expiationlogs | {EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475

{EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475

AN EXAMINATION OF SPIRIT

MOD NOTES:

Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that character decisions and actions taken on these prompts will affect future events, storylines, and relationships with other peoples of Expiation.

You can find the OOC poll here. Please pick from the corresponding options with the appropriate character journal. If you use a personal journal or a journal not part of Expiation, your votes will not be counted. Remember that if your character did something different than what is in the prompts given, leave a comment in the OOC poll entry and link to your comment in the option made available.

We will provide an IC post in exactly ten days with the results of the poll that will wrap up the event. You may mingle on it if you like, but the most important purpose is to share the effects of character decisions on this event.

The various prompts are, of course, optional.

WHEN THE FOG ROLLS IN

On the night of September 10, an impenetrable fog covers the town of Aldrip. When characters wake in the morning, they find that Aldrip has disappeared, replaced by a large, enclosed maze.

Characters will wake up in one of three different levels of this maze, and they may—but don't have to—find that they are not alone. As they explore the maze, they will encounter trials and stumbling blocks both physical and mental. It seems the maze is testing them, poking at their fears, their past, their feelings. Confronting these questions about themselves and their very nature will allow them to progress through the maze in hopes of eventually finding the exit—and hopefully the town along with it.

While they do not all wake up in the same level of the maze, all characters do, in theory, have to complete all three trials in order to leave. This may not be so easy to achieve; due to the nature of these trials, if someone cannot get past one area, they may remain stuck there. Other characters are able to help them confront these issues, and may instead (or in addition) pass through that way if they choose to. Aside from the level where they wake up, characters may approach these levels in any order as they so choose.

THE GROUPS

GROUP A:
Serah Farron
Elidibus
Nakahara Chuuya
Tsunayoshi Sawada
Rei Suwa
Caitlyn Kiramman
Ragna the Bloodedge
Kotone Shiomi
Monkey D. Luffy
Yuja Wightshade (WoL)
Yosuke Hanamura
Astralin Turnont
Dazai Osamu
Ange Ushiromiya
Hythlodaeus
Ethlyn

GROUP B:
Violet (Vi)
Silco
Mizuki Date
Claude von Riegan
Noel Kreiss
Kazuki Kurusu
G'raha Tia
Jinx
Marianne von Edmund
Goro Akechi
Sooyoung Han
Saito Sejima
Nikolai Gogol
Erichtonios
Emet-Selch

GROUP C:
Yu Narukami
Pride
Sigma
Usagi Tsukino
William G Maryblood
Scott Summers
Gundam Tanaka
Quentin Quire
Akira Kurusu
Mitama Yakumo
Med'an
Ken Amada
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Izuku "Deku" Midoriya
Echo

EXPLORING THE MAZE

i. A WINDING LABYRINTH

The walls of the maze are made of stone slabs; tall, solid, and imposing. As far as one can see, there seem to be no cracks or seams in the wall. They're cool to the touch, perhaps a little dampened by the foggy weather. Some of the stones seem to glow with a dim, inner light. Most of the corridors are stable, but some are a little more risky. Walls or ceilings could collapse, leaving passages blocked and some Chosen trapped within tunnels or rooms of the maze.

Some corridors within the maze are less built up, as well, more like dug-out caverns that look somewhat like mining tunnels. In these tunnels, you can find the raw form of those glowing stones, which seem to light the darkness, allowing the Chosen to see at least a bit. They're enchanting, and some may have a hard time resisting trying to pull them out of the walls.

Occasionally, characters may find larger rooms with small tables of food, equipment, and supplies set up. These areas seem to be safety zones, untouched by the trials, where Chosen can eat, rest, treat any wounds, and replenish their energy.

ii. PERILS IN THE DARK

As the Chosen progress through the challenges of the maze—both illusions and real—the air itself may begin to feel more oppressive and heavy, making movement feel very difficult at times. As the week wears on, characters may find themselves worn out faster or feeling more sluggish than normal. More than that, they may find that their emotional lows become more intense: characters may become more easily frustrated, paranoid, scared, or impatient. In general, this seems to exacerbate the worst parts of their personalities.

On other occasions, Chosen may feel as if they are being watched. They get the feeling that something lurks in the shadows of the maze, that they are being watched or followed. They may hear something scratching or skittering across the walls. When they look…there is nothing there, nor any evidence of creatures stalking them through the halls. Characters who had bad luck in the Casino are particularly prone to this feeling; occasionally, they may feel as if someone—or something—is tugging at their hair or clothes, or breathing against their neck. Try to keep your head, Chosen. The hardest part is yet to come.

