flip, her heart skip a single beat, that he rushed out to find her? That he thought of her?

...

Yes, it is, and as she pushes herself away from the wall, dropping that pendant back into her pocket, she shoves them away. Stomps on them and curses herself for the hundredth time today for it.]

A bit?

[Definitely an understatement, but whatever.]

I didn't want to interrupt.

[She wouldn't dare, lest he figure her out, so like him, she tries to play it off as normal as she can manage.]

Are you finished?

For now. Might come back to it later. Wouldn't hurt to learn how the ships work here and all.

[...Annnnnnnnnnnnnd because he just wants to learn.]

Of course you would.

[She eyes him a moment longer before her lip curls at one corner.]

You aren't already thinking about building your own, are you...?

Was I thought obvious?

[A smirk.]

Might help kill the time, give me more freedom to see what all's there. Care to join me?

STARTER SHIPS: ORIENTATION

ELTRUT: FIRST GLIMPSE

QUESTS

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