ercookies | TDM 006: SPECTRAL SPECTACLE

TDM 006: SPECTRAL SPECTACLE

00. Arrival

This time, you come out of the water, the Nameless Island's own inherent energy drawing people in. It's like being suspended between realities and abruptly pushed from behind through a rift in dimensions. It may make you sick, or that might be the motion of the ocean, lifting you to the surface and carrying you to shore.

Waterlogged and covered in sand, new arrivals will be greeted by robots who welcome them with towels and bracelet devices. The A5 card is already loaded up. Feel free to explore the Island, though there isn’t much to see. Most of the buildings are abandoned and in dire need of repair, and beyond the city lingers a thick fog that obscures much of the wilderness from view. Wander too far into this fog, and you will find yourself mysteriously looping back to where you began, your memories of what you were doing and how you got there erased.

With that in mind, it may be wise to stake your claim on a rundown apartment, a tent on the beach, or a bed in the “comfortable” new barracks. Your inventory will be found a day later, wrapped up haphazardly and delivered to each person's makeshift home.

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I. The Dragon's Matchmaking

Welcome to the Island, cherub dragons! The auspicious actions of your fellow Islanders have foreseen the reintroduction of dragons to the world. Unlike the hulking, possessive creatures of ancient lore (and recent hot springs), these well-meaning little critters love to help. Their small size and roly-poly frames make them unsuited to laborious tasks, but they will be the perfect companion to any residents who endeavor to pick up a small item, wish for their lunch to be delivered to an absolute stranger, or need a fire started from a tiny, flaming sneeze in their drafty homes. If a cherub dragon sees an Islander they perceive in need of their assistance, they will zip right in and refuse to scram until they’ve done the job!

No visible struggles? No problem! The little dragons also love to play matchmaker. Persistent dragons will gleefully nudge together Islanders they believe will have chemistry, and sometimes they aren’t wrong! Of course, even if sparks fail to fly, the dragons’ trilling songs are known to kindle romantic feelings between strangers and long-time lovers alike.

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II. Ruins

While the Islanders have been enjoying their autumn relaxation, the ‘bots of Erku have been hard at work clearing the surrounding forests of dangers for their guests’ safe habitation. If you are of deft hand with monster slaying, forestry, or even just hauling debris and weed picking, the robots will gladly exchange credits for help with reconstructing the recently unearthed mountain temple grounds from the rubble that remains there. Just follow the path of gently glowing mushrooms to the site of the temple ruins. Beware of lurking creatures, grabby plants, and falling rocks!

The temple ruins are tall and breathtaking, despite the eerie chill of the fog that lingers just beyond. Or is it the fog that sends a shiver up your spine? After all, this place was very spiritually important to the original inhabitants of the Island, the robots say to anyone curious enough to ask. Although their own programming does not include religious worship, the Augur believes the restoration of this place to be vital to the continued augmentation of Eros energy.

When questioned about the strange shadows that seem to slip from tree to tree, or the unsettling feeling of ghostly hands that seem to nudge volunteers deeper into the grounds, the robots respond with nothing but bafflement. Their sensors detect no unknown organic presence afoot.

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III. Ritual

Islanders who chase those mysterious shadows may find themselves particularly drawn to a structure that lay deeper within the ruins, beyond where the robots have made the most progress. Three sets of crumbling, moss-covered stairs join to form a central platform, which - despite the overcast skies - seems to emit a soft glow. Those who step onto the platform may begin to hear a quiet, compelling voice, which urges them to be free of their inhibitions and to offer their energy to the spirits to be multiplied hundredfold. Visions of naked bodies in the throes of carnal worship dance before the eyes. Those who are especially spiritually sensitive - or perhaps, just lucky - may feel as if possessed by a consciousness that is not their own, and that consciousness is filled with a burning sexual desire.

Leaving the platform is an option if alone, but the intense and overwhelming urge to seek companionship will persist until an Auspicious Act is completed. Those who are fortunate to be joined by company within the temple will feel compelled to worship right then and there, no matter the risk of being seen. Within the walls of the temple, Eros energy is enhanced such that any erotic act - big or small - will be enough to break the spell.

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N A V I G A T I O N

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ it's... something you slowly get used to, nyx. ignis took a little while to grasp the concept of it, too. ]

The Citadel. [ he says quietly as they walk -- and yeah, he's going for the heaviest subject right out the gate. there's a part of him that dreads the discovery and what nyx has to say, but he has to know what happened to their home, to their loved ones. ]

What happened during the signing?

[ the heaviest subject first, of course. nyx closes his eyes for a moment as they walk, visibly gathering himself. he's only just come from it - even if it's been a few months for ignis, it still hurts raw for him.

but, ever the soldier, he begins to speak. ]

I don't know what happened during the beginning of it. Crowe - she'd been sent to retrieve the Luna - the Oracle. [ ignis may catch the way nyx begins to refer to her by name. ] She ended up dead, but she'd been tracking her. I figured out just before the signing that she'd been taken from Insomnia, to a fleet of imperial warships that were waiting outside the wall.

