❪ 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

[chickenhearted]

Yeah?

[ He blinks at Dylas, suspicious for all of five seconds. Then he snorts. ]

Whatever. [ He's still going to call you a wolf person probably. Because he's a brat like that. ]

That's still kind of impressive. I mean, I can't do anything like that.

[sullenstallion]

Yeah. Whatever, pup. Or maybe I should call you runt.

[He's about 90% sure he used at least one of those insults last time to go with the facade. It's nice, not being called horse-like.

He starts to walk, and he still hasn't realized he's holding onto Waver's hand. It's been a long day of almost dying, of thinking he's dying, of being covered in blood...he's tired.]

If you really think so, I can show you. Or I can make you something. We'll just have to...save the world or something first, I guess. Think you're up for it?

[chickenhearted]

I am not a runt!

[ Except he really is. But that doesn't mean Dylas has to call him out on it.

Because Dylas is holding his hand as he walks, Waver begins to walk too. He considers giving his hand a tug, but decides to just leave it. It's. nice to know someone is right there beside you. And not just going to fade away or something. But who's asking? ]

... Yeah, I'd like to see that. I'm not much help in saving the world, but I do my best.

[sullenstallion]

Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. Someday, you'll grow up to be big and strong.

[His voice is dripping with sarcasm, but somewhere there's a cruel god laughing at his words. Besides, Dylas would agree with him. Having a physical connection with someone is an amazing feeling, and considering how much of Waver he's touched in the past, it doesn't feel jarringly unnatural to him yet.]

What would you want me to make you? I mean...if I do decide to show you.

[chickenhearted]

I will, and you'll see!

[ He huffs angrily, determined even though he thinks he's all done growing. Luckily fate will be kind to him a little later. Right now he probably just looks comical holding this tall "wolf"man's hand with his cheeks puffed out in indignation.

Soon he calms down enough to consider the question though. No one's ever really made anything for him, so he definitely looks lost on an answer. ]

A-anything would suffice, I'm sure.

[ Don't make him a ring because he might get the wrong idea. ]

[sullenstallion]

[Regardless of any growth spurts in anyone's future, Dylas is left holding Waver's hand right now as he comes. It's not a big deal. He's still walking, though the cafeteria is still a way's off. Trekking across the spaceship is a decent way to get exercise, he figures, even though he still looks like a wreck from dragon day down below.]

I'm only good at making small things, so don't expect too much. I could make you a fishing hook.

[It's a joke. Though the more he thinks about it...ugh.]

I didn't stick around long after the meeting. Do they have anywhere set up for people who want to change their clothes?

[He hasn't really been back since, well, dying, so he's still not super familiar with how the place runs.]

[chickenhearted]

[ Eventually Waver might get self conscious but for now he's good. For now he likes the comfort being there. He doesn't care if it looks stupid. Yet. ]

A fishing hook? Well... I might need one.

[ He's basically a hobo so having something to catch food might actually be a good thing. Welp. ]

I'm...not sure either. But we could go and find out. It'd be good to familiarize ourselves with everything if it's going to be this way for a while.

[sullenstallion]

Why didn't you tell me you were interested in fishing before?

[Oh, how his ears perk and his tail sway at this new revelation. From the skip in his step, it should be more than clear that Waver's standing with him has increased yet again.]

I wanted to get you some food, but...

[His voice trails off. He's just about to ask Waver what he'd rather do when he finally notices.]

...when did you grab my hand?

[chickenhearted]

Well. I've never been, actually. But I think... I'd like to try it.

[ It seems like a useful skill!! ]

We could do bo- hm?

[ He looks down at their hands and immediately bristles. ]

I didn't! You did that! I just didn't feel like making you sad by letting go!

[sullenstallion]

You can't just try fishing. Fishing is a battle between you and the fish with the waves attempting to overthrow you every second. You have to win at fishing. That's why it's so relaxing.

[There is absolutely nothing useful in what he just said. And he's so useless that he stares down at their hands as well. It. Does look like his hand is on top? Can hands even be on top? His hand looks like the dominant hand to Waver's beta hand...in his head.]

That sounds like you made it up. I...was probably just letting you hold onto my hand because yours was cold. Or something.

