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

[They are having some trouble on the ice, much to Chara's eternal irritation.

They're supposed to be helping people. The entire intention of dashing onto the ice was to assist, not make a fool of themself skidding about the place. And yet, surprisingly, not being used to ice and having shoes not made for such environments leads to Chara zipping about the place, arms windmilling fiercely before they-

And they're down again. Cool. Awesome.

Loving this. Absolutely.]

[ Had they the capability, the knight might have blinked in confusion at Chara windmilling and skidding past. As it is, though, no visible reaction is forthcoming.

They aren't nearly big enough to help Chara up, but after a moment's consideration they carefully wedge their sword into the ice near one of Chara's feet, knotting their cloak around it. It looks steady enough.

Then they grip the other person's leg with a surprising amount of strength - enough to let them move, but strong enough that it feels like a support - and nod at them. Getting up will be easier with a stable anchor. Or it should be.

Hopefully. ]

[The sudden and unwanted touch is enough to make them tense, head whipping round to see--

Ah. Lower down. Brows furrowing with some confusion, Chara slowly registers what the tiny thing is attempting to do, murmuring their thanks as they slowly get back on their feet, crouching down to examine them.

What an odd little monster. No bigger than a Whimsum.]

Are you new here? [Or one of the island's more unusual occupants?]

[ As soon as they determine that Chara is steady enough for their liking, they untie their cloak and pull their sword out of the ice, sheathing it once more.

As for the question: they nod. They point at Chara, then tilt their head. Is Chara also new? By the way they'd been slipping around on the ice, the knight has no real reason to believe otherwise. ]

I've been here for several months now. [Is their response, though they look around at the ice coated ocean thoughtfully.] This, however, is new. These islands are supposed to be tropical.

[...Not that it matters, in places like these. A slight shrug, and a change of topic.]

Do you require directions? There is an encampment on the island.

[ They shake their head; they already know where the encampment is. They came out onto the ice to help others like themselves.

But...

There's a word they don't recognise.

They scratch lightly in the ice with their (very sharp) sword.

tropical ?

What is a climate. ]

[They consider the word with a tilt of their head, before raising their hands to shape a question of their own.]

Do you know how to sign?

[Do they even have the fingers to sign....]

[ someone teaching me .

The Drifter had offered; they certainly weren't going to refuse. More methods of communicating were always good. They make a few gestures; if Chara looks closely, they can see tiny fingers. Or something like fingers. It's probably how they hold that sword.

but not yet .

write or listen . all i know . ]

[It was worth a try. At the least, they've made companions of others who could assist them in expanding their ability to communicate-- and increasing their chance of survival with it.]

To answer your question, tropical is the term for an area that is usually very hot. Prone to storms and rainfall, not snow.

January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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