Realm of Stories

In an unexpected plot twist, the one everyone believed to be the main hero, Peter Pan himself, turned out to be the Story Eater in disguise. It was only due to the story's own villains that its true nature was revealed and the aid from the Aspects to beat it back.

But of course, the Story Eater would not give up. The Book of Peter Pan was one of the few stories that had a unique connection to the realm of dreams and the Aspects had been a thorn in its side for long enough. With the number of stories restored and the Storyteller's power growing, it knew it would only be a matter of time before the power between the two sides would start to balance out and that was not something it wanted.

Thus in an attempt to rid itself of the otherworldly "heroes," the Story Eater tore through Neverland, using its powers to traverse through time and space to create a new opening. The vacuum of power from the rift started to draw everything in even as the Book itself tried to mend the tear. Not missing its chance, the Story Eater cast a strong blast of wind that swept everyone and into the rift—and then followed after them.

The sense of tumbling through unknown darkness only lasts for a few moments before the Aspects find themselves in a strange new place—a strange new world. Some passed through unscathed, some are found to have no recollection of the Realm of Stories, and others are found missing altogether.

And all are no longer bound to their Essence.

Some time passes and as questions arise, white, paper birds flutter by the Aspects in the new world before they unfurl to reveal a message.



Although the words were meant to be reassuring, it had a hint of warning as well—the Story Eater was still out there, possibly in this new world they found themselves in. Instead of the powers of the Essences they had grown familiar with, they must now learn new ones. Would it be enough to take down the Story Eater should they face it again?

That would be a story for another time...

There's a ruckus kicking up outside of the castle gates as mouse soldiers start to gather. The toys are on edge, watching warily from the windows and some already preparing for a battle...and unlike in the past, instead of drifting out of consciousness they will witness the changes occur in front of their very eyes, golden white text etching into the air as a bodiless voice narrates what has transpired.

The Toy Representative takes it upon himself to give Clarabelle a tour of the castle/factory, despite Clarabelle being incredibly unamused and cranky about the whole situation. On the tour, she's makes a bit of a nuisance of herself, ignoring warnings to stay out of the West Wing and causing general problems until the Representative is able to corral her and get her to behave.

The Sugar Plum Fairy hears that her charge is avoiding Clarabelle despite everything riding on him making nice with the girl and pops in for a visit. She points out that the Beast is simply running from his own emotions and that nothing will change if he closes his eyes to the truth. The Beast, in turn, points out that he doesn't feel as if he deserves Clarabelle's affections when he looks like this. The Fairy, patient and kind as always, eventually convinces him that he won't know if she likes him until he tries, and suggests that he learn her hobbies and to be honest with the girl.

A puppet, frustrated with how slow progress has been on breaking the curse, runs into one of the soft toys. The two get to gossiping and the soft toy pulls out a mirror he claims will help speed things along without requiring the Beast and Clarabelle get together. The puppet seems unsure, but the soft toy insists this is totally safe. When the puppet refuses again, the soft toy reveals himself to be the Mouse King. In a panic, the puppet breaks the magic mirror, sending shards flying; these shards turn into dark shadowy reflections of the Mouse King and the puppet. In the chaos, the puppet slips away, leaving the Mouse King to fight the reflections alone.

After meeting with the Fairy, the Beast arranges a meeting with Clarabelle, figuring that as the daughter of a toymaker she might know how to fix up the castle-turned-toy factory and make things a little nicer here. Clarabelle gets to the meeting room first, where she finds the music box that was meant to be her birthday present. Upon touching it, however, she activates an enchantment that forces her and later the Beast when he arrives to waltz and sing instead of talk. In between the steps and the notes, the two come to an understanding; Clarabelle agrees to stay for a while and help out, once the Beast explains that he is cursed to be here, and the Beast agrees to look into making Clarabelle another music box. The two part on good terms.

The Sugar Plum Fairy flies off after making sure that her little trick with the music box worked, only to run into the Mouse King skulking around after his run in with the reflections. She greets him and asks him what, exactly, he's doing here? The Mouse King says he was simply curious if this was Beast's castle and asks how the former Prince is handling his curse and what the Sugar Plum Fairy was doing here. The two begin to debate on what, exactly, the Beast should do; the Fairy wants him to break the curse and plans to help him with that, while the Mouse King thinks he should just get used to it all and move on with his life. The two eventually part, unable to reach any sort of middle ground.

