❪ event ❫ THE DESCENT: PART ONE -- the overflow.

[natha]

THE PROLOGUE     Your sleep on the night of the 15th is not a restful one, unfortunately. It’s unclear whether you are in a state of half-wakefulness, or dreaming. The voices you hear certainly sound very real. What is it, Sael? —Is everyone asleep?! Every one, yes. Sael, it appears you do not have good news to deliver...? N-No! I don’t know how it slipped past us, but there’s something powerful coming this way. Something hostile. I can barely keep the core systems online! ... I don't know what to do... I see... and we cannot protect Thesa and Alria in addition to transferring the Refugees to Olympia. This force, they waited for this moment. They knew I have been Intervening, and that I have become weak from such Interventions— ... We've been had. It cannot be helped. To save the Refugees on the Stations, we must eject the awoken unto El Nysa. My remaining energy shall go into shielding Thesa— left defenseless, every being we have saved on this station will perish... Sael, where is the ideal location for the landing? Hmm. There aren’t any people within a ten mile radius of The Outlook, and there shouldn’t be any for a few more days. I think that’s the best location right now. Very well. Instruct Zasere and Roman to begin preparations for an emergency eject. This is the only way we can save everyone. I am counting on you to ward off the enemy on the space front. The rest... is up to our Refugees. The alarms are blaring. It shouts against your eardrums, calling you to wake again. This time, you are in new pod, strapped down completely and cushioned tightly against the walls. In truth, you had no idea when you’d gone to sleep, but it is reminiscent of when you had been saved from the force of the Storm. A voice greets you when you come to, while the conversation between Darma and Sael is still fresh on your mind. Despite their voices playing like an old tune in your memory, you still know it is something that happened. Something has gone terribly wrong. You hear Darma speak, her voice loud in your head. Fellow Refugee, I wake you with regrettable news. A force equal to our own is attempting to engage Thesa, no doubt to steal the souls contained here. My energy is near depleted with this last Intervention, so I cannot send you to the grounds safely as originally intended. However, there is hope yet.This power shall instead shield Thesa and Alria — and believe in me when I swear no one shall be hurt. Your loved ones are safe with us. —Unfortunately, that is at your expense. Your descent will not be an easy one. This pod that contains you shall pierce through El Nysa's atmosphere and land you on an island west of Olympia, simply called The Outlook. Travel east. Find the West Outpost, then continue east until you find the Olympian North Gate. There is a method to this madness. You shall be sent in waves. The inhumanly strong shall be first. The parachute will soften the landing, but I am aware of all your capabilities. The first wave will survive the drop, and will work tirelessly to secure the others. Find your bearings, and ensure the safety of the second wave. They are the healers and medics. Catch their pods, ease their landings, make certain that they shall not be harmed, because you will need them for your wounds. The third wave are your strongmen. They shall help clear the debris and take people to safety, making way for the fourth wave, those can conjure magic to help. Bring everyone to a safe distance. A supply drop will follow soon after; it shall contain tents and tools that will be useful for the long night. The fifth and sixth waves are largely vulnerable humans. With your combined efforts, you shall survive this great misfortune. Forgive us, Refugee. Leave the Moons to us, my promise to you is still in tact— focus on what you can do for others like you. Helping at least two (2) Refugees will earn you one (1) Natha REP. Threads must be AC length to qualify, and can be submitted HERE by JULY 31st. THE DESCENT     FIRST WAVE. The instructions are clear. Those who are a part of the First Wave should be equipped with physical strength and fortitude to survive the drop or the power to regenerate and heal their own wounds. While the pods are already designed to cushion some of the impact, as this is the first group, it will likely to be the most jarring. In all of the waves, some of the pods will malfunction and offer no cushion at all. They will be expected to quickly find their bearings. Their mission isn’t simply just landing, after all. The first wave will be expected to help the next wave, and the wave after that. Whether through their abilities or brute strength, they will be expected to help soften the landing for those who are falling. They will also be expected to pry open hatches, carry people to safety, and to just... survive. It’s not always easy being first. SECOND WAVE. Within the next hour, it’s time for the Second Wave to make their descent. You were selected based upon your aptitude for healing and/or being able to administer first aid. Perhaps you can help the tired and weary. Maybe those who have landed have have strength, but no stamina. Either way, it may be unwise to exhaust all their abilities at once. The night is long, and you may want to conserve their energy for the next waves to come. At least you’ll have help in getting settled. THIRD WAVE. Akin to the First Wave, the Third Wave will possess some durability, and some manner of strength, making you a reliable ally. Especially in a time of crisis... Or so we hope. While the landing is tough, and some of you may need first aid. As soon as you’re all healed up, you’ll have no time to dawdle. Your help is required. “Please help those still trapped in pods. Carry those unconscious to safety. Lift debris, and rescue all you can.” May be a vague message still stuck in the back of your head. Something whispered to you while you were just waking. Well, might as well roll with it. It’s the best shot you have, after all. FOURTH WAVE. Those in the Fourth Wave, as Darma projects, were selected due to the versatility of their abilities. No one expects one man to do the same as the next. Rather, that’s precisely the point: to be different. To be able to accomplish something unique. While one individual may be blessed with powers that assist in putting out fires, another may have the ability to shield those from oncoming debris. Maybe one even has the ability to channel all of these. Regardless, it’s up to you and your quick wits to see what tasks are open. It’ll take some coordination, especially as there are more people mixing into the fray, but, you can do it, can’t you? FIFTH WAVE. If you are in the Fifth Wave it is likely that you have a specific power or ability. One that isn’t easily channeled or called upon. Or, perhaps, you were merely placed here for insurance. Whatever the case if, your expertise will presently be put to the test. Maybe you’re quite proficient in survival skills, and you’re already eyeing the supplies that were dropped between the Fourth Wave and now. Goods all ready to be salvaged. Okay, maybe some can’t, but as they say, “it’s the thought that counts.” Besides, the injured from earlier certainly need a space to rest, and camp isn’t going to make itself. Regardless, maybe you feel more comfortable joining in the efforts to assist those who still require it. Whatever it is, you are sure to find your place and use. Darma obviously held the same faith. FINAL WAVE. The Final Wave is fortunate in a variety of ways. With Thesa Station a bit more stabilized, Darma utilizes the last bit of her powers in insuring that these last remaining pods are met with the softest landing, right beside the fifth, that is. The fragility of life is nothing she is unfamiliar with, after all. Still, that isn’t to say nothing is expected of you. Most of the individuals that have dropped earlier will likely be exhausted. An hour stretched between each one, makes several hours for the first couple of waves. They'll need a place to relax. You will act as the final group of helpers. Settle into whatever role feels best for you. Are you an excellent cook? Great at rationing supplies? Perhaps, you have a secret skill in ______ that might come in handy here? Or, maybe, despite the gentler landing you still managed to get hurt. The sky's the limit, and you got this! Meanwhile, in the distant kingdom of Olympia, the Empress and her loyal subject discuss matters late into the night... I’ll have the results of that dragon toxin study ready for you soon, Your Highness. I just need a few helpers to— oh wow, is that a meteor shower? Oh yes, it appears so. How beautiful.. hehe. Let us thank Thesa for this blessing. GATHER YOUR BEARINGS     All in all, the descent lasts for nearly seven hours. After the deployment of the last wave of refugees, it’s only natural that you may be feeling pretty worn out. A. Within the remains of the pods, Refugees will find basic camping supplies such as small tents, sleeping bags, and compasses. Not all of the supplies remain intact, thanks to the impact of the crash. But, sharing resources will ensure there is enough for everyone to rest for the night. Can you really in good conscience leave that stranger next to you without shelter? B. Although you may be tired after such a life-threatening ordeal, there is still work to be done to ensure your survival. Fortunately, it works out because now there are plenty of empty hands. There are stray debris and metal parts that should be collected and disposed of. There's firewood that needs to be collected, and campfires to upkeep. The nights in the Outlook are particularly chilly, and so it will be imperative to keep warm! C. Your clothes are tattered or too bloodied to sleep on with comfortably. Fortunately, Darma thought ahead. There will be various types of clothing provided, mostly robes that resemble her own in earthy tones, all to help them camouflage you for your next big adventure. FINAL OOC NOTE     This INTRO event will be broken up into three parts! Please keep this in mind when plotting your threads/tag load. PART 3 Will be up on JULY 22ND, at 6 PM EST. We will not provide an additional CAPTCHA for this overflow. Players are advised to move threads to an overflow post on their character journals in the event this overflow gets close to CAPTCHA. These threads remain eligible for AC, AC Rewards, and REP. The NETWORK is currently down, as Sael must concentrate all of his efforts on warding off the invading force. Characters may still message each other's personal IC inboxes. Submit two (2) AC-eligible threads from this log for one (1) Natha Orbiter REP point here by JULY 31ST. Recommended Listening: Alex & TOKYO Rose PART ONE | PART ONE (overflow) | PART TWO | PART THREE QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● world ● map ● reputation ● npcs taken ● reserves ● application calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

