❪ 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

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[punshots]

[ At those words, Prompto draws in a sharp breath, his attention fully on her now. ]

It is? But...how?

[ If she had had these pictures with her the whole time, no doubt she would have showed them to him. But this is certainly the first he's seen of them, and...gods, it is breath taking, isn't it? It's every inch as beautiful as she told him it was, and even his imaginings based on what she had told him don't come even close to the reality he sees in these photographs. ]

It's... [ His eyes drop away, back to the photographs in his hands. ] It's amazing. I-I knew it would be, but I didn't realize...

[ It's no wonder she had fought for this world. ]

[adelphoi]

[ she would not have thought that it would effect her so, seeing these images - after all, she has her memories. but memories are unreliable, and these pictures are crisp and real and exact. it has been over a year since she's last been there, and though prompto has pictures of eos to keep close, she's not laid eyes on these places in so long.. and some images more than others jerk hard at her heart. ]

This is the Rising Stones..

[ she says, gently, running her hand over one of the photos. ]

Our headquarters, the closest thing I had to a home in Eorzea. It was.. here - [ another photo ] - in Revenant's Toll, behind that green door, you see? And this -

[ her breath trembles, and though she smiles, her voice is thick with emotion, as she touches one of the photos in his hands. ]

- this is.. where I was born.

[punshots]

[ His arms move around her as she shows him the photo, pressing himself against her back so he can hook his chin over her shoulder, because no matter how glad she may be to see these places again at last, they must bring a bitter reminder with them. Of the home that she lost, of the world she can no longer return to. Her home, her place of birth, places she had memories abound in. He knows the feeling, because he feels their sting every time he looks through his photos from Eos. Grateful as he is to have them, it is...bittersweet, to say the least, to look upon the world he loved and lost.

A trembling sigh slips from his as he draws his fingertips over that last photo. ]

It's...it's breathtaking. What I wouldn't give to photograph places like these...

[ It's beautiful in a way so very different from Eos. ]

This is Sharlayan?

[adelphoi]

[ of course he would say such sweet things, but she also knows he means them. prompto has an artists' eye, and hydaelyn had ever been beautiful, there can be no disputing that. his arms around her, and his warmth at her back are sweet and welcome, stabilizing her enough to be able to speak through her too-tight throat. ]

Old Sharlayan.

[ her fingertip traces over the signature nautilus shell image. ]

More specifically, Idyllshire. Sharlayan is an island state off to sea, but there was a small colony on the coast, on Eorzea, though it was abandoned shortly after I was born, once the Garleans began their conquest. We were still infants, then.

[punshots]

[ He hums a quiet note of understanding, his eyes never leaving the photograph as she explains. ]

So...you were born on Eorzea? [ He never realized. He assumed she had been born in Sharlayan since she was raised there. Maybe that's yet one more reason why she decided to leave home. ]

Did you ever go back?

[ Abandoned or not, it's where she was born. ]

[adelphoi]

I suppose so, yes, though I have no real memory of it.

[ and idyllshire was a colony of sharlayan, so there were many similarities. but soon enough she shakes her head. ]

No.. my travels never led me there.

[ which, retroactively of course, she now regrets. ]

[punshots]

[ He can hear that note of regret in her voice as well, and he turns a gentle kiss just behind her ear to comfort. They all had regrets about things they never got to do back in their worlds, but to be fair, it's not like they ever could have anticipated the Storm.

They never saw any of this coming, for better and for worse. ]

...To be fair, you were kiiiiinda busy. [ Saving the world, and all. ] Where...did you get these?

[ She couldn't have had them all this time, could she have? ]

[adelphoi]

They just.. popped out at me. There were flashing lights..

[ she glances up and around, in the vague direction of where the lights had come from, but all she sees is these strange little.. insect machines? ]

Was it them, do you suppose?

[punshots]

[ He follows her gaze up towards the mechanical bugs, squinting up at them. Photography bots? Interesting, but...why? And how had they created photos from her world? ]

Could be. In any case, we oughtta hold onto 'em, don't you think?

[adelphoi]

Yes, absolutely.

[ was there ever any doubt? alisaie stacks them all neatly, drawing her fingers over them one last time before she slips them into her coat to keep them safe, and turning to him a weary smile. ]

I can only imagine how much you would have loved to photograph it.

[punshots]

[ She's got him pegged, and Prompto huff a laugh as he leans in to lightly kiss her cheek. From the way she talked about it, he'd always known that Hydaelyn was somewhere special, but actually seeing it is something else entirely. What he wouldn't give to go there...

But he's sure she shares that sentiment, too. ]

I would've run out of space the first day. [ He smiles warmly. ] Heh...you probably would've had to drag me to bed every night so I didn't stay out photographing until dawn.

