⇨ 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

[spaghettimonster]

Before the Ringmaster's fall, around the corner of the fort and down in the milling crowds of the Hunt, the shadow of Papyrus backs away from Yuusei.

"No, I can't. There's... nowhere for me to go," he insists, shaking his head, and listens around them for signs the surrounding hunters taking an interest in either of them. They're not so far from the bigger fight, the shouted challenges and sounds of combat mix with the Huntsman's pressure on them, and maybe the distraction would last long enough. "If you think there's somewhere safe... get yourself there."

And just as the Ringmaster charges the Huntsman, Papyrus turns tail and flees into the crowd... Hoping the pressure on his mind to hunt will accept that circling around the fort to look for an entrance counts enough that he won't turn back to attack Carly's friend.

[kingsroads]

As the explosion happens, Strange poofs into smoke. That helps save him from the worst of the fire damage. When he reforms, he just stands in shock for a moment, hands trembling, not really knowing what to do. Every option is a terrible option and most of those options would end up with him dead.

It's only when Syrlya's portal springs up and he hears Syrlya's voice that Strange snaps out of his brief catatonia. Unfortunately for Syrlya, he comes to probably the wrong conclusion that Syr was hoping for. He looks down to Ignatius to check and make certain that the fae's some form of alive before Strange mutters a spell and unleashes a shitton of fire on the questing beast.

Rationally, Ignatius is the only one of them with enough power to get them out of here in the first place, they need to get this fae off of him and keep him alive. Irrationally, fuck you fuck this fuck everything he is not going to let Ignatius get hurt anymore.

[alphudo]

Papyrus' effort is sweet enough, though it pains Yuusei to watch him go. All he can do is hope that the skeleton possibly separating himself somewhat from the hunt will help him fight its pull.

Really, that is all he can do, for he finds himself watching the Ringmaster's display in awe instead of trying to make his leg work, and he hasn't achieved that much, even, by the time it doesn't even matter. He glances back to where he saw Papyrus' dark half run off, wondering if maybe he's still there, arm outstretched as he attempts to rise.

His scream is pitifully short as his body is consumed mercilessly by fire.

[npcarnival]

None of the Hunt actually seems all that concerned with members of the carnival fleeing - the only one they are actively impeding the escape of is Ignatius. As Syrlya and Strange attempt to cut it and distract the questing beast away from its prey, it only double-down on keeping Ignatius for itself. It snaps its jaws at Sylra's clones and swings its tails - meanwhile, other Wyld Fae are joining in. The harpy descends from the sky to deal with Strange, while the naga comes back around to interfere.

They all want the same thing, after all, and that is to make the Fiery One suffer. While he is clearly conscious, Ignatius is in no condition to stop them.

"Go!" is all he can manage, yelling for Strange and Syrlya to quit before they get slaughtered. Already, the Wyld Fae will be closing in on them, though oddly enough they don't seem to be striking to kill? Instead, they are only moving to enclose them, to keep them there-

As all that goes on, a strange device materializes out of the air, swirling into existence with a flare of cold magic and three hovering wings. In the center, there is a glowing interface shaped vaguely like an eye, viewing the scene below it. It zips down to where the Huntsman is standing, spinning enthusiastically.

"Oh, I must say, that was quite fantastic," it says in a partly digitized voice. "How nice to is, to see the Winter Court and the Great Hunter working together again..."

The Huntsman does not seem particularly interested.

"My end of the bargain is satisfied," the Huntsman says. "Take what you will, scavenger..."

"Oh, I'm just spoiled for choice, aren't I?" As Peridot runs towards the Huntsman, the little orb thing gets in her way, scanning her body with some kind of network of blue lasers. "How unique! All of these specimens are so interesting... but I guess I don't really have to pick and choose, do I? According to our deal, I'll be taking them all, won't I?"

"Yes," the Huntsman says, simply. "To the Mother of Invention I turn the spoils, to be held until thy Queen determines otherwise."

The device, increasingly reminiscent of some kind of magical drone, then wizzes over to Ignatius - still pinned to the ground by the Wyld Fae. It twirls its outer wings, giving him a scan as well.

"What of the Summer Court straggler?" it asks, a little sheepishly. "Do you think I could... possibly... maybe..."

"I lay no claim to the Fiery One," the Huntsman says. "I say again: take what thy will." The Huntsman uses his free arm to remove one of the skulls hanging from his belt, turning to smash it on the ground. As the skull cracks, it will unleash a miasma of magical energy - an energy that will restore everyone that has perished in the hunt so far. They rise like the dead, first as a corpse, and then with their souls forcefully and painfully reentering. As the wounds of their deaths slowly heal, they will find themselves with an uncommon or rare change associated with their death or their killer.

In those same moments, the members of the carnival still within the Hunt will find themselves abruptly pushed from the empathetic bond of the horde. They will suddenly remember what they were doing and why they shouldn't have been.

"Take those swallowed by the Hunt as well - I have no desire to poison myself with the wyrm's ilk."

"The Mother of Invention..." Ignatius finally gasps, the realization dragging him back to consciousness. "I... I am Ignatius of the Summer Court. I was here against my will... the Summer Queen... she will not tolerate..."

"She'd have to know about it to have an opinion, wouldn't she?" the drone says. "Besides, you were practically aiding the Great Beast! What else could I do, but secure a traitor to the Courts?"

"You... You know that isn't true!" Ignatius chokes, increasingly desperate as terror seems to rise up within him. Despite everything Ignatius has faced during this, it is a horror more deep an unyielding than any he has shown before. "I... I was trying... No!"

He tries to get away from the Wyld Fae holding him, but he's far too weak.

[periphrasing]

Peridot snarls and swats at the drone, though it zips away before she can actually land a blow on it.

"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU, YOU MUD-HUFFING PIECE OF SHIT!" she screeches at the Huntsman. Then she glows, taking on her dragon guise, and rears up with her wings flared out, spewing flames as she lunges and bellows: "GIVE ME THAT EGG!"

[npcarnival]

The black snake that the Huntsman just used to kill the Ringmaster is the one that responds to Peridot's threat. Slithering from the Huntsman's body, it lunges to engage her, coiling its body around hers and tangling her limbs. It doesn't bite - not yet.

The Huntsman looms overhead, barely casting Peridot a glance.

"Go," the Huntsman says to his army. "Collect the remains of the Beast's stock... bring them here, so that the Mother of Invention might claim her prize."

The Hunt begins to move again, this time attacking the temple and the vines surrounding it in earnest. Steven puts up a fight, trying to keep the vines growing, but with enough powerful hands ripping away at their defenses, there is no hope but for it to fall.

Ignatius looks on with overwhelming dread multiple Wyld Fae dragging up his body into their clutches, talons digging deep and holding him immobile. Hot looking tears mist his red eyes, a few breaking free as he realizes that all hope is lost.

"No..." he says again, more softly. Imprisonment by the Winter Court was a dark pit he could not see himself escaping again.