lifeaftr | June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

INTRO LOG: JUNE

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr as the island of Ziziphus begins to crumble
When: June 4th and onward
Where: Ziziphus and Ensō...and Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Ziziphus: At The Start Of The End Of The World
Since Bliss's destruction, the extensive root network they've threaded throughout every inch of the island of Ziziphus has begun to crumble. June 4th marks the beginning of the inevitable collapse of the island as it starts to sink into the sea...coincidentally coinciding with the arrival of LifeAftr's newest adventurers. Between the dead trees surrounding Bliss's empty husk, great cracks in the earth start to widen, the dead god's absent root system leaving vast gaps underground which simply cannot support the life above.

It almost sounds like thunder rupturing from the ground itself, wild tremors preceding each vicious boom until gaping chasms lay between venturing parties and the safety of the mana pool - only water waits below, for those unlucky enough to lose their footing.

And if the immense pull of mile wide chunks of landmass sinking beneath the waves isn't enough to suck you down, the heavy rain of debris from Ziziphus's rapidly destabilizing edges will certainly help. Want to avoid a watery grave? What you need to do is simple:

Escape.

Sorry, newbies. If you showed up on Ziziphus, you're in for a very athletic entrance to LifeAftr.

Monsun: Just Like Every Other Morning Before
Adventurers aren't the only creatures on Ziziphus attempting to outrun its collapse. Creatures great and small, from the largest spindlank to the smallest tigerlily will be heading south in an attempt to escape the worst of the quakes. Unlike offshore adventurers, however, these poor creatures don't have a mana pool waiting for them to escape through. Their extinction, it seems, is imminent.

Unless you have something to say about it.

Already exhausted from their attempts to get through to and then actively dispose of their fellow god, the Storyteller will break their traditional manner of communication to announce a potential solution to this problem with a single broadcast to the Stones of Far Speech in a strained, weary tone:

"The mana pools on Monsun are now open. If you are willing, save what you can."

True to their word, characters will discover that the island of Monsun will be accessible once more for a short period of time. From prey to predator, obstruction to catastrophe - multiple species of flora and fauna can still be preserved, should you choose to do so.

Be wary of the psychological effects of both sides of the island. Those who are new to our setting and wish to explore, the island of Monsun has a peculiar side effect to its stark divide: the eastern half is rich in resources, but brings out the very worst of you, while the western half is a tumultuous wasteland that accentuates your best qualities. More information on said island can be found on its entry on the Locations page, or its introductory info post.

Due to these efforts, the Storyteller will not be available for contact from the 4th to the 18th of June. Item Requests will also be unavailable at this time. They will, however, make a rather strained announcement to ensure all are aware that access to both Ziziphus and Monsun will cease on June 10th.

Ensō: I Wonder What It Means If It's Gone
The native fauna of Ziziphus aren't the only ones on the move, it seems. Those who wander the shores of Ensō will be delighted to witness the appearance of creatures akin to both turtles and dugongs drifting through the waters, gravitating around the island's eastern coast, rapidly gaining in numbers over the following days.

Kaleidoshells have been unlocked in the bestiary!

With spring close to ending in the archipelago, these peaceful creatures are looking to make good use of their natural nesting areas; hope you're open to sharing the beach for a little while. While a few braver individuals will make their way to the shores between C4 and D1 to begin digging nests, the vast majority won't be coming to shore quite yet.

They do, however, make a very fine sight around the waters of Ensō, especially in the evening. Luminescent, their rainbow patterns glow underwater, drifting mood lights for the increasingly warmer evening breeze.

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

Are you cer-

[Ignis always asks before he touches someone's face. It may not seems like a big deal to them, but he feels it impolite just to assume it's okay. This time, though, he only gets the question half out before Muffet is drawing his hand forward and giving him all the answer he needs.

His touch is light and a little tentative as if he is worried he might hurt her somehow. After all, it doesn't take very long to realize while her face is human-like, it is also not and it would pain him to accidentally stick a finger in one of her eyes or something like that.

Once he is finally done, he drops his hands to his lap, chuckling softly.]

That's a lot of eyes. I can't help but wonder what it's like seeing through them.

[Indeed, Muffet's face appears to be fairly close to human. The overall impression is that of a rather delicately pretty young woman, save that she has five eyes.]

[She laughs lightly, amused but not mocking.]

To be entirely honest, I've always wondered how humans managed with only two. Then again, I've never had the chance to compare the sensations.

Our minds take the images from each eye and combine them to make a complete picture. I can only imagine your mind does something similar, though the picture it creates much be so much more complete.

[Sharper, cleaner. Ignis can think of so many ways the image would be better than the one created by someone with just two eyes, but that is assuming her eyes work anything like a human's do. For all he knows, they may not.]

Damage to even one eye can be devastating. I've heard soldiers who have lost some of their sight in battle mention they would prefer to be completely blind as opposed to having to deal with the confused signals their brains create with only partial vision.

I think it would be similar, though I can only guess. In the end, I suppose that's always the case- we can never know exactly what being another person is like, only try to understand based on our own experiences.

And learn from what others tell us, by listening to them.

Or we just wait until some random god or island effect decides to put us in each other's bodies.

[He means it as a joke, but about halfway through saying it gets this odd feeling that maybe some things he shouldn't joke about lest they actually happen.]

...

I probably shouldn't have said that out loud. If that happens sometime soon, I take full responsibility for it.

[Muffet opens her mouth to speak, pauses, and then closes it again for a moment.]

...I was about to say 'don't worry, that's hardly the worst thing that's happened to us here', but then I had the sudden horrible suspicion that I would be somehow dooming us all.

Perhaps we should talk about something else.

[Ignis nods, letting out a small slightly nervous laugh.]

Yes, I believe you are correct on that point. Lets not give fate anymore ammunition than we already have.

Is there anything on Ziziphus--plant or animal--that you would like me to specifically focus on getting moved when I make my next trip over? I've only been to a few places and I'm certain there is much out there that I've missed.

[And let us never speak of this again.]

Hm... I've been focusing largely on the edible plants, but I admit that my knowledge of medicinally useful flowers and herbs is much less extensive. If there's any you're aware of there, it might be helpful to focus on those.

I can do that.

[Ignis nods and then, with some reluctance, pulls himself to his feet.]

I have a few places in mind where I've heard medical plants have been found. Shion has a lot of plant knowledge, so I'll see if he can come with me while I go between gathering points. If anyone's missed something, he will catch it.

It's been good chatting with you. I hope we can do it again soon.

[With that, he gives her a warm smile and wave before turning to head back toward the mana pool.]

June Intro: Let's Sea How Far We've Come

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We can probably wrap this soon unless you want to do more with it.

I was thinking the same thing. /thumbs up