realmofstories | Opening Log: Welcome to the Index + Halloween Festival

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Opening Log: Welcome to the Index + Halloween Festival

Opening Intro Log: October 2018—

§ instructions.
Greetings and welcome to the first 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!

For more information, refer to the accompanying Game Notes.

§ greetings from the storyteller.

It's no surprise that everyone who first enters the Realm of Stories will feel disoriented, especially when their soul is basically fused with that of another. Fortunately, there is someone who is more than willing to explain things—just not physically. Once the initial dizziness and confusion passes, be it through the pages of the journal glowing in their hands or through telepathy, the same "voice" who sought them out and pleaded for their aid will speak.

Greetings, Aspect, for that is what you are now. We thank you for your agreement in helping fight against the Story Eater. For those whom we had to bring in for your own safety—forgive us. Once we have enough power we will return you to your worlds should you so choose.

All of you have been gifted with the essence of a powerful character from one of the many stories now lost to the Story Eater. We did not choose it—it chose you. If you touch the medallion hanging on your journal, its name will be revealed to you and you are welcome to browse through the Grand Library to read their stories.

But time is of the essence. Even now we feel the loss of yet another Book and many more will follow. We will contemplate and decide on a Draft to send you to, so in the meantime, please explore the city and learn what you can. You should have been given everything you will need for your temporary stay here in the Index, and the city residents have been informed of your coming.

Keep your journal close—we will reach out to you again.

The message will remain within the first few pages of the journal, and past it are other informative passages that the newly arrived may find useful. Information such as how to use the journal, local maps of the Index, notable businesses, where they may find their own unique residence, even names of other Aspects who have arrived. And despite the seemingly endless blank pages when rifling through, the journal itself remains thin and light when closed.

So for now, all they can do is wait and learn more about themselves and each other.

§ prompts.

¶ I. Getting to Know Your "New Character." Even after being told by the Storyteller about everything, there's still a lot to learn. There's also the satchel and journal to investigate and figuring out where they live. In any case, firsthand experience and experimentation is the best way to figure things out.

A. Brushing Up on the Lore. Perhaps a trip to the Grand Library to read up on the essence's stories wouldn't be such a bad idea. It might help give the Aspect some ideas as to what they can do. But you know, it would be their luck to have a large tome dedicated to their stories way high up on a top shelf. And the ladder is rusty. Might need some help.
B. Magic Journals. For those of the modern era, needing to write is going to be an interesting exercise. But after reading the instructions, maybe they want to reach out, see who else is out there. Or troll people with dumb doodles.
C. Watch What You're Doing! Testing out a new spell or weapon? Great! Just be mindful of the surroundings—this is all new and no one has thought to create a special training area for everyone (yet). And while most of the locals are happy and hopeful about their potential heroes, broken windows or almost burning one of them won't go over too well.

¶ II. A Halloween Festival. Despite the threat of the Story Eater always looming somewhere outside in the Void, the residents are preparing for the Halloween season. With so many stories either fostering or born from the traditions, it's no surprise that survivors of said ghastly, sometimes fun tales are throwing their all to keep the spirit of their stories alive, especially with help now arriving. What better way to meet the residents than participating and helping out? Might learn a few things about their new abilities, too, and can even put on a different costume.

