The Mission

[abraxasmods]

 

The Mission

The Dimmest Day is upon us.

The champions of Thorne seek to deliver their caskets safely to the central artifact of the Singularity. Opposing them are the champions of the Free Cities and Solvunn, who are charged with intercepting as many caskets as they can and carrying them safely back to their respective factions— but each is also charged with preventing the other from doing the same.

From across Abraxas, in the dead of night, three groups of the Summoned converge on the Singularity. What they do here will have lasting effects on the world and every other beyond it.

Thorne

Pleased to see a healthy number of volunteers gathered at the Empty Throne, Ambrose allows his champions a moment to savor the vocal appreciation of the gathered crowd ringing the courtyard. Thorneans applaud and cheer, and Frederick, previously this year's Elected sacrifice, looks beyond relieved. High above, the King and Queen emerge on the Royal balcony, and without any further warning the gathered crowd breaks into song— an ancient hymn of thanksgiving that feels very awkwardly like a prayer being directed towards the Summoned themselves.

Along with black leather sling packs for carrying the caskets and a lantern each, a group of apprentices bring forth pieces of armor, enchanted rings and circlets, all of them offered as temporary loans to Thorne's champions who could use a little aid in their work. These hold simple defensive and life-preserving spells, presumably a small hoard of trinkets kept aside from the usual Dimming sacrifice: putting them on may grant added resistance to magical attack, a boost to existing magical ability, or increase an individual's speed, strength or dexterity. Once everything is distributed, Ambrose himself passes out the caskets, taking great care to hand each one over with a stern, steady stare.

Even tapping into the emergency storage of magical energy provided by an ornate reliquary placed behind the throne, it takes the efforts of all the assembled Thornean mages together to open the portal that will deliver the Summoned to the crater's edge. Ambrose explains that due to the Dimming, they won't be able to create another to bring his champions home until the sun rises— and only then if the mission to restore the Singularity is successful. Everything rests with the Summoned, now. They must not fail.

The Free Cities

Aleksander's laboratory is exactly the kind of mad scientist with access to magic take on Leonardo DaVinci's workshop you might expect. Strange, chemically powered devices bubble and tick. Doves flutter and coo anxiously in cages. A couple of ominous metal exam tables with leather restraint cuffs bolted to them have been pushed back to the walls to make room for a large contraption that looks like a cartoonish steampunk ray gun, far taller than a man, aimed at a hastily painted bullseye target on a raised metal platform. Surrounding it are strange alchemic sigils burned into the floor. It becomes clear all too soon that this is the method of transport the champions of the Free Cities will be using to get to the Singularity for their mission. This is a very tech-heavy flavor of New Magic.

Assistants usher the Summoned towards the platform and offer a range of odd hand-held devices and wearable tech for anyone who would like a little extra boost. Alongside chemically powered lanterns, the Summoned are invited to pick up energy dispersing chestplates, power-assisted boots for increased speed or spring in a step and so on— though it's fair to say Aleksander's creations do all look like they might be more in the experimental stage.

Charged using a device some of the Summoned might recognize from Alexander's holiday experiment at the Circus of the Sciences, the transporter ray is ready to deliver the Free Cities' champions to the Singularity. Set on a timer, the device will activate a second time at dawn to generate a gateway to welcome them home with their winnings. Aleksander wishes them good fortune, ensures everyone is properly situated on the platform, and with a pull of a lever sends them on their mission.

Solvunn

By the Solstice itself, a great unlit pyre topped with a strange, crude effigy of a creature resembling a bear has been built in the middle of the town, encircled by a group of seven mages in elaborate masked costumes representing elements of the landscape around them— rocks, fields, forests and streams. But Rowan, who the Summoned have been directed to report to, is not among them. He stands by a smaller fire, uncharacteristically solemn. It is time for Solvunn and its champions to receive their blessings, though as always these come with a price.

Rowan directs each of the group to step up in turn and surrender something to the flames. These sacrifices can be small, but they must belong to the person giving them up. A garment they are wearing would suffice, or even just a lock of hair, a drop of blood, a clipped fingernail. These gifts, Rowan explains, will link each of the Summoned with a blessing they can carry with them as they travel to the Singularity.

