Event #2: The Long Night

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🜙 Event Post #2: The Long Night, December 28th to January 5th Warning: Death and violence
	Nervous, frightened whispers spread across Idan. By word of mouth and courier, warnings that the Long Night has nearly arrived are sent out. Anasta's Shadow, the planet whose orbit lies between this one and its sun, will share a path with this planet for one week before they go their separate ways once more. During that time the far larger planet obscures the light and warmth the sun provides this world. This is nothing new to you. It has happened every year at this time since your birth and although the cold is treacherous and the dark inconvenient, in your time those were likely the only major threats you faced during the Long Night. The great dragon bonfires had always been kept lit by the trio of dragon guardians, their light and warmth keeping away the deadly freeze and the other horrors rumored to come with the darkness. Perhaps you remember the tales from your childhood, stories meant to scare children away from venturing too far on their own in the treacherous heart of winter. The long, cold week of darkness was likely filled with stories of people whisked away in the black cold, either never to be seen again or to be found mangled and frozen with looks of terror and agony forever etched on their lifeless faces. With the dragons ever present in your lifetime, you had never experienced the true horrors of the Long Night for yourself, even if you had witnessed a taste out in the world beyond the safety of the kingdom cities and villages. The true terror of the Long Night had not been experienced in full since the formation of the Elf-Dragon Alliance, many generations before your birth. The massive bonfires kept ever burning by the guardian dragons kept the towns and cities across all three kingdoms protected from the sheer dark and the deadly deep freeze of the week-long total eclipse. Now that the dragons are gone there is simply not enough magic to create the powerful, lasting bonfires that once sheltered the three kingdoms and kept out the dark and the worst of the cold. From the warmth and safety of a hearth, it is easy to dismiss the frightened whispers of Idan's current population as superstition, at least until the sun 'sets' on the night of the 27th, swallowed behind the looming shadow of the larger planet. As night approaches on the 27th, the world goes red. Only slivers of sunlight escape around the far edge of Anasta's Shadow, bathing the world in an eerie crimson until the planet's massive shape in the sky blocks out the sun entirely, plunging Idan into near complete shadow. With the light consumed, the shrieks and howls begin. Starting up like the roar of an angry wind, they grow louder and more twisted the closer they come. Within hours the howls and shrieks are mixed with a sound like metal grinding across glass. Windows are covered in sheets of cracked and spidered ice. Chimneys without lit fires begin to fill with screeching, clawing noises and an unsettling and unfamiliar clicking noise that rises and falls like an unknown language. The sounds outside begin to shift and change, as more human shrieks join the unsettlingly monstrous ones, and the crying sob of a young child, hiccuping in fear, breaks up the brief moments of silence. It's just beyond the door, or just out of sight beside the window, then silence, and the howling and scraping start anew. Now and then an eerie red glow shines through ever more solid ice caking the windows, and they briefly steam up as something living exhales a heated breath against the pane. Citizens within earshot or courier distance warn those who seek answers to stay away and avoid seeking out the source of the sounds. They caution that the answers are not worth the risks and warn that anyone outside cannot be saved. If they're out there, they're already dead. If you insist on going, they'll tell you not to leave the safety of hearth and fire without a torch in hand or your chances of surviving will drop from slim to none. Pay heed to the cautions of those more experienced than you in this new horror or you will not survive the long, harsh night and the ever more unsettling noises it brings.
🜙 Weather
	The cold fluctuates between -18 to -32C (0 to -25F) during the Long Night. At these temperatures, the risk of frostbite and hypothermia are greatly increased and without proper precautions, a person could experience frostbite in 10-30 minutes when exposed to the elements. In addition to this, wind, sleet, and snow periodically drop the temperatures further. The weather may be the least of your worries, however, as the cold is far from the most dangerous threat the Long Night brings with it.
🜙 Creatures
	The creatures that emerge during the Long Night are nearly all horrors rarely or never seen beyond this week of frozen darkness. The only exceptions to this are the Tundra Manticore and the Greater Bearbat which can be rarely found living in the highest points of the mountain caves and peaks where the weather remains icy year-long. Tundra Manticore: They share little in common with their lower mountain counterparts beyond their violent disposition. Their bodies glow from within due to the venom stored in their abdomen. They can secrete this deadly venom from their mouths or their barbed tails. The venom is said to burn like liquid fire and causes severe burns on contact. They live only in the coldest parts of Idan due to the significant heat generated by their venom that would cook them from the inside out in warmer climates. They consume ice and snow to maintain an internal temperature balance and if that balance is thrown off the combustible venom within them causes them to burst into flames. As a result, they are terrified of fire. They are silent stalkers and lone hunters. Greater Bearbat: Greater Bearbats are sound-based hunters that descend from their mountain homes, attracted by the shrieks of the shade imps. They are indiscriminate hunters, content to eat wayward travelers or other monsters without concern for what prey they catch in their long claws. They run on four limbs while hunting and will rarely take to the skies unless in pursuit of flying prey. Sound and heat deter them and light will blind them. Shade Imps: Seekers and servants of the Darkener, these monstrous shade imps can take a multitude of forms (Crawlers, Scouts, & Hounds) and shift between them at will. They are completely blind and travel as silent as the shadows they melt in and out of. They hunt through scent, sound, and taste, searching for traces of blood and fear on the air. When they aren't hunting, they communicate with other imps via ear-piercing shrieks or gut-churning howls, going silent only when they locate their prey. Their silence is more dangerous than the sounds they make. They recoil from fire but grow increasingly more determined the longer they are kept at bay, eventually overcoming their fear and attacking the source of the fire to attempt to extinguish it at the cost of their own lives. When fire touches them they go up in a puff of black smoke and a scream. Darkling: No one knows what darklings look like. They are the lost spirits of elementals consumed and controlled by the Darkener. They have no physical form and can control and manipulate shadows and sound. They mimic sounds to trick people into opening their homes or venturing out of safety and can perfectly replicate any sound they have heard, even capturing the voices of people speaking on the other side of walls. Their goal is to lure or force people out into the darkness where the Darkener can find them. They can be disrupted with light. Bayobat: Swarms of flying bat-like insects summoned by the Darkener. They have sharp, metal proboscises they use to pierce victims before consuming their blood. They are blind and seek out warm-blooded bodies to launch themselves at. Their screeches are metallic and mixed with insectoid clicking. Their bodies are sharp and metallic but their mouths are vulnerable. Their tails are lined with tiny, sharp spikes similar to barbed wire. They fear fire. The Darkener: An ancient being that is thought to come from the Outer Realm. The Darkener consumes flames with a touch, transforming them into shadow flames that burn black, giving off no heat or warmth. It possesses long-forgotten magic. Few have seen more than a glimpse. It causes temporary blindness in all who witness it, their eyes turning black with trapped shadows. Its image lingers in the mind, causing hallucinations. Those who witness it are often driven mad, growing increasingly certain the Darkener is watching them from the corner of their vision. It can be struck but doing so only causes darkness to erupt from the wound, consuming the Darkener and everything around it. There is only one Darkener.

