forum Trapped in the Encante (reboot) | o/o or small group | closed

Started August 04, 2024 by @Tired-but-passionate

tune

The jungle stretched on and on, the full moon your only source of light. You don’t know why you are here. You can’t remember. The last thing you remember was the alluring song you heard on the air, it must have brought you here. It’s strange, but you feel the sense of magic in every fiber of the jungle and get the sense that you are being watched. Figures dart in and out of the shadows, chill bumps cover your skin.
Mortality, the shadows of the jungle whisper, it comes to taint our immortality.
The song rises in the air, a beautiful voice— no, voices— pull you forward. But then you’re at a crossroads. The song is pulling you in two different directions.
Come, be immortal with us.

Alright so: The Encante is a magical realm parallel to the real world, where all immortals make their home. Gods, monsters and spirits run amok, but humans can become trapped here too. The magic of the Encante corrupts humans’ bodies and souls, transforming them into encantados. These are creatures who were once human, but have become creatures such as a boto, a mermaid, a spirit, and the like. They still remember and desire the struggles and pleasures of the human experience, and often escape the Encante. They cause chaos and fear in the human world, and often bring humans back into the Encante with them.
Now, your character has been lured into the Encante, and two demigods are vying to have you for themselves. Jaci Jaterê, the god of rest and sleep and keeper of treasures, who entrances human children with his face and voice; and Iara, mother of water and queen of freshwater mermaids, who’s siren song draws humans to her waters and drowns them. However, although they originally intended to play with you, the little mortal, and eventually have you killed, they soon find they both have affection for you. At the same time, you are trying to deal with slowly becoming an encantado, and you have to escape the Encante if you want to stay human.
Sooo yeah. Fun.

Rules/Disclaimers

• this is based on Brazilian/ Latin-indigenous myth, as well as the creative liberties I have made with it. You don’t necessarily need to be well-versed in it for this, but it may be helpful to do research so you have a better understanding of the world.
• yes, you will be the human, I will be the demigods. I’m cool with someone else joining tho, in that case I’ll only be one demigod
• this kinda like a dating sim ahaha, you can choose between Jaci Jaterê, Iara, both, or neither. We can discuss it beforehand, or we can just see what happens, I’m chill with anything.
• humans transforming into encantados can vary depending on the personality and experiences of the person, so how long it takes to be corrupted and what creature you become varies quite a bit.
• pls be an experienced rper or writer. If I have not rped with you before, I will ask for a sample.
• fyi, replies might be spotty bc I’m pretty busy these days

(Here we go. My replies are typically about this length give or take a small paragraph. Edit: I try my best to match the length of my RP partner's replies, though.)

(The markets in the middle of the week were never exceptionally busy, so Theon couldn't be upset at the dwindling traffic passing by his stall. He sat in front of a table piled with loaves all various shades of brown. Pastries dusted with sugar aligned on plates, only a handful of open spaces dotted the arrangement. His chin rested in his hand while he watched passersby. He only set up shop with last night's bread for entertainment and a little extra cash in his pockets. Life at home got dreadfully boring with only a manservant and a dog to keep him company in those dreary halls. He could only bake so many goods in a day, after all.

The aforementioned dog, Ailean, dozed lazily behind Theon's chair—laziness which was well deserved after pulling that mountain of bread in a small cart down three blocks. Theon reached down to pat Ailean's head, then a scratch behind his ears. This was rewarded with the rythmic sound of the pup's tail hitting dirt.

Theon's other hand drummed against the table after his head raised. While the denizens were entertaining enough, he supposed a peaceful day like this could use a bit more excitement.)

There was a song hanging in the air, Marli recalled. Beautiful and haunting, it'd turned her mind into nothing but fog. It baited her feet gradually to one side of the path. Closer to the jungle. Closer than she ever preferred on her usual evening walks. That—and a fleeting thought to her mother who'd warned her of the alluring songs of the encantado—was the last thing she remembered.

Marli inhaled the largest breath she'd ever taken as her head broke through the surface of the water. She desperately groped around for anything to keep her upright and found the bank. Her toes sank into mud while she clawed at the moss, realizing with profound relief that this was only a stream. At last she pulled herself up and onto the bank. Adrenaline still pumping through her blood, she laid on her back, vacantly staring up at a ceiling of trees. She coughed on her own saliva and the mouthful of murky water she'd swallowed. Hands folded over her pulsing belly, she eventually regained tenuous rein over her breathing.

