voice + text

[theferryman]

[You feel it before you hear it: an uncanny sensation like you aren't alone, like someone just out of sight has fixed their attention on you.

They're not hiding, though. The Ferryman is simply speaking, directly into all of your minds, as clear as if they were standing right beside you.]

It's starting.

Sorry. Was hoping you'd all have more time to rest before we got going. But when it's time, it's time.

We're going to Cross. Not now, but soon. You'll feel it when the moment gets here. And you need to be ready for what that means, when it does.

It's a dangerous journey. There's still a lot of yourself left to lose, even if it doesn't feel like it now. That's my role here. I can guide you through it. Keep you safe.

There's a cost. You'll have to give something up, a part of your life Before. A face. A feeling. A memory. That's your toll to Cross. You pay it to me, and you won't get it back.

You don't have to pay. But if you're not with me, I can't keep you safe. You'll have to make The Crossing on your own. And if you do, there's a chance you lose a whole lot more than what the toll is asking from you.

There's some time left still. You don't need to decide now. But you do need to decide. You'll find out soon what sort of toll The Crossing is asking for, this time around.

Come find me if you want to talk. I'll be where I always am.

[The connection is tenuous; message delivered, The Ferryman's voice fades from your mind. If you're quick, and you concentrate, you might be able to grab on long enough to ask a question or two more.

Otherwise, all that remains is the object that purports to connect you with the other souls, all tasked with making the same decision. Whether it's a page or a screen, there's a new message for you:]

A toll to be levied for safe passage
from the cavern to ǝɹǝɥʍǝsʅǝ

Hear a voice that causes you pain
words spoken with rage or grief or envy
fueled by hate or love or suffering

offer it to The Ferryman
and let go

---

[ ooc | And we're off! Remember: The Ferryman is (for now!) the only one who can communicate to everyone via voice; the rest of you are stuck with text! The only exception is if characters try to hijack the fading connection to talk with The Ferryman one-on-one; there's a header for those questions here.

Otherwise, consider this a mingle! Chat, threadhop, go nuts. ]

Comments

[theferryman]

I don't know yet. We'll Cross as many times as we need. It might be different for some of you than it is for others.

[Acknowledging:]

It's hard for you. That's why you're here.

[witnessvelama]

You mean that we are the reason we linger?

[Not a diplomatic way to put it, but Celehar isn't feeling diplomatic about this - more a touch raw, and uncomfortably seen.]

[theferryman]

You're attached. You valued your lives Before. The experiences you had. The people in them.

There's no shame in that. But it makes your journey here more painful, sometimes. You need a guide more than others, sometimes.

[witnessvelama]

... I understand.

[He still feels some guilt for it, though.]

What is it you will be guiding us past? The danger that leads to greater loss.

[theferryman]

[The Ferryman's presence is typically very still. Here, there is a ripple of something like grief.]

Your soul will be exposed. My job is to protect you from anything that would harm it. No matter what that is. [... But, what he's actually asking:] The wraiths are in pain. They hurt worse during The Crossing. They'll try to take from you without understanding what they want.

[witnessvelama]

Like ghouls, then. Left with lingering desires that cannot be fulfilled. What has left them this way?

[theferryman]

There isn't one cause. They've been here a long time. Pain builds.

[a beat, and then,]

But it starts with a soul. They're fragile. And during The Crossing, they're vulnerable.

[witnessvelama]

That hurts. That's - it hurts in the part of him that kept himself going, after Evru's death, the part that still reaches - reached - out to touch the dead, in spite of the pain and the nightmares. Celehar has never been able to Witness for everyone, but so often he's still called to try.]

You mean to say that they began the way we did.

[theferryman]

Yes.

[Another pause. They might be composing themselves, because their presence recedes again to stillness.]

Whatever choice you make, it's yours. But the risks are real. That's all.