EVENT #18: EMERGENCE - IC EVENT LOG

[abraxasmods]

Event #18 - Emergence

OOC Plotting Post ⦁ Pre-Event Info ⦁ Setting Descriptions

Whether voluntary or by force, you find yourself transported to the Singularity's crater. There probably aren't many resistors - officials have taken great pains to convince you to come voluntarily, reserving force as a last resort - but it's clear that everyone is required for this to work. It takes multiple mages to stabilize the portal, but you make it there in one piece. If you cooperate, you'll be asked to walk towards the ancient relic. If you resisted, you might be forced to do so while restrained. Regardless, a heavy fog soon descends around the area, obscuring you and your vision.

If you have thoughts of turning back, it's too late: for some of you, the second you step across the threshold, a force pulls at your chest and absorbs your psyche at once. For others, a mystical call beckons you to walk a little further before the same effect takes hold. And for a rare few, the call brings you to the Singularity itself, where you're compelled to touch it - and are subsequently swallowed up like the others.

The Horizon doesn't greet you like you might expect. Instead, something far stranger awaits.

Please communicate with your fellow players as needed! We also recommend discussing with us if you plan on a major environmental upheaval. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid changes to the landscape that will significantly alter the established map.

We've also posted comment sections for WORLDBUILDING and HANDWAVED submissions. Instructions can be found at the respective links.

Year 20,879

When you open your eyes, it feels like you've only blinked. If your body has transformed or you're someplace that shouldn't exist, it doesn't strike you as odd. You were always here. Everything around you was always here, and your physical alterations and new abilities - while perhaps not originally there - have been a part of you for a long, long time.

The world of Abraxas isn't completely foreign. Familiar territories remain, as well as the familiar faces of those with long lifespans. But a lot has changed in 800 years, too, especially where the Gods are concerned. Alongside the Old Gods of the Ancient Pantheon and the Cardinal Gods of the New Order, a third class of deities formed from you and your fellow Summoned: the Ecesis Gods of the Iterum Pantheon.

Politics, People, & Gods

Abraxas's political landscape remains complex, with continued tensions over land, worship, resources, and power. Nonetheless, since the Free Cities is no longer intent on destroying the Singularity, conflict over the ancient relic has lessened. All territories agree that the Godlands - and the Singularity - belong to the Gods themselves.

Beliefs and Gods

The active presence of the Summoned confirms the existence of the Gods. As a result, most Abraxans turn to the Summoned and other Gods for aid or protection. Extreme reverence exists in certain areas, especially on the Isle of the Lost and in parts of Solvunn. In other places, though, the Gods are merely acknowledged as a facet of life - a force that helps or hinders depending on temperament and should be respected, much like the sea. The Gods play a crucial role, sure, but so do the rain and stars. This is particularly true in the Feywilds, the Nether, and the Free Cities.

Small pockets of non-believers actively denounce the Gods. They claim the Summoned should be wiped from the world and the Singularity destroyed to prevent future invasions. Labeled dangerous heretics by Thorne and Solvunn, and "regressives" by the Free Cities - whose scientists and philosophers liken such thinking to be as foolish as declaring the sun unworthy or the earth to be flat - these people are shunned from society. In Solvunn, the consequences are more severe: heretics are exiled to the Barren, where they are subsumed by the desert, the Maw, or whichever Gods may punish them.

At the other end, some sects revere the Godlands so much that they believe feeding themselves to the relic will enhance Abraxas' good fortune for generations to come. Such cults are quite rare, but there are reports of mortals throwing themselves into the Singularity's crater and disintegrating as a gesture of their devotion to the divine.

International Relations

Due to the combined change in their priorities, Thorne and the Free Cities are less at odds. The Free Cities believes in protecting the Singularity; Thorne no longer seeks to control it. Nonetheless, mistrust flares on occasion.

While things are peaceful during these three months and have been for a few decades, Abraxas hasn't found a cure for war in the Gods. Conflict has broken out in the past and will again. Eyes are on the Nether as it grows in power, and who knows how long Thorne will be content with its losses? Will they convince the Velan Republic to reunite and turn against the Free Cities? For now, though, the territories have found their stride and appear more interested in progress than fighting.

Magic & The Singularity

Magic is relatively unchanged and is a vital part of Abraxan life. The small kingdom of Thorne continues to practice Academic Magic. Meanwhile, Wild Magic plays the same important role in the Velan Republic (formally Nott). Meanwhile, the Free Cities has developed New Magic further. The goal of decoupling magic from technology is less of a focus. Instead, researchers are eager to find new ways to fuse magic and innovation, including aspects of the Gods. Portable shrines, for example, are popular with traveling merchants.

