Event Log: April, Tangled Terrors Part 1

[faileas]

Event Log: April, Tangled Terrors Part One

I. A Spreading Problem The request for help from the nameless city Underground comes at the beginning of the month through intermediaries - characters who have maintained good relationships with the city and its leader, or Wilders posted at the Northern Outpost. They have good reason to speak up. It starts within the herds of velvet wormipedes, horse-sized or larger worms that serve as food, pets, and mounts, making them an important part of survival underground. It was the farmers who first noticed it, and they theorized that it was caught and started to spread when they took the worm herds out to graze in an outer cavern. What seemed to be a new disease causing oily blackened skin and various mutations has been confirmed to be Cwyld, but the veil of protective moss that surrounds and protects the city did not react the way it normally does to the infected (by gobbling them up upon entry), letting them pass with little more than a shudder of recoiling movement. By now, they’ve isolated any infected members of the herd to the grazing cavern outside the city or put them down outright and burned the bodies, but as the days pass, the phenomenon grows only more worrying. Some proactive Mirrorbound who answered the initial call to investigate will have a head-start on the information, but the Arachne leader of the Underground, the Matriarch, is upfront about what they know so far. She holds a small meeting with would-be helpers where she lets them know that her Witches from the Academy were out in the tunnels branching off the grazing cavern within the last couple of weeks, practicing the method of leyline clearing that the Mirrorbound taught them some time ago to try and drive the Cwyld back. Their efforts were abandoned when the Witches’ magic malfunctioned and caused backlash, and their Monster guards with keener hearing started to pick up on a peculiar throbbing or pulsing sound from distantly within the walls. Any who are willing to lend a hand and investigate are offered whatever supplies they request, shelter within the City when they need to return to rest, and the assistance of any of their Witches and warriors as needed. The Matriarch thinks that whatever they find out there may be useful - or dreadful - knowledge for both their peoples. They want to know what was preventing the leyline from being cleared, and what this infection or disease is that is affecting wildlife and their own herds - curing it will eventually be a priority, but fact-finding has to come first.

