restormania | TEST DRIVE #001 : FALLING INTO BONDS WITH YOU

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TEST DRIVE #001 : FALLING INTO BONDS WITH YOU

I. Greetings, Travelers.

You heard the voice, the song, the Call. You turned toward that voice and are falling, tripping through time and space, colors swirling all around you. You blinked.

You open your eyes to the great sprawling roots and unbending branches of the Tree of Harmony above you. You look around to find yourself in an open roof auditorium. And you are not alone. Others are there, waking up just as you are when figures step from around the tall stark columns circling the center of the room.

”Greetings Travelers. The Sentinels of Restoria welcome you to our Greenhouse of Unity. The Devourer comes for us all and we must bond our worlds to save them. We cannot save your worlds without your help.”

Your guide will lead you down a long staircase to another area of the Greenhouse’s compound: The Hall of Travelers. There you will be told what to expect of your time in Restoria, and then you will select a House: Stone or Cloud. Your House will provide benefits to you to help you in your new role, should you choose to accept it, including your choice of communication device and Housing.

If you need additional time to consider, you will be given leave to rest there in the Hall itself on one of the many comfortable cots provided for the night and simple meals will be provided. Maybe others will need time just as you do to think about the serious decision you would be undertaking. By the dawn, you must have your answer.

What will you do now, Traveler?

II. Getting Your Hands Dirty

Those who select House of Stone will be led by a member of the House to the Traveler Port leading directly to the center of the City of Stones for Orientation. There, Guides will take newcomers through the City, showing them important locations, such as the local groceries, restaurants, and entertainment. You may notice a lot of Stones’s entertainment involves outdoor activities or contact sport games. It is a city of physicality, but also camaraderie and group engagement. They may not talk a lot, but don’t be surprised if you are offered hugs and friendly arm holds wherever you go. Travelers are encouraged to greet each other similarly.

You will be shown your Housing, where basic supplies have been readied for you, and may be surprised to find that up to two items from home have also arrived with you and were already taken to your assigned room (unless they are too large to fit and you find a note instead of where they have been stored elsewhere). The Guides will give you time to greet any neighbors you have and take stock of what you might still need in your room, but before long they will be ushering you back out into the tunnels and through the canyon to the Sanctuary. It is a very busy day in the City of Stones with the Clay Exhibition taking place!

Entering through the Glimmering Gymnasium, you’ll be taken all the way to the other side to a wide set of stairs leading down a area depressed into the ground like a court that is used for outdoor games and other competitions has been filled with a thick layer of a deep red brown watery mush: The Gravel Pit, as it is affectionately called by the citizens of the City. The clay is a special mix just for this occasion. Coat your body in the clay, and you’ll find yourself wearing protective armor that moves just as smoothly as your typical clothing - but you can’t wear much underneath it. Too much clothing means it’s hard for the clay to set, so it's best to wear as little as possible.

And from there you’ll be encouraged to join in on the various exhibition matches: mud wrestling, mixed martial arts, gymnastics, and much more is open for any newcomer who would like to take part. What better way to start bonding with those around you?

III. Head in the Stars

Those who select House of Cloud will be led by a member of the House to the Traveler Port leading directly to the center of the City of Clouds for Orientation. There, Guides will take newcomers through the City, showing them important locations, such as the local eateries, museums, galleries and theaters. You may notice a lot of Cloud’s entertainment involves more creative pursuits and educational engagement. It is a city of knowledge, but also of culture and art. The people love to talk, to debate and challenge preconceptions, whether those of others or even their own. They will greet newcomers openly and without reservation, but they all have that assessing eye, looking to see what they can judge of your character.

You will be shown your Housing, and may be surprised to find that up to two items from home have also arrived with you and were already taken to your assigned area (unless they are too large to fit and you find a note instead of where they have been stored elsewhere). The Guides will give you time to greet any neighbors you have and take stock of what you might still need in your room, but not long as there is still so much left to do. Please keep up as they hurry you off to the Sanctuary of Clouds where they show off the Grand Library and give a waved hand of respect to the Watchtower before moving up into the mountains just outside of it. The air thins and the snow on the mountain side is cold, but it does not take long to reach the Observatory.

