New Island: Ai'tuoh

[lifeaftr_mods]

NEW ISLAND: AI'TUOH

The votes are in! Despite a rather thrilling tiebreaker, we let RNG decide the fate between the two top picks - and when caught between the promise of civilization and the promise of vegetation, it seems that civilization has won out. Our Locations page has been updated to reflect as such!

Transportation and Travel
The Storyteller can guarantee the presence of a mana pool, albeit on a small, offshore islet, slightly removed from the mainland of the island that's manifested on the horizon. those who elect to travel via mana pool, however, will receive something of a warning - a recommendation that, until the standpoint of the citizens is made clear, they do not reveal the location of the mana pool in question. While they need not fear the travel of the citizens via mana pool, that does not mean that this method of transportation cannot be hindered or blocked off.

In fact, the Storyteller may seem rather on edge to anyone who interacts with them in the days that follow. If pushed, they will impart that they suspect the people of this land do not worship or even particularly like the Storyteller. Despite this, they are certain to impart the name of this new land via dream.

AI'TUOH has now been added to the Locations page.

Starting March 10th, it will be available for travelers to access!

You might also notice that the map of the island does not adhere to our standard grid system. Since the land itself has been explored and charted by its residents, the search and exploration system will be a bit different this time around! You need not fear the same trials and tribulations you faced on Chol or Monsun! No fusterclucks, no quicksand, no cataclysmic thunderstorms, no ravenous beasts out to devour your insides...sounds great, right?

Well, there's a catch.

Rules are for Fools
Ai'tuoh is home to a sprawling city, built of smooth, sandy stone. Its architecture is simple, precise, and uniform, valuing utility above all else - function to the exclusion of form. But most striking of all is the stern warning emblazoned across the city's gates. It translates as follows:

May those who violate our law be cleansed in the Standing Water.

It's probably in your best interest not to set about trying to discover what this message means. How unfortunate that there’s a distinct lack of clarification regarding what, exactly, constitutes as a violation. The city may hardly go out of its way to display lists of its laws across the town, but the rules do, in fact, exist. Curious, stubborn, or simply lucky characters may find them in the library at the center of town, if one loosens up their definition of the word "library." Ai'tuoh's library is merely a building that contains little more than one book, copied in practically the same hand hundreds of times.

Our Unerring Law, author unknown, contains rules on all aspects of life on Ai'tuoh, from birth, to construction, to death. For ease, a condensed version of rules applicable to visiting characters can be found here, just in case you’d like to see how many laws your character has inadvertently violated.

Our Unerring Law

The growth of our city is the direct result of innumerable loss and unspeakable tragedy. Now, it rests upon the shoulders of each new generation to understand the suffering of our forefathers, the sacrifices made, and to continue adherence of the laws that have allowed our people the chance to rebuild our lives, awaiting the return of the True Word.

Violation of the law, great or small, is to be met with the same consequence. May all cleansed by the pure waters be remembered in absolute truth, their legacy untainted by falsehood. We continue with hopeful eyes cast behind us.

With the transcription this law, the author understands that they are in direct violation of our laws. Upon completion of the 500th copy of Our Unerring Laws, the author willfully accepts their fate in union with the Water.

i. The Standing Water, as a gift from the most Holy, is sacred beyond common mortal consumption, and thus are its derivatives also. Those who are seen handling, drinking, or carrying water without first performing the proper rituals are committing a desecration, and must be purged in the Water.

ii. Those with allegiance to deities unknown and undesirable are unwelcome, and must be purged in the Water.

iii. All forms of the written word that do not pertain to Our Unerring Law are the tool of deities most undesirable. Those that make use of it are unwelcome, and must be purged in the Water.

iv. Music is the tool through which stories are told. Those that participate in its use are agents of deities most undesirable, and must be purged in the Water.

v. Clothing and hair must fall within acceptable parameters of length and color. All items of dress must be brown, gray, cream, or white. Hair cannot deviate from shades of blonde, brunette, black, gray, or white. Those that employ alternate colorations are agents of deities most unholy, and must be purged in the Water.

vi. Pockets are tools of concealment and deceit. Those that use them are agents of deities most untrustworthy, and must be purged in the Water.

vii. Items of jewelry, with the exception of leather gloves and bracers for work purposes, does not adhere to our standards of dress. Those that wear them are agents of deities most vain, and must be purged in the Water.

viii. Perfumes and scents from oils or soaps do not adhere to our standards of cleanliness. Those that wear them are agents of deities most unclean, and must be purged in the Water.

vix. Callous displays of emotion from children are acceptable. None who have passed their tenth year are to express loud, intrusive, or ungainly noises. Those that laugh and cry freely are agents of deities most uncouth, and must be purged in the Water.

vx. Public displays of affection from children are acceptable. None who have passed their tenth year are to initiate undue contact in unnecessary fashion. Those who embrace, kiss, or share the warmth of hands freely are agents of deities most selfish, and must be purged in the Water.

vxi. Gathering among the streets is grounds for reprimand. Our streets must remain clear and our minds must remain clear. Those that travel among our city must not do so in groups larger than three individuals. Celebrations of unification or birth are not to be held in groups larger than five individuals. Those who gather unduly are agents of deities most conniving, and must be purged in the Water.

