❪ introlog: #6 ❫ city of secrets

[natha]

You've spent the last few days on Thesa Station, taking in the knowledge that your world is no more. Now, the time to put all your survival training into practice has arrived: El Nysa needs you, and you're here to help the planet thrive. Are you ready? THE DESCENT     All refugees on the station are called to the hangar, where a large-scale teleporter awaits. Simply step onto the space between the arrays and wait; everyone will be sent down to the planet together. Before they depart, all refugees will be given a cold weather survival kit with warm clothing, rations, and bedding. The arrays build into a brilliant wash of light, creating a column that travels all the way from Thesa Station to the surface of El Nysa, teleporting the refugees to the planet on an aurora. Once on the planet's surface, refugees receive one last message from Darma. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet we must ask you to brave further peril. Within Nadril are the secrets to how poor Ysverai's revival was hidden from our sight and how this disaster has come to our star. Find the first refugee from beyond this planet, a man named Magda. He will not speak to us, for much has come between us, but to you… If you prove yourselves, he may be willing to answer your questions. We beseech you, for there is a veil over Nadril that hides all within from us. There may yet be more untold dangers waiting to befall this planet. For the good of all who make this world home, we ask you to lend us your aid. There is yet one more favor we would ask of you. In warding off the Storm's encroachment, the physical aspect of ourselves that you call Thesa Station was damaged. We must remain to continue repairs to El Nysa and to deal with Ysverai, but there should be suitable technology within Nadril that could be used for spare parts. If you have the chance to find it and can return it to us, it would hasten— Darma's message crackles with static, another image overlaying hers — her broadcast is cut off and replaced with another. A more sullen and alien voice takes Darma’s place, overlapping on itself in an ominous reveal. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet you’ve only just arrived here. To say I’m not disappointed in your… generation would be to lie, and I am nothing if not an honest creature. But I suppose these have been unusual circumstances. You must ask yourself this — are you only here as Darma's lapdogs? I can assure you, it's not worth being on the Natha's leash. With time, that will be something you'll have to learn for yourself. If you're so determined to come find Nadril, then follow the path north, and you'll find the border. What awaits you is revelation, if you're up to the challenge. A FROZEN LAND     The refugees land on a literally frozen world, both in temperature and time. Curls of icy wind hold swirls of snow aloft and an uncanny silence is broken only by the crunch of hoarfrost underfoot. Only Darma's protection allows the refugees to move through this frozen world — and movement is very necessary. Bitter cold sneaks through even the thickest clothing and without warning, a snowstorm rises: unnaturally quickly, a wall of white howls directly in the refugee's path. Bizarrely, the way back is perfectly calm; it's obvious that this storm is no product of nature. Magda's challenge becomes clear: the only way to Nadril lies through this storm. Visibility within the storm is near zero, the whiteout hiding any landmarks from view and making navigation near impossible. The only guidance refugees have is a sporadic path of faint, greenish lights, easily lost in the raging storm. Refugees need all the survival skills they practiced on Thesa Station to survive, for getting lost alone is a death sentence. Luckily, those separated from the group can happen upon guiding lights Magda has planted throughout the tundra. These blue-white sparks cause frostbite if handled recklessly, but they also serve as directional anchors, turning into ghostly flames that lead lost souls back to the path to Nadril. The trek through the storm will be no mean feat and will last for the better part of three days. By the time the refugees reach Nadril's gate, most will find themselves exhausted and running on fumes. As the snowstorm dies away and a gap in the glittering forcefield around the city opens to usher the refugees inside, it's clear that Nadril is a different beast. A WARM(?) WELCOME     I. Despite the unforgiving journey, entering Nadril is painless. Once inside, characters will be greeted by their predecessors: the original refugees who made this advanced city. They'll immediately be offered medical attention, as well as warm cider and blankets. But it's obvious that the Nadril citizens prefer higher tech to fend off the weather: they also offer wristlets and ear cuffs that that double as mittens and earmuffs by creating warm bubbles of air. The earrings also feature a few quality of life programs, such as timed alarms and thought-to-speech messaging. However, both programs are in beta stages so it's not unusual for a stray thought to accidentally slip through or an alarm to accidentally ring at an inopportune time. II. Refugees are offered free lodging in a large, crystalline building crafted from ice. Despite the coarse building material, the ice is unmelting and surprisingly well-insulated, and the beds are as warm and cozy. The rooms