beleos: (Default)
beleos ([personal profile] beleos) wrote in [community profile] kenoslogs2023-01-13 05:00 pm

⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳


ARRIVAL
All Bearers have heard whispers of them - the Oracles. Mysterious and unknown entities of an abstract nature, they serve as the heart of each faction’s cause - both as a means to an end and a very real stepping stone in achieving their objectives. To claim an Oracle means growing ever closer to victory: to see your homes restored as they were, or to herald in a new one of your making.

So you go.

A Cornerstone has been set up for each faction; one for the Zenith and one for the Meridian in Yima’s manor and Heliopolis, respectively. They warn you that upon transportation, your safety cannot be guaranteed and there is no telling what waits for you beyond - to be prepared. To make sure you have whatever you deem necessary with you before you go, as there is no telling when - or how - you will be coming back. CONTINUED HERE...

NOTES

  • Upon your arrival, you woke up with an HOURGLASS NECKLACE. Please refer to the Time Mechanics on the OOC Summary and bottom of this post for details on its usage.
  • The COURTYARD is frozen in time. Player Characters and the Great Tree are the only signs of moving, free life in the courtyard. During the intro, time magic does not work.
  • Characters are free to investigate but cannot move beyond the courtyard if you choose a prompt during the intro. You may mingle among your fellow Bearers or speak with [MR. TIBBS] if you so choose. (Also? LOOK AT HIM HELP)
  • Iconoclasts and Stargazers will notice Aspect benefits/detriments now.
  • All characters will be weak for the 24 hours - think like mild flu - and unable to leave until Mr. Tibbs has dispersed them. This is the time in which any threads with the NPC will be carried out.
  • The INTRO concludes with said dispersal of PC’s once interactions concluded. They will be sent to a location around the castle of your choosing; they are free to move about freely from here. Your prompts can start with you waking alone or in the presence of others - whatever you’d like!
  • Your character will innately understand how to use time magic from this point forward. It will come naturally to them, like a skill they were born with.


  • CASTLE: OVERVIEW (p a s t)
    The Scorching Isles is home to the Atirat, a people of sea-dwellers who have the ability to walk on land. (Think mermaids with the ability to shift back and forth between human and mermaid forms.) As such, much of the Scorching Isles is covered in large bodies of blue water and glistening pieces of ice to accommodate their lifestyle.

    THE CASTLE, however, is what dominates the landscape and it's where the Shard-Bearers will be spending their time. The white castle with colorful glass windows is obscured by a thick layer of clouds and fog. Nearly every location on the island has a thin layer of fog that rolls through it, which gives the entire Island an inescapable chill. The castle has artfully built rooms with a CAVALCADE OF DECORATIVE ICE, lavish mirrors, and white plants accented with blue decorations. Several portions of the castle are submerged due to the aquatic nature of the native residents.

    And everywhere you go, you find them - STATUESQUE BODIES FROZEN mid-movement. They are haunting reminders of the power in your Hourglass - the very real power to decide their fates.

    The castle has many winding paths to explore, as castles often do. There are sleeping quarters, HALLWAYS, a wine cellar, and a few large rooms presumably for diplomatic affairs. Players can use these rooms at their own leisure for whatever purposes they see fit. (Exploration, combat, or supply gathering.)

    However, many of these rooms will require some strategy to access their full potential! Atirat were much more comfortable being underwater than many Kenosians may be. Therefore, rooms of higher importance may be COMPLETELY SUBMERGED or require swimming through an underwater pathway to reach them. Very minimal supplies will be kept out in the open for all to reach. More desirable supplies - such as warm clothing, small weapons, treasure, and the like - will be located past or within one of these flooded areas.

    Players may gather supplies within and preserve their Sand or use their Sand to make other rooms accessible and gather whatever lies within! The larger the asset you attempt to unfreeze, the more Sand it costs - and the more drained/vulnerable you will be as a consequence, so choose your path ahead wisely.

