❪ event ❫ khalo? can you hear me?

[natha]

In normal circumstances, this would have been near the time in which you're called upon to greet the newly awakened. Unfortunately, I speak to you to inform that we must postpone that — there is trouble on your horizon. What, I cannot see for sure. We shall continue to monitor the situation, however — we - ... we — [feed cuts off.] OLYMPIAN PRESERVATION     The city of Olympia is preparing the send-off of its most prized artifact: the heart of the ancient dragon, Ysverai. In doing this, they've transformed the palace court into an exhibition detailing the centuries-old war between Wyver and Olympia. Sculptures of Nithor the Exalted and his men and women in clean, white marble, while their armors are polished in perfect gold. Among Nithor are the sculptures of stallions in all shapes and sizes that also aided in the great war. Further in the exhibition, one may also find other artifacts of much older weaponry, rusted by its time in the earth, and items found from a time when humans feared the dragons. The Royal Guard has increased its numbers in wake of such a public event, particularly because the heart will be in display also. The heart is not what one might expect it to be: about the size of an average human, the heart's core is surrounded in stone, a red glow emitting from its still beating core. If that were not unsettling enough, one might also find that lingering around this particular exhibit will have undue affects on one's inhibitions. You'll notice your heart has fallen into sync with the organ, and your more selfish desires will come forth. Things that have long been buried will rise up and place you in a state of unease, encouraging paranoia about your companions intentions. Allow it to fester, and one will carry this feeling with them long after you've left the scene. It's probably a good thing this is leaving Olympia — perhaps it's a source of so much conflict you've endured. It's easy to become mesmerized by all the historical artifacts that are present in Olympia's exhibition. Some even seem mystical or, like Ysverai’s heart, to hold unspeakable powers. Others are just a little eerie. Either way, Olympia prides itself in its generosity and their grand displays, and so refugees are urged to learn more about their artifacts by spending the night in Palace Court. Though, someone should probably mention that there are rumors of strange, almost occult things happening around these relics at night. People speak of armored soldiers casting shadows that have the ability to walk on their own, or gemstones that catch the moonlight in a certain way and show you visions. But those are just silly ghost stories, right? TALL TALES OF KHALO VILLAGE     Because of Khalo's proximity to Wyver, it's no surprise that they would catch wind of the peace talks between Wyver and Olympia. In response, for the first time in centuries, Khalo Village has willingly granted passage to outsiders — but visitors will immediately find out that one cannot just simply walk into the village. Visitors will need to inhale the smoke of a fyrra herb in order to enter the premises without falling into slumber. Khalo is notably different than what refugees are used to. Visitors, specifically refugees, will find that they are exceedingly accommodating. The Khali are very intrigued by the outsiders, thus they're treated with much respect and given instant access to some of the best lounges and fyrra the village has to offer. In exchange, the village is interested in hearing about your journey thus far. Whether it be through a conversation with another individual or the Khali themselves, they'll very likely to have been eavesdropping and recording the tales of their exploits. Why, exactly? Perhaps it will not be immediately clear, but if you happened upon a venasou, a tamed Khali creature, it may have guided you to their Enchanted Library. Upon entering the library, visitors will notice that it is quite the happening place — but not because it's occupied by the Khali, but because there seems to be an assembly of magical quills seemingly writing on their own. The quills are mostly undisturbed by the intrusion and will not stop writing even if parchment is taken from it; it will simply produce another piece of paper and continue its tales. If you happen to read the parchment, you may notice that there is a daunting similarity between your story and the ones being written here. Tales of Thesa birthing new races and sending them from the sky, for example, are very popular in Khalo Village. They mark July 15th as the day in which the Moon Goddess, Thesa, created more people in her image and brought them to El Nysa as saviors. The coincidences don't end there: specifics about your home world might be found in the writings if you search deeply enough — but it's not without its exaggerations. These stories are given all sorts of poetic and literary forms, from short stories to limericks, biographies to something similar to haiku. If asked, the Khali will inform visitors that the enchanted library has access to vague parts of your memories, and thus it is duty-bound to record. The Khali have not seen stories as strange as the ones being made by refugees, which is largely why they are interested in them. NOTE: This is entirely optional! You may make up your own "stories" (fanfiction) and it could be as accurate or inaccurate, or as serious or silly as you'd like. While tales of the Thesa's descendants are still being written, visitors of the Enchanted Library might find intrigue in the more complete works — KING AND KIN. If one is willing to delve deep, they may also find parts of Wyver's past that have been removed from their own archives. These pages will recount the tales of Shanrian and Rasyc. Though a lot of the narrative seems to divide at certain points in the story, it becomes obvious with some quick reading that Rasyc is not only the son of Shanrian, but that he glorifies the Wyver of old, more bloodthirsty and brutal than it is today. Unlike his father, he does not take kindly to Olympia and the threat they will always pose for their people. He has not forgotten Olympia's past sins and he believes that, in his foolish quest for peace, the king has gone soft and no longer possesses the real will to fight. His present voice in affairs of state is not a loud one, as he chooses to speak in whispers and move in the dead of silence. In these quiet murmurings, he boasts of his unwavering belief in the power and dignity of his people. Of how they should all return to what they once were — the kingdom, its citizens, and naturally the father who he had once admired greatly. Though perhaps it can be argued that any estranged son would wish the same. It's difficult to pinpoint what becomes political and what is and always will be more personal for him. But, it hardly matters. It's clear that Rasyc will stop at nothing to achieve his objectives, even if it means never returning to place he calls home. Even if it means turning his back on his own father, Shanrian, King of Wyver... DRAGONFIRE. While