acatalepsy_ooc | OOC POST for PHASE THREE of AKVOS.

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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 great escape.

The fight to keep Akvos from falling to darkness has been waging and, for the most part, been relatively successful. It’s been a lot of mitigation of damage, considering the sheer magnitude of everything falling apart—but the Circle is nothing but efficient, and for the most part, they have managed to keep the numerous attacks upon the civilization of Akvos at bay.

However, one morning, there is a sudden crack -- a sonic boom of sorts that ripples through the water, emanating from the Fields of Akvosia, throughout the entirety of Akvos. It knocks both merfolk and members of the Circle askew . . . and those that are in the area will quickly see why.

What appears to be a literal tear in the landscape has appeared in the Fields of Akvosia – it’s almost as if someone took a knife and cut through the air, revealing a dark shimmering abyss, crackling with energy. At first, it just looks like a bizarre harmless magical experiment. But, soon, things begin coming through it. At first, it is just bolts of energy – darkness, that immediately corrupts and warps any patch of coral that it touches, darting in and out of the rift. Then, forms begin to appear – slowly but surely pulling themselves from the rift.

Multiple mermen (mermen) emerge with weaponry aplenty, led by the mysterious King Ka'pouli'o'ka'wai – resplendent, with shimmering navy blue scales and a trident that crackles with a dark energy that looks suspiciously like the same magical substance the shadow creatures were made out of. However, his fellow mermen look a lot less healthy than he does – the Brig, while a miserable place to live, at least fed him and kept him quasi-healthy. The rest of the warriors following Ka’pouli’o’ka’wai look somewhat emaciated, but their eyes are fierce, hungry, and determined.

And, with a raise of his trident, his forces advance.

It’s the final countdown.

… of sorts. Happy 2019, everyone!

THE ASSAULT ON WAHINE.

The moment the Queen gains word of the Rift, she immediately rallies her forces to prepare for an assault on the Palace of Wahine. For the moment, her strategy seems to be purely defensive – evacuate citizens into strongholds in the bottom of the Palace, rally her forces to set up a perimeter, and usher people who are able to fight and defend their home into doing so.

The King’s forces will attack in three different fronts. There will be mermen attacking from above, riding saddled giant seahorses and manta rays, launching spears at the mermaid-warriors below with terrifying precision. The mermen will also be attacking at the ground-level, attempting to burst their way through the Palace Gates to flood the city with numbers. And, finally, they will be attacking from below, navigating their way through a network of tunnels meant to transport goods and bursting their way into people’s homes, to sneak their way closer to their ultimate goal, which seems to be the Palace itself.

The Queen will be leading the charge in the Palace, present on the battlefield and wielding multiple swords with each of her tentacles, lopping through enemy mermen and their respective pet beasts with relative ease. She will remain at the head of the pack, fighting with her people, though don’t be surprised if she barks an order or two at you, as well. You are considered part of her command, now . . . at least, according to her.

The Circle’s role in this, however, is to hold the wall – think of it like an underwater Helm’s Deep, except with less shield-boarding and more underwater surfing. The mermen are here for blood, and the Circle’s fight to keep Akvos in one piece has only just begun.

However, thanks to the ingenious work of multiple members of the Circle, the Circle has two extraordinarily powerful tools at their disposal: (1) “Team Rune” has managed to figured out that the King had been working on teleportation/plane-shifting magic in his prison cell (both of a protective and a “get the hell out of here” nature) and (2) “Team Rescue” has managed to crack the code and shatter the basin in the Princess’ room, which ultimately reveals . . .

PRINCESS KEALI’I’WAHINEWAI HAS JOINED THE BATTLE.

Princess Kea, after the shattering of the basin, bursts into reality a distance away . . . in the Fields of Akvosia, where she initially went missing. She is a beautiful young woman, with shimmering navy blue tentacles – a weird mixture of King Ka’pouli and her mother, Queen Wai. And, when she sees the rift and the mermen pouring out of it, she immediately makes her way toward the Palace of Wahine, where she manages to access your network via a helpful member of the Circle. (Feel free to volunteer as tribute – she is likely just going to grab your arm and activate it herself without asking permission. Sorry, friends!)

“Please, stop this fighting!” she cries out, pleading, her dark eyes wide. “Ka’pouli is not an evil man, but a desperate one – we are all one people, and we must work together in order to save Akvos . . . and that Rift is going to be the end of us all if we do not close it!”

