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

[There's nothing that Lessa hasn't learned if not to study the work of those left before them to gain guiding clues to future actions. F'lar had staked his entire claim on it, Lessa had eventually staked her and her dragon's very lives upon it. It helped that they had both, in their ways, managed to create a paradox between their previous and future actions, therefore sealing their own fates... but if ALASTAIR was meant to repair timelines, then technically Lessa and everybody else on the team was meant to be here, had been here already, would be here again.

It was all very mind-boggling, after a fashion. If Luke is to find a very small woman sitting on a wide bench under a wildly flowering lattice, staring up at a hanging of vividly detailed Dakal flinging spears at a volcano goddess like she's studying for the sake of her life, it's only that Lessa's trying to pick up tiny details. What kind of patterns are on the fur of these horrible cat-things? What is Nalani wearing? What season does it appear to be when this massacre goes down?

While she sits, arms folded over her knees, Ramoth turns her wedge-shaped head to idly follow the farmboy along his trajectory, eyes half-closed in the heat. The gold dragon is only the size of a large dog thanks to ALASTAIR's restrictions, and her psychic connection to Lessa has begun to wane ever since they attempted to jump between Komo and Pu’ulai, but that doesn't mean that a creature genetically bred to be sensitive to psychic vibrations isn't going to be aware of those who are similarly sensitive.

It's outrageous for a dragon to speak to anyone other than her rider, and in any other circumstance, Ramoth would not have bothered. While her rider is capable of hearing all dragons, Ramoth has never attempted to hear all humans... but circumstances are rather dire.]

You there, come over here.

[Her psychic voice is much like Lessa's, but stripped of any and all concern for past or future. Thus in the moment, Ramoth is Queen of all she surveys, and that happens to include one bedraggled human who actually seems capable of listening to a creature like her.]

[ It likely says something about Luke's experiences lately that hearing a disembodied voice in his head doesn't immediately lead him to think that he's going crazy. Instead, the shock comes not at the command itself, but from the fact that it comes from a voice he does not already know. Infrequent as they may be, he's still used to Ben's brief warnings or flashes of advice. This very imperious, very female voice is something else entirely and it's enough to pull him out of his reverie with a jolt. ]

Me?

[ As soon as the question is out Luke's already well aware of how stupid it sounds. But what else is he supposed to do? It's too late to try to cover it up now and spinning around in a confused circle to search his surroundings while talking to thin air probably isn't going to win him any extra points when it comes to perceived sanity or coolness. He can't just ignore a voice like that. At least the woman and the lizard (her pet?) don't seem to be paying much attention to him. ]

Who said that? Where are you? I can't come over there if I don't know where you are.

Edited 2016-04-14 04:06 (UTC)

[Lessa is shaken from her research by the young man stumbling around the garden in their direction. She heard nothing, but her link with Ramoth has not been fading evenly, it's been dropping in and out in spurts.]

Can I help you? Are you lost?

[The voice sounds identical to the one that had tried to fetch his attention to begin with, though out loud it holds a slightly more solid timbre.

Ramoth, in the meantime, adds her two cents]

Come over here, scratch my eyeridge. It itches abominably.

[If Lessa knew that her bond was going traitor behind her psionic back, she'd be livid. She probably will be livid, but for now she's mildly irritated with distraction, faintly concerned for Luke's sanity.]

Edited (html error!) 2016-04-14 04:08 (UTC)

Not really. Least, I don't think so. I--

Scratch your eyeridge?

[ Luke frowns, halting his vague search for the hidden speaker to face Lessa when she addresses him. He's getting more confused by the moment and it shows. Both the woman and the voice sound alike, but they can't possibly be the same. Not unless she's just trying to have a laugh at his expense.

He doesn't have much room to judge when it comes to practical jokes (according to Han his sense of humor is about as funny and tasteful as a Hutt in a dress, though clearly that's just jealousy talking), but it's far from a successful one in his opinion. ]

All right. What's going on? Seriously.

Edited (i actually woke up to edit. it's a sickness. ) 2016-04-14 06:39 (UTC)

Or tell her to scratch my eyeridge, [Ramoth raises her head to regard Luke, eyes swirling a hypnotic mixture of green and orange.

Lessa, meanwhile, has risen sharply from her bench to regard the young man, little hands drawn into fists.]

Are you hearing things? Voices?!

[Her own eyes are dancing, but whether it's with excitement or fury is hard to tell; possibly it's sudden desperation. She's no dull glow; there's only one kind of creature that demands scritches in that particular way, and Ramoth's been all but static to her. It's enough to put any and all thought about the war between the Nalawi and Dakal out of her mind.]

[ As soon as she rises, Luke begins instinctively takes a step back. If experience (Leia) has taught him one thing it's that one angry woman can make your life a galaxy of trouble, no matter how small she might be.

He also knows that there's no point in lying. Women always figure out the truth. Always. Better to get it over with now even if it makes things temporarily worse. ]

Yes. I think it's her. [ He points to the dragon in some attempt to be helpful. ] Uh... Or you could scratch her eyeridge instead?

EVENT ★ EXPLORATION

A~

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the cure is me tagging u before more edits can happen

i thought the cure was more cowbell, but idk that works too