❪ event ❫ what is the storm—?

[natha]

What is the storm —?     The sky is falling. The moon draws closer, visibly now. Whether you've found out from Nurray, or somewhere else, everyone now knows that in about a week, Thesa will collide with El Nysa. However, not all is lost - Nurray has a plan. Old technology is being powered by the storm somehow, giving the developers in Nadril the means they need to create a device capable of jumping back into the past. The device can only transport to one singular point in time per activation, but passing through is a better chance for safety than remaining. As long as you're in Nadril you'll make it, which is why she'll urge everyone to try to get all their business done and travel back north. At first, it was a mere atmospheric pressure drop. Headaches, a sense of dread in the gut, and a chill that would not be quelled drifted over all of El Nysa's inhabitants. And then the days grew shorter. By hours at a time, until there was nothing left but night. Still lit with stars, people turned to Thesa, to their scholars, to their shamans for answers. None came, only exploding lights in the sky. One by one, stars began to burst, like the grimmest of fireworks. For one dreadful night, the sky was alight once more with the death of the surrounding galaxy as thousands of stars extinguished in a blaze. And then came the lightning, low hanging clouds and whipping wind that howls at all hours. It brings with it calamity, beasts and fog and a reality shattering effect that progresses ever closer. Against these unstoppable odds, the people of Nysa are finally united - desperate, and determined to preserve their homeland. IN WYVER     The life that imbues the jungle town has gone still. Animals do not seek shelter - they simply lay forlorn, lethargic and unresponsive to even their dearest handlers. The wild creatures are no different, with predator and prey supping from the same stream, seemingly resigned. Once vibrant plant life droops, blotted into obscurity by the darkness that surrounds. Only the people of this great kingdom remain lively, though their actions are fueled by desperation, than valor. A rally cry rings out over Wyver, even to Olympia, begging anyone who is able to fight. Beasts no one has ever seen before have begun to attack, roaming the city and the lands surrounding as if it is their hunting ground. These creatures are cobbled together from the many worlds the storm has consumed - perhaps your own included. They could bear familiar technology, animal features, or even a loved one's visage. No matter their composition, they are always amalgamous, and always crazed. The valiant warriors fighting these creatures have more to worry about than just the monsters. Their own bodies may become entangled and fused - an effect that only wears off when one retreats from the storm's epicenter. Specters also drift through the onslaught, oddly peaceful compared to the frenzy surrounding. They are wholly composed people, memories from planets devoured. Someone you know, perhaps, stuck in a loop - the same five minutes - for hours before fading away. They cannot be killed, doing so will simply reset the loop; they will vanish on their own, as mysteriously as they came. I. THE FRONTLINES Wyver might not be able to fully understand exactly what is happening, but they've already assigned a task force to combat these apparitions that have begun plaguing the jungle Kingdom. But the Storm is sentient; it has always gathered what it's known of the habitants of the universes the Storm has swallowed. And as it begins to unravel El Nysa, it will begin to learn of your time here — yes, it knows that you are trying to stop the Storm from happening, somehow. It knows you're looking to fight you way back north, and it simply cannot let that happen. After all, El Nysa is an anomaly created by Darma. All of its inhabitants, organisms, and even existence were not supposed to be. The apparitions start off monstrous at first, taking forms of ghostly bestiaries. Your weapons won't do much to get rid of them — they will disappear, but only temporarily, until they come back. Each time, more evolved than the last — until it's able to take on the form of someone who has left you, someone who has returned to the stasis chambers in Thesa, awaiting to be devoured by the Storm. Your partner will likely be doing the same, haunted by images of their loved ones of the past — and there is a possibility that as you fight along with your partner, that these apparitions will combine into ghastly, wretched creatures, serving no other purpose than to spook you into submission. They will fight you, embrace you, and seduce you into staying. "Let the Storm take care of this," they'd stay — "You've got it all wrong. You and that Witch had it all so, so wrong." Will you make it out of Wyver, or will you let the Storm take you? IN OLYMPIA     All of Olympia is awash in fog. It creeps in around each and every corner, so thick it is almost difficult to breathe, and even more difficult to see. You can hear the panicked citizens all around you, although through the fog, their shapes are indistinct and almost menacing. A family fleeing from something might look like a quick-moving, multi-headed monster, or perhaps a lone man hauling his belongings to safety on his back might appear to be an imposing creature with wicked claws. And then, of course, there are the figures that look achingly familiar to you, like someone you've lost or care for deeply… but then, when you catch up to them, they vanish, only to call out for you from somewhere further in the city. Tread carefully — with your impaired vision, it would be all too easy to inadvertently wind up injured. Of course, this isn't solely due to the hazards obscured by the mist, although that is certainly part of it. The fog has a quality to it that serves to amplify the desires and lower the inhibitions of everyone exposed to it. II. SILENT HILL Similarly, Olympia isn't properly equipped to deal with a crisis like this. Wars, they are certainly accustomed to — but when their very own land is indiscriminately being torn apart by alien forces, it is uncertain to know for sure what they can do. Word from Nadril is that the inhabitants up north has opened its gates for everyone to enter — this is news to Olympia, but they do not hesitate to migrate to the chilly gates regardless. The first obstacle, of course, is to find a way out of Olympia. The fog is debilitating, but you may not immediately notice it. It starts small. A spark of annoyance at getting cut off by someone you barely saw coming might twist itseful up in you until it becomes unbridled rage. Simple fear becomes indescribable terror, and of course, people are at their worst when they are acting on fear. If what you want is an escape, you may find yourself willing and able to do things you simply could not fathom in order to get out of there. If what you want is riches… well, there is plenty of wealth ripe for the taking, should you simply ambush someone fleeing or break into their homes. The longer you spend in the fog, the more difficult it will become to