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, uh. I’ve a suspicion I’m already a part of it. I just want to be sure.

[ If Cayde is indeed talking about Connor. Which raises a lot of questions, actually. Cayde is very obviously a machine, yet he acts perfectly human. And if he is referring to Connor, he’s obviously concerned for him. Last he checked, concern was a feeling.

Mayhap he’ll bring it up. ]

Huh.

[It wouldn’t surprise him if there were other people trying to knock some of the nasty thoughts out of Connor’s head, but Cayde’s never really stopped to give it a thought. Now that there’s the potential there, it feels a little weird saying it out loud.]

Lemme guess, we’re both thinking of the same snappy dresser with the bad habit of depersonalizing himself? Either that or there are a lot more people here that need a good talking to than I thought.

No, I’m definitely talking about Connor.

[ At least that’s been confirmed. It’s nice to know that he’s not the only one trying to nudge Connor out of his current line of thinking, and he would hope that coming from someone like Cayde, it would hold a little more weight. ]

I don’t suppose you’ve made any progress on that front, have you?

Oh good, we don't have an epidemic on our hands.

[Actually, it's really good to hear that there are other people trying to chip away at some of that unhealthy stubbornness. Maybe more people bringing it up would mean some progress; squeaky wheel, grease, all that jazz.

Shooting a look back to Arenvald, he does his best to shrug even though his arms are full.]

Absolutely not. Kid's stubborn as all get out, not even touching on how crappy his neck of the woods sounds. You?

[ He has to think on that, going quiet for a moment as he swims along. They’re nearing the palace gates by now, so mayhap they can have a more in-depth conversation once Cayde’s charge has been taken care of. ]

Difficult to say, really. Every time I think I’m about to make some headway, he only doubles down harder.

[Thank the Traveler that they are almost to the palace, the poor mergirl deserves some rest and time to decompress after everything. As they draw nearer a pair of guards swim out to meet them, and he's more than happy to pass over his temporary charge to someone that knows how to handle things a lot better than he himself.]

Here, wait just a second-

[There's a small pang of concern deep in his processors as he watches the three swim away, the poor kid better be taken care of, but Arenvald had said something before they were momentarily interrupted and it bears considering.]

He's...Connor's got some real screwed up world views. I know, I know, different worlds and we should all be sensitive to other cultures and blah blah blah but-

[He furrows his browplates, just letting himself float in place.]

I mean, I gotta say a lot of that's a load of dreg shit.

[ It’s no small relief to see the mergirl passed off to the guards. He has no idea where the girl’s family is, but at least now she’ll be well-protected and taken care of until they can reunite. Arenvald gives the girl a small wave as she’s taken away, but she’s likely to scared and exhausted to return the gesture.

But then Cayde is picking up the thread of their conversation once again, and he slides his gaze back over to his friend. That rather… frank assessment of Connor’s mindset startles a laugh out of him, a short, quiet sort of sound. ]

Nice to know we’re of the same mind. Has he told you about the— [ a frown, if only because he’s decided he doesn’t like the term ] –deviants?

[Deviants. The term itself provokes a sour look, or at least as well as someone with a face made of rigid metal can hope to approximate. He's heard the term-]

You mean the ones they kill?

[Oh yes, he has opinions on that whole process and none of them are good. Connor had only broached the subject once, but even that's been enough to leave a bad taste in his mouth and prompt such bluntness.]

[ It’s not until Cayde says it like that that something slots into place with an audible and terrifying click. Connor had been so terrified to be called a deviant, his voice so small when he asked if Arenvald would turn that word on him as well, and at the time, he hadn’t thought about just why that was.

But there it is, isn’t it? He’d seen it happen in a borrowed moment from Connor’s past, the android on the roof torn apart by bullets. Deviancy means death, and death, well… Connor had already let his feelings on that matter slip when they were on Struxta.

He blinks dumbly at Cayde a time or two, trying to sort himself out after that little revelation. ]

Uh… yeah. Those ones.

[ Focus, Arenvald. ]

Sorry, Connor always tries to explain around that when it’s brought up.

[The pause is noted, but Cayde isn't sorry; leave the fancy, flowery descriptions to the Warlocks, he's content to call things like they are. In this case, outright murder. He can't say that he knows more than what he's been told, but the memory of Connor's calm description while they were standing out in the flowers so long ago...it's something that has never sat right with him.]

Yeah, I've noticed.

[The normally casual cant of his speech is gone, replaced by something hard and just a hint bitter.]

Apparently it doesn't count as homicide because-

[He raises his hands in possibly the most sarcastic air quotes of all time.]

"they're not people, they're machines." Which is dreg shit.

[ There are so many things he wants to say, but he promised Connor he wouldn’t tell. He promised but… but there is a part of him that wonders if keeping this secret is only hurting Connor in the long run. His hands work anxiously, fingers flexing. ]

Cayde… I’m really sorry if this is rude of me to ask, but why is it different for you? You’ve got emotions, and that doesn’t bother you at all.

Connor has feelings, I know he does, but he's just too scared to admit it.

Yeah, it is rude.

[He falls quiet for a moment, the lights along his throat flickering dimly though no words come. It was a sharp retort, maybe too sharp, Arenvald actually had sounded genuinely curious. In the end he sighs, reaching up to scrub at the base of his horn as he closes his eyes.]

