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

[mamaterasu]

[The loss of even one member of her disorganized pack makes Amaterasu wheel around to fetch them, putting a quick stop to the advance of the others that follow in her wake. She paces anxiously as her mind tries to process how to get the Flowaccus across and to safety. A tree bridge, perhaps? It could work...but she has to act fast in case of another tremor.

Barking loudly to catch the little flock's attention - and keep them from bolting in all directions - Ammy turns her head when she sees her tiny friend come to the rescue. She doesn't recognize the sort of magic they use, but it seems to have caught the attention of the flock, and they blear fearfully, hesitantly, before following the beacon the child holds.

Can they all make it across, though? Ammy has...ideas, but none of them are especially gentle. They just don't have the time for such niceties - the world around them is literally crumbling.]

[demonpuppy]

Yeah! This way, come on, just back a little...!

[Chip runs back along the line of the fissure, cutting across the curve to a section that's much narrower. One side is higher than the other, thanks to the shifting earth, and the jump shouldn't be too hard--]

[But the gap that seemed small enough at a distance seems to triple in size up close, and Chip stumbles to a halt right at the edge. They can't...even if they threw the flowaccus over, do they have enough strength to make that...? Maybe with a jump, but they can't carry more than one! How will the others get across?]

[mamaterasu]

[That that is indeed rather large - far too large for a human to easily jump across. Ammy could make it at a run, definitely, but she doesn't have time to go back and forth for each one. She turns her head back and forth then sees a large tree nearby. She'll be running her ink rather low, but it's worth it. They have no choice in the matter... Rushing to the tree, she sweeps her tail in a horizontal line across the trunk as she twirls around it. The ink hardens like steel, then slices through it like a carver's knife through bone. The tree snaps and whines as it rolls slightly then begins to come toppling down with a heavy crash on the other side. Careful there, little friend, you don't want that thing coming down on you, now.

It's not terribly wide, but it's a bridge nonetheless. She can meet Chip halfway and take the flowaccus across, or hope they're dexterous enough to make it by themselves. She has perhaps a half pot of ink left...not enough for anything, but...maybe. Maybe she can push it. It'll damage her, probably, but she doesn't care. She can endure. The others need to live.]

[demonpuppy]

[The creaking of broken wood is enough warning for Chip to get out of the way, yelping when the smaller branches crack and fly away on impact. The little sheep mill about and bleat nervously, but Chip shakes themself free of the shock and calls to them again.]

This way! Come on, just a little farther, honest!

[Thankfully guidance is all they need to start running to Chip again, and they climb up onto the trunk and cap the bottle before grabbing one flowaccus around the middle with both arms and hurrying across as fast as they can manage.]

[mamaterasu]

[And that's when Ammy starts to move. She barks and growls at the animals behind her to stay put in one spot and not to move, racing across the bridge she created to meet Chip halfway as they start grabbing the little flowaccus. She rushes back to deposit it with the other creatures of her impressively diverse group, then go back again.

The process repeats for as many little sheep there are, and once the last one comes, Ammy instead offers her back to Chip to get on, holding the bleating lamb gently in her mouth. They've no time - they have to get out of here. She can already see trees in the near distance plummeting to the divots in the earth, scattering dust like a terrifying cloud, looming closer and closer...death as its only promise in the watery depths below.

We saved what we could, now it's time to take them to safety.]

[demonpuppy]

[As Amatrasu takes the little sheep from them Chip runs back to grab another, doing their part to ferry the poor animals across. With the last gathered up they're ready to simply run for themself, but her implicit offer stops them short for a moment.]

[Are they...even allowed...?]

[A tremor of the earth cuts off any indecision, and they scramble up onto her back as best they can. The reflector doesn't make the whole business very easy, but they manage somehow and bury their hands into her fur to hold on as best they can.]

[mamaterasu]

[She wouldn't offer if she didn't want them to get on, and her insistence is accentuated with the shakes of her head and a nervous twitch of her tail. They really don't have the time for this sort of hesitation. Thankfully, she didn't have to, aha...convince Chip to hop on (by grabbing their clothing with her teeth and quite literally pulling them onto her back), and once they do, she takes off. And don't worry, kiddo, the reflector can be magically repositioned if Ammy will it. The only bumpt ride is when she begins to actually run.

That tremor in the earth is their signal, and it's seconds before the grinding of earth is met with the cracking of wood. Amaterasu doesn't look back to see the tree twist and crack as the ravine shifts with the collapse of the island, and the landmasses collide together, snapping the huge bough like it were nothing. The animals all clamor after her, their own strange stampede, and make way back to the mana pool with danger looming all too close behind. One by one the animals sink into the waters and are swept away to safety...though the more timid are quite literally shoved in by the goddess. It's for their own good, truly.]

[demonpuppy]

[It's not at all like riding on Grant or Erika on a full moon--even big as she is, she's nowhere near as large as a werewolf and it makes every leap and landing that much more immediate. There's not much for them to do but hang on and try to not unbalance Ammy; even if they wanted to pull the clover out again they couldn't hold it and stay on.]

[The goddess ushers all of the animals through the pool and Chip...they mean to help, really, they do. But when she finally slows down they can't remember to slide off or stand on their own or any of it. Their legs feel like jelly, and they keep thinking about just how far that drop into the water had been.]

[mamaterasu]

[She may be small, but she is strong. Ammy has carried a full adult on her back with no issue - a small child is nothing to the goddess. So long as they hang onto her fur, the goddess is sturdy enough to keep on her feet, even through the rough terrain that continues to crumble around them. She has no time to be gentle, only quick and resolute. A few bumps and scratches is far better to deal with than a watery grave below...or anything else that could happen.

Perhaps that is why, when Chip hesitates to go into the pool themselves, Ammy does to them the same as she did to the other creatures that were scared or not yet ready to go into the pool. Chip will feel a hard push against their back at the wolf barrels into their back with her head, toppling them into the water before it swirls and pulls them to another island. Where? They'll soon figure out...but it won't be here.

It will be, hopefully, somewhere safe.]