Maidens of the Kaleidoscope
~Beyond the Border~ => Rumia's Party Games => Topic started by: Fightest on July 26, 2013, 11:13:13 AM
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> "-and, of course, the wyldspace will present its usual difficulties, but that is nothing that... My Esteemed Companion, are you even listening to me?"
> The sharp-looking girl in her late twenties turns to look at you and her face lights up in comprehension.
> "Ah! What timing. I had hoped to have you with us. There is much ground and material to cover. At the moment, we are heading out West to deal with a Fate-fracture that we might be able to use to our advantage. Aah, I am sorry if I am making little sense, I get ahead of myself easily."
> The speaker is Ani of the Hieda clan, your companion for several years now. At the time you met her, she had already made a name for herself amongst the Chosen as an eccentric and a visionary.
> You, on the other hand, cannot boast much history: a nameless child, born and abandoned in the Eastern wilderness, you grew up amongst the court politics of spirits, gods big and small, trickster demons and divine emissaries. The Youkai you called them, your extraordinary friends, guardians and rivals. You had left them quite some time back, but it seems that word travels quickly in the spirit world, and you were recognized wherever you had gone since. Your Youkai are everywhere, now.
> It is not that you intended to join Ani on her travels, nor did she ever ask for your company outright when the two of you met. Circumstances brought the two of you together, and you have not found a reason to go your separate ways yet.
> The compact yacht cuts its way smoothly through the water as you sail towards your destination, a series of islands South-West of the Imperial Isle. The sun blazes down, but the enchantments around the yacht make the heat bearable. Ani had been continuously writing and documenting, and she is strange to talk to when she is busy thus, so you have been spending your time conversing with the various water spirits that have been happily following in your wake: dolphins with rainbow fins, flying fish that literally flew and formless blobs of seawater. You did not notice Ani come up until just now.
> "A while back I told you about a village that vanished off the face of Creation due to a fault in the Orrery, the one caused by Are. I believe we can use the location for the Gensokyo project! I think-"
> The rest of her sentence is drowned out by the roar of water as a vast wave forms out of nowhere and rushes towards land, picking up your yacht and sending you careening forward with a tremendous force. Spirits often try to greet you in the only way they know how. This tends to cause problems equally often.
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> Try to coax the spirits out of accidentally smashing us.
> If that fails, brace for impact.
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> Try to coax the spirits out of accidentally smashing us.
> You need to find the spirit causing the commotion first. But that is hardly a problem.
> You recite your little mantra. Perhaps not everything is perfect, and perhaps there may be flaws in everyone and everything, but in your mind's eye there exists a vision of an immaculate Heaven for all. And, as long as you hold this vision close to your heart, someday it will come to be true.
> Your own Fantasy Heaven.
> You project.
> Spirits and gods flock around you, eager to be in your company, in this wonderful world you keep around you, but you bid them to be patient, for there is a specific one that you seek, and of course it is here - all Youkai are welcome here - a grand bearded whale, ocean currents swirling about it as if a king's mantle, and it bows to you deeply and majestically.
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>Bow in response
>"A pleasant greeting to you, as well! However, I would appreciate it if you slowed your current some, as my frail human body wouldn't hold up too well if it were smashed against the ground."
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> The whale lets out a deep chuckle. Its eyes flash. You sense a calming in the spirit-currents.
> With a pleasant baritone drone that deepens until it is inaudible, the whale departs.
> You end your projection to find yourself and Ani drenched, in a half-flooded yacht, but otherwise unharmed.
> "Good news all around, then," she says, "we still have a yacht and we've arrived. Well done, my Esteemed Companion."
> The yacht has beached itself on a small sandy outcrop, beyond which starts a dense, tropical jungle. There is a strange atmosphere about the place.
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> Can we discern exactly from what or from where the strangeness stems from?
> Either way, get off the yacht.
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> Can we discern exactly from what or from where the strangeness stems from?
> Either way, get off the yacht.
> Like a fragment missing from a mirror, reflecting an incomplete you. Like a string missing from a violin, whose absence makes one want to pluck it even more. An obvious missing piece of a pattern, it should be there but it is not, and the emptiness seems to take on a life of its own, burrowing into your mind, asking the question that cannot be answered
what am I what am I what am I what amIwhat am IwhatamIwhat amIwhatamIwhatamI
> "You feel it too, a void so fundamental it pulls in even your thoughts to fill it?" says Ani, her expression tense, "Perhaps we can fool it with a koan, a prayer, something with myriad answers that removing one does not weaken the question. Think, my Esteemed Companion, think!"
> You feel your legs buckle under you. The vortex-void is disassembling you piece by piece. You will need to find a solution before you can go on.
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>"I am myself?"
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>"I am myself?"
> You feel the pressure drop, and feeling returns to your limbs.
> "Yes, tautological self-affirmation," says Ani, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "I am because I am, that ought to buy us some ti-"
The Broken-Winged Crane is a weapon forged in paradox. Its purpose has been fulfilled.
> "I am sorry," says Ani, "I am still leaking truths. My mind is not as strong as yours, my Esteemed Companion. I am afraid I cannot be much help."
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>Do we have any knowledge of the Broken-Winged Crane?
>What do we know about the Hakurei clan?
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>Do we have any knowledge of the Broken-Winged Crane?
>What do we know about the Hakurei clan?
> You have never heard of the Broken-Winged Crane
> You have no knowledge of a Hakurei clan.
> You enter the jungle, Ani close behind you, trying to keep her infinite knowledge from leaking out.
> You are doing better than she is. You can feel your mantra being eroded, but every time a meaning is taken, another takes its place.
> I am myself, therefore I am the bowing of grass stalks after rain.
> Gone.
> I am myself, therefore I am the pattern of sunlight through a leafy canopy,
> That one stays a while longer.
> Where are these coming from? You cannot truthfully define yourself as them.
Eighty-seven years ago, the White Lotus Saint was sealed in the Demon realms by Kanako of the Eight Hills, Four Seasons' Princess and Scent-of-Patchouli-and-Lavender.
> "Aah, I needed that one," says Ani, "there is someone still looking for her. I am sorry, please, keep going."
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>Do we know anything of similar phenomenon? What effect does this "leaking of truths" have on the victim, if we do know anything about the nature of this.
>Are there any Youkai in this jungle who might be able to help us out if we project to ask?
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>Do we know anything of similar phenomenon? What effect does this "leaking of truths" have on the victim, if we do know anything about the nature of this.
> You have seen some uncanny things in your travels with Ani, but this is completely alien to you. And, indeed, this is likely a unique occurrence, if Ani's story of an area lost by Fate is true.
> "Do not worry," says Ani, gritting her teeth, "time is never lost, and neither is truth. I will be able to recover any lost memories, given some time. I just hope that I do not lose anything fundamentally critical to my existence."
>Are there any Youkai in this jungle who might be able to help us out if we project to ask?
> There must be, your Youkai are everywhere.
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>Project, ask local Youkai to help us nullify or otherwise mitigate effects of the force we're being affected by.
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>Project, ask local Youkai to help us nullify or otherwise mitigate effects of the force we're being affected by.
> You start to say your mantra and a sound comes like knives, like falling glass and the screaming and you know that there is something deeply wrong in heaven.
> Proceed anyway?
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> Brace ourselves just in case and try again.
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I dunno man, doing that seems like a bad idea to me. I mean, he did ask 'Proceed anyway?'
Isn't that usually a signal that doing so tends to be a bad idea or something?
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I dunno man, doing that seems like a bad idea to me. I mean, he did ask 'Proceed anyway?'
Isn't that usually a signal that doing so tends to be a bad idea or something?
True, but I couldn't really think of anything else to do in the situation. I suppose we could continue on as we have been and try to ignore the force as best we can thinking back on it now.
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> Brace ourselves just in case and try again.
> Dreams shatter underfoot like glass.
> The sky cracked and empty.
> And the screaming.
> This is where all the I was coming from. The vortex-void was not only disassembling you. It also shattered your heaven, and now, one by one, spiritforms vanish like candle flames blown away in a gale.
> I am the porch-light for the weary traveller
> Gone
> I am the hundred streams that feed a mighty river
> Gone
> Another gone, another. You cannot stay here long.
Are of the Hieda is not dead
> "We are here, my Esteemed Companion," says Ani.
> You exit the jungle into a clearing where a village stands. Stood? Silhouettes everywhere, just turn your head and it is as if they are still images hanging in the air, not real, not real.