Another mage wearing an elaborate antlered headdress bestows the blessings as the Summoned give their gifts, dipping an elegant hand into the flames and drawing a strange runic sigil onto their foreheads with the ash of the ceremonial fire— and instantly, the Summoned may feel they have received increased vitality, strength, speed, enhanced visual or auditory acuity. They are handed a lantern each and instructed to stand aside as the mages ask the gods to light their path, and once all gifts are distributed, the gathered mages lift their arms and begin to chant. A fiery tendril leaps from the sacrificial fire to the main pyre itself in a crackling arc that sustains itself there in the air, forming a doorway to the edge of the Singularity’s crater. This passage of fire will remain passable in either direction until the great pyre burns down to embers.

The more perceptive of the group may catch sight of huge, formless shadows moving at the very edge of their vision as they step through the fiery arch.

The Crater

When each faction's group of champions emerge on the other side, they find themselves delivered to the closest point around the rim of the Singularity's crater to their home faction. A few miles in diameter and several feet deep, the crater is a strangely, perfectly circular depression in the desert with the towering monolith of the Singularity itself glowing faintly visible through the dark of night at its center— and unlike the last time the Summoned were brought here, they have time to catch their breath and let their eyes adjust, if they wish. Muted and diminished, the Singularity makes no attempt to draw the Summoned to itself. To approach it, they will have to walk.

Physically breaching the border of the crater makes shivers run down spines and hairs stand on end, but it seems Ambrose was right. Rather than being yanked without ceremony into the metaphysical realm of the Horizon, the Summoned are able to make their careful way over the sloping rim of the crater, where each party will be able to catch sight of lights moving in the darkness as the Summoned of other factions climb down to the arena of the crater's smoothly featureless floor.

The desert air is cold and clear in the dark of night, sound carrying easily across the distance between the three parties. Raised on its rocky plinth, the towering statue of the Singularity beckons. The Dimming reaches its nadir as the Summoned of each faction march towards inevitable conflict.

---

OOC: Event #5: The Dimming

LOG: Thorne | The Free Cities | Solvunn

PvP: The Mission to the Singularity

Comments

The Singularity

[abraxasmods]

In the very center of the crater, approximately half an hour’s walk from the rim, lies the monolithic statue of the Singularity itself, glowing faintly with a strange, internal light in the darkness. A towering relic with a circular opening, the statue is raised on a rocky plinth that will require a little effort to climb. Thankfully, it seems like someone or something has hewn crude steps into the stone, long enough ago for all the edges to be smoothly worn and weathered.

Those with caskets to deliver should place them at the statue's base.

(Characters may attempt to interact with the Singularity here! Touching the statue or approaching it while holding a casket will trigger a response.)

[harmonian]

Sasarai trudges up to the relic, feeling faint just from the sheer size of it. In the back of his mind he can feel the True Earth wheeling, wanting to consume the power before it.

He tuts out loud to quiet the Rune's frantic buzzing and reaches out his fingers to caress the dark stone, his last casket still tucked beneath his arm.

[photophobic]

Bruised and battered but having successfully argued and fought his way past Tony Stark and Goro, Kylo staggers up the steps leading to the statue's base.

Can it feel him? Is it aware of the battle being fought for it? He doesn't know. None of it matters anyway. All he has to do is deliver his cargo and go back to the fight, to keep the way open for the others from Thorne.

Kylo drops to a knee, hastily pulling two of his three caskets out of the sling pack, and offers them to the Singularity.

[sorser]

Stephen finds himself before the Singularity, accompanying Yennefer who possesses a casket to deliver; while his had been lost during the trek to the center of the crater, it does not change the secondary task conferred to him—to assess the monolith’s connection with the state of the world and many others, before and after an offering—but only how he might achieve it. Riding the coattails of someone else’s success will just have to work for now.

“Give me a moment first,” he says, glancing over his shoulder to still any urgency to fling a casket at the thing. He’s sure she must be eager after what she’s been through to get here. “I need a baseline to compare.”

With that, Stephen reaches out to press a palm flat against the monolith.

[nightwash]

When Ronan finally reaches the Singularity, he can barely keep himself on his feet. His concussion has the ground swaying like a stormy sea, moving in and out of focus so that he's struggling to navigate even this straightforward path. Just the last few steps, a trail of blood marking his path as he goes. So much spilling out of him for such a little stab wound. He's always surprised by how much he holds, once it starts going.

"It's okay," he whispers to the Singularity. Not himself. He's not the one who needs reassurance. It's the Singularity that's been waiting all this time for a rescue, and here he is finally, doing what he'd promised he would do.

