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

[lifeaftr_mods]

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 )

Comments

Kravitz | ota, will match formatting!

[deathfindsaway]

i. [ziziphus] i'm not scared of fighting, i'm just a little bit over this conversation

[Kravitz doesn't consider himself the helpful type, but his instinct when things are going down is always to salvage what can be salvaged. While others may be having issue with the tremulous footing, Kravitz finds himself at a slight advantage, and it seems it's the proper time to test his limits here. If someone else watches, they'll be able to see him walk to the edge of one of the cracks in the floor, summon a scythe to his hand, and then slice the air to the side of him... and simply step out on the other side. The exit rip appears in time with the first one, and disappears once he's stepped through it. It's a neat trick... for as long as he can keep it up. Regardless, he's looking for people, animals, resources-- anything that might not be quick or fast enough to make it's last leap to safety.

Can't keep doing it forever, though- and he's not very used to having limits on this. Somewhere near the end, he might be in need of an assist when exhaustion wins out, and he can be found nearer and nearer to the mana pool looking quite tired.]

ii. [monsun] it's spreading from past lives to the living, who's changing the people or time, time, times?

[Of course, he has to explore exactly where he's sending these things. And Kravitz, being too new to have experienced the first wave of this, doesn't... entirely know the dangers of what he's walking into. So when the choice is presented to either go to a terrifying desert hellscape or stay among lush trees, well, that seems like a no-brainer. Problem is, of course, he's a bit catty on even his best of days- and the man comes armed.

He seems to be taking a moment to relax at the mana pool on the lush side, just to regain some of his movement, a small pile of fruit resting at his side. That said... his scythe absolutely lays right next to it, directly within arm's reach.

Maybe it'll be best to convince him to leave from a distance.]

iii. [enso] but we don't understand what's unstable, maybe we're all lonely and afraid

[Now this, at least, is calming. Kravitz hasn't entirely gotten a lot of time to rest and relax during this experience, but once it becomes apparent they give off light, he finds himself here as it starts to get dark, watching the waves as the colors and light dance just below the surface.

It reminds him a little of home.

While he's not a wealth of information about this place, he's willing to help out anyone who shows up confused and lost, or maybe turn them away from immediately stabbing the creatures in the water.]

Ziziphus

[thisisourfuture]

[Hinata has been carefully burning through his own reserves. He can move faster than a normal human being and he's been putting that to use. Seeing someone flag after they stepped out beside him brings him up short. He turns to get a better look at them.

No one he's met yet but that doesn't matter. Especially in these circumstances.]

Hey, are you alright?

[deathfindsaway]

[He puts a hand to his head, just trying to steady. This shouldn't be making him feel so tired, the power in the casting not something he usually has to concentrate on. Kravitz forces himself to look at who's talking to him, blinking once or twice with a shake of his head.]

Sorry, I-- yes, I'm fine. Just more... action, I suppose.

[And then, in direct opposition to the help he looked like he needed--]

Do you need assistance in getting out of here?

[thisisourfuture]

[He shakes his head slowly. He has more than enough energy to cut through the island paths to the exit. He’d only have trouble if more than one thing tries to kill him along the way.]

No. I know how to pace it. It’s difficult but not impossible. You should take more than a few minutes before you keep going.

The islands seem to drain more from us than they should.

[deathfindsaway]

It really does. It's even more of a hassle that we don't know why it's doing that, and even more because it utterly shouldn't be.

[These actions used to be effortless for him. It's only making him mad that they're not now.]

I wish it wasn't so subjective. There's no good way to track how many uses of something you might have. I dislike it greatly.

[thisisourfuture]

It's true there's no good way to track how many uses we have left. [Hinata takes one slow look around. They're not in any danger right now. But that could change in an instant.]

But...you can track your movement speed. How long it takes you to use your abilities. The longer it takes, the closer you are to your limits.

[deathfindsaway]

[He raises an eyebrow, giving him a little shake of his finger.]

Now that... is actually a decent idea.

[Something to keep track of. Once he's steadier, he'll hold out a hand to shake.]

