Event | Landfall | Bresilyk | Countryside

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: December 3 - 11, 2013
Location: Bresilyk countryside (landfall)
Situation: Tu Vishan makes landfall at the winterbound republic of Bresilyk!
Warnings/Rating: Please include warnings in comment subject lines

OOC Post | Approved Items | Special Gifts
Aihsohlow | Phorezton | Markutte | Countryside

The countryside is layered with snow that is up to four meters deep, all fallen within the past two months as a cold season falls upon the country. There are numerous roads in between towns and small, domed minesteads and each road is oddly clear of snow and ice. Closer inspection reveals that the surfaces are heated by some technology buried beneath the black surfaces. Occasional construction crews can be seen tearing up or laying down new surfacing over a web of thick, coated wires that presumably provide the heat. Snow is often found sculpted near crossroads, taking artistic shape in anything from beautifully arched sculptures to recreations of local fauna.

Wildlife can be spotted here and there, with a large herd of antlered beasts making their way across the snowy grounds. Webbing between their toes (yes, toes) allows each of the large, white animals to traverse upon the snow-tops with barely a print left in their wake. Hunting parties can be seen chasing after the fringes of this herd while wearing some sort of hovering harness and it is evident that the beasts are a primary source of meat for the people. Birds flit back and forth, a few predatory mammals can be spied at the edges of the icebound forests, and there are a variety of serpentine pets kept by residents fortunate to live in the warmer domed towns.

Speaking of towns, the three within the barrier's reach are spaced roughly twenty kilometres away from one another, forming a triangle of commerce that sustains each. Aihsohlow represents the southernmost town, Phorezton the northernmost, and Markutte the northeastern one. There are a variety of small minesteads in between that would greet travellers, but only reluctantly allow them into their homes. Stories abound of troubles outside the domes and they are not apt to invite said troubles inside.

Roadways | Minesteads | Other

Comments

ROADWAYS

[ironwood]

Snow best defines the countryside of Bresilyk, with up to four metres of it hiding the fields and, in some cases, the short-treed forests that sprawl across the continent. All hope is not lost, however, due to the presence of the road network. Built into the land, the roads are heated beneath their black surfaces and provide a clear, ice-free path for any traveller to take between domes, with only a few delays or detours caused by construction crews repairing and otherwise maintaining these prides and joys of the republic. Many travellers are found on these roads, occasionally taking breaks and offering either merchandise or Harvest Haul gifts to passerbys. Crossroads often have a pair of officers overseeing traffic and providing directions to those less gifted with an internal compass.

Calypso | OTA

[ciderandstew]

[The last thing Calypso wanted to do what go from one town to another. She was already having a difficult time settling in on the turtle. For this reason precisely, she spent more time on the road than was probably necessary. Wrapped in a warm wool shawl, she walked along the ice free paths with no particular destination in mind.

It was nice to just lose herself in her thoughts and not have to worry about too many people being around. And hopefully it would be a nice break from how much she was growing to despise her time around the city.]

[kelpful]

[It's still difficult to separate from Annabeth sometimes, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was before or directly after Tartarus. They have some room to breathe now - things aren't so desperate and awful - so while he doesn't feel 100% comfortable leaving her to go wandering, he at least finds himself able to do it.

He sees Calypso before she sees him, and just sort of...freezes. Unhappily, he has to admit that it's not guilt or relief that surges through him when he sees her, but that same anger as the first time. He screws his eyes shut, clenches his fists in an effort to get a hold of himself.

He blames her. Not for everything, but for the small part she did play, he blames her. But he doesn't want things to be terrible, and he doesn't want to hurt her. And there is that mountain of guilt crushnig his chest, the part of him that knows he wasn't good enough, that he should have been better for her. At the end of the day, it really is his fault.

So he breathes out slowly, and lets his fists uncurl, stepping into her line of sight] Calypso. [a beat passes. He rubs the back of his neck] Hi.

[enticingly]

[Jonah, on the other hand, has been itching to get off of the turtle's back. He's been traveling for a good chunk of his life. His home is with the Anchorage, of course, and he always returns there in the end, but he's spent a long time traveling around the world on his own. Being forced to stay in one place - even if it's a large place - doesn't sit well with him.

Then again, plenty of things aren't sitting well with him here. He thought he wouldn't need friends, and he does. He misses the people that knew him, could understand him. Mostly, he misses his brother, misses Emma and whatever was going on between them.

