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]

"But if what you like doing makes other people sad... Lots of people sad..."

This was very complicated. Technically monsters liked eating people, but that didn't mean they should let them...

[badassfreakingoverlord]

How many times can he heave a deep sigh?

"Look. All the friends you made back in the Far Shore, 'cept for Elfnein and vamp-boy, are gone now, right? That makes you sad, right?"

[myblueskies]

"Yes..." He looked down, "Though I guess it is us that are gone. We all disappeared from the heavens."

Just like people had disappeared before them.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"So would you rather never have met any of them? You wouldn't be sad now."

[myblueskies]

"No!" He shook his head, he couldn't imagine never meeting any of his friends! That would be really sad!

"I'm glad I got to know them! Even if I can't see them anymore."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"So there you go. Just like you can't have good without evil, you can't have happiness without sadness. And the sadness doesn't make the happiness less happy, right?"

Zetta was, after all, an idiot... but he did have a few notions about the fundamental workings of the universe. Being born to a species that exemplified evil, with a direct counterpart that exemplified good, meant picking up on an occasional subtlety like this.

[myblueskies]

You couldn't have happiness without sadness? And sadness didn't stop the happy being happy...

Those were big words, a concept he hadn't thought about before and he nodded, a little in awe at what Zetta had just told him.

"Things can be happy and sad all at the same time. But even if bad things happen, you got to be happy when good things happen."

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"So you see, evil plays an important and necessary role in the cosmos. And so does making people sad and unhappy!" In other words, Zetta was the best! Like he'd always said!

[myblueskies]

"That still doesn't sound nice though..." He frowned. He understood what Zetta was telling him. But he doesn't like it...

"You're a god as well as a demon though, and gods are there to answer prayers and make people happy. So how can you do both?"

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"I'm an evil god who answers the prayers of evil people." At least the freaking Far Shore had gotten that much right. Also, never mind the non-evil prayers he'd answered, like watching TV with a kid! And also Hibiki for some reason!

[myblueskies]

"Oh." He hadn't known that. Evil people got prayers too?

That was even more to think about.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Day full of discovery, huh, kid?" That wasn't sympathy in his voice! Honest!

[myblueskies]

"Yes.. It's lots of big things to think about, sir."

A lot indeed, he looked at Zetta a bit sadly.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Hey, what's with the glum look?!" That wasn't what he wanted out of all this!

[myblueskies]

"Well... It's lots of things I never thought about. So I got to think really hard about it all."

And it was a bit worrying.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Yeah, maybe, but -- it's just how things are. Just because you didn't KNOW it doesn't mean that's how it all is, right? So what's to be glum about, when nothing's different?"

Stupid Romeo! Stop being sad!

[myblueskies]

"But there's lots of things... And I'm not glum I'm just thinking. Because I never thought about that being bad is something you got to be, so other people can be good and that's really complicated."

Maybe something he needs to talk to Elfnein about.

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Yeah, growing up's a mess." Even Zetta could acknowledge that.

[myblueskies]

Romeo nodded but then grinned, forcing his spirits up. "But it's not all bad. You get to learn lots of stuff."

Even if it was bad stuff... It was still learning and that helped you grow up!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Learning's never fun! This is proof!"

You just sometimes had to.

[myblueskies]

"No!" He shook his head, "Learning is lots of fun. It's just tricky!"

Very tricky. But it was fun too. It could be both!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

"Heh. You just wait. And don't say I didn't warn you."

[myblueskies]

"Well even if it gets trickier, I'll know more things so it won't be as hard!"

Learning made you smarter and then you could learn trickier things! That's how it worked!

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Well, what could he do but smirk?

"I'm gonna remember you said that. And toss it back at you in ten or twenty years."

[myblueskies]

"Okay sir!" He grins at that, because if he does that it means he and Zetta will have been friends for twenty years! For Romeo, who only has a year of solid memories, twenty years might as well be forever!

"I bet I won't of changed my mind though!"