Tyranny, meet anarchy

[aestrix]

The city of Eantasyl is fortunate in its placement, and is considered old for even an elven city. The streets are some kind of shimmery stone, the buildings neatly arranged and well maintained. It's pleasant, and generally considered a nice place for the rich to retire. There's a noticeable lack of greenery and foliage on the streets themselves - the place is kept very dense, and it's can be guessed that its citizens thought they had enough foliage already. It sits at the base of one of the very first world trees. One could be forgiven for missing the city for the tree - it's several thousand feet tall, and its branches bring shade to more than half of Eantasyl. They do not need gardens. They have enough to spare, up in the sky.

(The leaves are a pain to rake.)

Despite many of its flaws (and there are many) the Sunrise Empire isn't actually a horrible place to live. This place especially. Just steer clear of the government, keep your head down, don't join any rebellions, and don't break any laws, and you'll be fine. Probably. Unless there are dangerous criminals running around, causing trouble.

But that hardly ever happens. The Ministry has it all under control.

Comments

[itstandsforjinx]

"Yeah, you could say that. Just passing through. I've never seen such a big tree before. There must be tons of leaves to sweep, but they're all gone. Do you do that, too?" She glances around distractedly, not really focussing on the elf, though she does take a moment to see what clothes look like around here.

[aestrix]

"Oh, is this your first time seeing a world tree? There's a few help kiosks up there, they're pretty easy to find." He looks away, awkwardly, at the half-cleaned smudge. "Um, no, I just clean down here. The wards can handle most of the leaves, I don't have one of the, heh, cushy jobs. Just, down here." Shrug. "Doing this."

His clothes look like a uniform with a long jacket. There's a set of crystals attached to the front of it, and a patch on his shoulder that's likely designating him as an Official Authorized Personnel.

[itstandsforjinx]

"Who's even down here to see that the walls are clean, anyway? The whole place is for 'authorized personnel only', right? So, uh... Why are you wasting your time?"

Jinx kicks up a foot against the wall, leaving behind a distinct print from her heavy combat boots.

[aestrix]

He makes a dismayed face at the new thing to clean.

"Oh, um. My inspectors. And the people that maintain the place. I get paid, and it's not like it's hard." Shrug.

... He picks up his scrubber, and goes back to his smudge. Scrub scrub. Scrub.

"Sorry, um, I have quotas. It'll be my head if any of this is messed up. Or worse, vandalized." He shudders. Scrub scrub scrub.

[itstandsforjinx]

"...Y'know, this is really lame. You get paid to stand around all day and do meaningless crap, and if you mess up then you get slapped down."

She pulls out another can of spraypaint and tosses it to the elf.

"Wanna try something new and crazy?"

Her eyes are somehow even pinker than before.

[aestrix]

He fumbles a bit, but catches the can. He looks at it, confused. He's never seen anything like it before.

"Define 'new and crazy'?" he asks, nervously, inspecting the spraypaint, bringing it close to his face. He successfully figures out how to press the button. While it is aimed at his face.

He yelps and drops it, and rubs at his now pinkened face.

"What was that, what did that do?! I can't see, I'm blind! Help!"

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx rolls her eyes and does her best to help the incompetent elf with his spraypaint problem. "You point it at the wall, not yourself, dingus."

[aestrix]

"What does it do, though?" he wails, rubbing at his eyes. "Whatever it is it stings."

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx pats the elf on the back. "Yeah, well, just be glad I didn't hand you my pistol." She takes the can back, and quickly doodles her tag on the wall to demonstrate. "It's paint that you spray. Spraypaint. Wanna make your superiors have a hissy fit?"

[aestrix]

He clears his eyes, spots the newly painted wall, and gasps, rather dramatically.

"But. But. B-b-but -" He looks at the can of spraypaint in his hand. He looks at the paint on his fingers, rubbed off from his face. He experimentally touches the wall, leaving pink. He looks between it, and his scrubber. Experimentally, he scrubs it. He only succeeds in smudging it around more.

