Act I || [open!]
Seiji Okura
Musician

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#1
S E I J I

He is counting. It feels like the right thing to do. Not the beats of his heart — that steady drum — or the endless push-pull of his breath. Both run a constant meter on their own, though he feels as if the dying light of evening might shine through him if he stepped out of the trees. He is counting something else, some foreign thing, which eludes him now except in the form of this meter. His fingertips tap the outside of his thigh, keeping time while his thoughts wander.

It is dark here. Shadows stretch long and hungrily out of the roots. Above, the sky is pale and bruised. The scratch of jagged limbs. The whisper of a cold, cold breeze. It will soon be night, but he doesn't remember the day which must have come earlier. He knows he is cold. He knows he has been walking some time. But before the wood — he remembers nothing. As if he has only just begun to exist.

A shiver runs through him, and he hugs narrow arms about himself. His jacket isn't enough for this. But then, why is he wearing it? And why is he in this wood, the middle of this dense wood, all alone? He isn't sure if he's coming or going. Perhaps the wood is the only place there is.

But some deep sense tells him it can't be. Something, a kindling flame, a flickering sense of self, whispers there was more. There were things beyond this. Warmth, and happiness. Perhaps if he keeps walking, he will find them.

The rain is full
of ghosts tonight


IhavenoideawhatI'mdoing
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
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#2
He should have still been at the Atheneum, hard at work on his research. The night was young, and he didn't need to play at the Rathskeller tonight, but there was a weariness to him recently, and perhaps if he returned to his den early he would run into the luxere whose company he had come to enjoy in these cold winter nights.

So rather than dash over the snow like a ghost of early moonlight, four paws barely impacting the crust before he is once more airborne, the bard walked on two feet, pale hair picking up the last of the sunset in fading oranges and purples. His voice was raised in song, a lullaby in a language unknown to Caido. It was a gentle melody, one of peace and rest and home--

And it came to an abrupt halt as Seiji came into view. The bard paused, surprised to find another in the woods so close to the dangerous night. The young man looked cold, ill prepared for the depths of Deepfrost, and there was something odd about his silence. He was so still...

"Hello," Jigano offered quietly, and more than a little cautiously. Not all the dangers in the woods walked on four feet, after all. "Are you lost?"
Seiji Okura
Musician

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#3
S E I J I

He isn't really paying attention. This must be why the man appears so suddenly: empty forest, and then forest occupied between one blink and the next. Fear sweeps down every nerve ending in a swift thrill, colder for a moment than the cold of before. He flinches, one foot scuffing back through a cover of crackling leaves. The sound disturbs him, and he stills, his thoughts a  hazy cloud of what is that? how did it get here? until the stranger speaks.

"Lost?" his own voice parrots back, frail as the leaves beneath his feet. He blinks, refocusing on the trees, the shadows, the man. A strange-looking man. Very tall, hair a long river the color of snow. Seiji has never seen anything like this before. He wonders haphazardly if it could be a dream. A hallucination. Some sort of spirit —

Does that matter?

"I am lost." He nods, his dark eyes flickering from left to right with the wariness of a lonely fawn. He feels far too out of sorts to even be seen by another human, but he is also aware — however dimly — that he needs help. "What is this place?" Why am I here? He fears to voice the truth of it aloud.

The rain is full
of ghosts tonight
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#4
He had been singing as he walked, making no attempt at silence - quite the opposite, he'd been hoping to attract a luxere - so the young man's startlement earned a raised brow and a slight frown. Slender and graceful as he was, the stranger appeared almost addled, his wits strayed - which might explain why he was outdoors without proper protection from the cold. Or it might mean another Outlander dropped in a snowbank.

Or it might be a trick of the forest, or of Ludo's making, meant to lure him into a false sense of security at its seeming-innocence.