High Magic no longer exists as a specific school of magic now that offerings, pacts, and requests to the Gods are a part of everyday life across Abraxas. Solvunn has returned to its roots, using the ancient Academic Magic practiced by the Lunae for standard tasks while turning to the Gods for greater blessings.

The Singularity has been relatively stable for the past two or three centuries. While occasional disturbances rumble, for the most part, the presence of the Summoned has strengthened it, alleviating its displeasure and ensuring that Abraxas - and possibly the universe itself - continues to exist. Indeed, academic writings from Thorne and the Free Cities across time suggest that the Singularity's devouring of the world has considerably slowed. It is now as much of a threat as the eventual collapse of the sun, something that is bound to occur but not for eons.

Of course, this could quickly change if the Summoned or any other Gods provoke the Singularity by rejecting its connection or denying its magic...so all should take care not to upset the nature of things.

Old World, New World

The map of Abraxas has undergone some notable shifts, although many names and places are the same.

Setting descriptions are HERE for your reference.

Mechapolis, the Witchwood, and the Barren/the Maw contain prompts related to the event itself. Information about those areas can be found under "Exploring the Land" in the section The World as the Divine (Month 1-2).

Month 1-2: Submersion

What do you last remember? Well, that depends. You might recall most things perfectly clearly. You might have new memories that don't feel new at all. Or, you might only remember the most recent year or two. Regardless, there is something missing: an important face, a handful of key events...maybe you don't remember having ever lived anywhere except Abraxas. You might find this unsettling, or you might accept it as just the way things are.

You've transcended those old memories, anyhow. You feel a little distant from the person you were centuries ago, and you most likely look different, too. Perhaps you've sprouted giant wings, become a formless void, or you're now a shapeshifter with no permanent appearance. You've gained a substantial amount of power and influence, the type that people of this world attribute to the Gods.

The first half is a more sandbox-like environment designed for scenarios that emphasize CR and personal character moments. Active conflict between the emergent reality and the world will not arise until the second half.

The World as the Divine

The mortals have bestowed you with a title and possibly a new alias. Do you know your mortal name anymore? Some of you might've taken on a new identity, or you might have held very tightly onto who you were. Regardless, your abilities have grown. Your new powers and appearance are as unique as your dominion, influenced by your interests, subconscious desires, or personal relationships.

While in your full God form, you'll move through the world unperceived. Only when you're sought by a mortal - followers, believers, cultists - can you consciously make your complete divine presence known. To be seen freely by all, you'll have to take on a less overwhelming shape to the mortal gaze. Those who have met the Old Gods or Cardinal Gods in the past finally understand why they seldom reveal their true selves, often arriving in hazy visions or speaking through animals.

Exploring the Land

◎ The Witchwood

As the Summoned continued to ascend, their power began to coalesce, creating a new ecosystem never seen before. The dense woods, originally a temperate climate, warmed and grew into a thriving jungle. The air is humid and heavy with magic, the sky locked into an eternal sunset. Reds and oranges filter through the thick canopy. Birdcall and animal cries echo throughout the jungle. Trees and rocks seemingly move at night, meaning the Witchwood is impossible to map. Foolhardy souls who venture too deep are rarely seen again - unless divine intervention prevents a tragic fate from befalling them. Perhaps one of those intervening Gods is you?

The most dangerous beasts in the Witchwood are the demigod spawns. Creatures born from the Summoned, demigods are powerful enough to affect the world around them should they ever leave the magic-encased forest. See Impact & Consequences for more details on the demigods and how, as the Summoned, you can help maintain Abraxas' ecosystem.

◎ Mechapolis

Heartwood Syndrome persisted in Fomalhaut long after the quarantined population died out. The port city stood as a monument to loss for nearly a century until about 200 years in when the Summoned gained notable influence as Gods. This resulted in a slow but steady acceptance of the Singularity's power as a positive force for potential advancement. New Magic boomed, leading to increased sophistication in technology and the refinement of automatons.

Originally designed to clear and guard Fomalhaut, they were eventually used to rebuild it. Fomalhaut became known as the City of Machines and was renamed Mechapolis. Although humans are barred from entering for safety, the automatons gather soil and air samples for study and perform fishing duties. The clockworks require routine maintenance and must return to a hub city or outpost for recalibration. Clockwork birds are used to communicate with Mechapolis. They can broadcast through the Free Cities's primitive "radio" towers.

