deercountry | I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't

I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't

DECEMBER 2021 EVENT

Hello! We are trying a new style of event this December with archival-like entries that characters can ICly find in the Archives. This should allow characters to be able to plan against certain events that occur in-game and do research ahead of time, during the event, or after the fact.

The idea is that these prompts will provide you with all the possibilities characters could theoretically face from the prompt. We hope this leaves more open-ended opportunities for people to engage with. Anything mentioned in the excerpts could be an experience characters encounter. You can always ask for clarification on any prompt on the plotting page.

This is a way to keep all event prompts relevant since new characters would be able to "read up" on these events/excerpts by visiting the Archives or other such resources for information about past events and what they can anticipate from the setting.

We hope this new style makes sense and is fun for players to work with! They will rely on players creating more of the atmosphere than the prompts, but we think that the prompts will provide the perfect guidance as to what the atmosphere should feel like. Enjoy!

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Holiday themed antler decoration.]
[Image Two: White stag with perfect, circular antlers with bits of ice attached.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Sculpture of white rabbit with neck caught in a snare. Non-graphic.]
[Image Two: Person in red cloak and wolf mask turning around.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Puppet making bloody snow angel in snow.]
[Image Two: Bloodied hands wrapped in bandages clenching.]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

WINTER MOURNING

WHEN: Begins in December and can last until the end of Feb.
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Spoilers for various canons, survival situations, forced memory share

[A passage from Rituals of Trench: Remembering Our Pasts reads the following:]

"A long-standing tradition to celebrate Bone Season is for Deerians to collect antlers and bones salvaged from natural resources and create decorative home accents. These antler-bone decors are known formally as Winter Mournings and can be found in almost every residential home throughout Deer Country. Winter Mournings can be made to look like wreaths, candle holders, or simply an antler with a bow hung up on a wall.

Winter Mournings is seen as a way to honor one's past tribulations and how one has managed to survive and overcome hardships during their life. Winter Mournings serves as a testament to survival and a willingness to keep surviving even when things look bleak and dismal.

Creating Winter Mournings is considered a blessing to the Pthumerians Dorothea, Remina, and Argonaut. You will know if the blessing was accepted once your Winter Mourning begins to glow like the moon. Touch your Winter Mourning and you will be pulled back in time to a memory of a specific time when you or someone else had to survive something physically or mentally challenging. For some, it is merely a memory that cannot hurt, but for others, you may want to proceed with caution as it has been known to pull people physically back to times of war.

One cannot choose which memory they wind up in if it is their own, a friend's, or a complete stranger's. Winter Mournings was designed to create a sense of union and empathy among residents and is meant to open your mind and heart to those who have suffered around you. It is time you explore your past, or someone else's past, with an open mind and see how the other side has lived through hard times. These memories are known to be from adolescence, adulthood, or sometimes even futures that have not yet happened or timelines you have never known. After all, Remina sees all past and all history. That means they see all of your past and history too.

No memory lasts forever though. Once the memory has been concluded, you shall be brought back to the present by the Winter Mourning Stag: a great white beast with a circle of frozen antlers. It will come to you when the time is ready, and you will return to the present like waking from a dazzling dream.

Experiencing Winter Mournings can stabilize one's mood and provide restful sleep after, even if the memories may be difficult to swallow. It truly is a tribute to honor past horrors and traumas. Some memories are painful to remember, but forgetting them will never do anyone any good either. So hang your Winter Mournings and remember what matters.

Survive another day. You are worth it."

FAQ

1. Winter Mournings can produce new memories every time you touch them or the same memory.

2. Characters cannot choose what the memory is.

3. Characters can arrive in each other's memories regardless of if they already know each other. Multiple people can experience the same memory.

4. You can either experience the memory as a memory you can't touch or experience - or you can physically be in the memory and have to survive the situation as well. If you die in memory, your body will die wherever you had been touching the Winter Mourning.

