welcome to the kingdom of akvos.It will happen at random- you could be asleep, or wandering the Temple, or a variety of other options. It will feel a little strange, like a sudden warmth spreading across your skin, and then your bracelet will light up. When you blink again, everything has shifted - changed, developed, like in that blink of an eye you have advanced . . . where, exactly? A NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY . . . WAIT, WHO IS THAT?But before anything too weird can happen . . . your watch flashes again, beeps once, and on it has a new message, a hologram-sparkly image with a young man who (to some individuals!) looks quasi-familiar. He is thin, with large eyes and speaks quietly, but with great purpose. Whoever this is, it doesn't seem to be a person that is a fan of much pomp and circumstance. . . but wherever he is, he is speaking on dry-land, though he looks like he's just recently gotten out of a pool.
 "If you are watching this, then you are a member of the Circle, and have triggered a protective rune that I have cast within this Kingdom known as Akvos that has activated this message. I do not have much time, but my name is Kathashun. I need your assistance, and I am not sure whether we will ever find one another again. But if you are listening to this, heed my words: take care, because you know not what your actions do. The magic in this world is powerful, and whatever is seeping through this planet may not be able to be stopped, but trust me when I say that when we meet -- "
There is a noise, a banging on a door, and Kathashun's eyes dart to the left, before a voice off-screen says, "As much as I love listening to you talk, we need to go." There's a moment's pause before Kathashun refocuses his attention on you, and his eyes (normally a deep brown) begin to change into what appears to be a liquid gold color, and the message begins to crackle.
"We will meet again. Heed my words; find the Princess."
And, just like that, the connection dies, leaving you to the depths of the ocean.
Welcome to Akvos.  ARRIVAL A: THE PALACE OF WAHINE.The first group arrives at the Royal Palace of Wahine, smack-dab in the bustling center of what appears to be the lost city of Atlantis. It is in an area of Akvos that is completely underwater, with gentle currents wafting through the water that guide people on their merry way.
There is plenty to locate here, depending on what you want to find. There are dozens of musically inclined merfolk wandering through the courtyards of the Palace, a shopping area selling intricate jewelry and other decorative pieces, and even the Queen herself. Feel free to set up threads regarding any information you discovered in the World OOC post, but here are some ideas for those needing a place to start!
Prompt Ideas:
- Are you musically inclined? There seems to be a band of colorful mermaids striking up a merry tune with reed flutes, horns made out of massive seashells, and is that a bass playing the bass? You bet your ass it is. . There's even a potential spot for the Circle to join in, if you're so inclined! They may even pay you for your services if you're really good.
- The Queen has offered a reward for any information concerning the location of Princess Kea, who has been missing for a little over a week. A band of scrappy young investigators (complete with matching uniforms) is eager to begin, and has a list of potential "clues" to track down in the Palace area, ranging from: the Princess' prized hair-comb, her harpoon, information on her favorite restaurant, and her beloved pet flounder. None of these items are actually within reach except her favorite restaurant, which will happily either (1) talk about how amazing the Princess is or (2) accept help in the kitchens to serve up a busy restaurant time. Either way, you can earn some seashells.
- The Royal Guard is looking for some mercenary work to comb the city for clues, and seeing as the Circle is oh-so-eager to help out with whatever is going on in Akvos, they're willing to give you a shot! The only problem is that you have to be ready to swim, so be prepared to swim endless laps in circles around the perimeter of Queen Wai's massive home to seemingly no avail. . . . do they actually need the help or are they just laughing at you? Dammit.
- The Palace of Wahine has an underwater library, which is pretty expansive . . . how do they have all of these materials underwater? There are several helpful octopus-libraries that are using their various tentacles to grab books, scrolls, and other materials off of the shelves to hand them to nearby patrons, and there's a lot of material here about the history of Akvos! You may also find a pretty interesting comic book series revolving around a powerful mermaid who looks suspiciously like Queen Wai, who thwarts the evils of inequality. If you ask Queen Wai about it, she will assure you that she has nothing to do with it, and her constituents are creatively minded people . . . but she doesn't seem to mind the good press.
 ARRIVAL B: THE DEPTHS OF MARKOLOS.The second group arrives in a rare pocket of air in Akvos -- a massive cavern, with multiple alcoves along the walls. Here, the population seems to be rather bleak in comparison to the rainbow-colored folk in the Palace of Wahine -- merpeople with larger eyes, sharper teeth, and darker scales. You have successfully located the hunting grounds of the Kingdom of Akvos, known as the Depths of Markolos -- an impossibly deep sinkhole that stretches into the depths of oblivion.
