❪ 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

[sparsity]

[ They'd better be alive. For him, there's a lot riding on those entities who he barely understands but has to look to thanks to existing here. ]

Complicated. [ That single word leaves his mouth as if his teeth want to shred it. ] It's up ahead.

[ Their destination, and something more within reach. ]

[willrevile]

[ Jim slows as they get there, wanting immediately to compare the lights outside to within - he watches, notices the flickers don't line up, but he's not relieved yet.

It's quieter inside, Darma's message not blaring through, audible from outside sources only. He inspects the closest pod, then the next, knowing he'll never have time to check every single one, but needing to calm the anxious feeling in his chest before he darts to familiar aisles. ]

How are yours looking? [ He calls to Mikazuki, finally turning to walk towards where he knows his shipmates are. ]

[sparsity]

[ In contrast, Mikazuki bypasses every pod that doesn't hold a familiar face. He's only had so many opportunities to be altruistic in his life. He goes to the most familiar face there is at a pace that's almost a run, popping up on the balls of his feet to look in.

It seems to take forever to make sure there's no changes in the pod's constitution. No flickering lights or unstable life support. The man inside is fine. ]

The same.

[ Mikazuki sounds relieved, despite being on edge. ]

[willrevile]

[ Jim has to force himself to check the first uniformed crewman he comes to, feeling a flicker of disgust at himself for wanting to run immediately to Spock, Bones, Nyota, Hikaru.. But he feels the same relief, seeing people he's responsible for, whose names he all knows even if he doesn't have a personal relationship with each one. ]

Looks all good, here, too.

[ Finally, he sounds relieved, one hand resting on the glass of his best friend's pod. Bones looks faintly aggravated even in total suspended animation; has since day one. ]

They did something right with the power. Everything seems steady.

[sparsity]

[ It takes a long moment of just looking in, harsh features set aglow, for Mikazuki to slowly lower himself back to the deck. Of all the thing's he's experienced, this is one of the few to evoke something close to fear in him. But the longer they stay, the more obvious it is that everything in stasis is operationally sound. ]

It's all focused here. The power.

[ Darma's promise is still in tact.

But he wonders — is it costing anything? ]

[willrevile]

Good.

[ Well. One bright spot. Jim paces a little, restless, looking up at Spock, this time. Where's the smartest guy in the room when he needs him. Fucking asleep.

Come on, man. All of you. ]

.. We're going to have to try and confirm if it's on its own power, or if there's any kind of degradation happening that might eventually impact it.

[sparsity]

A station like this should have a generator room.

[ Or at the very least, some kind of large, localized power source keeping the life support and gravity going. Mikazuki isn't exactly the brains of any given operation, but he's been around enough ships and stations like this to be confident in that. ]

[willrevile]

Hopefully not all in one place, but there should be a main engineering hub near the primary core, probably where the gravity axis is.

[ SO. SHALL WE? Let's go fam.

Let's say they do some searching, possibly splitting up for a time to allow for other threads if those exist, UNTIL, lo and behold they find an appropriate room. With an accessible console, even. Heckin' finally. ]

Alright. Not quite a different language, just a different dialect, [ he says, half to himself. Definitely a tech he can understand and work with. ]

[sparsity]

[ Like, good job, Scoob. ]

Dialect?

[ Upon discovery of the room, Mikazuki let Jim go in first, finding it more natural to position himself closer to the doorway. They haven't seen a single soul outside of the stasis pods, but old habits die hard. He's not moving like he's overly concerned with threats, but his outline is more defined this way, sharper.

Whatever's going on, or out there, he wants to be prepared for it. ]

Can you understand it?

[willrevile]

[ Jim notes what Mikazuki's doing, practically standing sentry, and thinks that's just fine - it's a good instinct, and the situation is more than eerie enough to warrant it. If there is something hostile lurking in here, they're very, very good at being stealthy. ]

Yeah, [ he confirms, getting to the virtual keyboard and gently seeing what he can and can't access without bumping into a security roadblock. Best not to get himself locked out first thing. ]

Looks like... yeah. Huh. [ More tech fussing, then Jim makes a low sound, observing something. A beat later he steps back and indicates a diagram, angled so that Mika can see without needing to move if he doesn't want to. ] The area with the stasis chambers is lit up properly, locked into place. There's not even an option to put it into emergency mode. It's on a different circuit. The rest of this, though, is on low-power mode. I'm looking for an error report log now..

[sparsity]

[ Being the muscle in any given operation limits his capacity for technology, no matter how much piloting or living-in-space experience he has. But standing around doing nothing doesn't sit well with him, so he only focuses on the display when Jim brings attention to it. It might seem cursory, but he listens well enough. ]

Was it forced or did someone do it on purpose?

[willrevile]

That's what the error report should tell me.

[ Another minute or so. Takatakataka. Finally: ] I think it was a forced power down. There's no note if it was manual or an accidental failsafe in response to a problem somewhere on the station, though.

[ Jim mutters cmonnnn at the thing, and it dutifully gives him all it's willing to. ]

Almost impressive that even in this mode, it's not gonna budge with security clearances.

[sparsity]

It's not the first time it's acted weird.

[ Sometimes he wonders if the Natha run the station or if it's the other way around. Finally, he ventures further into the room, electric with anticipation in the otherwise dim surroundings, instincts flared high. ]

Maybe the problem isn't in here.

[willrevile]

Mm. [ A sound of agreement. ] I'm gonna have it run a diagnostic and send the results to my device, [ he says, and once that command is entered, he backs out of the interface and locks the terminal again.

No sense leaving it open to accidental interference. ]

Let's take a look around. There's got to be damage to the electrical conduits to make it be flickering like this.

[sparsity]

[ He offers a nod, attention already skipping from the locked panel to the next task. If there was a surge to the routes that preserved the stasis chamber, something might have gotten blown out along the way.

Gaze sliding aside, he makes to follow. ]

Did your ship have problems like this?

open star trek wiki and also a bottle of vodka

[willrevile]

Not exactly. The main energy source here is grafted together with electricity, but starships and stations in my world run off of warp cores. The cores annihilate matter and antimatter, mainly types of hydrogen, through fusion. It's a kind of nuclear energy, but ... not really.

[ Yes. ]

That energy can be run through all kinds of hardware, be stored in auxiliary power, and so on. We have emergency hydrogen reserves in the event something happens to the core, and redundant circuits and grids, but it's safest when it's one type.