Anemone

[winddaughter]

[previous top-level]

Keith

[winddaughter]

"I can judge it if I feel like it," she replies, matching his tone for no reason other than to get under his skin. "What do you know? I could be the only one here capable of judging you. We're all from different worlds, right? You don't know anything about me."

Keeping people at arm's length, it's what she does.

She jerks her head around though, because lowkey or not, his insult makes its mark.

She stands up out of her crouch in one, swift motion, making sure not to bump her head on the pod, her arms crossed in something like defiance.

[emblazes]

He near-stumbles back at her surge of confidence, even if that's what he'd been metaphorically prodding her for all along. Moreover, she does have a point; maybe she's psychic and has already gauged his abilities? She should've found something useful in that, even though his abilities are more or less, in sum: human.

His brows have found a permanent slope, furrowed in irritation despite bringing this on himself.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Complete with a sigh, as if to further smooth things over by being continuously grating.

[winddaughter]

Good. His irritation eases her, as warped as it may be. She can work with this. She can pull up her mantle of fake confidence and avoid any of those dumb emotions like concern. She's not nearly in the mindset to talk about herself.

She still wants to scream. She wants to claw at her head and yell and just be alone to collect herself until all those feelings are completely drained out of her. It's the only way she'll make it to Olympia.

But clearly he won't let her have that, so she pushes it all down and smirks.

"I suppose it wasn't entirely awful." She puts a foot to the edge of the pod and levers herself out and hops to the ground, arms still crossed. "So what, you're gonna save me now? Tough luck. No one down here is capable of saving me." That job already belongs to someone else.

[emblazes]

Just keep distracting, just keep distracting. Soon Olympia will be just as normal as...well, whatever it is she's used to on a daily basis. He's glad she's not immediately throwing herself down and having an extended tantrum...he's glad for a few things at the moment, none to be savored, however.

How pushy. Is that pushy? She's kinda pushy.

"I don't think I can do that right now anyway."

He lacks his lion, as well as any semblance as to what the utter heck is going on, barring that dreamlike explanation he received.

"We're all in the same boat -- I think."

Maybe not everyone-everyone, but within reason. Moreover, he does give her a proper once-over, just to assess whether or not she's hurt at all. She appears to be okay, he doesn't think to ask either. If she were in pain, there'd hardly be so much room for that cockiness.

He assumes.

"If you're fine, we should move somewhere safer."

[winddaughter]

Well, at least he doesn't think himself a godsend. If that were the case, she'd probably leave, but not with him.

"Alright. Do you actually know where you're going?" She raises a brow.

(She would be so much worse if she was injured.)

[emblazes]

Nope, she's fallen into the correct paladin's metaphorical arms...

"I just got here."

So, that should be rhetorical. He does at least have his rations -- which he's slinging under an arm. A proper clearing should do....

"And I don't have a map, so I don't know much of anything about this place.

At least he's honest.

[winddaughter]

He...

He just got here?

"You..."

That's it. She doesn't have anything to say. Her head drops forward to hang for a moment as she just laughs it off, quietly, under her breath. She might be better off without him, but she supposes if anything tries to come and take a bite out of them, he can nibbled get on, and she can use it as a distraction.

Yeah.

She can work with this.

She pulls her head back up. "So we just pick a direction and go? There's gotta be signs of people moving somewhere. It's not like this was the first wave."

She starts to walk.

[emblazes]

Sorry to disappoint. There's a twitch to his brow, but he says nothing as further confirmation. It's rhetorical, he supposes.

"Yeah, it's not like we have a map."

At least, he hadn't found any wedged in his rations. He'll walk alongside her, granting her freedom enough to lead -- sort of.

"Did the voice tell you anything specific-? Before you landed?"