THE TRIALS

iii. A DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL [TRIAL A]

It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what location or event triggers the beginning of the trial; it seems to be different for every character. Chosen will find themselves in a long corridor, laced with fog. As they progress down this corridor, they begin to see and hear hallucinations and illusions that highlight their greatest insecurities: their flaws, their weaknesses, the darkness they suspect dwells within their soul.

These illusions may come in a variety of different forms. Perhaps they experience voices or images of peers issuing criticisms that they fear are accurate, or they may face a shadowy figure that bears their appearance that embodies all of their worst qualities. The form these illusions take is up to you, the players, and whether other characters are able to see those illusions can also be decided between players. Confronting, challenging, debunking, and/or accepting these criticisms and claims is the key to exiting this level.

Once they have confronted this challenge, the illusions and hallucinations stop immediately. The fog lifts, revealing a turn in the maze they didn't notice before. They may progress in their exploration.

iv. THE SHAPE OF YOUR FEARS [TRIAL B]

Similar to the first trial, this seems to trigger with little warning or fanfare. At some point in their exploration, characters will find their way blocked by something representing their deepest fears. This can be literal—a dark hallway for those who fear the dark, as an example—but can manifest in a myriad of other ways, too. A character could see someone from their past that represents this fear, or a monster, or an object or memory of something that connects to that fear. These fears will be made tangible and visible to anyone around them, leaving them exposed and vulnerable. In order to progress, they must be able to pass by these fears, and may do so in any way the player chooses, whether it requires fighting a monster, negotiating with an authority figure, finding a light in the darkness, or anything else players and characters can imagine.

The nature of this trial can be as massive or mundane as you, the player, chooses. Whether they need to simply turn on a light to abate their fear of the dark, or whether they need to take down a massive beast to confront something bigger, the area they find themselves in seems to accommodate the size of their trial. Once they have confronted this fear, it disappears, revealing a hallway that might not have been there before, allowing them to progress.

v. IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE [TRIAL C]

As with the first two trials, this one seems to emerge from the darkness when a character is ready to face it. They enter a room lined with obsidian mirrors. When they approach these mirrors, characters are confronted with memories related to the crime they have been charged with. This can be a specific moment or a series of moments related to their crime either directly or indirectly. Characters may become lost in these memories and may need help navigating through them from other people: the longer they remain lost in these memories, reliving them again and again, the more they run the risk of losing those memories entirely, either permanently or temporarily. Only by addressing the crime, the way they feel about it, the relationship that crime has to reality and to who the character is, can characters be free of this particular trial.

Once they have surpassed this trial, characters find themselves able to step back through these obsidian mirrors back into the maze, where they can continue their journey.

Navigating all three trials elicits no special fanfare or celebration. Upon completion of the third trial, they find themselves in a foggy corridor, where they will find an exit from the maze.

OPT-OUT AND AFTERMATH

Those characters (or players) who do not wish to interact with the maze will occasionally find quiet corridors that mysteriously place them outside the maze, unable to reenter. They will find that the town is, indeed, gone, as are their living quarters—hope you don't mind roughing it for a while. However, thanks to recent efforts to bolster the town's supplies, some of the underground storehouses organized by Claude and Marianne seem to remain intact and are available as temporary emergency shelter, should your character choose not to camp out.

After one week, the maze will disappear and life in Aldrip returns to normal. As for the locals? They don't seem to notice that anything strange has happened at all. Maze? What maze? Strange weather we're having this week, eh?

WHAT ELSE YA GOT? (WILDCARD)

Just because there’s not a prompt for it doesn’t mean that your character’s actions aren’t acceptable. If you wish to do anything that hasn’t been directly addressed by the prompts, leave a message for the mod team to say what your character would do. If you choose to go down this path, note it as a comment on the OOC poll when it goes up, and leave a link to your threads so that we can take all actions into consideration for the next State of the Game.

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Hythlodaeus grows a little tenser as the Ascian comes closer to Hades; after all, he has no idea what this creation of the maze will do. But the outburst from his friend is unexpected, too.

"... You used to complain that I wouldn't take the post."

"...Circumstances have changed," he says tightly. The Ascian behind him laughs softly.

"Now you can hardly bear to live without him, even as you curse those very circumstances. Don't you want us to be together again? Let someone more capable take the reins. Then it will be just like old times, hmm?"

This seems to have gone beyond what Hythlodaeus on his own can handle. He gives Hades another worried glance and steps closer.

"Hades. What is this all about?"

He shakes his head, tight-lipped.

"You don't want to know."

The Ascian Hythlodaeus sidles closer again. "The world as you know it is gone," the phantom murmurs, sharp eyes boring into his real counterpart's from behind the mask. "Are you going to tell him the truth, Hades? That everyone you know and love is--"

Hades finally reacts violently for the first time since the phantom's appearance. He whirls around and clamps a hand over their mouth, snarling.

