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A rude awakening for anyone still on board.
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Aug 4, 2019 19:20
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A. Look for survivors in the boat Before anything else happened, I had a duty of care to those on this boat. When you don’t know what is happening or what is going to happen in the aftermath of a disaster, the first port of call should be to find any other survivors. Eventually, I did find one tangled in cargo netting. It was Captain Dangjo  “Oh, great.” I can’t say that Captain Dangjo was particularly happy to see me as the first person to find him, but he was at least conscious enough to actually allow me to help him down carefully whilst I saw to his leg. “Where are the others doctor? I need all hands on deck right now to get us out of thi - Ow! - This mess Braille got us into.” “Sorry sir, Braille is responsible for this?”  “He had brought some weird Choolainn gewgaw up on the deck, said it was meant to take measurements or whatever. But the thing starts going crazy when we get close to where the Sinkhole opened up.” Leaning on me for support, I helped him navigate the slope of the ship as he continued. “The thing was clearly trying to find something - I’m not stupid, but there was nothing in the ocean for miles around and that gave me cause for concern. So I tried to give it a wide berth but the man orders me to keep sailing towards it and then the bloody hole opened up under us.” He stops as we navigate over the railing of the ship and onto the shore. “Should have trusted my gut the moment he offered me the job the first time, no one offers the kind of money he was offering for just a round trip.”  The sound of pattering feet caught my attention, a large number of the crew was jogging towards us as their steps left strange coloured ripples on the surface of the ‘island’. Ristra was the first to reach us as he slipped down the slope. “Gods be good we thought we’d lost both of you when we couldn’t find you the first time around.” “We have no time for heartfelt reunions Ristra. Where’s Braille and his science boys, I’m gonna wring his neck and get us out of this pit.” “Err, he just left sir.” “What.”  “Well after we’d gotten ourselves off the ship he’d took the research team and left towards, well…” He gestured to the mammoth structure behind him. “That, whatever that is. A couple of the junior techs and the like have stayed behind to try and help out our wounded and such like but we have no idea where the hells we are and it’s looking like a pretty bad situation.” Dangjo just pressed his temples together at this. “Can we fix the boat?” “Well there is some good news for that, the enchantments the Spellbinders put on the boat meant that it didn’t actually smash when it reached the bottom, but it’s kind of listed over on the shore right now. I’m trying to get the heavy boys together to right the boat. Bad news is…” He looked up, all our eyes followed his. There was what looked like a sealed dome around the island that we had landed on, the swirling ocean pressed up against it bathed the island in a cold light that shimmered strangely in the backdrop. It was also completely sealed off with no apparent openings. Dangjo was the first to speak up, and the tone of his voice was of someone who was trying very hard to not start shouting. “Alright. I want everyone who isn’t patching wounds or righting the boat, to go into that place and drag that scientist out by the scruff of his neck. And I want you, Jean, and the Professor leading that effort. I was mildly confused I must admit. “Me sir? I’m not-” He held up his hand to interrupt me. “I’m not a boffin but frankly you are right now the smartest person here I am willing to trust with this because weird Old World-looking stuff is beyond me and also extremely dangerous. Also the sod likes you so maybe he’ll actually listen to you because if I go I’m gonna say or do something I’ll regret. Grab some of the other boys and get to it.” …  Recounting the events of those few hours within the facility was difficult to say the least. Having come out unscathed from the Foreshadow’s fall was one thing but when exposed to this new location there were many things that felt off from the moment we walked in. For starters was the materials that the building was made of itself, initial I thought that it was possibly some sort of white lodestone but as we began to walk through the deathly quiet halls it all seemed too neat to be person-made. It was as if the entire building was carved with mathematical exactitude from a single stone block, or that perhaps it had come out of a mould in the perfect shape. There was not so much as a visible joint, minor crack or exposed piece of mortar throughout the entire building. And the place was pristine, there was no other way to describe it. Old World ruins even ones that had been hidden for years before being discovered could never escape fully the ravages of time, you could expect a thick layer of dust at the very least but there was not so much as a spot of dirt out of place except for the faintest trail of dirt that Ristra has spotted that looked like it came dragging robes. “They’re making it easier for us at least.” He said conversationally, eyes down as he followed the trail. “But if I didn’t know any better I’d almost say this place got opened yesterday.” Jean eyed down a few hallways as they continued. “Yeah, and the place doesn’t have that old room smell you get from a lot of Old World ruins, it’s like this place is frozen in time or something.” We stopped suddenly at the sound of murmuring voices had washed over the group and we ducked ourselves into a nearby alcove.  Braille seemed to be in an argument with one of his inner circle, it didn’t seem to be heated from a glance but it was clear from the body language that members of his team were disagreeing with him on something. The rest of the science team were divided into tasks, some of them watching this back and forth, the others taking looks at the mysterious object in the centre of the room. “Well boss, we’re following your lead here, what’s the plan?” Whispered Jim into my ear. We had our orders but, what were we to do here? A. Advance Quietly and Listen In: ”Orders may be orders, but right at this moment in time we had exactly half of the story about what this was about, and whatever was here was clearly enough for Braille to be clandestine about it. It wouldn’t hurt to find out more information before we reveal ourselves surely?” B. Enter Politely: ”This doesn’t look like a situation where force would be appropriate, no one has visible weapons and right now I am willing to write off the incident with the boat as an accident at best and incompetence due to lack of due diligence at worse. If it’s just me revealing myself we could avoid an escalating situation if I am careful.” C. Enter Forcefully: ”I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt for a lot of things that had happened during this voyage, but even I have limits. The research mission narrative was clearly a falsehood, Braille has not told the truth to many of the crew on the ship, and has proceeded recklessly endanger their lives in the process. I will avoid this coming to blows, but I will be demanding an explanation at the very least.” D. Write In: Do you have a different option? Write on in! TheNabster fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Aug 21, 2019 |
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Aug 20, 2019 17:06
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A.
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Aug 20, 2019 17:23
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D. Have Jean-Henri Irons throw us in, past any defenders so that we may properly study the situation before being stopped.
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Aug 20, 2019 17:48
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Hitting the mystery orb is not intended but acceptable.
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Aug 20, 2019 17:49
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B - We have every logical reason to want to know what the hell is going on, and Braille is going to give that to us or else we are to remove him by force.
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Aug 21, 2019 02:42
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B First, ask nicely.
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Aug 21, 2019 18:30
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A Too many hide the truth around those they think they cannot trust. Braille clearly has trust issues given how secretive he has been - any open approach may be met with further obfuscations. Let the man's honest words do the talking, for once, and reveal what is truly on his mind, before we take him to task regarding the remarkable situation he has put us in. Perhaps it will give us the wedge we need to pry more from him, later on.
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Aug 21, 2019 22:50
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Jvie posted:D. ...Yes. D. Curious to see how this turns out.
