[MU] - DECEMBER STORYTELLING / MEMORY SHARE

[lifeaftr_mods]

Something is wrong.

This may not very well be obvious, at first. The Storyteller is not present to put forth yet another diatribe, informative or apologetic, and the backdrop of guttering flame and sandy campfire is as present as ever...albeit briefly.



Those who tell their stories will start to notice something...odd taking place. Indeed, no matter how they intend to begin their tale, the land of Mu will immediately start to warp to accommodate it, or something utterly unlike it, until storytellers and listeners alike may find themselves in an exact recreation of a seemingly random memory, in the most stark and painstaking of detail. There is no altering the memory, nor is there any preventing it once it's begun to play - you will simply have to witness memories that are not your own this go around.

Furthermore, stories that take place in worlds other than LifeAftr will be, frankly, inevitable. Those memories, too, will be recreated, to be relived by the teller and lived by the listener.

---

It is time, once more, for you to tell a story...with a slight twist! This is, in fact, our first player plot, as provided by Dragon! The initial setting will be familiar for oldcomers, and newcomers will recognize it from the introduction they received in their dreams.

Yet for this Storytelling only, people can imagine whatever stories they wish, from both their homes and their time on LifeAftr, as long as they don't mind the fact that others will be reliving those stories in the form of an impromptu memory share.

Even those who prefer not to voice their stories aloud are not safe this time around. If the memory is recalled in essence, Mu will shift to accommodate it in full.

There is, however, a benefit to this: those who venture memories to be relived will receive both a befuddled apology from the Storyteller, who will assert that this was most definitely not meant to happen (they're the Storyteller, not the Rememberer!), as well as a tired promise that the relived memories will be worth two offerings each, as if in compensation.

Not that it counts for much, probably.

Comments

[prettypurpleparlor]

Oh, dear- I probably shouldn't be amused by seeing something with such major theological ramifications.

[Also, it's rude to laugh at other people's memories, anyway. Muffet insists on remaining polite.]

[...And maybe she'd rather focus on trying not to giggle than think too hard about how this meant Roy had died at least once. Tonight was shaping up to be depressing enough already.]

Even if it does raise a lot of questions about angels, given what I still swear by...

[greatcleavage]

[Roy can't help but frown, after reliving all that. Knowing what he knows now, he has to wonder if he'll still receive a welcome in the afterlife should he go back to it. He did just go to some effort to massive meddle in affairs of the divine, after all... But then again, principle is principle. Lawful Good planes had to respect that.]

Honestly, to me, it raises a lot of questions knowing that other people don't know what awaits them after death.

[Roy heaves a sigh, then glances up at Muffet. Speaking of memories he doesn't want to get into...] I talked to Celia about this, once. She's not mortal, she's from the Elemental Plane of Air. When people like her die, they just merge back into the elemental essence they were born from. It's a lot different for humans.

[prettypurpleparlor]

We know what happens to our bodies, certainly- but the knowledge of what happens to the soul is regrettably beyond us.

[Muffet seems to take it in stride, focused as ever on practical matters.]

Still, many people want to know the answer, and they've never stopped studying such things. Perhaps someday we'll be able to say with more certainty.

Is it a comfort to you, knowing?

[greatcleavage]

It is, I guess. If I die again tomorrow and can't get raised this time -- you know, not counting here -- [Roy waves an irritable hand at their dreamscape-ish surroundings] -- then I'll be rewarded for everything I did in life. On the other hand... everyone else knows that too. So people become just that much more willing to risk death, when the afterlife awaits. That's a disadvantage.

[prettypurpleparlor]

I'm sure it doesn't help the naturally reckless to know that death is curable, no- though I can regrettably tell you from experience that an unconfirmed afterlife doesn't prevent some impressively risky behavior all the same.

What prevents everyone from being raised, as you were?

[greatcleavage]

First, you need a cleric who has the power to cast the spell. That itself isn't common -- raise dead is a complicated spell that only works for two weeks or so after death. Longer than that, and you need a resurrection spell, which very, very few clerics can cast. If you don't have enough of the body, you need resurrection too. If you don't have any remains, no raising at all, period. Then there's the cost -- five or ten thousand gold pieces depending on the level of the spell. Long story short, that level of magic is only available to adventurers or the very wealthy and important.

And trust me, you don't want to rely on the spells. I learned that the hard way. I was in a party with a cleric who could raise me, and through bad luck and tragedy, it took six months for them to raise me.

[prettypurpleparlor]

My condolences on your... delay, since 'your loss' doesn't seem appropriate here.

[Or is possibly slightly too appropriate, since he literally got lost somewhere...]

Why the cost, exactly? I can understand the difficulty in finding and training spellcasters of sufficient power, but what makes it so expensive beyond that- or is it simply compensation for their time?

[Metaphysics might not be her field, but matters of money, Muffet gets.]

[greatcleavage]

Spells require components as part of their execution, including material components. Spells that require greater power or have significant effects beyond what would normally be within the bounds of magic take greater or more complicated components to enact.

[prettypurpleparlor]

That does make a certain kind of logical sense, at least. Is there any sort of link between what the spell does and the components required?

[greatcleavage]

Typically, yes. Fireball, for example, takes bat guano and sulfur -- you know, building blocks of gunpowder.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet nods in understanding.]

Fascinating. What does resurrection require to cast, then, besides the body of the person in question?

[greatcleavage]

Sprinkle of holy water, somatic and verbal components. The verbal components are the name of the spell, spoken reasonably clearly and distinctly.

...and since it takes ten minutes to cast, that's a lot of repetition of the word 'resurrection'.