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

[onerthes]

It's certainly less sinister than some alternatives, yes. It almost feels wholesome in a way. [The idea of it wasn't something she was really opposed to, and what she'd buried? Well, she really did need to put it behind her as is. This seemed almost comparatively harmless.]

mmmm, this is actually quite cute. [It looked a bit like a magical conspiracy theory collection. Very colorfully done and ... was it mobile?] I think that I understand. Both of us... we're choosing to leave something of ourselves behind and take on a future here aren't we?

[creidim]

Wholesome's definitely a good way of putting it, yes. Surely there has be something like that in this place, right? It can't all be terrible. [ Cynthia wouldn't direct them to this place if it was only terrible too, right? Sure, this place is... definitely quite dreary and gloomy but that doesn't mean it's a terrible place.

Meanwhile she just beams at the woman's comment. She will take 'cute' as a start, better than the mostly dismissive comments she's had back home. ]

It's an alternate voice against our press, back home. I'm very proud of him. [ Luna nods, humming softly. ] Mm, I thought going home was the right thing to do, even though I knew it meant a potential bad ending for me. But... I realised I can do something for myself. I can do what I want.

[onerthes]

I want to believe in some things here being legitimately positive. Without reservation. Perhaps a little odd, but not terrible. This seems a good example.

[What was the harm in flowers that told you if you were putting the past behind you or dwelling on them, and rituals to put that past behind you? It almost felt natural.]

Mmmm, you're right. You're free to do what you want in this place. You can live the life for yourself, along with others, that you want to live. And that is lovely in its own way, is it not?

[creidim]

I agree. And I'd like to think Cynthia wouldn't lead us here if it were terrible. We set her free, after all. And she's never been unkind to us.

[ They gave her what she wanted, allowed her to have her own path too. ]

Exactly like that—! I suppose it's a little scary, going off from whatever's meant to happen back home but it's quite exciting, too! [ So yes, definitely a lovely thing. She's very excited to see what this world brings, even with the possibility of plenty of terrible things. ]

Would you like to join me while I bury this—?

[onerthes]

It won't be terrible in her mind, and it will be something she thinks we can get through. I doubt that she would be intentionally cruel to us, no. I do worry a tiny bit that her understanding of what humans can endure may be ... spotty at best. But she means well.

Still, I'm much more inclined towards excitement and at least finding some rest like you are. [She smiled and nodded.] I'd be happy to join you. I'm rather glad I already buried mine though. it was a little ghoulish.

[creidim]

Or maybe she thinks we're capable of much more than we think we are—? [ Not that she thinks the things they've been through have been particularly easy. They... they really haven't. And maybe her understanding of humans really is quite spotty. But Cynthia believes in them, knows they have far more power than they know. ] I suppose it's easy to forget she's Pthumerian, but then she's never really been allowed to be herself, has she?

[ Still, she's happy for the company. Motioning for the woman to follow her; she intends to find a good spot to do this. ]

What was your item, what did you bury?

cw mentions of death

[onerthes]

That's a possibility with Cynthia. Her motives as a Pthumerian are hard to understand. The side of her I best understood was the most human of her, which was a thing that was foisted upon her far more than I would like to admit.

[That had been a lot of Roderic and others' expectations after all. Vira-Lorr followed along while the two talked.]

It was an alien's skull. The thing had killed me when it was young and I faced it again later, and kept a trophy of its defeat. I thought of it as a way to put into my past the pain of the nightmare...

i'm so sorry this is so late

[creidim]

That's quite true. [ It was the side of her they saw most of, after all. They... never really got to know Cynthia as her true self, did they? But... she likes to think there's still much of what they knew of her that remains, that she's not... completely different. ] I hope we get to understand her better here, now that she can be herself.

[ Ah, always hopeful. ]

A skull? [ Something from home. Something painful. Luna's thoughtful for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. ] And do you think it's helped? I know it's probably too soon to say but—

Hakuna matata!

[onerthes]

I am not so certain that we can truly understand one as beyond our comprehension as she is, but we certainly have the time and freedom to try, do we not?

[She was, admittedly, less convinced than she'd been when she thought of Cynthia as a normal human. But she wasn't going to fault the hope of another. It was probably a worthwhile endeavor at least.]

I think... it's mostly helped, yes. I've been trying to move beyond decisions that were associated with trying to avoid old pains for almost a year. It feels like putting the past behind me officially. And certainly, it isn't as if I was planning to get any use for it.

[creidim]

We do! One of the bonuses of the new world, I think. [ They certainly do have the time, considering they're not just sat waiting for the world to end. It's... still a strange thought knowing they have... everything ahead of them. But it's a nice one too. ]

I'm glad there's a feeling of finality to it. Making it official feels like a good way of doing it. [ There's a faint smile. ] My friend Fern does like to keep skulls for decoration, he's got all sorts.

[ But far better a ritual item to put the past to bed than an ornament. Luna stops, glancing around. This seems to be a good place for it. She carefully drops down to a crouch, rolling up her sleeves. Looks like she's digging with her hands. ]

I realise belatedly I forgot a trowel.

[onerthes]

mmm, nothing wrong with getting your hands a little dirty...

[She joined her on the ground, starting to push the dirt. After all, she'd forgotten her own trowel in the process, but two sets of hands would do the trick on the softer loam. She'd need to clean those gloves later though.]

