lifeaftr | May Intro: I'll Be Scrolling Through Your Shrine

INTRO LOG: MAY

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: May 4th and onward
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

With potentially odd dreams connecting you to people you've never met, in addition to the dream-lecture only recently received from a horned rabbit, LifeAftr surely doesn't need to try to be disconcerting upon arrival - and yet, it somehow continues to go the extra mile. While new arrivals will find themselves upon the now (mostly) safe shores of Ensō, there is one, small problem with where, precisely, they've happened to appear.

Chamber of Glyphs: It Was Written On Your Wall
Within the temple of the Storyteller, one may find a very special room. Betwixt the reality of waking and dreams, the Chamber of Glyphs appears to hold many unique features that allow it to appear wherever one may seek it, both in waking and sleep.

It is not, however, a good room to arrive within. Those seeking out the newest members of LifeAftr's adventuring party - and those who are simply looking to draw - will be greeted, upon entering the Chamber of Glyphs, with the most alarming sight. The small pile of backpacks, unattended, might be the first thing you notice, as well as the fact that they all seem to be adorned with names of those you might not know. Or the names of those that you do, but haven't seen in some time. Perhaps you met them in a dream...

And those of you who are newly arrived, you'll be able to see them searching. Unable to break the barrier between you with sound, you might feel the urge to wave your hands for attention, attracting searching eyes to the walls. Walls that you are now a part of. Hopefully this reduction to the second dimension is only temporary.

Those who took part in April's Test Drive Meme may have the benefit of familiarity, for what is etched onto the walls of the Chamber are never lacking life, regardless of the matter used to draw, paint, or sketch those contents.

With maneuverability somewhat akin to a sidescroller - always left or right, up and down, but never outward - the variety of scenes, animals, places, objects, and more are simply all the more to your advantage. Leap to the vantage point necessary to be noticed, as your fellow adventurers may be able to help you out of this predicament with a simple offer of their hand to tug you off the wall. It's an easy solution to your predicament, at least! All they need to do is take your hand to free you from your two-dimensional containment.

If it proves more difficult...well, at the least they know you're there to point out thanks to a very tired Storyteller, who will be certain to let anyone in the vicinity know that you're in need of help within the Chamber of Glyphs, before one of the many, many monsters that have been scribbled onto stone lay claim to you instead.

What kind of monsters, you ask? All of them, of course.

Ensō: Rain Hell
But maybe you don't wake up written on the walls! Maybe you're just relieved to get unstuck from those walls and need a breath of fresh air. Or maybe you don't have any reason to go poking around in search of new arrivals at all. That does not mean, however, that you won't be encountering a new arrival of your own in the interim.

The sky is clouded over and gray, despite the sun overhead and the generally warm weather. The nights are filmed over with a screen of pale dust. This has little to do with the forecast and more to do with the volcanic eruption that occurred just a few weeks prior, on another island in the archipelago. You don't need to worry about the nature of the ash still drifting on the wind currents - aside from the more standard obstruction of sight and airways, it is, at this point, more or less perfectly ordinary. Though if you've got some fragile lungs, you might want to stay out of it as much as possible.

More important is the creature that the hazy cast of ash and dust has coaxed out of hiding. Perhaps you've heard of it in folklore: resplendent with dark gray, furry wings, and glistening red eyes. Or, perhaps, you're less fortunate, and you've no cultural experience regarding the strange monster known colloquially only as...Mothman.

At over seven feet tall and with a wingspan of about fifteen feet, the Mothman makes for far more fearsome a sight than it does a threat. For all intents and purposes, despite the devilish red of its glowing eyes and its large, hairy stature, the Mothman is ultimately quite harmless. It does, however, tend to inspire paranoia in fear in the hearts and minds of those it encounters. And this smokescreen in the air has created the perfect environment for it to hunt.

