the great escape.The Circle has quite a lot on their plate, this time around. Multiple players are fighting for the control of Akvos, and many difficult choices to make. No matter what path you choose, though, one thing is for certain: it is a bitter fight to the death to ensure that Akvos remains standing, one way or another. There are three main areas for the characters to explore in the final log of Akvos: (1) The Kingdom of Akvos, where the King is fighting to seize control; (2) The Rift, where the characters will encounter the Dreamscapes; and (3) The Kingdom of Polankos, which is where King Ka'pouli has reigned since his arrival in the pocket dimension. Decisions made in all there areas will affect the outcome of Akvos, so get to exploring.  THE ASSAULT ON WAHINE.The King’s forces will attack in three different fronts. There will be mermen attacking from above, riding saddled giant seahorses and manta rays, launching spears at the mermaid-warriors below with terrifying precision. They seem to be indiscriminate, in their aim -- the weaponry, charged with the same dark energy that the shadow creatures seem to be made out of, find their target in civilians and warriors alike, raining down a sea of terror upon the central stronghold of the Kingdom of Akvos.
The mermen will also be attacking at the ground-level, attempting to burst their way through the Palace Gates to flood the city with numbers. While the mermaids outnumber the mermen, the mermen are certainly more brutal than the mermaids. Some of them, though, in finding the city, are more concerned with looting it than with senselessly murdering everyone inside. Indeed, this is the most food they have seen in a long time -- and markets are destroyed in grabbing as much food and riches as they can, pressing closer to the Palace, and toward the Queen's stronghold.
And, finally, they will be attacking from below, navigating their way through a network of tunnels meant to transport goods and bursting their way into people’s homes, to sneak their way closer to their ultimate goal, which seems to be the Palace itself.
The Circle's main goal, here, is to protect civilians, usher theminto the underground strongholds beneath the Palace, and fight for their own lives should they attack the mermen first. Man the wall, if you so choose, to attempt to block the air attacks from the mantas. Fight on the ground, to protect Akvos from destruction. Or make your way to the underground strongholds and tunnels, to block access to the Palace. All of these will certainly assist in keeping Akvos safe.
In addition, please remember that shadow creatures (which can only be killed by magical means) are still making their way through the entirety of Akvos. While King Ka'pouli's forces are targeting the Palace of Wahine, the shadow creatures are still present everywhere. Get to killing!  INTO THE RIFT.Some of you, however, have elected to traverse into the mysterious rift that appeared in the midst of the Fields of Akvosia. It looks like a black hole into nothingness, crackling with odd energy . . . and passing through it feels as though you have stepped through an icy waterfall. For a moment, you cannot breathe -- and then, you are treated to beauty.
The gaps between time and space are full of sparkling lights, bolts of rainbow starlight winding around you as you move through the uncertainty that is the void. It seems endless, but something inside you is tugging you forward . . . and, suddenly, there is a soft voice in your ear. A familiar one, to those who reside within the Circle . . . the confused voice of Astoria.
 "Hello? My Travelers? How are you within the Void?" The Void? That word hadn't been used to describe whatever this magical place is before, but . . . well, a witch with the ability to send you all across the universe probably knows what she's talking about, right? "That should not be possible . . . who opened this doorway?"
You can tell her, or you can not. It seems to matter not, because: "Is this not getting through? Why can I not hear you . . . but I can feel you, I can -- please, if you can hear this, be careful. The Void is not something for mortals to interact with, and it can show you terrible things -- terrible things, so please--"
And, right before you have the opportunity to respond to our benevolent witch (or captor, depending on your point of view), you see a bizarre glass-like surface in front of you. It looks like a mirror, and you see a perfect reflection of yourself. It is absolutely captivating, and it beckons you . . . almost urging you to touch it. And Astoria's whisper grows a bit louder, more urgent:
"My dear Traveler, be careful what you encounter here -- can you hear me? Can you see me? I am trying to get you out of there, to bring you back home--Akvos is--"
But it is too late.
Your fingers graze the edge of the mirror, and you are pulled -- a sensation that is familiar to you, the same pull in your stomach that you feel whenever Astoria thrusts you across the universe, into new realities. And, when you blink your eyes again, and look around . . . you are no longer in Akvos, or the Void. You are somewhere entirely new.
