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

[mithrarin]

Can you keep that up? [He knows magic often comes with a limit to how much the caster can do without rest. Not universally, though, and here and now he could even understand someone pushing themselves farther than they ordinarily should.]

[brokenlight]

Just for a little while longer.

[He's been pushing this for a while already and he can feel himself beginning to hit that limit.]

[mithrarin]

Then we'll hit what we can, as long as you can.

[If only he'd gotten here sooner, but... All he can do is what he can do.]

Just don't push yourself past what's safe.

[brokenlight]

I'll be careful.

[Man, he wishes he has a bigger magic reserve like Aqua does.]

You ready?

[mithrarin]

Made ready. [Dust smiles rather darkly, turning to look at the lava ahead of them. He brings his blade up slightly, back behind him as he drops into a slight crouch.]

[brokenlight]

[With that, Ventus casts another Blizzaga spell towards Dust.]

[mithrarin]

[In short bursts like this, maintaining the Dust Storm is the easiest thing in the world. The sword blurs into a vortex once again, just long enough to boost the ice spell into another storm of wind and pounding cool, then comes to a rest in his hand once more.]

Nice!

[brokenlight]

[Ventus has to pause for a moment, feeling a slight dizziness come in that usually comes with casting magic continuously.

Shaking his head, he looks back at Dust.]

How much longer do you think we can hold this off?

[mithrarin]

All we have to do is cool enough lava on this side that we make a channel away. I think we're doing good on that now -- it's flowing to the side back behind what we've cooled. [He points his sword, tracing the curving line of brighter lava.]

[brokenlight]

[Following the path, he nods.]

So just a little bit more would be good, do you think?

[mithrarin]

Yeah. [He sure hopes so. Even with their combined powers, they're only two people; being able to do this much is nothing short of amazing.] More to the right this time and that should keep it flowing that direction till it hits something else to make it turn.

[brokenlight]

Got it.

[He readies his Keyblade and then casts Blizzaga again, aiming to the right.]

[mithrarin]

['Aiming' isn't the easiest thing with the Dust Storm, considering the scope of its amplification, so Dust moves as best he can to put the ensuing storm further along the path. With enough success to make a difference, the ice howling down to cool the lava from dull red to smoky black.]

[brokenlight]

[After the spell, Ventus bends forward a bit, placing his hands on his knees as he pants a bit.

Honestly, he does wish he's used to using as much magic as Aqua does. At least he wouldn't be as worn out as he is now.]

[mithrarin]

That -- takes a lot out of you, huh? [Dust isn't precisely looking over his shoulder at Ventus, but the boy's in his sphere of awareness, let's say.]

[brokenlight]

My magic reserves isn't...the best.

[Let's just put it at that.]

[mithrarin]

Better than mine. [The Dust Storm isn't magic, after all, just his own ability. Of course, if one considered Borderlines magic, as he's been told he should, that isn't technically true...] Is that something you can improve with practice?

[brokenlight]

It is, but I've also been...incapacitated for a long time so my body isn't used to casting magic again.

[He needs to fix that.]

[mithrarin]

[Incapacitated? Here? Was he asleep for a few days, as tended to happen to people? Or something else?]

Seems like something you should work on training... however you do that with magic.