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abraxaslogs2024-04-17 10:07 am
abraxasmods) wrote in abraxaslogs2024-04-17 10:07 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- !npc,
- achilles; the hierophant,
- adrienne peters; the empress,
- aloy; the hermit,
- altaïr ibn-la'ahad; the magician,
- alucard; the hierophant,
- annabeth chase; the high priestess,
- apollo; the star,
- arthur hastings; the hanged man,
- astarion ancunín; the wheel of fortune,
- cassian andor; the tower,
- castiel; the hanged man,
- cidolfus telamon; the hanged man,
- cirilla of cintra; the devil,
- claire fraser; the empress,
- clarisse la rue; the chariot,
- claude von riegan; the wheel of fortune,
- clive rosfield; the tower,
- dan heng; the high priestess,
- dean winchester; the lovers,
- diana prince; the empress,
- dion lesage; the emperor,
- eddie munson; the devil,
- edward teach; the devil,
- gale dekarios; the lovers,
- garrus vakarian; justice,
- geralt of rivia; the hanged man,
- haelva lueltar; the magician,
- heather montgomery; the magician,
- henry creel; the hierophant,
- hilda goneril; the lovers,
- himeka sui; the fool,
- istredd; the high priestess,
- jack townsend; the moon,
- jacob frye; the sun,
- jaskier; the sun,
- jerry pascal; the sun,
- jesper fahey; the wheel of fortune,
- jill warrick; death,
- jinora; the world,
- jo harvelle; strength,
- john blake; the tower,
- jon snow; the emperor,
- jonathan crane; the magician,
- julia wicker; the tower,
- julie lawry; the wheel of fortune,
- kaz brekker; the chariot,
- kell maresh; the magician,
- koby; death,
- kyle; the hanged man,
- lord john grey; justice,
- lucifer; the devil,
- mat cauthon; the wheel of fortune,
- matt murdock; the tower,
- merrin; strength,
- michael; the emperor,
- nadine cross; the world,
- nanaue; the fool,
- nathan drake; the fool,
- nebula; death,
- percy jackson; the lovers,
- prince wilhelm; the tower,
- river tam; the fool,
- rocket; the chariot,
- sabine; the empress,
- sam wilson; justice,
- stephen strange; death,
- steve harrington; the lovers,
- steve rogers; the hierophant,
- sylvain gautier; the sun,
- teddy roberts; death,
- thancred waters; strength,
- the doctor; the fool,
- travis guidry; the chariot,
- viktor; death,
- will solace; the empress,
- wrench; the hanged man,
- yennefer of vengerberg; the chariot,
- zagreus; the chariot
EVENT #18: EMERGENCE - IC EVENT LOG
Event #18 - Emergence
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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?◎ Mechapolis
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.
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.◎ The Barren/The Badlands
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.
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.◎ The Maw
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 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.
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.
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.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.
◎ 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Doctor - Post-awakening
Doctor! Are you here?
[ The second difference is: she's looking for him without holding that same amount of rage deep in her chest. Her posture isn't closed off and she wants to see him, she wants to get her hands on him. The memories are all floating together and it's not that she has traded one for the other, it's a blend. She remembers their first kiss, after she cried her heart out in the TARDIS, and she remembers the last time they saw one another here, when she left Hudson with him and his loneliness.
Julia is not new to memory problems or different timelines so she's not as confused as other people might be. The catalysts for her were multiple and she was quicker to believe than other people might be. The fractures are happening in this delusion but she truly doesn't know what will happen if more people refuse to listen. She does not want to be the Cassandra before Troy of this particular illusion. But her first stop is him. Her first stop will always be him. ]
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He has been leaving his Horizon, he kept to his promise to help again, to be a Doctor as he'd always intended and meant to be. He's too proud to admit openly that being around people again has helped and made him feel better, but it has, and he's been...better. Ish. Getting there, at least.
He did keep more secrets from Julia, though, things he hadn't quite known how to explain, and wouldn't have begun to in that short visit after so much time apart. But he'd been — seeing things, hearing things, flashes of memories he couldn't understand, from what felt like another life that both did and did not belong to him. Now and then, he'll remember doing terrible things and wonder what sort of person he was, if any of it was real at all, hoping it wasn't. Which has only driven him a bit more mad — what's real and not? For some reason, he's still at least blissfully unaware of the fractures around them, taking some quiet time away from the world to be with Hudson. But when he hears her, his hearts go soft and ache a bit. She's come back. Maybe there's a chance — ]
Here, of course.
