epidemiology | PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION.

It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months.

Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775:

Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around.

It's time to get to work.

OBSERVATION.

Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right?

Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up.

People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height.

82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough.

[ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow, good for you!

[Sarcasm tinges every word from his mouth, and he doesn't even look back at him as he makes quick work on unlacing his other boot.]

What's next, are you going to write a book on it?

[It was to be expected--though, Shiki simply hunched his shoulders when he saw Keats empty his boots.]

Are you serious? Do you even know how to lace your boots?

[He looks up and gives Shiki the most deadpan of looks.]

Clearly I do, because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to wear them in the first place.

Do you, really? Because, it looks like you've worn them like sinking ships.

[The deadpan look was returned with the same sort of glasses flash.

Peace would never be bridged between these two jerks.]

[The eternal jerk war....nobody wins.]

It's like you've never known I wore them up to this point. Perhaps you need to have your eyes checked, hm? Maybe your glasses aren't helping as well as you think they are.

The insides of my boots?

[Shiki raised one foot and slammed it down on the log they were near.]

Bone dry.

[Keats looks about as impressed as a blind man being shown a picture of the sun.]

...Good for you?

Hmph. [Keats and Shiki could put each other off all day, but what truly spiced up their relationship had been new forms of spite.]

Anyway, shouldn't you hide a bit from the rain? I've heard water dissolves witches.

Sorry to say, doesn't look like I'm melting. [He grins wide, almost looking on the verge of a laugh.]

Maybe you should burn me at the stake, just to make sure.

That would just be inconvenient. [Finding his undershirt--fortunately, a bit dryer than the rest of him, Shiki took off his glasses and narrowed his eyes to dry them.

Though he lowered his eyes intentionally--there might have still been a bit of a twinkle in his irises from the glow that came up in his eyes when the glasses came off.

When he shoved them back on, the glow was gone.]

We'd have to wait a long while for dry tinder in a storm like this.

Tsk, tsk, you're that lazy? Pity. The rain shouldn't stop you.

[He does take notice of that strange, momentary glow, but the feeling he has is not exactly curious - there's a slight uncomfortable twinge at the back of his mind, mostly because, somehow, it reminds him of what happens to his own eyes when he uses his powers.]

[He turns away, reaching up a hand to scratch the back of his neck.]

Besides, I would've liked to write about the thrilling adventures about me escaping an ill-thought witch hunt.

[The thought of Keats finding even a slight amount of satisfaction in that didn't feel as surprising as it should have. Shiki seemed to believe him when he said it would be thrilling--but, for whom?]

You've a colorful imagination, sir. Though, I wonder if it would even be practical to attempt a witch-hunt in a country where goblins can freely use magic?

Magic?

[Don't mind him just letting out a laugh at that.]

Don't make me laugh. [YOU JUST DID, KEATS?] What, you call their parlor tricks and such "magic"?

[Did Keats just--]

You know--there's a real difference between a card trick and blocking out the sun, right?

Tell me you don't seriously believe they just somehow blocked out the sun through impossible means. [He's staring at Shiki like he's crazy.] Nobody can wave a wand and magically make an entire star disappear. For one, if they did, we'd be dead right now. Logically, it doesn't make sense.

A journalist should be more open-minded than flat-out thinking it would work like that.

But, then, I've already gotten a bit of an explanation for that. My findings tonight show that the sun is breaking through a little--enough for some heat to pass through. So, that magic can't be strong enough to block it absolutely.

[He added--]

Besides. For all we know, this is the only kingdom that's been blocked out. If we could leave this country and the sun were still blocked out--that would be something else.

People should be more realistic than flat-out thinking that things work against natural logic.

[He says, a little curtly.]

Has anyone verified that? The whole "this place is the only one affected" theory, I mean.

People discover all kinds of new laws in science all the time. [Shiki reached up to fix his glasses, compensating for the sweat that had plagued him before.]

No one's verified it, but there's a boundary around this place. [It was likely ALASTAIR's, but it wasn't as if Shiki knew about how those things worked

He could just tell Keats that he could see the lines of death in the sky, but then--he didn't want to tell anyone he could see them anywhere.]

Think about it--the darkness isn't EVERYWHERE in Chantes, right? Otherwise--even if we had lanterns, we wouldn't be able to see.

PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

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