nysalogs | ❪ event ❫ spirited away

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❪ event ❫ spirited away

PRELUDE

I'll get straight to the point, Thesaens. Dranbu is in dire need of assistance. I have received confirmation that the disappearances we were investigating last month have... escalated. Be cautious as you make your way through Josa Forest. Ideally we could go straight through, but it seems the main entrance to Dranbu is overgrown with thorns and vines, and there's a bit of a glitch with the rail system - the train is having trouble recognizing the Dranbu station as a destination.

I've uploaded a homing beacon to your devices with this message. Once enough of you have arrived in Dranbu proper, it should communicate with the train and register it as a stop. With any luck, that will make getting back and forth much easier for you all from now on. Best of luck.

Entry to the forest is not only overgrown with vegetation, but seems to be growing at an increasingly alarming rate. Any attempts to clear the vines will be met with even larger ones growing in its place, and it only confirms Nurray's findings as true.

The only way in is across the sound from Nadril, entering the forest from its snowy back yard. It doesn't stay cold for long; as one ventures further into the forest, the snow will disappear, as though it was completely out of place in the first place. The red sun's warmth will take its place soon after— and before long, you'll feel too warm for the clothes you came with. That's when you know you've entered the heart of Josa Forest.

WITHIN THE FOREST

The forest seems to be thick with a profound presence that can’t be ascertained. While venturing through it, one will feel like there are being watched or followed. This feeling will only intensify as metallic-scented drops of rain begin to fall between the clearings in the trees. Unfortunately, what many don’t realize at this point is that this is how the forest itself eats. How it subsists and lives through the minds of those who eventually get lost in it. Wandering this far in is akin to walking into a lion’s jaw, or rather… straight to its stomach.

But, the forest has a way of making one stay. While it swallows someone up, it shows them sinfully beautiful and picturesque sights. Even showing them people or things that are familiar to the lost. All of which will urge them to go in deeper and deeper. But, while the forest begins to prey on the mind of their victim— they will suddenly hear an elegant and alluring voice urging them back.

This voice promises them comfort and safety. Promises to be kind and open. Promises she has a place for them where they will never feel displaced or unwanted, or lost. Before they can fully accept, they will find that they are whisked away in Barthala’s embrace.

Some will be taken, wiped of all their previous memories and inserted new ones. Others will find they have no prior memories at all of themselves, only urged to go on with regular life. What is prevalent is the forest's desire to turn you. Metamorphosis is a phenomenon that occurs only to certain individuals, and there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some adventurers would find themselves changing by the minute, the hour, or the process may even take days and weeks. The forest toys with you, but it only wants to draw you closer to its core — as though there's a story there it wants you to see and understand. Will you go on anyway, knowing the forest has already has its claws on you?

I. ALL ROADS LEAD TO —
Exploring the forest is not a perilous experience - Barthala's blessing ensures that paths remain clear of any dangerous obstacles, and keeps anyone who enters the woods from losing their way. However, it will not always lead adventurers where they want to go. Stressed? Your path leads to a meadow, grass drifting gently in the breeze. Tired? You'll find your way to a tree with roots perfectly curved for a nap, the shade a peaceful retreat from the sunlight. The hungry will find streams full of fish or bushes laden with berries, and the curious will come upon elder trees, unique and beautiful. Only those who are truly satisfied with their circumstances, with themselves, can forge their own path, and venture to Barthala's Grotto.

II. BARTHALA'S GROTTO —
The deity's home is host to an abundance of life. Butterflies drift through the air, brilliantly colored and unbothered by any intruders. Foliage blooms in a rainbow of colors, many plants unique to this area alone. With trees arranged to provide a canopy over the path and small clearing, the scene is something out of a fantasy. Any plant life taken from this area will not survive long, though even in its dead, dried state, it retains a curious beauty. Explorers and creatures finding themselves in this area will suddenly find their clothing to be an unnecessary burden - what could be better than feeling the wonders of nature against bare skin? There is nothing unbecoming about such a natural state, any perverse inclinations are an aspect of personal preference. While the presence of Barthala can be felt here - a warm, comfortable sensation emanating from your core - she is nowhere to be found. Only one will have the opportunity to pass under a veil of willow branches and emerge to the cool air of a clear-as-glass spring.

