January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: JANUARY

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: Chol and surrounding waters
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: New Lands
New arrivals will not be waking in the typical hub of activity; instead, they will find themselves coming to on the small island of Chol. While the island's fringes are little more than an unforgiving spread of craggy, canyon-like rock and coastal cliffs, the island dips down to form a fertile divot of edenic woodland in its center. The people living there will even be helpful and polite to you, should you inquire after them.

All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!

Icebreaker: This is the Winter of Our Youth
Unless you're someone with a fondness for the cold, you'll undoubtedly be waking with more than a slight chill in your bones. The appearance of the island of Chol has signaled a coming event of great import in LifeAftr, and unfortunately, the signs of that event's approach have already been set in motion. The temperature has begun to drop as the sun's rays begin to die, faster and faster, leading to an impressive cold snap in the ocean waters - particularly those surrounding Chol.

It is for that reason that you won't be waking on Chol, per se. Instead, you'll be waking on a thick crust of ice that's mantled itself over the ocean waters, freezing solid enough to bear your weight...for the most part. The ice won't hold forever; it isn't meant to. If you happen to be particularly vivacious in your waking, or especially active in general, thick cracks will start to spiderweb out from underneath those impacts with low, warning chunks and wrenches of fracturing ice. Better hurry to land soon, unless you care to take a little dip into those freezing cold ocean waters.

Mainland: When We Pick Over the Past
Should you make it to the land of Chol, braving the iced-over waters surrounding its craggy shores, you'll encounter something at least as startling - the people who have elected to set up a rudimentary encampment upon its lands. While a bit on the scalier side, the Jormun are nonetheless allied to you land-dwellers, and will welcome you to the island. Most will be preoccupied with preparations for an approaching siege, but many will comment idly that the cold is a sign of the coming battle. Some may point you to their leader, known to most as Munin, but others will venture hospitality based on the actions of those land-dwellers that came before you, who were successful in allying themselves to this sea-dwelling people.

Those who might have braved the cold a little too fiercely will quickly be offered some rather rough blankets - perhaps more on par with burlap sacks in terms of texture - as well as a hot brew that the Jormun call brrkshavak. Heated to a boil just prior to being served, the drink will be more than adequate in warming your weary bones, though it bodes mentioning that it is both scalding hot and made with a fleshy kind of undersea herb that is akin to crushed chili pepper in taste.

It'll warm you up, 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.

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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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

2

[unpurify]

[These islands have exposed the Batter to many people of different shapes, sizes and species. And due to his own world and abilities the concept of magic isn't an unknown, although it is an impressive amount of fire this being kicks up.

And then he makes an offer, taking the Batter out of his thoughts.]

Okay. [A pause before he adds.] Thank you.

[He's still working on when to add things like 'thank you' to sentences. The Batter sits down and two large circles of pure white energy follow suit...somehow. Luckily enough for him he had some layers but it's still pretty cold so the fire is welcome.

The purifier watches Asgore remove his armor for a moment, only to replace with a sweater that says 'Mr. Dad Guy'. That's...quite a juxtaposition.]

[journalname]

Of course! [Asgore watches the human(?)'s own magic with some interest, having apparently not taken note of any social awkwardness.] We are all in the same boat, are we not?

[He's a little focused on what he's doing, though, removing the armor and getting that sweater over his horns. It's only when he catches the Batter watching him that he realizes he has not made introductions.] Ah - forgive me. My name is Asgore Dreemurr.

[No title given. It's not that he is no longer a king, but so far from his home, it seems to have stopped mattering quite so much.]

[unpurify]

[Right, yes. Introductions.]

I am the Batter.

[It may sound like a title but it's his name. Kind of. It's what was assigned to him, at any rate and the Batter generally sticks with it.]

Are you new?

[He doesn't remember seeing you before, Mr. Dad Guy.]

[journalname]

[Is that a name? Well, fair enough.]

I am, yes. I woke up on the ice out there, not an hour ago. [He gestures back towards the frozen ocean.] Have you been here much longer?