II. Danger in the Deep (Underground) Branching out from the place that the worm herd were grazing when the infection set in, it becomes more clear that the situation is dire. This is not a normal, relatively slow-moving Cwyld infection, but something stronger and more sinister that has sunk its claws deep into the branching leylines. An oily black substance runs through the stone walls and floor of the tunnels in thick veins, dripping slowly in dark streaks, and the air in the tunnels feels heavier than usual. Far from showing any signs of the Matriarch’s people trying to clear the leyline, it feels even worse, more severely tainted. This only seems more likely when you start to encounter wildlife bearing the same kind of infection as the worms, oily black patches on their skin, aggression that exceeds the norm for their species. Bats and blind, white wasps and huge, glittering beetles have grown even bigger, and begun to mutate in unusual, grotesque ways. They’ll need to be put down - there is no getting past them peacefully, and no saving these creatures. Even if you don’t kill them, the infection will, as you’ll find - farther along, you start to find mutated, infected corpses as well, like oily smears on the stone and barely recognizable. And then there’s the sound, discordant in the quiet of the Underground. It’s difficult to hear at first, faint, but farther along when you get close to the walls, a distant, steady pulsing sound seems to chill you right down to your bones, as if the walls have a heartbeat of their own. None of the natives have ever heard it before, and if you have any citizens of the Underground in your search party, many of them with stronger senses are visibly scared, growing paranoid and agitated as time passes. Tracking the leylines, or the sound of the pulsing in the walls, will take several days of exploration, deeper into the tunnels than the natives remember venturing before, and those days will be plagued with danger and unrest. Keep in touch with your fellows in town as well, though Watch reception will be spotty - it will become clear that this is no longer just an Underground problem. a. Leyline Clearing It seems like a good idea at first to try and clear some part of the infected leylines, if only to cut the infection off from traveling further, as it uses the pathways of natural magic that cut through the earth like a highway to cover more ground quicker. It seems to move with each pulse in the walls, creeping a little farther along. The leyline in the Silent Forest outside the Northern Outpost, set on a path to healing last year, seems like child’s play in comparison to this herculean effort, though. Be careful, Witches. Even just one push of your magic into this infected leyline triggers a backlash that rings in your ears and wracks your body with soul-deep pain. Those who are un-Bonded, who have no Monster partner to help cushion the impact, feel it worse than those who are Bonded. But those who are Bonded, their partners can feel the pain too - lessened, more spread out over the two or three or four of you, but still intense. Even without touching the walls or the floor, the infection can spread through your magic, into you, your Bonded, and those around you if you cast the spell as a group. b. Infection Rather than settling into the body at first, this Cwyld settles into your magic, your soul, your innate connection with the world, whether you’re Witch or Monster. It’s harder to guard against it, even by taking the usual precautions. The side-effects are terrible; while the Mirrorbound in Aefenglom feel it too, all those symptoms are much stronger down here closer to the source. Trying to use your magic as a Witch (and sometimes your less physical abilities as a Monster) results in backlash, misfiring, or even a dangerous drain in energy. Reaching for one’s magic might be as natural as breathing for most Witches, but now it feels like trying to reach through a thick fog, sticky and cloying. Spells go awry, coming out as the opposite effect from the caster’s intention, or a completely different, unforeseen result (think: Wild Magic in D&D). Sometimes you can’t pull on your magic or abilities at all, and sometimes you wildly misjudge how much force to use, resulting in danger for those around you, especially in these tight, underground spaces. Interacting too much or too often with the tainted magic causes pain and fatigue at the very least, and for some even more uncomfortable effects, such as numbness of the extremities, temporary blindness, nausea or full unconsciousness. These effects are much more prominent in Witches, especially those un-Bonded, though some Monsters may feel similar, lesser effects on some of their abilities. Monsters are not immune, especially growing closer to the sinister source. Those who are Bonded to Witches can feel the strain the tainted magic puts on them, and those who aren’t, or whose Bonds aren’t strong, find that they feel the tainted pulse of the heartbeat in the walls acutely, driving them to paranoia, fear, rage, or even ferality. All Monsters on this mission will find that they’re prone to nightmares when they do try to catch some rest - the content of the nightmares varies depending on the person, but they’re all unsettling, and they all feature prominently the image of a blackened tree, the trunk bearing faces frozen in masks of horror, and the picture of gnarled roots reaching down, down, down. c. Tangled Ties As the Cwyld in the walls grows more prominent, taking on an appearance like thick, oily, veiny roots, tangled and twisted, so too does the Cwyld work to tangle the ties that bind you. Those who don’t, or can’t, keep their Bonded in close physical proximity may find that their Bond feels weaker, or perhaps it begins to only transmit negative emotions like pain or fear. They may find their Bonds shifting, or even snapping, tangling or twisting in ways they shouldn’t. All of a sudden, you might even find yourself with a completely different Bond, being drawn to a stranger or an acquaintance you certainly weren’t Bonded to before. If you didn’t have a Bond already, you might find yourself with one (or more) now - or a twisted approximation of one, as anyone who experiences this will soon find out that the magic isn’t quite what it’s supposed to be. It can’t be nullified as usual, broken off or switched back intentionally (though some days it might end up snapping to someone else instead), and down here, you only have each other, your Underground hosts, and a spotty Watch connection for help. All the infected wildlife seems to die out, as days later, your parties find their way close to the source of the pulsing in the walls. An entrance hewn out of the stone opens into what feels like a truly massive cavern, judging from the change in the airflow. The Cwyld is thick here, concentrated in what seem to be rough, blackened roots all in a tangle like a thick curtain. You can hear the heartbeat-like sound louder now, a steady thump-thump, thump-thump. Whatever lies in wait past that curtain of roots, you know in your gut that once you enter, you won’t be able to leave until the problem is dealt with. Resupply, recruit help, try to sort the snarled threads of your Bonds - it’s going to be rough from here.

