groundrules: (Default)
let's set d o w n some ([personal profile] groundrules) wrote in [community profile] westwhere2022-05-18 06:35 pm

the tithe



The Arc III finale stretches until 2 June — and it’s erupt to no good.



THE TITHE




THE HOUSE OF RAVENS | THE RITES | THE VOLCANO | | THE VILLAGES | THE AFTERMATH




THIS HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE

The Ke-Waicai believers prepare for human sacrifice rites to prevent the eruption of the Ke-Sanwon volcano. They will lead tributes to the volcanic crater, which is lidded by the grounds of a decrepit haunted temple — known as the House of Ravens.

At the heart of the temple is a trodden dais that comprises four slowly receding plates. Numerous temple columns and deteriorating walls offer overnight hiding places, but beware the flinching statues and irritable large ravens. Meat, blood or shiny offerings can distract the birds.

■ Use the three previously gained keys to infiltrate the House of Ravens at night through forest pathways revealed by the Huntress.

■ Entrants to the House of Ravens are fully or partially depowered. Their ancestral curse is immediately lifted. Their strength is pulled into the Ke-Sanwon crater, which brims with raw magical power.

■ Hide on temple grounds until dawns, when the dais plates fully open to reveal a 10-metre entryway into the volcanic crater.

■ Overnight, characters are relentlessly tempted by mirages that only they witness: the eerie voice of a loved one might coax them to commit their greatest sin, or they could repeatedly relive memories that led them to such follies.

■ Characters guilty of drunkenness and gluttony feel deathly parched, starved and drawn to a lavish spread that is constantly far out — and ends up comprising raw corn and stale water, when they finally reach it. The lustful find their companions irresistible, or trail after a delectable beauty, who dissolves when touched. The wrathful mull violence, while the envious suspect their companions possess what they most desire. The proud are contemptuously incited to prove their superiority or independence, while the slothful give in to callous indifference towards their peers.

■ The stone statues that decorate the House of Ravens retaliate once visitors succumb to their sins: smaller sculptures throw stones or throttle nearby sinners, but only move when you do not look into their eyes. Larger 4m-tall statues exit the walls and give (slow) chase, retreating after 10-15 minutes. The statues stop attacking at dawns.




LET THERE BE BLOOD

CONTENT WARNING: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF NPC PAIN, TRANSFORMATION

By dawns, the believers of Ke-Waicai have rallied their tributes — each crowned with wreaths of branches and crops — before the open dais. Roughly two hundred villagers attend the rites, along with eight powerful priests who use elemental magic.

■ A first sacrifice walks a long narrow plank that starts from the dais and goes a few metres into the mouth of the volcano. The plank shivers under from heat, but withstands weight.

■ During 15 minutes of exposure, the volcanic magic enshrouds the sacrifice, who painfully transforms into one of the animalistic tar creatures housed in the labyrinths of Ke-Sanwon.

■ Magically sensitive characters can feel this tribute now hosts volcanic magic, and that Ke-Sanwon’s power has slightly diminished.

■ The rites are interrupted by the significantly weaker, but wrathful Beastmaster, whose xenomorphic creatures attack the temple and seek his missing son

■ Characters should free the remaining tributes during the skirmish. They can be as nerfed as you need (if at all) during the rest of their stay in the House of Ravens.

■ The dais must stay open to access the volcano. You can take control of it and of the House by defeating the magically endowed priests, (literally) shouldering the head priest’s ancient white raven and holding its leash.

■ Pass the raven around and defend the bird’s current holder! Whoever carries the raven is often targeted by the village mob and the Beastmaster’s creatures.

■ The clashes last a few hours, until the Beastmaster and villagers exhaust their forces.

Diego Hargreeves, Xie Lian, Wrathion, Daenerys and Jon Snow apprehend the Beastmaster, slaying him, when he refuses to relinquish the Brotherhood. Decide who lands the killing blow. His last words: ”You’ve… seen this place. My animals… our dead… have more compassion than these living.”




FIRE AND BRIMSTONE?

The volume of magical energy and tormented spirits inside the volcano weighs heavily on the fracturing dark water mirror that has prevented Ke-Sanwon’s eruption so far. It’s going to blow, unless you:

■ Throw more dark water in to fix the mirror fissure. You can get dark water from volcanic cracks, dried wells and creepy crop fields.

