Agenda | January 2019

[khuimods]

✽ JANUARY 2019 Hello Dreamers! Happy New Year! The holidays were predictably busy for many of us, so welcome back and thank you for your patience over the short delay. We hope everyone is refreshed and ready to dive back in. Here is your first agenda of 2019!  • CITY DEVELOPMENTS •   January dawns with clear skies and cool temperatures. It's comfortable enough weather for most people, but those sensitive to the cold are advised to stay in a shelter if they lack power or heating. By declaring a state of emergency, the Alliance approved significant disaster relief funding and designated two leaders who can make decisions outside of the normal legislative process for thirty days. The Alliance has also delegated certain powers to the head of the Verdant Sentry, primarily the authority to to expend funds and deploy personnel, equipment, supplies, and stockpiles. Normal routines grind to a halt across the archipelago, and almost everyone turns their effort and attention to storm recovery. Debris must be cleared, homes and businesses rebuilt, losses grieved and survival celebrated. Memorials begin to pop up all over the city. The skies may be clear, but many in Aifaran are struggling with the uncertainty of their present circumstances - and of the future.  • JOB OPENINGS •   Aifaran's economy has strong pillars in both monetary and barter systems for work, and as such there are always a wealth of opportunities for temporary work both inside the city and in other locations around the archipelago. While these positions are not strictly geared toward Dreamfolk, and anyone can take them up regardless of whether they already have steady employment elsewhere or not, new Dreamfolk in particular find them helpful to help get their feet under them. Some of this month's temporary work positions are: SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS - With so many people displaced and shelters full to the point of straining resources, support volunteers who are willing to house and feed up to four individuals are requested by city officials in charge of disaster response. You'll be given a small stipend to help defray any costs of putting up refugees; it's not enough to cover everything, but it's what can be provided given the broad impacts of the disaster. RUNNERS - With all forms of transit shut down save boats and foot traffic, runners are needed to help deliver or retrieve messages, supplies, and more. You don't need to be particularly fast - this is a marathon, not a sprint. In addition to the pay, you'll get snacks free. A lot of them. RECOVERY AND REBUILDING - Numerous businesses are offering day wages to help search through damaged or destroyed property and begin the process of clearing and rebuilding. It's rough physical work, but you might be allowed to take home some damaged goods for free. Anyone with magical abilities to restore objects will get an added bonus to their wages, too.  • UPCOMING EVENTS •   ✽ STORM CLEAN-UP   { Jan 1 - 31 } In the first few days of the new year, city and Alliance officials take stock of the damage to the archipelago. All told, officials estimate that nearly 10% of the city's residential districts have suffered severe damage, meaning that the homes in those areas are not structurally safe to live in until repairs are made. This translates to about 30,000 people in need of temporary housing. A further 20% (roughly 60,000) of the city has experienced moderate damage, so their homes are livable, but they may be without power, heat, or necessities like running water or adequate food stores. Thousands have sustained severe injuries, overwhelming medical services. The storm is confirmed to have claimed 115 lives, with several hundred people missing across the islands. The death toll is expected to rise, but not substantially. There is a dire need for volunteers to process missing persons reports and assist with search and rescue - it's hard work, but the sense of determination and unity persists among work and search crews. Clearing Shuyul Bay to allow passage of boat traffic is a high priority in the early days of January. Volunteers are needed to construct temporary boat launches and piers on the eastern edge of the bay, and to take row boats into the water to collect and remove debris. Several ships and boats sank, so any large obstacles are being handled by the Sentry. The Skyway remains shut down due to significant damage and structural instability along 15% of tracks. Technicians estimate it will be several months until all the tracks are operational again, depending on the progress of tree removal. The rest of the city takes light damage, mostly in the way of flooding and damaged goods. Volunteers are needed all over the place to remove storm debris to a growing mountain of wreckage outside the city walls. Everything from broken windows and furniture, to entire collapsed buildings and large sections of damaged structures need to be hauled away, and the abilities of Dreamfolk are in high demand to facilitate cleanup and recovery. Anyone with the capacity to assist is expected to do so. By the second week of recovery and cleanup, rumors spread about a Sentry investigation. The higher-ups aren't talking, and lower-level officers have no clue precisely what they're trying to find out. People begin to call the Storm of the Century by a different name: Xi Tianlong, the Black Sky Dragon. Note: This event will have a mod-posted log available for threading. It will be posted either January 5th or as part of the same post as Watchers in the Water. ✽ WATCHERS IN THE WATER   { Jan 7 - 20 } Out of nowhere - almost quite literally - a small ship noses into the harbor from past the barrier, followed closely by two more. Their designs seem oddly quaint, yet not entirely antediluvian. There are elements of Castian and kedanese aesthetic about them, which is proof enough that it's not from some poor fools who have Shunted in. But aside from that, its origins are a mystery. Within hours, the Sentry has set up a perimeter, and are preparing to follow quarantine procedures. They haven't yet finished the setup when a kedan emerges from the cabin in the fore of the smallest ship. She looks around, seemingly unconcerned with the fuss her arrival has set up, and says, "This is Aifaran, isn't it?" When questioned, she says that she is Melias of the Dan'kirani monks, hailing from the Watch city of Rhaokoras. This sets up a flurry of excitement mixed with healthy skepticism. Nobody has heard from any of the Watch cities in centuries. She is immediately the subject of good-natured interrogation from researchers at the Aisling Tower - what happened to the Watchers? Is there any news of Tu Vishan? However, she remains tight-lipped on those, and only says that even the Watchers hadn't seen anything like Xi Tianlong before. "We rather thought you might need our help." The other two ships remain eerily silent, showing no signs of life whatsoever. Note: This event will have a mod-posted log available for threading.  • AFFINITY RANKS •   Remember to check out your character's AFFINITY RANK for the various areas of repute within the city! This month's Affinity Activities can be found LOCATED HERE.  • WANTED CHARACTERS •   As promised, we've made a page dedicated to keeping track of wanted characters! Check out the current list of WANTED CHARACTERS to let us know series/characters that you're hoping to see join us here. This month's Wanted Character Request Comment is LOCATED HERE.  • OOC INFO & MOD NOTES •   Storm Log AC Exemption The Storm of the Century log was updated last month to be eligible for AC in either December or January. Since December is check-in AC, this will probably mean your event threads will be used for January AC! Please do continue to tag that log as you wish; given the date when it was posted, we understand that people may not have had much time to participate yet. Go wild! Process Updates As mentioned in the December State of the Shell, there are several process updates that we are making. AC is now 10 comments across 1-3 threads instead of 15. We are taking suggestions from the survey and game HMD regarding game size and the possibility of using backtagged threads for AC, and will let everyone know what we propose to do if we change our current AC policies. We've created the Wanted Characters page and included it in Navigation, and will have a section in the monthly agendas moving forward. We are still working on the outreach resources, namely the elevator pitch for what Khu Ioduan is all about. If you have any ideas or would like to draft a version of an elevator pitch, let us know! There will likely be multiple versions/ways to present the game to potential players, and we welcome your input. Use this post for plotty purposes if you'd like, brainstorm what your character might be interested in doing, laugh over your affinity ranks, anything you want - this post is yours!