tales of the Thesa's descendants are still being written, visitors to the Enchanted Library might find intrigue in the more complete works. In particular, tales of Ysverai, the last of Wyver's great high dragons. Ysverai is most commonly known for being slain by Olympia’s past king and legendary hero, Nithor, but here in Khalo he is depicted in another light. Ysverai is known to the Khali people as a wise being, old as the first inhabitants that walked El Nysa. The creature spoke in the common tongue to the early settlers, guiding them to refuge when his kin began to dominate the land at the cost of its own isolation. It ultimately becomes a tale of sacrifice, for its stand with Nithor became a testament against the Olympian Empire's long reaching influence. At the bottom, there is a quotation: Your hearts will fill with greed and malice the moment my own stops beating. Take care in the Eye of the Storm. Find strength in one another, before it is too late. It seems to end there. Refugees are naturally allowed to question the natives. However, keep in mind that many of their replies will seem more like speculation than fact. But maybe that can be fun too? If you have no interest in the library and the tales they've woven, feel free to explore any of the other areas of interest. Khalo Village is thrilled to be open for you all. THOSE THAT SEEK PEACE, AND THOSE THAT SEEK --     The morning of the 20th is marked by fairly dismal weather. The sky is overcast and a downpour seems imminent. Regardless of the poor forecast, those who signed up to assist in this mission will be required to come early in order to receive their briefing. Members of Group A: ▸ Jon Snow (song_of_ice) ▸ Daenerys Targaryen (dorzalta) ▸ Loras Tyrell (triplerose) ▸ Terra (earthy) ▸ Alisaie Leveilleur (adelphoi) ▸ Solider: 76 (personalwar) ▸ Ardyn Izunia (daemonized) ▸ Mai(maipokerface) ▸ Olivier Armstrong (wallsofbriggs) ▸ Atsushi Nakajima (gekkajuu) Members of Group B: ▸ Kale (kaleorbekaled) ▸ Diana Prince (wondie) ▸ Pheonix Wright (objectionattourney) ▸ Revolver Ocelot (shashka) ▸ Frederick (pebblestone) ▸ John Sheppard (impavid ▸ Ianto Jones (torchwoodteaboy) ▸ Lena Oxton (quevarly) ▸ Allura (quintessent) Due to the rain, members of Group A will have to immediately stop by the checkpoint at the East Watchtower. Additionally, the Royal Guard and Knightryders are well-prepared with extra cloaks for those who may require it. They also will provide basic refreshments such as water and bread. People are encouraged to take what they need prior to their departure on this mission. The checkpoints are a bit far between, after all. Members of the envoy will also be encouraged to utilize this time to become familiar with one another. Maybe some introductions are in order? You never know who will end up having your back... For both groups, the paths will be relatively straightforward with evenly spaced checkpoints along the way. The only issue seems to be the downpour, really. The rain is unforgiving and the roads easily become unstable and increasingly difficult for the carriage to be drawn through. Hence, there may be more than one occasion where you will be expected to lend a hand in prying out its wheels from a particularly pesky (and muddy) pothole. Or perhaps you will be called upon by a fellow guard to assist in getting a particularly stubborn creature out of the path ahead of you. Seems like it may be a longer journey than you expected. Dirtier, too. While weathering the conditions may have been a bit tiring, this journey isn't too bad, right? Well, maybe not. GROUP A. Once the carriage gets through the worst of the terrain and finally manages to depart from the watchtower, it won't be long until the group is met with a physical roadblock. A large tree trunk will be set down the center of the road, acting as a blockade. But, before the group can react or begin crafting a plan around this obstruction, the carriage will be attacked without warning. At first, it's unclear where the attack comes from or from whom, but you don't have the leisure to deliberate this. You hear one of your fellow guards mention something about bandits frequenting these parts, but maybe there's more to it? Either way, your task is clear: protect the artifact, Nithor's skull, and fight the bandits off. You'll be encouraged to try and capture them so that they may later be turned and questioned by the authorities. GROUP B. With clear motives to restock and collect a few more materials for the carriage, it's evident that the envoy will appear restless to arrive at the second checkpoint. However, despite their unspoken delight at seeing the South Outpost from a distance, it's clear something has gone awry. There will be several hooded figures awaiting them right where the mud path meets the cobblestone of the Outpost's road. Soon, several more of these figures will come to flank them from both sides. While they seem like bandits, at least from their physical appearance, there is something far more polished in their movements. They will be attacking the envoy in concise, practiced formations. For those who are more perceptive, it becomes obvious that they are moving around and acting as decoy to one central figure. This member is likely the "leader" of their group, but no matter how one may try to close the distance between themselves and this mysterious leader, someone will constantly get in the way of that. The fighting also seems to act as a distraction since by the time everything is cleared up... only two things are missing. The leader of this group of bandits and more importantly — Ysverai's heart. NOTE: Those RNG'd to thread out the capture and questioning of the bandits will have starters below. For everyone else that signed up, you will still have the opportunity to capture the assailants even though they were not selected to thread the interrogation; you are free to make up your NPCs with the same basic guideline: they will not reveal their motive or their organization. You may turn them in to authorities (Wyver or Olympia or otherwise) or find creative ways to get rid of them. FINAL OOC NOTE     To reiterate: you may use this log as a general mingle for everything from the May Outline, including all Khalo Village activities. In other words, your top-levels don't necessarily have to be related to the prompts written here. An AC-eligible thread in which your character participates in anything mentioned in the May Outline and/or Khalo Village location page may be submitted for 2 REP POINT FOR EITHER OLYMPIA OR WYVER. SUBMIT THE THREAD FOR OLYMPIA OR WYVER HERE OR HERE RESPECTIVELY BY June 10th 11:59 PM EST. For those who participated in this month's plot-related portion, to receive IC recognition for it, a summary of the thread must be submitted HERE by June 8th 11:59 PM EST. Please direct all queries to the question thread below. Thank you, and have fun! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs ● bestiary taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp ● quest bulletin calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[impavid]

