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As events progress, more IC Information will be revealed. This post will include information relevant to things such as location, characters, or developing plot points. This post will be updated without notice as the information is revealed, so please check here regularly if you want to make sure you have all the IC Information!

The Castle

The Castle is located on the planet Solamnia, which is also considered the Kingdom of Solamnia. Solamnia is located in what Altea has referred to as the ‘Gresit Quadrant’, and says that a great asteroid field surrounds them and prevents much travel.

The castle has polished black marble floors and the walls appear to be onyx, but despite the darkness the castle doesn’t seem morbid. The Dark Mirror Senshi entered the castle in the Foyer, where Altea pulled them through the Mirror when Mirrorspace was crumbling around them. The Silver Framed mirror is now black and lifeless and, like other mirrors in the area, cannot be used to Mirrorwalk. There are tall, intricately carved pillars and beautiful sculptures of blossoming flowers up for display. There are many scenic paintings as well as paintings of portraits of people adorning the walls. There do not appear to be any windows in the castle.

There are other mirrors in the castle, though all sans the great Silver Mirror seem to be covered in strange, clear crystals, all pastel in color. The crystals spread over some of the décor though seem mostly limited to the mirrors and the high archways of the castle. The ceiling is impossibly out of reach, though even they are clean and appear to be without any dust or cobwebs.

Down the Great Hallway is a staircase, guarded by two armored guards. Despite even the best efforts, no one can ascend this staircase; it seems as though it is magically enchanted. Even without traveling up the staircase, it visibly splits into two paths, one to the left and one to the right. Between the two paths, high on the wall, is a portrait of Altea, a man, and her parents behind her; they all seem happy.

A long hallway at the base of the stairs is accessible from the foyer; it is decorated in the same manner and is similarly covered in crystals.

The castle seems like each room flows into the next; down this long hallway is a number of intricately carved doors, where each new door is somewhat different from the last. Some of these doors have crystals grown over the handle and are impossible to open. Some are locked, and some are open. Each accessible room is different but will require exploration for more information.

Down the end of this long hallway and to the right is a great, gaping archway that leads into a long dining room. Within, there is a table that could easily fit twice the number of Dark Mirror Senshi. In a discreet corridor, you can find yourself in what appears to be a kitchen. There are stoves and what looks like it was intended to be an ice chest, though every pantry and area where food could be expected is empty. There is an uncut crystal slab in a chest in one pantry, though above that are carefully packed boxes of precut crystals for ease of access. There are cooking utensils around the kitchen but no sight of anything that looks as if it has actually been used in food preparation in some time. There is no electricity, but the stove and ice chest appear to have some enchantments on them to emit chill and warmth, though their sources cannot be identified. Further in the kitchen is the storage room for diningware; the Queen has several different vast sets of china and silverware.

If you take a left down the long hallway instead of a right, you will arrive at a new row of doors; these are the temporary lodgings for the Dark Mirror Senshi. Each room has up to two beds and a restroom. The rooms are decorated nicely and seem to be safe; they can be locked from the inside.

Further down this path are a few more hallways and stairwells, one of which leads to a great ballroom. The ballroom is a big open space with artistic murals and beautiful busts on the wall. The sky is painted to look like a starry galaxy, and a great, glistening chandelier makes the room sparkle. It is impossible to tell if the stars in the ceiling are painted to be realistic or if they are from the artist’s imagination, but none of the constellations or star clusters look familiar. The room is illuminated by glowing crystals and has an eerie, lonely feel to it. There are no instruments on display, but there is a section of the room clearly meant to give performers enough room to sit comfortably.

No other rooms in this area appear particularly interesting or accessible except for the library at the end of one hallway.

The Library

The doors to the library are black and have gold and purple accents; these doors are always open. The library is filled with old, unreadable texts. It is a vast, two story room, with architecture that closely resembles that seen in the other rooms of the castle. The floor is marble but there are dark purple carpets with gold trim and embroidery lining the floor. Portraits hang on the wall and it seems like at one point in time there were spots to hold candles; now there are pale glowing crystals that line the floor. A great chandelier hangs from the ceiling, covered in crystals of all colors and glowing.

The books all appear to be in Solamnian, and unreadable text, but many of them contain pictures and a clever mind can infer a broad idea of what they are holding. They are bound in all sorts of things; some appear fabric, some leather, and some seem to simply be a thick cardboard. The pages range from similar materials. Many of the books are in good condition, but an equal number appear to be well-read or damaged.

Plush chairs that appear in good condition and mostly unused line the first floor; there are a few tables nearby. The upper floor is visible from down below and has a walkway around the room to access books, though the center of the room is fully open and allows full sight of the room below. The stairs are marble, though are extremely opalescent. The railing up the stairs and around the upper floor is designed to resemble vines. Flowers have been carved into it and glisten with the same opalescent material as the stairs.

