acatalepsy_logs | ( the sickness: phase two )

( the sickness: phase two )

I ▫ main	IV ▫ premise			XI ▫ applications	XIV ▫ activity
II ▫ logs	V ▫ rules	VII ▫ bestiary	IX ▫ canon updates	XII ▫ taken	XV ▫ drop/hiatus
III ▫ ooc	VI ▫ faq	VIII ▫ setting	X ▫ mods	XIII ▫ reserves	XVI ▫ players

the sickness ends.

the temple.

The Temple, shortly after Astoria's burst of energy, is in a constant state of growth. Trees are bursting into existence from seeds in mere seconds, flowers are growing wherever magic lands . . . and the Temple is abruptly a-buzz with energy, magic crackling throughout the air. You may find a tree in your house, or flowers suddenly growing along the walls, or plants wiggling their way through the stone walls of the buildings of the Temple. All of a sudden, the place looks very overgrown.

The Forest of the Fey seems to be responding in kind, too. Sprites are exceptionally active, darting out of the Forest and into the Temple with increasingly regularity, playing basic little tricks on the members of the Circle they can find. Flower crowns are made at an alarming rate, and there might be a few fruit-food fights that break out with the sudden abundance of peaches and apples that appear on the grounds. Learn how to duck!

With the magic comes the sudden fluctuation of energy: canon powers flicker on and off, as do the powers granted by Astoria. You feel more like yourself, you suddenly have access to energies you did not have previously in the Temple However, it's a double-edged sword -- it is not constant, and it may be more trouble than its worth.

And, remember: the Sickness is not fading immediately. If you make it to Stage 3, then you're stuck with sensory deprivation for at least another week or two. Sorry, friends.

lake dona.

Lake Dona is a massive body of water, stretching outward for so far that it almost seems like an ocean until you see that the water is fresh. It is surrounded by long, leafy trees that dip into the water and has a variety of ancient ruins scattered around it -- weathered stones set into circles at seemingly even intervals, old buildings that seem to mirror the Temple in construct.

In addition to the ruins, there are a network of caverns tucked along the water’s edge, just underneath the surface on the western side of Lake Dona, that appear to go underground into murky darkness. The actual entrance to these caverns seem to be underwater, seemingly guarded by merfolk, but poking around may seem to be more trouble than its worth.

There is plenty of wildlife to be found within the lake itself, ranging from freshwater mermaids who would rather you stay the hell out of their backyard to a rather large and suspiciously friendly plesiosaurus-like creature (some would say that she prefers to be called Nessie) that seems intent on checking out who you are. The lake teems with odd-looking fish, most of which seem to be okay to eat, and plenty of plant life! But who knows what lurks in the depths below . . . that giant sea-monster looking thing has to be eating something.
PROMPT IDEAS: Here are some prompt ideas for this new area! However, don't feel limited to such ideas! Feel free to fish, to explore, to swim, to poke around . . . it's always possible Astoria may check in on your character, too, once she is feeling better! ;)

1.) The Great Pumpkin The overgrowth of plants have caused a massive growth spurt in a lot of the trees, including the fruit trees that sprinkle themselves throughout the Temple. However, the fruit themselves seems to be growing at a rather . . . alarming rate, resulting in a few pumpkin-looking squash growing to the size of small boulders in the fields. Hope you have a lot of spare time on your hands to make a hell of a lot of Temple-pie, because these squash aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

2.) Food Fight!: Those damn sprites are at it again, and are collecting fruit off the ground and throwing it at people. Fight back, organize, and conquer! Or not. It's probably better to just not.

3.) Part Of Your World: The mermaids within Lake Dona are a suspicious lot, and they don't take kindly to strangers stomping through their territory. However, they are receptive to music, so if you are so musically inclined, they will definitely be more inclined to be a little more playful than territorial. If you aren't? Have fun getting tossed into the lake head-first by a bunch of pissed off mermaids who want you to get the hell of their lawn. They don't take kindly to your type around here.

4.) Nessie: Within Lake Dona is a massive plesiosaurus-type creature which seems to be . . . oddly friendly? It seems to pop up at the most inconvenient of times. Are you sitting on the edge of the lake enjoying the water? Enjoy a massive ass dinosaur sticking its impressively long neck out of the lake to check you out and also scare the bejesus out of you. That being said, Nessie is an extraordinarily friendly being, and will even give you laps around the lake if you ask nicely!

5.) Caverns: The caverns within the lake are dark, deep, and menacing The merfolk inform you that you cannot go there -- no one can, but the merfolk sure seem to be keeping a careful eye out on it. Testing the boundaries indicates a weird magical field around the entrance of the cave, that works like a bit of a forcefield. Weird, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[FORTUNATELY. . . Akira isn't the pushing off of the cliff sort. but he is the "pester a complete stranger because they look extremely lost in thought" sort]

Nice view, isn't it?

[he speaks, but his own gaze isn't locked on the view he just complimented. he's trying to see what it is Ludger is toying with in his hand]

[ that IS fortunate... probably.

Ludger glances up at the comment. ]

Hm? Oh, yeah. I haven't seen many sights like this back hom-

[ ... Ludger moves his hand with the object to the right side of his body. he wants to see if his visitor's gaze follows the motion. he hopes his visitor's gaze follows the motion.