■ Use ice / cold magic and ol’ science to cool down the volcano and help the mirror heal. Or lend Moiraine and Magnus a hand as they work with cold magic, and protect them while they cast.

■ Help Wrath and Wei Wuxian exorcise the volcano’s ancient spirits. Many have lost consciousness, reduced to memory fragments and feelings of wrath, pain and resent.

■ Guide villagers to bring sea water. Anduin (on top of the dragon Wrathion) and the harpy Eda are flying in supplies. Viktor is coaxing shipments from his werewolf friends of Ke-Waiar. Large phoenixes are also up for grabs for deliveries. Ensure couriers can safely arrive and quickly discharge their water.

Several characters are set to each absorb some of the magical power contained within the volcano, developing aftereffects. They must walk the wobbly plank and stay exposed to the volcano magic for under 15 minutes to avoid transformation: the longer they linger, the more power they take in, feeling as if they are burning from within. Exit quickly and rest copiously after. Those who spend over 10 minutes exposed suffer intense fevers and require immediate medical assistance to cool down.




WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE CIVILIANS?

Beyond the House of Ravens, assist villagers who want to safeguard their possessions or evacuate by sea.

■ The gradual spread of Ke-Sanwon’s magic infects some villagers with temporary animal traits. These effects dissipate within three-four hours.

■ Characters who remain in the villages may feel more irritable and resentful, overcome by the feelings of the volcanic spirits.

■ Coordinate water and supply deliveries with those at the House of Ravens.

■ The Hok-Shinn are divided in their response: some resort to daylight robbery to secure the funds for their own safe departure; citing security, the men of Sairen unsympathetically rally commoners into designated parts of the village, often splitting apart families that then need help finding relatives; alone, Weisi’s followers keep the peace, but are frequently overwhelmed by waves of panicked villagers, thugs and animal hybrids.

■ The magical spillage overwhelms the forest fox spirits, leaving some enraged and prone to attack. Others assume the shape of beautiful wo/men and ask escort into Ke-Waihu for shelter, without disclosing their fox natures. These ethereal strangers betray their origins with cold smiles, glimpses of fleetingly sharp teeth, a fondness for chicken, and… is that an extra set of ears? No harm befalls those who bring a fox into the village, though s/he may insist on now being your lawful spouse.




THE AFTERMATH

With the clashes and Ke-Sanwon subdued, the villagers of Ke-Waicai request back their temple keys and white raven. They lead the party to the beacon of the House of Ravens — the beautifully carved and now-closed dais above the volcano.

■ Party companion Hatisse confirms the beacon can be revived within days.

■ She warns that an eruption was prevented by depleting the volcanic magic now, but that the threat could recur within five to 10 years.

■ All character curses (ancestral or individual) are lifted, and powers return completely.

■ Spend some downtime in the villages. Ke-Waicai offers the most luxurious, but frosty accommodations, while the werewolves of Ke-Waiar are tired, but thrilled hosts. Those who suffer from lycanthropy are now experiencing fewer and fewer ‘nocturnal episodes.’

■ In Ke-Waihu, villagers have now calmed and are grateful for help with reaping the fresh harvest and watering their crops, as well flows revive. Every other night, Hok-Shinn Weisi organises a bonfire with village musicians, hearty dances, fresh bread and ale. Villagers seek to marry off their… alluring spawn to their saviours.

■ Within days, Hatisse summons the party to the activated beacon: a pool of white energy, in which one must slowly descend. Characters who were dropped or AC swept in May enter the beacon first and are presumed returned to their home worlds. Characters set for a canon update follow in — but are spat back by the portal and return within minutes.

■ Inevitably, the remaining volatile magic of the volcano disrupts the beacon and ruins the dais. Happily for you, the Merchant will soon get in touch with your next ticket east.


QUESTIONS

blackscales: Commission, Do Not Take! (13)

Re: QUESTIONS

[personal profile] blackscales 2022-05-18 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Where is the Huntress during all this? I'm guessing Wrathion probably separates from her, but they at least arrived together so he'd keep track of her for as long as he could!
blackscales: Commission, Do Not Take! (13)

[personal profile] blackscales 2022-05-18 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Does she vanish entirely afterwards or linger keeping scarce?
blackscales: Commission, Do Not Take! (8)

[personal profile] blackscales 2022-05-18 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Cannot really blame her, probably a good call.