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Aug 22, 2019 05:48
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Always start with basic recon.
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Aug 22, 2019 14:09
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There's no immediate impetus to rush. A
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Aug 22, 2019 14:32
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A. Never hurts to know what you're doing.
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Aug 22, 2019 16:10
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B
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Aug 23, 2019 02:53
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Lux Animus posted:B - We have every logical reason to want to know what the hell is going on, and Braille is going to give that to us or else we are to remove him by force. I'm rather in favour of that as well.
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Aug 26, 2019 06:51
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A - 5 - Advance Quietly and Listen In B - 4 Enter Politely D - 2 Yeet Sangfreud Into the Room Having given consideration to a lot of options, including a few butterfly thoughts that crossed my mind, I had simply responded “Just follow slowly behind me but let’s not expose ourselves just yet.” As we slowly crept closer to the heated conversation, the words that had been bouncing around the halls from this point became clearer to our ears. “We are doing our best to deal with the security measures sir, but we’re uncovering a few unusual items on the system” “The apprentices are supposed to be opening the systems to our perusal, not looking themselves. You told them this right?”  “I can’t tell them to not read what is literally right in front of them, sir. This facility is a research facility but it also seems to have functioned as some sort of... containment facility” He punctuated that last word with some rather emphatic pointing towards the dully throbbing orb in the center of the room. “It seems as though this place was built in the wake of an incident with an incarnated god and-” Braille cut the man off with an exasperated wave, much to his subordinate’s visible annoyance. “I don’t need the details yet man! I need the evidence to prove that this place exists!” He turned away from the subordinate, and by extension us to look at the orb hands raised in triumph. “The Dictionarians will not be able to deny my expedition funding when I can prove that this place exists in the Ocean, the largest surviving intact old world structure in all of Elsewhere with full data banks and who knows what else we could find if we combed this place from top to bottom! Not even the Founding Fathers of all Encylopi kind found anything like this place.” He turned back and put hands onto his colleague’s shoulders in that overly friendly manner of a friend working up to asking for a favour. “So we just have to maintain our presence here for at least a few days until we have everything we need here, and then our team will go down in history! Imagine it, The Foreshadow Expedition led by noted Scholar Curator Br-” The senior took a step back, brushing aside his hands and rather plainly said. “I and the other Spellbinders managed to save the ship from being destroyed when it fell into the sinkhole, but the crew is not happy Curator. Some of them were severely injured when I checked, some of them might have even been killed in the fall and you want us to go to them and tell them that we’re not going to leave here anytime soon? Do you think they’ll be pleased about that?”  The happy Jovial expression of comraderie rather suddenly changed into the affronted continence “We’re paying them aren’t we? And they signed the contract, they knew this would be a voyage with inherent dangers attached to it so it’s all perfectly legal yes?” “Legal is not the same as right sir, you said it yourself. Especially when we are potentially thousands of lengths away from the mainland.” “Well what are they going to accomplish if they take it out on us hmm? You and the other Spellbinders are the only thing that allows the ship to sail on the Ocean. They’ll suck it up and deal with this, just take some of the extra expenses and pay them some sort of bonus when we get back. I will not let this moment get ruined by a few bad eggs moaning about the danger they agreed to. I didn’t have to look behind me to guess that the two sailors who were meant to ‘suck up’ the fact that they were nearly killed were very unimpressed about what they were hearing. But there was something else that my keen ears had picked up over the conversation. Footsteps, a lot of them, even Braille and his Second turned as a lot of the idle techs started to quickly gather -  Someone had found the Captain a crutch for his bad leg and done some very acceptable bandaging. Then they grabbed everything that could be used to that cause a Person bodily harm and came in after we did and they were looking very incensed. The response from the research team was almost instantaneous, Braille took a step back as almost an entire contingency of Spellbinders and the more senior members of the team had suddenly almost materialized in front of the Curator drawing weapons that they had secreted inside their robes. The junior technicians simply took to taking cover behind the console they were at in case any weapons started flying. Ristra looked panicked as the groups got closer, he got onto my level in the corridor. “Braille don’t seem like the sort to back down in the face of a lot of bluster, but Captain’s as stubborn as a hungry tick and just as difficult to remove. If we just stay here we can slip out before we get caught in-” “No.” I had heard enough. I came onto this boat much to the protest of the captain at the insistence of Curator Braille in order to deal with emotional and psychological problems from this voyage. And right now if I were away from this incident and let them ‘go at it’ I would be failing in my duty of care, to the people on this boat. Ristra attempts to stop me but I walk out of the hiding spot and right between the two groups before the squared up ”Enough!”  “Professor?” Said Braille in mild surprise, some of the senior technicians lowered their weapons just a little. “Doc, I said to get him and bring him to us.” Django started, the angry march to kick rear end thrown off by this unexpected event. I was getting a few dirty looks from some of the crew, whilst Jim, Ristra and Jean were barely hiding their worry but I had the floor. Chastising them wouldn’t work they are not in the mood to be talked down to, pleading wouldn’t do the job and I was never much good at light humour to defuse a tense situation, best to try reason in this instance. “We are several thousand miles from the mainland, stuck in an unknown bubble in the middle of the Ocean with limited resources. The situation is not as dire as it could possibly be but it’s still not great. But, there is still at least a chance everyone can make it out of here alive and get home.” “We won’t have that chance, if you start drawing knives on each other before we’ve even tried to figure out the options.” At the edge of my vision through the sea of legs I could see a few more stragglers turn up, perhaps they were a little slow and I didn’t think much of it at the time. “And we can start this process with a bit of honesty Braille, we don’t have to resort to violence to find the truth, we can-  Bink I didn’t see it happen, I was at that point turned away from the sailors and looking at Braille and didn’t see who it was that had the rock in that group and reeling back for a throw. Not until I saw it hit the orb with a crack. There was a deafening silence and then a few moments later a dull sounding thud from the orb as the tiny crack from the rock, suddenly turned into a much, much larger web of fractured material. I remember the very next thing Braille said, it was just a very small “Oh.”  The first thing that came over us was the stench. Once in my youth I worked on a ranch that dealt with raising small poultry and we had lost a few birds a while back, only to find them back crushed and compacted into a hole in the swamp, rotting compacted flesh that had been sweltering in the intense summer heat filled with all manner of insects and clotted blood and other unidentifiable substances was not a smell I’d forget in a hurry, but even that didn't compare to the stench of this black oozing mass in front of us. Strange colours danced and shifted across it's surface, many tiny grasping hands grew and shifted on it's body, slapping onto the pristine white floor and staining it pitch as it started to pull the mangled corpse of Braille into itself, adding the sound of crunching bones to the quietly horrified silence and deep throbbing that emanated from the creature And then it started to screech, a hellish cacophony of man, woman, child, animal and everything in between in a combination of blind rage and absolute agony it began to crawl it’s way towards the rest of us, countless tiny tendrils extending towards anyone nearby. I saw a pitch black hand sprout from it's core and reach towards me “Jean, the Professor, Jim, The Captain, we are getting out right now!” The last thing I saw in that room as a large hand grabbed the back of my collar and started hauling me away in a desperate sprint was it grabbing a junior tech as he raced for the door and pulling him into it's pitch black interior.  