CEARTAS

Echtra (pl. Echtrae): One mortals journey to the Otherworld. (dev blog for the upcoming twine IF The Echtra). The Echtra is 18+—No Minors please.

[theechtra]

There was darkness, a blinding sense of chaos, and then suddenly there was a light. It burned so brightly, so brilliantly, that I couldn't help but admire its beauty even as it seared across my body and blistered every inch of exposed flesh it could find.

When I was finally pulled away, I was weeping not because of the pain—I was weeping for the loss of that light.

You wanted a vacation. That's it. A nice break away from your mundane life to visit your old friend at their new home in Ireland. You were going to be gone for no more than a week, tops, and then you'd be right back at the corporate grind. You anticipated green hills. You anticipated lots of pubs, lots of music, and very little space left in your photo gallery by the end of it.

What you didn't expect was another world that—scientifically speaking—should not exist at all. What you didn't expect was to be told that you're now in charge of a royal murder investigation and that you're on a time crunch to finish it. A time crunch of six months, to be exact.

Also, to top it all off, failure on your behalf could lead to the reigniting of a lethal war.

Between Fae, politics, and your life on the line, something tells you that your pub crawl may have to wait a while.

Select your gender, sexuality, and appearance

Play the political field of the Fae

Deal with shadowy beings that don't have your best interests at heart (probably)

Investigate a murder or two.

Get back home... if you desire.

Idris [M]— The current and youngest king of the Unseelie Court. Idris has retained an iron hold over his court since the end of The Dealg War, a lethal battle involving the Fae Courts that ended in several secessions. With Prince Beithir's death, his court is now under the eye of every Fae once again—a situation that's beginning to put strain on his hold. Is he being truthful when he says he had nothing to do with the murder, or is this just an attempt to preserve his power?

Gwyn [F]— Rider of The Wild Hunt and a Knight of the Autumn Court, Gwyn is a half-Fae that has resided in the Otherworld since her birth. A loyal servant to both her Court and her family, Gwyn is the individual who pulls you into the Otherworld under the request of Séaghdha. Although standoffish at first, she's one of the two people you're stuck with during your investigation. Is she truly unbiased, or is she still under the direction of another power?

Morgan [NB]— Your best friend and the reason you got into this mess in the first place. With a never-ending sense of adventure and a disregard for their own safety, Morgan has been there for you since they slugged your bully in grade 1. Your reuniting with them in Ireland is what set off the investigation, and things are only further escalated when Morgan reveals their status as a Changeling. How much do they really know about what's going on, and are they even the Morgan you know anymore?

Séaghdha [Selectable]— The charismatic Hawk courtier, Séaghdha is a renown individual in the Seelie Court and a close personal friend of the deceased Crown Prince. Caught in the throes of mourning, Séaghdha declares you as the unbiased investigator of the Prince's death, forcing you into the Otherworld and into a social climate that's as unstable as it was during the war. Why did they choose you, and better yet, why won't they let you leave?

The Prowler [M]— Someone who knows more than he's letting on. You've only seen him in your peripheral, but you know that he's been playing audience since the Crown Prince's death. Who is this shadowy figure, and what role does he play in this chess game of deception?

The Echtra is a Horror Fantasy tale created in tribute to Celtic Mythology. It currently stands at 15k.

DEMO— PATREON — KO-FI—CHARACTER PAGE—FAQ

[theechtra]

I think your tag list might be broken because none of the links work. They all lead to "Not Found The URL you requested could not be found." error page.

Hi! They're working on my end; the only things not working are the tags that have nothing under them yet, which makes sense! I'm not too sure why it's showing up as not working on your end!

[sunbathe]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRV_ISejQVq/

[theechtra]

oh no oh no nuzzle with Idris if you are still accepting prompts!

[NUZZLE] - sender nuzzles into receiver's neck.

