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

What would Jack say? Ianto runs a hand over his face as he contemplates it. He'd probably say that he was happy for him. He probably would be. And he'd probably blame himself to some extent as well. Should he, though? He had run off... But it's not Jack's fault that he couldn't give him what he was looking for. And it's certainly not Jack's fault he didn't even know he'd been looking for it from the start.

He glances aside at her as she nudges him. He should tell John...

"That is, presuming he'll ever speak to me again," he bemoans aloud, leaning into her shoulder as he does so. "We're... Not really fighting exactly, but. I'm supposed to be 'thinking it over'." Which -- is why he's here. And John is not.

He pauses a moment longer before he adds, softly, "I am happy. Or at least I was. Before I ruined it all for myself."

"I don't think you ruined anything," she soothes. "I mean, this is what you're supposed to be doing," she adds with a one-shouldered shrug. "Thinking it over. Talking it over. Same thing, really."

Her expression softens into something resembling understanding. "Men like Colonel Sheppard, they." She inhales. "They're a little insecure sometimes, too. They're so used to doing what they do that they forget that people might fall in love with them the way they are."

This isn't experience talking, don't worry. Ahem.

They forget that people might fall in love with them the way they are.

Ianto takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Oh, he knows very well how 'men like Colonel Sheppard' can be. For better or worse, Ianto Jones definitely has a type, and the more time he spends around them, the more apt he becomes at dealing with them.

She's right, though. About the love part. He's not certain whether she means to be or not, but he does love him. John. That's why it bothers him so much that he's obviously hurt him by admitting his affection for Jack is still there.

All I wanted was us to be happy.

"I think --" he begins, cutting himself off abruptly before he continues on tentatively. "I think that part of the trouble is that he went into this thinking I would leave him in the first place. And just when I'd managed to convince him otherwise..." He flicks her a humorless smile, before plucking up another blade of grass, twisting it around his finger before tossing it away again. "I'll be back to square one on that front, now. Serves me right, I suppose."

It's disheartening to listen to Ianto talk about 'square one' and she's not sure how to convince him that relationships don't necessarily have a square one. She sighs a little as he plucks up the grass, understanding his need to blame himself, even though there's really no one to blame.

"I don't think it's your fault," she says in her most mom-friend manner. "It's not anyone's fault. Jack's just how he is and he's awake now, which isn't his fault. And you have a right to move on, which definitely isn't your fault," she stresses. "And Colonel Sheppard." She pauses, thinking of her own Colonel and the choices she'd made. Things that were her fault. Ianto gets a smile that's trying in humor as she says, "You can always tell him he's stuck with you since we're all just here."

Her smile grows and she nudges him again, this time harder. "It'll be okay, Ianto. I've seen the way he looks at you."

Ianto takes nudging that she gives him, ducking his head in response to the thought of it, but the thought definitely makes him wonder whether she's just saying that to him or whether...

He stops himself in the middle of that thought, knowing better than to finish it. It may be ridiculous to continue aloud, but he has seen it. Has felt it. The way that John cares for him. Perhaps the only way that Ianto's ability has worked out for him for the better.

He takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before he offers her a nod in turn.

"Yeah," he replies, softly. "I... I don't think that he can't forgive me for this. But. I do think it matters. How I handle things from here."

"Better."

Giving pep talks and being a cheerleader isn't really something TJ is that good at, but she's learned how to do it over the last few years as the soldiers under the command of Destiny have found circumstances that they can't handle. It's been bleak for her and for others, but she hasn't found it necessary to really give someone those kinds of words over a love life.

"Maybe you should go talk to him," she adds. "I'm about ready to head back myself."

❪ event ❫ spirited away

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