acatalepsy_logs | PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

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 tides shift.

Darkness has begun to spread, rapidly, throughout the entirety of Akvos. Different areas of the Kingdom are plagued by different instances of terror, but one thing remains clear: the Circle does have the available tools to help . . . of sorts. Many of you have discovered different areas of Akvos to focus on, but by and large? There are no shortage of people to help, of people to fight, and of creatures to save.

Hurry quickly, Circle members. Akvos needs your aid.

SHADOWS IN THE DARK.

Shadow creatures have begun to multiple en masse in the Depths of Markolos, and are spreading to every which corner of Akvos. They will be at their highest density in the Depths, and take the form of terrifying creatures with massive claws and gnashing teeth. They seem to be impervious to non-magical damage, so some unique tag-team action may be necessary in order to actually kill the things.

As the monsters multiply, mermaids from across Akvos will fall prey to their attacks, drifting listlessly in the currents of the sea as they fall unconscious, the life-force drained from them by a shadow creature. In order to wake them again, the shadow creature that drained them of their energy must be killed. Act quickly, and you may be able to rally the native forces necessary to stage a proper fight back. But the more you fight, the more exhausted you begin to get.

Those who cannot fight will not find themselves of a shortage of ways to help, though. Shelters are being set up within the Palace of Wahine, a fortress unto itself. Children are corralled there, the injured are kept in the impromptu hospital beds that are guarded by the Royal Guard that are still conscious from the onslaught. They will desperately accept help to care for the children whose parents are unconscious, or to console parents who have lost their children in the mayhem of the sudden attack upon their city.

Food still needs to be gathered, supplies still need to be run from door to door. People need to be evacuated. And from each area of Akvos, there are "runners" of powerful merfolk who have set up caravans drawn by dolphins to quickly whisk people from place to place. Each caravan is under threat of attack from shadows, though -- sign up for the evacuation committee, keep your heads down, and fight back as much as you can to protect these people from whatever the hell is going on.

THE SEVEN SEAS OF WHY.

In addition to the shadow creatures, each area is plagued by a different onslaught of dark magic. Each area has different needs, and each area will require your attention. Focus your energies where able, and do your best to stem the flow of chaos before it is too late. (Check here for a breakdown of types of effective magic.)

The Palace of Wahine is facing an onset of red algae, blooming through the alleyways and infecting mermaids rushing to seek cover. Inhaling the algae doesn't seem to do much to you, in small doses, but it causes violent coughing fits with the mermaids, preventing them from breathing properly underwater. Getting into contact with the red algae will turn your own skin a brilliant shade of pink, and it will cause it to itch uncontrollably (something that is, apparently, impossible to alleviate under the water). It will wear off within a few hours, but the same does not hold true for the mermaids. The healers in the community say that certain herbs in the Fields of Akvosia can be harvested in order to help cure the illness, but they are notoriously hard to find . . . and in the middle of the sharpest parts of the coral reef, naturally. Tread carefully, and be careful not to anger the shadow creatures in your quest.

The Depths of Markolos is the hotbed of chaos, and seems to be where the majority of the shadow monsters are lurking. In addition to the shadow monsters, ice is cascading out of control from the western wall of the depths. Melting it will do the trick, or controlling it to move it out of the way, but it seems to persist. Some of you may find your way to the far back wall, to discover what appears to be the source of whatever this ice seems to be . . . but it will be tough going, and will require some teamwork to make it there. The ice, too, seems to fight back against your forces, and may curl its way around your legs, your legs, to freeze you into place. Hopefully you have a buddy that can get you out of there, before you become a frozen popsicle under the sea.

The Fields of Akvosia's beautiful coral reef is quickly dying, and the mermaids are working as hard as they can to curb the death by harvesting the essential food sources they can before it is too late. Schools of fish desperately flock from reef to reef in search of shelter and food, and soon meet their demise the moment they settle in to a new habitat. Working to cure and reinvigorate the coral reef will be met with great relief from the merfolk, who are desperately trying to cure what they can. Beware the shadow monsters, here, and be on the hunt for herbs that can assist the merfolk falling ill in the Palace of Wahine. Caravans of dolphin-pulled carriages will be whipping by to refill supplies, too -- jump in and help guard them on their way back to civilization.