The local population here doesn't actually know what's at the bottom of it, but lately, there are odd happenings in the Depths that the population will tel you about. For one, dead fish seem to be appearing with increasing frequency, and the temperature of the Depths has dropped to a frigid point. Layers of ice have been found below the surface that were not there previously, and there is plenty of talk of whether or not their food supply for the Kingdom is endangered by whatever is causing this random bout of ice.
Prompt Ideas:
- Have you ever tried spear-fishing? An angler-fish mermaid, with haunting eyes and massively sharp teeth, is eager to teach the Otherworlders! She's pretty nice, despite her scary appearance, and will pay seashells to folks willing to stay in the "shallow" area of the Depths to spear pretty easy looking fish. She will also lend out fishing equipment for those want to give it a try!
- The Brig is located in the Depths, and if you violate the law in other areas, you will be brought here. The cells are small and cramped, with no beds or cots to speak of, and you are fed less-than-great quality raw fish while in here. Petty thievery and the like will be punished for two days, and once you are released, you are stuck in the Depths You can also talk to some of the prisoners here, who will be interested in swapping a surprising amount of seashells for fresh raw fish. They also like to gamble. :)
- There are some side-tunnels in the Depths along the walls that contain shellfish to hunt and scavange! The only problem is that some of them have a fairly strong current, and -- voila, it is a massive Slip-N-Slide. Sneaking into one will rocket you through a tunnel and spit you out at a lower level of the Depths, but be careful -- you might wind up face to face with a pretty terrifying looking fish that is a bit too big for you to handle, so explore these tunnels with some care.
- The mermaids here will warn against going too deep into the Depths, but there is nothing to stop you from exploring. In addition to the ice clustered along the western wall of the cavern, there's plenty of creepy looking fish in the depths. In particular, the mermaids will warn you against infuriating a creature named Honohu -- who is this beloved little Leviathian-looking monstrosity who will absolutely attempt to eat you if you go too deep. Enjoy?  ARRIVAL C: THE FIELDS OF AKOVOSIAThe third group will be deposited in a beautiful coral reef, full of color and swaying seaweed. It is an impossibly beautiful sight, and the merpeople here are equally bright and colorful, to blend in with tehir surroundings. There are no shortage of clownfish and angelfish-esque merpeople floating around, collecting plantlife, creating new clothing, or even hunting poisonous smaller fish for usage in their medicinal techniques.
However, the more you explore the fields, the more you begin to notice odd patches of dead coral. It almost looks as if certain random patches were afflicted by some type of illness that has completely robbed it of its color. The merpeople nearby will not know very much about it, but if you continue digging and asking the right people, perhaps you'll find out the source of this sudden illness.
Prompt Ideas
- Have you ever gone dolphin-racing? . . . or, well, they look like dolphins, complete with saddles and harnesses that the merfolk are entirely too eager to pass off onto the landfolk. It seems they race these dolphins in the currents for sport in between their collecting of plantlife and hunting. Feel free to ask the curator of these beings, a burly-looking mermaid who will happily lend you a dolphin for a seashell an hour.
- Batter up! You can find what appears to be a weird baseball/rugby crossover sport, in which the merpeople crack hunks of coral with sticks . . . but then tackle each other at the different bases instead of, you know, tapping them lightly to signify them being out. They're always looking for new players to join, but be warned! They take their sport seriously.
- Investigating the beautiful coral reef will garner a lot of pretty looking rocks and other types of intricate material that could be used for crafting, which is always up for collecting for money. Mermaids will be wandering around with baskets to collect various goods, so feel free to help out!
- Finally, there are a lot of mermaids just sitting around shooting the shit, gossiping, fussing about home, and collecting materials to make what's needed in their day to day lives. A few of them seem to be knitting some type of material underwater -- weird, right? But feel free to obtain some cool textiles fresh off the proverbial racks, for a price.  ARRIVAL D: THE THUNDERDOME.The last group to arrive may think that this is some type of stupid joke, as the merfolk around this area really do refer to it as the Thunderdome. It is a massive underwater cavern, filled with thousands and thousands of jellyfish. It seems that the merfolk tend to these beings for a multitude of reasons -- one, for food, two, for venom, and three, for . . . electricity?
