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Entry tags:
- !event,
- baroque: koriel xii (dextera),
- bastard!!: dark schneider,
- black butler: sebastian michaelis,
- ennead: set,
- expanse (the): amos burton,
- fire emblem: byleth eisner,
- fire emblem: claude von riegan,
- fire emblem: dimitri a. blaiddyd,
- genshin impact: tartaglia (childe),
- genshin impact: zhongli,
- granblue fantasy: eustace,
- jinba: hayame,
- legend of zelda (the): link,
- made in abyss: bondrewd,
- magnus archives (the): the archivist,
- marvel: gamora,
- oc: liem talbott,
- star wars: cassian andor,
- star wars: jyn erso,
- trigun maximum: vash the stampede
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.
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?
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…
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…
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.
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!!
no subject
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.]
no subject
[Sothis considered for a moment. It was necessary, and she was not the one to baulk from uncomfortable necessity - she was far too old for that. Yet even so, it took here a moment to work up to easing out of her stiff, belligerent posture, her hands relaxing from where they had been tightly clenching in her biceps.]
I am unsure what the psychological effects would be for a mortal to spiritually connect to me. I do not perceive time or memories in a linear fashion as you do, so there is a possibility you may find my thoughts disorientating. Knowing this, do you wish to proceed?
no subject
As for the warning from Sothis? It's acknowledged, but otherwise unheeded.]
Considering the nature of the Blight and what we experienced awakening at the tree? I think it may be more dangerous to let you stew in what you have than relieve you of it.
[It's not the picture of the situation she had first coming into this, but if Tohsaka is anything she's adaptable. It's better to allow this... thing to stay Meridian than to have it lash out under pressure. Rin will endure.]
If it would make you feel better I can start.
no subject
[It was difficult to tell what thoughts were running through Sothis's mind at Rin's offer, but the simmering hostility that thrummed through her seemed to fold back fractionally, until she was neutral - scarily similar to how Byleth projected himself.]
I understand your motivations now. Very well. If the trade will soothe this ancient fury that dwells in my heart still, then I will bare my soul to you.
[She dipped her head fractionally, a concession, and she grasped the edges of Byleth's cloak and drew it across her torso - concealing it from view. After a short moment, she dropped it, and her shard was resting in her open palm, with a strange Crest blazing crimson across its surface.]
Byleth's, no... our shard. I will accept your invitation to go first, however. I wish to observe the process.
no subject
Thoughts, emotions, visions — they flood in like the ocean tide and speak of loneliness. An endless stream of partings: family, friends, loved ones. So it was no surprise to be parted from the world at large when she came to Kenos. It was obvious to her that trying to bring her world back would end in corruption and another parting — just like the downward spiral of her sister. The only answer is to build a new world. Free from the ways it tormented her sister, free from the corruption of people like Kirei and Zouken, and free of false hope. Because that's what Meridian provides, and Rin's convinced of it.
It will fade, eventually. The tide will pull back out and Sothis will be feeling warmth and vitality blossom in Byleth.]
i am so sorry for this
It irritated her how she sympathised. Sothis was no stranger to partings - it defined her now. The progenitor who had breathed life into a dying world, who had presided over a flourishing civilisation, who had thought she had found staunch allies and friends in the Agarthans... only to be stabbed brutally in the back, only to raze everything she had built, to end the voracious greed that had gripped the Agarthans to the point of self-destruction. A new beginning, she had thought tiredly back then, extending her hand to the little ones that had stepped out of the ashes. I will be more careful this time, she had thought stupidly.
Look how all that turned out.
That bitter remembrance soured the warmth the Meridian harmonisation had brought her. Briefly, she wondered - why am I bothering? - whether the world was returned or remade meant nothing to her. Her home had vanished beneath the waves of Time and will never return to her outside of her memories. Even if it was remade, she will want nothing to do with the humans ever again. She has been burned twice now, she'd be a fool to extend her hand and scorch it thrice.
Really, it all came back to Byleth. She closed her hand completely over her shard, concealing it from view.]
...it worked. Now, allow me to return the favour.
[She pulled her cloak across her body once more to conceal her shard's location, and when she let it drop, she worked Byleth's glove off her hand. Once it was free, she lifted her thumb to her mouth, easily cutting the pad of it with a sharp canine. When Rin holds out her shard, Sothis will squeeze out the required drops of blood and...
It was like descending into a sea of stars - vast voids, bottomless, with no surface to swim for. Nothing but endless stars sweeping past, each a flicker of memory: civilisations both ancient and modern, an indistinct figure standing before a crowd of devotees, a flash of a knife and an arc of blood edging a scream: "YOU TOOK... EVERYTHING THAT I LOVED-!"
