nysalogs | ❪ 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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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The wolf can see that the raccoon is searching for something else up there, and while it isn't actually able to understand human speech (nor can it comprehend why a raccoon can speak like that), it somehow comprehends all the same.

The raccoon will get it more food. It will help sate the wolf's hunger, and even if that's only to save its own hide, it's an arrangement that should work out well.

Especially since the wolf feels somewhat less inclined to rip the other animal apart now. It can't understand why, but there's plenty of other prey out here in these woods.

So it backs away from the tree, instead moving to one nearby, close enough that the raccoon should be able to jump across. In this way they can continue to search for food, without the raccoon having to get too close to hungry jaws. ]

[Oh yes, he feels very, very clever for this. Clever and... satisfied? Is that what this feeling is? All these strange sensations and feelings doing tight circles around his head until he can't keep track of them. It's so uncomfortable when life is as simple as eat, sleep, and survive. Now there's all these new things.

He leaps to the other tree, and begins to investigate it, upsetting a nest and dropping it down without even looking to see if there's anything in it, just because there might be. He can't be choosy about what a wolf might eat, because his friend is hungry and he needs to do something about that.

His friend?

He pauses, flicking his ears a bit as he considers this strange, foreign word. Friend. It has a good feeling. He accepts it. And in accepting it, he can keep hunting.]

[ Friend isn't a word that the wolf can define, but the raccoon has definitely graduated from prey to something else. Especially since it keeps knocking down potential snacks for it to feast on. It's not the most satisfying when it comes to a meal, but the wolf won't turns it nose up to it either.

Considering a raccoon anything like pack is going a bit too far, but that's why these feelings and instincts have become so bewildering. Still, there's nothing threatening about the setup, and so the wolf has no reason to reject it.

As they continue to move through the trees, one at the base of them and the other up in the branches, the wolf suddenly hears some rustling in the brush nearby. It's prey, something that it can hunt down without having some complicated feelings to sort through. It looks up to the raccoon for a moment, as if to communicate something, and then darts off to chase its new prey down.

Essentially, "I'll be right back." ]

[Rocket perches, tail swishing, and he debates whether it's safe to come down off the tree. It's very exhausting hopping from one to the other, even with his strange and gangly and very strong limbs that feel incorrect and correct at the same time.

But the animal hindbrain that has been screaming like it's been caught in a trap says NONONO, and he listens to it. A brief respite from fear and potential imminent death does not mean he's safe. Predators are stupid. They think with their teeth. He doesn't trust that the wolf will remember that he has been helpful when it returns.

He could run. That seems sensible, but he wants to see how this plays out. The idea of continuing to be alone in this forest seizes his heart worse than the concern of being eaten does.

So he waits.]

[ There is always the chance that the wolf's newfound companion will bolt away to safety while it's gone. It's not attached enough to be that bothered by the thought, but it is surprised when it returns from its successful hunt with a small carcass held between its jaws to find that Rocket is still up in the trees, waiting for it.

With a satisfied huff, it drops the dead animal onto the forest floor and then settles onto its belly, poised over its meal for a few seconds before it digs in, tearing through tissue and sinew as it eats its fill.

While it might seem completely distracted, it's still well aware of Rocket's presence. It hasn't invited the raccoon down to eat with it, but it seems completely uninterested in eating him, now. ]

[He stays put, more out of respect for a predator eating than because he feels comfortable- which he does and he doesn't. He doesn't have any interest in that kind of food- he'll catch something smaller or eat berries or go fishing later. For now, he's fine with curling up on a branch of the tree observing this in silence.

Which carries a lot of weight, really. Two creatures of opposing natures sharing a space without concern about the other. It's good. It's familiar.

It feels like something is missing and neither of them really have any idea what it is.]

[ There is a sort of companionable silence in what's going on here, something that the two of them have engaged in before even though neither of them can remember it now. Or if nothing else, those memories have been repressed, pushed to the far recesses of their minds.

It doesn't take long for the wolf to completely strip the dead animal of all of the edible parts, leaving little but bones once it's done. Its tongue flicks out to lick any leftover blood from its muzzle, and it remains settled on the forest floor, far more relaxed now that it's had a proper meal.

It glances up toward Rocket, interested and perplexed to find him still there. ]

❪ event ❫ spirited away

the wolf and the raccoon, 10x better than the fox and the hound

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