Another nearby grotto is home to a plant with intoxicating effects. Just smelling the leaves is enough to entice most animals, and consuming them has effects on both mind and body. More easily amused, with thoughts that weave deep and distant, along with increased sensory perception can bring the user on a pleasant trip lasting up to five hours.

III. INFLUENCES — (18+)
Every five days, a weed scattered in patches among the forest underbrush blooms. The flowers are small and white, unremarkable except for how clustered they grow. When their petals fall, after only hours of blossoming, pollen drifts through the air. It clings to clothing, to hair, in the throats of the sensitive animals dwelling in the forest. Even those unaltered by Barthala's magic can be affected. The locals of Dranbu claim the pollen enhances fertility, but in practice, it simply serves as a poignant aphrodisiac. Those affected won't differentiate between the warmth of another or their own, a simple need to experience sexual ecstasy overwhelmingly pervaded. The pollen loses its potency after about three hours, leaving behind only a sweet smell.

YOUR NEW (NEW) LIFE

Adapting to an entirely new setting isn’t always so simple. People often say that assimilating oneself to the environment happens fluidly, and before you know it, you’re a part of it. In Dranbu, these words hold an uncanny sense of truth.

When you awake, your day begins like it always has. Your daily routine meets largely unchanged, except a few tinier details. Perhaps, you’ve realized your true calling is an occupation within the villages itself. Maybe in farming up strange medical herbs, maybe in acting as a witch doctor for the people, or maybe you find yourself drawn to the arts and you really enjoy sculpting fellow villagers in the nude. Once you commit these tasks, you realize, it feels like what you’ve always done. As if it were natural, as if you’ve done them for years, and maybe you have? At least that’s what your gut is telling you, and slowly your memories will too.

At the end of the day, when you return home, you realize you’re not alone. You have a partner who shares the same values and whom you love deeply. Or maybe a spouse whom you’re always arguing with. But, even that will feel as commonplace as the rest of your day. All you know is that the day that might have started off not being yours is entirely yours and yours alone.

IV. THE HUNT —
Those taken by the forest, animal features adorning their bodies, will find that their palates have changed as well. Carnivores crave raw meat, while herbivores don't mind snacking on a patch of grass or pulling leaves from branches. For most, there's no reason to cook a meal; once prey is captured, instinct says dig right in! It can be a gruesome sight, mangled bodies gorged upon leaving bloodstained faces, but it's natural. As is the hunt itself - any size of game can be found in the forest, and no one will go hungry for long. The magic that dwells here ensures a catch even for the clumsiest predator. Just take care not to stalk one of your own. For a hungry predator, there's no difference between a deer and a deer-like human.

THE BOUNDARIES BEYOND

For some, placated is synonymous with bored. While there is a sense of wonder in the beauties of nature that adorn the woods, serene forest life isn't for everyone. Those seeking more adventure can explore the challenging slopes of Waco Mountain. Barthala's influence is weaker on those bluffs than in Josa Forest itself, so thrill chasers won't be disappointed. Lose the path, slip on loose rocks, fall into a stream and spend a night wet and cold, there are many perils that come with traveling a mountain-side. Scattered ruins offer some shelter, their walls carved with images resembling Barthala, a dragon, and three other stranger creatures. While the deity's pacification does not flow as deeply through this region, all are still save from mortal wounds, and the veil cast over their memories will not lessen.

If you have made it this far, however, there is no reason to try to return to the main city of Dranbu. Accommodations are always available in the neighboring villages: Phares in the north, and Stroln in the south. These villages are in friendly competition with one another, and will tempt travelers with women and men of their kind in order to draw in business to their hotels.

