All men must die, but first he must live.

[reddosmod]

SEPTEMBER 2021 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: Woman holding skull in bag. ]
[Image Two: Plants sprouting out of earth.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: Woman rocking back and forth in dark.]
[Image Two: Woman rowing down river with corpses on stakes on horizon.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: Beef cake man breaking arrows off of shield with a sword.]
[Image Two: Beefy man slamming axe into troll-like creature, spraying blood.]

[NAVIGATION]

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

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

GROWING PAINS

WHEN: September
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Minor blood ritual.

---

September, for many in Trench, is considered a month of personal sacrifice. It is the month of self-actualization and promise. To grow your future, you must first be willing to sacrifice your past. You cannot walk forwards while walking backward. All throughout Trench, natives can be seen in yards and on plots of land digging small holes and planting a variety of items. Some plant seeds, some drop in a ring, others bury small parts of a body. But the ritual is simple: bury something that represents your past and seal it with a promise for your future.

You can write yourself a note or cut off a lock of your own hair. The ways in which people do this are limitless since it's a largely personal experience. Find a small patch of soil and dig yourself a shallow hole. Bury the item inside, say goodbye to who you used to be, and cover the item up with dirt. Once you are done, you must shed at least one drop of blood onto the sacrifice. It must be your own blood willingly given. Once the blood hits the soil, a small flower will miraculously grow out of the earth within seconds.

A single, powerless flower, but this flower will be completely immortal. You can either keep it on the patch of land or dig it up and bring it home. The flower will be a representation of your progress in Trench: if its petals wilt, you are lingering too much in the past. If it is in full bloom and vibrant, you're on the right path to a better future. If the flower starts to rot, you're heading down a dangerous path.

The flower may not be able to sway you one way or another, but it may serve as a valuable reminder of the kind of life you wish to lead. Some people abandon the flowers entirely and never bother with them. After all, there are no real consequences if you let the flower rot. If a character is dropped, their flower will fleck away like dust. Many believe that the flowers are made of the same stuff omens are made of.

You can dig up other people's flowers and watch their progress (make sure to get player permission) instead. After all, not everyone will care enough about their own flowers to really observe them closely. The flowers can come in any species or size, even fictional flowers, but they will only be replicas. Meaning if your character's flower is typically used for healing, there will be no healing properties in this replica. The flowers cannot be destroyed.

Many natives in Trench will repeat this ritual a few times every couple of years since the ritual is for letting go of the past. After all, the promises you make to yourself now won't be the same promises you make to yourself ten years from now. People change and so too will their flowers. What the characters bury is largely open to interpretation.

RIVER OF REGRET

WHEN: September
WHERE: Some obscure location within Gaze
CONTENT WARNINGS: Mangled corpses of loved ones, birds eating corpses, themes of regret.

---

You will find raven feathers all over Trench. They may drift through the air, lightly touch you, or you might decide to pick one up. The moment you come into physical contact with a feather, a conspiracy of ravens tears through the air and scoops you up into a whirlwind of feathers and caws. It only lasts a few seconds before you're deposited into a canoe drifting along a still river. Another Sleeper is in the boat with you. You pass beneath massive stone walls carved into the likeness of Never Mind and his ravens.

The world is silent around you. There is no rain here. Instead, sunlight pours through breaks in the clouds. Sunlight dapples across the water and golden-red leaves of nearby trees. It's more serene than most places in Trench.

You turn a corner and smell it before you see it. The picturesque summer day is dampened by the stench of rot. Then you come upon them: corpses. Corpses tied up to posts with barbed wire, corpses put through spikes and suspended in the air. Ravens flutter to and fro, picking at strips of meat. It isn't until you're close enough that you realize you recognize the corpses.

They are the corpses of people you have hurt. And that doesn't just mean people you killed or physically harmed. These are the bodies of people you have deep regrets towards: a lover you wronged, a best friend you lied to, an enemy you wish you had forgiven. Not everything is as black and white as murder, after all, and this grisly graveyard of mangled bodies says as much. Sometimes our regrets haunt us like the dead, and it seems like yours have followed you to Trench. You might even see your own body up on a post or the body of your canoe companions.

You have one of two choices: ignore your regret or face it.
Choosing to ignore your regrets doesn't seem to have any ill consequences at first. You pass by the corpses and continue on your river voyage. But the water grows thicker, and you come across the same corpses only in a worse state. The situation gets progressively worse each time you ignore it, and the river gradually becomes a river of blood and gore. The stench becomes insufferable and you will become increasingly corrupt. Some may even turn into beasts right there on the river.

