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

III.

[subcircuits]

"Rust and ruin, gimme that," Devero says, dropping into a crouch beside the pot and reaching for the spoon to take over stirring duty. "Focus on eating before you eat your hand by accident."

[worthallthis]

"Devero. You do remember my hand is a machine, right?"

They say it lightly, though, and they push the spoon over into Devero's hand instead. "It doesn't get tired. And it'd be pretty hard to eat." They bring it up to their face to have a look at it. "I'd probably break my teeth, if I tried. Actually."

[subcircuits]

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in." His response is just as light-- he knows how Soldat acquired that machine hand, but he also knows that Soldat knows how impressed he is by the damn thing.

He starts to stir the stew, shifting to sit all the way down on the ground beside the pot. "It sure would, wouldn't it?" he says with a chuckle. "And I'm not sure the local medicine would do much for you in that case, huh?"

[worthallthis]

"I think they repair themselves, anyway," Soldat admits. "My teeth, I mean. I."

They shudder briefly with memory, and put their own spoon down to put their head briefly in their hands. "I've broken teeth before. During maintenance. They didn't give me a bite guard at first. Electricity to the face."

[subcircuits]

Well, that changes the mood of things right quick, doesn't it? Devero sobers, his face falling and his skin crawling with a chill. "Rust and ruin, those fucking animals," he says, mostly managing to control the snarl in his voice.

[worthallthis]

"Sorry. I. I hadn't really remembered that until I mentioned the teeth." Soldat gives their face another little scrub. "They had to up the wattage when the Americans bought me." The Americans-- hadn't had the Words, Soldat remembers. They had to rely on maintenance, fear, and lies, and it took more of all of them to keep their Asset under control.

[subcircuits]

If this were anyone but Soldat, this would be where Devero reaches out with a supportive hand, but with Soldat he knows that wouldn't actually help. He keeps his hands to himself (and stirring the pot), but he does stretch a leg out to nudge the toe of his boot against the nearer of Soldat's.

"No apologies necessary," he says. "I know how stuff just-- just comes up sometimes."

[worthallthis]

"More often with me than most," Soldat says, a little sourly. They rub their temples briefly, maybe kind of trying to wipe away the ghostly feeling of the Chair coming down around them. "I'm okay. I've had worse memories pop up at worse times."

[subcircuits]

"More often with you than almost anyone else, I imagine," he says in quiet acknowledgment. But Soldat says they're okay, so Devero's going to take them at their word on that.

"You need anything else while you're here?" he asks. "Potions, field aid? --A nap?"

[worthallthis]

Soldat shakes their head. "I don't sleep on missions. Not unless there's a locked door I can hide behind. It's fine, the lantern means as long as I eat and drink, I don't need sleep." This is... about half true. Being dead does in fact decrease their need for sleep, but they're still gonna crash hard post-mission. They always do.

But because they know Devero wants to help, and needs to keep busy, they offer: "Though if you want to have a look at the wrist servos, I haven't had a chance to do maintenance." Soldat does most of their own maintenance lately, since picking up metal manipulation in fake Diagad, but sometimes they still come to him for fiddly bits.

[subcircuits]

Devero is actually reasonably aware of that, and doesn't press Soldat on it. He had to try, but he accepts the rebuff gracefully.

He accepts the redirect with clear-- well, not delight, because delight isn't really appropriate in the context, but there's no mistaking the way his eyes light up. "Sure, I'd be happy to check it out. I have my kit in my tent, we head that way when you're done eating?"

[worthallthis]

"I'll just bring it along. That's been stirred enough for now." They pick themselves up, bowl in the flesh hand and already rippling some plates open on the metal one. "Promise I won't spill anything on your bedroll," they add, only about half joking.