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

[settingup]

[ It's a relief for a number of reasons. He wasn't looking for a knife in the back, but the kid running off means it's harder for Gen to cave his head in if he manages to slip by Atsumu.

What a weird, fucked up situation he's been thrust into. Not even the fact that he's dealing with strange child doubles of people (if Gen is to be trusted, and he's got his doubts about the guy ready to kill a kid so quickly), but the fact that he's found himself in a position where he's literally risking his neck to save someone else's life.

This is some hero shit, and that's not actually what Atsumu ever intended to be.

Gen might be right about all of this, but he might be deeply, deeply wrong. Atsumu's all for leaping before looking when it comes to most things, but even he has limits.

So when Gen gives that command to move again, he takes a deep inhale as he braces himself. ]

You got it.

[ And charges forward, ramming his shoulder into Gen's chest to try and knock him back. ]

[epiprocta]

[ It's a smart move. Gen certainly hadn't expected this idiot -- someone who still looks very much out of place in any fight, clearly a normal student -- to actually fight back in any real capacity. And so he's entirely unprepared for the retaliation.

The blow to the chest slams him back against the wall, knocking the air out of him, and he's startled enough that his grip loosens. His hand jolts back against the wall, and the mace slips from his fingers to go clattering heavily to the pavement, bouncing once before rolling a few feet away.

And even before Gen's caught his breath once more -- ]

You son of a bitch!

[ It comes out guttural and choked, and Gen has to gasp for air before he can form any more words. ]

This ain't any of your business! What d'you think gives you the right to go stickin' your nose where it doesn't belong! What d'you think you know about that thing?

[settingup]

[ Despite all appearances, Atsumu's more clever than he appears most of the time, or at the very least he's good at thinking on his feet. He doubts he has the same combat experience as most other Shard-bearers, and he's not stupid enough to assume he and Gen are on the same level just because they're about the same age.

So he's gotta use his head, act fast and unpredictably. It's also why he's immediately dancing back out of the way even though Gen's dropped his mace. There's no reason to stay within range and give Gen time to pick it back up. ]

Not a whole hell of a lot, but I know I ain't willin' to let you go bashin' out his brains.

[ And he'll keep moving back for now while Gen is stunned, in the direction the kid with the knife took off in, putting some space between him and Gen, before whirling around and taking off in a run himself.

They're stuck in a looped section of space, so while he was smart enough to use surprise as an advantage in a fight, he wasn't smart enough not to pick a fight with a guy he's literally locked in a "cage" with. He also has no idea where the boy ran off to, and curses under his breath and he scans the alleyways for him. ]

[epiprocta]

[ As Atsumu pivots and makes a run for it, he might feel a hand coming dangerously close to snagging into the back of his clothes, fingertips just barely grazing against his back before missing. It's followed by the rasping snarl of Gen's voice: ]

-- hold it right there!

[ Too bad the following foosteps from him are stumbling and unsteady, and Gen barely manages to follow two, three steps after Atsumu before sagging against the closest wall to double over hacking for air.

It leaves Atsumu a precious few minutes to put some distance between them. And whether Atsumu can thank his sharp eyes for it, or whether it's just pure dumb luck, he actually manages to stumble upon his target before long. A small shape squirreled away deeper in an alleyway -- that child from before, crouched and hunched over, making himself small as he rocks slightly on the balls of his feet. The knife still clutched in a small, bloodied hand.

He looks up with a start the moment he hears approaching footsteps, shoulders tensed and eyes wide. Even when he's the one holding the weapon, he looks more like a spooked animal than he does a threat. ]

[settingup]

[ Too bad for Gen, but not for Atsumu. The odds were never in Gen's favor when this turned into a chase rather than a brawl though. Atsumu has always been exceptionally fast, and he's in incredible shape too. The longer Gen were to chase after him, the further the gap would have grown even if he hadn't needed to stop and catch his breath.

The added bonus of having winded him with that body slam though affords Atsumu more than enough time to catch up with the kid before Gen can catch up with them though, and he skids to a stop the minute he catches sight of the small, frightened looking frame curled up on himself.

Atsumu's panting slightly from the exertion of taking off into a sudden sprint, but it could be worse. He's still able to talk pretty clearly between breaths as he holds both hands in front of him, palms out so the kid can see there is nothing in them. ]

Hey hey, I ain't armed, alright?

[ Not entirely true. He has some weapons hidden under clothing, but that's not really relevant right now. Atsumu might not be an expert with kids, but he at least knows that much like adults, kids probably won't trust you more if you tell them that you have dangerous weapons on you. ]

And I ain't lookin' to hurt you either, so couldja put that thing down for me?

[ His gaze flicks down to the knife, before looking back up at Gen's face. ]

'Cause it looks like you don't even really wanna be holdin' it.