    Currently, a pervasive fog is preventing you from wandering beyond the Castle's limits. Should you try to venture past it, your Sand will rapidly be stolen and you will find yourself suffering the same fate as the islanders if you don't move back to safety quickly... However, if you ask Mr. Tibbs what lays beyond the mist - he will tell you about the thriving farmland, the once-bustling village surrounding the castle, and the beautiful coral reefs beneath it. Sadly, they're beyond your reach - but maybe if the Bearers decide to unfreeze them when the week is up...

    LIBRARY (s a f e z o n e)
    The ROYAL LIBRARY - A treasure trove of knowledge, history, and glimpses of a fractured past scattered throughout. The lower floor of the Library is void of much reading material and contains several intricate-looking art pieces on decorative pedestals.

    A spiral staircase dominates the center of the room, with its once delicate structure overtaken by sheets of formidable ice; it leads you toward the upper levels where a sea of books awaits. There are isles and isles of books, most perched on intricately carved shelves. Many books lay in piles or are discarded onto the floor, and scattered papers are common throughout.

    Curious Kenosians may pick out books from the shelves and read on various topics, but players may also pass through this room on their way elsewhere. This area will function as a safe haven where violence and the taking of others' Sand is not allowed; do not disturb the books or Mr. Tibbs won’t be happy!

    NOTES

  • Characters who wish to receive a book with lore specific to the island may comment [HERE]. You will be RNGed a book from a pre-written list of topics. The books may give you a deeper look into the island, its inhabitants, and its history! (Only 1 book per player! Please assume all other books they read are about commonly-available topics.)


  • THE EATING PARLOR (p a s t)
    There are no basic amenities on the island. No hot water, no warm beds, and no salacious magazines (that you know of. heh heh). That would make the Eating Parlour a wise stop for anyone. After all, this could be the perfect chance to procure some provisions!

    The EATING PARLOUR has all the equipment one would need for meal preparation. Dried plants hang from the ceiling, and the walls are lined with mason jars filled with every strange manner of presumably edible thing (Is that a head over there? Hmm… maybe you should check).

    The parlour also comes with a garden under a massive windowed dome so that the inhabitants could have fresh produce at hand. Many plants have withered, but there are some salvageable plants if you know how to look for them. But beware… Some of the plants have a strange blue glow. These plants can spell potential disaster.

    If someone should make contact with these glowing plants, they will crumble into glass shards - glass that will quickly burrow its way under the skin and curse that person with Blight. Blight will make all resources within that person's vicinity slowly age and eventually crumble to dust. (Which I relate to on a personal level tbh.) Iconoclasts will be immune to its effects.

    NOTES

  • Please see the "Blight" section below for more information on its effects.


  • TREASURE ROOM (f u t u r e)
    Faint singing can be heard coming from this room. Once you hear the song, it dulls your senses and leaves you in a haze. There is no stopping your feet from guiding you to it through the doors and into the Treasure room. The door slams shut at your back, sealed with a wall of ice and magic.

    Players will find themselves lured to an icy chamber bordered by a ring of cold blue fire. There is a deep pond that surrounds the platform you’ve found yourself standing on. Beyond its glassy surface and crystal clear water, one can glimpse all manner of treasures - from crowns, jewels, ornate statues in various statues of repair, scepters, spears, and books that seem impervious to the water's cold chill.

    As you come to your senses, you will find yourself frozen in place and at the mercy of a large statuesque being before you. This beautiful and horrifying figure in a perpetual song is the SIREN, the only Atirat you’ve seen in person. She measures nearly 20 feet (6 meters) from her head to the tip of her long-finned tail. She cradles an icy shard in her arms, singing to it as if it were a child.

    She sits serenely in front of a large hourglass filled with white sand, which is bordered by a spear and a lance. Emblazoned in faint text at the base of where she sits reads: “The future lies in our hands.”

