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

[sterngaze]

I know that death is inevitable.

[Liem frowns, his voice quiet and a little frustrated. Death has been coming for the people and things that he loves for his entire life, and if this form gives him a second chance to live on despite his fate in his own world, he may well watch death continue to take what he loves for centuries more. Hasn’t he already become inured to that reality? It is not for unwillingness to accept the reality of death that he clings so desperately to the dream of returning his own world to life.]

People, gods, even entire existences must all die eventually. But does it have to be now?

My world was still young and vital — and from what I know, so were those of the other people here. They could have had long lives ahead of them.

[Maybe he is just being sentimental, but… is that so wrong? To fight for a world that he knows and loves, instead of one that doesn’t even exist yet?

(What if it is wrong? Shortsighted, selfish sentiment. What claim did his world, or any of theirs, hold to perfection, anyway? His wasn’t a flawless world; of course it wasn’t. Were they really so worth bringing back?)]

The gods that presided over my home could, and did, raise those who had died before their time. My own temple offered this service, to those who could afford it. You speak as if it is an impossibility, but it is not.

We are the arbiters of that power. Do you not feel the weight of choosing not to use it?

[zauneyete]

Oh, how lucky for those of your world.

[ Silco said, with a roll of his eyes. ]

For me? And mine? We had nothing of the sort. Do you know how many of those young lives, with time ahead of them, were cut short? Accidents in the mines, enforcers getting too... excited to put an end to fissure folk, or even simply starving to death. We have been made to accept such deaths as permanent.

There is no such thing as an early death. It is merely death. It happens. To rail against it when it is not you fighting for your life is fruitless.

[ To be in a word without gods, or magic -- other than hextech -- or anything that resembles what Liem is talking about, is to understand there are simply some thing about the universe. Would Silco rail against the universe and everything else, if someone close to him were to die?

That's literally the reason he has chosen Zenith, though he does not speak it. But for others? Those he is not close to? He's seen it happen since he was a boy. He has no parents to speak of -- they died long ago, and he'd seen coworkers die time and time again. There is nothing about "long lives" that would sway him. No gods to bring them back to life. No "time" to die was right or wrong. It simply... was. ]

You say your gods resurrected those who died before their time -- but who made that decision? Them? You? Have you not already made that decision before?

Who is to say that the universe itself has already made that decision? We are merely...custodians, cleaning up the leftover waste.

[sterngaze]

[The deaths that Silco describes — they happened in Liem's own country as well. Most of those who died young did not have the option to return, not unless they had a loved one capable of producing the hefty offering required for the intercession of the divine. It was not the sort of thing that the members of Taldor's vast, impoverished lower class could ever afford, even if they scraped and saved for decades. For those whose work didn't place them in close quarters with wealth and religious authority, death was simply an irreversible fact of life.

Which is why, given the opportunity to deliver a second chance to everyone in his world, regardless of wealth or class, Liem can't help but feel it would be cruel not to take it.

At least, that's how he'd felt up until now. But he can't help but wonder if it isn't his own sentiment after all that makes him feel that way.]

I don't know why our worlds were snuffed out so suddenly. It is not the way I was taught that it would end.

[Liem has studied texts from many different religions in the many, many years that he has walked the world. None of them suggested that existence might end so abruptly, with so little ceremony. But prophecy has been unreliable for most of his life, since Aroden's death when he was just a boy. Perhaps whatever happened to cause the god's demise was more far-reaching than anyone had supposed.]

It just seems… senseless. Letting it end that way, as if it really was nothing more than so much waste. There's no dignity to it.

[The need to find some sort of meaning in the world, some sort of order and some reason for all the cruel, pointless things was what led Liem to turn so steadfastly to religion to begin with. He doesn't know what he'd do with himself were he to throw all of that away.]

[zauneyete]

Is there dignity to any death?

[ Silco asked, his tone not sharp, but... ]

Senseless is what death is. One simply passes, their body rots, and there is nothing left. No life, no mark, no legacy. What point is there to preserving a world when it is simply as heartless as any other, entirely mundane world across the universe? They're all just as harsh, unremarkable, and if they were not... Do you not think they would have been able to stand to the forces of such destruction?

[ Silco cannot help, but think that every other world is unremarkable. How could he not? If they weren't, if there were worlds where there wasn't such suffering, if there were worlds where he did not have to scrape, suffer, and be wronged for the sake of where he was born... Would it not be unfair?

Wouldn't it be heinous, that an unfeeling, cruel universe would simply exist, and allow this to happen? Yes, it made him strong, it was required, but all these other worlds... they were not the perfect environment for it -- all the other worlds were like the rest of his world. Smelling their own refuse and denying the stench.

He would not stand for it.

Silco was, in short, a Zealot for the worst reason of all. Pettiness. ]

[sterngaze]

[It isn't that Liem thinks that Silco is necessarily wrong — it at least, he believes that Silco finds all death senseless, that the life he lived in his own world caused him to feel that way. He clearly has a lot of bitterness in him, etched by the cruelties of his own past. But even so, when he speaks about all death being senseless, about all worlds being senseless—

Liem cannot bring himself to agree with him. Even knowing that there must be many people who agree with him, and cannot summon any belief in the idea of a world that could be inherently just or sensible, Liem can't let go of that tightly clutched idea. He can't consign it to death along with everything else he left behind.]

Not all deaths are the same, [he insists quietly.

Some people die in their beds with no regrets, surrounded by loved ones who made their lives fuller. Some die of cold and famine, preceded by their own siblings or children. Some die alone in alleys, cut down for a bit of coin or just for sport. Some die at the end of a hangman's noose, strangled by their own wrongdoings. He has known the passing of many in his time walking the world, and as senseless as many of them could seem, he'd always comforted himself with the knowledge that everyone, eventually, got the final reward they deserved once they received Pharasma's judgement.

The kind who died unjust deaths had an eternity in the celestial realms to look forward to, no matter how short and pitiless their lives were. And although the gods rarely intervened directly into mortal affairs, Liem knew they were always watching. Those who believed in justice or peace or freedom touched people's lives in whatever small ways they could to bring about their vision.

Even those small details were important; they had to be. Because if they weren't, then what was the point of anything? What was the point of living a life without any purpose at all? He couldn't do it. He doesn't know how he could survive if he couldn't justify his existence in some way — saying "this is why I was put here, made the way I am."]

I think… all worlds have an order to them. They must; even if we don't understand what it is. And I just cannot believe that they are wholly beyond saving.

[zauneyete]

All worlds have an order? Of course they do.

[ He says, though as he agrees, it is biting, and sharp. Bitter.

It is good that Liem does not talk about people dying comfortably, and happily, because Silco holds... such hate, for people like that. Who died warm in their beds and surrounded by family, after subjugating his land, his citybright that he is going to lose the wick, and burn out entirely, quickly. It's something others can see, and though he knows it is the case, he does not care -- for to care was to accept that he should be a dead man. ]

The order of my world sees us as children toiling in mines. Dead at early ages. To try and rise up is to be kicked back down.

I do not believe in the "order" of worlds, because they are established by powers that have grown fat and happy on the the fruits of our labors, to become swollen with what they do not create. Any "gods" of worlds watch this happen, watch people like me rise up as children to try and find a future, only to be kicked down, and mutilated -- [ Tap tap, against his eye. That hateful, unblinking thing that burns. ] -- for simply trying to find a better life.

Why are any worlds so worth preserving, when that is the order you so ascribe to? Why resurrect so much suffering, when there's something better in the end?

[ Silco does not believe he will reach the new world, but he will make sure it is there. For one person, and one person only. ]