August Event: The City is at War

[lifeaftr_mods]

AUGUST EVENT: THE CITY IS AT WAR

Who: Everyone!
What: You pick a side, or you pick up the pieces
When: August 16th to August 23rd
Where: Primarily Nastrandir, though also Ensō
Warnings: Violence, injury, forcibly altered mindsets via magical influence, possible character death. Potential (and fully optional) dissociation and identity crises. Potential (and fully optional) spontaneous combustion. Otherwise, tag as you go!

We All Lose in the End
On cue, the recently uncovered...and decidedly faulty merotome shatters on the morning of August 16th. Those close enough may recall an odd popping noise, like a lightbulb exploding, or find a shard of some odd, rubbery substance caught in their hair. The wave that shoots out across both islands barely seems to stir the air, but the aftershocks of its passing are to be felt for the week to come.

Whether or not you noticed the sweeping burst of light as it roared over just about everything, you're bound to hear the loud, wailing sound that starts to emit from all over Nastrandir. It sounds like the world's worst kind of alarm, and it just keeps on going. That's to say nothing of the automatons rising steadily from the murk, or the fact that you might find that some of your fellow explorers are suddenly seeming a lot more trustworthy...and some of them are seeming a lot less. Maybe you latch onto personal terrors and preexisting grudges to justify the new onset of violence that starts to divide you from some of your fellows...or maybe it just feels right in some unquantifiable sense.

Regardless, those impacted by the merotome will find themselves gravitating towards Nastrindar sooner rather than later. Members of the Red Team are likely to initially head towards the ruins on C4 and D4. The swampy water flooding the island will eventually drive you to seek out more mountainous areas; the need to keep dry will vary from a strong desire to an absolute necessity, depending on the individual. As territorial instincts rear their head, this group will find that the war automatons no longer view them as hostiles. Now, these mechanical killers may even take basic orders, such as watching a certain location, fetching some basic materials, and, of course, upon whom they should aim their primary fire.

Meanwhile, the Blue Team will congregate along the shorelines, striking out inland through any route that keeps them close to a body of water - or in it. More likely to travel and fight in a pair or group, it's unlikely that members of this group will stay from the main party for too long, as their power is largely in numbers. While no automatons accompany them into battle, the waters surrounding and soaking into Nastrandir are their greatest ally, as they are capable of replenishing strength and healing minor wounds. Members of the Blue Team will be capable of continuing the fight for much longer than their Red counterparts, and their affinity with the waters will make them difficult to locate or pursue unless they wish it.

You Don't Get Another Shot
For those more resistant to the effects of this sudden shift will find that they're now unfortunately adrift between two warring factions, potentially with friends on either side. There is hope, however - those previously silent sirens are now blaring constantly, and it's very possible that their destruction could turn the tide against this needless bloodshed. The more of those you break, the looser the grip of this altered mindset will become, and the less hostile the automatons will be. Keep in mind, however, that while you may feel unaffected, the possibility stands that you've been marked for one side without your knowledge. And though this may prove advantageous to getting through to those that identify you as their own, those that do not may take your attempts to shake their morale badly.

Even violently.

Stick Around and See How It Ends
Thus far, the teams are as follows. If you see any problems, inconsistencies, or wish to change teams, please don't hesitate to contact us! While we're no longer accepting sign-ups to be RNG'd into a team, you can still decide retroactively which side you'd like your character to be situated on, if at all!

RED TEAM	BLUE TEAM
Alexei Dinoia Amaterasu Anthony J. Crowley Asgore Dreemurr Connor Murphy Edward Elric Erika Fisher Jules Dagger Samari Leonard Church Muffet Tim Wright Yukio Okumura Zidane Tribal	2B Alisaie Leveilleur Agent Washington Ben Hargreeves The Drifter Epsilon Héctor Rivera Herbert West Horatio Nullbuilt Kravitz Legion Mollymauk Tealeaf Ren Rin Okumura Steve Rogers

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In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Intro
[ ♆ ] Nastrandir's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] August 16th: The merotome breaks, issuing a mind-altering wave; the sirens go off, and definitive sides in a conflict start to form
[ ♆ ] August 23rd: The conflict ends when those who have not been freed from the mind-altering influence either break free or burn to death
[ ♆ ] August 24th: The monthly Storytelling occurs late; characters who have died are revived in time to participate
[ ♆ ] September 4th: Extra time is allotted to those participating in the monthly Storytelling to compensate for the later date, and the Storytelling closes

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[hyperlit]

[There's no point in remaining here. They're just...an easy target for anyone who might be on the hunt for their kind. Their kind. They're not sure why they think of it that way. It just feels right.]

[With another furious shake of their head, a fruitless effort to clear it, they slosh out of the water and start to make for the shore instead.]

[Maybe the water there will...help? They have no other method for this. It doesn't make any sense.]