[ He steps out from beneath a console that looks awfully familiar. If only he could remember. On the console is a robot head he's kept with him for company. Between the robot's severed head and Hudson, he's kept a grip on his sanity. Everything is fine!
He moves to stand slowly, threading his hands together only because he doesn't know what to do with them, when he's desperate to touch her. ]
You came back.
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Where she stayed away from him before, she runs to him now. She always knew if she just gave into their connection again, they'd both be helpless to their true desires. She needs to use that now against him. She doesn't know how much time they have left. Julia reaches out to cup his face in her hands, pushing their bodies close to each other, forcing herself into his space intimately. Her eyes look up at him with an intensity different from what he's grown used to. ]
Doctor. Listen to me.
[ That is all she can ask from him. That their trust, broken before, is still under the surface enough for him to hear her. Her feelings for him haven't changed, her love for him always there. The reality is this: when this is gone, what they were is gone too. They will be sacrificing so much. But she knows it is right. They will die here. ]
This isn't real. We've been tricked.
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Some part of him feels that makes complete sense and might explain some of the odd dreams he's been having lately. But the other part of him, the part that's fighting against her words actually being true, thinks that simply can't be possible. Everything they've been through — how could it not be real?
He's so glad to see her, though, and everything that happened between them recently is forgotten in favor of relishing the way her hands feel against his skin. His eyes briefly close before he catches her eyes again. She's closer than they've been in so long and he can almost — ]
Tricked? No, that can't be, it's — all of this, Julia?
[ His eyes slam closed for a moment, a rush of a memory coming through for him, something that was lost before. It's an intense feeling, a push and pull in his mind as he grapples with reality and lies, and his hands reach up to cover hers, to pull them away from his face because there was pain between them, wasn't there? They'd parted, but...he loves her, he married her. Or did he? No, that's not real — his grip on her hands remains, and he clutches tightly to her while his eyes stay closed. ]
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I'm sorry. [ She kisses him gently before pulling back. ] I'm so sorry what I have to do.
[ There is only one path she can see to victory and it's the harshest one. It's like magic coming from pain. Memory can come from it too. For all the beautiful things they've experienced, it's what pulls them apart that stays the longest. There are tears in her eyes since this became a mess she never asked for, and it's been difficult, getting bits and pieces of the truth back. Agonizing, in some ways. ]
A long time ago you told me about Susan, your granddaughter, and your friend the Corsair. You told me about your wife River, and your friends Amy and Rory. They lost their daughter for a long time and you thought you were responsible. You blamed yourself for their deaths because you said they wanted to live a quiet life but you couldn't leave them.
[ It's difficult to bring up the people he loved and lost because she knows that it hurt him, that they all weighed on him. So to force him to remember the worst aspects to pull him back to himself, it's a terrible cruelty, but Julia knows he is already suffering. He's starting to lose himself in this reality and he's going to fade away. They're all in peril and if she has to be cruel to wake him up, that's what she'll have to do. Julia's never shied away from hard decisions, she wasn't allowed to. ]
You wanted to be the Doctor, but the universe called you the Oncoming Storm.
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He knows she wouldn't lie to him, it's just that...he doesn't want what she's saying to be true.
He starts to try and pull away from her, though his attempt to actually pull away is mild and weak at best. If she attempts to hold him tighter in return, he won't be able to resist. ]
No. No, please, that's not true, it can't be. That man, he wasn't a good man. He did terrible things. I was better, I was trying to be better...
[ He looks at her more fully, though, his voice soft and a little broken. ]
It means losing you.
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We've both done terrible things, and we both wanted to do better.
[ She shakes her head and drops her hands away but only to put one around his waist and the other around his neck, each point of contact gripping him close to her, reeling him in and keeping him there. They held onto the same hope before, that they could make up for their mistakes and put some good into the world. And for centuries in this fantasy they created, they did exactly that. They can't go back now, not in this world, but they have a chance. ]
You never lost me. I've loved you all this time and I'll love you again, in any life we find ourselves in.
