April Fammeet

[diplomaticimmewnity]

Who: Town Meeting
What: Town Meeting
When: April
Where: Enciodes' Corporate Building Office Meeting Room (Neo Eden)
Warnings: Typical Stix game warnings: Child death mentions, physical abuse via Nene, torture, body horror, cannibalism via Callan. More will be in post titles as they come up.


[ Enciodes is actually thriving for this town hall meeting. He's not tired or anything - rejuvenated simply from existing in this silly town and kicking his husband's ass at CEO-ing. Still, he knows it's important to be keeping everyone updated on the happenings within the Grove. Thus, he's invited everyone via Notebook/Phone, or even by delivery drones, to attend the meeting at his office building (address listed) (he can send a party bus to pick you all up!). When you arrive, either by sent party bus or on your own, you'll be escorted by a little robot to the elevator, to the very top floor - floor 15. And then... to this pretentious-ass room.

He'll let everyone get settled before he speaks. ]

Hello and thank you for coming to our town meeting. As a reminder, I do not tolerate fighting, and you will be escorted out if that happens.

Secondly, I encourage you all introduce yourselves. Informing us of both your name and your skillset will help us all as a group, as it'll let us know who is here at the Grove and who is best to see for specific situations. This will also help myself, as I intend to keep a headcount and census of everyone here at the Grove, to keep track of who may have gone missing and to direct those who need help in the correct location. I shall begin by introducing myself. I am Enciodes Silverash. I am a diplomat of my world, and here I have taken a role of setting up meetings like this and clearing out the problems that lie with us in the fog wall.

And finally, for the newcomers, I am sorry to have to inform you of the circumstances, but I implore you to come to me for any questions you may have. I want to make this transition for you as easy as I possibly can, and wish to provide you with all the resources and information that we currently have available to us. This may be a bit lengthy, so I understand if you may have questions for clarifications or anything of the like. I do ask that you hold onto these questions until I've finished, however.

As usual, we'll go over the old stuff, and I have a PowerPoint Presentation to bulletpoint everything a little easier for everyone.

UPDATES since or from the last meeting:

Callisto, the merchant who had a hand in releasing the Forest from the temple, resides in the town.

Renard has been rescued from the forest and is sleeping off his... centuries of torment, I imagine.

Beiwe now has a church in the Northern part of the Grove.

Sehul has been revived, mostly. They are skeletal, however, and have been standing around Beiwe's church.

There's been an effort in portal-making to go to some sort of expansive divine library, I believe? I don't know much about this, however, so I defer to those involved.

As discussed last meeting, I have rallied everyone to a fight against the Forest. This ended at the cost of many lives, and many of us learning his name. We will not under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES spread his name more than he already has. This is a warning to all of you. We have learned things from this fight, such as:
- Dying feeds him. As such, even if we come back, do NOT die, regardless, as it will make him stronger.
- He can be damaged. Bombs seemed to be effective, as well as magic fueled by emotions.
- Calisto has mentioned that healing magic actually hurts him.
- Now that all of the Guardians are full strength, we may be able to contain him. If not bind him fully - as last time that required sacrifice - just keep his powers contained so we can fight him? Unclear. Something to workshop.
- He uses illusion magic to feed on our fears.

Aldric's Manor is inaccessible now, though Heimr's kids have been rescued from it and are currently comatose as far as we know. They are... no longer kids.

Where there was previously tree-like replicas of people we love back home, there is now a scar of Nethersea Brand. The Seaborn tend to make nests out that way. Do not step in it. They should make that abundantly clear, however.

To start with, we lived a previous life we have no real memory of here at the Grove.

This is mostly as it sounds, but we all used to be here at the Grove in one way or another. After horrible events occurred here, Heimr and Ydalir tried to preserve our souls, which lead us to our "current" lives. The ones we all have memories of. Though, it does seem many of us carry the same personalities and other such traits we had while here.

This in no way is an encouragement to learn about your past life, of course. If this makes you uncomfortable or frustrates you in any way, I completely understand. Learning about things you've done back here does not currently seem to help us find our way home, so you are under no obligation to try and find more out about this if you do not want to.

Our enemy here is the entity possessing the forest.