[forwearemany]

(They head for the shore. A smart move: the beach is a location with both water and allies. It is safe there.

The journey, however, is likely to be hazardous. They are uncertain whether this ally will be able to make it in their current state.

After a moment, they follow.)

[hyperlit]

[Well, they don't have any choice, now, do they? The Drifter has nowhere else to go and no means of alleviating this awful, excruciating sensation that has continued to sow itself in their bones, unabated.]

[They...really have no reason to acknowledge their pursuer in the slightest. What they choose to do is their business.]

[forwearemany]

(Which is why they're following: to make sure they do, in fact, make it there.)

Will you accept assistance?

(It seems unlikely, but it seems cruel not to at least offer, given the other's current state.)

[hyperlit]

no

[Do they require it? Probably. Will they accept it? No. This doesn't make any sense whatsoever. This terrible injury, whatever it is...they don't remember sustaining it. What kind of wound cannot be helped by even the Water?]

[Whatever it is, if it's beyond the Water's aid, then clearly it's beyond any mortal's.]

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(They suspected as much.)

We will follow until you have reached a safer location.

(And then they'll leave.)

[hyperlit]

on enemy territory
no location is safe

[That's being...pedantic, possibly, but it's not as if they don't have a point. There's every chance that the invaders could be pushed off the island and forced back into a retreat.]

[forwearemany]

Yes. However some locations are safer than others.

(At the shore there's both the water and allies.)

[hyperlit]

does not matter

[No matter where they go, they're still, apparently bleeding out from the inside.]

[forwearemany]

We do not abandon allies.

[hyperlit]

not abandonment

[They can take care of themself. Usually they do. This...situation, whatever it is, defies standard help. It defies explanation.]

[forwearemany]

You are injured.

(Which is obvious. Legion can do nothing about this. They can, however, act to ensure they get to safety, that they are not preyed upon while vulnerable.)

[hyperlit]

water does not fix it
neither will you

[If the Water cannot mend them, what hope would Legion have in doing any betteR?]

[forwearemany]

Yes. However, presence of allies makes it less likely others will seek to attack while you are vulnerable.

(Mending is not their goal.)

[hyperlit]

do not need protection

[They can fight. They can still fight, even in this weakened state. They've not had the occasion to, but...]

[But just for that, the Drifter alters their course and starts moving for enemy territory instead.]

[forwearemany]

(They chatter in alarm, before following.

Clearly, that was the wrong thing to say, and they have caused offense.

Hopefully, neither of them die as a result.)

[hyperlit]

[Coughing droplets of bright pink onto the ground doesn't seem to have slowed them down very much, at least in the long-term. It's making scaling the mountains more difficult. More than once, the Drifter claws themself forward by gripping at the nearest jagged outcropping for support, refusing to stop even as their coughing grows ever more intermittent.]

[Their blade slips into one hand. It's better not to traverse this area unarmed.]

[forwearemany]

(Legion is untiring and persistent, the ultimate endurance hunter.

They scale the mountains after the Drifter, and increase their vocal volume.)

You are a more skilled warrior than us.

(And the strange thing is, they mean it. Their programs are in unanimous agreement on this fact.

This person is an ally. They have fought before...?)

Loss of consciousness due to blood loss will render skill irrelevent.

[hyperlit]

[The compliment feels out of place. Odd. They don't...they don't accrue compliments. They don't receive praise for doing their job - doing what they were created to do - ]

[...no. They weren't created to do anything. They were...they arrived here by boat. They remember. They remember that clearly, clearer than anything else. They must have fought side by side with this person before. They don't realize it, but there's a reason that their presence has gone largely uncommented upon, despite their seeming unfamiliarity.]

cannot fix it
cannot stop it

[So they might as well do something useful in spite of it. Right?]

[forwearemany]

We cannot, however that does not mean it cannot be stopped.

(They chatter.)

If the damage is permanent, do you wish to die?

(No. They ask because they already know the answer.)

[hyperlit]

if water cannot
what can

[They're not one to wallow. If the Water cannot cure them, then they are beyond any cure. That does not mean they cannot fight.]

no

[forwearemany]

Uncertain. However, it is possible another will know.

(And something occurs to them then.)

Perhaps, if your ailment has been caused by the loyalists, one of them will know.

(Wherever they were going with the death question has been forgotten.)

[hyperlit]

[A pause. They hadn't considered that. Well, then - all the more reason to keep going forward.]

must interrogate

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

(They hope, for their ally's sake, that they are able to discover a solution to this.)

[hyperlit]

[A hot, arduous trek upwards into the mountains isn't terribly conducive to recovery. This does not seem to matter. The Drifter is resolute in their intent, neither stopping nor slowing down.]

[They'll go as far as they need to, even if it means they're stopping every few minutes to hack yet more blood onto the stone. Sick, bleeding internally, retching on enemy territory - it means nothing.]

[They aren't stopping.]