acatalepsy_ooc | TEST DRIVE #1

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test drive meme #1

It happens in the blink of an eye.

One moment, you are home. Perhaps you are with your family, perhaps you are at work. It's a completely normal day . . . and then, suddenly, your stomach drops. You are overcome with a sudden sense of vertigo. You cannot see up, or down, or where you are.

All you hear is a voice -- light, bubbly, warm, soothing, in your ear:

Don't worry, darling. This won't hurt a bit~ ♥

And once that moment is over, you fall flat on your face. It's sunny, warm, with the tickling of grass. It takes a few moments for you to gain composure, to catch your breath. You think, for half a moment, that a hand is on your back, rubbing between your shoulder blades in comfort, but when you open your eyes, no one is there. You are surrounded by ancient stone buildings, with carvings you do not recognize etched into the stone. There's a sense of nausea, overwhelming and sudden, when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore.

Welcome to the "Home Base" of Astoria's Circle. What the actual name of the base is called is lost to the ages, but Astoria has informed all of you that she calls it the Temple of Beginnings. Why? She's not going to tell you. It's probably just because she likes how it sounds.

At any rate, the Temple of Beginnings is a central hub of the Circle, a place of powerful magic and mysterious energy. It is a scattering of ancient stone buildings with multiple markings etched into the stone. For the most part, it looks abandoned . . . but for some reason, the more people arrive, the more alive it looks. The grass is slowly getting greener, flowers are beginning to sprout, birds chirp in the air. Everyone's journey starts at the Temple, and Astoria wants to make sure your welcome to the Circle is delightful.

Overall, it's fairly beautiful. However, it is definitely not modern.

Upon exploration, you find that the buildings are kept up by some kind of magic, and Astoria bids you to make a place for yourself here. Pick your rooms, explore the grounds, see the beauty and wonder all around you in such a magical place. She’s glad you’re here, and she certainly wants to make sure you feel as comfortable and kept as possible.

Of course, this means you have free reign. Claim your room, set your stuff, move things around, check out the bath houses, the kitchen, etc. This place seems easy enough to figure out on your own, with enough time to take a walk around! Astoria herself is around during much of this, if you have any questions or concerns you’d like to bring to her.

INTO THE WILDS

The buildings of the Temple of Beginnings span out across a fair-sized field, intermixed with trees, open grassy planes, outside sitting areas, fire rings, and other oddly ancient but alive structures. It was, at one point, a magnificent compound that has seemed to fall to ruin and been revived again, though nowhere near its former glory. Around the temple is a ring of stones that do not seem to move no matter what characters may attempt, and beyond that is the forest.

The forest itself is more than just impressive - it is near-overwhelming. An impossibly ancient stretch of woods that crackle with magical energy, should you decide to venture in, you will find all manner of foreign flora and fauna of all shapes and sizes. Creatures inhabit these woods, but will stay a comfortable distance away, and while there is always a sense of wonder - and possible danger - in every stretch of this forest, nothing will come any closer than a brief glimpse out of the corner of your eyes.

You are welcome to attempt more creative means, or to take a closer look at the more stationary flora, and you will have varying degrees of success. You may find tiny wood nymphs, flitting through the trees, or bizarre white bats with little yellow noses that wander about. Odd birds with bright red beaks and twelve eyes . . . your imagination, it seems, pales in comparison with what lives in the forest. Most things tend to be harmless, though!

Regarding further exploration of the wood, it will seem to go on forever. Getting lost seems almost imperative to existence within this forest, going on forever in all directions with no edge in sight. You could walk for days, weeks, possibly even more. However, the second that you find yourself thinking about wanting to return to the Temple of Beginnings, you find yourself cresting through the edge of the trees, back to your home.

