[ The instant your hand touches the lantern, the small flame blooms into a something huge and bright like an unfolding star, light flooding the Haven as well as your mind.
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like suddenly, improbably, being a kid again, slipping your tiny hand into one that's bigger but not by much, together you pretend to be alien invaders going to the mall to do critical ice cream research, and you enjoy yourself without a care in the world at the time, when you're older again you look back with a different perspective and appreciate it even more, how safe you felt, how fun it was, how much you might have actually needed that;
it feels like a sandwich and cloud nine and a sanctuary from prying eyes, and someone who will quietly guard the door and let you be yourself or maybe even nobody for just a minute, to dissolve into the pool until you feel more whole;
it feels like a strangely heartfelt conversation, picking at it like a puzzle, you both fell accidentally into something deep and meaningful that took you by surprise and showed you some things about yourself that were important to know, and there's a sense of camaraderie with this person who was brave enough to come on this journey with you, who has the power to hurt you but doesn't, who lets flakes her armor fall away to let a little light out, and you hold that light as gentle as a firefly to try to keep it safe from harm;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
[A shaky breath, and she looks up again--takes another moment before she can quite release the lantern. For now, she looks around--not that she has a problem with staying here, but just in case the brighter light has revealed anything new.]
[ In this larger, brighter, expanded circle of light, you can see more of the immediate surroundings beyond the edge of the Haven. You see the skeletons of bushes. What once was lush grass is now crisp, dry tufts, crinkled over bare dirt. The naked trunks of what used to be conifers extend overhead and vanish into darkness. ]
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
[ The lantern's pretty bright, so you'd be able to see it pretty well if you carried it with you. From here on the Haven, you can only see so far before it melts back into the darkness.]
[ You follow the path through a forest long dead. ]
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, strongly resembles a parking lot. On this side of the lot, to your left, is a lookout where tourists could stop and take in the vast and devastatingly scenic darkness-filled canyon you just crawled out of. ]
[Broken down cities with unnatural, inhuman sounds...feels homey. Multiple light sources, also a good thing, and she untenses a bit, keeping an eye out. She doesn't know much about turning down lanterns, but so long as it doesn't seem like it's gonna set anyone (read: herself) on fire, no worries.
Just for shits, she'll check out the lookout, since it doesn't hurt to see where you've been]
[ The lookout is a jutting outcrop of cobblestone and brick, decorated with broken street lights and cement planters full of the husks of palm trees. ]
[ Beyond the lookout is just... nothing. A canyon filled with Dark. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here, it’s a sheer drop down into absolutely nothing except black. ]
[ It might have been beautiful once, back when the buildings were still brightly painted and the streets were full of people. But now the buildings are boarded up, and roads that were once broad and inviting and now blocked by thick makeshift barricades cobbled together from metal signs, wooden pallets, rusted cars, barbed wire — anything and everything that wasn’t nailed down, and probably some things that were. ]
[ The barricade and building are run through with cables, and bright lights of all shapes and sizes are pointed outward as if trying desperately to keep the darkness away. The light illuminates the thick, dingy haze that squats over the city, which you can feel in your throat with every breath. ]
[ From here, you can see some spots along the wall where the lights have burned out, leaving some buildings drenched in shadow. ]
[ Someone on top of a building turns a spotlight on you. You hear shouting from a familiar voice. ]
“There's a survivor! Raise the gates!”
