The Watchers of Night (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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daybreakacademy2020-05-20 05:47 pm
thewatchers) wrote in daybreakacademy2020-05-20 05:47 pm
Entry tags:
Into the Depths
INTO THE DEPTHS
Log Comm | Network Comm | OOC Comm | Navigation
Something was riding, an omen of great things to come. Focusing on this lead, the Academy sent a team to follow the Dullahan on it's ride.
A. Descent
The Dullahan was persistent, and the more observant that followed would realize that the Fae was intentionally leading them through the thin veil into the Outlands. The surroundings get gradually less and less normal, less familiar until they’re fully into a place that doesn’t feel touched by humanity at all. The air has a strange, salty tinge that can be tasted on the tongue as strangely bare, bleach-white trees reach up into the sky, reedy tendril-like grass crunches under the feet, with bizarre flat and fan-like protrusions rising up and jabbing into the air. Be warned, however; careless contact with any of these features draws blood, they’re all rough-textured and sharp.
Here and there, more and more as the dullahan proceeds, bodies are scattered across the ground and the trees. None are human; in many cases, some aren’t even approaching humans. But they are all dead, without doubt, their pieces torn and scattered across what must have been homes once and are now broken craters, like wounds in the world.
B. Ambush
The unnatural horse suddenly halts, all four hooves planted in the muddy ground, snorting heavily. The headless rider does not try to force his steed on- instead, he readies his weapon.
“Thy mulish persistence begins to become tiresome.”
Utultar’s presence warps the world around him, like a cloak. His eye gleams red, and the sky itself seems to darken. The Dullahan’s horse screams a challenge and charges.
“Begone from my sight, insects.”
His assault is sudden and terrifying; a series of blasts that seem to tear apart the world, hungry and malevolent. The force of their deployment alone, not to mention the impact, is enough to throw people around like dolls, scattering them far and wide.
C. Aftermath
The light was blinding, and it felt as though you were lucky to be alive after it - let alone being able to stand. The strange bleach-white forest seems to stretch on forever, somehow looking dark and gloomy despite their stark color and the lack of foliage. On the pearl-white mud rose small trickles of a blue-black inky liquid that seem to roll rivets into a trail. Perhaps it will guide you to the others who have been separated - it’s better to find someone quick, as it’s unlikely that the Herald is the only threat in this place.
At points, the strange fluid suddenly stops, forming a small puddle before solidifying, lightening in color and warping, leaving a mask behind, and a soft whisper swims in the briny air, the opening to every story known, a promise of power and safety. Without the mask, the strange air makes it hard to breathe, and even harder to think; eventually, the pull will be too strong to resist.
Wearing a mask makes things seem brighter and more colorful; the physical world wavers, to be replaced by strange patterns and symbols and the sense that you’re inside a dream, or a storybook - a place both real and unreal. Following them will lead you to your fellow travelers, whose masks and minds have created colorful storyscapes in which you can easily slip into.
D. Water?
Eventually, as you walk through your own stories and each other’s, you’ll come to the edge of a vast, blue sea. Something as large as an island, imprisoned by three massive chains biting into the ground, wallows uncomfortably, making pained calls that echo across that vast space. Even from a distance, it’s clear to see: it bleeds the same deep, dark blue as the ‘water’ that surrounds it.
It wants to be free, that much is clear. And for those who look closely at the scraps and ruins that litter this vast shore, they may find clear hints to this being’s true nature, and the benefits to freeing it:
-A great deal of Utultar’s power to make and maintain a large library of contracts comes from bleeding this creature and bathing in - and drinking - a regular, fresh supply of its blood. Freeing it will weaken him significantly, setting back his progress to usher in Nightfall.
-The creature is a primordial fae called Nammu-Ninsiku, and was the first to Contract a being on Earth. It has the ability to change or nullify one condition of any contract and will grant one such ‘wish’ to the ones who have a direct hand in freeing it by putting on the masks. This wish can be transferred to a willing recipient if both parties are amenable and the original bearer doesn’t want the responsibility. This wish may have an additional price, depending on the magnitude of the wish; the fae will inform the wisher if this is the case. It will never be anything fatal or too high to pay, but it may well be significant.
