kenoslogs | NOVEMBER EVENT | THE HARBINGER ORACLE

NOVEMBER EVENT | THE HARBINGER ORACLE

HEDGING YOUR BETS

Bearers feel it. Similar to when the Scorching Isles was opened, there is the same tug, from somewhere in the distance. Those who are in springstar feel it from closer, like a blossom of warmth in your heart, you feel the Oracle spring to life. Those in Highstorm feel it too, but distant. Far away. You remember Cyrus’s words, that it would come to life in Springstar, and you know, just from the relative distance, from how far away it feels – He was probably right.

So bearers must make their way to the center of Springstar’s residential district. Finding one’s way to Springstar will be difficult, in fact. Preparations have been underway since Cyrus’s announcement, and Springstar leaps into action. The Legionnaires are already marching by the time the first bearers start moving throughout the city. In addition to any of Meridian’s own preparations, the Legionnaires establish choke points and start organizing evacuations. It will be difficult to make your way through Springstar, but the closer bearers make it to the hedge maze, and what seems to be the oracle at the center, the warmer their chests feel. Throughout the city, it feels warm, like small wicks of heat. The closer bearers become, the more it feels like a torrent. It is burning them to their center and igniting them to their cores. Like the fire of drive, is what it feels like. Like the hunger for something more than just food, or anything else, like the anticipation of victory.

The maze itself is where it is the most intense as bearers start to make their way through the hedge maze. Vines and brambles lie within a neat hedge, and it looks like it is safe to jump, or scale, but the moment a bearer tries to jump it, cut through it, or even go beneath it, roots, brambles, and vines lash out to entrap bearers, and start to drag them down and into the hedges. You will have to figure out a way out – lest you be stuck for seemingly the near future.

Of course, when Dimitri’s hand touches the stone statue in the middle, it all goes dark, and wherever you were, whoever you were fighting –

Every bearer collapses at the same time.

YOU'D BETTER BE A-MAZE-ING!

In the dark, there is that fiery impression of the Harbinger. Competition, drive, disdain for even those that best them. It is clear, in the dark, with your eyes closed, that the Harbinger does not see the Bearers as worthy to obtain it. You feel ghostly hands on your mind, into you, as if it is delving for more, trying to pluck and pull out the right memory. It looks for victories, triumphs, defeats, or betrayals. Something that shows the mettle of the bearer, what it is looking for. When it finds what it is looking for – or is this just a dream? – after the bearer experiences the dream, they will get the distinct impression that it is not enough. That the Harbinger wants more. It wants to see what this bearer can do. It wants to see you rise to the challenge, bearer! Will you do as it wishes, and show it the scope of your mettle, or will you capitulate and let the Harbinger know that it was right – you aren’t enough?

The Harbinger wants you to prove them wrong. Can you do that? Will you use spite to convince it that it is wrong? The Harbinger at the center of this labyrinth imparts to bearers, that it will not allow the weak to succeed, that nobody who cannot reach it, would ever be able to protect them. They look down on bearers, and it is up to you, to convince them that you are worth their attention.

When bearers wake, they will be stuck in a foyer. The walls seem blank, and there is a door, leading further into the maze. It is not… fully dark, everything here seems to be lit just enough to move around without trouble, but it is not bright. Bearers can look left, and right, and see others beside them. They are not alone, but nor are they with others of their faction. No, you can feel it, between all of you, gathered here in one space. The humming of your shared aspect fills the room, as if all of you together in one space feels right.

You will not be able to stay. The foyer lasts only until the last person leaves, and if any try to stay behind and stationary, they will find that eventually a door appears, and the room begins to shrink. You had better get moving!

You must move further into the maze. You will find that grouping up for long periods of time becomes impossible, and moving from one door to the next can find foes, allies, or even neutral parties. Every door you open within this maze, leads to new and unusual locations. You may both walk in, from opposite ends, only to find that the doors are gone when you turn your back. Do you end up on a precarious path over spikes, lava, or even water? Do you walk into a room with your greatest desire, a hunger that can now never be sated? Will you do anything to find your way through the corridors? Will bearers help each other, and resist the call of the Harbinger, or will you push over even your treasured ones to win?

MADE IN THE SHADE

And even further in, as you start to catch sight of them, patches of darkness seep into the corners, into everything. They may be hidden, at first. They may lurk underneath patches of leaves, or in shadowed corners. But the longer bearers are within this labyrinth, the longer the shadows seem. They start to reach out, to pull bearers into their shadowy depths. You may feel malaise, or an unwillingness to continue, once you first step within these patches. The longer you are there, the harder it is to get out. You will need help from your friends or dear ones, or sheer strength of will – but can you fight on, as you start to lose the things that motivate you?

