⏳ 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

han sooyoung | meridian | savant

[pyojeol]

[MY CLOSED STARTERS THAT IM FINALLY GETTING TO]

childe

[pyojeol]

[It's not like Sooyoung needs sand, she has a good amount left, and she's used it sparingly -- surprising, for someone who's used to pulling out her own memories and discarding them -- but she's not opposed to taking more? If that's how the situation's gonna be set up, then she'll play along. What else is she gonna do? Save a frozen mermaid child??? Catch the Blight and die???

Better to set her sights elsewhere, preferably on more interesting targets, like the one she's observing right now. She can't recall his name right away -- it's not like he'd announced who he was before summoning a GIANT WHALE -- but she recognizes him from the conversation they had when Sooyoung first woke up in Horos. She asked him if he'd seen Dokja, and he let her faceplant on the bed.

So all in all, not a very strong connection, and not enough reason for Sooyoung to pick and choose someone else. Unless he summons the whale. Which would be bad, but like, she'd just make a hasty exit if that happens -- and watch the entire palace crumble to bits (but it wouldn't be her fault? it's fine). Or the whale will crush her to death, which would also be fine, since she's not in her real body. One less Avatar that she'll have to deal with later.

And with that thought in mind, Sooyoung lets the dagger in her hand fly -- aiming straight for Childe's head,]

claude

[pyojeol]

[There's really no reason to keep going into the hall of mirrors and yet, Sooyoung finds herself back here time and time again. Is she a sucker for self-loathing? Is it because resting here seems to be a more strategic choice than resting somewhere else? Maybe both, maybe neither. Either way, Sooyoung slips back into the reflective recesses, walking back every now and then to retrace her steps, stopping when she catches sight of a reflection that isn't hers.

Like right now -- her eyebrows go up as she rounds the corner, gaze flicking from the obvious reflection in the glass -- to the culprit it belongs to. now just hold on a second...]

-- Claude?

[She feels foolish as soon as the name slips from her lips, because there are significant differences here that should tell her that she's wrong, and yet?]

[leicesters]

[Claude is startled by the voice; he'd been distracted by his own reflection for a while now, because he could swear he'd seen it move on its own, but he can only glimpse it out of the corner of his eye. He realises he shouldn't linger, especially under the circumstances, but his curiosity is piqued enough that he wants to confirm whether it's just his overactive imagination, maybe because of how tired he's felt ever since he got here... or maybe he's not just seeing things at all.

Regardless, he blinks at Sooyoung as she appears from around a corner, and he realises a hand had snapped to the sword at his belt for fear of an ambush. It doesn't come, so he relaxes and lowers his hand, studying her.]

Hey, aren't you... [Give him a second, it's been like six years and an entire war's worth of time since then. He makes a rock throwing motion, then laughs.] Sooyoung, right?

[pyojeol]

[Sooyoung immediately gives him a look at the rock-throwing gesture, but you know what... she can let it slide in favor of the relief she feels that Claude actually remembers her. If Eustace could forget, then the same thing could have happened to him?]

So it is you. [and not just someone who's trying to pretend to be claude but overshot the age...] I'd ask you what the hell happened, but...

[they're in a hall of mirrors and it'd be way more sensible to table that discussion for later, but]

-- Actually, I'm gonna go ahead and ask. Why are you older now? Did you grab something and get cursed?

[leicesters]

Cursed? [That's a new one, so he balks slightly.] I'm hurt that you can't tell how much naturally more wise and mature I am, all in a single glance!

[Because fake-dramatic whining absolutely lends itself to an air of maturity. He smiles and scratches the back of his head.]

Nah... To me, it was like I went home, none of this ever happened, and over half a decade passed. Then I woke up in the dirt under some tree, and barely any time at all has passed for everyone else. Confusing, right?

[pyojeol]

[That is surprising, as evidenced by the Sooyoung goes still -- clearly surprised.]

...Not the weirdest thing I've heard, but yeah. So what, everything they said on Horos was bullshit after all?

[which frankly wouldn't surprise her, but there's especially grating to know that the possibility is out there -- that their worlds are totally fine and they're just being played around with,]

Or maybe they shot you up with some kind of accelerated growth serum, like a human fertilizer.

[baby realm...?]

gen

[pyojeol]

[You know what Sooyoung's not really built for? Playing hero. Being a savior. Everyone's got a violent doppelganger in the hall of mirrors -- and hers isn't any less annoying. She's got her hands all wrapped up in her own problems, she doesn't have time to help out with anyone else's.

And yet.

