Justin
Magic sets the theme of this Festival, as warm lights of sky-lanterns and the crystalline glimmer of arcane energy swirling all across the city skyline attracts one's sight high to the sky above, where the vast, intricate and auric displays of complex magical runes and circlets light the low streets and looming towers of the so-called "Perfect-city" Aglow. Yet one's sights are quickly brought back down by the flutter of an otheruniversal traveler's seraphic wings, the bubbly energy emanating from an elemental Medeian sorcerer, or perhaps imposing and graceful appearance of a *Mano Benedetta* Member's pearly-white cloak and armor, where their attention is then captured once more by the synced march of the *Custos Regni* In their show-of-power. Yet here, stationary, and as fundamental to celebration as can be, are the stalls, tents, and booths for multicultural, multiethnic, and multispecies foods, trinkets, and more — it is a celebration as much defined by the transmundane as much as it is by the mundane, and by the mundane as much as it is by the transmundane.
_ _
Tonight, all the eyes of the world rest on this singular place, and it is for that purpose that the major powers of Pacifica have made it a point to demonstrate their continued proliferation as independent elements of a central power. It is for that purpose that celebrants have come from far-and-wide to find joy and revelry amongst the greatest and most varied crowd of the whole world. It is for that purpose that those who seek to make a name for themselves — to be seen, and to remembered — have come also, to stand out amidst the shifting tides of peoples from every corner of the world—universe—multiverse. It is here, of all places, that they each come, to celebrate **Disparity**'s end and **Convergence**'s beginning, at the **Festival of Convergence.**
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Dorothy
Now arrives at the core of the event — at a great stage, set directly within the heart of the central plaza — an envoy: a collection of individuals markedly hailing from the city of *Caeli Noctis.*At the head of them all was a woman, youthly in appearance and form, lithe and elegant, her elegant frame made only more elegant by a dark, distinctly-Victorian dress. Pale, pale hair, pale and colored like new leaves in spring, extended to the length of her shoulders, which was rested beneath a large, pointed hat, embellished with golden-threaded embroideries, royal-blue tassels, golden flourishes, and the symbol of the five-pointed star — the very same emblazoned upon the banner of *Astra Cantum's* Central halls. There she stood — as an erudite figure with a sort of otherworldly presence — upon the stage at the summit of the night, and spoke:

***```
"Benedictiones, vobis omnibus!"```***

Her voice, soft and well-spoken, resounded as though amplified through a sound-system, yet there was nothing of the sort — save for a small ring upon her finger, in which a glittering, amethyst gem glowed with the light of a spell.

```
"Ah, excusez-moi," she placed a hand to her mouth, smiling lightly. "Comme je voulais dire: bonsoir, à tous!"
```

Now her smile grew, before she gave a faint, yet audible clearing of the throat. With one hand tucked behind her back, she placed her right hand firmly atop her chest.

```
"I only joke. Now, let me say for a third time and clearly to you all: good evening, everyone!"

"On behalf of the good people of Caeli Noctis and the Academy of Astra Cantum, I bid you all blessings and good tidings on this fine night."```
She gave a subtle bow.

```
"At the goodness of the benefactors of Sanctum Mesa, we, of the Academy, have been granted the honor of inaugurating this great commemoration. I would like to extend to them my greatest expression of thanks."

"Now," she paused, now made firm and upright in both stature and voice, a hand facing upright outstretched at her side. "To you, I would like to extend something much more personal: a challenge."

"It is said that, long ago, humanity and Medei lived in an era prosperity and peace. It was an age of balance, where the division of magic and the mundane had not been crossed; where mind, body, and soul had not yet been distinguished. An age where the material world lived in perfect harmony with the spiritual realm — where one born of the earth could reach, touching the heavens, stars, and beyond."

"Today marks the tenth year we now look back upon the catastrophe of an imbalanced world: the end of an era known as Disparity. Today marks the tenth year we walk toward a greater understanding of what lies beyond our world."

