squakhawk 8230 Share Posted May 24, 2023 The Thirsting Oasis The Oasis The Thirsting Oasis was covered in a thicket of fog, bridled by a verdant or turquoise glow, and crags filled with screaming horrors. Streams of water run through an abundance of tree-life, yet though great in flora, it seems to lack much of the natural fauna cast in great forests or groves. Although the conditions of the environment would make it seem incapable of sustaining life, the oasis continues to grow unnaturally in size and depth - vines twisting and sprouting from the ground, or odd blooming flowers glimmering in the darkness. A blanket of eternal night invokes spectres to linger in the Thirsting Oasis, filling the air with foul screams of shackled ghouls, or bulbous red eyes cast in shadows from leering poltergeists. The most common creature of the living to be found in the sprawling oasis are feral mist-hounds, nocturnal beasts that hunt in the dark - invoking a harsh cold wherever they wander. Adventurers would find the area to be filled with an eerie, otherworldly ambiance; branches on trees reaching out in a macabre dancing, and echoes of whispers slithering into the air. Ethereal lights and glows seep through all manners of flora, all sourced from the horrendous Apparition. The atmosphere is permeated with an unsettling chill, as melancholic spectres drift in bodies of fog. Most common flora found in the thirsting oasis include: Serpent’s Stalk, Aquanymph, Padfoot, Nightsap, Nightglow, and Javens. However, some unknown flora sprout from their roots, twitching and moving as if possessed by ghosts. The rivers and streams of abnormal water flowing through crevices and cracks of the thirsting oasis possess an affliction; a curse whereby all who gaze into them see reflections of haunting ghosts and souls - known dead people, cadavers of pets or animals. The Culmination of Thirst In ages long past, before even the arrival of the Mori’Quessir to Aevos, two tribes had claimed their stake amongst the sands of the desert. Lost people of the land, but of different stock and tradition, the tribes first settled when the desert was fertile; rain came often enough to support their crops, water ran from the mountains into fresh springs not too far from their homes, and the desert presented few dangers beyond a heat that their constitutions could well endure. Like most things, it was not to last. Drought came upon the continent of Aevos, strangling its various climates, but its deserts most of all. The island springs dried up, the tribes’ wells soon ran empty, and those of their kin which held territories less parched by the drought were not keen to share their water. It took only weeks for the thirst to take hold, and a few months before only a single source remained, and desperation burgeoned. An oasis, deep within the desert; one previously too distant to be worth such a trek, but then, gleaming like a jewel which promised survival. At first, bands of the two tribes shared this lone source of life, but it could not support the two forever. Each band of water-gatherers returned to report it dwindling day by scorching day. The conclusion was inevitable and mutual; if only one tribe could survive, it would be their own. Mustering their warriors, each and every soul weak with dehydration, the two tribes’ armies marched upon the oasis, intent to claim it for themselves and fend off any who might seek to consume its bounty. When the forces came face-to-face, there was no question left to ask, no empathy left to offer. It now mattered only who would survive, and who would be left as dry as the sun-scorched sands. Every noble warrior of each tribe fought for their lives. No quarter, no mercy, the armies clashed for a day and a night in total, bathing the greenery, colouring the water with their blood. Numbers dwindled until there were but two, neither with the strength to make it home, nor to finish their last remaining enemy. They collapsed amongst the corpses of their kin, and added the final pieces of fuel of what madness was to come. With such a slaughter, with such desperate, violent deeds, such suffering and sorrow, a process took hold of those many souls. Denied passage beyond this world, instead they began to congeal as one; trapped by a current, a force which drew them together and swiftly started to erode their individuality, to sap their senses and warp their very being. The hope each had felt was erased, leaving only a mass of pain, fear, thirst and anger. And death only brought suffering - for the hundreds of souls could not find peace. From the demise of the tribesmen, something came anew; a foul curse that swept the oasis, beginning to warp it into what would be known as the Thirsting Oasis. OOC Information The Thirsting Oasis is written to be a curious corner of Aevos, filled with many mysteries. Something mysterious lingers within the Oasis - and its influence can be noticed by the descendants. This area has events planned out, and once they have been completed, this post will be updated to reveal more information. Both ET and Players are free and encouraged to do events utilizing spirits, phantoms, poltergeists, and spectral creatures or persons who may have been drawn to the oasis in the past. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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