I didn’t have to look to know that the thing seemed to be a lot, lot faster than it first appeared those who had lagged behind or fell during the escape did not get the chance to catch up again, the fact that Ristra had thought quickly to start running before the thing got it’s bearings together may have been what saved us in the first place. Racing to the boat we could see that the ship, the combined muscle power of every upright sailor and some clever leverage by some of the techs that had stayed behind had managed to right it, and even now the gangplank was being lowered as able bodied crewmen carried their less able-bodied injured to the ship. The Senior Spellbinder from earlier caught up with us as we scrambled onto the ship. “If the ship is ready to sail we just need the key to open the way back up and we can sail the Foreshadow out of exit.” “What key?” The deathly silence that rang out over the deck as the monstrosity screeched and the building crumbled punctuated. “The key.” Mounting dread and sheer disbelief dripped off every syllable. “That’s how Braille opened up the entrance to this place, that’s… Oh god, oh gods we’re stuck here!” The implication of his statement didn’t take a great leap in logic, if there was no way we could get off this island, then there would be no way to run from the creature. But then Jean-Henri Irons piped up. “The dome, how hard is it?” “The dome? It’s not been dissolved by the Ocean after all this time it must be-” “No, not dissolving is not the same as being indestructible.” Jean pointed across the deck, one of the Masts that had snapped when the ship fell into the sinkhole was still lying on the deck, the crew on the ship had been attempting to move it when the nightmare had begun breaking out of its prison. “Jim ya think with some help you can lift that big bugger up a bit higher than it is right now?” The Spellbinder looked flabbergasted. “A battering ram? You can’t be serious that dome must be at least several feet thick, there’s no way we could batter it down in time!” “A battering ram? Nae bookworm I’ve got a better idea than that. Get yersen and your boys below deck to get those wards up, and someone get a hold of the wheel because if this works it’s gonna be some rough sailing” I found myself running over to the other’s to help pull the mast upwards, but not having so much as an inkling of what Jean’s plan might be. Unless… “Jean, that arm wrestling match a few weeks back, I’ve seen that power before but couldn’t place my finger on it. You are Mailcoach aren’t you.” He looked surprised as the others began pulling the mast into position. “Ohho, and here I thought no one outside of our little fraternity knew of our tricks. Just one thing though what I am about to do is, technically sort of very much frowned upon by our order.” Jim just looked at him, straining as he tried to hold the mast steady. “Bloody knew you cheated! drat good job you’re saving our lives right now because I’d deck you for that.” With one last heft the mast was brought up, pointing directly towards the very top of the dome over the building that was almost entirely consumed by the Nightmare as it made its way slowly but inexorably down the shoreline. Jean laid hands on the mast and began to run his hands across it. That faint greenish glow that I had once seen for only a moment effusing his eyes and the mast as he did it. “Jumpin’ without being near Railley Lines, gonna have to channel myself for this and that’s gonna suck for me later.” With one grunt of exertion and the shrill squeal of metal under intense pressure, the mast ripped itself out of it’s support in the blink of an eye.  The mast didn’t even stop as it hit the dome, it ripped right through it and disappeared into the distance. Then suddenly the weight of the entire ocean found itself pressing on top of the weakened dome, untold millions of tonnes of raw chaos pouring down and through the hole as it grew bigger and bigger in the attempt. The Ocean crashing down on the Nightmare seemed to cause it to screech louder as the tide swept towards the boat. Seconds before the boat was swept under, the wards finally fired the boat catching the waves, the boat surfing on the tide as the wards repulsed it away from the ocean and the dome crumbled around it. The loudspeaker crackled to life, we could barely hear it over the commotion “This is the Captain speaking! All engineering crew, sod the instructions that bugger gave us, gun that engine as hard as you can! If we can’t get out before the entire ocean collapses in on us we’re done for!”  To this day, I can never say I’d seen a boat sail uphill, but somehow the Foreshadow managed it. The boat rose, and rose, practically circling around the slowly expanding pillar of Ocean, as the ancient structure lost to time was finally claimed by the Ocean that surrounded it, it’s strange landmass and the horrible monstrosity it was built to contain. The screeching of the creature could just be heard over the screeching of the wards as they were burning white hot against the Ocean trying to claim it. Overhead the ring of pitch black sky was beginning to thin as the dome collapsed into the ocean. We were racing the waves themselves, climbing desperately as this artificial islet crumbled around us our mere survival balanced on the thinnest razor edge. “The Wards are barely holding! We can’t go another minute!” “The Engine is starting to catch fire! It’s at risk of blowing!” “She can’t take much more captain!” One push, we just needed one push. I looked at my small hands, and headed to the engine room, doing my best to keep my balance as the ship listed at a dangerous angle and jolted with every engine sputter. The engine room was a mess, the engineers couldn’t even get near the engine and I could swear it looked like it was about to melt. “Professor you can’t be in this room it’s dangerous!” Said the lead engineer who saw me. I ignored him, this was one thing I could do and the only one who could do it. I pulled out a small knife. “I’m going to injure myself” I had said plainly, rolling back my sleeves. “Please fetch the doctor when I am done.” I ran the blade across my palms. Several years I don’t know how much time I had left but something like this would cost at least several years. It was also probably going to leave some severe burns but at this point I’ll take some horrible scars over a death. Ancient Rites of Visceromancy caught the blood from my palms and sprayed forth over the engine, flashing into steam at first and them coagulating on its surface as the heat of the engine was drawn out of it and into myself. It was exactly as painful as I thought it might be, but it wouldn’t come back to me until later that was the benefit of Visceromancy if you could call it that. “One… Push… I can’t hold this for long!” With the engine safe enough to approach if only for a few moments longer, the engineers gave the Foreshadow that last jolt. The rattling stopped, the noise stopped and I passed out.  I am awoken later by members I can’t realize, too groggy to put names to faces, too hazy to stand and aching too much to even speak, but just about cognisant enough to register one important fact, we weren’t dead. I was drawn to the deck with the others, the ship had escaped the deathtrap we had found ourselves in and course charted for This Way we had just begun to sail in that direction slowly, as the engine had been thoroughly burned out from that escape when the pillar erupted from the ocean. It glowed an eerie light, a beacon lit amongst a sea of cold and dead stars that had burst from the ocean, less than an hour after the sinkhole had fully closed up.  