voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

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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!

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It's not rare to see the new people staring at the void like that. And honestly, Madoka can't blame them. It's nothing like she had ever seen before she got stuck on this train, after all, although she's grown pretty used to it with how long she's been here.

But still.. she gives a friendly smile at Glorifindel, though she's not sure he'll even catch it with how the sight out of the window seems to have captured his full attention.

"It's pretty, right..?"

Gorfindel noticed as the young human approached, as even mesmerized, you cannot change five thousand years of conditioning. He turned his head and smiled at her. "Very. It reminds me of when I was a small child, in fact. When the Ainur sang and the stars were out."

"The Ainur..?"

Just from the way she repeats that word it's very obvious that Madoka has never heard of it before. Her eyes are slightly wide with surprise and curiosity. Sure, she's used to the fact that people here come from all sorts of worlds that have things her own world couldn't even dream of, but it's still not gotten old.

"Um.. If it's okay to ask, what are those?"

"Ah. I understand now that many of us come from different worlds. In mine, our world was created by Eru and his helpers, the Ainu, who sang the universe into being. I imagine it to look and sound a great deal like this, back then." Glorfindel explained. His eyes crinkled at the corners. "I think the closest similarity to them would be, 'gods'?"

Madoka slowly nods. That does sound a little like gods.. And it's not like her regular modern day Earth doesn't have plenty of creation stories and myths floating around, so hearing they have those too in other worlds isn't too strange.

.. although they seem a little more literal in Glorindel's world.

"I think I understand. That is what the void looks a little, huh..? As if something could start existing in it at any moment." That makes Madoka look out of the window at it as well. "It goes on so far too.. It's strange, but kind of pretty in its own way."

"Very," Glorfindel agreed. "Though I wonder what kind of world it would make." He thought about it for a moment, then smiled at her again. "What kind of world is yours?"

"Mine..?"

The question seems to surprise her, and she slowly blinks at him for a moment. Madoka tends to be pretty secretive about some things from her world, but she supposes there are plenty of things she could tell a stranger. Especially one asking so nicely.

"Um.. It's a world with a lot of trains. But they don't travel through the void. Actually, nothing supernatural happens the way it does on board here all the time." Now that's a slight lie, but it was the truth for her until a little while ago, so she can actually say it in a way that's believable enough.

"A...lot of trains? But nothing supernatural? So...people get on these willingly to travel from place to place, then?" Glorfindel asked, doubt evident in his voice. While the train was...interesting, he wondered at as a regular mode of transportation. Sure they required a great deal of upkeep when not supernatural.

Madoka nods. Pretty quickly too, since trains are something so natural to her.

"It's just like how people use cars to get around.. Except with trains you can transport a whole lot more people at once," she starts to explain, except she quickly seems to realise what the problem with said explanation might be. It makes her look slightly awkward. "Ah.. um, do you know what cars are..?"

It's possible he doesn't if he seems confused about trains as well!

"I...do not? Are they anything like a cart?" Glorfindel asked. She really is a delight, this young human. 'Uhm, those are wheeled vehicles drawn by horses, that transport goods and people."

"Kind of! We used carts too where I'm from.. except, um, just really long ago."

It helps her figure out a bit more about his world. If they use carts, then it must be pretty old-fashioned, right? That's not too strange, she supposes, since more people on this train seem to be coming from those kinds of worlds..

"You don't need a horse to make a car drive, it just does that by itself! Just like this train."

"Ah!" Glorfindel nodded. "So they use magic! That makes sense then."

Madoka nods with a smile.

"Exactly! They use.." Her voice trails off as she only now fully seems to realise what he just said.. "W-Wait, no, that's not it at all!"

She quickly waves her hands and shakes her head, as if she's worried about having given this stranger the wrong idea.

"They use.. um, well, it's a little complicated to explain.. But it's not magic! There's no magic where I come from!" Mostly not, anyway.

Glorfindel raised his eyebrows at her protest. "If you have no magic where you come from, then how do you know it isn't magic?"

".. huh?"

That's a good question. Or at the very least a surprising question, since Madoka looks like she totally didn't see it coming. At least the surprise stops her panic for the moment..

"Well.. magic is when you cast spells and those kinds of things, right? Like you sometimes see in--" 'cartoons on TV', she almost says, but then realises that'd just be more confusing for him. "-- in stories! Like what witches and good fairies use! People don't use that in real life."

Glorfindel smiled, but kept his laughter inside. "Well, as an elf, I can tell you that I know witches, and good fairies, and wizards. I've seen a bard craft a song so magical out of thin air that would make you weep, shout, despair, and cry with joy, yet he says it is 'just music.' I think there is more magic in this universe that you think. Not all of it requires some sort of casting. Though some do benefit from a more ritualized approach, but then again, so do some other tasks. Like washing clothes. You don't simply throw them in the river and hope for the best, after all."

Usually she'd pause to marvel over the fact he's an elf. Sure, he may not be the first one she met, but the other ones she's met here are pretty amazing!

But no, that surprise is completely pushes aside by what he's saying. It's unlike anything she's ever heard before, and judging by the expression on the young girl's face, it's totally blowing her mind over here.

"Then.. how do you know if something is magic or not?"

Glorfindel shrugged. "If you need to know, you can break it down and dissect it. But sometimes, it is enough to know that it simply IS, is it not? If you can explain something, using the technology of your people, then you may not consider it magic, but someone who cannot explain it would. Does it really make a difference in the end?"

"I.. I think it makes a difference."

Although she gets his explanation. She couldn't explain how magic works, just the same way she can't explain exactly how a car manages to move. That does make it very similar. But..

"Magic feels special, after all.." Madoka starts to blush a little, like she's embarrassed to put it this way, but can't really find any other way to put it into words. "I-It feels like something that could make miracles happen."

Glorfindel nods. "Good magic does feel that way, I agree. Though bad magic can make you ill just by being near it. Then there are the every day magics, that comfort you or that you overlook because you see them every day. Is the magic of a butterfly unfurling their wings not breathtaking? Yet, it happens often without notice. You are out in a meadow, stop to take a look around and suddenly there are thousands of them lifting off into the gentle breeze and you remember that ever breath is magic, every life is a miracle."

[Please forgive him, he's not trying to miss the point!]

Hey, even if it's not quite the answer she's looking for, it's still a very sweet one. And she does get what he's trying to say - and even kind of agrees with it, even though Madoka wouldn't call it magic. But she definitely understands the use of seeing everyday things as pretty.

So she smiles at him, just a little bit.

".. It seems like you really enjoy life, sir." Which is a good thing! If you're able to enjoy stuff like that and even call it magic, surely you must be pretty happy in life. And Madoka would like to see everyone as happy as possible.

He grinned at her. "I do, actually. Most of the time, when I'm not fighting Orcs or goblins, in any case. I got the rare opportunity to get a second chance at life and I do not think it is a gift I should waste. Do you also enjoy live?" he asked.

...

Wait, did he just.. say second chance at life?

Maybe she just misheard that. That's weird. No one can have a second chance at life, unless it's metaphorically, right..? She just quickly tries to move past it before she ends up staring at him in confusion like an idiot.

"Oh..! Um, o-of course I do! I try my best to do so, anyway.. I know life is really precious, so I'm trying to make sure to enjoy each and every single day of it."

Glorfindel smiled at her again. "I am glad to hear it, since we are apparently going to be spending time together on this thing. Hopefully the others feel the way we do."

"Okay." She nods. "Then I'll see you around, sir."

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A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

departure

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[Shall we call this a wrap? I don't know where to go from here.]

yes, that sounds perfect to me! let's wrap it here c: