2021 VOK/HW Event-- Night Adventures

[MySpoons]

Welcome to the 2021 VOK/HW Summer/Autumn event!

September 1st - September 15th


See the main event thread for more information.

You're not quite sure how you ended up here. Were you daydreaming, did you get lost? Did the rhythmic crashing of the waves draw you in, or did the clouds turn into images before your tired eyes?

No matter, the soft darkness seems to say. This place is yours, your choices are your own. Despite the lack of light and the scrape of rocks on your paw pads, the space you cannot describe feels... friendly, and curious. Is that the whistle of the wind above your head, or the rolling waves?



Begin your path, hero.

- each prompt will have three tiers to it to reward different levels of effort
- you can only complete 1 per cycle, each cycle is two days
- ideally, use your hero but you can use anyone else
- if you want to do an old prompt for feathers, you can claim it under the basic use prompt on the feather claim thread
- your choices will matter in the end, but all efforts will be rewarded

THE TRIAL, PART TWO

Whether you rise up to the surface or sink into the darkness, you end up in the same place: the quiet expanse of the empty night sky. Only the stars and the moon are there to keep you company. It's terrifying, overwhelming, and peaceful all at once. You feel like a speck of dust in the wind, insignificant-- until you look down and see the titan below you, hardly more than a dot. This high up, it feels silly to see the titan and worry about it. It is so far away...

But you know your friends, family, allies are down there. The two cities are fighting for survival against an ancient threat. You might be able to do something, something impactful.

DIVE | PLAN | HOPE

It's your turn.

Code: Select all

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Pride/group link:[/b]
[b]The TRIAL:[/b] please be sure to include your choice underneath any artwork/make your choice clear to me

1 Ancient Coins: 100 words or 1 bust sketch
2 Ancient Coins: 200 words or 1 fullbody sketch
3 Ancient Coins: 300 words or 1 flatcolor fullbody

[MySpoons]

THE FIRST CYCLE

Before you, mist forms a silhouette at eye level. Eerily similar to your own appearance. As you watch, the mist separates and reforms into three sections. A skull, a set of four paws prints, and a heart.

The darkness urges you to choose. Which one for you? Heart, Body, Mind? Why is one calling to you more than the others?

THE SECOND CYCLE

The shadows seem to flicker and dance when you choose your first answer. Three more symbols appear before you, this time blacker than the darkness that surrounds you. Somehow, you can see them easily despite the amorphous space of midnight.

🜁 🜃 🜄
air | earth | water

Which one matches your first answer? Why?

Even if you ask more questions, the shadows do not respond.

THE THIRD CYCLE

Two decisions made, six symbols. Only the best things happen in threes-- or maybe there is a special rule about thirds. Whether you deem it to be a coincidence or a curse, the shadows present a third choice. With some finality to it, even. You cannot describe how you know what your options are, but they exist, held somewhere between your eyes and the back of your mind.

WISDOM | STRENGTH | CHARISMA

Is it supposed to be what you tend to lean on, or maybe an aspiration? Or maybe it is something else entirely... a pattern of sorts, that maybe you haven't determined yet.

The darkness vibrates and dances with some sort of energy. It isn't quite magical, if you are familiar with that sort of thing. Maybe the right for it is... anticipation...

THE INTERLUDE

REFLECT

THE TRIAL, PART ONE

BEGIN

That word fills your mind and your ears, loud and clear. Before you can react much, though, the sound fades. And with it, the darkness. You stand in a large cave-- well, not quite. There is a deep circle of water in the center, its darkness hinting at its great depths. The sand below your feet is hard-packed and oddly flat. Good for moving quickly or staying quiet. The natural stone walls are like a cave, yes, except above you the ceiling is open to the cloudless, stary night sky. The half moon hovers perfectly in the center.

Watch really catches your attention is a dark path around the small lagoon. It seems to grow darker and lighter following a specific point that moves around the circle again and again. In the air above where the darkest changes, it is hazy. The sight of it raises the hair on the back of your neck even though you have no idea what it could be.

It is between you and the lagoon. The depths call to you, insistent.

CONFRONT | SNEAK | TRICK

What will you do?

THE TRIAL, PART TWO

When the shadow hits the water after you, it transforms. Large and sleek, and suddenly not as ethereal as a shimmer in the air. No, it looks like a sea creature-- a huge one. You have no idea what it could be. Whatever it was prior to this was hostile... but you don't know what this thing will do now. It blocks out the moonlight, casting a long shadow into the deep water. The water that urged you to submerge is not as insistent, as if waiting for you to make a decision.

RISE | AVOID | DESCEND

It is your move.

