June Event: Carnival of Tsakál & The Deeper

[usirmods]

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🜙 Mod Note
	The Deeper's resolution was dependent on player choices made on the June Plot Rundown. Characters are not required to agree with or go along with the decisions made during this plotline and may make their own actions and decisions to do as they please with the plot that is posted. While the ultimate resolution for this plot has already been chosen, that resolution does not dictate how characters must act during the course of the event.
🜙 Endless Rain June 1st-30th
	June and July are monsoon season in Idan. The rains fall frequent and heavy across the land for these two months, bringing much-needed water to the crops, rivers, and lakes of Idan to help creatures and plants alike survive the dry summer months ahead. Every hundred or so years monsoon season takes an intense turn, bringing more dangers than the usual risks of flash floods and mudslides. During the hundred year monsoon, Idan falls victim to a persistent storm cell over the Glass Sea. As smaller storms break off from the oceanic superstorm they are pulled westward across Idan. This 50-60 day monsoon drastically raises water levels, erodes roadways, drowns fields, and forces the rivers to overflow their riverbeds and flood the plains, valleys, and other flatlands. As June progresses it begins to become clear that Idan is in for the long rains. The rain shows no sign of stopping other than over small, isolated pockets of land, and the storms that come with the rains fill day and night with the distant rumblings or loud, window-rattling cracks of thunder. As the rains continue and the water levels rise buildings and farmlands will be destroyed, lives will be lost, and an effort to save the crops and farm animals will have to be launched to avoid a potential famine. Creatures from the flooding wildlands will begin to seek higher, safer ground and become more violent as their food sources and territories are lost and they are forced into closer quarters and higher competition for survival and food. The flooding brings other risks, as well, most markedly the spread of disease and rot. Illness spreads with the damp conditions and flooding, most notably swamp sickness, mold and mildew-based illnesses, and any illnesses spread by muck and polluted waters. The sick are often quarantined and sent off to the temples for treatment, and anyone showing signs of pale or clammy skin, dizziness, wet cough, rashes, or nosebleeds may be kidnapped 'for their own good' and locked up in a temple to be seen to by dhampirs, chimeras, shiftlings, or other outcast medics and healers that have been cordoned off from main society.
🜙 Carnival of Tsakál June 8th-June 30th
	The Carnival of Tsakál is canceled due to greater concerns, but that doesn't stop the red-backed jackal from celebrating her own month in the spotlight. As more and more lives and homes are lost to the monsoon Tsakál attempts to bring a little light to the cloud-covered gloom hanging over Idan and provide its people with some much-needed hope. People all across Idan will catch glimpses of the jackal herself in one of her less splendid forms, running across the flooding waters or watching over the struggles of the living from higher ground. Wherever Tsakál goes light breaks through the clouds and once dead creatures are re-created into new and living creatures. Her first creation is made to help people. She creates a pod of exotic river dolphins from a pack of drowned wolves and sets them to the task of rescuing other drowning creatures and people caught in rushing currents, carefully guiding them back to shore. Tsakál continues patching and recreating unfortunate victims of the monsoon season into a diverse pool of never before seen creatures. Lily frogs create stepping platforms bridging across flooded rivers. Water Horses swim toward the lakes, letting the drowning cling to their bodies to keep their heads above the water. As monsoon season continues the jackal gets carried away and her creations drift away from helpful salvation and towards crafting unusual hybrids. She makes bogcats and serpines in the swamps to give back to nature, and then a few litters of strange, young pups in the Free City, Didymos, and Krimnos to bring some light back to the suffering people in the cities.
🜙 A Deeper Problem June 7th-June 9th
	The return of the inquiry ship Perspective to Didymos brings with it the knowledge that the merfolk attack was not meant as a violent act but as a warning to the people of Didymos to try and keep them from leaving Fisher's Bay. A meeting with the merfolk near Logistykon's Reef led to the discovery that Logistykon's skeleton apparently rests on top of a sea creature of some kind that the merfolk call the deeper. The deeper has been trapped beneath the skeleton for years past its usual awakening and return to the deep sea which had led the merfolk to believe it had died. Apparently, recent events have weakened or removed the power within Logistykon's sunken skeleton that kept the deeper trapped and now the creature is trying to forcefully break free from the weight of Logistykon's bones. The merfolk are worried that the enraged creature will attack both Didymos and their own city when it emerges due to its anger, and say that the creature believes that it was purposefully trapped. While the archmages, scholars, and fishermen of the court insist that Logistykon's reef needs to be protected and strengthed, and that preserving the reef and its ecosystem is more vital to the city than the release of a potentially violent and possibly cataclysmic creature so close to their shores, the knights and a percentage of citizens of Didymos strongly disagree, fearing the wrath of both the creature and the merfolk if they do not assist in freeing the creature and dealing with it as soon as possible. Those with connections to the merfolk and the king and queen of Didymos manage to sway this decision by offering a solution that might be the best possible solution to satisfy both sides. Suggestions are made to free the creature without destroying the reef and try and communicate with it through or alongside the merfolk to soothe its rage. Plans are made to evacuate the city, starting with the docks and Ocean Quarter, and those plans are put into motion immediately. Queen Adira sets up lodging both in camps outside the North of the city, and temporary housing at the Academy and at the Roost. She recruits anyone willing to help keep people moving, hand out supplies, and watch over the crowded temporary living spaces or abandoned homes to protect from conflict, looting, and other acts of violence, aggression, or dishonesty. Meanwhile King Ardis assembles three ships into a small fleet, filling out the ranks with a collection of merfolk ambassadors, mages, healers, beast tamers, hunters, knights, and skilled fighters in the hopes of covering his bases. As is typical of the wayward king, he chooses to captain one of the ships himself and stocks the ships up, intending to keep them out at sea until the problem is dealt with, one way or another. The Sunset Gate's entrance is covered with a large drop net, and both the net and gate are covered with warding enchantments and manned by two ships solely there with the purpose of being a delaying defensive front to buy the city time in the event of an attack from the Deeper following its freedom. The ships lay anchor around the reef and work begins alongside the merfolk as mages and wild magic specialists work together to dig a trench into the sea floor, using the merfolk's aid to keep the waters clear and estimate the size and depth needed to give the Deeper passage. The larger the channel in the sea floor becomes, the more anxious the crew of the ships visibly become. Over the course of the two days worth of efforts, the skies above the reef grow black, flashing with yellow, white, and blue lightning. Even the merfolk can be seen occasionally turning their gaze upward with uneasy glances.