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>What is our heaven?
>"Where is here? Or perhaps, what was here?"
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>What is our heaven?
> There was never a single point at which your Fantasy Heaven came to be. Rather, it grew as your understanding and conviction did until it was strong enough to develop as a conceptual space. It was used as a comforting place of neutrality and refuge for spirits. While outside they may vie for superiority and scheme against each other, in your heaven there was always peace.
>"Where is here? Or perhaps, what was here?"
> "A village of no importance. Or, rather, of the most great importance. Here, take this," she says, handing you a small glass sphere and holding up one of her own. "We are going to relocate it-"
Ani of the Hieda will not leave this place.
> "Too specific. Targeted. Oh, gods, we are under attack. It is trying to hide itself!"
> Out of the corner of your eye.
> Space cracks.
> And vines? Tendrils? Thousands of them worm through the cracks and pull space apart, and a form steps through.
> A black form, radiating envy, with disgust, with pity, all wrapped in thorns and dripping with scorn. It looks vaguely humanoid, but where its left arm once was is now a mass of threads, wires, splitting, splitting ever thinner, extending out into infinity.
> "I'll stall it! Go! Circle the village and return to this place, the spheres need to learn the boundary conditions!"
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>We heard her. Let's get moving!
>What do we know of these spheres?
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>What do we know of these spheres?
> You have never seen them before. Apparently they need to learn of a set of boundary conditions, which will then allow you to somehow "relocate" the fate-lost village.
>We heard her. Let's get moving!
> I am the wind whistling through trees.
> Gone.
> I am the rippling air over a bonfire.
> Gone.
> You can feel the knives getting closer, the dreams cracking underfoot packed more and more dense, and your heaven collapses. Almost instantly you lose your sense of smell.
> You need a new protective barrier-thought.
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Fightest's note: It occurs to me that I went a bit off the deep end with the start of this one. I'll just start nudging the narrative to where it needs to go.
> Nothing makes sense. Ani had her secrets, and you respected them, but now she has dragged you into something so far over your head you cannot see the sky for its enormity. You had always had your Youkai, and your vision of a perfect heaven, and now the vision is shattered and the Youkai scattered and you yourself are in danger of popping out of existence!
> In a scramble to come up with a defensive prayer, you think a thought. You cannot really help it. It was loud enough coming out of Ani.
> Are of the Hieda is not dead.
> And the vortex-void latches on.
> Things go a bit hazy from here.
> You remember silhouettes of Youkai, like still images in the air, but they move, and they hunt you. You barely get away.
> You remember completing the circle around the village, and the sphere in your hand hums with power.
> You remember a confrontation between spectre and Ani, not with fists but with words, but you cannot make them out from where you are.
> And you remember finding the second sphere on the ground where you and Ani came out of the jungle, and you touch the spheres together and everything goes very still and now you sit on a small piece of land, all sand, with ocean in all directions.
> Even the yacht is gone.
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>Look around.
>Do we see either the specter or Ani?
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>Look around.
>Do we see either the specter or Ani?
> It is ocean all around. The piece of land you are on extends at most twenty steps from its centre. You are alone.
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>Explore the piece of land, see if there is anything of note in sight.
>Try activating our Fantasy Heaven to see if it works, if it does observe if there is any spirits nearby.
>Do we have the ability to transverse large expanses of ocean, like flying/walking on water etc. ?
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>Explore the piece of land, see if there is anything of note in sight.
> You pace the perimeter of the island. It is featureless.
>Try activating our Fantasy Heaven to see if it works, if it does observe if there is any spirits nearby.
> You project.
> And it is as if the world has lost all colour. Dreams lie underfoot like shattered stained glass. A small, hooded form with black wings sits amongst the shards a few paces away, sifting through them, talking to itself.
>Do we have the ability to transverse large expanses of ocean, like flying/walking on water etc. ?
> No, but you have often enlisted the aid of water Youkai to carry you safely across water.
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> A small, hooded form with black wings sits amongst the shards a few paces away, sifting through them, talking to itself.
>What is this figure saying? Do we recognize them?
>Hail them.
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>What is this figure saying? Do we recognize them?
> "Large fragment, valuable, hmm, yes, yes, conflict between...between rivals? Friends? Unclear, very political, good story."
> You do not recognize her, but stray Youkai have often taken refuge in your heaven before without your notice.
>Hail them.
> "Ah, Dream-child, greetings, greetings," says the Youkai, bowing low. A few moments into her bow, something on the ground looks to catch her attention, and she picks up a dream-fragment and starts muttering to herself again, examining it. She catches herself a few moments later still and looks back up at you.
> "I am Illuminating Decree. All alone, now, but stories much more interesting, yes?"
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>"Stories? What do these fragments tell you? Can they be reassembled?"
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>"Stories? What do these fragments tell you?"
> Illuminating Decree looks at you askance.
> "Stories, very valuable, yes? In this world, stories give stability, yes? Stories give relevance. Shards of dreams scattered when heaven cracked, fragments of stories everywhere, everywhere."
Can they be reassembled?
> "Mmm, of course, if they want to be. I can reassemble the fragments, but the original storyholders must want the story retold."
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To other voices : I assume that we basically have to summarize the story so far from a 3rd person's view and retell it as a story to fix our heaven?
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To other voices : I assume that we basically have to summarize the story so far from a 3rd person's view and retell it as a story to fix our heaven?
Fightest's note: Nope. Your Fantasy Heaven was constructed from dreams and hopes of a lifetime, not only your own, but of the many spirits who spent their time in it. To fix it you would have to seek them out and get them to approve the story that Illuminating Decree has reconstructed. I'll present you with that challenge once you get off the island.
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>Abilities
>Inventory
>Try picking up a fragment and exam it, see if we pick off anything from it.
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>Abilities
> Your heaven is often described by those seeing it as a wondrous miracle, but that seems a bit too grand for what is merely an unusually literal incarnation of your hopes and dreams. You are, naturally, untouchable when projecting it, allowing you to force a peaceful resolution to conflicts that might escalate to violence.
>Inventory
> You are wearing your traveling clothes, a simple linen outfit that is easy to clean and repair. It has a few rough patches, and might need to be maintained soon before holes start appearing. You have a pack with some food and water, and miscellaneous traveling necessities. Unfortunately, the major portion of your supplies was on Ani's yacht.
>Try picking up a fragment and exam it, see if we pick off anything from it.
> You pick up a fragment. It feels smooth to the touch, like glass.
> branch family's sole heir married to unify the holdings led to kinstrife as ambition prevailed over common sense and a civil
> It is very much like picking a page at random from a book and trying to make sense of what is going on without any context. That said, you think you remember this particular story - a territorial dispute amongst the dragon-spirits of a river province to the far South-East.
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>Can we project while we project?
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>Can we project while we project?
> What are you trying to do, bub?
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> Can we project ourselves into the story fragment, re-living and thereby re-creating the dream?
Does it work that way? Would it take too long to accomplish? Would it matter?
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> Can we project ourselves into the story fragment, re-living and thereby re-creating the dream?
> Not into the fragment, as such, its story is far too incomplete, but you think you might be able to recreate a fully-formed story that has become part of your heaven.
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> A few hours pass.
> Echoes of your projection had called the attention of some ocean spirits, but they approached you warily, as they would danger, or sickness. You eventually managed to convince a school of iridescent fish to carry you to the nearest inhabited island.
> Now you rush along with the fish, flying soundlessly through the water. It is dim, here, and only the occasional fleck of red or green from fish scales suggests that the world has not lost all its colour.
> In this stillness, you are alone with the sound of your breathing and the occasional clink-clink as Illuminating Decree carefully sifts through broken dreams.
> You do not know how much time has passed when she speaks.
> "Hmm, hmm, this one is ready, but..."
> She turns to you, making sure she has your attention, then draws a sharp talon along a thick, jagged crack through an otherwise flawless arrangement of dream-glass, circular, with whites and yellows, like a daffodil. The sound as she does so grates on your ears, it is a terrible, monstrous sound.
> "But the story is weak, missing a piece that never fit it in the first place. Do you understand, dream-child?" she asks, coming closer to you to look into your eyes.
> "It is missing suffering. Anguish."
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> How far are we out until our stop?
> "You mean to say this story doesn't have enough suffering? What story is this?"
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> How far are we out until our stop?
> "You mean to say this story doesn't have enough suffering? What story is this?"
> It is hard to say, but these are not major spirits, they will not travel too far from their demense. Perhaps a few more hours.