Her message doesn’t seem to be heard by the Queen, though, who is busy attempting to protect her city from being overrun by furious enemies – and so the Princess elects to take matters into her own hands, asking for volunteers from the Circle, to travel with her to the rift, and to assist in attempting to close it with her own power.

Magic? you ask, but Princess Kea quickly shakes her head, and holds up a symbol - -a protective charm, her mother gave her, long ago, to protect her, etched with symbols that Kea says are from the gods. Typically, she wears to ward off darkness, though her mother never specifically told her what. It matters not, now. All that matters is the Rift. “We must close it with the only power we have,” Princess Kea states emphatically. “Your own.”

THE PRINCESS’ PLAN.

Princess Kea has spent quite a lot of time studying the possibilities of escaping Akvos and teleportation magic with her brother (something she says with much truth and honesty), Ka’pouli. Kea discovered that Ka’pouli was imprisoned at the Brig on one of her many visits to the prisoners there, and the two quickly bonded over what they both perceive to be a long-lost familial connection. Ka’pouli informed her that the mermen of Akvos were imprisoned in a pocket dimension eons ago, with powerful magic stolen from the gods. Ka’pouli was born in Akvos of the gods, so he claimed, with a twin sister that he never knew . . . but he was quickly sent to the pocket dimension the moment the Queen discovered what he was. And so, Ka’pouli came to lead his people via what he believed to be his birthright.

However, they are starving there, and Ka’pouli managed to escape with experimental runic magic . . . but it was a one way ticket. He was quickly captured and locked away until the Queen could figure out how to send him back, and Kea and Ka’pouli have been close friends ever since.

Kea doesn’t know much about how the rift works, but she does know that magic alone can destroy it. Destroying it, however, would almost certainly seal the mermen in their pocket dimension for good, and that is something Kea does not want to do. She proposes a rescue mission – enter the rift, escort the mermen (and potential mermaids) out, and close the rift, trapping both species of mermen and mermaids in Akvos to live happily ever after. If it sounds naïve, it absolutely is – Princess Kea seems to be a hopeless optimist, and wants to wish for the best for her people.

So, the plan is two-fold: (1) Rescue the mermen from the pocket dimension and (2) Destroy the rift with magic. Easy, right? Totally.

ALL THE KING’S MEN.

King Ka’pouli’s forces, as mentioned above, are emaciated. However, they are also desperate, which makes them formidable foes at best. They do not seem very willing to listen to the mermaids, but approaching some of them resting on the sidelines, catching their breath after emerging from the rift, will garner some interesting information.

First, they are extraordinarily loyal to King Ka'pouli. They have zero interest in defecting or paying heed to the Queen, but they are underneath strict orders not to harm Princess Kea or anyone Princess Kea deems worthy of saving. Luckily for you all, Princess Kea seems to place her trust in the Circle, so the mermen (who recognize that you work with Kea, anyway) won't be strictly trying to kill you unless you attempt to kill them first.

Second, they have evolved in a peculiar fashion. Many of them have extraordinarily sharp teeth, not unlike a moral eel, and have darker colored scales. They look a lot like the merfolk who live in the Depths -- not vibrantly colored, like the Palace of Wahine's residents, but more like they blend in with dark waters and dark cavernous places. They will tell you that they were banished to a dimension that has no warmth or sunlight, and so they are very used to navigating cold waters. The warmth of Akvos is a little bizarre for them, as a result, and it's taking some getting used to.

Third, they won't make any qualms about telling you their goals. They want to take the Palace for their own, and have Ka'pouli take his place on the throne. Usurping a royal sounds like a pretty big thing for the Circle to do, but the mermen are unequivocal in their demands -- they are tired of living in the depths of the universe. They want the city for their own.

WORLD INTERACTIONS

There will be areas below to ask questions, but here are some general FAQs for what is to come in Phase Three of Akvos:

1.) Your Astoria-granted powers are STILL 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! CLARFIYING POINT: Your canon powers (and any powers ever, really) will work in the Dreamscapes because they technically are not real. The moment you leave the Dreamscape, you are back in reality. The world is truly your oyster once you are in the rift bubbles -- all your old items, powers, etc. are "working" while you are there, but . . . none of it is real, so? Sucks. :(

3.) The groups are voluntary. You may sign up for a specific mission (the Rift or defending the Palace), or you may work on both. There is plenty to do on all ends, and traveling in and out of the rift does not take very long to do, especially if you have the assistance of other members of the Circle or the mermen willing to help you along. The event is going to last for about two weeks, so feel free to split your time evenly.

