EVENT 033

[sticksandbonesmods]

CRUSADER PROBE MISSION

Sometimes when you look outside, you think the Iris must be closer. That, or a month of isolation in the inn and not seeing the light of day has convinced you that the awful red moon has crept toward the realm you’re currently stuck in. Night after night feels largely the same; you go to bed to the awful shrieks of the Fake People, wretched hands tap against your window, and fleshy masses climb the walls. When you wake up, you hopefully remember to eat, and hopefully don’t fight with your neighbours you’ve been locked indoors with over the state of the kitchen, or the medical supplies scattered across the floor because someone tripped their way into the mobile clinic. Those of you who venture outside hopefully come back unharmed, maybe to the tune of worried friends and partners shouting that you should take a break. Surely the Goddesses must be working on a solution skywards, surely you need to wait, surely there’s some piece of the puzzle you’re missing, surely the magic will come back. Surely, surely…

Sleep, wake up, survive. Sleep, wake up, survive. Sleep… wake up.

There are twenty-five new moons in the sky.

Around the Grove’s sky in an uneven ring, your moon — the one from your home — joins the moons of your peers, bleeding, wounded, its craters unnatural and new. Sinew and tendon connect and pull like a sore being spread open by prodding fingertips. The twin moons of Elrios embrace Earthbread’s in a mass of unnatural tendrils. Valisthea’s moon is cleft in two, one half being pulled toward the east by a mass of goo attached to No Man’s, the other mid-collision with Earth’s. The debris that sprays out from it is a disgusting mix of blood and rock, frozen mid-splatter under the Iris’ gravity.

You swear when you look at the horizon that there are more Woodcrawlers than there were before, despite everyone’s best efforts. The wards on the inn hold, suppressed magic bubbling beneath the surface like a volcano waiting to erupt — one you can feel shuddering under your footsteps — and as the inn endures hit after hit from enraged creatures trying to get to you, you can’t help but wonder…

How much longer do you have left, realistically?

SLEEP IMAGE VISUALIZER

cw: promoting suicide

Out in the depths of the woods, the False God — the Forest, the Black Sun, the Creature — wakes from his slumber, to Zonari’s frantic shoulder-shakes and skyward pointing. The moons continue to corrupt, to bleed, to be consumed; the Heavens stay silent, and magic barely comes to the fingertips of those more powerful than you all. When the Forest glances at his fingertips, he can feel it suppressed under the surface, inaccessible even to Him. A Woodcrawler skitters toward his bedchambers from a shattered window and gets swatted like a gnat out of fury.

The Black Sun wants this hideous red moon to get out of his skies.

He does not approach the Grove. Rather, with the few dregs of magic that remain in a Fallen God and the blessings of his daughter at his side, he reaches into your minds — sleeping or waking.

“It’s been a while. If I wasn’t asleep, I would have cast that thing out of the sky before it got here for daring to mess with what is mine. It stole most of my magic, and I need it back — but I’ll get rid of it if you help me get my magic back. Consider it a gift.”

Whether sleeping or awake, you feel it — the burn of something on your wrist, like a tattoo needle being pressed down too hard for comfort. Some are marked with a black sun whose body is in the shape of a crescent; the other half are marked with one in the shape of a gibbous. When you try to cover the mark, or brush your hand over it to soothe the sudden sharp ache, it glows through your clothing and fingertips, unable to be hidden.

“Find someone with your opposite mark. Kill them, or give up and kill yourself.” The words hang heavy, but He does not pause to let you process it. “Don’t worry — you’ll only have things to gain from this. You already know how to give me the magic I need to get rid of that thing. Mizuki has told you time and time again, has he not? I promise there will be no consequences. I promise those who die immortality until the red moon is defeated, and if you lost something before… Zonari will give it back. And killers, well… you get the satisfaction, guilt-free. I know your fingertips must ache to pull the trigger, Wolfwood.

Chop chop.”

[CLICK FOR TEAM ASSIGNMENTS]

CRESCENT SUN	GIBBOUS SUN
Till	Viktor
Jayce	Ezell
Flamebringer	Faust
Mephisto	Mizuki
Elder Faerie	Pavlova
Pure Vanilla	White Lily
Shadow Milk	Silent Salt
Akaza	Genya
Senjuro	Kyojuro
Shinobu	Muichiro
Ain	Elsword
Aira	Vildred
Ras	Stan
Joshua	Ryan
Dipper	Zoey
Min-Gi	Astrid
Mystery	Luca
Lyle	Urbain
Kiera	Wolfwood
Corbeau	Cy
River	Lodi

GAMES FOR KIDS

Whether the Grove descends into immediate chaos depends on you. Do you immediately turn on your neighbour and try to kill them? Do you sacrifice yourself on the pyre? Do you grab your loved ones and hole up with the door barricaded? Ignore it? Hope someone else dies so you don’t have to?