[epiprocta]

[ The child flinches the moment Atsumu speaks, looking very much like he wants to get to his feet and bolt. And could he be blamed for it? He's found himself in a strange place, with no memory how he got here, suddenly confronted by two (huge) youths seemingly intent on fighting. It's only the exhaustion dragging at his limbs and weighing him down that keep him frozen where he's crouched small against a wall, only staring up at Atsumu in silent anxiety for a moment.

It takes a moment for him to find any words. ]

I ... [ A thick swallow. His voice is soft and hoarse. ] ... I can't.

[ Physically. It feels impossible. His hand is shaking from clutching the knife so hard, knuckles pale and fingertips numb, and it feels more like someone else's limb than his own.

The knifeblade clinks against the ground when he lets his hand rest against the ground, still too tense to let it go, but too exhausted to even pretend he's still on-guard. And while there's no quaver in his voice, his words come oddly flat and hollow for his age as he looks up at Atsumu: ]

... are you here to arrest me?

[settingup]

[ As obtuse as Atsumu can occasionally be, he's not as stupid as he acts. At the very utterance of the word "arrest", all the signs that had been there before slot neatly into place in a way that makes Atsumu's blood run cold.

That thing's me, when I was that age.

There really isn't a single damn person in all of Kenos who had a normal life prior to all of this, is there? No one but Atsumu himself.

He crouches down low, putting himself closer to the small Gen's level, eyes on his face as he takes in... everything. The Atsumu before, the one who went to high school and had volleyball practice after school, he'd be freaking out about this right now. This would be a situation well beyond his understanding and capability to deal with it, but the Atsumu he is now? Well he's at least managing to slide forward slowly towards the kid, hands still up in a continued "look, no weapons" sign.

He's starting to feel like he's slipping away from normal himself these days. ]

What about me looks like a cop?

[ He stops moving when he's just outside of Gen's immediate strike range, staying low and alert just in case. Gen's not a big kid, but you don't need to be that big if your knife is sharp enough, right? ]

Promise not to stab me, and I'll help you ditch that thing before anyone finds it.

[epiprocta]

[ Atsumu has a point. He certainly doesn't look like a cop, even if he's huge -- too young, and not dressed in any sort of uniform. The realization is enough to ground him a little, and the child takes a deep breath before averting his gaze. ]

... my dad said cops pretend to be all sorts of people. So.

[ Turns out he's a brat with a fucking attitude, even if it's still mostly smothered under the trauma of whatever's just happened to him.

Still, despite what he says, he's ready enough to cooperate. Though he keeps his eyes cast aside, looking nervously at some indistinct point on the ground, he does slowly hold out his shaking hand -- knife held parallel to the ground, the tip pointed off to the side. A silent request for Atsumu to help pull that terrible object away from him. ]

'm not gonna stab you. [ His other hand clutches into his shirtfront, pale-knuckled and clammy, as he quietly mumbles those words towards the ground. In that moment his gaze is distant. ] As long as you're not a bad person. I just ... I just did what I had to. -- I had to make it all go away.

[settingup]

[ For every question answered about Gen right now, another one is created. His dad being the sort of guy to say that to his kid kinda explains a lot about the shitty posturing and attitude, but for those small things being explained, Atsumu's left with more.

Is this why the guy wanted to take out the tiny version of himself? Probably, huh?

Regardless, Atsumu's scooting forward a little more to carefully take the knife, easing it out of Gen's small hand, and firmly wrapping his hand around the handle before he picks it up and drops it somewhere behind him. ]

Nah. I'm a good guy.

[ Debatable. ]

And now my finger prints are all over that thing, but I got no connection to whoever it is you're talkin' about, so that oughta throw off any cops even if they do find it.

[ Except he only did it because he's assuming this all goes away when the break the magic. It's not like he actually thinks any crime is going to be investigated. That knife is likely to disappear along with the kid. Besides, murder doesn't seem to be taken as seriously in this world as he'd like it to be.

He's not a good enough guy to put himself in an actual risk of legal repercussions, but he's also not a good enough guy to admit that. ]

Hey, you're not hurt though, are you?

[ It's kind of hard to tell with all the blood... ]

[epiprocta]

[ Despite his earlier claims that he can't let go of the knife, it comes away easily in Atsumu's hand. The child is still young, after all, with the grip strength to match -- other than the offputtingly tacky sensation of half-dried blood that sticks to both the knife's handle and his fingers, there's little to keep Atsumu from taking the knife and tossing it aside.

And once his hand is empty, he stares blankly at his palm for a moment, at the blood drying at his fingertips. Even Atsumu's question seems to come from far away, and there's a distinct pause before he looks back up, then shakes his head. ]

Not hurt. [ Probably. Nothing hurts. He does absently looks down at himself, patting at his bloodied shirtfront to make sure nothing's punctured, but his movements are clumsy and distracted. ] I think ...

