TEST DRIVE MEME 001

[rubimods]

⚰︎ ⍢ ⌲ ⍚ TEST DRIVE MEME:

CONTENT WARNINGS for this game include: monsters, body horror, dub-con, non-con, religion, blood/violence, and marking/branding, loss of autonomy/self, and mental influences.

This log additionally has warnings for: nudity, spiders, waxplay, character death, and references to children in proximity to sexual situations.

✧ ✧ ✧

Welcome to RUBILYKSKOYE — a dark, horror-smut game where player choices will drive a mod-run storyline about the world and its NPCs. For the first round, this test drive serves as characters' arrival into game.

THESE THREADS CAN BE GAME CANON if both players are accepted into the game and agree to it. However, if players who'd prefer to start fresh are welcome to reuse these prompts in their own personal logs upon acceptance into the communities.

If you have QUESTIONS about the test drive prompts, please ask HERE. Questions about the game itself or the general setting should be directed to the FAQ.

FAQ ✧ SETTING ✧ CALENDAR ✧ RESERVES ✧ APPLICATIONS

AWAKENING IN PAJAK WOOD

The chirping of partridges in the treetops rouses you. Light barely filters through the canopy, just enough to suggest warmth of the sun. By the time it reaches the forest floor, the daylight has taken on a sickly green tinge. You lie amongst the mosses and ferns, the soil cold and just a little damp on your bare skin. Wherever you were before this moment, whatever you were doing or wearing, when you awaken in this forest, you find yourself naked and helpless as the day you were born.

Fortunately, you seem to be alone. The birdsong continues as you sit up and get your bearings — aside from a brief wave of disoriented nausea, you seem to be no worse for wear than you last remember. Amongst gnarled oaks and moss, you see nothing around. No sign of civilization or sentient life. Movement flickers at the corner of your eye, but it's just a curious animal — brave squirrels or lizards who have come to see what stirs in their home.

Then, like the rippling of the horizon at noontime, the ash-gray soil around you undulates. Sea, not earth. Something else has come to greet you — their grey bodies blended in so easily with the floor, but as you stagger to your feet, you see them. Thousands of spiders roll like waves underfoot. They crawl towards you from the darker edge of the forest.

attack

Individuals who attack the spiders will find the small spiders are easy to kill, but the pheromones released by their corpses draw larger spiders in their place. Huge, blood-red spiders the size of hunting dogs drop from the treetops. In addition to their venomous bite, which contains a fast-acting paralytic, these creatures are clever: they will attempt to use their webbing to handicap any trespassers, binding limbs together or to trees. If you're unfortunate to become fully cocooned, you don't have long before this forest will be the last thing you see.

FAQ: DEATH RULES

hunt

Any aspiring monster-hunters enterprising enough to try to follow the spiders to their nest will move eastward. This way, the forest grows darker and darker — though the sun never grows warm red-gold with sunset.

In the void, the birdsong is replaced by the click of mandibles and the skitter of many legs, but soon it is impossible to see. Even with the brightest magical light does not reach further than a few inches. The air grows heavy and thick, as if it were not air at all but some more solid mass. Almost like liquid-smoke, it presses down upon you. Slowing your movements. Soon, you cannot move at all.

Turn back while you still can — collapsing out here is dangerous. The void can play tricks on your senses. You may find yourself reliving unhappy memories or hallucinating your worst nightmares.

SETTING: THE VOID

But flee the spiders westward and you will discover that the wood is well-populated with the survival resources that someone might seek — berries bushes and trees bearing stone fruits; sticks and dry leaves to aid in the building of a fire; rocks big enough to fashion into crude weapons; small animals that can be hunted or caught; hike long enough, and you might just find the freshwater stream that runs north-to-south, populated by both poisonous toads and delicious crawdads.

What's more, you may run into others with stories just like yours. Some may have already formed clumsy nudist hiking parties, others may still be naked and confused and processing how they have no memory of how they got here. They all stagger vaguely, as you do, with only the sun for a waymarker — and even that won't last long.

Now is a good time to overcome any hang-ups you have about modesty, as it's going to be a long hike. If you sneak a good look at your new companions, you may four varietals of marks on their bodies. Maybe someone will even point out that you have one, too.

FAQ: CURSE MARKS

EVERY DAY LIKE THE ONE BEFORE

Hike far enough — or long enough that the sun does go down — and signs of life come into view. The glow of fires and lights, the smooth curve of a stone wall. A town sits at the edge of this wood, a reward to the survivors.

