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ioduanlogs2018-12-21 05:16 pm
khuimods) wrote in ioduanlogs2018-12-21 05:16 pm
[EVENT] STORM OF THE CENTURY
Characters: ALL
Date: December 21 - 31
Location: Primarily Aifaran, with effects across the archipelago
Situation: The storm of the century strikes hard
Warnings/Rating: Natural disaster on the level of a hurricane, including casualties, missing persons, and significant property destruction; please warnings to headers as needed
The winter solstice brings with it not only the darkness of long nights, but of thunderclouds. As the year comes to a close, a massive storm gathers abruptly on the horizon and officials raise an alert that it is on a direct path to make landfall.
As the storm approaches the archipelago it grows in both size and strength, prompting hurried preparations particularly in low-lying or water-saturated areas. Cape Averi is emptied, save a small contingent of the Verdant Sentry. Amkichi Beach and Jyjan Cove are closed and designated off-limits. The ferry between Kaiare and Aifaran is shut down a day before the storm hits, and both Kaiare and Bejichi Town go into area lockdown to protect as many people and as much property as possible.
Levees outside Aifaran undergo a rapid inspection to locate any areas in need of immediate repair, and likely failure points are identified for flood control. Walls of sandbags trace across the plains outside the city, and pile high in the lower and older portions of the city. Announcements on storm readiness urge residents to secure any loose or light items that could become airborne, and anchor objects that cannot be brought indoors. On December 19th, Sentry and city officials order a mandatory evacuation of Bayside and close all docks and piers. Any boats and ships that haven't already been secured are quickly anchored along the far west side of Shuyul Bay. Shelters and emergency medical services are arranged at the Ioduan Academy, the Dreaming Bridge, and several other large community spaces. Temples above the flood zones fling open their doors to evacuees. The Skyway is shut down on December 20th.
As dawn rises on the New Year, three unknown ships appear on the horizon, bearing flags of peace.
---
OOC Notes: The eddies and other chaos effects are opt-in if you do not wish for your character to be affected, or do not wish to engage with that aspect of the storm.
UPDATE: This log is an activity exemption log and threads may be used to apply to either December AC (which is check-in, in any case) OR January AC.
Date: December 21 - 31
Location: Primarily Aifaran, with effects across the archipelago
Situation: The storm of the century strikes hard
Warnings/Rating: Natural disaster on the level of a hurricane, including casualties, missing persons, and significant property destruction; please warnings to headers as needed
The winter solstice brings with it not only the darkness of long nights, but of thunderclouds. As the year comes to a close, a massive storm gathers abruptly on the horizon and officials raise an alert that it is on a direct path to make landfall.
As the storm approaches the archipelago it grows in both size and strength, prompting hurried preparations particularly in low-lying or water-saturated areas. Cape Averi is emptied, save a small contingent of the Verdant Sentry. Amkichi Beach and Jyjan Cove are closed and designated off-limits. The ferry between Kaiare and Aifaran is shut down a day before the storm hits, and both Kaiare and Bejichi Town go into area lockdown to protect as many people and as much property as possible.
Levees outside Aifaran undergo a rapid inspection to locate any areas in need of immediate repair, and likely failure points are identified for flood control. Walls of sandbags trace across the plains outside the city, and pile high in the lower and older portions of the city. Announcements on storm readiness urge residents to secure any loose or light items that could become airborne, and anchor objects that cannot be brought indoors. On December 19th, Sentry and city officials order a mandatory evacuation of Bayside and close all docks and piers. Any boats and ships that haven't already been secured are quickly anchored along the far west side of Shuyul Bay. Shelters and emergency medical services are arranged at the Ioduan Academy, the Dreaming Bridge, and several other large community spaces. Temples above the flood zones fling open their doors to evacuees. The Skyway is shut down on December 20th.
I. THE STORM MAKES LANDFALL { Dec 21 - 22 }
By the 21st, the storm grows large enough to shroud the entire archipelago well beyond the protective barrier, and slams into the islands with the force of a hurricane. Most channels on the Lae Shunjai begin airing storm coverage using updates from response unit volunteers around Aifaran and across the archipelago, but signal interference worsens as the storm settles in.
Heavy rains swell the rivers of the Mas'Inge Basin, carrying silt and debris down from the mountains. Paired with raging winds, the downpour causes storm surge batters the coastline with waves cresting well over the docks. On the second day, a news alert reports a large section of the piers nearest Bayside ripped free. Some of the debris struck boats, but most of it was thrown inland, leveling several small shops. The full extent of the damage is currently unknown.
