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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.
wildcard!
Claude sits, patiently waiting his turn to get sewn up, clearly having just been through battle, an eerie looking bow sitting across his legs. When he sees Ethlyn, he brightens and waves with his good arm. ]
Ethlyn! What a surprise! Now, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this? [ He says airily, doing his level best to ignore the fact that his nice new jacket is drenched in blood. He's familiar enough with battle wounds to know that it looks a lot worse than it is, at least. ]
PERFECT
...She's not surprised to see Claude among them. He's given her the impression of a man who isn't content to watch when he can do. She is a little surprised to see that his weapon appears to be a bow made out of bone. That might be the topic of conversation for distracting him from any yelping.]
What's an archer like you doing with a wound like that? [She picks up his arm first to feel the pulse at his wrist--rapid, but not more than she'd expect from someone who's just been in battle and gotten hurt. His eyes are clear and focused, he's not gone pale or confused, and he's breathing normally. So it's probably not just bravado, in spite of all that blood.
That established, she moves behind him to begin peeling his jacket off.] So. How badly does it hurt? No false bravado, please.
<3
Unsportsmanlike behaviour. A root came out at me out of nowhere.
[ Claude's smile doesn't reach his eyes, but it's pretty damn convincing otherwise. In truth, he's rattled. Not by the monster, necessarily, but by those caught within its spell. Eerie, the lot of it. ]
You won't ever see false bravado from me. [ Claude's smile fades into something more sincere, letting Ethlyn take his admittedly accelerated pulse. ] A four? It's not so bad. Just bad enough that I need to get it patched up before I'll be able to draw my bow the way I need to.
[ He'd still be out there fighting if this were against a bunch of motley bandits. This thing needs a little more strength than that. ]
no subject
[She studies his face as she pulls the jacket away, and the cloth of the shirt beneath--yes, that looks like a four.]
Looks like it caught you on the scapula--the shoulderblade. Painful, but it's a nice flat piece of bone that kept it from getting deeper. [She lifts her staff, drawing out the magic so that it washes over the wound.] How does that feel?
no subject
[ He rubs at his shoulder contemplatively. If they had a proper military, they'd be done with this by now, he just knows it. ]
I've been considering the value of using fire. But this isn't my town, and this isn't my land, so... [ It's not his call to make. It's a last resort option. ]
no subject
Don't worry about it. I'm not going to demand you go out there and get more injured before I fix you up--and frankly, it's refreshing to know someone who gets a bloody wound treated before it gets worse.
[She taps her chin thoughtfully.]
You're right, in the town itself would be too risky... but we could try it out in the fields. Chop through the roots and set fire to the other side.
no subject
That's what I was thinking too. It would be most useful if we had mages that could send fire magic their way, of course, but having people spread oil by the roots and then shooting a fire arrow in that direction would do just fine. If that doesn't kill it, it will at least weaken it.
[ Claude shakes his head with a sigh. ]
But we'd need more information. [ And permission. He's not going to set flame to this town's crops and wildlife and god knows what else unless it's his last resort. ] Besides, some of us have been put under some spell. They'd probably sooner fling themselves into the fire than let us just go ahead and kill the damn thing.
no subject
But when he brings up the people who have been enchanted by the beast... yes. Ethlyn doesn't want to bring any of them to harm.]
True. We'd need to hold them back--or distract them somehow. [With her hands occupied by her staff, Ethlyn can't rub her chin or fiddle with her hair, so instead she moves onto the next patient--a young woman who's got a bad sprain, white-faced and stoic.] I wish I still had my Return staff--that would whisk away anyone enchanted to protect it.
no subject
[ Yes, he knows he's talking about his dear friend Marianne among those numbers. It doesn't bring him any pleasure to think about raising a hand against her, but he won't hesitate if that's what will ultimately save her. If she hates him afterwards, then so be it.
