❪ event ❫ hour of ruin

[natha]

HOUR OF RUIN     Sometime after midnight, after preparations have been put aside in favor of drinks and rest, a thunderous beating of wings shatters the air — the High Dragon Ysverai, once again risen. The sound echoes high off Namarak Mountain, but travels easily to both Wyver and Olympia: scream after scream rends the still night, as though a creature were dying rather than being born again. Having only had days to plan their defense against the creature, Olympia and Wyver snatch up their arms. The Royal Guard and the Knightryders can be seen on their steeds hurrying through the cities, because Ysverai doesn't remain isolated at the mountain's peak for long. There are pictures of Ysverai in abundance throughout both cities, but the creature that circles in the sky looks nothing like the majestic creature spoken of in history books. Even from far below, wounds and lacerations can be seen marring what should be smooth scales, and blood falls with every beat of the dragon's wings. The damage becomes more clear when moonlight illuminates Ysverai, revealing the rotting dragon for all to see. The sight of flesh peeling away and thick blood where it oozes from his cracked, greyish hide is as frightening as the power he possesses. REASON'S TRANSCENDENCE     Mad from the anguish of his forced revival, Ysverai will show none of his renowned wisdom or compassion, mindless and seeking to inflict his pain onto whatever emerges in his path. His very presence creates chaos: animals (Olympia | Wyver) domesticated and wild, flee from the merest hint of his approach, panicked and stampeding in wild droves. The reason is obvious: organic matter exposed too long to his presence begins to rot and decay. A field he lands in rots and lies fallow. Buildings crack and crumble, their supports pitted and corroded as though they've been left in disrepair for years. Even the ground that Ysverai walks upon is tainted; a corrosive sludge bubbles up in his massive, clawed footsteps, the ground beneath him putrefied and toxic, oozing corruption. This sludge can be tar-like, poisonous and sucking people in like quicksand; panic, and you'll only sink faster. Prolonged exposure to Ysverai takes a mental toll on anyone in his proximity as well. Effects similar to those from being near his heart — selfish desires and lowered inhibitions — will begin to fester in those around him. Every time Ysverai roars, pain will run through all those that hear him — a pain not just physical, but of true, anguished heartbreak. Those who hear Ysverai will feel (to a degree of your choosing) a sharing of his pain, the agony of flesh rotting from their bodies, blood oozing from under their skin, and a terrible, incandescent fury — and beneath that, a gut-wrenching sadness. This effect is further enhanced by any exposure to Ysverai's blood, and being drenched in greater quantities will cause one to become more in sync with the dragon. Finally, Ysverai is aggressive, attacking anyone and anything that approaches. He starts by breathing out a smog, acidic and putrefying — characters caught directly by this attack will find that medicine and healing magic of any kind hurts them for hours after exposure. The dragon will ignite the smog to breathe fire, if sparingly. IN WYVER     Ysverai's shadow falls over the near reaches of Wyver first. Upon hearing Ysverai's cry, the dragons in Wyver become completely frenzied, turning against their partners among the Knightryders without the slightest resistance. Those familiar with dragons might deduce that they're in pain, though they don't show any sign of injury. The dragons knock their riders off their backs in midair and dive at citizens, jaws wide. Any attempts to soothe them will be long fought, achieved with great difficulty, and will see them retreat into a cowering state. It's not just the airborne Knightryders taking to the defense of the city however, and people on the ground are mobilizing as well. On rooftops across the city are cannons set to fire harpoons. And if the spearheads alone aren't enough to injure the beast, they're coated with a paralyzing poison as well. Unfortunately, the soldiers stationed on the rooftops are prime targets to the frenzied dragons populating Wyver's skies, leaving the cannons open for ordinary citizens to use should they choose. Left alone too long, and cannons may fall under the control of the few remaining radicals that had opted not to flee the cities to join up with their leader Raysc, choosing instead to wait for an opportune moment to unleash their anger on the people of Wyver. These radicals will need to be dealt with before they can turn the cannons upon Wyver's defenders. IN OLYMPIA     In Olympia, the gryphon partners of the Royal Guard react with immediate hostility to anyone showing signs of Ysverai's influence. Their keen senses allow them to pick up the smell of Ysverai's blood and they attack anyone with so much as a drop of tainted blood on them. Those who bear lingering effects of Ysverai's mental attack and who remain in sync with the dragon after hearing Ysverai's cry are also targeted and must face the gryphons' wrath without mercy or restraint. The gryphons must be disabled, for Olympia will not look upon any injury to their prized steeds lightly. However, the gryphons also show some resistance to Ysverai's cry, which is a great boon in battle against the dragon — gryphons that have lost their riders will be available for use, able to carry two passengers at a time. The people of Olympia aren't planning to restrict their offense to pure brute force, and the mages of the city can be seen across Olympia wielding enchanted chains, using telekinesis in the hopes of restraining Ysverai and assisting in the airborne troops. But like the decaying buildings and wildlife, Ysverai is warping the magic around him, the chains faltering as they approach him, whipping back toward the city instead to cage whoever happens to be closest. It's not just the enchanted chains either, but other magic might behave erratically in his presence, as if the very essence of the spells have been corrupted. VIRTUOUS VERSE     Both cities realize they need to seek survival rather than victory against Ysverai, switching gears to carry out diversion efforts and evacuation plans. It falls to refugees to continue the offensive while the Royal Guard and the Knightryders devote their attention to ensuring the safety of the citizens as they flee. With official forces stretched thin, civilians and refugees alike will also need to step up to help herd citizens toward safety among a maze of collapsing buildings. Others will need to see to gathering resources for the evacuation, and while gathering non perishables is easy enough, it's considerably harder to wrangle livestock into cooperating amidst such chaos. Those fighting may be asked to act as bait for Ysverai. Chatter through official troops speaks of a switch in strategy: the