THE FRACTURED WORLD: ARRIVAL

[modormenace]

 

A

rrival for some goes all but unnoticed. It's a sudden shiver, the sensation of being watched... and then nothing at all. Life continues serenely as it always has. The only indication of any change comes with sleep, wrapped in dreams: vague and distant echo imagery of another life, melting away in the morning.

 

F

or others, arrival is a sharp jolt. In the space of a single blink, they find themselves in an unfamiliar world, surrounded by the trappings of a life they have not lived. They are replacements, spirits taking possession of bodies belonging to people very much like themselves...

 

A

nd for the rest, arrival is a procedure. Routine. Those ported in to the Fractured World wake hazily in the comfortably dim light of the Porter room, laid out on an exam table. Their wounds, if they remember having any, have been healed— and even those who remember their own deaths find themselves miraculously restored. As they regain consciousness, an automatic audio-visual presentation is triggered. Regardless of their backgrounds or physiology, all imPorts 'see' and 'hear' this message as if in their own language:

"Greetings, imPort."

The voice is calm and gently authoritative, almost certainly selected by committee.

"On behalf of the Synod and all imPorts it represents, we welcome you to the planet Earth."

A decidedly non-humanoid robotic arm holds out a palm-sized device and rather insistently demands the new arrival take it. This is the imPort's comm, used for accessing the Porter's database of information, as well as the communications Network— though it won't receive communications from outside the Porter building until carried through one of the many Gates set up in a long, crescent-shaped array on the far side of the room.

As each Gate is approached, information about the faction it leads to flashes up on the comm device's screen. Which will you choose?

THE WHITE TOWER SANCTUM AURORAE KRAKOA HOUSE OF M EMPIRE OF LIGHT EQUALITY BEFORE LAW THE TWIN CITIES OLIN VALE EDEN SEEKERS OF THE NEW DAWN NORTHWESTERN IMPERIUM GREEN PIECE MAD BURNISH LUMINARY

Comments

Thor Odinson | OTA

[ifhebeworthy]

A PARTY

[ thor decided to stop by unannounced, as he is wont to do sometimes. though wanda and he were known to have their strong disagreements as to her stance regarding the house of m-- some infamously louder than others-- she was a dear friend and he came by on occasion to see if they needed any help. besides, with the world the way it was now, the last thing anybody needed was a fight between a thunder god and a master of chaos magic. and while he came here to speak with her, he is preoccupied instead standing at an impasse with a large peacock. ]

Forgive me, I am... unsure as to whether or not you are a person or simply a large bird.

[ the peacock simply ruffles it's feathers and majestic train. ]

[deadwenwalking]

I don't know why it would be a person.

[There's magic in Wen Ning's world, but he's yet to see anyone transform into an animal. He knows everything he's used to has been tossed out the window in this place, but the idea is still a lot to deal with.

Sure he's had his own staring contest with the birds already. That doesn't mean he ever expected any of them to talk back at him.]

I think it's just a peacock.

[ifhebeworthy]

It could be a trick.

[ he regards the commenter cautiously, turning his head, but never taking his eyes off of the bird. the bird just stands there and stares. ]

My brother could shapeshift. You can never be too sure about these things.

[deadwenwalking]

He could?

[Wen Ning has only heard of such a thing being possible. One would have to be incredibly skilled in magic to pull it off in his world, and not even Wei Wuxian had that talent. He looks at the bird again, tilting his head slightly, as though he might be able to pick out something strange about it - some level of intelligence in its eyes - that would tell him whether or not it was sentient. He sees nothing.]

Do you wonder this about every animal you come across?

[Because that would get really tiring after a while.]

[ifhebeworthy]

Aye. Don't you?

[ he glances over with mild surprise, taking a long drag from a much larger glass of alcohol than one should be served at a party like this. ]

My goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. They can talk as well.

[deadwenwalking]

No...?

[Wen Ning has never thought about having to worry whether or not every animal he came across was actually a person in disguise. That sounds... well, maddening, really. Would it have to be an animal? Wouldn't it be easier to disguise oneself as an insect that could hide even more easily?

And he's not even sure he could begin to pronounce the names of those goats.]

I've never met anyone who could do that.

[ifhebeworthy]

[ thor tilts his head slightly with faint curiosity. ]

Strange. For me, at least. Do you not have creatures of magic on your world?

[deadwenwalking]

Some... but they're not typically people. They're usually trained by cultivators.

[And he doesn't know of any that talk, though he isn't going to dismiss the possibility.]

[divaricate]

Fair question, I suppose. Just a bird, though.

[ The voice comes from behind him as Wanda steps up next to him eventually. ]

It'll steal your snacks if you don't watch it.

[ probably. maybe. ]