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.

---

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 )

Comments

[alittleditty]

Oh-! Oh my goodness, you really didn't have to!

[She's quite startled, even moved by the gift. The scarf looks so beautiful, and comfy too.]

Thank you, Muffet.

[prettypurpleparlor]

You're quite welcome, dearie.

[She holds the scarf out for her to take with a smile, and explains:]

I've been working on weaving things that we could use for warm clothing ever since I heard we'd be dealing with colder weather soon, and it seemed only fair to make sure there was something for my fellow weaver. Besides, if you like it then I'll know I've done good work, since you're experienced with this sort of thing.

[alittleditty]

[You're really giving her more credit than she feels like she deserves. She only learned within the past year or so, and while she is rather proud of her work, saying she's experienced might be pushing it. A bit.

Still, she winds it around her neck obligingly enough. It actually makes an interesting visual effect, between the lilac of her hair and the pink of her clothing of choice.]

It's quite comfortable! How do I look?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Look, Muffet mostly weaves because biology made it a convenient hobby for her, Tataru's still put more effort into learning all this than she did just picking things up from family members over the years.]

Ah, quite lovely. I'm so glad the color of my silk suits you well as it is, I didn't have any way to dye it.

[alittleditty]

Me either, though I've been thinking about it eventually. Dyes were always fairly simple to get in Eorzea.

[Pigments of all kinds were actually in rather plentiful supply, and with the aid of shards, most crafters could make the actual dye without too much trouble. Here, she's having to fall back on more... old-fashioned methods.]

I suppose we'll need to experiment with some of the local plants and minerals.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet nods ruefully. She really misses being in an industrialized society, honestly.]

I admit, I'd been focusing almost entirely on edible plants, not any of their other uses. Although I suppose the two aren't mutually exclusive- I wonder if berry juice might be made into a decent dye, somehow...