The fifty-foot wall of beige stone protecting the town's perimeter has only a single entrance — an iron gate positioned on the southern edge. When you arrive, the gate is already open, welcoming people into town from the winding dirt road. Attentive eyes may note that the road itself bears the mark of many wagon wheels and horse hoofs, but not cars.

guards

The guards grant entry to anyone who attempts a conversation with them. However, if your character is more likely to attempt to sneak in, overcome the guards, or attack them, please reach out HERE.

Inside the wall lies a quaint, historic town with a population around five thousand. The streets are cobbled, and their signs are lit by gas lamp. Wooden shutters protect otherwise open-air windows on the buildings, which are all under three stories with gabled roofs. A number of businesses hug the main street — a clockmaker, a cobbler, a bank — while residential homes sprawl outwards towards the wall. At the far end of the main street, visible about a mile to the north now that the trees and the enormous wall is out of the way, sits a castle with three towers.

No matter what time you pass through the gate, the streets are full of people. The climate of the bustle befits a night market or a busy friday downtown — plenty of people to ogle at your exposed body. But despite any efforts on your part to hide or make excuses, the locals don't seem offended by your nakedness. Even families with children don't gawk or look twice. In fact, the further into town you go, the more you may notice that they all wear revealing clothing that, to your sensibilities, may seem sexually suggestive. Some individuals openly expose their breasts and nipples, while some others may incidentally reveal when they turn around to tend to their errands that their dress is backless — entirely! If anything, they seem to be under the impression that you're naked to participate in the evening's events with the rest of them.

Those still determined to find proper clothing will find that modern clothing stores aren't a thing here. The closest this town has is a tailor's shop, which is closed for religious observance, and a stand in the central marketplace selling scarves and blankets.

Fortunately, the people of the town are very generous! The locals will gladly share what they have with those who ask politely — but those items are as revealing as what they're wearing. You might get a mesh bodysuit or drape outfit. Remember not to be ungracious! it's only appropriate for the occasion.

steal clothing

Anyone unwilling to ask nicely for help could break into someone's house or yard to steal some of their clean laundry. Notably, inside their homes, the people of the town also appear to own some more modest apparel. Be sure to alert us HERE if your character pursues this option.

SETTING: CRIME

And what is the occasion? The locals are excited and flattered by any interest in their ordinary weekly prayer: the folks dancing and selling their wares are all offering their energies to give thanks and ask for their god's patronage! The abstractions are all familiar — fertility, harvest, peace. Smalltalk makes them eager to chat and draw you into those festivities — including some ceremonial wax-dripping on the exposed parts of your body!

Anyone who chats at length with the townspeople will gather that the locals feel it's better for the newcomers to dive into the deep-end because, since you'll be settling in here, they expect you'll want to participate down the line. They seem to be under the impression that the new arrivals are a boon from their god.

In addition, many of the locals' choice of clothes reveal the same four types of marks on their bodies as the folx who were wandering out in the wood!

ROOM AND BOARD

Once you're tired out, the locals will help you find a place to stay. The boarding house is several stories tall and spacious, accessible through an embellished iron garden gate and obscured by hanging plants, trees, and vines. Beyond the overgrown yard is a bright red door, which opens into a spacious cottage.

The house has clearly been empty for some time — dust has gathered on various furnishings — bedding, sofas, curtains, wooden tables. According to the locals, it has remained empty since its last occupant passed away, and that's all they'll say about that!

Each floor of the house has a shared sitting room, but only the first floor has a kitchen — large enough to support feeding the entire household. Here, a few of the townspeople will help out — they stock the kitchen and help make dinner for the new arrivals.

finding roommates

Don't spend too much time in the dining room going for seconds, though. You'll want to claim a bedroom quickly because each one only has two full-size beds, and there aren't enough spaces for everyone. The last people upstairs will need to double up to squeeze in. Roommates will not be mod-assigned; players should coordinate directly with one another to determine their living arrangements.

Get a good night's rest. By the light of day, locals will help get the new arrivals set up on the coal stove with breakfast. You may notice they're dressed in a way you would almost call normal — at least, in a manner befitting 19th century Eastern Europe. As you find your way around town to get your bearings, folks are eager to help you find a place to apply your skills so you can contribute to your new home.

Comments

[princess_of_ida]

[Oh. This woman has never spoken to a necromancer before. She might not have even encountered the Cohort at all in her life. What fucking outer system planet did the River drag her to? Time for Necromany For Dummies.]

Yes, thalergy. To grossly simplify it, thalergy is life energy. All living things possess it. It's what allows for growth and healing and procreation. That sort of boring shit.

Now the other side of that - [and intensely more interesting from her tone] - is thanergy: death energy. When living things die, energy is released as its thalergy converts over.