vxii. Appropriate permissions must be obtained before one may freely bear weapons. Those who carry tools of destruction are agents of deities most chaotic, and must be purged in the Water.

vxiii. Verbal, physical, or psychological assault is not permitted. Those that attack others freely are agents of deities most cruel, and must be purged in the Water.

viv. The taking of a life, be it sentient being or beast, without permission is anathema. Those that murder others freely are agents of deities most hateful, and must be purged in the Water.

vv. The purchase and sale of goods outside of the authorized market zone is unlawful. Haggling, bargaining, begging, and theft of items without payment is unlawful. Those who do not respect the art of purchase and sale are agents of deities most larcenous, and must be purged in the Water.

vvi. Destruction or defacement of public or private property without the permission of its owner(s) is not to be tolerated. Those who vandalize the property of others are agents of deities most destructive, and must be purged in the Water.

vvii. The use of chalk, paint, ink, and building materials for any purpose besides construction and repair of necessary materials is strictly prohibited. Those that seek to deface our city are agents of deities most calamitous, and must be purged in the Water.

vviii. The introduction of inedible goods not native to our city, with the exception of building and industrial goods introduced with the appropriate permissions, is in direct violation of our law. The introduction of live animals not native to our city is in direct violation of our law. Those who seek to contaminate our stores with their own refuse are agents of deities most wasteful, and must be purged in the Water.

We live and die free of the draperies of our fiction.

So it is, so it was, and so shall it ever be.

Ignorance Is Not A Valid Excuse
The people of Ai'tuoh live rigorously structured lives, reflected everywhere explorers turn. The city itself, as mentioned, is clargely omposed of square and rectangular buildings with very few distinctive features. Everything is comprised of the same gray and white clay, replicating every stringent detail down to exact heights and widths. This might allow some the impression of an incomplete drawing; all the basic outlines are there, but without any finger aspects denoting individual taste and flair. The people bustling over eerily symmetrical roads are garbed in robes of muted coloring. The length of tunics, dresses, even haircuts - all express the same rigid conformity as the city itself, making Ai'tuoh's citizens difficult to single out. Everything about them express a restrained, subdued air: they do not speak unless directly addressed, they do not congregate to talk and socialize, and, the longer travelers stay, the more they might realize the lack of sounds that they may have come to take for granted, like a shout or a burst of laughter. Everything is uniform. Nothing is unexpected. Perhaps unsurprisingly, characters with distinctive hairstyles or vividly colored clothing will find themselves being given a wide berth - and the longer they roam, the more danger they'll be in.

From the citizens, that is.

Next Up On Ai'tuoh's Most Wanted
Ai'tuoh's militia are difficult to discern from the common folk. In fact, it's awfully hard to tell who they are until they're grasping your arm and injecting a very heavy dose of sedative into your bloodstream, or whatever you possess that passes for one. Unfortunately for those with exceptional immune systems, resistances, or predominantly inorganic parts, the sedative will work just as easily on you as it does on your companions, leaving your limp body to be dragged away abruptly and quietly.

For those who are accused of violating the law, the default ruling on all violations is really quite simple:guilty. Innocence is not an option. Stripped of any equipment on their person, the accused are kept in highly secure holding cells, awaiting, according to their guards, purification via the Standing Water...whatever that means.

As always, we'll have a thread for questions and comments, and we encourage you to make use of our Mod Contact page for private correspondence!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS

[lifeaftr_mods]

[scourgingstars]

i mean you know i had to ask

Does the loss of equipment only entail what's on one's person, or is there also some form of anti-magic at work?

For example: black magic, the Armiger, and the giant heckoff sword potentially contained within.

[lifeaftr_mods]

The holding cells involve a nullification field, yes. It's not clear what it's comprised of, but it seems to be capable of suppressing and muddling concentration. Trying to access powers that might help in escape will result in a powerful surge of vertigo instead. If too many successive attempts are made, the affected may even pass out for a few hours!

[alittleditty]

How feasible would moving around this city more covertly be?

[want_to_belong]

Tataru, pretend you're an 8 year old child!!

[crosslaced]

What is the city's opinion on black clothes? It's a dull color.

Also, will someone with light or blonde hair stand out or attract suspicion, even if the hair colour is technically within the law?

[shatteredlenses]

A couple small questions:

Where do glasses and sunglasses fall when it comes to the rules?

If someone asks about a character wearing gloves, how detailed are they going to get to define if they are work gloves? I have a feeling if Iggy says these are 'driving gloves' they are going to have no idea what 'driving' is despite that making them work gloves and technically allowable under the rules.

[sorewatopsecret]

Would silver hair count as white hair, or would it cause alarm?

[catpiper]

Assuming a character is nabbed within the first day or two, how long could someone potentially be jailed for?

[unpurify]

For the rule about weapons, what will count as one to ping the rule violations? I know something like a sword probably would but what about things that could be used as weapons like a baseball bat? And if it's IC for the character to play along with the rules, how would they go about getting permission to carry a weapon?

