Fissures of Time: Ongoing

[voidtreckermods]

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FISSURES OF TIME: ONGOING

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... POI 10-12

FOR SOME, THE MISSION HAS BEEN MORE MENTALLY EXHAUSTING THAN PHYSICALLY. Distortions sprout around the domain without rhyme or reason, and the camps must be moved every new day to meet them, as well as stopping a distortion from deciding to form under them from their presence.

While there's bare-bones vegetation, at least they have their own resources to help one another, as well as what can be retrieved from the Ministry base during return trips to take misplaced civilians to safety. It's straight-forward so far...

...but that wouldn't be standard for the Voidtreckers, and some in their ranks don't want straight-forward. Starting during the early hours of Poi 10, there will be occasional rumblings throughout the land. They last for a few seconds and then stop, seemingly for hours; but then they return, and as the days go on, so do the tremors increase.

It seems the distortions too have become affected...

THE UNQUIET CITY. (CW: People unable to die/rising from the dead, body horror)

A city of rubble and ruin stretches far out around them, where once there were hills and vegetation. Much of the rubble is still smoking as fires smoulder. The fighting isn't over, heard before it's seen.

It must be connected to the same skirmishes seen in other distortions, and so most of you are prepared to meet warriors on foot and mount. But what awaits isn't only the horror of bloodshed. No: the reason that the fighting still continues even as the city lies in ruin is because fighters fall and rise again, as if death were nothing but a short rest.

Puncture marks litter skin and armour, holes from weaponry and blessed-magic visible in torsos, even the spaces of where portions of one's skull and brain should be.

Yet they cannot stop fighting. They cannot fall to the ground, rest. Whatever drove them to fight this war still inspires them to continue, screaming as much in pain as in some sort of twisted ecstasy. Perhaps they are too shocked to do anything else. A city locked in eternal war, distorted in time, doomed to repeat itself.

It's hard to set the equalisers here. Not much is stable and fights are likely to break out wherever there are people. The people of this city have their factions, but they will not hesitate to band together to fight intruders.

EYE OF THE STORM. They might feel this distortion before they enter it. A spine-chilling thrill, the feeling one might get at the edge of a storm.

—For a storm it is. The moment they enter it their vision will be obstructed, winds howl around them and rain lashes down furiously making a swamp of the ground below them. It's freezing cold and as they walk they will feel something in the storm. Almost as if there are icy hands, reaching out to grab at them, to pull them further into the worst of the weather.

It's hard to know where to place the equalisers, hard to see where the edges of this distortion are. Easier, not by much, to move further in, to find the epicentre and try and take it down from there.

It's a treacherous journey, but the centre truly is calm, water frozen like crystals. Yet temperatures are dangerously low, so it's in everyone's best interests to set the equalisers quick and get out.

MEAN AND GREEN. As the rumbling continues, there comes a strange and worrying distortion. Worrying, as this distortion can be seen from the outside. A hazy blur that seems to move across the countryside, along the left side of the camp you're stationed at. It gets dangerously close at times, and when it does...

Green tendrils of plant life burst out, entangling people to pull them into the distortion. Or chains of flowers spread from the distortion out across the countryside. Beautiful and colourful in the otherwise sparse environment, but those flowers work as anchors, spreading the distortion, expanding it.

To get rid of it they will need to enter, and inside is a thick jungle of vines and bright colourful flowers awaiting them. The foliage is thick and the air musky and sweet. It's easy to get separated, and getting lost is only a matter of getting turned around. The leaves are sticky and vines move seemingly on their own, curling around unsuspecting limbs, trying to trap people in this colourful paradise forever.

And up in the sky above, a woman's laughter can be heard, the heat of the sun bearing down that becomes uncomfortable quick. But don't look up - you may find a large yellow eye - yellow iris, yellow pupil, golden yellow everything - peering back at you, and find yourself being pulled in by the very ground itself by a powerful force.

NO SANCTUARY. Protecting the camps hasn't been difficult, despite it being a Purple task. Other than rowdy refugees breaking out into fights, little else has appeared to disturb them.

'Eiiiiliiifii.... Siiiiliiifiii...
Merios? Herios?
Don't hide... don't hide...

Everything will be so perfect soon...'

People are woken abruptly in the early hours of Poi 11. If by some special sense, or by a grab at their throat, by a body falling on top of where they sleep, someone else stopping the refugee who was about to take a knife to them.

The refugees have become uncontrollable, raving about wanting 'their Gods back'. The ground rumbles as the woman's voice from the hazy jungle - ethereal, so divine - speaks from below. Grass rises and the sky above burns with a brightness like an approaching sun.

Setting an equaliser will calm the refugees, but only those in the camps. Starting from lunchtime, more warriors and civilians will be found appearing from the distance and from thin air, seemingly knowing where to find the Voidtreckers' camps - and after some very specific people.

Those with divinity, control over weather, nature, and death will be especially targeted, along with anyone who received blessings from the Gods.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here. Let us know about shenanigans here. NPC requests here, set up a thread here. Rewards go here.

TL;DR: Starting on Poi 10, there will be odd tremors around the domain, and more aggressive time distortions. From Poi 11 refugees will lose control of themselves and start attacking Voidtreckers, in and out of the camp.

It will happen abruptly to begin with, but some keen to reading energy will find that it is shifting; like something is breaking in from somewhere else (similar to the time distortions).

Extra equalisers can be picked up from the Ministry base and they will be there to help, but there are also more distortions happening around the domain, so they'll be dealing with those. The Ministry will advise that any non-combatants should stick to the base, and even use the scouting drones to help from afar, if they really need to help.