"There's no way I'm getting out of this, is there," he mumbles. He looks at the can of spraypaint. He looks at the wall. "... Fuck it. I hated this job anyway."

He cackles, and proceeds to draw a rather explicit picture on the wall, helpfully labelled 'What you assholes do to each other.' What the assholes in question do to each other is really not PG.

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx adds details. She has experience with these themes.

Then she tosses another can of spraypaint at the elf and starts sauntering off along the corridor, whistling faintly.

[aestrix]

He catches it. If he's getting fired anyway, he might as well make it memorable.

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx is starting to have the opinion that this world isn't so bad after all!

She heads off in the direction that looks least-well-maintained - other than the one she came from - leaving the elf to his work.

[aestrix]

Wheeeeeee spraypaint wheeee! Take that, The Man!

The least-well-maintained direction doesn't have anyone in it. It has two wall smudges. Someone needs to call the elven janitor because this place is a pigsty.

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx makes little spraypaint circles around the smudges in order to point them out to the authorities. She's helping!

[aestrix]

So helpful! Surely everyone will thank her for her efforts!

There are more smudges on the wall. Also, a sign that says, 'WORLD TREE NUTRITION PLANT.' It is complete with an arrow. How helpful!

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx follows the arrows! They are helpful arrows. She adds more, this time in cyan.

[aestrix]

Well, that's just thorough labeling. And these people obviously love their labels very much.

There are signs for other things, but none of them mention the world tree in particular. Things like 'JANITORIAL OFFICE' and 'SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT' and the like. Possibly boring, in comparison to the giant tree.

[itstandsforjinx]

Well, a janitorial office probably has cleaning supplies she could make a grenade from, but she doesn't need any more grenades right now: the dozen or so miniaturized bombs she has in her belt are just fine, thanks. So, on to the World-Tree!

[aestrix]

She knows she is getting close when the pointlessly clean hallway widens, and opens up to a rather large room, with a small (impeccably clean) walkway with neat OSHA-compliant guard rails over a vat of what looks to be magic glowing blue water. There are plants along the walls that look surprisingly like devices used for filtration. Or something. They pour out the glowing magic water. The glowing magic water has a current going in a general forward direction.

Also there's a giant root, up ahead. It is very big. Bigger than Jinx and her new spray paint enthusiast buddy if they were standing on one another's shoulders.

(This is one of the smaller ones.)

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx takes a moment to appreciate the size of the place - they never had rooms this big in Piltover - and then continues on, following the water. After all, she's looking for something properly important, not just glowy liquids. If she knows this sort of government, anything anyone actually cares about is going to be supervised.

[aestrix]

That is probably how it works!

The rooms get bigger. As do the roots. The walkway gets very, very small in comparison to everything. The gray stone of the ceiling is replaced with cavernous space and roots far, far above. Helpfully, there are little glass and metal lights floating about. One of them goes and floats a few feet in front of Jinx, helpfully out of the way but lighting up the walkway. It will even stop for her, if she stops, and move in the direction she looks.

There are more plant-devices that are doing mysterious things to water, floating at regular intervals. The water isn't just blue anymore - it shifts, multicolored, and little sparkles float up from it. It is definitely magic water of some description.

[itstandsforjinx]

Jinx considers drinking the magic water. It is apparently very magic, and it's safe for the tree to drink, right? Maybe it'll make her more magic.

She bends down, and drops the end of one of her excessively-long braids into the water below. Reeling it back up again, she makes sure it doesn't burn her hair off or anything before she squeezes a drop into her mouth.

[aestrix]

It doesn't burn her hair off! But her hair does drip sparkly water. And shimmer in a magic fashion.

Does she want to drink this water?

[itstandsforjinx]

It is pretty and magic and probably won't kill her much. And hey, what's life without a little risk?