January Event: Setting Fire to the Sky

[lifeaftr_mods]

JANUARY EVENT: SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY

Who: Everyone!
What: The sun dies, and the creatures of the night emerge from the depths
When: January 21st - January 28th
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Character death, possible body horror and violence. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!

So We Can Take the World Back From the Heart-Attacked

The night of the 21st, the sun begins to dim. It dips in the horizon, sinks to nestle itself in the center of Chol like a star falling in slow motion, where it begins to smolder quietly - massive, smoking, and hot, like a massive egg. The night grows colder, the sky reduced to an inky black. The surface of the surrounding water is still but for the occasional ripple, the odd, strangely subdued wave, with not even the hollow lights of distant stars to glint off its reflective waves.

The Jormun gather around the sunken, dying sun with their scaled hands on their weapons, their expressions grim. They fan out across the island of Chol with arms in hand. Their fortifications have settled around the island's center in a dense ball of bristling weapons. They have been preparing for this. They are ready to fight.

Are you? No island is safe. From the well-trodden mainland of Ensō and its islets to the stark dichotomy of Monsun to the craggy shores of Chol, all manner of strange things have begun to haul themselves, dripping, from the watery dark.

No more preparation. No more running.

From here on out, it is fight or die.

One Maniac At a Time, We Will Take It Back

As the Storyteller has promised, there is sanctuary in their temple on Ensō, which will keep out the worst of the creatures. It will not, however, protect characters from the cold and dark, and so they will have to keep themselves warm some other way.

The Jormun fight fiercely, but they do not fight alone. Aside from the help that the willing of your number have offered, you may glimpse the Storyteller battling alongside the rest in a flurry of strange, shifting animal shapes: a heavy-antlered reindeer, a shrieking owl with outstretched talons, a slavering grizzly bear with the Storyteller's signature tome strapped across a broad, furry back, to name but a few. Those creatures that the Storyteller defeats will burst into a flurry of paper and dark, spattering ink, rather than being felled in the conventional manner. How odd.

As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. However, deaths succumbed during the event will count towards the character's total.

Then I'll Raise You Like a Phoenix

Come the sunrise on the 28th, the sun will launch itself into the air with a victorious shriek, its wings trailing plumes of fire behind it. The phoenix takes flight, reborn from the ashes. The shores of Chol are littered with corpses, both shadowy and scaled, along with an even smattering of crumpled paper and splotched inkstains. Despite the triumph of the fight, it did not come without its costs. The Jormun gather their dead and prepare to mourn them quietly. Those who perished in the fight will not see the sunrise from this unique perspective, watching the murk of the night tint to soft, milky yellow and pink, and then to a glorious new day.

Munin will greet the survivors with a mixture of solemnity and relief, thanking them profusely for their help. There is not much more that her people can offer you, at this point - they must grieve their dead, and she must return to the sea to prove that she has cemented her worth as a leader in the eyes of the other Jormun - but that does not mean that your stories will part forever.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] January 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] January 21st: The dark arrives, the temperature drops further, and the first hostile creatures begin their assault
[ ♆ ] January 28th: The dark ends and the sun rises
[ ♆ ] January 30th: Those who perished are revived, suffering from a reduced death penalty

Event Specifics

[ ♆ ] If you have any questions, feel free to look over our OOC Info Post.
[ ♆ ] Feel free to make your own logs if necessary!
[ ♆ ] If your character perishes in this event, please let us know!
[ ♆ ] Item trades with the Jormun can be found on the OOC plotting post here! Even if you were only recently accepted, you are free to participate!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

II. :)

[achievementhunter]

[They'd prepared for this in their own way.

As Chara watches the sun go down, it's after the longest rest they could push themself to have. They drink water- they eat, a meal mostly composed of rice and fish that will provide more energy in the long run, brushing their hands off as they barricade their now empty shack and leave for the fight. Tim and Frisk are already gone.

There are no goodbyes. They'll see them soon.

And then it all starts.

As competent as they like to believe themself, Chara has never experienced the type of battle they witness now. At Chol, it is all out chaos- and it is constant. Wave after wave of enemies met by visitors to this world and Jormun alike, bursts of light and constant fires filling the space like fireworks. Keeping up is almost impossible; they gain their first injury in two hours, another in three, and by the fourth, they use their first LOAD.

And for the next 24 hours, they're forced to be a lot more careful. It's when their eyes begin to tear up, when their head is spinning, that Chara forces themself out of the battle, back to the mana pool and to the safety of the temple itself. Coated in black ichor, blood, and ash, they're... a sight, to be certain, glancing around at the temple's occupants in a searching manner as they enter the building.

When their eyes alight upon Muffet, not too far away, they offer a wane smile, with an equally tired voice giving a short:] Greetings.

[That's one, at least. A few dozen people left to find.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet manages to restrain herself from hurrying right over to fuss at them, knowing they wouldn't appreciate it, although it's an effort. She smiles back at them, weary but just glad they're in one piece, and walks over at a more decorous pace.]

Hello, dearie. You look like you could use a decent meal.

[The nice thing about monster food- offering someone a snack and asking if they need healing can come in one convenient package.]

[achievementhunter]

[Calling her out for healing them would say far too much on their knowledge of such things; as it stands, they could use it. By their count, there's still a good half a day left before they could safely rely upon their LOAD once more, and so Chara nods graciously, tired eyes looking about for a place to sit.]

I would be remiss to say anything but wholehearted agreement, miss Muffet.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[By this point she has no doubt they're familiar with monster food, but she's not going to break the polite fiction between them about just how clear their identity is becoming.]

