kenoslogs | april event, phase one: seeds of unrest 🌱

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april event, phase one: seeds of unrest 🌱

THE BEGINNING

Summertime in Springstar has been on its way out, heralding the arrival of fall; winter has likewise given way to spring in Highstorm - at least, according to the calendar. Yet there is an unseasonable bite on the breeze - one growing as frigid as the mood among Meris and Zenites in their cities. Between Alenroux’s occupation and talk of ‘the Blight,’ worries have been on the lips of the citizens with increasing frequency - and with good reason. The reports of plant life dying, of objects crumbling, of people whose bodies are deteriorating are dominating the rumor mills and local papers.

Everything comes to a head early in the second half of Pelu.

After an unusual pocket of commotion in the Seat of the Tribune and the courtyard of Yima’s manor, an urgent announcement is made on behalf of both cities: both Great Trees have been quarantined, and no one is permitted in either location without clearance. New rumors spread of an ‘incident’ that saw those in the immediate vicinity of the Trees rapidly demonstrating symptoms of an illness that was becoming all too easy to identify. It had stricken with frightening speed; not long afterward…

The unrest had spread into the streets, and it wasn’t just about the Blight anymore.

Cetina and Kathova wasted no time in reaching out to the Bearers via Communion to offer them guidance from their leaders and incite them to action.

SPRINGSTAR: THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE

Day by day, changes unfold that render the city increasingly dangerous...

ROOTS:

Vine-like roots have begun to thread the streets, creeping upon and over buildings, spreading outward from the Tree in Heliopolis. Over the next two weeks, they will continue to grow in size and become more troublesome, slowly blooming ice-like leaves that radiate a sickly glow.

GROWTH: Contrary to the Blight’s normal behaviors, some people and things around clusters of vines or leaves can experience a burst of vitality, growth, and splendor as if transforming to beyond peak condition. In a normal citizen, this may result in an almost manic level of energy, reckless behaviors, and aggression. In objects, they become more durable and efficient, but dangerously so - for example, a stovetop cooks faster but burns uncontrollably hot. In plant life, this results in overgrowth that can overwhelm and choke nearby flora, objects, or even people. Then, they burn out an hour after exposure and immediately succumb to a dire state of Blighted.

CHILL: The temperatures will continue to drop throughout the next two weeks. It will be coldest where vines have clustered and outright dangerously so near where flowers have budded or bloomed in great numbers. This will force some people from their homes.

TIME POCKETS:

In seemingly random parts of the city, areas referred to as ‘time pockets’ have populated. There is no way to identify a time pocket but to stumble into one.

REGRESSION: NPC’s in these areas will appear to freeze in time once a Bearer has breached the pocket’s radius but appear normal from the outside. Time within has halted at the point the pocket manifested ( typically covering an area like a city street or inside a single large building that sees regular use ). Objects can be freely manipulated but will not fall if thrown, etc.
- The pocket cannot be left until the Bearer has achieved their objective. Attempting to exit the way they entered, they’ll run into an unseen barrier that is painful to the touch, a sensation of frigidity that travels to their Shard.
- Their goal will be to locate a past version of themselves hidden from immediate view. This past version of themselves can be from any point in their lives but must be from a moment when they felt extremely vulnerable, isolated, wounded, or fearful.
- Once finding this past version, they will feel the compulsion to either find a way to reassure their past selves somehow or kill them. Whether it is the Bearer themselves who performs these acts or another Bearer in their company does it for them, as long as their past selves are pacified enough ( to player satisfaction ) or dead, they will gain immunity to the pocket and may leave. The immediate area will remain frozen, however, and the past version will be revealed to be made of roots that will shrivel and die.
- Note: Bearers will be able to see other Bearer’s past selves, even after they have been freed. Whether the past reflections are capable of speech while functional is up to player discretion.

HIGHSTORM: THE ROOTS OF CHANGE

The snows continue to fall over the city, feeling brittle against your skin...

ROOTS:

Vine-like roots have begun to thread the streets, creeping upon and over buildings, spreading outward from the Great Tree in Yima’s manor. Over the next two weeks, they will continue to grow in size and become more troublesome, slowly blooming ice-like leaves that radiate a sickly glow.