Okay, okay. My bad, lemme back things up for a moment, didn't mean to snap. Just- I mean how about I throw that question right back at you? You've got emotions, do they bother you?

That's how it sounds. I know not everyone is lucky enough to be beautiful like me, but you really think people are that different just because they've got a few screws instead of blood and guts?

[There's another pause.]

And that's what seems to be stuck up Connor's back end. He's got this awful notion that he's- people like us- aren't people. Which, as you know, is so many shades of wrong I don't even have time to explain why I don't have time to explain.

[ He starts a little, taken aback by the sharpness of that reply, but he realizes there had been the very real danger of crossing a line with that question. Looks like he did cross it after all. ]

I’m sorry. There’s no one like you or Connor where I come from. I’m just trying to understand.

[ But ignorance does is not an excuse, and he knows that. ]

But I think… no, I know. I know Connor doesn’t truly think that.

[Alright, perhaps he does feel a little guilty at how quick he was to judge and the hand at his horn makes a dismissive motion as he turns to look back over.]

No, no. Different worlds, I get it. You're not the first, and you sure as hell won't be the last. Just, to say the least, where I'm from? There'd be no difference between you and me. Now I'm just making assumptions, but you eat? I eat. You fool around? I fool around. You sleep? ...okay so that one's a little tricky, but that's not the point. The point is, can't judge a book by its cover.

And if I'm being honest? I sure to hell hope that Connor knows that, somewhere deep down. That amount of self-loathing isn't good for anyone. Fries the circuits, all that.

[ Almost all correct, aside from "fooling around", which makes Arenvald glance away for a brief moment. But that's not really the point here, the point is that now he knows better - and he really wishes that Connor could know that kind of acceptance. ]

He does. I saw it. I just wish I knew how to get him to see that it's a good thing. But I think... I realize now that he knows what being labelled as a deviant would mean for him. And that scares him.

Yeah. Kid's got some real repressed issues that seem like they're really sticky to touch. Y'know, when I first met him he went on about being created for 'a single purpose'; can you even imagine what it must be like, being told that you're just some thing?

[It's an extremely disconcerting thought, to say the least.]

Which is why the whole 'usefulness' thing...not something that I really want to encourage, you get me? Because from what I've seen, and correct me if I'm wrong, the only value Connor thinks he has is if he's useful. And that's no way for anyone to live.

Ah, a little bit.

[ Not to the degree of Connor, of course, but Arenvald has had his own stigma to work past. That's part of why he's trying so very hard to see his friend move forward. ]

I understand, trust me. Connor and I have gone 'round and 'round about this before, and I do know that part of it is because in his world, androids like him are replaceable. If he doesn't do his duty, then there's no reason for him to be kept around, right? But... he's so much more than whatever little box he thinks he's supposed to fit in.

[That prompts a long, hard look, because even 'a little bit' is far too much if they're discussing depersonalization. He makes a mental note to pry into that later, perhaps when the entire circle isn't trapped at the bottom of the ocean.]

Well, you're not a thing either. You're a person.

[And he's very adamant at that. With a small sigh, he spares a look back over towards the palace. It's busy, there are still mermaids everywhere and absolutely nothing seems to have improved an inkling.]

He sure as hell is, and whatever place he comes from is pretty sick for shoving people into those boxes. I'm not gonna ever claim that I'm good at all that touchy-feely stuff, but- but the kid deserves to realize that he's not in that dystopian hellscape (big words, I know I know) and that it's not the same here.

[ Cayde’s affirmation on his behalf brings a small smile to his face. He’s been very lucky when it comes to the people he’s surrounded by, both back home and here. He’s not sure where he’d be without that kind of support – and now he just has to try to give that same kind of support to Connor as well. After all, it did him a world of good.

He’s also not so sure what “dystopian” means (though it sounds like something Alphinaud would say), but “hellscape” sounds entirely accurate. The look of Connor’s world, from the brief glimpse he got from Connor’s memories, reminded him a lot of Struxta, but despite the bright lights and shining metal, the reality of the situation there is awfully grim. ]

I guess all we can do is keep trying, right?

Hey, that's the spirit.

[Because really, pressing and pressing the offensive is the only way they're going to make any progress, if he's being honest.]

So we keep trying, and we keep on keeping on until it gets through. Because we're not gonna give up, right?

[It may be phrased as a question, but there's little room for argument there.]

Right.

[ As if Arenvald would argue with that at all anyway. If Connor wants to be stubborn, then they can all be stubborn right back at him. ]

Sorry again about earlier. I didn’t mean to offend.

Huh?

[It takes a moment to try to wrap his head back around what Arvenvald's talking about, and he blinks for a moment until his procesors catch up.]

Oh, that. Seriously, no biggie. Like I said, you're not the first person, you're not gonna be the last. Hey, you're at least cool enough to admit that you kinda went a little off course; that's a lot better than most people!

Alright. I've developed a bit of a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth since I was brought to the Circle, and I'd hate to see a potential friendship ruined because of it.

[ We don't talk about Arenvald's first interactions with Hank. ]

Hey, if the boot tastes good-

[That's a terrible joke and he feels no remorse over it at all. More importantly-]

You're alright, big guy. For someone that hoists people up and drags their butts outta danger.

[ That is a terrible joke, but thankfully that's not the part that gets a laugh out of Arenvald. ]

You're not the only one I did that to, you know. I had Connor slung over my shoulder at one point as well.

PHASE TWO of AKVOS (Log #2)

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