lifeaftr | September Intro: Knowledge is Hot Water on Wool

INTRO LOG: SEPTEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: The Storyteller makes use of their first offering, and new souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: September 2nd
Where: Ensō...and surrounding lands
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Part I: New Arrivals
You probably didn’t last fall asleep on the warm spit of white sand that you find yourself, but nonetheless, that is where you awaken. There’s the hush of waves lapping up against the edges of the beach and the soft chill of a coastal breeze stirring at your surroundings, but the place is, all things considered, quite peaceful. The sun is merciless as it reflects across the glittering spread of seawater that surrounds you on three sides.

Three sides.

You’re on an island, if a rather small one. It can’t be much more than a mile across at the height of its length, and what’s more, it’s dotted with small, straggling outcrops of stone buildings that look as though they may have once been used for shelter of some sort or another, now weather beaten and wind-blasted. If you peer into the distance, it will rapidly become clear that you are on one small islet of a grouping of five. Battered bridges of wood-and-rope swing precariously between each one, joining them in a rough circle.

What’s more is that you aren't alone. You'll find that you have one or two companions waking on the islet alongside you, and each will discover a knapsack with their name stitched to the front, containing a paltry number of items, along with any rewards you may have accrued. There's probably a way off these islets, and a means of accessing the shadowy lump of a mainland that rears up in the distance, maybe two miles across the stretch of sea...but what is it?

We do recommend treading carefully, and not simply embarking on a poorly-advised mission to swim all the way there. A school of tiger-sharks have begun to stir up the waters surrounding the islets, hungry for fresh meat. They are at least edible - if you can succeed in taking one down, that is. If you do not, don’t worry: at least you have shelter. Very dilapidated, ruined, half-crumbled shelter that will hardly serve as protection against wind and rain, but surely that's better than no shelter at all, right?

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.

Part II: Old Souls
A floral, faintly bitter tang rings about the air of the ruined temple this morning. As you rise, you may find a familiar scene: a rabbit with snow-white fur, crouched nearby a dilapidated pillar, thumping their foot impatiently. They look to you, or perhaps they are addressing the room as a whole when they say:

"Ah. Finally. First, I must thank you for fulfilling your end of our transaction - your stories have done their job. Thus, it is time for me to fulfill mine. I've arranged something for you all. I’m aware that in many worlds there is a poor association with following white rabbits, so perhaps you would find the flowered path more enticing." The Storyteller shifts their gray tome from one paw to the other, giving a great leap across the fallen pillar. "Now, what I am about to grant you…there are procedures, of course. You must follow the instructions to begin with. And then, well - you need a place to go. You needn’t even need a name, specifically. The power will know. Simply be sure to tell it."

The rabbit sniffs and flicks an ear. "Just remember what I ask: no bathing, please. For all's sake."

And then they bound off into the darkness, disappearing just before the shadows engulf them wholly.

Indeed, where the dust-trodden ground gives way to grass, a sparse growth of white flowers have blossomed, winding wildly through the growth and leading around the temple’s exterior.

Those who find fit to follow the Storyteller's suggestion will find, first, that the path of flowers leads them to an outcropping of stone that overlooks the great cove formed by Ensō’s landmass. In the distance, just short of the ocean’s horizon, a white scatter of islets sit in the blue-jade waters. Those certainly hadn’t been there before, had they? Intrepid explorers, be patient: the path of flowers doesn't end here. In fact, it veers off cleanly in the direction of the mana pool behind the Storyteller's ruins.