Facing your regrets means talking about them, even mildly, to your canoe companions. You simply need to acknowledge the corpses, acknowledge the slightest truth to your feelings towards those regrets. When everyone in your canoe has acknowledged their regrets, the ravens will come for you once more. You will be brought back to Trench and awaken in the School of Mutter. Those who faced their regrets will discover that they have been gifted a white gold compass. The compass's needle will always point in the direction of the nearest Lamp Friend no matter the chaos going on in the world. But the compass only works once you have calmed down and focused.

QUICK FACTS

1. Each boat can hold up to 4 people. There can be multiple canoes in the same area.

2. If you try to leave the boat, you will drown in the River of Regret.

3. This does not have to encompass every regret someone's had. It can only represent one or two things. The regret should have to do with another individual or one's self. Something like "I regret not going to college" wouldn't necessarily work within the parameters of the prompt.

4. The river can only be accessed by touching a fallen raven feather. Touching a raven feather attached to the bird or a quill does not count.

5. Characters can engage with this prompt as many times as they touch a raven feather.

6. Characters with no regrets will not see corpses, but they will still be able to interact with characters who do have regrets.

BLOODSPORT

WHEN: During the Blood Moon
WHERE: Everywhere but specifically, The Gate
CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, fighting, forced aggression/violence, forced fighting.

---

The Blood Moon invokes religious reverence among Trenchies. September and October are the ultimate months of sacrifice to pay tribute to the gods and the blood that rules this world. An energy begins to swell among Trenchies and you keep hearing the same word whispered excitedly around the city: "Bloodsport."

As the Blood Moon floods the streets in red, you begin to feel antsy, like you don't know what to do with yourself. You're not necessarily angry, you just have an abundance of energy. You don't need to be told what it is: your blood is reacting to the moon. The Blood Moon enhances blood powers significantly and you're simply not used to that yet. You don't feel in control of your own power or maybe even your own mind. At least until you exert some power, some force. Slam a door shut or swing a sword, shoot some electricity or spit some poison and you'll feel at peace with yourself. That nervous energy will ease out.

Only to come back twice as strong. It starts to put you in a real fighting mood and you start to realize why the locals call this Bloodsport. Hunting down beasts and monsters might seem like the fun thing to do right now, but the real attraction for Bloodsport takes place at The Gate. You can hear the roaring crowd blocks away. Hundreds of Trenchies have settled in to watch Sleepers duke it out with each other or with locked-up monsters. Maybe join in the fight. At least you know the other Sleepers there want to be there...Right?

Unfortunately not. Those who resist Bloodsport will find themselves passing out more and more frequently. Eventually, they will be taken by Mysterious Forces to The Gate to be pitted against other Sleepers and monsters. Some Sleepers will be forced into a gladiator-style fight that they either must win or die trying. Most fights at the Gate do end in death, but there are some circumstances where someone surrenders. Of course, that never stops their opponent from killing them anyway...Hopefully, you're fighting someone who is still relatively reasonable. Both parties can be resistant to fighting, but they will feel obligated to fight each other. If they don't, monsters will be unleashed into the arena and your situation will get a whole lot worse.

Bloodsport can greatly enhance a Sleeper's ability and many believe it is a gift from the Pthumerian gods. It is generally considered an advantage to Sleepers during the Season of Blood to prepare them and train them to hone their skills for the Season of Bone. Many believe it is wisest to submit to Bloodsport and let yourself get used to the motions of violence in order to survive the remainder of the year.

QUICK FACTS

1. Casual physical training will alleviate Bloodsport feelings. You could get through the month just by jogging around a lot.

2. Characters forced to the Gate will not remember how or when they arrived - they will just wake up and be thrown into the Gate by some shadowy force.

3. Characters who willingly participate in violence/fighting will feel temporary relief from Bloodsport only for the feeling to increase.

4. Effects of Bloodsport last as long as the Blood Moon shines through September and October.

5. You can treat symptoms of Bloodsport with calming techniques such as aromatherapy, meditation, medications, etc. Can be based on what would ICly help calm your character but it should require a lot of it.

6. You can invent the monsters/beasts that are at the Gate. They should be killable creatures and easily captured for the purpose of the Gate.

CODING

Comments

growing pains.

[possessum]

( By now, Peter's completed the little ritual of his own, and he's not sure how he feels about the concept now that all's said and done. He... understands the meaning of it, and what he was given in return was actually something nice, but—

—but what does it mean for him, that he's done something like this? It almost feels like some taboo, like some threshold he, of all people, never should've crossed. What if the act made the demon stronger somehow? Sacrifice, reward... What if he's made a terrible mistake? Given away just a little more of his soul, or something?

He's walking slowly along the wet streets when he sees a young woman standing there on a plot of ground, pocketknife in hand. Peter freezes with a catch in his chest, and
finds himself drifting that way before he can think to stop himself. She seems uncertain. )

Isn't it dangerous? To... take part in something like that?