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alucard, Didymos for in-person action

[cryptsleeper]

WithInn
[Didymos. It shall be Didymos until the airships to Krimnos run again and Alucard can return home. The decision was a simple one to make in the end, the threat of the Long Night requiring him to make a decision but now. There was enough coin on his person to ensure a room at The Tree Inn for the whole of the event.

For inns, it seems that the agreed upon thing is that it is safer to gather in whatever common area is provided, the fire constantly tended to. Not that there are many people there - homes are safer, be they those of family or those of friends. Travel is arranged to avoid this specific situation.

But when you're no longer dead and home is still far away, then camping out in the common room in an inn is what you have to make do with. So Alucard does, sitting near the edges of those souls gathered, his great white wolf curled up on his lap. Every so often, he nudges her.]

Move. My legs are falling asleep.

For Want of a Flame
[Going outside is a five person event when firewood begins to run low on the third day. There is an expectation that all guests shall do this work eventually, and Alucard offers if only to give himself something to do. There are offered gloves and scarves to add onto his already warm coat (it was an expense, but a well timed one it seems.) And he along with one other shall carry the wood back in, rather than hold a torch.

Bitter cold shocks his system within a second of being outside. It's horrifying. It's a great motivator, because he moves through the cold winter air with as much speed as he can muster. (Ellis is at the door, watching all of this, whining.) The noises just beyond the flames, they're bonechilling.

And beyond that, there are footsteps approaching. The speed is too fast.]

Someone determine if that's friend or we need to go inside!

[He snaps it too quickly. Too wildly. He doesn't care.]

Wildcard
[You know the deal.

For Want of a Flame

[listentoreyeson]

[Jaime's head snaps up, his body going rigid with tension at Alucard's words. He curses under his breath, regretful that night vision isn't one of his improved senses and even more thankful he had left his cold-blooded animas indoors by the fire. A quick muttered word constructs a shield behind them, not a strong one, but another barrier between them, and whatever is headed their way.

If he could shift here he could sense the magical auras around the approaching intruder but he can't risk it. He doesn't even know if they're really in danger or not. His fingers are numb and his lips burn, but the fire needs to be kept lit and Jaime refuses to let the chill keep him from doing his part.]

How far do we have left to get back? Can we make it? [He picks up his own pace in an effort to out-speed the approaching footfalls.

Jonathan Strange | in Didymos atm

[kingsroads]

closed to shura, early in the event
The night was cold, fires, and Strange found himself standing next to a common area, not looking at the fire but instead, looking out the window at the thick coat of ice. There's something excited and antsy in his posture as he looks and listens. It's dangerous, don't go outside, you don't want to face what's out there. Ridiculous. Strange wasn't the sort to back down from a challenge before, it's not going to happen now.

