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
    sanguinary: (saw fires from far away)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [Hopefully he will never have to do that because the Yoshihiro rabbit hole is wild.

    ANYWAY WHAT A MOOD!! Every day he wants to file a complaint directly to god for making humans so weenie.]


    That is correct. [HELP. He can demanifest (maybe, possibly) under normal circumstances, but considering he doesn't even have his actual body back yet, he's truly just stuck in a limbo. He looks down at one of his hands for a moment, flexing his fingers.]

    I have only had this body for a year or so, but even then, it was not so fragile. After all, these are just a mimicry of the human form.
    sanguinary: (there are branches in your eyes)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [TSUKUMOGAMI, MAN...

    Anyway hateful that this is about to happen, but it is!! Matsui is just canting his head to the side a little, looking at Douman and his generally large and meaty self. Maybe he really does have insulation from the cold... Maybe he can magic himself a warm shield... His brow knits a little because he's envious if that's true, he's COLD.]


    Are you?

    [The thing that is about to happen is this: Matsui making his chilly little way across the gap between them so he can reach out, attempting to rest his fingers in a very light and elegant way against Douman's arm so he can test the temperature there.

    His fingers are fucking icicles, unfortunately.]
    sanguinary: (i hear the violent crash)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [THERE HE GOES, tossed off and probably tumbling into another mirror...

    His armor and gloves will serve him well, at least, since Matsui's doppelganger apparently doesn't care if the target is himself or Dimitri and goes after him with all the tactical prowess of a blade. Fortunately, again, he's just armed with a glass shard... Which means someone's getting cut after all, considering he's just grabbing it with his hand?! But at least that's just the doppelganger.

    ...Except here comes the first Matsui, now also grasping a shard in his bleeding hands.]


    Leave this to me. It's my sin to erase.

    [They're really about to knife fight it out...]
    sanguinary: (washing it down)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [This Matsui fails the vibe check considering he immediately just looks at this man with This Expression and tries to deck him.

    OTHER MATSUI IS YELLING ABOUT IT.]


    At least pick a target and commit—!

    [HE HATES IT HERE he's also dashing forward in an attempt to deck his decking doppelganger.]
    consolation: (3)

    [personal profile] consolation 2023-01-19 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
    [She's used to the gentle undulation of their empathetic bond, having grown more accustomed to the way it works between those of them that share an Aspect, regardless of what city they've chosen to follow. Given the connection they shared shortly after their arrival, however brief it was, she recognizes Gray's particular frequency a little earlier than any other.

    She lifts her head, bare back still turned toward the other girl in amnesty. It's okay is perhaps the least soothing of placations. For that to be true would require either of them to have more control over reality than either of them could hope to achieve. Still, if Gray intended to harm her without further intent she already would have done so: Caren's already determined that she is capable of great feats of violence but that her parameters for acting on them are strict.
    ]

    I fought with a powerful demon. [Her words are true, though the exact sequence of events is hidden within their ambiguity. In this case, to have fought with a powerful demon means to have fought alongside it. Though, in some regard, it had felt like fighting against him as well, against the Siren, against the limits imposed by her own body that threatened to lapse into the oblivion trying to shred it.] This is a consequence of my condition.
    copeless: (pic#16161820)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-19 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He doesn't need to say much more than that for them to get the drift. Hand it over, or else. The implicit threat is blatant enough even behind vague words, and it's an attitude they're all too accustomed to being subjected to. That's their mother's way of doing things. And it immediately colors their perception of the man before them, eye twitching involuntarily, face tensing as though a heavy pressure has begun forcing itself down upon their shoulders.

    Were things different right now, were they Harmonized and invigorated by the blackened blood coursing through their veins, they'd be able to talk themself into standing up for themself. But right now...

    It's frightening. It's so, so frightening. Crona is someone who is scared of facing most people and things, even when they're at their strongest — and at their weakest? It feels impossible to do anything but to be a coward, to do whatever they have to in order to survive. As much as they hate it, what can they do? They wilt, the more the man speaks, eyes darting about as though they're a spooked animal, desperately and nervously looking for any kind of opening for an escape. ]


    Freely given...?

