abraxaslogs | • OPEN •

WHO: anyone and everyone in solvunn
WHAT: mingle for the summoned, particularly the new people
WHEN: a day or two after the new summoned arrive
WHERE: in aloy's homestead—crossing some wilderness but close to the primary settlement
WARNING: TBA

A. THE JOURNEY THERE

The invitation to Aloy’s homestead is made shortly after the newly Summoned find their bearings within the Primary Settlement. Aloy begrudgingly agrees to it, but seeing as how their group has grown within Solvunn—it probably is for the best to be a little more open to the presence of others. Much like with the treehouse by the lakes, it’s good to know of another place further away from the settlements where the Summoned might feel comfortable enough to traverse into.

That is not to say that the homestead is very friendly to strangers, though. Aloy has set up tripwires, disguised pitfalls, snare traps, and other devices in the surrounding area, creating thus a challenging attempt for anyone who wants to travel there by themselves. Additionally, a way to avoid most of that (read: not all; consider it a bonus for getting close to the homestead) is to go through the arboreal parkour course that has been set up. A network of catwalks, platforms, and balancing ropes to traverse the woods. Reaching Aloy’s truly is a test of guts and skill.  

(Alternatively, travel with Wanda or Himeka—the path clears up for them. For the ballsy, follow Nero and Rocket; surely they aren’t scheming anything…)

And, past all of that, the woods will open up to a tall, spiky fence, about eight feet tall, and the gate will lead towards the homestead proper.

B. HOME SWEET HOMESTEAD

The seasons are turning, and while Solvunn doesn’t suffer from incredibly cold winters, there is definitely a chill in the air. Storm clouds in the distance by the coast rupture with booming thunder, bringing down the temperature quite significantly. It makes the bonfire burning outside a welcome source of warmth. Despite the threat of rain, there’s a strong chance the skies will clear up, as the wind picks up.

Within, Aloy’s homestead boasts the woman’s survival and technical skills. Making the most of her resources, there are meats hanging to dry, chopped wood on the side of the house, and animal skins splayed out that will most likely need to be stored at some point. The inside of the homestead is a simple affair, but for someone who isn’t in the business of receiving guests, it’s decent enough.

For today, the space—inside and outside—has a few extra wooden chairs and tables, picnic style, and they’re decorated with an assortment of food: recently harvested apples from the orchard, berries, roasted mushrooms and acorns, and more complex dishes thanks to Himeka’s arduous work in the kitchen the day before. At one point, a giant stew will cook over the bonfire, with meats and veggies, with bowls to the side for anyone to take their fill. Additionally, there will be grilled fish, flat breads, baked cabbage with lentils and, for those with a sweet tooth, apple pie. Wanda will also be sharing sarmale, a pot of goulash, spinach and cheese pastry—gibanica, and a table of assortments to build their own burgers. Additionally, there will also be apple cake and mandelbrot cookies. All in all? No one’s going hungry at the homestead.

But, worry not, all that food needs to go down with something. Barrels of mead and ale will be available for all to drink. For those who don’t want anything alcoholic, there is apple (and other fruit) juice available.

Make merry and mingle, new faces and old faces alike.

And, of course, please take one of the pamphlets.

C. THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING

Lightning strikes, and almost immediately the boom of thunder brings an eerie quiet to the homestead and the forest past its fences. There’s the awkward laugh the tries to break the silence, shaking the jitters away. Some are quicker than others in mobilizing, perhaps feeling the pinprick of raindrops that others don’t, and start moving what they can salvage from the food and miscellaneous items into the cabin. Some may choose to spare themselves of the rain, pushing the way inside or hiding under the roof’s awning at either side of the cabin; others may be entirely unbothered by the rain, as heavy drops fall fast from the darkened skies.

More thunder rumbles in the distance, roiling ever closer from the mountains in Thorne’s southern border.

A few Summoned might notice it first, that it isn’t really the rumbling of thunder that shakes the muddled earth. The grunts of approaching beasts are mixed with the sound of hooves drumming up in rhythm of an uninvited approach. Birds fly away in flocks as the mammoth boars make their way through the forest, inadvertently towards the homestead.

They are due their mating season, and traveling to the wintry mountains of Thorne has been delayed by the appearance of the beasts in the rifts, the journey now a toll on the boars as the continuous lighting and thunder confuses, frightens, and angers them.

They ram into the fence at different points, and chaos would soon ensue, but thankfully all the Summoned have their powers back.

Right?

D. CLEARING UP

After a few boars were felled, the rest scrambled and escaped, continued their path northward. Killing some of them was inevitable, but nothing ought to be left to waste. The skies clear, the waning moon appears over a colorful sunset, and the rain stops. The fire is built again in earnest, and meat is, quite literally, back on the menu at the grilling station, as per Nero’s helpful suggestion. Some fences need a little mending, and a general amount of cleaning up within the homestead needs to be done, too.

As sunset gives way to nighttime, the sky—once marred in dark tones of gray—gives way to a beautiful night sky, with stars and constellations to be delighted by many. Wanda will be offering to dry the wet clothes of those still sticking around, and Himeka hands over warm cocoa or warm cider, something for everyone.

