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

OOC post. Ask questions here. The Ministry's testimony form is here

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"Mortals. Elves. Words. Definitions that are similar but different between every part of existence."

Their hand hasn't moved since they gestured it out.

"Do you have another theory. Oh, and I doubt your body is in 'storage' also. Your physical being, your worldly body, as some others call it."

"The differences in those definitions in different parts of existence might matter." Curufin is very definite about that.

He looks at the hand.

"I have the theory I had in the months after I arrived. The train has some means of teleporting people out of their own worlds and onto the Void platform every month. Maybe it travels near each of the worlds of the new people in fast succession and latches onto them and whisks them across the Void and onto the platform. It takes their whole physical beings, and so they really are gone from their own worlds. I haven't got a scientific explanation for the teleportation part, but then, I don't suppose I really need one."

He glances at the hand again. "Do you want my explanation for why an Elf can't be separated from his or her body? Or at least, I can't. Or do you already credit that there's a reason for that?"

"I know they can be separated," Ten-Nank says, "because they have been. Because many individuals have been - mortals, not mortals. No, it's not a true separation; I'm simply using what words and terms may make sense to another individual. Individuals who do not understand the void - and that is a problem in your theories. Your plans."

A point that has become evident.

"You don't understand or know the void. But, the rules you believe in - in the way you think things work, that make sense. You are part of a larger system. Many systems. You seem to lean on what is sometimes called, a 'gut feeling'. Gut feeling, does that make sense? Is that correct? Facts or information doesn't really matter. I could tell you, 'elves have been tethered before, separated', and would you believe me? There is a chance, but also not a chance - that's what my programs tell me. The tethering system isn't just one used by mortals. 'Mortals'. That's too simple a classification."

"Have you known any Elves who have been separated from their bodies? And as for the Void, I'm wondering what it is that you think I don't understand?"

He sighs. "I do listen to my intuitions, and I suppose that's what you mean by 'gut feeling.' But facts and information do matter to me. And as for the classification, I take that from my own world, where it is not too simple; it represents reality. What do you mean when you say the tethering system isn't one just used by mortals? Do you mean that some sort of immortals are using it, somewhere?"

They are quiet for a moment.

"There are immortals. There are beings who are not bound to time. I am myself a fragment of a universe. There are mortals, immortals, gods, elves, titans, angels, demons, more types of beings than I will list. There are immortals on the voidcraft with you. There are gods. We have been requested to confirm the state of planets having those significant to them removed from their systems. This is not impossible. Worlds and galaxies and systems have collapsed from individuals being tethered without consideration to their roles. It has happened. It is happening."

And from there, dealing with the consequences of those careless actions.

"You don't understand its capabilities, its limitations - the limitations of the crafts that use it. What can be done, what can't. You understand your own existence, you seem to understand ways the void can be used, but how can you understand the void, when you only know it from inside a craft? But I have looked it up, since you ask: about Elves. Elves can die, and be allowed to reincarnate if they desire, or spend the afterlife in another location. Stay a spirit, if they prefer. There are many results for elves. You can explain, if you like, how you would be an exception. But the rules, the ways that everything exists, abides by in one existence; the way your world works - it can be violated by outside existences."

Curufin waits for Ten-Nank to speak again, his face patient and attentive. He is profoundly interested in all that the Ministry official has to say.

"Yes, I know that many types of beings exist. You are a fragment of a universe? I'd like to hear more about that, if you'd care to tell me. But how would you confirm the state of planets that have had people kidnapped who were significant to those planets? You'd have to go there and see, would you not? Is that part of your job?"

"You think I don't understand the Void's capabilities and limitations, and those of the crafts that use it? I can agree with you that I have limited understanding of the Void. But I know it both from inside a craft and from journeying through it in spirit form. I left the last world I lived in, Hadriel, by disembodying and passing through its walls into the Void. I drifted for eight months until the Voidtrecker Express picked me up and set me on the Void platform. The instant my foot touched the platform, I re-embodied. What you say about Elves is more or less true. We can reincarnate if we die, but that is not rebirth, it is re-embodiment in our own familiar forms. We can do that because we are large, powerful spirits with a physical manifestation, the body. If we die, the body remains in the memory of the spirit and the spirit can manifest it again simply by remembering it accurately. And we can disembody without dying, and re-embody without the help of our gods, though not all Elves know this. And as for the rules, I'd agree that my world can be violated by outside existences. Our gods had a renegade brother who tried to destroy our planet. But if you mean outside existences such as Voidcraft, I suppose you're right about that, too. In theory, beings from other universes could visit Arda. It's just that I never saw it happen while I was living my life there. I suppose the Voidtrecker must have gotten very near Arda or actually entered it, in order to collect my parents and two of my brothers and one of my cousins, so I can see what you mean by a rule."

"To your question about kidnapped individuals: Part of the work of the Ministry is to monitor the health and safety of those within the void, and those that use it. So yes, we do investigate and confirm cases. There are public articles. I can include them in a larger file, and what you make of them will be up to you. If you read them. View them."

So to answer that first part. But they allowed Curufin to speak fully, waiting until he was done to do so themselves.