Welcome to the Dreamscape.  THE KINGDOM OF POLANKOS.Once the Circle emerges from the Rift and the Dreamscape, they will stumble into another world . . . but this one's wateris shallow, in comparison to the massive depths of the crystal-clear kingdom of Akvos. You can quite clearly see the surface, here, and there are shallows that allow you to come up onto islands, tropical in nature with fruit, odd creatures that appear to be multiple-headed monkeys and parrots, and sandy shores. It's a bit jarring to see, after spending so long underwater. Indeed, you emerge to trudge onto land, and look around, somewhat mystified that the deep-dwelling mermen would be from a place like this.
However, exploring the islands (which is not very difficult to do, as they are all small and will not take very much time) will yield the discovery that on the islands themselves are tunnels -- underwater caverns that thread through the islands to much deeper water. It's almost as if the islands themselves are barriers to the underwater caverns below -- shallow water, a layer of land, and then a (mer)man-made bubble of water below the barrier of land. And that whoever lived on these islands tunneled through them to find deeper water. Princess Kea, (who will attend on these journeys, while remaining in the water), will tell the Circle members that King Ka'pouli told her that when the mermen were cast out, they landed on solid land, and had to slowly dig deeper to their salvation.
Navigating through these tunnels will be somewhat perilous -- and the Circle members will need to carry Princess Kea to the nearest tunnel to get her into some water, because while she can breathe on the surface for a certain period of time, she cannot navigate the land as quickly as you people with legs. Additionally, underwater caving isn't exactly a blast, but the deeper you go, the more clues of civilization you can find. And, eventually, once you go deep enough, you emerge into a massive underwater cavern to find the small Kingdom of Polankos.
In comparison to the Kingdom of Akvos, Polankos is witheringly depressing. It is not brightly colored, nor open -- indeed, it is tiny, with mermen huddled together waiting patiently for the forces that went through the rift to return. There is not a lot to find here, save for some interesting weapons that possess a dark energy, versus a lightning energy -- and those weapons will be given to the Circle members who ask for them, because those who wield them are in no condition to fight. There is little food, little room to sleep, and these are a people clearly in need of assistance.
In order to get them out of Polankos, you will need to usher them through the tunnels back up to the Rift above -- it seems that King Ka'pouli opened the Rift on the surface, rather than risk the city below in case it did not work. The mermen there (who seem to be elderly and weak) will be eager for the assistance to get out Polankos, and at the promise of being brought into Akvos, they will happily go. There will be no resistance from them.
You may also see Princess Kea, who has filtered in and out of the Rift to assist on the journey -- teary-eyed, heartbroken at the sight of these individuals who require rescue, organizing the mermen with the promise of keeping them safe in Akvos.
"Hurry," she tells you, as she rouses another merman into getting to the nearest tunnel. "We do not have a lot of time to pull this off, and we must work quickly." Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These areas of the world are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore -- you may use as much leeway as you want in order to come up with what your character will do, especially in the Dreamscapes. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! |
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acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
For Hunk
That's when one can realize the world feels odd. The wind isn't quite right. He'll be able to feel it, but it will have a slight distance as if it takes a few more seconds to feel it. If he looks down his feet are all wrong. Metal paws instead of the usual flesh and blood covered in boots. Opening his jaws will get a slight creak and he won't be able to form words. If he tries hard enough to vocalize, he'll just growl or roar.
Ahead of him laying on its side and looking rather like a discarded toy is a horse sized Black Lion. It flickers with purple light that rolls over it like lightning through the clouds. One foot comes up then the other. It sways drunkenly to one side and rams into the wall when it loses its balance. It gets right back up with a single-minded determination of a Lion on a mission. It sways again and tries to save itself.
No dice. Back down it goes. It huffs in a manner that sounds like someone cursing.]
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Except he hadn't seen Yellow in awhile now and now he was Yellow...which didn't make any sense. For whatever reason, maybe because of that whole 'outer body' analogy he'd landed on, Hunk doesn't feel as panicked about this as he maybe should. Instead he just stands there for a moment, shifting from paw to paw, like he's trying on new shoes.
