epidemiology | EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

With the storm gone, the water surrounding Komo has calmed considerably. Much of the affected area is in ruins, but thanks to ALASTAIR, a large contingent of Komo survived the disaster. However, with parts of Komo uninhabitable, they need to be able to reach Nalawi’s other islands. With their technology so limited due to dependence on their Gifts, it’s all they can do to build a few tiny, shoddy canoes, powered solely by elbow grease. They only fit two regular-sized people (but four Nalawi), and the wait time is long, but they do the trick. If you aren't willing to wait, you can always try to get creative.

Strangely, though, anyone trying to use their magic to cross the waters will find that their powers are beginning to dampen. Similarly, anyone with superhuman abilities at all will find them waning, albeit at different rates. Those without any special powers at all will be completely unaffected.

But that's nothing to worry about, right? It’s time to see the rest of Nalawi.

PU’ULAI

PU’ULAI is the centermost island of the archipelago and by far the largest. Most of the travel between islands is to and from Pu’ulai, as it’s the cultural hub of Nalawi and the location of Nalanni’s largest temple. It’s very populated during the day, but isn’t a residential area and clears out once the sun goes down.

The first thing you'll notice is that the deer hate cats. The citizens of Komo are far more likely to let it go, but if you have anything slightly cat-looking with you here, at best, you'll be yelled at. Some Nalawi try to start fights, and no one but Komoans will allow cats anywhere near their homes or inns. Recruits might notice children running away from cats, screaming, "Dakal!"

THE TEMPLE, referred to as Nalanni’s Garden, is closest to the Nalalona volcano on a neighboring island. The regular ash from it was viewed as a good omen from Nalanni, who’s rumored to live within the volcano, but it’s been months since anyone has seen any activity from it. The temple is dark as obsidian, which is coincidentally what it’s made of. There’s a copious amount of brightly colored flowers around the temple, hence the name. The gardens are free for anyone to walk through, as is the temple. One image is constant throughout the temple: an inhumanly large, vaguely feminine being made in stone and fire, a walking volcano. It would be easy for such a woman to look frightening, but she looks welcoming and caring, arms outstretched to embrace her children.

Inside the temple are more murals of Nalanni, but also some curiously unrelated to her. They depict the Nalawi fighting against large, predatory cat-creatures, finally culminating in their enemies attacking Nalalona. This is when Nalanni reappears, striking them down. The temple is tended to by several Nalawi of varying ages, all very welcoming to strangers, especially those they’ve heard heroic tales of. News traveled fast once the Komo villagers crossed the waters and spread the news of their timely rescuers. There are plenty of Nalawi in the temple, making offerings and asking Nalanni to return to them -- some are hopeful, but others appear desolate.

CITY HALL is where the ten members of the Council convene. No one is allowed in, as they’ve been discussing the changing state of Nalawi nonstop for days. There’s a group gathered around the hall each day, hoping their leaders will emerge and announce their plans, but nothing has happened yet. It’s a good chance to sit around and listen, though -- you’ll quickly find out that Nalawi is a meritocracy; the Council have the strongest Gifts of anyone in Nalawi, determined by a nationwide competition to prove their worth every time a seat opens. Some of the more disgruntled deer whisper that some must have lost their powers by now and no longer deserve to sit on the Council.

A few arguments are beginning to break out around the city hall, and even a few scuffles. Luckily, their weakened powers have also dampened the damage they’re able to deal, and no one has been injured too badly. Just try to be respectful -- otherwise, you might upset the wrong person. Those hooves can hurt.

ELSEWHERE, there's a marketplace where traditional Nalawi clothing can be bought, among other things, inactive spas shut down due to dormant volcanoes, and maybe -- if you’re very lucky -- you’ll stumble upon a ferry that still works. It’s unlikely, though, and haggling with its owner will be difficult. You could always steal it, but you wouldn’t do that, would you?

You can always explore the SURROUNDING ISLANDS, which are mostly residential areas, similar in theme to the parts of Komo that haven't been destroyed.

Oh, and if you're disrespectful to the islanders or were at any point rude to the people in Komo, you might wake up to find a bunch of tiny, adorable Nalawi around your bed, swinging around bars of soap in socks. Don't worry, they won't actually do anything but threaten you for a minute before storming out. ...Yet. The moral of the story is 'don't mess with the Nalawi.'

OOC INFO

The entire map of Nalawi is now available to characters. Updated location information can be found here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He'll take a leaf from her book and ignore that bullshit (if fair) fingerpointing to see how this philosophy works out.]

If I decide on a repeat performance, you'll be the first to know.

[He's not really planning on it. Once was more than enough. But he's less sure about letting the mystery of the ghost deer lie. Straight up ignoring things because they're inconvenient just isn't in his nature. And there's clearly something going on out there.]

