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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acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
i knew you wouldn't let me down
but that doesn't keep her from leaping out of her skin at the sound of that sudden shout, her heart kicking up into her throat. she responds immediately, immediately forgetting the logic that no one is truly in danger, because no one is here. reacting instinctively, she charges down the narrow hall toward the back room, her hand at the hilt of her rapier, poised to draw. ]
ig here's that CW for abuse and maiming i mentioned
And then Alisaie bursts into the room, and two pairs of wide eyes snap in her direction. The woman, the source of most of the noise, is a hollowed-eyed, ragged-looking Highlander. She’s down on her knees upon the floor among the broken furniture, a bloodied kitchen knife clenched in one white-knuckled hand. Pinned beneath her other hand and the weight of her body… is Arenvald. An Arenvald of eight summers, or thereabouts, blood pouring down his face in wide rivulets from the knife wounds upon his forehead, mingling messily with the tears streaking from his eyes.
It doesn’t seem like he recognizes Alisaie just yet. He and the woman who could only be his mother just… stare at her. ]
oh boy..
but intruder or not, she cannot stand idly by. neither still does it matter that this is not real, that it is a construct, a dream. though these words might be wind and these people only images, this home and moment not hers to invade, she must still intervene. ]
What are you doing?
[ she calls out in horror, her voice sharp and hard, her hand tight around the hilt of her rapier now. ]
Unhand that boy immediately, do you hear me?
no subject
From his place on the floor, Arenvald watches the scene as if in slow motion. He thinks about this day a lot. It, along with many other visions of violence and hatred, comes back to him in his dreams now and again, has him kicking off the covers in a panicked frenzy as he tries to fight off the ghosts of his past. But this? This never happens. No matter how much he screams or begs for mercy, no one ever comes to save him.
And now here is…
Here is Alisaie.
He jerks up to a sit with the sudden realization, recognition washing over him like a deluge of cold water. ]
Alisaie?
[ In the space that it takes him to say her name, he seems to age a full eleven summers. Gone is the little boy in ragged clothing, and in his place the Arenvald that Alisaie knows, tall and broad-shouldered and clad in shining silver armor. Blood still streaks down his face, but the wound no longer seems to bother him.
He leaps to his feet, snatching his mother by the shoulders before she can get to his friend. She screams and fails for a handful of seconds before the fight seems to go out of her, and she sinks to her knees, defeated. ]
no subject
but what's done is done. at the very least, arenvald seems.. himself again. ]
It's all right. I do not fear her.
[ though it's just as well that he intervened; no matter her behavior, she is arenvald's mother, and alisaie would be loathe to strike down even a phantom of her before him. terrible memories or no, family matters are.. complicated. it would not be her place, even in a dream. the phantom seems to have lost its vigor, however, and after a moment's thought she draws forward, one hand remaining on her rapier's hilt, the other reaching to gently touch his wrist, her voice firm, but gentle. ]
Come away from this place.
no subject
[ Though he’s not so certain whether he needed to say that out loud for Alisaie’s benefit or his own. He steps around the sobbing specter of his mother, guided both by Alisaie’s words and the gentle touch of her hand. ]
I’ll explain once we’re outside.
[ With that, he ushers Alisaie out of the room first, pausing at the doorway to give the phantom of his mother a lingering look. He looks… sad, certainly. Sympathetic. Would that she didn’t have to live in this Ala Mhigo, that she didn’t have to endure this suffering. He can only hope that the freeing of their homeland brought her even a mote of solace.
Then he steps away, into the all-too familiar front room of the ramshackle house of his childhood. He snatches a rag from a countertop before stepping into the street, trying to dab the blood from his forehead. ]
I’m so sorry you had to see that, Alisaie
no subject
the door creaks closed behind them, and alisaie exhales hard, quick to pluck the rag from his hands. ]
Let me.
[ it is the least she can do. her expression is tight with worry, though not for the wound on his face, even while she sweeps the blood away. ]
You needn't be. I should be the one to apologize, I should not have intruded.
[ a memory like that.. should be shared voluntarily, not like this. ]
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Ah, it isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask to be here any more than I did.
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[ whether she intended it or not, damage done is damage done, and while she won't linger on it unnecessarily overlong, she wouldn't feel right not at least expressing that much. she's as careful as she can manage while she wipes the blood away, but alisaie's are the hands of a fighter, not a healer, so she does a passable job at best.
exhaling hard, she draws back. ]
I won't ask you any questions, but should you ever feel the need to.. talk..
[ general.. gesturing. she's bad at these things, but she's trying to be a good friend. ]
no subject
Thank you, Alisaie.
[ For the help cleaning up or the offer? Hard to say. ]
I don’t mind telling this story to close friends, I just… didn’t expect to have to live it again.
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I should think not..
[ no one could ever expect such a thing. ]
I am sorry that you had to.