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
He slouches, like a marionette with its strings cut. Hank backpedaled so hard and so sincerely that he just feels kind of shitty. Not that Hank’s sentiment wasn’t poorly expressed, because it was, but maybe he’s just, you know, bad at that. ]
No— Hank, it’s not about that. I just can’t— If I’m doing something, I’m not thinking about it, or... being aware of the robot stuff. Not as much, at least. That’s what I should’ve said. Not that I don’t like helping people, it’s just...
[ and Simon doesn’t know what it was like, the stuff that led Hank to get like this about... doing this particular thing, but he feels like he just has to be familiar with the result, with it’s hard to get up. ]
Your thing— [ he falters, a little uneasy, studiously not looking at Hank while he makes the decision to not explain what he’s about to say and just let him doubt the veracity of this if he’s going to. The “robot time-traveler from post-apocalyptic Earth” thing has always been easier to discuss than the crash. Like, exponentially. Probably because the former is fucking crazy and doesn’t feel real. ]
I get it. In the “real world” way. Not in the robot apocalypse way.
no subject
[He doesn't look at Simon now, either. This time he can't even consider it, because of what it is he's actually considering. Fuck. Fuck. But- doesn't Simon deserve to know? Or at least, deserve to hear Hank dig up some of his own- Yeah. Shit, he fuckin does. Hank takes a breath.]
Okay. My thing, uh. It just-
There's this... [Mermaid. No. Shove that weird shit over to the side for a second.] This woman, who's been helping me out. But once she brought me back here she heard her uh, her daughter- And it, it uh, made me-
Cole.
[Yeah, that's all Simon's getting. That's all there is. And fuck, Hank sure as hell needs something to do with his hands now so he slides the bottle out and taps it against his thigh. He just does that for a few seconds.]
Your- your thing. Your 'real world' thing. I'm not- fuck, I'm not gonna make you dig that up too. But is that, uh. Is that how you handled it then? Doing something?
no subject
Hank’s not about to elaborate, he can tell, and he’s not even as curious as it would be a dick move to ask him to, with what he sees when he even just briefly glances at the guy. But Simon will keep it in mind. Unfortunately for Hank.
He fiddles with his watch again, twisting it on his wrist and staring at the seafloor. It dawns on him to feel like Hank is really asking because— like he doesn’t think it can be done, like he admires him, and it feels weird to just let him think Simon is some kind of unshakable optimist. ]
I had to. I was short on time.
[ Yeah, that’s a super good explanation. Apparently this is now a personal-baggage gift exchange with a $20 limit, because that’s approximately the amount they’re trading. ]
that last line was so good. i love your unique, snappy descriptions
Yeah? Think I remember you saying the same thing earlier. I mean, maybe I'm so old that my mind's just going but it sounded almost like you wanted to do something here, too. You short on time now?
thank you!! just trying to keep up with your beautiful tags, bats eyelashes
Guess not. I have all the time in the world now.
XD
Yeah.
[Simon does have all the time in the world, doesn't he? He really fucking does. Just the thought of that - actual eternal life, or maybe the opposite of that, jesus, no fucking thank you - has Hank giving in and twisting the top of his bottle for a quick drink. The time it takes to make his usual post-drink noise of disgust is enough time for Hank to wave goodbye at his little try at a pep talk and let it rest. Yeah, he still thinks the attitude that Simon tried to help Hank out with earlier - they're not dead, you can still do something - is admirable, but Hank finds he doesn't have the... the something, he doesn't have big enough stores of whatever-it-is to push the point.]
You should get together with Cayde, let hm give you some robot tips. He can drink, you know. You oughta at least see if you can figure out how to do that.
no subject
There’s drinking, and there’s drinking. How does a robot get drunk?
[ and apparently one of those topics is this, about which Simon is enthusiastically dubious. At least he’s the one drinking away his feelings in this hypothetical scenario, and not Hank. ]
no subject
[Thank god Simon's willing to go with him on this. Bullshitting's pretty damn necessary to make it through talks like this, like taking the off-ramp out of a terrible conversation till you're rested up enough to go out onto the highway again.]
Did you drink much when- uh, in Toronto? If you can make it work here it's definitely worth a try.
no subject
[ He pauses. Like a “I don’t know where else to go in this line of questioning except the elephant in the room that I thought wasn’t an elephant” pause. When he goes on it’s entirely without malice, just dry. ]
I don’t have a mouth. You know that, right? Just need to be sure we’re on the same page here.
no subject
You know, I wasn’t even thinking about it? Your whole thing’s so-
[He waves a hand in front of his own face, helpfully. Thank you Hank, very descriptive. There are questions that come with that topic, too, the one Simon just brought up: So nothing gets in or out? So that zombie thing, how exactly does that work? If your little suit does open up, how worried should I be?
He looks at what there is of Simon’s face, for a second looking thoughtful, then looks away.]
Well, where there’s a will, or whatever. How do you feel about magic shit? Telepathy or, you know, some stupid crap like that? I bet we could figure something out.
no subject
As soon as he hears “magic shit” he’s staring at Hank a little. He pauses, again. Then attempts a summary of what it sure sounds like Hank is suggesting, voice unsteady with repressed laughter in parts. He’s trying to be deadpan, but. ]
Are you saying I should forge a psychic link with a drunk person and download alcohol from their brain?
no subject
[Simon's failure at really being deadpan there sends a smile creeping onto Hank's face but one of them's got to carry this joke so he gives a jab at sounding offended.]
We're sitting here - not even that, floating - in a back alley in a city full of mermaids while I drink fermented anchovies, you're really gonna sit here and tell me that's the weirdest thing you've heard today? You know, it's sounding a little bit like you're not even interested in figuring out how to use alcohol to solve your problems.
no subject
I’m sitting. You’re floating.
[ thanks simon very cool observation dude ]
I miss food more. And sleeping regularly. And having... skin. That’s what they don’t tell you about being a robot — more free time than you ever even wanted.
[ There are people out there who could move mountains if they could become essentially a floating brain missing almost all of their senses and bodily functions. Unfortunately, this immense power gets wasted on Simons, whose every inquiry into the androids’ non-murder/non-detective-or-whatever activities gets that little bit closer to “what the fuck do you do all day I hate it”. ]
ok that link made me laugh a lot
[That's definitely meant to mean more, 'yeah, I hear you' than 'yeah, I know how you feel' because, not having skin, what the fuck. That's another thing Hank didn't think about, that and the mouth. Cause he can afford to just not think about it, can't he. Not that he doesn't know a little bit about having too much time on your hands and too many thoughts to put in it, but - fuck.
He looks down, focusing for a moment on trying to pull himself a little closer to the ground and then on trying to stay there.]
You know what you should do, you should pretend to be an old person.
[He takes a drink. If he's going to say dumbass shit like that, he might as well have the excuse of having been drinking when he did it.]
I mean, they gotta figure out something to do in those retirement homes all day, right? You could take up uh, bingo. Shuffleboard. Start couponing. I don't know.