🜙 Rage in the Waters June 9th-June 12th
	The ships are backed off from the reef as the merfolk add their magic to give the final clearance to the creature beneath the reef, and the waters turn dark and murky as dirt and sand are thrown and mixed about, large waves rocking the ships to the furthest their anchors will allow them to drift back away from the reef. As the massive waves begin to slow and shrink in size, all eyes are fixed on the dark, clouded water. Rain and hail begin pounding the decks of the ships, cutting small holes in the sails that are hastily pulled back up and secured. Blinding flashes of lightning split the sky and the boom of thunder shakes the deck beneath the feet of those watching and waiting. Just when it seems as if the Deeper must have taken off in some unknown direction, a massive beast breaches the surface of the water with a horrible roar. Its body is covered in jagged electrical burn scars and its eyes are white and blinded. It towers above the ships, its blind gaze turning left and right, and with another roar the wind kicks up, tossing the ships about on the rough seas, pulling them dangerously taught on their anchor chains until wood begins to creak and groan. The crew scramble to their positions, searching for safe purchases or diving below deck as waves crash and roll over the deck. The Deeper slams back down into the turbid depths, out of sight, and the merfolk begin appearing near the edges of the ships, rushing to the aid of those washed overboard in the aftermath. The knights begin arming up, intent on fighting the beast and killing it if possible. Confusion abounds as not one, but three separate creatures, each far too large and horrifyingly reminiscent of dragons that have adapted to the sea, begin emerging from the waters, each attacking a separate ship. None of the creatures ever strike the ships directly, slamming into the water nearby to create waves, but lightning strikes the ships each time one of the creatures nearly impacts the vessels. The knights and mages focus their efforts, trying desperately to fight off or kill the creatures and attempting to constrict or restrain them but no weapons or magic seem to do the trick. The fight to slow the Deeper creatures down and keep them from turning toward the bay spans three days, and by the end of those three days the merfolk and the weary mages are running low on energy. The beasts, too, seem to be slightly tempered and restrained. Their thrashing shows minimal effort and they barely crest the surface, physically subdued but still lashing out through the storm above, blocking all efforts to retreat towards the shore. In the momentary calm the awakened, one after another, find themselves swept off the ships by a seemingly sentient wave of water that goes directly for them. They find themselves submerged and in the arms of one of the merfolk. Air bubbles appear around their heads and the merfolk attempt to get their message across. They must not fight the deeper. Its anger only grows as they fight it, and in its anger it is indestructible. Returning them to the ships, the awakened will have to figure out how they were singled out later, for now they have been set to a task: Drop the sails, lift the anchors, and lead the attacking creatures out further to sea at the risk of all lives on board, on the word of a race they have barely come to know. It's a large task to be handed, and one that needs to be handled quickly and decisively before the ships burn or sink and the city of Didymos falls prey to the Deeper's unquelled rage.
🜙 Deity of the Depths June 13th-June 16th
	Heavily damaged and taking on water the three ships of King Ardis' fleet manage to slowly kite the now slower creatures out to the deep, dark waters of the Glass Sea. They sail far enough out that Idan, and even the Wavecrest Isles are out of sight. There they view clear signs that the attacking creatures have been substantially weakened, lagging and slowing down heavily, their spines and heads only just cresting the surface. The exhausted and bitter crews are even more inclined to put the creatures down. Their ships are sinking from damages sustained in the voyage, and with the shore nowhere in sight it seems unlikely even the merfolk could save all of them on such rough, open waters. The storm vortex of the monsoon swirls above their ships. They sit almost motionless on the calm waters of the eye of the storm, nervously watching the dark sea around them. The merfolk and a few members of the awakened crew approach the largest of the three creatures, attempting to calm it with a melody higher in pitch than a whale's song but hauntingly similar. As communication efforts continue, first one, then another, and then the last of the three creatures disappears. Each appears to melt into the water itself. The sea beneath the ships glows with blue light, and what looks like underwater lightning starts flashing beneath them, lighting up a massive dark silhouette in the deep waters. Its rage spent and its pain subsided, both the Deeper and the cause for its apparent inability to free itself are revealed. The massive manta ray floats near the surface, the lightning scars across its body glowing with blue light, magic trailing visibly off of it as it slowly, and gracefully, circles and passes beneath the ships. Each of the ships in engulfed in blue light and though initially this causes panic it quickly becomes clear the magic is not being used with an intent to cause harm. Broken planking, torn sails and snapped masts are pieced back together with magic, and a healing rain falls on the crew of the three ships as they are repaired. The deeper is glimpsed one last time, fins cresting the surface, before it and the glow that covers it and the ships disappear down into the depths. A parting gift of a westward wind and the company of a merfolk escort is all they are left with on their return trip to the shores of Idan. On the way back, Tási, ambassador between the merfolk and the landfolk, extends a promise telepathically to the awakened. They are now allies of the merfolk, and someday soon, they will be permitted to visit Lau Mei, the hidden city of the merfolk. Back in Didymos, the crews of the three ships are given a hero's welcome and showered in praise, despite the monsoon still buffeting the city in rain. For their efforts, they are rewarded with free food and drinks, opulent temporary housing provided by the Queen, and an open invitation to a special profession within Didymos. Some may find that not all rewards are as obvious as others.

