EVENT #10: AFFLICTION - IC POST

[abraxasmods]

Event #10 - Affliction

go to the OOC event info & plotting post

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With tensions heavy across Abraxas and all the destruction that's happened, it's no surprise that the dark shadows which sweep over the land go unnoticed...at first.

Winds initially stir in Solvunn, where the influence of the Old Gods remains the strongest. Slowly each Herald infects Thorne and the Free Cities, as well. The Summoned are the first to feel its effects and are the most heavily impacted.

Though no one will realize it until well afterwards, Nocwich remains unaffected. After all, the Summoned don't reside there.

NOTE: This event will deal with themes of death (people and animal) and horror imagery.

Emergence

It begins sometime in mid-October, around the 18th. Not everyone will experience it at the same time. You might even believe you're spared until days afterwards when you're visited by an unusually vivid dream.

The dream starts the same for everyone: you are going somewhere, anywhere, walking to your bedroom or enjoying a stroll on the beach. You might be driving down a familiar neighborhood. Wherever you're headed, you eventually come upon a stone tablet engraved with your Arcana. Laid on the tablet are three objects:

◎ A dead moth trapped inside a wilted rose, symbolizing Koth of Festering Lands
◎ A teacup inside which sits a single nightshade berry, symbolizing Adlewyrd of Poisoned Tongues
◎ An ornate cracked hand mirror that contains no reflection, symbolizing Sannleikr of Many Faces

Make a choice. Something inside your soul will be drawn towards one of the objects. Maybe you spend hours in the dream deliberating, but sooner or later, you'll pick one of the items up. The moment you do, the other objects vanish and the chosen Herald appears before you. Where one might expect a god to seek subservience, the strange figure instead extends a friendly hand towards you - as though it's greeting you as an equal.

Whispered around you, you hear its name. Then it fades and with it the dream. You awaken.

Affliction

You go about your day as usual. That's when you realize something isn't right. Creatures and people around you behave strangely. You begin to sense that you are the cause.

Depending on your chosen Herald, you'll experience at least one of its afflictions. The effects might start small, then grow. They might rush you all at once. You can't shake what haunts you, though you can try. Spells, potions, and willpower can help keep the afflictions at bay but you won't ever be completely free.

As the afflictions seep into your mind, you start to find shadows of it following you: a dead moth here, a nightshade bloom there, a cracked mirror elsewhere. You may even wonder if it's following you in the first place. What if instead, you are the one leaving these signs behind?

Corruption

The first time you inflict your ability on someone else, you don't mean to. It might be a stranger, some unsuspecting soul, or it might be another Summoned. Regardless, the afflictions that ail you seem to spread through you into another. Someone falls down as if in the throes of an invisible death or secrets spill. You brush by someone and they're suddenly upset and confused.

The more this happens, intentionally or not, the better you feel. You may grow full of life and energy, gain a renewed strength of heart, or radiate a charm that turns heads and garners compliments. The afflictions haunting you could even start to fade or completely vanish. And if you use your newfound power deliberately? You'll feel better even faster for longer. Of course, these boons are temporary, lasting at most an hour or so. When the feeling wanes, you might miss having it.

You are not possessed. You can't control this power that spreads through you, but how you respond or behave is up to you. You could be attracted to the allure of power, enjoy the boons you are granted, or realize you can gain relief from your afflictions if you choose a victim. Not everyone will fall headfirst into the pull. Some are not easily swayed by power, some struggle to overcome their dark impulses, and others would rather endure their suffering than inflict it on someone else. But others still might succumb to temptation and turn on those around them with purpose: once, twice, multiple times. The choice you make is yours alone.

Blight

With the call of the Herald at your fingertips, the world around you twists. No one knows whether this stems from you and your newly imbued afflictions, or if the Heralds are exerting power on their own. It's for sure easier to think of what occurs as the influence of something monstrous beyond your control. No matter the cause, the earth is changed all the same.

Omens

The omens arrive shortly after the initial Summoned receive their dreams, but they don't come to every faction at once. SOLVUNN is first, being home to the Old Gods' shrines, before THORNE and the FREE CITIES follow only days afterwards. Depending on where you are, the omens will affect things a bit differently.

Solvunn

In Solvunn, the ground stirs. A desiccated hand breaks through the grass, a cloven hoof. Human or animal, they crawl forth, animated against their will. Some might attack, but most do not. At the same time, crops around the settlements begin to fail. Some chickens lay rotten eggs while cows produce spoiled milk. Any livestock that perishes overnight will surface in the mornings with empty eye sockets - pecked out by crows or gnawed on by rats. From a distance, the ocean can be seen bubbling as leviathans beneath thrash.

Worth noting is that many of the dead are concentrated around the shrines, especially the ones deep in the woods. They're too decayed to recognize, and some might not even move from the site, as though they are waiting for the earth to take them again...or as though they once chose to give up their life at this very spot.

Summoned can assist by helping to cast spells or place warding charms around shrines, farms, and gardens to protect crops and livestock. As a commune, the Solvunnites will share their resources as much as possible and would appreciate those who might lend a hand bringing supplies, herbs, and offerings to neighbors who are lacking. The Summoned can also brew a common herbal remedy to aid any animals who have fallen ill or to help purify the well water.