There's a hollow feeling in Jonah that he knows all too well.

He spots Calypso during one of his self-pitying thoughts. A familiar face is good.]

Hey. How do you like the outside world so far?

Teddy Altman | OTA

[hulkintraining]

[Anyone looking up at the sky is likely to catch a glimpse of a large green, human-like figure with wings flying overhead. Sometimes it swoops through the air, coming closer to the ground before shooting upwards again. People familiar with Teddy will recognize his Hulkling form. It's Teddy's first landfall he wants to take in as many sights as he can, which is done quicker from the sky. Hopefully he doesn't cause anyone any major panic due to his appearance...]

Closed to Barnaby

[oyaji]

"Yeah, I'll take two!" He wasn't sure what exactly they were, but it was on a stick and Kotetsu couldn't say no to that! Plus, they were warm--Although, who knew how long that would last in this weather.

Thanking the merchant, the older man returned to Barnaby, one arm extended with the steaming candied fruit. "Want one?" he asked, waiting for his partner to try it. He took a nibble of his. It was pretty good! It had the taste of a sweet potato and he was suddenly a little homesick for winters in Oriental Town. Stern Bild's weren't bad, but they didn't have the rural landscape that made a pretty backdrop for snow.

Sabriel | open

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel found the roadways useful- though not to travel on. They were an easy enough way to keep track of where she was as she traveled by Paperwing, taking in the sights of distant domes and forests- and occasionally landing to rest and speak with other travelers

At the moment, she was at one of the crossroads, admiring some of the nearby snow-art.]

closed to joly!

[saisamour]

[One day, Marius will no longer find himself randomly lost and positively bewildered. Today is not that day.

And he had been doing so well, even. He's done an exceptional task at keeping himself alert, catching himself just in time whenever his thoughts begin drift off into the land of daydreams. He even manages to acquire some dried fish along the way for his Harvest Haul gifts. And then Cosette happens into his mind, and he wonders whether she would have enjoyed herself in this continent. The snow is beautiful, after all, sparkling underneath the soft, mild sun-rays, and the trinkets and parties will surely amuse her.

And then he abruptly finds himself in the middle of a black road, his surroundings having transformed completely. He whirls around with worried brow, looking as if he's just snapped out of a trance.

NO SERIOUSLY WHERE IS HE SOMEONE HELP. DDD'8]

open

[strategisch]

The sheer infrastructure of such an arrangement is enough for Armin to give pause. Depending on where you stood, and how high the road was, you could see an intricate web of tubes and roads spreading out like frost's touch against the countryside. People would go to such lengths simply to stay warm and survive? Was this land really so worth inhabiting? It made him wonder about the rest of the world, and how inhospitable it might be to force people to live here, where the snow was so thick and so high that he could barely see over the drifts that gathered at the sides of the roads.

His feet were getting sore, and he was in no particular hurry to be anywhere. Armin stopped at the side of the road where a vendor was selling hot drinks and purchased one for himself. It was sweet and savory, and a bit bitter, and perhaps a just a slight bit alcoholic. But it did well to warm him up. He sat down, and admired the view, pristine, white, and endless.

Bryn; closed to DCU!Dick Grayson;

[trifurcate]

[Askoupur is not a cold place. It doesn't get snow. Once in a few decades it gets hail and that's the closest it gets to cold weather that aren't winter storms. Generally speaking however, it's a land of temperate weather at the center of the land, somewhat cooler by the coast, and desert at its furthest inland.

Bryn has extended family out in those desert areas, and more in the northern rolling hills of farmland. It's beautiful and lush and it is everything she is used to. Not this snow and cold weather.

She doesn't want to be outside any more than she has to, but her golem (still unnamed) tends to get a bit restless if they don't do things. It's not that it has energy to expend, but that it simply gets bored otherwise. So, after riding it down the roads between the port town and Markutte, she stops midway, finds a nearby branch, and starts playing fetch with the cat. Sure, it's a cat at heart. Yes, it's as big as a pony. But she plays fetch with it and the lynx seems to like that.]

open

[redjay]

[Good day, travellers. It's a good day for good old fashion nature hike. The snow is plenty and the temperature -- with the sun out at least -- is just right.