objective now is capture the dragon's attention and draw him away from the populous cities and towards the South Outpost. Whether or not it's possible to defeat the dragon remains uncertain, but there's no question that it will be easier to battle him without worrying about civilians. THE RAGE     Luckily, the dragon is indiscriminate in his rage, and easily lured so long as a suitably infuriating target is before him. It doesn't take long to draw him to the South Outpost, but the trail of destruction he leaves in his wake is vast. Once there, the combined forces are greeted not just by Ysverai, but also by the appearance of Ysverai's master. How bravely you've all come to meet your doom! Great heroes, one and all, ha! I welcome you, bring your best. Show me the power that's protected Olympia and Wyver, all that you have to offer me, whatever pitiful excuse for valor you seek to cling to when the fear has you cowering in your beds. All will be for naught in the face of Ysverai's might! Let history witness the day the glory of war is reignited — the day that Wyver remembers its fangs once more! Come, Ysverai, last and greatest of the High Dragons! Come, and restore Wyver to its rightful place! Come, fulfill the promise as our protector that you could not in life! Raysc lifts a gleaming device as he issues his command. Red lights blink and blood, the same oozing liquid that drips from Ysverai's many wounds, runs in clear tubes through the device. Ysverai rears back as Raysc makes adjustments to a control panel — and then lunges forward, mouth agape. With a single swallow, Raysc meets his end. Raysc's attempt to control the dragon has only enraged him further, spurring Ysverai on to new heights of fury. It's become more vital than ever to face the dragon and take him down here and now. A few effective strategies are learned from research efforts and observed while defending Olympia and Wyver: goading the dragon into breathing fire will hurt him, burning him from the inside out, and attacks to his joints, eyes, wings, and exposed bone are effective. Ice is a natural repellent to dragons and can be used defensively or to weaken the dragon's hide. Healing spells will also react unnaturally to Ysverai's flesh, hastening his decay. However, while concentrated efforts will lock him down, Ysverai cannot be permanently killed in this state — his flesh constantly rots and spawns anew. Attacking him here is to protect civilians, keeping him busy to avoid mass destruction elsewhere. Therefore, the battle is one of attrition, a matter of a race against time. You must destroy his flesh faster than it is able to regenerate to have any hope of victory. Finally, when Ysverai is weakening, little more than bones with a few last vestiges of rotten meat hanging from a skeleton, the pathetic remnants of the last High Dragon takes to the skies. His wings are barely intact enough to carry him, yet desperation lifts him, higher and higher, until he lets out one great, earth-shaking roar. A roar that carries across the battlefield, sending all who hear it to their knees. A roar that shatters the swords in soldiers' hands, that rends apart the very air itself — Ysverai's last act, a great curse upon El Nysa, to bring down the sky. AND THE WORLD STOOD STILL     The terror of Ysverai's destruction hangs overhead — a tear in the sky, darkness pouring through, tendrils reaching down towards El Nysa to swallow up the planet in the dragon's final act of revenge. And yet nothing moves. A halo of brilliant light surrounds the rift in the sky, holding the grasping, hungry tendrils in check. And on the planet, not a creature moves. Not a blade of grass stirs. You're not able to even draw a breath. No matter where you are, not even the heart in your chest is beating. Everything has stopped — time has come to a standstill. In a wash of light, an aurora of transport, you find yourself delivered to Thesa Station. Darma stands before you, her expression solemn, perhaps even grim, though that may just be a trick of the station's harsh lighting. She explains what has happened in short order: planetside, time has been completely frozen. We have seen the birth and end of worlds. The rise and fall of civilizations infinite times over. We have seen all threads of possibilities that could have lead to this very moment... Or should have. Perhaps you might doubt our sincerity when we say this comes as a surprise to us, as well... Special technology has been used to blind us. To this day, we only know of one region capable of creating and utilizing such technology... you will find this technology in a city known as Nadril. We understand that you have created a life down in Wyver and Olympia, but now we must ask that you put that life on pause. We ask you to travel to Nadril and find the original Refugee, and with him, answers. As you will discover, he does not wish to speak to us. It is no matter. By now it is too late to keep the Nysan public unaware of our existence. We commend the efforts of those who wish to protect their comrades on the battlefield below, but a creature like poor Ysverai, twisted and warped, given unnatural life with terrible magic and technology, does not simply go down with manpower. Please, leave Ysverai to us. Time on the planet will remain stopped while we determine how to deal with the dragon. For now, rest and recover your strength. We have returned, and soon, there will be new refugees awakening. Perhaps you might like to prepare yourselves to greet them? I'm sorry that I can't answer more questions, but for now, all our attention must turn to finding a way to stop what Ysverai has wrought. A bank of monitors behind Darma displays the battlefield below: Ysverai's frozen, looming figure and the breach in the sky, and the Natha's halo, holding the destruction back. Though time passes normally on Thesa Station, El Nysa remains frozen, and all Refugees are unable to return to the planet until Ysverai's menace is dealt with. Luckily, with the Natha's return, full functionality has also returned to the station. The lights and environmentals are back to full power, access to all areas has been restored, the cafeteria is serving its normal offerings, and there's no evidence of any glitching or malfunctions. Doubtless, the period of rest is much needed after the hard-fought battle. For now, with time on El Nysa at a standstill, there's little else to be done but enjoy the reprieve aboard Thesa Station. FINAL OOC NOTE     Characters that reach an AC length action thread in this event will receive 2 rep for all factions, including Natha. Note that while these are split up for ease of processing, players may submit for all three. OLYMPIA | WYVER | NATHA Players can expect this event to run three days ICly before everyone is teleported to Thesa Station! From thereon, all characters will be grounded at the Station until the Test Drive Meme later this month. 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

