Aather Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
overclocked) wrote2014-03-23 08:55 pm
overclocked) wrote2014-03-23 08:55 pm
World Info V: The Black Woods
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Setting | Uniforms and Keys | Available Supplies | Time, Weather & Monsters |
| ❧ The Ring | ❧ Soapstone & Glass Keys | ❧ Unlocked Supplies | ❧ Time |
| ❧ The Clearing | ❧ Hero Favors | ❧ Questing | ❧ Weather |
| ❧❧ Cabins | ❧❧ Food, Items, Knights | ❧ Monsters | |
| ❧❧ Sterling | ❧❧ Group Quests | ||
| ❧❧ Onyx | |||
| ❧❧ Other Structures |
SETTING
The road leads through the newly-restored woods, past a fork and further to the West. And gradually, again, the woods begin to darken—but not in the way they had before, with trees covered with cold and creeping Darkness, but just . . . dim, shaded, and quiet, towering trunks blocking out the sun.
Nor is the forest silent—there is a constant lively whispering, as though something has been awakened and is watching, excited and waiting. Wispy orbs of light dart to and fro amongst the trees—fireflies, perhaps?
The footprints of a fox lead the way deeper into the forest.
The first branching path you reach seems inviting -- in contrast to the close, somewhat cramped path you walk and the dark trees, this new path is paved in white gravel and opens up almost immediately into a bright, wide clearing. Everything here is light-- the bright, wide-open sky is visible above the tree tops, its light reflecting off the clear pool at the center of the clearing.
The pool is a deep aquamarine, but so clear you can see all the way to the bottom; and at the bottom, there on the lakebed, is a circle -- a ring you might say -- made of gemstones, reflecting softly.
Any new arrivals to Aather will appear here, at the center of the lake, standing on the surface of the water. Their footsteps -- and the footsteps of anyone else who would like to try giving walking on water a try -- will leave team-colored ripples in their wake. The water will hold you -- in fact, if you actually wanted to be submerged you'd have to put some intent and effort into it -- and either way anyone who does make it under the surface will not be allowed to disturb the gemstone ring.
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By passing the branching path to The Ring, eventually the forest opens up again -- this time to a wide clearing. The ground here is soft, packed dirt, cool and sweet-smelling. In the very center of the clearing is a large fire pit, ringed with clean stones, with a fire already burning -- as far as you can tell it will not stop burning, either, and for good cause: it is quieter here, less whispering, the light of the fire keeping this space calm and safe.
There is a lot of space here, between the fire and where the trees begin to crowd in again, if you needed a place to practice your skills or lay something out without a tree branch or underbrush getting in the way.
The trees are close around the perimeter of the clearing, forming a tight ring, but there are the hints of other paths spiraling out, with the clearing at their center, like a sun, though many of them don't look terribly passable at the moment.
Right at the edge of the clearing, where the treeline starts up again, there are 14 trees that seem somewhat more prominent than the others -- and each tree, you will find a fully customized tree house!
Two more prominent paths branch off from the clearing a short ways -- at their ends you will find two rather large trees, one for Sterling, one for Onyx.
STERLING'S tree is tall and smooth, light ash-grey bark softly reflecting the light of the that hang in its high branches. There are bright banners draped on the branches from mid-way up the tree, all the way to just below the canopy. A silver door sits at the base of the tree, which only Sterling knights and those with soapstone/glass keys can enter.
For Sterling's interior, see this document.
ONYX is a tall, gnarled black-barked tree, tucked off a path a short ways away from the main clearing. It is covered with black vines with tight, dark buds instead of blossoms. There is a red door at the base of the tree you can enter from the outside that leads into the kitchen (accessible only by Onyx and certain knights/heroes), and up in the canopy of the tree is the suspended common room, painted to Onyx's black colors with accents of red here and there.