5. Palebloods are capable of altering memories or how they or others experience memories.

6. Characters can be pulled into memories at random - as long as one of the characters in the memory share is touching a Winter Mourning at first.

RUN, RABBIT, RUN

WHEN: Month of December
WHERE: Everywhere/the woods
CONTENT WARNINGS: Themes of hunting, ghosts, curses, attempts at animal violence, hunting people based on blood types.

[An excerpt from Legends of Trench: Curses and Causations reads the following:]

"One of the most notorious legends of Trench is without a doubt the tale of The Huntress and the Hare. Most Trenchies have been told this tale since they were children, but for those unfamiliar, settle in.

This story begins with a mischievous god and an ambitious huntress. The Pthumerian Dorothea loved to play tricks on hunters trying to survive the Bone Season, setting animals free from traps and remaking the traps to catch the hunters instead. One day, a darkblood Huntress was fed up with Dorothea preventing her from catching food for her family and decided to settle the score. The Huntress began to hunt for Dorothea specifically, but it is no small feat hunting the god of trickery and survival.

The Huntress started to rely on her darkblood powers to alter reality to make the perfect traps. Innocuous trees turned into glue traps that anyone would stick to until they were freed by a darkblood or death took their pain from them. Walking through bushes would snag legs and necks, effectively trapping whatever creatures were unfortunate enough to wander for food. Magical snares and beartraps lock around victims with unrelenting force, leaving people and animals to try for help until they cry no more. While this took many innocent lives in the woods, animals, and people alike, it never seemed to work on Dorothea.

Dorothea continued to outwit the Huntress until she eventually drove the Huntress insane. The Huntress died without ever catching Dorothea, but they say her vengeful spirit awakens in winter and begins to set her traps yet again. The Huntress sends her traps and her dead animals after vilebloods and warmbloods to spite Dorothea and hope to maybe catch the god's attention. But Dorothea is no passive god. Dorothea spurs vilebloods and warmbloods to defend themselves against darkbloods and coldbloods.

Infamously, this has created enormous tension between the blood types during December some years, and it is said that the blood lust has caused the types to begin hunting one another regardless of old friendships and alliances. Beware the Huntress's curse. Some believe darkbloods and coldbloods can still hear her haunting commands and cries from the Trenchwood.

They say there is no ease for the tension between the bloodtypes until December has passed, but some believe palebloods may provide relief if they are willing."

FAQ

1. Characters will increasingly feel the urge to actively hunt one another using traps/etc.

2. The Huntress's curse includes undead animals/beasts chasing after warmbloods and vilebloods and magical traps. Players can invent unique traps for their characters.

3. There will be an innate urge to chase/hide from one another.

4. The curse can be broken by paleblood intervention, character death, or a gradual wearing off by the end of the month.

LOCKJOINT

WHEN: All of Bone Season
WHERE: On Sleeper bodies
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mild body horror, blood magic curses, physical curses, cures through blood ministration/blood letting, possible skin removal, injuries, possible death via starvation/exposure.

[An passage from The Sleeper Condition; Chapter 13: Bodily Aches and More. Found exclusively at the Lumenarium:]

"Generally speaking, Sleeper blood allows Sleepers to navigate this world without the fear of illness and disease. However, no organic body is perfect, and Sleeper blood has its own set of ailments to fret over. Blood Ministers have studied the phenomena of Lockjoint for years now and believe that it is linked to the crystalization found in Sleeper death, though the exact connection remains unknown.

Lockjoint tends to begin and last throughout Bone Season. Some Sleepers may never experience it, but for many, it becomes a reoccurring issue to dread each season. This condition forces blood magic to gather at the joints and effectively lock up. Sleepers find it difficult to move their bodies at the bends, fingers, knees, shoulders, etc without some form of discomfort. Minimal lockjoint can be painful and annoyance, but critical lockjoint can be fatal.

The most severe cases of lockjoint documented have shown Sleepers to have crystalization form over their joints, rendering parts of their bodies completely immobile. Some Sleepers have been found dead in this condition, all their joints crystallized, and it is believed most died from natural causes thereafter.