As we watched, the light fractured into pieces streaking across the endless black sky towards the horizon we were sailing towards. Towards home. As I write these words after the fact I can only shudder as to what may have wrought on those back home, memories of gaping maws and dead, emotionless eyes crawling towards me as I stand paralyzed, something that should have remained sealed undone in an act of anger, and all we could do was watch. We listed on the shore of This Way weeks later, we didn’t even make it to Port, we ran aground on at a nearby fishing village and just waited. The Thursauri was rushing to the boat the moment the boat ran ashore, behind it’s deadline, horribly damaged and missing most of its crew. I wanted to warn them about what had been wrought, what had been seen heading to This Way, what kind of danger we were in. They wanted this under wraps, they wanted no one to speak about this, they wanted to scandal kept under wraps and locked away from prying eyes. And they wanted my Journal, citing that they didn’t ‘alarmist literature’ going public at a time of damage control. I didn’t care, I wanted to go home, for the first time in the entire journey I realised I wanted nothing more than to be back in my bed. It was only after they had concrete assurances from us all that we were allowed free, the truth of this incident will remain hidden but I hope with every fibre of my being that it will not be lost. The story of the Foreshadow must not die in darkness, the threat we face is potentially greater than we imagined. We must be warned. -Professor Sangfreud. --- Silence came over the Library as Pedia shut the book without saying a word, she leaned back in her seat, staring at the ceiling. The thoughts she had were, complicated to say the least, should she be angry that the Thursauri had potentially critical knowledge of this current crisis before it happened, and did nothing about it? Should she feel dread that this thing that was currently causing us so much grief, that it had another four things exactly as powerful as it? ’Five, he said there were five lights that flew towards This Way after the horror was released. And they’ve been here for the last 30 years. This is… What is this?’ Her eyes caught something, a little scrap of paper at the very bottom of the box that she hadn’t noticed until now, the paper was not the same as any of the log books or journals within the box, and seemed to be at a cursory glance in a different style of handwriting. She decided to give it a look, nothing could be worse than what she had read already. Moments later she was running out of the archives, journal and scrap of paper in tow. … To whom it may concern. I am Spellbinder Dewey Decimus, head researcher of the Foreshadow, former partner of the late Curator Braille and in the process of committing subordination. I have been asked to catalogue and store the contents of this box away from prying eyes in order to prevent the truth from coming out, lest our reputation suffered. Would that I had a level of fortitude greater than those who stood alongside me to risk the council’s wrath. But I wish to impart something I saw that day, the day the creature that could not die found itself divided. We all watched the five lights that streaked across the sky towards our home, but I did not, I kept my eyes on the horizon of which it came. I saw something that terrified me, even to this day. There were not five lights. They did not all streak towards This Way. There were ten, and five of those ten disappeared into the darkness. I saw ten lights.  And somewhere in the darkness, that evil found another home       Surprise! TheNabster fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Aug 28, 2019 21:05
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Far from the blood seas of This Way, bridged by the expanse of the Ocean lies the other half of Elsewhere long thought lost to the waves but revealed to the eyes of the Wisps, That Way. Once the location of the greatest of all cities in the old world, the crumbling Megapolis and its surrounding suburbs now plays host to a long standing one and off conflict between two great nations of people for dominance of what is left of the wasteland, whilst minor nations and powers scramble in between to hold it all together. Omens upon omens have appeared across That Way from the turn of the Century, and now the warlords and self-styled god kings of the wastes sharpen their blades and bide their time for what will come next as the game moves onward. quote:WISPS Roll 1d100 and add any wisp points you have accrued, the highest 5 rolls will be selected to play in this age. >Players with living, non-abominated Chosen may not roll to take part in this age, but may still participate as a Wisp. >Players with deceased or abominated Chosen may roll but at a -10 disadvantage for this age only. >We would recommend not drawing icons until the participants have been locked, but I won’t stop you from doing so. -0- A transcript from a lecture in the Commercial Akademia of The Enjinn “Business 101: Our Respected Clients, and the Complex Interwoven Politics of That Way”  ”The thin blades favoured by Kabutite Mushido are valuable commodities amongst their people, though the secrets of their construction are heavily guarded and the swords were forbidden to be sold to outsiders on pain of death.” ”All things are to some degree touched by the wisps, the Semitako have found a way to awaken the dormant spirits within these objects and for the want of a better term ‘barter’ with them for boons with the art of Semgendo. A potentially powerful kind of magic, but one that can carry a heavy price if used incautiously.” ”The Konmisu of the Kabutites are well sought after by many across That Way for their skilled metal work, though they are reluctant to leave their lands. Although many assume they deal only in weaponry, their tools and armour are also of fine quality.” “The first of what could be considered the three ‘minor powers’ are the Kabutites, a calm and yet somewhat closed in people, they have managed to avoid the preditations of their larger and more expansionist neighbours through a combination of shrewd negotiation, careful defensive planning and a large proportion of farmland surrounding the city itself. The lands of the Kabutites are considered the breadbasket of That Way by many, a land of valuable resources and this position has allowed them a tentative space of neutrality in the current tensions between the larger factions. A trusted business partner that I would personally recommend, if you can get them to come out of their shells occasionally.” The Kabutites are an Industrious, Stoic and Insulated people living under feudal baronies that are united in their goal of ensuring their collective survival. The short lifespan of most Kabutites, combined with the on and off conflict between the Clans and the Radiant Kingdom have bred a hardy people who work to ensure that they will not be overwhelmed by their larger neighbours and will live to see tomorrow. Their numbers are currently Stable, but their morale is Uncertain. The Dynasts have long been debating who should sit upon the vacant seat of power to present a unified front to their enemies, but none can agree on a suitable candidate. And as the war for That Way seems to be slowly heating up the need for a leader has become more dire.  ”Even amongst the martially inclined race of the Aurocs, the Honourgoud of the king’s personal guard are renowned for their martial prowess and huge greatswords passed down from guard to guard” “When the Aurocs march to war they do so with the Karatte practitioners beside them, their radiant presence can be seen from miles around in more ways than one, especially when they blast searing light from their fists and split apart rocks with their bare hands.” “The Guild of Auchemists within Auroc society has gained a lot of fame recently. What started as an amusing hobby for the nobility has turned into legitimate science as the Guild breaks new grounds in various fields with their study of the elements.” “First of the major powers comes the Aurocs of the Radiant Kingdom of Au. If you need a hard and fast rule to commit to memory, never tell an Auroc that he is wrong. They like to think they are always in the right and it helps to play into that deliberate vanity when doing business, but most importantly they did not become one of the most powerful factions on That Way by being uncertain. Between their people, their armies and their large quantities of wealth and power they guard their position of power with extreme prejudice against those who would challenge. Some arrogance when you can prove your ability can sometimes be expected but Pride is the heart and bedrock of their society to an almost comical level at times, in their minds if you want to be the best you have to convince yourself and others around you that you are the best and then prove it.” The Aurocs are Powerful, Refined and Arrogant (not merely Arrogant) and not without good reason. Their position within That Way as one of the greatest of nations gives them a large swath of land and control that is only matched by their immediate rivals in the Clans. Under the Four Great houses founded by the legendary Auroc Warrior known only as ‘Au’ they wish to see the prosperity of their nation brought to all of That Way, as soon as they have dealt with their enemies. There are not an inconsiderate number of People however who suspect the ‘prosperity’ will be for the Auroc’s benefit only. Their numbers are Growing and their morale is Firm. With their levies replenished and their war chests filled they are waiting for an opportunity to bring war to their ancestral foes of the Empyrex and are waiting to strike. And with a few new tricks under their sleeves that the Empyrex won’t see coming, they are certain of victory.  ”The Berzerkal of Empyrex are towering specimens even compared to the rest of their race, and to take advantage of this they often employ huge polearms that have a reach longer than a Non-Empyrex. It’s said that a well trained Berzerkal could cut down three People in a single stroke.” “Every so often an Empyrex is born with ‘The Wyrd’ an inexplicable sixth sense that allows them to see the weave under the world. These ‘Wyrd’ children are taken by the Mirallax and trained in the arts of Parallax the Aspect of Distortion, becoming well versed in deception and illusions.” “A towering race such as the Empyrex often requires a lot of food to eat, and the large livestock raised by the Empyrex are often prey to even larger predators. That is why their lands are protected by Reflechi, armed with massive bows that no other Person could draw without assistance to hunt down poaching monsters.” “Opposing the Radiant Kingdom comes the Empyrex Horde, ruled with a firm claw by the twin Khan and Khanum in what used to be the industrial quarter of the ruined city. Once a collection of smaller clans many moons ago, under pressure from the expansionist Aurocs two of the largest clans subsumed their smaller neighbours and joined together to become the tied first greatest military presence on the continent, and this would have been fine right up until the Ancient Auroc Warrior-King Au slew one of their leaders in an ambush attack, which the other side claims was an Ambush attack carried out by the other side, and they’ve been at war on and off ever since. Be very cautious around the Empyrex, they don’t suffer fools or liars and they are also a good two-three heads taller above every other Person in That Way, but if you don’t waste their time or try to trick them and get caught they will always honour a contract.” The Empyrex are Giant, Noble, and Ferocious when provoked. There are many who called the conflict between the Empyrex and the Aurocs a war between Noble Savages and Savage Nobles (Although not to their faces), for in their minds they are a people who had suffered unduly under the hand of the Radiant Kingdom for years, and although many had thought to them as barbarians they have been rapidly picking up on the finer points of civilization in a concentrated effort to modernize in the face of the turning century. The population is Few but their morale is Adamant. They’ve noticed that their erstwhile neighbours have been preparing for war and have been doing likewise, but this time they have begun to reach out to the other Peoples for alliances before their enemies think to do the same.  ”Some would consider the Gellish incapable of fighting, they have not met the Broozers. Others would consider it a stretch to call putting spikes, knives and other such objects into yourself and then swinging your body at the opponent like a weapon a martial art, and they wouldn’t be wrong exactly. But it does work.” “A long time ago, a Gellish known as Don Jell decided that he wanted to become an actor, but found that a lot of the parts in a lot of the bigger plays were written for people who weren’t Gellish. So he decided that rather than wait for a part for his species, he would become the species for the part. This is one of the many, many origin stories behind The Rooze, the Magic of Malleability and Don Jell the first Roozemaester.” “The Gellish have no centrified form of governance or nation state to call their own, but what leadership they do possess come in the form of the Choozers. One part community leader, one part judge, one part priest, the Choozers have an encyclopedic knowledge for anything and everything passed down through oral tradition by generations of Gellish before them.” “There are many stories that have been told about the Gellish the second Minor power of That Way, but the one story known by most and told by the Gellish themselves is this. A long time ago (the exact amount of time changes from Gellish to Gellish) the Good Gooed God, the Great Primordial Ooze from which all Gellish originated from declared to their innumerable children to go forth and multiply from the tepid slime pools they used to call home, and thus did the children of the GGG spread out across the world, never settling in one place for long and moving across That Way as the GGG intended. For wherever you may find People you will find the Gellish, working small but necessary jobs and congregating in travelling groups all across That Way, from the Radiant Kingdoms of Au to the Merchant Courts of the Enjinn. If you ever find yourself in need of some menial labourers you will very quickly be able to find a group of Gellish to lend a tentacle. Just make sure you pay them, because as amenable as they might be a slight against one Gellish is a slight against all Gellish and in their circle word travels fast.” The Gellish are Jovial, Industrious and Traditionalist, after all they’ve lived as they have for years without much trouble, why fix what isn’t broken? Although they have no great cities or lands of their own, they are a common sight all across That Way as they have found themselves a small and yet invaluable position in the world as the metaphorical (and sometimes literal) grease that makes the gears of the nation states turn. They don’t seek to bother anyone so no one has bothered them, and that’s just how they like it. Their numbers are Immense, and their morale is currently Peaceful. The fact that their neighbours the Aurocs and the Empyrex have begun readying for war again has been a cause of some concern for the families that live within those nations, but everywhere else it’s business as usual as far as they are concerned  ”In times of uncertainty it pays in more ways than one to have a few members of The Enjinn more trained in martial than economic arts to ‘discourage’ disorderly practices without our Bazaars. The Derbise have taken this role with fervent and very flamboyant relish, their style seeming more like a dance than an art of war but still more than capable of giving a problem customers a run for their money.” “Some of our more popular items are little magical contrivances that are built with a specific purpose in mind, such as ironing out wrinkles in clothes or warding off insects. Such things are the work of the Curioficers, those who weave the Aspect of Ethereality and materials together to create these ‘curiosities’. Just don’t ask them how they work, you’ll get ‘it just does’ as an answer.” “Commerce is the backbone of That Way, and shrewd commerce is how we have ensured that That Way is not in a constant state of war between our aggressive neighbours, war is bad for business long term after all, and this is all thanks to the Nabora of the Commercial Akademia. “And finally, The Enjinn under whose steady hand the bazaars operate, the wheels of commerce turn, and this wasteland has a currency that all powers have mutually agreed to so we don’t end up stabbing and robbing each other for food. Yes I’m about to wax lyrical about our own race what of it, why shouldn’t I? Those warmongering brutes in the Kingdom and Clans nearly tore this land apart with their fighting, the Gellish didn’t care and the Kabutites just kept to themselves and pretended it wouldn’t be their problem, someone had to do something yes? And as it turns out you might be able to get what you want with a kind word and a weapon but you can get more of what you want with a kind word, a mound of cash, and setting about to make wars unprofitable for your neighbours because money is a potent weapon when wielded with precision. Some may call us miserly, deceptive, maybe even ‘short fisted, greedy bar-stewards’, but they don’t want to admit to themselves that we are the glue that holds this land together. The Enjinn are Cunning, Calculating, and Ethereal in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. Sometimes seeming more like an organisation rather than a nation under their Law of Gold, through a lot of deals; diplomacy and maybe just a little bit of dirty trickery they have control of and maintain a lot of strict neutral areas within That Way, that also serve double duty as communal market places in times of peace. They mint the currency used for trade, act as impartial mediators when called for, and in their words ‘try to keep That Way from spiraling out of control.’ Their numbers are Few (Many Enjinn prefer work over family, family being something you leave your business to when you pass), and their morale is Strained. The Aurocs are making pretenses for war again, the Empyrex are getting rowdy in response and it’s looking like another war of aggressive posturing and needless bloodshed may come to pass, unless they do something about it quickly. It’s hard work being the only sane People in the world at times it really is. TheNabster fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Sep 1, 2019 |
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Aug 28, 2019 21:06
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How interesting! https://orokos.com/roll/752559 - 68
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Aug 28, 2019 21:17
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The Alchemist, Apotheosis: 19 Probably not getting in this time around, unless something unfortunate happens.
