The Seeds of Unrest: the Iconoclast Oracle

[beleos]

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

Comments

[dawnlord]

If you find your steps faltering, fix your eyes upon the horizon.

[ Link does not wish to kill, and he does not wish to coerce the hearts of others. In that, Bondrewd is different from him. He is a man who has killed, will kill, and will not ask anyone to follow him unless they follow of their own volition. In that, he is a peerless figure, someone with the momentum to carry him wherever he sets his goal — however, he will leave blood and pain in his wake, to do so. He will sacrifice all things, including his own humanity and the love of his daughter, to create a path to the dawn.

And Riko, would not. She refused to sacrifice anyone, or anything. She relied on her friends, she counterbalanced her weaknesses and vulnerabilities by leaning upon those who complimented her, and she opposed him until the end. ]

I stood in the way of a girl, who sought to reunite with her mother at the bottom of the Abyss. A good, pure girl who knew that if she did not kill me, she would be denied her dream. I have killed, in pursuit of my own goals. I remember their names, their ambitions and personalities — each and every soul who has met their end, by my hand. I think you may have to kill, sometimes. But, that does not mean you cannot regret or mourn, in the end.

[ A pause, and he adds, mild and calm. ]

I do not. Mourn, or regret. But, you do not have to be like me.

[bakedapple]

[ The answer is not what he expected. It's not that Link was hoping to hear any particular answer, as torn as he is between his desire not to kill others and his growing understanding of the need to do so — but that this soft-spoken, unknown individual who gave themselves up to the Effigy would offer his own story. For a strange moment, he had forgotten that he was speaking to another Shard-Bearer, with a world just as rich as Hyrule and a life that had probably been much richer than the year's worth of experiences Link has had since losing his memory.

His innate curiosity has him wanting to know more, but he tries to focus on the advice he's being given. Is that what it is? Advice? Maybe not. Maybe just insight. But his words feel a whole lot like advice, whatever the intent might have been behind it. ]

...I'm no stranger to killing. I've hunted thousands of monsters, and I've defended myself against the humans who've allied with them. [ Frowning, he looks downward, but a resolute determination is solidifying in his mind, like a nut rattling against the inside of its unbroken shell. ] Grief and regret... it won't make me feel better. And it definitely won't make them feel better about having been killed. But I can't let that stop me. I'll shoulder any burden, any trial, in order to bring Hyrule back. And I'll shoulder it with no regrets.

[dawnlord]

[ 'With no regrets', Link says.

Bondrewd illuminates within, as he says it. Prior conversations with other Shard-bearers have coalesced into a mote of heat, a thing that is no less 'him' than the darkness that flows like an oil slick, gleaming and slippery, that seems to dwindle in the wake of Link's words. It is the fact that Bondrewd left him with the 'out; to regret at the end of things, to mourn the trials at the end, only to be met with Link's resolve. He would not regret, no matter what it was he would do.

Prushka's ghostly delusion, the only thing that persists within his mindscape to tug him one way or another, had always looked upon her father as a peerless hero. An undaunted figure upon which she had hung the moon and stars, warmed herself in the promise of his love and his goal — the relentless, patient tread of boots seeking secrets, answers, seeking the Dawn. Seeking the deliverance of as many lives as possible. He does not yet know what Zenith thinks its new world will look like, but he must look to Meridian, he thinks, in this moment — there are more lives there, than there are to be brought forth to Zenith's nebulous, unknown 'future'. ]

Last question, [ he intones the words, and they come with a great depth, a cavernous echo. ]

What do you think Meridian represents, young man?

[bakedapple]

[ It's brief, like a sudden gust of wind, but somehow Link feels like he can see — no, "see" is not the right word, it's an impression, an intuition, a faint outline of a memory, of a girl, standing by the Effigy's side as if it were Link's own side, pulling on his coattails. This image does not come with a sense of love, not exactly, even though Link can somehow tell that this girl was like a daughter to him, but... she still casts a shadow on his psyche nonetheless, maybe in a very different way than the average person, but still significant. Is this the same girl that he spoke of before? Did he... kill her?