Her first realization that someone else has entered the maze comes from the sound of their footsteps, an endless echo that isn't helped by all this ice and glass. The second? The sounds of struggle that follow, which Sooyoung really wants to ignore -- but the violence only encourages her own doppelganger to start yet again so if she really wants to solve this problem then she might as well follow the noise and find out whose ass is being kicked, and whose needs saving.

Hopefully, it'll turn out to be Mr. Tibbs or whatever, so that she can park her butt down and watch someone else demolish that otter.]

[epiprocta]

[ Unfortunately, the other person stuck duking it out in the labyrinth is not the adorable Mr. Tibbs, who (hypothetically) would have provided a good show whether he was winning or losing his fight.

It's Gen. And he's losing.

In his defense, he's fucking exhausted. He's resilient against the cold, but only to the extent that a normal person is, and this place is cold. Not to mention the scarcity of food, and the constant threat of someone coming for his sand whenever he comes out foraging. He'd already been worn-out by the time he'd stumbled upon this labyrinth, and when a fucking doppelganger had starting gunning for him, his day had only gone from bad to worse. ]

-- so much for being a protector! [ The doppelganger's taunts echo off the countless mirrors, lending that simulacrum of Gen's voice an extra eerie edge. Heavy boots thump off the ground as it lunges in, giving a wide swing of its mace; a blow that Gen just barely dodges, gasping for air as he stumbles back, wide-eyed and clearly frazzled. ] Couldn't protect him and can't even protect yourself!

[ There's another swing of the mace that crushes into the floor, followed by the scrabble of bootsoles against the ground as Gen scrambles to put some distance between himself and his copy, if only for a moment, so he can regroup. But the moment he rounds a corner, it brings him almost face to face with Han Sooyoung.

The series of emotions that crosses his face are both very vivid and easy to read. Shock, that someone is here. Relief, that maybe they can help? And then -- confusion and disappointment, because why the fuck, of all people, does it have to be that porn thief that's here. Hence, his indignant hiss of: ]

-- the hell're you doing here?!

[pyojeol]

[oh, it's the porn guy.

Sooyoung looks up at Gen, pushes past just enough so she can peek around the corner -- and yes, there it is -- confirmation as to whose voice she just heard -- and is that a mace? She pulls back, one hand reaching up to yank unceremoniously at the closest piece of Gen she can grab -- though she lets go right away to avoid a potential swat. She knows how prickly types work, okay.]

-- You want me to spell out the obvious, or do you wanna run?

[she's already moving down the hall, aiming to turn another corner]

Now would be a good time to tell me if you can do weird magic shit!

[she's been surprised one too many times already in this maze of mirrors, and gen absolutely looks like the type of bristling edgy teenager who can shoot fireballs from his hands or something,]

[epiprocta]

[ Yeah, yeah, he gets the hint. And as much as Gen's annoyed by that yank at his jacket, he knows his priorities; he doesn't spare his doppelganger a second glance before scrambling to follow after Sooyoung, ignoring it when his double howls from around the corner -- ]

You coward!

And why should I be telling you anything?!

[ Wow, not at all confusing for Sooyoung, hearing two different versions of the exact same voice saying equally shitty things. The big difference being that the real Gen, following behind Sooyoung with limping steps, sounds notably more out of breath; a closer look would spot a dark patch at the side of his shirt that he's keeping his hand pressed against. The mace had clipped him earlier, and it still hurts something awful. He can't keep running for long.

That grim knowledge is mostly why Gen grits his teeth, then reluctantly adds after a moment, ]

-- I don't have shit, okay. I lost all my magic when I ended up here.

[ The look he gives her following those words is both uneasy and expectant. A sort of silent 'so now what?' Surely, she didn't start running with zero plan, right. Right??? ]

[pyojeol]

[If asked, Sooyoung would say that the advantage of being a beautiful girl genius writer is that she never has to plan ahead or outline anything -- genius ideas of ingenuity always blossom in her brain like a plot-armored Mary Sue -- like the one she's thinking of right now.

Will Gen find it a genius plan? She has no idea, and frankly -- as her gaze flicks to the side he's favoring -- she doesn't think he has a lot of other options here?]

I'll distract your reflection. You try and find out which mirror he's coming from.

[Sure, it's not actually that creative, but oldies work for a reason? a dagger slides into her grip, and she hands it to him hilt-first.]

If it looks like I'm too busy, then break it yourself.

[And with that, she --- shoves Gen out from their corner of safety,

just in time to avoid the jagged arc of a mace crashing down towards them, which Sooyoung immediately slices with her knife, effectively attracting attention, for now at least,]