Flooding begins in earnest shortly after, overwhelming Aifaran's sewer system. Many of the streets nearest the bay become streams, channeling the water downhill. A critical alert goes out across the city: at least one of the levees has breached, and the waters are heavy with mud. Neighborhoods in the eastern part of Aifaran are frantically evacuated as they become inundated, but there are not enough rescue services to reach everyone in time.
And then, a building in Malimo floods. Not a neighborhood; not a street. A single building. Even with doors and windows flung or broken open, the waters rise until they reach the roof. And then another floods, near the Dreaming Bridge. And another, and another, at random. Nearly a dozen individual buildings, all of them located outside the major flood zones, are drowned.
Heavy rains swell the rivers of the Mas'Inge Basin, carrying silt and debris down from the mountains. Paired with raging winds, the downpour causes storm surge batters the coastline with waves cresting well over the docks. On the second day, a news alert reports a large section of the piers nearest Bayside ripped free. Some of the debris struck boats, but most of it was thrown inland, leveling several small shops. The full extent of the damage is currently unknown.
Flooding begins in earnest shortly after, overwhelming Aifaran's sewer system. Many of the streets nearest the bay become streams, channeling the water downhill. A critical alert goes out across the city: at least one of the levees has breached, and the waters are heavy with mud. Neighborhoods in the eastern part of Aifaran are frantically evacuated as they become inundated, but there are not enough rescue services to reach everyone in time.
And then, a building in Malimo floods. Not a neighborhood; not a street. A single building. Even with doors and windows flung or broken open, the waters rise until they reach the roof. And then another floods, near the Dreaming Bridge. And another, and another, at random. Nearly a dozen individual buildings, all of them located outside the major flood zones, are drowned.
IIa. SEEDS OF CHAOS { Dec 23 - 30 }
By the 23rd, it becomes clear that the storm isn't going anywhere - and that it is no ordinary storm. Trees spring up where lightning strikes, whether they are rooted in soil or not. One segment of Skyway track draws strikes like a lightning rod and grows a copse of gnarled trees veined with metal. The roots spread outward rather than through the track and settle in deeply, unphased by the howling winds and pounding rain. Scattered reports from other cities indicate they are under blizzard-like conditions, complete with thundersnow.
Soon, worried rumors begin to spread about rips in the fabric of the planes, buildings and neighborhoods being rearranged, and time passing at variable speeds. Most of these rumors are just rumors, but the truth is just as concerning.
There are places where one can see images or worlds that ought not be, as though through a window in the empty air: blasted landscapes of dead earth through open doorways, tall cliffs at the edge of the sea in an empty staircase, crowded city streets in the middle of hallways or dark rooms, and more. On the 25th, official storm reports now begin to include alerts from researchers in the Ioduan Academy and the Aisling Tower, who give this phenomenon its name: liminal rifts.
From what they can tell, the phenomenon is temporary and does not actually create a true connection to whatever is being seen. These are not portals or rips in the planes that one can walk through or that anything can walk out of, though little else is known. Officials request that no one attempt to interact with the rifts, and instead to record what they see, where and when they see it for later analysis. In the midst of the storm, there are too many other priorities.
A Xa Xa tag immediately pops up as some people are able to snap shots of the liminal rifts, and manage to upload them in between network outages. Patterns begin to emerge. Many photos include a dark jungle blanketed in thick fog; a few people swear up and down that the fog trailed out of the rift, but no one can prove it. One or two spot goat-like creatures grazing on underbrush, though the shots are blurry and too distant to make out much detail. Most are utterly, incomprehensibly random or bizarre.
On the 26th, hardly anyone in the archipelago will be able to sleep as a wave of frazzled worry emanates from the young turtles. The barrier visibly fluctuates in different locations but ultimately holds steady. There is a deep, vague sense of being unable to talk that overcomes people, particularly in moments when communication is key. It feels as if there is a void where words should be, even if the message is clear in one's mind. The intensity of it ebbs as the days wear on, as though the turtles have some better idea of what is happening, or at least aren't panicking as much about it.
In the combined chaos of the storm's effects, all contact with the Sentry contingent at Cape Averi is lost on December 27th.
Soon, worried rumors begin to spread about rips in the fabric of the planes, buildings and neighborhoods being rearranged, and time passing at variable speeds. Most of these rumors are just rumors, but the truth is just as concerning.
There are places where one can see images or worlds that ought not be, as though through a window in the empty air: blasted landscapes of dead earth through open doorways, tall cliffs at the edge of the sea in an empty staircase, crowded city streets in the middle of hallways or dark rooms, and more. On the 25th, official storm reports now begin to include alerts from researchers in the Ioduan Academy and the Aisling Tower, who give this phenomenon its name: liminal rifts.
