voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

Entry tags:

A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

On the Train

Two days after they return from their mission they are awoken as usual "Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Egret. The shop has been updated and points have been applied to passengers tickets."

Those that go to check the shop terminals will find they have indeed updated, with the option to buy larger items and also animals. The morning goes on until just after noon there is a second announcement.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Though the fog is thick, thicker than usual perhaps, there are patches on sunlight shining through and it is pleasantly warm.

The doors open and the first few to disembark do so with rucksacks on, hoods pulled up, silent and almost blank faced. Cu Chulain, Dio Brando, Disreputable Dog, Heiji Hattori, Loki Maedhros, Maglor, Naruto, Thor, Tobias Fangor.

They walk to the barriers, show their tickets and disappear.

But on the platform itself there are once again new faces. All are stood, waiting for the train.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then as people begin to shift or call out it will become apparent they are not alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eighteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. It's warm but foggy making it hard to see much, but there are clearer patches bathed in sunlight found across the platform. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. They are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would not be a good thing. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information. The store rooms have been restocked with an abundance of onions, in case the passengers weren't bored of them yet.

Passengers who are not brand new will notice that the train has gotten yet longer again with a sixth sleeper cabin for new arrivals.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express.” A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"And now we are both here, in this strange place. I am in clothes I do not recognize and a color I rarely wear, unless at a feast. And that metal conveyance is like nothing I've ever seen before." Glorfindel shook his head, his hair refusing to part from perfection. "Have you?"

She looked at the train as she pulled self consciously mat her orange clothing now that he called attention to it. Honestly that bothered her more than being kidnapped, though Gooligan being gone bothered her most of all this. "Not exactly, but I've seen lots of odd cards for travel," she said, considering it. "I wonder who the Cepter is," she mused now that she was thinking about it. "That card's got to have a high power level, who ever it is, they're probably really strong."

But she didn't sense from her cards what she felt before she felt Kigi or when she got too close to some of the other powerful Cepters she knew. She was feeling a pull to the train itself, but her cards weren't primed in anticipation of battle.

She was still unused to hiding that she was a Cepter, and besides, he was an Elf, right? Weren't all the Elves followers of Culdra? Not really thinking it through she pulled the small pouch out of her bag and one of her cards flew to her hand. She held it up, facing the train and shook her head. "I'm not sensing anyone who wants to attack us, at least..." she said, still distracted by trying to figure things out.

"Cepter? Is this like a Wizard?" he asked. "I do know a few of those, but none who would summon such a thing. Well, maybe Saruman, but he's dead right now, and probably has been consigned to the void, though I do not know for certain.

He looked at the card she pulled from her pouch and held in front of her. A human wizard, that was unusual. "I did not sense any such hostility either," he said. "Just a pull from my bracelet, encouraging me toward it."

She blinked, confused. How could a nymph not know what a Cepter was. "A Cepter, someone who uses the Culdcept cards," she said, confused as to how he did not know this. She held up the card to show him, though she would not let him take it if he tried. One side of the card was dark blue with four brightly colored dots that seemed to almost glow and an odd asymmetrical design. On the other side when she twisted her fingers to show him was a stylized depiction of a suit of armor. "This is my Knight card. Sometimes when two Cepters are going to battle, their cards vibrate with anticipation. But Knight is resting and calm."

"My lady, I am unfamiliar with cards that do magic. The wizards I am familiar with use innate magic channelled through their staff." He looked with curiosity at the card, especially that it glowed, but did not try to touch it. One did not touch another's magic without permission, after all. The armour looked fairly generic, but nothing like what he had worn. "How do these cards work? And why would you battle one another?" He was a bad judge of human age, but the fight against evil knew few boundaries.

"My staff isn't magic," she said. "At least I don't think he is. But I don't know where he is just now..." she said, frowning sadly. She missed Gooligan. A lot. "The cards? I summon the creature or item or spell in the card." She was NOT allowed to use spells, mind. "And then what was in the card comes out. And... different Cepters fight for different reasons. My Master sent me to help fight the Black Cepters who use their cards to attack people and try to steal all the cards they can. I try to fight to defend people, myself, though things keep happening oddly ever since I left the Isle," she said with a sigh, then considered. "Well we fight for practice as well."

Glorfindel was getting a slight headache. He could see she was telling the truth, that she was good, and she did have magic, but her words made little sense to him. He decided to focus on one part at a time. "Your staff is a he? How do you know?"

She giggled a bit at what seemed a silly question to her, for the moment forgetting that Gooligan wasn't with her. "Well I can't say I've met any women with such an impressive mustache as his. And he said he was a he, so who am I to question?"

..."Your staff speaks to you? And has a mustache?" Glorfindel asked. That was a new twist. He couldn't say that Mithrindir ever spoke of his staff having such a personality. Though honestly, the wizard probably had enough for both himself and his staff. "Though, it is wise not to argue with...people who tell you how they wish to be addressed."

"Well yes. He's," she turned to lift him off the floor than her shoulders drooped. "Not here... right..." she said softly. In her relief that Kigi hadn't been the last, she'd actually forgotten. "Sorry, he's usually with me where ever I go. He's a man-headed cane, but unlike the other's we've met so far, he's a good guy. I found him when I was a little kid and we've been together ever since." She rubbed the back of her head a bit embarrassed. "He claims he still has teeth marks from where I chewed on him that first day but I think he's making it up, I can't see them, anyway."

Edited (Typo repair) 2020-04-04 13:36 (UTC)

This whole situation was odd, so Glorfindel took a deep breath and smiled down at her, radiating just a bit more light to help her not feel as down. "He sounds like he has been an important friend to you. As a new friend, do you often bite? I just need to know what to expect here," he said with a joyful grin.

She laughed a little. "I don't bite people I know are people," she said with a laugh. "Also I was a little kid." But she was happy to have made a new friend already.

"As an elf, I do hope you consider me 'people'," Glorfindel said. He extended a hand in friendship. "I assure you, I do not bite either." He did not mention the fact that she was still quite little. If she were full grown now, she might not appreciate the reminder.

"Of course you are people," she said with a bright smile. She took the offered hand, and not sure what was expected, held it warmly. And hey, she was grown... ish... probably. Right? She was in her teens at least. That was practically adult, wasn't it?

Glorfindel smiled and shook her hand in the human fashion. "I will look forward to getting to know you better on our travel together then."

"Sure!" she said with a bright smile. "And when I get home, I'm going to go to Bisteam and tell Kigi and the others all about you, okay?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.

Re: Platform. Apparently she will have this reaction to all elves for a while, sorry.