"Be silent!"

The revelation is as much of a shock to Hythlodaeus as Hades's sudden outburst. He remembers the words on his own piece of parchment: breaking his promise and departing alone. Could that be connected to all this somehow?..

Ever quick-tongued, Hythlodaeus finds himself at a loss for words right now. What the phantom says sounds so utterly absurd. The world is gone? He's familiar with the theory of the star reaching the end of its own lifespan one day, but there is no possible way it could ever happen before his and his friends' own departure for the Underworld.

"What?.."

The Ascian's glee shines through the narrow holes of their mask. Hades feels something wet run across his palm and snatches his hand back in disgust. The Ascian licks their lips tauntingly, wearing a grin all the while.

"It's gone! Etheirys as you know it has been sundered into itty-bitty pieces - along with everyone else on it." The Ascian lifts one claw-tipped finger. "Oh, but not you, my dear other self. No, no. You decided to go with everyone and sacrifice yourself to create a god to save the star. A pointless deed, as it turns out. Would you like to know why?"

Hades has frozen in place, licked hand forgotten, as the Ascian slides over to the real Hythlodaeus. Malice hangs on the curve of their lips as they lean in to whisper.

"He failed."

The Ascian pulls back, laughter cracking the silence like shattering glass. "He wasn't good enough to follow through in the end! He was too weak! A powerful mage laid low by his own heart!"

Work in the Bureau has taught Hythlodaeus not only to analyse things, but to prioritise them as well; to figure out what is important and needs to be addressed right now and what can be left to deal with later. To see the underlying reasons.

One might think that the proclaimed destruction of their home, self-sacrifice, the creation of a 'god', Hades's apparent failure would be put into the "important" category. But what Hythlodaeus sees, instead, is an apparition intent on mocking and belittling Hades. And that analytical part of his mind reasons that, yes, choosing Hythlodaeus's own form for that would be the best move. Hades is indeed very sentimental, and would struggle to even truly refute his friend's words, not to mention raise a hand to him.

Fortunately, Hythlodaeus is different.

Analyse, break down the whole into details, find the key ones. Find the flaws, identify the reasons, find solutions.

And correct the submission.

In a quick, practiced, fluid single movement Hythlodaeus draws his bow, nocks an arrow and lets it loose at his twin... or rather, the thing that looks like him. His mind is surprisingly calm, and Hythlodaeus even finds himself curious as to what his own weak points would be. When else would one get a chance to treat oneself as a target?

"I've already said that his heart is what I like in him."

Hades' head whips up as the arrow flies past, zipping right through the figure of his friend. The apparition dissipates into dark smoke. They're not gone, he knows. Just temporarily banished.

That is proven correct a moment later when the other Hythlodaeus reappears beside him. They shouldn't be real, yet he feels their weight against his side and their lips against his cheek.

"His heart, his heart... Such a thorny tangle here. How can such a soft thing also be so brittle? Is that what you want, dear self? You want a broken man, bowed by the weight of time, stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of men? He is not the man you once knew. Only I understand his pain."

Well, of course it would not be solved so easily, but Hythlodaeus still purses his lips at how quickly his copy reappears.

"Yet you are only set on tormenting him. Does he need you?"

Hythlodaeus steps closer, keeping his eyes on his double for now.

"If he truly was not the man I knew, I would not have recognised him. But he is still Hades. And I do not care whether he succeeds or fails, whether he is broken or not. Who would measure their love for a friend with such things?"

He transfers his gaze to Hades, smiles and holds out a hand.

"Now, Hades. What is it you want?"

He shakes his head rapidly, backing away out of reach of both the real and the false Hythlodaeus. He can't look at that face or that smile. He doesn't deserve it.

"I-- I want the star to be whole again. I want our people back. I want--" His voice starts to break. "You. And Azem. For the three of us to live in peace with nary a care in the world until we return to the star--!"

Hades feels his eyes heating up, words choking in his throat. "That was all I wanted!" he shouts. "Why is that so much to ask?! If I'd known this would happen I would have rather sacrificed myself!"

... So something did happen to the star. To their people. Hearing it directly from Hades makes Hythlodaeus's heart sink, but all of that can be dealt with later. Right now, he just wants to help his friend and be rid of this strange phantom.

As Hades withdraws, Hythlodaeus steps closer instead. After all, he's always been hard to shake off.

"... That would be very much like you. You've always done all you could for others, even though you grumble about it."

He holds out his hand again - a wordless offer of support, and perhaps waiting for Hades to finish the thought himself, as was often the case between them.

He stares at the proffered hand. Why would Hythlodaeus still reach out to him? All the accusations and criticisms flung at him since the Sundering come back in full force. 'Monster', 'demon', 'murderer' - and though he feels no guilt about anything that he has done up to now, considering it necessary to restore the star to its rightful state, he has wondered if his own people would see it that way.

Hythlodaeus wasn't there when the arguments for and against further sacrifice divided opinion after all.

As Hades hesitates, the Ascian version of his friend shifts closer.

"He won't accept you," they whisper. "Who would?"

With a strangled sound of distress, Hades desperately grabs the real Hythlodaeus' hand. "Help me...!" he chokes out.

Hythlodaeus's breath hitches when Hades grasps his hand; he does not need the Sight to see his friend's distress plainly. And, as though to shield him from it, he pulls Hades closer, wrapping the other arm around his shoulders. For the first time his friend is smaller than him, and the difference is hard to get used to... but Hythlodaeus does not mind being the protector for once.

"I've got you."

He knows Hades is not usually given to such physicality, but he has the feeling it's needed right now. He squeezes the other man's hand reassuringly.

"Let's find the way out of here, Hades. Together."

And over Hades's head he shoots a glance at his double, adding in a murmur: "'Tis my victory, I believe. Do take your leave."

"Hmph."

The copy sneers, lip curling contemptuously. But it sweeps a mocking bow. As it straightens, its form begins to fade until it has completely melted into the dark.

The pair are left alone with one final whisper:

"Enjoy your broken toy."

Hades draws a shuddering breath. He clings to his friend's robes, taking in the scent of the thick fabric. It is real. Hythlodaeus is real. He has been denying it on some level ever since first sighting him on the beach but he cannot deny the evidence of his senses now.

"I should never have let you go," he mumbles. "Not you, not Azem. I've hated every waking moment of my life since then."

Hythlodaeus gives the shade one last icy look as it disappears; at first it had been interesting to meet another version of himself, but the illusion did not last very long. He hopes they don't run into that shadow again; it's an annoyance at best.

But instead of those thoughts he focuses on Hades clinging to him. This... would never happen, he thinks. Not even at his most exhausted, annoyed or frustrated would Hades seek comfort from his friend in such an obvious and open way. It's another suggestion that whatever the shade talked about must be true, and that's quite a lot to take in. Thoughtfully, Hythlodaeus wraps both his arms around Hades, holding his friend gently.

"... I am sorry for leaving you, Hades. What happened with Azem?"

"Azem... They--"

He shakes his head slowly, burrowing his face more deeply into Hythlodaeus' robes.

"You can see them, can't you?" he whispers. "Their faded soul."

... Hythlodaeus takes a deeper breath. Then it wasn't simply coincidence.

"I had thought it a mistake of some sort on my part. Some souls can be similar in hue, after all."

He laughs quietly, helplessly. "You've never made a mistake in your life, Hythlodaeus. Didn't you know me as soon as you laid eyes on me on the beach? But...they are not Azem as you know them. They won't remember you. They don't remember me at all. Nothing of the life we once had or the experiences we shared. Nothing..."

And he will die by their hand at some point in the near future. A future he cannot change if he wants the star to survive the coming end. Ah, how his heart aches. Yes, he'll see Hythlodaeus in the aetherial sea, but he would rather have spent the remainder of his life basking in the tranquillity of their home.

'Broken toy,' that shade had called him. They aren't wrong. He feels like terribly thin glass on the verge of fracturing. He would do anything to protect his friend right now. Anything.

Hythlodaeus stares in front of himself blankly. They won't remember anything? That simply sounds... wrong. There should be no way that could be true. Azem was the only other person apart from Hades that Hythlodaeus felt so comfortable with. Warm and welcoming and energizing, just like the symbol of their seat. And now he's supposed to just accept that it's all... gone?

Suddenly, he feels frustration and annoyance well up. No, he's not going to accept that. He'll find out what's going on and find a way to stop it... or prevent it, or whatever it is. Hythlodaeus knows he is more inventive than Hades sometimes. This may well be one of them.

"... Let's find our way out, Hades," he says quietly. They need some time to talk and think, but that can come later; Hades clearly needs rest.

He nods, tightening his grip on Hythlodaeus' hand. Without another word, he steps forward and tugs his friend along beside him. The endless corridors do not feel so endless with company.

"Don't leave me," he says quietly. It's the only thing he says for a while.

The request, made in such a quiet, helpless voice, tugs at Hythlodaeus's heartstrings. He squeezes Hades's hand in response. He'd never want to leave his friend, that he is certain of. No matter what his sentence says. All he's ever wanted was for Hades and Azem to be happy.

"I won't," he replies softly. "I am... truly sorry that I ever did, Hades."

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{EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475

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