[cobalt jumps out of a bush with a spray of confetti just kidding it's completely quiet.]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
[a lot of garbage, honestly. Broken boards, plastic bags, scraps of paper so old they're mostly disintegrated, rubble, rebar, bits of metal that are like 80% tetanus...
[ 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 deck of Duel Monsters cards, each card printed on thin metal plates with edges that could cut if held the wrong way. They're perfect for throwing, but also completely functional for playing Duel Monsters.]
[ 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 ice.]
[ As surely as you are breathing, you understand: while you are holding this object, you will be able to channel its power and cast Blizzara at will. ]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. Also a green-haired kid in pink. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Haven
cobalt jumps out of a bush with a spray of confettijust kidding it's completely quiet.][ 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. ]
Re: Haven
Down the path, he goes]
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
Gotta be sure, you know.
For reasons.]
Re: Haven
Re: Haven
He turns to the left to head toward the lookout. ]
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
Re: Haven
Nothing really interesting, though. Just trash.]
Re: Haven
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
That... is probably a safety hazard.
But into the city, he goes. Waving at whoever tossed a spotlight on him]
Re: Haven
[ 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
He does it in the most dramatic way possible. Because of course he does.]
Re: Haven
[ In a glittering flash of white light, the thing you called for drops into your palm. ]
[ It's a deck of Duel Monsters cards, each card printed on thin metal plates with edges that could cut if held the wrong way. They're perfect for throwing, but also completely functional for playing Duel Monsters.]
[ 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 ice.]
[ As surely as you are breathing, you understand: while you are holding this object, you will be able to channel its power and cast Blizzara at will. ]
[ 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
Yes, this feels right.
And he continues further into the city.]
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. Also a green-haired kid in pink. ]
[Approach?]