I'm Kravitz. Charmed.

enso!

[onegreeneye]

[Ginko, fortunately, has little interest in stabbing the turtles. Instead, he's just wading in the shallow water, watching them from some distance. He figures getting the fur on his legs and tail wet is worth it.

As he gets closer, though, he realizes he should probably actually say something to this other guy on the beach, and looks up with a tired smile.]

Kind of a nice change of pace, huh.

[Words cannot describe his relief that these things don't seem to be aggressive, honestly.]

[deathfindsaway]

[He doesn't blink an eye at any inhuman features; previous to being here, he was't so unused to not being human either. Most of the reason he's not quite in the water proper is just because he values these pants. There's only so nice you can keep something you wear nearly every day, but at least he can do This.]

I agree. After so many things attempting to kill me on that last island, just finding something calming is simply... nice.

[A scarcity they don't get enough of these days, especially as he thinks of the colors shifting under the water with nostalgia.]

[onegreeneye]

Oh, absolutely. [Ginko gives a quiet, sardonic snort and squats down to see if he can get a better look at the turtles.] Then again, I thought the last place seemed pretty nice at first, too, so... guess I should be ready for these guys to attack.

[Ginko that's not funny.

But, really, sometimes he's just got to... assume that things will not kill him, and this seems like a good time for that. He just hopes his instincts are right on this one.]

[deathfindsaway]

[He hums in agreement, because-- well, yeah, he's absolutely Not Fucking Wrong.]

Yes, I was also having a fairly decent time before I was attacked by foliage and kidnapped by vines. Does that happen often? I... haven't been here very long. I'm getting the feeling that was only my first catastrophe.

[onegreeneye]

The vines? Not usually. But, uh-- catastrophes, yeah. We... have one now and then, sorry to say. They're usually somewhat manageable, at least.

['Usually' and 'somewhat' are important words here.]

[deathfindsaway]

No offence, but that doesn't give me a great deal of comfort.

[Are they just-- reactionary, trying and failing to conquer a new world? And for what? A way home, he supposes, but even that option is fraught right now.]

Do you have an opinion on the Storyteller? Do you think they're really doing all they can?

ensooooo

[youfoundher]

[He doesn't show up looking like he's in need of a hand, and honestly? His first response to bioluminescent wildlife isn't violence. It's to go for a walk along the shoreline, just... watching. Recalling what he knows of the mating processes of creatures similar in other worlds, wondering if Merle's seen this. If it still reminds him of that mushroom world.

Just the thought makes him grin.

But that's quick to fade at the sight of Kravitz standing on the shore, palms immediately becoming sweaty- in involuntary, nervous response to- everything? Just a big ol' hunk of Everything that the entire camp's been pretty keen to dance around, feels like. He's got a few, sinking suspicions as to why.

Lup always did have a short fuse when someone questioned her morality.

Right. Okay, stay calm. Act natural. Keep things casual, if that was possible. He can handle that, can't he?]

Pretty cool, huh? [Fuck shit GREAT. PRETTY COOL, HE SAYS, TO THE FUCKING GRIM REAPER. AMAZING, JUST COLLECT HIS SOUL NOW, HE'S READY TO PASS ON TO HELL.

Istus help him, if she'd even give a lich the time of day. Trapped by his own inane commentary, all Barry can do is stand there and- try to smile. In a friendly manner.

That's uh. He's probably not doing great at that, either- This was a really bad idea.

Maybe if he turns around right now, he can still walk away.]

[deathfindsaway]

[Ah. There he is. That motherfucker. What a dork.

Kravitz doesn't hate Barry. Hell, he doesn't even have it in himself to hate Lup, even if she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't exactly interested in being his friend out of the gate. If anything, he feels sorry for them. Pity. The circumstances with which one becomes a lich, he can only guess at- but they're always something important. That doesn't change the fact that they're fools for doing it.

More than that, he's sorry for himself, for the future trouble these idiots have cosigned him to.

But Barry speaks, and he blinks once, tilting his head the other man's direction.]