The Thunderdome has a fresh stock of weaponry that is particularly effective against the shadow monsters, electrified with old runes that the merfolk will happily give to the Circle free of charge to fight back against the monsters. In addition, the jellyfish of the Thunderdome are darkening at a rapid pace. Electricity seems to do the trick in reinvigorating them, but touching them will still turn you a brilliant shade of blue . . . so tread lightly, in that regard. The electrified weapons will do the trick to jab the jellyfish into feeble light in addition to magic already gifted by Astoria, but the mermaids are a bit busy trying to fight off the shadows that are growing increasingly prevalent in the Thunderdome. Help wanted?

THE WHISPERS OF KEA.

Throughout the duration of this battle, investigations taking place by members of the Circle will begin to unveil certain . . . clues. The Princess is still missing, but members of the Circle are getting close to unlocking where she is. King Kathashun, at the beginning of this journey, indicated that she was the key to stopping all of this, and while most of you have no idea who that guy is, he seems to be genuine. (Right? Right.)

But where is she? The Queen is unavailable, for the duration of this event, and who knows where this mysterious "King." is. But as the Circle battles for the life of Akvos, certain messages begin to pop up through your magical watches. Riddles, if you will -- pleas of assistance, begin to trickle through, popping up on your watches in a series of nonsensical words.

The only problem is that the messages seem to be all scrambled up.

lktmohidionl.

hsdpepelgnyeiaior.

herywaeoleeahhthpyveneto.

ehdtetirviarcaeshrasmaohmitnrn

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!

NOTE: The Princess' messages will unlock a hint to their meaning (if they aren't solved by the time this happens) once this log hits over 750 comments. :) We are pretty sure this will happen well before the End Log for Akvos happens in January, so we won't be putting a time limit on it. ;) Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sheryl has a lot of personal pride.

She also knows when this is something that, despite all her boasts and self-confidence, she is not equipped to tackle.

Which is why, as Kaine swims away, Sheryl is... swimming after her.] Wait!

There's more of those things out here, you know! You're not just going to leave me here, right?

You know, it's pretty damn tempting.

[ Why should she stick around and help out someone that has insulted her? Snatching her spear up, she stares at it and then rolls her eyes. ]

I'm not a monster. I don't leave people to just die. But, don't think this means sit because all I'm doing is babysitting your annoying ass.

Why you-- [Sheryl takes a breath and bites back the words that are about to leave her mouth, because they will not help her situation. The insinuation that she needs a babysitter is chafing, and she's really, really tempted to just lash out at this woman verbally. The old her would have.] --I'm not a fighter. That's all.

[There's a pause, and then she adds.] So? Where are we going next?

Bite. Me.

[ That is for when she wants to think about going off at her again. Granted, Sheryl did hold herself back, but that taste of disgust is still in her mouth. ] No shit, sherlock.

We're heading back to the others.

[ So she can dump Sheryl onto someone else. ]

That's fine by me. [Sheryl says, and even if the words themselves aren't anything rude, there's definitely irritation in her tone of voice. But she just wants to get out of here.] It's not that far to the Palace, right? Just like... ten minutes or something.

[And then she's quiet for a bit as they travel. But she can't travel in silence forever.]

I spoke to that boy you were with. We were around the fire together when everyone was exploring the tunnels.

I didn't know he played the piano.

If those monsters don't come back. [ Because that will put a dint in there time. While Sheryl is quiet, her focus is entirely on making sure nothing comes out and attacks them. She doesn't want to be caught off guard.

That won't end well for anyone. Kainé pushes her brows together and glances at Sheryl. ]

Of course he would talk to you. Yeah, he can play the piano, so what?

We spoke a little about music. That's why he talked to me; he'd heard me sing and liked it. [She says, trying to do what Kaine is doing in terms of keeping watch, or at least mimicking the actions.] He wanted to know if I'd teach him.

Are you going to try to kill me if I tell him yes?

...

I'll kill you if you ask me dumb ass questions like that. [ She won't really. Not unless Sheryl does it all the time. ]

Oh, and if you hurt him.

