OOC POST for PHASE TWO of AKVOS.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players the tides shift. You have, thusfar in Akvos, been exploring your respective areas and getting to know the locale. You have also discovered the following: (1) the Princess has gone missing; (2) certain areas of "darkness" in the form of ice or dying surroundings is spreading throughout Akvos and; (3) that darkness seems to be encroaching closer to the Palace. After a bit of investigating and living in Akvos, though, things seem to stall. There doesn't seem to be much to move forward on, outside of the clues already given by the locale, King Kathashun, and the Queen. However, that abruptly changes as the weeks turn. PRISONER #394. On the early morning hours of December 3rd (or whatever the Akvon equivalent is), a red alert in the form of a large bullhorn will sound near the Brig -- and throughout all of Akvos, the Royal Guard will abruptly rush throughout the territory, rushing toward the Brig, and the Depths of Markolos. They appear heavily armed, and will shove through the crowd (both mermaid and Otherworlders) to mobilize as quickly as possible. However, they are too little, too late -- and suddenly, the magical watches of the Circle crackle with a black energy, and a new face appears via holographic image. For the first time in nearly a month, the video works -- and the voice that comes through sounds lofty. Amused, even. Pointed. "I had heard rumors, that some of you were looking for me . . . the first time menfolk have been in Akvos in tens of thousands of seasons. An interesting development, to be sure . . . and I wish I had been present to greet you all to my lands." The merperson flexes their hands -- and by first glance, the merperson doesn't seem to have a female body. Glittering blue scales decorate their features, eyes black as night. And as they moves their left hand, a sudden darkness bursts into his palm, an energy that swirls around their fingers before he continues speaking. "Better late than never, I suppose . . . greetings, Akvos, Otherworlders, menfolk, and merfolk alike. My name is Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai, the rightful King of Akvos. I'm sure a lot of you have dozens of questions, but they can all wait. Matters of greater importance must be heard." And, with a tilt of their head, his lips curving into a smile that shows serrated teeth, almost like that of a moray eel, his gaze almost as soulless and haunting. "Now, where is my dear sister?" As soon as the message vanishes, the populated areas of Akvos are dumbstruck. Rightful King? Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai? Who in the hells is that? The Royal Guard is quickly interrogating every person they can find, especially those closer to the Depths: What do you know? Have you seen this merman? What do you know?! . The more the Guard question, the more panicked the people begin to become, and eventually the mermaids all seem to move toward the Palace of Wahine . . . and, luckily for those Circle members who are unable to navigate the currents, the mermaids will give you a lift for free. For the moment, the currents seem to be . . . oddly calm, and it is at the Palace of Wahine (AKA: Group A) where the Circle will finally reconvene. THE LOCKDOWN. But the instantaneous chaos quickly dies down as the population quickly revolves around the Palace of Wahine, where Queen Wai has taken center stage to deliver a message. This message is also broadcast throughout the Circle's watches, seemingly invigorated with whatever magic King Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai had used to access all of the network. Her voice booms, strong and clear, her eyes narrowed. "This imposter, Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai, is a criminal that was arrested for attempting to seduce the Princess away from the throne. He is no relative of mine, or my daughter's. She has no brother. He was imprisoned some time ago, and has remained in the Brig ever since. He is a snake, devious, and capable of extraordinarily dark magic . . . he is no doubt the cause of our ire, in Akvos, and he must be killed in order for both our way of life, and our beloved Princess, to return. Six thousand Royal shells will be awarded for anyone who gives information that results in his capture or his head." The Queen pauses, before her tone shifts into something . . . quieter. "And if my beloved daughter can hear this, please -- come home. You are needed more than you know. I am not angry with you, and I am not going to allow anyone to harm you. You are not in trouble, but you must come home. Do not trust this man with whatever lies he has poisoned your minds with. His tongue is that of a snake." After that, the message cuts out. She will not be taking any visitors today. SHADOWS IN THE WATER. As the Queen's address begins to sink in, there are more questions than