In the corner of the second floor, between two large bookcases, is a thin stairwell that looks like it leads into the wall. There is a door at the top, but it is locked and impenetrable.

Update, as of The Broken Truth:

The library is in disarray and has books strewn all about. The locked door has broken out of its frame and the Senshi were able to travel up a hidden corridor to reach Altea's lair. It is here that they confronted her, in an empty ballroom filled with crystals like the ones she was feeding them.

The Dungeon: Unlocked in Sides

This location was only uncovered after a few days of being trapped; the dungeon has many empty cells and only one prisoner. Taran is trapped here, sealed to the wall with crystals. When Altea discovered the group had traveled down here and confronted them, they attacked her. She fled and sealed the door, prompting the Senshi to escape from a hidden passageway in the ceiling that led them back to the foyer.


Residents of the Castle

Queen Altea
Altea first greeted the Dark Mirror Senshi while wearing a crown and a long silver dress decorated with pearls and embroidery. She is a pale woman who appears frail, and she has wavy teal hair, tied back in an elaborate style that falls halfway down her back. She has an energy signature that seems unique to her and does not feel to be either Order or Chaos, though her energy signature does feel similar to the Dark Mirror Senshi’s. She says she has the ability to look through mirrors and travel through them, and she is responsible for drawing the Dark Mirror Senshi out of Mirrorspace when it was crumbling around them. She says she has been having difficulties with the mirrors and many of her abilities are presently blocked without their cooperation.

She seems like a kind woman who has offered the Dark Mirror Court her hospitality while they try to figure out how to get home. She is interested in them and claims to have been lonely and without visitors for some time. She is surrounded by strange, crystalline servants who she seems very attached to.

Altea is educated in star maps and is greatly interested in the universe outside of Solamnia. Her family and many citizens of Solamnia perished in a plague that passed through the land some time ago.

Update, as of Sides

Upon locating Taran in the dungeon, he has informed the Dark Mirror Senshi that when Altea’s kingdom became sick, she allowed a Dark power to consume her. While she had good intentions, it turned her into a monster who was willing to drain the life from other planets to keep hers alive. In the library her diary was unconvered and seemed to reveal that Taran’s claims were true. The Dark Mirror Senshi were able to confront her, where she shifted into a fifteen foot crystal monster with giant crystals and shards growing off of her. Her eyes became black and she seemed to lose her humanity. In this form, she had access to a surplus of magical abilities, including throwing crystals, opening mirrors, and creating mirror doppelgangers of the Senshi. She also had the ability to empower anyone who joined her.

Altea’s Servants
All of the servants in the castle seem to appear human from a distance, but a closer inspection reveals them to have a strange, shard like texture to their translucent skin. They are somewhat transparent and appear crystalline, although when peering through them they seem a bit cloudy. They do not seem to have eyes, or blink; everything about them is crystal, including their clothes and hair.

They have the ability to move completely in sync; many of them seem completely identical in appearance. They look statuesque, carved to perfection, and move like humans. According to Altea, they are alive and are also considered residents of Solamnia, though they do not speak.

They will clean up any mess left unattended, and sometimes will clean up after the guests while they are still working. People who make a mess of the library or pull out books will find that the servants clean up rapidly whenever they can. The servants also constantly rotate 'fresh' crystal food in the dining hall, and can sometimes be found walking around the hallways with platters of food to share with the guests.

Taran
(discovered in Sides)

Taran is Altea’s fiancé; his image hangs on a few portraits around the castle. He is trapped in the dungeon with both chains and crystals and has been prisoner there for some time. Altea has trapped him because she claims he is trying to stop her—and he is. Taran claims that Altea has been corrupted by a Chaos Seed that he was hunting down and it is now his duty to stop her before she destroys any more of the universe.

Being trapped for so long has left him with pale skin and his purple hair is long and unkempt; it falls midway down his back. His appearance is comparable to a human that is nearing thirty years of age, but his violet eyes have a strange depth that makes him seem to have a more ageless appearance. He has an odd energy signature that does not seem either Order or Chaos; it is just something different.

He does not wear the same regal attire that he did in the portraits; instead he wears the colors of a Cosmos Knight but has none of her symbols. He wears bits of golden armor that appear dented and scratched, and he seems to have been disarmed before being thrown in the dungeon. He has excessive knowledge about the universe, Altea, and the layout of the castle, all of which he is eager to share with the Dark Mirror Court if only they can promise to stop Altea.

The Dark Mirror Senshi had to leave him behind to pursue Altea when they could not free him from his crystals; he seemed resigned to his fate and cared only that she was stopped before more damage could be done.