"Today, I would like to extend to you a challenge: a challenge against the border between the mundane and the transmundane. A challenge to claim a better tomorrow, and to pursue the perfect balance of an ancient era in the present day."

"I challenge you all to join us in a pursuit of a better future by way of Convergence — perfect summation in complete balance."

"And I invite you all to join us tonight in a celebration of what we have already accomplished — the world of Disparity that we have pushed beyond."


```

Extending that outstretched arm at her side forward, toward the crowd, the glittering amethyst ring on her index glowed alight, a radiant, purple mana manifesting at her fingertips. There, within her grasp, manifested the unmistakable, reality-transcending form of a brilliant collection of ethereal energy: a ***`SOUL.`*** Her **`SOUL,`** Incarnating into the form of a bow-and-arrow. The air around her shifted with the physical manifestation of the spiritual concept, her hair fluttering beyond her brow as the tassels of her hat and dress drifting in the strong current generated by the sheer density of its magical presence. Merely by the creation of the object, the tremendous skill she possessed with magic was made unmistakably evident.

**```
"𝑭𝒊𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒙."```**

As she whispered, the effulgent, violet energy — formed as an arrow in her fingertips — was leased, hurtling high into the sky over the crowd, twinkling like a star high overhead...

*```
"Thus, may the Festival of Convergence..."```*

***```
𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕄!!

"...Begin!"```***

***The Festival of Convergence begins.***
Geraldine
*CLANG.*

The sound of a sheathed, unrevealed blade stumbling off the rocks of an magically-constructed, complex ornamental water fountain near the bubbling center of the ongoing festivities. It was beautifully decorated with luminescent gems built-into stone, sparkling animations of aqua, and lighting from airborne sky-lanterns dozing off above it, not unsimilar to the rest of the extravagance presented by this so-proclaimed "Festival of Convergence". Within the immediate midst of low applause and the signaled, rather glamorous commencing of all activities, few could or would stop to behold or acknowledge the mishandled weapon, including possible questions as to why it was present. The person who'd lost it would claim it in short order.

The young woman of apathetic, unconformist appearance and eyes yet to be bared too the world weakly used the rocks of the fountain she sat on to push herself up. She had a noticeable, tedious limp as she navigated just a few inches to the floored blade, her shoulder forcing an uneven balance and emphasis on the right side of her body. Bending down, as it's surface reflected over her purple-tint sunglasses, she, with some struggle, reached for and grabbed the weapon, before quickly moving to gain healthier stance by practically slamming the closed end of the sheath onto the ground. She let out a barely audible sigh, looking up at the rest of the general environment and preferring to ignore the possibility of concerned onlookers. The truth was that she, having zoned out almost entirely, was startled by the sudden loudness of her surroundings and dropped the item. Losing awareness here of all places was certainly a feat.

What an elaborate performance— one that she had very little means of enduring due to its abrasive sound. Nothing personal, *Never* Personal, but these sort of endeavors, boisterous displays, just weren't her cup of tea, albeit impressive. After all, she'd had stopped paying attention because she was utte

Rly exhausted, and unfortunately, this was nearly *Always* The case for her. However, today, it was acceptable due to the fact that she, for whatever reason, had to be here, according to a trustworthy source that was all too close and personal for her liking, not that she had a choice or wasn't grateful. The source? Her *Blade*— as in what was inside of it, to be clear.
Mildred
```ini
["EXCEPTIONAL TIMING. YOU WERE ASLEEP FOR SOME TIME."]
```
Words that echoed into her mind, of which only she could discern as they came from a part of her **SOUL** Directly. A voice she heard everyday, a figment of her subconscious and with a tone that was. . . Hard to describe, given that it didn't exactly have tangible vocal cords anymore. The comment it made was not from a place of snark or sarcasm, but rather a simple, yet understandable misinterpretation proportionate to the individual who had a habit of doing so.
Geraldine
``". . .I wasn't asleep. Just dozed off. Sorry."``