FINAL OOC NOTES

No REP is available for this log. REP will now be primarily available through achieving NPC quests, which will be available on the 19th! Please keep an eye out for that!

Dranbu is entirely available for exploration! You may find that most of Wyver and Olympia Flora/Fauna may be found in the forest as well. For more information on your characters' (opt-in) Metamorphosis, please refer to the November Outline!

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[Her normally piercing eyes are clouded with uncertainty when she looks at Ren, and she shakes her head, bringing a hand up to press lightly at her temples.]

I'm... not sure. [By all means, the area around them is utterly peaceful, just lush plants and trees that reach up into the skies It makes her anxiety feel without direction and out of place, and for a moment she worries that her concerns are fabricated.]

Does anything seem off to you?

[She hasn't ruled out the possibility that there could be something like the time she and Lance had gotten lost in the forest and fallen under the effect of the pollen of the Celonna flower. Or was that with Keith...?]

[That's definitely a stark change from the previous times he's encountered Allura, but Ren keeps his vague, airy composure for now. Reacting badly is only going to throw her off more, he imagines.

At the same time, it seems like the kind of situation where telling her nothing is wrong is just going to make things worse, so he hums slightly in thought, looking around them.]

I guess it depends on what you mean...? It feels like this place is trying too hard to please us, if that makes sense...

[He'd noticed that luring element to it as soon as he'd entered, but for reasons he's not really willing to share. So for now, he'll angle it that he just noticed.]

Is that different to what you were thinking?

[That's right, the luring nature of the forest. She'd almost forgotten about the berries she'd come across and the... the...

...Surely there was something that came before, but the specifics are blurry at best, only making the coil of anxiety tighten in her stomach.

All cards on the table-] I'm having trouble keeping my thoughts straight.

[She's chews on her lip, searching for a way to explain it,]

For instance... I cannot seem to remember if we entered the forest together or not. Or how long we've been in here.

[That actually makes his brow furrow slightly with concern. Considering how lighthearted he's generally tried to keep himself around her, it's a bit of an odd look on him.]

Can you tell when your thoughts started to get hazy...? [He doubts it, if she's that disoriented right now, but it's worth asking.] We didn't come in together, I found you just now...so I can't tell you how long you've been in here.

[Nonetheless, he walks a little closer to her, glancing over their area. His sense of direction isn't great, but in this situation, where he knew there was a risk going in, he can do point-to-point.]

I was heading this way, straight through. [Ren points straight in the direction he'd been heading when he encountered her.] Do you want to come with me? It might be safer...

[His tone is still vague and gentle, as if it's not too much of a concern, but it also sounds somewhat more like a strong suggestion than a question.]

Pinpointing when it started is hard... I remember I found a bushel of berries, but I didn't eat any of them, because I found them suspicious. But surely something must have happened before, to make me question it.

[If she were in a better state of mind, she might think to note the change in Ren's demeanor, but with everything going on, she's just grateful that he seems to be taking her plight seriously. It's a relief, to know that she's not in this on her own, even if there's something weird going on.

And her memory isn't so far gone (yet) that she would forget that Ren considers her a friend and vice versa, so she nods,]

Yes, thank you. [And she truly sounds relieved. But she grabs at the sleeve near his elbow, giving him a serious look,] But the moment you start to feel at all strange, we are turning around and leaving immediately.

[They don't need two people forgetting which way they turned.]

[That sounds like a reasonable enough conclusion, and Ren curls a few fingers under his chin as if in thought. He looks like he's still considering what the cause might have been when Allura grabs at his sleeve, and he blinks in apparent surprise.

Though he offers a reassuring smile, he waves a hand as if he doesn't think it'll be a problem.] I'm pretty good at avoiding this sort of thing, I think...so I'll definitely make sure that doesn't happen. We'll find our way out of here soon enough, okay?

