January Event: Setting Fire to the Sky

[lifeaftr_mods]

JANUARY EVENT: SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY

Who: Everyone!
What: The sun dies, and the creatures of the night emerge from the depths
When: January 21st - January 28th
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Character death, possible body horror and violence. Please mark any additional warnings as needed!

So We Can Take the World Back From the Heart-Attacked

The night of the 21st, the sun begins to dim. It dips in the horizon, sinks to nestle itself in the center of Chol like a star falling in slow motion, where it begins to smolder quietly - massive, smoking, and hot, like a massive egg. The night grows colder, the sky reduced to an inky black. The surface of the surrounding water is still but for the occasional ripple, the odd, strangely subdued wave, with not even the hollow lights of distant stars to glint off its reflective waves.

The Jormun gather around the sunken, dying sun with their scaled hands on their weapons, their expressions grim. They fan out across the island of Chol with arms in hand. Their fortifications have settled around the island's center in a dense ball of bristling weapons. They have been preparing for this. They are ready to fight.

Are you? No island is safe. From the well-trodden mainland of Ensō and its islets to the stark dichotomy of Monsun to the craggy shores of Chol, all manner of strange things have begun to haul themselves, dripping, from the watery dark.

No more preparation. No more running.

From here on out, it is fight or die.

One Maniac At a Time, We Will Take It Back

As the Storyteller has promised, there is sanctuary in their temple on Ensō, which will keep out the worst of the creatures. It will not, however, protect characters from the cold and dark, and so they will have to keep themselves warm some other way.

The Jormun fight fiercely, but they do not fight alone. Aside from the help that the willing of your number have offered, you may glimpse the Storyteller battling alongside the rest in a flurry of strange, shifting animal shapes: a heavy-antlered reindeer, a shrieking owl with outstretched talons, a slavering grizzly bear with the Storyteller's signature tome strapped across a broad, furry back, to name but a few. Those creatures that the Storyteller defeats will burst into a flurry of paper and dark, spattering ink, rather than being felled in the conventional manner. How odd.

As this is an event with a high risk of death, the Storyteller will impose death penalties for one week only. However, deaths succumbed during the event will count towards the character's total.

Then I'll Raise You Like a Phoenix

Come the sunrise on the 28th, the sun will launch itself into the air with a victorious shriek, its wings trailing plumes of fire behind it. The phoenix takes flight, reborn from the ashes. The shores of Chol are littered with corpses, both shadowy and scaled, along with an even smattering of crumpled paper and splotched inkstains. Despite the triumph of the fight, it did not come without its costs. The Jormun gather their dead and prepare to mourn them quietly. Those who perished in the fight will not see the sunrise from this unique perspective, watching the murk of the night tint to soft, milky yellow and pink, and then to a glorious new day.

Munin will greet the survivors with a mixture of solemnity and relief, thanking them profusely for their help. There is not much more that her people can offer you, at this point - they must grieve their dead, and she must return to the sea to prove that she has cemented her worth as a leader in the eyes of the other Jormun - but that does not mean that your stories will part forever.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] January 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs as usual
[ ♆ ] January 21st: The dark arrives, the temperature drops further, and the first hostile creatures begin their assault
[ ♆ ] January 28th: The dark ends and the sun rises
[ ♆ ] January 30th: Those who perished are revived, suffering from a reduced death penalty

Event Specifics

[ ♆ ] If you have any questions, feel free to look over our OOC Info Post.
[ ♆ ] Feel free to make your own logs if necessary!
[ ♆ ] If your character perishes in this event, please let us know!
[ ♆ ] Item trades with the Jormun can be found on the OOC plotting post here! Even if you were only recently accepted, you are free to participate!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[scourgingstars]

...well, at any rate, no point in staying out here. [He lightly brushed the back of his hand against Ignis' face, barely bothering to keep up the pretense of checking for further injury. He seemed more or less unconscious, after all; Ardyn was just continuing his constant talking to fill the silence.] It's likely absolutely frigid, not that I would know.

[He sighed, trying to brush off the fact that he was aching terribly himself before carefully pulling one of Ignis' arms over his shoulders and standing. Asch still had his coat, and Ardyn seemed much thinner without it. Still just as tall, which brought on the halfhearted joking remark of:]

...gods, I'd forgotten how short you were.

