Open | November Catch-all & Dream

[pactmarshal]

Who: Trahearne and you!
Which: Open log
Where: Out and about in town all throughout the month, mostly the archives
What: Catch-all for the month! Dreamboard quests in Reverein and reliving the earlier years of his life in a dream
Warnings: The disfigured undead (zombies), ghost peppers, others to be added if they come up

> REVEREIN | LIVE LIFE WELL AND FULLY, AND WASTE NOTHING.

❋ harvest.
[ As much of a bookworm Trahearne is, he does understand that he needs to go outside every once in a while. And what better way to be outside than to make himself useful at the same time?

And so, the sylvari decides to help out with the harvest one sunny afternoon, burying himself among the thick leaves of the ripened harvest to really get in there and get all the goodies out. Nothing like some hard physical work to refresh the mind, right?

Unfortunately, however, the natural colors of his "clothes" and skin blend in quite handily with the rest of the foliage, especially at this time of year. When he feels a firm grab on the leaves that make up his skirt, he shoots upright and whirls around to look at you, bewilderment written all over his face. ]

--Oh! That's--that's me.

❋ photographs.
What a curious contraption.

[ Trahearne will not say no to something novel and interesting. After being handed the dreamotion camera, he turns it over in his hands, studying it. Questions about how it could have been created, how it works roll around in his mind, but he quickly scolds himself--what point is a test if he doesn't actually experiment with it?

He turns to the person nearest himself--that's you--and holds it up with a smile. ]

Let me take a picture of you.

❋ archives.
[ As the one who runs the archives, Trahearne is there all the time. Every day. By the time the sun rises and long after it sets. He rarely takes full days off; it's rare to find him elsewhere. Sometimes, he even brings his cat with him.

And so, if you have any sort of business at the archives, he's there, ready to help. He knows every book on every shelf, and at a healthy six-foot-two he can reach the top shelves. He's happy to tutor anyone who needs assistance putting together an entry. He's happy to talk about work, either in this life or the last. He's just happy to be here, to be honest. ]

❋ wildcard.
[ Feel free to make something else up, or find me on the discord or at unkie for a personalized starter! ]

> DREAM | THE SCHOLAR DREAMT OF A LAND RECLAIMED FROM THE DRAGON'S TOUCH.
[ In his Dream before life, Trahearne saw the dead Kingdom of Orr, a land that had been dragged out of the sea by the undead dragon Zhaitan, green and growing again. Upon awakening, he knew this was his life's mission: to purify Zhaitan's corruption and bring life back to Orr. His goal is impossible. Laughable, even. Yet the call of a Wyld Hunt is irresistible, so as much as he hates it, he spends weeks, months in the dead land alone, scrambling for any lead that might bring him closer to his goal.

He will eventually cleanse this land. He will eventually lead the forces that will fell Zhaitan, but not in this dream. Right now, that is many, many years away.

The land is devoid of life, cramped by unnaturally-shaped terrain, ruins of buildings that are mere shadows of their former grandeur. Oversized barnacles and dead coral from centuries under the ocean cling to the crumbling structures, towering over the soggy ground like otherworldly trees. Unnatrual shrieks occasionally pierce the silence, perhaps seabirds that strayed too close to the corruption. It stinks of brine, of rot and decay. The clouds above take on a sickly green hue, a reflection of the putrescence that permeates the land below. And dotting the landscape, all around, are graying, decaying corpses shambling about, looking for victims to which to spread their corruption.

This is Trahearne's life. ]

❋ research.
[ Orr sat at the bottom of the ocean for nearly two centuries--any original writing that may have existed on the island decayed or was destroyed a long, long time ago. It is exceedingly rare to find any in-tact inscriptions, much less legible ones.

So when Trahearne clambers this tower and finds what looks to be a massive stone tablet partially buried in rubble and debris, he can hardly contain his excitement. The first line peeks out from the dirt--"Darkness pays Orr a visit." Is it a poem? Epitaph? A warning of sorts? He has to know.

Except the tablet is nearly twice his size, almost five times his weight, and the rubble that obscures the rest of the inscription is cumbersome--it might even be supporting the rest of the structure at this point. Regardless, he's going to try and pull it free, whether it's a wise idea or not. ]

❋ cornered.
[ Despite how careful he tries to be, Trahearne isn't perfect, and the Risen are very good at popping up where he doesn't want them to be. He's ventured into one ruined structure, keen to map it out and determine what possible use it must have served, but the problem with grand buildings of this scale having been hidden underwater for centuries means the inside is essentially a subterranean maze, interrupted in places by tunnels filled with putrid water and rotting plant matter.

Trahearne should know better than this, and curiosity is coming dangerously close to killing the sylvari. He stands with his back against the wall in this little pocket of air, the only passages in or out are filled with water. Risen stagger out from the water, clawing at the ground to try and tear Trahearne apart. ]

S-stay back! [ He brandishes his scepter, though he knows it isn't much of a threat. His own necromantic minions stand before him to guard him. ] You will rue the day you crossed my path!

[ Despite what he says, the fear is evident in his eyes. The Risen are everywhere, and there are so many of them. If only he weren't alone... ]

❋ respite.
[ Nighttime in Orr is dark. With no real settlements for miles in any direction, the veil of night that falls over the island is thick, impermeable. The only dot of light is the small fire Trahearne has going--he's perched himself atop a crumbling stone structure, just large enough for two people to sit side by side. Not that anyone will come to join him, of course. He's alone in Orr, as he has always been, and he sits with his knees to his chest, as though trying to shrink himself from the Risen's view.