    NOTES


    Welcome to the Siren’s Chamber! Players must use their wit, charisma, or some good ol' fashioned elbow grease to escape the room or break the Siren’s magic. The Shard that the Siren holds contains dormant time magic that players may activate by using the Sand within their necklace. Players can access the future in 5-second intervals and use whatever they find in that time period to escape their predicament.

    For example, if they activate the shard by using their time magic, that shard will begin to glow blue. The room around them will shift, and it could change to a point in the future where there is a sword nearby. If you can grab it, now you have a weapon! When the 5 seconds are up and time returns to the present, you will still have that weapon on your person. You may also try verbal communication if you’d like. If your character is someone who would try and talk their way out of a situation diplomatically, they may give it a try!

    It is up to player discretion/creativity to think of a scenario you’d like. Each “future" does not have to be the same across player encounters! What one group experiences may be tailored to the player wants (because branching timelines exist). Let your imagination run free!

    HALL OF MIRRORS (p r e s e n t)
    Should you reach the rightmost wing of the massive castle Library, you will find a door hidden in the very back of one aisle against a wall; it looks as though the door used to be concealed by magicks that have since dissolved.

    The stairwell leads down and into darkness. Once you reach the bottom, shimmering light cast from an unknown source beneath sheets of glistening ice will illuminate your new surroundings; you are in a maze of mirror-like ice. This labyrinth is silent save for the quiet creaking of shifting ice that may disquiet you and leave you uneasy regarding the stability of this area… but it holds beneath your feet.

    Mr. Tibbs had told you that the “Kaleidoscope” - where your Sand is counted - rests through here, so eventually, you must brave the journey. Is it a trick of the light? Maybe the product of an especially active imagination…?

    Did you just see one of your reflections move without you?

    NOTES

  • Please refer to the OOC Summary for details on the Hall of Mirrors!


  • THE BLIGHT and TIME MECHANICS

    BLIGHT

  • Blight is an infliction that will age supplies and infect people with a creeping disease that steals their Sand. For objects, this includes weapons, food, and items like cloth. It will take a few days to deteriorate things beyond use - so watching your supplies and acting accordingly is in your best interest. Generally, it will make it more difficult for PC's to get by given that their already scarce resources will dwindle and deteriorate - especially since it's 'contagious' through touch.
  • The Blight will not act quickly enough to severely hamper infected persons, but repeated exposure will cause effects to a person's body - notedly protruding VEINS in the face and extremities, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation. These effects start out mild and grow more severe with each 'dose.'
  • Characters must touch an object/person that is Blighted to become inflicted with Blight themselves. When that happens, it will become easily identifiable as Blighted from the faint blue, shimmering outline around the infected subject, as well as the WITHERED, FROSTBITTEN or ashy appearance it takes as it progresses.
  • However, there is one single perk with Blight. (Or is it a perk?) Players will feel reduced impact by the cold surroundings, making the climate around them somewhat more hospitable. Beware of falling victim to a chill you can't feel...
  • TIME

  • To use your Sand, each character is granted access to and innate knowledge of a spell they channel from their Shard that automatically manipulates their Hourglass. This allows the remote control of Sand (aka gathering and dispersing), as well as the ability to pull Fragments of time from Shards.
  • Fragments are literal pieces of you taken from your Shard. They manifest as memories or images displayed on little shards of broken glass (think of the memory being played out in real-time on the mirror's surface), and can be crushed to convert into Sand automatically, either voluntarily or by force. The only stipulation is that the parties must be close to one another, and the Fragment must be exchanged while both Bearers are still. This means someone has to give it to you, or you need to immobilize them before you take it - one way or another.
  • Once the Fragment is crushed, the memory and associated time of that person's life is lost and your character will suffer amnesia until the Oracle is claimed. How deep this goes is up to you; they could lose a large chunk of time - even all their memories surrounding a person or place for a big payload of Sand, or they could lose very little for a meager net gain.
  • Sand is automatically gathered or distributed by your Hourglass and added/subtracted to your running total. No need to micromanage. Convenient!
  • Please note that using Sand to unfreeze anything (resources, a door which can be then opened, etc) is an unpleasant experience. Each time you use Sand in this way, your character will be left feeling weakened and flu-like for an hour or two, which will leave them vulnerable. This effect stacks and scales up to outright KO-ing them for a few hours if they go crazy, so unfreezing too large of an area is off the table!