When Ronan crumbles to his knees, he goes slowly, like he's genuflecting at Mass. He's only managed to save one casket, so he has to be careful with it as he makes his offering. When he gently places it at the base, his whole body folds forward, spine giving up the cause of holding him upright.

He touches his forehead to the Singularity, more for comfort than out of any hope it can revive him. There's a whole lot more than nightwash wrong with him now, and he's pretty sure putting an end to the Dimming won't fix blood loss and brain hemorrhaging. But it feels good to lean into the Singularity, the way it felt good to curl up inside Ilidorin when he was dying. It's the feeling of one small part of him reunited with the greater part of him.

Kylo Ren | Thorne

[photophobic]

Kylo's encounter plotting thread is over here. I'll put up a prompt for chatting with Thorne folks at the start of the mission, and some for his encounters. If you'd like something else, feel free to ask me! You can contact me on starktech or hit me up on Discord @ cryloren#2195. Prose or brackets equally welcome, I'm happy to match styles.

Arrival at the Crater

[photophobic]

Armed, armoured and equipped with three caskets in the sling pack Thorne provided, Kylo steps forward through the portal.

It's dark on the other side, with only the light of the company's lanterns illuminating the terrain ahead— but Kylo doesn't need to rely on sight alone. He can feel the presence of others even before they crest the rim of the crater and scramble down to the arena floor. Hostile others.

"They're already here," he hisses.

How many of them, he can't tell. It's difficult to concentrate on much else than the background hum of the Singularity's power and the strange energy emanating from the caskets slung across his chest. But now might be a good time to either consider strategy... or perhaps they would be better off charging for the Singularity all at once?

First encounter, closed to Tony Stark

[photophobic]

Kylo jumps the last couple of feet to land on the crater's floor, not too concerned about drawing attention with the sound of his approach. Confident in his abilities and comfortable with conflict, he's determined to lure as much attention towards himself and away from the rest of the group as possible.

It wouldn't be difficult in daylight. Kylo is six feet and nine inches of black-robed menace in armour with a sour disposition that all but billows out of him like a poisonous cloud. In the dark of night, he'll have to lean a little harder into theatrics.

The magical sword Ronan dreamt for him blazes with fiery red light as Kylo unsheathes it and stalks forward towards the Singularity, brandishing his blade and the Thornean lantern swinging at his hip both as unashamed indicators of his presence.

Yes. Here he is. Come and get him.

Second encounter, closed to Goro

[photophobic]

A little more stirred and irritable now, Kylo stalks towards the Singularity with renewed purpose. He's less inclined to entertain thoughts of negotiating with the enemy now, determined more than ever to deliver the precious cargo he's carrying to the monolith. Once he's done that, he'll dedicate himself to keeping the way clear for his compatriots.

But he doesn't get much further before his senses flare with warning. It doesn't seem like he needs to worry about wordy debate after all— someone is turning towards him with very little more than violence in mind.

He exhales and readies himself, blazing sword drawn and eyes narrowed.

"Come at me then," he demands. "Take it! If you can."

Third encounter, closed to Link

[photophobic]

Kylo is knelt before the Singularity having delivered two of the three caskets Thorne charged him with when he feels it— somewhere, out on the arena of the crater floor, Ronan is fighting a battle he may well lose. He can feel it. His senses blare with urgency.

He doesn't have time to retrieve the last of his caskets from the pack and deliver it first. Clutching his sword instead, Kylo hurls himself down the steps and onto the battleground, utterly focused on finding Ronan's attacker and taking them down before they can wound him further.

RONAN LYNCH | THORNE

[nightwash]

open to all thorneans | the arrival

[nightwash]

The last time Ronan stood here gazing out over this crater, he'd been too overwhelmed by the Singularity to appreciate the view that's now concealed by the dark of night. He's struggling to remember what it looked like. When he tries to picture it, the only thing he can recall is the feeling of it. The power of the Singularity had hummed in his veins just like the ley line in its awakened state, so charged with life that Ronan himself had felt electric.

He understands why Ambrose and the other mages are so afraid of the Dimming. Ronan is afraid, too, now that he senses the Singularity's depletion. It's not so weak that he's worried he'll be stricken with nightwash — not yet — but it doesn't feel impossible anymore that the Singularity could be snuffed out as easily as his ley line.