-The dead Outlands beings scattered among the coral forest were attempting to free Nammu-Ninsiku, and paid for it with their lives. The dullahan was just one of many of these beings and has been looking for an appropriate way to dispense revenge since the initial slaughter.
Of course, you might just want to free it for being a creature in pain. It’s up to you.)
((OOC Post is over Here for questions or planning))
Chains are first come, first served! If you want to volunteer your character for a mask, reply to the relevant toplevel in whatever way suits your character best and treat it as a starter you can jump off of.
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[ They're not afraid of the Outlands. Of course not. They were born here, long ago. The sight of death doesn't disturb them. That, too, is something they were born to.
But there is one thing they do fear and that's the sight of another daemon. They still where they are, hiding behind another's legs, utterly powerless in this form. And the daemon doesn't even think twice. In seconds, everyone around is swept up and thrown.
There's no pain when they land, but there are tears in the fabric of their form. And something else, stirring in their chest. ]
Hello? Is anyone still out here? Hello?! [ They walk amidst the wreckage and ruins, a deep dread inside. ] Is anyone still alive...?
C - The Doll That Came To Life
[Through the woods, in a house on a hill, there lived no one at all. Beams of golden light streak through the windows of the house, the dust rising in a gentle waltz through the air just to settle again. Books sit on shelves and beds stay made and an old oven slowly rusts in a kitchen corner. A wind-up music box chokes out a gentle melody when wound just right and in the same room, a young girl's dress is lain out to wear, though long-since moth-eaten. Nothing has been touched for a very long time. Including the porcelain doll at the foot of the stairs.
The doll is of a larger size, dressed neatly in a frilled shirt and dress, golden curls hanging down from its head. It leans against the wall, its eyes shut, and its ball-jointed hands rest in its lap. It almost looks as though its been waiting for someone to come home.
The doll doesn't move no matter what is touched or explored throughout the house. It's only when someone picks the doll up that those eyelids lift behind the mask. The doll looks up.]
Hello. What is your name?
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Oh, uh... I'm just the prince. Do you have a name?
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I will have whatever name you give me, Prince. So as long as you give me one.
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Unfortunately that right answer took a left somewhere after being filtered through the latent bastard subroutines]
Emergency Rations.
[He feels something yank at his mind, desperately trying to drag him back on track.]
Um. Nevermind that. That's not right at all. I'm not sure why that came to mind.
["Scorpio?" It's easy for his thoughts to drift to the stars. The sky above was his closest friend for all those years in the tall, tall tower. But it seems a bit cruel, naming the doll after a scorpion after so embarrassing a mishap.]
Sira?
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[ They would never protest any name given to them, but apparently they're going to protest this one. They can't pin the reason why.
But, with a new name, they relax. This one fits better than they would have imagined. They bow a little. ]
Then I will be Sira. [ They brighten. ] Welcome home! Is there anything you'd like to play?
no subject
[The Prince looks around]
I'm sorry, you must be confused. I only came by for shelter for the night.
[But it does seem kind of rude to sleep in someone's home without offering them anything in return, even if that someone is a living doll.]
But I don't mind playing a game or two if you would like. I know a few word games if you like those. I also used to be quite fond of playing knight and...
[Behind the mask, his smile falters]
Well, maybe not that one. But I'm sure we can find something else.
no subject
Apparently not the one about knights. They reach to touch his hand.]
Let us play word games, Prince. We'll have so much fun. I know you'll like it here.
no subject
[He should go easy. For all he knows, the doll was only just born and doesn't have anywhere near the same lexicon that he has.
But still the Prince's eyes shine with mischief. His mask seems a little less human in the moonlight, but only for a moment. Brief and probably nothing at all.]
"Mix."
no subject
"Xenogamy"!
[
Get wrecked.]1/2
The doll's a worthy opponent after all.]
2/2
"Ylem."
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"Matrimony."
I like this game.
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You're certainly better at it than I imagined.
..."Ylang ylang."
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[ The doll beams. ]
"Gaiety."
B
She groans as she pushes herself up to her knees. She yells out but her voice is a bit hoarse.]
Someone out there?! [Where did everyone else go?]
no subject
[ Oh, they hope someone good has heard them. They don't want to die. Not yet, not like this. They shouldn't have come here. What if that daemon is still around? What if their progenitors show...? ]
Hello?
[ The little doll keeps wandering. ]