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

NPC REQUEST

[godsoffortune]

Comment here if you want to talk to the mysterious figure! Please include a link to the thread where you want the NPC to comment.

NPC FIGHT

[godsoffortune]

Comment here if you want your character to fight the mysterious figure!

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Falling Rock Zone

[A river of lava wends its way down the mountain, crawling towards the Western district in an indifferent promise of finality. Staring it down is one catgirl Driver, twin rings glowing blue in her hands, and the animal-form Blade by her side. Crouched in a combat-ready stance, Nia swings her rings slowly back and forth in front of her like she's about to charge in and slash the lava into complacence.]

Here it comes. [She glances sidelong and back at her Blade, who glares at the lava in turn, head low and back arched like a predatory beast.] You ready?

[The creature nods, and a conduit of power leaps from it to Nia. A glow shimmers around her form as the lava crashes down the hill. With a yell that's all vowels and determination, Nia swings her twin weapons in an arc, sending a torrent of water smashing out into the lava's leftmost side. It does little, but she slashes again and again in measured paces, careful not to exceed her Blade's ability to channel aether to her.]

[The side of the lava slowly loses its incadescent glow as it comes forward -- but she could doubtless do with some help.]

Broken Backbone

[How long has she been dueling this lava?]

[Though the path of the flow in front of her curves away, the awesome heat radiated from the molten rock has seared the vegetation to nothing but black ash and char. The air is baking-hot, and only her Blade's power keeps convection from grinding Nia into the ground. Still, she stands in stubborn defiance, sending out another bolt of water into the channel walls to keep it cooled and strong.]

[Without warning, the flow down the mountain increases. Upstream, a large chunk of rock broke free from the channel wall -- and now it slams into the side just ahead of Nia, cracking it enough that the weight of the lava pushes a hole into the channel. Swearing, Nia brings her ringblades forward...]

[And the glow around gutters out.]

Damn it! [Nia jerks her head up, looking around with the dawning realization of just how the aether has shifted around here. The environment's gotten so hot and dry she can't channel aether into water any more!]

[The heat hammers down on Nia like a fist from the gods, and she drops to her knees, one hand on her chest as she struggles to breath the superheated air. Does she even need to bring it? Doesn't matter, it's inside her, burning hot. And in front of her the lava spills out of its channel, flowing towards her.]

Oh, shite...

I Wanna Scream Into Your Cell Phone

[Up the slopes of the volcano tromps Nia, her Blade close behind. A fire burns in her eyes, her form nearly shivering with the ferocity of the emotions roiling through her body, white-hot and intense.]

[This is Nia, so the topmost one is anger. No sooner does she spot someone else surmounting the slope than she points at them.]

Oi! The hell are you doing here?!

[Nia, they're doing exactly what you are. But she isn't thinking rationally right now.]

Just A Traitor, Eleventh-Grader

[And there she is, at the top. Maybe, at last... she'll have a chance to find someone and get some answers...]

Re: NPC REQUEST

[sassywelshcatgirl]

Nia would like to chat with the figure, please!

[brokenlight]

[A. Falling Rock]

[Well, that's definitely a thing.

Ventus has grown alarmed the moment he felt intense heat, the scent of smoke strong in the air. He's only grown more alarmed when a rock does end up crashing through the roof right above his head, prompting him to move out of the way quickly before it can land on him. With how everything's been going, he gets the idea it's going to take a lot to be able to defend his temple from the eruption, as well as helping others out.

It really isn't of any surprise when his first instinct is to move, to find his shinki and make sure they're okay.

His Keyblade appearing in his hand, he casts a series of Blizzaga to create a path of sorts to ward the lava away from the temple, though there really isn't anything he can do about the rocks that still comes storming down.

Ventus winces as he barely avoids another rock, feeling his arm a little banged up from where it had managed to graze him.]

[B. Swamp Gas]

(i. Hallucinations)

[All things considered, climbing up the volcano might not be the best idea. Then again, Ventus can't say he's had the best idea for a long time now.

He climbs the volcano up warily, coughing whenever he gets too close to a vent. While he's not sure what those vents are, everything tells him he isn't good. He tries to ignore them, pressing upwards, until he begins to hear it.

That deep chuckle that sends shudders down his spine.

Eyes wide, he turns around.]

Who's there?!

[Another deep chuckle, closer this time and Ventus can feel his throat closing up when he recognizes who's standing in front of him.

"Hello, Ventus."

Ventus shakes his head in disbelief.]

No. You--You're not real!

(ii. Don't breathe in the gas!)

[Some time after his own mishap with the gases, Ventus can feel his breathing becoming labored.

However, he pushes on and is immediately worried whenever he sees anyone close by.]

Don't breathe in the gas!

