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

[futurologists]

[It's hard to make out her facial expressions through the fire, but it looks like she ducks her head and chuckles softly at Jason's words. It isn't dismissive, but she laughs because of the ridiculousness of the situation. He is here to end her life, yet he's the one wary of her.]

I can sense your discomfort. I assure you, there's no need.

[She turns to Ramir.]

I do. I understand what must be done. For my children. [A pause.] I only ask that you ensure they can go on without me.

[gutpunching]

[This is what happens when they leave Responsible Adult Riza Hawkeye outside and let him do the talking. His caution is funny to Nalanni in context, but in the absence of (and the face of) superpowers or magic, a healthy sense of paranoia is what keeps you kicking in his line of work. The bottom line is that he's just got a pretty low opinion of her. Enough that his lip curls when she asks after the safety of her children. That's cute.]

I dunno, we could just wipe 'em all out instead. Save us all the trouble. [So much for not antagonizing, Ramir's exasperated looks roll right off his shoulders. As pointed as this suggestion is, it's clearly made just to get her dander up. Even if Jason's no saint, he only believes in putting a bullet where it's been earned. The deer people—most of them, the ones that weren't drowning their neighbors in their own eyeballs a few days ago—don't deserve that. But Nalanni?] 'Course, it takes a certain kind of monster to do a thing like that, don't you think?

[Genocide. After all, she'd know. The situation has gone and made a martyr out of a murderer, but that sure as hell doesn't wipe her hands clean. He swings the Dakal shotgun down over his shoulder and into hand—the same kind of tech found scattered around the island, which seems fitting enough—though he doesn't immediately raise it.]

You can play martyr all you want, sugar, but I think we both know you deserved this a long time ago.

[strictdiscipline]

[Hey now, just because she's outside doesn't mean her ears have suddenly stopped functioning. The conversation isn't exactly being held at high volumes, but the cavern's just big enough that it echoes slightly, carries through and out into the hallway just enough. And while Riza had certainly expected some form of dissent during this whole affair, she hadn't expected the majority of it to come from Jason.

Regardless of whether Jason has any real intent behind his threat or not, Riza steps in, both literally and figuratively, raised voice cutting through the air.]

We won't wipe them out.

[It's directed towards both Jason and Nalanni, with different intents to each. There's no forgiving what the goddess has done, but there's also no need to punish the Nalawi for her crimes either. (And she's spilled enough blood with her own hands to last multiple lifetimes.) Speaking of spilled blood—]

Why did you kill all the Dakal?

[To say she expects any sort of answer other than because they attacked me or because I could would be a lie, but a part of her needs to ask all the same, hopes against better judgement all the same.]

[futurologists]

[It's difficult to get much of a reaction out of Nalanni. She is a goddess, after all, and has a different view of the world. Human morality and goddess morality are two very different things. However, at the suggestion of wiping out the Nalawi, she bristles, flames burning brighter. It's only when Riza assures her they won't that she settles down.

In response to the question, she looks at Riza almost quizzically.]

What would you do if your children were threatened?

[To Nalanni, it seems a normal response for a mother to protect her children, no matter the costs. The Dakal had to be taken care of. If she had left some alive, they would have come back stronger and more determined to hurt the Nalawi. Which lives are more important, those of the Dakal or the Nalawi? She made her choice.]

They threatened me and they killed my children. That is why I did it.

[gutpunching]

[It's gratifying to get a reaction. That's really what he's best at. He'd pushed for it, aimed for that sweet spot, the cheap and dirty target, because the placid looks and the tepid reactions don't do anything but piss him off.]

Shut up.

[Not that gratification is necessarily a good thing, it just burns under his breath,, feeding his anger like an ember. If Riza's expecting the reasoning behind the genocide to calm him down, she'll be sorely disappointed. He's always been quicker to jump to anger in defense of the powerless, the overlooked, not necessarily the big picture.]

Y'know, I really don't know what's worse. That you like to call it justified, or that you really believe it.

[Slaughter a bunch of civilians, children, down to the very last. Call it necessary, call it justice. That's a damn war crime at its worst. Scorching the earth like the fire she's apparently made of. Calling her a god doesn't make it any different. He exhales sharply.]

Looks like you racked yourself up some bad karma in the end. Guess what goes around really comes around. [Now who's killing her children? If they're supposed to believe the higher ups, Nalanni's very existence is going to wipe out her people. So really, they all want the same thing in the end, how convenient.] I left my fire extinguisher at home, but I have a feeling we can work something else out.

[heavyhitter]

[ Jason has always seemed pretty laid back to her, unconcerned and rational. She'd gotten used to it. But apparently all it took was the right topic, he's got plenty of passion after all. Ramir watches him mostly sidelong, her attention more on Jason than the goddess.

Maybe Pomarr picked him better than she'd first figured. ]

The Nalawi are gonna be fine. [ It's out low, a quick mumble, and she's not sure if she's saying it for Nalanni, or to remind herself about what they're here for. Her attention turns back onto Nalanni as she speaks a little louder again. ] We're gonna make sure of that, before we go. They didn't do anything worth dying for.

[ god jason please shoot this flaming lady already, put her out of her misery before you get any more pissed ]

[futurologists]

[Nalanni stands and looks Jason in the eye. She's apathetic to his disapproval, dismissing it as a human having a narrowed view of the world. She still finds herself frustrated with his disrespect and threats towards the Nalawi, though, and it shows.]

If there's more you'd like to say, you may say it. But the Dakal are gone, and no amount of words will bring them back. Focus on helping those left: my people.

[She looks at Ramir and Riza, hopeful they'll be more receptive.]

They will need it.