beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-05-12 05:00 pm

The Seeds of Unrest: the Iconoclast Oracle


RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK
The situation is bleak.

The Blight - and the massive labyrinth of roots tearing both cities asunder, spreading deadly flowers wherever they penetrate - have progressed to a point beyond catastrophe. People are dying in rapid numbers. Bearers are having difficulty keeping up with the spread of infection - even among one another. The collapse of Kenos seems inevitable; a cure will not come in time. You can do nothing but watch as each new day brings further disaster, ticking down the seconds until it all falls apart.

And then, you feel something seize your Shard. As if physical fingers have wrapped around it, as if it is being clutched through you by invisible hands, you feel invaded. You feel wronged. But before you can panic, a voice enters your mind through Communion.

Excuse the dramatics, but there isn’t much time for pleasantries. The Trees are about to hit the point of no return. But there's still work to be done. The Tree of Life will take you where you can find it: the Oracle and the creature causing all this mess. Fix this when you find them. However you'd like.

Have you heard Aetos’ voice before? Perhaps it is the first time; perhaps it is familiar to you. Either way, the last thing you will remember is a confusing jumble: a spell of immense and incredible power, one utilizing the Tree’s strength to shelter you. The sensation of every cell in your body coming alive, yet seeming to break apart and render you into billions and billions of tiny pieces, all hovering in different times and places across all the different iterations, timelines, and realities in which you have ever existed. A voice that speaks not through words asking your forgiveness, unspeakably sad.

And then, there is nothing.

AWAKENING
Your eyes open, gritty with the feeling of a long, deep slumber.

Perhaps it takes a moment to shake off the heavy veil of exhaustion, to recollect what you were doing before you fell into this state of hibernation - but as soon as you do, you feel an immediate sense of foreboding around you. It is thick in the air, oppressive and pervasive, and you aren’t left long to wonder at its source. You lay beneath the branches of the Tree of Life, but as your bleary eyes focus… you see it. The Tree is all but bereft of life. Its bark has withered down to gnarled wood, the soft lichen dried up, and the grass that should be alive beneath you is long dead and gone. There is not so much as a single leaf on its decaying branches.

It has been this way for a long, long time... you realize this with a feeling of intense dread as you see it - the beautiful expanse of stars, of the cosmos, of universes scattered like starlight above the tree's boughs, gone. In its place hangs a sickly, ominously low-hanging, and dying sun ready to sing the end of everything.

You can't help but wonder how long Kenos has been in this state, but a sense of gratitude fills you as you realize that the Tree expended the last of its energies to protect you, the Bearers, during your state of rest. Had Aetos worked with the tree to see you sent here?

The next question comes quickly: how much time do you have left…? And can you find the Oracle before that time expires?

ABANDON HOPE (DAYS 1 & 2)
The cornerstones are still active and will take you to whichever city you wish to see.

Highstorm and Springstar sit like empty monuments to the cities that were once filled with life - yet the first thing you will notice is they are strangely absent the signs of the Tree’s overgrown roots, the Blight, the catastrophic damage that you can recall all too easily. Instead, each city sits as those they were summarily abandoned overnight, leaving nothing but their shells behind. There is a stillness in the air that is unnatural and unsettling. Despite the lack of any sign of the citizens of either city, you cannot help but feel… watched.

Something terrible happened here. Best you find the Oracle before something terrible finds you, instead.

The burning of a dying sun beats down on you wherever you go, unbearable heat sending waves off the aged cobblestone streets. Perhaps it is your instinct to seek refuge in the shade - but linger too long about the shadows and that feeling of eyes on your back, of being unable to breathe, of your world closing in around you will grow untenable and drive you back into the light. If you hope to explore the ghostly shell of your city in search of the Oracle - or to sate your curiosity, some problem-solving might be in order.

And while you acclimate yourself to your circumstances, you cannot help but note you feel wrong inside, somehow…

EXPLORATION

  • If your characters choose to explore previously unreachable areas, please use THIS TOPLEVEL to report when they get there in the thread! We will get back to you with what is discoverable in that location.
  • The following areas are off limits for exploration: below Yima’s Manor; below the Church of Heliopolis; Alenroux; Kowloon.
  • The Great Trees of both Highstorm and Springstar are in a similar state to the Tree of Life and will not respond to Communion.
  • Generally speaking, items will be of poor quality. Most will look as though they’ve aged thousands of years. Others will be in half-decent shape, but sparingly so. Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem like the whole city has aged at the same rate, so especially diligent rummagers can find worthwhile supplies. Please consider this should be rare and don’t go overboard!

