March Family Meeting

[diplomaticimmewnity]

Who: All
What: Town Hall / Family Meeting
When: Mid-March
Where: Inn Lobby
Warnings: Child death mentions, torture, body horror. More will be in post titles as they come up.


Silverash will leave a note in the inn's lobby, as well as one in the notebook about a meeting coming up — a town hall to let everyone know what's been going on and gather information between one another. The Guardians, as always, are invited, and Enciodes even lets Ydalir and Heimr know what his plans are, in case they want to attend, though he does mention it might get rather uncomfortable for them, and he understands if they would rather not.

Silverash will use the notes taken at the last town hall and write them down again for all to see and pay attention to. There is a lot of information to note, so he is sure to outline and title all the important things to look at via your own disclosure. (As an OOC note, this is also the IC reasoning of why a lot of this was copy and pasted from the last meeting.)

Reincarnation and Our Past Lives

Our lives as we currently know it, while it did happen, are because of we've originated here at the Grove in a past life. Some sort of ritual was meant to save our souls, thought we physically didn't survive. For the most part, it seems our personalities from our past life carried over somewhat, but overall, it doesn't seem like learning about them in detail provides any information on how to get back to our current home or how to best the creature.

The Residents

The Shopkeeper and the Trader — They lost their names to the forest, so their new names are Heimr and Ydalir. With this in mind, do not give the forest your name. They cannot be referred to by their old names, but Heimr used to be the person in charge of the Grove and Ydalir his sister.
The Guardians — the Guardians we can currently seek out within the Grove are Zahliya, our small gargoyle friend; Moder, the large moose-like creature; the River Guardian, a fish(?). Treat them respectfully and give them offerings if you require their assistance or plan to take anything that is theirs. There are more guardians outside of the Grove. They're akin to... demigods, in a sense of the word. Moder and the River Guardian used to be corrupted, though on their deaths seemed to have been cleansed of this corruption. Though, going forward, killing the Guardians to purify them may prove detrimental. We simply got lucky with the first two. They were strong enough to revive. If we try again, we might not have this luck.

Purification, Zahliya, and the Corruption

Zahliya is able able to purify things with some sort of holy magic. However, his purification is not as strong as it needs to be to fully purify something of corruption. As such, it's in our best interest to figure out how to do this so we can use this ability to cleanse other Guardians and residents in the future, like Elsword and Nene. If you know of anything that might be helpful, but don't think it's a good idea for the creature in the forest to know, ask those two to leave, first. They may be on our side, but their corruption lends to the forest being able to listen in anyway.

We've found shards of the sun, the moon, and know of Ydalir's star shards. They seem to be manifestations of holy magic, considering that this world reveres the sun and moon deities. We've given Zahliya the sun shard in hopes it'll help him purify things. So far, it seems to be going well, though it seems like there needs to be something a bit stronger to help.

Belief and the "magic" of this world

Belief in something gives it power. Names give it power. As such, refrain from giving the forest/the creature/the entity a true "name" of any kind. It's recommended to swap out the vague reference you use. Vice versa for our Guardians - please use their names, and believe in them intrinsically when we require their assistance. Mizuki has recommended before that we sing to Zahliya when he purifies things. Songs of protection and such might do us some good, I think. Just remember not to wish for things too frequently, only if it's absolutely necessary.

Forest Entity

It considers us toys. When it gets bored, which so far has been every handful of weeks or so, it will play games with us of some kind, as you may have noticed with the race. They seem to vary in intensity. Residents were trapped inside a volcano and meant to get to the top before else risk burning alive… and it also seems to know what our absolute worst fears are, respectively. It will get in your head. Don't give it that opportunity.

It is not a god, but it does possess a great deal of power, somehow. Finding the source of this may be vital, as it is a chaotic nature with a child-like, sadistic personality, which is a deadly combination.