SACRIFICIAL: [ CW: self-harm ] Where the roots snake and gather throughout the city, NPC’s in several locations are falling victim to the quiet, slow pulse of the flowers and their buds. They will sit and stare at the flowers for hours, unblinkingly, as their body begins to succumb to the Blight. If they are disturbed in any way - a loud noise, an attempt to move their person, etc - they will calmly look up from their worship and crack off a piece of their brittle body before returning to their reverie.

In order to save them, a pair (or more) of Bearers must sneak up on the NPC - one using a pacifying spell given by one of the faction leaders while the other crushes the flower. If the NPC is not pacified before the flower is crushed, they will become hysterical and the Blight will rapidly consume them, causing them to perish. If they are pacified and the flower is not crushed, the spell will wear off within ten seconds with the same result.

CHILL: The temperatures will continue to drop throughout the next two weeks. It will be coldest where vines have clustered and outright dangerously so near where flowers have budded or bloomed in great numbers. This will force some people from their homes.

TIME POCKETS:

In seemingly random parts of the city, areas referred to as ‘time pockets’ have populated. There is no way to identify a time pocket but to stumble into one.

REFLECTIONS: NPC’s in these pockets are moving in surreal blurs, pieces of them moving forward as others move backward, some changing as if time were rapidly passing as others remain frozen still. The Bearers’ surroundings are distorted as if reflecting multiple realities simultaneously.
- Their goal will be to locate a tall standing mirror situated alone in the center of the time pocket’s radius. The Bearer who first touches their reflection ( henceforth called “mirror-Bearer” ) will cause the world inside the pocket to suddenly stop, reflecting a comforting environment they have fond or pleasant associations with. The mirror will be gone.

Something or someone the mirror-Bearer highly values, deeply misses, or sees as imperative to their character, goals, or desires will be present. If they make contact with this object or person, the Time Pocket loops and sends them back to searching for the mirror - but they will have no memory of this occurring. Their partner, however, will recall everything.

Both Bearers will be released if five loops occur without the mirror-Bearer being stopped from causing the loop or if the mirror-Bearer is stopped from reaching their goal for five minutes ( willingly or otherwise ). The longer they refuse to make contact with this object or person, the more tempting and dire the need becomes inside of them.

Once the Bearers are released, the Time Pocket disappears. If they manage to avoid contact with the temptation inside the Pocket, the roots and flowers in this area will be withered and dying, buying the NPC’s and buildings in this location some time. Otherwise, they will be thriving and dangerously blooming.

Note: the mirror will not respond to the non-mirror-Bearer once it has been touched the first time.

ENTREE-TING HELP

The Tree of Life is in danger, and you know it. Both Yima and Cyrus have directed all Bearers who might listen to increase visitation to the Tree and monitor it for signs of the Blight - of its leaves changing color, of any frostbitten bark, of its roots withering.

And then, during a moment in which you find your mind at ease, at rest... you dream, even if dreaming is unnatural for you. You dream of yourself sitting beneath the massive bows of the Tree's breadth, at peace. The perpetual dawn's glow warms your skin in a way that seeps into your bones, leaving you certain you are safe from harm. The Tree reaches out, and though it cannot speak to you in words, you feel it is trying to convey a message: one of urgency. One of plea.

But you cannot understand...

Soon, the branches of the Tree are reaching out to others. You cannot see them, but you know they're there; a spiritual tether connects your Shards together, bringing you all into a place of wordless unity. And once your fellows have been summoned, you know what you are here for.

You feel it rather than see it: some meager, barely-there brush of something cold in the warmth of the island's comfort. The Tree is already infected, and the clock is running down for all of you.

When you wake to yourself, a feeling of dread not entirely your own will chase you, and you will find a single violet leaf in your hand.

MISC NOTES

Bearers start with immunity to the Blight. They will not succumb to the effects of the Blight even if they handle the vines and flowers directly without precautions or care.
The above effects will occur in small clusters and are not yet spread city-wide during phase one. The escalation of frequency characters will come across problematic clusters or Time Pockets will be slow building.
For context, it takes about a month from infection to death or dissolution for the average person or object to succumb to the Blight. By the 21st, it will be three days to a week.
Bearers will be directed by Cetina or Kathova to make efforts to protect the civilians and investigate the manifesting changes around both cities. Both factions are working on their own methods to attempt to counteract the Blight, but neither has produced a failsafe solution.
The roots will remain mostly outdoors, for the most part, these first two weeks.
Tensions will slowly ramp up in Alenroux, and there are checkpoints for any non-PC visitors to screen for signs of infection.
Player characters who die inside the Time Pockets are dead and need their Shards brought to the Tree of Life for revival.
HAVE FUN!! ♥

CODING

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ currently have a busy month so i can't take on any more threads but i should be more free by the time part two drops! ]

[ Neither of them are all that married to Springstar so it's not so surprising that they end up crossing paths in Highstorm when their feet lead them to the same little pocket of fragmented reality, the contrast between too much movement and no movement at all enough to give Eustace a mild headache. But he's here in Highstorm to help, and he can't do that while he's trapped in this space while time moves in erratic cartwheels around him.

