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
no subject
...What's the matter?
[it's probably ill advised, but he reaches out to lay his hand on the prosthetic.]
no subject
Nothing.
[ She says, biting down– if the arm was made of flesh and blood, every hair on her skin would be standing at attention.
Zero makes a strained noise, and then her first unfurls– the force of it knocks her hand away along with Merlin's. The flowers around their feet are displeased, and suddenly they begin to grow and grow, rapidly and anxiously. Once daisies and chrysanthemums and camelias; now grow poison ivy, venus fly traps and ugly plants that leak pus and smell like bile.
Again, her hand curls into a fist, metal coiling dangerously and quickly. Zero's eyes are wide when her hand goes flying, straight towards Merlin. ]
Can't you take a hint, genius? It doesn't like you!
[ She misses, thankfully. The flower is only recently awakened, groggy still and no match for Merlin's quiet agility. ]
It's gotta be the biggest bitch in the room. You're ruining that.
no subject
Wouldn't be the first thing that wanted to kill me for my existence.
[and now, he looks directly at her arm and flower, his tone turning a bit scolding.]
I'll put you to sleep if you don't behave! You're only angry because I can see straight through you - it's not going to do you any good! I've lived through worse than a few blows to the head!
no subject
But it doesn't.
The flower, much like Zero, stares at Merlin with an almost dumbfounded expression. ]
Are you seriously wagging your metaphorical fucking finger at the evil flower controlling my body?
[ God, she might punch him herself. Zero stares at him, deadpan for a moment longer. And then finally, she springs to life again– her other hand, the human one, coming up to her face. ]
Wherever or whatever this place is, it woke this thing up. I'm nipping this in the bud before it really gets a chance to rise and shine.
[ With a gasp and through gritted teeth, Zero pulls once and pulls hard– trying to dislodge the flower from her eye. The fingers of her prosthetic fly up, belatedly realizing her intentions and trying to stop her. ]
You gonna' make yourself useful anytime soon, pretty boy?! Stop gawking and keep this thing still!
no subject
there's a murmur of energy that passes over his skin, his lips silently moving, trying to not trip on a line. to encircle the presence, pull it into an illusion, weave the cradle of dreams to keep it calmer, unaware. the flowers around their feet begin to wither and die, him pulling energy from them to fuel this, concentrating to the extent of forgetting for a moment that this isn't Avalon - it doesn't smell the same, doesn't feel the same. if she's going to rip it out, then immediately afterwards, he'll probably have to help stem blood loss.]
cw for vague eye horror
She grits her teeth, digs her fingers in as close to its root as possible– but she does not pull, not yet. The hesitation is obvious.
Whether all of this is real or fake, whether the consequences will be long-standing or not, doing this means losing her arm and doing this means offering up more of her autonomy than she is comfortable with (more than is safe).
But letting this thing will her to move, to strike, to submit– that is somehow, just as terrifying and much more infuriating. So Zero screams, she pulls, she plunges her fingers into the space between her eye socket and the flower and digs it free with her nails and brute strength.
A mangled mess of soft pink petals and a long black stem falls to the ground amongst the withering flowers. It looks more like a smushed spider than any sort of foliage.
Zero falls too, breathing hard and managing noises just about as mangled as the parasite she'd pulled from her eye. ]
Fuck–
[ Her prosthetic is lifeless, none of the elasticity that had once made it move like a flesh and blood limb remains in its joints. ]
no subject
[he kneels on the ground, amidst the dying plants, but doesn't let go entirely. there's a serious look on his face, a pull in his system to help, though he doesn't know what to do, whether it's fine. Zero is Zero, and could threaten him as much as she might be grateful he presumed.
the blood, he notices, is dark. old, really. that's more concerning than anything.]
I can ease the pain.
[in this dream, at least he can do everything he needs to. can sit comfortable in his power, and act on what impulses he has.]
no subject
There is the briest flicker of fear though it gives way to a more neutral annoyance and anger. ]
Hah– doesn't even hurt that bad!
[ She manages in between gasps, a spiteful sort of laugh following after her words. She has more to prove to herself than she does to Merlin. The blood on her fingers dries quickly but the bleeding itself does not stop.
The flowers continue to wilt, one after the other in a neat and eerily immaculate spiral. Zero is unsure if this is Merlin's doing still or something else, but lines of decaying brown form in the ground and Zero watches it all and gets dizzy. ]
Cut it out–
[ She looks at Merlin, something foreign and shrill in her voice. ]
I already said I hate this magic shit– so stop, alright? It's creepy–
[ But it's not him.
The spiral reaches her flower and stops.
It stirs, as if a breeze has rustled it gently.
And then it erupts, or perhaps multiplies is the better word. Buds spring from its long black stem, one after the other. They blossom, spread petals, summon more buds and repeat this process again and again at an alarming pace.
Zero's hand falls from her eye, the bleeding has stopped. ]
Oh, fuck me– fuck this!
[ The flowers stop growing– freeze for a moment and then buzz to life once more, moving, shifting, rearranging themselves. The more lively they become the more Zero's own vision begins to flicker and blur.
Her eyelids droop until she can barely stand to keep them open.
And then the flowers cease moving altogether, fully formed light pink blossoms taking the shape of a person– of a girl.
Zero falls slack against Merlin's grip, drowsiness taking full hold of her. She raises a hand, points at it with what little strength remains. ]
Your.. problem now– I'm out.
[ Zero's eyes shut, and the figure tilts its head as if appraising him with its own unseen eyes. ]