Good Morrow mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
morrowmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
goodmorrow2023-12-24 07:13 am
morrowmods) wrote in goodmorrow2023-12-24 07:13 am
Entry tags:
Event: As the burden grows, so too does my purity
as the burden grows, so too does my purity
if you think my winter is cold
Snow-Covered
In the weeks since the storm, the temperature has remained well below freezing. There have been a series of light snowstorms that blanketed the village in white, with bootmarks naturally creating paths along the areas that see the most traffic. Hoods and mittens can preserve a bit of core temperature, but breath turns into visible smoke while speaking, both outdoors and inside. With no relief in sight, the villagers are beginning to murmur about the omens for a bad winter, and the fears that they've not prepared enough to make it through.
Many lumberjacks are seeking escorts to deal with the wildlife as they venture toward the wooded spaces to the west of the buried farmlands, citing a need to chop lumber while it is most dry and brittle. Those who take them up on their offers will usually hear a talk about the sorts of creatures that sometimes wander through a snowfall this soon after a summoning's finished. Borne from the frost, they lumber about the woods stirring up mini-blizzards and leaving treacherous terrain covered by a blanket of whiteness. Sensible travelers endeavor to pack with the expectation that they'll have to defend against hypothermia, harsh terrain, and monstrous entities alike. It's said that the frost creatures are drawn to sounds, so anyone who accepts an escort position would do well to expect to add "bodyguard" to the job description before long.
Many lumberjacks are seeking escorts to deal with the wildlife as they venture toward the wooded spaces to the west of the buried farmlands, citing a need to chop lumber while it is most dry and brittle. Those who take them up on their offers will usually hear a talk about the sorts of creatures that sometimes wander through a snowfall this soon after a summoning's finished. Borne from the frost, they lumber about the woods stirring up mini-blizzards and leaving treacherous terrain covered by a blanket of whiteness. Sensible travelers endeavor to pack with the expectation that they'll have to defend against hypothermia, harsh terrain, and monstrous entities alike. It's said that the frost creatures are drawn to sounds, so anyone who accepts an escort position would do well to expect to add "bodyguard" to the job description before long.
even the dead can die again
Devotion
CW: fire, burning bodies, body horror and transformation
With the weather as bad as it currently is, it seems as though the village is moving up against the limitations of its confined space. Not all natural resources are renewable, and the limited messages with civilizations outside the barrier don't take kindly to requests for aid. The concern rippling through the town has altered the normal large ceremony of the month. Traditionally, devotional ceremonies are lavish events held within ornate halls decorated with painstaking finery. But this time, the sermon takes the form of a procession. The congregation of devotees and otherworldly visitors are hooded rather than masked this time, draped in heavy cloaks and given candles to burn en route to their destination. Once lit, the candles burn with a green glow that gives an uncanny aura to the group as it travels at night in single file.
Their destination is a clear patch of white along the path toward the elders' inaccessible hill. Where last month's impossible patch of green seemed to exist, now the tundra is fitted with materials necessary to build a bonfire. As soon as the clearing comes into view, the sermon begins. This month, the discussion is less of a proof of love than it is an open entreaty. Their community has been wronged, constantly and for generations. These are people who have been unflinchingly devour, and for their energies have been sequestered away with naught but their own faith to aid in their survival. And in this moment, as the winter grows harsher than normal, it is their faith that they wish will see them through once more.
One by one, the devotees are instructed to toss their candles into the growing pyre, bidding the green flames to grow into one another until the little embers meet and connect, until the fire suddenly bursts out in a sudden explosion.
Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the flames' blast might expect to feel pain. It ought to burn. It ought to create suffering. But instead, the uncontrolled fire feels strangely safe, somehow. The flame is warmth. It is a relief from the biting cold. Somehow, it feels something close to love. However skeptical a newcomer might have been before this evening, it feels as if that mindset is burned away, along with what some might consider to be all good sense entirely. The feeling of security creates an unbearable urge to embrace more of the fire, to become part of its kindling, to become one with it.
CWs most applicable in the following paragraph Those who escaped the initial explosion will watch strangers and companions both be overtaken. Flaming bodies, faces charred beyond recognition, launch themselves deeper into the fire, crying out in ecstasy rather than suffering, scrambling for more of the obliterating connectedness. The humanoid bodies seem less so as they melt and dissolve into the flames, which now seem to crackle with dozens of voices singing out in wordless euphoria as they become one with the flames. There is something strangely seductive about the song, a siren calling out to friends and onlookers. It's possible still to be enthralled by it, to be convinced to wander into the flame and join in...
