004 - Lucid Dreaming

[tabularasa_mods]

Lucid Dreaming Event Info Pt.1 ▲ Event Info Pt.2 ▼ Comments Please see the two info posts linked above for details on the nature of the event, the nightmares within, and the setting it takes place in. You may ask any unanswered questions in either post. If your character dies at any point during the dream event, please leave a comment in the death report thread to notify the mods.

As a final reminder, all characters will fall asleep for the full duration of this event whether you decide to take part or not. You may continue tagging threads that take place before the event, but everyone will fall asleep simultaneously.

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Falling Asleep, Waking Up
The shift happens without warning, much like the first time people appeared in the world. Perhaps you remember what you were doing in the last moments before a strange feeling of exhaustion overwhelmed you - or perhaps you remember nothing at all. Whatever it may be, you've appeared somewhere new. A seemingly ordinary train station, if not for the bizarre walls of flesh blocking the only exits. The only path forward is down into the pulsating depths, a humid breeze pushing at your back.

There may be others here with you, or you may be alone. Could there be more people trapped in this strange place? You won't find them just by standing around.

Nightmares
The screeching of a distant train will echo through the tunnels on occasion, shadows flicking through the translucent flesh of the walls. Sometimes, however, instead of fading away the noise will only grow louder, closer, until it sounds like the train should be upon you. It never appears, but something else always will.

The train is a siren call for nightmares, and you're unfortunate enough to be their victim. The shadows turn alive, twisting and growing as they rise up from the ground and begin to transform. What form they take varies, but the shadows of the mind know the true fears of those who walk among them. Are you prepared to face the darkness?

Volcanic Panic

The shadows congeal at the edges of the floor, and soon after a hot orange glow begins to fill the room - molten lava is pooling in from the other end of the tunnel. It rolls slowly forward, devouring everything it touches with an unquenchable searing hunger, leaving behind only the charred bones of its victims... although, strangely, the tunnels themselves appear to be completely unharmed.

Outrunning the flow of lava shouldn't be a problem, but there seems to be no end to it. How long can you run from something that never stops? Or worse, what happens if you find yourself surrounded? You'll need to find a way to higher ground before that happens.

A Radiant Plague

The shadows rise up into familiar shapes, and at first glance it'd be easy to mistake them for people. They may even share the faces and voices of people you know, stumbling towards you with wide, open arms... and empty, glowing eyes filled with an orange light. Something smells sickly sweet, and it's only once they're close enough to grab you that they begin to attack.

These are not your friends, and they'll do whatever it takes to make you one of them instead. Unfortunately, it's not an experience you'll be able to survive. Your only hope is to fight back before the plague can take hold, lest you become another mindless husk that knows only to further spread the infection.

Trust No One, Not Even Yourself

The shadows stretch and fill the air, choking everything in a thick blanket of darkness... before dispersing just as quickly as they'd appeared. A few moments pass and nothing else seems to be happening. You must've gotten lucky this time!

... Or did you?

Surely it can't be that simple. Nothing else here has been, so something must have happened just now. It's only you and the person you're currently traveling with... but are you sure that's really them right now? How do you know they haven't been possessed by another nightmare, waiting until you let your guard down to stab you in the back? Should you interrogate them to be sure, or start with restraining them and ask questions later? Wouldn't it be better to just kill them before things get out of hand? The sooner you strike, the safer you'll be when their true form emerges.

Yes, that must be the real explanation. It has to be them that's been possessed by a nightmare. What else could it be?

Joker’s Wild

There’s no limit to what form the shadows can take. The world may have its own perception of fear, but your nightmares are something only you could understand. What darkness lurks in the depths of your heart?

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code bases by tricklet

Comments

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct backs off a few steps as the wraiths appear, eyes wide as he watches her work. Most of the daemons fall where they stand, and Noct brings up his sword to finish off a few that get too close.]

[He looks back to her as the last drops.] Whoa.