[ She is serious about that one. ]

I just said I wasn't a fighter. I don't think I could. [Granted, he is an apparently blind boy, so that's a low bar, but... slapping him would be the most she could really manage.

Not that she would.]

So are you just like this with everyone? Seriously-- what the hell did I do to you?

You might not be able to fight, but you can still get nasty with him.

[ Words hurt just as much. ]

Only people I don't like.

You were the one who called me names, and didn't know how to fuck off.

Don't worry. I'm not like that to someone who's reasonable.

[She makes a face at Kaine's face from behind the woman's back.] You'd almost killed me for walking through the wrong door at the wrong time!

Is it crazy that I might've been a little upset about that?!

Right.

[ Kainé still doesn't trust her though. ]

Maybe you shouldn't have walked up on someone in a training arena. Have you not heard of knocking?

I didn't know it was the training arena! I was new to the temple and was trying to find my bearings while we all had the plague! [She says, her tone less irritated and more just frustrated.]

"I wonder what's in this room, oh look, there's a sword coming at my head."

You know, you really know how to poss a girl off.

[ It makes her hand to throw the damn spear at her. ] If you don’t suck up and accept what happened and that I do not like you, I’m happy to ditch your ass here and you can go back alone.

I don't care if you like me or not! All I wanted was an apology-- for you to take some responsibility, that's all!

[She makes an exasperated sound.] We're all supposed to be working together, right? Liking each other is different from trusting that we're not going to be hurling swords at people.

Why is it so hard for you to admit that maybe you did something wrong?!

[ She stops moving and clenches her fist. ]

I am not going to apologise to a stuck up, pretty princess person. I fucked up, yeah, But, I refuse to apologise to someone I do not like, who has treated me like shit.

If you want an apology, you can take one and shove it up your fucking ass.

Using some rude language is completely different from assault, and we both know it. [Sheryl doesn't look away from Kaine's gaze, making sure to steel herself...

...but when Kaine at least admits she fucked up, then.

Sheryl exhales.] That's all I wanted. Thank you. [An awkward pause.] And for my part, I'm sorry about the things I called you.

Now we're even.

The way they hurt people isn't any different.

[ Hell. Kaine even prefers to get hit then get called names. The rocks she could deal with, the scars on her body would heal. But, not so much the ones in her mind and heart. ]

Yeah, yeah. Just don't think we're best friends now.

Trust me, I don't. [She says, dryly, but there's a lack of tension in her words that wasn't there a few seconds ago.

They swim for another minute in silence, but Sheryl can't help but focus on something the other woman had said just now. Eventually, she speaks again.]

Did you really mean that? About words hurting people as much as fists or swords at whatever. I didn't think you seemed like the type of girl who cared what people thought about her.

[There's no accusation in her voice this time. She just seems genuinely curious. Even puzzled.]

I mean it.

They hurt even worse as a child, but, I've gotten used to it. That doesn't mean I enjoy hearing them.

[ They all suck. ]

Kids can be pretty mean to each other. [Chasing off the urchin girl trying to scrounge for food. She wonders what words Kaine got directed at her as a kid.

She probably wasn't this rough back then, right? Maybe.]

I'm... pretty well-known back home. People say a lot of things about you when they think you're more a commodity than a person. I suppose I've just learned to tune it out.

We all come from different backgrounds here, don't we?

[ Kainè glances away. ]

I would be amazed if we came from the same background. Can’t say I want people to live in my hellhole. [ It is a doomed world anyway.

Messy and shitty. ]

[Perhaps it's against her better judgment, but now Sheryl can't help but be a little curious.

Maybe that explains this girl's attitude.] I grew up in space, on a giant colony fleet exploring the stars for a new world to call home. We were attacked by strange insect aliens. It wound up okay, but let me tell you, oxygen rationing isn't fun.

[A pause.] How about you?

Opposite of mine, just about.

It's just a shitty place, with shitty monsters and shitty people.

[ There is a lot that Kainé can say about her home, but, most of the memories are bad ones and she can't be bothered going on about them all. Sure, there are nice aspects to it, but they're gone now. ]

...well, if you want to gripe about it, I think we've still got about ten minutes back to the temple.

[Another pause, and then an admission.] I'm not great at traveling in silence.

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