March Event: De L'autre Côté de L'eau

[lifeaftr_mods]

MARCH EVENT: DE L'AUTRE CÔTÉ DE L'EAU

Who: Everyone condemned to the Water, and those who see fit to rescue them
What: A rescue is implemented!
When:Predominantly on March 19th
Where: Ai'tuoh, and the small islet just off its coast
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Just Sing For Me All Night

It's time for your captured comrades to be recovered, and by none other than your fine selves! While the Storyteller will detail the elements of said rescue below, they very notably don't say anything about how they plan for you make it through Ai'tuoh, and then to the islet off its coast.

You have their tacit blessing to make your way there however you would like. Through stealth, through diplomacy, by salting and burning the earth...whichever you prefer. It is, as it turns out, awfully difficult to discern the innocent from the perpetrators when they all look alike.

Whatever course of action you choose, bear in mind that there will be consequences. The Storyteller will be sealing off Ai'tuoh's mana pool once everyone who has been retrieved has come through, but that doesn't mean that the island will be gone forever.

And If I Shout For You, Never Doubt

While the details of the rescue's mechanics can be found in the Storyteller's explanation below, we ask that, if your character was captured and needs to be rescued, please let us know HERE. This will make it easier for other players to account for who might be their focus, and why!

A few guidelines for each of the groups:

[ ♆ ] Group One will be predominantly busy fending away militia, who you can assume will be pouring forth to protect the Water from these intruders at a fairly concentrated rate. Most of the fighting will likely be grouped around the Water itself, leading to a risk of being forced into the Water or slipping in yourself. The militia largely fight with spears, swords, and shields, but are not above attempting to sedate you if they can get close enough, to make it easier to tip you into the Water.

[ ♆ ] Group Two will be serving as the tether, meaning they will be holding onto the thread the Storyteller has provided. This means physically remaining on our side of the abyss and holding onto the thread very tightly, as well as mentally focusing incredibly hard on the Water itself. When the thread is deposited into the Water, it will open a dark tunnel into the surface itself, leading all the way through to the other side. The Water will not take kindly to this; it will attempt to close, and exert a tremendous mental pressure upon your mind to do so. In order for this portal to remain open, your focus must be wholly devoted to keeping it open. It may feel very much like a mental game of tug-of-war, and you may very well feel a very physical tug on the thread itself as well; you must be actively concentrating on bringing everyone home.

[ ♆ ] Group Three will then have to grab hold of the thread in some way or another and not let go as they're swept into the dimension and through to the other side. As long as they remain in contact with the thread, they will be able to make their way back and be immune to the soporific effects of the strange void, as well as detect the opening the thread makes in the landscape of the netherworld on the other side of the Water. If they let go, they will lose their way and be vulnerable to the somnolent effects, and must be drawn back by someone who is still tethered.

Just remember: once you've found who needs recovering, you cannot, under any circumstances, look back at them while you guide the home.

You simply have to trust that they will follow, and that will be what leads them back to you.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] March 19th: Characters are taken to the Standing Water, and the rescue is facilitated
[ ♆ ] March 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] March 31st: Ai'tuoh disappears, and anyone left on it or in the Water will suffer a death

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[finethanks]

[Gripping tight on the string doesn't feel enough with his own grip, so he gives it a couple of wraps around his wrist, too, just to be certain. Like this, and with Takane's strong words of departure, this really is like a scene from a story where the main character must go on a mission of rescue.

But Eichi doesn't feel that way at all. He smiles once more, turns and steps into the "water", and everything disappears. It's cold, it's quiet, and before he realizes it, he's stumbling forward a step or two on the ground, nearly running into the piles of bodies surrounding him. A knot forms immediately in his throat, and his eyes scan the area. Rather than a rescue, this is a correction. An answer to a mistake he made long ago, and every mistake after that. He should have been the one in here.

He sees Kanata's hair before he sees the rest of him, and he runs. There's no saying how much time they have, with Takane up above and those fighting to keep them safe. Reaching forward with his free hand, his right hand, he grips onto Kanata's shoulder.]

Shinkai-kun! [There's more emotion in his voice than he'd normally like to show, at least while so visibly concerned. There's blood, isn't there? And he's drawn to staring at that instantly, his fingers trembling from the view around them. Not just bodies, but children...

He was used to death, but not when it came for his friends. Kanata seems almost out of it, and Eichi shakes his shoulder once.]

Can you hear me, Shinkai-kun?

[seafriends]

[ The shock of the bleak world around him has already begun to go fuzzy as the rest of Kanata's senses drift out, weighted down by the need for sleep. His consciousness is unraveling at the edges, craving a dream where his hero comes and saves him from this place. The faint touch and the voice of concern register in his mind as the beginning of an illusion of rescue, but-- they don't belong to Chiaki.

He can't process it properly the first time around, but the hand shaking his shoulder is enough to jolt Kanata awake with a sharp inhale. Everything is groggy as the world comes back into focus, building and body alike, but he can make sense enough of the fact that it's Eichi at his side, and that itself is a brand new problem. ]

Ko.. Koutei-san, I..? [ This is all wrong. The words he wants to say get lost in the swampy fogginess of his head, and Kanata gives it a slow shake to try and rouse himself from the grip of sleep. ]

You "should not" be down here.. [ Even to himself he sounds terrible, exhaustion and defeat cutting through the usual softness of his voice. ] There is.. nothing I "can do" to save you from this place, you know..? We really will die "this time"..

[ And maybe he might feel grateful to not be alone in death, or laugh that his last companion is Eichi Tenshouin, but he feels so distant from himself right now that the only thing he feels is terrible for the both of them meeting their end in a place like this. ]

[finethanks]

Not this time.

[Breathing in deep, Eichi steels himself for this. No matter what, he can't allow his emotions to make him fail this. This is a mission, a task that he can't mess up on, no matter what, or he'll fail not one, not even two people, but a whole group. His hand slides down from Kanata's shoulder to find his hand, grasping tighter than he thought he'd be able to. His other still holds the red string, wrapped a few times around him for security.]

The truth is, Shinkai-kun, I'm here to save you. You see, even if I fit easily into the role of Emperor, of a horrible tyrant who stepped mercilessly on those around him to climb to the top... I've always wanted to be the main character. A hero who can save the day.

I still don't believe that I'm fit for that role, but in Chiaki's place, please allow me to extend my hand to you now.

[But whenever he brings up his name, it ends poorly, doesn't it? He drops further, to his knees, temporarily. It's all so he can view Kanata face on.]

I'm sorry for all that I've done. Even if I was prepared to never be forgiven from the start, I hope that things can change from this point on. Shinkai-kun... isn't the one that should be so close to death, right now. [He breathes, shaky, and his eyes look wet, but he's still refusing to let any tears fall.]

If just for this moment, I need you to trust me. Takane-chan and I will work to bring you back. This is trying on a weak body like mine, so could you please rely on me quickly, just this once?