[As it is, she's just glad they're not going to argue with her on this one. She motions at a nearby spot where someone has stacked a few folded blankets for storage, about the right height to act as makeshift cushions for a little bit.]

Why don't you have a seat and I'll see about getting you some stew.

[achievementhunter]

[Sit, on something more comfortable than hard stone?

It's more likely than you think. They slump down with little delicacy, blinking when their head knocks back against the wall. Huh. Whilst Muffet busies herself in getting them some food, Chara slowly begins to take stock, pulling the knife from the sheath at their hip. Then two more from their sleeves.

And two more from their boots.

Perhaps the seventh is simply overkill, but it gets pulled out as well. Laid out on the floor, they examine each one slowly, using the hem of their sweater to slowly clean them off.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet goes briskly through the motions of getting them some food from a nearby stockpile, with the ease of practice, and turns back to them with a warm bowl of stew and a couple coconut cookies.]

[The sight of a small child with that many knives would have made her raise a proverbial eyebrow before coming to this island, but after dealing with the many and varied dangers of the place for several months, she's honestly just glad they're taking steps to defend themself.]

I'm certain I could find you some sort of rag for those, if you'd prefer not to stain your sweater.

[achievementhunter]

[They're quick to stretch their legs out when she does return, resting them in curves around the pile of weapons as they nod gratefully and accept the food, stomach twisting into knots at the scent. Hard to tell if they're nauseous due to hunger, or something else. Either way, they're going to eat, casting away propriety to get a few words out between mouthfuls.]

No point. My clothes are ruined anyway.

Without the proper laundry equipment, they'll stain.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Regrettably, at the moment our laundry equipment consists of a river and a few smooth rocks.

[She would do terrible things for access to a working dryer.]

We've been storing as much warm clothing as we can manage, if you'd like something to replace them. It's largely scarves and hats, but I think there's still a sweater or three around here somewhere...

[achievementhunter]

Have you not been trading with the elves? Lup and Taako have been producing soap.

[Which helps at least slightly. They quirk a brow, mildly interested in the clothing-]

Perhaps I'll send my sibling to look at them.

[...Just not for themself.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

When I have the opportunity, yes- they've proven to be quite pleasant to do business with- and a nice fellow with a solid understanding of chemistry showed me how to make a sort of soap for myself.

[Bless you, Newton Geiszler.]

Unfortunately, we haven't the soap to spare at the moment- enough for hygienic purposes, of course, but supplies are limited. If things continue on as they are for roughly the next day then we should have enough for laundry, but I want to wait until I'm certain we won't run out.

[Healing magic disinfects as a matter of course, but none of the healers around have infinite stamina, and injuries keep coming in. If it came down to working with dirty bandages and unwashed hands, she suspects fatalities would spike alarmingly.]

[At their answer, she nods- even if their sibling wasn't Frisk, someone she worries over on a regular basis, she'd want to keep as many people as she could properly supplied. As it is, they're welcome to as much as they'd like, and with any luck they'll convince Chara to take something, too.]

How were they doing, the last you saw them? I've been keeping an eye out for them, but I haven't seen them much.

[achievementhunter]

Understandable. [Of course it wouldn't be only food they were running out of. There's not much they can do about that, same as her, aside from accepting that things are currently on a "use out of necessity" restriction, until this fight ends.

If it actually ends.]

They're surviving. Where they currently are, however, I couldn't hazard a guess.

[An exasperated, albeit fond exhale, just shy of laughter.]

Wherever someone is in need of assistance, I imagine.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Well, that's better than hearing that they've been hurt, at least, although it still doesn't make her any less worried for them. She smiles fondly despite that, having to agree with Chara on the matter.]

That does sound like them, yes. ...I can only hope they don't try to defuse any tense situations by flirting, this time.

[Look, it may not have been an option in her own fight, but word gets around.]

[achievementhunter]

[An open snort of laughter is accompanied by a blatant roll of Chara's eyes, the child relaxing further against the wall with a shake of their head.]

I would hope they know the difference between shadows and monsters, at this point.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet laughs softly.]

I suppose I should be relieved to hear that someone does- I seem to make humans nervous enough at the best of times, let alone when everyone is under this much strain.

[She may have had a couple near misses with friendly fire this week.]

[achievementhunter]

Frisk is slightly less inclined to be... trigger-happy, thankfully.

[Mmm guess who isn't quite pleased to hear that it's this kid.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet notices the displeasure in their tone, and adds reassuringly:]

To give everyone credit, they've all been quite reasonable about it once they realize I'm not hostile. Even if I do keep having to explain that our world seems to have a different meaning for the word 'monster' than most...

[achievementhunter]

[They shrug, smile sharp.]

I'm sure you're more than capable of defending yourself, regardless.

[As capable as she is when pressing the attack to no threat.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She nods politely, catching the sharpness in their words and leaving it tactfully unremarked upon.]

I try, certainly. But I'd far prefer to save my energy for dealing with the actual threat, instead of having it misdirected at those I should be working with.

[Not that she's, you know, speaking from experience when it comes to going after the wrong target or anything...]

[achievementhunter]

[Golly, the advice they could give her on that very subject. They stare her down, tone sickly sweet.]

Sounds like you might know a thing or two about that.

[Ha ha.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

To my deepest regret, yes.

[Her tone is casual, but sincere. She meets their gaze without flinching or trying to brush them off. By now she knows they're connected to Frisk somehow, and deeply, so she's not surprised that they might know what she tried to do to them. She won't do either child the insult of pretending she doesn't know what they're talking about.]

[achievementhunter]

[They know far more about it than she ever will.]

I suggest you reach deeper, ma'am. Far, far deeper.

[And back they go to their food, dismissing her presence entirely.]