fight back these urges. If the fear doesn't completely paralyze you, you may find that there is a rather unconventional yet risky way of alleviating this ailment -- which might require someone you trust. The thing is, upon holding someone, all of your fears will be transferred unto that person. It will then be your duty, then, to escort them out of the fog before your fears start to completely deteriorate your ally's psyche. Move quickly, or you may both be crumbled by the weight of this Storm and its fog. IN NADRIL     The journey north is treacherous, but not without its own rewards. Nadril is marked by a storm that is raging at the territory's edge, as if the forces of nature are attempting to do away with the border itself. Strangely, the storm seems to be stopped by the borders — electricity crackles in midair as snow and ice whip about, disintegrating when they touch what seems to be an invisible dome sheltering the area. Inside, the weather is even stranger. The iced-over lakes have begun to thaw, and it is warmer and brighter than anyone here can recall it ever being — almost as if it is summer near the Olympia-Wyver border, not the dead of winter near the northernmost part of the isles. There is an almost palpable level of unease as those who live here full-time attempt to adapt to their new climate. Everyone is working, however. At the center of Nadril is what they all hope will be a solution to their problems: they claim it is a time machine, and that they have tested it through simulations and believe that it can, and will, work. They are already using it to help combat the storm at the borders — at times it does manage to penetrate the dome, but when it does, engineers turn back the clock an hour at a time to so that they can divert power to the parts of the shield that they know will need reinforcement. Be careful when this happens — it would be very easy to run into your own double in such a circumstance, and that could be… awkward, until enough time passes to bring you back to the "present" and you merge once more, taking on the memories of everything that you and your double (or triple, or quadruple) have experienced. Operating such a machine will take manpower, which the people of Nadril are prepared to provide. However, the undertakings they will require in the past — waking the gods, who they believe can provide protection from the Storm if you can convince them — will require all of you. Relying on a single person to change history is untenable. Only by working together will you be able to make the jump to the past and secure your future. III. INCEPTION Most importantly, there will need to be volunteers to undergo stasis. Pods that were similar to those in Thesa can be found all over the city center, beckoning people to sleep now, and hopefully wake to better tomorrow. But just as the Storm benefits some technology, it negatively affects others — but this is to do with the mind more than technology itself. For one, those undergoing stasis will find themselves dreaming of a better time in their lives — be it their homeworld or some other happy memory of theirs. The Storm magnifies this dream — everyone within a certain radius will find themselves entering the dream, despite being wide awake. Inside this dream, you will know instantly that something is awry. The events of reality, of the awoken, are beginning to seep into the sleeping person's dream. The lines between dream and reality become blurred, and you've been tasked to ensure that they remain asleep. That means that you must guide them into believing that nothing is awry with their happier memories, that they are not dreaming, and guide them through it. Ensure that the nightmares of reality be kept at bay, and that they may sleep through it all. The Ark of the Woken     The Ark of the Woken awaits, its chambers an imposing majesty of their own. Compared to the sleek design of Thesa, the Ark is a cobbled together patchwork of technology. But even with its exposed wires and manual input systems, Nurray promises it will get the job done. That is, once the pods have been brought to it from Thesa. The targets are Thesans who have previously awoken, however, no one has time to actually inventory the sleeping ones brought to this hamlet. If you choose to bring someone else, you'll probably get away with it. The procedure is harrowing - severing the pods from Thesa runs the risk of interrupting the life support system inside. To compensate, there is a small device that can be hardwired into a port on the back of the pod. It's fragile, and the function it provides only lasts twenty minutes. You have that time to move the pod to a small ship, and pilot it planetside yourself. Nurray suggests traveling in pairs - the Natha duo pilot ships are faster, and more reliable. However, they rely on a neurolink between pilots. If one is not focused, the ship may begin to malfunction. While navigating through rough turbulence, each pilot will be able to feel the others emotions, and hear whispers of their thoughts. All while the storm clouds around them play glimpses into their memories. Snippets, only seconds long, from the perspective of the pilot, provide easy distraction. Stay on task, and make your landing safely - your lives and others are depending on it. A Simpler Time     Your seven days is up. You have (mostly) achieved all your tasks, and you are now waiting. Those harrowing last hour may stay with you forever — while your peers tirelessly secure the time machine's effectiveness, you watch as Thesa draws closer. It's closer to you than you've ever seen it, more menacing than you realize as it threatens the lives of everyone you ever cared for. Alria, the lesser known moon, is first pulled toward Thesa, crushing a side of it. You may witness debris spilling into space and dissipate into the atmosphere. You might think, perhaps, that those were bodies of some you were told not to bring to the Ark. But you're assured many times that that won't matter, that this can be fixed if you simply wait and watch. The time machine will work. It's into the final minute, and time seems to stop — yet, you feel your breath catch as Thesa penetrates the atmosphere. You can no longer breathe, and gravity loses all its bearings on the laws of physics. As you float into the air, you're wondering if the light that engulfs you is an explosion — you might wonder if it could be death. At the very least, you are among people you've known on this planet. It isn't as though you were never meant to survive the first Storm. Simply close your eyes, and the Storm run its course. In the distance, you hear a muted voice. What is the Storm, But an attempt to cleanse the world — Of its anomalies? Open your eyes, Traveler, Where are you now? FINAL OOC NOTES     Welcome to El Nysa, Year XXX. Due to the time warping of the Storm, this event will not strictly follow the 1:1 ratio. Additional information about this world will be revealed early next month! For now, play at your pace. RNG for NPC threads will announced later tonight! RECOMMENDED LISTENING: Live Forever 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

