April Intro: The Flower Ripens in its Place

[lifeaftr_mods]

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.

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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.

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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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[aurabble]

[Jaune tries to still the sinking feeling in his chest and the humming in his mind, sitting down across from Shion. Funny, how the one to greet him would be named after one of his favorite childhood places. The sunlight flickers off of pale hair, the grass stirring in the breeze. It's disconcertingly peaceful.

He's dreading whatever he's about to hear.]

[Imagining different worlds isn't that unusual, even if it's become more of a luxury than something to put a lot of thought into. It's believable. Shion's explanation, on the other hand--

He can't wrap his head around it. Metallic armored hands dig into the dirt next to him, trying to stay grounded, his breathing starts to grow more shallow, head spinning like the unpredictable ocean waves. His pupils have flared open and his voice cracks in panic.]

You've-- You've gotta be kidding. That's not possible. None of this is. Is this some kind of messed up prank?

[savedbyasong]

[As Jaune's hand dug into the dirt and his breathing quickened Shion reached out to take his hand. Panic, Shion was very familiar with the feeling and it was easy to see the signs in Jaune, how his eyes are wide, the sound of his voice.] Breath. Slow down. It is possible, as strange as it seems...

[Remembering to breathe himself] It's... The island we stay on isn't a bad place, it's got dangers and monsters but for the most part no one is going to hurt you purposefully.

[He hopes that is reassuring. He doesn't want to promise somewhere is safe when it probably isn't. He doesn't want to promise things will be okay because really. Nothing has been okay for a very long time and Shion doesn't see that changing in the near or far future.]

[aurabble]

I can't stay here while my friends are still in danger.

[Especially not now, with everything that had happened in a short span of time. Shion's hand was grounding and it seemed the harder he tried to control his breathing the more frantic it became. The air stung too sharply at his eyes and he tried to focus and listen to what Shion had to say. Monsters and danger made sense. But how could any of it else?]

So you're saying we're on some kind of island. Why not leave?

[savedbyasong]

According to the Story Teller time on your world is frozen. Some kind of suspended animation. [Which in itself was terrifying. But it is a million steps better than your world was destroyed and they had fixed that, so they could fix this too. He held Jaune's hand tighter and his other hand came round to touch Jaune's shoulder. He breathed, slowly, hoping Jaune could follow his lead.]

We have been to other islands... [Carefully not thinking too hard about Ai'Tuoh] In fact this is another island than the one we all are based on. I can help you get to that one. [That's not quite what Jaune means though, Shion knows that] The... the place we visited before this one... it was half a day away by boat.

[Not mentioning that islands come and go as the Story Teller brings them and sends them away, that's a jumble of weird that Shion hasn't gotten his head round yet and won't make Jaune feel any better] There are... magical pools that allow us to move between the islands. But finding somewhere else... we don't have the rescources for that kind of sea voyage.