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.

[ciderandstew]

[Calypso had been out in the country to avoid people. To keep from running into faces she didn't want to have to deal with. Unfortunately, that's just not how things seem to be panning out.

When Percy steps into her line of sigh, her eyes widen and she freezes in place. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. Letting out a breath of cold air, his name is hardly on her lips before she's turning and walking the other way.]

I'll let you be, Percy Jackson.

[Definitely still in flight mode.]

[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?

[sophos]

[Percy's gone with Mrs. O'Leary on a run, and Annabeth's opted to stay behind, if only because the roads are heated, and the whole thing is ridiculously interesting to her. She wants to know how it works, so while she stops to chat with passersby on occasion, she's mostly hovering at the construction sights and trying to worm her way beyond the quartered off zones.]

[She thinks about retreating, maybe coming back invisibly. There's a good number of people around, though, and she doesn't want to disappear on Percy, so maybe later -]

[Annabeth sort of freezes when one of the aforementioned travelers suddenly looks a lot less local and a lot more familiar. She doesn't call out, even debates ducking aside and pretending she never saw Calypso, but that's stupid. She's not that person. She was the one who knew speaking with the other girl had to happen, just not that day.]

[So when Calypso's finally close enough and their paths intersect, Annabeth just sort of... awkwardly nods her head in greeting, with a somewhat forced smile. Anything she's feeling is wiped clean from her face, which morphs into something politely neutral.]

[fliesonfour]

[Well! Such an absurdly lovely day; absurd in the strict sense, for it was too warm for snow, and too metropolitan for antlered creatures, and too sea-bound to seem quite so pleasantly inland; deserved a bit of a stroll. And what a more heart-rendering sight to see, in such a fantastical place, on such a wondering jaunt, then that of a young woman (beautiful in the face, absolutely! with very sweet cheeks, Joly noted, off-handedly), quite on her lonesome, looking amiss.

Though it might be rude to approach, as a single gentleman, he found the cause ought-weighed the consequence of manners!

Clearing his throat with a hem, he greeted,]

Mademoiselle! Good day to you.

[fotia]

[So like, maybe he should have completely avoided the Republic of Fire Paranoia and chilled around these parts instead. Get it? Chill?

Okay, whatever. Leo's probably going to fare way better if he just decides to mind his own business and try not to set himself on fire again.

But oh man, look at these roads, they're so cool. Er, warm. He's staring at the black surface beneath his feet, trying to calculate the amount of energy to produce the appropriate, balanced heat, when he collides into someone.

A little irritated at being distracted from his calculations, he raises his eyes to the stranger and snaps, a little hypocritically,]

Hey! Watch where you're—

[And then he pauses, because oh. Her again. Calypso confuses him in a way that he finds her weirdness slightly annoying but endearing at the same time. He stares dumbly for a few moments before shaking his head vigorously to get himself together.]

Oh, it's you again. Hey uh, sorry about that.

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...]

[bindsthedead]

[Teddy isn't the only Foreigner surveying things from the sky. Sabriel's whistles linger far longer and more loudly than they should- and the wind responds to them, letting her steer her Paperwing closer to get a better look at the other flyer.

At a distance, her craft could be mistaken for a small, utterly silent airplane. Up close, it's easy to see that it's made of countless sheets of laminated paper- and innumerable, symbols, all moving over the surface.

Wait, did the eyes painted on the front just move?]

[werethatgood]

[OR he might get a snowball in the shoulder when he swoops down. And then the culprit might be too tiny to easily spot, when he looks for her...]

[shorttempered]

[Invincible, though he can fly with ease, is actually walking the path between Phorezton and Markutte, and looking none to happy about it. However, after what happened to him during his first landfall, he wasn't going to take any chances. When he sees Teddy, he gives a little wave.]

Hey! [A pause.] Question: you wouldn't happen to be feeling... weird, would you? Like... with your powers?

[witchnotwarlock]

[Billy can't believe he hadn't thought of this before. Sure, he'd gone flying a little, but it was different here. And he really should do it a lot more. But all of this? This place was beautiful, with the snow, and the sky and that sense of feeling you always got when you felt like you were on actual land, not just a turtle.

So if he saw Teddy flying, at least for one run around, he was beside him, or catching up. They were in the air, no matter what.]

I really missed this.

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.