Her name was *Ha*, recent huntress of the O.S.A, grade D. Tired, disinterested, blind and crippled, yet not disdainful or depressed Ha. She'd only done a few missions in about 5 months— to the dismay of her partner, *Salhaeja*, a spirit of sorts inhibiting her sword. Such information was not exactly made public for obvious reasons. As aforementioned, she was here because the *Blade* Told her to be, strongly claiming that something 'drastic' would happen at some point in time. She believed it, of course, but a festival like this was almost somewhere she never wanted to be. This was going to be their 'big break', in human terms. The sword itself helps her walk, among other things, and in exchange, this was her job, albeit that wasn't entirely how the agreement was made. Her tone in response to her friend was, as usual, faint mellow, and dubbed with her slight Korean accent, akin to as if she'd just woken up despite insisting she didn't, and actually being correct. Still, saying 'sorry' was something she had to do uncomfortably often.

To sum up her issues? Well, she *Died* Some time ago. Then she came back, but nobody else did except for what probably killed her— the sword, technically speaking. She also can't walk without support or see anything, which does not quite support her chosen profession and its risks. Regardless, she turned with one end of the blade firmly gripped, rubbing her eyes using her other hand through the glasses, and then deciding that it'd just be better to slowly trudge and navigate the festival until Salhaeja saw something relevant to its claims. Who knows? Maybe she'll meet someone interesting, or interested in her, but hopefully not that much, not that it matters. She had nothing much to say, granted.
William
*The faint light of a cigarette in an alleyway was the only thing that illuminated her body against her surroundings. She wasn't one for grand events crowded with hundreds - even thousands of people, yet a gut feeling told her that something just had to be up here. Something had to go wrong, no event would ever go perfectly to plan. This one, so grand in all its glory, there would certainly be people waiting to ruin it or overtake it for some ulterior motive. She preferred rather than being in the middle of this to stay off to the sidelines, in the dark, where no one would bother her with conversation. She wasn't one to prefer talking with people and being lively, much more prefering to get in, do whatever work had to be done, and get out. That was mostly how her life went, it wasn't anything to be proud of and she was far from it but, at the very least, she wasn't stuck with those damned people called her mother and father. She exhaled smoke from the cigarette hanging loosely from her mouth, glancing up at the sky boredly as she waited for something - anything not planned - to actually happen, tapping on the side of one of her pistols quietly.*
Carl
A woman walked along here, having a unique apperance to say the least. Most notably, though, the majority of her face was concealed by either her mask or her bangs, leaving the only clearly visible part of her face her right eye. She also had what looked like some regal-looking sword placed vertically across her back. Anyway, she just took a look around-needless to say that this area, all of it was pretty new to her, and she looked fairly intrigued-especially since her own nation is a freezing cold prison nation in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, so that combined with her very busy and stressful job as Supreme Justice of her world means it's rare she gets to see, much less even attend, events like these. She firmly stood in a sword plant, unmoving-almost like a statue, and almost comically expressing no sort of emotion or reaction to the events around her.
William
*She glanced around from her little alleyway corner at the people appearing in the crowd, glazing over the typical residents and taking more of her time analyzing meticulously the details of anyone that caught her eye. Whether it be for unique appearance, odd behavior, or a mixture of both. She trusted no one, anyone that had a friendly face could just as easily be the one behind some attack. Though, other than the odd figures in the crowd, the event seemed to be proceeding as according to plan. 

Another exhale of smoke.

Maybe coming here was just out of paranoia or hopes that something would go wrong, rather than her intuition being right about this place. Though, that could also simply be her own mind telling her to leave as she was far from enjoying this place. The loud noise of the crowd mixed with whatever music and chatter of conversations passing by was becoming a headache.*
Bonnie
*Looking around this new world he found himself in and finding a new comrade, he's mesmerized by the bright lights of the world around him. He reaches into his jacket pocket, still covered in blood only having a cloth piece sewed onto the once bullet hole, pulls out his pack if cigarettes grabbing his last one cursing under his breath that he must buy a new pack. Looking at his new comrade who saved his life*