kenoslogs | The Seeds of Unrest: Conclusion 🌲✨

THE CLAIMED

After days of captivity in the root-cavern’s depths, the very last of the Bearers let their sap-filled veins find their chosen alignment - and the fate of the Oracle is sealed.

All at once, the Iconoclast’s hollow eyes come to life, a pale, haunting light surging through each and every Bearer present in the deadened enclosure. The effigy shifts, the roots constituting its humanoid shape beginning to unfurl; with a suddenness, it explodes into a mass of tendril-like vines that impale each of you right through your Shard. To touch one’s Shard is to touch their soul, yet this contact does not feel uncomfortable or unpleasant. It is almost as though something you had lost is returning to you, slotting back into the place where you had not even realized you were bereft.

Arrested and frozen in place at the Iconoclast’s mercy, you feel the Zenith’s energy rise like a tide inside of you. Every Zenith-aligned Bearer in the cavern seems illuminated like a gem in the night sky for their brilliance, and you know without the possibility of mistake: they have won. The calming, tranquil, frighteningly intense surety of their shared resolve resonates inside you. If you are of the Zenith, you feel more connected to your kindred than ever. And if you are Meridian, you cannot help but feel small in the face of the overwhelming power channeling through your enemy.

Yet despite the Zenith’s undeniable dominance, the Meridian’s energy surges up to meet it. Like two sides of a coin, they intermingle, tangling together through your Shards to be fed back into the Iconoclast - and that is when you might notice it. The faint rustling of the roots around you; the slow creep of color returning to the mossy lichens. The quiet beginnings of leaves uncurling from vines starting to thicken and grow. The effigy is feeding the power you have amassed back into the Tree of Life.

LEAVES

You begin weakening. You realize what’s happening; your vigor is being traded for that of the Tree’s. You are being used as a conduit to feed life back into it - even at the cost of your own.

As if in response to your plight, something inside of you begins blooming. A gold, luminescent glow builds around Voryn’s Shard as a leaf delicately folds around it in protection. As if the catalyst, it spreads to others, stirring other leaves to life in succession - John Gaius’s Shard. Set. Link. Jyn. Quetzalcoatl. On and on and on… and you feel it. It is life force - not just your own, but that of your fellows. Life that has been given to the Tree by these leaves, collected as you slumbered, sacrificed as your kindred offered it to the roots before your trip through time. They saved you. You saved yourself.

The Tree’s ‘voice’ is soft through you; it cradles you in a comforting mental embrace, reassuring you that you are safe; it impresses deep gratitude upon you for rewarding its faith in you. You feel the strength leaving your limbs as your vision grows dark, but it is not frightening; you are sinking into the soft, fertile soil beneath your feet, guided by unseen hands to ensure your well-being. Rest, the Tree seems to say.

Your eyes close, and you succumb to an emptiness.

A VALIANT RETURN

You feel something gently caressing you from the fringes of your consciousness, like soft, familiar fingers through your hair. It’s soothing, comforting, lulling; a voice you recognize speaks to you through your Shard.

“You’ve returned to us. Welcome home, child.”

Slowly, you come to. Perhaps you expect to rouse in the Tree; instead, you find yourself somewhere else - seemingly at random around the cities. Are you waking to find yourself sprawled in the street, surrounded by curious and concerned faces? Are you waking in a medical tent, lying in a cot among other patients being tended? Perhaps you’re in the back room of a restaurant, a chef starting from where they’re stirring their pot.

But the city you’ve returned to isn’t precisely as you left it.

You’ve traveled back in time, but not to the point you departed from. The city is in an earlier stage of disrepair, buildings and people that had succumbed to the roots and creep of Blight still intact, the affliction not yet having reached such a dire state. Is it a relief? It must be. This time, you can save them. This time, you can save yourself. (Again, technically. Time travel is a funny thing, isn’t it.)

And it’s begun already.

The roots that had caused such cataclysmic damage to both Highstorm and Springstar have retreated sometime during your travels, but destruction remains in their wake. Sections of the cities remain as little more than ruins, and some places are worse off than others; still, you know firsthand how much worse the situation could be. The Tree - and Aetos - returned you to a place where all is not lost.