Miscellaneous Information

Crystals

Edible Crystals
The only edible food here seems to be crystals. They can be found most commonly in the shape of flowers or small, bite sized morsels and are essentially tasteless. They have the consistency of rock cand but, like cotton candy they dissolve on the tongue and do not require chewing. These crystals almost immediately restore energy as much as any good meal and rest would.

Crystals growing in the Castle
The crystals that line the walls appear different from these crystals; the edible crystals glisten like tiny gems and have more luster than the crystals growing on the walls. Both of these crystals are different from the ones found in Mirrorspace. The crystals growing in the castle do not seem to have any magic and are too strong to break. They do not dissolve when licked.

Alternate Outfits

If any Dark Mirror Senshi investigates their room, they may find a closet or drawer with a pair of pajamas inside. They come in several sizes but the cut implies that they would fit a human easily. All pajamas are loose and flowy and many of them have ruffles or lace sewn in. The top is loose and falls to about mid thigh and the pants come in two styles: one that resembles bloomers and ends near the calf and one that falls loosely and gathers around the ankles. The fabric is soft and feels like it might be old but it shows no sign of actual wear. The pajamas only seem to come in desaturated colors or soft pastels; there is nothing vibrant or flashy about them. These outfits can be dismissed to subspace when you want to return to wearing your Senshi Uniform. There may be other clothes in the castle that can be found, but this requires a PM to the mule and a character searching.

This thread will also double as the FAQ/MQ&A for this event. If you have any questions related to this event, please contact the mule or post in this thread with your question. We will answer as soon as possible and keep a log of commonly asked questions in this post for easy reference.

• I am late to the meta; is it too late to participate?
  No! It will never be too late to participate in this meta; if you missed any of the introduction RPs, you simply need to handwave your character being there. There is no way to enter the meta except for these roleplays. No character will mysteriously appear in the middle of the meta with no idea how they got there; it should be assumed that they were simply in the background or went missed or unnoticed until you are able to play them. Similarly, if you miss ORPs or events in the meta, you can handwave that your character was there. This information thread will be updated with all links so you can backread what you missed!
  
  
• I missed meeting word count or participating in a roleplay before it closed; can I post in it for a requirement?
  Yes, as long as the roleplay hasn’t been closed for longer than two weeks. To find out when a roleplay closed, please check the last mule post in the roleplay (all posts can be found in a ‘mule post log’ on the first page of the roleplay). The closing post will declare that it is the last mule post; check the time stamp and, if you can write five hundred words, you can count it as a regular. If you miss a battle ORP, you can only claim it as a regular unless you participated in the battle at some point before the ORP closed.
  
  
• Can Dark Mirror Senshi upgrade while in the castle?
  Yes; typically Dark Mirror Senshi require a mirror and a cat to upgrade, however if you have a Senshi who is ready to grow to the next stage at any point during the meta, they will have a unique growth ritual specific to this meta only. A mirror in the castle will flash or appear to have something moving within its shadows; the Dark Mirror Senshi can approach it and walk (or be sucked) into it. They will not be able to travel to any mirror; the mirror they walked into will spit them out after a few seconds, however if they are ready to upgrade then they will exit the mirror at their next stage.
  
  
• Can Dark Mirror Senshi power down while in the castle?
  No; if they attempt to power down they will find that there is some sort of magical resistance preventing it. There is a strange magic in the air that seems to be constantly rejuvenating their powered energy, so they will not grow tired while they are powered. While they can remove articles of clothing from their uniform or put on other articles that they find, they will always be in their powered form.
  
  
• Do the Dark Mirror compacts work for communication?
  Only if they are trying to reach someone within the castle with them. If they are trying to reach someone who is in Destiny City, they will not be able to (nor will anyone from Destiny City be able to contact them).
  
  
• If a character from Destiny City is trapped in one of the rooms in Mirrorspace (not in Altea’s castle), are they able to act normally? What abilities or things are they limited from?
  While trapped, they will not be able to exit the room under any circumstances; the Negaverse cannot teleport outside, Senshi and Knights cannot travel to their homeworlds, and Dark Mirror Senshi that did not participate in Altea’s Castle’s portion will not be able to Mirrorwalk. They are effectively trapped with no escape. They can use their magic, but Mirrorspace will simply drain the energy their magic gives off. Transcended characters may choose to be more or less affected by the draining and will not suffer any worse effects than another character who is not transcended, though the player can determine individually per each character if they want to have them be more drained. Communication devices will not work in Mirrorspace; Senshi Phones, Negaversre Tablets, DMC Compacts or Knight Rings will lose almost all of their functions; they don’t have any service and cannot send or receive messages or calls; they cannot take images or access applications.