Intro Log: Eat Your Veggies

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-16th
Warnings: Luscious greenery and confused newbies

As has become tradition within the good (well, okay) city of Hadriel, new arrivals will awake on the floor of the half-destroyed colosseum. Confused and disoriented, you may be wondering where you are and what you're doing there. Don't worry! Someone will probably tell you sooner or later, as long as you get out of the colosseum alive.

Oh, right. About that. Along with the poor, innocent, vulnerable new arrivals are a number of other new friends! Well, maybe less 'friends' than 'horrifying monsters', but are you really going to be picky? Wandering the arena are Shambling Mounds. These creatures are large, unattractive piles of vaguely humanoid-shaped vegetation. They hit hard, they can take a lot of damage, and if you're really unlucky they might manage to engulf you with their weird plant bodies. If that happens, you'd better try to get free fast - otherwise they'll just walk off with you stuck inside and kill you later at their leisure.

The Door appears to have cast a wide net for 'plant monsters', and while Shambling Mounds are the only ones that can actually hurt you, it's managed to pull in a number of smaller, less dangerous carnivorous plants. Some of them are even kind of cute! So if you were looking for a pet venus flytrap or a new pitcher plant, you're in luck. Scattered around the colosseum are carnivorous potted plants, just waiting to find a new home.

Make a new plant friend, or get eaten by one, or run screaming! Whatever you choose to do, once you find your way out of the colosseum there's plenty of other distractions. Feel free to go 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-16th.
► 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

[prophesiedone]

[He senses her weakness and deems her no threat. Raising his mechanical hand, he pushes back his hood and smiles. The expression is unsettling in that it is two steps away from being downright unhinged. True amusement has been lost to this "great warrior", though he desperately seeks happiness in a future he idolizes as perfect.]

I don't know. [The smile fades and his gaze hardens.] We have been kidnapped by my estimations, though I do not know how or why. Rest assured that I will get to the bottom of it.

[Anakin sheathes his lightsaber and approaches her.] Are you injured?

[devotional]

[ The sight of the mechanical hand vaguely reminds Luna of her elder brother, but the smile that accompanies it strikes some sort of deep, instinctual chord within her. There's too many teeth in the smile, his eyes too wide; still, far be it from fair of her to disengage when she had been the one to call out to him first.

The quick shift in his expression only serves to make her more weary, but Lunafreya isn't one to back down. The stranger's words, at the very least, are reassuring in their own way. ]

Of that I have no doubt. You seem a capable man with a powerful weapon, the likes of which I have never seen. [ Luna ventures cautiously, swaying slightly on her feet. The gash in her side stings and seems to burn the longer she stands, and she inhales sharply. ]

... Yes. From before I was... taken. [ She can't think of a better way to put it. ] I suppose that there never is a truly opportune time for things of this nature, but I cannot help but count myself as being particularly unlucky.

[ Her eyes train upon the stranger's face as he draws near. He doesn't look to be from Eos, if his style of dress is anything to go by. ] What manner of magic was that, that you could throw that beast so easily...?

[prophesiedone]

[She shouldn't doubt her instincts. Anakin is dangerous mentally, emotionally and physically. The Force around him is practically screaming in agony as he assumes, misguidedly, that he has no one to depend on but himself. Even his new Master, Palpatine, isn't someone he holds dear. Truthfully the man - the Sith - is a means to an end currently. Anakin now knows to never let anyone with true power in the Force close to his heart.

They will only betray him. It will only ever end in pain. His gaze falls on her side and his lips tighten.]

This is a lightsaber. [He extinguishes the blade and clips it back to his belt. With only a short pause, he approaches her and holds out his arms.] I can carry you to safety. I don't know if there is anyone to heal you, but we can look.

[It is strange for someone to not know of the Jedi - though he isn't truly one of them anymore.]

I used the Force. No beast could be as powerful as it.

[devotional]

[ Lunafreya has no rightful idea of the Force and its capabilities, though the energy he gives off is overwhelmingly negative. The Oracle has seen suffering in all of its shades, and she knows the way it can bend and break all manner of being. Even so, this man seems to possess something much darker and deeper than she can hope to understand, and it puts her on edge.

When his lips tighten, Lunafreya silently wonders if she should have concealed her injuries better... though the bright burst of red on her otherwise white gown would have given her away regardless. While the stranger hasn't actively threatened her, she's rapidly beginning to rethink her calling out to him. ]

... An apt name. Do many wield them where you are from? [ She comments, noting how compact the weapon is in its sheathed state. She's vaguely reminded of the sleek efficiency of Niflheim's famed Magitek battalions, and she shudders at the thought of the Empire getting their hands on so deadly a weapon as a lightsaber. ]

I... No. I could not deign to burden you in such a way. [ The uneasiness she feels increases by tenfold at his offer, regardless of the way her wound practically wails at her. ] You are much too kind to a woman you have only just met... I will manage, though you have my gratitude.

[ Swallowing, Lunafreya inhales, willing the world to stop swaying as she presses her hands into her side. ] "The Force"... Your homeland certainly enjoys straightforward monikers, does it not?

[ She cracks a smile as she looks up, hoping to ease the tension of the situation more for herself than anything. ] Pardon my rudeness. My name... is Lunafreya. I take it that you have only just awoken in this strange place, as well.

[prophesiedone]

There are not as many wielders as there used to be. [Thanks, in part, to his efforts to wipe out the Jedi and their influence. Ironically, he seeks an Empire while she rejects one. They likely should not speak of politics overmuch.]

You wouldn't be. I can tell you're light. I've carried a grown man before. [Obi-Wan, that is. Under his dark robes, Anakin is muscular; fit to battle an opponent fiercely and carry an ally as far as necessary.] It's your choice, but the more you move, the more you will bleed. I'm not a healer - I can't use the Force that way - but there are bound to be those who can.

