lostcarnival | ⇨ SAY UNCLE

Who: Everyone who isn't in jail!
When: Day 175, 11:30PM onward.
Where: The Realm that used to contain Heartstone Manor.
What: Team carnival has gotten what they came for, but in the meantime they have lost what they came with. With his ace in the hole gone, the Prince is tearing apart the Heartstone Manor and reshaping it into an impregnable fortress to lock away his new most precious commodities - the Ringmaster's captured followers. Welcome to a hostage situation, this could take a while.
Warnings: Violence, and etc.

AFTER THE BALL↴

Around 11:30PM is when everything starts changing - and for most in Heartstone Manor, the triggers will have remained unseen. In the ongoing thunderstorm it was easy to miss, and the Prince losing control over his realm only occured before a small group of workers intent on saving the carnival from a terrible fate. An ancient High Fae artifact called the Blue Rose was stolen from the Prince, and in reaction he is being forced to abandon his plans of controlling the Ringmaster, instead trying to hide away in his realm for the purposes of saving his own skin.

His main bartering chip? The workers that he's been capturing up to this point. He knows that, unlike himself, the Ringmaster cares about mortals, and especially about the ones who follow her. He's willing to bet that she won't allow them to die for the sake of her own convenience, and he's right. Now that the Blue Rose is the carnival's, she's intent to take back what was stolen from her, as well as the lives of all the servants that the Prince has been stealing away for eons. By whatever means necessary.

► SPLIT THE EARTH: Characters all across the Manor will be treated with initial tremours that will soon escalate into a full-fledged earthquake, capable of collapsing buildings and rending the earth. The cause of this is simple: the Prince is using his powers of elemental earth to reshape his realm into something more suited to protect him. Specifically, he is changing what was a manor house into a fortress meant to defend, and allowing the rest to collapse into ruin. The Manor is still nothing but a castle floating in a void - as the earth breaks apart, it will be nothing but an endless freefall between the floating chunks of debris. Over the next twelve house that earthen debris will be reshaping and solidifying into a new layout, but having to be there while it happens is one hell of a ride!

► BREAK THE ILLUSION: It's as the world starts shaking that the last of the Prince's spell over the minds of his guests will begin to fade away. However, it may wear off more slowly than is helpful in an emergency earthquake situation. The ballroom trance may linger even as lives are threatened, and it will take a pointed effort to make sure that everyone gets out of the Manor's collapse safely. At the same time, the illusionary guests will begin to fade and disappear. The ones that remain are the ones that are real, but it may be a bit painful to realize which ones were simply a lie to begin with.

► SAVE WHO YOU CAN: Despite being knocked out by a surprisingly massive blast from the Prince's magic crystal, the Ringmaster will manage to gather herself up eventually. When she does, the last of the storm will finally come to an end. She'll be doing what she can to try to gather up both servants of the Prince and all of her workers, but it'll be impossible to get to all of them first. A large portion of the servants have undoubtedly been stolen away by the Prince into his newly built fortress, but with the effort of carnival members new and old, they can still save as many as possible. Of course, those held in the Prince's most secure prisons will remain out of reach... for now.

► WAKE THE SUN: As the worst of the earthquakes stop and the new islands of floating land begin to settle, the clouds from the thunderstorm will finally pass, as the Ringmaster seems to summon up a sun to light the realm for the first time since the carnival's arrival. In reality it's sometime in the early, early morning by the Manor's schedule, but whatever! It's easier to not die when the sun is out, don't you think? The Prince's security and gargoyle soldiers are still out and about, and they're clearly interested in capturing as many hostages as possible.

► SIGN A CONTRACT: This is when the Ringmaster will be taking those that were summoned to the Prince's ball aside to offer them contracts in order to free them from the Prince's influence. She'll do her best to explain that the only way to wipe out his control is to take on a new 'master', but they can take some time to think about it if necessary. The truth is, of course, that until they officially sign onto the Ringmaster's camp, there will still be the chance that the Prince will be able to control them.

► WALK THE RUINS: One Day 176 things will have settled completely, with the land now forming a massive fortress on the far side of several large floating islands. The ruins of the old buildings will scatter those islands, forming towers that will swiftly gain small colonies of gargoyles, ready to swoop down and attack carnival members. Further complicating matters is the fact that the rending of the landscape has resulted in bursting open the underground prisons that the Prince had been keeping his most bestial servants, which mean all kinds of mortals long since twisted into the forms of giant spiders, scorpions, monstrous beasts, and other terrifying creatures will now be running amock on the islands, desperate for food. Try not to hold it against them - they didn't ask to be this way.

