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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.
II b Restoration : Beginning (Closed to Devin)
Valdis wove her way around and under beams, looking for the souls she had seen from the outside when a strange sensation washed over the area. The feelings of pain and fear grew stronger, filling her senses with the delight of a hunter after prey. She briefly pushed it away, only to have it come back stronger and sharper, as if all the pain and fear in the city was flooding in just as powerfully as the waves beating the islands.
Then death washed over with it and she breathed in, eyes shifting to a red so bright it almost glowed. She passed a body, unfortunately the soul had already left, no more high to be had from that one. A hungry delight sharpened her instincts. "It's alright," she said soothingly to the Kedan trapped under a beam, "I'll get you out of here."
no subject
He could barely hear the people inside the building over the storm, straining his senses to locate trapped survivors. One strong heart stood out from the rest. There was something else, too, grating at the edge of his awareness. He didn't have time to figure out what it was at that moment, so he ignored it. Ducking under a crumbling section of wall, Devin spotted Valdis' familiar frame, facing away from him.
"Special delivery," he announced dryly as he approached, picking his way through the debris carefully. The building groaned around them in another blast of wind. "Nice day for an outing. Best make this search and rescue quick before what's left of this place comes down on us."
no subject
"Hush," she whispered, "Everything will be fine."
Valdis grabbed a rag, putting it on his shoulder to apply pressure, or at least, she pretended to. The room darkened ever so slightly as a gust of wind struck the building. The Kedan stiffened, then relaxed as he died. Death, such a wonderful thing.
She started at the sound of Devin's voice, it was too loud, so was the storm and everything else. Her skin prickled when she stifled a giggle, trying to regain some kind of composure.
"That would be highly unfortunate," she agreed, her voice a little too pleased for the situation. It was wrong to feel so delighted in everything going on, but she couldn't help it.
no subject
This time, though, it was familiar, and Valdis' reply was not as serious as he would have expected. The heartbeat belonging to the kedan had stopped as he drew nearer, too. Devin frowned down at him just over Valdis' shoulder. It appeared that he had bled out.
"Particularly for people who can't survive it," the vampire remarked grimly. He glanced around in search of others who were trapped, straining his ears over the sound of the storm. "Come on. We can try to pull him out later if there's time, but we should keep moving." A thought nagged at him, half-formed and thoroughly distracting. "...Are you alright?"
no subject
"No."
Even saying the word was painful, her voice too loud for her ears even though it came out as a whisper.
no subject
Devin came around - slowly, cautiously - so he could see her face, frowning as he looked her over. Nothing obviously wrong was in evidence, but that didn't mean much. Where Valdis was concerned, not being alright could be simple or apocalyptic and anywhere in between. Deeper into the building, something metallic groaned loudly with strain.
"Then you shouldn't be here," he said, pragmatic. His voice was raised to be heard above the background noise. He took another step closer, as if readying to offer a hand. Sandpaper grated at the back of his mind. "Can you walk? And do be honest, please; I'd rather clear the building knowing you aren't trapped under a half a building and we don't have a lot of time."
no subject
"Everyone is screaming. It's too loud, I can't think."
Her tone, filled with a terrifed agony, couldn't match the rising panic in her mind. These weren't her feelings, she didn't have fear, or panic. She didn't die like everyone else. Devin was speaking, but his words refused to register, there was nothing separating her emotional state from that of Aifaran.
"He wasn't going to die." The kedan. "He wanted to die." Miles. "It's too much. There's too much, I can't filter it out."
no subject
This could become disastrous quickly. She couldn't stay here.
Slowly, slowly, Devin moved close enough to reach out and touch her - but didn't yet. Contact could be as bad as noise, and the least he could do was get permission.
"Alright," he said, very quietly this time. "I can take you somewhere quieter, but I need you to let me help you." Devin was assuming she was coherent enough to understand, which might be a mistake. The city must be a tsunami in her brain. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?"
no subject
She couldn't even tell she was shaking, the fact that Devin was there barely registering. Until another jolt of lightning lit the room and she stilled, lifting her head to look him straight in the eyes, her own red as fresh blood.
Jeg ser deg, Dødsengelen, She hissed before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
no subject
"Better unconscious than out of control, I suppose," the vampire muttered, slinging her carefully into his arms. Devin hastily took her outside to the rescue crews, briefly leaving her in their care with strict instructions not to try and wake her.
Then he raced back into the building to search for remaining survivors. Once three additional kedan had been escorted to safety and the body of the fourth retrieved (he spared a moment to see if the deceased's blood loss was sufficient to explain his death), Devin nearly got into a shouting match over collecting Valdis from the medics. But they didn't have time to argue when so many people were at risk. He needed to get her out of the city before she awoke and dealt accidental damage to anyone.