> "Exactly right, dream-child, exactly right. The story tells of civil war between brothers-in-law of a river dragon clan over family holdings. The resolution came at the end when the eldest brother revealed that he was under duress and, through assistance from his younger brothers, brought unity to the family branches that had been thrown into disarray by the machinations of a malicious uncle. Good story. Inspiring. But no suffering."
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> Anything we can recall about this story?
> Project, while projecting.
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> Anything we can recall about this story?
> Illuminating Decree summed it up quite aptly.
> Project, while projecting.
> But you want to take a closer look.
> Once upon a time three sons and three daughters were born into a wealthy and powerful river dragon family, strongly influential in a deep Southeastern province. When they were still children, the youngest brother was adopted as the heir of a branch family, as none was yet present. All it takes to break up the friendship of children is distance, and the younger brother soon forgot about those closest to him. According to family rules and tradition, daughters would separate from the main family to found dynasties of their own, and so they did, barring the youngest daughter, who had developed a deep love for the youngest brother in their brief time as playmates. Her singular desire was to bring the family back together, and to do so she made a foolish decision.
> Inheritance laws stated that the eldest child became the sole heir of a family's holdings. However, all children of a dynasty possessed claimant rights to their family's holdings that held until they died, such that any child might dispute poor rule of the clan head. A majority vote amongst dynasts would be required to give this dispute validity, with the eldest child holding the power of proxy in absentia.
> Passing herself off as a daugher of a foreign nobleman, the eldest daughter made a place for herself in the court of the youngest brother. She possessed a natural charisma and it was not long before the youngest brother became infatuated with her. Their marriage was declared soon after.
> Marriage laws favoured women, such that holdings and claimant rights would pass on to the woman once the ceremony is complete. For the most part, this was purely cosmetic, as the husband and wife were expected to come to full agreement on matters of clan and dynasty, and either could dispute the other's decision. The eldest daughter, however, chose to instigate conflict. Secretly, she altered the marriage contract such that her husband would acquire holding and claimant rights instead.
> And so came to be the precarious situation. Now both the oldest and youngest brother had the authority of a family's heir, with claim to the holdings of the principal family. Wary of the attempt of a coup, the eldest brother began to amass troops. The younger brother had no choice but to do the same, as he was worried that the older brother might attempt a pre-emptive attack. Of course, to do so would be illegal, as the younger brother could not make claims to the territory of the older brother, and the older brother had no claim to the territory of the younger brother. So it appeared to the observer, that a political stalemate developed and would never resolve itself. Whilst unfortunate that tensions were so high, nobody expected for war to break out, as nobody believed the youngest brother would get the majority vote required to make any of his claims valid.
> In the meantime, the hitherto-unmentioned middle brother, with no true political power of his own, was doing his best to keep tensions as low as possible. Through his position as a high magistrate, he was able to prevent unsanctioned border conflicts from exploding out of control through quick and thorough investigation and judicial procedure. Troublemakers found themselves behind bars quickly, and, curiously, crime in the region sank to an all-time low. Morale of the population, however, dropped steadily as food, material and luxuries were diverted to keep the unreasonably large armies supplied.
> So bad it became that, should this have continued for another year, the region would be in danger of famine, as farmers, craftsmen and merchants were all drafted into the steadily-growing army.
> Nobody knows who whispered the rumour first, but not even the middle brother's efforts could keep it from spreading like wildfire: the youngest brother had the majority vote. Anyone with political acumen would realise the truth of the matter: with the other sisters having founded their own dynasties and were busy with the affairs of their own states, they could not be reasonably relied on to provide a vote, making the eldest daughter the holder of their vote by proxy. The eldest daughter, who was married to the youngest brother.
> It was perhaps hours from war breaking out. And it might have, plunging the region into disaster and ruin, were it not for the elder brother's realisation of his familial ties and duty. Realising the danger of the situation, he arranged a secret meeting between the brothers. While tense, there was no hostility at the meeting, for all it takes to rebuild the friendship of children is a reunion. Between the experience of the eldest brother, the cleverness of the middle brother and the honor of the youngest brother, the three came to the realisation that the buildup of forces came as a result of a convincing proposal made by the eldest brother's advisors, who were led by the eldest brother's uncle, who had developed a power base in the army and the noble elite. They concluded that the uncle wanted to force the region to come to civil war, where he could unite the armies into a military junta and regain the power that he lost when the children were born.
> Through decisive action and judgement, the uncle was exiled, the armies were disbanded and peace finally returned to the region. No agreements were made, no contracts were signed, so was the brothers' trust in each other that, despite the power each of them had, none would use it poorly. And so the river province entered into an age of wealth and happiness.
Fightest's note: There. Happy, Bob? Are you happy?
[edit] No, that is not Tenshi.
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>"Why does there need to be suffering?"
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>"Why does there need to be suffering?"
> Illuminating Decree narrows her eyes and smiles.
> "The question too few ask. You see, there was once an entity that entered this world. We called her Koishi, for lack of a better name, and she lived in stories like a child would in a sandbox. She brought stories with her. They were stories of every kind, of kindness and compassion, of cruelty and hardship, of people and gods great and small. The world resisted at first, of course it did, but, in the end, it came to accept these stories. Many even found solace in them, in knowing that, by being a character in one of Koishi's stories, they would always be relevant."
> Illuminating Decree shakes her head.
> "But Koishi lost control. Sometime, somewhere, she lost control. And now the stories no longer belong to her. Now they belong to something dark and envious, full of pity and dripping with scorn. It has built a terrible machine at the heart of this world where all stories flow through."
> She grabs your shirt with both hands and pulls you down to her eye level.
> "The Anguish Engine now constructs a new world in place of this one, one full of pain and suffering, and there is a place for every one of us in it."
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Yo dawg, I herd we liek projecting so thought we should have a projecting project project in projects, wurd? I'm sorry.
> "So we need to re-write the story to be resolved with more suffering, that it might be in accordance with this dark and envious agenda?"
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> "So we need to re-write the story to be resolved with more suffering, that it might be in accordance with this dark and envious agenda?"
> "We do not need to do anything, dream-child. It is very, very much a matter of what you choose to do."
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>"But you say this story is incomplete without suffering. How can I complete it without this engine of anguish taking over?"
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>"But you say this story is incomplete without suffering. How can I complete it without this engine of anguish taking over?"
> "An incomplete story is still a story. It is just weaker. Less relevant. And you have it wrong, dream-child: the Anguish Engine has long taken over, hence..."
> She taps the glass arrangement for emphasis.
> "Hence the weakness. Stories without suffering have no place in this new world."
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>"Then...is there any way to wage an attack on the Engine itself, so as to reverse the harm it has done to this world and return the strength the stories should possess?"
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>"Then...is there any way to wage an attack on the Engine itself, so as to reverse the harm it has done to this world and return the strength the stories should possess?"
> Illuminating Decree's eyes flash.
> "To wage war on the Engine is to wage war on the entire world. You will become a part of history. You will cease to be the Dream-child, the Esteemed Companion. You will become supremely relevant, but your self will erode until there is nothing left other than pure ideal. Aah, it would be glorious. Yes, Dream-child. It can be done."
> Time passes. You have not yet come to a decision on whether to write suffering into the story of the Dragon-princes, but you still have time. Out in the distance a landmass rises, and the shoal brings you as close as they can before returning to the deep ocean.
> The remnants of the spirit-enchantment wear off as you walk along the seabed and emerge from the water amidst gasps of surprise and shouts from people at the waterside. You appear to have arrived at beach near a bustling tropical port town. It is early in the morning, with the sun barely rising, and already there plenty of activity around the harbor and nearby markets.
Fightest's note: It's been kind of unofficial, so I'll say it properly now: I will be taking a week's break.
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Fightest's note: private matters came up. Updates will be sporadic.
> You are, for now, Principle-of-Magic, and today is looking up to be a good day.
> Mornings are the best, of course, for thievery, when goods start coming in and merchants start taking stock and laying out their wares, when the din and commotion is high but everyone is too caught up in their own business to notice a trinket or two missing until far too late.
> You are in the middle of scoping out the best spots when, subconsciously, your mind finally assembles the fragments of conversation you overhear and presents you with the final result: some weirdo just up and wandered out of the ocean like she was out on a walk, and she is not from around here.
> If she would wander down the market's direction, she could cause enough of a fuss that your haul today could double. Triple, even!
> Let's see if you can get her to do just that.
