TDM #1

[labyrinmods]

Arrival / Enchanted Garden

Whether it be sleep or death, you feel your eyes close, and as your body begins to let go, you see a barn owl that is flying through the darkness, soon sweeping you across the clouded sky. You feel yourself mouth the words, “I wish, I wish..” and utter your deepest and darkest desire.

When you regain consciousness, you’ll find you are in an unfamiliar place with no recognition of how you arrived here. You have the clothes on your back, but nothing else. No weapons and if you had a particular superpower, you’ll notice it is missing. All you have is a satchel with a piece of bread, a vial of water and a potion. The potion could be red, blue or golden. There are no instructions about these potions other than two words: Drink Me.

Will you drink it or not?

There is a parchment, handwritten, and it simply gives you a welcoming:

“Welcome to my Labyrinth. Per our agreement, you have consented to live your life here for an undetermined amount of time. In exchange, I will grant you the wish that you desire the most.”

You’re in a garden, surrounded by flowers and plants– most of which you cannot identify. However, there are a few that you can make out: poinsettias and mistletoe. You’ll soon find out that being around the poinsettias give you an odd sense of joy no matter how confusing the situation may seem and the mistletoe, which is left over from the holiday season, gives you the desire to kiss or hold hands with the nearest person to you. It looks like there are plenty of others who are just now waking up from their dream-state as well.. why not go ahead and say hello?

Somnius / Snow Angels

With the influx of new life, the humble town a barkeep tells you is called Somnius seems to come alive as well, with new faces to join that of the resident fairies, goblins and other townfolk. There’s bustling energy to the land that the townfolk will tell you wasn’t quite there before, and some suspect that the presence of the new arrivals might be powering the world around them in some way - but that’s a question to be answered on another day. The quaint town of Somnius needs a little bit of care, that rustic feel to the mushroom houses, old shops and weathered castles too evident at first glance, but it’s not a bad place to live, as the locals will tell you. It almost seems like everything will be okay…

But of course, things are never so simple.

Whether you have been wandering around to get your bearings, talking to the locals or exploring your new humble (very humble) abode, you can expect to find mysterious ice sculptures - fashioned in the shape of snow angels, with blades in their hands - appearing in random places around the town. There are some that manifest in the middle of the street, some that sit quietly at the edge of an inn, and even some that appear right beside your bed, staring at you as you wake up. It’s unclear how these sculptures even got here, but close proximity to them will conjure up feelings of unrest, like you should not step any closer.

It’s smart to trust your gut in these situations. Step too close to a snow angel and it will come to life, moving with the grace of flowing water. They make a vague request and will spare only those able to heed it.

“Cold … so cold … Even the days of Visium are so cold. Have you any warmth to spare us?”

Some angels will accept an article of clothing as warmth. Others are greedy and keep demanding more, wanting to take everything that you have on your body. Heed their requests and they will spare you. Resist even just a little, and that’s when they draw their swords.

It’s not too easy to defeat an angel with brute force given that they reform themselves immediately. Running away or blasting them with fire could do the trick. Be careful not to get cut by their blades, however…

Characters who get cut by their blades will experience an inconsolable sense of chill and emptiness, right down to their bones. They will find themselves desiring ‘warmth’ from others in different ways - whether through physical contact, or affectionate words and gestures. There might be the few who go feverish in their desire for warmth. For those characters – the open fireplace is looking like a very tantalizing place to sit in right now (Yes, sit in, not by). They might even feel compelled to pull a friend in with them. That can’t be good for anyone…

The effects will only subside if the condition of receiving ‘warmth’ is met. This can be in the literal sense (physical warmth and intimacy) or figurative (feelings of love, acceptance and happiness).

Bonfire

When night falls, the temperatures only drop further, which does no favours for the poor souls who had to give up their clothing. The locals want to welcome the new arrivals and give everyone an opportunity to unwind from a busy and chaotic day of being hunted by snow sculptures. That’s why they’ve set up a gathering in the middle of town square. Food and alcohol is being generously supplied by The Cask & Anvil, and marketplace vendors have set up pop up stands to try and cajole the new arrivals into purchasing some fancy new clothes or a pretty gemstone they claim will ward off danger (claims not verified).

