Halloween Event || Noctaerium Route: Begin
At midnight sharp, a black train pulled up in the middle of Espoir square with a loud blare of its horn. No one could say where it came from. No one could see any tracks. No one could tell where it was going. But there it waited nonetheless, its doors wide open, its interior warm, bright and inviting to all those who looked upon it.
For people brave enough to peek into those mysterious innards, they would find themselves in their very own plush red cabin, with room aplenty over their heads for one piece of carry on luggage - including space enough for those terribly aggravating roller bags that barely fit into airline compartments. The luscious smell of warm food wafted from the back cabins, and fluffy blankets and down-stuffed pillows were folded and arranged luxuriously in every seat. A digital clock was situated above every door, counting down from a full two hours: 0:59:99, 0:59:58, 0:59:57, and so on. It was easy to guess the purpose of those clocks: they were counting down to the inevitable departure time in exactly one hour.
Once that hour finally ran out, the doors slammed abruptly shut. The passengers inside, whether they meant to stay or not, were in it for the ride.
And what a ride it was! The black train, with little warning or opportunity for restraint and seat-belts, shot forward like a bullet, through the streets, through the ghostly inhabitants, down the busy boulevards of the Shopping District. In a matter of seconds, the train plunged into the statue-laden sink hole, and it and its passengers were swallowed by the dark oblivion.
Down and down and down the train chugged. A dim silvery light glowed out the windows. The train passed a whispy, swirling, iridescent lake, filled not with water but with shimmering rainbow-colored dreams. Pinks, blues, greens, oranges, yellows, all coiling and uncoiling and drifting and lazily lapping against the dark, invisible shores, taking shape as a loved one, or another's loved one, or a pet, or a happy memory like a film on the big silver screen. Further the train drifted, leaving the silvery dreams behind into an angry, swirling river of blackness as dark as the blackened sands of this mysterious middle-world.
By far the most astonishing of the sights was the former Floating Castle of Reverein, once hanging so majestic in the Somarium sky, now half-sunk in the blackness, its lights out, its walls cracked and crumbling.
It was here that the train came to an abrupt halt, its doors facing the castle. A large, mysterious dark platform rose from the blackness, settling right next to the train. Whether the passengers wanted off, they had no choice in the matter. From a force unseen, everyone would feel themselves literally shoved out the doors and onto the platform. Once empty, the doors shut with a harsh click, and the train disembarked further down.
Now stranded, there was no choice but to venture into the castle that stood half-sunken before them. A strange, illuminated path formed between the platform and the now open castle doors, as if to guide and beckon them inside. Once more everyone felt some strange compulsion to enter.
One by one or in small groups, everyone found themselves staring into the desolation inside the castle. All its former glory lost, black ooze seeped in from every crack. Dust, cobwebs, broken fixtures -- it was as if time had eaten everything away.
But this marveling and wonder would not last long. As the last person stepped inside, the doors slammed shut right behind them, and everything was plunged into darkness. Ear piercing screams and cackling laughter echoed all around the imprisoned group before a voice rang through their ears with clarity:
"Welcome to my home...the home of your nightmares!"
With a final, chilling laugh, coldness enveloped everyone before a spotlight seemed to shine on everyone. There was a moment as they were given one final chance to see each other before, as if a trap door had been released from below, they all plunged into a terrifying darkness. The screams and cackles bounced all around as brief images and flashes of unseen horrors flashed before their eyes. Perhaps their own screams were starting to mix in as well.
Alone each one fell -- a seemingly endless fall -- before the ground met them. There would be no injuries, but many would feel the shock and perhaps even stunned by the sudden landing. Some may have landed on the ground, some on furniture, some may have gotten caught and hung helplessly. Wherever they landed, they would find themselves either alone or with another person.
Hopefully, those who had ventured onto the train would be able to face the challenges before them. For they had all entered the nightmaress' domain, and only rooms full of terror and nightmares would await them as they tried to find a way to escape.
If there was a way at all.
[ooc: This is the beginning of the Noctaerium Route. In sum: everyone who signed up for it got on a train, were stuck to ride it all the way down to the center of Somarium, dropped off in front of the half-sunken once floating castle, forced inside, and then all hell broke loose.
Characters who took this route are now stuck in a castle of nightmares. Where they ended up is completely up with the player; it's possible that they landed in their group, or landed with a complete stranger. Have fun, go wild with the exploration, make up the rooms as any way you want!
Both sides can still communicate through the Dreamberries, but remember: characters in Noctaerium cannot Dreamwalk, so they will be unable to participate in the interactive dreams. They can still see them like a normal dream, but they will be unable to enter into the dream until they return to Somarium soil.
Refer back to the OOC Post about the full details about this portion of the event.
Remember to clearly mark your posts! The tag to use for this part of the event are: !moon: cycle 40 - noctaerium and !location: noctaerium.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask in the OOC post under the Questions/Suggestions thread.