Hopefully, she wouldn't try to kill him if she woke up careening through the flooded streets in his arms. If it were a sunny day, they could have been on the outskirts in a matter of minutes. The storm made that impossible. Devin moved as quickly as he could through streets and alleys and atop roofs, usually in short bursts. Fortunately for them both, he was at ground-level when he ran straight through an eddy.
Strength and speed drained from his body, and he stumbled, righting himself just in time to prevent dropping Valdis. The hell...? Carrying her was suddenly difficult, and he couldn't even begin to run any faster than a jog with her weight. They were near the northern edge of the city, away from the floodplains and most of the people, but still not far enough.
If she woke up now-- no. Best not to waste any breath on possibility when he needed to keep moving. If he could not run, he would walk. He shifted her into a fireman's carry and marched. Briskly, stubbornly, until his lungs burned and his muscles ached. There was a grove of trees with rocky shelter beyond the edge of the city that he had found months ago and used for training. He didn't stop moving until he reached the boulderous cave. It wasn't much, but it was dry and private and protected from the wind.
As gently as his shaking muscles would allow, he lowered her to the ground. They were both soaking wet; he should search for dry wood and start a fire. Maybe when he caught his breath. Maybe when he didn't feel like he'd run a marathon without training. For the moment, he just sat across from her, leaning back against the rock wall and fighting to keep calm. He couldn't stay here forever; he needed to get back to the city and help.
no subject
"It hurts," she breathed, realizing that her head pounded with the rain. Her skin felt wrong, the cave echoing everything, even her heartbeat. Or at least it felt like it. But the overwhelming emotions were gone, instead of screaming in her head, they were just voices, not as quiet as she wished, but quiet enough to find something near center. Valdis didn't open her eyes, not wanting the flashes of lightning to be any brighter.
"Where are we?" her voice hurt her ears, but it was a question she needed answered.
no subject
"Bit of woods outside the city," he answered, breathless and quiet. He let his eyes close. Every inhale felt like sandpaper against the inside of his chest, but it was easing some. "Not safe to go any further right now."
Trying to find shelter in the middle of the biggest storm in a century when he didn't already know where it was would have been incredibly stupid.
"Is it better here, at least?" It would be helpful to know if Valdis needed more distance so he could figure out his next move.
no subject
"Yeah," she murmured, "It helps to not have the emotions of over a hundred thousand people screaming in my head."
She took a slow breath, her heartbeat and voice still too loud, but the darkness helped, so she kept her eyes closed.
"This happened to Miles," her voice wavered as she tried to push away all the sensations bombarding her senses, "All his senses...elevated."
Valdis shrank against the rock wall, curling her knees to her chest, trying to keep breathing. Over a hundred thousand...the fact her heart hadn't given out was a miracle at the very least, even waking up could be considered a relief on some level. She supposed she had...her friend to thank for that.
"Are you ok?" His breath still came too hard, even carrying her at full speed shouldn't have left him so breathless.
no subject
"Best not let you two get near each other until it stops, then," the vampire mused, a little absently. Was Miles still in Aifaran? Not that he could do anything about that right now either way.
He sighed and it turned into a cough. After stifling it - the sharp sound would no doubt slice like a knife - he took a slower breath and spoke softly. "I don't know. Aifaran isn't invading my skull, but-- something isn't right." A considering pause as he frowned. "It feels like my strength evaporated. And my speed."
no subject
His cough broke the rain like a roar, not as loud as the thunder, but closer. Valdis tried hold back a whimper, but his next words were coherent enough for her to realize that something was very wrong. If their powers were going haywire, then this storm was more abnormal than she believed.
"I can't remember your name," she admitted, "It's like it's gone."
It hurt that she couldn't remember, his confusion seemed to match her own, leaving less of an impact than the voices of the city.
no subject
He raised his head and gaped at her for that last comment, opening his mouth as if to argue-- but finding no argument at hand. When he tried to think of his own name, it was simply-- not there. All of his memories were intact, he could recall old aliases, but it didn't seem as though he had forgotten; it wasn't there on the tip of his tongue.
Valdis was right. The name was gone.
"Huh," was all he said at first. This was, in a word, bad. The implications of losing his name, particularly his surname, were significant. The storm had cut him off from the powers he claimed as a child, leaving him bereft and vulnerable. Leaving him, he thought as cold formed in his stomach, nearly human.
"So, this is what it feels like," he mused, quietly dry. The vampire refused to give into panic.
no subject
"To be human?" she asked, not blaming him in the slightest. To have your power stripped from you, to feel vulnerable when all you knew was strength, to be weak.
Valdis lifted her head from her knees, opening her eyes to look to him, fear churning in her chest.
"I don't remember your name," she repeated, but her tone implied it was the other name, the one that gave him the power to prevent death on a massive scale. "Of all the times for our powers to go haywire, it had to be at the same moment."
