January Aftermath: What Would It Take

[lifeaftr_mods]

JANUARY AFTERMATH: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE

Who: Everyone!
What: The sun is reborn; time to recover
When: January 28th and beyond
Where: Everywhere! Ensō, Monsun, Chol, and the Islets
Warnings: Please mark any additional warnings as needed!

Quiet Like The Snow


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. Though not all the shadowy beings have gone from the world, the reappearance of the sun is enough to make them slink off into the shadows- a fight for another day...or another evening.

Now, it's time for the hardest part. Now, it’s time to clean up.

Chol

The grounds of Chol have reshaped seemingly overnight- as the morning light filters down across the land, characters will find most of the land has been blackened and charred, with many fires still raging inland. The Jormun will assist anyone who hasn’t yet to the western coast of the island; where not nearly as much of the phoenix’s impact has been felt, and a safe corridor of passage to the mana pool resides.

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.

Ensō and Monsun

Ensō too, has seen its far share of battle. The full scale of just how much the Storyteller had kept at bay around the temple is revealed through the copious piles of shadowed corpses, several wane Jormun already at work on removing them. They assure anyone who seeks to assist that below the ocean, there is effective manners of disposal; such as large, active volcanoes to demolish the flesh before any untoward magics can give them new life.

Heat will slowly begin to return to the island, with slow coming to a halt and ice beginning to thaw. Whilst rugging up is still a requirement, characters will be capable of making their way back to the mostly unscathed islets to rebuild their own lives, or wherever else they may call home.

A notable change to Ensō, however, is as easy to find as looking up. Literally. Several floating land masses can now be seen high above the island itself- too far for anything distinguishable to be made out and too far for those capable of flight to reach. Those who watch these masses may be interested in how, over the course of a day, these strange masses seem to change shape entirely- almost as if they were simply a very unique cloud coverage that seemed ready to become a permanent fixture overhead.
Much like Ensō, Monsun sees little wear, past the additions of many felled creatures. Again, a party of Jormun are slowly navigating their way about the island-- though if they get to the corpses before Monsun’s native meat eaters do is anyone’s guess. In the stillness of the coming days, the usual monster attacks will seemingly dwindle to nothing-- even a god of Balance seems to understand the need for recuperation.

Additionally....
Though the Storyteller is once again nowhere to be found, exhausted adventurers will find three MREs in their packs, for anyone who could use a day off finding and preparing food. Currently, it's the best they can offer- though the Jormun promise that they will have their own spread to share after finishing collecting their dead.

---

Event Specifics

[ ♆ ] The 30th will see the return of any who may have died throughout the duration of the event. All revived characters will awaken at the Storyteller’s temple; remember, if your character has died, let us know here!

[ ♆ ] Item trades with the Jormun can be found on the OOC plotting post here! The number of Jormun available will dwindle through the following weeks, leaving entirely on the 10th of February. Even if you were only recently accepted, you are free to participate!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

monsun, desert camp

[scourgingstars]

[a; dawn of the first day; 1/28, morning]

[Ardyn didn't take the return of the sunlight as well as most; when the phoenix cut its shrieking path of light into the air, the already exhausted yet sleepless immortal recoiled with some choice words growled under his breath, hands pressed to his face.]

[...He'd gotten perhaps a little too accustomed to the dark, and quickly retreated to the relative shade of the tent's canopy by vanishing in a streak of magenta light.]

[b; oath to order; 1/28 onwards]

[For the rest of the first day, Ardyn wasn't exactly of much use with the cleanup efforts. He stayed close to the mana pool and as much in the shade as he could, sitting with an adolescent black chocobo curled up on his lap. If someone did approach, he'd offer them a greeting and a tired smile, or even ask how they were doing.]

[Over the next few days, he settled back into the usual rhythm; staying beneath shelter during the day and coming out near sunset with Hresvelgr beside him, offering help to anyone that looked like they had their hands full or seemed as tired as he felt.]

[c; healing termina; wildcard]

[hit me with what you got]

1/30ish

[bloodyashes]

[And sometime in the afternoon, now that the sun has warmed the desert at least back above freezing -

Hey, Ardyn, here's your coat back in your lap in a loud whump of fabric.

Also, here is Asch, taking a seat opposite Hraesvelgr not quite against your side. He's still bundled up pretty thoroughly in modern clothes that fit him in the literal sense but not the metaphorical one. In that regard, Ardyn's coat was seemingly more comfortable.]

Doing okay?

[scourgingstars]

Better--exhausted, but at least that will pass sooner or later.

[At least he wasn't actively hiding in shadows and complaining in arcane tongues under his breath. Or dunking on Asch's stupid clothes.]

What about you? Are you hurt?

[bloodyashes]

[Dunk on them all you like, the Storyteller picked them, not him. This is a boy who has clearly never worn jeans before.]

Nothing more than bruises that are already mostly healed.

[In short, nothing notable, as far as he's concerned.]

Starting to get really damn tired of sleeping on the ground, though.

[scourgingstars]

I don't remember it being nearly so terrible.

[at least you can sleep, asch]

Are you not accustomed to it?

[bloodyashes]

Not for this long. A week or two travelling, sure. Not over a month.

[There's possibly some discrepancy in the calendar there compared to what Ardyn's expecting.]

Airship cots at least have mattresses.

[scourgingstars]

Wait...what? How long has it been?

[Ardyn frowned, looking thoughtful. He didn't have the best grasp of time himself, but that didn't sound right.]

[bloodyashes]

...A month and some weeks?

[Confused blinking.]

Almost a month and a half, but definitely not less than ten weeks.

[scourgingstars]

...Asch, dear, I admit I am not a good judge of measuring time, but I am almost certain that isn't right.