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>Have we picked up any other details of their arrival, such as what direction they're CURRENTLY traveling, or if they seem to have a specific aim?
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> She was last seen cutting through the oceanside town on a heading straight inland, almost straight perpendicularly to where you'll need her to go.
> There was no meaningful talk about her objectives. There are a few shrines inland, but also farming villages, mines, recreational hotspots and the local baron's residence.
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>Approach weird ocean lady.
I also have a suffering-infused version of River City Ransom Dragon Feud story on stand-by if need be.
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>Approach weird ocean lady.
> You follow the rumours upstream, through alleyways, across rooftops, up a balcony here, down a drain there, until you get to one of the memorial squares, the one with the fountain. The crowd is giving the fountain a wide berth, but the curiousity of everyone around is peak.
> That means the person at the fountain, looking intently into the water, must be the weird ocean lady.
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> Examine Weird Ocean Lady.
> "Whatchu doin' Weir-... Lady?"
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> The stories seem to be true about the ocean bit - she smells like seawater and is still soaked to the bone. There's something unpleasant about her. She is muttering to herself.
> "Burn the effigy, throw the spear, cut the seal, pull the rope, catch the bird, burn the effigy, throw the spear, cut the seal, pull the rope, catch the bird, burn the effigy, throw the spear..."
> She is ignoring you.
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> Oh man, if she's set loose on the market, the gettin's will be juicy.
> "Lady, lady, they've got all those things over here."
> Tug a sleeve.
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> Oh man, if she's set loose on the market, the gettin's will be juicy.
> "Lady, lady, they've got all those things over here."
> Tug a sleeve.
> Maybe you should not have touched her. In the instant you touch her, the world loses all colour, and
> WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU HAVE SUFFERED?
> and you feel glass breaking underfoot
> TRULY SUFFERED, SUCH THAT SUFFERING DEFINED YOU?
> and your hand recoils, as if from a flame, and you finally give in to the urge to look down, but the colour has come back and there are only cobblestones there.
> The brief dizziness wears off, and your head clears. Like an ache from being struck, all that remains from the moment is a question.
> What is the Anguish Engine?
> The weird ocean lady is now looking at you. Of all things, she looks lost, like a pet left at the side of the road.
> "I... I have no name. I have been called Dream-Child, Esteemed Companion. Everywhere I walk I step on broken stories and dreams, and the ones I put back together are too weak for lack of suffering. And now there is a jumble of meaningless commands in my head and I do not know what to do."
> You've seen this sort of thing before. Not this exactly, but it's close enough: she looks like she's cursed up to her eyeballs. You know someone up at one of the shrines who deals with that sort of thing.
> But first things first. Esteemed Companion is a dumb name. So is Dream-Child. Archaic as all get out, as well. Let's see if you can simplify it to something reasonable.
-
I'm amused by the possible nickname of EC/DC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l482T0yNkeo), but I really don't have much of a preference.
> What nickname conventions are popular now?
-
> What nickname conventions are popular now?
> Simplification of archaic names has come up in baby fashion recently.
> That would make weird ocean lady Reimu Hakurei.
-
You're too good at this. Never would have thought of the Fantasy Heaven link.
> "Dream Chil- er, Esteemed what? That'd make-chu a... Rei-mu, er, Hakurei, I think?"
-
> "Dream Chil- er, Esteemed what? That'd make-chu a... Rei-mu, er, Hakurei, I think?"
> She looks at you blankly.
> "So easily giving me a name," she says quietly, "but it sounds...correct. What is yours?"
> After all that you can't just go and tell her the, frankly, frustrating name you were born with. You add your long-abandoned family name, do some mental gymnastics and end up with
> You are now Reimu Hakurei.
> "Marisa ... Kiri, uh, sah-meh. Kirisame!" the sun-haired girl says, stumbling over some of the syllables.
> Burn the effigy, Pull the rope flashes briefly in your mind.
> You are Marisa Kirisame again.
> "Kirisame," Reimu Hakurei repeats, slowly. "Hakurei. Kirisame. Burn the effigy, pull the rope?"
> She is starting to mutter again.
-
> "Er, before ya get sidetracked again, you seem new, and there's somewhere I wanna show ya. To get-cher bearings."
-
> "Er, before ya get sidetracked again, you seem new, and there's somewhere I wanna show ya. To get-cher bearings."
> She seems to snap out of it.
> "Alright, lead the way, Kirisame."
> It is just as well, a bit of a crowd of gawkers is starting to form.
-
> Lead her to the market.
-
> Through side streets, down alleys, cross a disused lot and now you are back at the market, where the morning trade has picked up fully and noises and smells come from every direction. Reimu Hakurei shows no curiosity, absorbed in her strange five-beat thoughts.
-
> She should attract enough attention here. As the crowd swells, you slip away from her and make way to a vantage point. You spy her, standing there every so often. It is as if whatever curse holds her has taken away all her impetus. She will live out her life, but it will be an empty existence, locked in whatever thought-loops torment her. It is a shame, she looks a decent enough sort.
> Soon enough, Reimu Hakurei returns to muttering and, once again, passers-by start rubbernecking, altering the flow of the crowd. You have made your opportunity to swipe some valuables.
Fightest's note: To those still reading: I am very curious, what was it about Her Mother's Sword that encouraged your participation? I do understand plenty of readers are comfortable enough just following along the story, with one or two making inputs, but I got more participation in HMS than typical.
-
> She should attract enough attention here. As the crowd swells, you slip away from her and make way to a vantage point. You spy her, standing there every so often. It is as if whatever curse holds her has taken away all her impetus. She will live out her life, but it will be an empty existence, locked in whatever thought-loops torment her. It is a shame, she looks a decent enough sort.
> Soon enough, Reimu Hakurei returns to muttering and, once again, passers-by start rubbernecking, altering the flow of the crowd. You have made your opportunity to swipe some valuables.
Fightest's note: To those still reading: I am very curious, what was it about Her Mother's Sword that encouraged your participation? I do understand plenty of readers are comfortable enough just following along the story, with one or two making inputs, but I got more participation in HMS than typical.
>Commence to swiping, but try to keep an eye on Reimu Hakurei. She seems nice enough, and it'd be quite sad for her to be stuck this way. Of course, we have to get some loot after all of our work to set this up, so she can probably stand to wait a short while longer.
re: Fighest's note
I think the fact that HMS was highly action-based, while Esteemed Companion is decidedly less so at present, might have had an effect. I personally wouldn't want you to change things to something outside your plans too much(I still feel kinda bad for how much you had to do to get people back on track in the story following Akyu, though I joined after it was already at the final phase), but injecting more action and stuff might generate more activity.
-
> How much do we know about the shrine that deals with curses?
-
> How much do we know about the shrine that deals with curses?
> It is not so much the shrine as one of the spirits that inhabits it. A small wandering god called Key And Mountain took up residence there a while back and has become very popular with the poor and destitute by taking some of their suffering upon herself every so often. She has occasionally done the same with curses.
>Commence to swiping, but try to keep an eye on Reimu Hakurei. She seems nice enough, and it'd be quite sad for her to be stuck this way. Of course, we have to get some loot after all of our work to set this up, so she can probably stand to wait a short while longer.
> Opportunities abound! With this much attention drawn away, you go for quantity over quality and soon have a sack near-overflowing with all sorts of loot from the market stalls. Just in time, as well - there is a small, hooded figure with crow's legs tugging at your shirt.
> "You, thief. The Dream-Child needs your help. Now."
-
>"Hey, I'm not stealing, just borrowing it until I die, they can have it back when I am dead!"
>Return to previous vantage point and see if we can catch a glimpse of Reimu.
>Inventory
>Abilities
RE: Fightest's note
I just like the fact that your series of games makes people think, your unusual style of storytelling is a plus too.
-
>"Hey, I'm not stealing, just borrowing it until I die, they can have it back when I am dead!"
> The hooded figure looks up at you and you catch a steely glint off a dark eye.
> "Your demise is the last thing you will find yourself concerned about soon. Now hurry."
>Return to previous vantage point and see if we can catch a glimpse of Reimu.
> On the same spot where you left her, she is kneeling on the ground, clutching at her head. The crowd is giving her a wide berth.
>Inventory
> Your sack is full of stuff! You have no idea what any of it is, you snatched without looking for the most part. You will need time to sort through it all.
> Otherwise you're wearing comfortable street clothes, quite ragged from exuberant overuse.
