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

[impiety]

Zaun - or rather, that is what you told me it was.

[ Archangel decides to answer that question first. He steps forward, walking in front of the mirror. Using his wings, he spreads them out to cover up the scene that is being reflected in the glass. Is it glass? ]

But isn't Zaun gone?

[ In the dream that brought them to this place, he dreamt of the destruction of his world. It filled him with a great sense of peace. He also thought that perhaps he would die. But he'll ruminate on that feeling later. His wings fold back behind him. ]

There is no way for her to be the real her.

[zauneyete]

It is gone.

[ He said simply. Confirmation of some things, at least. Though his eyes looked at Archangel with a keen, piercing gaze. ]

You don't know if it is or isn't her.

[ It's sharp then, biting. It could be. If this was a part of the tree's machinations, it could be trying to bring her back -- Aetós had said explicitly that her connection was strong. The only way to confirm was... locked away in his quarters, and Silco was expressly tight lipped about the fac that he had his daughter's shard. ]

It is possible that the tree has kidnapped her -- she disappeared some time ago, after upsetting the dryad -- though I do not discount the fact that it's a trick.

[ He held up a finger. Before Archangel thought him foolish. ] There are few ways to tell, unless it gives up the trick, or we pull her from the mirror to reality.

[impiety]

[ Archangel holds his hands up in surrender. It is his way of saying that what Silco says is true. His wings fold further back behind him. ]

Perhaps, if someone is to grab her, it should be me, then.

[ Since the last time, it did not work so well. But if Silco wants to question the Jinx in the mirror, who is he to argue? Furthermore, who is he to say if he's right or not? ]

If it turns out that this can't be done, and we come back to this point again ... hm. [ It's only happened once. Will Silco forget, again? Will he? He wonders. Perhaps a contingency is needed. ] If I forget what happened here...

[ What if he ends up forgetting this conversation? So, what could he have Silco say to make sure that they don't repeat the same mistakes? ]

What phrase should we say so we know we've been duped again?

[zauneyete]

[ It's lucky, that Archangel only suggests grabbing her -- in Silco's mind, he's already been prepared for a different suggestion, and his fingers had inched ever closer to the knife he kept on his person -- if the man had even once dared to suggest harming her... well. Silco could not be called a logical man when his emotions were involved, and when it came to his daughter... yeah.

Even less so.

He tipped his head, and there was a split to his lips, almost a sneer. ]

If you can grab her, do not blame me for the consequences. [ She'd just been building a bomb. In his office. Silco wasn't treating that with the gravity that someone probably should. It was just normal. ]

Let's use the phrase... [ Silco looked up at the sky, at the ever-present moon. ] "Moon at noon", perhaps?

[impiety]

I shall not.

[ He certainly won’t blame him for anything that happens. ]

I only hope that you will offer me the same kindness.

[ It is time to see how strong his power actually is. Just like back home, he has been able to transfer the amount of pain and insanity that he’s been suffering under onto the person he touches. Would that be enough to subdue Jinx? An imagined Jinx? The real one hypnotized into a trap?

He certainly is talking with a lot of confidence but he does not have any idea of what is going on.

Ah, well, all will be revealed in time. ]

All right, the statement is agreed upon – shall we head back in, then?

[ He makes a small gesture with his hand: Silco, first. ]

[zauneyete]

[ Silco offered him a smile, but it's a ghost of one.

Would he offer the same kindness to archangel? When his daughter was involved?

Absolutely not. Silco was a man of contradictions, and there is only one thing he is absolutely unwavering in, and it's unfortunately the fact that he would do anything for his daughter. It's frankly embarrassing.

But with that, he turned, and reached out to the mirror, to press a finger into it again.

Just as quick, they are back to where they were before. An office. There is the soft thudding of bass underneath their feet, the window shows an eerie light that could never be from a sun, but instead neon and streetlights. It it not night, and yet there is no sunlight through the window. Silco, this time, knows to expect his daughter, and looks up expectantly, but for half a moment, he panics -- she isn't there, she --

Is next to Archangel, looking up at him, her head tipping this way, and that. Curious, piercing eyes, as if she is trying to puzzle something out. 'Who's this?' She finally asks, accusatory. ]

[impiety]

Well, you're not from the shadows this time, are you?

[ He somehow doesn't jerk back at her sudden appearance at his side. His wings fold behind him - she didn't seem too impressed with his title before. Archangel frowns, admitting quietly that hurts his pride, but only to himself (cough-cough). ]

I am a friend, I suppose. I am here to ensure that he succeeds in this trap.

[ The last two words are drawn out - carefully, thoughtfully. He makes a small waving gesture with his hand. Because he suddenly isn't quite sure if that is what this is. He stares at Silco for a moment - could this be his Distortion? A Distortion that was created from the power of Kenos? No, no, stay focused.

He shakes his head. It's only happened once, but if time goes back, again, then he'll just try again to figure it out. ]

If you would, my dear. [ Kneeling down on one knee, he holds his hand out to her. ] Can we hold hands for a second? [ He hopes it is confusing enough of a gesture before he would try to reach to grab onto her arm instead. ]

[zauneyete]

[ Silco wonders if Archangel understands the kind of person he's dealing with. Jinx, of course, reacts like Jinx would.

'A Friend? Silco doesn't have friends.' Is the first thing she says, which, while true, certainly isn't the thing he wants his daughter sharing with anyone. He uses the term loosely, at times, to convince others that he is on their side, or that he's going to work... "nicely" with them, though Jinx knew him better than even Sevika. Which is why she's already on edge, and she looks back at Silco, with a laugh.

'Is he for real? Where did you find this guy, and why is he here?' Also fair. Her hands are pointedly behind her back, and she takes a step closer, as if she's trying to intimidate the man with all of her 5'4 height. Somehow, she's shorter than even Silco, something he can probably put together just looking at the two of them -- and Silco is already terribly short. ]

Jinx, I think he wants to see if you're -- [ Real -- but he can't say that. ] He wants to check up on you, and make sure you're healthy.

[ Which, given where they are, probably isn't a given. Silco's daughter, all of seventeen and already covered in tattoos and small scars with chipped nails and a bomb in one hand behind her back is looking up at him, as if she's waiting on a better explanation. Clearly, she doesn't buy it. ]