If you're walking along certain roads, there'll be a snow sculpture or two in the far off distance. Squint, because it might not be a snow sculpture at all. It might be a grown ass man rolling up snowman heads (at least that's what it looks like but why are the heads on the ground).

Jason takes a pause to reflect on his fine work, but mostly to huff hot air into his hands and defrost them a bit.]

MINESTEADS

[ironwood]

Infrequently spread about the countryside are small, single-family minesteads that branch off the road and take the form of small, single-building domes that cover their residences and mine access. While these minesteads also participate in the Harvest Haul, they are less likely to give travellers much access to them due to the heating costs being covered by their personal budgets -- and every time the dome is opened, much precious heat is lost. They are still a friendly lot, if apologetic about being less-than-perfect hosts.

OTHER

[ironwood]

The White Wall rises high along the coast of Bresilyk and has long kept intruders out, to the point that they no longer man the variety of watchposts built in along the length of it. These posts have a variety of rusted out containers and discarded tools that show that they were once well-used, but have fallen to ignorance as the population retreats behind the domes. Meanwhile, herds of large antlered animals travel across the countryside, leaping over the gaps in the snow that are caused by roadways.

Open;

[alphatar]

[If anyone were to tell Korra that she would one day miss seeing snow as far as the eye could see, she'd laugh. Hard. Having lived at the South Pole for more than seventeen years, all her life until going to Republic City, she's experienced more than most adults outside of the Water Tribe. In fact, she didn't miss it during her tenure in the capital of the United Republic.

That was before Tu Vishan, before the summer heat, and before she got to see her family in the mirrors that showed the future of the person in the mystical water in the palace.

Now she's atop one of the watchposts, looking out at the seemingly endless white. Almost too reminiscent of the walls around the compound that she trained in. The one she believed Aang practically sentenced her to. Only to find out a few weeks ago that it was actually her father and Tenzin's doing. Even with all that happened afterwards, it's still a sore spot for her.

A glance down at a pile of tools, frozen over and covered in ice, makes her lower onto her haunches. A brisk cold wind ruffles the hood of her jacket, mainly the white fur, but it doesn't seem to bother her. A wave of fingers turns the ice to snow and brushes it off them entirely. Depositing them in her sling bag, Korra stands up to look back out.

It's almost like being home again. That's when she spots a herd off in the distance. A tiny mass of fur from her point of view that's loosely kept together as it moves across the snow.

Wasting no time, Korra hops over the edge of the watchpost and brings her arms upwards in midair. Snow rises up to provide a downward ramp, turning to ice the instant he boots land on it and she slides down the long stretch making it look like the easiest thing in the world to do. When the tips of boots come into contact with the snow, a think board of ice forms underneath her and she's shredding along the top of of the snow; more keenly than the best surfer anyone from Earth may have seen.

In hardly any time at all she's keeping pace behind the herd, her hair being batted about by the wind. Staying behind them is a ploy, she's guiding them by posing as a threat. A predator. One that's waiting to find the stray to pick off. Weaving back and forth to keep them going in a direction closest to main road, Korra's finally able to cause one to dart in the wrong direction. What comes next is natural and the antlered beast tries to divert back toward the herd.

That's when the ice board speeds up and Korra is between it and them. Lowering her body into a crouch, she brings her arm up in a cross strike and a spike of ice rises out of the snow piercing through the very center of the creature's head with eerie precision. One most hunter's will never see in their lifetimes.

After a brief moment to make sure that the animal died as quickly as possible, Korra brought her arm back down and the spike turns to water. With the only thing holding it up gone, the creature falls lifelessly onto the snow. The herd behind is already disappearing off into the distance, she doesn't even bother to turn around to look at them.

With strength a girl her age normally would never have, Korra hooks her arms around it's legs and heaves the corpse onto her shoulders. When she's standing up straight, a smile is clearly on her face.

Just like being home and hunting with her father.]

CLOSED

[imaginate]

[Kyle's drawn to the vast, empty landscape. There's a few people here and there, but mostly it's an ice-covered approximation of Mogo, the only real noise coming from those herds, and the wind in his ears.]

[It's quiet. For about five seconds. Jim Kirk is about to happen to something (or someone), and Kyle enjoys what little of it he can before he's whisked away.]