Ydalir and Heimr, cross with this entire charade and unmarked, breathe out sighs that carry thousands of years of fatigue. The Guardians look no less thrilled about the situation, but their concerns lie around re-killing all of the Woodcrawlers and Fake People they spent so much time smashing weeks ago. The river, covered in Nethersea Brand, protects Sinann and the Seaborn — and only just, as the Woodcrawlers repeatedly try to stomp through it, only to get paralysed on top of it.

Zonari does not enter the inn, despite Heimr trying to extend the olive branch and say she may as well come inside. Instead, she sticks closer to the barn as she typically does if she visits, only venturing out into the cold to retrieve the dead after they resurrect twenty-four hours later and lead them back to the Grove. “What did you want back?” She asks those who have visited the Garden and lost something — a memory, a limb, an eye, an ability. “I have just enough magic to give it to you. Don’t go losing it again, or this was all a waste, wasn’t it?”

It is the Forest, though, that grants your immortality for dying. He has just enough magic to spare a little to throw your way. If you lose a limb under this blessing, it’ll reattach. Fatal wounds heal almost instantly, though they’ll still hurt for a brief few seconds. A papercut barely tickles you. The Woodcrawlers cannot crawl down your throat, Deep Root Disease does not settle under your skin, and the Nature’s Mockery can do little to impede your steps.

The nights tick on. Days become weeks. The marks on the wrists of the dead-and-resurrected fade. The chaos begins to lessen, little by little.

Then begins an all-out war.

THE DEEP BLUE

The Iris is not one to go down without a fight. It and the Black Sun are in a deadlock, pushing back against the other in an unending game of chess. When one is in check, the other retaliates. The fused moons suspended in the sky act as vessels to beam more and more threats down into the Grove — fifty, one hundred, one thousand. The inn weathers the storm only as long as Heimr and Ydalir continually cast what little magic they can access from the corners of the lobby; chalk-stained fingertips repeatedly draw and re-draw magic circles and arcane wards. If you can’t help outside with the sudden swarm of creatures attacking the inn’s walls and drive them back, they’ll instead ask you to help draw further wards, knowing that this is the best anyone could do in this situation.

The Guardians take on newfound rage outside. Moder’s earthquakes shake the threats off their feet every time she rears back. What doesn’t get stepped on and whipped aside by Sehul gets devoured by Callan’s ceaseless hunger. Back-to-back, Zahliya and Zonari stand valiant in front of the inn to cut down anything that gets too close, Nightfall clutched in her hand as a show of tentative trust from the shorter Gargoyle.

The Seaborn, adults and babies alike, rise from the river en masse and form together into something larger, tentacles and tiny hands holding tight to create an enormous, knightlike being donning shell armour and a blade made from sharpened bones. The Behemoth, too, joins the final stand with teeth and claws gnashing. Within the mountain peaks far away, if you listen closely, you swear you can hear the solemn prayers of the Lord of the Mountains. And far in the distance, rising beyond the cliffside covering the sea, the Cosmic Serpent rises from slumber, the stars making up its form twinkling dimly against the night sky as water cascades off its form. Its jaw unhinges, the light of thousands of swallowed stars gathering in its open mouth.

For a moment, the world seems to stop. You take a single breath and hold it as the chaos surrounds you, and suddenly the sky sunders with the burning light of dawn.

“ENOUGH!” Beiwe’s cry of fury mixes with the Fallen Sun’s own in tandem, and at the same moment her blade of dawn bears down upon the Iris, a blade of black from him joins parallel to hers. The Cosmic Serpent’s beam smashes into the Grove, vaporizing the monsters — and almost vaporizing you, if you’re helping the war efforts outside — at the same time the twin blades cleave the Iris in twain.

A still breath ripples through the trees. The rift in the sky torn open by brother and sister wobbles and ripples, but doesn’t close. The mutated moons are gradually bathed in Ourania’s healing light, the Seaborn return to the river, and the drained Fallen God’s breathing becomes a laboured, exhausted laugh. As the twin Gargoyles bicker and break the silence — Zonari thought it was a good idea to give her brother a noogie, okay? — a sense of calm finally comes over the Grove.

