Amaranth: A Dream

[idolpro]

Once, there was a maiden...

...whose battles called her far from home.
She slew the thing she feared most, and conquered the land that feared her.
As she fought, far away, she knew her children needed guidance.
She knew they faced tyrants.
She knew they faced fear.
In her homeland, things were broken.
So, she held up her hand before the sun, and cast a shadow on the world, and drowned the troubles of her home in darkness.

"Survival's a long reach," she said.

Comments

RULES and CHECK-IN

[fallingflowers]

[ When you arrive, your phone lights up with the poem above, labeled The Sutra of the Maiden at War. Beneath it is the following message:

Once there was a maiden, who became a mother.
Once there was a mother, who sheltered her home in the darkness of sleep.

Find the seeds of what is true, and cultivate them to help her wake.
Not all dreams must be broken, but there is one truth above all others which she must not deny.
Aid her in bearing witness, and the prison will shatter.

Your phone will not move from this screen; for the time being, all other functions have been disabled.

Neither your abilities from your unit nor any powers you remember from home are functioning, but you do feel a new sort of power in you: vital essence that turns the world around you to something impossibly vibrant. You know that you can tap into this power as naturally as breathing and that with it, you can do incredible things. ]

Check in here to establish attendance and receive an overview of your character's Exaltation.
Please note if this is a scored or unscored run!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[constellationprize]

Unscored!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[inspiteful]

Unscored!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[maidenheaven]

Unscored!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[stakesthesame]

unscored o/

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[softlyfalling]

Unscored!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[nihilmancy]

unscored!

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[forgottenmercy]

here. unscored.

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[busybreathing]

heya heya heya

[deicider]

Unscored.

Re: RULES and CHECK-IN

[enlightenedatheist]

unscored

BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[idolpro]

You open your eyes to the sound of birdsong and the distant burbling of a swift moving stream. It seems you are in the season of Resplendent Wood (—you know, the middle of spring).

There is a path before you, lined with blooming red camellias, which follows the path of the stream. Not far off is the gate of a village; from here you can see thatched and tiled roofs.

Re: BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[maidenheaven]

[ okkkk. ggggood morning.

checking his phone, reading the poem over a few times before looking around . . .

no sense in staying still: he'll follow the red camellias as far as he can to the direction of the village, although he'll prioritize going to the village over the flowers if the stream splits away ]

Re: BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[constellationprize]

[ it's pretty.

she's struck by it, briefly - there's a while she has to just linger and observe the scenery, the sights and sounds and scent of fresh spring air, each previously experienced in only scant glances or the print of some book, and it's dazzling, but

she recalls the text on her phone, recalls that there's a task at hand, and tries her utmost not to get distracted following the stream and flowers, heading instead for the village. ]

Re: BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[stakesthesame]

[ ... huh. just sitting up and staring, for a long moment, before she gets up and starts to walk towards the village.

she hesitates in the sunlight, though, but... since it's not burning... well, okay. ]

Re: BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[inspiteful]

[ Oh. So this is what the countryside looks like. It's a very different atmosphere, compared to his time in Shrike's heart.

...To the village, then. ]

Re: BEGIN: The Road to Sange Village

[forgottenmercy]

[takes a moment to get his bearings before he follows the path lined with flowers. because of course he does. of course he recognizes this place, from his memories-]

The Farm

[idolpro]

You don't have to travel far from the heart of the village, using an irrigation stream as your guide, before you find it:

Here is a modest but beautiful home, its tiled roof shining in the mid-morning light. Just beyond, you can see the fields, vibrant green shoots of rice beginning to grow.

In front of the house, sitting in the shade of a blooming cherry tree, a tall young woman with mahogany-colored hair and grey eyes is playing the koto.
Three young girls of varying ages are playing nearby: a short girl in her early teens, a second daughter who is already a head taller than her despite looking around 10, and the youngest, who looks grade school-aged. Said youngest is currently playing with stick swords with her oldest sister, while the middle one eggs them on.

Re: The Farm

[maidenheaven]

[ he's careful as he walks, willing an air of confidence, of normalcy—but the sound of children playing, of life, in this place he should be calling "home" here has his shoulders stiff, fingers tight around fistfuls of clothing.

he's stepping closer, into their view, quiet. ]

The Fields and the Garden

[idolpro]

Past the house, the rice fields sprawl out before you, all fresh green and rich wet soil. Amaranth is there, hair pulled back beneath a wide-brimmed hat, bending between the rows.

