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
no subject
Yeah, “auntie”. Not like an actual blood aunt, but... we use “auntie” and “uncle” for just people who look out for us, too.
[With some of the metal people, (androids, she corrects herself), she sometimes forgets that they’re not human... but A2 has made it most clear of all of them, so it’s a touch easier for the Jinba to remember to clarify things. Maneuvering closer, she clumsily manages to get into an approximation of laying down beside A2 and her new brood, tickling under the chin of the babe in her arms until she giggles.]
They must like you. You’ve... never seen a baby before, right?
[In that world she’d described, devoid of human life and those plants and animals unable to survive.]
no subject
Watching Konoha with the children is oddly soothing. It is not familiar, not necessarily — but it is so calm and natural-seeming, even to a non-organic like her, that it's comforting, almost.
Her question though, makes A2's expression gradually bottom out into emptiness again. She had seen one, yes. Or something like it. Something pretending, is what she almost says, but then the memory of robotic wailing in her databanks makes her bite her tongue. It feels like lying, even though she knows it wasn't.
Was it?]
Not one like these.
[Is what she says, finally. Carefully.] ...There are machines, that act like children. That's all.
no subject
[It... definitely isn’t what she’d thought A2 would say. She knows their worlds are different, but Connor had already spoken in detail about how androids had no true families, weren’t born, but were made by human hands and just awakened in a complete state. And A2, A4, 2B, 9S... they were metal, they even smelled like it, and metal can’t grow, right, so...]
Do... they just act like children forever, then?
[“Designed” to be children? As cute as babies were, Konoha had never once imagined an eternal child, and the thought confuses her, as does the purpose of creating such a being.]
no subject
I'm not sure. I'd only recently started...to see machines like that. Pretending to be like humans, I guess. ...Nothing they do makes any sense.
[Her voice is calm, and quiet, though she seems vaguely uncomfortable. Or repulsed, almost, as if the idea was so alien to her that it edged into unpleasant.] The ones I met live in a village with other machines.
no subject
[Konoha’s eyes drift downwards also, to the babe in her arms kicking its little fin and cooing along with the sounds that it hears. Its skin was rubbery like the “dolphins” in some places, scaled like fish in others... it’s eyes were large and eerie colored, it’s skull slightly different shaped... but it’s still Alive. Still same enough to be cute and awaken maternal instincts for care. But... metal babies... ?]
A village sounds nice to me, but...
[But A2 didn’t exactly say it like it was a nice thing.]
What do machines look like? If you androids look like humans.
no subject
Pod.
[Pod, having disentangled itself from the gaggle of children, responds in short order:] Acknowledged. Displaying machine data . . .
[From the light at the top of Pod, a holographic video display emerges, given wavy, odd shapes by the water. What it shows is strange, round creatures some small and some much larger, all of them rusted over and corroded, their eyes blank and empty, glowing red.
The one moving video Pod shows is of a village small and makeshift, surrounded by miles upon miles of forest. There are smaller machines playing near the base of a great and ancient tree. One machine in this place looks different from the others. He appears to be speaking to A2, her posture guarded and defensive, his open and kind, and then the video shuts off.
A2 focuses on the child sleeping in her lap, rather than the images.]
That's what they look like.
[As if to say, see? We're nothing alike.]
no subject
Konoha doesn’t really know what to think. It’s so different from her world and yet not, at least the forest... the metal people she can only use Struxta as a comparison...]
So... the small ones are baby machines?
[But some of them were so big... and some were more human looking and some weren’t...]
Did other machines make them?
no subject
[Konoha's open surprise at Pod's video display capabilities dredges up the thin remnant of a smile from A2 before it's gone again. She has not shared much about machines with the teammates (friends?) that she's met here, and to think about them now makes her antsy, even surrounded by frightened children.]
They're self-replicating. [A lot like androids.] Made in factories. Not..."born."
no subject
But... they act like babies, right? Because... the older machines want babies?
[Which one was it? (And was one better than the other?]
no subject
I don't know. [...] Never asked. There's a machine that cares for them.
no subject
They're definitely baby-sized. A bigger machine cares for them. No one would make tiny machines when they could make big strong machines. If they can't grow bigger then they're probably children forever.
So they're babies. That solves it.]
Huh.
[Her gaze turns down to the babe in her arms, sliding her fingers over its strange, rubbery skin. It was like those "dolphins". And kind of cold feeling, like she imagines metal babies would be, too.]
Well, either way, you seem to be doing really good with these kids.
[She turns her trademark smile back on A2, a bit oblivious, perhaps, but. She gives a bit of a shoulder shrug at all the merbabes curled around her.]
It's scary out there right now... They need someone strong to make them feel like everything is going to be okay.
no subject
She's quiet for a while. Not wanting to lie, not really, and not knowing what to say in the place of one. She thinks absently that she should not be near children at all, but these fish ones, like the machine children, had attached themselves to her for some reason. She recognizes to deny them would be needlessly cruel.]
...You're doing a good job. [She says eventually, tone hesitant.] Do you take care of kids, where you're from?