deercountry | now your tearin through the pages and the ink

now your tearin through the pages and the ink

DECEMBER 2022 EVENT

Due to the cyclical nature of Trench, LAST YEARS EVENT PROMPTS are also open to players. Please be sure to mark if you are using this years prompts or last years prompts to avoid confusion for players.

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Animal paw print in the snow. ]
[Image Two: A close up of a hissing cat's mouth. ]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Hands underneath cracking ice. ]
[Image Two: A dark, snowy river bed in the woods at night under the moon and clouds. ]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A woman lying in the snow, her face covered by her hair. ]
[Image Two: Bloody handprints in the snow. ]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

WHEN: December
WHERE: Throughout Trench, particularly near the woods.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Paranoia, fear, violence, possible murder, reality questioning

Dorothea seems to be off. She's more skittish than usual, even to those she may have formed even the slightest of connections to. Her own patrons will notice that she still acts like a cornered animal whenever someone gets too close. Her hair might puff up, she shrinks back from touch, and she's quick to bite if she feels she has to defend herself. People can put two and two together pretty easily: whatever illness that has made the Tower so odd has spread out to others.

The fear she's feeling will slowly start to spread out through the month. Those who have Dorothea as their patron Pthumerian will start to feel the impacts earlier than others, but soon it's going out into the general Sleeper population. It starts off with a tiny voice in the back of the mind, one that alerts danger, even if there isn't anything immediately threatening in the area. It's quiet at first, but becomes louder and louder, until the fear becomes overwhelming.

People will start to respond to it with their natural instincts of fight, flight, or freeze. Some people might try to blend into the background and keep away from strong social settings. Others might start to lash out, fighting with anyone who crosses their path because they could be the threat. People can even go so far as to try to kill those they're close to simply because they don't trust them to be safe.

But that rational side might still try to break through. The constant tug of war can leave people questioning what's real, where the danger really is coming from, or if there was any danger to begin with. It's hard to get the answers or to calm down enough to look for concrete proof when the heart is racing as fast as it is, clouding the mind from being able to handle reason.

If a Sleeper fights their natural instinct and tries to trust others, the effects seem to lessen, but they never fully go away. The small underlying feeling of fear will be there throughout the month, no matter how hard someone tries to fight it.

Note: Not everyone will be hit by this curse. You may opt-out by simply having your character not be effected. For those who are already dealing by paranoia or distrust from their blood impacts, the effects will be that much stronger and more difficult to fight, and more likely to escalate to violence.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

COLD AS ICE

WHEN: December
WHERE: ???
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible drowning, being trapped under ice, claustrophobia

It feels like a dream, but the world around is so solid and real, it's hard to tell if that's true. Everything is pitch black at first and the Sleeper stuck in this new place will feel a heavy weight on their chest. What's most noticeable right off the bat is how cold it is. Colder than it was back in Trench, an almost stabbing pain all over the skin, and it wouldn't be over the top to worry about frost bite. The pressure that's pushing onto the Sleeper's chest will become more noticeable all around them, like there's some sort of vice grip on their entire body.

A beam of moonlight breaks through the darkness and it's then that they are able to tell where they are: under water. Trapped under the ice of a large lake, one where shore seems completely out of reach. Swimming to the top will make it clear that while the ice has cracks on the very surface of it, they're superficial, and it may feel difficult to break through. Trying to use powers to break through the ice will make it clear very quickly that powers don' work in this water.

Is this it? Is that the end? Continuing to swim to try and find a hole may feel pointless, but those who choose to will eventually find that they run into another Sleeper or two. It's hard to communicate underwater, likely, especially when it seems like the omnis don't work to project thoughts to one another the way they usually do. But if the Sleepers can figure out how to communicate, they might find that coordinating their movements to push up against the ice will start to make a loud, rumbling noise fill the water.

The ice is starting to crack. It just takes team work.

Fighting one another or resisting will bring about the very obvious feeling of drowning. Even those who can breathe under water will find that they are unable to in these moments. The only option to get out is to work as a team. So long as they cooperate, Sleepers can break a hole through the ice, escaping the frozen water.

Crawling through the hole in the ice will bring them out of a manhole in a random street of Trench. The lake will be gone and the water too. Those who don't crawl out fast enough behind their teammates will find that the hole disappears entirely and they're forced to start all over.