The next few days will be spent cleaning up the ashes of corpses, repairing broken infrastructure, and watching the skies gradually return to normal… yet the rift still hangs overhead, and the tickle of magic doesn’t return to your fingertips.

It still lies in wait.

Spark Notes (Click to Expand)

summary

CRUSADER PROBE MISSION: The moons are more mutated, with some of them smashed up or in pieces. Instead of rotating through the moons from various worlds of player characters, all moons from all player worlds show up in some state of decay.
SLEEP IMAGE VISUALIZER: Suri contacts everyone, places marks upon their wrists, and tells you all to kill each other to power him up so that he can get rid of the Iris. Everyone is assigned one of two teams... good luck!
GAMES FOR KIDS: Welcome to the Hunger Suri Games! Those who die and come back after 24 hours will become immortal for the month. If they died and previously lost something in the Garden, Zonari will grant it back to them with no questions asked. The chaos outside moderately lessens as more and more people become immortal, but the Iris makes a final stand.
THE DEEP BLUE: The inn's wards start to waver, resulting in Ydalir and Heimr asking for help maintaining them from those of you that can draw magic circles before they break again. Those of you who can fight should go outside and fight, they say. The Iris beams down thousands of threats through each wounded moon, and the Guardians, Cosmic Serpent, Seaborn, and the twin suns themselves attend the war. After the Iris' defeat, the sky is sundered and a rift hangs overhead, and yet magic still doesn't return.

out of character

Y'all, it's already February. Anyway, this is the second and final part of our GHE inspired event! Thank you for indulging in it with me, I've enjoyed running it. March and April will be our typical calm-after-the-storm months to make up for the murders I've inflicted on you all. Fun facts: Had I not gotten enough murder sign-ups I wasn't sure how I was going to end this log h-haha, so thank you guys for being SUCH enthusiastic little blorbo killers.

updates

Any potential updates, such as characters damaging something important or whatever else, will be put here.

submissions

❖ Questions
❖ February Plotting
❖ Past Life Plotting (Closed to Game Members)
❖ Investigations

code

Comments

[ninelines]

[The more he learns, the more he's simultaneously surprised by the fact Joshua seems relatively well-adjusted and unsurprised by the mindset he spoke to earlier. If one is positioned, seemingly, from birth to adhere to an anticipated role and practically divested of all semblance of choice, it makes sense that it would become as second nature. Or become so abhorrent as to make service utterly unpalatable.]

...Is it a terrible thing to say I'm a little glad you aren't there? I mean, it sounds like you and your brother were putting in the legwork to try and improve the state of affairs, but it couldn't have been easy.

[It's good, at least, to hear Joshua laugh semi-regularly. Lodi likes making people laugh!]

Oh, they're completely unrelated! I shouldn't have assumed. To be honest, it sounds like that might all be impressive enough that I'm a little glad you can't at the moment. I might seem like I'm taking it all in stride, but! [It's Lodi's turn to laugh, a hint helplessly.] It's a lot to absorb! I feel like it'd be the equivalent of - seeing an angel, or something. Y'know?

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua has had nearly two decades to come to terms with all that has happened to set the wheel of fate into motion. Maybe, with all he's seen and experienced, he is a little... not desensitized, exactly, but adjusted to the reality of it. Like a chocobo broken from being startled by loud noises and abrupt movements. It does not change how he feels about the matter, but he is able to face it all with a much cooler head. ]

Not easy at all, actually. Though, while my brother was here, he came from a little bit further ahead in time than I. To his knowledge, so long as his plan succeeded, magic has now been removed entirely from our world, thus stopping the Curse and the inhumane treatment of Bearers all in one. Even considering that, though, the Curse has still deigned to follow me here. But, so long as I am careful, I will be all right.

[ Having everything taken away right now is a blessing, actually. It keeps him from using too much of his magic. It's for the best, at least in that regard.

Still, Joshua knows what Lodi means. It earns a little laugh, and a shake of his head. Maybe it is all a bit much. ]

I understand. It is a lot to take in. Perhaps we could begin with my smaller form to ease you into exposure. That ability, thankfully, I do still have. It is a transformation attached to my bracelet, and I have confirmed that it still functions mostly as normal.

[ninelines]

[In an absolutely poor show of his own emotional regulation, Lodi's face creases inward in distress. It tempers naturally over the next few seconds, though the furrow in his brow remains. Unbidden, his eyes flicker downward as if in search for some definite sign as to Joshua's physical state.