C

[panzersoldat]

[ He had heard her down there. Her singing. How could he not have. Miss You Watanabe's amazing voice. He had found the courage to fight even more hearing it. Hearing those wonderful, catchy songs that he was very familiar with now. He'd even quietly sang along with them as he had tried to battle his first real dragon. Her songs had banished the shadow in his heart and his Firestrikes had burned all the brighter. Thanks to her.

He sees her as she falls but he's too slow to reach her. All he can do is go over to this little heroine and sit down next to her, his crumbling armor protesting as much as his old joint are. ] What happened was that you were amazing. So amazing. And they. [ he means the Natha. ] don't have the faith in us that you have. [ He wishes he had water to give her for all her hard work, but all he has is a soft smile and a gentle touch with a half-desegregated gauntlet. ]

[ayes]

[Now that she's no longer in the moment, no longer so focused on keeping going... her body can't. Her legs are screaming in protest, and even trying to sit up straight is a chore with wobbling arms.

She looks up at the towering man crouching besides her.] I...

...Mr. Reinhardt, your armor--

[panzersoldat]

[ She's wobbling a little and he puts his hand to support her more. He won't let her collapse. Not after what she did for all of them. How hard she worked. She really is an amazing young lady. ]

The dragon. It'll be okay. It's seen worse. [ It hasn't. He's in major denial about it. After all, it's the only thing he has left of the Crusaders. ] I'm more worried about you, You. You really put on a show for us.

[ayes]

[She's already on the ground, but he at least helps her not fall flat on her back.] Oh, me? I'm-- hah, I'm fine! Uh, just a little... you know, it's like I just ran a marathon or something, so-- I'm just a little tired, that's all! Promise!

[panzersoldat]

[if she needs a laydown, Reinhardt would happily offer his lap. Or he would if it wasn't covered in crumbling metal.]