are, however, small. The sleeping quarters house two people, and are some cross between an igloo and a capsule hotel. Though built for efficiency over comfort, all rooms are also outfitted with the latest Nadril AI, RoboAlfred, or Ralf for short. This helpful program is installed in practically all the furnishings: the closet tells guests to bundle up, the bathroom sink reminds them to brush their teeth, and the mirror offers helpful fashion tips. Ralf's personality matrix still needs polish, though: it may very well insult your clothes and passively-aggressively question your lifestyle choices for the entire stay. III. Though not as advanced as Thesa Station, the colony has technology far beyond the rest of the continent, such as rudimentary AIs and mechanical transportation. Nadril's skyline is a point of pride — refugees can take a (literal) lightrail that gives an aerial view of the colony, which is hewn almost entirely from ice and rock. Despite its tech, Nadril is much more sparsely populated than Olympia and Wyver, and its residents stay near a central hub: a Natha refugee drop ship, Central, which has crashed and long embedded itself into the earth. Central is similar to an older, smaller, grounded model of Thesa Station, in functional order with round-the-clock solar power. Within Central are lounges similar to ones on the Station, though many of the damaged areas have been converted. They include repair stations, different wings dedicated to science, botany, astrology, and mechanics, and a research and history facility, which has a smattering of technology from planets beyond El Nysa — including your own. The staff here don't mind if anything is sampled and studied, but objects cannot be taken from the labs. IV. On the outskirts of the central hub, many will find several curious looking bots with insect-like wings perched about high traffic walkways. Simply passing the bots will cause a dizzying flash before a series of photos print out. Upon closer inspection, people will find that these images reflect stills taken from their home worlds as they remember it. Unfortunately, these photos only last a couple of hours at best. At that time, they will revert back to regular pictures of the refugees. People will be encouraged to share these images of their worlds. The residents of Nadril comprehend the value of remembering one's origins, and will be pleased to see that people still hold memories of old homes close to them. RECREATION IN NADRIL     I. Small, mechanical creatures scampering through the city are a common sight. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that they come from a shop called Paws About Town. They’re very useful, as companions, gophers, and couriers (though the more mischievous will note that they’re just small enough to keep tabs on people without being noticed). Premade robotic pets are available on display inside the shop. They come in all shapes, but small sizes; one may be able to find robots that even look like miniature creatures from their homeworld. These are a part of a new, highly customizable line with programmable personalities. Customers have the chance to take pets for a one-day trial run. Those who don’t know how to program may want to enlist more knowledgeable aid, but the pets come with instructional pamphlets for basic personality traits such as obedience, helpfulness, playfulness, and bloodthirst. For returns, the switch to wipe the robot's personality to a blank slate is on the back of its neck, right between a switch to invert all traits, and a switch to have them learn by observing. Try not to press the wrong switch — you might wind up with a pet with a mind of its own! II. A. The Frosty Tap Cantina is a thriving hub of activity, but one of the major draws is the self-service bar: molecular mixology is wildly popular here. Playing with drink compositions can be a game in and of itself, and newcomers to the cantina will find that the bartender — a cheerful woman with lilac skin and three eyes — is always happy to give them a few tips on how to use the wide array of tools within reach of the barstools. All manner of drinks are possible — from glowing, layered cocktails, to clear drinks with colored, spherical bubbles and vividly-colored shots that give off their own smoke. There's a nightly contest in the cantina for the most creative drink created by a team — this may be as good a time as any to partner up with someone and see what can you come up with. Winner gets all their drinks for the night free! And, hey, even if you don't win, you get to drink whatever you make. The well-lubricated patrons of the bar are eager to challenge anyone nearby to a different sort of drinking game… Just how well can you hold your liquor? B. Holo-screens in the cantina are nearly always broadcasting some match or another of a game that looks very much like hockey, albeit played with sticks that light up and a puck that changes shape from time to time. Colonists here merely refer to the game as "the sport," and one of their favored pastimes is betting. However, they don't use currency — they wager dares. Nadril colonists are a tough, weathered lot, and they prefer to speak with actions over silver. Colonists will urge the refugees to take part as well. Common dares range from the ridiculous (lead a sing-a-long, attempt to make someone with a poker face smile) to the suggestive (kiss the person in the cantina you find most attractive, strip