There's still a lot we don't know about him, but that is perhaps for the best. The more we know about him, it's likely the stronger he will become in turn. It's only right we keep this section brief, in that case. If you truly wish to know more about him, I would be willing to answer questions, but understand my hesitance in doing so. That, and also it's likely he can hear us through the people here who are Corrupted by the forest.

He is the entity who got us all here. He wants us to suffer. He feeds on our misery. We won't let him have that satisfaction because we have this second chance. If he couldn't kill us before in a way that sated him, than he'll never get that satisfaction from us because we are resilient. Just be careful when going out into the forest. He can corrupt you, and... if you'd like, you can speak with those who have had first hand experience with it before, but essentially it means he can possess you if we're not careful.

Do not call it by its name. Do not worship it. Do not give it power of any kind. I am no longer going to be understanding to those who give it more than it deserves.

He is afraid of the ocean. Beiwe, his sister, mentions she doesn't believe he's open to listening to reason. She said the best way to fight back against him is simply rejecting him, turning sadness into resolve, and continuing to call him rude names.

And we'll talk about the previous residents here - the ones who didn't have new lives. As well as the deities here.

Heimr and Ydalir, or the Shopkeeper and the Trader respectively, both lost their previous names to the Forest. Heimr recently became human; maybe there's a way to get Ydalir to be the same? You can say "Aldric" now, but Heimr still prefers to be called Heimr. Please keep this in mind if the Forest ever tries to speak with you. Do not, under any circumstances, give it your name.

Nene is here as well, and very recently purified, but had previously been confined to the Forest's hold for... centuries, it seems. Please be kind to her, as I'm sure I needn't even point out. She is daughter to Grace, who was a doctor here at the Grove. She has a few books in the archives that I've been perusing. She's also apparently the person behind the Garden - a place in the forest that I'll cover shortly.

The Guardians are a group of... demi-deities, as far as we are concerned. Treat them respectfully and give them offerings if you require their assistance or plan to take anything that is theirs. The few we have with us here at the Grove are as follows:

Moder, the forest Guardian, and the large moose-like creature who's seen wandering around. She is incredibly kind even if her appearances may be a bit horrifying. She's helped clean up the northern part of town with me. She's also willing to take people through the forest safely if needed, seeing both as she knows it well, and was also once corrupted, so knows roughly what to expect in there. Considering she's lost her domain to that bastard in the woods, I ask that you give her your tribute as often as you can, as I believe she will be the one to most fiercely fight with us for her home back.

Zahliya, who has many titles I've listed in the notebook, is the gargoyle who is generally on fire. He can burn away any Corruption, and cares about each of us. His powers have since been fully realized, and can rid of your corruption. If you're unsure if you have been corrupted or not, please speak with me, as I believe I have a method to find out.

Sinann, the River Guardian, is the blue, glowing fish within the River. It has regained its power and is able to turn into a humanoid form to walk and talk freely. Please do not remove the bones from the River, and return any fish bones of those you eat to it as well. Shells and medallions are able to be taken freely from it, however.

Callan, the Lake Guardian, is thing that you all may have seen diving into the well when we got back from our time under the ocean. He is... not the kindest, but I don't believe he is malicious or malevolent by any means. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him. The Behemoth is his daughter, and the giant crocodile-like creature you've seen around the Grove. She isn't a Guardian, as far as I'm aware, but it's still recommended you are kind to her as well.

The Cosmic Serpent is in the ocean. For a good majority of the time, they are asleep. They do not seem to be opposed to helping us, but can only offer us so much, and likely may get annoyed if we expect too much of them. Apparently became what they are today by feasting on fallen stars.

Aurora, the Sky Guardian. She had been recently dead, though we'd put in an effort to reviving her. She is the bird that can change its size from a towering pheonix to a much smaller one at will. Her feathers can also serve to revive the recently deceased.

The Gods — Beiwe, the Goddess of the Sun, and Ourania, the Goddess of the Moon, are the current overseers. According to Moder, they are very weak and may need some help regaining their strength through prayer and acts of devotion. We likely have the power to help them return to their former strength.. We just need to figure out how. We've spoken directly to Ourania with a seance, and we've done the same with Beiwe. People can speak with them personally by praying at their statues, though there is no guarantee they'll respond.