From what they can tell, the phenomenon is temporary and does not actually create a true connection to whatever is being seen. These are not portals or rips in the planes that one can walk through or that anything can walk out of, though little else is known. Officials request that no one attempt to interact with the rifts, and instead to record what they see, where and when they see it for later analysis. In the midst of the storm, there are too many other priorities.
A Xa Xa tag immediately pops up as some people are able to snap shots of the liminal rifts, and manage to upload them in between network outages. Patterns begin to emerge. Many photos include a dark jungle blanketed in thick fog; a few people swear up and down that the fog trailed out of the rift, but no one can prove it. One or two spot goat-like creatures grazing on underbrush, though the shots are blurry and too distant to make out much detail. Most are utterly, incomprehensibly random or bizarre.
On the 26th, hardly anyone in the archipelago will be able to sleep as a wave of frazzled worry emanates from the young turtles. The barrier visibly fluctuates in different locations but ultimately holds steady. There is a deep, vague sense of being unable to talk that overcomes people, particularly in moments when communication is key. It feels as if there is a void where words should be, even if the message is clear in one's mind. The intensity of it ebbs as the days wear on, as though the turtles have some better idea of what is happening, or at least aren't panicking as much about it.
In the combined chaos of the storm's effects, all contact with the Sentry contingent at Cape Averi is lost on December 27th.
IIb. CLASHING HORNS MAKE WOUNDED MUSIC { Dec 23 - 30 }
In addition to the short term liminal rifts, another phenomenon emerges in the archipelago that lasts longer. Impossible steady whirlwinds touch down around the city. They cause minimal damage, never reaching tornado level, but they stay put for up to a day. Soon, it becomes clear that each of these whirlwinds are more than just a strange weather pattern - a few reckless Dreamfolk and Aisling Tower members walk straight into them, and aside from swirling winds strong enough to knock you down if you're not careful, they each report different effects. More concerning are the reports of invisible eddies that cannot be avoided, and which seem to have a footprint the size of a house. They can and will pass through walls as though they are not even there.
At first, these imperceptible vortexes simply increase or decrease the Talents or other innate abilities - one person discovered their powers had doubled, and another lost them entirely. Then things get… weirder. Dreamfolk and natives alike walk out of an eddy stunned, disturbed, or encouraged by visions of themselves on another path. Or, perhaps, another world. One Dreamfolk swears up and down they saw a version of their world with no magic, and a second saw that their arch nemesis was instead a dear friend.
The same individual eddies also begin to affect some Dreamfolk differently, and someone quickly figures out that the variations are based on the school of one's Talent. These effects are listed below.
The effects of the eddies last a week. Anyone who goes into an eddy, whether visible or hidden, Talent-based or not, will have troubled dreams or nightmares during that time. And Dreamfolk will find that a small portion of their Talent tattoo has permanently turned azure blue.
At first, these imperceptible vortexes simply increase or decrease the Talents or other innate abilities - one person discovered their powers had doubled, and another lost them entirely. Then things get… weirder. Dreamfolk and natives alike walk out of an eddy stunned, disturbed, or encouraged by visions of themselves on another path. Or, perhaps, another world. One Dreamfolk swears up and down they saw a version of their world with no magic, and a second saw that their arch nemesis was instead a dear friend.
The same individual eddies also begin to affect some Dreamfolk differently, and someone quickly figures out that the variations are based on the school of one's Talent. These effects are listed below.
ALTERATION: The magical energies warp the mind; their morality (or alignment, ala D&D) spontaneously shifts in a random direction.
OR, their eyes turn an unnatural color of the player's choice. Anything they touch will turn that color, and can cause people and animals to become ill.
CONJURATION: Whatever an individual normally summons will hate them with a burning passion and be completely out of their control once conjured.
OR, their reflection gains sapience and the ability to travel between reflective surfaces at will. It has no loyalty to the caster but cannot affect anything tangibly, and isn't seen again until the end of the storm.
DESTRUCTION: They no longer have a name. Nobody, including the Dreamfolk in question, can remember their previous name; any new name given to them is promptly forgotten in the same manner.
OR, they forget the past 24 hours and acquire an unexpected obsession or neurosis.
ILLUSION: They lose sense of direction. They cannot tell left from right, east from west, thisaway from thataway. If they travel without accompaniment, they will inevitably get hopelessly lost. This includes literally any journey that takes them out of sight of their starting point.
OR, they lose the ability to perceive distance - whenever they try to determine how far away an item is, how deep a hole is, they get it completely wrong.
RESTORATION: They completely lose one of their senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, or hearing).
OR, they gain the ability to see all the things that people normally subconsciously edit out of their perceptions to maintain their sense of reality. Their sanity may unravel (temporarily).
OR, their eyes turn an unnatural color of the player's choice. Anything they touch will turn that color, and can cause people and animals to become ill.