answers. She seems to be blaming the "darkness" encroaching on the world on this supposed King, but doesn't seem to be offering much of a solution to get rid of it aside from "off with his head." And even worse, the Princess still seems to be missing without a trace. Is the King her brother, or her lover? Who even knows anymore? Nobody seems to be on the same page, but before you can ask too many more questions, new creatures begin appearing in all four corners of Akvos. Creatures that seem to be made of the same dark energy that King Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai had manipulated around his fingers, and these creatures are definitely not friendly. These creatures lurk throughout the waters of Akvos and are violent. Some of them lash out against the mermaids in Akvos, but they don't seem to be killing people. Instead, they latch onto them and seem to drain them of their very life-force, leaving mermaids unconscious and floating listlessly in the water. They are breathing, if you find them -- seemingly in an unconscious sleep. At first, there are only one or two shadows, but as the days go on, the shadows multiply -- more, and more, until mermaids are afraid to leave their homes for fear of falling into the same coma. If you fight the creatures, you will find that only magic will get rid of them. And once you kill a shadow, all of the mermaids affected by that one shadow will suddenly wake up, almost as if whatever was keeping them asleep was attached to that specific shadow. But best be quick, in your combat -- they seem to be multiplying faster than you can kill them. You're going to need to mobilize, and mobilize quickly, in order to save the citizens of Akvos from this new threat. Hopefully you're all combat ready. . . . OH, RIGHT, THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS TOO. Meanwhile, the ice that was found within the Depths of Markolos has begun to accelerate . . . along with the dampening of lights in the Thunderdome and the dead coral in the Fields of Akvosia. More ice, more dead fish, more dead coral, and more darkened jellyfish. The mermaids are at a loss, and the destruction of their habitat is quickly beginning to have an affect on the population. If this keeps up, food shortage and the sudden cooling of the water could very well end civilization in Akvos as they know it. But something is different, now -- magic seems to be working to curb the decay and ice that is spreading rapidly. Whereas before magic could not cure coral or melt the ice permanently, now it can -- whatever has been awakening in Akvos seems to have affected your magic, too. However, the damage is quickly outranking the rate that you can cure it. It's spreading rapidly, and there's only so much you can do without tracking down the apparent source . . . the newfound "King." Who knows what their end goal is, but given the darkness is quickly spreading toward the Palace? They seem intent on tearing apart whatever Queen Wai has built for herself and her people, and it's up to you to stop it. Each area will have specific "darkness" in it: The Palace of Wahine has a sudden bout of reddish-blackish algae that is creeping along the outskirts of the city, and it is causing a dreadful sickness. It is killed by sudden warmth/fire, so boiling water would do the trick! Curing magic will also work to help the mermaids who have inhaled the algae. The Depths of Markolos is suddenly faced with an onslaught of ice, worse than before. Fire/heat does the trick here, too. The Fields of Akvosia and their beautiful coral reef is dying at an alarming rate. Plant magic, curing magic, and other "encouraging" magic (such as inspiration) will do the trick, here. The Thunderdome is having a sudden jellyfish darkening problem. Electricity will work wonders, here, and invigorate the darkened jellyfish and keep them alive WORLD INTERACTIONS Congratulations! The Circle has rejoined itself. There will be areas below to ask questions, but here are some general FAQs for what is to come in Phase Two of Akvos: 1.) Your Astoria-granted powers are SUPERPOWERED for the duration of this log. Magic will come easier to you, you will have a newfound understanding of it, and you will easily be able to craft whatever arcane powers you have been granted by Astoria. 2.) Your canon powers, however, will NOT work in Akvos. Only Astoria-granted powers will apply! 3.) The network is fully functioning again. Hooray! 4.) The shadow creatures are everywhere. You can find them in every area of the world. They seem to be more prevalent in the Depths of Markolos, but are quickly spreading to other areas of Akvos. 5.) You are not limited to your groups for this log. Explore away! If you have any questions about what can be found in the world, feel free to poke through the first OOC post for general knowledge of what can be found there. 