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
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Yeah. Looks like we are. [Quieter.] I never knew how to talk about it.
[Clearly. But now it's out in the open, so maybe that's for the best somehow. Keith's eyes are shut, and the scene around them is shifting, darkness and stars giving way to a strange and green landscape, odd and alien vegetation.
The small shelter that Keith and his mother called home for their years in the Abyss is there. A fire burns, smoke rising into the air. As Keith lifts his head and looks, he sees it from the outside. His mother and another version of himself sit by the fire, the wolf curled up close by.
Welcome to the Quantum Abyss, Shiro.]
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He takes in the lush vegetation and the ground beneath his feet feels odd. He taps his foot against it. He can't be imagining it feeling less like dirt and more like something with more density. Shiro glances away from Keith's face and spots the fire.
Krolia, Keith, and the wolf he's not sure Keith ever told him the name of sit together under a handmade shelter. He slowly eases his hold on Keith and glances around.]
...where are we? Is this the Quantum Abyss?
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Yeah. This is... we're on the back of one of the creatures that can navigate the Abyss without being pulled into the gravity wells and stretched into nothingness. This was... home. For two years. It was just the three of us.
[A pause, and a light flares in the sky in the distance.] ...and the visions.
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What are we on the back of? I don't recognize it. [He peers about them curiously, looking for the details to tell him anything at all. Foliage. Obviously, other creatures and plant life were living on it.
The wonder of exploration creeps up. He hasn't forgotten the words Keith had said in the previous memory. They can talk further about how he used to feel later.]
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[But the light in the sky is flaring, and Keith tightens his hold on Shiro.]
Brace yourself. This part is weird.
[And then it happens. The dreamscape presents it in a rapid fire style, a strange flash back through time -- to Krolia's arrival and crash on Earth, Keith's parents meeting, bits and pieces of the family he never had the chance to remember, the arrival of the Galra scouting party, Krolia's departure, his father's death, a small boy holding back tears alone by a gravestone. It's all the pieces of his history they he never could have known if not for the visions the Abyss dragged Krolia and him through.
And then, in foggier, stranger images flashes that Keith hadn't understood at the time. Shiro's voice not sounding like Shiro's voice, eerie glowing light, a sword in dangerous violet-red light. At the time he couldn't recognize it, but now he knows it was pieces of what was waiting for him on that facility where he and the other Shiro had their final confrontation.
The light fades and takes the flashes of past and present with him, and Keith is gripping tightly to Shiro, like he's incapable of letting go.]
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Just when it seems to ease and he starts to relax it gets worse. So much worse. His own voice echoes to his ears distorted and feral. His heart thuds faster in his chest. The fragments of what would be are all too clear to him. The light takes it all away as he looks down at the man in his arms.]
...you knew. [He tightens his grip on him. He can't let him go. Won't let him go right now.] You knew and you came anyway.
[After that glimpse of Naxela he can't be surprised. But, it wasn't what had motivated Keith this time. He can see it.]
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He looks back up at Shiro, making no move to put any space between them, still holding close to him.]
I knew. But I didn't know what it really meant. I just knew you'd need me. [And that had been more than enough. It wasn't like Naxzela, not really, even if he'd come eye to eye with death and had been ready to accept it, to follow it down. With Shiro.] I'll always come for you.