[ You hear activity from beyond the wall, and a moment later there's a groan of metal and clank of chains. ]
[ Two cars, stacked end to end in a cage of rusted beams and rebar, is raised by powerful winches like a massive gate. Behind it is a narrow, well-lit alley, leading the way into the city. ]
[ As you enter the alley and the gate shuts heavily behind you, the lantern you've been holding shatters into bright flakes of white light and vanishes. ]
[ You can still feel it, though. ]
[ Innately, you know the lantern is not gone, and not broken. It has gone into your Armiger -- a space inside of you, next to your soul. You can feel it in there, ready for you to call it into existence once again, any time you want. ]
[ In fact, now that you're paying attention, you can feel there is something else in your Armiger besides your lantern, waiting for you to call it into being. You know that all you have to do is hold out your hand and it will appear in your palm the moment you will it to be so. ]
[ In a glittering flash of white light, the thing you called for drops into your palm. ]
[ It's a massive Morning Star. Truly the nail bat of the middle ages. This thing weighs a ton. You could absolutely kill a man with this. ]
[ As you turn it in your hands, you can feel something strange about it. You can feel... that it has been imbued with the power of fire. ]
[ As surely as you are breathing, you understand: while you are holding this object, you will be able to channel its power and cast Fira at will. You could probably hit something with this and make it explode. ]
[ You now have access to your Armiger. You can put things into it at any time, and they will appear or disappear from your hand at your whim. ]
[A fucking HUGE FIREBALL explodes out of your hand and incinerates a whole bunch of garbage. It's really flashy and looks fucking awesome, and even though the fire was close enough to burn you, and you feel its heat, the flames don't harm you.]
[And that's how you discover you're immune to fire while you have this thing in-hand]
[Which at first is surprise, then delight, then--worry, since maybe somebody saw that... Probably time to get moving...maybe give the fire department an anonymous tip? But later.
For now she starts hoofing it out of the alley--remembers the giant spiky bludgeon on her shoulder and thinks Maybe Too Conspicious Even If Nemesis Needs One. Waggles the morning star a bit to try and dismiss it back to the armiger and then starts out to the main street.
She should probably try to figure out who let her in, for one--a voice had been familiar, right?]
[ With the closed gate at your back, there’s only one exit, and it’s in front of you. ]
[ The alley is narrow and zig-zags through crumbling buildings. Eventually you see the exit, and the man who’s standing at the end of the alley, waiting for you. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Haven
[Is the lantern fixed to the ground? She is trying to lift it either way,]
Re: Haven
In that moment, the world disappears into that flash of light and it feels like suddenly, improbably, being a kid again, slipping your tiny hand into one that's bigger but not by much, together you pretend to be alien invaders going to the mall to do critical ice cream research, and you enjoy yourself without a care in the world at the time, when you're older again you look back with a different perspective and appreciate it even more, how safe you felt, how fun it was, how much you might have actually needed that;
it feels like a sandwich and cloud nine and a sanctuary from prying eyes, and someone who will quietly guard the door and let you be yourself or maybe even nobody for just a minute, to dissolve into the pool until you feel more whole;
it feels like a strangely heartfelt conversation, picking at it like a puzzle, you both fell accidentally into something deep and meaningful that took you by surprise and showed you some things about yourself that were important to know, and there's a sense of camaraderie with this person who was brave enough to come on this journey with you, who has the power to hurt you but doesn't, who lets flakes her armor fall away to let a little light out, and you hold that light as gentle as a firefly to try to keep it safe from harm;
it feels like love.
Your eyes adjust to the light and the Haven resolves back into place, right where you left it. The newly brightened lantern illuminates an even greater radius than before.]
Re: Haven
[She takes a minute,]
[A shaky breath, and she looks up again--takes another moment before she can quite release the lantern. For now, she looks around--not that she has a problem with staying here, but just in case the brighter light has revealed anything new.]
Re: Haven
[ One side of the platform-shaped Haven slopes gently down to the ground. From there, a dirt path winds off into the trees. ]
Re: Haven
[Could just stay here though? Mr. Guns might show up with bbq even. How dark is that path looking?]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
[Well--she can do this--there's someone important to find, feels like.
She gets to her feet, keeping tight hold of the lantern.
Another moment, then she heads for the path.]
