One (1) Eldritch Radio Host & a Very Lucky(?) Plus-One

The rowboat rocked gently—if "gently" meant just shy of capsizing every three strokes. The oars dipped and swirled in the water, though exactly how they were being operated remained a mystery best left unsolved. Vox was at the helm, or at least helming-adjacent, paddling with a mix of precision and whimsy that suggested he was obeying several different laws of physics at once, none of which belonged to this world.

The ocean churned violently around them, a chaotic symphony of waves that seemed wholly uninterested in their survival, but Vox appeared delighted. "Isn’t this lovely?" he mused, teeth flashing far too bright against the storm-lit sky. "The sea air in your lungs, the thrill of impending doom, the distinct possibility of being devoured by something that doesn’t technically exist yet? Romantic." 

His many-eyed attention flicked toward Noe, studying her with the same curiosity one might afford a pocket watch they were only pretending to know how to use. "By the way, does it ever get confusing? Your name, I mean. Noe. Like no. As in, No, Vox, I am super excited to go to an island teeming with cosmic anomalies."

He let the thought hang for a moment, then grinned wider. "But clearly, you are not the No sort!" His paddle—tentacle? Spindle? Elongated fingernail?—sliced into the waves once more, propelling them ever closer to the jagged violet shores of Starfall. The island loomed ahead, humming with an energy that made the very air feel like it was crawling like it was watching. The porous, alien rock gleamed wetly beneath the storm-wracked sky, a landscape both entirely foreign and intoxicatingly inviting.

vox

Noe was not entirely convinced that she would survive this voyage, but neither was she panicking. It was a strange sort of trust in Vox that told her she would come to no harm, but the choppy seas around them seemed to have other ideas. So she watched nervously as the oars seemed to force them through waters that had no interest in parting, focusing on Vox and his strange machinations rather than the seas that raged all around.

‘Lovely’ was perhaps not the word she would have chosen, but she nodded all the same, her gaze flicking from Vox to the growing-larger-by-the-second island of Starfall. She laughed at his questions, the sound caught up in the storm-ridden breeze and flung far out over the water. ”It’s actually pronounced ‘no-eh,’” she informed the eldritch creature. ”But you’re not the first to think it’s ‘no.’ It used to piss me off when I was a kid, but now it’s not that big a deal.”

Starfall loomed closer, calling to Noe like a siren’s song. She had to admit that despite the journey, she was rather excited to explore the island that had so many panicking over its mere existence. How ridiculous, especially when Vox was kind enough to bring her and show her around. Maybe they should start a tour service. ”What about Vox?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. ”Where’d your name come from?”

Noe

Vox’s many eyes widened in a cascade of apologetic static as he registered Noe’s gentle correction. "Oh, dear Noe—pardon me, I mean No-eh, of course!" he stammered, his voice a quivering mix of earnest regret and cosmic wonder that sizzled faintly.

As the rowboat, nudged by mysterious, unseen tentacles beneath the turbulent waves, inched closer to the jagged violet shores of Starfall, Vox continued with a wistful smile. "Ah, my name?—Vox—it is derived from the very sound of the void, the echo of a time when our kind moved as one harmonious resonance. It is a name that sings of existence and secrets, as unknowable and grand as the cosmos itself." Pausing, Vox's head inclines on a rather severe angle. "I'm also told it means "the voice" in a very old Caidoian dialect."

With a graceful, if unpredictable, maneuver, Vox steered the vessel until it met the frothing shoreline. The alien, porous rock of Starfall loomed before them, humming with dangerous energy. Reaching the edge, Vox extended an appendage—be it arm or some other delightfully ambiguous limb—toward No-eh. "Allow me to help you ashore," he offered warmly, his touch gently electrifying as it passed through her, a subtle echo of that fateful embrace that bound her to the Family.

Standing now on Starfall’s alien terrain—a bizarre new island born from a meteor’s furious collision with the Arclight—Vox grinned broadly. "Welcome, No-eh." The deep violet, porous rock underfoot gave way to winding underground caves and secret tunnels, while violent ocean storms churned and roared around jagged peaks. The very ground hummed with dangerous energy, and void flora and fauna whispered secrets in unknown tongues. Yet where most would have seen terror, No-eh, a cherished Friend of the Family, perceived nothing less than a cosmic wonderland, a theme park of otherworldly marvels waiting to be explored.

vox

Vox’s response was that of mixed apology and wonder, bringing a sweet smile to Noe’s face. ”Oh, it’s no problem,” she said, her voice warm and forgiving. ”It’s a common mistake.” Not that there was anything common about Vox. Indeed, he was perhaps the strangest eldritch being the young woman had ever come across - and, of course, the only such being she’d had the good fortune to meet.

The revelations of Vox’s name brought a look of keen interest to Noe’s face, and she listened with rapt attention to his explanation. The first part was fascinating; the second, less so. Who cared about an old Caidoian dialect when one could be named by the very cosmos? ”That’s so interesting!” she exclaimed, sighing appreciatively. ”And makes perfect sense. It’s a wonderful name.”

The reached the island, and Noe graciously accepted Vox’s offered tentacle? hand? thing? to disembark. She was quite glad to be out of the rowboat, if she was being honest, for though she’d never felt that she’d been in danger, exactly, it still hadn’t been the most pleasant of voyages. And now that they were here, she was eager to explore.

Everything was a beautiful shade of violet, somehow a deeper and more complex shade than she’d ever seen before. From the rocky shores to the stormy seas, purple permeated the very essence of the island in a way that was far more intoxicating than it was terrifying - at least, to a Friend of the Family. Honestly, Noe wasn’t sure what everyone was so worked up over. She couldn’t wait to look around. ”What’s your favorite part of the island?” she asked Vox, her eyes never leaving her surroundings.

Noe

Vox's many eyes glimmered as he considered the question, his voice a playful murmur against the storm's roar. "Ah, No-eh," he began, a wry smile curling his ambiguous appendages, "—choosing a favourite here is rather like asking a nebula to pick its brightest star." He paused as if weighing the cosmic absurdity of his own words, if only because objectively speaking, it was quite easy to do. He'd seen many nebulae do it. " If I must choose a favourite feature it would be the hidden caverns beneath Starfall." His ambiguous appendages—be they tentacles, spindles, or cosmic fingernails—twitching in anticipation, as if eager to explore the secret passageways where the rest of our Family lurks in delicious obscurity.

"Imagine," Vox continued, his tone both conspiratorial and gleefully absurd, "—winding tunnels filled with the hush of forgotten void whispers, where our kin slumber in silence until the moment is ripe. And! Best of all! We've even brought along our own god!"

Standing on Starfall’s alien terrain—a bizarre wonderland where violent storms and mysterious void flora weave an intricate tapestry of secrets—Vox extended a hand, or perhaps a carefully articulated appendage, toward No-eh. "Now that you're one of our cherished friends, this entire island is yours to explore."

vox

Vox considered her question, and Noe watched with an amused sort of interest as his many eyes glittered and his appendages curled. She wasn’t quite sure why people seemed so nervous about him. Sure, he was a little odd, but not in a bad way. After all, he always had something to bring to the party, and his attitude was always a welcome addition to Noe’s day. Even if they had nearly died getting here, through the stormy seas that had threatened with every stoke of the oars.

Noe listened as the eldritch being described the hidden caverns, her eyes sparkling with interest. Winding tunnels? Void creatures? An alien god? Well, that all sounded perfectly lovely to the young engineer, and she couldn’t wait to explore. ”Hmm,” she said thoughtfully. ”I’ve always been more of a beach person than a cave person, but I’m all for exploring it all. Show me everything.”

Noe