hadriel_logs | INTRO LOG: WELCOME TO THE BATCAVE

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INTRO LOG: WELCOME TO THE BATCAVE

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-15th
Warnings: Bats, but not Batman. Weird arts and crafts. Confused newbies.

You awaken on the hard-packed sandy floor of the colosseum. As you blink the sleep from your eyes and begin to try to get your bearings, you might hear the gentle, soothing sound of wind chimes tinkling through the air. It's a peaceful sound, a pleasant sound. As you look around, you'll find tall stands with curved hooks at the top here and there throughout the arena, each supporting a different handmade wind chime.

You could stay and enjoy the sounds, even if what they're coming from is a bit less than aesthetically pleasing. Or you could pause for a moment and wonder where the wind that's sounding the chimes is coming from, considering you're in a cave. There are breezes in Hadriel now and again, but what's causing this wind is something else entirely. Spend too long out in the open and you'll find out what.

Perching atop the broken walls of the colosseum, hidden in crevices and shadows, are a number of Ahools. These giant bats can have wingspans as big as 12 feet, and they're certainly strong enough to lift smaller and lighter people off their feet entirely, carrying them away to devour at their leisure. Don't think you can hide - their echolocation will find you as easily as a bat finds a moth in the black of night.

If you manage to escape the Ahools and get your bearings, feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies until your belly is as full as that giant bat's was supposed to be. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers January 10th-15th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► All characters now arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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[Sunny pauses, thinking about it. It's not really something he keeps at the forefront of his mind.]

Maybe. Never seen one that's survived. And they don't look like this.

[They were bigger and curved, with buttons. That's all he really remembers from the children's drawing Veil had shown him a long time ago. At the time, he'd been more interested in getting her to come to bed than the book she'd been trying to get him to read.]

[ One that's survived? Well, that gives Miller some idea of where (and when) this stranger is from. A place where phones like this had once existed, but have for some reason gone extinct. Even the household appliances here in Hadriel look different from what Kaz is used to, so it isn't that strange to think that this guy is from a world with a different kind of phone. ]

All right, but... the basic concept is something you've heard of, right? They're communication devices, so even if you were clear on the other side of the city, I could call you and you'd be able to hear me. See my face, even.

[ That video function had been a particularly interesting feature, one that Kaz plans to make use of at some point, when it's appropriate.

Does he have an obligation to help this guy out? No, but he doesn't have anything better to do at the moment, and like it or not, he thrives on human contact. Besides, if he does help him, maybe the stranger will want to owe him a favor later down the line. That's never a bad thing to have waiting in the wings. ]

I can show you how to use it, if you want. It'll make your life here a lot easier.

[Out of the few people he's bumped into, Sunny's noticed, nearly all talk like this is their new home. It's not comforting. But it does imply that no one's trying to reduce the population yet. And really, if not for Veil and M.K., he might not even mind. No one's tried to kill him yet and it's not like he had a place to go after he clipped his own baron.]

I've heard of it. [Sunny accepts the help by handing over the flat brick that's apparently his phone.] Didn't think they'd be so interested in having us talk to each other.

[Isn't that the opposite of what should happening?]

[ It's not like Miller is happy that his stay here is looking to be an extended one, but he hasn't heard of any successful attempts to leave either. Which isn't encouraging, but apparently there is one god who might know the method to send them home. But since that one hasn't been revived yet, it's a waiting game.

They may as well learn to be comfortable here in the meantime. ]

I think it's also so that they can talk to us. Fear sent a message out, and Rage just weighed in too.

[ Why they're allowed to talk to each other is less clear, but Kaz isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth when they have so many other factors working against them.

Taking the man's phone, he shifts so that they're standing side-by-side and then walks him through the menus, indicating the various finger-swipes and button-presses needed for each function. ]

Interesting names.

[So they've been communicating. What have they been saying? Sunny keeps the question to himself; he frowns down at the phone while the man shows him.

It's straightforward enough. He's got no idea how the technology functions -- how did they fit all this inside one thing? And why are the buttons not really buttons? -- but that doesn't matter. As long as he can use it.

He takes it back. He can see now dates and times and names.]

Did you ever see anything like this before you were taken?

