Large crowds of people can be seen lining up through the streets in large masses standing shoulder to shoulder just to get the best view of the grand opening. From somewhere out of sight, trumpets begin to sound triumphantly to draw in the crowd’s attention to the stage that raised up high with a magical flare.
“Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls.” Frostine said with a bravado that lacked a small bit of confidence as her nervousness started to show through for a bit. “Welcome one and all to not just The Grand Elysium Carnival but our home as well; one that's been built with love, hope, and dreams. Here everyone is welcome and all is considered family. Tonight’s performance, I would like to introduce to you some of that family and some of my closest friends.”
With a small curtsey, the grand fanfare that began at the beginning turned into music that was a lot more fun and energetic.
THE BAKER
Rushing up onto the platform where she stood will be 12 other people wearing aprons and what looked to be a somewhat theatrical cooking attire, Light pastels accented with lace, frills and white pin stripes. Turning to them, Frostine would seem to say a quick few words to them before they split in two different directions.
She gave the scepter in her hand a quick twirl before tapping her hat, the showman attire trickling down into a more familiar candy aesthetic. Filling up with excitement, she would race forward towards the edge of the platform and launch herself off with her arms spread.
There were no safety nets for where she was falling, no person to catch her, just the candy painted stonework on the many streets below. You can almost hear the hearts pounding in the ears of many as everyone watched on as she took the plunge for hundreds of feet.
The crowds stirred as she was just about to hit the pavement when she completely vanished.
Just as quickly did she disappear did she reappear on the complete other side of the masses that stood watching on bated breaths. Her arms were still outstretched wide, same as before, then closing them in together and lifting them above her head. Her hooves just barely touched at the side of the building at the climax of momentum, using a last step for the final push, leaping up, her hand outstretched towards the top of the building she strived for.
Someone’s hand clasped onto hers, one of the people from the start, had a firm grasp that kept them both in a moment of suspense that was only broken as Frostine stood on the wall, and pulled him over the edge as well.
Together they fell, using each other to increase their momentum, turning through the air before she launched forward, and disappeared again, leaving the baker on their own. When he fell half the height of the building, Frostine would reappear from the wall, pulling with her from the edge a trampoline that snapped into place and redirected both the performer’s direction.
The crowds in the streets watched in excitement and awe as thus far, no magic or spell had been cast, leaving them in wonder, following the direction of performance lights to help guide their attention as where to look next and what to be excited for. As the performers traveled back and forth between buildings, propelled by trampolines and the trust they have in their teammates.
Through the demonstration, the bakers passed different things between them, some large, some small and some that left a trail behind emphasizing the paths they took and the ones that crossed. It would be hard to see what it was from any kind of distance, but it wasn’t hard to guess either; especially when it was all coming together.
Nearing the end of their show, the bakers came together, compiling what they had into a box where the last baker sprinkled a fiery powder over the metal container. With a quick blast of fire, the casing igniting for only a moment before Frostine pulled out the pan, spinning it on one finger as it quickly cooled off and flattened her palm when it cooled enough. With the dish in one hand she lifted it up before presenting it forward in a half curtsey and half bow with the other bakers presenting a fully made strawberry shortcake that had been mere ingredients before the show.
With the applause from the audience, Frostine with the rest will excitedly take their leave off the main stage, bustling around her but the fire they left behind still burned…
THE MASK MAKERS
The fire burned and kept burning, almost as if it was a lapse in judgment to leave it unintended as it sizzled and burned. It flickered for a moment, fading out before with the rip of an electric guitar the flame shot up in a blazing inferno, swirling and roaring. Then with the second rip of the guitar, two columns roared into the sky, parallel of the crowds as they the crowds let out a cheer when through the flames a solo acrobatic leapt out and through.
Running rooftop to rooftop, the parkour demonstrated was something unrivaled as not only were the distances great but also did their speed increase going faster and faster till they hardly be tracked by the untrained eye.
They raced across the rooftops in leaps and bounds, doubling over themselves and occasionally grabbing on to things, that were not visible to the untrained eye, for leverage. They used these to change their trajectory and direction that led the audience’s attention as a blur of color amongst the apparatuses till a second figure joined the performance.
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A male with platinum white hair slicked back, dull forest green eyes and tucked under their arm was a rifle with a long scope. He tapped the heel of his foot into the muzzle, swinging the gun around onto his back with a crossbody strap and fastened it in place there.
With one large and slow step, he was seemingly walking on air at that point. One step after another in a casual manner, not one foot in front if the other but as though there had always been ground before him until there wasn't. Without warning his next step left him in a freefall. In his descent his movements were slow, graceful but tense raising one arm just enough until his arm snapped, and he changed direction in an arch. The blur of the other individual raced at the one in freefall, dashing back and forth till he no longer moved, suspended and center.