III. Reaching Tendrils (Aefenglom, Northern Outpost) The Matriarch’s briefing is, soon after it’s given, relayed to the Coven and then to the rest of the Mirrorbound, through some of the Wilders or perhaps through other characters themselves. That, at least, is a good thing, to provide some kind of warning for what happens next. In far worse news, the effects of the malaffected leylines are not limited to the tunnels of the Underground, or even the nearby Northern Outpost. Somehow, just a few days after things take a worse turn down below and surrounding the Outpost, they reach as far as the city. The effects of the infected leyline overflow like a burst dam, tainted magic spilling out from the Cwyld-strangled Underground caverns and through their connected, invisible tributaries beneath the earth, stretching miles outward with each passing day. The Northern Outpost and the Wilde around it, being closest, are affected first, and it hits the northernmost parts of Aefenglom by the 10th of the month - proving just how interconnected completely unrelated places can be on Geardagas. a. Snarled Magics Wilder, Coven, and Mirrorbound Witches alike, anyone who needs to draw on the power of the world’s magic, find it feeling increasingly resistant and… unpleasant. Here too, Witches find that reaching for their magic is like battling through sticky, dark fog. It becomes more and more difficult to gauge how much magic is needed even for the simplest of spells: sometimes, you might try to cast only to have nothing at all happen, and other times, the magic bursts forth many times more powerful than intended, causing a dangerous drain on the caster and all sorts of hazards for people and property caught in the unpredictable outburst. Spells go awry, coming out as the opposite effect from the caster’s intention, or a completely different, unforeseen result (think: Wild Magic in D&D). Those with more experience or inordinate willpower may be able to push through, especially if they work together to cast group spells instead, but not without consequence; interacting too much or too often with the tainted magic causes pain and fatigue at the very least, and for some even more uncomfortable effects, such as numbness of the extremities, temporary blindness, nausea or full unconsciousness. Of course, one could simply choose not to use any magic, but how long can a Witch last without casting even a little bit? For those with Bonds, matters are even worse; a Witch is always expending some minor magical power toward their Bonded, after all. In some cases, the connection doesn’t respond well, causing paranoid and unhappy feelings, vivid shared nightmares or increased agitation, among other similar emotional side effects. b. Twisted Bonds Bonded pairs from the Underground all the way to Aefenglom will also feel the instability in their Bond increasing over the next couple of weeks, making it difficult to feel one another’s presence as normal. If the Bond isn’t treated with care and partners aren’t in close physical proximity often enough, the strain is even greater. In some rare cases, it might even… snap and shift, suddenly getting tangled up or twisted, your strings all snarled in the wrong ways. All of a sudden, you might even find yourself with a completely different Bond, being drawn to a stranger or an acquaintance you certainly weren’t Bonded to before. If you didn’t have a Bond already, you might find yourself with one (or more) now - or a twisted approximation of one, as anyone who experiences this will soon find out that the magic isn’t quite what it’s supposed to be. It can’t be nullified as usual, broken off or switched back intentionally (though some days it might end up snapping to someone else instead), and even the Coven’s most experienced Witches have no answers as to why. While use of magic is unpredictable for most, if not all, Witches, the Bond problems, however, seem to be affecting only the Mirrorbound. Seek out your new Bonded and make the best of it for now: you’re going to need each other’s support, especially if you’re a Witch unable to cast normally while the groups of volunteers in the Underground work tirelessly to make things right. Despite the onslaught of unstable magic and unstable Bonds, of unsettling feeling and a pervasive sense of wrongness, it's up to you to hold down the home front, helping where you can as the magical mishaps rack up and raiding the libraries of the Coven and Undermael College for research, no matter how it all starts to wear on you.

Welcome to Tangled Terrors, Part One! Proving that the settlements of Geardagas are a little more connected than they seem on the surface... This is just the first half of the event, but the negative effects on using magic and on Bonds will be present until after Part Two, when the problem is dealt with. These are optional, opt-in effects except for the difficulty in using magic if you're a Witch - and you can go more mild with that if you'd like, but it will be part of life for most of the month.

If you'd like to find some tainted Bonds to tangle with, we've provided a plotting header here! You can change up Bonds as often and as unexpectedly as you'd like. As always, direct your event-related questions here! And finally, the event plotting post is over here!

Part Two of this event will go up on the 17th, and will be an Underground locale-only event (meaning there will not be an Aef-focused prompt), dealing with the root of the newly-woken issue that plagues the leyline running between the Underground and Aefenglom.

Comments

[twilightskey]

So we're both at three, then..?

[Well, that's good at least. Neither of them are at risk of being overcharged, at least for now.]

[It is a little strange though, having someone who isn't Sora or Kor feeling his emotions. Roxas's ears perk up in surprise, before he rubs the back of his neck.]

Sorry, this is just... really weird. I'm holding up okay, though. I'm just a little worried for my own Bondmates and if they're going through the same thing... We'd better figure out what's going on, before things get worse.

[yesdoubt]

[A bit of concern flickers over Momo's face at that, which makes it even more noticeable he's blocking his own negative feelings out of the Bond, because there's no corresponding emotion in it. He knows Yuki would hate being tethered to anyone but him, especially when he doesn't have a choice in the matter, so he'll definitely have to keep an eye on that. For now, he rearranges his expression back into something more thoughtful.]

I don't know if it's going to be something we can "figure out", honestly. I get the impression it's to do with how this strain of Cwyld is twisting up people's magic - have you seen how Witch magic has been backfiring?

[Momo's experienced it personally already, but since Roxas isn't a Witch, he figures he should ask if he ended up on the wrong end of any of that already.]

[twilightskey]

[Roxas notices it. He definitely notices it, and the way his brows knit in confusion over it is probably telling for Momo. It's just... so different from Sora and Kor. Neither of them hide their emotions, so feeling a notable lack is quite a difference for the turnskin.]

[But that's something to ponder later, especially as Momo continues to talk. Roxas hums, nodding.]

You might be right. I noticed some of the Witch magic wasn't working down here.

[He has no magic, but he's seen other witches struggling down here.]

So then our best bet is to deal with the Cwyld, right?

