It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being
pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something rather hard with the sound of water coming from nearby. However, before one can fully stir, there is something that lifts you up from the rather warm (yet why did it feel like a chill going down your spine?) stone when you begin to drift off once more. It felt as though someone had thrown you from the frying pan, and then into the freezer - all you wanted to do was sleep...
Yet the feeling passes quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It looks like...a plaza of some sort? As they look around them, the ground beneath them is an intricate mosiac - a water fountain at the center of the plaza in this foreign world. There are many buildings around its perimeter, making this location seem like a central hub of whatever town this was. Some may even recognize the peculiar design of the buildings and sloped tiled rooftops as a Far Eastern theme. Were they somewhere along the Pacific? Who knows! But what is quite apparent is this: Along with the many buildings surrounding the plaza, the first thing that is noticeable is the amount of people sitting or standing around you in a similar daze.
You are not alone...One building seems to stand out among all the others; one that seems large enough to house all of the completely lost and confused masses gathered here to the welcome plaza. A sign outside the door reads:
WELCOME CENTER
Newcomers: Please come inside for refreshments and your welcome packets!Odd... This wasn't written in your own language, and yet you find it easily understandable. Soon enough, if you don't enter on your own, someone comes from inside the double doors to usher you and everyone else inside.
"Welcome to
Saeng Seong! I know you must be confused as to where you are and what's going on, but we promise to explain this to you once we're inside and away from the hot sun!"
Whether you go inside immediately or linger outside a little longer, eventually you must come in from the hot summer day. You'll find yourself in a well-lit lobby, filled with comfortable-looking couches and chairs. Along one wall are refreshment tables, loaded with all sorts of food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. On the wall opposite are a trio of desks, each with a sign and a person seated behind them -
Irene, General AssistanceDevin, Technological AssistanceMai, Medical AssistanceRen, General NuisanceHowever, before you can go over and give them a piece of their mind and ask for questions, the same person who ushered you inside hands you a manilla envelope that contains your welcome packet, urging you to read this before asking the three figures questions that the packet likely answers.
Inside it, you will find: a ring with a key and apartment number on it, some kind of cash card, a
map and informational guide to the city, and a letter folded neatly on the top -
Welcome to Saeng Seong!
You are among the first of many new arrivals to our city, from many far-apart worlds.
We have gathered you here because our city is in a crisis, and we are at our last resorts. The energy of the city is in a slow downward spiral, and is dangerously close to expiring altogether.
That's where you come in - you and everyone else we've brought to the city. Unlike those of us here, you have the potential to generate the energy the city needs, but you'll need to work together to do it.
Why? Because the energy can only be generated when two people touch each other. Any touch will do, but it must be between two of you who are new to the city. If you don't keep in contact with someone, eventually your energy will begin to drain as well, making you dangerously ill.
A few other things:
The closed-off sections of the city are closed off for a reason; approaching them will cause your energy to drain very rapidly. We're working to open the rest of the city to you as soon as we can, but for now, please remain within the two central districts of the city.
You have been given a key to a one-bedroom apartment in a complex set aside for you and the other new arrivals, near the riverside in the 1st district. You're free to change your living quarters whenever you like, and we encourage you to move in with someone in one of the larger apartments. When you want to change, just come back to this building to exchange your key.
We've also included a cash card with a living stipend; if you're unfamiliar with this system, or the network established for new arrivals, you can talk to Devin in the lobby for help. It's what he's here for. If you need medical assistance, contact Mai at her desk today, or at the hospital in case of any future accidents.
Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help.
Irene
Arrival Liaison
Back behind you, others still linger, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street in the bright summer day:
WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)
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rekindleme2013-06-06 03:04 pm
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His welcome packet is unopened in his hands. He doesn't know what to do with it. They don't have paper in the time he's from. Why would he even think to read it? He's six and his lessons are only just beginning. That he knows how to write his own name in ogham is much more than most people of his time will ever know how to do.
The desk is large and he is very small for his age, so the first thing Irene will probably notice is that a small blue and green butterfly is suddenly circling her head. Once she notices it, the butterfly will fly off down over the edge of her desk where she will find Diarmuid standing on his tip toes looking up, large golden eyes wide. He seems to be having a little difficulty holding the packet, his blanket, and what seems to be a practice sword of some kind in his small arms, but so far nothing seems to be in danger of falling.]
Royal Lady, can you please tell the faeries to send me home now? My father will worry...
no subject
A royal lady? I'm quite flattered, but I'm not a queen.
[She looks at the unopened packet in the boy's hands - can he read? Either way, they certainly can't leave a child living alone...]
You're going to have to stay here for a while, but don't worry. Your father won't ever know that you were gone.
no subject
[Diarmuid's wide golden eyes blink up at her, confused. As he speaks, the butterfly circles him a few times before settling onto the top of his head.]
Father always knows where I am. How will he not know I'm gone? He always knows!
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No, I'm just a person.
[She's pretty good at getting over it, though, giving him a bright smile.]
For your father, it won't be any time at all until you get back. So it's like you were never gone at all!
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How would father not know? Are you saying the faeries who brought me here have stronger magic than my father has?
[That thought seems to scare Diarmuid a little.]
And if so, what can I give them to get them to send me home? I don't have anything special they might want!
[Diarmuid had been taught for as long as he could remember that if a person wanted something from one of the spirits that they shared the land with, they gave them an offering. How can he do that when he has nothing to offer?]
no subject
[She's still giving him that motherly smile, and reaches out to gently put a hand on his shoulder.]
We'll get you home safe. But there's something we need you to do first.
[Which, funnily enough, will probably make him think even more that they're agents of the fey.]
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Fortunately, her next words distract him and his face seems to suddenly shine with excitement.]
There is something I can do? What? What can I do? I like helping others!
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There's a special kind of energy that you can only make by touching people.
[She smiles gently.]
Our city doesn't have enough of this energy, and we can't make any more ourselves. So that's why we called you and everyone else here.
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[Sorry, Irene. His world is so seeped in magic that is what he thinks of first.]
So if I hug or touch people it will make things better? And then I can go home?
[Somehow his grin gets wider.]
I can do that! I like hugging people. It makes them happy!
no subject
That's exactly right!
[Her smile is bright. What a good, smart kid.]
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[The boy bows to her and before she can say anything else, disappears excitedly off into the crowd. He probably should have taken the time to also ask her about where to get food or where he should sleep, but Diarmuid is so excited to actually have something he can do, he doesn't stop to think of those things.]