♥ October (Lasohm) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

October (Lasohm) Event Log

Lasohm brings with it a familiar chill and a dash of increased precipitation, as the city prepares itself for the coming winter season. Best practice is to go out with a jacket or sweater to avoid those goosebumps! Or don't and be cold, we won't judge. The wind carried over from last month doesn't help matters any, though at least the rest of the city is quiet and placid for the most part, as if entering an electronic hibernation. That peace is sure to last, right? Not like anything bad ever happens in Lasohm.

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❥ PROMPT I: In Brightest Day...

As the month carries on, residents of Havenwell may wake up one morning to find that if they possess any superhuman abilities or powers, these have become notably difficult to access or control for a while. However, with this odd fluctuation comes markings on one's hand, wrist, or arm in one of five colors. Though the color may change (as often or as rarely as player discretion dictates), it's always one color at a time. These markings glow when focused upon, giving one the ability to manifest powers made of light in a matching color. Cast projectiles, form hardlight weapons, the only limit appears to be one's imagination. (...And reason. Probably no orbital cannons.)

However, they come with the usual condition; the power granted is more easily used when in physical contact with another, and specific colors also have further complications...

♥ Red markings can be found on those that may feel particular frustration at the time or are predisposed to anger. Red energy is wild and difficult to control, risky to use unless the marked character talks through something that may be upsetting them while in physical contact with another.

♥ Yellow markings appear on the nervous or fearful, and the energy refuses to function as if afraid to emerge itself. Similar to red, it will only begin to work if the affected character admits to something they fear (no matter how big or small) while engaging in contact.

♥ Blue markings at first seem to have no correlation with the disposition of who they appear upon, and it may seem to anyone keeping track that they manifest completely at random. Utilizing blue energy may seem weak at first; projectiles may fizzle out, manifested weapons might be too small or even break, but it soon becomes clear that its strength is directly proportionate to how optimistic the marked character may feel at the time. Anyone with a blue marking might do well to seek out those that make them feel hopeful, if they want to use it at full strength.

♥ Indigo markings tend towards individuals with compassion in their hearts; while the power functions with little difficulty, it is only slightly more usable than blue energy at its weakest. Though this may seem inefficient and even useless, it will quickly be discovered that indigo energy becomes immensely powerful specifically when used to protect, aid, or otherwise benefit someone other than the user themselves.

♥ Violet markings, similarly, seem weak at first glance; however, they become stronger when the marked character is in proximity to someone they love. Whether familial, platonic, romantic--the specific kind of love is irrelevant. And perhaps as expected, it reaches its full power when the marked individual is in contact with their friend/family/significant other.

❥ PROMPT II: Rumble in the Bronze

Rumble rumble rumble.

What is that? An earthquake? Construction? A hungry neighbor with a megaphone?

Whatever it is, you'll hear and feel that periodically over the first couple weeks. At first it's mild and starts around the mineshaft and forge, like a subway train passing under you, but as the days go by, it grows in intensity until midway through the month.

That's when the first of them bursts up through the ground. Worms. They vary in size and shape but not in diet. They come up through the rocks and it's clear, when investigated, that these were not dug into. There's a distinct marking through them to show that these were chewed through. At first, they only seem to be eating a lot of rocks, even stone buildings might have a good bite or two taken out of them. Peeking in might find some of the massive worms all curled up inside. They might also being curled around the buildings, twisting and gnawing, the sound of them chewing like gravel scraping over stone.

Eventually though, the minerals in stone aren't quite enough for these greedy grubs. Metals also share some mineral traces with stone, and vice versa. A few unfortunate natives were in a few of the buildings that were completely devoured before they could evacuate and the taste of them was like a fine seasoning. Or dessert. And even monstrous worms aren't immune to wanting dessert over a proper meal…

Now might be a good time to try out those new powers everyone seems to be getting. For some reason, they're more effective against the worms than any abilities otherwise available, though residents are welcome to fight in whichever way they feel comfortable.

❥ PROMPT III: A Little Help Here?