Re: Haven
[ Out here, the air tastes bitter and caustic. The unnatural silence is occasionally punctuated by sounds: a distant, echoing crash of something crisp and wooden getting broken. A lonely groan from an inhuman throat. The intermittent scrape of dry leaves, disturbed by feet that skitter away before your circle of light can touch them. ]
[ As you walk, the path starts to climb up a slope, leading you through several switchbacks. The trees thin out, and the sky seems to lighten a few shades, like something up ahead is illuminating the very air. ]
[ You can see light glinting off boulders and tree trunks, guiding you forward like a beacon. ]
[ You have to scrabble over some rocks, picking your way upward. Then you look over a ridge and there it is:
—The ugliest city you’ve ever seen in your life. ]
[ The city is on the far side of a huge expanse of cobblestone — which, now that you’re looking at it, strongly resembles a parking lot. On this side of the lot, to your left, is a lookout where tourists could stop and take in the vast and devastatingly scenic darkness-filled canyon you just crawled out of. ]
Re: Haven
Just for shits, she'll check out the lookout, since it doesn't hurt to see where you've been]
Re: Haven
[ The lookout is a jutting outcrop of cobblestone and brick, decorated with broken street lights and cement planters full of the husks of palm trees. ]
[ Beyond the lookout is just... nothing. A canyon filled with Dark. You climbed out of there somehow, but from here, it’s a sheer drop down into absolutely nothing except black. ]
Re: Haven
[Okay, let's check out this town, see what is going on.]
Re: Haven
[ The barricade and building are run through with cables, and bright lights of all shapes and sizes are pointed outward as if trying desperately to keep the darkness away. The light illuminates the thick, dingy haze that squats over the city, which you can feel in your throat with every breath. ]
[ From here, you can see some spots along the wall where the lights have burned out, leaving some buildings drenched in shadow. ]
[ Someone on top of a building turns a spotlight on you. You hear shouting from a familiar voice. ]
“There's a survivor! Raise the gates!”
[ You hear activity from beyond the wall, and a moment later there's a groan of metal and clank of chains. ]
[ Two cars, stacked end to end in a cage of rusted beams and rebar, is raised by powerful winches like a massive gate. Behind it is a narrow, well-lit alley, leading the way into the city. ]
Re: Haven
...Thanks!
[She gives a thumbs up, then warily heads on in]
Re: Haven
[ As you enter the alley and the gate shuts heavily behind you, the lantern you've been holding shatters into bright flakes of white light and vanishes. ]
[ You can still feel it, though. ]
[ Innately, you know the lantern is not gone, and not broken. It has gone into your Armiger -- a space inside of you, next to your soul. You can feel it in there, ready for you to call it into existence once again, any time you want. ]
[ In fact, now that you're paying attention, you can feel there is something else in your Armiger besides your lantern, waiting for you to call it into being. You know that all you have to do is hold out your hand and it will appear in your palm the moment you will it to be so. ]
Re: Haven
.........Soul weapons are not her forte, but new things for new days. She holds out her hand, attempting to pull out--something...?]
Re: Haven
[ It's a massive Morning Star. Truly the nail bat of the middle ages. This thing weighs a ton. You could absolutely kill a man with this. ]
[ As you turn it in your hands, you can feel something strange about it. You can feel... that it has been imbued with the power of fire. ]
[ As surely as you are breathing, you understand: while you are holding this object, you will be able to channel its power and cast Fira at will. You could probably hit something with this and make it explode. ]
[ You now have access to your Armiger. You can put things into it at any time, and they will appear or disappear from your hand at your whim. ]
Re: Haven
...What's something that looks like nobody else will mind exploding? Of course she needs to try this out,]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
She concentrates, pointing her arm dramatically like in her animes]
...Fira....?
Re: Haven
[And that's how you discover you're immune to fire while you have this thing in-hand]
Re: Haven
[Which at first is surprise, then delight, then--worry, since maybe somebody saw that... Probably time to get moving...maybe give the fire department an anonymous tip? But later.
For now she starts hoofing it out of the alley--remembers the giant spiky bludgeon on her shoulder and thinks Maybe Too Conspicious Even If Nemesis Needs One. Waggles the morning star a bit to try and dismiss it back to the armiger and then starts out to the main street.
She should probably try to figure out who let her in, for one--a voice had been familiar, right?]
Re: Haven
[ With the closed gate at your back, there’s only one exit, and it’s in front of you. ]
[ The alley is narrow and zig-zags through crumbling buildings. Eventually you see the exit, and the man who’s standing at the end of the alley, waiting for you. ]
[Approach?]