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ Her sigh is light and full of contentment, hands linking before her black and white form. ]

We make a rather fine pair, your highness. Were you injured?

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct shakes his head as his sword disappears in another shower of blue light.] Nah, I'm good.

I'd, uh... ask if you're okay, but.

[He's assuming she is because that was crazy.]

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ She waves a hand dismissively. ]

Whatever minor scratches the ghosts obtained were hardly felt over the adrenaline; so yes, I am well, thank you.

[ Melnoë then releases her haunting horde, all but one, whom hovers above and behind her Goddess. ]

How many of them have you encountered?

[king_in_dreams]

Uh... a lot? [He hasn't really been counting, just focusing on plowing through.] I don't know, maybe a few dozen? I've hit a few, like... packs of them.

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ She adopts a soft moue, a slight crease forming between brows. ]

Interesting. I have not had so many.....Either way, I'll guide you to your next point, if you would like the company and protection?

[ The latter is a tease, and Melinoë smiles impishly at the king. ]

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct makes a face, too - but shrugs.] Dunno. I've kinda been running around a lot looking for people, so maybe that's why?

[Maybe she just hasn't covered as much ground as he has? Or something? Who knows.]

[He looks a little amused at her offer.] Sure. Be nice to not have to worry about something sneaking up on me.

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ With a smug smile, Melinoë means to lead them through when she considers that perhaps Noct isn't savvy to traveling with a ghost. Pointing a claw in said spirit's direction, she asks - ]

Would you rather I dismiss Liho or may she stay?

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct shrugs.] I'm okay if she hangs around?

[He pauses a beat.] Did you name her Liho after she was a ghost or was that just her name?

[Which came first, the ghost or the name?]

[obscurus_phantasma]

She does not recall her name, so I chose the Slavic noun for misfortune.

[ More or less. ]

I had another companion earlier. He wanted to be called Tiki, though that was not his true name, either. It's been a mix, between those who can remember and those who cannot. Are there ghosts in your world?

[king_in_dreams]

Yeah, kinda. I had to deal with the ghosts of some of the past royalty while we were working on fighting Niflheim, and there are... daemons..

[He gestures around them, to indicate what they were fighting.]

And I guess some of them could be considered ghosts?

[obscurus_phantasma]

I have never been to the Nordic world and cannot recall interacting with very many beings from the Norse pantheon. Oh! I've misspoken, we did have some of Odin's kin; Huginn and Muninn, as well as Dvalinn.

[ To go a little Meta, the latter was orchestrated by the very same manipulator of Melinoë. ]

[king_in_dreams]

Yeah, I.. don't know those names.

[Norway doesn't exist on Eos, sorry.]

I'm guessing they're royalty there, though?

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ She does her best to conceal her chuckle, because it's not Noct's fault he's adorable. ]

The first two are the God, Odin's, ravens. Dvalinn is one of the stags that lives in Yggdrasil. Both were very pretty gentlemen, though I didn't get a chance to play with them.

[king_in_dreams]

Oh, okay. [A beat.] And Yggdrasil is...?

[obscurus_phantasma]

[ Squinting apologetically, Mel further explains - ] Perdonami, Yggdrasil is the World Tree, an ash. It contains the Nine Worlds of the Norse.

Are there any mythologies where you're from? Any religions?

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct looks wryly amused.]

Yeah, definitely. We have the Six. They're, um... Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Shiva, Ifrit, and Bahamut. And there's stuff about the starscourge, which is this, uh... parasite that was on this asteroid that crashed onto Eos eons ago and... stuff like that.

[obscurus_phantasma]

I'm familiar with those names, but I'm confident they won't be in the same context: Rama and Shiva are of the Hindu pantheon, Ifirit is Islamic, Leviathan Jewish, and Bahamut Arabian. Titans are with me; Greek.

[ She states this proudly, like they're the same. Ramuh is spelled differently and Shiva is a God, not some hotty hot hot ice Summon. But Melinoë clings to the similarities and thinks their meeting is surely Fate. ]