MAGICALLY INSPIRED, VIOLENTLY INCLINED
Set apart from the central hub of housing, the bath house, and the kitchen areas is a stone structure with a rusted metal gate. Peering inside shows a dirt sparring area with some dummies that seem to be still. However, if you interact with them . . . violently, they will spring to life to fight back. It's a sparring ring! Simply walking away from the sparring match will end the bout, but you might need to take some time to figure that out. Destroying the dummies will just create more of them.

When asked about it, Astoria will smile and mention that she understands how - at times - being stuck in a new place can build stress and frustration. Healthy outlets for this frustration is all part of the peace! There will be various stacks of blunt weapons, shields and armor that could be vaguely familiar, but never seem to be from any particular place or time. You are free to use what you wish, but please note that if you remove any of the materials from the ring, they will suddenly disappear from your being.

Additionally, Astoria will note, you have each received some new gifts! This would be the perfect place to explore those! As, no matter what your powers or abilities may accomplish, the ring will remain intact and no permanent damage will be able to be done.

Maybe your attentions will be on the dummies, maybe you prefer a more active and awake partner, but whatever you decide to do, enjoy yourself! That’s what all this is about, isn’t it?

CONNECTIONS AND COMMENTARY

Upon arriving, you will notice on whichever is your non-dominant hand, you will have a fairly simply screen. A smart watch, if you will. Upon exploration, you will find that it has a directory of all those here with you at the Temple of Beginnings- names, and access to a direct message to them. The watch also has video, audio, and text capabilities, as well as what looks like a collection of messages sent to everyone who wishes to open them. This is your 'network', and also how Astoria can reach out and communicate with you.

There is nothing keeping you from removing and/or losing your watch! But remember that you will not have access to this network without it.

OOC: Also feel free to join us and other possible players on our discord server!

enjoy! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Sam can understand not wanting to talk about the details of something that could be described as an ancient weapon - even if he doesn't know the specific reasons behind it. The fact that something that looks so advanced is ancient to Shiro does change Sam's perspective of the disparity of time, or at least level of technology, between them. ]

The Lion you're used to must be a lot bigger than this. [ Of course by pilot he wouldn't necessarily have to be inside of it, but Sam's imagining something roughly on par with an airplane. ]

It's kind of a long story, but the short version is an archangel thought it would be funny.

[ It was all a lesson in playing roles, sure, but the method was definitely due to Gabriel's sense of humor. ]

That certainly sounds like a long story.

[He's not sure what kind of story when it was partly a higher being doing it for fun. but that kind of statement and the question before it is enough to make him think back to all the times he walked into the real Black Lion. And share more than he'd thought about doing so.

It's nice to talk about home even if only a little bit.]

Back on Earth an advanced machine like the Black Lion doesn't exist. We're behind the rest of the universe. The universe behind the builders of the Lions.

Aircraft and ships on Earth are about what you'd expect in scale. The real Black Lion sitting on its launch pad is roughly the same size or bigger than a rocket ship. Certainly doesn't look that way from inside the cockpit. But we get to cheat a little and not have to account for that because of the mental link between pilot and Lion.

My whole life has been one long story after another.

[ He says it with some measure of good humor, despite just how deep and dark many of those stories go.

Listening to Shiro talk - or think, it's still a little weird to hear that voice echo in his mind - about his own world is a sufficient distraction from any of that. Especially when he's talking about alien life, the very real advanced kind that so far only exists in science fiction where he's from.

The Black Lion is obviously even more advanced than he initially thought. The voice in his head makes more sense now that Shiro's put it in context. ]

So they're essentially extremely advanced weapons? What are you fighting that you need that much firepower for?

[ He can't help but ask, but he won't press for an answer of Shiro doesn't want to talk about it. ]

[Shiro makes a thoughtful sound, and internally decides to break the story down. It's too long to explain it all at once. But...at least Sam is in good humor about his own life. Then again, one would kind of have to be to deal with angels. Or that's just his opinion.]

It's a long story. The short version, it's an alien empire that has conquered most of the galaxy. They destroyed the builders of the Lions ten thousand years ago and have been ruling since then.

