![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Vanyel's Map: Blackavar Island
Characters: Vanyel and any others who signed up here! Feel free to use the CR meme to plot.
Summary: During the late-summer fair, Vanyel acquired a means to create a map, which in turned showed the existence of an island that no one has seen, despite flyovers and long-distance scanning. He has now organized a party to explore it. This log is for casual interaction, camping, and hiking, as well as mod-run plot factors that may affect the "war."
Date(s): October 5-8
Warnings/Notes: Potential minor injury, booby traps, etc.
All aboard Tony Stark's jet, except for those of us who have flight capability and prefer to go it alone. The airship still looks battered and lacks a weapons array, but can carry eight passengers easy, and most daemons besides. It's a smooth flight over the water, that you may wish to spend chatting with your fellow passengers. Reassuringly, the sensor feed seems to match the map that Vanyel generated exactly, including the shape of the coastline, the location of the city, and the distance to the wall of light opposite the land the interdimensional membrane. All that's missing is the island.
However, as the ship approaches the expected location of the island, the light and water begin to distort, flickering and shredding like a mirage. The next moment, the island emerges, swirling with strange mist. Just like the map shows, it isn't big— a couple miles in each direction at most, but it's steeply mountainous and heavily forested.
There's a variety of weird shit to look at. The Island Effect is exaggeratedly strong here, primarily regarding the fauna.
The bald, pointed-eared fairies that are merely finger-height on the mainland are as tall as adult humans here, and you might see them peeking through the trees then darting away, unwilling to communicate. In the meantime, the green-backed bison are pygmy, coming in at hip-height, and rambling around beyond the treeline. Likewise, the massive sea dragons are down-scaled to the size of dolphins. Still aggravatingly aggressive, though.
Fortunately, Tony parked further up the beach.
It's warm. Far more humid here than on the mainland, thanks to the churning mist, the flora more jungle-like than deciduous sort back East. The trees press in close, and the incline is steep, promising a challenging hike, albeit one filled with interesting and picturesque natural discoveries. Plenty to bitch about, as you have a look around.
Fortunately, there doens't... seem to be anything particularly creepy to worry about as you break camp for the night, at least in terms of nocturnal predators and the like. The fire will keep away animals who are otherwise attracted to the scent of s'mores.
As the search progresses, four stone ruins are scattered throughout the forest. The architectural style bears unmistakable resemblence to the temple at the back of the city, although these are smaller, masked by rotting, toppled trees and half-submerged into dirt. Most of these are marked on Vanyel's map, with a symbol:
✞
But while you're poking around empty arches and derelict rooms, watch for booby traps here or there. Arrows, pits, nets. All of them brittle and rotted now, more liable to drop you on your head than break anything you can't spare— but traps nonetheless. You may have to help disentangle your fellow man from some of that.
For some reason, the only door that looks proper sealed looks almost identical to the one that led to the Memory Share chamber. However, instead of the same jet-black stone that characterizes much of the Temple, this one is a warm shade of brown, coarse, and the elaborately graven surface has held up well to the test of time that defeated most of the traps elsewhere.
No handles, no locks. But when you speak, the carvings begin to glisten oddly.
Summary: During the late-summer fair, Vanyel acquired a means to create a map, which in turned showed the existence of an island that no one has seen, despite flyovers and long-distance scanning. He has now organized a party to explore it. This log is for casual interaction, camping, and hiking, as well as mod-run plot factors that may affect the "war."
Date(s): October 5-8
Warnings/Notes: Potential minor injury, booby traps, etc.
BLACKAVAR ISLAND
Dead winds' and spent waves' riot
OUTBOUND FLIGHT
However, as the ship approaches the expected location of the island, the light and water begin to distort, flickering and shredding like a mirage. The next moment, the island emerges, swirling with strange mist. Just like the map shows, it isn't big— a couple miles in each direction at most, but it's steeply mountainous and heavily forested.
TAKE A HIKE
There's a variety of weird shit to look at. The Island Effect is exaggeratedly strong here, primarily regarding the fauna.
The bald, pointed-eared fairies that are merely finger-height on the mainland are as tall as adult humans here, and you might see them peeking through the trees then darting away, unwilling to communicate. In the meantime, the green-backed bison are pygmy, coming in at hip-height, and rambling around beyond the treeline. Likewise, the massive sea dragons are down-scaled to the size of dolphins. Still aggravatingly aggressive, though.
Fortunately, Tony parked further up the beach.
It's warm. Far more humid here than on the mainland, thanks to the churning mist, the flora more jungle-like than deciduous sort back East. The trees press in close, and the incline is steep, promising a challenging hike, albeit one filled with interesting and picturesque natural discoveries. Plenty to bitch about, as you have a look around.
Fortunately, there doens't... seem to be anything particularly creepy to worry about as you break camp for the night, at least in terms of nocturnal predators and the like. The fire will keep away animals who are otherwise attracted to the scent of s'mores.
INDIANA JONES AND THE MYSTERIOUS RUINS
As the search progresses, four stone ruins are scattered throughout the forest. The architectural style bears unmistakable resemblence to the temple at the back of the city, although these are smaller, masked by rotting, toppled trees and half-submerged into dirt. Most of these are marked on Vanyel's map, with a symbol:
But while you're poking around empty arches and derelict rooms, watch for booby traps here or there. Arrows, pits, nets. All of them brittle and rotted now, more liable to drop you on your head than break anything you can't spare— but traps nonetheless. You may have to help disentangle your fellow man from some of that.