Marli gulped at her fluttering throat once, twice, coughed again, then pushed herself up to standing on wobbly knees. She took stock over her own body first. All of her clothes were still on, if not thoroughly soaked. Her tank top's only injury seemed to be an elongated elastic strap that fell off her shoulder. The overalls that cut off to her midthighs, to their credit, were still buckled. She deemed her sandals uncomfortably wet, but still suitable for walking. Examining her freckled skin for injuries, she found several leeches hanging off her limbs. She winced at them and began the painstaking process of removing them. They were not the first leeches she'd removed in her life. This very moment reminded her of the first time her dad taught her how to remove the little nuisances. Those days at the creek were some of her favorites.

Her environment was next. It was dark. Marli could hardly hear her own thoughts over the intersecting calls of too many animals. Besides that, the most unnerving part of it all was the feeling that this was not her rainforest. There was an energy here that pricked at her skin, or as if someone were tugging at strands of her mousy hair. It seemed silly to her own mind, but the word that rose in her head above all others whispered magic. You've entered the Encante.

It was a warm night, the full moon shining down upon the shifting jungle. Magic wove itself into the DNA of every living thing, keeping every alive and strange. Many creatures lived here, both dangerous and benevolent. They waited in the shadows, or watched the stars above. This place was not meant to trod by those who had no magic woven into the fabric of their cells, whose destiny was to have their bodies deteriorate by natural means. No, this was the land of the immortals, where no pain, illness, or death lived, where riches and magic filled the soil. Where the very air sought to infect anything unlike itself. Where creatures and deities alike hungry for something mortal to devour.
As the full moon shined to illuminate the area, even it seemed to watch over the girl with eyes made of secrets. The poor, mortal girl. Fireflies flickered here and there around her. A narrow dirt path lead off into the jungle, and a slow melody rose in the air once more. It was faint, but if Marli strained, she could make it out. It was like the forest itself was singing to her.

Marli shook lingering droplets from her body and wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders. She turned in a slow circle to take in what surroundings she could. Besides the intermittent light from the lightning bugs, she could hardly see beyond the tree's silhouettes through bleary vision. With a few extra blinks the world focused into view under a startingly bright moon. There, a break in the wall of shrubbery, a line of dirt that fed deeper into the jungle.

Marli's first instinct was to follow the stream instead. It would likely feed into a river, and rivers usually meant she would eventually find signs of civilization. Just before she began her journey, a sound pricked her attention. A familiar sound—a sound so beautiful it hurt—that tugged at her heart's fibers. Marli's twenty-one years of human logic could never explain how a song that just barely drifted over the breeze could promise all of her desires. She knew no words to explain why her instincts fluttered away in favor of the path, or why she found herself walking towards it.

The stream did in fact lead to a river. And that river ran on and on, but not towards civilization. It only lead deeper and deeper into the magical realm. Eventually, one might even find the ruler of the river, before being drowned.
But that couldn’t happen. She couldn’t get to this mortal first. As Marli headed towards the path, she would be able to make out more of the song. It was like birdsong, a lilting whistle that echoes off of trees and rock. Even the actual birds seemed to be drawn to it; soon a whole flock of them flew overhead, shaking the trees’ crowns of leaves.
The rainforest seemed to be waking up to the mortal’s presence. The underbrush rustled, shadows flitting over the surface of the fronds and ferns. The trees seemed to bend toward Marli as she walked further down the path.
It was only a matter of time. The mortal was right where she needed to be.

Marli jumped at every movement. She stumbled over her feet on more than one occasion. The flock of birds left her shoulders with blanched fingermarks pressed in the skin, and shifting trees sent shivers deep into her bones. Lucid as the foreign energy made her to the environment, she quickened pace down the path. If she could just reach the song she would be safe. And if not safe, it was at least familiar. The song must have baited her for a purpose. Beyond attraction, curiosity drove her forward.

While she walked on, Marli's hair began to dry in stringy, brown ringlets. Damp strands stuck to her forehead. Others plastered themselves to the underside of her jaw, her cheeks, and her neck where they reached the farthest. She pushed them behind her ears in a deft movement. Her hands drifted down after to cradle the sides of her neck while she glowered at the all-encompasing trees. They seemed almost like animate beings, and she couldn't shake the feeling as if she were being scrutinized. As if she were on a final walk towards judgement.

A new sound rose in the air. A new melody, conjoining itself to the birdsong. A deep, flowing voice with a slightly inhuman timbre. Damn. She knows. Maybe she always did; the mortal entered through the stream.
The two melodies wove together into one harmonized song, though each seemed to be trying to overpower the other. It was strange. Why did he want this one so much? Wasn’t he more interested in the mortal children? But then, why did she want this mortal girl? She always liked the prideful young men.
Eventually, the path split. Toward the left, Marli would hear the sounds of water. The deeper voice seemed to be coming from that direction. Did it lead back to the stream? To the right, a chorus of birdsong. The high whistling seemed to be coming from that way. Hidden eyes watched the mortal, to see which she would choose.