EVENT & TDM 020

[sticksandbonesmods]

BITTER WINDS HOWLING

WAKES AND AWAKENINGS

Are you one to find yourself plagued with nightmares? Do you dream at all? Well, worry not, because tonight you find yourself in a somewhat alarming peace. You’re asleep. You’re aware of this. Yet, you feel incredibly lucid, all the same.

You hear the sound of water, like you’re under the ocean waves. You don’t see anything, but it’s almost as if you can feel others around you, despite not touching anything at all. They’re your… family? No. Friends? No. You don’t seem to be able to find a word to describe them. They’re important to you! …You think. Who are they, again?

You think they’re trying to speak to you, but all you can hear is the sound of gentle currents and air bubbles. Or maybe this is what they’re saying to you? You don’t know. Dreams are weird, aren’t they? But then they sing. It’s the prettiest sound you’ve heard. It’s the most haunting sound you’ve heard. It encourages you to move, at last. You didn’t realize you could. There’s a light that filters through the surface of the water…

…and you wake up. You feel strangely refreshed, like that’s the best sleep you’ve gotten in ages! You also feel… distantly sad, like you’ve just remembered something horrible that happened a long time ago.

It’s probably nothing.

For the rest of the month, you find sleep comes easy, and dreams are soothing. How uncharacteristically nice! Maybe don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

A BITTER ARRIVAL

You wake up to bitter cold. It's dark, the winds howling and whipping through the air, snow battering anything not sturdy enough to stand tall against it... and even the trees seem like one more push could knock them over. This isn't a forest you know, yet it seems like home. If you're not prepared for the cold, the warm lights of a small town will guide you, call to you, and your heart yearns for warmth. As you stumble through the heavy snow and harsh winds, something heavy hangs from your neck and the winds begin to form words with your own voice- SACRIFICE... END THIS WINTER WITH SACRIFICE.

As more voices join the wretched wails, your eyes feel heavier. You're almost to the town, though. Is it one of the houses that you wind up knocking on? Or do you manage to get to the inn, big and tall and radiating more warmth than anything you've ever felt? Regardless, you are no longer alone, but the cold still aches and clings, and something with your voice still calls it's omens outside. Only when you melt the heavy snowflake-shaped amulet hanging around your neck in the fires does the cold abate and the foreign copy of your voice fall silent.

A COLD RECEPTION

In the forest of the lost, the worst winter you've ever seen has finally set in full. The lake and river are both frozen over completely, and even the most hardy of beasts have hidden away from the cruel blizzard. The sky is dark, the winds are sharp and the freezing temperatures permeate most buildings, creeping in like a thief ready to steal the breath from your lungs if you aren't careful. Even fires seem to bend to this cold, save for the ever-burning, ever-blinding light of the fireplace in the inn- though she's long since gone, it seems one woman's faith still protects those in the Grove. Shadows haunt the clearing and amongst the winds and even the deafest ears can hear the voices howling alongside the storm, always demanding the same thing: a sacrifice.

When shadows flicker across the window, that is when you know you aren't alone. Ghastly wraiths of frost and ragged sleet fly through the air, and it's hard to tell if they are commanding the winter winds or if they are working in tandem. Regardless, the cold seems to be enhanced by their presence and if they catch you alone outside, they curse you with a frost so deep it pierces the heart and spreads. To some, it may be familiar, like turning to ice from within. To others it may be entirely new. But it spreads slowly and with agony while the wraiths make their demand once more and then vanish. Thankfully, a bit of kindness can melt the ice, but the winter wraiths are always willing to inflict the curse again...

... But you are not powerless. So long as you don't go alone, so long as you have a weapon, you can fend these things off, for a time. But they will be back.

They must have their sacrifice, after all.

BEACONS

Not everyone can fight though. Not everyone should. The only peace that can be found is in the sleep that follows that odd dream... but eventually the large shadow woman known as the Trader, Ydalir, makes her way through the snow to find you. With a warm furry blanket and a cup of tea, she gives you a small kit.

"Build these lanterns and hang them in the window. Be a light in the dark, loves." Is what she says.

The lanterns consist of wood, paper and a little cup for a candle. They can be in any shape and color, and when you hang them in the window the candle sparks into light. As frost clings on the other side of the window and the snow shrouds the outside world and veils what lies beyond, you can see other lights. Other lanterns, shining brightly. It may not be much, but it is still a sign. A reminder. You are not alone in this blizzard.