[As Ianthe spoke, she innocuously approached the other woman, hoping her lesson would distract enough that the lessening distance between then didn't register.]

And thanergy is what we necromancers use.

[sunmon]

"Like calls to like."

[ clearly, this is the way of talking about it that some other nation's grisha have. words found outside of old ravkan, the kinds of terms they evolved to talk about their power when there was no shared vocabulary. ]

Odinakovost and etovost. That's how we talk about the small science, in Ravka. It sounds like you're describing the same thing.

[princess_of_ida]

["Small science". How quaint to call it that. Ianthe wondered what they considered to be large or big science - perhaps their term for lyctorhood or resurrection itself. But something wasn't ringing quite right.]

If you understand these concepts, albeit by another name, why were you so shocked by my usage of bone and balked at the needed material to craft your own? Do you not have adepts skilled in bone magic? Which House do you claim blood from?

[A storm of questions as Ianthe's mind worked the moment.] I don't recognize the name Ravika.

[sunmon]

Because there hasn't been a Grisha who worked with bones was Sankt Ilya, and he died hundreds of years ago. [ she shakes her head. there's so much in what she just said didn't make any sense. ] Ravka is North of Shu Han, South of Fjerda. Where do you come from?

[princess_of_ida]

[Ianthe could admit to herself that bone magic wasn't easy to learn, but to go that many years without a bone adept was pretty pathetic. But then it made sense - those were terrestrial directions. No one used those unless in an intergalactic empire unless they knew trying to get to a specific place on a specific planet.]

The Dominican Empire. It spans many planets and several galaxies. If your planet has developed necromancers - your grisha - then it must be far from the Empire or we'd know about you. Is this your planet? [Ianthe thought this was a thalergenic planet but that Void made her uncertain as to the true balance of energy.]

If so, what do you know of the vast inky blackness to the far east in the forest?

[sunmon]

Planet?

[ there's a cluelessness and bewilderment about her that sufficiently answers that question. she has never even begun to think on that kind of scale. sure, there are people in ravka and its neighboring nations who are interested in the world beyond theirs, but it's so abstracted that it would never touch the life of an orphaned mapmaker, not even now that she had become a saint. ]

I — [ she sputters. ] I thought it was. [ now she has to wonder. ] But I've never seen this forest before in my life.

[princess_of_ida]

[There was a long pause as Ianthe stared at the other woman, debating on whether she wanted to voice how useless she was to the lyctor, but in the end she decided to hold her tongue on that matter Instead, she turned westward and started picking her way through the forest.]

I'm going to find some form of civilization. You may come along if you wish.

[sunmon]

[ it's a toss-up, really. it could be worse to be out here alone, but it could be worse to be with the person who's making clothing out of bones. someone who calls herself a necromancer. she's like every worst stereotype of grisha that the fjerdans could have ever invented.

but for the time being, at least, she seems to be on alina's side. better to take advantage of that than squander it. she hurries after. ]

What's your name?

[princess_of_ida]

Ianthe.

Various titles and sundry accompany that, but until I reach civilization they don't matter.

[Sometimes she caught the hypocrisy before it came out of her mouth. Sometimes.]

And yours?

[sunmon]

[ she hesitates before admitting it — because ianthe is grisha, yes, but she's grisha from so far away that it hardly counts, and so utterly unpreoccupied with the sorts of things that alina has to fear. ]

Alina.

[ but she does, still, watch ianthe for a reaction. ]

[princess_of_ida]

A pleasure.

[The words were spoken rotely without even the slightest hint of recognition; that name meant nothing to Ianthe. She didn't even bother to look over as she picked her way through the forest.]

So what's your specialization if bones magic is beyond your fingertips?

[sunmon]

I'm an etherealki.

[ she treads carefully, tiptoeing to avoid putting her foot directly into saying she's the sun summoner — hopefully without making it too obvious that she's dodging it. of course, she's never excelled at subtlety. ]

In Ravka, we have orders of Grisha. Etherealki are summoners who control the elements. Materialki build things—fabrikators, alkemi. What you can do, we'd consider that like Corporalki. Heartrenders and tailors and healers. Though I've never seen one do what you've done. I would have guessed a corporalki would still need help from a fabrikator for that.

[princess_of_ida]

We have schools of necromantic magic: flesh, bone, and spirit. There are subsets within those schools but a necromancer isn't bound to a single school; we can and do make use of all three.

[Ianthe showed her peace just enough to allow Alina to catch up. Her interest had been piqued, and she rarely passed up an opportunity to feel superior. Or demonstrate it.]

We do specialize in one, but that tends to be the one our House is known for. Some lack the talent to branch out beyond that and not all see the three schools as equal.