[DinoSaga]

Username: APrehistoricSoul
Pride/group link: The Cats of Avriwyth
First Cycle:
[ 346 / 300 ]

Elska’s mind was almost as foggy as the world around her as she blinked groggily. She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes, as she had every morning since starting her training with Razha, but this time it didn’t make a difference. The fog stayed. She suddenly realized that she couldn’t quite tell where she was. Looking up, she could only hear what sounded like waves crashing overhead, a sound that she felt strangely comforted by, nostalgic for the time she spent in the sea kingdom.

There was a pull towards this place, from somewhere inside her. It seemed curious, and she got the feeling that she had nothing to fear here. This did little to dissuade the terror that was slowly growing in her stomach. Was this one of Razha’s tests? What was she to do now?

Before her, she saw a figure approaching. Was it approaching, however, or simply solidifying, creating its own existence from nothing, similar to how she was changing with every new lesson she learned during her stay in the land kingdom? As she made this connection, the fog separated and swirled into three separate masses, which slowly formed figures before her very eyes.

A skull, a set of pawprints, and a heart floated in front of her, and it was clear that Elska was expected to make a choice. She moved a paw towards each one, and they hummed with energy, pulling her towards them like magnets to metal. The sea crashed around her, above her head and far below her paws at the same time. The skull clattered a greeting, the paws drummed away, but the heart only hummed softly, a tune she had heard in the depths when she was young.

Elska grasped the heart, eager to feel the safety she had felt when wrapped in rooted kelp among the choir of whales singing their love songs.

[Tiger♥Bear]

Username: Tiger♥Bear
Pride/group link: Pekee Pamoja
First Cycle:
Before you, mist forms a silhouette at eye level. Eerily similar to your own appearance.
As you watch, the mist separates and reforms into three sections. A skull, a set of four paws prints, and a heart.
The darkness urges you to choose. Which one for you? Heart, Body, Mind? Why is one calling to you more than the others?

Kailani blinked blearily. Where am I? What's going on? It seemed hazy here. Was it always like this? Did she simply forget? No. This was something...different. Something was calling out to her. A misty figure forms before her. Or perhaps...she was looking into a mirror? This foggy silhouette bore the same appearance as herself. Surely this must be a dream.. Yet she watched entranced as this misty clone separated and reshaped into three forms. To her left was the shape of a skull. Straight ahead were four paw prints hovering above the ground. The right held a soft beating heart. A gentle pressure made her feel the need to choose one of the three paths laid out before her. As she took them in, the paws started to fade. The draw from them wasn't as strong as the heart or the skull. What does this mean? Looking between the two options- left then right- she contemplated which she should pick. She found her paws moving toward the heart. After the third step she stopped, hesitant. This... isn't right. Glancing to her left, she saw the skull bobbing slowly. It was almost...pulsing now as she stared. With more confidence, she changed direction and approached the skull. With her decision made, the heart also faded leaving only the skull before her. It grew brighter and larger, Kailani completely enraptured by the image. This felt right. Her mind whirled with what all this meant, what this even was. Was this simply a dream? Was it a vision? Her curiosity to learn more consumed her. Perhaps that was why the skull had seemed to draw her in so. Her thirst for knowledge heavily outweighed her passion for learning. Working her mind and ever expanding her wisdom of everything around her. She turned to look at where the paw prints and the heart once were. Part of her wondered what would have happened if she had picked another. Would she even have been able to with the pull she felt standing beside the skull?

{339 Words :: 3 Ancient Coins}

[Moonlight heavens]

Username:
Pride/group link:Pride of the sacred Sands
First Cycle:

Before you, mist forms a silhouette at eye level. Eerily similar to your own appearance.
As you watch, the mist separates and reforms into three sections. A skull, a set of four paws prints, and a heart.
The darkness urges you to choose. Which one for you? Heart, Body, Mind? Why is one calling to you more than the others?

Khalfani stepped back in fear, his heart pounded greatly as the darkness threatened to overwhelm him. His paws and mind begged him to turn around and run. Yet...something about this darkness was pulling him in? What was this dark and mysterious silhouette? Why was it so similar to him? He turned around to run away but for some odd reason he chose to stay. Eyes studying the mist as it began to shift. Three objects appeared before him, a skull, a set of four pawprints and a heart. When he looked at each carefully, he felt something within himself urge him to chose. Strideing closer he stopped near the skull. And with great precision and gentleness he slowly reached towards it. His movements careful as if he may damage it. But before he can even lay a claw upon it, he stopped completely. The object did not really appeal to him. When looking at it more clearly he felt an awful wave of dread and fear wash over him.

Being this close to the skull now, he knew this wasn't ment for him. Now looking at the second option a heart? He stepped back to make his way towards the heart but to his suprise the skull evaporated into a cloud of dark mist. Shakeing his head...now with a painful headache he turned to look at the heart. It felt warm...loveing like that of a mother with her cubs. It felt like a burning passion. He reached for the heart but was overcome with so mutch emotions he had to pull back. Finding his body shaking uncontrollably. No this was not what he wanted to chose.