So. Best get moving then, even if he's not fully sure what it is he should be moving to just yet. ]

Keep an eye open for anything out of place.

[ He sounds tired, moreso than usual, the edge to his voice unnecessarily sharp. Between Alenroux, his own personal problems, and now the Blight rearing its ugly head, his nerves are constantly wound tight around themselves. No rest for the wicked...or for any of the Shard-bearers, it seems. ]

[ Without having picked a side yet, Ernesto is ready and willing to go wherever it seems his help might be needed, as much as he can actually provide that. That people who have squarely settled on a faction have the same mindset as him is a relief to see, and that he had managed to stumble across someone he knew from experience was level-headed and reliable? That's a nice little cherry on top of this otherwise miserable sundae.

He sticks close to him, hand on the hilt of his still sheathed sword as he moves through the distorted reality, wincing slightly at the sight of a man's legs seeming to run away without him, before snapping back together in a disorienting rush of motion. ]

That might be a tall order here.

[ But he understands what Eustace is really saying, look for something that isn't moving in this strange, jerky way, that doesn't seem to be flitting wildly through different realities.

He sighs heavily as they continue to move forward. ]

It really makes me miss the times that my biggest worry was a potential sudden Catastrophe hitting down in my city.

[ Thanks for being so calm about all this, Ernesto, truly things are so much easier when there's someone you trust to be level-headed and critical next to you. Although the comment has him shifting his attention over, Eustace tilting his head in curiosity. ]

You wouldn't categorize this as a catastrophe?

[ Does he hear that capital C there.....yeah probably, but easier to curb the worst of the unsettling feeling this place tries to impress into him if he's casually talking while he pushes ahead. ]

Though if Cyrus is to be believed, you'll get that back if Meridian wins the Oracle.

[ What a dispassionate way of saying it...it's as though he isn't even a Meridian himself. Though there's not much time to debate his loyalties at the moment as a glint of light out of the corner of his eye catches him attention. He pauses, pivoting on one foot as he tries to pinpoint what exactly is gleaming under the late summer sun.

It's....a mirror? Out in the middle of the city streets. Well, if that isn't peak weird he doesn't know what is. ]

Does that look familiar to you?

[ High energy panic has never really been Ernesto's style, and he'll continue to play it cool regardless of how he actually feels about the situation. In so many ways it's easier to laugh and joke than it is to scream. ]

It might be, though it's a bit different than the type I'm used to.

[ Natural disasters on a huge scale still make more sense than all of this time business going on here.

And if that comment about "if Cyrus is to be believed" goes noticed (and it does), Ernesto makes no move to acknowledge it. He hasn't actually signed on to either group himself, so he's the last person who is going to judge someone for remaining skeptical of the factions here.

Besides, they have more immediate and pressing things to deal with right now. Like that very misplaced looking mirror. ]

Can't say it does... Any chance someone was in the middle of moving furniture when the Blight hit?

[ Sure would be nice if someone was in the middle of moving house and just happened to leave a giant-ass mirror behind.

But there's nothing else in the area and its purposeful upright stance seems to suggest it was placed there for a reason, and while there are any number of perfectly innocent reasons why someone would just pop a standing mirror up in the middle of nowhere, he's always been a little too pessimistic to let things slide so easily.

Slowly, he walks up to the mirror, brows creased together as he peers at their reflections inside it. There's nothing off or twisted about what's shown inside; there are only two men and the city backdrop behind them, and the dizzying blurs and stretches of time moving incorrectly around them. ]

If they were, they chose a strange piece of furniture to leave behind.

[ Don't mind him as he circles around it once, trying to see if there's anything strange tucked behind. I promise he will also touch his reflection next tag and we can get things moving. ]

[ Regardless of the choices future Eustace will make in order to get the thread rolling in earnest, Ernesto is taking his cue from the other man to keep his hands to himself for now. He's not usually so impulsive as to touch something that seems like it could do some serious harm to him.