Zonari, uh, the forest's gargoyle. She's no longer in the Grove, but visits occasionally. Probably to keep tabs on us to let the Forest know. Refrain from giving her details you would not want him knowing.

Magic and belief of this world.

Belief in something gives it power. Names give it power. Hence why we don't want to be using names for the forest. 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.

There are shards that seem to hold power of deities inside of them. Sun and Moon shards from Beiwe and Ourania respectively, and star shards from... likely, the stars? Be on a look out for them, as the Forest wants them destroyed. It also leads me to wonder if there are any shards of the entity we may be able to destroy?

We've also learned that the seasons are controlled by spirits, and will lose control of their magic every hundred years and need some sort of "sacrifice" to stabilize them. We've just passed the hundred year mark, so this is likely not something we'll have to face again.

We have baby dragons who grant certain blessings, as well. Feel free to see them if you'd like.

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. Read updates.

There's a part of the forest nearby 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's 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 Lake, where Callan used to reside, and Terho's cabin nearby. According to Mizuki, the bottom is littered with bones, so it's likely not a good swimming spot.

North Aldric's Grove 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. The part of the Grove to the north used to be horribly burnt and unlivable - in a perpetual state of fire and decay. We've since fixed the time anomalies there and, with Moder's help, I've managed to get it looking like the rest of the Grove. There are no more sinkholes to be wary of.

The Church was Nene's previous home, and a former place of worship for Beiwe. It has since been worn down and transformed into something to worship the entity of the forest.

The Temple is separate from the Church. Zahliya was formerly a statue guarding this place. It is also where the Creature was previously contained. It has since been destroyed due to our attack on the Forest.

In the Lighthouse is a corrupted person who seems very territorial. It's recommended that no one go into the lighthouse or get near it, or they risk being attacked or even killed. There is a statue of Ourania embedded in the cliff face nearby the Lighthouse. Any more questions can be addressed to Vash about this area.

The beach is now accessible thanks to Moder. You may head there with the path she has made without needing help of the goggles. Just stay on the bridge of fallen trees she's made and you'll make it there. In the water are very dangerous creatures, so be mindful. Dipper has also found the evil entity's original temple under the water. Maybe that is partially why it has it's fear of the ocean?

Within the forest are star shrines, which may provide moments of respite while you are out there. Not much is known about them at the moment, besides that star... spirits? guardians? creatures reside there. Hoku, a lion-esque spirit, seems to be the "leader". We don't know what happened to him.

There are other places within the forest and such, but if you want specifics, talk to Mizuki. 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.

Comments

Introductions

[diplomaticimmewnity]

Enciodes Silverash

[diplomaticimmewnity]

[ He already introduced himself, but he's at the head of the table petting his pet snow leopard. If you want to use his laptop to add things to the PowerPoint, let him know. ]

Luca Aurelius

[unheiring]

[Luca looks a bit... different since the last time anyone might have seen him. Which... He's mostly stayed out of sight since closing the bar, throwing himself into tending to Sehul, Beiwe and Ourania's shrines, and assisting with portal work.

Anyway, all that is to say, his feathers have expanded outward, now encircling his wrists and ankles (not that he's showing those, he's not a whore). His fingers end in claws, making them near talon like in nature, while his eyes have shifted to a molten gold. They carry with them a faint golden glow.

Most of all, he carries himself... differently. There's a whole new aura about him, one not just of power, but of confidence. He waits for Enciodes to finish speaking, then holds up his hand.]

Luca Aurelius. Phoenix of Renova. And... apparent troublemaker around here of late. I'll explain shortly.

[Is that faint, mischievous smile? How strange, for someone who had just been so consumed with his grief a few weeks ago.]

Flamebringer

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Normally Flamebringer's introductions are straight to the point, but he looks... depressed? ??? Anyway his usually-black hair has been dyed, it's still mostly black but there's an orange ombre at the tips of it, and he's given himself new facial piercings — a septum ring, two above the left eyebrow and one above the right, and snake bites.

Someone is in the middle of an edgy teen mental breakdown except he is 32 Years Old??? Anyway, the Terrans know why this is coming to a log near you guys soon but the rest of you do not.]

Flamebringer. Mercenary, pyromaniac, [and then he has to hackwheeze real quick sorry, it's the Oripathy,] —Infected. Not with Corruption, don't worry about it.

