⏳ 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

[salvageable]

[ wow i regret the ability to read

And oh, this introduction is suddenly veering into a territory that Dokja had been entirely unprepared for. He stalls for a moment, more out of surprise than anything else, before trying to recover from his very awkward pause. ]

I... I'm Kim Dokja.

[ Help. What about him screams friend of Yoo Joonghyuk and Han Sooyoung and how can that be changed. He looks genuinely concerned when he asks his next question. ]

They told you about me?

[sanguinary]

[The way his introduction to Dokja was Sooyoung blasting mental images of him into his head while going "I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THESE IDIOTS DON'T DIE", and Joonghyuk spilling his memories everywhere... He pauses to consider his answer to this for a second. Why is everyone in this bar so stupid.]

In ways. [GIRL HELP. At least he'll further elaborate, since he seems to realize that that isn't sufficient after a second and has no qualms about sharing things.]

I share an aspect with Han Sooyoung, and she is very loud. She has shown your face to me before. [Then, inclining his head forward a little:] I was given a memory by Yoo Joonghyuk in exchange for one that I shared with him, back when the reflecting pools were being used in such a way. You were there, as well.

[salvageable]

[ NO IT'S WORSE THAN HE THOUGHT

Can you spot the blood draining from his face, Matsui. Yeah, he knows Sooyoung is too unhinged for her own good, but sharing a whole memory with Yoo Joonghyuk? Dokja's life flashes before his eyes and he sees nothing good there. ]

What was the memory?

[sanguinary]

[HE SPOTS IT!!! HE HAS AN EYE FOR BLOOD!!!!!

While Dokja's busy witnessing the entirety of his cursed life in 500x speed, Matsui's watching his face - the blood draining from it, but also any expressions that shift across, the tilt of his brow, the look in his eye. There's a bizarre intensity to his scrutiny, like something old and alien studying an unfamiliar thing.

And then he says:]

You were enjoying a meal together.

[Help.]

[salvageable]

[ Oh.

A sullen hush falls over Dokja as he mulls over the reply. It's... not a memory he has. Not anymore, and he's struck silent by this knowledge of a new emptiness he hadn't known until now. A meal together. He wonders what that had been like. ]

Ha... I guess I should be relieved it wasn't anything embarrassing.

[ Though he probably wouldn't have remembered a good chunk of those either. Anyway, he shakes his head as if trying to clear his thoughts and get out of his sad funk. ]

But yes, the three of us are from the same world. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a familiar face shows up in this place even after the so-called destruction of our worlds.

[sanguinary]

[DOKJA your DEPRESSION... Matsui doesn't know what about this memory in particular has drawn up such a reaction, though his mind goes to a million places immediately. He doesn't ask any of the questions that bubble to the surface. He's never been a person who pries.]

An embarrassing memory is not so terrible, I think.

[It's not like he'd use it to BULLY PEOPLE-- Maybe Han Sooyoung.

But oh, fun, now it's his turn to plunge into a pool of depression! Not that it outwardly shows. He just tilts his head away so he's not staring at Dokja with his piercing lil eyes anymore.]

I was told that you were the last of the three. It is good that you have each other while you are here.

[salvageable]

[ Matsui, you are a weird little guy, I say like he's not an inch taller than Dokja.

Anyway, he finally hands the soup recipe book with its bloody bookmark back to Matsui. He'll keep this in mind if anyone else finds a creepy message in a book. For now, back to his whacky companions. ]

We've certainly been trying to help each other out while we can.

[ They actually spend more time arguing and creating misunderstandings between each other, but who has to know? ]

And hey, if you ever find yourself needing something, let me know, okay? I've been doing this for a while now.

[sanguinary]

[He IS a weird little guy! A weird little guy who just happens to be tall... It's fine.

He'll take back his freaky little single recipe broccoli soup book and its terrible potentially-blood bookmark back after that, though, closing it and tucking it away onto a pile as he turns his attention to Dokja again.]

Working together is almost always the fastest way to get through problems...

[Almost. Almost... The offer seems to catch him a little off his guard, though, and he shakes his head.]

--I will not, but I appreciate the offer. [He just won't need anything?? Apparently...] If there is anything that I may do for you in my time here, though, I will do what I can.

[salvageable]

[ Wh... HELLO? Is that any way to respond to a guy just looking to help?? ]

Wait a minute.

[ Dokja's going to call him out on this because it's just so absurd... but also kind of funny, the serious look on his face in contrast with the teasing lilt of his voice. ]

Are you trying to one up me here?

[sanguinary]

[HELP. The way he just gives Dokja a look that is full of genuine ????? at the question.]

I don't understand what you mean... I do not need assistance, but I am here to assist if anyone else is in need.

[Genuinely he doesn't see the one-uppage here. He's but a humble sword, here to serve!]

[salvageable]

What? Why wouldn't you need assistance? What if something tries to kill you?

[ Is Matsui secretly some kind of OP monster that can take down anything...

OR A ROBOT. ]

[sanguinary]

Even in such a situation, assistance would be unnecessary.

[In reality it's because he would simply perish, but it's more fun to imagine that he's an OP monster robot. MORE IMPORTANTLY:] Do you typically find yourself at the other end of a blade?

[WHY IS THIS SUCH AN IMMEDIATE CONCERN. NO ONE HAS TRIED TO KILL HIM EVEN ONCE HERE. That might be because he's unharmonized or simply too much of a weird alien to draw the attention or ire of the (many) more murderous sorts, though.]