Well, it-- yes. I'd say so.

[Great, this was also a wonderful response, lord. He's been trying to keep things cordial, at least-- not hostile, for Taako and the kids' sake, but this is an interaction he absolutely doesn't know how to parse.

He looks back out towards the ocean.]

It's... the lights, uhm. Remind me of the Astral Plane, a bit. All of the souls in the lake.

[He doesn't even register how that may sound, like it could be a threat mentioning the realm of the dead. Great job there, buddy. Great Charisma stat. You're doing well.]

[youfoundher]

[His mom used to think he was cool. :c

Kravitz wasn't- he didn't seem... okay, no. Kravitz could be cruel, if that's what it took to fulfill his duties. It's something Barry had seen firsthand, something he'd intended to then help the tres horny boys deal with before his focus had been- elsewhere.

Attempting not to fall apart had been rather integral at the time.

But his words don't seem to be a pointed reminder of that; he's a guy missing his home just as they all had, the first couple of decades. Barry can sympathize, with that. Empathize even.]

Yeah? Sounds... nice. Peaceful. [Obviously.

Boy, he's bad at this. Barry sighs, rubbing at the back of his neck as he shuffles closer.]

I figure we've got a few things to talk about, like it or not. Uh... [Haha boy, he really isn't the guy for this.] Maybe it'd best to start with what you already know? And, y'know, take it from there.

[deathfindsaway]

[Kravitz hasn't been the guy for social interaction effectively ever, Barry, trust him. He feels that. But as much as he knows this topic will have to be breeched at a point, he hates that it's here. What middle ground could they possibly come to? He has his duties. It's not as simple as disobeying orders, as letting something slide. Kravitz could let it go for a long time. Until something happens. But that puts his life on the line, and the lives of everyone close, and what about Taako--

He shakes his head just a bit, trying to clear out some of that jumble. He's too far in the future in his thoughts. He needs to come back.

Barry wants reassurance. So does he. They'll have to speak eventually. So... perhaps it's time.

Kravitz sighs, and motions for Barry to sit down with him, moving back a bit to where the grass meets the sand.]

I'm not sure what there is to-- to know, exactly, in this situation. I know you and your partner are undead beings of immeasurable power. I know, also, you're Taako's family. He... explained to me that you were outrunning a rather formidable foe that appears to have made it's way after you to our realm. But I'm obviously slight on the details.

[He tilts his head enough to catch Barry's eye.]

I will give you a chance to tell your side of the story. Provided I am also able to voice mine.

[youfoundher]

Yeah, that's-- the skinny version. [Extremely skinny, which isn't much of a surprise. It's Taako. Taako's not great at...details. Relevant ones. Taking a seat, Barry rests his arms on his knees, meeting Kravitz' gaze evenly. It's- this whole thing is terrifying, sure. But he's faced so much worse. His family has been through so much worse.]

Not that any of it is wrong, per say. Lup and I, we are liches. And I- we, we gotta answer for that someday, no matter our reasons for doing what we've done. But uh, I think it's worth telling you, about it. In more detail.

He doesn't want to have this talk, he really doesn't. And he gets that Kravitz doesn't either, but the fact is? They can. And obviously, they have to.]


So uh- you go ahead. I'll listen, but I don't-- there was never an intention to disrespect your position, just, just so you know. Or the Raven Queen. And I'm not gonna tell you not to do your job, uh... yeah. [A lame finish, but what's he supposed to say? Reap us and you won't have a job? That's a little...

That's a little too Lup, for him.]

Go ahead. I'm listening.

[deathfindsaway]

[This is quite possibly the worst scenario to find themselves in. They have to learn to get along- Kravitz knows this. As much as he's sure Taako wishes this issue would resolve itself, there's hard work involved in these sorts of things, work that Kravitz doesn't necessarily want to give but knows he'll have to. On the other hand, they're on more equal terms here- Kravitz can't report him immediately, and therefore incurs no penalties or issues for not doing so. He assumes Barry's abilities are equally weakened.

