( june update )

[natha]

In the next event, characters will have to deal with the radicals' conflict as it comes to a head, and will be faced in a showdown with what should be a long extinct dragon. This post is to help plot in preparation for the next events, and what characters can expect the setting to be like until then! ONE FINAL TAUNT     Once upon a time, the great High Dragons ruled the Isles of El Nysa. Surely you've heard the stories of Ysverai — that he was kind, and he was wise, but oh, they wish you would forget that he was still a Dragon. Historians speak not of the destruction he was capable of. Few tales would have you remember the scars he left behind. The Edrathe Ruins. Dragon's Cove. Frey's End. Once, those were all great cities, towering seats of power, far grander than prideful Olympia and cowardly Wyver. And they were destroyed — wiped out by the High Dragons in long forgotten battles that history has conspired to turn into rumor rather than any proper subject of fear. Your masters, sniveling Shanrian and shameful Simwe — they both have forgotten the glory of war, but we have not. We choose to remember, we must remember! And so, he must rise again. Soon, you will all bear witness to the might of the great High Dragon — Ysverai! In the wake of the news of Ysverai's stolen heart spreading across Olympia and Wyver, citizens will wake one morning to find flyers strewn across both cities, lining the streets and pasted over works of art. On one side of the fliers is an image of a city in ruin, so vast and broken that it seems unrecognizable as part of El Nysa. (Though in the background, just barely visible, is a rock face that seems startlingly similar to that of the Edrathe Ruins.) On the other side of the flyer is a simple message: HE SHALL RISE AGAIN! Some of Olympia's citizens are quick to point fingers at Wyver as the obvious culprit behind these schemes, but it seems Rasyc, the estranged son of King Shanrian, is behind the recent convoy ambush and the fliers, and Wyver claims neither to support nor know his whereabouts and intentions now. The tenuous peace between the two cities threatens to fizzle before it has a chance to flourish, and Khalo is the first to sense a rift in relations, already anxious from years of having kept its village borders closed to outsiders. But the more level-headed sort might notice that the timing of this banditry seems calculated -- as the radicals had tried once to sow unrest, this may well be an effort to drive a wedge between Olympia and Wyver before diplomatic and Coalition efforts can take hold. Thesa Station — Characters can occasionally hear static over their devices, white noise screeching through the speakers for no rhyme or reason. Those that return to Thesa Station to investigate will be greeted to blaring alarms, but the Natha themselves are nowhere to be found. Those that can tune out the noise and traverse the Station can still visit the hangars and VR simulators, which are all set by default to combat practice and flight simulation modes. The stasis room and its pods remains in normal, stable condition, but everywhere else on the station seems to have entered an emergency status: recreation rooms are locked down, environmentals need to cycle on in bedrooms once they've been opened for use, the cafeteria provides food in limited rations, lights are dimmed in the corridors, and temperatures have been lowered. Energy and other resources are being conserved, though in preparation for what? Fight or Flight — Planetside, the air seems heavy in both cities — literally. Temperatures across Olympia, Wyver, and Khalo all drop significantly, the atmosphere turned unnaturally cold and dense. There's a sense of foreboding that comes with the weather; animals seem especially spooked, quick to flee, as well as stampede and attack those that approach them. Refugees with more attuned senses (or the more twitchy sort) might feel similar effects, as well as a strange, persistent sense of dread. Olympia and Wyver — The cities both bunker down for the consequences of Rasyc's actions, though more pessimistic citizens can be heard wondering if these are preparations for war. Both leaders anticipate an attack, and attempt to keep order: How unbecoming of that boy to pull such a stunt right under his father's nose. Everything has been a taunt for us to rage war with Wyver — and that would be a step backwards, no? We shall not fall prey to his machinations. We shall continue to cooperate with Wyver. Citizens of Olympia, we do not yet know the scale of Ysverai's power. It would be foolish of us not to prepare for the worst. Please, do cooperate with the Guard and guide the helpless to the designated fallout shelters throughout the city. For all others, prepare your weapons, your spells, and your courage. We ready arms for battle. May Thesa continue to bless us in these times of darkness. To think... Raysc... I'm at a loss for words. However, we cannot dwell. We must move forward and ensure the safety of the lives I'm responsible for! I ask you all to join me in evacuating citizens underground. Olympia has welcomed us to their shelters. Join them. Everyone else, if you're able to fight, join me. We won't surrender so easily, least of all to the betrayal of one of our own. We may face a monster from the past, but we are surrounded by the heroes of the present. Don't let our courage falter — are we not Wyverns, strong and proud? Following the announcements, guard efforts in both cities focus on preparing security and bolstering protections for the imminent attack. The overall mood is grim, for the destruction wrought by the ancient dragons is legendary — yet both cities settle to their efforts with a startling spark of hope amidst the frantic calls to arms, for the heroes who aided them against Raysc's treacherous kidnapping scheme months before have only grown in number. Both cities make their own preparations, but in tandem, determined not to let their fragile new peace be destroyed by Raysc's schemes. Weapon stockpiles are created, and stores of food and medical supplies prepared to ready for the battle ahead. Along with these efforts, they also ask for volunteers: sorcerers and mages with knowledge of unfamiliar spells, tinkerers and mechanics who might build great war machines, scientists and scholars to study biological options, thieves and rogues who might lay in clever traps — anyone who might provide some solution, no matter how strange or uncanny — or mundane. After all, the key to salvation may come from the most ordinary of citizens. Will you try to build a dragon-sized mouse trap? Will you try to cook the perfect (poisoned) dragon bait? Will you search Khalo's vast library for a clue from another world? What they need, the cities have decreed, are plans — and with plans, hope. Khalo Village — Khalo Village finds itself reconsidering whether or not Olympia and Wyver are truly ready for peace, and continued friendly efforts from the refugees will help assuage these concerns. The Khali people are not difficult to convince, as long as efforts are made — they know all too well what's at stake with high dragons. Khalo has ancient records available for study, which may just warn characters what they face on the horizon. Southern Outpost — The midway station at the South Outpost, established by refugee coalition efforts, serves as a staging ground for battle preparations and a waystation for those traveling between the two cities. Characters can expect to see this location play a major role in the next event and plan accordingly! Those stationed here will still need to contend with panicked fauna, but both Wyver and Olympian guards seem more concerned with the greater threat on the horizon than with each other — the atmosphere there is, surprisingly, that of solidarity. FINAL OOC NOTE     Please feel free to use this as a plotting post for the upcoming event post, scheduled for June 16th! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs ● bestiary taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp ● quest bulletin calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan