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!

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( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis returns the slight bump to his shoulder, before shaking his head.]

As am I.

[A soft, sad laugh slips from his mouth.]

I did something extremely reckless in an attempt to protect Noctis. I don't regret it, but you know what they say about hindsight. I...don't know that I ever told them what happened either from what I've heard from the others. For better...or worse.

[And he sounds very uncertain about which of those things it is.]

Once the sun returns, I will need to have a very long discussion with Ardyn.

[bloodyashes]

...If you need to talk, I'm the last person who can judge you for any reckless things you've done.

[Ignis has seen... most of his reckless moments, now, thanks to that Storytelling. The kinds of bad decisions Asch is only really immune to here on Monsun, where the desert reduces his recklessness and brings out something more deliberate.]

[shatteredlenses]

I'm sure I do need to talk about it, but I have this irrational fear that if I speak of it to anyone aside from Ardyn--even in confidence--that Noctis will find out. He blames himself already, Asch. I can't stand the thought of him blaming himself more.

[It's a clear sign of how much he trusts Asch that he's telling him this much, let alone about such a foolish fear, but they've talked of unreasonable fears before. He knows Asch will understand.]

[bloodyashes]

[Yeah, he does get it. Perhaps not that specific anxiety, but...]

I don't tell other people's secrets if I can help it. He won't hear a word from me.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis nods, looking a little guilty.]

I know. It's why I say the fear is irrational. Perhaps once this is all done with we can talk? We have enough weights on our shoulders right now. There is no need to add more.

[Besides, it will give him more time to try and sort things out himself.]

[bloodyashes]

Yeah, maybe.

[He pauses, as though considering... And then goes ahead and says it.]

But I have something of a bad track record for 'we'll talk about it when it's over.' I know that death doesn't stay here, but that doesn't make it any different for the feeling of 'we might not make it through, so say it now if you're going to say it.'

[shatteredlenses]

[With Altissia so fresh on his mind, Asch's words almost cause Ignis to flinch. They had come so close to losing everything there, and yet the idea of something similar happening here hadn't really crossed Ignis' mind. Surely, it couldn't happen again. Not so soon. No, death doesn't stick here, but there are more ways to lose than through death alone.

Ignis takes a deep breath, swallowing hard.]

There is a powerful ring that has been passed through Noctis' family for generations. Only those who bear his family's blood can borrow its power without dire consequences.

[The judgment. The scorn. How dare you?]

Ardyn pushed me into a corner where I had no choice but to don the ring to save Noctis' life despite knowing it would likely cost me my life.

[Fire. Burning. Fear. Failure.]

Instead, the cost was my vision, burned from within me by a power I was never meant to wield. Noct must never know this.