expiationlogs | {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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Emet-Selch heaves a sigh upon setting foot upon the arid terrain. He doesn't like extreme heat and he doesn't like extreme cold (although the latter he has unfortunately grown used to out of necessity). Since he doesn't recognise the brutish figure up ahead, he surmises that this is not his trial but someone else's. He's proven correct when a fireball sears past some broken ruin, briefly revealing Med'an.

Should he interrupt? He'd rather just walk by and leave them to it. But that may be tricky since the pair are in his way. Plus, the troll seems to have noticed him. Oops.

Emet-Selch throws up a shield to absorb the impact of a fireball thrown his way. Ugh. What a pain... ]

I merely wish to pass by. Surely you can allow that much.

"None may pass!" shrieks Cho'gall, hefting another fireball Emet-Selch's way - though it's not aimed very deliberately; perhaps it's more of a warning shot. "Not until the boy breaks! The Master demands it!"

With that, the monstrous ogre leaps into the air, far more dexterous than his twisted hulking form should allow. Med'an takes the opportunity to scramble away, towards Emet-Selch near the front of the room. Cho'gall lands in the spot Med'an was occupying a second ago, the impact sending chunks of sandstone flying; he begins hefting the larger pieces like oversized artillery.

While he's running, Med'an is glancing desperately around. He needs to find his grandmother before it's too late. And while he's moving towards Emet-Selch in part to help protect him, he's also hoping that the man will help him in his search. There's a lot of ground to cover, after all.

A giant sandstone brick speeds towards them via an overhanded throw by Cho'gall. Med'an intercepts it with a lightning strike, shattering it into tiny manageable pieces.

"Emet-Selch," he gasps once he's close enough, adrenaline pumping. "If we can find my grandmother, we can get out of here."

Emet-Selch raises a hand and briefly throws up a shield against the spray of smaller debris. He could fly up, he thinks, but he wouldn't like a boulder thrown at his back.

"Your grandmother? What does your grandmother have to do with this?"

"She - "

It's funny, isn't it? He didn't really know her all that well. They'd barely known about each other's existence for most of his life, and then when they finally met, she'd died a few days later. And that was months ago now. Perhaps it's stupid of him to miss her. It's certainly stupid for him to still hesitate to say it.

He swallows hard against the fear and grief. "She dies here. She dies so I can stop Cho'gall."

She dies because of me. It's a thought that has occurred to him before, late at night when he's wondering at how much his life has changed over the past few months. When he's thinking about how much she'd accomplished in her long life: Aegwynn, Guardian of Tirisfal, Defender of Azeroth, Chancellor of Theramore. He knows, logically, that she wanted to help him by channeling the last of her life energy into him; but in those quiet, lonely moments, he wonders if the world would've been better off if she hadn't.

"If we can change things, then...we can leave." That must be the answer to this trial, right? To right what went wrong that day?

He raises a hand and shoots forth a bolt of darkness which blasts the next boulder to be thrown at them.

"If you simply need this brute to be defeated then what is stopping you from doing it now?" he asks with a scowl. "You've done it once before, no? So defeat him again."

"I'm not strong enough. Not by myself," he blurts out. The words have suddenly reminded him that he doesn't have the Council's borrowed power here either. Without his allies, or his grandmother's sacrifice, how could he defeat Cho'gall? That was the whole reason they re-formed the Council in the first place.

But maybe Emet-Selch is right. This is a "trial", after all, like those he's seen others go through - it's unlikely that Cho'gall is actually Cho'gall, he's just some sort of magic construct, right? Med'an does his best to steel himself, brows furrowing in determination. He has to try, doesn't he?

"Okay. I'll stop him. Just - please look for my grandmother. She must be here." (Because that is surely the point of the trial, even if he can defeat it in multiple ways - defending her, or pummeling the ogre to death, or a secret third thing they haven't thought about...)

He turns towards Cho'gall - only to see the ogre charging at them like a raging bull, having apparently gotten bored of throwing rocks at them. Instinctively, he grabs Emet-Selch's arm and teleports them both a dozen meters away.

He separates from Emet-Selch, lifts his staff towards the skies (or the ceiling, at least), and summons a lighting bolt, redirecting it towards Cho'gall.

"What--!"

His yell is cut off by the teleport. It is only his familiarity with such magick that he isn't entirely disoriented by the shift.

He wrenches his arm away as soon as he can. "I can take care of myself! Worry about your own hide."

If only he could use his soulsight-- no, the people in the trial aren't real anyway. Even if he could, it would be useless. Ugh.

"What does your grandmother look like?"

{EVENT #4} ADVERSITY 2933165.9475

Trial C

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cw for familial death, guilt

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