And with the sweat of your brow...

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know that if the multiverse is real, there could be an almost infinite square mileage of completely unexplored ocean out there?

No reason.

...

You wake in one of 25 rooms with a sense of unease that doesn't quite track with how nice the accommodations are. Maybe it has something to do with the giant window leading out to the sea. The temperature is low, which might make you wish you had woken up under the luxurious covers instead of atop them. The lights, too, are low. But next to your bed is a small personal radio, and it's playing a song for you. There's also a small note printed on folded cardstock next to it.

Dear Prospective Citizen,

Welcome to the Helios Suites at New Rapture. The time should currently be 12:00 PM. Please take a moment to get your bearings and become acquainted with your new environment, then meet in the hotel lobby at 1:30 PM sharp for an orientation with Mayor Fontaine.

With only that for guidance, there's only the one thing to do: get out there and start exploring... well, it's hardly a full city, but it's something! And in the halls (or on the wall of your suite or the lobby), you very well may find up to 24 other captives.

What you do until your meeting with Mayor Fontaine, well... that's up to you. Every room certainly gives you something to talk about.

Comments

[visiblepattern]

I can manage some.

[His sutures are fucking beautiful, for one thing.]

Either way, I'm not shaken by the sight of blood, nor do I need protecting. I've enough experience - medical and otherwise - to be able to take care of myself.

[howveryglib]

Of course.

[he nods!]

I am glad to have your cooperation and thank you in advance for your assistance.

[visiblepattern]

Of course, and likewise.

[howveryglib]

I will keep an eye out for anything that you may be able to use, at the very least.

[...hm. actually.]

Outside of the fact that this place is somehow at the bottom of the sea, the level of technology is not terribly dissimilar from my homeland's. If you encounter anything you may not be familiar with, I may be able to provide an explanation.

[He's mostly thinking in the context of medicine, but it's like, generally...]

[visiblepattern]

Oh...! Thank you, that will certainly be a great amount of help to me. Most of this is a bit beyond me... If I come across anything, I'll be sure to ask.

[Like. Thank god. For most things he doesn't need the explanation to be great, he just needs to know what the hell most of it is for.]

[howveryglib]

It is no trouble, really. I am used to interacting with people who have different technological experience than I do, so I can provide a basic explanation in most cases.

[visiblepattern]

I see... Is your homeland different in capabilities than the outlying areas, then?

[howveryglib]

Yes, it is. My people are perhaps uniquely unable to use magic and manipulate aether, so we have had to rely on technological advancements in order to protect ourselves and carve out our own path through the world.

[It’s not said with any sort of resentment, like, he gets it. Especially since they recently kicked like EVERYBODY’S asses…]

[visiblepattern]

I see... I have difficulty imagining it, to be honest, but it seems a good way to compensate. My own people were blessed by the Dusk Dragon, and granted a specific connection to the land so that we can alter it at will. Within reason, of course.

["Of course."]

So we all have some kind of magical ability, even if it isn't our specialty.

[howveryglib]

...Of course.

[you've gotta be fuckin kidding him.]

It sounds much more like the "blessing of light" I have been given more information than I would have ever liked to hear about than anything to do with the dragons I am familiar with.

[visiblepattern]

"Blessing of light"...? I can't say I'm familiar.

[howveryglib]

I will not claim to understand it myself, but it seems to be some sort of... protection against primals.

[...you got primals or...]

[visiblepattern]

Ah... [The laugh that gets out of him is apologetic.] I'm afraid I'm not sure what primals are, either. They sound like beasts of some sort...?

[howveryglib]

...ah, yes, of course.

[man. okay. how does one explain this outside of "yeah remember kyogre and groudon in pokespe specifically and what they did to maxie and archie? that's it that's primals"]

Primals--or eikons, really--are beings summoned through belief and enormous quantities of aether that are powerful enough that some worship them as gods of their own volition. Of course, many of their followers have no choice in the matter, as eikons are capable of subjugating men to their will by taking control of their minds.

[visiblepattern]

...That sounds dreadful.

[TO PUT IT REALLY GENTLY...????]

I can see where protection against such things might be...desirable...

[howveryglib]

Absolutely. There are very few options available to dealing with them once they have been summoned, so it is generally better to keep them from being summoned in the first place.