[JUMP TO TOP] • [JUMP TO COMMENTS]

NOW YOU SEE ME

WHEN: December
WHERE: Trenchwood
CONTENT WARNINGS: Murder, demons, supernatural, violence, abuse, other awful fairy tale themes

There's one thing that's always nice about the holiday seasons lining up across so many worlds: people get to share the stories of their homelands with one another. Traditions are passed down, legendary figures are explained. People will find that they're even more compelled to share stories from their home, whether it's about a winter holiday they deeply enjoy, or even fairy tales that they were told as children. Th urge to share will feel completely natural, even if it's just to one person rather than a whole group.

But there's always a catch in Trench. As stories are shared, the figures that they're focused on will start to manifest throughout the city as actual, real beings. Santa Claus, shoemaking elves, Snow Queens... Anything is up for grabs, but they won't be exactly like the figures that people spoke of. Their eyes will glow a deep red and their skin will be covered in bleeding wounds, dripping red paths across the snow. These strange versions of these legendary beings will haunt the streets of Trench, attacking anyone they see who doesn't look like them.

It will become clear that there's violent demons about as Trenchies (or even Sleepers) start to show up dead in the snow. Their deaths never seem to be gentle, but instead a clear product of a frenzied blood lust. People may have been brutally stabbed, or ripped to pieces and scattered. Even if the characters in a Sleeper's story were good people, even heroes, their Trench counterparts only want to destroy.

Killing these demons at least seems to be extremely easy. Luring them in with a blood sacrifice is probably the simplest, but people can try to find them and corner them throughout the city as well. Destroy their eyes and the demons will vanish. This can be done by attacking the face directly or by cutting off the head and destroying it. This information is not readily available however, so it will have to be done by trial and error until Sleepers can start to share the information with one another as the month goes on.

[JUMP TO TOP]

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Thankfully the way over isn't too difficult. Between smart usage of the lamps and the snow tunnel, it's possible even for a girl like Chizuru - who isn't exactly some sort of special polar hiker - to make her way over.

(She did bring her Omen though, just in case she'd need the help along the way. It's a tiny bird sitting on her shoulder, apparently not minding the cold.)

So it doesn't take too long before Chizuru is there, knocking at his door, and she gives Nara'a a smile once she's let inside.

"Thank you," she says, an apologetic note to her words. "I'm sorry, this must seem so sudden.. But-- um, have you heard about the Winter Mournings going on? About seeing memories when you touch some sort of special decoration, and sometimes seeing other people's memories.."

It might not be hard to see where this is going, even though Chizuru pauses respectfully, wanting to make sure they're on the same page before truly delving into it.

"No, it's all right." He's even set some tea out for her as he guides her to sit down in the living room. "Winter... ah, yes. I've heard of those." He'd been asking around about winter traditions anyway, curious as to what the neighbors were up to. He'd heard mention about memories, but not paid them much mind.

This place has a habit of dragging up old memories anyway.

"I assume you saw one of mine, then. What did you see?" He's not judging, just curious - he knows a lot of what he's seen has probably zero context for anyone else.

"It might be.. a little hard to describe," Chizuru slowly says.

At least she is moving to sit down, rather than awkwardly remaining standing in the room. She folds her hands together on her chest, her gaze mostly thoughtful. It's hard to even recall all the details of that memory, since so much had been happening at once, and it had all been overwhelming.

She's not even sure she fully understands it, other than it being something significant in Nara'a's past. A big battle.

But even if she doesn't understand, it wouldn't do to just keep it to herself. To not let him know what she saw.

"It was a big battle," she starts. A description that's probably still unhelpful, but she's trying to first think of the things she can be the most certain about in her description. "There was a person-- a man, I think. He called himself Hades."

Maybe that last part might narrow it down. It certainly feels easier to describe than the wild, wild stuff that went down after that..

"That's okay." He sits and listens, his pleasant expression going a little wide-eyed and then dropping to sadness. He puts his teacup down and folds his hands into his lap, taking a deep breath. "I see. It must have been very confusing for you. Hades is... was a complicated person."

How to explain the man who was both ally and foe? It's hard to even know when to begin. "He was from a race of people who were from far before my time. The world was going to be destroyed, so he helped some others summon a god. There were others who sacrificed themselves to summon another god to chain the first once it was done. The second one shattered the world into fourteen pieces - the Source where I'm from and thirteen reflections. The souls of those still alive were also shattered and forgot who they once were. But he and a few others escaped the Sundering, and wanted to bring things back to how they were in his time."

