AUGUST TDM.

[lasteden]

➛ Welcome to Last Eden's TDM for August! Threads here can be counted as game canon. ➛ Feel free to use the prompts to test out a new character or to try out the game's premise! ➛ The TDM can be used for your application sample, though it is not a requirement. A DREAM, OF A SOUL AWAKE. You are asleep. The dreamscape ripples, resolves into a vision of a foreign land, and then a world of pure white. There is the sensation of rising through deep water, and then you find yourself in a room of white marble. Your items may be set on the floor around you, or you could have arrived bare-handed - whichever it is, you'll soon be addressed by a couple of tired-looking people in white coats. It seems they're as confused as you are. A ➛ After getting a brief introduction to the White Moon and choosing a faction, you will be allowed to leave. It's a whole new world, after all - so why not look around? The architecture of the Administrative Zone is very formal, in high contrast to the Free Market which is practically a riot of colour and wares. Merchants from all four nations peddle their wares here - have a look around, but also keep a watch on your purse. Some things can be quite expensive. B ➛ As you head out of the Administrative Zone's gates, a flash of light catches your eye. The sun-crystal is reflected quite brightly in the window of a nearby building, almost dazzling you - and in that instant you see someone behind you in the street. A youth with white hair and grey clothing, oddly familiar. You blink, and he's gone. Maybe he was never there at all. TO THE STARS, WE ENTRUST OUR DIRECTION. The money given to every new foreigner is limited. It seems you will be expected to earn your keep from now on, either through tradecraft or through offering your services to the populace. If taking on small contracts isn't your thing, each faction also has bounties up for the taking. After all, you carry a surprising resistance to the miasma that lurks outside the city walls. Why not put it to use? C ➛ Fancy taking a ride on a dragon? The roostkeepers of the Ice faction are friendly and will allow you to interact with their charges as long as you're respectful of their boundaries. The older dragons will merely gaze at you pensively, but the youngsters are always up for a game of catch or two. There's also the option of dragon taxi if you wish to travel between regions. If you can fork out the coin, they'll send you across the Moon in the fastest time possible. D ➛ The inland Sea is abuzz with activity at this time of the year. While the seasonal variations are dampened inside the Moon ship, that hasn't stopped the natives from hanging out at the beach. The Blood faction's side has plenty of revelry, with fireworks set off at night and grilled fish stalls set up along the waterfront. Some of the food on offer may carry potent effects, however - the shamans are used to ingesting enhanced wines, but are you? E ➛ If you've let slip the fact that you're from another world, you may soon gain some fans. Some natives will be curious and wish to interview you, but others may have more shady intentions. It can be hard to distinguish well-wishers from kidnappers - if you're being cornered by a few very earnest folk, it might be time to run. F ➛ The roostkeepers will let you ride one of their older dragons if you are going to the Badlands on an exploration mission. It's a desolate landscape barren and devoid of all plant life, but such rocks might hide valuable treasures. Strange ores and crystals jut out of rock formations about a mile or two outside the city walls. Even map information will fetch you some reward from your faction. But don't venture out too far, or your resistance may wear off and leave you at the mercy of the elements. G ➛ Wildcard! Feel free to utilize minor NPCs if needed. If you have any questions about the setting, direct them towards the FAQ.

QUICKLINKS
premise | rules | faq | taken | directory | reserves | applications
factions | locations | npc listing | hiatus/drop | bounty board | mod contact

Comments

Stone | Books of the Raksura

[scarsolderthanyou]

B.

The tall, raw-boned old man-- well, grayed out man; his face is weathered but not lined, and his skin is as gray as his hair-- pauses at the sight out of the corner of his one good eye, and glowers, shoulders tensing in a way that isn't particularly human. The way his tongue flicks out to taste the scents on the air, not quite the right shape and color for a human tongue, isn't very human, either. There's even a strange rumbling coming from him, that doesn't sound like it should be able to come from someone his size and shape-- he's growling. Stone hasn't had great experiences with visions or people who might or might not be there.

"If there's someone there, they had best come out," he says after a moment.


D.

Though he isn't trying the wine-- it smells funny, and he doesn't quite trust this place yet-- Stone is sampling just about everything else. He's always loved groundling food, and he doesn't suspect everyone of trying to poison him. So he's wandering the various vendors, coming away from each one with a handful of their wares to try.

