godsoffortune: (Default)
The Far Shore Mods ([personal profile] godsoffortune) wrote in [community profile] thenearshore2018-05-03 07:07 pm

28 - The Hungry Forest (Final Battle)

Who: Everyone!
What: At the heart of the mysterious forest lies a magical trap.
When: Nov 14, evening
Where: Within the forest
Summary: Working together, and with the (reluctant) help of some menaced cultists, the rescuers have pierced the wooden wall into the heart of the forest.






The sky is clearly visible here, but it’s an evening one – it’s taken the day to work their way through this far. Those with some astronomy knowledge will also be able to tell it’s a sky on Earth, and anyone who can climb up above the treeline will see a vast, mountainous and wooded area, with the lights of roads, train tracks and small towns glittering here and there. They're clearly not in the Heavens anymore. Somehow, in their journey through the forest, the rescuers have emerged onto the Near Shore.

An icy breeze is blowing, and although the vegetation is unseasonably green and lush in this clearing, there are patches of snow visible at the foot of some of the trees, hinting that they're fairly far up the mountain.

Rescues

The clearing here at the heart of the forest is vast, and five colossal sigils are etched into the earth, each one holding an incredible amount of power. It’s on these sigils, North, South, East, West, and Center, that the trapped gods and shinki can be found. Those unlucky enough to be at the Center sigil are bound by hypnosis, each staring at a firefly spirit that hovers before their unblinking eyes. These victims are still and unresponsive, and the spirits will need to be destroyed to free them. The firefly spirits can be harmed by both physical and magical attack, though they likely won’t stay still to let themselves be easily extinguished.

The captives trapped on each of the other sigils are around the edges of the clearing, entangled in vines, brambles or whatever other limbs the trees could provide to bind them to this place. Some may also be under the effects of the hypnotic fireflies if they’ve been particularly troublesome, while others who have fought less might have only those bindings needed to prevent them fleeing. Regardless of how tightly they're restrained, all of the kidnapped gods and shinki on all of the sigils look drained, the severity depending on how long they’ve been there. Some are merely tired-looking, whereas others are barely clinging to consciousness. Whether their power is being used to feed the spell or being stored for something else to come, one thing is clear – those trapped need to be freed before anything more can be done.

Sigils

Those sigils beneath each group of trapped gods and shinki are powerful constructs, brimming with energy and meticulously maintained by the cultists up to now. It’s the same power as what blankets the entire forest, but it's focused on each of those five points. They must be the source of the spell that's caused all of this.

If the spell is to be broken, the sigils need to be broken as well, but it’s going to take more than just scuffing out the etched lines to break the magic. Attacking with shinki in their vessel forms or using blessed water to wash away the magic will be most effective, but for those who didn't bring blessed water or don't have the energy left to transform, there's one other option. The clearing is lit by traditional paper lanterns hanging from the trees all around, and any object set aflame with these lanterns can be used to burn the spell out of the ground bit by bit.

The trees and any remaining soulless shinki are still furiously opposing the rescue efforts, the surviving cultists are continuing to work on maintaining the spell, and it will take time to fully destroy the sigils. However, as the sigils deteriorate, the effects of the spell will begin to fade, and characters will find it easier to access their supernatural powers to speed the process along. Gods' and shinki's powers (that is to say, the special power they gained as a god or shinki, rather than canon powers) will be as effective as a shinki or blessed water against the sigils.

But be careful. As each sigil breaks, some of the magic escapes, but some is captured by the remaining sigils. For the spell to fully disappear, all five must be destroyed – and quickly, because there’s only a matter of time before this power becomes unstable.

disciprined: (read the small print)

[personal profile] disciprined 2018-05-04 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Mirei is no trouble at all.

[You cannot think your way out of a mass of vines and brambles that hold your limbs quite fast. Nor can you cite a forest for breach of school rules, and you certainly can't impress it with your Idol Rank (which, in Mirei's case, is still something of a work in progress). Nothing in her life has prepared her for anything close to the situation she has found herself in: she is trapped far from home in the heart of a forest, and more exhausted than she can remember feeling before. Struggling got her nowhere but more tightly entangled, and fighting is so far out of the question it isn't even worth factoring into her calculations.

