014 | A Whole New World

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Exploring the world
When: All day June 26
Where: The Near Shore (All Over)
Summary: So many shrines have popped up! Go visit your homelands!



The Heavens have received reports of many shrines to the "new gods" they are harboring appearing all over the world. These shrines seem to be additional, new shrines to those gods. Older shrines to those gods still exist, but these ones are shiny, new, and way more compatible with the "new gods". God characters, as well, will have felt the sudden pull towards their homelands and be compelled to travel to them. But the Heavens have taken it a step farther, offering the Meeting Hall as a place for gods and shinki to group up and go out for the day to the various places that are now calling out to them.

Please ignore the fact that they are mostly doing this so that you all will collect information for them without their begging for it or having to reward you.



Meeting Hall

The Meeting Hall is being used as a sort of hub right now. Any groups that are planning to meet up and travel together can meet here, but you might also find someone who's going somewhere you'd like to and tag along with them. Additionally, the Heavens have provided packed lunches for everyone to take with them, should they desire to. This also serves as a meeting place for all of the new gods and shinki.

Locals

Local pantheons have been alerted to the impending visitors. They are happy to welcome their brethren home and are likely to make a big fuss about their brothers and sisters staying with them. Local gods are welcome to be interpreted however you would like, just be sure not to NPC any god that is already taken by a god player. Also, you may find yourself running into some local spirits during your sight-seeing - including local ayakashi and various folklore spirits.

Flyers

They may not stick out at first, but those who are paying attention will notice that there are a large number of flyers being left around at their new shrines. Heck, even walking through the human towns, you will find flyers scattered on the ground and pinned to cork boards and nailed to telephone poles. All bear the same message: "Down with the Heavens. Down with Amaterasu." The locals gods are well versed in the flyers, saying that there have been some strange characters around throwing these flyers at anyone who will give them the time of day. Even humans will note that some shady-looking people have been putting up these strange posters.

Destruction

Whether you return early because of boredom, never left because you're uninterested, or late because you've been having fun, the middle of the night will bring an interesting sight to all. The Heavens will find themselves under attack - in the form of a large fire set at the temple of Amaterasu herself. The entire home is going up in flames and no one knows where Amaterasu is. They're asking for help in dousing the fire or even entering the burning home to find the small goddess and possibly look for the saboteurs, though the only people who are still around are Amaterasu's shinki, in varying states of distress and consciousness.

Note: Who will discover Amaterasu will be decided randomly on 3/20/17 OOC. At that point, a follow-up post will be made by Amaterasu herself.

In Summary:

• Explore the world
• Get to know your homelands
• Investigate insurgents
• Deal with a riot
• Save Amaterasu
• Have fun~

Comments

B! Wanders by~

[darkestbefore]

[ It was the sense of eyes on her that had drawn Yona away from her own Hill and then she had started exploring, wandering outward and using the new transportation magic she'd been shown how to use to cross the distances that would have taken her days before.

It's almost by accident that she finds herself on a Hill much like the one she had first arrived at, and spotting another young woman there with bright hair has her pausing in her exploration to approach.

...Just in time to see her bow and apologize to.... a cat?

Yona looks puzzled as she eyes the cat, finding it a little odd in appearance but uncertain as to why. ]

Is this... a spirit of this shrine?

[declamando]

[Whoops. Maria turns to look at the newcomer, looking a little abashed for a moment before she recovers and offers her a small smile. The cat sìth, for its part, decides this is a good time to sit down and start washing its face, still watching the both of them and definitely not helping Maria's case.]

Not exactly, but I think it is a spirit. There's a kind of faerie in the mythology of this area called a cat sìth, and I think this is one. It doesn't seem quite like a normal cat, at least.

[Then again, from what she remembers, the lore on cat sìth is conflicting enough that it could be one of a variety of things.]

Are you another Irish god? I don't know that there's many of us in the Heavens.

[darkestbefore]

That's what I was told.

[ Yona offers her an apologetic smile because, having only arrived today, there's not much else she knows about it just yet. Still, she's quick to offer the other girl a slight bow because it seems she, too, is a god? ]

I am here to represent Áine, although I only arrived just this morning. I'm afraid I know little else yet about this god, or the lands she presides over.

