⏳ 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

[gravings]

[ tfw mastui is probably tall enough and gray is probably short enough that he could bend over a little and touch the ground ]

Oh...

[ That is highly concerning given how many reflections they have going on at the moment. Gray continues to jog through the maze with Matsui over her shoulder, but thoughtfully now. ]

Then is it okay if we, ah, eliminate him?

[sanguinary]

[He's going to lean over and write a rude message to his doggedly pursuing clone.

No okay he'll try to make things as easy as possible, even if he would still very much like to be put down.]

That is what I was attempting to do.

[THE FEELING WAS MUTUAL APPARENTLY it's fine, it's fine, sometimes you just gotta beat yourself up.]

[gravings]

[ She thought maybe that he was just fighting in self-defense!! She still can't picture Matsui as violent even if he's a soldier...

Anyway that's enough convincing for Gray, so she slows and finally sets Matsui down with a gentle bend. Once her hands are free, she takes a small object from her cloak that swiftly becomes an oversized, elaborate scythe as tall as she is. Magic! ]

Do you mind if I help you?

[sanguinary]

[GRAY his VIOLENCE...

This is so wild, though. Even though he comes from a world with magic, it isn't This Type Of Magic, so he just blinks in mild surprise as she manifests a wholeass scythe from nowhere.]

Ah— [Well. On one hand, she has the weapon and he doesn't on the other:] I should be the one to rid this place of such a nuisance... But I will not stop you if you wish to help.

[Speaking of, here comes his rudeass doppelganger! Not from behind, but rather, he fuckin slams through one of the mirrors nearby to tackle Matsui over. BYE!! They both go sprawling onto the ground, but Matsui is feral in battle and doesn't hesitate to fucking bite his double. Good lord. (Also she is free to pick up on the Not Human Vibes for future ref help.)]

[gravings]

[ Jesus Christ. The downside of a giant scythe is that it isn't a precision instrument, so when Matsui goes and gets tangled up in his doppelganger AGAIN, it robs Gray of her scything capacity. It's all she can do to keep the Matsuis straight in her head.

She doesn't actually want to watch any Matsui dying a slow and animalistic death even if it's at the hands of the original Matsui, so after a few moments of impotent spectating, she yells a little (but only a little). ]

Um, Mr. Matsui, would you like to borrow my weapon?!

[ Which one was the right Matsui again... ]

[sanguinary]

[HER SCYTHING CAPACITY. God really said today is Gray's time to suffer.

That said, one of the Matsuis (Matsue??) turns toward Gray as she calls out. It's all he can do to multitask for like 2 seconds with how viciously his mirror image is.]

When offering blood in penance, is it not better to bleed bit by bit?

[Well, at least that probably answers any internal pondering she might have had over which Matsui is the right one... He's a very mild person on the outside most times! But as she's getting a front row seat to see now, he can be vicious, and that same viciousness is amplified in his reflection.

The real(?) Matsui manages to get his doppelganger into a chokehold.]

—I will borrow it, if it does not mind.

[gravings]

[ Well, that answers Gray's question. But before she can begin to do anything about it, the largest, eerie face on the scythe in her hands begins to cackle. ]

Gahahaha! Didja hear that, Gray?! This weirdo is asking if I mind!

[ Gray glances to her scythe, a bit surprised at its outburst. Meanwhile, the scythe crows, tickled to the extreme. His tone is incredulous and mocking, yet his follow-up is sincere, if still rough. ]

Since you asked nicely, I'm all yours, brother. What kinda weapon do you fancy?

[sanguinary]

[ME AKI JUST SITTING HERE READING THIS TAG LIKE HELP

Matsui is also a little startled if only because he's used to object spirits being Not This... Fortunately it's not enough of a distraction for him to lose his grip, and his answer comes swiftly. THINK LATER ACT NOW.]

—A sword. Uchigatana.

[Not that he knows whether or not Gray's extremely bizarre scythe will know what that is in specific, but might as well.]

[gravings]

[ Both Gray and her scythe are western as hell, but they have at least heard of katanas through pop culture and "uchigatana" kind of?? sounds like that?? ]

Ihihihi! Don't complain if I'm not what you're picturing, alright?! Here goes nothing!