[ In some fantasy world where they had a life together there, even though the only reason they had met was because Hydaelyn had fallen to the Storm. ]

[adelphoi]

[ though her smile is painful, it is warm as well - hydaelyn was certainly nothing if not breathtaking, she can only imagine how she would have to drag him away from every new vista, every beautiful scene, though she would gladly shoulder that inconvenience to have her home back.

to share is with him.. ]

No doubt I would. There are so many more beautiful places you would have loved. The floating city of Nym, Limsa Lominsa, Silvertear Lake..

[ even a thousand of these photos could never encompass hydaelyn in all of her vast beauty. ]

[punshots]

[ Maybe she can't share it with him directly, but she can still tell him about it, and maybe, given the sudden bittersweet appearance of these photographs, that would be the right thing to do. He doesn't want to draw out painful things, but even so, maybe...this is the time to ask about it, to give her a chance to reflect, to ease her homesickness, if even a little.

So one of his hands snakes down to take one of hers, squeezing her fingers gently as he threads his own through them. ]

A floating city? You gotta tell me more about that one!

[ And all of them, really, but that's a start. ]

[adelphoi]

[ his fingers in hers are an instant comfort, and alisaie smiles warmly, threading her own through his in kind, and climbing to her feet at last. ]

Well, it wasn't a city.. not anymore, at least. Ruins, now.

[ or, they were. now they're nothing. ]

It was a Nymian city, an old civilization of scholars. By heavily aspecting wind crystals, and de-aspecting earth ones, parts of the city were able to float. That is the theory, at least. Even in ruins it was.. beautiful. Maybe -

[ she hadn't looked at every photo, and the machines had spit out so many; alisaie tugs the photos out of her jacket again to rifle through them, and - ah! ]

Here. This.

[punshots]

[ He leads her over to a nearby bench where they can sit and talk, even though it's still freezing out here. (He's sort of getting used to it. Don't tell anyone.) Better they be comfortable while they talk, instead of standing in front of the doorway like a bunch of hooligans.

When she pulls out the photograph, he squints at it, before sucking in a deep breath and whistling. ]

Wow! That's....that's amazing! And they just...stayed up there? [ A quiet laugh. ] Heh, bet it made borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor quite the chore...

[adelphoi]

[ well, that's probably for the best. alisaie sits down beside him without complaint, wriggling in close to better share warmth with him. though hydaelyn is gone, and she will never set eyes on the floating city again, she nonetheless swells with pride at his reaction. wild and dangerous as her home had been, she loved it so.. to share it with him in the ways that he had shared eos with her is very gratifying. ]

Well, the Nymians were lost long ago, so I am afraid you may never know how they borrowed from their neighbors.

[ she says, through a chuckle. ]

But yes, I was there not too long before arriving here. It was so.. peaceful.

[punshots]

[ He keeps his arms around her and his eyes on the photograph, even as he gently rests his temple to hers, letting her warmth envelope him. It's true, the cold is much easier to stand when you're cuddling... ]

Yeah? What took you there in the first place?

[ Story time!!! ]

[adelphoi]

Oh.. only a pack of kobolds summoning Titan with a powerful, large amount of crystals.

[ you know, scion business as usual. intervening with primal summoning is more or less the job. her musical tone dampens soon, though, as she casts her eyes down at the photographs. ]

Most kobolds live underground in a vast tunnel system called O'Ghomoro, which is located beneath the floating city. We found that they were.. sacrificing their own, and there was a young child, Ga Bu -

[ alisaie sighs, the corners of her mouth turning down in a hard frown. ]

I attempted to help him find his parents, but we were too late. They were dead when we found them. In his grief, the primal was summoned, but when the dust settled I took him to the floating city to watch the stars.

[ her brow creases. ]

I wonder what has become of him..

[ if he made it off hydaelyn at all - or if he had died along with the mothercrystal and all they had known. did you think this would be a nice story?? think again, she knows only tragedy!! ]

[punshots]

[ To be fair, any story from home is automatically bittersweet by virtue of the Storm. His eyes linger on the photograph a moment, and he is quiet, subdued. She's done so much good, for so many people. Even if her world is gone, that is not in vain. ]

We should go look for him, when we can go back up to the Station. If he's up there...maybe he'll wake up here someday.

[ It's the best hope he can offer her right now, until, against all hope, they might find a way to restore their worlds.

He hasn't given up on that idea yet. ]

[adelphoi]

[ of course he would say such a thing. alisaie's smile kindles, soft and tired, but warm, and she turns her head to knock her brow to his temple, butting his head like a cat. ]

Mayhaps he shall, indeed.

[ it's nice to consider, at least. ]