[He's already gathered a few didn't come from the territories. He wants to know how many have.]

Descriptive names.

[ To some extent, anyway. Fear isn't particularly scared and Rage isn't particularly angry, but they sow those emotions among the people in the city. Kaz still has no idea how that actually works, but he's experienced it firsthand now and realizes that he can't simply deny its existence. Still, calling it "magic" is an over-simplification.

Kaz nods in response to the question. ] Similar enough, anyway. This is more advanced, but I could see how technology would progress to this point in ten or twenty years.

[ He tilts his head, taking in the man's face to track his expressions. ] You said phones don't exist where you're from anymore, right? What happened?

[Suddenly, he's more interested in the man's comment. His brows draw together. There is no progress. It's just people cobbling together what they can find. He shakes his head.]

The war. Or multiple wars, no one remembers anymore. [Or they do, but no one remembers it right. They're just more stories passed down. Sunny only remembers one war with the barons. He's spent the years after that both waiting for another to break out and desperately keeping one from doing so.

So much for that.]

What do you mean ten years? [He peers back at the man.] Are you saying your part of the world somehow held on to all this technology?

[ The war. Which war, Kaz could ask, but he gets the feeling he wouldn't recognize it even if this guy told him. His claim is that the war had ruined everything, wiped technology as simple as a telephone off the map, but Kaz has only seen war lead to progress and greater innovation. It's a source of economic stimulus, a weapon that can be wielded with finesse if in the right hands.

Not that he imagines that argument will curry any favor with this particular stranger. ]

I'm saying that I don't think we're from the same place... or time, period. [ Which is a hard pill to swallow, he's fully aware, but he's met enough people here who speak of places and events he's never heard of that he has no choice but to believe it. ]

What year is it where you're from? [ His brow knits. ] If there's any record of that left, anyway.

[Not the same place is obvious enough. Not the same time is something else. Sunny's brow draws together. He gives a look like the man might be missing more than a limb.]

I don't know what you mean. [That's an extreme conclusion to make. No one knows what goes on between borders. Until now, Sunny hadn't even been sure there was anything out there. He can see why a man far enough outside of the seven territories might live with different laws and technology.

It doesn't occur to him someone could actually be aware of everything happening around an entire planet.]

It's been a hundred years since the first barons came together. [He glances back.] But that means nothing if you haven't heard of the badlands.

[ For all that they can understand each other, they may as well be speaking different languages. The term baron is one meant for European nobility, and isn't in common use in the modern world which Miller comes from. At least not in the circles he runs in, which is a far leap from anything approaching noble.

The term "badlands" doesn't mean much to him, either. There may be countries that have areas called that, but nothing so well-known that it would immediately ring a bell. ]

Barons and badlands, none of that means anything to me. And I'm pretty well traveled. I guess the best way to think about it is that we're from different worlds.

[ Miller bows his head and shakes it, mainly to himself. It still doesn't make much sense to him, but it's the only way to explain the bizarre mix of people who exist here. ]

[How well traveled? Sunny peers the man.]

What makes you so sure you've seen the whole world?

[How would he have time? Unless, like someone else has mentioned, there are aircrafts. But there can't be. He would know; one would have made it over the badlands eventually. There's a reason the River King holds the position he does. His ship is the only thing that can move anywhere significant.

Still, the other option is time traveling or another universe, so there aren't any good choices.]

[ It's taking this guy some time to wrap his head around the concept, not that Kaz can really hold that against him. He'd struggled with it too. You live your whole life expecting things to work a certain way, so to have all of that turned upside-down takes some mental adjustment. ]

Because it's all been mapped out, and I've been to various parts of it. Japan, the States, the Caribbean...

[ He trails off and eyes the stranger a little more closely before he lets out a sigh. ] But my guess is that you don't know where any of that is.

[ Earth has been plotted out for quite some time now. There might be pockets of it that are less explored, but all of the frontiers have been settled, all of the border lines drawn. It's existing outside of them that's the hard part these days. ]

[If it were possible, his brow furrows deeper. No one has a map of everything. Except this guy seems damn sure. Sunny knows how to spot a liar. He's telling the truth -- or at least it's a truth he believes.]