>Abilities
> You are pretty good at snatching stuff. You are well-acquainted with just about every settlement on the island, but not much beyond.
-
>Go towards Reimu and help her up.
>"Whats wrong, Reimu?"
-
> Foist bag o'goods on Reimu. Drag by hand away from market.
> "C'mon. We're going."
-
>Go towards Reimu and help her up.
>"Whats wrong, Reimu?"
> It is like it was back then. Glass underfoot. The sound of knives. Don't look down.
> And a terrible wind, blowing away the world's colour, with Reimu at the centre.
> "How can there be so much and nobody notices?" she says, her eyes darting, "burn the effigy, throw the spear-"
> Foist bag o'goods on Reimu. Drag by hand away from market.
> "C'mon. We're going."
> The closer you get to her, the worse the terrible wind gets, and you feel it rushing through you and it begins to change you.
> Young adventurer. Replaced. Now orphaned as a child.
> You grit your teeth and toss the sack into Reimu's arms. You catch her attention.
> Friendly and outgoing. Replaced. Now dependent and aggressive.
> Your vision blurry, you grab her hand. Your grip is far stronger than it needs to be, and you know your fingers are digging into her skin, but the contact keeps you real.
> Part-time thief. Replaced. Now compulsive kleptomaniac.
> You realise your vision is blurred from the tears. Yet you keep going, no longer with a proper destination in mind, just keep moving, keep moving, and the wind follows you.
> Time passes.
> The sharp sting of cold water wakes you up and it is all around you and rushing into your mouth and you thrash around and hit your ankle on a rock and finally come to your senses.
> You, Marisa, are still you. But it is so cold being you, and you do not know if it is the water or something deeper.
> You reorient yourself and stand up. The water comes up to your waist. You are in a pool of mountain water, caused to form by a hand-built dam of rocks that redirects flow from a little river nearby. All around is forest, but through the trees you can make out the colours of shrine buildings. Reimu is sitting in the pool across from you, her eyes unfocused. Both of you are undressed.
> "Get back in the water," a voice says from behind you, "I am about to start."
> You recognise the voice - it is Key and Mountain. You must have made it to the shrine, after all.
-
> Did we get here in a da ze'?
>Examine Key and Mountain.
-
> Did we get here in a da ze'?
>Examine Key and Mountain.
> You'll be getting around in a body bag if you keep that up, bub.
> Key and Mountain approaches the pool. She is also undressed, her brilliant-green hair tied up tight with red and white ribbon. Despite her stern expression, the kindness in her eyes is unmistakeable.
> "Forgive me for setting up the rite without permission," she says, getting into the pool and standing at its centre. "Steel yourself. Do not be afraid. There is still some love left in the world."
> And a wondrous golden glow comes from her, surrounding her and the pool and bathing you in its light, and it is like being amongst the closest of friends, like a warm fire after a long day, like a wound healed and like a job well done.
> Key and Mountain starts slowly turning on the spot, around and around, and the water soon begins to circle with her.
> And, as if drawn by the current, a terrible nausea comes in waves, up, up, and you feel something on your face, and you bring up your hand to wipe it off and it comes away black and oily and glistening.
> And you choke and convulse as blackness pours from your mouth and you are blinded and deafened as it pours from your eyes and ears and it keeps coming, for so long, all this envy and disgust and scorn and suffering.
> How can there be so much?
> And with a cough and a sputter you bring up the last of it and blink your eyes free and see the pool now utterly black and filthy.
> And Key and Mountain continues to turn, bringing it all towards her, letting it seep into her, her body spasming every few steps but still she continues to turn.
> But the pool remains black.
> "There...there is too much," says Key and Mountain through the filth in her mouth. "How can there be so much? I cannot take it all! Burn the effigy. Burn the effigy! Take some of her hair and burn the effigy!"
-
>"Effigy of WHAT!? Of her? Do I need something else alongside her hair?"
>Try to figure out what nearby we can use to burn things while awaiting Key and Mountain's reply
-
>"Effigy of WHAT!? Of her? Do I need something else alongside her hair?"
>Try to figure out what nearby we can use to burn things while awaiting Key and Mountain's reply
> "Of her! Of her! A doll, a moppet, her hair will do, just burn, burn it!"
> You are quite literally naked, but there might be some materials in the shrine.
Fightest's note: Sorry about the big delays, but there is a bit of a thing happening tomorrow and my mind is thoroughly fixed on that. I'll talk all about it this weekend.
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> "Of her! Of her! A doll, a moppet, her hair will do, just burn, burn it!"
> You are quite literally naked, but there might be some materials in the shrine.
>"Sorry, Reimu, but I'm going to be stealing this!"
>Swiftly yank out a couple hairs and fashion a doll as best we can out of them, then bolt for the shrine to find some way to get this thing burnt!
Fightest's note: Sorry about the big delays, but there is a bit of a thing happening tomorrow and my mind is thoroughly fixed on that. I'll talk all about it this weekend.
Not a problem. Gotta put things in priority! We'll still be here when you get back.
-
>"Sorry, Reimu, but I'm going to be stealing this!"
>Swiftly yank out a couple hairs and fashion a doll as best we can out of them, then bolt for the shrine to find some way to get this thing burnt!
> Some of her hair comes out in a clump. It's an unruly mess, and making a doll out of it is out of the question. You will need something to serve as a frame.
> You run in the direction of the shrine, dense brush whipping against your bare skin.
> The shrine is a small thing, worn and old, with some maintenance here and there to suggest that it is still in use, if infrequently. It is barely a few walls with a roof, with some space inside for a statue of some saint you do not know and a few charms here and there. At the foot of the statue is a small pot of coals, where incense burns.
-
Fightest's note: god what day is it
> There must be something, something. You rummage around the shrine, and there! A paper cutout resembling a human figure, probably for some ritual function.
> You wind the hair around the piece of paper and without a second thought plunge it into the coals.
> And sounds come like voices, and you remember things that ought not happen
> The great spider weaves its curses like webs from silk of suffering and threads of anguish but you are prepared and the curse burns away in fire and smoke
> And the vision passes, and your nose is filled with the stench of burning hair.
-
Ah, sorry for not having added more, I was just trying to give others a chance to do stuff. Guess I should be more active then.
>Leave the shrine, check status of Reimu and Key and Mountain.
>>If they're fine, set about finding clothes, preferably our own.
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>Leave the shrine, check status of Reimu and Key and Mountain.
>>If they're fine, set about finding clothes, preferably our own.
> By the time you get to the stream and the pool, Key and Mountain is dragging Reimu out of the water. The rock dam that had been letting the pool form had been broken open, and the black water was quickly seeping out into the stream.
> "Oh, thank Heaven you succeeded. Two lives we owe you today," says Key and Mountain.
> Off to the right you spot your clothes neatly hanging off a branch.
-
> By the time you get to the stream and the pool, Key and Mountain is dragging Reimu out of the water. The rock dam that had been letting the pool form had been broken open, and the black water was quickly seeping out into the stream.
> "Oh, thank Heaven you succeeded. Two lives we owe you today," says Key and Mountain.
> Off to the right you spot your clothes neatly hanging off a branch.
>"Hey, after you sucked that oily crap outta me it was the least I could do. What the heck WAS it, anyway? All I know's it made me feel terrible when it was coming out."
>Reclothe ourself as we speak.
>After this, see if Reimu's ok once she's done being dragged out.
-
>"Hey, after you sucked that oily crap outta me it was the least I could do. What the heck WAS it, anyway? All I know's it made me feel terrible when it was coming out."
>Reclothe ourself as we speak.
>After this, see if Reimu's ok once she's done being dragged out.
> Key and Mountain finishes lugging Reimu out of the pool, wraps her in a linen cloth and props her up against a tree.
> "I can draw a curse out of a person and break it within myself. In normal circumstances, there is nothing to be seen in such a ritual... but here, the curse was so strong as to... well, you saw it. Felt it. A black tar of the worst in man. This is something far over our heads."
> You hear a noise from Reimu's direction, looks like she is coming to.
>
> You are now Reimu.
> And everything is so vivid. The light burns your eyes, and the sounds of the world mix and muddle in your ears and you can barely make out what the girl with green hair is telling you as she speaks slowly and carefully in your ear.
> "Listen and stay calm. Your spiritual field has been burnt away. You now have no innate defense against even the simplest curses. We must act quickly. Come, to the shrine."
-
>Cover our eyes slightly to deal with the brightness until our eyesight is improved.
