annivurtstag, princess lazuli! - hunting down the sources (21st)

[powergamer]

Who: Those who signed up for the event.
What: Hunting down the sources.
When: Redheiss (June) 21st, anytime between morning and late afternoon
Where: Specified below.
Rating: PG, may get higher.

An hour after Ossidia's announcement, the four groups are dispatched to the four sources of the magic cast upon the city of Goldvale. Watch out—the levels of magic here are so intense that there's no telling what might happen next. When the groups arrive at these sources, they'll be met with a surprise. As these sources the cause of the apparitions appearing around town, their magic manages to reach a bit further where it's most concentrated. In each group, one character will be randomly chosen to have an apparition representing a memory appear to stop the group from destroying it. These are complex illusions based on that random character's most traumatic memory and will affect everyone in the group. For example, if a character's most traumatic memory was failing to prevent the death of his wife, the source will recreate where it took place and represent itself as the wife.

Subthreads and descriptions of each location can be found below. Those who have been chosen must describe their character's memories so that everyone can participate.

Comments

TEAM 4

[powergamer]

Location: Le Ritter Courageux, a hero's statue in Steelmount. The hero is said to be celebrated for his bravery during a monster invasion 200 years ago.
Source: The statue itself.

Ninian's memory will be shown here.

[afrozendance]

[A hero celebrated for his bravery during a monster invasion 200 years ago... Ninian cannot help but recall the Scourging, the war between dragons and humans that tore Elibe apart when she was just a half-dragon child, and which ultimately drove her and Nils to leave the continent where they were born and spent their first years of life. Many of her memories are gone due to how long she has lived, but she still can somewhat recall how happy she was with her family before everything went from bad to worse.

…Gate… Open…gate…

W-wait! That fateful day... True, it happened not too long ago, and it brought terrible consequences. Several of them surrounding her and Nils, being the ones able to open the Dragon's Gate and unleash destruction on the world at behest of Nergal and the Black Fang. And what happened later brought misery to those attempting to help them, specially Lord Eliwood and his father Lord Elbert...

…Gate… Open…gate…

Ninian bites her lip and forces herself to try blocking the memories out of her mind. This is the worst moment to think of such traumatising events, and she also isn't pleased with the possibility of making this mission about herself rather than those who need help the most. Or even worse, having them learn about what happened to her. So she tries not to give in and keeps checking on her surroundings, attempting not to hear the voice in her mind whispering about the Gate...

She has to stay alert. It's for her partners's sake and her own. So she turns to the person next to her, sighing.]

I haven't found any concrete leads... I apologize. Have you found anything?

((OOC: For the Fire Emblem 7 canon-blind, Ninian's "worst memory" will be this scene. If you need it, here is the game script. Heavy spoilers, obviously.]

guessing the memory isn't being shown visibly yet?

[someonetocarry]

Well, nothin' seems like it's glowing, anyhow. Keep lookin', there's gotta be somethin'.

[Zoe is suspicious. The courtyard is quiet and empty, but for them-- no monsters yet. She doesn't trust that at all. She stalks slowly out across the cobblestones, her shotgun-- the magical one, not the one she brought from home-- held in both hands and at the ready, primed to shoot if anything even suggests that it is about to start glowing or looking magical.]

Unless that magician is wrong, but I wouldn't wanna think 'bout what that might mean for fixin' this jao gao.

It should start being shown now. Go wild with it. =)

[afrozendance]

[The words in her mind are now louder than they used to be, and the fact that it's her own voice makes her more nervous. She knows exactly what will follow, and mentally repeating that it's just the past isn't necessarily helping...

So let's try being being more active. I'll help her clear her mind, she hopes.]

... I understand, Dame Zoe. We cannot just wait until the leads come to us, too many things could happen in between...

could you perhaps describe it in your tags? ^^' I couldn't make much sense of the video...

[someonetocarry]

[As it turns out, the glowing thing isn't that hard to find, now that they're actually in the square with the statue. Ossidia had been right, after all: the statue itself was glowing.

But as soon as Zoe starts towards it, the whole square starts to change. She stops short, leveling the gun at where the statue had been a second ago... except now it looks like an arched sort of doorway... thing.]

It's okay, and I'm sorry for the trouble! [/so rusty]

[afrozendance]

[Would it be enough to break the orb, or should they be more careful? Magic artifacts were not things to mess with anywhere after all, and they could be in danger if they didn't take preventive measures! Ninian was about change her mind and and tell Zoe to get ready for anything before anyone in the group could get hurt, but right then...

Power... Power... Power...

It's her own voice, again. And the source is much, much clearer. Somehow the Dragon's Gate, the place conncecting both Elibe and the world of the dragons, was in front of her. And she sees herself chanting the invocation that can activate its magic, having been mindwiped by a tall man with a turbant on his head and another wearing a black cloak.

Here... Come, children of…flame. Come... to me...

