⏳ 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

[shisho]

[ Well, now. That is something. Watching the way Amos's eyes keep tracking back to the heap of young Atirat in the corner, half-draped in blankets like it's going to keep their frozen figures warm -- like keeping them warm matters, whether they're aware or not of their circumstances -- Reigen keeps his own on Amos. He sees how his eyes wander, but he's good enough not to take his eyes off the man to let him know that he sees.

With the pot finally placed on the ground, he rummages in his pockets for the stack of soup bowls and miniature basins he'd also pilfered along with his supplies. One of them, he thumbs free from the stack, and offers it at arm's length to Amos. ]

No, I'm not. [ Doing anything wrong. Worried about himself. Fucking around. His face does crease briefly, when he's ordered around. 'Quit fucking around', like what he's doing isn't important to the Grand Goals of Zenith, Hail The Almighty New World. Like nothing matters, but getting to the goal.

With that, he points back. To the kids. ]

They're what's valuable to me. Look at them. They're just kids. Are you going to try to proselytize at me on the importance of a Zenith win, or are you going to help me feed these kids when I wake them up? 'Cause I'm waking them up.

[baltimores]

[ Amos just stares at Reigen, dead-eyed, as he offers him a bowl, making no move to take it. No, I'm not puts them at immediate odds, and Amos is pretty confident he could just pick the other man up and drag him out of here. Collapse the rest of the wall while he's at it so he doesn't get any more stupid ideas.

(Not with the kids in here, he can't. Fuck. Fuck, he hates this; he isn't sure if this is what Yima would do, but it's what he would do... And he can't ask her if that's the right move or not.)

It's like Reigen is reading his mind, when he points back to the kids, and Amos' eyes go right back to them, the conflict obvious on his face.

He's silent for a long moment, and then he takes the stupid bowl. ]

We're only helping the kids. [ Oh, it's we now? He only realizes that as the words leave his mouth. ] The rest of them don't matter. You'll knock yourself out if you try to do any more; that, or I will.

[ There's his line, delivered with a lesser degree of authority, because it looks like Reigen has uncovered his one soft spot just like that. The one part of him that really, genuinely cares on its own. Fine, the kids are okay. Fine, they'll feed them. But anything else is a waste, and a Zenith win is more important than the adults' lives. ]

[shisho]

[ The thing about Reigen, is that he's all bluff. He'll bluff until something calls it, and even then, he'll bluff his way right up to the point where it kills him. As long as he doesn't concede, there will always be a chance that he was telling the truth. Even when bluffing, he knows when to not pick a fight he can't win. He'd rather give in, avoid it, figure out how to move around it -- anything, other than run the risk of losing an argument. He's never lost an argument, nor a fight, because he doesn't really go looking for trouble.

It's why he's here, in secret, with a bunch of Atirat -- doing his own thing without asking for permission or letting on to his plans. Amos comes at him like a guy ready to issue commands, and Reigen manages to duck the authority as non-combatively as possible. He does his best.

Getting Amos to take the bowl is a victory, however small. It means that Reigen can leave the pot of stew with him, beaming in Amos's face like he's pleased to have the help and not running a thousand calculations at once, in favor of approaching the frozen kids. Stripping off his gloves, he wiggles his fingers - flexing them to warm them up in the biting chill of the air. ]

People will always matter. Kids matter more, because they're dependent on adults like us to protect and provide for them. Good adults help kids. Sometimes, they take on the difficult task of teaching other adults how to be good, too.

[ With a rasp of Sand, he sets one hand atop the smallest figure's head. The smallest Atirat child, barely up to his hip and round with youth; however it works, however he's able to pass his Sand along to the child, they come alive in achingly slow bursts. The fold of a limb, the twitch of an eye. And suddenly, he's on his knee alongside them, holding them around the chest with one arm, the other cradling their head to his shoulder as they make broken, confused sounds. ]

There, there. [ He says, looking over their head towards Amos with a fond expression. Like he's glad for the help, and ignorant of the threat Amos could be. Or at least, more interested in how soft the guy is, and how he yielded his authority for kids. A good adult, in the making. ] We're here for you, we've got you now.

[baltimores]

[ The way that he's beaming at him is... weird.

