Young Writers Society

Nobody remembers the how, they just remember the when.

Twelve years ago, the sun vanished. The stars vanished. Something took their place.

Some people call it the Aurora ring. Some people call it a black hole. Some call it The Void. A Nightmare. Terror. The end of the world.

We call it The Last Light.

No one knows where it came from, but something took the place of everything in our sky. No more night or day. Electricity stopped soon after. For lots of folks, this was the end. But, for those who were able to survive the first month or so, they soon realized that not all light was gone from the world.

Something arrived and took the place of everything in our night sky. In the north, a large ring appeared in the black sky. After it arrived, a persistent aurora covered the skyline and provided a beacon of safety and security for all who could see it. All who couldn't... well, they followed the rest who never saw The Last Light.

This solace was not a savior. It was a trap.

Stay too long in the light, and it will swallow you whole. No one really knows why or how this happens, but if you stay under direct light of the ring or its auroras, you will die. For the longest time, we didn't know what happened, but we knew well enough to stay out of direct light.

After ten years of living under the Last Light, things changed for us. The details are a bit fuzzy, but some members of the remaining towns starting being able to see things others could not. We called them Onlookers because of that. With the onset of Onlookers, we began to learn more about The Last Light and how it affected us.

With the Onlookers' help, we found ways to harvest vegetables and grow plants, and then grow crops for us to eat, and even started raising livestock. We also developed ways to stay out of the Last Light and survive long enough to transport things between cities.

We also learned more about The Last Light itself and what it did to humans if they stood in the light's way for too long. The auroras aren't just auroras, they're arms, or maybe tendrils. Stand in the Light too long, and you become transfixed, and the ring pulls you in. Once pulled into the ring, the body just... slumps to the ground and gets absorbed into any soil underneath them, turning into black puss.

We also learned that maybe humans weren't as alone as we thought with the Last Light around. There are... beings that exist alongside us now, that only Onlookers can see and interact with. For example, we first found out about the Wanderers, large four legged creatures who can extend their neck to feast upon the auroras. They are mostly docile and we've been able to use them to hasten travel between cities, with the help of Onlookers.

These beings can interact with us, though, and we've learned that the hard way. The Last Light is not the only thing that is dangerous to humans, and venture out of its reach... that land is no longer ours.

So where do you come into this?

You live in New Vale, one of the larger towns in what used to be Northern Canada. You're apart of the team that volunteered for this mission. You see, two weeks ago, one of the other towns in the area, Peoria, sent out a signal that shocked everyone. It started up and old radio receiver that we kept around for nostalgia (and, well, pointless hope)'s sake, saying that they made a breakthrough. Obviously, everyone around got that much, and we immediately started trying to reach back out in any way we could. However, we haven't heard from anyone we send to Peoria and we've had no contact from them since. We are the closest city to Peoria, so we have been tasked with sending out a search group to see what happened. Traveling between cities in large groups is deadly stuff, so there's not many of you. Sorry, that's just how it needs to be.

Now, listen, it's great and all that you have volunteered, but I need to make you very aware of what you're doing by signing up for this. The path from New Vale to Peoria is filled with perils.

Lightfall ~ Lightfall starts as a regular snow storm, but turns luminescent and the snow into ice shards that can pierce clothing and skin. If it pierces skin, it will begin to rapidly age that area until it becomes necrotic. Lightfall has no cure.

Stalkers ~ a predatory shadow born from The Last Light that is attracted to your heartbeat. The faster your heartbeat, the more likely you will be stalked.

Long-Legs ~ A piece of aurora that has impacted the earth and has become dormant and difficult to see. Do not interact with one if you find it.

Nullwipe ~ Nullwipe is an event that where all auroras will retract back into the ring, causing a complete blackout. If this happens when you are out of town, do not listen to the whispers. Do not open your eyes. Do not sit down.

Extracators ~ These are long creatures that are believed to be related to the Wanderers. These beings will not feast upon the auroras, but instead rip them apart. Any interaction with either an aurora or an Extracator is not recommended.

And the danger of the unknown, which cannot be understated.

Got all that? Still interested. Good, fill this out.

Code: Select all

[b]Name: [/b]
[b]Age: [/b]
[b]Pronouns: [/b]

[b]Appearance: [/b]
[b]Personality: [/b]
[b]Are you an Onlooker? [/b]

[b]Profession before The Last Light: [/b]
[b]New Vale Profession: [/b]

[b]History before The Last Light: [/b]
[b]History after The Last Light: [/b]
[b]Reason for volunteering: [/b]

[b]Other: [/b]

Thanks everyone, here's the team.

• Reserved by Omni
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• Reserved by yosh
• Reserved by Corvid
• Reserbed by AmayaStatham