Entry tags:

August Event Log: Part I

Who: Everyone
When: August 9 and onward
Where: An unexpected destination
What: The newcomers go on a trip and end up far from where they expected
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label your content!

NOTE: PLEASE READ THIS OOC POST FIRST.

When the time comes for the travelers to go on the off-world trip that will help restore Thisavrou, they are not alone. Others who have settled on the planets longer and come to call them home are also prepared to travel; through the Ingress and do their part. Yet when the newcomers step through, whether they stepped through the Ingress seconds or hours apart, they will find that they have arrived at the same time, and only newcomers are in sight.

What awaits them is not a land of plenty. The land is barren, and dark storms in the sky resemble those held at bay by the Ingress complex—but much, much closer. Those who traveled on the Moira may recognize the landscape; though they have come through at a different point from the crash, they are on the Midway Hub. And there is no portal back. They are trapped.

hitting the road

Though some have been here before, the Midway Hub is not as they remember it. The storms fill the sky, leaving it dark and ominous even when they are not sweeping across the landscape—but they have clearly done so in recent times, and often. While never a lush land, large patches of ground an acre or more wide looking nothing more than utterly dead; the thistle that naturally grows is brittle, black and unable to be consumed even with the usual preparations to make it edible, and here and there animal corpses are found twisted into unnatural poses, but seemingly uninjured. These places are particularly concentrated near the broken Ingresses litter the landscape. While Midway Hub as a whole may seem naturally arid, these dead spots leave no hope that anything can possibly live there again.

The travelers have two options: stay where they are, or move on. While it might seem that they've been tricked into coming here and been left abandoned, those with the technological ability to do so may detect a sign of hope: a familiar energy source, far in the distance. Although none of the Ingresses they pass will ever work again, the faint energy shows that one still-functioning Ingress lies far in the distance, days away.

Although technological scanning or impressive memory of the landscape indicates that they are not separated from their destination by one of the gates that divide the land, they are also far from the shelter of the facility at the center of the Hub. Any attempt to travel in a direction other than that of the energy signal will result in a strange disorientation after several hours, bringing individuals back to their original path as though they've gone in circles. Meanwhile, though travelers will feel the need to slake their hunger and thirst through any natural water sources they discover, wildlife they can hunt for food and any supplies they have on them, if they don't find sustenance, they'll find that they will never pass out or reach the point of starvation. Instead, they'll be left alive and awake but feeling utterly hollow.

storm front

At regular intervals, the energy storms above descend onto the land, bringing not rain but violent clashes of negative energy and thunder so loud that nothing can be heard above it. The passing of the storms leaves some strange effects. The ground is warped and rotted by their touch, even solid stone degrading to a spongy surface. The air is tepid and oddly charged. Prolonged contact with air or ground will not supply energy, however — it drains it from organic and synthetic life alike.

Those who remember their last trip to the Hub, or simply explore in the right direction, may come across the cave complexes with their glowing surfaces and streams. The light is dimmer now, a sickly green, but drinking from the streams will still restore the energy lost, for a time. This time, however, the lethargy that inevitably follows is much more severe, and the drinkers are left with a raw, empty feeling leeching in from the wasteland around.

Those who are exposed to the storms, either by finding themselves in very close proximity or even closely observing them for too long as they approach, may lose their sight, or hearing, even much of the ability to feel touch — whatever sense they used in observation. What lingers in its place is a numbness. A hunger. And as time passes, the time between storms decreases; what seemed like hours between the storms becomes scarcely one, and their intensity grows.

wild life

Sentient beings are not the only ones affected by the storms; these creatures, attracted to sound and able to track by scent, and these panthers, which once looked normal but have been twisted by the storms into more monstrous forms, are numerous enough that travelers must be constantly alert for their presence. Though natural predators, the threat the creatures represent is not itself natural. They are also more aggressive. Some strange instinct drives them, not a need for food. While the panthers themselves can be caught and their meat cooked, it has little taste, offering nutrition but not satisfaction.

old familiar places

Although it's difficult to track the passage of time without day-night cycles, after what seems like more than a week of the travelers' unexpected trip, the storms abruptly come rushing in at the group of travelers, as if they're herding the group to move faster toward their destination and the Ingress energy that awaits them. The true nature of that destination becomes clear when debris appears on the horizon; the energy comes from the wreckage of the Moira, the interstellar ship that crashed here months ago.

Despite the trauma of impact, large sections of the ship remain surprisingly intact, though few of them are properly vertically oriented. If travelers are able to make their way inside the damaged sections of the ship, they'll find familiar territory, if they are one of those who traveled on the Moira, as well as shelter—something that's increasingly necessary as the storms seem to center over the ship, leaving little hope for survival outside. Useful items may be scavenged from the ship if they are willing to explore, but no personal items of any kind remain.