The ceremony continues until the sun rises. Only then do the elders disperse the base of the flames, leaving a tangle of altered bodies in the wake of everything. The Old Ones have seen fit to deliver them elementals to combat the winter, they declare to whoever had the will to resist the flames. It is a glorious day.
Their destination is a clear patch of white along the path toward the elders' inaccessible hill. Where last month's impossible patch of green seemed to exist, now the tundra is fitted with materials necessary to build a bonfire. As soon as the clearing comes into view, the sermon begins. This month, the discussion is less of a proof of love than it is an open entreaty. Their community has been wronged, constantly and for generations. These are people who have been unflinchingly devour, and for their energies have been sequestered away with naught but their own faith to aid in their survival. And in this moment, as the winter grows harsher than normal, it is their faith that they wish will see them through once more.
One by one, the devotees are instructed to toss their candles into the growing pyre, bidding the green flames to grow into one another until the little embers meet and connect, until the fire suddenly bursts out in a sudden explosion.
Those unfortunate enough to be caught in the flames' blast might expect to feel pain. It ought to burn. It ought to create suffering. But instead, the uncontrolled fire feels strangely safe, somehow. The flame is warmth. It is a relief from the biting cold. Somehow, it feels something close to love. However skeptical a newcomer might have been before this evening, it feels as if that mindset is burned away, along with what some might consider to be all good sense entirely. The feeling of security creates an unbearable urge to embrace more of the fire, to become part of its kindling, to become one with it.
CWs most applicable in the following paragraph Those who escaped the initial explosion will watch strangers and companions both be overtaken. Flaming bodies, faces charred beyond recognition, launch themselves deeper into the fire, crying out in ecstasy rather than suffering, scrambling for more of the obliterating connectedness. The humanoid bodies seem less so as they melt and dissolve into the flames, which now seem to crackle with dozens of voices singing out in wordless euphoria as they become one with the flames. There is something strangely seductive about the song, a siren calling out to friends and onlookers. It's possible still to be enthralled by it, to be convinced to wander into the flame and join in...
The ceremony continues until the sun rises. Only then do the elders disperse the base of the flames, leaving a tangle of altered bodies in the wake of everything. The Old Ones have seen fit to deliver them elementals to combat the winter, they declare to whoever had the will to resist the flames. It is a glorious day.
you could have been anyone's ghost
Flames and Ashes
Those who succumbed to the pyre will find themselves waking pleasantly, as if from a deep, comfortable sleep. Their robes have been burned away, but there is no sense of cold to trouble them. Their bodies have managed to rediscover their previous shapes and the divisions between each separate entity, through their skin is the same ethereal green as everything good and safe ought to be. Their hair is tipped with unkept flames, and their eyes have grown wild with a feral edge. But they are free now, they're told, to return to the village and continue to be its salvation. They'll have to separate from the comfort of their hot-blooded siblings, but it's for the greater good. It makes sense, somehow, even if it means leaving the safety of their current surroundings (of their birthplace? No, that can't be right...).
The unaffected will be left to make certain that the transformed manage to accomplish more than wandering out into the wilderness setting things ablaze. The Old Ones' gifts are overwhelming at times, they explain, and the creatures will likely be erratic and mercurial for the first several days. They may struggle to recall mortal conventions -- table manners and other little things, but what they've lost pales in comparison to what they've gained. They can generate heat without the aid of starting a fire and burning through their reserves of wood. They will be able to heat homes with their mere presence, and thaw the things that were iced shut. They are the answer to prayers.
And so it will maintain, for at least the next several weeks. The fire elemtentals will begin their tenure quite wild, far more monstrous and closer to the occasional beast that needs to be slain. (And should slaying be considered, they do seem to be easily felled by the frost creatures in the woods.) But they do seem eager to follow directions, even then. The cold, shivering things surrounding them seem so pathetic, it's easy to lend them a little flare or a warm hand to hold. Over the next several days, more of their memories will return easily enough. But as they come closer to themselves, they will be far less inclined to blindly follow orders. Normal levels of agency might being different dynamics to the fire-blessed's abilities, for as long as they can enjoy those abilities untilt they too wear away.
