middleofsomewhere | The Waking of Neran

The Waking of Neran

"Good morning Voidtreckers and passengers. Today is day twenty one of the month of Orchestra. We will be arriving in System #78961112094711 later today and the dressing carriage is open for your use."

It is indeed, with thick winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves in all sizes. There are also some bags suitable for carrying food, for anyone who wants to add to the festival food with more food!

They have the morning to prepare before another announcement.

"Shortly arriving in System #78961112094711. The weather is extremely cold, voidtreckers and passengers should wrap up warm and wear their SCA's at all times. Arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."
The train shakes as they leave the void and they will see dark skies with glowing flecks of light falling down around them. It's only a glimpse before there is rock to both sides as they enter the landing area.

The Waking of Neran

... ARRIVAL TO OSIGA

THE VOIDTRECKER EXPRESS PULLS INTO AN OPEN HIGH-STACKED PARKING STATION, FILLED ALREADY BY A VARIETY OF VEHICLES. Darkness and the cold spills into where they pull in, lights and signs around to guide the Voidtreckers who exit the craft where they need to go, elevator and teleporting systems available to choose from.

For those turn their gaze to where the cold comes, they will see a view of the world: a landscape of mountains lit in burning bright blue. Like Christmas and city lights, they can be seen in the far distance, and the sky too glows with a shimmering, falling blue. It looks like a slow rain, while farther up, the twinkling of actual stars can be glimpsed.

This will be their view of the world for three Osiga days - 210 hours, give or take.

The lower floor widens into a train-like station, shuttles ready to take them into Osiga proper in short five minute rides. They just need to figure out they need to scan their SCAs at the turnstiles, which will beep with approval, and send a map to their SCA of the grotto.

With a handy dot to their hotel.

... THE IRUE GROTTO

HOTEL. THE EXTERIOR OF THE HOTEL IS STONY, A WALL OF UNEVEN ROCK WITH SLITS FOR WINDOWS CLIMBING UPWARD. It gives off a sparse, cold impression, but the interior is anything but. Inside the floors are smoother, a carpet in the middle of a lobby, and the walls are decorated with colourful paints and endless rugs and furs. There's seating, a roaring fire in one corner, and lighting set to a cosy mood.

There's stairs that can be taken, but also elevators. The bedrooms are much the same as the lobby, with paints and furs all around - the furs especially covering the beds, along with hand stitched quilts. In the centre is a fire pit, set with heatstones than wood or coal, and extras in a container by a wall with safety instructions of how to move them (with tongs and gloves).

Outside the rest of the grotto can be seen, a mish-mash of layers closer to a labyrinth. There's curtains for privacy, and also a screen to help blot out the sound.

FOOD & SIGHTS.

NOW, THE IRUE GROTTO CAN BE EXPLORED. The grotto is easy to get lost in, with stone stairs and archways doubling as bridges to lead to different levels, but always with something to see. Museums and art galleries fill most of the lower layers down, a few shops between of traditional trinkets and garments for those who come out interested in taking a piece of Osiga back with them. There are also day classes, with candle-making a big one on the first night.

Water runs through constructed streams, small but always in travel. They fall off into small waterfalls, eventually gathering into pools that always ensure drink is around. But there's also drinking spaces around, wall coves where servers mind the drinks, and people gather around on crouched seating. Privacy isn't a big deal in Osiga; visitors welcomed into conversation freely. The drinks favour the strong, spicy and sweet. Their traditional drinks are a fiery whisky and a sweet creamy milk drink flavoured by spices that taste very much like cinnamon and nutmeg. It is strongly alcoholic though there is a non alcoholic version as well. There are other drinks available of course from other planets but visitors are encouraged in a good natured way to try the good stuff.

And let's not forget the food. Most traditional Osigian dishes are spicy yet sweet, fatty, and largely meat. There are also food baskets all over, filled with wrapped snacks free for taking, or to add your own. Never let your neighbour go hungry. What will you find, dipping your hand in: a treat, or a mistake?

SORS PARKS, OPEN SKIES. THE FARTHER FROM THE HOTELS AND STATION VISITORS GO, THE MORE THE SKY BECOMES VISIBLE, AND WITH IT THE FALLING SNOW. Except this isn't snow, and those who venture out will figure this soon enough. There are sors parks up ahead, hard to miss for how they glow a brilliant blue, tall erratic sculptures shaped like an abstract mess. They're cold, even colder than the rest of the grotto, and near every entrance are wooden racks with coats and scarfs hanging from pegs, a bucket of heatstones to stick in pockets.

