thecrossing | voice + text

[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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The breath Sunny let out then was a relieved exhale; the tension in his body seeming to dissolve with it. The teen nods, a few small motions, in understanding.

He wouldn’t be forced to do anything.

And yet… Sunny still made no move to head further into the shrine. To offer… something. For he felt like he had nothing.]

[Again the silence stretches - eventually Celehar retrieves his notebook and begins to read through the notations that others have made in it, occasionally frowning or adding a note of his own. He leaves Sunny to mull over things for a few minutes, and when he looks up again, he makes a very compelling picture of someone who has not been paying overmuch attention to the one next to him.

One versed in elvin body language might have noted the set of his ears but, well. It's hardly listening if there hasn't been much to listen to.

When he does look to Sunny, it's with a nod and an expression that is, if not quite a smile, then certainly welcoming.]

You are welcome to keep me company here. I admit to some experience of the quality of silence changing, when it is shared with another - it makes the time more pleasant.

[It was comforting - how much Celehar’s own silence felt like the kind Sunny himself was attuned to. Except there was a distinct lack of nervousness in the other’s, an open honesty that had the teen wishing his own could be more like that.

Celehar’s offer had his eye widening in surprise. He… was allowed to stay? Even though he didn’t talk much, even though he clearly wasn’t ready to offer something?

He blinked, waiting a few moments, as if wondering if the offer would be rescinded… except it wasn’t.

He could stay. Something the Ferryman had told him rang through his head - that the others here would be glad to help.

That’s… what this felt like then?

Sunny nodded, his posture a bit more at ease, his heart somewhat glad. Even if he might someday be pushed away if Celehar learned the truth about him… for now, he wanted to stay.

The teen contented himself with sitting near the elf, notebook out and drawing. The shrine slowly took place amid his sketches: a memoriam, and a way to find this place again. Just in case.]

[If he was asked, Celehar might say something about the kindness of strangers, and the gift of peace - he was given it once, lately, by taking pilgrimage and walking the corn husks of a maze, then being invited to share a simple meal. He is not so adept at contemplation or at offering ease to one's thoughts as the devotees of Orshan, but if he might offer it to another where it has been offered to him in turn...

It is as he said - the silence takes on a different quality when shared.

And so, Sunny is given a chance to sit and draw, for as long as he likes - at some point Celehar might rise with a quiet explanation of an appointment that draws him away, and an offer for Sunny to remain for as long as he should desire. A quiet nod, a thanks for the company, and an offer for it again, if Sunny should find his wanderings bringing him by again.]

voice + text

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Wanting to wrap with yours? TY for continuing to this point ^^

sure thing! and ty