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.  INVESTIGATIONSThe 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! |
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acatalepsy_logs2019-02-12 12:27 pm
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[which is, honestly, where his issues lie. he is equally not happy being trapped. it taps into his mild claustrophobia.] If something happens here, where exactly do we go? Does Astoria take us back or does she just leave us to sort it out?
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[ but inej glances over at molly, tearing her eyes away from the vastness of empty space, to have a proper conversation. arriving in akvos had been disorienting at best, and terrifying at worst. at least they aren't permanently underwater, here. ]
But something tends to happen, and we have to fix it. Some sort of conflict, or . . . something. The last world involved a struggle for the throne. [ she pauses, there. ] The last world was lost. Astoria barely got us, and some of the citizens of that world, out alive. Hopefully that will not come to pass, here.
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[Yeah, he's... not stupid enough to question her right this second, and give a witch already suffering from a tremendous loss performance anxiety.] So. Optimism, then. At least there's air, there's food, there's company...
[It's fine. Really.]
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still. that won't really help matters. ]
It could definitely be worse.
[ with a small smile, meant to be encouraging. ]
At the very least, we have some time to explore and adjust. That's better than nothing.
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[Probably. He doesn't really know that for certain, but this has all the hallmarks of a ghost story, and that, even though it's creepy, is much easier on his nerves than the void of space.] I mean... People tell stories like this around campfires where I'm from. No place ever ends up abandoned for no reason. There's always a story.
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[ kaz and inej had sat up for hours, trading ideas on what could have made the people disappear. each was more fanciful than the last, and none of them properly made sense. the more they talked, the more paranoid each got, and eventually inej cut off the wondering. it just made things worse.
and so . . . ]
Maybe they just up and left. They found a better ship, and took it to continue their mission elsewhere.
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[He taps his fingers on the table, thoughtfully.] Why d'you think those coffin things were sealed? They were all empty, aside from the ones we were in, and they had to be forced open. The reason I ask is... I'm wondering if maybe we shouldn't have opened them.
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[ the pun is not intended, but inej offers molly a faint smile anyway, in spite of herself, before she brushes a loose piece of hair out of her eyes, behind her ear. ]
All I know is that there should be people here. Whether or not they were supposed to be in the coffins, I am not sure. I have heard people refer to them as "pods," but nothing like that exists in my world. None of this exists.
[ and she casts out a hand, toward the surrounding ship. ]
We are grounded, not in the stars.
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It's the same for me. This is... Far beyond anything a person can do. Powerful magic can travel to different planes, but up into the sky, itself? That's just weird. [He drags a hand down his face.] Not much of a mission to start out with, honestly. I'm feeling a bit... useless.
[He doesn't say that like he's lacking confidence or anything. It's fact. He doesn't have the skills for this, and when there's killing to be done, he'll be there... Throwing Vicious Mockeries at it, apparently. He doesn't have any weapons.]
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[ it's mean to be reassuring, but inej does feel very much out of her element, on a near constant basis, in the circle. if kaz weren't here, she would have no idea how she would react. all of the comfort and power she surrounded herself with at home is, for the most part, gone.
but: ]
Can you do that? Travel to different planes?
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[Which is hilarious considering he thought he was in some weird afterlife, but there you go.]
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I live in a sprawling city, now.
[ with half a shrug. ]
The Temple feels bizarre to me only because there are not as many people as I am used to. . . there are usually people shouting and attempting to sell you something, and the Temple feels so empty in comparison.
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[Ugh. Did he just admit that? He really must be anxious right now. He's off-balance and fretful and he does not like that shit one bit. He'll just... buy that back a bit.] At least in the Temple, you can force a lot more people to deal with you.