[ishotyouuu]

Regarding the rules about hair-- what if a character has no hair to speak of? Where would baldness fall in the spectrum?

[thermalwind]

How successful could someone be if they scouted the outside of the city in the dark? Possibly slip inside and observe too during the same hours.

[suspecteverything]

What are the chances of being able to break someone out of prison?

[finethanks]

This is maybe a silly question, but... Eichi's weak body will probably take that strong sedative incredibly hard, but I'd rather not have him sleep through everything, so is it possible for him to wake up along with the others and just have other weird drugged-up-on-sedatives side effects to worry about? Or anything else you guys can suggest!

[shineinside]

Would the magic nullification field disable Yuka's transformation and force her back to her original appearance while she's in it?

[prettypurpleparlor]

I meant to ask earlier: when it comes to plants and other food that can be traded for, does Ai'tuoh have any plants that aren't found on the other islands? That is, could we buy some kinds of plants there that haven't been discovered on Enso or Monsun yet.

[crosslaced]

If a person with military expertise were to eyeball the militia barracks, how many militia members does it look like the building can house?

Also, again from a distance examination how strong do their defences look?

i'm sorry

[hellawrath]

ALRIGHT SO here's what we're thinking for the disaster twins and we request the modly blessing and input for these shenanigans. Once the dock npc has warned them a bit, they'll definitely be keenly perceptive of what all makes them stand out and fix that - take off jewelry, tie up their hair, get their emotions under control etc. Clothes will be a problem but they'll just have to sneak around less populated areas until they get to the marketplace and Taako can use Invisibility to steal some clothes for them. Lup is also very good at making distractions for that, like setting another trader's booth on fire.

If that goes well, they'll just spend the week uh, stealing everything. It's mostly spite stealing, since Ai'tuoh doesn't seem to have any legitimately cool shit? But they will focus on food and plants that aren't available on Enso, some clothes that they can later dye and make fancier - skirts, belts, shoes. Cooking implements are of course up there on the list, nice iron cast skillets, cheese graters, whatever. Lup will grab some small weapons if she can. Obviously it'll have to be stuff that can fit in their backpacks.

They'll rely heavily on Invisibility for this, plus distractions like Lup's Major Image spell, Prestidigitation, setting shit on fire. If they get stopped in the warehouse or something they'll talk their way out of it. They've been doing this for their entire childhood and youth. At some point they'll also team up with Ammy? It's terrible. I can see how they might not be able to do it for the whole week before somebody catches on that there's always these two tall figures in the vicinity when shit goes missing or up in flames, though they'll probably at least try to keep their faces down and hide their ears in hoods.

MODLY THOUGHTS? Also, assuming this checks out, do you want to give us a list of exactly what they've looted at the end of this escapade or do we just make some shit up?

yeah i have one

[ohshitsweetflips]

is the Standing Water....water? Like, for Shape Water purposes?

TRADE POST

[lifeaftr_mods]

Character: Character name and journal
Offering: What are they willing to trade? Bear in mind Ai'tuoh's citizens won't necessarily accept what is offered, depending on what it is!
Looking for: What are they trying to obtain? Be warned that anything that conflicts with Ai'tuoh's laws will be likely to net them either a reprimand or, worse, a trip to a holding cell.

<b>Character:</b> Character name and journal <b>Offering:</b> What are they willing to trade? Bear in mind Ai'tuoh's citizens won't necessarily accept what is offered, depending on what it is! <b>Looking for:</b> What are they trying to obtain? Be warned that anything that conflicts with Ai'tuoh's laws will be likely to net them either a reprimand or, worse, a trip to a holding cell.

[want_to_belong]

Character: Prompto (want_to_belong
Offering: A lovely bunch of coconuts. And other random plant goods he's picked up, as well as possibly things like seaweed.
Looking for: Clean underwear.
Girls hate a man in old used up underwear.

[suspecteverything]

Character: Jules Samari suspecteverything
Offering: The pack of hardtack he got upon arrival. He's also probably willing to give up the Devilshrooms he earned. If there's something specific they want that he could potentially find, he's willing to do that too.
Looking for: A canteen and, if possible, some water tight storage jars.

[crosslaced]

Character: Laurent, crosslaced
Offering: Fruits & berries, Pterax meat. A couple of those chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms? He'll sneakily offer furs or leather, but very covertly and only if individual merchants show interest.
Looking for: Waterskins/something to transport water around. He also wants cloth. And some basic furniture (like shelving/storage boxes), but I doubt he can get that much money from trading so nevermind….

[souldeterminant]

Character: Frisk (souldeterminant)
Offering: Up to twenty feet of their 32ft coil of rope, and a single bandage roll.
Looking for: A dull and nondescript beige coat in their size, knee-length, preferably with a hood and collar they can pull up.

[prettypurpleparlor]

Character: Muffet, at prettypurpleparlor
Offering: Blackberries, mint, chinese cabbage, and many other kinds of edible plants from her garden.
Looking for: Upon reviewing the list, Muffet will be attempting to purchase plants she has not yet encountered on Enso, specifically corn, rice, flax, and aloe, as well as a small knife suitable for carving- obtained along with the proper permission, of course.