The thought is chilling. Link stops, unable to focus on the question posed, as he ponders this, and what such a thing would look like for him. What if it were Sidon that he had to kill to bring Hyrule back...? What if it were Zelda? Could he do it? No. Probably not. Then again, if they were here, they would surely be on the side of the Meris. Of that, he has no doubt, and the thought calms his doubts. They would work together to bring their world back, and thus, there would be no occasion for Link to have to trade their lives for it.

His shoulders relaxed, having tensed up without him even realizing. This final question is easy to answer, at least. Maybe too easy. ]

Well, it's... hope, isn't it? [ He pauses to choose his words. ] Not just hope, but... faith. And love for your home... for the people in it... wanting it back, even if it wasn't perfect. Wanting what you already had, not wanting something new to replace it...

[ His voice trails off, giving his response no clear ending, but he feels as if he could go on. Unlike all the other times when he was at a loss for words. ]

[dawnlord]

[ The girl, the embodiment of something within Bondrewd's mind is what reaches for Link in this circumstance. Bound to the fate of the Oracle as the armored man is, he cannot fit his hand into Link's. He can only act within their connected minds, and send the ghost of his child to urge him closer, to pour the light of his heart into the hollow place that has been made of Bondrewd's Harmonization. Waiting to be called upon, into service and support for a cause. While he does not despair the loss of Zenith, it had called for him to return. And in a sense, he must. In another, he wishes to follow Link. He wishes to see the hopes he speaks of, and perhaps — perhaps, he had been too hasty to not explore every option before choosing a side.

He uses Prushka's memory, her bright eyes even brighter than her ghostly form, to draw the Hylian warrior in. Accepting what he offers. ]

Show me, then. Words alone will never serve, you must take heart in your decision and wield it as you would a weapon. Perhaps for you, it is a gentle weapon. Show me what Meridian means, young man — and I will join you to examine it, too.

[ For his own world was an explorer's dream. A wild, impossible world with too many mysteries yet unsolved; and as a father, an explorer, who was he to not look back upon it and know both his and the childrens' adventure was not yet over. ]

[bakedapple]

[ As dark as the hallowed tunnel around them is, it seems to somehow grow darker. That darkness thickens and begins to wobble, rippling like the surface of water. Show me, he said, and he can see the girl again, smiling up at him adoringly — but no, it isn't the girl. And she isn't smiling. It's the muddy, tear-stained face of the young woman he longs to see more than anyone else, whose salvation makes up a large bulk of the urgency in Link's desire to save his world. She collapses into his arms, their arms, sobbing with the weight of colossal failure, and there is nothing that can be said or done except to quietly cradle her.

In the back of his mind, Link is aware of what's happening. He knows that this, too, is some heightened form of communion brought on by conversing with an Effigy. The vision causes a pulse of sadness to course through his soul, followed by guilt and regret. Link loves this woman, but it's a love that he has never expressed. He clutches it close, both figuratively and literally, as her slender shape melts away into the void of memory, and the light comes up on the scene around them.

A dirt road at the edge of a forest. After a moment, Bondrewd will recognize this as the same locale they were in when Link was comforting the young woman, except the circumstances are far different. Where the trees and field beyond the woods were engulfed in flame and war mere moments ago, they are now quiet and idyllic. A squirrel runs across the path. In this memory, Link trudges along the road, stopping every few minutes to gather mushrooms or herbs among the vegetation. The road leads into a vast open field, but the field is not empty. It's littered with the worn hulls of countless war machines. The field itself is not flat, but peppered with sudden dips and hills — the remnants of very, very old impact craters. And as he walks through the tall grass, Link comes across fragments of equally old buildings. Much like the abandoned villages he's already shown to Bondrewd, there's nothing left of what stood here aside from bits and pieces of foundations and stone archways. Was this a village, too? Or was it a fort? Or was this field used for farming, and these structures erected to support such work?

The answers to these questions are completely lost to time. Whoever it was who once lived and worked here, they are long dead. This thought weighs heavily in Link's heart and there is a distinct sense of guilt alongside his grief. Up ahead, past more ruins, are the partially intact remains of a wall fortification. More rusting metal hulls of old robots crowd this wall like corpses. So much blood is soaked into the earth beneath their feet...