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christine | ota, will match brackets or prose

[aceso]

{ carnival of tsakál, late june }
After moving her plants and herbs to pots and moving them and her light orbs indoors, Christine travels across the drenched lands in order to help others during this time of loss and uncertainty. She returns to the Free City to find the farmers in the midst of losing their crops and their animals drowning in the muck and mire. But amidst all the death comes new life, and Christine discovers hybrid creatures as she attempts to help others.

As she helps pull a rope to drag a sheep from the river, a series of lilypads with eyes pop up on the river's surface.

"What—" she starts, but decides not to question it as it becomes clear there's another way to help. Carefully, she steps on the lilyfrogs heads, and their weight distribution on the surface easily holds her up so she can go out and shove the sheep from the backside.

"Come on," she encourages the sheep as she feels her boots and pantlegs get drenched.

{ rage in the waters }
Christine may have been born in the city on the sea, but even she can't handle the thrashing the monsters do to the ship she's on. She flails for purchase on anything solid, while Azoth flies in a panic over her head and makes distressed noises. Christine's hair and clothes are drenched, and she feels useless here on deck. But at one point she sees an opening and sends a lightning bolt straight at the creature in order to protect the ship.

"I don't think this is working!" she shouts to anyone nearby.

[ ooc: I'm thinking we play out getting knocked overboard and discussing what they have to do when they get back on board? ]

{ deity of the depths }
This has to work. The merfolk have just as much to lose if the Deeper chooses to attack their cities, so they wouldn't come up with this plan if they thought it was the worse option. Christine, being one of the Awakened, knows this is on them if the creatures renew their attack, and so she volunteers to go out into the water to soothe them, though it's more like watching the merfolk sing. Thankfully, it works, and as they return to the ship, she feels a weight lift off her chest.

Back onboard, she watches as the real Deeper appears and the ships are engulfed in blue light. Whatever this creature is, it's far more powerful than she ever fathomed.

"It's helping," she breathes out, as the ships' destruction is erased and a rain falls that heals more than she ever could.

rage in the waters

[redwhaling]

"No shit!" Billie yells back over the roar of the storm and the waves. She's in the middle of wrestling loose rigging back down from where it's been torn away by the thrashing the ship's taken thus far. With a lack of ranged magic herself, she's found herself back in the role that she had originally signed on for, anyway: an extra hand on deck, nothing special. It suits her fine, even if she wouldn't mind a way to take the fight to the beasts directly.

"They're going to drown us if they keep this up!"

carnival

[lightduties]

Rhea'li, a newly awakened, happens to still be in the Free City. Having awoken with nothing but the clothes on his back -- no bow, no spells -- he's had to stick around and find work to supplant the little money he'd stolen off other corpses in the battlefield he'd woken in. There wasn't much left, but it had been enough to at least start recovering replacements for his few possessions he had.

Nevertheless, when he sees someone struggling to push a sheep out of the mire, Rhea'li sees no reason not to help. Grasping the trailing rope, Rhea'li calls to the woman, "Allow me to assist," before pulling when she next shoves the animal.

His Anima, an ibis, settles itself down at the edge of the mire, looking for food.

deity of the depths

[lord_wizard]

Once the fleet began moving away from the city, once it had became more of a diversion and less of a fight, Felix had re-emerged from the hold of the ship. His contribution to the effort had been meager by his own standards - his witchlights, increased in size by several magnititudes, sent out to around the ships like massive green fireflies like living lures to keep the attention of the three beasts. By the time they dissolve and the true Deeper disappears, he's been maintaining the same spell for days. He's near exhaustion, to the point that he isn't entirely certain that he's seeing what he's seeing.

Felix watches with a kind of delierious fascination as the healing rains knits the ships and their crews, back together.

"I've never heard of water magic having any restorative properties. How do you imagine it's doing this? " comes his rather detached response.

Jonathan Strange | ota!

[kingsroads]

a deeper problem
The moment Strange learned that wild magic specialists were needed, he signed himself up for the expedition. Honestly, he felt a little nervous leaving Alistair alone again, so soon after he accidentally left the dragon alone due to his death. But Bell was still terrified of whatever happened to her in the water: he wasn't going to force her to come, so she remained at home with Alistair (and enough provisions to feed the both of them).

He had spent most of the morning using his magic to help dig the trench: easy enough magic, but the distance was damn annoying. So now? Strange wanted a break. He's slightly sweaty and obviously tired, but still upright and still chatty as hell. Anyone who comes near him gets some conversation.

"I still think we should be trapping the thing," Strange murmurs to anyone nearby. "There's still some magic in the skeleton. When Bell swam down to investigate, the poor dear was electrocuted. And considering that Logistykon had electricity magic...." Strange trails off, hoping that whoever he's speaking too will get his gist.

rage in the waters
The moment he sees the electrical scars of that thing crest the surface, Strange realizes that he might have been wrong. What he thought was electricity generated by magic surrounding Logistykon could have been electricity generated by the Deeper itself.

