middleofsomewhere | Let's Get Down to Business

Let's Get Down to Business

On day twenty two of the month of Llama a message comes up on the ICP's.

Voidtreckers have many questions about what happened on system #93426194992 and the entity that was encountered. Analysis shows that the entity on system #93426194992 was also present on systems #86525656412355 and #2207385.

Though it is not known what that entity is, it is clear that it possesses some level of mind influence and complex illusionary magic.

There is a void nexus on system #62138 inhabited by a religious order that, due to their close proximity to the void, employ mental techniques to help with such illusions.

We will be visiting system #62138 for three Days. The Voidtrecker express will remain with the Voidtreckers during this time and due to the nature of the void nexus it is highly advisable to sleep on board.

System #62138 is a wet world. All Voidtreckers will be safe but are advised to keep their SCAs on at all times. This should be the standard on all systems.

THE VOID NEXUS
From the windows of the Voidtrecker Express, passengers see the Void Nexus as a vast island surrounded by darkness, punctuated with rivets of colours running through the sky that casts a glow of blues and violets as they descend closer to the surface. The world faintly blurs the way one’s sight does when sinking into the depths of an ocean, the train manoeuvring around tall rocks that rise like digitates, a sea-green hue deepening over the rocky land outside.

The train doors open from each carriage, and luckily it’s not a flood that welcomes them but clammy air cool to the skin. They come out to a section of land sparse of more than tunicate-like plants under their feet, pools of silvery water otherwise sunk between small pathways that lead like bridges forward.

Which is likely their destination, a vast coral-like structure with a high opening awaiting them - and as they get closer, a being far taller than any of the Voidtrecker themselves.

ARRIVAL

They are met by a tall robed figure. First glance will show them to be a deep purple in colour with a domed head and long tentacles sprouting from their chin that sway slightly when they move. Still they nod deeply and their mouth moves into a shape that could be interpreted as a smile.

"Welcome to those of the VoidTrecker Express. Your arrival was foretold and we have awaited you. Please accept our hospitality."

They lead them onwards, explaining that outsiders are always welcome here but ask them to remain within the public parts of the temple. They further explain that their order is for the most part a silent one. There is no restriction on the voices of guests but they should not be insulted if the members of the order do not answer.

Once a small tour has been conducted the Voidtreckers are left to their own devices to train or explore as they see fit.

IT'S A TRAINING MONTAGE
Going through to the back of the temple will lead them outside once more, the gentle sound of falling water greeting them at what seems to be a distance. But yet - faint as it is to see, glistening in translucent silvers and pinks - the water is quite near and wide, spilling from the high mountain cliff that borders in an otherwise enclosed space. The pool takes up a large portion of this garden, of coral reef and circled stone pathways where every step must be considered, unless you’d like a surprise trip and dip.

Fortunately, the silver water here is light. Submerging yourself in it or sitting under its flow, you won’t find the hard rush of its weight over your heads and shoulders, and the same weightlessness follows you going under. You find that you can breathe and when you come away from the lake, your body and clothes are lightly damp at most.

Still, there is plenty of ground to walk along without going over the pool. However, the first steps of learning mental fortitude against illusionary obstacles will take you into...

[ MEDITATION. ] To combat irrationalities is to iron your own reactions to them. You are instructed to sit where you find it comfortable: those unused to mental training should keep to the shoreline, while the more intermediate may find taking the stone steps out to large limpet-shaped shells - sizeable to fit 3-4 people each - a better challenge. Those more daring should sit under the waterfall or to go into the water’s depths, where you at least don’t need to worry about breathing, or even getting that wet.

To get wet isn’t the purpose, fortunately. The purpose comes the moment you close your eyes - for as soon as you do, you feel. You sense. Some other, some thing, a presence your mind decides must be there. This sensation is lighter by the shore, but sitting above the water or submerging yourself inside it brings it stronger against you. In truth there is nothing there, no one but the other Voidtreckers, but the spell of the water - or is it the void within the water? - makes your brain think otherwise, logic not welcome company.

Being in groups can help ease the effects through the SCAs, but otherwise, true control comes down to yourself. Breaks are recommended, as there’s no point wearing down an already exhausted mind. Your mind is your defence. Strengthen it. Wield it as a weapon.