1 other thing: I'm assuming they don't get anything constructive out of the Beastmaster while he's captured? Wrathion wanted to see if he could get him to confirm if the White Wanderer made him that way or someone else, and how he got connected up to the Brotherhood, but I vibe he's probably not in a chatty mood.
northerndragon: (Default)

[personal profile] northerndragon 2022-05-18 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
I can pop in to say that (as I mentioned in my plotting comment) Jon would take any opportunity to talk to the Beastmaster, but on an OOC basis I was assuming this wasn’t feasible (nor really something I would have asked you to set up: just because a character would want something doesn’t mean the player is going to seriously pursue it).

That would mean he’d be looking for the same situation, though, and that might affect plotting it.
good_taste: (pic#15463198)

Astarion |✮| Baldur's Gate III

[personal profile] good_taste 2022-05-18 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
LET THERE BE BLOOD

1. At the ceremony


His unquenchable need to spectate a catastrophe in progress was going to end poorly one of these days, but he was fairly confident today wasn't going to be one of them. After all, the insane volcano cultists were apparently trying to stop the eruption, just like everyone else was. He'd heard little whispers of a dozen different heroic plans underway.

So, why not watch? He'd disguised himself as a nondescript human and joined the crowd of worshipers, vaguely following along with all the humdrum cult busywork of chanting and arm-waving. It afforded him a fantastic view of the whole thing. He hadn't the faintest idea how they melted the sacrifices into horrid goop like that, but it certainly sounded painful.

But eventually, he noticed someone in the crowd that didn't seem to belong either. One of the travelers. Of course. That must be one of the sabotage attempts, then.

He slowly drifted through the crowd until he was close enough to speak quietly. His magical disguise might render him indistinguishable from the humans around them, but the upper crust Baldurian accent was all his own. "There you are. We're on the same side." Vaguely. "When this all gets bloody, do try not to hit me, will you?"

2. Things Get Bloody

And right on time, everything exploded into chaos. Monsters tearing through the crowd, somebody stole a bird, wounded and dying everywhere.

Yes, this was potentially deadly, but gods, it was entertaining.

He might be obligated to help now, though. And why not make that fun? His disguise was still holding strong, and that meant he could slip in amongst the cultists as they bunched up to protect one of their priests. With all eyes on their attackers, none of them were watching the cleric at all.

All he had to do was work his way a little closer with no one noticing that their hands and elbows were passing straight through illusory bits of his clothes.

[OOC: Want to try and snipe the priest before he can get there? Attack him? Let him have a tasty snack? Something else entirely? The choice is yours!]

3. Wildcard

[OOC: Got an idea? Have at! Hit me up on Plurk or Discord.]
balancedwire: (Watching You)

Xie Yun | OPEN

[personal profile] balancedwire 2022-05-19 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Walk the Plank ]

Finding the dark water in the volcanic cracks isn't hard. Of course, the whole point is to toss it into the volcano. To help keep it from blowing. There's a plank not that far and it wouldn't be hard to walk it, much like wire walk, and toss the dark water into the volcano.

The plank, unfortunately, isn't as stable as the wires above the Ximo River. Not that anyone would consider metal wires more stable than a wobbly plank. He can feel the heat of the volcano. Feel a burning from within, far different from Bone-Chilling. From the poison that had once coursed through his veins.

He doesn't want to overstay on the plank and turns to walk back off of it, needing to rest after. If others needed help across then he'd help. Hopefully, they didn't overstay. One normally wouldn't when it felt like their insides were burning from the inside out.


[ Offering Help ]

Sairen's men were causing families to go missing. Not quite missing, but causing families to be separated. Children from their parents. Siblings from one another. Something that he doesn't take well to. He ignores, for the moment, the way that his own body feels. Where it felt like something was swirling and pushing against his internal energy. Like there were two sets of energies vying for which one was more dominant.

He does what he can to try and help the families find their relatives. Tries to help keep the villagers from panicking too much as they search. That? It doesn't always work, but it was worth a shot. Worth trying.


[ Aftermath - Ke-Waihu ]

The bonfire with village musicians playing is nice. Though, he has no intention of allowing himself to be wed to anyone. He was already devoted. Sure, Zhou Fei wasn't there, but that didn't mean that he would allow himself to be married. He would spend time with the villagers and talk with them, but that was about it.

Of course, he might even merely observe and watch the music and dancing while thinking up his own stories. He is, after all, a storyteller, just not as Xie Yun.