off a piece of clothing), to the outright reckless (venture out into the snow for a certain amount of time, and no one will judge if you find some company to keep warm). The colonists are unfazed by even the most insane or tawdry of dares — but you'll certainly be called a killjoy for refusing too often! Why not grab a friend and give it a whirl, or challenge a rival to a dare yourself? THE MISSION     I. On the outskirts of Nadril is the communications tower of the old refugees. This is where Magda resides, monitoring Nadril's technological protections, the extent of the Natha’s influence, and running his own personal projects for El Nysa’s technological advancement. It is isolated, filled with research labs and relics of the past refugees who have come to El Nysa — a living mausoleum of worlds swallowed up by the Storm whose peoples have refused to forget where they came from. Crew photos line the walls of the tower: pictures of alien families and friends, the refugees who came to Nadril before you. Each group of photos gradually becomes smaller in number, and the most recent of the pictures are from half a century ago. Magda's picture can be found among the first group of refugees, an unusually small cluster of photos dating back centuries in El Nysa's past. I have been on this planet for nearly two centuries. Life has come, evolved, and collided in an ever expanding culture. But Darma fears interference, and made this place a prison, with she our warden, stifling the growth of the creatures native to this world rather than encouraging them to flourish. She sent you here for answers in her stead because she knows I'll spurn her, and after seeing what that fool Raysc has wrought, I'll give you them — not for Darma's sake, but because I trust after all the Natha have done to you, you'll understand my decision. Mistakes were made, and I won't hide them. You've made it here so there's some mettle to you, and unlike the Orbiters, I'm not interested in hiding the secrets of the dangers we face. I gave Raysc what he needed to keep his actions hidden from Darma's eyes — what he needed to advance the primitive magics the Natha had doomed him to. It was old Natha tech, Darma's very own used against her. Hilarious, isn't it? Raysc learned of Nadril, and like you, braved the snow to find his way here. He proved his worth and his determination, and he spoke of a brighter future, El Nysa coming into its own, its people realizing their true potential, unhindered by the shackles that had been put upon them. I believed him. He had vision — or so I thought. In truth, he was a fool. A madman. He wasted the opportunity I gave him on his petty vengeance. But not everyone on this planet is such an idiot. Surely you lot aren't. The Natha are hiding things from us — about the Storm, about everything. And here in Nadril, we're going to find all those secrets. What's it going to be? Will you help us, or are you going to stay obedient dogs on Darma's leash? Magda isn't too talkative yet; after all, the new flock of refugees may just be here as eyes and ears for the Orbiters. But what he has said leaves you with plenty to talk about, and if you can earn his trust by helping out around Nadril, he doubtless has a great deal more to reveal. II. Central isn't the only Natha ship that made its way to El Nysa — another, crashed just outside Nadril's borders, is little more than a junk heap. It's here that you'll find the spare parts Darma asked you to retrieve for Thesa Station. What remains of the ship's hull serves as a windbreak, and snow has built up against it, turning the piles of old Natha tech inside into something of a snowy morass. Holes in the deck offer would-be scavengers passage to the ship's innards, barely illuminated with flickering lights — the tech is old, but hardy enough to withstand a crash landing, the severe weather, and the passage of centuries. Deep in the wreck are the remains of living quarters, research labs, VR arenas, mecha bays, cafeterias, and a host of other rooms, many of which may seem familiar from Thesa Station, albeit with a decidedly older feel to what remains of the smooth curves and sleek surfaces of the Natha architecture. Most of the ship's systems are damaged and the technology is nonfunctional, but that just means there's plenty of spare parts to be found. The wreck isn't in the best shape, its structural integrity damaged, and the drifting snow threatens to block off exit routes. Be careful while exploring and be sure to bring a partner. As it turns out, Darma isn't the only one interested in the wreck — Magda is also eager to get his hands on Natha technology. In his own way of taking some responsibility for Raysc, he's asking scavengers to bring him parts, muttering about seeing what he can do about Ysverai's curse. Bring him anything that looks useful, and he may have a chance to succeed, though whether he'll be more effective than the Natha Orbiters is up for debate... FINAL OOC NOTES     An AC-eligible thread with a new character as a participant for 2 NADRIL REP POINTS may be submitted from this log. SUBMIT THE THREAD HERE BY AUGUST 5TH, 11:59 PM EST. As always, feel free to create your own prompts and explore the Nadril location page! There are a variety of activities made available, including fishing and cave exploration! Please direct questions to the questions thread below! Thank you! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[latkje]