With the chaotic arrival of the worms comes another troubling development. The priests and pious adherents who have been glitching out over the past few weeks suddenly and abruptly break down completely as the worms take over the city. The lights in their casings flicker on occasion, but they stop moving of their own volition and are completely unresponsive when interacted with. Other natives will be desperately trying to escape the worms themselves, so they just may not have the bandwidth or ability to fight off the worms to save the unfortunate robots. This is where you can come in, offworlders!

For those who cannot or would not fight the worms, they can still help out by directing these lost souls to safety. When pushed or pulled, the inert natives will begin moving, but as soon as any outside direction is lost, they stop again. Moving the natives out of harm's way and making sure that they aren't all gathered into one spot (after all, that's just like setting up a buffet invite for the voracious worms!) may just be a full time job while the siege is underway. On occasion, if a worm finds its way to these pockets of defenseless natives, people can try to fight them off or call on others for help.

The only place that won't help? The research towers. Once the worms invaded the city, they seem to have decided it's a problem for everyone else and have completely locked down their towers with the null shield seen previously during the tower assault. Even the worms don't seem to be able to penetrate the barrier, try as they might. And so long as the shields are up, no one gets in or out.

Finding safe shelter may be difficult, too, as the worms destroy roads and buildings everywhere, so those who can't direct natives may find it more helpful to clear roads of debris or patch up buildings so they can survive this onslaught. There's no telling how long this will last...

❥ PROMPT IV: How It Ends Depends on You

The city is breaking, the research towers have abandoned the pious to the whims of their gods, and those gods don't seem to be responding to the cries of Havenwell's people. The natives are distraught and, despite the offworlders' best efforts, there's no end in sight to the worms pouring out of the earth. ...or is there?

How the event concludes will depend on you! That's right, you! Those characters who feel like they have a deeper or stronger connection to their assigned gods will feel a vague sense of desperation in the back of their minds, like a weak tug crying for attention. Whether they listen or not is up to them, of course, and if the call is ignored, it fades away and does not return. Those who do listen, however, will get a sense that they need to start gathering people, natives (both active and inactive) and offworlders alike, in a single location: the Town Square. It may be dangerous to have everyone out in the open like that, but the strong impression of a mass of people in the square is what comes through before the feeling fades entirely.

Does your character listen? Do they obey the message and work to direct people to the square? Would your character follow the directions and gather themselves and others? Let us know down below in the comments here. Responses will be collected until October 14th at 11:59:59PM EST. If your character has not responded by then, it will be assumed that they ignored the message and/or did not follow the directions.

For those who gather in the square, feel free to discuss on this post what your characters would do in there. Please keep any major discussion of what your characters would do in the square here so that everyone in the game can see it. A discussion toplevel has been posted HERE.

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This event will run from October 15-31. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread. You can also use the Havenwell Status page or the General Plotting Comment to give you other ideas for original prompts!

Comments

[unnecessaryflourishes]

Long enough, though perhaps not as long as it may have seemed.

[Serious as the injury is, he knows full well that it's not the sort of thing that would have been particularly sustainable for long. Even if she might not have noticed it, in the heat of battle. (Not surprising, really. Even he is no stranger to the sorts of things that might go unheeded during the course of a fight and only noticed after.]

I would be loath to attempt to reattach what was sheered away, however. Though it would not be impossible, there would be great a risk of it remaining fragile. Or worse, the process leaving it forever altered to the point it no longer carries sound correctly.

[Neither of which are fates he means to leave herself too, and though his eyes do - briefly - flick over to Regis, his attention returns to her horn before long, as he works his magicks, stemming the flow of blood before turning to not just the remains of her horn but any deeper injuries besides.

Busy as he is, though, he does not - cannot - spare the effort to create a second pasty when Era finishes the first. Not when the act of Creation requires the whole of his focus, if but for a moment.]

No, better to have it simply regrown. Even if it is like to be the longer process.

[kingkingcxiii]

[Any amount of time is too long in his book, but like Emet-Selch he cannot fault her for the time it took to notice the wound despite his fatherly instincts screaming otherwise. He is not innocent of doing the same, after all. It's practically a skill for one who is a practiced warrior, as dangerous a skill as it might be.]

I am grateful to hear it will regrow. When it comes to healing, slower is usually the better option. Rushing will only cause problems in the future.