[His phrasing is intentional but seems natural - he can't promise her that her own condition won't worsen, because he really doesn't know, and he hasn't been investigating long enough to even be fully certain of what's going on here. But hopefully promising her some kind of anchor might help in keeping her calm for the moment. He's not lying that he's pretty good at dodging this sort of thing, since his own psychic powers can protect him under certain circumstances, though he'd really rather it didn't come to that.

He starts to walk, gently tugging her along with him if she's still holding on.] Come on, then. It'll get boring if we just stand around this part the whole time, right?

[It doesn’t take much tugging for her to follow along dutifully. It’s a slight change from her normal take-the-lead attitude, but she’s relieved to have someone else to lean on, metaphorically, and she lets him set the pace. His reassurance is enough that she feels more at ease almost immediately once they start walking, deeply thankful that their paths crossed when they did.

If she was feeling more paranoid, she might suspect that the forest had something to do with the timing of that.]

Something like this happened before, I think.

[At least her long-term memories seem to be mostly intact.]

I started getting memories back from my life before the Orbiters, and for some time it was difficult to keep track of my new memories and my memories of this planet.

[Although this isn’t the same thing at all, it just gives her a similar uneasy hazy feeling.]

[Ren's pace appears leisurely just by the manner of his gait, but the trees pass by quickly enough even so. He figures it's best not to seem too hasty, since that would just increase the gravity of the threat and increase her worry.

Ren hasn't been here long enough to know of that incident, though, and he gives a curious hum and turns his head towards her at the mention of it.] What happened to make you forget your life before that...? Was it another odd thing from here or just something that happened before you left your own world?

[Ren hasn't had the issue himself, so he assumes that if it was the latter then the problem has been solved by now, but he still wonders. He's the kind of person who really doesn't want to forget what he's had to leave behind him, even if he has little choice but to try and move forward without them.]

There was nothing specific that caused it, I just woke up lacking those memories from home.

[She hums. head tilting up to look at the treetops above. It helps to talk about things that she does remember.]

It is the same way with Lance. He woke up lacking memories that I know happened in our world. I am not sure if it's intentional or just a malfunction in the Orbiter's stasis system, but it is disorienting.

[And it makes her paranoid that there are even more memories that she hasn't caught up to. The last batch hadn't been entirely pleasant, after all.]

Huh, that's weird, isn't it... [He's grateful that didn't happen to him, honestly, even if it would probably be nicer to forget what had directly preceded the arrival of the Storm. He definitely looks curious about it one way or another.] Did both of you wake up at the same time? I've only been awake a few months now, but nothing like that happened to me.

[Maybe something had gone wrong that time, or the Natha had done it for some particular reason that corresponded to the time of the waking. He doesn't know a great deal about what's gone on here prior to his waking other than the kidnappings, so it's nice to know a little bit more.]

[Allura shakes her head.]

Lance only came out of stasis a short while ago, and although I woke up over half a year ago, it took some time for me to remember everything that happened leading up to the storm.

[Talking about it out loud, it does sound like more than just a coincidence. Although it's hard to imagine why the Natha would pick them out specifically.]

Have you heard of anyone forgetting that they already lived here once? Of their time on this planet?

[...So that is what she forgot. It's definitely an odd thing, though, and Ren hums slightly in thought as he looks up to the canopy above them, hands curling behind his back a little.]

No, I haven't...but I haven't been here long myself, so I guess that might be why. They said the Storm does things to people's minds, didn't they? So maybe that's why you forgot that part. Though it's pretty weird that it happened to two people from the same world, isn't it?

[Ren's been trying not to focus too much on the connections of people from the same worlds for the sake of his own calm - he doesn't handle being alone well, and nobody else from his world has woken up yet. But this is a curious incident, so despite still trying to sound a bit vacant about it, he is wondering what exactly might have caused it.]

I am not sure but…

[She pauses to consider her words,]

You are the first person I’ve mentioned this to, but I suspect like I’m forgetting much more than I’ve been lead to believe. And not just memories from home.

