32 - Blow Your Top

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: A volcano eruption threatens the Western District
When: Jan 14 - 16
Where: The Western District of the Heavens
Summary: The Western District volcano is erupting again, endangering nearby temples and sending ash sprinkling down across the Heavens. Is it natural, or another attack? Those who dare climb the volcano can find out.






Earthquake Warning

On the morning of the 14th, an earthquake rattles windows throughout the Heavens. It's not strong enough to knock down buildings -- unless they're about to fall down anyway, like some of the older abandoned temples -- but it's strong enough to knock things off shelves and startle any late sleepers out of bed.

After the earthquake, strange sights abound around the Heavens. The poetic koi are swimming in organized schools in all of the canals, heading upstream towards the east. Springs of pure water burst out in some areas, and in others, normal springs or fountains have gone temporarily dry. Blue and green lights bob and weave across the landscape.

Falling Rock

The volcano begins erupting with a roar and a bright scarlet glow on the horizon. Ash and bits of rock fall across the Western district, and may even reach into the Southwest, Northwest and southern Central districts. Volcanic glass fibers that look like golden hair collect on trees, fences and buildings.

Trails and fountains of lava are also erupting from freshly opened fissures and wending down the sides of the volcano. Gods and shinki who live in the Western District are going to need some help clearing ash and glass from their roofs, trying to re-route lava flows (the good news is, if you cool one side down enough, you can turn them! the bad news is, that takes a lot of work) or just offering them a spare room to stay until things calm down.

Swamp Gas

It's not just lava and springwater erupting from mysterious new crevasses -- and it's not just mundane volcanic gases, either. Divine volcanic vents are blowing mind-altering fumes all over the Heavens. Anywhere across the Far Shore, but especially as characters get closer to the volcano, they may experience one or more of the following effects:

• Confusion
• Intense emotions
• Anger and irritability
• Impulsive behavior, loss of emotional control
• Hallucinations
• Unusually clear insight into other people and situations
• Coughing, eye and throat irritation, difficulty breathing
• Irresistible impulses to speak in poetry

Most symptoms will clear up after a few hours in fresh air, and all of them will be gone within 48 hours of the last volcano gas exposure.

Mountain Climbing

Natural disasters don't just happen like this in the Heavens... do they? Amaterasu's white-robed shinki are convinced that something is wrong, and they're organizing into search parties to go up the mountain and seek out the cause of this eruption. New and old gods and shinki are welcome to join them, or form their own groups. All of the hazards -- tremors, lava, ash, and volcanic gas -- will get worse as characters ascend the volcano. Strange little spirit flames, in shades of red and blue, dance on the rocks, dazzling, confusing and threatening to singe interlopers.

And there's someone up here, too. A mysterious figure with glowing red eyes is keeping watch on the intruders and vanishing behind boulders whenever someone turns his way. He won't let anyone traveling with one of the white-robed shinki get too close, but solitary gods or shinki might manage to lure him into conversation, if they try....

OOC: Please comment to the 'NPC REQUEST' thread below in order to talk to the mysterious figure on the volcano.

Those climbing the volcano will have a chance to battle the mysterious figure should their characters choose to do so. If you're interested in a fight, please comment to the 'NPC FIGHT' thread below before the top-level is posted. A top-level for the fight will go up on IC Jan 16/OOC Sept 4.

In Summary:

• Don't get rattled
• Help out the Western District with their volcano problem
• Watch out for volcanic gases
• Find out who's behind the eruption
• Have fun~

Comments

B

[kokuyoyo]

[Well. Chikusa had only meant to be passing through, surveying the land from a bird's eye view and testing how necessary oxygen is to his hafuri form... but it's hard to ignore the sight of someone fighting gas and air. Jae-Ha might notice an enormous shadow circling around his head before Chikusa decides to make a landing...]

[...As an enormous bird apparently constructed more out of cloud and fog than feathers. The only thing that seems a little more solid would be his long legs and even longer neck, which twists to survey him with one wary eye.]