But there's a small herd of horses to the east. In the distance, near the wall, a fox sniffs at the ground. Beyond the wall is another forest, where a trail of smoke from a campfire rises above the treeline. Farther beyond that, the trail continues, past fellow travelers, past monsters who are quickly dispatched by his sword. Eventually it leads to a village. This village is completely unremarkable, being home to simple farmers. But at the same time, it's teeming with life, its residents choosing to live in spite of everything.

In the back of the village, beneath a very old and very weathered tree, an old woman smiles at him. Words often fall meaningless when we try to describe tragic events of a certain magnitude, she tells him. The clarity with which this statement is recalled proves the impact it had on Link when he heard it. But it's nothing compared to everything else she tells him, about her childhood growing up in the Age of Burning Fields following the Calamity. Even after everything, after surviving a disaster beyond description, the people endured. They refused to let their grief and loss overtake the will to survive. The world had been broken, but its people were not, and they would not forsake their kingdom. They repaired it. They still were repairing it. And a lot of the damage would never heal. But they didn't give up on it.

Link remembers thanking her for her thoughtful conversation. He remembers a group of children running past him, nearly knocking him over, as he trudges up the steep hill behind Hateno Village in pursuit of a laboratory rumored there. Halfway along the trail, the sun sets, and he stops to build a fire for the night. The view down into the valley looks like a painting. There's so much of this world he hasn't seen yet. Mountains, rivers, more ruins than a person can count, lost technology, forgotten stories of the dead, and survivors finding new and creative ways to get by. It's a beautiful and mysterious world. It isn't worthless just because it's scarred.

In the present, physical realm, Link feels his eyes burning. He blinks. Then his cheeks feel wet. He wants to go back. He wants to see Princess Zelda again. He needs to save her. He doesn't want to be in his miserable place. ]

[dawnlord]

[ His daughter rests in the crook of his arm, her cheek pressed into the dark line of his coat — the baby fat of her cheek beginning to turn into the slender line of a young girl's jaw. Her hair curls like a white cloud, a streak of spring green caught in the idly-chewing mouth of a pink creature that coos and croons while she sleeps. Before him, the brilliance of the Altar illuminates the lightless depths of the Sea of Corpses, casting stark relief through the narrow window in his office.

Beyond the Ido Front, humanity drives itself forward. In the name of their unique bond with the unknown, they cast aside all that they love upon the surface and commit themselves to the Abyss — love, family, friends, potential and future alike. ( He is Zenith, has chosen Zenith for that reason. For the impassioned and adorable Zenites who have pledged themselves to the forward march, the tireless progress associated with the future. ) ( In the wake of Link's plea, the way he thinks of his world and the potential to return in the wake of a Meridian win, he thinks of the children whom had stood against him — in Meridian, he sees them. Riko, Reg, Nanachi. )

May your journey overflow, with curses and blessings. In the core of his un-person, Bondrewd does not mind who claims true victory. He will be infinitely proud of all who have partaken in this microcosm of strife and fate-defiance; he does not hate a single one of them, nor begrudge them when they leverage their personal pain as a vendetta against the 'other'. He sees the children, who abandoned their own safety and adult futures, and turned their eyes down — down into the Abyss.

The same Abyss he also wishes to know the truth of. Not simply for his personal pleasure, but for all who will come in the future. There is so much of the world that he has not seen, that they have not seen, that Link has not seen — and he acquiesces to the yearning, striving thing that he sees at the heart of the Meridian. Zenith wanes within him, thinning like a diluted substance, sheer as the Fog Weave as it is urged away, and the courage in Link's heart draws him in. Allows him to unite himself to Meridian.

( In Communion, the image of his daughter stirs. Her green eyes open, her mouth curves into a smile as she knuckles the sleep from her eyes: Papa, she drawls, still disoriented and rousing. I had a dream about a hero. He was all in green, like me. I love green.

Yes, Prushka. He tells her memory, patient and mild: He truly is just like you. ]