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? :) |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2018-11-12 08:55 am
2!!
They got you too, huh? [she raises up a rather swollen hang.]
I'm sorry that they laughed at you, though. I think everyone just took pity on me instead...
Are you okay, sir?
no subject
Yeah, I'm fine, the merfolk gave me something that took care of my symptoms. And honestly, I was asking for the mocking - I heard them yelling 'don't touch!', but I didn't realize they were yelling at me.
And no need for sir, I'm just Ludger. Ludger Kresnik. Nice to meet you.
no subject
It's nice to meet you, Ludger! Or would you rather I call you Kresnik? No no, you said Ludger twice so it should be that...
I'm still not used to this whole...new life, thing, that we've got going on...
no subject
Just Ludger's fine. "Kresnik" would make me look for my brother. [ or Vera. ]
[ ... hm, there's something about her tone- ]
Do you mean the whole, get thrown into different worlds to save them from an unspecified evil, or something else...?
no subject
[A sheepish laugh and she knocks herself on the head.]
I don't really know how to help, or who to help...It's all pretty complicated. Maybe I'm just stupid...
no subject
[ he's just good at going with the flow. or is he just letting the flow carry him along without protest...? ]
Everyone's pretty friendly, so I'm sure you'll find some friends you click with soon. As for how to help, I've found that it never hurts to have as much information as possible. Buuuut, if you're not sure about how to do that, maybe just hang around some people with the Circle. Like me - you're helping me right now, by helping me keep my mind off my emotional wounds.
[ yeah, his wounds from the ever so vicious mocking that he definitely earned. ]
no subject
It's been a while since I've been around so many people...Kinda makes me anxious, I suppose. And we're all underwater and split up and...It's just...a lot to deal with at once.
Um, again! Not that I have a problem with that! I just don't know what I'm doing yet.
[Sigh]
If only I'd gotten like, eye lasers instead.
[puts her fingers on either side of her temple as she makes a few laser noises. Purely for emphasis.]
no subject
... she got stung, right? Ludger's going to eye that arm she's rubbing as surreptitiously as possible - is there a rash or something...? ]
Were you living by yourself back in your world?
no subject
[her eyes flicker for a moment. You know. As anime girls do.]
Ahhh, you know how it is, right? It had been a couple years since I'd seen any of them and I was kind of chomping at the bit to go see them again.
As cool as it is to be a Hero of Justice!...It's not easy to be taken away from the people you love. I'm lucky that I was used to it. It must be much harder for everyone else.
[frownfrown. She just made herself sad!]
no subject
what the hell kind of seinen deconstruction did this girl come from ]
Leaving or being left behind - neither one is painless. [ he can say that definitely, after being on both ends. ] But... if there's a reason, that might make it a little easier to bear.
Why were you taken? Where?
[ with the way things are phrased, he's interpreting it as physically moving elsewhere, not dying after jumping off a building. ]
no subject
Right, a reason! Which is why I'm...willing to shoulder the burden here! I was born for this, one hundred and fifty percent! [She gives him a big thumbs up.]
Ah, I wasn't taken. I chose to go somewhere far away. I had a job to do.
...You know how it is.
You, though! [points!]
You said you have a brother right? Aren't siblings the best? [would be a shame if that sibling tried to murder you and/or sacrifice himself for you though, wouldn't it]
no subject
[ such a shame if he tried to do both, several times, maybe even at the same time. ]
Hmmm... I don't know, Julius sure could be a handful. He was terrible at cooking and cleaning, and even the cat could bully him into doing whatever he wanted. Yours?
no subject
I'm lucky enough to have three! [she sticks three fingers in Ludger's face with a big smile. You know. For emphasis.]
Two brothers and one sister, all younger than me! Shuuya, Tsubomi, and Kousuke. Shuuya is really energetic and a bit of a troublemaker, but he's really sensitive deep down. Tsubomi is a bit of a tough nut to crack, and she's not great at showing how she feels...but she loves to have fun too if you can get her to come out of her shell! Kousuke is...well, he's a bit of a cry baby. Sometimes Shuuya gives him a hard time, but in reality, Kousuke is the most responsible of the bunch with a great heart to boot. I think deep down, he's even stronger than I am.
...Ah, sorry! I kinda went off, didn't I? I love them a lot, y'see...
I grew up as an only child, so when I got three wonderful siblings all of a sudden, there was no way I could ever take them for granted...
no subject
the ache that blossoms in the wake of her words is only a little bittersweet. he and Julius didn't talk about each other like that - their relationship was built more on brotherly heckling and action than than open affection. it's just the way they were.
but he still misses him. ]
Are you the oldest? The way you talk about them kind of sounds like a doting big sister.
no subject
[Ayano folds her hands in front of her.]
...I'm getting a bit nostalgic.
Thank you for reminding me of them, Ludger. It's nice to be just be normal for a bit.
I missed talking to people.
no subject
The way you talk about it - it sounds like there wasn't anyone around. So... do you mind if I ask where you were before Astoria summoned you?
no subject
Ah, yes, it's a bit complicated.
[She closes one eye.]
I was in a different dimension. That's all. [Ayano raises up one finger, as if she were about to shush him.]
That's a secret.
no subject
there's a small part of him that perks up whenever it hears the words "different dimension". before it starts hissing at him to find its center and kill it.
a few months isn't really enough to stifle it completely.
it's probably a good thing Ludger can't access the Chromatus anymore. and that he's still unarmed. ]
... I'm pretty good with secrets. [ his voice is mild, as neutral as he can make it. ] Earlier that you left of your own free will, but dimension traveling isn't easy. Look at how much power it takes Astoria. So how did you do it?
no subject
...Once you go in, it's not easy to come out.
[she folds her arms, as if she's overtaken by a sudden chill]
It's difficult to describe. A world beyond imagination. Like living inside of a dream, all by yourself.
So...when I ended up here, I was a little grateful, maybe. It's been...so long...[she sinks into her scarf, now rubbing her swollen hand.]
no subject
[ something about her behavior... niggles at him. the uncertainty, or maybe the reluctance she seems to have towards those emotions. it looks similar to something he's intimately familiar with - a shard of relief, or glee you tell yourself is inappropriate, the regret you even felt that way for a moment.
like after Victor, and being glad he was dead. ]
... Do you feel guilty about being grateful? It's normal - both of those feelings.
no subject
It feels a little bit like a betrayal. Do I even want a new life...?
Yeah, it's complicated.
no subject
[ he's skipping a lot! like the price of that deal. ]
You don't have to think of it as a new life, if it makes you feel better. Just call it... I don't know, an unexpected detour? None of us had a choice about coming here, after all.