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

[eidxiety]

[Pouting!!!]

No! You're not my Mr. Guardian!!

[.............

But no Mr. Guardians would do this to him, so Ain eventually relents and opens the door. The bunnies hop out of Chung's way, and Ain just

goes to a booth and lays in it.]

[shineprism]

( frustration and disbelief wash about in his heart before the door opens again and he's even able to process it. chung stumbles in, carefully sidestepping the rabbits as best he can, and then it really hits him.

'mr. guardian'...?

his chest tightens and chung whips his head up over to the other. )

... Ain?

[eidxiety]

[Noooooooooo don't perceive him he is In the booth.]

"Yours" is elsewhere. I don't know where. But he bites, apparently, and is kind of a raging jerk. And your Elsword and Mr. Ancient are somewhere in the Garden. And I don't know where the others are.

[Where are HIS versions of his friends >:( ]

[shineprism]

( oh god this is so much oh no oh jeeze. "his" ain? ... okay so he super can't argue with that summary but- what do you mean his ain! why is this ain so different? what do you mean his friends are in the garden, isn't that where people go when they fucking die. GUYS WHAT THE HELL. )

... I am. Very overwhelmed right now. ... You must be, too...

[eidxiety]

[Ain flattens himself further into the seats while the bunnies climb up on him.]

You think?

[He's usually not scathing with Chung — his version, anyway — so his tone surprises even himself. The Ain that Chung is used to, though, probably says meaner things. That's how this Ain thinks about it, given the rumours.]

...sorry. But you're not "my" Mr. Guardian, and I'm tired of being the only one out of my version of Elrios showing up here.

[Not that he wants the others here considering everything BUT ALSO.]

[shineprism]

( he may be used to the bitterness, but it's also been a very long time and he's not looking at his ain and what he's become. ... also it's- not great being snapped at like this when he's already dealing with so much?

it sounds. lonely. frustrating. but he's also not sure he can handle this right now. (some king.)

after a moment, he just... falters. )

Would- would you like me to leave once I've warmed up some? I will.

[eidxiety]

[Sighs.]

No, it's fine. Ezell will be upset if that happens, and I don't want anyone to freeze to death either way.

[Welcome to... first name basis time! Bet that feels weird.]

...the bunnies in here are friendly. They'll play with you and stuff, if you want.

[shineprism]

( who the fuck is ezell, ain only first names elsword

no. no. calm down. chung inhales slowly and nods, wiping his face. if asked, his excuse is the snow and ice melting. )

Right... um.

... I... I know I'm not yours. But- I'm still glad to see you. Okay?

[eidxiety]

[Just wait until you hear how he talks about Wolfwood—]

...yeah. You'll have to tell me about yourself. My Mr. Guardian has much longer hair, but your voices, cadence, and the Water El from your Guardian Stone are all the same. Yours seems a bit stronger... haha, but that's arbitrary.

[CC is buffer to make up for it, clearly.]

[shineprism]

... You're going to get mad at me again.

( he can already hear the 'what do you MEAN you left the party'- )

... You seem... more at peace than the Ain I know. It's- nice, but also, it makes me wish I could grant him the same...

[eidxiety]

Ezell said he bites. [Sighs.] Would it make you happy to know that "my" Elsword is perfectly normal? No Illuminous Phenomenon?

[You're in the wrong fucking timeline.]

I don't know what else to share. Ms. Fox trips over her own feet often, Mr. Shadow is very shy and doesn't understand when we're teasing him sometimes, Ms. Magician is loud as ever, Mr. Half-Demon makes cookies for all of us... um, who else? [He doesn't know Lithia yet because I have not finished reading Serpentium rip.] Ms. Queen still gets on Mr. Ancient for being stupid, haha. Oh, Mr. Half-Nasod is reckless and got pretty badly hurt in a fight with a demon of the Torta Clan, but they're friends now~ kind of~.

[shineprism]

( chung is quiet as he listens. an elsword who's hale and healthy, mind untouched by the el. the others, constant and happy and knowing each other... )

... I... spent many years apart from the others. I don't know what made them grow the way they did. But my home was bereft without leadership, and I was the only option. ... I caught up, but only recently. And I don't know how long I can stay.

( he is a king now, after all. )

The idea of getting to be with you all, though... it makes me very happy. So I'm glad, that you got to continue knowing your 'me'.