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!
  • Characters will have a diluted connection to the Zenith or Meridian.
  • There will be periods powers are weakened or non-functional during days 1-2 (up to player discretion).
  • The sunlight results in scorching; the shadows cause claustrophobia and fear while outdoors.
THE RITUAL (DAYS 2+)
The place you started your journey to Kenos is also where it seems it will end. As soon as the first Bearer makes contact with the Iconoclast effigy, you are collectively drawn to the roots beneath the Tree - like a pang sent through your Shard. Your objective has been found. The Oracle awaits.

Trusting Aetos seems like a fool's errand, but you must put your hope in the Tree. What choice do you have left? It's time to find what lies at the end of this.

Bearers descend, your steps echoing in the dark, cavernous space. Once brimming with life and vitality, the roots are now dried and brittle like the bones of some ancient leviathan that died long ago. As you make their way deeper into the earth, the deadened roots twist, leading you to a vast chamber deep within it; the air here is thick with the smell of decay, and the faint glow of luminescent fungi and mosses barely illuminates the space.

To your left, the Bearers will notice what has drawn them here - and the object of their search.

An effigy sits on the ground between two darkened tunnels. The effigy is made of gnarled, dead branches woven together in a humanoid shape; its hollow, empty eyes are sightless, yet you cannot help but feel it is watching your every move. Branded on its forehead is the Iconoclast symbol carved into the rough wood.

Once all Bearers are present, the Ritual will begin. Your means of exit have been sealed off, and you are trapped, slowly deteriorating together…

NOTES

  • Bearers will have access to the Ritual Chamber which is a very wide, open space with the effigy situated against the far wall from the entrance. Several smaller tunnels off-shoot from the Ritual Chamber. They all run to dead ends; some are very small or narrow. This may afford you meager privacy away from the group.
  • Once a Bearer steps into the Chamber, they can no longer head back out the way they came. They’ll find themselves automatically walking back into the Chamber as if of their own volition.
  • For brevity’s sake we won’t list them out again here, but the complete description of effects Bearers will experience days 2+ is available in the OOC Summary.
  • The effigy is impervious to damage.
  • It Is Watching You.
  • In a dead-end root tunnel attached to the Iconoclast’s Chamber is the Blighted statue of an Otter that may be familiar to some… Please see THIS TOPLEVEL for more information!
THE PURGE (DAYS 5+)
The sap has festered in your veins for what feels like days. It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed; this place has no sunlight. The effigy watches as you remain trapped, huddled together around it, unable to leave as you find yourself sick with the affliction of the Meridian, Zenith - or both.

And then… something finally gives.

Though it does not move and speaks no words, you feel the effigy offering you guidance. Knowledge. Much like the Tree speaks to you in impressions and feelings, you are conveyed wisdom you did not have before: a way to take what you want and rid yourself of what you do not. A way to make your convictions known to all who would hear them. A way to be known. To write your path in blood, be it yours… or theirs.

When all is said and done, only one force - Zenith or Meridian - will gain its favor.

Show it who you are. Show it what resolve looks like to you - and what you are willing to do to attain it.

NOTES

Here are some prompt reminders - see the full thing at the OOC Summary!
  • You can Purge your alignment through various methods: Trading, Corrupting, or using the Effigy itself.
  • All characters will understand the end goal is for everyone to Harmonize; the alignment with the higher rate of Harmonized Bearers alive when time’s up wins the Oracle’s favor.
NOTES
  • A reminder that the Harmonization tally will take place on Friday, the 19th and be open through Monday, the 29th. The results will be released on Wednesday, the 31st OOCly.
  • Don’t forget to submit any deaths to the Death Tracker, with a gentle reminder characters will remain dead until the event conclusion!
  • Reminder to fill out the SETTING POLL ASAP if you haven't already!
  • Have some MUSIC if you'd like. LYRICS here!
  • HAVE FUN!!
CODING
fishfearme: (gentle neutral)

[personal profile] fishfearme 2023-05-13 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Is he still- what do you take me for?! Of course he is alive!

