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! |
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acatalepsy_logs2018-12-03 11:47 am
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No, actually that's a lie, Hank feels just as awkward as he looks, giving a rueful smile and a little wave back. He finishes up - it's not a long song, thankfully, although it gets longer when you're singing it for an audience who thinks you've got a built in replay button - and leans toward the kid, pretending he's not hyper aware of the judgemental horse girl standing back there.]
Okay, was that enough for you?
[His play at exasperation makes the kid giggle and shake her head, and she starts up her little chant again while Hank shakes his head.]
Come on, how many times have I done this now? You should keep up your strength so you can make me sing it another million times. You've got to be hungry, I can hear that little tummy grumbling.
[He reaches out like he's going to poke her stomach, smiling faintly, and while she laughs again he raises his eyebrows at Konoha, hoping she'll be willing to ignore how disappointed she probably still is with him to help him out. The kid looked interested in the fish, maybe Konoha would be able to entice her away with food.]
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Basically everything does, honestly. It's so hard to tell time this deep beneath the waves, and so much has happened, and she spent so much time thinking maybe the people who didn't arrive in the same place as her might be dead...
It makes it kind of easier to just. Listen and watch. It's... weirdly cute. Maybe she should have expected he'd be better with kids- he was good with "pets"? (Wait- Did this mean he was finally accepting this place was real?)
But... he's raising his eyebrows at her, and though it takes her a second... Oh. It was a signal.
Getting to her feet, weighing herself down with saddlebags to make sure she could walk and not have to actually swim, Konoha starts making the rounds passing out fish, and makes sure that she starts in his direction, quickly coming to the mother and child and holding out her bag of fish with a smile.]
Did I hear someone was hungry? It's meal time- help yourselves!
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Then Hank closes his eyes and lets his head tilt back with a slow breath. He scrubs a hand through his beard and then opens his eyes up again to look at Konoha, looking tired and faintly grateful.]
Thanks. When kids decide they like something like that they don't know how to let up, you know?
[There's a beat where he feels like he should follow that up with something. Small talk? If she's in the mood for pretending they didn't leave things off the way they did, yeah, small talk seems like the way to go.]
It's a good thing none of these guys want to cook their food. Cause, you know, the uh.
[The water. Yeah. He wiggles his hand through the water in front of him, indicating it, and grimaces at himself. Can he do small talk, actually? Can he? He's starting to wonder.]
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[Konoha loved kids, she did... they were adorable and precocious, precious little things... but she knew from experience that looking after them could be trying. In her world, it was so much the realm of the wife that it was actually still surprising for her to see men do anything like babysitting, and Hank had seemed rather skillful at it despite that... so.
Maybe she should just ignore the whole... he might not think she was even real, thing? Just for a little? She isn’t sure, so small talk it was.]
Are you hungry? I can make fruit or something, you don’t need to cook that either.
[Cause yeah... no fire down here, and she’s tired of sashimi.]
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[He grabs at the nearest building, making it easier to stay in one place, and bites his lip, sounding not super sure about what he's saying.]
This uh, doesn't make you tired at all? All the uh, impossible making-something-out-of-nothing you've been doing, with all the food?
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[Having heard about the Thunderdome from the other jinba on their team she can at least imagine a vague image of the place.]
I was in the reef.
[A new word, “reef”. You learn... lots of new things everyday with this group. Clasping her hands together, Konoha concentrates a moment on the idea of a tangerine until there’s one in her palm, which she offers to Hank.]
It usually does... but I don’t know, people have been saying their magic is stronger now... and I’m not tired so I guess mine is too. ... Not that I’d really know.
[Honestly she wouldn’t believe she even could do magic if she... wasn’t doing it.]
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[It might be obvious from the frustrated dismay on Hank's face that this isn't fantastic news. He makes really, really sure to grab the tangerine from her without even getting close to touching her hand and then crosses his arms over his chest, shoulders hunched.]
Why don't you know? I can never fuckin tell when mine's pulling its bullshit but you just said you're not tired like you usually would be. Is there something else to it?
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[She can only nod at first, confirming that it’s just what she’s heard around the proverbial Circle water cooler, nibbling her bottom lip thoughtfully as she “makes” a tangerine for herself, beginning to peel the skin off with her short nails in a long, single curl of peel.]
Well I’m not tired, and usually I get tired if I use it a lot, but... it’s still the same ability, I guess. And it’s not like the tired felt different than normal tired, so I don’t know?
[Maybe she just had a lot of adrenaline now? Being chased by shadow monsters would do that, right?
Confused, but kind of used to being that way... Konoha just pops a piece of tangerine in her mouth, speaking around it as the peel floats nearby.]
I just don’t think about it. Is your power harder to ignore or something?
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[He watches the kid and her mom, eating happily not too far away.]
You can really help people, doin stuff like that. You know?