[It’s alarming, to feel as if something is being kept from you, either purposefully or by accident.]

There are people — other refugees who have been here longer — who have acted as if we’ve met before, even if they are strangers to me. It's as if I woke up from stasis much earlier than I remember.

[But if she had been here longer, wouldn’t Keith have told her? Then again, it’s Keith.]

[That's definitely a little weirder, and Ren glances over to Allura with a slight, curious frown.] Did none of them ever explain why...? That seems kind of rude of them, especially if it's been worrying you...

[Even if it was some kind of difficult situation, if they considered themselves close enough to act like that, surely putting her at ease would be important to them as well.

It's times like this where how short a time he's been here compared to some others shows, though, and he lets out a lengthy sigh.] I haven't heard of that happening before...maybe if you did wake up before, something bad happened to you. If they had to heal you enough, I guess it's possible you might have forgotten things during it...

Well, I've been keeping my concerns to myself, for the most part.

[Why she's getting so chatty with Ren is a mystery, but it helped to get it off of her chest. Even if they weren't the closest of friends, somehow it helped to hear the thoughts of someone who wasn't necessarily going to be catering their answers to what they thought she wanted to hear.]

That is possible, if there was some kind of trauma involved.

[It's not unheard of for that sort of thing to happen, and if their stasis pods work like the ones back home in repairing their bodies, it could be responsible for repairing mental information too.</small]

Hmm...I can understand doing that sometimes, but doing it all the time just means it's probably going to come out when you don't want it to.

[If only anyone else here knew how much of a raging hypocrite he was being in saying something like that. But they don't (yet), so he can get away with it for now.]

It's a shame we can't really ask the Natha anymore, otherwise you might've had more chance of getting a good answer.

[The Natha should at least have some idea of how their own storage systems work, and Ren for one would really like to avoid any risk of that happening to himself, or anyone else he cares about.]

[Her expression darkens at the mention of the Natha,]

I feel like I would have a better chance at being mislead.

[She... doesn't think much of the Natha. Nor the scraps of information that they do offer the refugees. Perhaps they do it out of a misguided sense of trying to protect their wards, but their behavior up until their disappearance did not lend for much confidence.]

Apologies, I shouldn't unload all of this onto you. It just... feels better to think outloud.

[Easier to keep track of her train of thought before it can slip through her fingers.]

[Well, that's telling. Ren glances over at that in a way that seems lax, but his focus does sharpen a little at that reaction.

When she apologises, he shakes his head with a slight smile, turning to look upwards towards the canopy again.] Mmm, actually, I'd be pretty interested to hear what you think of the Natha. I woke up just before the expedition to Nadril, so I didn't really get to meet them properly the same way I guess older refugees did.

[He hasn't heard a great deal about them until now either, honestly, other than people being understandably suspicious of their benevolence.]

[~~Bold of you to assume I’ve been paying attention to the metaplot.~~

Allura hums, considering her words,]

I never really spoke to them one-on-one, but suffice to say, I think there is much that they have kept to themselves. Even if they truly think they are protecting us, that does not mean that they aren’t also lying.

[Lies of omission are still lies, after all,]

It feels a little like a menagerie, don’t you think? Like we’re being kept for one reason or another. They need us for something, I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.

[It's still more contact than he's had with them, really, so he listens to what she says without interruption. She does have a point - he's primarily inclined to trust them only on the basis that they saved people important to him, but they could also rescind that salvation whenever they liked if it suited them. Seeing Darma's sacrifice has him inclined to think they're some manner of benevolent, but benevolence also doesn't necessarily mean complete goodness.

When she's finished, he gives a thoughtful hum.] Maybe...I haven't really noticed, but maybe that's because they haven't been around as much since I got here. Maybe the new refugees feel a bit more free? Since I don't think they talk to the newest people anymore. It's almost like they're not here.

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