Intro Log - March 2014

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone
Where: The Welcome Center
When: 18th March, afternoon
Summary: The new arrivals, freshly pulled from their worlds or others, awaken in a strange place...
Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. SOME NPC RESPONSES WILL BE SLOW UNTIL THE ONE WHO PLAYS THEM IS PRESENT.

It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something on the soft and some place cozy. However, before one can fully stir, there is and odd, warm stirring sensation that lifts you up from wherever you've been dropped, when you begin to drift off once more.

Yet the feeling passes quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It's a small room with what some might recognize as a Far Eastern theme when it comes to decor, from the walls to the sofa (or bed) you find yourself on. Illumination is provided by carefully crafted lamps, and even a candle flickering on a nearby desk. The doors are made from paper and wood, with a thin frame; through them it's easy to hear other people stirring, talking, or coming to.

You are not alone...

Close at hand there's a note that reads:

WELCOME CENTER
Newcomers: Please come downstairs to the lobby 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, there's a gentle knocking on the door as someone comes from downstairs to usher you along.

"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 you've had a chance to stretch your legs!"

Whether you go downstairs immediately or linger a little longer, eventually you must come down and get out of the small space, and sooner rather than later would probably be better. 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 warming, comforting food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign and a person seated behind them -

Irene, General Assistance
Devin, Technological Assistance

Unlike a few waves before, the only people in charge seem to be the people behind the desks. They look a bit busy.

However, before you can go over and give them a piece of your mind and ask questions, the same person who ushered you downstairs hands you a manilla envelope that contains your welcome packet, urging you to read this before asking the two 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 a new group of 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 first five 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, one of our nurses.

Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help.

Irene
Arrival Liaison

Outside, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street. It's looking bright against a mostly blue sky:

WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)

Comments

[for_altea]

"Pulled from your time?" He asked gently. That in itself was surprising. Of course - the entire concept of time travel was beyond him. To pull warriors from the past, away from their own affairs, and into situations that were not their concern. It seemed cruel. Especially if it was anything like this.

He walked on in some silence for a moment as he considered what she had told him. His thoughts were bordering on presumptuous, so they were unvoiced. Manners dictated no less. A knight alike her had to be in service to someone. Her armor looked too well maintained, her appearance too clean to be a sellsword donning a pretty nice set of armor they'd ...acquired between jobs. Furthermore, something about her presence outright stated that she was no mercenary. A mercenary wouldn't stop to assist a stranger, for one. For two, her sense of decorum suggested a knight, or highborn. Or both. Regardless, if she was not in service to a Lord, then she was a ruler. If she was indeed a ruler she was in service to her people. So... yes. Being taken from her time, her obligations, was a cruel act.

However considered, and however private his thoughts, Marth was still childish at times. Very much so, actually - so he couldn't quite catch what then fell out of his mouth before it did, his voice quiet but displaying all of the curiosity of a child.

"Do you have any choice in the matter of being summoned?"

Yet Marth wasn't a child. Eventually, his brain caught up. And he smiled quite in quite an apologetic fashion toward her as he continued walking. "Forgive me, lady Saber. My name is Marth. It truly is a pleasure to meet you, albeit the circumstances not being favourable."

Of course he omitted his title. Here... where Altea was as nothing, it hardly seemed important. And he continued speaking, if anything, to try and smooth over his initial question. Though it seemed perfectly adequate in his head, to others he knew, it would seem impertinent.

"I fear my questions would irritate you." ...Most likely, because everything barring the air, the sky, and the ground beneath them was a question at this point.

[pendragon]

"The first two times, aye. I made a deal that would cause me to be summoned someday to a great War. The fact that it happened twice was unique on its own. But this time? No, I did not agree to this."

Saber's teeth were clenched for a brief moment as she thought about it. She had made peace with herself and her past, and should have been left to rest in death.

"Pleasure to meet you, as well, Marth. Simply call me Saber. I doubt titles from other worlds have any relevance here."

Not only that, but "Lady" felt extremely awkward to Saber. She didn't wish to correct him, as that would involve likely explaining why "Lord," or even "your highness" was relevant to her. Maybe another day she would have had no issues correcting him, but she didn't wish to bother with that today.

"And I am sure it will be no bother, so ask away. When I was summoned to other ages, I was gifted the knowledge I would need to function in those times. I took that for granted, but I can understand that being without the knowledge would be.. confusing."