Nara'a closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh. "But that would have cost the lives of all the new life on every world... so I had to stop him. His intentions were not... wrong. He was grieving and angry, and probably somewhat influenced by the god he helped summon besides. I don't want to cast him as a villain. He was just... a man trying to do what he thought was right. And so was I. It just so happened that the two of us had conflicting goals."

See, this is definitely a tale befitting a battle as big as that one, right? Something you'd only hear in stories, in legends. In tales of gods and heroes, something far beyond Chizuru's daily reality. It feels even a little beyond this place, despite all the things that can happen in Trench as well.

And then to think a good friend of hers was that deeply entangled in a story like that.. It's a little mindblowing. She's not sure she understands it all, even as Nara'a explains it to her.

But with Chizuru being Chizuru, she just politely smiles all the same, first addressing the part she does understand.

"Don't worry," she softly says. "I won't think badly of him if you don't want me to."

That seems to be what Nara'a is putting the most emphasis on in his explanation here, after all.. And the last thing she wants him to do here is worry.

"I realised that I only saw a few moments anyway, without all of that context you have." She pauses, seeming to think for another moment, and then adds: "Besides, I wasn't even thinking about him that much, you know..? I actually.. um, I was kind of worried about you, and all the big stuff you're involved in back home."

Sure, it explains a lot about why Nara'a often seems so freaked out about what may be going on back home. But even so--

"It seems like a lot to handle." (The understatement of the year.)

"I... yeah. He traveled with us. Sure, in many respects he was an 'enemy'... but he did do positive things for us as well." His feelings on Hades are still complicated, even now. An impossible man from a society that lost everything... there's so many things he could say. But what among them would even make sense to someone who wasn't there?

He listens to her and quirks his head to the side a little bit. "... I... I suppose it would be worrying. I know that I have a lot of people who worry about me but... a lot of them are used to such situations around me. I guess to an outsider it would look impossible... but I've had to fight many large enemies like that. There's so few people in my world who can... and I'm the one who most people look towards to do it."

If she knew the name Hades, she would have seen... mm. "And in that world, I was the only one who could absorb the power of the Lightwardens. Though it... did almost kill me. But I had to bring the darkness back to that world... not just for the people who lived there, but for the people who died trying to save it. I made a promise." And he does do his best to keep his promises, no matter what.

The girl shifts a little where she's sitting.

Some of this stuff is familiar. It leads back to things he told her before. How intent Nara'a seemed on carrying out his duty, the way he said before that so many people were counting on him - probably the two things that feed right into each other, like an endless cycle of a heavy duty weighing down on the other, a duty she saw in action in that memory.

"I know you're really impressive."

That's easy for her to say. She genuinely thinks so, after all. She would think Nara'a's kind and selfless attitude would make him impressive regardless, even without knowing he's fighting these kinds of battles back home - though the battles themselves only make it more impressive, really.

"But I'll worry anyway. Not because I think you can't do it," she quickly adds that last part, because she sure doesn't want to ever make it sound that way! She believes in her friend so much. "But more.."

Her voice trails off as she tries to look for the right words.

It's similar to the men she knew back home, she thinks. They were also fighting huge battles, having a huge duty on their shoulder. She knew they were impressive, but worried anyway. Because.. Because--

"Because someone has to."

If Nara'a is involved in stuff that big, someone has to worry about his wellbeing, especially since she might not have time to do it himself in the middle of all of that.

"I..." He ducks his head a little and closes his eyes. "... Thank you, Chizuru. I... I have friends at home and they worry about me but most of them are charging into danger alongside me for the most part. I'm... doing my best to get back to them safely every time, but... but saving people is more important to me than making sure I'm safe."

He looks up at her, a sad smile on his face. "It's not that I don't value my life - I do. And it's not like I think I'm unimportant. But I... someone has to be willing to step into the fire and face what's there. If I didn't do it, many other people would try... and many of them would die. It's... better to send someone who has a better chance of coming back alive. I know that. We all know that. But I..."

"... I'm very tired, Chizuru. I've been saving my world for over six years at this point, depending on how you count the time difference on the First. But I don't want you to get hurt, or anyone else if I can help it. I can't... just turn my back on problems, even if I might put myself in danger. But I... also know I need to be careful." He glances away, down towards the floor. "I've already succumbed to corruption once. I don't want to do that again. I hurt people, and they had to hurt me back..."

