⏳ THE SCORCHING ISLE: Oracle Event One ⏳

[beleos]

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

Comments

iia!!!

[oomfies]

[ It's hissed through clenched teeth — ]

I'm wondering why you aren't wearing any pants..

[ Lottie may look especially upset, but it's only because the bruise blooming at her abdomen is being poked and prodded at by Caren's cold fingers (it feels kinda nice, cold instead of warm, but it still makes her squirm in her seat). She's fresh from a particularly messy scuffle in the Hall of Mirrors, body idly shaking and fingers throbbing on her bad hand (the one with all her nails still growing back — that might take longer, now). She's got a couple of scratches, some tiny punctures into her skin, and an achy head.. Sure would explain the blood drying into one of her braids! ]

And how you aren't wearing any pants!

[consolation]

[What a strange thing to be thinking of, now of all times...] These tights are highly fashionable in Highstorm. Do you agree? From the Communion we received, it was clear to me we needed to be unburdened and agile. [It was Lottie herself who reached out to try and organize what everyone could carry past the Cornerstone, so surely she reached a similar conclusion.

Caren finds the apex of the bruise with her hand.] Breathe in. [This will hurt because she's palpating that same area, checking for any signs of broken ribs that can be identified by a layman nurse such as herself. As she's poking at the abrasion, one of her cheeks puffs out, slightly put-off.]

The atmosphere here is a little less fashionable. [If she'd known about the cold, she...probably still would have dressed this way, but maybe she could have prepared a little differently.]

[oomfies]

[ God. They are. They are extremely in right now in Highstorm and it kinda pisses Lottie off she's even saying it.. And that she's right. Instead of agreeing, she just frowns profusely, tries to not roll her eyes because Caren is ultimately doing her a favor and —

— oh?? What the fuck, ] Ow! [ She tries to stop the way her body instinctually backs away from her touch, only managing to succeed after the first couple moments or so. Just in time for Caren to bring up fashion and how lacking it is here. Her hands grip the edges of the chair she sits on, sweat beading at her temple. After some examination, she'll find there's nothing broken! Just some extremely bruised pride and an extremely bruised rib. ]

I mean.. It always is. [ Is her joking around at the lack of cute outfits here a good sign? Unsure™. ] Everyone's dressed like they came to fight or something.

[consolation]

Tender? [Caren asks that as Lottie recoils from her touch, knowing full well the answer based on her observations alone. There's definitely nothing broken to find beneath the skin here; her investigation would yield a more excruciating response, especially from such a vocal patient. Internal injuries take a little bit of hunting to unearth and treat, but their invisible nature yields a noticeable impact. She wonders, a little idly, what threshold would send the other woman into shock instead of such active flailing, what line of pain would be too much to cross.]

That'll affect your breathing for a bit. I wouldn't go swimming, even if you think you can get something out of it or whoever's accompanying you.

[When she'd said the atmosphere itself was unfashionable, Caren had been referring as much to the frigid faction relationships as...the actual atmosphere. In demeanor, she seems impervious to the cold, but there are little tells in the short static of silver hair along her arms, the shake of a muscle that occasionally runs up her leg like a slow vein.]

You heard as much of their Communion as I did. Many of them have already committed to war. Will you be the same?

[oomfies]

[ Swimming? Does she look like she'd go swimming? Lottie is, happily, distracted by this thought, enough to forget about the throb of pain that lingers from Caren's careful touch. It still lingers, sure, but it's easy to allow herself to be completely consumed by something ordinarily simple as swimming at the beach. Lounging.. Something warm and pleasant instead of frigid and cold. Ooo, like a bubble bath — ]

..Hm?

[ Comes her dazed, barely there reply. ]

What? Who, me?

[ Honestly, this is the first time anyone has ever really asked her that. Or asked her opinion about anything that isn't very mundane or normal, so Lottie's stumped. She's managed to coast by with having the power of association and friend circles on her side, with no one questioning much of anything from her perspective. This is both as exciting as it is terrifying, Caren indulging her in this. Will she judge her? What should she say?? ]

Well.. Ideally a war would not be nice? It's so highly dramatic and very.. [ Kinda scary, also, long term?? ] Much. I don't see why we can't talk or something.

[consolation]

[Lottie's response is so sluggish that someone treating her wounds might suspect she was concussed, especially taking into account the blood matting down a chunk of her hair.

Well, it's unlikely to be a concussion - more than one woman has survived by acting on association - but while that's in her focus, Caren should at least clean it up. Hope Lottie's thoughts aren't further derailed by being poked at for skull bumps or lacerations.]