Saber began to look around as she was certain they had crossed into the residential area. The buildings looked more like apartments. Following the map in her one hand, she guided them in the right direction. She was at ease with navigating using the map and street names, so she didn't mind guiding them in the least.

[for_altea]

"You have my sympathy. Even if not your own, war is a truly awful thing to endure." And twice, gods. He looked slightly surprised when she asked for the formality to be dropped. Yet he understood. If anything, it was his upbringing which made usage of the term easy. She was a knight, no matter what world she was in, therefore the title had come.

But she'd implicitly requested he didn't. So he merely nodded, walking on a few paces before turning again. If anything, the streets seemed quite safe. The populace milling about, showing no weaponry on their persons, no armor, no distant shouts of any arguments seemed to suggest so. Yet he stayed wary. It was too much of a habit to not. As they entered the residential area, the crowds appeared to filter out. This area was quite different from the first district they had visited, less flashy for one, and he gazed up at one of the apartment blocks, his mouth parting.

...That was a huge building.

He seemed to catch himself, turning back around to respond.
.
"Thank you, Saber. I admit, everything here is strange. It is almost surreal, I cannot believe I am seeing half of this..." But as strange as it was, it seemed to have the same basic purpose as what he knew. The buildings were different, but they were buildings. The shops he'd glimpsed were entirely different from the markets he was accustomed to, but they sold wares just the same. The roads were paved, but they were still roads. he people dressed quite... strangely (by the standards he was used to) but they were still civilians. He couldn't grasp the intricacies, not yet - like why streetlights existed or why the place was so ...odd looking, but it didn't matter.

Not yet, anyway. He hadn't tried living in it yet. That, and his concerns, for the moment, revolved around two things, the first being the situation back in Altea (which she wouldn't have the first idea about, of course not) and second being what exactly the letter had meant by depleting energy.

"...But I am grateful for your offer. I understand the network device. A man inside the first building explained it to me - and I believe I can use it to contact you. If there is something I cannot understand, I will use it to ask you. Is that well with you?"

[pendragon]

"I have known little but war," the knight comments, although her voice is much softer in volume than it was otherwise. It's easy to assume the knight was speaking to herself.

"Aye, the network. I have not received my device yet, but I plan on doing such tomorrow. I am going to do much exploring and attempting to figure out what is going on, but I felt that a good night's sleep was in order first."

And a good meal. Saber sincerely hoped there was some decent food in her new apartment.

Saber is hardly looking around. She has seen such buildings as this, and to be honest, her mind is focusing onto getting into her apartment. When summoned before, she was summoned for purpose, and a real purpose at that. Being summoned for something as minor as touching someone else to generate energy for a city.. the King of Knights isn't too pleased. Yes, the idea is that it'll help others, but of ways to help others and to be summoned just from before death, like this..?

It was hard for her to swallow. On top of that, two people she had just met - which both resembled people she knew from her own time - had confirmed she had been here before. Speaking of which..

"This is very .. ridiculous for me, as well. Not the surroundings or being summoned, but.. I ran into two children when I arrived that claimed I was here before. I am convinced that one of them is a younger version of a person I know, and the other is.. perhaps someone from another world that represents someone I know. And yet, both of them claim I have been here, in this city.." she says, and acts if she's about to go on. Then, she catches herself and shakes her head with a tiny, somewhat dry smile. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to mumble on."

That was what was bothering her the most, and what she would likely reflect on in the evening on top of everything else that was nonsensical about this summoning.

[for_altea]

"Then I am truly sorry." And he meant it. Though the statement was to herself, he heard, of course he heard. He, at 19 years of age, had no issues with his hearing and the residential district was indeed quieter than anywhere else. He paused for a moment, knowing that the statement wasn't anywhere near polite to make, and listened.

That... was odd. Very much so. "There is no need to apologize at all. You stated that you had been called from your time, to the time of others, at their behest." He stated smally, as he was trying to wrap his mind around it. "...A fantastic, if cruel tale. Yet here, those who had summoned you found themselves summoned in the same fashion as you had been. Is it possible whoever had called them could choose which part of their time to call them from? If a human lifetime, from birth to death is but a chapter in a book, one may start reading at any point in a chapter. I understand, this may sound inane, I have not the understanding of anything like this to possibly be of any use, but is something like that plausible?"

[pendragon]

"No, that is a very good way to look at it. The reason I am convinced I have not been here.. or will be here in my future.. is because I have just been pulled moments from before my death. This is the third time now I have been pulled from that exact time, and as I said, this third time was not one I agreed to. ..It is quite confusing, all of this time traveling," the knight trails off, and then sighs quietly. "I simply do not have any upcoming chapters, so I am at a total loss as to have these two children know me from this city."