[ Combat. ]

Though not exactly what they are here for Voidtreckers will notice that this order of void worshipers train in a form of martial arts. They train outside, using the watery air as part of their movement. Training is done in large group sessions and without weapons. It has a strong focus of listening to the world around them and fighting in a way that makes them one with the world, using the environment to their advantage.

Even though that might not seem the most useful to people who won't be fighting in an environment such as this world, it is at least a good form of exercise.

Any voidtrecker who is curious is welcome to join in the training and those that show especial interest can take more specific lessons aimed at beginners.

TRAVELLING THE NEXUS
[ OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE. ] While the lake and surrounding temple will help to strengthen one’s mental defences with perseverance and training, there is more that can be done away from the temple, and the island is free to be explored. The Voidtrecker Express is stationed where it dropped everyone off, and returning to it will offer everyone a mental relief regardless of the levels of their ongoing training.

The marshland continues beyond the train, one route mostly made by the natural stone pillars that rise up from the ground like stalagmites. Higher cliffs can be climbed by those who wish to, if just for a higher view, curiosity, or privacy. From wherever you look, this island gives off the same impression as most of it already has: sea-like.

[ PLANTS. ] Underfoot, there is not earth-like grass or flowers, but seagrass, kelp, algae and more. They grow along the stone, idly waving as if submerged in water and pushed by unseen waves. Strange blue plants with purple-tipped tendrils will wiggle if touched, while at the higher levels, small bulbs of some kind cluster around the size of a fist. Types of plankton make the gnats of this nexus, too tiny most of the time to be noticed as more than dots to the eyes.

[ CREATURES. ] Also, don’t forget the fish. As tiny as a pinky finger, as big as a hand, the size of a human; they swim through the air, not particularly caring for the Voidtreckers, but also not looking to engage with them. The larger of the fish travel higher than the smaller, and those as big as whales farther up than even the taller cliffs can reach. For those that have any ideas of hunting, they will know - mysteriously, as if recalling the thought - that they should go for the larger fish, and not harm the younger, smaller ones. Those are tastier, after all.

[ STONE FOREST. ] Travel low or high, the way will take them to what appears to be a forest that spans across a large portion of the central island. But as the rest of the nexus is, this is no ordinary, woody land. Its trees are stone, coral, rising high and jagged, the water in the atmosphere denser in this jungle of rock. It turns the world a sea-green to move through, with plants and coral everywhere to be seen. The air denser, thicker, leaving small droplets of water on skin and clothes.

There are no real paths than the spaces between the ‘trees’, but there are guides to find your way to somewhere: pink jellyfish, or something of the sort floating around. They are the shiri as the monks call them, and looking upon them will tell you they will help you find where you need to go, that they will aid you if you get lost and think of them. And for those whose thoughts lean such a way, they will know that harming them will bring a greater injury to the individual who does so tenfold, and they will find no guidance at all on this nexus until they have repented.

Read: Enjoy being stuck on the train for the rest of the stay.

[ CONCH LAKE. ] For those less destructive, a short travel through the stone forest will lead them to a lake, with what can only be described as a conch shell gazebo accessible in its centre. Bubbles float up and around, balls of water made to linger by whatever strange force controls this place. They can be made to bounce away and around with a touch, and respond to being thrown as a ball might. Just, watch out: They like to burst at random, no matter the force used, scattering as tiny beads all over the air.

The water here is different from that around the temple, its colour more blue, but closer to aqua than what many are used to. Yet diving into it will have the similar properties that allows one to hold their breath for much longer than usual, and to move with an ease, like floating weightlessly. There’s no worry if they close their eyes here, a peace radiating from the pool; like a refuge from the trickery that lurks no matter where you are in this nexus.

Climbing out of the pool will have you damp, more appropriately soaked than the temple’s lake. There’s nothing like towels or a great way to dry off, but you can sit and hang around under the conch gazebo if you like.

Or perhaps messing around isn’t what brought you here, but the four iridescent slabs of stone that stand at intercardinal points at the edges of the lake, that speak of the Trials to the mind when you look upon them.