[C. Mountain Climbing]

[It really isn't of any surprise that Ventus has chosen to climb up the volcano.

How could he not? He's also brought his shinki with him, but there are times when he might have gotten separated from them. Either way, he's making that climb and since he's a god with his shinki in tow, none of Amaterasu's shinki accompanies them.

On the other hand, his eyes do catch a glimpse of that red-eyed man and he's chasing after him.]

Wait!

[mithrarin]

Mountain Climbing

[Dust doesn't quite remember his history with volcanoes. And perhaps more importantly, he's no vulcanologist anyway. He thinks he understands the hazards -- the shivering ground, the lava flows, the noxious gases. What he is about to learn is that another one exists: lava tubes.]

[In one spot that looks safe, free of debris and rubble and hazards, Dust breaks into a sprint to clear this little island of flat, harmless safety and gain some time. No sooner does he reach the center than his descending foot shatter the thin layer of stone beneath it, whirling cracks all around in a spiderweb pattern that collapses, faster than thought, into an incandescent stream of magma far below.]

[Right as he begins to plummet, Dust leaps, an improbable fling forward that has no support beneath it, grace of being the Sen-Mithrarin. His outstretched hand snags a rough outcropping on the side of the lava tube, and his body slams into the side from the momentum, jolting him but not dislodging him.]

[Teeth gritted, Dust hangs above the river of lava oozing sluggishly below, the heat making his cloak ripple in the rising air. Great. Now what?]

Swamp Gas

[As noxious gas spews through the air, Dust ducks behind his cloak, motioning for his companion to cover their mouth in turn. With his free hand, Dust whirls his katana out of its sheath and up into the air, where it blurs into a whirling vortex centered on his palm. The sheer power of the Dust Storm sucks the gas through the blade's circle and blasts it out the other side behind the two of them, and satisfied, Dust lets his cloak fall.]

This volcano is no delight.
And at the end, will we find a fight?

[Rather than close on the last word, Dust's jaw slowly drops further. What the hell was that?!]

[letteropener]

All Systems Go

[Like the Princess she is, Celestia rises to the occasion.]

[A river of lava tumbles down a cliff, spattering and splattering as it smashes into the rock at the bottom. Above, a pony readies a spell, then brings down a bolt of raw magical force like a hammer into the ground just beyond. Again and again she cuts into the ground, carving a channel to send the lava flowing sideways, perpendicular to the temples and the city beyond.]

[Without hesitation, she lifts her head from her spellwork, and then inhales deeply -- and for the first time in the Far Shore, the awesome force of the Royal Canterlot Voice roars out through the air.]

WHERE ELSE IS OUR HELP REQUIRED? IF THOU ART IN NEED, SPEAK!

The Sun Hasn't Died

[Celestia has not gone to the volcano, not yet; her first priority is to protect the Far Shore and the temples threatened by its eruption. After a morning of hard and frantic work, anyone would expect her to be a little tired and out of sorts as she continues to do what she can against the onslaught...]

[But a little more than simple weariness has gone into her current state. Facing down yet another river of lava, the pony lowers her head, her mouth curled into a sneering grimace. She paws angrily at the ash-coated ground, snorting hard enough to make dirt billow away from her head, then puts a bolt of spellwork directly into the lava field.]

You! Stupid! Volcano! Stop it! STOP IT! I am TIRED of your STUPID ERUPTION!

[Every pause in her words heralds another blast, forcing the lava aside with raw brute force; a far cry from her earlier elegant, effective solutions. Somepony has lost her temper in a big way.]

Deep In My Bones

[This hadn't gone as planned.]

[Legs locked beneath her, Celestia puts all of her strength into pushing back against the heavy boulder that had rolled down into her, threatening to roll over her and crush her or at least pin her if her strength or her leverage slips in the slightest. A mere couple of feet ahead of her, fourteen feet of lava strains against the wall of magical force pouring out of her horn as it blazes like a second sun with the force of the magic she's putting into it, two forces of nature deadlocked... for the moment.]

[Her anger hasn't faded yet. But now it is a desperate and helpless anger, the frustrated tears rolling down her cheeks drying before they can reach her jaw. If her muscles or her mind slip, the boulder or the lava will claim her. She can't take off, she can't release her spell long enough to teleport.]

Help! [This is all she can do, and it galls her bitterly even as she lifts her voice as high as it can go to try to carry it over the rumble of earthquakes and the roar of lava.] Anypony, please, help!

Straight From Inside

[A pony lies on the street in the Western District, looking much the worse for wear. Seared feathers and fur paint black streaks and patches across her pale coat where the heat has shriveled them, and blisters show where the skin is visible in places. She'd lost control, and she'd paid the price.]