Free Cities

In Libertas, the dead buried under the rubble dig themselves out. More crawl forth from graves in Cadens' cemeteries. Beasts and bandits slain in the desert wilds rise, hungry or searching for the ones who killed them. At the same time, dead fish wash up onto the shores of Aquila while birds fall dead from their perch, dropping like flies from an unknown illness. Vultures and other scavengers begin to prey upon the eyes of the dead, leaving behind hollowed-out corpses.

Worth noting is that in the Badlands, a few very old and skeletal corpses rise with a metal plate or two screwed onto their bones, which are also oddly elongated. Only one or two make their way near the city. The army is quick to dispose of them before many can notice. They will not disclose any information about this and will claim these are just monsters like anything else.

Summoned can assist by going on patrol with the soldiers to put down any risen dead. Merchant caravans are also hiring escorts for their journeys. Additionally, they can help look through any received supplies and packages to make sure the food isn't rotting or worse, use a special dissolving compound to purify the waters, and donate staple food items to refugees and the less fortunate who can't afford the rising prices.

Thorne

In Thorne, the dead emerge only from the outskirts of the castle city. Thanks to information from one of their Summoned and their recent monitoring of the Singularity, Thorne was able to act swiftly and was able to ward any royal or otherwise significant burial sites. Graves and tombs of less importance, though, will not be protected in the same way. There are fewer encounters with eyeless corpses, though some animals might appear outside the castle in such a state. Normally extravagant dishes from the Castle's kitchens use simpler ingredients as they struggle to ration their food stores.

Worth noting is that a few unexpected corpses make their way up from deep under the castle in places beyond the dungeons. These are twisted and mangled, missing limbs, heads, fingers. The castle guards are quick to dispose of them before they get too far into the rest of the castle, but one or two may be spotted.

Summoned can assist by contributing to the wards around Castle Thorne and the city, using spells to put down the dead without mangling the corpse, and taking inventory of food stores. Further, in Nott the situation is more dire for anyone who is traveling there to continue assisting with repairs following the attack. Nott will welcome help with any problems caused by the omens. It'll be clear the kingdom has neglected the city somewhat. Thorne will claim the Castle takes priority, of course, due to King and Queen residing there along with the entire royal court.

Apprehensions

Across the factions, locals are beginning to catch on that something isn't right with you, the Summoned. No one will say it outright, but there's an air of caution and wariness around you where you go. Merchants might be quick to hand you your wares so you'll leave or locals give you a bit of space when they walk by. Chatty innkeepers are more reluctant to hold lengthy conversations.

Much of the time, it may not be conscious. The natives might simply sense something off that instinctually makes them want to put some distance between them and you. The only exception? If you've chosen Sannleikr of Many Faces, you'll continue to exude your charm towards people you encounter. At least for as long as you continue to inflict that ability you've been gifted.

Displacement

Everyone responds differently while in the Horizon. You might exert better willpower over your afflictions or you might feel its effects more strongly. It all depends on the individual and their mindset. Regardless, the Heralds are only one part of the equation. There's a much bigger disturbance going on.

It could happen as soon as you enter or it might be as you're stepping over the threshold into another's domain. Whatever the case, you are suddenly not where you're supposed to be. Instead, you're in one of two places depending: transported into a domain you never meant to go into or in a foreign setting altogether.

Visitation

Whether you're the one transported or someone teleports unexpectedly into your space, the Horizon becomes unpredictable for the next little while. Rooms normally locked to strangers, areas you yourself may not even realize exists - you and your fellow Summoned continue to pop in and out despite your intentions.

The effect isn't painful, just disorienting, like missing a step you didn't see or stumbling through a door into a too-bright room. The person whose domain you've inadvertently visited might sense an unwanted presence, whether they're inside the Horizon or not, or they may be completely oblivious. This will depend on the strength of their connection to the Singularity and the Horizon.

Not to worry. You won't be trapped or anything in these cases...unless the domain you land in happens to seal from the inside. You might stumble on secrets you weren't meant to find, though, locked away in someone else's mind.

Ensnared

The less fortunate will be pulled into a space that they've never encountered before. The bizarreness of it resembles the glitchy visions that flashed through a few months ago, but rather than an image flickering by, you are now inside the space itself.

Trapped between minutes to hours, you can't use the Horizon's creation magic as normal. Attempts will falter or go sideways: trying to fly out might cause you to tumble, tools and objects are broken or not quite right, wounds don't vanish or heal completely, etc. More significantly, you can't seem to send or receive messages through your connection. Anything that manages to come through will be garbled and distorted. It's as though the place you are in is just out of the reach of your control.

Luckily, you may not be alone. Someone else may have gotten lost alongside you. They might already be there when you stumble through or they might arrive after you do. They might even fade out sooner than you, unintentionally leaving you behind.

Eventually, you'll be released back into the Horizon proper, spat out in a random place in the Horizon. While you're stuck, though, you can try to survive, explore, sit and wait it out, or make friends with your fellow trapped partner. Each area has its challenges and quirks that you'll need to deal with.