Despite growing closer and becoming friends with the Beast, Clarabelle still misses her father. One day, the Beast brings a magic mirror to Clarabelle so that she may check up on her father. The mirror shows Drosselmeyer in bed, horribly ill and calling for his daughter. Without a moment's hesitation, the Beast tells Clarabelle she should go to her father and take one of the toy servants with her for help. Clarabelle kisses the Beast's cheek and thanks him before leaving to return to her home and her father.

Clarabelle arrives home to tend to her father, a little alpaca maid toy having accompanied her. "Drosselmeyer" is surprised to hear his daughter's voice; Clarabelle is surprised to see that her father isn't wearing his eyepatch and that he's covered the wrong eye. Instantly the Mouse King reveals himself and attacks Clarabelle and the maid toy, eager to take her captive and ruin everything. Clarabelle, fully sick of all of this nonsense, defends herself and knocks the Mouse King unconscious before fleeing.

As the narration fills the air, the words drift into the walls, the ground, inside the castle, outside—as the words pass through the environment, bursts of color and sound crackle around until the world looks as vibrant as any other. However there is darkness in the air, one not caused by the Story's decay but what is about to transpire.

Outside the castle grounds have transformed into a colorful game board, filled with pitfalls and treasure that could either help or hinder those who try to traverse it. The Mouse King's army breach the outer walls, but the toys, now armed, rally and charge forward, giving it their all to fight and protect their master's home. While the war wages outside, the Aspects must quickly complete their scenes while helping defend the castle.

The third Act is underway! This is the designated log for all Main Scenes. Others are free to create their own toplevels for the Sub Quests, which are detailed below. Each Main Scene has their own unique toplevel and those cast into the roles are to thread their scene under each. All scene instructions are provided in the toplevels.

Everything from the last Act is carrying over to this one. This includes characters having their toy forms, but they have more control and freedom over what form they take.

Finally, just to be clear, characters who are in Main Scenes are not immediately dropped into their location and will have to head to the designated door and then return. Threading all of that isn't necessary, but it's to help give a better idea that characters can take a break between scenes or wait a bit to help with other things like the Sub Quests.

Feel free to refer to the Game Notes for more detailed info as well as ask questions or clarifications.

Spring has returned to the Index and with it a whole host of new problems. Once again, everyone's journals flash with light to indicate a message from the Storyteller.

Good evening, everyone. We have located the next Draft in need of your services. It is once again two stories that have blended into one, though we hope it won't be quite so dark as the last one. Please report to the Draftsroom at your earliest convenience.

The Draft this time is very different from FrankenHyde, perhaps to everyone's relief. It's a cheerier pink-and-red, covered in gorgeous sugar roses...though it appears a mouse has been chewing on the binding and there are some claw marks. It's still better than the last one, and as everyone passes through the pages everything smells of roses and fresh cookies.

This is The Sugar Plum Beast.

The village of Amande is a quaint little thing, known for its baked goods and sweet treats and not much else. Well, and the eerie forest that is most certainly not haunted by a terrible beastly creature despite what rumors say, but it's really the goodies that get people to stay a while on their travels. The houses are all adorably rustic cottages, everything is festooned in flowers (particularly roses), and it's almost always sunny during the day with just enough of a light rain to keep the flowers thriving.

In this village lives the skilled toymaker Drosselmeyer and his lovely daughter Clarabelle, two of the local oddities but well-loved by most of the other villagers. They've lived here for most of Clarabelle's life after fleeing a mysterious incident that Drosselmeyer refuses to discuss and Clarabelle does not remember.

It's the end of spring and the start of summer when everyone arrives, finding themselves just outside the local inn where they will find apartments to stay in during this Campaign. In the center of town are flowered arches that will lead into each of the scenes.

Greetings and welcome to the intro log for Forgotten Tales! There are no hard and fast rules here. Just include your Character, canon, and essence in the subject line and post away! Network prompts are allowed in the intro log, so feel free to put one in.

In terms of timeline, the intro log can span over several days, so don't feel as if everything has to happen all at once. You are also free to post your own logs at any time, and can even take these prompts for them! Reminder: some Test Drive threads can carry over!