The unaffected will be left to make certain that the transformed manage to accomplish more than wandering out into the wilderness setting things ablaze. The Old Ones' gifts are overwhelming at times, they explain, and the creatures will likely be erratic and mercurial for the first several days. They may struggle to recall mortal conventions -- table manners and other little things, but what they've lost pales in comparison to what they've gained. They can generate heat without the aid of starting a fire and burning through their reserves of wood. They will be able to heat homes with their mere presence, and thaw the things that were iced shut. They are the answer to prayers.
And so it will maintain, for at least the next several weeks. The fire elemtentals will begin their tenure quite wild, far more monstrous and closer to the occasional beast that needs to be slain. (And should slaying be considered, they do seem to be easily felled by the frost creatures in the woods.) But they do seem eager to follow directions, even then. The cold, shivering things surrounding them seem so pathetic, it's easy to lend them a little flare or a warm hand to hold. Over the next several days, more of their memories will return easily enough. But as they come closer to themselves, they will be far less inclined to blindly follow orders. Normal levels of agency might being different dynamics to the fire-blessed's abilities, for as long as they can enjoy those abilities untilt they too wear away.
ooc notes
Here we are with a winter wonderland to carry us into the new year!
If you're interested in beating up some ice monsters and prefer to have stats for them, feel free to take inspiration from this ice elemental and ice mephit. For visuals, though, the giant in the linked image is probably most accurate. (Weird how that big ol' ice monster seems to be managing to grow some fines in it. Maybe that'll come up again later on.)
If you'll be playing the fire elemental route, it's natural to have questions that I didn't mention or might not have considered! Don't be shy about swinging by the questions thread for clarification or to work out something you're noodling about. But if it's about cosmetics: the design of your fire-character is entirely up to you. Green skin, green fire, go wild with anything else you want to do.
Happy Holidays! Next up on the agenda is our mid-January AC/R check-in meme. Welcome to our new friends, and looking forward to what the future brings.
If you're interested in beating up some ice monsters and prefer to have stats for them, feel free to take inspiration from this ice elemental and ice mephit. For visuals, though, the giant in the linked image is probably most accurate. (Weird how that big ol' ice monster seems to be managing to grow some fines in it. Maybe that'll come up again later on.)
If you'll be playing the fire elemental route, it's natural to have questions that I didn't mention or might not have considered! Don't be shy about swinging by the questions thread for clarification or to work out something you're noodling about. But if it's about cosmetics: the design of your fire-character is entirely up to you. Green skin, green fire, go wild with anything else you want to do.
Happy Holidays! Next up on the agenda is our mid-January AC/R check-in meme. Welcome to our new friends, and looking forward to what the future brings.
no subject
There's always checking that area out for clues, if it comes to that. Still, how do you feel now? Like you need a task to keep yourself going? It would be a shame if this curse were to get the better of you.
no subject
I would rather stay away for now. It would seem the urge to start fires is still difficult to suppress.
...Unless there is use for some fire somewhere - it has been quite cold recently. I imagine that using it in that manner should curb any instinct to burn indiscriminately.
[Like really - he'd develop that kind of power now? He really is too old for this...]
no subject
Well, if it's just a matter of keeping yourself useful, it has been very cold, so I wouldn't complain to having you coming along with me instead, if you like. Just be warned that I would complain very much, if you were to set me on fire. So as long as you don't do that...
no subject
Yes, I would like.
And we will try very hard not to set you on fire, that would be extremely problematic. Who's ever heard of a shifu so incompetent that he'd burn his student to ash, hm?
no subject
[ Her light mirth remains only because of how she's trying to make the best of this oddity. That, and at least, his willingness to follow her. ]
Although to think of it, this place doesn't exactly have ways of protecting against flammable items either... if you're not the only one cursed in this town, I wonder if they've even considered what might happen?
no subject
I suppose the only thing stopping most of us who've fallen into the fire from burning everything down is the abundance of snow.
[He'll look around, noting a few people with green skin walking around. The flames at their fingertips should be another dead giveaway.]
At the very least, the cursed among us are easy enough to spot. It should be possible to reason with them, after a while. If my example is anything to go by...
[He shrugs.]