And then there are the visions. People you know, love, or trust, they round corners, just ahead. They seem just out of range, and at first, it is difficult to tell if they are there or not. But they happen to reappear, and then disappear around a corner. Try and chase them, if you dare. When your fingers touch their arm, or grab their clothing, or heaven forbid, if you pull them into a hug – it seems impossible to pull away. They were treasured, weren’t they? There is a reason they appear here, to you. Why would you want to pull them away? Why would you –

They reach out, their fingers seem long, as they reach toward your shard – they will not be deterred by clothing or armor, their fingers seem to bend and twist around the junctions – before they find purchase on your shard. They rip it from you, and it feels like you are being separated from something. It’s painful, it hurts, but the last thing you see, as they hold your shard in your hand, is someone you care very deeply for, placing the shard in the same place on their own body, and your own face smiles back at you, and it all goes black. You are gone. Into… nothing.

NOTES

Here are some prompts to set the scene and foundation of the Exalt Oracle! Please refer to the ooc post for more details about what’s happening in the labyrinth! Feel free to direct questions here.

If your character gets killed by a shadow-copy, please let us know in the reporting post that goes up on November 20th if they touch the effigy. If they do not, please let us know on the deaths page! Don't forget to report any dissipations as a whole! Please also let us know if your character is saved by another bearer, or if your character’s shard is taken by the shadow copy for the entire duration of the event. This will not result in any permadeath, but you might get some cool lore! Teehee! If your character defeats a shadow creature, please let us know [HERE]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That's code for, "long enough," isn't it? Tohsaka frowns quite deeply as she takes a napkin and dabs at her mouth to clean herself.]

Intend to stay, or are you moving on?

[An exit couldn't be found alone, so she was forced to stay. And if she had to stay, why not indulge? Though she does wonder if he'll be able to leave.]

[ Yuri hums as he apparently considers this, bringing a hand to his chin. Rin doesn't appear to be in danger, and yet much like certain piles of supplies, he doesn't trust this. ]

We've got a contest on right now, yeah? Doesn't seem like you to get tied up like this.

[ It's not quite a proper answer, yet it expresses his intentions well enough. ]

[Almost immediately her frown deepens. He isn't wrong, but... she hasn't been satisfied. There is something within her that burns, that aches to be filled. And these sweets seem to bring the only relief. It's momentary, though, and despite her taking bite after bite it doesn't go away.]

I'm aware, but there isn't a way out right now, is there?

[She didn't see one. There felt no need to rush when there wasn't a way out. Oracles are... odd, and she figured perhaps the door would show itself if she was able to destroy this gnawing feeling in her gut.]

[ Yuri spares himself a moment to process this — and to take an exaggerated glance toward the doorway he'd passed through. Is Rin unable to see the exit? It could be some sort of illusion that affects the first person to enter, perhaps.

Slowly, he returns his attention to Rin. ]

If there wasn't, I couldn't have gotten in, yeah?

[ He may have to feel out the nature of this, but he's certain it is a trap. ]

So what if you got in? The layout of this maze isn't permanent. Have you not seen pieces of it move, shift, or lock in place — creating barriers where their would be openings?

[A dismissive hand is waved his way before she finishes off the tea in her current cup. Honestly... she's had so much already. Shouldn't she be watching her figure? The amount of sugar in these confectioneries and in the tea should have her satisfied, if not bloated, by now. But why? Why does hunger still gnaw at her gut like she skipped her last three meals?

Rin frowns, but picks up a frosted cupcake to consider it.]

[ Yuri doesn't know Rin well enough to gauge whether it's normal for her to hunker down and not try for certain, but he'd wager she's too stubborn for such easy acceptance. He doesn't wholly know what to make of it, or this room...

But damn does he feel starved when he shouldn't. ]

When's the last time you looked for a way out? This place is full of traps and tests.

Ten minutes ago, maybe?

[She shouldn't eat it. She's already had so much, you know. What about her figure? It's not like she's her sister. Not everyone can be as blessed to have their... "nutrition" settle so well up top. No, instead it all goes to her ass and thighs. It makes wearing skirts difficult. And the chafing? Just awful. Who knows when it'll decide to start settling at her waist? Heaven forbid. She'll already have a workout instore later for what she has already eaten.

And yet... and yet she cannot stop herself. As if her hand has a mind of its own as it guides the delectable cupcake to her mouth so she can stuff that sweet, buttercream frosting down her petite gullet.]

