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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.
Re: Two-toned echoes tumbling through time--
Ah, of course. Forgive me for my ignorance. [Sarcasm comes a little too easily to the knight. Perhaps it’s from years of feigning obeisance to superiors who don’t deserve their title.] I should have realized that you were aiming for a land drained of all life.
[So, he hates the light? He can work with that. At worst, he’ll get angry and make mistakes. Raising his sword aloft, the Kuranta man invokes his Arts once more to create an orb of blinding light that fills the area and makes it practically impossible to see when looking directly at it. With his distraction in place, he dances from his spot, circling the Ascian as he speaks with a taunting voice.]
Still, what’s wrong? Is the mighty mage afraid when it’s not all gloomy and dark?
no subject
In response to the other man's Arts, Emet-Selch growls and calls forth all the dark power he's been given. The shadows upon the ground quiver then lean, seeping towards him like an oil slick. They gather before him into a turbulent ball that swells and attempts to drown out the light.
In biting tones, he spits out: ]
I will never be content with mortal mediocrity.
[ And with that, the ball of shadow launches towards Mlynar. ]
no subject
Well. This isn’t ideal…
[Once again, the knight tries to infuse light into his blade to parry the blast- only to be blasted back into a nearby tree as the impact makes a ragdoll of his body. The impact is sharp and painful, forcing the wind out of his lungs. In truth, if he had been human, he was certain that he probably would have emerged from the whole thing with no few broken bones.]
Agh… Point taken. [Młynar lets out a few pained coughs as the air tries to refill his lungs] Though I can’t help but wonder if linking your fate to that of a beast is ideal. Are you content with slavery, so long as you’re immortal?
[This time, he wasn’t trying to get under his skin. He was buying time, stalling to recover. Though he had a feeling that his foe was an intellectual sort. Philosophical topics like this always seemed to catch their attention.]
no subject
Hah! I don't need something like immortality when I have already lived for an eternity. I wanted the return of the strength I had before, but I will settle for these powers in its stead.
[ He waves his hand and the indistinct, shadowy form of a four-legged creature materialises in front of him. It's difficult to say what it resembles - a horse? A large mountain cat? - but he dismisses it just as quickly with a scowl. ]
As long as I can return to my star, I do not care what happens here.
no subject
It sounds to me like you haven’t thought this through. What makes you think this abomination would let you go back, when it has a perfect servant here? Or that it even has the power to let you do that?
[Bit by bit, the equine man rises to his knees, taking breaths where he can to collect himself once more. He aches like hell, but he’s at least a lot better than he was mere moments before.]
You’re not the only one who wants to go home. I also have duties to attend to. Why not collaborate with the other Chosen instead?
no subject
Cooperate? With all of you? As if you wouldn't all fall apart the moment the slightest bit of discord is sown through your ranks. That is the one thing mortals excel at: conflict.
[ Although he's scornful, there's a trace of bitterness to the words he spits out too. Like it's from personal experience. He watches the other man struggle to their feet and gestures. ]
Look at you, on your last legs already. I could finish you off with a snap of my fingers.
no subject
Instead, he takes a ready stance once more, even though he knew he was pushing past his limits. The black crystal on its pommel shines as he calls upon its power, igniting the blade once again.]
Conflict is our sin? That is rich, coming from the one who went off to side with a monster, while the rest of us stand together to protect this place. But irony is probably lost on you in your current state. We might just laugh about this over a drink later, should the chance arise.
[The knight’s blade plunges into the ground, channeling the last of his energies into the earth, so that it might arise as a pillar of light beneath Emet-Selch’s feet. In truth, it’s a distraction in two acts. On one hand, Młynar hopes that the ascian might not even notice the attack coming.
However, even if his attack fails, he’s already running back into the trees to make a hasty retreat. As one of his comrades liked to say- there’s no pride in dying during a hopeless battle. He’d leave the rest to his comrades, who were putting in some good work this whole time.]
no subject
The Ascian grits his teeth and gets unsteadily to his feet. Perhaps later they will indeed laugh about it - or at least share a tense smile. But right now, Emet-Selch can only stumble away, a hand pressed to his chest as healing magicks work to repair the physical damage done.
Mlynar's Light arts, at least, will stop Emet-Selch from making mischief for a while. ]