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ateratooc2022-04-16 04:53 pm
sotg
Spring is clearly springing. The strange carnival has disappeared as mysteriously as it arrived. The town is still reeling from its arrival, though none of the natives seem surprised it arrived or suspicious of where they've all gone.
Buzz has begun about the tournaments starting up for the spring and summer at the gladiatorial arena, as well as the new Chocobo racing season at the Circus complex, and there might be prizes there for anyone interested in participating.
Remember, if you guys think of a place that could be a fun addition to the city, you can submit it on the Content Submission page! It doesn't have to be a place for your character's homeworld. It could be something that came up in OOC conversation or whatever sparks inspiration!
And for a bit of OOC information, the following pages have been updated and/or added:
» New Test Drive is up, so invite your friends!
» The FAQ and Residences pages have been updated with information regarding characters who are underage. » All pages should be up to date (but if I've missed something, please let me know!)
Note: This will be a slowly developing and ongoing plot happening in the background and progress will be made based on player involvement and character investment.
Beginning Monday, the 18th, while going about your daily business, it will become increasingly obvious something has changed. The natives seem to be abuzz with chatter about something none of the newer arrives have ever heard mention of before. The Academy. The topic of conversation seems to be the same: where it could have gone, how no one has heard from anyone there in some time, and so on.
If questioned, they will seem shocked you don't know that the great city of Aterat was known worldwide for its Magic Academy, evidently a place the magically inclined the world over attended. It's all rather strange, of course, but no stranger than anything else that seems to spontaneously appear in the city and seem old hat to the natives.
At least until the storm. Wednesday evening, a storm of singular intensity will blow into the area without prior warning save for the vibration of thunder on the horizon and the crackle of energy in the air that precludes such a powerful storm. Throughout the night, the winds will howl and the lightning will light the sky almost constantly, the thunder will be intense enough to rattle the walls of even the most sturdy of structures, and the winds may be powerful enough to damage roofs and toss about anything not secured down. Inches of rain will fall overnight, and the streets will be flooded nearly the rest of the following day.
But the strangest thing won't be the storm damage. It seems the storm cleared away some of the fog that obscured the environs to the north of the city, past the mage tower. A well-traveled road can be seen snaking into the foothills, some 50 miles north of the city. The citizens insist this is the road to the Academy, but the road seems in such disrepair it seems unlikely the place will be in any better condition than the city itself had been when the outsiders first began arriving.
It might be a good idea to see what's up that road, seeing as things from outside have been a threat before.
Throughout the week, reports begin to come in at the guard station, and rumors flying around the city, that people have begun seeing strange beings in the night. Sizes of these creatures vary greatly, but the physical description seems to be consistent. They seem to be hunched creatures in heavy robes with greenish skin and hollow eyes. They're said to carry a lantern in one hand and a glinting knife, not unlike a chef's knife, in the other. People say they shuffle slowly through the back streets in the dead of night, but they flee quickly, as they also say looking upon the strange creatures for long fills the viewer with a dread and despair so profound, they can only dream of death.
By the end of the week, the watch will issue a warning to avoid secluded areas of the city after dark as several people who have assumed to have come into contact with these creatures are currently housed in the infirmary in what can only be described as a stupor. They are terrified but also sobbing, and no amount of consolation seems to help them. This will be accompanied by an artist's rendition of the creatures based on descriptions provided.
These creatures will have a similar effect on any player characters who encounter them. They can vary in size, ranging anywhere from 2 feet to nearly 5 feet in height, and while it is rare, they can appear in groups of up to 4. They have an aura of terror and despair that radiates from them, but those who are capable of shielding their minds from psychic attacks will be able to resist it for a short time while in the presence of these creatures. Those who cannot will be stunned by fear and despair and will be susceptible to the creature's actual goal. They will shuffle within range why the character is stunned and stab them in the heart with their very shark kitchen knife.
As such, it is possible for characters to die during this event, and I ask anyone who has their character killed by these creatures (they're Tonberries, for anyone familiar with Final Fantasy) to please refer to the section of the FAQ on death, and to respond to the tread here to let me know and we can sort out the consequences.
If you have any questions, please ask them below, and feel free to use this post to plot!
If you put together any groups, or there are specific means of investigation, or you need any information at all, please respond to the Plot Info thread so I can see it (because I'm tracking it and I'll get notifications that way)!
Plot Info Requests
no subject
1) Is the storm in any way magical? (Relevant because Nida's GF helps him sense magic)
2) Can magic be drawn from tonberries? (In FF8 they have the powerful 'Death' spell, which can insta-kill some weak enemies. this seems WAY too strong and I'd suggest pain instead, which Nida would send up using to give him resistance to some statuses)
3) Can Nida kill a tonberry and steal a chef knife for his husband?
4) If Nida steals a Tonberry's knife, does it have any properties, or is the fear aspect of them tied to the Tonberry? (the latter is my hope)
5) Any chance the Captain will let Nida put together a small task force to fight Tonberries, and if so, can he offer them a small pay? Or are they vigilante on this?
no subject
2) Actually, I'd be fine with him being able to draw either from the Tonberries. In the case of death, it would only work on some of the lesser creatures in the city (giant rats, etc) and only sometimes, say roughly 1/3 of the time.
3) One of the smaller ones, yes, and the knife is something you might find at a culinary supply store.
4) the knives are not enchanted in any way.
5) Yes, and vigilantism is also welcome, though not officially supported.
no subject
Okay, more questions.
6) In Nida's world there is a Tonberry GF (spirit being like Siren). It is acquired by killing a lot of Tonberries in a small amount of time in an area infested with them, before a Tonberry King arrives, and upon defeating that it becomes a GF. Would this be possible here?
As a note for this, the GF is a special one, and most of its powers would absolutely not work with the setting, so effectively when junctioned it would give Nida increased evasiveness (think agility in a fight or reflexes), and increased luck (and with how bad Nida's is, he might be up to just SLIGHTLY more lucky than a normal person).
Would this be possible?
no subject
Unfortunately a GF of Tonberry King isn't possible because [*REDACTED*] but suffice to say they are actually a part of the overarching plot, and not visitors from another, i.e. Nida's, world.
no subject
1) What's it like on the road toward the Academy?
2) Is it possible for Tommy, with his speed, to reach the Academy quickly, or will something delay him?
3) Is it possible to actually make it to the Academy at this time, or does the road end in the middle of nowhere?
4) And related to 1, is the road passable to carts, if Tommy wanted to bring someone with him.
Basically you've got a curious speedster, and he wants to KNOW.
no subject
2) There's nothing along the road hindering his speed.
3) You can get to the gates, but they will not open. In fact, there seems to be some sort of force field barring any sort of entry, even if he attempts to climb the very high (think 20 ft +) walls.
4) The road is in a sorry state and a cart would be perilous unless the road was repaired somehow.
no subject
1.) For the academy, it's for magical folks. Can non magical folks acquire a magical knowledge there? (Yes I'm speaking about Yuki here)
2.) I've been looking for somewhere for him to teach or mentor/tutor/help people to study. Could he do something like that there?
3.) We'll be getting more info on the structure/a picture or something of it, yes?
no subject
2) Not any time soon he couldn't, but that doesn't mean he couldn't start a school that isn't, well, in the state this one will be in. Suffice to say that Academy is going to be dangerous for a very long time, once people are finally able to work out a way inside.
3) Yes, once we get to that point.
no subject