For Onyx's interior, see this document
For (IC) Gym rules, see {here}
Details on the library catalogue can be found {here}
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Nor is the forest silent—there is a constant lively whispering, as though something has been awakened and is watching, excited and waiting. Wispy orbs of light dart to and fro amongst the trees—fireflies, perhaps?
The footprints of a fox lead the way deeper into the forest.
ADDITIONS
pulled from unlock docTHE RING
The first branching path you reach seems inviting -- in contrast to the close, somewhat cramped path you walk and the dark trees, this new path is paved in white gravel and opens up almost immediately into a bright, wide clearing. Everything here is light-- the bright, wide-open sky is visible above the tree tops, its light reflecting off the clear pool at the center of the clearing.
The pool is a deep aquamarine, but so clear you can see all the way to the bottom; and at the bottom, there on the lakebed, is a circle -- a ring you might say -- made of gemstones, reflecting softly.
Any new arrivals to Aather will appear here, at the center of the lake, standing on the surface of the water. Their footsteps -- and the footsteps of anyone else who would like to try giving walking on water a try -- will leave team-colored ripples in their wake. The water will hold you -- in fact, if you actually wanted to be submerged you'd have to put some intent and effort into it -- and either way anyone who does make it under the surface will not be allowed to disturb the gemstone ring.
ADDITIONS
pulled from unlock docback to top
THE CLEARING
By passing the branching path to The Ring, eventually the forest opens up again -- this time to a wide clearing. The ground here is soft, packed dirt, cool and sweet-smelling. In the very center of the clearing is a large fire pit, ringed with clean stones, with a fire already burning -- as far as you can tell it will not stop burning, either, and for good cause: it is quieter here, less whispering, the light of the fire keeping this space calm and safe.
There is a lot of space here, between the fire and where the trees begin to crowd in again, if you needed a place to practice your skills or lay something out without a tree branch or underbrush getting in the way.
The trees are close around the perimeter of the clearing, forming a tight ring, but there are the hints of other paths spiraling out, with the clearing at their center, like a sun, though many of them don't look terribly passable at the moment.
ADDITIONS
pulled from unlock docCabins
Right at the edge of the clearing, where the treeline starts up again, there are 14 trees that seem somewhat more prominent than the others -- and each tree, you will find a fully customized tree house!
ADDITIONS
pulled from unlock docSterling & Onyx
Two more prominent paths branch off from the clearing a short ways -- at their ends you will find two rather large trees, one for Sterling, one for Onyx.
STERLING'S tree is tall and smooth, light ash-grey bark softly reflecting the light of the that hang in its high branches. There are bright banners draped on the branches from mid-way up the tree, all the way to just below the canopy. A silver door sits at the base of the tree, which only Sterling knights and those with soapstone/glass keys can enter.
For Sterling's interior, see this document.
ONYX is a tall, gnarled black-barked tree, tucked off a path a short ways away from the main clearing. It is covered with black vines with tight, dark buds instead of blossoms. There is a red door at the base of the tree you can enter from the outside that leads into the kitchen (accessible only by Onyx and certain knights/heroes), and up in the canopy of the tree is the suspended common room, painted to Onyx's black colors with accents of red here and there.
For Onyx's interior, see this document
Other Structures
For (IC) Gym rules, see {here}
Details on the library catalogue can be found {here}
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UNIFORMS
Some of you still have your Spring Uniforms from Camelot, but every new teammate will gain three sets of a Black Woods Uniform more suited to the cold weather. You will also find a team-colored hooded cloak for each hero or knight folded up neatly in your treehouse.
You can also assume that every team has several basic sets of socks & underclothes (of their choice) in their team colours, as well as a pair of shorts and a camisole, and a set of pajamas -- team-colored plaid shorts or pants and a neutral tshirt.
KEYS
Team keys
Your Team Key is palm-sized and appears to have been carved or crafted from the stone your team takes its name from. The cord they hang on around your neck appears to this time a woven daisy chain -- though thankfully the stalks are unnaturally strong, that won't snap or become loose if pulled at.Sterling and Onyx's keys are metal - Sterling, obviously silver, and Onyx's blackened and tarnished.