Scenes to Explore

JUSTICE ◎
FULL IMAGE

High in the clouds, these snowy peaks are as cold as they look. Giant marble hands reach out, though their sheer scale means you might not recognize them as hands from up close. You can scale the mountain, but if you try to go down, the hands will flip the mountain, which sends you tumbling to the top again.

It's up to you whether you can be injured when you fall. Maybe the snow will feel like marshmallows, or you'll break a bone on the jagged rocks. No two experiences are the same. If you have a partner, they could end up faring better than you despite being in the same place.

Conjure some warm clothes or a log cabin even if you wish - they might not manifest perfectly, but it'll be better than nothing. At least the view's fairly nice...while the sun is up. A blizzard will come through by nightfall. With it arrives a strange hovering light that entices you or your friend to follow it into the frozen darkness. What draws you out depends on you. It could be a familiar voice, an image, or a simple compulsion. If you're lucky, the person with you is unaffected and can try to stop you. Or maybe you're the one desperately chasing after the other person?

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THE CHARIOT ◎
FULL IMAGE

From a distance, it's hard to tell if they're shipping containers or houses stacked atop each other. A gooey mess covers the ground below. Oddly, the smell isn't as unpleasant as the goo looks. It smells like bubblegum or cotton candy, artificial and sweet. When you first fall in, you might land inside one of the homes, on top of the stacked structure, or the ground. You can try to reach anyone else who's there with you, but be careful: the ooze is spreading. Climb if you must or move from room to room. If you don't keep moving, you risk getting sucked into its sticky mass.

Each block of a home is different. Some are furnished, whereas others are empty or filled with strange knickknacks. Some might even have subconscious creations spawned by you. Keep ahead of the gloopy substance, and you'll be fine, probably. Or you can try to fight it back or block its path by sealing yourself in a room or otherwise, which can slow it down significantly. Mostly, you'll have to hope you fade out before the pink mass completely consumes the landscape.

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THE WORLD ◎
FULL IMAGE

The hazy neon glow obscures a nothingness that seems to extend forever. In the middle of the wet ground are several stacked television sets with wires plugged into nothing. Inexplicably, there's also a cat. At first, it appears perfectly normal, but keen observers will notice that its behavior is on a loop where it will walk a certain path, pause at specific intervals to lick its paws, and meow at set points. It does not acknowledge any of its intruders. You can break its loop by picking it up, at which point it'll go limp as a ragdoll. As soon as you set it down, it'll resume its actions as before.

While you can see the same images as someone else on the screens, it's also possible you'll each see something different despite being in the room together. What you see is up to you. It could be an old fuzzy movie, home videos of your childhood, trivia questions you have to answer correctly, or even a memory or vision you wouldn't want to share. Words or faces taunting you could appear between staticky flickers, or maybe your very thoughts are projected onto the screens for anyone with you to read.

Break the televisions if you want, but given a few short minutes, they'll reform between one blink and the next. Looks like you'll have to keep watching until you're released.

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THE FOOL ◎
FULL IMAGE

Sprawling and massive, you're unlikely to recognize at first that you're trapped in a labyrinth. Stone walls rise around you, and your surroundings are pitchblack. Manifest a torch or a flashlight if you can, though these will be prone to going out at inopportune times. Escaping over the walls will only send you into another section in the maze.

As you navigate the twisting corridors, you'll encounter any variety of trials and troubles: gaps in the ground, spiked traps, haunting whispers, monsters, decaying corpses. Some of these might've formed from your mind, others might've spawned from anyone else who's trapped with you.

If you aren't alone, do your best to locate your fellow Summoned. Voices do carry and echo over the walls, and there could be landmarks that help you find each other. Finding the exit, however, is another matter. Walk and climb all you want. A way out is impossible until the Horizon chooses to set you free.

Players can pick any scenario that interests them from the four choices above. Unlike the visions from before, characters can accidentally be trapped in as many of the scenes as you want, as many times as you want. Another option is that they can stay trapped in only one scene while a variety of characters fade in and out to join them, or some combination of the two. Choose what works best for your plans.

Each scene will once again carry an associated Arcana etched somewhere inside it, which can change from person to person or instance to instance. It might be on a wall, a table, or on the ground. Characters with a stronger connection to the Horizon are likely to be trapped for longer but the extent of this is your choice and it won't ever exceed a few hours. It's also your choice whether the afflictions continue to haunt them or not. If you want characters to deal with both problems while stuck together, you're welcome to!

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions other than that they won't be able to communicate with anyone outside the area, they can't escape it until the Horizon chooses to release them, and their creation magic will go wrong just enough that it'll make things tricky.

Comments

wanda maximoff · the hanged man · koth

[carmesi]

OPEN & CLOSED STARTERS BELOW
WANDA'S PLOT POST COMMENT
hit me up if you'd like a closed starter!

—SOLVUNN [ assisting with omens ]

[carmesi]

A. CASTING RUNES

[runes are nothing new to wanda, as is casting spells. they've been given instructions on the types of spells and warding charms that can be placed to try and protect what seems inevitable. it is what she is good at, and thus she sets to work.

scarlet glows from her hands, shapes and figures as her hands move in practiced patterns, fingers flexing in familiar gestures. there is abraxan magic, and then there is her own magic—witchcraft—and she hopes that the runes she casts may help protect what is untouched, or give strength to what is slowly succumbing to this unknown affliction of the land. the runes pulse in its carmine magic before seeping into the ground, the grass getting greener for a moment before returning to the dried out hues from before.

wanda frowns at that. it is worrisome, but there isn't much else to do but hope it works to an extent.

with a glance to the side, she takes note of another summoned. she pulls at her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders, waiting for their approach and meeting them halfway. there are other things that can be done; she's been given warding shrines to place around the different structures in the settlement, shrines and farms and gardens alike.]

