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

i. don't stop me now.

[ Once again, Astoria really deserves props for the ability she granted Prompto, perhaps now more than ever, because as it turns out, supercharged speed plus an electrified spear is a pretty effective combination against the shadows.

Were you just about to hit one of the shadows with some magic? Or have you found yourself surrounded by a group of them? Were you totally in control of the situation and in no need of any help at all? Then you're in luck, because here comes Prompto, faster than a speeding bullet, whizzing through the water and maaaaaybe swimming by with enough speed to send you flying backwards, sorry. ]

Time to disa-SPEAR!!!

[ ...on the plus side, he definitely just sliced right through the middle of those shadows, and with his speed and his spear combined, the shadows kind of...explode. Well, good thing they're shadows and not creatures with any kind of guts, right???

Of course, he's going too fast to really hit the breaks and turn around to appreciate his handy work — not to mention, it's difficult to slow down when you don't have any traction to begin with. Instead, he yelps, holding onto the end of the spear, a blur to the human eye. A blur that...definitely just landed in a patch of seaweed.

Lend a hand? ]

ii. stop me if you've heard this one.

[ When he's not zipping around fighting shadows like a puppy with the zoomies, Prompto takes things at a much slower pace at the palace. One of his excursions saw him crash-landing into a patch of the red algae, so his arms are wrapped with cloth at present to keep himself from itching, but it sure as hell isn't easy. Frankly, he's miserable, exhausted and hungry and itchy, but just like in El Minha and Struxta, when shit hits the fan, he puts himself very last.

Unsurprisingly, he gravitates towards the kids, corralling a group of scared little mermaids away from some shouting guards and huddling them together at the far end of the room. They've got to be terrified with their parents unconscious and the entire city in upheaval. It's the least he can do to reassure them, or at least try.

For those who approach them, with food or other provisions (or to tell Prompto to take a freaking nap), they may overhear some choice jokes: ]

...heard this one? Why don't oysters give to charity?

[ ...The gaggle of kids respond with baleful looks. Tough crowd. ]

Uh, b-because they're...shellfish! Get it? Like...selfish? — Yeah, I know, kiiiinda lame. Um...wanna...hear a story instead?

[ Itch itch. ]

iii. stop-gap.

[ There are still plenty of his friends that he hasn't yet heard from, and reconnecting with them, even virtually, is his top priority. Prompto sends out messages rapid-fire, with such speed that his accuracy may be a little off and they wind up sent to the wrong person. Regardless, the messages will all be about the same: ]

hey sound off please and thank you
like seriously respond to this? please??
im giving out free taxi services for the next fifteen minutes if that sweetens the pot! ;)

really just want to make sure youre okay

im serious about the taxi thing tho hmu

iv. wildcard.

[ Fancy another prompt? Hit me with whatever you fancy! I can be reached for plotting on Plurk at retroscape! ]

[ she definitely had this under control.

there were three shadows, but when you can change at will into an enormous, ferocious shark, there's not much that can challenge your superiority in the water. unless you keep hovering like, right over her head or something, it's hard to bite stuff above her with the whole.. mouth on the bottom of her body thing. sharks have it rough.

anyway, she's grabbed one shadow in her teeth and bitten down so hard it's severed at the middle, and she's going for the second one, when - it's a bird, it's a plane! no. no, it's prompto whizzing in like a comet, crashing across her line of vision and taking the two shadows ahead of her with him, one crashing right into the other. wow, rude!! way to ruin her moment!! alisaie flails her fins in obvious consternation, her shark body language clearly showing her frustration. ]

Oh, come on! Mind your own business!

[ By this juncture, Prompto has become well-acquainted with the fact that Alisaie can speak in her animal forms, and her little bow on top of her sharky head is a dead giveaway that it's her. If it wasn't, he might not have dared to take a kill from a literal shark, even if he could outswim one. There's just some things you don't want to be on the bad side of, you know? Sharks are definitely one of them.

From his place among the seaweed, Prompto struggles to free himself from their snare, and his efforts are not helped in the least by her reaction. A grin splits his face and a laugh comes tumbling out of him a moment later. ]

Guess I got a little — a little — [ Nope, he can't do it. A fresh laugh sputters from him. ] S-sorry, it's so hard to take you seriously with — haha — that angry, sharky face —

[ She's gonna eat him, isn't she. ]

[ she could shift back and help him free himself from the seaweed, but you know, she's not going to, because he deserves this slimy fate, let him untangle himself. she doesn't have any fingers right now.

her angry, sharky face becomes angrier now, and she's probably blushing, if sharks can blush. ]

Oh, do shutup.

[ this is why she was so embarrassed by this power okay!! who can take a shark with a bow seriously!! ]

[ A shark blushing is just about the most adorable thing he's ever seen, and you can bet he stops his struggling just to appreciate it. Ah, if only he has his camera right now so he could remember this sight...he'll have to settle for committing it to memory instead. ]

Sorry! I-I'm s-so — sor — ahahaha —

[ RIP. He can't seem to contain himself, and his efforts at untangling himself are proving completely fruitless. He's a sitting duck and he's probably gonna regret this in a few seconds, but it can't be helped. It's not even the bow, it's just that very Alisaie expression on such a fearsome beast!

He doubles over with laughter, if that's even a thing you can do in water. ]

Edited 2018-12-09 05:47 (UTC)

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Sorry for the latest tag ever