At The Stone Door
For some reason, the only door that looks proper sealed looks almost identical to the one that led to the Memory Share chamber. However, instead of the same jet-black stone that characterizes much of the Temple, this one is a warm shade of brown, coarse, and the elaborately graven surface has held up well to the test of time that defeated most of the traps elsewhere.
No handles, no locks. But when you speak, the carvings begin to glisten oddly.
GROUP ENSEMBLE: ALL PARTICIPANTS
The party arrives at the door. It's stone, enormous, sealed.
The air is colder in here, but just as clammy as the humidity swimming over the island outside. Shafts of sunlight come down through square windows cut in the ceiling— or maybe it's you who opted to come in that way, rather than on what everyone else established consensually as 'the ground,' which had sloped down to this apparent point of entry.
But no matter how you got to the door, it's clear that there's no going around it. There is a bewildering tangle of forest and stone above, and impenetrable earth below.
no subject
Still, there has to be some sort of trick to opening it - especially since there's clearly no other way forward. So he'll be examining the door itself and the area around it for any hidden pulleys or switches or bits that rotate - only to stop and stare when he notices that the chatter from the rest of the party seems to be doing.... something.]
no subject
no subject
And then it abruptly fades completely, going dark. Just shadows in carvings.
no subject
"Hello?" she asks. And then just plainly knocks on the surface of the door as if it were any other. "Anyone home?" Maybe it's not the wisest thing to do. She'd seen the traps, knows that she should probably be more careful. But she also knows the structure powering down(?) likely isn't a good thing.
no subject
No arrows pop out of anywhere. That's elsewhere on the island, Rosie.
no subject
"Seems to be reacting to spoken word. Less so if we address it directly." He pauses, glancing back to the others. "Perhaps it's listening for a certain word? Or might be drawing upon our presence here."
Sorry Rose, he's less excitement and adventure and basically going full wizard given they don't know what awaits them.
no subject
no subject
"As far as I'm aware," he says, not particularly projecting but still obviously trying to command attention with his reply, "This whole world is powered by the way we interact with each other — so you're probably right in thinking it's responding to our presence." The corner of his mouth curves, in something that could probably be called a smile, though it's too cold to be convincing. "So maybe we should all introduce ourselves."
He doesn't volunteer to go first.
no subject
Her mental debate of should she move closer or should she continue lingering a polite distance away is interrupted by Anima speeding toward the door, excited and unreserved now that he knows there's no immediate danger. Era knows he'll be safe, but has a moment of panic before rationality kicks in again.
Anima twirls in front of the door, own faint glow barely visible. "Hello! I'm Anima. It's very nice to meet you, Door!"
-- nope, the panic is back and Era is quick to follow her little companion, grabbing hold of Aymeric's hand to drag him along as well. She drops it once she's beside Anima, so that she'll have a free hand to draw her rapier should the need arise, and places the other on the carved stone, curious.
"I'm Era."
no subject
Though he knows it is only born of a need for reassurance, Aymeric can't help the way his heart skips a beat at Era suddenly grabbing hold of his hand. "I am Aymeric de Borel," he says, in addition to Era's own introduction. "'Tis a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance." He gives a polite bow of his head towards the rest of the rest of the group. Then his attention is back to Era and the winged creature who is introducing himself to the door.
no subject
"Vanyel Greyjoy," he says, turning to fully face the rest of the group - specifically, those members who don't know him already. (Which is most of them, probably, since he didn't exactly introduce himself before he started talking about the map). "Originally of Tamriel, more recently of Eudio."
no subject
And when Era's voice joins afterward, when she offers her name, abruptly the carvings make a sharp jump in brightness, like a flare lit in the dark. This seems to trigger more motion in the hidden mechanics of the stone, rumbling, clicking, a faint shudder in the ground underfoot. The door begins to move.
It's hard to say if Aymeric and Vanyel's self-introductions do much for the door, or if the process is already at work. Certainly, there's yet another degree of brightness to the door when the Elezen speaks, and the mildest change with Vanyel.
The door slides open, rather than swinging wide. Beyond, there's a vast, cavernous space. When the group had been outside, it had seemed the mountainside was solid. Yet from in here, there's sunlight coming through an enormous hole in the ceiling, and a single tree descending down through it, a pool of water gathered below. Across from them, around the water and in the gloomy distance, there are five tunnels.
no subject
When the door opens, though, she's suddenly much closer to the front--not right at the doorway, but near enough to properly peer in alongside the others. She's past the point of gaping quite like she did the first time she was on Destiny, but her face is still bright. She could be paranoid and mistrustful, seeing the tree that could be an obvoius temptation and the dark paths--but instead she's actually thinking of the semi-sentience of some other old structures she's known.
"Postive thinking," she says, looking at the tree with a faint smirk. "Is it's been lonely and is really glad for some company, and it just took it a little while to wake up."
Better not to accuse the possibly semi-sentient cavern of trying to lure them into danger and giving it ideas it might not have had, at least.
no subject
When the cavern is revealed, there's an unmistakable brightness in her eyes. It only grows at the five tunnels, at the prospect of exploration and adventure. Eudio didn't offer opportunities like these. The Jade Shrine had been interesting, definitely, but not quite exciting the way that this was. "Good call, dude," Rose says back to Kaz.
Then she's stepping inside without waiting. Not leading by any means but instead carving her own path. "Hopefully we don't overwhelm the thing," she says to Amanda's comment about the tree (or the cavern itself, maybe?) 'waking up' and glad for their company.
no subject