[He stretches and rises to his feet, using one paw to stir up the fire that had been dying down. He can't feel the heat as he turns the foot to use the sharp claws to his advantage.]

Earth wasn't on their radar because we're too primitive.

[ There are a million questions Sam could ask about these aliens, about Shiro's world in particular, but he's already asked a lot for one night.

So he nods thoughtfully, watching Shiro stir the coals around until the embers catch new pieces of wood on fire. This is as close to a relaxing atmosphere as he's found since arriving, and even talk of advanced alien technology and wars that span a while galaxy seem far away compared to memories of long nights spent out in the woods. Always while in the middle of a hunt though, camping for the sake of recreation was almost unheard of for them.

A thought has occurred to him about Shiro's new and apparently still somewhat unknown transformation though. ]

You know, you said that you can't use any of the abilities of the real Lion, but maybe that's because you need a 'pilot'?

[ He's not sure how that would work, but if he can talk to people telepathically, maybe he can do the mental link thing too. ]

I think it’s because of how powerful the Lion is and the Qri was very weak. If her magic really is a reflection of what was best suited to me personally...the Lion fits. Or it could’ve a reflection of my own tie to it. Hard to say. I’m not so sure I’m cut off from its skills anymore. But like last time nothing can really guide me

[Satisfied with the fire he returns to where he had been laying and lays back down. He glances at Sam and thinks that over. Could it be he needs to choose a pilot? It doesn’t feel right. He feels no urge to do it.]

If I needed a pilot...I wouldn’t even know how to go about it. I guess I’ll have to follow my memories and see where they lead. Any idea what power you might have?

[ It's all way out of Sam's league to figure out, whether it's something Shiro has to figure out on his own or something he needs help with, or even if this is just what he's stuck with.

He can sympathize with not fully understand these new abilities Astoria has supposedly given them, since his own situation has been somewhat perplexing so far. ]

I actually have no idea. [ He looks down at his own hands, frowning thoughtfully. Of the abilities he used to have, which came from a very specific source, the weird visions had come first. Nothing like that has happened so far. ]

There's gotta be some way to test for them. How did you first figure out you could transform? Did you just know?

I was given a letter by the Qri’s voice. We all felt sick and disoriented at first but we could feel the magic within us. I reached inside myself the way I used to reach out to the Lion. I thought we’d been merged at first.

[He chuffs a laugh at himself. That had been an interesting idea but a false one. Still he has to wonder how the true Black Lion would respond to him now. And he to it. Being the Lion isn’t completely familiar yet but a habit of months...]

Can you feel it? Something that shouldn’t be there but now it is. It felt like a storm this time. Before that it was like I was tied to something and following the thread back led me to that magic.

[ Sam can understand where Shiro would have gotten that idea, at least a little. He's pretty sure he was merged with the Impala for a bit back when Gabriel was at his games, but that was pretty primitive technology compared to the kind Shiro's dealing with.

It's not hard to follow Shiro's advice, allowing his eyes to close and letting himself actually relax enough to really feel what's going on internally when he tunes out the rest of the world except for the echo of Shiro's voice in his mind. This much is a familiar, if long neglected, routine from when he could do certain things just by extending his will.

That's not a point in his life that he wants to revisit. ]

I can feel something. [ It's a very subtle sensation, almost akin to an electric current running across his skin. ] But I still don't know what it's actually doing.

[ He finally opens his eyes and gives Shiro a wry smile. ]

I don't suppose you'd be willing to help me test it, would you?

[ It doesn't feel dangerous, but he can't assume that it wouldn't have adverse effects. ]

[He rises up onto his paws automatically. Even if it is possibly dangerous he is decent at reading people. Sam is a protector sort. He steps carefully around the fire. He rumbles low to vocalize he's on board. One doesn't always need words.

Shiro comes to a halt before him, yellow eyes watching and body held still.]

What do you need me to do?

TEST DRIVE #1

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