[yesdoubt]

[He definitely picks up on the confusion, but he doesn't outwardly register it, because that would mean admitting he's manipulating what he's putting out of his end. And that means talking about his actual feelings, and that's never an option Momo wants to put on the table unless he absolutely has to.

For now, he just nods to the question, continuing down the tunnel they're in.]

Yeah, that must be the root of it, it's never been like this in the tunnels before. It's not even a case of pure not working, it's backfiring and coming out too powerful for a lot of people instead...so that's even more dangerous down here. Makes the risk of someone being exposed to the infection bigger.

[Since trying to get rid of something in a controlled, targeted way and accidentally smearing it across one side of the tunnel can be a very important difference.]

[twilightskey]

Seriously?

[Roxas follows after him, his ears angling to the sides in worry. That definitely sounds nerve-wracking...]

Then we definitely need to work on containing this. I would hate to see others get hurt down here.

[Despite his unease, a pulse of determination comes through on Roxas's end. He definitely wants to do what he can to contain the Cwyld, now that he knows just how dangerous the situation is down here.]

[yesdoubt]

[Momo gives a hum of agreement to that, because he always loathes seeing others hurt, but there's another aspect to this for him as well. Since he'd had such a big hand in bringing leyline cleansing down here, he's going to feel responsible if it flushed out something they can't deal with into the tunnels.]

It makes sense, even if it's a bad situation. Cwyld normally responds strangely to magic or uses it to feed off - it's just usually only if you outright interact with it. It's why you can't use normal healing magic on it and why the Wilders usually recommend not directly fighting a Shade with magic. So if this is some kind of worse strain, interfering with and warping magic is a logical next step.

[Even if they're not directly interacting with it, and it now seems like more of a situation of entering its "territory" setting it off.]

[twilightskey]

[That definitely all made sense. And it makes Roxas's frown deepen. Since he was a monster with no magic, fighting Shades had never been a huge problem with him, but he didn't realize how badly it could affect Witches or others with magic.]

Then we definitely need to be careful while we're here.

[Determination on his face, he turns to Momo.]

Let me know if your magic starts acting up, okay? Or if something backfires on you. If we're Bonded while we're down here, then let's use that to our advantage while we can. We'll keep an eye on each other.

[yesdoubt]

Something did earlier, so I'm trying to avoid using magic at all for the moment. [He accidentally froze part of a tunnel trying to avoid some of the infected creatures down here, so he's generally keeping his hands off his magic unless absolutely necessary. Including the one or two alchemic items he brought down with him.]

Let me know if you start feeling weird too. I haven't seen much happening to Monsters yet, but it might not be physical given what's happening to Witches.

[Could be something getting into their heads or tempting them into ferality or something along those lines. Either way, it's not something he's seen as yet, even with the close eye he's been keeping on his partner.]

[twilightskey]

I will, promise. And worst case, we can feel each other over this new Bond, right?

[At least, he thinks he can. Momo's end has been a little muffled...]

You can feel me on your end, right?

[yesdoubt]

Yeah, I can, it feels just about like a regular Bond. [He's only ever had two Bonds, so his experience is somewhat limited, but he's had them long enough to know what his two people feel like. The difference in feeling with this one is probably to do with adjusting to a new person.

He's not going to ask if Roxas can feel him because that'd just open him up to questions about why his emotional feedback is off, so he just shifts topic.]

Since you're a Turnskin, I wonder if all this would interfere with shifting. Or any other Monster abilities that aren't quite magic.

[twilightskey]

Okay. Because your end is... it's a little hard to feel from your end. So I wasn't sure if it felt different for you, too.

[He's just used to an open flow of emotions, and not so much... not that.]

Huh... I'm not sure. I wonder if I should try it...

[Would something bad happen?]

[yesdoubt]

Might just be something about this Bond being formed so unnaturally. [The remark comes completely smoothly, with no hint of a deception or lie. Momo is used to hiding his hand for as long as he needs to from people who want to drag his secrets out, so something like this comes as naturally as breathing.]

I don't know that I'd risk it, or at least not until we're a decent distance away from anything infected. Otherwise you might end up exposed to something if it backfires.

[twilightskey]

Huh... I guess you've got a point.

[This is an unusual situation, and he has no reason not to believe Momo, so he's willing to believe what he says.]

Yeah, you're probably right. I'd better not risk it. That could bring a risk to you, too, right?

[In case the magic backfired and went across their new Bond or something.]

[yesdoubt]

Probably. Bond feedback has definitely been a bit weird through all this, so I wouldn't rule it out.

[He's noticed that there's been a bit of a shift towards more negative things coming back from the other ends of his Bonds than positive ones, and while Yuki is at least directly around for him to observe, it does make him concerned about what Lio might be up to.]

So we'd better just press on and get this done so things can go back to normal.