❪ 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

bruising even

[dancerefresher]

T-thank you.

[She takes the photos gingerly, before making to wipe at her eyes with the heel of her palm.]

I-I don't think I'm that great-I-I have so much more to learn. But thank you.

For the help.

tongue in mouth disease

[gekkajuu]

You're welcome.

[And he's just going to ignore how she's putting herself down, because he's a little too used to that, himself, and pointing it out never helps.]

Are you -... Did you arrive with the rest of us, just now?

["Just now" is an exaggeration, really - but since everyone here is a refugee, some (apparently) from a very long time ago, he can't exactly ask about that for clarity.]

it could happen to YOU

[dancerefresher]

[Smart move by the kitty; it would have had a cycle of protests and the like. He'd find out, in time, how good or how much she had to learn. She did love her dancing after all.

Though the question had her dim a little, even as she nodded.]

Y-yes. Just a little before we were sent down.

[And so she stumbled through the snow kind of ill equipped. Oops?

do you want some garlic with that snail or

[gekkajuu]

[Nobody is ever equipped for the Nyan lyfe.]

I see... It's rather a lot to take in all at once, isn't it?

[Nadril may be a city like any other, but it doesn't feel nearly as hospitable as Olympia had. Of course, Wyver had been the same, and that had simply been a matter of circumstances as well, but Atsushi can't help feeling especially sorry for people new to the planet and finding themselves here.]

Things may seem a little depressing, but please don't let that get you down. There are plenty of places to have a lovely life, here.

Where did the snail come from is my question

[dancerefresher]

[It's Nyantastic.]

It's...a lot to take in at once.

[She dims a little more. She misses Ylisse, and thinking of her friends in the pods...she hates it.]

I...I don't know what my place is here.

I...I-I'm not a great fighter. And...and...I don't want to be a burden. I was on the way here.

[Thanks to how she was dressed on arrival. Oops.]

it was quite a leap from the tongue (and possibly a slip of it) i guess

[gekkajuu]

[Olivia... Why did you not take the survival kit......]

Nobody can be expected to be used to life here right off the bat. That doesn't make you a burden. Look - even those of us who have been here a long time don't know what this city is like!

[It's not your fault, Pinky. Take it from the Brain(?!).]

I guess you could say it was a slippery slope?

[dancerefresher]

[She did! She really did. But then she didn't have time to put on the warm clothes, not at first, and she was still kind of bad about it so!]

We-well-I guess no one knew about this city before? That's the impression I got.

[At least, not among the current refugee group.]

almost like a slip and slide

[gekkajuu]

[Olivia, please...]

That's right. I know someone found the name of it on a map sometime, but that was as much as we knew.

Until now.

[And, gosh, they have sure found out more now! To think that there were older generations of refugees all this time!]

guess it's more like a nip and glide

[dancerefresher]

[She lived ok!!!]

That...that makes sense.

I mean-it sounds like politics made it kind of hard to explore. But...I still don't know much about what it was like before everything kinda went...sour.

suddenly jack frost nipping at people's noses sounds even weirder than it already did

[gekkajuu]

Oh, it was wonderful!

[How to rub in someone's bad luck by trying to reassure them: a manual by a weretiger.]

Olympia is an amazing city, and there's the lovely ocean side as well... The Empress is a lovely person, too.

[... And now it's all frozen. Even Atsushi's poor cub...]

... You'll get to see it eventually. Once the Natha fix things.

jack frost ask before nipping jeez

[dancerefresher]

[It's a weretiger life. Olivia blinked at him. It was kind of generalized but...well.]

R-right...right.

So does-does that make you one of the guard? Do does everyone get to meet the Empress?

Things are...everything will go back to how it was once we know what to do?

this is how the "me CHOO" movement started

[gekkajuu]

I am one of the guard, yes! Though I wasn't when I met the Empress... I guess you could say she asked me to join?

[THAT SOUNDS SO CONCEITED! Even if it's kind of true.]

Ah, just -... I have an ability, you see? She thought it could be useful.

[That was why. He wasn't really that great, or anything. Honest!]

Yes. I'm sure of it.

The Natha have done stranger things. Just think of how they brought us all here!

[Unfreezing a world that they froze themselves should be no big deal, right? And even stopping a zombie dragon... is probably doable.]

repel jack frost nipping via sneeze?

[dancerefresher]

Oh? It sounds like you're an amazing person, especially if she asked you to join.

[Idly, she wonders if the Empress is anything like Chrom, and she feels a pang. She wishes he was here.]

Your ability...I'm sure if you weren't already a great person, someone she could trust, she wouldn't ask you for your help.

[Olivia you're being too nice again. As for the Natha...Olivia shakes her head a little.]

It's-I'm still not sure what to think of all of the Natha and what they've done. It's kind of...godlike, isn't it?