The Observatory is filled with tables and desks covered in star charts and books filled with various annotations and theories about space, time, and the laws of the universe. Some may even seem like familiar titles from your own world, and you are told that you are welcome to study them. Follow the winding staircase up to a large platform with various couches and cushy chairs for comfortable lounging and a large, obviously advanced telescope. Maybe you can sit back and relax for a brief moment.

The platform begins to raise itself up more and more as the sun fades and night falls over Restoria. The ceiling of the Observatory will open up to allow the platform to rise out over the mountain - the perfect location for stargazing and space-viewing. The air is quite frigid up here, which doesn't seem to bother the natives of Cloud. Newcomers, however, may find it necessary to cozy up together with blankets and hot drinks.

IV. Herb-a-Reore

As explained during Orientation, all Travelers will have opportunities to earn funds of their own. They do understand that not everyone will be satisfied with the basic free amenities that the Houses will provide them and may want to have capital of their own to purchase luxury items or anything else. Between larger Quests, taking jobs in their Cities and helping out around their respective Houses, the Sentinels also provide monetary missions to earn Reore on a regular basis.

With the large influx of Travelers, so comes the Merging, where the worlds of the visitors and Restoria begin to mesh and mix. The Sentinels take care to catalog many of these changes, including the new flora that show up around the cities, which they carefully cultivate in the large Conservatory. With the Travelers available, they request assistance in cataloging all of these new arrivals, offering each Traveler a reward of Reore for their time and expertise. Who better to help them make sure they don't miss a single herb or flower?

Travelers may recognize various plants from their own world, some benign, some less so. Some might even seem to have minds of their own: tendrils that reach out and poke, sticky webs designed to capture the unobservant, or sweet smells that make one sleepy. Please make sure to label them properly.

V. All Soulstice Day

The people of Restoria are friendly and welcoming in general to newcomers, but you may find them even more so today. They will greet you with smiles, offer their hands or even come in for a quick hug. Others may stare deeply into your eyes as if looking for some recognition, an understanding.

It may seem confusing, until you touch someone or look into their eyes yourself and feel a soothing sensation, as if you have known this person your entire life and couldn’t think of a reason to be wary of them. You can feel them almost as if you can sense their emotions in a distant way. Best friend? Family? Whatever this feeling is, you just know that you care about them and want to spend time with them.

What could be going on? Will you choose to ask?

If you do, you will be told what a fortuitous time it is for Travelers to arrive in Restoria with the celebration of Soulstice Day taking place. A day when the magic of Restoria is at its strongest and compatible bonds are even more likely! A wonderful day for new friendships and the strengthening of long held camaraderie.

Native Restorians and Travelers alike will feel themselves drawn to people as their auras react to heightened compatibility. Those friendly auras will almost sing to each other, bringing about happy, content feelings and a sense of understanding that might feel rare to you for someone you’ve only just met. Nothing is forced, but the possibilities are open for all who choose to lean into them.

People who meet someone with a compatible aura will find the effects of the Soulstice last for a couple days after the fact. A strong motivator for making new friends.

NAVIGATION

PREMISE ➤ RULES ➤ TAKEN ➤ FAQ ➤ APPLICATION ➤ HOUSES ➤ LOCATIONS ➤ QUESTS ➤ ACTIVITY ➤ REWARDS ➤ MERGING ➤ SUGGESTIONS ➤ CALENDAR ➤ MOD CONTACT

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i. under the tree.

[ He wakes up to darkness.

Not unusual, really, but everything else that comes after it... Larus doesn't particularly care for any of it. Naturally, it still doesn't stop him from learning what this place has to offer, following along quietly as he absorbs everything and takes in the people around him—what few there actually are. Perhaps there are more elsewhere, as he's informed, and with that information comes a choice he isn't entirely ready to make. Help this world to help his own? How do they even know what's going on back home? How could they possibly understand what he needs to do before he can feel some modicum of peace? (If that's even a thing for him to feel.) How do they know anything at all?