The jellyfish in this area seem to crackle with energy, and the merfolk in this area will inform you that this is where they obtain power which they charge their weapons and lights with. The bioluminescence is pretty startling to see, and the jellyfish themselves seem to be relatively harmless. But there is a certain area of the Thunderdome that is flickering in and out of darkness . . . an area where the jellyfish seem to be a lot less bright. The merfolk don't really understand what's going on, but whatever is happening in Akvos seems to be affecting the jellyfish in a negative way. They don't seem horribly concerned, but. Here we are.
Prompt Ideas:
- The armory is located in the Thunderdome, and you can buy a bunch of cool weapons here! Glow in the dark swords, electrified knives, bows, and harpoons can be found here, varying in price. They all seem to be rust-proof, too, given their environment, and the craftsmanship here is like no other. The people here really take their craft seriously, so happy shopping.
- The main attraction here, though, is definitely the jellyfish. They deliver a rather nasty shock, and anyone who touches them will glow a weird blue color for at least three days afterwards. The merpeople seem to know how to fix this, but likely will not do so because they warned you not to touch the damn things, you stupid landfolk. Navigate them carefully, and you may even be able to earn some coin in helping shepherd them!
- A group of mermaids are looking for people to fish out the sickly looking jellyfish in order to be treated by what appears to be Akvos' version of a veterinarian. The sickly looking ones are the ones that are flickering dim, and while the veterinarian has no idea what is going on with them, they want them out. Just be careful not to touch them, though. You will definitely glow blue for a few days, even though these ones are ill!
- The mermaids in the Thunderdome enjoy practicing their skills with each other, in terms of weaponry, battle tactics, and the like, but they also enjoy their downtime too! Find little pockets of folks hanging out, chatting, and playing some weird game that involves what appear to be coral dice and flattened stones. It almost looks like they're gambling seashells or something . . . time to get in on the action, if you can learn the rules, anyway. Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! REMEMBER: For the entirety of this log, you can only physically interact with those in your group. For the first two weeks, the network will be completely defunct. After two weeks, you may send intermittent text messages to those in other groups. From this point forward, the Circle has become involved with the Kingdom of Akvos. What your character finds out, decides, and does from here on out will affect the future of this city- one way or another! But what you do is completely up to you. What you discover, explore, and uncover will be yours to discover, explore, and uncover. Who knows what you might find? :) |
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acatalepsy_logs2018-11-12 08:55 am
Group A
[The palace itself is beautiful. Once she manages to swim about and get a look at it, it reminds her of nothing so much as an underwater Ul'dah, tiered and spiraling and with depths even the most well-traveled hardly fathom. As with many of her fellow Circle members, she seeks an audience with the Queen when able...and until that time, and thereafter, divides her attentions between talking to the palace servants, particularly those who are known to serve the missing princess, and helping with other tasks around the palace. The best possible "weapon" they can have here is the trust of those they're helping, something to draw upon should the situation grow dire.
Once she's spoken with the princess's handmaids a while, both to establish a rapport and to hear with eagerness more information about the young ruler so beloved by her people...she'll be looking for some people of her own. Mostly to tell them of her findings, but also to ask what they know, and to perhaps lay out what else they should ask.
Meanwhile? The list of clues also sounds promising; search with her? Even alone, she ends up at the restaurant. Minfilia isn't one to eschew hard work on the basis of someone else being around to do it! So you can find her hard at work in said restaurant, helping serve food and clean plates.
And dropping an entire stack of them when another dishwasher swims right into her. Fortunately this is water and gravity is kind of a guideline, so rather than fall and shatter (can undersea dinnerware even break??) they drift all about in a slow, leisurely frenzy.
Whatever Minfilia has to say about that comes out in a whirl of bubbles. Probably for the best.]
[B]
[It isn't her area of expertise, but Minfilia agrees to attempt to assist with the "patrol" around the city. It's just a bit of swimming, isn't it?
Or a solid hour and then some of swimming, whilst accompanied by either a few royal guardsmermaids or none at all. Once they deem Minfilia capable of circling the city without messing that up somehow (and she suspects they're laughing a bit at how cumbersome it is to swim with legs), they leave her to it. That's how she ends up far too tired - desert roses aren't the best swimmers, you know? She's lasted much longer than she would have without the ability to breathe underwater - and caught up in a bit of a stray current. She'll go drifting away from the palace without the strength to swim back, quite; spotting a Circle-familiar face nearby, she calls out for help!