"This place is Caido, and you're in the woods," the bard said, still wary - more so, with how animalistic the younger man's movements were. Another Attuned? "What is your name, friend? And do you need directions to the Settlement?" He drew himself up, tucking his hands into his grey-furred cloak as he watched the stranger with cool blue eyes, assessing what he saw and making no move to approach. The other man was far too tense and looked too ready to bolt for that. Rory would know what to do, most likely, so he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, seeking the core of quiet strength that he sensed in his blond friend and attempting to emulate it.
Seiji Okura
Musician

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#5
S E I J I

A furrow appears between his brows as they draw together. Not quite a frown, but an expression of concentration. There is too much — too much — inside his head for him to settle down. He wants to trust this calm man and the solidity of facts, but he also wants to wake up and find this is all a strange dream.

Caido, he thinks, but doesn't repeat. His eyes flicker from the man back to the shadows around them. Back to the man. Shivering, he rubs his palms against the thin fabric covering his sides. Absently, he nods. And then words come out: "Okura Seiji." Low, as if he speaks it to himself. That is his name, he finds with a minor jolt of surprise. Seiji. It feels like slipping on an old glove.

Now he settles just a little, though the shivering refuses to let up. "A settlement?" he asks dumbly. "Houses?" His eyes skate the trees, finding no lights amongst the branches. He doesn't speak again, but his manner conveys: the devastating confusion, the utter lack of sense in this situation. In this place. He doesn't even think to ask the stranger's name.

The rain is full
of ghosts tonight
Nairi Hwang
Explorer

Age: 31 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship:
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#6
Nairi had no idea where she was. The night was particularly icy cold, and every breaths of hers came out in mists.  Two legs stepped onto the soft snow as she stepped forward, moving about searching for nothing in particular. She had to find out where she was, and moving forward was the only way. All of a sudden, she caught the familiar sound of a melody and song. Someone was singing. Finally something that might tell her where she was. This was a good first step.

It was a gentle and soothing melody that made her all the more want to find out where the owner of the voice came from. She did like songs and music after all, and it was not like she had anything else to do on this cold and lonely winter night. As she got close enough to see two figures standing close to one another, talking to one another. She began to further observe the pair from a distance, her ears alert to eavesdrop on their conversation. The black-haired man spoke of being lost, asking of this place. The taller man with the long white hair answered him, telling him about Caido. Caido? Was this what this place was called?

No longer satisfied with simply observing, Nairi stepped forward and began to approach the pair. "Hello there. I have no idea where I am. Did you say that this place is called Caido?"
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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#7
"Okura," the bard repeated, offering a small smile and a little half-bow, still slow and careful. "Well, Okura, I am Jigano. And yes, there are houses in the Settlement." Of a sort, he added to himself, a little ruefully. "And shops, and a tavern as well. I can--"

He paused, looking over to Nairi as she crunched through the snow and out of the shadows. Blinking, he looked between the two of them and took a breath. Two new outlanders, appearing at the same time and same place? "Ah, yes, this world is Caido," he said again, tilting his head at them both and wondering if the recent influx of newcomers perhaps meant a weakening in the barrier? "I am Jigano, he is Okura and you are both probably cold and growing colder, yes?" The woman didn't seem as bothered, but Okura was shivering and Jigano's lips twitched into a wry smile. There would be no going home early for him tonight, it seemed.

"Perhaps you can share your name with us, lady, and I can answer your questions as we walk? We need to get you both to warmth and shelter, I think, and it will be well past sunset before we reach it."
Nairi Hwang
Explorer

Age: 31 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship:
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#8
Nairi was too caught up in the moment to be embarrassed about the apparent interruption she had caused to the two men's conversation. The white haired man introduced himself as Jigano, and the other man was Okura.

He confirmed that this world as called Caido, which means that she was no longer in the world she'd been born in. Elation clearly visible in her face upon the revelation despite the fact that she knew just about nothing about this new world. For starters, it looked a whole lot better than the war ravaged post apocalyptic world she had come from. She was cold, and her body was cold, but perhaps, the excitement and the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her feel a little warmer than she actually was.