And eventually he'll even head out into the water, though once he's out deep enough, people will stop running into a mostly-clothed old man and into a creature about the size of your largest draft horse with black scales, spines along its neck, and bright blue eyes-- one of which is clouded as if it's blind. It's oddly hard to make out the details, and it might frighten a few people-- but as soon as someone screams, there's something like black mist for a moment where the creature just was, and there's the old man again.

"Sorry," he says.


F.

Stone takes a dragon on his trek out of the city, mostly at the insistence of his faction, but he doesn't ride it. What he wants here is to fly, and he'll do that with or without a companion. Still, flying with said companion is nice enough, and anyone else outside the city's walls will find the big, black winged beast circling alongside the local dragon, perhaps playing a bit of chase, stoop, and dive with it.

F.

[onlyatraveler]

The young traveler is out in the Badlands, though they had done so on their own; while the thought of flying somewhere on the back of such a large and strange creature was enticing, they risked making Hermes feel cross and left-out. So the two of them had ridden out into the wilderness on their own, a child and a motorrad, out amidst what seemed to be a great deal of nothing.

Something like that wasn't a disappointment to Kino. As a traveler, they were used to experiencing great swathes of very little in-between the pinpoints of excitement and intrigue. They slowed Hermes to a halt, cutting his engine and leaning him onto his kickstand. They had planned to simply look around a little, see what was similar and dissimilar among the rocks, but something else caught their eye.

There were figures wheeling about in the sky. From the ground, it was hard to tell what they were—just the occasional flutter of two different pairs of wings. "What's up there, Kino?" The voice that emanated from the motorrad was like that of a young boy. The traveler doesn't respond for a moment, instead fishing something out of their pocket: when attached to a gun, it would act as a scope, but for now it would act as a spyglass.

They peered through it at the creatures far above in the air. One was one of the dragons—huge, lizardlike—but the other was more difficult to make out.

"One is one of those dragons. The other is... something else." They slowly lower the spyglass. "Hm. Maybe they'll fly closer. I'd be able to tell."

A brief pause. "Hopefully. The rest of this desert is so boring."

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone may be partially blind in one eye, but he still has the long range vision of a predator, and the mostly rocky, barren terrain shows a traveler rather well. Curious, and wanting to make sure it's someone who's supposed to be out there and not in trouble, he banks, flicking his tail for his dragon companion to follow him, and circles in that direction.

It'll be a moment before he's close enough to land, but he's obviously coming Kino's way, and as he gets closer it's easier to see that he's definitely not one of the local dragons. His shape is more humanoid, less reptilian, though the various spines and scales definitely do make one think "dragon", and his haunches and shoulders are heavier than most humanoids generally look, well-muscled and strong enough to support his wings. He's not as big as the dragon, but he's plenty big, perhaps the size of a very tall draft horse, with a twenty-foot wingspan.

[onlyatraveler]

They certainly don't need the makeshift spyglass to know that the two aerial creatures were inbound. Kino looked through the device for a moment longer before putting it away, seemingly calm in the face of the approach, though that placidity belied experience and understanding of how to handle a situation with something unknown and not properly understood. In their own world, those that chose to travel were often exposed to such things, which could either be dangers or wonders (or a combination of the two). That Kino had successfully traveled for so long was a testament to their instincts when such a scenario arose.

Though the second creature had wings that might seem similar to that of the dragon, the body shape, as it grew closer, was very different. Humanoid, even, although the proportions were off. Kino steps to Hermes' side, laying a hand on the metal of the handlebars. "So? What did you see?"

"I'm not sure. It's not like anything we've seen."

"So, what do we do?"

"They're coming this way, so we will greet them." They pause a moment, peering down at the motorrad. "So be sure you don't say anything rude."

The machine gives a small harrumph, but says nothing further.

[scarsolderthanyou]

He circles tighter until he comes in to land, far enough away that the scoop of his wings slowing him down and the dust from his landing doesn't touch the young man. The dragon lands behind him, raising even more dust, dark in the barren landscape.

When it clears, the black beast is gone, and there's just a tall, raw-boned old man with gray hair, gray skin, and a face more weathered than really wrinkled. His eyes are blue, and one is cloudy like it's at least partially blind. He pats the dragon's nose, then pads on over. His feet are bare, oddly enough, though the rest of him is properly clothed, and he even has a shoulder bag of some sort.

"Though only people with dragon nursemaids got to come out this far," he says, by way of greeting.