Were you given warding charms?

[she can help boost their influence with her magic, if nothing else.]

B. TENDING THE DISEASE

[it is disturbing enough to find livestock lying motionless on the ground in the mornings where once they would graze, and it's more disturbing still to find their state of decay. finding nothing to salvage, wanda uses her magic to disintegrate the bodies of those too far gone—remove the evidence of the disease that is currently plaguing solvunn. it's been days of this now, there's no point in allowing for others, children and adults alike, to feel the uncertainty of what this all implies.

for the corpses of animals that are relatively fresh, wanda uses her magic to compel another animal into existence—give it life in hopes that it may not succumb to what has plagued its previous incarnation.

obviously, this is not a permanent fix.

her trek from the gardsbruk farm to the primary settlement proper takes longer because of this. still, she knows what she intends to do—keeping busy is helping, removing her entirely from having to look too closely at her own emotions, from witnessing the rotten façade of those around her. is it something in the water?, she wonders, straying away noticeably from the path and towards a stream that runs nearby.

the well is the obvious place to check, but curiosity has her wondering if this all expands further than what they imagine. crows circle around, excited to scavenge for their next meal; more mice than usual feel bold enough to travel close to where the settlement is. without glancing, she raises a hand, and from a scarlet mist three cats emerge, immediately chasing after the squeaking rats.

now, onward to the stream—]

A.

[familysucks]

[Michael nods as he joins her, both in greeting and answer to her question. Magical guidance wasn't number one on the list of things he'd sought her out for, but Wanda is a master of her craft if he's ever seen one. He'll take advice if she has it.]

I was, though I'd trust your instructions more than I would the locals'.

[He glances around them. The ground is looking a little dry, but at least nothing seems to be stirring beneath.]

Are they effective?

[Abraxan magic plays by somewhat different rules than those he knows, but it is a familiar concept nonetheless. He is just as familiar with the human tendency to make things up as they go, however. He hasn't determined yet whether the charms he was handed are worth the effort or merely a placebo.]

[carmesi]

[if someone would have told wanda that she would be on friendly terms with someone like michael, she would have been skeptical. they are both too similar—and vastly different. and yet, here she stands, holding conversation with him that borders on something easygoing and less stiff than some weeks ago.

and here he is, too, saying he trusts her skills.

at his question, wanda shakes her head and a small shrug.]

It's difficult to tell. The magic in this world fluctuates too much. [she pushes one hand forward; should he had the charms with him, she'd like to have a look at them.] They may lessen what's making the land and animals sick, but it's not a permanent solution.

B

[aquaveiled]

[ Life is a cycle, that much they all know. Not everything last forever and for a community as in tune with nature as they are in comparison to some of their counterparts, the loss of some crops and animals isn't too surprising. What is is the rate that it's happening. This isn't normal, that much is clear.

Having an affinity for whatever as she does, the source of water is one of the first places that Himeka decided to venture. Helping place runes and protective spells across the township and farms is one thing, but they have to address the source of the problem. She kneels along the banks of the stream, a small white moth fluttering above her head as if it's a companion. She doesn't take notice of it.

No, her focus is solely on her own reflecting in the water. She reaches in, sinking her hand into the mud as she pulls out a hefty chunk, rubbing it through her fingers. A light glow comes from her palm as she does so, letting pieces plop back into the gently flowing stream.

A presence--she feels something behind her and looks over her shoulder, on guard--

--only to relax when she realizes it's Wanda. She offers her friend a quiet smile. She's been working tirelessly, but it is good to see her active. ]

How goes it?

[carmesi]

[it doesn't take long to find that himeka has gravitated towards the stream as well. she's always been in tune with water, it seems, and though she's a bit further up the stream, that is where wanda starts moving to.

she, too, offers a small smile in return.]

Same as yesterday and the past couple of days.

[—himeka probably isn't asking about the situation around them, that much is clear with just looking around, but wanda's thoughts and intentions are so muddled with what's been happening. whatever she feels comes second, even when it gnaws at her.

no. not thinking about it means she doesn't have to feel anything regarding it.]

The water's still foul.

[wanda sits on her knees besides himeka, with a soft sigh, and senses her use of magic on the water. her eyes turn to the other.]

Any luck?

A!

[satanicpanics]

[ Eddie is twitchier and more visibly distracted than usual. He seems to miss chunks of conversation and every so often, he’ll shake his shaggy head roughly as if trying to knock something away. He’s been dealing with this for days now; whispers mocking him for cowardice, reminding him of all the trouble he caused, letting him know that he’s probably right in his assessment that his death came as a relief to everyone back home, even those he was close to.