NOTES

Bearers will be immune to the Blight infection upon their return. Even if you run into any contagions, your character is safe!

Please check out the updated maps here: HIGHSTORM and SPRINGSTAR! The blacked-out sections are ruined and abandoned, cordoned off and considered quarantine zones. Future Side Quests and AC Rewards will involve reconstruction in these areas.

Infected citizens are also quarantined. Specific medical tents are situated outside the hospitals and medical centers in both cities for these people. Their treatment will be ongoing through June, provided by Bearers who signed up for participation in the cure subplot.

Townie NPC's have no knowledge of the Blight worsening beyond its current point or Bearers going missing. If asked, they will be confused - as well as state that they had seen Bearers as recently as yesterday. Despite this, the calendars suggest Kenos is approaching second-Erqu (June). Time shenanigans... weird!

You can decide where portions of the cities have been damaged by the roots, Blight, or weather effects at your discretion. These can be individual buildings up to a block, barring areas around any major landmarks. If in doubt, feel free to add a note about it to the SETTING SUBMISSIONS page!

Blighted weather effects may persist in ruined areas or close to damaged regions (coming and going at random). You can use these as fun prompts whenever you’d like going forward.

YOUR LEADER'S CALL

You are given several days to recuperate after your return; you’ve surely needed it. The staff within Heliopolis and Yima’s manor have been directed to see to your needs, providing you with extra TLC should your character need it. Any requests will be fulfilled with urgency within reason. Food, drink, and other necessities will be provided free of cost to any Harmonized Bearers by their own faction for the month of June through their ‘home base.’

And then, the voice of your leader fills your mind, and you listen.

ZENITH

🌔 YIMA: For the Zenith, you will find yourself immediately calmed as the ‘connection’ binds you to the Matron. Any distress - physical or mental - washes away like grains of sand in the wind, biding you to a state of receptive tranquility. Her voice is warm; pleased.

Not only have you returned to me, but you return victorious. Through this mental stage, you see no one - but you can feel the smile in her voice. Feel it in your bones in a manner you find pleasant. Does it feel like vindication? Personal praise? Power? Something nurturing and reassuring? Whatever it is to you, it feels genuine and earnest.

You have proven your mettle. Twice now have we shown our resolve, and twice now have they tasted the bitterness of loss. We need not play games at claiming lands or strike at our enemy’s people to demonstrate our strength. Your conviction is a sword sharper than their guard is strong.

Thank you. You have done all I could ask of you.

You and I are one step closer to what we want most, and I will see your convictions lead you to reward.

Before her voice fades, something stirs inside of you. Whatever wants your character has - whether they are things promised to you by Yima or things they hope to attain themselves - will seem slightly more attainable than they had before. This is a subconscious influence, one they will not be aware of but will persist until further notice.

MERIDIAN

🌞 CYRUS: The call that reaches you is one of familiarity, like a hand extended to pick you up when you’ve fallen, one you trust to bring you back to your feet - but the sense of camaraderie is accompanied by a solemnity, today. Cyrus feels both grateful to find you whole and unnerved by the situation befallen the Meridian.

First of all, I have to start by saying I’m glad you’re back. I’ve been debriefed on what happened, and even if it’s a hard story to stomach…

He trails off, and you get the impression he’s thinking about an otter.

Well, it’s good to hear from you directly, in any case. I know you might be taking the loss of the Oracle hard, but this is the first step of many - and it’s a wake up call. We need to start working together. There’s ripples of division among us, and as long as that’s the case, our force as a whole is weakened. We need to support each other.

To those ends, I want you to spend the next few weeks focused on healing up. The Blight has hit some people hard, but the Meri are a strong and durable people. They’re bouncing back, and seeing them keep going might inspire you. Go get a drink. Eat yourself into a coma. Go kick someone’s face in the Coliseum - whatever it takes to get back on your feet. Do it, and do it together.

We need to rebuild, and not just the parts of the city that were devastated. Our morale needs improving, too. Seeing you out there cooperating and working as a force will do them a world of good. It’ll do you good, too, trust me. It might not feel like it now, but we’re going to turn this around. There’s far too much riding on all our shoulders to give up hope, and far too early in the game for quitting.