"We can't fuck this up," he mutters to himself, stepping closer to the crater's edge. He'd refused a lantern in favor of his dreamt ghost light, a luminous orb that bobs and hovers just ahead of him like a snowball-sized firefly, casting him in a faint blue glow. It catches the metal of his armor, which glints more than he'd anticipated, though the raven feathers of his cloak and the beakish curve of his helmet might make him look more monster than man from a distance. Maybe that will work in his favor.

VEXED TO NIGHTMARE will have to remain in its scabbard. If he unsheathes the sunblade, he'll become a beacon that will be seen from miles away.

"Don't stop for anything," he advises his neighbors. "We can circle back to pick up anyone who's fallen after we've delivered the caskets. It's all for nothing if we let ourselves get too distracted to finish the mission."

closed to inej | successful interception

[nightwash]

The descent into the crater is steeper than Ronan would prefer. He's rappelled off plenty of rock faces, but he's usually wearing the proper gear for a climb. A full suit of plate armor is another story. It's clumsy and slow-going and he's already cursing himself for most of his choices tonight. Namely, preparing for a battle instead of stealth and speed.

The burden of three caskets doesn't make the journey down any easier, but he would have volunteered to carry more if he could. Difficult as it is, this mission isn't just about Thorne. This is personal. This is life-or-death. He doesn't stop for a single second longer than it takes to steady his footing, his eyes focused on the rocky path dimly illuminated by his ghost light.

Alucard | Free Cities

[cryptsleeper]

Aleksander's lab
[In point of fact, Alucard's come to understand that he has no special interest in the singularity, or even acting on the Free City's behalf for the sake of what the core of this conflict is about. He's found a quiet niche for himself in repairing one of the city's graveyards and the thought of returning to Wallachia makes him want to curl up. There, there's nothing but too many awful memories and a world that demands and demands from him, when he has nothing left to give. At least here, in his tiny corner, he can be himself. Take the shape of a wolf and sleep all day if he wants, and no one will ask more of him than that.

But beneath all that surface acceptance, there's still anger. Anger from home, and anger at Thorne for dragging him here, deeming him less than when they chose to take him from a far too low point, and then chucking him into a cell. So this? This is letting out that anger, pure and simple.

In looking at the equipment on display, Alucard pokes a delicate finger against one of lanterns.]

Effective. But how good is this for running with?

The Crater
[Alucard's eyes are well suited for darkness. It is one of the perks of being the son of Dracula - good eyesight. Just as another is the ability to float in mid air if he so chooses, which is precisely what Alucard does upon reaching the crater. Not too far from off the ground for now, just enough to boost his line of vision.

Beyond intersecting caskets, his goals are two fold: chaos and coverage. Chaos for any that side with Thorne that want a casket back, coverage for anyone else who might need it. A distraction from someone in pursuit. An extra set of hands for something said to be heavy. Whatever need be.

But to begin, the dhampir simply moves forward, eyes ahead, borrowed sword from the lab at his side.]

Wildcard
[I'm happy to chat stuff out, roll encounters, provide tactical support, anything.]

Lab

[petcromancer]

What do you need a lantern for? Can't you see in the dark?

[Hector grumbles, unable to help himself. He's extra put out because the Free Cities have been going hard on being anti-magic all week, and then he comes here to see all of this 'New Magic' alchemy. Fucking hypocrites how dare they make this place interesting. But he can't call Aleksander out without risking losing reputation (or worse, being sent home, which would interfere with his plans), so sniping at Alucard will have to do.]

Inej Ghafa | Solvunn

[shadowthief]

OOC

Note

HMU on Inej's HMD / loyalwolf[#3540] on plurk[/discord] for plotting! Wildcards always welcome.

Solvunn

[shadowthief]

I. The Ceremony

OTA Solvunn Volunteers

Inej didn't know what, precisely, she was signing up for beyond the brass tacks basics of what they had been told. The only part she cared about, at this stage, was preventing something from breaking. If the Free Cities stopped more caskets from being placed at the Singularity, that was fine by her. As long as the Thorne volunteers were stopped, and there were as few as possible of these caskets left to overpower the Singularity with, arguably, catastrophic level effects, it would be a win in Inej's eyes.

She had taken up a few odd jobs around the town to earn this world's version of kruge, and she's armed with four knives: Three she'd managed to barter for, and a push dagger that a shop keeper had kindly given her in her very first days here. She would be sure to repay him in kind, when she returned.