4.) The shadow creatures are still in existence, but the various issues (ice, algae, and the like) have subsided quite a bit since the emergence of the rift. You can find the shadow creatures 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.) Going through the dimensional rift will have some ill side-effects. Specifically, you may be caught in what is known as a “rift bubble.” You will experience some weird dream-like effects – memories, old enemies come to life, weird rift monsters attempting to eat you. In other words, it’s a potential dreamscape. Multiple people can be trapped into one dreamscape, and it can feel as if you are there for quite some time. For example, you can feel as if you are stuck in a rift bubble for 12 hours, but in reality it is about five minutes. You will be able to break out of it, and continue on to the other side after some struggling.

6.) You may kill the mermen with non-magical items, but the shadow creatures will still require magic/magical items. Have you got knives? Great! Stab away. But the shadow creatures will still require magic, and the mermaids will happily still give you electrified weapons for free to help keep them at bay.

7.) Those that have coins from King Kathashun will notice they are still cold. They will not lead anywhere, and will feel cold as ice.

8.) King Ka’Pouli will be making his way toward the Palace of Wahine. If you showed some amount of sympathy to him, or will show some amount of sympathy to him, he will certainly grant you protection against the shadow creatures . . . i.e., they won’t attack you. Sweet! You just have to . . . side with him? Sounds like a fair price to pay, honestly.

9.) Some worlds fail. This one is not destined to do so one way or the other, but don't get frustrated if you read something and it feels like a lose-lose situation. There are no guarantees in Acatalepsy. You're going to have to work with what you've got.

10.) Sign up below for the three "camps" struggling for the outcome of Akvos. Again, you can participate in all three plots, and you aren't "bound" to one area of Akvos. However, drop a line below to give us an idea on what your character is going to do as a whole so we can determine how Akvos is going to thrive, or fall. :)

10-A.) BIG NOTE: Because we anticipate that quite a few players will want to enter the rift in order to participate in the dreamscape portion of the event, know that we will be reading the sign-up comments to get an idea on what your character is doing before we "tally" those "votes" for the determination of Akvos' fate. Don't worry if your character is "Team Queen!" and wants to jump into the rift for hahas -- you can totally do both.

Good luck, members of the Circle. You're going to need it.

A NOTE FROM THE MODTEAM.

Hi, everyone! A few things of note.

(1) The log for Phase Three (and the end) of Akvos will be posted at 9:00 PM EST on January 4th.

(2) The GAME HMD will be posted on January 18th, 2019 – the same day as the EMP/ATP Meme.

(3) The modteam, after considering the ideas/feedback about the HMD, will have it be anon enabled and screened. We don’t really have a lot of concern about people abusing the anon system in this game, but players did offer the idea as a way to “screen” anon comments before they are posted to weed out any potential troublemakers. Again, we don’t really see this being a concern – and if there are no troublemakers, then we’ll do away with the screening altogether! All criticism will be unscreened and made available to the public, though, and you are free to comment un-anon as well. :) We are not getting rid of our mod contact post, which will remain screened and constantly available to players, as it has been since day one.

(4) The Circle will be back in the Temple, ICly, on January 18th. On January 18th, there will be an Astoria NPC post to advance the next chapter of Acatalepsy. We are going to limit player comments like we did the last time there was an Astoria NPC post, to make it manageable, and we will have an OOC post detailing that in the new year to keep it fresh in your minds. More on that later -- but just to keep it on your radar. :)

(5) Applications for helper mods will not be accepted after January 7th. We will make announcements on January 8th. We have received more than enough applications to fill out four slots, but we will not make any final decisions until that time, so feel free to throw your hat in if you feel like doing so! :)

(6) Finally, we just wanted to say thank you all for a six months of amazing RP in Acatalepsy. The game has hit a rough patch with our plot mechanic experiment and trying out some new stuff that was clearly not very popular. However, we want to learn from these mistakes, and we have some exciting things planned for 2019, including a restructuring of our modteam and taking in your feedback for the Game HMD to make the world interactions mechanics a lot more fun for you all to play off of. This game has been a huge undertaking and it definitely has not been perfect, and we want to make it better. Thanks for everyone who has come forward to try and make that happen (whether it be in the form of criticism, offering us ideas privately, or offering to help helper mod). We truly believe we have the best playerbase in DWRP and we feel really lucky to have the opportunity to run something like this, bumps in the road and all.

Enjoy the end of Akvos, and here’s to the next adventure! Happy New Year, Acatalepsy. :)

OOC POST for PHASE THREE of AKVOS.

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