You can enhance clockwork performance, boosting the towers or providing additional energy to the automatons. Scientists often have "rituals" when performing maintenance or experiments to earn the Gods' favor, hoping this will prevent their inventions from breaking down.

◎ The Barren/The Badlands

Once contested territory between Thorne and the Free Cities, the Badlands was split into two by a large ravine shortly after Thorne retreated to Hayle. With neither side able to breach the gap, Solvunn naturally laid claim to the western half while the Free Cities retained its eastern half. On the eastern side, the chasm swallowed several well-known bandit camps and the presence of a new entity further drove them away. Bandits now occupy the mountains northeast of Aquila. Due to the entity's threat, the Free Cities increased its military presence in the Badlands to keep careless or foolish travelers from straying too far.

Meanwhile, Solvunn has named its portion of the wasteland the Barren and sought the Gods' assistance to form an enchanted forest. Those who enter are lost forever. Meant for more than just protection, the forest and the Barren serve as a place of exile. Heretics are taken into the woods and left to wander towards the Barren's harsh desert. There, they will face the elements, be devoured by the waiting Maw...or encounter a God.

As a God, you can lead the exiles to their salvation or doom, but choose carefully: the Maw is hungry and must be fed. These exiles want you dead. They don't care for you, and should their lack of faith spread, they might revive attempts to destroy the Singularity - and with it, your home. Is it so wrong to leave them to their fate? On the other hand, saving them might convert them by demonstrating your kindness.

◎ The Maw

The Maw lurks beneath the chasm dividing the Badlands. Named for its gaping jaws, the Maw waits at the widest part of a jagged canyon, mouth open and salivating in the desert heat. Rows and rows of teeth as tall as a man spiral downward into a bloodshot throat. When sated, it retreats deep into the gully, barely visible aside from the shine of a tooth. When hungry, it draws closer to the surface. Hot and heavy winds often carry the putrid scent of its half-digested meals.

Solvunn is not the only territory that uses the Maw. The Free Cities will occasionally march criminals and bandits in that direction, as well, tossing them into the gaping mouth, although this method of execution is much rarer. Desperate exiles from Solvunn will try to cross the chasm despite the danger. None ever make it - at least, not without divine intervention.

Horizon, "Death," and Dormancy

Your domain in the Horizon is no longer constrained by size. How it's changed depends on you. The more detached from your mortality, the more likely it'll have surrealist elements: bizarre statues, physics-defying architecture, odd visual or psychological effects. The Horizon feels like home to all Gods, although you ought to take care not to heed its call beyond reason. Shutting yourself off from the physical world can result in unintended consequences...but completely refusing to enter the Horizon will do the same.

Additionally, Gods are beyond true death, but that doesn't mean you can act with impunity. Engaging in an exhaustive battle with other Gods can weaken you into dormancy. In this state, you will enter an ethereal void inside the Singularity. As you heal, you'll slowly be able to return to your Horizon domain and then the physical world once more. Depending on the extent of the damage, this process could take anywhere from months to decades. For instance, losing your head could take a few months, total dismemberment might take a year, and being vaporized into atoms can take a few decades.

Mortals cannot achieve this level of damage, even if they seemingly "succeed" in striking true. Only a God can weaken another God into dormancy. If a mortal removes your head, you can merely pick it up and put it back on.

Impact & Consequences

In the early years of your ascension, you might've wondered why the existing Gods seemingly intervened so little. Why did they not demonstrate their powers more blatantly over the thousands of years? Is it apathy? A desire to watch rather than act? As you come into your abilities, you realize that the Singularity and the universe are significantly more delicate than you thought. You begin to understand why the Gods have behaved the way they do.

Of course, whether you care to keep the world (and yourself) in balance is another story, but to be sure, some of the other Gods and the Summoned do - and you may have to defend your choices.

The equilibrium mechanic is described in OOC terms HERE. The Singularity and a character's ascension will not inherently sway them one way or the other. Any temptations will result from individual personality and development.

Instability Effects

To maintain the universe's equilibrium, you need to be cautious of when and how you interfere when using your status to alter the state of the world. Conversely, you'll also need to take care not to withdraw entirely. Several Gods have undergone periods of instability, though others haven't. Which category you fall under is up to you. It depends on who you are, your experiences, and your desires.