His hand trails slowly down your arm, fingers brushing against the skin like a painters touch, his own magic leaving faint trails of orange in his wake that eventually fade from sight. You still feel them though, settling into you with an oddly comforting gesture. Music is played softly by unseen hands from the harp in the corner of the room and only serves to lull you into a deeper state of bliss. Inside this room, away from the frigid cold of the northern lands outside, it is easy to lose yourself to sensations.

Idris himself seems to be in a rare state of relaxation; his body is not tense and taut, he isn't mumbling out loud about the thousands of things that need to be done, and you have yet to be disrupted by any attendants knocking on the door to request his presence.

You press your face further into the crook between his neck and shoulder at this thought; it's so rare to have him to yourself these days. Albeit, a lack of quality time is what you expected considering who Idris is, but still.

It's rather lonely.

His fingers slow to a stop on your arm and you feel him turn his head ever so slightly. You feel the rise and fall of his chest as a slow sigh escapes from him, and then moments later his hand comes to rest on the back of your head, holding you closer than before. He, too, is aware of the rarity of this time—and just how limited it truly is.

You close your eyes and sink into the feelings—the sound of the harps strings, the feel of Idris' hand on you, the sharp scent that he always seems to carry—as you speak no words. No words are needed, after all, when you both already know what the other is thinking.

[theechtra]

Séaghdha with (back) or (forehead), please?

[BACK] - sender rubs a hand up and down receiver's back.

"Spare thoughts for the curious?"

Their voice serves to pull you from your rumination as your attention is drawn from the scenery below. Unlike your previous journey to the Summer Palace—which is one you would like to forget—the tranquility of this one is gradually serving to replace those murky memories.

Séaghdha has certainly served to assist in this. They move gracefully across the marble floor as they approach you, their golden eyes glimmering with amusement. The faint fragrance of citrus surrounds them, and when they rest one warm hand on your back, you can feel your body easing back into their touch.

"Can you not just peer into my mind and see them yourself?" Your voice is coy as they come to rest beside you. Their hand travels up and down the length of your spine, drawing forth a shiver from you, as they hum in return.

"Ah, but that takes away the fun of hearing them in your words." Their lips twitch into a faint smile. "I do like hearing your words. They're far better than those of my peers."

"Because your peers all have filters for what they say." Unlike you. Séaghdha engaged in conversation with you initially because they liked how candid you were with your words and now, many months later, that's only one of the reasons why. "But because you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. I'm thinking about how much it's changed."

Séaghdha's hand pauses in its actions for only a moment before resuming. Their body rests against yours—light enough that you don't move, but close enough that their warmth envelops you. You can feel the tension easing from your body the longer you remain in their presence.

"What's changed?"

"The Palace. It's... calmer. Better." Beithir's presence still hung heavily in the halls, but time has begun to ease the shadows away, as it always does with death. Séaghdha hums in return and tilts their head. The suns rays dance across their face and makes their feathers look like gold—a captivating sight to behold.

"... Yes." They smile then; a true, warm smile, which is directed at you as they look your way. "It feels like home again."

[theechtra]

from the prompt list!! What about cheek or chin with Morgan 🥺 thank you!

[CHEEK] - sender brushes a thumb over receiver's cheek.

Taking place before The Echtra events <3

Law school was, as one would expect, exhausting. 6:45 wake ups were bad enough for you, but for Morgan? For Morgan, who stayed up until 3 in the morning and survived off of red bulls?

You think you'd have an easier time prying teeth out of an alligators mouth.

"You can't keep doing this," are the first words to come out of your mouth when finally manage to pry open their door. The room was the same as usual—hamper overflowing, computer with three screens lit up on the desk, fast food cups shoved in the garbage—save for the giant fish tank, which sat shoved in one corner of the room.

Despite juggling four cases a week in addition to 50 or so pages of reading, Morgan still found the willpower to adopt several goldfish under their care. You spare them an apologetic glance as you make your way to the bed; in all fairness, they seemed to be thriving.