[ Wildcard ]

Want anything else with Xie Yun, PM the journal and we can figure out what to do with them.
downswing: (annul)

i. the ceremony

[personal profile] downswing 2022-05-19 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
When the world bloodies, and it's a bitter, heavy, cancerous thing, rot on the tongue, when Lan Wangji mouths it after Astarion — mute and mutinous, gaze dripping like hot steel. They cross paths like ships wandered in false, drifting territory, where storms still and spumes dissolve and whatever creature sleeps dark in the depths has hours under moonlight before she stirs. They do not plan their reunion.

Beside them, hundreds of men scratch their heels on desicate ground, the frenzy of their dread gaining a monstrous, animal, tangible quality, like grease exuding from a pan. Lan Wangji's fingers knot in a tight, cradled fist at his back, haunted by damp-wet. The waking sun, pale and diffuse in early morning, stabs his nape, prickles the ledge of his shoulder. A woman tips too close to him — teeters like the arc of a rusting pendulum, then catches her footing. Restlessness seizes them all, as if they do not know how this begins, how they intend to end it. What the going rate is, how many lives will pay for the grains of wheat in his bowl. Merchantry, butchery, zealotry.

Bloodletting, while Lan Wangji and his — begrudging companions assume their positions in confused, loose geometries that might later satisfy his arrogance and pass adequately for 'forms' and 'configurations.' The truth: they have no defences. No plan. No righteous claim of interference, when they've arrived only to cleave the villages from their beacon. Old habits itch like blisters and rash cravings, Destroy chaos, cleanse its poison. Drink it like sickness from a wound.

And the mountain's silence screams.

He knows Astarion not for scent or the look of him, or the certainty of his step, or the strength of his stature. But for the flimsy, staggered turbulence of magic in his wake, the sense of manicured, cautious wrongness — confirmed by his voice thereafter.

First, Lan Wangji means to nod. Then, to object, We end bloodshed.

At long last, rasped, in the white roil of the crowd turning, gasps wrenched from them when another sacrifice steps forward, "No. No curtailment. No cautions."

Fend for yourself, when the storm breaks. Lan Wangji cannot be asked to recall restrictions, not with animals yet left to cull.
Edited 2022-05-19 00:57 (UTC)
good_taste: (pic#15463215)

oh hello you :)

[personal profile] good_taste 2022-05-19 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Well. Someone's serious today, even by the usual standards of this ray of sunshine. Lan Wangji, taking all the fun out of a mad cultist ritual. Typical.

"Duly noted. I'll just stay out of stabbing range then, shall I?" But for the moment, he's leaning in a little closer, to ensure he's not overheard. He knows Lan Wangji doesn't like him. That much is obvious. Managing that dislike was important. Keep it from spilling out into open aggression by being helpful every so often.

"I'm going after their clerics, but there's too many eyes on them. I'll need a distraction."
downswing: (二)

[personal profile] downswing 2022-05-19 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
There is no hunting like the hunting of man. The simple, self-contained act of reduction, until spirits and virtues and personality season flesh, and bodies encage stolen constellations. Scent, speed, sweat, sound — the variables of deft prey differ between individuals. But the steps of the chase linger unchanging, visceral, yoked in habit.

First, to hunt, Lan Wangji must neglect his circumstances. Shutter his eyes, anchor himself in the half-moons of his nails eating the callused grace of his sword-thickened palm. Breathe. Sense transitions around him, the negatives spaces and abrupt displacements that suggest a violence of movement — the twitching of men and women for whom the thought of human sacrifice — or perhaps the fear that they might join the ranks of tributes — still generates discomfort.

He opens his eyes, then, and sees the sea of noble animals beside him: how they average no more than thirty, forty summers each, how the youngest present are shackled and their elders hold daggers, and, sinewy and lethargic and distant, the priests watch on. He hears their fear: less so, the words that seal their lips gelid; more the tenuous, thin gasps that break that stitchwork.

And he decides — glance shifting past Astarion's shoulder, seeking the sun as if to flinch from it now might safeguard Lan Wangji from midday blindness, later — that he could cull dozens on this day and feel little beyond the insipid, quiet indifference of losing sand between his fingertips.

