INTRO LOG - JUNE 2014

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone
Where: The Welcome Center
When: 18th June, late 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. NPC responses may be slow.

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 cool and relieving food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. It's just as well they're in good supply, as the windows outside show a city well heated from a summer sun.

On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign, and one person at her station-

Rhea, General Assistance
Andi, Technological Assistance

The plaques have a shiny new look to them, as do the desks. The one with 'Andi' listed appears to be empty, though. Gathered around both desks and several tables are boxes as well, and...Empty jars? The woman minding her desk doesn't appear to give them a second thought.

However, before you can go over and give at least one of 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 Rhea
Arrival Liaison

Outside, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street. The cheerful colors on it match well against a bright blue sky:

WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)

Comments

[lightstrike]

For her part, Lightning is ignoring all the food and spending most of her time with her back against the wall, waiting, and with a good reason. And she'll continue to wait until either the Welcome Center throws her out or the day ends and she has to go back to her room.

And if she interacts with some of the newcomers in the meantime, well, she has a reason for that too.

When she spots someone who... actually kind of looks like another guest she'd seen before in the distance. Lightning's never actually spoken to her but... well. Clearly Saeng Seong is calling more people from previous worlds, aside from suddenly deciding it wanted more gigantic robots.

"So, do you have any questions about this place?" Not an ideal opening, but enough for Lightning.

[healsformeals]

Due to her short stature, Kha'li has mostly been hanging around the edges of the room or darting past legs to get to the food when she wants something. She's used to it - Ul'dah is full of all types, of course, and she's spent many a day trying to navigate through the Sapphire Avenue Exchange when a bunch of visiting Hyur and Roegadyn are doing their shopping. It takes skill.

Suddenly, a voice is speaking to her, and it sounds familiar in that sort of nagging sense of having heard it a time or two at some point, but so much has piled on top of it in the meantime that she can't immediately place it. Looking up, however, makes her eyes widen just slightly. The adventurer, the one that had mysteriously appeared and then disappeared in their own world...

Well, time to put on the pleasant White Mage act! She has a feeling she'll be using it a lot here.

"If it isn't any trouble!" She smiles, curtsies, and presses her fingertips to her chest. "I'm afraid I don't know much about this method of payment... do you happen to know how it works?"

[lightstrike]

This makes things difficult. How does one describe a debit card to another who's never heard of it before? Lightning grew up in a world where physical money had been phased out a long time ago, and shopping via electronic store is the norm, making a card and bank account a must for everyone.

"This world doesn't use coins or paper. How much money you have is defined by a number here, and the card you have keeps track of that number." That sounds like it, right?

[healsformeals]

To Kha'li, this all sounds very suspect. No coin? Only an invisible currency that someone could easily claim a much, much higher amount? Too easy to cheat, if you ask her. It would have to be properly maintained, properly monitored, and accurate down to each individual gil. And even then, for everyone to have the same exact thing--

She shakes her head for a moment, frowning. No need to confuse herself. "Apologies... it all sounds incredibly confusing. I'm having trouble making heads or tails of it, but I'm sure I'll get used to it with time."

[lightstrike]

"It's the only currency people will acknowledge here. Getting used to it is one small step in getting used to this place, and it willy be one less thing to worry about."

It's a grim comment, but the truth. It's best to tell the newcomers how unpredictable this place is, and that sometimes, not getting enough contact can become the least of their problems.

[healsformeals]

"I would feel a lot more secure with a coin in my hand, but I suppose as long as this system works..."

Kha'li shakes her head again, lightly this time, then looks right back up at Lightning with a smile. She's not entirely sure if she'll remember her time in Eorzea or not, but... "Ah, where are my manners? I am Kha'li Lakari, White Mage."

[lightstrike]

White Mage? Lightning has no idea what that means. She can understand that she does magic, but... where does the "white" come in?

But is Lightning the type to ask? No. She just absorbs information, and takes whatever she can get. So she's not going to ask, and instead give her own introduction, short as it is.

"Lightning."

[healsformeals]

Oh, maybe she'll find out someday~ But, if Lightning isn't going to ask, Kha'li isn't going to explain. She simply assumes that she's already aware.

At Lightning's name, Kha'li beams, cupping her hands against her cheeks. "Oh yes, you were quite the rage in Eorzea for some time. Appearing so suddenly, only to disappear just as mysteriously... I think you unwittingly captured the hearts of thousands!"

Okay. So she can tease a little.

[lightstrike]

... Oh no. She's one of them. The term she not-so-creatively coined for the people of Eorzea who know her, yet she remembers nothing. Nothing at all, which is annoying in itself.

Lightning barely manages to repress the urge to sigh, but she does lightly pinch the bridge of her nose. Hopefully this mage wont be like the cat-person.

"So I've heard. But I'm warning you now-- I don't remember anything of my exploits in your world." And she will always call them exploits, if they've made her so popular in some other world.

[healsformeals]

Thankfully, Lightning doesn't have much to fear here. Kha'li knows of Lightning, sure, but she wasn't nearly as smitten as the rest of Eorzea. But, playing it up for the sake of amusement isn't completely out of the picture.

"I suppose that's understandable," she muses, humming to herself. But then, she pauses. One particular bit of that strikes her as odd...

"You've heard? From where?"

[lightstrike]

"From a cat woman around here." Well, she doesn't know what species the aforementioned cat woman is, really, and she cant exactly use "human" if it's not true, thus using a term generated from her appearance.

"Her name is Y'akeno Lhea."

[healsformeals]

Cat woman? Kha'li looks mildly perplexed for a moment, frowning in thought. She isn't exactly sure what is meant by that... until that name is mentioned. And then it clicks right away.

"Oh! Yakie!" Her little hands clap together with delight. "She is here, then? Are there others?"

[lightstrike]

"Someone who looks like you, but I've never spoken to her, much less gotten her name." At least, Lightning is fairly sure that the person is female. She honestly has no idea how her people work.

"You know each other then. It will make living here much easier for you."