[ He's from the fifth century, by his reckoning, with all the technological know-how that implies. And as he tries to build on to her fire, he gains new appreciation for the skill it must have taken to start it.

Still, he has an idea. ]

Do you mind if I try something?

[diamondize]

[Diamond pauses, brow furrowed a little as they fit the words into contexts they understand.] Ah, I see! Everyone uses different words than what I'm used to, but it all amounts to about the same thing.

[They tuck the blanket under their arm more comfortably as they fall into step with Janeway] What does a peacekeeping armada do? Besides, I suppose, 'keep the peace'?

i she's gonna tell ur mom on you

[garbagepilot]

[One of the wondrous things Rey has found about being a soldier for the Natha is the fact that there seems to be no such thing as a language barrier anymore. She can tell when someone isn't speaking Basic, but it still sounds like- well, like the Nysan language, but she's been thinking of it vaguely as Basic because it's a little less of a stretch to think an entirely new language has been placed into her head without her knowing or giving anyone that permission.

It's not Basic that she hears in her ears now, not the Binary of a droid or the guttural squaking of Teedospeak, not Huttese or any of the other languages she taught herself in a lonely metal home on a planet of sand and heat, but all the same when she hears it she knows that the voice is saying.

And her head comes up and finds the source almost at once, somehow. Reaching up to fiddle with her own strange heater-turned-communicator, she answers right back.]

That should be the last thing on your mind, considering what we're here to do.

[expiable]

[ it doesn't surprise her that he hasn't peeked, when he's more social than she is (caution invariably comes first, for her). she lets her mouth curve wider, an easy smile. ]

They sleep two, if you aren't fussy.

[ as if she'd ever describe thor as "fussy." ]

[diamondize]

And so humble too! [They giggle, looking pleased and amused.] I'm glad you're with us then, otherwise we'd never get through this storm, if you were opposing us too!

[Seriously, they consider them all pretty lucky that the only thing opposing them thus far has been weather and not monsters.]

It's too bad you can't punch a storm away...

[flask]

[Mechanical rat a weight in her cloak, Nott confidently marches out of the store, opening the door and only sort of leaving it open for him as an afterthought. She quickly picks a random direction and starts walking.]

So. Are you some kind of guard? Are there laws against day drinking outside of a bar here?

[diamondize]

Well, there was that big dragon terrorizing everyone here... [That's now frozen in time or whatever was happening there. So they suppose it's true enough, that dragons are dangerous and cruel.]

