<![CDATA[ORIGIN - Cassiopeia]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/ Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:28:51 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Moving Day]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12821 Mon, 13 Jul 2026 20:50:07 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12821

The Piano was back at The Organization's old haunt, freshly caught and sedated mystfox in tow. The little creature fit in its box quite well for the time being, but it would need to find a way to contain it while it was away doing other things and before it found a new home.

Magic flowed to the golden alien script on its side, which began to reflect light with an eerie shine. Cassiopeia's dimness became less forbidding to its vision, the shapes and outlines of everything it could see sharper. The Piano rifled through the overgrown vegetation as it wheeled itself along, searching for branches or vines that could be useful for its purpose and stowing any that it found inside its box.

]]>

The Piano was back at The Organization's old haunt, freshly caught and sedated mystfox in tow. The little creature fit in its box quite well for the time being, but it would need to find a way to contain it while it was away doing other things and before it found a new home.

Magic flowed to the golden alien script on its side, which began to reflect light with an eerie shine. Cassiopeia's dimness became less forbidding to its vision, the shapes and outlines of everything it could see sharper. The Piano rifled through the overgrown vegetation as it wheeled itself along, searching for branches or vines that could be useful for its purpose and stowing any that it found inside its box.

]]> <![CDATA[the line between Selfishness and Selflessness (did i ever know it?)]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12750 Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:33:37 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12750 [OOC Timeline Notes: Thread is backdated to during the 9th cycle of the hatched Prison Children (roughly during May of '25), where Khemi has been missing since the prior cycle at that point]

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:
Intense Suicidal Thoughts + Urges and intense Depressive Thoughts
Additionally, Content Includes: Graphic Suicidal Ideation mixed with intense Self-Hatred, Self-Blame, and Self-Worth sentiments



Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and Aleonis hated himself. His body should know just as his mind did that he was not deserving of fulfillment, that for him to satiate himself was a far worse fate that wasting away. To satiate himself meant taking what he wished to take least, required taking the very lifeblood from his siblings in order to keep on living.

His body should not crave it. His mind... He had previously held onto the thought that if he could give to his siblings what mattered, if he could help them and bring him joy, he could pay back the price of himself that he took from them.

Was it naivete that had allowed him to believe such? Or was he simply too selfish to acknowledge the truth of the matter until he was forced to? He knew the answer, but it did not matter compared to the truth that he took more than he could ever give.

It had started as childish naivete. He cared, and he had good intentions, so if he wanted to give even as he took, couldn't he? The straightforward logic of a child.

And as they all did their best to survive, he increasingly saw the truth, but he did not let himself acknowledge seeing it, because he didn't want to.

And now, he did acknowledge the truth, but he had spent so long finding excuses to stay selfish in the guise of good intentions every time he might face it, that he could not discern how to move forward, not when he could not tell how many of his thoughts were those pretty excuses made of selfishness he instinctively had learned to tell himself, if he knew anymore what it looked like to give without taking far more than he gave.

If he didn't exist at all, he couldn't hurt those he wished to hurt least, he knew.

But seeking death wasn't as simple as it should be, not even here where survival was the hard part. He was beginning to think it was his own selfishness that convinced him it was difficult, because he knew it could be easy, but he would not let it be easy once he thought on it.

Starvation would have been fitting. But his older sister, who had sacrificed herself for her younger siblings' sakes in so many ways already saw him starving, he who was straightforward to feed but all the more difficult for it, she would be distressed, would seek to feed him, and he...

He was weak and selfish and if it came to that, he would tell himself that he could not leave her distressed, and then he would take even more from her with his hunger greater. ...He had considered, that maybe he could explain it to her... Have her listen as he pointed out the painful truth...

...That painful truth that his comparatively straightforward to meet hunger needs were a worse thing to keep feeding than the complicated hungers of the rest of his siblings. That he was a worse thing to keep feeding than to not feed at all.

He can't explain, he decided. Because... he thinks, perhaps, his sister might already know. But like he did, he thinks if she does know, she doesn't want to believe it.

But it makes sense that she would realize.

She is the eldest of them, matured here before they even hatched, and she knew how to see what survival can cost. She would take the least of portions to give for his other littermates, especially back when they were entirely unpracticed in getting their own sustenance.

