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abraxaslogs2021-07-11 07:11 pm
abraxasmods) wrote in abraxaslogs2021-07-11 07:11 pm
Entry tags:
- !event,
- !npc,
- alina starkov; the hanged man,
- amos burton; the lovers,
- belle; strength,
- coraline finch; the tower,
- eponine thenardier; the hanged man,
- estinien wyrmblood; the hermit,
- geralt of rivia; the hanged man,
- harrowhark nonagesimus; the magician,
- hector; the magician,
- himeka sui; the fool,
- homelander; judgement,
- jaskier; the sun,
- jolie ann harmony; justice,
- jon sims; the high priestess,
- jon snow; the emperor,
- kay faraday; the fool,
- kylo ren; the tower,
- lloyd henreid; the lovers,
- majima goro; the hanged man,
- malyen oretsev; strength,
- michael ralston; death,
- nadine cross; the world,
- phoenix wright; the lovers,
- randall flagg; the tower,
- relena peacecraft; death,
- ronan lynch; the moon,
- sam wilson; justice
EVENT #2 IC POST
Event #2
On July 11th, all of the prisoners and honored guests alike will be marched outside of the castle grounds, to a lightly forested area with a bright blue portal shining in the distance and flanked by a group of four Thornean mages.
"Good afternoon to you all. I suppose this is a little overdue and on that note, I am sorry. There's a lot to get done, and a lot at stake, and I find myself trapped between my duties to the crown and what I owe to you. I thank you all for your patience, save for one individual among you," he says, shooting a glare to Jon Sims, who is heavily guarded to an extent that the other prisoners are not, "But in light of a recent altercation I think it best that you all know what's going on."
"What you're about to see is an ancient artifact known as the Singularity. It has existed, as far as we know, since the dawn of time. Not only is it the source of all magic in this world, it is the life-force which sustains all other universes. If you've ever wondered why our magic seems so terribly powerful compared to yours, or why some of you have no magic at all, it's because the magic in this world sustains the Singularity and the Singularity, in turn, sustains every other universe that has ever existed or will ever exist."
"However, that does not mean that the Singularity in inherently good. It exists, and sustains your universes by random happenstance, not by design. In recent years the Singularity has begun to turn, and weaken, and for the first time in recorded history the amount of observable universes attached to it has decreased in number. If we cannot find a way to harness and re-energize it, we fear it may devour all that is to ensure its own continued existence."
"It is a known fact that we - natives of Abraxas - cannot approach the Singularity ourselves. We would be torn apart in seconds if we tried. People from other worlds have no such limitation. You may get close enough to touch it. So, while you may be upset that we have pulled you from your worlds without permission - an act for which I do apologize, and I truly wish there was a better way - you are here to save not only this world but all worlds. To understand the Singularity, we need you."
"We thank those among you, our honored guests and the prisoners we've chosen to release, who have behaved themselves and even aided us throughout the last few weeks. I caution you against becoming so smitten with our prisoners that it distracts you from what I have just said: for the sake of all universes, we must contain all threats. I've seen a great deal of possibilities, and there are times when even the best of intentions leads to disaster. To those of you who have been welcomed, you are a boon to us and we will accommodate you as much as we can, but you are still guests in this world, unwilling though you might be, and trust needs to be earned. Given your situation we want to treat you all with a certain degree of understanding and offer you some leeway that our own citizens would not receive. That does not, however, mean you have free reign to do whatever you please."
"Case in point, I regret to inform you that an honored guest, Jon Sims, did attack me and use a particularly intrusive form of magic in an attempt to extract confidential information that could have endangered my world and yours. This is considered high treason, and he will be executed by hanging on the twenty-third of August. Good day to you all, and I hope that what you are about to see impresses upon you the gravity of our situation."
Everyone is marched through the portal and when they emerge on the other side, what they'll see is a huge desert with a perfectly circular crater a few miles wide. At he center of the crater is the Singularity, and although it doesn't seem too imposing at this distance a certain power radiates from it. Some of the mages avert their eyes, as if they can't bear to look at it. Some of them seem almost drawn to it and they have to be held back by their fellows to prevent them from crossing the line and being torn apart. Ambrose stares, and though he doesn't approach it there's a certain amount of melancholy in his expression.
The newcomers are allowed to soak in its majesty for only a minute or two before they are yanked forwards and into the crater by something that feels like a rope coming from the inside of their chests. They are at once overwhelmed, and without exception they all black out...
...and awaken in the Horizon, where they will spend the next few weeks without memories of any world but this one, constantly aware of the Singularity and its power.
Ambrose's Speech
"Good afternoon to you all. I suppose this is a little overdue and on that note, I am sorry. There's a lot to get done, and a lot at stake, and I find myself trapped between my duties to the crown and what I owe to you. I thank you all for your patience, save for one individual among you," he says, shooting a glare to Jon Sims, who is heavily guarded to an extent that the other prisoners are not, "But in light of a recent altercation I think it best that you all know what's going on."