[ She leans up and kisses him deeply, almost desperately, trying to cling to him and bring him back to himself. Wicka the goddess could not find her way back to him, but Julia the goddess might be able to. She kisses him trying to make him melt, to cling, memories of their centuries together still feeling real, even if it won't be once they wake up. She won't forget being in his arms. ]
We need to save everyone, Doctor. [ She has tears in her eyes as she leans their foreheads together. ] I need you to wake up.
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She's crying, and that edges him more immediately to reality, to finding his way back to himself. His hearts ache at the sight, wanting to soothe, wanting to believe, wanting to feel everything she feels.
When she kisses him, he loses all tension from his limbs, holding onto her in return, kissing her just as deeply and sinking into her. He comes back to her then — that kiss, and the moment she says she needs him to wake up. He reaches out now, stroking her hair back from her eyes, stroking her cheek, touching her in every way that he can. His own eyes glisten with unshed tears, but then he kisses her forehead before pressing close to her again.
It's disorienting, remembering everything — like he can't catch his breath, but he holds her tighter as a thousand years of memories come flooding back all at once and he closes his eyes again. ]
I remember. All of it, Julia. I'm — I'm here.
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This is different from the crying she did in the TARDIS, when she was trying to keep it together and failing, and closer to how she felt when she got her Shade back and all she could feel was pain. It's the agony of the last two hundred years of bitterness that's now being supplanted with the very real agony she suffered in her actual life. She has to suffer it again so she holds onto him. At least she's not alone. ]
I'm sorry.
[ She mumbles against his chest and she kisses once to where each of his hearts would be, before looking up at him again. Tears streak across her face and she looks a mess, just as she did in the TARDIS, confessing it all to him. Julia hopes there's a time where he doesn't have to deal with her crying too much. There's just been a lot back to back.
She's so mad at herself, at what she turned into. The guilt is going to get her. ]
I don't know how long we've been in the crater. Our bodies can sustain longer than normal humans, but who knows about the others.
[ She means the other Summoned -- they may think they're gods, but many of them are just humans. They've told her that no one can live in the Horizon because your body on the outside can eventually die. ]
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As he cradles her, the Doctor's hand moves to rest against the back of her head, stroking her hair tenderly until she pulls back to look up at him. Even then, he can't stop touching her in a desperate attempt to comfort her, his fingers sweeping tousled strands back and away from her eyes, the pad of his thumb catching her tears to brush them away. ]
I'm sorry. I'm with you now, though, promise. Now and always.
[ He's worried about her, about all of them, though she's always his first priority here. He'll deal with the rest of his memories later, they need to get everyone sorted out, and he needs to be as steady for Julia as she's been for him. Reaching for her hands, he kisses her knuckles tenderly, lingering for a moment. ]
We'll have to move quickly. Divide up and double our efforts, but we'll get through this, we will.
[ Reluctant though he is to let go of her now, they need everyone safe and he knows that's at the forefront of her mind, too. ]
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She breathes in and out deeply to try and calm herself down and she pushes aside any thoughts about Reynard to the side where they belong. That's come back to her but it isn't important, it isn't defining right then. ]
Just give me ... five minutes.
[ They can have five minutes, can't they? After eight hundred years that didn't actually exist, she feels like it's not ultimately that selfish to give them a few minutes to deal with what happened to them. And yes, if they manage to get out, and get everyone out with them, and that's her intention, they'll have time to cope. This is going to be a head fuck for the whole group.
Saving lives no matter what is happening for them, that's been their thing, right? Or it was supposed to be until they went astray. They can get back to it. In five minutes. She reaches up to cup his face and pulls him into a kiss, feeling like she needs to briefly hold onto something good, something real, that she's had before and after. They're not married but they are.
She eventually does have to stop kissing him and she does, breathing unsteadily.]
You have to think of things that remind them of their past. Not sure how with people we don't know, but ... that's what works.
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For five minutes.
Yes. Good. Five minutes, they can manage it.
Those kisses are returned with such an intensity that he gets lost in it for a moment, feeling everything they were and weren't, everything they lost and didn't, all that was real and not. They'll have to sort it out later, of course, but... later.
Reaching down, he takes her hand, pulling it close to kiss her knuckles before he tries to say — ] Julia, I — [ He wants to say that he loves her. But they weren't there yet in their reality, it was so...new, so tentative. That's sitting alongside eight hundred years of loving her, though, and it's easy and hard all at once. Somehow he can't say the words suddenly, but his eyes fill in the gaps. For now. ]
We'll fix this.