    [ Their hand closes around the hourglass hanging from their neck, but their eyes are, not so subtly, looking over their shoulder behind them to see what the escape route is like back there. A long hallway, ended by a door that has a shallow pool of water at the base. Honestly, they're about 50/50 on giving up and forking it over versus making a run for it, mind racing to try to come to a conclusion. In the meantime, they take a shuffling step backward - the same distance he'd taken by stepping to their side. ]

    Stay away from me... [ It's more a plea than a demand; there's no force or confidence behind their words. ] Is that all you want...? The sand...
    copeless: (pic#16169552)

    [personal profile] copeless 2023-01-19 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
    [ No matter how many times they turn over his words for clues, they don't come up with anything. It seems like he's telling the truth. Are they being paranoid for nothing? Everything about the situation Mr. Tibbs has dropped them in is overwhelming, and truthfully a personal nightmare for their nerves. They're scared of everyone on a normal day, even if those people never bat an eyelash at them. When any random stranger might actually turn on them while they're defenseless, though?

    They ball their hands into fists, pressing their knuckles into their eyes as they let out a shaky, strained breath. It's like even looking around is adding to the overload of information frying their brain - like they need a moment of quiet and dark to sort themself out. They're so confused, and they feel so lost, honestly longing for nothing more than to let down their guard and to let someone help them. Even wishing for that fills them with a sense of shame, though, wondering to themself how long it'll be until they take advantage of this person's kindness, too. ]


    ...Crona.

    [ When they answer, they let down their hands, though they keep them pulled taut to their body. They can tell by the man's posture alone that he's really not going to make a move — they can at least recognize the movements of someone waiting for an opening to attack. Guiltily: ]

    I thought you might be looking for sand. I'm sorry...

    [ "Looking" is a gentle way of putting it, but they can't find it in themself to word it any other way. ]
    sanguinary: (to the left)

    [personal profile] sanguinary 2023-01-19 04:06 am (UTC)(link)
    The halls by the Library.

    [A quick answer, though he doesn't ask it in return since he can see the Siren getting ready to open her mouth once more and he's already put two and two together here. After all, there are plenty of youkai from folklore he's all too familiar with who function in similar ways.]

    —I can't say that it will help just yet, but try to keep your ears covered.

    [Easier said than done considering they don't conveniently have two sets of arms - one for fighting and one for blocking out the song of the siren. He doesn't have a weapon on him just yet, anyway, though. It's instinct that has him crouching and covering his ears as soon as the Siren picks up from the song's lull, continuing to sing to the icy shard cradled in her arms.

    On the plus side, dampening the sound is enough that he's not completely incapacitated like he'd been before. But wow! He sure would like that extra set of arms now! He'll glance over toward Hayame to see how she's managing.]
    glowup: (73)

    [personal profile] glowup 2023-01-19 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
    [Anders turns away from what he's poking at, making a show of thinking very seriously about this question: he purses his lips and looks up towards the ceiling, hand raised to gesture in the air like he's doing a series of calculations about accusations and plotting and so on. Ultimately, of course:]

    Yes.

    [There's no point he sees in mincing words; she's so openly hostile towards magic- towards him, for being a mage- that to tiptoe around the subject and hedge his own opinions in half-jokes and tolerant acquiescing would feel more disingenuous than usual. In Anders' experience, it's not actually the most hostile people who can be swayed by charm into treating him like a real person, but the ones in between the extremes. No one this angry to even be in his presence will be convinced to think of him as Anders, a little rebellious but mostly harmless, who should be treated gently to keep him in line. Not like at the Circle, eons ago.

    So. Yes, he assumes she will absolutely kill him in his sleep with zero provocation. She's not shot him in the chest on sight, which is nice but also the bare minimum, he thinks.]


    Yes, I would. I've spent long enough hunted and hated by people who spit it out when they call me healer, when they call me mage, to assume the worst of you for my own survival. I'm sorry if that upsets you.

    [Kind of, anyway. Almost. He truly has no quarrel with her despite her overt fury that he's walking around this room, but that changes nothing about the reality he's the most familiar with: the people who hate mages enough won't hesitate.