[So it sounds as if the horn heals like bone and in that case Emet-Selch's plan is really the only proper way to handle things. The last thing Regis wants is for Era to suffer any permanent damage from this wound.]

cw for era being a bitey lil savage i'm sorry lmfao

[astralera]

[ Era isn't exactly pleased with her boyfriend ignoring her unspoken desire for more aether to consume as opposed to absorb and, ignoring the presence of Regis entirely, she grabs one of Hades' hands, shoves his sleeve up in one quick motion as she brings it close to her face, then bites down hard on the bare flesh above his glove and devours the blood that spills so generously into her mouth. ]

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[It heals enough like bone, at any rate. And he'll be able to help speed the process up some besides, which ought to at least help make sure that Era isn't left with but the one horn for too long.]

Exactly so. Better to sacrifice swiftness for thoroughness.

[There's a wince at the tail end of his comment as Era bites down on his wrist, but aside from that he doesn't do much more than turn to back to Era.]

I had hoped to finish seeing to any lingering injuries, first.

[Still, though her bite had broken his concentration enough for his spellwork to fizzle, the worst of her injuries are healed, and she is no longer at risk of bleeding out.]

[kingkingcxiii]

[The bite catches Regis so off guard that he completely looses the thread of the conversation. Instead, he can't help but be hit by the memory of people who are just moments away from being lost to the poison that has crept into their systems--the poison that will transform them into daemons. Daemons live only to kill, rend and tear and so those losing their battle--when kept by well-meaning family praying for a miracle--they often uncontrollably leap at those very family members to snuff out their life and light. He has to take a moment to point out to himself that Era had some control to her actions. There must be a reason, especially with Emet-Selch's calm, almost annoyed reaction.]

Are you all right?

[His voice is just a little softer and more uncertain than usual. Despite his logical rebuttal, he's still shaking off that flood of memory.]

[astralera]

[ Fortunately for all parties, Unsundered blood is obscenely rich in aether, so it doesn't take long for Era's hunger to abate. She gives Hades an apologetic little kiss where she bit him, then applies pressure to the wound with her sleeve (knowing better than to expend her energy on healing magic at the moment). ]

He's dealt with worse.

[unnecessaryflourishes]

As she said. This is but a minor injury, at best.

[And one he is not in the least bit surprised about, under the circumstances. Though he's neither unaware of nor entirely unsympathetic to Regis' reaction to Era biting him, and though the corners of his mouth turn up briefly at the kiss, he turns to a proper explanation not long thereafter.]

Blood is rich in aether. Mine more so than most. And with my own aether so strongly attuned to darkness, it is little surprise she might seek it out to rebalance her own.

[kingkingcxiii]

I never thought of blood being healing in such a way. As rich as my family's blood is in magic, we have never been able to transmit the magic like that.

[At least, as far as he knows. Had any of the kings or queens of old tried and just not written down the results? He can't imagine there would have been a good response to it should anyone have found out. That may be why there are no records of any such tests.

Or it may just be that no one ever thought of trying such a thing in the first place. It seems more like something that would happen in Niflheim not Lucis.]

I am glad that it has helped so quickly. That was a very severe wound. You had me quite worried.

[astralera]

If my aether wasn't tainted I doubt it would help much.

[ Her voice is still somewhat off, given she can't feel the sound properly anymore, but she does her best to ignore it, along with the extent of her injury. ]

I wouldn't die to something like that.

[unnecessaryflourishes]

It is possible to use blood to fuel magic, but outside of this particular instance that magic would need to be funneled through a more specific spell, rather than being a matter of using the elemental aspect of that aether to counterbalance an overabundance of another.

[He does notice, too, the way her voice still sounds a little off, but given that she's just taken a fairly serious injury, he doesn't mention it. Nor the fact that it's entirely possible she could very well have ended up worse off than she had.]

[kingkingcxiii]

[Regis frowns slightly, though it's hard to tell if it's because of her continued insistence she would have been okay or if it is because he too is noticing how her voice sounds.]

In any event, I think it would be a good idea to get you someplace calmer to rest.

[He turns his gaze to Emet-Selch.]

May I leave her in your hands?