A. Batty Books. A few well meaning young wizards and witches in training had hoped to spice up the Grand Library with a few flying books. Unfortunately, they were a bit overzealous with their wandwork and now there are hoards of flying books overrunning and ransacking the place. Even worse, books of violent content are attacking, spitting out pages or clamping down on hapless victims. Hard covers are the worst, and watch out for all those paper cuts! Help capture these rogue books so the reverse spell can be cast, but be careful! They are still precious books and can't be damaged! If they are, well... There will be more than a few librarians wailing in mourning and will need to be taken care of.
B. Wild Jack o'Lanterns. Can't have Halloween without those scary pumpkins! Or silly ones if that's your preference. However, a few residents have gotten a little overzealous in their creations. From pumpkins bursting with fire like volcanoes to giant golems bumbling through the streets to some sprouting bat wings and flying all over the place dumping their pumpkin innards or candy corn on unsuspecting victims. Things are definitely getting out of hand, so either find some way to turn the pumpkins back to normal or just outright destroy them. Bonus points if the leftover pieces are collected to make pumpkin pie so nothing is wasted!
C. Beyond the Grave...? What's spookier than haunted graveyards? Graves that actually are haunted. Storybook characters of the skeletal and ghoulish nature have opened their neighborhood for a Fright Night Challenge, happy to use their homes to spook those who dare to tread near. And there are a few openings for volunteers for that night's haunting. Perhaps an Aspect could fit in? Or perhaps they'd like to go through the challenge instead. Just remember everyone is supposed to be friendly so try not to hurt them. Of course, some of the nastier residents might take this an opportunity, in which case anyone is free to bury them.
E. A Haunted Feast. During the evening hours, everyone is invited out to one of the larger plazas of the city for a chance to eat delicious meals prepared by a number of different businesses and volunteers. This is the perfect chance to unwind, mingle with everyone...until some sneaky young ghosts pilfer all the good food and desserts. They even have the gall to steal right off the plate! Try to stop them—or maybe one of the Aspects is among the thieves. If not, there may be a food fight on the horizon.

¶ III. Recreate Some Stories. The main reason the Aspects are in the Realm of Stories is to help restore and recreate the lost books. But it would be good if they got a little practice in how they can do that. While there isn't much to restore here in the Index, there are still plenty of opportunities to get the feel of "acting out" certain roles and scenes in the city. And who knows—maybe these little stories and plays will be written down and filed away in the Grand Library.

A. Make Your Own Horror Story. What's more fitting for Halloween then recreating or even creating frightfully scary stories? From nightmareish to silly, there are a number of storybook characters doing their best to relive their lost stories and could use a few volunteers.

» Roles: 1) ghoulish monsters, 2) unfortunate victims, 3) bloody murderers, 4) the last hero.
» Scenes: a) chasing, b) fighting, c) saving, d) the final blow.

It doesn't matter how the combinations work. Monsters could be fighting murderers to save the hero; heroes could be monsters; monsters could be victims; murderers could be the anti-hero; etc. The scenes can also be either be based on actual stories (perhaps the Aspect's) or just something random. Have fun with it!
B. The Adventures of the Little Scarecrow. In one of the many parks, a few older residents are recounting the favorite children's tale, "The Adventures of the Little Scarecrow," a tale of a little boy scarecrow who leaves his cornfield to explore the world beyond. Small puppets are being used, but it looks like they could have some help. These are elderly folk and their hands aren't what they used to be. Just follow their narration, shouldn't be a problem. Or for those feeling a bit more daring, they can act out the roles instead, even mixing with the puppets for stand-ins.

» Roles: 1) the little boy scarecrow, 2) the scary wolf, 3) the friendly crow, 4) the lost pig.
» Scenes: a) a battle of wit with the crow; b) running from the wolf; c) helping the pig (crow aid optional); d) getting lost with pig and crow; e) return of the wolf; f) back home to the fields (did the others survive??)

There are a lot of variations of how the story can go, just keep in mind it's supposed to be kid friendly.

¶ IV. Exploring the Index. The Index is a large, vast city inhabited by a large variety of characters from numerous stories. Because of this there is no uniform style to the city. One street could look like a normal street plucked out of a Victorian, English fairy tale and then the very next is made of candy. It makes for an interesting mishmash of cultures that somehow manages to get along. Most of the time, at least.