It's a lot of questions with surprisingly few answers, yet. So, he declines to decide right away and is shown to a place with several cots where some others also remain. A place to wait, think about it and figure it out. If he says no, will he be sent home again? Will he even remember this place? And what if he says yes? Larus doesn't feel he's a significant fighter by any means, only by necessity and by what nature dictates that he is. Still —

He loiters around the entrance for a while, taking note of who's inside and what they're doing, and before long, he knows the best way to get information is to ask around. So, he makes his way almost casually through the few who are just as restless as he is and approaches someone close by. ]

Are you undecided because you don't know if this is real or not? [ Sorry, he's not good with introductions when he's after something. ]

iii. head in the stars.

[ Choosing had felt easy to him after he'd agreed to stay.

While strength is something that should be coveted, there's nothing more precious than knowledge, and what he craves, more than anything, is to always know more. To garner connections from somewhere, with someone and use those to his advantage. It's what he'd done back home, and it's easier to focus on his own skills rather than seek something that might lie beyond him. But in the city, it's not the stars or the maps that interest him, though he takes note to come back and sort through those later (and possibly take some of them with him). It's the people here. What could they give to this place? What could he give to them? Always more thoughts, more distractions.

Larus finds himself on the platform just as the sun sinks, bracing himself against the movement, and once it's settled, once he can overlook the lights below, he seems more comfortable. The cold doesn't bother him, never has since he's always usually cool to the touch himself, but he stands with his hands in his jacket for the longest time, thoughts wandering until a brief movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention. He turns, perplexed. ]

Are you cold?

[ He can't tell if this person needs a blanket – do they have those somewhere close by? – or is thinking about leaping off the platform. ]

vi. network.

[ it's taken some time to navigate the device, but it doesn't seem too difficult with practice. ]

is anyone else reading this?
it's mostly just a test, but introductions might be good since we're all strangers here.
at least a name and what kind of place you come from.

i'm larus, and that's really all you need to know.

vii. wildcard.

[ Hit me up with whatever prompt from above if you're interested! Feel free to PM me to discuss things if you'd like; I'm happy to write a starter. Info about Larus can be found here! Will also match style – either prose or brackets. ]

[Bold of him to approach this guy: he's practically rectangular, five foot five and barrel chested with borderline unrealistic muscle definition - and scars, of every length and description, crisscrossing and encircling his form like a sewing project fell victim to Freddy Krueger.

His eyes are red (the irises, but they're also bloodshot for some reason) when they flick up to look at the intruder on his thoughts: and when he speaks, his voice is husky, almost a growl.]

I'm undecided because I'm worried it is - doesn't all of this shit seem way too good to be true?

[ He's not really afraid. There's certainly something Larus can sense about this person, something off that he normally wouldn't pick up from a human, but he isn't going to point it outright. His curiosity overrides whatever initial instinct he may have, casual as he glances at him – noting the color of his eyes and the stock of his shoulders – and then looks up at the walls of the hall.

They're high. Maybe that's something he shouldn't be thinking about. ]

I guess it depends on where you're from. [ Obviously. ] But you're not wrong. Something about this hasn't felt right to me. I almost want to say yes to find out why.

[Shortstack looks unimpressed at the ambivalence in that answer.]

You're not a mathematician, are you? [His tone is wry, and evidently rhetorical since he doesn't wait for an answer.] Since multiverse theory is apparently real, I'm from one where magical assholes in tight fitting outfits and a propensity for obtuse honesty already do kidnap people for their own entertainment, and it's not a good time for the kidnapee.

[The muscles around his temples shifts, just slightly, as he clenches his jaw and looks away.]

...but admittedly, yeah. I might be curious too.

[ Also not impressed, but he's used to dealing with personalities like this. He's not familiar with any sort of multiverse theory and had briefly wondered if Casimir had drugged him again or if Sun had wrecked his mind beyond comprehension. But this seems more than that, and he's not happy about it. ]

I don't know anything about that. [ Magical assholes, that is. ] And I don't know anything about what it is they actually want either. No one can promise to save all worlds by protecting one.

[ Not in his opinion, anyhow. ] You could just say no. Go back home and forget about it.

-)hi there!-
-)i'm reading you loud and clear!-
-)my name's auditi blyght i'm seven sweeps old and i'm indigo-

how old is seven sweeps supposed to be?