// OTA

[disfavored]

[Tarrlok was used to snow. It reminded him of home, and home was upsetting and...a little bittersweet, especially after the memory loss incident. Maybe part of him still wanted to be close to that, which was why he was staying here instead of one of the warmer places available. The cold was nice and distracting, anyways.

Not content to stand around out in the open, he'd built (with waterbending, of course) himself a makeshift igloo - or rather, half of one. He sat with his legs crossed with half a dome behind him, shielding him from the wind. Despite his best efforts, he still somewhat preferred isolation to social interaction (his preferred kind of social interaction was, after all, the kind where he was praised relentlessly by people who wanted to suck up to him, and that kind didn't really happen here), but if anyone wished to join him and take shelter from the cold for a while he wouldn't object.]

SNOW GLITTER SHENANIGANS

[wintershepherd]

Freedom! was the foremost thought on Jack's mind as he took to the air once the turtle had settled into a stationary position along the White Wall, letting the north wind fling him out to explore the new barriers and taking in delightedly the snowy landscape below, bisected at regular intervals by stark black lines of the roadways. Even though the barrier's confines were still present, the spirit still felt like it gave him some room to move and stretch his senses and that he could stay aloft for hours-- so he does. The wind picked up and the temperature lowered, curling at first around tiny flurries that drifted down and followed then by heavier snow, amplified by Jack's buoyant mood.

If he closes his eyes and trusts the wind to cradle him, he can almost pretend it's Burgess below.

It's not a conscious thing but the longer he flies, the more relaxed he becomes and the tight rein on his magic, jump-started by the natural winter of this place, begins to loosen and seep into the ice and snow. Unconsciously infusing it with his own sense (center) of fun and the desire to impart that to other people. Those who play in the snow and otherwise interact with it will feel their taciturn inhibitions loosening, inspiring a desire to play and enjoy the fluffy drifts.

---

((OOC: See Jack's permissions post for more info, but the magic in the snow stimulates a desire to play around like carefree kids. It's entirely player choice how much (if any) their characters are affected as they move through the wintery countryside between the domes.))

Closed; Dick Grayson (comics)

[alphatar]

Right next to the White Wall is Korra, the sleeves of her jacket catching the wind as she raises her arms upwards and then downwards; each sweep adding snow to the downward slope against the wall. It connects to a track of snow that’s elevated into the air and loops around itself, a mix of rollercoaster and race car tracks.

When she finally gets it to the reach the very top of the White Wall, Korra locks her arms in a defensive position and thrusts them away from the center of her body, a combination of blocking while advancing if applied to martial arts.

Here, the result is the sound of snow crunching together, compacting to solidify the wild creation she had spent an hour working on. With the track spanning for a quarter of mile, though brought closer together thanks to the wide loops that accompanied the high ups and downs, Korra wiped the sweat from her brow with a smile as she appreciates her work.

Dragging her sled over to the wall, ready to take the platform she bended up to the top, Korra noticed a figure not too far off in the distance. Happiness over the sheer amount of snow (and a large portion due to the magically infused snow) she goes to wave them down. How can she not share this with anyone?

[dow]

[ He's been dressing sparingly during his time on land, moving between towns out of fascination and taking his tricorder, as usual, with him. The snow is negligible for a while as Spock heads back to the turtle, a little too cold but nothing incomparable to the San Francisco rain or fog seeping into his bones. It's when finds himself stilling on the countryside road, tricorder dropping to the dirt and hands covering his face, that he finds his emotions are creeping up on him in the middle of nowhere, seemingly for no reason.

There's nowhere to sit so he kneels on the ground as a migraine throbs in the back of his skull and he fights the impulse to laugh, to let out a sense of joy that runs too deeply to be trusted. It hurts behind his eyes and his hands become itchy where the snowflakes litter the sensitive skin on display, the sensation of something seeping through his telepathic warding despite not inconsiderable efforts. When he younger, he saw Sybok's descent into flagrant emotion; it was disturbing and a little frightening, and now Spock is gripped by a burst of nostalgia for the moments his brother whooped happily and raced around their garden as Spock stood tentatively in the door-frame. Wild and free, Sybok called it. Spock recalls shrinking into Sarek's robes for comfort and a warm hand being laid on his head to assist in calming his fears.

Why does he behave in that manner, father? I do not understand his motives.