[declamando]

[Maria's not quite brushed up enough on her gods to know that one off the top of her head even if she recalls having read the name, but still, she nods in understanding. They're all new sometime, and this is an interesting position to be put in so soon.

Returning the level of politeness, Maria gives a short bow back. There's something of a professional flair to it.]

I represent Nuada Airgetlám, but my name is Maria Cadenzavna Eve. I've been here a little over a month now, but honestly I haven't been able to find much more information about him than the fact that he was some form of god-king with a legendary sword and silver arm.

[And the latter piece of information was one she already knew from personal experience.]

[darkestbefore]

A silver arm?

[ A faint flicker of surprise crosses Yona's face for a moment before she smiles in understanding and nods. ]

Most legends make their sources sound incredible, don't they? I hope to learn more about these gods, though. [ she pauses to glance around them and also casts another curious look at the cat sith that still seems to be absently listening to them. ] Their lands are certainly a beautiful place. I've never seen anywhere that looks quite like this.

[declamando]

So they say. In the legends, it was a tool of healing.

[But in reality, as Maria knows it, the sword and the arm hadn't been so different after all. Or at least, that's how it was in her world.

The cat sìth definitely still looks like it's listening, even as it delicately starts washing its feet. Maria smiles slightly as she looks from it back to Yona.]

It is somewhat the point, creating amazing stories to be remembered for generations to come. Hopefully there's more to learn than either of us have managed so far. [Turning her head slightly in interest, she goes on.] What kind of place were you from before coming here?

[darkestbefore]

[ Yona's expression falters for a moment before she glances down at her hands, twisting them in front of her for a moment in an idle fidget. Her tone is somewhere between wistful and fond when she answers a moment later. ]

It is called the Kingdom of Kouka, the lands I come from. At the moment, there is much unrest and much of the land has been damaged by war and neglect and those who are greedy seeking more power. There are many places that are still beautiful but also much of it that is scarred by sickness or famine or worse.

[declamando]

[Ah, so it's like that. Maria's expression turns grave, and she can at least relate to parts of that, so she nods a little in what understanding she can give.]

I see. I currently live in Japan in my own world, the same country the Heavens we were brought to here normally serves, but there are troubles of a different kind in my own. We'd put them to rest for a time when I left there, but I do still worry that something else will arise when I come back. I hope your world's situation doesn't stay that way.

[darkestbefore]

As do I. [ Yona's smile is a hint wry now, but the wistfulness and hope doesn't fade. ] Although I've been assured that time has stilled in my absence, which is comforting. I'd hate to think of what might become of my companions were they to wake and find me missing. Or what might occur when I am not there with them.

[ Not that she always felt like there was much she could do, but te idea that they might be in danger somewhere when she was not there with them would have made her time here even more worrisome than it already was. ]

[declamando]

[Maria hadn't actually heard that yet, and it is somewhat of a comforting thought. While one other person from her world is here as of today, her other companions would take that sort of disappearance badly, and the idea of not having to worry about that returns her smile a little.]

I can't say I'd heard that myself, but it's a good thing to know. I wouldn't want to have been here while something important happened back in my own world, even if we have important issues to deal with here as well. And of course, I wouldn't want to worry anyone either.

[Her tone is somewhat sympathetic, because if there's one thing she's sure a lot of people here could understand, it's that.]

[darkestbefore]

[ Fortunately Yona had arrived to find half her dragons here, who had known what just she needed to hear to set her mind at ease to be able to carry out the responsibilities entrusted to her. Otherwise, her worries over what might be happening to the others back home without them would have been too much - Shin-Ah, Jae-ha. Hak. She missed them already, of course, but at least she didn't have to worry so much for their safety and happiness when not there to help protect it herself.

But for now she just musters a smile, the expression warmer and more genuine than it might be otherwise. ]

Nor would I.

[ Still, it's a reminder of what they have to do in this world now and she glances around curiously. ] Are new shrines appearing like this something that happens frequently in this world? Or is it strange for them suddenly to appear now?

[declamando]

[The subject Yona comes to after that is definitely one Maria can speak on with at least a little confidence, having been here close to a month and a half now, and she shakes her head as her smile fades to something of a little more consideration.]

Definitely a little strange, and all of them appearing seemingly at the same time is even stranger. It seems like a remarkable amount of coordination, and that's not even mentioning the gods who only just appeared here today and still have new shrines.