One can determine they are experiencing lockjoint when the coloration around the joints begins to darken in color, typically looking like a bruise. Calcification may occur rapidly the more magic a Sleeper uses or the more they expose themselves to outside elements. It is imperative that Sleepers remain properly clothed during Bone Season, even if they are coldbloods, and to invest in enchanted clothes that can lock in heat.

A known cure for lockjoint is the art of bloodletting. Puncturing the joints with small incisions seems to allow a release of the built-up magic and can provide immediate relief to the Sleeper. Catching lockjoint early is imperative. Alternative methods are soaking in hot springs and salted water.

Those who are in a more severe state will have to carefully have the crystals removed. This will likely remove the skin as well. Local anesthesia is highly recommended for the procedure. This process is known to leave scarring. The crystals can be saved and used as bloodstones from whoever they were harvested from. If you find a Sleeper dead from lockjoint, make sure to harvest the crystals as they are incredibly valuable.

This curse is believed to stem from Sleeper blood magic congealing within the body in contrast with the atmospheric magic of Bone Season. There is no known prevention for lockjoint. Lockjoint can impact all Sleepers regardless of bloodtype or the material their bodies are made from."

FAQ

1. This impacts characters regardless of blood type or their body - meaning it can impact characters with metal/plastic/plant/wood/etc bodies.

2. Players can choose how rapid or severe this gets and how quickly they can be healed.

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( He hasn't been able to properly address who's trapped here with him, but it's when the woman speaks that Peter — and whomever else he is at the moment — turn to look at her. Hearing his name helps draw the boy forwards from the convoluted mixture of identities swirling within him, and for a moment, it really is Peter looking at Vira-Lorr. It's her... the fortune teller (and all else that she might be; he doesn't really know).

He swallows, and despite his tall height, seems to be trying to shrink himself downwards a little, withdrawing inwards on himself. )

This— I think this is my grandmother's room.

( A clear note of fear shudders down his words, making him physically flinch, too. )

But I... I was never in here when she was living with us. This isn't my memory. I've never seen— ( He's looking around the room again, the oddities of it. Now there's a hint of panic to his tone. )

I want to get out.

Memories as they are tied to us are strange things. Because of how the world treats it, it may only be something you know of...

[She reached for his shoulder and motioned to the door, starting to move in that direction.]

We are not truly here. We can move out of this room. Talk somewhere you feel safer, if that's what you wish. Come...

[Though some part of her didn't think it was that easy.]

( Peter's immediately moving to follow the woman with an almost childlike obedience that's perhaps a little comical coming from someone who's more man than boy these days. ...Or perhaps disconcerting to witness. Either way, he wants to do like she says, get out of the room, somewhere safer....

....but as soon as he turns to follow her, his body abruptly stops. Almost as if something's frozen him in place. Peter's eyes are very wide, and a little unfocused, and then his body language slowly changes, too. If there was a childlike nature to him before, it's nothing compared to how he becomes now. Hands drawn up to his chest uncertainly, looking shyly around at the woman like he doesn't recognise her.

And then he takes a step back away from Vira-Lorr, looking confused and a little afraid of her. What he says next completely contradicts his previous words, spoken in a small, soft voice. )

....I don't want to leave. Why're you trying to make me leave Grandma's room? I want to wait for her to come back.

Hmmm...

[Vira-Lorr couldn't sense the presence of spirits, but she did know that these strange memories had glimmered between the past self and the current. So, perhaps he was reverting to a time when ... but he'd never been here had he? She leaned against the wall and smiled warmly over at him.]

Then we won't leave. In the end, it is always up to you. Wait for her to come back, or go out to find her. You may do whatever you please and I won't stop you.

[Tread carefully. That was what she would do here. One step at a time to gauge the nature of the fear.]