[It was a rational concern to have, but she was just insulted it was even in question. Ugh, humans. Always leaping to the dramatically worst conclusion!]

The corruption that runs through our veins was tormenting him, and his pain roused me from my slumber. Thus I decided to shoulder this burden for him, until this ritual ends and either grants us oblivion or salvation. If I had malicious intentions, I would not peacefully linger on the fringes, would I?

As for his level of consciousness... it is somewhat vague. Enough so that he reacted to your presence. You are fortunate he holds some measure of affection for you - it stayed my hand.

[Though, in her current state, she might've struggled fighting Dimitri, admittedly. His monstrous strength made even her pause.]
erbe: (069)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 06:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I warned you. Multiple times, might I add!

[His step forward, and the shift in his tone, set off alarm bells in her mind. The hair at the nape of Rin's neck stands on end as her muscles tense. Everything in her screams to flee.

Tohsaka takes a half step back.]


Maybe you're just the type that asks to be taken advantage of? A form of self-punishment you invite from the world to distract you from other pains.
hauntedking: (32)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Warned me of what? That you would lie to my face and take advantage of my kindness?

[ It's all coming tumbling down right now. The stress of the last few days, the ritual, the gloom of this place - he can feel it all pressing down on him. He bares his teeth, his good eye almost seeming to glint as he stares at her. ]

Punishment? I already have my own punishment. My own burden from the dead to carry. It has nothing to do with being deceived.

[ At least not by others. ]
hauntedking: (06)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Dimitri seems to waver and then he relaxes a little, but there's still concern etched on his face. ]

...so you are a part of him, then. A piece that settles in the back of his mind.

[ Man, he thought he was the only one with weird head voices. Although his were... you know. Dead people. Nothing like this. ]

If he's safe - if he is sheltered... that's all I care about for now. At least until we get out of this place.
erbe: (249)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
If overtaking someone was my intent I would have approached someone with a much more timid personality.

[She worries for people like Gray or Lucien, but Rin doesn't make much of a protector when the playing field is "even" like this. "Vessel," though? That explains a lot. Yet Rin does not find that she has the time to linger on such information.

Though Byleth shied away from her hand on his back she offers it again. Right arm outreached as her palm turns upward. A beckoning, an offer, an invitation.]


Did you work with others to dispel the blight from yourself?

["Have you done this before?"]
erbe: (177)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 07:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[The baring of his teeth seals it for her. She starts backing towards the derivative tunnel that she knows turns a bit labyrinthian. It'll either be enough to shake him, or she'll be able to escape away into one of the smaller ones until his anger passes.]

You are taking this exceptionally personal. Did you do anything for me that you wouldn't have done for a stranger?

["Your obsession with me is appalling." While he may not be from the timeline in which such a line was spoken, it may resonate with him thanks to the circumstances of The Awakening.]
hauntedking: (28)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 07:15 pm (UTC)(link)
No.

[ He spits the word out. That's the thing, isn't it? He did what he would have done for anyone and she turned his kindness into a weapon to be aimed straight at his heart. ]

But you betrayed me all the same, after I'd done nothing to you.

[ He can feel his temper starting to burn. More than that, there's a deep, emptiness in him - full of anger and bitterness and hatred - that threatens to come clawing up from where he's kept it restrained. ]

And now you will condemn my world to oblivion. No-

[ There is a flash of something familiar here. Another cold woman who stared at him with reserve, who fought, who had ideals he could not grasp or agree with. White hair and crimson cloth. ]

I won't allow it!
erbe: You better keep your eyes on me (026)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 07:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[That's it. There's nothing left to argue. The moment Dimitri raises his voice she turns to run. Taking off down the corridor and dashing into the twisting tunnels. She knows he's tall, and athletic, so she'll just have to push herself and her memory of the layout to its limits to keep away from the murderous intent he radiates.]
hauntedking: (28)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Dimitri almost snarls; there's a pounding pain behind his eye and it's almost like he's back in that darkness from all that time ago. She runs; he chases with a noise that's more of a snarl than anything else. His feet dig in and even if he has no weapon, he's determined to kill her - with his bare hands if he has to. ]

In Set's name-

[ The words spill out. ]

I'll crush your miserable skull!
prizeneck: (Default)

mamoru hijikata | iconoclast | ??????