I don't think these Old Ones seem to consider the dangers in their curses.
no subject
[ She lowers her voice, just in case any of the people they're passing start to take too much interest in their conversation. ]
What's even more strange to consider is how they don't seem to mind. There are those who say these 'curses' are blessings, as if that makes it any better.
no subject
W-well, it's my first time experiencing their... devotion.
[He sighs.]
All in all, curses can't be considered a good thing, but it's concerning that believers take them as blessings. Surely there has to be a toll, to be able to accumulate so many curses like this.
no subject
[ Idly, she draws her cape closer around herself. ]
There might even have been a time it would have been appealing to me, to not think about it. There's nothing we can really do about it, since it's how things are here. There's really nowhere else to go.
no subject
He raises an eyebrow, a little moved by her uncharacteristic show of vulnerability.]
Really? Did you think that not having any initiative would be easier to live with than living your own truth?
no subject
No, by the time I found out what I considered my truth was all a lie, it was too late to do anything about it. That is the truth I have to live with now.
no subject
How do you mean "it was all a lie"?
Different truths aren't necessarily incompatible.
no subject
Or maybe it was a way to assess what sort of ally he really could be. As much as he was seemingly trusting her while in his altered state.
Exhales. ]
I had a mission for my Master, and that mission was all I had known and... wanted to know. Life was work and work was living. It is a very satisfying thing, don't you think, when others are your tools and you can laugh at them for questioning everything about themselves? Not so much, when it's you. I didn't want it to be me, so I never asked. Even my Master, who taught me all of that - loyal as I was to him, what he didn't know, what I didn't want to see, was that someone else was behind him all along, and so even the mission was tainted by that. So, truth, lie, it's all wrapped together anyway.
no subject
He'll answer her clowly, weighing his words carefully.]
Well, I'm not sure that seeing the people around you as amusing tools is a very productive way of managing your relationships in the long term.
The human heart is a peculiar thing, you know. It does not know how to remain satisfied for long, it will always yearn for answers, for truth - even if that truth is not a pretty one. You can sink into despair - or you can pick yourself up and find a new meaning for yourself.
[This might really not be an observation she'll be happy with, but he doesn't think at this point that coddling her will lead to anything very worthwhile.]
no subject
Right, right... you don't have to be so superior, you know. Or is that just your own experience? With human hearts, and all.
i'm so sorry for the delay, i was sick and useless for a while there!
...Who would I even be superior to?
And yes, it is indeed my experience. There are all kinds of people in the world... kind, mean, good, bad - but in the end, regardless of labels or quality, hearts will always yearn for more than what they already have. In the end, what makes you you will be the choices you end up making for yourself.
no worries! health first <3
Oh? And what sort of pivotal human choices have you made?
no subject
he's only really aware of the fact that he's made quite a few bad choices. he's just not clear yet on the scale of those choices.
he taps his chin, pensive.]
Well... I was born a crown prince. By the time I was 20, I wasn't a prince of anything anymore.
no subject
Still, it's not a wholly unfamiliar concept, as she turns that thought over in her mind. ]
Oh? Did you give it up yourself, or did someone take over your territory that shouldn't have?
no subject
but he'll indulge her - if he does tell her more about himself (what he can actually remember for the time being) at some point he'll find a way to get her to share more about herself. an fair exchange of life experiences, if you will.
For now, he'll just give her what scraps of memories he still has floating around... well. the less terrible ones, at least.]
I did not give it up myself. It was... a combination of extremely bad luck, and extremely bad choices on my part.
[he rubs his forehead, the fragments of these particular memories sharp and painful.]
What I mean, is -- we have all been there, at some point.
no subject
You make it seem as if it was a long time away from where you are now.
no subject
he smiles a little.]
Ah - yes. It's been a long while since then.
[he chuckles.]
I told you: I'm an old man.
no subject
[ They're speaking of sensitive subjects, it only seems practical to try and get away from anyone who might take too much interest, when one of them has clearly participated in the ongoing curse when the other has not.
At his smile, she attempts a lighter tone as well. ]
Though I admit, this sort of perspective is still new for me.
no subject
Mmm no, I couldn't escape at all. I had responsibilities to face still. I didn't know any better, so I made a series of bad decisions, and those had consequences.
[he turns towards her, an awkward, apologetic smile on his lips.]
Ah, I even walked an unsavory path for a while. [he shrugs and smiles at her.]
How is it new for you?
no subject
Usually conversations like this would be more annoying for me. You're interesting.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)