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expiationlogs2023-05-19 08:15 am
{EVENT #2} ADVERSITY 168518.2092
| MOD NOTES: Please direct any questions to the corresponding comment below. Note that characters can be involved in multiple prompts (whether you choose to thread that out or not), and 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. Our State of the Game, which will include results of this event and changes of the world, along with some future goals and events we would like to work towards will be posted 1 week from today (May 26, 2023). The various prompts are, of course, optional. Consider that taking part and not taking part both have their potential effects on the world and how Expiation moves forward in terms of overarching storyline. |
A FAMOUS DISAPPEARING / REAPPEARING ACT
Those who were plagued by nightmares and visions after venturing into the forest awaken to find that a mark has appeared somewhere on their body. It’s unclear what made it, but its function quickly becomes clear. Upon discovering the mark, whispers begin to sound in their minds, beckoning them to a secret clearing in Pessiria Forest. Something awaits them there.
After some time, a faint image of an unnaturally tall, lanky man appears in the mind. He wears a hooded robe that bears several runes resembling the strange marks and is surrounded by acolytes wearing identical robes. Raising a single hand, he calls the afflicted his Branded, and presents them with a simple offer: “Pledge yourself to my glorious cause, and you shall be granted overwhelming power to twist this world into your personal paradise.”
The offer repeats itself in the minds of the afflicted, slowly intensifying over time. It's clear that this man will not relent unless he gets what he wants. Those with strong willpower, however, may be able to reject his dark offer.
I. A TEST RUN FOR NEW POWER
For whatever reason, you have chosen to accept the whispers’ offer. Some may have been overwhelmed by the mental link that demanded your fealty, while others found the offer of overwhelming power appealing. Regardless of your reasons, this decision finally brings you a strange peace, as the intense demands are replaced with your promised reward. Now, the brands start to feel like a blessing as they begin to spread across your body. They feel good and natural—almost as if you have found a missing part of yourself that you had never known.
You begin to feel an unknown power coursing within your body, but you aren’t entirely sure what it is. Some will gain powers associated with the mind, allowing for psionic powers ranging from telekinesis to possession. Others will gain a mysterious power to cast elemental and blood magics that they had previously never been able to use. Once you reach the secret clearing, its nature and usage will become clearer to you.
Things are odd at the place you’ve been summoned to. In the clearing, you’ll find strange stone monuments and tablets containing text in an indecipherable language. At the centre of this collection of monuments, descends a pit-cave with several winding paths, each containing cells with bruised and battered prisoners. The more perceptive among you may notice that these are the people who have gone missing over the past few months.
You and your fellow Branded are free to do as you like. Will you make these prisoners into experimental pawns to test your new powers with? Or will you try to resist the power you’ve accepted?
II. ABDUCTION
Unlike your possessed fellows, the brand doesn’t take. The whispers intensify with each passing hour, demanding that you give in. Still, for some reason, you never accept their offer. Perhaps somewhere in your heart, you know that this is wrong and have managed to hold on through pure force of will. Maybe your latent powers managed to hold the brand’s influence at bay despite their constant demands. Either way, the hooded figure knows that it has been denied a thrall, and it does not take rejection lightly.
A piercing shriek can be heard from the forest before all hell breaks loose. Shadowy figures emerge from its depths and press into Aldrip. If you are claimed by the shadows, your character will be enveloped in darkness and pulled back to the hidden grove. This will take you out of the action for the duration of the event, only to reappear in Aldrip sometime after the chaos subsides. However, others may choose to flee from the shadows and seek help from other Chosen. This is optional, primarily for those who need a reason to be absent from the event for a portion of the time. For characters who are present and unbranded, consider this an opportunity to interact with those who are, and to be susceptible to their abilities, or experience an odd desire to serve or otherwise demonstrate loyalty toward them.
SPEAK NOT OF THE OLD ONES
Unfortunately for those who were marked, their struggle mostly goes unnoticed in those critical first moments. For most people, it just seems like just another day. Some strange people are rising at strange hours of the morning to venture into Pessiria forest, but for the most part, life goes on as usual. While some of the Chosen may find themselves struck by a sense of unease, the locals go about their normal lives, unaware of what is to come.