[personal profile] prizeneck 2023-05-13 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[Closed starters go here. placeholder etc.]
erbe: (062)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Set!? Like the Egyptian g—? No. No time to think of that now. Without her reinforcement she'll have to push herself to the limits. If she had her magecraft she may have been able to outsmart him, but like this...

He'll push her hard. Testing the limits of her muscles and lungs. How man minutes pass with him shouting visceral threats as his labored, monstrous breathing echoes in the tunnels? She hasn't been keeping count. All Rin knows is that her lungs burn and her legs sting. She can feel with every turn and each new passage that she'll have to turn to plan B (plan A was to hopefully lure him into a dead end she could trap him in). As it stands she may have to simply hide in one of the smaller off-shoots and call for help over Communion.

This is solidified when he almost grabs hold of her hair before forcing herself to sprint faster.]
hauntedking: (14)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She is surprisingly quick - or Dimitri is blinded by his own anger. Whatever the reason, he's busily trying to chase her down, his entire self bent toward that purpose. His hand snakes out to grab for her hair - and she just manages to duck out of the way. But there can't be many places for her to run, can there? This space is limited. So eventually she'll be cornered - and then she'll pay the price for her sins.

The anger and despair that blasts over the Communion is intense. Something bleak and dark and animal.

Better run faster, Rin.
]
fishfearme: (gentle neutral)

[personal profile] fishfearme 2023-05-13 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
No, but Byleth has undergone the ritual before, I believe.

[Now that the trade was underway, Sothis was far more business-like and calm in her focus. She still eyed the extended hand like it was going to bite her though, her eyes narrowed and her spine stiff. She understood that though the trade was vital, it would open her up in ways she would despise to another entity. Not even Byleth was privy to her every thought and emotion - they both ensured there was a wall between them, in that respect.]

I was not conscious during it, however.
erbe: (185)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[The moment Rin finds a smaller tunnel she dives for it like a baseball player stealing home. Tohsaka yelps as the tunnel curves slightly, but luckily enough that means it'll be difficult for Dimitri to reach his hand in. The diminutive "cave"-looking passage way is just barely big enough for Rin, and clearly won't allow Dimitri's broad shoulders pass.]

...Ah. Ah-haha. Am I safe?
hauntedking: (Default)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
You-

[ Dimitri's voice is choked as he tries to follow and finds that he can't actually fit into the little side passage she's ducked into. He tries to reach in to grab at her, his hand flailing blindly before he finds that he can't really get at her. He's panting for breath, still angry, still entirely focused on getting to her. ]

Come out and pay!
fishfearme: (deadpan)

[personal profile] fishfearme 2023-05-13 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sothis grimaced. 'A part of him', as if she was naught but a fragmentary piece, or an auxiliary to the whole that was Byleth. To argue the point would be splitting hairs, however, so she let the insulting comment pass by without bringing attention to it.]

Safe and sheltered... well, if that is how you wish to see it.

[No one was safe or sheltered here. Byleth was doing the equivalent of hiding under the covers - self-soothing for a child against imaginary monsters, an utterly pathetic defence against a true threat.]

This place is hostile to us, and the ritual invasive. There is nowhere safe here.
hauntedking: (23)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 08:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Then we must win.

[ He's determined about that by this point. But he's still getting to the point where he's sure of what that means. He gives her a long look. ]

I take it you side with Byleth's choice?

[ This whole week has been awful. He really just wants to curl up into a ball and sleep, but... ]
fishfearme: (gentle neutral)

[personal profile] fishfearme 2023-05-13 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
What would you do if I said no?

[Her tone was slightly goading, but she didn't give a chance for Dimitri to answer.]

Obviously. I care not for whether Zenith or Meridian win, but Byleth wishes to continue in his delusion about the state of our world. He refuses to acknowledge that it is gone, as that would mean acknowledging his sire is gone. Were he to fall into Zenith's hands, that delusion would shatter, and with it his mental state.

[She grunted.]