[Light still glitters in her eyes, but it is pained light indeed, as she takes slow, shallow breaths to try to keep the pain under control. At some point she needs to -- get home somehow, doesn't she? Get home and collapse in her temple, and spend some time healing...]

[Celestia lifts her head slowly, then shifts her legs to try to get them beneath her. The sudden shudder that passes through her and the short gasp she bites down on tell her this won't be an easy task.]

[monkeyblue]

Falling Rock

[Ignoring the earthquake bullshit for the most part, the first time Fushimi realizes something is, in fact, very wrong is when he's out in the southern part of the Central district with Sicily. The horse was, naturally, spooked by the quake and getting him away from the crows and the temple for a bit usually helps him.

Also he's fond of the damn horse. Shut up.

Either way, Fushimi realizes something is up when he goes to wipe his glasses clean only to realize that there's ash on his shirt.

He looks back up in time to see the volcano explode.]

...dammit. [He clicks his tongue and starts to lead Sicily back.] Come on. Someone better go tell Izumo.

Swamp Gas

[So.

Fushimi knows something is Off. He knows it. He just doesn't know what or why or how to fix it. Everything feels off, feels too much, feels bad. And he hates that his vocabulary has been reduced to "bad", but his head is swimming and he keeps seeing someone out of the corner of his eye who vanishes before he can get a good look at them.

But he knows someone's there. He can hear them. They're laughing, cold and cruel. They're mocking him.

The laugh comes again and this time Fushimi flings out three of his daggers as he turns, determined to pin the person down.]

[badassfreakingoverlord]

Complaint Department, Please

[Those emerging from their temples to find out what the heck is going on might, in their travels, hear or see the Overlord's army -- ten minions marching in formation, weapons out save for the one in front who holds the glaring book in her arms.]

[And Zetta notices them. Anyone he spots gets addressed with a glare and a sharp tone.] Hey! Fall in! We're going to go teach that damn volcano a lesson!

[Well, at least he's being proactive about this?]

A Hazzardous Task

[About halfway up the volcano's slopes, a twenty-five-foot-wide chasm splits the ground, jagged edges tapering down to a molten river at the bottom, some forty or fifty feet below. This chasm, this... Doom Crack, as it were, blocks a path up the volcano that until this point had been clean and neat, certainly passable. But only a fool would try to surmount that -- okay, you know where this is going, right?]

[An engine roars, and then a battered pickup truck crashes over the edge of the chasm, in a mighty leap. Tires spinning and smoke billowing out of its exhaust pipe, it sails through the air, then stops halfway through.]

[In the cab, Zetta glances left and right as his minions in the seats, who can only look back and shrug.]

The hell is--

[A booming voice billowed from the sky, cutting Zetta off and making the minions jump.] Well them demon boys done got themselves in a heap of trouble now. Looks like they're at it again!

...Seriously, what the --

[The pickup lurches forward abruptly, slamming down on the far side of the chasm and dropping several parts that would mysteriously be back on the pickup the next time anyone looked at the outside of it. Zetta, after a moment to consider, just snarls.] Keep driving! We've got to get to the top!

Yata | OTA

[thevanguard]

A. Rude Awakening
[ Late sleepers is right, because Yata is still completely dead to the world, sprawled in his bed, an orange cat half-splayed over his face. And then the earthquake hits, sending most things in his room rattling and his cat yowling in alarm right in his face. There is a lot of flailing and yelling before Yata tumbles face-first out of bed to faceplant on the floor. Confused and annoyed, it takes him a moment to realize that something is really Not Right and he scrambles to his feet, tripping over his skateboard in his haste to get out the front door.

And then he just stands there in front of Izumo's temple, still in a tank top and shorts, bed-hair sticking up in ever direction, and gapes at the appearance of a volcano in the distance. ]

What the fuck is this shit?!

[ ....Maybe Mikoto woke up underground this time...? ]

B. Something Smells Funny
[ Of course Yata is one of the first ones to head towards the Western District to help, if only because he's completely used to working in and around fire. Even if this is.... considerably different. He helps where he can, but that also means he's at ground zero when fissures start opening up and releasing strange-smelling fumes into the air surrounding him.

He wheezes, bending over double, his eyes watering intensely for a moment as his head swims...

Hey. Now he feels kinda... weird?? ]

[onehandsomeslickninja]

District Defense

[Rudely awakened by the earthquake, Edge has wasted no time in getting into the fray. Scrambling towards the volcano at top speed, he has to pause when he reaches the edge of the western district, and the encroaching doom that creeps towards it. And that's bad.]

[With a scowl mostly hidden beneath his mask, Edge weighs his options. He doesn't have enough strength by any measure to deal with his problem alone. But he can at least do what he can, and hope that it's enough when others toss in their own contribution.]

