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

[defenceless]

[it grabs her attention, all right. her head whips up, and upon seeing him, relief instantly channels through her. maybe it's his turn to pay her back, with the healing magic and everything. but, being rin, she can't allow him to catch that relief, so instead she sort of scowls at him while he runs up.

she's glad you're happy, ashraf.]

It's more like I need an arm. —Preferably to keep this one. It's important. If I lose it...

[she shivers and hunches up her shoulders.]

... it won't be pretty, for a while.

[healplz]

[ He waves the concern off with a chuckle, and then a second wave speeds his steps magically to finish the second half of the trip over a little quicker. ]

You won't be losing anything, I promise.

[ It's showing off again when he comes to a stop in front of her, he could have cast this from at least fifteen feet back. But here he is, taking the time to stand up straight and tidy the set of his robes.

Only then does he wave his hand a third time, and a soothing green light suffuses Rin, shining upward from feet to head. It mends damage as it goes, nearly instantly knitting together flesh and muscle and whatever else needs mending, great or small. As the light fades out again he considers her with a hand at his chin, to asses whether he'd gotten all of the damage. ]

What do you think? One more?

[defenceless]

[she's glad you're happy and willing to show off, ashraf.

the magical theater tricks don't amuse rin much, but she supposes they're half-functional to speed his approach to her, and she can forgive it. she fights down an urge to be impatient as she politely holds her ground. she should stand still for his healing magic, she doesn't know what to expect.

the surrounding green light eases over her like a smooth rush of wind, and she's amazed—her body is responding to the restorative effects, muting even small wounds. her injured arm stitches itself together quickly, the edges of the mark of her crest connecting once again.

no way.]

I'm fine. How did you...?

[healplz]

[ How strikes him as a silly question with an obvious answer — Rin should know that, there's a spell for everything. He waves the question off. ]

I think I can do you better than fine.

[ He's still not over having his magic back again, time to show off just a little more. He begins to cast more rapidfire, using both hands, waving through the air like a maestro dictating the music. Various glows shimmer through the air around Rin, each fading out shortly after he brings it to life, but each adding one more layer of magic to her. He's smiling a little, and looks just shy of smug when he finally drops his hands again. ]

There, how's that feel?

[ She should feel basically invincible. He's woven spells to strengthen her magic, spells to quicken the flow of it, spells to form a solid, invisible barrier around her, spells to rejuvenate expended energy more quickly... even a spell to make her luck run good, although he doubts she'd have much use for it now. Can't hurt to add it in, though. None of it will last for long, five minutes at most, but altogether it's quite an assortment. ]