[ also, what's indigo? but one question at a time. ]

-)oh like-
-)ummmmmmm-
-)mid-adolescence?-
-)i don't know what your measure of time is or if the maturation rates would match up-
-)since almost everyone i've seen here has been an alien! ):O-

so you're a kid.

[ teenager? well, that's kind of interesting to him since it says they'll bring just about anyone here. ]

i don't know much about aliens.
did you come here alone?

-)as far as i know yeah-
-)i saw one other troll a while ago but i don't know her-

is that what you are? i've never met a troll before.

[ countless other creatures though? yes. ]

-)yeah we're the ones with the grey skin and the orange horns-
-)dominant species of the great alternian empire!-
-)what are you?-

[ he supposes he's going to run into a lot of this kind of thing here. ]

a vampire.
not that i care to say it, but it's the truth.

( it is cold up here, but he felt cold before he stepped out here, his hands and ribs shivering all on their own. as his stress began crystallizing anew about a half an hour prior to this, Ben thought the new quarters felt stifling — but being out here for some air, overlooking the grand city filled to the brim with unfamiliarity only made his lungs feel heavy. more bodily than in mind, this anxiety is such a longtime companion — predating the guardian that so regularly hangs over him, unseen.

who isn't here with him now; it's just Ben up here...until it isn't, and he doesn't even notice until a voice cuts through the ambient distant droning of the city, of the air, of his own nondescript thoughts. he awakens to the other, head turning swiftly enough to let him know just how tense his neck feels. Ben's surprise is almost a little guilty, but he isn't recoiling. the question forces him to think about himself in the present, now, and the effort is traceable on his face. )

—Possibly.

( and then he stops short in realization, blinking, brow crunching in...and a sharp little laugh punctures these aching lungs, brief and reeling. self-awareness begins to ground him, a small anchor holding him down from the wind whipping around him. ) Sorry... That made more sense in my head.

I think so, difficult to tell. ( the muscles wrapping his ribs have been sizzling around the bones since before he came out here, chest hot but limbs icy. his arms are tucked in against his chest, and it forces the waves of involuntary rattling up into his shoulders. ) I'm usually better prepared for things like this. Rather...I was before. ( 'before all this,' unvoiced, only implied. )

[ it makes sense to larus when there's only a relative scale to compare it to. he can remember being cold, the way snow might have crawled under the sleeves of his coat or into his boots, but it's not quite the same as experiencing it every time the temperature changes, watching the other with a point of interest that only goes so far as what he can discern simply by looking at him. not much, though this man is incredibly tense. that might also be from the temperature, and given how he's standing, it's not a far stretch to assume such a thing.

the sound of his pulse is loud to him though. exceptionally. he lets his eyes settle a bit too purposely right at his chest, counting the heartbeats as they happen, and larus can feel the tip of a fang wanting to slice through his tongue before he turns away and looks out at the world he can barely see from this high up. this place is... different. cleaner, maybe. less convoluted? but things are never as simple as they turn out to be, and really, he's just waiting for the other shoe to drop and tell him that he'd been right to assume such a thing. anyway — ]

You're better prepared for the weather? [ it's a somewhat smug response, canting his head as he considers the situation. ] I think there were blankets somewhere, but you might have missed them.

[ he doesn't know since, well, he hadn't really needed it. and after a brief moment, he's sighing to himself and sliding out of the leather of his jacket, stepping closer to the other so he can drop it around his shoulders. it's only somewhat warmed on the inside since his body doesn't generate a lot of heat on its own anyway, but it should help cut some of the chill of the air. ]

Don't run off with it. [ his jacket. he's a little attached to it since it's from home. ]

it's xamã ftr, and really, the outside is kinda hard to explain?
think neon, but a lot bigger, a lot more futuristic and fantastical.

it sounds like the complete opposite of this place.
what kind of things go on in the outside?

just about anything supernatural or cybernetic.
werewolves? check. robotic copies of vishnu walking down the street? we've got that too.
its basically like. hmm.
i'm not sure how to describe it other than it's like the 80s met the future. but with every supernatural thing you could imagine included.
it's how myths and the mystics survive in my realms.

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TEST DRIVE #001 : FALLING INTO BONDS WITH YOU

larus — cloud ( ota )

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