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

[sing_for_me]

[ Caster was someone that was easy to distinguish, even with the vents going off. He looked like he was okay, standing, at least. Alex rushes over, but stops at his words.

She'd heard this tone before. Once, back at the moon festival. He had mistaken her for someone else then as well, or at least didn't realize it was her. But he hadn't threatened her like this. Her eyes fall to the staff, then back at his face.

Alex didn't feel scared, confused, yes, and maybe a tiny bit of her felt the need to protect herself from being harmed again, but she also believed that he wouldn't hurt her. Never intentionally, anyway. ]

Cu..? [ Her voice is careful, concerned, and soft. If he still didn't recognize her, she didn't want to set him off. ]

[futhark]

[ That voice.

They've had sent a woman? Ha, if they think he let his guard down around her they're mistaken. The mightiest warrior he knows is a woman and- this voice reminded him of her. But it's impossible, she would never leave her island, she would never land on the ford.

But is he on the ford when there is dust and it's hard to breathe. ]

You? Why are you here..? [ Congratulations he does let his guard down a bit. The hallucination switching, confusion settling in. Mountain of fire, a mountain of ice and a bank of a river all mixing up until he doesn't know where he is - who he is? - anymore. ] Ahh, is that another of your tests, teacher?

[sing_for_me]

[ His expression doesn't change by much, looking at her, yet it was like he didn't see her. ]

Teacher...? I'm..I wanted to check on the others, and the volcano---Cu, are you okay? Are the others alright?

[ She takes a step closer, but carefully. Talks of a river, and how lost he looked. Something wasn't right, and it all felt too familiar. ]

[futhark]

Volcano..? [ Caster looks around, noting that yes they indeed are standing on top of the mountain- smoke, fire. But when he looks back at Alex her image shifts and for a moment she is interchangeable with a certain woman from his past ]

Sure- I'm okay. A mountain trek isn't enough to wear me off. [ The cough he lets out says something else, but alright. He assumes battle stance again ] Any time of a day I can take you on!

[ And he lunges forward, with an excited grin. Surprise attacks on his teacher like that were always a thing, almost everyone got their ass kicked anyway, but if someone did manage to land a blow... A reward could follow.

At least it's not a true killing intent, though ]

[sing_for_me]

[ She's taken aback when he heads right for her, taking another second before jumping out of his way, almost tripping over herself. ]

Cu! What are you--?

[ She turns swiftly to see where he was at, in case he was about to lunge again. ]

[futhark]

[ A dodge, of course, what else to expect. Kick in the face maybe- he was half-ready to defend against a counter-attack but that didn't happen. ]

Just our way of saying "hello", isn't it? [ He turns to her, giving the staff a spin ] Or is it not?

[ It's been a few years, things might have changed-- wait, few years? Since when two thousand are just "few"? He brings his hand to his face as a reality reminds that it doesn't make any sense ]

[sing_for_me]

[ Alex was taking the defensive stance Archer had taught her when Caster suddenly brought his hand to his face. She doesn't move from where she is, still careful, but the concern is apparent in her voice. ]

Cú, what's wrong?

[futhark]

[ It's not that he never heard this kind of concern in her voice. It would be lined with more of stern tone to it, that's for sure though- part of him recognizes it's actually someone else.

Part of him recognizes Alex. ]

I feel- [ He leans on the staff for a moment, but as understanding disappears a spark of suspicion show in the only visible eye- ] Ugh... What- is this sorcery?

[sing_for_me]

[ She quickly goes to him when he starts to look unsteady. ]

Cú!

[ She takes hold of his arm to try and help steady him. ]

Sorcery? What are you talking about?

[ Had someone done something to him? ]

[futhark]

Alex-?[ Yey, he does recognize her! ] Please-- run!

[ He has no idea how long he can keep being lucid. The images overlap. The times overlap. And if his focus wavers it's easy to mistake it for one of the brutal trainings with his teacher ]

It's... shifting...

[sing_for_me]

[ He was back--but she was going to lose him again. ]

No--What's shifting? What's going on, Cu?

[ She wasn't going to leave him. She starts to approach him again, cautiously. Maybe she could get him to calm down with her god power, but she needed to get closer..]

[futhark]

[ Part of him gets that these images, these times overlapping each other are something that's caused by the mountain. Some magic lies here, and he is not resistant to it.

He forces himself to still- ]

Get out of here, as long as I can recognize you, Alex..

[ This is as much a warning as it is a request ]

[sing_for_me]

[ Recognize--So he was hallucinating then. That only set her mind even more. ]

I'm not leaving you, Cú. Come one, lets' get you off this mountain.

[ If that's what was affecting him, then surely getting him far from it would help. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to ditch him just because he said so. She wasn't doing that again. ]

[futhark]

[ Screaming "leave me behind" isn't going to work, huh? Alright, he knows when to give up ]

Lead the way.

[ If the hallucination returns, he hopes the context will be different. He will behave differently- on the other hand what if they both fall victim to it? They need to get out of here quickly ]