"Oh, my name? Yes! I am Nairi Hwang. You can call me Nairi!" She flashed him a warm smile. "Yes, I have many questions! Having some answers would be great. Are you from here? Have you been here long? What is Caido like?"
Seiji Okura
Musician

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 10 - Dext: 25 - Endr: 12 - Luck: 10 - Int:
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#9
S E I J I

A third member stumbles into their party, and Seiji can do little more than stare at her. She seems somewhat less confused than he, though only slightly. He blinks as the two of them converse, aware that he feels slightly nauseous. As if he's been up for far too long. He is roused beyond thoughts of himself by the sound of his name once more, though, and Seiji makes some approximation of a smile. "Okura is my family name," he explains, making a mental note that people here, like those he has met elsewhere, seem to go by the more familiar name themselves. He would prefer not to be the odd man out. "You may both call me Seiji."

With a no in response to Jigano's suggestion, Seiji moves to follow after him. "Thank you," he manages. He knows he ought to say more, but Nairi fills in the silence herself, and he's grateful merely to listen to them speak and concentrate on moving his feet.

The rain is full
of ghosts tonight
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#10
Nairi appeared to be far more energetic than Okura, moving with more confidence and speaking with more emotion. Jigano offered her the same half-bow he had to the first stranger, lips twitching into a smile at the cascade of questions. "Well met, Nairi. And - apologies, Seiji, for my misunderstanding." He paused as he turned to lead them back to town, looking Seiji over in concern. Not at the man's quiet ways, but at his shivering.

"Here," he offered, unclasping his cloak and twirling it from his shoulders, offering it to the slim young man. He looked between the two, smile turning wry. "I only have one cloak, I'm afraid, so you may need to pass it back and forth between you, but I hope it will be better than nothing." If Seiji took the cloak, Jigano would begin walking, but if the young man refused the bard would offer it to Nairi instead.

"Hmmm so many questions," he chuckled, not at all displeased at Nairi's curiosity. "No, I am not from here. I arrived last season. Caido is probably different than where you were before. It is hard to describe it in just a few words... unless, perhaps I call it 'complicated.' And where, may I ask, are you two from?"
Nairi Hwang
Explorer

Age: 31 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship:
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#11

Out of instinct, Nairi returned Jigano's half bow. The other guy, Okura- No, Seiji - he corrected them that Okura was simply his family name. Hers was more complicated than that. She didn't exactly know her parents, so her family name was not known to her. Instead she had chosen to take up the family name of a close friend as sort of a memory, as chances are that the two might never see each other again.

Jigano then made a move to offer his cloak, suggesting that they take turns wearing it, what with there being only one cloak and all. Nairi was cold, but the sight of Seiji only made her think that he would need it more than she did. He did look visibly colder than she was, even if it is just simply her lively demeanour that was making her seem warmer than she actually was.

Rubbing her hands together for some warmth, she gestured towards Seiji. "Let him wear it. He looks far colder than I am." To her surprise, Jigano was also a foreigner, he'd just arrived way before the both of them did. He mentioned Caido being difficult to describe. She nodded in understanding. "I do not know about Seiji, but I come from a world that has been destroyed and ravaged by wars and conflict, the environment destroyed and left a shell of what it formerly was. Wrecks and abandoned buildings and sky scrapers fill the cities and what was once a modern world has been reduced back to basics. All of these happened long before I was born."

NAIRI
If you're not lost, you're not much of an explorer.
Seiji Okura
Musician

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#12
S E I J I

Seiji is more than a little glad to find Nairi and Jigano conversing easily between themselves. He is content to listen, for the most part, only hesitating a moment when Jigano hands him the cloak with a flourish. Seiji reaches out to take it instinctively, but then glances at Nairi. Something tells him the right thing to do is offer it to her first. He is about to, but then she refuses, and with a grateful nod, Seiji pulls the garment around his own shoulders. He buries his fingers in the cloth, drawing it near to his slender shape, as the others begin to move, their conversation carrying through the darkening air.

He's surprised to learn the stranger is also a foreigner, though a more experienced one. What are the odds? Seiji frowns, thinking on it. He is only partially listening to Nairi's explanation of her home — it sounds terrible. He wonders absently if he ought to say something kind, but he can think of nothing, anyway. His head continues to ache.

Eventually, of course, she finishes, and the silence comes around to him again. He's quiet a few more paces before he says simply, "I don't know." Saying it aloud somehow makes it more real. More terrible. He lets his gaze roam the trees a half-breath longer before he adds, "Are there many foreigners here?" And where do they all come from?

The rain is full
of ghosts tonight
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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#13
Jigano smiled at Nairi's gallantry, the expression gentling as Seiji took the cloak and wrapped it around himself. His own linen shirt's wide sleeves let the cold air in far too easily, but he tucked his hands together inside them as they walked, conserving heat against his own slender frame as best he could. At least the exercise generated some heat, even as a light evening breeze stole it away. The shadows were deepening in the twilight, the first, brightest starts becoming visible in the sky above the barrier, but the snow reflected even the faint light remaining of the day so it wasn't completely dark, and a half-moon was already partway risen in the east.

His expression turned grave at Nairi's description of her world, and though he didn't know what 'skyscrapers' were, and suspected her definition of 'modern' might be different than his own, the imagery she painted of ruins and destruction were still clear enough. "Then I think you shall find this world... not so much 'better' but perhaps less terrible than what you left," he said thoughtfully, before turning his head to hear Seiji's tale. The simple words brought one pale brow arching in surprise, however, and he hummed thoughtfully before replying.

"In the past, no. Portals that brought outlanders here were rare, at least in the records I have found. But recently... within the past few months... the portals have been appearing with greater frequency. One brought a large number of people from a place called Northaven all at once, but since then we have arrived from various worlds one at a time. Certainly this is the first time I have heard of two different portals opening so close together in time and space though..." he hesitated, glancing between his two new companions. "If you don't remember where you were from, I suppose it's possibly you come from Nairi's world, too." But their clothes were different enough that it seemed unlikely, and he didn't hide the uncertainty in his voice.

"Nairi, to answer your question from earlier a bit more, Caido is... for lack of better explanation, a world in a bubble." He frowned, tapping a finger on his forearm inside his sleeve at how insufficient the explanation was. "Rather, this is not a small area of land, but there is a barrier of sorts... magical, or force, or a combination of both, that surrounds it in a great sphere. Nothing can pass through it that we have found - living creatures that get near it grow sick, and die if they touch it. Nonliving things simply bounce off it or are repelled. There is a world beyond it, but for now... we are trapped. And the people who live here have been trapped for some time. Centuries, at least. The native population is not large, the plants and animals seem... stunted. Unhealthy. One might say the same of the local gods as well."

He slanted a glance to Seiji to make sure he was doing alright and hopefully warming a little with the cloak about him, then turned his attention to Nairi. "There are ruins here, too, though I don't think from war. From what I've discovered in journals and histories in the Atheneum - the great library here - the raising of the barrier is what caused the damage, though how or why it was raised, no one knows. Whether to keep something in or out... is a question I am trying to find an answer to. But the population that survived was small and somewhat scattered. Buildings tend to be reclaimed and rebuilt on an as-needed basis, so I'm afraid you will find at least some surface similarities to your world here."

He paused then, not only to take a breath but to let the newcomers have some time to digest all that he had said, and to ask more questions now that they had a little more information.
Nairi Hwang
Explorer

Age: 31 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship:
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#14
Nairi listened intently as Jigano began to explain to the both of them about the strange phenomenon that had brought them to the Caido. It was clearly apparent in his words that they were not the first and it was highly unlikely that they would be the last. The appearance or purpose of the portals were unknown, except to continue to bring more outsiders to the world of Caido itself. Jigano even suggested to Seiji that he may have come from the same world as her, which prompted her to take another look at Seiji.

Their clothing were different, but even then not entirely different after all. She didn't know for sure, but there remains a possibility that he could have come from the same place as her. Jigano began to explain further about Caido, and the bubble that encased the very plot of land they were in. He mentioned that he did not know if its purpose was to keep them in, or to keep things out, to which she blurted out. "I think the bubble's purpose is to keep us in."

He also explained to her that ruins were common place here, which let a brief chuckle escape from her lips. It seems like no matter which world she ended up in, the irony was that she could not escape ruins, even in a land of new beginnings. "Has anyone tried to do any exploring? How successful were they?"


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