Strangely, the deeper travelers go into the crashed ship, the less familiar their surroundings will seem, regardless of their orientation. The inward-leading paths into the ship become generic metal, and as with the travel on the surface of the planet, they may find themselves back where they started. And no matter how far they go or how hard they try, they will find themselves unable to make it to the Ingress chamber itself...for now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If we make it back in one piece... I'll show you.

[He actually grins a little, as he says it. Because hi, neighbor. You've just met a Cat Person. Shaking his head slightly. It's probably not the best time for this kind of conversation.]

[But in a way? It gets your mind off how bad things are. And how much worse they could be if they get back.]

No, it's not. [He blows out a breath, in thought.] There were plants -- you had to cook them but they were edible. Some kind of alien deer, too. More water sources.

And a lot fewer storms.

[Siegfried blinks at the offer, not quite sure what to think, before he nods quietly in agreement. If they do get back, they'll have time to think about these things, and possibly plan accordingly, in case anything gets worse.

The fact that Shiro is more than eager to assist him is slightly boggling, but Siegfried supposes in a situation like this, it can't be helped.]

So the resources there are different from the ones here now. [There's a frown forming on his face as he thinks about it, not liking where this is heading.] The way this landscape is shaped, we're more than likely going to be looking everywhere we can.

[It's just a nice bit of normal conversation. Something to think about amid the worst part of this trek. Thinking about normalcy is nice. Just thinking about it. The team did that, after all.]

Very different. It's like the place has started to fall apart while we were gone.

[He takes a deep breath, and nods on ahead.] Hopefully, the Moira is still this way. And maybe there's something left to salvage.

[Normalcy is sadly not really something a Servant has- at least, in the sense of living and acting like a normal person. Still, he finds he doesn't really mind it that much.

Unfortunately, hearing about the worsening conditions causes Siegfried to frown, concerned for what this means for everyone trapped here.]

That's... [Not what he was hoping he'd hear, honestly. He doesn't finish his sentence, but it's obvious that he's implying this whole situation is down the tube.]

Let's hope it is. We're going to need shelter, eventually. [Something occurs to him, almost as an afterthought, and he taps his chest as a symbol of referring to himself.] Saber.

[...Siegfried, please, that is a terrible way of doing introductions- you didn't even say "My name is."]

That's... probably not very inspiring to hear, but I'd rather tell people the truth. It's bound to be more helpful, in the long run.

[To prepare them. He's an honest sort of person by default. But especially in these situations.]

[He nods. And extends a hand, automatically.]

Shiro. Sorry we're meeting like this.

[Shiro doesn't need to explain his reasoning much- Siegfried understands, and nods.] I'd rather hear honesty at this point, even if it isn't the best thing to hear.

[The Savrii are already leaving a poor taste in his mouth.

Though at the extended hand, Siegfried blinks. It's... odd, like this. To be considered as a person, given a greeting and treated like normal, rather than for what he is. Shiro may not realize it, but simply getting to know him is already incredibly different from his first meeting with his Master upon his summoning. So Siegfried takes it, shaking Shiro's hand in return.]

Likewise. We'll have to keep an eye out for the Moira, it sounds like.

[They can hope for it, at least.]

I'm glad someone else feels that way.

[And that someone just accepts it, without him having to argue about it. Or explain himself. It's oddly refreshing.]

[If he thinks there's something odd about the pause, he doesn't voice it. After all, spend enough time around aliens, you learn to expect your gestures won't be understood right away. Maybe it's the same for this guy. No hard feelings.]

You can't miss it. Even if it's broken apart by now... it's big enough to see from a mile away.

I can't blame people for not wanting to know the truth.

[Better to be honest about what they know at this point.

Siegfried's brow rises at that.]

How long were you on the ship before it crashed?

Neither can I.

[All the more reason to tell them.]

A few months. Other people were on board longer than that, even.

[Siegfried shakes his head at that. Flying itself doesn't seem all that unusual- but flying in space? It's not that he can't fathom it, it's simply that he doesn't know how to do so. For all that he's seen in his life and from what the Throne of Heroes has given him, space travel is still boggling.]

I'm not sure I can imagine that. [He blinks, rethinking his words.] Sorry, it's odd, for me.

[He's apologizing for not being able to know what it's like to fly in space, because he's never done it before. SIEGFRIED.........]

Edited 2017-09-03 04:19 (UTC)

It's fine. You're not the first one I've had to explain it to.