[winddaughter]

Well, she's used to people who disappoint her. He wouldn't be the first, and he sure as hell won't be the last.

Remembering things that "the voice" says is difficult though, but it causes her to stop walking and glance up at the sky in contemplation.

"...head east?" She frowns. "I don't know which direction that is."

[emblazes]

H A R S H.

He takes a step-or-so ahead of her as she pauses to reflect. Her answer...isn't at all what he expects. There's a growing frown as proof.

"Before that." It's dismissive. "Forget it, let's just find somewhere reasonable to make camp."

He'll start ahead with that, taking for granted that she'll tag along.

Jane

[winddaughter]

"I don't know," she admits, her aggression slipping away to a quiet fear.

She moves just enough so that Jane can see the injection point to the left of her neck. White against her skin and sticking out. Her expression falls.

"I don't have the medication here. I don't know what else to do."

[dodgingbullets]

Now this is something Jane finds quite interesting. All of a sudden, this pain the girl speaks of doesn't look like it's from the crash landing.

Her brows furrow at the sight of the injection point. She finds herself somewhat disturbed with questions for her own intrigue before she decides there is no time to be disturbed.

"Have you ever been in this situation before? ...What is the medicine, exactly?"

[winddaughter]

"I always have it with me. Or... nearby." Or someone gets it. She's been in such a haze, she never really knew.

"I don't know what it's made out of." Which is a good thing, in all reality. It would've made her sick if she really knew. "They gave me something mild on this station. I didn't ask what it was. I thought we'd be up there for longer."

She should have asked more questions.

[dodgingbullets]

"And you don't have it with you," she asks, though not in the tone of a question - her words hold more of the weight of defeat.

She looks down for a moment, and it really does only last a moment. Much like her confidence in her abilities, her chin isn't quite accustomed to being held any way other than up high.

"Well," she takes in a breath as she peers up at the girl. Her eyes are as intense as they normally are, but her demeanor is softened. The curves of her mouth even turn upwards somewhat.

"There are people at camp who could help you with your situation a lot better than I could." She swallows her pride at that confession, then she holds out a hand, "but I know I could help you get there safely."

[winddaughter]

"I don't... I didn't have a lot with me when the--" She hesitates, "--Storm came." Not that she had the medication on her in the past, she just knew how to find it.

If she knew how much it took Jane to admit to her inability to help, Anemone probably would have appreciated it. It slips past her attention though, her focus primarily on the dull throbbing of her head.

"...Okay," she murmurs. She stares at the hand a moment longer, unmoving, and then slowly reaches out to take it.

Some Jerk (Rhys)

[winddaughter]

[Ha. There's a sea anemone? She finds that almost funny, given what's running through her blood.]

No. Like the flower.

[Disappearance of hope...]

I guess maybe the color is similar though, so you didn't lose points for that.

her icon makes her look like an octopus

[rhygret]

Oh. Uh...thanks? I didn't know there was a flower or anything. Huh.

[ The More You Know, etc. except for what it actually means in the language of flowers. If he knew that it'd be more awkward. ]

I'm guessing you don't dye it then?

poor unfortunate rhys

[winddaughter]

[she's not about to tell him]

I was born with it this way.

[She flips a hand through it and smirks. Because that's what should be done with this kind of hair.]

I'm sure we could dye yours though.

IT'S SAAAD...BUT TRUE

[rhygret]

N, that's--I like my hair, thank-you.

[ Rhys holds up his hands and shakes his head. ]

Now if it's styling you're talking about, well. I might have a tip or two.

[winddaughter]

...A tip for me or a tip for you?

[She's momentarily derailed because she actually seems vaguely curious. It's probably a good thin, since she's was starting to picture he hair as different shades of color in neon.]

[rhygret]

[ Rhys only has canon skin options for his arm's paint job okay he's not into cotton-candy pink like some people ]

You? Couple of reverse French braids, maybe a stylish cut? Those guys won't know what hit 'em.

[ Guys her age...presumably... ]

[winddaughter]

[She blinks.]

...That. Doesn't sound too awful.

[rhygret]

Thank you. Trust me, I know my way around a good haircut. I bet if you can find someone to style it for you it'll look great.

[ And not just because he's the one who gave her the advice! ]

[winddaughter]

Oh, so you can't do it, you can only make commentary.