[How long have they been holding hands?! His tail swishes. He's not even sure!]

[chickenhearted]

How is any of what you just said supposed to be relaxing?

[ He doesn't get it. Although he still wants to try fishing in case he needs an extra source of food.

Also, he would insist that he didn't have a beta hand. His hand can totally be alpha if he wants it to be. He frowns, fingers curling slightly. Rather than let go like a normal person would, it's like he's holding Dylas's hand even more just to prove a point or something. ]

No, that sounds like you made something up. My hand wasn't cold at all!

[sullenstallion]

It just is. You're still just a pup, so you wouldn't understand.

[But there's something behind Dylas' smirk, or maybe the way his tail is moving that shows he's a little happier, excited than usual. He really loves fishing, and it gives him that extra twinkle in his high.

Unfortunately, there's also the hand situation to deal with. Letting go now would feel like admitting defeat. That's what Dylas feels like. So he squeezes harder, too, just to make a point.]

Your hand isn't cold at all because it's warm now.

[chickenhearted]

I'm not a pup, you just call me that.

[ Hmph! He squints a little, but decides to let the argument go. Perhaps he will just have to find out for himself if fishing is really like all that. Maybe they could go together sometime.... or would that be weird?

Maybe not as weird as the two of them furiously holding hands instead of just letting go and calling it a day. ]

That's because you've been holding onto it!

[sullenstallion]

If you weren't one, I wouldn't call you that.

[He should really just let this go, Dylas thinks to himself. If he keeps pushing Waver, he's not going to want to go fishing with him, and that would make him sadder than he wants to admit. Dylas is already trying to mentally pick a place to teach him at.]

And now that it's warm, we can let go. That's the only thing going on here.

[But.

He's not letting go. ...it feels kind of weird now?]

[chickenhearted]

But I'm not one! You're just being rude.

[ His argument is sound. So there. He hmphs softly, and would cross his arms over his chest petulantly if his hand was free. But it's not. And he doesn't pull it free either.

Is this getting into strange territory? One of them should just let go. ]

Yeah, so let go of my hand already.

[sullenstallion]

Yeah, well...your puny face is kind of asking for it sometimes. I can't stop myself.

[Dylas has never heard of "don't blame the victim," especially when he's the culprit.

So, he'll let go of Waver's hand and that'll be the end of it.

...]

You let go first.

[chickenhearted]

Well excuse me for having a puny face!

[ WOW, just wow. Dylas is so rude. Waver huffs and snorts but he's still hanging on to Dylas's hand.

he glares. ]

Why should I? Are you afraid?

[sullenstallion]

You're excused.

[He's not sure if that's an insult or not, but he says it quickly and firmly in the hopes that it might be.

This argument is so stupid.

Something has to be done.]

I'm not afraid of letting go. It just...doesn't feel bad, alright?

[chickenhearted]

[ Waver scowls at that. You're not supposed to excuse him! You're supposed to take it back and apologize.

This is the stupidest argument. But he flushes and thinks about the question. Basically, he's this. ]

It doesn't, but... you're the one who said we should let go!

[sullenstallion]

[Waver can't be that image, both hands are in the air. He's just as stupid as Dylas is for agreeing to keep holding hands. Dylas believes that to be fact.

His tail starts to twitch at the tip before it tucks against his leg. It's a bit late to be feeling shy, but.]

Shut up. I changed my mind.

[chickenhearted]

[ He's that image in spirit! But it is true that they're both stupid at this point.

He lifts up his eyebrows and then huffs, turning his face away. ]

Jeez, then it's fine! Let's just go.

[sullenstallion]

Yeah. I'm done standing around, so try to keep up.

[Still holding onto Waver's hand, he starts to walk again. His pace is pretty brisk, but he's not going to attempt to drag Waver anywhere. He'll make sure he's right there with him.]

This will be fine for a little while longer.

[But only for a little while.]

[chickenhearted]

I can keep up fine.

[ Even though those little legs have to work a little bit harder, he's determined to keep up. And not to let go of Dylas's hand prematurely because that would mean he lost. And he's not going to lose this imaginary contest of theirs. ]

Well we have to eat soon anyway.

[ So that'll be when they can let go. ]