EVENT ★ POKAREKARE ANA

[futurologists]

NALANNI Now as weak as any mortal, Nalanni only needs one person to dispatch her. Though Jason has been selected for the sad deed, it would be smart not to let him go it alone. Once Nalanni ceases to be, the ground quakes and roils. The planet's rock and earth can feel the loss of its mother, and with Ryba still living, the power imbalance throws the world into turmoil. Monsters stream forth from the cave Nalanni had been held on the risen Dakal island. But unlike before, when Pomarr blew through the side of Nalalona and left lava creatures in her wake, these monsters are made of stone. And they are gigantic. Ranging from five to nine meters (roughly 16-30 feet), the stone golems are slow-moving but powerful, capable of crushing anything in their path with their feet or powerful fists. The golems cannot be spoken to or reasoned with; all they feel is the loss of their mother and the vacuum of power she has left behind. Their mindless anger makes them easily distracted, so teamwork is the best way to keep them at bay. Roughly formed of rock and hardened mud, they are weak to water. Luckily, halfway through the day, a light rain begins to fall. The golems will continue to come forth from the earth until Ryba is defeated. Upon her death, they will simply collapse into inert piles of stone. RYBA THE DEVOURING ONE Pomarr stays true to her word and draws the sea goddess to the shore of the deserted island that once housed the Dakal. Without comment, Pomarr turns and steps into an ALASTAIR rift, leaving your team to its business. Ryba is impossibly large, a mass of twisting, searching tentacles with no discernible body. She is especially weak to electrical attacks, but can otherwise be defeated by simply wearing her down with brute force. Now that you've got your collective powers back, it should be a piece of cake. Right? ATTACKS: TENTACLES. Ryba's initial attack is waving her massive, numerous tentacles around to try and keep combatants at bay. Despite their size, they are surprisingly quick -- capable of snapping at anyone who dares get too close, whiplike, or simply crushing those who stay still for too long. Her tentacles are seemingly endless, impossible to count, and move about in a nearly hypnotic way. THE STORM. After enough damage has been dealt, Ryba will grow more desperate and begin to use her connections to the sea itself. Though the battle is near the shore, sudden winds whip at the recruits, pulling them away from the shallows. Drowning becomes a real danger: the waves are high and fast, and intensely swirling waterspouts crisscross with intent to sweep recruits up, scrambling them. SHARKNADO. Ryba's last-ditch effort calls upon the creatures of the sea as well as the wind and waves. She creates a swirling vortex with her massive body in the center in attempts to shield herself from attacks. But that's not all -- spinning around her at high speeds with the vortex are sharks. A lot of sharks. And they are all angry. If characters attempt to speak with Ryba through the battle, she will respond in a calm, dark voice throughout: she has nothing to say to the invaders who would dare take her from the peace of her trench, except that they must destroy her or she will kill them all herself, before the world crumbles to nothing. Once Ryba is defeated, her massive body will simply cease moving. Goddess or not, it seems her form is as physical as any other creature of the sea. ISLANDERS During the day-long battle, characters who choose not to fight are advised to stay behind with the Nalawi to keep them safe. Though the battle rages far to the west, on the once-sunken island of the Dakal, the storms may travel to the westernmost edges of the Nalawi islands. Recruits may attempt to temporarily evacuate the westernmost Nalawi, though there may be considerable resistance. After the battle, the Nalawi can instantly tell that their goddess is gone for good. Where there was once confusion and desperation in the face of Nalanni's disappearance, there is now only sorrow and directionlessness. All recruits are invited to return to Komo, the first island at the start of the mission, for a somber memorial for Nalanni: the Nalawi don't blame the recruits for what has happened, and only expect them to join in their grief. For the rest of the time on Nalawi, characters may spend their time as they wish. The locals will need help learning how to cope without their Gifts and how to live without the goddess on whom they had come to rely. They will need help learning all sorts of trades, from fishing to pottery to plumbing, so characters who have knowledge in the mundane will have their time to shine. But the Timeline is always in need of tending, so recruits can't stay here forever. Say your goodbyes, because soon a rift will open and you'll be headed back to Oska. OOC INFO Mods will not be NPCing the Ryba encounter, so you are free to NPC her attacks yourself. Please remember that defeating her is a group effort; no one person will have the "killing blow." The battle against Ryba will take one full day. After she is defeated, recruits will have 13 days to say goodbye to the Nalawi before departing for Oska. If characters wish to temporarily stay behind in Nalawi, see here for details.

