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ɪʀᴏɴᴡᴏᴏᴅ ᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴏʀ ᴇsʜᴀɪ ([personal profile] ironwood) wrote in [community profile] tushanshu_ooc2014-02-06 02:41 pm
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LANDFALL, KITHIKA

Landfall | February 12th - 28th

Greetings, chelonauts! We are here with two announcements of upcoming changes to life in Keeliai. The first is about the weather and the second about a landfall! Read on for details!



Weather
Maybe he's bumped flippers with a few too many icebergs or maybe he's just disappointed that Bresilyk was not actually home to Santa Claus. Whatever the reason, Tu Vishan has shifted direction from his slow circling of the northern pole to a more southerly bend. Over the next week, the residents of Keeliai will notice the temperature improving remarkably and taking with it the snow and ice of winter. Don't go expecting tropical temperatures quite yet, though!

The general feel of the air will become springlike and the average temperature will be hovering around the 10C - 13C (50F - 55F) mark. Birds that have been weathering the winter will rejoice with song and a flock of immense gyroshei will be moving in. These birds have wingspans of up to twenty feet and long, sharp bills with which they like to sneak bites of whatever food has been left unattended. With long legs and necks, they are often spotted peeking into unsuspecting windows to satiate their deep appetites. Unlike young turtles, they do know what qualifies as food, so watch out for your pantry, chelonauts!

Speaking of the baby turtles, they will be delighted with this change! Mud and puddle splashing will become their game of choice, but even more than that, they will start taking to the ocean waters with frequency -- both to clean off the mud and to explore. At all times they will remain near the shore and kedan will often be seen flocking to the waters with them, celebrating their development from hatchlings to slightly-older-than-hatchlings.



Landfall (in a bottle, baby~)
The Fog | February 10th - 11th
Commencing the morning of the tenth, a mysterious fog covers all of Keeliai, with no discernible cause. It's thick, black and makes it difficult to see. It can't be swept or cleared away by superpowers (no superbreath, Kent!) and although it doesn't seem to enter houses or suites, it's literally everywhere else. Attempts to scan it with technology lead to unexpected and inconsistent results, with the findings varying from speculation that it is smoke from a coal fire to the occasional reading stating that it is black cotton candy floating in the air.

The Source | February 12th
On this date in history, an NPC will make a post talking about the source of the fog, which in this case is a small bottle mistakenly uncorked by a servant in the palace, thinking it was alcohol. The bottle, this NPC will explain, is one of three long thought lost, and they are considered artefacts from the initial war with Malicant. These bottles – a trinity – represent Life, Death and Dreaming and are in fact 'pocket dimensions' within each plane thereof. The bottle that has been opened represents Death.

The NPC will further explain that the only way to clear the fog and the corruption is to go into the bottle itself. The core concern is that the fog truly will result in corruption, though they know not of the kind of who would be susceptible -- the only solution present is to take on the contents of the bottle. This will be an Emperor-Issued Mandate, and Evandau will expect everyone that's combat ready and capable to make the journey. They can party-up or go it solo (we will not be moderating the group formations for this event, so feel free to group up and plot as you please), but the emphasis will be on going in to address the source.

NOTE: Once inside the bottle, a character CANNOT LEAVE until the corruption is dealt with. This information will be conveyed to the characters prior to entering the bottle so that they understand the risks.

Two event logs will be going up for this event. The first will be for the Swamp portion of the event and the second for combating the dragon. There will be a one-week space between these logs.

A World Within - Inside The Bottle
The bottle is a very beautiful, intricate thing, with whorls and ribbons of colour blown into it. All characters have to do to enter it will be to touch it, its innate magic will do the work from there! The bottle itself will be under guard 24/7 for the duration of this event in an effort to prevent interference with it or the critical mission ongoing inside.

