[Video]// backdated to the first liminal space

[neverfeltthatway]

...I found the King's sigil again.

[Armin projects a brief look around, so people can know where he is, and then looks down to a manhole cover in one of the underpasses - where, just as he said, the golden sigil sits. Uncharacteristically, his tone is short and abrupt.]

Avoid this place.


[Private to Leo]

I'm not sure the same protections will work here, with all the traffic. Any ideas?

Comments

[neverfeltthatway]

It's not a stupid question - I was just more concerned about keeping people away while we work to contain it than explaining it to newcomers.

Four jaunts ago, The King in Yellow - some kind of god or demon, a being of immense power, of fear and madness - tried to manifest into a version of earth. We stopped him - but only just barely. His sign and creatures have been haunting liminal space ever since - this is at least the fourth time it's appeared.

There's evidence that his power is such to rival the Trumps. He interfered with both liminal space and the telepathic network during that jaunt. The first two times the sign appeared, there were sort of creatures in the drain, though the second time it was never fully released. But I think it's safe to say he may have gained a foothold here.

[mysunnydisposition]

Okay, well that's... terrifying.

How hard is it to contain it? Like... is it fine as long as no one goes and pokes it, or do you have to do something to make sure nothing comes crawling out of it?

[neverfeltthatway]

I'm not really sure if someone interfered with it the first time, or if they came out on their own. Given what's happened since that, it'd seem like someone has to interfere with it? But we don't have enough information for me to be confident about that.

There are some people here who know more about the mythos, and are able to take steps to make sure they can't come out without help from the outside - make a cage around it, and put some sort of protective symbols on the cage. I guess that keeps them in? But to be honest... I don't really understand how it works. I'm just guarding the sign until they can get here and seal it, like every time I manage to find it.

[howexciting]

... the first time, Kongou knocked the drain from its place. It was active interference that caused the King in Yellow to almost step through. Others returned the drain to its place the second time before it was irreversible.

[mysunnydisposition]

Good to know. Thanks, both of you.

....second question. You showed us the sigil. Is it... dangerous by itself? Like, if someone drew it on something, just to make a record or whatever, would it still have power?

[howexciting]

No! I-I mean, yes, it's dangerous, very dangerous! The Yellow Sign is worn by members of his cult to identify one another. But that is not its only purpose. Even by accident, anyone who possesses the sign - drawn on a page they keep in their home or on their person, worn as an amulet around the neck, tattooed into the skin - is susceptible to the King in Yellow's influence, or one of his heirs, who are just as terrifying and powerful as the King himself. It could be as simple as mind control, and it could be as horrifying as complete possession. The...

[He swallows, hard, his mental voice falling silent for a long moment.]

... the last person who was subjected to the sign was to be turned into the King in Yellow himself, their avatar on Earth. The ritual was interrupted, and she did not survive the process. Thank God she didn't. If she had, she would have been turned into a many-limbed monstrosity, and her mind would have been torn apart, flayed by the King in Yellow, her humanity and sense of self removed to better understand his maddening word and turn the world to chaos around her.

[mysunnydisposition]

....okay then. That's a slightly more graphic description than I really needed, but thanks.

You can relax, by the way. I wasn't actually planning to do it. Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a little sense...

[howexciting]

S-sorry, I am used to offering up all relevant information. I will be sure to rein in my explanations in the future.

I... I can't. Not until the drain is dealt with. Mi dispiace, I never meant to imply you were stupid. I merely wanted to prevent disaster before it could happen.

[mysunnydisposition]

No problem. I could tell you're... a little freaked out. For good reason, from the sound of it.

...and you can keep giving me all the information. I'd rather know it than run into trouble unprepared, and in this place... I get that the people who can give me that information aren't always going to be around when it's relevant. Just, y'know... give a girl a little warning first? Before we jump into tentacle monsters and mind-flaying.

[howexciting]

... so I should warn you that He is dangerous, but not warn you how dangerous He is or what He is capable of?

[Seems a little counter-intuitive to him.]

[mysunnydisposition]

No, I just...

[ Steph sighs loudly. ]

I didn't realize we could still be in danger in Liminal Space. So you just... surprised me. That's all.

[neverfeltthatway]

...I guess this is something we should do a better job of explaining to newcomers. Sorry.

I think it doesn't get passed around because people don't like to think about it much in the first place, and newcomers are probably overwhelmed enough. But we should still try to follow up with this stuff.

[howexciting]

I will try to be more diligent about letting everyone know about the King in Yellow and the drain. When it comes up again, I will explain what I know should someone ask about it.

... the problem is, madonna, we usually are not. It is only when the Trumps believe we have failed a Jaunt or when the drain appears that we are in any danger at all. We can walk up surfaces as if there is no gravity. We can still use what powers we have gained from other worlds. But none of us know, nor frankly want to know, what would happen if we let the King in Yellow into Liminal Space.