A new platform [intro post September]

[voidtreckermods]

For those on the train

“Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Bassoon.” The train announces the morning the month changes. It seems the train counts months in days of thirty. Team Points have been updated on the system.

The day continues as most days do, chores, eating, getting ready for another day. But those who suspect that a change of month may bring something else are correct. It is only an hour or two later that there is another announcement.

“Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void imminent.”

By now they should know to hold on as the train jerks and jolts. There is only fog outside the windows but the train soon comes to a stop. The doors hiss open.

As they exit into the fog they may notice Evie exiting from the luggage carriage door. Much like Hibiki the last time they were on a platform. She leaves the train, backpack on her back as she walks through the station. She heads no call, reacts to no words and cannot be stopped as she walks to the ticket barrier and disappears through it.

Strange. But even stranger still is that there on the platform that whole time is Evie. Dressed in purple, backpack on back, with her are others. Waiting for the train.

For new arrivals

At first all they can see if 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 your back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not very large, but it hold twelve figures all facing the tracks, all wearing similar clothing. The tracks stretch left and right into steam, or perhaps fog. Nothing can be seen to either side. There is a wall around the platform and the only entrance is a ticket barrier. It cannot be open, nor do there seem to be any staff.

What there is, is a train. Jet black and gleaming where it stands on the rails.Voidtrecker Express is emblazoned in the engine in gold. There is a hiss as the doors slide open.

Out step a selection of people, some less human than others, wearing clothes just like those worn by those on the platform.

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.

Once on board there is lots to explore. Passengers both old and new will hopefully be delighted to see the boredom of this train journey is somewhat alleviated by the introduction of a game carriage. Plenty of games, both familiar and new to play with your new travelling companions.
Each ICP shows the same message. If Red team go and look they will find a box in the luggage compartment that contains their prize. A dralite themed cake lolly each. There are enough for the new members of Red team too, share in your teams previous success!

The food stores have been topped up with new fresh food. Salmon has taken over as the primary ingredient of choice. Hopefully everyone likes fish!

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. For those who boarded two weeks ago they will know what is coming next.

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."

Hopefully someone warns you that you really want to heed that warning because a moment later there is 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 voidspace.

Comments

[castintoflames]

(Her demeanor does help and Maedhros is hardly in any position to talk about odd appearances. Elves of Arda are supposed to be images of perfection - and once he had been - but now he is terribly scarred beyond repair and all healing.)

What are their names? (Some life - some hope - flickers in his eyes. There is something softer in their depths too.) I am Maedhros and I hail from Arda. I am a Prince of the Noldor, which makes me an Elf.

[sweetnessandfight]

Feanor and Maglor. [Considering her accent--faint though it is, nowadays--her pronunciation is fairly spot on. She's made more than a few attempts to get it correct--it's the bard in her, really.] I call them both friends of mine, though I call many people my friend!

[She gives the Elf an impish wink at that, and a smile.] We've all been taken from our homes and those we care about, so you aren't alone--though again, I know that's not much reassurance. Though with luck, sometimes we are reunited--my husband is here as well. Though he does not look like me at all--he's nearly as tall as an Elf, and very broad--his name is Dread, and he's a Roegadyn. He's got dark skin and white hair, and he doesn't smile much, usually, but he's kind--especially if he knows you know me.

[She can't help but chuckle at that, either, but it is the truth--the Thunderstorms are utterly smitten with each other and are kind of silly about it, at times.]

[castintoflames]

(The two he most needs to face. Yet a tremor travels through him, making his breath stutter.)

My father...and brother. If you call them allies, I am your ally too.

(His lips twitch faintly - not quite a smile.)

You are very kind. I will do my best to ensure you do not regret crossing paths with me.

(Of course he can't promise such things. He is cursed - condemned by the Valar themselves.)

He sounds like the sort that I do not want to anger. (So he won't.) What do you know of this...void?

[sweetnessandfight]

[She notices his apprehension, and steps closer--Sarai's aware that the Elves usually do not care for casual touch, and so she holds out a hand, palm up; Maedhros can take it or leave it as he will, and she won't take offense. But she feels the need to at least try to offer him some comfort.]

Whyever should I regret that? I've not regretted crossing paths with anyone I have met here, yet. [Not even Hibiki, here no longer, but a tempestuous soul. Sarai just treated her with kindness, too...]

Maybe so, but I also don't think anyone has managed to get him truly angry, here. And it has been--well, a month, according to the train calendar. [Which is a thing Sarai is not quite used to, just yet.] As for the Void...it is not like the one I know from Hydaelyn, which is a good thing. Monsters dwell in the one I am used to--here it simply seems like a place we travel through. It does not seem like there is anything existing therein--though I could be wrong!

[Considering what came from the Void on Hydaelyn, Sarai hoped she was not wrong.]

