INSIDE THE STORY (RUN ONE)

[dramatispersonae]

[You find yourself standing on a circular stone stage, in an open-air theater in the round. You’re at the edge of the stage looking toward its centre; a massive tree is growing up through the stone there, taking up most of your view. Surrounding the stage are tiered seats of gemstones and silver, in Aather team colors. The seats, like the stage, are being overtaken by riotous plantlife; thorny rose vines climb between them here and there, along with patches of moss, glowing flowers, and multicolored morning glories. A few of the seats look like they are in need of serious repair.

Around the stage you will notice that there are seven exits, all equidistant from one another. They are all different shapes, sizes and styles, but it’s oddly hard to pin down specifics from here; you’ll have to step off of the stage in order to differentiate them from each other.

In the seats, though you can't see your audience, you can hear the faint whisper of voices, waiting to see what move you make. You’ll also find two objects in your hand: a fine quill pen, and a crystalline hope seed.]

Comments

CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[dramatispersonae]

[You get a sense that the quill pen can be used to rewrite things in this place, and the hope seed can be used to create drastic new growth. There is a hot current of power in both objects, resonant with the key around your neck.]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

[turns over the quill and hope seed in his hand, considering...]

[...pockets both, then takes a look at the seven exits.]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[There are seven in all.

- A pair of large wooden double doors that look like they belong on a castle.
- A rose-covered trellis; a curtain of ivy obscures what’s on the other side.
- An open archway made of ice; cold mist obscures what’s on the other side.
- A villa doorway, pitted and crusted with sand.
- A translucent marble door, its carvings softened and water-worn into illegibility.
- A door patterned in black and white squares; its proportions are cartoonishly off, and the knob looks a little like a grinning face.
- A pair of carved folding doors.

Head through one, or investigate this area further?]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[primetimehero]

[ :|a

pockets the quill, then also pockets the seed ]

Hey, so if you're looking for a performance, you're gonna have to find another actor.

[ stepping off the stage ... ]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

[looking over each...then decides to investigate the area further before leaving, taking a closer look at the tree]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[trope_attack]

Think we should stay together or split up?

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

[blinks, looking back at him]

...We have a small group, and many doors. Splitting up to investigate everything would be best.

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[The only thing really of note off the stage are the seven doors:

- A pair of large wooden double doors that look like they belong on a castle.
- A rose-covered trellis; a curtain of ivy obscures what’s on the other side.
- An open archway made of ice; cold mist obscures what’s on the other side.
- A villa doorway, pitted and crusted with sand.
- A translucent marble door, its carvings softened and water-worn into illegibility.
- A door patterned in black and white squares; its proportions are cartoonishly off, and the knob looks a little like a grinning face.
- A pair of carved folding doors.

Head through one, or investigate this area further?]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[As you approach the tree, the silhouettes of a group of women flicker into life beneath it--a shadowy chorus, familiar to some of Aather’s older hands. They sing, in unison:]

“Once upon a time there was a world that was only a world, until the Darkness threatened it and all other worlds. To hold the Darkness until it could be defeated, a great book was opened, and turned the world and its people into a story. So were Aather and its Dramatis Personae written, and so was the Darkness trapped, by being written as the ultimate villain to be overcome. Heroes and knights were brought from other worlds, to eventually defeat it and save all . . .

But the Story is being unmade now, by its own heroes. It pages are torn, and the Darkness is hungry.”

[They extend their hands towards you: an accusation? An entreaty? You can’t tell which.]

“Have you come to finish the unmaking, or reverse it? What are you looking for? Why have you come here?”

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[primetimehero]

[ takes one look-around to the rest of the area before heading to the black and white door /o/ ]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[trope_attack]

Then you don't think we'll run into too much trouble?

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[puppy_loves]

[Carrying these objects carefully in his mouth, trotting to examine the damaged seats]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

...I'm looking for...a route in-between. Something that will allow the Story not to simply be unmade, but to adapt as its Heroes continue to deviate from what was written.

Is there anything like that here?

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

[looking around at all the plantlife...]

I can't say trouble won't happen, but I don't think it'll be the sort of trouble we'd struggle too much again.

[considers a moment, then taps his key]

If either of us see trouble, we may be able to send a message to the other. We'd just need to focus it through our keys.

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[trope_attack]

Like a magic spell? Good idea!

Which door do you want?

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

Precisely. If you need help, I'll come to you -- and vice versa.

The Black and White Door

[motifated]

[You step through the door and enter a land that doesn’t look very natural at all.

Above, below, and around you--all around you, always around you--is a vast checkerboard pattern with so many staircases, balconies, windows, and doorways at different heights and odd angles that it is almost impossible to tell what is up or down, inside or outside, backward or forward. Planes reverse themselves as you watch, receding corners suddenly jut out, rising steps invert themselves, floors become ceilings, and walls turned into precipices.

Through the windows and staircases there are clouds, endless clouds, shifting and changing into whatever comes to mind. Pieces of the checkerboard seem to reflect themselves, and if they stay for long enough you can recognize them as part of a mirror maze.

There is a tiny bit of stability in the form of what could be a swamp. It is up a staircase--no, it is on the other side of a window--wherever it is, it seems to be content to remain there, a solid spot of reference in your shifting perceptions. The heavy black mist that hangs over it seems to spark and burst into flames, but just as quickly burn out and fall as ash into the sludge that makes up the swamp. The murky brown waters bleed with an oily black, bright red, tarnished silver, plum purple, sea green--the colors change before your eyes, but they are always changing, and the swamp itself seems to waver in and out of reality. The entire swamp, while stable in its location, doesn’t seem to know how to be.]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[As you head through, there’s a soft rustle as of turning pages; the key at your throat and the pen and seed in your hands pulse. What can you do with them, where you’re going?]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[The silhouettes bend in to confer with one another, the shadows blending together before they split back apart. They all speak again, in less of a song but with no less melody:]

"Each path could be a part of that, if you so choose. It is up to you to make it so."

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[trope_attack]

I'm gonna take the rose door, if that's okay.

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[motifated]

[There isn't anything in particular that stands out about them--aside from the fact that they're made out of gemstone and silver. The closest damaged seat to you is a row of ruby benches, cracked through by grapevines that are slowly making their way over to the jasper seats.]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

...I see, thank you.

What do these doors represent? Are they merely paths, or something else?

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[puppy_loves]

[frowns, following the vines around, but if they don't seem to have any particular origin other than 'beneath the seats', he turns back to go up to the tree]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[screwthatnoise]

[turns towards the seats upon hearing those whispers—after a moment's consideration, she bows]

Onward.

[gripping the items, she steps off of the stage to examine the doors]

Re: CENTER STAGE (Dramatis Personae)

[glorious]

That should be fine. I'll take another door to cover more ground.