Pulling off the gun he would fix the gun into position, taking aim and firing a shot. The flash of a person narrowly dodged the fire round leaving a suspended smoldering flame in the wake of his shots. One after the other in this rotation till the flames crept and spread, any sign of movement from the racing individual growing harder to pick out. As the flames traced along unseen tracks that mingled and entwined till they met together to burn in full. These collected flames raced directly down to on a path to where they remained suspended. He grabbed hold of the path between himself and the fire as it traced down to his lower back and burst out in roaring as they took the shape of two large wings of inferno that pulled the fire closer. Closer the flames roared bright and hot till they incinerated the harness that suspended him and let him fall out of sight and into the dark.
(Strawberry shortcake delivered)
THE KEEPER
His wings stretched up high as he dropped into the dark but the flaming dome persisted. Before the wings faded they flickered back to life when the tips touched and reshaped into a life of their own. Hollow eye sockets with flaming irises burn inside the flaming equine skull. Rearing back it's head the horse skull let out a loud dying scream as it erupts in a fireball. As the fireball flares, the scream continues to echo, reeling, till the changing tone was indistinguishable of the roaring motorcycle engine taking off in the ever closing net of burning fire. On the bike rode the woman with short flaming hair that mixed with the hellish inferno.
The closer the net became the tighter the ride became, letting herself fall off the bike as it defied gravity as one hand never left the handlebars, revving faster, letting the momentum pull her through, whipped back around and upright. Straddling the bike back into full control as the walls closing in became too much till she seemingly disappeared.
The fireball burned out leaving nothing behind but smoldering smoke in the wind. The bike screamed out it’s deathly bale as a rapid fire of gunfire sounded around and all the hooded figures in masks, The Huntsmen, volleyed flaming rounds as the woman on the bike raced forward, the wheels of the bike finding traction on those whisps building up the embers, a trail of fire following, racing after her, flickering from her hair, and down the red cloak that fanned and stretched out behind her. In the flames of her wake you can see figures, skeletons reaching out burning hands from the treads while the licks of flame shaped into hundreds of hounds, skeletal horses and ghost rides clamoring, grasping and clawing at the bike before they could fizzle out.
A voice echoed out over the clouds, foreign from acts that have presented so far, maybe not as foreign to one of the party members, but not saying anything other than letting their loud sounding laugh echo out.
The pitch of the whinnying and roaring engine took a turn down as flames shot from the nose of the horse skull shaped blazing a path of its own, pulling back and turning up to the main platform like the top of a ramp, lurching the bike into a much more easier feat of a simple flip before landing firm and stationary, the smoke, finally, burning out.
THE WEAVER
The smoke tethered up into the sky, never fading and growing in strength and amount as it built and swirled. Thunder and lightning cracked through the sky as the building Columbus clouds built up, blacking out the evening skies, relying on the crackling light for the only arial illumination. With a moment of suspense lightning cracked across the entire sky in a flash of blinding light and bursting away the excess clouded shape to reveal a large form of the thunderous body of Gennali.
Lightning trickled through the air as stretching out his form and the majesty of his figure, stars slowly descended the sky, lighting up the world around into a regal glow. The lightning danced through the stars in constellations through the crowds that seemed to almost take their breathes away as many were just within reaching distance, even for each of you.
Delicate stars that could fit the size of the palm landed in each of your outstretched hands or laps those who chose not to reach.
The music traveled through the air as though it came from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, as he followed along in a traditionally rhythmic dance when the music paused. Gennali stretched out his arms wide in front of him while waiting for the right moment before his wrists flicked down in a quick snap motion.
Gennali threw back his head laughing as you can see thousands of the people having just failed in protecting themselves from Gennali’s command. Drawing their weapons, people, family members, adventurer’s and experts of all kinds of fields drew their weapons in a synchronized movement. They turned to the person next to them in a strange manner most have not been accustomed to before but they all moved as though it was innate, something they already knew and couldn’t resist the compelling force.
From your vantage point above, you can see the intricate patterns in which the collective dance performance took place. Some select dancers, in costumes that complimented Gennali's own, wove through, dancing their own choreography as the shapes seemed to develop around them moving through before meeting in the middle. Once reaching the center, they continued with a cat like grace but a lion’s pride at the height of a crescendo, the music ends in a dramatic flourish, reaching their hands to the sky.
Brushing back his long hair, looking to everyone in the V.I.P. balconies, Gennali will give a quick wink before the final lightning strike, strikes down in the center of his dancers and blinding everyone in the attendance. As your sigh begins to adjust back to the artificial dark, the stars that were left finished their slow fall from the sky but both he, and his dancers, were gone.