And so, he approaches Shura. If he's going to do this, he at least wants a partner. These sort of things are always better in pairs, after all, and if something were to happen (though he doubts anything would) at least there would be someone to report back to the guard.

"You know," Strange starts, in an airy and conversational tone that doesn't hide his excitement at all, "I keep hearing something out there that sounds like a child. Shall we see what it is?"

mopey brooding, post jan. 3
For at least four or so days, Jonathan Strange was missing. It's only in the evening of the 3rd when he reappears, sneaking into The Tree Inn, barely speaking to anyone as he pulls up a chair and sits directly in front of the fire. He looks a little more gaunt and solemn than before, but certainly alive.

And he doesn't know what to think about all this. One thing is certain: someone or something out there does not want him dead. He mulls over his actions, lost in thought, as he scratches the head of his animas, wrapped up in a blanket. It's only when someone approaches, casting a shadow over him, that Strange blinks, turning to look at them.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, am I in your way?" He's not moving. "Well, don't mind me, there's plenty of space for everyone."

testing the new toy, also post jan 3
Though he spends most of his time near the fire, occasionally Strange gets up, either due to hunger, lack of space, want of sleep, or the simple desire to stretch his legs. It's at one of these points that he wanders around, keeping an eye out until he spots someone he recognizes or someone else with an animal close by them. They're either a magician with a familiar or a revived corpse like him, and either would work.

"Pardon me," he says, with a little nod. There's a glimmer of excitement in his eyes and he looks more like his old self than ever. "I realize this is unorthodox, but may I borrow you for a moment? There's something I want to test."

[exaomori]

Shura, unlike a certain elf, didn't take the warnings as a challenge. Whether or not they were exaggeration or truth, Shura wasn't about to go out in the cold, snowy night. All she wants to do is sleep and drink her way through the Long Night, but she's out of liquor and the anxious atmosphere makes it hard to sleep.

Strange is entirely too excited to go out, and Shura does not look impressed with his proposal. Was the kid real or just his imagination? If it was real... Well, the guards would take care of it. Probably.

"Go out? It's too cold to go out for a walk." Her stockings may be thick, but that doesn't mean going out in this weather is going to be fun. "C'mon, sit down and we'll play cards." The rest of the room's occupants don't seem to appreciate Strange's excited energy, so better to redirect him than to just let him keep staring out of the window.

Brooding, welcome back from the dead buddy

[cryptsleeper]

Alucard's turn to feed the fire. He has strictly more in his arms than would ever, ever be required, but it makes it easier for whoever comes next. The wood shall be in a nice pile for them, and they'll be spared the additional effort. So what if it limits his line of sight somewhat, and he misses that there's been a chair moved in the usual pathway from the woodpile near the door to the fire itself?

All he can see as he moves past whoever he just bumped into is a pair of feet at the moment.

"No matter," is all he says, shifting around and adjusting his path accordingly. The focus is the flame, not whoever's decided to make life more complicated.

Alucard crouches down, taking one of the iron pokers that dangles on a little stand besides the flame, and begins to move the dying embers around to make way for new logs. He's careful as he does so (long hair and fire do not make for good friends).

"That is the path everyone has been taking to replenish the fire though. Moving over just a hair would make it easier for whoever does this job next."

{ testing }

[aceso]

Christine sits at a table by the door, shivering slightly at the lack of warmth from the fire. It's unable to penetrate the draft this close to the door, but Christine is seated here, ears listening to the occasional shrieks and cries outside. She's been told plenty of times that no one can be helped out there, and that those cries are probably not those in need, but a lure to pull her from the safety of the fire. Still, she listens.

The distraction that Strange brings from her self-torment at being unable to help is more than welcome, and she turns towards him, blinking rapidly to dispel her quiet contemplation.

"That sounds ominous, but I will so you don't drag some other poor soul into your foolishness." It's said as nothing more than a tease with the knowledge that only one who knew him in a closed setting could know.

DAUD

[forswore]

[ Toplevels to follow! ]

in the first few days of the long night

[forswore]

A. Guard Duty
The Long Night arrives in the City of the Free Peoples, announcing itself with cold, creeping fingers of ice that find their way between furs and leather to chill flesh to the bone. The fires only do so much to stave it off, and though Daud is bundled against the chilly temperatures, it’s a constant presence. He silently joins the crew that works to keep watch on the city’s perimeter, trading off shifts to feed fires that keep the dark at bay, occasionally providing an extra pair of hands to hold a torch as they trade shifts and trudge between outposts.

