SHRIEKING SKULLS WILL SHOCK YOUR SOUL AND SEAL YOUR DOOM TONIGHT

[acherontiastyx]

[After 10:00 p.m., the library's... definitely a little different. The tables have lit candles on them, and there are... kind of janky cardboard cutouts set on some of the shelves. An attempt was made, at least, even if there could've been more boxes destroyed in the attempt...

But regardless. There's candles set around a place for some snacks if anyone wants to bring them, and there's also a blanket set on one of the tables. Because clearly, that's where the storyteller's supposed to sit...? Maybe you wanna do it. Maybe you just want to stand or sit or something.

Either way, let's get fucking spooky up in here.]

Comments

1/?

[iamthatsea]

Okay, uh... I'll try one! I don't know how scary it is, but it's true, and I know it scared me when I was younger, so.

[ As far as anyone here knows, anyway. ]

Before I begin, there are some things you must know about my people. Or... those who live on Akopos, anyway. The whole planet is covered by ocean, and our star is far away. This means that if you travel outside the monastery, the only like you have is your Syl, or the glow that comes from our skin.

[ She glows a little for emphasis. ]

But because we believe in living at peace with that ocean, there is much of it we do not know. We do not indulge in the luxury of written maps, instead relying on landmarks and the guidance of our elders. In this way, we can find spaces for solitude that truly belong to us, that no one else knows how to get to. It also means that a glow in the distance is that of another monk in the order, since freshwater doesn't foster much danger in the animals. But an ocean is an ocean, and there are some parts more dangerous than others. One such place was the Tenthri Abyss, a deep canyon much closer to the monastery than any of the monks would have liked. This is the story of why the Tenthri Abyss collapsed in on itself, as told to me by the elder Roa Denthar. May her wisdom guide my words.

2/3 or 4

[iamthatsea]

Long ago, there were two brothers in the order, Rynok and Horim. They were born and raised on Akopos, and were as close as any two brothers have ever been. They entered the order together, ate meals together, and fished together. Some would say their Syl ebbed and flowed the same between them.

But devotion to the Bluemother demands solitude and inner contemplation, so they had to make a compromise when it came to meditation. So they made a pact to find spots for meditation close to each other, but not to tell each other exactly where they were. They would swim out together a certain distance, then separate at a specific rock, and make their way back to it at an agreed-upon time.

The rock the brothers chose stood at the edge of the Abyss. In this way, they could follow the edge of the canyon back to it if they lost their way, but of course even at that time the Abyss had a bad reputation. Strange sounds that would emerge from the depths, monastery staff or trainee monks who would venture in and come back... different, somehow. There are plenty of mind-changing revelations to go around on Akopos, but anyone who went into the Abyss came back... there's an Emulan word for it that doesn't translate very well, but the closest word is Dimmed. Like their Syl had forever ebbed, just a little. The brothers knew these stories and, naturally, had agreed to find their meditation spaces in the caves or coves near the Abyss instead of within it. After all, prolonged exposure to whatever lay within would surely lead to nothing good.

One day, after meditation, Rynok didn't return to the meeting stone.

3/4

[iamthatsea]

Thinking perhaps his brother had been struck by some particularly strong revelation by the Bluemother, Horim waited patiently. It was commonplace for one or the other to be late, the return time was an estimate at most. But there was something unusual that nagged at Horim's mind. He could almost swear he heard a voice, carrying through the water. Like a prayer-song, from somewhere far away. When he listened closer, it was part of the Third Hne, sung in a calm even voice.

[ Alani starts to sing, but it's not a pop song sort of singing. Like a cross between a religious chant and the rhythm of whalesong. ]

"The Bluemother is the song of the Emula, the light of our minds. She is the darkness in the water. She is the haze of mist which rises from the waves under the warm sky. She is the gentle wave that soothes our slumber. She is the mighty torrent which crumbles the rock."

As the voice went on singing, Horim noticed something curious about it. It was coming from somewhere in the Tenthri Abyss, but the voice was not his brother's. Well... not just his brother's. There were many voices, growing louder. At least ten, no, twenty, no, thirty, all Emulan, all singing the same prayer-song he had heard since he first swam more than a yard beyond the monastery.

"She is the connection within us, and from us to that which is beyond."

Horim called out to his brother.

The voice made of many voices answered "Rynok is here. Rynok is with us. He has spoken to us these last many weeks. He loves you. Join us. He is here. The Bluemother is here. Join us."

4/4 DONE

[iamthatsea]

Just then, the dark of the Abyss was filled with shimmering Syl, all blue and green and white in every shade, but none of it connected to a body. But Horim remembered his lessons - the Bluemother is a representative of the natural cycles. All things end, so that they may persist. But he thought for a moment - perhaps there had been a change in the divine plan. Perhaps it would not be so bad to see. He heard his brother's voice in the crowd, after all, swore he could see Rynok's Syl in the tide.

But under the crowd's voices, he could make something out.

"Come with us. Do not fear. We are eternal. You will reach enlightenment."

"Run."

It was small, under so many other voices, but Horim could pick his brother's voice from a crowd no matter how large. They were always together, how could he not?

So he cried out in refusal and anger, but he did not move to avenge his brother. Instead, he fled. He could hear something rise from the Abyss behind him, but he dared not look back. He felt a cold claw tear at his back, but he dared not let it slow him. He heard a hissing in his ear of the cold empty dark that awaited all who did not join the thrall, but he kept swimming. And he prayed to the Bluemother as he did, chanting louder the same song it had sung to him.

And the Bluemother heard him. A great quake shook the seafloor, and the mass of Syl and whatever else shrieked as the Abyss collapsed entirely, rocks falling upon rocks and sand falling in until only a small indentation remained. And the sea around him was made blinding by the brightness of that Syl, until it was all he could see forever.

Horim was struck blind, but he could still hear. And underneath the shriek, quiet like before, Rynok's voice.

"Thank you."

Blind and wounded, Horim was found by concerned elders quickly. When he took them to what had been the edge of the Abyss, nothing remained except their meeting-stone. And etched into it, dozens of gashes rended by massive claws. And from that day on, they say, Horim's Syl burned twice as bright.

[ She pauses a beat before smiling just as brightly as before. ]

So how was that?

[uncouthhatcher]

I thought your planet was peaceful.

[...]

It's pretty damn wicked you can glow, by the way, but seriously, what the hell?

[iamthatsea]

It is peaceful, I never said nothing bad ever happened, did I?

[ It's also probably a story to warn kids away from the really deep places for meditation, but. Jury is out on if she even knows that. ]

[feistytrader]

[...That story seemed more sad than scary to him. Maybe that's the scary part about it.]

It was good. [...] I think the glowing is cool too.

[Well, he tried.]

[iamthatsea]

[ Monks are more about lessons than scares, unfortunately. ]

Thank you and thank you.

[acherontiastyx]

You know, I was kind of hoping to see something like this! Man, even if you're from a totally different planet from someone, they still have some really good legends.