It's so weird. Amos really had been ready to drag him out a moment earlier; pick him up by the scruff of his neck and forcibly shove him through the hole back into the hallway, away from these frozen bodies. And instead he's got the guy smiling at him, happy, like Amos isn't the monster here, and is more of an ally.

(They're both Zenites, they should be allies. He knows that, it's just what Reigen is doing is weird.)

But then he speaks. Kids matter more, and Amos' expression slackens. They're dependent. Good adults help kids.

Sometimes, they take on the difficult task of teaching other adults how to be good, too.

All he really wants is to be a good person, and yet it's always been beyond his grasp. Trying only counts for so much, but then you're hurting people. Again and again, you find a way to hurt people, and move on, because you don't really care. But he'd come dangerously close to getting in Reigen's way, which would have meant these kids wouldn't be helped, and...

He watches in something akin to awe as Reigen unfreezes the smallest kid. The one who would need help the most. His mind is turning as he watches them slowly awaken, still stupidly holding the bowl in his hand as Reigen lowers himself to comfort them. Amos has been treating all of the Atirat as dead because they might as well be; here is very obvious evidence they are not.

He meets Reigen's eyes, and comes to a decision in that moment: Reigen is a good person. Someone who knows what should be done, even though Amos' instincts are screaming at him that he's wrong here, that he's fucking up something for Zenith in some way. Still. Still... his instincts are wrong; he knows that.

He should listen to Reigen instead.

Spending his sand is such a big commitment, though.

Amos hesitates, then lowers himself to a crouch to fill up the bowl from the pot before him. He's at a loss, but the kid is alive, and they've got Reigen to lean on right now — the least he can do is help them be ready to eat. They probably need it. ]

I'm not a good person. [ His voice is more a murmur, spoken towards the pot; he doesn't want to freak the kid out any more than they probably already are. ] You should know that about me. I'll help you out here, because you are one. But there's only so much we can do here. You gotta be ready to not save most of these people.

[ Only the kids. And even then...

He'd rather not think about it, getting up to make his way over to Reigen and the unfrozen Atirat child. He awkwardly holds the bowl towards them; he really doesn't know what else to do here. ]

[shisho]

[ With the child folded into his arms, gasping and desperate and mad with some sort of prolonged madness, Reigen's work is cut out for him. He continues to make soothing sounds, running the flat of his hand across the slim width of the child's shoulders in easy, smooth passes; it's methodical, practiced in a way that suggests he's used to working with his hands, beyond just articulating with them like some sort of octopus on too much caffeine. While he settles the child, who seems only able to clutch at his knees for the moment, he's able to divide his attention between them and Amos.

He doesn't move to unfreeze any other Atirat, because he's going to have to ensure the ones he cracks open don't collapse immediately into madness and turn violent. They're people in need, not eyesores to be ignored and forgotten. He watches, as Amos dutifully gets the bowl filled with food and brings it over. ]

Maybe, maybe not. You're doing good right now, though. That's what matters. I'll save as many of them as I can, without going overboard -- that sound good to you? I'll have enough Sand in the end to weigh in on Zenith's needs.

[ The child seems to settle, to the sound of their murmuring back and forth to one another; the heave of their back begins to even out, the flexing of their hands into pained? frightened? fists begins to soften. As they calm, Reigen reaches out to take the bowl of stew from Amos's hands and sets it on the ground close to where the child will see, once they lift their head. You're okay now, he whispers to them, me and my buddy here got you something to eat. There's plenty, so eat slow and don't choke.

Carefully, he aims the child towards the bowl, and watches them descend upon it like -- well, like they were starving all that time. It makes him think, makes him wonder a few things about the state of the timelocked Atirat. What it means, to truly be frozen in time. While the child sets upon the bowl, gulping down the food, he twists towards Amos. Puts his hand out. ]

Reigen Arataka, by the way.

[baltimores]

[ Reigen is so gentle with the kid. Gentle in a way Amos wishes he could be, isn't sure he actually has in him. He tries, but he wouldn't be nearly as effective, he knows — his limitations start and stop at maybe holding a kid's hand, maybe softly telling them he'll be there for them, and... not able to do a whole lot beyond that. He doesn't know how to soothe. He doesn't know if he could do much more with his heart in a vice at the sounds that kid makes.