[ Ten minutes. Yuri weighs this against the plates and wrappers stationed around her. Far be it from him to curb anyone's appetite when food is plentiful, but this doesn't seem like Rin. Neither does the abrupt, insistent pull this room seems to have. It's surely some way to halt their progress.

An easy guess, of course, when everything thus far has been. ]

Might be time to try again, don't you think?

[ Besides, Rin was so careful at that cafe. The contrast is nagging at him as he watches her. ]

And what's it to you?

[She snaps back — sharp, and irate.]

Aren't we enemies? Shouldn't you be happy? Technically this is a wonderful opportunity for you, isn't it? Why are you still here if you're so certain an exit exists?

[Tohsaka's brows form a harsh slope as her hands ball into fists.]

[ It's a fair question. Due to their state as Harbingers, she's privy to the busy nature of his mind only growing busier, even as his guarded mind muffles any distinct words from carrying through.

For all this, his expression remains one of concern, reflecting nothing of just how much processing he's doing. Why? Rin should understand quite well that admitting to caring is a difficult hurdle, though their reasons differ. ]

Maybe I should be, but this all doesn't sit right with me. [ He settles on this, thinking it easiest on them both. ] Now, if you were in a pit, I'd absolutely leave you there, but this is something else.

[ He'd expect her to do the same. They are competing, after all. ]

Shut up, [she snarls back.]

Why shouldn't I indulge? I eat such small portions regularly because my money has to go somewhere else. And when I'm treated? My figure is a concern. I don't fill out evenly, so in order to stay conventionally attractive enough to use my body as an asset I need to be careful about that kind of thing! You understand, don't you? I see the makeup that you wear. Shadow by the eyes, and an accent to the lip — I'm not a man who wouldn't think twice and I'm also not blind. So this... why can't I have this? Even if it's fake that just means I won't have to worry about it in the long run. I'm always so vigilant, why can't I —

[Why can't I let myself fall? Why can't there be any imperfections? Why am I not allowed to fail?

Because you already are a failure. There's no room to go lower. That's right, isn't it? She barely has the stomach to be a mage. She has to cut herself off from having deep relationships because she can't handle the thought of having to wipe herself from the memory of friends. She can't bear the reality of being vulnerable to someone only to have her heart broken when she's the used and not the user. Rin Tohsaka is weak, softhearted and nothing but a series of masks put on to fool others.

Furious, she turns stands abruptly from her seat. Her hands grip the table of sweets and tea in front of her, and she flips it in a rage. Once turned over she digs her heel into the underside of the table so the squelching noise of the frosting, tea, and confections can be heard.]

[ Of course, she isn't wrong about him. Yuri's appearance is as much a tool to be used as any other part — perhaps more so, considering his past. He'd been viewed as a lovely ornament at best, and at worst...he doesn't much like to think about the worst. But it all impressed upon him that his beauty is a commodity and that many don't look beyond it. By now, he's made his peace with that.

For Rin to have to feel the same about herself, however... Yuri doesn't know her well enough to know the reasons, but his concern can't be masked when they're both Harbingers. He knows better than to try. The idea that food is such a struggle for her is something he finds terrible all on its own, because his people as a whole face that too. ]

I'd rather you didn't know what that was like. [ It's the first thing he ventures to say as she grinds the table under heel. ] Having to use whatever you've got at your disposal...it does things to a person.

[ He needn't tell her what those things are. She already knows. ]

It shouldn't be that way, but that doesn't change anything. This room...it's exploiting a vulnerability. We're being tested, after all. I'm not saying you shouldn't have anything, but it should be something real.

Shut up. As if you would know what I "should," have. Is it a matter necessity? Deserving?

[While Hunger still sits in the bottom of her stomach, heavy like a pit, she finds herself consumed more at the moment by anger. Frustration. Disgust at the thought that he may be looking at her with pity in his eyes.]

You're right, I don't know. But as with anyone, I've got an opinion or two.

[ She tells him shut up, then asks him a direct question. Yuri opts to shrug the contradiction off. Under other circumstances he'd meet it with a flippant remark, but what Rin had said about herself stays that impulse.

They both know what it's like to be commoditized, from the sounds of it. The result shows through in how they present themselves. ]

Let's just say that I, personally, find something like this particularly cruel.

[ He waves an arm at the illusory display of food around them. Not just any food, but sweets. By the time he'd had anything with sugar, it was around his Academy days... To say nothing of Faerghus' eternal struggle with food poverty. ]

[Rin tends to lend herself to being a contrary hypocrite. Especially when she's upset, and this is no exception. However Yuri's reply has her coming down from a boiling rage, and settling at more of a simmer.]