The same could not be said for Morgan, however. Their white hair fanned out across their pillow as they buried themself deeper into the sheets, clearly trying to ignore your voice as you rest your hands on your hips. You take a deep breath, close your eyes, and with a tone that you know indicates exactly how you're feeling you simply say:

"Morgan."

There's a pause, a moment of silence, and then they slowly roll over onto their back to look up at you. They're wearing a hoodie that looks way too hot for the amount of sheets they have and their lips are set in a sleepy, yet still sheepish, grin.

"What? No breakfast?"

"When you do it for me, I'll do it for you," you fire back, yanking the sheets from their body. They scramble up into a sitting position at the motion and shoot you an offended glance. Upright and attentive, you can see the effects of their poor sleep habits are becoming more noticeable—dark bags sit under their eyes, and their face looks more pinched than usual. You grimace.

"Morgan, you can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" They stretch upwards and then lean sideways until their face is pressed against your stomach. You rest one hand on their head and the other on your hip. Morgan has always been a physically affectionate person, but when they're needy like this, it usually means they aren't feeling too well.

"The super late nights when we have early mornings? Have you even reviewed the cases for class today?" You toy with their hair a bit, surprised at just how soft it felt, before they pulled back enough to look at you. Then, their gaze goes to the state of their room, and their expression shifts to one of misery.

"... Fuck," they finally sigh, reaching up to rub their eyes. "I'll read the case over as we walk to class. I'll be able to get it by the time the lecture starts."

You sigh—a long, drawn out sound—as your hand goes from their hair to their cheek. You hold their face for a moment, studying the evidence of their low health in their features, as you brush a thumb of their cheek.

Then, you pinch it tight, which earns you a yelp in response.

"We fix this starting today, yes?" Even though your words come out as a question, your no-nonsense tone lets Morgan know they have no say in the matter. They send you a half-hearted scowl as they reach up to rub their cheek.

"Yes, dear."

[sunprompts]

SIMPLE ACTIONS

my first post is just some simple actions; plenty of room for you to decide what the reasoning or emotion behind the action is. feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post 💛

[COLLAR] - sender reaches out to smooth down / fix receiver's collar.

[RUFFLE] - sender ruffles receiver's hair.

[BRACE] - sender braces receiver under the elbow.

[FOREHEAD] - sender feels receiver's forehead.

[HANDS] - sender takes receiver's hands.

[NECKLACE] - sender fastens a necklace around receiver's neck.

[SHOULDER] - sender lays a hand on receiver's shoulder.

[SIT] - sender guides receiver to sit down on a chair / bed / wall / etc.

[LAY] - sender guides receiver by the shoulders to lay back.

[TUG] - sender tugs receiver's hand in an attempt to get them to follow.

[WAIST] - sender rests a hand against receiver's waist.

[SUPPORT] - sender pulls receiver's arm over their shoulder for support.

[DRINK] - sender sets something to drink down in front of receiver.

[FOOD] - sender sets something to eat down in front of receiver.

[BACK] - sender rubs a hand up and down receiver's back.

[COAT] - sender zips / buttons up receiver's coat for them.

[CHEEK] - sender brushes a thumb over receiver's cheek.

[NUZZLE] - sender nuzzles into receiver's neck.

[HUG] - sender tugs receiver in for a hug.

[CHIN] - sender tucks receiver in under their chin.

[LIFT] - sender lifts receiver off the ground (or attempts to).

[CARRY] - sender carries receiver to another location.

[HALT] - sender gently pulls receiver to a halt.

[metamorphesque]

  ― Billy-Ray Belcourt, A History of My Brief Body

[text ID: To love someone is firstly to confess: I'm prepared to be devastated by you.]