As I require a mentally stable vessel, this cannot come to pass. I will ensure he remains in Meridian.
erbe: (250)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 09:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[With Sothis staring at her had like Rin just offered dirt at the dinner table, Tohsaka pulls her hand back and rests it over her chest. Not too far above that is where her shard sits. Near the hollow of her neck, as if a pendant dangling from a choker, is Rin's shard. Brilliant, red, but cool to the touch thanks to the Discord she acquired from being linked to Gray when Silco killed her.]

The steps are much like that one. We'll need to exchange blood through our shards. I suppose it's quite tame as far as Rituals go.

[The side effects are quite intimate, though.]
erbe: (241)

[personal profile] erbe 2023-05-13 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
You'll be flailing at that entrance for a very long time, Dimitri.

[That's her refusal. And as he digests her response she'll start reaching out to the others...]
cutlery: commission by <user name=copyking> (sorry I yelled "killin it")

[personal profile] cutlery 2023-05-13 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sebastian hadn’t been thrilled about this situation in the first place, but having descended to the roots and met the wrath of one very much grudge-bearing centaur… He’s a bit more on edge. Not unfairly, considering the encounter with Hayame had left him with one less eye in the encounter. A fair trade, perhaps, but only when you have Hayame’s point of view that they weren’t “even” in the first place.

But they’ve had a few days at this point, and Sebastian had decided to repay that grudge more slyly, only as a demon might. Here in the roots with a game of claiming an Oracle afoot, that means winning, obviously. So, he’s been seeking out targets. It’s largely those of weaker wills that he’s absolutely certain he can tilt towards Zenith, but… There are unknowns too. He doesn’t know every person here.

It’s how his attention had come to Gamora, though his continued attention was at least not that at all. For better or for worse, he’s very earnestly interested in those that aren’t human, though… He’s still trying to figure that part out. There’s the green skin, obviously, but maybe there’s a world out there where humans just have green skin? Though he keeps stealing glances to try and get a better look at the markings on her face, to see if they ring as familiar to him, but— ]


Ah— Dear me…

[ But he’s caught, since even trying to not be obvious, she’s attentive, clearly. It’s good to know, for her unfamiliarity hardly excludes her from his plans. In the space of Communion, it’s a blush of embarrassment and even meekness that’s reflected in how he holds his hands up disarmingly. ]

No, I was being rude… Do pardon me. I- Well, not want, precisely… [ He coughs into a gloved hand as if to diffuse some of the tension he personally feels, then gives her a sheepish nod as he gestures to his own face to mean hers. ] The marks are striking. I have seen nothing like it, so it caught my curiosity. Clumsily, clearly.
cutlery: (Mars has more water than California)

ii-b

[personal profile] cutlery 2023-05-13 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ As the Factions’ energies take root and fester in peoples’ hearts, Sebastian is rather eager to find a reprieve from it. It’s not for their sakes, of course, nor any disquiet in his own heart. Meridian could hardly find any purchase in the mind of someone that had never really cared about their world in the first place. No, Sebastian just wanted to try and find some quiet away from the way it all came out from Communion. There’s not much in the way of the roots to explore, and thus not much quiet to find, but it does eventually lead him to Liem.

…It’s not the first time he’d end up on the receiving end of a frenzied, manic look from Liem. It was recent, even. That’s probably part of why he’s not so bothered, considering his own behavior had been rather poor at the time, and they had settled things quite amicably. ]


Mr. Talbott?

[ Sebastian calls his name first as he looks for recognition, since if this is like the last time, well. He’d need to disarm him first, he supposes… What a bother. At the very least, the quiet calm of Sebastian’s mind might provide some relief to Liem as the ever-present Communion connects them. Where Liem’s thoughts may be frenzied and despairing, Sebastian’s seem to be so self-assured and serene. ]
hauntedking: (11)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe it's for the best he doesn't get a chance to reply to that first part. ]

...that would be for the best.

[ He's going to have words with her when he's more, uh, lucid. And not at the end of his metaphorical rope. ]

He believes in recovering our world. Don't stand in his way.
hauntedking: (Default)

[personal profile] hauntedking 2023-05-13 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
As long as I have to.

[ He growls from outside - he'll wait. ]
fishfearme: (intimidating frown)

[personal profile] fishfearme 2023-05-13 10:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Or what? You will kill me? Know that I reside in the body of your friend.

[Sothis's tone shifted into something far more... dangerous.]

Or is my vessel only your friend when his beliefs and opinions align with yours?