[So no, she is no trouble. She's too inexperienced, too tired, and - she has to admit it - absolutely and entirely too afraid. Say she escaped, somehow: what then? Far better to save her energy, but that has been sapped all the same.

[Mirei has no idea how long she's been trapped here. Too long, that's all she knows: long enough that night has passed, then day, then night again; to have realized she is trapped beneath familiar stars. Long enough to have run through all her options a thousand times and come up with no plan at all, long enough to wonder if she'll ever be anywhere else again, long enough to have run out of anger ten times over and learn that crying helps absolutely nothing, and is made a million times worse by not being able to wipe her eyes. She's slipping, once again, into what feels like sleep when - with her surroundings now familiar to the point of utter tedium - something changes. Footsteps. The voices of strangers. All right, Minami-kun, calculate this.

[There is one thing that Mirei can do, and can absolutely do even from here: project her voice.

[She takes a breath. She composes herself.]


PRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~!!

[And then she's run out of breath, and she slumps, unreasonably exhausted - but comforted, just a little: feeling a little more like herself.

[Whatever helps.]
Edited 2018-05-04 01:04 (UTC)
onedrinkwithme: (dangerous)

Rescue-Closed to Planned Folks

[personal profile] onedrinkwithme 2018-05-04 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
[Among the tangled vines and branches, lies someone that sees like they're barely moving. It has only been a day and he shouldn't been in the shape that he is but unforuntately this is what happens when you kidnap a experienced soldier: they try their damnest to escape and fight back. The plantlife around him may also a bit bloody due to it but that's why the firefly is present in front of his face.

He can remember hearing about everyone vanishing, remember that a forest that had sucked in Sora long ago and how they had to fight through to get out...and his mind went on auto pilot. He had people to save: Goten, Yona, Izumo...he couldn't stand around and do nothing. Not again. Even if it was reckless, he thought he prepared better but sadly even he couldn't fight nature. But he sure could be fucking stubborn about it given the state of his clothes, torn from scraping the branches and tearing, the blood crusting over his wounds but prior to his capture. Call it pride or just plain bullheadedness, he didn't want to have this be lost in vain...but in the end, it was.

Aymeric is breathing for sure but there's definite signs of injury, weither it was from before or after capture is a mystery. But for those who have come this far, he simply stares at the firefly unmoving. May want to work on that first...or get both it and the plants at the same time. Either way, it's best to get him out quick.]
brynwieldr: (Dark Knight Prince)

[personal profile] brynwieldr 2018-05-04 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[Leo's hands are hurting and sore and bandaged. He's got scars from particularly pissy plants. He's tired.

He takes a bottle of water stolen from a cultist and proceeds to attempt to douse the firefly keeping Aymeric hypnotized before swinging Brynhildr down on top of it.

Fuck all of this.]
darkestbefore: color happy (202)

Yona - Closed to Rescue Party

[personal profile] darkestbefore 2018-05-04 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
[ There is a figure thickly tangled in the vines and thorny brambles within the sigil, the shock of familiar red hair all that immediately gives her away where she crouches on her knees, unmoving. Her head is bowed and her eyes fixated on the glow of a firefly that perches on her knee, wings fluttering occasionally but otherwise holding her gaze trapped, although her eyelids are drooping heavily as what remains of her energy wanes.

Her face is pale and drawn, eyes hazed and empty and the shallow rise and fall of her chest is the only sign of life from her as she remains frozen there, unaware of anything around her. Her cloak is shredded and torn, flecks of blood dark on the fabric from where thorns have bit into flesh during her struggles. Her skin is smudged and dirty and a dark bruise discolors high on one cheekbone, half-hidden behind the ragged fall of hair around her face, tangled with leaves and twigs.

She doesn't move, doesn't look up, even should voices sound or movement happen around her. Her eyes merely gaze unseeing into the gleaming allure of the firefly's glow, lost in its light entirely. ]
Edited 2018-05-04 01:04 (UTC)
monkeyblue: (Uneasy Sleep)

Rescue

[personal profile] monkeyblue 2018-05-04 01:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Like most of the people in this sigil, Fushimi very clearly fought whoever was holding him captive. His glasses are broken, there's blood smeared on his face, and his clothing has seen better days. There's throwing knives scattered around the sigil too, more signs of Fushimi refusing to go quietly.

