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

1. Mirror Mirror

[Grumpy doesn't even begin to cover how Therion's feeling right now. Sure, he agreed to help, but he didn't agree to the weirdass way he and -- others, apparently, were dragged here. And he definitely didn't agree to be dressed like this. He'd be lying if he said he's never worn a dress - he'll do what it takes to pull of a heist, and he's a pretty good actor when he wants to be - but even setting the skirt aside, his new fancy get-up is a far cry from anything he's worn before. It feels like something only the richest of the nobility and royalty could afford. Finely woven fabrics, elegant embroidery, a plush velvet ribbon in his hair, an obnoxiously stiff collar, and a uselessly small cape? All he can really think at first is how many leaves he could make selling this. Except... he doesn't have anything else to change into just yet, and he'd rather not go around naked.

It's only after he's sulked over the clothes, glared at the journal, and started rifling through the rest of the satchel to see what he's got that he abruptly realizes something else that's different. At first, he'd only thought that things looked a little... different because it's some weird magical book world, but then he realizes he's seeing double when he looks past something without focusing on it. On a whim, he covers his right eye and nearly drops the satchel in his other hand in surprise because he can still see properly.

Quickly, he stuffs the things he's taken out back into his satchel, throws it over his shoulder and heads off on a mission.

At first, he just searches on his own, ignoring any other people he meets for the most part, but eventually frustration seems to get to him, and he turns to whoever's nearby to ask:]

Do you have any idea where I can find a mirror?

2. Dressing the Part

[Therion's next mission is to find different clothes. For all that back home he basically wore a blanket for a top, skirts aren't really his thing. Not trusting a giant pumpkin and creepy horses to take him anywhere, he walks, hiking up his skirt in some attempt to keep it from getting too dirty. He's still of a mind to see if it can be sold.

Anyone else visiting the tailor at the same time as he might just overhear a bit of an argument:]

I don't care if I'm supposed to be a princess - just give me a damn pair of trousers.

3. Festive Feast Filching

[The ghosts aren't the only ones pilfering from the plenty, though since the meals seem to be free, maybe it's not so much stealing in Therion's case as it is stocking up. Any unattended whole apples are a free target, in his opinion, and he can be found lining his satchel with them.

And maybe a few other things, too... like money, small trinkets, and any spare sharp knives he can find...

It's not as easy to obscure the movements of his hands in his current outfit (allegedly the tailor will have new clothes for him tomorrow), and the places he has to hide things amount to his satchel, tucked in the folds of his skirt, or uh... in the bosom of the dress, so he's finding the need to be a bit creative and a lot more careful. But still, the foodie ghosts provide a really good distraction, so he shamelessly helps himself to other people's things while they're busy chasing after the spooks.

Maybe you catch him in the act, despite his best efforts? Maybe you see the edge of something suspiciously familiar sticking out of his dress?

Or maybe you just want to chat with the grumpy guy polishing an apple on his sleeve?]

((ooc: Feel free to hit me up if you've got an idea for something different you wanna do!))

[Over the past six-thousand years, Pearl has gotten very, very good at noticing things when she's on her guard. And she's always on her guard. She's also here to help others, right? So when out of the corner of her eye, she spots an unnoticed Therion swiping something, Pearl quickly takes her options into account - and once Therion is a bit more out of the way of the others, she draws her new sword - her Vorpal Blade - and confronts him.]

I'm going to need you to return that, Sir.

[It's been a while since he's had a sword pulled on him over a theft, so Therion's first reaction is surprise.]

What?

[But said surprise is quickly overtaken by a frown as he glances from the tip of the sword to Pearl's face. The best thing to do in situations like this is, of course, feign innocence. And then run if that doesn't work, though, he doesn't really look forward to running in this stupid dress.]

What are you talking about?

Please, I saw you take that woman's bracelet.

[And his stealth was impressive, but she's not about to praise this man for theft.]

I may not be used to fighting humans, but that's not to say it wouldn't be very, very easy for me to do.

[Damn. That she called one of the things he took accurately on top of accusing him is proof she probably did indeed see at least the one theft. Great.

Still, he's not giving up quite yet.]

Tch -- am I supposed to be impressed? Humans fight humans all the damn time. What makes you so special, besides your willingness to stab a poor, defenseless princess over an alleged theft?

[Basically, he thinks her threatening skills needs some work. And he's playing the princess card.]

[Pearl gets a little flustered - not so much because he's not threatened, but because the point he makes has her feeling, in an odd way, awfully "dime a dozen", which is all too familiar. While she covers it up with a serious expression on her face, the feeling sticks with her, and... Is she a bit shorter than she was before?]

It's not an alleged theft; I saw you take it. Royalty or not, you're going to answer for that.

[Getting her flustered is part of the point behind his sass; easier to escape if the opponent is annoyed enough to potentially get careless, right? He does not notice her getting shorter yet, however, as most of his focus is on where she's moving the sword and if she seems likely to try and stick it into him.]

Am I? To who? It's your word against mine, and you're the one getting violent.

[Maybe if he annoys her enough, he'll get an opening to bolt. Or scream for help and really play up the princess card. He'd rather run, though.]

It's a matter of keeping order and defending the innocent.

[Reminding both the thief and herself of that perspective eases Pearl's uncertainties, and she smoothly grows back to her normal height.]

Those things happen to be very important to me, so I'm the one you'll be answering to.

[Where he didn't notice the shrinking, he does notice when she grows taller as she speaks and -- is ... he seeing things? Or did she just...?

Nngh. Now's not the time to worry about that. Frowning, Therion refocuses.]

Huh.

[He scoffs. Great, it's not even an issue with the law here - it's an issue with one lady's sense of justice.]

Didn't know "keeping order" and "defending the innocent" meant taking the law into your own hands.

Therion | Octopath Traveler | Snow White

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