[salvageable]

If I'm being completely honest with you, yeah, actually. I do.

[ Both from enemies and allies :sadcat:

But whew, that's enough about him! Back to you, Matsui, because Dokja is averse to talking about himself. He frowns, then lowers his voice to an almost whisper for some reason? ]

Are you that strong?

[sanguinary]

[HELP. THIS IS TRULY :SADCAT: oh my god. There's just the faintest look of concern like. Are you okay. Are You Going To Be Okay. Should he be worried. Someone help Dokja.]

Then you are in greater need of assistance than I am. [THIS IS WHY HE'S OFFERING TO HELP!!

Anyway now he's just looking confused, why are you whispering DOKJA!! A man of many weird eccentricities, it seems. He also completely pretzels the question around so he doesn't have to answer it, and instead just asks:]

Are you interested in strength?

[salvageable]

[ He dies all the time don't disrupt his routine.

Anyway, raising his hand, he waves aside that concern and steps a little closer. They're really going back and forth in trying to seize control of this conversation, huh. ]

I'm interested in you.

[ Dokja leans forward once he thinks he's invaded enough of Matsui's personal space, his eyes narrowing as if trying to get a better look (up) at this guy. ]

So no one's helped you? Ever?

[sanguinary]

[SOMEONE SHOULD DISRUPT THIS ROUTINE PROBABLY.

In any case yeah wow they really are. Uwah, Dokja is so forward... Matsui doesn't seem to react to his space being invaded, though. He doesn't lean forward or away, simply continuing to study Dokja with his freaky all-seeing (no) alien eyes.]

It's not something that I have ever required. I am a sword, after all. [A beat, and then, since he's more or less used to the questions that tend to follow:] An object-spirit. Tsukumogami. Matsui Gou, forged by Gou no Yoshihiro.

[A little inclination of his head follows, as if in proper greeting.]

[salvageable]

[ WELL THEN. Dokja raises his eyebrows in surprise. A sword. He'd have a bigger reaction if he wasn't used to reading about this sort of thing in his stories, but coming across it in person is a treat.

He straightens back out with a nod of his head, like he's satisfied with the answer because of course a sword would act this weird and say even weirder things. ]

I'm not so familiar with Japanese swords.

[ He only knows Mikazuki Munechika and that's because that sword was referenced a few times in the novel he's obsessed with. ]

Have you been in a human body for long?

[sanguinary]

[Mikazuki Munechika is always causing everyone so many fckin problems DOES YOUR NOVEL TELL YOU THAT HE IS A PAIN IN THE ASS, DOKJA!!! A TROUBLESOME GRANDPA!!!

Anyway that's about what Matsui expected because almost everyone here has no idea what he's talking about any time he starts getting into Sword Stuff, so he just nods once. As for the question:]

It has been... less than a half-year. [He had to do some quick maths because everything feels like a blink to his also old grandpa ass.] Or since my arrival here, as this body is a closer approximation to a true human form.

[Meaning he can't fuckin cheat by skipping meals or lift thrice his weight with one hand anymore because he's still UNHARMONIZED and a WEENIE.]

[salvageable]

[ NO....... HE'S JUST AN OLD SWORD..... AND A REPLICA AT THAT

But oh wow, not that long, huh. Dokja seems completely fascinated by this reveal, and he carefully turns over the information in his thoughts to process it fully.

And then he slowly nods to himself, like he's made up his mind about something as he jabs a finger against Matsui's chest!! ]

Well, now that you're in a human form, you're going to need help. That's what people do for each other, so don't try to tell me you don't need assistance.

[sanguinary]

[A REPLICA. A REPLICA JIJI HELP.

Dokja......... Matsui just gives him a look, and while his expression doesn't change much, there's something slightly withering in it. He reaches up to delicately place a hand against the one JABBING INTO HIS CHEST WITH A FINGIE, and his skin is pretty cool to the touch.]

I will not need assistance.

[He sounds very firm in this. It's not because he's a sword, but he's also cagey and simply refuses to say more about that in particular, though he does add:] Please do not concern yourself with me in the way that you would a person.

[salvageable]

[ Can't believe Matsui said the magic words to leave him the hell alone only for Dokja's brain to fire backwards and hear the opposite.

It's a gift. ]

Concern myself with you in the way that I would a person. Got it.

[ And to prevent any protests, Dokja dusts off his hands on his coat and takes a step back, like he's ready to leave after interpreting this conversation in the way only he wants to interpret it. ]

Well then, Matsui Gou, stay safe until the next time I see you.

[sanguinary]

[HELP. DOKJA. HELP DOKJA NO. DOKJA GET BACK HERE. BE NORMAL DOKJA!!!!

Matsui doesn't step forward to make up the distance or even try to argue, but he does just give this man a grave, near-mournful sort of look in response. There is a true Depth Of Melancholy And Existential Exhaustion in his eyes, despite the fact that his expression is still relatively mild.

But he's just dipping his head a little after that, the gesture one of polite parting.]

...Do take care. There are many dangers to be found here, and I don't wish to see you harmed.

[salvageable]

[ Damn, what an unnerving look and it doesn't help that it feels familiar. But Dokja refuses to dive into the melancholy vibes and instead, chooses to keep things light-hearted.

By lying. ]

I've never once been harmed.

[ Says the guy who has so far in Horos/Kenos been stabbed, had his head bashed in, had arrows shot at him, was choked to death, and was choked and whipped.

But Matsui doesn't know that! Anyway, with a small wave, Dokja departs. ]