Mostly, he sits on guard, hand on borrowed crossbow, and listens to the sounds out in the dark, keeping an eye on what little the window allows them to see of the outside world. The osprey sits close to the small fire in the outpost despite the risk to her feathers, equally quiet, but alert. The short shift will pass without much in the way of conversation unless his partner chooses to say anything, the only sound the crackle of flames and the occasional haunting call of voices in the dark.

B. In From the Cold
When he comes off shift, Daud heads for wherever the Defenders direct him — which more often than not means whichever the closest inn or shelter is. He files in through the door with the Defenders and whoever else has just come in from the cold, brushing frost off his clothes and horns, and doesn’t waste time stepping over to get a plate of food and sit down to a bench and start eating.

His osprey companion perches on the table, occasionally filching pieces of meat from his plate, though it’s questionable how much of that she actually needs to eat. It disappears down her beak all the same. She’s not above eying the plates of others too, though she won’t actually reach over and pluck anyone else’s food away.

later in the event [closed to ellie]

[forswore]

It’s a bad night out there. The voices are stronger than they’ve ever been: by now despite the best efforts of the Defenders and the city’s volunteers, a few have been lost to the cold. Their stricken loved ones hear their voices on the wind, and though most can resist, others break under the pressure, bolting out into the cold.

Most everyone else makes attempts to stop them, but not all are successful.

Sitting in the Immortal Duke is at least one young man gritting his teeth against the call of the dark: the voice of a woman crying out in helpless pain and desperation, so close it almost seems to come right from outside the door. His companion the night before, one of the volunteers to keep the outposts guarded, is conspicuously missing, and after an hour or two of enduring, he finally breaks.

“Please,” he appeals to the room at large, eyes wide and feverish in the light of the blazing hearth. “I have to go out there — just for a minute. I know I can’t go alone, but I just need to know—” he breaks off, trembling.

Ellie - Toplevels incoming

[44pistolundermyhead]

[If you are in the Immortal Duke, feel free to leave a starter.]

my feet are burning and the clock don’t seem to be turning - December 27th

[44pistolundermyhead]

[Early in the afternoon, Ellie is sitting in the Immortal Duke, looking tired as she sips a beer. The mood is subdued, and people seem to be talking quietly. Ellie herself is counting some torches - she has a large bag she pulls a few from, placing them into a wooden box. Every five torches she puts a few tallies on a sheet of paper. Apparently she’s helping out before the Long Night.

After she finished the bag, she sighs and looks to the innkeeper.]

Sixty-three here.

[He nods and takes the sheet that Ellie hands to him, then ducks into the back room, leaving his wife to staff the bar. Ellie sighs and rubs her eyes with one hand. Fuck.]

A week in this inn is going to be fucking crazy.

it seems to take an hour to put one foot in front of the other - December 28th/29th

[44pistolundermyhead]

[Sometime in the evening, the fire starts getting low again. Ellie, sitting in front of it, sighs and picks herself up.]

My turn to get wood. Who wants to come with me?

[She glances around the room. She looks frayed, dark circles under her eyes and her hair falling from its bun. She's tired. Nervous. The coywolf standing next to her looks anxious, ears pinned back as it stares around the room.]

and now the world is spinning when I get the feeling it's falling asleep - December 31st

[44pistolundermyhead]

[There's something trying to get in the window.

Ellie is frozen in her way to the bathing room, a bucket with a heated stone held in her hands. Just in front of her is her reflection in the dim lantern light - pale and tight, brows drawn together. In the darker parts of her reflection, Ellie can see claws scratching at the glass, gently searching for a weakness.

She steps back sharply, dropping the bucket as she goes for her knife. She thought she was safe, thought they couldn't get her here--]

I've been trying to see the light, but every smile it hurts - January 1st

[44pistolundermyhead]

[The screams haven't let up for hours.

Usually, there are moments where there will be silence, if only for a few minutes. Just a moment to relax, to breathe before the noise starts back up. Now, though, it hasn't stopped for over a day. After five days of this Hell, she's not able to focus.

Ellie is huddled in the corner near the upstairs fireplace, half hidden behind a chair. She's staring out into space, cheeks flushed as she's lost in her own memories. Every so often she'll twitch when there's a particularly garbled scream. Her eyes flicker, seeing something that isn't happening just then.

She's quiet, at least, which is better than some. Theseus sits next to her, all signs of domesticity seemingly lost as she growls at anyone who comes too close, fur bristling. Thankfully, most people stay downstairs--Ellie and Theseus are left to their own panic.]

lauralae ( ota / action city of the free )

[fuga]

EARLY IN THE LONG NIGHT ( 27th )

[ Unlike some, Lauralae does not seem entirely afraid of what the long night promises. Each time she hears a whisper of someone discussing what is to come she chases it, settling like a shadow near anyone who is telling stories or spreading rumours. Above her, Rav'ahm, as loyal as ever, flicks around the skies, searching out places that might be best for the two of them to settle and hide even as her eyes are alight and desperate, keen and interested.