But he's also not always careful enough either.

For now he's keeping a good few feet away, and just leaning forward slightly as he scrutinizes his own reflection, looking for any indication of something off about it. It seems to be following his own movement just fine, though the dizzying display from the world around them does keep snagging his attention as he tries to focus on his own face. ]

It's less vital than a chair though.

[ He straightens up now with a small frown on his face. ]

Honestly, there's nothing that weird looking about it other than the location.

[ After doing a once around the mirror and coming back to a stop right in front, Eustace is forced to come to the conclusion that, yeah, this mirror really just looks like any ordinary mirror. Maybe he really is sniffing up the wrong tree here. ]

Maybe we should move on then.

[ Right after he gives his crisp reflection a quick poke. Because sometimes, you just have to touch a thing to ~~get a thread moving~~ confirm that a thing is just what it appears to be.

Except, as it turns out, this mirror isn't just any ordinary mirror. The moment his hand makes contact with the glass the whole thing vanishes. So does the scenery around them, the dark Highstorm vista replaced instead by a calm autumn day, the edge of a forest just off to their left. It's a familiar vista for one of them at least, judging from the way Eustace's face crinkles in a deep frown.

He opens his mouth to remark on the sudden change, then shuts it just as quickly as a blur stepping into the forest catches his attention. His whole body straightens, a dog latched onto a scent, and without another word he's striding towards that figure weaving through the trees.

Sorry Ernesto, he'll be back....maybe. ]

[ There was a reason the two of them suspected that the mirror wasn't just an ordinary mirror, just like there was a reason that Ernesto opted to keep his hands to himself while Eustace was checking it out. It's just a shame that even the lightest touch confirmed what they were both suspecting was probably true.

With as dizzying as the scenery around them had been previously, it's actually kind of impressive that this sudden change in the world around them is still enough to make Ernesto's stomach lurch uncomfortably. He's been through so much nonsense at this point it's hard to be truly surprised by a magic pitfall like this, but it doesn't make it less of a sensory mind fuck.

He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, blinking them open again as he wills his head to stop spinning as he adjusts to the autumnal forest view they have in front of him. ]

What--

[ But Ernseto doesn't get much more than that before that blur moving treeward apparently steals away Eustace's focus, and has the man quickly moving after it. ]

Mr. Eustace?

[ Maybe back or not doesn't matter, because Ernesto is quickly following after him. ]

[ He would recognize that voice anywhere, regardless how many years it's been. Twenty, to be exact, though it's not like he's been counting. (He definitely has been.) How could he not recognize the sound of his own voice, even reduced to that of a child? There's no denying the way his whole body had stiffened at the first hint of it, a door in the far back of his mind slammed open and a flood of unpleasant memories spilling out.

He moves on instinct, single-minded in his pursuit and blind to the rest of his surroundings, not slowing until his eyes finally latch onto a small figure in the distance, dressed in warm greens and browns. Even knowing that this was what awaited him at the end, the sight of—himself is still a hard punch to the gut, enough to briefly knock all the air out of his lungs. He might have cared less, before. Had cared less before in Venera, when his most precious memories had been casually set out on display like some idle child's playset. But knowing what he does now, having had his reality tilted onto its side within the last month, he finds he can't stand the image in front of him and all the ugly emotions it dredges up.

If he can't wipe the existence of that man from the surface of the world, then the least he can do is remove this godsforsaken Blight and all the unintended suffering it brings with it.

Again he moves, but this time his footfalls are slow, almost hesitant as they breach the gap between him and himself. Leaves crunch underneath his feet as he crouches down in front of the child, hands settling on both shaking shoulders. He doesn't need to hear what's being stuttered out between muffled sobs to know exactly what's being said. I don't want to be alone anymore. Please don't leave me behind.

How many times had he repeated those mantras to himself in the hopes that they would come true? (Too many, and they never had.)

A good thing he's here now, to lay all those worries to rest. ]

You won't be. I promise.

[ Kind words, but the intention behind them isn't quite so generous as he steps around, arms circling around a slender neck in preparation to squeeze, to snap— ]

[ Maybe it's a bad habit of Gray's that she's more liable to hang back than to interrupt, more worried about imposing than looking a little weird as she watches from afar. Her only saving grace is that she happens to look harmless, but it doesn't change the fact that she's prone to eavesdropping as a result, however innocent her intentions.

