1/5 Satakiel 2021/01/12(Tue)11:42 No. 985497 ID: a979d8
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I'm alive.

I don't know how I survived last night. What happened? Who am I-- wait, nope, that's coming to me.

My name is Satakiel, and I'm a Lesser Dreamwalker of the Pale Authority. Half of my role is to patrol the paths unseen between worlds and make sure that nefarious influences do not take root. Not the worlds of the set of more tangible and material universes known as the Solid, though. I wander and seek to right wrongs in the Astral, the Unshaped, the Tenebreum, the Pale itself, or perhaps other yet unfound paraverses. That's the other half of my role. To seek new paraverses through the paths unseen and also untravelled.

Or, well. That was my role. I've... done something bad, I think.
I'm staring up at a grey expanse as snow gently falls onto me, and whatever I'm lying on rocks beneath me.

2/5 Satakiel 2021/01/12(Tue)11:42 No. 985498 ID: a979d8
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"Hey! Wake up! You need to row too, dammit!"
"Whuh..?"
"I've been paddling in circles for the past, uh... until I got bored! It was fun at first but now I'm bored and we're probably still being chased!"

Ah. This is Racha. She's... something from the Coil. One of its less alien, but still cruel, branches.
A paraverse the Pale Authority shuns, and forbids any to enter. Well. The Pale Authority is itself forbidden to enter, based on the First Pact, but--

"Hey! Stop the inner monologue and take this oar!"

I sit up and stare at an ocean of dust flowing like water around me. That might not be snow falling. I'm not even sure where we are right now. Perhaps somewhere at the very edges of the Pale.
I take the oar. It's at least three times the length of Racha's oar. It's made from some sort of black chitin. ...so is this boat.

"Racha," I say. "What is this thing we're in? Is this a shell from a native animal?"
"Look, it was dead and it wasn't using it, it's fine."
"It was dead?"
"I smacked it too hard with an oar at the docks. It went splat."
"Racha."
"What? It was trying to eat me!"
"Oh. ...still, lethal force shouldn't be your first--"
"Yeah, yeah, killing bad, don't need to tell me every time. You know, you're not even one of them anymore, you don't have to keep being so morally righteous."

I pause. "Racha, what happened? What do you mean I'm not one of them? Who's them?"

3/5 Satakiel 2021/01/12(Tue)11:43 No. 985499 ID: a979d8
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Racha grins her wide, creepy smile as brightly as ever.

"Oh, you were amazing last night! You walked up, absolutely sloshed, to a squad of Pale goons, with me, and said you were quitting."
"I... what?"
"This guy asked what you'd been doing. You said you'd gone to the Coil. Which, I might add, is absolutely untrue, because you'd never be able to leave if you had. But the head honcho there, he looked at you stone cold furious. I thought he was gonna clock you! Or maybe even kill you on the spot. But he just paused, and sighed, and then revoked your responsibility and authority as a something something dreamwalker. Then you asked if you could keep your powers and he said no and that he was going to revoke them and then you just straight up punched him!"
"I punched-- who? I punched who?!"
"I don't know but he shouted a bunch about being your boss, or something?"
"Jamedareh! I punched Sentinel Jamedareh?!"
"Hard enough that he fell over! He called off his goons and then, and this was the best bit, just looked at you and said you had one lunar phase to get out of his sight before he had you torn limb from limb for something something superior officer something authority. Then he leaned in, and said that you had better start running now, because he was going to come after you for this. Then you looked real worried for a second and passed out or something, I dunno how you guys work. And I dragged you to the docks, and, well, here we are!"

I... oh, no.

"Racha how did you let me do this?!"
"Uh?? Because it was funny??"
"Why did you set me up?!"
"Set you up?! You'd been telling me that whole evening you'd love nothing more than to punch that guy in the face! I think you said it a bit fancier."

4/5 Satakiel 2021/01/12(Tue)11:43 No. 985500 ID: a979d8
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"My life is over," I say, head in hands.
"Your life's just begun! You're free of the shackles of the pale jerks! Freedom! True, intoxicating freedom!! Just like you said you wanted!!" says Racha, beaming. "Now pick that oar back up and row!"

I'm so screwed. I'm so screwed.

For whatever reason, I haven't been immediately destroyed for my insubordination, something members of the Pale Authority aren't even supposed to be capable of.