    So there, now they're on the same page, absolutely.]


    You speak of your fears as fully justified in the same breath that you dismiss mine. I hope you find your acceptable healer.
    epiprocta: (26)

    [personal profile] epiprocta 2023-01-19 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He should probably just turn around and leave. This guy's clearly a nutjob and not worth the effort of dealing with, one way or another. He knows that, he really does.

    And while Gen does fully intend on being the adult in this situation and departing the scene, rolling his eyes at being called a punk (been there, heard that) and the talk about his ruined lungs (heard that too, though it's been a while since a teacher's dared to give him this shit) -- those shitty orders halt him right as he starts to turn on heel.

    Who the hell does this guy think he is to give him orders like a dog? (Thinks the teenager with dog ears. Don't look at his tail standing straight back like a rudder in obvious aggression.)

    The spike in his temper is obvious in the stiffening of his posture and the sharpening of his gaze; his jaw is set when he raises his cigarette back up to his lips. In part so he can deliberately take a drag while Reigen is looking, yes, but almost mostly so he can park it there between his lips.

    It frees up his hand so he can lunge in to aim a punch right at Reigen's face.

    If Reigen was expecting a wild, overreaching haymaker, he might have to rethink that assessment. Gen's movements are sharper, quicker, more controlled than most street punks and delinquents would manage. Months of training aren't forgotten easily, even if he hasn't had the time or energy to train in combat much as of late. His punch snaps forth in time with his forward lunge, followed up immediately by a backswing aiming to catch Reigen with his elbow; Eustace has taught him well, and he knows to anticipate a block or a dodge and prepare accordingly.

    Which is to say, he will land at least one good hit on Reigen's face. That's a promise. ]
    glowup: (4)

    [personal profile] glowup 2023-01-19 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
    [what about this drip is giving wizard, is it the stupid feathers

    Anyway, hello... It's the guy with the sass. Anders gives him a little Look, for the communion sass, now that he can do it in person. He doesn't know jack shit about the collective unconscious, though, he's too ye olde fantasy wizard for that kind of nonsense.

    He shrugs.]


    It's not important. [lmao. no, okay,] In my world, there's a... spirit realm, accessible to mages. Don't call this weird again— it's known as the Fade, and supposedly it transcends ordinary time.
    hauntedking: (29)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2023-01-19 04:30 am (UTC)(link)
    ...well, in terms of discussion... I am hoping that we needn't come to blows. And you seemed - seem - reasonable enough. And while I haven't seen any violent exchanges, the thought still gnaws at me. Have you heard anything from your companions about any such intent...?

    [ Maybe it's a bit unfair to ask him that. But Dimitri's going to try anyway. ]
    hauntedking: (08)

    [personal profile] hauntedking 2023-01-19 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
    [ He can feel the bite of glass as it finds gaps. The trouble with not fighting to kill is that he's much more limited how he can respond. His anger spikes, but he holds himself in check, letting out a little hiss of pain as he feels blood start to seep against the cloth of his shirt.

    He tries to grab a wrist and then to pin the doppelganger back against one of the mirrors.
    ]

    Stop-

    [ And then Matsui comes charging in. ]

    Matsui-! No!
    glowup: (shut up about mages)

    [personal profile] glowup 2023-01-19 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
    [Enjoy the jerky, it's not blighted, at least. Anders gives a mildly sympathetic look, like, he knows; the nonperishables selection is questionable at best here, but that's the easiest thing to hoard in his clinic corner.]

    Oh— really? You're lucky, then; I've run into a handful of people who are definitely under the influence of something.

    [Unlike himself, because he feels great! He's choosing not to examine that too closely, because under the influence (positive) is just as worrying as its other, fatigue-giving version, and things are dire enough without his looping around from "great" to "manic." He's probably already done that, a little.]