They may be whispers, but they’re loud, always directly in his ear, and they make it hard to pay attention when he’s being spoken to. Everything else isn’t helping. Between the voices and the state Solvunn is in, he’s in a haze of fear, and he wants nothing more than to run back to the Horizon. He knows that it’s just as chaotic there, though, and he has to keep reminding himself that he wants to help. He wants to be here, and he doesn’t want to run away again when there’s work that he can help with, even through small acts. ]

Yeah, sorry—

[ He fishes into his pocket for one of the charms and holds it out to her. His hand shake visibly, and very nearly drops the charm. Clearly, his nerves are completely shot. ]

Shit. Sorry. Jangled nerves.

[ He forces a nervous laugh. ]

You think those are gonna work?

[carmesi]

[jangled nerves he says, laughing nervously, and wanda acts unaffected by the way his hands shake and the way he nearly dropped the charm. eddie seems a lot more distracted than usual, a tenuous display of fear in his eyes as their gazes meet.

wanda does not take the charm from him, but she cups her hands in his, instead, trying to push towards him some of the confidence and reassurance that she feels despite how uncertain things are.

her hands are warm, either way, her hold gentle but strong. something has been on his mind—or rather, some things: voices. whispers.

when she draws her hands away, she takes the charm with her.]

They won't be a permanent fix, but they will help slow down all this disease. [she doesn't know what else to call it. the hand which holds the charm swells in scarlet as she syphons some of her magic onto it, and then hands it over to eddie again.] —do you know much about runes?

[perhaps, wanda thinks, he could benefit from learning a few runes.]

—HORIZON [ witchcraft and horror ]

[carmesi]

A. WITCHCRAFT GONE WRONG

[the unpredictability of the horizon's malfunctioning could very well land one into wanda's domain, particularly bypassing the labyrinthine forest and finding themselves, instead, in the home she's made for herself. it would be easy to just blink out of it, but there is something quite unusual about the place, and the walls are no longer walls.

rather, bits and pieces form like a puzzle, expanding and contracting, floating and hovering mere inches from each other, creating the illusion that things aren't quite right. it is enough to disorient. similarly, the slow crash of waves booming nearby echoes loudly between the rooms that doors open themselves to, the floor and roof shaking, the whistle of bombs and the crash of explosions nearby. the house feels alive, like it is breathing, wisps of red connectors tracing a path that one may very well follow.

those adept in magic may take note that it is just that, witchcraft acting up, as if confused, uncertain of what shape to form or how to make itself useful.

following the path highlighted by the wisps of red, one will go down the stairs, and will be unable to extricate themselves from looking at their reflection in the mirror. except it is not their own face that stares back, but rather that of the domain's owner: wanda, her eyes seeing but not seeing the person that stands before the mirror.

—and, just like that, chaos.

the world unfurls, dizzyingly so, like a kaleidoscope of the surroundings, the house in its psychedelic overture of puzzle pieces multiplying and refracting, causing confusion. but it is not all reflective surfaces; should one walk carefully, one may encounter a dark room, walls and ceiling filled with runes and sigils unfamiliar, but which exude certain dark, oppressive power all on their own. in another area, a singular television set plays a happy sitcom, beckoning the viewer.

but be careful, the longer one finds themselves in this space, the more one traverses to try and find a way out, the more the mirrors seem to refract and multiply and divide, making it much harder to find a way out.]

B. TERROR IN THE WOODS

[perhaps it is mercy to not land in a house where witchcraft has gone haywire. the forest, at least, seems an easier space to navigate. that is, until one realizes how utterly quiet it all is, the grayscale value of what was once lush and verdant. it is nighttime, but it is a lot darker than what one would expect. standing still would not be a good idea, though, as the only hue of color comes in the shape of dense, blood red mist, crashing into trees and whatever other feature juts out from amidst the foliage. it travels a specific path, though, and does not linger—like a traveling stream covering a small radius at a time, a predator of unknown shape and form.

best to run and hide out of its way, for while the forest is quiet, chants and macabre whisperings in a language unknown announce its approach. there are wails, too, if one listens closely, but they seem so far off.

there are closed structures one could hide in, or in between, for the mist seems to be intelligent—but can seemingly be outsmarted. hold your breath, toss an object elsewhere to distract it, whatever repertoire one may have in their pocket could work.

do not get comfortable, though, for while the forest creatures who were once friendly no longer seem to be around, ghoul-like creatures appear from the darkest of shadows, traveling silently, but screeching once they find their target. these are tangible and can be fought, but they will also grab and hold on to their target, yelling the sins of the offender they have crossed paths with.

but don't stand still and get dragged down by them—they seem to be working together with the mist, and it is only a matter of time before they meet up halfway.]

b.

[ordinar]

Wilhelm doesn't know that anything is wrong at first. He had actually intended to come to Wanda's domain, anxious to tell her about the strange dream he had the other night — and to calculate if he's losing his mind or if some kind of wrench has just been thrown in the works of the world again. She's a reliable source for that kind of thing.

Then the darkness creeps in, casting everything in grey. The weight of the forest's silence presses down on him. That's enough to put him on edge, but what sharpens his anxiety into alarm is the blood-colored mist that comes surging through the trees. He's seen this before — when it was billowing out from Wanda, she the epicenter and it the tidal wave.