Your faith in me is heartwarming.

[ Honestly. Knives can be used to kill people, you know.

John squints as the carriage slows and walks up and around it to the front. Then he pauses. ]

Was there a convention for robed idiots I wasn't told about today? Because I'm starting to feel under-dressed.

[ This does not look like a welcoming party out waiting for them, he's just saying. ]

[objectionattorney]

Huh?

[Turning around, Phoenix looked over his shoulder. A sudden dropping feeling forming in his gut as he saw the lineup of robed figures blocking the gate to the checkpoint.

Did he really just jinx it? What the heck!?]

Maybe they're guards from Wyver. They are more magically based, right?

[And yet his own posture was tense. Suddenly finding himself hugging the staff in a way he hadn't since he first gotten the stupid thing.]

[impavid]

[ Honestly, he warned you about the cliches. ]

Guess we'll find out in a minute.

[ So this is John, casually palming his knife and clasping his hands behind his back as he approaches the... line. ]

Hey folks, it's been a long trip so far so I hope you've got some tea ready --

[ Which is about as far as he gets before they begin to move. ]

[objectionattorney]

[Perhaps it was simply John's words earlier. But suddenly Phoenix had felt surprisingly tense regarding the situation. Slowly shirking back, closer towards the heart and the warm light it gave even through the tarp covering it.

As John approached the line of people seemed unflinching. And as he spoke there was no answer. They simply continued to stand there. If the bottoms of their faces weren't slightly visible beneath their hoods, one would almost believe they were cloaked statues.]

U-um! H-hey! Maybe it isn't smart getting to close to them?!

[Phoenix shouted out nervously towards John. His eyes shifting to the surrounding woods. His hands were trembling as they gripped onto his staff.

Please let these nerves be due to John attempting to scare him earlier.]

[impavid]

Pretty sure it is, since none of my weapons are ranged.

[ He can only stab them if he gets close, Phoenix!