[He smiles a little. Meaning what he says. He really doesn't mind, because, honestly, talking about space is always a good time, far as he's concerned.]

[He reaches over to give the other's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.]

Can I help make it clearer?

[He pauses at that, trying to think of what to ask, or even how to explain how it's hard for him to fathom- until Shiro squeezes his shoulder. Immediately, he stiffens, and a hand gently grabs Shiro's and moves it off. It may not be his back, but touch is something he's not used to receiving, and it shows.]

Sorry. I'm not... [Really comfortable with the whole "friendly touch" thing. Siegfried shakes his head.]

I don't really know how to ask. Flight isn't hard to imagine, but space...

[He doesn't put up a fight, when his hand is taken. Moved. It's not an attack, if anything, it's defensive. And he's clearly overstepped something here.]

[His hands stay raised, before he nods, putting them back down slowly.]

It's okay. I'll keep that in mind -- sorry, too.

[For making this weird.]

Think of it like flying then. Except in the stars, instead of clouds.

[The apology back to him isn't what he's expecting, but he takes it. Shiro knows how to try and ease him from immediately assuming the worst, at least.

Siegfried's mouth twists in confusion as he mulls over the whole idea of flying across stars.]

When we get out of here- [Not if, but when.] Maybe I'll actually get a chance to know what it's like.

When we get out of here... I'll give you a ride. If you want.

[He's still hoping this is some kind of mistake. That they can go back. They can pick up where they left off, and he can keep trying to fix things for his team.]

[That's what matters.]

I fly a shuttle, back on the planet.

[Siegfried hopes the same, but he doesn't truly believe this wasn't planned. There's too many coincidences, from what he's heard, to say otherwise.]

A shuttle?

[He's never heard that term before, honestly. If it can fly, is it a ship itself?]

Did you enjoy it?

[He hopes. But logic says otherwise.]

Yeah, it's like a smaller version of a space vessel. For one or two people.

[Let him talk space at you, man, he'll never shut up.]

... I did. Piloting -- it's all I wanted to do, for a long time.

It's a way of transport, then.

[He's slowly beginning to get it. Space is confusing.

The next part is more a comparison to himself.]

Being a pilot is like being a sailor. [His brow furrows a little in thought.] Where did you travel to as a pilot?

Yeah, exactly.

[This is a good conversation topic. He could, honestly, talk about it for hours on end.]

[He nods, at the comparison, before answering:] Before we got here... all over the universe. Places I didn't even know existed.

Planets I didn't know existed. It's incredible.

[He can recall what it's like to travel to different lands- sweeping across several of them to meet Kreimheld, to assist Gunther with Brynhildr- and how they varied in such different landscapes.

A small part of him misses it. Misses home, misses the life he had before this, misses his wife. It's not something he can ever get back.]

I can understand what it's like, a little. Not with planets, but back home lands usually varied between countries.

Were you ever surprised by any? [It's a vague question, and it's one he's left like that on purpose. He's curious, but he doesn't want to sound like he's prying if Shiro feels he is.]

You traveled a lot?

[The too is unspoken. Like he's found some kind of kindred spirit here. He wouldn't mind, honestly. It'd be nice to have.]

All the time. I don't think I'll ever stop, to be honest with you.

... there was a planet out there that was one big living thing.

[He'll lead off with that. With the incredible surprises, as opposed to the bad ones. The bright parts of space, instead of what lurked between the stars.]

Not always. [But yes is implied.] It was interesting to see how unique everything was.

[Germany differed from Belgium, and Belgium differed from Iceland. Though he didn't travel much farther than that, he was moving in between them frequently, as to both woo Kreimhild, then return home with her, and then help Gunther gain Brynhildr's hand in marriage and return home once more.

His brow raises at the description of the first planet, though.]

It was alive?

I think that's the best part of traveling, really. You get to see all kinds of new things.

[That had been part of the allure of space, after all. Seeing things no one else had before. New worlds. New people. New everything out there.]

[It just hadn't ended up like anyone on his team ever expected it to.]

Yeah. Alive, with its own native people and everything.

And see differences compared to home.

[He's no traveler like Shiro, but he understands the appeal. It's why sailors traveled on boats, and eventually people learned how to fly in planes and even go to space.

He can't help but make a confused face at that.]

They were in harmony with each other?

Yeah, that too.

[And then miss home. Miss the things that were less alien. The rain, or the people, or the food.]

[He nods.]

The people and the Balmera were as dependent on each other as you can get.

August Event Log: Part I

hitting the road

storm front

wild life

old familiar places

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