⏳ 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

[copeless]

[ He doesn't immediately lash out — but something about the calm, idle way the man speaks to them puts them on edge. Someone who could remain nonchalant in circumstances like these - in their experience - are either used to such conditions, or are confident in being strong enough to survive them. Neither of which are the kind of person they want to come across in their current state. ]

Isn't that the point...? Of what mister otter said... collecting the sand...

[ Stealing from others is practically baked in to the circumstances they'd all been dropped into by coming to the Scorching Isles. At the very least, they don't feel crazy for being suspicious or scared of others, particularly at this stage of the week. It's not just them, after all - they're seeing it all around the castle, people competing for resources and sand. ]

Isn't it what you're thinking of, too?

[ There's a slight accusation there - because they're not sure what someone would be doing approaching them from behind other than to rob them, at this point. No, they're definitely not thinking of the possibility that someone might just end up behind them by accident (the castle is only so big), nor are they thinking that someone might just have nice intentions towards them. Their head only goes to the worst case scenario. ]

[zauneyete]

[ His lips quirked into the ghost of a smile, something barely-there and near-imperceptible, before it was gone in a flash. His gloved hands clasped behind his back, and he took a step toward their side, but there was at least no weapon. At least not out. ]

Now, I am, but I'd much rather ask for it, instead of taking it by force.

[ His hands were still behind his back, one finger tapped against his wrist as if he were considering something. He tipped his head upwards as if an idle thought had just come to him. ]

Isn't it better if it's freely given, as opposed to taken? If I had to wager a guess... I'd say our fearless leader would much prefer that over force.

[copeless]

[ 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...

[zauneyete]

[ They're skittish, and Silco has seen plenty of Zaunites in his time that were either too burned by others, too on drugs, or even just untrusting, that he knows the look about them. The way their eyes dart, the way they instinctively grabbed for their hourglass, and then the way they looked over their shoulder toward the hallway, and the door. Silco isn't exactly fast, but he doesn't have to be. He has invisibility, and persistence. That, however, isn't going to work, is it?

He shrugged, and then crouched into a squat, his arms over his knees, as he looked up at them, now. ]

If I can be honest? I would much rather see someone unharmonized simply align with Zenith, and forward their sand toward our goals.

[ He smiled then, and his lips twitched into something resembling it. With the scars on his lips, though the look is marred and twisted. One eye didn't blink, but the other did. ] I thought that might be the bigger ask, than sand.

[copeless]

Align with Zenith?

[ At that, their eyes finally dart back to him - to where he's crouching on the ground. Their hand doesn't lessen around the hourglass nestled in their palm, but they at least cease desperately looking behind them. The truth is, they've tried to think as little as possible about the two factions. To align with Meridian would mean going back to a world full of people they'd betrayed, who no longer would want anything to do with them - and to go back to a mother who hardly had any use for them. When they'd heard about those little 'sunbeams' that side was doling out, they'd strayed as far away as possible.

But Zenith... aligning with them would mean accepting that everything is gone, that they're the one person left. And that's almost too much. Predictably, then, they're stuck waffling between the two. ]

I can't do that...

[ More accurately, they don't want to. Well, they would rather the person before them be an ally rather than an enemy, given the frightening visage. But they doubt that's a good enough reason to join up. ]

I'm not good for either side. So asking me to join you is... [ A bad idea, is the implication. Crona really believes there's probably nothing that someone like them could offer to Zenith that would be that beneficial. They can tell just from the man's words alone that he clearly cares about Zenith coming out on top. ] I don't want to create a new world or anything like that. It doesn't make sense for me to be there.

[zauneyete]

Hm.

[ He says it, like he's considering what they're saying, but after a moment, he said: ]

I don't care about a new world. Why do you think that is the requirement?

[ Or that they be useful? Silco, of course, wants nothing that could be "dead weight" in their sect, but... Maybe it's the way that they said it, but it's familiar, the wording. There's a twitch of his mouth at the errant thought, and the sickening feeling of betrayal, not of the person he thinks of, but the fact that Crona's words were familiar enough, it made him feel like he was betraying her memory. ]

Though, I think you're likely more useful for either of us than you think. [ It's not gentle, but pointed. Most were, here. There were from worlds where things happened far greater than anything Silco had ever seen. Even so, even so, there's a twinge there, and even though a part of him thinks of it as a betrayal -- to that most perfect ideal, a person that doesn't exist anymore -- he can't help but ask: ]

Why don't you think you're good for either side?

[copeless]

[ They hadn't thought about it like that — they suppose not everyone would want to create the new world. Perhaps some only had an interest in destroying what was left, if anything. That sort of wish is so familiar and close to them that even if it doesn't live in their own mind, it's so easy to picture what kind of person would want to accomplish something like that. They start wondering if the person before them is like that — if he had the same conviction and drive as the woman who had raised them.

The comparison brewing in their mind sits heavily on their shoulders, and they end up bowing their head a bit, answering obediently out of habit more than anything else. ]

I don't know how to deal with other people. [ There's a sense of defeat that emanates from their every word, even from their posture and the way they carry themself. ] And I... I don't know right from wrong, either... so I can't be trusted to do what's right...

[ There's always so much conflict overtaking their thoughts - and much as they hate it, they're aware of their obedient, submissive nature. They can be made to that which they hate doing, if the person ordering them around is strong enough, scary enough, or has enough presence. Who would want someone like that on their team? They'd always be a risk, either of being swayed by the other side or incapable of acting in line with what the faction as a whole might want, unless explicitly ordered. At least, that's the way they see it. ]

Ever since I came here, things have changed for me. I wouldn't be useful on the battlefield... so those two, they probably wouldn't have any use for me.

[ Have they figured out that harmonizing would fix that for them? Probably not. But their strength was their only useful trait, so without it, they can understand if neither faction had any reason to keep them around. ]

[zauneyete]

You think so?

[ Just like Crona is seeing someone that raised them, Silco sees a touch of someone that he raised in their words. There is a similarity in their experiences, but across a divide, at the same time. His question isn't meant to be sarcastic, but there's a touch of it, implicit in the way he says it. Silco... almost feels bad for them.

Almost, but he is somewhat sympathetic to their plight, the way that they feel about this. After all, he too felt out of his depth with some of these great and terrible experiences. He had stared down a being far too grand, who had not once, but twice targeted him directly, and had managed to somehow survive the experience. He was still... dwarfed by the awesome, incredible power that some had here.

It's one of the reasons he had agreed to a contract with Sebastian, at the end of the day. ]

I had no powers, before I arrived. [ In Horos. ] Yet here I am, doing everything that I can, to enact my will on this world and the next. I do not think you could be as useless as I, in the face of some of these great and powerful creatures, and if you are...

There is an opportunity for growth, you know. [ He could sense that, in them. They may think they were weak, and perhaps they are, but wasn't that an opportunity to be...nudged? In the right direction? ]

And perhaps, if you find yourself in a faction, you can find someone to guide you, when you feel ill at ease with your choices. There are many of us within Zenith, who have decided to support Lady Yima and her goals.