I'd say. Those songs were very energetic. You kept me going even when I started to feel down. You put in a lot of hard work today and I wish there was something I could do for you. Because of you, I'm not hurting here. [He taps the shattered breastplate over where his heart is.]

[ayes]

[She looks at him, and for a second, she almost looks like she's about to burst into tears. She'd done something. She'd actually helped.] ...oh. W-well, that's... that's really good to hear! I'm glad I could do something... h-hah... [She hadn't been a useless weight. Yeah, sorry, she's just furiously rubbing her eyes now.]

[panzersoldat]

[ Oh no! Hadn't meant to make her cry. Not even almost! He hopes she's okay with hugs, because he's just going to gently reach out and give her one, careful of his armor and all. ]

You really did help. You helped so much. You gave me so much bravery and strength. Your music, your song, it kept me going. You saved me out there, You. You really are a very strong and remarkable young lady.

[ayes]

[It's nothing he'd done, really. She'd just been so frustrated with feeling useless, like a burden, like she couldn't help... for months, it had gnawed at her. And now that she'd actually helped, found something she can do? She's trying to rub her eyes and stem the tears, but she's not coming anywhere close on that.] G-geez, this is really embarrassing... I-I [hic] I can't stop-- I'm really happy to hear that-- [sniff]

[panzersoldat]

[ Oh yeah. She's definitely getting hugs now. Hugs and he might even be rocking her a little. After all, even brave fighters need a little comfort now and then. ] Then let it come. There's no shame in it. None at all. You did an amazing brave thing today and I know that in the future, you will only get stronger and do even more amazing things.

[ayes]

[This is mortifying. You keeps trying to wipe the tears away, but they aren't stopping. Nowhere close. She tries to stand up, and that's not happening.] I-- I didn't want to be useless, you know so--

--m-my legs aren't working, haha, this... this is really embarrassing...

[panzersoldat]

You were anything but useless, You. [ He means that too. Though his face wrinkles in concern for her when she can't stand up. He knows she's a strong and capable girl and this must be so hard for her. But he'll still offer. ] Miss You...would you like some support? I can help you to where ever you need to go. It's been a while since I've given a hero a piggy back and I would be honored to be your steed.

[ayes]

[The more she furiously rubs her eyes with her arm, the less effect it seems to be having. She shakes her head.] N-no, you don't have to do that, if you don't want to! Um, that's... h-haha, I'd feel like a little kid again, so... [She's stubborn. Maybe best to just do it.]

[panzersoldat]

I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to. [ He knows she's stubborn, but in a contest, he thinks stubborn old man might just edge out stubborn young woman. ] And you are anything but a kid. You are amazing. But you are tired and I would be honored to help you. I'm sure after a little bit of rest, you'll be running circles around me again.

[ That said, he really is just going to do it. He doesn't like manhandling people without their permission, but she's so tired and she needs the rest. Besides, she's super light for him so it's not like he's going to drop her. ] Up we go. Just tell me which way is your room and I'll see you get there!

[ayes]

Huh? [Yep. She is just.... lifted.] N-no, you don't have to-- it's okay! [She protests, weakly, but that's all she can do, and she pretty quickly realizes she doesn't have the energy to fight being carried.]

Do we have any rooms? We're up on the station, right?

[panzersoldat]

[ Sorry, You, you get to know what it feels like to be princess-carried by an old knight. Endure it! ]

I'm sure we must. We can't very well all go back into the pods. They must have some sort of sleeping cabins for those of us who are awake and up here. I'll find you one. Until then, you can just close your eyes and rest. Your work is done, Hero.

[ayes]

["Hero." The word sits uneasy with her. She's not a hero, right? She just sang. Everyone else fought the dragon.] I'm not...

[She trails off. Maybe she shouldn't argue this.

Because she is terribly, terribly exhausted.

In fact, she seems to be falling more asleep with every step he takes.]

[panzersoldat]

[ To Reinhardt, she is indeed a hero. She might not have fought with a weapon, but she had been in the battle all the same. Her heart and soul and her voice had been a powerful weapon against that terrible enemy. So to him, she will always be a strong hero that fought her best and needs her rest. ]

Humor an old man, You. [ The words are murmured softly as he carries her. He'll indeed find her a room in which to rest. He'll even tuck her in. Taking care of her, even for a little while distracted him from his anger over being taken from the battle and the hurt in his heart at the state of his armor. ]

wrap up here?

[ayes]

[There's no response from her, this time. Because she has passed the fuck out in his arms. It's easy to put her to bed, and she is sleeping soundly. Maybe snoring a little.]