Keys are the manifestation of the magic that binds you to your team (or your patron, if you're a knight) and keep you safe from the Darkness. Functionally, the key lets you into your cabin, and also acts, at times, as an indicator or warning system to protect you from Darkness and keep you connected to your team. The keys are unbreakable, but you can lose them—it's just very strongly not recommended . . .
Removing your key for an extended period of time (longer than, say, bathing, sleeping, changing clothes, etc), will result in you starting to feel significantly unwell. The Darkness will sense that you're vulnerable and try to move in, sending nightmares, hallucinations, and severe discomfort. OOCly if this happens for an extended period (several days or more), please contact a mod!
You cannot use someone else's key to access their cabin (either heroes or knights).
Glass keys and Soapstone keys
these are given to heroes from knights. The soapstone keys are temporary, and can be requested from Maleficent or Beauty for a low price, but they are one-use only. The glass keys allow heroes to access Sterling or Onyx at any time so long as the knight that gave them the key is currently in the building as well.Heroes' Favors
are essentially a reverse idea of the glass keys, which let knights access hero cabins a little more freely. It also encourages a closer connection between teams & knights and gives a small, team-oriented boost as a benefit. For more info, see hereback to top
Well, there sure are a lot of trees--! Some bracken and underbrush crowd in around the tree roots as well, but at the moment not much of it looks useful for anything under than tinder. Other than the whispers that fade in and out, the woods seem silent and empty.
When things start appearing, an overview will go here. Stay tuned!
Unlocks are the constant changes being made to the realm via the efforts of the heroes and knights in games and events. The full text can be found on the IC comm by unlock tag; for a quicker overview/summary, please see the Unlock spreadsheet.
QUESTING
Quests are obtained either from Knights or, for big-ticket/unique items, from Personae. For a general overview of quest parameters, see {here}. Food
The difficulty level of questing is no longer +1 (from Camelot) - Food quests, likewise, now have no reason to not be perfectly successful.Items
Item quests now have a percentage chance of returning only the pieces necessary for anything that you (or somebody else) could make by hand, rather than having it already assembled. For example: a quest for a bookshelf would get you nails, a hammer, and some planks of wood. A quest for a jacket would get you fabric, needle, and thread. Barter and learn skills to get things done!This is, again, rare -- and from an ooc standpoint, completely optional. If you think it would be more fun to play out building your item rather than getting it ready made, then you hit that percentage chance -- but maybe you just have really great luck!
Knights
Knights are once again still required to quest for their items. It is possible for knights to get items for themselves in various ways: (a) get someone to quest for it from them, then make a trade/deal/have them give it to you because you're cute; (b) quest from a Persona; or (c) quest from another knight!Of course, all of this is intended to make play more fun and engaging, with more for characters to do with their own two hands. If you, the player, think this is zero fun and you want absolutely none of it, you are absolutely able to leave this out of your daily play and make concessions where necessary! Handwave handwave handwave!
Group Quests
Group quests are available for very large items, mass heals, and other things. To see a list of what's currently ongoing, if you'd like to participate, see This documentback to top
TIME
Time passes… oddly in the forest, in the sense that it's almost always dim here, unless you're in the ring. The level of ambient light increases and decreases somewhat, but the largest source of light -- and evidence of time passing, is the changes in the light orbs that dot the forest. At sunrise, they will be soft orange; Midday, bright, full-spectrum white; dusk, a softer red; and during the night a soft blue.
The day can be broken up as follows:
Sunrise/Early Morning
Morning
Midday
Afternoon
Sunset/Evening
Night
The weather here is cool -- not warm, not cold -- and has very little humidity. This makes the air feel clear and refreshing, if not occasionally with the slightest nip; good thing you've got those cloaks.
If you wander off the path today, you're in for a big surprise . . .
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