  • NOTES
    • An OOC POST will be coming shortly explaining how Sand is going to be tallied and the Oracle claimed.
    • Should your character attempt to unfreeze any NPC's, please respond [HERE]. NOTE: unfreezing NPC's may result in physical violence with CW's for severe mental instability/illness and a potential reference to self-harm.
    • HAVE FUN!!!
    CODING
    liuli: (242)

    [personal profile] liuli 2023-01-14 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
    how dare this book insinuate i'm not pretty


    (thank u ♥ )
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
    It is the only jewel-crested trident! The others seem run-of-the-mill and uniform in appearance. Someone fancy must've used this guy, though!

    There won't be too much else to find down here, unfortunately.
    sharmat: ▸ THAT'S ROLLING IN (pic#12921199)

    [personal profile] sharmat 2023-01-14 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
    OH MY GOOD GOLLY THE HEADS

    yk what? yes. yes, he wants to unfreeze them.
    redsoil: — PLEASE CREDIT! (Default)

    █ PAX.

    [personal profile] redsoil 2023-01-14 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Open starters for Set & Reigen below! My plotting comment is here, or DM me! ]
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
    What a lil scamp, this Voryn.

    He unfreezes one and... it is a rather gruesome sight: a headless corpse collapses to the ground in a mighty THUMP, spurting blood from its open neck as if it had been just decapitated. The blood is, strangely enough, a deep blue color as it pools around the body. Hopefully Voryn doesn't get any on him. Gross.

    Also, Mr. Tibbs will come and chew him out, giving him a lecture about "doing that," waggling one of his otter-paws admonishingly.
    sharmat: ▸ AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID (pic#16190591)

    [personal profile] sharmat 2023-01-14 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
    can the blight pass to mr tibbs 😒
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
    Sadly, he is immune. To everything.

    He is invincible, insufferable, and he knows it. Enjoy!
    consolation: (2809166 (66))

    [personal profile] consolation 2023-01-14 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
    WOOF

    that's rough, buddy

    thanks very much!
    wolof: (Coy)

    [personal profile] wolof 2023-01-14 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
    one book for a villainess if you would please!
    salvageable: (pic#15623217)

    [personal profile] salvageable 2023-01-14 02:51 am (UTC)(link)
    this is tasty..... slurps it up THANK YOU
    consolation: (2809166 (6))

    [personal profile] consolation 2023-01-14 02:53 am (UTC)(link)
    i don't know if you can answer this or it's valid to ask, but the vibes i am receiving from this otter compel me to ask: is this otter a demon?

    more specifically, does this otter's vibes feel like a demon or demonically-adjacent evil spirit? mostly i'm trying to gauge if his shitty behavior will trigger her ability or if he's just Like That.

    thank you in advance!!!! and sorry for cluttering the questions thread with character-specific fluff. ilu
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
    Thankfully (??), he is not a demon!! Or evil-aligned, really, aside from his Attitude. Caren is safe. Kisses her forehead,

    then kisses ur forehead
    ragou: (36.)

    [personal profile] ragou 2023-01-14 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
    would love a book, thank you!
    youngprodigy: (∉ on the pure and simple)

    [personal profile] youngprodigy 2023-01-14 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
    Cid will be looking to unfreeze a scholarly-looking person. Philosophers, professors, underpaid TAs...

    Basically anyone who would have a better ability to tell him the history of the island, and what the hell happened better than the unreliable talking otter.

