april event, phase one: seeds of unrest 🌱

[beleos]

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

Comments

[eyesite]

( given he has been in kenos for far less time, john's perspective is somewhat different — where trouble and conflict might have been sparse, intermittent, and atmospheric in their first few months here, the current generation of Shard-Bearers are now paying witness to its slow encroachment, just as one might watch a borderline of shadows slowly creep forward as the fire which kept them at bay died. springstar and highstorm, which might have once seemed like bastions against the unknown, now fall beneath its curtain and therefore victim to the chaos which reigned within. )

Roots, leaves, flowers, and the blasted cold — yes, the same is happening in Highstorm. Though I didn't come across anything like this...

( though perhaps that had just been a combination of good and bad luck on either side.

he wouldn't at all blame the man for not wanting to frequent the midnight city, though; the construction of the sociopolitical framework within which the Shard-Bearers interacted with one another and the locations available to them was not what any might call cut-and-dry, and it largely bent to personal impetus and one's unique situation. those newer to kenos, like john, might be able to get away with more freedom of movement than others, whose previous actions would mark them to Bearers of the opposing faction. regardless, with the cities under attack from their environment rather than their inhabitants, at least neither of these two would harbor ill intentions when there are more dire circumstances at foot.

if the oblique reference to alenroux was noticed by john (it was, of course), he doesn't pay any mind to it; his own involvement in that situation is such that he is more motivated than most to remain perfectly mum about it. he instead focuses on what's before them: ) A sound assumption. ( that the Blight was behind this was something he felt was without a doubt, though...

it makes sense that vander's thoughts would go to aetós. ) It's certainly a possibility that they might be involved, but based on the scale of everything - I would caution jumping to conclusions. ( from what he had managed to glean from the facility, it seems to him that aetós makes a tool of time, pulling out of it what they wish, but that seems magnitudes different than what they are standing within now. it would be more likely that the further intensification of the Blight might have been something they — or others — had a hand in, but otherwise...

he's about to say they should perhaps look around and try to see if there's a way out of whatever's going on — or perhaps some way to fix it — but he's cut off by a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. based on where he's standing, a narrow alley cuts in-between several towering buildings to his right, leading to another backstreet parallel to this one. movement. it had been movement. someone had just walked across the narrow gap visible of that other street — the silhouette had seemed... small. a child? )

Did you see that? ( he asks sharply, beginning to gravitate in that direction. he's not necessarily sure; not everyone is as keen-eyed to their surrounding as an avatar of the Eye. ) I'm pretty sure someone just walked past. ( though, oddly enough, the area around them is still utterly quiet; he can't hear any footsteps beyond their own. )

[exhound]

[John is right, of course, that it is a pretty big conclusion to jump to. Perhaps he’s overthinking it all, trying hard to look for a clear-cut answer to a problem that only seems to be getting bigger—one that there is no easy way to solve. There is no physically fighting off a phenomenon like this, no sitting down and negotiating a way to make it all go away. Maybe that’s why he’s so keen to consider Aetos’ involvement; if what has become his own personal boogie-man has their fingers in this, at least it gives them a place to start. And maybe it’s good for that, but he can’t let it cloud his judgment just yet.

Still, the idea nags at him in the back of his mind.

While he doesn’t like hearing that both cities are apparently having it rough with this new development, at least it means that folks on both sides might be a little more open to cooperation. Tensions have been up and down so many times between both factions ever since they first had to see one another as opposition back on the Scorching Isles. He’d like to think people would wise up enough to work together to overcome something that is mutually detrimental, but some people will always be set in their ways. He knows that all too well.

It is a bit ironic, though, that a problem the Shard-bearers had faced while at each others throats might now be turning into something to bring them together. At the very least, opposition hardly seems to be an issue for the two of them here and now. Which means, yes, they should probably begin trying to find a way out of this strange situation.

And evidently, they aren’t stuck in here alone, either. Vander hadn’t caught sight of whatever it is that John had noticed, but he follows his sharp gaze toward a nearby alley, eyes narrowing. Nothing to see now, but if they aren’t the only ones untouched by the freezing of time here, then it’s best if they check it out.]

Let’s see if we can catch up, then. [He follows just behind John, keeping his eyes peeled as they step into the small alley. The quiet surrounding them feels odd, though.] If there’s more of us stuck in this mess, it might be best to stick together.

[Better for putting their heads together to puzzle their way out of here, and especially for keeping an eye out for trouble. Which, speaking of—might be wise to tread carefully here.]

[eyesite]

( if aetós had a hand in what was happening, john would think that it was only a facilitating one. the fact of the matter is, their primary issue is the Blight, and whether or not it began to spread so quickly and with renewed severity either due to aetós' influence, the Shard-Bearers' (directly or indirectly), or completely on its own is no longer part of the solution. even if they did anything to neutralize the cause, it would not stop the rest of the damage that's being done — investigation into its root will have to wait until they get everything else under control.

which feels like a very tall order from within this time bubble, completely confounded as to what could be going on. )

Yes - right. Let's go.

( any change to their surroundings is as solid a lead as to what's going on as anything they can hope for, so he knifes through the alley, aware that vander is following close behind by the sound of footsteps on stone echoing through the emptiness of the space they find themselves trapped in. caution would be paramount here, but there's a feverish sort of eagerness to the Archivist's steps that draw him forward perhaps a little more quickly and recklessly than he should. part of that is innate; he has always chosen to pursue knowledge, and perhaps that is what brought him to the Eye (or vice versa). they come by one another naturally, as so many avatars do to their patron Powers.

they turn a corner, and there is someone moving through this space ahead of them. they aren't very far ahead, as they are walking, and their strides are far shorter than either john's or vander's. that's because the stranger is a child, dark-haired, certainly no older than ten. he walks away from them, head down as if watching the ground directly ahead. he doesn't seem to have noticed them.

already, there's something nagging at the back of john's mind, but that's nothing new; he ignores it, moving forward to try to intercept the kid. ) Hey - excuse me!

( no response. but as he gets closer, or at least close enough to see that the boy isn't looking at the ground but instead at a thin children's book held in his hands, he realizes how his limbs move ever-so-strangely (as if puppetted by invisible strings), and he knows with all the sudden force of a sledgehammer just who this is and what's going on.

he stops and goes completely still, even the air in his lungs and the beat of his heart pausing for just an instant. he goes suddenly pale. )