The pyre in the middle of the town towers above her, and she can't quite tell what the creature that was built atop it was meant to be. It's huge, though, and she can only imagine how brilliant (and deadly) it would be once lit.

She stands at the edges of everything until they are directed to surrender their sacrifices and receive their blessings. There is something nearly reverent in her as the mage with the elaborate headdress draws the sigil on her forehead. The rush of vitality is instant and uplifting. She sweeps a hand across her body and whispers a Suli prayer to the Saints.

She steps aside, lantern in hand, and glances around at the other volunteers as she waits for the mage to complete the ceremony to send them all to the crater. "Saints be with us." she mutters softly.

Stephen Strange | Thorne

[sorser]

(( ooc; closed starters and such below! feel free to PM this journal or hit me up over at aurajen if you wanted to do something else with Stephen! ))

closed to dean.

[sorser]

[A halo of lamplight is all that illuminates the immediate darkness, and Stephen’s swings as he descends towards the crater floor. His boots barely kick up any dust upon contact with the ground; the cloak he wears—its red color dyed almost too dark to see with the night—billows behind him, perhaps indicative of the cat-like landing.

Casting his gaze out towards the center, it’s obvious that this mission isn’t going to be a blessedly uneventful one. Conflict awaits each casket-bearer as they tread towards the Singularity, and this in itself does not surprise him. It was a matter of time before conflicting interests became more than talk circling the castle corridors, and now given actual, physical presence, the weight of their assigned task bears down heavy. It’s hard to shake the feeling of having a target painted on one’s back, after all.

No time to dwell, though his mind already threatens to splinter in multiple directions, weighing the implications of outcomes that have yet to happen. He reins in each thought until his focus is singular and present and, having denied himself unneeded magical armor that might only slow him down, moves through the crater’s terrain without a word.]

Jordan Hennessy | Thorne

[impressionism]

[ Individual prompts to follow; if you want anything specific feel free to hit me up at speaksincolor to plan or just throw a wildcard at her pre- or post- mission! ]

I. crater arrival: ota

[impressionism]

This is all a bad idea, as far as Hennessy's concerned. The fact that it's a bad idea is more or less why she's here -- at least that's what she'll claim later, when it all goes badly awry. The idea that it may succeed isn't really anywhere in her worldview at the moment; even if they deliver enough caskets to avoid a human sacrifice, there's still the fact that feeding more power to this thing is the absolute last thing Hennessy would like to do under most normal circumstances.

Unfortunately for Hennessy, she also likes being able to dream without dying. Thus far her best shot at that is ensuring that Ronan Lynch doesn't get his dumb ass killed, which means that if he's going to feed the big weird magic artifact more juice and fight a bunch of people about it, she's going, too.

At least there's a good-to-decent chance of some badass magical nonsense happening.

She eyes the scene ahead skeptically, noting the arrival of the other groups with equal measures of resignment and, somewhere deep down, excited anticipation. She turns to the Thornean summoned nearest her with something like a shrug of right, let's do this.

"I don't know about you, but my plan is to drop these off and run like absolute hell."

Sasarai | Thorne

[harmonian]

Closed to Estinien

[harmonian]

After blessing his companions Sasarai trudges through the crater alone, carrying heavy caskets under his arms, eyes focused forward.

He hopes that the Singularity really is fading, that this mission isn't for nothing because the weight of the boxes are making his arms sore. Part of him wishes he had a horse to lash the caskets to but he also isn't certain how such a creature would handle being in the crater, this close to the Singularity.

To make the trek a bit more tolerable he starts humming to himself an old Harmonian hymn about the Circle and all of the warriors that have bathed in its light.

The tune dies on his lips when he sees a figure lurching towards him.

"Estinien?"

closed to yennefer

[coerthantorment]

Having taken to the skies in his draconic form, Estinien finds himself grateful for the blessing Solvunn's mages had bestowed upon him. Elezen have keen eyes on a normal day, but whatever they did has him seeing with a level of clarity he hadn't expected in the dead of night. It gives him the advantage of the high ground before the battle has even started.

He doesn't have the luxury of going after anyone in particular, only having guesses regarding who Thorne might send out. He flies in quiet circles overhead, searching for a mark, only to catch one down below walking along with what appears to be the burden of at least one casket. Estinien doesn't hesitate, changing his trajectory - whoever it is, he reasons, this conflict is happening at a level that is impersonal.