>Do we know much about the spiritual field spoken of? Is it related to Fantasy Heaven?
>Go to the shrine as asked, then explain our overloaded senses to see if she can tell us why we're so sensitive right now.
-
>Cover our eyes slightly to deal with the brightness until our eyesight is improved.
> You bring up your hand to your eyes, but it is almost worse. Black things twist and crawl under your skin, burrowing and growing. Key and Mountain grabs your hand.
> "Remember. Stay calm."
>Do we know much about the spiritual field spoken of? Is it related to Fantasy Heaven?
> You do not know what she means.
>Go to the shrine as asked, then explain our overloaded senses to see if she can tell us why we're so sensitive right now.
> You follow Key and Mountain to the shrine.
> "It is not your senses. Not in the way you think. You are being assailed by the little curses of everyday life. A normal person's spiritual field repels them, but yours has been burnt away."
> The shrine is only a minute or so away, but in that time the noise and crawling things under your skin have grown to near-unbearable.
> "I have had a mentor once," says Key and Mountain, "who described to me a purification ritual of the mind and body. It is yet untested, but it seems that now is the time to see if her theory holds."
> She rummages around inside the shrine and brings out a cloth bundle. She unwraps the bundle and points out the contents, one by one.
> "Salt," she says, pointing to a little laquered box, "to ward off the little curses."
> "Bells," she says, holding up a rod with little bells attached at even intervals, "to call the gods and petition their aid."
> "The go...gohu...gohei," she says, stumbling on her words a little, "to purify the object of veneration - you."
> "The mind we have already cleansed, back there, in the pool," she says, "now it is up to you to finish the ritual."
-
>"What do I need to do?"
-
>Do we have any background knowledge in such spiritual means? Do we understand the theory?
-
>Do we have any background knowledge in such spiritual means? Do we understand the theory?
> You have lived amongst spirits since you remember, you have never needed ritual means to help you contact them. This, however, is something else entirely. You understand the principles of the ritual as Key and Mountain explained them, but you would not be able to reproduce the train of thought that brought them about without significant research.
>"What do I need to do?"
> "It is up to you. You must finish the ritual. How, it does not matter." says Key and Mountain.
> You have completed one of four parts of an unknown purification ritual, the cleansing of the mind. You will probably need to complete all the other ones as well.
> What do you reach for first?
> The salt?
> The bells?
> The gohei?
-
Fightest's note: there is no puzzle here, dudes, you just get to design the ritual yourselves.
-
Fightest's note: there is no puzzle here, dudes, you just get to design the ritual yourselves.
Ah geez, I thought I put a post in here.
>Take the salts, sprinkle them in a circle around ourself.
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>Take the salts, sprinkle them in a circle around ourself.
> You take the little box and open it. The contents look like regular salt, if very white and pure.
> You stand a ways from the shrine, where there is room enough to move. The old cobblestones are rough against your bare feet.
> A deep breath to calm yourself. The light is still dazzling.
> Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left right, turning slowly all the way until the box is empty.
> You feel better already. The little blackness has abated, and you no longer feel the pressure.
> What do you take next?
-
> You take the little box and open it. The contents look like regular salt, if very white and pure.
> You stand a ways from the shrine, where there is room enough to move. The old cobblestones are rough against your bare feet.
> A deep breath to calm yourself. The light is still dazzling.
> Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left, right. Scoop, left right, turning slowly all the way until the box is empty.
> You feel better already. The little blackness has abated, and you no longer feel the pressure.
> What do you take next?
>Next, the bells.
-
Updates are sporadic, aren't they? Blame the eurozone crisis.
> You lay down the empty lacquered box and pick up the rod, its bells jingling lightly with the motion.
> You pace along the inner edge of the circle inscribed in salt, shaking the rod every second step. The sound of the bell-chimes does not travel far, almost as if muted.
> With every one of your steps, Key and Mountain sinks deeper to the ground, clutching at her head.
> "The bells, like sounds of knives... Heaven cracked and broken, stop the bells, stop the bells!"
-
>Set the rod down.
>"What happened?"
>Try to assess Key-and-Mountain's condition.
-
>Set the rod down.
>"What happened?"
>Try to assess Key-and-Mountain's condition.
> As soon as you stop ringing the bells, Key and Mountain starts to recover.
> "The bells. They call the gods, petition their aid. But no god will approach you."
> Her breathing is still ragged.
> "There is a space around you, a terrible boundary of grey where glass cracks underfoot. It was subdued during your cursing, but... its strength now is incredible. Like a hole in the world where dreams go to die."
> You notice that the feeling of pressure has died away entirely. The little blackness still crawls here and there, but it does not grow and multiply. It is as if your broken Heaven wards away curses as well as it does blessings.
-
>"I see...Then I'm not yet prepared to use these. Perhaps the...gohei, was it?"
>Take said gohei, see howw we feel holding it.
-
>"I see...Then I'm not yet prepared to use these. Perhaps the...gohei, was it?"
>Take said gohei, see howw we feel holding it.
> Unlike the bells, the gohei feels right.
> You concentrate. This ritual is about you. You are the object of veneration, your body - the sanctuary to be cleansed. You pace around the circle of salt, swinging left on the left step, right on the right.
> Left - the little blackness is torn out of your body.
> Right - it is expelled outside the circle of salt.
> Left - the impurities of today's events are pulled out.
> Right - to be expelled and warded away.
> With each step you feel lighter. Stronger. Better. You can continue cleansing. Purify deeper. Just how close can you come to perfection?
> Proceed?
-
Fightest's note: while I appreciate the attention, is there any particular reason I'm stickied?
-
[fightest's note: crap, edited instead of quoted]
>Proceed! Cleanse as far as we can go.
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Fightest's note: while I appreciate the attention, is there any particular reason I'm stickied?
This was probably my fault. I tend to accidentally futz with threads when phone browsing. Sorry for the disruption.
-
> Why stop now?
> Physical impurity. Gone.
> Purify further.
> Fatigue gone. Uncertainty gone. Symmetry, perfect supersymmetry in all things.
> Purify further.
> Decay gone. Age gone. Purify the blood, the lymph vessels, the nerves, the muscles, the bones, the organs and the skin.
> Purify further.
> Pure mind. Anger gone. Compassion gone. Greed gone. Love gone. Fear gone.
> Hope gone.
> You stop. There is nothing left to cleanse. You are perfect.
-
>Assess our newly perfect self, and see if Key-and-Mountain has anything to say regarding our transformation to what we are perceiving as perfection.
Will hopefully give a better reply tomorrow, but I wanted to do SOMETHING so you don't think I left this to die or anything.
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>Assess our newly perfect self, and see if Key-and-Mountain has anything to say regarding our transformation to what we are perceiving as perfection.
> Aah, what wonder! What splendor! What glory! Yet what is perfection if not to be measured against something? Already you sense a little blackness within you taking seed. It is barely there, but it will grow slowly, sapping at your purity, and with your spiritual field burnt away, the curses that come from within will have nothing to repel them.
> It matters little. Performing this purification ritual daily should keep the sin at bay. You can even skip the salt and bells, should you choose to, it is not as if the gods will help you.
> Key and Mountain is keeping her distance. It makes sense, approaching you is difficult for her. Just as well. You have little need of her now, she can hardly help reconstruct your Fantasy Heaven, and she is too tied to this island to travel with you further.
> "Are you...well?" says Key and Mountain? Her voice is timid. Rightfully so.
-
>"Perfect, in fact."
>Do we have any way of locating Illuminating Decree, since they seemed to know of the Anguish Engine? Now, we may be able to combat it.
>"May I keep this gohei? It will prove useful if so. If not, where might I obtain one?"
-
> "I-it is but a rod. Of wood and paper. You can keep it, of course, it should...will be no trouble to make another!" says Key and Mountain.
> Contacting Illuminating Decree should be no harder than entering your Fantasy Heaven. The world shifts like breathing, so easy it is for you now. You pay no mind to the glass underfoot and the sound of knives. It is your realm, after all, as much a part of your perfection as anything else.
> The little crow creature is as you left her, sifting through fragments of glass, occasionally picking one up and holding it up to her eyes. On the ground next to her is a beautiful glass mandala, about the size of your hand, different from the flower you saw earlier - she is probably finished reassembling another story.
-
Home for winter break.
>Address Illuminating Decree, "What have you been able to piece together?"
>Examine the story.
