❪ 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

[happylocksmith]

Then we just keep putting one foot in front of the other and find our own way and eventually we'll get there.

[He knows that he's lucky to have Riku there with him to fall back on and to inspire him to keep going and get stronger. Even if there's still a way to go for them to be as strong as Sora's sure they need to be to make a real difference in this fight, they're together.

It must be hard for Terra to be reassured with his friends sleeping. It must be lonely.]

I don't know if Riku ever told you what happened to our home a few years ago. We lost it to Darkness.

[earthy]

He told me.

[Showed him, actually, with the fancy memory ball thing he got from the Natha.

(Watching other people's memories isn't an experience Terra recommends, for the record.)

He almost adds that Riku, or Riku's memory, made it clear who was responsible for their world falling to darkness, but then he wonders if saying something like that wouldn't be breaking Riku's trust somehow.]

I'm sorry you guys had to go through that.

[happylocksmith]

I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty tough.

[Sora sounds surprisingly breezy about it, as though it's just a regular, run of the mill hardship to knuckle down and get over. It wasn't, it never could be. He still remembers The End of the World, all those fragments of worlds fallen to Darkness. He remembers watching the play island getting swallowed, of being ripped away from Riku and Kairi and feeling so utterly, utterly helpless.

It's not unlike how he's feeling about what just happened down below.

And that's why Sora's pasting a subdued smile to his face. Because this isn't about him feeling shaken that it's all happened again and even after everything he's done, all that he's fought for to grow and to learn, it still hasn't been enough. It's not about how he realises with grim certainty that he's still nowhere close to being a Master. Right now, this moment, is about giving Terra the support he needs so that he won't give up.]

But... we're still here. Me, Riku, and Kairi, even though she's sleeping. We all survived, and our world got put back together. There was a time, just after it happened, when I didn't think I'd ever get to see that again.

[And this is probably the first time he's ever admitted that fear out loud. He puts one more flower down in front of Kairi's pod and turns back to Terra.]

I was lucky though. I had good friends with me, and even when I didn't much feel like smiling, they made me. Donald and Goofy, they were right there with me, even when we'd only just met and didn't know each other at all, even when I'd lost my best friends and was worried sick about them, and it really helped.

So... I know I'm not Ventus or Aqua, but I'm your friend Terra. We can find a way forward together. You, me, Riku and Axel and everybody else here.

[earthy]

[... Sora certainly has a kind heart, doesn't he? Terra's expression softens and some of the tension eases out of his shoulders and back as Sora goes on, confiding in him a little and then picking up where he left off with the sober pep talk.

There's a lot Sora's not saying, Terra suspects. He can hear it in the tone Sora takes when he speaks of those heavy subjects. He can see it in the smile Sora wears that doesn't quite reach his eyes. And, really, there's no way there isn't more he's thinking and feeling after everything he's been through, in their World and now in this one. Even a heart of pure light would probably be weighed down by all these troubles.

But Sora just keeps up that small, solemn smile and points out the good that's come of his trials. He brings up the things he's learned. He tries to help.

A fresh wave of guilt breaks over Terra. He shouldn't be sitting here, complaining, thinking the worst, feeling sorry for himself. Putting all this on a younger Keybearer. He should be pulling himself together, banishing his doubts, and helping other people get back on their feet, physically or emotionally.

That thought stirs up a memory many years old:

'A wielder of the Keyblade can expect to face many enemies during his or her travels, and among the most insidious of those possible enemies is despair,' the Master standing before him and Aqua in the library. Terra had almost forgotten that lesson, but now he can hear his Master's-- his father's words clearly in his heart and mind, 'You must always be wary of hopelessness. The darkness gathers quickly in a despondent heart. Never allow yourself to succumb to such feelings.'

He hadn't thought much of the Master's warning at the time it'd been given. He was going to be a Keyblade Master, after all. As strong and brave as they come. He'd never give up, no matter how hard a fight got. (He'd been sure it was the same for Aqua, too.)

'If ever you find yourself in an especially difficult situation, gather your resolve, drive those dark feelings from your heart as you would fear or anger, and take up your Keyblade again. It is your duty to carry on fighting, even in the darkest of hours. The light and the worlds depend upon your strength.'

