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]

I'm going to admit, you've totally lost me. I've got no clue how you Drive something that isn't a Blade. But my vision's clear, at least. I can do that for you.

[Shaking her head, Nia starts to climb in. She gets THAT much at least from having seen them down in the Near Shore.]

Guessing they didn't have these things where I come from.

[reformedsinner]

Cars? Well, maybe not. I can't imagine what you mean by driving a blade, myself, unless it's "driving a blade through a target"...

[He shrugs, and settles into the seat, letting his hands rest on the steering wheel.]

This controls the direction the car travels in; turn it to the right to turn right, to the left to turn left.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Oh no, you've lost me already. [As flat as can be. Come on, that one's easy. She's not Goku, the steering wheel doesn't have to be made of food for her to pay attention to it.] Blades are artificial lifeforms a Driver brings out of their Core Crystal by resonating with it.

[reformedsinner]

You did say you'd never even heard of driving.

[So: the basics are important! Start with the basics. He gestures to the floor under the steering wheel.] Down there you'll find the pedals. To the far right is the gas pedal, the center is the brake, and over on the left is the clutch.

[Lecturing helps. It's not really surprising; the familiar didactic mode is soothing, and it makes it easier for him to remember that the shadows and movement surrounding him is no more than shadow.]

Jeep is a life form himself, but he can transform from this vehicle into his dragon form whenever he likes. I don't control it.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Sounds like Jeep is a little like her, she thinks but sure as hell doesn't say.] Yeah, but left is left and right is right, what the hell else are you going to do?

[She leans to one side to get a look at the pedals, a little frown on her face.] I get wanting him to stop, but why are you clutching him and giving him gas?

[reformedsinner]

The gas pedal makes him accelerate -- it's called that because "gas" is a car's fuel. The clutch is used when you're changing speed...

[If she's never heard of cars, he's going to have to explain transmissions, too, he realizes, and demonstrates, beginning to accelerate before shifting from first to second gear.]

He works best in different gears at different speeds. One is for when you're speeding up from a stop, two is for traveling at lower speeds, and three is for traveling at higher speeds.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Is it good or bad that Nia doesn't remember that in Alrest, people created vehicles by wiring machinery into Titans to steer them? That might make things more understandable... or even more confusing.]

Huh. I'm not sure I get it, but I'll try and follow along. So it's all basically making him go, making him stop, and changing up for speed?

[reformedsinner]

That's right. You'll want to change down as well if you're slowing down.

[He slows as he approaches a turn-- normally he wouldn't, but with his eyesight less than trustworthy, he's cautious. He glances at Nia.]

-- The road turns to the left here, doesn't it?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Yeah, take it nice and slow, I'll help you out. [She sticks a hand out to grab onto the wheel, the better to help guide him through it.] So he doesn't do anything to help out like this?

[reformedsinner]

Thank you. [He may have flinched defensively when she reached for the wheel, but he's letting her grab it anyway; he can do this. He can be perfectly reasonable.

To make sure that she doesn't accidentally turn them too sharply, he's easing up on the gas.]

He can, but he's limited in how much he can see, and if he and I react differently it might cause a wreck.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Oh, I get it.

[Poor guy! Nia isn't good at sympathy or anything or she'd offer some. Instead, she focuses on making the turn careful and gentle, as much as she can when she's not familiar with just how much a wheel needs to turn.]

Here we go, aaaand... got it.

[reformedsinner]

Ah-- thank you.

[She's taking it very carefully; Hakkai glances over at her, blinking as her face goes indistinct and sharp-fanged. Well, it seems he can't trust his eyes to read her expression, either.

That's really a shame.]

I think I'll try heading a little way away from the mountain to see if that clears my head.

[If it weren't that he feels so unfocused, he'd have tried to teleport. But as it is...

As it is, that sounds like an excellent way to find out how it feels to be inside a wall.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Yeah, good idea. Who knows how much stuff's in the air right now... You know, we could try a little spray of water and see if that cleans you up at all. At least you're probably dry.

[Who wouldn't be, in these circumstances?]

[reformedsinner]

To drink, you mean? Or do I have too much ash on my face?

[He throws her a wearily amused glance.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Maybe to clear out your eyes. [Nia growls this impatiently, before biting in her temper.] How should I know what's got you seeing things?

[reformedsinner]

Oh, well... it's nothing in my eyes, I'm afraid.

[No, whatever it is is definitely affecting his brain. Although, considering the possibilities of magic, it's also not impossible that it's affecting his brain because there's something in his eyes-- for a moment, Hakkai considers this unpleasant possibility, and sighs.]

Or if it is, it's bound to get in them again if I stick around here.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Could try some healing? Don't know if it counts as actually harming you, but... [She's got what she's got, you know? If all you've got is a hammer, treat a problem like a nail.]

[reformedsinner]

... Honestly, I don't know either. My healing powers don't work very well on my own injuries, although they can speed up recovery time.

[She'd mentioned she had a few, though... Hakkai guides Jeep, carefully, around another curve. All right, he's managing.]

Would you be willing to try?

[sassywelshcatgirl]

I offered, didn't I? [Nia twists, then plants one foot on the seat so she can sort of stand and get her ringblades out. Her Blade perks up slightly, leaning forward to channel ether to her.]

Healing Halo!

[A twist and a lift of her blades sends healing energy surging over the pair of them, swift and powerful. Actually, she feels a lot better after that herself, mostly because it patched up a lot of bruises and minor burns she'd endured over the day.]

[reformedsinner]

[He feels... oddly refreshed, in fact. He's accumulated a set of unpleasant bruises and scratches himself, and a few burns from getting dangerously close to lava flows he was helping others divert, and the pain is abruptly, surprisingly gone.]

My. That is effective.

[As a healer, he feels a little bit inferior. He looks away from her, scanning the area; it's still smoky and indistinct, with movement among the trees, and as he looks back at her the image of a strange, scowling, youkai-eared face still wavers. He smiles wryly.]

I don't think it's done much for the hallucinations, though....

A little distance should help me clear my head.

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[Didn't do the job it had to, so it doesn't count as effective to her. Means the compliment makes her huff and look sour, glancing back ahead of them.] Damn. Guess there's no shortcut. But hey, you said you were good with medicine, right?

[reformedsinner]

Yes. I may have to check and see if I can find a recipe for something to deal with this tonight.

[If only he'd made up a medicine against hallucinations in advance-- but, well, no helping it.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

[There's a place where he's better than her by far. Nia nods, letting a little of her irritation relax.] Sounds like a good idea for the future, too. Might be a host of different things to prepare for, at that. Confusion and dizziness, maybe even losing a sense.

[reformedsinner]

Yes, I agree-- [Hakkai nods in perfect agreement to 'confusion and dizziness,' but frowns at her last suggestion.]

Have you heard of that happening to anyone?

[Is he going to go blind-- no, probably not, his vision is no worse than usual; it's just the fact that he's seeing things.]

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Nah, but it's the sort of thing you'd expect would happen if your brain gets all foggy, isn't it? Seeing things is just one possibility. Maybe it only affects gods, or -- hell if I know. [If your eyesight gets messed up or blurred, why couldn't it get blocked entirely? And hearing, well -- if her ears didn't have that fuzz protecting them, who knows what'd get in them to mess them up?]