EVENT LOG: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor.
date/time: september 6-7.
content: characters and forest spirits send off paper lantern boats in honor of those who have died..
warnings: character death

a somber kind of serenity.

When you arrive at the harbor, there are already boats in the water, and the lighthouse's red beam flares in slow pulses over the lake. The moon's a bright first quarter and the stars are out in force today, all reflected on the glassy surface of the water. It's uncharacteristically calm, this weather, so take advantage.

Rastus is down at the water's edge, tending to a large mound of pebbles that looks not unlike a miniature bonfire from a distance. The stones are all ordinary, having been collected from the beach, except Rastus has enchanted them to glow with a soft, yellow light. The enchantment will only last a week, but that's ample time for this little ceremony to send off those lost over the past two months. Or to send off something less literal, perhaps.

Next to the pile of stones is an array of craft materials—just the basic supplies like paper, markers, glue, and scissors, but more than enough to accommodate everyone in attendance. A handful of forest spirits (some you may recognize from the party!) are standing nearby to assist in paper-folding or boat-crafting if you're out of your depth there. They, along with Rastus, urge you to join in. This memorial is as much about you as it is anyone we've lost, after all. The boats can look like or represent anything you like.

Releasing boats lit with pebbles out onto the water will fill you will a sense of peace. It's a somber kind of serenity, but it's a relief nonetheless, whether you're mourning the loss of a friend or letting go of some other part of yourself. You're welcome to release as many boats as you like, too. It's not like there's a shortage of rocks around here, and even if the craft materials run low, there's plenty of other stuff around town that could be used in a pinch.

The forest spirits are in attendance, as well. Some are helping with the crafting, yes, but most are taking part themselves, building their own little boats to send out over the water. Their crafting involves more of a hands-on approach: Chomping and tearing and crinkling into unique shapes and textures. They stand out from the townsfolks' designs on the beach, but once the boats drift far enough into the surf, it's impossible to tell which vessels belong to which group. Feel free to NPC your own forest spirits for this event and refer to the OOC info post if you have questions about how they might behave.

On the final night of the event, a sound starts up along the treeline, one you haven't heard in some time, perhaps. Crickets. Cicadas. Katydids and beetles and the shrill hum of a mosquito in your ear. It seems insects have returned to Beacon from... wherever they were hiding, and the night air is now vibrant with their music. No more eerie silence back in town, where the sounds of the lake are snuffed out by the trees. It sounds almost like a real forest now.

And it will stay that way after this event ends, too. Maybe you were enjoying the time away from bugs or maybe you were longing for some sign that, yes, this world was alive once, but either way, the insects are here to stay. Well, until winter, at least.

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Comments

A

[paletteswap]

I have not been as homesick as I am right now.

[how dare you bring up moon cakes.]

[pure_havoc]

[BECAUSE THEY'RE AWESOME]

It is interesting, isn't it? That the spirits should choose this, over everything else, at this particular month.

Do you have a favorite flavor?

[paletteswap]

Lotus paste.

[Oh he's hungry now. Thanks Cao Pi.]

I wonder if they know, if so there's only a few here who would see the relevance.

[pure_havoc]

[mmm staight up lotus paste no substitutions...]

You have excellent taste.

[he looks around briefly, so as not to be caught gossiping about the spirits right in front of them] It's hard to say. For all we know they picked up the idea from some past person who was here and then gone long ago, and now they just do it out of habit.

[paletteswap]

Whatever the reason it's both comforting and morose at the same time. The familiarity is pleasant, but with so few of us it's more somber than the occasion normally is.

To say nothing of the lack of festive food.

[Damn does he want mooncakes.]

[pure_havoc]

I'm getting the impression that this is less of a festival and more of a funeral.

[which isn't going to stop him from remarking on the similarities and finding familiarity - and a similar homesickness - in it but. Eh. They already know they're dead, the graves and the memorials are just making it worse]

Were you going to float a lantern?

[paletteswap]

I already have. I'm waiting for it to sink. These paper boats will not last long against the lake, I'm curious if the stones will glow once they trail to the bottom.

[Granted he could have just chucked a stone out there to find out, but it seemed somehow disrespectful.]

[pure_havoc]

Oh. What an interesting experiment. [not sarcasm! He's actually somewhat curious.] Purely for how it might look, or are you hoping that it might be enough to illuminate what's in the water?

[paletteswap]

The second one. Though it will likely also look quite serene.