    You can rest here, if you like. Miraculously, no one's come to stomp around and knock over my hard work yet. And the healing is still on the house.
    subsist: (pic#15628723)

    (cw: eye trauma) ready to get choked by massive honkers

    [personal profile] subsist 2023-01-19 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Kaeya is blue and silver and black, but the one before him has a splash of red dripping slowly from an injured right eye. He has the doppelganger pushed up against one of the mirrors' glassy surfaces, a kaleidoscopic mess of show reflected upon the many others surrounding them. It is out here that Kaeya's actions are laid bare. All for everyone to see.

    Footsteps echo loudly across the Hall, the only other noise save for Kaeya's ragged breathing. It looks like he and his shadow have been fighting each other for a while now. His clothes have tiny rips and tears, his hair is dishevelled, and his hands are stained bright red right where they are gripping way too tightly onto a jagged piece of ice. The very tip of it is dyed with the same hue.

    Maybe Douman can fit the pieces together that make up the scene before him. ]


    A traitor like you has no right to be a lost nation's last hope.

    [ Kaeya grits his teeth, raising his hand once more, ready to dig the sharp edge of the ice into the spectre in an attempt to shut it up. ]

    What was your first clue?

    [ Hard to say if he's addressing either Douman or his own shadow. Maybe it's both. ]
    lachtara: (Flair)

    [personal profile] lachtara 2023-01-19 05:16 am (UTC)(link)
    Emet-Selch comes to a stop some distance away to reluctantly oblige the request. He looks back over his shoulder at the sand that has been retrieved, and then his eyes meet Cid's face skeptically. "What do you plan on doing with that?"
    youngprodigy: (⊨ she said i wanna run)

    [personal profile] youngprodigy 2023-01-19 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
    Cid scowls, but doesn't withdraw his hand. "I'm giving it to you," he says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

    It figures Emet-Selch would seem to believe there's some sort of conditional use to the Sand. "And no, you won't owe me for this." They're allies, after all. Though he remembers little of it, it's not like the situation in Horos.
    exhound: (26)

    [personal profile] exhound 2023-01-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
    [There’s an amused hum from Vander—it’s certainly the first time he’s felt prepared during the mission so far. As Dimitri strips down, he in turn begins untying the bundle of rope to prepare it for use.]

    Since you said you’ve done this sort of thing before, I’ll trust your judgment.

    [He lets a decent portion of the rope fall slack to the floor, then holds out one end of it for Dimitri to take when he’s ready.]

    But if it’s looking like too long or too cold of a swim, turn right back around, alright?
    passio: (pic#12166651)

    [personal profile] passio 2023-01-19 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
    [ dextera can handle this. he’s fought much bigger, more dangerous things than a boy with a mace. he’s a little out of practice but the physical element should come easily—it’s more what the doppelgänger is taunting gen with that concerns dextera.

    his pet doormat. the one he really likes. dextera hardly has the time to process what it all means, but the gist washes over him well enough. ]




    [ there’s only one thing for him to do, reluctant as he is. he withdraws his sword, and unlike ones he’s used in the past more comfortably, this is a real one. it’s meant to slice and draw blood from a human enemy.

    it won’t be pretty, but he’ll use it.

    dextera usually throws himself into fights with the knowledge that he could die and has countless times before, but this time—the doppelgänger has warned of gen’s emotions, and that means dextera wants to be careful. he can’t let his head get smashed in by the mace, nor can he have his neck crushed by those cruel hands. he moves fast, then, his boots offering traction on the uneven floor; he anticipates a swing going high, and so he tries to go low by aiming his sword at the doppelgänger’s abdomen. ]
    gravings: (042)

    [personal profile] gravings 2023-01-19 06:46 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Meanwhile, Gray's steps are grounded but light and smooth, as if doing their best to avoid troubling the earth. As they speak, she keeps her eyes and ears sharp for signs of anyone else nearby. In a way, this is her element; she always felt most useful when she was guarding her squishy mentor from the cutthroat dangers of the world of magecraft. ]

    Blankets... Yes, that makes sense.

    [ Gray can regulate her temperature via magical enhancement, but the deep chill of this place touches even her. She can't imagine what it's like for everyone else. ]

    Maybe there's a linen room. If there is, maybe it would be... somewhere out of the way?

