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realmofstories2018-10-21 12:00 pm
keeperoftales) wrote in realmofstories2018-10-21 12:00 pm
Entry tags:
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.
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.
¶ 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.
¶ 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.
¶ 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.
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.
no subject
[Which he sounds, to be completely frank, delighted about. Could this be Professor Albright's dream come true? It just might be.]
Specifically, a gentleman by the name of Sherlock Holmes. I've yet to learn all there is to know about the man, but from what I do know, I believe I should be flattered. What of yourself?
no subject
In answer to the return query, however, Therion sighs and looks away with resignation.]
... Snow White.
no subject
He curls his fingers into a loose fist, tucking it just beneath his chin as he adopts a thoughtful expression.]
Snow White... the young lady with the dwarves?
no subject
That's the one.
[He sounds absolutely thrilled about it, too. It's not totally without its perks, at least. Therion's pretty happy to have proper sight back in his left eye and otherwise be in rather better physical condition even if it's really weird to be missing scars he's gotten used to over the years. Reminders. But he's not thinking of that now.]
Haven't found her dwarves or her bitch of a stepmother yet, though.
no subject
They may reveal themselves to you soon. It would seem anything is possible in this place.
[Ah— Snow White seems an interesting choice, however.]
I have to wonder what parallels the Storytelling may have drawn between you and this particular Essence. I doubt she shares your love of apples.
[He can think of a few other things, however.]
no subject
He's already thought a little bit about why he got stuck with a sweet, innocent princess as his Essence. And then after thinking about it a little more, he decided he very much didn't want to think about it any deeper. It doesn't really matter all that much anyway, right?]
Who knows? Maybe this place like irony.
[Probably not the best response if he really wants Cyrus to drop it, but a traitorous part of him is curious about what Cyrus' analysis is going to be.]
so I definitely meant Storyteller
[It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. The way that Therion averts his gaze, however—
Well, he may not be the most adept at reading other people, but he can at least read that much.]
A topic to be given further thought at a later time, perhaps.
the storyteller can be a gerund if he wants to
Like you won't sit there thinking about it anyway.
[He gets that Cyrus is trying to respect that he doesn't want to talk about it, and he appreciates the discretion, but he also knows how very much the scholar is bad at just letting things go when he's curious about them.]
So get it over with - what's your theory?
no subject
[At least right now. He'll definitely pepper Therion with questions about it later on. Therion is right, however— those wheels in his head never stop turning, and they're not about to stop now.
He huffs a sight, tapping his index finger against his chin as he considers.]
Well then, if you're really like to hear it— I believe it has to do with your former partner-in-crime. He was jealous of your natural talents— much as the Queen was jealous of Snow White's natural beauty.
no subject
He'd been thinking of just ... laying the bare bones out so the others'd understand that things might get weird in Northreach, whenever they make their way there, but he hadn't yet. He'd found only excuses to continue keeping his troubles and his trust to himself.
So how does Cyrus know? Or is he just that good of a guesser based on two minutes spent in Darius' presence before the son of a bitch fled with the damned stone?
Eventually Therion realizes he has been too still and too silent for far too long to have any shot at conceivably denying it, and he grits his teeth. Digging his nails into his palms, he turns to glare at Cyrus.]
What the hell do you know about him?
[Despite appearances, he's not angry at Cyrus so much as alarmed and defensive and worried that he has let far more slip, somehow, than he ever intended.
It never once occurs to him that the Storyteller might have plucked them from different moments in time.]
no subject
[Cyrus doesn't rise to Therion's glare, remaining calm and collected. Given the nature of Darius' betrayal, Cyrus thinks it beyond understandable that Therion considers this a sensitive topic.]
I was with you when you confronted him. He's not the subtle sort, at least not anymore.
[Darius was the sort who loved the sound of his own voice, in Cyrus' opinion. He'd done an awful lot of monologuing.]
no subject
When I ... what?
[He's not... wrong. Darius has never been one for subtleties, and hell, that was part of what'd made them a good team for a while. Therion had his eye for the details, while Darius had his on the grand scheme. But all that aside, Darius hadn't stuck around long enough to say all that much back in Wellspring. Just long enough to gloat before taking off again.
Bewildered, Therion would almost wonder if Cyrus'd met him some other time, except he talks about Therion confronting the bastard, and ... he really doesn't remember it like that.]
no subject
[The wheels in Cyrus' head are turning quickly now, trying to make sense of these discrepancies— there's more to it than just Therion being closed-off.
Could it be...?]
You don't remember any of this, do you?
no subject
I hadn't .... I hadn't told any of you where he'd gone.
[Yet.
Though apparently there's no need to, and ... Therion isn't really sure how to feel about that. About Cyrus knowing more about him that he realizes. And what does it mean about this place? About him? About Cyrus?]
no subject
[Hmm.]
I have a theory, if you would hear it, for I remember these events plain as day.
[However, given this is a sensitive issue, he certainly won't push it if Therion would rather he not.]
no subject
... what's the theory, then?
[Why does Cyrus remember stuff that Therion does not?]
no subject
[Extreme and outlandish an idea as it may seem.]
It would explain the discrepancies between our memories, would it not?
no subject
... if I ask what happens, are you gonna tell me or let me wait and see?
no subject
[One that Cyrus doesn't rightly know the answer to. Would telling Therion of his success change the course of his future, or would it serve to bolster him in the present, to drive him forward?
He frowns for a moment, thoughtful.]
If you truly wish to know... then that is your decision to make, not mine. I will tell you whatever you like, though I cannot say what the consequences might be. It would be cruel to withhold such things from you.
no subject
Darius... is he... does he...
[Therion makes several false starts, torn between what exactly he wants to ask. So he stops and closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh before turning to properly face Cyrus for the first time since this conversation started down this path.]
Does everyone make it out all right? He doesn't hurt anyone too badly, does he?
[It's a sign how much Therion has changed - how much his travels have changed him, and his friends - that this is first concern, really. That Darius doesn't hurt anyone, doesn't take anything else precious away from him.]
no subject
We are all largely unharmed. No serious injuries. If nothing else, the lot of us have learned to look after one another,