sticksandbones | EVENT 021

Entry tags:

EVENT 021

Solitary Voyage

The first light of dawn does not come this morning. The moonlight outside continues to cast its muted glow over the Grove, still high in the sky. No matter how long you wait, no matter how many minutes or hours slip by, the darkness remains, and the silvery sentinel refuses to yield to the sun. It also appears bigger than usual, its surface etched with shadows that seem to pulse with a life of their own, and you swear there weren't this many stars peppering the night sky last night.

Despite the oppressive night that looms above, there’s an odd sense of calm. No werewolves prowl the streets, no ominous howls echo through the trees, or other dangers that usually seem to threaten the Grove. In fact, it's not making it more cold than usual, either. The ice on the river, once a solid barrier, begins to chip away, revealing glimmers of water beneath, giving new life to the creatures that call it home. A handful of the baby Seaborn even flop out of the water to explore the world, as if it's entirely new to them and hasn't only been a month since they've been unable to be on solid ground.

The only thing that the perpetual night seems to be affecting is the local wildlife. Disoriented and confused, they flit about in a daze, their natural rhythms thrown into chaos. The diurnal creatures now wander aimlessly with their instincts dulled. Someone should probably feed these poor critters before they forget how to forage for themselves.

The Grove also seems to be sans one sea jelly. Hope no one booked their therapy appointment this month.

The Reef is Immortal

It was the loud creaking that caught your attention first, a sound that reverberated through the ground like the groan of a ship caught in a storm. There's a... tree? Or, wait, no. That can't be right. It's colossal, easily taller than the supposed "limit" of the sky barrier, but it's also... blue? There's a smattering of bioluminescent patches that give a white glow, especially under the pale moonlight. The "branches" swayed unnaturally, each one moving independently, like a thousand skeletal fingers reaching for the heavens.

With the coming of this "tree" also comes something some of you may be familiar with - the Nethersea Brand. It's a blue, web-like membrane that more resembles flesh than what anyone would like to admit. Contact with the membrane is not recommended as it invokes a creeping dread that gnaws at the edges of your mind and locks your muscles and bones. It wears off... eventually, but if you don't get out of it in time it'll continue to chew at your nervous system.

It is not localized like it was last time, either. It spreads and expands to cover all of the Grove more and more with each moment, every hour swallowing more and more land, with just a few exceptions. One, the Inn's lobby, which is protected by the Inquistion's Fireplace inside. And two... surprisingly, the River and its banks, where the Guardians (and the Behemoth) seem to be taking solace from the threat.

The baby Seaborn are not aware of many things, but they are at least cognizant that some of you don't seem to do well in the Brand, with some control over what it covers. If you're by the river, they seem to be able to control the brand just enough to free you, chirping in an innocent manner. You do not know what they are saying, but you can imagine it's something along the lines of "Hi! What doing!" There's less of them in the river currently, but the few that are around are nesting on Moder or following Sinann around. They do not sense the distress. They are just babies.

The Mass of Sorrow

The sensation of being trapped in the web-like brand is suffocating, a foreign sensation of the boundaries that have been blurred between your identity and the collective consciousness of others. Each time you succumb to the nervous impairment, it feels like you’re slipping through a veil, where the lines between your thoughts and those of others dissolve into a swirling mass of emotions and memories.

You can’t shake the feeling of grief that lingers in your chest, a weight that seems to grow heavier with each passing moment. It’s as if you’re mourning something you can’t quite grasp—perhaps the remnants of your own past, or the fragments of lives that are not your own. When you finally come to again, rising up from the brand to attempt to move again, you'll notice you have tear stains against your face you don't remember crying.

It's not easy to escape the brand, either. Between the rough terrain flesh-y webs make and the way it slowly neutralizes your nerves, it's a wonder you can keep moving at all. But more than that, there's this... voice...

"Embrace... Our Warmth..."

In short moments of clarity, you remember... dreaming? Remembering? Commiserating...? Something. Whatever the case, you were in someone's mind. Maybe your own. Maybe someone else's. Maybe even something from the forest - the brand is taking all prisoner, after all.

Best hope We Many doesn't share anything you don't want anyone to see, because it doesn't seem like you get much of a choice.