It takes him a moment to realize there's another lion nearby, struggling to get up. Shiro? He tries to call out, but all he manages is a questioning growl. Hunk attempts to run over to him, but he's still adjusting to this himself. So, after nearly tripping over himself, Hunk manages to lumber over to Black.
Wasn't there a way to communicate? Shiro was still able to in a kind of...telepathy. Maybe it's kind of like that bond again. This time Hunk doesn't try to 'speak' out loud, instead he focuses on that bond...the way he usually feels stuff from Yellow.]
Uh...Shiro?
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It takes him a moment to remember he hasn't been this clumsy in a while. Shiro gets all his feet under him and rumbles from deep in his chest.]
Hunk? You're...what is going on?
[He glances at him and raises himself up onto all four paws. He stays upright just fine. He shakes himself once and listens.]
This isn't a city I thought I'd see again. It's the first world the Coven went to while I was around.
[He checks his feet. Looks to Hunk and looks skyward.]
Okay. Flying while you are the Lion is as simple as...well, imagining you're at the controls and engaging the systems. It's going to feel weird. Really weird.
[He shifts on his paws and looks to him again.] Are you ready to try it?
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[Is he a little on edge...maybe...but of all the things he'd been expecting out of a rift, this wasn't it. He pauses, taking a deep breath, letting it out...or at least mentally since Yellow doesn't exactly need to breathe. He focuses on what Shiro's saying.]
Huh. You mean the group you were with before the Circle. Is this like where you learned to fly or something
[Wait...did he just suggest...Hunk turns his head, Yellow doesn't have a very expressive face, but you can imagine that his eyes are wide and he's looking at Shiro with some incredulity.]
We're going to...are you serious right now?
[He can't tell if he's excited about the idea or completely terrified.]
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I learned to fly on The Island. It was a hub realm we went back to between worlds. It wasn’t like the temple realm. It was up to us to restore it.
[He has pride but he really wants to leap skyward. He itches to fly in the first real sky since they got stuck under the water. He wants to share that experience with Hunk, his teammate and friend. He can feel the world around them waiting for it.]
I get the feeling if we try to fly something will happen. [Then he leaps, following the instinct and the world gives way as he streaks upwards. Reality tilts and they’re high above a white sandy beach. The ocean connected to it ends in empty space with a glimmering blue barrier. If Hunk needs caught Shiro swoops down and snatches him up on his way up higher.]
It changed when I thought of when I learned to fly like this. ...might be my memories?
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Okay...okay let's do this.
[Hunk leaps into the air, recalling the sensation of moving the controls like Shiro had suggested. He was right, it does feel weird...kind of electric. It really is amazing, now that the thinks about it, that the lions are even able to get into the air like this at all. It's not easy keeping up with Shiro, especially since he keeps getting distracted by the ability he now has and their surroundings.]
Cool a beach...a beach memory isn't so bad.
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To our right is the forest. The plants and animals were giant. We never figured out why or how. How are you doing over there?
[Hunk keeps getting distracted or so it seems to him. He doesn't want him to accidentally run smack into a memory version of one of the other flyers. Or a mountain. This is so far the most pleasant memory/dream recollection he has had in a long while.]
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It's pretty impressive how you're able to do that while running and jumping over logs.
[He blinks, Yellow's eyes flashing.]
I'm all right. I guess I didn't really think about how long you and Keith must have been involved with the Circle before Pidge and I showed up.
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[In short, it was a shitshow. Shiro peers about them. There are better memories than this one. He can hear rain falling but his thoughts stray to his time in the Circle.]
If I do the math I think I’ve been away from home for a year.
[He parts his jaws slightly making it look like the Black Lion is smiling. He’s had enough time as a shapeshifter to take small steps to convey emotion without needing his voice at all.]
It hasn’t been all bad. And I get to be like this. I used to think all of you would shift into your lions. But...I think what you have suits you too. Especially you. Makes sense to me that you’re a healer. You reach out to people and make them feel acknowledged and cared for.
