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

The person she ends up offering some of her food to happens to be Siegfried, who looks at her in surprise. He understands helping others, but he didn't expect someone to try and assist him as well. A brow raises in surprise, before a hand gently pushes it back towards her, a slight smile appearing.

"I don't need it- but thank you. You should keep it." What he says is true- Servants survive off mana and their Master's energy instead of sustenance, but even he isn't certain what all that adds up to when it comes to the Ingress. Still, he's managing just fine as it is, eyes attentive of those around him and making sure people stay in groups.

She looks familiar, at least. He blinks a little stupidly before bluntly speaking again. "...have we met?"

Diana might press with someone else, but she can see something in his face that tells her he's telling the truth. She withdraws her hand with a nod, and begins to study him for a few moments. He looks familiar as well--she can't exactly place his face or voice, but there's a budding sense of recognition that she can't simply dismiss. "I feel as if we may have," she admits, trying to place him. She hadn't been on Thisavrou long, but she's certain she's seen him somewhere. "Were you on the planet long before we were abandoned here?"

The fact that she's familiar does little to settle the frown on his face as he thinks as to where he's seen her. She certainly isn't a Servant- he'd know if she was, would be able to feel it and recognize it as soon as he ran across her. At her question, he shakes his head.

"No, I only arrived recently." Arrived at the Ingress and found cautious hostility everywhere he went, even when everything was being given to him, including his home. A thought jars his memory, and he pauses.

"Did you live in Region 5 of Kauto?"

The moment he mentions the region, her eyes light up with recognition. "Yes!" Despite the circumstances, she is still delighted to have placed his face. "In a stone house, with a garden. You live close by." She'd seen him only a few times, just coming and going, but they'd never spoken. Diana had been too engrossed in exploring the strange new planet to come to know her neighbors.

The fact that she lights up when he asks startles him, but in a good way. Siegfried listens with a slight tilt to his head, recalling the home she describes with a good sense of familiarity. He nods in understanding.

"I lived next door. The tall house with the cat that never wanted to leave the window." He'd spent some time outside there, trying to get it to shoo, only to have it return a few hours later. It wasn't his cat, so Siegfried had never truly understood why it stayed, or what it wanted from him. He's never had to care for a pet before.

"I'm glad to know you're all right." He actually stops himself at that, realizing his blunder. "Ah- as well as someone can be, in this case." He's not always the greatest in conversation. Even only as neighbors, he's thankful to know that they're doing all right in this situation.

"I remember the cat." Honestly, she had tried to coax it over to her home once or twice, but it never seemed to want to leave that window. She had been disappointed, but had just assumed it loved its companion too much to trade him in. She gives a short laugh, and waves a hand. "I understand, and feel the same." Honestly, the fact that they'd all made it here in once piece seems like a miracle in itself. That they have not yet been killed by the beasts that roam this strange wasteland is entirely miraculous. That is as 'all right' as she thinks any of them can be.

"My name is Diana." She pauses for a moment before offering her hand forward for a shake, as she had seen many men (and Etta Candy) do before. It seems to be the proper way to greet someone.

Quite frankly, the cat still puzzles him. He's never bee one for pets, never even considered keeping one, but this cat seems determined to stay by his window no matter how many times he's tried otherwise. Though he's pleased to hear her thoughts are the same as his, in regards to her being well and uninjured in this situation.

"Saber." He takes her hand after a second of uncertainty, and shakes it. "It's... good to meet you, despite the circumstances." And he means it. The more people who are willing to work together, the easier it will be for everyone to try and get towards safety.

Diana gives a short laugh. She thinks the only person she's ever met under semi-normal circumstances is Etta Candy, and she didn't even get to spend a lot of time with the secretary. The Amazon settles herself on the ground across from him, crossing her legs and propping her chin in her palm. "Your name is really Saber? Like the weapon?"

Most people don't question his name when he gives it- unless they're from his world. But Diana asks a question about it, and he blinks, caught by surprise. He expects her to tear it apart and study it, but all she asks is for a similarity, and he quietly sighs in relief.

"Like the sword, yes." He huffs out in amusement, giving a slight grin as he watches her. "You're the first to ask- at least, for here. Are you familiar with them at all?"

He means swords. Most people he's met know guns better than any other weapon, and he's hoping it's not the case with everyone he comes across.

Her smile widens at the question, and she can't help but let some pride seep into her answer. "Amazons are trained to wield all manner of weaponry." While she does favor the sword, she is also particularly skilled with the bow and her lasso. Her might with a blade might be matched only by her own two fists. "I had a sword, but I did not bring it here." And the last one she'd had in her own world had been shattered by the hand of a god--but she leaves that part unspoken.

"Amazons?" He can't help the surprise that shows in his face, tilting his head just a little. Is she speaking of the Amazons from Greek mythology? He's incredibly familiar with the Greek lore of them, though because of Thisavrou, he could also be incredibly wrong. He doesn't press for more.

Consider him impressed, however. "You're taught to use all kinds? That must take quite some time." Training in general with a weapon always takes time, but for someone to know how to wield so many is a very unique feat indeed. "What are you most comfortable with?"

August Event Log: Part I

hitting the road

storm front

wild life

old familiar places

go with me

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