Shit. Bell's venture could have gone so much worse than he thought. Especially since three beasts rise up from the ocean.

"I thought those merfolk said there was only one Deeper?!" Strange yells, obviously annoyed, as he turns towards the creatures. One hand is on his focusing charm while another gestures to the sky, as some of the rain turns into ice, hardening and pummeling the creature...and doing absolutely nothing.

Again, shit.

carnival of tsakal, post deeper
As the monsoon is still going, it's not like this place could be entirely tranquil. But an idyllic forest, in the middle of nowhere, next to a babbling brook could be slightly tranquil if it wasn't intensely water-logged. And, if this idyllic patch of land wasn't ruined by Strange's yelling.

"Drop it! Don't give me that look, you know what I—no, stop chewing! Drop it!"

It's a slightly comical sight. There's a hare, swimming in an overflowing river, having the time of her life. There's Strange, pointing angrily at Alistair. And there's Alistair Tourmaline, sitting on the ground, with a struggling lily frog halfway in his mouth and an expression that's pure 'why are you looking at me, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm certainly not eating this lily frog.'

[ ooc: I'll match brackets or prose! ]

PUT THAT THING BACK OR SO HELP ME

[cryptsleeper]

Trevor was the one responsible for bringing them out of the mountains. The reports of...whatever weird siren shit (not Trevor's words, just an accurate summary) had the Belmont's attention, and that meant the tiefling and the dhampir were going along with him because going at a thing alone was a bad idea. Einjar had been a practical lesson in that, as what happened could have been far, far worse without Sypha's magic.

Which meant traveling over hill and dale, and scouting ahead to determine the safest routes to the source of the problem. Which is also what Alucard is doing at the moment, wearing boots enchanted to stay dry and carrying an umbrella made to withstand wind and downpours (and to never be blown inside out.

He's frowning at the brook's overflow when he hears an all too familiar voice. Then there's Alucard's sigh, followed by....a rabbit swimming. A rabbit Alucard recognizes, and his eyes go from the rabbit to the sight of Strange yelling at a dragon who's trying to...

...oh fuck him, of course Strange has one of the dragonets. It'd be a surprise if he didn't.

"You must be joking," is all Alucard manages in response to the absolute farce in front of him. Because yeah, this right here? He may as well be walking into a room on fire while carrying several pizzas.

[exaomori]

Shura might have made the trip to Didymos on impulse. Maybe it was some sort of sentimental feeling, maybe it was gas. Whatever it was, she loaded up the lion and the dragon up for a nice ride on the airship in the morning, showing up on Strange's doorstep. The problem is, though she sent him a message an hour before, his door is locked and no one seems to be home.

She might have taken this as a sign to go into town and get a drink, but she has the dragon to worry about. So she goes about it the best way she knows how and just picks the lock on the front door and settles in.

So welcome home, Strange. Your front door is unlocked and your booty call is sitting on the sofa. And so is her lion. Mostly sitting-- he's doing his best to hang. Shishi's tail doesn't quite fit, so he's letting it hang to the floor, the fuzzy tip occasionally flicking from side to side. There might be a dragonet or two chasing and pouncing on what is obviously a great game. Shura doesn't bother to get up, partially because there's a lion in her lap, but mostly because she's lazy. She'll give him a half-assed wave, though.

"Took you long enough."

a deeper problem

[redwhaling]

"You ever stop to think that was the deeper lashing out?"

Billie had already helped figure out what the problem was, so, naturally, she's back to see the rest of this through, though people on board have been calling her Meagan, which definitely isn't a name Strange has heard before. It's a fake one, sure enough, and "Meagan" hasn't had to do any undersea ditch-digging (thankfully).

She may have preferred that over playing translator for the merfolk, though. Less attention is being paid to a mass of magic users since there's so many of them.

In any case, she's found herself with little to do otherwise and if Strange is taking a break, she doesn't mind spending that time alongside him, idly leaning against something on the ship, arms crossed. Overhead, Deirdre is perched in the rigging, along with a newer member of Billie's menagerie, apparently. There's a winged kitten perched amongst the ropes with her, looking every which way curiously while the tern keeps an eye on it.

"They said it was attacking even them when their song stopped keeping it calm. It must be pretty strong to do that, even still stuck as it is."

{ carnival of tsakal }

[aceso]

"Strange?" Christine questions as she comes out of the deeper woods at the sound of his yelling. Her eyes travel to his companion and she heaves a great sigh before setting hands on hips.

"Really, now? These creatures were just brought into existence and your dragon is devouring them?"

rage in the waters

[lord_wizard]

Felix, clinging to the rigging, has reached a point where his overwhelming terror has begun to look a lot like calm. Or at least to the point where expressing it is far too exhausting. Though that state may not survive their current development.

"Perhaps it was down there to spawn?" Felix shouts back, staring towards the looming shapes with a kind of bewildered shock.

carnival

[lightduties]

Rhea'li's ears twitch at the sound of a familiar voice. It certainly isn't Noctis' voice, but all the people he knew from before shouldn't even be alive. The war took them, even before the passage of time would have.

Curiosity overcomes him, so he follows the shouting to its source.

"...Strange?"

He'd come out to the forest to hunt -- he needed food and money, especially after having scrounged up enough to afford a bow, quiver, and arrows -- but it seems he's found something else instead.

