Arrival

[letsplayamod]

The moment is a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you were just minding your own business somewhere, others may have been in more... dire circumstances. Regardless, you were approached by a figure you can't quite picture, and they offered you an accord; in exchange for aiding them in the healing of a world lost to chaos, you would be granted something almost unheard of. Godhood.

And each of you said yes, more or less.

A blurry hand, shifting and rippling, reaches out to you. You feel a glow of warmth, unlike anything you've known before. As soon as you think you can describe it, you wake up.

The room you're in is plainly furnished, but it's about the size of a small flat. Plenty of room to stretch your legs. Don't get too comfortable, however. On the bedside table each room has is a letter; handwritten, it's wrapped around a bronze key. The lettering could only be described as the platonic ideal of 'neat and precise'.

If you are reading this, than our deal has been made. You've awoken in a place that will surely feel strange, so I want you to take some time to acclimate. Meet with the others. Breathe. I shall be along shortly.

-A

Whatever that means becomes more apparent as you step out of your housing and behold the world around you. The building you were in, and every piece of architecture you happen across, is blatantly pre-modern. Yet, something about it is otherworldly. Stone and iron and glass as far as the eye can see.

But above you was where the real questions were. It wouldn't be right to say the sun was shining on you now, nor would it be right to say it's the dead of night. Instead, the sky is a hazy mixture of both, wrapped in suffocating storm clouds that are threatening rain. Everywhere you look, into the horizon, it's the same.

Welcome home. Take your time and explore. Nobody ever said godhood was easy.

Comments

Edges of the island

[literarybehemoth]

[oh thank whatever gods are out there.

...

alright. the closer he looks the weirder things are with this lady. but at least she's a weird horse instead of all these weird apes.]

Perhaps that is the limit of the protections here? I suppose our host was simply accounting for those who can fly.

[...]

Even if that seems to be limited to you at present.

[raisethemoon]

I would have liked to go out a bit further.

[But she swoops down to land, once she's caught a glance of him. Ah! How marvelous!]

How - ["Art thou". No, she's not supposed to be doing that anymore.] - are...you finding this place? Do you know anything about these humans?

[He looks....not quite like an Abyssinian, granted, but near enough. Certainly he's the most familiar-seeming person she's seen.]

[literarybehemoth]

You would think air would not be particularly threatening, but I have a feeling we are dealing with a particularly strange situation. At least our habitations seem comfortable enough.

[his bed is soooo big. he has so much room to roll around. decadently.

...though. speaking of strange situations.]

The humans are strange. I... think they are from a place where only other humans have speech and reason? So they seem to be taken off guard that I am able to speak with them.

[raisethemoon]

They're a touch small.

[Not exactly Horse sized. Luna's lived in worse, in her life, but admittedly she had been much smaller then herself.]

Humans? We do not have them at all. [Though...] They are the only reasoning species in their world?

[literarybehemoth]

...ah, I suppose if they are all human sized, that would make sense... that does seem a little myopic, does it not?

[hmmm.]

And it seems so, given how they reacted to me. They do, at least, seem fairly good natured about the whole thing once they catch onto it. If they ask to scratch you behind the ears, it is worth taking them up on it.

[raisethemoon]

[Her ears tilt back a little at the suggestion. It sounds so...improper! Undignified!]

Truly?

[literarybehemoth]

Truly. If they are willing to offer, then why deny them something that will provide mutual benefit?

[raisethemoon]

I suppose......

[But they have only just met! Wouldn't it be terribly uncomfortable?

...why have they already offered to scratch Mikhail's ears, and not hers?]

It is not so different from preening. Though, usually that is done among family or close friends...

[literarybehemoth]

Ah, well, if it is one of those cultural things, I do get why you would not want to do it. Perhaps it simply makes them worth befriending.

[raisethemoon]

I will give it some consideration.

[ The preening may actually become an issue,at some point... ]

[literarybehemoth]

...

Then again, can you brush yourself properly...? I know I can, but horses always seem like they should be less dextrous than they are...

[raisethemoon]

[ Luna tsks. ]

Brushing is no matter. I have magic. [ A nearby stone suddenly levitates into the air, wrapped in the same blue glow that her horn is now emitting. ] But the preening may be, if it is too long. That is a rather more involved matter.

[ She can't just run a brush along them. Maybe if she gets a couple of mirrors? ]

[literarybehemoth]

Ah, of course. Horses do not have wings outside of myth where I am from, so it is not something I had considered...

[hmmm.]

Mirrors would likely be helpful, yes, given that you are not constrained by where your limbs can go. It may be a bit disorienting, though? Magic does not quite work like that where I am from, so I would not know.

[raisethemoon]

It would be...workable, if not especially pleasant.

[ Preening usually is rather nice, but doing it to oneself with a complex series of mirrors sounds less so. Luna sighs. ]

Well, I am certain that I shall manage.

[literarybehemoth]

There is always a way of making things work out, I suppose.

...

It is also, regrettably, worth considering making friends.

[IT'S HARD. HE UNDERSTANDS...]

[raisethemoon]

.....that is not a particular talent of mine.

[literarybehemoth]

Ah, I understand. They are, admittedly, unpredictable and will probably happen somehow unless you hermit yourself away. I feel like I ended up with some despite my best efforts...

[raisethemoon]

I....suppose I might be able to say that I have one or two...? Even if my sister does not count.

[ Is having a sister the same as a friend? Luna has never really thought so - or, at least, it cannot make up for a lack of them. ]

I see little of most ponies, my duties being nocturnal as they are. But Twilight Sparkle was kind, when last I saw her. My sister's student.

[literarybehemoth]

Well, a friendly relationship with a sibling is better than a bad one, I am sure. But... yes, I can imagine how that would be difficult if you do not have any nocturnal creatures you could speak with.

[raisethemoon]

I do have a pet possum! But they are not speaking creatures, in my world. Well - obviously, I suppose.

[ She wouldn't be keeping it as a pet otherwise! Having a pet, though, is not really the same thing. ]

[literarybehemoth]

Ah, I see. We have actually had possums as international students here and there, so that would be a difference between our homelands, then. Is it just equines that are capable of reason where you are from, then?

[raisethemoon]

Not at all! There are dragons and Diamond Dogs, and a number of bovine species in addition to other equines! Though...well, there are canines and felines who are reasoning beings, and then some others who are not.

[literarybehemoth]

I see. Is it dependent on species, then, or do you have to walk up to one and ask them how they're doing to know which is which?

[raisethemoon]

No, it is quite obvious! The sapient ones are largely bipedal, in fact!

[ Which is actually fairly unusual for her world! ]

[literarybehemoth]

Ah, I see! Many creatures of reason can switch freely between being bipedal and quadrupedal movement, so I find that interesting. It seems a bit limiting to me, but given that it works for birds it must work fine for them.