Swan S1E1: "Ravens and Omens"

## Episode Guide

**"Ravens and Omens"** is Swan's first episode of the Skyline: REM series.

## Summary

It is when the last licks of dusk ebb into night that we're introduced to Swan - a somewhat sporadic bookworm that just so happens to be a streamer. She walks the span of her small apartment after ending off her latest stream, absentmindedly rustling through the cabinets and cupboards of her kitchen. Her mind is elsewhere, tinged with melancholy. She reflects on her life, and herself, even as she lazily drops on her bed and begins to drift off. She has it good, she knows as much. She's not without any vital necessities and even has a hobby or two. It's selfish to want more, isn't it?

And yet she can't escape the pang of loneliness that makes itself known, idling at the edge of her consciousness. She reads about grand adventures within the pages of her fiction books. Plays out epic tales in the form of the story-driven games she prefers to play on streams, but at the end of the day - she's still *lonely*, by no fault but her own. People - they're difficult. She never knows what to expect; learned that it was safer to remain removed. But there's a part of her that thinks, if she did make some friends that knew how she was behind the screen - that thought that was cool, well..that'd be nice.

And with that thought, she drifts - and sleep claims her.

She wakes to find herself falling from the sky. Swan, of course, does the only logical thing there is to do in such a situation - and screams. She screams until it becomes clear that she won't be hitting the ground anytime soon, and then, left with little to do but think, she calmly attempts to piece together the when, where, and whys of her circumstances. Which devolves into threatening God of all things, before the fear sets in once again. Swan screams bloody murder, before finally colliding with solid ground.

It's a novel experience, even more so when a crater forms from the impact, but perhaps most of all because she's *alive*. Swan has little time to revel in her good fortune, however, as a woman (Daphne Barlett) wielding a saber glares down at her, accusing her of cheating and using 'magic'. The following events happen quickly. Swan attempts reason, Daphne jumps down to wreck her, and Swan somehow manages to deck her in the jaw before she can do so. Daphne goes down, leaving Swan in both awe and fear. After a bit of fumbling, Swan ends up stealing Daphne's uniform-like jacket and her crossbow before climbing out of the crater. More people with sabers and crossbows duel all around, almost like a battlefield. She hurries toward what she hopes to be safety, utilizing the stolen crossbow as a club against a nameless assailant. They go down, and Swan ducks behind a tree.

When she next peers out, she happens to spot a pink-haired man *(Easton Sharpe)* tumble to the ground, an armed assailant overhead. Her heart lurches, stricken with the sudden desire to *intervene* despite her own peril. She cowers, tries to turn away.

It's with furious muttering that she turns around and clumsily tries to load her stolen crossbow, unable to live with herself if she doesn't at least *try* to do something. She fires, distracting the assailant long enough for Easton to recover. It's only then that a booming voice calls the 'exercise' to a close. People flock to the center of the field, forming into some kind of ordered line. Swan is left floundering and beyond confused. She's approached by Corporal Dunn, who demands answers to questions she doesn't have the faintest clue how to answer. Daphne storms over moments later, identifying Swan as the one who stole her uniform and accusing her of being a pirate in the same breath. Swan ends up being whisked off so some First Lieutenant can deal with her instead.

Placed inside an empty office to wait, Swan finally has a moment to breathe. It's then that she processes the existence of the voices within her head, tentatively identifying them as her Twitch chat based on their behavior. The voices confirm this, and Swan takes the next few minutes to explain her predicament. She briefly explores the room, finding a handheld mirror. It's the first time she sees her changed appearance. She doesn't have to wait long after that before Andrew Quinn, the First Lieutenant *(whatever that was)* entered the room with Corporal Dunn. Swan is subjected to a verbal interrogation in which she tries to tell the truth, but Lieutenant Quinn hardly cares to listen, pushing his own version of events. Swan tries to protest, but her voice is unwilling - caught, even.

It's then that Captain Faer Raven enters, shadowed by a dread around her age named Cade. The interrogation doesn't last much longer after that, especially not after Faer suddenly declares Swan to be one of his recruits. Quinn argues, and Cade takes the opportunity to quietly introduce himself - providing some much-needed clarification. In the end, Quinn allows the arrangement so long as Faer promises to save his job should this come back to bite him. Faer agrees, and they're all promptly evicted from Quinn's office. Cade departs, task complete, leaving Swan alone with Faer.

[Summary in Progress]

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Daphne Barlett
* Easton Sharpe
* Roman Dunn
* Andrew Quinn
* Faer Raven
* Cade Crosby
* Cathryn
* Robodog
* Devin Barlett

## Locations

* Swan's Apartment
* Camp Bravo, Bastios