Places of interest

Aldric's Manor is a place where Heimr's kids are currently. We can't get to it, but the children inside do have a notebook, and we hope they'll try to communicate with us. One of his children… There's a grave outside for her. Do not do anything disrespectful by it.
There's a part of the forest where you might find people you know, but as trees. It's… very upsetting there. Refrain from visiting it too frequently.
The Garden is where you'll end up if you die. Nene brings you back if you do end up here. Do not die. Do not end up here. Coming back will have you giving up something important.
The River is where the River Guardian is. Return any remains of the fish we eat from there back to it after we're able to fish there again. Thank the River Guardian when you take apples from the tree nearby there, and thank Moder when you take berries from the bush near it. Do not take bones from the river without permission. Be kind to the river's inhabitants, and don't dump any trash into the water.
The Well The well water will always stay clean. Don't go dumping garbage into it, of course, but know that the water there is safe to drink regardless of what happens, it seems. Also, the well is completely bottomless, so if you can't breathe underwater, I don't recommend trying to swim down it. Mizuki tried to, but at a certain point it felt like something was pushing him back.
The Burnt Part of Town and Other Expansions — The Grove, prior to stuff going awry, was a sizeable place, so we're likely to explore more areas as a "reward" for participating in games. For the people who weren't here, it seems to have been "frozen in time". Which also means any corpses that were in there haven't been fully decomposed or anything, so be wary of that. Please also look out for the sink holes at that part of town — it's quite dangerous there.
The Church was Nene's previous home, and a former place of worship for whatever sun-based deity this world revered. It has since been worn down and transformed into something to worship the creature.
The Temple is separate from the Church. Zahliya was formerly a statue guarding this place. It is also where the creature was previously contained.
There's other places within the forest and such, but if you want specifics, talk to Elsword. He has a map.
If you do end up going into the forest, bring a pair of the golden spectacles that Heimr has with you. They will show you a safe-adjacent way into the forest. It won't guarantee safety, but it'll be your best case scenario.

Returning home

Not outside the realm of possibility, but currently unable to. The creature in the forest needs to be dealt with first, as even if we find a way home, it can likely just bring us back.

The shards

Mizuki has the moon shard, and has since apparently swallowed it, giving him the ability to stop the corruption. Likely, the moon shard itself has calming, healing, and soothing properties. The sun shard is able to burn corruption away. Not as much is known about it, but we can likely ask Ydalir about it, and the star shards, if needed.

Comments

Sun Mom

[soundsurfing]

Yo, Josh an' I found a statue up north in the weird burnt area and brought it down here after we repaired it. She don't seem corrupted or nothin', her names Beiwe, her pestletall says she's the Sun Goddess an' uh... the sun shards y'all fed to whatever you said his name was, prolly belong to her. Prolly why she ain't strong 'nuff to do much than give you some warmth but it's nice warmth like she pattin' yer head.

[ He WILL point out the Inn window to where he installed her. ]

Go say hi when you got the chance, take a look at the necklaces an' rings we found fer her too. Oh uh, Josh may have those...

[mooninthewater]

Oh fascinating. Where exactly did you find it? Around which building?

And Zahliya still has the sun shard — no one’s really eaten it. [ Yet. ] Do you think it’s… something she needs back?

[soundsurfing]

[That's a good fucking question, Mizuki... you might have to wait for Josh to show up and answer that because the dog is giving the biggest blankest stare.]

Uuuuuuh.... I think? Middle? I weren't really payin' attention to locations I was kinda diggin'. An' oh! Cool! ...... Maybe? Her pelletal thingy says she IS the Sun Goddess... an' she really really damn weak, she couldn't say anythin', but she was watchin' and warmin'.

[succiduous]

Pedestal.

[Mansplainer.]

[soundsurfing]

Ye, I said that, yo. Pellastall.

[succiduous]

You did not. You're pronouncing it with two L's in the middle. Ped-e-stel. There's a D in the middle.

[soundsurfing]

Heh. Right where I like my D's.

[TAIL WAG, GREMLIN GRIN.

Sorry, automatic authority disrespect.]

[succiduous]

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing with the class. Is there anything else we should know?

[soundsurfing]

If you go too far in the burnt place, there's a ton of sinkholes, an' black creepy ass vines that wanna get way too touchy feely widchu widdout buyin' you dinner first.

[He's counting that as a win in his favor.]

[mooninthewater]

In that case, you could probably ask him about it?

[ Gonna point at the gargoyle who's Pouting in the corner- ]

I think he keeps it on him, or maybe we could walk over there and do it to see what happens?

