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TDM: May
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aefenglom's test drive! All threads can be considered game canon, should you choose to do so; regardless of if you pick specific threads to remain canon to the game, the prompts and test drive itself will be. This will be touched on later in-game, so it's fairly important to note! Aside from that, here are some quick reminders:• Reserves Open Today! If you're interested in securing a spot, put one in! We accept applications without reserves too, of course. Reserves will expire three days before the end of the application period, on the 28th.With that taken care of...
• Applications Open The 24th! These will last until the end of the month, the 31st, with the intro log going on up June 1st. The application page can be found here.
• If you have any questions about the game or the world, please refer to the FAQ page; if you still have questions, feel free to ask them! For questions specific to the test drive, please ask them on the appropriate thread.
• For the purposes of the test drive, your character will have access to all magics taught by the Coven if they're a Witch, and as much of their shifted form as you'd like if they're a Monster. Feel free to play around and experiment with each!
• While current players won't be allowed to post top levels on the test drive itself, feel free to reference or play with the dreams in-game.
• Test drive threads can be used as samples for your applications!
You feel like you're floating. Around you, colors and sounds and smells swirl as if trapped in a whirlpool, vibrancy and hue ever shifting. The more you watch them, the less solid they are; they only become clear out of the corner of your eye. The area around you begins to feel more solid as well, until your feet are on the ground, the wind brushes playfully against your face -
and you know one thing, and one thing alone: this is a dream, and an incredibly realistic one at that.
The Eternal Fall
The smell of autumn leaves surrounds you, a myriad of colors sparkling into existence at the same time. Despite the warmth and light, the air feels heavy and stiff, as if on razor's edge. The forest is eerily silent - not a bird, bug, or rodent dares to stir - and when you do hear something, it's the high-pitched crying, whining, weeping, sobbing, howling sounds of something far off. The tunnel of bent branches invites you further with an unpleasant compulsion; though fighting it and turning around finds you in front of a chilly, damp cave alight with the faint, cool glow of bubbling fountains and streams.
 The Compulsion Unable to sway yourself from the call of the forest - or maybe you're simply curious as to where it leads - your feet pull you further and further into the autumnal tunnel. The cry from before grows more distant, but in return, the air weighs even heavier on your shoulders than before. The branches hang lower and lower as well, as if pushed by gravity, until their leaves smack your face, twigs offering small cuts from the thorns protruding from their bark. But you can't stop. Not now. The end of the tunnel seems so close; but it's seemed that way for a while now, you suppose, and you've already come this far - you might as well stay the course, wherever it might lead. The further you go, the brighter everything becomes, and you realize it's the leaves surrounding you; they've begun to glow, encouraged by the sunlight streaming in from above, and the wind begins to whisper in your ear. At first, it's only encouraging things, or silly facts - harmless words, but as the foliage begins to shimmer and reflect your image, the wind's words turn colder. Within those reflections on the autumn tunnel, you begin to see your worst moments - morally, ethically, emotionally. The things you don't want anyone else to know, that you'd feel ashamed or struck for anyone - especially those close to you - to see. The wind becomes louder as the scenes play out one right after another, boldly declaring your true feelings as they were in that moment, good or bad. Worst of all - you still can't bring yourself to turn back, even as your mind begins to free itself from the tunnel's compulsion. Maybe someone else can help out, if they're not too taken by their own memories, or maybe the shock of sharing such private secrets will jolt you and anyone else back to reality. Either way, it's that, or staying stuck watching your worst memories play on repeat for what feels like the rest of your life. |
 The Cry While not compelled by any means, you still feel a curious draw down the path in front of you; as you follow the leaf tunnel, with others or alone, you find another, less-traveled path. Following it reveals a large pond colored orange and gold by the reflection of the area it's in, sunlight and shadows playing on its surface. At a glance, it seems to be rather shallow, but that's hardly the truth. You realize, after a moment, that the crying has continued, evidently coming from the water. Looking closer, the culprit is an infected Merrow, who - upon begin seen - shrieks and dives for whoever's looking at it with the clear intent to drag them down beneath the water. Its claws are extra sharp, its teeth similar to a shark in number and shape, and its scales have turned a pale black; an oil-like substance flows from beneath them and from its gums as well, shimmering the same way gasoline does in the light, and its eyes are the tell-tale white of a Shade. It isn't impossible to fight it to get away, especially as some of you have new abilities at hand, and some of you have a few neat changes to help that along. Once distance is successfully put between you and the infected Merrow, it howls in a wet, warbly voice, visibly frustrated. Unlike ordinary Merrows, who can walk on land and have legs as long as they stay dry, this Merrow can't seem leave its pond at all, and electricity sparks from it like little static shocks in its irritation. It does dive back under once it realizes it can't reach you, resurfacing as your character's most important person in an attempt to lure them back. The expressions are far too real, too genuine; even those aware it's a Merrow might be fooled. While its voice isn't a perfect mimicry, the song it begins to sing has with it notes of yearning and beckoning to join it, join your beloved person, in the water. |
 The Cave Pulling yourself from curiosity or compulsion, the cave behind you - in front of you, if you've turned around - gives off an oddly pure feeling. Like an oasis in a desert, it feels refreshing and calm; incredibly safe, compared to the eerie call of the forest it's in. Within the cave are pools of water that glow and glimmer from the magic runes found around them. The runes shift similar to a mirage whenever you try to focus on them; and try as you might, you can't glimpse what they say exactly. It isn't so hard to figure out though, as the pools of water surrounded by them have a pleasingly cold temperature, while those without them are near scalding. A few of the latter have runes around them, but they're not glowing like the rest - feeding a little magic into them changes this immediately, and steam rises in a sudden blast as the water cools rapidly. The opposite can be done for the colder pools too - taking their magic somehow or ruining the runes will make them bubble and boil as they surge in temperature. But that isn't all the cave has to offer. Moving further inward, you get the feeling you're going down - beneath the ground and the enchanting forest. Eventually, the cave widens out to a massive underground lake, multiple waterfalls pouring into it; despite their number and size, the room is completely silent. All tunnels seem to lead to this one room, with a few of them looking more man-made than natural. Traversing other tunnels leads you into a maze that only ever brings you to the lake, or to the cave's entrance, no matter how many different paths you take. Something different happens eventually though; signs of life begin to appear, or at least signs that life once lived there. Leather pouches rotted by the dampness of the cave hang on sharp nails beaten into the cave walls, with boots in similar condition strewn here and there. Torn, soaking clothing lays in piles in the tunnels, and candles burnt down to their wick's end stand in shelves carved from the navy blue and black stone. There's broken toys and books too waterlogged to read, instruments with snapped strings or clogged holes, and - most peculiarly - smooth, round devices that heavily resemble large pocketwatches or hand mirrors. They refuse to turn on though, either due to age or due to the wetness of the air. |
no subject
Her joke, though, gets a reaction from him. Jokes are not something Berserker takes part in -- he is incredibly, amazingly humorless. The offer is met with further annoyance and he shakes his head. ]
I said don't concern yourself with me. I don't need your help nor do I want it. Stop offering.