Escalation seems inevitable. More than one follower of Zenith has already written off the value of Meridian life. [For just a moment, her typical passive tone and expression become slightly more disgusted, a brief moment of discernable judgment. To her, that form of selfishness seems a shallow embodiment of what the island of eternal night actually seeks to preserve.]

When the opportunity comes to talk it over, I wonder if you'll participate. [There were still talks of diplomatic conference, shelved even as tensions over the Oracles escalated. It's hard to imagine what type of diplomacy flourishes in the wake of courtyard brawls and selfish arms races in the bones of an abandoned water palace.] You think you can convince them that what they believe is wrong?

[oomfies]

[ ..Does she? ]

Last time I even did that..

[ She trails off, not giving much details but remembering an exchange she had after a fairly nasty, fairly unwanted communion (and really, it was in the same vein of what Caren's expressing: Zenites writing off Meridian life). And while Lottie is used to scathing comments, she still looks back on the incident as a prime example of what would happen if she tried convincing anyone of anything that isn't the majority opinion.

And even with Caren's poking and prodding, it does little to change the deep frown that settles on her lips at the thought, of how exhausting it is trying to communicate with some of their own. Not that she has — Lottie lurks more, now, than she ever participates. ]

..Everyone is just so stubborn. [ She starts, rubs a hand at her forehead. Keeps her voice low enough because they may be with each other, but they're not alone. ] Which I get is part of the whole, you know, 'cause', but it's not that easy. Everyone here is stupid powerful and it makes me feel like there's nothing we can do to stop that escalation, you know? Does that make sense? It's like all that power went to their muscles and not their heads..

[consolation]

[Heh.] It isn't very cute. [Lottie is fussing closer and closer to the source of her openly bleeding head wound, and the nearer she comes the more agitated Caren becomes with her less than obedient patient.

Finally, she snatches her by the wrist, holding it firmly while she continues to work, one-handed. It would be easy, up this close, to let her keep fidgeting until she brushed against her own wounds, wincing from the pain she herself caused, but really... It's getting in Caren's way.]

Wouldn't you simply try to become more powerful in order to have a louder voice at the table? [It's a wry question and basically rhetorical. It is not so easy for nearly any of them. She hasn't been tempted by the promise of more power yet, but those promises come with conditions, here.]

I wonder why they're so adamant. Maybe it's just the nature of the beast, to feel compelled to fight.

[oomfies]

[ There's a tiny, barely there, squeak when her hand is snatched and apprehended. Lottie's eyes bug out wide, and her lips press comically into a rather flat line, almost scared of being reprimanded as a follow up. Is she in trouble?? Is she?! After staying silent for a few seconds (and suffering some rather harsh prodding), she starts to relax.

Enough to actually realize that Caren's asking a rhetorical question and not actively poking her about why she hasn't done much of anything, unlike the rest of her friends. ]

..Aren't we made up of mostly men?

[ Their faction, she means. ]

Wanting to fight for no reason, I mean.. It's kind of expected with all the sweat and meat around, you know? Unless that's just my own observation??

[consolation]

That's a disparaging way to talk about your compatriots. I wouldn't have expected it from you, not when their attention is just as important to you.

[Caren is out here diagnosing more than just head injuries today. The observation certainly seems hypocritical coming from a woman who eschewed more concealing clothing in the middle of a frozen wasteland, but she makes it nonetheless, thin and sharp like a needle.

Head wounds tend to bleed viciously, even if they're minor. These seem negligible - the girl probably doesn't even have reason to watch out for a concussion - but Caren brings water to the area to wipe it clean. It's cold, like everything here. Nothing she can do about that.]

But that's how men are, isn't it? Dogs caged together are likely to fight. [She laughs, but it comes out like a sigh. It's actually behavior she finds boorish and, in many cases, denigrating.] I think Meridian's population is no different. Who's to say the

[oomfies]

[ Disparaging?? Caren?? You're supposed to be on her side?!! Why are you lecturing her!!! Lottie doesn't say anything immediately, but her face says it all: the betrayal. ]

I'm not — I'm not saying anything mean..

[ She mutters, as water is wiped across the crusted blood to her skin and she scrunches her face a little at the contact. It's cold, just like everything else here, and it makes her teeth idly chatter if only for the reminder of their situation. ]

That's what I was talking about though! It's like.. [ how does she explain alpha dudes in a normal way ] The whole struggle for dominance thing. I guess it probably doesn't help the other side is like that, too.. [ A mumble, ] More guys just wanting to fight dudes.