-
> "Ah, Dream-Child. How strong you look. Here, another story finished. Family story, tragic perhaps, hmm? An estranged daughter to an old father, a clash of values. Father dies before reconciliation can happen, but daughter comes to terms with her father's teachings, brings honor to the family in her own way. Not kind, but..."
> She draws a talon along a crack with a horrible, jagged sound.
> "No suffering."
> You remember this one as well, mostly for the pointless inevitability of it. The fox daughter of an elder forest spirit, the latter quite literally set in his roots trying, as all overconcerned parents, to impose his values on the fundamental free spirit of the former. The daughter ended up taking over her father's duties upon his passing, and learned dignity and wisdom with her new function.
-
>Would purifying the story atune it to us, or erase it?
-
>Would purifying the story atune it to us, or erase it?
> For you to do anything with the story, you will need to reintegrate it into your Fantasy Heaven first. To do that, you will need to get to the mainland, where the event occurred.
-
>Hypothetically, would a story that did have suffering in it stabilized? Could I. Decree build something that did have suffering?
>How far away from the mainland are we? Where is this island located?
-
>Hypothetically, would a story that did have suffering in it stabilized? Could I. Decree build something that did have suffering?
>How far away from the mainland are we? Where is this island located?
> You should be able to, with Illuminating Decree's help, work suffering into a story that she has reassembled.
> You have traveled around, so you more or less know by the climate and elemental attunement that this is very far West. Ani's skiff managed to cover the distance in the better part of two days, but it was an artifact of her grandmother's time, and such artifacts are getting rarer and rarer these days.
> Still, this is a major port island. Maybe you could be able to find a fast merchant vessel.
-
Wait, why are we doing that? Did I miss something? I didn't hear any obections when I mentioned the alternative... What one should we go with, other players(s)? I wanna make sure I don't step on anyone's toes if I act.
-
The bit about suffering? 'Twas a hypothetical. Wanted to know if introducing suffering was possible without being where the event occurred.
>Muse on Ani's whereabouts. Hope for her safety.
Thinking that without a coin to our name (isn't it sad Reimu?) we'll have to smuggle ourselves onto a main-land bound vessel.
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>Muse on Ani's whereabouts. Hope for her safety.
> Ani had very deliberately made an enigma of herself, but she sounded genuinely threatened by whatever specter the two of you saw back then. Was Ani defeated by it? Would you even know? Would anything even become different if she were? There are many questions, and you are the only person to even know to ask them.
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>"From whence do you hail Illuminating Decree? How do you know so much about stories, and why do you want re-assemble them?"
>"I intend to complete these tales by integrating them into my ideal fantasy heaven, a re-imagining where a lack of suffering is not a flaw."
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>"From whence do you hail Illuminating Decree? How do you know so much about stories, and why do you want re-assemble them?"
> "Strange question, Dream-child. I have always been here. Your heaven brought to it the most fascinating of beings, did it not? But, perhaps, with them gone, I am the most fascinating one here now, hmm?"
> The crow creature cackles.
>"I intend to complete these tales by integrating them into my ideal fantasy heaven, a re-imagining where a lack of suffering is not a flaw."
> "Then you fight the nature of the world itself, as dictated by the Anguish Engine."
> burn the effigy throw the spear pull the rope cut the seal catch the bird
> "-olve, but do you even know where to begin?"
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> If you wish to get to the mainland, then you will need a ship with range for a month or so of travel. You have several options:
> Private vessel - some wealthy traveller might have space on their ship and a charitable enough disposition.
> Merchant ship - you might be able to convince a trader to free up some precious cargo space for you.
> Stow away - hide amongst some cargo on one of the above.
> Piracy - seize a ship for your own use.
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>Is that Marisa girl, Principle-of-Magic, still around does she know any good ways to get to the mainland?
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>Is that Marisa girl, Principle-of-Magic, still around does she know any good ways to get to the mainland?
> She left sometime during your ritual, with no indication where she could have gone.
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>Attempt to locate her, she seemed to know a bit about the community. We could thank her as well.
>Speaking of which, give thanks to Key and Mountain, we're in her debt.
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While that is all well and good, please put in a course of action involving the boat, assuming you do not find Marisa. I'm trying to move this along.
Also, Happy New Year, everyone!
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>Have we had any previous experience stowing away? Barring that, try to see if there are any charitable travelers; name drop Hieda family.
Any other suggestions players?
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I'm fine with that, Mr_Bob.
Sorry for no posting on my part, but Christmas then MAGFest kinda distracted me, the former with new games and movies and stuff, the latter with being a con and thus I was doing other stuff. I'm with Fightest on getting this thing progressing. We've still got a ways to go in this series, after all~!
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Fightest's note: sorry, my internet presence may be sketchy over the next two weeks.
>Have we had any previous experience stowing away? Barring that, try to see if there are any charitable travelers; name drop Hieda family.
> Pick one, brah. Both are possible options and lead in different directions.
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>Search for a ship that looks unguarded enough to sneak aboard that is headed towards the mainland
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>Search for a ship that looks unguarded enough to sneak aboard that is headed towards the mainland
> You can see the light reflecting off it before you see the ship itself, a magnificent golden yacht, built and decorated with an expert eye, a wondrous piece of engineering that is rarely seen in this age. Only Ani's skiff surpassed it in splendor.
> With attention drawn to the ship, little goes in the direction of the various crates being loaded by local workers through a cargo hatch cleverly concealed in the rear of the yacht.
> Is it your own skill, or the cold influence of your Fantasy Heaven that steers curious glances away from you? Whichever the case, it is easy enough to pick a moment when nobody is watching, and the workers are concerned with the transport of some large, possibly precious container, to slip into the cargo hold and hunker down in the darkness.
> Minutes pass. Hours? Your only indication is the movement of air and the steps and thuds of the loaders and their cargo, but the moment comes when the hatch closes and you are fully blanketed in darkness. Then the ship shudders and faint lights run across the ceiling of the cargo hold as the ship comes to life. The slightest shift in balance tells you that the ship has left port.
> Time passes.
> The sea looked calm when you stowed away on the ship, and the sky cloudless, but it seems even the ship's powerful dampening enchantments have begun to fail, and you are rocked, more and more strongly, from side to side. The cargo is tightly-clamped, of course, but you have to be careful not to be thrown into anything hard and edged.
> You start to feel the little blackness again, growing from little pinpricks into threads of rot under your skin. You will need to purify again, sooner rather than later.
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>Take out the gohei, wave it to banish the blackness within like we did before.
>Do we have any idea how we might more permanently banish the curses and blackness?
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>Take out the gohei, wave it to banish the blackness within like we did before.
>Do we have any idea how we might more permanently banish the curses and blackness?
> It is strange to perform the ritual of purification in an unprepared space like this, shifting to and fro, but the waving of the gohei, in rhythm to your own breath and steps, is enough to push away the little blackness that comes from within. The curses that come from without are still held at bay by your Fantasy Heaven.
> To banish the curses without would be to upset the cycle of karma that binds the world and spins the wheel of samsara. The world would literally have to be broken and made anew.
> To banish the curses within would require you to fully and utterly reject your humanity, for the fundamental imperfections of your form and function are what give birth to the little blackness. For as long as you have two arms, two legs, eat and breathe, see and hear, you still hold some shred of humanity within you.
> It is impossible to walk a perfect circle, but you make do with a winding path between boxes and crates.
> As you are halfway through your second lap, a repeat of your path just to make sure, a woman's voice resounds through the cargo hold. There is nobody here. A communication enchantment, then.
> "Miss Stowaway, we do know that you are there, do you take us for a fool? Now, it is clearly not coincidence that we are in the middle of the worst storm for a hundred years on the same day that you chose to grace our yacht with your surprisingly clean - thank Heaven for that - presence. Tell us your name that we might have a proper ... conversation. We are to be called Remilia, if you please."
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Remilia doesn't sound too archaic, so Reimu is probably the correct introductory name.
>"I am called Reimu. I have stowed away to reach the main land to complete a task of much importance. I would be glad to be of assistance if I can secure safe passage to my destination."
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>"I am called Reimu. I have stowed away to reach the main land to complete a task of much importance. I would be glad to be of assistance if I can secure safe passage to my destination."
> "Aah, wonderful, Miss Reimu it is. Now, Miss Reimu, would you most kindly
> throw the spear
> "...the red, lacquered container, about your height, and bring its contents up on deck, along with your Esteemed presence?"
> The container she is talking about it hard to miss, its elaborate finish with oristeel patterning and golden filigree stands out amongst the dull wood and metal.