"Wanda?" he calls out, darting his eyes around. But he finds nobody in the thick shadows between trees. All that answers him is the loudening undercurrent of chanting whispered in a language he doesn't recognize.

Standing still for too long was a mistake. Wilhelm realizes this as the mist starts to curl around his feet, and jumping aside he tries to kick it off. Although he doesn't know what will happen if the mist ensnares him, he doesn't intend to stick around to find out. And although he has forgiven Wanda, he hasn't forgotten how she shaped this red smoke into scenes pulled from his own head. How she tried to trap him with the promise of things too good to be true.

So he's running like hell. Betting on the mist rolling straight ahead, he cuts a manic path through the trees. No matter how many twists and turns he adds to his escape route, though, the mist seems to find him.

[carmesi]

Wilhelm can rest assured that the mist is not something Wanda is consciously controlling, but it probably offers little respite when he is being chased so earnestly by it. It does not bode well to be caught within its asphyxiating contours; not even she can tell what kind of horrors will be lived within it. It is, however, something she is aware is happening as soon as she enters her horizon.

A predator hunting its prey—and she's feeling the surge of emotion from it: the adrenaline, the desperation, the mad dashes to safety that allows for no safe haven. She reaches for it with her mind to pinpoint it in the labyrinthine paths of the forest.

The ground under Wilhelm's feet will give way and have him hurtling downwards into a tunnel, and he lands on soft ground, over a patch of grass and flowers cushioning his fall entirely. Roots and loose rocks decorate the walls of the tunnel.

Shh, comes the hushed command, Wanda's profile in the darkness beside Wilhelm. The red mist passes over the mouth of the tunnel, chasing after the boy that no longer runs to stay away from it, casting them in darkness for a moment. The monochrome-gray pervades, still, even as Wanda turns to worry over him.

Her silence breaks after a moment.

"Are you alright?"

a.

[dirtytrenchcoat]

[The inconsistency of his own horizon and the fact that he keeps appearing in domains that belong to other people have only added to Castiel's doubt and frustration. It began with death, following him like a promise. It's not lost on him that his commitment to The Empty had been usurped by the singularity and this new plane of existence. He was with Dean and Jo, and that gave him some peace of mind but their respective timelines didn't meet. Knowing more than both of them, and to some degree, more than his own brothers furthered the constant dread that followed him. Koth, decay, the dream he never should have had just fans those flames.

Now, here in this horizon, standing before sigils that he doesn't recognize Castiel feels all the more lost. His fist curls, and relaxes as he searches the runes and tries to place their language. He feels small, amassed by the darkness of the room. The same darkness he was supposed to spend eternity in.]

[carmesi]

[it is a darkness that wanda is well and fully familiarized with—the one here one that spells prophetic verses about her, in a language far too ancient for her to notably understand, but one that melds under her influence and her fingers into something with substance and meaning.

from the darkness she steps, emblazoned in the red hues that adorn the shimmers on the obsidian walls.]

Can you read it?

[this man— she knows him. they spent some time alone, enjoying the peace and quiet of sam's horizon many moons ago. his name escapes her, but comes to her with an easy traction of mind reading. castiel.

as she steps closer, the writings and markings on the wall blur out, like water rippling, making it impossible to see with certainty what it all spelled out. like in a dream, where one cannot actually read anything but gibberish. her mind's defense: keeping her from unlocking this forbidden magic once more.

except she doesn't wish for it to be here.]

It was written by a demon long ago.

B

[tobeclosetohim]

Fuck, no. This again???

[ Jo had been lying down and focused very hard on The Bunker more than the Bar. It was their one safe place, still untouched by the mayhem and mishaps of the Horizon. This was a slight reprieve, given how badly the rest of their domain had committed to the cause of chaos. But this. Is. Not. The. Bunker. This is a forest; and it doesn't even have the decency to be the forest behind the bar. The one they tell people not to go into, even when the Horizon is being good.

This whole place looks and feels off. There's something wrong with the light barely coming down through the trees; something wrong with the leeched-out color of the trees, maybe even their permanence; something wrong with the air that seems not as clear as it should be. She looks in several directions before spotting something that looks like the shape of a structure in shadow in the distance and sets off that way. ]

b. terror in the woods

[nightwash]

The Greywaren doesn't look like a victim trapped in this place. Rather, it could easily be just another piece of it — magic gone wrong, terror made tangible. It's a creature made of the deepest shadows, coiling itself around the sparks of magical energy that nourish it, and whether it was summoned here on purpose or by accident, this forest is its feeding ground now.

This is exactly why Ronan didn't want to attempt crossing into the Horizon.

Well, not exactly. But a part of him had understood the risk. The Horizon is too close to dreaming, and this entity — this thing inside him — was already trying to claw its way into the world before he went and opened the door for it.

What he didn't understand, before coming here, was that the thing inside him was not a thing that wanted to exist outside of him. Ronan Lynch is a name for something human-shaped. The Horizon is not a place for human shapes. The illusion of Ronan Lynch can be discarded here, as it was in the beginning, and the Greywaren can flourish once more.

It was supposed to appear in the volcano. Its bargain is with Kylo Ren, the man who created the mountain, so it's Kylo Ren's duty to feed the Greywaren. Instead, the entity finds itself in an unfamiliar forest. Unfriendly to it — or perhaps it's the Greywaren that's the unfriendly stranger. The invader. The virus.

