EVENT | LANDFALL | ZESHORA

[ironwood]

Characters: ALL!
Date: June 17th to July 8th
Location: Zeshora
Situation: Tu Vishan has washed up near the cities of Atoce and Uessaire.
Warnings/Rating: Add warnings as needed.



The cities of Zeshora were renowned across all of Konryu as works of art, and even with the upheaval which sank and destroyed many of them centuries prior, that distinction remains evident. The Erol'a will recount, if asked, a terrible series of earthquakes and resultant tsunamis that rolled over Zeshora, and how great chunks of the continent simply dropped away. Zeshora was one of the oldest continents, and its landmasses upon the backs of long-dead Great Turtles had been so constant, that no one had even thought it possible such a thing could have happened.

Testament to the Erol'a's resilience however, they adapted and reclaimed the cities that had fallen to, or just below, sea level. Arches, pillars and soaring ceilings dominate the architecture in both cities, and every surface is painstakingly decorated with tiny inlaid shells and coral, turning every hall and room into a mosaic of colour. It's not uncommon for Erol'a dwellings to have multiple stories, and likewise it's not unlikely to have at least a few of those levels under sea level. So it's entirely possible to have one's upstairs be above water, and one's downstairs be below the water! Imagine having to take a swim to get a midnight snack. Of course, the Erol'a don't find that strange at all. Likewise, it's perfectly normal to them to walk down the hallways of their homes in ankle, knee or waist-deep water, something that the Foreigners and even some kedan might take some getting used to. The water temperature during the day is a delightful 80℉/26℃, and about ten degrees cooler throughout the night, so it's pleasant for nearly everyone.

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LINKS
Atoce - City of Pearls | Uessaire - City of Lilies | Ollesse - The Coral Ruins | Secessi - The Floating Reefs | Hatchling Messages
Astegune | Landfall Surprise | Landfall Update - Jun 23 | OOC Post

OOC
Please direct questions to the OOC post! You can either use the areas described under header, or create your own -- don't feel you have to be limited to threading only in the locations mentioned in the starters! Just don't forget to label your top-levels with specific locations (eg the Height or the Deep).

ACTIVITY CHECK NOTE: Due to the late-month timing of this landfall, threads from this log can be counted toward either June or July AC. Just don't use the same comment thread for both and you'll be fine!

Comments

BIRD WANTS TO TRY - any day but the 21st.

[akito]

Akito doesn't really have any particular goal in mind apart from exploring, but Bird seems to have other plans for them. Spotting the nice man with the chain on his wrist attached to the fancy-but-haunted perch, Bird quickly flies over to sit on his newest friend and coos a greeting.

"Hello! Konnichiwa!"

The avian's keeper takes his time following, not in any rush once he sees who Bird has gone after. Skulduggery, in all his suited glory, and Erskine, the pretty man from the network. Nobody to worry about - at least in regards to Bird's safety.

"Ah, has Bird-kun already made friends with Mr. Ridiculously Pretty?" Akito offers in greeting to Erskine, then tilts his head at Skulduggery to offer a friendly greeting to him as well. "Hi, Skulduggery."

[edgeoftheknife]

They were taking a breather--or at least the half of them who needed to breathe were. They'd just got done ferrying a larger group of Erol'a down to the ruins below and while the magic wasn't anything beyond the capabilities of either sorcerer, magic tended to wear on a person the same as physical activity would. Creating a massive bubble of air beneath the water for a solid hour was taxing.

Propped up against a larger rock along the shore, Erskine was gulping water from a thermos-type container--and then condensing water out of the air to refill the container, and then gulping again. Five more minutes and he'd be right as rain.

At the sight of the little bird perching on his shoulder, Erskine lowered the thermos and smiled. "Hello again." He looked past the bird and nodded to its keeper. "Akito. How are you today?"

