[log] Event: Lavender's Green, Part Two [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: everyone
Location: mysterious, white hallways
Date: Day 193-194
Summary: Find friends. Get lost. Don't look.
Warnings: Potential for gore and psychological horror. Please note any specific warnings in your subject lines!

While confusingly similar, the area is split into a few different sections:

The Core
The hallways here are narrow and twist at a rapid rate. With how dazzlingly white everything is, it's easy to not realize you're coming on a turn and slam right into the walls. There are no rooms here--no one starts here, though they may find it while they wander. At the center is a large, round area, like the center of a spiral. There's a lot of air pressure here.

The Inner Hallways
The largest area, filled with dead ends, gentle slopes and twists, and, occasionally, difficult-to-see drops where a higher hallway intersects with a lower one without a wall to separate them. The whole place tastes vaguely like blood. Most rooms are here--most people start here.

The Outer Hallways
The outer ring of the ball of yarn. It's not as thick with halls and twists as the other two areas, leading to a lot more boring walking in one direction. It's totally possible to circle around the same path multiple times without realizing it, as everything is so similar here. Occasionally, footsteps can be heard just outside the farthest walls. Sometimes, something breathes. There are a few rooms here--some people will start here.


Remember to note what kind of eyes your character has in their top level!

Comments

[bloodbiter]

[She keeps walking, but she stays silent for a moment or two as she just. Digests that, takes it all in. Her summary:]

Everyone in this story is awful. One of the women who was sent there should have just killed the king before any of this started.

[She 100% would have stabbed him in the throat??]

[theurgy]

[Cassel smiles.]

Yeah, they should have. I bet you would have done a better job.

[bloodbiter]

Of course I would have.

[Figurative hair flip.]

Would you like to hear a story from my world? It's less strange.

[To her, at least.]

[theurgy]

Sure, let's hear it.

[bloodbiter]

To begin with... Hundreds of years ago, my country, Bamarre, was untamed. When the first voyagers came to this place, it was incredibly dangerous, ridden with monsters.

[Which, well, it still is, but that's getting ahead of herself.]

Among one of the travelers was a man named Drualt. As everyone arrived and struggled to find a safe place for themselves in the new land, he became a hero to the people, leading them to fight against the dragons, ogres and gryphons that were everywhere.

[theurgy]

Man, you've got all sorts of monsters, huh?

[bloodbiter]

I didn't mention the specters.

[Who she hates More Than Anything. Anyways.]

There are many stories our people tell about the battles he fought, the monsters he defeated, and the way he left... So I suppose it depends on the kind of story you'd like to hear.

[theurgy]

[Cassel shrugs. He's not really picky.]

Tell me your favorite.

[bloodbiter]

[Oh, that's a hard one. She pauses for a moment.]

My favorite isn't exactly cheerful, I will warn you.

[theurgy]

Neither was mine. It's okay, go ahead.

[bloodbiter]

Alright.

[A small pause, all the same.]

After years of hard work, the people he led had greatly reduced the threat the monsters presented, but this didn't come without a cost of its own. The people of Bamarre became less willing to risk fighting monsters that didn't often trouble them. They became cowardly.

[theurgy]

So what happened?

[bloodbiter]

He had a lover, a woman named Freya. She was bathing in a river near a village one day, thinking she was safe because there were villagers nearby.

[A shake of her head.]

Soon, a pack of gryphons set upon her, and while she reached her sword on the edge of the river as quickly as she could... The villagers, still unwilling to fight, simply watched as she was attacked. She fought valiantly, but Drualt found her only in time for her to pass away in his arms.

[Why is this her favorite story??]

[theurgy]

Jesus. And you acted like my story was awful.

[bloodbiter]

Your story was awful.

[Just saying.]

As he brought her body out of the river, the people of the nearby village, Surmic, came to beg his forgiveness, pleading for his protection should they need it again. Quite understandably, he was furious and left the country altogether. He told them he would only return when they became worthy of his guidance once more.

[theurgy]

So what did they do?

[bloodbiter]

Well...

[Hopefully he's not expecting this story to get happier. RIP.]

After he left, we had no strong leadership for a long while. Monarchies are - inconsistent, to say the least. Our history books say good things about few of our kings, and there's only one who stood out as great. Unfortunately, King Willard was killed by a dragon while he was still young.

Instead of offense, most rulers focused on defense. We built walls around the cities and found ways to protect ourselves, but it was rare that we attacked the monsters outright as we had done when Drualt was still alive. There was an outburst of plague at one point that certainly didn't help matters.

[theurgy]

So... Is that it? Everyone just stuck to the cities and gave up?

[bloodbiter]

That was the entirety of the story until my sister and I were born, yes.

[theurgy]

Wow, Adelina. That's... depressing.

[bloodbiter]

...I suppose that's a good word for it, yes.

[A pause.]

My governess raised us learning these stories, making sure we were taking them to heart so neither of us would repeat the mistakes of our predecessors.

[In all honesty, that's why she calls them a favorite - they remind her of what she cannot do, who she cannot be.]

[theurgy]

So do your people fight monsters again?

[bloodbiter]

Some of us do, now. It's... a bit of a work in progress.

[Everyone sucks and she's going to fight them all: a novel.]

[theurgy]

That's why you've got the whole warrior princess thing down, huh?

[bloodbiter]

In part.

[A beat.]

What about you? What was your home like? You mentioned magic, didn't you?