So him, whose hunger weakened the other's bodies in ways that added onto the way their own hunger weakened their bodies...

His siblings took turns feeding him, but... He thinks it was Shadow who first realized the costs of his hunger and did her best to mitigate the damage by thinking of such an idea, maybe.

Or maybe it was their father, who thought up the idea, but even if so, it is the same. Father is not the one who could put it into practice, physically gone more often than he is present. Shadow was here to take care of them, and father took care of them too, gone and then bringing what he could for his children when he was here.

Aleonis could explain to Shadow his reasons, could make himself understood precisely because she knows enough to understand, he thinks. And that is precisely why he can't.

She doesn't want to believe he's not worth caring for, if she's been doing so while seeing the costs. If even now, with Khemi... She never acted like she placed the blame towards Aleonis. She's always treated him as worthy of her care.

He's not, but she's put so much care towards him that if he makes her see what she doesn't want to believe is true... He knows that the more you try not to believe what you see, the worse it hurts when you can't look away. He could explain, but he can't, not if it means hurting her.

Where is the line between selflessness and selfishness, Aleonis wonders, because he feels like that reasoning is genuine truth just as much as he feels it is just another way he's convinced himself to stay a selfish parasite to his family.

Every single idea he has is selfishness validating itself with avoiding hurting his siblings.

If he let the monster that lurks get to him, they might feel they failed to keep him safe, if they found traces of remains. And he is the one who has failed them, and the thought that they might think otherwise is unbearable, he can't allow them to blame themself when he is to blame.

He hurts them but won't stop because he can't bear to hurt them.

Aleonis doesn't know what to do, what to think, and he's kept on going since Khemi... Only because he doesn't know how he might stop.

He wishes to stop existing.

He wishes for his siblings to all be safe and happy.

He wishes...

He wishes...

...He wishes that father was here.

He shouldn't, because father loves them, he cares for them, he soothes their hurts even if he can't solve them, and Aleonis doesn't deserve that.

...He wants it, though, and if he didn't already have such certainty in his own selfishness, this would be proof.

As it is, he already has an excess of proof to that truth of him. It doesn't stop him from hating himself all the more, using every piece of evidence to build upon his own self-loathing to greater heights.

@Bacchus]]> [OOC Timeline Notes: Thread is backdated to during the 9th cycle of the hatched Prison Children (roughly during May of '25), where Khemi has been missing since the prior cycle at that point]

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:
Intense Suicidal Thoughts + Urges and intense Depressive Thoughts
Additionally, Content Includes: Graphic Suicidal Ideation mixed with intense Self-Hatred, Self-Blame, and Self-Worth sentiments



Hunger gnawed at his stomach, and Aleonis hated himself. His body should know just as his mind did that he was not deserving of fulfillment, that for him to satiate himself was a far worse fate that wasting away. To satiate himself meant taking what he wished to take least, required taking the very lifeblood from his siblings in order to keep on living.

His body should not crave it. His mind... He had previously held onto the thought that if he could give to his siblings what mattered, if he could help them and bring him joy, he could pay back the price of himself that he took from them.

Was it naivete that had allowed him to believe such? Or was he simply too selfish to acknowledge the truth of the matter until he was forced to? He knew the answer, but it did not matter compared to the truth that he took more than he could ever give.

It had started as childish naivete. He cared, and he had good intentions, so if he wanted to give even as he took, couldn't he? The straightforward logic of a child.

And as they all did their best to survive, he increasingly saw the truth, but he did not let himself acknowledge seeing it, because he didn't want to.

And now, he did acknowledge the truth, but he had spent so long finding excuses to stay selfish in the guise of good intentions every time he might face it, that he could not discern how to move forward, not when he could not tell how many of his thoughts were those pretty excuses made of selfishness he instinctively had learned to tell himself, if he knew anymore what it looked like to give without taking far more than he gave.

If he didn't exist at all, he couldn't hurt those he wished to hurt least, he knew.

But seeking death wasn't as simple as it should be, not even here where survival was the hard part. He was beginning to think it was his own selfishness that convinced him it was difficult, because he knew it could be easy, but he would not let it be easy once he thought on it.