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Aug 28, 2019 21:23
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The Travelling Monk, Chosenception: 55 Let's see how well this takes. Name: Murrinibo Benkei, Chosen of Forgiveness Species: Empyrex Traits: Advanced Warrior Monk, Basic Wandering Traveller, Basic Patient Mediator Description: Benkei is a solid, almost top-heavy looking Empyrex. It doesn't help that the madman is weighted down by a collection of spears and weapons (admittedly of the undersized variety by Empyrex standards) of those warriors or brigands that Benkei has bested in single combat. He seeks to collect one thousand arms of those warriors unfit to carry those weapons, and to posit them before either his Khanum as a sign of penance, or before the Auroc King Au as a sign of his physical and moral strength. It probably doesn't help that a good portion of those arms are, indeed, of Auroc craft. Benkei travels far and wide to police the trade roads, and is often seen overseeing disputes and quarrels with an attentive [hearing hole] before trying to help both parties come to an agreeable solution for both. If nothing else, Benkei likes things to be peaceable, after all. Dinictus fucked around with this message at 23:26 on Aug 28, 2019 |
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Aug 28, 2019 21:41
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Manifest: 1d100+2 95 Well, that seems likely to happen! Name: Boyle, Chosen of Trade Species: Enjinn Traits: Advanced Bartering, Basic Navigation, Basic Storytelling Description: Boyle is an Enjinn of considerable rotundity, matched only by his magnificent billowing moustache. A highly gregarious fellow, the arrival of Boyle's Bizarre Bazaar in town is always preceded by his booming laughter echoing across the wastes, foretelling the arrival of strange stories, news from abroad, and curios that you never knew you needed until just this moment. For Boyle, it's not so much about the profit--though that certainly doesn't hurt--as it is about the thrill of matching good to need.
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Aug 28, 2019 21:49
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Name:Gol-Djin, Chosen Inheritor Species:Auroc Traits: Advanced Archaeology, Basic leadership, Basic endurance Description: Gol-Djin, arrogant, boastful, and up until recently scarcely different from other Auroc beyond a fondness for stories of the old world. They did fund the odd expedition here and there, but with real relics so hard to find; it became rather hard to justify it as anything more than a hobby. But now, now they feel something calling, beckoning to be found; if they can only find the way... Rolling to Manifest: 1d100+4 42 ...the way home from the bar, anyways. What were they doing, again? Nothing important. It would seem that Gol-Djin was not, in fact, the Chosen Inheritor. Probably, anyways.
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Aug 28, 2019 22:42
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Manifesting: 22 Meh. I'll manifest sometime in the future.
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Aug 29, 2019 00:20
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Manifest (4 Wispings): 1d100+4 36 Not happening.
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Aug 29, 2019 01:00
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Choices Were Made: 1d100+4 74 If I get in (may get changed): Name: Cykiko, Chosen of Reflection Species: Kabutite Traits: Advanced Semgendo, Basic Brooding, Basic Independence Description: Cykiko is a young Semitako who has recently taken its mastery of Semgendo to new heights, yet the success has left them largely feeling unfulfilled. In an effort to feel better about their newfound mastery, they've taken to compensate by wearing frayed Fumery and making use of a borrowed Glamdana to stand out from their peers. Their instructor Sempais mostly consider this an act of late-onset teenage rebellion, though the less patient ones have begun to urge the Head Abbug of the local Pagooda to send the sullen, argumentative kabutite on a lengthy pilbugrimage.
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Aug 29, 2019 01:46
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I Need A Hero: 1d100+4 103(!) Logo:  Name: Roiley Aeronson, Chosen of Airwaves Species: Enjinn Curioficer Traits: Advanced Curioficery (or else Tinkering), Basic Espionage, Basic Improvisation Description: One otherwise-unremarkable day in That Way, the Enjinn Curioficer known as Roiley Aeronson rolled his wares into the Kabutite capitol, presented the appropriate papers at the correct checkpoints, and, in showing the local masters their due respects with words spoken to them in their native tongue, Roiley was promptly given the keys to a shop with an attached living space located off the beaten path near one of the capitol's main shopping districts - a place intended for him to sell his strange magi-mechanical wonders and to offer his repair services to the Kabutite families living in the area. Little did any of the Kabutites he encountered realize that Roiley had been sent to the Kabutite capitol on an intelligence-gathering mission by a secret society of Enjinn that had recruited him from the Commercial Akademia. He was to ingratiate himself to the local powers-that-be and keep tabs on Kabutite society and politics, and thus far Roiley Aeronson had been thoroughly committed to the job. Political climate forecasts indicated that war between the Aurocs and the Empyrex might be brewing again, and the Kabutites' involvement in such a war could be a major deciding factor. The Law of Gold dictated that the losing factions of a war tended to profit least, so if war was inevitable, then there were certain powerful Enjinn that preferred that they back the winning side... Lux Anima fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Aug 31, 2019 |
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Aug 29, 2019 03:38
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Chosen Roll: 1d100+4 56 Yeah, that won't do it.
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Aug 29, 2019 11:58
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Theantero posted:Chosen Roll: 1d100+4 56 You beat me out so who knows? 
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Aug 29, 2019 12:34
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Dinictus posted:You beat me out so who knows? I too remember the days when I still believed in hope. Alas, the cruel reality of CYOAs has rendered me cynical.
