And so it begins...

Story

A small fishing boat sputtered farther into the sea than it ever had before. Waves echoed through the glaciers, filling the air with a haunting song. The morning air nipped the sailor’s skin while waves rocked his boat. He stood looking out across the endless sea, watching the black stone of his home shrink into the horizon.

Nets trawled behind the vessel, and traps waited patiently to be cast from the deck. Each held a prayer of lobster or tuna, but the sailor already knew what waited for him in the depths. Ahead, a collection of buoys bobbed along the water surface, to which the boat yielded.

The vessel, which the sailor proclaimed the Steelheart so many years ago, drifted loyaly to the beginning of the closest trawl. The grey aqualox reached to grab the first trap, and the Steelheart drifted steadily onto the second while the sailor brought up the line.

The first trap was empty and was tossed aside. The second was no better. The fisherman watched as the four, six, ten traps came to the surface. All empty, with even the bait stolen out of them. That was except for the seventh. The sailor braced himself as his paw slinked into the trap, retrieving what he'd been dreading. 

Unveiled from the wire mesh came a black lobster, but it had stark white eyes and the form oozed in the fisherman’s paw like damp ash. It twisted and squirmed for an escape, quickly turning liquid and slipping between the sailor’s webbed fingers. The creature slapped onto the deck as a puddle, but it just as quickly reformed the illusion of a lobster and scuttled overboard.

There was nothing to be done but watch the lobster disappear. You couldn’t eat the ash monsters, after all. The sailor sighed, looking back to the ocean of buoys. It would be another long day.

Event

Hello, Island Dwellers!

Welcome to the beginning of the long-awaited milestone event. Yes, the beginning! This is a multi-part event that will run from today until the end of September, with a new chapter being released every Sunday, and the final being published on September 22nd. The event will officially end on September 30th, giving users a week to catch up all on that's happening.

Without further ado...

welcome to the first week of our Smokesignals event!

August 25th - 31st focuses on the ever-so troublesome Flame companions, figments! These peculiar wisps mimic other animals, but can never quite shed their ashen appearance and warp various senses while they're in the presence of other living creatures. While figments can be found anywhere ash can, there appears to be a higher density on the Northern Island.

New exploration location: Farport

The curiosity of figments being so prevalent on the Northern Island has led you to the bustling town of Farport. After a bit of searching, you've found a few sailors who are in need of a helping hand. This exploration will be available to all users for the duration of the event and can be explored once per day through the Game Center.

New Prompts

In addition to the addition of Farport to our explorations, we also have a collection of three new prompts under the "Smokesignals" category, all of which can net you a bonus figment of your choosing when you include it in your art/writing. If there's a figment you would like to see created, we'd love to hear your requests in the Suggestions Forum!

Illusionist raffle

And last, but certainly not least, is our raffle for this week!

Hidden away in the depths of a forgotten forest is a small stream. Within the crystal clear waters resides this aqualox that loves to create spectacles of magic. They've become so skilled at what they do that their mane naturally shifts and twirls into shapes of sea creatures.

This raffle will close after the 31st, so be sure to claim your free ticket before then on this aqualox's raffle page.

REMINDERS

• Have you made a gift for someone's Safiran? Submit it to our Generous Spirit prompt!
• August's Poco Discovery (extended due to delays) will close on September 5th, with rollover occurring sometime on September 6th.
• Our Activity Corner will return on September 2nd. 
• Want game reminders or to chat with fellow players? Come join us on the official Discord server!