◎ Should you refuse to ACKNOWLEDGE your Godhood or enter the Horizon, you'll find yourself losing time. You may forget how you got from one place to another, or names you knew yesterday slip your mind. Lapses in memory or time can be temporary or permanent, but one thing they are is certainly confusing. With magic building inside you and nowhere for it to go, your power will begin to spill over, causing the Singularity to exhibit bursts of power that spawn demigods in the Witchwood.

◎ Should you give into the temptation to OVERINDULGE your Godhood or retreat to the Horizon for excessive periods, you'll lose more of yourself and your history. You may make decisions that feel unlike you, forget larger chunks of old memories, or struggle to distinguish what's real. Unrestrained use of magic will cause you to absorb yet more power, causing the Singularity to lose power in brief spurts, which can spawn demigods in the Witchwood.

These effects can be halted or even reversed in some cases. You might need someone's help to bring you back or convince you there's another way, or maybe you're the one seeking others out to assist. What you do soon understand is that your ability to manage your powers and stabilize your connection to the Horizon directly affects the Singularity and Abraxas...something that may have been true the moment you were summoned.

Demigod Spawns

Under the red haze of the Witchwood, monstrous creatures known as demigods or spawns emerge from crimson waterfalls and claw their out through the mossy soil. Born out of instabilities caused by careless actions from all Gods, they're usually contained to the Witchwood. For the most part, the older Gods - and the Summoned, if they choose - keep the demigods from leaving. However, now and again, one or two might escape, damaging towns, destroying villages, or causing ecological destruction in ways that are similar to natural disasters.

Demigods are not sentient. How they look can vary, but their appearances are often corrupted and disturbing: twisted animals, amorphous blobs, or alien-like parasites. They may resemble a monster you recognize from home.

Defeating one is possible but a challenge even for the Gods. Most crucially, you cannot kill your own spawn. Another God must deliver the killing blow, so working together is imperative. Should too many demigod spawns be allowed to invade the Witchwood, they will overwhelm and disrupt the Singularity further. Culling them is the only way to maintain stability.

You can submit demigod spawns you create to the WORLDBUILDING section if you want. Similar to using character powers, just keep the scale of destruction at a reasonable level.

Hearing Echoes

Echoes are a form of prayer that resonates through your connection with the Singularity. Solvunn has dedicated a monument to where the "First Echo" was heard, though the accuracy of this is debatable. Like the Network, you can hear an Echo regardless of where you are and can shut them out with concentration. However, your ties to Godhood may compel you to listen every so often. Mortals can entreat you through more formal methods (rituals, offerings, seasonal ceremonies) or in a moment of duress or desperation. They may seek you specifically or call to any God who will listen.

You can answer or ignore these cries for help as you like, but your choices carry consequences. Answer too many too eagerly, and your increased interference in mortal lives can upset the world's equilibrium - and the Singularity. Ignore your impact on the world, and your refusal to accept your ascension will equally destabilize the land as prayers go unheard.

Interacting with Other Gods

The Old Gods and the Cardinal Gods are an equal part of this world. For the most part, you coexist peacefully, though personal pacts and tensions can play a role. Each of you is aware of the impact of your actions on the Singularity: extreme displays of power are reserved for substantial transgressions, considering the price it carries.

Further, the older Gods have also walked the earth for centuries before you came. To them, you're still young, and rising against one of them won't end well for you. Nonetheless, many older Gods are more interested in giving advice or guiding you, ensuring the health of the Singularity and the universe so as not to doom all of you - Gods and mortals alike - to the void.

You can REQUEST AN INTERACTION with a God. Interactions will be brief but informative.

You will not be able to request a specific God. For logistical reasons, we have curated the list of Gods available ahead of time. However, we'll do our best to pick one from the pool that suits the purpose of your request.

Month 3: Awakening

Over the past 2 months, you've existed in the emergent reality without question. As you enter the third month, however, everything you've known over the past many centuries begins to shift. You might decide to investigate further, wondering if there's more out there that you aren't seeing. Alternatively, you might choose to ignore it, believing that your awakening is damaging the world and your life.

Catalysts

A catalyst can occur at any time through any circumstance. Do you see a familiar face you've forgotten in the eyes of a stranger? Do you recall a moment in your past while watching the mortals? Has a friend approached you specifically to try and remind you of the things you've forgotten?

With each memory returned you'll gain another piece of yourself. Depending on how much you've lost and how hard you'll cling to this reality, the effect may be clarifying or it might cause you distress and confusion. You might begin to encounter temporal cracks: buildings or areas that normally don't exist will flicker in and out of existence, or your reflection will briefly show an image of you from before your transformations took hold.