THE FOUR CAVERN TRIALS

There are four caverns, four trials, with each slab suggesting their test. Upon deciding where you will go, a shiri will come to guide your character through the forest to where the stone trees part, and a half an hour walk will lead Voidtreckers to a vesicular cavern.

You know as you approach the cave’s mouth that the shiri will guide you out if you need it, but they stay outside, leaving those searching for advanced training to journey on in themselves. Passengers descend, dots of light coming through the multiple holes above to illuminate the way as you go deeper into the cave.

And you won’t have to go far to find the crystals in any of the caverns, though there’s many pathways to go deeper in. Attacking the stones to break them won’t do much, but when you put your hand on one…

The illusions start, pulling in anyone nearby.

[ CAVE OF PERCEIVING. ]    Bend deceiving labyrinths into your own path.

What is real? What is not? This cave holds a large underground river flowing through it. The water is not too fast flowing or deep but it is cold enough to be a shock if anyone falls in.

Fall in they might for their task is to cross the river. The river is filled with stones large enough to hold a person as they cross. However not all of those stones are real, some are just illusions and if they step on the illusionary rocks they will fall through to the river below.

It is possible to get by on trial and error but the task will not be considered complete until they force their minds to see through the illusions are perceive the one true path.

[ CAVE OF ENDURANCE. ]    Wounds bleed and skin burns only to bodies that believe it.

This cave may differ between Voidtreckers. Sometimes it is a monster they must face or an environmental challenge to battle through.Perhaps the searing heat of a fire or the low altitude and freezing temperature of a mountain top. Perhaps a lizard with claws and teeth. The important part is not defeating the threat but to neutralise the damage. It's not real and the mind can overcome it.

All the caves are probably best faced in groups but this was especially so. They are unlikely to be able to make the damage unreal to start with and so there is likely to be a fight or struggle before they succeed.

[ CAVE OF HEART. ]    To accept crafted desires is to invite everlasting grief.

Here they are in a beautiful place. A meadow, a forest, a rocky beach. The weather is beautiful, not too hot not too cold. A little further in is something they want, something their heart yearns for.

They can't see it yet but they are sure they will, if only they go deeper into the grass, the trees, the water. It is there, just out of reach.

To pass this test they must walk away. Turn around and leave despite their heart calling to them to go deeper.

[ CAVE OF MIND. ]    Craft a weapon from your own vulnerabilities.

Fear does not have to be a weakness. The cave is filled with a lake and in the centre there is a bubble of water, it contains something they fear. They can't see it but they know it is there. Perhaps a person, a place, an object.

Facing a fear is one thing but this task asks for more than that. To accept the fear as part of them, to turn it into a strength to protect others.

This trial is the most personal and perhaps the most difficult. They must step into that space, knowing that they will face what they fear whilst also knowing that it won't be real and use that knowledge and acceptance to bring down the entire illusion, bubble, lake and all.

art sources: alien / landscapes / waterfall / caverns

OOC Information

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Neither does Madoka.

But what choice do they have? She frowns, glancing at the Shadows, dodging another attack before quickly moving up to Ken. Usually she'd grab someone's hand for this, but considering how he reacted the last time she did it by accident, it doesn't feel right to do it now. Even though that means it just leaves her awkwardly standing next to him.

"Come on, let's.. let's at least try to concentrate really hard! They're not really here, so they can't hurt us.. They're not really here, so--"

Madoka shrieks as one of the Shadow's hands latches onto her arm.

Ken doesn't have his spear on him, and he also still has his Evoker in his pocket.

What he does have is a decent kick, which he deploys against the Shadow. It shrieks and lets go of her, scuttling away.

Without thinking, Ken grabs for her arm to check it. He's gotten bruises before that way. He knows they're supposed to be fake, but still!

If he looks at Madoka's arm, he can definitely see bruises already starting to form on them. They're mostly really red and sore-looking spots, the first sign of a bruise.

After all, even though she's really, really trying to tell herself it's not real, the pain she can feel is too strong for Madoka to fully be able to convince herself.