CONJURATION: Whatever an individual normally summons will hate them with a burning passion and be completely out of their control once conjured.
OR, their reflection gains sapience and the ability to travel between reflective surfaces at will. It has no loyalty to the caster but cannot affect anything tangibly, and isn't seen again until the end of the storm.
DESTRUCTION: They no longer have a name. Nobody, including the Dreamfolk in question, can remember their previous name; any new name given to them is promptly forgotten in the same manner.
OR, they forget the past 24 hours and acquire an unexpected obsession or neurosis.
ILLUSION: They lose sense of direction. They cannot tell left from right, east from west, thisaway from thataway. If they travel without accompaniment, they will inevitably get hopelessly lost. This includes literally any journey that takes them out of sight of their starting point.
OR, they lose the ability to perceive distance - whenever they try to determine how far away an item is, how deep a hole is, they get it completely wrong.
RESTORATION: They completely lose one of their senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, or hearing).
OR, they gain the ability to see all the things that people normally subconsciously edit out of their perceptions to maintain their sense of reality. Their sanity may unravel (temporarily).
The effects of the eddies last a week. Anyone who goes into an eddy, whether visible or hidden, Talent-based or not, will have troubled dreams or nightmares during that time. And Dreamfolk will find that a small portion of their Talent tattoo has permanently turned azure blue.
III. CLEARING SKIES { Dec 31 }
Finally, the storm begins to clear in random patches, allowing columns of blinding sunlight to break through. The openings in the dense cloud-cover grow in size and frequency as the rain tapers off and eventually stops. By midday the clouds are almost completely gone, and the chaotic effects of the storm plague the turtles no longer.
The sun brings a sense of relief, but it also lays bare wounds sustained all across the archipelago. Hundreds of people in Aifaran alone have lost their homes. Thousands have sustained injuries, overwhelming medical services. Anyone with healing abilities or even minimal first aid knowledge is urged to report to a Sentry station. Donations of food, blankets, clothing, and other items, as well as volunteers, are desperately needed at shelters. The number of refugees is likely to increase as people from nearby settlements seek help. The exact number of casualties is unknown, but early estimates indicate at least 100 people were killed across the archipelago. Dozens more are still unaccounted for, including the entire Sentry contingent at Cape Averi.
The waterfront in Aifaran is devastated, and it will be months until Bayside recovers. Splintered wood and sheared metal debris from docks and boats litters Shuyul Bay, making initial rescue efforts to other areas by water immensely difficult. Land routes are similarly hazardous, with trees down, roads washed away, and rivers still swollen from the immense downpour.
A state of emergency is declared. Despite the devastation and the grief, there is a strong sense of determination. The Alliance has faced hardships before. Leadership in the Alliance and Aifaran send a clear message of hope: the Ioduese will get through this, together, thanks to the bonds forged by that past hardship. The first priority is ensuring that every surviving citizen of the archipelago is safe and sheltered, and all those missing accounted for. From there, they can and will rebuild.
The sun brings a sense of relief, but it also lays bare wounds sustained all across the archipelago. Hundreds of people in Aifaran alone have lost their homes. Thousands have sustained injuries, overwhelming medical services. Anyone with healing abilities or even minimal first aid knowledge is urged to report to a Sentry station. Donations of food, blankets, clothing, and other items, as well as volunteers, are desperately needed at shelters. The number of refugees is likely to increase as people from nearby settlements seek help. The exact number of casualties is unknown, but early estimates indicate at least 100 people were killed across the archipelago. Dozens more are still unaccounted for, including the entire Sentry contingent at Cape Averi.
The waterfront in Aifaran is devastated, and it will be months until Bayside recovers. Splintered wood and sheared metal debris from docks and boats litters Shuyul Bay, making initial rescue efforts to other areas by water immensely difficult. Land routes are similarly hazardous, with trees down, roads washed away, and rivers still swollen from the immense downpour.
A state of emergency is declared. Despite the devastation and the grief, there is a strong sense of determination. The Alliance has faced hardships before. Leadership in the Alliance and Aifaran send a clear message of hope: the Ioduese will get through this, together, thanks to the bonds forged by that past hardship. The first priority is ensuring that every surviving citizen of the archipelago is safe and sheltered, and all those missing accounted for. From there, they can and will rebuild.
As dawn rises on the New Year, three unknown ships appear on the horizon, bearing flags of peace.
---
OOC Notes: The eddies and other chaos effects are opt-in if you do not wish for your character to be affected, or do not wish to engage with that aspect of the storm.
UPDATE: This log is an activity exemption log and threads may be used to apply to either December AC (which is check-in, in any case) OR January AC.