► REGROUP: While the Ringmaster doesn't want everyone to just run back home (if they do that, the Prince will undoubtedly make them unable to enter again, or at least take over the landscape more fully) she will manage to open a portal back to the carnival in the afternoon of Day 176, formed between two freshly grown trees. This means that carnival members will be able to fetch new clothing, supplies, weapons, and whatever they need to prepare for the battle ahead. Right now, the chaos is still unfolding, but the battle to save the Prince's captives is still ahead.

[OOC: Gargoyles and transformed servants from the underbelly can be NPC'd from this point onward. Gargoyles are the Prince's most deadly servants made of extremely durable rock and bearing scorpion tails with venom that can turn bodies into stone. They want to grab anyone they can, trap them, and then fly them off to the Prince's dungeons as collateral. Don't let them!

Transformed servants are the beasts who were freed from the underground prison they were left in to rot. They are servants that were transformed into monsters by the Prince, and most of them have been driven insane with bestial hunger from months and years of starvation and atmospheric poison. The Ringmaster is interested in helping them, to see if there is way they can be changed back, so if you have the heart nonlethal methods are most appreciated.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ginko has been found-and spoken to, for that matter. He was the first she sought out, but perhaps that was merely because she easily knew where he would be. She's spoken to the Psiionic, certainly. Met him, as well.

But she hasn't come to know him, not really, and she doesn't know where he would be either. It doesn't take long for her to temporarily give up on the matter either-she's tired, exhausted, and by all rights should be in bed. Ginko probably would have made her in the first place-she can't even recall if he said it at this point.

Her head swims, but the fact is before she can sulk back to her trailer for rest, she needs something to eat. Or at the very least, to drink.

Probably just drink, when she thinks of it.

But go figure-there he is, four arms and bee wings, right there.

....She....doesn't really feel like talking now...though....

(She doesn't feel like moving much either, to be fair)]

[He doesn't really notice her at first, not until she tries to duck past him. The cafeteria, or whatever you want to call it, is empty right now. Most people are busy or worrying or sleeping or trying to help. Psi is just eating, or at least pretending to. He doesn't want to acknowledge what's happening, and that's what he has to do when he sees everyone else. It would be easy to say he's lost in his thoughts, but when Reira moves the sound of her feet on the floor catch his attention, and he turns to see whose there.

He is surprised when he sees her. In fact, that is an understatement.]

Reira?

[He asks, voice loud. He hardly knows what to think at the sight of her. She was here, she was safe, she could (maybe already was?) be alright. It's relief ultimately that floods through him. He's glad she's okay, and he ends up standing abruptly to rush to her side. The bench he's sitting on falls over in his haste and clatters to the floor.]

Are you still mad or brainwashed or whatever?

[She is ready to mutter something-mumble a greeting perhaps, maybe just ask about some hot tea, or similar. She needs something to just mindlessly drink at this point, until she can properly fall asleep. Unfortunately what was originally general gloom quickly blasts into sharp concern, a hastiness that manifests in the bench flying and Psi rushing over himself.

Also it's loud. Also it's a dumb question.

She looks a touch irritated, suffice to say.]

Nmmnnnnnn... [G od, why-]

.........I wasn't even mad before...

Well I said 'or brainwashed'!

[He really wants to hug her, but he just doesn't know if that's okay. He reaches out to put his hand on her shoulder, but pulls it back before making contact.]

I was really worried about you.

[Hey! She wants to be hugged, at this point..! Seeing a hand draw back, and feeling that hesitation just makes things...a lot more upsetting, really.]

....I think a lot of people were, [She says quietly.] ....I want to say sorry, but...

...it's weird, when someone isn't mad. ...And just sad, I guess. [Mostly because...she not only can't really justify hiding from someone who's sad, but she can't fix someone being sad. She can't help, because she's the reason they're upset in the first place.

Which is upsetting.]

[He doesn't know why, but it feels like such a sad things to say. He can tell there's something on her mind even if he doesn't know what it is. He frowns, before kneeling down to hug her, if she'll allow it.]

You don't have anything you need to apologize for.

[Naturally she's pretty sure she Does-but she's too tired to argue that point anymore. She's too tired for lots of things, so the most reply Psii is getting at this point is a hug back-once he's giving her one, she's returning it, the pressure of the upset building and piling until all she can really do is sniffle and shake a little bit.

At least she got her hug, in the end.]

⇨ SAY UNCLE

PSIIONIC

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