[ Gray's scythe immediately deconstructs as if by magic (because it is magic) and reforms into something like a katana — if an especially large one, because that's just how it likes to do. The eerie, ornate faces gather in miniature along the handle and in larger form to make the guard, but the blade is proud and gleaming, lethal despite its unusual appearance.

Less dramatically, Gray helpfully trots over so that she can deliver the sword safely into the right Matsui's hands... whenever there's an opening to do so. ]

[sanguinary]

[THIS IS... honestly close enough, yeah. CLOSE ENOUGH!!

Matsui will be sure to create an opportunity soon enough, violent as he is; he'll step down on his double's shoulder hard enough for something to pop, reaching for the blade.]

Thank you.

[To both Gray and her funky little magic scythe-sword thing, which he will unceremoniously bring up and then down in a precise, lethal swing. Yikes!

Even more yikes: that his gutted double does not seem to be keeling over. THIS IS PROBABLY FINE, HE'S GOT IT UNDER CONTROL--]

[gravings]

[ Gray watches this with a small amount of restlessness that originates with someone else using her weapon, but it's not like Add can be damaged, so there's really no reason to fret... Probably of more importance is the brutality of Matsui's killing technique, befitting of a former soldier. Oddly, it doesn't diminish her impression of him as an upstanding adult, even if the gore of it sends a slight chill through her as someone more accustomed to fighting spirits than the corporeal.

When the doppelganger doesn't promptly die, Gray blinks up at Matsui's face to see if he needs help? For some reason?? ]

Mr. Matsui?

[sanguinary]

[AN UPSTANDING ADULT well. He does try, at least... Even when the thing he's trying to do involves viciously murdering his double.

WHICH, SPEAKING OF. He's a spirit, and things like this aren't too unusual in their realm, so at least he puts two and two together quickly and makes a(n accurate, miraculously) guess.]

—The mirror that it came from. That likely ties it to this world. It needs to be destroyed--

[His doppelganger is not a fan of that suggestion!! Rude!! He's promptly attempting to wrestle Matsui over and pitch him to the side.]

[gravings]

[ Gray hovers a little more anxiously as the doppelganger thrashes, ready to get involved if necessary... especially with Add in the middle of everything. Gray raises her voice a little to be heard over the ambient wrestling. ]

Do you know where it is? I can try to break it.

[sanguinary]

[AMBIENT WRESTLING. Truly hilarious how Matsui can just carry on a relatively normal conversation in the midst of all the chaos but that is exactly what he does.]

Two rows down - it should be easy enough to spot.

[Because it's literally preceded by a trail of glass and blood.]

[gravings]

[ That composure is what she's come to expect of him... despite the wrestling. In any case, she's aready turning to run off. ]

Understood!

[ She doesn't need to come from a detective light novel series to figure out that the blood-and-glass trail are her ticket to success. It's really no time at all before she's running up to the offending mirror and giving it a hearty knuckle sandwich that turns it into mirror salad. ]

[sanguinary]

[A MIRROR SALAD. Goodnight sweet mirror and goodnight sweet clone along with it, since that double cracks and shatters and breaks away all the same.

Matsui in the meantime will just. Pick himself up off the ground as if he wasn't just violently attacking himself and also being attacked... and move to follow that same trail back toward her, with her weapon held carefully in hand. Whenever they bump into each other, he'll offer it back out with a little dip of his head.]

...Thank you for the assistance.

[gravings]

[ Gray brightens when she sees him alone and not WWE wrestling his clone. She'll take back her scythe gratefully, though she gets the impression from Add that he didn't mind letting Matsui handle him. She looks at his sword form curiously before allowing him to collapse into his more familiar box form. Add settles in her hand comfortably, and together they look up at Matsui. ]

I'm glad we could help. And, um, thank you for being so polite with Add. I think he likes you.

[ It's rare, what with how rude Add usually is off the bat. ]

[sanguinary]

[Despite the general CHAOS that the last few minutes of his life so rapidly devolved into, he actually manages a little smile at that.]

He was wonderful to work with. I appreciate you both; being without a weapon here is slightly more disadvantageous than it is elsewhere in the castle.

[SLIGHTLY?? He's truly just been vibing his way through though, and fortunately him being nerfed means his reflection was also nerfed, so he only ever had to worry about hand-to-hand (feral). THAT SAID as we all run to the next event:]

Let us leave this place, before anything else decides to wake up.