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>Open up the box.
>Examine the contents.
>Go up topside.
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> The lacquered container opens easily.
> Within is a long and thin object, like a staff or a spear, tightly-wrapped in silk. The wrappings have come undone in parts, revealing a strange gleaming red metal, entirely unlike the grey-gold of oristeel.
> It is so heavy, you can barely lift it, and it takes all your strength just to keep it from dragging on the floor as you climb the stairs to the main deck.
> You emerge outside to a black sky, a ravaging wind and sheets of rain whipping across your face. Lightning crackles in low clouds, with booming thunder to accompany.
> "Marvelous to see you on deck, Miss Reimu," yells a woman in a black raincoat. She is standing towards the front of the ship, looking out at the churning waves.
> "We would like you to kill the ocean, please!"
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>Grab any nearby support.
>Loudly: "You mean put the ocean to rest?"
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> "If that is how you want to call it!" she yells. "You can see it crest the surface every so often! There!"
> She points somewhere ahead, where it is as if an island rises from the ocean, all iridescent hide and scale, and a fin the size of a palace breaks the water, cleaving the low clouds, and submerges again.
> throw the spear
> "It wants you dead, Miss Reimu, and we do not want to be collateral damage. The solution is quite literally in your hands!"
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>Do we know any stories or legends regarding such a leviathan?
>Can such a being be conversed / reasoned with?
>"Do you know why it's after me?!"
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>Do we know any stories or legends regarding such a leviathan?
>Can such a being be conversed / reasoned with?
>"Do you know why it's after me?!"
> If the ocean is acting the way it is, it must be some major spirit or god.
> It is utterly berserk. You will have to pacify it first before you can parley.
> "We were hoping very much that you would know, Miss Stowaway!"
> If Key And Mountain's reaction is anything to go by, it could have been driven into this state by your mere presence.
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>"How is this going to help anyway?", regarding the metal object, "It's extremely heavy!"
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Fightest's note: blame the Eurozone crisis for lack of updates.
>"How is this going to help anyway?", regarding the metal object, "It's extremely heavy!"
> "It is a weapon, Miss Reimu," she shouts as a particularly large wave breaks over the side of the ship, "I would think it rather obvious how it can help!"
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>Unwrap the weapon. Is it magical?
>How far away is The Ocean?
>When the fin crests again, make like Ahab, aiming at the base of the fin.
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>Unwrap the weapon. Is it magical?
>How far away is The Ocean?
>When the fin crests again, make like Ahab, aiming at the base of the fin.
> You unwrap the heavy weapon, the galeforce winds instantly snatching up the cloth and carrying it out of sight.
> It is a beautiful spear, all deep red metal and crystal. Intermittent flashes of lightning send your reflection scattering across its many facets.
> There is a power in this weapon, a strange and terrible power, as if a black sun's light washing over you.
> And suddenly the spear feels much lighter, as if it has come to understand you, to see a kindred soul. You walk steadily to the side of the ship, your legs not even wholly your own
> and visions come unbeckoned, of things that have not happened
> the vast spider darts with a speed born of legend, leaving webs of suffering at every step, and its realm is the world itself, how could you possibly hope to hunt it?
> You test the spear's weight. You line up the throw.
> The wind and waves batter at you, but the strange trance still holds you, and the sea rises up as the spirit-beast crests the surface again, and the shot is perfect
> But a flash of lightning!
> And you know that the throw is off-target.
> Still the spear leaves your hand, almost voracious for a kill, ripping away with a speed far greater than your throw could allow for.
> Like a red bolt of lightning it hits the water, raising a plume that reaches the sky, and the vast force of the impact sends the beast careening to the side. With a wail, it submerges below the churning waves.
> With a dull red glow, the spear reforms in your hand. The beast is wounded. The hunt is on.
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All right, lads, give it to me straight. This is probably the lowest activity we have had in a very long time. What's up? Pacing, things proceeding to slowly? Characters, not compelling enough? The setting, unengaging? A lot of things are open to adjustment.
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Combination of transferring to a four year, and generally not having internet access at my location. Still excited whenever I get the chance to input some stuff.
>What color is the Ocean Beast?
>Wait for another opportunity.
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Fightest's note: I do owe you guys an explanation for the spotty as hell update schedule. The matter is that it is much easier to have creative juices flowing when one is busy at work. Ideas come much more readily. Sitting at home as I am, I've basically got the mother of all writer's blocks. The good news is that I've had a few very key ideas around which I can continue building story.
>What color is the Ocean Beast?
>Wait for another opportunity.
> The beast is the midnight black of the stormcloud-covered sky. Lightning flashes sometimes illuminate its hide, which pearlesces with every color of the rainbow for these briefest of moments.
> You steady yourself, the tip of the spear twitching left and right of its own volition like a dog sniffing for prey.
> and things start to get strange
> sound muted
> lightning like cracks in glass
> along webstrands the span of trees, through clouds and the sky, from pole to pole, how are you keeping up
> "What..." mutters Remilia, and you hear her clearly for it is as if the storm has stopped.
> she clutches at her head, her eyes darting
> "Things running together... a spider? A spider that spans the sky!"
> you ignore her, the hunt far more important
> "But when? Now or then? Of course, of course! HAKUREI!"
> you cannot even tell where you are any more, as if all that exists, all that matters are you and your quarry
> so close, lead the target
> "THROW THE SPEAR!"
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THAR SH' BLOWS!
> "THROW THE SPEAR!"
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> As if through molasses you send the spear flying, red lightning trailing in its wake. In moments, the spear's red light disappears in the black murk.
> Then the ocean flashes a bright red and a powerful shockwave violently rocks your ship. The spear does not reform in your hands.
> And the storm stops dead.
> "In hindsight," says Remilia in barely more than a whisper, "we do not think this was the right thing to do."
> She is shaking visibly.
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>"I fear you may be right, if the Ocean has been killed, and not merely subdued."
>Another god will likely take its place, right?
>"Remilia, what were you saying about a spider?"
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> "It was so strange, but you must have seen it too, here one moment, another place - another time - the next. Like opening a page deeper in a book and finding the same passage that you have just read repeated."
> She looks up at the clearing clouds with the sun beginning to shine through.
> "We do not understand the context of this, the significance. Frankly, we were content living a life of luxury and decadence, with little need of such adventure. But something is going to happen. You will be at the centre of it, Miss Stowaway. But we will not be there with you."
> She gives you a cold look, and starts to walk away.
> "You are welcome to stay aboard this ship and use its accommodations to your desire, but we would part with you as soon as we reach our destination," she says over her shoulder.
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>Other crew?
>What are Illuminating Decree's thoughts on this situation?
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>Other crew?
>What are Illuminating Decree's thoughts on this situation?
> During the next few days of your stay aboard the ship, you find no other humans. The ship is crewed and maintained by a staff of spirits and elementals, all giving you a wide berth.
> In your grey world of glass and the sound of knives the little crow creature still sifts through the wreckage of dreams, muttering to herself.
> "Hm? The ocean? Pah, old news, unsatisfying. This one, however, this one! Ah, but elaborate, is it not? Now, where was that little piece, it was here somewhere..."
> She returns to assembling.
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>"What story is this?"
>"Anything I can help with?"
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>"What story is this?"
>"Anything I can help with?"
> She looks at you with a gleam in her eye.
> "Mine."
> She turns back to her work.
> "Now go. My work. You get in the way."
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>How far are we from the mainland?
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(Fightest's note: oy vey)
>How far are we from the mainland?
> Joke's on you buddy:
> Time passes.
> Your isolation becomes increasingly felt in the remaining days of the voyage. You no longer had companions, save for Illuminating Decree, although you were never in want for food or drink.
> You do not need companions. All you need is purity and a sense of purpose.
> You reached the mainland a day ago now, where the ocean eats into the land like a hungry caterpillar, at the northeastern shore. You have not forgotten the two strange spheres in your pack, that carry with them an entire village that slipped into the cracks of destiny.
> And the land beneath your feet feels familiar again, for you have been here before, long ago. Just over the mountain pass northeast are the great plains and rivers ruled by a powerful dynasty. You know their story - it was part of your Fantasy Heaven until not long ago, the story of brothers and sisters, of conspiracy and the looming threat of civil war. Perhaps they will be the first to rebuild the broken shards of dreams?
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>Disembark.
>Examine port (town?).
>How far away is this mountain pass?
>Anything else nearby?