OPT-OUT EVENT LOG: THE SOOTHSAYERS' SILENCE

[asgardmods]

Who: ANYONE opting out of the latter half of the LOCUSTS! plot event.
What: the mingle log for The Soothesayers’ Silence
When: Days 433-435 ( Apr. 14-19 )
Where: Asgard, Mirror Lake, and the journey between
Rating: PG-13. Anything higher than that should be taken to a private log, please!

Day 433 ( Apr. 14/15 )

Those of you that were around for the Nature and Nurture event may see a few familiar faces amidst the refugees. Most of the Asgardian hippies will have died in the flood, but the Loljesker's warnings were heard by enough to help them escape the worst of it. They will be tired, grieving, but most of all, they will be panicked. They will speak of the mirror's collapse, the loss of reflection, and a deep rooted emptiness. Their babblings will make little sense to most anyone, but they are adamant in their confused distress, causing quite the commotion until one of the gods come to settle affairs. Freyr will listen closely to their words and decipher the messages lost within their despair.
The Loljesker warned them of something happening to Mirror Lake, and all was lost to the waters.
What exactly this means in plain terms, however, is a mystery. The young god will discuss matters with his sister before bringing it to the Prince Regent, and they will all three agree that perhaps a trip out to the Lake is in order. Any Travellers able and willing to go on a bit of a journey will be given instructions on how to reach Mirror Lake from Asgard. Pack an overnight kit for this one, as it will take some time to wade through the flood-ravaged land. The first day's travel will be fairly uneventful, largely spent sloughing through mud and collapsed woods. As soon as they come across a dry enough clearing, they should lay down their pallets for the night and do their best to keep warm.

Day 434 ( Apr. 16/17 )

As they continue on in early morning, their path will take them past the hippie camp that is now only strips of fabric and scattered belongings; the Loljesker's forest is near completely uprooted, and no tittering will be heard throughout the entirety of the Travellers' walk past this grim scene. Several hours after that, when the sun is already beginning to make its way down to the horizon, they will come across a vast expanse of nothing. They are not lost, however; they followed Freyr and Freya's instructions to the tee. It's simply as the frenzied Asgardians foretold, Mirror Lake is completely gone.
In its place is a seemingly bottomless pit that stretches several hundred feet across - the exact diameter of Mirror Lake. Peering into the sinkhole, the Travellers will find only an endless darkness and an empty silence. The Lake, as most things in this world, held a very unique magic that would show one's true reflection, speaking of truths otherwise lost to the nether. If a Traveller had looked into its waters, they would have seen themselves staring back but in the backdrop of their home world, their true place in the threads of existence. Now, however, there is only darkness.
It will almost be compelling to give the emptiness your attention, a sort of magnetic drag towards the edges of the sinkhole. Staring into the depths for too long will bring bone-creeping chill and a profound sense of loss, as though something very precious to them had been taken - though what, exactly, is not clear. If one happened to slip from the brink as they are lured to the darkness, however, things might become a bit more clear.
Falling into the sinkhole will kill your character. Death will not be immediate, though. The Lake speaks of truths lost to the nether; the fall will seem endless, as though suspended in time and place despite the distinct feeling of a drop, and down here, you will not be alone. Those that fall in will be given waking visions of home, just as they would've in the waters, but now there is darkness swallowing the light. They will see their worlds in ruin, burning in wildfire or ravaged by warfare, torn apart by plagues and disasters or simply collapsing into itself like a folding house of cards. Whatever form it takes, these visions will be nightmarish glimpses of the complete destruction of their home world. It will last no longer than five minutes in reality, but to the Traveller experiencing it, it may feel like hours or even days during which they fall into nothing. At its end, they will wake in the castle by the standard means of resurrection, and they will remember every second of their fall.
Back on the surface, once the Travellers have tired of being sapped of warmth and happiness and hearing their fallen friends' screams, they will opt not to linger in this madness for longer than is necessary to agree there is no hope for salvaging this area. They will head right back the way they came, making camp in the hippies' ruins for the night to think on their experiences.

Day 435 ( Apr. 18/19 )

The trip back to Asgard will be equally uneventful, though their numbers are fewer and the ground more solid from the drying water. By their return, the refugee camps will have been built just outside of Asgard's gates and natives will be attempting to find a means of living in these dire times. If the Travellers seek out the hippies to speak to them of their discovery, they will find their mellow friends lost too deeply into their own minds for conversation. Reflecting on oneself for two long can very well lead to madness. Better, perhaps, to simply forget what they saw ...

[ OOC NOTES: This is the mingle log for the Soothesayers’ Silence opt-out event! As a reminder, all deaths during this event count towards your death consequences. Please put [OPEN/CLOSED] along with the time/location of your character in the title of your comment. Let us know if you have any questions! ]

Comments

434

[selfmadman]

[ He remembers nights when he plunged through darkness into the quarry. He feels it now, feels sheer and untouchable. The wind picks up and ruffles his hair.

His thoughts too: a plummet in the dark.

As the light erodes the hole seems to yawn wider. A slight shape picks its way to the edge. At first he watches, a scream unspooling vibrant as ribbon in his memory. Then he begins to walk. ] Hey. [ He hesitates before dropping a hand to the girl's shoulder. Squeezes gently, his eyes lingering like hers on the void. He has to force himself to seek her face. His voice softening: ] Hey.

434

[cyan_maid]

[The first word jolts her out of her stupor, if briefly. The emptiness still lingers, creeping up her throat and catching onto her own voice.]

Y-Yes?

[She's barely turned away from the void.]

[selfmadman]

[ His hand doesn't leave her shoulder. Don tries to catch her eye, his stare scrabbling at hers. ]

What— [ The word sinks and he's helpless to stop it. He swallows. His gaze dips: they're closer than he thought, folds of blanched rock underfoot. ] are you looking at?

[ A pause. A smile, feeble and fading. ]

[cyan_maid]

[There's a subtle shift. She's focused completely on the void again, and she gestures vaguely to it.]

All that. Aren't you?

[Because who wouldn't look at this thing?]

[selfmadman]

[ He looks to her hand and with a gesture she launches his gaze into the dark. It coasts, wobbles, falls. The space between breaths widens. The cords of his neck stand out like exposed tree roots. ]

It's empty.

[ This time when he squeezes her shoulder it's for his own benefit. ]

[cyan_maid]

Yes. Extremely so.

[Good observation, Jane. Now if you could only stop inching your feet towards it.]

I wonder how far it goes...?

[selfmadman]

[ He takes a step. It's graceful, or at least the urge that spurs it is. ]

Don't. [ A strange, crooning inflection to his voice. He manages to close his eyes. ] It'll hollow you out too.

[cyan_maid]

[She's not sure how to respond to that, but there's an insistent tug in her mind that assures her of something-]

Seems worth it to find out, I think. I won't go too far. I won't.

ffffff sorry about the delay

[selfmadman]

And you'll be back before dark. [ Too late. Night's closed in. Don sighs, gathering in breath. ]

It's suicide. [ But he says it without urgency. He's picturing his brother's hands tensing the rope. The hair on his knuckles. Maybe it was Don's imagination that failed Adam. ] What do you think of that? [ He's staring into the pit; he doesn't recall opening his eyes. There's more life in the question than anything around them. ]

It's fine it happens C:

[cyan_maid]

[She gives a funny little "hoo" of a laugh.] Exactly.

You can't know that until you investigate. [How can he be so sure? Perhaps there was a bottom they couldn't see. Perhaps there was something worth finding in the darkness - or something soft to land in, at least.] And I said I wouldn't go far. I won't go far enough to fall.

[But even she's not sure how honest she's being.]