Terra glances up and over at Sora again, a thoughtful look passing across his features. So, did Sora get the same lecture he did at some point (maybe from Yen Sid?), and he just really took it to heart, or does optimism and selflessness just come naturally to the kid? Maybe on account of that bright heart he's got? Terra doesn't have to reach out with his senses much to tell his light definitely shines bright.]

I'm glad, Sora. [He finally answers, relaxing his hands in his lap.] I'm glad you and your friends made it through everything, and you got your world back... for a while, at least.

I'm glad you're my friend, too. [Even though, like those other friends Sora mentioned, they've only just met recently and they barely know each other. A brand new friendship. Terra smiles again and this time the twist of his lips isn't forced at all. He presses one hand to his chest.

All right. For the light and the worlds and his friends, new and old.]

You, me, Riku and Axel and everybody else here. [He repeats Sora's line carefully then ducks his head into a tired but decisive nod.] We'll find a way forward together.

[(He's pretty sure he'd still be okay with it if Aqua and Ven were to sleep through the worst of whatever is to come, though.)]

But Sora...?

[happylocksmith]

[Terra goes quiet, and Sora worries for a moment if he might have talked too much and gone too far, if the older wielder wanted to be left alone with his thoughts and doesn't want to be bothered by a chatterbox like him. Then again, Terra was the one who sought him out. Maybe neither of them really want to be alone at a time like this.

He releases a breath he hadn't realised he was holding as Terra's hand covers his heart and he repeats his words back to him, but it doesn't completely alleviate his concerns. He just sounds so tired, and Sora can relate. It's easier to be tired and sad and stop than to keep smiling, keep going and try to bring hope to everyone else, but after what happened in the dream... Sora won't let himself think that way. There's too much at stake if he stops, and even without the threat of Xehanort looming close on the horizon, he made a decision when he failed the Mark of Mastery exam that he wasn't going to be that weak again. Hadn't he always tried his best to be bright and positive and believe in the best outcome? So why should he stop now?

Sora sees what Riku's become, he knows that there is always a way out, a way forward, a path to the light that might be hard to follow sometimes, but he knows that he can get there too. Everyone needs him to be strong, so he will be strong. That's all there is to it.

Terra speaks to him, and Sora looks up at him.]

Yeah, Terra?

[earthy]

[Terra fixes Sora with an intent look.]

Are you doing okay?

[happylocksmith]

Me?

[Sora looks momentarily taken aback, forgetting that he'd been troubled in the first place and that's why he's been sat here alone, talking to Kairi and leaving her mementos and flowers.

Is he okay?

He's tired, he's bruised, his faith in his own strength is shaken and has been for some time now because he's just not good enough. He's got to be better, got to be stronger, got to take everything seriously because he failed before and the fact that he's even here as himself and not existing as a vessel for Xehanort is pretty darn miraculous actually. He can't stop and think too long about what could have happened because losing part of himself to become something dark and twisted that he doesn't even understand is something he can't even fathom. And it scares him. It scares him that that's what Xehanort wanted for Riku, but Riku's strong enough to have overcome it.

But would he have been?

And then he hadn't had time for any of that because he's been here, he's been in a world that's so different to the ones he's been to before, he's seen people do terrible things and it's not been because of Xehanort or the Darkness that he knows, it's been something he knows he should be able to rise up and face but he's wobbly, he's not sure, and Riku's shaken too, and that shakes Sora because he knows that if Riku's okay then so is he and if he's not...

He can't even defeat a dragon.

But is he okay?

He looks at Kairi for a second. She would kick his butt if she knew he was sitting here feeling like this.

'C'mon Sora, don't sit here moping. Since when has that ever done any good? You believe in us, so now you need to believe in you.'

That's what she'd say if she knew he was feeling like this, and she's absolutely right.

He misses her.

But he's kept Terra waiting, so he just nods and smiles sadly.]

Yeah. I'm okay.

[earthy]

[Terra watches Sora for a moment longer after he gets an answer to his question. He probably should have guessed that'd be Sora's reply.

... It's awfully hard to believe him, though. Is he really okay? Are any of them really okay right now?

But maybe that's just part of finding their way forward. Nodding, trying to smile, keeping their chins up as best they can.]

Good.

[He thinks he'll just hang out here until Sora's finished visiting Kairi, anyway. Maybe try and coax him into the mess hall for some food later.]