Never have too much pride to save your life where possible.]
[wildcard]
[Just after arrival and trying to figure out how to talk, or freaking out about suddenly being underwater? She can't help with the former but she'll do her best with the latter. Or come investigate the more shadowy parts of the city with her. Carefully. Who knows what they'll find out?? Or join her for spending some of her seashells on shopping; there's good gossip in markets, all right?
Also! Her acata power is knowing when someone is lying or hiding the truth, and if you want to plot to make use of that, I am all for it!]
b
He'd been rejected from the royal guard, but that doesn't mean he can't be a lifeguard on his own violation; he sees Minfilia calling for help and he pushes off the ground— not directly towards her, but a ways off, in the direction of the current, so that he gets caught in it too and if he can endure the current long enough, Minfilia will eventually slam right into him. That's the plan, anyways. ]
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That someone would so willingly swim into the current surprises her, doubly so when it is in the name of assistance, and she can't change her own direction and not run into him, but she can turn so the impact isn't as...rough.
At least the water can sort of soften the blow?]
What in the world?
[What are you doing this is dangerous.]
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At the very least, he prepares himself to lurch sideways at impact, so that some of the blow can be transferred to the side and knock them out of the current and hopefully into calmer waters. ]
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Minfilia isn't out of breath as there is no air to breathe, though a lot more bubbles escape in her talking than she would like; her next words won't make any sense to either of them. Gods, but she is tired.
Once she has a bit more of her constitution back she smiles at Minato.]
Thank you. [And then frowns.] It was foolish and rather reckless, but I can hardly scold you for a well-timed and successful rescue.
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You're welcome... [ Foolish, reckless, yeah he'll accept those without argument. ]
The currents are hard to see, so it's dangerous. But it worked out, right?
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[...Whenever she has the energy to swim back. She long ago lost the supervision of her palace guards but they are not too far from their temporary home, at least.]
Were you also on a "patrol" of sorts?
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[ He was just sort of floating along aimlessly, sort of how he used to take walks all around town back home when he didn't want to go home right away, keeping to himself as he listens in on people's conversations and keeps an eye out for anything interesting happening.
Somebody getting sucked up in the current definitely counted. ]
You were patrolling?
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A!
It's almost like a scavenger hunt.
[She tries not to sound too excited about that— someone is missing, after all.]
Do you think the pet flounder can talk?
[All the other fish-people here can— if he's the chatty sort, maybe he could help!]
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[A bit of a treasure hunt might be fun, but a missing person and the strain upon the palace around them negate any enjoyment to be had from it.]
Perhaps so. Though it may speak a language neither one of us can understand.
[Which burns, as she was able to parse the myriad languages of her home, thanks to a gift she no longer seems able to access even passively. But it won't do to dwell upon unchangeable misfortune.]
Where ought we begin our search?
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The sooner we can do our part to help get her back, the better.
[Aerith doesn't think the gifts she's been given in this place will help her much, either, although at home she's confident she would have been able to at least infer the flounder's meaning if she really tried. Animals didn't make their intentions known to her as easily as the planet itself, but there was some connection there. Here... not so much.
She crooks her index finger, her fingers curling into a loose fist that she brings to rest against her chin.]
If the palace guards will let us through, maybe her room or the palace gardens? The flounder probably stays close to home.
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[Though if the guards also want their princess back so badly, surely they will be cooperative to what the Circle is doing...?
While they seek out someone for directions, Minfilia finds herself preoccupied all over again with the trappings of this whole situation.]
I intend to seek an audience with the Queen.
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Really?
[Well, she shouldn't be surprised. If anyone was going to manage that, it would have to be Minfilia— she's incredibly well-spoken.]
I'm sure she'd be happy to talk once she realized we only want to help find her daughter. They've said she's not taking visitors, but I'm sure you can convince them. This kind of thing is your strong suit, right?
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And Minfilia believes with her whole heart in the latter case. It doesn't feel like an untruth.]
I have been known to engage in diplomacy from time to time.
[Despite the gravity of their situation, she smiles. It would almost feel good to meet with a dignitary again; much as she would prefer not to need specific word choices and careful conversational tiptoeing around nobility, she can't deny a certain longing for the familiar tied up in it.]
Convincing them of the importance in hearing from her closest relative about any possible explanation for her whereabouts ought to prove easy enough, I think.
