welcome to the horologium.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players welcome to the horologium. Some of you know it is coming. The World Jump, the chaotic thrust into a new universe. But some of you are new, and though you know what the mission is, it is a bit . . . troubling, sitting around and waiting for something to happen. But eventually, you get a message on your watch. It shows Astoria . . . dark hair framing her features, her voice light and musical. She sounds like herself, for the first time in some time . . . that spark of determination back in her eyes. A MESSAGE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH. "It is time, my beloved Travelers, to go to our new destination . . . and I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you. Akvos' loss has hurt us all, and I know that many of you doubt our mission. But please believe me when I say that you have done the best job anyone could ask of you. Akvos' destruction was not your fault . . . and to our newest members of our Circle, welcome to our journey. I can only hope that your journey here will work out to the benefit of us all." That being said, you are journeying to the Horologium . . . it is a ship that has sent out a distress beacon. I am not sure when, or where, but I can feel great darkness, emanating from that place. I believe you all can combat what is done there, without interacting with the Void . . . so please, be safe, and I will see you all when you return." And, just like that, there is a pull in your stomach . . . your vision blacks out and you feel the sudden sense of vertigo, a sensation of falling, and then . . . nothingness. You open your eyes, and you are suddenly waking up in the midst of . . . fog? THE AWAKENING. When you wake, you are greeted by metal — there’s an expanse of silver all around you. The cot you’re laying on is somewhat rigid, like a flattened wedge of cotton more than anything, encased in a capsule-like structure. Should you inspect your surroundings, you’ll find that there are three more cots in your room..or more notably, another person in the room in of itself. Depending on where you’ve been roused from your slumber, however, you’ll find that your circumstances differ. ➜ If you’ve woken up in the northeast wing of the ship, there seems to be a pool of saturated pink goo at your feet. It sticks to the bottom of your heel and collects at the very center of the room, oozing from the cracks and crevices within the metal lining of the walls. And even more notably, the goo has a particularly saccharine scent, as though it’s meant to be...consumed. Looks like you had the misfortune of waking up in the wing adjacent to the kitchen. ➜ In the northwest wing, the ship is functioning at an all time low. When you wake, the room is illuminated for a brief moment...before flickering out, only to leave you in pitch darkness. Power returns to the room intermittently and only for a few seconds at most, but it appears as though you and your newfound roommates will have to navigate the darkness if you want to leave. ➜ In the southwest wing, the fire alarm in your room has been activated for some inexplicable reason. It’s an obnoxiously loud siren that slices right through the whirring of the machinery around you — and it goes as far as to trigger the sprinklers hanging from the ceiling. Water sprays from above you, hopefully ensuring that you’ve woken up if nothing else has. It doesn’t seem to be draining either, so it may be for the best that you escape with some haste. ➜ In the southeast wing, your circumstances are for the most part rather unremarkable. An untouched room, mostly intact...until you try to open the door. It won’t budge — unless you have some form of super strength, your muscle power is rendered useless on its own. You might just have to commission someone else to help you... Beyond your room, the word “Horologium.” stretches across the wall. Welcome to your new home. WHISPERS IN THE DARK. In a way, it feels as though you’re suspended in time. The ship is always humming, always whirring as it makes a haphazard attempt to function. The noise comes to a halt every so often, leaving you with nothing but silence and the idle creaking of the floor beneath you. There are remarkably large, bright white doors that divide each and every wing. A circular window is positioned at the center of all 4 of these doors: but nothing can be seen through it. It’s likeness is that of a black hole’s, like someone had gone as far as to paint over it. On every door, the same word is emblazoned in black lettering: EXIT. Except the word itself appears to be scratched out to some degree — as though it were scrubbed out in a fit of desperation but remained no less. When you see the door, you might be overcome with excitement. Or perhaps not. Regardless of what your reaction is like, the lights around you will dim and flicker at an alarming frequency. For a moment, it’s almost as though the gravity around you has slowed, and the hallways are becoming narrower by the second.. Voices and faces from the past emerge in your mind. You see someone you shouldn’t; they’re calling for you. They’re here with you right now, beckoning you to come closer... If you reach the door and attempt to open it, it won’t budge. And the further you walk away from it, the more the effects will subside. But there’s no telling if you’ll sleep well tonight. INVESTIGATIONS The ship is fitted to house approximately 500 people — it’s a bit of a ghost town, however, lived in but abandoned no less. The chairs are in the mess hall aren’t aligned perfectly. The tables are a bit crooked. The lounge is lofty, but not pristine. The rooms may be barren, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that they were somehow someone else’s before they became yours. There’s an array of locked doors, varying in sizes and shapes, all of which withhold something potentially useful to you. You may be inclined to visit the lounge, the mess hall, rifle through the bedrooms . . . the ship is yours to explore. However, how you interact with the ship is….entirely up to you. There is something to be found everywhere. Regardless of what you do, where you investigate and how, you might be tempted to look behind your shoulder. After all, every decision you make matters...right? (Every Player’s investigation prompt has the potential to differ greatly as your investigation will require mod input. We encourage you to ask as many questions as you would like, we are here to help and provide you with the information necessary.) 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. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before!