She had lived outside the protection and guidance of the cities for long enough to have experienced a lesser version of it, to have been swallowed by a darkness that had her hiding in trees and curling around herself, cloak and dressed wrapped around her frame like armour. She thinks that this one is going to be much, much different. She had lived with small fires and the promise of her own magic and the strength of the world to keep her safe, but now...

As the night comes she makes her way to the nearest in, finding a chair and dragging it to a window that looks out at the city proper. She seems prepared to sit there until there is nothing else, until the night is over and the monsters are gone. ]

LATER ( 28 - 30th )

[ As the night grows longer Lauralae gets more and more agitated with being locked inside, with being kept in a space shared with so many other people, with being denied what she wants - which is to go out and see the monsters herself. It's obvious from the way she sits, her face almost pressed against the window, that she is longing for the outside more than she is longing for safety, her eyes narrowed and her expression dark and intense.

Sometimes, gloved hands press against the windows, as if she can force the ice away to give her a better sense of the world outside.

She doesn't seem to eat for the entire time they're trapped in the safety of the inn, more focussed on seeing what is happening beyond her reach. She does not react much to anyone coming closer or speaking to her, but if she's clearly spoken to she will engage in conversation, not moving far from her chair and not pushing herself beyond what is comfortable for her: she seems more like a trapped animal than a willing refugee, sleeping in fits of dozing and scowling quietly to herself when Rav'ahm comes to groom her hair. ]

THE HUNT ( 31st )

[ It finally gets to the point where it seems as though Lauralae has had enough of her isolation, of being trapped, of only having herself and her raven as tolerable company. She is twitchy and on edge, sharp and snappish to anyone who dares approach her, who comes too close and invades what little personal space she has managed to claim for herself. More than anything it seems as though she is on the brink of losing some grip on her own sanity. None of this is comfortable for her and over time she gets more and more feral, teeth bared, animal like as she stares out at the cold, frozen land of the Night in front of her.

Eventually, it proves to be too much.

People have been slipping in and out for firewood and what little supplies they can get since they'd first started, so she knows what to do and where to go. Rav'ahm caws loudly as she pushes herself away from her chair, the sound of it scraping over wood obvious and loud, her gloved fingers plucking a piece of firewood as a torch without hesitation. There are, immediately, the sounds of people trying to stop her, telling her not to go, but she ignores them, stepping around and moving out to the door, to slip outside and embrace the frozen chill of the darkness in front of her - still, somehow, more comfortable than the warmth and protection of the fire.

She pays little attention to anyone who might follow her, gaze forward and set, bird above her fluttering ahead, making soft noises of distress as he comes back to her side, not wanting to go too far. ]

( closed to katsa )

[fuga]

[ The night does not scare her as much as it should.

She can hear the sounds of the monsters, can hear the hissing as she reaches for them, but does nothing to stop herself from moving forward. There had been enough warnings - people around her, people in the inn she had been hiding, people shouting as she rose to leave - but she had heeded few of them. She is confident in herself, strong enough to think that she might be able to survive here as much as she had before, before everything had changed.

Rav'ahm does not fly far from her now. He nestles on her shoulder, dark eyes glinting in the firelight.

When she hears a noise she shifts, eyes wide, turning, flame out in front of her. It's not a great thing, the torch she carries, but it is enough. Should she need more fire she can use blood to cast it, she thinks, to fuel it; she is not afraid of losing her one weapon. She is afraid of being stopped, of being chained, of being cooped up once more. ]

Who?

The 28th

[specialinquisitor]

[Another stands at the window as well, a thoughtful frown on her face. Mòrag fears the darkness as any rational person would, but simply does not allow that fear to cloud her judgment. The truth is, she is going out there momentarily.]

[The intense agitation she perceives in the girl, though, gives her pause for a moment.]

Are you here by your own choice?

billie lurk, city of the free peoples, ota

[redwhaling]

i. on patrol

As soon as Billie learned Daud would be playing guard duty during the Long Night, she more or less follows suit, if only out of some obligation to watch the old man's back. Not that she's always able to, as assignments don't match up every time and she can't exactly forge the charts. That might burn bridges a bit too quickly, you know?

Most nights she's on patrol with a handful of other Defenders and volunteers, all armed with torches and lanterns, going from one bonfire to the next to yell at people to get back indoors and relight fires where they find them dwindling. Every night won't be monster-free, though.

"Shh," Billie shushes the otherwise quiet group suddenly, freezing mid-patrol to listen. There's rustling up ahead, off in an alley. She holds up her torch high, squinting into the dark. A moment passes, silence follows. It's only then that another volunteer ventures calling out, "If someone is over there, you better come out before we come get you instead!"

ii. shitposting between patrols (courier, thought, to all awakened)

Okay, so I've been curious. Anyone experienced death number two during this shit show yet or have we all been lucky?