Starvation would have been fitting. But his older sister, who had sacrificed herself for her younger siblings' sakes in so many ways already saw him starving, he who was straightforward to feed but all the more difficult for it, she would be distressed, would seek to feed him, and he...

He was weak and selfish and if it came to that, he would tell himself that he could not leave her distressed, and then he would take even more from her with his hunger greater. ...He had considered, that maybe he could explain it to her... Have her listen as he pointed out the painful truth...

...That painful truth that his comparatively straightforward to meet hunger needs were a worse thing to keep feeding than the complicated hungers of the rest of his siblings. That he was a worse thing to keep feeding than to not feed at all.

He can't explain, he decided. Because... he thinks, perhaps, his sister might already know. But like he did, he thinks if she does know, she doesn't want to believe it.

But it makes sense that she would realize.

She is the eldest of them, matured here before they even hatched, and she knew how to see what survival can cost. She would take the least of portions to give for his other littermates, especially back when they were entirely unpracticed in getting their own sustenance.

So him, whose hunger weakened the other's bodies in ways that added onto the way their own hunger weakened their bodies...

His siblings took turns feeding him, but... He thinks it was Shadow who first realized the costs of his hunger and did her best to mitigate the damage by thinking of such an idea, maybe.

Or maybe it was their father, who thought up the idea, but even if so, it is the same. Father is not the one who could put it into practice, physically gone more often than he is present. Shadow was here to take care of them, and father took care of them too, gone and then bringing what he could for his children when he was here.

Aleonis could explain to Shadow his reasons, could make himself understood precisely because she knows enough to understand, he thinks. And that is precisely why he can't.

She doesn't want to believe he's not worth caring for, if she's been doing so while seeing the costs. If even now, with Khemi... She never acted like she placed the blame towards Aleonis. She's always treated him as worthy of her care.

He's not, but she's put so much care towards him that if he makes her see what she doesn't want to believe is true... He knows that the more you try not to believe what you see, the worse it hurts when you can't look away. He could explain, but he can't, not if it means hurting her.

Where is the line between selflessness and selfishness, Aleonis wonders, because he feels like that reasoning is genuine truth just as much as he feels it is just another way he's convinced himself to stay a selfish parasite to his family.

Every single idea he has is selfishness validating itself with avoiding hurting his siblings.

If he let the monster that lurks get to him, they might feel they failed to keep him safe, if they found traces of remains. And he is the one who has failed them, and the thought that they might think otherwise is unbearable, he can't allow them to blame themself when he is to blame.

He hurts them but won't stop because he can't bear to hurt them.

Aleonis doesn't know what to do, what to think, and he's kept on going since Khemi... Only because he doesn't know how he might stop.

He wishes to stop existing.

He wishes for his siblings to all be safe and happy.

He wishes...

He wishes...

...He wishes that father was here.

He shouldn't, because father loves them, he cares for them, he soothes their hurts even if he can't solve them, and Aleonis doesn't deserve that.

...He wants it, though, and if he didn't already have such certainty in his own selfishness, this would be proof.

As it is, he already has an excess of proof to that truth of him. It doesn't stop him from hating himself all the more, using every piece of evidence to build upon his own self-loathing to greater heights.

@Bacchus]]> <![CDATA[she david on my david till I david]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12714 Sun, 21 Jun 2026 14:54:42 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12714
There are, of course, many things which make up a person, a thousand invisible mechanisms which form a whole being. But on occasion, something fundamental may go awry.

The creature now called David had many things go wrong in it's creation, perhaps in another lifetime he was meant to spend his life working a sterile 9-5, but instead he was here; being unceremoniously dumped onto the dusty factory floor, still covered in chrysalis fluids.

Shaking himself off, David skittered passed Mr. Mechanic without a word. Beelining directly toward the factory doors. He did not, in fact, want to meet anybody involved with his creation.

@deli]]>
There are, of course, many things which make up a person, a thousand invisible mechanisms which form a whole being. But on occasion, something fundamental may go awry.

The creature now called David had many things go wrong in it's creation, perhaps in another lifetime he was meant to spend his life working a sterile 9-5, but instead he was here; being unceremoniously dumped onto the dusty factory floor, still covered in chrysalis fluids.