Comments

[insubordination]

[ it's an interesting point, and roy does take shiro's trust into account, and his experiences. he watches the lion paw at the floor, the faintest of grooves appearing. it seems this ship is made out of interesting material . . . if roy had alchemy, he could figure out what it was.

no use in focusing on the useless. his thoughts turn to morrigan, and their conversations, and he continues walking, his pace slow. ]

I can't put my finger on her.

[ which is the frustrating part, his tone thoughtful, careful. ]

It almost feels like she's pretending, but I don't know if that's the truth, or if that's just my own perception of her. She argues for the sake of arguing, but I can be the same way.

[ he pauses. ]

My conversation with her after Akvos made me curious, that's all. I'm half-convinced she thinks I'm an idiot, which is fine by me. [ easier for him to navigate the masses if people don't pay attention to what he's doing, after all. ] But something about her just leads me to asking more questions.

[spaceforged]

[He chews on that as he inspects the marks he made on the floor. This ship is so silent other than them and the sound. It's eerie. Sometimes he wonders if they're really trapped in a dream and are actually still at the temple.

But surreal experiences are just something he's long since become resigned to having in his life.]

I think anyone her age or around there thinks full adults are idiots.

[His mind drifts back to the swamp where the knights went after a child. Where the trees put a violent end to that. She's switched shapes and her memories let him change his shape. All the magic she woven and the ways she guarded herself...reminds him a lot of several people he's known and in some small vague way it reminds him of Gaelio.

That man had been so confused why he kept trying to reach him. He sees that confusion echoed in her face.]

...and she is truly a magic user. Magic users are why I am the way I am. I know them. But magic users in her world are either barely tolerated with a leash around their necks. Or killed if they were trained outside of a rigid system that's basically a prison.

Witnessing that in her memories put her issues with authority into perspective. She's as bad as Keith used to be about them.

[He pauses as an idea hits him. Keith might glare at him for it but hey, he's an in his twenties adult who is slightly bored.]

Keith makes it pretty obvious he never expected to be a leader. Salute him sometime with a yes sir. He'll have at least two seconds of shock on his face.

[insubordination]

People treating different people like animals is the same from world to world, no matter what the differences are.

[ mulling that over, as he slides his hands into his pockets. thinking about it, considering it. he still has some reservations, but it does put things into perspective, a bit.

but at the comment concerning keith, roy laughs. ]

Being saluted at puts a lot of responsibility on young shoulders.

[ and being the leader is hard. roy doesn't envy keith's position whatsoever. ]

Most people saluted me as a joke, until recently. It can get hard to get used to . . . I don't know if I want to traumatize him.

[spaceforged]

It’s hard to traumatize him. He’ll likely just look at you with his hard stare or look confused and ask why you’re doing it.

[His shoulders shake as the rolling growl that serves as a laugh colors the air. Being a leader is difficult and stressful on young shoulders. He would know.]

And for what it’s worth you’re worth saluting. I think you’ll find Keith agrees with me on that.

[ He raises himself up on his back legs to peer at the ceiling. There’s got to be clues somewhere. Anywhere.]

[insubordination]

[ there's a brief shrug of his shoulder, at that. ]

I don't think I'm worth more or less than anyone else, in terms of saluting, but I'll take the compliment.

[ as always. he rests a shoulder against the wall, to lean, allowing his eyes to scan the hallway. curious, but seemingly unimpressed with what he finds. they're stuck here, and being trapped is uninteresting, to him. he's keen to find his way out, but roy has been with the circle long enough to know that it will inevitably go to shit in some fashion, and they need to figure it out when it comes. ]

But I think I'll do it to Keith, anyway. Test the theory and see which option I get.