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

[dailydouble]

[ He's quiet for a few moments, considering that. He has tasted Loki, down to the depths during that short period where they were able to mingle as gods do. The push and pull between evil and good means little to him, but he recognizes that it is important to her. ]

I do not doubt that ALASTAIR has cracks to find.

[selfimage]

[ for a time, Loki hadn't been the god of chaos, she had been the god of evil, and being the god of evil had been a damning thing. it was about being better, but being boxed in was anathema to her, and that path lead there. good came from a few places, or better as she was usually prone to putting it. ]

I'm certain that they're there. [ she steps away from the tree to stand beside him. ] But which one is the one that will cause what to crumble?

[ she can't just go around ruining everything anymore. that was ... delicate territory. ]

[dailydouble]

[ He'll lean in to her presence a bit, not touching but nearly there. ]

That would not be my primary concern.

[ Perhaps there is still too much of Nahadoth in him? Chaos has its own appeal, as does acting on impulse. Not that there's a good reason for it here, with so much at stake. It's irritating. ]

[selfimage]

Ah?

[ there's a tinge of curiosity to that. while Loki isn't the literal aspect of chaos, there's a way that she breeds that tells the story of how she became its agent. it's fitting for someone who's existence is based more in the metaphor.

she likes this side of Ahad, the one that will make an argument for ruin. ]

[dailydouble]

There is a part of me that would destroy it all.

[ He gives into it for a moment, to the idea of it.

But it serves nothing. This needs to be targeted, as much as anything can be in such circumstances. ]

[selfimage]

[ there's a little noise of confirmation. ]

Yes.

[ she says, after a moment of pause. it had been there when they had mingled, and with her nature she was hardly blind to it. there's a part of her that would ruin everything too.

if King Loki could not be stopped, then she would rather it be the end, for everything to be nothing rather than be something that she had sacrificed everything not to be. ]

I know.

[dailydouble]

[ He doesn't respond, but after a moment Ahad will reach out to take her hand. He'll kiss the back of it, if Loki allows it. ]