Also, sorry for the tl;dr, but this is what you get when you have both mods who have a tendency to tl;dr in third person combine their powers to make one post. Why we thought by splitting it up we'd make it shorter, no idea.]
For people brave enough to peek into those mysterious innards, they would find themselves in their very own plush red cabin, with room aplenty over their heads for one piece of carry on luggage - including space enough for those terribly aggravating roller bags that barely fit into airline compartments. The luscious smell of warm food wafted from the back cabins, and fluffy blankets and down-stuffed pillows were folded and arranged luxuriously in every seat. A digital clock was situated above every door, counting down from a full two hours: 0:59:99, 0:59:58, 0:59:57, and so on. It was easy to guess the purpose of those clocks: they were counting down to the inevitable departure time in exactly one hour.
Once that hour finally ran out, the doors slammed abruptly shut. The passengers inside, whether they meant to stay or not, were in it for the ride.
And what a ride it was! The black train, with little warning or opportunity for restraint and seat-belts, shot forward like a bullet, through the streets, through the ghostly inhabitants, down the busy boulevards of the Shopping District. In a matter of seconds, the train plunged into the statue-laden sink hole, and it and its passengers were swallowed by the dark oblivion.
Down and down and down the train chugged. A dim silvery light glowed out the windows. The train passed a whispy, swirling, iridescent lake, filled not with water but with shimmering rainbow-colored dreams. Pinks, blues, greens, oranges, yellows, all coiling and uncoiling and drifting and lazily lapping against the dark, invisible shores, taking shape as a loved one, or another's loved one, or a pet, or a happy memory like a film on the big silver screen. Further the train drifted, leaving the silvery dreams behind into an angry, swirling river of blackness as dark as the blackened sands of this mysterious middle-world.
By far the most astonishing of the sights was the former Floating Castle of Reverein, once hanging so majestic in the Somarium sky, now half-sunk in the blackness, its lights out, its walls cracked and crumbling.
It was here that the train came to an abrupt halt, its doors facing the castle. A large, mysterious dark platform rose from the blackness, settling right next to the train. Whether the passengers wanted off, they had no choice in the matter. From a force unseen, everyone would feel themselves literally shoved out the doors and onto the platform. Once empty, the doors shut with a harsh click, and the train disembarked further down.
Now stranded, there was no choice but to venture into the castle that stood half-sunken before them. A strange, illuminated path formed between the platform and the now open castle doors, as if to guide and beckon them inside. Once more everyone felt some strange compulsion to enter.
One by one or in small groups, everyone found themselves staring into the desolation inside the castle. All its former glory lost, black ooze seeped in from every crack. Dust, cobwebs, broken fixtures -- it was as if time had eaten everything away.
But this marveling and wonder would not last long. As the last person stepped inside, the doors slammed shut right behind them, and everything was plunged into darkness. Ear piercing screams and cackling laughter echoed all around the imprisoned group before a voice rang through their ears with clarity:
"Welcome to my home...the home of your nightmares!"
With a final, chilling laugh, coldness enveloped everyone before a spotlight seemed to shine on everyone. There was a moment as they were given one final chance to see each other before, as if a trap door had been released from below, they all plunged into a terrifying darkness. The screams and cackles bounced all around as brief images and flashes of unseen horrors flashed before their eyes. Perhaps their own screams were starting to mix in as well.
Alone each one fell -- a seemingly endless fall -- before the ground met them. There would be no injuries, but many would feel the shock and perhaps even stunned by the sudden landing. Some may have landed on the ground, some on furniture, some may have gotten caught and hung helplessly. Wherever they landed, they would find themselves either alone or with another person.
Hopefully, those who had ventured onto the train would be able to face the challenges before them. For they had all entered the nightmaress' domain, and only rooms full of terror and nightmares would await them as they tried to find a way to escape.
If there was a way at all.
[ooc: This is the beginning of the Noctaerium Route. In sum: everyone who signed up for it got on a train, were stuck to ride it all the way down to the center of Somarium, dropped off in front of the half-sunken once floating castle, forced inside, and then all hell broke loose.
Characters who took this route are now stuck in a castle of nightmares. Where they ended up is completely up with the player; it's possible that they landed in their group, or landed with a complete stranger. Have fun, go wild with the exploration, make up the rooms as any way you want!
Both sides can still communicate through the Dreamberries, but remember: characters in Noctaerium cannot Dreamwalk, so they will be unable to participate in the interactive dreams. They can still see them like a normal dream, but they will be unable to enter into the dream until they return to Somarium soil.
Refer back to the OOC Post about the full details about this portion of the event.
Remember to clearly mark your posts! The tag to use for this part of the event are: !moon: cycle 40 - noctaerium and !location: noctaerium.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask in the OOC post under the Questions/Suggestions thread.
Also, sorry for the tl;dr, but this is what you get when you have both mods who have a tendency to tl;dr in third person combine their powers to make one post. Why we thought by splitting it up we'd make it shorter, no idea.]