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Wow. A whole year though. Did you guys worry about us, or did you already know that it wouldn't seem like you were gone at all? Cause it sounds like the Coven didn't tell you much.
[At least Astoria will talk to them, accept his muffins when he made them, and things like that. She'd seemed rather worried too, when they'd still been in the rift. He wonders what that was about.]
That...would have been pretty cool. I mean this is pretty cool.
[Hunk slows, taken in by Shiro's words. He can't really smile in this form, but he wishes he could.]
Thanks Shiro. That really means a lot. I know I'm not always the bravest guy, but I want to always do what I can to help my friends.
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[He slows down too, turning his head and opening his jaws enough to look like the Black Lion is smiling. He waggles his wings once and does a small barrel roll just because he can.
It makes the next subject a little easier to say. But the old stress and grief comes up no matter how he tries to hide it. Things had been stressful at the Coven.]
For the months I was with the coven I was the only one from home. I didn't know what was going on, back then my last memories were forming a deeper bond with Black and getting ready to tell the team I wanted us to head for the Marmora base. ...I didn't know how any of you were. I didn't know when I'd see you again if or because I was gone you lost me and Black.
It was...difficult. The Coven told us nothing. We were left trying to figure out everything and all of it on our own. The Qri had a representative but never spoke to her that often.
[The memory flickers and spills them back onto the temple grounds. Hunk is still Yellow and Shiro black, they're at a small campfire at the edge of the forest. The memory Shiro sits on a long, his hair black and his bangs white. Keith stands across from him in his blade armor, as young as he'd been before he went into the Quantum Abyss. The Black Paladin stares into the fire then meets his best friend's eyes. They both look tired and worried, his voice carries.
'Since we took Kolivan to meet the Princess...has the Black Lion still been around? Or did it suddenly vanish?'
Keith listens then stares at him wide-eyed. "The Black Lion? No, no it hasn't gone anywhere. Is that... the last thing you remember from back home? Bringing Kolivan to the Castle for the first time?"
The shape changed Shiro rumbles in his chest.]
That's what I remembered when I woke in the summoning ring on the Temple grounds. Struxta is where it all changed and we both remembered so much more.
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Still, it doesn't last long. Shiro is talking about some heavy stuff and it makes him sad that he wasn't here for his friend -- even if he hadn't really had a say in the matter. Hunk paws at the ground, watching the memory versions of Keith and Shiro have their conversation.]
That must have been pretty hard, Shiro. At least when I got here I had all of you to help explain things. But hey, things got better right?
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One memory turns into another of Keith laying against the curled up Lion in the forest outside the temple. Thenforest is growing wild all around them and from the slightly worn look about them both it hasn’t been long after the sickness. The Shiro of the present tips his head slightly to the side, wings settled into a neutral position.]
They did. Everything is better now. And as hard as it was I fought to get back to all of you. That kept me going no matter how bleak things looked. Now, we’re all together and we hold each other up through the good and bad.
[He could feel the dream world beginning to break up around them. He stretches once and glances around.]
Looks like we’ll be able to get out of here soon.
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[Maybe now wasn't the time. But, come on, Shiro and Keith are good for each other. Hunk can't see that clearly.]
I'm glad you guys could be there for each other though. It's sweet.
[Hunk picks up on the fact the world seems to be shifting and breaking as well.]
Well, being a lion was fun while it lasted.
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What can I say? I am his lion.
[He laughs and fragments of the dream world rise up like a fine spray of colorful crystal shards. It’s really pretty. As a second spray washes up he adds.]
...I’m happy with him. All of you are my family but he’s my other half.
[The world glimmers like countless crystals as it holds still and breaks apart. He’d been the Lion in the rift. He’ll be ready to fly Hunk out of void. This hadn’t been so bad of a trip. He got to share some of his life with Hunk. The better parts that weren’t their time as Paladins.]
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As the dream continues to break, Hunk feels it wash over him. The form of the Yellow Lion shimmers and a moment later he's back to himself. He's still floating thanks to however dreams work, but he doesn't want to risk it. He uses his paladin armor to jet over to Shiro and finds a place to hang on.]
Uh...think I can get a lift out of here?