[bloodyashes]

No, it's definitely right. I haven't tracked the days, but I know I left Auldrant at the end of Sylph-redecan, and I don't think it's been long enough for us to be far into Lorelei-decan yet...

[scourgingstars]

...Whhhhat.

[bloodyashes]

What?

[Beat.]

... We have different calendars, don't we.

[scourgingstars]

...

[SIGH]

I've no idea why this hasn't come up before. Why would every imaginable universe have the same calendar?

1/30ish as well \o/

[shatteredlenses]

[It's frustrating. Despite all the improvement Ignis has had since he was injured, he still has times where he just pauses like the connections between his body and his brain once more aren't working. If it's not that, he drifts. He'll be doing one thing only to suddenly realize he just...stopped. It's almost as if his senses shut off and he's back in that dark space full of nothingness. He won't admit it aloud, but those times frighten him more than the pauses do. What if his senses just decide not to turn back on?

Despite how tired fighting the fear and frustration makes him, he pushes on forcing himself to slowly take back the tasks he had been doing before darkness fell. Supplies still need to be organized. Food still needs to be cooked.

Still, eventually his energy does flag as it is right now and he has no choice but to rest. Grabbing a treat for a certain chocobo he strongly suspects will be resting with her 'father' at the mana pool, he makes his way over there. Once settled, he offers Hresvelgr the treat.]

So, if I promise to keep what your answer is a secret, will you tell me how your papa's doing?

[Ignis directs the words toward the chocobo, but they are loud enough that he obviously intends for Ardyn to hear and answer them.]

[scourgingstars]

[Hresvelgr perked up when Ignis approached, hopping up once he settled in and nearly snuggling right into his lap to munch on the treat she was offered. Ardyn laughed under his breath, rolling his eyes at the black hole of a stomach with wings.]

I should think her aware enough that I'll be fine, given a bit of time. What of yourself?

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis chuckles at her antics as well, burying his head in the chocobo's feathers before turning his face in Ardyn's direction. For a moment, it seems as if he is trying to decide if he wises to accept that answer or not, before sighing and letting his blind gaze drop to the ground somewhere between them. Absently, his fingers comb through Hresvelgr's feathers.]

We need to talk about Altissia.

[scourgingstars]

...I should say that we do, yes. [Hresvelgr fluttered her wings slightly at the sound of Ardyn's voice, steady and momentarily calm.]

I'm listening.

[shatteredlenses]

[Listening is the easy part. Ignis had hoped that Ardyn would start the discussion because then he wouldn't need to decide where in the whole mess to start from.

He sighs, almost deciding to start by confirming what he's already figured out: Ardyn had no intention of harming Noctis because he needed him alive. It's such an obvious thing now that he looks back on it and yet...

But no, Ignis really doesn't need confirmation of what he already knows, so he moves onto something he decidedly doesn't know.]

If I'd accepted your offer, what then?

[scourgingstars]

[There was silence at first; really, what would Ardyn have done? He hadn't fully thought that far ahead, for once. Why had he even asked in the first place?]

I wanted to see what would happen, first and foremost. I assumed you would weigh your options and choose to abandon Noctis in order to ensure your survival. From there... Zegnautus Keep would be the next logical step. Have Noctis chase after us and find the Crystal in the process; that was ever the end goal, after all. To have him lie dormant within the Crystal for ten years and emerge the true Chosen as the prophecy dictates.

...I think I likely would have killed you, to push him that much further into it.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis settles back, fingers still moving gently through Hresvelgr's soft feathers.]

You realize, even if I had gone with you, I would not have been abandoning Noct. I would have only been looking for more promising path for us to tread.

[Likely with ring in hand. After all, Ardyn killing him no matter the decision was a likely outcome, and stay or go, Ignis had no intention of going down without a fight.]

As she died, Pryna showed me what was awaiting Noctis when he left the crystal. I knew he was going to die, a lamb to the slaughter, and I wanted to change that fate just as much then as I do now. I would have burned the world to ash to do it too.

[He suddenly falls silent, the thumb of his left hand unconsciously rubbing at the base of his middle finger. When he speaks again, his voice is much softer.]

I'm afraid I've missed the only chance I had to change things.

[scourgingstars]

[It turned out that it was possible to hear someone turn white. Ardyn was deathly silent for a long moment, struggling to keep his voice steady when he did find the words to answer.]

...ah. Well. Honestly, I suppose we...shouldn't be too shocked.

[(It only sort of worked.)]

Of course it would...never have been so simple.

[shatteredlenses]

No, we shouldn't be. To make matters worse, I didn't even remember this place while I was home. Even if I could have gotten Noct to consider turning back, the plan we made...it wasn't there for me to remember.

[As much as he would never wish pain or upset on another, there is a small bit of comfort knowing Ardyn is as upset--if for different reasons--as he is. Carefully, Ignis untangles himself from Hresvelgr and moves to sit next to Ardyn. Unsure where the man's hands are, Ignis just holds out his own in invitation.]

I'm sorry. You know that I wanted this to work more anyone aside from you. I just don't know what steps are still available to us.

[scourgingstars]

...you've nothing to apologize for. It was...nice to think about, while it lasted. I'm still impressed someone dared even thought to challenge the gods to begin with.

[Ardyn hesitated, aware his words came out a little too quietly to sound entirely accepting of the situation. Even so, they were sincere as he took Ignis' hand in one of his own.]

I suppose your future is simply meant to be what I already knew it was.

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis shakes his head, harder than is wise, and ends up dizzy, unconsciously leaning into Ardyn to keep himself from sprawling onto the ground in an undignified heap.]

No, I won't accept it. I'm not going to give up. The plan is just not so...clear anymore.

[He laughs sadly.]

Nothing else is. Why should that be?

[scourgingstars]

...You still plan to keep trying? But it's-...what else can possibly be done?