    [ Her lame but best guess. She droops a little, a centimeter's bend to her cloaked shoulders. ]

    I've been in castles before, but I never noticed details like that.
    zauneyete: (Mis-matched)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-19 06:49 am (UTC)(link)
    [ Gen had known what it was like to deal with Silco, and it certainly hasn't changed in the time since Horos. Even though Gen wasn't... one of them. A Zenite, he wondered if it was his lack of loyalty to the cause, or something else? What kept him from signing on, when he'd been perfectly happy to work for the Regent before? Was there something different about Yima? Or was it simple stubbornness that kept him from joining? Silco, of course, knew what motivated him, but others were more...difficult.

    At least at first. He stared for a moment, considering. Like gears in motion behind an unblinking stare, as he considered. Well, there was something he would take for the "gift", but more importantly than that...
    ]

    It lasts around ten minutes.

    [ He answered, first. ]

    Before I decide what I would ask in return, tell me this. What will you do with your sand, in the end? When we have to turn this all in?

    [ Would he want to save your average... dweller? With their blighted bodies and minds? Would he bother with resources? What was his goal? Or was it simply to survive? Which while admirable most of the time, would be in Silco's way. What he wanted right now were those oracles -- to take them. Use them to rip and tear it apart. Single-minded though he was, it wasn't without purpose, although it's not apparent from the calm, nearly disinterested look on his face. If only it weren't for that unblinking, burning eye. ]
    zauneyete: (calming down)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-19 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
    Hm. If you would? I'm curious if there's anything of use down there.

    [ Not that it would matter, but... perhaps if this creature would be kind enough to tell him what's down there, would he perhaps go back in, if it was of interest? If it was no significant sacrifice, he suspected that the creature would.

    Silco, of course, was mortal, and therefore would freeze. Even with his multiple layers of clothing, he was still cold, although he did his best to pretend it didn't touch him. He was lucky for his habit of wearing gloves these days, and lucky for the large coat he wore as well. He would have wished for a heater too, but the constant movement here had been another lucky boon. At least he wasn't freezing from idleness.
    ]

    Particularly if there is any non-blighted food.

    [ Wouldn't that be an ironic twist, for them to come back with food? Silco wasn't starving, but he knew what it was to live with tight resources. He could trade it, perhaps, for Sand or favors. ]
    gravings: (038)

    [personal profile] gravings 2023-01-19 07:23 am (UTC)(link)
    Mr. Matsui!!

    [ Which one is she shouting at!! Both probably, because neither of them are being very helpful.

    The one running at her does seem a bit more out of character than the one she's holding, so if she's going to label one of them as a villain then it's probably that one. Still, does she really want to fight him? What if these are two halves of one Matsui, and killing one would cause him irreparable harm??

    She cannot decide right away, so she continues to dodge around corners with unlikely speed. She shifts Matsui 1 to a cozier spot over her shoulder and handily ignores his attempts to struggle out of her grip. ]


    Why is there a second you?!
    zauneyete: (Just remember I'm out there)

    [personal profile] zauneyete 2023-01-19 07:32 am (UTC)(link)
    [ A roll of his eyes, then. He was going to stay out of shin range, for sure. ]

    I saw a Meridian.

    [ He said, bluntly. That Mamoru was blind was... well. Yeah, alright, an easy target, but that wasn't what drew him in. ]

    If you think I'd come after only an easy target, then you haven't spoken to many of your compatriots. It's not personal, you know.

    [ Well, other than the whole destroying reality thing. ]
    pyojeol: (pic#15727557)

    [personal profile] pyojeol 2023-01-19 07:35 am (UTC)(link)
    [Wow, Lust should pitch the benefits of being eternally young and inhuman to DOKJA so he stops crying about it? As it is, Sooyoung just snorts from the collection of seashell brassieres. She used to think she looked very pretty and attractive, and then she was forced to spend all of her time around a gary stu. It really skews a girl's perspective... having to realize that she's only a mere mortal in the face of fictional looks... Also, why are YJH's boobs bigger than hers? UPSETTING.]

    Why don't you just stick to searching and stop worrying about my looks?

    [She turns around to face the other woman fully, hands on her hips.]

    Or do you always sit around and wait for someone else to do your job?