Pleased to meet you! I'm Diamond--Which is both my name, and what I am. You can call me 'Dia' though, if you want! [They tap their chin thoughtfully, head tilted curiously before they smile] Are we friends now, so I can call you 'Molly' too?

[diamondize]

[Dia steps inside, stifling a yawn and giving him a grateful smile.]

That's too bad! Are you one of the ones that just woke up recently? Quite the welcome, huh? [They look a bit sheepish as they take a seat on the opposite bed, hands resting on their knees]

You know, it's not usually like this! It's been pretty quiet, really, up until the dragon thing...

[flask]

[Nott sticks her tongue through her teeth after him as he goes, feeling very proud of herself in this moment. Despite the fact that her interruption may not have been strictly necessary. At the very least, it avoided a more violent end to the encounter, so it wasn't entirely useless.

She blinks at the drink she's stolen now, shrugs, and takes a big swig. She then looks up at the woman she just helped out, finally really taking her in.]

You must get a lot of people like that, huh?

[She's as pretty as Fjord is handsome. Is this a half-orc thing?]

If I stand next to you, though, everyone will probably be scared off.

[ofhousetarly]

As someone who has faced the brunt of jokes back home, he can sympathise with John.

"Not funny at the time I'm sure." Sam points out, turning to the bartender to order something he's used to. Or at least this world's equivalent to ale.

His drink now served to him (albeit with a scowl) he glances over at John again and holds out a hand.

"My name is Sam by the way. Sam Tarly."

[expiable]

[ it's a curious tidbit, that there are no other Russians here. probably for the best, though some of her KGB contacts wouldn't be unappreciated in the new world. she props up her chin on one hand, a keen listener.

the Red Army, huh. been a while since then. ]

Born in Stalingrad. [ when it was Stalingrad, anyway. she allows her smile to soften, just melancholic enough to convey the truth of her experience. ]

I was recruited by the government. [ feel free to fill in the blank. then, drawling — ] Travelled all over — but someone offered me a job in the States, and I took it. [ over-simplifying, that. she shrugs. ] And now I've journeyed through space-time, just to meet someone from home.

[ what a trip! ]

[meinwaifu]

[IT'S DEFINITELY HILARIOUS and Mephisto rudely cackles at the sight. But while he's definitely expecting a bit of retaliation, this isn't quite the shape he expected it to take.]

[With a very graceful squawk, Mephisto only has time to try and turn away before he's pelted with snow bullets, falling flat on his ass and so thoroughly coated that he looks like a weirdly lanky snow man.]

[flask]

Whoa! So you're like a band!!

[Nott doesn't know anything about school, really, for all she knows school idols exist in her world.]

Sing a song! Right now!

[ettersberg]

[ nightingale gives a nod and then doesn't say anything for a moment. takes a sip of his drink and glances at eggsy, trying to catalogue any changes.

then: ]

This reminds me of home. [ he nods to the screen, the sport playing. ] Granted, it'd be rugby if I had any say in the matter.

[flask]

[Taking a second to breathe, Nott starts to calm down a bit. JJ's not in any real danger -- Nott wouldn't bite him, the teeth are just an intimidation tactic, and she's unarmed -- but seeing that he doesn't even care makes her very... confused, even through her drunken stupor.

Really, everything about this guy is confusing.]

That wasn't a tackle!! What was that!! Don't do that!!

[flask]

[Nott squints.]

I know what real magic looks like.

[Caleb shows her real magic all the time!! But Nott hands over the rat, regardless, after a bit of hesitation, placing it in the girl's open palm. She then watches very, very intently to see what the girl does to it.]

[ukase]

He recognized that voice on the rescue mission for a group of refugees. Well, that was lucky, since it meant he automatically assumed that Nash had skills enough to continue to trudge on and wasn't necessarily snow blind stumbling about.

"Snow freezing to my eyelashes is about the only view I'm actually having," he replied with good humour. The wind pushed at them, tore at their clothing which just barely seemed to be enough at this point. In the darkness, it might not.

