PPU Adventure #1

[Scythe]

(OOC:

admin said:

Sienn: Pretty. What do we blow up first?

Ahh, the X-Wing Series...good times, good times... ;D)

Scythe (to Sienn): Good question. I'm prettty curious as to who caused the destruction back there, as well as how and why...

Mint piques in: It's so sad. Don't they celebrate Kwansmaskah around this time of year?

Sienn: Kwansmaskah?

Mint: Yeah! They all work together and nail chimneys shut in order to prevent glutton-demons from dropping in and-

Scythe: Wait, wait, what's that up ahead?

[AnimaStone]

Meanwhile, in Anima's room, Anima is "listening" to another one of Dave's tirades against the sociopolitical treatment of toast.

DAVE: And then we'll rise up! There's no one that can stop us! We'll-- wait, what the fuck is going on? Anima?

Dave turns to Anima to see that the gem on the back of his left hand is glowing bright green.

DAVE: Oh. It's you. Of course. Why do you always have to go and--

ANIMA: Shut up. I need to tell Pinata about this. Now.

Anima calls for Pinata. After a few moments, Pinata is standing by the door.

PINATA: Yeah?

ANIMA: Look at this.

Anima shows Pinata the shard of glass.

PINATA: What does that mean?

ANIMA: Bad things. The last time this happened was at eM, just before I first met Foretel. But the shard glowed blue then.

PINATA: Wait. Wasn't Foretel a high-level avatar of blue mana?

ANIMA: Among other things.

PINATA: Maybe your shard is reacting to mana flow.

ANIMA: Hm... I hadn't thought of that. I guess whatever is out there is an avatar of green. They tend to be friendly, but they tend to get mad if you do something they don't like. Just... be careful, I guess.

[piñata]

Piñata: Don't worry, you're in good hands. You have two avatars of green right here on this ship with you -- we should get along with whatever it is just fine.

Piñata goes outside to check on things from the deck, trying to get a view of whatever's disturbing the mana flow.

Piñata: Is that what I think it is, Stalin?
Stalin (joining Piñata at the side railing): Yep. That's an Ogier grove. A functional one, it appears.
Piñata: I never thought I'd see one again. They're increasingly rare these days. Could that be what's disturbing the mana flow? I know they give off a lot of energy.
Stalin: I'm not sure.

(OOC: Scythe and Anima, if you had a particular direction you were going with this, let me know.)

[AnimaStone]

(OOC: Um... not necessarily one that involves changing the plot. I was just going to involve Anima meeting a character that's much like a green version of himself. Whenever that seems appropriate to throw in, go ahead and mention him and I'll work from there.)

DAVE: So... what are you, exactly?

Anima stares at the green shard of glass, lazily moving his finger through the air, a thin trail of lightning following behind it.

ANIMA: I'm not sure, exactly. I'm an avatar of red mana, specifically chaos... but I was taught by one of the greatest blue mages ever, and this thing [Anima gestures to the shard of glass] seems to possess a magic of its own. That's a part of me too. So what does that make me?

Anima sighs and lets his finger fall.

ANIMA: I really don't know. I'm not even myself, sometimes.

[AnimaStone]

Meanwhile, in essentialMagic....

The scorching sun beams down upon the barren ground where the plains used to be. The forests are nowhere to be found, and the sea has been replaced by a vast desert. The mountains are silent and decrepit, like forgotten monoliths of an ancient civilization. The swamps, long drained of both water and malevolence, appear like eerie sunken plateaus. The cities show an uncanny amount of decay after only weeks of abandonment.

Not in the entire realm is there a dead body to be found. The thousands massacred are simply gone without a trace.

But in the hills, something is stirring--in those in-between places that are neither evil nor good, neither powerful nor weak. For an eternal moment, the air is still, and then...

A jet black hand breaks through the ground, seeking for a handhold. Finding none, it slams a fist into the ground. The hand retreats back into the ground. Seconds later, the entire hilltop breaks open, sending shards of lifeless land crashing into the landscape. The figure that stands just below the shattered hill is that of an eyeless man made of obsidian. The figure crosses its arms and lifts its head to stare at the horizon. Despite having no eyes, it appears to be searching very intently for something that is just out of sight. It stands in silence for hours, the only indication of time's passage the slow deterioration of the eviscerated earth. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the figure walks away in the direction of the sun, its long strides eating up miles of distance in a matter of minutes. In an hour, it has left eM.

And on the shattered hill, a tree has sprouted.

[piñata]

Piñata (looking over at Enelya): You might want to check the prophecy and see if there's a reference to a powerful green entity besides Freyalise. I'm not sure how important this new development is, but if it directly concerns us we need to know.
Enelya: Right. Bass and I are on it.
Bass: We are?

(Enelya and Bass exit stage right.)

Piñata (pointing down): Our location is going to make this a lot more complicated. Look at that.
Scythe: Is that what I think it is?
Piñata: A green mana battery. I gave them to all the native races of Olwe, when I first became ruler. This one's still operational.
Scythe: Does that mean that the race who owned it survived the devastation back there?
Piñata: Either that, or this particular battery was maintained very efficiently. We're in what used to be Killik territory.
Freyalise: Killik? What are they?
Piñata: An insect race, actually distantly related to the Vratix. They were ancient -- around even before Essential Magic was founded -- but during the wars that devastated the original Conclave, they just... disappeared.
Belgarath: What happened to them?
Piñata: Nobody knows. Some say that they were wiped out in one of Aratar's attacks. Others say they just picked up and left when things got too violent.
Scythe: Maybe we should go down there and check it out. If it's still operational, and the Killiks are gone, then someone else might be using it.
Piñata: Good point. And we wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. Let's assemble an away team and go to ground.

(OOC: Anima, Ape and anyone else who's active, I'll wait for you to post whether you're going with the away team or remaining aboard Basurake).