Author: White Fox, Posted: Sun Feb 9, 2020 9:33 PM, Post Subject: The Signal [open, r, pre-event]

Of all the reckless, stupid, inconsiderate things that stubborn woman could have done, this took the cake by far! When he woke up that morning only to find that Yuki was gone, it didn’t take him long to figure out where she went. Off to save the world, like she was some kind of hero. She couldn’t even assassinate him; how did she expect to do this? And while she’s pregnant! What the hell was she thinking when she decided to leave, all on her own, straight into the mouth of the beast in her condition? It pissed him off beyond words. He was pissed she was putting herself and their unborn children in such danger. Pissed she said nothing about it, tried to hide it from him so he wouldn’t find her, let her stubbornness and pride take over. Pissed that he couldn’t catch her in time, and now all he could do was be overwhelmed with worry and fear the longer it took to find her, because, surprise surprise, he has to take a detour to get some damn potion so he could follow her. Hopefully she was smart enough, even in a brief moment, to take the potion as well.

He was guided to the Valley of Vada, where said potion could be found. A portal was opened, and he stepped through, away from the comfort of his cottage to the grassy land. Kohaku wore his black and gold elvish attire, despite being a Kitsune. Eight of his tails were hidden, his ginger hair had been cut too short to hold his usual ponytail. His katanas, The Demon’s Dragon and Redemption, were sheathed on his hips, with throwing knives strapped to his torso and thighs, and shuriken hidden in pouches on his belt. He hadn’t used more than his swords in a long time, but he knew many battles lay ahead, so he was prepared.

He glanced around until he spotted the fountain. As he approached, many empty bottles came into view with directions to only take one. “This better not be a waste of my time,” he muttered sourly to himself as he took a bottle and dipped it into the fountain. Once it was filled and corked, he went on his way to follow Miyuki’s trail.

Author: Miyuki, Posted: Tue Feb 4, 2020 3:36 PM, Post Subject: The Signal [open, r, pre-event]

Miyuki knew she did not have much time. He was hot on her trail, and she was not about to allow him the ability to force her into anything. She saw too much war to back down from this threat willingly. It didn’t matter that she was soon to be a mother. When that time came, she will deal with it then. For now, Miyuki saw a need for warriors, not women hiding away in fear while uselessly praying for their husband’s safe return. The kitsune did not want to be that pathetic when she had the chance to do something useful. The goddess called out for champions and Miyuki would rise to the occasion.

The scent reached her long before she could see the flowers, saturating the area with a rather strong fragrance. She barely noticed the river rocks and crystals crunching beneath her feet, her eyes glued to the motherly statue. Miyuki could see each curl of the hair, blinking to keep from imagining them bounce with every movement. In the statue’s hands was a vase pouring a strange-looking liquid into the fountain base which was surrounded by many flowers and bottles.

She took a bottle, uncorked it and dipped it into the gold-dusted pink liquid. It was promptly corked and placed carefully inside her pouch for later use. Nervous, Miyuki looked behind her, ears turning as she tried to listen for signs that Haku was just behind her. Satisfied that she was still ahead of him, she began to make her way to the Mo’Mey steppes, where the final showdown was to take place.

Author: Raziel, Posted: Sun Feb 2, 2020 2:24 PM, Post Subject: The Signal [open, r, pre-event]

It seemed that there was no time for any frivolity. Not long after any cataclysmic type of event, after the people have a chance to finally catch their breath, something else happens. Can Revaliir not catch a break? The angel sighed as she listened to her patron goddess give her rallying speech. "Come, Mikhail. She calls on us once more." Mikhail pressed a wet nose against Raziel's hand, earning him a scratch behind the ear. "I'll try not to be that careless this time." A portal opened, angel and wolf walked through.

Blind as she was, Raziel cocked her head curiously. There were new smells in the Valley, smells that were familiar yet extremely out of place. Floral scents completely out of place and season. Mikhail started forward, leading Raziel to the bottles, picked one up and pressed it into her hand as best as he could with his jaw. When she firmly had it in hand, he led her to the fountain where they filled it with the liquid within. Fortified with the faith of protection provided by Angela, the angel was ready to face this next calamity where she will heal those injured in battle.

Author: Shiloh Kyrie, Posted: Sat Feb 1, 2020 5:01 PM, Post Subject: The Signal [open, r, pre-event]

When it came to being devoid of motivation and feeling, Shiloh was no stranger to it. But when other people began to succumb like an epidemic, it lit a fire under her. The first signs of it came when she saw the plants in the Greenhouse lie limp after one night. Her first thought was that Azhizheth had woken up and was now trying again to breach this world from the Void. If brute force didn't succeed, then perhaps a more insidious subtler approach would. After a period of worldwide apathy, the plants and vegetation revived with a vengeance. While anything which wasn't a plant were still affected, it was almost like the world's flora had entered a flight or fight response. Species which weren't rapid-growing were accelerating their maturation and mass at an alarming rate, almost out of desperation. Whatever was causing the world to fall into an emotionless stupor made the plants feel threatened enough to alter their defense mechanisms. Before she could meet with Angela herself, she heard the elder goddess' message. Wasting no time, she opened a portal to Vada and went in. 

The peaceful atmosphere around the shrine felt very out of place for the current state of the world, but it wasn't unexpected for Angela's design. She had a way of calming Shiloh's frayed nerves more than any sedative could. Which said quite a bit, as even the effects of Angela's words didn't last long when Shiloh was in a full-blown panic. Keeping the words in mind, Shiloh filled a bottle to the brim before sealing it. Naturally she would have taken a small armful of them if she could, but there was no point in trying. If she could only take one bottle, then she'd make sure to get the most out of it. The reports of the malachite 'infestation' was worrying and she was hoping the contents of this bottle was some sort of cure or counter-agent. Throwing one last glance at the fountain, Shiloh considered sparing one drop of her bottle's contents for analysis. The rest had to be saved for the near future. Once she was back at Antikythera she would inform everyone to visit the shrine to claim their bottle, after all if she couldn't take more then she could at least have a large number of people close by with their own on hand. Leaving as soon as she had arrived, the goddess' portal vanished in the blink of an eye.  

Author: Nemesis, Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:34 PM, Post Subject: The Signal [open, r, pre-event]

The God-King hasn't been unaware of the recent and bizarre occurrences the world seemed to suffer through this time. While he continued onward with his own day-to-day business, he merely had his clergy keep an eye on things. People were devoid of motivation and other basic feelings which struck him as odd as the epidemic had spread about like locust. He was sure that the other gods were at least keeping tabs and probably trying to figure things out themselves so his attendance wasn't needed as much.  But the trouble seemed to increased when it came to the wilds. Entire cities were being swallowed by the vegetation, a feat that would otherwise impress him in any other case. Now, something really didn't feel right as he figured that Angela would take this as a personal blow and reluctantly, he decided to investigate as well.  

He wouldn't have to worry about where to start when he heard the call from the Bastion's grand cathedral and went to where it directed him. Nemesis found himself in Vada and before long, he was in front of a shrine that seemed out of place in the middle of the valley. How odd. His head tilted slightly as he inspected it, quickly spotting the representative of the fountain. If it was anyone else behind this, he would have been shocked but of course, the redhead would be seeking out the heroes of the world. "Of course." He reached up and caressed its stony chin. "While I would love to see this world burn, I suppose I would want that more by my own hand than some odd phenomenon."

His eyes then hit the bottles and the simple note left for those that probably would get too greedy. Picking one up, Nemesis filled it with the contents that flowed from the fountain and sealed it up. "Suppose I will be paying a visit soon to see what this is all about."