- 1615
- #1
1. Sanjaru by Tigeria (4s/2d) ||| 2. Allios by Seimei (0s/1d) ||| 3. Elph by polliwoggi (2s/3d)
4. Sanjaru by polliwoggi (2s/2d) ||| 5. Allios by Nym (2s/2d) ||| 6. Allios by Tigeria (2s/3d)
7. Elph by polliwoggi (3s/4d) ||| 8. Sanjaru by polliwoggi (5s, 3d) ||| 9. Elph by Mystaira (0s/3d)
10. Allios by Seimei (1s/3d) ||| 11. Allios by Seimei (0s/1d)
4. Sanjaru by polliwoggi (2s/2d) ||| 5. Allios by Nym (2s/2d) ||| 6. Allios by Tigeria (2s/3d)
7. Elph by polliwoggi (3s/4d) ||| 8. Sanjaru by polliwoggi (5s, 3d) ||| 9. Elph by Mystaira (0s/3d)
10. Allios by Seimei (1s/3d) ||| 11. Allios by Seimei (0s/1d)
The air is hot and thick, muggy with the weight of summer's intensity. A humid haze engulfs every space, with only the coldest and most well sealed controls offering any true reprieve from its heat. Even the nights are hot, though no longer sweltering, and the moisture hanging in the air clings to skin and fur alike as some suffocating blanket, threatening to smother every languishing tourist or, for the time, unfortunate denizen in its barely tolerable embrace. Not as further out as others might think, only the crest of midday offers any relief from the constant screaming of insects and the eager songs of amphibians; all the rest is a constant cacophony of the humming life that swells from a soft din to an overbearing symphony of natural inclinations earmarking this time of year. Yes, even in the city proper there is no full escape from croaking frogs and buzzing cicadas, but further out to the lake and twisting swampland there are times of the day where their cries are truly, nearly deafening.
It is late summer in the big easy, and the Earth itself reminds its residents that it is still very much alive.
Nearly five years have passed since the planet began to change, yet the governments of this blue-green world have thus far managed to keep that fact a secret. How long can they can manage? Many wonder, yet the smaller populations of the invaders work along the rules of those entities that would see them removed. Some revel in their rebellion, teasing at slipping through the tight iron grip that state officials have around their very existence, while others simply slide right under it, integrating into society as a whole to walk among would-be friend or relished prey as one of them - or even still to hunt others of their ilk away from the reaches of the Void. Yet, despite the changes swelling under the surface of society, the world continues to turn, the seasons continue to change ...
Life goes on.
Humanity as a whole has no idea of what's going on just under their noses. There are fringe groups that are aware, from quiet covens and cabals of those exposed to true magic to the paranormal groups passing around photos and stories of odd creature sightings as they always have, but these are largely ignored by the majority of the population. So far, it has been relatively easy for the governments of the world to do as they desire; the majority of smaller windows that the sanjari have found are tenuous at best, allowing only a few of their number to squeeze through, becoming little more than local cryptids in the process. That leaves only the larger portals directing to a single city, and the fear of isolation has kept many Endless restricted to the area in and around New Orleans. Yet the vast denial of their existence makes it simpler to keep the peace there; odd happenings are chalked up as drunken revelry, voudou nonsense, or even - in a couple of cases - nothing more than swamp gas. The local governing bodies eagerly deny that anything odd has been going on in their dear city, and the federal agents stationed therein are quick to dispose of or chase off any too-exposed Void-born with a deadly intensity. As for the locals? Strange things have always happened in the Crescent City, haven't they? Monster sightings weren't necessarily rare before, and most swamp folk outside the city limits have already been reporting supernatural happenings for decades anyway!
As for espers? The Void may offer an explanation to many things for them, but their reactions are largely akin to their physical relatives. After all, they'd still have to encounter an Endless to feel their presence, and with so many of the newcomers reacting in terror to their existences... it's easy to see why they haven't made contact en masse either.
Elphyme have been living in the area for centuries, though it's strange to them that other beings like them exist, now! The population in NOLA lacks the caves and hideaways that their cousins in other regions enjoy, and so these "swamp fairies" have adjusted to live appropriately over the years. Many of them simply live openly in the city proper, using their natural glamour to skitter between rickety alleyways and through sewer lines with ease; over twenty years ago, the mayor signed an agreement with them to provide trash and waste as a food source in exchange for certain scavenged materials - being that they can eat anything, elph tastes are quite a bit different than humans', after all. This has led to them being considered quite wealthy and prosperous by their own race's view, and what they can't salvage from the junk they're given many simply pilfer from unsuspecting humans anyway.
Alliosa have, largely, found humanity quite enjoyable to integrate with. Humans, with their surprising lack of extrasensory abilities, have made it all too easy for these dogged shapeshifters to simply join their ranks, and the abundant free emotion pouring from them at all hours of the day makes it possible for them to maintain their appearance constantly and with little effort. Over the years since the first of their kind snuck in simply as canines, the clans that have clustered at their large window have slowly begun to root down and deeply embed themselves in what their newest generation now consider their home city. Numerous of their kind have even infiltrated local offices, creating a lucrative and helpful service of falsifying identification documents for other Endless. While not all of them have any interest in this society, preferring instead to their way as animals or boogeymen, many of them find the allure of humans' modern technology and abundant food source hard to pass up.
Sanjari are, to say the least, a bit more split on the whole thing. The clans temporarily united in their access to the Earthian windows are still, well, individual clans, and within that they view each other with suspicion even under their temporary truce. That isn't even counting the most recent generation of their ilk having been born in the last two to three years; these individuals represent yet another point of tension, finding humanity to be more than simple food. However, while there are numerous tiny politics within individual clans, there are two main schools of thought among them - and as time passes, these two schools are rapidly becoming the seed for two mega-clans to form. The first is the original view that humanity is mere sustenance; they offer nothing else of value, and the only reason to be on Earth is to stalk, kill, and consume these lesser beings. These sanjari make up the monster sightings in the city and, more often, in the swamps beyond, terrifying their prey and feasting on the abundance of fear before consuming their life force and many times corporeal forms as well. They are the "evil" in the marshlands, true monsters caring nothing for the creatures they crave, all too eager to take their kill at the slightest hint of a chance. The second group are those who find fascination with humanity; these are the ones who have made an effort to learn the languages and writing of the region they now stalk. Their naturally vicious and competitive nature make it difficult to merge with typical society, and while some have managed, many of them find themselves drawn to the cutthroat nature of high business, politics, and, in particular, organized crime. What better hit man than one who can simply make a body disappear without a trace, after all, or drug runner than one who finds a policeman little more than a snack?
Finally, the grimmalkin - strange and enigmatic as they are, there are only a handful of them compared to the other races, and who can offer generalizations on a race that prides themselves in their freedom to do as they please? Yet, even then, we might look to the abundance of their typical prey as the cause of their arrival on the planet, and even while they are the private beasts they are, it is more than possible to draw conclusion about the few mass murder incidents which occurred early on in their arrival. While these reports were covered up as acts of terror, as is often the case, it was more likely that the lack of further episodes was a case of learning; any Endless still alive knows by heart how valued stealth is, and how it is the best course of action. Ultimately, however, just why each grimm arrives can be answered by none but that individual - yet they too stalk the streets of the city, without doubt.
And so we come to you - you, the player, and by extension some character directed by you. Who are they, who will they be in this world? We have set the stage for you at the very dawn of our story, and now it's up to you to decide the fate of one piece in such a sprawling game; will you be nothing more than a pawn under the machinations of higher plans, or would you be a queen to manipulate the board at your whim?
