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
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[ He trails off. She... completely assumed something else entirely, but on second thought, he's almost certain that line of conversation would derail them, so that's. To be saved for later. He still wants to get more familiar with the area they've been thrown into, too. ]
Nevermind. Anyway, now you can tell why it hasn't been easy moving around. I wish I could swim like everyone else, but... Well, I think I can make better progress with Pod, at least.
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Hm... You know, submarines are pretty heavy, but they can still ascend and descend as required. If we can capture some air, we could make a swim bladder for you, and that might help some.
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Air seems like it's gonna be scarce around here, don't you think? [ He shakes his head. ] Just don't worry about me too much—chances are, we're gonna have bigger things to pay attention to sooner or later.
[ They are down here for a reason! ]
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Seventy percent of the world's oxygen is produced by the ocean, isn't it? If we could find enough plants... [ And tie bags over them and wait 23459863489 years, they might be able to make this work. She shakes her head; no, that's stupid, she barely wants to stay here even a day, let alone years. ]
You think something bad's going to happen...?
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Not that I want to sound like a downer, but in my experience, we don't get sent off on these missions over any small matter. [ In thought, 9S folds his arms over his chest. ] Did you get that message on your watch? Definitely a hint of what's to come.
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I did, but I don't really understand it. The man said something about a princess, but... [ She throws a glance around her. Under the sea? All she sees are fish, and miles and miles of coral. ]
Is that the sort of thing to send a hundred people to do? Rather, a smaller, focused group would work better, wouldn't it? Somebody like me would only get in the way.
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[ Most likely not, because Yachi raises a fair point; one missing person doesn't warrant this. But why were they gone? Is there something else happening that isn't obvious at a glance?
9S watches as her uncertainty manifests in her actions. ]
... We're still in the dark about everything, so don't put yourself down so soon. Once we find out more, we'll have a better idea of what needs to be done.
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She takes a breath of water and looks back up. ]
You've had experience with this sort of situation before, you said. What should I be doing?
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[ And come to think of it... ]
What did you overhear from those mermaids you were helping out?
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Hm? Well, they didn't really talk about the princess all that much... They were practicing for their ball game, and were kind of upset that they couldn't use their original playing field anymore, because a bunch of coral in the area had died off.
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No, I couldn't really tell just by looking at the coral, anything about the extent, severity, or speed of the decay. But I also hadn't asked those sorts of questions, so I bet there's somebody around here who has answers to those questions. We can ask the next person who comes by.
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And on top of all that... [ 9S taps once at the head of his Astoria-granted watch. ] We have to find out where everyone else is along with figuring out why we're here. It's gonna make this more of a hassle than usual, that's for sure.
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I wonder where everybody else is... You don't think everybody else could be back there? Where we were before, and only some of us were brought here?
[ Which in that case, it would be bad luck that she was chosen for this mission. ]
no subject
Oh, man, I really hope not.
[ Unfortunately, it makes too much sense; it would be one thing if the watches were simply malfunctioning, but 9S can neither get a hold of 2B's own Pod nor pick out a single black box signal from the three others that exist out there. ]
I don't know if separating us would benefit us at all, but then again, Astoria hasn't really proven herself to be the most competent of people out there.
[ but that's just his two cents :u ]
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[ It's not just immediate, direct danger, but there's also danger due to neglect and maybe this is one of those times where they're actually lost and are being sent on a wild goose chase and neither side knows about it because watches are broken, Astroria's abandoned them, what are they supposed to do, how are they supposed to let anybody know, how are they going to get back, why is all of this happening!!! ]
—There's no princess around here! We're not even in the right place!!
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—Huh? I mean, I don't know, but that's why we have to look around! It can't all just be...
[ He gestures around them. ]
... this. Maybe.
[ If all they have ahead of them is the vast emptiness of the ocean, then perhaps he'll consider them totally screwed after all. But until then. ]
no subject
They're totally screwed.
Yachi stares at him like she wants to cry, but —no! it can't be nothing but ocean! the mermaids have to have some sort of shelter, as she can't envision them burrowing into the sand like some sort of flounder for the night, so she shakes her head to get rid of those thoughts. ]
The water is clear out here, so what we should do is swim up, so we can get a good look at what's around us without swimming aimlessly in what could be the wrong direction altogether.
[ A high vantage point is always a good idea to survey the area, but would 9S be capable of that...? ]
I'll go with Pod, and you stay down there, okay?
no subject
Fortunately, he can nod in response, instead. ]
Good idea. Pod would be able to record what you see up there, too, for good measure.
[ It'd give him an idea what's up as well. ]
Hear that, Pod? Go ahead and follow her.
Acknowledged.
[ Pod then floats closer to her, as if signaling it's ready when she is. ]
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Out of habit, Yachi gives 9S a little wave that she remembers he won't be able to see anyways, but the pause is too long and would make saying anything else too awkward, so she just kicks up and starts off for the surface. It's a lot easier swimming up than it is swimming sideways, though with the vastness of the ocean, there's no way to tell what sort of progress she's making, if any, not even when she glances back down to see if she can still see 9S or whether her upward course had drifted or—-
or she lurches sideways with a yelp, caught by an invisible current overhead that pulls her aside, and she makes a wild grab for Pod so they won't get separated. ]
no subject
As for them, Pod keeps up beside Yachi—up until there's a sudden, violent current that shoves them off course. As she makes a quick grab for Pod, it does the same, having a surprising amount of strength behind it as it spins to throw her back downwards and out of the pull of the current. ]