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[umbralant]

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Good morning.

Or perhaps it might be more appropriate to say good evening instead, considering how it is moonlight that will rouse you into consciousness. And what a bright moon it is, half-full and clear without contest in the sky as it outshines the stars and galaxies in the backdrop. But it’s all the better to emphasize that the buildings that speckle the landscape before you are all completely devoid of any light. And by the way—do you always sleep outside?

The lack of light can be something to deal with later though, at least when you've properly gotten up from the cold, unyielding stone below you. And that chill down your spine—no doubt that probably has something to do with combination of cool temperatures and poor sleeping conditions, but it’s odd how it seems to linger.

Checking your person for any items that should be in your possession yields disappointing results, but it seems you're not empty handed (or pocketed) because you are now the proud owner of one (1) small bundle of black cloth. Unwrapping it reveals a key imprinted with a roman numeral, along with a simple note.

“Come at 6PM to the place circled on this map:”

“Don’t be tardy, dear Survivors, that’d be a bad first impression. If you don’t want your stay here to be more unpleasant than it’ll already be, you’ll want to avoid seeming careless or disrespectful. You’ll want to listen to my opening speech~!”

Finally, after an empty space that may be simulating an intense pause, there’s one last line:

“I know what you’re thinking, so I’ll say it straight: if you don’t come, you’re as good as dead.”

The news likely isn't welcome, but it's a start. And it seems you're not alone in your plight, though whether company is within arm's length or a stone’s throw away is up to fortune’s whims. For now, you're free to explore the town square and the surrounding areas as best you can in the dim light.

For some reason or another, Krakow, Poland is now your new home. That much is clear from the sign posts that you can inexplicably read, as red and white flag posts with "Święto Niepodległości" flutter lightly in the wind. While the storefronts are dark, the street lamps that scatter the town provide some measure of light, providing some solace against the layer of fog that's begun to creep in.

( OOC: Welcome to Antumbra! This intro log occurs ICly Sunday. Your MM's will be around at 6pm EST to hear your complaints. )

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[baitless]

[Seteth pulls himself up off the hard ground and surveys his environs; his initial thought upon waking up on cold stone was that he had somehow been captured and thrown in a dungeon upon discovery, but... surely he would remember the army being intercepted in that manner?

Of course, after opening his eyes and looking at his surroundings, that assumption is discarded for... a general feeling of confusion, given that he is in some unfamiliar city and surrounded by, well, mostly strangers.]

What on earth...

[He reads the note with a furrowed brow, then scans the other... survivors, looking for someone specific who doesn’t actually seem to be present. He is... uncertain of whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Well, he may as well address those present to see what they know.]

...I presume the rest of you are as confused about as I am, then? Is anyone familiar with our surroundings?

[Presumably they’ll get answers at the opera house... well, he hopes so, anyway. He really can’t make sense of this situation as it is... though, he supposes he might be able to find more answers through exploration. Maybe there will be residents other than themselves? Maybe?

...given his affiliation, after a bit of poking around elsewhere, he finds himself drawn to the church, which is a trip and a half, really. The iconography and art style is all familiar, but the figures depicted really aren’t. It’s, uh, kind of unnerving? Especially when he picks up what he presumes to be a holy book and can read it, despite it being in a completely unfamiliar language. He’ll just... see what he can figure out from the gosh darned Bible or something. He’s kind of distracted by how goddamn weird this all is, so you can find him sitting in a pew there and reading until shortly before it’s time to meet up at the opera house.]

[youspinmeknightround]

[There is one fancy teenager near him, his bedhead mixed with gravel suggesting a similar fate. He's looking at one of the flags with confusion.]

"Independence day"... [Why can he read that?? Having already read his note, he's a bit stiff. But he should respond to this person.]

I'm not actually familiar, but I know what this says. Not sure why... did we cover this area in school? It looks like it's part of Europia, but that's all I have.

[With that musing out of the way, he turns toward Seteth.]

Did you get a note too? One that calls you a Survivor.

[baitless]

[...honestly, the particular brand of fanciness actually seems not too unfamiliar to Seteth, so he’s not put too off guard by the young man’s looks. He’s not too different from your average noble student at the Academy, anyway.

He follows the line of Suzaku’s sight and... yeah, what the hell, why can he read that?]

...yes, I did receive the note. Though... what you’ve said raises more questions to me, actually. I can read the words on the flag as well, though it is in a language I do not recognize at all. I am also unfamiliar with this... Europia. The world outside of Fódlan is large, though, so perhaps news of it simply has not reached us.

[He kind of muses on that for a second...]

Perhaps we shall receive answers whenever we visit the opera house, though I do not trust this situation at all.

[youspinmeknightround]

I've never heard of Fódlan either... though I can't claim the same amount of mystery for our planet.

[His explanation would make sense if it's some kind of closed-off city, but anything bigger than that would challenge what they're supposed to know about geography.]

Neither do I. I'd rather discern what's supposed to kill us in this six hour timeframe before I cooperate with whoever's waiting for us there. Gathering us all together... I just have a bad feeling about it.

[baitless]

How... curious. And worrying. Fódlan is not an obscure land by any means, even though our contact with other nations is somewhat limited.

[how absolutely fucking weird!!]

...and yes, I agree. However, if we cannot discern it ahead of time... I suppose it is better to walk into an obvious trap while we can keep up our guard instead of dealing with a threat we have no knowledge of whatsoever.

[He crosses his arms thoughtfully.]

I would feel more confident about our chances if I was armed, but no matter. Do you have any training in combat?

[galrarm]

Pretty much.