Rhea'li's gaze drifts to the creature Strange is yelling at and the tips of his ears lift in surprise. Nevermind the fact Strange is somehow alive and here. That's no magical construct...!

"How did you stumble upon something so rare?"

nike lemercier | ota & will match whichever writing style my partner prefers

[drizzle]

☂ Endless Rain (Between Krimnos and Didymous in early June)

[The heavy rains have finally arrived over the world. Nike had many fond memories of the rain due to its significance in her family history. Many difficult, but cheerful memories will pass through whenever she looks up at the sky -- either under her rain hood or out the horse carriage's window -- with a gaze that was clearly far away and filled with deep thought. But every once in a while, the sharp light from lightning or the heavy roar, enough to somewhat make the earth underneath her rumble, will bring her back from wherever she had been, her eyes stinging slightly; however she was able to quickly notice a voice calling out for help or someone on the roadside desperately seeking for assistance.

Each and every time it happens, both Nike and her white pup will be more than willing to help them.

Be it rescuing someone holding onto dear life from being washed away from the strong overflow, heavy river waves or helping search for lost farm animals in the area after getting seperated from their owners. Those are usually the jobs where Nike begins to search for another pair of hands to help her especially if they are riding the carriage alongside her.]

Hey! Do you mind giving me a hand? I could really use an extra pair of hands.

[If it wasn't a rescue effort, rather someone begging for those within the carriage be willing to make a detour to the nearest temple to help a fallen individual with a fever, Nike will get some herbs out of her bag while turning to her companion hoping they were more than willing to help her with offering first aid or accepting the mission on heading to the nearest temple.]

☂ Deity of the Depths

[It was almost amazing to watch everything planned in the courts be used in a way to benefit others. Something she rarely witness when she was previously alive. Nike was more than excited to watch everything be taken into consideration along with the efforts everyone in the kingdom made to make everything run smoothly. Even if she was from a different country, it didn't stop her from wanting to do as much as she can as well. No matter what, she wanted a good resolution to be reached for everyone involved including the deep as well.

But she never expected her first ship ride would come during a mission. As excited as she was in the beginning, once the storms began thrashing due to the deep and its friends -- she assumes it is more their own family than allies -- the sense of urgency and survival instinct will take over. Nike was one of the few people that tried to calm the winds or used the gust to protect as much of the crew as possible from falling overboard. Caelum will use his aura shield to protect the crew members attempting to steer the ship from incoming hail. Unfortunately, they both had to hold on tight to the ship throughout most of the fighting as both awaken and animus didn't feel confident in the idea of making any attempts to attack the creatures, no matter how much they were being attacked by them.

Luckily it will be the next few days until all the fighting will begin to cease. Nike made many attempts to keep those in her ship calm after learning from the merfolk to avoid fighting the creatures. A suggestion Nike was more than willing to follow for the sake of those on ship than anything else. All of her efforts will be made by singing her songs while working. Once the merfolk begin their own singing, her songs will change to match theirs'. All she could do was use her voice to help increase the volume whenever possible using her voice to act out as a chorus to continue the beat.

So when the healing rains and comforting winds begin to arrive after a mysterious and beautiful creature makes its appearance known, Nike will extend her hands with an amazing light in her gaze.]

How about that! What a beautiful surprise. I never seen something so cool. What is it?

☂ Carnival of Tsukal (Didymous)

[After everything concerning the Deep had died down and Nike was given enough time to rest alongside her animus, she will be found heading to the nearest watery areas with an almost glee to her step. Rumors have been surfacing about an amazing miracle -- unknown creatures have been making an appearance with the sole purpose of helping others. Of course Nike had to see if the rumors were true.

But the next question was: how to trigger it without drowning or needing to be saved? It was a good question.

So she will be found in the high grounds closest to the overflowed river banks or largely flooded areas with a thoughtful gaze. A piece of her was observing for any signs of help while another piece of her was simply there to catch a glimpse of the strange creatures to get an idea on how to play with them. It was the idea until Nike will lose her balance upon feeling a weight over her as she rolls down the high ground and until the mud below. Guess who was just caught in between Caelum, her animus, and a strange new pup playing?]

deity of the deeps

[kingsroads]

[ After the complete and utter madness of the past few days, it's a relief that things on the boat have finally calmed down. Strange spent the past few days near Nike's side, helping calm the winds or manipulate the hail away as well. After all, it's something he could do. And seeing the Deeper like this? Strange doesn't know if it's just his mind playing tricks on him or if the rain is boosting up his strength the way it's fixing the boat, but he feels more refreshed and calm than he has in at least a week. ]

It's a manta ray. I've only seen them in books. [ And seeing one in person, especially one this huge...though Strange won't admit it, the sheer awe and beauty of that thing does more to make him believe that the trapping idea might not have been the best idea than any of the arguments he had heard beforehand. ]

Though, I do wish that it could have spread that healing magic in some way other than the rain. I'm already soaked to the bone as is!

Carnival!

[lord_wizard]

[Felix isn't as quite as excited about the excursion as the young tiefling was. He had somehow let her leverage his academic curiosity at the rumors of entirely new lifeforms reached him inside the city. His excitement is almost literally dampened by the rain and the constant threat of drowning.

Mentally he's begun to wonder if he should study more water magic, so he might be able to repel it, when he notices a large shape in the water. Before he can say anything, his attention is pulled to the sound of her tumbling down the bank.]

Nike!

[he shouts, making a move to rush towards her and immediately slipping on the mud himself, careening in twist of lanky elf limbs, straight into the water himself.]

