lifeaftr | September Intro: Knowledge is Hot Water on Wool

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: The Storyteller makes use of their first offering, and new souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: September 2nd
Where: Ensō...and surrounding lands
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Part I: New Arrivals
You probably didn’t last fall asleep on the warm spit of white sand that you find yourself, but nonetheless, that is where you awaken. There’s the hush of waves lapping up against the edges of the beach and the soft chill of a coastal breeze stirring at your surroundings, but the place is, all things considered, quite peaceful. The sun is merciless as it reflects across the glittering spread of seawater that surrounds you on three sides.

Three sides.

You’re on an island, if a rather small one. It can’t be much more than a mile across at the height of its length, and what’s more, it’s dotted with small, straggling outcrops of stone buildings that look as though they may have once been used for shelter of some sort or another, now weather beaten and wind-blasted. If you peer into the distance, it will rapidly become clear that you are on one small islet of a grouping of five. Battered bridges of wood-and-rope swing precariously between each one, joining them in a rough circle.

What’s more is that you aren't alone. You'll find that you have one or two companions waking on the islet alongside you, and each will discover a knapsack with their name stitched to the front, containing a paltry number of items, along with any rewards you may have accrued. There's probably a way off these islets, and a means of accessing the shadowy lump of a mainland that rears up in the distance, maybe two miles across the stretch of sea...but what is it?

We do recommend treading carefully, and not simply embarking on a poorly-advised mission to swim all the way there. A school of tiger-sharks have begun to stir up the waters surrounding the islets, hungry for fresh meat. They are at least edible - if you can succeed in taking one down, that is. If you do not, don’t worry: at least you have shelter. Very dilapidated, ruined, half-crumbled shelter that will hardly serve as protection against wind and rain, but surely that's better than no shelter at all, right?

As a final note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme, bear in mind that those threads, if all parties involved would like, can be game canon in the form of dream-like memories involving a place very much like this one, though the layout is considerably different.

Part II: Old Souls
A floral, faintly bitter tang rings about the air of the ruined temple this morning. As you rise, you may find a familiar scene: a rabbit with snow-white fur, crouched nearby a dilapidated pillar, thumping their foot impatiently. They look to you, or perhaps they are addressing the room as a whole when they say:

"Ah. Finally. First, I must thank you for fulfilling your end of our transaction - your stories have done their job. Thus, it is time for me to fulfill mine. I've arranged something for you all. I’m aware that in many worlds there is a poor association with following white rabbits, so perhaps you would find the flowered path more enticing." The Storyteller shifts their gray tome from one paw to the other, giving a great leap across the fallen pillar. "Now, what I am about to grant you…there are procedures, of course. You must follow the instructions to begin with. And then, well - you need a place to go. You needn’t even need a name, specifically. The power will know. Simply be sure to tell it."

The rabbit sniffs and flicks an ear. "Just remember what I ask: no bathing, please. For all's sake."

And then they bound off into the darkness, disappearing just before the shadows engulf them wholly.

Indeed, where the dust-trodden ground gives way to grass, a sparse growth of white flowers have blossomed, winding wildly through the growth and leading around the temple’s exterior.

Those who find fit to follow the Storyteller's suggestion will find, first, that the path of flowers leads them to an outcropping of stone that overlooks the great cove formed by Ensō’s landmass. In the distance, just short of the ocean’s horizon, a white scatter of islets sit in the blue-jade waters. Those certainly hadn’t been there before, had they? Intrepid explorers, be patient: the path of flowers doesn't end here. In fact, it veers off cleanly in the direction of the mana pool behind the Storyteller's ruins.