[skeletonenigma]

Not even the presence of Akito's little bird elicited the usual flare of annoyance, which surprised Skulduggery almost as much as he was sure it would surprise Akito. Maybe he needed to spend more of his time on beaches. Maybe he was actually getting used to a constant companion.

Then again, maybe not.

"Akito." Skulduggery returned the greeting with a nod. "Would you please remind your pet that I'm not a toy? I think he's forgotten."

[akito]

"I'm okay. How are you doing? Is Anton going to give you your privacy back soon?"

Akito tries not to react too visibly to Skul's comment, but the way he bristles is clear to see. It isn't Skul's fault, but the word 'pet' rubs him the wrong way.

"He's not a 'pet' - he's a companion. If he bothers you just tell him to go away, or 'move', or if he's nibbling too hard just say 'ow' or 'itai' and he'll stop." Said companion of his is enjoying nibbling on Erskine's hand in greeting; nubby tongue poking at the skin delicately. Akito isn't about to call Bird back. The creature can make his own decision on who he wants to perch on.

"Birds use faces to recognize people as living beings. You... Ah, don't have a face, most of the time. So you'll have to remind him vocally." He squishes sand between his bare feet, enjoying the natural exfoliation. "If he's bugging you at the hotel though, just tell him to see Anton, ne? He likes Mr. Anton."

[edgeoftheknife]

"Everyone likes Shudder," Ravel replies with a soft laugh, smiling at the little nibbles from the bird. Affection without reservation. Maybe he ought to think about finding a pet--excuse, companion--himself. It'd certainly be a nice change of pace.

...not that it'll ever come to pass. Ravel's never had a stable enough life to even consider having a pet. Never lived in one place long enough. Never even had a flat of his own, not once in four hundred years. So maybe he'll just continue to live vicariously through Akito and his bird.

"Which is a bit baffling, I have to confess," he continues. "Most everyone in our world finds him bloody terrifying. I suppose that's what a reputation will do for you. And no, he still hasn't said anything about the chain." He shrugs. "I'd like to say that he can't hold out on us forever, but this is Anton we're talking about."

[skeletonenigma]

"I said 'ow'," Skulduggery objected. Granted, that had startled the bird away in the end, but it was the principle of the matter. The bird should have recognised him from the beginning. He didn't exactly have a forgettable face.

Not, according to Akito, that it mattered.

"This is approaching cruel and unusual punishment," he murmured. "Which is forbidden by the United Nations, and so naturally means absolutely nothing within Anton's Hotel." Skulduggery jerked the chain once, like maybe catching it off guard would help it to break of its own accord a little faster. "But Anton doesn't shoot himself in the foot. The next time there's a crisis or someone targets the Foreigners, he'll let us go. He won't have a choice."

[akito]

"Did he stop after you did?" Akito knows his bird pretty well, and he's pretty sure Skulduggery is just being a whiny baby about it. Which is kind of amusing, actually.

The jerk of the chain startles Bird, who is quick to flap his wings loudly in surprise and run up Erskine's arm to huddle up beside his ear. He peeps indignantly at the chain, making Akito giggle.

"Reputations are generally too one-dimensional to be a reliable judge of a person's character."

[edgeoftheknife]

Ravel smiles at the bird's skittishness, completely fine with letting the little creature huddle up next to him. He's not going to weigh into Skulduggery's argument about Bird--clearly Skulduggery and Akito knew each other before he came along, and he's not particularly eager to jump into even more arguments than he's already a part of.

At the comment about reputations he chuckles. "You don't have to tell me. Believe me."

After one last gulp of water, Ravel sets the thermos aside and straightens up. "Have you been to the ruins?" He nods his head to the side, gesturing toward the underwater portion of the city.

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery chooses not to answer Akito's question. It's a matter of professional pride.

When the bird hops off the chain to huddle on Ravel's shoulder, Skulduggery takes the opportunity to stretch the chain as far as it will go and lean against the nearby rock, giving at least the illusion of privacy. But he can still hear their conversation, and he's still looking in their direction.