If you allow yourself to doubt your abilities or divinity, you might have trouble controlling your powers. If you've made alterations to your Horizon domain, it might start to revert to its original design.

These cracks are difficult to ignore, but if you bury your head, you can make them disappear - briefly, at least.

Shattered Skies

The effects go beyond the individual. As more of you and your fellow Gods reawaken, the sky also begins to form cracks that spread like broken glass. Through the fractures, you glimpse flashes of lightning and a swirling fog. The fissures only grow larger.

Soon, you realize you can see the Singularity itself, reflected upside-down in the crater. Disconcerting though it is, it may serve as proof that something is very wrong. Of course, you can also refuse to acknowledge this disturbance, closing your eyes to the crumbling sky. Doing so will let you remain unaware to the very end, but your friends who are seeking the truth might find your denial distressing.

The sky won't hold, though. Eventually, it does shatter completely - and you awaken abruptly, your body and others scattered several feet away from the Singularity's crater as if you were physically thrown out. The fog begins to dissipate. The lightning has stopped, the unrelenting storms fading across Abraxas. Whatever you went through, it seems to have done exactly what the territories hoped: stabilize the Singularity.

Characters will be returned home afterward. They will be thanked for their assistance regardless of if they cooperated.

Resistors will not face any consequences, as long as they don't cause excessive trouble upon their return. Officials will issue an apology for the heavy-handed action, stating that they saw no other way to keep the world safe. With the portals and weather returning to normal, it does seem to have worked...even if characters may not find the method agreeable.

---

Comments

[krakened]

[ We can all use a little support, Michael, even ego-robust angels. ]

Yeah. Yeah, there might be. We actually have a trilogy planned. We were originally gonna put it all in one go, but Arthur insisted nobody was gonna sit for five hours to watch a play, so we chopped it up.

[ From the way Ed describes it, there's a sense that Ed required a lot of convincing to agree, but the important part is, he did agree in the end, and he feels like it was a good decision. An overall team effort by everybody involved.

He points at Michael. ] I expect you to show up for all three viewings.

[catholica]

As if you need to be caught.

( he peers up in her direction and smiles. )

But yes, I will catch you if you somehow lose your balance and come tumbling down into my arms.

[northerndragon]

A long, pleading look.

He knows that the man he thought he was a few days past -- more than a man, though he would be a fool to think he was much more, and he questions and sometimes fears the others who have -- would have chosen her. In any time, any place.

"Claire, I'll stay with you. We can decide what to do. But -- " The words come out low and hard to form. "Your husband. You have one, aye? One who's not me."

That's what troubles him most: if he's guessed right, it isn't just that their life together may be false. He has been laying with the wife of another man. And he has wanted it, craved it; he feels best in her arms, in her bed, his mouth on her. The taste now may be more bitter than it ought to be.

[wiedzminka]

[ The touch is comforting; she leans instinctively into his hand on her face, which feels familiar and suddenly more real than anything else around them. The disoriented, doubting feeling has been lingering in the back of her mind for a few days now, something she keeps pushing aside. But she's felt it too. Like a grain of sand in her eye that only makes itself known when she blinks, and if she can just ignore it long enough without closing her eyes, it might just go away. ]

Where we came from was a long, long time ago, Geralt.

Why does it matter now?

feel free to have Gale punt him out the tower next :')

[ancunin]

[ He would have appreciated the barrier a minute earlier. He pulls in a breath, and in a patronizing tone: ]

Yes - as I may have mentioned, what is happening here - [ he points to the ground ] - is also happening out there - [ to which he just sort of aimlessly waves his hands around to motion toward. His expression creases with worry and a little bit of frustration. How can Gale be so calm right now?

Once he's done gesticulating, he crosses his arms over his chest, eyeing Gale like he's searching for... something. ]

Perhaps we ought to seek guidance from one of our elders. [ The old gods. Astarion has never had much use for them, he gets the sense that most of them are quite mad after living so long. However - ] Didn't you once have a tryst with one? Trysta, was it? No - Mystra...

[ A goddess of all magic. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[The laugh sets Alucard at ease. It's nice when gentle questions are well received and no one has hurt feelings.]

No, they don't. Normally I would not offer this, but if you redirect her my way, I can include a little blood.

[ushiri]

The accusation barely stings. Wilhelm isn't wrong. He is tired of seeing mistakes repeated over and over. He's tired of this unending existence. He moves forward because he has to, he doesn't have a choice, and because his faith remains that the Singularity is important, it must be protected at all costs. None of these exiles understand that, and at times it feels like few of their ilk bother to understand too.