Endless Rain

[forswore]

[ There's a guard with the loose-knit caravan that prefers to keep his hood up and his company to himself, and he's interacted little with the other passengers. As the rains have proven more hindrance than anything else, though, he can't stay stoic for long, especially when a detour like this means they'll take longer to reach their destination if it's not done quickly...

Nike will find a much stronger pair of arms than her own reaching out to grab the hapless villager by the back of their sodden clothes and bodily lifting them out of the flow.

Daud's face, now visible under the hood of his cloak, isn't impressed. ]

Get back on the carriage. This won't hold for long.

[exaomori]

endless rain/Carnival of Tsakál

While the last floods might be a century removed from the memories of most, Shura hasn't forgotten the destruction and devastation, and most importantly, the absolutely inconvenience the flooding caused in her own life. It was one thing she would have been perfectly happy to forget about.

But things weren't in her favor, as usual. Whether or not she's near the outskirts of Didymos or near the Free City, someone in a throng of sick exiles recognizes her as someone Capable, and begs her to carry their toddler to their sibling back in the city. The parent is quickly escorted back to the coughing crowd, leaving Shura alone with the child. Great, she hates this, thanks!

Still, Shura's just responsible enough to know that she can't just dump the kid off on the next poor fool. It doesn't make her a good caretaker, hauling the toddler around by the back of his shirt like an expert childminder. The kid's is a little runny, but he's in good spirits. This lady may be weird, but this is like flying, and he's cheerfully babbling to Shura, arms held wide open to catch whatever breeze he can.

"Yeah, yeah--hey! Quit wrigglin', or I'm going to drop you!" The toddler is clearly taking this threat seriously based on his giggles. The weird foxy creature following at her heels is probably not helping her mood.

A Deeper Problem

Guard duty and patrol were simple tasks as a volunteer, if a bit boring. It also happened to be a great excuse to listen in on some of the knights and try to get a bit more information on what was going on with the being under the ocean, but also listening in for any rumors on opinions on the little princess Fortuna.

For the moment, she's on her own, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed as she stares out across the harbor. It's a weird feeling, seeing the place so empty.

"It's going to be a pain if this place gets wrecked."

wildcard
anything else, including dumb dragon stuff, just lmk

[heartcracked]

Noctis wouldn't have thought the bridge back into town would wash out before he got back, but here he is, standing on one side of a canal nearly overflowing into the streets with rushing, muddy water, cut off from food and a warm bed on the other. And the string of fish he brought back to trade for his board at the Duke is starting to stink like, well, fish. Great.

There are others in the same situation as him: colorfully dressed traders trying to make it back to their lodgings before the brief break in the rain passes and it starts to pour again, or sick folk who just wanted to make it back to the temple for treatment. Some of them turn back; some of them turn aside and follow the canal uphill, maybe searching for another bridge further along.

He's contemplating the distance and whether he could throw his blade far enough to simply magic himself across when a grimy, outstretched child's hand rubs the contents of a recently-wiped runny nose on his forearm in passing. All he can get out is a querulous gnhghh? at the sensation, and turns his head sharply. The child, dangling precariously by the back of his shirt from the hand of a woman who doesn't particularly look like his mother and definitely isn't acting like it, grins back up at him.

He blinks. For a second he stares, just trying to understand what he's looking at. Is this her kid? Is this somebody else's kid? It's hard to tell. He gives her another cursory glance-over, and then he gestures vaguely at the child she's lugging around carelessly like a sack of tomatoes.

"Is he... yours... ?"

[heartcracked]

🜙 Endless Rain/Carnival of Tsakál june 20th - onward

Noctis kicks off the barn wall and blinks out of existence a heartbeat before the serpine trapped in here with him collides with the timbers hard enough to send a shudder through the whole structure, and he wonders, in his brief few seconds of weightlessness: how the hell'd I get roped into this?

He knows perfectly well, of course, that he'd volunteered. One of the farmhands caught him out by the lake trying to clear the sirens from the shoreline ( They don't clear, not for long, and he wonders where they keep coming from ). She'd said, 'oh, there's a catsnake in our barn! It killed one of our cows! You seem able-bodied, can you help us?' and he'd thought, What the hell's a catsnake? Well, whatever. It's either cat-sized or snake-sized. How hard can it be?

"How hard can it be, Noctis?" he mutters under his breath, rolling his eyes at himself as he ghosts behind a stall door and drops into a crouch. The catsnake is neither cat-sized nor snake-sized, and the weight of the coils on the back half of the thing writhing and twisting up against the wall in the process of changing directions is enough to shiver dust down from the loft over his head.

He can hear uncertain shouting from without the structure, likely caused by all the commotion happening on the inside. Between the cracks in the wood he can see the beast turn its head toward the sound, eyes narrowing to vertical slits, and with this gods-awful hiss it flattens its ears against its skull and stalks past him toward the back door, dragging its serpentine length along the ground by two heavy forepaws.

"Well, shit," he mutters, and vaults the stall door, flinging his blade end over end past the stupid thing's head, ghosting after it into a scattering of blue-white light. He snatches it from the air as he blinks back into reality and collides with the back of the beast's head, bearing it to the ground just long enough to get both hands on either end of his blade and wedge it underneath the beast's front fangs.

"Just you and me, asshole," he spits, and hauls back hard enough the thing lets out an ear-piercing shriek that makes him wince. "Leave them alone!"

🜙 Carnival of Tsakál (Didymos) june 20th - onward

"Please stop following me," Noctis groans, stopping in the middle of the street and dragging his hands down his face. The pit pat of little paws stops a handful of paces behind him. It hasn't stopped following him. Just like it hasn't stopped the last half dozen times he's asked.