The worst part is that the longer he stays in the open, beginning to pant, the harder it is to hold his inhibitions in check. ]

[parallels]

[Clara shivers and wraps her arms around herself as suddenly the snow begins to fall from the sky. It's nice now that she's not ill, to be able to inhale the chill air into lungs and exhale it. It's cleansing.

The snow catches in her hair and on her nose and eyelashes and she grins. She can't help it. It reminds her of when it used to snow a little back home in Blackpool. Her dad used to take her outside and put her on his shoulders and tell her to catch as many snowflakes in her hands as he darted around the yard. Then mum would make them hot cocoa and they'd all curl up under a blanket as she read them a story.

She walks down the hill before dropping onto her back into the snow. One hand extends to the sky, palm up, letting the snowflakes drift onto her skin. The cold doesn't bother her. She just watches the sky with a grin on her face.]

[refusing]

[As quiet as she's kept sense returning and settling in, it's nice to be out and about and experiencing the chilly weather. She's bundled up as best as possible, and what starts as simply admiring the sight of the snow falling all too quickly turns into an energetic prance through it. She's almost like a puppy with how excited she becomes, wiggling energy and toothy grins just because there's snow to play around in.

At some point she takes up whooping out loud and diving into nearby piles of the fluffy white stuff, arms and legs beginning to move upon impact so she can make a snow angel or two.]

late :c

[storm_warning]

The roads are weird. Different. They don't freeze and she can't figure out why, but it hasn't kept Ororo from giving them a full test of their abilities. How? Simple: She brings the snow and she brings it for hours, hovering about the roads as she sits cross-legged in the currents, certain she's going to get the better of it at some point.

A few hours in, she sees a familiar spirit sharing the air space and waves a hand in greeting. "Long time, no freeze," she calls out wryly.

LATE BUT OPEN

[nothotrod]

A. (vehicle mode/holoform)

The chilly air of the countryside was an immediate draw to Rodimus, who finally got the opportunity to go out and explore on his own without worrying about a disguise.

Leaving behind the bustle of the market cities, he'd initially wandered out in vehicle mode, cruising through the warm roads of the countryside and letting the long desired fresh air seep into his vents. He let his engine roar loudly as he approached the less inhabited areas of the roads, enjoying the speed for however briefly he could. The spaces between the cities were a sorely needed break from the turtle. His holoform sat comfortably in the driver's seat.

B. (Robot mode)

As soon as he got around the ten kilometer halfway mark, he seemed to slow down.

Empty road. For the time being.

Nice.

The orange vehicle stops. After one or two brief checks, it begins to shift. First, the doors and canopy jerk out of place, shortly followed by the spoiler and wheelwells. The car becomes a collection of machinery and parts before eventually reassembling into a bipedal robot. Finally!

Rodimus stretches his arms and back and takes a look at the deep snow and frozen forest next to him. Well. It wasn't fenced off or anything, time to go explore. (Not that fences would stop him, really. They'd probably encourage him more.) There's one big step into the snow forming walls around the roads before his legs would soon almost disappear into the white.

A!

[redjay]

[That is not a normal sound for the supposed countryside.

Here he is, in his civies, making his way towards the next location where he wants to plant his not subtle at all snow dicks sculptures, with his loud bag of snow equipment hanging off his shoulder when there comes a roar of an engine. Cleaner than any engine he's heard on the Turtle. It's a distance away but he stops.

And looks.

And waits.

Keeps looking and keeps waiting, like some drifter looking for a ride. It's half true, he's also thinking of jacking the car if they stop. Because who wouldn't.]

[lookedtothestars]

Jor-El had decided to take advantage of the opportunity to explore, spending time not only in the domed towns, but also traveling off the heated roads, and into the wilderness.

It was something he had not done with such impunity since he was a youth and before he became a full member of the science guild. With age, however, had come the understanding that wandering too far afield and without care would, if it did not endanger himself, would at least endanger whatever research or materials he collected needlessly.

With a full day's worth of notes written down- a practice that was supremely archaic on Krypton, which had advanced well beyond relying on only written information- and a variety of samples collected from the forest, he began making his way to the closest road. While he could remain out there longer- there was more than enough to observe and take samples from, and the effect of cold weather was negligible- it would be better to return.

This decision soon appeared to be a wise one, as he made out a large bipedal figure stepping into the snow directly off the road. Whatever the reason for the orange armor was, it certainly had made the being easy to spot.