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

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Maybe there's a couple eggs to be broken. But there's a huge difference between breaking a couple eggs and smashing up the entire chicken coop.

With lava.

[veiledflame]

Uh huh, whatever. You just don't have the guts to do anything big.

[He shoots her a disdainful look.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Nia shoots it right back.]

You're not changing anything. You're burning it down! That's the chickenshite way! I want to make something better, not just dance on the ashes of what was there! A lot of people are going to get hurt because of this just because they happened to be in the way of your plans. So do you actually care about that? Because if not, that means you're just looking to benefit yourself out of all of this. Nothing noble or big about that!

[veiledflame]

Yeah, 'cause you can totally make something great without ever getting rid of the bad stuff first! Anyway, it's not like I'm burning down the Heavens! The volcano's way out here where nobody lives anyway, so if they get hurt it's their own stupid fault for coming over to see what happened.

[He's scowling thunderously, though he stops, and his scowl falters into a stricken look, after a few seconds.]

Not like I did this or anything.

[Definitely convincing. Nailed it.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Uh-huh.

[Definitely buying it. Total belief.]

[Nia also points down the slope of the volcano, off to the western districts and the damage they've already incurred.]

You can cut out the rot without hurling the apple in the trash. Or the lava. The path you're taking will have a bad end for everyone!

[veiledflame]

How about you get to criticize me when you've got a better one!

[He stomps his foot furiously.]

Something that's not just "I'm gonna fight the system by protecting it and doing whatever they want me to," 'cause that's not fighting, that's just being a servant while you talk big.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Back to the armfold, staring at him with anger that she's finally starting to master.]

Find a way to copy the bond between gods and shinki. Whatever part of godhood lets them name and empower us, we get that for ourselves. Then shinki are independent, and the gods have to change their ways.

[veiledflame]

[Sotero's expression of fury falters, and he stares at her, genuinely surprised.]

Wait, you think the only thing bad about the Heavens is somebody took you in?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Nia's face promptly twists into a snarl again.] Don't be an idiot! The gods are stagnant arses who sit around doing nothing about anything. The old shinki are so bought into it that they forget they deserve more than being property, they act like they've got no brains in their heads. None of them are doing a damn thing to help out, up here or down in the Near Shore. But that's all built off this terrible, stupid system! Take away the shinki and they gods have got to change. If they don't learn to respect others as people, they'll wither away! Give shinki back the ability to BE their own people and plenty of them will actually do it, I'm sure of it! It'll change everything the Far Shore's built on!

[veiledflame]

Oh, so, it's more like, "if I change the one thing I don't like it'll magically make the whole place better."

Like you can even change that in the first place. You're a ghost, get over it.

[He rolls his eyes dramatically at her, again, and turns as if to go.]

Never mind, you're not interesting after all.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

So the truth comes out. [She's not above snapping at his back.] You've got your own beef with something about the system, but not everything, especially not the pointless little ghosts.

The difference between you and me is that I'm trying to break the foundation so something new gets rebuilt, and you're burning it down and planning to salt the earth! Because what you really want is for people to hurt.

[veiledflame]

[Sotero waves over his shoulder at her, walking away.]