The Whirl of Whimsy
"Circus is what real life should be like. It's sincerity, feeling, emotions. All real. There are no lies in circus."The Whirl of Whimsy is the central attraction of The Whimsyverse Circus, a travelling circus that shows up once a month in a random part of Edda overnight, and leaves just as quickly the next day. While the circus is a hoot-and-a-half on it's own, the Whirl of Whimsy offers a truly unique experience: A safely monitored and limited journey into strange and unfamiliar planes of reality, where the creatures and sights of legend show themselves to the common citizen. It is an experience that people have spoken of for years after the fact.
Purpose / Function
The primary purpose for the Whirl of Whimsy is to spread fun and joy to all corners of Edda, as it comes packed with performers, oddities, unique acts of daring from all over the planes, and stories from even further. While not advertised, it also serves as a way for many sentient planar beings to come visit Edda, ranging from the Elemental Planes to the "monster"-filled Plane of Mysticism, and even some rare divine guests. Similarly, it's a way for people from Edda to visit the planes, or for these guests to return once they've seen enough.
Design
The tent of the Whirl of Whimsy itself has a diameter of 100 feet, with a maximum height of 50 feet, although that's mainly for scaffolding and the various tips of the tent. The tent itself is made from a thick protected cloth, carefully dyed with red and white stripes, and the occasional varnish of gold to give it an eye-catching gleam.
Within the tent, you first pass through a smaller room attatched to the tent, 20 feet by 20 feet, where the line passes through and attendands each get a special wristband. On paper, it's just as a show of admittance, even though the circus is free of charge. In actuality, it gives the guards, performers, and Dr. Paraxenia the ability to track the location of each guest, as well as whisk them away from danger should the occasion call for it.
Then, you enter the full breadth of the tent, where doors and frames of all kinds are lined up, each with an attendant advertising and boasting about their respective realm.
Entries
Technically there are only two entrances to the Whirl of Whimsy, the first being the aforementioned smaller room where all line up and get their wristbands, and a second hidden employee exit for Circus staff to swiftly enter and exit should the moment call for it. Every other potential entrance is accounted for, guarded, and prepared against in order to ensure maximum safety.
Sensory & Appearance
Despite being a full cloth tent, the inside of the Whirl of Whimsy stays comfortably cool, and always carries a scent of honey and vanilla wafting through the air.
While the carpet, a slowly spinning pinwheel of various psychedelic colors, can be distracting, it also tends to keep people moving right how they need to be in order to see all the doors and sights the Whirl has to offer. It also always has the bloom of joyful sunlight, even on the gloomiest of days.
Auditory wise, there is always the faint sound of bells amidst calliope and hurdy-gurdy music, the jaunty kind all fests of this nature have, and yet you are always able to hear the voices of the people you want to, and need to hear.
Denizens
Aside from visits from Dr. Paraxenia himself, the Whirl of Whimsy always has four other admittence attendants, at least four guards on the inside (with dozens roaming the width of the circus outside of it) and one attendant for each doorway within the tent, usually a denizen or related individual of that selfsame location. For doors that lead to the other amusements or circus-related locations, it'll often be an off-shift performer or generic circus worker manning the post.
Contents & Furnishings
Aside from scaffolding and other performance related items found within the tent, the main furnishing of the Whirl of Whimsy is the magical doors themselves! Each tied to a specific, safe, pocket of a different Plane of Edda, they give the average person a chance to see a fantastical locale, far from home yet near as can be. The following list details all the locations the doors currently lead to:
Spoilered for Length
Planar:
- The Ethereal Veil - Realm of ghosts and spirits were guests can see family. Manned by a pair of sardonic yet playful spirits, Righty and Lefty.
- The Fey Court - Realm of various wild fae and beautiful, alien fauna. Manned by Priscilla Petunapetal, a peppy yet sly young fairy.
- The Seelie Court - Realm of proper, dignified fae and the most pristine pieces of wilderness. Manned by Dawn Willow Goldenray, a willowy fae who's secretly a ditz.
- The Plane of Mysticism - A realm of sentient monsters, including powerful dragons and wise sphinxes. Manned by Linsay Gerome, a friendly yet intimidating Dragonkin.
- The Aculeaten Plane - A realm beyond physical land where one can gaze upon the stars above. Manned by Butrus Salim, an old and wise Gemborne from Afallon.
- Golden Flames - The elemental plane of Fire and it's various combinations, with wide lush deserts and grasslands. Manned by Mwanaisha, a calm Flamekin.
- Silver Waters - The elemental plane of Water and its combinations, with vast snowfields and gorgeous oceans. Manned by Felisa Martín, a prickly Waterkin.
- Copper Winds - The elemental plane of Air and its combinations, with steep mountains and billowing forests. Manned by Idun Dahl, a quiet and slightly lazy Airkin.
- Platinum Earths - The elemental plane of Earth and its combinations, with vast rolling hills and deep caverns. Manned by Lian Wu, a hyper and friendly Earthkin.
- Nightmare!!! - For horror enthusiasts, a dark plane of terrifying monsters and fear (only for 18 and up attendants). Manned by Dr. Sovarótita, second in command of the circus.