At the center of it all is a large bonfire that’s warming up the square. Everyone is encouraged to warm themselves by it after a long day, eat, and make merry. In fact, there’s a certain sense of enchantment to the crackling fire that seems to draw even the shiest wallflower in, pushing them to sit with others and make conversation. As the night goes on, the newly arrived dreamers will find themselves settling easily into the warm and bustling mood, any stresses and anxieties melting away. With time, they’ll start to find themselves without a filter, more than happy to talk about themselves and the life they had led prior to coming to Visium. In fact, they will feel compelled to share a story from their past - one that might be joyous, comedic, thrilling, or tragic. Whatever sorts of feelings come attached to their story, it will be one of emotional significance.

In the back of their minds, they might get the sense someone else is listening.

OOC

Welcome to the labyrinthum TDM! Characters will arrive depowered and with only their clothing, and will be given a satchel with a crystal pendant, a communication device, some water and bread and a magic potion. If they drink the potion, they will manifest an elemental, healing or animal transformation ability.

With the exception of Castle Vaeros, characters are free to go as they please, so feel free to place them in any of the locations available on the map. Yes, this includes the Labyrinth - though characters will not be able to clear the maze. Please comment here to request an outcome for your character's labyrinth exploration and a moderator will get to you shortly. (The longest a character can stay in the Labyrinth is 3 days.)

You can find more information about the game here. Any questions regarding the TDM can go under the comment below.

Comments

[mahoraga]

[ This is going well. He isn't trying to tame the animal and make him a pet or anything, but he simply misses his own wolves. Growing up with and being protected by wolves simply lends to feeling comfortable around them, even if he would always respect the space of an animal if it's clear they want nothing to do with him.

The wolf is still hungry, and it seemed to enjoy that little meal. There's more, of course. It means Megumi goes without meat this evening but he's always been fine eating only vegetables. Taking out a few links of sausages, he places it on the ground again, not moving too far away this time.

After waiting for the wolf to finish eating, he'll reach out a hand tentatively to see if he'll be permitted a pet. ]

[tsygan]

( this is going well on both sides, one might say, if only because megumi has no idea that this isn't a real wolf; he's probably going to be very, very surprised later when it turns out he isn't, but that's far enough ahead that it's going to be a problem for future cain to deal with, and he has more of a penchant for living in the moment. from one to the next, that sort of thing.

( he might feel a little guilty later if he sees the kid eating nothing but vegetables? but he doesn't know that now, and he's not going to know until later, so. again. a future-cain problem. which means — )

his nostrils flare when he sets down those sausage links, because he's always enjoyed a good sausage, and he's not about to turn his nose up at one this time, even if there's no telling if the links have already been seasoned. in his experience, you do all of that sort of thing yourself, but this place is just different enough that it crosses his mind, even as he finds himself chowing down.

and he won't move if megumi goes in for a pet. he might even lean into it, if he lingers long enough. care to take a chance and find out? )

[mahoraga]

[ This wolf is very tame, as far as he knows. He doesn't sense any danger from it at all. As he watches Cain wolf down the sausages (pun intended), he strokes along his handsome fur, scratching his ears. Up close, he really does look like the divine dog, sans the markings it had on its forehead. ]

You like it? [ There's no one around, so he doesn't have to put up those usual emotional walls between himself and other people. Megumi's affected by the scent of one of the special growths in the garden too, and it's spurring him toward an affection he wouldn't have tried to resist very hard anyway.

Because wolves are cute.

His lips curve upward so slightly in a small smile, and once Cain has finished his meal, he kneels closer, continuing to spoil the large wolf with pets and scritches. ] Looks like you were hungry. Are you here all by yourself?

[ Not like the wolf can even understand him, but it's therapeutic to talk to animals. ]

[tsygan]

( just wait until you find out that this wolf isn't exactly a wolf, megan. and that he isn't all that tame, either.

still, it isn't going to hurt anything if there is more about him to be endeared by in the beginning. because what if megumi doesn't care very much for the human cain? you'll just have to stay tuned and find out how that goes.

the attention is nice, whether he chooses to admit it even to himself or not; he's never cared very much about respecting others' personal space bubbles, but there's always been a certain physicality of it, and this is straight up affection. whether it's the weird flora in the garden or just because megumi likes animals as much as he does ( both, it's both ), it's almost impossible to deny that being paid this kind of attention is something he could get used to.

( is this why he'll end up moseying around as a wolf more often than not when he's around megumi? maybe. )

he gives a low rumble deep in his chest, not a growl but the kind of happy groan you might expect to hear from a large dog, a german shepherd or a husky. something like that. and he leans into the scritches with a look in megumi's direction that is clearly indicative of yeah, i am, and is it just you or is this wolf a bit more sentient than your average lupine?

it's probably just you. don't worry too much about it. )