There is a little pot bubbling over the fire. Cooking inside are asparagus, truffles, and ghost peppers--what he always eats. It's all that really grows around here. The oysters and fish are nowhere near safe enough to be consumed.

Absently, Trahearne reaches into his pack and takes a bite out of one of his ghost peppers. He doesn't even flinch. ]

Comments

ＩＴ’Ｓ ＹＯＵ

[pactmarshal]

No--I mean take a picture.

[ Trahearne smiles, holding up the camera for Kor to see. ]

It's called a camera, and its creator is looking for people to test it out.

ＩＴ’Ｓ ＭＥ

[spirialink]

A camera?

[Yeah don't mind him just casually snatching that from Trahearne's hands. He's going to look at it like it's the most amazing thing on the planet.]

How's it work? [He says while holding it at every angle imaginable trying to get a good look at it.]

[pactmarshal]

[ --Oh. Well. Okay. He can have it. Once Kor grabs onto the camera, Trahearne lets go pretty readily. He watches, knowing he'd been doing the same thing himself several minutes earlier. ]

I've been told that you point this-- [ He reaches to steady Kor's hand in place to point to the lens. ] --at your desired subject, and then you press this button-- [ He points to a small, circular button at the top of the camera. ] --to capture the image.

[ He leans back, a lopsided smile on his face. ] As for the specifics, I can't say.

[spirialink]

Is that so?

[The camera is unintentionally pointed at Trahearne's face, so when he pushes the button, it flashes a bright light right in Trahearne's eyes.]

Ahh! Sorry, are you okay?! I didn't meant to attack you with it like that!

[Yeah he thinks the flash was an attack and not part of the camera's function...]

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne physically flinches when the flash goes off. It's literally blinding, and he blinks a few times, shakes his head before his vision comes back to him. ]

It's all right, I'm not hurt. [ Just stunned! He rubs his hand over his eyes and sets his gaze on the camera to see it churning out a small paper. ]

I think it's part of its functionality.

[ And he points at the front for good measure, just to make sure Kor doesn't miss it. ]

[spirialink]

Huh...

[Kor turns the camera over in his hands, trying to get a good look at the front, wanting to see the thing that just blinded Trahearne. What a strange contraption, definitely has never seen anything like this before.

While he investigates, the camera has finished printing out its photo, so if Trahearne wants to see the results of Kor's photography skills, now's his chance to grab the photo before Kor does.]

[pactmarshal]

[ There is no grabbing happening here.

Trahearne takes a leisurely step towards Kor, peering over him to see if he can get a glimpse of the picture before Kor takes it and shows it himself. ]

How does it look?

[ He probably looks very silly. ]

[spirialink]

...Umm.

[Kor just makes a perplexed expression at the photograph.]

What am I looking here?

[Kor flips it over in between his fingers so Trahearne can get a good look at it. While the subject matter is undeniably Trahearne, the content itself was definitely not recognizable as their current situation. Was it a dream somehow...?]

[pactmarshal]

[ Kor's expression worries Trahearne for a moment, wondering if he really looks that bad. But when he shows him the actual photograph, his brows shoot up in surprise.

There is Trahearne in the middle, yes, except he's surrounded on both sides by other plant people--their hair is made up of all different kinds of leaves in all different colors, some have skin that seem more like bark instead of Trahearne's leafy texture, of varying heights. They're all smiles, passing copious helpings of meat and berries amongst one another.

Real Trahearne brightens--he has not seen some of these faces in a long time. There's Riannoc. And Malomedies, before his experimentation (he certainly was beautiful, he muses to himself). A slightly confused, yet delighted look crosses his face as he leans in to get a better peek at the photograph. ]

These are my firstborn siblings, right around the time we were all born. [ That was the first--and possibly last--time they were all together. ] How strange. I dreamed about them recently.

[ He peers up at Kor again. ] Did you do something special? Or was this the camera?

[spirialink]

[Siblings, huh... A fond smile forms on Kor's face as Trahearne explains. Kor didn't know much about having actual siblings, but he did know what it was like to have people he considered family, and how dear and important they are to him. He doesn't really know Trahearne at all, but he feels his spiria swell knowing this guy has people he cares about so deeply.

But to his question, Kor slowly shakes his head.]

Uh-uh. I just pushed the button on it, just like you said.

[pactmarshal]

Interesting.

[ Trahearne looks between the camera and the photo, the smile still on his face. It's nice to have a concrete image of faces he's not seen for a long while.

He chuckles. ] I suppose this is what happens when one powers things by dreamotion. A bit embarrassing, but expected.

[spirialink]

Amazing... Technology's amazing...

[Kor's in complete awe of what he's seen happen. He's had precious few encounters with advanced technology, his own world being fairly bereft of it, at least in his experiences. ]

I've seen people do impressive things with dreamotion, [and has done impressive things himself with it] but I had no idea you could make technology do dreamotion too!

[pactmarshal]

[ It is a funny thought when one thinks about it. It really is impressive.

Trahearne nods in agreement. ]

Neither did I, but I suppose it's to be expected at this point. There are talented and creative people here. [ He smiles. ] Anything is possible in a dream realm.