July Event: Riding the Wave

[lifeaftr_mods]

JULY EVENT: RIDING THE WAVE

Who: Everyone!
What: The Jormun reappear to allow some transformative fun...and potentially some underwater exploration as well
When: July 10th and onward
Where: Ensō and the ocean floor around it
Warnings: Potential (and fully optional) body/transformation horror may arise when undergoing shifts from land-based to sea-based shapes, and vice versa. Otherwise, tag as you go!

I'll See You on the Other Side
The Jormun resurfaced to greet their old allies on July 8th, bringing with them the offer to explore the ocean floor alongside them. They're not the only old friend that's made a return, however. The kaleidoshells, placid, rainbow-tinted creatures reminiscent of sea turtles, have also made their way to Ensō's shores for their nesting season. For much of the month of July, you'll have to tread carefully around mounds of sand hiding delicate heaps of kaleidoshell eggs. Those of you uninterested in sea exploration can remain on the surface, if you like - the kaleidoshells can make for a stunning sight if you're glimpsing them for the first time as their shells throw off vibrant rainbow swirls of light reflected into the ocean waters.

Predators are always keen to feast on easy prey, and kaleidoshell eggs are no exception. If you feel like protecting them from any hungry slypers or pterax, you'll find that some of the Jormun are happy to stick on the surface with you and assist. They'll even lend you a schlacknorkcvic, which is the Jormun equivalent of a simple driftwood training staff, to help keep any thieving creatures away from the nests of kaleidoshell eggs - though they recommend that you do so peacefully, if possible.

Get Carried Away
Or you can brave the sea waters with the Jormun, instead. With the help of the sne'akleriad pendant, your new, aquatic shape will allow you to navigate the waters just as easily as they. Whether you intend to make use of this new skill to go roaming about and explore some of Ensō's uncharted ocean squares, take a look at that underwater structure that's been sighted before, or just have a joyous time beneath the waves with your new scaly, tentacled, flippered, or be-gilled form, the choice is yours.

---

In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Underwater City Exploration Page
[ ♆ ] Jormun NPC Information
[ ♆ ] Ensō's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] July 8th: The Jormun and the kaleidoshells return to Ensō's shores
[ ♆ ] July 10th: Underwater exploration begins
[ ♆ ] July 17th: Part Two of our second year anniversary Test Drive Meme goes up
[ ♆ ] July 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs
[ ♆ ] July 22nd: The final island in this voting round appears
[ ♆ ] July 25th: The Jormun return to their home beneath the waves

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[thermalwind]

[He scrubs at his face and puts the pieces together in his head. It's not a complete map. Umui is their quarantine island.] Not Umui.

[He says, his voice a little rougher than usual. He's spent a lot of time down in the depths. It feels like home, like space but it isn't as unforgiving. Battle is home too. He needs to find the answers.]

I don't think it was Enso either. It seems like each island has a god. Enso is Storyteller's. Tempide...I don't know who it belonged to. But Zizyphus sank into the sea when we killed Rapsho.

[He traces over the drawing again with one hand. He writes below it. Archive? Cartography? Records? He rests his chin in the palm of his hand and thinks it over.]

Maybe we can find some clues in other places for what that building is. We know it's important. It has to have some official name or someone will mention it in a description.

[deathfindsaway]

[He hums as he thinks it over, trying to put everything together.]

Isn't there... another temple, on this island? Do you think it may be possible that Tempide was once the Storyteller's, until something happened? Or perhaps the god that left that other temple was given ground here, or mourned.

[Kravitz just sighs. It's frustrating to know so little. He wishes he knew more.]

All I know is this has been going on so much longer than I once thought. We're working in the realm of thousands of years. Even for someone who's been around as long as I have, this is... extensive. It's a lot to comprehend.

[thermalwind]

Take your time with it. [Keith says kindly,] There might be a temple down there. The god of that island whatever the name of it was, might be dead.

[They could be Rapsho’s but he won’t say it. He will build his evidence without letting himself by swayed by his gut. For once.]

I think all the islands have a god or once did. ...it is a lot to comprehend. No matter how old we are.

[He sighs. He is well aware he might live for a long, long time. He doesn’t want to think about it.]

But they could have been Storyteller’s people once. We don’t know enough yet to confirm it.

[deathfindsaway]

It doesn't feel like we know enough about anything, to be frank. Getting all of this in hackneyed bits and pieces only makes it harder to understand.