Akira might catch of glimpse of the item - it's a large silver object, sort of shaped like a compact. but the rest of it's obscured by Ludger's fingers. ]

[. . . well. that's weird. Akira's gaze does follow the motion, but only for a moment before he tears it away to look at Ludger directly. was he staring too much??]

If you're trying to hide something, it's okay. You don't have to. I won't look.

[ hm! how stra- nah, it's cool. Ludger doesn't look offended or upset, he just smiles a little and just holds out the object for Akira to inspect. ]

You can look, but I'd prefer you not touch it.

[ "it" being a large, silver pocket watch. there's notching around the rim of it, and the very faint appearance of gears on it's surface. well, what surface that hasn't been disrupted by several large, rusting gouges on it. ]

... It was my brother's.

[a nod of understanding, and Akira's hands stay in his pocket, just so Ludger knows he's serious about not touching. he does lean forward a bit to peer at the watch. which, as far as he's concerned, is just a normal watch with some outward damage]

Ah. . .

[but the fact that it belongs to Ludger's brother is telling, even though Akira has never met him before]

Is it a memento?

Yup. A memento of the most annoying brother in the world. [ he starts absently fiddling with the watch again, but doesn't open it. ]

He always had women over when I was growing up, and he could never say no to our cat's meowing - which is why he ended up so fat. Sometimes it was impossible to get a straight answer out of him, and it made me want to strangle him.

[ ... ]

He's the one who taught me the lullaby I was humming. And he always sang it when I was upset.

[ he misses Julius a lot, but also wants to punch him in the face a lot.

grief is hard. ]

[grief is very, very hard. and it isn't difficult to understand what Ludger is saying when Akira puts together the context clues. a damaged memento. Ludger speaking of his brother in the past tense. him humming the lullaby, while staring off into the distance]

[. . . Akira lets out a small sigh, and takes a seat next to his fellow Circle member]

He sounds like a pain in the butt. [aha] . . . but also a really good guy.

He really was. [ to both of those. ]

... Sorry for the downer introduction. I'm Ludger. You're...?

[Akira waves a hand to indicate that the introduction wasn't a problem at all, and goes along with the slight topic shift easily]

Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for interrupting.

[in hindsight, it was a little rude]

I'm Akira. You're new here, right?

And I take it you're not. [ Ludger grins. it's kind of funny how many people have correctly pegged him as new to the Circle, even among the newbies. he really must have it written on his forehead somehow. ]

And it's fine. You weren't really interrupting anything important.

[ hm. right. ]

How long have you been here, Akira?

[he's an unfamiliar face in an otherwise familiar and constant population. it's not difficult at all to pinpoint a new kid when Akira sees one]

Four months, give or take a few weeks. Quickly going on five.

[geez, when he puts it like that. . .]

Huh. Time really does fly by. . .

[ well, the Great Spirit of Time can fly, so it does follow... ]

Four months... [ huh. ] How often do new people show up here, anyways?

About. . . once every two months? You're the third group of new arrivals, but you arrived two months after the second, who arrived two months after us. Soooo.

[he thinks that's a fair pattern!]

Astoria usually brings in new people when we return to the temple from a world jump.

[ that's pretty frequent! maybe he'll see a familiar (dead) face in two months then.

he's, um, not going to bring that up yet, though, but rather- ]

... If this place is consistently gaining people, what happens when we run out of beds?

We won't.

[Akira answers simply and easily, and then he extends both hands, fingers wagging. JAZZHANDS]

It's magic.

[ good thing jazz exists in Elympios, otherwise someone would have to think up another word for that action. ]

Is it? Magic is a bit more... destructive where I come from.

What if we run out of space for the beds?

[ now he just wants to see how Akira will respond. ]

We won't. It's-- [JAZZHANDS AGAIN] -- magic.

This is Astoria's pocket dimension. I think it just kind of alters itself based on our needs.

[that's his assumption, anyway. just based on how the bedrooms themselves change into what they need]

[ how remarkably convenient! ]

Like... our needs needs or our wants needs.

[ can he make 20 million gald appear in his room by wishing hard enough. ]

Needs needs.

[sorry Ludger no debt money for you]

Otherwise my room would probably be full of cats.

[wh. that's not true. he's joking]

[ well. what if they end up on a debt collection world, he'll need need it then. ]

I think I saw a cat around here... [ that wasn't a stray cat, that was Catsushi. not that. Ludger knows that. ]

But I get what you're saying. After all, I'd like Rollo to be here, but he really does need to stay in Trigleph and look after Elle.

[ Ludger, Rollo may be the Cat Emperor, but he can't raise an eight year old. ]

[PLEASE ALWAYS PET CATSUSHI WHEN YOU SEE HIM]

Rollo? That's a cute name for a cat.

[. . . if they keep talking about cats, Akira is going to start aggressively missing Morgana. who is not a cat, but is still someone cat-like enough to be lumped in with them]

Who's Elle?

[ he will never not Pet Catsushi ]

Right? Julius may have found him, but I'm the one who named him.

Elle's- [ his daughter from another dimension sent to his world by a homicidal version of himself. ]

-my partner. We made a promise to reach the Land of Canaan together. Probably one of the toughest eight year olds I know, too.

[GOOD]

Oh. Huh. She sounds pretty cool.

What's the Land of Canaan?

[how many questions does he have]

She would have been flattered to hear that.

[ hm! how many indeed. ]

It's the realm Origin lives in.

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