Noctis turns and glares balefully at the thing that's been tailing him around the waterfront for the last half hour. It pants back at him, grinning widely, tongue lolling around a pair of impossibly long tusks. He sighs. It drools. His anima, twisted about his ankles, hisses, not at all impressed.

He stoops and picks the hairy little thing up, grimacing as a wave of fishy dog-breath washes over him, and wonders loudly to the crowd of mostly sailors and waterfront traders milling around him: "Is this anybody's dog—seal—thing?"

🜙 Endless Rain (Didymos) june 20th - onward; come find dragon scales with Noctis!

Noctis learns very quickly that Didymos isn't much like the city he knew a century agos. Some things stay the same—ships still travel to and from the mouth of the harbor, sending waves billowing before their bows, and fishermen still fish to earn their living as they always have. Many of the original structures he remembers are gone now, though, and the streets have shifted as new buildings have been erected in their place. The ratways and sneakholes he knew from his childhood have all but disappeared. The city is bustling with the movement of people shifting their belongings back to their homes after some near-disaster drove them to higher ground days ago, one he only hears rumors and brief explanations about, though he gathers enough to learn of a sea-beast and a great storm that threatened the city.

He finds a single familiar comfort in the chaos: following the streets downhill still leads him, eventually, to the sea.

He ends up at the harbor, and without really knowing why, follows the edge of it to the outskirts of the city, where the towering spires of fishing vessels and the thud of boots on the docks falls away to rocky coastline, beaten by the pounding waves of an uneasy sea stirred to tempest by the monsoon. The shape of the water's edge here has changed, weathered away by a hundred years or so of ocean, but its features are familiar: slimy seaweed strung out across the rocks where the tide's gone out, and all manner of shells and sea life left behind in its wake.

Against the dark stone, bright things stand out, and Noctis notes something pale and shimmering—maybe an oyster?—in one of the tidal pools on the edge of the rocky shelf he's trying to cross. He takes half a step toward it to investigate, but a wall of water crashes against the rocks and surges upward in front of him, showering him in seafoam and saltwater as the wave crests over the edge of the shelf with enough force to knock him off balance.

"Ugh, great," he mutters, picking himself up and shaking his arms, scattering water droplets all around him. It's futile. He's soaked. Should've known better, he thinks to himself, but still—where'd that bright thing go?

*Feel free to do brackets or straight prose! I'll roll with either.

Endless Rain

[carbonatedscientist]

Sento's also taking a bit of time to wander--he's also well aware that the city's changed, but that's a relief, his old lab's surely been destroyed by now. And he'd never spent all that much time going out into the wilderness other than to find samples for research specimens, so now?

...he's still looking for research specimens even as he's telling himself he's just taking a walk with a rabbit hiding inside his coat pocket. His coat, boots, and hat have been made to be very water-resistant; that much, at least, was an all too simple use of his skills. He's also keeping an eye out for anyone who needs help, because darn if rescuing people and playing hero didn't make him feel so, so very alive. He still doubted he was sometimes.

And look! There's someone! Someone who might need help! "Are you alright over there?" he calls out as he approaches while looking relatively dry, given the circumstances.

Carnival

[lightduties]

They'd travelled to Didymos together but gone their separate ways. Aside from not particularly wanting to intrude on Noctis' walks down memory lane, Rhea'li had wanted to see if his usual watering holes were still around before taking the time to roam the surrounding wilderness to see what's changed. But, as expected, with the hundred years that passed since his death, almost all of them were gone.

It's when he's leaving a familiar yet unfamiliar street along the waterfront -- unfortunately, it seems The Lucky Shag bar isn't there any more -- that Rhea'li spots Noctis and his new friend.

"Noctis," he greets with a wave as he approaches, "I see you've picked up a new companion." The corner of his mouth quirks up into a grin.

Meanwhile, his ibis is having a roaring time fighting with the seagulls over scraps of food.

Felix Harrowgate | ota

[lord_wizard]

1. A Deeper Problem

a. cw: ptsd There's likely a number feelings present among the crew of the ships as they sail out into the bay, the excitement of hope mingled with quiet anxiety. Felix's feelings, however, are more akin to a crushing panic. It's not the first time he's been on a ship, and it hasn't gotten that much easier to bear, considering the his first venture had resulted in a shipwreck. The constant rain and roiling clouds above make it feel far more like that first occurrence, and though he barely remembers that particular period of his life his body remembers enough for him.

The elf attempts to stared down his fear, as he's done before when the need arose. He only manages a few minutes on deck before, his face blanching of even more color, he rushes below deck. One might suspect him of being seasick, until they find him pressed up against a dark corner of the hull gasping desperately for breath.

"Why did I agree to this madness?" he murmurs in a thin voice. Sibyl, nearby, answers with a low worried yowl.

b.

It takes a day for Felix to wrestle himself into a kind of shaky balance and return to the deck and do what he'd come here to do. While the archmages concentrate on freeing the Deeper, the wizard moves towards the rails clutching a basket full of rocks he'd collected from the shoreline. Or at least, they were rocks. There's a peculiar shimmer to the stones that make them look more like glass or obsidian.

He still looks a bit ill as he kneels by the railing with the basket but manages to do so without fainting. It takes some for him to wave over one of the nearby merfolk, to whom he shows one of the stones and starts to gesture from it to the water below.

It's likely this pantomime will go on for awhile, until he's able to communicate what he needs.