[Freezing time? She's never heard of the like. Traveling BACK in time, yes. But that was with help with a dragon that was more or less a goddess.]

omg you'd probably sneeze snotty icicles

[gekkajuu]

I'm really not that impressive!

[He waves his hands in front of himself as if to physically repel that compliment.

Still... She does have a point with the rest of her line of reasoning.]

I've tried to help the city, of course. It took us in with open arms, and gave us more chances than I could have dreamed of, for no reason other than that it could. To repay that debt, I would have done anything within my power.

[Yeah, he's. Really fond of Olympia. In case that wasn't obvious.]

It is. [The Natha are definitely godlike.] Which makes it all the stranger that this place somehow managed to get the better of them - especially when they're just refugees like us, except from ages ago.

[Atsushi should be more suspicious of the Natha than he is, but he's definitely suspicious of Magda.]

I guess it's a jagged away to do it

[dancerefresher]

[Ah...she's found her kin. She thought she was the only person who did things like that...]

I'm sure you are! You are to me already-you've been here for longer! That's something!

[She could admire all of this. He was...he was someone who tried to help, give back to the people that were so kind to welcome them with open arms.]

It sounds like you're a really good person too. So-try to remember that, okay?

B-but too...it means that the Natha can get things wrong, right? So...so we might have to try to learn more about both. C-carefully, or else we'll have picked something and might hurt ourselves later.

and if it's not a jag it's a tiger

[gekkajuu]

I don't think happening to exist is much of an achievement.

[It's a gentle correction, though. He appreciates how she's trying to see him in the best possible light, but that just leads to disappointment in the end, doesn't it?

He does genuinely feel a little warmed for being called a good person, though. It's not like it's true - he will never be good enough - but it's still what he strives and works really hard for, so it's nice to hear.]

Yes... We should definitely learn more. Magda doesn't seem to trust us very much, however.

at least it's not a liger

[dancerefresher]

It...i-it can be, sometimes.

[She smiles a little, but that's more of a joke to herself for...well, existing in a room full of people and not trying to simply vanish. But...well, maybe she is playing it up a little too much.

She does that sometimes. Though...she's sure he's a good person. Part of the guard, and wanting to do right...that was part of it, wasn't it?]

Is it because the Natha sent us?

I thought...didn't they save us? And our friends?

[She's getting a bad feeling.]

tell no lie grrr

[gekkajuu]

[Well... She does have a point. But there's a difference between living and existing, surely? You have to do the latter to be able to try the former... or something like that.

As long as you're alive, it's fine. His motto.

Meanwhile, this is getting to a very difficult topic.]

They may have. No - they definitely did, several times.

[It's no surprise that Magda considers them the Natha's lapdogs; Atsushi considers himself loyal to them, indeed. But he knows very well that they've been... less than completely open about a great many things.]

At the same time, several people have gone back to worlds that the Natha claimed had been destroyed by the Storm, so. To be honest, I have a few questions for them, too.

give me those big ol' kitten eyes instead

[dancerefresher]

[They could do this. Existing...living...well. Olivia would rather live, if she has any say about it. Those existing...well...she thought it was only those that were sleeping in the pods.]

That's-well. That's good.

[So they would see the Natha with rosy glasses, even feeling in debt to them. But...what Atsushi brought up troubled her.]

So...do you think we'd be able to ask the Natha anything...? Or if we did, if they'd tell us anything...?

(*ΦωΦ*)

[gekkajuu]

I don't know. They were gone for a long time, and then this happened...

[He's also a little afraid to get answers, if he's honest. By now, he's so used to his life here that returning to his own world would mean a painful goodbye, even if it would also give him many things to look forward to.]

We'll have to do it. Maybe Magda will eventually give us information that will make it easier to know what questions to ask them.

(*´꒳`*)

[dancerefresher]

Huh...

[She vaguely recalled something about that, about leaving their body because of the storm? But...she did have a little shiver of dread in her.]

Then...if we want to learn from Magda, we're gonna have to do something...s-something that stands out.

[Her fingers stroke over the photos.]

I-I can't think of something that can happen right away. Only over time, maybe.

[gekkajuu]

Yes... This could take a lot longer than we thought.

[And meanwhile Olympia and Wyver, with all its people and animals, would remain frozen. It's a depressing thought.

But they have to stay optimistic!]

... We'll just have to do it, won't we?

[dancerefresher]

Yeah...yeah.

But we have to, don't we? So we'll do it!

[Optimism! They can do that!]

We'll just do it as good as we can!

[gekkajuu]

[Hearing her put it that way.... actually dashes all his optimism, because that's just who he is. But he will persevere!!]

Yes!

[Was that a little too optimistic? ... It may have been...]

Then, we'd better get started.

[dancerefresher]

Right!

We can do this!

[She almost fist pumps but recalls her bundle. Whoops!]

D-do you think Madga would be impressed by a dance...?