Fantasy Smoke & Mirrors [Accepting Profiles]

[SubstituteHero]

Changes & What Remains

Summer in small town America, a lazy time for students recovering from the strict pace of school. Some find a job at the tiny businesses for some extra cash, others return to the fantasy worlds that will keep them company. In the hot June sun, there is no wrong way to escape the steady march towards adulthood. This is the unsung anthem of Farpost, a small community America's mid-west.


A group of friends from the singular local high school gather together in the streets and in their beloved safe places. They gather together in the spirit of adventure and the spirit of loss; they know that this is the last summer that they'll have together before the seniors among them move on to bigger and better things. In remembrance and in joy they plan out the greatest of their escapades yet. These teenagers will explore the town's many mysteries and document them. They expect to find evidence of their own intelligence; a reason that the lost magic was there for a reason when they were young. Instead, a great responsibility lies before them.


They will soon find that their little town holds a great deal more sorrow and strife than they can shoulder. Ghosts of memories, shells of regrets long etched into the dirt, will greet them as they step into their destinies. But with them are their own memories and hopes for the future. It may yet be enough, and it may fall short and see them spiral into the town's eternal darkness. Only time will tell.

Heart & Soul

Have you ever really, truly cared about something? A memory, a token, a person? That energy is something special. Love and faith create a powerful bond, that much is true regardless of where you are. The same goes for all sorts of powerful attachment to something. But only in a few places on Earth will that bond be something real. In places like Farpost, powerful emotions lead to a physical power surrounding an object or a place. Love fosters items of power, charms that protect the owner and give their talents a supernatural magnifier. Likewise, fear creates the very monsters that one hides from.


There are some that say faith is what brought about our gods. Human belief has seen us to the moon and the farthest reaches of our own planet, who's to say what our spirit's limit is?


So much is unknown about the real power of heart and soul, but several experts gather at locations of power to try to understand this phenomenon. It is entirely absent to the average person, appearing to be simple myth and coincidence. However, with the right viewpoint an entire hidden world exists all around. One must be careful, though; once this door is open it is entirely impossible to close.

 

[SubstituteHero]

Prologue: What Was & What Will Be


The ornate door swung open for the first time in ages, the chains that once held it closed lazily draped like iron vines. Past the door of iron and gold trim, the lone figure in a foreign uniform joined the crowd in the dusty parlor. Not one among them would look at home in a crowd; the group was made up of a man in a lab coat and religious regalia, a woman in a flowing black dress, a musician of some fame, and a monstrously large man with tattoos on every inch of his body. Together, they looked out onto the winding hill, surveying the tiny town.


Finally, with the last of the group arriving, the door closed and the woman spoke, "I see that you all arrived, however late. You must be aware of why I called you back to this town?"


"Not the memories, I hope?," laughed the man in the foreign uniform, "No, I imagine it has everything to do with that with my luck..."


The musician laughed in turn, her soothing voice encouraging the rest of the world into silence, "Across the globe to talk about the "good ol' days"? I don't think Valencia is crazy enough to want to talk to us again!"


"Ah...," mouthed the mountain of a man. "M-maybe a reunion would be a good reason? Right?"


"Maybe you all should just allow her to explain?," grouched the man in the lab coat, running beads of jade between his fingers unconsciously."


"Thank you, Cruz, I believe I will as none of you seemed to read my letter." The woman, apparently Valencia, sighed. "I have reason to believe that events similar to those from the distant past are occurring once more. Certain individuals have surfaced once more, and people are beginning to see the the place across the mirrors."


Immediately, the feeling in the room changed. The others glanced between Valencia and the town nervously. She continued, satisfied in getting their attention, "We may have a chance to discover the truth of the occurrences 50 years ago. I will not ask you all to stay, but to those who will, we will meet here again in three weeks to discuss our findings in the town."


The others left in silence, deep in their own thoughts of what should be done now. The figures from the past rejoined the scene of their awakening to the world's true nature; a place of curses and blessings.

End Prologue

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