[onlyatraveler]

The wind whipped up reached the young traveler, however, kicking up the trailing edge of their long overcoat. Now face-to-face with the strange creature, which still resembles nothing Kino had ever even had described to them, with the dragon looming behind, the youth feels a small amount of trepidation. They remain calm, however, blinking through the dust as it settled. Strangely enough, by the time it had, an entirely different figure stood before the two of them. There's a moment of surprise on the traveler's face before it reassembles to its usual composure.

That he seemed to have some sort of transformative power was certainly odd, even in the eyes of a traveler who had seen many strange things in their short lifetime. But the stranger showed no animosity, as far as Kino could tell, neither by presence or the words offered as greeting.

"That certainly would have been faster." The wry humor was offered without much change in expression; it seemed to be a running characteristic that the kid is just very straight-faced. "But it would have left Hermes," said with a pat on the handlebars of the motorrad, "behind, so we decided to come out here on our own."

"Well, I suppose the dragon could've carried me, but..." The voice trails off, clearly not pleased with the concept.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Now it's the old man's turn to look surprised. He pauses, narrows his eyes at the motorrad, and flicks his tongue out, lizard-like, as if tasting the air. Said tongue is a little thinner and longer than your typical human tongue, though at least there's no fork at the end. "Your machine talks?" he asks, as if deeply suspicious of it. He knows about machines, to some extent-- and that usually they aren't alive.

[onlyatraveler]

He certainly seemed reptilian before Kino noticed the tongue, what with the scales and all. Very curious, though at this point, the traveler had become far more conservative with how often and early in conversations they asked prying questions. It was usually more constructive to be genial to a stranger, then ask for permission later, when the situation had eased into something more commonplace.

That might take a bit longer here, given extraneous circumstances.

The traveler's expression grows a little more stony at the comment—not that it really offended them, per se, but because it would offend—

"You can hear me, can't you? Gosh, Kino, why is everyone around here like this!"

Kino gives a short sigh. And they had just asked the motorrad to be polite.

"Yes," said after a brief pause, "he does. His name is Hermes, and you can call me Kino."

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Your machine is male," Stone surmises from that. "And named Hermes." He looks from the motorrad to Kino and back again, then decides to just go with it. This isn't the Three Worlds. Maybe machines are different in other worlds.

He shakes his head, and adds, "I'm Stone." Yes, like a rock. Given how gray all over he is, these days, it at least fits.

[onlyatraveler]

Well. Maybe not by the strictest medical definition, but it's not that Kino would have any particular knowledge on that. Medicine in their home country was kind of fucked up, to put it very simply. It was one of the greatest reasons they were a traveler now.

"Yes." That was the simple answer. Thankfully, Hermes decided not to interject with any more rude comments. Kino understood his frustration—he'd never really had his existence doubted so much before—but they did wish he could be a little more selective.

As Kino is still balancing Hermes personally, they take a moment to set down his kickstand so he could stand on his own.

"It's nice to meet you, Stone." The kid had a very even, measured tone, standing still with good posture. They had, at some point, for some reason, either been taught or learned alone how to err on the side of politeness.

"Yeah, same for me." On the other hand, Hermes' tone was a little more spontaneous, as one would expect more from a child.

Kino pauses before continuing, "I assume that you have also recently arrived to this place?"

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Is it really?" Stone wonders, sliding another glance at the motorrad, but there's something in his expression that is more amused than wary, this time. He doesn't sound polite, exactly, but he does sound friendly enough.

Then he shifts his gaze back to Kino. "It's been a week or so, but that's still recent. How long for you?" He pauses, then adds, "For you two?" He can only assume they arrived together, since Kino didn't protest the machine being "his" and he's sure the locals don't have anything quite like it, not even the ones over in Light when he flew over.

[onlyatraveler]

The motorrad obviously couldn't respond to the scrutiny—besides his ability to speak, he was otherwise completely inert, relying on the pact that he had made with Kino to continue to move both of them forward. Kino keeps an eye on Stone, however, relieved that he didn't seem cross. It wasn't enough to make the traveler relax—truth be told, they never fully let their guard down—but it makes things continue a bit smoother.

"Mm," the kid wonders aloud, pausing as if to mentally count. Keeping track of the days was important to Kino. As a rule, they never remained in the same country for more than three days. It was important for a traveler to continue moving, especially if they wanted to see everything they could—and Kino knew first-hand the dangers of growing too attached.