    Besides that very bad idea, he'd be looking for anything cultural about the island. Not information, exactly, more like things that could be seen as significant— maps, trinkets, currency. Anything that could easily be transported on his person, so he's not going to be making off with huge paintings or the like. Besides, that would use way too much Sand.
    copeless: (pic#16161901)

    crona | unharmonized (advocate)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-14 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
    I. peach time | eating parlor
    [ The game with the sand— the more they hear about it, the less they want to get tangled up in it, as they're already feeling quite vulnerable as an Unharmonized. The first thing they think of when they're all let loose? They'll just find some food and find somewhere to hunker down and wait out the seven days. They only need a little to get by for a week, if push really comes to shove... and they really don't like the idea of walking around the castle for much longer than they need to.

    That's brought them to the Eating Parlor, in attempt to as discretly and quickly gather things they might need for their planned week of Sitting There™ tucked away in a corner, picking things out quietly and shoving them into a small burlap sack they'd unfrozen using a bit of sand. And as a result, they're still in something of a daze from the flu-like symptoms that spending the precious time brings, so they don't particularly notice that you're reaching for the same mason jar of preserved peaches that they are.

    As soon as they do take notice, though? Their hand jolts away, as if burned, tucking back into their chest. All at once, they imagine all the worst things that might happen by coming across another Bearer so early: what if they attack them? Or take their stuff? Or they somehow find out that they're the reason everyone got the world's most annoying notification during the mass communion? Their skin pales, and they shuffle a half step backward in submission, giving every sign that they don't want any trouble. ]


    I... I'm sorry, you can have it.

    [ Letting someone take it instead of competing for it - that should keep a conflict from starting, right...? ]
    II. siren slaying (literal) (metaphorical) | treasure room
    [ Someway and somehow, you've had the (mis)fortune of getting roped into the Treasure Room with them, with the Siren's time-freezing song already taking effect for a brief period of time. The first moment that there's silence, their cowardice pays off: in their desperate attempt to get out from being in the open, they're knocking both you and themself behind a pillar to hide. As luck would have it, being out of the direct line of sight of the Siren helps with not getting frozen when the song starts once more... but it's not like you can stay here forever. ]

    I don't know how to deal with magic like this....

    [ It's fairly obvious that that's the Siren's method of "attack" - or at least, it's obvious to them. The thing that's not so obvious is how to counter it. ]

    M... Maybe if we couldn't hear it... ?

    [ There are several solutions to that: kill her, find something to block their ears, make a contrasting sound... those are the ideas that first pop into their head, though they're not confident enough to suggest them, instead looking over at their companion for any sign of agreement. In their mind, their partner might have a different, better idea entirely... ]
    III. mom come pick me up | indeterminate hallway, could be various locations!
    [ Turns out getting jumpscared by evil sirens, doppelgangers, and even suspicious other Bearers has not been good for their anxiety, so later in the week, they can be found shuffling their way down any away-from-the-main-hub hallway, obviously on the search for something specific... yet constantly looking over their shoulder as if they do not want to be followed. And they will look like Absolute Shit. A wound on their upper shoulder, which has stained their clothes black instead of blood red... sopping wet and shivering from swimming around the various rooms... and most importantly, missing more than half their sand.

    Should they see you on one of their numerous checks behind them, they'll visibly jump, whipping around to face you in an instant. They're unarmed, and clearly not doing well - and to those who had seen the Meridian and Zenith rollcalls, they'd never attributed their name and face to either faction, so they're Unharmonized, too. ]


    Wait, please don't...!

    [ Their first assumption, of course, is that you're after what sand they have left. So, ✨WYD?✨ will you take this opportunity to get some more free sand? Or will you take pity on a poor meowmeow soul.... ]
    IV. wildcard
    ( anything else goes here! if none of these prompts fit what we've planned, feel free to wildcard me, or you can always ping me and i'm happy to write up closed starters too! here's a link to my plotting comment for easy ref. )
    baltimores: (101)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-01-14 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Amos rolls his eyes at the insult; whatever, man, tell him something he hasn't heard before. ]

    So what is this? 'cause right now all I'm seeing is a psychopath surrounded by dead people — [ he heard frozen, he's just skipping ahead to the natural conclusion — ] who's getting off on hurting more.