Some have said not to go in the lake, and that there's something out there. Perhaps it will be revealed with enough light, even if all we see is shadows.

[pure_havoc]

[good, because if it was just for pretties he might have to judge you, Kuai]

Something. [OH BOY MORE WATER FUN] Odd, isn't it? That the water around here seems to be a barrier to our progress no matter which direction we go. Rivers that try to drown you, creatures in the lake...

[paletteswap]

Fire that doesn't catch nor properly burn. A lack of light. And then water surrounding us. It seems connected but I can't fathom how.

Yet anyway.

[pure_havoc]

Yet, indeed.

[they've gone a bit without directly talking so it's only fair that he asks] How are things, otherwise? Any interesting explorations?

[paletteswap]

Interesting. [He shakes his head.] We found nothing of value other than strange floating creatures that did not want us to proceed further and poisoned two of us.

There's also something that sounds like a very large wolf, and strange singing. I'm not sure any of that is helpful in the grand scheme of things, but now that we know, it may be better to proceed in a different direction next time.

[pure_havoc]

[OHO...] You heard the singing, too? When the commander and I went out to the river, earlier, I also heard it. He didn't, as I was on watch at the time. I didn't go out to find out what was doing the singing, it was rather eerie and I didn't want to leave my comrade alone.

[paletteswap]

We didn't stray too far from the river but we could never find the source. It seemed to be coming from the river itself, but whatever it was we didn't see.

I'm not sure if there's someone living out there, or it might be one of the forest spirits. It's unsettling no matter what it is.

[pure_havoc]

Indeed. As much as I want my curiosity satisfied, particularly if it is something dangerous, my sense of self-preservation seems to be rising the more people get killed and don't return.

[with a nod toward the little floating lamps on the surface of the water. Even if most of them are to remember spirits, there's still far too many of them for anyone's comfort]

[paletteswap]

I was expecting the next ferry arrival after that to be the same amount of people as those who perished; in order to bolster our numbers, but it didn't seem to be. The more we lose the harder it becomes to make any of this sustainable.

[Not actual sustenance which will get easier with less people but the morale of the town, the desire to explore and most of all the ability to solve whatever puzzle it is that the Keeper has thrown at them.]

[pure_havoc]

[it just means he'll have to get working and work harder, then!]

Hm. I had not considered whether there was a certain quota, or even a limit to the number of people who could be here at any given time. Clearly, this little corner of afterlife is not the entirety of afterlife since, well, there ought to be billions of people. It only adds another layer of mystery to the whole thing.

[unless the spirits are also former human beings and...oh god he doesn't want to think that right now...]

[paletteswap]

There's the possibility that there are billions of people each in their own little Beacon and we would never know because we can only see and explore for a certain distance in any direction. I wouldn't think this likely, but anything could be the case.

It seems that this isn't the afterlife at all. I do not feel dead, I still must eat and rest as I did in life. Being dead we should not even be required to breathe.

[Wow Cao Pi that is truly horrific, thanks for that nightmare fuel.]

I do wonder what happened to those that died and did not return. Are they now in the real afterlife? Were they returned to their worlds? There's likely no way of knowing, but I can't help but think about it.

[pure_havoc]

[np bro that's what he's here for]

Honestly...same. [with a nod toward the floating boats] Memorials mean nothing when we don't know where we truly are, nor where anyone else is, alive or dead. It's a hollow gesture.

[which won't stop him from getting sentimental later but...eh, he can put up the good skeptic front right now. But really, between the set of his brow in a concerned frown and the low tone of his voice, Cao Pi agrees wholeheartedly with everything Kuai is saying and thinks it's just as terrible.]

[paletteswap]

They may even still return.

[The dead could be imprisoned somewhere. Stuck beneath the trapdoor of the church. ]

For their sakes I hope they do not and are somewhere better.

[pure_havoc]

Hm. 'Better.'

[most of those he's marked as good and gone by now, after so much time has passed, Cao Pi neither knew nor cared about. Some, he witnessed their deaths at their graves but never got to meet them in person. Better, worse, heaven, hell, who cares? But they're not here to help with the mission, and that's frustrating.

Not that he says anything about it. Just sort of grumbles under his breath and keeps staring out at the water.]

[paletteswap]

[Shrugging in front of an Emperor is beneath him, but he might have in any other circumstance.]

We'll never know. All we have is the memories.

[A few of the boats are finally starting to sink, and Kuai is keeping an eye out for whatever happens to them once they do.]