Not the nicest of questions but she's pretty sure she isn't the only one wondering about this. These sure aren't the Long Nights they're used to, after all.

shitposting

[exaomori]

it's late in the week when Shura replies, freshly revived and immensely unhappy with the way things unfolded with Strange.

what, are you expecting someone to get killed?

It isn't actually that unreasonable of an expectation, thinking about it...

Not so shitposting

[specialinquisitor]

Mòrag's mental voice was a mere whisper, rough and ragged and sounding tired indeed.

Yes.

If you are wondering, I came back from it as well.

wildcard; late into the event and after daud loses his animas

[forswore]

Daud and Billie don't get paired all the time, and when they do, their shifts usually pass in silence, or with Billie making up most of the conversation. Once they sorted out the small talk about how this differs from the Long Night they both remember, there isn't much to do except focus on the task at hand, doing their part to stave off the worst of the dark.

Tonight is no different, in that respect. The shift rotates, and Billie and Daud find themselves stationed at one of the outposts relatively closer to the city proper, their main task to keep an eye on four bonfires burning and alert the Defenders if any go out.

But for once, Daud's osprey is nowhere to be seen. Since the colder weather's hit, she hasn't strayed very far, but Daud is alone when he steps in and brushes frost off his clothes.

daenerys | city of the free

[dorzalta]

1. wee hours before dec 28

Murmurs of the Long Night reach her before the threat of Anasta's Shadow will. Having just settled in the Immortal Duke after forging an agreement with its innkeeper, Dany finds herself out hunting in those last few hours before the lands turn red. It's not her favorite thing to do, but better to do that than fend for herself out in the cold.

Irriella, her red panda, trots ahead, snout raised high in pride... and Dany? She's got a few rabbits hanging off her whilst she struggles to drag a doe by its ankles.

"What good are you if you gloat, Irriella? Come here and help me."

Sorry ser or lady, but that goofy ball of fur is going to spin around and run straight into your ankles.

2. dec 28

That was then, and now, hours later, she finds herself sitting by the fireplace in the common room of the inn. There are others scattered about. Some startle when a scratch echoes nearby; others tense when a howl grows louder.

When someone screams, she looks up. Irriella has burrowed herself beneath Dany's cloak, only her snout sticking out; she's trembling. For good reason, seeing as there's some strange red glow on the other side of a frosted window.

"Do you see that?" she asks you, "It--it looks like something's outside."

3. dec 31

( a. no dying )
Her agitation grows with the passage of time. Days seem to creep along beside the nights with no way to pick either apart save the body's habit of settling. It's all a long, tedious, reddened haze, really. Maddening, she'd venture so far to say.

When the firewood threatens to grow sparse yet again, it's she who volunteers to fetch more today. And you? You happen to be her lucky partner in this trip. If you're bigger, you're on wood duty whilst she carries the torch, her fingers twitching as if waiting to pull an invisible trigger.

"I don't recall it ever being this bad before."

( b. heroic death option )
Stay out too long, and the screams will give chase. She notices movement beyond her torch, the skittering of footsteps, a heavy panting. "Best to move," she murmurs under her breath, "We're not alone."

No, they're not. For as soon as she says it, there's the cry of a child. The sound has her freezing to the spot, glancing back over her shoulder before, experimentally, she conjures an apple-sized ball of fire. It's tossed a few feet away. A test.

4. Wildcard
Come at me!

FOR JON;

[dorzalta]

Awakening is not... easy. It hurts, feeling like bones, skin, muscle--every bit and piece of her body--stitches itself back together from nothingness. It hurts more than the spear when it pierced her belly, twisting, felling her in battle. Not nearly as painful as listening to her friends being slaughtered, or lying in a puddle of blood, staring blankly up at the sky, wondering if her love managed to survive. All these memories and sensations return, but she's alone. So she leaves for shelter. It's not fleeing. Not really.

Only... she returns within a day's time. And when she returns, it's to find herself a strange green-gold device and a new companion. A cute little bear-like creature who insistently snuggles against her breast. Not long after, her courier growls out a warning: You are not safe here from the bite of night. Make haste child, and take with you a burning light. Fair enough a warning she thinks.

"Time to go home, Irriella." The red panda snorts in agreement.

***

Home, of course, is a debatable thing. Having been raised in Krimnos would mean it is home, no? But that's not the city which sings to her, and it's much further away from her position. ...From where she'd died. Atrómitos, for however distant a place it is to her, still rings as the home she deserves.

The city, however, is far different from her memories. Decimated, that's how it looks. But what could have caused this sort of destruction of a once proud city?

Something to mull upon later; murmurs of the Long Night reach her before the threat of Anasta's Shadow will as she steps onto the land. Home.