Now that things have quieted down, and with folk sitting around the fire or standing just by the edges of it, Rocket and Wanda inform everyone of the letter from the Nether that they received—something, perhaps, so they can get a general idea of what everyone thinks; about getting involved, about helping, about Solvunn’s interests in all this. It’s not meant to start an argument, debate, or a long conversation, but it’s something to have everyone think about — to know that they might be sent off somewhere else, soon, for a while, and brace for the trip.

Those who have been in Solvunn for a lot longer will be around, to ask questions or start a conversation about what has happened, what is currently happening, and theories for their futures, here.

Aloy didn’t mention anyone can stay to sleep, though, so best feel ready to head back at some point.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Julia's looking at the pamphlet as well as him so she takes another glance there to try and draw in what he might be talking about. The whole place being nuts, that seems pretty clear from here. It's kind of like Fillory to an extreme that way, without any benefits from a modern world to counter it. Again, hard to adjust to, but she'll get there. ]

Yeah I got the sense things were nuts from being shown the ashes of someone who kidnapped people and got eaten by a god for it.

[ They're proudly on display which is why she saw them almost first thing. It's not that she's against the idea of someone being punished. She's killed, other people she knows has killed. It's all kind of fucked up but she's not on her high horse about it. Probably the eaten part is the more concerning factor. ]

Have you interacted with the gods yourself? Or have you mostly heard about it here? I wonder how active they are.

[ She has her reasons. Very good reasons. If this is the only option she gets in terms of gods to talk to, she's willing to do it. But they might all be Embers. ]

[ He'll leave himself open to any questions about the pamphlet, as much as he can answer anyway but he realizes that most of his roommates have really built a new life for themselves here. And he's still kind of getting started.

(Which is fine. You know. He still misses the familiarities from home, but he's got people here now too.) ]

Nah, I'm in the same boat as you on that last god-thing. Showed up here just after the ashes and the god-eating, and honestly? I'm okay with that.

[ Rocket shrugs noncommittally and lets out an exhale. ]

Dealt with a dick of a god once back home, and if I never gotta deal with another one again, I'll count myself as lucky.

I mean, it sounded like she did have it coming. People have died for much less.

[ Julia lives outside of the realm of laws these days; magic doesn't exist well within the system of human law and morality. The world she got used to later is a more complicated one, where someone kidnapping and torturing a group of people might get a worse fate than being eaten. She would have kept on doing things, no doubt. It's not her place to judge the way people reacted to that kind of trauma.

The eating part was definitely creepy though. ]

They're mostly dicks in my world too. Very old and bored with everything that isn't theirs. There was one goddess who wasn't so bad, she still cared about answering prayers and helping out. But that's one out of many.

[ But, that may be true here too. Not every one of the gods may be assholes, there could be one or two who aren't that bad here. Julia is banking on that because she needs help and it's the only option. It's a big risk and she knows that, which is why she has to pick very wisely. She'll figure out a way. ]

So where are you from?

Oh, good! [ This is his sarcastic voice! ] So it sounds to me like gods are pretty much the same everywhere you go.

[ Sure, #notallgods, but he's only ever met one god-like character he'd be all right with.

(Hell, he actually likes the guy.)

But even still, Rocket probably only likes Thor because all of that god-stuff never came into play where their mission was concerned. They had the same goal, and the same struggles, and Rocket knows his losses too. ]

That's a complicated question when you spend a lot of time in a moving ship. But we've got a place called Knowhere. [ No, really. It's probably the closest thing he's ever had to one place he comes back to any time they fly off to save someone, or do something, and that's as good an answer as any. ] My friends and I are trying to make it something like a headquarters. It ain't Terra, or any kind of Earth like a lot of people here are from.

You could say that about a lot of species. [ Them being kind of the same (dickish), but she shrugs. ] The difference is that gods have the kind of power that makes everyone else's lives worse. Joe Shmoe the rando human typically can't snuff out an entire planet because he's bored and feels like it.

[ She knows a god who did that. Ember thought that he had every right to destroy it. He made it, they were boring him, so who cared about the millions of lives upon the planet, it was nothing to him. That's one problem with the gods from her world. If you can just keep creating new planets, who cares about the ones you leave behind? ]

Space travel is one of those things I've literally always dreamt about, but we don't really have as an option.

[ Julia has no idea if that's different now, if she could do it. Probably! But she can't make a spiffy spaceship to go around with. ]

So what's the coolest planet you've been to?

[ This lady, well — she sure sounds like someone who's got a bunch of experiences with the gods, the kind that Solvunn would probably be interested in. He doesn't know a whole lot aside from what he's heard and experienced, because he sure as hell won't get involved in that stuff if he can help it — but.

He's curious. He might even ask a few questions about it later.

For now though, in between the pamphleting and his attempts to be a not-wholly-terrible member of the Unofficial Official Welcome Committee, Rocket takes it upon himself not to brush her question aside. Seriously, someone should be proud of his efforts. ]

All right. Come on, lets get some of this food Himeka's cooked up, and I'll tell you about some of those planets.

• OPEN •

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im so sorry for how old this is, pls feel free to ignore

i hear you lol

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Maybe we can wrap on this one!

done + done 🎀