    [ He wants to kill you so bad, dude. Like, right now. But despite Mr. Tibbs' assertion, he's still smart enough to keep his hands to himself, arms loosely folded across his chest. ]
    ragou: (6.)

    LIBRARY

    [personal profile] ragou 2023-01-14 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Sorry, impossibly cute otter, you deserve better than this.

    Butー here we are. A giant of a man, picking through books with long, careful fingers, stopping mid-motion during his search to turn his attention sideways to poor Mr. Tibbs, who is probably just here to have a good time (?).

    Douman didn't approach him after their preliminary meetingー had felt it would be foolish to, given how strangely weak he'd feltー but now that he's better-equipped to speak to the jolly little otter who'd steered them all in their respective places, well. That's exactly what he's going to be doing! What a tragedy for all parties involved.
    ]

    Mmmm, Tibbs-dono, Tibbs-dono! [ TIBBS-DONO... ] Ah, always on the move, despite the state of this place. Admirable, admirable. Would you spare a humble onmyouji a moment of your time? Just a moment!
    youngprodigy: (∄ i never knew what i was gonna be)

    [personal profile] youngprodigy 2023-01-14 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
    He has, uh. No idea what to make of all of this, but it seems like it was important to this Sidhe girl...
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
    Though there aren't many that might scream 'scholarly' about the castle, he might try unfreezing someone carrying a book toward the Library.

    Once unfrozen, the Atirat drops the book in their hands with a clatter, and staggers forward a step they had been still in taking before time had ceased.

    They look at Cid as if horrified, mouth working to make sound come out - but instead, they begin hyperventilating and will flee, skittering off to the nearest water source to disappear.

    As for trinkets/maps/etc, you are free to find anything you'd like!
    subsist: (pic#15937129)

    kaeya alberich ◆ zenith ◆ advocate

    [personal profile] subsist 2023-01-14 03:13 am (UTC)(link)
    ( ooc. closed starters go here! feel free to ping me if you'd like one. 💙 )
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
    Dead? Who said anything about dead? Dead? Dead?

    [ Mr. Tibbs tilts his head this way and that each time he says it, twirling into the air to give a little spin. ]

    If they were dead, they'd be dead! They're frozen! That's different! Very importantly different!
    glowup: (Default)

    [personal profile] glowup 2023-01-14 03:15 am (UTC)(link)
    bats my eyes for a book
    kenosnpcs: (Default)

    [personal profile] kenosnpcs 2023-01-14 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Maybe they deserve each other, did you ever think of that Freshy

    Tibbs-dono is wagging his tail at this manner of address; apparently it pleases him, because he's adjusting his bowtie and giving a toothy otter-grin. ]


    Why, yes! You're the first polite and well-mannered land-hopper I've spoken with; it's such a delight! How can I be of help to you, my good man?
    ragou: (18.)

    [personal profile] ragou 2023-01-14 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Douman, internally: I wonder what you taste like between my teeth, you weird noodle

    Douman, externally:
    ] You must forgive the others their folliesー they seem to be very delicate, you see. [ Look at this polite clown, he is not UNCOUTH like the others!! #notallclowns. ] Mm, I was wondering, merely, how you keep yourself so spry and cheerful, of course. You seem to be the only one with any measure of vigor, and I can't help but envy it.

    [ wink wink wink wink ]
    baltimores: (036)

    [personal profile] baltimores 2023-01-14 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
    They're as good as dead, ain't they? Not like you're doing anything to help them.

    [ He isn't forgetting how Mr. Tibbs completely skipped over his actual question, but first things first. ]