"What you're about to see is an ancient artifact known as the Singularity. It has existed, as far as we know, since the dawn of time. Not only is it the source of all magic in this world, it is the life-force which sustains all other universes. If you've ever wondered why our magic seems so terribly powerful compared to yours, or why some of you have no magic at all, it's because the magic in this world sustains the Singularity and the Singularity, in turn, sustains every other universe that has ever existed or will ever exist."
"However, that does not mean that the Singularity in inherently good. It exists, and sustains your universes by random happenstance, not by design. In recent years the Singularity has begun to turn, and weaken, and for the first time in recorded history the amount of observable universes attached to it has decreased in number. If we cannot find a way to harness and re-energize it, we fear it may devour all that is to ensure its own continued existence."
"It is a known fact that we - natives of Abraxas - cannot approach the Singularity ourselves. We would be torn apart in seconds if we tried. People from other worlds have no such limitation. You may get close enough to touch it. So, while you may be upset that we have pulled you from your worlds without permission - an act for which I do apologize, and I truly wish there was a better way - you are here to save not only this world but all worlds. To understand the Singularity, we need you."
"We thank those among you, our honored guests and the prisoners we've chosen to release, who have behaved themselves and even aided us throughout the last few weeks. I caution you against becoming so smitten with our prisoners that it distracts you from what I have just said: for the sake of all universes, we must contain all threats. I've seen a great deal of possibilities, and there are times when even the best of intentions leads to disaster. To those of you who have been welcomed, you are a boon to us and we will accommodate you as much as we can, but you are still guests in this world, unwilling though you might be, and trust needs to be earned. Given your situation we want to treat you all with a certain degree of understanding and offer you some leeway that our own citizens would not receive. That does not, however, mean you have free reign to do whatever you please."
"Case in point, I regret to inform you that an honored guest, Jon Sims, did attack me and use a particularly intrusive form of magic in an attempt to extract confidential information that could have endangered my world and yours. This is considered high treason, and he will be executed by hanging on the twenty-third of August. Good day to you all, and I hope that what you are about to see impresses upon you the gravity of our situation."
The Horizon
Everyone is marched through the portal and when they emerge on the other side, what they'll see is a huge desert with a perfectly circular crater a few miles wide. At he center of the crater is the Singularity, and although it doesn't seem too imposing at this distance a certain power radiates from it. Some of the mages avert their eyes, as if they can't bear to look at it. Some of them seem almost drawn to it and they have to be held back by their fellows to prevent them from crossing the line and being torn apart. Ambrose stares, and though he doesn't approach it there's a certain amount of melancholy in his expression.
The newcomers are allowed to soak in its majesty for only a minute or two before they are yanked forwards and into the crater by something that feels like a rope coming from the inside of their chests. They are at once overwhelmed, and without exception they all black out...
...and awaken in the Horizon, where they will spend the next few weeks without memories of any world but this one, constantly aware of the Singularity and its power.
no subject
This, Nadine feels certain of. It's a complex and many layered thing, but the fact is simply that by stepping up to protect and care for a child one is claiming that child as their own.
"You're good, to step up for her. She needs someone to protect her. They all do."
There are many dangers, she thinks, beyond the neat and orderly streets of this city. She can see those places, the other places, riots of color and unbridled nature that surround her realm. Wild places, places things can lurk and hide.
Nothing can hide on the streets here. And what does lie hidden is contained.
no subject
He looks back at the other children. Their lightless forms stutter and blur.
"Is that what you're doing?" he asks. "Protecting them?"
He gets that sentiment. Outside of what he's built, monsters lurk. Monsters, people. There isn't always a difference. But his instinct has not been to hide Cirilla away. Part of him senses it's too late for that. He's better served showing her that monsters can be contained, if you understand them. If you've been prepared.
no subject
There's a time to learn the true ugliness of existence, Nadine believes, but later. Children are innocent, that innocence needs to be preserved rather than ripped away prematurely. The little ones deserved to be little, unburdened. Protected. These are important things.
"It's what I do."
She thinks, anyway. It feels right. In this naturally formless place, devoid of solid memories, it's something that matters to her. Not that much does, now.
no subject
"Does it work?" His gaze is still on the gently rotating skeletal horses. "Keeping them here. Sheltered away."
What happens when something comes? Something always comes; he feels that, too, deep down. As certain as the rain. His question is genuine, though, laced with the sense that he's not wholly sure what's best for this girl that the Horizon has seen fit to push into his hands, into a life that shouldn't have room for someone like her. He wonders if that's true for the woman, as well: if she's happened upon these children or if she's wanted them all along.