A. House Hunting. Among the items found in the satchel is a set of keys. These keys will magically lead their new owner to the house they will be living in for as long as they are in the Realm of Stories. The home will be styled to fit the essence and the location will also be fitting of that essence. It could be within the main city of the Index, outside of town, underwater, in the air—anywhere! Now if only the keys didn't take their own through...interesting, winding routes. Like through a random bakery or down someone's chimney. Have fun!
B. Decoration Wars. There is one particular section of the city that houses many of the more "ghoulish" storybook characters, and for this Halloween festival they've taken to their storybook roots to pull out the creepiest, ghastliest, and sometimes silliest decorations and themes possible. The thing is, they've become so overzealous that some of those decorations aren't just for show. With everyone on the block already high in competitive spirit, it's a bit of a war zone straight from a horror story as hanging skeletons and floating ghosts fight against one another via throwing pumpkins, rotten eggs, toilet paper, and stale candy to prove they have the scariest house. They may even pull one of the Aspects to try and win points.
C. Pumpkin Carriage Rides. All the taxi and transportation carriages have been changed to fit the season, so there are giant pumpkin carriages drawn through the streets. The horses vary from skeletal, ghostly, and even headless, and while some are genuine, others are just painted to look the part. They still enjoy apples, carrots, and a good scratch on the neck as thanks! Now the insides of the pumpkins are usually clean and look almost like a real carriage, but a few may still have raw pumpkin or giant seeds stuck to the inside. And if someone says the phrase, "Bippity Boppity Boo" they run the risk of the carriage shrinking, expanding, or even changing into something else entirely. Of course, how would they even know of such a phra—oh look at that, someone carved the words in small print on the walls...
D. Shopping Around. Everyone is arriving in a new set of clothes, and some may want to buy something more fitting of their own sense of style. Unfortunately they're going to have to wear something still in line with their essence's style, so compromises will need to be made. But hey, better to have multiple sets of clothes instead of wearing the same one all the time, right? It's not like this is a video game or something.
E. To the Edge. Those who wish to venture out of the city to travel to the edge of the world are free to do so. They may even see remnants of the last Segment pathways that once connected the Index to a lost Book, letters of the destination scratched through. And within the Void they will see scattered, torn pages floating in the far distance, some actually disintegrating into the darkness right before their eyes.

¶ V. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt! Especially in regards to the festival, anything can really happen.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He looks up to the sky with bewilderment, holding his top hat so it didn't fall off. This is the most amount of emotions this stoic man has shown since the start of this encounter.

Unbelievable. With an exasperated sigh, he pulls out his journal and makes a note of this. This is ridiculous....but also fascinating. So there was no bottom or an otherside to this "book". It just loops back to here and-...

He shuts his journal. What was he doing? He shakes his head and then turns his back to the void and Roku. He's had enough for now and was going to head back into town.]

[Man. Still nothing, really? Although Rokurou is looking this way and that—first to the forest where the rock disappeared, then to the sky above because what the crap, and then back into the gaping abyss of what—he does notice the guy jotting things down in the journal...

...Well, okay, guess taking notes of something as strange as this would be kind of useful. But you know, didn't they say that you should test something more than once?

So silently Rokurou grabs a stick, tosses it into the air once before catching it as if taking another moment to consider what he's about to do next...and then drops the stick into the gap.

WHERE WILL IT LAND.]

[He knows he's not going to find what he wants out here, not with this barrier. He rather make better use of his time elsewhere.

He's unaware Roku has continued with his testing, so when that stick finally makes it's return, it makes a direct hit on the Disciple's head, or at least, knocks his hat off. He whirls around, holding his cane out as if it were a weapon, his other hand hovering near his face, as if he was trying to keep something on his face that wasn't actually there. There's no one but Roku, still hanging out by the edge. He looks up and then back to him, glaring. Really?]

[There might have been an audible snerk that Rokurou hastily tries to cover up with a hand over his mouth with a cough, but. Yeah.]

Just wondered if it would happen again. Sorry.

[Clearly not as sorry as one should be. But he does stand and brush himself off.]

[You are not sorry, not one bit. He scowls, moving to pick up his top hat. Rather than put it back on his head though, he crosses his arms, tapping his cane irritably as he stares Rokurou down. Are you satisfied?