[baniichan]

Muted surprise crossed Barnaby's features once he saw the treat being presented to him. A bit wary of food prepared in some street stall, he slowly took the candied fruit from his partner. After watching Kotetsu take a small bite, Barnaby finally tasted his own. He allowed the flavors to mingle in mouth as he decided what he thought of it.

"I almost expected it to be overly sweet," he admitted once he'd reached his verdict. "It's not bad, though." Looking at Kotetsu, he gave him a rare, quiet smile. "Thank you."

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.]

Re: Sabriel | open

[witchnotwarlock]

[Truth be told, Billy was using the roads as a good way to know where he was actually going. If he'd been in a place before. All of these things that really needed to be looked at, in case anything happened.

And, since he was flying around, using his powers, he could get all the help he could get.]

Sabriel! {Billy smiled, coming up to her.] I was wondering if I'd see you around here. It's pretty nice, isn't it?

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]

[fliesonfour]

[Joly has been taking in the air! It was a well-meant endeavor, especially when they had a friend who had taken ill. But all the snow was surely not easy on one's lungs, and there was a dampness promised by snow that worried him well enough to have convinced him it was time to turn back and to settle in to someplace quite warm; and preferably, with drink.

It is on his way to the town nearest to his feet that he spots, ahead, a sitting goose!

Smile breaching his lips, he was careful with his cane, to speed up just a tic, without slipping on any unfortunate patches of ice.]

Why, Marius! Out taking your groceries for a walk. They have ice boxes for that, you know!

[Quipped, really seeing nothing the matter, so far.

After all, Pontmercy generally looked about that lost and bemused.]

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.]

Re: Bryn; closed to DCU!Dick Grayson;

[bludhavenknight]

[He'd been all over the place. Back and forth, going from different town to different town. Going outside of the towns. It was a good thing he was in shape, because otherwise there was no way he'd be able to go anywhere, or do anything.

And boy, was he doing stuff. Dick was loving this place, if only for the snow. When he was younger, and traveling in the circus with his family, the circus always traveled to warmer climates in the colder months. He had spent many a Christmas down in Florida, where you didn't need to wear a heavy coat for anything.

But it snowed every winter in Gotham, so he had gotten used to it by now. That didn't mean, however, that the magic of it all was lost on him. Which was why he was trudging out into the countryside, once again.

To do whatever. Maybe this time he'd make some snow angels. His plans were changed, however, when a stick fell into the middle of his path. And then a giant cat was coming to him.]

Shit! [Quick backpedal, quick, you're about to be run over!]

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.]

Re: open

[backinakidflash]

[It's a better day for a cross-country run. Between the temperature and the exercise, Bart's warm enough to be comfortable. He's been running all sorts of patterns criss-crossing Bresilyk, stopping here and there to take a look at the artistic sculptures made out of snow.

When he spies someone working on one, he changes course and veers towards them, stopping with a twenty foot long slide that kicks up a huge wave of snow. He's expecting a native that he can pepper with questions. What are these for? How long have you practiced? That one twenty clicks west - what is it? I can't tell.

So he's disappointed to see that it's another foreigner.]

Oh. You're human.

[cowled]

[It's a good day for many a thing, apparently. Which explains - at least partially - why Bruce is outside sans uniform. He's simply dressed as his public persona, in a heavy double-breasted wool jacket, with a scarf wrapped more for casual fashion than warmth around his neck, the ends placed in such a way that anyone trying to use it to entangle him would have to contend with a fist rather directly to their face.

He's carrying a bag over one shoulder, the days finds at the auction house, one of which was a surprise. Pleasant, unlike seeing Inara wearing his mother's necklace. A large thermos Bruce recognized, filled with his favourite of Alfred's teas. There are other things as well, books, odds and ends, things an eccentric billionaire could be talked into purchasing though he has no real need of it. When he sees Jason, his fingers tighten on the bag and his footsteps become soundless in the snow.

He stops a short distance behind him - neither his shadow nor the wind direction should have given him away yet - and simply. Stands there. He's not certain as to Jason's purpose in whatever it is he's doing, but it seems like such an innocuous thing if one ignores the subject matter. And the nature of that subject matter does make his mouth tighten in a frown that's altogether uncharacteristic of little Brucie Wayne.

A moment longer, and then he takes his own gloves off - slowly, his hands have been broken too many times to be a joy in this cold - and he clears his throat.]

Jason.