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

[selfimage]

[ Loki carries herself like Loki: the same dangerous smile that looked as if every thought that passed through her mind was the beginnings of a nefarious scheme, the same casual arrogance that gave levity to the more dire of consequences, and the careless gestures that she used for dismissal. she was, in essence, very much herself; or, in some ways, back to herself once again.

there's an ease where the tension had been, as in recovery of the punchline of some horrible joke, now left as words in the wind. there was more of a difference between Loki as a human and a god, than between Loki as a man and as a woman.

she watches Dany's face, the bold stare to the unsure questions. mortal perspectives were always funny that way: they always came from a place of what could be related to, trying to parse it out to explain the divine.

the hair she was playing with gets tossed over her shoulder. ]

When I feel like it. Ah—it's like I said: I am myself. First, last and always. Whatever I am, that's me. [ count yourself lucky, Dany, she's not usually so patient. ] The lines between the two aren't so rigid as certain social structures would like you to believe. There are expectations, hm, aren't there? Sometimes people use them when they want power. For mortals, I suppose, and in Asgardia. Though upon the throne when I left there were the All-Mothers. My father had just returned, and despite all that, I'm sure he'll be loud and unreasonable until he has it back.

[ her stature has the same slight curve in the hip, small shoulders and long limbs. she's made for sneaking, cat-like and limber. her lips quirk, and there's a crack of an amused grin. she's very happy to be herself again. ]

Mom and dad fight a lot. [ though the prospect hardly seems to bother her. ]

[conqueress]

Gods linger long enough for all manner of quarrels, it would seem. [ Dany sighs, her uncertainty soothed by the prospect of a queen--queens--sitting upon a throne and being reluctant to return it to the king. ] I shouldn't like to take a usurper for a husband, but I suppose all queens must marry.

[ It is part tease, part wryness for the memory of what awaits her in Meereen. Perhaps, if the world were different, a queen would be enough.

She may not understand, ever, precisely what Loki means. Perhaps that is a consequence of being a mortal, or perhaps it is the fact that she herself has long struggled to reconcile herself. The prospect of being always herself is strange to her, when she is only now beginning to favor what she wishes to be over what she still feels she should be. There is still some part of herself that seems to exist outside of her skin, something to be pushed aside or brought back in at will.

Or perhaps she has already been too many things, all of them at war with each other.

What she can understand is how relieved Loki is to be a god again. The same wickedly pleased look is present on her face, only softer. That makes Dany smile, and suddenly, the transition is almost seamless to her. ]

I do not care which parts you wear, [ the queen tells the god, deciding. Let Loki shift into a fox, if that is what she wishes. ] First, last, always--be what you are. It pleases me to see you happy again. [ For a moment, she forgets the gold earring she carries, and it slips out of her palm and tumbles to the grass as she closes the distance between them, rising on tiptoe to give her a kiss on the cheek. ]

[selfimage]

[ that was an understatement. the gods had built themselves on quarrels. Freyja was of the Vanir, the old gods, and took Odin to husband to bring peace to the warring fractions. that was sometime back in history—perhaps it had already played over once or twice, rewound and a tale told again. her father was entitled, loud and arrogant, but not without good reason: when you were the strongest out of all the gods, willing to sacrifice anything for your family, what else could you be? Asgardians did not wear weakness well, and Loki had learned to hide hers in other ways. (or the same ways, and she told herself they were other ways.)

Loki had gotten other things from her father, too.

before she had stepped into this world, stumbling into ALASTAIR like a storm blown off course, she had been gifted by something that she never thought that she would live to receive. it was clear now, clear still, ringing in her ears. it was her father's I love you, and the root of the phrase held fast on something far deeper than words. Odin loved his children, no matter how numerous they were, or where they were, or how they wronged him.

he loved them all.

the memory pulses, and she feels Dany's lips brush against her cheek, reminding her that there's physical realm that she must attend to. a bit of breathy laughter escapes her, quite and giddy and completely up to no good. she leans in, nose against her cheek, and kisses the corner of her lips. this one is a kiss from a god, and it tingles a little with electricity, leaving traces of depths left uncharted as they part. ]

Well—not many are bold enough to say that to me. You're feeling reckless. That's good, because I'm feeling reckless. [ she says in a cheery, easy sort of way. ] The goddess may be gone, but this world does need tending to. If they don't kill that other one soon—you know, the one with all the tentacles?—something bad will happen.

Like really bad.

[ a pause, and a little harumph, but there's still traces of a little smile on her face. less from the words, and more from the giddiness of being herself again. ]

There is a void, and the void is screaming.

[conqueress]

[ The gesture itself is both teasing and queerly intimate, but it is the flickering afterburn that sets the queen alight. A soft but audible gasp flees her at the touch, and then she is awash in warmth, feeling both womanly and silly. That is no woman's kiss.

The barest of color startled into her face, Dany flutters between impulse and pragmatism. The latter wins, if only because she is keenly aware of their situation, and because Loki has begun to speak again (she is always speaking, it seems, unless there is drink). Her hands find and lightly squeeze the goddess' in casual affection, and then there is distance between them again. ]

Then I must go and help to silence it, [ she decides, pledging. She has no trust for their timeline power, but she will trust a god's instinct for the end of a world. ] I shall take no part in the slaying of any gods, but I will protect where I may. Avenge, if need be. [ She seems curiously enthralled, despite their impending danger. Loki is whole again with the return of her magic, but Dany was never whole until she'd flown, with hot scales beneath her and vast openness above.

She turns from Loki, flexing her empty fingers, and it is then that she notices the glimmer of gold at her feet. She smiles, seemingly unconcerned for the ending that may await them. ] If Drogon can bear my weight, the sky is mine to rule.