I don't know. You're naming places that haven't existed in decades. [Not exactly, anyway. He knows the badlands were part of America, or the States, or the several other names it goes by. He knows because Quinn talked about it sometimes, gesturing at the big white building that sits behind his desk.

He shakes his head. After a second, he pulls out a compass and opens it up. A delicately carved glowing city sits inside.] What about this? In all the places you've mapped out, you ever seen anything like it?

[ Decades, huh? It's not like Miller could predict what the future would hold better than anyone else, but he does have to wonder. Will their dream of eliminating those well-established borders actually come to pass?

When the compass is brought out, Kaz scoots a little closer so that he can get a better look at it. The trinket looks to be high-quality and it's certainly pretty, but it doesn't mean anything to him.

He glances over at the man and shakes his head. ] Sorry, but no. I think you're gonna have to accept that we're from very different times and places. It might sound crazy, but... [ He shrugs with his one good shoulder. ]

Edited (stop repeating things self ) 2016-02-22 17:32 (UTC)

[Sunny shakes his head. That's not quite what he meant by showing him. Though he hesitates before explaining -- getting out of the badlands isn't something he's exactly been advertising -- he's more interested in Azra than keeping secrets.]

Where I'm from, rumor has it this is from the old world. Your world, if what you're saying is true. Some people think it still stands. I've been looking for it.

[But if he hasn't seen it, it might not exist, or it sprung to life later. If time travel is to be bought. It has to be something, though. Some place. There's a reason M.K. remembers it.]

[ That changes things, but only somewhat. Miller takes a closer look at the compass, but if it's meant to point to a place he knows, then he's not getting it. If enough time has passed, then it stands to reason that cities and even entire countries have fallen and been rebuilt. ]

If it does still stand, then it probably looks a lot different than what I'm used to.

[ This guy is looking for some kind of confirmation that there's a remnant of the old world really out there, but Kaz unfortunately can't give it to him.

He shakes his head and sighs. ] I guess you'll just have to focus on getting out of this place so that you can find it for yourself.

[He's disappointed, though it doesn't much show on his face. He's not sure if, without the book, he has any way of moving forward. But he's also lost track of M.K. which doesn't help.]

Yeah. Apparently I'm trying to find a lot of things. [He shakes his head. It's an uncomfortable feeling, asking strangers for help, but the man hasn't asked anything personal about Sunny. He appreciates that.]

Never mind. If you see a kid asking for Sunny, will you let me know?

[ Everyone stuck in this place is some level of lost, Kaz figures, so the guy shouldn't feel too bad about it. It isn't right the way that their lives have essentially been put on hold because of these self-proclaimed gods, but they have no choice but to put up with it.

At the mention of a kid, Kaz nods first and foremost before pressing for more details. It's going to have to get a little personal now. ] Sure. What kind of kid? It'd help if I had a description or a name.

[ Speaking of names, he should probably give his now that Sunny inadvertently introduced himself. Kaz stretches out the one hand he has to shake. ] I'm Kazuhira Miller, by the way.

He goes by M.K. Dark-skinned, black hair. About sixteen. [He lifts the handle of the sword at his hip, where a curled armadillo is engraved at the tip of the hilt.] He might be wearing this symbol.

[Sunny takes the man's hand in a firm grip after a second. It's not anything; he's just used to be saluted. It's rare he meets an equal and when he does, they're usually not interested in shaking his hand.

Though he can't help but wonder why, if there's all that technology in this man's world, he doesn't have any mimics to replace his missing limbs.]

Just Sunny.

[ Between that strange name and the symbol, Miller figures that if he does happen upon this kid, he'll know who he is immediately. He could ask who this M.K. is to Sunny, but he doesn't. Kaz doubts that it's his son, but chances are it's someone he cares for all the same. ]

I'll keep an eye out, Sunny. [ He nods again, more firmly this time. Kaz can't do much, but he's pretty good at keeping track of people if he puts his mind to it.

A salute doesn't feel all that relevant here, not when they've more or less left their ranks behind them. Kaz wouldn't mind turning this into more of a military operation, but there are a number of obstacles in accomplishing that.

So a handshake works just fine for now. ] Good luck with getting settled in. I'll see you around.

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INTRO LOG: WELCOME TO THE BATCAVE

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