He doesn't want to follow Wilhelm. He's no longer a boy that needs looking after. It takes him a moment to decide to go after him, parting the grain of space and arriving at a vantage point behind Wilhelm, intending only to watch.

[ushiri]

Both. All of it.

[ The pain, the face, the name of someone so, so important to them, the final act that had sent Kyle bolting. He crouches down in the snow, brushing away a light dusting to reveal another yellowed bone. Instead of digging it out he covers it again. ]

It's that it was done deliberately. Who even are we, after we've lost all those parts...

[ He glances toward the door of the cabin, where the dog has not yet come out of yet. He offers Geralt an apologetic look. ]

But you've been through all that before.

[ Not deliberately, but the total loss of memory. It had been a condition Kyle understood, once, though enough time has passed that he barely remembers his own circumstances. Only that it had to do with Jahn, as all things seem to. ]

[aquaveiled]

[ She's ready to give him a whack with her tail so she can clear is throat, but Ed seems to manage on himself. Though she still looks a little concerned, Azem waits with slightly furrowed brows until he speaks again.

Her response is only a painfully honest: ]

Have you tried?

[ As a traveler, herself, she's quite fond of trying to to go to the most extreme of places. ]

There are only a few of us who really enjoy going to the depths of the sea, for example--oh, a sea wedding would be lovely!

[krazed]

[Harley doesn't comment further and instead of words answers with a knowing grin. They might be night and day but their demons played together well and that's what always kept her coming around.]

Who's sane these days anyway? I mean, really.

[aquaveiled]

[ It is a bit like grasping at straws. She's pulling from a past experience that's slowly failing her, but it feels right. This body isn't made for land. It's too heavy, without defined shape and form. The water has to be the key to some degree.

But she has the same fears as he does: will she be able to control this? Will she only make it worse when she has more ease of movement? There's only one way to find out.

Himeka can't deny the sense of relief that floods through her at the familiar scent. The spines along her torso and the gills at her ribs all flare open in excitement at that particular salty aroma. It's gloomy with only bits of light finally filtering down. But it feels...it feels-- ]

--Thank you.

[ With hope in her heart, she pulls herself eagerly forward through the portal. The change in pressure is immense and shocking at first, but the weightless immediately changes her body from a heap of scales and flesh to a much more graceful creature. The thin membranes along her neck and arms wave gently in the minimal current and her muscles feel less tired.

Himeka sighs and stretches out for the first time.

Then it's like she knows what to do. She opens her mouth, her jaw unhinging and stretching so that she can ingest a large amount of water at once. She swallows slowly and feels... ]

Calm...this feels calm.

[cryptsleeper]

[How do you react in watching your friend's body completely transform due to the pressure from the depths of the ocean? If you're Alucard, you watch from the other side of the portal enthralled and horrified and ready to leap into the seas if need be if only to preserve life.

Except there is no need be. Himeka's jaw doing what it does is, in a word, upsetting. How one reached equilibrium, however, is not something he should judge. Alucard accepts it and focuses on keeping the portal open.]

That's a relief. Do you think the surface is an option for now, or should you stay here for a while longer to recalibrate?

[restingstitchface]

Well, if you believe what people say, everybody is sane.

[Crane grasps his hands together and exhales. Some people are better at controlling their emotions. Some are better at being emotional. He murmurs at the contrast - the contradiction - and frowns at the similarity of his data. Some people are more work than they are worth.]

But show me a sane man and I'll cure him for you.

[theidlemaiden]

[ She clicks her tongue in protest, the guilt and self-pity dashed for a moment. ]

That's different! I'm not going to give up on my friends.

[ And her friends arguably hold more weight than some silly piece of equipment gone wrong. But that's neither here nor there right now.

A line forms between her brows in worry as she reaches for his paw to give it a squeeze. She wonders if he didn't return to that template because it was just a reminder of how he had messed up. ]

I know that making mistakes and learning from them is how you get better. But I don't ever want to just stop caring. What if I stopped caring about the people that are closest to me?

[restingstitchface]

[Crane listens without emotion, without opinion. His face remains impassive as he absorbs criticism after criticism, insult after insult. She is not the first person to direct her anger against another. She is not the first person to confuse philosophical chat as factual statement. The lightning doesn't make him jump. How can it when he has endured worse weather?

Blizzards. Snowstorms. He recalls freezing outside his home. Not in this world but another. He focuses on the memory and spends his time recalling his past. His mind now inhabiting one world and another.]

