PHASE I [ ❓❓❓ ] And then the Flamines are there.
They just appear, suddenly, as if from nowhere. They’re a race of mercenary aliens, and fighting is all they know -- they’re definitely not going to be easy to kill by any means. They seem to have a natural resistance to magic: aside from very specific types of magic (in particular, light magic and anything highly spiritual), they absorb it. Light magic and spiritual magic can harm them, but it will take a lot to take one down.
They can be stabbed, if you can get that close.
But good luck.
Of course, they look like nondescript black shapes with masks until you knock the mask off...and then you can see the true shape of the Flamines.
They’re here to kill you all. :)
PHASE II [ ❓❓❓ ] As if that isn’t enough… it seems the Flamines’ arrival was the last straw for Cerealia and the Nexus Code. There’s a tear in the sky, and from it… the Nexus Code, where all of the lost friends from before, can be seen. It can be entered, even, though remaining there too long can be detrimental to your health.
But people are there.
Old friends, strung up and lifeless, can be seen there, unmoving.
And…
Then some of them move. They open their eyes. They remember how to breathe. And they’re able to return, able to stagger their way back into Cerealia and take their first breath of air in a long, long time.
Welcome back to the chaos of Cerealia, friends.
Unfortunately, you’ve got nothing but the clothes on your back while murderous aliens are rampaging, so hopefully you’re able to think fast. It’d be unfortunate to die so soon after coming back.
As for spiritual and magical characters who were not in the Nexus Code...well, when they return, they’ll find that they’re covered in old, dried blood, and their clothing might have tears in it, as if from a knife.
There are no scars, though, and they’re otherwise fine. Strange.
PHASE III [ ❓❓❓ ] As if this chaos isn’t enough… there are also the masks. Regardless of whether or not characters were around to receive them the first time, regardless what they did with them before, the masks will suddenly reappear in your characters’ hands. They can be tossed aside, but they’ll reappear again eventually, unable to be truly shaken.
Characters who received them before will receive the same mask they had before.
Characters who didn’t receive them before will receive a mask according to the trait that’s more prominent for them.
Either way...it’ll have a profound effect on the Flamines.
They will go after any character with a broken mask in a bloodthirsty rage, intent on murdering them. Characters with a barcode mask or bloody mask will be the next likely to be chased down intently by the Flamines.
Characters with a :( mask will be killed if they get in the Flamines’ way, though they will not go out of their way to chase them down.
Characters with a vine mask or feather mask will be treated with wariness, though they may still be attacked if they get in a Flamines’ way.
Characters with a grey mask will not be killed unless they are first the aggressor, as will characters with a bloody fingerprint mask.
Naturally there will be exceptions to every rule, but the masks will change how the Flamines’ generally act towards characters!
PHASE IV [ ❓❓❓ ] But something’s not quite right.
Regardless of the battles against the Flamines, it seems Cerealia’s just been under too much pressure lately. Something had to give --
And it’s the code building up the characters that really suffers.
Their code has been hanging on by a thread without CERES to maintain it, and now… it’s finally giving out. The glitches that afflicted characters before will be even more prominent now; they might glitch from place to place, or have their powers go totally awry in odd ways. There may be a lack of powers suddenly, or a sudden difficulty staying on the ground as gravity stops working on the character.
They might suddenly be unable to breathe, or go cold, or very nearly die --
But it can be controlled, too, with effort. Characters can learn to control the glitches, gaining an ability to almost teleport, or ways to tweak their powers in exciting new ways.
With a lot of effort, they could even possibly reverse a death -- but only their own, and only once.
BONUS [ ❓❓❓ ] There are also… birds?
Flamingos, to be exact. Who knows where they came from, but either way, there are plastic flamingos chilling all over the place. They’re just normal plastic; they don’t move, they can very easily be destroyed --
But if you touch one with your bare hands… it’ll have an interesting effect.
Characters will suddenly find that they have the abilities or the last person they touched -- but without any of the practice or ability to control it, of course.
Still, it might help with that pesky Flamines problem, right?
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
Welcome to the beginning of Cerealia's endgame event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will begin 11/03, or IC 11/18. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you! |
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...Wait, they're leaving you alone? Why? [Is there something about him they can't stand? Maybe he's been a telemarketer all along.]
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Cao Pi taps the mask he's currently wearing like a hat...sort of. He hates zi hats, little boxes perched on top of your head, ugh, so he's wearing it tilted to one side]
I suspect it has to do with this.
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[Now that he's back on his feet, Phoenix pauses and taps at his chin in thought.]
I think I get it now. Back when we first made contact with the Flamines, they seemed to treat people differently depending on what kinds of masks they wore. So it makes sense that they'd treat us differently in person, too... But I never would have suspected that someone would be able to be ignored entirely by them.
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As I understood it then, there were several varieties of mask. Whether or not we know what they all mean, at the very least we can see which masks will make you a target and which will allow you to pass. Mine... [his eyes roll up toward the mask positively scarlet with bloody fingerprints] ...is one of the latter.
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Huh. We put together information about the different kinds of masks back at the sanctuary. ...But maybe for now we should focus on safety and save the 'how' and 'why' for later.
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[he sets a hand on Nick's shoulder to gently herd him away, keeping his back and his mask to any of the creatures sniffing around the other side of the car]
I have a map showing the locations of safe houses on my device, but it's in my belt. Can you reach it?
[what, it's not groping! His belt, well, it's a big, wide girdle around his waist, a good place for hiding all kinds of things. Like phones. So sue him, they don't have pockets where he came from and his hands are full reaching for his swords.]
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[It still feels awkward, but that may be because Phoenix makes everything awkward. He leans over to that odds belt thing and soon manages to grasp and pull out something that seems to be his cerevice.]
I got it!
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Good. Find the message from Lady Rei, that should give us the map to follow.
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Oh, I think I found it! [He clicks the message and manages to set the Cerevice to project it.]
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...the wonders of this time period.
[okay no, this is no time to be gawking at technology. He gestures with one of the two swords toward an alley, figuring it fairly safe to duck down there and re-orient themselves to find the nearest blip on the map]
If you can navigate while I keep any of our enemies from attacking you, we should be able to manage.
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Now that sounds like an even deal. We're officially in business! Luckily, that spot doesn't look too far away...
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[always thinking strategically, even in crisis. Especially in crisis.]
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He stays right at Nick's shoulder, keeping pace with him easily and looking every which way for more of the invaders]
This entire thing is troubling. The wait-and-see attitude here may be the death of us all.
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W-well, it's not like we had a whole lot of options to begin with... [Or at least, someone like me doesn't, when there's no courtroom.]
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