( The person blinks owlishly at the woman, listening to what she says. That warm smile has its impact: such expressions aren't a common thing within the Graham Family, and Peter — who certainly isn't Peter anymore — stares at the woman, looking a bit stunned.

Then he — or she — gives a little nod, fingers nervously picking at clothing. )

I want to wait. She'll come back. ( ...But the voice is a little unsure of that fact. )

Are you one of Grandma's friends? The strange people Mom always talked about?

[She did sense she wasn't talking to Peter at this point, or at least not the Peter she knew so well. But she kept her tone conversational and level.]

No, I do not think I am one of those friends. I imagine that they are very special, different sorts, but I am ... let's call it a friend of the family. And I don't mind if we wait until your grandmother gets back.

[This was a memory. Whether she got back or not? She wasn't worried for now.]

You love her a lot don't you?

( A friend of the family? Her family don't have many outside friends, admittedly. The Grahams have always been... shut off in a way. Dad has his psychiatrist friends, and Mom has her art friends, but those are work relationships. They never come over for dinner or anything like that. Nobody comes over for dinner.

Not even Peter's friends from school. Not anymore.

But Charlie accepts what the woman tells her with another little nod. If she's a friend of the family, then she's not really a stranger, right? Still, she's painfully shy around people she doesn't know, staring obstinately downwards. Talking about Grandma is easier, though. She's so very close with the woman, and nods again, biting down on her lower lip. )

Yeah. And she.... loves me the most. ( Charlie fiddles with her hands, fingers picking at themselves, before she shuffles over closer to the bed. Where that odd triangle is, etched into the floorboards below. What she says next has just a little tiny hint of pride, like something she knows is special. A special fact, a special place, a special little girl. )

I was the only one she let here in her room.

That's a very special relationship that you have then. And ... if you'd rather I can sit outside the room, out of respect for your grandmother. We can still talk like that, after all.

[Vira-Lorr was being understandably cautious. that circle could be warding. It could be summoning. It could be a conjuration or it could just be a dumb circle that some neophyte thought did something. She doubted the latter. There was ... she coudn't tell what, but there was power here.

She did not, however, move without permission. Just in case.]

It's okay. We can... we can stay here. ( Charlie gives a little nod, and looks across the room at the bed. After a moment of hesitating, she moves closer to it, lightly sitting down. It's familiar; she's been on this bed many times. Curled up in it as Grandma reads her stories. )

You can sit too. If you want. ( She's still shy of the woman, but it's nice not to be alone. And she seems... nice. After a moment, she asks a sudden, seemingly random question, but it's one that feels important to a child. )

How old are you? ( Maybe Mom's age? Or maybe a little younger. )

[She rose and approached the bed before sitting down and smiling over at them, winking and pointing up at her third eye when she did, her voice light and mildly amused. She did enjoy telling this story, after all.]

Oh, me? Well this eye is a little hint that I'm kind of ... different, but different is fine. My people are very long lived. I'm actually over three hundred years old, believe it or not. [She smirked.] I just look like many people do in their thirties because of that. I might be around for a long time yet.

( It isn't that she hasn't noticed the third eye peering out from the woman's forehead, but Charlie.... somehow, hasn't felt bothered by it at all, or even really seen it as out of the ordinary. Perhaps most human children would, but she is not most human children.

In fact, she seems intrigued by it now that the woman's pointing to it, staring up at the third purple eye. )

Oh.... you're even older than Grandma. ( Ah, kids. Bluntly saying what they feel. It's not with any malice, though, just a simple fact. )

Do you have powers?

My people are gifted with magic, but that was lost to me some time ago. A price of a choice I made. I still know a lot about it, though. And we can also see the future through our third eye. It can be fuzzy, but it's a gift that we all share.

And what about you and your Grandmother? Do you have gifts yourself?

You can see the future.....? ( If it wasn't already so obvious this person wasn't Peter, this maybe proves it. Whomever's speaking right now has no memory of Peter getting his fortune read by this woman. )

Um.... I don't think so. I don't.... know.