It's an enormous creature, this cluster of shadows weaving through the trees like threads of smoke. A silent storm rolling in from another world, bringing with it hunger rather than weather. It wants, and it stretches its yearning out into this domain, reaching for any creature that might answer it.

b.

[actualwizard]

[ He’d been lost on the woods for what felt like hours, trying to dodge and hide from that familiar red mist. He wasn't sure why it was familisr- he'd never seen anything like it before, but it gave off a feeling like he knew what it was. If he had been in the right state of mind, and not getting chased by it he would have figured it out. Instead he was hiding behind a stone shrine catching his breath.

Which was probably why he didn’t notice the ghoul that shrieked once it was right in front of him. He tried to turn and run but another appeared, and then another, all at once he was hearing voices. Familiar voices that he couldn’t place.

”You are the reason the team isn’t together, you killed your best friend. You neglect your husband, he doesn’t deserve you, you almost destroyed the world.”

All things he thought he had moved passed. He tried to ignore them but it got harder and harder as more showed up and then he saw that familiar mist and this time there was no getting away. ]

A.

[magicalarchaeologist]

Istredd keeps being teleported to different locations in the Horizon which has become frustrating, especially as he is still trying to figure out what about his domain is being set off. He has only felt one other domain that shakes and hums like his, but there are no obvious answers. The monolith is so easy to see from anywhere but times like now no matter how close he tries to get to it, it seems far away. It could be that the minds in the Horizon are reaching to him too; there's a lot of white noise here for him.

Everything changes when he finds himself in Wanda's domain. He knows immediately it's hers; he can feel her. Their psychic bond gets stronger each time they talk and share, and in a way, that is why this space ends up feeling so much more out of control for him. He twists and turns as the red boxes form around him, mists surrounding as he stumbles back, trying to get a grip on the area around him.

He pulls a psychic shield tightly around himself, considering Wanda's power it is necessary in this place, and he manages to breathe through the bizarre shifting of the fake world they are in. Istredd comes closer to where a reflection is and sees her face, fractured. Unlike most people though, when he sees that he simply reaches toward her essence, through the glass and to the energy glowing within.

Wanda!

His light vibrates a pale blue, similar to his eyes in color, shielding around him as he pushes through the chaos. He knows he can find her. He climbs through the reflection and follows, blue light chasing the red.

Focus, come back to me.

B. coming at you fast

[hextechhead]

Jayce really should have known better than to come back in here after the time he and Viktor were lost in a labyrinth, but he wants to check on Rio and see if anyone in there needs to connect. There are also times when he is struggling so much with his emotions that he has to go to the rage room and destroy some things, which he can't do easily in Cadens. He is doing exactly that when he blinks and finds himself somewhere new. A forest? This is the second forest he's shown up in, after Alucard, but this is far more unsettling.

It is pitch dark in there and he murmurs an illumination spell that quickly brightens the area right around him. Not that he technically needs to do magic here, he would simply make it work, but it isn't domain. Jayce frowns and tries to look around, get a sense of if this is a real domain or another labyrinth in disguise. It's dark but he starts to think he can recognize where he is now. Wanda is the person he associates the most with the woods. Could this be hers?

He nervously moves through, pausing in the structures, uncertain of where he's even going. This is definitely creepy. Jayce hurries with his light glowing, but it probably is what brings down attention to him. One ghoul crashes down on him, a shock to the system as he instinctively creates his hammer to block the attack. It glows in its own way in the dark, a vivid sparking electrical blue. He pushes it back and a second one arrives, doing the same as long as he can.

"Help!" There is honestly nothing else he can think of to do.

—ENSNARED [ steve rogers ]

[carmesi]

[wanda drops in on a stack of boxes. it cushions her fall as they cave under her weight, but it's enough to keep her upright and sitting up. the apartment she is in: it's small, packed, and looks like it's halfway through the process of being packed. the windows are fogged up, and it feels warm inside, the air somewhat stale, but for a sweet smell, like—

huh. cotton candy.

standing up, she stumbles over more boxes until she reaches the door, heading out into the corridor of more and more closed apartment doors. it reminds her of — well, of her home back in sokovia, but this is definitely different. the place seems empty, but there's something off about the place.

as wanda steps outside into the hallway, her feet on the dusty, old carpet, she keeps a hand against the wall, dragging her fingers over it. she can't — sense anyone else here, not on this floor anyway.]

Hello?

[—she calls out, maybe futilely, as she reaches the end of the hallway, a dead end, and focuses her attention on the window to look outside. except it's ... strangely dark, and pink.]

[assembles]

[ After this experience, Steve feels pretty justified in his decision to not spend much time in the Horizon.

He'd decided to enter primarily to see if it would provide a means of getting away from whatever is happening to him. He knows he's not the only Summoned affected, not by a long shot, but he's already unintentionally put people around him into a state of distress. Maybe it won't happen in the Horizon, he'd figured.

But now he's in some strange domain (who does this place even belong to?), having to outrun a bunch of sweet-smelling goop. It would remind him of Coney Island if this wasn't all so bizarre.