Shaking himself off, David skittered passed Mr. Mechanic without a word. Beelining directly toward the factory doors. He did not, in fact, want to meet anybody involved with his creation.

@deli]]> <![CDATA[The Hound-o-Mancer 3000]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12663 Sat, 06 Jun 2026 20:31:18 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12663 Within one of the buildings of Cassiopeia's city sits a gigantic machine, ever churning away and diligently worked on and protected by Mr. Mechanic. From within the central pillar of the machine gleams a radiant light, brilliant turquoise and soft pink, shimmering with facets of gold. Blue sparks occasionally pop from outside the machinery. It is powered by a piece of the Spire infused with magnolet.

Mr. Mechanic routinely feeds random crystals into the machine which are, once per cycle, infused with magic. The machine will move the crystal into its outermost crucible, where the neonate grows safely within. Once the chrysalis hatches, the machine automatically opens and deposits the fully formed gembound on the ground.

Unfortunately, none of these creatures are particularly well designed. The process seems to completely randomize the creations and some may come out crippled or poorly built. But the Mechanic seems not to care, and will treat each of the gembound with genuine pride and will be willing to give them early care and pointers, but will most likely send them on their way long before the end of their first cycle.


Twice per cycle, the randomized creatures will be raffled off - their designs are secret, but a few hints, including animals infused in them, will be released on the raffle opening. The full design will be revealed once the winner is decided.

If there are no raffle participants, the creature will remain unclaimed and in-character the machine will stop working for a while. If the machine has not been active in over a month, you may request a randomized hybrid to be played immediately!

Click here for the current raffle!
]]> Within one of the buildings of Cassiopeia's city sits a gigantic machine, ever churning away and diligently worked on and protected by Mr. Mechanic. From within the central pillar of the machine gleams a radiant light, brilliant turquoise and soft pink, shimmering with facets of gold. Blue sparks occasionally pop from outside the machinery. It is powered by a piece of the Spire infused with magnolet.

Mr. Mechanic routinely feeds random crystals into the machine which are, once per cycle, infused with magic. The machine will move the crystal into its outermost crucible, where the neonate grows safely within. Once the chrysalis hatches, the machine automatically opens and deposits the fully formed gembound on the ground.

Unfortunately, none of these creatures are particularly well designed. The process seems to completely randomize the creations and some may come out crippled or poorly built. But the Mechanic seems not to care, and will treat each of the gembound with genuine pride and will be willing to give them early care and pointers, but will most likely send them on their way long before the end of their first cycle.


Twice per cycle, the randomized creatures will be raffled off - their designs are secret, but a few hints, including animals infused in them, will be released on the raffle opening. The full design will be revealed once the winner is decided.

If there are no raffle participants, the creature will remain unclaimed and in-character the machine will stop working for a while. If the machine has not been active in over a month, you may request a randomized hybrid to be played immediately!

Click here for the current raffle!
]]> <![CDATA[[Quest] Factory Settings]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12600 Wed, 20 May 2026 18:44:30 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=12600 In the wake of the silence that had overtaken the caves as of late, small sounds were amplified so that even a pebble falling might be heard from quite a distance away. And these still, quiet winds carried echoes from Cassipeia - odd sounds had been coming from the city center over the last cycle, apparently uninterested in the quiet. Metal scraping and squeaking, the occasional tapping of stone on stone, and an occasional whirring sound that never got louder then a squeal bounced from wall to wall and echoed out of the cave. But it was hard to tell exactly where those sounds were coming from. Until...

BANG! GRRGHHHH BROOGHHGUGUH......
BOOOOM!!!


A number of rats and other Lessers nearby fled in terror as a series of loud metallic sounds ripped through the silence, followed immediately by a loud, frustrated shout and another, quieter, BANG! and a clatter. The source could at last be identified as one of the larger buildings in the city, closer to the temple but set closer to the wall, unnoticed and undisturbed. An area of the city where once, perhaps, the wealthy and high-ranking valkhounds once inhabited.