Or maybe it's as she says. That it doesn't matter how or where it happened. They're here now.
no subject
They don't leave her place, staying close to the center of her domain. And nothing that's wandered in has been any sort of threat so far, Nadine hasn't had any reason to defend her realm or its shadowy denizens. She would, though. This is her place, she knows it and al of its secrets. If worst came to worst, they aren't without defense.
But still. It seems unlikely anyone would come and threaten them. To what end? What purpose would be gained? There's nothing here for anyone else.
"I can protect them, if I have to. I just haven't had to yet."
no subject
And he doesn't doubt she can. A brief pause passes. His fingers rest against the trunk of the tree, smooth instead of the rough bark he's used to. The more he watches, the more he realizes the scattered, echoing laughter is new. That he isn't certain if he's ever heard Cirilla laugh. Or amused herself as a young girl should, with others of her age.
There's a loss he can't shake, watching the small shadows. Not of life, but of a childhood. Makes him wonder why that is. It's true, though, that when he reaches for the memories of his own boyhood, he finds only absence. It makes sense, given where they are—but still. The idea that he might be missing something the girl needs lurks at the corners.
In the quiet barrenness, he finds himself admitting, "I don't think she's ever played like this before."
no subject
Nadine looks to him, attention diverted from the children. She finds herself curious about this man and his girl, the heaviness that seems to drape so comfortably over him. Like a man carrying a great burden for so long it's just become part of him.
A pause, a flash of something in her grey-blue eyes before she speaks again.
"What about you?"
no subject
Why does that bother him? It shouldn't. Normally, what he remembers or doesn't—it only matters what's in the circular space around them. But this, this is different. It doesn't feel as if there's just something missing, as though it never existed. It feels, almost, like it's been stolen. Something he might've had, for a handful of seasons, before it was torn away. Which, really. Doesn't that happen to all of them?
He pushes off the tree, sits beside her on the bench. The horses turn gently. He wonders if she's always had the same amount of children. Whether they trickled in, one by one, or if they were here together from the start. If any have quietly vanished.
"If I did," he adds, "probably didn't last long. Seems you've found a way to preserve it more than I've managed."
no subject
She stands in a whirl of white fabric and holds out her hand to the Burdened Man, smiling gently. It's never too late, Nadine thinks. And she wants no sorrows here, no heavy hearts, no guilts or regrets. Let those things belong to the rest of the world, this is a sanctuary. All those things are locked up and away tightly, unable to touch this pristine city block and it's little playground.
"Let's join them."
no subject
He glances at the girl. Can practically sense her expectancy—the potential disappointment if he turns down the offer. He sighs. Fuck it. How's he going to say no to the princess?
"My horse might grow envious," he remarks. Roach is still somewhere back out there, waiting.
He doesn't quite move to take the woman's hand, but he'll let her take his if she reaches to do so. Either way, he follows her to the rotating steeds. His fingers run over their smooth skeletal forms. "Ever rode a real one?"
no subject
She does take his hand in her own small one, because it just feels right to. Here, in this place at least, she's confident and in control. This is her place, after all. And she's pleased he'd agreed - it does the heart good, to indulge a little.
"But no, I've never ridden a real one, I don't think." She can't recall any sort of vague memory regarding horses. She knows what they are, she's seen plenty, but she doesn't think she's ever ridden one. "Just the mechanical kind. I doubt it's anything like the real thing."
no subject
He lets it go. Up close, the children flicker more, their shadows dark. Cirilla remains the only one with a few features, indistinct as they are—and in the split second he really sees this, it startles him. He looks away, letting his attention go on the woman instead. The edges of what he'd learned only a flash ago fades easily.
"Perhaps I can show you afterwards." He tips his head towards the horses. Whether she originally means to join him or not, they're both getting on if she wants him to ride this damn thing. "Ladies first."
no subject
Nadine gestures to the center pillar.
"I can't reach it from a horse. Get settled, I'll get on in a minute."
She leaves him to mount one of the skeletal horses and goes to the center of the little carousal, to turn it on. It springs to life slowly, gears turning and a somewhat tinny lullaby drifting out of the top portion. The base begins to sluggishly turn, the horses to rise or fall along their poles with a few creaks.
True to her word, once it's running, Nadine pulls herself sidesaddle up onto one of the skeletons right in front of Geralt's.
no subject
When it creaks forward, the music makes him glance up. Not the first time he's heard music coming from nowhere—with no instrument in sight—but it catches him a bit off guard still. He offers the woman a hand in case she needs it as she joins him. The thing whirs as it moves.
"Where did you even come up with this?" His expression is intrigued, faintly bemused beneath that. It's a ridiculous creation, but only in how complex and impressive it is—all to simulate, what is to him, the simplest and most common act in the world: riding a horse.