However, that quiet was only the calm before the storm. After some of your fellow Chosen venture into the forest, a piercing shriek can be heard across the entire region as a gargantuan creature emerges from the earth a mile away from Aldrip. At first, all you see is a giant tentacle made of dark crystal. However, the abomination’s upper body soon emerges, flailing its limbs in an absolute frenzy. Golden tendrils course across its frame and into the ground, draining the life from the surrounding land and leaving rot in its place. Meanwhile, its many tentacles could fell a tree in a single swipe.
This unnatural event causes Aldrip to erupt into absolute chaos. Most of the Aldrip locals take to the street, taking anything valuable they could find in their homes before sprinting away. Others cry out for some kind of divine intervention to save them from their trial. However, there is no order to the escape effort, leaving most either trapped at the city, or at risk of being trampled in an onslaught of fleeing locals.
III. TAKING ON THE UNKNOWN
If the Chosen are to have any hope of dealing with this impending crisis, they need to act soon. For now, the strange beast flails about clumsily, almost as if it is unaccustomed to its corporeal form. However, there’s no telling how long this will last. The golden tendrils emerging from the creature’s body seem to be sapping the life out of the nearby land, strengthening the monster as it prepares to finish climbing out of the ground and destroy Aldrip.
Several opportunities seem obvious at first glance. Brave Chosen may choose to take the gargantuan creature on directly, banding together to bring it down before it can reduce Aldrip into a lifeless husk. However, those who are not as proficient at fighting may instead try to do something about the spreading golden roots that are sapping the life from nearby area. It might not be as glamorous, but it will buy valuable time, nonetheless. Either way, this is not a one-person kind of job. You will need help from your fellow Chosen if you want to see this through.
IV. WHEN CHOSEN CLASH
Characters who have accepted the brand’s offer will hear a call in their minds. It’s the hooded figure that granted you the power you’ve been gifted. His order is clear—the creature’s rebirth must not be disturbed. Protect it at all costs. This will give you a fantastic opportunity to show off your new powers. Band together with your fellow Branded to cause a little mayhem or face off against the unbranded as they struggle to stop the behemoth.
Fighting against former comrades will not be easy for the Chosen. Those bearing the brand have all gained strange powers based on their personalities. They include possession, mind control, elemental and blood magics, the ability to create areas of silence, life draining, or even the ability to capture others in shadowy grasps. Worse yet, the Branded are becoming stranger by the minute. As the Brand spreads across their body, their behaviour becomes increasingly violent and erratic, drawing out the worst of their personalities.
Some of the Chosen may discover a strange quirk about the new abilities that have appeared among the Branded. While the abilities may be powerful, Chosen who act selflessly to help their enthralled comrades will discover that they have become entirely immune to their influence. It won’t remove the mark itself, but it will equalise the playing field for those who want to convince their comrades to renounce the hooded figure.
THE ONE WHERE THERE’S A WILDCARD
V. LEADING—OR BENEFITTING FROM—THE SITUATION
As the creature’s scream resonates across the nearby area, residents of Aldrip begin to panic and flee from their homes. Unfortunately, such processes are often messy. In fact, plumes of smoke are even emerging from a few houses that were left just a little too hastily.
Whether you decide to assist in the process or decide to take advantage of the mayhem is up to you. The evacuation effort could almost certainly use some people to arrange the panicking mass into an organised exodus. Alternatively, you could try and attend to people who can’t get out on their own. Whatever you choose to do, people rarely forget the faces of those who personally come to their aid, and the villagers will almost certainly feel indebted to you if you ensure their safety.
Chaos can also bring opportunities. With everyone leaving their homes, there’s almost certainly plenty of unattended valuables left in the town. If thieving is up your alley, the opportunity to loot to your heart’s content is ripe. Just make sure that no one is watching. It would be a shame if one of your more justice-minded Chosen saw you doing something naughty, after all.
VI. FUCK IT, WE BALL (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.
no subject
All he sees is that towering terror, somehow more frightening than the tentacle creature, at least to Scott. He doesn't think about the fact that Thanatos only appeared when Kotone shot herself with that strange gun, just seeing something that can and will probably kill him in one blow. It's that fear that pushes his own anxiety about his powers away and he yanks off his shades, letting the slightly unfamiliar release of his optic blasts surge from his eyes with a panicked yell.
He's not sure how much damage they'll do against a creature of death, but also, it's all he got.]
no subject
Her own scream is nearly drowned out by Thanatos' enraged roar as he lunges forward yet again, this time sweeping his sword in a low cut intended to get him off his feet one way or another.]
no subject
Especially as it roars at him.