There's a few seconds of uncertainty, with John slowly moving closer and one bandit moving slowly closer to him.

Then it erupts into violence. He sees one trying to move past him toward the carriage and grabs for them, swings them violently back toward the rest and turns the blade of his dagger toward another. ]

Stay with the heart!

[ Which means, stay in the carriage because he's assuming you can't fight. ]

[objectionattorney]

[...Crud.

Oh crud! Oh crud! Oh crud!

This was happening! This was actually, genuinely, happening!

Gulping back, Phoenix was quick to back up in reflex to Johns' shout. Scurrying his way closer towards the heart, his back mere inches from being pressed up to the tarp that was covering it. He was gripping harshly at the staff in his hands at this point, holding it to his chest with some sort of exhilarated anticipation of the oncoming danger.

He was, quite obviously, an easy target.

And perhaps the other cloaked figures had known that. For as John had charged towards them they had braced themselves for an attack, the front few seeming to draw out their own weapons as those along the sides seemed to start charging up a series of spells.

It was fairly obvious at this point how very outnumbered the lot of them actually were.]

[impavid]

[ Magic is just cheating.

Still, John has been more outnumbered than this before and survived. The real problem is managing the number of people so they aren't all on him and once, and... managing the rest of their party who can't defend themselves.

He's more likely to get himself killed rescuing someone than looking after himself, but that's... really a hazard of his day job as well.

The bright side, really, is that they have weapons! Perfect, he'd love some more weapons. One dagger wasn't really cutting it. He ducks out of the way as one of the bandits swings at him, grabs it to shield himself from another then calmly slits its throat and lets it drop -- reaching to grab the blade it was carrying as he slams himself into another. ]

Phoenix! If you're any good with that stick start using it!

[ The staff. If the staff does something, Phoenix, make it do that! ]

This character was featured in a fighting game

[objectionattorney]

[He is so sorry John! But this staff is nothing more than a fancy looking stick! Obviously he has failed you!

But in all seriousness, he was choking up fairly badly. The closest situation to something like this he had ever experienced in the past was the time he had to ride a dragon. Before then he always solved all of his problems diplomatically.

He was just a simple lawyer after all!

But as those that managed to get past John had slowly approached, he bit back at his fears. His shoulders tensing and hands shaking as he held the staff tightly. They won't stop getting closer until he does something about it after all.

All right! Fighting is better than dying! Here goes nothing!

Pushing himself up from the heart the 5"9' 180lb man pummeled his way towards the small group of shamans. Wielding swinging his staff as he shouted out the first thing he could think of.]

Nnnghaa--O-OBJECTION!!!!

[Oh hey. He managed to land his staff against one of them. Though really his chance of winning against this group at this point was most likely impossible.

Meanwhile, as easily as John was able to take down the fighters of the group, it left just enough time for the mages to charge themselves up. A series of red flames appearing in the sky around them, and launching their way directly towards him.]

oh no

[impavid]

[ What's the point in having a fancy looking stick if it doesn't do anything?

At least Phoenix is hitting people with it.

Although -- did he just yell objection? John glances across in confusion when he clocks the motion of the hands of the mages and looks up.

He curses, audibly, and hurls himself out of the way of the red flames, in the vague direction of Phoenix so he can tackle one of the men near him out of range. ]

Look out!

[ Fire is bad. He rolls to keep the guy he grabbed down and makes to try and knock him out. ]

i am so sorry

[objectionattorney]

[So sorry John. As fancy as this stick looks it's mostly used to support a poor man's bad back as he goes by foot between countries.

Despite what was wielding a weapon, Phoenix felt absolutely helpless as John made a quick dive for the shaman in order to save him. His eyes widening in fear as the realism of just how dangerous this whole situation was flashed through his mind.]

A-ah... Are... Are you all right?

[He could feel himself trembling. He had been in dangerous situations before but this was something else entirely. They could both really die right now.

Despite his panicking, he did his best to keep a firm grasp on his staff, quickly glancing about in order to sum up the extent of the situation.

The mages were already preparing for a second raid, their magic charging up, sparking small flames all around them as the few offensive shamans who haven't been knocked out yet slowly began to get up. At this point they were surrounded on all sides, the rest of the group scattered as it remained just the two of them and the broken cart with the large heart in it.

No lies. They were looking pretty screwed.]

... Oh crud.

[Sighing out, Phoenix once more looked back to John to see if he was responsive. Slowly backing up towards him as he mumbled out.]

Any other fancy tricks up your sleeves Mr.Movie-Fan? Because I'm pretty sure we're going to need them.