Keeping company is better than not. Anyone who goes in alone will find the chill uncomfortable to those who have someone else nearby, SCAs working stronger together. Paths somehow stay free from being covered in the icy mess, and every few yards are grit bins with small bags to put the contents in, instructions as to what to do.

And that's to throw them at the sculptures, into the air, and watch as the hardened ice disperses into a fizzle of lights. The sight is considered beautiful, and especially fun for kids and couples.

... ANAN & THE MINISTRY

It's maybe an hour or so after their arrival when a message comes through the comms on their SCA's.

boop beep boop beep / boop boop boop/ boop boop/ beep//
beep beep / boop beep//
beep beep beep boop/ boop boop boop/ beep beep/ boop beep beep / boop / beep boop beep/ beep/ boop beep boop beep/ boop beep boop/ beep/ beep boop beep/ beep beep beep//

"It didn't close the hack. I think your Voidtrecker Express likes me." Anan sounds almost triumphant. "Glad you all came. I'm at the drinking space next to the Irue Museam of Osigan Art."

For those that wish to go and meet her, they can.

... THE WAKING OF NERAN

NIGHT ONE: REMEMBERING. It's hard to tell when 'night' begins when the world is in darkness and there are more hours in the day then they are perhaps used to. But things begin to wind down a little, the art houses and museums close and the day activities are wrapped up.

People begin making their way to the main streets where the parade will go. Some people may have made candles throughout the day but there are also long candles for sale and 'fire' bearers carrying large torches to light the candles. The main lights are all turned off, plunging the streets into darkness lit only by the candles and the faint distant glow of sors.

The parade itself has large lit floats, literally floating above the ground, the lights are in intricate shapes. There are light dancers- people dressed completely in black to blend in to the night, with ribbons of light doing feats of acrobatics to music- instruments and volcaless voices weaving melodies.

After the parade passes by people move to the streams, where their floating candles that can be lit and sent on their way. There are designated areas for the tall candles to be placed- almost shrine like with areas to pray or think or sing- the helpful guides will assist anyone and are very open to the different ways people from various worlds and cultures may wish to remember their dead.

Afterwards people are encouraged to drink, eat, spend time with the living and swap stories of the dead. Dance and sing. It is upbeat, joyous and the tears are meant to be cathartic.

NIGHT TWO: PERSEVERING. After another day of activities- or resting and recovering from the excess of the night before the grotto again is ready in anticipation. The side of the grotto open to the sky is packed with people, ledges and railings packed with people. Even the buildings on this side of the grotto have opened their doors to allow people up on their roofs to watch the firework display.

Sparklers are sold, as are snacks and drinks and a voice comes through speakers throughout the space.

"NERAN! On this night you fight!" The crowd cheers. "Hear our dedication, return to us! For tonight is a night of COURAGE!"

The crowd cheers again and the fireworks begin. Loud and colourful, beautiful shapes, almost like dances in the sky. It's loud and it's busy but the atmosphere is great, throughout the night within the crowd there are marriage proposals, declarations of new jobs, decisions to travel the void. Bravery and courage abound- helped probably by the strong whisky that is flowing freely.

NIGHT THREE: UNITY. The festival continues, though it's a slightly later start on day three for many who are nursing hangovers, having a well earned sleep in preparation for the final night or just frantically trying to remember what declarations they had made the night before.

But the activities are still happening throughout the grotto- though the guides might advise any obvious voidtravellers that they may wish to nap before 'night' time, especially if they are not used to day/night cycles this long. The final night doesn't stop til sunrise after all and no one wants to miss the sun rising!

As the time comes for the party to start every square and every street is packed, music blares through speakers. Traditional Osigan music mixed with styles and music from other planets in the galexy. The traditional Osigan music has many layers, deep bass instruments that seem to make the ground itself rumble.

There is dancing, led by guides and locals. They are big circle dances, loud energetic and done in unity. There are callers who keep everyone in time and remind them of the steps but it is mostly an exercise in organised chaos.

But very fun organised chaos. There's extra chairs and benches set around for people who would rather watch or need a break from the endless swirl of dancers. There's plenty of water in large barrels for people to help themselves and other drinks are available to buy.

The party goes on for hours but eventually the music stops and there is an announcement that they have an hour left until sunrise. People begin moving out to find the best spots to watch. Up high on the cliffs people spread out rugs and blankets and settle, waiting.