Upon arriving at the pool, characters will find that the narcissus flowers have bloomed in full and prolific splendor around its edges, filling the humid air with a thick scent of bitter hay and honey. Upon a great slab of stone rising from the edge of the pool, a strange limerick seems to have been engraved:

A flower once loved above all,
The hubris of his mirror-thrall.
Were he water-lily!
Yet fate wet and pithy,
Narcissus, what a fate to befall.
No other instructions appear to have been left other than this cryptic rhyme. Should characters solve this riddle, however, they will find themselves engulfed in a flash of blinding white light, given the briefest sensation of falling…

Followed by the familiar vision of Ensō looming in the distance. Quite far out, in fact. Their surroundings have dramatically shifted from a lush jungle to an almost barren island, surrounded on its sides by four nearly identical islets. It would appear that any characters who use the mana pool have been randomly transported to one of the five islets appeared overnight. Other than a nearly identical mana pool lapping at their feet, it would seem that - aside from weather-worn, dilapidated shacks and shelters - these islands don’t have much on them at all.

Except, perhaps, new faces.

Feeling a tad adrift? Make sure to check the Locations Page, which has details regarding the starting areas and a handy map for those who feel better with a bird's eye view!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Nyx had - despite past instances- tried to chalk seeing the Chancellor in a dream as just that. A horrible dream. He hadn't considered actually seeing the man on the island.

So when he unintentionally walked passed a man standing in the relative shade with a pleasant smile Nyx had to do a double take before stopping dead in his tracks. There was probably an awkward moment of him just staring at Ardyn, a hand resting on the hilt of his kukris.]

You have got to be kidding me.

[What could've been a statement mumbled under his breath, but Nyx opts to say it loud and clear for Ardyn, a scowl firmly in place.]

Well, hello there.

[Ardyn greeted him with a cold, empty smile--there was something oddly familiar about this interaction, but he couldn't quite place it and dismissed the idea just as quickly as it had occurred to him.]

[His hands dropped to his sides; if this came to a fight, Ardyn weighed the options of pulling his own knife versus showing his true power versus just kind of...letting Nyx hit him for all the good it would do. Option two was right out, and option one was seeming the safer one as far as his current standing as appearing human went.]

What a stunning surprise to see you of all people here.

[Nyx keeps his hand on the hilt of one of his weapons, although he makes no move to draw it. Attacking outright would be reckless, a nagging voice that reminded him far too much of Crowe reminded him in the back of his head. Outside of the fact that the man was a political figure, there was something else about him. Something that made his arm ache.

He probably knew how to fight.]

I could say the same to you, Chancellor. I would imagine there was far too much work for you to deal with after Altissia to bother with an island.

Oh, my. Someone was kind enough to update you on the situation, I see.

[Ardyn's smile didn't slip whatsoever, charming and cheerful with nothing behind it.]

I'm afraid you're still a bit behind my recollection, but even being aware of things that long after Insomnia is quite a pleasant surprise.

I've got a feeling I'm behind no matter what.

[He was technically the starting point for all their timelines. And dead.]

But yeah, I've got a few cliff notes about what you've done or had arranged since Insomnia.

Naturally--how terribly insensitive of me.

[fuck's sake, ardyn.]

But that does save me a bit of trouble. It would get so tiresome to summarize things over and over again. A scattered timeline seems quite the headache.

And where do you fit into our timeline, Chancellor?

[Somehow he manages to keep a civil tone, even if he just wanted to punch the fucker.]

Quite a bit further on, if you're inclined to believe me.

I think I'll give you an ounce belief for this. How much further?

We'll see about that.

A decade, or so.

[It garners a raised eyebrow, but not one of disbelief. It's not like Nyx had any idea how long things would last.]

Going but the others, guess that means you're the furthest along on our weird timeline.

That does sound right from what little I've yet seen. I suppose I should consider myself lucky.

I'm almost afraid to ask... Lucky?

[There had to be a bit of irony here if Nyx really stopped to think about the situation and conversation. Nyx was arguably at the beginning of the strange timeline they had going and if Ardyn was to be believed he was the current end.

What a strange pair of bookends they made.]

I do hate not knowing things. It's a terrible disadvantage, in politics as well as life in general. If anyone were ahead of me somehow, I'd find that terribly annoying.

September Intro: Knowledge is Hot Water on Wool

This totally won't end badly

nah

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when your email just decides to eat a notif without permission D<

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