That is, until he gets closer, and he recognizes the witch - both in shape, and in the stench of her aura. Yennefer. The woman that had already caused him significant grief, even when she wasn't physically present.

It causes his gut to turn, as the impersonal nature of the battlefield melts away. She's one of the people that spurned his attempt at getting to Ambrose, she's the one that may have gotten an innocent party kidnapped and tortured. Yet, she's also someone very dear to a person he's grown at least somewhat familiar with. Someone he shares friends with. He is familiar with the pain of loss. He knows exactly what would be inflicted, were this fight to turn fatal.

It makes his gut churn, even as he calculates his attack. If he simply wanted to win, he would go in full force before she had a chance to prepare - to make full use of the advantage the skies give him. He knows she is alleged to be dangerous, but what of her endurance? Would a blow of his lance kill her? Would the fire leave her permanently scarred?

He doesn't know her capabilities well enough to guess. He knows she deflected his attack before, but what are the limits? His thoughts circle again and again and he's running out of time now. He has to make a decision.

Finally, he dives.

It happens very quickly. He comes streaking out of the darkness of night, fiery aether building around him. He doesn't strike her directly - but instead the ground at her feet, unleashing an explosion of flame.

[vixening]

The mission that had been given was easy enough, but as they make it through the portal and to the area surrounding the Singularity, Yennefer has to remind herself of the stakes. Of how much Thorne values this act, alone, and how much that will most likely be interrupted. She herself is here less for the act of feeding the Singularity as once more proving her loyalty to the Queen, and to Thorne itself. She wants to understand the Singularity better, wants to get closer to the Singularity itself, to know more about it, more than she really cares about delving into an unnecessary tradition.

But she will take the casket to the Singularity. She will feed the Singularity. And she will get the information she needs and make it back.

Except that is not what they find, that is not what they face, and not what appears to her and her fellow casket carriers once they arrive. Part of Yennefer feels a little annoyed at the hypocrisy of it, of the other factions and their opinions of this so-called moral disagreement. But a larger, louder part of her is in some ways relieved that this won't be as boring and easy as she thought.

Did she has some leftover tension built up over the events of the last few weeks? Yes. Was she going to most likely let it out on someone who did not deserve the brunt of that frustration? It was possible.

But then she caught sight of him - his form, different. She doesn't pay too much mind to it (really doesn't find much in her to care about it at all) but she does find herself nearly smiling. Estinien. How charming. He dives towards her, letting loose a kind of fire that ignites the ground around her and explode, and Yennefer does not so much as react - letting the fire explode out and then settle to something of a blaze around her. Her eyes are alight - either be it with chaos, or just a sudden acknowledgement of what will come and what will happen.

"So much for neutral ground over in the Solvunn farmlands." She says loudly, though with a threatening edge to it. She's going to enjoy this, reaching out to the energy around her - being this close to the Singularity, the fire at her feet kept at bay by her own shields. "But if you'd like to try a second time, I won't keep that from you." She brings her arm around and lashes out towards him with an excessive force - similar to the protective shield she'd used on Ambrose, but more contained, directed - she is aiming for him up in the sky.

Himeka Sui | Solvunn

[aquaveiled]

closed to goro (+estinien)

[aquaveiled]

[ With no small amount of effort and some luck, Himeka has secured one of the lauded caskets for Solvunn. What followed was immediate joy in the wake of her exhaustion from the battle, even if there was some thrill in it--it's been so long since she really needed to put her magicks to the test and in some ways it was a welcome change of pace to face off against another mage. Of elemental magicks, at that.

(What would Zenos say if he could hear such thoughts...find them unsurprising, in all likelihood.)

But now that she has secured the vessel she can't rightfully dawdle about. She left Estinien to rest and figures she needs a moment to recuperate as well. She moves further up the crater before she decides to rest for a moment, cast a few regenerative spells on herself and allow for her own magical reserves to replenish.

Yet in such a wide open area, it's impossible not to miss others moving about...and that is, kindly put, a hulk of a man. ]

Castiel | Free Cities

[unwings]

LAB;

[ crowded into Aleksander’s madhouse lab, Cas quickly finds the Holiday Experiment he’d spent 15 minutes of steadily increasing pain with, realizing he’d been charging up the device. A disgruntled air matches his grumpy scowl, eyes squinting across the building to the eccentric scientist. ]

So then, not an experiment.