[ His body language isn't threatening, nor is his tone. He just really wants her to go away without a fight. If she offers again, he'll simply give in because it's easier. ]
no subject
Should she let him? Her hands pull back, unsure, and she almost steps away. She comes so close to taking him at his word, but as her eyes move down over him, at the twisted way his body is caught between forms. It can't be pleasant, and she has a soft spot for dragons and for grumpy people.
Something changes in her body language, less stubborn than sure, a strong sense of what's right and what's wrong making her stand up just a little taller, eyes losing some of the softness they had when she smiled at him and tried to make him lighten up. This man is a fighter. She can work with that.]
I'll go after I help you. [Yona no, Yona stop.] If we've been brought to the same place and we're on the same side, everyone will suffer if a good soldier isn't at their best. Call it selfishness if you won't accept kindness. No one wants to die here.
no subject
I'm nothing but a beast looking for a place to die, so you're wrong there. But do what you will, then leave me alone. Your kindness is misplaced.
no subject
[He's far enough away that she can't reach him from the edge of the water and she doesn't want to push her luck by asking him to come closer to her, so there's really only one thing to do. She takes her cloak off and folds it up carefully before she sets it aside on a rock to keep it dry, takes her shoes off and sets them nearby, and then steps down into the water with no regard for the rest of her clothes. Her dress will just have to get wet and that's fine, as she wades toward him with her eyes down to watch her footing.
And not get an eyeful. This is kind of awkward now that she's thinking about it.]
Are you usually part dragon or is that new?
no subject
It's new. The armor I normally wear is made from a sea dragon's skeleton, maybe this is some sort of joke.
[ One he didn't find particularly funny. The transformation was painful, but pain was something he's accustomed to. It's more that he's weaker than he was before and that the strength he gave up everything for was taken from him.
Not that he'd ever admit this to anyone, let alone this young women invading his space. ]
Who are you, anyway?
no subject
That includes healing, and did even before she came here, but now she has the benefit of magic at her fingertips. The amount of lives that could have been saved if she had been able to do this at home is something that isn't far from her thoughts, but it's easier to focus on this man, his pains, the present. This she can fix. The rest will have to wait.]
My name is Yona. I traveled with dragons before I came here, so that's why I thought...
[That this was normal. It seems relatively normal, aside from the way it looks so uncomfortable.
As delicately as she can, she rests her hands on one curled wing and closes her eyes. It had been a deliberate choice not to tell him she's guessing at this, but if she had let him know all of this is new she doubts he'd have let her try. Taking a breath, she reaches for the part of her that feels new, green and healthy and life-giving, and envisions moving that aura into him.
Very, very slowly he'll feel his strength returning, his body getting stronger again as she focuses on replenishing the energy he had spent. Eyes still closed, voice barely above a whisper to avoid losing her concentration, she wants to know-]
What's your name?
no subject
But this ability is...useful. That means she is useful. Useful people are good to have around.
He straightens up slightly, his expression still unchanged. ]
Berserker. [ A pause as he looks to her now. ] This is some magic you have, Yona...
no subject
But he lets her help him, lets her leech his pain away, and she feels oddly grateful to him for allowing her this.]
I'm just glad I can do something to help.
[With every moment of her spell any pain eases, any wounds knit and any bruises begin to fade. She doesn't know how to force the wings back into his body, how to return him to a human shape, it almost feels like enough.]
Is that really your name?
no subject
The fatigue eased, the weariness gone, he feels more like himself. It's still the same apathetic mess of a person, but at least he's not exhausted now.
He narrows his eyes at her question. ]
...It's the name you can call me. Leave it at that.
[ His True Name is of no importance to her and revealing it put him in danger. It's a liability for someone to know it. ]
no subject
Taking her hands away, she gives him another small smile.]
Berserker, then. It was nice to meet you.
[If that sounds final it's because it is. She's assuming he doesn't want her company now that she's finished forcing him to accept help, so she's taking careful steps backwards, fighting the way her dress clings to her ankles thanks to the water around them.]
If you ever get hurt again, I'd be happy to help you.
no subject
... Very well, Yona. [ She's useful to him now, so her name is useful. It's a cold way of looking at people, but it's also beneficial to her. Allies are to be protected at all cost and with this act, she made herself his ally. ] If you need anything from me, find me.
[ A courtesy he extends to anyone he considers an ally. ]