Though they had known one another an incredibly short amount of time, Lodi was an empathetic soul. The idea of an individual as kind as Joshua suffering such a wretched fate admittedly tugged at his heartstrings... and bit at the part of him that burned with a righteous fire even now.]

That doesn't seem... [Aware of how childish commenting on how unfair that seemed would sound, Lodi sighs through his nose.] I'm sorry. And there's truly nothing that can be done, even here?

[A smaller form... a smaller bird? He can't deny he's curious. Burningly so, in fact, no pun intended.]

...What does mostly as normal entail in this specific case? I wouldn't want you to do something like that for my... amusement and be, I don't know, stuck like that for the foreseeable future. Or anything like that.

[kingincognito]

Ah... no, please do not concern yourself on my account. I have obtained ways to avoid progressing it, in lieu of an actual cure. A friend of mine here was working on a cure using the abilities from his own world, and even managed to reverse the progression just a little, but he... departed from this place some months ago. Thus, I am being careful.

[ Will had made excellent progress. He still isn't sure how taxing it was on the man, and he supposes he'll never know, now. Not unless he makes a miraculous return. ]

"Mostly as normal" simply means that... well. I'd initially asked Ydalir for a means to use my magicks without taxing my body, and she enchanted the bracelet to allow it. Unfortunately, that enchantment also came with changing into the form of a small Phoenix. My spells are weaker in that form, but they do at least avoid progressing the Curse. However, with magicks and abilities currently nullified, only the bird form seems to remain. I do not think I will be stuck in such a form - I have successfully changed back, after all.

[ninelines]

...Okay, well, that's a relief. If there's anything I can do, though, please let me know. I won't pretend to be able to meaningfully tackle more mystical problems, but I like to think I'm quick enough at understanding concepts that I could be a sounding board.

[Fascinating stuff, though, all this discussion of transformation and phoenixes and magic. It was a relief that Joshua would not necessarily be stuck in the form, but...]

Did you successfully change back before or after the nullification came into effect? Maybe I'm stressing out over nothing, but if I asked you to do something and it got you stuck as a bird – no offense meant by calling the Phoenix a bird, for the record – I'd feel pretty bad.

[kingincognito]

Of course. A good sounding board is priceless, particularly one that has some understanding of the situation. Should I need anything, I will not hesitate to call upon you.

[ And he does mean that. He can consider things all he wants, but at the end of the day, a like mind is an incredible treasure. The more he has, the better.

Perhaps this is his bookwyrm hoard, then. A smile curls at the corner of his mouth at that. ]

Oh, not at all. The Phoenix is indeed a bird, albeit a very large one. But no, it was after. It was the first thing I tested after my own innate magicks, considering I do not wish to waste my other enchanted items.

[ninelines]

Good! It's a deal, then. Twofold. You can come to me about anything, though, it doesn't only have to be about the state of your... affliction, so to speak. I really don't mind and, frankly, any opportunity to chat seems like a good one here.

[Okay, interest piqued. Seeing a real life Phoenix? Once in a lifetime opportunity? Even if it's only a little one, it's still... well, a Phoenix.]

Okay, that's a relief. Then, I mean, hey — if you're willing, who am I to turn down the opportunity? I can't lie, I'm pretty curious about it.

[kingincognito]

[ And that, sir, gets a smile. ]

I would be glad to. Soon enough, I daresay you will be familiar enough to drop the formalities.

[ But with Lodi's curiosity piqued and his worries soothed, that opens Joshua to stretch his wings, so to speak. (Not literally, of course, though he could in this open space if he wanted to.) He stands from his seat, touching the bracelet around his wrist. ]

It may look a bit flashy, but worry not. The flames will not harm you. It is simply an effect.

[ Lodi will see soon enough that Joshua doesn't mean flames around him. The change happens in a shimmer of air around him, like light bending through an invisible barrier. One moment, it's Joshua standing there, and the next there is a firebird the size of a parakeet perched on the seat of the chair, flashes of flame flickering through its feathers like coals in a campfire.

And when he speaks, rather than it coming through his mouth, those thoughts are just telepathically blasted to Lodi's brain. because wolfie told me it was okay to keep the brainspeak ]

There we are.

[ninelines]

Listen, like I said! It's not because I'm trying to be unfriendly. In fact, the opposite. I have far too many memories of getting glared at when I was younger because I spoke too casually to someone I'd only just met. Sort of irons the impulse in.

