Sabra La Tau

Who: Everyone
Where: The Arena
When: Day 200, very early morning
What:

HaHA! Well, that’s enough of that, isn’t it?

[You awaken. You are lying on the Arena floor, in exactly the same health as when you answered the last Call. It seems like ... everyone is here, though some are slower to wake that others.

As you lift your head... you see possibly the most enormous spider you could ever imagine... were it intact and not well broken and torn to pieces, ichor covering a great deal of the Arena. As you watch, it is crumbling, becoming sand... and simply falling away as if it never were. Beside it, an empty loom cracks and falls apart piece by piece as well.

Enormous bloody pawprints lead away towards the Arena doors.

The King is on the throne.]

Up a little late aren’t you? I would run along now, if I were you.

Who: You
Where: At the heart of the city, before the great throne
When: ???
What: A Game

[As your vision sharpens, so does the laughter.

Upon the throne sits a statue of Kokoli; the Masked One, the Laughing Liar, the Fool’s Fool. He remains still, and yet his mask seems to shift whenever you glance away. On his lap is Rota, the Pale Maiden, the Death-before-Life. Something seems a little off in their expressions. Hers, a little vacant, distant. His seems more dangerous each time he appears. It seems they were conversing.]

"I'm s-still not sure . . ."

"Don’t worry, babe. You’re gonna knock 'em dead."

((Mingle

HOW TO PLAY

THE BOXES:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

ROUND 2
ROUND 2 OVER))

Who: Everyone
Where: The Sacred City
When: King’s Year 200, ???
What:

[The days, weeks and months have been passing quietly. You've have had more than enough things to do. Even after the Builder's gift, there have been new buildings to make, materials to pool together, crops to begin to raise, businesses to start again.

There’s no change of the seasons, but it’s been hard not to notice that time has passed. More than the Oracle originally said would be necessary. It is hard for most to care, with something of a perfect world in front of them.

Lately each morning, you wake up with a start, heart pounding, and for a moment everything is grainy, as if seeing it in on cloth...

The moment you blink, it's gone.]

Who: Everyone
Where: In the Sacred City
When: King’s Year 199, Mid Winter
What:

[It had been a slow start through the fall. Nations full of people needing to settle and find shelter. And many despaired... how could such an enormous project be completed by the end of a mere two seasons when most were still milling about supplies and accommodations?

But as they do, gears shifted as the temperatures rose... as night became a nostalgic memory... Natural ingenuity blended with mad genius with simple practicality and by early winter, the great keystone... a project of masonry that had taken nearly as much time as the construction of the great stone walls themselves was complete and secured into place for the rest of the walls to be completed around it.

Construction had slowed ... even with ants to carve and carry, even with machinery of steam and clockwork and nearly a quarter of the world in labor.... the hours that COULD be worked became less and less... and working became less of a normal function and one of devotion, heroism and madness.

But today.... the last blocks had been placed, the keystone was in place and ready... Since last night the world has been thrown into blessed darkness. The air is uncomfortably warm, but no longer scalds to breathe, and the light comes from torches and magic.

Today, many people have gathered below the keystone, eyes turned upward.

Today, the supports are removed.]

Who: Pavo, and those of Cepheus and Delphinus it may concern
Where: All along the banks of the great canal, from Delphinus to the very heart of Pavo
When: King's Year 199, Early Summer
What: Flooding

The waters of the canal, contained as they are within stone and crafted earth, have long been a pleasure to sail. Slow enough that a well-set sail or a few oars can take a boat upstream all the way to Pavo’s borders, and with enough pull to ease a ship back down to Delphinian soil, the canal’s fresh water has been a training ground for many too old or young for the sea.

And this night, only hours after the false dawn flashes through the sky, sailors resting along the banks, boats anchored and those still on course, feel something that speaks to the bones of any Delphinian —

Boats heave. The tang of salt touches the air. At the edges of the canal, water starts to overflow, spilling out onto ground, flooding careful irrigation systems with liquid that means death to the orchards and farms on either side.

Here, now, as if the sea herself was crawling from her bed and seeking a new berth . . . the tide is coming in.

And the waves have only just begun.

Who: All, eventually
Where: Various
When: King's Year 198, early fall
What: A messenger approaches.

[A tall, gaunt man walks across the plains alone approaching a small gathering of Pyxis tribes, with little fear or hesitation. He seems to have appeared out of almost nowhere, and unphased by the pre-monsoon winds. He swathed in the black uniforms of an Ophiuchus priest and uniform is lined with red. Though his cloak is drawn over his face, you can see something of a tight line of his lips and his hands, when he speaks, are slow moving and expressive.

He stops just before the first tribesman approaching him.]

I seek the chieftain of all the tribes, and then the clan with the greatest speed and experience.

((OOC: ALL THE COUNTRIES will be visited to speak with a regent, king, leader or whatnot. If you don't have a player character who is suitable, feel free to use sabra_la_au to speak for them. If you're stumped and want us to whip something up or off screen it, let Nishi know and we'll work something out.))

[Once again, that strange patchwork of light and reality bathes the arena. Deep, impenetrable darkness wars with scattered rays of light, illuminating tiny slices of some seemingly unconnected scenery. Here a patch of lush, bluish tinged grass is warmed by the sun and blown by the breeze. There half of a delicate stone fountain is bathed in the first morning light... And over there you see a strange, fuzzy creature skittering and scrambling up a sheer rock face, ducking nervously in and out of shadows.