He walked along with Nash, huckering his shoulders against the wind and the whipping snow. "Advantage of darkness is we'll see those lights easier. Disadvantage is the fact we'll probably all freeze to death." Yet, neither of them seemed to be about to panic. "I take it you've made journeys like this before, pal?"

[ukase]

Is that what we're called? Yeah, I'm from Earth, watched you fly around on the television.

[Man, this guy bounced back easily. He grinned, tucking his hands into his pockets to keep them warm in the cold.]

I've been here a few months. How about you? And where's your stupidly famous hammer?

[ukase]

Rumlow slowly nodded his head in understanding. Venom had it bad it seemed, and it also seemed that no reason would make it obvious that maybe this Zato guy was playing the field for advantages but keeping heterosexual the entire time. "You miss him still, yeah?"

He nodded his head, not particularly caring about the physicality of the woman in question. Anyone who was leader of a guild and gave their heart to someone was looking for more than looks as far as he was concerned. "Did she have any fun and interesting hobbies? Anything that might tickle a man's fancy in its uniqueness?"

[flask]

[Nott jumps a bit when she's pointed out by this random stranger, freezing and part of her wondering if she's going to have to run... but then he just asks to work with her?

That's... weird. She smiles in a kind of nervous surprise, showing all of her very sharp teeth.]

No! Just me! Do you... actually want to be partners? Like, in the contest?

[ukase]

At this point, he was planning on being careful of where he put his parts and how. He was not looking for a repeat performance, especially with the reminder of it rattling around in his pocket. Of course, it wasn't all bad. It had earned him good company, and it seemed that his future was going to require the use of medics all the time if this was happening.

"Promises are a little childish, don't you think? How about I give you my word that I won't hold back?" As far as he was concerned, if she was in the military and been in active combat, she was no slouch and that earned his respect. "I'm nothing special, Lieutenant. I'm a soldier who served my country, just like you."

[thatgoodnight]

[His eyes narrow, and he makes a slight scoffing noise at the understatement. There is something in Ardyn’s voice and eyes that is different, more like the end than when he balanced atop a lamp post or stepped upon the throne. Noctis wonders what it means - and what it means for Ardyn to be here.]

We did. I put you to rest.

Why are you here?

[Betrayed again by the cuff, but it’s just as well, because Noctis does want to know both why and how. He still wonders at the disparity between his memories and Prompto’s and Luna’s. Are Ardyn’s, too, different? But he speaks like he remembers the end... So then do theirs match up, then, in a way the others do not?]

[expiable]

[ he makes her think of days spent strolling through the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hub, eyeing the lab techs as they tinkered with alien gizmos. there's only so much people can do with objects of unknown origin, even with top-notch facilities at their disposal. ]

You're kidding.

[ her little smile confirms that she's joking, this time. ]

[ canting her head. ] What's worth salvaging?

[ she can see the loose parts, but she doesn't know what they signify. scrap metal? ]

[expiable]

Mm. [ humming in thought, as if he's a hard one to puzzle. that may not be the case, but drawing out the game is half the fun. after a moment, she tips her glass in the direction of a young woman who entered more recently, currently nodding along in obvious disinterest at another man's chat. ]

The girl with the soft bob. She waved when your boy got his last round. [ and he blushed. ]

[ so maybe nat has been people watching for the better part of the evening. ]

[flask]

[Not even as vague as her dancing around the topic of Molly and Caleb, and Nott doesn't care to interrogate. She'd rather not have the inquisition turned on herself. Even if her attachment to Molly and Caleb is innocuous on a surface level, there are attachments to Caleb in particular that she keeps close to her chest. That not even Caleb knows everything about.

So, yeah. Let's avoid that.]

Half a year... So you were asleep for a whole six months?

[Nott looks... pretty distressed to hear that. She doesn't want the rest of the Mighty Nein to be asleep for that long.]

We were lucky the three of us woke up at around the same time, I guess.