The sound of padded paws, quiet on a normal day, but loud enough now to make her flinch. Then Hila appeared at the entrance to the cave, her white fur oddly dry. The wolf looked at the man, ears flicking back and forth.
no subject
There had been a time, once, when he'd considered it. When he'd considered that someone like him could have another life. It had been a fleeting thought and now it was clouded with bitterness. Old enough that it wasn't sharp, at least, and decidedly less important to give bandwidth than the problem Valdis next presented.
"No doubt the storm is to blame," he said with purposeful neutrality, resolutely clinging to calm with middling success. The rise and fall of his chest wasn't solely due to exertion anymore, surely. "One problem at a time."
The loss of his gift name, while not inherently tied to his general existence, was still deeply worrying. He'd only had to use it once and she didn't seem on the edge of going insane, but the storm was far from over. They wouldn't be out of the woods until the sun shone again - assuming their powers would return to normal when that happened. Knowing she would feel what he did all the more intensely, he did his best to remain logical.
Hila's appearance startled him - right, his senses weren't as sharp like this, he'd forgotten what it was like when he was a child - but only for a moment. The ka's presence was a relief, honestly. Valdis needed more help than he could give right now. "I'm not the one you need to be most concerned with, wolf," he told her, gesturing for the ka to attend her incapacitated master.
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I can banish the creature if it manifests, she told the nameless man, But then I must return to the realm of spirits. So we must hope that if it tries, it will only try once.
The ka lowered her head, still watching the man, her intelligent eyes considering options. Valdis closed her eyes again, the lightning too bright to keep them open, shuddering with each thundering roar.
You should not stay. The ka continued, It knows what you carry and your weakness will only bring disaster.
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"I'll leave when I can," he grumbled quietly. The shelter he'd taken them to wasn't terribly far from the city walls, but he was worn out from the trek here. Getting lost or passing out on his way back wouldn't help anyone, and he was smart enough not to let his stubbornness to get the better of him in this case. He had to be prudent, tactical. That was how he had always survived, and it would serve him well here.
"I might be able to do something with Enochian to help you," he offered Valdis. "Not keep you here, obviously, but make it hard for anyone to bother you. Maybe dampen sounds, if I'm careful about it."
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As soon as you feel able, she agreed, But no longer.
Valdis knew why her ka was so adamant about him leaving, she had not lost her strength or speed. If the Void took over, Hila could not protect them both and banish it. They could seriously injure each other. But his offer quickly brought an idea to mind.
"I need to sleep," she whispered, "Can you do that?"
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"I don't know," he answered honestly, beginning to formulate in his head a combination of sigils that might work. "I can try-- but it's risky, especially since I can't be here to correct any issues."
Hila would kick him out soon enough, and presumably could come retrieve him if there were a problem in the hopes he could get there fast enough. He frowned, considering the best way to apply the magic. Did he have a pen on him? His blood would suffice if he didn't. That would strengthen his ability to control it, too, since that increased the influence of his willpower; it might let him know if she were in peril from the magic as well.
"Give me a little time to parse it out," he added, pensive. His gaze flicked to Hila. "And I'll show you how to break the effect, if I can come up with something workable."
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"What's more risky, vampire?" she shot at him, "A magic that might not work, or an insane creature on a rampage?"
The Void could ignore whatever pain she was in, it preferred a vessel to a host anyway. She gritted her teeth, pressing herself against the wall like it would support her sanity. The edges of the turmoil in the city nipped at her mind like needles.
"Just do something." She pleaded, her words fading into a whimper.
Hila just stared at the vampire, wishing she could do more to help.
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"I'll need a few minutes." The vampire sighed gently and found a twig within reach that he could use to start drawing symbols in the soft earth. There were a few ways he could go about it, and ultimately he decided that trying to create a natural time limit for the effect to end would be too complicated. A fine line lay between sleep and coma, and even finer between coma and death.
The Void would probably prevent that, but it was hard to say for sure. Eventually, he had a simple command checked and double checked and triple checked before he wiped the ground clean.
"Alright, let's give this a try. Sorry for the noise." He tore a section of his shirt off and drew out one one of his knives to prick a finger. With blood as his ink, he carefully wrote out the phrase. His hands were steady by habit rather than circumstance and it didn't take long to complete.
As quietly has he could manage, he rose and went to her side. "I'm going to tie this around your wrist," he told her, keeping his volume low.
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Hila spun shoving the vampire back, snarling with fury and fear. Pain, unlike anything she had ever felt, shot through every limb as her body started to rearrange itself, growing, stretching, moving. The screaming moved from the physical plane into the metaphysical one, sharp agony that turned to feral snarling and hisses.
Hila sprang at the Hound, slamming her to the ground and twisting around to bury her teeth in the scruff of Valdis' neck, trying to pin her down.
Now would be a good time, Vampire, Hila growled.
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