"To your next point: Can you confirm that the void you were in is the same Void used now for travel? There are many voids - there are many everything. That you were wandering within a void doesn't mean you were wandering inside this Void, the one that we work with. You ended up on the platform - the liminal station - shows that you have been tethered, but not that you have been brought into this Void completely. Becoming re-embodied - many beings can do this. Nothing unusual. Though, it is unusual - uncommon - for certain types of individuals to be tethered by the means available when they are in certain conditions. A large mess. Usually, most times, this is for beings in a state of 'death' - which itself is more broad than it should be. There are rules that cannot be crossed. Safely, anyway.

"What could be happening to you now, is unknown. But the state of being tethered, for the spirit to remember the body - this is how tethering works in this Void, in a sense. This form of yours here-" They gesture a hand, palm facing upward, to Curufin, "--this as much a physical body as any other that is physical, yes. Calling the shell what is left behind - the form, one's 'earthly being', in some cultures, a 'physical anchor', is simply an easier term. It is a representation. But, there can still be something left behind. Usually. We won't know the problems being faced by those tethered to the Voidtrecker Express without being able to analyse and conduct checks."

They finally lower their hand.

"The issue becomes, what happens next when the tether is severed. Is there anything left of you where you were picked up? Can you survive being disconnected from the voidcraft. Will you split, ruined. The capabilities of your being doesn't mean you will be fine. If you wish to stay in the void, then that's well and fine, for you. Though, even people who are trapped in the void need to have check-ups."

"I would like to read that larger file, if you are willing to make it available to me. And I'd thank you for it."

He shrugs. "And as for your question about the Void, no, I can't confirm that the one I was journeying in is the same as the one that is now used for travel. I can well believe there are multiple Voids. And why not, if there are multiple universes? I'm not sure what you mean when you say the fact that I was tethered doesn't necessarily mean I have been brought into this Void completely. Do you mean I might still be floating around in the Void I was in when the Voidtrecker Express picked me up? I wasn't dead, I was just disembodied. And I can well believe it is uncommon for beings to be tethered when they are in certain conditions, such as death, but there are people on the train who were dead when they were tethered. Was this against the rules?"

He sighs again. "As for the unknown, I don't expect that I'd disintegrate if I were untethered. But as for those checks you spoke of conducting, I think that's a good idea, if it's possible for the Ministry to do that. There are no other Elves from Arda presently on the train, and I think it's possible that some of the mortals might have problems."

Oh right, existence in the Void. "As I said, I don't feel that anything of me was left behind in the Void, and I don't believe I'd disintegrate if the tether was severed. If it does turn out that something of me was left there, I wouldn't choose to stay there. I'd go and find a portal to some universe that could use my skills and abilities. But do you know of anybody who is trapped in the Void? Have you checked up on them recently?"

"You ask so many questions, one after the other. I'm going to answer what I can, whatever I recall to, care to - it is easier, really. I'm not a speaking existence. I use machines to communicate - this machine. I've already been configuring myself to answer you, adapting to the way you converse. Repeat something if you want an answer. But give me fewer. Less."

It's a warning, for the various questions that seem scattered throughout what Curufin's been saying, before they continue on. Shortening sentences for whatever help that gives them.

"Whether you feel your existence elsewhere or not, is inconclusive as evidence. The void is vast. You are not meant to feel that anything is missing, as your being, here - it is you, a larger part of your being that manifests as a tangible projection of yourself. Yes, you manifested a physical form of yourself, but this doesn't mean you lack a starting anchor. But I will acknowledge again that there is something unusual about your tethering. Your, as in the passengers than a singular 'your'. I suggest communicating with the voidcraft, asking for details. Confirmation.

"Next: Death. If a being has no ability to exist in any form while in the state that individuals known as 'death', they wouldn't be tethered. They cannot consent to being tethered. They are not there to be tethered. If you are disembodied but capable of consent, then this is no issue, but a part of you will be - under the safest tethering system - be kept as an anchor. The 'body'. Also known as the 'starting anchor'. It is the ability to be tangible to existence that matters more than 'dead' or 'alive'. The definition of these words change between existences. Can overlap. I use rules to refer to the dead without will.

"Lastly: Conducting checks. If the passengers and the voidcraft will approve of it, and the passengers sharing this with the voidcraft will let it know your wishes, we will be sending out requests to undertake checks. So we can direct the craft to locations where they can be made."

"Sorry about that. My speaking style is to ask questions whenever they occur to me, so they occur in the middle of my comments. If that makes things difficult for you, I'll certainly ask fewer questions or no more at all. You've certainly accommodated me, so I can accommodate you."

And as for the tethering matter, "I'll try communicating with the train again. If there is something about our tethering that strikes you as unusual, then I want to know what the train thinks about it."

And as regards death, "I see. You're saying that the dead cannot consent to tethering, but a disembodied Elf can. I'll remember that term, 'starting anchor,' for whenever I next get a chance to talk to the train and get answers."

The checks might be an issue as well. "If you are going to conduct those checks, you might get the approval of the passengers and maybe of the train. I'm sure that a lot of people want to know about their bodies, and they'd be willing to give you the names of their worlds so that you can go there. Or so that the train can go there and do the checking up."

He smiles a little. "I think I have asked all the questions I want to ask right now. I thank you for your time and your attention and for being such a good listener, and especially for your willingness to communicate with me in Sindarin -- I think that is really hospitable of you. Shall we end this session for now? Who knows, we might meet again someday. I wish you well, and I hope your projects and enterprises in the Void all turn out well."

He holds out his hand again for a handshake, if Ten-Nank wants to say goodbye in this fashion.

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The Waking of Neran

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