The Swamp
Once inside, characters will find themselves in a thick and murky swamp. There will be a variety of strange noises from creatures of the swamp (buzzing/chirping/croaking/the silent swish of creatures moving through the knee-deep water, characters will occasionally feel things brush against their legs/etc). There are numerous trees, in some places too heavy to get through, and heavy vines that blot out the sky. Phosphorus clumps of pond scum are the only source of light, unless characters can glow or otherwise produce it. The swamp is hot, muggy and humid, uncomfortably so. Also, do you like mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds? Because they're definitely a thing.

As they move through the area, it will seem like the swamp itself wants to stop them. Attempts at flying will be met with trees shifting and seeming to grab at them. Any use of superpowers to try and break the trees will result in eerie, high-pitched screaming as if someone nearby is in pain. If your character wants to roll with that kind of thing, feel free, but any nearby PCs may not take too kindly to the hair-raising noises that will persist as long as any super-powered attempts at breaking the trees are made. Any 'normal' attempts – ie: axes/swords/brute strength – will result in a chorus of whispers throughout the swamp speaking in some unintelligible language, and the trees will bleed a thick, brackish blood that causes burns to those that touch it.

Characters will discover that the trees seem to shrink away from the phosphorous fungi, so anyone who has the idea to scoop it up and, say, stuff it in a bottle will have a handy torch that can beat back the bushes, to reveal...

The Temple Grounds
There is a large, dilapidated temple sitting on the edge of the swamp. The entire ground on which it sits seems to be tilted, as if everything is sliding towards the swamp, and indeed near the edges of the swamp there are several statues that are posed as if they're trying to claw their way out of the encroaching slime and muck. The statues are humanoid, albeit with empty eye sockets and clawed hands. Don't worry, they don't move – much.

The temple grounds are covered with crawling ivy, moss, the muck and slime accumulated over centuries of disuse. There are a wide variety of statues that are broken or half-crumbled, the atmosphere is generally uneasy here. Characters will find, at the center of the grounds, a tree that seems to be the only thing flourishing. If they are to pluck a fruit from this tree (they look so red and juicy!) the fruit itself will rot away in their hands, leaving them with a small, tightly-curled piece of parchment with their name on it. This is a FORTUNE OF DEATH. Don't fear the frightening name, these fortunes will actually bestow – for the duration of a character being within the bottle – a weapon that they can use that will affect the creatures lurking in this bottle world. The weapon may be anything they choose or can imagine, and they will appear twisted and wraithlike in appearance, becoming solid only when the character touches them.

These weapons, however, don't work for free. If a character wishes to use them, they will need to 'bind' the weapon to them with a drop of blood. Whether this is a good or a bad idea remains to be seen.

Note: The same guidelines apply here as did for the Christmas gifts sent by the Ironwood Empreror. Players are free to decide the nature of the weapon that their Fortune of Death bestows upon a character, so long as it adheres to the traits listed above. These weapons are a ONE USE ITEM and are intended to be used in the fight against the dragon. They cannot be taken outside the bottle.

The Temple Itself
The temple has a sort of desolate beauty to it. It was obviously well-tended once upon a time, but now there are silk tapestries rotting on the walls, the paving stones are broken and cracked, the meticulously tended gardens overrun, and great works of art in every medium have been destroyed or damaged. Everything seems to creak and groan, and there are several areas of the roof that are entirely caved in. There is a wishing pond in the center of the temple where people used to throw trinkets, it's considered GOOD LUCK to take something from it, and to put something into it in exchange. A crumbling tablet next to the pond suggests as much, in a language that is similar enough to Latin as to be translated by those familiar.

Surrounding the wishing well, there are three statues that appear different than the rest. They appear to depict... why, your character! At three different ages, those ages being 'child', 'adult' and 'elderly'. If your character chooses to touch one of these statues, one of three things will happen:

IF THEY TOUCH THE 'CHILD' STATUE
The child represents the purity and honesty in the hearts and minds of an uncorrupted soul. This statue will force the character to speak his or her mind honestly and without restraint, for a twenty-four hour period. So what did you think of the Superbowl?