[She knows for a fact that had happened in Elfnein's case, and it seems more than a little bizarre.]

[darkestbefore]

[ A look of surprise flits across Yona's face at that, because that's... interesting? ]

Who would coordinate such a thing? Is there a purpose for a sudden resurgence of so many shrines? As I was one of the gods who only appeared today, I have felt a pull here to a new shrine as well. Not that I understood what that meant. I'm still not entirely sure I do.

[declamando]

I have no idea. It's possible that they were in progress for a while and only made themselves known now because a lot of them had been completed, but that's just a theory. [It's definitely a question Maria's been asking herself for most of the day, and her look of thought only gets deeper as she goes on, nodding slightly at Yona's words.]

That's another thing - it's unusual that gods who only appeared today have also had these shrines seemingly ready to be dedicated to them. Maybe it was the work of your previous incarnations?

[darkestbefore]

[ Yona tilts her head to the side as she considers the other girl's explanation. After a long hesitation, because she's not sure she's understanding correctly or not, she hedges a careful guess. ]

Is it a coincidence that should be worrying, or do such strange things happen often in the heavens? I suppose, being gods, that many unexpected things could be possible and surprising beyond what one would normally expect.

[declamando]

I'm not sure. [Though Maria does certanly sound worried, it's for reasons other than just what's on the surface here.] It's right to say that strange things happen a lot here, but there have also been organised attacks. So while I don't want to slip into being paranoid, I can't help but think anything that looks this much like a well-timed coincidence might not be one.

[Maybe it's not the targetted attack itself, but it could be setup for something bigger.]

[darkestbefore]

Do the heavens have enemies in this world? Besides the ayakashi?

[ She'd heard of the evil spirits, but they hadn't seemed as organized or intelligent to pull something like this off. But no one had mentioned may other conflicts to her as of yet. ]

[declamando]

[Yona's basically hit the nail on the head there, and Maria nods immediately, her air much more serious with the change in topic.]

There's some kind of other group involved, though I don't know much about them yet. But people have definitely talked about the attacks that have gone on in the Heavens before being organised, not just random bad luck.

[darkestbefore]

[ Yona frowns, looking troubled. ]

It seems that even the Heavens of this world have to contend with troubles like this as well. Perhaps that is why they've started calling others to come and help.

[declamando]

That's not quite it, actually. [It would make sense if that were the case, but Maria knows it isn't, and she looks bothered by the fact as she goes on.] The Heavens aren't the ones calling us here. Actually, they seem to know as little about what's going on as we do.

[darkestbefore]

[ Now surprise does flit across Yona's face as she takes this information in. ]

They weren't the ones who called us here to be gods? That means... there's another power that can even interfere with the heavens?

[ That should be... impossible, right? What could be more powerful than gods? ]

[declamando]

It looks like it, yes. [The weight to Maria's tone says she's just as bothered about this as Yona, even if her point of view is a little different.]

I don't think we had gods in my world, so I don't have anything to compare the ones here to, but it's a little disturbing that there's something at work that's been able to deceive them this easily.

[And this consistently. This has been happening for months now, even if Maria's only been here a little more than a month herself.]

[darkestbefore]

There are gods in my world, even though they are often very distant. Maybe that's normal, or maybe it is also like this place, where they are around more than we are aware. [ She'd noted how easy it was to pass unnoticed among the humans here already. It had been... disconcerting. ]

It is. Not knowing why we've been brought here or for what purpose... Although I suppose there is little we can do about it just yet other than continue the responsibilities we've been entrusted with. [ Something she, at least, would take very seriously. To ignore the prayers of someone in need seemed unconscionable to her. ]

[declamando]

Well, there was one single god in my world, so to speak, and they were certainly a distant one. Nothing like the ones here, though, so to say we have gods in the same sense as the ones here would be false. [Hence why she put it the way she did just now.

And even then, while Maria might be a faithful sort, she has her concerns about exactly how present that particular god might be. When she prays, it's more to spirits of the departed than to the god himself.]

That's what I've been doing. Even if we don't know what's going on, that's no reason to ignore people in need.

[darkestbefore]

[ That gets a faint smile from Yona as she nods. ]

That is my thought as well. Whatever plans these unknown forces might have, it doesn't change the fact that we've been entrusted in assisting those that have need of the Heaven's aid. To me, that sounds more important.