Elegy of the Outliers

Those holed up inside are not entirely forgotten. While the warmth of the fireplace and the kin of the river may keep the brand at bay, the persistent weight of grief and sadness still reaches those within. It is the curse of an ancient being long gone, a sorrow that lingers like a scar. Yet, this sorrow can be softened by the company of those around you. Distractions, warmth, and togetherness serve as reminders that collaboration is, as always, the answer.

Gazing out at the brand, one will notice shadows moving along the fleshy web—shadows that seem hauntingly familiar. Loved ones move through the Grove as if it has come alive again, as if the threat of an obsessed, fallen deity has vanished, and things have reached some form of normalcy once again.

Upon closer inspection, the observant may discern that these are not true apparitions, but rather the brand's way of storing memories within We Many's consciousness. It is a surreal experience, reliving moments through the Seaborn that drift freely about. This phenomenon is both unsettling and captivating—perhaps it could even make for compelling television while you remain trapped inside. Yet, the sight of a loved one, even as a mere shadow, may also be overwhelming, pulling you away from your current sanctuary.

Be careful out there.

Spark Notes

summary

Solitary Voyage is this moon's journey. The expected dawn fails to arrive, leaving the Grove shrouded in an unusual, persistent moonlight. While the darkness disrupts the local wildlife, causing confusion and disorientation, it also brings life to the river as baby Seaborn venture out.

The Reef is Immortal, bringing forth a colossal, bioluminescent "tree" in the Grove, accompanied by the spreading menace of the Nethersea Brand, a blue, web-like membrane that induces paralysis upon contact. While the Brand expands across the land, the Inn's lobby remains safe, and the baby Seaborn near the river seem to possess a surprising ability to help free those ensnared by the Brand, blissfully unaware of the surrounding danger.

The Mass of Sorrow is the experience of being ensnared in the Nethersea Brand. Personal identity blurs with the collective consciousness, leading to overwhelming grief and confusion as emotions and memories intertwine.

Elegy of the Outliers, or those sheltered from the Nethersea Brand, still feel the Arbor's weight of grief and sadness, a lingering curse that can be eased by the warmth and companionship of others. As shadows resembling loved ones move through the brand, it becomes clear that these are not true apparitions but memories stored within We Many's consciousness.

out of character

This month's event has been written entirely by Rubie! Please be nice and say thank you Rubie! Enjoy your memory shares and your eldritch horrors, and remember that questions asked should be asked in public channels and not DMs if they're related to this month's event. Have fun!

updates

Any potential updates, such as characters damaging something important or whatever else, will be put here.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ February Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

i. insert the 300th "thnks fr th mmrs" joke here
a) The past - Open
cws: religious homophobia, evangelical bullshit mentions, abusive family

[At some point early in the Grove's existence, a new boy moves in. He's bitchy, and bratty, and seems to think you're lesser than him. Not religious? Lesser than him, and also going to Hell. And he'll tell you that! He'll let you know that you're going to Hell in any way he possibly can. The fact is, Ain... is mean. He's nasty. He's unlikeable, just like his mother and elder brothers, who are trying to start a ~new~ church out of their house. Maybe you bite and go to one of their services, maybe you don't. It's all very culty either way.

It takes until Ain is nearing 18 for him to mellow out. At a certain point, everyone made him realise his behaviour is wrong. Thus you get apologies, and a sort of awkward "I'm sorry, I'm trying", and Ain genuinely trying to get away from his mother... which unfortunately means he might knock on your door one night to couch-surf, explaining that he's figured some things out about himself and that he thinks he needs to be away from home before she kicks his ass for it. It's raining out, and he looks like a drowned rat. Please let him in.]

b) The past - Closed to Livio

[During one such couch-surfing phase, and after getting over the whole "it's okay to be gay" thing... Ain comes over to Miss Melanie's with an acoustic guitar, because the little nerd boy has taken solace in music recently. And he'd really, really like to serenade Livio, y'know, if he's home, and if he's not home it's fine he'll go elsewhere he's sorry, and—

Ain gets let in and sits down on the couch with his head in his hands. Oh God, what is he doing.]

c) The past - Closed to Affo
cws: well we're sacrificing him so, also abusive parenting

[When everything goes to shit, the first person Ain turns to for help is Alexi, his dear friend. Everyone is in a panic, and Ain's mother is insistent that she sacrifice him to "appease" the gods, because clearly him being who he is is the issue here, or something. Maybe she just needs a convenient excuse to get rid of her wayward son?