IF THEY TOUCH THE 'ADULT' STATUE
The adult statue represents someone who is straddling two worlds – that of being a child, and that of being near death's threshold. It represents choice, and if your character touches this statue they will be granted a vision of what a 'mirrorverse' self may have been like. In the case of inherently 'good' characters this will mean an 'evil' mirror, and in the case of an 'evil' character it will be likewise swapped over. It just so happens that anyone else standing around will also bear witness to this vision. ALTERNATELY: you can choose to write a Mirrorverse version of your character, in which case they will also remain like this for a 24 hour period.

IF THEY TOUCH THE 'ELDERLY' STATUE
This statue represents the dawning of a life's end, and the first step in a new cycle. It will transport a character to the moment of their biggest regret or their deepest fear, which they will have to confront/battle in order to return to the temple. Other characters can be brought along to help, but be warned, they'll see everything that you may not want them to...

NOTE: After your character touches any one of the statues, the others will crumble away, so please think carefully about which of the three you'd like to use.

The World Eater Dragon
Once the characters emerge on the other side of the temple, they may find that the ground beneath their feet seems to shift as if it's breathing. Off in the distance, there is a mountain that appears to have the same difficulty. This is a massive corrupted dragon, known colloquially as a WORLD EATER. It is corrupted, and has massive pustules of this corruption (which seep black fluid) all over its sinuous body, which is trapped beneath the earth.

There are TWO PATHS from this point. Characters can either band together and attempt to fight the dragon, noted as being the source of the corruption, or they can leave it be and search for other ways to lift the corruption.

IF THEY CHOOSE TO FIGHT IT
Characters will have to attack the corrupted spots in groups. But the dragon, as it's attacked, will become increasingly more agitated and will shake itself free from the mountain (destroying it in the process) to fight back. It's a few hundred miles long, so characters will need to work together to bring it down.

World Eater is an immense and old dragon that is displeased about being awoken (and about waking up with a mountain atop it, to make matters worse). Its key weakness is the corruption and it will howl whenever a pustule is ruptured or cleansed (see below). Those with greater strength and fortitude may find themselves better served by combatting the dozens upon dozens of clawed legs while those smaller in size and higher in precision may prefer to attack the corruption directly.

With each pustule destroyed, there will be a brief eruption of a blisteringly hot goo that will cascade down around the combatants. Once upon the ground, the goo will begin to amalgamate, the corruption reforming into a multi-legged creature that will try to latch onto the dragon (or the nearest living thing) and overtake it. Its bite is a poison of the mind, darkening thoughts with uncontrollable rage and blinding the victim's perception of friend or foe. Everyone becomes a foe and they will fight until the creature that has attached is killed -- a strike to the heart is sufficient. If, however, the creature is left to feed upon the dragon or another victim, it will shrink as it feeds itself into the body, forming into a pustule that will require a renewed attack in order to dispatch it.

IF THEY CHOOSE TO SEARCH FOR ANOTHER WAY TO LIFT THE CORRUPTION
Characters can continue exploring the bottle world, and they will eventually come across a pool of pure, clear water. This water can be used to cleanse the corruption from the dragon and the land. But be careful! It's being guarded by a pair of Fu dogs, who will ask riddles of the characters before they will be permitted near the pond. Those characters that drew something from the GOOD LUCK POND and LEFT SOMETHING IN RETURN will be allowed to pass without answering a riddle. PLEASE NOTE: we will not be supplying riddles, if you'd like one please provide your own!

Once the trial has been passed and your character is allowed access to the pool, they will find that the water is potent but its potency limited. It must be used within four hours of being drawn from the pool otherwise it will lose its effect and the characters will have to try again. There are silver jugs nearby the pool that one can use to carry the water, trying to use anything else – such as a magical construct or something from the outside world, will slowly turn the water brackish and it will be useless at that point.

With each pustule cleansed, there will be a high-pitched scream that denotes the death of the corruption at that point. The pustule will melt away and there will show a brief glimmering of tiny iridescent blue/orange feathers overlaid like scales and a pleasant, warm aura before it fades into a grey haze until all of the corruption is dealt with.

