Intro Log: Rock This City

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-14th
Warnings: New folks, rockin' dudes made of rock, and collectible friends!

This time, it's different.

There's no cave, no stone walls looming up around you and overhead, no stifling air or artificial light- not that you'd appreciate it, seeing as to how you've probably never been here before. And still, when you land facefirst on the dirt ground of the colosseum, you may not quite appreciate all the improvements and steps we've had to take to get here- after all, you're still surrounded by strangers in a crumbling city on an alien planet in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and you're being attacked by Earth Elementals. These creatures are tall, between seven to ten feet, and made of solid rock, capable of punching through all the squishy bits of you- and for whatever reason, they definitely want to start punching. They're incredibly strong and, seeing as to how they're enchanted alive and have no internal organs, they're very difficult to kill.

But don't let that scare you off. For all the collectors in you, you can also find a very special array of beanie babies all scattered at the ground at your feet. Do you know that some of these things will be worth a lot of money someday? Better find the rarest one and stockpile it while you can! You might run into the rainbow crab, the platypus, or the sought-after bald eagle, or many more! Be sure to never take the tag off and never ever let anyone play with them so they don't lose value.

Once you've got your kids' college fund squared away, it's time to start exploring! You can explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers January 10th-14th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[puzzlingly]

"Maybe so." What a deep talk for a pair of drunken guys.

"Can you imagine if they had killed Delight? I sometimes wonder what will happen from that decision alone, or what will not. All we can hope is that the path we took is the less terrible of them all. The choices we make have more impact that we can imagine."

He makes a small pause to drink a litle more of his drink. He's gonna need a new one soon.

"But you know that better than most, don't you, Curufin?"

And just a very brief pause later:

"What does your name mean anyway?"

[so_dark_a_road]

In vino veritas, as the Romans said! In wine is truth.

"We can only hope, with respect to all of our choices, that the path we took is the least harmful one."

And Curufin takes another sip, too, imbibing a little more of that truth. He meets Atem's eyes, with candor. "You're right. I know better most people do, how great and terrible can be the consequences of the choices we make. But you know that, too, Pharaoh Atem, do you not?"

Strange change of subject, but he'll go with it. "My name means Skilled Finwë. It's my father-name. That is, my father gave it to me, in accordance with our naming traditions. Finwë was my grandfather, King of the Noldor, the leader of our clan. His sons and some of his grandsons were given his name, with an prefix that indicated a quality that that particular child had. I'm like my father, a highly skilled craftsman, so the prefix is Curu, skill or cleverness. So it's actually Curufinwë."

"And you, Atem? What does your name mean?"

[puzzlingly]

Atem laughs, no one had called him that way in a long time, it is strange, comforting and strange at the same time. "I do."

He listens attentively, as much as his drunken self allows him to. "Your father named you too... That's a very good name. Fitting, if you ask me."

"Ah well, mine... heh. It's the name of our creator god. A bit of a pompous name if you ask me, but it's mine." For someone who had forgot it for so long, it means much more than Curufin might imagine. "As someone I know said, my father expected a lot from me, I guess. I hope I haven't disappointed him much."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin had never known Atem's other name, the one that belonged to the modern era.

"Thank you. I rather like my name. I just hope Cel likes his name as much. I sometimes think I overstepped when I gave it to him. But it's accurate, he's an incredible smith. Better than I am, and better even than my father was."

"Atem is the name of your creator god? A mythic kind of name, but it makes sense. You're a creative kind of person, at least that's my impression. Why not back that up with a name that has a powerful creative resonance?"

Oh yes, fathers.

"Was your father a perfectionist?"

[puzzlingly]

A creative person...? Now that's something he never heard nor thought about, maybe his father wasn't too off the mark.

"I... don't think so, not as much as my uncle was. But he was benevolent and kind." He smiles as he remembers. "Why do you ask?"

[so_dark_a_road]

Definitely a creative person!

"I just wondered. It doesn't have to be a father, it could be an uncle or some other influential relative. My father was a perfectionist, and he expected all his children to become experts in their various fields. He wouldn't have accepted less, and we were devoted to him. I think he gets a fair amount of the credit for our successes." As well as their failures, tbh! "But such a father has other effects on his children as well. They might have a great desire not displease him, but particularly, to conceal or at least de-emphasize whatever traits they have that aren't in accordance with his beliefs and desires."

"You somehow strike me as one who may have had that situation. But its hard to say why, except that you don't ask for help, and you seem to strive not to give the impression that you ever need it."

[puzzlingly]

"Well... After my father's passing, I guess you could say my uncle took a little over the chore of raising me as well..." Little did Atem know back then how jealous he was that it wasn't his cousin who would be Pharaoh, now, he often wondered if he had loved him at all. "He was very strict."

Wouldn't it be ironic that some of that education was also what drove him to his doom? Not that Curufin knows that he would later try to betray him, also, probably not his uncle's fault...

"All I ever wanted was to make my father proud..."

[so_dark_a_road]

"How old were you when your father died? That must have been difficult for you. Not only to lose your father, but to go from his benevolent kindness to the strictness of your uncle. This uncle was not pleased to take over the care of his brother's son?"

Ah, education! That seems to be the way it works. The lessons we learn as children stay with us, and influence our actions. . . and even drive us to our doom. And those who teach us those lessons do not always understand the impact they are having on us.

"You must have loved your father dearly, and admired him."

[puzzlingly]

Those questions are sobering.

"Eleven. And, it was complicated, my uncle did his best... It doesn't matter now." He doesn't really want to talk about that, it's his fault they go to this conversation, however.

Atem still manages a smile.

"I did. He was all my world." It is so hard for him to understand anyone who would hate their father, of course, he understands circumstances are different for everyone, but it is still difficult to comprehend.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Eleven years old is so young. But I'm sure your uncle did his best." Seeing that Atem does not really want to talk of that time, Curufin is willing to let the subject drop.

He smiles. "I'll bet he would be proud, if he could see how you grew up, who you grew up to be. Any father would be proud."

And Curufin, who adored his own father, understands very well that love and that loss.

[puzzlingly]

Atem, for the most part, had gotten over that loss a long time ago. Such is life after all, pushing the living to get over the deceased, to go on, but the pain of having lost his father only seems a little fresh now after that strange event the gods put over them, where he had to experience the sadness of his younger self right at that age. That's why he'd rather not speak about it it seems. He's glad that Curufin understands.

He gives the elf an affectionate stare. "How is it that you always know what to say, Curufin?" He says with a bit of a tired smile, he's drank so much, he should stop and go home soon, maybe.

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin smiles at him. "I don't. I just kind of bungle around and try to get it right. Sometimes I do get it right."

He sees the fatigue in Atem's face. "It's getting late. Want an escort back to your house?"

[puzzlingly]

Any other time, Atem would probably avoid bothering his friend, he seems to be having fun, but he's sure that if he gets up, he might fall on his behind, he probably shouldn't have drank so much. He smiles a little sheepishly at Curufin.

"If it's not much bother..."

[so_dark_a_road]

"It isn't a bother at all. Come, let us be on our way, then." And he smiles and holds out a hand for Atem to take if he is feeling unsteady. If he is feeling really unsteady, he can lean on Curufin's shoulder.