The atmosphere is one of anticipation, people passing around drinks and snacks. Then there is a hush, a cry as for the first time in a month the first ray of light streaks across the sky.

Neran has awoken. The sun has returned once more.

OOC NOTES

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She smiled at him, moving the blanket so he could come close without causing any blanket fires. "Sorry about that, there's a lot of you. It was pretty hard to catch you all."

Plus help with people talking to the ministry. But she doesn't mind, it's good to see them all and she's glad she got to share the festival with them.

She shook her head, "I can manage a hug." She stood up, to get closer and wrap her arms around him, Chiff saw that as invitation to clamber up his leg completely and find a seat on his head.

"No, not at all, don't apologize for that! It's good to talk to you, even this late in the festival." He eagerly accepts her hug, giving her a strong and warm hug in return, laughing softly as Chiff finds his way to resting on top of his head. "And thank you for inviting us. This is amazing, truly, it's... I've never been to a festival in my life, so this is more than I could have ever asked for!"

He pulls away with a big smile, being careful not to move his head too much for fear of toppling his new Chiff-hat from his head. "So you'll convince Voidy to let us come back to Osiga next year, right? They seem to be taken with you, the Voidtrecker Express I mean. Enough to finally let you into our local network! I also vouched for you, if it helps. Heh." Embarrassed, he rubs at the back of his neck, cheeks already pink from the biting wind. "How are Malin and Jin-roh, did they make it or are they elsewhere?"

"Well I am glad to have given you your first festival experience." She smiled at that, though she felt a little sad for him. To have never gone to a festival. She was even more glad that their voidcraft had excepted her message.

"I'll try my best, I'm glad they allowed me through, though voidcraft tend to take cues from their crew so I have you all to thank for that I guess."

She would indeed invite them next year, if their situation hadn't changed by then, she hoped it had though, she didn't like the idea of them all trapped like this.

"They are both good. Malin is around though festivals aren't really her thing so she's probably hidden away on her data slab somewhere. Jin-Roh has family here on Osiga so has gone to celebrate the Waking with them."

"Is this how all the festivals in Osiga work? I know this one has to do with your Sun Goddess returning, so do you have other festivals to celebrate your other Gods, or is she a special case?"

Zagreus grins at her explanation, giving her an eager nod. "Well you've definitely got a fan on board the Voidtrecker Express. No need to worry about getting disconnected while you're in range. You wouldn't happen to know the range on a rogue voidcraft's standard-issue void-safe transmitter, would you?"

At the mention of Anan's crew, Zagreus perks up. "Fair enough, though I think Malin's missing out. I really thought Jin-Roh to be more the solitary type. Hard to picture him making candles and frolicking in the snow-- er, sors, from the little I met him." Whether Zagreus is correct in his assumption or not is up to Jin-Roh's crewmate, who would clearly know him better than Zagreus would. "I bet Chiff is enjoying himself, though, aren't you, mate?" He reaches up and gently pats Chiff on the chassis, almost as if petting Cerberus back home.

"This is the main festival on Osiga. They have a smaller harvest festival and a summer day of rest but this is the big one. Neran is their main god, though not many actually worship or believe any more. They had a few minor ones hundreds of years ago but I don't know much about them."

She smiled, "Jin-Roh is a big softie really. Just... don't tell him I said that." Chiff beeped and span around at the attention, a quick string of beeps and boops.

"They said that they are enjoying themselves and 472 quad VB's." She frowned for a moment.

"Oh that's the range. It's... Decent. Space is almost as complicated as time but it's enough to get a message to a craft in the same section of void as you."

"Ohhh, so Osiga celebrates the turn of the seasons, not the Gods, necessarily." Zagreus is sure Demeter would be happy about that. "Back in my world, in my time, the Gods each have festival days, at least the Olympians do. Apparently in certain other places on Earth, they worship different Gods, or they don't worship at all. But I'm something like two or three thousand years in the past, for most of the other Voidtreckers from Earth." He shrugs his shoulders. What is a displaced godling gonna do?

Zagreus chuckles at her answer about Jin-roh, and gives Anan a knowing nod. "Don't worry, I won't say anything... as long as you promise to keep an eye on us, if you ever run into us out there. As long as we vouch for you, I'm sure Voidy will send your messages right through, once it's confirmed it's you and everything. And with a range like that, surely you'll run into us again, out there?"