6.) The Queen will be unavailable for questions. It will not be possible to contact her. However, approaching the Palace will garner some pieces of information: namely, from her handmaidens who will tell the more polite folk that the Queen is working on combating the magic this "King" is wielding, and she is preparing a force to get back her daughter, wherever she may be. 7.) Those that have coins from King Kathashun will notice they have gone abruptly cold. They will not lead anywhere, and will feel cold as ice. 8.) You will not be able to track down the new "King." However, investigations of his cell in 394 will reveal that the door is locked. Somehow, he managed to escape without so much as opening the door. There are also certain areas where the darkness (and shadow monster concentration) seems to be stronger -- namely, the Depths of Markolos. But that's probably just a coincidence, right? MOD NOTE: This is your world to explore. Ask questions, get involved. We as mods are giving you a setting to play with as you'd like! What happens here in Akvos is entirely based on your character's involvement. There will be plenty to interact with, little background plots to get mixed up in, and a city to explore. Ask questions! Pull one of us aside for some cool plotting! Figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, and go. Reminder: the log for this world jump will be posted December 3rd at 9:00 PM EST. This post is purely for plotting, and there's a place below for questions and for the world interactions! Otherwise, feel free to leave a plotting comment below! Find some other Circle Members to explore with! Finally, we have seem some feedback regarding our new mechanic test regarding group separation in a variety of forms (both positive and negative, in both mod contact posts and other mediums), and we hear you! Here are some points about that: Firstly, thank you for giving this new way of doing things a shot, and throwing yourselves into the plot like you have. We firmly believe Acatalepsy has the best playerbase around, and it makes writing these plots a dream. Secondly, we are going to update our FAQ to answer some questions that honestly should have been on there in the first place, specifically regarding recent arrivals (when can you post, when is the official "arrival," so on and so forth). We've answered these questions when asked, but they really should be in a centralized location. Thirdly, we are going to be implementing a Game/World HMD at the end of this world cycle, before the next app round, to hear feedback on mechanics. A big part of Acatalepsy is trying new things from world to world, and if you don't like them, we'd like to know to make the playing experience better. We haven't had a regular one not because we don't want to hear feedback, but because we honestly haven't scheduled in posting one. That's our bad, and we absolutely should have one! We don't know things are "wrong" or "right" unless you guys tell us, and having a centralized location for that is a good idea so folks can come to us. Right now, we have an anon enabled mod contact post which people have used for crit/suggestions in the past, but a strictly labelled HMD is a good suggestion that we will be incorporating. Fourth, if anything is missed (be it mod questions, a canon update, or anything else) for longer than seven days, please feel free to ping us (either through our personal contact or mod contact) and let us know we missed something. We're human, and we consider ourselves pretty open and accessible people, so please let us know if we missed stuff! We will rectify it ASAP. Thanks so much, and enjoy the rest Akvos. ♥

Comments

mini call for mages!

[courtmagic]

So, investigating the King's cell is leading to a pretty interesting set of runes covering the walls, and Merlin's going to be looking into them to understand and decipher their purpose. It'll take a lot of work, though, and he won't be able to uncover all the answers alone. To get more information beyond the structure, he'll need two or three more people to assist. When this comes out, he'll be making a network post asking for those with knowledge of the arcane to come pitch in, which will then lead to a log where we can get our solving done.

If this sounds like something you want your character involved in, then great! Just comment below so we can get the group together. Anything else, ask away - you can also contact me at moonjelly.

[juniberries]

sticking my comment here for organizational purposes but I’m in for this with allura

[nogoldenmirror]

puts comment here too let's do this i GUESS....

[invasif]

I figured I should throw in here for info's sake:

Ilde will be around to use inspiration on the group, so like. You're united by YOUR TEAMWORK for extra exertion points 8')

She's no mage she can't help you, but she can douse you in sparkles to make you SHOW YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL.

[teratias]

tiniest mage would like to try!