I run the tattoo and piercing place, [don't ask him about the mental breakdown tats either,] and take care of the greenhouses. Ezell's my fiancé.

That's it, I guess.

Joshua Rosfield

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua isn't certain that he's met everyone just yet, so introductions are a good idea. He smooths the feathers on his wings, the tiny white owl on his shoulder cooing softly, and then presses a hand to his chest with a bow of his head.

He'd bow at the waist, but! Owl. ]

Greetings. My name is Joshua Rosfield. I am a priest of Beiwe, as well as a healer, and I currently help out at the clinic.

I am also taking over the portal project in my brother's absence. I would be glad to relay what information we have gathered.

Ainchase Ishmael

[eidxiety]

[Ain took the party bus to get here :) Hi guys! He will make himself comfortable at the back of the room.]

Call me Ain. I'm a healer, and I run the tailor shop and like gardening. Haha... I don't get up to too much these days otherwise.

[That's a lie he gets up to Depression and Being Depressed and also movie reviews apparently. He points toward Add, though.]

This is Add~. Be nice to him or I'll hate you forever~.

[This is absolutely a threat, said in Ain's sing-song teehee kinda way. Oi.]

Dion Lesage

[bajamutblast]

[After he finishes speaking on the matter of poison, Dion clears his throat. He straightens up, every bit the prince he was raised to be.]

Dion Lesage, Commander of the Holy Order of the Knights Dragoon, at your service. I intend to protect this land with all that I have. Should you ever have need of me, you need only seek me out.

Add

[psychokinesia]

[yay his first fam meet... Add is looking pretty grumpy (especially to anyone who knew the other Add, who would be mortified to see himself acting so uncouth), but this is just his resting bitch face, honest. He's flanked by six drones that hover near his shoulders, occasionally sparking with violet energy. That's also normal, don't worry about it.

Ignoring Ain's shitty excuse for an introduction,]

Add. Nasod engineer and robotics expert. Weapons and human-hybrid modification are my specialties, but if it's related to machines then come to me before anyone else.

... Also. It's my understanding that there was some other guy calling himself "Add" before I got here. I don't know who the fuck that guy is but he's got nothing to do with me, so don't act like we're buddies just because you knew some cheap copy.

Till

[foreversembrace]

[Till…has never been to one of these. He wasn’t even aware this was a thing they do here until he received an invitation from a guy he spoke to once to adopt Jibang, and honestly he doesn’t plan to come at first. But…maybe it’s his anxiety, or the gnawing loneliness, or the paranoia that something bad will happen to him if he isolates too hard and has nothing to fall back on…he ends up showing up. Having information is not a bad thing, even if he already feels completely lost over a great deal of what’s being said.

As people introduce themselves, he’s intimidated out of doing the same (though it’s unlikely he was going to get up in front of everybody and say anything ANYWAY…)…so he stays seated as far back in the room as he can comfortably go, his casted leg out in front of him while he holds a dog-sized snail in his lap. The snail has little feet that are splooted out forwards over his knees, his gelatinous body wiggling as he vibrates against Till’s thighs to calm him down.]

Nicholas D. Wolfwood

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood is doing that Thing He Does and standing against a wall instead of sitting like a normal person, arms folded across his chest. He’ll wait his turn before speaking, at least.]

Nicholas D. Wolfwood, just call me Wolfwood. I’m the Priest of the church in the Grove, not Beiwe’s church but the other one. I’m also an assassin. Was corrupted for a bit, but not anymore.

[…]

The little blue chicks in the barn are from my world, by the way. If you’re feedin’ ‘em snacks maybe cut back, they’re getting super fat and they ain’t even proper adolescents yet.

Sesa

[sesa]

[Sesa, when it’s his turn, stands and kindof runs his fingers through his bangs even though that doesn’t make them look any less of a disaster. For some reason, actually, one side of his fringe is noticeably shorter than the other. It’s. Don’t worry about it-]

My name is Sesa. I am mysterious, powerful, and a Vouivre of much renown. I specialize in munitions and weapon modification, as well as smithing as of recently. The workshop located near the lab belongs to me and Elliot. If you have any weapons that need upgrading, or tools and items that you would like forged, please do not hesitate to stop by. I enjoy having a project to work on!

Mephisto

[menophesto]

[ Mephisto walked in with Till, but is not being nearly so asocial as he's taken a seat in the middle of everything and has a non-magical notebook that he's taking everything down in. ]

My name is Mephisto. I am a tactician and strategist, which it seems like you may have been lacking previously, given the state of things. As such, I am more than happy to help plan things out as they come up. I have spoken with Heimr about setting up a bunker and walls around the Grove, which I'm told he will be working on.

Loop

[theuniverseleads]

[Unfortunately for everyone Loop is wearing this monstrosity, which means everyone who tries to look at them is going to be blinded by their own glowing head reflected off their body. It's kind of like a disco ball. They're absolutely thrilled with this effect.

Anyway! Smiling, waving, legs crossed hands neatly folded.]

I'm Loop, they/them! I'm pretty good with combat Crafts and I can do a liiiittle bit of healing, but mostly I'm just here to look pretty.

And before all you cute little newbies ask, I'm a star~

Thorns

[sailingfor]

[Thorns is... not here! Because he's Corrupted and knows better. However he does give some updates over text message:]

This is Thorns/Isidor/"that pirate captain"/whatever it is you wish to call me. Are you all having that meeting? I'm Corrupted, so I hesitate to pay a visit — but if anything dire comes up and you need me to, I can.

I do have some updates. Will you let Dion know to discuss the results of our poison experiment? As well as: My own experiments are going well at the moment. I've figured out how to create a biochemical weapon using my own Corrupted blood and some additive neurotoxins from plants and creatures in the forest.

If you walked in on that lab incident, lo siento. I'm usually more put together.

Ezell Pastore

[ezellotry]

[ Ezell is sitting by Flamebringer (unsurprisingly), and running his fingers through his hair in much the way one worried about their partner would. When he's not doing that, he is also walking around the meeting table to make sure everyone is okay, offering them various baked treats like cinnamon rolls, lemon squares, cheesecake bites, kouign-amann, brownies, banana bread... ]

My name is Ezell Pastore. I run the bunny bakery at the Grove. If you ever want treats, or just to decompress by petting some fuzzy bunnies, it's always open. I am an empath, and I specialize in firearm assembly and repair, as well as explosives. If you need anything from me, please don't hesitate to ask.

Guardians and a Request for Help

[unheiring]

[Luca gives another nod to Enciodes, then steps up as soon as he's finished speaking.]

I... have decided to pledge myself to assist Beiwe. It was before everything changed but... I figured I owed it to her. And after receiving a vision from her, and of my home, I rushed to attempt to share my blessing with Sehul.

As our esteemed colleague has said, they are not entirely whole. While my power has grown, I do not have full control over it. I... may been hasty in my efforts. If anyone knows how we might properly address that, I would appreciate your assistance. And, it would mean a great deal to Beiwe, I would imagine.

[He clears his throat. He's still not used to the whole "priest" thing. Weird, actually liking a god.]

Also. About Aurora. Her proper name is Freyr. Sehul told me this.

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua has been giving Luca a curious look ever since his introduction. Something... changed, he can tell, but it's hard for him to say what, exactly, outside of the obvious. Luca had never professed to be the Phoenix before, just Blessed by it. What had happened...?

But that's a question for later. Right now is for information. And boy, does Luca give it. ]

Freyr... I shall remember that the next time I pay her a visit.

[ But! There is something far more interesting here! Two somethings, but one should be addressed first. ]

So, you are also a priest of Beiwe, then?

On Poisons

[bajamutblast]

[Dion is next to speak. He... okay thankfully he is not carrying any flesh around with him, but he does lay out a canvas with a drawn rendition of a boar. Its lower half looks... pretty gnarly.]

As some of you are aware, I planted a number of flowers on the perimeter of the forest. My hope was threefold: one reason was personal, the second is that they possess a deadly poison. The third is that, as a result of that poison, we might have a secondary ward against the creatures in the woods.

It remains to be seen if the flowers themselves will keep anything at bay. But the toxin they produce.

[If Thorns is here, Dion nods to him.]

I had some assistance in developing a formula to coat my lance. Using it, I was able to skewer the creature. It... affected them considerably more than it perhaps should have. The effect was a near instantaneous rot.