I have to run. But I have no idea where. I could go anywhere. Anywhere across the known verses.
But I have to find the right paths first, and right now, all I can sense are paths that my jittering, panicked self can only place as feeling like they belong to one of the paraverses. Three of them.

5/5 Satakiel 2021/01/12(Tue)11:43 No. 985501 ID: a979d8
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One leads to the Astral, a paraverse of ethereal spirits, elemental forces, magical creatures and various planes unending.
The Astral is home to spirits, and those strong enough to be considered deities. The greatest among them hold their own domains in the Astral, and as their domains reflect their preferences, so too do they reflect their domains.
Some of the most amazing things I've experienced happened in the Astral. But a lot of terrible things can emerge from powerful forces vying for control. There's absolutely no telling where in the Astral I'd end up though.

Another leads to the Unshaped, a paraverse forged of unconscious minds and dreamers, a shared mindspace between the thinkers of countless planes.
The Unshaped is home to brief flitting things that constantly shift in form and function. Environments shift and change like breath.
It's something of a frustrating place for me. Walls aren't certain, and neither is ground, or gravity. I'm a creature of order, in theory, at least. I like a level of predictability.

And the last one I can get a feel for leads to the Coil but I'd rather stay out of that one. The Coil is a place that's awful enough to leave echoes in the minds of mortals of torturous afterlives, and endless creeping horror hidden in the space between spaces. I also know that the natives aren't going to view someone of the Pale Authority in much of a positive light. However, there is absolutely no way Jamedareh would ever possibly follow me into there.

I can't figure out anything about where any of these paths would put us, though. Away is the important thing. Yes. Away.
Sentinel Jamedareh has grudges older than I am, and I just made it onto that list. The Pale Authority does not look fondly upon insubordination. I can't believe I let this demon imp thing talk me into this. Wait. Wait, maybe that can be my case. Maybe I can still fix this. Maybe. Ohhh I can't decide.

"So, where next, miss tumbling angel?" asks Racha. "If we don't get moving, I don't think we'll get to enjoy being free too long. Also pick up that oar!"

Vote: (ties resolved by dice roll)
A) Flee into the Astral
B) Flee into the Unshaped
C) Against all better reasoning and basic self-preservation instinct, flee into the Coil
D) Turn back, explain yourself and take responsibility, even if it means being torn limb from limb

A. Go make some big friends to keep you safe.

D

You can't let one night of drunken misconduct an bad influence ruin your entire life.

Astral sounds like the most prudent choice, the maybe Racha could help you navigate the Coil?

A.) for now

>>985496
Cirr!? Cirr what the fuck are you doing?!

>>985501
Maybe you can go to the Coil and they'll like you cause you rebelled, or maybe find a way to the Solid, or maybe you can bring back the imp and blame everything on them?
Or I suppose the Astral is okay I guess.

Was this just a one-off, or were you really that unsatisfied back home? If the latter, whatever friends you had in the Pale might have done you a favor here.

Do you tend to bond with beings from other paraverses? It would explain your association with Racha here, even if being actual friends wouldn't prevent her from having you torn limb from limb. You must have made a few contacts in the Astral.

A sounds like your best option, right now.

>>985501
A.

>>985501
A

B) Flee into the Unshaped

fist option would probably be the easiest to be tracked and the last one I feel should be a last resort, so second option it is.

Also how'd you and your little red friend meet? I mean from what you said it sounds like the pale and the coil don't get along but you two seem to be rather familiar with each other to the point that she was willing to drag your drunk self away from your old boss.

D sounds risky, and yet also the most filled with hope.

We might still be in time to redeem ourselves.

A!

C) To the Coil. Let's just go the ONE place where our actions won't catch up with us.

D

Head for the Astral. So many planes to lose yourself in!

>>985510
>Wtf Cirr?
Seriously.

Flee to whichever leads you into another one of Cirr's quests.

>>985501
C because of all the horrible ideas you could possibly have, hiding in your weird maybe-friend's apartment for the next ten million years or so is the best you've had all morning.

>>985536
Might lead to Salikai, I remember Dreamwalkers there.
>>985499
You implicitly trust this imp's word? Seriously? A creature you describe as "less, but still cruel?"
>D

>>985501
A for astral.

>>985501
B.
Just for a bit. We can jump again later, correct?