2. Rage in the Waters

There's nothing much he can do once the fighting starts. Asking nicely to be returned to the shore is out of the question, and there's nothing he can do to affect creatures of such incredible power and size. Felix tries to keep the tattered wards on the ships functioning against the constant onslaught of lightning and crashing fins, and when the battle rages on into the night he sets his witchlights to cover the deck, providing a wan pale green light for the soldiers to see by.

He makes the mistake of peeking outside as the battle reaches a lull and a wave hits from the side. A wave that had no right to be there, when everything seemed to calm, but he doesn't quite think of that in the moment. His thoughts are at first a kind of stunned surrender. Of course this is how he dies, after everything. The panic strikes again a moment later and he almost tries to break free of the grasp of the merfolk before he realizes what is actually happening.

By the time finds himself on the deck again, he knows what needs to be done. He pushes his mess of begraggled soggy hair out of his face and twists around.

"I need to find the King!"

3. Didymos, post-plot, temp housing

Felix shies away from the praise of the crowds as they return to the city. His part in this feels too small to warrant such a thing, but he still accepts the rewards that the Queen is inclined to offer. Some time inside with a soft bed and away from the endless rain is too good for him to pass up.

Neither this nor the rain can last but as he sits in his parlor, wrapped in a blanket and accompanied by a glass of wine, he considers the future. The missive from the Queen sits on the table, offering a job for his efforts, could mean something like this could be his indefinitely. Could that be something for him, after so long among the court of Krimnos? Could he mistake his hesitation for loyalty, or simply a kind of homesickness? Krimnos certainly had been quick to be rid of him once before.

Rage in the Waters

[forswore]

What had been intended to be a quiet trip to keep an eye on the negotiations from a distance has turned into a very different sort of thing altogether, much to Daud's irritation. Right now, he can't even think of looking for where the shiftling and her dragon may have gone, especially not when they're so suddenly swept off into the briny waters when he's trying to help steady a sail.

He's recovered faster than the similarly-sodden wizard, and a quick glance about the deck confirms they're the only ones who've taken a similar dunking in the near vicinity, making Daud's lips thin. He clamps a hand on Felix's shoulder, shaking his head.

"He won't listen to you. You're just some bedraggled spellcaster on his ship."

Sento Kiryu | OTA | Will Match Format

[carbonatedscientist]

[Carnival, rescue]
There's a bright, shiny humanoid bounding across the lily frogs, trying to pull people to safety. He's somehow acquired a boat for the deepest parts of the flooded areas don't ask questions, he'll put it back where he got it for the task, and he seems to be having a fine time, if his body language is any indication. His face can't be seen; he's covered from head to toe in zig-zagged red and blue armor that seems to split him down the middle. "Hello! Do you need any help?" He sounds very cheerful despite the situation, and extremely confident. Far too confident.

Back on the boat, Cannon, Sento's rabbit, looks a bit put out with everything, but resigned to his fate of assisting with rescue missions as much as a tired rabbit can assist with rescue missions. (Mascot. He's been relegated to a mascot. How undignified.)

[Carnival, Free City]
As much as he might like to keep up a constant stream of rescue and assistance, Sento's taking a moment to coo over those puppies. "Ah, aren't you all adorable! So precious!"

And that earns him an irritated bop to the head from the small rabbit riding on his shoulder. "Ah, well, you're cuter, of course. But look at them! They're just babies!"

Babies who would probably chase a rabbit, thanks, and so the bunny bops his human yet again. They're just going to continue on in this manner, it's fine, Sento's a perfectly reasonable and well-adjusted adult.

[A Deeper Problem]
Hey, the Queen wants people to help out with protection? With seeing to it that nefarious evildoers can't loot and plunder? This is a perfect opportunity for a would-be hero who needs a bit of cash to fund his questionable research! Said would-be hero will absolutely bound along rooftops in his garish full armor, patrolling and looking for some kind of trouble to stop.

Or looking like trouble, because look at him, there is nothing subtle about this man, he's armored in bright primary colors and giving anyone who does not look like they're immediately looting or murdering a cheerful two-fingered mock salute.

free city

[exaomori]

Are the strange animals cute? Probably, and some of them even appear to be fairly helpful! But Shura isn't much the type to stop and admire the new little things that have been popping up. But hey, she's trying to find a place to stop and take a break from her patrol so she shove her lunch in her face, and it looks like there's some entertainment here.

"Just babies, huh~? That just means they'll grow up into somethin' troublesome, y'know." Says the woman who's hiding a dragon back home in her shack.

rescue!

[drizzle]

The flooded areas filled with both citizens and agriculture alike will have Nike's full undivided attention. After all, the cities already have specific protocols in place for rescue mission unlike the more rural areas. She couldn't turn her back on them. It was a good thing the jackal deity agreed with her in this aspect. The mythical creatures were a huge help in the rescue efforts.

However, there will be a moment of pause as Nike spots a certain brightly colored individual helping out as well.

Are they one of the mythical creatures? Or just......a very unique individual wanting to help others? It was hard to tell. Nike wished it was the latter than the former, but right now was not the time to stare when there was work to be done.

So she will be using the floating platform frog-like creatures to cross the over-flooded areas. She will begin to cast her own weather spells via singing a song to somewhat weaken the winds and some of the rain in the area. When she overhears someone talking, however, she will find it is the same individual from before, it was clear she was lost on what to do until she notices something moving over at the boat.

"Um, no offense for the weird question, but is there something on your boat?" asked the tiefling as she attempts to get a better look but it was hard to when she had a zig-zagged red and blue armor in her line of sight.