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[Aerith has a knack for being persuasive, as well, but her particular brand of 'diplomacy' has a lot more to do with batting her eyelashes and offering honey-sweet smiles to people who would otherwise underestimate her. Not the sort of tactic that's likely to work here, but Minfilia's experience with diplomacy is exactly what they need.]
How can I help? This sort of thing feels a little out of my depth, but I think it's important that we take action.
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a.
Yet now that he has his bearings there's a different problem. The mermaids that had come to his aid don't seem to want to leave him alone. They have developed some strange fascination with him. They ask him all sorts of odd questions that are embarrassing and mildly inappropriate. They even poke at his ears or tug curiously on his clothes. He isn't sure how to handle the unwanted attention on top of his constant panic about the location.
Alphinaud manages to lose them inside a restaurant at one point and in a brief moment of respite gets hit lightly in the side of the head with a dish. He jerks his head and lifts his hand to catch it, confused. Then he sees Minfillia trying to gather them up. Oh... He's relieved to see her here too as he has come to understand the Circle members have all been scattered to different places. He's also relieved she wasn't around for his earlier high key panicking.
He lifts his free hand to greet her.]
Keeping busy? [Asked in a shower of bubbles. Talking underwater sure is annoying.]
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She didn't even find him then. But, resolving to pick up the thread of pursuit later, she turned her mind toward the twin tasks of meeting with the Queen and learning more about what happened to the Princess...which, of course, led her to the room full of drifting dinnerware.
At least he didn't hear the nature of the curse she let out a moment ago!]
Alphinaud! [The rush of bubbles and relief together make her forget all about the stupid plates. She would hug him if not for the both of them possessing quite a bit of decorum more than that.] I suppose you might call it that.
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Well you certainly fair better than me I am sure. [Which is probably obvious simply by how rattled he looks. As long as those mermaids don't find him again he may yet recover...]
Are you here for information regarding the missing princess, by chance? [He'd heard the rumor among the chattering of the mermaids following him around. He hadn't paid much attention upon arrival though given his panic.]
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[Minfilia sighs and sets her stack of plates aside.]
Yet no matter whom I ask or how I go about it, the answer is always the same. They love her and want her returned safely and know nothing at all else about it. Tell me you've had better fortune.
[As it is ridiculous to think Alphinaud is not involved in the search somehow.]
b
“Circle-familiar face” might be unfortunate phrasing if she were to apply it to Simon in particular, but he’s definitely not from around here, being clearly not a fish or mermaid. In fact, he’s just kind of strolling by, his visible difficulty with this task topping out at “guy on a slightly windy day”, when he sees a fellow Circle member being thrown around by the current. ]
Need a hand?
[ And he gets a little closer and holds out a hand for her to grab onto. He doesn’t remember currents like these in PATHOS-II, or maybe the suits are just made to deal with them; either way, he’s pretty confident he’ll just stay rooted to the ground if she takes the help. Simon expects she wants to be out of that more than she will be weirded out by his appearance. Probably. ]
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The extended hand need not have a familiar face attached to it at all, at this point; Minfilia reaches and grabs it, at once feeling some measure of control against the current.]
Thank you. [She's still kind of getting tugged backward, but not going anywhere, and the bubbles around her words get swept away easily.]
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Were you swimming laps around the castle earlier?
[ Simon swears he saw her doing that, and it feels like that was, uh, way earlier?? He hasn’t been asked to do this, because it’s not funny if the leg-haver doesn’t have to swim. ]
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[Not that much earlier; Minfilia knows better than to just work herself to exhaustion somewhere so unfamiliar and without most of her friends nearby.]
Loath as I am to admit it, I hail from a desert clime, and there is quite a difference between "a swim" and swimming for a length of time with purpose. Some of the guardswomen asked us to assist in patrolling the palace.
[She shakes her head and grimaces.]
I believe now that they were having a bit of fun at our expense, which can't be helped.
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A desert, huh? That’s about as far from my home as it gets.
Earth? [ he’s been at this universe hopping thing for a while, but it hasn’t broken his Earth-centrism. Hey, it doesn’t feel like as much of a safe bet as it used to, but there are/were deserts there. ]
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What of it? [In her consideration of "earth", a few too many bubbles escape with the words.] It often surprises those unfamiliar with arid regions, actually, to hear that the sands and outcrops are more often soaked in fire-aspected aether. ...Though I suspect very much you haven't a proper word for aether at all.
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