Fight him. It's the only way he'll learn his lesson. It's nothing worth fighting over.
You'll feel better afterwards.]

[No, you're right, he's not. If the guy had actually gotten hurt, though, maaaaybe, but so far nah. If anything he's just grown more curious about the guy, what with all the angry glaring.

Oblivious to the voices arguing in Asougi's head, Rokurou just regards him for a moment more before walking towards him. He's seen all he can, anyway.]

Okay, okay, so I was just messing with you a little. But you've been pretty much silent since you came here, so hard to not try and see if you have any other expressions than scowling.

[And once he's just a few paces away, he holds out a hand.]

Rokurou Rangetsu.

[And mentally taking bets whether he'll be ignored or not. Currently betting on being ignored.]

[Look, when you've been ordered to stay silent for several months, it's hard to break the habit, especially when he's not sure if the prosecutor or the chief of justice made it here as well.

...Well no, he honestly didn't care what they thought. He only listened so they wouldn't kick him out of working with the law, and he didn't really know anyone to talk to anyway. It was just easier to let everyone else explain things and leave him to his work.

He suppose, it didn't really matter much out here, now that he's on his own for the time being. He sighs, reaching to take his hand. Why though? He just had the feeling he should try to keep things friendly. There's another problem that was more pressing anyway, a name.]

. . . They called me the Disciple. [His voice was soft from lack of use.]

[Oh??? HE ACTUALLY RESPONDED. There's no hiding the surprise that spreads over Rokurou's face as they shake hands, but at least he has another reason to be.]

The "Disciple"? Like...is that an actual title or are you learning something?

Edited 2018-10-24 06:15 (UTC)

The latter. [He lets go of his hand.]

Mind if I ask what?

[His guess is yes, but asking anyway.]

Medicine, at the moment. [That's not exactly what he meant, but it's not completely wrong. His business at home is strictly that, business from home, for now.]

[Oooh.]

So you're training to be a doctor? Guess I should just call you "Doc," huh?

What about yourself? [Let's take a break from asking Mr. silent type a bunch of questions.]

[You know that only makes you look very suspicious.]

Nothing too special. Just a swordsman. [Daemon swordsman, but details.]

[He gives him a once over. Right, those swords he carries make that obvious.] Did you purchase those somewhere in town?

Actually, no. These were on me when I got here. They're also different from the ones I normally use.

[And he doesn't...look exactly that pleased about it, a small frown forming as he thinks about the strange blades he now has to learn to use.]

[He hums quietly. He knows how that is.] That is unfortunate.

Did you come in with anything?

[Although as he speaks, there's a slight pause as his eyes trail to the cane, recalling the guy's reflexes back with the rock.]

Or is that cane secretly a weapon?

[NOT IMPOSSIBLE...]

[He huffs, almost like a chuckle as he holds up his cane.] Unfortunately. It'll have to do for now. [It COULD be a blunt weapon, but he's obviously not pleased with this setup. He needs a sword, and soon.]

[Blunt objects can be useful!]

What are you used to using?

Sword. [He lowers his cane to his side.] . . .katanas preferably. [There was a momentary pause, as if he was puzzled by his own suggestion. He's only ever used a saber. A lost memory perhaps of his previous life, strong enough that it had a voice.]

Hey, same like me. [Rokurou can't help but grin at the mention of katanas. True, he doesn't wield formal katanas, but the blades he does use are within the same family. That and he has practiced with them before so he's at least familiar with the style.]

I'm sure there's a weapon shop or a swordsmith that sells them. Was actually planning on scouting a few places to see if I can get myself some normal blades.

[He was thinking of doing the same, but...he already knows what he wants won't be here. He doesn't even know what he's looking for, but no blade will truly satisfy him like the one.]

Your blades are not normal?

Unless having a gun built into it is considered normal in your world.

A gun? [He raises a brow at that. Really?] How does it work?

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