He's saying a lot here, isn't he. Not that most of it is surprising. Chizuru feels like she's already heard most of it before from Nara'a - even if it was in a slightly different context - and the other stuff is easy to assume, given what she knows about the other.

But Chizuru listens patiently all the same, not seeming to mind. Instead she's rearranging the words inside of her head, thinking about them.

It's only when he falls quiet that she speaks up again.

"Then.. what do you want..?" Granted, it's not like he hasn't been saying that. But there are some things in there that are.. not necessarily contradictions, but something close to it. She knows Nara'a's will to help is genuine, but the way he speaks of being tired, the way he's seemed so hurt before at the idea - or memory - of failure.. "What do you think would make you happy?"

Isn't that the most important thing at the end of the day? Chizuru certainly wouldn't want one of her important friends to be unhappy.

"I... I want to help people. I can't deny that I... love the thrill of adventure. But I just wish... sometimes I wish that the fate of the world didn't rest on me so much, you know? I'd like to help someone else, but I just... wish I could relax a little bit."

Here he can, to some degree. But he still has that strong drive to help people. "I just want to be a normal adventurer sometimes. Just helping people and making them happy... but not having the pressure of the world ending if I fail."

Chizuru would say that at least he doesn't have that pressure here - sure, the stakes are often high in Trench, but it's usually more about one or two lives than an entire world - but she knows that even while Nara'a is here, he has a hard time forgetting about everything back home.

So she pauses, thinking, and then-- "You do that though."

Maybe she can't reassure him about anything else, considering she can't change a thing about the world he comes from and everything going on here, nor about the nature of this place. But she can reassure him about the one thing she does know.

"You've helped me, you know. Multiple times. And.. your kindness always makes me happy too."

"I... I try. I just want to help people. Not just you, but everyone here. I just... want to help people be happy. It's... helping people is just part of who I am. On a soul level, I mean."

Should he even try to explain? He's not sure if it would make things more or less complicated.

"And... I want to explore. But it's too dangerous to explore alone here..."

"But there are people you could explore together with, right?"

That seems like the easy part to solve here. Chizuru can't do anything about the other's desire to help people, even if it's dangerous - it's something that Chizuru very much feels herself, after all, despite being much more powerless than her friend.

But this part?

"There are a lot of pretty powerful people here." From what she's seen and heard, anyway. Chizuru herself may certainly not belong in that category, but other people here do! "Maybe you're even friends with some of them."

Nara'a is so kind that Chizuru would definitely believe it if he had already made friends with some.

"Couldn't they go together with you? Then you wouldn't have to worry as much about them while you're out there together either, since they can handle themselves."

"Maybe. The weather out right now is a bit too harsh for some, it seems. Any progress would be slow going. But we can prepare for an expedition when the snows melt. I'd like that." He smiles at her a little bit. "I wish I could take you. But..."

Oh!

"I can take pictures for you. That way you can see what's out there, too."

The girl's expression melts into an easy smile.

"I'd like that."

There's no way she's going to protest not being taken along. Sure, she's a little worried about Nara'a going off somewhere, and not being able to do anything if he ends up in danger, but.. on the other hand, Chizuru is also well aware that she would only be bringing more trouble along if she were to join him. She's a trouble magnet, and even aside from that, there's no way she could defend herself as well as Nara'a can.

So she can be content enough with the idea of staying behind on this - for now - hypothetical trip.

"I bet that anything that could be out there must be much too dangerous for me to face."

"Yes. I... I mean I don't want to be rude, but you're - your skills lie in healing yourself. I... haven't seen you sue any combat abilities. I just want you to be safe. You're someone who's important to me."

He smiles a little shyly at her. "I don't doubt your strength. It just lies in other areas."

She shakes her head a little. "No, I.. I know some very basic self defense, but it might not do much here."

After all, Chizuru already had trouble with some of the ronin back home. And here most threats aren't even human. They're something stronger than that - so how is a girl like her supposed to stand a chance?

It feels pathetic to admit, and Chizuru honestly feels a little down on herself as she says it, but it wouldn't be fair to Nara'a to claim anything else. He's already seen it himself, after all. She's no good.

"And.. honestly, I'm not really sure if I have strength in other areas either!" Despite the fact that the words are very self-deprecating, Chizuru's tone doesn't match. It doesn't sound sad, or down in any way. It almost sounds like she's laughing as she says it. "Not compared to everyone else here, anyway. So I'll just-- I'll stay safe and out of trouble, so no one has to worry about me."