Underpinning it all was an aimless grief and sadness and rage - an acknowledgement that rebuilding from scratch won't address the fatal flaw of humanity. She had rebuilt the world once already, and for what? For what? For what? She cannot remake the world every time the humans destroy her and themselves. She cannot reset to zero and rebuild and love again and have her heart shattered against the rocks of betrayed hopes. No. Let the old world resume, let it heave out its last, laboured breaths and wink out into oblivion, becoming nothing but stardust strewn across the cosmos.
(But quieter, softer, barely heard beneath it, was: and because the old world will make Byleth happy, the only human who has not betrayed me yet.)
This intense, contradictory furious apathy will fade, eventually. The sea of stars will part, pulling further back until it was a phantom veil of a night sky, filling Rin with a calm resolve - a balm after the hurricane that was Sothis's wild, ancient rage.]
no subject
Tohsaka wavers in place. Her head spinning, but no worse off than she had been when her family crest acted up. Before toppling over she steadies herself. Feet flat as a hand comes to rub at her temples.]
A-ah... thank you.
[She feels like if she speaks too much immediately she might hurl. As if that gentle calm is holding back the churning of her stomach. Such a thing needs to settle, her mind needs to settle, before she can do much else.]
no subject
You didn't collapse. Impressive, I suppose.
[With a quiet sigh, she gestured to the floor.]
Sit. Before you fall and dash your skull against an errant root.
no subject
...It's been rough, hasn't it?
[With a better grasp on the situation now that their souls have been bared, Rin knows more firmly that she's not speaking with Byleth. Yet instead she sits before a being with a soul much too dense for a human — though she wouldn't necessarily call it a god. Something strange, foreign, and rather than be well-worn by time it weaves time. Like threading a loom to make the pattern fit in which ever way is most convenient.]
no subject
Rough. What a gross understatement.
[Sothis's words came out more tired than aggravated though because, yeah, things had been rough. Some days she looked back on the idyllic era where she and Agartha had lived peacefully side by side, and couldn't help but think "what happened? where did i go wrong?" Such navel-gazing was unlike her, though, so she never dwelt on those thoughts for long.
It was in the past, swallowed up by the current of Time. To weep over what was forever lost was pointless. Sothis had always kept her gaze fixed on the horizon ahead, never doubting her course, always moving forwards, for that was the only direction Time could move. It was her way.]
As you have no doubt gleaned from our soul-bonding, I am done with humanity. They have brought me nothing but betrayal and heartbreak. They want to course their own destiny? Then they are free to chart it directly into the sun for all I care.
[She grunted.]
...but you were tolerable, at least. You fulfilled your function and did so without compromising me or my vessel. For achieving the bare minimum of decency - for which there is a shocking lack in the majority of humanity - I will keep an eye out for you whilst we are trapped in this ritual chamber.
no subject
Hopefully for the both of us I won't be needing such an offer, but I don't turn you away if I do.
no subject
[There was a pause, one where Sothis pinned Rin beneath a stare so intent, it was as if her gaze alone was trying to cleave her to the very bone. Even her thoughts were murky, opaque and difficult to define.]
And... it is a protection that you may be calling on sooner than you think. These mortals and creatures alike stink of desperation and cold calculation. In this ritual that demands competition, it is only logical that some will bring it to its natural conclusion and slaughter their opponents. You, who is mortal, must tread carefully in this situation.
[With that helpful (?) warning (??) delivered, Sothis turned away, her arms crossed and expression closed off.]
Now, leave me. I need to think on things, and I wish to do it in peace. Or, as much peace as I can achieve with all these mentally unbalanced buffoons flailing around the place.
no subject
[Shut up Rin Tohsaka, you absolute hypocrite.
It looks like she's not moving yet, though. Her tummy still needs to settle... She's sure if she tried standing up the blood pressure would make her head swirl.]
no subject
[Sothis gave her a very long look, her mouth slightly pinched. She had utterly forgotten she had told her to sit down and rest, but to admit it would be to admit her own absentmindedness to a mortal, and Sothis would rather die, frankly. Furthermore, Rin did look quite pale and shaky still, and it'd go against her promise to lend some meagre protection to oust her from her seat and watch her trip over and crack her skull open. Sothis wouldn't shed a tear if she died, but she had her pride, damn it!
There was only one course of action:
Wordlessly, she turned around and walked away without a backwards glance. Not that. She actually went that far. She just took five long strides and resumed her brooding like nothing had happened.
Sorry, Rin. This is how gods deal with things: childishly.]