( He seems nervous as he asks, fidgety, dark-rimmed eyes all tense. )

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice startles a little at the voice, but relaxes again once she sees it belongs to a rather nervous-looking young man. She's quiet for a moment, very plainly sizing him up, and then shrugs, apparently deciding that he's not a threat. ]

I don't know. I've never had to give blood for a ritual before. [ The ones she knows are simpler: offering one end of a loaf of bread, dropping a coin in a small shrine at the train station. Things like that. ]

But I'm also worried about what happens if we don't do it. Do you know who this is for?

[possessum]

( Peter instinctively takes a little movement back, like he's trying to give the woman a bit more space from himself — he's close enough to converse, but definitely hanging back a couple more feet than most people might.

The nervous feeling in his stomach tightens a bit more at her words, hearing someone else say it aloud — give blood for a ritual. It.... sounds so strange, so wrong, and he'd done that. The boy shifts, drawing one hand up to his mouth, teeth worrying a thumbnail. )

I don't know who it's for exactly, no. I uh— I just heard some people saying it was important?

( His other arm wraps around his middle, like he's shrinking in on himself a little. It comes out quickly, like a confession: )

I did it, though. Uh.. the ritual. ( A beat. It sounds absolutely crazy now, in hindsight. ) I'm kind of scared maybe I shouldn't have? Giving blood... that's kind of a big deal, isn't it?

[howtheworldwas]

[ The young man looks awfully nervous, and on some level, Eurydice can't say she blames him. If anything, that level of caution is sensible -- it sure seems a lot smarter that drawing blood because some stranger told you to, and then not worrying about it at all. ]

I heard that too. Figured that 'cause they're locals, they know more about their world than I do, but still. [ she shrugs. ] I mean, yeah, giving blood's a sacrifice, so I'd say it's, uh. Notable?

[ Eurydice really doesn't want to worry this guy more than she has to, but it's also not in her nature to be dishonest about this sort of thing -- if something was dangerous, she'd want to know, and that's the logic she applies here. ]

Do you, um -- feel okay? Any different? Any strange things happen to you, lately?

[ Except the squid thing, of course, but we don't talk about the squid thing! ]

[possessum]

Yeah, that's what I thought, too. It seemed like everyone was doing it... ( ...Which is actually an incredibly dangerous and stupid mentality to follow, now that he's thinking about it. But Peter's always been a follower, going along with what he's told, what he sees. It's... a defensive mechanism, in its ways. But sometimes... it means he's the lamb, and he's too willingly letting himself get slaughtered.

Dramatic metaphors aside— there's more to it, underneath. There was some... compulsion, not desperate or uncontrollable, just some... gentle urge that told him he should do it. Something within his spirit connected to the things of this place, now. )

...it kind of felt right, at the time? But now.... yeah, I guess I'm pretty worried about the whole, uh. Blood thing.

( Truthfully, there's a lot of strange things he's feeling lately, but he tries to focus on anything that could possibly be related to the flower. )

I don't think so? Though... okay, this might sound crazy, but when I... gave my blood, it was like... it was different. Shiny and glittery. It didn't even look like blood anymore. I don't know if that's... a thing you'll have to worry about too, or... or what.

[howtheworldwas]

[ He could be the follower type, or he could just be a teenage boy. As far as Eurydice's concerned, those two categories have some pretty serious overlap. Oh, to be a teen who's vulnerable to peer pressure. ]

Well, if it felt right, then... [ she shrugs, more or less satisfied. ] ...I don't think it's a bad idea to trust your gut, in these situations. You're the only person you can trust.

[ Trust no one is a pretty grim outlook on life, and it's one that Eurydice is trying to shed, but still. Old habits die hard.

Eurydice's brow furrows a little at the blood comment. ] Yeah, mine's been weird, too. It freezes, almost as soon as it hits the air. I'm not sure why? It could be the same magic, though. I've heard people here talking about sleeper blood, but I've got no clue what that means.

[possessum]

( The only person he can trust? It's a concept Peter's not too accustomed to. Certainly he'd relied on himself for a long time, but it didn't necessarily come from a place of trust. And even now, he... doesn't know if he can. If he should.

But he's thinking about it, quietly. It did feel right, trusting his gut about it. Even if it was strange and scary and upsetting: it was a decision he made. One of the first things he's done truly for himself in a long, long time. And he'd gotten something precious as a result, something that belongs only to him.

Maybe trusting his gut feels.... nice. Peter thinks he really likes the thought. )

I did get something... really nice for it. Something that seems like it was meant for me. So maybe.. it'll be like that for you, too.

( His own brows lift at that, worried more than he is curious by such a thought. Fuck, what's happening to everyone? But, 'sleeper' blood.... )

You didn't come here from Deerington? That's what we were all called, there. Sleepers.