Nestled up against the fields is a copse of birch and alder and a low brick wall, lined with moss and climbing roses and bougainvillea: the gate to a garden. Just past the fence, you can see Amaranth as well, sitting beneath a tree.

Re: The Fields and the Garden

[maidenheaven]

[ . . . why are there two amaranths

going to the amaranth that's sitting down ]

Mother?

The Battlefield

[idolpro]

Out past the southern gates of the village, you begin to hear it: the sound of drums, steady and persistent as your own heartbeat. It's not far.

—Yes, there, at the bend of the river, two armies clash: one with a gold-edged banner displaying a scarlet camellia; the other in green, their banner displaying the fierce roar of a plains cat. Cavalry units ride rearing armored horses on both sides, but only the viridian forces have massive war beasts—like something between an elephant and a bison. At this distance, the movement of the forces as they gain and lose ground is almost like a great dance. There's even a sense of a sense of music to it.

Despite their seeming advantage in resources, the viridian forces are being pushed back. You hear a warcry—and there, at the forefront of the camellia-red army, is Amaranth herself.

Re: The Battlefield

[nihilmancy]

[:O

interesting that this is her "ideal"]

Amaranth!

The Shrine

[idolpro]

As you cross the water, you begin to hear the faint strings of music, the notes fragile, serene, and somehow melancholy.

At last you step on that shore, your feet chasing away a light covering of mist to reveal mossy ground, and a stone path winding through evergreen trees. Set at the base of a tree is a carved stone statue in the shape of a sinuous dragon, and you know it to be the River God. From here, you can no longer see the shrine itself—the trees seem taller and more ancient than they did on the other side of the river.

You can still hear the music, though, now joined in by three voices, each singing the same song.

Re: The Shrine

[forgottenmercy]

[he bows, in thanks, in the direction of the River God, and carefully walks towards the sound of those voices, listening closely. something in him aches at the familiarity in this.

...do those voices sound familiar?]

A CHANGE

[fallingflowers]

Perhaps, if you're still in the village, you hear the wail.
Out along the northern road from which you began, something hurts.

The whole meadow along the river has turned to ash. And, at the base of the two carved stone posts where there isn't a bridge, there is a crack in the earth.

Re: A CHANGE

[inspiteful]

[...Well, there goes the meadow (he thinks, focusing on other things than the feeling).

Eclipse is going to approach that crack and look inside. ]

ANOTHER CHANGE

[fallingflowers]

You can see it, even from a distance: In the village, every last one of the blooming cherry trees turns charred and black. The breeze carries the ashen petals of thousands of ruined blossoms, drifting through the air like some dark and terrible snow.

If one lands on you, it hurts—a terrible pang in your heart.

The earth at the gates of Sange Village grinds and wails and cracks. If you're close, you might notice a small glow, coming from something in the cracked ground.

Re: ANOTHER CHANGE

[softlyfalling]

[ actually uh.

what is that, before she moves on. ]

THIRD CHANGE

[fallingflowers]

There is another terrible wail, like stones scraping together—or someone crying.

In the east, the rice fields are nothing but ash. The earth has cracked, and perhaps, there too, there is something that glows blood red, hidden in the ground.

Re: THIRD CHANGE

[maidenheaven]

[ looking to everything, before standing himself up properly, and offering a hand to amaranth ]

. . . I think we should go, Mother.

UPDATE: The Almost Bridge

[fallingflowers]

The whole meadow along the river has turned to ash.... but now there is a notable exception:

At massive silver tree sprouts from the ground, its twisting branches wrapping around one of the two carved stone posts, and then traveling not up but over, reaching in an improbable arc all the way across the vast gulf of the river, where they twine around one of the two stone posts on the other side.

Is it a bridge to the shrine? Not quite. But it could be a path, if you've the ability to travel across the narrow and uneven branches. If you come closer, you'll see that the tree is growing from an oversized seed, with a bulb that glows heartsblood red. The appearance of the seed is identical to the design carved on both stone posts.

...And now, there at the shore is Amaranth, gaze fixed on the distant shrine.

Re: UPDATE: The Almost Bridge

[softlyfalling]

[ there she is.

and... ah. she takes the seed out of her pocket, and holds it and the weight of all those heavy emotions in her hand, too. she's carried feelings like these most of her life; it's hardly a burden for her.

she inclines her head in acknowledgment, and bends to plant the other seed in the earth. ]