nysalogs | ❪ event ❫ what is the storm

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❪ event ❫ what is the storm—?

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

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[That instinct of his to save someone in need is not a bad one. It really isn't. The problem is that there are sure to be people he doesn't actually want to save. Yet here he is rushing in to save one of those people that might be.

Basically, Moira can only do so much with her abilities and has been backed into a corner. She seems to be protecting a large back slung over her shoulder, her right hand out to drain as many of these creatures as she can. But when you can only drain one at a time...

Then bullets happen and she looks over to see...

Well, well, well. Of all the people to save her life. She makes a sour expression before tossing a golden orb his way. Very well. If he's going to help then she'll at least make it so he keeps it up. That way she can't owe him anything by anyone's standards.]

[ With the angle from which 76 had approached, he hadn't been able to tell who had been backed into a corner. He could only see the mass of monsters crowded in one area, and had made the assumption that someone was in need of a bail-out.

He flanks around to make sure that he doesn't accidentally shoot the person who's in danger. With so many of them, he needs to make sure that his shots count. He's already used up a lot of ammo during this battle, and simply spraying a barrage of bullets isn't going to do him any favors.

So he activates the auto-aim on his visor and then gets to work, downing at least three of the beasts while more of them disappear into the trees.

That's when he spots the golden orb floating his way, tendrils of it reaching out once it gets close enough to finish healing up some wounds he sustained earlier. It's true that Moira might not have been his first choice of person to rescue, but he's here now. More than that, the brief distraction has allowed one of the four-legged creatures to get up close and personal. It lunges toward him, forcing him to jump back out of its range. ]

[Moira reaches out with her right hand, pulling the life from the creature and into herself. She didn't look injured before but she's certainly fine now. Of course she's still keeping the large bag she's carrying away from the creatures, always turning in a way that she puts her self between them and the bag.

Oh and fine she makes sure to throw another golden orb his way just in case when the first dissipates. Just to keep him healthy while he's being useful.

What she really wants to do is get close enough to one of these things to use her other ability. However, they always seem to fade away before she can manage that. At least he has his auto aim though. That helps somewhat even if she feels that this is still endless.]

Might I recommend we continue to move?

[ There's a lot going on, but Jack at least gets a glimpse at Moira's ability, the way that she sucks some sort of essence out of the monster trying to crowd him, drawing it toward her with a dark energy. Nothing about it looks good, to say the least, but it does cause the creature to stop dead in its tracks and crumple to the ground.

More will be coming, and there's little they can do about it. It feels like they're only barely holding back an onslaught, like they're backed up against a closed door to try and prevent it from getting blasted off its hinges by a flood of water.

Ultimately, it's just delaying the inevitable. ]

Don't have to tell me twice. [ He straightens, invigorated by the healing nanites in that orb. He continues through the jungle, setting a quick pace, though Moira's long legs should have no problem keeping up with him. ] What's in the bag?

[ He hadn't missed how protective she'd been with it during the fight. ]

You will find that is none of your concern.

[She does give him a pointed sour look before she continues jog after him, shifting the weight of the bag before lowering her hand down to actually gently pat it. Almost like she's offering comfort to whatever is inside. Assuming she's capable of that, of course. Most wouldn't believe her to be able to.]

A woman is entitled to her secrets, after all.

[And she has quite a few of them he's not aware of. This is probably just the smallest of them.]

[ It's not anything other than what Jack would have expected out of Moira. He can't think of a single time that she's given him a straight answer to any of his questions since she arrived here, so he's not sure why he even tries.

He scoffs and shakes his head to himself as he continues to walk. She did give the bag a little pat with her hand that seems odd, but Moira's nothing if not a strange person. ]

Guess that teaches me to not bother to bail you out next time.

[ Now he's stuck with her, at least for the moment. No doubt she'll find a reason to go her separate way soon enough. ]

One should note that your assistance wasn't asked for. This was a matter I had handled.

[In truth she'd been waiting for her ability to kick in again so she could simply fade past them and continue running. Because the trials on herself had been the initial run, they certain could require some tweaking to ensure that she doesn't require a break of a few seconds before she can use it again.

Something she can look into later. For now it's not actually an inconvenience and she has more pressing matters.]

You need only know that this bag contains something more important to me than anything else here. So I will be taking it with me. If you have concerns about that then I suggest we part ways.

[Because the bag stays with her.]

[ It didn't look all that handled to him, not that Jack would expect Moira to ever thank him for his help. She's got too much pride for that kind of thing. He's not sure what he would have done if he'd actually realized who he was helping before he'd gotten into the thick of it. Would he have left her to handle it on her own?