That wasn't a possibility here, though. They were stuck, and the change in pace was something they were still grappling with.

"I believe we have been here for around the same time." Kino offers no correction, so it certainly seems the kid and motorrad had stuck together. "Keeping track of the days is a little different, after all."

The massive crystal that acted as the "sun" certainly simulated nights and days, but neither of them were used to that yet.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Stone could understand that, if Kino ever articulated it. While he had a home, as it were, he spent a lot of time away from that home exploring. Here, there's only so far he can travel, and even then he needs his dragon nursemaid along or people get nervous about it.

So he nods, and looks up to squint suspiciously at the crystal. "Can't even find south here," he admits. "Usually I feel it in my bones, and always know which way it is. There's no south here."

B

[lyorning]

[OOC: OMG, Stone!]

"Are you speaking to me?"

The man was tall, far taller than a Raksura in their groundling form, and slender and carrying a sword. And dark haired, so definitely not the youth Stone had seen.

As for what Aerich himself had see, a flash of light, and the impression of a human -- or at least human-shaped -- form. Vague enough it could be mistaken for someone inside the building, rather than a reflection. Enough to assume that Stone meant him, and not someone else in the crowd.

[scarsolderthanyou]

(( :D somebody who knows the books! yay! you can tell me how I'm doing with him... XD ))

Stone turns his head-- maybe more than most people would have to, given Aerich is on the same side as his bad eye-- and squints up at Aerich suspiciously. But no, that's definitely not who he just thought he saw.

"You don't look like you're hiding, to me," he snorts. "So no."

Unless, he supposes, this groundling is the one making him see something that isn't there. He knows that's possible.

[lyorning]

[[I need to reread the new ones because I'd like to get a handle on Bramble's personality.]]

"In truth, I was not. But that worthy person does not seem to have answered your call."

In his experience, people who took to hiding tended to either be afraid or up to trouble, and both would probably wish to avoid someone who growls like that.

[scarsolderthanyou]

((aaaaah a Bramble? :D I have a friend considering the kethel from the last book... not sure if she'll follow me here tho))

"Don't know that I would call a person hiding with magic 'worthy', but if you say so." Obviously he does not think Aerich's say-so is enough to convince him. "You don't look anything like him, anyway."

[lyorning]

Aerich nodded. "That is expected. I am the only one of my people here. If you had seen such a person, I would like to know." Certainly sorcery could produce illusions but away from Dragaera, one might as well try to will oneself invisible. Perhaps elder sorcery would still work, or even witchcraft, but that severely limited the number of people that could be present.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"You're not the only one," Stone snorts. He's certainly the only Raksura here, and he's pretty sure none or at least very few of them come from the same world. "And what is your people? So I'll know one when I meet one." He doubts they all look and smell like this giant of a man.

[lyorning]

"We call ourselves humans. Though I believe the people to the east of my homeland refer to us as elfs from Faerie."

Because that wasn't going to get confusing, even if it was technically a true statement (perhaps truer than Aerich knows or would believe). "And yourself? Where do you hail from?"

whoops you didn't see that...

[scarsolderthanyou]

At least Stone has no idea what either of those words mean, so he's going to take them entirely at face value and just nod. "From the Three Worlds. Which you probably have never heard of, since I know a lot of groundling races, and 'human' isn't one of them. I'm a Raksura." Which Aerich probably also has never heard of, since nobody else so far in this shitting city seemed to.

Re: whoops you didn't see that...

[lyorning]

"I will point any other such people in your direction," Aerich said. "But you are correct. I am from Dragaera, not these Three Worlds of which you speak."

But he can sympathize with being a stranger, not just a foreigner but a different species.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"Seems like they pulled us from all over." Stone had always thought his world large enough and varied enough on its own, without considering other worlds with other people in them. But now... well, he'd certainly had to. "Got to wonder how they managed something like that."

[lyorning]

"I am not much of a sorcerer," Aerich said, "so I couldn't speculate." He had learned a bit of the theory as part of his education, but had no desire to delve deeper. And given the power source for Dragaeran sorcery was anchored firmly to the world, he would not be using what little he did know here.

[scarsolderthanyou]

"I'm not a sorcerer at all, but that won't stop me from thinking about it," Stone points out. "Do you have a name? Or should I just call you human, if you're the only one around here?"