Σ Turbulent Distrusting Ice Wall

[trollophoroi]

Who: Fidchell the Prophet and two fateful parties.
What: A prophecy foretold.
When: 11/21, Night
Where: The city formerly known as Lumina Cloth.
Warnings: Mentions of suicidal ideation, violence.



[ Something appears to be afoot in the night-shrouded city of lights, Lumina Cloth. Ever since the fall of Innis and Magus, it has begun to grow colder, and colder, and colder. NPCs begin to glitch in and out of existence as the days crawl along until one day, they are no more, and it begins to snow.

Throughout this entire ordeal, a strange yet familiar figure dressed gaudily in blue and feathery robes can be witnessed watching from a distance.

Everything ices over, the lights flickering out one by one, plunging the entire city into darkness... until... until?

Only after the city has been buried in snow and covered in ice do the lights all snap back on and those who enter the Root Town will discover a horrific sight: Telophoroi Tower has risen high over the frozen landscape at the center of the city, overtaking the rest of the buildings. It is far larger and much more dangerous-looking than before, with more metal, more spikes, and an ominous mist clinging to it from all angles.

There is only one person who could possibly be waiting here.

Approaching the tower will plunge the players into the mist.

Nearly all will find themselves turned around but a few, those lucky few, will find themselves entering the dark, empty halls of the guild @ home once known as Telophoroi. Steps echo, emptiness reigns, no sign of even Cultist Grunty anymore. Those stairs are new, though, and they wind up and up and up towards the very tip-top of the tower.

Do you dare to climb them...? ]

Comments

[trollophoroi]

[ Kara gives a little nod and her smile returns, even in the midst of how teary her eyes appear. They're happy tears, the happiest, after all this time... ]

I do. I stopped by the infirmary in the Net Slum yesterday to... to check and... and they told me!

[ She reaches for the hand on her forehead, pulling it down so she can grip it in both of hers, giving it a squeeze. ]

It's really real! We're going to have a ċ̣͉̋hil͇̦̈́͛d! [ What? Was that another weird voice glitch? No, of course not. She's just so excited! ] I was thinking that... if it's a girl, maybe we name her Lily? Is that okay? And... and if a boy, then! What about Henry?

[trashtier]

[For a brief moment in time, Levi's chest blooms with joy. This is truly the most happy and excited he's ever felt in his life. Kara's pregnant at last. They'll finally have a little family to call their own. He's gonna be a...!]

...huh?

[The excitement, once overwhelming, falls away in an instant. A strange feeling of dread takes its place, pooling in his stomach. This is wrong. Something's wrong.

He looks at Kara in disbelief.]

A-Are you sure? Why Lily? [Maybe she means in his sister's honor? But still...they'd agreed it'd still leave kind of a bad taste in their mouth to use. And Henry...] And I thought...you told me no to Henry?

[trollophoroi]

[ Kara looks startled by Levi's sudden change in demeanor. Those questions... She grips his hand more tightly, drawing it close to her chest as she tries her best to answer. She looks so distraught now, oh no. ]

I... I just thought... After your...? Oh, Levi. I'm so sorry. I was just. I got so excited and... it's just a pretty name, after all? And I don't mind Henry! Really, I don't. Now that this is real... now that we're going to be parents... I've had time to think about it, you know?

[trashtier]

[It hurts to see Kara so distraught. He knows he should be comforting her and apologizing for getting so worked up. He should be celebrating with her! But... He can't shake this awful feeling that something's wrong here.]

Well, yeah, but... We'd already agreed not to use Lily. As nice as it'd be to honor her like that, it's just...it's got too much baggage now.

[That's the name he's the most hung up on, truthfully. It's a name that stings to hear, even now.]

Are you sure you're feeling okay? Beyond the morning sickness, I mean. You felt really cold a second ago, like...

["Get back!"

...

"H...hah...you got me."

...

"KARA!!!"]

...!

[trollophoroi]

[ A flicker and the room becomes cold, Kara lying dead next to Levi in the bed, blood staining the sheets, and then back again. It's falling apart now. ]

No? I'm fine, really... I just... if you don't want to use Lily, that's fine, too. We'll find a name that's perfect for them, whoever they end up being, okay?

[trashtier]

[That flicker is enough to send him into hysterics. He grips her shoulders hard enough to make marks on her skin. He can't stop trembling.]

K-Kara! [He sobs. The images of her dead on the bed, dying in the cold at Skeith's feet, won't leave his mind.] Kara...!

[He knows this isn't real now. It never could be. He'll never get this future. He'll never get to marry Kara, or experience the joys of parenthood with her.

Because she's dead.

She's dead.]

STOP THIS!!

[trollophoroi]

[ Too soon, perhaps, to offer this dream to Leviathan, that pain too fresh in his mind, but for his suffering, he'll find himself freed. The vision ends abruptly as he is ejected from the pod, rejected from the beautiful world Fidchell was trying to construct for him, and he'll land, alone and covered in ooze, on the arena floor.

Only him and Fidchell, the debuff that Levi gains — Face Your Fate (Alone) — terribly, horribly true. It causes a massive damage down. ]

Unfortunate. I would have left the names be, had I known. Would you care to try again?

[trashtier]

[It would have been nice. It truly would have. But it's the pain of seeing what will never be that hurts the most as Levi coughs and sputters on the cold hard ground of reality.

He staggers to his feet, and the first thing he does is attempt to rush in for an attack. Unfortunately, he's still too disoriented. He stumbles and falls to his knees (9).]

Fuck you. [He slams his fist into the ground out of frustration.] Fuck...you...