So, when Ain finds Alexi, he grabs his wrist in a panic and frantically points toward the direction of the coast.]

My mom's trying to murder me, and we've gotta get out of here before we get killed!

d) The present - Open
cw: elsword lore

[If it isn't past-life memories you get, you might get Ain's present-life, in which case: Good fucking luck because there's a lot stored in his head. Suri may have wiggled his brain around a bit, but that doesn't stop the conflicting memories from existing, nor being confusing.

You might be (un)lucky enough to see (and probably participate in): the time Ain said "yes I can drive that airship" and crashed it, a life-or-death battle against a crazed half-demon in his group's attempts to rescue him, an amusement park full of demons and many games to play, or an arena fight gone sour.]

ii. elegy time

[In the inn, Ain remains hunkered down, purposely avoiding looking out the window until you or someone else calls attention to the "things outside", at which point he gets up and his heart drops into his stomach.

It's not shocking that Ain misses his friends — it's gotten worse over the last few months, culminating into him filling the loneliness with cringe-ass plushies of them he stores in his room. The man's mental health is in shambles, and seeing even mere apparitions of them is enough to send him into a frenzy. One second, he's at the window with everyone else.

The next, he's running outside and possibly back into the brand again to try to reach people he thinks are real.

Stopping him might be a good idea.]

[So Wolfwood is...experiencing. He is Experiencing a memory of Ain's that is really fucking stressful, and that is:

Well. The aftermath of it is happening as we speak, because Ain just crashed the airship that he and the rest of the El Search Party was on. It's why Wolfwood has both of his hands grabbing the front of Ain's clothes, shaking him a little as he demands to know:]

Why did you fuckin' say you could drive the airship when you can't drive the airship!?!

[If Ain wanted another Add in his memories, here you go.]

[Good news: The El Search Party at this point are all a) really young and b) comprised of just him, Rena, Elsword, and Aisha. They're not even to Eve and Raven yet, that's how early in his timeline this occurs. That said Add is stalking the party at this point so like lol, lmao.

Ain looks a lot younger. He's more wiry and thin, with blue streaks in his hair and less curls. There's a very dismissive look in his eyes as they climb out of the wreckage, largely unharmed save for a few scratches. Unfortunately, they're sans healer, because he isn't one yet; instead, everyone is relying on potions to deal with their injuries.]

I can drive the airship. [His voice is completely neutral. How dare you imply he can't drive the airship.] I didn't see you offering, Mr. Priest.

[Seems like Ain's core memories of Wolfwood are mushing up into his brain right now... oops.]

You can't! Otherwise, it wouldn't've CRASHED, numbnuts!

[Wolfwood lets Ain go harshly after that, his teeth grit so hard it looks like he's going to pop a blood vessel in a second here.]

I didn't offer 'cause I don't know how to drive one! Maybe you should learn a thing or two, haah!?

[God, he hates how indifferent Ain is so much. He is going to scream.

(He is already screaming)]

[Elsword, age 13, is very much trying to figure out a way to separate the two right now. Why are you fightinggggg stop fightingggg— and meanwhile Ain, who is Off His Leash, brushes a hand over his collar as if offended and straightens it back out.]

Did you die?

[GIRL]

[Wolfwood looks directly at Elsword, and growls:]

I'm gonna kill him.

[Then, to Ain:]

You're gonna be dead when I kill you.

[Elsword is so distressed right now—]

Wolfwood-hyung! Ain probably didn't mean to crash it!

[Ain continues to look at Wolfwood just. Completely flat. No emotion whatsoever.]

I'd be happy to leave you in the wreckage to be gut by the next round of bandits that come through this area, since you're acting just as barbaric.

Ain!!!!

mind the cws please-

D | I'm gonna multitag but this one first

god i dont have baby ain icons (aincons) so you'll deal-

its ok I can pretend

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A | and now for the past

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1b ofc :3c

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1c

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d.ii

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