It would be a kinder thing to leave that poor woman to silence while she gets healed, but Claude has never been accused of being kind -- he's far more interested in being right. ]
Have you had any luck in just convincing any of them to back off?
no subject
We would have to take a great deal of care in trying that. It's harder than people think to do that precisely unless you know the right sort of magic. [And Ethlyn unfortunately doesn't--just the healing staff. But perhaps others are better equipped.] I don't think anyone in the Arztenritter does--possessed or not.
[She knows Marianne and Noel are both infected by this thing, and she doesn't yet know what to do about it.]
I haven't been able to convince anyone, not by words alone. This creature is more powerful than any one person.
no subject
[ He rubs his hands together slowly as he thinks. ]
It's not just a mental affliction. It's a physical one too. You've seen them, haven't you? The way their skin has turned all black and mottled? I've seen something like it before, and it ends with something a hell of a lot worse than a bonk on the head.
no subject
Yes... it's more than poison, it's like a disease.
[That means that even if she did have the right staff in her possession, she probably wouldn't be able to cleanse them of it. Jugdral's healing hasn't advanced that far. And it might not be enough to deal with such active, malicious disease anyway.]
...What happened?
[If he's seen anything like this before, Ethlyn wants to know what it was and what happened. Maybe it will help them.]
no subject
[ Claude sighs, looking off to the side. There are others who have lost friends to this. Family. He has no such grief weighing his shoulders down, but there's still a part of him that aches to know it, to know what came of people that could have been saved, what beings they truly face in battle. He knows that he's killed many people who led rich lives before they faced the wrong side of his bow, but there's something different about killing someone who isn't even lucid enough to be able to surrender. ]
They turn into something called a demonic beast. Big, scaly monsters, easily the size of eight horses put together. Once they're turned, there's no going back. The original person disappears, and what's left behind is something hell-bent on destruction.
[ Claude grimaces. ]
Can you see why I'd rather just knock them out now?
no subject
Oh, gods... yes, I do. [...] Death would be better than that.
[...]
What you said earlier about how they'd react to a fire--if a threat like that got their attention, we could lure them to it and knock them out that way.
no subject
[ He says it unflinchingly. He can't flinch anymore. Half-measures are no longer on the table, after all. It doesn't mean that he doesn't feel remorse for the poor souls, but he's past the point of feeling guilt for it. It is what it is.
If he has to strike down someone like Marianne -- that's a different story. He sighs. ]
That tactic seems sound enough to me. I wonder if we could heal them if we can get them to stay in one spot long enough for people to cast holy, purifying magic on them. I think that'd be our best bet -- traditional healing won't do much, but something a little deeper might.
[ Claude isn't the greatest fan of holy anything. But if it works, it works. ]
no subject
Yes... [She turns her mind to thoughts of holy magic. The only person she knows who could wield it with any capability was Deirdre, Sigurd's missing wife.] Holy magic is a rare gift where I'm from. But the healers in the Arztenritter draw their magic from all kinds of sources. We can try until we succeed.
[If success is possible.]
If not--perhaps we can tie them up until we finish destroying the monster, however that's to be accomplished.
no subject
[ Claude hops to his feet, stretching out his shoulder. Seems like it'll stay stable enough for the battle ahead. The road ahead looks like a rocky one, fogged by uncertainty, but the only thing to do about it is to forge ahead. That's what he's always done, and that's what he'll do now. ]
For now, I'd better get back out there, test some of this stuff out. [ He glances over, beyond the horizon. ] Once you're done with everyone here, a bunch of people have evacuated. So if you're looking for more people that might need your help, just head north. Hopefully the next time we meet, things will be a little better.
no subject
All right. [She's confident enough in her skills as a healer to not protest--that's what the Heal staff is for, getting soldiers back into battle.] Just take care--I'd rather not use up all the magic in the staff on one person.
And I'll do that, once things here have calmed down a little. I'm sure plenty of them are starting to feel what the adrenaline hid from them during their flight.