There is no hunting like the hunting of man. But these are not men, they are not monsters. "See your deed done. The rest may burden me."
binghua: (2)

xiao xingchen | mo dao zu shi

[personal profile] binghua 2022-05-19 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
1. this house is your house

[Xingchen knows he probably won't be as much help in the House of Ravens as he wishes to be, but at the same time he wants to be here. So he huddles with some of the other villagers, cloaked in what he hopes is unassuming garb, though no one has pulled him aside for being suspicious. His sword is wrapped in cloth, as well, though he prays he doesn't have to use it.

And everything is all well and good as they...wait.

Until he hears a very familiar voice.

Xingchen, it says, and he pulls in a quick breath, sitting up straight. He goes still, desperately listening for that voice again, hoping it's not a trick of his ears. Xingchen, it calls again to him, my dear friend, you're better than this. Hiding does not become you.

Xingchen whispers a single name in response, still a little shocked to hear him.]


Zichen...

[The voice, Song Lan's voice, continues. You are the bright moon and the gentle breeze, so powerful and elegant. Not this.

Xingchen listens and nods, already moving to stand up and join his friend instead of waiting around. He is powerful! Didn't practically every sect want him when he entered the cultivation world?]


Zichen. You're right - !

[Of course, Song Lan isn't there. But danger is. And Xingchen is about to draw its attention toward him and the others if no one stops him.]


2. fire and brimstone

[With the attack inside the House underway, Xingchen finds himself drawn to the mouth of the volcano. It's foolish, he knows, to be so close to it, especially as a blind man, but he can feel spirits in there. Or what once used to be spirits. If he could only get closer and really figure out some way to help them or ease what remains of them.

Again, it's foolish, and he knows.

Then, even among the ruckus, he hears someone approach from...the volcano itself? Footsteps. Is there a path?

He pulls Shuanghua off his back and holds the sword out toward whoever is nearest him at that moment.]


Keep this safe.

[It won't do for his spiritual weapon to be destroyed by fire, after all. So, with that worry allayed for now, he carefully steps toward the volcano's mouth, feet seeking out the path. He finds it, though the heat that breathes upon him is nearly unbearable and all at once. And yet, at the same time, the heat feels alive and like there's some sort of energy transfer happening.

Is this helping? He hopes this is helping. He really hopes this is helping because it is so, so hot. He should go back. He should go back, but...if this is helping save the villages and the spirits within the volcano, then it's his duty to endure...!

(But really, someone should probably help him before he gets KFC extra crispy.)]



3. aftermath

[However he got out of the volcano, Xingchen has managed to end up in Ke-Waicai. The cooler temperatures there are one of the only salves for his self-abused body, though more concerning is the fact that his qi feels...wrong. Tainted. Perhaps it's what yin energy feels like, or demonic cultivation's effects on the body. Maybe. Having not fallen to those depths, Xingchen really can't say for sure.

But it still feels bad and he even notices people giving him a wide berth, like they know he's corrupted in some way. Maybe they do. Xingchen doesn't make a fuss about it, though. He's used to being held at arm's length simply for being blind.

Still, he wouldn't mind some company from time to time. Join him at his solitary table at a teahouse - though he can't quite stomach any hot drinks right now - or accompany him as he returns to some rather comfortable lodgings here. He's still pretty tired.]



4. wildcard!

[eyyyyyy you know the drill]
Edited (html real hard) 2022-05-19 05:02 (UTC)
traaaaaash: (plans plans plans)

Re:

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 10:19 am (UTC)(link)
Just curious, is there a benefit to marrying a fox spirit?
traaaaaash: (prepare for trouble)

Eda Clawthorne | The Owl House

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:16 am (UTC)(link)
traaaaaash: (1 fear)

THIS HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ Entering the House of Ravens proves to be easy, and their luck seems to turn even better when Eda feels part of her curses lift, and observes the same thing happening to others as well. It lifts a big weight of her shoulders that she only now realizes she'd been carrying. Mostly because -- well, she had to simply get used to her own curse, so she did the same with her newly acquired ones as well.

At night, however, things take a turn for the worse. Eda is sitting in a corner; she's currently not a harpy, as the local witches have finally found a way to replicate her elixir, and flying is cool and all, but she does enjoy getting to just be herself again. And, well, she'd be lying if she said it isn't sometimes a bit exhausting to coexist and bargain with the Owl Beast. It had been hungrier for rodents in recent days too, and hunting in her thrice-cursed state had been no small feat.

She lets her eyes drift closed, trying to get some rest before the big action, but then she hears a voice, as if just behind her, saying You rotten sister! As if your life were even worth returning to! Eda's eyes open wide in the dark. ]


Lily?