He very carefully places a hand on top of Chiff to keep him steady as he slowly lowers himself down onto the blanket, his fiery-hot feet sticking out into the sors in front of them, toward the inevitable sunrise. Only then does he release Chiff - it wouldn't do to knock his new robot buddy off his sunrise-watching perch! "Funny story, about sunrises - you know I only saw my first sunrise on my world about seven or eight months ago, shortly before I was picked up by Voidy? It was an amazing experience... I'd never seen anything so bright in my life. And the sky lit up in all these amazing colors... Osiga's got a lot to live up to! But I guess the wind-up to the actual sunrise has been way more fun here." He gives her a wink and a little grin.

"You had not seen a sunrise before? What manner of place do you come from?"

He had mentioned earth but that is a name for so many planets in so many worlds. Indeed there were three planets called Earth in this system alone and so that didn't give her much idea of what such a world would be like.

A world of darkness? One without sunrises? One without a sun? Neran's sleep was hard enough, she couldn't imagine a world with no sun.

"I live in the Underworld. My Father's the God of the Dead, so we live in a section of Tartarus reserved for the House of Hades. It's why I didn't see a sunrise before I left the Underworld, and it's also why I don't have a tan." He teasingly motions to his deathly pale skin on his face and neck, which while slightly darkened from his Mediterranean heritage, is hardly what one might call 'tan'.

His father was the God of the Dead. What interesting and strange places these Voidtreckers come from. It certainly explained why he had never seen a sunrise.

"Had you ever left the underworld before you were taken to the train?"

Because that had to be strange indeed.

"Yes, I have, a few times. More than I can count on one hand. Saw my first sunrise on my first visit to my Mother's garden, in fact. But I can't stay on the surface world for long. The SCA prevents me from dying while on a surface world, for some reason." He motions to the little blue device on his wrist, despite the red in which he's dressed himself.

"I'm by myself whenever I go to Mother's garden, so it'll be nice to watch the sunrise with a friend, for once."

"SCA's are good like that." She smiled, "It's what they are for. To allow us to exist in worlds where we are not built to survive."

She smiled at him. "Then I look forward to watching the sunrise with you." She smiled. "I was born in space so really, I only ever saw the sun rise and set when we docked on planets. My dad loved watching sun rises. If we had time he would always make sure to go somewhere quiet, he used to take me along with him."

She tilted her head. "Though your mother had a garden? Did she not live in the underworld with you?"

"Well I hope Voidy lets me take it home with me when I leave, I'd love to actually see the rest of my world without having to worry about going home the hard way." The prospect of exploration seems to bring a sparkle to Zagreus' mis-matched eyes, one that hopefully amuses if nothing else.

"Same to you, Anan." He grins at her anecdote, adding, "Lucky! Sounds like you and your Dad shared a lot of great mornings. Though, you said 'used to'... does that mean he's passed on?"

Never one to forget about Chiff, Zag makes sure his laurel crown isn't touching any of his new robot hat's parts. He wonders for a moment if Chiff can actually feel warmth or not. "It's a complicated story," he answers Anan's question as nonchalantly as if talking about the weather. "Long story short, Mother left the Underworld without telling Father, and for the longest time I never knew she existed, and until I went to find her, she didn't know I existed. She thought I'd died in childbirth, but Lady Nyx thankfully managed to revive me. Now because of Nyx, and her daughters the Fates, I can't die permanently, but I am tied to the Underworld, meaning I can't survive on the surface for long. Hence the SCA, here, on missions and the like."

Knowing the topic is probably too dour for most mortals to handle, he quickly changes topics. "But my Mother, she's great with plants. She's got so many different varieties of things! Loads of things like olives, and grapes, and pomegranates, and these big leafy green things, and these flowers that grow in a little bunch of blooms in purple and pink and blue, and they smell really nice... her garden is so bright and vivid, it's hard not to picture her standing in it right now."

She just smiled lightly, she worries about their possibilities of getting back to their worlds but she tries to keep her worries to herself. She doesn't want to cause them despair.

"Ah no. He's still out there." She waved her hand at the sky. "I haven't seen him in a while but we are still in contact, our paths just have not crossed."

As was the way of children of the stars. She listened to him as he explained. Many of their stories were complicated and his was no different. A mother who believed she had lost her son, a son who couldn't die but couldn't survive out of the underworld.

"She sounds great and I am glad you got to see her, even if it has never been for a long time."

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The Waking of Neran

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