Comments

i.

[apoptotic]

[ anakin knows when it happened. the vacuum left behind opens hollowly in his exponentiating awareness. he’s aware of it. it should be neither surprise or pleasure, yet it is both as the force is finally, finally freed. no longer a melancholy shade compounding a sense of malaise—

anakin reaches into the force and he can feel the blooming battle as if it were occurring inside his head.

the robe has been cast aside. he wants nothing to hamper his movement. the blade in his hand is its own source of light, a twin to one other. against the golems, speed is on his side, as is the force. the ground trembles under a massive fist, but anakin has already leapt. a blue arc severs hand from arm. the remnants of the joint burn molten orange. the head is to follow.

all things considered, things are going well. ( somewhere, obi-wan kenobi disapproves heavily. )

then the golem is whipped out from underneath him and anakin must jump back to the ground. ]

I had that one!

[ U WANNA GO M8 ]

[respired]

And now I have it.

[ Koltira drives Byfrost's blade into the severed joint left by the cauterizing heat of Anakin's lightsaber. His own weapon burns cold, and magic flows from its runes, spreading rapidly throughout the golem's body. Ice crystals form and cluster over the rocks, crackling as they reach for each other, as they connect into one sparkling, crystalline coat. The ice locks the golem into place, preventing it from counterattacking. ]

Take your swing, if you must have the kill.

[apoptotic]

[ are you calling him five? because you would be right. anakin asks as much with a tip of his head, eyebrows lifted. ]

And take the pleasure away from you?

[ read: fun's gone when the golem is all iced up. speaking of ice, it is that which has his attention. koltira may draw others' eyes, but he's no less strange than some of the species of the galaxy. his abilities, however… ]

What else can you do with that ice?

[respired]

It is no pleasure for me.

[ Which is true: the golem can't scream, doesn't feel pain. He ain't gettin' shit out of this experience. But in answer to Anakin's question, he slams Byfrost into the frozen joint of the golem's arm, shattering it, causing the great limb to fall off entirely. The arm crashes to the earth and bursts into so many ice shards. ]

That, for one.

[ But the rest of the ice is fading, fast. The golem makes a grinding, angry sound. It lifts its other arm, preparing to swing. ]

[apoptotic]

[ the arm stops. shuddering in the air, as if having struck some great obstacle yet there is nothing to be seen around it. the golem tries to push it forward to no avail.

arm outstretched, anakin struggles to hold the golem in place. it is massive, and it is strong. but anakin's will is stronger and his thought becomes action through the force. a crooked grin flashes across his face. ]

Your turn.

[respired]

[ The mages of Azeroth are easily capable of such telekinesis, though Anakin does not strike Koltira as any sort of mage. He hardly has time to dwell on it, though. The golem is still very present, and still mostly intact, besides. He runs forward, jumps with liquid agility, and cleanly slices the now-weakened golem in half. His sword burns with plague energy; with magic made to rot and decay. Even rock erodes into nothing, given time. Koltira's plague only speeds this process.

The golem collapses into rubble.

Koltira turns to stare at Anakin. ]

A useful skill.

[apoptotic]

I can say the same of you.

[ no, really. he'd pay to see the effect of that skill on droids. if he had any money, which he doesn't because jedi but.

anakin lifts his chin. the rumbling comes next, another tremor, and another creature forming from the earth. ]

Got another one. [ much concern, wow. ] Yours or mine?

[respired]

I am a man of honor.

[ Meaning, if Anakin felt that Koltira had wrongly snatched his previous kill, then Koltira is glad to cede ground this time. He gestures to the rapidly assembling pile of angry rock. ]

Take it.