Undead warriors can be found outside of time distortions, and not all of the people outside of distortions will be 'permanent' people. Equalisers can be kept going for a few hours to keep these people away, but will also need go into recharge/cooling mode.

Don't worry if you're still busy with the Starting log! Or if you've been meaning to tag, jump in here!

Comments

[weifinder]

"At being chased around? No, no, abandon the thought, I've only been happy to be faster than most of whatever pursues!"

He smiles, letting it fade again, glancing down at his shirt and sighing internally. He turns away, presenting his back to Lan Zhan, when he starts to tug the shirt off over his head, the temperature of the day unremarkable when he's cultivator enough still to manage temperature regulation, without his qi being terribly drained already.

He trots toward where his sweatshirt lies now on the ground, picking it up and brushing dust off before he pulls it overhead.

"How many more equalisers do you think we'll need to place before these poor lost souls are trapped or undone this time?"

[weisexual]

"Mm..." There might be the smallest of softening of expressions as he accepts what Wei Ying says about being faster. That at least did seem to be true. He then turns away slightly when he sees the shirt be removed. Even if Wei Ying does not need privacy to change his clothes, he should at least offer him a little bit of it.

"A few more." He only has one more tucked away in his pouch so it would have to come down to what others are out there doing the same work. But he doesn't know if this extra one is even going to be necessary if others get there before they do. "I have one left."

He moves over to Wei Ying's side again, studying him closely. "Should we continue?" DO you feel up to it? Because the last thing that Lan Zhan wants is for the other man to become tired. Even if he has been becoming stronger while on the train...he still feels the need to watch over him.

[weifinder]

Back in his hoodie, he clucks his tongue, rolling his arms and shoulders and settling again into his own skin.

"Better get on it," he says, though he lifts an eyebrow, holds out his hand. "I can set this one if you like, or I can run interference. Music's not helpful here," he says, because there is no death, and no true life, and nothing to call on, nothing to coerce or request from, only his skill with swords that he doesn't have a sword to use for, and the odd guns brought on loan by the Ministry. He pats his strapped to his leg in a holster that feels entirely strange.

"Other things are, and we can always set a traditional repelling ward, it works some portion of the time. Not for long, usually, but enough in combination to be useful. Where's your next to be placed?"

[weisexual]

Lan Zhan nods his head in the direction the next piece is supposed to be laid. He pulls out the device and hands it over to him. Since Wei ying put himself out as the bait last time, Lan Zhan will take the weight of that task on his own shoulders this time. He never took one of the ministry weapons, feeling he has more then enough ability with those he already has.

He starts to move in the direction of the next spot, mulling over their options as far as protecting themselves and others. "Not illusions but also not real." Disturbances in space that require maintenance to regain balance. What he understands while still not fully comprehending. So much more then any of the books he has ever read, even since reading the ones in the library on the train.

He weighs the differences between this world and the previous ones they have been on. It's better then the enemies that were simply creations of a person's mind, but still not a part of this world's actual populace. It's amazing how many different things they have encountered since becoming passengers. And Wei Ying has experienced even more then he has. The weight of all of this is heavy but he has to remember that what matters is that they are helping people, not necessarily the details of the how or why.

"I will distract them."

[weifinder]

A nod of his head in acknowledgment, and then he tunes out the cries as they approach the marked location, which is... unhelpfully within a building. Or no, I'm it's partially collapsed rear courtyard.

Wei Wuxian leaps and scrambles over the broken wall, while two of the factions fighting down the way catch sight of them both. That's going to be Lan Zhan's problem, one Wei Wuxian trusts him to handle as he finds the location marked and sets down the equaliser, beginning to anchor it before the start up process can be initiated.

[weisexual]

He makes sure that Wei Ying is able to get over the wall before turning towards what his task is going to be. He wants to make sure that he stays close enough that he can stop anyone that gets near to the other man, but he also wants to make sure he can distract them enough to get them away.

He starts with the instrument, sending waves of spiritual energy across the land as both a deterrent and a distraction. IT might not be the most effective combat on this world but it is enough to at least draw their attention to him. This is going to be tricky but he is not one to back down from a challenge and is just confident enough to know he will be able to handle this battle.

Traveling forward he does his best to draw the others away, not wanting to resort to his sword unless he absolutely has to.

[weifinder]

Opening the case with the equaliser, Wei Wuxian applies himself to setting it. An energy weapon is discharged nearby, and it shoots over his head; he doesn't pause, and doesn't see that it was an accidental shot rather than anything directed on purpose. Next to no one saw him climb into this courtyard, and for once, the choice of Lan Zhan's demeanour holds unpleasant attention more than whatever Wei Wuxian is wearing.

Lan Zhan, faced by persons who couldn't die, and weren't precisely living either, was getting shot at from a distance by discharge weapons, and then rushed by those who held the equivalent to energy swords and spears, some which could discharge their energy in a ghost-like recreation of their form.

Finally, perhaps, a battle oddly worthy of a cultivator of his prestige, though they had more stamina, and always would. As long as the disruption stood firm.

[weisexual]

He does what he can with just the instrument at first. But then there is just too much to be staying stationary. The sword quickly replaces it as he starts to take care of some of the beings that get a little too close. It is a flurry of movements, fluid and practiced as he uses muscles and skills that haven't been needed since his arrival.

This is familiar and comfortable. Nothing in his expression or movements gives away any sort of unsettled feelings. One always has to stay focused when dealing with any enemy, but especially when the numbers of them are this high. But his focus is still on making sure that no one gets close to the area that the equalizer is being set.

The harder issue is the long distance weapons that keep being fired in this direction. There is little he can do to stop them and simply has to try and avoid a best he can. A difficult task when his attention is being split in so many ways.