Are you finished? Or are you going to continue projecting?

[His brows raise.]

I'm happy to shoulder the burden but hearing you whine only to deny you have a problem? Surely you see the contradiction?

sorry this is late! you're free to ignore it.

[furibund]

[ She folds her arms, skeptical on the matter. Some part of her understands - not that she'd own it, but she huffs out a breath thoughtfully: ]

You can't have hated the place that much.

[ Seriously, she thinks, there are far worse places. ]

You could at least put a new spin on it, if you're going to watch it so many times.

[furibund]

You think.

[ She responds quickly, the tone not as close to mocking as it could be. It certainly judges some, but she's heard and seen too many of their fellows so detached from everything. ]

[ There's a tilt of her head and she responds, actually mocking now: ]

Why are you asking me?

[ Annabeth can hear her own Echoes. Besides, Nebula wouldn't be here if this wasn't some joint nonsense mess. ]

[furibund]

[ Called out on his bullshit and only somewhat believed. At least, if her answer is anything to go by - mouth twitching in thought: ]

Hope not. I wouldn't associate with some fool who's been here a millenia and still goes by 'Ted'.

[ Because she fails to believe that's a god-given name. It's stupid. Not that she ever had a name change of her own - but then. Someone once told her Nebula was a good name, she's not good on the details of who or when. It's settled for now. ]

[ Her nose twitches at his description and the sign. And back again. ]

I'll pass. You'll just have to be off the cuff enough for both of us.

[ She intones in a way that says she thinks he can and will do just that. ]

[godshattering]

[ Even with sharpened senses from many a battle and all those years of being a god now behind him, it still takes Sidus an instant to recognize that Ciri's disappeared again. Fortunate, since now he doesn't have to worry about where the lightning lands when the only goal is to push the beast back towards the woods.

It seems to work, at least for a little bit. The constant onslaught from the barrage of electrified arrows convinces the demigod to back up to a distance which feels like it'll be less destructive to the village. A relief, though perhaps also one Sidus relies on too much.

When he pauses the lightning while meaning to change to another attack, he has another belated realization: the beast is injured, yes, but it's not as injured as it'd been pretending in that retreat. The brief moment is all it needs to screech again as it charges at a speed they hadn't seen yet, and at one which means there's no time for him to do much besides brace for impact. ]

[falcony]

[ cadens has meant a lot of things to sam over the years, decades, centuries. at first, a chosen home. then a settled place. a community, a people, he could connect with - who he liked and was a part of, if only marginally. it was where he settled of his own accord, where he made a home, where he found his people, summoned and otherwise, and watched as their lives moved on while he and his fellow summoned seemed stuck.

it has been some time since sam really walked through the streets - his home out in the dessert and their places in the godlands have been his known haunts more recently. but every now and then, at least once every fifth or so years, he just likes to see how the city had changed. if it's changed. what proof there is of time passing at all. it helped center him, helped ground his thoughts and memories, helped-

or, rather, it used to. now, sam goes walking through the city to see if he can find something - anything - that might help him settle his unruly thoughts. things are changing. more than that- things aren't what they seem, and sam has always been someone who has been able to at least be confident in what he knows. this? this is something else.

he wanders the streets as a mortal, a particular form that some may recognize, if he were of greater popularity. for now, he is able to walk with relative autonomy, which also may be why he takes notice of a fellow god in the path. altair, someone sam would call a friend, who looks... equally, if not more so, troubled. ]

Something on your mind, friend?

[furibund]

[ ( Don't be more embarrassed. ) Nebula successfully manages to not be a certain cursed word even as she shakes her head. ]

You're not exactly a closed book.

[ Azem's always been giving, for as far back as she can remember. And that memory does go far enough back - putting up with her even at her most ornery. She's a little less so now, but there are days where she's still quick to snap and she's certainly never lost her wry sense of humour. ]

[ The other has a point, even if she'll never admit it, that she does know her simply from paying attention. Trying to remember the details and the what nots. It's why she adds: ]

Not the official name. The nearby village calls them Sun Spears for the way their colors reflect light in the early morning. We've missed them today.

[ And probably would tomorrow, with the way time feels to so many of them, but that doesn't stop her from adding a little more hushedly: ] We should make a point to see them next time.

[exuviage]

I don't think it counts as testing if we already did it on live humans...

[ But regardless of his semantic disagreements, she needn't encourage him twice.