[ at least he fucking hopes not, considering it’s about to power their teleportation across the continent. It’d be pretty tragic if it lost juice halfway through, or lacked enough to reassemble them all properly at the destination.

It’s less stolen charge he’s displeased with, more the lack of clarity. And, the implication this pain-battery is fresh from the experimental stage, yet we’re about to zap most of the Free Cities’ Summoned across the continent with it. Wary, he glances to the nearest comrade. ]

Is this man certain he knows what he’s doing?

ARRIVAL;

[ relieved to see everyone still in one piece on the other side, Castiel turns to the crater, raking the terrain, and host of distant, traveling lights to either side of them. It’s already started.

Stealth will be a tricky thing here, the crater a level, open field, lanterns betraying their progress. ]

What’s our plan of attack? [ eyes passing over his companions, he adds dubiously, ] We do have a plan, right?

[ balls. Anxiety twists in his stomach, concern this thing’s resulting in a clusterfuck mounting. Tracing the distant lights, cas comes to his own strategy. Lantern extinguished, he’s securing anything on his person that might make an abundance of noise with motion. Cas addresses his friend, Dean, and possibly anyone standing nearby. ]

We can approach under the dark. I’ll provide light when we need it.

[ after, fighting next to the opponent’s lanterns should suffice.

Castiel goes creeping along the crater floor, quiet as he can in chainlink and armor. Reaching the edge of Throne’s lamplight, cas motions for any companions to stand in front of him, backs to a blinding light that rapidly builds - a searing, pure white that illuminates the crater floor like floodlights abruptly powered over on a football field. Don’t look back, just intercept Thorne while they’re recovering their vision. ]

OPEN HEALS;

[ Castiel moves through the battlefield with a practiced ease, second nature, he’d been molded for this. Relaxed and patient, features showing calm detachment, he’s careful not to fatally injure any of his fellow Summoned, aiming for non-vital areas, immobilizing, or using the flat of his blade to give someone’s noggin a hard smack. They’ve all been at the mercy of warring factions and propaganda, stolen from home to be exploited as expendable weapons. He refuses to kill innocents for this cause.

Instead, he watches for minor or debilitating injury in those from the Free Cities, and friends he’s made. For the others, wounds that could be life-threatening. ]

Stop.

[ Hand on the shoulder of a combatant, friend or foe, Cas is ready to duck a reactionary sword flail, if need be. ]

Peace. You’re no use to your faction or friends dead.

[ Healing is offered to anyone from the Free Cities for any level of injury. Solvunnians may be given the same treatment, with a request they focus on stopping Throne, rather than hunting his people.

For Throne, he’ll heal major, near fatal wounds, though if the conversation goes poorly, or he suspects they’re a danger to his friends, Cas may attempt sedating them after (Kylo Ren). ]

WILD CARD;

[ feel free to jump in at any point of these starters, they’re flexible. Or toss me a prompt, or hit me up at wuzzafuzzle for plotting! ]

For Yennefer

[unwings]

[ the battle’s been a chaotic mess of violence and passioned shouting. Overhearing several of the arguments and pleas to put down the caskets and walk away, it’s become clear they haven’t all been given the same information about the monolith.

It’s impossible to know who’s truth is reality, but Cas sees it as all the more reason to stall any tampering with the otherworldly powerful relic of ancient magic. This Dimming has carried on for thousands of years already without ending the world, what’s made this time so desperate for Thorne?

Weary from the exhausting battle, Castiel’s loath to enter a direct conflict, especially with a witch. Though the effort was immensely impressive, he’d witnessed the lancer fail to stop her moments ago. Resigned to it, Castiel steps into Yennefer’s path, hands raised, palms out. Humans consider this a sign of peace, right? ]

I don’t want to fight, but I can’t stand aside while you do this.

[ this is gonna suck. ]

For Abigail - Failed Casket Grab

[petcromancer]

[Hector isn't the only agent here from the Free Cities, but when the group he's walking with comes across the path of a casket-bearing Thornean, he sends them in different directions, with assurances that if his path leads to the casket, he'll be sure to secure it.

That's a bald-faced lie.

Once he's alone, except for the Night Creature he brought with him, he sighs.]

Alright, let's go put on a show.

[He turns in the direction he thinks the casket-bearer is heading to give pursuit.]

open.

