middleofsomewhere | The Endless River

On the morning of day twenty one of the month of Kazoo there is a message on the ICP screens around the train. Their SCA's will light up the colour of the Void and show the following information.

World #398050 is a void nexus known locally as Tshering. As a void nexus this world has strong links with the void and the connection through worlds. World #398050 is home to the Endless River. Legends speak of this river being powerful enough to send thoughts from one heart to another across any distance. All that is needed is for you to know who it is you wish to reach.

On-board

The dressing carriage is open, filled with clothing best suited to a pleasant spring day. Light, airy and in a rainbow of joyful colours and florals. One closet is entirely filled with wide-brimmed hats bedecked with ribbons, feathers and ornaments. A stack of picnic baskets and containers filled with an alarming variety of passenger-suitable foodstuffs and flasked drinks sits in one corner, next to rolls of thick, weatherproof blankets in the four team colours.

The large box marked Do Not Use Yet, filled with small, empty jute bags, is hopefully still sat in the Luggage carriage, ready for passengers to grab handfuls of its contents as directed by the announcement.

Upon landing (after an appropriate countdown), the train remains on the surface, its carriages partially curved to form a gathering site for the day. Welcome to Tshering, the eighth void nexus!

A Day for Picnics

Tshering, system #398050, is a strange place, only habitable by grace of the passengers' SCAs. The sky is shot through with colours, a cascade of sunsets, and through it, the void shimmering through it in seams like a child's painting of the milky way. Still, there's a beauty to the chaotic mash of colours that soaks through its landscape, and in the shelter of the forests of towering funghi that dot its surface, the Void can go unseen by its visitors.

The temperature seems mild, suitable for the provided clothing, and if there are weather patterns around the world they've taken the day off. The funghi are sturdy enough that what air flow there is doesn't disturb their stalks, and carved grooves and holds in some of the larger examples indicate that climbing them to sit atop their glowing crowns is eminently possible, and, in fact, encouraged.

the Endless River

The Endless River is a font of pure chaos, flowing from a multitude of small rivulets across the area to a central reservoir, from which it pours directly upwards, away from Tshering's surface and out of sight, beyond the world's atmosphere.

Anything bagged and placed within the Endless River will also flow upwards and soon be out of sight, passing, presumably, into the Void. Scattered across the surface of Tshering are small, glittering pebbles, as described in the announcement.

The stones are pleasantly cool to the touch, and all passengers need to do is feel. Messages can be in any form that the Voidtreckers wish. Perhaps words, perhaps feelings, perhaps an image from their mind into the stone. Perhaps a mixture. Once they begin their message the stone will glow slightly and continue to glow as they secure it in the bag and cast it into the river. They will feel, almost instinctively, that they need to focus as they do so, thinking of the person they wish to reach all the while.

There are plenty of bags and many more stones; passengers will not be limited in their sendings.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"...Sorry to say none of this is really helping my understanding, since I don't know what judeo-christian gods are? But I'm sure my mother must be quite important in this setting, if nature is a more heavy focus in your world."

She hums, "It does change, gods rising and falling in popularity. Here try this one?" Persephone offers a hat, wide brimmed but trimmed with lace. Lace is cute!

"He's a god who insists he's the only one, and should be above all others." Raven said, as it was the most succinct answer she could give. "Sadly, religion beyond the broad strokes I just gave you isn't something I'm familiar with on Earth, since I was raised on Azarath." Raven took the hat, a bit shyly, and then moved to try it on.

"Sometimes my need for spell components though leads me to interact with other magic users and types who are familiar, which is why I'm aware of Hecate's worship among pagans and new-age types. She's the goddess of magic, yes?" All said matter of factedly and with no judgment.

"Seems rude. We obviously all exist, it's not as if he gets to shunt us all to the background. Even Kronos didn't try to hide the existence of everyone else."

Seems rude. Cruel. It's pretty awful to just--decide no one else matters. How do you manage to be worse about being a god than Kronos? Persephone tilts her head to take in the hat and wiggles in a hand. Maybe. She goes back to looking.

"Magic and other things. Things keep getting added on as you grow and learn and your worship changes. Or at least I assume that's how it works, I'm young for a goddess."

"It's a little weird to think of gods and goddess being young or old. I don't mean any offense, just we're so used to thinking of them as timeless in a way. Things change if your worship changes, but that still doesn't mean you're 'young' necessarily or 'old' necessarily." Raven hoped she wasn't seeming rude, considering she was talking to the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld--even if Persephone didn't seem to be in that role yet.

"Although we mortals definitely must reckon time differently. Which likely doesn't help."

"Oh, it gets that way after a few centuries, or so I've heard. It's not exactly like humans, where we change over time for our whole lives. I'm pretty sure I've stopped growing. Young, for spring, you know? But Hera's form stopped growing at a later age. My mother as well. It's just sort of part of your nature, intrinsic to your being." Vague of her, isn't it?

Persephone pauses, "Well, you might reckon time differently, but I was raised in the mortal realm and I'm pretty sure we all use the same sort of timekeeping between realms. It would get very confusing otherwise."

"I think I understand it as much as a 'mortal' can." Raven replied, with no offense in her tone. It was just how things were reckoned, she supposed. God/desses had longer lifespans.

"Sorry--it's just how I'm used to talking. It's still strange to be around so many m--humans." Persephone flushes. Sure, she's gotten used to it, but she will admit that she's fallen back on old habits a lot more with the arrival of other gods. It's just the way they talk.

"Here, try this one?" She offers a black lace hat of a different variety.

Raven took the offered hat, and held up as she looked in the mirror. It wouldn't offer much protection from the sun, but she still liked it. "I think I'll take this one. Thank you." With a hint of smile. "I wasn't used to being around so many other people when I first came to Earth too. Or at least not many who weren't also monks."

"I never spoke to humans much at all before now, just all the non godly beings."

Persephone claps in satisfaction that her choice, slightly impractical as sunshade as it might be, was deemed sufficient. There's probably parasols somewhere around here regardless.

"It takes a little getting used to all the changes. Different people, different ways of doing things and referring to beings. The train has been a solid education in that much."

The Endless River

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