Then the scene keeps changing. A group of warriors led by the friends she had met in this world have come to help her and confront the group who are forcing her to use her powers for their benefit. The father of one of the leaders, a red-haired man who once helped Ninian and her brother, tries to help them as well but he's badly injured. It's all very fast, very tense...

And in the middle of the confrontation, the Gate opens. A red-scaled dragon begins to make its way through it, breathing fire and roaring as the whole place starts to crumble under its power.

As for Ninian herself, the real and tangible one -- she has fallen to her knees, covering her face with her hands and shivering all over. These are her memories, this happened to her few months ago, why did they come back right now...?]

Stop it... stop it... go away, please! Don't cross the Gate, I beg you! Go away!

ah, no worries at all <3 that's perfect

[someonetocarry]

[The whole proceeding gets a lot of wary bafflement from Zoe, and a couple slow steps towards the gate when it opens... but then she just about swallows her tongue at the sudden appearance of a dragon. She scrambles back a few steps, firing at it once-- to no effect.

It doesn't even seem to see her, more focused on the phantom figures.

And then she connects Ninian with the aqua-haired girl doing the calling there with her back to them, and darts to actual-Ninian's side, crouching beside her.]

What th'hell is going on here!

[It's less a question than a demand, really. No question marks here.]

Good! \o\ Was worried down here.

[afrozendance]

[

"I won't let this happen!... Ninian! Come to your senses! You must not do what they want!"

And Zoe's right in time. That moment is the one where, in the illusion, a boy with Ninian's same aqua- hair steps in and manages to make her react so she can stop the incantation and stop the ritual in itself. Then the man with the turbant is stabbed by the red-haired older man and is forced to retreat...

Almost at the same time, Ninian hears her companion's voice. She urges her to talk and explain what is this vision - and it starts waking her up from that recent and terrible memories. Enough to have her stop begging for the dragon to leave and look up at her, biting her lip before she speaks.]

T-there's no time, Dame Zoe. [She makes an effort to sound clear despite how shaken she is.] ... It may be risky, but it must be destroyed now. Please don't hesitate!

[someonetocarry]

Destroy what? Can't even see that statue anymore, and that dragon thing don't seem t'be hurt much from my bullets!

[Zoe looks around sharply, looking for some kind of hole through this... whatever it is. Illusion, vision, strange transportation. Are they even still in the city anymore?

She still hasn't figured out that this is something Ninian has been through before, a memory. She'd need more information for that. She does know where the statue was, though.]

Is it still there?

[afrozendance]

[Ninian nods a bit weakly, desperately trying to hold on Zoe's presence to remind herself that this is not really happening again and it's just the magic in the air. The voices and images are still lingering around, she can still remember what happened next and it still shows in the surroundings, but she wants them to stop and Zoe is the one who can do it...]

I'm sure that nothing has changed behind the illusions... It's trying to attack our minds as a defense. But it can't go beyond and change the place itself... so yes, it's still there!

[someonetocarry]

Illusions. Attackin' our minds. Gorram magic.

[Disgusted with it all, Zoe looks around again, this time for someone she might actually recognize. There are supposed to be four of them, right? Where in the hell did the other two get off to?]

A'right. A'right. It was... where that big portal thing is.

[She straigtens again, levering her shotgun. She needs to be a little closer to do any real damage to the thing, but there's... a dragon in the way. Ninian had better be right about it not really being here, because otherwise she's about to get squashed as she steps cautiously towards where she remembers the statue being.]

[afrozendance]

[Ninian focuses on trying to block these cruel images out of her mind, and specially on recalling where is the statue... She knows what will follow anyway. The Dragon's Gate will be closed. That unfortunate "Child of Flame" will collapse and die, and take the cloaked man with him. Everyone will manage to escape from the Gate itself. The red-haired man will die in the arms of his son. His son...

She frowns a little and extends her hand, pointing at the place where she's now almost sure the source is.] The child of flame can't hurt you... But the source is behind him. I'm sure of it, Dame Zoe.

[someonetocarry]

Good t'know.

[Zoe takes aim for where she thinks the statue had been, aiming low but not too low. Even the power of a shotgun at this distance won't do much to the base or the body of the horse and rider-- but a lucky shot to a leg might start toppling it.

The buckshot goes off and there's a spray of sound to go with the shots: a couple thuds that hits the stone base, a couple pings that either glance off or hit a small, and one loud metallic thunk that probably hit the body. Zoe mutters, mostly to herself,]

Little low.

[And she reloads.]

[afrozendance]

[It's working... The visions start to fade, the illusions around them are more transparent than before, the voices sound weaker. Ninian quickly cleans up any traces of dirt or tears on her face and focuses on helping Zoe as much as she can, they must stop all of this and fulfill their mission.]

It's still there, and it's working... Its power is getting weaker. It should stop creating illusions soon.

[someonetocarry]

Good. S'gorram creepy.

[Zoe refocuses on where the statue is flickering through, this time raising the gun just a hair to try and hit somewhere around an ankle. She takes another step, fires again.

The statue rocks a little on its base, flickering more fully into view.]

Gettin' there.