Despite only having been here a couple of days, he looks awful as he's forced to stare at the firefly. That's what happens when you take terrible care of yourself and then get kidnapped by a crazy forest cult.]
alchemists: (If only Carol didn't suck)

[personal profile] alchemists 2018-05-04 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ Elfnein's feet were tied up with vines preventing her from being able to escape, her power wasn't working at all so she couldn't even write a message for people to see. It had only been a day or so since she had been captured and her energy and stamina were nearly at it's limit, she wasn't built for things like this. ]

I don't want it to end this way.

[ She was scared and powerless, it was almost a repeat of the first time she had almost lost her life back home. ]
reformedsinner: (you wouldn't like me when)

[personal profile] reformedsinner 2018-05-04 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Hakkai is barely visible under the foliage. Some of that is because he's dressed in his favorite forest green shirt, made even more effective camouflage now that it's torn and stained with dirt, mold and blood. More of it is because he's swathed in an excessive number of vines and roots, with his arms held out away from his body, his feet just a little off the ground, and a pinpoint of fiery light hanging in front of his gaze.

His attention is locked on the firefly, and despite the marks suggesting he's already tried to fight his way out, he doesn't seem to be fighting now. In fact, he's looking just a little pale.]
justclaws: (bugs are the worst)

[personal profile] justclaws 2018-05-04 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
Princess!

[Always bugs.

[why does it have to be bugs.

[He's found her, thank the Gods. Pale and exhausted and, oh horrible!, covered in cuts and bruises; staring, blank-eyed, at some hideous little insect perched impudently on her very knee: alive, though, alive and whole. As he stops short before her, as he drops to his knees by her side, Kija thanks the dragon that watches over him for that much even as he gazes in panic and gratitude and grief at his Princess, and realizes he has absolutely no idea where to start. What can he, what should he do first, that will not risk harming her more?]


Hak! Yoon! This way, quickly! Please!
toremainbehind: ([162])

[personal profile] toremainbehind 2018-05-04 01:41 am (UTC)(link)
[For anyone who comes to the Center Sigils, Izumo is bound with thick vines. There have been signs of a fight, of scorched marks on the ground and even on his person, but it was clearly ineffective against whatever managed to capture him. He had gone in trying to find Yona, to find Goten, to find whoever else he can. For whatever reason, the sigil he's in is different.

Fireflies surrounds him, even if his eyes are fixed on the one in front of him. He can't even seem to move, to focus on anything else. He feels powerless, weak. But this light--

There's something transfixing about it. He can't move, can't even bear to turn his head away.]
saiyanhybrid: ([10])

[personal profile] saiyanhybrid 2018-05-04 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Gohan has no care for the plants or for whatever cultist tries to stop them. In fact, he's pretty sure that it wouldn't matter, anyway.

Regardless, with Leo taking care of the firefly, Gohan goes to free Aymeric from his binds, tearing away the vines in case they decide to try to wound around Aymeric tighter.]
lostinshadows: ([20])

[personal profile] lostinshadows 2018-05-04 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[Lavi has always been a fighter and this is no different. He had tried to fight, to escape. His main concern had been Cardia, trying to find her desperately to no avail. Vines are wound tightly around him, particularly around his ankles and wrists, some of it bloodied and even his hammer has been tossed to the side, kept out of his reach. The area around him is in disarray, each struggle only causing the vines to coil around tighter.

A firefly is placed in front of him, forcing his attention on it, his own breathing uneven.]
revolutionfalcon: (another failure)

closed to Ren, Reisi and Chinatsu

[personal profile] revolutionfalcon 2018-05-04 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[To the surprise of probably nobody who knows him, the trees have had to throw a significant amount of foliage at Shun to keep him in the one place. The lower layers of plant life clinging to him are half-decayed and clawed up by what looks like fingernail marks, forming an underlayer to the thicker vines that came in to replace them, bolstered by a thick tangle of brambles. His hands are pinned out to either side, presumably after somebody figured out letting him touch the vines was a very bad idea.