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Aug 29, 2019 12:41
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I'll just wisping around I suppose : 38
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Aug 29, 2019 20:28
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Roll to become Chosen, +4 from wisp points: 1d100+4 65 Name: Anneal, the Rebel Chosen (may or may not have a cause) Species: Empyrex Traits: Advanced Stubbornness, Basic Agitating, Basic Polearms Description: Anneal would be considered quite large even among other Empyrex, but her chipped, cracked and just generally worn down body makes her look slightly smaller than she really is. Never afraid to voice her blunt opinions, which tend to not align with the powers that be, Anneal is kept far away from any sort of political deal or tense negotiations. When that lead to her meddling in petty arguments among the common people and decrying the tyranny of a local merchant raising the price of a particular dessert, she was instead sent to deal with giant monsters in the hopes that one of them would solve the Clan's headache. So far that plan seems to have only made Anneal angrier.
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Aug 30, 2019 07:06
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Chosen roll: 1d100 48 Ack, no luck. I'll be happy to spectate all the same.
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Aug 30, 2019 14:58
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The current ranking: 103 - Lux Animus - Roiley Aeronson 095 - The Lord of Hats - Boyle 074 - Scribbleykins - Cykiko 068 - Jossar 065 - Astus - Anneal 056 - Theantero 055 - Dinictus - Murrinibo Benkei 048 - MaxieSatan 042 - Arcanuse - Gol-Djin 038 - Theanael 036 - malbogio 022 - Junpei 019 - Aabcehmu - The Alchemist
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Aug 31, 2019 20:19
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UnCO3 posted:The current ranking: Why thank you I wasn't expecting someone to do that for me. For the interest of expediency I will be intending to close sign-ups and begin writing Turn 1 on Wednesday the 4th of September at Midnight GMT For those who feel comfortably ahead, please feel free to drawn your icon with the following template.  >As with before you can pick any colour you want but you may only use straight lines and 90 degree curves only, more complicated designs will make DogKisser cry.
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Aug 31, 2019 23:06
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choose?: 1d100+3 5 buttes
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Sep 1, 2019 20:10
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I could have sworn I responded to this last night. Guess not. I'd like to be a Gellish named Ungjus 1d00: 1d100 55
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Sep 2, 2019 01:47
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I have lots of time nowadays, so lets see what happens Trying to become a god, not a wisp.: 1d100 69 (nice)  Name: Sqeesh, Chosen of Community Species: Gellish Traits: Advanced Teamwork, Basic Inspiration, Basic Emotional Maturity Description: Sqeesh is a small Gellish, not a large one. They are not the most powerful, nor the smartest of their people. But they see things from another perspective, a perspective of needing to work with others to get anything they needed in life. Only through the aid of others did Sqeesh survive - but they were no leach. Sqeesh saw many things, inefficiencies, mistakes, and Sqeesh corrected them. By helping their fellow Gellish, Sqeesh survived, and their fellow Gellish thrived. Sqeesh is not the strongest of Chosen, and unlikely to be the greatest of heroes remembered by their people. But they hope that they will leave their people closer and more harmonious than they were before. Taking care of each other. Working for each other. And, you know, actually being able to talk through their problems. I am totally not playing a communist slime. I swear. Edit: now with symbol  
KittyEmpress fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Sep 4, 2019 |
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Sep 2, 2019 05:48
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Well since i'm close enough that becoming a Chosen is still in the cards, better put up an application: Logo:  Name: T'fani, Chosen of Apparence Species: Empyrex Traits: Advanced Parallax, Basic Survival, Basic Honesty Description: T'fani is short for an Empyrex, which still has her standing a head above most of the other people of That Way, and is at all times "garbed" in a multitude of different colors - actually an application of Parallax distorting the light around her rather than an inherent quantity of any particular outfit she wears. Raised in the arts of the Mirallax, never was there a child better at manipulating light or worse at manipulating a room with subtlety. Recognizing that she was never going to fit in among her peers, T'fani instead managed to get out of the society of the wyrd weavers via the one method allowable in a society that can't afford to let its members go: personal service to its leaders. T'fani now serves as something of a well rounded and highly competent agent for the khans, for those missions where one wants to send a message VERY loud and clear. Jossar fucked around with this message at 20:58 on Sep 3, 2019 |
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Sep 2, 2019 21:02
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Annnnd LOCKED! Our final roster going into Age 2 will be. 103 - Lux Animus - Roiley Aeronson, Chosen of Airwaves 095 - The Lord of Hats - Boyle, Chosen of Trade 074 - Scribbleykins - Cykiko, Chosen of Reflection 069 - KittyEmpress - Sqeesh, Chosen of Community 068 - Jossar - T'fani, Chosen of Apparence Thanks to all who rolled to join, please stand by for Age 2, Turn 1.
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Sep 5, 2019 00:01
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 "This icon is mine. There are few like it, but this one is... kind of drab and grey, actually. Uh. Hadn't actually thought about the aesthetics of the color, but now that I'm considering it..." ... "Uggggh, this sucks. Now I'm gonna have to think of a much better icon later on! Maybe something in red? Yeah, red's a rare, good colour. It'll really speak out, make sure everyone knows I'm the ME that I know me to be." (channeling Cykiko) e: Now with a mastercrafted DK-icon. 