What elements do you refer to? Traditional folklore, periodic table, or something more esoteric?

[sunmon]

I guess you might call it folklore.

[ she frowns, thinking over it. it's not the kind of chemicals, after all, that an alkemi would work with, or a bomb-maker. ]

Fire, air, water, darkness. [ a beat. ] Light, too.

[princess_of_ida]

[Ianthe paused, tilting her head in thought. Darkness - light... thanergy - thalergy. Or maybe it was branch of spirit magic she wasn't aware of; she wasn't from the Fifth.]

Useful. Such versatility, having all those elements at your fingertips.

Are Grisha of equal standing? We have the rare necromancer that has ascended to become lyctors and serve the Emperor directly.

[sunmon]

There are no formal rankings like lyctor. Aside from General Kirigan, of course. He leads the army. He's the strongest, too. [ and oldest, and most deadly. a monster in all ways. yet she looks at ianthe's hand now and wonders if maybe this woman isn't a monster too. ] Is that what a lyctor is? Just ... stronger?

[princess_of_ida]

Oh, we are definitely stronger.
But more importantly, we've unlocked the secrets of immortality.

[Ianthe chuckled.]

And that opens up so many possibilities.

[sunmon]

So you're ... [ she slows down a little, then, when she realizes ianthe isn't going to slow down with her, she picks her speed up again. just like aleksander. that's troubling. ] All Grisha are long-lived, if they're powerful enough. That's not what you mean, is it?

[princess_of_ida]

Long-lived? What is a paltry hundred fifty years in the face of a millennium. [Ianthe might not be a fraction of the power-drunk she'd been right after ascension, but she always loved feeling superior.]

I will live for thousands of years, uncaring, undying, in this beautiful form. My predecessors have lived for ten thousand years, and we are lauded by the Empire as saints. [Her lips curled up in amusement.]

I'm the Saint of Awe.

[sunmon]

[ sankta ianthe of awe. alina's chest feels cold. is this really her future? ianthe is just a more honest version of aleksander. if a sun summoner is really as powerful as myth says, then ...

especially if she finds the stag, if she gathers the power she needs to defeat him and destroy the fold, is this where her journey leads? ]

They called me a saint, too. [ her voice is quiet, like she doesn't mean to admit this. ] The Sun Saint. They said I was going to save the world.

[princess_of_ida]

[Without a shred of warning and perhaps more speed than expected, Ianthe whirled and reached out with her bone hand toward Alina's chin, trying to catch it. She didn't intend to hurt her, but to take advantage of the woman being momentarily off-guard. The lyctor needed her hands on this woman now, locking her eyes onto Alina's. Maybe she'd freeze like a deer in headlights.]

Sun Saint, you are no lyctor. I can sense you. What can you possibly save your planet from?

[sunmon]

[ she recoils in a panic, staggering over a root and knocking herself to the dirt in the process. she doesn't move for a moment, sure that as her awareness of her own body returns to her, and the slight scraping and twinge in her ankle, that she might actually cry. in front of someone, in front of a stranger.

she has asked herself that question so many different ways.

but alina has known plenty of cruelty in her life. anger and defensiveness rises up to drown out her insecurity, to cover it. ]

You don't know the first thing about me.

[princess_of_ida]

[Ianthe tilted her head a bit as she looked down at the fallen woman. That was an interesting statement given the whole Grisha thing, but that was besides the point. She raised both hands before her disarmingly.]

You misunderstand; I meant that literally. I know you aren't a lyctor because I can sense your presence - your thalergy. Lyctors can't be detected... like a spiritual void of sorts. If you're not a lyctor, what are they so desperate for that they call you saint?

[She then offered her to help Alina up, pausing a second later to switch to her normal offhand.]

Are you alright? That looked like it hurt.

[sunmon]

[ the gesture of surrender is a good reminder of what fates await saints, because it draws alina's attention back to her bone arm. plenty of saints become martyrs instead. ianthe is one of the lucky ones.

she takes ianthe's flesh and blood hand and pulls herself back up, dusting herself off shoddily. ]

I'm fine. [ she clams up. ] It doesn't matter, does it? We're not in Ravka. I can't help them with anything.

[princess_of_ida]

[The physical touch let Ianthe do a little more analysis of Alina's energy, but aside from what was already noted, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her. She silently mused to herself about the sheer amount of thanergy sacrificing the other woman would produce - much like an infant, she suspected - but it was nothing more than an academic exercise.]

Of course, it matters. Even though you are not there, you can always better yourself and prepare for what you must do when you return. [Ianthe's eyes casually drifted over Alina's form.] There may be resources here you can take advantage of.