lifeaftr | January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Muffet shakes her head and explains:]

No, my group arrived much like yours did, some five months ago- though we were floating on rafts in the ocean, instead of standing on ice. Since then, batches of newcomers have been coming in on a regular basis, from all sorts of different worlds.

The only ones who seem to be from this place originally are the Jormun- that would be those lovely aquatic people around here, very pleasant company- and the gods.

Crap. [Five months is... awfully long time.]

So do you have a house here, miss?

As it happens, I do- not here on this island, mind you, I've been staying on the islets nearby. I believe there's still a few houses left unclaimed there, if you'd like me to show you the way.

[Honestly, she'd been fine to offer him her own roof to sleep under if he wants, she's got enough room still, but he seems nervous enough that it's probably better to make sure he knows he has the option of living elsewhere.]

Really? [Other islets. That makes him wonder just how big this place really is. But it's nice to hear that there are houses around if he's going to have to stay here for overnight. Ritsuka can't really claim to be a camping person.

He suddenly remembers that he's still sitting on the cold stone while the Spider Girl is standing. Feeling little awkward he gets up and swipes snow off his knees.]

So.. Do you use a boat to get there?

I suppose one could use a boat, but I really wouldn't recommend it. We use the mana pools, a series of interconnected magical gateways.

[She says this totally casually, as though that's a completely normal, understandable thing to talk about.]

[Mana pools? Yeah, definitely sounding like a video game.]

Can you show me? Also, what other stuff do you have here?

[A pause.]

My name is Ritsuka.

My name is Muffet- it's a pleasure to meet you, circumstances aside.

[She smiles, giving him a brief, polite curtsy.]

I'd be happy to show you the mana pool here- they're a bit difficult to work out without an explanation, though it's quite easy to use once someone's told you. As for other things... well, it's certainly an interesting place, although you'd have to be more specific about what you wanted to discuss.

Same. [Well, she's very polite if anything. Plus she's giving him information and appears to be otherwise very helpful. So who knows, maybe she's not looking to to eat him?

Besides, this wouldn't be the first time he'd leave with a stranger. Good thing that his mom or teacher isn't around.]

Uh, well. What else is there? Are there cities and villages or are the houses just in middle of forests? [He feels like he's starting to ramble but at the same time he's also reminded from the emptiness of his stomach. The milk had done only a poor job subjugating his hunger.] Also uh.. Where do you get food?

[Despite her occasional threats to business rivals or dangerous-seeming humans, Muffet doesn't actually eat other people. Ordinary, nonmagical spiders, sure, but not anyone that can think and feel. But Ritsuka seems about as far from a threat as a human can be, so she's not inclined to threaten him.]

[She continues answering his questions as they walk, chatting politely as though they're just out for a pleasant evening stroll.]

There's a few old, ruined buildings here and there that some of us have been fixing up, although most of them are on the islets. Aside from that, I know a few people have decided to camp out in the forest, but I wouldn't recommend that unless you're particularly fond of the wilderness.

[At his next question, she rummages in her pockets for a moment, and then pulls out a small wrapped bundle of coconut cookies, holding it out to him with a smile.]

Most of us either grow our own or trade with those who do, but right now you're welcome to share mine. I'm certainly not going to let a newcomer go hungry- it would be a terrible blow to my pride as a baker.

[Ritsuka listens to her as they walk, trying his best to balance the two bags he's carrying with him. It sounds like the life around here is tough for sure. And it'd be lying to say that he didn't find the current circumstances concerning.

He's somewhat used to be by himself and take care of things on his own but he's never really had to worry about surviving in rural area before.

The frown on his forehead deepens but then the cookies are presented to him. The delicious smell takes his thoughts away from the worries. He doesn't take the cookies just yet but he looks interested.]

You're baker? That's incredible! How did you get the ingredients?

Most of my baking ingredients are from things I grow myself, though there are a few I can only get from the Storyteller at the moment. These are a good example of making do with what we have on hand, though- whatever else these islands might lack, we do have quite a lot of coconut.

[So much fucking coconut.]

January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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