Maybe... this is where they should be talking. Somewhere far away from it all.

He breathes in, looking away at his hands as he tries to formulate this.]

I'm not naive enough to think you did this on purpose to spite me. Few people wander about directly disrespecting a god, and I'm certainly not the first line of defense there, but respectfully speaking, you aren't the first I've heard by a long shot.

[He doesn't even know if this will matter to him. It doesn't, to most. But he also doesn't get these chances to them. This opportunity.]

No one wants to die. Death is a representation of all of the things living beings fear- it's an uncontrollable, immeasurable shift of the self. It is a loss of everything that people find precious. I'm not saying I don't understand why people turn to these things.

[He's gesturing now, unable to sit still and talk, reaching for a way to explain this that's a little more kind than his usual speech.]

But there are some things you simply can't cross. Some things you simply can't do. When you tear down the boundaries between realms and worlds you risk the destruction of everything. You simply can't put the singular self before the world. I let one person though, one group of people running about getting to break all the rules, and the entire planar system could come down.

[Kravitz sighs, finally looking back at him.]

The ultimate thing here is that it isn't about you, it never really was, it's about preserving the laws of the universe. But-- [A very, very distinct finger waggle--] --and I put this with a large, large caveat- I have made certain exceptions for particular behavior before. So I want to hear... more of this. More of what that thing was that invaded the Astral Plane. More... context.

[He wouldn't have added that last bit, but-- he has stakes here. Not as large, certainly, as the group of them. But stakes he'd like to understand.]

Monsun because I'm the worst

[proficienciesouttheass]

[ Something about helping out stuff to make sure entire species don't die off feels super familiar! It's not like Magnus has that thought conciously, but still.

Stepping into Monsun, he's immediately hit with a wave of recognition. He's been here before - I mean, in a way, anyway. He's not super sure if it counts. He remembers falling into a shallow river, but not quite why or what happened right before that.

But it's not long into his trek through the forest before it starts happening again. He's stepping on branches, knocking and splitting and axing shit out of the way without much care, heading back out to the pool, when he finds the reaper.]

Huh, hey.

[ Was that too loud? All those branches and leaves being cut down or crushed under his feet? Were you trying to have a moment, Kravitz?]

hell yes

[deathfindsaway]

[Ugh. Well, he was.

Kravitz, who had reclined to knit his arms under his head and try to nap, is unceremoniously interrupted by the loudest person on any plane of existence. He rolls his eyes, not recognizing that he's not stopping any of his typical cattier impulses.]

Uh huh, hey. Is it necessary for you to be so loud? This is actually a nice island, the least you could do is not destroy it with every step.

Re: hell yes

[proficienciesouttheass]

Wow.

[ He meets your cattier attitude and raises you an unapologetic lack of any semblance of a filter he usually has. Which, as everyone knows, is not much to begin with, but it makes a difference. ]

Excuse me, I guess. Just trying to, you know, get some work done around here. The whole keeping entire species of animals from dying off, you know?

[ Well, this ought to be fun.

He steps out, away from the bushes, with a prominent crunch of dead foliage and large tropical leaves under his feet]

Anyone else pass by?

[deathfindsaway]

[He sighs, making a little 'of course' motion in moving his hands up before responding.]

Yes, we're all doing that, I also just happen to be not destroying their habitat. And no. I'm just trying to get my energy back. It's absolutely asinine that lying in some grass is supposed to fix magic, but whatever, I guess.

What about you? Seen the twins?

[proficienciesouttheass]

[ He twirls the axe in his hands, kind of--fidgeting? Sort of.]

Nope. They're probably with Ren.

[ Magnus kind of wishes there was a big, unruly animal he could wrestle. This has been too easy.]

You, huh, gonna get more animals, oorrr...?

[deathfindsaway]

[He rolls his eyes all too obviously. So impatient.]

Yes, Magnus, seeing as that's the whole point of this venture. However, I'd like to not die while doing it, unlike some people who don't seem to care about how many times they die to get a job done.

[Mr. Over-Thirty-Deaths right there. Top that, Axecop.]