Scribbleykins fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Sep 5, 2019 |
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Sep 5, 2019 00:46
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It’s all quiet on the Westward Front, as the start of a new age creeps slowly over the populace of That Way. The turn of the century passed without the fanfare that it did on the other continent, for this was not the celebration of 100 years of peace but an agreed upon reprieve in the face of a volatile and fragile armistice. But the day when the Clock struck across That Way, People across the shattered metropolis found themselves with a great sense of uneasiness for which they couldn’t put a finger on. Something that on the face of it seemed so innocuous but at the same time inexplicable was a cause of concern for many of the citizens of That Way, and in times of such uncertainty and confusion it often only takes one small incident for things to spiral out of control. The hands that move the game pieces prepare themselves for The Game to begin anew, the locale is different but the rules haven’t changed, merely the names, the myths, the legends. And the stakes.   Lux Animus - Roiley Aeronson, Chosen of Airwaves   The Lord of Hats - Boyle, Chosen of Trade   Scribbleykins - Cykiko, Chosen of Reflection   KittyEmpress - Sqeesh, Chosen of Community   Jossar - T'fani, Chosen of Apparence -0-   “Uncertainty is the bane of stability.” Thus spoke the last TonbŌ of the Kabutites many, many years before before the realm of the Chitin fragmented into its current state, and now more than ever the need for that unifying presence has been longed for across all strata of society as the situation grows more and more tense across the mainland. The problem is of course diplomacy, specifically diplomacy with the larger nations of That Way who the Kabutites have always kept a polite but distant relationship with. At this point in time roughly three factions of thought had emerged amongst the ruling dynasts, those who believe that an alliance with the Radiant Kingdom would be their best chance for long term survival due to past aggressive incursions from Empyrex clans (The Sun Faction), those who believe that the Auroc’s imperialst nature would eventually turn upon them if they ever defeated their rival nation, and thus would wish to attempt diplomacy with the United Clans (The Moon Faction) and those who believe that their position of strict neutrality is the only way their independence could truly be guaranteed in the long run. (The Earth Faction). The Earth Faction has always maintained a reasonable majority, not enough to put one of their own on the vacant Dragonfly Throne but enough to have a larger say in politics than their rivals, but as the potential for conflict grows slowly as the days go by those lords who share their borders with either of the greater powers have been asking themselves where their loyalties truly lie if the worst case scenario were to occur. At this point, the right word in the right ear could potentially tip the scales. Rumours
  Word from around the former-industrial ward that the Khan and Khanum has begun to summon their vassal clans in preparation for this potential conflict has at this point reached all civilized pockets of That Way, for whilst the Glass Giants are slow to rouse when they amass the force on display is one that has very little equal, and the Aurocs had learned very quickly that it’s when you can’t find the Empyrex is when they should start being concerned. The truth of the matter is that after years of tinkering and tampering the Empyrex have made a breakthrough in getting some of the broken down mass production forges within the sector functional. It’s a rough process to be sure and still requires the work of many smiths to forge the weaponry and armour for their plus size frames but the ability to manufacture large quantities of metallics quickly has been the one thing preventing their armies from keeping in technological parity with the Aurocs. This combined with their efforts to surreptitiously garner support amongst the Kabutites, Gellish and Enjinn across That Way has been kept under wraps from the ears of the Aurocs, who have always just assumed that the brutish Empyrex would never be able to achieve any such feats of engineering or statecraft especially without them noticing, and that state of willful ignorance is one that their rivals are happy to encourage. Rumours
  The noble houses of the Auroc have always had a thing for courtly intrigue and squabbling amongst themselves for the favour and prestige of the current radiant monarch ‘His Majesty Midas XI’ but if there is one thing that always will make them cooperate even begrudgingly is their long standing enmity with their glassy neighbours. But this time things are going to be different, normally the conflicts that arise amount to little more than border scuffling and the same few miles of territory changing hands, the Aurocs not wishing to be dragged into hit and run skirmishes across the abandoned industrial sector, and the Empyrex not wanted to be dragged into extended siege warfare against the walls of ‘Gracious Glory’. The Kingdom however has been using the downtime from the last conflict in preparation to start pushing further into Empyrex territory, large Old World siege weapons have been discovered in an abandoned military complex that took a lot of effort and maybe just a few ‘unfortunate workplace incidents’ to come online. Long calcified ideas of ‘proper warfare’ are slowly being broken down by the veterans of those conflicts, finally getting it through to their superiors that ‘marching in perfect lockstep into the urban jungle and expecting the enemy to turn tail and run at the sight of our golden legions’ doesn’t actually work. Stranger rumours are circling however, that this sudden burst of activity amongst the higher ups of the kingdom was spurred by not merely jingoistic imperative but the discovery of an artifact from the time of Au. Whether it’s meant to be a powerful weapon, magical focus or something else varies from teller to teller but from the select few that have seen it in person, they are convinced that it’s the real deal. The problem when you are dealing with history that has become more legend than actual historical facts is that it’s hard to discern the truth from the fiction and no one outside of the king’s inner circle knows exactly what the thing is for sure, the jury is out for now. Rumours
  It is common knowledge that the Gellish as a whole do not have a nation state of their own but do answer to a communal council elected from amongst the elders of the various travelling families. What that council does exactly is not so well known but it has the power to set the date and location for many of the religious festivals that make up the Gellish calendar. As it’s the turn of the season at the beginning of the new age it is the time of the Soozstice, called every year on the shores of the Great Ooze Lake said to be source and home of the GGG in times gone by and thus, a site of great holy significance. It’s definitely not an excuse to gather all the Gellish together from across That Way because the council is worried that this time the war between Glass and Gold might go the distance. The problem is that when you’ve lived among ‘strangers’ for so long that you start considering them to be friends, it draws you more into their society, it introduces you to their ways and eventually their problems. This has been more of a mildly inconvenience for the more traditional and elderly members of the Gellish but this was before two powers that weren’t always on speaking terms with each other are intending to start fighting and when you have a not inconsiderable number of families that have members on both sides of that particular divide who start taking sides in that particular tangled mess, then the Gellish Commonality together gets stretched taut in the face of conflicting ideals and outside pressure bearing down on them across That Way. The fact that the Gellish have always had an unwritten policy of ‘staying out of the other race’s business except for work’ has allowed them completely unimpeded travel across the entirety of That Way just as the GGG had intended, but their right to be left alone as long as they in turn leave well enough alone doesn’t work if large numbers of their own start actively getting involved with and supporting the activities of other nations. To that end whilst the festival is ongoing the matters of states as a whole will be discussed amongst the Families behind closed doors in the hopes that a solution can be reached, before it’s made for them. Rumours
  War is good for short term business, but bad for long term profits. This is an aphorism that a lot of the Enjinn abide by and a general reason why the practice of selling weapons to the armies in order to keep the war ongoing was banned by the Merchant Courts after that whole business with Au and the Empyrex Clan spiraled out of control all those years ago to the mess they were in today. Who would want to kill their own customers after all? You can’t make money off a corpse (Well you can’t make money legally off a corpse but semantics). But in the here and now what that means is there is currently as huge rush on the markets as the common folk, who often know when the coprolith is about to hit the fan, were buying up large quantities of food and other such supplies before those things start becoming scarce and going up in price, and whilst this was indeed good for short time business it still leaves the matter of what would happen if this war kicked off. Information is as much currency as actual currency and through a lot of eavesdropping, money changing hands and just general osmosis from the populace at large the Enjinn have gathered a rough idea of the power bases of each side. Unfortunately what they have managed to conclude is ‘it could go either way’, not entirely helpful in the circumstances of figuring out whether or not to tip the scales in one way or another. Which leaves the Enjinn in the exact same dilemma as all the other small factions within That Way, ‘Should we take a side?’ There’s a lot riding on this potential war not happening in their eyes, the carefully balanced and constructed society that the Enjinn had been trying to piece together from the ruins of the Old World rather unfortunately relied very heavily on the two greatest military powers of the age agreeing to its unwritten rules, and should one of them fall and the other decided it was done playing nicely with the rest of That Way, well that sort of ruins it for the rest of us doesn’t it? On the other hand, if they backed the ‘winning’ skimmer in that race and they end the war as allies who had supported them, well then things could be pulled back on track and the house of cards will remain standing, perhaps even for good… But of course these are just hypothetical considerations. Mostly. Rumours
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Sep 9, 2019 20:34
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