[mollymocked]

Keeping "in mind" might be the problem. [Molly chuckles wearily at his own joke.] People's heads can be a dangerous place to be, and this is... a lot of bad business. It's easy to get stuck in yourself.

[Remembering that horrible void of shouting and emptiness Iskander found him in, he grips his arm tighter. It left when Iskander arrived and he can't quite figure out the correlation beyond that Iskander is safe and has only ever known Mollymauk and has no idea of the truth. He's grounding.]

[conqueredhearts]

It is. Yet, I will have the will to fight it. Because there are people out there who need me. If I can be their bridge to safety then that is what I will be. After all, I am the King of Conquerors. And a King cannot allow fears to stop him from his tasks.

[Like now. Especially not right now...]

[mollymocked]

There's some delightful irony in the King of Conquerors leading people to safety, instead of just burning everything down. People who conquer are usually bastards.

[Molly shuts his eyes, trusting Iskander to lead the way, because every time he looks, those "harmless" shapes in the fog set their sights on him and he just wants to fight, and Caleb is gone and he's alone and...

...and the second the fear starts to grip him, it's gone again. His eyes still remain closed.] Not you, though. I'm fairly certain there's not a bastard bone in your body, and I'm a little bit jealous.

[He might be talking to fill space. Maybe.]

[conqueredhearts]

I never burn anything down. To conquer is not to destroy. Anyone who believes so is no conqueror. A people cannot be conquered if you burn them down to dust.

[Iskandar has to take a moment to close his eyes. To gather himself. He's fine now... He can fight this. Where this fear comes from he has no idea but he has no time to dwell on that.

Eyes open again and he keeps pushing forward with Molly on his arm.]

We should be nearing the boarder soon...

[mollymocked]

That's good to know. I'll keep that in mind.

[The next time someone thinks to argue with him about the exact nature of a conqueror. Surely that could happen. But Molly isn't thinking about that now. He's thinking of the possibility of crossing over to Wyver and being out of this oppressive fog. Not realizing that Iskander's presence isn't what's chasing the fear away, he releases his arm and tries to take a few steps ahead to prove he can.

...And it all comes crashing back down on him like a pile of bricks and he sways on his feet trying to stand upright and for a moment he thinks, okay, this is where I just pass the fuck out, because this is too much. It's too fucking much. How can he even stand here and pretend like he's a whole person when he's just two years of experience and overcompensating with a love of life and existence that borders on zealotry. That's not what makes a person. You're just a series of lies in a frock coat. You're-]

Empty. [And Molly's knees buckle underneath him and he just barely catches himself. He's not screaming this time. He's just... overwhelmed by the oppressive existential horror of it all.]