[falcony]

[ it doesn't take long for sam's attention to shift once he arrives near the singularity. he tagged along as backup, which wasn't a hard sell considering he is quite competent and along with the shield ronan made him back when all of this first began, he's pretty damn good at combat of any sense. he would have been good in this fight, if he had any real intention of fighting.

but that's not where his attentions lie.

his stomach curls the second he starts seeing the carnage, and without much hesitation at all, he takes off. he's got rudimentary medical supplies on him, tucked back in his tunic and clothes he'd brought along. that does mean that if you are in any way looking worse for wear? sam will be there, either dragging you out of the line of fire or just pulling you off to the side. either way, you're going to get a lot of checking and hands and questions before sam even considers taking a breath.

thankfully (or not) there seem to be quite a few people who need it. ]

You good?

[homeostatic]

( A blessing of enhanced visual acuity goes pretty far when you're darting around in the dark, hurrying to aid those felled by... God, whatever these people are slinging around. Bursts of light that hum like a volley of phaser-fire, the sizzle of flame and crackling energy, or just grimly effective, ancient and long-effective weapons of war: have pointed end, will stab enemy for no good goddamn reason.

It's a fucking madhouse, the kind of thing he's never seen in his career, and it makes him pissed, okay?

Medical bag repacked, McCoy readies to break from what minimal cover he's been able to scare up on the desert floor, before he's suddenly and sharply pulled away. He rounds on the other man, madder than a hornet until he realizes what he's doing, and that the fallen lantern at their feet is shining bright on his short, white over-tunic, the one spattered in blood. )

It's not mine. ( A flicker of sorrowful anger crosses his face, and he points at the red cross on his opposite arm, the one that wasn't held captive in the man's grip. )

I'm fine; I'm a Doctor.

after making it back to solvunn

[coerthantorment]

Estinien is a mess when he gets back to Solvunn. After three separate battles of varying levels of terribleness, he's extended himself to his limit, and if it hadn't been for Himeka's healing magicks he probably never would have been able to escape the battlefield at all. As it is, he staggers down the street, driven by will alone - primarily the will not not force his diminutive comrade to try to carry his bulky form.

In the end, a local farmer ends up giving them their aid, mostly by allowing them to use their cart in order to drag him the rest of the way to the apothecary after he collapses the first time. Unfortunately, this means when Estinien arrives at McCoy's place of operation, it's by having his massive scaley hide pulled upfront on a cart like a dead horse.

He's only half-conscious at this point, but the halting of the cart jostles him into actually looking up and around, his torn-up wings shifting and tail uncoiling. Meanwhile, the farmer is knocking on the door of the apothecary.

[homeostatic]

Had he his druthers, he wouldn't be back already, but there were others before Estinien who needed more attention, more aid that more magically-capable hands could provide in the settlement. McCoy was just there to make sure they made it back and didn't bleed out along the way. Called to the door by the owner, a sturdy woman of fifty--'Catrin', who has sharp eyes and iron grey hair--McCoy eyes the cart from the stoop, drying his hands on a rough towel... and then stops, when what he thought was a mess of dark tarp and fur moves.

"My god." Bones sweeps past Catrin and the farmer, hauling himself up onto the front seat of that cart to look at Estinien in the weak light. "Don't try to move. Can you hear me?"

For Goro - failed casket defense

[unnecessaryflourishes]

[Given the fact that the vast majority of the caskets he has seen have either been fiercely fought over or are actively in the care of one of the other Summoned, Emet-Selch has little idea as to how one had come to be unattended. Or why. Perhaps his aethersight has granted him an advantages others would not have had. Perhaps he has simply been lucky. Regardless, he had wasted no time in claiming it for himself - if no one had been present to defend it, then surely no one can blame him for taking it into his own hands.

That said, there is still the small matter of actually getting the casket to the Singularity, but just at the moment he is not particularly concerned about that. Though he is not unaware of the fact that other Summoned will no doubt be trying to stop him and claim the casket that is now his, he yet has the full strength of his abilities as a sorcerer of eld - any who seek to try will find themselves sorely tested.]

[fourarmedandangerous]

Word had reached Goro of an unattended casket in a particular region of the Singularity's crater, and thus had moved to claim it. Not fast enough however, as Emet has already taken it as the Shokan emerges from the mist. That's a problem that is easily fixed.

Goro extends an upper arm to Emet. "Surrender your casket." He commands. "Or die."