Just like the skull it disappeared as he looked at his last option... a set of four paws prints, this time his mind and body compelled him to chose it. When he did he was overcome with a surge of adventure and curiosity into the unknown. Yes, this was what he wanted to chose.

(329 Words)

[MySpoons]

Username: MySpoons
Pride/group link: The New Guard
First Cycle:

BODY

[Goddess Sword]

Username: Goddess Sword
Pride/group link: The Wards
First Cycle: Hosted here (604 words, Skull/Mind)

[bakuraas.]

Username: bakuraas.
Pride/group link: [ the god's curse ]
First Cycle: [305/300]

Magma was shaking his head, to try and seemingly get the non-sentient mist around him to disperse just a small bit- little did Magma know that wasn't how mist worked in the slightest and he was just getting his fur and mane all frizzy from humidity. However, he couldn't help but try to physically banish the thing that was seemingly ruining his eyesight. The place around him was calm and inviting, seemingly a place to truly look inside yourself and see where your priorities and passions lie, but Magma wasn't a calm individual, or a very introspective one, so he didn't appreciate it much.

Eventually he wandered over to the silhouetted mist, being unable to stop himself from turning his head a small bit out of curiosity. Just as soon as he thought about talking to the mist, it dispersed into three sections. To be honest, Magma had a moment where he remembered someone saying that they wished to break apart into tiny pieces instead of talking to him, and he just supposed that since this Mist, whatever it was, was a supernatural entity, they really could do that. Either way, the male looked down at the symbols that had been left behind.

Being the paws-on individual that he was, he had the urge to touch all of the symbols, but his brain somehow got the better of him for once, and he thought that he might have to properly think for a moment before pressing his paws down. He mulled over the symbols, mind chugging as he looked between them and wondered to himself what felt more like him. He didn't have to think long, thankfully, already having a sort of passion and love for life and others that made the Heart Symbol not only the most interesting choice, but the most obvious choice.

[Frisco]

Username: Frisco
Pride/group link: Night Watch
First Cycle: Body (319 words)

He steps into the mist forming paw prints. Calmly, confidently, curious of what awaits him further. He feels no fear from the darkness or the noises coming from around. He knows what he wants and he’s here to take it.

The mind is the most powerful. It controls the body and with enough effort can even override what the heart feels. It’s the thoughts and opinions that make us the person we are.

The heart is something that guides us through life and often affects the choices that the mind makes. What we feel helps us form relationships and gives us purpose in life.

However, without the body they both would be useless. Just abstract concepts floating in the abyss having nothing to control with all the power they have. It’s thanks to the body that all the thoughts and feelings can take shape and be executed. The body is the root and the basic of all being, no less important than the other two.

A healthy mind exists thanks to a healthy body and Savil knows everything about keeping his in tip-top shape. He trains every day to build his muscles and to improve his strength, endurance and agility. He eats healthy foods and provides them for his many companions and relaxes to calm the stressful mind.

He smirks once his paws are on top of the fog prints. Was a little bit of mist in the darkness supposed to scare him or make him turn away? No chance, this place was calling out to him. He was used to voices in his head and usually ignored them, but decided to humour this one. It seemed like it would be worth his time and might actually be some fun, especially if any challenges appear, hopefully ones including combat. He stretched his claws digging into the sand. Whatever this place was going to bring, he was ready for it.

[Midnightkitkat]

Username: Midnightkitkat
Pride/group link: Oasis Basin
First Cycle: Heart

Everest was unsure as where he was, the darkness that surrounded him thick and only added to his confusion. Although he was indeed lost on his location there was something about this place that soothed his soul. The wary bones that ached to flee coddled in an invisible embrace that seemed to say, "you are safe here." As time passed, or did not as it was impossible to tell, Everest's attention was drawn to the mist before him. Watching with interest as it formed three symbols, an echo of a call urging him down one of the three paths ahead.

The path of body was what he had focused on at first. The training and sore muscles of long ago battles burned at its appearance. The voice of his father urging him forward, to take the path before him as was obviously the one of the battle worn warrior. He would need to be strong in order to be a hero. Yet his paws remained frozen to the spot. The haunting echos screaming body drowned out by another wave. The mind path would be beneficial for strategic advantage, why be the strongest when you could outthink your opponent? With proper planning one would never need to rely on muscle alone. As these two halves battled within Everest he felt torn. How could he choose when he didn't even know the question. These theories could all be for nothing if this isn't even what they mean. Was this a vision from the gods? If so why must they be so confusing! Head low the hyena pawed at his face, in an attempt to quit his mind, stopping when a honeyed memory entered his mind. The thought of the lone lioness and her cubs that he had met earlier. Reminding him so strongly of his mother. Not noticing the silence that now surround him he ran towards the only option he truly cared for. The path taken from him over an over again, no longer. He chose to follow the heart.
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