❪ 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

[willrevile]

[ Jim can feel toxic sludge in his boot, eating away at one foot, he can feel it in his lungs, all over him like that's the only thing he's sweating out now, too. Some tiny voice in the back of his head suggests You should have stayed on the station, moron, but he could almost laugh. Jim Kirk, hang back somewhere? Hah.

He fires, phaser blasts even on the kill setting little more than gnats against Ysverai, but he's strategic in how he arranges the hits. Needling, annoying, goading the dragon into releasing gas so that it can be ignited back into its own face.

Gore rains down, as though it's a weather condition. The dragon continues to hover. ]

[personalwar]

[ Kirk knows his way around a fight, that much is clear. Maybe combat hadn't been the true purpose of his Starfleet, but 76 can only guess that it had ended up being part of the job either way. It's never that easy to avoid a fight when you're running around trying to make peace.

It's the some story here, with Ysevrai's revival being a reaction to the murmurs of peace between two opposed nations. Why can't anyone just leave well enough alone?

Either way, Kirk has done a good job of distracting the dragon, and that allows 76 to run in closer toward it. The black blood rains down on his head and drips down his shoulders and back, but he ignores it. There's a part of him that thinks it would be better to retreat at this point. All he's going to do is lose his gun and his jacket and whatever else ends up disintegrating, but hey, those things won't matter if Ysevrai tears apart the world.

So, once he's close enough he hefts his rifle up and releases the helix rockets, sending a trio of them spiraling toward the back of Ysevrai's head. They explode upon contact in a blue blast, causing the dragon to screech in pain and fall closer toward the ground before it catches itself with a weak flap of its wings. ]

[willrevile]

[ Nope Jim thinks, and fires a concentrated phaser blast at one join of wing and spine. Somewhere another refugee with projectile weaponry - or magic? - gets with the idea and strikes the other side. Wings cave in, shred apart, and the great dragon's body careens into the sickening mud and filth.

For a moment. Black sinewy meat shoots out of Ysverai's side, stretching like too-sentient octopus legs and attaching to the dead wings, building anew, though still bleeding and rotting and casting its horror every which way.

The monster continues to scream and stagger - those rockets must have really done a number on it - but somehow, it's still regenerating. ]

Fuck.

[personalwar]

[ It's not so different from fighting off one of the massive omnics, in that it takes a combined effort of multiple people attacking Ysevrai all at once to finally send it crashing toward the ground. The crowd surrounding the beast goes silent, if only for a second, everyone holding their breath as they ask themselves, is this it?

But of course it isn't.

76 slowly backs up as he watches the dragon regenerate before his eyes, his stomach twisting as he thinks again of Reaper, who'd been cursed with this same affliction, his body rebuilding itself over and over, but always wrong.

Kirk's response is a fair one, and 76 finally breaks eye contact from the dragon to look over at him. He lifts an arm up, waving frantically for him to retreat. ] We need to pull back for now! [ More of his clothing and gear is rotting away -- someone else is going to have to pinch hit for them. ]

[willrevile]

Yeah. [ Jim backs up, but he doesn't actually start moving in earnest until 76 is within a meter or so of him, not wanting to bolt and then look over his shoulder to see the other man in trouble.

Having slightly better luck will be the mobile suits, massive robot figures slamming into Ysverai and unloading close attacks as well as whatever on-board firepower they have.

(Until they begin to rust and decay enough to trap the pilots inside.) ]

Maybe we can lead it out further than this, [ he says over all the noise. ] See if it survives the fog.

[ Ysverai roars, and Jim feels it in his head, his body, his very spirit, like being bisected. He half-staggers. Ugh. ]

[personalwar]

[ The outpost is already well away from both of the cities, but there are still buildings and businesses that have been turned to rubble because of the dragon's presence. Moving him even further into the wilderness might make sense, but that also means his path of destruction will continue.

Rebuilding after all this, assuming they survive it, is going to be a monumental task on its own.

76 is about to respond to Kirk's suggestion, but that's when the roar sounds through the air, drilling into his skull and then down through the rest of them. It's always bad, like taking a bag of bricks to the chest and getting the worst possible news all at once, and 76 feels his knees start to give out. He reaches out and grips Kirk's shoulder hard to keep his balance. ]

We could try it.

[ It's all that he has the energy to say, in that moment. ]

[willrevile]

[ Jim's not thinking of trying to contain the thing away from wrecking more territory, he's thinking of the fact that they clearly don't have anything that's doing the right amount of physical damage. They're going to have to start getting more creative, and fast.

He digs his heels in and forces himself to remain upright and stable, letting 76 steady himself as well. The breath in his chest feels tight and hot, and he tries not to think about what must be in his lungs. ]

We have to try something, [ he grits out. ] Right now, that thing's winning.

[ It may look like a stalemate, dealing damage only to having it be regenerated, keeping Ysverai here at the Outpost. But the undead monster isn't mortal, it can't run out of ammo, and its home isn't being steadily eaten away. ]

[personalwar]

[ There's no arguments from 76 when it comes to that point. It's definitely winning, with a destructive sort of power that can't be controlled or stopped with what they've tried so far. All they can do is contain it, and that's not a permanent solution so much as a stop-gap measure.

That bandit he'd interrogated hadn't been kidding when he'd said that Ysevrai would decimate everything. ]

So long as it can keep regenerating any damage that we do to it, we won't be able to kill it. If we can figure out how to stop that, we might have a chance.

[ Once he feels a little steadier, 76 continues to move away from Ysevrai, pulling Kirk along with him if he begins to falter. Those mobile suits are giving the beast a beating right now, but 76 can already guess it won't be enough. ]

[willrevile]

[ This whole thing is a fucking mess, but they can't just buckle in the face of it. They'll figure it out, they'll have to; there has to be a nuclear option somewhere, if all else fails. We just haven't found it yet, Jim thinks, dogged determination unkillable in him, despite his mortal form bleeding and burning. ]

Let's get clear of the immediate blast radius and try to take stock of what we have as far as refugee resources go.

[ Y'all were busy down here while Jim was on Thesa, he kind of figured something like this would have been planned, but he can't fault his peers in this. Only a handful of them are military, and the timeline was shockingly quick.

If they all survive, maybe it's time to organize something. ]

[personalwar]

[ That works for him. Pull back, regroup, take a look at what they have and figure out if they can plan a more precise strike against Ysevrai. If they hit him with the right combination of magic and firepower, maybe they can overwhelm that regeneration ability.

Still, the outpost is a chaotic battlefield, with the debris of fallen buildings and pieces of people's gear scattered all over the place. 76 moves through it all with efficiency, having navigated through more than enough warzones to know what he's doing.

He makes sure to check over his shoulder to see that Kirk is keeping up. The further that they get away from the dragon itself, the easier it is to breathe -- and think. ]