Something in him aches, and he forces himself to bury it, the empathetic, pained look in his eyes at the kid's suffering becoming muted. Not deadened, just... he doesn't want to feel this way right now, so he won't. Not consciously, at least.

Me and my buddy. Christ. He really does need to live up to this. Amos silently, almost dumbly, watches as the kid descends on the bowl, only the movement of Reigen's hand drawing his gaze away.

After a moment's hesitation, he shakes it. ]

Amos Burton.

[ His voice comes out a little choked; he is really engaging an internal war to deaden his emotions here. He can't think like this.

Amos gets back up, makes his way back to the pot, the other bowls still by it, and starts filling another one up. For... for himself, for Reigen, for another kid, he doesn't know. ]

Just don't go overboard. [ His voice is a lot softer now, the earlier authority in it mostly gone, now more like a gentle reminder. ] I know saving the kids is important, but we gotta think about what comes after. How Zenith can only take care of them if we have the resources to. Otherwise, it's...

[ His voice trails off into nothingness, his body stilling before he goes back to filling up this second bowl. ]

We gotta look after ourselves, our people, so we can look after them. That make sense?

[ Is he on the right path here? It feels right to him, but he wouldn't claim to actually know anything when it comes to ethical decisions. ]

[shisho]

[ Amos seems to go on autopilot, once they introduce themselves and shake on it. Reigen lets the first of the Atirat kids eat without looming over them, concerned they might take it as a threat to themselves or their food, and instead - he follows Amos back to the stock pot full of stew. There's plenty of it, though he'll inevitably have to make more once the rest of the Atirat are brought back into the world. He really does hope they all survive. At least the kids, if he has to be judicial about these things -- and oh, he can. He can be so very practical in the same way that he can be so deeply giving of his time and efforts.

And Amos has gentled, which is surprising. Not unwanted, but surprising. He'd come in like a drill sergeant, all demands and expectations, and now he's willingly doling out stew like he doesn't know what to do with his hands. This whole situation must be affecting him, in some way. He must like kids, is what Reigen has to settle on. If it's not that he likes kids, it's that he feels responsible for dependents -- maybe he led in the army, he concludes. Some sort of military group, where he was in charge of keeping others safe.

It's in his voice and attitude. ]

You're right, Amos.

[ And actually, he is. Even to Reigen, who will burn himself on this mission because he needs to test a theory and why not now? Why wait? Amos is right, though. Just like Reigen would later tell Silco -- he's not doing this wholly because it's the right and shiny thing to do. It gets them something, but people can get something out of others without being assholes about it. It doesn't have to be cruelty that brings people together. ]

I'm not going to abandon them. I want to find a way to get them back to Highstorm, to let them make their own choices -- this world of theirs can't support them, not without our help. We can't provide that help if we don't have the means to.

[ He folds his hands together, steepling his fingers as he turns his gaze up -- away from the man before him. ]

I just can't think only of the future, if it means abandoning people in the here-and-now. It's not cost-effective, it's just the decent thing to do. That's all you wanna' do, I'm guess -- good things, even if you have to be harsh while doing them. You came in here with the intent to stop me, I'm guessing and now you're... getting more food ready for the next kid. I think you know what's decent.

[baltimores]

[ He's listening. His focus is mostly on the bowl he's filling up, still without knowing who it's going to go to, but... he's listening.

His brow furrows, because some of what Reigen says makes sense, and a lot of it still doesn't. The best way for him to cope with that is autopilot, apparently; it's just that autopilot involves doing something nurturing right now. If he was keeping watch that'd make more sense to him, but there isn't anything to keep watch from. Anyone who would know how to get through Reigen's illusion would've done it by now.

He finishes filling up the bowl only to stare at it in his hands before meeting Reigen's gaze again. No, his eyes drift to that young Atirat quietly eating first. Then Reigen. ]

I... [ Get that? He does and he doesn't. ] I know helping the kids is decent. But it's like you said. There's nothing here to support them. There might never be. I don't know how we get them back to Highstorm, I don't know how anybody can look after them, or how they can grow up in a place like this...

[ Isn't just dying better, sometimes? It's a thought he's had before, albeit in vastly different circumstances, but the sentiment still feels like it applies, loathe as he is to admit it.

Amos wordlessly hands the newly filled bowl to Reigen. Shit; he doesn't know. ]