The Endless River

[voidtreckermods]

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.

Comments

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She'll have to take your word on that.

Thinking for a moment as she considers the mushrooms, she shrugs. ]

I dunno. I'd feel silly trying it by myself.

[ If someone offered to try it with her, though... ]

[controlsthedie]

[ He looks up at the mushroom cap and rises in the air until he's floating next to it. He pokes it with his finger, feeling how the cap gives or resists pressure and if it bounces back once he stops touching it.

Then he returns to Kitty. ]

It feels soft and sturdy, but it does not seem like it would be very different than jumping from the ground.

[ That... was probably not what Kitty tried to imply. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ It definitely wasn't, but it at least saves her a trip of trying to climb up them. ]

So not any bounce to them, huh? That's kind of a shame.

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos can be a real bore at times. He's still learning how to "live a little." ]

Judging by what others are doing, they can support a person's weight.

[goingthroughaphase]

[ Honestly, she's used to people like that, so he's in good company. ]

Oh yeah? [ She glances up at the mushrooms again. ] I bet the view would look great from up there.

[controlsthedie]

[ There is a lot to look at. It's almost a shame that they can only stay for one day, but then again, is one day already too much given what they can do?

He shoves those thoughts aside. ]

It allows for some privacy as well.

[goingthroughaphase]

It definitely would.

[ Looking over the mushroom again, she carefully started trying to climb up the stalk. ]

[controlsthedie]

[ The stalk seems climbable, but he questions how people are managing to get around the mushroom cap without falling (or floating). Is there some kind of trick to it?

He moves besides Kitty. ]

Shall I leave you to enjoy some rare peace?

[ Or is she expecting him to join her for a bit? ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She definitely is. ]

Nah, I don't mind the company. It'd be lonely all by myself.

[controlsthedie]

[ Forgive him if he decides that floating is the better way to reach the top. He'll make sure she doesn't fall, however. ]

... I suppose I could spare a little time.

[ Since time is all he has on this train. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She doesn't mind that he floats while she climbs. Just sorry if it takes her a bit longer. ​]

I mean, we'll probably be here for a while anyway. Might as well enjoy ourselves for a bit.

[controlsthedie]

[ Again, all he has on the train is time. He keeps to her side, within arm's reach. ]

Has the train ever done a day stop like this before?

[goingthroughaphase]

Yeah, it's made stops at worlds like this a couple of times. Apparently there are some places that are just like rest stops or tourist attractions.

[controlsthedie]

Could you tell me about some of them?

[ He thinks he understands what a rest stop is, but the idea of a tourist attraction escapes him a little. (He is the one who had trouble with the vacation game because he didn't know what a vacation really was.) ]

[goingthroughaphase]

Sure. Let's see...well, there was this one place that was pretty much a resort. It was by a beach, and there were hot springs, and ruins to explore, and people traveled there pretty much just to have fun.

[ They'd had a bit more than just fun there, but better not to dwell on that. ]

And then there was another world that had a Winter Faire. There was an ice rink, and a Ferris wheel, and some woods to just enjoy the scenery, and a market to buy souvenirs and things.

[controlsthedie]

The purpose of them is simply to... enjoy it? No mystery to solve or supplies to gather?

[ He sounds baffled by the idea. (Again, he's the god who never seems to take a break.)

Although, he frowns at the mention of a Winter Faire. It was probably nice, but when one lives on a hostile winter ravaged world, the idea loses its charm. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

Yeah, it's mostly just to relax and enjoy ourselves.

[ Though there had been more at the resort, but again, didn't want to get into that. ]

[controlsthedie]

... Why? There are worlds to save.

[ Just like how people keep dying at home. There's always work to do. ]

[goingthroughaphase]

Well, yeah, that's true. But sometimes we have to take a little break and recharge. We won't be able to help if we're not physically or mentally at our best.

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos is reminded of when Lord Hades told him he needed to take a break. However, he didn't do much to actually alleviate his workload. Mortals still died. The work needed to be done. He never got that break. Instead, he was always late. ]

Were it simply a matter of stopping. Some of us have responsibilities that keep us working at all hours.

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She glances at him with a small frown. ] Yeah...I guess it'd be hard to take a break from your regular job, huh?

[ At least here he could rest between missions. ]

[controlsthedie]

Even when I stop, I can still feel the pull of those dying.

[ It's not something people understand, but at least he does take breaks during missions. He doesn't get a choice. ]

Still, I would hope that if there is a world we could help, we would instead of taking a break like this...

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She doesn't quite understand, but she can imagine how that would make it difficult for him to relax. ]

Well...we do also have to wait for a call to help before we can do anything. But it is important to take care of yourself, physically and mentally, so you'll be prepared to be able to help others.

[controlsthedie]

[ Thanatos frowns. Just like Kitty doesn't understand (and Thanatos would be worried if she did), Thanatos doesn't quite understand how they have to wait for a call for help. Did they get a call from Erda? He's not sure. Maybe they did get one from that Voidtrecker. ]

It's hard to just wait around and do nothing.

[ Huh? ]

... I never thought I'd come to share this trait with Zagreus.

[goingthroughaphase]

[ She nods a little. ] I know. But it also gives us time to prepare, and to be ready whenever a call for help does come up.

[ She glances at him. ] Oh yeah? How come? [ She actually hadn't known that Thanatos and Zagreus knew one another, but it made sense. ]