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.

---

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

[unetrustworthy]

"...no, she didn't say. I didn't think to ask. But I could only imagine."

The last time she'd seen Riva, the not-so-little Turtle could no longer fit inside their former residence.

[jinzhong]

"Yeah, wow," he said, and shook his head. They had to be enormous by now!

"Come on, let's get that tea."

[unetrustworthy]

She nodded her agreement. Now, even more than before, tea was needed.

Midii took a single, deep breath, and fell into quiet step beside him. Very quiet. Even at fourteen, she still managed to make very little sound when she walked. Old habits, combined with her small frame. She'd grown some since her arrival--there was a noticeable difference between Midii at fourteen, and Midii at eleven--but remained small for her age.

"You should ask." She spoke up after a moment. "Someone must have heard from Rio'era around here, too."

[jinzhong]

And that made Jackie stop walking for just a moment, thinking. Maybe Rio'era wasn't mad at him. He hadn't meant to be away so long, and he missed the tyke.

"You think?" he asked, trying to temper the excitement and fear in his voice. "I mean, like...you think they all left messages with these Erol'a types?"

[unetrustworthy]

"I think there's a very good chance they all stuck together. Safety in numbers. And if one of them was here, the others couldn't have been too far behind."

[jinzhong]

Jackie nodded, a smile threatening to break out across his face. "I hope I get one from Rio'era soon. Man...it's been ages." And longer for the turtles.

They made their way into the tea shop and got a table. "I'm buying. Think of it as, uh, a thank-you for the good news." Then he stopped, biting his nail. "Just realized, I don't...actually know your name. I'm Jackie."

[unetrustworthy]

"Midii. I'm Midii Une."

She waited patiently until one of the servers brought them over a menu. Despite Jackie's generous offer to pay--one she would hardly protest (never let it be said Midii turned down the opportunity for Free Food)--she still had every intention of ordering something simple. To go with the fruit-flavored tea she asked for.

[jinzhong]

"Well, good to meet ya," Jackie said, and ordered steamed buns to go with his own jasmine-like tea, because they reminded him of home.

"...how old are you?" he asked, realizing that she might be the youngest Foreigner around.

[unetrustworthy]

He was close; at one point, she had been the youngest. But people came and people went, and she remained long enough to age into a teenager.

"Fourteen. About." She looked almost apologetic about being so uncertain of her own age. "It's....been hard to keep track the last couple of years. Time was different here than where I came from. And we spent so much time in the Dream world...but I think it's been long enough that I should be fifteen by next November."

[jinzhong]

Jackie looked at her with something approaching sympathy in his expression. She was too young to have been dragged into a war like the one they'd fought with Malicant.

"And...you're okay here? Do you have anyone from back home lookin' after you?"

It had been hard enough for him to be here on his own, and hard enough growing up even with his gang friends to fall back on. Being so young and here alone sounded horrifying.

[unetrustworthy]

"No. I don't."

It wasn't a lie. She had family back home, yes, but none of them would have been actively looking for her. At least, they shouldn't have been. Papa was too sick, and she'd explicitly told the boys to remain at home for as long as possible. (Then again, it wasn't as if the Twins had a history of listening to her every word.)

"Keelai has always been nicer than the world I came from. I have food and shelter and even people who've...cared about me." Her mind briefly flashed through a series of faces. Gone, but not forgotten. "And I'm safer here."

[jinzhong]

Jackie looked a little sad, at that. No way he could look after her - hell, he could barely look after himself - but he could at least look after her.

"If anyone gives you trouble, just mention my name to a Snake. Jackie Ma." Not like he had all that much clout, but it was known he had Yunxu's ear.

[unetrustworthy]

She glanced up at him, smiling faintly.

"Thank you." It was a kind offer. "But...I don't make it a habit of talking to the Snakes. Much." (Only if she had a reason to.)

[jinzhong]

"Heh, I don't blame you," he said with a smile. "Still. Figured I'd offer, you know?"

The kedan brought their order, and Jackie picked up the teacup, just holding it in his hands a moment before drinking it.

[unetrustworthy]

"Yeah. I do know. And I do appreciated it, really."

She didn't even ask why. She didn't have to. Even where she came from, adults had this instinct to protect the young. Like her. And while a small part of her still felt lingering guilt at how she'd used it to her advantage in the past...

This wasn't like that. It was just a sweet offer from a new potential ally.

"...is there something wrong?" Most people didn't linger over their tea like that for no reason.

[jinzhong]

Jackie was a sucker for a pretty face, and for kids who needed help. If Midii wanted to, she could absolutely play him like a fiddle.

"No, not really. Just the way it smelled kind of reminded me of home, for a minute."

[unetrustworthy]

"You had tea like this?" She brought her own cup to her lips, inhaling before taking a sip of her own. "...it's sweeter than what we used to drink. Most of the teas here are."

[jinzhong]

"Yeah, kind of," Jackie says, "but I used to put a lot of sugar in mine, heh. So the sweetness doesn't even bother me."

[unetrustworthy]

That might explain it.

"We...couldn't afford sugar. The only reason we even had tea was because one of the neighbors grew leaves in her backyard. She'd give me some in exchange for helping her clean."

[jinzhong]

Jackie's face fell. "Man, really? No sugar?" It was practically unthinkable to him. Sure, he'd grown up poor, but he'd always had access to tea and sugar and good food - perks of being friends with Mrs. Chu's son and hanging out in the restaurant all the time. "That really sucks!"

[unetrustworthy]

"It was probably better off. Whenever the twins ate anything sugary, they'd be up all night, hyper."

Trying to put a positive spin on things. A little trick she'd learned in Keelai.

"Most of those resources were sent off to the troops. And our village was small. We weren't a priority."

[jinzhong]

Jackie smiled a little at her first comment - yeah, he knew how kids got with sugar - before looking a little concerned again.

"Troops? There was a war on where you came from?" Well, there'd been a war here, too.

[unetrustworthy]

"The whole world was at war."

It wasn't an exaggeration. Save for the privileged few who had the luxury of living in their own, sheltered towns relatively untouched by combat...

"Since before I was born. It started with an assassination in...I think it was AC 175? Over the Space Colonies. That's all I ever remembered hearing about it."

[jinzhong]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Space Colonies?" And the entire dating system was utterly alien to him, too.

"I get the feeling we do not come from anything close to the same world. Uh, we got a guy on the moon once, though."

[unetrustworthy]

"So did we." Obviously. "That was before the new Calendar System went into affect, though. Just over two hundred years ago."

She didn't seem surprised in the least, like all this was old news to her. Given how many times in the past she'd had similar conversations with others from...if not her world, than one similar to it.

"Enjorlas...I don't know if you know him or not, but he told me he was from Paris in the early nineteenth century, anno domini. That would have put him about...three hundred years into my past."