Like a hearty handshake or an amicable grip of your shoulder, you feel his resolve pass through you. Before Cyrus’s presence fades, maybe a bit of your weariness begins fading, depleting, as if he has given you a second wind to carry on. Use it well.

THE PRICE OF VICTORY

The Iconoclast Oracle has been won by the Zenith. Perhaps the effects of this victory are not ones immediately apparent considering the Blight, but as its effects dissipate… the changes inside you - and the cities you reside in - begin to be felt.

ORACLE EFFECTS

The Iconoclast’s effigy now sits beneath the Tree of Life in the ritual chamber as a permanent fixture. Its eyes emanate a pale light similar to the light of the moon; this marks the Zenith’s energies running through it as their prize. The chamber is alive and filled with thriving bio-luminescent plant life, moss, and lichen. (Jyn’s drawings are still on a wall down here, if you were wondering; strangely enough, the moss has not grown on them like they’re being proudly displayed. Weird!)

Bearers will be affected by one of two effects up to the arrival of the TDM: a blue lotus tattoo somewhere on their body, or black lines spreading outward from a point of your choosing on their person. These start dormant and will activate through acts of aggression or self-destructive behaviors.

If you have a blue lotus, aggression or self-destructive acts will result in an increasing case of Hanahaki disease. This illness begins slowly but will grow more serious each time the lotus is triggered up to player comfort. This effect grows faster in the presence of someone from the opposite faction, resulting in acute bouts of sickness in their proximity.

If you have the lines, aggression or self-destructive acts will result in the spread of these lines throughout the body, which trigger a loss of sensation and feeling in afflicted areas. In severe cases, characters may lose limb mobility and motor control up to player comfort. This effect grows faster in the presence of someone from the opposite faction, the markings spreading like veins from the lines.

How serious or a non-event these effects are remains up to you! Play with them as little or as much as you want.

MERIDIAN

Meridian characters can alleviate either affliction in others, but not themselves. This is possible through physical contact, similar to Discord purification. Effectiveness is up to player discretion. Only one Bearer can be ‘cured’ per interaction, so two Meri’s will need to take turns or find someone else to help them once they help their partner.

Meridian Iconoclast may find themselves drawn to the effigy at random as if sleepwalking. Once they return to themselves, they may have lost several hours of time. In extreme cases, they may have pricked or cut a finger and dribbled blood over the symbol on its head. They feel as if the Iconoclast is watching them whenever they are in this chamber.

ZENITH

Zenith characters can worsen either affliction in others. This is possible through any physical contact (with player permission, up to player comfort). Once a character has worsened another, they cannot do so again for 48 hours.

Zenith Iconoclast may find themselves drawn to the effigy at random as if sleepwalking. Once they return to themselves, they may have lost several hours of time - however, they will feel as though they have been offered something that draws them closer to the Zenith. You may pick an extra Tier 1 spell from the Spellbook, which they will automatically learn.

NOTES

💠WEATHER UPDATE: The chill of the Blight will abate throughout June, until both cities return to their 'normal' weather patterns by TDM time. Until then, you can expect things to be unseasonably chillier than normal, and pockets of Blighted weather may be spotted more frequently in affected areas.

💠TREES: The Tree of Life is free of Blight and in vigorous good health. The Trees in Heliopolis and Yima's manor are also free of Blight, and NPC's will never recall them having been quarantined...

💠NPC REPUTATION: Knowledge of the unconventional Oracle battle and the Zenith's victory will make its way through the city through the first week of June. Citizens of both cities will be vaguely colder to known members of the opposite faction but won't snub their nose to help if it is offered, considering both need assistance. Tensions will ramp up as the Blight is less of an issue and reconstruction begins.

💠YIMA: Yima will be available for Communion in early June. Please see THIS top-level and tag in before Monday morning EST if you'd like to engage!

💠TIBBS: Mr. Tibbs survived the Oracle endeavor without any Bearers taking a rock to his head. Amazing! Someone appears to have a sense of humor, because his frozen, Blighted form can now be found decorating a koi pond outside of a restaurant in Springstar. Hm. (P.S.: There will be a Tibbs-related Side Quest in the future...)

CODING