[ He doesn't realize he's crying until he feels the first tear drip off his chin and onto the back of his hand.

Of course he immediately ducks his head, blinking hard to try and fight back the way his eyes are watering, but it's hard. Why is it so hard? His next breath comes choked and shaking, audible even with the way he buries his face into the crook of an arm, and his words are muffled when he speaks again between held-back . ]

... why didn't you show up sooner. If you're a good person. Before ... before everything happened. I thought I could fix it, but ...

[settingup]

[ Nothing in Atsumu's life could have possibly prepared him for a number of the things that had happened to him since coming to Kenos. Comforting a blood covered crying child, or the echo of someone's past taking the form of a blood covered crying child, is another in a long line of unbelievable scenarios Atsumu has found himself in.

The manic temptation to laugh right now grates at his chest, but he keeps it tamped down for now as he hesitates for a moment, before reaching over, a hand hovering over Gen's head.

Atsumu's not good at comforting people. His emotional intelligence scrapes rock bottom some days, and he's got a horrible tendency to stick his foot in his mouth. The fact that he had the temptation to start laughing, shocked or not, really speaks volumes about how ill equipped he is to handle this situation.

But unlike a lot of the disasters of Kenos, Atsumu grew up with a loving family, and has a normal relationship with physical touch. Instead of acting like physical comfort is repellent, or that this kid... this really, really fucked up but still terrified kid is diseased and dangerous to come into contact with, his hand drops down on the boy's head as he shifts to shield the kid from the mouth of the alley with his body. Not like it'll do any good. Not like that move is anything but symbolic in nature, but it's all he can really offer right now. ]

Yeah... I shoulda...

[ No, that wasn't true. He shouldn't have. He doesn't think for a moment he really should have. He had no idea who Gen was, and he's (incorrectly) assuming he was about the same age as Gen whenever this all went down. He wouldn't have been able to do anything for him. But still... ]

Someone shoulda for you...

[epiprocta]

[ He'd been scrunched up as small as possible, knees drawn up to his chest and face buried into his arm, curled up into as tight a ball as possible like he wants to disappear entirely -- and that younger version of Gen flinches the moment he feels that gentle weight alight upon his head.

He doesn't raise his head, and he sure doesn't dare to meet Atsumu's gaze; he can't help being afraid of how a 'good person' might be looking back at him, given the state he's in. But his quiet, muffled sniffles do slowly taper off, the arrhythmic jump of his shoulders with each uneven breath also steadily evening out.

(When was the last time someone offered him a kind gesture like that? It's been a long time, he thinks. His father had certainly never offered him something so coddling and soft.)

It's a long moment before he mumbles, words still muffled against his sleeve -- ]

... no. It's okay. [ Another little sniffle before he curls up smaller. ] I know nobody good would've come to help me. [ Small fingers tangle into the mess of his hair, gripping tight. ] I ... I need to have been a good person to deserve that. -- I messed up. I can't fix it any more. It's all wrong.

[ His next breath escape hiccoughing and uneven. ]

-- how can I be a good person any more?

[settingup]

[ It's not okay. Whatever the hell happened here, whether Gen actually managed to kill or just maim someone, it's not okay. Beyond the person, whatever horrible asshole they probably are, being stabbed by a child, there's a child who is all kinds of mentally fucked up from what he was forced to do.

Atsumu should probably be wondering if the attack was actually justified, rather than taking Gen at his word, but he's already assuming that there was a damn good reason for Gen doing what he was doing. Most little kids don't seem like they're going to go after people with knives unless their is, right?

Right...

Whoever it was probably deserved whatever the hell they got, but maybe not like this... not by someone so small and fragile. Atsumu wishes he had the words to make this better, but trying to lift someone up from having committed some kind of horrible, bloody crime against someone who was at minimal probably an abuser seems...

Difficult.

His fingers curl into Gen's hair, and he tugs the boy closer to him, his mind flitting back and forth between sickened horror at whatever the hell happened having been bad enough to create this situation, and a kind of distant detachment that makes this seem like a scene right out of a movie he's not a part of. ]

'Cause you're still young, ain'tcha? Whatever you just did... even if it's messed up, that's not gonna be all there is to you when you grow up.

[ Hell, he didn't even know this about Gen, and Gen's still about his age. He doubts Gen is unaffected by it. He wouldn't have tried to literally kill a child version of himself if he wasn't, but he's got more going on with him than just this one moment in his childhood. ]

You got loads of time to do good too. Quit givin' up on yourself so fast.

[ Is that the right thing to say? God... Atsumu doesn't fucking know, but he's grasping at whatever straws he can here. ]