[shatteredlenses]

[Excuse you! He's six feet tall. Not everyone is a giant beanstalk, you know!

It's something Ignis might have said, a lot more elegantly of course, could he talk, but instead, all that comes out is a soft huff more likely caused by his change of position than anything else. Still, moving back to camp isn't a bad idea. The last thing they need is more creatures appearing to take advantage of them when neither is really in any shape to fight back.

Last time Ardyn saved him, he ended up dying for it. Ignis would really rather not see that part of things repeat itself.]

[scourgingstars]

This would be much less troublesome if Philomela were here... [He muttered that half-under his breath, staggering slightly before starting back towards camp.] But we're a bit out of luck on that front, and Hresvelgr's too small to carry anyone.

[A sigh.]

...I'm going to be quite annoyed if this kills you, I hope you realize that. Stand up to the Lucii, killed by a giant tick? I feel like I would need to be insulted on principle alone.

[shatteredlenses]

[For the first time, Ardyn's words draw something that can only be called an actual reaction from Ignis. It's not a conscious one, but unconscious one. As soon as he hears mention of the Ring and the Lucii, Ignis' body jerks hard enough that he almost pulls free of Ardyn's grasp, the hand against the Healer's shoulder tensing for a moment before it falls lax again.

Now that he remembers what happened in Altissia, he has no idea how he ever forgot. It's ingrained deeply in every part of himself. Burned into his soul and his bones for eternity.]

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn actually stumbled before regaining his balance, caught off guard by the sudden motion as well as his own still-healing injuries. He...was unconscious, wasn't he?]

Please don't make me drop you, I really hate treating concussions.

[And having no idea how to respond, he just said the first sarcastic remark that came to mind.]

...I do mean it, however. Don't do something so idiotic as dying on me.

[shatteredlenses]

[As Ardyn steadies them after the sudden motion, Ignis' head comes to rest on his shoulder and rolls slightly so his right eye can just be seen under the messy bangs that fall into his face. With almost unnerving accuracy, that clouded eye focuses on him, shifting Ignis' lax expression toward something that reads more along the lines of 'as if.'

Is he unconscious Ardyn or only unable to respond?]

[scourgingstars]

...hm. Stupid concern to have, perhaps.

[Ardyn sighed, cautiously laying Ignis by the warmth of the campfire and whistling to call over his adolescent chocobo. She shuffled over to preen at Ignis' hair before curling up at his side with a soft kweh, head on his shoulder. Her owner dropped o sit down beside him, pained and exhausted.]

I can linger here until these injuries heal themselves, but I'll have to return to guarding this place as soon as I can. Hresvelgr knows to call for me if anything should happen, and I'll not go so far that I can't hear her.

[shatteredlenses]

[By accident, or perhaps by some small bit of unconscious design, once they are all settled, Ignis' head falls against Ardyn's shoulder again. He sighs softly, eye falling closed, almost as if he feels safe enough to rest finally.

If Ardyn is watching closely enough, he might even see the very corner of Ignis' mouth twitch upward when Hresvelgr makes another attempt to preen his hair.

Well, it's good Ardyn's been able to teach her something other than how to steal sunglasses, but he is in no hurry to have his current pillow go anywhere.

Just stay put and be a good pillow for a while, won't you Ardyn?]

[scourgingstars]

Ordinarily I'd offer my coat, but Asch decided to borrow it for the time being.

[Ardyn laughed under his breath, hesitantly bringing an arm around Ignis' shoulders; it was cold, after all. And while he didn't exactly have much in the way of a core body temperature to guard against that, at least it was something.]

...I do hope Prompto doesn't shoot me when he sees this. That tends to sting a little.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis' lips twitch downward into a small frown. He doesn't remember Prompto having ever had the opportunity to shoot Ardyn, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. At least, back home.

Probably after his time. So much is.

His head shifts slightly in what a creative person might realize is a negative answer. Here and now Prompto won't shoot Ardyn, not with their best sides pulled to the fore. Besides, there's a chocobo nearby. It's far too risky.]