[OPENING] island hub - day 1

[spellbindmods]

Who: All Characters
Where: Main Hub
When: Day 1
Open/Closed: Open to All

TDM threads can be considered canon if you so choose, they contain the power that you apped with and both parties confer that the thread is canon.

For characters that were on the TDM and who were not accepted/didn't app, these characters will be considered dropped characters that were magicked away.

Night has fallen upon everyone. It's thus far been an eventful day -- you've met some new people, discovered some new aspects of yourself that weren't there before you appeared here (however that might have happened). The original inhabitants of the island have been working hard to prepare a few things. One activity might have been one you were a part of, but there's still time to get your hands dirty. A ▢ Brie has rolled out a large copper pot and created a pit on the beach. It's unrealistic to think everyone can subsist on the few foods she's collected from other words and boar jerky alone. She's got a few boar carcasses sitting on the beach that need attending to as well. Your characters can help feed themselves and others, and here's what needs to be done: Fire needs to be started for cooking the meat AND a large bonfire for light and warmth. The large copper bowl needs to be filled with water. Crabs need to be bravely collected from the bath house for boiling. The boar needs to be either cut up for kebabs or stuck through. Does your character know anything about spit-roasting? Any other helpful magical skills are welcome to help make food. Post feasting, there are dozens of crabs and a pile of roasted boar meet that are up for eating. Even if you didn't offer to help in making any of the food, they're open to eat it -- even if the true helpers may give you dirty looks. The boar is fine, if not a little bland and chewy, but it's probably better than the jerky. The crab is delicious, if not a little tasteless...there problem with the crab isn't exactly the taste, though. B ▢ The crab isn't a species that's immediately edible for most species, though your character will grow to get used to it eventually. For now, the meat isn't settling well within your character's system. Your character will experience sweats, a high fever, blurred vision, potential vomiting, hives...it's very obvious their body is rejecting the unfamiliar meat. This may also cause a bit of an issue with your character's powers. They're still getting physically and mentally acclimated to these new changes, so expect their telepathy and magic to go a little haywire.

It's almost completely dark outside when the next event of the evening happens. You're living your life when you see it out of the corner of your eye -- it's absolutely hard to miss. What you see is a large lit caravan, larger than even an army tank. It's bright white and shining, covered with golden, ornate details that emanate an even more dazzling sparkle. The entire thing is aglow, and it's quickly coming towards the large bonfire that's been made. It's not rolling across the sand, but instead it's floating, and so is a matching trunk that's sailing along next to a figure beside the caravan. C ▢ A tall, slender woman has also come along with the large caravan, quickly opening the trunk that eventually lands on the sand with a large thud. She's handing out sacks, very similar to the ones previously in the large lobster cage. These contain a parka, a type of candy of your choice, a bottle of water, a large shard from a broken mirror and a letter rolled up and bound with a roll of twine. There are two other thread options associated with this prompt: Genette's top level and her telepathy training post. Around the same time as Genette is handing out this new little goody bag, you suddenly receive a telepathic message. It might seem a little strange at first -- but on that note, what about tonight isn't strange? D ▢ The telepathic message your character will receive is a simple one: Hello. It shows up in text form across your character's line of vision and it doesn't go away until they respond back, though the message that's sent out won't go to the original telepath. Instead it will ping pong to a random person in the group. You've made a new friend! After you've met Genette, she's also got a few more supplies that she pulls out a small door in the base of the caravan. She's insistent that you only get two items, since there aren't exactly a lot of them to go around! E ▢ The last of the starter supplies are being handed out, and these are items that are more cumbersome or rare -- they may not be immediately useful for your character, but maybe you can make use of them somehow, whether eventually in another world or with your power. An electronic/technology: these can be as obvious as an MP3 player, as useless as a garage door motor or as scandalous as a Hitachi Magic Wand. If it can be powered by electricity or batteries, there's a tub of them. They're also partially charged if they don't need constant electricity to work. A fashion accessory: there are a lot of these, surprisingly. Flower crowns, belts, bras, shoes, earrings, other types of jewelry. Your character can look cute while suffering from crab vomiting. Books and stationary: maps of various worlds, books written in a myriad of languages (maybe even one you recognize!), writing paper, ink pens, gel pens, stickers. Any kind of stationary can be found here. Other household items: this can include cleaning supplies, furniture, and other miscellaneous goods. These won't be personal affects from your character's home, but they may be useful! Feel free to come up with unusual or alien items -- these have come from all over the universe, remember!

As the night winds down, it's recommended by Brie that you should probably go to be in your hut -- or at the very least get somewhere inside. There are a lot of people around the camp, however, so it's no surprise that there are a few people waiting around to get their fill of food and supplies before heading to bed. The noise of the new members and the light of the fire have attracted a very large pack of boars, who you'll later find make routine trips to the beach every night. Boar mating season has made the wild hogs rather testy, and the smell of food -- even if it's their own boar brethren -- have made them even more volatile. F ▢ If your character isn't quick to get inside tonight, they're likely to get a boar charging at them. The chances are doubled if they happen to be holding onto a food item. Female boars can leave a few bruises and trample you, but beware the males -- they've got tusks. However, it's not like staying up at night doesn't have its advantages. Once midnight hits, another species of animal makes its regular rounds across the base camp. In the sky, characters can see an Aurora Borealis-like sight. Instead of being dancing green and blue lights, however, the reality is that they are a massive species of space worm, and hundreds are wiggling past on their way to travel back home. They're shimmering and in every color imaginable, lighting up the sky with their magnificent hues. G ▢ The space worms operate outside the natural barrier of the hub, but they still are in close enough proximity to shed a film as they travel. If you're still awake, boars or no, you'll be in the middle of a shower. The film sheds from the worms and enters the atmosphere, creating multi-colored, sweet-smelling mists of worm water vapor. Worm water vapor is kind of weird, but it's also pretty cool. It's also calming, and that's a bonus. Inhale too much and you might become a little too calm.