You still haven't provided an actual exit or solution.

[I'm still hungry.]

[ The tension in his shoulders lessens by small degrees. Well, she's hearing him out. It's more than he'd have assumed. Yuri casts a glance back from whence he'd came. By now, it could be another path entirely. ]

They're not sweets, but I've got rations on me, should you need them. As for the exit...

[ After scanning their surroundings, he points toward the far end of the room. ]

Did you try that door there earlier?

[ Had there been a door there at all? ]

That one is new to me. We can try it.

[Even so, her eyes fall back to the other tables. The tiered displays of of fancy snacks, the multitude of teas sitting warm in their pots, and the ornate pieces of porcelain that display them. It all calls to her. Like a siren song pulling her back in.

Rin hesitates to move from her spot before he does.]

[ Following her line of sight, Yuri leans around her to see...more of that very compelling illusion. It really is a cruel trick, and he could well imagine being taken in by it, in some other time and place. He tears his attention away from the tables laden with teatime treats and rivets it back on Rin.

For both of them, he needs to focus. ]

When we're out of this, let's have some of the real thing. I'd like to pick your brain about something anyway, as a more dedicated mage.

[ It's as good an excuse as any, lest Rin feel that she's being done favors. Yuri understands that need, knows it well. He's a skilled hand with Faith and Reason magic, but it isn't quite the same discipline as Rin — so it is a legitimate suggestion. ]

Till then, let's check that door.

[ It doesn't seem quite right to pick her up or drag her along when Rin may be able to walk away from the illusory treats herself, but he does offer her an arm. Whether he's being serious or not is up to her interpretation. ]

[It's... difficult. Every fiber of her being screams to stay put, to finally indulge, to just continue eating. Her body screams in every silent way letting her know that... the hunger persists. That really, she could stay until she wasn't hungry anymore. That would be fine, wouldn't it? Yuri proceeds, but Rin is stuck in place for a painful few moments. Watching him continue without her.

In order to get herself to move on, Rin switches her circuits into an active state. For some it's like pushing a button or flicking a switch. For Rin... well, the sensation of turning 'on' her circuits is akin to piercing her own heart. Vividly imagining the tip of a knife carve its way into what betrays her the most.

Tohsaka lurches forward with a small gasp, but then uses that momentum to hurry and catch up with him.]

[ The sound reaches his ears and stills Yuri briefly, momentarily arresting his movements and tempting him to glance her way. It sounded to him as though she was pained, just now. Yet if he looked to ascertain for himself whether this was true, he might stall their escape himself.

So that lapse comes and goes, the briefest cessation of motion before Yuri spurs himself onward to the door. Rin is near at hand, so he reasons they should be out of here without trouble. No more than this room had already visited upon them, anyway.

Upon reaching the door, Yuri tugs it open. Whether by virtue of his Locktouch or simply being unlocked to begin with, the door yields with little more protest than the groan of old hinges. He steps aside, sweeping an arm toward the hall ahead, so as to ensure Rin finds her way out first and foremost. ]

[It takes what feels like monumental effort to reach that door. As if she had been trudging though a foot of sludge just to reach the threshold. She'll have to pause at the door. Her hand gripping the the edges of the doorway like a vice. While her head hangs that dark hair of hers curtains her expression and obscures the way she twists herself into knots just to get this far.

She hates it, but Rin makes Yuri serve as a life line. One hand gripping at his upper arm desperately. Hoping he'll pull her through the final stretch of leaving that room.]

[ As though he doubts his own perception, Yuri looks at the hand on his arm. Independent as he knows Rin to be, he doesn't comment upon this. Instead, he lightly pats the back of her hand in an effort to reassure her. ]

Nearly there.

[ Another step, his hand holding onto hers in case the room's grip on her grows severe in these last moments, and they pass the threshold. The moment they do, Yuri's hand falls away. ]

Hell of a thing to have thrown our way.

[The door seems to be closing itself (albeit slowly) to naturally allow the room to seal off and change for the next victim, but the moment Rin is out of there... the moment she is free from its hold...

She slams that door shut with enough force to splinter it before yelling a slew of angry swear words.]

[ The force jolts him, shoulders peaking before he can catch himself. That room was harder on her than he suspected then, he mentally amends as he forces his posture to relax. At least, insofar as he's willing to relax in this damned place.

Rather than interrupt Rin with words, he instead brushes his cape aside to access one of the packs he'd bound to his back, sifting through it somewhat awkwardly due to the odd angle.

He had offered to supply her with some actual rations, after all. ]

NOVEMBER EVENT | THE HARBINGER ORACLE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)