IF THEY CHOOSE A COMBINATION OF THE ABOVE
Fooled you! There is a third option that will allow for defeat of the dragon and that is to combine the methods lifted above. However, World Eater will do all in its power to stop the irritants that have poked and prodded at it, showing no hesitation to stomp upon, chomp down, or bury them in an avalanche of rock and corruption, so it may take a fair share of coordination to deal with it. Leaders and soldiers alike will be needed for this battle, for it is said that only an army can bring the corruption to an end.

Defeat of the dragon by any of these means will reveal a beautiful creature beneath all the corruption. If solely cleansed with water, it will curl back up and renew its rest once more. If the corruption is killed instead, then its body will lay in death, destroyed by the fight that was wrought upon its body. If a mixture of the two, it will be gravely injured and require medical assistance, but will no longer try to destroy those that touch it.

Attempts to communicate with the dragon are met with a blank wall, its consciousness locked down and the creature having no desire to let anything in -- it just spent a lifetime possessed by the corruption and has trust issues, okok?

The Aftermath
Once the dragon is defeated and either killed or spared, the world will set itself to rights. The fog will lift in the outside world, and the bottle's world will become as beautiful as it once was. The temple will be restored, the swamp will disappear and be left instead with a beautiful, warm ocean. There will be bright light and warmth, and the statues will pick themselves up and become people once again, who will interact with the foreigners politely. At this point, characters will be able to choose to leave the bottle and return as they would like.



The World Without - Outside The Bottle
While the battle and cleansing rages on within the bottle, the city of Keeliai itself is not completely spared. The fog which permeates the air thickens with each passing day and, in some areas, the architecture begins to show signs of a black mold that quickly grows into a goo that is blisteringly hot to the touch. Left untouched, this goo will drip down to the ground, where it will begin to amalgamate, the corruption reforming into a multi-legged creature that will try to latch onto the turtle (or the nearest living thing) and overtake it. Its bite is a poison of the mind, darkening thoughts with uncontrollable rage and blinding the victim's perception of friend or foe. Everyone becomes a foe and they will fight until the creature that has attached is killed -- a strike to the heart is sufficient. If, however, the creature is left to feed upon the turtle or another victim, it will shrink as it feeds itself into the body, forming into a pustule that will require a renewed attack in order to dispatch it.

Plain water does seem to dispel the mold and halt its growth, but only for a short time. It's suggested that a purer form of it is needed, and characters who have been canon updated may remember the water in the room there. Evandau will allow SUPERVISED ACCESS ONLY to this pool, where characters can fill silver flasks with the water and journey forth to battle the goo-creatures! This water can be used to cleanse the mold, goo, and creatures that have manifested in Keeliai itself. This water is potent, but its potency is limited. It must be used within four hours of being drawn from the pool otherwise it will lose its effect and the characters will have to try again. Each successful use will clear away all but the fog. Any area or person that has been doused with this water has a 24 hour invulnerability period against the corruption.

Item Requests
In addition to the strangeness within the bottle, characters may encounter items from their home! This is in line with previous landfalls and, as usual, a request must be submitted and approved. Please note that the deadline for items for this landfall is February 10th, at which time the approved requested items will be compiled and posted in the OCC community for confirmation and plotting purposes.

Do you have any questions about the event? No worries! We have included a handy-dandy subheader within the comments of this post specifically for the asking and answering of such questions. Otherwise, have at the plottings, chelonauts!

Also, if you could please take the time to fill this bit out so we can get a gauge of how everyone plans to deal with being inside the bottle, that would be excellent! This is for our records as well as to facilitate any plotting between members, as doubles as a plotting post for all!

langsyne: (Default)

[personal profile] langsyne 2014-02-08 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
............ :( :( :(

Bucky, what did those poor mosquitoes ever do to you?
beganwithamask: (Default)

[personal profile] beganwithamask 2014-02-08 11:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Besides try to attack him and like everyone else?