Comments

[teratias]

What, schooling?

[Waver tilts his head slightly, looking for clarification.]

Yeah, it is. University is optional, but encouraged.

[imsorey]

[nodding confirmation at his question]

I grew up in a small village at the top of a mountain, so we didn't exactly have a school to go to. I know they've got them in the bigger cities! But even then I don't know if it's standard to have a formal education. It must be pretty nice to live in a place that encourages that everyone learn as much as they can about the world.

[teratias]

I see. Is your approach to this language thing all instinct, or did you gain it elsewhere?

[Which is probably a rude question, but for Waver, the thought doesn't occur to him.]

[imsorey]

[it's a straightforward question, and it's preferable to not asking what he wants directly, which Sorey appreciates.]

A mix of both. A lot of ruins on the mountain where I grew up have text written in the ancient tongue; since I wanted to read them I had to pick up the language. A lot of it was guessing until things started to make sense, but my gramps gave me a few pointers on where to start too. I had something to go off of, but not a lot. I figure this will be pretty close to that.

[teratias]

[Ruins? Well that is interesting. And impressive to just pick that up.]

That's really impressive. But what kind of ruins, exactly? Greek, Roman, something else?

[imsorey]

[since the first two don't sound like anything he's heard of, he leans towards the last option.]

"Something else" most likely. I've never heard of Greek or Roman civilizations. They're the remain of the civilizations that were on the continent of Glenwood before the people there today. Some of them were made with a combination of human skill and seraphic artes, so in at least some cases you could consider them the ruins of the seraphim just as much as humans.

[teratias]

[Other worlds, right. Waver listens, and he perks slightly at the phrase 'seraphic artes' and 'seraphim.' Those are angels, if he's remembering right.]

Okay, what're seraphic artes?

[imsorey]

They're, uh...

[there's a pause as he takes a moment to try and think of how to describe it to someone who has never been to Glenwood before, never seen the world or heard the tales passed down through time.]

The seraphim are powerful spirits that have elemental attributes, and seraphic artes are the abilities that they can use. A seraphim of fire would have fire artes, and a seraphim of water would have water artes.

[teratias]

Oh, so they correspond to earth, air, water, and fire? [That was an easy enough concept for him to get to grips with. Familiar, even.]

[imsorey]

That's right!

[there are some exceptions to the rules, he knows, but they're ultimately still exceptions so he doesn't bother to bring those up.]

They're not all-powerful, but if they hone their abilities they can be a formidable force.

[teratias]

Right. But uh, do they serve a particular purpose in your world? Like gods or...?

[imsorey]

Well, yeah. They help to maintain balance in the land and look after the people who live within their domain.

[he offers a small smile when he realizes that probably isn't a good enough explanation, but it's hard to know where to start.]

I'm guessing that might not make a lot of sense if you've never been there. You don't have malevolence on your world, do you?

[teratias]

[Waver shakes his head no.]

Given I don't even know what that's supposed to mean in context? No.

[imsorey]

Malevolence is a sort of...spiritual impurity that happens in the world. It's in everything, but it should be manageable to deal with if you can find a balance. If you don't it can cause disasters and wreak havoc on everything. The seraphim can help to maintain the balance that's needed so that the world doesn't fall into chaos.

[he tries to find the right way to emphasize the words, but shakes his head a little when it falls flat in his ears]

It's a little convoluted from there, though. I can't explain it very well.

[teratias]

You put the basics forth pretty well. [Waver hoped that was a good way of saying well done? Whatever.]

And the ruins are related to all of that? I think I follow.

[imsorey]

[he feels praised nonetheless; the concepts are vague things even on his own world, difficult to describe without also showing. although he's sure it's more a testament to Waver's intellect than his own explanation, it's enough to keep him going.]

They are! We don't have many written records of who built them, so a lot of speculation as to exactly how some of them were created, and for what purpose. At least some of the ruins show a clear sign of being made by both man and seraphim, which leads us to believe that there was definitely once a time when the two were able to coexist with one another and sustained that time of peace long enough to build up entire civilizations. Modern times are...well, they've been more or less like the time of chaos I was mentioning. Most humans can't see seraphim or interact with them, and the world is out of balance. We've been working to fix that, and those ruins are an invaluable source of information on the subject if we can take the time to examine all of them.

[he'll keep going if Waver doesn't stop him. stop him before it's too late, Waver.]

[teratias]

[Too late, this is absolutely fascinating. Waver pauses, then makes a very singular suggestion that says everything about his feelings on this.]

Do you want to find a place to sit and keep talking about this?

[imsorey]

[neither of them are going to get any sleep now. but he quickly obliges, looking around to find a good, comfortable spot for both of them to sit.]

Sure, if you don't mind! I'd be interested to hear more about your world too.

[teratias]

[Waver nods, looking around for a place to sit. There's a little patch with logs not far away, and he gestures towards it.]

Over there looks good.