Much as he hates to admit it, probably not.

Something more important to her than anything else here? Jack frowns, glancing at the bag hanging over her shoulder. It's impossible to know what could be in there, except that it seems to be one large item weighing the sack down. ]

Never said I was gonna take it from you. Just wanted to know what it was.

[ But it doesn't matter, since she plans to keep it to herself. Something to do with her research, would be his guess. ]

I'm surprised you're out here at all. Figured you would've made a beeline for Nadril.

[ She's not exactly the self-sacrificial type, and she really only cares about herself. ]

Coming here was the fastest way out of Olympia from where I was located at the time.

[And that fog? She'd had enough of how it was twisting her mind. Her mind is a sacred place and she prefers to keep what is private exactly that. Private. Having the fog get into her head to make her react in ways that are rather extreme? Well it felt invasive and has left a bad taste in her mouth.

Not that she'll open up about that with him. They don't share feelings.]

I would rather deal with foes I can see.

[They're easier to run from.]

[ It's true that Jack doesn't usually see Moira around in Wyver, and while he'd figured that she had settled in Olympia, here's confirmation of that. Not that it seems to matter much given that none of these places are bound to exist for much longer. All the same, he keeps up with his quick pace, as if he can outrun the apocalyptic conditions that they're in.

What she says next is far more interesting, though. Ominous, as usual, but Jack can at least read between the lines here. ]

Yeah? What other kind of foes are there?

[ The kind you can't see, obviously, but that can mean all sorts of things, especially here in El Nysa. She could be talking about literal invisible monsters, or about something a lot more cerebral than that. ]

Why not make a trip to Olympia to see for yourself? I'm sure your auto-target system will be so useful there. Angela could certainly use your help.

[Is she implying she saw her there? Maybe. Largely because she has. Moira smirks behind him, aware of how he may take that and rather hoping he'll give her a reaction. He really is such a bleeding heart in the end. Not as bad as Angela but certainly bad enough.]

She may still be alone there.

[ Regardless of what Moira might suggest, Jack doubts that there would be time to make the trip to Olympia, even if he wanted to. She's trying to urge him to do something reckless (for what reason, he can't say; she might just get a kick out of it).

Of course he wants to check in with Angela, but he finds it hard to believe that she's completely alone. Moira's no doubt twisting her words to worry him.

He stops suddenly and turns to face her. He can throw this back in her face, even if she probably won't care. ]

You left her?

[Oh so they aren't running now. She supposes that she should have expected that. Of course there is an opportunity in this if she plays her cards correctly. A chance for him to worry so much for the safety of the poor Angela that he rushes to protect her. A pity she won't see him react to the fog in that case. It would prove to be valuable data.

Alas. She can't have everything. She will have to let the chance to see Jack tormented by ghosts of his past pass this time.]

She was more interested in fetching something that belonged to me than remaining at my side as we were running. I did tell her it didn't matter.

[She's not lying. She's just not telling him everything either. Like what the thing is.]

[ Yet another important detail that's simply been left out of Moira's story, to annoy him. If Jack even wants to assume that any of this is true. The item must have been important if Angela had gone back for it, but he already knows that asking Moira will lead to another dead end.

He'd rather ask Angela himself. His hand twitches to reach for his phone right then and there, but he knows that he needs to wait until they're clear of the jungle. ]

I doubt she's alone. Plenty of other people live in Olympia.

[ It might come across as cold, but it's more that Jack isn't going to reach out for the bait that Moira's left for him. With a grunt, he turns around again and continues at his brisk pace, visor scanning for more heat signatures. He knows they're out there. ]

[Well, well, well. That went another direction than she expected. She takes a mental note of that, find it intriguing even as she continues on after him. This should make him perhaps a more interesting study in the future.

Perhaps only somewhat but it is still something she will keep in mind.]

Yes. I suppose she would be one to find others in her efforts.

[Her ever present need for connection has always led her to other people for her to take care of. It can be almost irritating at times.

Beneficial for now since it means she can make use of that visor of his rather than having him run off.]

[ It's true that Angela would always situate herself around other people, both due to her need to help them and because there would be others trying to do the same as her. Healers and doctors alike.

There's no way Jack can be sure that she's all right, but that goes for everyone at the moment. The entire world is in chaos, and while he can try to make sure he drags a few to safety, ultimately he has to worry about himself first.

Everyone's heading to the same place at this point, so he'll help along the way if he can. ]

And you? Why'd you make a pit stop in Wyver before going to Nadril?

[ It's likely pointless to even ask, but he's got to fill the silence somehow. ]

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