[He sighs again, bringing a hand to his temple.]

I am just-- I'm not saying I've never worked on tough cases, or handled a lack of information. But there was always a contact should things go horribly awry. The Raven Queen's knowledge was not infinite, of course, but she always had something. The waiting of things to drop into our laps simply feels useless when I could always solve it before.

[thermalwind]

[Even when he left for the Blades there was somewhere to fly. He had a direction to let his fighter go. It wasn’t endless loss and piece meal crumbs.] ...No, I agree with you.

We have so little in how long? We need more. Something solid. I’ve never had a case this difficult. Even when I was stuck in an abyss...I knew where I was going. Here it’s like we’re running from place to place in hopes we’ll find anything’s!

[His voice grows as frustrated as he feels by the end and he curls one hand into a fist.] it isn’t like we aren’t trying. We are doing everything we can!

[deathfindsaway]

[It's nice for a moment to just feel that emotion, know he isn't alone in having it. Kravitz nods sharply, and his mind is already reeling for action.]

You're right. I'm-- I'm going to speak to the Storyteller. Present what we have, and perhaps it will jog their memory. Anything at this point is necessary to make a direction. And in the meantime, I'll be... working on archives, I suppose. Ensure the information is all readily available when we need it. But that doesn't stop it from being so frustrating.

[Welcome to Kravitz's version of problem solving- aggressively fix the issue as fast as possible so there's no time to worry about it. That's the right way to go about this, right?]

[thermalwind]

[Keith starts to apologize for his temper and stops. Kravitz has felt just as frustrated and vented a bit. He is terrible at social anything but that has the ring of two friends sharing their troubles. He swallows and leans back.]

Only ways I know to burn off that kind of energy is sparring or running it out. Or I guess, swimming but that’s kind of work related right now.

[He isn’t confident they can fix this fast. Keith shifts his feet. A run or a fight would be so good right now. He has a lot of energy to burn off.]

[deathfindsaway]

[Honestly, Kravitz never thought of doing something physical to burn off that kind of energy. Sure, his bounties certainly give him a thrill, but when your body is all a construct it's hard to imagine flexing its muscles as relief.

But he does raise an eyebrow at the suggestion, suddenly curious.]

I don't know how good I would be at a run, but... what do you do, exactly, when you spar for something like this? I'm afraid most of my combat experience is er, a little deadlier than that.

[Keith saw the way his scythe moved quite a while ago. Clearly, he'd know what Kravitz was capable of.]

[thermalwind]

[Sometimes running is all that hells. He's good at it in more ways than one. Keith cracks the knuckles of his hands one after the other. A run wouldn't cut it this time. Fights are always better. Maybe there's something wrong with him that pain and battle clear his head.]

Depends on my partner. I've used practice weapons, just staves, hand to hand. It's up to what feels best so we can give it our all while still keeping a measure of control over ourselves.

I don't have any practice staves or blades. Might be best to just use our fists.

[deathfindsaway]

[Truly, Kravitz couldn't blame him. There was always something about getting a case he could work on that fired up his mind, made him think more critically. Maybe it was the monotony of the rest of his service, but in a sense he understands. He's simply never had someone he could count as on his side before to ask for something like this.]

I'm not certain how good I am at hand-to-hand, I confess. My body was much less corporeal before this island.

[But he could try. Truthfully, without having a bounty to chase or a way to wrap this up, it would at least grant some kind of closure.]

Here. Perhaps not in the library at least.

[thermalwind]

Yeah, not here. [He grips the table and pushes himself up in one smooth movement. Something about the moment cracks the walls Keith puts up inside himself to shield his heart from others. He looks tired, worn around the edges but a fire burns in his eyes.

He gestures for Kravitz to follow him and moves to walk away.] Outside. I'll show you proper hand to hand combat...the Galra way. It's easy to adapt and share, Galra are all over the board in size and speed.

[One more piece of himself shared with his friend. It's nice even if these days he worries so much about losing and losing.]

[deathfindsaway]

[Honestly, he's a little excited about this kind of proposal. Kravitz finds himself outside of societal norms a lot, and this is no exception, so the act of being invited to do something like this is... interesting. A little intimate. He's still not really sure how to feel about things like that.

But he stands anyway, following Keith out, a little smile on his face.]

I'll take it to note. I don't usually perform such close combat, but I can't say it won't be useful considering the myriad of dangers we face here. Just show me where you think is best.