[conqueredhearts]

[His mind clears when Molly releases him and he realizes something in that moment. Those fears... Those had been Molly's. He looks at his friend before moving over to him and reaching to toss him right over his shoulder. They'll move faster if he carries him honestly.]

It seems you have a lot on your heart, my friend. We may have to talk about that after we get out of this.

[Because for now they haven't the time. Looking forward he gets a feel for where he is before he goes to move again. But now he's holding onto Molly and Molly is the one getting to experience...a new kind of fear. Iskandar's only fear. That all of his conquests will come to an end. That he will find the end of his path and there will be nothing beyond it. Perhaps it's not the same as what Molly is feeling but to Iskandar it's just as real.

And he does notice the weight on his chest is gone.]

Well, I'd best be the one holding on to you, my friend. I'll get us out of here in no time.

[mollymocked]

[Molly makes a surprised sound as all 145-pounds-soaking-wet of him is lifted off the ground as easily as a sack of potatoes and thrown over Iskander's shoulder. The physical contact, again, calms him, and it's then in all his cleverness he realizes what's happening.

He realizes it before he feels a different, oppressive emptiness, and the strange thing is it's one that Molly, himself, doesn't fear normally, but he feels like he's staring into eternity and eternity is looking back and saying there really isn't anything beyond this and you know it. He's always been content with that knowledge, but something about it now sends an unpleasant shudder down his spine.]

No argument here. [Molly's voice is tiny and far away, and very, very tired all of a sudden... For a number of reasons. Months of holding onto his secrets undone with nothing but fog. It only took weeks for one tabaxi to undo it all, but at least she was polite about it.]

[conqueredhearts]

[He actually gives his ass a pat as he keeps moving forward again. They could honestly continue on in silence like this. But doing so would just be terribly depressing. So Iskandar decides to do something to fill that silence.

He starts singing. Just some little lullaby from his ancient childhood. His voice is deep and low but it fills the silence for them both so that way Molly has something else to listen to other than his own thoughts.

It's something he knows he can at least offer in comfort to the man now on his shoulder.]

[mollymocked]

[As someone who is highly susceptible to music- it comes from spending two years with two bards on the road- the lullaby is effective, and probably would have been effective were Molly not bone-weary and exhausted from having his normally closely guarded secrets dredged up and used to hurt him, only then to be faced with the more brutal side of nihilism.

Not a few moments after Iskander starts singing, Molly just goes limp like a noodle over his shoulder and starts snoring faintly, and only bolts awake again when the silence in his own head that occurs once they've crossed the border is so loud it startles him and makes him forget momentarily where he is as he flails awake.]

Is it over? Did it stop? Oh gods... [He lets himself go limp again, groaning in relief against Iskander's back. That was so much. Everything is so much.]

[conqueredhearts]

[He breathes a sigh of relief when the fog clears and his head does as well. Of course then he has to keep a hold of a squirming body on his shoulder. At least he manages to do that so Molly doesn't fall to the ground below.]

The fog is done. We still have to get to safety but we are at least free of the voices in the fog.

[He pats his ass gently.]

Do you feel that you can walk?

[mollymocked]

[The literal and figurative asspatting is literally making his life right now. Molly's horns thud against Iskander's back as he considers whether or not his legs are basically jelly or if he's more willing to approach this situation if he can suddenly run halfway across Wyver if questioning occurs.]

Much as I love the view... Probably for the best. [Acrobatically, he pushes himself down off Iskander's shoulder and hits the ground, unfairly close. He looks up and pats him on the pectoral.] Thank you for yet another satisfying ride. Let's not do it like that again. Psychological assault really doesn't bring anything to the table.

[conqueredhearts]

You are right. It isn't nearly as arousing as other matters could be.

[Iskandar will let him settle on his feet and grins as he puts a hand on his shoulder. Well and then in his hair to muss those curls a bit. He can't help himself. He enjoys touching them too much.]

Shall we continue on our way? At least there is no fog here.

[mollymocked]

[The feeling of a hand on his shoulder and no unnatural, receding feelings or invasive ones is a relief and a welcome, but more than that, he feels like Iskander isn't going to question him. At least right now.

He'll take it. He breathes in, the smell of jungle air mixed with the pronounced scent of fire and blood from somewhere off into the distance. There's a fight going on, and they're about to walk straight into it.]

Yes. Let's. I've got people I need to be looking after.

[conqueredhearts]

Oh? Who are they? I can help you to look for them.

[Already he's moving forward again. Molly looks ready for a fight so clearly he should see about finding one for him! That's what friends are for, after all.]