[theechtra]

Got an ad for this earlier today and thought of this project! They sound like very delectable scents, ngl…

Spring – SIXTEEN92

Wait but I'd actually buy these 😭😭

[cloudeddemonthoughts]

[theechtra]

Of The Otherworld—The Spring Court

The Spring Court is a Court renown for the paradise-esque appearances it often puts on for the outside world. Having split off from the Seelie Court alongside the Rose Court after the Dealg War, the Spring Court located itself in the South West region, which is known to have fertile lands and an abundance of fruit trees available to harvest. Like the Thorn Court, the Spring Court is not ruled by a singular body; rather, they have an elected council that often holds meetings to determine Spring Court proceedings, much like a parliamentary system in our world.

The Spring Court is well-known to the other Courts for their prosperous trades and overall benign mannerisms. They have strong relations with the Rose Court and the Autumn Court, polite/generally good relations with the Unseelie, and polite/generally good relations with the Seelie as well. The Spring Court is the one body that has attempted to make contact with the Thorn Court, but continues to receive rejections of any offers for trade.

The Spring Court serves as a popular vacation area for locals of the other Courts and is known to have a castle owned by the Unseelie King.

[theechtra]

hiiiii loved the prologue and I’m super curious about The Echtra!! I’ve read some books before that revolve around the fae and I’m always fascinated by each interpretation. Is it okay to ask more about the fae and the courts are like in The Echtra, or any type of lore you’re comfortable sharing that’s not spoiler-y?

YES I love talking about the lore and world of The Echtra.

So in The Echtra there are 6 Courts that exist: The Seelie and Unseelie, which are the high courts, The Thorn and Autumn, which split off from the Unseelie, and the Rose and Spring, which split off from the Seelie. The last 4 courts formed after The Dealg War in a series of secessions, when some Fae within the Unseelie and Seelie decided they no longer wanted involvement with the two high courts. Spring is located in the South West, Rose is in the South East, the Thorn is North, the Autumn is North East, and the Unseelie is North West whereas the Seelie is South. West and East are not claimed by any of the Courts.

In terms of Fae, there are various subspecies of Fae that exist. You can learn about Trooper Fae in the prologue, but there are also Solitary Fae, which are Fae that tend to not associate with any Courts or other Fae. There are those that exist in the Unseelie Courts (banshee, dullahan, red caps, etc) and those in the Seelie (dryads, nymphs, crafting fae, etc). Then there are Fae like Idris and Séaghdha, who are descendants of the Tuatha de Danann (Fae who are about the same height as you and I and look like you and I, save for a few differences such as horns, feathers, etc.). There are also animal Fae like Lord Fiacha, or elemental Fae like Lady Muireann.

In general, there is a very diverse and abundant population of Fae, traditions, cultures, and beliefs in the game that you'll have the opportunity to explore more!

[theechtra]

Hi! I’m so sorry if this has been asked before, but could you say how Séaghdha’s name is prnounced?

Of course! Their name is actually pronounced as 'Shay'

[theechtra]

Happy to show you the RO portraits done by the wonderful @wyrmgeard !! Progress on the game is coming along, and hopefully I'll be able to provide an update soon!

[theechtra]

The Echtra: Prologue is Out!

After a brief delay, I'm very happy to announce that the prologue of The Echtra is now available for public play.

What the prologue includes:

Observe the world through a unique pair of eyes

Find out some fascinating facts about lethal Fae weapons

Choose your scapegoat

Other house business:

The full codex is accessible for everyone

All relationship paragraphs are accessible to everyone (credits to @wyrmgeard for the art used)

The demo itself now its at 15k overall

The Echtra is a tribute to Celtic Mythology. It follows the story of the main character as they're pulled into the Otherworld—a land filled with beings beyond comprehension—to serve as an unbiased investigator in a royal murder case. Examine crime scenes, interact with a cast of suspects and allies, and solve a crime before your time limit of 6 months comes to a close.

The Echtra is rated 18+.

DEMO | PATREON | KO-FI

[ex0skeletal-undead]

Creature design by Stepan Alekseev

[redvampirerose]

Art by  Pauline Voß