[He lifts his hands and makes several quick, flickering finger motions -- then thrusts both hands forward at the distant lava. Conjured by his ninjutsu, a curling wave of water leaps up, rolling forward to smash into the lava. Steam explodes outwards, far enough away that it can't do him much harm, but when the clouds fade the lava continues forward, barely abated.]

Damn it. I need some help here!

Go With The Flow

[This hot, sulfurous cut in the volcano's side is a relatively smooth and straightforward way upwards, likely carved by a previous eruption ago which sent lava spilling down it, melting away debris and obstructions and then cooling relatively flat. A really nice place to climb, right?]

[Well, here's Edge charging down it, waving his hands frantically.] Run! Run! I stopped a lava flow with a borderline but it's coming now!

Rude Awakening

[monkeyblue]

[Fushimi, meanwhile, is coming back with Sicily. Somewhere in the temple Fuku is furiously grooming Toshi as she tries to calm her cat-friend down.

Fushimi is very tempted to do the same to Misaki, seeing that hair.]

Tch.

[thevanguard]

[ Hearing the familiar sound, Yata spins around to see Saru approaching with his horse and then abruptly pointing to the huge plumes of smoke in the distance. ]

Are you seeing this?!

[monkeyblue]

[Seemingly in response, Sicily shakes his head and sends ash flying everywhere.]

Yes.

[thevanguard]

There's a volcano. [ Yata's arms are waving for emphasis. ] Right there! What the hell?!

[monkeyblue]

It's in the Western district.

[Fushimi starts to lead Sicily over to his stable, expecting Misaki to follow.]

It's probably related to the earthquake earlier. I need to rub Sicily down but then we're waking up Izumo and Judar.

Swamp Gas

[thevanguard]

[ It's not a laugh but a yelp as Yata quickly dodges the daggers flung in his direction, falling back on an unconscious skillset that feels as natural as breathing to him. Like he's used to Saru throwing daggers at him or something. Weird...

But once he narrowly escapes the sharp and pointy projectiles, he gives his boyfriend an incredulous look. ]

Saru?! What the hell was that for?!

[monkeyblue]

[I mean, he does throw things at Misaki somewhat regularly as it is, so...]

They weren't meant for you. Where are they?

[thevanguard]

You actually think they're still sleeping through all this?

[ He follows without thought, because of course he does. ]

What are we supposed to do about a volcano? I can make fire, not stop it! I am going to be zero amounts of help here!

[thevanguard]

[ Yata just looks confused, glancing around him. ]

'They'? ...Your daggers? They're right where you threw them, Saru! Well, not in me, since that sure as hell looked like where you were throwing them!

[galrarm]

rock and roll

[ Shiro is up early, early enough that he's just done with his morning workout when the earthquake rattles the windows of the temple. Immediately, he books it to Keith's, then Pyrrha's rooms to make sure they're alright. ]

Are you alright? [ he asks, when each of them opens their door. ]

boulder hazard

[ Luckily, Shiro's temple is spared from the disaster. And luckily for those who need a temporary place to stay, he's here to offer that. There's a spread of food in the lounge area, and Shiro has blankets and pillows galore. ]

Here. Help yourself.

you cannot hurt me anymore. possible cw: hallucinations, potential violence, experimentation. include which side-effect in header.

[ Shiro, naturally, goes where he is needed. And where he thinks he is most needed is closer to the volcano. No one warned him about the effects of the gases, and he has no idea of them until it's too late.

At first, he's just hit with confusion--he looks around him like he's not sure where he is, because really, he doesn't. And Shiro does not like his head being messed with. With the confusion comes anger and irritability. Shiro's usually so calm and levelheaded, it's probably a surprise to anyone who knows him.

From there.... it only gets worse. Shiro's had a bad past, one he's mostly managed to... well, manage. But the hallucinations bring all of the worst things to the forefront of his mind. Shiro's back on the Galra ship, back fighting as a gladiator, back on Earth strapped to a table--

Back to facing a yellow-eyed, bloodthirsty version of himself. You're the Champion, the other Shiro says, terrible and growling, so why don't you act more like it? ]

No! That's not who I am!

[ And his hand glows purple as he launches forward... toward you? ]

wildcard

[ Drop a top level here or contact me at sweetstacks for a starter! ]

[monkeyblue]

No, the person who was just there laughing at me!

[Duh.]

[monkeyblue]

[Good angry bird.]

Try and control the lava? Keep any ayakashi that might show up away from Judar while he freezes everything?

[thevanguard]

[ He yelps. ]

Wait. Ayakashi?? You think they're doing this?

[monkeyblue]

Even if they're not, they'll probably jump at the chance to cause trouble.

[Duh.]