[...Of course, what Jae-Ha sees in his hallucination is up in the air.]

[pirateofdragons]

What are you?

[At least he hasn't gotten too far into his hallucinations to realize this is an actual living....thing.

Still, Jae-ha is wary, eyes narrowed and looking a little unhinged from whatever he's experiencing. He can still feel chains wrapped around him, trying to tie him down.]

[kokuyoyo]

[A hallucinatory bird might answer, but not this one, no matter how mythical its enormous form might indicate otherwise. Instead, it merely looks down its beak at Jae-Ha, before eventually lowering its long neck down a little closer to look.]

[If he wants to see for himself, well, that's more than fine. Chikusa wants to see if there's anything actually around the man himself.]

[pirateofdragons]

[There isn't, but it's not like Jae-ha knows that. For all he knows, this bird can just be a hallucination brought to life. It makes him flinch, his scaled leg twitching with some kind of anxiety. He can feel the chains tugging him down further.

It makes him growl, swinging his leg harshly at Chikusa to force the bird to back off.]

[kokuyoyo]

[As long as it's not his beak or his legs, Chikusa thinks he should be fine. At least, they're the parts of him that seem more solid than his main body when he's not actively focusing. The aggressive kick as him snip the tip of his beak a little bit, annoyed, and he returns with a nudge-like motion in Jae-ha's direction before moving closer.]

[pirateofdragons]

[If it's his dragon leg, it still might hurt.

Jae-ha stills when Chikusa comes closer, staring at him.]

....What are you?

[kokuyoyo]

[He'd think it'd be obvious... but apparently not. A huff ruffles through the grass, pushing back some of his heart, and he lowers his head a little further.... Enough, he should hope, for the note he's wearing to be visible.]

[If that doesn't do it, well, he'll figure something out.]

[pirateofdragons]

[Okay, real bird.

It has Jae-ha calming down a little.]

Okay, you're not a hallucination.

[And this is such a sassy bird.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Yep. Real bird. Despite his physical appearance almost hinting at otherwise.]

[Still, now that he's assured that he won't be kicked at again, Chikusa... tosses aside all gentleness, lightly shoving at Jae-ha with the side of his beak. What's wrong with you, weirdo]

[pirateofdragons]

H-Hey now. You don't need to do that.

[Still, he reaches up and sort of awkwardly pats his head?]

[kokuyoyo]

[Nope. The head pat sates nothing. If anything, it has Chikusa carefully adjust his beak lower until he can nudge Jae-Ha's legs.]

[Nothing there to him.]

[pirateofdragons]

....Can't you see it?

[He can still feel the chains coiling around his leg, but if the bird doesn't seem to notice....]

[kokuyoyo]

[Slowly, the bird pulls his head back until the neck is folding into itself, and he stares down at Jae-ha pointedly with a dull stare. After a long moment, there's the slightest of movements- a shake of his beak, from side to side.]

[pirateofdragons]

All in my head then?

[Well, that doesn't sound good.]

[kokuyoyo]

[It sure isn't, buddy, and Chikusa gives a small wet huff of confirmation. Sorry about some of that condensation now on your clothes, Jae-Ha. Well, someone, somewhere, is sorry, even if it's not Chikusa.]

[pirateofdragons]

...Okay, got it. You don't need to further dirty my clothes.

[kokuyoyo]

[Chikusa stares at him for another long pause...]

[...And huffs again.]

[pirateofdragons]

Okay, okay, I get it.

[He makes a face at him.]

[kokuyoyo]

[Yeah, you better get it, buddy.]

[Still, with this information successfully given, Chikusa shifts back slightly and continues to watch him. He's told him that, whatever he's been seeing, it's all fake. An illusion. Will this knowledge help him at all? For his own purposes, he wants to see what will happen. It will help, for when he takes Hakkai and Ken into similar territory.]

[pirateofdragons]

....What.

[Don't keep looking at him like that.]

[kokuyoyo]

[There's a snort- still wet- and Chikusa continues to stare. You can't stop him, buddy!!!]