He'd started on ground level but has been making his way up as the pink sludge makes a valiant effort to catch up with him. He isn't sure what will happen if it engulfs him, but he thinks it's safe to assume it won't be good.

Which is how he's taken to scaling the outside of the building. It's as Wanda peers out the window that she'll see a blur of American supersoldier leap upward as he vaults up to another balcony. His feet hang at her eye level for a moment as he works to pull himself up. ]

—ENSNARED [ stephen strange ]

[carmesi]

[it's dark—unbearably so—when she awakens in this place. instinct allows her to create light from the magic that spills from her hands, though it is not enough to illuminate the entirety of her vicinity. as it were, the world around her seems to be a straight line forward and back. wanda follows the path, because what else ought she do?

one straight path turns into a left turn, then a right turn, and then she's caught in an intersections. the path she follows does not widen nor grow narrower, so it gives her pause.

is she making any progress at all?

in the end, wanda decides to push herself off the ground and towards the top, to get an idea of what exactly she is dealing with. unfortunately, that hardly offers any substantial help to her predicament, and instead she finds herself getting turned upside down and crashing, back to the ground, where the world is encroached in darkness, and toppling right on top of—

someone else? wanda pulls herself up to sit—or, rather, gets pushed upright by a... a cloak?

oh.

it's pitch black again, but wanda asks regardless, her hands fumbling on the ground for a moment.]

Stephen?

[sorser]

[Her hands will glide across the lumpiness of his shoulder blades, given that Stephen's somehow disoriented himself enough in this blasted place to have fallen face-down onto the ground when she collided into him. It's not his finest moment, but he hasn't been having a lot of those lately, and while his cloak is kind enough to help a familiar face that isn’t him, the sorcerer mutters into the ground—]

...Wanda.

[Deadpan, vaguely pained. Their usual exchange of greetings.

He doesn’t know what’s happening, he doesn’t want to push himself up just yet, because despite the dread that is coiling up in his stomach, right now, there is a more immediate problem:]

Your knee's pushing into my back.

[Please… remove it.]

—ENSNARED [ lucifer ]

[carmesi]

[lingering inside the labyrinth offers wanda little comfort. it is not the first time she has been here, and she wonders what are the chances that she is to be stuck, once more, in this place. is there a reason to this? is there something to find here?

the labyrinth remains as dark as it was before, but something is definitely different. the hair raises on the back of her neck, as she turns a corner; one hand pressed against the wall, the other held up as it creates light with her magic. she hears it, the faint click-click of its steps, the slow migration of cognizance in her mind as it slowly moves in the shadows.

wanda stops here, turns on her back, casts a glow of red onto the encroaching darkness to find nothing, taking measured steps as she walks backwards, her eyes trying to adjust to the never ending darkness.

the clicking continues, moves far away enough for her to not be able to follow the stream of consciousness that exudes from it. stones and pebbles fall from somewhere along the top of the wall, cutting the eerie silence, and wanda has barely a moment to think about it before she unexpectedly bumps into something—someone.

scarlet magic glows fiercely as she brings her hand back to defend herself if need be. no, it's just—]

Lucifer.

[she gasps, the uncertainty of the circumstances taking a toll on her breathing. because of course she wouldn't be alone.

motioning at the darkness behind her, she keeps her voice low, steady.]

Something's been following me.

[thedevilwhorose]

[Lucifer's been trailing the faint radio-tuning static given to him by the Horizon itself. His nails dragging along the labyrinth wall as he walks with a slow gait, barely lit.

By all accounts he should be the villain of this labyrinth. The Big Bad. The real Harbinger, not all these false gods.

But the moment he runs into Wanda, he blinks, hand dropping from its leisurely fidgeting and he sways back a step, immediately looks beyond her, gaze sharp, stance shifting to offensive, not this lackadaisical posture he's had. The tuning sounds are still there, but he's working to squash it down.

It's clear that he:

1) Trusts her.

2) Will back her.]

I haven't seen... much, exactly. Some strange Little Shop of Horrors. Haven't even seen another person. [There's an ease though when he pulls his gaze from her path to actually look at her. If he's going to be stuck in a labyrinth, at least it's with her.] And here I just wanted to dabble in my domain. [Now he's stuck. His Absolute Favorite Thing!]

—HORIZON [ sam wilson ]

[carmesi]

[as whatever instigated a change in the horizon peters out into something more manageable, wanda's able to bring her horizon back into some semblance of order. the ghouls no longer patrol in the darkness, and she makes a point of having the sun shine brightly through the thick canopy. the red mist is much harder to control, but she's come to realize that she can make it disappear at will if she focuses on it—rather than chasing it down.

her home is better, too, no longer treading the line between falling apart in splinters of heavy mirror-like breaks, nor is there no longer any real torment of dark magic exuding from its corners.

wanda is just about fixing one of the many portraits hanging from the wall in the hallway when a loud thump behind her snaps her out of otherwise sad thoughts. sure, maybe people are still side-stepping into the wrong horizons, and at least they landed inside the house and not out in the still unpredictable forest. wanda turns, only to find—]

Sam?

[it looks like he fell from the ceiling. wanda walks up to him and, hesitantly, takes his hand to help him up.]

You alright?