Even if that's the only thing she can do.

Even if it doesn't always feel great.

"No, you do." He responds quickly, shaking his head. "You make people happy and you help them smile. That's not nothing, especially in a place like this where the lack of that sort of stuff can literally change you. You hope and dream for people, and that... I've seen it have tangible results, at least where I'm from."

How to put this? He... can't, other than straightforwardly. "I was about to die once. And then in that worst sort of darkness I could hear my friends calling out to me, wishing and hoping for my success. Maybe it doesn't work the same here. Maybe it does. But I wouldn't count out the strength of your heart. You really are someone special."

".. that sort of thing stopped you from dying?"

Chizuru seems kind of surprised to hear it. Not that she has any doubts about the power of friendship - honestly, that's just about the one thing that has helped Chizuru gets as far as she has here in Trench without going utterly crazy at some point or another.

But the power of it in combat situations is something else entirely. She doesn't think she's ever seen it save anyone like that back home, and it makes her pause, wondering whether it's just something that could happen in Nara'a's world, or whether it's a universal thing.

(Though, let's be real - she's already glad it saved Nara'a either way.)

"It did. It's a power called dynamis - emotional energy. The determination and willpower and bonds that you have... it can do wonders. In that place the effect of it was amplified... but I don't doubt that it has power here, too. At least, that's what I believe anyway."

His ears flick happily as he smiles again at her. "And I've got faith that you can affect change. You've got a lot of willpower, I know it. So what if you're not good at fighting? Not everyone is. That doesn't mean there aren't things that you can do."

She does know there are some things she can do. Chizuru knows she's a chore champion, and she did get pretty far in the baking tournament here in Trench on top of it..

.. on the other hand, she's not too sure that will save lives. It doesn't feel useful on the same level.

She shakes her head though, not focusing on that part, but instead the other half of what Nara'a says. Because it is fascinating, anyway. "Do you know if you could find out if that sort of thing has power here too..? I mean-- It sounds like it could be really useful, especially in a dangerous place like this."

"... I don't know. But I'll keep an ear out." He flicks one ear towards her. "I'm glad you're here with me, thought. When I found you in the tower... I was really afraid. I know people can come back here but... even getting close to dying is a very scary thing."

He looks down briefly before looking up at her. "If you need to talk about it, please... just let me know. I want to be here for you too, like you've been here for me."

".. ah."

Chizuru's facial expression visibly drops when he brings up that point. Not that she blames him for starting about this. Even though her memories are very hazy, filled with more pain than details, she does remember Nara'a having seemed so terribly worried about her back there.

And who could have blamed him? It looked so bad, and-- well, it was a bad situation.

The girl's fingers nervously fret as she thinks of what to say here.

"It's alright." Apparently that's what she opts to say, the default thing she always falls back on during moments like these. Shoving personal feelings out of the way so they won't bother anyone, saying it's fine. "I never was in any real danger of dying back there, though I'm sure it must have looked that way.."

Any normal person would have died from it, after all. Chizuru is very well she's abnormal in every sense of the word.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you so much."

And with how formal Chizuru is, she even bows her head after saying that - like it's a formal apology for what he went through, even though Nara'a is working so hard to focus this on Chizuru herself instead.

"No, I... I won't push you on... how you made it. But I... I don't think it's 'alright'. You... I just want you to be okay... and it's okay to not be okay. I know sometimes it's hard to say or to voice your displeasure - I struggle with it, too. But it's important to know that there are people who aren't going to walk away from you even if you're not okay."

He nods seriously, leaning towards her a bit. "I'm not going anywhere. You're my friend. I care about how you feel - whether you're happy or not. I'm here for you."

Chizuru swallows. It feels hard, as if her throat is tight - but she knows there's no real physical reason for it. It's just that she feels nervous, and it's just that she always has a hard time finding words while trying to talk about her feelings like this.

But on the other hand - she also knows it's not like she can just say nothing here. Nara'a is being way too nice to her for her to just ignore it, no matter how hard it is to talk about this.

".. I don't want you to have to worry about me though," she slowly says.

Isn't that exactly it? Everyone has so much to worry about here already. Why would she contribute to that?

"And I recovered, so I'm fine now. It all healed, and I got out of that situation thanks to your help."

now your tearin through the pages and the ink

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Endwalker spoilers

Endwalker spoilers

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cw: spoilers for DRK 50 quest

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