Somehow, I'm not surprised Fern keeps a collection of skulls. Heh, he seems the sort who would keep a memory of his many battles. I usually didn't, but the one was a bit personal. I did hate that thing, heh.

[creidim]

[ At the very least she can offer a quick cleaning charm for helping! ]

Mm, I think it's very much tied into his knightly duties, somehow. And I think he just thinks they look... cool. [ They're impressive at least! ] Well, on the plus side you don't have to look at it anymore, I suppose.

[ It takes them a few moments, but they manage to clear enough soil. It doesn't look as if the whole needs to be too deep, at least. Luna picks up her copy of the Quibbler, looking down at it. She misses her dad, terribly. Even though it's now been years since she last saw him. ]

... I still feel a little sad, leaving things behind. Leaving home behind. Even though I'm excited for life here.

[onerthes]

He almost certainly thinks it looks cool. [she giggled] That's just how Fern would think of a trophy of some sort. And yes... yes, I think that's my attitude. A shield against acid isn't worth that grotesque face.

[She reached over to pat Luna's shoulder, smiling over at her.]

For some of us, who are making a home here, that will be a pain we all know. It's not easy to make that new life, but I'm glad that you're able to be excited even if there's pain and loss.

[creidim]

He's still a teenage boy, I suppose. [ They like cool stuff like skulls and swords and things. Well, this teenage boy does, anyway. ] Oh, it was impervious to acid—?

[ At least it was somewhat useful. But still, better it's gone now, really. ]

I suppose it's better than just being sad about it all. [ There's a small smile and she sighs softly before looking down at the Quibbler in the earth. She's quiet for a moment as she considers her words, says them silently to herself. A promise of a new life, one for herself. And then she finally moves again, covering the magazine up with earth, filling the shallow hole up again.

And now the... somewhat morbid part. She wipes off her hands on her jeans, reaching for a small butterfly knife from her back pocket. A gift from Fern, actually. Unfolding the knife, she makes a small nick on her index finger of her left hand and gently squeezes the cut to let a blood drop fall onto the little pile of earth.

There's a very quick realisation: ]

... Is that— [ She frowns. There's a strong scent of warm milk, the spilt blood seems to shift in colour, glowing with a pearl-like sheen. ] That's not... usual.

[onerthes]

So far as I could tell, it was non-reactive entirely and roughly the toughness of a cured leather armor. So it wasn't terrible, but definitely rather ghoulish in its own way.

[Definitely better gone.]

Mmmm, you hadn't seen yet had you? You're a paleblood like me, it seems. That's taken a little bit of getting used to, but try not to worry too much. It seems to be ... not precisely harmless, but there's no harm in it as is. It's just part of the strangeness of this world.

[creidim]

Pale...blood? [ No, definitely not. Probably a good thing at least, that she's not had any mishaps just yet. But it also means it's a bit of a surprise. She stares at the blood on her finger for a long moment, considering. This is... definitely strange. ] I suppose I've felt a little different since I became myself on the beach again, but I didn't think it would be a change such as this.

[ Well, she supposes she'll just have to... 'roll with it', as the modern kids say. She holds her hand over the mound of earth, using her thumb and middle finger to squeeze a little blood onto it.

Nothing happens at first. But then slowly, a flower blooms from the earth: a delicate little yellow flower. ]

... Oh, well that's quite nice.

[onerthes]

Mmmhmm. Actually, if you've noticed any strange powers or abilities lately, especially ones that are more mental in nature, like telepathy? That's supposed to be tied to the pale variety. Some of us have acquired new abilities since we woke up. It's all... well, everything around here seems tied to the blood somehow.

[A little shake of her head.]

The ones with green blood are having some issues, admittedly.

[creidim]

... I don't think I've noticed anything strange...? [ She thinks for a moment, looking down at her hands for a moment. If she has been given some kind of mental-related power, it's not shown itself just yet. ] I suppose my dreams have been a little strange lately? But that's about it.

[ There's a pause at that. Green blood? ]

What kind of issues?

[onerthes]

I've been roughly as you have been. A little unpleasantness, but nothing to make note of personally. I certainly haven't felt too much trouble personally. Aside from foolish bird antics.

[a shrug.] There seems to be a light stigma. They are called vileblood and ... a friend of mine has some self image issues. She's taken it rather personally, and the blood appears a little more prone to mood swings. It's nothing terrible. I've just taken to calling it jade blood around her. To remind her that there's nothing wrong with her and she's wonderful. Because she is.

[creidim]

I imagine there's time yet to find out. [ If there's something else that'll manifest from these new bloods. Hopefully it's nothing... too unpleasant. Wishful thinking, perhaps. ]

Oh, your poor friend—! [ Her brow furrows slightly. ] That's a nice way of helping her think about it, giving a different name. But you're right, there's nothing wrong with her.

[ She looks down at her flower thoughtfully. ]

I think I should like to take this home with me.

[onerthes]

I'm glad you see it the same way. I suspect every blood type has advantages and disadvantages. But none make us less than we are. It's important to me to protect my friends' self image and their safety, as best I can. So if I can help this way I will.

[She grinned and nodded.]

I think that's an excellent idea. Do you have a pot?