Once again his hand sweeps out, and the water under their feet buckles suddenly, a whirlpool rising up around their feet in coils, vaguely serpentine and scaled. It's hardly a warning at all, as the sea surges suddenly with the concentrated force of several waves at once thrusting them airborne. The joyous moment of weightlessness that follows stretches for a long second, much longer than the cannonball stunt ever was, as they fly higher and higher... and begin to fall faster and faster towards the water. Next to Hilda, Yinyue whoops once in delight, and when he hits the water a moment before her, he disappears deep into the depths in a flash of tail and glowing horns. The bay reaches up for Hilda a moment later, a frothing riot of bubbles and salt water catching her in a cool embrace as she plunges towards the depths.

By the time she can start to get her bearings, Yinyue's hands find hers once again, helping her right herself in the swirling waters, and gently guiding her towards something -- a pocket of air, nearly as large as Torgal, waits for her so she can catch her breath without ascending. The sunlight filtering down from the surface casts everything in shades of alien blue, and everything smells wet, but its blessed oxygen almost 20 feet below the surface. Nobody ought to complain about a miracle. ]

You're good?

[ Checking on her again, the worrywart. ]

[monomachy]

Despite the things lurking in the gloom of the trees, Diana is not afraid of the forest. Over the centuries, she has faced many horrors here, but with a capable fighter like Geralt by her side she is not worried. The two of them are a force, even tired as they are from the battle they just fought.

Her heart warms at the offer, but just as quickly turns to aching. She knows the offer is genuine, and she knows a part of her would love being there. But the nature of her domain makes it difficult, at times, to stay in one place for very long. She is always pulled away, either by echoes or her own intuition that another god needs her. It feels almost like a betrayal to even consider holing up for an entire season, leaving all to their own devices.

It is a dangerous train of thought, one that has pulled her under before.

So she makes a decision, one that she'll call selfish later. But recently, something in the winds, in the magic feels like it has changed, and she has the notion that she needs to change as well. At least a little. "I would like to see Ciri again." Her tone is wistful, thoughtful, as if she's trying to grab on to something that she can't quite reach. "I think I will take you up on that this winter." For as long as she can manage to tear herself away from her duty.

She tilts her head up towards the canopy above, again thoughtful. "I have not seen many true winters. I am usually in the desert at that time, and before..." She trails off, unable to really voice what "before" means. She shakes her head slightly. "I do not think I saw many at all when I was younger."

[monomachy]

[Diana can imagine half a dozen things she might have said to the woman, but the prayer had not come to her, so it is moot. She lets herself feel it for a moment, the empathy she'd have for her, and then stows it away for the time being, her attention back on Jonathan. Another thing she has learned is how not to say every thought that pops into her head at every perceived injustice; that had taken many centuries to master, but it is a skill she is grateful for.

She considers for a moment longer before responding.]

We are complicated creatures, all of us. [Gods and mortals alike. No matter how much some of the Summoned prefer to set themselves apart (or above) the people of this world, it remains that they all share some common characteristics.

She turns to look at him.]

But you know I think there is always a choice. The ability to choose is one of our greatest gifts.

["Our." Again, commonalities that draw the gods and mortals together.]

[monomachy]

The ease with which the Summoned could slip in and out of mortal perception had once unsettled her; now, it is one of their greatest boons. Diana had learned, many centuries ago, that it was easier to fool their eyes than to live with the suspicion in them once they saw someone who didn't change, didn't age. It had not occurred to her, before then, it might be something she would be stigmatized for. But now she, too, is adept at tricking their eyes into seeing just a shadow, perhaps a slight shimmer of air, where she moves when the occasion calls for it.

And as they walk, as she embraces this magic more, her skin darkens to the dusky hues of night, and pinpoints of starlight shimmer across her body. A by-product of existing in this in-between plane, but no longer an uncomfortable one.

Diana smiles at him, letting out a quiet laugh. "Busy." She's always busy, but it's because she chooses to be. Idleness has never been her way. "Back from the Witchwood a few days ago, and I was at the Lunae Settlement before that." Always traveling, always answering calls and checking in on other gods. "But I like to travel, to see how this world changes." Which is true--it feels as if she had blinked, and suddenly borders had shifted and technology had advanced. But perhaps that is because she does not think she saw much change in the world during her first few millennia of life.

"How are you?" The question is volleyed back, but with kindness. This is the reason she came here, after all. "What have you been doing? Don't tell me you stand in cemeteries every day." The last part is said as a joke, but there might be a trace of real concern in her voice, but only a trace.