It stands to reason that these creatures may be more susceptible to poison than we might have thought. If that remains the case, then I suggest we prepare a surplus of additional toxins. I will also do what I can to continue to grow my supply of Wyvern Tail.

[And if he looks a little smug? Oops! A few people got on him about planting those flowers, but he'd been right to do it, now hadn't he?]

/nothere

[sailingfor]

[release the boar pics

coward]

On being a major normie in a magical world

[chickenchoicejudy]

[After a few other people have gone, Ryan eventually holds up a hand like they're all in school or something. With the boardroom setting, it kind of feels like it? He's managed to turn himself around fully backwards in his chair, resting his free arm on top of it. He doesn't wait to be called on though, just for people to look his way.]

Hey, so...first of all? This is a lot! Like, a lot a lot. But, uh. Quick question! So everyone's talking about magic and weapons and some of you have animal powers and stars for heads and all of that stuff seems really cool and helpful for whatever's supposed to come up and I was wondering...

[He drums his fingers on the back of his chair and takes the leap and asks what's still on his mind.]

So, like. If someone doesn't have magic or any of that stuff...how screwed are they? Like saying "don't die" is good and all, but I only know how to play guitar. Am I just kind of fucked, or what?

[Something similar was asked about a month ago over the netbooks, but Ryan doesn't sound very much like the person who wrote it. It just feels like the natural place for them to go here. What do you do when your useful skill in a dangerous place is being entertainment?]

[thebladebringstheflame]

It's a smart idea to arm yourself, in that case. Learn to fight for your life. Barring that, get real fucking good at running, because that's the only thing that's going to save you.

Star disease (cw: zombies oh no)

[theuniverseleads]

[They wait for another lull in the discussion... it feels kind of wrong to be the one to bring this up, but since the person who was spearheading it is gone, well. Who else is going to?]

... So! [clap!] Last month, there was some information shared on the netbooks about a disease affecting the stars here. Really nasty stuff! Felicity has been working hard in her shrine to keep the infected stars at bay, but that's not going to fix the problem. If we don't find a cure, it's going to keep spreading among the stars, and there may very well be a point-of-no-return... or a point where it starts spreading to others besides stars. And that also means all those stars will remain under the Lightless One's control. That would be bad news for all of us, believe me.

Our Trapper was able to safely capture one of the smaller infected, and we have them safely contained for now... but. [their expression falls, dropping some of the forced cheeriness. None of this is very pleasant to talk about.] Unfortunately, the Healer who was working on the cure isn't here anymore. We need someone else to take charge of this and find a way to cure the stars.

Being a star myself, I do have some extra-special insight on the infection! I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it can spread through telepathy. They kept talking about a blackened sea, embracing the dark, that kind of stuff... a lot of nonsense, but if you hear anything like that, well. I'd stop listening to it! It should only affect stars, but since it almost worked on me, that definition is pretty flexible. They only come out at night, so you should stay away from the woods after dark if you want to avoid them. I'll be ignoring Calls after dark, too, so don't get mad at me if I don't answer~

What else... oh, one of the infected is Hoku! He's a very bright and powerful star that looks like a lion~ But since he's infected, that means even if we find a cure we'll have to find a way to get it to him, too. Otherwise, any stars we cure might just get infected again. So that's another detail to keep in mind!

That should be all of the important stuff, but I'll try my best to answer any other questions about it!

I wish I could do more to help, but I'd be putting myself at risk just going near the infected, and then certain people would get mad at me, teehee~ [laughing cutely about how they nearly died on that mission dont kill them odile/TK they're being good now they swear]

[unheiring]

[Luca purses his lips. He holds out his hand, staring at the flame that forms within his cupped hand. It's a gentle, private gesture, one that reassures him of his own power.]

I am not so certain my healing can extend to others. I can give a Blessing, as I did with Sehul, but that was woefully incomplete. Nevertheless, if there is a risk posed to those here. [His gaze flashes to Kiera, then away.] I should like to have a role in assisting it.

Do you have any insight on how they might be cured? Divine secrets, anything of that ilk?

Alignments

[jesterlies]

There really is no point to me holding onto this information right now, so I'll be incredibly generous and share it. I guess.

[Ugh, who is he? The Fount of Knowledge? Haha, funny joke, anyway.]