A faint trail of smoke was beginning to rise from a crack in the ceiling of the building. Gembound attempting to investigate may actually find the large metal door leading into this building to be locked. Odd...
The quest Factory Settings has begun! Gembound are welcome to investigate the source of the odd sounds or attempt to find a way into the building. There is no threat of serious danger here and a task may present itself in the near future. The next post will take place in a few days' time.
]]> In the wake of the silence that had overtaken the caves as of late, small sounds were amplified so that even a pebble falling might be heard from quite a distance away. And these still, quiet winds carried echoes from Cassipeia - odd sounds had been coming from the city center over the last cycle, apparently uninterested in the quiet. Metal scraping and squeaking, the occasional tapping of stone on stone, and an occasional whirring sound that never got louder then a squeal bounced from wall to wall and echoed out of the cave. But it was hard to tell exactly where those sounds were coming from. Until...

BANG! GRRGHHHH BROOGHHGUGUH......
BOOOOM!!!


A number of rats and other Lessers nearby fled in terror as a series of loud metallic sounds ripped through the silence, followed immediately by a loud, frustrated shout and another, quieter, BANG! and a clatter. The source could at last be identified as one of the larger buildings in the city, closer to the temple but set closer to the wall, unnoticed and undisturbed. An area of the city where once, perhaps, the wealthy and high-ranking valkhounds once inhabited.

A faint trail of smoke was beginning to rise from a crack in the ceiling of the building. Gembound attempting to investigate may actually find the large metal door leading into this building to be locked. Odd...
The quest Factory Settings has begun! Gembound are welcome to investigate the source of the odd sounds or attempt to find a way into the building. There is no threat of serious danger here and a task may present itself in the near future. The next post will take place in a few days' time.
]]> <![CDATA[The Organization]]> https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=11228 Thu, 30 Mar 2023 16:39:45 -0500 https://origin.boreal-nights.space/showthread.php?tid=11228
The Organization is a group of shady Gembounds aiming for a bundle of interconnected goals.

1. To be needed and respected throughout the caves.
2. To that end, to provide necessary goods and services,
3. And to defend its interests and reputation, by force, if necessary.

They are not thugs, but rather, they aim to be respectable and to honor their word, as grim as that word may be. The procurement of revivable gemstones, living Lessers, toxic plants and fungus, bounties on living Gembounds, and more are all on the table. The Organization is currently settled in a tall building in Cassiopeia's City Center. This building was chosen for its good views of the ruined streets below, and a central location; its aesthetic is urban derelict.

For more information, view the OOC concept thread.

_______________

Current Members: Archimedes, Deli, Bacchus, Mossie, Agate Two-Three-Six, and The Piano

Group Spell: Intimidate. (Animal) A combination of body language and magical pheromones attempts to intimidate a target into shocked fear. This is more effective against Lesser Gembound, allowing an additional action to be used against them before they can react. Less effective against targets with stronger willpower.

Need Something? Feel free to OOCly organize a thread with any of our available members--or make a thread in Cepheus or its surroundings, tagging Archimedes.
_______________

Current Inventory: -- will be updated as the group progresses

Past Threads:

• EYYYY I'M WALKIN' HERE (Formation Thread)

]]>
The Organization is a group of shady Gembounds aiming for a bundle of interconnected goals.

1. To be needed and respected throughout the caves.
2. To that end, to provide necessary goods and services,
3. And to defend its interests and reputation, by force, if necessary.

They are not thugs, but rather, they aim to be respectable and to honor their word, as grim as that word may be. The procurement of revivable gemstones, living Lessers, toxic plants and fungus, bounties on living Gembounds, and more are all on the table. The Organization is currently settled in a tall building in Cassiopeia's City Center. This building was chosen for its good views of the ruined streets below, and a central location; its aesthetic is urban derelict.

For more information, view the OOC concept thread.

_______________

Current Members: Archimedes, Deli, Bacchus, Mossie, Agate Two-Three-Six, and The Piano

Group Spell: Intimidate. (Animal) A combination of body language and magical pheromones attempts to intimidate a target into shocked fear. This is more effective against Lesser Gembound, allowing an additional action to be used against them before they can react. Less effective against targets with stronger willpower.

Need Something? Feel free to OOCly organize a thread with any of our available members--or make a thread in Cepheus or its surroundings, tagging Archimedes.
_______________

Current Inventory: -- will be updated as the group progresses

Past Threads:

• EYYYY I'M WALKIN' HERE (Formation Thread)

]]>