It doesn't matter so much now, though, considering the circumstances. Not only is Shun's skin so pale he's just about colourless - trying to use his power so much to escape did plenty enough of a number on him to be getting on with - he's no longer struggling, faintly glowing eyes focused on a pair of the firefly spirits. From the way his teeth are still gritted and the clammy feeling to his skin, he probably managed to fend off the things through sheer willpower for a while...but that only lasts so long against magic like this.]
onedrinkwithme: (Worn Down)

[personal profile] onedrinkwithme 2018-05-04 01:55 am (UTC)(link)
[On instinct, the vines did try to bind their captive tighter and it did give the man trapped a reaction of a sharp gasp. The result of the pitful firefly's death made it a bit more likely for Aymeric to snap out of his daze but only slightly. Seems that this magic lingers, go figure. But the plantlife could not match for Gohan's strength and stamina and they find themselves start to lose grip.

But just like Aymeric, they weren't going to give up as one vine wraps around his waist and another around his neck. Persistent buggers.]
artificialrose: (salamandroid) (You know those creepy dolls)

Garry

[personal profile] artificialrose 2018-05-04 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
[ooc: Garry's god Nagito Komaeda is going to be involved in rescuing him, but he's pretty sickly and not exactly the peak of physical health. If anyone else wants to help him, let me know with either a PP or hit me up on plurk!]

Throughout the clearing, there are so many people- more than a dozen- bound and pale. Whatever the purpose of the spell, it's clearly draining them ragged.... but those for those in the very center.

Not for Garry, who counts among them.

That doesn't mean he looks well, however. His entire frame is limp as he sits there, shoulders slouched, with no resistance or signs of fear as would normally be seen from the easily alarmed shinki in such a tense situation. Instead, his gaze is utterly blank from what can be seen of the one eye visible. For all that it's focused on the firefly hovering before him, it almost seems as if that were more a coincidence before he simply.... stopped.

Even at the sounds of people stumbling into the clearing, whatever shouts or words that come... He doesn't react. He just stares.
brynwieldr: (Most Epic of Facepalms)

[personal profile] brynwieldr 2018-05-04 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
Do you have a weapon?

[Leo continues to smash the life out of that firefly, eventually moving to stomp on it.]

A-a dagger or something?
saiyanhybrid: ([96])

[personal profile] saiyanhybrid 2018-05-04 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
Unfortunately not.

[Gohan frowns, quickly reaching out to grab the vines. He attempts to use his ki, looking annoyed when it doesn't work. So, he does the next best thing: he rips the vines out by its roots and picks Aymeric up just in case more decides to shoot up and grab him.]
onedrinkwithme: (dazed)

[personal profile] onedrinkwithme 2018-05-04 02:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Way to be extra Leo, the firefly is already dead. It has no family so there is no need for any lingering grief. The vines on the other hand are having a Bad Time. They just want to do good and here comes this asshole trying to rip away the pretty drained cute elf man away. But Gohan's technique works as they cannot reach Aymeric, making him stir more and cough violently thanks to his throat being free from that grip.

Give him a moment to actually be able to speak, he's still trying to focus on the fact that he's being carried.]
brynwieldr: (Dark Knight Prince)

[personal profile] brynwieldr 2018-05-04 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Once Aymeric is free, Leo finally lets up on the firefly and rushes over.]

Aymeric? Aymeric, can you hear me?
saiyanhybrid: ([69])

[personal profile] saiyanhybrid 2018-05-04 02:24 am (UTC)(link)
[Gohan carefully holds Aymeric to let Leo check on him.

He glances around just in case, particularly in case more vines decides to come and take Aymeric again.]
onedrinkwithme: (Worn Down)

[personal profile] onedrinkwithme 2018-05-04 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Who is the one holding him? They certainly do not feel like branches or vines and he can hear a familiar voice, blinking slowly as he turns to face where it was coming from.]

Leo...?

[It's coughed out but he's mostly out of daze. He hopes so. But who is holding him? He turns and while blurry, he does recognize that frame.]

Is that...you, Gohan?

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