[ Regarding the confusion, anyway. Shiro runs his hand through his hair. ]

I'm not familiar with our surroundings, no. It doesn't look like any planet I've ever been on, or any place on Earth I've ever been to.

[baitless]

There are some things that look not terribly unfamiliar in terms of architecture, but...

[wait h... hang on.]

...planet? What do you mean by that?

[galrarm]

[ .... well that's an unexpected question!! ]

A planet. Think of it as... another world, sort of.

[baitless]

...this is making things even more complicated. If this is a different world, how would we even return home?

take me to church

[psychophant]

[Hmm, well this place doesn't seem to have anything particularly useful. Iago's obviously not a religious man and doesn't particularly care about whatever religious nonsense all of this is, so after poking around the place, he's definitely content to ditch and never look back.

At least until he notices Seteth reading the Bible which is such a wild sentence to type.]

Find anything particularly interesting?

[is it at least entertaining religious nonsense...]

[baitless]

...I am uncertain if “interesting” is the word for it, particularly for a layperson.

[...particularly to the most Dark Bishop looking motherfucker this side of Hubert von Vestra, Seiros help him...]

It is simply... bothering me. Everything in this church is familiar, but the actual details are all wrong.

[he shakes his head.]

Well, I suppose I will read more later. For whatever reason they keep including genealogies and that certainly won’t give me the answers I seek.

[psychophant]

I would assume it's differences between this place and the one you come from. It is interesting that your religions are close enough to have some similarities, however.

[Definitely weird... But today has been nothing but weird things, so whatever.]

Well, it's getting close enough to head over for that meeting. Are you going to stay here?

[baitless]

That is likely enough, yes. Different religions exist in my world, so it is not as though I am unfamiliar with the idea, but they tend to be more distinct from the Church of Seiros than this.

[He stands up, taking the Bible under his arm to review later.. and winces a bit.]

Well, I suppose I owe you for notifying me. I will admit, I got distracted and lost track of time... I wanted to see if I could find whatever would supposedly kill us if we didn’t make it to the meeting.

CHURCH

[notbymyside]

[Ango honestly isn't a religious person, and he's only in the church to look for either clues or people. Since he's found Seteth, that means he's succeeded in one of those goals.]

...something wrong?

[A religious person might be drawn to a church to pray, and if that were happening here then Ango would have left them alone. But it looks more like Seteth is gathering information rather than praying, so.]

[baitless]

...

I find myself having difficulty describing it, even to myself.

[Seteth looks around the church, scanning the statues and paintings...]

The setting is familiar, but all the faces are different.

[who the hell is this bearded old man, where is the goddess!!!]

[notbymyside]

Well, this appears to be some branch of Christianity, if that helps? I am not a practitioner myself, but I know the basics: monotheistic, ceremonies performed on Sundays, with a cross as a holy symbol.

[ortion]

[Dist shakes his head, still trying to get every bit of dirt and dust off of his fancy suit.]

The architecture is somewhat familiar, but the language isn't in the slightest. I...am still not quite sure how I can read it.

[It's a little disorienting, truth be told.

He finally glances at Seteth, giving him a once-over. Huh. He looks like he could fit right in with the Order.]

I take it you are similarly clueless?

[baitless]

That is my experience as well. Nothing really fits together correctly... or perhaps it does, but it reads all wrong to me.

[...what’s even stranger, though...]

It would perhaps feel less unnerving if there were any other people around. Surely someone should have noticed our group by now.

[ortion]

[Now that Seteth mentions it, Dist turns to look into the foggy distance. It's dead quiet aside from the chatter of their group.]

That is odd... Is it possible that we are in an abandoned town?

[There are the gas lamps, but it's possible they were lit by their captors, right...?],/small>

church ahoy

[p_q]

[There's the clacking of heels on wood once Ulquiorra unceremoniously enters the church, one hand in his pocket and the other playing with the key they've all been given, idly tossing the object up and down in small arcs. His stride is steady, strolling pace -- he's simply taken to exploring the city, but...

The church is somewhere he stops in a little longer, ignoring the other individual in the space as he approaches the altar and stares expressionlessly at it for a while. A shake of his head, and then he leaves it, moving himself further into the pews and the recesses of the building.]

Nothing, I see. What a poor excuse for a church.

[At least he seems familiar with the style of building...? He seems to be talking to the church itself, or perhaps chastising it.]

[baitless]

...

Are you familiar with this religion, then?

[It’s probably not really relevant to anything, but hey, he’s curious.]

Is there something missing that you’d usually expect to see here?

[p_q]

I have no interest in the petty beliefs of humans. It's simply a way for them to escape the fear of death and what comes after.

[That's not a denial that he's familiar with it -- churches aren't exactly unknown territory despite his limited time away from Hueco Mundo until like. Just now.

He lifts a hand to indicate the altar, then moves it in a brief, careless sweep throughout.]

Souls. This is normally a gathering place.

[Or like, a Hollow cafeteria but he has a reputation to keep.]

church;

[reanbeans]

[ Rean eventually arrived to the church himself, given the importance of such a place in his world. Well, he's not sure what he expected, but there's even a proper confessional.

He'll see the other male reading the holy book as he'll make his rounds around the area. ]

Sorry to bother you, but is this church familiar to you?

[ He'll ask because he wasn't sure if Seteth was someone from here or not. ]

[baitless]

No, it isn't. It's somewhat similar to the churches back home, but I don't recognize any of the saints involved.

[it's weirding him right the fuck out!!]

[reanbeans]

[ They definitely don't seem to depict the goddess Aidios, so that's what clued him in. ]

...Yeah, they don't really seem to be like the ones at church back home.

[ Maybe one or two might seem vaguely familiarish? Maybe it's just the style of the sculpture, though. ]