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Maybe this isn't real. [ She says, looking up at him. ] But I love you all the same.
[ That is what she feels, it's what is in her heart. Julia isn't out of this delusion long enough to unpack everything that was or wasn't real. Most of it, for certain, but she has no idea how it will be when they step outside. When they get back to the crater, and then back to Solvunn, and have to live with what happened. Yet Julia has a strong heart, and she is an honest person, so she wants to tell him that before it all changes. Maybe they weren't in love yet there, but they had love for each other as friends. She knows how she feels right then.
She leans her forehead against his clavicle and stays there, her head tucked underneath his chin. Her breathing finally starts to even out. They were given five minutes to be selfish and used it. She forces herself to pull away but grips his hands, holding onto him just a few more seconds.
Abruptly, the sky suddenly cracks above them and a bit of lightning can be seen on the other end. Because they're awake. ]
We might have to drag people kicking and screaming out.
[ Some didn't have miserable experiences like the two of them by the end. ]
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Marrying Julia hadn't been quite so fraught and they were happy, yet it also wasn't real. Like with River, though, it doesn't just neatly wrap up simply because things have been set to right. The memories linger, the feelings are real. Everything he'd felt for her and everything he'd begun to feel shortly before reality fractured — none of that was false by any measure. ]
It was real enough for me.
[ His hold on her when she tucks her head against him is just as tight and protective as it's ever been. Those words, the way his arms cradle her with such reverence — this is his way of saying that he loves her, too. He's just not doing a good job of actually saying it. He does, however, take both of her hands for a moment when she pulls back and holds onto him, and then he's delicately kissing her palms before pressing both of her hands over his hearts.
In some way he can't begin to explain like she deserves, these old, tattered, worn hearts of his belong to her. He's given his love to many, in ways he's often not conscious of understanding, and he tries so hard to love every beautiful, fragile little life in the universe in a myriad of ways, but there are few he would ever trust to sink into the depths of him. Here and now, it feels important to tell her that even if he struggles with those words. ]
If there are any two I believe in with absolute certainty to get it done, it's the pair of us. We are rather good at this.
[ And oh, how he's missed her. ]
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She puts her hands on his hearts and that is very reassuring. She can feel them thump away even though they don't need to in here, and her own is going, because they're remembering they are just people again. Somewhere Julia's Godlands woodland village has turned into a simple house again. They are still enough in the illusion that she'll pull it together, they will need power in order to keep going. ]
We're a great team. I remember that.
[ Not only in this fake reality, when they were a perfect team for hundreds of years, but in the normal timeline too. They investigated the crime in Ikorr together and did well, partially helping the eventual discovery. They talked about visiting the stars together. Julia felt even before they kissed that they were a good pair. Now she knows.
It doesn't bother her that he can't say the words back. She knows how he feels. He shows his feelings better than speaking them. She wants to stay clinging to him but they aren't getting anywhere doing that. Julia reluctantly pulls her hands away, and she puts her hair up into a ponytail. Very 'getting down to business' behavior for her. ]
Start with people you know might be receptive. If we get enough going we'll have more people to team up with.
wrap here or your next one?
[ He pats her hands reassuringly for the briefest of moments before she pulls her hands back, the shadow of a smile on his lips. It's not the best of times, but reassuring and offering hope in some way is the Doctor getting back to himself and his more natural, instinctive way of being.
As her hair is pulled up into a ponytail, the Doctor straightens his bowtie, lifting his chin. Yes. Good. Be a Doctor again, he quietly tells himself. With his memories back, he recalls that time not so long ago in his life so very far away from here when he'd hidden away from people and the universe, when the pain of loss had done him in then, too. Maybe he needs to do something about that. Later.
For now, there are others to save. Giving a little nod, in agreement he adds — ]
And on and on until we're all back to ourselves.
Wrap!
[ It would logically make the most sense, but Julia has no idea how this even happened. Is it the Singularity? Did the other gods cause this? They won't know until they leave. The important part is getting everyone out alive. She does know no one is dead yet because she feels like that is something they as a group would have figured out, so there is still time. They need to hurry and act as if there is not much left.
She leans up to peck him one more time on the lips and helps straighten his bowtie. ]
Go team go.
[ Julia smiles at him, as much as she can muster, and then disappears out of the Godlands. ]