⇨ 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

[periphrasing]

All that said, Peridot moves to hand over the goods.

"Personally I'll be content with whatever you decide to do so long as you don't incinerate us all for keeping it from you for this long. But. That decision is entirely up to you now, I guess," she laughs awkwardly, and then presses the heart into his palm before taking a few steps back.

[npcarnival]

His expression is hard to read as he pauses ever so slightly to hear what they say - though he isn't particularly willing to hesitate, either. His inner thoughts are a painful mystery as he takes the egg from Peridot and clasps it in his fist.

He doesn't need any explanation of how to access it - it just happens naturally, like something that was always intended. He closes his eyes and holds it close to his chest, the light inside the egg growing brighter and brighter until the transcends its prison, breaking through the shell and setting his body ablaze.

It's like the sight of fire having gasoline thrown on it, but anthropomorphized. His very essence brightens to a level unseen while it was absent, and it fills out a hollowness in him that is both literal and not. The vibrancy of it is honestly hard to look at, in that moment, and the only detail you can see through the roar of blames is deep red eyes casting a look over the group as his Heart rejoins with his spirit.

There is no relief in his expression - not joy, spite or sorrow. Just acknowledgment, and a certain wounded memory of vulnerability from having ever been missing this piece of himself.

He doesn't say anything. Instead, as the flames begin to die down, he regards them for a few moments more - and then leaps away in a streak of fire, abandoning the group entirely, and seemingly heading to a more central part of the temple.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst blinks round eyes, stung by the brightness of it.

Then she whistles, and says, "Welp... I guess he didn't blow us up."

[anti_nonsense]

Rita takes a cautious step back, away from the blaze engulfing Ignatius. She watches with a mixture of apprehension and awe... but when he suddenly takes off, she whirls to see where he's gone.

"W... wait!" she cries, but he's already out of sight. She looks about ready to take off after him.

[worldlyafflictions]

He really took that a lot better than Rin had at home. Not a singe mark on a single spectator... Shima's just gonna finally sigh out and go find somewhere to hunker down and watch.

[atouts]

Childermass puts an arm up to shield his eyes at Ignatius lights up the room. By the time he lowers it again, the faerie is jetting off to only god knows where and all he can do is look off in the direction.

"I suppose we ought to go out and see just what we've gotten ourselves into now."

[prazerbutterfly]

He finishes lighting the cigarette while Ignatius does his thing. That's certainly an ominous look but then he's never really been afraid of death. He exhales out into the air and pushes himself off the wall, letting his right arm hang freely now that the room is less tense and wary.

"Mmhmm. Likely a good idea. I, for one, may head back to where I was before this."

[periphrasing]

Peridot blinks the spots out of her eyes and watches Ignatius zoom away.

She cups a hand to her mouth.

"You're welcome!" she calls after him, nowhere near loud enough for him to actually hear.