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

[Ammy allows the dog to circle her, doing the same after a moment or two, also taking a few curious sniffs in Johan's general direction (his butt, yes) to memorize his own scent. She's fairly larger than he is, even being smaller than the average wolf, but all of that is mostly fluff and a lot of leggy. Her tail wags happily after she's introduced herself to the friendly pup, panting softly and hopping on her feet a bit before scampering away. She's not about to go rough-housing around the mother turtle and her nesting area.

She yips in greeting to Magnus, bowing down into a play pose, happy to see the large man she remembers helping her long ago. The garden is coming along swimmingly now, with seedlings and flowering fruits and vegetables growing well. She couldn't have done half the work she did so swiftly without his help, and is very thankful. Her attention goes back to the turtle, who seems extremely unbothered by the man and his (now duo of) canines, continuing her task of digging out her nest to deposit her eggs into. It almost seems like she's in a trance, focused on her instinctual need to give birth. Ammy beams at it, then back at Magnus, and barks.

Yes, a friend, even if momma over there probably doesn't even really know she exists through the haze of her instinctual drive.]

[ Johann, a large Scottish Deerhound, is thrilled to make a new large canine friend. Poor thing hasn't seen another canine in months! He wags his tail and follows her around, too polite to bark or tackle her, but very interested.

At her greeting, Magnus smiles and kneels down, reaching a large hand to pet her head. Yeah, her god status means nothing when it comes to giving good girls nice pets.]

So, huh-- [ He looks over at the turtle, finally noticing what she's going. Oh! Oh.]

Oh--huh, wow, sorry. [ ...he just apologized to an animal, okay.] Does it--does she--need some privacy?

[Johann is unlike any dog she's seen before in Nippon - he's larger than a number of the canine warriors, even the leader of the fabled Kusa 8, and far scruffier. But a dog is still a dog, and she'll bound and play with him in just a moment.

The turtle seems wholly unbothered by the lot of them, in a trance-like state as she lays her brood, and Ammy turns her head back to the kaleidoshell with a slow flick of her ears. If a wolf could shrug, she would right about now. But as it seems, the turtle is continuing her task without hesitation, so privacy or no...it seems she's going to do what instinct dictates. But Ammy doesn't want to bother her in her task, and give her some peace. They can have fun and play further down the beach, and Ammy will check back on her later. For now? She's rested up and energized, ready to stretch her legs and enjoy the rest of the day.]

Guess not, huh. [ Clearly, despite his animal handling proficiency, Magnus is not exactly used to sea turtles...mostly dogs and such, you know? But even if the kaleidoshell doesn't really seem to care whether they're there or not, this feels like a weirdly personal moment and maybe they should move.

Johann coyly moves closed to Ammy again, sniffing and her and letting out a quiet boof, complete with a gentle tail wag. Time to play, yes?

Magnus notices, and is delighted.]

Hey, Johann, play nice.

[Ammy responds to Johann's prodding with a gruff snort of her own before her own tail wags and she barks at Johann, tearing off down toward the water to run and play and wrestle. She's a bit smaller than he is, but definitely more fluffy and stocky - especially in the chest and her sturdy legs and shoulders. Playing nice, definitely, but that doesn't mean she's not going to jump on and mouth at her new friend.

They're both going to be covered in sand and water by the end of the day, but eh...a little sand and tiny shell shards never hurt anyone, right? She can smell like a salty sea dog for a few days before someone tries (and fails) to give her a scrubbing.]

[ Any dog is a beach dog! Just put them there. Johann bolts running after her, and it's surely going to be a good few hours of playing with his new canine friend.

Magnus watches with a smile, eventually taking his time to watch the few kaleidoshells making their nests in the beach. As much as he feels the urge to get closer to them, he leaves them to their task. But still, it needs to be said: this is fucking cool.

After a while, he's sat on the sand, watching the canines, watching the sun go down and the lights start to shine through the water. You know, this place isn't so bad sometimes. He could do this for a while.]

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

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