[ She whispers her elder sister's name, but then other voices attack her. Raine says You'll always be a liar. Luz says You're not my real mom. Her father points at his missing eye and yells Look what you did! It's all your fault!

And on and on it goes, until Eda is curled up with her eyes shut hard and her hands on her ears, chanting just one word over and over. ]


No no no no no no no no no.

[ Eventually, the chorus of voices still ringing through her mind, she opens her eyes again and, upon seeing the figures of her companions around her, makes a decision.

She gets up quietly and walks toward the exit, careful not to make any noise. Once she's in the doorway, she takes one least look at the party, then turns to leave them for good. ]
Edited 2022-05-19 16:15 (UTC)
traaaaaash: (OTOH)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:32 am (UTC)(link)
On a more serious note, what's the priests' magic like? Does it include binding/immobilizing magic?
traaaaaash: (Default)

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:36 am (UTC)(link)
Alright, thank you!
traaaaaash: (oh HELL no)

LET THERE BE BLOOD

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
[ After her bout of self-doubt is over, Eda rejoins the group's efforts with full force. She fights tooth and nail to help free the tributes, hitting opponents with her staff or punching them with the harpy's stronger arms.

She approaches the priests and soon sees that there is a problem: they have magic, she does not. She's able to evade their blasts for a while, being quick on her feet as well as in the air, once she transforms into the harpy; but then one of them engulfs her in a maelstrom of water that she struggles futilely against.

Anyone in the vicinity may hear the owl beast's unholy screams. ]
traaaaaash: (not today satan)

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE

[personal profile] traaaaaash 2022-05-19 11:42 am (UTC)(link)
[ Her nocturnal episode is still nagging at Eda, but she's able to think clearly enough to push through it and recognize that there are far more important things at stake and every helping hand is needed.

She may like to cause chaos, but she does not actually wish for hundreds of people to die.

So she can be seen at the cracks, collecting dark water to drop into the mountain, or in the villages, providing the residents with supplies to carry sea water, or carrying some herself. She kind of flits about here and there and everywhere, wherever there's something to do. ]
eternallywandering: (生病的 [sick])

Zhou Zishu | Word of Honor

[personal profile] eternallywandering 2022-05-19 11:48 am (UTC)(link)
This House is Your House

[He says he is prepared for anything and the gods know he tries to live up to that statement. But the House of Ravens has surprises for him and since he felt the sting of both Sloth and Lust for his curses, both come back to haunt him. Self-control and only self-control is what keeps him from either leaving his fellow party members behind or jumping their bones. Now isn't the time for either reaction.]

Everyone, listen to my voice. [Using the same tone he used to give orders to his disciples, Zishu pushes his way through the throng.] We are well-acquainted with our sins. Pay them no mind. We are here to do important work and if we let our weaknesses defeat us, we might as well jump into the volcano.

[Little does he know, soon, that is precisely what he will be doing. Well, almost anyway.]

Fire and Brimstone?

[He almost laughs! He really did speak too soon, didn't he. Zishu can see what needs to be done - the magic has to be drained from the volcano or all of their work will be for nothing. Swallowing against a dry throat, he pulls out his sword, Baiyi, and holds it out to the nearest person he recognizes.]

Take him. I will return. [Maybe. He hopes? Parting with the sword hurts and Zishu can feel tears burning at his eyes. Something tells him this won't be the last farewell. But he hopes...he prays...he pleads he is wrong.

Eventually he walks out onto that wobbly bunch of planks, feeling the heat wash over him like a tidal wave. Time ceases to mean anything. All he feels is burning...searing...and the rush of foreign power filling the holes the nails had left behind.

Ten minutes tick by and he stumbles back, falling onto ground that isn't a rickety bunch of planks. But he is burning with fever and barely conscious.]


The Aftermath

[Rapid healing ensures he is present to say...a second farewell. This is the one he had feared. Baiyi is with him, wrapped around his waist, yet the metal doesn't comfort him; it doesn't stop his heart from cracking in two.]

Lao Wen...

[His soulmate, his very reason for living, is gone. Zishu can be found, on his knees, near the last spot he saw the man. Tears run down his cheeks and his shoulders shake, but he hardly makes any sound.

This isn't the end. Not for them. Just a detour.

If he doesn't believe that, he will shatter.]
Edited 2022-05-19 11:54 (UTC)

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