lifeaftr | April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

INTRO LOG: APRIL

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: April 3rd and onward
Where: Ziziphus
Warnings: Mark as needed!

A9: Sow the Seed
Unbeknownst to new arrivals, the archipelago of LifeAftr has recently seen the appearance of a new island, as chosen via voting - and they have been unceremoniously placed there instead of upon Ensō, where most newcomers would typically appear. It's probably for the best that the island of Ziziphus is so outwardly peaceful.

There are worse places to find yourself, all things considered. The mana pool glimmers with a greenish light, the stone ring containing that peculiar fluid set firmly into the earth. The surrounding land fits neatly into that general aesthetic: rippling fields stirred by the occasional crisp breeze alternate between amber-golden and rich, verdant green in coloration, and irregular patches of color signify the presence of a great deal of flowers of all sorts.

It's a peaceful scene.

We're sure you're all about to make it go horribly wrong.

B9: Reap the Harvest
For the unluckier, or the more adventurous, something far less tranquil awaits. Perhaps you woke up on this particular map square instead, or you saw fit to journey a little farther, just to see what might happen. In any case, you'll quickly discover that this may not have been the best idea, when an ordinary grassy mound abruptly detaches itself from the ground, hauls itself upright on bristling legs, and starts scuttling near.

SPINDLANKS have now been unlocked in the bestiary.
What might initially appear to be a leafy hillock will very quickly prove to be something far more...mobile, if you get close enough. That clump of grass and red ferns will abruptly hoist itself up on six vine-like tendrils, crawling for its prey like a very large, mossy spider. While it's fully capable of swiping at its foes with its massive, leafy arms, the spindlank's favored method of dispatching its prey is simply to scuttle forth until it's positioned directly above you and drop down. If its weight does not crush you and choking on the clods of earth doesn't smother you, don't worry; the spindlank intends to eat you alive with a set of fleshy jaws set deep in its center, buried somewhere in its underbelly.

For despite their appearance, spindlanks are very much carnivorous. Their size can vary from anywhere between six and ten feet tall when their appendages unfurl entirely. They are, in essence, very large plants, and thus can be easily dealt with, if you can burn them.

Just try not to get overwhelmed.

All new arrivals will awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!

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

This isn't the best of days.

He's already spent more time than he would've liked stalking around where he woke up, trying to make it out of wherever the hell this place had been. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like that he's stuck in a new prison, that he still has no contact, that his heart is beating again and for most people that would be welcome but not a man who's been dead for a thousand plus years. His mind is loud, and complicated, and overwhelmingly conflicted. This place is beautiful, but he needs to escape. He, quite literally, has no time to stop and smell the flowers.

Kravitz slips into the woods, obviously distracted, and doesn't notice her halfway up a tree as he stalks through the underbrush, mind tumultuous and a mess of half-made escape plans.

Scrambling out onto a branch, The Liberator looks down as yet another odd person appears. She's not alone here on this island, not per se... they're all people, but not like her people.

She doesn't know about escaping the island. The whole... situation, of her death and mysterious appearance here is still something she's not sure how to feel about. But if that's what's on this fellow's mind: all she can see from up here is more forest, and she relays that along to Kravitz, a view out though the tangled branches of the island's foliage. He's only heading further into the underbrush going that way. Helpful, no?

He stops in his tracks as soon as he receives a— picture, a thought, from somewhere he’s not sure of. What… was that? He looks around him, tries to catch sight of what’s going on. He thinks he can see someone nearby- it could be an animal, but who’s to say from the people he’s already met? At least, he can test.

Kravitz isn’t sure this is going to work until it does, considering he’s lost so many of his abilities unexpectedly, but he closes his eyes and reaches out in his mind as far as he can stretch it, sending a message out that direction. It’s less of a read- he can’t especially read minds, just touch them- and more of a signal ping; a quick survey to see if this has language, can understand him. And so he speaks, but without words.

Was that you?

That might-be-a-person... no that's definitely a person now, clearly raising a hand in greeting at him. The ragged green and brown clothing definitely helps her blend in, with that mantle of irregularly sized teeth tied together acting like part of a very bizarre ghillie suit.

Her response isn't words, but it's easy enough to get the sentiment after a moment or two of thought tuned to visual keys; there's a flicker of places, from fields to forest, pathways to a mental map of what she's seen so far -- which, admittedly, is still only a small fraction of the island.

Escape? If he got on a raft... where would he even go? Silently questioning his blind foray with the image of a Kravitz face floating across a mental map of the area then off into the grey fog of the unknown, unexplored places.

Well, that's certainly odd. He's never met a creature that communicates with just images, but-- it is a form of language, he supposes. Words and letters are just pictures in the end. She does seem to be able to understand him, which is also a good feat, because he can't imagine trying to visualize and send back any kind of image. She's making it clear where she's been. Probably wants to know where he's going.

I haven't been to most of this place, either. Though I'm told it may be temporary. He's met a few people yet, and he steps closer, looking directly up into the tree. Do you not live here either? What is your name?

Perhaps temporary for him. She seems quite certain, with the distinct feeling of resignation, that it is not temporary for her.

She shakes her head. Alongside that resignation though is a mild pleasant surprise at another person who can reach out to her mind as she can to theirs. It's not true language, really, still images and feeling, but perhaps easier to understand when touching her mind. She's not from here; instead, a place of rocky, barren soil and sand, under starry skies and above honeycombed caverns deep underground, a place of death, fire, steel and rock.

So naturally her name isn't words, but the symbolic image of herself with the severed head of some unfamiliar but large insectoid creature lifted high above her head with a snarl, with other people behind her raising their fists in a silent cheer: fury and exhilaration, freedom and liberation.

She blinks slowly, head tilting slightly in a question. What of the tall, dark, and small-eyed stranger?

Somehow, it's more comforting to see something beyond the idyllic; his home, of course, is dark and illuminated only by the light off the lake of souls. Such is the realm of death. But it has been his home long enough to be the familiar, so something less traditionally beautiful piques his interest.

Still not quite certain how to refer to her in his language, though. But he'll work on that.

I am not from this plane either. Nor, I'm getting the feeling, this world, though I'm not sure how that's possible. He tries to get a better look at her, but just ends up squinting in the sunlight. My name is Kravitz.

April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

DABS, forest!

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