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

[consymsus]

[Sym's eyes brighten a fraction, noting Dys' reaction. It's darling. It's fascinating. It's endearing. All sorts of things he thinks in that moment, especially when Dys' hand covers his own. He lets his fingers trail over the line of that flush, curiously, before he relents and gives the poor guy a breather.]

Oh... How strange.

[Like he literally hadn't noticed. He probably hadn't, really. Bodies like this are fascinating, are strange. He should really pay more attention. Now, he might have to. He sticks close, following behind Dys like a lanky shadow.]

[dysappear]

[Huh. Dys knows he's never found anywhere really cold in all the surveys he's done of the areas around the colony, but maybe there's nowhere on the planet where it gets cold. Sym seems entirely unfamiliar with the concept. Not that Dys is that much more experiences, especially if Sym's been watching old human media.

Anyway. Sym's cold hand certainly doesn't help much to immediately warm his up. A beat, and then Dys steps a bit closer to tuck their joined hands inside one of the pockets in Sym's coat.]

[consymsus]

[Experiencing it is new - so different than the media has it. It doesn't mention the tips of your fingers begin to hurt. Or your skin feels drier. He would love to experience more of it - feel every bit of what it has to offer. But if it's dangerous, then he'd best not.]

[He hums in surprise, but squeezes Dys' fingers in return.]

Perhaps I shouldn't be as excited as I am. Entering a human dwelling!

[dysappear]

You can be excited if you want.

[Dys isn't, but he doesn't have the heart to dull Sym's joy. He can try to find some kind of silver lining here. Maybe it'll feel like exploring ancient ruins if he ignores the human aspect and the obvious current use. From his perspective, the design of the buildings ahead certainly look odd and dated, stuff he's only seen in holovids and whatnot.

There are definitely lights on in many windows, but one building is larger and more central, so he angles them towards that one. Maybe more of a public gathering place?]

[consymsus]

Mm. It wouldn't be fair to you.

[Dys is already doing a lot. He's willingly going into unknown human territory, offering to speak for both of them. As much as Sym wants to bounce on the balls of his feet for excitement, he does worry it would be too much. Especially if these unknown humans are loud, or pushy, or cloying in some way.]

[The buildings look...] I was expecting - hm. They seem like something out of those films about cabins on prairies!

[dysappear]

[There's a turbulent mix of guilt and fondness at that – it feels oddly appropriate in a terrible way that he'd spoil someone else's happiness just by being there, but he can't help the rush of affection that comes in response to the consideration. Would anyone in the colony have ever cared about his feelings like that?

That's part of why he'd been ready to sabotage the colony and run away, after all, before finding himself here instead. It was a chance to escape, to feel connected to something for read for the first time in his life instead of out-of-place and unwanted, but then...well, somehow he ended up in this place instead. It feels like a cruel joke. He got half of what he wanted, but in such a monkey's paw sorta way...

At least Sym is here. That's a cool balm on the raw, open wound of dreams snatched away abruptly.

I think we watched very different vids.

[Or at least, Sym's indiscriminate appetite had already devoured plenty of movies Dys had never had any interest in himself. Did Sym even have to sleep, or did he just sit awake all night bingewatching everything Sol had given him?

Dys eyes the door for a moment, briefly wondering if he should knock before a chilling wind reminds him of the cold and he just tries the door instead. It opens easily, even nearly slamming open with the force of the wind before Dys manages to catch it.

It's hard to tell what time of day it is in this weather – is it dark because of the thick clouds blotting out the sun, or because it's the middle of the night? Whatever the answer, the lobby of the inn is empty despite the fire still burning cheerily in its hearth.]

[consymsus]

[He laughs - yes, they probably did. But, on the other hand, Sym watched everything he could get his hands on. Every scrap Sol crammed onto the data stick. Voraciously. Like a starving man in a pantry.]

[But if there's any resentment for Dys not being as excited as he is, Sym doesn't show it. Of course Dys wouldn't be as entertained as he is! That's just who Dys is. How different the humans are from one another is just part of their wonderful charm. It just means he'll have to be delighted enough for the pair of them. Or something like that.]

Perhaps we did.

[It's almost lost in the wind, as the door is opened. As they both duck inside, Sym stepping more into the room before he can help himself. He almost pulls his hood down before he thinks better of it, opting instead to trail his fingers along the edges of it. Taking in everything with clear interest.]

[The fire -] Dys, come closer. It's much warmer. [He knows it's fire, he knows it's a fireplace, but he's mostly concerned over getting the two of them warmed.]