[unpurify]

[That probably was an interesting experience for someone so big. The Batter himself had never seen ice before so he hadn't touched it with a ten foot pole just in case.]

Yes. I cannot give an exact number, however.

[He hasn't been keeping track of the time, you see. For various reasons.]

[journalname]

[He just nods.]

This is not quite my first experience with such a thing. I have been absent from my world for...nearly three months now, I would say. I had planned to return soon, but...

[This was not in any of his plans.]

[unpurify]

[That is a pretty interesting thing to say. The Batter tilts his head slightly.]

You have been to another world?

[He has met people in similar situations but they've never said so.]

[journalname]

Yes...two others, I suppose, between my own world and this. The first, myself and many others were brought to unwillingly, but we traveled to the second of our own accord.

[He looks a little rueful, because having friends who can traverse dimensions seems like it should be vital information, and yet:] I suppose there is no hope of my friends coming here to help us, if time is truly frozen where we left it.

[unpurify]

[Being brought to other worlds without a choice in the matter seems to be a reoccurring theme here.]

I don't think so. But if you came, they might.

[Since Zacharie arrived and...left, the Batter had to come to terms with the fact that people from his own world could be revived and brought here. So maybe Asgore might have some luck in that regard.]

[journalname]

It is possible. I would like to see them - I cannot promise that they would come with any way out, however.

[It might be best if they did not, really. Most of them had places to go, and those who did not...ah, well, he could probably keep things from going south again.]

It would be better to focus on solving this with what we have here.

[unpurify]

[...he has a point.]

True. If you have questions I can attempt to answer them.

[Even if the Batter's explanations may be short because that's simply how he speaks.]

[journalname]

Is this island where most of us are staying?

[All he's seen is the Jormun encampment so far, but there could be more further inland.]

[unpurify]

No. There are more islands then this one. Counting it, there are four plus the islet that people sleep on.

[For however you define sleep, anyways. People like him didn't, for example.]

We go between them through mana pools

[journalname]

Oh - yes, I believe the Storyteller mentioned those!

[in that dream thing - everyone has those, right?]

Where is the one here?

[unpurify]

[They do but due to the last event there, the Batter isn't exactly eager to talk about it much. Bad - ahaha - memories.]

I believe it should be close by. You have to throw a flower in it and step inside for it to work.

[At least that's how all of them have worked so far.]

[journalname]

Oh? A specific type of flower?

[Is this the most relevant thing? Nah. Are we gonna get totally sidetracked by flower talk? Yes, yes we probably are]

[unpurify]

A...Narcissus, I think.

[Probably. The Batter doesn't know much about flowers in all honesty, aside from a few crash courses from this place and the people in it.]

[journalname]

....ah. Those can be poisonous.

[He.

Knows.

These things.]

But they are quite lovely to look at!

[unpurify]

[Thanks Goat Dad.]

Ah. I do not know much about flowers.

[The Batter got a crash course from a child here, but that's about it.]

But you are correct. They're nice.

[Although he still doesn't understand what they're trying to evoke within someone.]

[journalname]

Yes, I have always enjoyed gardening. Perhaps I will make one here, if my stay is long enough...I usually grow flowers, but vegetables could be useful.

[He'll have to see what kind of plants are around.]

[unpurify]

[That's definitely not what the Batter has experience with, but it's likely to be helpful.]

It should help. Someone should have answers regarding it.

[journalname]

I will look into it.

[It feels a little strange, already making long-term plans here. But Asgore learned from the last time. He's not going to expect this to end quickly.]

How do you spend your time, here?

[unpurify]

[It doesn't look that way, no.

The Batter actually has to think about that question. He doesn't have much in the way of hobbies.]

I train, mostly.

[It keeps his mind off of...things.]

[journalname]

...in fighting?

[How. Interesting? No, no, to be fair he wouldn't have had that reaction a few centuries ago.]

[unpurify]

Yes.

[It's...not really a hobby. Not a good one, anyway.]