A fearful shout escapes Scott and he finds himself stumbling backward to the ground as Thanatos swings its sword at him in that low arc, barely missing the blade as it passes over his head. His powers continue to wildly shoot out of him in an aimless manner as he keeps on scrambling back, as instincts only tell him to keep away. Perhaps he should just close his eyes, but fear keeps them open, letting them blast whatever he decides to look at in his panic, cutting through the air until he manages to look at Thanatos once more.]
no subject
Please, stop!!
[From her knees on the ground, she scrabbles to bring her Evoker to her head again, trying to at least change over to Surt -- the Norse god absorbs fire, and maybe Scott isn't using a fire attack, but it feels like it. She coughs from the dirt and the smoke as she squeezes the trigger again but-
nothing. No answering recoil, no blue flames, no soothing wash of another presence in her mind. Above her, Thanatos roars again in outrage, coffins closing around her like a protective shield against the blasts as he makes another grab for Scott.]
No, please, you have to stop, you can't hurt him!!
[And, again, she doesn't know if her words are directed at Scott or Thanatos himself, but neither of them are listening to her-!]
no subject
She and that scary monster are tied together, and he's been hurting her. He's been shooting his powers at her.
The thought stuns him for a second, but he quickly closes his eyes just as Thanatos grabs him. He's still so scared, and he doesn't know what to do even with this new information, so the teen just finds himself shaking in its grasp. He's probably about seconds away from getting impaled by that sword and his stomach curls in itself; he doesn't want to die either.]
I-I'm sorry!
[It's sorely tempting to open his eyes once more, fight back again, but Scott keeps them shut, clenching them tightly despite his own fight or flight instincts. He doesn't want to hurt Kotone anymore and he's sure that she feels the same, but maybe she has a hard time controlling her nightmarish friend here. Scott's not sure if that's a comforting thought or not, but he still doesn't fight against Thanatos.]
I-I didn't mean to hurt you.
no subject
With a sharp gasp, she sits bolt upright. Without looking, she can feel that Thanatos has grabbed someone, and the blasts have stopped, and that's Scott's voice-]
Thanatos, stop! Please! [Scott wasn't trying to hurt her. If he was, it wasn't on purpose. Right? It's so hard to think through the bony fingers piercing through her skull, the sharp slicing through her heart as she grips at her skin in a vain attempt to call him down.]
Scott, are you-- are you okay? [Above, Thanatos' hand starts to squeeze warningly -- should he make a move to hurt her, he won't hesitate to attack.]
no subject
Y-yeah, I... [He cuts off slightly as he feels the hand on him tightening ever so slightly, a warning against him. Scott's almost too afraid to make any sudden movements, so he just keeps his eyes tightly shut, despite his ruby glasses still clenched in his hand. Really, he feels like breathing is too much movement right now.]
I didn't know. [The mutant admits quietly, and despite the fear still clouding his mind, there's guilt creeping into his voice. He thought he was finally helping with his powers, but that doesn't seem to be the case now. He just served to hurt a friend and piss off the literal incarnation of death.] Are... are you okay?
no subject
Kotone feels like she might be sick as she scrambles to her feet and stumbles closer. Everything hurts, inwardly if not visibly outwardly, and it's audible in her voice as she pleads,]
I-I'm okay, I'm fine, please, put him down. I don't want to hurt him! He's my friend!
[Again, she raises her Evoker to her temple. Again, it refuses to work, refuses to call him back or switch him out. It sounds like she might cry as she repeats,] Please...
[And Thanatos turns and hurls him further into the crowd, the most efficient way of getting a potential threat away from her.]
no subject
Y-you can do it, Kotone. You can control him.
[Scott's not sure if his words are helping, but he can't possibly say anything further when he suddenly finds himself flung from the conversation and far away from both Kotone and her 'friend.' The mutant cries out as he lands on his back, feeling the wind knocked out of him, but otherwise, he's safe and away.]
no subject
[It's a scream as he's hurled away, a few quick steps as if she might chase after. But a tendril of the tree creature slams down between them, and Thanatos roars again, focusing on a new threat for now as his sword cleaves into it. Friend, foe, it doesn't matter -- if it looks like it might hurt her, he's going to destroy it, yanking Kotone along in his wake.
Maybe it's better like this. She glances back over her shoulder in a vain attempt to find him, but at least this way, he's out of Thanatos' immediate reach. She can find him after, maybe. Probably. Choking back a sob, she readies her naginata and tries to stumble along in Thanatos' wake.]