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

[nobodys_puppet]

"Aren't all clothes meant to be worn?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"I've seen some clothes that make me question that once or twice," Lea said. "But yeah, clothes are meant to be worn, but not all clothes are meant to be worn in all settings. Like how I had to get dressed up in a facy outfit to go to the dance back at Diatu, except that beachwear is kind of on the opposite end of the fanciness scale."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Why?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Sometimes just because it's expected," Lea said. "Or because you want to show of your fashion sense. But with beachwear, it's more about it being a lot more practical to wear while doing things people normally do at the beach- like swimming or playing in the sand- than, say, a full length hooded coat with gloves and boots."

[nobodys_puppet]

"That's what I've always worn on the beach," she pointed out.

[hotheadwarmheart]

"For missions, yes," Lea said. "But this isn't a mission. This is for fun. It's supposed to be relaxing and the Organization uniform is... kinda the opposite of that."

[nobodys_puppet]

"After missions too, when I would get shells before ice cream."

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Yeah, but the main thing you were there for was the mission," Lea said. "This time the main thing we're here for is having fun. So different clothes are more appropriate."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Sunsets and ice cream are fun," she pointed out. At least they were if she understood 'fun' correctly.

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Yes, but that wasn't the main thing you were dressing for," Lea said, feeling a bit like a broken record. "You were dressed for a mission, and since you were coming directly from the mission, there wasn't any real need to change. But if the main thing you're dressing for isn't a mission, but fun, then you dress for having fun not going on a mission. Understand?"

[nobodys_puppet]

She shook her head, honestly. "How... do you dress for fun?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Depends on the kind of fun, honestly," Lea said. "Obviously you don't want to be too hot or cold, so especially if you're going to be outside, factoring in weather is important. For beach fun, it usually involves wearing light-weight clothing that won't get in the way if you do things like swimming or playing beach-related sports like volleyball. Most people go with a swimsuit and sandals, along with maybe a wrap or t-shirt and sun hat."

[nobodys_puppet]

"How could clothing get in the way of things?" What were sports and how were they related to beaches? Were they alive? What was a swimsuit? Or sandals? Her book had an image of a suit, but she didn't know how you made one swim. Magic?

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Certain types of clothes could get in the way by getting tangled around your arms and legs and weighing you down," Lea said. "That's especially true when you're swimming, because cloth tends to get a lot heavier when it gets wet. Like the coat part of the Organization's outfit would be especially bad for swimming in for that reason."

[nobodys_puppet]

"IF it gets heavier, doesn't that mean we just need to be stronger?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

"That can help some, but wet cloth sticks to you too," Lea said. "So no matter how strong you are, swimming in wet, heavy clothes is difficult at best. That's why most swimsuits tend to be lightweight and form-fitting, and usually leave your arms and legs free. There are some kinds that cover your whole body, aside from your head, hands and feet, but even those are designed to be light and form fitting."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Why don't they cover the rest too?" Isn't that better? And anyway "I don't swim." Who ever bothered to teach her? And more... when would they have?

[hotheadwarmheart]

"Lots of reasons," Lea said. "Some people just like the look of it, some of them want to get a sun tan, the swimming related reasons I mention, because doing things at the beach usually means doing things in the hot sun and having exposed skin makes it easier to keep cool, all kinds of things."

"And well, if you can't swim then that's all the more reason for you to get a swimsuit. That way I can teach you; there should be a spot around here somewhere where the water's quiet enough to practice in."

[nobodys_puppet]

"Sun... tan....?" she was confused.

and, did she need to learn how to swim?