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
no subject
Some speak of fear and Shiro pushes away from the table and motions for Keith to come with him.] Let’s step outside. If I have this right...we might not need to worry about what we’re saying.
...I hope I’m right. [When Keith stands up he guides him away with a hand on the small of his back. The other Shiro stays put. The bartender and people in the bar don’t even notice at all.]
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His eyes shift away to scan the room once more, curious and unsettled. Very unsettled. But that doesn't stop him from rising as Shiro does, falling into step along with his boyfriend, glancing back only once.]
...is it a dream?
[He intones the question softly as no eyes seem to follow them out.]
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I think so. No one is really noticing us save for...the monitors. [He looks up and catches sight of a helicopter on patrol.]
It might be a memory. If it is I know when and we need to head back to the apartment. [As they pass by some of the sketches of the signets of Qri show up in shop windows, with a ban on those people from purchasing anything. Shiro pauses at one street corner and leads Keith down a side street away from prying eyes. The sense of being watched cuts off. Shiro keeps going, leading Keith down two streets then takes a right. The apartment complex is fairly obvious.
He takes a side entrance and heads for the stairs. Once the door to the outside shuts he sighs.]
First, once we get in. I'm going to take off my shirt. We need to find out if I have my signet again.
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Monitors. [Okay. That makes sense since,] Definitely feels like someone is watching out here.
[But thankfully that fades, and Keith follows Shiro inside. He frowns. Signet. That's new. He doesn't like the sound of it. ...which sadly gets in the way of how much he does like the sound of Shiro taking off his shirt.
Not the time, Keith. Pull it together.] And if you do?
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There's no one else around, but for a moment he sees himself cleaning his Sig sauer p226s. The memory of him puts them back together and loads them. He slides both into hidden gun holsters under his coat.
The memory of him fades away leaving just a book about 'modern' aircraft on the coffee table. He walks over to the couch and sits down.]
Astoria said the Void could show us terrible things. [This counts for that. He never wanted to be in Shehui again.]
I should have a short scar where the signet was. [He peels off his shirt and all the scars his clone body used to lack are back. Among them is a short, thick scar above the collarbone of the left side right along the muscle.]
no subject
Once they're inside he takes a moment to look around, not bothering to hide his curiosity, especially at the brief flash of some ghosted memory. He makes his way over to Shiro, sitting beside him.
Terrible things.] This place is playing with our minds, whatever it is.
[For what purpose he has no idea. He shifts up onto one knee to lean closer, to look -- eyes widening at the various scars that he hadn't been expecting, absent as they've been. But that scar at his collarbone catches Keith's attention, and he reaches up to touch his fingertips along it ever so gently.] Here?
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It stung at first. Over time I got used to it. It was embedded pretty deeply. One person cut theirs out and...their power and their telepathy went haywire.
They were fine when it was replaced. [The world around them flashes and abruptly there are voices everywhere. All of them callin out in confusion. Their fear and confusion batters at them as if they were a rocky shore with the sea crashing over them.
Shiro breathes and focuses. Every shifts and they stand on top of a building in the downtown area. His memory self moves below turning into the Black Lion as others among his group ready weapons and gather themselves. One woman's arm burns with a black and red energy that flows over her distorted arm that ends in claws.
A young man nervously looks to the Lion. Things speed up. Helicopters streak by chasing the Black Lion. The Lion performs daring stunts, forcing the aircraft to turn back or crash. He climbs high up and abruptly cuts his rockets entirely, falling faster and faster only to twist around and slam his boosters on, taking off between the buildings. It's a chaotic battlefield of flying bullets uniformed guards and the Coven.]
The prison break. [Shiro says at his side, his shirt in his hand.] We hit it as three teams.
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[Keith would love to have a word with this previous witch. He may not trust Astoria, but he hates this Qri, and he never even met them.
He watches the world swirl away again, staying close to Shiro even as the world melts and reforms. This is a glimpse at things he wants to see, to understand some piece of what Shiro went through when he was on his own, when he hadn't been with him.]
You hit it from the sky. But you got them out..?
[A pause and he steps all the closer to Shiro.] How many are left in the Circle, who were part of the Coven?
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A message about a cease-fire and resolve to let them leave peacefully rises up from the devices given to them when they entered Shehui.]
Roy, Riza, Waver, and myself.
[The world bleeds away they're looking at a battlefield, then inside the Lion. Zarkon looks back at them. I have you now, Paladin.
Black fires and they're thrown out of the vision into the consciousness of the Lion. The memory of Shiro lands with a growl and jerks his head up to stare at his opponent. Shiro rolls to his feet and narrows his eyes.]
I remember this. When all of you went to the mall, I sought to work on my bond with Black.
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...we're in the Lion's consciousness. You faced Zarkon here?
[While they were screwing around at the space mall. They came back with a cow.]
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He knocked me out of the memories and we ended up here within the Lion. It isn't the first time he attacked my mind. But this is the first time I could fight back. [The memory of Shiro surges forward, launching into the familiar dance of hand to hand fighting. Zarkon's blows are like a hammer, slamming into Shiro's defenses and overpowering them. It's only his experience as a gladiator that saves him but it's not enough.
He smashes into the ground, each time it's harder to get up than the last. His gasp of pain echoes through the realm. Shiro beside Keith looks at him, the stars of the infinite expanse reflected in his eyes. Below him, his reflection on the floor is of the black haired, battered looking prisoner he had once been.]
When we fought him in front of his ship. He was attacking my mind with every exchange. Black couldn't protect me from it. It still saw him as its Paladin too. But not to the extent I was.
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He knows, clearly, that Shiro makes it out of this. He wouldn't be standing next to him now if he didn't. But that doesn't mean that Keith doesn't flinch at the pained sound the memory Shiro makes, has to fight not to go to his aide, not to draw his sword and charge in.
It is a challenge, one that shows in the tension through his body. He turns to the real Shiro beside him.]
But you beat him... this time. After this, his hold on the Black Lion lessened. I remember that.
[Shiro faced so much alone.]
no subject
’You can’t pilot the Black Lion after everything you’ve done! You’re no Paladin!’
As the Lion turns its head to look at both of them Shiro’s reflection on there floor returns to normal. Then to his smaller Black Lion shape and back.]
Keith, as long as you are a Paladin and stand by them, you are never alone.
[’You’ve forgotten what’s more important between a Lion and its Paladin. It’s not about power. It’s about earning each other’s trust!’
A wave of energy issues from the Black Lion and rolls through the air but the memory of Shiro and Zarkon don’t see it. Zarkon’s hand starts to close and cracks spread out on Shiro’s neck as he cries out then the Lion is there, blasting Zarkon away and out of the space. Once again they’re in the expanse this time the sun is rising and spilling golden light up. Shiro grabs Keith’s hand and smiles at him. He changes shape and the vast body of the Black Lion presses its nose against Keith’s hand.]
Your fellow Paladins and your Lion is always with you no matter how far or where you go. ...and you are always in my heart Keith. Even then, the tie to all of you is part of the strength I used to keep going.
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His eyes widen as he continues to watch the scene, and his breath catches, holding, until the Black Lion intervenes and then--
He turns to the real Shiro, smiling back at him, fingers curling around his just in time for the change to happen. Keith is used to this enough that his smile only softens, and he leans forward to lean his forehead against the Lion's metal head.]
Yeah. None of us have to be alone. [What a startling revelation, somehow, for the child that he had been who hadn't known anything but being alone.]