- Dr. Paraxenia's Treasure Vault - A special room with free toys and merchandise for adults and children alike.
- The Cavern of Infinite Movement - A giant bouncy room chamber that keeps going and going, until the way back is needed.
- Chef Adephagia's Messhall - The cafeteria, where whatever food you want comes free.
- Hypnos' Slumbertorium - A quiet rest area for those who need a break from all the joy.
- Bathrooms - They're bathrooms.
- Terrific Trapeze's - Goes to the Trapeze tent where various acrobatic acts take place.
- Adorable Animals - Goes to the petting zoo and animal tamer exhibits.
- Chuckling Clown Cotorie - Goes to the show square, where comedic acts happen on the hour.
- Maze of Marvels - Goes to the building of various strange occurances, plus an exhibit for magicians.
- Den of Danger - Goes to the tent for daredevils and various acts of thrill.
- Exquisite Equestrians - Goes to the outer fields of the circus, where horse riders show off feats of speed and precision.
- Proper Puppetry - Goes to the Kids Korner, where puppet shows are put on.
- Joyful Jesters - Goes to the Dramaturge Square, where more adult plays of humor are put on (Must be 18 or older or have parental supervision).
Valuables
Various people have tried to steal from the Circus, either hoping to pilfer some piece of the planes or take some of the circus' magic for themselves. But, the only thing of real value in the circus overall, especially the Whirl of Whimsy, is the laughter and joy of the guests, so anything that wasn't given freely dissapears when the circus does.
Most guests, children and adults alike, will leave with one trinket or another, either a fun new toy with a sweet feature, a soft stuffed animal to remind them of the comfortable days, or a neat charm to hang around that will make even the coldest heart feel just that little bit happier.
Hazards & Traps
The doors to the Whirl of Whimsy have been heavily created and maintained by Dr. Paraxenia and the other technicians of the circus in order to make sure that nothing happens, and even if those go awry, the attendants wristbands will whisk them to safety at the first sign of danger. However, if someone of ill will and intent enters the circus, for the sake of harming anyone, stealing, destroying, or otherwise ruining the days of festivities, they will find themselves drawn to a picture frame that does not appear to any other guests, and wandering an eternal circus maze until the Whimsyverse has packed up and left town.
Alterations
At first, the Terrific Tent only had two doorways, one to the Feywild and one to the Whimsyverse, a pocket dimension made by the owner and ringleader of the circus, Dr. Paraxenia. However, throughout the years the tent has gained many doorways, and the Whimsyverse has grown much more defined with each member of the carnival that gets added to it.
Architecture
For the tent itself, the Whirl of Whimsy is a standard big top tent, made of dyed red and white cloth. However, inside the whirl, aside from the psychedelically spinning pinwheel carpet, you will find various pictureframes and doorways that connect the Whirl to the different planes. These are all made of various types of wood or metal that represents the realm. The Feywild is an archway of overgrown branches and flowers, the Plane of Fire is a redwood frame adorned with Gold, so on and so forth.
Defenses
No one has ever dared to attack the Whirl of Whimsy or the Whimsyverse circus to begin with, but if that were ever to come to pass the boundaries of the circus form a powerful arcane shield from the second its set up, with only those baring a ticket able to find themselves inside the circus at all. On top of that, many of the performers don't just have skills for showmanship, with Dr. Paraxenia himself being quite the Wizard of Whimsy himself (Self-Proclaimed).
History
The Whirl of Whimsy was one of the premiere acts of the Whimsyverse Circus when it first started appearing in Agartha. At the time it only had two doors, one to the Feywild and one to a generic pocket dimension with stalls and performances. Month after month the Wimsyverse would appear in a new spot in Edda, and over time more and more doors began to show up in that big tent, and more acts were moved outside of the Whimsyverse.
Even during the Border Wars, the circus would arrive overnight and give citizens and soldiers alike a day of rest and peace, with those who tried to bring worldly conflicts into the planes finding themselves powerfully ejected from the circus.
It was a slow process to the modern day, with the current array of portals only being finished ten years prior in 999 EE, but the Whirl of Whimsy has expanded to be a crossroad nexus of all planar realities, plus a few of the circus' creation, as well as being the vehicle for expansion for the Whimsyverse circus overall, with each act performing in their own space on a wide circus ground rather than all being stuck within that pocket dimension.
One can only wonder, what more will the circus add in the future? With each plane accounted for among its doors, where could they possibly go now?
Tourism
Everyone has seen the Whimsyverse Circus at least once in their life, or heard about it from someone who had. Not only is it a fun time had by all, but it gives the contemperary Eddan the chance to see something truly alien and unique to them without fear of danger, and promises a day full of fun that cannot be paralleled, all for no charge other than the bountiful laughs throughout the day.
Founding Date
Unknown (Creation date), 4/7/852 EE (First known apperance)
Alternative Names
The Crossroads
Type
Circus
Owner
Additional Rulers/Owners
Compartment of Vehicle
Owning Organization
Sounds like quite an experience! Great article! (I will note the mention of ambient calliope music spooked me a bit, but then, I've only come across that term in the context of the Magnus Archives...which puts a much more ominous spin on the instrument than is intended here.)
Truth be told, the same thing came to mind when I was writing it XD