Upon arriving at the pool, characters will find that the narcissus flowers have bloomed in full and prolific splendor around its edges, filling the humid air with a thick scent of bitter hay and honey. Upon a great slab of stone rising from the edge of the pool, a strange limerick seems to have been engraved:

A flower once loved above all,
The hubris of his mirror-thrall.
Were he water-lily!
Yet fate wet and pithy,
Narcissus, what a fate to befall.
No other instructions appear to have been left other than this cryptic rhyme. Should characters solve this riddle, however, they will find themselves engulfed in a flash of blinding white light, given the briefest sensation of falling…

Followed by the familiar vision of Ensō looming in the distance. Quite far out, in fact. Their surroundings have dramatically shifted from a lush jungle to an almost barren island, surrounded on its sides by four nearly identical islets. It would appear that any characters who use the mana pool have been randomly transported to one of the five islets appeared overnight. Other than a nearly identical mana pool lapping at their feet, it would seem that - aside from weather-worn, dilapidated shacks and shelters - these islands don’t have much on them at all.

Except, perhaps, new faces.

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

Honestly, if they acted more like sheep, maybe it would have been easier to do my job.

[Maybe they would have listened to her earlier. Or maybe the fact that they refused to listen made them sheep all the more? This metaphor is running away from her.

Her eyes follow theirs and she grimaces.]

Yeah. These aren't ideal but it holds the potential to be something better, at least.

[She shakes her head.]

I'm almost wishing I was a carpenter now.

Unruly sheep, then. Were you missing a sheepdog?

[They've heard those are quite useful in ensuring sheep co-operation. Just like guns. Or knives.]

At the least, we'll have plenty of company in that wish. I'm sure someone has some rudimentary knowledge.

[She lets out an amused huff.]

I'd say so, yeah. You'd think people would be more willing to listen to you with a little something like "galactic survival" on the line but what do I know? I'm not a politician.

[She's not bitter. Really.]

If not, we're all gonna have fun re-discovering the wheel, so to speak, only this wheel will be made of wood nails and full of sap.

[Ew. They laugh, delighted by even the simplest of gross implications, before tacking on a cheeky retort.]

If you're keen on doing as much, please, feel free. There's no wheels here to stop you.

[Their laughter is a surprise but not an unwelcome one. A smile tugs at the edges of her mouth once more. It's funny how she barely knows them but they can make her want to laugh so easily.]

Maybe I'll introduce some post-modern architecture to this place. Some really avant-garde set ups where the windows don't like up right and you're lucky if the door swings open.

Darling sunroofs and airy, open spaces not enough for you, hm?

[Why Shepard, you haven't even moved in yet, and you're already planning out those DIY projects! That's efficiency.]

I mean, the "sun roofs" provided are all well and good until a storm comes.

[Nothing like having a hecking huge hole letting in everything in your house for "natural lighting".]

It's both better and worse than what I had before. But with some work, it'll be passable. Too bad I don't got my fish tank though.

[Yeah, like that would work out, Shepard, seeing as they all FUCKING DIE every time you get new ones.]

Think of it this way; your fish tank has been replaced with an infinitely bigger fish tank. It is the ocean. Some of the fish want to eat you.

On the plus side, you also don't need to feed them.

[See? Look at all those positives.]

[That gets a snort out of her, her mouth twisting up into an even bigger grin as she shakes her head.]

Well damn. I won’t be spending my Alliance credits on souped-up water filters and fish food anymore. What am I gonna do with all that nothing I got in my bank account?

[She says, as if she isn’t a fucking millionaire back home, more or less.]

[In spite of themself, she startles a laugh out of them- a short bark of genuine amusement before they compose themself. This one. She is certainly something of an enigma.]

Woe to the poor orphans. Between them, not a cent, cast adrift in a world where currency has no meaning. However shall they survive?

They might have to be barbaric and resort to the barter system.

[She shakes her head, grinning. She says that like that hasn't already happened though...]

Alas, they shall survive by the skin of their teeth and by their plucky, quick-witted orphan ways, melting the hearts of everyone around them.

[That's how it always was in books, anyway. She always hated those stories.]

You mean they may have to obtain goods, in order to trade for other goods and services?

[Chara clutches their chest, gasping outright.]

Heaven forbid such travesty! Why, I'd rather die.

September Intro: Knowledge is Hot Water on Wool

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