Saber glances around as they come to the first corner of the grand apartment buildings. As she takes in the surroundings, her sword disappears from her hands so she can examine the map with both hands.

"Which building are you in, Marth? I think this is building 4."

[for_altea]

Death. His gaze clouded, and he found it shifting toward his boots. Of course, for a knight, the only death afforded was one in battle. Old age simply wasn't an option, and this one in particular couldn't have been much older than he. She didn't seem ill, either. If anything, she had strength. they'd walked quite a distance, her wearing armor which must have been far heavier than his own, and she hadn't complained, or faltered once.

"Perhaps they have chosen to save you from it, in order to give you another chance. For time has passed here since we arrived. The sun in the sky has moved, and now dwindles. Night will be upon us soon. The same amount time must have passed where we have come from, for any world simply cannot stop without us." For him, it was a cruel thing to be away from a unit which needed him. Away from a country that needed him. But for her... perhaps it wasn't that cruel, that considered. As for the children - he couldn't even offer anything. He was as clueless as to how that could logically happen as her. They would have to explain to her. For they would know. Of course they would.

"Mine is building two, the same as yours..." He responded, perhaps a little distantly. "According to your map, it is not far. This direction..." Of course, his tone was distant because he was still thinking about her predicament. Death was a painful thing to him. His advisors, his aides, his tacticians, even his sister looked down upon him for how he let it get to him, yet it was something he simply could not help. He'd seen it - of course he had. Repeatedly, often. but it got worse, every time. So much so, that he was unable to hide his concern. Even if this knight was a stranger to him.

"Forgive me, but you... stated that you knew you were to die. If everyone's death truly is the end of a chapter, and this world has indeed spared you it, when you return you will have your life... and opportunity to continue with it. Won't you?"

[pendragon]

Marth seemed oddly set against the idea of her being about to die, for whatever reason. She understood death was unpleasant, but this was a different situation.

"Perhaps. I am not sure how the rules of this .. city works. When I was summoned before, I was always pulled from that exact moment and then taken back there afterwards," Saber starts, thinking about it as they make their way towards Building 2. "I need no other chance. The only reason I was summoned before, was because I could not accept how things were. Now.. I have."

The Grail War and its system worked in unique ways, so she definitely did not expect it to work the exact same with Saeng Seong.

"I suppose we will figure out how this all works with time."

Saber stops in front of Building 2, looking up to it. After a moment, her gaze moves back to Marth. She can't help but wonder if he will be at ease in his new apartment, since it will likely all seem very strange to him.

"I have been told that the devices that allow us to communicate can be located throughout buildings. One of the young boys said that you are not able to get a device for yourself, but I plan on looking into that further tomorrow. I am in 2-15 if you would like to visit, however."

[for_altea]

Perhaps he looked at things too innocuously. To him, this woman was living. To stop living, at another living thing's hands... it was terrible, to him. Truly so. He shook his head slightly as he walked in the direction of the apartment block, speaking somewhat quietly. The details of someone's death deserved reverence, after all. Even if said person was currently in conversation with him.

"I am sure we will find out in the coming days. It makes no sense to conceal things from us - not when they view us as helpers." ....However rude just plucking them out of their worlds actually was. However catastrophic the outcome of doing so. He paused, brows furrowing when she spoke of acceptance. "Forgive the abruptness of this question, but... how can you truly accept your death?" He genuinely didn't understand, and the fact he couldn't made it come forth without much delicateness.

"Oh, thank you, Saber. That is most kind." He responded, as they came to the apartment block in question. He'd see her inside of it, but he thought he'd walk back to the arrivals building before entering himself. Mainly because he was still in disbelief about none of his allies, who were right next to him, being taken as well. And after all, a wasted journey was far better than actually missing any of them.

[pendragon]

"I died in battle, fighting for what I believe in. Why would I not accept that?" Saber answered simply, tilting her head as she spoke. This man knew the battlefield, so why did he have a such hard time swallowing the idea..? "And aye, you are welcome."

Stepping up to the main doors of the building, she looked to the doors and then back to Marth.

"You seem restless; perhaps, it is best if you go see what else you can learn. For me, a night to think and adjust is definitely in order."

Bowing her head politely, Saber then nods once more in a sort of good-bye confirmation. The knight turns, opens the door, and enters. Not expecting him to follow after, she lets the door close.