[Thus warned, Lodi shifts in his seat to watch. It is a thankful thing that he is used to lightshows of a more destructive quality, because Joshua's particular display does not immediately come across as dangerous. When the space around them snaps to Joshua's newfound form, wonderment and disbelief arise in equal measure.

Lodi's first thought is: wow, that is actually smaller than anticipated. Unbidden, a lopsided smile splashes onto his face and remains utterly steadfast, even through the telepathy. He's used to being to that manner of communication given his stint with the Nine.]

Wow. That is... incredible. Truly. My brain is kind of struggling to wrap my head around the fact that you could normally turn into something far larger than this.

[kingincognito]

Considerably larger, actually. This building would not be able to contain me, were I to fully prime. This smaller form is a blessing in that regard.

[ Considering that Lodi seems to be fascinated, he spreads his wings, giving him a better look at everything. For all points and purposes, he seems like a flesh and blood bird, if not for the clear fire-flicker in his feathers and considerably longer tail feathers.]

It is quite comfortable, but the most important thing is that it does not put strain on my body.

[ninelines]

Yeesh. That's crazy.

[Understatement of the century, man.

Given that Joshua does not seem opposed to closer observation, Lodi carefully inclines himself the smallest bit in order to get a better look. While the form was surprisingly solid—although he does not know what he was expecting, given the fantastical nature of a Phoenix—the silhouette was alien enough to register as something other.

He has to wonder about the logistics behind the tail feathers. With a quizzical expression, Lodi thumbs at his chin. Did they help with flight, or was it more strictly cosmetic? Did a Phoenix follow the conventional laws of flight? Was it hollow-boned, like one would expect an Earthly bird to be, or was its ability so mystical as to allow for a difference in functional form entirely?

Nerd.]

Really, really fascinating stuff. Is the, uh, telepathy standard with your actual form? Or is that something that came with the bracelet?

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua has nothing if not patience, so being examined is at least tolerable. He shifts in little ways as Lodi looks him over, perfectly happy to be the specimen for a little while. The telepathy, unfortunately, only goes one way, so he can't tell what the other man is thinking, but that's easily fixed. ]

I believe it is functionally similar to my primed form. I can communicate with other Dominants, at the very least, though I do not exactly have lips to speak, so mental communication seems the most logical of the options.

[ He pauses for a moment, tilting his little bird head, then shivers to the point that all of his feathers fluff up into a big fluffy firebird orb before flattening back down. Ugh, he never could resist the bird urges in this form... ]

You are welcome to ask as many questions as you like. You can take a feather, as well, if you wish. I do not mind, and it will hurt neither of us.

[ninelines]

[Unbidden, in the midst of marveling something that is likely as mundane as a shift of the weather for his companion, Lodi thinks on how remarkable this all would seem if he were still that man in Chicago. Conversing with an individual who could shapeshift into a mystical creature, telepathically! Incredible!

Even as he finds himself marveling at the fact a Phoenix retains bird-like instincts, the smile on his face tightens. It's amazing – all of this is, even the abundant horrors outside the inn. It also all feels that little bit bittersweet, like a pill he can't quite swallow due to the circumstances.

With a faint breath, Lodi sits back in his chair and interlaces his fingers in his lap.]

No, no, that's alright. I won't pester you with any of that. The fact I got to see it at all is more than enough for me. Thank you for the privilege.

[kingincognito]

[ The examination seems to be quick, if nothing else. Joshua makes a note to save a feather of his for later, though, as a token of friendship, perhaps. He knows that, were it him, he would be ridiculously curious, and he has no doubt that Lodi would appreciate it in some way. ]

If you are certain, then.

[ The transformation back is simple enough, and in a matter of seconds the bird is once again Joshua, who moves his hand to play with the bracelet on his opposite wrist. ]

One day, you might see the real Phoenix. Though, I hope you do not have occasion to. It is something I restrict only to emergency situations.

[ninelines]

[He would love to have such a thing, certainly, but requesting it here and now feels like reducing his companion down to a simple curiosity. He wants to show appreciation for the individual, not solely his transformative and fascinating abilities.

Even if the transformation back is simple, he still finds himself taken aback by the weight of it all. Even if he is stranded here, he is grateful to have experienced this.]

Gosh, well. Between you and me, given what we've talked about... I hope I never have to see it, I agree. Even if the necessary circumstances weren't dire, I'd really rather you not have to tax yourself. Frankly, it almost sounds like it'd be better if you never needed to transform fully again.