I took the Kingsglaive, despite the commander not answering me, and Regis sent me out to get her. It - was a trap. Set by Drautos, and some of the Kingsglaive. They betrayed the king and Insomnia.

[ he swallows, looking at ignis. ]

Drautos was Glauca. And he had the traitors murder the Kingslgaive that were still loyal to the King, that I had brought outside the wall. I got the Oracle and was heading back when the Wall fell. When we arrived, Glauca was battling the King, and had cut the ring off him. I didn't know it was Drautos yet. I didn't see the Emperor or anyone else. She and I got the King out, and he asked the Oracle to take the ring to the Prince and me to protect her.

[ he's telling this bit quite tonelessly. ]

And he... sacrificed himself. To buy us time to get out. Let Glauca cut him down so we could get away.

[ he reaches up to scratch at the side of his face. ]

A fat lot of good it did. I had no more of the King's power, and some of the Crownsguard tried to help us. But I didn't know about Drautos still, like I said. He called me to rendezvous, had Luche shoot me. We were going to die, and the King had told me to not let the ring fall into their hands, that it was necessary for the prophecy to get to the Prince.

I put on the ring, instead. And I cut a deal - my life for their power to get the ring, Libertus and Luna outside of Insomnia. I got them out of there and killed the bastard but Insomnia was burning by that point, and I was too.

[ his long retelling told, he looks to ignis. ]

Please tell me she got it to you guys.

Edited 2020-10-26 10:08 (UTC)

[ ignis stiffens.

of all the difficult things he's expected to hear -- chief among them regis' death, this isn't one of them. they betrayed the king and insomnia.

drautos, who had served as captain of the kingsglaive, protecting the king and drawing on his magic together with the rest of the glaives. drautos, who had been by regis' side, and whom noctis had tasked the care of to him. noctis, who will be heartbroken when he finds out.

the news is a painful, unimaginable blow -- to think that the betrayal cuts so deep and so close to home, right in the citadel's hearth. ignis is silent as nyx continues, ever the consummate soldier as he relates the terrible events that unfurl. all of them had lost so much that day, but the one thing ignis circles back to is this: he sacrificed himself. let glauca cut him down so we could get away. to his last breath, the king had protected luna and the ring; the man ignis had looked up to, looked upon him kindly and guided him had died a violent, terrible death at the hands of the one person he should have been able to trust.

ignis is stricken and pale beside nyx, and for once his thoughts converge in on each other in a rush of shock, grief, and anger. he barely hears nyx's words, and every step feels like he's wading in molasses. betrayed by their closest, and if drautos is glauca, then queen sylva of tenebrae, all those years ago, had fallen to him too... and all the years after, they have harboured the traitor, nurtured its poison as he fooled them all. to think that ignis and so many others once admired the man's skill and prowess --

finally the dragon sleeping in the hollow of his neck stirs and flutters, stirred by ignis' silent distress. nyx, out of desperation and duty, had put on the ring and given his life; he'd killed glauca himself. but does it make things better, now that the veil has been lifted and the true scope of violence and carnage known? drautos had been a part of them, sworn to protect the crown, and yet.

it takes him a few moments to register what nyx is asking. it takes all of his training, everything he has to recover his composure, even though he knows that he'll need some time alone to sort everything out. ]

Ah -- yes. [ he clears his throat, hating how it sounds rough. ] Yes, she did. [ he pauses, because he remembers that nyx, too, had sacrificed his life -- and that beyond this island, ignis won't see his friend again. his heart clenches tight like a vise. composure. he doesn't have the luxury of giving in to his emotions in a situation like this. and so, more calmly, even if he's still inwardly reeling from the news: ]

Thank you. You saved the Lady Lunafreya, [ he didn't miss how nyx addressed her by just her name, and doesn't think about how he had left things in altissia, the ring between his fingers. he doesn't think about lunafreya's body, and ravus' piercing grief. a tragedy on all fronts, and ignis forces himself to continue. in the end, nyx had delivered her to her inevitable fate. ] and have been a great help to Noctis.

[ he's silent a moment. he owes him. ] Were you and the Lady Lunafreya friends?

Edited (asdfgfh added some stuff! :D) 2020-10-26 17:54 (UTC)

[ he's aware it's a lot to absorb. and he knows that ignis was closer to the king, would have had to be. as much as nyx admired and was loyal to regis from afar, ignis was much closer, and his loss must cut deep.

ignis does an admirable job keeping himself together, as nyx does too, but paired with the dragon making soothing noises... he still ends up reaching out, resting his hand on ignis' back, giving what comfort he can to his friend. he knows that it doesn't make up for the revelations, one after the other, but he can try.

ignis spares him the grief of knowing lunafreya's fate, for now; in time, maybe. when ignis asks if they were friends he laughs a little, looking off to the side. ]

She's a Princess, with a stubborn streak to rival the Prince's. I guess... we were, towards the end. [ he'd told her about selena, after all. she'd told him his sister wouldn't want him to give up. and even though it cost him his life, he hadn't. ] Keeping her safe was one of the last things his majesty asked me to do.