Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo waits patiently, he knows it is important to make sure all your things are secure and somewhere where you won't forget them, before getting into the water!

"Is it cold where you come from, sir? I once went to the beach when it was all cold and the water was freezing! But then I went to the beach in Hawaii and it was so warm!"

[achickenformylove]

"My home is in the mountains. Our sect has a spring where we go to for meditation and healing, but it is a cold spring. Not like this one."

As such, he had a good tolerance and patience when it came to cold water, but there was something pleasant about warm water as well.

"'Hawaii' is a warm place then?"

[myblueskies]

He nodded, there had been plenty of cold springs in the heavens, places where the water was holy.

"Yes! It was very warm. I only went for one day but it was fun and we got to play volleyball and swim and eat ice cream!"

[achickenformylove]

Well, their sect had been founded by a monk so it was probably far more religious grounds than most sects.

"That sounds like it would have been a nice place. Was it very much like here?"

[myblueskies]

"I think it was a bit different." He had a think. "There were people who lived there and their houses were more... They looked a bit more like they did in Japan, not like these houses and they had cars and ice cream vans."

But many bits had been the same.

[achickenformylove]

"I see." Except not because he had never seen a house in Japan (let alone Japan at all) and of course no cars, but it was unimportant to go into such details.

Now that he was further in the water, he could see into the deeper water and see all of the fish darting around. He was in awe at all of the colors, the fish near Gusu fairly mundane in color.

"So many fish."

[myblueskies]

"There are!" He grinned, "They are so pretty as well, even if opening your eyes in the water stings a bit!"

It was still worth it, to see all the pretty colours.

[achickenformylove]

"We do not have fish like this in my home. There might be some elsewhere, but they are not this colorful."

He put his hand in the water, moving it along the top and watching as the ripples distorted the sight of the fish swimming below.

He wondered if any of the equipment from a few missions ago had been available so that they could look at the fish without water in their eyes, but he didn't recall seeing any.

[myblueskies]

"Does your home have an ocean like this? What kind of fish are there?"

He really liked hearing about the places everyone came from, some of them sounded similar to Japan or to the heavens, but others sounded very different indeed!

[achickenformylove]

"We do have an ocean. However, I have never had a reason to go there. Many who go are traders or have some business in Dongying. However, my home is near Ciyi Town, which is a city on the water and we have a river running through our land.

There are numerous fish. Mainly smaller ones that are brown or silver in color. There are large carp as well which can be brighter."

[ooc: Dongying literally means "eastern ocean" and is the ancient name for Japan used in the series. Up to you if you want him to hear it translated or simply as Dongying]

[myblueskies]

He listens with fascination, trying to imagine such a place as he described, an ocean for traders, a city on the water... did it float? And a river.

"I never sailed on the ocean either! We could use shrines to teleport to lots of different places on earth so I never needed to go on a boat or a plane. I went on a train once though, before this train!"

He grinned, "What's a floating city like? Does everyone need to swim there?"

(OOC: I'll go with just hearing the name!)

[achickenformylove]

Now it was WangJi's turn to be surprised by this conversation. "Shrines teleport people? I have never heard some something like that. Our shrines do not have such abilities. We have to travel on foot, by horse, boat or sword."

Yes... sword.

"The city itself is not floating though many buildings sit over the canal. Caiyi Town is entirely on these canals. Most residents of Caiyi Town know how to swim because of the canals."

[myblueskies]

"How do you travel by sword sir?"

That sounded like a very interesting way to travel, he only sort of knows what a canal is but he understands. The city doesn't float, it just has lots of water and everyone there can swim!

"Yes, gods can teleport anywhere really but they can move from the heavens to earth by using their shrines on earth! And shinki can use those shrines as well if they are allowed to by the god so we can go to different places!"

[achickenformylove]

"Strong cultivators are able to channel their spiritual energy into their swords and use them for travel. The swords fly and we can control where they go."

It was normal for him, but it was obviously strange to others. He was aware that other worlds did not fly on swords.

"Can they? I would expect the gods would have a far more efficient way to travel."

[myblueskies]

"Wow!" That sounded pretty amazing! He wants to see a flying sword!

"Well gods can fly as well but that's slower than teleporting!" He grinned, "They don't fly on swords though! Just themselves!"

[achickenformylove]

"I do have Bichen. I could always show you."

A gentleman never went anywhere without his sword... even if it was hidden in a bag of holding.

"I would expect that they would be able to fly. They have important places to be."

[myblueskies]

"You do? Can you sir?" He wants to see, he guesses that Bichen is the name of his sword, though he's never heard of weapons that aren't shinki having names before.

But he has never seen anyone fly on a sword before! He's quite excited!

[achickenformylove]

"Yes, I have it in my qiankun pouch."

He would wade back out of the water and pull out his sword from a small pouch that didn't seem like it should be able to hold a sword. Now with Bichen in hand and sliding his pair of sandals on, he brought it closer so that he could see it, and could demonstrate.

Still on the sand, he lowered Bichen and let it go above the ground... and it hovered there on its own. Then he stepped up onto the sword, standing on it as it hovered in place.

[myblueskies]

He followed Lan Wangji out of the water and his eyes widened at the sword coming from such a small pouch! It hadn't looked like a whole sword could fit in there at all!

His grin widened as he showed how he could hover on it. "Wow! You must be a very good balancer sir!" The sword was very narrow!

"Can you fly really fast?"

[achickenformylove]

The wonders of the qiankun pouch. Almost every cultivator had one to carry all of their belongings.

"It comes with practice. It is one of the first things learned when starting to fly on swords. I can. I have a lot of practice. Would you like to ride on it with me?"

[myblueskies]

"Yes please sir!"

He's practically bouncing in excitement. He's flown on a magic carpet before but never a sword!

He got closer, excited!

[achickenformylove]

As he came over, WangJi held one hand out to him to help him up. "Stand in front of me, one foot in front of the other."

He can help hold onto him if he was in front.

[myblueskies]

He does so, stepping up carefully and putting one foot in front of the other, holding out his arms to keep himself balanced.

He grinned, pretty excited. He doesn't feel scared at all because Lan Wangji is right behind him and he knows he won't let anything bad happen!

[achickenformylove]

[I have put up the thread here in the overflow if you want to continue]