***

The Immortal Duke is a rather strange establishment. No, that's not true. What's strange are those who reside within the city. The City of the Free Peoples, they call it. Free. Is she free?

She's wondering that very question when Irriella squirms her way out of Dany's hold and slips to the floor. For such a small creature, she can move quickly. "Irriella!"

Around a table. Ducking beneath a chair. Her hurried footsteps echo as she gives chase to a striped poof of fur, only to find the panda cozying herself up to a man's booted foot. She doesn't spare him a glance, merely sweeps the troublesome critter up in her arms--much to Irriella's distress, as she's yowling in displeasure--and muttering a quick, "My apologies, ser, she's unused to another's company," before spinning around and rushing her way back to the innkeep.

rey | ota

[forcevisions]

INDOORS

[ When Rey came to stay at the Tree Inn, it was only because she liked being by the water. Of course, you can't make it out anymore. The darkness has swallowed that too. She stares out the window all the same, as if waiting for the frost to set in on it, frowning against the black, enchanted by it in place of the flames that keep them safe within.

She can hear the scraping and the screaming, impossible to ignore. The people within seem to try and occupy themselves to drown it out. For Rey, it seems an impossible task: ignoring the people without who need their help.

Survival keeps her rooted to her spot. She'd drive herself mad, sitting here, unable to ignore it but equally unable to put herself in harm's way like that when she's worked so hard just to keep alive. What would the point of it all have been, if she died now?

So when someone gets up to leave, she's on her feet too. It doesn't matter if they heard a darkling or if they have a patrol watch, Rey is firm when anyone announces intentions to leave the safety of the inn: ]

You can't.

INTO THE NIGHT

[ She's heard the voice of any number of familiar people out in the dark, many of whom are people just like her, resurrected, and who it would be easy to imagine had some kind of shade walking around in the dark. They shouldn't be alive. They're wrong. It wouldn't be hard to picture that some evil thing had come back with them, with their faces.

So be it Kylo or Jon, none of their voices can rouse her from her spot.

But there was a girl in the city who she'd helped with Jon Snow. A shiftling girl, a cat, and when Rey hears her chattering quietly on the other side of the inn's back door while she's in the kitchen, and it's all over then. Rey picks up one of the innkeeper's knives — she'll apologize for it later, of course — and makes her way to the door very slowly. ]

Hello?

[ Rey. Says the voice. It knows her name. It has to be the girl. Anything else doesn't make sense. She's out there alone and afraid, maybe with her brother already eaten, maybe with him lost and hoping Rey can help reunite them again.

She's out the door an instant later, but the voice has grown distant then. ]

HELLO?! [ Rey shouts it into the distance. ] No! You're going the wrong way! Follow my voice! [ It's too dark, of course, to make her way by sight. ]

WILDCARD

[ ooc; feel free to hit me on plurk (protects) or disco for a special prompt, or just wing it and I'll go with it. ]

Into the night

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard's Long Night has been one of gentle contemplation. Sleeping with a big fluff ball of a wolf curled beside him. Consideration of so many things that have happened in the past month. Doing the duties of tending to the fire and accepting his turn in retrieving wood for when it is absolutely required.

He has also listened to all mutters around the Inn. Has paid careful attention to the talk, and noted when someone is stupid enough to entertain the idea of going out. The inn shouts the idea down as quick as can be, and there are a few voices he picks out as ones he has encountered before. Rey numbers among them.

So when someone says, "I think I just heard a door," and the front door is still very clearly bolted, there is a flurry of movement from those who think themselves brave enough to go out, or at least mildly curious to see who is stupid enough to do this. Alucard, admittedly, is not sure which camp he falls into, but it is a concerning thing none the less.

Once in the kitchens, the question of who did this becomes clear: one of those who had been preventing the attempts of others to depart. There are murmurs of "it gets the best of us."

There's enough light in the kitchen that it spills out into the winter night. Just enough. Just enough that it seems Rey's safe enough. That it's safe enough for others to crowd the door to try and reign her in.]

Whoever you believe it is, it is not!

[There's a calmness in spite of all the urgency happening in this moment.]

Jaime Reyes : Didymos

[listentoreyeson]

Research
[Frustration has Jaime raiding rooms at the inn that aren't locked and any closets, lobbies, or storage areas in search of books, journals, notes, or people who might actually be willing to speak to him about the dangers outside in the city. He can't stand all this uncomfortable avoidance of a topic that feels like at this point people should have more to talk about.

There is very real danger outside, and Jaime just wants to help find a solution that goes beyond blockading entire cities indoors and waiting it out. There has to be more they can do. His reptilian animas is left by the warmth of the fire, Jaime still uneasy about the odd sensation of awareness, knowing where Khaji Da is and how he is feeling. His tail is cold and he's irritated about something. It's unsettling.