[He gazes at her curiously, nearly smiling.] You are right, Lunafreya. [Since she will not allow him to lift her, he takes off a sash from his robes and moves to tie it tightly against the wound.]

[devotional]

[ Lunafreya isn't entirely sure if that's a good thing; if all who wielded lightsabers resembled this man, then perhaps it would be better for the art to die. Part of her wants to reach out to him in some capacity-- surely he is unhinged for a reason-- and were she at full strength, she likely would. In the end, people are always people, often with a cause for their hatred and pain.

As it stands now, though, Luna treats their interaction the same way she would treat encountering a couerl in the wild: awestruck at a distance, with no desire to come overly close. ]

You are of noble spirit, to be so ready and eager to help a stranger. [ Lunafreya says. The more he speaks to her, the more she relaxes. While she wouldn't trust him as far as she could throw him, she's fairly certain he will not harm her, unstable or no. ] The Force sounds a fair bit like magic... There are spells to harm and to heal, capable of being contained within flasks and carried into battle.

[ Lunafreya nearly steps backwards when he comes close, but she allows him to bind the sash around her nonetheless. Part of her feels guilty for being so suspicious of him, especially since he's done nothing but attempt to help her. Luna watches his face as he ties the fabric above her wound, wincing at the shift of skin. ] I... Thank you. I do not have much by way of returning the favor, but if you will allow it...

[ She knows full well that her connection to her gods is all but severed here, but she lifts her hand to cover one of the stranger's own nonetheless, gently hovering her palm over the back of his. Closing her eyes, Lunafreya invokes a blessing she bestows especially upon mercenaries and hunters, praying for their safety and fortifying their strength as a result. The glow that emits from the hand over his is the dull color of wheat, feeble in its warmth... but warm nonetheless.

The stranger will find that he is protected, however temporarily, from anything that would seek to harm him to a certain degree. It's no shield of invincibility, but it's certainly something. ]

May the stars bless you, my friend. [ Lunafreya murmurs, opening her eyes. ] I am afraid I have nothing substantial to offer you outside of my own blessings, but you have my gratitude for the kindness you have shown me this day.

[prophesiedone]

[He has far too many reasons for his hatred and his sadness. His pain has been building since he left his mother years before. Her death had broken him and that had been the first time he had killed with pure hatred in his heart. Then the emotions had escalated with his visions of losing Padmé...as well as their child...

The only one who has had any answers for him in his agony has been Palpatine. Anakin is certain Obi-Wan cannot understand. He trusts Padmé will, however. She must.

He smirks at the compliment.] My previous Master would be most unhappy with me if I did anything else.

[His shoulders lift in a shrug.] You could never contain the Force like that and it's not a spell. It's...life. It's what sustains life, though it can be used to take life away too.

[He should know. Anakin ties the piece of cloth tight against the wound, frowning.] I'm sorry if it hurts. This will stop the bleeding. I could try to cauterize it, but...

That would make you pass out.

[Straightening, he stares curiously at her...yes, that must be a spell. A blessing? His skin tingles under the touch and he feels like jerking away. This is a spell of Light and goodness. It doesn't suit him anymore.

But he keeps himself still, color high on his cheeks.] I wasn't expecting anything in return. ...ah...thank you.

[He tips his head slightly in acknowledgement of the gift.]

Can you walk?

[devotional]

[ Were Lunafreya privy to all of that information, she likely would have less trepidation when it comes to dealing with him. She knows how it feels to lose a mother. A kingdom. While she has no children (or even a proper lover) of her own, she knows a fair bit about loss.

As it stands now, though, Lunafreya knows nothing of the stranger. Before her stands a man twisted by circumstances she cannot hope to guess at, and while a smirk brightens his features, it doesn't make him appear any less dangerous. Still. She finds herself beginning to trust this man at an arm's length, growing curious about the things that have made him who he is now. ]

Life... how wondrous, [ She comments, ruminating on the implications of such a statement. Life is a precious commodity even without practical uses like the ones he'd demonstrated. ] It is no surprise that it is powerful, in that case. Magic in my homeland is utilized primarily for combat, though it has its practical uses as a heat and light source... Nothing so lofty as sustaining life.

[ Lunafreya exhales a puff of breath as she weathers the pain the cinching brings, and she manages a small smile. ] While I've no doubt you've done your fair share of combat triage, I believe I will manage with this much. I will keep the possibility in mind as an option should I grow more desperate.

[ It's true that Luna's powers are rooted in Light, but she senses no dismay from the stranger as she bestows her blessing. She has no rightful clue of his rejection of the Light, and when she finishes, she studies his face. The smile she bestows upon him is tired, but genuine, and she returns the tip of his head with one of her own. ]

Yes... I believe so. [ With a deep breath, Lunafreya steels herself, slowly surveying their surroundings. While more Shambling Mounds are scattered throughout the vicinity, their attentions seem to be focused elsewhere. Both Luna and her newfound companion go blissfully unnoticed amidst the chaos, the din of combat roaring around them. ]

I'm afraid I've no rightful idea where to go, [ She mutters. It's then that she notices a breach in the colosseum's wall across the way, and she gestures towards it. ] I believe I would only slow you down with my injuries, but you would have my gratitude if you could grant me safe passage from this place... I was not a combatant before my wounds. I fear I am significantly less than that now that I have them.

[ Leaning slightly, Lunafreya takes a staggering step forward. ] You have... done so much for me already, and it shames me to ask you for more than that. I vow that you will be free of me once we make it past that wall, though you are under no obligation to protect me to begin with.