Oh, yeah, great, so you can flip out on me again when I try to rescue you?

[ She snorts derisively, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. It definitely would've hurt a lot pre-powers, but whatever, that's the kind of thing she doesn't have to worry about anymore. ]

You make a shitty damsel in distress, by the way.

[It's a possibility.]

I try not to make it a habit.

[Forgot to pack his damseling dress, you know. But she's got a point. This is probably the part where he's supposed to remember to apologize for that.]

Didn't leave a mark, did I?

[Hard to tell with superpowers.]

Don't worry, you couldn't if you tried.

[ There's definitely a note of pride in that. Her powers are more than just her usual self-aggrandizing and bragging, there's a lot of self-worth tied up in them too. She gives his arm a pat. ]

Nice of you to care, though. I guess it's the least you can do after you ruined my short-lived heroic career.

[Kind of figured, from the feel of it. He'll take that reassurance with a grain of salt, because even Superman's got a weakness somewhere. Good to have a ballpark for future reference, if nothing else. He catches the note of pride, contrasts it with her short lived heroic career.]

Not gonna dedicate your life to using your superpowers for good?

[Seems to be the general course of action. The cape and cowl game's not all it's cracked up to be, anyway.]

[ Not that she's thought about this part that much, but she's pretty sure that would make her a superhero, and also pretty sure the opposite side of that looks way more fun. She laughs. ]

Hell no, who has time?

[ Not that she wouldn't, you know, lend a superpowered hand if she saw someone she liked (or who just looked like they weren't a shitty person) in trouble, but that's totally different. And not worth mentioning, besides. ]

[More than you'd think, really. Dryly, as he squints through the foliage to try and catch a glimpse of the moon and figure out which direction they're walking in—]

You'd be surprised.

[Mostly just involves a whole lot of time management and very little sleep. And, y'know, the utter sacrifice of both your leisure time and your social life. But since he's actually not looking to talk about that—]

Do I get to ask what the deal is? Lab accident? Power ring? Or is this a hot alien thing.

[His whole frame of reference for her particular earth—hot aliens and space Italian.]

[ what the hell is a power ring. She considers it for a few seconds, then decides she doesn`t care much. More importantly, there`s probably no harm in telling him. The details skirt personal territory, but aren`t that personal in and of themselves. ]

Sure, you can ask, but if you tell anyone I toss you off a cliff. [ Yeah, right, like she`d share sensitive information in the first place. ] Kinda just grew into them, I guess. Noticed one day I wasn`t getting hurt so easy. Maybe they were genetic.

[Eh, he'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen.]

Don't have any Amazonian in you, do you?

[This probably isn't actually a serious question. He can read between the lines here and assume that confirming the genetic factor with her family likely isn't an option, remembers the slight stumble in her answer when he asked what she was doing on earth. He skips past it before she can assume he's actually expecting a real answer.]

Hell of a thing to grow into. I won't tell, if it'll make you feel better. Most of the cliffs around here either involve volcanoes or sharks, and I'm pretty sure I'm past the age of spontaneously generating invulnerability.

[ Amazonian? There's a blank look lost to the darkness. That was probably a joke, or something. She hates not getting jokes, so she ignores it. ]

You never know. And what's a better way to find out than test it with a nice cliff, right?

[ She leans forward, slowing down to squint off to their left. A point follows it pretty shortly, maybe faintly visible, considering: ] Hey, does that look like fire light to you?

[No cliff is a nice cliff when you're getting thrown off the edge. Jason slows down with her to squint out at the darkness, catching the faint flickering easily once he follows her gesture. Something in the distance, for sure. Bingo.

He lowers his voice. It's quiet at night, and the wind carries, and there isn't usually much of a downside to keeping the element of surprise.]

Sure looks like something.

[Which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending. Even if it isn't deer-civilization up there, he's almost sure they haven't wandered in a circle right back onto the Dead Walk. (But only almost.) He's not keen on getting freeze framed again. Shifting in the right direction, he picks through the undergrowth a little more quietly, tugging her along to follow his lead. Working in low light's something of an old habit, but he doesn't usually have to worry about losing his company if he goes ahead.]

You wanna go say hello?

[He apparently intends to, either way. He could go on ahead anyway—he'll get there faster and quieter and find out what they're dealing with sooner, and the what probably wouldn't even know he was there until he wanted them to. But a few major cons—he'll have to leave Ramir out here in the dark and then find her again afterward. And if those are more spooks out there, they'll be back at square one.]

EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

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oh look at this great icon I just found

shit that makes such a cute icon, I'm so proud

as you should be!!!

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