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[She... definitely isn't sure what he means by that, and it shows, even as she follows his gaze to the merpeople enjoying the fish. It wasn't the sort of fish that belonged in the ocean, she made food that she was more familiar with, so... it was river sweetfish, novel and new to them.
She tries to think a moment about what it could be... Arenvald's power seemed to sort of turn itself on and off... but she hadn't seen Hank doing anything... magical...]
Yeah... I never really wanted a magic power or anything, but... I'm glad if I have to have one that it's something like this.
[Attacking things... that sort of thing would be wasted on her, right?]
I mean, I already have to eat a lot already... and there's so many of us...
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[Hank looks down, awkward. It’s not like he doesn’t get that she’s curious. But if she’s not going to ask, Hank is absolutely not going to tell.]
And uh, thanks. For this. [He holds up the hand with the fruit in it.] And for, uh, distracting the kid. Kinda nice to have a break, you know?
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It's no problem.
[She pops another piece of tangerine in her mouth, the flavor kind of twisted by... saltwater, but, it was way better than more fish.]
Your voice is pretty good- but I don't know how you would live in a pineapple under the ocean...
[Other worlds had really weird songs...]
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[Hank looks down at his crossed arms, half-grimacing, remembering himself. Or, actually, remembering her. She'll take him seriously with that and, regardless of their, uh, issues, Hank doesn't actually want to mess with her.]
Sorry, uh, guess my brain's still in kid-mode. It's a, uh- a story, for kids. You had plays where you were from, right? Kind of like that.
Is living in a pineapple really that weird, though? I mean, compared to all the other... you know. Stuff. Down here.
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But someone told me pineapples were spiky and sour... that doesn't sound really comfortable. At least the kelp stuff here is soft...
[She's never seen a pineapple, but she at least knew it was... okay, all she'd heard was "spiky", "sour", "about this big", and "yellow"...
But she gets distracted a moment, cheeks full of food and meeting eyes with the mergirl, whose cheeks were likewise stuffed with raw fish. It's hard not to smile and make a silly little face at her- she's so cute?]
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That's your beef with it? Not 'it's physically impossible' but 'it'd be a really terrible mattress'?
[Okay. If they're taking Spongebob's premise seriously after all, he'll go with it.]
What makes you think a sponge just lays on his house at night? He wouldn't have to sleep on pineapple. What's stopping him from getting comfortable furniture?
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[She makes a few more faces at the girl until she gets a giggle out of her, only then turning back to Hank with a smile still on her face. Kids.]
Though I guess it isn't much weirder than girls being born from bamboo or boys from peaches.
[... Japan had some wild children's stories, too, she supposes.]
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But Hank’s being nice. They’re not familiar enough that he can afford to not be. Small talk, not snide shit. Yeah.]
Is one of those for, uh- jinba? Those ‘where do babies come from’ stories, there one just for you guys?
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Oh, gosh, no. That's up... the stories of Princess Kaguya and Momotaro. They were humans. Or... humans from stories, anyway, I'm not sure if they're real or not.
[She scratches a bit behind her ear, remembering being an age where the stories seemed so fantastic and magical.]
People used to say the first jinba were born from the gods... but that was a long time ago.
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[Hank grimaces and tries to run a hand through his hair. The gesture just reminds him that he looks stupid underwater with his hair all over the fucking place, and he gives up on it pretty quick. Was that shitty, what he just said? It just felt like an observation when he was thinking it but hearing it come out of his mouth, Hank's not sure.]
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Konoha's smile over his use of "jinba" fades away, her gaze drifting down to her hooves. Maybe this really was a mistake.]
No one believes that kind of thing anymore- especially since the wars. I wasn't bragging or something.
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[He sighs, coughs, and deflates a little, posture sagging. Like everything else, slumping is hard to do in water, but a dedicated guy can just about manage it.]
I suck at this shit. Can we just say we had some nice little chit chat and that I thanked you for helpin me out and then we can just go our separate ways without anyone gettin their feelings hurt? Cause I think it's obvious the longer you spend around around me the harder it's going to get to avoid that.
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[Well. That isn't what she'd expected... but maybe she shouldn't be surprised, after what had happened the last time, and the whole... kidnapping Sumo thing. Not that she'll be doing that this time, since he was blissfully entertaining a merchild, but.]
If you don't want to talk we don't have to talk, there's no reason to lie about it.
["Some nice little chit chat". Still... despite her promise to Connor, one she's starting to doubt she'll be able to manage, just a little... now isn't the time, nor the place. If he wanted to just thank her and part ways, then-]
You're welcome.
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[Well. So much for pretending it didn't happen.]
Is that what you want? Cause that's where it sounds like we're headed.
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So you still don't think I'm real? That this is all fake?
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[Hank ducks his head, rubbing his fingers into his eyes.]
That's a yes, I guess. Look, do you like feeling shitty? Is that why the whole, 'asking questions you already know the answer to'? You know what I'm gonna say. Why's it such a big fuckin deal, anyway? I'm here, we're talking, who cares what I think about why it's happening? Why do you care?
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