Spark Notes

summary

wakes and awakenings will bring you into a strange dream of being with many being, important ones, and a haunting song. Despite the melancholy feeling, it also brings a month of restful sleep no matter what.

a bitter arrival is how our new arrivals find themselves: lost in the woods in the middle of a terrible blizzard with only the faint lights of the Grove to guide you to safety. While you wear the snowflake amulet, the winter wraiths can use a mimicry of your voice to make their demands and curse you with a lingering freeze- only melting the amulets in a fire will set you free and silence the copy of your voice in the cacophony.

a cold reception shows just how bad the winter's gotten, with impenetrable ice freezing both the lake and the river solid. the wraiths curse whoever they see with turning to ice from within, but a genuine act of kindness or love will save their victims. the wraiths can be fought, but only with a companion or two, and definitely not with your bare hands. ... they will return though, again and again.

beacons grants perhaps a bit of hope in this dark winter- ydalir brings people supplies as best she can since the cold doesn't affect her shadowy body and there is nothing for the wraith to freeze, and she also brings a gift- a lantern to craft and hang in the window to show the others in town that you're all still here, cutting through the darkness.

out of character

Welcome to the first TDM of 2025! Regular AC resumes this month and as you can see, we're changing things up a little. TDMers are welcome and encouraged to reach out on our plotting post linked below. We're so excited to start the new year with everyone, and may the horrors stay in writing... because they are resuming now.

updates

❖ AFFOGATO COOKIE has used a magical artifact as a sacrifice. This has resulted in the blizzard lessening but still being present and the wraiths being banished from the grove, but still haunting the forest. There are further effects but they will come in to play during a player plot. ... Get your sacrifices in still though.
❖ MAYOI'S prayer to Ourania the day of the fight with Suri invoked a blessing: an aurora shines through the sky, and anyone in it's lights will be gradually healed and soothed.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ January Plotting (Open to TDMers)
❖ Sacrifices (Plot relevant, open to all)
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

[goldenambition]

[He swallows heavily, then nods]

Ye, ma'am. Thank you.

[He makes his way to the fire, moving stiffly from the cold inside and out.

But even with her suggestion, when she returns the has the snow flake amulet in his hand, examining it]

[beckonsbliss]

( ... hm. maybe he's noticed something she hadn't? she'd been too eager to get the wretched thing off of her, to reclaim her voice (how many times must she be robbed of herself?) and embrace the heat of the flame.

she sets down a tray with a kettle and mug. )

I'm not familiar with this sort of tea, but it had a deep, comforting scent... something floral with a note of citrus. It's been wonderful in this harsh weather. I wasn't sure if you'd like anything to eat, but I've a pot of stew simmering in the kitchen as well.

May I ask what you've found?

[goldenambition]

[He's still shivering, his lips and finger tips slightly purple-red. As if the fire has not kissed him even a small amount. Yet he doesn't throw the necklace away, focused and determined to learn what he can]

Thought giving it a little sniff would give me an idea what it is. It, the storm, the spooks... definitely the same. Not'a curse, which was my guess. No hint of man's touch on it. Just... Winter. This is somethin' old and pure, for sure.

But I ain' being no human sacrifice, not even for Her.

[That said he tosses it in the fire, finally, with a low sigh. Outside his own voice gives one last mournful beast howl before fading away]

Thank you, again. An' for the tea.

[beckonsbliss]

( not a curse... no hint of a caster... something old and pure. ... hm. a stellaron, maybe...? they've triggered stranger and worse things yet. some over centuries, even. she hums thoughtfully, watching the amulet melt like ice. )

There's nothing to thank me for. I'm just glad I'm here to help. ... Still, that's a rare talent. I've never heard of anyone sniffing out magic like that before.

[goldenambition]

It's a trick my brother taught me. He 'as a natural skill for it- way stronger then I do. But a clever trick even at my level.

[beckonsbliss]

Don't sell yourself too short. That's quite a lot of information for a stranger to this town. Are you also...?

[goldenambition]

A stranger? Aye. Woke up in those winter woods all alone with the spooks.

[beckonsbliss]

As did I. It was as if the trees were people- ghastly to look at and worse to linger in. And neither of us are dressed for such weather, are we? ... But the inn was close, and the supplies are free to use.

[goldenambition]

Unlucky and lucky in the same breath, eh? Ain that the way of it.

[beckonsbliss]

So it is.

( but if there's one thing she can do, it's seize an opportunity- as a merchant, as an ambassador, and as a speck of dust.

but scheming can wait for the warmth to set in. )

Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Tingyun. ( there's a note of hesitance, if he's keen, but. well. she already introduced herself properly to another, and it wouldn't do to skew the stories too much. besides, she has a feeling her enemies will not show up here. ) An amicassador for the Xianzhou Luofu.

[goldenambition]

[His face remains friendly as ever, not a twitch of his mouth or eyes.

But his ears perk and tilt towards her. He caught that, for sure]

An' your fella here is Whippoorwill. But Will is fine if the lady wishes.

[wink]

[beckonsbliss]

( the microexpressions between two cunning furries must be ridiculous. which is to say, she's already regretting that slip of vulnerability.

nevertheless she smiles pleasantly, chin in hands. )

The lady may wish, yes! A pleasure, though, Will.