Arkadia

(Here is what I had as a starter and it will give you a good idea of what to expect. The name comes from the odd internet tails during the early 2010’s. Which I may take a LOT of inspiration from. Not generic ones like Jeff or some of those but you get the gist. I don’t really have experience with HTML so no flashy backgrounds will be found. Although I can promise things like pictures and stuff to help paint the scene. Message me if you have any questions. I want character creation to be simple. Just a normal person in a seemingly normal town with weird rumors. It’s up to you to choose to believe them or not. As the story progresses things will be subject to change around us. I may even try to influence your character as the G.M. to make a choice which could lead to good things or bad things. I don’t want to give away to many secrets. Truth be told I want this to be a slow burn and keep those already enticed more so with mystery. If this seems fun to you… Create a character for the town. I promise you will be pleasantly surprised.)

Character creation is as follows.

Name:
Age:
Height
Weight:
Hair Color:
Eye color:
Gender:
Ethnicity:
Occupation:
Backstory:

More character creation to come as the story progresses.

A forum thread was posted. A small notification popped on anyone’s screen willing to read it. It was on one of those old forum sites where literally everyone could post. This was bound to get a lot of negative feedback from the community but the O.P. was uncaring of that particular problem. Things like “O.P.”s a fake.” or some generic reference to some other meme worthy thing. A creepy gif here. A picture of an enlightened body there.

The strangest thing was the actual post in question.

Anonymous: “What started out as the summer before college entrance ended up being not as fun as I wanted it to be. I went camping with some friends. Long story short… If ever a tree looks like it’s hiding a tall thin figure behind it. Flesh stark white as if petrified bark. Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. He’s very real.”

A video was posted which validated the anonymous poster or at least it looked as if it could have been real. The quality was very poor and static could be seen clipping through the video as it started. Random figures could be seen going through some forest. Four to be exact. Just youthful people somewhere between teens and adults. A shitty beat up car in the background. Alcohol, lawn chairs, backpacks filled with equipment to hang for a few days. They spoke and it was barely audible because of poor camera work. All seemed well for the group. Just a bunch of young adults with their whole lives ahead of them.

A quick transition later.

Darkness, the hour read something that must have been in the evening. A campfire is the only light to show anything and given the already poor film quality it wasn’t much. Just thin trees and no one around. Shadows crept from the darkness. Thin tendrils slowly extend along the ground. They thrashed, writhed, and twitched as the quality got progressively worse.

Eventually the static and stalled images became so bad that the video died.

It cut back in and with standard V.H.S. quality. Sun high in the sky it had to be about noon. No one to be found except the cameraman pointing the camera at himself now. Screaming into the microphone. He was visibly frightened, panicked, and brought to tears. Nothing could still be made out audibly. Yet, it was clear he was alone. Lost and alone with no one around except the shadows the trees made.

The video stopped and the man trying to bring attention to this story was the same man who manned the camera. A bit more grizzled and definitely depressed looking. The last thing our unlikely protagonist did was cut off the laptop he posted from. It set in he was alone and that he owed those in the video some solace in their disappearance. He knew they weren’t going to be found and that they were never to return.

Name: Hullen Shook
Age: 22
Height 5’5″
Weight: 150
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye color: Brown
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Caucasian

Occupation: College Student
Backstory: (You kind of got it through story telling)

Time would tell if he would find any information.

—

It eventually did after weeks had passed. More reports surfaced and checked by the O.P. which led him to his belief that he only had one real option for College. He placed the labtop and his camera in a bag before heading out to some jalopy. It was a lengthy drive out to College. He began to wonder if it would make the trip.

Still he threw several bags in the back seat and began his travels. He knew he had to make a good way for himself before nightfall. His new sleep paralysis demon as he affectionately called the creature plaguing him now. It would be riding his tail gate if he didn’t find a place to rest. Early to bed and early to rise was the only way he avoided it. Maybe when he got to Hillvale specifically he’d find solace.

He knew the town had old magic. Maybe that same magic would take pity on him. If not, cast him to the waste side for his own stupidity. Demons, monsters, creatures that went bump in the night. He still didn’t truly know if any of it was real, or just some concept his own mind made up to cope with the disappearance of friends over the course of a night. He was a skeptic through and through.

Hillvale, Massachusetts wasn’t far off from Salem. Everyone’s heard the story of what the settlers called “Witches.” Most now a days believed that the actions taken were just power plays or attempts at land or money. It was a new land after all for the folks that came from the Mayflower. Anyone who practiced knew the truth. Massachusetts had a knack for being a paranormal hot spot. Cryptids, odd happenings, and unexplainable occurrences happened enough through the years. It was because it was a Leyline intersection. Leyline’s being hypothetical alignments between places of power, which may be magical, magnetic, or psychic in nature. These intersections or places of power are where two or more leylines cross and are often known as Ley Nodes, Nodes, or Nexuses. Nodes are often regarded as spooky or unearthly.​

Sometimes they can be seen and crossed at their intersections. It depends on the time when things will happen and it’s never truly consistent. Sometimes it can happen during a time of day. Maybe it happens during the Solstace. There is never conclusive evidence you’ll find it. All that’s really known is that this is when the supernatural is at it’s most powerful. Able to cross into our world for however long it would be during the evening into the early morning.

Locations

The College campus in question is an Art University. A beautiful picturesque building near the lake side. It offers several courses for those looking into higher learning, they include but are not limted to cinematography, culinary, graphic design, animation, and others. The town also has enough Cafe’s, book stores, and interesting tid-bits to keep those interested. One of these book stores just so happens to be marked as a Psychic Eye Book Store. It’s one of the few places you can find essential oils, incense for burning, books on the occult, tarot cards, etc.

Most notably places within the town include a Museum of Natural History and Art. It has a decent exhibit for paleontology, a Planetarium, a exhibit for the up and coming art students of the college as well as town stars. It even tells of the history of Massachusetts.

The lakeside gives a good fishing spot for recreation. Boat rentals and such go out to the public on a regular basis. It’s a pretty romantic date spot for the ladies. It’s close to an old mill and banquet hall for town meetings and such.

The old Graveyards of the town give it a somewhat ominous feeling at night time. Often is the case people claim they see people walking around in the evenings inspecting the graves. It’s led more than a few nosy nelly’s to inspect the area. Those people often come up missing and if they’re ever found they never go snooping again. People around this area of the town are usually the types to be involved with the Home Owners Association for the area. As there’s enough residential spots including the dorms of the college here. Everybody should know the H.O.A. is not to be messed with.

On the outskirts of town is where the vast majority of the town myths happen. People to often talk about a prison. However, this is not a state penitentiary. People say it houses criminals that aren’t normal. Although no one can prove this as the town’s mayor and most of it’s politicians don’t even acknowledge it exists. They dismiss the building and say that it’s been shut down for years. Also, that it was only active during the 1950’s through 1970’s. The politicians will also not acknowledge the gangs that fight on the out skirts of the town. Bikers and greasers go to war every weekend blocking off the way to the next state. No one acknowledges this and some say they have odd eye colors. As if they were burning. They speak of red and yellow hues. Some of them even speak of the rogues being feral and animal like. Reports of wolves do often get run over to often on the road.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by
  Shane .
• This topic was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by
  Shane .