"I-It's fine!" She quickly says though, the moment she can feel him latch onto her arm like that, trying to downplay it. She doesn't want him to have to worry about her at a moment like this. "It's.. It's nothing big.."

And yet, if he touches the spot, she'll wince.

"No, it's... you came here because of me." He shoves her suddenly, pushing her out of the way of a Magus' robe smack and taking the hit instead. It hurts, but not as bad as it should. ... She's right. They're not real.

It still hurts.

"C - careful!"

There's a slight shriek when she's suddenly pushed out of the way, mostly because she just doesn't see it coming.

Just like how she doesn't see the attack coming until it's already hitting Ken. There's a sharp intake of breath, and this time it's her turn to be concerned, considering she immediately calls out: "A-Are you okay?"

The way he stammers doesn't seem to indicate he is.

Fortunately it's less from the impact and more from embarrassment. "... Doesn't hurt that much."

That's... that's a good point. "It doesn't hurt as much as it should. ... Because it's not real. Right?"

He turns to look at the Shadows. ... He hasn't been afraid of them in a long time, but even now... there's less of a reaction than there should be.

"It is not real, but.."

But it hurt before, right? It seemed like it hurt him before, and it sure hurt when it hit Madoka too. Like there's something real in it, even though it's just supposed to be an illusion.

But she's thinking about Ken's words, glancing between him and the Shadows. Sure, it could be him covering up part of his pain, or downplaying it, but..

They're both passengers on the same train. And she remembers the way Ken looked when she offered him those rice balls.

She wants to believe him.

".. did it really not hurt that much..?"

"I... I mean it did hurt..." He doesn't want to admit it, but it's true. It stings, but... probably isn't going to bruise.

"... I've fought these before. They hit a lot harder than these do. Like being slapped versus being hit by a baseball bat."

It's only after the words leave his mouth doe he realize that sounds... concerning.

Thanks, Ken. Totally not worrying at all. Especially since he's even younger than her.

But at the same time, it's not like Madoka is totally unused to the idea of people her age - or even younger - having to fight that brutally. She's seen her friends fight witches back home, and she knows that there are tons and tons of young girls in her world going through the same painful experiences as Ken has.

So it's not a first, but.. it's sad all the same.

Though she tries not to linger on it. This isn't the time, especially when she sees the Shadows readying to attack again.

".. Fine, if.. if you can make it feel less bad, then.. I think I can too."

Or she wants to try, at the very least. She has to. Madoka has to learn how to deal with these illusions too, especially when they might have to handle them again during a next mission.

"So don't protect me this time, okay..? I-I'll do my best."

"... Okay." It's against his instinct, but he readies himself in a slightly defensive stance, spotting the long fingers sweeping around again.

It rears back and smacks both of the kids, but... it's more like a frustrating bump than any real severe pain. Its form wavers a little bit, and Ken grins. "I can practically see right through you. Why? Because you're not here."

Honestly, she's still a little nervous about the idea of all this.

But she knows she has to try. She has to believe she can do this, especially since Ken can do it too. All she has to do is close her eyes, pretend there's nothing there, and..

... huh.

"What, did they already hit us, or not..?"

It sounds like it from what he's saying, but she was barely feeling anything just now.

Edited 2021-06-18 06:02 (UTC)

"I think it tried." He just shakes his head and sits down. He doesn't care if his pants are going to get wet.

"I mean, they're not even here." Another strike, and he feels... nothing. "Boring."

Slowly Madoka opens her eyes, taking a peek.

.. He's right. They are trying, but it's like their blows are nothing. Like just some slight breeze. It's a relief to know they somehow did manage to master is..

Though Ken's wording makes her feel a little awkward all the same.

"H-Hey, even if they're illusions, they're not boring, you know.. They can be really dangerous for some people!" Like, you know. Them, a few moments ago.

"I mean they could, if they were there." Sure he got a little hurt, but that's not really much. The cave is empty other than the two of them, right?

"Oh -"

And then it really is empty as Ken returns to consciousness, holding a crystal in his hand. "Oh."

"Looks like we did it."

Hey, what other conclusion is there to come to when the illusions are gone, and instead they have these crystals? It must mean that they've cleared the trial.

Let's Get Down to Business

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