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

[futhark]

[ Caster looks around, taking notes of the temples that are might be in the biggest danger. He points at one- made entirely of wood and surrounded by derelict temples that are prone of catching fire. He doesn't even say "there", because he's certain Ain will transfer them there ]

If gods are born from the wishes and belief of humans- doesn't it make humans the ones in charge?

[ What ramification it might have for himself he doesn't even try to think. It was the twilight of the age of gods when he lived, now it's time of man, logic and science. The world itself works differently ]

[abgrund]

Does it?

[ What a good question. Ain doesn't elaborate until they have alighted, his eyes closed in equal parts contemplation and cageyness. ]

What do you think?

[ Perhaps, these are different between worlds too. ]

[futhark]

[ Cageyness doesn't bother Caster. He takes note of it, and wonders if he just touched a sore spot. But it's too late to back off now. ]

Humans always wanted to make sense of things. So maybe it's true, maybe it's that collective wish that made those gods.

[ Gods lose power if people don't follow them. But at the same time most of the gods don't truly understand humans because- ]

But most of those gods weren't human in the first place. So it's not really a cooperation. More of an attempt at co-existence with one side being stronger, depending on time of history.

[ Gods had been on a decline ever since their age ended though ]

[abgrund]

[ Is it, though? Are those gods merely humanity's view of what inscrutability should be? They could go down this rabbit hole for ever. ]

It depends on which world. The power balance shifts over time and space. There exists worlds where sentience has never arisen and never will. Do those worlds have gods, too?

[ The answer; he believes, is no. ]

It is very much a chicken and egg question. Who is the true cause of it all, mortals or divinity.

[futhark]

They can have this talk as he works on the wards. It's pretty much on auto-pilot now.

I'd say if the worlds have no sentience there are no gods. Gods, at least in my understanding, are sentient beings.

[ But then in chicken and egg question if the chicken is divine, and thus is the first one, then the eggs can happen, right? ]

So if a god was to somehow end in such desolate place-- suffice to say, a lot of origin myths are about primeval gods creating life.

[ And then said life give birth to more gods thanks to their collective unconsciousness and things get crowded. And back to the question, it is. But it is an interesting theory. ]

[abgrund]

[ There's merit to that. Yet, he can't help but be reminded of the endless darkness that is Henir's realm, where an alien god slumbered for the rest of eternity. If Elia had not come to divide that realm in half, then perhaps Henir would have remained in his impassive state until the end. ]

Then it would also be partly a question of classification. I know of a powerful entity that spends its time in isolation. What then differentiates gods from beings of similar power? It would then be their connection to a mortal realm.

[ Though, since they're talking about creation myths: ]

There is also factoring what this world has decided to be scientific dogma on creation. Last I heard it did not mention magic in its writings.

[futhark]

This world used to be... more malleable. Belief and magic were more prominent. But humanity shifted it. It's mostly science now. [ Mostly because mages still live and the arcane traditions still are cultivated. And with how Heavens look like- there might be even some hope for new age of gods to usher one day. ]

If the belief shapes the reality, then, in the end, it might be scientific, not mystical. [ He finishes the ward and turns around. ] The question you ask is an interesting one. I might need some more time to ponder on it.

[ If there are beings way more powerful of gods, without really- being gods. What stops them from taking this title by force? ]

[abgrund]

[ What indeed? Their own benevolence, or the fact that they just don't care? ]

I imagine the answers for these differ from realm to realm. It will come in due time, and I intend to witness it.

[ Perhaps only he can exist for so long without losing his mind. Only time will tell. ]