Shaking his head Jaime stands up from the shelving he was crouched under, searching through a box of old papers in one of the storage closets, and a thunk resounds followed by a stretched out 'ow' from Jaime as he hits his head on the extended shelving. He rubs at the sore spot, coming up empty-handed.]

The Dark
[It's impossible to tell the difference between the creatures and actual cries for help. Jaime manages to resist simply by closing his hands over his head and tucking his knees to his chest for the first few days until the screaming or pleading recedes or goes silent but it can't last. Every time he hears someone crying for help he thinks about how he would feel if it was his sister out there, alone and frightened in the darkness, freezing and fleeing from whatever creatures are hunting them. It makes him sick and eventually he shoves Khaji Da into someone's arms and tells them to keep the reptile safe, ignoring the shouting and warnings insisting he come back.

Out in the dark, away from any line of sight, he shifts and jumps up to the top of one of the nearest buildings, the cold not penetrating the protective shell of his humanoid beetle form. People had always been unsettled by his second form but like this he can see and fight better, and his cold-blooded body won't attract anything that hunts by heat.

He scans the darkness, listening and watching the magical auras left behind by people and monsters alike before he hears it, another scream for help in the night. He takes off, running across rooftops in search of the source of the sound and only jumping down when the cries are close enough, a ball of blue energy gathering in his hand, ready to be launched at any creatures that are lurking in the darkness. He gives a warning shout when he lands.]

Get down.

The Dark

[specialinquisitor]

[Why resist? Mòrag hasn't.]

[Of course, the Flamebringer is astoundingly well-equipped to deal with the darkness. Though she will admit it is worse, far far worse, than any Long Night she ever knew, the beasts and monsters that emerge in it fear the element that she wields most proficiently. Heat and light send creatures running in fear if not dying to her sword, and she walks through the darkness as a beacon of safety and resolve.]

[It is fair to say by now she has grown perhaps a bit arrogant.]

[So in chasing down the sound of screams, whether to save a person or put down a trickster, she arrives on the scene almost moment after Jaime -- being disinclined to use the rooftops.]

Mind to yourself! It's yet another trick by the monsters, by all appearances!

Rocket, City of the Free Peoples

[rocketraccoon]

The Immortal Duke

[Rocket couldn't care less about the paranoia rampant in the city. The same superstitious nonsense as every other year, and Rocket plans to profit off of it just as soon as he figures out how. The windows are covered and it's a little annoying but at least it's warmer in the rickety inn than it is outside.

Rocket locks Lylla up in his room despite her protests. He doesn't have time to go chasing her around in the dark and there are more people in the inn than usual, taking shelter. He's already had his tail stepped on or shut indoors four separate times and her at least once. It's for the best for both of them she isn't around.

Sharp eyes survey the situation for a while until he catches a pair of worried visitors to the inn talking about getting back to their home before the cold gets even worse. His mouth turns into a sharp smile and he hoists his battleax back onto his shoulder, navigating over toward the tall human duo and reaching out to tap one of them on the arm.]

I can get you there. It's risky, though. Can't do it for free. [He's putting his life on the line for their comfort, after all. Even if Rocket is convinced everyone is blowing things way out of proportion. Sure, it's dark and cold and there's things that want to eat them outside. It still doesn't sound much worse than an escort between cities back in the day. It's a much shorter trip for the money and seems like less of a risk, not more.]

Out in the Dark
(OOC: OTA but open to one person interested in being around for Rocket's Reckless Death. If you're interested just lmk so I know what we're working toward.)

[Five trips. Rocket had made a considerable profit escorting people around the city on short trips, playing bodyguard for frightened people that jumped at every sound or flicker of the torch in his hand. He had just botched his fifth escort and was on his way back to the Immortal Duke through the cold and howling wind.

It hadn't gone well.

The first few had been bad, sure. There had been close calls and he had gotten a few new wounds from a scuffle with a bearbat, but this was by far the worst. One of the people he'd been escorting had been dragged away into the darkness with a terrible scream by something he hadn't scene. It had laughed at their fear and the others had scattered despite Rocket's yells to stick close to him. He didn't know how many of them had made it back to safety, only that none of them were in sight anymore and he was alone in the dark.

He had insisted on getting paid half before they left so he had that to show for it, but the scream was still stuck in his head and the fur along his spine was on end.

The sound of footsteps behind him has Rocket swinging the ac down into both hands. It's too dark for his crossbow. Things would be on him before he could fire. He calls out in a sharp hiss of words, ax at the ready.]

Who's there?

out in the dark;

[warfares]

( there's soft whoosh of a fire being ignited; the fire engulfs a hand, bare fingers spread. the other hand clutches at his side, a stain darkening his tunic.

his pale skin has gone almost white and coated with a fine sheen of sweat. he spares Rocket, his axe drawn, a look before pushing onward, stubborn, determined. ) We need to get indoors ㅡ quickly.