( She fidgets again, looking almost worriedly back down to that triangle etched into the floorboards. Some part of her..... knows the truth, but it's buried under layers and layers; Charlie can't understand.

....But someone else can. And like that, it moves up under Peter's skin: a shudder. The air in the room suddenly turns more frigid, cold. The person sitting beside Vira-Lorr gives a soft cluck of the tongue before speaking, and though it's the same voice, someone else is working the vocal chords now. )

.....Yes. I can do many things. ( The figure stares at her, unblinking and curious, wide-eyed, alien. )

I am a king. ....I know you. ( Slowly, he lifts his hand to turn his palm over, exposing the lines Vira-Lorr had looked at once before. )

You saw me.

So... we meet.

[She turned towards the being quietly, resting her hands on her lap and keeping her tone even. So, it was a possession of some kind? She hadn't been sure of the exact nature of what Peter had described then, but it was more obvious now. Possession, conduit, medium, some form of channeling of an 'other' through this body. Apparently, it was still the same one, and it recalled the vision.]

I saw, not exactly you, but that something greater inside of him exists. I suppose we are finally greeting each other formally? I am Vira-Lorr.

[Yes, it might have seemed silly, but it was an actual introduction after all.]

( Paimon regards the woman quietly, still with that intense curiosity. The fact she caught something of him at all proves her power, and it's a very important power indeed, especially for him. He's meant to know truths as to the future and its secrets; summoners often came to him for such things.

Of course, he's still... broken in many ways, right now. Unable to reach his true power the way he once could. So to be in the presence of someone who can do something even remotely similar to what he's supposed to be able to do... It's significant, indeed.

And so, despite the fact he's usually very secretive with giving out his true name, for this enchantress, he will. Especially because she's given hers to him. It's an exchange of equal value. )

I am Paimon. ( He's certainly very serious about this... face held even, eyes solemn as they explore her features, the third eye there on her forehead. ) Are you... a witch?

I have been called one by some. I prefer the term Seer or Prophetess. But Witch also works. Admittedly, the strength of magic has faded since coming to this world. It was a price that I paid. Now, the only gift remaining to me of home is the vision I possess through my eye. But you know a bit about that now, don't you?

[She was keeping calm. She didn't know what this being was capable of after all. There were many possibilities, and it was truly an unknown quantity in this situation.]

The gift to see the future alone would gain some that title, in the right or wrong culture. But to me? I would not say it was a bad name to bear.

( He listens to her speak, absorbing everything the woman says, quietly. He does know what it is to be less than what he once was — aware now that his own abilities have faded in the process of being stripped and manipulated and torn from world to world. Host to host. His existence now is... wrong, in so many ways. )

Yes. I, too, am.... faded. ( Or, his powers are. Paimon has a difficult time expressing himself in words. But the subject of witches is one he can, at least, touch on very well. )

For me... witches are... important. The most important. ( The bond between Summoner and Demon, the power of exchange... The type of entity that he is requires witches to keep him in balance. But he's learned there are different types of witches here. Ones like Luna, Ange, Willow... Not all of them work the same way. )

Do you have.... demons? ( ...Weird way to word that, bud. ) To work with? To bond with?

mmm?

[She paused and then the word 'bond' clicked. The idea of someone drawing magical power through a bond with an extra-planar entity was not unheard of in Agarest, though it was a universally bad idea, because the entities willing to do that were either servants of the gods of destruction, or utterly insane beings who had lost their sentience in the madness of the outer planes. Since coming here, she'd accepted that not all demons operated that way, but it did take her aback for a moment.]

Ah, I think that magic operates very differently in our existence. Where I come from, it is a tradition, one that is trained to all of the military. Some are more gifted than others, and certain races more gifted still. However, from what I have learned our magic is more ... limited. Bolstering effects, healing and evocation of elemental forces. Anything more subtle is out of our reach.

But we do not usually bond with outside spirits.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't

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as I crawl my way back to December Backtags....!

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