In this particular instance, what draws her is the sound of a child's crying. She makes her way over automatically, especially with the eerie silence surrounding them the only other option. Before she can reach the child, she spots a very familiar figure already attending to the problem: Eustace, appearing to comfort the little boy, and together they sport the same silvery hair and oversized ears. Gray pauses in her advance and instead watches from around a corner, thinking that Eustace already has the situation well in hand...

It's hard to say what exactly sets the alarm bells off in her head. She trusts Eustace implicitly in all things, but as his arms wind around the child's neck, she's flooded with the sudden impression of a rabbit about to have its neck wrung.

She moves before she can reason the feeling away. She comes at a run, hoping that her feeling is off but thinking, just in case. After all, everyone in Springstar has been acting especially strange of late. ]

Mr. Eustace!

[ She hopes that's enough to get his attention. If it isn't, then... ]

[ It's enough to grab his attention and to stop his arms from moving further. His head snaps up, lips momentarily thinning in guilt before his expression smoothes out again back to a carefully controlled neutrality. It's not as though he feels any particular shame over the act of killing a past version of himself that isn't even real (or so he's convinced himeslf) but if he were given the choice, he'd rather Gray not see. ]

Gray.

[ A simple acknowledgment of her presence, though he makes no move to release his younger self, who's started squirming in his arms after sensing the wrongness in the air. But baby Eustace is small and adult Eustace is decidedly not, and it's a battle that's lost right from the getgo. ]

I can take care of this. Go back.

[ 'Take care', like he's about to mop up a glass of spilled juice rather than end an innocent child's life. ]

[ The child's squirming is enough to set Gray's alarm in stone. If that clear discomfort isn't enough to make Eustace let go, then he clearly doesn't intend to.

What to do then? Using Add isn't an option; even with a child's life in the balance, she isn't willing to raise a blade against Eustace. Instead... she ignores his command and goes faster, pouring a burst of magical energy into her legs so that she launches herself at him (and his younger self) at a tackle like a little hooded rocket. ]

[ Team Rocket (Gray), blasting off into space again....

Or in this case, launching right into the pair of them. He doesn't have much time to do more than pivot his body and tug his shoulders inward so that his side is what catches most of the impact, rather than his younger self head-on. An interesting turn of events from when he was trying to commit cold-blooded murder only moments before, but instinct will always prevail over cool rational thought. ]

Hey! What are you doing—?

[ Seriously, what is she doing? Everything is fine? He has everything under control. ]

[ All according to keikaku... Well, not really, but she will improvise. Since Eustace has helpfully turned himself to the side, Gray continues on to duck and try to wedge herself between Eustace and his younger self. ]

Please don't...

[ Please don't what is the question; she only has a hunch to go by, and Eustace could easily make her look the fool with a simple denial. But Gray can usually trust her instincts even when she'd rather not, and in this case she's willing to sacrifice her dignity for the sake of urgency. ]

[ To his credit he doesn't try to deny or lie his way out of what (obviously) looks like a very dubious situation. He does try to prevent her from fully wiggling her way through, though as it turns out, trying to split his attention between preventing a struggling child from breaking free and a struggling teenager from breaking in isn't all it's cracked to be, and he ends up doing a shoddy job at both. ]

It isn't real.

[ His words aren't so much a denial as they are what he perceives as fact. There's no way whatever this is can possibly be him, not when he's crouched here with his heart thudding in his chest and his arm still wrapped around something that feels very real. ]

What would you do even if I let him go?

If you thought it wasn't real, you wouldn't have bothered trying to be kind.

[ Whether the child exists in fact or in memory alone, he means something to Eustace. If that's the case, then hurting the child will probably hurt Eustace too — even if only emotionally.

So Gray remains stubborn about trying to worm her way between the two Eustaces, though she does it with her normal teenager strength, not quite willing to use coercive magical enhancement. ]

I don't know what I'll do yet... but let me try! If things don't work out, then... then we can do things your way.

[ It isn't a very convincing argument, more desperation than logic, but it's all she has. ]

ROOTS:

TIME POCKETS:

ROOTS:

TIME POCKETS:

eustace / closed starters

ernesto.

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gray. (cw: attempted child murder)

ominous words in succession

true, it sounds like i'm about to murder gray in this thread

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gen.

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