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

[cryopathy]

[oh, even after all of this, he doubles down? infuriating. forget the brush, kiera will take off to yank at his hair with their beak themself.]

But you would still leave! You're so godsdamned selfish, Luca! [another lock of hair snapped up, another sharp yank as she flutters backward.] I'm already giving him a chance by tolerating his presence! What more do you want from me?

[unheiring]

[The hair is uncalled for, and they both know it. He whirls on the bird, swatting at the air even as he does. There is no true power in his motions, largely out of fear of actually hurting them. It isn't like normal, where they would simply turn back after being injured. He ran the risk of actually hurting them like this.]

Selfish? For taking an opportunity to do potentially do some good? That is the only reason I am considering it. I am not who I was back then, when I was too blinded by my own grief to see what I would leave behind. Unlike you, Kiera, I have actually grown.

[Casting the brush aside, Luca storms from the bathroom and back to the door. He opens it enough for the little bird to leave.]

Get out.

[cryopathy]

[as much as that bites, makes them want to snap back -- kiera knows that's exactly what luca is betting on. they hunker down on the towel rack, narrowing their beady little bird eyes.]

Oh, no. You're not getting rid of me so you can rid yourself of life.

[unheiring]

[Luca only scoffs.]

Then I shall lock you in here, and leave you to your thoughts while I, apparently, go off to die. Take your pick, dear sister.

[cryopathy]

[UGH, she CAN'T with this man. maybe it's taking the bait, but that gives her enough cause to take off and dive for him again. not to yank on him again, but to ensure she's close enough should he try to pull the stunt he threatens.]

Why are you being such a stubborn little shit? [they're aware that the same could be said of them, but they would insist that they come from a place of concern where luca is only being difficult for the sake of it. funny, that he likely feels the opposite.]

[unheiring]

I am being stubborn? You are the one acting as if I have not grown or changed in the last year.

[With her hovering so close to his head, Luca makes a grab at her. It's a faltering one, considering how worried he is about hurting that fragile body of hers, but an attempt all the same.]

[cryopathy]

[luckily for luca, kiera is upset enough to allow themself to be distracted, and only because it's him. if he means to grab them, he'll succeed, and they will give an indignant squawk to rival his own.]

Even if you have, you're considering it again at the first opportunity!

[unheiring]

[Rather than shoving Kiera out immediately, Luca finds himself hesitating. He looks down at their small form, and allows his thumb to lift and stroke over their head.]

Even if I went to fight him, why are you so convinced that I would lose? Do you think me that incapable?

[cryopathy]

[if his actions and words are a ploy to get her to lower her guard, well... consider her a fool. it's been this way since they were children; luca will always be her soft spot.]

I know you're capable, Luc. All the same, I know the Queen's agents are just as ruthless as the Empress'. [and with their mental connection as it is, she can't soften the blow of emotions for either of their sakes.] And I'm so tired of seeing you hurt.

[unheiring]

[Indeed, the hurt reverberates through their bond. Unconsciously, he thinks of the fights he'd picked throughout Cataega, his own bloodied war. With it comes the memory of being caught by the emissaries, cornered by a fair few of their number.

She's right. He knows she is. And yet -]

He is without the leviathan. It is different. It is my chance to prove myself. [And with it comes a sense of longing, a bond that had been left dangling for over a year. It isn't just the combat he misses, but the closeness it brought out. A sense of camaraderie between two forms of monsters.]

It would be worth it to try. If it might help. If it might prove something.

[Maybe then, he cannot help but think — a thought she is perfectly privy to, considering — she would stop considering him so fragile.]

[cryopathy]

[knowing, at least, that alazon is not entirely bound to his beast at the moment is... some small relief. if nothing else, kiera will admit that they haven't bothered getting to know him beyond the aspect of his being a powerful blessed extensively trained in warfare and a direct threat to luca. their exposed feathers ruffle up nearly beyond a 90 degree angle before they shiver and lay them down once more.]

I don't care if you spar. I just don't want you intentionally flirting with death when we don't know without doubt the consequences.

[unheiring]

[Clutching Kiera as he is, Luca is abruptly aware of just how deeply he misses their presence. They weren't always affectionate, but beasts he could use a hug from them right now.

He settles for bringing them up to his heart, resting them there for a moment in the closest semblance he has, before opening his palm once more.]

Okay, Kiera.

[He isn't entirely lying. He won't push his luck, not until he sees what happens. There is no doubt in his mind that someone will make an attempt before long. Once he spots the results, then he'll make a decision.]

I love you, you know. No matter how much of a pain you are

[cryopathy]

[the sensation of his heartbeat through his chest is an unpleasant reminder of how small and useless kiera is right now. they could bitch and moan and scream at him all they want, but ultimately... they can't actually do a damn thing to stop or to protect him. some quiet, strange, almost foreign part of them supplies that all they'll succeed in doing is pushing him away.

although he releases them, they don't move for a long moment, trying instead to make peace with luca, with their own complicated feelings on the issue. it isn't like them to just give up, yet they know continuing the way they are will only harm them both.]

I love you, Luca. And I hate that I can't keep you safe.

[unheiring]

You should be more worried about yourself, Ki.

[He thumbs over their head once more. It's hard not to notice how small they are. One wrong move would shatter them in an instant. If someone did want to make good on the Forest's promise out of malice, it would be so easy to do so with them.]

Please, be careful out there.

[cryopathy]

[even though they're self-indulgent enough to rub their head feathers against his fingers a few times, kiera doesn't linger too long. and actually, they reach for another strand of his hair to pluck at, this time only gentle and playful about it.]

I'll be fine. My mark may be as obvious as anyone's, but anyone who wants to take advantage will have to catch me first.

[they no sooner think it than dart away from him and out of his reach, through the door he's left open. they end up perched on a doorframe a few rooms down, cocking their head at him in impish defiance.]

[unheiring]

[Naturally, Luca gives a huff at that tug, but... Without it being enough to cause damage, he takes it for what it is — playful.

The same goes for the way they flit away. He stumbles after them for a few feet, then shakes his head.] Very well then. Go have your fun, Kiera. Just make it back to me before long.