I had a veeeery interesting chat with the Moon Goddess some time ago, and she gave me some insight about the nature of this world! In fact, the Star mentioning that they are, in fact, a Star brought it to mind.

According to her, our souls are given an alignment to the Cosmic Deities that rule this place, based on some arbitrary criteria! The depth of what that means is not something I know, but the Moon Goddess did mention Cosmic Magic and how our alignment would shape what we can learn. She gave me an explanation of what traits each Goddess look for, more or less.

Re: Alignments

[lilyberation]

... And?

( she's depressed and curious, c'monnnn- )

The Crimson Sun's weak point.

[jesterlies]

In much more important news, I do have something else to share.

Yours truly managed to hurt our Warden!

[He grins, and he sits next to Lily who will, hopefully, back him up on anything he says in case people might doubt someone who calls themselves the Beast of Deceit.]

I confronted that insect myself some weeks ago, over a personal matter, but I had an idea and I think I struck gold. Given that the cockroach is a parasite on the forest, I figured it made sense that whatever it's using to anchor itself down to the land must be something with incredibly strong magic output. This place is riddled with magical leylines and so I had a theory that whatever these anchors might be, might be where the leylines converged.

So, while we were fighting, I opened a portal and dropped a ball of fire on something that was hopefully pretty close to my mark! It must have hurt him significantly because he made my death incredibly painful, hahahaha!

Anyway, I think we can do this again. I think we should.

[nitrotempered]

Is he an actual insect, or are you just calling him a bug?

About Neo Eden

[kingincognito]

I spoke with the skeleton that has been seen around, and was given some interesting information. It isn't a lot of information, granted, however...

[ He holds out a journal, open to a two-page spread containing a handwritten conversation. One handwriting is most certainly Joshua's, if you've ever spoken to him over the netbooks. ]

He was trying to help us, to teleport us away from this place. But the Forest interfered, and thus, the combination of magicks created this city. According to him, it is an illusion of what the world outside the Grove truly looks like. A world that has evolved without us.

Re: About Neo Eden

[beathollow]

... Does the outside world still have real plants and animals, or is this just part of the interference?

( THE STATE OF NATURE IS SO UPSETTING HERE AND SHE'S NOT EVEN THE FLOWER )

About the Spirits

[menophesto]

To add onto the list of things for the spirits and such, I spoke with Moder about this. It seems everything here has an accompanied spirit that comes with a natural concept of phenomena. For example, I asked her of things like magnetism and gravity and such. She mentioned natural disasters happen when the spirits are angry as well, so even things like that matter. She also mentioned that a spirit may be able to ascend to Godhood through sufficient belief, which is likely how Ourania and Beiwe got their status. Unsure, though, I didn't clarify, but that does seem to make the most sense to me.

The reason why death is not permanent here, either, is because it seems our horrid host in the forest has kept the spirit of death from reaching this place.

She mentioned also that Gods could be denoted without sufficient belief, but that "even one belief is enough to keep it going, albeit its light may be less luminous". That even if something loses its domain, if it has faith, it can restore it.

And finally, "belief" is simply hope in this world. There were a few other things I asked, but I don't believe they're worth mentioning here, as they led to relatively dead ends.

A dream

[nitrotempered]

[ Katsuki Bakugo stands before whoever the hell is going to listen, a fresh scar still red beneath his right eye. Standing there with the attitude of a bomb about to go off - seemingly daring anyone stupid enough to doubt him to speak first. ]

Someone mind telling me what is up with my fucking bug dream? Had these two stuck-up giants telling me - us? Whatever, to hide some dude that's related to thems prison as their stupid forest grows - so, again, what the fuck does that mean?

Re: A dream

[lilyberation]

Ah... sometimes we receive dreams from the Gods, including the forest... It may have been a vision of the past.

GOD BLOOD SAMPLE?

[lilyberation]

... Ah, I almost forgot. Shadow Milk Cookie has also acquired... a sample of our captor's jam, let's say? In the wake of their fight, his previous staff was soaked in the ichor. I am... not familiar with study this deep, but others may be able to look into it? It's at my house but I can deliver it as needed.

peanut gallery

[jesterlies]

You're weeeeeeeeeellcome ~ ☆