Scenes like this are scattered throughout the entire Arena without any sense of rhyme or reason... But as you walk further, you find yourself having to step on or around more and more thread. Fourteen shades of fine thread loop, scatter and tangle, condensing and congregating below the throne... leading to fourteen looms, each with a primitive, fuzzy picture coming into view, line by line- starting with the sky at the top.

When you look directly at the throne, it seems empty. It is only out of the corners of your eyes do you catch fleeting glimpses... sometimes fingers twined with thread... sometimes a face: matured with age, but warm and kindly.]

W... d...seek.... ?

Who: Everyone
Where: Everywhere
When: Day 198, evening
What:

[Suddenly, whatever you were doing, whatever your current physical state, you can feel it. It is a Call, but like none you’ve ever felt. In the arena lies the truth. A secret stifled for thousands of years now demands to be told. It resonates with something inside you, and you feel the pull.

It’s hard to hold in your mind to any thought but that need. Incapacitated teammates will need to be assisted. Everyone must be there.

You cannot look away from it. You cannot look away from Him.

You must go to the Arena. She will show you the truth.]

((Please to consider this your pre-Mingle mingling post. :) Characters may gather and chat on their way to the arena. Rabi can weep his bitter, useless Madagascar tears. Those who are FEELING THE COSMOS will feel these effects much more strongly, but everyone will to some extent feel the compulsion to go. At 8PM EST, everyone arrives at the Arena, and the :) may begin in earnest.))

Who: Anyone!
Where: Outside Delpavo dorms
When: Day 197, afternoon
What:

*today outside the Delpavo dorms there's a half-metal dolphin drawing on the ground*


*there is also a sign:

UNIFORM REPAIRS FOR TRADE
all teams welcome!*

Who: Everyone!
Where: Everywhere!
When: Day 196, late morning
What: A warning

[Three COMPLETELY SANE Hydraculas are knocking on YOUR DOOR]

[WAT DO]

Who: Zero and others!
Where: Pavo, Lacerta, Cepheus, PYXIS? (don't shank me) etc.
When: Day 195, after the bath shenanigans
What: Visiting the new crazies in Sabra.



[Blue dolphin at the door, knock knock knocking.]

Who: pillar team alpha (and anyone else up early)
Where: BATHS
When: Day 195, morning
What: That was bullshit. let's soak!

Hm, it's not very crowded this time of day!

Who: Anyone
Where: The many lake pathways to the Northern Caves
When: Day 194, afternoon post-game
What: CAN YOU GUARD THEM ALL?

((WOO!! OKAY. There is at least one small group with an actual plan, but feel absolutely free to use and abuse this post for all your individual efforts in attempting (Blanks) and cockblocking (Ophiuchus) to get to the North. Or just watching, cheering, or getting caught up in the action, because there is gonna be some fisticuffs up in here.))

Who: Delpavo!
Where: DELPAVO!
When: Day 192, right after that quake thingy
What: WTFBBQ?


[WELL GEE I HOPE our roof cage didn't collapse on itself. Running out to check the damage]

Who: Hydra, anyone
Where: Area around Delphinus and Pavo
When: Day 191, Late afternoon
What: Brilliance

[There are a handful of Hydra punks hanging out on Del's lawn again! But, rather than visiting, they seem to be considering the gaping hole in the ceiling over Del's dorm . . .]

How should we get up there?

Who: People
Where: LAKE
When: Day 189, morning
What: Fishing

Come ye oh come ye to Bethlehem~
Come and behold him~
Born the king of angels~

Oh come let us adore him~
Come le--

Come on fish, bite.

Who: Everyone!
Where: Arena
When: Day 188, evening
What: Game~

[The call to the arena goes out as usual. This time around, Mirror's statue is in the arena, presiding over the proceedings with a soft smile on her face. There's also a circle of glass buildings around the center of the arena, arranged in a familiar, War Rooms pattern...]

Let's begin this experiment, shall we?

(( MINGLE until 8 PM EST
WAR ROOMS until 9:30 EST
SAFETY FUNTIMES - ?????
ENDGAME
REVIVALS))

Who: Pavo, visitors
Where: Pavo dorms
When: Day 186, post-game
What: Memories, mission rewards, mulling offers

[The dorms are, more or less, as they were left; with the addition of one giant, ashy, bulging backpack of rocks, and six shiny new berries.]

Except for the disappearing . . . that really wasn't bad.

Who: All Blanks
Where: The Arena
When: Day 186, late evening
What: Game 116

[You are called to the Arena by the sounds of an impatient tapping. The statue that looks down upon you is stern, the face gaunt, and sardonically amused. The arena has several terminals again, screens lit and displaying nothing but a command prompt.

A paper is in front of each terminal, with several lines of options that seem to get more complex as they go along. The only instructions on them is a simple "Circle one, fill out one sheet per team."

[Battle / Parlay
Logic / Emotion
Self preservation / Public good
Unity / Divide and conquer
To live out your time well / Seek eternal life
The practicality of duty / The wisdom of exploration
The game / The result of the game]

Today should be a fairly straightforward experiment. Heh, I highly anticipate your results... and will be greatly interested in what you discover of yourselves today. I do encourage wholehearted participation.

Fill out the forms in front of you... we will begin as you finish.

[Mingle
Answer sheets!
Beginnings
Post-game Mingling]

((OOC: Straightforward choose your adventure game! Grading will be done at the end on a variety of factors! We will start in an hour to an hour and a half depending on as I finish prep!))

Who: Pavo and visitors
Where: Pavo dorm
When: Day 185, noon
What: new peacock. and lunch

[Someone's poking around in the kitchen. :ooo]