⇨ WYLD HUNT

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 100
Where: Shabondamashii
What: The Wyld Hunt unexpectedly crashes the Shabon's dimension, leaving chaos in its wake. Those that have been with the carnival for a while might recognize it as the personal army of a fae called the Huntsman - also known as one of the Ringmaster's age old rivals, whom she dethroned thousands of years ago. The last we heard of him, he was pursuing the carnival, and it turns out he found them faster than anyone thought.
Warnings: Violence, theoretical cannibalism.

THE AUTUMN MOON↴ There isn't any warning. You might not even notice what's happening at first, with the approach of the threat happening as spontaneously as a zombie uprising. You're minding your own business, enjoying Shabon, when a random alien charges you on foot with sudden and aggressive intent. Whether or not you can throw them off or defeat them, you'll soon find they weren't alone. An entire army is descending upon the city now, and the carnival is the target. ► THEY ARE LEGION: The Wyld Hunt comes in all shapes and sizes, with beasts and men from all kinds of different universes having been caught up in its sway. Those that have been in the Hunt for a long while have more or less completely lost themselves - they now function only as part of a pack, hunting whatever the Huntsman wishes and consuming what their prey leaves behind upon death. Some members of the Hunt are newer and more unsure, but they are all a part of a psychic hive mind that compels them to move as a unit. Everyone in the Wyld Hunt instinctively know what the Huntsman wants them to do, even if they never speak to him. Their skills, powers, and physicalities are all over the board, but there are a notably large quantity of Wyld Fae among them, often being used as mounts by more powerful humanoids within the Hunt. When NPCing members of the Hunt for threading purposes there is a lot of flexibility to what you face, including entities and beasts from your own worlds - provided they are creatures capable of functioning independently. ► HUNT OR BE HUNTED: When set upon by the Hunt, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Unfortunately, in that situation, the only way to beat them is to join them. Beginning to hunt alongside the others will immediately pacify them against you. As soon as you start to follow, the thrum of the Huntsman's will will start to take over - the more you hunt, the harder it is to turn away from it. If you do stop, or successfully oppose the compulsion, they will be quick to set upon you again. Like the others, you will feel the craving to consume any individuals the Hunt has felled - you must resist this, because once you have eaten the prey of the Hunt, you'll be trapped within it indefinitely. ► WORN OUT WELCOME: The people of Shabon are used to crisis, but this is a bit beyond what even they are prepared to tolerate. The Hunt will be causing collateral, both of the human and the material sort. While the workers in Shabon have very well practiced escape procedures in the event of something like this, the other guests are not as fortunate. Plenty of them are capable of fighting back on their own, but they will not always be capable of avoiding the hordes. The longer this goes on, the worse it will get. Eventually, the Shabon workers will realize who the Hunt is after and start actively trying to turn carnival members over to them in order to make it stop. ► IN TWO PARTS: Tragically, this turn of events and the realization that she's managed to put everyone in danger once again will be what finally causes the Ringmaster to split in two. One side will immediately become disinterested in using violence to counter this problem, while the other will be desperate and reckless. This will also completely screw her ability to get anyone back to the carnival in time. There will be at least one Megathread dealing with her actions during this. PLEASE NOTE: This is a conflict the carnival is meant to survive, not win. The main point of this is to get the plot rolling in a new direction, so don't worry about figuring out how to defeat the Huntsman, because in this moment it basically won't be possible. Have fun threading out the crisis, and see where it leads. I wanted to be up front about that, as opposed to letting everyone grasp at straws to prevent a result that will be inevitable, even if the details will shift.

Comments

[osteothropy]

He completely panics at the sight of that barb, his mind flashing back to that night at the Manor, the Prince grabbing him by the throat, the barb sticking into his spine-

The feeling of it creeping through him, slowing his joints and messing with his head-

He summons his wings, which flair out in burst of angelic light. His aura is in full force, radiating awe and foreboding, that would make any lesser target feel like they were the one facing judgement. Unfortunately, a Wyld Fae is a bit above the reach to have a significant effect. He's not a full angel anymore than he is a full fae. It must seem weird to her, though, to feel both of these things in one person.

Still, the light's message is very clear, like a threatened prey showing its barbs. Stay back! Be afraid! As the light flares, Sans moves himself quickly backwards and out of reach. He casts a look to Yuya, on the ground, with couple of his eyes.

But he doesn't know what else to do.

[bestialpursuit]

Honestly, this is all very confusing. First he smells like the Beast, then he’s using poison, now he’s ... a flashbug? The unicorn takes the time Sans backs off to get herself back upright, that stone patch on her side still going, but she’s no mortal, and the angelic display does little to intimidate. Her tail is waving energetically behind her now, barb bared — clearly, the same source of what she’d tried to flick at Sans earlier.

The pause in the immediate attack, though, gives her room to reorient herself, and realize she’s forgotten something very important. Her food! The one that isn’t so wiggly and hard to catch! Her attention is sharply diverted from Sans as she bounds over to the paralyzed boy, standing over him in what would almost look like a protective gesture if she wasn’t so clearly the source of his current predicament.

Much like Sans, her posture speaks for itself, territorial and possessive. Mine! I’ll fight you for it!