It doesn't want your flesh, or your bones, or anything so base. It only wants your mind, in a sense; your fear and whatever primal terror it may ignite by preying on your paranoia. It will stalk you, rustling the leaves behind you, snapping twigs to your left, allowing you a glimpse of bright crimson eyes before dispersing into the surrounding, ashy murk. The good news is that once it has you scared, it has no intention of sticking around - and its wings makes it incredibly fast, when it wants to be. Anyone who attempts to attack it directly will discover just how speedy it can be, assuming that the air from its wingbeats don't end up pinning you flat to the ground from the sheer force.

The Mothman can be killed, most likely...but there are a lot of you, and only one cryptid for an entire island. It's not likely to want to stay in one place if it feels it's outnumbered, or that it's about to be attacked by someone who isn't so easily stricken by the fear and suspicion it endeavors to ignite. Those who wish to escape it can at least take heart in the fact that the Mothman abhors open spaces, largely preferring the sanctuary of woodland and greenery; all one has to do is reach Ensō's shores to be largely safe from its influence.

Though you could try killing it too, of course. If you wanted.

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

I did. [He just hasn't seen it yet, even though he's looking for it. And with as many eyes as he has, he should have seen it by now.]

It's been here for a while, but I haven't been able to find it.

Me neither. But ever since I came to this area, I could tell something was here. [But where could it be? Is it invisible?]

Hey, maybe we could look for it together?

All right. [Yukio says, after a moment of consideration. He forces the paranoia down, letting go of the string of his bow, and taking a step forward.

He's got more than enough eyes to look around for any signs of what's creeping on them, and a forked, snake-like tongue that flicks out to try and catch any scent he can.]

I'm Okumura. [He's not going to give out his given name so easily here, not when there are so many other worlds that are apparently just... fine with it. He's not comfortable being that casual.]

[Zidane takes a deep breath. This guy has dropped his guard considerably. He is probably not going to harm him. And yet that creature is still around, which is why Zidane won't put his daggers away just yet. But he does try to smile at Yukio to reassure him.] Okomura? Got it. I'm Zidane.

Sorry to cut the introduction short but the sooner we track down whatever is watching us, the better. Then we can talk normally.

[Yukio isn't too bothered by cutting short the introductions. He just wanted to get names out of the way so he wasn't yelling "hey you" at the stranger.

And before he can say anything, something moves behind him (the benefits of the literal dozens of small eyes scattered across his skin is that he has no blind spots). He turns, brings the bow up, and fires a warning shot into the branch below the shadowy figure in one smooth motion.]

[Zidane's eyes dart up at where the creature should be. Quickly, he lifts his daggers again and his tail is swishing wildly. This time though, he isn't trying to defend himself from Yukio......but creature is instilling such fear into his heart.]

[Yukio bares his fangs, and fires off another bolt of glowing energy. His hands are shaking, and his aim is just slightly off. The shadowy figure isn't hit, but it does leave, retreating back through the canopy.]

[Zidane's heart is thumping and his own hands start to tremble. His eyes don't leave the creature until it is out of his sight and with that, he lets out a massive sigh of relief, drops his daggers and collapses on the floor, as the deadly fear in his heart starts to leave.

After a few moments of catching his breath, he eventually speaks.].......Man, I owe you one.

[Yukio doesn't collapse, but he does lean against a tree, bracing himself up on the trunk. His tongue flicks out, tastes the air a few times to try and see if that thing's still around. His hands shake.]

I'm sorry I didn't notice that thing sooner. [What kind of demon was it? His mind races, sorting through the options. It was probably something he doesn't know, something from another world.]

[He shakes his head.] Hey. Don't worry 'bout it. I didn't either. I'm just glad we realised what was going on when we did. [But god it's hard to get him to shake like that. He can get angry and lose his temper when his friends get hurt but most of the time, he can keep his cool and take control in a dangerous and terrifying situation. Just what kind of monster was it to get that sort of reaction out of him? And this Okumura guy too. After all, they could have fought each other.]

May Intro: I'll Be Scrolling Through Your Shrine

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