[castintoflames]

(He stares at her and her hand, startled. Contact is - and has been - frightening for him to bear since he was tortured and strung up on the Thangorodrim by his wrist. Yet he senses no ill will in her and so, eventually, he touches her hand with scarred fingers.)

I am...not like them. (Or anyone save perhaps his brother, Maglor.)

Mm a month is not much time. (Especially to an Elf.) I know of another... There are monsters in that one too. (Well, one monster. Morgoth.)

I would like very much if this one was different.

[sweetnessandfight]

Ah. And yet, if anyone is like anyone else, 'tis but a coincidence. No one can truly be like anyone else entirely, no? Everyone is unique--like the stars in the sky. When there is a sky, that is.

[That last comment is more than a bit wry. Her fingers are warm, and her touch is light, reaching carefully to cover his hand with her other one. A seeking and curious gesture, and one she does not continue for long; a feather-light press and release. And always, always careful with her claws!]

No, even as my people reckon things, it is not. And yet we have had so little knowledge gained of these circumstances in that time, too. It galls us. [It galls Sarai, and she knows well it galls Tony as well. Some might be content to wait and see, but she has always been a thinker as well as a doer, even back on the Azim Steppes in her childhood; she is not.]

You have been so hurt. [A murmur, there, even as her face falls. She has something of a conjurer's sense of what is hale, and he...feels a bit like a tree whose growth has been stunted. It doesn't quite pain her, but Sarai is a kind soul, as so many have surmised, and it does sadden her.]

[castintoflames]

(He needs to be more precise and he feels the familiar weight of guilt and sadness dragging him down before he speaks.)

I am a criminal; a murderer. The reasons matter not; the deed was done many times and I felt nothing...then. (Later, after his heart had been awakened by two fosterlings, he had begun to thoroughly regret his life.) That is how I am different. That is why I do not deserve your kindness.

(He is pale, but his fingers will remember the fleeting warmth of her touch. Her claws don't faze him - even if she were to dig them into him.)

I earned every mark on my body. (And soul.) I will do what I can to help you solve these mysteries.

[sweetnessandfight]

[She pauses and looks up at the Elf now, brows arching slightly. Did he expect her to judge him? She has no right. He may not wish to offer reasons, but they have to be there. Only the mad murder casually and without thought; and at least for the moment, there is no madness in him. Sarai has seen madness; Sarai has slain it in her turn. It was what had to be, for the good of the tribe. Nothing to take pride in, however.]

Life is a precious thing, but it is also a difficult thing, Maedhros. You felt nothing then, but only the most hard of heart or the most foolish could not see that you do feel now. And the now is what matters to me. It is not within me to withhold what I have from you. [Kindness. Food. What little succor there is to be given on the strange train they'll both be boarding, when the call comes.]

Doing what you can is all that I can ask of anyone, and I am more than grateful for your help. You have my thanks. [Though she does not say, it's likely clear on her face, though, that Sarai does wish she could do something about the marks he bears, hidden and not.]

[castintoflames]

(Yes, he does expect to be judged. He can't imagine anyone not having some opinion on his atrocious acts. He also can't imagine anyone overlooking them and giving him a second chance. But he is about to be shocked - and hopefully not for the first time.)

Am I taking advantage of your good heart, my lady? (He will excuse himself from her presence to make it easier on her. Maedhros stamps down on his pain. It doesn't matter. It never has.)

I will repay what is given to me. Even beasts know nothing is free. (He self-consciously turns his face, his hair falling to obscure the scars there in particular.)

[sweetnessandfight]

You will find I am not so easy to take advantage of. Though 'tis true it would take a harder heart than mine is, to allow you to be alone in your suffering. If it is truth you speak, and we are allies, then I will stand by you, be it in light or darkness. I have had stalwart souls do the same for me, and I can do no less.

[It wasn't as if the Scions hadn't supported her in the past, as she'd said. Any of them had put their lives in danger for her sake--Moenbryda had died for her, though Sarai would have done anything to bring the Roegadyn back. It was impossible; she did her level best to let Moen's spirit live on, and keep her memory alive. Like Haurchefant. Like G'raha. Like Ysayle. So many lost. And yet, so many yet to save.

Though then, the tiny woman offers the tall Elf a smile.]

Some things can be freely offered, though, can they not?

[castintoflames]

I believe you are strong. (Her strength glows about her, stubborn and unwavering. Maedhros feels like he dwells in the deepest shadow when he is standing next to her. The size of a person or being really means nothing when it comes to the heart.)

I will protect you because any world needs more of your kind and less of mine.

(It's a sad truth, but the Fëanorians have proven themselves to be pests even when they sought to be otherwise. That is part of their curse.)

...yes. I only do not want you to feel obligated. I had lived for a long time in this state.