[soundsurfing]

[WHERE GARGOYLE. Oh, there Gargoyle. Wag goes the tail.]

Yo, fuck 'round an' find out! I'm down fer it! YO, GAR-BRO!! WANNA GO PLAY WID A STATUE?!

[That's

that's just fucking yelled across the Inn....]

[purifier]

[h]

I'm inclined to try and see if it does anything, but you should know leaving the shards out of any safe hands — on a statue's pedestal, for example — means it is liable to get stolen and broken. Elsword has struggled in the past with the temptation to shatter the shards due to his corruption.

In addition, I haven't heard of a "Sun Goddess" in this place, and were I to give up this shard, my ability to purify what little I can suffers greatly. Make your choice, but keep in mind the consequences.

[soundsurfing]

Hmmm..... Maybe like, hold onto it but hold it close to the statue an' see if anythin' happens? Like, maybe she'll talk to you? She ain't talked to me. But if you ain't heard... maybe we can jus' like, look at the statue?

[mooninthewater]

Just a question, Mister Beat, but what makes you think the statue is supposed to talk?

[soundsurfing]

Don't Gods usually talk to you? She's a Goddess, right? Says so on her pellalal. [Just to piss Gnosis off with the word.] Gods are fuckin' chatty when you worship them. I mean, not super chatty but they usually say like hey good dog.

[mooninthewater]

Well, of course. We speak frequently. Communication is important, and all that, but I mean I haven't heard anything from… the moon, since eating the moon shard…

[soundsurfing]

! You a God too? Yo you gotta meet Josh, the fuck is wid all the Gods here. I feel like someone's handbag dog now, damn. An' maybe cuz you ate it?

[amethystic]

... You might need both. The magic, and the avatar, so to speak.

[mooninthewater]

Oh, goodness, no. I'm not a god. [ That he knows of— ] I'm just Mizuki.

But I am also a vessel for my "Gods", so they'll often speak to Us, and through Us.

[soundsurfing]

Also jus' Beat is fine, Mister makes me feel old, I'm only twenty brotha!

[purifier]

[Hums. Pulls the sun shard out of the eye socket of the bird skull he keeps on his belt. It makes his green glow a little more orange-hued when he holds it.]

A decent enough plan. Very well. Follow me outside.

[As long as they're not leaving the shard out in the open where some sort of plot-important event could crush it haha teehee

Anyway, to the statue they go. Zahliya knows where it is, considering where he perches all the time, so he heads toward that. He... is very short, but he'll hold the sun shard up to the statue anyway, moving it around like he's looking for a place to slot it into, waiting to see if there are any Voices... the works.]

[soundsurfing]

[BEAT FOLLOWS LIKE A GOOD BOY, TAIL WAGGING.

And Zahliya is fucking tiny. He's holding it up but he's all about three feet what the hell.]

Here, yo.

[Hands under arms, straight lift up into the air you go, held out at arms length towards the statue like an offering.]

Aight, see anywhere to put it from this angle?!

[unheiring]

[Luca has been feeling some type of way for some type of reason since the bonfire disaster. Having been the reason that the town's protector has been otherwise occupied hasn't sat well on his shoulders.

The only reason he does come out is to retrieve a bucket of water. Which means he steps out, hair pulled up to a messy, unkempt bun and...]

Uh... [Blink... blink.] Am I interrupting something?

[purifier]

[Zahliya squeaks when he's picked up, which is what Luca will hear when he walks up. Please put him back on the ground he is so small—]

Hello, Lu. I'm seeing if the sun shard does something to this statue. Or if it does something to the shard...

[He sounds very calm for someone who is internally freaking out because why touch why lift]

And no, I don't see a place to put it. You can set me down. Gently.

[soundsurfing]

Hi.

[Hello have they met in person no they haven't but Beat's tail is going to wag wildly. Gargoyle might be gently shaken back and forth, lifted up and down a little, like Beat might be trying to activate something with him.]

What Gar-bro said, yo. Hear anything?

[Down? Aw. Beat will gently set the Gargoyle back down, scratching his chin.]

She responded when we put some sun motif stuff on her... Maybe Josh still has the brooch we can use...